Database Info

[Q] New to Android; need customization tutorial

Longtime WinMo user (now with TP2). Just bought each kid an Android phone.
Been using XDA for a long time to modify my WinMo, add apps, etc...
Not familiar with the Android OS lingo and need to bone up so I can hook my kids up with some cool stuff
Did SEARCH but didn't find specific thread to read. Little help?

DLTempler said:
Longtime WinMo user (now with TP2). Just bought each kid an Android phone.
Been using XDA for a long time to modify my WinMo, add apps, etc...
Not familiar with the Android OS lingo and need to bone up so I can hook my kids up with some cool stuff
Did SEARCH but didn't find specific thread to read. Little help?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well..
With android (especially with HTC Sense, HTC's UI) you can add plenty of little things to customize your phone. From the top
You can move application icons from page to page on the homescreen along with widgets. to add an application to the homescreen you can open the app drawer/list and longpress it and drag it to the homescreen. Once on the homescreen you can move it around.
Along with Apps you can add widgets to the homescreen, a widget is an app that runs in the homescreen it can do things like display a news ticker, enable/disable settings (power control widget), and other things like play music and search boxes. these can be very useful for getting a quick glance at information without opening up the app.
To change the background you can longpress the homescreen and select wallpapers.
If your phone supports it you can use live wallpapers, search for them on the market or on XDA.
One tip is dont install lots of apps! dont go and download every app you see it will slow down your phone, also dont use task managers as it messes with android native application closing process.
Also the biggest customization of all if your phone is rooted (IE: full permissions and access to the system) and has a hacked bootloader you can load custom roms that are themed or have a big performance boost.
Best of luck!
If you have any questions PM me and I will be glad to help!

Thanks
I spent the weekend tearing through other forums
Found a program called Sideload Wonder Machine that allows apk files to be put into the Aria without having to "root" the phone or otherwise dcik around with it. Worked pretty good after I found the USB Driver to sync it up with my laptop. that was a bit of a process in and of itself.
At the end of the day (weekend) I didn't really find too much to load into the phone that was not already available at the droid market. Swype, yes, but not for this phone. Loaded F-Secure anti-theft too but that, too, is not for this phone.
I am not sure how business savvy these droids can be but they are cool. Kids love them. The UI operates much like the iPhone and much less like WinMo.
I'll keep dciking around with it and see what happens. Thanks again.

DLTempler said:
Thanks
I spent the weekend tearing through other forums
Found a program called Sideload Wonder Machine that allows apk files to be put into the Aria without having to "root" the phone or otherwise dcik around with it. Worked pretty good after I found the USB Driver to sync it up with my laptop. that was a bit of a process in and of itself.
At the end of the day (weekend) I didn't really find too much to load into the phone that was not already available at the droid market. Swype, yes, but not for this phone. Loaded F-Secure anti-theft too but that, too, is not for this phone.
I am not sure how business savvy these droids can be but they are cool. Kids love them. The UI operates much like the iPhone and much less like WinMo.
I'll keep dciking around with it and see what happens. Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They can be quite business oriented (IE: Exchange, Calendars, Productivity Apps) If you want help PM me
Cheers,
Cap'n Krtek

Captainkrtek said:
They can be quite business oriented (IE: Exchange, Calendars, Productivity Apps) If you want help PM me
Cheers,
Cap'n Krtek
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i agree dont let the inteface fool you, android works as a tool just as well as winmo if not better

[Q] Some Stupid Questions/Gripes About Android OS

I've used an Android tablet for about a year now, and although I've put in a lot of time to make it useful and controllable, it still has a lot of troubling mysteries. I have a few questions for developer types that hopefully will help shed some light on things:
1. Why don't applications feature a "Close" button? In both Windows and GNU/Linux with a GUI, you get a neat little "X" at the top right of the window. Usually, when you click this, the application terminates. Is that so much to ask for on Android? The means of closing apps on Android seem to be entirely up to the devs and there doesn't appear to be a standard way at all. Some of the apps I've used on Android don't have any way to close them whatsoever, with the exception of killing them from a task manager or the "Manage Apps" section of settings.
2. Why do many of these programs suddenly and mysteriously start running entirely on their own? It's terribly frustrating for me to kill an app and in a half an hour find it there on the task manager list again, running without my having asked for it to do so. Where is this controlled? If there is some sort of task scheduler making this happen, why can't I easily see a list of scheduled tasks and choose which ones to run or not to run?
3. For programs that *are* running in the background (the ones I *want* to have running), why is it that they usually don't have some sort of taskbar icon to indicate at a glance that they are still running?
4. Why can't I see everything that's loading when the tablet starts? I guess I'm asking to see a logcat screen instead of a splash screen. GNU/Linux distros don't usually hide everything from the end user, so why isn't it optional on an Android tablet? Even in custom ROMS all I get are neat looking splash screens, not a terminal interface on boot.
5. Why doesn't a decent firewall application yet exist for Android? All I seem to be able to find are really coarse ones like Droidwall, where it's an all or nothing proposition (allow/block). I'd like to be able to control protocols, ports, zones and individual IP addresses and ranges like a good firewall on Windows or GNU/Linux allows. I am constantly under suspicion that someone is doing something on my tablet without my even being aware of it.
6. Why are permissions for applications so difficult to control? Maybe I don't want some stupid game getting a look at my contacts list. I realize I can just uninstall the game, but so many apps seem to tap into stuff that they shouldn't be allowed to, I feel like some sort of permissions control should be a default standard thing in Android. Instead all there seems to be are a couple of apps on the market that may or may not work.
7. Do any of you developers feel dissatisfied about the state of Android, and does Google take your feedback seriously?
8. Are there any forks of the Android OS that don't rely on Google for anything? I'm not 100 percent sure about the difference between a GNU and an Apache license. How much of the OS is closed-source? Is it enough to prevent a true, fully open-sourced Android-based OS from being made?
Sorry if any of these questions sound stupid, but even though Android is supposed to be more open than iOS, it's still not open enough for my tastes. I actually feel safer using Windows than Android, and that's just not how it should be. Am I alone in this feeling?

