[Q] S3 issues for simpleton! adblock?, stay rooted? - General Questions and Answers

hi there.
having only had a skim through a few of the samsung s3 developer pages i realise in severely out of my depth here, so please take it easy with me
i have just bought a samsung galaxy s3 and it has been rooted. neatrom v8.2, android 4.3.
i went for the rooted option because i was led to believe that it would then be possible to use something like adblock or ublock [popup blocker] as i use on my laptop. i watch football on a streaming site so adblock [of some kind] is kind of essential.
it came with an adblock app installed but it didnt do the job, and i have since tried a couple of others and neither seemed satisfactory.
so what i need to know is;
1, is it possible to get an adblock type of app [google play store] that will do the job required.
if its not going to be possible to use an ablock popup blocker then will i really need or be able to utilize the functions of the rooted phone. should i just go back to a standard install.
so, my next question is;
2, if i wanted to go back to the original OS is this just a straightforward factory reset, as in accounts>backup and reset>factory data reset>
any help is greatly appreciated.

baitman2006 said:
hi there.
having only had a skim through a few of the samsung s3 developer pages i realise in severely out of my depth here, so please take it easy with me
i have just bought a samsung galaxy s3 and it has been rooted. neatrom v8.2, android 4.3.
i went for the rooted option because i was led to believe that it would then be possible to use something like adblock or ublock [popup blocker] as i use on my laptop. i watch football on a streaming site so adblock [of some kind] is kind of essential.
it came with an adblock app installed but it didnt do the job, and i have since tried a couple of others and neither seemed satisfactory.
so what i need to know is;
1, is it possible to get an adblock type of app [google play store] that will do the job required.
if its not going to be possible to use an ablock popup blocker then will i really need or be able to utilize the functions of the rooted phone. should i just go back to a standard install.
so, my next question is;
2, if i wanted to go back to the original OS is this just a straightforward factory reset, as in accounts>backup and reset>factory data reset>
any help is greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google play has stopped support for all adblockers as most the the available (free) apps are advertising based Install FDROID (market) on your phone and then install "AdAway" using FDROID.
You should avoid a gactory reset when you're running a custom rom and not familiar with flashing your phone.
For get it back to stock you can download the original Samsung firmware from SamMobile
If you like to use stock Samsung OS, you can also root it easily.

LS.xD said:
Google play has stopped support for all adblockers as most the the available (free) apps are advertising based Install FDROID on your phone and then install "AdAway" using FDROID.
You should avoid a factory reset when you're running a custom rom and not familiar with flashing your phone.
For get it back to stock you can download the original Samsung firmware from SamMobile
If you like to use stock Samsung OS, you can also root it easily.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
many thanks... :good:
i have just installed fdroid, then from there installed adaway, opened and updated it, so running. i will check it out on a streaming site and see if it does what it says on the tin.
if it works fine then maybe the root will stay.
if not, then what is the issue with going for the factory reset. will it melt the phone?
im a little confused with the last bit, please type sloowwwweeerrr
i can get the samsung firmware [is that the operating system] from sam mobile [as in your link].
are you then saying you can then root the phone to use the samsung firmware, but it will still use fdroid and adaway.
this would have to be super basic for me to even attempt it...

baitman2006 said:
many thanks... :good:
i have just installed fdroid, then from there installed adaway, opened and updated it, so running. i will check it out on a streaming site and see if it does what it says on the tin.
if it works fine then maybe the root will stay.
if not, then what is the issue with going for the factory reset. will it melt the phone?
im a little confused with the last bit, please type sloowwwweeerrr
i can get the samsung firmware [is that the operating system] from sam mobile [as in your link].
are you then saying you can then root the phone to use the samsung firmware, but it will still use fdroid and adaway.
this would have to be super basic for me to even attempt it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can install the stock Samsung firmware, root the device and install any apps you like. Adblocker for android are doing best with in app advertising. Most websites are spam free, too. If you need a really ad free browser you can try Firefox as it supports plugins and you can install the good old "AdBlockPlus" just like its used in your computer browser.
BTW
If you factory reset a custom rom, you wil probably just have the rom itself, not even google services or play store. As for a custom setup you "pick" all the parts you need/want and install it together using a custom recovery.

