Database Info

Tasker finally on the Market, automate nearly anything easily!

It's hard to describe what Tasker can do, as there's not much it can't do. I try to describe it like a high-level interface to the Android API. You can adjust hoards of Android settings programmatically based on Events (application, time, date, location, event, gesture).
Personally, I do some of the following:
Passively upload my GPS location to my website every 10m
Have the phone get fairly loud when I'm a home
Quiet when I'm at work
Nearly Muted when I'm in a meeting (matches a Calendar event)
Muted with Autosyncing disabled at Night while I sleep
Disable Rotation on my etext reader to work around a bug in the ereader which loses my position in my book when it rotates!
Make the screen brightness and sounds high when I'm running Waze (gps program) on AC power (plugged into car charger)
... more little things!
All of this is done using an easy to use GUI to build matching contexts and a task to execute when matched. There are lots of samples to start with on the website, and very easy to write your own. Basically it's a graphical programming language that anyone could use.
It's on the market as of today, and the website is here: http://tasker.dinglisch.net/
I have zero connection to the author besides an extremely happy user, decided I would post this here because he's exited beta testing and on the market now.
Here's even a few more examples of things that can be done, pasted from the website.. Still only the tip of the iceberg on things it can do:
passcode-lock sensitive applications (e.g. for child safety)
change phone settings by
application: long screen timeout in a book reader
time: screen brightness lower in the evening
location: ringer volume high at the office, turn off ke yguard at home
wake up with a random song from your music collection
Text-to-speech; read out loud: incoming SMS/ phone number, WiFi/Bluetooth status, when it's time for an appointment, when the battery is low etc etc (Android OS 1.6+ only)
launch a music application when your music SD card is inserted, otherwise a file browser
start the day with a particular application showing
change all your home icons and wallpaper every day, or in particular locations
turn the phone upside down to return to the home screen, tilt 90 degrees to the left and back to toggle speakerphone during a call
create a Home widget to
toggle bluetooth/wifi on/off
launch wireless settings dialog
show a menu of tasks to choose
send an emergency SMS with your GPS location
remap camera etc buttons to other applications, or show a menu of applications and/or actions
decrypt/encrypt and/or zip/unzip application data on the fly when an application is launched/exits
pause music playback while in a particular application, restart on exit
change the Home icon for any application
take a time-lapse photo series (possibly 'secretly')
make a regular backup of a file on the SD card
track your phone location via SMS in case of theft
extend the use of the media button on your headset: take a picture from a distance or go to the previous media track with a long press
record call times and destinations to the SD card
show a popup when an SMS arrives from a particular phone number
setup a birthday SMS to be sent months before it happens so you don't forget
record battery levels over time to a file on SD card
make automatic recordings of what you say during phone calls to SD card
during the night, turn on airplane mode to conserve battery/reduce radiation, but turn it off every 15 minutes to check for SMS/voicemail.
setup a vacation SMS message, with different messages for different callers
launch a music application when headphones are connected

Hrmmm, there's not much reviews for the app. I'm interested in trying out but I wish there was a trial or something.

Vulpix said:
Hrmmm, there's not much reviews for the app. I'm interested in trying out but I wish there was a trial or something.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hadn't looked at his market version yet, but it shouldn't need validation for 14 days..
He sells it on the market and off of the market. If nothing else you could install it from his website. I'll ask on his forum, it shouldn't require purchasing to use immediately.

Everytime I try it I get a FC when setting up my profiles, and I lose all my changes. Gets annoying fast. I uninstalled and did refund.

Knether said:
Everytime I try it I get a FC when setting up my profiles, and I lose all my changes. Gets annoying fast. I uninstalled and did refund.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Weird, I've seen that like once when I first tried it.. You might want to get on his forums and see what he can do to help fix it, as if you're interested I don't think there's anything else out there that does anywhere close to what Tasker does.
Come to think of it, yes, I did see that maybe 2-3 times, especially when first messing around, but I haven't seen it in weeks, even though I've set up multiple profiles since then. Interesting. You could always set up some stuff, Apply, re-enter the app. At that point it's saved. If it crashes, you won't lose anything. However it'd be good to get logs from alogcat or such to figure out the crash problem.

Awesome.. tasker is too good and much better than locale and setting profiles (though UI could get a bit better)... I've been waiting for it to arrive on the market..

I guess I'm the only person who has troubles with the app.. ::sigh:: I want to love it..

I've actually been using the app for a little over two weeks, and I've found it to be indispensable! GPS drains my battery too fast, so I love coordinating tasks with calendar events in conjunction with network-based location. Not to mention auto starting GPS for specific apps and then shutting GPS back off when I exit said app. There are simply SO many uses for tasker, and its compatible with locale plug-ins.
Btw. Try using Foxy Ring's ambient noise feature to auto adjust ringer volume. It works great when constantly moving from quiet study areas into a loud common room.

