Database Info

Hey DEVS, I found something....something to help our HERO's right now

So I've been noticing that after a certain amount of use my Hero eventually slows down to the point where typing on the keyboard is frustrating because of the slow response. I did some searching and I came across this online
http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=3453
since I'm no where near the level of a dev, I figured I'd put this out there and see if anyone can make heads or tails of it, and possibly create a signed-zip so we can just use the update feature in the recovery screen to flash it to our system.
Seems legit as a fix, and apparently this was something that was a known problem with Android 1.5 that I guess has been fixed with 2.0.
Any Dev help would be hot.

Excellent. Thank you for tracking that down.
The TL;DNR explanation: Location services are causing multiple "heartbeats" on the phone all on top of each other. One guy counted as many as 253 in 5 seconds. This consumes the CPU. I will look at the patch.

Would disabling location services be a temporary fix?

kynetx said:
Would disabling location services be a temporary fix?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. We're pretty close to 2.1 though so shouldn't need more then that.

ive seen this problem too but not until recently, it lags the phone and drains the battery amazingly fast.

abcdfv said:
Yes. We're pretty close to 2.1 though so shouldn't need more then that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm taking a wait and see approach on the 2.1 progress right now, what's there looks very promising but without the camera, accel., & (for me anyway because I do have alot of apps that i use) a2sd, I'm content with Fresh 1.0, just wanna get help get that issue solved cuz I'm sure I'm not the only one who is experiencing it.
PS: I know I said I have alot of apps, but I know that's not the cause because the same thing happened when I did a wipe and just left things "stock" with Fresh Rom 1.0 for a few days

If they got the accel and wifi tether working, I'd make the jump to 2.1, but I need the accel for work, and the wifi tether for internet.

What app can be used to show the system_server process? I use task manager but it isn't listed. I want to monitor this process.
Also, does anyone know about the patch? How Do you apply it?

1) I can't answer the first question. I just took the advice here and turned all location services off. My phone is back to its snappy self. The only way I'm really impacted by having to do this right now (I'm sure I'll use this phone for more after 2.1) is using google maps. I already kept GPS off when I wasn't using it but having to go into the settings and allow Location Setting before using gmaps is a PITA.
2) I know very little about android and ROM DEV but think the "patch" is programming code, only useful to people who know how to read and write it.

jdlumley said:
What app can be used to show the system_server process? I use task manager but it isn't listed. I want to monitor this process.
Also, does anyone know about the patch? How Do you apply it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
RoboTop???

You can use DDMS from the Android SDK toolkit to monitor processes running on the phone. Should be able to pull up a process list from there.
Now, I'm using Locale but not with Location settings for my different profiles. I also have Location settings turned on for use with Google Maps as well as the HTC Flip Clock / Beautiful Widgets Home. Surprisingly, my system_server process is sitting at 0% right now, and the phone has been on for over a day. Both DDMS and running "top -n 1" in the adb shell confirm this. If there's much of a change over the day, I'll be sure to let you know. So, it's possible that HTC found and fixed this issue with their SenseUI CDMA 1.5 build. Unlikely, but possible.

So I was seeing this issue even with the modified services.jar from that thread. Granted I didn't test it very long and it was only maxing out at 1%, but it was enough for me to feel that it wasn't working.
I have since removed HTC's location service. After rebooting it looks as if because the phone couldn't find HTC's service anymore it installed the stock one. Time to see if it makes any difference.

with my BB for example there was an application which rebooted your phone at a custom time that u have set .. is there an application that can be used to do the same with the hero? ... reboot device while u are sleeping.. so it runs nice and quick for u the next day?

flipzmode said:
So I was seeing this issue even with the modified services.jar from that thread. Granted I didn't test it very long and it was only maxing out at 1%, but it was enough for me to feel that it wasn't working.
I have since removed HTC's location service. After rebooting it looks as if because the phone couldn't find HTC's service anymore it installed the stock one. Time to see if it makes any difference.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On the Fresh ROM thread I thought you said that it was using 16% previously... and is this an issue that's apparent immediately or is it something that gets worse with time?
Any chance of including the modified services.jar in the next release even if it doesn't immediately appear to make a difference? I mean, if it's not crashing things and is supposed to be an improvement, then why not stick it in there, right?

Just read nearly that entire chain of messages. now somebody (fresh, ima callin you out!) dooo eeeet!

What's the word on progress for this in Fresh ROM? I have found it to be a very significant issue for me (and apparently so has my roommate), as I use location services quite a lot. GMaps being most in particular, but some other apps as well (Aloqa, Sprint Navigation). I'm really glad there's a workaround that doesn't involve a reboot!

I looked at the other link and I have downloaded both the services.jar file and the LocationManagerService.patch. Which one should I apply and do I apply it? I am having problems with this now.

bcellis said:
On the Fresh ROM thread I thought you said that it was using 16% previously... and is this an issue that's apparent immediately or is it something that gets worse with time?
Any chance of including the modified services.jar in the next release even if it doesn't immediately appear to make a difference? I mean, if it's not crashing things and is supposed to be an improvement, then why not stick it in there, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The bug is that it gets worse over time. I can include it for sure. I believe the reason it's not working is because our hero's code is all stored in services.odex, not services.jar. And I haven't been able to deodex that file yet. But I'll include it regardless because it can't hurt.
scirio said:
Just read nearly that entire chain of messages. now somebody (fresh, ima callin you out!) dooo eeeet!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
patches11 said:
What's the word on progress for this in Fresh ROM? I have found it to be a very significant issue for me (and apparently so has my roommate), as I use location services quite a lot. GMaps being most in particular, but some other apps as well (Aloqa, Sprint Navigation). I'm really glad there's a workaround that doesn't involve a reboot!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm working on testing whether disabling HTC's location service will fix our issue. However with the release of the kitchen I was rebooting my phone non-stop. Impossible for me to know if it was working or not.
ElAguila said:
I looked at the other link and I have downloaded both the services.jar file and the LocationManagerService.patch. Which one should I apply and do I apply it? I am having problems with this now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The patch is designed to apply to the source, so that won't help you. The services.jar would replace the one that's already there.

turning off location has been a dramatic difference in speed. its obvious theres something to that. it would get so bad the whole phone would lag

Keeping the phone in memory

I am running an eclair rom on my g1 (latest superbad), but that's not really important. What is important is that I like having the launcher in memory because it lets me get back to the home screen faster (for the most part).
In similar fashion, it takes a long time for the phone app to start when I hit the green button, or when I have an incoming call, and so logically I think that keeping the phone app in memory might fix that issue as well. Technically I could be completely wrong. I don't know. I'm not a developer.
Is this possible/feasible? Would it fix the issue?
Note: In all likelihood this post will result in touchy moderators complaining about how it's in the wrong place, or I didn't search or myriad other posts that I often have to sift through before someone answers the question...But I searched and couldnt find any one asking this question, and I thought it was worth asking. I just don't have the time or energy to try and figure out where or when it is appropriate to post. Maybe it's exactly where it belongs, and it is a worthwhile post, but that would be completely accidental.

