Related
I know there are lots of items to freeze (post Root Root Method Used and using Titanium Backup) here is my starting list so far. Please add to the list detail what the process is you are disabling and why if its a core application or service.
AccuWeather
AllShare
Amazon Kindle
Ap Mobile
At&T Bar Code Scanner
AT&T Hot Spots
AT&T Navigator
Buddies now
City ID
Clock 1.0
Dial Clock 1.0
Featured Apps
Home screen Tips
Kobo
Live TV
MOG Music
News & Weather
NFS Shift
Swype
Tethering Manager
Visual Voicemail
Yahoo Finance
YP
Additional apps
I'd add:
AT&T FamilyMap
AT&T Mark the Spot
AT&T Ready2Go
Days
Digital Clock (if you are using another clock app)
Dual Clock
Email (both of them - I use gmail)
Media Hub
Memo
Mini diary
Mini paper
myAT&T (maybe I installed this one - can't remember)
PressReader
TalkBack
wssyncminps (I think this is for OTA updates? Be nice if someone could confirm)
Yahoo! Finance
Zinio
awesome thanks!
[Updated 9/11] Freeze List
Combined from several posters to relocate the post to General Forum.
I know there are lots of items to freeze (post Root Root Method Used and using Titanium Backup) here is my starting list so far these are safe to freeze. Please add to the list detail what the process is you are disabling and why if its a core application or service.
AccuWeather
AllShare
Amazon Kindle
Ap Mobile
AT&T Bar Code Scanner
AT&T FamilyMap
AT&T Live TV
AT&T Ready2Go
AT&T Hot Spots (Automatically logs into FREE AT&T Hot Spots)
AT&T Navigator
Buddies now
City ID
Clock 1.0
Clock 1.1
Dial Clock 1.0
Days
Digital Clock (if you are using another clock app)
Dual Clock
Featured Apps
Home screen Tips
Kobo
Media Hub
Memo
Mini diary
Mini paper
MOG Music
MYATT
News & Weather
NFS Shift
PressReader
SNS 1.5
SNS disclaimer
SNSAccountFb
SNSAccountLi
SNSAccountTw
SnsImageCache
Swype
TalkBack
Tethering Manager
Visual Voicemail
Wssyncminps (I think this is for OTA updates? Be nice if someone could confirm)
Yahoo! Finance
YP
Zinio
Definitely a good thing to know. Crazy how long these lists can get...
I've always frozen Wifi Sharing 1.0 and Wifi Sharing manager 1.0. Pretty sure these aren't required and never known them to be an issue that I'm aware of.
All the SNS crap from Samsung is save to freeze or remove
just wondering why you want to freeze swype?
Otherwise, great list, thanks
floppy__ said:
just wondering why you want to freeze swype?
Otherwise, great list, thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't use it. I use Swift Keyboard.
Whats the difference between freezing and uninstalling in TiBu
hualx said:
Whats the difference between freezing and uninstalling in TiBu
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its generally safest to freeze. When a system update gets pushed out many times you have to have all the original apps and bloat installed or it will fail. So to be safe you freeze them and when you get notified there is an update you unfreeze all the apps to be safe.
Hope this makes some sense.
I am sorry buddy. I am only 3 weeks old in android ecosystem and still trying to figure how to make things little stable. Do I need to root my phone to freeze all these apps? or if i can freeze some without rooting please lemme know how to freeze. thanks!
paparaji said:
I am sorry buddy. I am only 3 weeks old in android ecosystem and still trying to figure how to make things little stable. Do I need to root my phone to freeze all these apps? or if i can freeze some without rooting please lemme know how to freeze. thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you will need root.
To freeze the apps, you need to get the Titanium Backup app in the market. (It's one of those must have tools.) Besides backing up (obviously) you can click on a specific app to get a menu. This menu will have the freeze option. Note that you don't want the long press menu if you just want to freeze an app. Long press brings up a different menu.
Your list seems to be relative. Some people actually like AT&T Wifi hot spots. Who doesn't like free wifi?
Dumb question: What does freezing these apps do?
xiLLeNtz said:
Dumb question: What does freezing these apps do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Freezing the app basically makes the app become completely dormant. It still resides on the phone but the system doesn't see it. It basically hides it from anything that might try to use it. You do need the paid version of Titanium Backup to use it but it's easily worth the minimal cost.
Bloat Freezer free. Will also freeze and no cost
firepro1110 said:
Bloat Freezer free. Will also freeze and no cost
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but its nice to have the back up and other options you get from TiBu. This is pretty nice for rom users as well that want to swich around and not have to reinstall everything.
Tried to freeze Live TV . TiBU says it's frozen but the icon is still there. When I tap on it, phone says it's not installed. How do I get rid of the icon?
To get rid of the icon you'll have to uninstall the app. It says its not installed because its frozen,the system won't run that app. But the app is still on the phone. I think its best just to leave them frozen.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda premium
prodigalOne said:
Your list seems to be relative. Some people actually like AT&T Wifi hot spots. Who doesn't like free wifi?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A good HSPA connection is typically faster (ignoring ping) than an AT&T Hotspost unless you are standing on top of it.
