Theme Chooser-WidgetLocker workaround - General Topics

I found a way to be actually able to have themes on CM7 without having widget locker lose all of the widgets on reboot. Its not exactly that nice and tidy but it does work perfectly.
What you do is actually uninstall the theme chooser after applying a theme and then after a reboot everything will be there on WL with nothing missing. If u need to change your theme you can just re-install ThemeChooser, apply your new theme and then take it out again.
As the TC is a system app you have to use an application capable of backing up - recovering system. Probably the best solution is Titanium Backup. It can create backups, uninstall and reinstall system applications.
Just download the theme you like, install it, apply it, uninstall Theme Chooser, and then do whatever you like with WL as your changes are gonna be permanent.

It's unlikely any solution/workaround aside from the actual patch that I have submitted to CyanogenMod and has been accepted and is included in the nightlies will resolve the issue completely and for everyone. There is a race condition that can be influenced by many things. If things happen in a certain order everything is fine, if not the system will deny non-Launcher apps (eg, WidgetLocker) from accessing Widgets.
Patch is here, but again it's included in recent nightlies.
http://review.cyanogenmod.com/#change,6381

Related

Apps that lose their settings after reboot

I have the Sprint Hero, and this is my ROM history throughout the month I've used it...
Stock --> Fresh 1.0 --> Fresh 1.1 --> Full Wipe --> RUU Stock 1.56 --> Gumbo 1.5b --> +Gumbo Kernel beta
I have partitioned the SD card with each ROM to FAT32+swap+ext3. Apps2SD appears to be functioning fine.
I've noticed that I have a couple apps that lose their settings after every single reboot. This hasn't changed across any of the configurations I've been through, except for on stock. It behaved the same on both Fresh ROMS and still does this on Gumbo.
The 2 apps in particular that annoy me the most with this issue are Weather Widget 3.5 (I paid for the official app), and GTalk Quick Status (I paid for the official app). I'm more interested in these since I keep them both on my home screen. They function perfectly after they are setup, and are very useful apps.
But sure enough, every time I reboot the phone, they have to be re-configured (or widget removed/replaced) and enter the settings again for them to work.
The apps creators and other customers have provided no other feedback of anyone else seeing this issue, and I'm believing that it is something on my end.
Would anyone have any idea why some apps do not retain their settings after reboot? And any advice on what I could do to fix this issue?
Weather Widget is an incompatibility with Sense. If you stop using Sense and use the vanilla home screen, it remembers its settings. Very annoying, but it's the developer's fault.
holidayidol said:
The apps creators and other customers have provided no other feedback of anyone else seeing this issue, and I'm believing that it is something on my end.
Would anyone have any idea why some apps do not retain their settings after reboot? And any advice on what I could do to fix this issue?
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Click to collapse
Weather Forecast v2 and MoreIcons are two widgets I know of that have started to add an extra configuration to their setup screens to workaround the Sprint Hero widget bug.
With the fix in place though, you can only have one instance of the widget running at any given time. Makes the MoreIcons widget somewhat useless, but at least some devs are acknowledging that the bug exists and are doing what they can to make it easier for the end user.
The problem does seem to be with the Sense UI only though because I'm using the SweeterHome UI now and don't have any issues.

A cautionary note about the Theme Chooser app (as seen in CM7)