hugerobot said:
I am running an eclair rom on my g1 (latest superbad), but that's not really important. What is important is that I like having the launcher in memory because it lets me get back to the home screen faster (for the most part).
In similar fashion, it takes a long time for the phone app to start when I hit the green button, or when I have an incoming call, and so logically I think that keeping the phone app in memory might fix that issue as well. Technically I could be completely wrong. I don't know. I'm not a developer.
Is this possible/feasible? Would it fix the issue?
Note: In all likelihood this post will result in touchy moderators complaining about how it's in the wrong place, or I didn't search or myriad other posts that I often have to sift through before someone answers the question...But I searched and couldnt find any one asking this question, and I thought it was worth asking. I just don't have the time or energy to try and figure out where or when it is appropriate to post. Maybe it's exactly where it belongs, and it is a worthwhile post, but that would be completely accidental.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pre-complaining about others' complaints = lame.
To answer your questions, have you: 1. checked Spare Parts to see if the "keep home app in memory" bit is set? (at the bottom of the list) 2. have you used a task manager like Auto Killer to manage your memory more aggressively ? 3. Have you used a task manager to see dialer.apk's status after using the phone for other stuff? 4. Have you posted this question to the devs/other users of this ROM to see if they have similar problems?
BTW, your config including ROM type/build/version, etc is extremely important.

No doubt someone will complain about the placement of your thread but to be honest some of these people have no lives. Anyway, I don't know if this helps but I exclude my dialer from my task manager and it starts instantly. I am using Advanced Task Manager... hope it works for you.

rynosaur said:
Pre-complaining about others' complaints = lame.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Calling me lame when it appears that you didn't even read my post=the reason why I hardly ever post here. Ugh.
rynosaur said:
To answer your questions, have you: 1. checked Spare Parts to see if the "keep home app in memory" bit is set? (at the bottom of the list) 2. have you used a task manager like Auto Killer to manage your memory more aggressively ? 3. Have you used a task manager to see dialer.apk's status after using the phone for other stuff? 4. Have you posted this question to the devs/other users of this ROM to see if they have similar problems?
BTW, your config including ROM type/build/version, etc is extremely important.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think maybe you only read the part where I precomplained... since that seems to be the only item you commented on appropriately. But to answer your questions...
1. I clearly stated that I keep home app in memory because I like the performance gain. I have no idea what your asking me.
2. I don't use task killers/memory managers. Cyanogen and most other experts have argued against them enough to convince me that it's not the right solution.
3. huh?
4. I'm not complaining. This is not geared toward any particular dev. Slow phone is a known inconvenience with all eclair builds on G1. Didn't think I needed to go asking if anyone else was experiencing it. I have flashed so many eclair roms to my phone, and with all of them the phone app has behaved more or less the same way.
BTW- I also clearly stated that I have a G1 running the latest superbad.
Here's my question again... Would keeping the phone app in memory improve it's performance in the same way that keeping the home app in memory does? If so is there value in including this option in spare parts?

blackvyper said:
No doubt someone will complain about the placement of your thread but to be honest some of these people have no lives. Anyway, I don't know if this helps but I exclude my dialer from my task manager and it starts instantly. I am using Advanced Task Manager... hope it works for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your suggestion... but I'm leery about using task managers/killers based on some of the discussions I've read from some of the expert devs (cyanogen, etc). I suppose if it works, the result is the same. I am surprised no one has asked this question before. I searched quite a bit and couldn't find a mention- on here, and a straight up Google search.

I don't know why I wasting my time on your reply since you're too arrogant to accept advice but here goes in more simple words you might understand.
1. Download task manager
2. Use task manager to see DIALER's status. Is it foreground? Is it background? What is its OOM, what is it PID?
3. Report results on appropriate ROM thread. Ask other users if their experience is similar.
4. In the meanwhile, try keeping alive the Dialer longer than normal. This means make OOM higher. (yes, its extension is APK as it is an Android application, you know, your OS?)
If you saw "kill" anywhere in there, let me know. If you are comparing your experience with dialer to a Launcher app that is held in memory by Spare Parts, that's useful information. Nevermind that a Launcher that is held in memory elbows out other foreground apps like, oh . . . Dialer? What would you guess that OOM is? If you like launcher's response better than dialer, perhaps you should adjust's dialer's OOM. Just a thought. I don't know ****, that's why I'm trying to help.

rynosaur said:
I don't know why I wasting my time on your reply since you're too arrogant to accept advice but here goes in more simple words you might understand.
1. Download task manager
2. Use task manager to see DIALER's status. Is it foreground? Is it background? What is its OOM, what is it PID?
3. Report results on appropriate ROM thread. Ask other users if their experience is similar.
4. In the meanwhile, try keeping alive the Dialer longer than normal. This means make OOM higher. (yes, its extension is APK as it is an Android application, you know, your OS?)
If you saw "kill" anywhere in there, let me know. If you are comparing your experience with dialer to a Launcher app that is held in memory by Spare Parts, that's useful information. Nevermind that a Launcher that is held in memory elbows out other foreground apps like, oh . . . Dialer? What would you guess that OOM is? If you like launcher's response better than dialer, perhaps you should adjust's dialer's OOM. Just a thought. I don't know ****, that's why I'm trying to help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know where the arrogance was in my opening post??? You decided to start off your first reply with name calling. Cool it. Don't waste your time on me anymore, ok? I don't need your help, man. There's plenty of polite, helpful people here. I'll look to them. I don't need advice wrapped around names and swears and put downs.
Edit:I just deleted 3 paragraphs... you're just not worth the effort.
Let me repeat my question, slightly reworded, since I don't know what OOMs are and I don't want to know.
Spare parts has an option to keep launcher in memory. Is there a chance that adding another option to keep the phone in memory might help with phone app performance? I don't want to use task killers, etc.
That is my question. My only question. Sorry for all of the drama, folks.

