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HELP!!! Need Screen Lock and Blanking with TCPMP Core Player

Hi,got a curious need.I watch some video lectures on my PL720 PDA using TCPMP.A lot of them can be listened to without necessarily looking at the screen,which would be ideal when walking,jogging dozing etc. However thats where the problem lies therein. I have tried a number of different screen locks such as MortSaver,ScreenGuard,DeviceLock etc and unless I am missing something, its not working as required. If the video/TCPMP is running and the screen lock is activated,the TCPMP player pauses ie stops playing. Is there any program or hack I can use that would lock the screen,preferably blank it (thereby saving battery power) but let the TCPMP player/audio play in the background? Would appreciate any help on this as it being in my pocket always causes touchscreen activation. Thanx all.

Sorry for bringing this old thread back to life, but strangely even after an extensive search I have not found a solution.
All the locks mentioned turn the GPS off, and I'm using satnav in my pocket when riding a bike. I assume it's the same problem as dabs1 had/has.

OK, this is a piece of precious info for some.
After a few days of thorough searching and trying countless locks, there is one that actually does the thing. It's Deltalock. Strangely. There is an option 'blank screen' or something, it locks the keys as well actually.
The whole point is that, unlike all the other applications I've tried, when you assign Deltalock to a hardware button, when you start it, it does not disturb the application that is currently running. So - for example - it does not close/minimize the Tomtom and does not turn the GPS off.

Pin Locking and Activesync

Hi all,
I tried searching but cannot find anything on this, so as my first post, here goes...
I have a Touch Diamond with official ROM (WM6.1). I want to get over the known "issue" that with the device set to pin lock after 0 minute timeout, it still locks automatically after 1 minute of idle time.
Of course, I found an answer on this forum, see, for example http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=291868: in the registry, set AEFrequencyType to 2 (instead of 1), which works as hoped as far as the device is concerned... it no longer auto-locks after any amount of time, but locks instead whenever it goes into standby.
The issue is this: Activesync no longer requires the pin to connect to the device and without pin can read ALL files from its memory, even if the phone is locked at the time. Setting AEFrequencyType back to 1 forces Activesync to require the pin even if it is not locked when it is plugged in to the computer. Does anyone know a way to force Activesync to require the pin... of course, I am looking for a setting on the device, not the PC, as I want to make it hard for anyone who might steal the phone (or if I lose it!) to read the data on the device.
In case anyone is wondering, I also found another workaround. Having set the pin timeout to some large time, like 30 minutes, I can then use a pin locking program, Zenyee's 'Pin Lock.exe', and create a wakeup event notification with Dotfred's Task Manager (seems very useful app for free!). This works, until I run FlexMail, which seems to intercept these notifications and prevent it from locking!! So, I have to override a soft key on the home screen to run the pin lock, then hit the power button to put the device into standby. Not too bad, but there must be a better way...!
Thanks in advance,
Martin

Just a quick follow up for anyone who may be interested. FlexMail DOES NOT intercept the wakeup events... however, because it causes a little processing to be done, it seems it can delay the device from sleeping for a while (a minute or two) whenever a full synchronisation is performed. So, the wakeup event, whilst normally quick to activate, can sometimes take a minute before becoming effective.
However, I now have a workable solution for me. Just as I said above, I set my Pin Lock timeout to something large, like 30 minutes. However, instead of relying solely on wakeup events, I have now installed Gyrator 2 (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=427805) which is an excellent application for many reasons... I particularly like being able to identify the window class/title using the stylus-in event to identify the in-focus window! More importantly, for this issue, it has the option to both Pin Lock and Suspend the device whenever a certain criteria is met. For me, this is when it is held face down for a second. So, now I just do this instead of hitting the power button and I'm guaranteed to have the device Pin Locked on next wakeup. ActiveSync also requires the Pin as AEFrequencyType is the default value of 1. A perfectly workable solution.
All the best,
Martin

I strongly suggest you take this towards the Diamond section as knowledge about specific problems in specific devices are usually conversed over at that specific section.. more than here.

