Database Info

[Research] Stock Samsung Apps Catalog & Documentation

Hey guys, as part of my current work on producing a nice modified version of the "stock" firmware for the T-Mobile variant of the GT PLus, the SGH-T869, I have taken the approach of producing what I hope is decent documentation of my entire build process. Part of that has been cataloging all apps included with the "stock" ROM. I've got a very good start in finding at least a cursory explanation of what each app does and what effect removing the app has on the device.
I've been able to remove an alarming number of apps with no apparent ill effects, so at this point I'm turning to you, the XDA community, for assistance in figuring out what the remaining items do.
I have a publicly-viewable Google Docs spreadsheet here.
This spreadsheet is basically a list of every APK present in /system/app on the SGH-T869_TMB_T869UVLG7_T869TMBLG7 firmware, which appears to be the most recent ICS firmware for the USA T-Mobile version. I have backed up all files to an account I set up on Android File Host, and begun the process of linking them into the spreadsheet for easier reference.
As of now the following items are basically a mystery:
-ClipboardSaveService.apk
-CSC.apk
-DSMForwarding.apk
-DSMLawmo.apk
-FTC.apk
-FTM.apk
-FTS.apk
-Keychain.apk
-MobileTrackerEngineTwo.apk
-OmaCP.apk
-OmaDrmPopup.apk
-PanningTryActually.apk
-PCWClientS.apk
-Personalization.apk
-Phone_Util.apk
-PopupuiReceiver.apk
-PRUI.apk
-SecOmaDownloadProvider.apk
-etc
The intent with this document is to serve as a reference for people working with the "stock" Samsung firmware.
If you have any info you'd like to contribute, post to this thread or PM me
Also, I'll need "alpha" testers of my ROM in probably a week.
My initial release is planned to be simply a fully "optimized" copy of the stock ROM, with about 400MB of stock bloat removed, all remaining system apps deodexed and zipaligned, su and SuperSu, and probably some minor aesthetic mods added (1% battery and a themed notification bar).
The primary goal is to produce a nice stock-based ROM for the T869 (which doesn't have a lot of ROM options at present) and also to give the community a nicely documented guide on what I did, which may prove helpful to other would-be ROM makers.

a lot of these are 0MB or 0kb in size, or very small... eg.100kb or so.
You could always decompile these apks, would help you figure it out.
CSC.apk is Customer Service Configuration, or Country Code eg. KOR, XME, EUR
MobileTrackerEngineTwo is reponsible for tracking the device.. Samsung Dive, etc.. I believe.
Panningtryactually.apk involves tilting the device to scroll, etc. this .apk is just for thatwith pop up messages, etc.
Personalization.apk is directly related to CSC. This is the apk that will let you change your CSC I believe.
clipboard save service is obvious, I would keep that.
The others Im sure we could figure out.
I disabled a lot of stock apks and removed readers hub, and my device is pretty fluid as it is.

Awesome, thank you for the information!
I was planning on adding a column for file size into the spreadsheet next, so that bit should become obvious.
I'm pretty sure the ClipboardSaverService is actually a supplemental thing that allows you to "save" clipboard items so you can have multiple items in a stack, because the stock Android clipboard functionality has been working perfectly fine on its own with ClipboardSaver removed.
The more I get to know how the Samsung stuff is built, the less impressed I am by it. Almost all of the "new" stuff they add to their ROMs seems like solutions to problems that don't actually exist. The tilt-to-scroll thing was cool for about an hour, until I tried to use the tab on a bus and kept accidentally triggering it.
So far, with all the stuff uninstalled, I am getting really good battery life from my tab.I'm at 77% after 13 hours of discharging. Now, that's light internet use for a few hours and then sleeping for like 5 hours, but still. It's basically just as good as anything I was seeing from CM10. Work was crazy yesterday cuz we had some people missing, but today should be much less busy so I'll have time to chug away on the spreadsheet some more.
Anyone have any solid idea what Keychain.apk actually does? The name would imply that its some sort of secure storage manager that holds user credentials, like Keychain in Ubuntu and Mac OS X. However, I'm not entirely sure what that would mean in the context of Android. Maybe to manage passwords saved in the browser? I'm gonna have to probe a bit more to find out what it does, probably.