Ok. I would honestly say you should have gone with a Windows tablet if you want all those... It's not a computer. It's a mobile device running a mobile os. It's not gonna be a full blown computer.

McMick said:
I've used an Android tablet for about a year now, and although I've put in a lot of time to make it useful and controllable, it still has a lot of troubling mysteries. I have a few questions for developer types that hopefully will help shed some light on things:
1. Why don't applications feature a "Close" button? In both Windows and GNU/Linux with a GUI, you get a neat little "X" at the top right of the window. Usually, when you click this, the application terminates. Is that so much to ask for on Android? The means of closing apps on Android seem to be entirely up to the devs and there doesn't appear to be a standard way at all. Some of the apps I've used on Android don't have any way to close them whatsoever, with the exception of killing them from a task manager or the "Manage Apps" section of settings.
2. Why do many of these programs suddenly and mysteriously start running entirely on their own? It's terribly frustrating for me to kill an app and in a half an hour find it there on the task manager list again, running without my having asked for it to do so. Where is this controlled? If there is some sort of task scheduler making this happen, why can't I easily see a list of scheduled tasks and choose which ones to run or not to run?
3. For programs that *are* running in the background (the ones I *want* to have running), why is it that they usually don't have some sort of taskbar icon to indicate at a glance that they are still running?
4. Why can't I see everything that's loading when the tablet starts? I guess I'm asking to see a logcat screen instead of a splash screen. GNU/Linux distros don't usually hide everything from the end user, so why isn't it optional on an Android tablet? Even in custom ROMS all I get are neat looking splash screens, not a terminal interface on boot.
5. Why doesn't a decent firewall application yet exist for Android? All I seem to be able to find are really coarse ones like Droidwall, where it's an all or nothing proposition (allow/block). I'd like to be able to control protocols, ports, zones and individual IP addresses and ranges like a good firewall on Windows or GNU/Linux allows. I am constantly under suspicion that someone is doing something on my tablet without my even being aware of it.
6. Why are permissions for applications so difficult to control? Maybe I don't want some stupid game getting a look at my contacts list. I realize I can just uninstall the game, but so many apps seem to tap into stuff that they shouldn't be allowed to, I feel like some sort of permissions control should be a default standard thing in Android. Instead all there seems to be are a couple of apps on the market that may or may not work.
7. Do any of you developers feel dissatisfied about the state of Android, and does Google take your feedback seriously?
8. Are there any forks of the Android OS that don't rely on Google for anything? I'm not 100 percent sure about the difference between a GNU and an Apache license. How much of the OS is closed-source? Is it enough to prevent a true, fully open-sourced Android-based OS from being made?
Sorry if any of these questions sound stupid, but even though Android is supposed to be more open than iOS, it's still not open enough for my tastes. I actually feel safer using Windows than Android, and that's just not how it should be. Am I alone in this feeling?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Well, its a mobile OS and it would be rather annoying to have a close button on every (even most) apps. No mobile OS has had a close button
2. That's an app problem, the developer either wanted the app to do that for some function, or they made some mistake in creating causing that to happen.
3. There would be too many apps, and I doubt people want extra notifications in the status bar just informing them what's running. For example, my friends Stratosphere has a status notif whenever WiFi is connected, and it annoys the crap out of me whenever I use it.
4. Probably, because people don't care... remember Android (like WP and iOS) are supposed to appeal to consumers as a phone for "facebook, games, and internet," and if the splashscreen/bootanimation was a logcat, people would just go "wut?" Also, as smartphones get faster and faster, so does bootup time. And there wouldn't be enough time to read what's on the logcat before it fully boots and you're at the lockscreen
5. Ask the devs.
6. Once again, dev thing. They are entitled to putting whatever permission they want, and Google isn't going to stop them. Just think about it though, most people don't care about permissions. iOS doesn't display them (even though they are there) and people download apps like there's no tomorrow anyway.
7. I read somewhere that the main designer of Android was "40% complete" at ICS. It gets me excited at what's next to come, since 4.0+ is already pretty amazing.
8. I'm too retarded to understand this question
Sent from my DROID2 using xda premium

As gagdude said for 1-7.
8. There's the Chinese Aliyun OS which looks and feels a lot like Android but doesn't rely on Google - but I would't try it. You could try Ubuntu Linux if your device supports it.

Android needs to be like apple with updates time to close source this already and just have one phone already
Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

Reopened, but if it gets unproviding and or heads Off Topic, well then I will readdress this thread.....
Thank you and you can Thank user: Syncopath

gagdude said:
No mobile OS has had a close button
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wrong, PocketPC 2002, which I used for 10 years on my HTC Wallaby, had a close button for every application.
@McMick, many of your points struck a chord with me and I have often asked myself the same things since migrating to Android from Pocket PC 2002 on my HTC Wallaby. Certainly points 1, 3, 7 and 8.
Since I jumped from PPC 2002 to Android 2.3.6 I've had the same thoughts. And I was for instance surprised to see that only now (Galaxy Note 2) are the very first steps being taken towards multiple windows.
I agree with point 4 too. On a PC (Linux or Windows) you can choose whether you see what's starting (BIOS and OS boot) or prefer a reassuring animation.
5. I have Avast!Mobile Security which has what is reckoned to be one of the best firewalls for Android, but even that only has, as you say, block or allow (individually for WiFi, 3G and mobile network).
6. The trouble with limiting permissions for apps is that if they can't get the access they want, they won't work. Personally I use the app Privacy Blocker which works around that by feeding the apps you choose not to allow to snoop nonsense information.
However it's not enough just to stand on the sidelines and issue one's wishes to "the developers". The point and the spirit of XDA-developers is that we can all start modifying things if we want to. So instead of saying "Why can't I" the thing to do is to start reading and learning and seeing if you might not after all just be able to ... do something yourself when it comes to your device.
Every Android developer does what appeals to them, which is why there is such a wonderful diversity of ROMs and apps for Android, particularly here on XDA.
So get stuck in and start trying to change things on your own device for a start. On point 5 for instance, you do see a logcat screen when you boot into recovery mode, so perhaps there's a way to display that when booting. If you do get started on modifications in the directions you indicate, I shall certainly follow progress with interest.
Thanks to BigJoe2675.

