Technology: Before Rooting / Upgrading Your Galaxy S II...

Image from GalaxyS2Root.com

If freedom is an abstract concept, then control is a nature desire.

Make any sense? I don't know. But people wants freedom and control, which is why there is something called rooting and jailbreaking.

The last time I tried to jailbreak my dad's iPhone 4, because I didn't read various websites carefully, I almost "bricked" his phone.

Upgrade message, start of nightmare
Image from Locky's English Playground

Few days ago, while I was upgrading my Galaxy SII from Gingerbread 2.3.5 to Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.3,  because of a loose USB wire (the official upgrade which has to be done by connecting the wire to the phone and the computer using Kies 2.0), my SII was almost bricked and once again, I was in deep trouble!

After surfing through the internet doing my last minute desperate researches, I finally found the best guided rooting website which not only saved my SII but also got it upgraded to Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0.3!!!

That website, is GalaxyS2root.com.

This website offers very comprehensive step-by-step instructions on almost anything to do with your Galaxy SII, from rooting to upgrading to unrooting.

It offers a number of custom ROMs (firmwares which has been modified by certain software geniuses) for users to choose. And of course, I picked the best as mentioned by the website and it is called Resurrection Remix ICS ROM v9.6 for Galaxy S2 i9100. Here's the video.

And here's the installation video.

Some of you may be thinking, why did I have to download this custom Ice Cream Sandwich and not just upgrade using the official one? Well, the problem I had was that during the official upgrade, the installation halted at 6%, so the firmware was far from installed, but the damage was enough to cause my phone no longer be able to boot up.

Odin 3 version 1.8.5 running
Image from galaxys2root.com

My only choice I have to save my phone was to try to  regain control of the right to reinstall the firmware, to do that, first, I must 

1. root the phone using Odin, then 
2. install a new kernel (a core program which runs before the firmware is run), then 
3. reinstall Gingerbread (Android 2.3.5).

However, after I had reinstalled Gingerbread, I wouldn't be able to install through Kies 2.0 again because my phone was rooted, so then my only choice was to first 

1. install a recovery software called ClockWorkMod Recovery (CWM), and then 
2. install Resurrection Remix ICS ROM v9.6, and lastly
3. backup the entire phone using CWM (something that an unroot phone cannot do)
4. install the yellow triangle and reset the Flash counter (something that you will get after rooting) by installing TriangleAway.

After this incident, I have learnt that rooting and upgrading the phone are really very easy, the most difficult part was finding the right website with the right instructions, and I have grown smarter!

I'm glad my phone almost bricked, otherwise, I wouldn't have learnt so much!

Image from Google Play

PS: To play save, regularly back up your apps and your firmware using Titanium Backup and CWM respectively.

Vocabulary:
rooting -- (n)[U] a process allowing users of mobile phones, tablet PCs, and other devices running the Android operating system to attain privileged control (known as "root access") within Android's subsystem.
jailbreaking -- (n)[U] the process of removing the limitations imposed by Apple on devices running the iOS operating system through use of custom kernels.
bricking -- (n)[U]  is used to describe a device which has had its software modified improperly to the point where it is no longer functioning
genius -- (n)[C] very great and rare natural ability or skill, especially in a particular area such as science or art, or a person who has this
ROM -- (n)[C] is a computer file which contains a copy of the data from a read-only memory chip, often from a video game cartridge, a computer's firmware, or from an arcade game's main board
firmware -- (n)[C] a term often used to denote the fixed, usually rather small, programs and/or data structures that internally control various electronic devices.
halt -- (vb) [I or T] to (cause to) stop moving or doing something or happening
boot -- (vb) [I or T] (also boot up) specialized When a computer boots (up), it becomes ready for use by getting the necessary information into its memory, and when you boot (up) a computer, you cause it to do this.



Resources:
Rooting @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rooting_(Android_OS)

Jailbreaking @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IOS_jailbreaking

Technology: iPhone 4 Failed-Downgrade Rescue Tutorial (without SHSH) @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2011/10/technology-iphone-4-failed-downgrade.html

Technology: Great News For Galaxy SII Owners!!! @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2012/03/technology-great-news-for-galaxy-sii.html

Samsung GALAXY SII Android™ 4.0升級教學 @ Samsung Hong Kong
http://www.samsung.com/hk/ics/index.html

Galaxy S2 FAQ @ GalaxyS2ROOT.com
http://galaxys2root.com/galaxy-s2-faq/

Resurrection Remix ICS ROM v9.6 for Galaxy S2 i9100![Still Best ICS ROM] @ GalaxyS2ROOT.com
http://galaxys2root.com/galaxy-s2-roms/resurrection-remix-ics-rom-v9-6-for-galaxy-s2-i9100still-best-ics-rom/

Resurrection Remix ICS ROM v9.6 for Galaxy S2 i9100! @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmi7Hbu3SSE&feature=player_embedded#!

How to Install Resurrection Remix ICS ROM on Galaxy S2 i9100! @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BB741nT1zQ&feature=player_embedded

Samsung Kies 2.0
http://www.samsung.com/hk/support/usefulsoftware/KIES/JSP

How to Install ClockworkMod Recovery on Rooted Galaxy S2! [i9100] @ GalaxyS2ROOT.com
http://galaxys2root.com/galaxy-s2-root/how-to-install-clockworkmod-recovery-on-rooted-galaxy-s2-i9100/

TriangleAway App Resets The Flash Counter and Removes the Yellow Triangle Icon On Galaxy S II @ Know My Droid
http://knowmydroid.com/blog/triangle-away-resets-the-flash-counter-triangle-icon-on-samsung-galaxy-s2

CyanogenMod @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CyanogenMod

CyanogenMod Official Site
http://www.cyanogenmod.com/

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/genius?q=geniuses#genius__3
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ROM_image
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firmware
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/halt_1?q=halted#halt_1__3