Evening folks, as phones such as my trusty HTC Sensation come to the end of their useful lives, to be replaced by other newer phones, I was wondering if there was such a thing as a 'non phone' ROM I could flash which would remove the calling, texting etc functions and allow it to be used as a 'ipod touch' (for want of a better description). I would be quite happy putting a dummy SIM card into the phone and simply not allowing it to touch the network but I would be happier with the calling etc functions removed from the phone, especially as I'm hoping to give it to my kids to play with.
Any advice? Does such a thing exist? I had a quick google and couldnt really see anything too relevant. Happy to be corrected on that though!
Haven't seen a ROM like that here..
I'm not sure why you want those features removed, but if you want that your kids don't use them, you can set up a password lock on those apps.
I don't think there's any such ROM. But why you insisting on no network feature. Just don't insert the SIM and it will work.
Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e
Oh, I know I could stop it like that but just was wondering if there was a 'lighter' ROM without the phone aspects.
bowser4 said:
Oh, I know I could stop it like that but just was wondering if there was a 'lighter' ROM without the phone aspects.
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Click to collapse
Or then maybe Link2SD can freeze the apps, so they won't be shown in appdrawer.
bowser4 said:
Oh, I know I could stop it like that but just was wondering if there was a 'lighter' ROM without the phone aspects.
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Click to collapse
You can remove those by using certain apps that can do it. I think titanium backup has this functionality. However, as these apps are not heavy, simply hiding them will do the work.
Edit: Just remembered, on most ROMs. the phone and messaging apps have other apps that depend on them, so removing them completely might cause issues. Hiding them from the drawer (possible on many AOSP based launchers and some Sense ROMs built-in) would be the simplest way to "remove" the apps.
astar26 said:
You can remove those by using certain apps that can do it. I think titanium backup has this functionality. However, as these apps are not heavy, simply hiding them will do the work.
Edit: Just remembered, on most ROMs. the phone and messaging apps have other apps that depend on them, so removing them completely might cause issues. Hiding them from the drawer (possible on many AOSP based launchers and some Sense ROMs built-in) would be the simplest way to "remove" the apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that, I'll go ahead and hide them. Appreciate the info folks, many thanks.
Related
Hi guys,
I rooted my phone and have been using Cyanogen since and never looked back. The phone works like charm, and with 2.2.1 installed, they keyboard is much better and I can actually use the phone for dialing (the number pad doesn't get stuck!)
I looked in the form but my search brings back hundreds of results that do not seem related to what I need. Cyan comes with some apps I simply do not ever use: The car home one, terminal emulator, DSPMAnager (what is it anyway?) and the voice dialer. First, are any of these apps are needed to run the phone, and can I re-install them separately (without reloading the whole ROM) if something goes wrong? Then, the question is, how do I uninstall them, since I do not have an uninstall option? Is it possible to uninstall Google Talk (because I think it comes as a part of the Google Tools or whatever...), since it does not allow me to log in for more than one account?
Then, I have a more general question:
Is Cyan with gingerbread available from the HTC Hero? Would you guys recommend it? I don't feel I really need it because the phone is fine, but maybe I'm missing out on something I do not know... what are the big new things, besides the keyboard (which I understand can be installed individually anyway).
Thanks!
Use titanium backup it uninstalls stock apps. But be careful which ones u uninstall they will mess ur phone up and cause foreclosures
Sent from my HERO200 using XDA App
beholder121 said:
Hi guys,
I rooted my phone and have been using Cyanogen since and never looked back. The phone works like charm, and with 2.2.1 installed, they keyboard is much better and I can actually use the phone for dialing (the number pad doesn't get stuck!)
I looked in the form but my search brings back hundreds of results that do not seem related to what I need. Cyan comes with some apps I simply do not ever use: The car home one, terminal emulator, DSPMAnager (what is it anyway?) and the voice dialer. First, are any of these apps are needed to run the phone, and can I re-install them separately (without reloading the whole ROM) if something goes wrong? Then, the question is, how do I uninstall them, since I do not have an uninstall option? Is it possible to uninstall Google Talk (because I think it comes as a part of the Google Tools or whatever...), since it does not allow me to log in for more than one account?
Then, I have a more general question:
Is Cyan with gingerbread available from the HTC Hero? Would you guys recommend it? I don't feel I really need it because the phone is fine, but maybe I'm missing out on something I do not know... what are the big new things, besides the keyboard (which I understand can be installed individually anyway).
