[HOW-TO] vanillarize your MT4G - myTouch 4G General

Since there is so much moaning and groaning about the mysense UI here are a few (noobproof) suggestions on how to get the most "vanilla" experience out of your mytouch. Feel free to add to the list.
Faster performance/vanilla appearance
Set LauncherPro (Plus) as your default launcher.
Search key replacement:
Since the search button is replaced by the genius button I would suggest the following: in launcherplus (home screen) long press the dock key that normally opens the application drawer. Select: swipe gesture action -> launch shortcut -> activities -> google search -> com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox.SearchActivity
Now you can bring up the search widget on your home screen by simply swiping your finger over the app drawer key (swipe up)
removing bloatware:
there are several methods but I find this to be the easiest.
Install visionary from market and temp-root the device
install titanium backup (EDIT: you might need to buy the Pro version)
open titanium backup, press "problems?" and install busybox (needed after every reboot)
reopen titanium backup and go to backup/restore
click on an unwanted application and select "freeze". This will not fully remove the application but will permanently disable it so it will not show up in the launcher or run in the background. you can freeze/unfreeze applications as you want. Freezing is NOT undone by rebooting the phone and has to be undone in titanium backup.
If you are seriously worried about the space these applications take up you can also long press an application in titanium backup and select "force remove app (by recovery exploit)" which will permanently remove the app. (might cause problems with OTA updates)
Disabling T-mobile crap
settings -> accounts & sync -> disable T-mobile sync
make sure to save new contacts as google contacts (t-mobile automatically set to default)
Still not satisfied?
settings -> SD & phone storage -> factory data reset -> put back in box -> exchange for G2
Hope this helps

cool didnt know about the freeze thing, ill do that as i heard if you delete the apps you wont get OTA updates

Oh and I'd turn off the t-mobile account sync. Let me know if anyone figures out how to make google contacts standard when creating new contacts

is there much space to be saved by force removing a app or will freezing any certain apps make the phone run any faster? i installed launcher pro /better keyboard/ handcent probably 5mins after opening up the MT4G.. i did the visionary root like 2 days ago, along with setcpu .. and the phone is running pretty good hitting high 1900's and low 20xx quadrant benchmark scores..but if i can make it run faster by removing some apps not used i will.

I found that I could use a terminal emulator to disable the bloatware at the package level. Does this do the same as "freezing"?

Elfabaa said:
I found that I could use a terminal emulator to disable the bloatware at the package level. Does this do the same as "freezing"?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, it's the same thing just that Titanium backup runs the script for you and keeps track of what you froze so you can see what's frozen and whats not. It's the same thing just more user friendly.

Elfabaa said:
I found that I could use a terminal emulator to disable the bloatware at the package level. Does this do the same as "freezing"?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly the same.
Ooops. Beat me to it.

Thanks, I might have to re-enable them and then go do it through titanium backup.

superhtchd2 said:
is there much space to be saved by force removing a app or will freezing any certain apps make the phone run any faster? i installed launcher pro /better keyboard/ handcent probably 5mins after opening up the MT4G.. i did the visionary root like 2 days ago, along with setcpu .. and the phone is running pretty good hitting high 1900's and low 20xx quadrant benchmark scores..but if i can make it run faster by removing some apps not used i will.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think there is much to be gained by force removing apps (over just freezing). Yes, you free up some internal memory but it's unlikely you'll ever need it. Even with all the preinstalled crap and all of my applications (quite a few and none installed to sd yet) I still have over 800mb of free space. There is no way I'm ever gonna use it all. On the flip side you might even run into some OTA problems when removing some apps like some G2 owners did with Google Goggles.
I would just go ahead and freeze all the preinstalled apps you don't need. That'll stop them from running in the background and potentially wasting memory and battery power. Chances are you won't notice a big performance increase since the MTG4 can handle a lot of background processes but at least the junk won't clutter up your app drawer any longer

Elfabaa said:
Thanks, I might have to re-enable them and then go do it through titanium backup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd be interested to know if you have to reenable them first for titanium backup to recognize the packages. Lemme know

I don't know, but I'm quite sure that freezing is 'premium' feature of this most well-deserved piece of software.

floepie said:
I don't know, but I'm quite sure that freezing is 'premium' feature of this most well-deserved piece of software.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It appears you're right sir
EDIT: Actually you don't need the pro version. I just tried it with the free version and it still gives me the option to freeze apps.