hugerobot said:
That is my question. My only question. Sorry for all of the drama, folks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I'm sorry for my part -- I started sarcastic and then thing flew out of hand. My point about priority and memory allocation is this: dialer is, by its nature, held in memory-it doesn't have to be loaded after boot, it just has to be recalled. I'm sure you've noticed that no matter what you're doing on the phone, it all takes a backseat to an incoming call, and usually very quickly, <5 seconds. The phone is still built to take calls above any thing else.
So my answer to your question is this: bump up the priority of phone.apk. It will respond to the green button more quickly. In my ROM, Phone has an OOM of -12, while HTC Sense is 0 -- that's Spare Parts working to make dialer higher on the food chain. Think about it. Don't wait for someone to rewrite a ROM, just use AutoKiller to bump it up the foodchain and push other background processes further to the back. If you use compcache, remember dialer.apk may end up there, where it takes more till (being compressed) than normal to recall. Also Phone Prioritizer (which I can't find on the market anymore due to my build) is nice fore renicing more frequently than the OS does by default. All these things could help. Reducing other concurrent background tasks will help as well.

hugerobot said:
I don't know where the arrogance was in my opening post??? You decided to start off your first reply with name calling. Cool it. Don't waste your time on me anymore, ok? I don't need your help, man. There's plenty of polite, helpful people here. I'll look to them. I don't need advice wrapped around names and swears and put downs.
Edit:I just deleted 3 paragraphs... you're just not worth the effort.
Let me repeat my question, slightly reworded, since I don't know what OOMs are and I don't want to know.
Spare parts has an option to keep launcher in memory. Is there a chance that adding another option to keep the phone in memory might help with phone app performance? I don't want to use task killers, etc.
That is my question. My only question. Sorry for all of the drama, folks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know what you mean. Im not sure what happend to XDA lately. Back when it was ALL windows mobile forums (phones no android), everyone was very helpfull ect... When android phones started coming out that brought the whole world to XDA and now we have people on here who have nothing else to do but bash people instead of helping them... Anyways... LOL
As for the dialer / home in memory situation. I found that enabling swap / compcache makes a huge difference.
I been on every 2.1 rom on G1 and ALL of them had problems with loading apps very slow and opening the home screen real real slow even with "Home in Memory" checked in spared parts.
And then I flashed Super E yesterday wich is a 2.1 rom that has swap / compcache settings inside spare parts. I partitoned my sdcard with 254mb swap and enabled Swap and Compcache of 32mb. I also went to the market and downloaded "Swapper 2" which will also enable swap and tell you your swap statistics. After doing that everything and I mean everything opens rather instantly.
My sdcard is class 2 so I never been a fan of using swap but using swap with compcache makes a huge performance difference for me on my G1 on the Super E rom. I think theres an update to Super E that I havnt flashed yet but with the perfomance so far I dont see a need to update but I might update just for the hell of it.
Long story short. Enable swap partition on your SD card / Install Super E / Install Google Apps / Enable Aps 2 SD / Spare Part Enable compcache / swap 32mb / Enable Launcher in memory / Download Swapper 2 from market and set to on.

Thank you. I will try your suggestion.
One last comment- since I started running eclair roms on my G1, the phone app has taken longer to load than it used to. It doesn't feel like it has priority over the other apps. I do need my phone to be a phone, first and foremost, and it has gotten better, but it's still often very slow to load. Also, I run a very vanilla install. I wipe my phone so often that I don't bother loading a lot of apps. This behavior would be typical for anyone with a fresh install of one of the eclair roms.

hugerobot said:
Thank you. I will try your suggestion.
One last comment- since I started running eclair roms on my G1, the phone app has taken longer to load than it used to. It doesn't feel like it has priority over the other apps. I do need my phone to be a phone, first and foremost, and it has gotten better, but it's still often very slow to load. Also, I run a very vanilla install. I wipe my phone so often that I don't bother loading a lot of apps. This behavior would be typical for anyone with a fresh install of one of the eclair roms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All these replies you are getting about phone.apk and dialer.apk have nothing to do with your problem. In fact there is no dialer.apk. And phone.apk is mainly for incoming calls. The rest of the dialing, such as when you use the green button, is done via contacts.apk. The slow load times are really a part of the way android kills processes. If you are running a replacement launcher like LauncherPro or GDE, etc, what you are seeing is that acore needs to reload and takes a long time. The stock launcher is much more forgiving. I have found that by installing the "DialerOne" dialer from the market, that these alternate launchers do not cause the acore reload, and the dialer is very fast to load.

bkmo said:
All these replies you are getting about phone.apk and dialer.apk have nothing to do with your problem. In fact there is no dialer.apk. And phone.apk is mainly for incoming calls. .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never said phone.apk but I did transpose dialer and phone as interchangeable names for the same process. My fault, but what runs in the background to let let you make phone calls is name com.android.phone.
This advice/his characterization of how the dialer-contacts tool works might hold true in Eclair/2.1 Cyanogen-based ROMs, but it is not an "android" universal truth. I am running a Sense 2.1 ROM and believe me, there is no "contacts" process. Foregrounding com.android.phone brings up the dialer, and decreasing its OOM brings up the dialer instantly when the green button is pressed.
The other gentleman's response that more cache is the answer may be a great answer for cm5.0.7 ROMs--if you can get a good cache going, I never could--but it's almost a non-question in Sense ROMs since everyone will run one anyway, whether it be backingswap or linux-swap.
Now that's we've cleared this question up completely

I couldn't bother reading all of the back and forth stuff, I am using Xtreme-1.2.2-black it is 2.1 CM5 base.
I have been using shadowch31 Renice Script that gives the "phone" app a higher priority and it starts up a lot faster.
Also using and ogg file instead of an mp3 has been know to help.
I haven't seen the script in any of the forms so I am not sure if shadowch31 wants it released so pm me or him if you want to give it a try

This is from the getting hero to run faster thread in general:
You can easily lock home into memory. *thanks speedysilwady and firerat. Here's how to set this permanently:
Code:
adb pull /init.rc
[I]replace "setprop ro.HOME_APP_MEM ..." with:[/I]
[I][B]setprop ro.HOME_APP_MEM 1536[/B][/I]
adb push init.rc /sdcard/init.rc
adb shell
# mount -o remount,ro rootfs /
# cat /sdcard/init.rc | tee /init.rc
# mount -o remount,rw rootfs /
# rm /sdcard/init.rc
Can't we do something similar with the phone.apk?

