In this post I'd like to share a small bit of Android information with you. I've discovered it while looking around at the build.prop file and did some research on it, and it turns out to be a pretty cool and powerful feature. Of course, seeing as this requires root you can probably already guess that it involves some more-than-consumer level risk, so anything you do here is your responsibility. This is not a tweak for a fairly novice user. You will need some basic knowledge on command line terminal and how to copy/edit files. I will be assuming you know how to setup and run ADB, and how to execute it and work with it in command prompt.
What's this mod do? Basically it changes your resolution (not really, but for simplicity sake we'll say it does) to a higher pixel density. What this means is everything on your screen will look smaller as if you changed your resolution on your PC to a higher setting. Now obviously we don't want to increase this too much or it will make our screen look bad and be impossible to read things, so I recommend you stick with the settings I have and only tweak it if you're daring.
Now for setup:
1: You require root access for this to work, so make sure you have it prior to doing anything else.
2: Next you will need to get your build.prop file from the /system directory. An easy (and free) way to do this is to use Astro file manager. Open up Astro, navigate to /system/ and copy the build.prop file to the sdcard.
3: Hook the phone up to your PC and enter USB Mass Storage mode. Open the drive on your computer and copy the build.prop file to the desktop.
4: IMPORTANT: make a second copy of this file, and rename it to: build.prop.BAK - accept the change to filetype and leave it alone for now.
5: Open up build.prop using notepad. Once its open you'll see a whole ton of text assuming you have Word Wrap enabled. Press Control + F and type in "density" then press enter.
6: Close out the search menu and find the number "240" to the right of "density"
7: Change the number from 240 to 200. Save the file and close notepad. (Note - higher numbers means bigger text/objects, smaller numbers means smaller text/objects allowing you to fit more on the screen)
8: Put your phone back into PC Mode, and then enable USB Debugging in Settings->Applications->Development
9: At this point I assume you have ADB setup on your PC. Copy and paste the modified build.prop file into the folder with ADB, and then open up a command prompt, change directory to wherever you have ADB installed (ex: cd C:\adb\ ), and type in "adb devices" without the quotes to start ADB and make sure your device is configured properly
10: Now you must push the modified build.prop file to your sdcard. To do so type this in:
adb push build.prop /sdcard/build.prop
11: You should see the text indicating it successfully transferred the file. Now type in "adb shell" without quotes. You should see a $: appear. Once it does, type in "su" and it should change to a #: sign.
12: Now that you're in root access, you must mount /system as read/write to copy over the new build.prop file. To do so type this in exactly as it is, making sure to not skip any spaces or use wrong letters/characters:
mount -o remount,rw /dev/block/system /system
You should see the line repeated and that means it went ok. If you get anything else like an error, somethings not right with the text you entered. Go back and double check it.
13: Now we'll copy the file from the sdcard to the system directory to overwrite the old build.prop file:
cp /sdcard/build.prop /system/build.prop
Again, you should see the line repeat below to confirm it copied it successfully. You can now reboot the phone to make the changes happen (note: for a speedy reboot, simply type in "reboot" from the #: prompt, this will drop you out of root shell and do an automatic reboot of your phone pretty neat)
Once your phone is booted back up you should notice some pretty significant changes in appearance. Everything will look smaller much akin to the changes you see on your desktop PC when you increase the resolution from say 800x600 to 1600x1200. In case you want to change it back to the old look, simply re-trace your steps using the original build.prop file, with the pixel density set to 240 instead of 200.
Screenshots for comparison. Note how lines of text are fully exposed in the new screenshots compared to the old ones, where it has to scroll/cut off text in App names etc:
http://forum.androidcentral.com/motorola-x-roms-hacks/32035-how-resolution-tweak-req-root.html
Or you can save a whole lot of time and effort and use this app. http://www.xda-developers.com/android/lcd-density-changer-application-v3-0-released/
I think that is pretty sweet bro!! Great finding
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
njfoses said:
Or you can save a whole lot of time and effort and use this app. http://www.xda-developers.com/android/lcd-density-changer-application-v3-0-released/
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Been using this for a few days now. It works great. They should have released the Evo with the higher resolution from the start.
