This is going to be a very long how-to post, so I'll ditch my usual long intro.

To install the Cyanogenmod custom ROM on the Samsung Galaxy S2, you'll go through three easy steps. Unfortunately, most blogs have managed to make it extremely hard to do - it's either they didn't put up any step-wise screenshot supported post or they write it out like an help/documentation file. So, I have decided to make the ultimate how-to guide and you can be sure you won't brick your phone.

Last year I made a post on making your newly rooted phone speedier. Well, I have just discovered an equally novel way of getting the best out of a new ROM, be it you are upgrading or installing the ROM for the first time.

Since this post will have loads of images, I will go straight to the crust. The whole idea behind this post is hinged on the fact that preserving data and system settings across ROMs makes the phone oftentimes perform less speedy than on the former ROM, even though you just did an upgrade. And that is what I discovered when I upgraded from CyanogenMod 6.0 to CyanogenMod 6.1, when I preserved the system settings the phone was annoyingly sluggish, but when I wiped the system settings (a factory reset) the phone was amazingly speedy. In (near) fact, the homescreen scrolls before I actually swipe! But in this post I will teach you how to factory reset your phone to get the best out of the new ROM and yet not lose a single system/user data, not even a last call record!

As is my usual (self-inconvenienting) habit, I will start from the basics.

STEP 1
You are going to install two free softwares from the android market, they are Titanium Backup root and MyBackup Root.

STEP 2

Run the MyBackup Root, follow the screenshots below. Don't bother backing up Applications and Media. Titanium will do the applications backup and as for your media, they are as safe as your SD card. Note that your phone must be rooted (if you don't know, then it isn't)

(Tick as many as all)

STEP 3

Run the Titanium Backup Root, again follow the screen shots below to backup all system and user apps including their data/settings.

(Press the Menu button to see the options above)

STEP 4

I'll assume that you already have the new ROM copied unto your SD card. So reboot into recovery (if you don't know how, just shutdown and when the phone is off, press the power button + home button). 

Do a Nandroid backup! (You will see the option on the first screen)

Follow the following screen shots to wipe the system and data settings, wipe cache and wipe dalvik cache. Wiping the  caches do not have any possible adverse effect on the phone, in fact it is recommended to wipe them often as it releases more system memory for better phone performance (removes junk data from system memory).

(Scroll to Wipe, which is the sixth option)

(Wipe data/system, reset)

(Wipe Cache)

(Wipe Dalvik cache)

(Flash the new ROM onto the phone)

STEP 5
Again, you will go through the android market to install Titanium Backup root. Then run it to install all your user apps that you had on the previous ROM (which are already backed up unto your SD card). As soon as you run the Titanium Backup Root, it automatically detects all the apps you backed up in the previous ROM. Just select those you want to install on the new ROM and restore the app + data (though one at a time). If you want to restore all, just go through the batch tool and Restore all apps with data.
Below are the screenshots, scroll down to see that for complete apps restore.

(Scroll to the app you wish to restore and touch it)

STEP 6
You must have (re)installed My Backup Root app, so run it and restore your phone data (contacts, call records, SMS, MMS etc).

STEP 7

Voila! Get yourself your favorite drink and explore your New ROM without carrying over any legacy settings. Enjoy what those developers spent hundreds of hours tweaking to tickle your fantasy!

Cliche: If you have any trouble getting by any of the steps, just hit me with a comment.

I have been hearing about a “Wireless Tether” app for months now and even tried installing it, but to my disappointment it requires me to have rooted my phone so I couldn't use it. Then last week I finally rooted my phone and was amazed by the quality of connectivity I got between my phone and my laptop. And another amazing thing about this wireless tethering than makes it far desirable than the USB tethering (that comes along with the android OS 2.2) is that it allows multiple computers to connect and even phones that have wifi. And you can also create an access list to allow internet access for only selected devices (computers, phones and maybe, printers).

So in this post, I am going to explain extensively to you how to use the wireless tether app to share internet access on your android phone with other phones and computers.

PREREQUISITE: A rooted android phone (if you are not sure yours is, then it most probably isn't, but for more info search google)

STEP 1

The first thing you'll do is to install the Wireless Tether app, go to the android market and search for “Wireless Tether” it has this unique logo of a green wifi signal. Download and install it.

STEP 2

Open the Wireless Tether app, tap the screen close to the middle (where there is the prompt – Press to start tethering) to start the wireless tethering. 

It will ask for Superuser permissions which you will need to grant and if you prefer, tick the remember this selection. Now don't bother if you do not notice your wifi turning on, as long as the wireless tether notification is showing on your notification bar, you are good to go.

STEP 3

On your computer (or phone) turn on the wireless adapter and search for wireless networks and you will notice an open network named AndroidTether. Connect to it, you should see “Acquiring network address” and then “Connected”.

 Now check the notification bar of your phone, and you should see a notice about a device trying to access your internet. But if this notification doesn't popup on yours, do not worry just follow on. On the the wireless tether app screen, press the menu button to reveal hidden options, tap on Setup, under Security make sure the Enable Access-Control is ticked. Now go back to the app's homescreen and press the menu button again, then tap on Access Control and Tick only the devices you want to grant access.

STEP 4

Go to your internet browser and start surfing the internet, it's as easy as that!

TROUBLESHOOTING

If you are unable to access the internet on your computer but can on your phone, it's most probably because your wireless adapter has been manually configured. Make sure the wireless adapter IPv4 address is set to automatic and not manual, you can check my former post on doing this. If you are still experiencing this problem, them go to the internet/netweork settings of your internet browser and make sure you are not connecting via any proxy.

If you need any further help or clarification, feel free to ask via comment.