syncopath said:
Wrong, PocketPC 2002, which I used for 10 years on my HTC Wallaby,
However it's not enough just to stand on the sidelines and issue one's wishes to "the developers". The point and the spirit of XDA-developers is that we can all start modifying things if we want to. So instead of saying "Why can't I" the thing to do is to start reading and learning and seeing if you might not after all just be able to ... do something yourself when it comes to your device.
Every Android developer does what appeals to them, which is why there is such a wonderful diversity of ROMs and apps for Android, particularly here on XDA.
So get stuck in and start trying to change things on your own device for a start. On point 5 for instance, you do see a logcat screen when you boot into recovery mode, so perhaps there's a way to display that when booting. If you do get started on modifications in the directions you indicate, I shall certainly follow progress with interest.
Thanks to BigJoe2675.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
---------------------------
PocketPC 2002, which I used for 10 years :crying::crying: sorry for this....

syncopath said:
Wrong, PocketPC 2002, which I used for 10 years on my HTC Wallaby, had a close button for every application.
@McMick, many of your points struck a chord with me and I have often asked myself the same things since migrating to Android from Pocket PC 2002 on my HTC Wallaby. Certainly points 1, 3, 7 and 8.
Since I jumped from PPC 2002 to Android 2.3.6 I've had the same thoughts. And I was for instance surprised to see that only now (Galaxy Note 2) are the very first steps being taken towards multiple windows.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, but I wasn't born in 2002.
Lol jk I was, but I wasn't "born" to technology back then. I got my first phone only 3 years ago or so... and that just makes it seem that close buttons are now obsolete (on Mobile OSes, at least
Sent from my DROID2 using xda premium

gagdude said:
OK, but I wasn't born in 2002.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL as I believe they say these days. I forgive you instantly! I am amazed by your over 1000 posts in about 4 months.
McMick said:
4. Why can't I see everything that's loading when the tablet starts? I guess I'm asking to see a logcat screen instead of a splash screen. GNU/Linux distros don't usually hide everything from the end user, so why isn't it optional on an Android tablet? Even in custom ROMS all I get are neat looking splash screens, not a terminal interface on boot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The app [root] live logcat by the one and only Chainfire [/hyperbole] should fix this. There are free and paid versions. Something to check out if you're rooted. Please let us know of the results. Added on edit: from Google Play.

syncopath said:
LOL as I believe they say these days. I forgive you instantly! I am amazed by your over 1000 posts in about 4 months.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh no that just means I'm a loser and I spend too much time on xda
Sent from my DROID2 using xda premium

@bigjoe,
bigjoe2675 said:
PocketPC 2002, which I used for 10 years :crying::crying: sorry for this....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't quite understand this message, probably due to my inability to correctly interpret emoticons (reverse autism?). Anyway, thanks for re-opening this one because I
think what is being discussed here is worthwhile. Given the pressure of spammer-threat I think the OP should respond soon (or anyone else). Otherwise it will be understandable if you close the thread if you prefer.
bigjoe2675 said:
Reopened, but if it gets unproviding and or heads Off Topic, well then I will readdress this thread.....
Thank you and you can Thank user:
Syncopath
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I understand your priorities as moderator. This is of course a thread near the "top" of XDA and as such will far more readily attract spammers and other lowlife than further down in the more comfortable device threads where I am more used to posting. So you will want to quickly close any thread that seems to be becoming stale. Right?
@gagdude
gagdude said:
Oh no that just means I'm a loser and I spend too much time on xda
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think so, over 200 thanks didn't come from nowhere!

This is off subject having prob w/ no boot sound for boot anim
Sent from my Huawei-H867G using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

The future of Flash

I know there is a lot of gripe about the White list of what websites are allowed to use flash. I don't have a lot of knowledge on the topic so I wanted to fish around a bit for some information and pose some questions.
-Is it always going to be like this? Is it likely that they will release someway for users to control their own flash preferences?
-Is it likely that a 3rd party will release something that will allow a setting like this?
- [Edit] If more support for Flash is to be forthcoming, what would one expect the timeline to be? How long would it take? [I know this will mostly be speculation ]
- [EDIT] if firefox or chrome were developed for it, would they have to run off of the whitelist as well?
-As someone who hasn't touched windows 8 full, does the full OS have a similar flash limitation?
Also if this is the wrong place for this I am terribly sorry and will move the thread where ever it goes.

adashofrainbow said:
I know there is a lot of gripe about the White list of what websites are allowed to use flash. I don't have a lot of knowledge on the topic so I wanted to fish around a bit for some information and pose some questions.
-Is it always going to be like this? Is it likely that they will release someway for users to control their own flash preferences?
-Is it likely that a 3rd party will release something that will allow a setting like this?
-As someone who hasn't touched windows 8 full, does the full OS have a similar flash limitation?
Also if this is the wrong place for this I am terribly sorry and will move the thread where ever it goes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello
I don't think it will always be like this. I think someone may create a tool that automatically adds websites or simplify the process for us. Or we may even have a list that the community creates and we could possibly set our browser to auto download the list via options or script or 3rd party software. That being said, I do not think full windows will have the same flash limitation..at least not in desktop mode, because they can install whatever windows app they choose. It's an awesome device nonetheless.

