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How do I stop the VZW S3 from dimming every time I click through to a browser window?

I'm not sure if it's just my phone or if everyone's does this. Say, I get an email and I click through the email link to a website, regardless if I choose native browser or Firefox, the screen dims when showing the browser. Anyone have any clue how to stop this? It's very maddening when the browser dims and immediately goes back to full brightness when I go back one stop to the mail application.
i have it set on full brightness, this ONLY happens when I open the browser.

Do you have power saving on? If so there is a setting there called background color. If this is checked that's your problem. Settings > power saving > background color (uncheck it)
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

sage3 said:
Do you have power saving on? If so there is a setting there called background color. If this is checked that's your problem. Settings > power saving > background color (uncheck it)
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Thank you for a quick reply. I went to the settings > power saving > background color, I don't have power savings turned on, but the options were all checked any way. I turned it on, and unchecked all the options and the power savings section turned off again because I imagine I disabled all the options.
Tested it by clicking a link to a website and choosing default browser, and it still dimmed the screen halfway it seemed. The screen does NOT dim if I select to use Firefox however.
Unfortunately, that didn't work. Any other suggestions would be most appreciated.

In the browser go to menu -> brightness and colors -> uncheck automatic brightness. The browser has its own power saving settings so you have to choose this option from within the browser. This aggravated the heck out of me until I found it too.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app

ADC_112358132134 said:
In the browser go to menu -> brightness and colors -> uncheck automatic brightness. The browser has its own power saving settings so you have to choose this option from within the browser. This aggravated the heck out of me until I found it too.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
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That was it. How come the browser has it's own power and brightness settings? Very weird. Almost a hidden setting if you ask me.
Thank you again.

Didn't realize the default browser has that either but I use chrome!
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Guess that explains why I wasn't seeing this behavior, since I use Opera - it autowraps text when zooming, unlike the stock one on the GS3 (loss of highly useful function, anyone?).
- ooofest

To auto wrap in stock browser just go to settings -> advanced -> and check auto-fit pages... not hard

ooofest said:
Guess that explains why I wasn't seeing this behavior, since I use Opera - it autowraps text when zooming, unlike the stock one on the GS3 (loss of highly useful function, anyone?).
- ooofest
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The stock browser word wraps just fine for me.

flashlight?

Hmm I've heard the flashlight will now let you set intensity but I can find a setting to turn on the flashlight without using a third party widget.

Very easy. Open your Quick Settings at the top...hit the word "Flashlight"...not the icon but the word. It will bring up the options to change it.

How is the maximum brightness level vs the old toggle?

troby86 said:
Very easy. Open your Quick Settings at the top...hit the word "Flashlight"...not the icon but the word. It will bring up the options to change it.
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Thanks just got back to this. It seems I had the button layout set at 4x3 and it wasn't showing it to me and when I clicked edit I still wasn't seeing it as an option to add. When I changed the layout to 5x3 I got it back.

Can anyone comment on the flashlight brightness levels achieved by the update? I ask because I'm rooted on MM, which allows me to use a root flashlight app (see below) that is insanely bright. I use this on a daily basis and (unless the new built-in toggle can match it) losing this will keep me from upgrading to Nougat. It's that useful to me. Losing my preferred version of Google Maps is another big issue, but the phone torch allows me to not have to carry a separate flashlight at work and makes my life simpler.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.frapeti.fastestflashlight&hl=en

The brightness is stock in middle setting. When set max it's 2 times brighter.
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afwolfpacked said:
The brightness is stock in middle setting. When set max it's 2 times brighter.
Sent from my SM-G930T using XDA-Developers Legacy app
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Thanks! That's encouraging.

S8+ Screen

I mistakenly set the screen modes somewhere during setup. I want them on dark but have no idea where they are in settings. Could someone direct me.
Thanks
Eric

I think your looking for "Performance mode" that would be in the pull down menus from the top of the screen. Pull it down select performance mode and there is txt in blue you can click from the pop-up window called "customize" can set whateve resolution and brightness you want. Can always toggle off to save battery and so on.
Sent from my SM-G955U using XDA-Developers Legacy app

Feature Requests

Hopefully Essential takes some user feedback as far as features we would like to see going forward. If you post please try to keep it to reasonable features that mostly stock devices have or non os software tweaks.
The two big ones for me are
1. Night mode
2. Fingerprint shortcuts, primarily for notifications

tw1tch175 said:
1. Night mode
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+1

Damn just checked and realized no night mode since got the phone just today.
+1 on night mode, that thing is must have at system level. Don't want to go back to using apps like twilight etc

My needs are simple. Would like the option to rearrange navigation buttons, battery percentage, and finger print gestures.
Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk

Has anyone tried enabling night mode by enabling the UI tuner?. night mode is built into nougat but on some phones still has to be turned on. I don't have the phone yet to do it. Pull down the notification shade twice and then long press the settings cog icon. A wrench will show up next to the icon indicating that UI tuner has been enabled. Next install "night mode enabler" from the play store.

Unlocked bootloader, TWRP and root. Hopefully. ? - Not sure any devs are on board with this device.
I haven't received the phone yet, but does it support gestures while the screen is off? Such as double tap to wake, swipe up to unlock, etc.

