Ultimate Android Guide - 2017

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Android is what we use and love on daily basis. Android has been universally loved by its user base because it doesn't require excessive amounts of modification in order to get styles or themes running, unlike with iOS where it requires a jailbroken device that is capable of running code that the software does not support. With that being noted, Google or Android has been very nice and lenient to what software just works off the device that doesn't need root. While there is some more in-depth theming processes that do require but for a person who doesn't need root, I'm pretty sure they'll be happy for what they can customize and such.

You may have heard of the term 'root' or 'rooting' since you have owned your Android smartphone. You may ask yourself some questions like

What is root?
How do I go about rooting my device?
What can I achieve if I root my device?

To start off, I'll explain what root. Root is the process of allowing your phone to attain a superuser privilege that normally isn't on your device. If you don't understand what I just said there, picture yourself getting an error saying that you could not run your software because you are not the administrator on the PC. If you correlate that with Android, you basically have more authority of your phone. You can run applications that require root access along with going into folders that you could not normally go into. You also have access to execute permissions on your device along with other reasons. To read more about root and why you should root, please read the LifeHacker article here.

How would you go about rooting your Android device? It's pretty simple. You basically need the following information about your device:

The version of Android that you're running.
The model of your phone. (An example would be my phone [SGH-i747])

Afterwards you combine those two bullets into a search query on Google. More than likely if it is a well known device that you'll have some search results discussing how to achieve root for that certain model/version.

Increase performance/battery life

Rooting your phone will allow you to do many things that will increase your battery life or your phone’s performance. For example, you will be able to under/overclock your phone’s CPU resulting in more battery/more performance.

Protect your device

Most anti-viruses for Android work best with a rooted device because they need Superuser privileges to run efficiently.

Remove bloatware/ads

Rooting your phone will let you install custom ROMs/firmwares (covered later) which have preset settings such as host files that will remove all ads and have default useless programs that come with your phone removed.

Make backups

Backups are very important, I will cover this later. In order for Titanium Backup to work with its tons of features, you must be rooted. You will be able to make full backups as shown in the video in the Backup section of this thread.

Configure restricted settings

Some settings that are usually restricted because unlocked as soon as you gain Superuser rights on your phone by rooting it.

Memory freeing

As rooting gives you the rights to install custom ROMs and you may choose one that boosts performance, you can easily find ways to free your memory. All those apps that run in background without a purpose just because your phone carrier put it there? Gone.

A Recovery is a lightweight run-time environment separate from the Android operating system. The sole purpose of recovery is to do the following:

Apply software updates
To run another external tool/software from the Micro SD card
Erase the user data if he or she wants to flash another ROM in a clean manner. (The opposite of this is called 'Dirty Flash' which is just clearing the dalvik cache and then flashing it over the older firmware.)

If you want to go a bit more technical into what the recovery actually is; the operating system for the recovery is stored in the disk partition. Again which is separate from the Android partition which contains your kernel and system. The kernel that the recovery runs is not even Android related. If the Android kernel is broke, you are still able to access the recovery because it is on its own code. Plus it is separate from the system as we previously stated.

It is possible that your bootloader gets corrupt and it will not be possible to boot into the recovery. Once your recovery is broke, you'll need to do some hardware tweaking which is commonly known as a JTAG. (For certain devices the process of using a JTAG is different. You may want to research about your device on the internet before attempting to solder your device.)

Android Flashing

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ashing is a term that you use to install or upgrade your kernel, ROM, GApps, etc. Flashing can be used in several different methods.

Note: You must have a custom recovery.You will also need a custom ROM that is built specifically for your device.
Note: Some phones do not have SD card capabilities. It's recommended to use a SD card but if your phone doesn't have a slot, please keep backups on your PC. - Internal storage will work fine though if you do not have a SD card. Just forewarn yourself that you need to have backups in a safe location.

ROM Flashing

Obtain a ROM of your choice, many can be found in your devices development forum on XDA Forums or a alternate android development site.
Once you have downloaded the ROM File, mount your phones SD card and and copy over the .zip file.
Power off the device and then boot up to recovery, it is different per device. If you are unsure how to boot up to your Android device's recovery menu then look it up in the forums or other tutorials on your device.
In your phone's custom recovery bootloader, locate the menu options which allow you to wipe the phone. Whenever changing roms it is a good idea to make a Nandroid or BART backup first, then wipe Data/Factory and Dalvik-Cache before flashing the new rom.
Once your phone has been wiped go back up to the root of the menu and select 'Flash Zip from SD Card' the text may be different per Recovery.
Locate the ROM .Zip file you wish to flash.
Confirm the flash by following the on-screen instructions (ie: pressing the trackball, pressing the call button, etc.)
If no errors arise during the flashing process then the ROM flash was successful, Reboot the device.

RUU Flashing

Connect your Android device to your computer. Most ROM Upgrade Utilities (RUUs) are .exe files which will only run in Microsoft Windows natively or in Linux/Mac OS X via Wine
Download the RUU for your device, some can be found here at PCD Phones
Run the RUU with your phone plugged in to your computer via its USB cable.
Follow the RUU's instructions for flashing.
Unless errors arise your device is now flashed.

App Installs/ROM Feature Installs via Flashing

Some ROMs have added features that are available to flash.

To Flash the App/Rom Feature you must first download the .zip file.
Mount your devices SD card and copy the .zip file over.
Boot up to your devices custom recovery.
Wipe your Dalvik-Cache in the Wipe Menu. And then go back to the recovery's main menu.
This step may vary per device, there should be an option that says "Flash .zip from SD Card", select it.
Select the .zip file you wish to flash.
Confirm flashing of .zip file.
Wait for the file to flash; and if successful, reboot.