Does anyone know how I can set up Tasker to switch to 2G at midnight and then back to 3G/H at 8am?
I have looked throught the options and I can see the settings for 2G, but when I add Time as the 1st context I then can't find anything relating to 2G for the next context.
I understand it's probably just me being thick but if any one could help it would be much appreciated!
Loving this app otherwise, well worth the small fee.
Thanks.

CitizenLee said:
Does anyone know how I can set up Tasker to switch to 2G at midnight and then back to 3G/H at 8am?
I have looked throught the options and I can see the settings for 2G, but when I add Time as the 1st context I then can't find anything relating to 2G for the next context.
I understand it's probably just me being thick but if any one could help it would be much appreciated!
Loving this app otherwise, well worth the small fee.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure, Tasker doesn't have a "Default" profile, when a profile ends it returns what settings it changed back to what they previously were.. So if it's H going into your night profile, switch off 3G, then when the profile is over it'll return to H. The big difference here is that most likely you're going to have to run an external program, maybe APNDroid or something, to toggle 2G/3G, as apparently it's not in the API directly and Tasker can't do it. So you have an entry task and an exit task.
Yep, I just looked for apps that can do this, they all launch the option in the menus, can't do it directly... So doing this doesn't seem (directly) possible, but maybe there is something out there.. I just glanced. http://www.cyrket.com/search?q=3g&market=android
Profile
Context: Time 00:00 to 08:00
Enter Task
Run Program APNDroid (?)
Exit Task
Run Program APNDroid (?) (to toggle it back on, since it's not a setting here)

Found a nice review and guide for tasker here:
http://lifehacker.com/5599116/how-to-turn-your-android-phone-into-a-fully+automated-superphone
Looks powerful, and superior to locale.

psych2l said:
Found a nice review and guide for tasker here:
http://lifehacker.com/5599116/how-to-turn-your-android-phone-into-a-fully+automated-superphone
Looks powerful, and superior to locale.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I kind feel sorry for Locale Tasker has it 100x over, plus it can use Locale plugins.

I haven't done much digging, but... maybe someone could help me with this one:
I have the Samsung vibrant which does not have a hardware camera button. Would there be a way to use this app to remap the power button when in the camera.app to use it as the shutter button?
Thank you

Anyone else having force closes when trying to set backgrounds for app menus? Don't dig the bland menu background that comes stock in the app.

Great app except the fact it is using 1/4th of my battery for two profiles.

UrbanMuppet said:
Great app except the fact it is using 1/4th of my battery for two profiles.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have something misconfigured or you have insanely good battery usage then. I have Tasker using the GPS every 10 minutes, uploading that GPS data to my website. It reminds me every 2 minutes of missed email, phone calls, sms... It goes speakerphone if I flip it on a call. It changes profiles for home, work, work meeting, running GPS in the car... I think I have a profile to wash the dishes too, but I'm waiting on an enhancement from Pent to make that one function.
Seriously, post on his forum with the exact context and task, I bet something is done wrong.

Man I still have difficulty trying to make Tasker do simple things because I'm not really savvy with such stuff...

I have been trying to get Tasker to automagically switch keyboards based on orientation for like a few days now, no luck. I want to have Swype when in portrait mode, and then a custom HiRes keyboard in landscape...
can anyone help with this or if someone has done it already, please lend some advice...
Also, maybe this thread can become the official Tasker profile thread, if not, maybe a sticky with user created profiles?

ImSoHungry said:
Also, maybe this thread can become the official Tasker profile thread, if not, maybe a sticky with user created profiles?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Been trying to a place where people dump their profile examples for the inept people who can't work out half the settings, like myself

Tasker works perfectly on my phone: HTC Desire, stock ROM, official Android 2.2 update
My profiles:
Profile: Running Navigation
Context: Application: Load app Sygic
Tasks:
- Misc: GPS ON
- Audio: Set Media Volume to max
- Display: Set Brightness to 200
- Set Speakerphone to ON
Profile: Silencing Hidden Caller-ID
Context: State: Incoming Call
Tasks:
- Audio: Set Ringer Volume to 0 - if %CNUM ~ 0
- Audio: Set Vibrate to OFF - if %CNUM ~0
Note: for the second profile, you need to use at least 1.0.6 beta 5 (%CNUM bug fixed).