equisbox said:
Hello
I don't think it will always be like this. I think someone may create a tool that automatically adds websites or simplify the process for us. Or we may even have a list that the community creates and we could possibly set our browser to auto download the list via options or script or 3rd party software. That being said, I do not think full windows will have the same flash limitation..at least not in desktop mode, because they can install whatever windows app they choose. It's an awesome device nonetheless.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is no doubt that I am enjoying my new toy. However I really enjoy certain facebook games, like Marvel Avenger's and Draw something, but unfortunately the flash support of Facebook doesn't extend to these. I got this to replace my laptop, it's unfortunate that I can't play these on the go any more. I suppose a time line for flash support would be another question I have.

laptop replacement...I think the surface pro is probably a better option for laptop replacement than the RT. Unless of course you only do light amount of things on your laptop, and do not care about not being able to install 'regular' windows applications such as Photoshop. Even then you could remote desktop into your PC and use those applications, Some people have reported very good results using remote desktop on the surface, but I have yet to try it or myself. Don't get me wrong though, the surface RT is a very powerful device and a lot better then android and ipad as far as productivity IMO. We are just little behind on the number of applications, and even then you could argue that most android and apple apps are useless. Nonetheless, the do have us beat by the numbers. We get a real high quality app right out the box - Office.
I was at a crossroads before I purchased my Surface. I love androids and I couldn't decide between RT or android tablet. I played with the Surface and I feel in love, Whereas the android tablet would have been just like having a bigger phone. There's not much I could do in an Android tablet that I couldn't do on my Samsung Galaxy S3.
I also though I wanted the Surface PRO at first, but upon further research, I came to the conclusion that RT was the right choice. I wanted a Tablet that can do light PC related tasks, not a full mini laptop - I have a DELL XPS 15 and multiple desktops for any 'serious' work I may need to do. The pro will probably get HOT and windy and noisy due to the fans as well. I think a lot of people who purchase the pro may end up returning it and getting a RT because I do not think the PRO will functions completely like a tablet. I may be wrong but I guess only time will tell.
I love this thing.

To answer some questions:
Win8 (x86/x64) includes the whitelist in its iecompatdata.xml file, but doesn't "respect" it (i.e. all Flash sites work).
While an official tool to control Flash usage is quite possible, don't hold your breath. A few unofficial tools already exist, but tend to be a bit limited and/or cumbersome to use (I'm working on an improved one myself).
A Windows Store app, even if it could get approved, probably wouldn't work for most people; the relevant file is outside the app sandbox, so the user would have to manually grant permission to access it.
For Facebook games (or other places where an external video is embedded manually), try adding the domain of the Flash file itself (usually found in an OBJECT tag, with an extension like ".flv"). For example, if the Flash file comes from "http://flash.facebook-games.com/IMaedAGaem/flashgame.flv", you should try adding "facebook-games.com" to the whitelist. You can try using my old scripts (working on updates for them) for this, although I can't promise they'll work in that case (haven't ever tried). The link is in my signature.

GoodDayToDie said:
To answer some questions:
Win8 (x86/x64) includes the whitelist in its iecompatdata.xml file, but doesn't "respect" it (i.e. all Flash sites work).
While an official tool to control Flash usage is quite possible, don't hold your breath. A few unofficial tools already exist, but tend to be a bit limited and/or cumbersome to use (I'm working on an improved one myself).
A Windows Store app, even if it could get approved, probably wouldn't work for most people; the relevant file is outside the app sandbox, so the user would have to manually grant permission to access it.
For Facebook games (or other places where an external video is embedded manually), try adding the domain of the Flash file itself (usually found in an OBJECT tag, with an extension like ".flv"). For example, if the Flash file comes from "http://flash.facebook-games.com/IMaedAGaem/flashgame.flv", you should try adding "facebook-games.com" to the whitelist. You can try using my old scripts (working on updates for them) for this, although I can't promise they'll work in that case (haven't ever tried). The link is in my signature.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So what's the real hope? That more websites get whitelisted?

adashofrainbow said:
So what's the real hope? That more websites get whitelisted?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That, or that Microsoft discontinue the whitelist

you do understand that you can easily add to the whitelist yourself right?

mmian said:
you do understand that you can easily add to the whitelist yourself right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, but it would be nice to not have to. And I'm not always 100% successful

Updated: Amazon System App / Bloatware Tracking Sheet - as of FireOS 5.6.2.0

Hi Everyone! ??
Now that it appears we have a new, solid way to disable and effectively block Amazon bloatware/system apps from our Fire tablets (detailed in this awesome HOW TO guide as discovered by Supersonic27543), I thought I'd take a moment to at least give a good starting effort at updating the very useful system app tracking spreadsheet that bakshi originally created a few months ago (I use it all the time/have found it very helpful!).
With FireOS 5.6.2.0 and 'Show Mode' and what have you, there are more and more stock system apps and I just wanted to see if we could collectively share our findings. I ran the simple ADB command that lists system apps/packages on my HD 8 (2017) and them simply appended the new items onto a copy of bakshi's Google sheet, added some color coding, etc. I haven't had a lot of time to fill in a lot of the app details that I've become familiar with myself, but I wanted to at least get something started. So here is an easier to read html presentation view of my updated sheet, and here is a version allows for filtering/column resizing/comments/etc..
Ummm ?, does someone by chance have any interest in taking ownership of this document? Or maybe at least collectively? ?? I do have more details that I've learned through my own trial and error / several factory resets and I'm more than happy to share, but I'm not really an Android OS wizard or pro. Many of the new apps are part of "Show Mode" / are new calling features (which I find weird / frustrating since we don't even get the full "Echo Show" drop-in / calling experience anyway) ... ??
Hopefully this document can be useful for many of us. I'm happy to hear any thoughts and to share ownership of the document with anyone who wants to take a stab.
Thanks all!
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
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}
richaardvark

