FAQ

Getting Started

What is XDAndroid?

XDAndroid is a project to port Android on older HTC phones.

There are two main parts of XDAndroid, which combine to form a complete port:

• Kernel/driver level work
• Android system level work

You might come across a number of builds that run Android on our older HTC hardware. All of these builds use the same kernels/drivers - those created here by the XDAndroid team.

However, on top of this, a variety of Android system ports are available, both in terms of different versions (2.1 Eclair, 2.2 Froyo, 2.3 Gingerbread, etc.) and different starting points in the case of ports written by those outside of XDAndroid. You are free to combine the kernels you find here, which are used by all builds, with any compatible Android system port to create a complete system.

XDAndroid releases an "official" system port you can use, which is directly ported over by the XDAndroid team from the Android Open Source Project, and is very close to stock. Many of the alternative builds you come across are either modifications of this, containing customizations that deviate farther from stock Android, while others have different starting points altogether, and are ports of the ROMs found on official shipping devices that have already been customized.

How much space do I need on my Storage Card?

The absolute minimum supported card size is 512MB. For reference, a complete XDAndroid system will usually occupy about 480MB of space (including a 256MB data.img file which appears after initial installation).

How do I install XDAndroid?

It is essential that you disable any overclocking you have in WinMo before you boot.

You can download an all-in-one package from here, which contains a recent kernel with the latest official XDAndroid system build for Froyo. If you use the all-in-one package, be sure to read all instructions in the first post of that thread.

You can also install XDAndroid from parts by following these instructions.

If you want to install a different build from a 3rd party, you can follow the directions they provide.

How do I migrate my contacts from Windows Mobile?

The easiest way is to first sync your WinMo contacts with Google.

In Android, simply add a Google account to sync normally. The account will eventually synchronize the contacts that were added to it by Windows Mobile as directed in the above page. Changes and additions to the contact list will be continuously synchronized between the two operating systems.

How do I recalibrate my touch screen?

Delete the file ts-calibration from the same directory in which you run haret.exe to boot Android. During the next boot, the device will prompt for touchscreen re-calibration.

If you have any issues calibrating, you might need to go back to an older kernel. The .35 framebuffer commit seemed to cause a problem where you can't see the calibration squares, making it seem like your device is hung with just text on the screen. You can get this by going to a kernel before it - 1231 for example works.

Using Android

What are the buttons in XDAndroid?

• Windows key: This is the menu button in Android.
• End Call: This not only ends calls, but can be setup under Spare Parts to take you to the home screen.
• Back: Back
• Call: Bring up dialer
• Power: Power. Press and hold to bring up the power menu.

You can use an alternative rootfs available here that turns the End Call button into Home, which enables a long press to bring up the recently used applications menu for multitasking.

I've run into a strange bug, what steps should I take to debug it?

The first thing you should do is check the known issues list to see if this is a known problem. The following is a known issue list targeted towards Rhodiums, but it generally applies to all devices on XDAndroid: Known issues list. It also contains solutions where available, so there is your added incentive to read it!

If your bug isn't in the list, then you should test to see if your memory card or data.img file has become corrupted. This is a common problem at this stage, unfortunately, and resolves many, many problems.

• Memory card corruption: Copy all of the files off of your SD card, and then run the HP card formatter to format your card. This formats the card at a low level, and takes some time. After your card is formatted, copy the files back onto the card and see if your problem is resolved.
• Data.img corruption: Navigate to your Android directory, and rename your data.img file to data.bak. The next time you start Android, it will boot into a clean slate with a new data.img file. Test whether this fixes your issue. If it does, then your problem was due to a corrupted data.img file, and you should continue using the new, clean install. If it does not, you can delete the new data.img, and rename your data.bak back to data.img.

Why is the device's notification LED always orange or green?

The notification LED indicates sleep state (orange LED indicates device is awake; green LED indicates device is in sleep mode). It is normal to see your phone's LED occasionally turn from green to orange while it is sleeping, this is the phone waking up to perform some task. If the LED is always orange, the phone isn't properly sleeping. Make sure GPS is disabled, as this will prevent the phone from sleeping.

Why do I not have cellular service?

That depends on whether you have a GSM or a CDMA phone. You have a GSM phone if you got your phone anywhere outside of North America, or in North America, if you're on T-Mobile or AT&T. You have a CDMA phone if you have Sprint, Verizon, or Telus service in North America. CDMA Touch Pro 2's are world phones, and can also be used on GSM networks; if you plan to do so, follow the instructions for GSM service rather than CDMA service.

If you're on GSM, make sure that in your startup.txt file, there is no line that says force_cdma. Alternatively, you can set force_cdma=0, but that is the default.

If you're on CDMA, make sure there is a line in your startup.txt inside of set cmdline that says force_cdma=1, and furthermore, physically remove the SIM card from your phone if you have a CDMA Touch Pro 2. If you do not remove the SIM card from your phone, your connection will be unreliable, and may work sometimes, but then will receive no service at others.

How can I dial out with Google Voice?