[GUIDE] Tasker

So as some of you may know there is an app for android called Tasker and it is by far the most powerful app out to date.
"Tasker is an application for Android which performs Tasks (sets of Actions) based on Contexts (application, time, date, location, event, gesture) in user-defined Profiles, or in clickable or timer home screen widgets.
This simple concept profoundly extends your control of your Android device and it's capabilities, without the need for 'root' or a special home screen"
As powerful and amazing as this app is, it's pretty hard to use unless your very tech savvy and I have been searching the Net for some how-to guides but their doesn't seem to be much out there. So I wanted to create this thread and have people post their own little tips/mods that they have set-up with Tasker so that newbies such as my-self can have a place to go if they need help getting Tasker to perform certain functions.
I just download the app last night and haven't had much time to mess with it yet, but once I get the hang of it I will start posting what I'm doing.
Anybody that uses Tasker please feel free to add on to the thread and lets make this the ultimate "How-to" guide for people trying to unlock the full potential of this amazing app.

How long did it take you to develop this app?
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

firemedic1343 said:
How long did it take you to develop this app?
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@OP, one that I made that I find useful scans the SD card for new media whenever it's mounted.
PROFILE:
Event - Card Mounted (Priority: Normal, Card Title: <blank>, Frequency: 1)
Task - Media -> Scan Card
Task - Alert -> Flash (Text: Scanning for new media..., Long: <unchecked>, If: <unchecked>)
This one turns off the lockscreen when using Music or Pandora (you have to make two separate profiles!)
PROFILE:
Application - Music/Pandora
Task - Display -> Keyguard (Set: Off, If: <unchecked>)
I also spent a lot of time developing a task that would turn airplane mode on for 45 minutes, turn it off for 15 minutes, then turn it back on and repeat until stopped. Everything works except Tasker stops all timers when the phone sleeps, so unless I want to put a partial wake-lock on it (which would defeat the whole battery-saving purpose of the profile in the first place), it doesn't work

Gregalous said:
@OP, one that I made that I find useful scans the SD card for new media whenever it's mounted.
PROFILE:
Event - Card Mounted (Priority: Normal, Card Title: <blank>, Frequency: 1)
Task - Media -> Scan Card
Task - Alert -> Flash (Text: Scanning for new media..., Long: <unchecked>, If: <unchecked>)
This one turns off the lockscreen when using Music or Pandora (you have to make two separate profiles!)
PROFILE:
Application - Music/Pandora
Task - Display -> Keyguard (Set: Off, If: <unchecked>)
I also spent a lot of time developing a task that would turn airplane mode on for 45 minutes, turn it off for 15 minutes, then turn it back on and repeat until stopped. Everything works except Tasker stops all timers when the phone sleeps, so unless I want to put a partial wake-lock on it (which would defeat the whole battery-saving purpose of the profile in the first place), it doesn't work
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Both setups seem very useful, ima check them out. Thanks for the input!
About the one you can't get to work. I'm pretty sure I actually saw something similar to it the other day on another website, not 100% sure though. I think it was a profile that allowed you to basically turn off all of you're data and have it come back on for a short period of time to gather texts and stuff...
Ima going to look for it for you to see if i can find it...
In the mean time I found a few useful profiles here http://lifehacker.com/5606284/three-handy-tasker-profiles-from-our-readers
I would post them but theres actually quite a bit if you look in the comments and the post itself.
Once I think of something "original" i'll post it

You also might want to check the official Tasker pages. There is also a Wiki with step-throughs (link on left side of main page).
http://tasker.dinglisch.net/

This is the only app I have been able to find that will let you remotely turn the GPS on. IMO that alone was worth the money, now I don't have to waste time writing an app for it.
I've been working on something to activate the GPS and send the phone's location, available wifi networks, etc, over a text message. Haven't figure out how to make it update the GPS location or turn on 3G yet though. Anyone know anything about android bridge scripts and if they would be able to do this?

Vegasden said:
You also might want to check the official Tasker pages. There is also a Wiki with step-throughs (link on left side of main page).
http://tasker.dinglisch.net/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow. thanks a lot for the link. i have been looking for some sort of wiki or help for tasker for a while now but apparently I wasn't looking in rite places.
Thanks again.
Also, Mobile Defense, if installed in system apps allows you to remotely turn on gps and track your phone, however, they have temporarily closed down the beta. I've always had it on my android phones and it's pretty amazing. Much better than lookout for tracking your device.

tasker is a great app. i use it on a dialy basis. save so much battery life

SiL3nTKiLL said:
tasker is a great app. i use it on a dialy basis. save so much battery life
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What works for you? Some example scripts please please. thanks.

Here is more info on tasker setup.
I tried some of these and they worked great.
http://lifehacker.com/5601133/push-...d-to-awesome-heights-with-these-tasker-setups
http://lifehacker.com/5599116/how-to-turn-your-android-phone-into-a-fully+automated-superphone

maps to start gps and gps logger
hi everyone,
i'd like to start maps, and have:
- Gps turned on
and
-an app called GpsLogger to start.
The problem i get is that, once Gps is turned on and GpsLogger is opened, if i get back to Maps by long-pressing the home button the whole automation starts again, leading me to GpsLogger again..
Could anyone help please?
Thanks!

