Database Info

Possible new XDA feature set? Configuration Profiles per phone? (Ex: my T-mob Wing)

In my sigfile below, you can see what I am currently running on my T-Mobile Wing.
The XDA site, for a long time, has been incredible in terms of specific app development, ROMs, etc. But I am now looking for "the next step": Total configuration recommendations: specific recs on which apps to use together with which ROMs on a given device, to achieve a user's most important usability functions and requirements.
I am going to layout the current issues I have been having problems with, mention my priority requirements, and I'm seeking recs on a smart configuration suite that begins with the ROM, includes recs on the overall interface and app launcher, down to specific APP recommendations to best meet my needs.
I think it would be great to eventually create, for all phone models, a series of consumer-end-user "Configuration Profiles", so right now, this is a first request: Help me optimize my T-Mobile Wing for how I want to use it.
=================================
My current configuration:
ROM: OpenTouch 6.5 by ttran001
INTERFACE & APPLICATION LAUNCHER: iFonz 1.1.2 by ssj5trunks
BASIC PHONECALL FUNCTIONS:supbro's iDialer + iContact (via larna)
SOFT KEYBOARD: PCM Keyboard by tene w/ iPhone theme by 2manyphones /
PRIMARY BROWSER: Opera Mini (strengths: Speed, lightweight. Weakness: data input is 2-step process; no copy & paste of web content)
SECONDARY BROWSERS: Opera Mobile (but for some reason the SIP is always overriding my preference, and going back to Windows soft keyboard). Skyfire (great for Youtube; lacks setting your own startpage URL), NetFront (I think their zoom/context scroller is fantastic)
MUSIC PLAYER: A_C's s2p
VIDEO PLAYER: for YouTube videos I use Skyfire Browser; otherwise YouTubePlay by milesmowbray
PHOTO VIEWER/EDITOR/SLIDESHOW A_C's s2v and HTC Album
FILE EXPLORER: Total Commander (has drag & drop!)
==============================
I am having compatibility problems, and I can't seem to troubleshoot the conflict sources. So it's time for a new ROM install, and rebuild my suite of apps. I'm hoping I can get a few recs on ROMS, application launchers, dialers.
USABILITY REQUIREMENTS: I am a power user, but not a techie. I currently have been using iFonz, have liked it a lot. Large target areas for finger navigation is very impt to me, especially when driving. Any of the basic windows soft key areas, scrollbars, OK button, Top-bar icons are not big enough, creating for me constant flow of mistakes and "stalls" in completing just the baseline functions of "Speakerphone On/Off", Hide Keypad/Show keypad etc.
If I had my way I would never have to touch any aspect of the Windows Mobile Interface.. but alas, that is not yet a reality. But getting closer day by day, example: supbro just today released a "green button" app that ties his iDialer app to the windows default dialer. A major breakthrough in usability.
What's Impt to me and Not Impt to me: (for Recommendations' sake):
NOT IMPT: I never run games, don't care. Weather is nice, but not impt. SMS and MMS are lo priority for me, I rarely use them.
MOST IMPT:
1. Basic phone functions, that allow me to take the phone out of my pocket and not end up accidentally ending the call before even getting the phone to my ear. Similarly, not having something accidentally trigger DIALING A FRIEND's NUMBER, or last redial. Big large phone dialpad, with large phone number display, bullet-proof "speakerphone on/off", bullet-proof "SAVE TO CONTACTS" without all the windows mobile backflips of "select Save to Contacts" then do I press "NEW CONTACT" or what? Just terrible usability design. Easy to find REDIAL.
2. Contacts: Contact manager with THUMBNAIL PHOTOS list, jump to alphabet letter, LARGE target area for finger to tap-and-dial in 1-step, not going to a detail screen to select WHICH number, or do I want to send email or SMS.
3. MP3 player: big obvious target area for volume control, and timeline slider, next song, etc. Integration with hard keys for next song, pause, mute. (S2u2 already does this, but there are still some squirrely problems, which create that dreaded problem of wanting to turn it off asap but no, gotta do backflips to get to the interface.)
4. CLOSE ALL APPS: since the Wing has the crappy old processor of its predecessor (MDA), and limited RAM, there are always times when apps lock up, and you just want to close everthing
5. one-click WIFI ON/OFF -- I don't want to go through some cumbersome Communication Manager. When I get home to my network, or I am at a Starbucks and want to use Tmobile Hotspot, it should be a no-brainer: wifi is turned on, all available networks show by default, all in one step. Just as if I take my Macbook Pro to a cafe, click one icon, see all networks. To me it would be even greater if, when I was at a Tmobile Hotspot, 1 click would *turn on wifi, *launch Tmobile's hotspot utility
6. Voice Command, Handwriting SIP, and a bunch of other things.
=======================
I'm hoping someone will take me up on this big-picture request. Thank you