SuperBad v1.4.2 will be up in a bit...
It'll be fixed.
In Christ
Clay

htcclay said:
SuperBad v1.4.2 will be up in a bit...
It'll be fixed.
In Christ
Clay
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From the man himself! So did my suggestion help? Did I actually contribute by posing the question?
For the record, I did say that this was the case with all 2.1 roms I've tried, not a problem with superbad.

rynosaur said:
This advice/his characterization of how the dialer-contacts tool works might hold true in Eclair/2.1 Cyanogen-based ROMs, but it is not an "android" universal truth. I am running a Sense 2.1 ROM and believe me, there is no "contacts" process. Foregrounding com.android.phone brings up the dialer, and decreasing its OOM brings up the dialer instantly when the green button is pressed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are right, there is no "contacts" process. And I have seen this contact.apk loading issue since "donut", so it is not an "eclair" only issue. What I do see is that when you are running an alternate home app, that when you press the green button, or the phone icon, what you get is an "acore has died" in adb logcat. At this point acore reloads all the programs under it including launcher, before it runs the contacts app to get you the dialer. I have seen up to 20 seconds before the dialer comes up. Renicing phone.apk does not help this issue in my testing. I have just tried dialerone from the market, and it does not suffer the slow load times. I do not know what brings up the dialer when you press the button, all I know is that the dialer is included in contacts.apk, and what I see in a logcat whn I press the button or icon. Dialerone is working for me, and I can use the latest ADW launcher without a delay to the dialer. Thanks for setting me straight....seriously.

mejorguille said:
This is from the getting hero to run faster thread in general:
You can easily lock home into memory. *thanks speedysilwady and firerat. Here's how to set this permanently:
Code:
adb pull /init.rc
[I]replace "setprop ro.HOME_APP_MEM ..." with:[/I]
[I][B]setprop ro.HOME_APP_MEM 1536[/B][/I]
adb push init.rc /sdcard/init.rc
adb shell
# mount -o remount,ro rootfs /
# cat /sdcard/init.rc | tee /init.rc
# mount -o remount,rw rootfs /
# rm /sdcard/init.rc
Can't we do something similar with the phone.apk?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AFIK phone.apk is not the dialer, and is already locked and does not get killed. Just think about it, if it was able to be killed, what would be running to handle an incoming call?

bkmo said:
Thanks for setting me straight....seriously.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, everybody's got to be wrong at least once a day, me . . . . more 10 or 20 times a day. I don't know what it is with gapps and acore crashing regularly in cm eclair builds, but my impressions from t1-stable were: Hero-like instability, without the Hero bells and whistles. So I switched to Sense 2.1 Result, apps do die when I look at the phone funny (or press Dial -- fring dies when I press dial, or the mysterious com.smithmicro.DM -- probably a keylogger), but the bells and whistles are nice, so there's tangible payoff for dealing with a stretch of a mod.
Hope HTCClay works a miracle and fixes your phone. Maybe he can share the secret with other devs Peace

rynosaur said:
I don't know why I wasting my time on your reply since you're too arrogant to accept advice but here goes in more simple words you might understand.
1. Download task manager
2. Use task manager to see DIALER's status. Is it foreground? Is it background? What is its OOM, what is it PID?
3. Report results on appropriate ROM thread. Ask other users if their experience is similar.
4. In the meanwhile, try keeping alive the Dialer longer than normal. This means make OOM higher. (yes, its extension is APK as it is an Android application, you know, your OS?)
If you saw "kill" anywhere in there, let me know. If you are comparing your experience with dialer to a Launcher app that is held in memory by Spare Parts, that's useful information. Nevermind that a Launcher that is held in memory elbows out other foreground apps like, oh . . . Dialer? What would you guess that OOM is? If you like launcher's response better than dialer, perhaps you should adjust's dialer's OOM. Just a thought. I don't know ****, that's why I'm trying to help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there must be some mod out there to shut up this silly stupids like this guy...why this people ever answer in a post?!!!!

Help, 5.0 702L boot up service issues

I have never had this issue on any other device with 5.0+ and wonder if it is unique to the X2
I can do any app that says start at boot up, e.g., Smart Unlock, and any autostart app, and oftentimes the service will not start at boot up
I have downloaded and tried a number of apps and utilities (about 4 init.d utilities and bootcomnand) and unfortunately no dice. "Autostart and Stay" is the latest.
Not only will the service not startup at boot, even manually started (which like Pavlov's dog I have trained myself to do), it does not "stay" ie keep the apps persistent or working in the background. Padlocking the apps (pulling down vs zooshing up in the multifinder/square box background tasks doesn't keep things executing.
This is a big hassle. I'm rooted and would do a single command line type command in boot shell pro, but don't have a command I can toss in to start the process or app and/or keep the process persistent.
Any help appreciated.

Rudolpht said:
I have never had this issue on any other device with 5.0+ and wonder if it is unique to the X2
I can do any app that says start at boot up, e.g., Smart Unlock, and any autostart app, and oftentimes the service will not start at boot up
I have downloaded and tried a number of apps and utilities (about 4 init.d utilities and bootcomnand) and unfortunately no dice. "Autostart and Stay" is the latest.
Not only will the service not startup at boot, even manually started (which like Pavlov's dog I have trained myself to do), it does not "stay" ie keep the apps persistent or working in the background. Padlocking the apps (pulling down vs zooshing up in the multifinder/square box background tasks doesn't keep things executing.
This is a big hassle. I'm rooted and would do a single command line type command in boot shell pro, but don't have a command I can toss in to start the process or app and/or keep the process persistent.
Any help appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go into phone manager then settings then shortcuts and add the Dropzone shortcut to your home screen. Then open the shortcut and enable everything in dropzone.

That is great advice. There are still nuances about this phone I need to explore. The nuanced nuance was I needed to have the dropzone shortcut (the service was already turned). I also had to protect it so it would run in the background during sleep (?!?) and after that third reboot it booted the service correctly. It seems like a combo of science and mysticism. But it works & thank you!

Rudolpht said:
That is great advice. There are still nuances about this phone I need to explore. The nuanced nuance was I needed to have the dropzone shortcut (the service was already turned). I also had to protect it so it would run in the background during sleep (?!?) and after that third reboot it booted the service correctly. It seems like a combo of science and mysticism. But it works & thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let's check your energy saving level. Any level higher than lowest one makes problems with prematurely switching off apps.
Energy saving mechanizms are pretty nasty in X2. I have great issues with notifications from WhatsApp and other communicators till I switched energy saving level to the lowest.

trurl3 said:
Let's check your energy saving level. Any level higher than lowest one makes problems with prematurely switching off apps.
Energy saving mechanizms are pretty nasty in X2. I have great issues with notifications from WhatsApp and other communicators till I switched energy saving level to the lowest.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you. I have the energy savings set to "Normal" as the next level seemed to save only 5%. I'm learning something new every day. Thank you.

I'm trying to research the wonders of dropzone. The best I can find is that it allows a small set of apps to allowing floating notifications. Doesn't really explain the ability to get autoboot things to work or other magic. I'm grateful that this and some of the protected app changes are making this androud work like it should (or like other phones) . A slight more battery drain but a worthy tradeoff for tearing my hair out.