I downloaded Tasker the other day to accomplish one thing only. I wanted my wife to be able to get through to me whenever she called me. I work shift work so my phone is set to Silent at odd times when I am resting, so the various dings and rings don't interrupt my sleep. Fearful of her not being able to get a hold of me in an emergency, I set this up:
Profile: Priority Call (named by me)
Context: Incoming Call - Very simply, I used the magnifying glass to select her contact from my phone, and it input her name in the box.
Task: Silent Mode - Mode set to OFF
This profile checks all incoming calls and then turns Silent Mode OFF and allows the call to ring through. When the call is done, the phone returns to Silent Mode. NOTE: I also had to set up a separate task to turn the phone to silent in the first place. For some reason, Tasker would not recognize the phone as being in "Silent Mode" if I used the volume down button to put it in silent mode. So I just added a shortcut to the Tasker task of putting the phone to silent on my homescreen. Now when I go to bed, I hit the shortcut and I am able to be undisturbed until I wake again, unless my wife calls. I could see this being very useful for people with teenagers that are out or babysitters with children.
This task can also be useful if you sleep at defined hours, because you can set the phone to automatically turn to silent at X hour, and turn silent mode off at X hour. Just some ideas.
I am now searching for ways to completely automate the phone by making it turn on my GPS and Bluetooth when I am away from home, as well as turn these off and turn my wifi on when I am at home. Several attempts with no knowledge of this app have been unsuccessful so far. More to follow.
Robert

OnDutyTactical said:
I downloaded Tasker the other day to accomplish one thing only. I wanted my wife to be able to get through to me whenever she called me. I work shift work so my phone is set to Silent at odd times when I am resting, so the various dings and rings don't interrupt my sleep. Fearful of her not being able to get a hold of me in an emergency, I set this up:
Profile: Priority Call (named by me)
Context: Incoming Call - Very simply, I used the magnifying glass to select her contact from my phone, and it input her name in the box.
Task: Silent Mode - Mode set to OFF
This profile checks all incoming calls and then turns Silent Mode OFF and allows the call to ring through. When the call is done, the phone returns to Silent Mode. NOTE: I also had to set up a separate task to turn the phone to silent in the first place. For some reason, Tasker would not recognize the phone as being in "Silent Mode" if I used the volume down button to put it in silent mode. So I just added a shortcut to the Tasker task of putting the phone to silent on my homescreen. Now when I go to bed, I hit the shortcut and I am able to be undisturbed until I wake again, unless my wife calls. I could see this being very useful for people with teenagers that are out or babysitters with children.
This task can also be useful if you sleep at defined hours, because you can set the phone to automatically turn to silent at X hour, and turn silent mode off at X hour. Just some ideas.
I am now searching for ways to completely automate the phone by making it turn on my GPS and Bluetooth when I am away from home, as well as turn these off and turn my wifi on when I am at home. Several attempts with no knowledge of this app have been unsuccessful so far. More to follow.
Robert
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here you go...
These two pages on the Tasker Wiki will show you how to do a lot of what you want, and even find stuff you didn't know you needed.
http://tasker.wikidot.com/profile-index
http://tasker.wikidot.com/step-throughs

Tasker profile help please

Hi, running stock rooted + franco + xposed + gravity box.
So i'm getting back into tasker and these are the profiles i want to create:
-Switch to 3g when internet apps are launched, then back to 2g for signal strength
-Unlock keyguard at home wifi
-turn on data every 30min for sync
-airplane mode at night
-nfc tag on nexus7 for hotspot
-send GPS info once SMS received
-ring phone when SMS received
I've done a lot of searching but can't seem to get airplane mode to toggle with secure settings (something to do with 4.4).
Could someone point me in the right direction? Cheers

