I need help with a mobile phone issue from techy people please!

[Toffeewhirl]

I don't really understand what I'm asking for as I don't know anything about mobiles and tech stuff, but am hoping someone will be able to help.

Ds1 (15) received a new android smartphone last week. We are tied into the contract for two years. In spite of being told not to fiddle with it and break it like he did last time DS managed to meddle enough to stop it working. He says he tried to install a custom rom (Cyanogen mod) to get rid of 'bloatware', which he claims slows the phone down. The new mod didn't work and neither did the phone. Fortunately, DH managed to restore the phone to its factory settings, but DS can't use it because it looks different now and he wants it back to how it was. Before you say he sounds like a spoilt brat (I know), he has ASD and OCD and this is all part of his obsessiveness. He's actually in a terrible state about it all.

So, he now has a phone that works, but the screen looks different from how it looked when he received it. He says he wants a 'back up of the default stock rom' .

The worst thing, for me, is that the phone is registered in my name, so I'm the one who has to ring up about it. Does anyone know if this is a reasonable request to ring up about? I barely understand what I'm asking for, to be honest.

[duckyneedsaclean]

What phone is it?

If he knows what it did look like, you should be able to change it back yourself just by fiddling with layouts / themes.

[Toffeewhirl]

Thanks for your reply, Ducky. It's a Samsung. DS1 said I need to ask the company for a 'default stock rom' and that he can't just do it on the phone. Does this make any sense? The phone looks fine to me and works perfectly, but he's been in tears over it.

[ThereIsIron]

What model is the phone? If he's "rooted" it to install Cyanogenmod then it's most likely the retailer/manufacturer won't touch it - any warranty will have been voided.

[ThereIsIron]

What model of Samsung?

[duckyneedsaclean]

Ah ok.

This article is exactly what you need, and fairly easy to follow :

www.maketecheasier.com/restore-stock-rom-for-samsung-devices-android/

[duckyneedsaclean]

Good luck

Yes, the manufacturer or provider won't help, you're on your own I'm afraid!

[ThereIsIron]

If he's smart enough to attempt Cyanogenmod it should be straightforward enough to go back to stock, if you can get hold of the ROM.

[Toffeewhirl]

No idea what model it is, I'm afraid. Have just emailed DH as he'll probably know. Just looking at the phone doesn't help with that does it?

Oh dear, I thought the provider wouldn't want to know. Ah well, at least I don't need to bluff my way through an awkward conversation.

Ducky - oh, I hope that article works! Thank you.

[Toffeewhirl]

Oh god, am reading it and it's making my head hurt. I'm really lost with all this tech stuff.

[tribpot]

Well you haven't got to do it, have you? Now you know it doesn't involve a conversation with the provider, I would leave your DS (and perhaps your DH) with the instructions provided and let them figure it out.

I'd have a think about how you stop him doing something like this again, esp with a phone tied to a contract. If he wants a phone he can tinker with, could you get him a cheapish Android and take this (presumably relatively expensive) one for yourself?

[duckyneedsaclean]

Your DS may be able to do it, following the instructions?

[Toffeewhirl]

Yes, quite right, tribpot. I don't.

DH is the one who signed him up for this phone (without discussion with me, I may say). Personally, I agree with you that DS would be better off with a cheaper phone.

[tribpot]

I think it's good that he wants to have a play around, but not if the result is going to upset him. Perhaps he would benefit from having a Raspberry Pi to tinker about with (this is not a phone), although having rooted the phone whilst it was under warranty he's already done maximum damage.

[ThereIsIron]

I'd also be questioning how a contract was created in your name (by DH), without your knowledge or permission.

[MorrisZapp]

I have been with my provider for seven years. When I popped in for an upgrade last week I had to sign umpteen documents and they wanted to see photo ID.

It hardly seems possible your dh took out a contract in your name without your knowledge.

[Toffeewhirl]

The contract was already in my name and DH just asked for an upgrade, There and Morris. I can't remember why it was in my name in the first place , but have to admit that I leave techy stuff to him because I find it boring. Not DH's fault.

[tribpot]

The question of how he managed to do an upgrade on your contract is not a techy one, however. I don't think this should have been possible.

[Toffeewhirl]

It was all done online. The firm already had my info, so no ID required.

[tribpot]

Oh okay, he logged into your account - I think I'd be doing a password change if I were you!

[Toffeewhirl]

[fairbalance]

Try the XDA-Developers forum loads of phone geeks there who do this sort of thing every day. I am a member I put Custom Roms on things too :)

[Toffeewhirl]

Thanks, fair.

[Mumwithanipad]

To change the rom he must have rooted it? Doing so will void the warranty. You can unroot it but I believe there's something on the phone (Knox) that remembers and will show that the phones operating system has been messed with. If the phone develops a genuine fault while within warranty and they see it's been tampered with then they may not repair or replace.

I've tinkered with custom roms, and other bits of shit on my phone but I'm really hopeless at explaining. It will be possible to get the phone back how he likes it, The xda forums are great,it's where I learnt how to root and about roms. I'm sure someone there can explain better than I ever could. Once he has it sorted I'd do a back up, just in case anything happens again that causes problems and you need to reset (it can happen for genuine reasons) Agree with others that a cheap android would be great for him to tinker with and mess about with roms etc.

[Toffeewhirl]

I have no idea what 'rooting it' means, but yes, he's clearly voided the warranty, Mum. Thanks for the advice - good to know it's possible for him to get it back to how he likes it, if he wants. However, at the moment, he's trying to put up with its present format and I'm not sure I want to encourage him to fiddle with it anymore.

[tribpot]

Have they had a go at following that article? I think since your ds has pissed about with the phone in such a damaging way he should at least see it through and get back the ROM that he wants.

Rooting is basically overriding the settings on your phone that prevent you from buggering it up too badly. It gives you 'admin rights' on the phone. Most of us have a lot more control over our laptops than we do our mobile devices, although you may find your work laptop is more locked down, i.e. you can't install any old app that you want or mess about in the guts of the operating system changing individual settings. Mobile devices come locked down as standard to make them safer to use.

But it is annoying that, on a device with potentially quite limited storage and memory, the device manufacturer has preloaded a bunch of their own apps that you don't want but can't get rid of. Sometimes there are apps that can be made to run on your device but only if you've rooted it because they're not tested or warranted for the device.

To repeat - if you have two phones on your contract, or even only this one phone but two SIMs, I would take this decent phone yourself and buy ds a cheapie he can mess with.