The button is there but when you push it it ask you to buy pro
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App

ESKIMOn00b said:
The button is there but when you push it it ask you to buy pro
Sent from my HTC Glacier using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Weird - I uninstalled both, the pro key and the free version and only reinstalled the free version. It let me freeze/defrost apps just fine just using the free version. Maybe because I already had some apps frozen (which it recognized as such) when I reinstalled the free version?!?

c_licious said:
I'd be interested to know if you have to reenable them first for titanium backup to recognize the packages. Lemme know
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I disabled some apps in Terminal Emulator and when I look in TB, they show as frozen.

c_licious said:
Since there is so much moaning and groaning about the mysense UI here are a few (noobproof) suggestions on how to get the most "vanilla" experience out of your mytouch. Feel free to add to the list.
Faster performance/vanilla appearance
Set LauncherPro (Plus) as your default launcher.
Search key replacement:
Since the search button is replaced by the genius button I would suggest the following: in launcherplus (home screen) long press the dock key that normally opens the application drawer. Select: swipe gesture action -> launch shortcut -> activities -> google search -> com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox.SearchActivity
Now you can bring up the search widget on your home screen by simply swiping your finger over the app drawer key (swipe up)
removing bloatware:
there are several methods but I find this to be the easiest.
Install visionary from market and temp-root the device
install titanium backup (EDIT: you might need to buy the Pro version)
open titanium backup, press "problems?" and install busybox (needed after every reboot)
reopen titanium backup and go to backup/restore
click on an unwanted application and select "freeze". This will not fully remove the application but will permanently disable it so it will not show up in the launcher or run in the background. you can freeze/unfreeze applications as you want. Freezing is NOT undone by rebooting the phone and has to be undone in titanium backup.
If you are seriously worried about the space these applications take up you can also long press an application in titanium backup and select "force remove app (by recovery exploit)" which will permanently remove the app. (might cause problems with OTA updates)
Disabling T-mobile crap
settings -> accounts & sync -> disable T-mobile sync
make sure to save new contacts as google contacts (t-mobile automatically set to default)
Still not satisfied?
settings -> SD & phone storage -> factory data reset -> put back in box -> exchange for G2
Hope this helps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well if u want more of the same look as the g2 which is stock android just use launcher pro then go to preferences>appearance settings>dock background>froyo. and ur good to go. then if u want u can have the 3d menu by going to preferences>advanced settings>use 3d drawer and thats it. now ur phone looks the same as the g2. hope this helps!

Related

[Q] A way to run frozen apps from the home screen?

Hi guys,
I've been searching for a couple of hours now for a free app that is able to launch frozen apps from the home screen with a shortcut or something. The best i have found is 'hide apps - root' or 'HMA' as the icon says. It is able to launch the frozen app then rehide it after use. I just wanted to know if there is an app like this one so that i can put a shortcut on my home screen and launch it from there instead of opening the app, finding the frozen app then launching it.
Just so you don't think i'm up to no good, it is for some apps that use memory in the background no matter what setting i choose in the apps themselves
Thanks
-Jarrod
Basically no. I'm surprised there is even an app that will unfreeze, run the app, and refreeze afterwards. Once its frozen its equivalent to uninstall it, therefore a shortcut is not possible.
What is the full app name available for download from the market (Google play)? Maybe I can research it and find a way to make custom shortcuts for your needs.
The app is by the maker of 'root unistaller' (which also is able to launch frozen apps) and is called hide app - root, its just a trial. Hide it pro is also able to do it
That would be great if you could have a look. I don't have that much of an idea on how to do that
Sent from my GT-I9000T using XDA
I'm also very surprised that such an application exists. Doesn't such a thing require a reboot since freezing an app removes all associations between the app and the system?
what about Autostarts, Its an app that you pick which apps you want to start automatically.
i dont know how freezing works but i dont think it changes much in the file system.
i was looking around with root explorer in data/app and my frozen apps were still in there. and they also appear in the setting/applications just a bit fainter than the rest.
Not really the right kind of app. i want one to launch frozen apps, not see what apps are auto starting, but that app might help speed up my phone thanks
Titanium Backup has the ability to frozen the app. You can make an shortcut to titanium backup, that you can switch from frozen to unfrozen.
But it`s not automatically :-/