Nbsss said:
Hi, running stock rooted + franco + xposed + gravity box.
So i'm getting back into tasker and these are the profiles i want to create:
-Switch to 3g when internet apps are launched, then back to 2g for signal strength
-Unlock keyguard at home wifi
-turn on data every 30min for sync
-airplane mode at night
-nfc tag on nexus7 for hotspot
-send GPS info once SMS received
-ring phone when SMS received
I've done a lot of searching but can't seem to get airplane mode to toggle with secure settings (something to do with 4.4).
Could someone point me in the right direction? Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You will need Secure Settings from play store for keyguard and airplane mode. It's a Tasker plugin.
Don't do the data toggling. Not a good plan. You can toggle sync with Tasker (auto sync). But cycling data is no good. If you have battery problem, this won't fix it. I have Tasker turn off sync if I drop to EDGE. That's because the syncing times out and keeps the device awake forever. If TMo had usable 2g, it would be a different story.
For signal try Intelli3g. Not sure if that is what you want.
Send GPS coordinates via SMS:
Code:
Profile: Location (3)
Event: Received Text [ Type:Any Sender:C:ANY Content:Where are you? ]
Enter: Location (12)
Task: Location (12)
Run Both Together, Stay Awake
A1: Get Location [ Source:GPS Timeout (Seconds):30 Continue Task Immediately:eek:n Keep Tracking:eek:ff Continue Task After Error:eek:n ]
A2: Variable Set [ Name:%locft To:round(%LOCACC * 3.28084) Do Maths:eek:n Append:eek:ff ]
A3: Variable Set [ Name:%locft To:ft Do Maths:eek:ff Append:eek:n ]
A4: Send SMS [ Number:%SMSRF Message:Battery: %BATT%. Location (%locft): http://maps.google.com/maps?q=%LOC Store In Messaging App:eek:ff Continue Task After Error:eek:n ]
Default location unit is meters, I converted to feet. Not necessary, it was just a reason to play with Tasker some more.
Send different notification when a certain person texts (at a certain day and time)
Code:
Profile: Urgent SMS (25)
Event: Received Text [ Type:Any Sender:person1/person2/person3/person4/person5 Content:* ]
Day: Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu or Fri
Time: From 06:50 Till 16:10
State: Not Headset Plugged [ Type:Any ]
Enter: Urgent SMS (27)
Task: Urgent SMS (27)
A1: Silent Mode [ Mode:eek:ff ]
A2: Notification Volume [ Level:7 Display:eek:ff Sound:eek:ff ]
A3: Wait [ MS:0 Seconds:2 Minutes:0 Hours:0 Days:0 ]
A4: Play Ringtone [ Type:Notification Sound:24 Notification Stream:5 ]
That should get you started. Have fun with Tasker, it's my favorite app If you have any more questions, feel free to ask, but include as much information as possible.

I think you'll have better luck here.
EDIT: Never mind. I see Aerowinder is a Tasker guru.
With respect to the airplane mode problem, Secure Settings Helper is now incompatible with 4.4, and has been replaced by System+ Module. You can update it in settings.

Aerowinder said:
That should get you started. Have fun with Tasker, it's my favorite app If you have any more questions, feel free to ask, but include as much information as possible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks Aero!
I've happened to find this xposed module: http://repo.xposed.info/module/lv.id.dm.airplanemhx and its working perfectly, so that's that done
Thanks for the GPS task, i had it set up a year and a half ago, but lost my backup whilst switching phones and flashing etc and couldn't remember how i did it
I read Gravity Box recently added a few tasker shortcuts, seems really powerful, i'll see what i can use it for..maybe when i get my Pressy button i'll use tasker + GB to toggle immersive mode...the possibilities!
Will share my profiles here when i get them done, in-case someone finds some use, thanks mate :good:
Edit:
is the battery usage whilst data on and sync off comparable to data off (on 2g)?
Edit2:
Got the following working:
keyguard disabled when wifi connected
airplane overnight
toggle display rotation lock by shaking device
Using 'smart radio' feature of GBox, and turn on sync every half hour when not on wifi.
SMS ring when misplaced phone
SMS Gps when lost /stolen
Now just need to find my nfc tags lol

Nbsss said:
Thanks Aero!
I've happened to find this xposed module: http://repo.xposed.info/module/lv.id.dm.airplanemhx and its working perfectly, so that's that done
Thanks for the GPS task, i had it set up a year and a half ago, but lost my backup whilst switching phones and flashing etc and couldn't remember how i did it
I read Gravity Box recently added a few tasker shortcuts, seems really powerful, i'll see what i can use it for..maybe when i get my Pressy button i'll use tasker + GB to toggle immersive mode...the possibilities!
Will share my profiles here when i get them done, in-case someone finds some use, thanks mate :good:
Edit:
is the battery usage whilst data on and sync off comparable to data off (on 2g)?
Edit2:
Got the following working:
keyguard disabled when wifi connected
airplane overnight
toggle display rotation lock by shaking device
Using 'smart radio' feature of GBox, and turn on sync every half hour when not on wifi.
SMS ring when misplaced phone
SMS Gps when lost /stolen
Now just need to find my nfc tags lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The SMS GPS coordinates to my contacts (C:ANY) is mostly for work and family. It really has no purpose for lost/stolen applications. For that application, something like Cerberus seems the better option because it can silently track the phone. Also lock, remote wipe, etc. Yes, you could do it with Tasker. But you would have to test it!
You mentioned battery usage with syncing. I will say that the only reason I disable sync when I'm on 2G is because TMo's 2G is unusable. I can sometimes get 5-10kb/s, but most of the time (>90%), there is no data transfer. Just timeouts as far as the eye can see. This causes issues when Google apps trying to sync, because the programmers didn't have the foresight to add timeouts to their sync attempts. Brilliant. I'm an amateur programmer, and that seems like a no-brainer to me. If a condition is likely to happen, you account for it.
I am generally against conditional syncing (what you are after). Syncing with online services (gmail, hangouts, etc). is a fundamental feature of our devices. Disabling it, except under very specific criteria, is pointless. Why even have a smartphone? If you have control over your applications, there is no noticeable battery impact. Some of the bad applications, like Facebook, need to be controlled. Sometimes the app settings are enough, other times, you need Greenify.
All of that said, I do disable sync for things that I don't want syncing. Like Google Photos and People details. I don't want them to sync, ever, for any reason. For a time I also had Keep sync disabled because it was constantly keeping my device awake. That seems to be fixed now, but I still keep an eye on it because I don't trust Google to get it right.