(reserved for photos/ videos of my current configuration)
saving this space to come back and add some photos and videos that demonstrate the problems I want to solve.

You've been a member long enough to know that "Recommend a Rom" threads usually get closed.
You've done a good job listing what exactly you're looking for but still the title is along the lines of a noobie swooping in and asking for the best rom.
Where you do differ is that you've obviously put a lot of thought into what you're looking for but alas the thread title doesnt accurately reflect the depth of your post.
Honestly this sounds like the idea that launched a project. The question is will you step up and coordinate the project?
If so I would recommend you retitle this thread and take the concept to the next step.

kyphur said:
You've been a member long enough to know that "Recommend a Rom" threads usually get closed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey thanks for replying, kyphur. Honestly, I actually didn't know that... but hold on -- there are 2 reasons why is this. So I will explain, because my intention is not to break rules & protocols -- i have too much respect for this community:
(a) I'm actually not a regular here to see those patterns. I started with an MDA, learned how to use XDA-dev site to try to find answers, went through my initiation of asking dumb questions, getting slapped to "use search, damnit", found my way to understanding the cultuyre and rules.. but even after a year I was too scared to ever try a mod on my MDA. And it wasn't til I got my Wing that I finally jumped in to do the whole shebang -- from hardSPL, to ROM installation, etc. With great help from various members here, like papamopps. And once I get something working, I am not frequenting the site, other than for subscribed threads to Apps that are still in development that I am using -- like for example iContact and iDialer. Because I really rely upon my phone for work, and once it's doing what I need it to do, I generally am not cruising looking for "the next great thing".
I want to add, though, that inasmuch as it may sound as though I am merely a taker and not a giver, the way that I give is by donating to the app developers and ROM chefs whose products I have used. And if you ask A_C and ssj5trunks, for example, my donations are large -- as my best way to compensate back. Also, I volunteer to host websites, and for example A_C hosts part of his new site www.A2-s2.com with me -- and I am happy to be of service that way.
(b) The second reason I didn't explicitly know that was a rule here is because I tend to mostly be in the WING/Herald "silo" -- and there, the user Pureskillz is known for doing thorough Reviews of Roms -- which are amazing -- and I have asked before in threads in that section for recs on which ROM might be fastest for me to use to run iFonz, and I have gotten really helpful replies.
This is all quite different from a newbie parachuting in to say "hey guys, what should I use on my Wing, i want to have an iphone type of phone". So thank you for letting me know - i honestly did not know this was verboten
You've done a good job listing what exactly you're looking for but still the title is along the lines of a noobie swooping in and asking for the best rom.
Where you do differ is that you've obviously put a lot of thought into what you're looking for but alas the thread title doesnt accurately reflect the depth of your post.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gotcha. Okay, I will go rename it: How would this sound?
Request: Suggested Apps for configuring my T-Mobile Wing for specific functions
I don't know if that's any better... but
Honestly this sounds like the idea that launched a project. The question is will you step up and coordinate the project?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, this is exactly part of what I want to do, but on a "clean page" so as to give newbies an easier pathway IN to understanding what is even AVAILABLE to them. But my interest is in mainstream users, not so much in the tricked-out overclocked custom registry code-writing userbase. Because to me, the whole site in its entirety is geared for those users.
So yes, I am wanting to create a website that places a mainstream-friendly "front end" to this amazing knowledge-base. All links would be attributed and linked to the actual XDA threads. But I want to provide capsule summaries that help users understand where they are being sent, and how they should approach a "Release" thread... What they can expect, the protocols for asking for help, etc.
So yes, I have given a lot of thought to what I think, as a Usability and Information Designer, is a huge gap between mainstream phione users who are finding out about XDA for first time -- largely thru YouTube videos which kinda blow their minds -- because its functionality is so beyond what is marketed to them as possible via carriers like (in USA) T-Mobile, AT&T, etc -- and the ability to comprehend this site -- which is gargantuan in nature, and a maze of complexity for a newbie.
Let me give a very tangible example: I would bet you that probably less than 1% of the users of Windows Mobile in the USA, who are using for example, the T-Mobile Wing, have any idea at all that they can get for free GPS location tracking on their phones, right now, today, just by using Google Maps. It's not ever presented to users. So you have this huge population of people who have a truly awesome function available for their phones right now -- that they have no idea is the case.
I was just discussing this in San Francisco the other day with the Product Development Manager at Google for the Google Maps product line.
So: re stepping up to the plate: one of the parts I have in mind is to help facilitate the assembly of -- the creation of -- these "Configuration Profiles" which would seek to create common function-sets that certain types of users would likely say "YES, THAT ONE, that's matches the kinds of things I am looking for.
So, with that in mind, I wanted to try it out here, and see if this would be something users here would support as being worthwhile, or more of just a pain in the ass. And, the timing is such that I really have had more and more problems having my Wing function effectively, and I know from my own experiences that the selection of a ROM is really quite critical to building the suite of apps & functionality I desire.
If so I would recommend you retitle this thread and take the concept to the next step.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am fine with your deleting the thread if it really isn't appropriate for the site. I was looking very carefully for where to post this, and this seemed like the best place. What are your thoughts?
thank you.

