All,
I currently own a stock RC30 UK T-Mobile Dream phone. I have come to terms with the fact that I dont have root access (yet) and have purchased a new ADP1, which hopefully will arrive next year.
When it does finally arrive I plan to make a generic build of RC30/RC8 firmware without all the T-Mobile junk in the ROM (web'n'walk etc) and no default APN's/MMS/etc. I have read through the re-packing sections etc and it seems possible to do without a lot of effort.
My question is; would this be something that other users would be interested in using? If so would you like to see it posted on these forums? Also, please post any comments with any functionality you would like to see added (default apps etc).
i think if you can incorporate new features into the rom such as auto rotate browser or any other tweaks to improve the G1, I'd think it'll be extremely popular. Case in point custom cooked Windows Mobile roms on this forum.
default apps is probably a hit or miss situation. I would stick to the only essentials (ie: Klaxon for alarm clock).
Good idea. We need to start building custom ROM's like all the other WM phones... Here's how I would go about building an Android ROM:
1. Start off with a generic build of android from source. Obviously include all the drivers for the dream.
2. Make a nice, clean skin. If you have knowledge of C/Java, don't be afraid to mess with visual structure of the platform,.
3. Add all the proprietary Google APK's (GMail, Calender, Amazon MP3 etc).
4. Add some 3rd party APK's based on user popularity. (Steel, Power Manager, Locale etc)
5. Add some hacks that require root (auto-rotate, improved tethering functionality)
Yes this will be very interested. All i need is to get bloody root!!! Soon though. Theres alot of smart cookies here
And rework the basic features such as sms's mms's picture viewer. contacts section ( add more input data points. like WM offers )
i guess as any rom you will never please everybody but i agree with "Datruesurfer" steel is a great app.
Onscreen keyboard like in steel or such its not to big and small. but a system wide onscreen keyboard. working in a very dirty industry the onscreen keyboard comes in.
Some other programs i find invaluable and should be an option in the default Android or i at least i really thinks so. are Smspopup, Missed call, Dgaway,Dgprefs, Rings Extender.
Power Manager as well is a good program to help better manage the battery and default network settings.
if there is a way to rework those and remove the default browser and add such options into the android rom itself i would be very pleased.
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What is this?
Basically by installing this application, as soon as you receive a notification there is a flash as your phone starts blinking for the LED notification.
It can be useful to anyone that has a device without the LED notification, but instead have a flash next to the selfie camera.
It also extends the concept of notification to the unread badges received from the applications (ex. the "Facebook like"). So, when an unread badge pops up, in the same way as a "normal" notification the flash starts blinking and you will be notified of what's going on.
Various settings are also available to better configure the application to suit your needs.
It works on all devices equipped with a front flash, regardless of whether or not they have the hardware LED notification. (read also the Hardware limitations section for more details)
Main features
customizable activation based on the current display status and audio mode
pocket mode and recovery options
Samsung AOD support
single or double blink
optional custom delay for the first blink
use also the rear flash when the device is upside down
additional flashing loop with customizable frequency
three different gestures to dismiss the flashing loop
customizable exclusions for the incoming call, the missing call and the text messages
customizable exclusions for all the installed user applications
flash notifications for the unread badges received from compatible applications and customizable by app exclusions (only on Samsung devices with TouchWiz based ROM)
suspend on low battery
suspend during a customizable time slot
integration with the Android "Do not disturb" settings
custom quick setting tile in the quick settings panel to easily turn on/off the service (only on Android 7.x+ devices)
custom shortcut pressing the application icon to easily turn on/off the service (only on supported launchers and on Android 7.1.1+ devices)
built-in black list to avoid the flash for useless, fake or annoying notifications from some applications
optimized for memory usage
battery-friendly (usually takes up 2% in each 24 hour period)
dark theme
RTL support for Arabic languages
no ADS
no ROOT ACCESS needed to work
and more...
