[Q] XT910 rooted, superuser issue? - General Questions and Answers

Hello folks,
I am a newbie in this business and usually do not fiddle around this, due to lack of background knowledge and not being a geek.
I rooted XT910 using http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2257137 method. Worked without much issue. Now I am not too sure how I should proceed.
The goal behind this rooting was, to clean the apps Motorola installed, and I never use. Since the beginning this device had wi-fi connectivity issues and would get slow within a month or two of use. Nothing fancy was installed on this phone or was used for, except regular phone, email, text, photos and videos, whatsapp and Vonage. Hence, it was very difficult to understand why this phone slows down.
To address this problem, I thought it is best.
- if I could just delete the apps I don't use, as they keep running in the background.
- if there could be easy (for me to understand) tweak to address wi-fi connectivity issue.
- Honestly, I am not really interested in taking efforts of installing new ROM as from reading itself it sounds pretty daunting task.
I tried firing up SuperUser app but it is not self explanatory app and always gives me a pop up that it needs to be updated but doesn't update when I select so.
Any help in addressing this issues is welcome.
Thanks in advance.

Related

Just updated to 1.5

After a lot of trepidation, I finally rooted and upgraded to JF1.5. I really have to thank all the people who have spent sooooo much time discovering and documenting this.
I did a lot of reading before I upgraded. I finally used http://code.google.com/p/android-roms/wiki/TableOfContents , because it's excellently documented and has all the files I need in one place. Thanks Jon Pezz!
I do have some questions and observations
1. I can't seem to get telnetd working after upgrading to JF1.5. I read posts about it being broken in an earlier release, but being subsequently fixed. Is this broken or intentionally turned off? I love the G1 for the physical keyboard, but it's a poor country cousin to my IBM Model M keyboard And I'd rather use my PC for typing any day.
2. One of the best devices I have owned is the Sharp Zaurus. It wasn't a phone, but it was a great Wifi Device. It was Linux too and I could control it completely. I'm surprised that Google is making us jump through hoops to get root access. Also, I don't see samba, vnc server, vpn etc. yet. Some work around, some in progress, but surprisingly not the real thing.
3. I was completely underwhelmed by the multi-touch in the browser. It's performing so poorly, initially I thought it wasn't working at all. It works really well on the iPhone, but on the G1 it's very unresponsive. I tried unchecking "Fit to page", although I think that's so incredibly useful for browsing on mobile devices - in fact, one of the reasons why I think this is a better browser than the one on the iPhone. So maybe it's not really ready for prime time. I found it much faster to use the single touch zooming.
4. While I really like the physical keyboard, like everybody, the soft keyboard is very handy for typing a few letters. But in the two places where I really find myself needing one, it doesn't work - quickly filtering contacts and and in the App drawer to select an app. In the case of contacts, you have to open the menu, select search, click on the text field and then start typing. It's faster to just flip out the physical keyboard. In the Apps drawer, it doesn't work at all. It would be useful to add a button combo that would popup the soft keyboard.
Also, I see a lot of people asking for the HTC T9 keyboard for contacts. You might want to check out SpellDial in the Market. Works really well.
Code:
[url]market://search?q=pname:org.ravelin.android[/url]
Regards
Milind
os2baba said:
I'm surprised that Google is making us jump through hoops to get root access.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not. Root access would wreak havoc on 95% of G1 owners seeing they are oblivious to the phones capabilities and just use it as a phone. Can you imagine the damage some rouge/malicious app on the Market could cause? There isn't a chance in hell Google could pull it fast enough.
os2baba said:
1. I can't seem to get telnetd working after upgrading to JF1.5. I read posts about it being broken in an earlier release, but being subsequently fixed. Is this broken or intentionally turned off?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I'm not mistaken i believe telnetd was disabled b/c of security reasons.
Just imagine if while using a wifi network someone else gained root access of your phone. Not a cool risk worth taking.
uberingram said:
I'm not. Root access would wreak havoc on 95% of G1 owners seeing they are oblivious to the phones capabilities and just use it as a phone. Can you imagine the damage some rouge/malicious app on the Market could cause? There isn't a chance in hell Google could pull it fast enough.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The way it is currently set with no password, maybe. But if while registering for Gmail, it used the same password for root (or provided advanced users with an ability to use a different password for the phone), would that still be a security issue?