Scratch that theory about the ClipboardSaverService. That special GUI is only present on the stock "Internet" browser, and is present & working even with ClipboardSaverService removed.
Got a few bits of helpful info over here http://www4.gsmspain.com/foros/attachment.php?postid=12686608

there was a few good lists here on xda... also if you have time, learn to decompile these have a peek at some images and .xmls, you should be able to figure them out.
cheers.

FWIW, whenever I see FTM, I think Factory Test Mode.

I ended up "re-stocking" my GT-P7510. which apparently shares roughly 95% of the same APKs.
I have also finally found some actual negative consequences from removing "all" the Samsung stuff, attempting a download in my stock browser currently causes the app to crash.
This should help determine what at least one of the "mystery" APKs actually does

I don t know what the above mentioned "mysterious" apks are, but what I know is that I removed all of them already a while ago, and my p6210 works like a charm. But it s a wifi only model, for 3g models apks that are phone related shouldn t be removed, for obvious reasons...

Is there a way to "vanillalize" Android?

A lot of manufacturers customize Android, some just put a custom skin on it, some even redesign it to the point where people can't even recognize Android. So, my question is: is there a way to delete all bloatware (even the manufacturer updating app), and change every customized system app to their Vanilla counterparts (even SystemUI, Settings etc.)? Without, of course, installing a Custom ROM.
Why I want all this is the following: I have a device (I don't want to name it, because I want to keep this a General Question) that has a pretty big camp here on XDA, but the specific MODEL I have, does not. They didn't even figure out how to unlock the Bootloader for it, which is a shame, because now I cannot install Custom ROMs on it. It even uses completely different firmwares, than the other models, so no compatibility beetween the devices.
So, is there a way to do all this? I have root, of course, so that's no problem. Oh, and another thing: I can't install Xposed. I don't know why, but I can't.
Android 5.0.1

smileyhead said:
A lot of manufacturers customize Android, some just put a custom skin on it, some even redesign it to the point where people can't even recognize Android. So, my question is: is there a way to delete all bloatware (even the manufacturer updating app), and change every customized system app to their Vanilla counterparts (even SystemUI, Settings etc.)? Without, of course, installing a Custom ROM.
Why I want all this is the following: I have a device (I don't want to name it, because I want to keep this a General Question) that has a pretty big camp here on XDA, but the specific MODEL I have, does not. They didn't even figure out how to unlock the Bootloader for it, which is a shame, because now I cannot install Custom ROMs on it. It even uses completely different firmwares, than the other models, so no compatibility beetween the devices.
So, is there a way to do all this? I have root, of course, so that's no problem. Oh, and another thing: I can't install Xposed. I don't know why, but I can't.
Android 5.0.1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
debloating can be done rather easily using root. many apps such as rom toolbox and titanium can aid with that.
as far as basically de-themeing the phone, im sure it would require a reasonable amount of developmental knowledge to even attempt.
even if i knew what device you had, im sure i couldnt help, but the level of possibility and difficulty could certainly vary from one device to another.

debloating can be done rather easily using root. many apps such as rom toolbox and titanium can aid with that.
as far as basically de-themeing the phone, im sure it would require a reasonable amount of developmental knowledge to even attempt.
even if i knew what device you had, im sure i couldnt help, but the level of possibility and difficulty could certainly vary from one device to another.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could flashing system apps work?

smileyhead said:
Could flashing system apps work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i assume you mean changing system apps.
that would depend on weather the app is themed, or there is some external themeing going on.
if its the app, and you want to change it, you will need to find apps compatible with your device and version, or they wont work.