I've really been loving CM7. One of the features that caught my eye right away is the Theme Chooser: while it is still being ironed out, it has some great functionality.
That said, I've come to realize that it causes some very strange interactions on my phone and have stopped using it. I just wanted to give the heads up to other users.
Some specific examples:
I use Autoruns to control what apps are allowed to automatically run on my phone. After flashing CM7 and experimenting with the themes, Autoruns stopped working. Specifically, when started, it would no longer show all of the apps that have autostart privileges on the phone. Instead, it just showed a few entries for Android itself.
It didn't occur to me that the issue was because of the Theme Chooser. I thought it was just a Gingerbread and/or CM7 issue with Autostarts. But after speaking with the developer, he related to me that this was a known bug with applying a theme with the chooser. I switched back to "system" in the Theme Chooser and he was right: Autostarts returned to full functionality.
As a workaround, you can apply changes with Autostarts, then apply a theme afterwards. Your changes from Autostarts will stick, but if you need to make future changes you will need to revert back to the system theme temporarily.
The other major issue I was having was with WidgetLocker. WL would remember all my settings and sliders, but if I placed any 3rd party widgets onto my lockscreen, they would disappear on reboot. I tried all sorts of wipes / uninstalls / reinstalls, but the problem persisted. Frustrated, I again believed that this was because of Gingerbread and/or CM7. But as soon as I reverted my theme back to system in the Theme Chooser, this problem also went away completely.
I never contacted the WL devs, so I don't know if this second one is a recognized issue with interaction, but I can reliably induce the problem.
So I just wanted to pass this along. If you are using the Theme Chooser, consider reverting back to system if you are trying to investigate any weird problems. If two of the major apps that I use were affected, I'm sure some others are as well.
I'm not saying that the Theme Chooser has to be avoided: just that it should be considered as a variable when investigating buggy behavior.
(I am posting this outside the Nightlies thread as I'm not sure what other roms might be trying to user this theme chooser.)
Well that may be a valid point. However I am more inclined to believe the majority of people having app issues is because a good deal of developers have not yet updated their respective apps for GB compatibility. Seeing how there's only... what the Nexus S running official firmware? Not discrediting your statement of course. Just another idea relating to improper function or nonfunction of apps.
Sent from my HTC Incredible using Tapatalk
sunder74 said:
I am more inclined to believe the majority of people having app issues is because a good deal of developers have not yet updated their respective apps for GB compatibility.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not saying that Theme Chooser should be considered the primary culprit for all problems. Rather,
byrong said:
...that it should be considered as a variable when investigating buggy behavior.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is all.
Your point about GB compatibility is of course valid, but I gave two specific examples of repeatable bugs that I was able to directly link to the Theme Chooser.
I also must not be the first person to have experienced the issue with Autostarts, because the developer responded to my initial query within minutes. I thought it was a GB issue and asked when GB would be supported. Right away he asked if I was using the Theme Chooser in one of the CM7 nightly builds, which I was.
I understand. I wonder what's happening with it specifically, have you ran a logcat while duplicating it?
byrong said:
I am not saying that Theme Chooser should be considered the primary culprit for all problems. Rather,
That is all.
Your point about GB compatibility is of course valid, but I gave two specific examples of repeatable bugs that I was able to directly link to the Theme Chooser.
I also must not be the first person to have experienced the issue with Autostarts, because the developer responded to my initial query within minutes. I thought it was a GB issue and asked when GB would be supported. Right away he asked if I was using the Theme Chooser in one of the CM7 nightly builds, which I was.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my HTC Incredible using Tapatalk
sunder74 said:
I understand. I wonder what's happening with it specifically, have you ran a logcat while duplicating it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here you go...
With theme set to "system" (I.E. Theme Chooser isn't active), starting Autostarts logs the following:
Code:
I/ActivityManager( 170): Start proc com.elsdoerfer.android.autostarts for activity com.elsdoerfer.android.autostarts/.ListActivity: pid=2431 uid=10112 gids={}
I/ActivityManager( 170): Displayed com.elsdoerfer.android.autostarts/.ListActivity: +486ms
With a custom theme applied, starting Autostarts now shows:
Code:
I/ActivityManager( 170): Start proc com.elsdoerfer.android.autostarts for activity com.elsdoerfer.android.autostarts/.ListActivity: pid=2646 uid=10112 gids={}
I/ActivityManager( 170): Displayed com.elsdoerfer.android.autostarts/.ListActivity: +380ms
W/AssetRedirectionManager( 170): No such resource found for com.android.music:drawable/progress_horizontal
W/AssetRedirectionManager( 170): Unable to attach target package assets for com.android.carhome
W/AssetRedirectionManager( 170): No such resource found for com.upwardspiral.theme.Red_Remix:@drawable/wallpaper
Since the Theme Chooser is redirecting the system to utilize separate resources, I guess some apps just don't appreciate having a "middle man."
I'm not knowledgeable enough to say whether:
1. Apps can be modified to deal with this issue
2. Some Theme Chooser themes themselves may be built in a such a way that causes this
3. Theme Chooser itself is the only thing that can be changed
Hmm... could it be that the theme developer didn't account for extra options that are now available? Seems to me like it could be a theme issue, not a theme-chooser issue.
Could be. That was one of the theories I posted above.
Thanks for this thread, will pass the info along to the MT4G guys.
Thanks for this note; I have been having the issue with Widgetlocker losing all the widgets after a reboot, and switching to the system theme resolved that issue.
Now that CM7 has a labeled stable release, I'm bumping this thread. A lot of people will be trying CM7 for the first time and may wonder why they are seeing weird behavior.
I've noticed a lot of people asking in the CM7 threads when the CM team will fix this issue. Please understand that the Theme Engine is T-Mobile's app: it was not written by the CM team. Any fixes that come down the pipeline for it will presumably be from T-Mobile, not from the CM team.
Also, just to add some more detail to the issue, here's a quote from the author of WidgetLocker:
[email protected] said:
WidgetLocker attempts to bind to a widget according to the SDK docs and how Google's launcher2 is implemented. CM7 w/ Theme Chooser denies WL from doing so. If WidgetLocker doesn't have access to the widget, there is nothing to display.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some users have even reported this problem on their home screen with certain launchers, while other launchers are problem-free. This would seem to suggest that there are two different methods that developers are using to bind to widgets, but that is just speculation on my part.
How do I disable or remove themechoose as it comes with CM7 builds? And I'm not able to remove system apps.
mit90 said:
How do I disable or remove themechoose as it comes with CM7 builds? And I'm not able to remove system apps.
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Click to collapse
There are lots of ways to remove system apps. Titanium Backup is probably the easiest, and the newest versions of it also allow you to back-up system apps themselves (rather than just their data, like in the past)
You can also just delete apks from system/app using something like Root Explorer
You can also use ADB
...you get the picture: lots of options
The theme chooser apk is "ThemeChooser.apk" under system/app
You could also just remove ThemeChooser.apk from the CM7 flashable zip before you flash the next build.
All that said, removing it is not necessary to avoid interaction issues, but it's your call.
how do i remove or disable theme chooser? cm7 release htc desire
Seriously?
Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk
I have been using Theme Chooser for a while now and have had no problems with autostarts, it seems to run normally for me. But the problem with widgetlocker is there, good to know the cause.
Its also in OMFGB. Just thought id put my experience in.
Id like to thank everyone that helped me root, rom, & nand.
OMFGB, Slayher#27, CWM 3.0.0.8