LS.xD said:
You can install the stock Samsung firmware, root the device and install any apps you like. Adblocker for android are doing best with in app advertising. Most websites are spam free, too. If you need a really ad free browser you can try Firefox as it supports plugins and you can install the good old "AdBlockPlus" just like its used in your computer browser.
BTW
If you factory reset a custom rom, you wil probably just have the rom itself, not even google services or play store. As for a custom setup you "pick" all the parts you need/want and install it together using a custom recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its not really the browser or apps that im so worried about blocking ads from, its when im watching football on a streaming site, the amount of popups for gambling an sexy lady that also try to inflict virus warfare onto you is just unreal.
i will see if the adaway will do its job. if not then maybe i need to consider other options.
thanks again. im sure i will be back for some more parental guidance :highfive:

i now have found out that every time i turn off the phone the message centre number restores to default [not my network] so unless i re-enter the number every time i turn on im unable to send a text message.
o2 are unable to fix it because it seems the root has control of the default functions and settings.

Related

[Q] kobo vox: install google market?

hey all,
first post, apologies if this might be in the wrong place.
i've just picked up the kobo vox, and it's awesome, but i can't figure out how to get the android market running. i've got the apk installed, but the device doesn't give me the option to add a google account. the kobo vox explicitly says it supports the android marketplace, so i'm hoping i'm doing something wrong.
thanks!
I'm in the same state. I've looked about and managed to use some of Cyanogen's packages to install a few core stuff like the framework and the market app itself, but trying to run the Market asks me to register a Google account, which always fails saying there was a connection issue. On a further reboot android.process.acore decided to crash every five seconds and I had to reset the device to factory settings.
This kinda sucks because the device is fairly solid, but the default "market" is a joke. I'm already annoyed by the fairly large amount of preinstalled apps (which can't be uninstalled, as usual), but not having proper Market access would probably be a deal killer.
Please use the Q&A Forum for questions Thanks
Moving to Q&A
What about Rooting?
I have run into the same problem. I think that before you can install the full android market we will have to Root the tablet. Has anyone tried the Gingerbreak.apk? Or is there some other way to Root the tablet?
Syncmaster700nf said:
I have run into the same problem. I think that before you can install the full android market we will have to Root the tablet. Has anyone tried the Gingerbreak.apk? Or is there some other way to Root the tablet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've tried GingerBreak on my Kobo Vox and it seems to have installed, however I'm not certain the SU access is working properly. When I try repairing permissions in ROM Manager, I get the message "An Error occured trying to run priviledged commands!". It also fails when I try to backup my ROM.
This is honestly the first Android device I've ever owned so I'm not certain that I'm doing everything correctly. I did make sure to allow SuperUser permissions to ROM Manager, but I'm still getting errors. Any help from a Veteran Android user would be appreciated.
Can't get past the Android Login
After rooting and installing Busybox I was able to install the Android Market but every time I try to login the app will not connect to the Market to confirm my ID, it seems to time out. Any Ideas on what I can try?
Turns out my inability to repair permissions was simply due to me not having busybox installed. I can attest that GingerBreak does successfully root the tablet.
I'm hoping I can find a way to install Clockwordmod recovery in order to install the google apps from CM7. I tried simply copying the files into place without success.
So, did you manage to install busybox? What version and where?
Tell me if you manage to install the recovery, the vox don't seem to have one by default.
If we manage to install all the google app and the googleframeworkservice, that would make the tablet a lot better and give the possibility to install the android market.
I was able to install busybox 4.3 /system/xbin. I do not know about a recovery mode but I did manage to put the tablet into "Safe Mode" after it do stock in a loop at bootup but I am not sure how I did it. According to user help you can not update the firmware from the SDcard.
Have you tried to install Clockwordmod?
I managed to install the googleserviceframework, but I need to install some other thing that don't want to install.
I also manage to install youtube (the real one) and it work great, I just can't sign in...
In the accounts & sync settings section, I can create a google account, but It can't communicate with the google server to set up the account, it give me the error:
"Can't establish a reliable data connection to the server."
It's probably cause by some app that I didn't manage to install yet, like "onetimeinitializer", "googlepartnersetup" and some other...
I've managed to install Busybox, but have yet been unsuccessful installing the Google Framework.
I was able to install the Clockwordmod, but I have yet to find a phone or tablet on it's list that is compatible with the Kobo Vox. I'm going to do my research to see if any phones or tablets have similar specs to the Vox and see if that will work. So far I've just been picking at random and trying it.
Try the B & N Nook Color - same CPU, Memory & screen size.
That was my first thought. Unfortunately no luck. With a couple of them I can seem to get them start loading as if they're going into an update but it always errors out. I'm now just systematically going through the list and driving every version.
If you attempt to install a version of Clockwork made for another device, you'll brick it.
Don't forget that after dropping in the files to the various system directories, you also have to set permit permissions properly.
Also, would be good to request a Kobo Vox forum here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1301121
If anyone in this thread is actually a developer who knows how to compile and so forth, Koush has a brief guide to porting Clockwork:
http://www.koushikdutta.com/2010/10/porting-clockwork-recovery-to-new.html
Manual Configuration is a must have option. Thanks
wow, pretty lame that the android market seems not to be supported despite it being touted as an official feature
on a side note, has anyone figured out how to change or remove that default dock (without rooting)? it's kind of a pain in the ass.
I've installed a couple dozen different clockwork of recoveries so far and haven't bricked it yet but maybe I should quit while I'm ahead. I'd rather not brick my shiny new Kobo.
Need Kernal Version & Build Number
I have to return my Kobo Vox because the speaker is not working. Under Privacy Settings I have done a Factory Data Reset but I am still showing the Super Icon. Does anyone have a copy of the original firmware or know how to unroot the device?
jakeopolis said:
wow, pretty lame that the android market seems not to be supported despite it being touted as an official feature
on a side note, has anyone figured out how to change or remove that default dock (without rooting)? it's kind of a pain in the ass.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Official marketing material says apps but doesn't say Android Market. Some media outlets misquoted and wrote Market falsely.
Sent from my Nook Color!
Syncmaster700nf said:
I have to return my Kobo Vox because the speaker is not working. Under Privacy Settings I have done a Factory Data Reset but I am still showing the Super Icon. Does anyone have a copy of the original firmware or know how to unroot the device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Factory Reset just clears the data partition but doesn't reset the system partition.
Until someone properly compiles a custom recovery or finds a stock reset file, there's no safe way back.
Sent from my Nook Color!