Looks great in my opinion. I lowered just slightly to 220 and i used RootExplorer to just change the Build.prop file.
Shouldn't this be in general? This is like dpi in windows lol... not resolution
rawdikrik said:
Looks great in my opinion. I lowered just slightly to 220 and i used RootExplorer to just change the Build.prop file.
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yeah, root explorer is fantastic. it even creates a backup for you after you edit the file.
The interesting part about this is, I made a thread about the density change back when the EVO first launched and nobody cared lol
Just changed to 200 with the aforementioned app, the only problem I have is the main status bar and most of the popup menus and stuff look like crap. Hoping we can find some higher resolution (or whatever) pieces to use. Might be because I'm using Manup's theme.
bdoople said:
Just changed to 200 with the aforementioned app, the only problem I have is the main status bar and most of the popup menus and stuff look like crap. Hoping we can find some higher resolution (or whatever) pieces to use. Might be because I'm using Manup's theme.
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i noticed that too....so i just went to like 215. 200 was looking good though
ro.sf.LCD_Density=240
Is that the proper value to change in root explorer?
Right below it, there is another value of 160, that's why I ask. I'm on an Evo
Poor resolution has always bugged me. On such a big screen, that number of pixels really isn't enough. This will be a great mod, just don't wanna mess it up.
Thanks.
see there's an easier way to do everything, by that i mean there is an app for that, lol.
scottspa74 said:
ro.sf.LCD_Density=240
Is that the proper value to change in root explorer?
Right below it, there is another value of 160, that's why I ask. I'm on an Evo
Poor resolution has always bugged me. On such a big screen, that number of pixels really isn't enough. This will be a great mod, just don't wanna mess it up.
Thanks.
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The line below it (With the value of 160) has a # in front of it as that is the default value if none specified. Change the 240 to 200 or 220 or 210 or 190 etc depending on your preferences. Again, appelflap has an awesome application to easily do this for you and it provides a boot monitor as well that will check to make sure you can see the screen, and if you can't it will revert back to default setting in case you mess something up. It costs approximately $1 and is well worth it.
On my evo I am using the app and I set mine to 180. Everything looks fine so far. I don't recommend using it with the sense launcher at this level though.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Appreciate all the feedback. When it comes to system tweaks like this, I've always preferred to do them manually. Makes it easier to keep track of changes, and, if you know what's goin on 'behind the scenes'. Even with winmo, I always would opt for tweaking via registry editor, rather than some blind, hands-off tweak app.
Thanks all, though.
Edit: ok, foot in mouth. So I opened root explorer, found build.prop, opened it clicked the mount R/O toggle, but can't seem to edit it no matter what. NVM, found editor
Also, I checked out the app on the market, looked at comments and saw lots of people say that density broke certain apps, and can't get back to normal, broken phones, blah blah blah
Anyone speak to this?
Exposes lame apps
Worked great on rooted EVO running CM6.2.
Need to increase the power of my bifocals now!
Also exposes lame apps that display set screen resolutions, such as WeatherChannel. Poopnoodles!
Very cool find, not one I will be keeping though. The taskbar icons get a bit blurry, and the widget/icon spacing looks ugly.
njfoses said:
Or you can save a whole lot of time and effort and use this app. http://www.xda-developers.com/android/lcd-density-changer-application-v3-0-released/
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Just tried that. Was able to make a few changes with no problems. As soon as I tried to go back to the stock settings my phone would no longer boot past the white EVO screen. Doing a restore now
And of course the restore isn't working properly for some reason. Argh.
yeah
Yeah, I read the thread by Appleflap, about his app, and it really sounds like there are a lot of issues from doing this (at this point), some of which cannot be recovered from. And at the very least, there are apps and icons that won't scale properly, and there's no fix for that but to find new ones (from the horses mouth).
Things to be worked out by some real sharp devs.
I'm not totally convinced that this makes things anything beyond just smaller. I've been testing this a various resolutions and am not sure it really adds any new pixels...aren't "pixels" more hardware related? If it were just a software thing wouldn't everyone do it?
I somehow find fonts rendering and readability is poor on Gtablet. I have been using Gtabcomb and now Flashback. I tried installing Segoe WP (WP& font), Roboto & Halvetica as suggested in other forums but still not upto the mark.