It completely depends on the device. There is a huge diff between a themed os and a custom distro like you see on Samsung and HTC devices. I think only one oem makes a themed version and that is the oxygen os. The rest can't be done as it is not really a theme but a complete distro where system files and drivers have been replaced or re-written completely. The only way to truly do it is to flash a rom based on pure aosp code. Made you doing this removes just about all features from a device but as your bootloader is on unlocked and with no bypass you are kinda stuck.

i assume you mean changing system apps.
that would depend on weather the app is themed, or there is some external themeing going on.
if its the app, and you want to change it, you will need to find apps compatible with your device and version, or they wont work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some clarification: I meant deleting the themed system apps (Dialer, Settings, etc.), then flashing Gapps, and the other stuff that's not included in it (Settings, FaceUnlock, etc.).
It completely depends on the device. There is a huge diff between a themed os and a custom distro like you see on Samsung and HTC devices. I think only one oem makes a themed version and that is the oxygen os. The rest can't be done as it is not really a theme but a complete distro where system files and drivers have been replaced or re-written completely. The only way to truly do it is to flash a rom based on pure aosp code. Made you doing this removes just about all features from a device but as your bootloader is on unlocked and with no bypass you are kinda stuck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, this firmware is pretty much just a reskin with some additional functions (a really ugly reskin), so I thought about what I mentioned above. I can always reflash the firmware, if something goes wrong, without data loss.

I would look in your system partition. The easiest give away will be if there are extra frameworks. If there is you can bet that they replaced the apks instead of just theming them. Give it a shot and I hope it works.

