(UPDATED!) Motorola Fire XT/ XT530/ XT531 all in one guide to rooting, Increasing Phone memory, Applications, Tweaks and resources – Compiled


I own a Motorola Fire XT myself and I thought it would be of good help if I compiled the resources for this phone together in one page with links for other people to use.
All tweaks and methodologies mentioned are because of the hard work of a number of developers. I do not claim any ownership or responsibility to the stuff that I list here. They are not mine. I just happened to search the internet for my own phone and found these links. Respect the Devs. Thank them. I just compiled all the resources here. Now that we have this information across, let’s get started.

The following links worked perfectly for my Motorola Fire XT.

Rooting Motorola Fire XT:

It's just that some users made a claim that their phone soft bricked when trying to factory reset after rooting. Am adding it as a caution. You can still flash SBF files to revive your bricked phone, yet am just saving you tonnes of worry.

Update your phone to Android 2.3.5 first if you have not from here. Instructions are available here: http://androidadvices.com/update-motorola-fire-xt-latest-gingerbread-235-firmware/
Note: Rooting will void your warranty, unless you unroot back.

Increasing Phone memory on Motorola Fire XT: (using Link2sd) to be done after rooting
This guide is written for Xperia, so skip directly to "4. CREATE SECONDARY PARTITION" section and follow the instructions from then.
Remember: You have already rooted your phone, don’t do the rooting method of Xperia phone again and brick your phone. Have some common sense.
Use the Auto-link feature of Link2sd and automate moving the apps to SD cards second partition. This will act like your internal memory. Good luck.

Increasing Phone Memory without rooting for Motorola Fire XT or any Android Phone
Don't do this if you are using Link2sd. If you don't want to root your phone but still want to free some space, do this trick.
Follow this Guide at : http://safeguardplus.blogspot.in/2012/05/how-to-increase-internal-memory-space.html

Best Applications for Motorola Fire XT or any android Phone for that matter:
Launcher:
Use Launcher Pro. Simple and Light weight and extremely powerful.
Also try HOLO Launcher.
To Do / Task management:
Use Do it tomorrow. You'll like it.
Video Player:
Use MX Player. It plays all formats including VOB files, very smoothly. Just make the soft decoder as the default decoder in the decoder settings and you are done!
Alto try QQ Player.
EBook/Audio book Reading/Listening:
Aldiko for reading and Smart Audio Book for Audio books.
Browser :
Dolphin browserMini. Simple. Light Weight. Powerful.
Opera Mini for fast browsing.
File Manager:
Xplore. Simply the best. I've been using this application right from my Nokia 6600 to Nokia 5800 to Motorola Fire XT. Really great app. Thank you Lonely Cat Games for such a powerful application. 
Widgets and Phone Management:
ZD Box.

Freeze Unwanted applications on Motorola Fire XT
I do not recommend uninstalling Google maps or other stock applications once you root the phone. Your internal memory problems should be taken care by link2sd.
Use App Quarantine to Freeze applications. Link2sd also has an inbuilt freezing option in it.
If you want the some apps to stop running in the back ground, you can freeze them. Freezing makes the app appear as if it is not present in the phone. The space occupied by the software will remain the same. It won't appear in the app drawer. Again USE COMMON SENSE. Do not freak out and freeze every application that you don’t find necessary. Some apps like notification LED and Battery monitoring utility need to be run on the back ground to serve you, they keep the phone stable. If you have doubts as to whether to freeze an unidentified process or not, better not freeze it. Run away and never look again. Take responsibility for your phone.

Backing up Contents on your phone
Should I actually write this? Duh?
Use Titanium Backup to backup all the applications and their settings and data on a folder into the SD card.
Also Make an Update.zip file for Titanium Backup, so that you can backup and bring titanium Backup alive after a flash or some mishap.

On a final Note: In case you soft brick your phone
In case you have soft bricked your Motorola Fire XT, you can revive it back by flashing the SBF available here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=24998745.

Update 1: Enabling GPU in Motorola Fire XT:
Check out this link to enable rendering of UI with the GPU. All credits go to the person who found this.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=25390142#post25390142

You'll get the old school TV switch off animation while locking the device (similar to that of defy+). Some drawbacks include the screen turning white for a while when you launch apps. And yes, the notification section becomes white too!

Update 2 : Increasing the resolution to 822 x 548 in motorola Fire XT
Install Busybox (Stericson) and then open the app and install busybox (the app is an installer)
Install LCDresolution app from play store.

Set the dpi value to 140.
Apply and you are done!

One problem which I have noticed so far in the LCD resolution app is that, the Tether and Hotspot settings are not displayed in the settings menu for some weird reason when you have the lcd resolution app set to custom resolution.

So, when you want to access these settings just restart your phone and the phone will come to normal resolution and you will find the Tether and Hotspot settings back.