Any suggestions?
Thanks
Yusuf
yusufmotiwala said:
I somehow find fonts rendering and readability is poor on Gtablet. I have been using Gtabcomb and now Flashback. I tried installing Segoe WP (WP& font), Roboto & Halvetica as suggested in other forums but still not upto the mark.
Any suggestions?
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Try this; see if you notice any difference. Download and install both the Terminal and Superuser apps from Market (if not already installed), then open a terminal window and type (only the commands in bold):
Code:
$ [B]su[/B]
# [B]echo -n 1 > /data/misc/font-hack[/B]
# [B]chmod 666 /data/misc/font-hack[/B]
This will turn on "Medium Hinting" in Apps > Dev Tools > Development Settings. A "0" in that file corresponds to "Light Hinting" in Dev Tools. (You can also try 2 for "Full Hinting", but, this will crash the Dev Tools app if you try to change the setting later as it supports only the Light and Medium hinting settings.) Reboot the system (this is not needed on Linux, not sure abt. Android) after you've changed the settings.
Thanks Rajeev, does this work on Honeycomb, I thought hinting was already enabled.
Anyway, I tried but it doesn't seems to show the Hinting option in apps->development
yusufmotiwala said:
Anyway, I tried but it doesn't seems to show the Hinting option in apps->development
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It's an app--not something in Settings. Look for the Dev Tools app in Apps.
All the custom ROMs that I've looked at have this app, so presumably, changing the hinting might improve font appearance--but, it's no guarantee. Whether hinting helps depends on a lot of variables: does the font have hints? Are the hints good? Does the font renderer understand and use those hints? Does the renderer understand hints but is hinting support not enabled (because of patents)?...
Try it, and tell me if it makes a difference.
Edit: I figure out how to accomplish what i was trying to do. So thank you to those that at least read and considered helping. If any one wants to know how post below and i will edit this post to show the updated batch file.
So i work for a guy who's company takes paper menus and puts them on android tablets. When loading said tablets there are at least 2 dozen settings/apps that have to be changed/removed. That being said this is not something I'm getting paid to write or make in the sense i was contracted to do so. This is something i am writing because in any given week i have to load 150+ tablets for whatever restaurant we might be setting up and i needed a way to make this process run a little smoother and to make my life a little easier. I'm new to batch scripting but it has been easy enough to figure and that's not what I'm stuck on. What I'm stuck on is a few commands i am having issues getting to work in adb.
Here is what i have so far: (It's not pretty but it does the job.)
@echo off
adb.exe shell "pm hide com.google.android.play.games;pm hide com.google.android.apps.photos;pm hide com.google.android.youtube;pm hide com.android.documentsui;pm hide com.google.android.keep;pm hide com.google.android.apps.docs;pm hide com.google.android.music;pm hide com.google.android.apps.docs.editors.slides;pm hide com.google.android.apps.docs.editors.docs;pm hide com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox;pm hide com.google.android.gm;pm hide com.google.android.apps.plus;pm hide com.google.android.talk;pm hide com.google.android.apps.maps;pm hide com.google.android.apps.genie.geniewidget;pm hide com.google.android.apps.books;pm hide com.google.android.videos;pm hide com.google.android.apps.magazines;pm hide com.google.android.apps.docs.editors.sheets"
adb.exe shell settings put global guest_user_enabled 0
adb.exe shell settings put system screen_off_timeout 600000
adb.exe install menuvative3.apk
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I still need to, if possible, Change the font settings from large to normal in display settings, Change screen lock to none and enable installation of none market apps with out the tablets being rooted.
For installing non market apps i have been trying to use "settings put secure install_none_market_apps 1" with no luck
The font i have found to be, if I'm correct, "settings put system font_scale ?" the question mark is where I'm stuck
and the screenlock settings i though was "settings put secure lockscreen.disabled 1" but still, no luck.
The tablets are all insignia 10.1" Flex Tablets
My knowledge of how the android os actually functions as a unit is pretty basic.
Everything in the script works great but as for the other three settings, any point in the right direction would greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advanced.
Dear All
It took me some time to find this easy solution - as most of the guides in the net are faulty.