@ quicksite
The concept sounds great. I agree with you in that many people want functionality but who dont have the technical knowledge, (or want it initially) but who wish to maximise their devices usefulness. They also may not want to risk damaging something they have just paid £500 for. How many times have i had my friends come upto me and say, how did you do that? can i have it? can you do it for me? haha....
Whilst some may say this is not in the spirit of xda as one should not venture into the depths of winmo without technical knowledge, i believe it adheres to its basic principles and that xda should continue in its evolvement (sorry my spelling is crap today); the more the members the greater the knowledge.
Whilst i only have a Polaris and Prophet, i would be interested in this dev project as it could encompass all devices. It would benefit xda in that noobies who dont or cant get to grasp with the technicalities have somewhere (one place) to "glorify" their device. I think once the new members have blinged their device, their interest and curiousity expands... "mm i wonder what else i can do". THis leads to further reading and learning and such new blood and knowledge can only be of benefit.
Count me in.

@quick site
Sounds like you want to either get into cooking your own rom, or should grab an ultralite rom and install everything you want.
You may want to try task facade for a task manager. everything pops up with a large screenshot and to close apps you just have to long hold them.
You can set task facade to a hardbutton (or if your hardbuttons are all full you can use hbutton which allows you to map several programs to one key)

An introductory video example: to orient a new user
timmymarsh said:
@ quicksite
The concept sounds great. I agree with you in that many people want functionality but who dont have the technical knowledge, (or want it initially) but who wish to maximise their devices usefulness. They also may not want to risk damaging something they have just paid £500 for. How many times have i had my friends come upto me and say, how did you do that? can i have it? can you do it for me? haha....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for replying. ... Here's the video I recently added to YouTube just to show in a non-technical way WHAT one could do on their T-Mobile Wing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSc0Qz8tf_c
As I told the Google Maps Mobile product manager, I don't think a tiny fraction of people know about the GPS functioning just via Google Maps usage. This video would not appeal to the vast majority of XDA Members, however, because it is meant to be a soft-introduction to "outsiders", vs an information-packed walk-through or installation guide.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSc0Qz8tf_c
Whilst some may say this is not in the spirit of xda as one should not venture into the depths of winmo without technical knowledge, i believe it adheres to its basic principles and that xda should continue in its evolvement (sorry my spelling is crap today); the more the members the greater the knowledge.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My area of professional expertise is usability design, consumer content design, information design. I spent over a year getting the feel of XDA site before I jumped in to try to mod my Wing. I learned the culture, realized there were LOTS of preliminary things which I had no idea about, and had to first assemble a macro knowledge set up: what is Hardl SPL, what is an RUU, what is a radio rom, does a ROM have Windows Mobile OS in it? If so, Is it a legal license? what does "brick my phone" mean? ... I went to the Herald wiki, I saw guides for noobs to read, I read them, but then circular questions like: "Be sure to read XXXXX's great guide to flashing"... So I read this guide, many of them, and they'll say "be sure to make sure whether you have version x or version y; if X, never Hard SPL, if Y, it's okay; then a thread "Hard SPL working on WING!", then more guides how to Hard SPL your phone. Then you're supposed to pick a ROM.
If you ask for advice, you're told "start reading; everyone has different needs". SO you read up, use search, end up on a thread you think applies to ROMS for your phone, only to be 12 pages into the thread before you grasp the concept that this thread and this ROM is only for an HTC Himalaya. ANd it's completely irrelevant to my quest.
But senior people here would say "It's obvious, you were in the wrong area; look at the wiki, it has a list of phones, only search for ROMS for that phone"... but some ROMS are for many phones. Anyone, this is nothing new to those experienced with XDA. And I understand the frustration of senior members who keep posting stickies to help Newbies prep properly and not just dive in to ask "how do I get iphone on by HTC Touch?" etc.