Hence, I advice against the Apply on boot option in Motorola Fire XT phones.

Update 3 : Clockworkmod (CWM) for Motorola Fire XT

Finally with the help of some developers, CWM is available for Motorola Fire XT:
Follow the steps here to get it:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1997638

With CWM, we can now backup the stock rom and also install custom roms. Expecting custom roms to appear soon for Motorola Fire XT. I'll update them once they all come up here. Stay tuned.

Update 4 : ROM for Motorola Fire XT

Ice Cream Jelly is a new ROM for Motorola Fire XT.
Follow this link : http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2076460 for the new ROM. 
All credits go for the XDA members who developed this ROM, I am just posting it. 
Exercise caution and read the instructions carefully before installing this ROM. I am not responsible for any errors in the process. 

Update 5 : Increase SD Card speed by using SD-Booster app: Enjoy better video playback

Download SD-booster app from market and set the cache size to 1024 kB(for class 4  cards). Try higher cache values for higher class cards. The video playback ability has significantly increased after boosting SD card speed. Less lags in players. Also, applications which run from SD card run faster.
I recommend MX player and QQ Player. Use both in combination.

Update 6 : Apps to freeze to save battery


DO NOT FREEZE:
Android System
Low memory checker
Battery Protection


You can safely freeze the following apps:
Weather.
Live wallpapers.
Multi-touch Keyboard (make sure you have at least one more keyboard, Eg, Swype)
Gallery - If you dont use it.
Voice search - If you dont use voice searches.
News and weather
Email
Google search
Calendar
Browser
FM radio
input methods which you don't want (other languages which you don't use)
Magic smoke wallpapers
The default launcher
Google calendar sync
Calendar storage
voice dialler
calculator
Voice Note
Sound Recorder
TTS Service
Notify LED (If you find it annoying to see the light blink in your face)
Pico TTS
and any other bloatware which you don't use!
The Navigation girl wont be talking anymore after disabling all voice services!

Using Link2sd is better as you don have to have another app just for freezing.

Also any application which I haven't listed here can be frozen, just use common sense.

PS : Check out, The Royal way to use an Android Phone - How and how not to use your phone here.

Comments

Ranjith said…
Congrats. I have indicated the same link as yours for rooting.
Robin said…
Hi Ranjith do you provide any paid services, i have motorola fire xt 530 and i tried this method http://androidadvices.com/install-apps-sd-card-android-rooting/ several times but i am always stuck on command prompt which says The system cannot find the specified path. Please let me know if you will do this for me i will pay $10 (50% upfront) or i will renew/buy you a hosting or any service on internet around $10.
Ranjith said…
Hi Robin. I don't do paid services yet, but why do you have to pay when you can get it for free?
Try this link : http://safeguardplus.blogspot.in/2012/05/how-to-increase-internal-memory-space.html

I've edited and made it neat and friendly. If you still have problems let me know. We'll sort it out.
Robin said…
Thanks a lot man but in command line how to place cd in front of c:\ , my cursor don't go past c:\
Ranjith said…
That's the way by which the command prompt works man. Just hit enter once without typing anything, and copy paste the entire line of code; wherever the cursor might be:

