FAQ

Q: I flashed the firmware, am I fully updated?A: No, not particularly. The firmware consists of a Radio, bootloader, and a few other updates. These are different from Android updates.Q: Do I need to flash both the ROM and the firmware?A: Generally, when a new ROM from Sprint comes out in the form of an OTA, it applies both the ROM and the firmware all in one go. On here however, we do things differently. If every custom ROM provided a radio update, you'd get unnecessary updates to these parts that have maybe already been updated. Also, some people feel as though different Radio firmwares can hold a signal better. So we don't want to mess with your combination. So, in short, it's up to you. To have the full updated status, you'd need to flash both the ROM and the firmwareQ: Cool, but my baseband version says I am updated. Am I?A: Firmware updates show up as baseband versions here. So it's easy to mistake a baseband version for a ROM version or an update. Don't be fooled. Just because your baseband may be one version, your ROM could easily be another. You generally want to look at "Build Number" if you are stock, to determine ROM version.Q: Can I use this as a base for my ROM?A: Of course! You don't need to worry about asking or getting permission. These ROMs all come from Samsung/Sprint anyway so I have no place claiming any sort of ownership over them. Besides, share all the love!Q: Do I need to give credit or thanks when using this as a base?A: Absolutely not. While it's a nice gesture and I do appreciate the etiquette a lot of you on XDA have, It is not necessary. Again, these updates are from Samsung/Sprint. All I'm doing is providing them in a 'pre-rooted' manner, and as such, need no thanks for that. We're a community that is about sharing and learning as much information as possible. Do with it whatever you see fit.Q: Why should I install this if an Odin version is available?A: Some people just like being able to flash things in their recovery. It's easier, faster, and is just better IMO.Q: What is a flash counter and should I worry about it when flashing this?A: Flashing things with Odin won't increase your flash counter. Honestly, I think the whole idea of flash counter increments is a bit blown out of proportion. If you are that worried about your flash counter, Chainfire has created an app that can reset it to 0 called TriangleAway . Flash counter has no impact on performance and I'm not sure if any Sprint technicians will look at that and care. As long as you take the proper precautions if you need to take your phone back to the Sprint Store, such as making sure you have a Stock unrooted ROM on your phone, you should be fine.Q: Cool, how can I get unrooted from this ROM?A: Well, there are a number of ways to unroot yourself. Your Superuser app might have the unroot feature built into it, so load it up and poke around in the app to see if it has the ability to unroot you. If it does, you're golden. All you need to do from there is flash the stock recovery from the OP. If your superuser app doesn't have the ability to unroot you, I will provide a zip to flash in recovery that does just that. You will need to flash that zip in the same recovery session as the stock recovery, because once you reboot, the recovery will no longer be custom.Q: I'm on MB1 or another version, can I just flash this version right on top of it?A: Yes! Since these are full ROMs, it matters not what you're on currently. Even better is that if you are already on a stock ROM and you're looking to simply update, you will not have to do a factory reset, simply wipe Dalvik, and flash.Q: Do I need to wipe Dalvik when flashing the firmware too?A: Absolutely not. Wiping Dalvik is only relevant to ROM software, not firmware updates. Honestly, you don't need to wipe the Dalvik when flashing just kernels either.Q: Do I need to flash ROM, firmware, AND kernel?A: Nope, just the ROM and firmware (if you're not already on the latest) is fine. The kernel is provided to those who may want to return to stock after trying out a custom kernel.Q: Odex and DeOdex. HELP!A: Well, Odex is what your phone ships with. This is a way to optimize the Dalvik so that it doesn't need to create and/or optimize your system apps/framework. Since it will already be done for you. This does not apply to any apps you install yourself. Those will be optimized by the Dalvik VM automatically. This is generally the best way to go, but is a bit more cumbersome to theme and modify. You can mix and match Odex with DeOdex, but you will need to make sure that you delete any relevant .odex files for anything you install that is tagged only for "deodex" ROMs. For instance, if someone created a battery mod that changes the colors and/or icons of the battery, you will need to delete "SystemUI.odex" before installing it, or it won't work properly, and could even cause FCs (Force Closes) and system instability. Basically, if you are going to go the Odex route, you should stick with Odex mods. This usually is the case for folks who only want a stock rooted ROM and nothing more. DeOdex is what the majority of mods here on XDA and custom ROMs are based on. It makes decompiling, modifying, and changing things much more simpler. This comes with a small performance hit on "first boot" because the Dalvik has to now build entries for system apps. In every day usage you should see no difference between the two after the first boot. You can flash between Odex and DeOdex full ROM versions anytime, and most of the time Android can recognize when a Dalvik wipe is necessary so wiping it yourself isn't necessary, but if you notice any strange issues, wiping it won't hurt.Q: Can I use custom kernels created for other software versions?A: Generally, if Sprint releases updates that are within the same Android version family, like what is happening now. MB1 and our current leak MC3 are both based on Android 4.1.2, so custom kernels should work fine even if they are days/weeks old. As long as they were built for Android 4.1.2 you should be fine. But don't automatically think that's the case for all custom kernels. Some ROM versions, such as our leak MC3, include an updated kernel. While we don't know what exactly is updated on the kernel until Samsung releases the source. I can tell you that two things changed in the kernel ramdisk. This may present problems for custom kernels that include their own ramdisk and haven't implemented those changes in them. However, as long as you have a backup handy, it won't hurt to try out your favorite kernel.