Is it ok to remove system apps, AOSP?

I like to keep things as slim as possible and could do without the likes of gmail, Email, holo launcher, apollo, dsp manager and a few others but will removing these bring other bugs?
I have never had a problem removing some of the apps you listed. You can always install them if you change your mind
There's a thread around here in this section that has a list of apps that are OK to erase and the others you shouldn't. If you want to erase, grab Rom Cleaner, cleans out the bloatware and from there you can just freeze any app with Titanium Backup that you don't want. Still keeps it in memory so that it won't crash the phone, but removes it from sight. Seeing as you want to slim down, hopefully this helps.

Substratum is crashing and I can't uninstall.

Hello, I'm new to this site. I need help with substratum because it has recently become impossible to remove the overlays and when I try to do so they freeze and reboot the phone.
I am worried that this is due to having applied multiple swift dark and black themes and applying them without unaplying the other, confusing the list of what's themed and what's not. If tbats not how it works then I don't understand what could be causing this severe problem.
It is also important to mention that if I do not try to uninstall the overlays one by one, and I just use the phone as I normally would, nothing is effected performance size. I simply wish to uninstall substratum and everything to do with it on my device.
I am running it on a galaxy note 8.
If a factory reset would completley erase the problem I am willing to do that, but wanted to confirm with someone who knows what they are talking about first..
Thanks for any replies.

Has anyone managed to get substratum or swift installer working on user apps?

It seems that I can only theme system apps. WhatsApp, Google home, Google translate... Etc. stay as they are even though the theme is installed and active.
10.5.7.IN21BA
Magisk 20.4
No major issues with Swift Installer, here. But thing is, a certain app can't be themed until an update provides a proper overlay for it.
I'd stay away from substratum, however. One wrong move, such as an incompatible overlay, could be problematic. I've found that out the hard way.
Revenant Ghost said:
No major issues with Swift Installer, here. But thing is, a certain app can't be themed until an update provides a proper overlay for it.
I'd stay away from substratum, however. One wrong move, such as an incompatible overlay, could be problematic. I've found that out the hard way.
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Even when they're updated, user apps don't change for me. System apps like Google Chrome change theme just fine but user apps like Google translate don't.

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