Rudolpht said:
I'm trying to research the wonders of dropzone. The best I can find is that it allows a small set of apps to allowing floating notifications. Doesn't really explain the ability to get autoboot things to work or other magic. I'm grateful that this and some of the protected app changes are making this androud work like it should (or like other phones) . A slight more battery drain but a worthy tradeoff for tearing my hair out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you don't mind losing the No Disturb mode, you can delete the whole system manager app from system/app if you're rooted and you won't ever have to deal with the permission problems again.

I'm up for that. Would that kill the app lock also? Would a Titanium freeze do the same? Guess I can give it a shot.

And… it works. App Lock just as if it didn't exist. Will keep Phone Manager frozen for now. Thanks!

And it seems much faster/smoother, which is saying something since it was snappy to begin with.

Rudolpht said:
And it seems much faster/smoother, which is saying something since it was snappy to begin with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah when it's removed it even seems like the battery lasts a little longer. It's something I wish wasn't even included as just a task manager app would have sufficed. You can always delete the PhoneDiagnose and PowerGenieEngine as well. I can also remove them from the Super Slim KangVIP ROM as well if the majority would like that. My goal is a flashable ROM with no bloat that runs fast, gets great battery life and makes it easy for everyone. In fact, I'm going to remove them from my stock debloated ROM's and the KangVIP ROM's from now on due to the fact that a lot of us are having permission issues. I'll have three ROM's for each. A stock original bloated one, a medium debloated one with most of the Chinese apps we don't use removed but all the stock apps like Email will remain and a maximum debloated ROM and all the Huawei apps that can be removed will be.

ajsmsg78 said:
Yeah when it's removed it even seems like the battery lasts a little longer. It's something I wish wasn't even included as just a task manager app would have sufficed. You can always delete the PhoneDiagnose and PowerGenieEngine as well. I can also remove them from the Super Slim KangVIP ROM as well if the majority would like that. My goal is a flashable ROM with no bloat that runs fast, gets great battery life and makes it easy for everyone. In fact, I'm going to remove them from my stock debloated ROM's and the KangVIP ROM's from now on due to the fact that a lot of us are having permission issues. I'll have three ROM's for each. A stock original bloated one, a medium debloated one with most of the Chinese apps we don't use removed but all the stock apps like Email will remain and a maximum debloated ROM and all the Huawei apps that can be removed will be.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really think the third option, thinnest + gaps + ROM switching would be my winner. Thanks.

I could find and freeze Power Genie 5.6.1.11 to freeze but no Phone Diagnose

Ditched (froze) Swype also

Rudolpht said:
I really think the third option, thinnest + gaps + ROM switching would be my winner. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I updated the thread with an Ultra Slim KangVIP and SIM switching fix.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/mediapad-x2/development/rom-kangvip-5-1-1-b108-t3215851

Cool. I have transparent weather clock back working, without phone manager nonsense. This thread has really changed my X2 experience.

Rudolpht said:
That is great advice. There are still nuances about this phone I need to explore. The nuanced nuance was I needed to have the dropzone shortcut (the service was already turned). I also had to protect it so it would run in the background during sleep (?!?) and after that third reboot it booted the service correctly. It seems like a combo of science and mysticism. But it works & thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm having the same problem with some services at boot (I'm not rooted yet). I'm not sure I understand what you're explaining here. I created the shortcut to the dropzone and made sure everything was allowed in there. What do you mean by "I also had to protect it so it would run in the background during sleep"? (How do i do that?) Thanks!

AJ is the expert. Freezing phonemanager was easiest, but may require root. Search under settings (there is a search bar at the top) for "protect" services you can unprotect services that don't need to run in the background. Protect the ones you want to run, but they will use battery. May be in the phone manager app if not under setting

Thanks, I already tried that but I still don't get all the services to start at boot. Looks like rooting and freezing phonemanager is gonna be the only way... Thanks anyway for the help!

Killing phonemanager was the best thing that returned the X2 to an actual android-like device. There are a couple other services to freeze you can go through thread that also help.

Joying 2gb Intel problems/questions

So I just wanted to make a thread for these units where people can ask/answer questions specific to these devices. May help others as the info online isn't the best, including their own forum site which I have unable to access with a few weeks due to persistent ads...... ?
To get the ball rolling;
I have updated to the new official firmware with the new widget launcher, I like the launcher, well the fact that I have large icons and can have widgets on the home screen.
My issues are,
1) when I start the car (dormancy mode) I am trying to get tasks to run automatically (open rocket player, play audio etc.) Problem is there seems to be a built in task killer that kills macrodroid (which I'm using for my tasks). I have tried autostart apps but these don't trigger as the HU is coming out of dormancy mode and not actually booting. Anyone have a work around for this? If I could get Macrodroid to run I could solve the rest using macros (tasks)
2) Since the new update with the new launcher i no longer have Voice to text, i installed the google app but this caused the launcher to crash and only left me with the recent apps screen, luckily I was able to get back into play store from here and uninstall google app again which brought all back working again.
3) When playing a podcast (Bluetooth streaming from phone) and I want to change to rocket player to play music, if I just tap play on the rocket widget the media starts playing but I get no sound until I open the app, kind of defeats the purpose of the widget being there!
4) when I first installed the unit I had no problems with the illuminate function (headlights dim screen and turn on button lights) this worked for about a month and then for no reason just stopped, now if I turn on my lights the button lights flick on for about half a second and then turn off again, its not an issue with the lights as they work fine when I chose the timed option. I haven't checked my 12v feed yet as I'm guessing its OK due to the flicker, it will happen every time I turn the lights on.
I have tried reset, reflash combos about 6 times at this stage but always with the same results.
I know there are options to change the ROM but I would like to keep it stock for now just in case I need to return it.