[APP][5.0+] CCSWE App Manager (Root/Samsung) - Honest alternative to PDP

[APP][5.0+] CCSWE App Manager (Root/Samsung)
CCSWE App Manager was designed for users who want disable applications and packages to improve performance. It also allows you to hide icons for applications they do not use without uninstalling the entire application. You can also hide icons for stock system applications which will allow you to continue to receive system updates while saving space in your application drawer.
★★ NOTE: You must have a stock Samsung device in order to use CCSWE App Manager (Samsung) ★★
★★ NOTE: You must have root access in order to use CCSWE App Manager (Root) ★★
Contact [email protected] if you have any issues. We are more than happy to offer any help we can but cannot do anything if you simply give us a low rating instead of contacting us.
★★ Features ★★
★ Clear data for any application
★ Disable services and receivers
★ Export and import package lists
★ Hide (disable) application icons without uninstalling the application
★ Home screen widget
★ Favorites list
★ Freeze (disable) applications
★ Password protection
★ Uninstall applications
Wow, thanks for this.
I think i managed to remove like 5 or 6 useless icons from my app drawer
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note using XDA Premium app
Really works and it does so fast, clean and easy. I think it's the only app available on the Play Store that actually does this WITHOUT breaking the apps.
GREAT JOB!
Wish the UI was cleaner, based on ICS design elements.
Thanks!
(Galaxy Nexus 4.0.4)
Works great. Just one thing, when I tried to hide SIM Toolkit, it makes my phone lose the signal n when it got the signal back, SIM Toolkit appear again on my app drawer.
nice
Thanx this a great work...
I'm use for hide all in unused icons.
I'm use a miui launcher a this put any icons in home this unused icons take a one more page of laucher...
This app need to go to front page of XDA....
Sent from my MB525 using XDA
Thanks for all the positive feedback. Next releases will be focused on making it easier to use (filters and status indicators).
Only navigation from maps is going back after reboot.
Btw good work.
Thanks
Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk 2
Guess I must be doing something wrong...?
Great idea, this app!
However, I don't get the option to "hide" a particular item...
All it offers for me - when long-pressing an app - is "Clear data", "Freeze" or "Uninstall"...
What am I doing wrong/missing?
androidarmin said:
Great idea, this app!
However, I don't get the option to "hide" a particular item...
All it offers for me - when long-pressing an app - is "Clear data", "Freeze" or "Uninstall"...
What am I doing wrong/missing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The freeze option would allow you to hide all icons and completely disable an app but this probably isn't what you want...
Short press the app to transition into the "Details" view at which point you'll see a list of icons associated with the application. Short press the icons you want to show/hide to check them and then click the "Show/Hide Icon(s)" button to process the operation.
After hiding/showing icons some launchers will require you to reboot before they actually show/hide.
I've installed it and when I run it, It asks for root permissions, which I click allow, but then the app just sits there with the spinning circle and "Asking for root permissions" It's been like that for about 10min so I think it's stuck
On a Sony Xperia Arc, rooted gingerbread 2.3.4
Anything I can try?
mr_exit said:
Anything I can try?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should try installing BusyBox. See if that helps.
mr_exit said:
I've installed it and when I run it, It asks for root permissions, which I click allow, but then the app just sits there with the spinning circle and "Asking for root permissions" It's been like that for about 10min so I think it's stuck
On a Sony Xperia Arc, rooted gingerbread 2.3.4
Anything I can try?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haven't seen/heard of this before. My first suggestion would be to exit out and retry. If that doesn't work you can PM me here or email [email protected] (better option since it dings my phone ) and I'll try and help you resolve it.
Awesome app!
machx0r said:
Short press the app to transition into the "Details" view at which point you'll see a list of icons associated with the application. Short press the icons you want to show/hide to check them and then click the "Show/Hide Icon(s)" button to process the operation.