Binary100100 said:
If I'm not mistaken i believe telnetd was disabled b/c of security reasons.
Just imagine if while using a wifi network someone else gained root access of your phone. Not a cool risk worth taking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again, isn't this because of the fact that root has no password (or has a fixed password)? Wouldn't this be like any other linux box if there were a user password. From my light browsing on the subject, doesn't look like anyone's got sshd running on the G1 either.
Regards
Milind
you can filter contacts with the virtual keyboard. Hit menu then hit search then start typing with the virtual keyboard.

Any new instructional updates for rooting droid pro?

Hi-
I asked this question in the Droid Pro forum but didn't get any responses. I am a full-on newbee to the droid world (came over about two weeks ago from Blackberry). I like many aspects of the droid but can't stand the horrible battery life, the 80 some-odd programs constantly running in the background and having to grant access to my to use and manipulate my calendar, contacts, SD card, etc...for a flashlight app. My son tells me that rooting will solve this, but I'm finding so many different versions on how to do this, many of which Verizon has found ways to prevent and many are seeing varying results. Anyway, I was just wondering if one of the experts out there can help sort me out.
The Android version I'm running is 2.2.1 (I can provide System, Baseband, Build, ERI and PRL versions if helpful).
Thanks!
frombb2droid said:
Hi-
I asked this question in the Droid Pro forum but didn't get any responses. I am a full-on newbee to the droid world (came over about two weeks ago from Blackberry). I like many aspects of the droid but can't stand the horrible battery life, the 80 some-odd programs constantly running in the background and having to grant access to my to use and manipulate my calendar, contacts, SD card, etc...for a flashlight app. My son tells me that rooting will solve this, but I'm finding so many different versions on how to do this, many of which Verizon has found ways to prevent and many are seeing varying results. Anyway, I was just wondering if one of the experts out there can help sort me out.
The Android version I'm running is 2.2.1 (I can provide System, Baseband, Build, ERI and PRL versions if helpful).
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm certainly not the expert you seek mate, but I will have a go at explaining it for you!
I believe the battery life of the Droid Pro is a widespread criticism. There are several things you can do on your phone to save that precious juice.
1. Set your screen brightness as low as you can tolerate, or set it to auto. The screen backlight is the biggest drain on battery life.
2. In Settings > Location, turn off 'Use wireless networks' and 'Use GPS satellites'. These are used by the location service (and Google) to get a lock on your position. The GPS one especially has a sizeable effect on battery life.
3. Some people will advise against this, but get a task killer from the market. Advanced Task Killer is a good one. One tap of a button will kill the majority of those pesky background services. It's very easy to use, and it gives you the option of selecting which programs you'd like to keep alive etc.
4. You could also source the official extended battery, although I know this is less than ideal
Rooting your phone will help you with the background processes and also the carrier 'bloat' installed on your phone. There are several programs which let you stop or 'freeze' system processes, as well as uninstall them. The most common is Titanium Backup. This lets you freeze/uninstall almost anything on your phone, as well as backup all your apps and data (make sure you do this before you make any changes, so you have something to fall back on).
As far as the actual rooting process goes, SuperOneClick is the easiest. It's a small program you download, run on your computer, plug your phone in and hit 'root'. Make sure you select the 'Gingerbreak' exploit as opposed to 'psneuter' otherwise it may not work.
I also understand what you're saying about the apps' system requirements and so on. This isn't fixed by rooting, and if the list of what can be controlled scares you, just try another app There's plenty of lightweight ones out there that aren't so daunting!
I hope this helps you somewhat. If you need anything else, let me know!
Thanks so much for your response - very helpful. I am, BTW, already doing items 1-3. With 4 (the extended battery), I used one with my Blackberry, so I certainly do not have an aversion to this.
Thanks again!

Ok....i give...need some solid information.

I have googled and searched my fingertips to the bone. Whenever i ask a technical question, i get answers from the clueless and the blind. I am beginning to hate this game.