[Q] How to fix Chinese Samsung Galaxy

Hello,
I'm the owner of a Samsung GT-I8250 phone. This phone has been specially made for the chinese market. I found the phone on the streets I managed to get it on english language so I could use it.
Things like google play are not installed and i'm not able to use it (I can install it but it's not working). I am able to install apps using wondershare mobilego, however many apps are not working or behaving strange. My guess is that there are some chinese blockers or something on this phone.
Is it possible to re-install a fresh android installation on this phone? Guess I need to root the phone for this, I already found to do this with a program called ZhuoDashi, but I'm not sure if there's a android version available for this phone that I can use.
Anyone have some advice about this?
Greets, Sander

Deleting downloaded but NOT installed pending software update files

Okay, possibly a stupid question, but I've tried the couple of tricks that I know and they don't seem to have worked - so I'm not sure if it's not possible, or there's another way to do it, or if I'm simply doing something wrong.
I went ahead and manually checked for updates on my T-Mobile S7 (SM-G930T) tonight, and it found and downloaded the G930TUVU2APC8 update. Since I hadn't heard anything about it yet I went ahead and held off on installing it at the time, wanting to check on the details and read up on it here, and I'm glad I did. After doing my research I've decided not to install it for the time being, and to stay where I'm at, currently on G930TUVS2APB8. So, I'd like to try and delete the downloaded update files entirely, if that's possible -- so I'm not continually prompted to install it, etc.
I thought rebooting into recovery mode and clearing the cache would accomplish this, as it's worked on previous phones (S5/S6), but it doesn't seem to have worked this time. When I booted back to android it seemed the pre-downloaded update files were still there as it prompted me to install them again upon boot.
Does anybody know if it's possible to delete the update files once they've been downloaded? Obviously they haven't been installed yet. I'm not rooted of course, the phone is fully stock.
Thanks!
It's not possible to delete these files without root. You can however use Package Disabler Pro and disable "com.wssyncmldm" (Software Update) to make the notifications go away.
Do I have to use package disabler pro? I can't find this anywhere I'm using some other app hider that doesn't require root and can't find it.
Yes, it's this only way. The built in app manager does not let you disable certain things while this app does.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ospolice.packagedisablerpro
There are several choices for apps like this on the store.
Sent from my SM-G930T using XDA-Developers mobile app