After hiding/showing icons some launchers will require you to reboot before they actually show/hide.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I knew it... This app is AWESOME!!!
Thanks so much for pointing me in the right direction, machx0r!
Love the app, and it works exactly as described.
Will get the $$ version for sure...
Thanks, man!
mr_exit said:
I've installed it and when I run it, It asks for root permissions, which I click allow, but then the app just sits there with the spinning circle and "Asking for root permissions" It's been like that for about 10min so I think it's stuck
On a Sony Xperia Arc, rooted gingerbread 2.3.4
Anything I can try?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the same problem here. I restartet the Device and it works now.
this is awesome, i've been looking for something like this since ditching non-stock launchers. Question, will uninstalling undo anything I hid? or do i need to do this before uninstalling to prevent apps from permanently being hidden? I also noticed that hiding the icons this way prevents them from showing up when searching on the Evo.
jonathan.strunk said:
Question, will uninstalling undo anything I hid? or do i need to do this before uninstalling to prevent apps from permanently being hidden?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This application modifies system settings to hide the icons or freeze applications. They will continue to be hidden/frozen after uninstalling so you should unhide them first or reinstall the application when you need to restore them.
I installed this because it sounded like it would hide the icons but still let me use the apps. I spent about 10 minutes going through my apps and hiding them.
I hid my Apex launcher and after I exited the app the system freaked the **** out going to a few other apps and then finally the default CM9 launcher when I hit the home key.
Also it doesn't highlight everything I check to be hidden in blue. So I had to go through and unhide everything just to be safe, taking another 10 minutes to sort through my app list trying to remember what I ticked off. Around 500 apps, not fun.
Scary Guy said:
I installed this because it sounded like it would hide the icons but still let me use the apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Technically it disables the Activity associated with the icon which does in fact make it unusable while hidden. Beyond a launcher with the capability to hide icons this is the only way to do it.
Scary Guy said:
I hid my Apex launcher and after I exited the app the system freaked the **** out going to a few other apps and then finally the default CM9 launcher when I hit the home key.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For most launchers this would be fine as separate Activities are created for the "Settings" and "Launcher" functionalities. Unfortunately this is not the case with Apex launcher and I sent them an email a while back suggesting a change.
In general care should be taken while hiding launchers and system apps (titles in red). Maybe I should do something more than just the red text to indicate caution should be taken. Maybe a warning prompt with an option to disable it for those that like to live dangerously ;-)
Scary Guy said:
Also it doesn't highlight everything I check to be hidden in blue. So I had to go through and unhide everything just to be safe, taking another 10 minutes to sort through my app list trying to remember what I ticked off. Around 500 apps, not fun.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm I haven't heard of this issue but will definitely look into it. The Activities (icon rows) are not cached and are loaded when you enter the details screen so they should represent the current state (ie: blue = hidden).
In the next few days I'll be putting out an updated release that will contain filtering which would have made it easier to locate what you hid. Sorry for your troubles.
Just uploaded version 1.0.5. Only change is to filter Apex Launcher from the list of available applications since it doesn't like being hidden. As always shoot me an email at [email protected] and I'll be more than happy to help.
I assume that pretty much any launcher is going to react the same way if it's the active launcher and you're hiding it.
Anyway thanks for the quick response.