So here we go. Stock android 4.4.2 ....rooted. How do you control which apps autostart and load in the background? Right now I have been trying to kill the Music app. Nothing works. It always restarts. So that means there is a sticky setting in some file somewhere in the system that needs to be edited that more than likely can not properrly be controlled from the childish controls android offers. In windows this is controlled in the registry and the startup process. Where is this in android? Why does no one share this information?
Yes i know it's dangerous. Yes i know not to putts around in the operating system. But if youre rooted, give us the data to control things.
So i await a learned response that probaly only one of the "developers" can answer. Because it sure as s€£%t ain't out there to be found.
Signed, royally frustrated
I'm reminded of that saying "You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." Not sure why your posts are so charged but many seasoned developers and posters aren't going to engage in conversation with someone who uses condesending and self righteous tones.
I've never seen detailed posting of how it works, nor do I care to know, but by installing Greenify you can effectively control what you wish to control. Greenify allows you to hibernate applications keeping them asleep until manually called.
Some applications have associated services that are used by other parts of the system or other applications and therefore stay loaded to provide that service. If you also install Xposed Framework it will allow Greenify to inject itself further to keep applications that you choose to hibernate from being called upon by other applications (facebook for example has services that often get called upon by other applications for various reasons and so it can be hard to keep hibernated).
Sent from my SM-P900 using Tapatalk
muzzy996 said:
I'm reminded of that saying "You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar." Not sure why your posts are so charged but many seasoned developers and posters aren't going to engage in conversation with someone who uses condesending and self righteous tones.
I've never seen detailed posting of how it works, nor do I care to know, but by installing Greenify you can effectively control what you wish to control. Greenify allows you to hibernate applications keeping them asleep until manually called.
Some applications have associated services that are used by other parts of the system or other applications and therefore stay loaded to provide that service. If you also install Xposed Framework it will allow Greenify to inject itself further to keep applications that you choose to hibernate from being called upon by other applications (facebook for example has services that often get called upon by other applications for various reasons and so it can be hard to keep hibernated).
Sent from my SM-P900 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am sorry. I did not intentionally want to come off as charged or spraying vinegar. Quite the opposite. But I have found, after reading tons of post, that we are living in the land of the blind and hardly anyone with sight is actually participating or for that matter even providing a modicum of usefull data. Beginning to think that I don't blame them.
It seems, after deep searching and research that children are actually in charge. What other explanation can you give for an operating system that is struggling with "basic" features found in DOS or windows 3.1 from 20 years ago. Similar to the slow evolution of linux, itself which only now, barely, is win xp like in its features after decades as a skeletal nightmare to load and setup.
You may not have caught the news a few months ago, but Samsung was floating the idea of abandoning android for a flavored and skinned version of linux for future devices, both phones and tablets.p, starting with the China market.
Tell me that Microsoft did not head that off by providing reciprocal licensing to Samsung for windows 10 to abandoning linux. Would not be suprised if we start seeing win10 handsets in the near future here.
Once android looses support from major manufacturers, then it is DEAD.
Read every other post and you will see the lament about the quality of google store apps.
So when I ask a specific, technical question requiring a precise answer.....which requires actual proframming skill.....which has yet to appear...you can see how the lack of response to that colors the situation.
If I offended anyone, I apologize. I get excited sometimes. Repeatedly slamming ones head against the wall, figuratively tends to make you anxious.
At this rate, my raw participation on these boards may be curtailed if I continue with this sense of useless effort.
Sorry to make anyone upset. You can let the kids back in the room. I think there is ice cream.
Have you considered freezing the processes you want to prevent from running with Titanium Backup?
ShadowLea said:
Have you considered freezing the processes you want to prevent from running with Titanium Backup?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Titanium backup would work. The other option since you are rooted is to just remove the offending music app. I don't mind the samsung music app, but I don't find it absolutely necessary either. You could also uninstall the updates and force stop the app. That should also keep it from starting.
Another option that I haven't looked at completely but might work is the app "tasker" that lets you assign certain apps to start only when you want them too. So you could have the music app start only when you tap on media files. But I haven't tried this myself.