How do I get gapps on my Mi Box

So I currently have a Mi Box (MiBox1S) and it's running Android 4.4.2. I'd like to install gapps onto it, to make it less like a brick and more like a streaming box. (Hulu won't work without it, plus the launcher it came with is ugly and in Chinese so I'd like Leanback) I've found there's no TWRP for the device as far as I can tell. However, I do have root that I achieved with KingoRoot. Since I couldn't get a recovery, I tried Flashify, FlashFire, & Flash Gordon apps to install w/o TWRP. Flashify needed a mouse or touchscreen, Flashfire doesn't support KingoRoot I guess, and Flash Gordon just flat out did nothing despite saying it was flashing and had root. I tried three different gapps installers, two said unsupported and the last needs a mouse to work. I did also try just sideloading the apps with ES. Opening any of them would just tell me Google Play services has stopped, so that's a no go. So, how does anybody propose I get gapps onto this thing? And maybe Lollipop too? I guess my fallback would be just trying to use Android x86 on an older pc but I'm having other issues with that as well. Mostly with the sound not working at all.
Zumbuh said:
So I currently have a Mi Box (MiBox1S) and it's running Android 4.4.2. I'd like to install gapps onto it, to make it less like a brick and more like a streaming box. (Hulu won't work without it, plus the launcher it came with is ugly and in Chinese so I'd like Leanback) I've found there's no TWRP for the device as far as I can tell. However, I do have root that I achieved with KingoRoot. Since I couldn't get a recovery, I tried Flashify, FlashFire, & Flash Gordon apps to install w/o TWRP. Flashify needed a mouse or touchscreen, Flashfire doesn't support KingoRoot I guess, and Flash Gordon just flat out did nothing despite saying it was flashing and had root. I tried three different gapps installers, two said unsupported and the last needs a mouse to work. I did also try just sideloading the apps with ES. Opening any of them would just tell me Google Play services has stopped, so that's a no go. So, how does anybody propose I get gapps onto this thing? And maybe Lollipop too? I guess my fallback would be just trying to use Android x86 on an older pc but I'm having other issues with that as well. Mostly with the sound not working at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since you already managed to root the device, you just need to go to apkmirror and install FOUR google packages specifically for version 4.4.2:
Google Play Store
com.android.vending
Google Play Services
com.google.android.gms
Google Service Framework
com.google.android.gsf
Google Account Manager
com.google.android.gsf.login
However, in order to make it work, you need to install them as system-app.
And MiBox 1s doesn't have any extra spaces for you to install all four.
So, for your own good, you should get rid of xiaomi system files first.
(as for exactly what can be gotten rid of... that is details, ping me again if you haven't give up on this box yet)
In the process, you may want to get rid of something like mitv.desktop. That is one thing sit on TOP of launcher thus without getting rid of it, none of your launcher will work.
So, you need to install a launcher first.
I have never gotten leanback to work. I did install an open-source "simple TV launcher" and it served my purposes.
At this time frame, I can't get a lot of stuff to work simply this box is too old. But I did manage to use the box without any xiaomi software.
kngharv said:
Since you already managed to root the device, you just need to go to apkmirror and install FOUR google packages specifically for version 4.4.2:
Google Play Store
com.android.vending
Google Play Services
com.google.android.gms
Google Service Framework
com.google.android.gsf
Google Account Manager
com.google.android.gsf.login
However, in order to make it work, you need to install them as system-app.
And MiBox 1s doesn't have any extra spaces for you to install all four.
So, for your own good, you should get rid of xiaomi system files first.
(as for exactly what can be gotten rid of... that is details, ping me again if you haven't give up on this box yet)
In the process, you may want to get rid of something like mitv.desktop. That is one thing sit on TOP of launcher thus without getting rid of it, none of your launcher will work.
So, you need to install a launcher first.
I have never gotten leanback to work. I did install an open-source "simple TV launcher" and it served my purposes.
At this time frame, I can't get a lot of stuff to work simply this box is too old. But I did manage to use the box without any xiaomi software.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I appreciate the reply, but this was over 2 years ago. I did get gapps on it but ended up bricking it by trying to install Leanback as a system app and resetting it never fixed it, so it has collected dust since then unfortunately.
If you are interested in revive the machine, I have a copy of an internal development image from Xiaomi.
It is the only image which I can repeatedly flash when I screwed up.
You can simply flash this development image first, then start over again.
By the way, I never managed to get leanback to work. I suspect the leanback launcher is based upon Android/5.
I end up using some open source launcher instead.
If you are interested in this image, let me know.
I also have a list of bloatware which you can safely remove (if you are willing to give up on any of xiaomi services
Also... as far as my experiences go, I don't really need gapps for some reason. I have a 3rd party Youtube, Kodi, and Netflix installed. None of them requires gapps.
kngharv said:
If you are interested in revive the machine, I have a copy of an internal development image from Xiaomi.
It is the only image which I can repeatedly flash when I screwed up.
You can simply flash this development image first, then start over again.
By the way, I never managed to get leanback to work. I suspect the leanback launcher is based upon Android/5.
I end up using some open source launcher instead.
If you are interested in this image, let me know.
I also have a list of bloatware which you can safely remove (if you are willing to give up on any of xiaomi services
Also... as far as my experiences go, I don't really need gapps for some reason. I have a 3rd party Youtube, Kodi, and Netflix installed. None of them requires gapps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah yeah, I'd like a link to it actually. I've never really expected to revive it. It's been so long though, I don't remember how to get this device into fastboot mode even.