Languages
English
Italian
Arabic (Egyptian) @yshalsager
Arabic (Syrian) @mozzafar alali
Croatian @dugi9991
Czech @novas78
French @Primokorn
German @supergrobi94 / @Oswald Boelcke
Greek kynigosg
Polish @emcom
Portuguese (Brazilian) @Taivotat2 / @justjr
Russian @gaich
Simplified Chinese @ContactFront
Slovak @kubalav
Spanish @JHAM2005
Turkish @Fatih Fırıncı
Ukrainian @Alexiy_ua
Vietnamese @tphg
Privacy
This application is not ad-supported and can not collect and transmit any sort of privacy sensitive information.
This application can not collect, store or publish any user information.
This application can not use any data connection, detect your location or access your contacts. It also can not read any sensitive information stored on your device. This guarantees maximum security for your data and your privacy.
Permissions
This application does not need any special permissions except for the one to bind the Android notification listener service. [android.permission.BIND_NOTIFICATION_LISTENER_SERVICE]
This is the only authorization required to properly interact with your incoming notifications (you will be asked about it explicitly when it is run for the first time).
Devices with Camera Hardware level: LIMITED (partial Camera2 API support)
On some devices the manufacturer implemented only partially the Android Camera2 API; this means limited hardware access to the camera for the developers. In this case the only way to let this application properly take control of the front flash is to use the old Android API and that's why you may also have to authorize the application to use the hardware camera. [android.permission.CAMERA]
With the first run and only if the application detects this limitation, as per the above case you will be asked explicitly to grant full camera access permission (even if the application should only use the front flash, the flash is strictly part of the hardware camera).
You must agree with providing access to your device camera, file system and audio recording for the application to function. This access is limited to user only. None of the data present in your device can be shared with me or any other person.
Keep in mind that if you deny any of these permissions the application will not work!
If you know how Android works and the meaning of application permissions, you can easily verify by yourself all the above statements.
So please, avoid claiming that we are a bunch of criminals here just to steal your data with this application... in doing that, you would be such an IDIOT!
Hardware limitations
Lately several devices (mainly, but not only, running Android 8.x) are equipped with front flash with custom hardware that developers can not have access to. Furthermore, with the introduction of the new firmware based on Android 8.x, Samsung has inexplicably inhibited the use of front flash to developers on a wide range of devices.
Strangely enough, the front camera of your device may not be equipped with a "real" front flash for this application. When it "asks" through the Android API to your front camera some information about its front flash, the answer may be "no front flash available". There is no workaround this!
This is a software/hardware limitation imposed by the manufacturer (don't ask me why) and at the moment unfortunately there's nothing I can do. I understand your amazement, but if you experience this kind of issue at 99% of the time that's the reason why this application may not work and could report the non-availability of a front flash despite your eyes seeing a front flash.
Mainly only the branded (stock) camera application can handle this kind of front flash, using owned and reserved API.
Try it by yourself to install (from the app Store) an alternative camera application. Then shoot a front selfie and check if the front flash can turn on... or use any other application you expect to use the front flash (usually Instagram and Snapchat fail as well) and then let me know the results.
In addition, you can also try to install Device Info HW and then select the "Camera" tab and check all detailed information about the front camera of your device.
Finally, let me remind you that this app can't take control over the brightness, the color and the speed (On-Off phase) of a flash; unfortunately it isn't a LED... no way for the developers to handle these features.
All of them are strictly related to the hardware and its manufacturer and therefore vary from model to model.
Main functioning
As you can imagine, this application must be able to take control of the front flash of your device to work properly. In an Android phone this can only happen in one way: through the front camera as the flash is strictly connected to it.
The developers in fact through dedicated instructions, can turn it on and off at will. But it always has a connection to the camera and not directly to the flash itself.
To handle all the incoming notifications, an Android service will run in background on your device.
These are the main functioning at the root of this application.
Troubleshooting
If you installed any startup manager application (such as Startup Manager, Autorun Manager, AutoStart Manager, Advanced Task Manager, BootManager, etc) or any battery manager/optimizer application (such as Greenify, Doze, Brevent, Hibernator, App Freezer, etc) pay attention to avoid killing the running "Flash notification service" otherwise this application will not work!