The problem currently with asking technical questions about the note pro is that it's a low selling device from 2014 so it just doesn't get much action on the forums anymore. It's a bummer for such a great device but that's how it is.
mjkurke said:
Titanium backup would work. The other option since you are rooted is to just remove the offending music app. I don't mind the samsung music app, but I don't find it absolutely necessary either. You could also uninstall the updates and force stop the app. That should also keep it from starting.
Another option that I haven't looked at completely but might work is the app "tasker" that lets you assign certain apps to start only when you want them too. So you could have the music app start only when you tap on media files. But I haven't tried this myself.
The problem currently with asking technical questions about the note pro is that it's a low selling device from 2014 so it just doesn't get much action on the forums anymore. It's a bummer for such a great device but that's how it is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Low selling are not the words. More like abandoned. Samsung has moved away. My questions where android specific. "Freezing" apps, using a convoluted set of more apps to control unwanted apps, ridiculous. It is all ridiculous. Either root gives control or it does not.
I want full control, what runs, what doesn't, what runs in the background. Is that not why we root? So a comprehensive list of whats what WOULD RREEEAAAALLLLYYY HELP.
I am alone in the wilderness screaming at the trees demanding to know why it rains.
Do you understand?
Options like freezing in Titanium or using Greenify have already been addressed. Tasker is good for starting things but not so good at keeping things killed, not the proper tool to use for the job of keeping apps from loading.
My strategy:
1) Freeze anything that's safe to freeze that I know I'll never use in Titanium first. That way they never pre-cache into memory.
2) Greenify applications that I rarely use so that they don't pre-cache, taking care not to greenify applications that need to stay loaded to operate properly (like email clients, weather apps or messaging apps).
In the end on a clean boot my application/precache list is full of my commonly used apps. I worry not about how much free RAM I have, as long as the list of apps in RAM/cache is populated with the stuff that I commonly use.
NOW, all of that said if you're looking for something that works like windows startup manager then installing Xposed Framework and then BootManager is the way to go. I've done this in the past but find that employing freezing and greenify is good enough for my own needs so I've stopped.
globalsearch said:
Low selling are not the words. More like abandoned. Samsung has moved away. My questions where android specific. "Freezing" apps, using a convoluted set of more apps to control unwanted apps, ridiculous. It is all ridiculous. Either root gives control or it does not.
I want full control, what runs, what doesn't, what runs in the background. Is that not why we root? So a comprehensive list of whats what WOULD RREEEAAAALLLLYYY HELP.
I am alone in the wilderness screaming at the trees demanding to know why it rains.
Do you understand?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am starting to suspect you have greatly misunderstood the meaning of root access. From what it sounds like, you seem to think it miraculously gives you access to settings and functions that non-rooted users can't see. Which is why you can't seem to get the answers you seek.
There is no such thing as a root-menu. Android does not have that functionality build into its GUI.
Root access simply means administrator access to the system's root directories. Hence the word Root.
You will always need additional apps and software to root access to change functionality. Titanium Backup, Xposed, SuperUser/SuperSU, etcetera.
If you want those options in the system, you'll need a customROM.
ShadowLea said:
Root access simply means administrator access to the system's root directories. Hence the word Root.
You will always need additional apps and software to root access to change functionality. Titanium Backup, Xposed, SuperUser/SuperSU, etcetera.
If you want those options in the system, you'll need a customROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right and even with a custom ROM you can't run away from using 3rd party utilities to make the tweaks. Custom is usually a good start though as they are typically debloated. Civato's is good for lightly modified stock with xposed baked in.
Sent from my SM-N910T3 using Tapatalk
Now we are getting somewhere. So what you have all told me is that stock android, even when rooted, is still a sandbox with all kinds of limitations to customization. Even with apps to tweak some of it.
This is the nail in the coffin for me and android then. Im not in the least interested in all those custom roms where there is always some shortcoming or lack of support for a feature that does not work properly.
Thanks all. I am done.
globalsearch said:
Now we are getting somewhere. So what you have all told me is that stock android, even when rooted, is still a sandbox with all kinds of limitations to customization. Even with apps to tweak some of it.