[GUIDE] Rooted, What Now? - The Essentials

Hey guys, Kyuubi10 back for another guide
Today I want to tackle the open ocean of options one has once they are finally rooted.
If you still don't know what rooting is, this guide probably isn't for you...But if you feel intrigued feel free to check this link out:
http://lifehacker.com/5789397/the-always-up-to-date-guide-to-rooting-any-android-phone
Many of you are unsure whether to root or not, since you don't yet understand the endless possibilities available to rooted devices. Most guides which I have found online only cover the options on the surface, I will try to go into deeper detail.
Meanwhile some of you have already rooted your phones on the promise of great things but find yourself stuck for ideas, and you start feeling that rooting is a bit useless. This is due to lack of information available for non-rooted folk, prior to actually rooting.
Note:
Just unlocking your bootloader, or flashing a custom recovery isn't rooting. But usually a custom recovery is required before rooting.
Hopefully you already know these, but if not here is a link to some terminology you may need to fully understand this guide:
http://www.talkandroid.com/guides/beginner/android-rom-and-rooting-dictionary-for-beginners/
So... You have successfully unlocked your bootloader, flashed a custom recovery and have rooted your device. What now? Where to start?
Finding Sources:
The first stop once you have rooted is to find sources of information about what is available to you and your device.
This is where the first complication arises, since each device is different, each device has a different rooting method, different mods, themes, ROMs and Kernels available to it. So there is NOT a universal way to root, nor software universally available to any rooted device. You have to find guides, and indexes of things made specifically for your own device.
If you have made it to this guide, you are on the right path. This website currently is the biggest hub for all things root, for any device. If you use the search option on the top right corner, you will have a really high chance of finding a thread dedicated to your own device. With all the information and software you may need, or want, specifically catered to your device.
This, along with all the available ROOT enabled apps within Google Play Store, will be the main source of ROOT software for you.
Why are you rooting?
Now you have a lot of options available to you. Where do you begin? This depends on what is your own personal reason for rooting.
The main four are: To improve battery, performance and to add themes and features which would be otherwise unavailable. (e.g. Double tap to wake.)
Improving battery AND improving performance may seem to be a contradiction, as improving performance may make battery suffer, while improving battery life may make performance suffer.
While focusing completely on one will definitely make the other suffer, if you focus on efficiency instead it's very much possible to improve both battery life AND performance TOGETHER!
There a multiple ways to improve efficiency of a device, and I will enter into more detail soon.
The other options are adding themes and features.
There may be themes which are only available to rooted devices, themes which would change values which you usually would not have access to while being unrooted. Such themes can be added as mods, or skins. Flashed from custom recovery or added by an app which writes directly to /system folder. Things which require root.
Mods on the other hand modify the visual design of existing things on the phone like widgets, such as clock widget. Theme mods are not usually reliant on ROOT, but they often need to be flashed through custom recovery, something which you will already have if you are rooted.
Features are a bit more complex than themes, but follows the same idea. They can be added through root apps, or flashed through custom recovery. Most features will require ROOT permissions, since most useful features perform actions which are not usually allowed without root. These include but are not limited to changing an apps way of functioning, or making a system change to give a ROM a feature it did not previously have.
All of these will be available to you through both XDA and/or Play Store. The limit is your imagination, all you need to do is think of something you want and use the available search boxes to find that which you want for you own device.
The most common way of adding all of it together are mod packs, frameworks, custom ROMs, custom Kernels etc...
But since there are such a wide variety of choices available, the ones you choose will be highly dependent on the original reason you have for rooting your device.
If you want to focus on performance and battery, you will choose a ROM with a lot of optimizations, and a custom Kernel instead of one with a lot of themes and features. While you will choose a ROM with few optimizations but loads of themes and features if you are looking more to the visual design experience, while ignoring the kernel, which doesn't affect visuals.
Once you know what your aim for rooting is feel free to begin flashing, installing and experimenting with a variety of software.
You may hear a lot about the risks of rooting, bricking your device, soft-brick or hard-brick, glitches from beta software etc....
But my advice is, don't worry about the risk....make a NANDROID BACKUP, and flash away.
If anything goes wrong, just go back in recovery and restore your last stable nandroid. This way you can flash without worrying about all the risks. And if something does go wrong, and you struggle to get into recovery, just leave an SOS post right here on XDA, on the thread for your device and the community will be more than happy to help you get back on your feet. This will always be a learning experience...don't let fright stop you from enjoying the rooted life!
The essentials:
Here are my recommendations for the most common and essential things which you should have/flash/install once you are rooted.
1) Begin by making a nandroid backup.
2) Find a custom ROM with the features you like. I personally recommend to focus on theming options when choosing a ROM, since you can use other methods to improve battery and performance.
3) Find a custom Kernel with great features to improve battery and performance. You should learn to adjust and fine-tune kernel settings to your liking, to find the ideal balance between battery and performance for your liking and your device.
3.a) This is my Comprehensive Guide to Kernels. It will have most of what you need in order to learn how to adjust kernel settings.​
4) Install BusyBox - What is BusyBox?
5) Flash Xposed Framework and Install the apk - This is only a framework, which facilitates and makes available multiple mods to both add features, themes and mods to improve performance and battery.
6) Flash Viper4Audio - The best audio mod available for Rooted devices. Recently for lollipop and marshmallow it seems that you need a Kernel with SELinux set to permissive.
7) Find and download an Adblock apk - Note: While it is awful to surf the net while being annoyed by intrusive ads, it is also not nice to stop content developers from from receiving the money they deserve through these ads, for content which the provide freely. Therefore please check the option to allow acceptable ads. So that non-intrusive ads are allowed to show up, so developers can continue providing their content freely.
From the Play Store:
8) Greenify - This will help both battery and performance by hibernating apps which keep awake even after manually force closing them. Thus allowing you to control how many apps are truly running at the same time and utilizing RAM. This app also has an Xposed module which adds boosted functionality.
9) Any ROOT file explorer - This will allow you to access ROOT directories of your device. This will be useful for multiple reasons, trust me
10) Tasker - If you are a fan of automation, this is your holy grail. With this you will be able to automate anything on your device.
11) Seeder - I am unable to explain what this app does. It's own description within the Play Store is perfect and very clear! Go check it out. It will improve performance when actively using the device.
12) SD Maid - This is a swiss army knife for Rooted devices. Those of you familiar with CCleaner, will know some of the things this app does. It cleans system and app caches, it cleans leftover files after uninstalling apps. It is also able to toggle autostart, delete system apps, freeze/disable apps and much much more!
Hope this has helped you get started on your Rooted adventure, and given you more aim of where you can go from here.
If you still haven't rooted your device, I hope this guide could help you seal your decision, and ease your fears. :silly:
If this was a helpful guide, I would be grateful if you could press the thanks button.:good::good: And feel free to comment with any questions or mentioning anything I may have forgotten, or your own opinions for the essentials things to do once you are rooted.