I also want to draw your attention to the importance of the Android wakelocks in the lifecycle of this application (if you don't know what wakelocks are, disregard the sentance below).
If your device is running an application that detects and blocks wakelocks (such as Wakelock Detector, WakeBlock, No Wakelock, Wake Lock - PowerManager, etc), keep in mind that the main features of this application will not work as you expect. So add it to the white list if any, or if you are interested in using this application in any way avoid blocking the wakelocks.
In other words, because of unreasonable battery optimizations implemented by some brands but not only, you have to be careful not to put this application in hibernation without realizing it or maybe killing or blocking the background service without noticing it. These are the most common causes of the main problems you may experience!
Please verify the impact over this application by any system tools / Magisk - Xposed modules which you heavily rely on (especially if your device is ROOTED).
So, double check your system settings before reporting any issues, thanks.
Battery consumption
It isn't strictly related to the application itself. What drains the battery is the flash not the background service in charge of managing your incoming notifications, I can't do more in terms of optimization.
Battery consumption mainly depends on how long you will let the flashing loop run before you dismiss it (the shorter it is the better for your battery) and also on how many notifications you receive a day.
Issues & Known bugs
with the introduction of the new firmware based on Android 8.x, Samsung has inexplicably inhibited the use of front flash to developers on a wide range of devices, so this application stop working!!
System requirements
Android 6.x Marshmallow or later
a device with front camera and front flash (read also the Hardware limitations section for more details)
five minutes of your free-time and a little piece of your brain (just in case)
you do not need ROOT ACCESS for this application to work
Installation instructions
Just download the apk and open it as a normal application.
Download
This application is available on the Google Play Store.
In order to keep in touch with the latest updates, I suggest you uninstall any previous version you downloaded here from XDA and then install the official version of the Play Store.
Get FrontFlash Notification
Credits / Thanks to
thanks to @supergrobi94 for the graphic support
thanks to @Alexiy_ua, @ContactFront, @dugi9991, @emcom, @Fatih Fırıncı, @gaich, @JHAM2005, @justjr, @kubalav, kynigosg, @mozzafar alali, @novas78, @Oswald Boelcke, @Primokorn, @supergrobi94, @Taivotat2, @tphg, @yshalsager for the translations
Donation
Your donations are welcomed and appreciated, press the thanks button instead of saying it.
PayPal
FrontFlash Notification
Version Information
Status: Stable
Current Stable Version: 2.5
Stable Release Date: 2019-04-24
Created: 2018-01-13
Last Updated: 2019-04-24
Screenshots
Changelog
2.5 (current release)
migration to native Android Pie 9 (API 28)
updated internal black-list for the auto-excluded applications
minor bug fixes
2.4.9 (stable)
minor bug fixes
2.4.7 (stable)
under the hood fixes and optimizations
2.4.5 (stable)
minor bug fixes
2.4.2 (stable)
fixed the custom shortcut icon issue on Android 7.1.x devices
minor bug fixes
2.4.1 (stable)
migration to native Android Oreo 8.1 (API 27)
added the option to delay the first blink
added a custom shortcut pressing the application icon to easily turn on/off the service only on supported launchers and on Android 7.1.1+ devices
added the Simplified Chinese translation
added the Greek translation
added the Ukrainian translation
updated all translations
updated internal black-list for the auto-excluded applications
lots of under the hood fixes and optimizations
2.3.3 (stable)
Android 8.x users may experience general malfunctions
added the sub-option to keep screen on if the "Turn display on" option when a notification occurs is selected
added the Slovak translation
added the Turkish translation
added the Vietnamese translation
updated the Czech and Russian translations
stability improvement
minor bug fixes
2.3 (stable)
This update will reset all user preferences to default at first run!