This is the nail in the coffin for me and android then. Im not in the least interested in all those custom roms where there is always some shortcoming or lack of support for a feature that does not work properly.
Thanks all. I am done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
for what its worth I do have your answer, better late than never right?
anyways android is built on a linux kernal and normally access to the linux command line does not come pre-installed to keep normal people from messing up their system.
so you will need to download a terminal emulator app if you don't already have one if you plan to do this from android. (Alternatively you can do it from the android debug bridge while connected to a computer if preferred)
First you will want to get the package name for the app you want to disable.
you can do this with a root file browser app by going to system / Data / App and then finding the package you want to disable.
however since it sounds like you want to do this manually we will go over the terminal process:
open a terminal window.
type: su
Hit: enter
the terminal will ask you for root access, go ahead and grant it.
to list the android packages type: pm list packages
hit: enter
This will show a list of the installed packages (Apps)
find the ones you want to disable.
now type: pm disable insertpackagename
hit: enter
for example to disable youtube type: pm disable com.google.android.youtube
Hit: Enter
that's it.
you will likely want to restart your launcher or even just restart the tablet afterwards as most launchers don't constantly poll for disabled apps so it will need a refresh.
also you probably already realise this so I apologise if its redundant but make sure you know what you are disabling
as with any linux environment disabling system packages and packages that another application is dependant on can cause trouble.
firefly6240 said:
for what its worth I do have your answer, better late than never right?
anyways android is built on a linux kernal and normally access to the linux command line does not come pre-installed to keep normal people from messing up their system.
so you will need to download a terminal emulator app if you don't already have one if you plan to do this from android. (Alternatively you can do it from the android debug bridge while connected to a computer if preferred)
First you will want to get the package name for the app you want to disable.
you can do this with a root file browser app by going to system / Data / App and then finding the package you want to disable.
however since it sounds like you want to do this manually we will go over the terminal process:
open a terminal window.
type: su
Hit: enter
the terminal will ask you for root access, go ahead and grant it.
to list the android packages type: pm list packages
hit: enter
This will show a list of the installed packages (Apps)
find the ones you want to disable.
now type: pm disable insertpackagename
hit: enter
for example to disable youtube type: pm disable com.google.android.youtube
Hit: Enter
that's it.
you will likely want to restart your launcher or even just restart the tablet afterwards as most launchers don't constantly poll for disabled apps so it will need a refresh.
also you probably already realise this so I apologise if its redundant but make sure you know what you are disabling
as with any linux environment disabling system packages and packages that another application is dependant on can cause trouble.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Finally. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
globalsearch said:
Low selling are not the words. More like abandoned. Samsung has moved away. My questions where android specific. "Freezing" apps, using a convoluted set of more apps to control unwanted apps, ridiculous. It is all ridiculous. Either root gives control or it does not.
I want full control, what runs, what doesn't, what runs in the background. Is that not why we root? So a comprehensive list of whats what WOULD RREEEAAAALLLLYYY HELP.
I am alone in the wilderness screaming at the trees demanding to know why it rains.
Do you understand?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just thought I would clarify a bit here, I know how confusing it can be coming from windows, I made the switch myself not so many years ago and had a lot of the same questions.
to explain root, the closest comparison I have imperfect as it may be is that root access is similar to windows admin access.
the noticeable difference in a lot of cases is what comes pre-installed.
for example in windows if you have an admin account it automatically unlocks access to the command prompt which was already pre-installed.
in android root access gives you the option to use a terminal but often one is not pre-installed, in fact even a file manager is often not included.
this is actually not a limitation of android so much as a limitation put in place by the specific device manufacturer as to what comes pre-installed.
for example a lot of cheap android tablets running google AOSP (Android open source Project) code actually do come with terminal apps and in some cases even come pre-loaded with root access.
in comparison a lot of more well known devices do not come with this pre-loaded to prevent people from breaking things. (For a windows comparison, its hard to delete the system32 folder without admin access, a file browser and command prompt right?)
As far as samsung abandonment, its a bit trickier there.
Basically what you would normally be used to is the Microsoft scenario.
1. Microsoft - Microsoft makes the OS but it runs on hardware made by others.
a. hardware issues go to the hardware manufacturer for as long as they support it.
b. OS updates are handled by Microsoft, they have more or less full control of the OS as it is closed source.