Hi all,
I thought I'd share the steps I did to improve my experience (speed, battery life,...) with the stock ROM of the SK4G, and hopefully get some additional tips from you guys. There's nothing really *new* here, but hopefully it is helpful to some newer people (who don't want to mess with ROMs).
The steps in short:
1) Install the latest firmware.
2) Turn off or configure all automated syncing which you don't use.
3) Remove and/or freeze all apps you don't use.
4) Remove everything from your home screen which you don't need.
5) Disable apps that run on startup, but shouldn't.
6) Replace stock apps.
1) Install the latest firmware.
The latest firmware, currently KJ2, is a real improvement. I was previously using the KG2 firmware which seemed to have some memory leak. In simple terms, every minute the device was on, the system itself was taking up more memory, leaving less and less memory for the apps to run. This resulted in a device getting less responsive with time, the home screen being refreshed regularly, the device completely locking up, ... It was so bad that I made a habit to restart the sidekick at least once a day.
With the new firmware, this seems fixed. I don't think I have even seen the home screen refresh since I updated. Everything just seems more responsive! It also had a positive result on my battery life.
You can either wait for the update to happen automatically, or you can do it manually using Kies. It's a matter of installing Kies, connecting your Sidekick and pressing update. You can find a guide here.
2) Turn off or configure all automated syncing which you don't use.
It's a smartphone, you expect it to sync some stuff. Just check for each use case if you need the syncing and how frequently the syncing should happen. A lot of apps let you configure this kind of stuff. Some even allow you to only sync over wifi.
So just take a look at all installed apps and see which ones use some form of syncing. Some might do it without you being aware of it.
3) Remove and/or freeze all apps you don't use.
This is self explanatory for apps you've installed yourself. With the sidekick you also get a lot of apps that might be completely useless to you, but you can't remove since they are pre-installed. With root however, you can! (See the bottom of this post on how to root.)
Before I go any further, let me explain the difference between removing and freezing apps. Removing an app does exactly what it says, the app will be gone "forever". Freezing however is non-destructive: the app will be disabled and gone from your app list, but you can easily unfreeze it to restore it.
An app that's often mentioned that allows this is Titanium Backup. It is however not free. So instead, I used the free AntTek App Manager, which has worked wonderfully. You get a list of all apps, select one, choose "freeze" and it's gone! In case you want to undo your action, you select the app in the "frozen" list and choose "unfreeze". It's as simple as that.
Note that some apps should not be frozen. For example, I tried to freeze Wifi Calling. As soon as it was frozen, I got "force close" popups. Off course, since freezing is non-destructive, I could simply unfreeze the app to solve the problem.
Here is a list of everything I froze:
- com.amazon.mp3
- AllShare
- com.tmobile.apppack
- Backup (I'm not on T-Mobile)
- DriveSmart
- DriveSmart System
- Group Texting
- Media Hub
- My Account (Only the com.tmobile.selfhelp one)
- T-Mobile Device Carbon
- T-Mobile TV
- Video Chat
- SNS (Social networking)
- SNSAccount
- SnsComposer
- Visual Voicemail (I'm not on T-Mobile)
- Gallery (I use QuickPic instead)
- Swype (I use the samsung keyboard in portrait mode)
- Tips & Tricks
- Email (I use gmail instead)
- Accounts & Sync
- Files (I use ES File Explorer instead)
- Web (I use Dolphin HD instead)
- TeleNav GPS Navigator
- Talk
- Mini Diary
- com.google.android.apps.books
- Task Manager
- Messaging (I use Handcent instead)
4) Remove everything from your home screen which you don't need.
Again, quite easy. What I noticed in the beginning was that I used the home screens to list all apps I actually used, so I didn't have to open the app drawer and search for the wanted app between all apps I didn't use but couldn't remove. However, now that I removed/froze all useless apps (see step 3), the app drawer is quite a clean list of apps, so apps that I use sparingly don't need to be on my home screen anymore.
By the way, it is possible to order the apps in your app drawer. Just open the drawer, choose "menu / View type" and choose "Customizable grid". Afterwards, you can choose "menu / Reorder".
5) Disable apps that run on startup, but shouldn't.
I'm using an app called autorun manager for this. I disabled some apps that I use sparingly but that shouldn't be started when turning on the phone.
6) Replace stock apps.
It might be interesting to look at alternatives for the stock apps, depending on your needs. This is especially handy if you are able to remove/freeze the stock app you're replacing (see step 3).
Some stock apps you can replace:
1) Messaging --> Handcent.
The main features which made me choose Handcent were an incredibly handy popup window if you receive a message and great customization (both the interface as well as the configuration, for example not automatically switching to mms if your message is longer than 3 sms messages was handy for me).
Another nice replacement is Go SMS Pro, but when I tested it, it couldn't work with the led indicators of the sidekick.