fixed the pocket mode issue
fixed the time slot suspension issue
added a custom quick setting tile on the quick settings panel to easily turn on/off the service only on Android 7.x+ devices
major code rewrite for the graphical user interface (flash notifications settings)
updated internal black-list for the auto-excluded applications
minor bug fixes and various adjustments
2.2.7 (stable)
fixed the pocket mode issue on some devices
fixed the time slot suspension issue on Android 8.x devices
fixed the incoming call flash notification issue
fixed the consecutive notifications issue
renewed badge notification service for Samsung devices (some tests may be needed)
minor bug fixes and various adjustments
2.2.5 (stable)
fixed the issue of annoying blinks while the device is in use (user present/screen on) in some particular conditions or by specific applications
fixed the issue of the suddenly stop working blink loop
battery life improved
new max limit for the blink loop duration
new increase values for the blink loop frequency
minor bug fixes and various adjustments
2.2.1 (stable)
fixed the service force close issue on Android 6.0 devices
minor adjustments
2.2 (stable)
minor bug fixes
2.1.6 (stable)
minor bug fixes
translation update for some languages
2.1.4 (stable)
minor bug fixes
2.1 (stable)
main code reengineering
stability and compatibility improvement
removed the flashing loop duration setting, from now is always unlimited
better performance
2.0 (stable)
code optimization
stability improvement
1.9.5 (stable)
code optimization
minor bug fixes
unlimited duration for the flashing loop
1.9.4 (stable)
added the Portuguese (Brazilian) translation
added the Arabic (Egyptian) translation
added the French translation
added the Czech translation
added the Croatian translation
added the Russian translation
added the Arabic (Syrian) translation
new range values for the duration and the frequency of the flashing loop
1.9.2 (stable)
added the option to force the English language
fixed the Samsung Email application issue
stability improvement
added the light sensor management (if present) for the flash type auto-adjustment (single/double)
added the option to use the rear flash when device is turn upside down
added RTL support for Arabic languages
1.9 (stable)
fixed the service force close issue and runtime exception on some Motorola devices
minor bug fixes
added the Spanish translation
1.8.3 (stable)
official Play Store release
minor bug fixes in the notifications detection engine
added compatibility to Android 8.0 Oreo (API 26)
added the Polish translation
1.7 (stable)
extended support to both Camera and Camera2 API to properly detect and manage the front flash also on devices with limited access to the camera (e.g. new Samsung device series)
fixed the issue with Gmail notifications on Android 6.0 devices
fixed the missing installed applications issue in the excluded applications list
fixed the wrong low battery detection issue on some devices
added a "select/unselect all" toggle switch in the excluded applications list
integration with the current Android "Do not disturb" settings as an additional way to disable the service in certain situations
minor fixes and code optimizations
updated internal black list for the auto-excluded applications
some GUI improvements and adjustments
new dark theme
new application icon
some corrections to writing errors
added the German translation
1.6 (stable)
added the option to choose a custom time slot for the service suspension (tap on time slot)
minor fixes
1.5 (stable)
added Samsung AOD detection and support
added the option to choose which applications exclude from the unread badges notification (tap on See list)
added the option to choose a custom sound for the unread badges notification (tap on Set sound)
improved both memory and cpu consumption
1.4 (release)
added the accelerometer sensor management and the relative “by shake” option
fixed the issue with duplicate items between the unread badges notification and the "normal" notification from the same application
new GUI
added the Italian translation
1.3 (beta 2)
added compatibility to Android 7.1.1 Nougat (API 25)
added the option to choose which applications exclude from flash notification (black list)
added the unread badges detection and the relative flash notification for all supported applications (only on Samsung devices with TW rom)
lots of under the hood fixes and optimizations
1.2 (beta 1)
added the proximity sensor option and its management
added the notifications badge count over the application icon in the app drawer and its relative option (only on supported device: Asus, Huawei, LG, HTC, Oppo, Samsung, Sony, Xiaomi, ZTE)
fine tuning in the notifications detection engine to avoid fake flash notifications from system and user applications
performance improvements
1.1 (alpha)
added the option to enable a blinking loop for all the incoming notifications
added the low battery status detection and the relative service suspension option
added an option to suspend the service during a specific time slot
bug fixes
1.0
initial release
Support
Feedback
Please write in this thread any suggestions or bugs you come to know to help me make this application better and better.
What's coming next
none
Translations
All translations are created by community volunteers and open for contribution. If you want this application in your language and you are interested in cooperate, please send me a PM.