My Kindle Fire HD 8 is soooo Slow
Hey me again, so I'm looking at your updated spreadsheet for 5.6.2.0 on the bloatware. I'm trying to understand it - i.e what can I remove safely? I assume the apps that you have marked as 'safe' can be removed. What about the ones that have a blank in the column 'Safe to Remove'? I can see why some shouldn't be removed, but why do I care about amazon.glorialist (for example). I have no idea what that even is - that's not saying much... I guess I'm confused at this point on what I can get rid of. I have my fire HD back to ground zero, running 5.6.2.0 but that's it and it's running pretty good speed wise. But I have to get rid of something because once I install google services I'll be right back where I was (dial-up or less response) so then I might as well as stay with the vanilla Fire. Thanks!
richaardvark said:
Hi Everyone! ?
Now that it appears we have a new, solid way to disable and effectively block Amazon bloatware/system apps from our Fire tablets (detailed in this awesome HOW TO guide as discovered by Supersonic27543), I thought I'd take a moment to at least give a good starting effort at updating the very useful system app tracking spreadsheet that bakshi originally created a few months ago (I use it all the time/have found it very helpful!).
With FireOS 5.6.2.0 and 'Show Mode' and what have you, there are more and more stock system apps and I just wanted to see if we could collectively share our findings. I ran the simple ADB command that lists system apps/packages on my HD 8 (2017) and them simply appended the new items onto a copy of bakshi's Google sheet, added some color coding, etc. I haven't had a lot of time to fill in a lot of the app details that I've become familiar with myself, but I wanted to at least get something started. So here is an easier to read html presentation view of my updated sheet, and here is a version allows for filtering/column resizing/comments/etc..
Ummm , does someone by chance have any interest in taking ownership of this document? Or maybe at least collectively? I do have more details that I've learned through my own trial and error / several factory resets and I'm more than happy to share, but I'm not really an Android OS wizard or pro. Many of the new apps are part of "Show Mode" / are new calling features (which I find weird / frustrating since we don't even get the full "Echo Show" drop-in / calling experience anyway) ...
Hopefully this document can be useful for many of us. I'm happy to hear any thoughts and to share ownership of the document with anyone who wants to take a stab.
Thanks all!
richaardvark
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

DallasRedHead said:
Hey me again, so I'm looking at your updated spreadsheet for 5.6.2.0 on the bloatware. I'm trying to understand it - i.e what can I remove safely? I assume the apps that you have marked as 'safe' can be removed. What about the ones that have a blank in the column 'Safe to Remove'? I can see why some shouldn't be removed, but why do I care about amazon.glorialist (for example). I have no idea what that even is - that's not saying much... I guess I'm confused at this point on what I can get rid of. I have my fire HD back to ground zero, running 5.6.2.0 but that's it and it's running pretty good speed wise. But I have to get rid of something because once I install google services I'll be right back where I was (dial-up or less response) so then I might as well as stay with the vanilla Fire. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You ask very good questions! hah
With regard to which exact programs should be disabled, a couple of things come to mind. First - I have to be open and say I, myself am still trying to find just the right balance. Every day when I get free time, I tinker around and enable/disable certain apps. By far, the tablet is in a much more use-able state than it was with all those factory-installed apps running, but there are still minor issues that pop up. As you can see from that post of mine you quoted above with the spreadsheet, I kinda foolishly assumed that there'd be kind of a collective conversation about this among HD 8 owners on here, and while I did get some good information and continue to daily, I realized very quickly that there isn't really a one-size-fits-all answer here. So to answer your question, I'd say what apps you disable largely depend on your goals for how you plan to use the device. Some people want to strip the device of anything Amazon as much as possible with the hope of ending up with as close to a stock "Android" device as possible. Some people want to be able to use Alexa still, some people like their Kindle e-books or whatever. I can definitely help you look at which individual apps to disable but would need to know what features you'd like to keep and what features you want to remove. Are you wanting to install a new launcher, or keep the FireOS launcher? Do you want full Alexa as well as "Show Mode"? All things to consider and totally changes what apps you disable or leave be. So that's the first thing to take into consideration when deciding which apps to disable.
Another thing to be aware of is that if you disassemble certain packages this annoying parental control lock warning begins to pop up (I guess you could say Amazon kinda booby-trapped the device, lol). It's not a big deal, but depending on what you disable, you'll notice an annoying pop-up message. The original author of that de-bloat thread (Supersonic27543) mentions this in his OP. There are fixes for this though.
User Ivorin put together a nice list of apps he chose to disable with clear notes and I found this helpful. I've made a few minor modifications however on my own device, added a few more to disable, kept a couple he chose to disable. See his list here.
Another question I have for you is how are you going about installing Google Services? Is there a certain guide/thread you're following? There are several different posts on here with essentially the same set of instructions, but I do think there are a couple of different suggested steps among these posts, with some methods a little better than others. I only ask this because, you shouldn't really experience any major slow-down in performance after installing Google/the Play Store, at least not like it sounds like you've been experiencing. My device(s) overall are pretty snappy and solid. So we should look at that as well.
Sorry I didn't have a simple, one-size-fits-all answer for you, but if you give me just a few more details I'll have answers for you and you should be able to quickly make it all come together.