fado5ster said:
So I just wanted to make a thread for these units where people can ask/answer questions specific to these devices. May help others as the info online isn't the best, including their own forum site which I have unable to access with a few weeks due to persistent ads...... ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I assume you mean the http://forum.carjoying.com/ forum? If so, mention that. Be concrete.
That is indeed annoying, but there are many hundredths of users on that forum without issues. Maybe your ISP doing something weird.
fado5ster said:
To get the ball rolling;
I have updated to the new official firmware with the new widget launcher, I like the launcher, well the fact that I have large icons and can have widgets on the home screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The new official ROM?? Which one? The 5 March version? And did you pick the right one of the two? And which unit do you have?
Mention all that! This makes your remark/question useless as people trying to help first need to ask you that.
fado5ster said:
My issues are,
1) when I start the car (dormancy mode) I am trying to get tasks to run automatically (open rocket player, play audio etc.) Problem is there seems to be a built in task killer that kills macrodroid (which I'm using for my tasks). I have tried autostart apps but these don't trigger as the HU is coming out of dormancy mode and not actually booting. Anyone have a work around for this? If I could get Macrodroid to run I could solve the rest using macros (tasks)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Search the forum. already many time mentioned. You need the NoKill app. Can be downloaded from here and mentioned here.
fado5ster said:
2) Since the new update with the new launcher i no longer have Voice to text, i installed the google app but this caused the launcher to crash and only left me with the recent apps screen, luckily I was able to get back into play store from here and uninstall google app again which brought all back working again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't you search at all? Also known issue and mentioned here on the forum.
fado5ster said:
3) When playing a podcast (Bluetooth streaming from phone) and I want to change to rocket player to play music, if I just tap play on the rocket widget the media starts playing but I get no sound until I open the app, kind of defeats the purpose of the widget being there!
4) when I first installed the unit I had no problems with the illuminate function (headlights dim screen and turn on button lights) this worked for about a month and then for no reason just stopped, now if I turn on my lights the button lights flick on for about half a second and then turn off again, its not an issue with the lights as they work fine when I chose the timed option. I haven't checked my 12v feed yet as I'm guessing its OK due to the flicker, it will happen every time I turn the lights on.
I have tried reset, reflash combos about 6 times at this stage but always with the same results.
I know there are options to change the ROM but I would like to keep it stock for now just in case I need to return it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again: which ROM are you on? You should mention that. ROMS before 2017 contain bugs, so do they in 2017 but at least a lot less. So make sure you are on a newer ROM. If you already are, like you mentioned above, mention the version. That saves people from asking for the obvious. Before you post read the rules.
Look at this thread and this thread
First of all: Search the forum.
And secondly: Search the forum.
And third: Be concrete. Mention versions, forums, etc. You don't even mention which head unit you have.

I was looking but could only find info on the 1gb model and the thread about the release of the 2gb model.
Thanks for the info but you don't have to be a **** about it.
I missed stuff when searching, I couldn't access the joying forum, I thought saying "their own forum site" would have cleared that. I couldnt access the site to find out if there had been updates, at the time i was on the ONLY UPDATED ROM with the new launcher with customizable widgets.
When i found NoKill I thought it was for steering wheel controls which I don't have so I moved on.
When I asked about model numbers on the joying forum (when I could access it) I was made out to be an idiot too because "They are all the same thing" so forgive me for thinking that. Mine is the JY-UL135N2
Again, Thanks for the info but you don't have to be a cranky prick about it, this is a forum isn't it? Used for discussion and help?
I was only saying something like this with info in one place would be good, if its out there already then sorry, mods can delete and ill crawl back into my hole of idiotness

Yes, I was annoyed but I did give you a number of helpful links and be honest: you were not very exact in your phrasing.
And w.r.t. the roms: They are on the joying blog59 page which is also mentioned several times on several postitions in this forum, and you could also have found it from the "normal" joying website carjoying.com
Even though I was annoyed I tried to help you. If your phrasing was more concrete that would have been a lot faster. And you still don't mention which ROM you are currently using, so nobody can give you an exact answer.
You can be angry with me, but clear communication would have prevented my irritated reply.

I am on the 2017222 rom but will be updating to latest tomorrow, have downloaded just need to do the HU side of it. I can get access to the Joying site using your link and only your link, not sure why or whats going on as this includes the main joying site too.
I plan on updating, attempting root then install NoKill.
I am giving the info I have, I don't know a lot about these devices and although I have rooted phones and tablets before I have never done anything like this.
You did give me helpful links and I thank you for that but please don't be too angry with people asking questions. I realise you know how this works but others don't and are afraid of damaging the device. Before your link which I used to access the updates page I had no way of checking for updates as I couldn't get onto the page

fado5ster said:
I plan on updating, attempting root then install NoKill.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no real need to update to the March 5 ROM if you already have the 22 Feb ROM.
The ROM is rooted. What you mean is that you want to install a SuperUser app like SuperSU or Kingroot or the like.
You don't need to SuperSU your ROM. You can install the NoKill version just like that as the ROM is rooted. You simply don't have the nice, userfriendly superuser apk on the system.

surfer63 said:
There is no real need to update to the March 5 ROM if you already have the 22 Feb ROM.
The ROM is rooted. What you mean is that you want to install a SuperUser app like SuperSU or Kingroot or the like.
You don't need to SuperSU your ROM. You can install the NoKill version just like that as the ROM is rooted. You simply don't have the nice, userfriendly superuser apk on the system.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So there is no real advantage to the March 5 ROM?
Oh, I didn't know it was rooted still, thought they stopped that on the 2gb devices.. I'm not even sure if I need root for anything, all I wanted it for was to get to the /system... folder to copy NoKill to. Can I get there without SuperSU app using ES file explorer? Am I safe to delete the existing nokill.apk in there 1st and then copy in the new file? It won't cause any issues not having the apk for the few seconds? (Probably a stupid question)

fado5ster said:
So there is no real advantage to the March 5 ROM?
Oh, I didn't know it was rooted still, thought they stopped that on the 2gb devices.. I'm not even sure if I need root for anything, all I wanted it for was to get to the /system... folder to copy NoKill to. Can I get there without SuperSU app using ES file explorer? Am I safe to delete the existing nokill.apk in there 1st and then copy in the new file? It won't cause any issues not having the apk for the few seconds? (Probably a stupid question)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Sofia server is loaded upon boot and stays in memory. So no problem there.
Best thing to do via adb.
Code:
adb push Sofia-1-C9-Server-V1.0.apk /sdcard/
adb shell "su -c mount -o remount,rw /system"
adb shell "su -c cp /system/app/Sofia-1-C9-Server-V1.0/Sofia-1-C9-Server-V1.0.apk /system/app/Sofia-1-C9-Server-V1.0/Sofia-1-C9-Server-V1.0.apk.old"
adb shell "su -c cp /sdcard/Sofia-1-C9-Server-V1.0.apk /system/app/Sofia-1-C9-Server-V1.0"
adb shell "su -c chmod 644 /system/app/Sofia-1-C9-Server-V1.0/Sofia-1-C9-Server-V1.0.apk"
adb shell "su -c ls -l /system/app/Sofia-1-C9-Server-V1.0"
last command does nothing toyour system. It should only list the new apk and the old apk.old.
and then reboot your unit.