But as can be seen very clearly from THIS SEMINAL THREAD, "Let People Ask Whatever They Like", that there is a culture "war" developing on XDA between those who feel adamantly: this site is for tinkerers, and if you've come just to get "kewl" stuff for your phone, you're in the wrong place. While other senior members are adamantly in the other corner of "why not help people? So what if they ask stupid questions? Just move on, ignore them, you don't need to chastise everyone."
Whilst i only have a Polaris and Prophet, i would be interested in this dev project as it could encompass all devices. It would benefit xda in that noobies who dont or cant get to grasp with the technicalities have somewhere (one place) to "glorify" their device. I think once the new members have blinged their device, their interest and curiousity expands... "mm i wonder what else i can do". THis leads to further reading and learning and such new blood and knowledge can only be of benefit.
Count me in.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is nice to hear. The biggest problem with any knowledge base is in formation design. Despite the wiki, despite the sticky threads, despite the SIG LINES with links to Help Guides, despite the warnings, it is my professional opinion that this spectacular knowledge-base called XDA-Developers, is like a big tinker-toy project with new arms constantly being added, and nodes that even everyday users don't even know about, because they are specialized areas for particular phones etc. And now there is a whole new initiative ( A GREAT ONE!) to develop for the Android platform.
To me, creating some landing pages that help orient newcomers without overloading them with a huge maze of a dense site -- helps everyone:
* for sure helps the newbie
* helps the senior members (who will see yet another 100 threads open per day with same old new questions) from having to constantly look at "101" type questions.
* helps the software authors in getting donations for their works by more easily shuttling newcomers to the specific kinds of apps they have been looking for.
I think we are seeing a crossroads right now, with the launch of the Apple Apps store, the Android Apps store, Blackberry's store, and Windows' expected entry (what's it called, Skyapps ?)... Critical mass has now been reached in the marketplace for owners of toucscreen devices to now embrace specialized apps and functions that fit specific needs, and manufacturers and carriers are finally figuring this out. XDA sits is a very unusual place amongst all this, given the open-source spirited "knowledge-share & donate" philosophy of the site. I think there will be longtime veteran members here who will not be happy with influxes of even MORE news trying to get the latest & greatest. I just believe the dam has broken, and it might be good to filter newcomers and orient them (my interest), vs having them flood in and irritate the **** out of the people who built this community...
Sorry for the lenghts of these posts. I'm just wanting to be clear.

joel2009 said:
@quick site
Sounds like you want to either get into cooking your own rom, or should grab an ultralite rom and install everything you want.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. Yes, that's what I have done to date. I started with a PapaMopps ROM, then moved to an OpenTouch ROM, and now am trying to consider WHICH ultralite woud work best for my configuration. It's these snags like dialers that confound me. AND which topbar is overriding another -- for exmaple, when iFonz is in use, it overrides the top bar with access to windows start logo, etc.
You may want to try task facade for a task manager. everything pops up with a large screenshot and to close apps you just have to long hold them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the rec. i will search for Task Facade.
I also just found WkTask from a thread here at XDA -- and tried it out. Now THAT's what I'm looking for... but again, it's the conflcit with apps or interfaces that overlay that top bar so that it is not a constant.
You can set task facade to a hardbutton (or if your hardbuttons are all full you can use hbutton which allows you to map several programs to one key)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahh, I never new until now about Hbutton. That's exactly what I need! I will search for it too. I am guessing it is context sensitive -- and offers a different default action depending on which app is the one in use?
thanks very much.