2) Default launcher / home screens --> LauncherPro
I only tested this briefly before reverting to the default one, but it seemed very responsive. (I personally didn't like the spacing of the icons on the home screen)
3) Web --> Dolphin HD
I personally love the interface of Dolphin with tabs on top, gestures, efficient use of the screen space, ...
Other replacements are Opera, Skyfire, Firefox, ...
4) Gallery --> QuickPic
I find QuickPic to be a lot faster, and you can easily include/exclude folders.
Root
Rooting the sidekick is actually an easy process. It's a matter of connecting your device to your pc, installing the samsung drivers, running SuperOneClick and clicking "root". That's it. And if you want to undo this change, just go through the same process but click "unroot" instead.
You can find a guide here.
thanks a lot, man. though i'm still considering if i really need root.
Great little guide.
New users that just want a quick way to improve their phone's performance and stability should take note.
Hey, guys, when I get my S3 on Wednesday, I'm going to root it ASAP.
I want to remove as much bloatware as I can without losing the cool and useful things Samsung has added to their UI. Like S-voice the eyeball watching thing, the gestures etc are all things I want to keep.
What I don't want is verizon nag screens and useless apps and adware that they put on.
Any suggestions or point me to a thread where this is already talked about?
Geez No response yet? I would like to know this as well....
Id like to know to. In the mean time, I just hid them. There was only 4 apps from VZ and the only one that I use is the mobile hotspot app.
VZ mobile, apps, and nav are hidden and never seem to show up in my running apps.
I've froze in titanium backup without issue so far...
Allshare (All 3 of them)
Amazon Kindle
Apps 3.05.78
ColorGoogle+
Guided Tours
Keis air (Both)
Media Hub
Music Hub
S Suggest
S Voice
Samsung Account
V Cast Tones
Voicemail
VPN Client
VZ Nav
Yahoo (both)
Do either of the Kies apps need to be enabled in order to receive OTA updates?
I would recommend using an app like Titanium Backup that has the capability to freeze applications rather than deleting them, so you can play around with it and disable what you don't use or don't like.
I also recommend using the standard ICS application disabling capabilities first, then using a solution like Titanium Backup for those apps that cannot normally be disabled.
For the record, on my Verizon S3 I have roughly 30 applications frozen/disabled.
I actually worked in the opposite direction. I flashed the stripped version onto my phone and then manually added back the apps that I wanted to keep via Root Explorer. The only apps that I added back were Divx, Video Player, and Music FX. The phone runs fast and battery life has been GODLIKE.
Stripped ROM thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1759642
If it helps, hit thanks!
Hello, read a lot of threads regarding lag during UI usage and especially keyboard and messaging, which i too experienced stock. My GS4 is now absolutely lag free, and underclocked too. Here is what i did...
Root phone (need this for some of the features on some apps)
Titanium Backup (need to freeze some apps)
disable S-Voice (i never used it; i always feel weird talking to or being talked to by a machine anyways)
disable Google Now (i never use it anyways; its a pain to get to and i dont use any of the social networking or news feeds either)
Disable TouchWiz Home
LagFix app (i have pro, mine is scheduled to run once a night)
If anyone cares, i will post my SetCPU settings as well, but on stock or even powersave it should run VERY quick. My phone is Korean, my GF's is Chinese; NEITHER has a bit of lag. I dont use any AT&T services, mobile print services, allshare/screen sharing, Google+/Facebook (or any social networks actually) so i have all of that disabled, but the main advantages come from disabling S Voice, Google Now, using LagFix app and TouchWiz Home
My Freeze list has other apps frozen you may not have, or i may have some frozen that i dont use but you do; they are all safe to freeze
Titanium Backup Freeze list...
AllShare ControlShare Service
AllShare FileShare Service
AT&T DriveMode
AT&T FamilyMap
AT&T Hot Spots
AT&T Locker
AT&T Navigator
AT&T Smart Wi-Fi
DirectShare Manager
EasyMode
EpsonPrintService
FaceUnlock
FlipBoard
Gmail (i use K-9 to get them from my own servers)
Google Play Books
Google Play Magazines
Google Play Movies
Google Play Music
Google Play services
Google Search 1.0 (widget bar icon)
Google Search 2.5.8xxx (big blue 'G' icon)
Google+
Group Play
HolaARM6
HP Print Service
Kies via Wi-Fi
Mobile Print
Mobile TV
MobilePrintSvc_CUPS
MobilePrintSvc_CUPS_Backend
MyAT&T
S Health (stopped working after root anyways)
S Voice
Samsung Apps
Samsung Apps Widget
Samsung Calender SyncAdapter
Samsung Cloud Data Relay
Samsung Cloud Quota
Samsung Contact SyncAdapter
Samsung Games
Samsung Knox
Samsung Music
Samsung Keyboard
Samsung Print Service
Samsung Push Service
Samsung WatchOn
SNS (facebook, i dont use it)
Swype
TouchWiz Home (use another launcher first!)
Wallet (doesn't work on mine and nowhere to use it)
Yahoo! Finance
Yahoo! News
YP Mobile
wow 296 views and no responses? really?
Well first off thanks for all of your helpful input.
But this post and many others just beg a huge question to me.