I know you are going to hate me for this but any time I've tried pushing files using adb I end up messing it up and bricking it.
Looks like the illumination problem was due to the car.. The illumination wire was in a different place to the joying connector, I repinned it and working now but still doesn't explain how I had it working fine for a month.. Really weird, had issues with 12v switched and constant 12v too.. Had to swap them around.. Seems to be Kia's doing and not joying.. Very strange

Macrodroid not running in background FIXED
Hey there! You probably fixed the issue with macrodroid by now but I had the same issue and I fixed it by installing Macrodroid as a system app. That did the job for me. Just did a reboot and waited for macrodroid to come up.

Joy Launcher - No Joy

This launcher app appeared in my update list (Idol 6045i, 5.5). Since it is not currently on my phone it is not really an update. Notice -there is no uninstall option.
Read a bunch of reviews - most were bad, very bad - and once it's on your phone you can't get rid of it so be warned!
It is pushed out by Alcatel.

catapp said:
This launcher app appeared in my update list (Idol 6045i, 5.5). Since it is not currently on my phone it is not really an update. Notice -there is no uninstall option.
Read a bunch of reviews - most were bad, very bad - and once it's on your phone you can't get rid of it so be warned!
It is pushed out by Alcatel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My dad's pop4 plus got it too, and it's annoying as hell.
I hope somebody comes up with a way to remove it soon , or even better, a whole ROM fo the phone.

It brought lots of adware (bloatware) I tried to get rid of it but all settings of the desktop are now gone. I have to setup my settings again.

Form of malware
Same happened to my 3 family Alcatel phones this week. I didn't ask for this forced 'update', don't want it and it has totally destroyed my desktop, contacts and all shortcuts. I phoned Alcatel and complained that they don't offer an uninstall option and what they have done is, without permission, hijacked my phone.
They said they would look into it, but I am not convinced.
Will never get Alcatel again

I didn't install it on my phone and it disappeared from my update list quite awhile ago.
I don't allow automatic updates. That is crucial. I choose what updates to install.

Joy Launcher problem
I was able to swipe down from the top, I went into settings, to Apps, to Joy Launcher. I tried Force Stop & it didn't work. I then hit the 3 vertical buttons at upper right of screen. I then hit Uninstall Updates. This allowed me to get my screen back. It also returned my homescreen to factory settings. I had to add whatever icons I wanted to the homescreen. Note, I am not tech savvy but this gave me back my functional use of my cell phone.

Same here, I will never get Alcatel ever again because of this joy launcher crap

titaniummitch said:
I was able to swipe down from the top, I went into settings, to Apps, to Joy Launcher. I tried Force Stop & it didn't work. I then hit the 3 vertical buttons at upper right of screen. I then hit Uninstall Updates. This allowed me to get my screen back. It also returned my homescreen to factory settings. I had to add whatever icons I wanted to the homescreen. Note, I am not tech savvy but this gave me back my functional use of my cell phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Update: Joy Launcher returned. I repeated above actions & it again returned. On Joy Launcher I denied permissions and for a 3d time it took over my screen. I again repeated above actions and this time I was asked if I wanted to replace Joy Launcher with the factory settings. I clicked on yes and I again got my normal screen back. I don't know if Joy Launcher will return again, I'm waiting...

titaniummitch said:
Update: Joy Launcher returned. I repeated above actions & it again returned. On Joy Launcher I denied permissions and for a 3d time it took over my screen. I again repeated above actions and this time I was asked if I wanted to replace Joy Launcher with the factory settings. I clicked on yes and I again got my normal screen back. I don't know if Joy Launcher will return again, I'm waiting...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are we sure this is Alcatel pushing this launcher? Or perhaps this is bundled with some other type software that persistently re-activates it.
This used to be a common practice for dev's of one program, to get extra revenue by bundling it with their own.
I myself havent installed the most recent update as I feel no need to at this time. I'm currently trying to get rid of that silly "File Manager" that just all of a sudden decided it needed to run actively!

Moscow Desire said:
Are we sure this is Alcatel pushing this launcher? Or perhaps this is bundled with some other type software that persistently re-activates it.
This used to be a common practice for dev's of one program, to get extra revenue by bundling it with their own.
I myself havent installed the most recent update as I feel no need to at this time. I'm currently trying to get rid of that silly "File Manager" that just all of a sudden decided it needed to run actively!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for commenting. As I previously wrote, I'm not very tech savvy.
I don't factually know that it comes from .Alcatel but since 8/14 this keeps returning. I haven't downloaded any new apps. I cannot use the phone until I figure out how to delete the Joy Launcher message from my screen. I refuse to allow the program's permission requests. I wrote to Alcatel on 8/14 & they gave me a case #. They haven't yet addressed the complaint.
Today it returned again yet it wasn't listed as 1 of my apps. I went into apps - permissions & I denied all permissions. Joy Launcher had some permissions even though it didn't appear on my list of apps. After I denied permissions I restarted the phone & it was gone. The problem is that it keeps returning. I don't know how to stop this from being re-installed.
Sorry you are having trouble with the File Manager, I haven't yet experienced problems.

titaniummitch said:
Thank you for commenting. As I previously wrote, I'm not very tech savvy.
I don't factually know that it comes from .Alcatel but since 8/14 this keeps returning. I haven't downloaded any new apps. I cannot use the phone until I figure out how to delete the Joy Launcher message from my screen. I refuse to allow the program's permission requests. I wrote to Alcatel on 8/14 & they gave me a case #. They haven't yet addressed the complaint.
Today it returned again yet it wasn't listed as 1 of my apps. I went into apps - permissions & I denied all permissions. Joy Launcher had some permissions even though it didn't appear on my list of apps. After I denied permissions I restarted the phone & it was gone. The problem is that it keeps returning. I don't know how to stop this from being re-installed.
Sorry you are having trouble with the File Manager, I haven't yet experienced problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On another site 1 guy claims he installed another launcher then used all in one toolbox to disable at startup

http://download.cnet.com/Joy-Launcher/3000-20432_4-77527969.html
It does seem to be an alcatel app

titaniummitch said:
Thank you for commenting. As I previously wrote, I'm not very tech savvy.
I don't factually know that it comes from .Alcatel but since 8/14 this keeps returning. I haven't downloaded any new apps. I cannot use the phone until I figure out how to delete the Joy Launcher message from my screen. I refuse to allow the program's permission requests. I wrote to Alcatel on 8/14 & they gave me a case #. They haven't yet addressed the complaint.
Today it returned again yet it wasn't listed as 1 of my apps. I went into apps - permissions & I denied all permissions. Joy Launcher had some permissions even though it didn't appear on my list of apps. After I denied permissions I restarted the phone & it was gone. The problem is that it keeps returning. I don't know how to stop this from being re-installed.
Sorry you are having trouble with the File Manager, I haven't yet experienced problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem mate. Been dealing with OEM crap since the HTC Desire days.
They put this stuff on for several reasons.
1) To give the device a unique feel different from other manufacturers
2) They get money from the developers of said applications to help for a larger profit margin
3) (and the 1 I think is the winner) They let their spouses or partners chose an app "cuz it's cute"
In actuality it's #1 and 2.
If you are rooted, try this app out from the play store. It's what I use.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jumobile.manager.systemapp&hl=en
You can find all the apk's and "com.xxxxx.xxxxx" files. Ya should be able to locate that joy launcher easily. My guess it's re-installing from a couple locations.
As with that Alcatel File Manager, I use ES File Explorer or Root Explorer. I don't like the idea of a program running in memory like File Explorer does. U can tell cause it leaves icons on the notification bar. So I deleted it.