This must be enabled in startup.txt with the following addition to the set cmdline section: north_am_dialing=1

How do I upgrade my XDAndroid install to have the hot new functionality I see people talking about?

Developers are coming out with new functionality all the time! To get the new functionality onto your device, you can either install the parts yourself, which is really easy, or wait until a whole new package is released.

To upgrade a part, all you have to do is download the new files, get rid of the old ones, and copy over the new ones. In the case of a kernel upgrade, take particular care to either delete or rename the old modules file as well as the zImage file.

You can generally upgrade the kernel (zImage and modules) and the rootfs without having to start from scratch with a new data.img.

You're also free to try installing a new system.ext2 file without deleting your existing data.img, however, this is a lot dicier, and depends on how many changes were made in the underlying system file.

Digging into XDAndroid

How do all of the parts of XDAndroid fit together?

Android is a framework that runs on top of Linux. In order to get Android running on our devices, first we must get Linux running on the hardware with all drivers implemented, and then, we hook Android into these drivers. Thus, broadly viewed, the XDAndroid project is divided into two parts: the kernel/drivers and the Android port.

When you look at the files in your Android directory, you'll probably see something like the following:

• zImage: The Linux kernel and drivers.
• modules-###: Additional drivers for the kernel. Your system will load without this, but things like wifi may not work, or you may encounter instability.
• initrd.gz: Used in the Linux boot process.
• system.ext2: Most of the Android framework.
• rootfs.img: Parts of the Android framework that are customized for our devices.
• data.img: This file contains what would be your internal memory on a real Android device. Whenever you install a program it goes in to here. A new empty one will be automatically created if you don't have one.
• haret.exe: Reboots you from Windows into XDAndroid.
• startup.txt: Commands passed to XDAndroid on bootup that are customized by the user.
• ts-calibration: Contains calibration information for the touch screen. If you don't have this file, you will be prompted to calibrate your screen on startup.
• AndroidApps: A folder where if you copy any apks into it, they will be automatically installed on bootup.

What cmdline arguments are available in startup.txt?

See Kernel boot command-line parameters

How do I overclock Android?

You can add into your startup.txt set cmdline section the command acpuclock.oc_freq_khz=### where ### is a number. Overclocking can be set to any multiple of 19,200 khz. For example, acpuclock.oc_freq_khz=768000 will overclock to 768Mhz (this is 19,200 x 40), while acpuclock.oc_freq_khz=614400 will overclock to 614.4Mhz (this is 19,200 x 32). Values in between a proper multiple of 19,200 will be rounded down.

As with all overclocking, you proceed at your own risk, and devices vary in their capabilities. There have been reports of some users achieving overclocks as high as 800Mhz, but the norm is far lower, and most devices lose stability by around 700Mhz.

Is there any way to remove Windows Mobile or make my device always boot up in Android?

There is significant development here, and it should soon be possible to remove Windows Mobile and boot directly into Android.

In the meantime, though, check out Gen.Y Dualboot. This application will present a dualboot option screen at the very beginning of Windows Mobile startup, and you can set it to automatically boot you into Android.

I hear that logs can be useful for the developers, how do I get useful logs for the developers?

Kernel dmesg logs are very helpful to the kernel developers in determining why something isn't working. There's a number of ways you can get these:

1. If you install ADB, you can connect to your computer and see your dmesg logs on your computer. The easiest way to install ADB is to install Droid Explorer, which will take care of all necessary driver installs.
2. If you experienced a crash, you can find the dmesg log from your previous boot automatically saved under /data/system/dropbox. It will be the most recent SYSTEM_LAST_KMSG file. Unfortunately, you can only see this directory if you are running root, so you can either use ADB/Droid Explorer, a file manager like Root Explorer, or the terminal.
3. An application called OSMonitor in the Market has the ability to export your current dmesg logs as a text file.

Community

What are the major forums dedicated to discussing XDAndroid?

Most CDMA users are found on PPCGeeks, and most GSM users are found on xdadevelopers. The forums are generally segregated by device type, but there are a lot of cross posts between forums even for people on other devices.

• PPCGeeks Touch Pro 2 Android Development
• xdadevelopers Touch Pro 2 Android Development
• xdadevelopers Touch Diamond2 Android Development
• xdadevelopers TouchHD Android Development
• xdadevelopers Touch Pro Android Development

What are the major IRC channels dedicated to discussing XDAndroid?

Development discussion is separated on two channels, both on Freenode:

• #htc-linux is for kernel development
• #xdandroid is for Android system development

Support is available on #xdandroid. Please do not bother the developers on #htc-linux with support issues.

HTC Touch Pro 2/Tilt 2 (Rhodium)

Which features are not currently supported?

• Camera - there is a test kernel to work out issues related to it.
• BT - pairs but doesn't pass any audio/data
• 3.5mm jack - RHOD400/500 has this plug, and it doesn't work at the moment
• USB - only works for adb (debugging)

For a more complete list, please see this PPC-Geeks forum thread (thanks manekineko)