Asking for opinion regarding customizing tablet for nursing staff

Hi,
I'm currently programming an app for a hospital as a bachelorsproject. Now I've discussed with my mentor about the fact we want the devices to be used only as pupose for the app I'm making, apps we preinstall and future apps that are made for the personel thats using them.
Currently I'm working with a Galaxy Tab A 10.1 (2016) running android 6.0.1 without it being rooted.
So what do you guys suggest with this I've done some reading along how to root whats possible and seen some guides for my device on how to root it.
What I want to do is actually have like a stock android so no samsung bloatware and microsoft apps etc, even chrome doesn't need to be installed as they don't need acces to browsing. And then pre install specific apps like my app, the one from the hospital itself, future apps and others we specifically need.
Also I'm new to android in general so can I create like a nurse user, and a IT-desk user so the IT desk user can log on the tablet and install an app, while the nurse doesn't even have acces to settings maybe.
Would love to hear what you guys think along what to do, and maybe some general steps like root it, flash a stock rom, create your (2)users, and install apps.

Tommyboy500 said:
Hi,
I'm currently programming an app for a hospital as a bachelorsproject. Now I've discussed with my mentor about the fact we want the devices to be used only as pupose for the app I'm making, apps we preinstall and future apps that are made for the personel thats using them.
Currently I'm working with a Galaxy Tab A 10.1 (2016) running android 6.0.1 without it being rooted.
So what do you guys suggest with this I've done some reading along how to root whats possible and seen some guides for my device on how to root it.
What I want to do is actually have like a stock android so no samsung bloatware and microsoft apps etc, even chrome doesn't need to be installed as they don't need acces to browsing. And then pre install specific apps like my app, the one from the hospital itself, future apps and others we specifically need.
Also I'm new to android in general so can I create like a nurse user, and a IT-desk user so the IT desk user can log on the tablet and install an app, while the nurse doesn't even have acces to settings maybe.
Would love to hear what you guys think along what to do, and maybe some general steps like root it, flash a stock rom, create your (2)users, and install apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could build an AOSP ROM for that model number with only the apps and features you choose, it would require AOSP source code and your stock source code.
Then, yes, android natively supports setting up user profiles, with root access you can set it so that the "nurse user" profile can only use the device and an "admin user" would have exclusive permissions to make whatever changes are needed. You can set it so that the "nurse user" would not be able to install new apps, wouldn't be able to browse the web or even set it so they could browse if needed but would be limited in what they can access on the web, and you'd be able to set it so they would be locked out of all settings.
What you want is very possible, the most difficult part would be compiling the ROM if you go that route, you may not need or want to though because with root, you can strip down the existing stock firmware to remove the extras you don't want or need.
Mind you, there would be some details and specifics to deal with that would require trial and error along the way, obviously.

install/uninstall apps only at one profile

Hi all,
I am trying to make a simple magisk module, something like xXx. I would just make it an extreme debloat script, where you can go to stock rom with only the main.vital apps needed for operation, changed as.much as possible to open source variants of the same kind of app, and right away add switches to install apps, just to make everyobes life a little easier.
I understand most of it, however, a few questions remain, is it possible to.install/uninstall apps only for one profile eg. The work profile.
The thing is i want totally different apps in both and.am using Island where this is sometimes not so easy to achieve. I pretty much been.messing up things
Thanks forbyour.time guys!

AFAIK Android PackageManagerService generally supports only one APK for a package name, instead one APK per user, i.e. it's not fully multi-user in that sense. There are certain exceptions like, you can have one version on the system partition and another on the data partition as an update to it, and different users/profiles can have separate state about either using the updated version, the stock version or just marked as uninstalled.