"Why do you have a Samsung device if youre completely removing Samsung services?"
Even many Android ones for that matter
I just find it odd.
But regardless your tips are quite useful, though i wont use all of those.
Whats this lagfree app you speak of?
coffeehandle said:
Well first off thanks for all of your helpful input.
But this post and many others just beg a huge question to me.
"Why do you have a Samsung device if youre completely removing Samsung services?"
Even many Android ones for that matter
I just find it odd.
But regardless your tips are quite useful, though i wont use all of those.
Whats this lagfree app you speak of?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LagFix from Google Play Store.
I am NOT completely removing Samsung services, i only have the ones i dont use totally disabled. I use SmartStay all the time and Multiwindow sometimes, but i never use S Voice (or any voice recognition software; if i cant pay full attention to my phone without detriment i dont use it), and i dont use/like google now. I also dont use any social networks, S Health (which hasnt worked since i rooted), etc. Thats just me.
This is a 'safe to freeze' list, but freezing S Voice, TouchWiz Home, Easy Mode (home) and Google Now have a HUGE impact on reducing lag on stock ROM/Kernel. If you look, i disabled a LOT of Google apps too; i have physical books, and dont use google play to buy movies/tv shows/music; id rather buy and load them (automatically) myself so i can use them on more than one device.
i disabled everything i dont use, but S Voice and Google Now made the greatest impact on lag; Its totally gone. I dont like to have any processes ill never use running or visible; i prefer a very simple clean interface and list of apps; again thats me.
Basically, the best of stock android with the samsung add-ons i like and use is all that i want, and not a kilobyte more.
Slade8525 said:
LagFix from Google Play Store.
I am NOT completely removing Samsung services, i only have the ones i dont use totally disabled. I use SmartStay all the time and Multiwindow sometimes, but i never use S Voice (or any voice recognition software; if i cant pay full attention to my phone without detriment i dont use it), and i dont use/like google now. I also dont use any social networks, S Health (which hasnt worked since i rooted), etc. Thats just me.
This is a 'safe to freeze' list, but freezing S Voice, TouchWiz Home, Easy Mode (home) and Google Now have a HUGE impact on reducing lag on stock ROM/Kernel. If you look, i disabled a LOT of Google apps too; i have physical books, and dont use google play to buy movies/tv shows/music; id rather buy and load them (automatically) myself so i can use them on more than one device.
i disabled everything i dont use, but S Voice and Google Now made the greatest impact on lag; Its totally gone. I dont like to have any processes ill never use running or visible; i prefer a very simple clean interface and list of apps; again thats me.
Basically, the best of stock android with the samsung add-ons i like and use is all that i want, and not a kilobyte more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ah ok. That makes a little more sense. Wel when i get my 32 gig (hopefully by friday) i think ill try freezing Svoice. I do enjoy Google Now though. its pretty neat. But i agree with you on Svoice. I wouldnt have thought it would make an impact. But ill take your word on it haha
Slade8525 said:
LagFix from Google Play Store.
I am NOT completely removing Samsung services, i only have the ones i dont use totally disabled. I use SmartStay all the time and Multiwindow sometimes, but i never use S Voice (or any voice recognition software; if i cant pay full attention to my phone without detriment i dont use it), and i dont use/like google now. I also dont use any social networks, S Health (which hasnt worked since i rooted), etc. Thats just me.
This is a 'safe to freeze' list, but freezing S Voice, TouchWiz Home, Easy Mode (home) and Google Now have a HUGE impact on reducing lag on stock ROM/Kernel. If you look, i disabled a LOT of Google apps too; i have physical books, and dont use google play to buy movies/tv shows/music; id rather buy and load them (automatically) myself so i can use them on more than one device.
i disabled everything i dont use, but S Voice and Google Now made the greatest impact on lag; Its totally gone. I dont like to have any processes ill never use running or visible; i prefer a very simple clean interface and list of apps; again thats me.
Basically, the best of stock android with the samsung add-ons i like and use is all that i want, and not a kilobyte more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting info but I never notice an increase in lag when I turn Google Now on. I disable(haven't rooted0 most of the apps you freeze including S Voice, run Nova Launcher over Touchwiz and have never had a problem with lag on this phone.
coffeehandle said:
ah ok. That makes a little more sense. Wel when i get my 32 gig (hopefully by friday) i think ill try freezing Svoice. I do enjoy Google Now though. its pretty neat. But i agree with you on Svoice. I wouldnt have thought it would make an impact. But ill take your word on it haha
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oh but it does; same with freezing TouchWiz Home and Easy Mode/Home
NovaSense said:
Interesting info but I never notice an increase in lag when I turn Google Now on. I disable(haven't rooted0 most of the apps you freeze including S Voice, run Nova Launcher over Touchwiz and have never had a problem with lag on this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google Now is the least lag-adding; its negligible. S Voice, TouchWiz Home, and EasyMode/Home are the worst for it. Why they create so much lag i dont know, i dont use them, so therefor i dont care. I have a Korean S4, my GF has a Chinese S4; neither of us have lag after we disabled those three.
I run WAY underclocked; with SetCPU, 384 minimum, 1242 max Mhz. Slight lag coming out of deep sleep/idle for a long time, but ZERO lag in messaging with stock or GoSMSpro, and no problems with high end games (dont play them, just wanted to see if underclocking would create issues/crashes. they dont).
Like i said, if you disable all the things you dont/wont use, it will help. There is a LOT i dont use, but S Voice/TouchWiz/EasyMode made the biggest difference; more than everything else combined.
What about these?
Blurb checkout
Epsonprintservice
Gallery if using 3rd party like QuickPic
Samsung apps widget
com.androidproviders.partnerbookmarks
Samsung hub uodater
Story album widget
Travel 1.0
Travel widget 1.0
All calendar stuff ie if using 3rd party like Jorte
Direct connect manager 3.0
Easy settings.
Key chain (Wtf is this?)
Mobile print
Nearby devices
Nearby service
Picasa uploader
Also, freezing Samsung apps may prevent you from getting updates to WatchON, s health etc.
I mean, you could freeze the living piss out of this phone. But there comes a point, where if you're going to freeze all the bloat, why not just flash a deodexed debloated rom like ib4st1ds. The only stuff I have frozen is what I've seen running..
Keep up the good work slade. Nice to see people trying to help others.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
Planktron said:
What about these?
Blurb checkout
Epsonprintservice
Gallery if using 3rd party like QuickPic
Samsung apps widget
com.androidproviders.partnerbookmarks
Samsung hub uodater
Story album widget
Travel 1.0
Travel widget 1.0
All calendar stuff ie if using 3rd party like Jorte
Direct connect manager 3.0
Easy settings.
Key chain (Wtf is this?)
Mobile print
Nearby devices
Nearby service
Picasa uploader
Also, freezing Samsung apps may prevent you from getting updates to WatchON, s health etc.
I mean, you could freeze the living piss out of this phone. But there comes a point, where if you're going to freeze all the bloat, why not just flash a deodexed debloated rom like ib4st1ds. The only stuff I have frozen is what I've seen running..
Keep up the good work slade. Nice to see people trying to help others.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Personally i never ran into this "lag" mess some unlucky few experience.
What S4 do you guys have... mine doesn't lag... is mine faulty
~ Taylor_Swift
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note II GT-N7100 using XDA Premium HD
Taylor_Swift said:
What S4 do you guys have... mine doesn't lag... is mine faulty
~ Taylor_Swift
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note II GT-N7100 using XDA Premium HD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine doesn't lag as well. Damn got the faulty batch. Also, I froze all the ATT crap but I still have some Samsung apps like S-health, watch on and stuff. I also froze google apps like Google books, music etc as I noticed Google music was always running. Don't know about lag but it also helps with battery....
viny2cool said:
Mine doesn't lag as well. Damn got the faulty batch. Also, I froze all the ATT crap but I still have some Samsung apps like S-health, watch on and stuff. I also froze google apps like Google books, music etc as I noticed Google music was always running. Don't know about lag but it also helps with battery....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First thing I did was run stock deodexed. Turned S Voice off from home button and turned the animator scales to 0.5x. Its very fast lol.
~ Taylor_Swift
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note II GT-N7100 using XDA Premium HD
Thanks OP. That home button thing really sped things up.
On a side note just a heads up to anyone going on a freezing spree. I noticed when I froze Samsung syncadapters 2.5.6 I was not able to send mms pics anymore.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda app-developers app
viny2cool said:
Mine doesn't lag as well. Damn got the faulty batch. Also, I froze all the ATT crap but I still have some Samsung apps like S-health, watch on and stuff. I also froze google apps like Google books, music etc as I noticed Google music was always running. Don't know about lag but it also helps with battery....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I received my AT&T SGH-I337 yesterday, I can’t believe how lag it is, I’m comparing it with an S3, and it’s totally worst, I spec that disabling this thing helps. thx.
Presenting.. the Next Best Thing to Root for the U.S. Samsung Galaxy S7 T-mobile edition (model SM-G930T that is)
As of 6/7/16, no root is publicly available. I purchased my S7 on 5/26/16 and decided to keep it despite the lack of root. This is my story.
INTRO
So the ol' Galaxy Note II up and died on me a couple weekends back, and I blew 40 bucks on a new battery before I realized it was gone gone gone. Queue new phone shopping, the hip glasses-toting dudes at T-mobile swayed me to an S7. I didn't want something as big as my last phone and forget using a bumper case with that curved-screen edge (an acquaintance of mine quotes: "The only thing that ****ing screen is good for is when I'm high as hell and want to read the clock without lifting my head". He dropped his and shattered it.), so I went with the plain ol' S7. Well, now I know why the salesguy got real quiet when the first thing I told him I would do was 'root the phone'. Being a programmer, I was pretty bummed and unhappy about owning a device that I am purposely locked out of Administrating.. but the return fee was $50, and I really liked what the S7 brought to the table.
Goes without saying, I was ready to pay for the rootable HTC-10 (my local store didn't even carry it, the salesman said they were 'test-marketing it' at a couple other stores across town) or the LG monstrosity (I haven't liked this company since the spying TV debacle, tho once upon a time they made good and cheap TVs), but I hated how much bigger the devices were and that svelte S7 really impressed me otherwise. Samsung really does make the 'iPhone of Androids'.
So, I decided to stick with the S7, and un-screw it pretty much as best as I could. And, because all I read was mostly a lot of 'is the root out yets', I thought it would be cool to share.
ABOUT THE S7
Not too terribly much has changed in the android linux filesystem since the last time I seriously delved into it. Got a vague idea where most of what is what, but I also recognize that the Path to Rooting is two: Utilizing a bootloader to actually flash the chip, or Piggybacking on some existing Administrative-privileged software in the otherwise 'closed' environment. Samsung shipped the U.S. T-mobile S7's (mine is SM-G930T) with a locked bootloader to make it nigh-impossible to root via flashing. Get to it, ya chip-hackers.
However, it is a universal law of the internet that someone out there will find an operable software workaround, and this is usually some 13-year-old kid from Finland, or at least it was in the case where I found drivers for a Voodoo 3 card during the advent of Windows XP. God bless the internet will provide, and in this case that gentle soul is none other than a man by the appropriate name of OSPolice.
PACKAGE DISABLER PRO - THE 99 CENT APP
play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ospolice.packagedisablerpro&hl=en
This little gem of an app I purchased for $0.99 off the play store. This is the key to enjoying the disabling features of Root access and the key to un-screwing the T-mobile Galaxy S7. What this app does is essentially co-opt the Administrative access that Samsung Knox (the 'security' software) uses and allows you to disable any and all packages on the phone. When you first activate it you will have to accept an agreement tied to Samsung Knox (don't worry, this in no way causes anything to 'phone home' as far as I can tell).
I would recommend the very first thing you do is go to the settings and add a password to the app, that way nobody else can get in, because this can seriously **** with your phone's software, if you disable the wrong package the phone will not boot up properly and you will need to reinstall. There is an option to Disable All Bloatware based on automatic picks from the application but this can screw up some phones and you will miss a lot of crap, so DO NOT AUTO-DISABLE.
There is also another important reason you should manually disable these. Clicking on a package from the main app brings up a screen where you have several options (the auto-google feature is quite helpful to researching various processes). There is also an important little button that says 'Clear Data', erasing the temporary package data. Due to info I found on another forum, which I am too lazy to dig up here and now, there is an important process to disabling with Package Disabler Pro:
THE DISABLING PROCESS
1. If the package is not enabled, enable it.
2. While the package IS ENABLED, click Clear Data.
3. DISABLE the package with the Disable button.
4. Click CLEAR DATA a second time.
5. On to the next one...
It appears there may be some data that is not erased when the package is disabled. In any case, this fixed all of the problems I had disabling earlier without using the Clear Data button. This is important to stop certain packages from utilizing an outside process to re-enable themselves.
Below I am listing all of the processes that I disabled. Your list might be different; before I did this I updated the phone's system software from T-mobile's servers (as of 5/25), and I don't plan to auto-update again until I root or have to reload everything.
Also, please keep in mind I turned off a few features with this method, you will have to ADJUST YOUR PACKAGES ACCORDINGLY or know what to re-enable from the below list. I turned off all wi-fi calling (don't like 'weird' internet connections), all NFC and payment such as the Samsung pay chip (nothing I want/need enabled right now). I kept Bluetooth connectivity on since I pair the phone with my car for and it's more or less an 'established' form of protocol, neverless if I didn't use it I would deactivate it as well. Security Over All is my philosophy.
THE SINGLE PROBLEM I HAVE HAD is being unable to 'browse' for a background when choosing a new one for the lock screen. I kept the lock screen with a stock dark blue and had already set my live wallpaper (play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dkeesto.holographlw&hl=en if you are curious, Digital Hive by the unsurpassed Cypher Cove). So set your backgrounds before disabling all these, or try and figure out which disabled package screws this up, though I tried re-enabling anything with 'wallpaper' in it to no avail.
I also disabled a lot of the Google services, I check my gmail online, phone apps seem so hideously insecure to my mind, and I don't want to use any drive or cloud backup services AT ALL. Go with an all-encrypted service or backup your data yourself, and I don't trust any non-rooted backup apps. If you use the Gmail app or etc, simply don't disable it.