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Like the above poster said, use titanium backup to uninstall. It's free in the market. All four of those apps can be removed with no ill effects, however, I would keep terminal emulator in case you ever need to push our pull apk's, decide to use the batt-tweak. Stuff like that. DSPManager is a equalizer.
2. Yes, gb is available in cyanogenmod flavor right here: http://mirror.teamdouche.net/?device=heroc It had some minor lag issues with the home screen, but camera and gps is working for me. Not sure if compcache and jit is, though.
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Sent from my CDMA Hero. I got some hot Gingerbread-on-Hero action here!
user7618 said:
1. Like the above poster said, use titanium backup to uninstall. It's free in the market. All four of those apps can be removed with no ill effects, however, I would keep terminal emulator in case you ever need to push our pull apk's, decide to use the batt-tweak. Stuff like that. DSPManager is a equalizer.
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Sent from my CDMA Hero. I got some hot Gingerbread-on-Hero action here!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd watch out for Google Talk though...doesn't that break some push notifications (i.e. Gmail)? Could be wrong, have been before
Off the top of my head without looking at a fresh install, these are safe to remove without doing anything special (I dont have any of them):
DSP, Protips, PacMan, FileManager, email (if you only use the gmail app), Live Wallpaper Picker, CMStats, CM Wallpaper, Latin tutorial, Development, Theme Chooser (and the other theme apk along with the two themes preloaded in the /system/app folder), Spare Parts, ROM Manager...If you want to know about any others, just ask...there are far more I have removed, but like I said, they are gone, so I don't remember them
how about fotakill? don't know what it does, so I didn't remove it.
Sent from my HTC Hero CDMA using XDA App
FOTAKILL i believe is the cyanogen updater, do a google search
I removed it with no issues.
-- Sent from my Sprint SuperHero --
Here's link from Cyanogen wiki that gives a list of apps and some details about them - like what they are, can they be removed and such. Also, it documents ways to remove apps.
http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/index.php?title=Barebones.
ranger61878 said:
I'd watch out for Google Talk though...doesn't that break some push notifications (i.e. Gmail)? Could be wrong, have been before
Off the top of my head without looking at a fresh install, these are safe to remove without doing anything special (I dont have any of them):
DSP, Protips, PacMan, FileManager, email (if you only use the gmail app), Live Wallpaper Picker, CMStats, CM Wallpaper, Latin tutorial, Development, Theme Chooser (and the other theme apk along with the two themes preloaded in the /system/app folder), Spare Parts, ROM Manager...If you want to know about any others, just ask...there are far more I have removed, but like I said, they are gone, so I don't remember them
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, I think you may be right. For whatever reason, I was thinking google voice, which isn't even part of the gapps or cm apps. Leave talk installed.
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Sent from my CDMA Hero. I got some hot Gingerbread-on-Hero action here!
If you delete Google Voice Search, you will need something else (Vlingo, etc.) in order to have a mic on your keyboard I believe.
Sent from my HTC Hero CDMA using XDA App
Wow thanks for all the responses guys.. I installed some apps and so far I'm good. Now I just need to figure out how to get my dial pad to show up after it turns off during a phone call.
beholder121 said:
Wow thanks for all the responses guys.. I installed some apps and so far I'm good. Now I just need to figure out how to get my dial pad to show up after it turns off during a phone call.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Press the menu key.
-- Sent from my Sprint SuperHero --
Hi,
I'm wondering if we could make a list of unsafe bloatwares to remove. For example, I came across this:
APPS YOU SHOULD NOT REMOVE:
-Don't remove weather, news, or FriendStream. The widgets should be fine but not the actual apps. They are too deeply integrated into the system and will break things. Some people have not experienced problems while others (including myself) have seen some major issues from removing these. It's best just to avoid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am new to Android (been only 3 days!), so I don't know enough to know if the above comment is true. And, I think there will be other people in the same shoe as myself. So, it may be helpful to create a list that we can just glance at to know which bloatwares are safe to remove and which are not.
GT
most of the htc apps are ok to remove. when i was running a sense rom, i removed pretty much all of the htc apps. the only one i had an issue with after removing it was the friendstream.
you can always make a nandroid backup of your current working rom, then start deleting things and seeing if it has an effect. if anything breaks your phone, jot it down, restore the nandroid, and keep going.
its fun!
cant find the list of the apps ok to remove, can someone help?
I was just wondering, why if you delete certain stock apps (Or Bloatware for that matter), they cause FCs or instability in general? Are they tied into the OS somehow?