2. the Samsung Scenario - The hardware is made by the manufacturer, the bootloaders are locked, the OS is made by Google and then tweaked by the manufacturer.
a. all official updates come through the manufacturer (In this case Samsung) after google releases the open source code, samsung then alters it as they like and then they release an update.
b. Samsung is the sole support for the hardware and software as google no longer supports the software for the most part after its been altered.
c. it takes a lot of time and work for samsung to develop an update and push it out and then deal with all of the issues that come with updating the OS.
d. its often easier to leave a device that comparatively very few people bought on an OS that they knew was usable rather than spend all the time and money updating it and dealing with all of the related issues.
With that in mind this tablet has been out for about 2 years now which is a huge amount of time for this type of hardware.
All that being said Samsung very recently released the update to android 5.1.1 for this tablet
so it is definitely not abandoned yet, in fact its had more attention than even other devices by the same manufacturer but I suspect 5.1.1 will be the last official update we see.
if you have one of the note variants with an unlockable bootloader as well as a bit of time on your hands I would very much recommend trying a custom rom if you are worried about samsung abandonment.
you may have to try several different ones though, as you'll find a mix of roms that may seem almost half baked, more alpha release style but are cutting edge (I like those ones myself) to roms that are even more stable than the original.
My apologies if some of this is redundant information, I just thought I would throw in my two cents in case it helps
Two points . . for what its worth . . 1) the use of package manager's disable command effectively does the same thing that freezing in Titanium does, the main difference being that you're using a GUI to do it (there can be differences in how the apps are flagged though and using the pm command means not having to rely on yet another app); 2) disabling/freezing means you'll be unable to ever launch said application unless you enable the app again manually (using the package manager PM commands or Titanium).
Main reason in my initial response I didn't go straight to freezing/disabling apps is because that approach isn't exactly the same thing as managing startup in the context of the example given about managing what apps start up on boot in Windows (i.e. msconfig command and unchecking startup options). When someone takes an app out of startup in Windows the software isn't permanently disabled (unavailable) it is merely prevented from preloading when the system is started. So . . in reference to the music app referred to in the original post, if the goal is to be able to use the stock music app but just not have it load itself into memory on its own then the solution isnt disabling it or freezing it, its to hibernate it with something like Greenify or prevent it from starting using something like Boot Manager and Xposed Framework.
Firefly6240 got exactly what I was asking for. Freezing and hybernating, et al, is not total control. When i kill an app and i want it gone. I want it gone. Example, the google music, google books and google films. I gave stopped, killed even "uninstalled" in Purify and in Kingroot. On random reboot, the buggers are back. Fireflys solution is ceasars thumbs down. Wonderful. He understood the TOTAL control I was looking for.
Also, i loaded android terminal to run the commands.
By the way, Knox and EML are next on my list.
Thanks again firefly6420
globalsearch said:
Firefly6240 got exactly what I was asking for. Freezing and hybernating, et al, is not total control. When i kill an app and i want it gone. I want it gone. Example, the google music, google books and google films. I gave stopped, killed even "uninstalled" in Purify and in Kingroot. On random reboot, the buggers are back. Fireflys solution is ceasars thumbs down. Wonderful. He understood the TOTAL control I was looking for.
Also, i loaded android terminal to run the commands.
By the way, Knox and EML are next on my list.
Thanks again firefly6420
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK good, then I misunderstood the question. Hibernation has its place, it's just not what you wanted, you wanted complete uninstallation basically.
Sent from my SM-P900 using Tapatalk
like it or not, OEMs, even Google cannot just give the public ready-made controls to such things because the way a lot of (non-essential but) pre-installed apps are designed they depends on other apps being present and/or running.