Xposed is framework that allows you to customize your ROM, without compiling and decompiling any APK's, playing around with the root of the phone or flashing anything through the recovery. It can be installed through downloading the latest APK from their website (link). As with all processes that involve modifying anything in the base directory of Android, you will need to root your phone, will the information to do so is provided in the first post. Xposed, as itself, is only a framework, and so you must use the repository (or download from external sources) located within Xposed to download, install, and customize various parts of the ROM.

Installation:

Root your phone (Varies from phone to phone)
Download latest Xposed Installer (link below)
If downloaded Xposed on your computer, move the APK to your phone through whatever means is easiest
Make sure "Unknown Sources" is allowed on your phone, so that you may install APK's
Proceed with installing the application
Open Xposed Installer from the App Drawer, select the Framework meny, and select "Install/Update"
Reboot phone
IMPORTANT! Before installing Modules, make sure to Nandroid backup your phone (tutorial here). Do this every time, unless you are 100% sure that the module will work without fault on your device
To inststall Modules (be careful to download the right one, varies for each device), select "Download" inside the Xposed Installer and select which one, scroll to the bottom, and select download/install
After each install, you must enable the Module by selecting it in the "Modules" tab
After every acvivation/deactivation of a module, it is recommened to reboot your phone

Important links:

Pre-commercial release versions (2007–2008)

Android Alpha - (November 2007)
Android Beta - (November 5 2007)
- November 6 2007: m3-rc22a
- December 14 2007: m3-rc37a
- February 13 2008: m5-rc14
- March 3 2008: m5-rc15
- August 18 2008: 0.9
- September 23 2008: 1.0-r1

Version history by API level

Android 1.0 (September 23 2008)
Android 1.1 (February 9 2009)
Android 1.5 Cupcake (April 30 2009)
Android 1.6 Donut (September 15 2009)
Android 2.0 Eclair (October 26 2009)
Android 2.0.1 Eclair (December 3 2009)
Android 2.1 Eclair (January 12 2010)
Android 2.2–2.2.3 Froyo (2010 - 2011)
- Android 2.2 (May 20 2010)
- Android 2.2.1 (January 18 2011)
- Android 2.2.2 (January 22 2011)
- Android 2.2.3 (November 21 2011)

Android 2.3–2.3.2 Gingerbread (2010 - 2011)
- Android 2.3 (December 6 2010)
- Android 2.3.1 (December 2010)
- Android 2.3.2 (January 2011)

Android 2.3.3–2.3.7 Gingerbread (2011)
- 2.3.3 (February 9 2011)
  2.3.4 (April 28 2011)
  2.3.5 (July 25 2011)
  2.3.6 (September 2 2011)
  2.3.7 (September 21 2011)

Android 3.0 Honeycomb (February 22 2011)
Android 3.1 Honeycomb (May 10 2011)
Android 3.2 Honeycomb (2011 - 2012)
- Android 3.2 (July 15 2011)
- Android 3.2.1 (September 20 2011)
- Android 3.2.2 (August 30 2011)
- Android 3.2.3 (blank)
- Android 3.2.4 (December 2011)
- Android 3.2.5 (January 2012)
- Android 3.2.6 (February 2012)

Android 4.0–4.0.2 Ice Cream Sandwich (2011)
- Android 4.0 (October 19 2011)
- Android 4.0.1 (October 21 2011)
- Android 4.0.2 (November 28 2011)

Android 4.0.3–4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich (2011 - 2012)
- Android 4.0.3 (December 16 2011)
- Android 4.0.4 (March 29 2012)

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean (2012)
- Android 4.1 (July 9 2012)
- Android 4.1.1 (July 23 2012)
- Android 4.1.2 (October 9 2011)

Android 4.2 Jelly Bean (2012 - 2013)
- Android 4.2 (November 13 2012)
- Android 4.2.1 (November 27 2012)
- Android 4.2.2 (February 11 2013)

Android 4.3 Jelly Bean (2013)
- Android 4.3 (July 24 2013)
- Android4.3.1 (October 3 2013)

Android 4.4 KitKat (2013)
- Android 4.4 (October 31 2013)
- Android 4.4.1 (December 5 2013)

Android Laucnhers

Picture yourself using your computer and seeing the desktop that has all your icons. Basically the desktop of an Android phone is called a "launcher". On the screen you can display widgets which display information such as your recent messages, email, weather, etc. The launchers that your device differ from each OEM unless you're a Nexus device. An example of a clean or 'vanilla' Android launcher can be seen in the spoilers, along with a OEM launcher.

Vanilla Launcher:

OEM Launcher:

One great benefit about Android is that you can actually use launchers that allow you to theme and customize your phone. Below will be a list of a few launchers available on the Play store.

If you were not aware, Android has support icons in the numerous launchers out there. Icon Packs are basically what they sound like. Pack of icons that try to fit a theme or a color scheme. Sometimes the icon pack that you install will allow you to follow their custom color scheme or use the wallpapers that they compiled into the pack. One great thing about icon packs is that there is packs you have to pay for but you also have free packs on sites like DeviantArt. To install an icon pack it is very simple. You simply install the .APK or drag the images onto your device and let the Android OS everything else. But you will have to customize the icons if you are going to use icons that are in your gallery. (Just hold down onto the icon and tap on 'Customize')

Stark - $1.99
Tersus 2.0 - $0.99
Tiny White Icon Pack - FREE
Shaded Icons - $1.44
M'Flat - FREE
Minimal UI - $1.99
Nox - $1.99

To find more icons or themes, you should visit the following sites:

(watch this video to install paid application from play store free)

Android Wallpapers

Wallpapers makes your phone a little bit more smoother and clean. If you have minimal icons, you may find yourself using a minimal wallpaper. There isn't much to discuss about wallpapers so I'll allow you to casually browse one of these websites: