Jump to content
All visa questions and fresh Immigration updates here ×

I-Mobile Iq1 - Questions

happysoul

By happysoul
in Mobile Devices and Apps

 Share

Recommended Posts

AgentSmith Advanced Member

AgentSmith

Posted
Posted

One thing I don't like about these I-Mobile smartphones is their hardware buttons mimicking ICS/Jellybean onscreen soft buttons. So the next thing I want to do is enable the true onscreen buttons and disabling the capacitive buttons on the housing. This way the 'browse' button actually browses through all running apps and the menu button only comes up when needed. This however requires recompiling framework-res.apk which on itself is not a big deal. But if somehow this process would go wrong and render the phone unbootable then of course there should be an easy way out. Unfortunately custom recovery packs such as TWRP and CWM don't work on the IQ1. What other possible way would there be if this phone gets stuck? Does I-Mobile have an official tool to reflash a stock rom? And where could I then get a stock rom? So far I haven't found anything on their website.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
AgentSmith Advanced Member

AgentSmith

Posted
Posted

Apparently CWM was already installed. It was in the modified recovery.img I flashed a couple of days ago. Even better is I also found a working TWRP build. I already made a system/data backup with it so now I can start fiddling around with system files without having to worry about bricking the phone. :) Hopefully having working onscreen buttons is my next milestone.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
AgentSmith Advanced Member

AgentSmith

Posted
Posted (edited)

I managed to enable the onscreen buttons. However this causes a lot of apps to crash right after booting the system. The keyboard also doesn't work. Until I find a working solution the hardware buttons are unavoidable.

To get you started you need Java, APKTool (contains all the latest file versions, older ones generate strange errors) and this tutorial. The steps in a nutshell:

  • copy framework-res.apk in /system/framework to your computer
  • decompile
  • edit bools.xml with notepad++ to enable the onscreen buttons by setting "shownavigationbar" to 'true'
  • recompile to a new framework-res.apk
  • sign the new apk
  • optionally zipalign the new apk (how-to)
  • copy back to /system/framework overwriting the stock version
  • to be on the safe side chmod the new apk with your custom recovery to 644
  • reboot and voilá!

Create a full system backup before making any changes!

If your system ends up in a bootloop you probably forgot to sign the new apk. It should boot and after it does and you manage to get all the apps working again please share your findings!

Edited by AgentSmith
Link to comment
Share on other sites
retoocs01 Explorer Member

retoocs01

Posted
Posted (edited)

Thanks a lot guys for all the info on how to root an IQ1. It took about an hour to figure it out but I got it. My main reason for root access was enabling the native sip client in Android. Simply add the attached android.software.sip.voip.xml (make sure to rename properly) to system\etc\permissions\ with a root explorer and reboot. Now you'll have an internet calling option in the phone app settings which works over WIFI and 2G. Haven't tested 3G yet. If that doesn't work it requires a modification of framework-res.apk. Cheers from a happy user!

I had the the correct .xml's already, but I cant't find any Sip settings in the phone app.

bools.xml

<bool name="config_sip_wifi_only">false</bool>
<bool name="config_built_in_sip_phone">true</bool>

android.software.sip.voip.xml

<permissions>
<feature name="android.software.sip" />
<feature name="android.software.sip.voip" />
</permissions>

Edited by retoocs01
Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 3 weeks later...
Phil Conners Diamond Member

Phil Conners

Posted
Posted

Ms Conners have used an IQ1 for a couple of months and love it. I think it's pretty good value for the price! Agree the TV module is a waste of space, but as long as you don't use it I doubt it affects your battery life.

Ms Conners charge the IQ1 during the day so I don't know how the battery life is, but it seems to be quite normal for an Android phone which this size screen (as you will see if you check the battery consumption on the phone most of the battery use is the screen).

I go through 2-3 batteries per day with my Nexus Galaxy. A pack of 3 batteries and external charger for the Nexus Galaxy is $12 including shipping on ebay, but I haven't been able to source spare batteries for the IQ1.

I'd be curious to hear if anyone has found a third party rom for the IQ1. iirc it's still running Android 4.0.something.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 1 month later...
AgentSmith Advanced Member

AgentSmith

Posted
Posted
I go through 2-3 batteries per day with my Nexus Galaxy. A pack of 3 batteries and external charger for the Nexus Galaxy is $12 including shipping on ebay, but I haven't been able to source spare batteries for the IQ1.

I'd be curious to hear if anyone has found a third party rom for the IQ1. iirc it's still running Android 4.0.something.