@ quicksite
Assume you are going to set up your own site for this project or is this something you are going to do on xda? im interested in assisting in this in which ever direction you want this to go, so let me know and i will find some time and buy some more coffee....

I'm not sure quite what you want to achieve, but I think what you want is a less technical (i.e. suitable for normal people) way to access the information here.
This sub forum was brought about because it was decided that new users probably wouldn't have a huge technical knowledge, so it woul be better to let them ask about "what's x" somewhere where people want to help rather than hack. So in a sense, this sub forum goes part way to achieving that.

Paid APK Hacking... specifically Escort Live

Hi Everyone, long time reader, modder, flasher, 0 time poster:.
I just wanted to get a gauge on the community's attitude towards hacking a paid application. Not for the intent of making it free, but for the intent of making it work!
You see, There's an app out there called "Escort Live!". Don't get me wrong, it's a great app as it integrates with your radar detector and laser jammers while driving... but it's rife with issues that the company just hasn't been able to address... see the following forum for more information on that:
I can't outside link yet due to the post count, but you can find all of the issues on escort live! for android's forums. I'm sure you can google them.
So... I made a post to try and help the community out by decompiling the 2.04apk hosted on their site... not even their latest version... with Virtuous 10 Studios, and Informed the community of the Sloppy Dev work, and that I would try to fix the issues with our specific phones (Motorola based).
2 days after that post was made...
I get permanently banned. no reason given.
They then pulled the old .apk's off of their site, so I've conveniently uploaded it to mega upload so everyone can see the crappy dev work for themselves... again... can't post links yet, but if someone with a post count pms me I'll send it to them.
I don't have enough of a post count to make a dev project out of this yet either, but as soon as I do then I'll post the progress on of the project on github.
If anyone would like to join in the effort to give PAYING CUSTOMERS a functioning apk to use with their phones... volunteers are more than welcome, especially those with java / xml experience.
I have a wordpress site that I can't link here, but it's my first name Philip Last Name Cabibi at wordpress if you're interested in tracking the issue with the full links.

market link
From a technical standpoint the app is free (with premium subscription options) and I can only assume there's some sort of verification process for that subscription so as long as that's kept in I would think this is certainly acceptable though I'm not sure what your post actually said
did find this though (basically just talks about it and then links here and the blog) relevant post on his blog is here

@ University of Pi...
You are correct... It's a free app; however, in order to all the app to connect with your escort compatible radar detector, one must purchase a separate cord, and pay for a yearly subscription of about 79.95.
Full disclosure: the management at escort has been nothing but professional, and have extended the subscription of the beta testers for another year as a result of all the bugs.
The problem though is the lack of updates. Alot of us have invested alot of money into the app. Cost of Radar detector, Cost of the special chord, plus the cost of the subscription. New users, unfortunately, don't get the benifit of the extended subscription.
The point is... is that users of certain phones, paid for a product, and the product isn't functioning correctly. The reasons for this are the sub-standard programming of the devs. No notation on the methods in the smali files, poorly designed xml arrays, cryptic variable definitions, etc.
Personally, I feel as if the management have no control over the fixing of the problems, and are handcuffed, because the initial developer purposefully made the program extremely difficult for a new developer to come in and fix the issues, as a result of the poor structure of the program itself.
Anyway, glad to see you found those links... Thank you... didn't know that another thread was made requesting information about what happened to the original thread (they are correct, I in no way posted the entire source code of the program on their site) What I did was point out the flaws, and logcat results that tell a completely different story regarding the root issues effecting motorola devices than what the devs have told management, and as a result, what management has in turn relayed to the users.
Unfortunately, I can't follow up in the forum as I am permanently banned, but I, and many others, really just want the program to work correctly. It's an excellent concept and it's a shame that Escort is resorting to these types of tactics in an attempt to prevent the open source community from improving their product.
I'm sure even with the improvements, a subscription fee would still be required; however, the original concept of the OP was to convey the fact that it's possible for the open source community to bypass the "premium features".
I don't condone this; however, it's a difficult pill to swallow when faced between choosing the ethical choice.... paying the yearly subscription for a poorly functioning app... or sideloading a fully functioning app created by an open source community because the official developers aren't making any progress.