DallasRedHead said:
But I have to get rid of something because once I install google services I'll be right back where I was (dial-up or less response) so then I might as well as stay with the vanilla Fire. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is the thread I've typically followed when installing Google Services/Play store. These four files, in this order. It doesn't matter that they're outdated - as soon as you bring it all online it will update itself to the latest versions.

richaardvark said:
You ask very good questions! hah
Well now i have more questions
With regard to which exact programs should be disabled, a couple of things come to mind. First - I have to be open and say I, myself am still trying to find just the right balance. Every day when I get free time, I tinker around and enable/disable certain apps. By far, the tablet is in a much more use-able state than it was with all those factory-installed apps running, but there are still minor issues that pop up. As you can see from that post of mine you quoted above with the spreadsheet, I kinda foolishly assumed that there'd be kind of a collective conversation about this among HD 8 owners on here, and while I did get some good information and continue to daily, I realized very quickly that there isn't really a one-size-fits-all answer here. So to answer your question, I'd say what apps you disable largely depend on your goals for how you plan to use the device. Some people want to strip the device of anything Amazon as much as possible with the hope of ending up with as close to a stock "Android" device as possible. Some people want to be able to use Alexa still, some people like their Kindle e-books or whatever. I can definitely help you look at which individual apps to disable but would need to know what features you'd like to keep and what features you want to remove. Are you wanting to install a new launcher, or keep the FireOS launcher? Do you want full Alexa as well as "Show Mode"? All things to consider and totally changes what apps you disable or leave be. So that's the first thing to take into consideration when deciding which apps to disable.
You asked for it so here goes:
Well in a perfect world I would like it to do everything my laptop does... However back to reality. I got it to:
1. Play how-to videos
2. Pull up other types of information via the web
3. Get mail and my calendar and contacts plus keep the last two updated off my Outlook installed on my PC. (I want the gmail app at least and it’s not on the Amazon app store). I know I can get yahoo thru the Appstore. I would rather use Outlook but refuse to pay for Outlook 365. I need to keep the Fire stock email, calendar and contacts for the program I run on outlook to propagate the calendar/contacts. I’m sure there are others apps but this works and right now that’s all I care about.
4. Play videos when I’m on the road (either wifi or downloaded)
5. I do like the voice to text recognition because without a regular keyboard my typing frustrates me (I use the same on my phone)
6. Read doc files like PDF, Work, EXCEL, PPT etc. Only need a reader, don’t want to create or edit.
7. Not a bit gamer – when waiting at a docs office I play solitaire (mostly) or candy crush so don’t need resources for that.
8. I’m still old fashioned – if I want to read a book I want paper, the same goes for magazines and newspapers. I read on the laptop when I have to. So I could care less about Kindle…
9. I can’t stand the fire launcher but I’ve read where Nova is inconsistent on Fire HD so might be stuck with that unless there is something else out there that works??? (low on my priority list).
10. I do like Alexa because I use it in the house. If she is a big hog I’ll get rid of it.
11. Get rid of the ads
I think that’s the majority of it. I just want to get decent response time but I don’t know what to delete. For example, I tried killing some stuff that was running in the background but didn’t know what those processes were and ended up having to reboot. I did this a few times and got frustrated and quit.
Have I ended up confusing the issue? I just don’t have time to keep tinkering around with this thing. If I can get decent response time and get my must-have apps on there I’ll be happy. I just would like to know what I can kill and be done with it...
Another thing to be aware of is that if you disassemble certain packages this annoying parental control lock warning begins to pop up (I guess you could say Amazon kinda booby-trapped the device, lol). It's not a big deal, but depending on what you disable, you'll notice an annoying pop-up message. The original author of that de-bloat thread (Supersonic27543) mentions this in his OP. There are fixes for this though.
I saw that too but I can deal with that later, the speed right now is the most annoying thing... And the ads...
User Ivorin put together a nice list of apps he chose to disable with clear notes and I found this helpful. I've made a few minor modifications however on my own device, added a few more to disable, kept a couple he chose to disable. See his list here.
Got it.
Another question I have for you is how are you going about installing Google Services? Is there a certain guide/thread you're following? There are several different posts on here with essentially the same set of instructions, but I do think there are a couple of different suggested steps among these posts, with some methods a little better than others. I only ask this because, you shouldn't really experience any major slow-down in performance after installing Google/the Play Store, at least not like it sounds like you've been experiencing. My device(s) overall are pretty snappy and solid. So we should look at that as well.
Well that took some time because I was flip flopping around and the instructions weren’t very clear (I figured it out) but I ultimately got from two sources.
http://rootjunkysdl.com/files/?dir=Amazon Fire 5th gen
He had two ‘features’ I used. 1) remove the annoying ads, 2) fix it so Amazon updates doesn’t break the Google apps.
I started with this one that led me to rootjunky to get Google play services down:
https://lifehacker.com/how-to-get-google-play-on-a-kindle-fire-and-install-any-1790706649
I see the instructions you used are different and I also see that you can disable the ads thru that ‘pm’ command? I saw mention of that in Ivorin’s list that you referred me to – maybe it was in the other ones too, I just saw his comment in that list.
>>>>> OK, so my question is why do I need google play services if you are just downloading the APKs? Someone else mentioned using apkpure.com to get APKs and forget about Google play services but then I read too that some of these sites might have malware etc. and to stay away from them. I’m happy downloading the APKs myself. As you have probably noticed I only know enough to be dangerous, I’ve just really begun to stick my big toe into the Android world.
I also noticed that some apps (non-stock) simply will not install so I just have to go to the web for those.
Sorry I didn't have a simple, one-size-fits-all answer for you, but if you give me just a few more details I'll have answers for you and you should be able to quickly make it all come together.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I Get that and I really can't thank you enough for your time on this!!!
BTW, the first site you sent me to on the bloatware: He has instructions on getting com.amazon.unifiedsharefacebook. FYI it was already on my Fire HD after I went and got it off the site. I did see where someone said it used to be there but the developers got rid of it – I guess not since I have 5.6.2….

richaardvark said:
This is the thread I've typically followed when installing Google Services/Play store. These four files, in this order. It doesn't matter that they're outdated - as soon as you bring it all online it will update itself to the latest versions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've used the method in the thread you linked multiple times on my HD 10 7th gen running 5.6.1.0 and I can say it works perfectly every time and have never had any issues with Google play store/services acting up in any way.
Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