2-3 batteries with your GN? That's pretty bad. Mine easily lasts a day with moderate use, 2 with little use. Make sure you use dark themes for your apps. Then the oled screen uses little energy. Maybe consider another ROM. I use CM10.1 nightly with lean kernel. Works brilliantly here.

I am also curious about custom ROMs for the IQ1. I don't like the stock ROM at all. It's messy and old. Unfortunately xda doesn't pay a lot of attention to unknown Asian brands. I even had to obtain the unlocked bootloader from different sources. The Thai people who do a bit of ROM tweaking don't seem to visit xda. Most likely because they don't read and write English...

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Phil Conners Diamond Member

Phil Conners

Posted
Posted

I'm a quite heavy user so that's obviously one reason. The usage is the usual, mostly screen, then Android OS, Facebook. I'm using the stock Android ROM, 4.2.2 - that's why I buy Nexus, I love using the stock ROM and knowing my device will be the first to receive any updates. Even the 3rd party ROMs including CM have to wait for the Nexus ROM before then can proceed.

Anyway with a couple of spare batteries in my pocket it's really a non issue :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...
AgentSmith Advanced Member

AgentSmith

Posted
Posted

Maybe you should give CM a try. I used the stock rom for a few months because of the same reason as you: first update/upgrade round from Google. However the CM guys are extremely fast incorporating updates into their nightlies. I run CM10.1 latest nightly on my Nexus. With CyanDelta I download very small incremental updates, ususally around 10-15 MB when an update is a couple of days newer. I use Leankernel instead of the CM kernel which allows the device to run even longer on a battery charge because it disables one cpu core when it's in standby or deep sleep. And I cranked up the gpu speed to 384 MHz, a standard option in the CM settings. Makes the device even a tad smoother. So far I am very content with my phone.

Now again about the IQ1. I wish I could find a custom rom for this device as well. I find the stock rom quite crappy. It's already old (Android 4.0.4) and I don't like the general look. I strongly prefer a more vanilla Google look. I am still not able to enable the soft buttons without causing other strange issues and I am hoping a CM like rom would solve this. Maybe I dive into the world of compiling CM msyelf for a new device but that is going to take a lot of time obviously since my utter lack of experience in that field. I have geeky habits but I am not a true geek by light-years. Wish I was. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Phil Conners Diamond Member

Phil Conners

Posted
Posted

I already played around with third party roms. They all have some gotcha that doesn't work, at least not optimally and it's an endless flurry of updates. Like I said, I have plenty of spare batteries (just ordered 3 fresh batteries of Ebay for less than 400 baht incl. shipping) so it's really not a problem. I just pop a new battery in when it goes low.

While waiting for an updated rom for the IQ1 one way to make it (and Samsung Touchwiz) look better is to install the Nova launcher. Obviously it doesn't remove unused/unwanted software but at least it makes it look like proper Android.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
AgentSmith Advanced Member

AgentSmith

Posted
Posted

CM10.1 works flawlessly and now also faster than stock but it's really up to you of course. Installing Nova on the IQ1 was one of the first things I did. I just don't like what i-mobile did with the rest of the rom. And there are bugs also. Sometimes the phone only rings once while other times it keeps ringing. And I miss other system options such as forcing gpu acceleration to be always on. This speeds up the entire system to make it feel smooth as butter. Then again maybe that's a specific CM option, I don't really know.

I also don't like those stupid hardware buttons. The menu button even has the wrong icon on it and it truly misses the recent apps button. I am really disappointed the standard software buttons don't work well on this phone which is another rom problem I assume. Next time I import a Chinese phone such as a Jiayu. The G4 advanced version will have a huge 3000 mAh battery, Android 4.2 and a quad core MTK6589 at 1.2 GHz. All this for little more than 7000 baht.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 3 weeks later...
thaicbr Diamond Member

thaicbr

Posted
Posted

Anyone knows what is up with the different ROM versions they are talking about on http://droidfriend.com/forums/index.php?topic=1051.0 ? On the wife's phone is v16, in the forum they are talking about v20 already. What is the difference? My Thai is not good enough to get any informations there...

They are simply talking about firmware upgrades. It is to make things quicker or to enable things that may have not worked properly previously.

Sent from my i-mobile i-STYLE Q6

Link to comment
Share on other sites
thaicbr Diamond Member

thaicbr

Posted
Posted

That's what I guessed. Can you get the new firmware at i-mobile shops? And any idea what the improvements are?

Yes. No

I can only state that when I upgraded firmware on my Q6 it made the screen performance better.

Sent from my i-mobile i-STYLE Q6

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.







×
×
  • Create New...