Would any other senior devs on this site wish to chime in on this?

You should have never been banned from there...but hey...no good deed goes unpunished right?
I've had EL for quite some time and it's irritating to no end to see how flawed it is. It's a shame that they won't welcome help and instead act that way toward people trying to do something good for them.

Hacking and posting an app that uses paid services is considered warez and will not allowed to be posted here nor will any help be given in doing so.

[projekt.] is a bit touchy on bad reviews.. with good reason?

Hello everyone!
I had a bit of a critical outlet on Substratum. Let me explain why. I've been having some buggy experiences with Substratum overall. Apps not even booting, awkward contrast issues (dark text on dark background and the opposite), bootloops that needed fixing with the Substratum recovery zip, seeing "up-to-date" on layers after I uninstalled them all and rebooted, you name it. The issues have been consistent since Nougat received OMS support, throughout several ROMs. Now, I've always found a way to work around the issues or I sorted it by combining several themes. I've gladly spent some money on premium themes like Flux, Spectrum or Glow but after flashing the first public Android Oreo ROM for OnePlus One, I was a bit surprised by the way [projekt.] handled things. I rooted with Magisk 14.0 and on Substratum installation, I was greeted with this screen:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
I was not presented with a root request at any point.
When tapping "DOWNLOAD NOW!" it took me to andromeda ★ substratum stock rootless backend (Unreleased) that is rather expensive for an add-on (€1.99) and call me Jon Snow here but shouldn't 'rootless' already be a part of Substratum itself? I also wondered why this wasn't released by [projekt.] but by [projekt.] development team.
I uninstalled the official Substratum (v842) and sideloaded a "bleeding edge build" (v846) from a channel I've been following on Telegram (not sure if I'm allowed to share it so I won't). That one immediately prompted for root and works great. Ironically, after applying themes with that one, replacing the sideloaded build with the official Play Store version now works too. The main point is that I was forced into payment first, so I posted the following review on Play and got the reply stated below it:
I found that last sentence to be somewhat unprofessional: "Or you could always create your own theming app.", it's the type of answer I would expect of a XDA troll or in a flame, not by a representative of the community-driven project that has now become the most prominent player in Android theming. Its presence here as "XDA Community app" dictates that it should be free all the way, no?
https://forum.xda-developers.com/announcement.php?a=81 said:
11. Don’t post with the intention of selling something.
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Click to collapse
The Andromeda thread cleverly works around this as follows:
nicholaschum said:
Play Store (Andromeda): You can install the latest Substratum on Android Oreo, unrooted, and it will prompt you directly (can't link due to paid addon)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I could be in the wrong here. Heck, I probably am, but why? If it had remained unanswered, it would just've been another silly review but considering I seem to have struck a chord here, I'd love to have your opinion. Who better than the community itself to judge me :silly:

Timmmmaaahh said:
I was greeted with this screen:
I was not presented with a root request at any point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Timmmmaaahh said:
I uninstalled the official Substratum (v842) and sideloaded a "bleeding edge build" (v846) from a channel I've been following on Telegram (not sure if I'm allowed to share it so I won't).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Every version on Play Store always requests root, but the act of uninstalling the Play Store version in favor of the Telegram debug versions reset the reauthentication trigger on SuperSU/Magisk, so you were asked for it again.
Timmmmaaahh said:
When tapping "DOWNLOAD NOW!" it took me to andromeda ★ substratum stock rootless backend (Unreleased) that is rather expensive for an add-on (€1.99) and call me Jon Snow here but shouldn't 'rootless' already be a part of Substratum itself? I also wondered why this wasn't released by [projekt.] but by [projekt.] development team.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This addon is not included in Substratum for several reasons. Firstly, the nature of the app requires it to be run in a static manner as a normal Java desktop app. Secondly, just like Theme Interfacer, we aren't meant to update it often, requiring a full restart of the device. They are released by our company, of which XDA works with as a partner.
Timmmmaaahh said:
The main point is that I was forced into payment first, so I posted the following review on Play and got the reply stated below it:
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Click to collapse
You weren't forced into payment, you just were not aware that reinstalling the application would reset the authentication prompt delivered through Magisk/SuperSU.
Timmmmaaahh said:
I found that last sentence to be somewhat unprofessional: "Or you could always create your own theming app.", it's the type of answer I would expect of a XDA troll or in a flame, not by a representative of the community-driven project that has now become the most prominent player in Android theming. Its presence here as "XDA Community app" dictates that it should be free all the way, no?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope you understand that by one-starring our application, you have every right to do so. But using it to get our attention, you resorted to the lowest of Play Store reviews already. I'm not saying anyone did anything wrong, but you could have contacted us directly regarding complaints or bug reports. You can check our source code and see that we have not touched the root requester logic for root checks in a long while, yet it magically works after uninstalling the Play Store version (different signature from our CI builds) - the reason is due to the authentication on Magisk/SuperSU.
I hope you understand that you could have easily spoken to us, but you ended up using the Play Store's review place. You could have contacted me here, and I would be able to help you. We are all trying to have fun, if you believe that us asking for a small payment for all our work is too much to ask for, then what Char said was rather correct, you should try building it yourself.
Timmmmaaahh said:
The Andromeda thread cleverly works around this as follows:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not "cleverly", it's for respecting the forum rules. We are in partnership with XDA afterall, just compare our Play Store address with the Contact address on the site.