cd C:\Program Files (x86)\Android\android-sdk\platform-tools

Then follow the post. Good Luck. Don't hesitate to contact me in case of issues.
Robin said…
Dude!!! million thanks to you :) This time it worked !!
Night Fury said…
@Ranjith : Even I need some help :P
Ranjith said…
Congrats dude. You're welcome.
Arun said…
Thank you for the guide. I have a problem with Motorola Software Update. I am getting a blank screen when i launch software updater please help.
Ranjith said…
Do you mean, Blank screen on phone? Updating through software updater should be fairly easy. Follow this link: http://androidadvices.com/update-motorola-fire-xt-android-235-firmware-version/
Anonymous said…
Hey! Hmmmm... when i past ''cd C:\Program Files (x86)\Android\android-sdk\platform-tools'' and hit enter it says that: The system cannot find the path specified. What to do >.<?
Ranjith said…
It means that you have not yet installed the android SDK. Make sure that you have selected the Platform tools while downloading the components from the SDK installer.
satyam said…
Hi Ranjith,
Thanks for the steps it works wonders for me :)
But for the problem of enabling the GPU , AI tried it rendering is really good but the white screen problem is really annoying. It is worst when I tried to uninstall some app, it goes white and only after clicking back button it appears but it makes uninstall screen to nevigate back and I face issues in uninstalling app.
Please share it you have any solution for this problem.
Thanks
Ranjith said…
Hi Satyam. Good that these tricks worked for you.
Yes, these white screen problems are a huge pain in the ass.
While uninstalling software, if you could possibly press the "OK" button somewhere at the left corner of the touch screen, then you can go ahead with the un-installation. It is not like the screen is hanging, but rather the display alone is white; with all possible buttons working behind the white screen. I have gotten so much used to this, that I don't even mind the white screen anymore. Hope that helps. Feel free to ask if you have any more issues.
Unknown said…
Thanks for your guide! ... Simple. Light Weight. Powerful.
Ranjith said…
Glad it was of help to you.
satyam said…
Thanks for Reply,
Because of this post I feel my phone is now worth of at least 5000 rs more ;)
I found one problem in 2.3.5 android OS , which comes with this device that the kernel is old and it can't support flash and other high graphics game.
I know this device has much more capability because it has good graphics processor, and 800 Mhz core processor ans sufficient ram 500 MB.
I just want to upgrade my kernel and want to install android 4.0 Ice-cream sandwich, is there any way to do this .
--Thanks and Regards
Satyam
Ranjith said…
The latest development was CWM through which Nandroid Back up was made possible. There are no other ROMs for Fire XT. I'll keep posting updates on the same if some development was done. Stay Tuned.
joe said…
what about next launcher .. it's soo smooth and better looking than launcher pro .. iam using it and nothing is wrong till now ... u should give it a try
joe said…
plus it takes only 3.7 MB from the memory !!
Ranjith said…
I haven't tried the launcher yet, but first of all its not a freeware. Plus it seems to be pretty intense on resources especially processor usage. Dual core models are recommended in Google play.
Hey, beating all odds, if it runs smooth in your phone, power to ya ;)
Anonymous said…
thanks bro,,,,its really increase my internal storage :)
joe said…
What about battery booster applications , did u try any ?? are they helpful ??
Ranjith said…
Nah. I haven't found any reason to try any. I don't want my mobile running in partial capacities(eg. sync turned off).
Besides, after freezing unwanted apps in my phone using link2sd , battery was never a problem for me to begin with.
But yes, they might be helpful if you are willing to compromise on certain features. It's an individual perspective.
Anonymous said…
Hello Ranjith,

How do i permanently remove apps that were already uninstalled but still visible on the phone and robing me of memory. I installed apps2sd to move some apps but am stll left with 13mb. Also, if i restore back to factory settings, would it in any how affect it. thank you
joe said…
Any flash light application yet ?!! :\
Ranjith said…
The closest flashlight application that I use is the screen brightness flashlight, that ships with ZDbox. Its not much, but that's all we have for now.
Ranjith said…
Use Link2sd to link applications to SD card.
If you are unsure of what happened in your phone, a factory reset will help. But don't forget to back up before you do anything.
Motorola FIRE is the latest mobile phone launched by Motorola company. This is a touch & type mobile phone with QWERTY keypad. It works on Android 2.3 Operating System and powered by 600 MHz ARM 11 processor. This phone has Navigation support with the help of GPS and support a great feature of E-compass. This is a awesome smartphone in reasonable prices.
Can U list the apps which you freezed to maximize the battery life....!!
It would be a great Favour.
Ranjith said…
I have listed down some pretty reasonable apps which can be frozen in Motorola Fire XT, as a new update in the post. Check them out.
Unknown said…
hey could u please tell me how to backup the things I have written in Memo of Note Pad ??????? THEY R VERY IMPOTANT FOR ME.............
Ranjith said…
Backing up is not a problem, if you have rooted your device. Just Go to Titanium Backup and Backup the application and its data (in your case Notepad). Backing up the data is important!
If you want to have a textual copy, then you may have to copy and paste all the contents into a text editor and save the file. Hope that helps.
Anonymous said…
Hey need your help for online videos not playing in fire XT. or any flash supported games.
Ranjith said…
Fire XT doesn't support flash out of the box. You have to install Adobe flash player.
Anonymous said…
i m trying to install adobe flash player but it is showing as not compatible with this phone . What to Do ???
Ranjith said…
Try Installing from APKs available from XDA.
Anonymous said…
Hey man i had rooted my phone and installed CWM from xda developers site for my fire xt530 but its not backing up the stock rom plzz help me :(
Ranjith said…
Hmmm. That's bad. There were so many bug fixes going on the cwm installer for XT530. You'll have to tinker around with different versions of CWM and follow the instructions carefully.
On the other side, you can simply backup data using titanium backup and restore them. XT530 doesn't have a custom ROM anyway.
Unknown said…
i rooted my fire xt recently.
i am trying to solve the memory problem using link2sd.
problem is that as soon as i select the partition type and grant root permission it shows the "please wait" screen indefinitely(i waited for around 40 minutes),i tried with ext2,ext3 and fat32 and same result each time.Can you guide me as i have no clue what to do next.
Ranjith said…
@kartik,
DId you manually partition your SD card using software like minitool Partition in windows?
If not please do that. Only then can link2sd identify the partition and use it accordingly.
Hope that helps.

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