Unlocking and rooting HTC Magic from Rogers

[kape]

I got my HTC Magic from Rogers almost a week ago and so far am loving it. Here are some of the issues or unknowns I found so far:

1. Found out you cant store and run apps from the SD card. That makes the SD card only half useful since it can only be used for music, vids, photos, etc. I hear the new version of Android might fix this.

2. I couldn't find anywhere information about the applications and whether they continue to run in the background after they are closed. Is there a way to close or kill applications? Should I even care if they're closed or not?

3. My battery life is crap. When I had the GPS turned on it lasted half a day, even if I wasn't using the phone. This is one of the reasons I started questioning #2 above. I understand the GPS being used if I start say google maps, but why would the GPS be active if the phone is just in standby, or I'm using gmail or something.

4. The WiFi icon at the top doesn't always show the signal strength. At work, we have WEP encryption and the icon shows the strength. At home I have WPA and the icon always indicates no signal strength, even though all my laptops and other devices have full bars. I could be inches away from the router and the WiFi icon still shows no bars. It works though.

5. Also related to the WiFi, while at home, the phone keeps exiting WiFi every time it goes on standby it seems. Once I start using it again, the WiFi kicks back in. I read that this was an issue with the G1 but was fixed in the G2. Am I missing something, some setting?

Finally, I want to unlock my phone and root it. I wasn't able to find any information regarding rooting the G2, all posts are for the G1. So can it be done? What are the advantages of rooting the phone? I assume it's so that you can install any ROM you want. I'd love to install Android 2.0 Donut and don't want to wait for Rogers to take their sweet time to do it.

[chrysostomster]

just got my rogers htc magic yesterday

2. I couldn't find anywhere information about the applications and whether they continue to run in the background after they are closed. Is there a way to close or kill applications? Should I even care if they're closed or not?

seems as though programs keep running in the background seriously draining batt and resources.
dload the TasKiller app immediately
with that, you can kill any or all background apps quickly and extend batt life
killing all apps stops emails from syncing and i think stops clock / weather widgets, but there is an ignore list where those apps can be added and not get killed
also you can kill individual apps that are currently running

5. Also related to the WiFi, while at home, the phone keeps exiting WiFi every time it goes on standby it seems. Once I start using it again, the WiFi kicks back in. I read that this was an issue with the G1 but was fixed in the G2. Am I missing something, some setting?

check your wifi sleep policy in the advanced settings for wifi
i think by default it turns off on standby

hope this helps!

[SithLord2K]

Originally Posted by kape

2. I couldn't find anywhere information about the applications and whether they continue to run in the background after they are closed. Is there a way to close or kill applications? Should I even care if they're closed or not?

There is a free app on the Android Market called Advanced Task Killer. This allows you to close apps that are running in the background.

Originally Posted by kape

3. My battery life is crap. When I had the GPS turned on it lasted half a day, even if I wasn't using the phone. This is one of the reasons I started questioning #2 above. I understand the GPS being used if I start say google maps, but why would the GPS be active if the phone is just in standby, or I'm using gmail or something.

Having GPS turned on all the time will drain your battery much faster, as will WIFI when left on. It states this in the user manual as well. If you want to prolong your battery life turn off GPS, WIFI and Bluetooth when not in use.