# State Of The Strat (Please Read First) [Updated with ROM Information 12/21/11]



## Dalladubb

I see a lot of the same questions regarding the Stratosphere's current position of root, ROM's or the fact it's an Epic 4G clone. I'm going to attempt to pool the information in one thread so hopefully those who are new to this phone have all the info they need to get started or just find out where we're at overall as of this post.

*Isn't this the Epic 4G?*

Essentially yes with a few minor differences. The front cam is 1.3MP as opposed to the Epic's VGA. We have a slightly updated keyboard which is less flat than the Epic. We have a VZW LTE radio instead of the Epic's WiMax. Our's shipped with Gingerbread and the Epic is just now getting their GB update. Our phone is aimed more at the corporate market rather than us regular users which is why it's security focused and missing a few TouchWiz social apps. Other than that it's mostly cosmetic. It's a Galaxy S phone meaning it's just like the rest give or take a few things like radios and screens sizes (among other things) which is why the devs from the Charge are able to help us. It's the same phone guts.

*So what's up with root/ROMs/Recovery?*

This is the one of the times I can happily report we have root and recovery thanks to KnightCrusader and Co's tireless work. Now we can get to ROM'ing this bad mammer jammer!

Well, would you look at that, Nagmier over on RootzWiki gives us our first custom ROM! Thanks Nagmier!

*ICS por favor?*

We have a recovery now, but sadly we can't do CM9 or AOSP ICS until we get the RIL for our phone, which is sadly locked up pretty tightly by Samsung. Without this your ICS ROM can't call or use mobile data. We're hoping the Galaxy Nexus may shed some light on our RIL, but as of right now, it's a pipe dream.

*What about root stuff like bloat removal and tethering?*

Bloat Freezer works pretty well as does Titanium Backup, but be warned, there's a lot of 'system' apps along with the bloat, make sure you only remove the bloat and nothing that that starts with 'com.' As for tethering, a lot of users are reporting ad-hoc errors and the only fix I know of doesn't have a guide and is pretty damn invasive, in fact there seems to be more to it than what you needed to do to root the phone in the first place. See this post on Android Central about it.

*TL;DR?*
Yes, this is the Epic 4G, and the Charge, and just about every other Galaxy S phone with a few minor differences.
Yes, we have root
Yes, we now have a recovery thanks to KnightCrusader and Co.
Yes, we have a ROM, but no ICS yet
Yes, you can remove the bloat after rooting, just be careful
Tethering is hit or miss as you'll likely get an ad-hoc error, but maybe not
That should about cover it.

*Q&A*



Armada said:


> I have a few questions, still.
> Is the situation with the RIL the same for us as with the Droid Charge?
> Will we be unable to use the radio at all for calls and data unless we use the stock kernel?
> Furthermore, is it even possible for us to get ICS running with the stock kernel?
> Will the source for the LTE version of the Galaxy Nexus (which is named Toro internally, i believe) help us with the RIL at all?



Probably not.
Non-stock should be able to do voice and 3G, we'd lose 4G due to the LTE radio being proprietary.
You could, but it will likely take a ton of work and not be as fast or bug-free.
Maybe, maybe not. I know that the firmware for the LTE radio is under lock and key by Samsung. If the Charge devs crack it there's a good chance it'll work for us as well.


----------



## Armada

I have a few questions, still.
Is the situation with the RIL the same for us as with the Droid Charge?
Will we be unable to use the radio at all for calls and data unless we use the stock kernel?
Furthermore, is it even possible for us to get ICS running with the stock kernel?
Will the source for the LTE version of the Galaxy Nexus (which is named Toro internally, i believe) help us with the RIL at all?


----------



## Dalladubb

Probably not.
Non-stock should be able to do voice and 3G, we'd lose 4G due to the LTE radio being proprietary.
You could, but it will likely take a ton of work and not be as fast or bug-free.
Maybe, maybe not. I know that the firmware for the LTE radio is under lock and key by Samsung. If the Charge devs crack it there's a good chance it'll work for us as well.


----------



## Armada

Thanks for the answers. I understand better now.


----------



## Dalladubb

You're welcome.

I updated the post with tethering info and Q&A. I'll be doing Q&A both in the thread and copy/pasting in the OP for the benefit of all.