Hardware limitations
Lately several devices (mainly, but not only, running Android 8.x) are equipped with front flash with custom hardware that developers can not have access to. Furthermore, with the introduction of the new firmware based on Android 8.x, Samsung has inexplicably inhibited the use of front flash to developers on a wide range of devices.
Strangely enough, the front camera of your device may not be equipped with a "real" front flash for this application. When it "asks" through the Android API to your front camera some information about its front flash, the answer may be "no front flash available". There is no workaround this!
This is a software/hardware limitation imposed by the manufacturer (don't ask me why) and at the moment unfortunately there's nothing I can do. I understand your amazement, but if you experience this kind of issue at 99% of the time that's the reason why this application may not work and could report the non-availability of a front flash despite your eyes seeing a front flash.
Mainly only the branded (stock) camera application can handle this kind of front flash, using owned and reserved API.
Try it by yourself to install (from the app Store) an alternative camera application. Then shoot a front selfie and check if the front flash can turn on... or use any other application you expect to use the front flash (usually Instagram and Snapchat fail as well) and then let me know the results.
In addition, you can also try to install Device Info HW and then select the "Camera" tab and check all detailed information about the front camera of your device.
Finally, let me remind you that this app can't take control over the brightness, the color and the speed (On-Off phase) of a flash; unfortunately it isn't a LED... no way for the developers to handle these features.
All of them are strictly related to the hardware and its manufacturer and therefore vary from model to model.
Main functioning
As you can imagine, this application must be able to take control of the front flash of your device to work properly. In an Android phone this can only happen in one way: through the front camera as the flash is strictly connected to it.
The developers in fact through dedicated instructions, can turn it on and off at will. But it always has a connection to the camera and not directly to the flash itself.
To handle all the incoming notifications, an Android service will run in background on your device.
These are the main functioning at the root of this application.
Common issues & Troubleshooting
If you installed any startup manager application (such as Startup Manager, Autorun Manager, AutoStart Manager, Advanced Task Manager, BootManager, etc) or any battery manager/optimizer application (such as Greenify, Doze, Brevent, Hibernator, App Freezer, etc) pay attention to avoid killing the running "Flash notification service" otherwise this application will not work!
I also want to draw your attention to the importance of the Android wakelocks in the lifecycle of this application (if you don't know what wakelocks are, disregard the sentance below).
If your device is running an application that detects and blocks wakelocks (such as Wakelock Detector, WakeBlock, No Wakelock, Wake Lock - PowerManager, etc), keep in mind that the main features of this application will not work as you expect. So add it to the white list if any, or if you are interested in using this application in any way avoid blocking the wakelocks.
In other words, because of unreasonable battery optimizations implemented by some brands but not only, you have to be careful not to put this application in hibernation without realizing it or maybe killing or blocking the background service without noticing it. These are the most common causes of the main problems you may experience!
Please verify the impact over this application by any system tools / Magisk - Xposed modules which you heavily rely on (especially if your device is ROOTED).
So, double check your system settings before reporting any issues, thanks.
Battery consumption
It isn't strictly related to the application itself. What drains the battery is the flash not the background service in charge of managing your incoming notifications, I can't do more in terms of optimization.
Battery consumption mainly depends on how long you will let the flashing loop run before you dismiss it (the shorter it is the better for your battery) and also on how many notifications you receive a day.
Hope I have been helpful in understanding.
Thank you nice work
I will add Arabic language
Can't enable the front flash.. Its not enabling.. Greyed out.. I have j7 pro.. Ty..
The app doesn't know I have Front Flash (J7 2016)
Sent from my j7xelte using XDA Labs
ickoslash said:
Can't enable the front flash.. Its not enabling.. Greyed out.. I have j7 pro.. Ty..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh... this sounds strange! Be more specific please.
Which android version?
Which label is displayed at the left of the greyed switch?
Did the app ask for "Notification access permission" at first run?
Open Options --> Lock screen and security --> Other security settings and check manually the notification access permission (if it's disabled, activate it now) and let me know.
