Congratulations, you are about to being your journey for a faster, cleaner and more stable Orange San Francisco / ZTE Blade!
There are various custom ROMs available for your phone. In this guide you will learn all about the types of ROMs available and how to choose the right one for you.
You can revert any changes made in this guide at any time, so you can reset your phone as if it came straight from the factory. Articles on how to revert your phone can be found through the navigation on the left.
1)
You can root your phone straight from your phone, without having to connect it to a computer.
Rooting essentially means giving yourself admin permissions on your phone. It's the equivalent of running programs as an administrator in Windows, or running a command with "sudo" in Linux.
You need to root your phone before continuing to the next page.
Note: If you get the message “Your device is already rooted!”, just tap Root me please. For some strange reason, UniversalAndroot will sometimes detect your phone as rooted, even if it isn’t.
2)ClockworkMod Recovery is a custom recovery that allows you to install custom ROMs (aka the Android OS), such as custom Android 2.2 (FroYo) ROMs. It can also be used to wipe data from the phone and install minor updates, such as themes and patches. This version of ClockworkMod Recovery 2.5.1.8 supports both the TFT and OLED versions of the Orange San Francisco / ZTE Blade.
Thanks to Sebastian404 for the ZTE-Blade Recovery Manager.
3)
If you simply want the best and most stable Android 2.2 FroYo custom ROM, read the information below and go straight to Step 2 for the latest recommendation.
The recommend ROM in Step 2 is compatible with all versions of the Orange San Francisco / ZTE Blade, including TFT/LCD and OLED.
This is page 4 of 4 on our guide to installing custom ROMs / Android 2.2 from scratch. By now, you should have rooted your phone and installed ClockworkMod Recovery. If not, start at Page 1.
This page will show you how to choose the right ROM for you, copy it to your phone and use ClockworkMod Recovery to install the ROM. If you simply want the most stable and fastest Android 2.2 Custom ROM, go straight to Step 2.
When installing a new ROM, you will loose any settings or apps on your phone. Any contacts on your phone should have automatically synced with Google Contacts. As soon as you log in to your Google Account on your new ROM, your contacts will automatically be downloaded, so there’s no need to worry about backing up your phone's contacts.
To check if your contacts are synced, login to the Google Contacts website on your computer.
If you don't use Google Contacts, you can backup your contacts to your SIM card.
Your SD card will not be touched. Any files (photos, music etc) will NOT be lost.
There are various custom ROMs available for your phone. In this guide you will learn all about the types of ROMs available and how to choose the right one for you.
You can revert any changes made in this guide at any time, so you can reset your phone as if it came straight from the factory. Articles on how to revert your phone can be found through the navigation on the left.
1)
You can root your phone straight from your phone, without having to connect it to a computer.
Rooting essentially means giving yourself admin permissions on your phone. It's the equivalent of running programs as an administrator in Windows, or running a command with "sudo" in Linux.
You need to root your phone before continuing to the next page.
- Open Settings from the app list on the phone.
- Tap Applications.
- Make sure the box is ticked next to “Unknown sources – Allow installation of non-Market applications”.
- Open the Browser from the app list on your phone.
- Visit tinyurl.com/urooted
- A small file will being to download and will take no more than a few seconds to complete.
- Pull down the notification bar from the top of the screen. Once the download completes, tap uRoot.apk.
- Tap Install.
- Tap Open.
- Tap Root.
- Done!
Note: If you get the message “Your device is already rooted!”, just tap Root me please. For some strange reason, UniversalAndroot will sometimes detect your phone as rooted, even if it isn’t.
2)ClockworkMod Recovery is a custom recovery that allows you to install custom ROMs (aka the Android OS), such as custom Android 2.2 (FroYo) ROMs. It can also be used to wipe data from the phone and install minor updates, such as themes and patches. This version of ClockworkMod Recovery 2.5.1.8 supports both the TFT and OLED versions of the Orange San Francisco / ZTE Blade.
- Make sure you are signed into your Google Account and you have launched the Market at least once in order to accept the Terms and Conditions. You can use a Gmail account as your Google Account.
- Open the Browser from the app list on your phone.
- Visit tinyurl.com/esfile
- Install ES File Explorer (Tap "FREE" then "OK" - It may be "Install" then "OK" on your phone).
- Open the Browser from the app list on your phone.
- Visit tinyurl.com/clockmd5
- Install ManD5 (Tap "FREE" then "OK" - It may be "Install" then "OK" on your phone).
- Open the Browser from the app list on your phone.
- Visit tinyurl.com/clocknow
- A file named latest.zip (3.55MB) will begin to download and should take no more than a minute to complete. Pull down the notification bar from the top of the screen to check the progress. Troubleshooting
- Open ES File Explorer from the app list.
- Tap download (you may need to scroll to find it).
- Tap AND hold (long press) on latest.zip
- Tap Extract to.
- Tap Current path.
- Tap OK.
- Open ManD5 from the app list on your phone.
- Tap Select a file.
- Tap /download (you may need to scroll to find it).
- Tap /clock.img
- Tap OK.
- A MD5 hash will be generated. Check the md5 hash is 4b949d51c54501e1a3dd0a4c6095766e. If not, the file did not download correctly. Delete all previous files you download using ES File Explorer and follow from Step 8 again.
The generated MD5 Hash for clock.img - Open Settings from the app list on the phone.
- Tap Applications.
- Make sure the box is ticked next to “Unknown sources – Allow installation of non-Market applications”.
- Open the Browser from the app list on your phone.
- Visit tinyurl.com/recoverapp
- A small file will being to download and will take no more than a few seconds to complete.
