Overclocking A Samsung Galaxy S2

I haven’t really noticed any major gains in over clocking my Samsung Galaxy S2 to run at a maximum of 1501GHz over the stock limit of 1200GHz.

Whilst i allow my phone to run up to 1501GHz i have noticed that the battery dies a lot quicker than if i limited the CPU to run at the stock 1200GHz

As you can see from the above graph whilst running Quadrant Standard benchmark the phone was nearly 800 points quicker when overclocked.

I was using Android 2.3.4 on this test, and ran Quadrant Standard a few times to that we got a better perspective.

Is it worth overclocking Samsung Galaxy S2 well its something to do, and I’m sure that on heavy CPU usage apps it will come in handy. But in honesty i don’t really notice any difference

Rooting My Samsung Galaxy S2

First of all its pretty easy to do but you can render your phone dead and void your warranty by rooting your phone, so if you’ve got itchy feet turn back now. I’m not taking the blame for your cock up. this is a guide i followed and it worked for me

The benefit of rooting your phone is so that you can remove the apps that come pre installed on your phone that you don’t want. It also allows you to tweak various other settings

It was pretty easy to root and i haven’t lost any data, although i did remove my SD card just in case. So i’ve done a step by step guide below.

Items you need first

Odin Download

Super One Click V2.1.1 Download

XWKDD TAR File Download

1. Make sure you have Samsungs Kies Software on your PC. You can download this by searching in google for samsung kies download or go HERE

2. Make sure that your device is in USB debugging mode: Settings -> Applications -> Development -> USB debugging.

3. Reboot your device into download mode. To do so: Turn the device off, then power it on again by pressing and holding Volume Down + Home + Power simultaneously.

I found this step the hardest bit off all, if your phone re boots and has yellow writing on and looks like the picture to the left. Then pull the battery out and try again it needs to have a big warning sign on.

The screen you need looks like the one to the left, it took me 3/4 attempts to get this so keep trying.

4. Install the ODIN software (Download from above) then run the ODIN software make sure your Galaxy S2 is attached via USB

5. Wait a few seconds, the ODIN screen will show that a device is now connected, it will turn Yellow

- Make sure that in ODIN nothing is checked, except the “Auto reboot” and “F. Reset Time” check boxes. Very Important

- Press the “PDA” button, and browse and select your”XWKDD_insecure.tar” file. (It doesn’t need to be unzipped)
- Press “Start”. ODIN will now flash the kernel ie your phone, and the device should reboot.

6. Your Galaxy S2 will now be ready to go but leave connected via USB as we now need to actually Root It

7. While still being connected via USB, start SuperOneClick and now lick the Root button It should shortly say “Success” after a few seconds in the right hand corner of the SuperOneClick screen.

Everything Everywhere

Everything Everywhere is a new join operation between Britain’s two biggest mobile networks Orange and T-Mobile.

So what is it i here you ask, well if your on Orange and you loose signal but you would of theoretically got a T-Mobile signal if you where using them as your network operator, then you will now be allowed to use roaming to connect to the T-Mobile signal.

This is a first for Britain, where two mobile networks will allow you to share the signals.

There’s currently no cost for this and everything stays the same on your contract and bill. If you end up connecting to the T-Mobile signal it will still be classed as a cross network call and vice versa for T-Mobile Customers.

Orange have said that there users might get roaming messages popping up. But not to worry as there wont be any charges for using other networks.

T-Mobile have said that it will currently restrict coverage to 2G only so talking and texting only, so no mobile broadband.

If your phone starts using the T-Mobile signal it will still look for Orange every 30 minutes, when your aren’t using your phone and once it finds Ornage then it will switch back.

If your on T-Mobile then you can sign up here If your on Orange then here

This is a great joint venture from Orange and T-Mobile to allow you to share each others signals

HTC Hero 2.1 Update Here For Orange

Well finnaly its here, i was on the HTC support site this morning and noticed they had a new rom for the Orange HTC Hero., i downloaded it and tried it but it claimed it was the same flash version as mine.

Anyway i gave it a go and i got a new option for checking for updates, so i gave that a go, first of all i got a small update which didn’t really make any difference to the phone its self. Then when i checked for updates again i got another update which had OTA (Over The Air) in the name, i downloaded that and after the install, i knew things where diffrent as the load screen was changed slightly to just an orange logo and there was a HTC wallpaper.

I’ll get some photos later.

Heres the link to the firmware update that my phone claimed it had, but it initiated the 2.1 overall

http://www.htc.com/uk/SupportViewNews.aspx?dl_id=675&news_id=392

My HTC Hero now has a Firmware Verson of 2.1 Update1

More to come

Phones 4 U Great Customer Service

I did a post about 1 month a go about my new HTC Hero that i bought from Phones 4 U, Well i got my phone on the 10th of October and was informed that my new contract would start within a day or so, and to expect some small charges for 3G usage for the facebook and weather updates until my new contract started.

To be honest i didn’t have any issue with this so forgot about it completely.

Anyway i checked my data usage yesterday and I’ve spent around £31 on 3G well when i say i, i mean my phone.

This point i pretty much hit the roof thinking I’d gone over my 500MB cap and there for been raped on data charges. I went to Phones 4 U on Saturday and after waiting for about 20 minutes to see the manager in the Harrogate branch where i got the phone, he said that he would refund any extra charges that i had incurred. I was really pleased about this as i didn’t think i would get anywhere.

So well done Phones 4 U

phones 4 u

Orange iPhone Tariffs

Before i got my HTC Hero, i was considering n iPhone on Orange until i found out it would probably be Christmas before it gets released.

I have recieved an email today with the Orange iPhone tariffs, and to be pretty honest i think the tariffs and packages you get are pretty poor.

I spend £30 a month on my contract, and that would get me an iPhone 3G 8GB Black with 150 minutes of talk and 250 texts oh and unlimited mobile browsing. Actually its not unlimited its 750MB monthly. and this is a 24 Month contract.

If you want a 3GS on a 24 month contract then £44 is the cheapest you can get and that’s for a 16GB 3GS with 1200 minutes and 500 texts.

If you want a 3GS iPhone on a 18 month contract then expect to be paying £73.40 to get your 16GB 3GS iPhone for free but that will get you 3000 minutes of talk and 500 texts.

Orange iPhone Tariffs

3G WatchDog

When i got my new HTC Hero i was told i had a 500MB G3 download limit, now every one knows 500MN isn’t much so i’m slightly worried about going over it then been charged loads.

Anyway i have found a free Android app called 3G WatchDog. Its a great and easy to understand app, showing you a data received and transmitted, daily weekly and monthly.

You can also set your monthly download limit and it will warn you when your approaching your limit, and it displays a green amber and red symbol in the top left corner.

You can download 3G Watchdog from the android market