Thanks, but I think this is WM6/WM6.1 specific, not Diamond specific. The problem with AEFrequencyType set to 1 giving a timeout even with zero minutes is known and seems to be device independent. I just found that setting it to 2 to fix this timeout issue, as many people do, seems to prevent ActiveSync from requiring the PIN as well! Not a good result.
That said, my workaround solution is probably Diamond specific, sorry! Perhaps I should post in the original thread that I found out about the AEFrequencyType registry tweak?
All the best,
Martin

[Q] App like Tasker or Llama

Hi.
Since coming from android I've been a frequent user of apps who lets the phone change it's settings due to specific triggers, like turning silent at night and loud in the morning, turning silent when a certain calendar happening occurs, turning of wifi when leaving home etc.
Is there anything like this for using along with windows phone?
Thanks in advance
Pemell

Actually, (some of) this is theoretically possible, but nobody has done it so far. It's also not going to be allowed on the Marketplace; you'd need to use some unofficial APIs.
For example, the DllImport Project already has shown the ability to control the phone's volume. Programmatically muting the phone at a certain time, for example one minute after a meeting is supposed to start, should be pretty easy.
The trick would be to make sure the phone also un-mutes it when the meeting ends. WP7 doesn't (officially) allow third-party software to run continuously in the background, and while you can schedule a time for the software to run, it make no guarantee ot to-the-minute accuracy. There are ways around the official restrictions, but most of them have serious battery-life considerations (although telling the process to sleep for the next 30 minutes * 60 seconds * 1000 miliseconds would probably work without draining battery). Additionally, I'm not sure how much access apps officially have to calendar data, although on interop-unlocked or full-unlocked phones there are varius ways to access that data.
For things other than volume control, like enabling or disabling WiFi (almost completely unneccessary on WP7, the WiFi power management is, if anything, too conservative already) you'd need to find the place in the OS that controls it. Probably just sending SetDevicePower to the Wifi driver would work to disable it, though I don't know if that would show up correctly in the UI.

Tasker

Having some issues with tasker on the pixel 3. I had the pixel 1 with android pie and had no issues. I migrated my profile and the tasks work if i play them manually but don't seem to work automatically 99% of the time. They also show green as if they should be active. It seems to have something to do with having the screen off. I have battery optimization turned off for the app and I have messed around with a few other settings. Does anyone know the magic combination to get it working? Or any idea what else may be wrong?
Example screnario...I get into my car, bluetooth connects, i wait and pandora doesnt turn on. I unlock the phone and go into tasker, the profile is green as if it is active but Pandora isn't playing. I then open the task and hit the play button and everything works as it should.
I can live without most of my tasks but I really miss Pandora automatically playing and exiting when connected to my bluetooth.
EDIT: My other tasks are hard to verify they aren't working. It seems that they may be working some/most of the time but Pandora has yet to launch while the screen is off. I have smart lock enabled so the phone should unlock when connected to my bluetooth.

huviduc said:
Having some issues with tasker on the pixel 3. I had the pixel 1 with android pie and had no issues. I migrated my profile and the tasks work if i play them manually but don't seem to work automatically 99% of the time. They also show green as if they should be active. It seems to have something to do with having the screen off. I have battery optimization turned off for the app and I have messed around with a few other settings. Does anyone know the magic combination to get it working? Or any idea what else may be wrong?
Example screnario...I get into my car, bluetooth connects, i wait and pandora doesnt turn on. I unlock the phone and go into tasker, the profile is green as if it is active but Pandora isn't playing. I then open the task and hit the play button and everything works as it should.
I can live without most of my tasks but I really miss Pandora automatically playing and exiting when connected to my bluetooth.
EDIT: My other tasks are hard to verify they aren't working. It seems that they may be working some/most of the time but Pandora has yet to launch while the screen is off. I have smart lock enabled so the phone should unlock when connected to my bluetooth.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check to see if accessibility is enabled for Tasker. If memory serves me correctly it needs to be enabled in order to launch an app. I might be wrong about that but it can't hurt to try it. Android settings>accessibility

robocuff said:
Check to see if accessibility is enabled for Tasker. If memory serves me correctly it needs to be enabled in order to launch an app. I might be wrong about that but it can't hurt to try it. Android settings>accessibility
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I checked and it wasn't enabled. Enabled it but unfortunately the same issue happens. If i have the screen on everything works perfectly fine, screen off nothing happens. I am using always on display if that matters, its the only difference from my pixel 1 setup but I don't see why it would matter.
I also tried clearing all app data, uninstalling, reinstalling and setting up the pandora profile from scratch. Its such a simple task, I don't see why it isn't working. Profile below, selected options in parenthesis.
BT Connected (bluetooth device name) -> Pandora (Launch App Pandora)