A LIST OF PACKAGES I DISABLED (remember to Clear Data, then Disable, then Clear Data a second time!):
AASAservice
Access cloud
AllShare FileShare Service
Amazon
ANT + DUT
ANT HAL Service
ANT Radio Service
ANT+ Plugins Service
AutoPreconfig
Basic Daydreams
BBCAgent
BeaconManager
Beaming Service
Briefing (**** you)
Calculator
Calendar
Camera test
Carmode Stub
ChocoEUKor
Color Adjustment
com.android.providers.partnerbookmarks
com.android.sharedstoragebackup
com.android.wallpapercropper
com.facebook.appmanager
com.facebook.system
com.samsung.android.app.watchmanagerstub
com.samsung.android.sm.devicesecurity
com.samsung.dcmservice
com.samsung.enhanceservice
com.samsung.faceservice
com.samsung.hs20provider
com.samsung.ipservice
com.samsung.storyservice
com.sec.android.app.minimode.res
com.sec.android.app.wfdbroker
com.sec.bcservice
com.tmobile.pr.adapt
Context Service
Control TV
CoolEUKor
Device Unlock
DeviceTest
Dictionary
EasyOneHand
EasySetup
Email
Enhanced features
eSE UCS Plugin
Facebook
Favorite Contacts
Filter Installer
Filter Manager
Filter Provider
Foundation
Galaxy Apps
Galaxy Essentials Widget
Gallery (I use an app called QuickPic, don't disable if you use the regular Gallery)
Game Launcher
Game Tools
GamepadService
GameService
Gear VR Service
Gear VR SetupWizardStub
Gear VR Shelf
Gmail (You might not want to disable, but for security's sake you should and use your browser)
Google App
Google Backup Transport
Google Calendar Sync
Google Contacts Sync
Google One Time Init
Google Partner Setup
Google Play Movies & TV
Good Play Music
Hancom Office Editor
Hangouts
Health Service (this auto-health reading stuff is kind of scary)
Help
Highlight video player
IMS Settings
ImsLogger+
IntelligenceService2
Interaction control
Internet (have a secondary browser in place, I initially used Chrome)
IPsec Service
Kies Application BnR
KNOX
KnoxAppsUpdateAgent
Live wallpaper picker
Lookout
Magnifier
Market Feedback Agent
MDMApp
Memo
Message service
Messages (I use an app called Textra, it is pleasant, don't disable if you use this for text messages)
MmsService (I have had no trouble sending/receiving MMS text with this disabled)
Mobile tracker
My Files
My interests
My Places
Nearby Service
Nfc Service
NSDSWebApp
Personal Data Management
Photo Editor
Photo Screensavers
Photos
Print Spooler (might be necessary for phone-to-printer if you're into that)
Private Mode Service
Quick connect
Remote Controls
RoseEUKor
S Finder
S Health
S Voice App
Safety assistance
Safety information
Samsung account
Samsung ApexService
Samsung Billing
Samsung Content Agent
Samsung Galaxy
Samsung Gear
Samsung keyboard (HAVE ANOTHER KEYBOARD INSTALLED [I use Hacker's Keyboard] OR DO NOT DISABLE THIS)
Samsung Location DSK
Samsung Milk Music
Samsung MirrorLink 1.1
Samsung Pay Stub
Samsung Payment Framework
Samsung Push Service
Samsung setup wizard
Samsung text-to-speech engine
Samsung+
SamsungDLPService
SapaMonitor
Screen Mirroring
Security policy updates
SecurityLogAgent
Settings Receiver
ShootingModeProvider
Simple Sharing
SLLibrary
Slow and fast-motion video player and editor
Smart Manager
Smart Manager Provider
SmartCallProvider
SmartcardManager
SmartcardService
SmartFaceService
SmartManager Clean DSK
SnsImageCache
Software update
Software Update
Sound detectors
Sound picker
T-Mobile
T-Mobil Name ID
T-Mobile TV
Theme store
Themes
TouchWiz easy home
TouchWiz home
Trim
Universal switch
UrgentFWUpdateNfc
UrgentFWUpdateTSP
Video collage
Video Editor Lite
Video Player (Stock, don't disable if you use, I use an app called VLC that plays damn near anything)
Virtual tour
Visual Voicemail
Visual Voicemail
Voice Assistant
Voice service
Voice wake-up
WallpaperCompression
Weather
Weather
Wi-Fi Direct
Wi-Fi Direct share
Wi-Fi Calling Settings
withTV
And that's it! Boy, wasn't that a lot of clicking clear data and all that junk! But it is worth it!
A FEW OTHER FEATURES I DON'T USE
Fingerprints.. never tested with this. I fail to see the usefulness of a fingerprint compared to a password in your head, and it's a whole lot easier to duplicate the former and scan someone's phone (call it the 'law gets in' password). So some of these might have disabled fingerprint functionality.
Voice-assistance.. again, the possibility of my phone recording me without me knowing is kind of scary. There's a lot of Samsung S-voice crap built in, I had this sort of thing on my last phone and never had the need for it.
Always-On Screen - It displays the time, had it on for a couple days and it worked just fine, but ultimately a battery eater, and the config options are real limited. I ended up turning this off.
The Samsung TouchWiz Launcher - As soon as I got all my packages disabled, I ditched this one. You can use anything you like, but personally I found a new home with NovaLauncher.
The Camera I tried to keep as whole as possible, I set it as the 'double-home-button-click-to-open', which was default behavior, and I really like it this way - double-click and you have a camera, and it works regardless of locked screen. They've really improved the camera software, I can double-click and start recording and that's just the way I like to use a phone. Now if there were only a way to compress, encrypt, and auto-transmit those movies immediately after recording...