AppOps was a classic example cuz once ppl found it and made public how to take advantage, a lot of dependant apps and services were affected and people called in to their OEMs complaining of broken phones when it was simply tinkered permissions.
there is no mobile OS more robust than android. all have their forms of depth, appeal, features and restrictions but none embrace admin access & leaving open the ability to do it more than android (just need the carrier and sometimes OEM to leave the bootloader the hell alone lol)
if you want a smartphone with admin privileges out-of-the-box and full control of all system services etc, I would recommend an Ubuntu phone. they're about a year into commercial availability which is still kinda fringe but stable and will lack certain major perks of owning either iOS (yuck!) or Android. there is a couple Ubuntu/android dual boot phones out there too, and that comes with the issue of storage space after holding 2 OS's
in another year or 2 Ubuntu phones should be more plentiful and bring over some popular apps and active development but I don't anticipate seeing it take off quite like other mobile OS's cuz when it comes to feeding the masses, more options and less restrictions can have the same effect as asking an 80 year old to put in an address on your navigation in the car while you're on the highway. it's a learning curve simple to some that seems too simple not to understand but can be bad for business.
I think android and iOS beat this problem initially because when they started, there weren't any other well-established alternatives. BlackBerry and some fringe PDAs were about it...
Note pro 12.2
I was/am dealing with the Note Pro 12.2 specifically. Not other handsets. This device is coming up on two years and support has been waning. When I bought it all was well. Less than a few months later the damned KitKat update came and suddenly I found myself without proper access to the external sd card, that had worked perfectly when i purchased the unit. I was furious. Especially when we where being told that it was for our own good and google was pushing internal memory over external. Damn them. I bought samsung BECAUSE it had the sd slot. And when Samsung did not provide the fix to the platform.xml file I was livid. 5.01 came out and Samsung destoyed support for most external blue tooth keyboards. And so it goes, one stupid blunder after another. Their updates destroyed my workflow.
So yes, damned right I want full control of my device, because they have shown they have NO regard for our needs and DO NOT ADDRESS our concerns. Just buy our stuff and shut up. Well in this case, i was sold a product that they later incapacitated.
I can not abide with that. I tried so hard not to root, for a year and a half. I shut off automatic updates on EVERYTHING because even updates from google play would sometimes destroy a goid priducy. I started saving apks from versions of apps that worked. I stayed stock 4.4.2 because everything worked but the sd write. How many threads do we have here where people upgraded to marshmellow and then begged to get back to kitkat? Last week after reading thread after thread of problems and convoluted fixes and a gazillion rom versions each of which has its own imperfections and then reading that the new samsung tablet was released windows 10. I knew it was over.
At that moment the decision was inevitable. I rooted and IMMEDIATELY fixed the sd write issue. And i unrooted. Two days of random reboots and i roited again, this time to take the bull by the hirns and control this thing. I became increasingly frustrated with the lack of displayed technical knowledge here at xda and the tons pf advice from also clueless posters. I tried everything. Even got scolded by an admin who has been here less time than me. (Follow the rules, follow the rules...don't you dare to ask the important questions)
Not till the reply from firefly6240. Now he knows something. And he shared a little with me. Which i greatly appreciated. I have a direction now. And the tweaks I have done have increased my battery tije, the screen reojse time and overall improvement of the environment. All on 4.4.2.
I still have some minor issues, but google and android code monkeys WILL NO LONGER CONTROL MY DEVICE, MY PROPERTY.
It is time people take control of the ELECTRONIC items which we purchase with OUR hard earned money and stop letting manufacturers turn those devices into nothing more than sales portals to make more money and deny us control or the ability to JUST SAY NO.

Nook Glowlight plus- "no-refresh" display mode

Hi Everyone,
I have a Nook Glowlight+ device which i bought for my 60 year old father.
He needs a device to browse the web with, and regular LCD/Amoled hurts his eyes.
I successfully rooted the device, it runs Android 4.4.
"No refresh" mode allows smoother browsing on an E-ink screen like in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b7JjllImjM
I know it has been done somehow for the device's previous version (Nook touch):
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1502723
I am not an expert, but i found there are files that define the various display modes, they start with the name "WAVEFORM_MODE_X"
I know the one that defines the "no-refresh" is "WAVEFORM_MODE_A2".
Does anyone have an experience with these types of devices?
Does anyone have an Idea how I can configure it?
Any Kind of help would be appreciated!
Thanks a lot!
Possible solution
seti2 said:
Hi Everyone,
I have a Nook Glowlight+ device which i bought for my 60 year old father.