Did you select the BT device from the list by tapping the magnifying glass? I have found that if I pair a device the name is the same but the profile won't work until I remove and add it again. Also, some have different modes. For example, my Bose BT headphones pair as "Bose SoundSport" initially, but then connect as "LE Bose SoundSport" after that, so profile trigger has both listed.
Another test I would do is to change the task actions to see if it's actually triggering the profile or if it's an issue with the task. I usually just do Alert > Flash and watch the screen when the profile should be triggering. If the flash works, something isn't working with the launch app action.
Hope this helps.
Edit: I guess I didn't clarify, the task I have with my Bose headphones launches Spotify and starts music (media control > next). It also sets the media volume to a comfortable level. The criteria for this profile is a variable (based on calendar to see if I'm at work or not) and BT connection.
I forgot it was there, but I use Secure Settings to wake the CPU when the task triggers. Not sure if this is still needed or not. I think it was needed at one point to launch with the screen off or something, but I haven't really changed this task for a few years other than updating the BT device name as described above.

fury683 said:
Did you select the BT device from the list by tapping the magnifying glass? I have found that if I pair a device the name is the same but the profile won't work until I remove and add it again. Also, some have different modes. For example, my Bose BT headphones pair as "Bose SoundSport" initially, but then connect as "LE Bose SoundSport" after that, so profile trigger has both listed.
Another test I would do is to change the task actions to see if it's actually triggering the profile or if it's an issue with the task. I usually just do Alert > Flash and watch the screen when the profile should be triggering. If the flash works, something isn't working with the launch app action.
Hope this helps.
Edit: I guess I didn't clarify, the task I have with my Bose headphones launches Spotify and starts music (media control > next). It also sets the media volume to a comfortable level. The criteria for this profile is a variable (based on calendar to see if I'm at work or not) and BT connection.
I forgot it was there, but I use Secure Settings to wake the CPU when the task triggers. Not sure if this is still needed or not. I think it was needed at one point to launch with the screen off or something, but I haven't really changed this task for a few years other than updating the BT device name as described above.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the input! I am heading out of town for a few days but I'll look into your suggestions when i return ( i wont have my car with me so i cant do any testing). I do think the profile works because it shows as green when i turn my screen on and open tasker. It also works perfectly fine if i have my screen on then start my car.
I think it may be working now (successfully tested one time) but I will need to use a bit more to be sure. The only thing I noticed is when reinstalling, i was prompted to allow the application to run in the background and chose yes. When the app was transferred from my old phone and I imported the backup, i dont recall ever getting this prompt. Not sure where this setting is found other than at the prompt. I will report back once i am home and can test some more.

okay so it doesn't appear to be working still. The task works fine when played manually, the profile runs the task successfully when the screen is on/off/locked. It does NOT work after phone has been idle for a while. I have battery optimization off for Tasker and when I check battery usage, I can see that tasker runs all day long. I have another task to dismiss email notifications at work and it works fine when the phone is idle.
Starting to test it with different actions like turning on the screen but I'm running out of ideas. Only other thought it Adaptive Battery....not very familiar with it.

huviduc said:
okay so it doesn't appear to be working still. The task works fine when played manually, the profile runs the task successfully when the screen is on/off/locked. It does NOT work after phone has been idle for a while. I have battery optimization off for Tasker and when I check battery usage, I can see that tasker runs all day long. I have another task to dismiss email notifications at work and it works fine when the phone is idle.
Starting to test it with different actions like turning on the screen but I'm running out of ideas. Only other thought it Adaptive Battery....not very familiar with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you verify if the task runs at all? In other words, does Tasker successfully see the BT connection and activate the profile and the only thing that fails is Pandora playing?
If the profile actually kicks in, then it sounds like the phone needs to 'wake up' more before the Pandora action works.
I have a morning profile (runs based on time of day) that I had to add a wake screen step to to have all the actions work (I don't actually remember which action wasn't working -- it may have been that it didn't seen to run at all). I currently use the old Secure Settings plugin to do the screen wake because when I tried which auto- app has a screen wake action it didn't work.