No Joy, (contiunued)
TheMadScientist said:
On another site 1 guy claims he installed another launcher then used all in one toolbox to disable at startup
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the suggestion, Mad Scientist, I'll look into the toolbox. It returned last night and I followed Moscow Desire's advice on preventing automatic updates. I had to search how to do prevent automatic updates, I didn't know I could disable them. I managed to accomplish disabling the auto updates. At some point the screen asked me "Do you want to replace with factory version" & I clicked on yes.
I hope I'm not violating protocol by going into lengthy detail. The inability to use my phone is frustrating. I'm writing about my attempts in case I succeed in regaining control of the phone & maybe my experience could be useful to somebody else. Thanks for the input & guidance.
---------- Post added at 03:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:54 PM ----------
I like your #3.
I appreciate your generous assistance. This app remover might be the answer. I'll wait and if my refusing auto updates (done last night) doesn't solve the problem then I'll download this app remover.
Moscow Desire said:
No problem mate. Been dealing with OEM crap since the HTC Desire days.
They put this stuff on for several reasons.
1) To give the device a unique feel different from other manufacturers
2) They get money from the developers of said applications to help for a larger profit margin
3) (and the 1 I think is the winner) They let their spouses or partners chose an app "cuz it's cute"
In actuality it's #1 and 2.
If you are rooted, try this app out from the play store. It's what I use.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jumobile.manager.systemapp&hl=en
You can find all the apk's and "com.xxxxx.xxxxx" files. Ya should be able to locate that joy launcher easily. My guess it's re-installing from a couple locations.
As with that Alcatel File Manager, I use ES File Explorer or Root Explorer. I don't like the idea of a program running in memory like File Explorer does. U can tell cause it leaves icons on the notification bar. So I deleted it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

titaniummitch said:
Thanks for the suggestion, Mad Scientist, I'll look into the toolbox. It returned last night and I followed Moscow Desire's advice on preventing automatic updates. I had to search how to do prevent automatic updates, I didn't know I could disable them. I managed to accomplish disabling the auto updates. At some point the screen asked me "Do you want to replace with factory version" & I clicked on yes.
I hope I'm not violating protocol by going into lengthy detail. The inability to use my phone is frustrating. I'm writing about my attempts in case I succeed in regaining control of the phone & maybe my experience could be useful to somebody else. Thanks for the input & guidance.
---------- Post added at 03:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:54 PM ----------
I like your #3.
I appreciate your generous assistance. This app remover might be the answer. I'll wait and if my refusing auto updates (done last night) doesn't solve the problem then I'll download this app remover.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not at all thats what we are here for. I'm trying to make mine better too just like you.

Hello All, I too was the victim of the rotten Joy Launcher. I think I have now stopped it and now we have a happy Alcatel cell phone.
I did a lot of things, but basically - sorry do not have the cell to hand.
I uninstalled Joy Launcher (from version 7.0 to version 5??) and clicked on Force Stop. Then I uninstalled Updates (from version 7.0 to version 5??) and clicked on Force Stop.
Within Play Store, I selected 'do not install when connected to Wireless' and 'manual install'.
There is one last 'manual install' option which I think is within settings.
The octopus is gone and Joy Launcher doesn't bug me anymore. Yippee!

Update it from Apkmirror site , you will find latest update ver 7.0.1.0.823 . It seems that play store removed it .

Response from Alcatel
As I mentioned in my earlier post I emailed Alcatel support. They did not respond so I wrote again, this was my email:
Subject:
Your malware - Joy Launcher
Message:
I have 3 pop4 Alcatel phones. You have forced an installation and update of 'Joy launcher' via Google Playstore.
It has totally removed all of my existing desktop, with its contacts, accounts and shortcuts, etc, which took months of usage and setting up. All is now wasted and lost.
I did not ask for this rubbish program. I do not want it. You have forced it on to me. You have deleted and corrupted my data without my permission.
I have made formal complaints to my network provider as I am most disappointed and angry with Alcatel and will certainly make my thoughts known, because this application is a form of malware.
=====================
I received a response today from Alcatel which was:
Dear customer,
Thank you for contacting us.
Regarding your issue, to deactivate Joy Launcher you need to connect to the internet ( wi-fi network) and a rollback that will remove the Octopus/Spider or any other such annoying features will set in.
What you will also need to do is to go to the settings and then to apps. There you will need to search for the joy launcher and then to click on it and if you see 3 vertical dots, please click on it and then unisntall updates(if not just disable it and uninstall it from the play store).
After you do this, please go to the play store and click on the 3 orizontal lines and settings-> auto-update and click on do not do auto-updates.
We also recommend to get a new launcher from the play store and set it as default in order to fix this.
Please consider rebooting your device if the change doesn't come through.
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I though I ought to pass this 'fix' on in case it assists anyone. In any event, I will certainly not get an Alcatel phone again because of what they have done. I hate this type of intrusion with software/bloatware which constantly eats your data with spurious and dangerous ads and peaking at your data.
Good luck
Steve

The amount of bloatware (some of which is borderline malware) that has been silently installed since 6.0 is appalling. It renders the phone super sluggish.
If your phone is rooted you can uninstall most of it (at least Joy Launcher, File Manager and Weather) using a root system app remover.
Anything in the com.tct package namespace is a candidate for being eradicated.

How to root Alcatel Pop4 - 5051x
Yes, bloatware is verging on being criminal as the device has the memory stolen from it.
Thanks for informing me that rooting would allow me to get rid of unwanted stuff. The only problem is that I don't know how to do this. I have read different forums and followed numerous links but I have not found a step by step (idiots guide) to root my Alcatel pop4 (5051x) Android 6.0.1
If there is one specifically for that phone I would gratefull for assistance as I do not want to brick my device.
Thanks in advance
ps: I spent ages trying to prove I am not a robot and was about to give it up as a bad job. Is this normal or just me? For example when it asks for street signs does that include picture of the poles only holding the street signs above...? It just goes on and on. I suppose I need a guide to that now !