If somebody can explain this, (In layman
s terms, I'm still learning things about Android) I'd be very thankful.
Bloatware can be removed when you root your device through the explorer. But you can download custom roms with an unlocked bootloader which usually have no bloatware those are two ways of getting rid of the carrier crap. Your choice.
It's also dependent on your device & what type of rom you're running. There should be a list of safe to remove apps for your device/rom.
If you're iffy of something, try freezing it first with Titanium Backup. If all goes well then you can uninstall it.
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
Thanks for your quick reply, but what I meant was why is it that if you delete a stock apps (Like DriveSmart from Samsung)
HC13 said:
well if u delete driver smart. every time you go to settings and select driver smart you will get a force close... also with wifi calling. and startup setup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it messes with the system.
EDIT: Figured it was worth mentioning that I don't own an Android device yet (But it'll either be the Epic 4G or the Sidekick 4G [I lurk in the latter's forum]), so I'm trying soak up as much info as I can receive.
So when I get either device [Even though hands on experience always trumps reading things off forums] I won't waste time figuring things out.
EDIT #2: And thanks plainjane, missed your post somehow.
So, in Papyrus there is an option to use the side button for some really handy things.
However, Samsung doesn't allow it.... DAMN SAMSUNG!
Papyrus help says
Unfortunately, Samsung does not currently allow third party applications to access the S Pen side button. We really hope Samsung will change this in the future.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But then again.. it's android, there should always be a way, right??
Did anyone find a way to get this fixed? Would installing a custom ROM work? I would rather not as I give courses at workplaces and I don't want people to start installing cutom ROMs... any other ways?
Would a custom ROM fix it? As samsung is the one blocking the gestures, would a custom ROM make a difference?
Could anyone try? I can't install a custom ROM's as I have to use this tablet as an example for work.
hi there, have you found a solution to the problem?
http://papyrus.uservoice.com/forums/177239-general/suggestions/3688573-enable-s-pen-button
apparently a lot of others have the same issue. I wonder if we can just delete the function using Titanium backup.
Just got my N5 yesterday and I love pretty much everything about it. One tiny thing I miss coming from CM 10.2 on my old phone, is the ability to customize the "tiles" in the notification curtain. You know, when you do a 2-finger pulldown and it shows tiles to toggle wifi, airplane mode, bluetooth, etc... what do you call that anyway? Is there an "official" name for it?
Anyway, a few of my old favorites are missing, and there's no way I can find to change what's there. I'd especially like a "torch" (flashlight) toggle -- I used to use that all the time. I know there are some apps that can install a toggle bar at the top of the notification curtain in older Android versions, but it seems silly to have 2 separate groups of toggles, one on each "side" of the curtain, just because the one that's already there can't be customized, and I don't know how well those play with KitKat anyway.
Ghengis042 said:
Just got my N5 yesterday and I love pretty much everything about it. One tiny thing I miss coming from CM 10.2 on my old phone, is the ability to customize the "tiles" in the notification curtain. You know, when you do a 2-finger pulldown and it shows tiles to toggle wifi, airplane mode, bluetooth, etc... what do you call that anyway? Is there an "official" name for it?
Anyway, a few of my old favorites are missing, and there's no way I can find to change what's there. I'd especially like a "torch" (flashlight) toggle -- I used to use that all the time. I know there are some apps that can install a toggle bar at the top of the notification curtain in older Android versions, but it seems silly to have 2 separate groups of toggles, one on each "side" of the curtain, just because the one that's already there can't be customized, and I don't know how well those play with KitKat anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'd need root. Why can't you root?
root + Xposed Framework + GravityBox Xposed module
rootSU said:
You'd need root. Why can't you root?
root + Xposed Framework + GravityBox Xposed module
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just spent a few hours setting up the phone, and it would be nice not to have to do all that over again when I unlock the bootloader (and thus lose all my data...). I guess it's only one evening's setup time, so not *such* a big deal, but the other thing is that I want to keep stock firmware / OTA updates if at all possible.
As fro Xposed, I have some concerns:
* I switched to ART just after getting the phone, because I read it improves battery life (Xposed has no plans to support ART in the near future)
* I've heard that it can have stability issues -- the reason I want OTA / stock is so I can spend as little time futzing with the phone as possible and just *use* it
* Xposed opens up some security issues, IMHO
I think if it comes down to root + xposed or just using a "plain" widget, I'll probably go with the widget.
Ghengis042 said:
* I switched to ART just after getting the phone, because I read it improves battery life (Xposed has no plans to support ART in the near future)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct. For me, the experimental ART feature is not worth losing Xposed for.