piccit said:
Can you verify if the task runs at all? In other words, does Tasker successfully see the BT connection and activate the profile and the only thing that fails is Pandora playing?
If the profile actually kicks in, then it sounds like the phone needs to 'wake up' more before the Pandora action works.
I have a morning profile (runs based on time of day) that I had to add a wake screen step to to have all the actions work (I don't actually remember which action wasn't working -- it may have been that it didn't seen to run at all). I currently use the old Secure Settings plugin to do the screen wake because when I tried which auto- app has a screen wake action it didn't work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This leads me to believe the bit I added for Secure Settings to wake CPU is what makes it work any time? The profile I have is very similar; %ATWORK = TRUE && BT connected to Bose SoundSport. Secure Settings wakes CPU only 20 seconds, launches Spotify, waits 5 seconds, simulates media control "next" then sets the volume to 10.
Can't hurt to try..

i added a task to vibrate the phone after trying to launch pandora. The phone seems to vibrate every time but pandora will only start if the screen is on. Thought it may be lock screen related so i totally disabled it, same results. Ill mess around with the secure settings tip above, the fact that it vibrates every time makes me think its something else though. Attached some logs below. Each set contains all logs from profile active to profile inactive.
EDIT --> work around found. Removing log in case there are any personal details

DELETED

DELETED

Comparing the logs in notepad++, they seem to be almost identical (with the exceptions of some of the timing of logs, had to move them around to match them up). The only difference I can see is the following lines and what appears to be Pandora starting up and exiting when it works ( events surrounded by #NLI: tickerText. The first line says True when screen is on and the second line is missing when pandora failed to load.
31-10-2018 M: 11.17.12#M: user present: false
31-10-2018 M: 11.17.12#M: startUAAA: need alarm: false

oddly enough... installing Secure Settings and using it to launch the same Pandora activity seems to work (so far)

Pixel 4a Android 11 - stop killing/pausing background app ?

Hi all,
I have a Pixel 4a with stock Android 11 (up to date, no root, with Nova Launcher).
I have a rowing machine that comes with an app (ErgData, by concept2) that can connect to the machine via bluetooth or via usb cable: while rowing the app logs the workout data (like pace, heart rate etc).
I wanted to do the following: watch a video while the ErgData app logs my workout, so I started ErgData, connected it to the rower, configured the workout and, once ready to start rowing, I switch to the video player and start rowing.
It worked fine a bunch of times, but one day it stopped working: at the end of the workout (like after 20-30min), when I switch back to ErgData the app is in its default screen (like the one you get at startup) and it has logged nothing. When connecting via bluetooth, the app has also lost the connection to the rower. When connecting via usb the connection is there but the app has still logged nothing.
Things I've done:
disable battery optimization for ErgData, Bluetooth and Bluetooth MIDI
disable adaptive battery
use a different media player (android built-in, VLC)
uninstall / reinstall ErgData
clear Bluetooth storage/cache
disabled "Suspend Execution for Cached App" (developer mode)
No joy.
I tried a different app (ErgZone) and it has the same behavior.
I tried staying with ErgZone foreground for 3min before switching to the video player and in that case, ErgZone logged something, but not the totality of the workout.
So it really seems that somehow, when I switch to the video player, ErgData / ErgZone gets "paused" (killed ? cached ?).
Anything I can try ? Anything the app developers should do to prevent this ?
Thanks !

Sorry for the late response, I normally dont browse this forum. I am rooted and always have been, so all the solution I have used in the past are dependent on root. However, one idea to try is checking if the background app is killed while the phone is plugged into a charger? I know that being plugged in keeps the phone awake even when the screen is off.

HornetMaX said:
So it really seems that somehow, when I switch to the video player, ErgData / ErgZone gets "paused" (killed ? cached ?).
Anything I can try ? Anything the app developers should do to prevent this ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does the ErgData/Zone app start a persistent notification when recording? That's the way to keep a service running in the background. I had a phone with a tendency to kill anything not in the foreground, but it never killed active apps (including background with persistent notification).
If the app dies despite this, there may be a hint in the logcat. You have to enable developer mode to fetch that.

a1291762 said:
Does the ErgData/Zone app start a persistent notification when recording? That's the way to keep a service running in the background. I had a phone with a tendency to kill anything not in the foreground, but it never killed active apps (including background with persistent notification).
If the app dies despite this, there may be a hint in the logcat. You have to enable developer mode to fetch that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, ErgData/ErgZone do not have a persistent notification. Guess that's a potential solution then.
At the moment my workaround is to use the "pop-up" feature of VLC so that I have the video on top of the other app (ErgData/ErgZone), so that the other app stays foreground. That works, but it's not a real solution.

Hmm they gave me a beta version of the app with the persistent notification thingy and it works perfectly.