Got Google loaded but some issues with internet?
tylerhole said:
I've used the method in the thread you linked multiple times on my HD 10 7th gen running 5.6.1.0 and I can say it works perfectly every time and have never had any issues with Google play store/services acting up in any way.
OK, I loaded the four APKs you and richaardvark suggested. All went fine thank you. So that's all I have on it now, except for Stock and a file manager. I'm trying things one at a time to see if there is a particular app that brings me to my knees. I do still need to remove the bloatware once that's figured out.
What I'm running into is I use the SILK browser to load up sites that I go to all the time just to see if I'm getting decent response. I have two that are so slow on the Fire but not on my phone for example. Now what I'm seeing on the 'draggers' is after a long period it comes back and says "No Internet". All I have to do is hit enter and it loads right up. Does anyone have an idea as to what might be causing this? I tested the same sites on my phone with no issues.... Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

DallasRedHead said:
tylerhole said:
I've used the method in the thread you linked multiple times on my HD 10 7th gen running 5.6.1.0 and I can say it works perfectly every time and have never had any issues with Google play store/services acting up in any way.
OK, I loaded the four APKs you and richaardvark suggested. All went fine thank you. So that's all I have on it now, except for Stock and a file manager. I'm trying things one at a time to see if there is a particular app that brings me to my knees. I do still need to remove the bloatware once that's figured out.
What I'm running into is I use the SILK browser to load up sites that I go to all the time just to see if I'm getting decent response. I have two that are so slow on the Fire but not on my phone for example. Now what I'm seeing on the 'draggers' is after a long period it comes back and says "No Internet". All I have to do is hit enter and it loads right up. Does anyone have an idea as to what might be causing this? I tested the same sites on my phone with no issues.... Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why don't you just install chrome since you have the play store up and running? I use it daily without any issues on mine. And I got rid of all the Amazon crap. You can see all the apps I currently have installed in the attached pics.
Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

i like some of the amazon apps but prefer the straight android versions from google play can the book music prime vids work if i get rid of the stock versions a replaced with apks? plus dont want alexa at all or any of the new crap amazon pushed with latest update... is it possible to get uptodate without all the crap? cause im still at 5.6.1.0? i know alot of questions....

tylerhole said:
DallasRedHead said:
Why don't you just install chrome since you have the play store up and running? I use it daily without any issues on mine. And I got rid of all the Amazon crap. You can see all the apps I currently have installed in the attached pics. View attachment 4582486View attachment 4582487
Yes, I will do that. I need to get rid of the Amazon crap too - just need to figure out what I can safely get rid of. I was checking speeds before I loaded it up with standard android apps - which I did last time and my system ran at a crawl so I'm trying to identify one-by-one which one (or ones) are the culprit. (I completely started over from scratch after looking at this forum and getting help from y'all).
BTW. It looks like you use the standard Fire Launcher - is that correct? Thx.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

DallasRedHead said:
tylerhole said:
Why don't you just install chrome since you have the play store up and running? I use it daily without any issues on mine. And I got rid of all the Amazon crap. You can see all the apps I currently have installed in the attached pics. View attachment 4582486View attachment 4582487
Yes, I will do that. I need to get rid of the Amazon crap too - just need to figure out what I can safely get rid of. I was checking speeds before I loaded it up with standard android apps - which I did last time and my system ran at a crawl so I'm trying to identify one-by-one which one (or ones) are the culprit. (I completely started over from scratch after looking at this forum and getting help from y'all).
BTW. It looks like you use the standard Fire Launcher - is that correct? Thx.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My solution to the slow system was to remove all the Amazon stuff that has been deemed safe to remove that I've seen in various threads here. Of course some still want to use some Amazon apps so it's not the solution for everyone. Just keep in mind while you are trying stuff that removing one thing may break something else and cause your tablet to slow down. But best of luck, be sure to post your findings! [emoji4]
As far as my launcher, I actually replaced the nova Launcher and have the widgets working [emoji16]
Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

Desktops Icons not going away
tylerhole said:
My solution to the slow system was to remove all the Amazon stuff that has been deemed safe to remove that I've seen in various threads here. Of course some still want to use some Amazon apps so it's not the solution for everyone. Just keep in mind while you are trying stuff that removing one thing may break something else and cause your tablet to slow down. But best of luck, be sure to post your findings! [emoji4]
As far as my launcher, I actually replaced the nova Launcher and have the widgets working [emoji16]
Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I posted this in another thread but basically I got everything working and started 'PM Hiding' stuff. I read that 'pm hide' and 'pm disable' are essentially the same. Sometimes I would have to leave the 'com' on front of the name (that I was trying to hide), other times I had to leave it off. I was getting 'new hidden state: true' but after reboot they are all still on my desktop I don't know why.
I was using Richaarvark spreadsheet and only getting rid of 'safe' stuff. Some stuff I don't want to get rid of. Others I wasn't sure. But I definately got rid of all the parental controls, the clock, weather, maps but they are still there and I don't know what I'm doing wrong! Help tremendously appreciated. I'll get back to NOVA once I get this figured out