Night mode is nice. I also like to separate ring volume from notification volume. I know that's not native to Android, but a simple mod makes all the difference for me.
Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk

Night mode for sure. Second would be system level to force apps to use the full screen, like what Samsung has for the s8+

hx3 said:
Unlocked bootloader, TWRP and root. Hopefully. ? - Not sure any devs are on board with this device.
I haven't received the phone yet, but does it support gestures while the screen is off? Such as double tap to wake, swipe up to unlock, etc.
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Yep.
I'm waiting for TWRP.
For root, I plan to use Magisk to root and hide BL status. Since it's mostly ASOP, it should work like the Nexus 6P I have.

First off +1 to both, I really don't want to use the app that allows finger gestures, was a little sad to see it not available in stock Android since I got used to using it on the Pixel XL.
barleysoda said:
Has anyone tried enabling night mode by enabling the UI tuner?. night mode is built into nougat but on some phones still has to be turned on. I don't have the phone yet to do it. Pull down the notification shade twice and then long press the settings cog icon. A wrench will show up next to the icon indicating that UI tuner has been enabled. Next install "night mode enabler" from the play store.
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Just tried it and it isn't there sadly. Just like the fingerprint gestures I don't want to have to add it through an app.
On the flip side I got exactly what I deserved/wanted. Nothing but pure Android (minus the Essential Cam app and the Essential option in the settings) so that was good but in a way I want to kick myself because I forgot that these two features were add ons to the skin for the Pixel devices. Whatever the case maybe, I'll get over it lol.

ability to change navigation buttons

Ghost_1 said:
First off +1 to both, I really don't want to use the app that allows finger gestures, was a little sad to see it not available in stock Android since I got used to using it on the Pixel XL.
Just tried it and it isn't there sadly. Just like the fingerprint gestures I don't want to have to add it through an app.
On the flip side I got exactly what I deserved/wanted. Nothing but pure Android (minus the Essential Cam app and the Essential option in the settings) so that was good but in a way I want to kick myself because I forgot that these two features were add ons to the skin for the Pixel devices. Whatever the case maybe, I'll get over it lol.
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Hopefully those features, switching navigation buttons and more will come to the table once we get the bootloader unlocked and the possibility of custom ROM's/mods. Keeping my fingers crossed.

bricky23 said:
My needs are simple. Would like the option to rearrange navigation buttons, battery percentage, and finger print gestures.
Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk
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tsquare2112 said:
ability to change navigation buttons
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https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=xyz.paphonb.systemuituner&hl=en
Use this to change nav bar.
For battery percentage just enable the UI tuner

1. Changing audio track with volume buttons when screen is off.
2. Resizing nav bar height
3. Double tap to wake

I second the fingerprint gestures and double tap to wake wholeheartedly.
Would also love to see these:
1. Ability to use Light Flow or another LED manager to customize notification LEDs. This is my favorite thing about Android phones and Essential's stock LED patterns aren't cutting it for me. Somehow they managed to make it impossible for the LED to flash more than once every 5 seconds.
2. Ability to use 360 camera attachment as a fisheye lens. Currently the camera stitches two 210 images together to form a 360 photo. I want to be able to choose just one lens to capture an image.

bricky23 said:
My needs are simple. Would like the option to rearrange navigation buttons, battery percentage, and finger print gestures.
Sent from my PH-1 using Tapatalk
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The battery percentage option is in the system ui tuner I believe. Pull down the notification shade and long press on the settings icon then go into settings and look for it.

ability to change navbar height. it's too big uses unnecessary screen estate

There are several Improvements I would like to see in the phones software. More so just general optimization. However I think that most of these answers of what features are coming will be answered in Thursday's Q&A session with Andy Rubin on Reddit. So I guess we should wait until then to see where Essential and the ph1 is headed.

Display in grayscale

Hey,
just noticed that my display is in grayscale. After rebooting the Bootanimation switches to grayscale too during boot up. Tried to press revert colours from quick tiles and it says that the Display calibration wont work after booting up the phone immediately. After 30 min. up this message is still the same.
Any suggestions on how to fix this?
GM1913 with latest updates and Magisk + TWRP

Are you on a custom kernel? Possibly have greyscale enabled in kernel manager app if so.

No i got no custom Kernel. It just went grey. 10 minutes before all worked fine.
Display Calibration, reading mode and nightmode is greyed out in settings and i cant use them.

toobad12 said:
No i got no custom Kernel. It just went grey. 10 minutes before all worked fine.
Display Calibration, reading mode and nightmode is greyed out in settings and i cant use them.
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Have you checked accessibility in settings to see if you have color correction or color inversion checked?
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andyslapz said:
Have you checked accessibility in settings to see if you have color correction or color inversion checked?
Sent from my OnePlus7Pro using XDA Labs
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Checked it. The settings are unavailable too. Couldnt change anything but it says that its set to off

Reading mode?

flabbjaxaren said:
Reading mode?
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"Display Calibration, reading mode and nightmode is greyed out in settings and i cant use them."

Check developer options --> simulate color space if you set it accidently to monochrom
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tbv2005 said:
Check developer options --> simulate color space if you set it accidently to monochrom
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Couldn't check it. Made an factory reset and everything works now.

This is Wind Down, a feature in the Digital Wellbeing section of Settings. It grays the screen at night, but you can turn it off or adjust the times in Settings.