Is it possible to automate multiple Google Play app install?

I think this is basically general(not device specific) question so I am posting my question here.
I have Galaxy Note 10 Plus which got OS upgrade recently. I havn't upgraded my phone so currently my phone is at Android Q(10).
I don't have much time to do OS upgrade. More specific, I don't have time to do full wipe, manually download and flash firmware with Odin, install huge amounts of apps, configure those apps etc. Well, you might think: why don't use just OTA upgrade? That's because I don't trust OTA thing. It broke my previous phone few years ago. After that, I always flash firmware with Odin after doing full wipe.
The main problem is, I can't use 'Backup Apps' because it is OS upgrade and I don't think simply moving app data from Q(10) to R(11) is good idea. I have to configure everything one by one by my hand. That will consume a lot of time. Like I said, I don't have much time for doing this. I have to save some time.
If then, I might be able to save some time when installing huge amounts of apps from Google Play Store. I guess it is about ~80 apps. If I can automate those app installation, I might be able to save some time and use that time to configuring apps.
So here is my question: How can I automate app installation in Google Play Store? I've searched Google but only got disappointing result. 'Download those APKs and install them via ADB!', 'Emulate touch input in Google Play Store!' etc. are not what I want to do. I think there would be much elegant way to do bulk install of Google Play Store apps.
TL;DR
I want to know if there is simple way to install multiple(~80) apps in Google Play Store without doing these:
- Downloading those APKs and install them via ADB
- Emulate touch input with certain app
My guess is there is no other way than to download the apps in question and afterwards install them via ADB, what all can be done by means of a common Windows Powershell file.
jwoegerbauer said:
My guess is there is no other way than to download the apps in question and afterwards install them via ADB, what all can be done by means of a common Windows Powershell file.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wait, can I download and install apps via ADB with single powershell script? If then, I can accept it if those app which were installed by ADB can be updated with Google Play Store...
If yes, can you give me hint about that script?
Don't have such a script at my fingertips ... And I have not the time to write it ... Think it shouldn't be too difficult for you to write it ...

Categories

Resources