9 replies to this topic

[TheRealJudgeD]

Hey people, just wondering if there are any tutorials on creating custom ROMs that anyone can point me to. I found one, which focused on devices with unlocked bootloaders, but since I'm a Razr user, that doesnt really work for me. Can anyone aim a wannabe Razr developer in the right direction?

Thanks in advance

[mattlgroff]

Starting to learn to theme is a good place to start, mopar57 has a great guide on this site

[TheRealJudgeD]

Awesome, thanks for the advice Matt! Fan of your work BTW, your RAZR Utility has saved my rear end a few times!

[mattlgroff]

The chatroom is also a good place to look for help. Glad you like them.

[wulf]

Starting to learn to theme is a good place to start

I know how to theme

Sent from my DROID SPYDER using Tapatalk 2

[LauraSakura]

I know how to theme

Sent from my DROID SPYDER using Tapatalk 2

I'm kind of at the same point. I understand most of the concepts but I'm not really sure how to begin putting it all together

[wulf]

I'm kind of at the same point. I understand most of the concepts but I'm not really sure how to begin putting it all together

What I did a while back was I setup a pc with Ubuntu, got that setup with jdk android sdk and synced repo for a rom (PITA to get it all setup btw lol) themed rom from source and compiled the rom.

So probably next step is to get a pc setup and go from there.

Sent from my DROID SPYDER using Tapatalk 2

[snives]

I'm kind of at the same point. I understand most of the concepts but I'm not really sure how to begin putting it all together

No offense but that would mean you aren't at the same point Wulf seems to release a new theme every day or two, lol.

Really though, just pick a project and start working on it. If you want to start more simple, go with a theme. It doesn't need to be an original theme even. For practice steal images from somebody and build a hodgepodge theme. Just remember to give everyone credit if you decide to release it afterwards. Once you are comfortable doing build.prop tweaks and playing with XML files I would dive headfirst into making a blur ROM (stable base = know what issues are your fault vs the base's).

[tucstwo]

Here's how I started.
First, I got very comfortable with ADB and Fastboot. Just because it never hurts to know how to get your mitts on a phone that's black screened or boot looping. Learn about ADB, log cats etc.
Then, I learned about apk tool and using 7zip to examine apk files.
Next, I learned how to deodex a stock rom...by hand, manually...every apk or jar file at a time.
Then, I began to mess around with systemui.apk and framework-res.apk. These two places is where a ton of theme work takes place.
After I got comfortable doing that, I looked into doing build.prop edits. There's a lot of edits and they are almost unilaterally the same across all devices (for the most part)
Then I took a base deodex Motorola build and hacked it up to make it my own. Changing everything I learned already..build.prop, settings.apk, systemui.apk, Latinime.apk, framework-res.apk, etc.
Once I felt comfortable doing that, I set up a Ubuntu Linux machine, because if you're gonna build something you want to call yours, than you're gonna want to at least say you built it from source. It's impossible on Windows and it's easier to learn how to set up a Linux build environment than an OSX one, even if you're more comfortable with OSX.
Lastly, I learned how to build cm9 first for our phone using the STS dev teams githubs manifests. Those guys (the real devs) have done all the hard work to enable guys like us to build ROMs like cm9/cm10/AOKP from source.
Once I learned how to sync a repo and compile from source, I used all my original skills to modify my own personal build.
With that, I released my first rom. Which I did two days ago for he first time.
That being said, I've read these and other android forums for almost 2 years, I've been messing with my razr since at least February and I really started getting my hands dirty about 5 months ago. So this is NOT an over night learning experience. And don't get me wrong, to the average user, I'd say I know quite a bit. In the dev world, I'm an infant at best.
Just read, read and read some more. Be patient. Ask questions and pay your dues. No one becomes a master rom dev over night. Trust me, once you get into it, you will realize just how much work these guys put into these ROMs, themes, hacks and mods. It's hard, relentless, underpaid work. And just when you build "your masterpiece" there'll always be some d1ck who has no clue who will be the first to complain about some mundane detail.
Good luck, and never hesitate to PM me or ask me in chat if you have a question. I will always try my best to answer your question or point you in the right direction! See ya around. enjoy.

[lightsword]

Here's how I started.
First, I got very comfortable with ADB and Fastboot. Just because it never hurts to know how to get your mitts on a phone that's black screened or boot looping. Learn about ADB, log cats etc.
Then, I learned about apk tool and using 7zip to examine apk files.
Next, I learned how to deodex a stock rom...by hand, manually...every apk or jar file at a time.
Then, I began to mess around with systemui.apk and framework-res.apk. These two places is where a ton of theme work takes place.
After I got comfortable doing that, I looked into doing build.prop edits. There's a lot of edits and they are almost unilaterally the same across all devices (for the most part)
Then I took a base deodex Motorola build and hacked it up to make it my own. Changing everything I learned already..build.prop, settings.apk, systemui.apk, Latinime.apk, framework-res.apk, etc.
Once I felt comfortable doing that, I set up a Ubuntu Linux machine, because if you're gonna build something you want to call yours, than you're gonna want to at least say you built it from source. It's impossible on Windows and it's easier to learn how to set up a Linux build environment than an OSX one, even if you're more comfortable with OSX.
Lastly, I learned how to build cm9 first for our phone using the STS dev teams githubs manifests. Those guys (the real devs) have done all the hard work to enable guys like us to build ROMs like cm9/cm10/AOKP from source.
Once I learned how to sync a repo and compile from source, I used all my original skills to modify my own personal build.
With that, I released my first rom. Which I did two days ago for he first time.
That being said, I've read these and other android forums for almost 2 years, I've been messing with my razr since at least February and I really started getting my hands dirty about 5 months ago. So this is NOT an over night learning experience. And don't get me wrong, to the average user, I'd say I know quite a bit. In the dev world, I'm an infant at best.
Just read, read and read some more. Be patient. Ask questions and pay your dues. No one becomes a master rom dev over night. Trust me, once you get into it, you will realize just how much work these guys put into these ROMs, themes, hacks and mods. It's hard, relentless, underpaid work. And just when you build "your masterpiece" there'll always be some d1ck who has no clue who will be the first to complain about some mundane detail.
Good luck, and never hesitate to PM me or ask me in chat if you have a question. I will always try my best to answer your question or point you in the right direction! See ya around. enjoy.

Absolutely love the info and advice. I've also been pondering some of these questions so I'm glad do hear your thoughts on how to begin. I look forward to learning from those more experienced and having fun with our phones