I finally got my Samsung Galaxy S phone back from repair. Like many other GT-i9000M Canadian Galaxy S phones, mine had also suffered the infamous SD card failure. As the phone was 2 months old when then internal SD card went, I had to send it in for a warranty repair. It only took Samsung SIX weeks to repair it!!!
When I got the phone back on Friday, I was half expecting it to have Froyo on it. However it was returned with the same Eclair firmware that it shipped with in September – Android 2.1-update1.
I started looking around XDA for a good custom Froyo 2.2 ROM. I decided to go with Darky’s newest Froyo ROM – Version 6.0 Gingerbread Edition. (This is still an Android 2.2 ROM, but with some Gingerbread theming.) So this morning I rooted the phone, installed a custom recovery, and flashed the ROM.
I was impressed with how easy it was to do this. Darky has conveniently included the FULL ROM in one package. It only took 10 minutes for the whole flash to take place, and this ROM is SUPER AWESOME. I am definitely amazed with what a difference it makes to the phone.
Some of the benefits:
1. Heavily optimized and blazing fast
2. All the latest Google Apps, including GMail and Youtube
3. Gingerbread Launcher, Gingerbread keyboard, Gingerbread live wallpapers
So far the only thing I can find that doesn’t work is haptic feedback with the gingerbread keyboard. Other than that everything else has been working perfectly.
So far I am thoroughly enjoying this new ROM – Darky is a genius and has cooked up a fantastic ROM that I would recommend to anyone without hesitation.
Here is a quick video so you can see this wicked fast ROM in action.
You can download this ROM for your Samsung Galaxy S GT-I9000 at: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=814091
Hi there,
Nice to read your review here!
You know who I am? darkyy
Just wanted to drop by you to thank you.
Merry christmas & a happy new year!
- Joël
hi, i cannot use download mode 3 button in galaxy s.
so, i upgrade my galaxy s using kies latest version to get froyo version 2.2 now.
the 3 button download now still cant be used.
what should i do?
can i upgrade to darky’s version.
please help me with tutorial.
I would recommend you fix the 3 button issue before you install a custom ROM.
You would need to flash the SBL (second boot loader) with one that has a working 3 button mode.
hi, this one looks awesome, i’m planning to buy a samsung galaxy s this week, and i have a couple of questions that is bothering me:
1. would you recommend this ROM to me?
2. Is this safe to use?
3. Do i need to upgrade to froyo? because i think the galaxy s that i am about to buy is still in eclair.
4. can i root my future smartphone using this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=833953?
5. if i install darky’s rom, will i be able to upgrade to gingerbread when it officially comes out on feb 2011?
Many thanks, i hope you can give me some heads up
1. Yes
2. It is fairly safe if you follow instructions precisely. However anytime you modify your phone, it is at your own risk!
3. No, you do not. I flashed it straight from the stock eclair firmware on my phone.
4. Yes you can. Z4Root is exactly what I used to flash my phone.
5. You will probably be able to upgrade to an unofficial gingerbread ROM even before that. But once you root, you won’t be able to do the standard update via kies.
Hope that helps.
Thanks for your reply sir, your answer to number 2 sounds a bit scary, what if i installed it wrong? will it gonna break to the extent that itcan’t be use anymore? or will i be able to do a reset factory settings so that i can use it again?
3. i’m planning to upgrade to froyo first via kies. Will it be okay?
4. was the link in number 4 same link that you use to root it?
5. once i root, i can’t go back to the factory settings anymore? what if i do factory settings reset? will it return back to the state when i first bought it?
another question sir,
1. what if something goes wrong to my installation? will the reset to factory settings return back my phone it’s default settings?
2. what other things that i should know before upgrading to darky’s 6.0? I’m sorry sir, i’m just scared to do this, galaxy S is pretty expensive, so if i break it, i don’t have the money to buy it again, and that’s what i’m afraid of, that if i will install darky’s rom, it will render my phone to the point that it is useless.
I hope you could give me some enlightenment. I hope darky can give some advice.
by the way i have added you as a friend in XDA developers forum.
Thank a lot!
3. No need, you can upgrade straight from eclair.
4. yes.
5. factory reset will not remove root, but you can unroot to remove root.
1. no but you can flash a factory firmware to get back to stock.
2. It is unlikely you will break anything or render the phone useless.
hi, thank you so much for your answers sir, i’m satisfied with it, and that’s what i want to hear.
Regarding question number 3. I don’t want to upgrade to froyo anymore, because i read that it consumes a lot more batteries than the eclair, i think it will be best to flash darky’s rom into eclair and just wait for the gingerbread to be officially release.
5. how do you unroot?
1. no but you can flash a factory firmware to get back to stock. – how will i do it? where will i get the factory firmware?
Thanks a lot sir, you’ve been really helpful to me. Now i finally have my head cleared up because of your very helpful answers.
Can’t wait to buy it and have darky’s rom in it.
cheers!
5. Next version of z4root will have a one-click ‘unroot’ button. Flashing a stock firmware with ODIN will also get you back to unrooted state.
1. It is very easy to flash factory firmware using a simple software tool called ODIN. I will make a video for you. You can find samsung stock firmware for the Galaxy S at samfirmware.com
You must be a real android fan now.
Thank you for your i9000M unlock video. Made it very easy for me.
Can you do a Quadrant benchmark with the Darky’s ROM? So we can compare before & after ?
Thanks.
I did the Quadrant test again after. I had got 905 with stock phone. After upgrading to this Froyo ROM, I’m getting 1100.
1100 is nothing great, but then again, Quadrant does not tell the whole story. Btw, I have NOT installed any lagfixes.
Installing voodoo should get you another 500 points on Quadrant.
Very nice review and a great video.
I’m following Darky’s thread on XDA for a while now, but i did not flash his ROM yet.
Now with JPY and 2.3 GB is coming i’m still in doubt.
Seeing your video however I think it is definitely worth a try. I’m still on Stock Eclair 2.1 with OCLF.
Thanks again for the review and the video!
Thank you LaurensJ. Good luck with the upgrade. Let us know how it goes.
I must say thank you to Darky for this incredibly brilliant ROM. It’s superbly flying and smoothly fast. More excitingly, easy to install. I flashed this ROM on my SGS yesterday morning and I’ve hardly let go of the phone to rest since. It does all it says in the features review and has never left me disappointed. I would recommend the Android 2.2.1 Froyo Darky’s V6.0 Custom ROM to any SGS user any day any time.
Big up Darky!
One more Question:
with your i9000m, are you able to switch between 2G & 3G back and forth without a problem? (850MHz does not get lost?)
I would expect that 850MHz is gone for now, but 3G works just fine.
I just checked, and I do still have the 850MHz band and it does switch to it from 1900 when it needs to.
Nice work
Hi,
actually I’m not familiar with the ClockWorkMod or Darky’s ROM, so I do have a general question….
What happens during flashing my phone?
Do the Darky ROM (in connection with CWM) replace my stock Froyo or will I be able to “dualboot” in a way? (would be very nice to inject another mod, play around with it, and switch back to stock if necessary)
What about my already installed apps? R they gone? Can I use them with Darky’s ROM further?
Thanks in advance,
AndroIT.
Yes it replaces your existing Froyo. All your apps are kept if you want. You dont have to do a full wipe. I didn’t, so all my apps stayed.
Help!
I followed the procedure to root my phone to this ROM and I do not get t-mobile service. Everything else seems to work fine. Not sure if I should use this ODIN tool to replace with stock firmware or attempt a re-install. After the first install, I noticed all sorts of force closes, so I followed the instructions to do a wipe data / factory reset. This seemed to allow the ROM to be installed completely, but now my tmobile serice can’t connect. Is there some configuration or code I have to input to get the service to work?
Does phone service work, but not the data service? If internet using your cellular network is not working, check that the correct APN settings are in place.
Hi sir, really? you would make a video for me? Wow, it be of real help to me (newbie) and to your future visitors.
If you have spare time, could you also, make a step by step video on how to get Darky’s ROM on galaxy S? The tutorial is a bit confusing, it seems like they don’t consider that some of the readers are newbie (like me) there fore, keeps on asking and asking for help if some bugs are found after they install Darky’s ROM.
I have a plan that we can do together if you like. It’s for Darky’s amazing ROM.
Thanks a lot my friend, i’ll be waiting for your video tutorial (hopefully with the installation instruction too, as it is also included to my plan) . If you’re interested please send me an email.
thank you once again. really appreciate all the efforts you put into it.
hi im a student from australia and i have a galaxy running android 2.2 stock rom 3e recovery, i am wanting to know if i could flash to darkys rom from FROYO or will i have to go back down to eclair or preform a rot to acctualy get this rom? thanks james
You need to first flash a kernel that gives you recovery 2e.
Is it possible to upgrade from froyo 2.2. to Darkeys? I`m on rooted 2.2 froyo and I`m not able to downgrade to 2.1 to do to procedure…:(
Yes, you can. Video coming soon…
hi i want to know tht what firmware is suitable for my samsung galaxy S in 2.2.1
i9000XXJPU etc
which one is the best one for samsung galaxy S in 2.2.1???
please help me