Thanks
Arnaud Créative Studios said:
The app doesn't know I have Front Flash (J7 2016)
Sent from my j7xelte using XDA Labs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mean did you received the "Front flash not present, service disabled" message?
Thanks
spacejam said:
You mean did you received the "Front flash not present, service disabled" message?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes
Sent from my j7xelte using XDA Labs
spacejam said:
Oh... this sounds strange! Be more specific please.
Which android version?
Which label is displayed at the left of the greyed switch?
Did the app ask for "Notification access permission" at first run?
Open Options --> Lock screen and security --> Other security settings and check manually the notification access permission (if it's disabled, activate it now) and let me know.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got error message front flash not present.. Already enabled it in notifications under lock screen and security.. My phone's j7 pro.. So technically it's nougat..
Arnaud Créative Studios said:
Yes
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SM-J710F model right?
Chipset Exynos or Snapdragon?
Stock ROM, Custom TWLauncher rom, AOSP rom... or what?
(I'm sorry for so many questions, but the more I know and the more it becomes easy to solve the problem, I hope)
ickoslash said:
Got error message front flash not present...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SM-J730G model right?
Seems like something go wrong during the front flash detection phase.
This app uses the standard Android Camera2 API to get access to the flash.
So, is something strictly related to your device model and Samsung hardware/firmware.
Maybe is the Exynos chipset variant... not so easy to investigate but I will try.
Thanks
spacejam said:
SM-J710F model right?
Chipset Exynos or Snapdragon?
Stock ROM, Custom TWLauncher rom, AOSP rom... or what?
(I'm sorry for so many questions, but the more I know and the more it becomes easy to solve the problem, I hope)
SM-J730G model right?
Seems like something go wrong during the front flash detection phase.
This app uses the standard Android Camera2 API to get access to the flash.
So, is something strictly related to your device model and Samsung hardware/firmware.
Maybe is the Exynos chipset variant... not so easy to investigate but I will try.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep.. Exynos chipset.. It would be awesome if you could fix it dude.. Tnx a lot for making this app.. Will wait for the update.. :fingers-crossed:
spacejam said:
SM-J710F model right?
Chipset Exynos or Snapdragon?
Stock ROM, Custom TWLauncher rom, AOSP rom... or what?
(I'm sorry for so many questions, but the more I know and the more it becomes easy to solve the problem, I hope)
SM-J730G model right?
Seems like something go wrong during the front flash detection phase.
This app uses the standard Android Camera2 API to get access to the flash.
So, is something strictly related to your device model and Samsung hardware/firmware.
Maybe is the Exynos chipset variant... not so easy to investigate but I will try.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SM-J710FN,Exynos,Stock TW Nougat Rom with Stock Launcher
Sent from my j7xelte using XDA Labs
FrontFlash Notification
Issues & known bugs:
on some Exynos chipset based devices, take control over the front flash fails. Check yours by yourself and let me know. (I'm working to understand how to fix it)
Thank you for this app, I will try it.
Works great on my Moto Z2 Play. Even dual flash works too. Awesome work !
This will be very useful on my Honor 7 since the notification LED is so small it's almost invisible.
Haven't been able to get it to work yet though.
First issue I got was that the service was running but not enabled. I figured out it was due to the "suspend on low battery" setting even though my battery was at 80%.
I unticked that and now the service is running and enabled.
I'm trying to get a notification when receiving an e-mail(gmail) but nothing is happening. Gmail is not in the possible exclusion list at all, maybe that has something to do with it?
Edit: It works for other apps like the calendar app.
Thanks for the work so far.
FrontFlash Notification
Just an update for Exynos chipset based device users... the front flash detection issue is not related to the chipset.
For some strange reasons (don't ask me why), on the new devices series (Exynos of course), Samsung has implemented only partially the Camera2 API for the developers. Hardware level: LIMITED (partial Camera2 support)
This is why at the time been my app can't use the front flash on your device.
In the next few days I'm going to produce a new 1.7 version, where if Camera2 fails the app takes control over the camera and his front flash using the old Android API.
Based on the first tests, fortunatelly this seems to fix the problem.
Keep in touch