----------



## imnuts

The stratosphere is closer to the charge/fascinate than the Epic 4G. Also, Samsung seems to be developing the Charge/Stratosphere stuff at the same time as the kernel source and ROM framework are very similar between the two.


----------



## Dalladubb

I was only drawing the comparison to the Epic due to all the questions about the both phones looking the same. It would make sense that the Charge and Strat get developed at the same time being as how their both Verizon galaxy S LTE phones.

Also, are you Tazzpatriot on XDA?


----------



## knightcrusader

Yeah, sorry I went completely MIA for a month but I had to get into my new routine and take care of some other things that came up in real life.

So.... you can update the statement about me having to leave.... cause I'M BACK!!


----------



## nagmier

I'd be interested in helping develop/port/kang a Tom I have the time and resources but not the basic knowledge on building for a specific device. I have app development experience and I've tried to setup a Dev env according to the CM instructions but that's as far.as I've gotten, I'm Willing If someone is able.

Sent from my Strat using Tapatalk


----------



## DemoManMLS

knightcrusader said:


> Yeah, sorry I went completely MIA for a month but I had to get into my new routine and take care of some other things that came up in real life.
> 
> So.... you can update the statement about me having to leave.... cause I'M BACK!!


No worries. You gotta do what you gotta do. Glad you are back.


----------



## nagmier

Ok I've gone ahead and installed a VBox on my PC so I don't have to boot into Ubuntu (yes I know kinda redundant but I like running netflix while I work and that will never work on linux thanks to MS and Silverlight...), I'm getting Ubuntu setup again with the SDK, Java and the rest of all that wonderful jazz as a BASE for ROM development. Every "how to" I find all say grab this kitchen (which doesn't support our phone go fig) and while I have read through these threads and understand BASICALLY what the kitchen is doing they also most often state that you need a base rom to start with. If someone is willing to work with me to get this setup where I can start I'd be super grateful, I can hop on IRC or Gtalk as needed...


----------



## nagmier

I just wanted to add that if we have a dev out there that needs to get their hands on a device for a while and will return it to me I'm more than willing to USPS it, though I would prefer to help out in some capacity on the dev side


----------



## Dalladubb

Updated KC's status in OP. Welcome back man!


----------



## nitsuj17

nagmier said:


> I just wanted to add that if we have a dev out there that needs to get their hands on a device for a while and will return it to me I'm more than willing to USPS it, though I would prefer to help out in some capacity on the dev side


if/when you guys get cwr working id be willing to work on the device

not soliciting for a phone and for promises of future work, but it seems like on ebay these can be had for somewhere between $250-300...i have about half that in donations atm and if i get close enough I'll put up the rest and pick one up. (cant spend too much of my own money around the holidays w/o my wife strangling me)..just putting that out there









if i do pick up the phone, i make no promises of doing anything amazing...i currently do NOT work on kernels and certainly not aosp...just improved touchwiz roms (see fascinate section on xda or here)


----------



## nagmier

I have a quick question about the source that has been released by Sammy... I downloaded the "SCH-I405_VZW_Opensource" file from opensource.samsung.com and I see 2 files one is obviously the kernel (SCH-I405_VZW_Kernel.tar.gz), the other file is what I have a question about and this may seem retarded but I don't care







the "SCH-I405_VZW_Platform.tar.gz" is the source for the BASE Gingerbread OS on the device right? (I don't meant the Gingerbread source as thats in AOSP but Sammy's version for this device if that makes sense). If I'm right and this is base OS source could this be used to start development while we are trying to figure out the RIL?

Now onto the RIL... can someone point me in a direction to read up on this thing... I don't want to toss out questions about the RIL that I can find answers too but my Google-Fu wasn't up to par last night when searching for "Samsung RIL" with some other terms tossed in... Thanks everyone.


