The XDAndroid Project is no longer active.
This site provides archived information from while the project was under development. Some links may no longer function.

FAQ

From The XDAndroid Project
Revision as of 17:42, 19 February 2011 by Manekineko (talk | contribs)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Getting Started

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 install XDAndroid from parts by following these instructions.

Alternatively, you can download an all-in-one package from here. If you use the all-in-one package, be sure to read all instructions in the first post of that thread.

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 fix a non-functioning or miscalibrated touchscreen?

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 this issue, so you can go to a kernel before it - 1231 for example works.

Using Android

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). 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.

How do I connect to WiFi networks with WEP encryption?

There is currently an issue with WiFi access points which use WEP encryption. The system currently does not support WEP out of the box, but a Market app called wifi-ace will work around this issue until it is resolved by XDAndroid.

Why do I not have service?

The main reason for not having service would be the force_cdma setting in the startup.txt file. If you are using the phone as a GSM device, force_cdma=0 needs to be present in your cmdline with no other force_cdma statements! This is the default, so if you do not have a force_cdma= statement, the default value is 0. If you are using the device as CDMA, this needs to =1. The phone cannot be used as both currently - one or the other, choose wisely.

My clock is running slow, losing a few minutes an hour, how do I fix this?

XDAndroid currently suffers from two types of system clock drift. Gradual clock drifting may occur. To alleviate this, download ClockSync from the Andriod Market. An hourly synchronization setting is recommended.

Additionally, the clock may be skewed by a matter of hours when rebooting back into Windows Mobile. When this occurs, the offset will likely be the same as the local timezone's offset from UTC (for instance, if in Eastern Standard Time, the clock will be five hours ahead when rebooting to Windows Mobile). This is due to time handling differences between Windows Mobile and the Linux kernel. It is recommended that Windows Mobile be configured to synchronize the clock automatically. Otherwise, a third-party application may be needed to maintain the clock properly.

How can I dial out with Google Voice?

Some users have issues dialing outbound calls through Google Voice. If you experience this, add the following to your cmdline in startup.txt: north_am_dialing=1

Digging into XDAndroid

What are all of the parts of XDAndroid?

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

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)