Aerowinder said:
The SMS GPS coordinates to my contacts (C:ANY) is mostly for work and family. It really has no purpose for lost/stolen applications. For that application, something like Cerberus seems the better option because it can silently track the phone. Also lock, remote wipe, etc. Yes, you could do it with Tasker. But you would have to test it!
You mentioned battery usage with syncing. I will say that the only reason I disable sync when I'm on 2G is because TMo's 2G is unusable. I can sometimes get 5-10kb/s, but most of the time (>90%), there is no data transfer. Just timeouts as far as the eye can see. This causes issues when Google apps trying to sync, because the programmers didn't have the foresight to add timeouts to their sync attempts. Brilliant. I'm an amateur programmer, and that seems like a no-brainer to me. If a condition is likely to happen, you account for it.
I am generally against conditional syncing (what you are after). Syncing with online services (gmail, hangouts, etc). is a fundamental feature of our devices. Disabling it, except under very specific criteria, is pointless. Why even have a smartphone? If you have control over your applications, there is no noticeable battery impact. Some of the bad applications, like Facebook, need to be controlled. Sometimes the app settings are enough, other times, you need Greenify.
All of that said, I do disable sync for things that I don't want syncing. Like Google Photos and People details. I don't want them to sync, ever, for any reason. For a time I also had Keep sync disabled because it was constantly keeping my device awake. That seems to be fixed now, but I still keep an eye on it because I don't trust Google to get it right.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good advice.
I already have Cerberus installed in system partition, but I prefer tasker for locating.
A year ago I lost my phone and just my luck Gps and data were off unfortunately, making Cerberus quite useless as it can't switch those on.
My tasker profile was set to turn on both and add an additional lockscreen pin, so worked out in the end.
I think it pays to not put all your eggs in one basket

Nbsss said:
Good advice.
I already have Cerberus installed in system partition, but I prefer tasker for locating.
A year ago I lost my phone and just my luck Gps and data were off unfortunately, making Cerberus quite useless as it can't switch those on.
My tasker profile was set to turn on both and add an additional lockscreen pin, so worked out in the end.
I think it pays to not put all your eggs in one basket
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need Secure Settings to enable GPS in KitKat. The Tasker toggle doesn't work. Just a tip, not sure if you were aware.

Aerowinder said:
You need Secure Settings to enable GPS in KitKat. The Tasker toggle doesn't work. Just a tip, not sure if you were aware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, Airplane mode also, but you need system+ module. Also removed the xposed module I mentioned earlier, as secure settings is working now.
Gonna test my profiles for a bit longer then post them here soon. Thanks mate

[Q] Z3 Dual D6633 + Lollipop: from heaven to Hell

Sony xperia Z3 Dual D6633 Android 5.0.2 Build 23.1.1.E.0.1
Hi there,
Upgraded my Z3 to lollipop last week and, despite the fact that the upgrade itself was flawless, I think I went from a device that used to work like a charm to one full of annoyances.
On day #1, noticed the batt drain skyrocket. 3h after disconnecting it, it was at 68%, half way through the morning. WTF? was my first thought. On a typical day on kitkat, I was able to end the day at 40% at least.
The second thing I´ve noticed was the phone app. It starts giving me errors, saying that the "network could not be reached" when I try to dial a number. If I insist for 4, 5 more times, it crashes. Dialing is only possible again if I reset the phone.
The third thing is the lock screen. It seems that lollipop has a drop down menu that makes it possible to enable/disable lots of things, like communications and even setting the phone in airplane mode. Imho that´s a huge liability / security risk and it appears that there is no way around that.
Still about the lock screen, it seems to have a bug: if you have any activesync account setup, not notifications will show up, no matter how you configure it (to show all or hide sensitive content).
So, I had only one thing to do, after reading forums etc... factory reseting it.
Surprise! All problems are still there.
Does any1 have any tips on those?
Thanks in advance.