DEVELOPER OPTIONS
Settings -> About device -> Click on 'Build Version' a bunch of times. If you're reading these forums you should probably know how to activate this.
Some cool settings, the only one I toggle is USB debugging.. for ease of file transfer on a PC thru USB cable, something which ALL modern phones suck ass at. It almost makes me want to program a simple universal file transfer software suite.
WHAT I WISH I STILL HAD
Encrypted Backup Solutions/State Backups: TitaniumBackup & Nandroid are the ****. Man do I miss having root access.
Customized Pull-down Notification Screen: I hate that first row of settings buttons. I will probably have to pony up the 5 bucks to NovaLauncher to see if they can make those go away.
One-touch Reboot app - Not getting this one until root Administrative access. I'll have to live without until then.
Otherwise, I have been pretty conveniently able to live without Root on this phone, and I hope this guide can make you happy, too!
SOME APP SUGGESTIONS - USEFUL
I've peppered the above with some apps I really like, here are some more:
Firefox - My favorite browser. I keep a copy of chrome for emergencies. 'Noscript' and 'Phony' are must-have extensions. Still looking for a good page-to-pdf extractor.
Orbot/Orfox - Best TOR/browser combo.
Rocket Player - FANTASTIC music app that I ponied up the money to unlock (mostly to play FLACs). Near-perfect, and a relief because Winamp **** the bed when it came to Android.
DuckDuckGo - I use this to replace the Google search bar widget. Doesn't work the same (click to open) but works quickly.
ZDBox - I use this exclusively for the 5x2 'control' widget on my home page. One-touch turnon/offs (or some options send you to the settings screen) for the following: WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, Mobile Network, Airplane Mode, TaskKiller, disable Screen Rotate, Brightness, Applock (you specify) and Flashlight (my default light, big screwy button but I'm used to it now).
ZDCal - From the makers of ZDBox, a free calendar that displays as a strip in the notification bar and also places a date at the top of the screen. Be careful, the first time I set it up I blindly clicked a couple pages and set up a period calendar that promptly notified me when I was beginning ovulation (I am a man).
SOME APP SUGGESTIONS - GAMES
Stellar Solitaire - The best Solitaire app ever. Tons of games, demos, beautiful for a phone screen.
Cliffy Run - A rager game my awesome friend made that is totally and amazingly simple and has some great graphics.
Neko Atsume - A stupid japanese cat simulator that I can't stop checking.
Source - A free 'pipes' puzzle game. I'm at 1 hr 2 mins on insane level. Great for killing time in the DMV.
SOME APP SUGGESTIONS - PROGRAMMER/NERD
OS Monitor - Process/Connection task-manager
JuiceSSH - My terminal app of choice.
Blowtorch Beta - My MUD app of choice. Told ya I nerd.
AndFTP - My FTP/SSHFTP app of choice.
AndroZip - My compression app, and, surprisingly, file manager of choice.
Fing - 1st of the 2 best wireless discovery apps ever.
Wifi Analyzer - 2nd of the 2 best wireless discovery apps ever.
Usemon - Resource Analyzer. Has a cool option for the notification screen, and measures both frequency and % use graphs when many progs do one or the other.
Cargo Decoder - If you want to read what exactly is in the tanker truck you are driving behind and how badly a spill will **** up your day.
Maverick - For all your GPS/compass/accelerometer needs.
FINALE
Please feel free to add anything to the above! I am pleased that I got my phone to do most of the things I wanted without a root. That being said, as soon as it is possible I will be jumping on that train. If you have any suggestions, please contribute! And thanks for reading!
I never understood the reasons why people get so hung up on "debloating." There was a time where I was one of those people, rooted and debloated every phone I had, etc. One thing I found out, they all, without fail, performed worse than stock, and battery life took a significant hit. It seems counter-intuitive, but I am not the only person to have experienced this. There was a time when phone hardware was weak and the Samsung or HTC, or whatver UI was bloated, but these days are gone. By all means spend the money and time to "debloat" this phone if it makes you happy that you did something, or stuck it to Samsung/T-Mobile, or whatever. Alternatively, instead of letting your phone run your life, use it as it is out of the box and focus your energy on something that actually matters. If I were able to get root on this phone, all I would do is install an ad blocker. Everything else on this phone is excellent.
Good stuff. Package disabler pro really helps...I plan to check out some of the apps you mentioned.
I tried using it, but found it disabled more than I wanted. A bunch of apps and processes went missing and things didn't work. I know you can do individual apps I think, I only tried the default settings. Didn't like it. It's Not like having root or Titanium backup. I uninstalled it. Things worked again. Just my experience, but everyone else, enjoy!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using XDA-Developers mobile app
Adguard is really good for blocking ads. You have to pay a yearly fee for it to block ads in apps though.
If you want to back up apps and data, Helium can do that.
Sent from my SM-G935T using XDA-Developers mobile app
We already have a thread in this section for debloating the S7E here:
S7 Edge debloat list
Please search before posting and don't start duplicate threads.
THREAD CLOSED