- Pull down the notification bar from the top of the screen. Once the download completes, tap recoveryM.apk.
Press and hold the notification bar and drag down to view. - Tap Install.
- Tap Open. Troubleshooting
- Superuser will ask for permission. Tap OK.
- Tap the Recovery tab.
- Tap Install Recovery.
- Tap /sdcard/download/clock.img
- Tap OK.
- Wait for the Installing box to disappear.
- Done!
If you get the error message...
"<Untitled> Download unsuccessful"
or
"Cannot download. The content is not supported on this phone"
...you probably haven’t installed ES File Explorer. If you have installed it, try uninstalling and reinstalling – tinyurl.com/esfile
If you still receive the error message, turn off your phone and then turn it on again.
If you get the following error message…
"The application Recovery Manager (process com.podtwo.RecoveryManager) has stopped unexpectedly. Please try again."
If you have already rooted your phone, uninstall and reinstall Recovery Manager. Then, turn off your phone and turn it on. Open Task Manager from the app list on your phone, press the physical Menu button and tap Kill All. Launch Recovery Manager from the app list on your phone again and follow from Step 31.
Thanks to Sebastian404 for the ZTE-Blade Recovery Manager.
3)
If you simply want the best and most stable Android 2.2 FroYo custom ROM, read the information below and go straight to Step 2 for the latest recommendation.
The recommend ROM in Step 2 is compatible with all versions of the Orange San Francisco / ZTE Blade, including TFT/LCD and OLED.
This is page 4 of 4 on our guide to installing custom ROMs / Android 2.2 from scratch. By now, you should have rooted your phone and installed ClockworkMod Recovery. If not, start at Page 1.
This page will show you how to choose the right ROM for you, copy it to your phone and use ClockworkMod Recovery to install the ROM. If you simply want the most stable and fastest Android 2.2 Custom ROM, go straight to Step 2.
When installing a new ROM, you will loose any settings or apps on your phone. Any contacts on your phone should have automatically synced with Google Contacts. As soon as you log in to your Google Account on your new ROM, your contacts will automatically be downloaded, so there’s no need to worry about backing up your phone's contacts.
To check if your contacts are synced, login to the Google Contacts website on your computer.
If you don't use Google Contacts, you can backup your contacts to your SIM card.
Your SD card will not be touched. Any files (photos, music etc) will NOT be lost.
- The first thing you should do is choose the correct ROM for you. There are 3 different types of ROMs, as explained below.
- Stock ROM - A ROM shipped with the phone straight from the factory. You can reinstall a stock ROM via ClockworkMod Recovery at any time in case you want to factory reset your phone.
- Debranded ROM – A ROM identical to a stock ROM but with all network branding and 3rd party apps removed. Default Google apps will replace any network/3rd party apps.
- Custom ROM – A ROM based on the Android Open Source Code. Custom ROMs are currently the only way to get Android 2.2 (FroYo) on your Orange San Francisco. The aim of a custom ROM is to make a fast, stable clean ROM that is 100% Google Android without the bloatware and network branding.
- In this step, you will choose and download a ROM to your computer.
- If you simply want the most stable Android 2.2 FroYo Custom ROM, download the Japanese Jellyfish RLS9. For the original release notes, see the original release page.
- If you simply want the most stable Android 2.1 Eclair debranded ROM, download the Orange San Francisco Debraded ROM for OLED and TFT. For the original release notes, see this thread.
- If you want to see a list of the other ROMs available (including stock ROMs), check out a good updated list of ROMs.
- Download and save the ROM (it will be a zip file) to your computer.
- Unplug the phone from the charger/PC and take out the battery.
- Replace the battery.
- Turn on the phone whilst holding the Volume Down button on the side of your phone. Continue to hold the Volume Down button for 5 seconds.
- ClockworkMod Recovery should load on your phone.
- Plug the phone into your PC.
- Use the Volume buttons on the side of the phone to highlight mounts and storage.
- Press the Home button to select.
- Highlight mount USB storage and press the Home button.
- A new storage device should be recognised on your computer. On your computer, copy the ROM (the zip file) you downloaded during Step 2 and paste it straight to the root of the storage device. Do not paste it into any folders, just the root of the device. Do NOT unzip or extract the file.
- Wait for the file to copy.
- On your phone, press the Back button twice.
- Highlight wipe cache partition and press the Home button.
- Highlight Yes - Wipe Cache and press the Home button.
- Highlight wipe data/factory reset and press the Home button.
- Highlight Yes -- delete all user data and press the Home button.
- Highlight Install zip from sdcard and press the Home button.
- Highlight choose zip from sdcard and press the Home button.
- Highlight the zip file you copied to your phone and press the Home button.
- Highlight Yes - Install ... and press the Home button. Troubleshooting
- Press the Back button, highlight reboot system now and press the Home button.
- Congratulations, you have installed a custom ROM onto your phone! You may unplug the phone from your computer. Take a look at our other articles to learn how to get the most out of your Orange San Francisco / ZTE Blade.
If you receive an “install aborted” (or similar) error message during the installation process, don’t worry, you haven’t bricked your phone and it’s a common problem. Turn off your phone by removing the battery and replace. Then, redownload your chosen ROM again and follow from Step 2 on this page again. Make sure you follow all the steps!
Some users will successfully install the ROM, however after rebooting the phone they will be stuck on the boot screen / boot animation for longer than 3 minutes. If this happens to you, don’t worry you haven’t bricked your phone and it’s a common problem. Turn off your phone by removing the battery and replace. Then, redownload your chosen ROM again and follow from Step 2 on this page again. Make sure you follow all the steps!