There will be a widget on one of the screens which keeps refreshing itself and I found that to be the battery killer on my 6603.

Did you use any specific app to pinpoint the culprit?

1. It is possible that the battery levels are calibrating and will be imprecise for a while after the update, using the device normally for a couple of days will fix it, or at least this is what I observed in many phones I owned.
2. This is very weird and I can't help you with. If not even factory reset did help you may have some corrupted data on one of your contacts maybe? Try to make a thread about this issue on the Sony forum.
3. I noticed that as well, but even on pervious versions you could turn off the phone so I don't think it changes anything. Make sure to disable the multi user options that would allowanyone to add a new user from the lock screen.
4. Another weird thing, I use exchange accounts on my phone and I don't have any problem on mine. See point 2.

Under
settings>sound and notifications>when device is locked
Set to hide sensitive notification content or don't show notification content at all.
This should fix lock screen displaying email notifications from your exchange account.
Also, unlock phone, pull down notifications, pull down again to reveal quick settings, hit the edit button (pencil) and remove icons but clicking and holding and drawing them to the top. Unfortunately this removes them even when phone is unlocked but of your worried about unauthorised toggling of things on off its the best you can do I think.
As for battery drain, check the battery usage in
Settings>power management
Make sure stamina mode is on, toggle it off then on to make sure.
Select battery usage and check to see if any apps are using more than they should. Make sure brightness is set low but enable adaptive brightness under display settings.

ozzy lion said:
Under
settings>sound and notifications>when device is locked
Set to hide sensitive notification content or don't show notification content at all.
This should fix lock screen displaying email notifications from your exchange account.
Also, unlock phone, pull down notifications, pull down again to reveal quick settings, hit the edit button (pencil) and remove icons but clicking and holding and drawing them to the top. Unfortunately this removes them even when phone is unlocked but of your worried about unauthorised toggling of things on off its the best you can do I think.
As for battery drain, check the battery usage in
Settings>power management
Make sure stamina mode is on, toggle it off then on to make sure.
Select battery usage and check to see if any apps are using more than they should. Make sure brightness is set low but enable adaptive brightness under display settings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not a smartphone anymore, with all functions shut down and brightness low.
This phone has the best screen, use it at least 50% brightness.

I have no issues with the brightness down. It bumps up nicely in brighter conditions and will even max out in daylight. If I ever need it brighter then it's easy to boost temporarily. It's a small price to pay for nearly 24 hours of battery with 5 hours screen on time.
I never mentioned shutting down functions. The only thing I mentioned removing was the toggles that concerned the op on the quick settings. Removing mobile data and aeroplane mode from quick settings hardly cripples the device, I never use these anyway.
I don't think it very useful that there's not more customisation available here such as a complete set of separate lockscreen settings. But if all you can do is comprise then what else can you suggest?
I don't think unlocking the bootloader and installing a custom ROM is something the op wants to do.

ozzy lion said:
I have no issues with the brightness down. It bumps up nicely in brighter conditions and will even max out in daylight. If I ever need it brighter then it's easy to boost temporarily. It's a small price to pay for nearly 24 hours of battery with 5 hours screen on time.
I never mentioned shutting down functions. The only thing I mentioned removing was the toggles that concerned the op on the quick settings. Removing mobile data and aeroplane mode from quick settings hardly cripples the device, I never use these anyway.
I don't think it very useful that there's not more customisation available here such as a complete set of separate lockscreen settings. But if all you can do is comprise then what else can you suggest?
I don't think unlocking the bootloader and installing a custom ROM is something the op wants to do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You said stamina.
Stamina means already some functions off.

Update:
1. Batt drain
Remains without an explanation. My daily use profile is basically the same as before the update. 3PM and I am at 28%, with stamina on. I can´t recall a day, running kitkat, that I would hit the charger at night with 28% of batt remaining (and I still have 4h to go). It was always on 40% ish. GSAM is reporting that 47% of the batt drain is caused by apps and, from that, 30% is represented by android core apps + android system + kernel. I might be wrong, but I think it is related to reindexing, contact + agenda sync etc and it will probably get lower eventually (I hope!)
2. Phone App giving errors
I think I have isolated the problem. It seems to be caused by TrueCaller.
3. Lock screen
Regarding the drop down menu, It is clear now that what I think is a problem is, in fact, by design and there is no way around it without rooting. But regarding the notifications, I just removed both activesync accounts and I started getting notifications in the lock screen again. So, my guess is that there is a policy of some sort that is being interpreted by the phone as it should hide all notifications from the lock screen.
In fact, there are lots of things that got blocked / disabled because of those policies. Here is a list of things that were disabled and now appear to be working again, after the removal of the activesync accounts:
. notifications are showing again in the lock screen;
. smart lock;
. screen lock options (none, swipe, pattern);
note: I thought that I would be able to enable services in Accessibility, like LastPass or App Advisor by Norton, but it still does not work (I try to enable any of them, but pressing "ok" on the warning dialog does nothing and the only option working is "cancel").
Thinking about resetting it again...