DallasRedHead said:
I posted this in another thread but basically I got everything working and started 'PM Hiding' stuff. I read that 'pm hide' and 'pm disable' are essentially the same. Sometimes I would have to leave the 'com' on front of the name (that I was trying to hide), other times I had to leave it off. I was getting 'new hidden state: true' but after reboot they are all still on my desktop I don't know why.
I was using Richaarvark spreadsheet and only getting rid of 'safe' stuff. Some stuff I don't want to get rid of. Others I wasn't sure. But I definately got rid of all the parental controls, the clock, weather, maps but they are still there and I don't know what I'm doing wrong! Help tremendously appreciated. I'll get back to NOVA once I get this figured out
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried pm disable instead? Hide might only be hiding it in your launcher until reboot. Otherwise, although you'd have to reset to get them back, you could try the method in this thread.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/hd8-hd10/general/tut-root-cleaner-android-experience-hd8-t3797327
I know it says 5.6 and up it won't work, but I'm on 5.6.1.0 and my friend is on 5.6.2.0 and it's worked for both ours.
Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

tylerhole said:
Have you tried pm disable instead? Hide might only be hiding it in your launcher until reboot. Otherwise, although you'd have to reset to get them back, you could try the method in this thread.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/hd8-hd10/general/tut-root-cleaner-android-experience-hd8-t3797327
I know it says 5.6 and up it won't work, but I'm on 5.6.1.0 and my friend is on 5.6.2.0 and it's worked for both ours.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info but... I tried pm disable and half of them wouldn't disable - why I went to hide them. Also, when this kept happening what I read was disable requires a rooted device (mine is not).
Do you think I could just try pm uninstalling - I don't want to start over! I've spent hours on this and have brain drain and looked at so many threads. The initial thread I was pointed to was https://forum.xda-developers.com/hd8-hd10/general/a-t3820744/page23#post77476583 and that's what I've been following.
I have 5.6.2 btw. --- AND A HEADACHE!
Thanks!

DallasRedHead said:
Thanks for the info but... I tried pm disable and half of them wouldn't disable - why I went to hide them. Also, when this kept happening what I read was disable requires a rooted device (mine is not).
Do you think I could just try pm uninstalling - I don't want to start over! I've spent hours on this and have brain drain and looked at so many threads. The initial thread I was pointed to was https://forum.xda-developers.com/hd8-hd10/general/a-t3820744/page23#post77476583 and that's what I've been following.
I have 5.6.2 btw. --- AND A HEADACHE!
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have the HD 8 or 10?

tylerhole said:
Do you have the HD 8 or 10?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have an HD 8.
Interesting, I just checked this. While my desktop icons didn't disappear my searches on chrome have gotten a lot faster! I had two sites that I was testing with that were so slow I would walk away while they loaded up. Now they load up great! Hum.....

DallasRedHead said:
I have an HD 8.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh... I wasn't aware of what device you had so yeah, disregard what I said, my apologies.

tylerhole said:
Oh... I wasn't aware of what device you had so yeah, disregard what I said, my apologies.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem but now I don't know where to go from here. Maybe someone will reply from the original post I was following... I'm really just now sticking my toe in the Android world.

DallasRedHead said:
No problem but now I don't know where to go from here. Maybe someone will reply from the original post I was following... I'm really just now sticking my toe in the Android world.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't attempted to do anything regarding disabling or removing system apps on mine without root, plus I have the 10 not the 8 so there's other lil differences too.
That combined with Amazon making things more difficult to be done with every update not sure if I could point you in a direction to go without doing a bunch of digging through threads myself lol.
I'm sure there is someone will be able to chime in and help ya out, just a matter of time. Hope ya get it figured out and I'll be checking back to see what happens! [emoji854]
Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

can some1 tell me what i did wrong i disable only the safe apk.. reboot the amazon goes into moptimizing system storange application mode forever.. then i have to go into adb and sideload stock firmware

Looking for an app and/or bluetooth expert. To modify an app.

Full disclosure: I dont normally do forums so sorry if I do this wrong.
I purchased a Bluetooth Purification Mask named Atmoblue.
It originated in China. Ive had it for a few months now and it has bluetooth and there is an app for it but it looks like its taking forever for it to be moved over to English.
My question is how hard would it be for a person (or me, with no experience at all) to pull the basic functions out of the app?
For example I want to bypass the wechat login (cause, no) and basically get the pairing function up and running along with the fan speed and some of the auto features in the app and create a basic app til they release the full thing.
If any of you also want to try I can send you the link to the apk. Or if you would do it and require payment at completion how much would that cost?
In case you need to see the device just google Atmoblue.
Thanks again everyone.

mastershino said:
Full disclosure: I dont normally do forums so sorry if I do this wrong.
I purchased a Bluetooth Purification Mask named Atmoblue.
It originated in China. Ive had it for a few months now and it has bluetooth and there is an app for it but it looks like its taking forever for it to be moved over to English.
My question is how hard would it be for a person (or me, with no experience at all) to pull the basic functions out of the app?
For example I want to bypass the wechat login (cause, no) and basically get the pairing function up and running along with the fan speed and some of the auto features in the app and create a basic app til they release the full thing.
If any of you also want to try I can send you the link to the apk. Or if you would do it and require payment at completion how much would that cost?
In case you need to see the device just google Atmoblue.
Thanks again everyone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is pretty much a 99.9% chance that you won't find anyone to do this for you. The best you can hope for is someone might give you some links to guides showing how to decompile and edit apk files. What you would modify in the apk file to achieve your purposes would require you doing your own research to figure it out. You can ask further questions along the way about the things that you don't understand, but there are no guarantees that you will get any useful answers.
In other words, be prepared to dig in and do the work yourself, if you really want to accomplish this feat. If not, get used to dealing with the app the way it is.
Sent from my SM-S767VL using Tapatalk

Yea, i started researching the day I posted this. I've been reading and reading and reading. Ive gotten to the point where I now have access to the battery percentage. Currently, trying to figure out the characteristics in the device itself and the values needed to change each of the modes. Also, it looks like the app from the company is pretty much useless to try to use. Based on the code (from what I can understand after 2 days of research and starting off with 0 coding knowledge) the app has to use wechat to basically be able to access a server and then the server sends it back to the phone then the device. Meaning I can't just look in the code for what values I need, unless I was able to actually sign into wechat and record the log. Which I can't do since I don't have access to wechat.
So now I'm currently looking up how to write code in the programs I've found to write it and create a ui. Ive at least figured out uuids and figured out how to call up the battery percentage now. Only like 3 more settings to go! Wish me luck lol