TB Pro multiple app uninstall

I'm not sure this is the right forum to post this question, if not please direct me to the proper place.
Is there an easy way to uninstall multiple apps with TBP? I tried to delete the pesky ones like Car Home, Fota Kill, Live Wallpaper, Magic Smoke, Music Visual Wallpaper, Pico TTS, Setup Wizard, etc., but once I reboot, they are back again, SO I tried removing a couple by long pressing each one and selecting the option of Force Remove app but it is going to take a while if eerytime I choose one it has to restart. Is there a way to do a multiple Froce Removal?
You could uninstall apps from the launcher itself (i don't think the stock launcher can do that), but in launchers like go launcher, next launcher, u just long press on the app and it shows a cross mark on top of it. Just hit that it will uninstall.
Or you can go to manage apps in settings, and do it there.
Are they system apps.? If so you should use any root browser and go into system /app and delete em.
Don't delete random apps. You might mess it up.
And BTW, this should be in Q & A. Not general
Life!
Lifehacker7 said:
You could uninstall apps from the launcher itself (i don't think the stock launcher can do that), but in launchers like go launcher, next launcher, u just long press on the app and it shows a cross mark on top of it. Just hit that it will uninstall.
Or you can go to manage apps in settings, and do it there.
Are they system apps.? If so you should use any root browser and go into system /app and delete em.
Don't delete random apps. You might mess it up.
And BTW, this should be in Q & A. Not general
Life!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This are system apps that came with the CWM7. ADW doesn't allow me to uninstall them. Going into settings>manage apps doesn't give me the option to uninstall.
I've frozen the apps to make sure I am able to delete them with out any problems. I've uninstalled a couple one by one via TBP Force Removal BUT it would take forever because it reboots twice every time I remove an app.
Moderator can you please tranfer this to Q&A??? Sorry about that
texaslittleangel said:
This are system apps that came with the CWM7. ADW doesn't allow me to uninstall them. Going into settings>manage apps doesn't give me the option to uninstall.
I've frozen the apps to make sure I am able to delete them with out any problems. I've uninstalled a couple one by one via TBP Force Removal BUT it would take forever because it reboots twice every time I remove an app.
Moderator can you please tranfer this to Q&A??? Sorry about that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I said, use a root browser, go to system/app, delete apps from there. And after deleting all the apps u wanted to, do a reboot (not mandatory though)
Life!

[Q] Why does my launcher only work the way I want it when I reset app preferences?

What I want my launcher (Home Screen App) to do is the same Surelock does, what I mean by this is I want to activate the launcher imediately once I get in the app I want to be prompted for a launcher.
I can already do it, however after I set the android launcher allways, when I get in the app again I can't make it into a launcher.
I can only make it into a launcher again if I reset app preferences on the tablet's settings...
You want to be able to choose between two or more launchers every time you "go home"?
What you have now is a situation where a launcher stays in memory and is the default after having chosen it once?
I think you will have to manually edit memory handling for that either on the app side or by modifying the android memory settings.
Android generally tries to keep the launcher in memory or cached by default I think.
Perhaps, but this is pure speculation, toy can use the developer settings for this.
There is an option in that menu for killing apps immediately after closing them, and one for max allowed background apps.
You could see if one of those (both at once is not needed) do the trick, be warned though, that'll essentially end multitasking.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using xda premium
Thanks, what I want is...
Hr Kristian said:
You want to be able to choose between two or more launchers every time you "go home"?
Perhaps, but this is pure speculation, toy can use the developer settings for this.
There is an option in that menu for killing apps immediately after closing them, and one for max allowed background apps.
You could see if one of those (both at once is not needed) do the trick, be warned though, that'll essentially end multitasking.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, thank you for your reply, what I want to be able to do is what Surelock does, which is everytime I click on my custom launcher application I get prompted to choose a default launcher, and as soon as I do it the changes take effect immediately. Meaning I enter HOME mode instantly, so when I press the home key the home is already my custom HOME app. and The back key won't work either.
This is exactly what I need to do...
What happens now is that on the first time I run the application I get the same result as in the surelock application which is what I want. And if I restart the tablet I restar on my own launcher which is also perfect, however...
if I exit my own launcher (which I've made possible by pressing a button) when I choose to use android launcher as allways, I imediately move to the android launcher which is also what I want.
The problem is when I go to the application to repeat the same process, it will still ask me which launcher I want to choose but when I choose mine, the changes don't take effect.
The changes will only take effect if I reset app preferences in the tablet's settings...
And I want to be able to repeat the process as many times as I want without having to reset the app preferences...
Right, now I get it.
You will have to write two (near identical) scripts that 1: clears the launcher default or directly changes it to the other (better) 2: starts the other launcher.
I don't know how to do that, but Claystone Launcher apparently has the function so it's perfectly doable.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using xda premium

[Q] getting rid of apps

I have pages of apps on my schi535. In 4.2.2 these show as apps you load from the apps page instead of the home pages. I would like to get rid of the ones I don't plan on using again. Titanium and superuser file utilities have not expunged these. Please tell me how to get them completely gone. Thanks!
settings - apps - find apps to unisntall - click - then go to uninstall
you can also do this in titanium backup as you said. not sure why it wouldnt work for you.
using nova launcher its even easier...long press - click uninstall. or go to app drawer - long press - drag to uninstall.

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