He needs a device to browse the web with, and regular LCD/Amoled hurts his eyes.
I successfully rooted the device, it runs Android 4.4.
"No refresh" mode allows smoother browsing on an E-ink screen like in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b7JjllImjM
I know it has been done somehow for the device's previous version (Nook touch):
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1502723
I am not an expert, but i found there are files that define the various display modes, they start with the name "WAVEFORM_MODE_X"
I know the one that defines the "no-refresh" is "WAVEFORM_MODE_A2".
Does anyone have an experience with these types of devices?
Does anyone have an Idea how I can configure it?
Any Kind of help would be appreciated!
Thanks a lot!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It might be a bit late for this, but for anyone who is reading, the NOOK Simple Touch NoRefreshToggle does indeed work with the glowlight plus. it's not perfect, but it certainly helps. https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=22800284#post22800284
If you get any messages suggesting that NoRefresh crashed, It seems that they can be ignored. Interestingly enough, it remains in effect.
PS: I recommend checking "Start Service on Startup" in NoRefresh Settings so that you do not need to reapply the service manually upon every reboot.
PPS: Grayscale remains in effect, scrolling in many apps will still cause noticeable refresh, but seemingly less. When swiping through the pages of a NOOK e-book, I only experienced minor refresh in graphic novels. text only books did not need to refresh at all.
Hope this helps someone!
Disclaimer: Like with everything and everyone else, you try this at your own risk. You will probably be fine, but it's not on me if you mess up your device. This will likely be a one-time post, so don't waste your time waiting for me. Hell, I posted this practically on a whim. Still though, good luck!
Edit: You may want to hold off on this. It's pretty glitchy, so it is going to need some configuring.

Create persistent app with only sms as user input/output

Hi,
The guys at androidcentral suggested I ask you guys for help so here we go.
I have created an app (purely for personal use) which can be started and stopped by the user but otherwise has no user interaction. It monitors accellerometer and gps data, reacting to certain events, and communicates with the user only via SMS. It is currently running on an Alcatel 5003D (cheap and cheerful) which is permanently powered so the battery is always at 100%.
The problem is that after a few days (about 3) the app dies - I am guessing that Android kills it. How can I prevent this from happening? From what I have read the existence of a foreground process should do the trick. Can I have a process which does nothing or do I need to reconfigure the current app workload so that the foreground process does some useful work? Or is there another solution?
I am an experienced software engineer but my Android knowledge is limited to what I have taught myself in the past year. I started tinkering with Android at the start of the pandemic partly to produce something useful and partly out of interest, so I guess you have to say that I definitely fall into the amateur category - at least as far as Android is concerned. So, lots of learning/understanding still to do. I don't need explanations in words of one syllable but it might be better not to assume I understand all the terminology.
Regards.
Create an Android service that runs the Android app in question.
Look also here:
Android Services with Examples - Tutlane
Android services with examples. In android services are used to perform long-running operations in the background like playing music, etc. android service methods, android skeleton service
www.tutlane.com
jwoegerbauer said:
Create an Android service that runs the Android app in question.
Look also here:
Android Services with Examples - Tutlane
Android services with examples. In android services are used to perform long-running operations in the background like playing music, etc. android service methods, android skeleton service
www.tutlane.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
Thanks for the link - looks like a bunch of useful info there. I'll go away and have a play. When I have something that works (or maybe doesn't) I'll let you know.
Regards.
tcs1752890 said:
Hi,
Thanks for the link - looks like a bunch of useful info there. I'll go away and have a play. When I have something that works (or maybe doesn't) I'll let you know.
Regards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi All,
Well, I finally managed to produce an app which runs exactly as required with no user input - all I/O being via SMS. This runs beautifully for about 3-4 weeks, pinging me with a status via SMS daily, then throws up a message on screen which says "User interface not responding". The app is suspended at this point waiting for someone to tap "wait" or "stop". It seems to be a variable time the app runs before doing this - somewhere around 4-6 weeks.
Just as you think you have it licked Android stamps all over you again in its size 12 boots!
Any suggestions on how to subdue this beast?
Regards.

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