Introduction

Why mod my phone?

That said, you should be wary of the risks, and make sure to avoid them. Some major mistakes could cause:

• Data Loss
• Soft-Bricking (a bit difficult to get out of)
• Hard-Bricking (Your phone is completely useless for the time being)

If you follow these instructions correctly, you will be fine. However, we take absolutely no responsibility for damaged devices or lost data as a result of following this guide or using any tools outlined in it.

Remember, If you don't fully understand the implications, don't do it.

Principles of the Codex

I have been compiling the Android Development Codex, a complete, monolithic, and community editable guide to the any device I could get my hands on, taking users all the way from unlocking to customization.

The codex will also give readers a few tips and tricks for troubleshooting common problems (so they don't have to wade through 900 posts to find the answer), and general guides to cool mods that can be made on the phone. Perhaps we could even teach people to create modifications to keep the community going.

The Android Development Codex is based on six principles:

• Everything must be in the guide. We need customized "beginning to end" guides that give the user everything it takes to mod a device and deal with problems afterwards. If any newbie asks, it's clear; just Read The F--king Codex. As stated above, the XDA Wiki failed because it only linked to the forum, making it no more useful than a forum sticky.
• Mark or fix outdated information ASAP. Outdated information is the biggest issue with the status quo on XDA; at best, it won't work, and the new guy will come crying to the forums. At worst, devices will be bricked, leading to intense mobs of angry noobs. With a monolithic guide, as soon as new developments occur, we can post it in the Codex as a warning to all, and change the method if needed.
• No redundant information. There could be thousands of devices by the time we get to a finished state, and much of that info is exactly the same. This leads to duplication of work, and eventually outdated info. Examples are things like ClockworkMod instructions, Glossaries, and general OS mods. The Codex should consolidate as many mods as possible into general guides, and for things like glossaries and recovery instructions, Mediawiki-style templates should be used to pull them in.
• One customized guide for every device family. Every device is special in some way. The XDA Developers Book is great, but even the most general of rooting guides cannot tackle the thousands of unique circumstances that exist in every device. Rooting, Unlocking, Downgrading, and other unique things are under this umbrella.
• Always provide a manual method. Automatic "one-click" roots are great, but manufacturers are always out to patch the latest method. If we don't know how to do it by hand, we can't really find much of a solution.
• Ensure that all required files are accessible and stay accessible. Eventually, all good things must come to an end, and when people are no longer around to sweep the grounds, link rot sets in. This is very, very bad; one of the archives could contain a vital rooting program, and there would be no way to recover it. Just remember the fall of Megaupload. Always have multiple mirrors for every file, and perhaps archive everything into the Internet Archive when the community is gone.
• The ultimate goal is to transform a layman into a developer. For most people nowadays, modding mobile phones is their gateway into the workings of the computers that control our lives today, just like home computers were in the 80s. The Codex needs to clearly show how anyone can become an XDA-Developer and participate as enlightened individuals, rather than as mere participants.

Why make a monolithic guide? Just go to the forums.

There are three reasons for creating one unified guidebook:

• The entire community can work on one big guide, rather than a ton of small guides. - The benefit of the wiki is that all members of the community can update and edit it as needed. It's great that guides already exist on the forums, but only the OP is able to edit the first post in a forum thread. When that guy inevitably moves on or new developments occur, the guide will quickly become outdated, and perhaps even gravely dangerous.

• The forums naturally become a mess. - The reality is that forums are the wrong place for solid, malleable, community-editable guides. Forums may be great for quick discussion and actual development, but when it comes to providing updated repositories of common knowledge, it falls flat. We'll get honest here; the forums are naturally devolving into a barely readable mashup of guides, forum links, and outdated tutorials. This is extremely intimidating to newbies and difficult for even the most experienced users to grasp. We are creating a dangerous mess, where many a phone has been bricked due to confusing and outdated instructions.

• Clear, constant guidelines can be made for better readability. - Android Modding requires diligence and a good background of knowledge to avoid the dreaded brick, and it doesn't help if the information you depend on is scattered or possibly outdated.

Why not just use the Official XDA Developers' Book?

While the Official XDA Book is a great example to follow, it was not created with much input from the XDA community, and as a dead-tree copy, it will slowly grow outdated with age.

More importantly, it only details general instructions for Android and specifics for only a handful of devices. This is not a policy that works; Android is an incredibly diverse family of electronics, and methods differ greatly from device to device. It is impossible to create a single book that can aquedately explain a significant fraction of this universe, let alone all of them.

Therefore, the Development Codex is tasked with creating a unique guide for each and every device, consolidating all the innovations from the XDA Forums into one