Hi, if problems are persistant you can always downgrad software at KitKat by using FlashTool and wait Lollipop 5.1 (5.1 will probably solve many problems).

StealthNet said:
Update:
1. Batt drain
Remains without an explanation. My daily use profile is basically the same as before the update. 3PM and I am at 28%, with stamina on. I can´t recall a day, running kitkat, that I would hit the charger at night with 28% of batt remaining (and I still have 4h to go). It was always on 40% ish. GSAM is reporting that 47% of the batt drain is caused by apps and, from that, 30% is represented by android core apps + android system + kernel. I might be wrong, but I think it is related to reindexing, contact + agenda sync etc and it will probably get lower eventually (I hope!)
2. Phone App giving errors
I think I have isolated the problem. It seems to be caused by TrueCaller.
3. Lock screen
Regarding the drop down menu, It is clear now that what I think is a problem is, in fact, by design and there is no way around it without rooting. But regarding the notifications, I just removed both activesync accounts and I started getting notifications in the lock screen again. So, my guess is that there is a policy of some sort that is being interpreted by the phone as it should hide all notifications from the lock screen.
In fact, there are lots of things that got blocked / disabled because of those policies. Here is a list of things that were disabled and now appear to be working again, after the removal of the activesync accounts:
. notifications are showing again in the lock screen;
. smart lock;
. screen lock options (none, swipe, pattern);
note: I thought that I would be able to enable services in Accessibility, like LastPass or App Advisor by Norton, but it still does not work (I try to enable any of them, but pressing "ok" on the warning dialog does nothing and the only option working is "cancel").
Thinking about resetting it again...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A new firmware version has dropped for the Z3 which I think fixes your issues with notifications.
I received it OTA yesterday, I'm running the Balkans customisation.

Thank you for the tip! I hope it does! Will keep it posted here just for the reference. I am starting to feel other "symptoms" as well, like bluetooth instability (you pair a device and it stops working, have to pair again).
.

Just hit another weird thing.
I am not being able to create a new vpn connection. I am trying to use the PureVPN and IPVanish client software, but when I try to setup the conection, I receive a disclaimer, saying that my traffic might be monitored, with a "CANCEL" and "OK" options. The OK doesn´t work, only "CANCEL".
My device is encrypted and I have also noticed that I am not able to decrypt it.
Also, If I go to Accessibility and try to enable a service, the same thing happens: a disclaimer appears, saying that the service might observe my actions, with a "CANCEL" and "OK" options. The OK doesn´t work, only "CANCEL".
Any ideas?

Ok, just a quick fup: the ability to create VPNs from apps is disabled if you encrypt the phone. It seems that if you create if before encrypting, it won´t be disabled; but you wont be able to create a new vpn from an app downloaded, after encryption.
Regarding the Accessibility > Services, after a *lot* of research, I have found that Twilight was the culprit. For the reference:
https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=79637

Question How to prevent apps from auto starting at boot

Hello,
All is in the topic, I've got an app that starts automatically when my phone is powered on.
It is Aircall, an app I use for passing and receiving calls at work.
I would like this app not to start automatically each time I power on the phone.
Is there a setting for disabling some apps to autostart ? Or an app you can advise ?
Thanks for your help.

Check the app's preferences to see if there are options.
In the Android settings, go to Apps > See All > (your app. eg Air Call) > App battery usage and set it to 'restricted.' This will greatly restrict an app's ability to do many things in the background.
Other than that, you'd have to root your device to get any more control over the app using something like Servicely (Google Play Store), My Android Tools (apkmirror.com), Permission Manager X (fdroid), AppOppsX (fdroid), or Blocker (fdroid) to control the app's broadcast receivers. Apps can choose to respond to various phone states such as when a boot is completed, when network connectivity changes, power is connected/disconnected, etc. It can take some aggressive action to fully prevent an app from always running.
If you're just annoyed by a notification icon in your notification area you can always disable that app's notification so it doesn't appear.
I have tried all of these things to control apps but if apps use a lot of various broadcast receivers they will find ways to keep running. You may find stopping it to have unintended consequences. It being a work app, I'd consider simply disabling the app's notificaiton if it has a persistent notifcation or something. The next step would be to restrict the app as in 2. The most aggressive thing is to root and tinker with its broadcast receivers.

Hello jawz101,
Thank you very much for this very complete answer.
All your precise instructions are very interesting.
I'll have a look at all these solutions.
Thanks again.

I am not sure about straight forward solution. But I would like to use Greenify app. Add apps to it once and run it once everytime you restart your phone.