Ghengis042 said:
* I've heard that it can have stability issues -- the reason I want OTA / stock is so I can spend as little time futzing with the phone as possible and just *use* it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No stability issues here
Ghengis042 said:
* Xposed opens up some security issues, IMHO
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Based on what information?
You didn't address the setup-time issue -- that's one of the big ones for me. I usually have at least 40 apps installed (and yes, I actually use them!) and reconfiguring them is time consuming. I *could* futz with Titanium Backup or similar to automate some of that re-setup process, but I'd rather just avoid it in the first place if possible.
rootSU said:
No stability issues here
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Click to collapse
Good to hear, at some point I might still investigate -- it's going to come down to how much customization / tweaking I really *need*.
rootSU said:
(Security issues...) Based on what information?
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Click to collapse
I guess it's about as "dangerous" as rooting -- basically, Xposed gives modules carte blanche to do absolutely anything on your phone, and since the modules aren't distributed through a controlled / centralized store (like Google Play) and as far as I can tell aren't (always) open-source, I don't have any way to be sure they're not doing something malicious. Of course there's a bunch of other attack vectors, but installing a framework that touches every corner of the device, that then runs scripts / mods that I downloaded from some forum somewhere (no offense, guys!) on a phone that holds sensitive personal data... it just worries me a bit, y'know?
rootSU said:
You'd need root. Why can't you root?
root + Xposed Framework + GravityBox Xposed module
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What he said.
Ghengis042 said:
You didn't address the setup-time issue -- that's one of the big ones for me. I usually have at least 40 apps installed (and yes, I actually use them!) and reconfiguring them is time consuming. I *could* futz with Titanium Backup or similar to automate some of that re-setup process, but I'd rather just avoid it in the first place if possible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't think it needed addressing? Yes you'll lose everything as we all did. You can backup with Helium to an extent. Maybe even it backs up everything. I have 300+ apps
Ghengis042 said:
I guess it's about as "dangerous" as rooting -- basically, Xposed gives modules carte blanche to do absolutely anything on your phone, and since the modules aren't distributed through a controlled / centralized store (like Google Play) and as far as I can tell aren't (always) open-source, I don't have any way to be sure they're not doing something malicious. Of course there's a bunch of other attack vectors, but installing a framework that touches every corner of the device, that then runs scripts / mods that I downloaded from some forum somewhere (no offense, guys!) on a phone that holds sensitive personal data... it just worries me a bit, y'know?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Xposed modules are still apk's and list permissions as you install them. The same sense applies as installing any apk. Read the permissions, consider the source and either install it or not. The framework doesn't touch every corner of the device. It runs everything in isolation (which is the whole point of it) but yeah that's not really relevant.
All the xposed apps are distributed via XDA, google Play or teh Xposed repo http://repo.xposed.info/module-overview - if something malicious was going on, the module wouldn't exist.
Anyway I'm not here to convince you to install it. There aren't any apps that do it though.
Hi,
Maybe not all will be functional without root but take a look at this app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.j4velin.notificationToggle or https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.painless.pc.
Try these apps to see what you can/can't do with the quick settings without root.
But like it has been said, rooting your device is the best way to have (almost) all what you want.
viking37 said:
Hi,
Maybe not all will be functional without root but take a look at this app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.j4velin.notificationToggle or https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.painless.pc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you know if installing a settings bar on the curtain like this will interfere with... what's the term? Extended notifications? Some apps (Pocket Casts is the first that comes to mind) will show media controls (play/pause/skip) in the notification tray, but only if they're the first entry in the list -- if anything comes above them, you can't use the controls. Is that a problem with these apps?
Re,
I'm sorry but I don't know (not tested and I'm rooted)... The best is to test by yourself and see. I just provide you a link to try to help...
Ghengis042 said:
...so I can spend as little time futzing with the phone as possible and just *use* it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well that doesn't sound like much fun at all.
Ghengis042 said:
You didn't address the setup-time issue -- that's one of the big ones for me. I usually have at least 40 apps installed (and yes, I actually use them!) and reconfiguring them is time consuming. I *could* futz with Titanium Backup or similar to automate some of that re-setup process, but I'd rather just avoid it in the first place if possible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, TB Backup's fail when I backup 400+ apps and want to restore them altogether. Who would click Next and Install for 400+ times!!! For your point, ADB backup's are slow they really help for Unrooted devices and Guaranteeing safe apk+app-data for sure...