----------



## nitsuj17

nagmier said:


> I have a quick question about the source that has been released by Sammy... I downloaded the "SCH-I405_VZW_Opensource" file from opensource.samsung.com and I see 2 files one is obviously the kernel (SCH-I405_VZW_Kernel.tar.gz), the other file is what I have a question about and this may seem retarded but I don't care
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> the "SCH-I405_VZW_Platform.tar.gz" is the source for the BASE Gingerbread OS on the device right? (I don't meant the Gingerbread source as thats in AOSP but Sammy's version for this device if that makes sense). If I'm right and this is base OS source could this be used to start development while we are trying to figure out the RIL?
> 
> Now onto the RIL... can someone point me in a direction to read up on this thing... I don't want to toss out questions about the RIL that I can find answers too but my Google-Fu wasn't up to par last night when searching for "Samsung RIL" with some other terms tossed in... Thanks everyone.


samsung releases 2 things kernel source and platform source

kernel source ideally should build w/o modification (but it virtually never has for any touchwiz kernel)

platform source will never ever boot because samsung leaves out proprietary parts of the rom that they arent obligated to release...honestly i guess some useful stuff comes out of platform source for aosp, but not being an aosp dev i really dont know


----------



## nagmier

Thanks for clearing that up! KC how is the recovery thing going??? I found a couple of things but I doubt they will help but here are a couple of links...

http://rootzwiki.com/topic/8296-guide-how-to-properly-build-clockworkmod-recovery-into-samsunginitramfs-devices/

http://www.koushikdutta.com/2010/10/porting-clockwork-recovery-to-new.html

now in that second post on Koush's website he says that you can ship it to him and he will try... If you guys think thats the best idea I will happily give up my phone for a week or 2. If that is our best bet for recovery I'll make the sacrifice.


----------



## knightcrusader

nagmier said:


> Thanks for clearing that up! KC how is the recovery thing going??? I found a couple of things but I doubt they will help but here are a couple of links...
> 
> http://rootzwiki.com...tramfs-devices/
> 
> http://www.koushikdu...ery-to-new.html
> 
> now in that second post on Koush's website he says that you can ship it to him and he will try... If you guys think thats the best idea I will happily give up my phone for a week or 2. If that is our best bet for recovery I'll make the sacrifice.


I'll check out the links.

And I am pretty sure the Charge recovery will work on this phone as they have the exact same partition setup. I created a recovery kernel but when it boots, CWM doesn't start on its own... I have to go into adb and launch it manually from the command line. Then it starts and the buttons work on the phone to control the menus. However, until I can figure out how to get it to launch on its own like it is supposed too, I'm not going to try to run any commands/tools. One thing at a time I guess.


----------



## nagmier

The Strat isn't my primary phone at the moment I use it as a backup (2 accounts) so I can test anything, I'm still trying to figure out what I have to do to build a ROM but I'm sure I'll get it.


----------



## Dalladubb

I would totally send my strat to a dev except I have no backup phone, and with KC back it might help if any of you could send your phone to a dev willing to collab with KC on recovery. Might make things go smoother.


----------



## nagmier

Well I reached out to Koush via twitter but it seems he may have missed the tweet, If there is a dev here (Charge dev maybe?) that is willing, I am able









off topic... I've got my VBox setup and I'm pulling the Repo for Gingerbread (at least I thought I specified -b gingerbread) but it seems to be downloading the entire tree which I have heard takes hours... no biggie I'm getting closer to having a functional setup

again I'm willing to ship out my phone to a dev to at least get us recovery, as far as I'm concerned NAND backup/restore should be required by google I'd be happy if I could make a backup (I own Titanium but dislike it nothing beats a full nand backup)


----------



## Dalladubb

I plan on doing an extensive rewrite of this thread once we get recovery.


----------



## Dalladubb

Hugely epically massive update.


----------



## Armada

So now that the VZW Nexus (toro) is released let's hope the source comes soon. I'm hoping that variant of ICS will support LTE out-of-box or at the very least give us a way to package Samsung's RIL binaries. Of course, I'm basing this on the assumption that they used the same/a compatible RIL. I really hope I don't have to jump ship if this thing won't be seeing much in the way of AOSP in the future.


----------



## rokenford

Nexus source was released weeks ago, after the European launch. No radios though.


----------



## Dalladubb

Wrong radios. Those were GSM HSPA+, the Verizon Gnex is CDMA LTE. The Strat has a second gen Samsung LTE radio, same as the Gnex, so I'm hoping the firmware is the same and their RIL can be used by us.


----------



## Dalladubb

OP updated with link to our first custom ROM!


----------



## Rickikoska

In your mind what is a GPS jammer and what can it do to help you? Only when you are in the situation that the GPS jammer is need you will understand how important and useful such kind of device is. Gaining more knowledge of the device? Just start and then you will have access to the best GPS jammer.


----------