So here's the short guide for the "searching ppl":
How to add Multi User to Galaxy S7 Edge (and other Samsung Phones) - ROOT required!
Generally you have to edit the file /system/build.prop and add three lines at the end of the file:
- Download from App Store: "BuildProp Editor"
- Edit & add above three lines to build.prop at the end of the file
Code:
# Multi Users
fw.max_users=3
fw.show_multiuserui=1
- Make sure, all letters are SMALL, NO CAPITALS - otherwise it won't work!
- Save & Reboot
That's it...
- Add users by dragging down the status bar twice
- Swith users by holding the power button (shutdown menu is extended)
Kind greetz from Switzerland - Chris
PS: see post #3 on how to add security for further users
How fix the password problem?
The multiuser is activated, but I can not assign a password to the created user, always that I try the application gives an error and closes instantly.
Same as nothing to have an unprotected user on the phone.
Thanks in advance.
VinnyWebMaster said:
The multiuser is activated, but I can not assign a password to the created user, always that I try the application gives an error and closes instantly.
Same as nothing to have an unprotected user on the phone.
Thanks in advance.
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Hi WebMaster - thanks for the hint! (And of course you're right: unusable, if not locked)
I tried it and you are right, IF you select user directly after startup from the lockscreen. I went from there into settings --> Security and before adding a PIN, it crashed.
When I do it the other way round, it works perfectly:
1. Logon with your root (normal) profile, wait until everything has started up
2. Then switch to the other user
3. Adding fingerprint & PIN from there works as normal.
After this, you can switch also from the initial lockscreen and you're asked for Fingerprint and/or PIN
Kind greetz - Chris
PS: Please leave a comment or thanks, if this solved your concerns
Please can you tell me why whenever i click the icon in the stastus bar System Ui has Failed appears <br>
I already rebooted and cleared the cache in Touchwiz and System Ui. My phone(J5 2016) runs stock android 6.0.1
Christoph21x said:
.......
After this, you can switch also from the initial lockscreen and you're asked for Fingerprint and/or PIN
PS: Please leave a comment or thanks, if this solved your concerns
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Hi Cris,
this "method" is not working with my rooted S7 and Nougat.
Setting app is crashing - always!
I am running Android 6.0.1 on a TV box. I have the user icon in the drop down menu, but nothing happens when I click it. So then I added your code to see if it changed anything, but still, nothing happens. Any ideas?
UPDATE: It worked. I had mistyped a line. Haha. Thanks for the code!!
I can not give a different name for each user
Does somebody know how to do it?
worked in my rooted Samsung a8 2018
I found it , thanks
Hi all,
This works with all devices on 8.1 without round corners. Oreo 8.1 by default has statusbar padding enabled for devices with round corners, but this device among a few others doesn't have round corners and the padding seems like a waste of space to me (and a few other users too)
A simple ADB shell command fixes it and removes the padding.
Requirements:
- Moto G4 Plus stock Android device
- Should be on 8.1
- A brain and should be able to read and follow the written instructions.
- Platform Tools along with ADB drivers
Steps:
- Assuming it's your first day at XDA, enable Developer Options in Settings by opening Settings > System > About device and tap the Build Number 7 times. You'll be promoted to enter your lockscreen password, do so.
- You'll see a new sub menu, Settings > System > Developer Options.
Tap and scroll down to USB Debugging and enable it.
- Connect your phone to your PC. Download the latest Platform Tools and run the ADB.exe file.
- Hover over an empty space in the Platform Tools folder, Hold Shift + Right Click > Open Command/PowerShell window here.
- Run <adb devices> and it will pop up a dialogue on your phone screen asking for access to your phone. Grant the permission.
- Run the above command again, and you'll see an alpha numerical code (will be different to each user)
- Run <adb shell settings put secure sysui_rounded_content_padding 0> (personally suggest you set 'sysui_rounded_content_padding -2' looks good )
- Voila!
Works on:
Moto G4 Plus (tested personally by me)
Credits: @Ron1209
Nice tip, thank you very much for your guide. It will be the first thing I'll do as soon as the update becomes available in Europe, probably sometime in the next 10 years :fingers-crossed:.
It makes no difference ...