Timmmmaaahh said:
Hello everyone!
I had a bit of a critical outlet on Substratum. Let me explain why. I've been having some buggy experiences with Substratum overall. Apps not even booting, awkward contrast issues (dark text on dark background and the opposite), bootloops that needed fixing with the Substratum recovery zip, seeing "up-to-date" on layers after I uninstalled them all and rebooted, you name it. The issues have been consistent since Nougat received OMS support, throughout several ROMs. Now, I've always found a way to work around the issues or I sorted it by combining several themes. I've gladly spent some money on premium themes like Flux, Spectrum or Glow but after flashing the first public Android Oreo ROM for OnePlus One, I was a bit surprised by the way [projekt.] handled things. I rooted with Magisk 14.0 and on Substratum installation, I was greeted with this screen:
I was not presented with a root request at any point.
When tapping "DOWNLOAD NOW!" it took me to andromeda ★ substratum stock rootless backend (Unreleased) that is rather expensive for an add-on (€1.99) and call me Jon Snow here but shouldn't 'rootless' already be a part of Substratum itself? I also wondered why this wasn't released by [projekt.] but by [projekt.] development team.
I uninstalled the official Substratum (v842) and sideloaded a "bleeding edge build" (v846) from a channel I've been following on Telegram (not sure if I'm allowed to share it so I won't). That one immediately prompted for root and works great. Ironically, after applying themes with that one, replacing the sideloaded build with the official Play Store version now works too. The main point is that I was forced into payment first, so I posted the following review on Play and got the reply stated below it:
I found that last sentence to be somewhat unprofessional: "Or you could always create your own theming app.", it's the type of answer I would expect of a XDA troll or in a flame, not by a representative of the community-driven project that has now become the most prominent player in Android theming. Its presence here as "XDA Community app" dictates that it should be free all the way, no?
The Andromeda thread cleverly works around this as follows:
I could be in the wrong here. Heck, I probably am, but why? If it had remained unanswered, it would just've been another silly review but considering I seem to have struck a chord here, I'd love to have your opinion. Who better than the community itself to judge me :silly:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Since you know where our thread is, it would have been better for you to bring your concerns over being 'forced' to purchase Andromeda to us here, rather than in the reviews on the play store.

@nicholaschum @Char_G
Good day!
Look at that, mister Chum himself responds and that is, naturally, very much appreciated. About the term 'force', of course I could find my way around it, this is more about the people that can't. And don't think I didn't consult anyone beforehand, I'd spoken about aforementioned issues to theme developers and people that exceed my skill level with great length. But you're right, I should've gone to the source, that approach was wrong of me. I have adjusted the review yesterday. Fact remains, though, that Substratum still has a long way to go in terms of compatibility and stability. I'm glad I had your undivided attention to the matter. In all honesty, I personally din't consider Play Store reviews to be as 'significant' as they seem to be judging by the reaction. Of course, I'm not a developer, how would I know. Therefore I offer my apologies and I'll be more considerate upon writing further reviews.
It's a little troubling, still, that non-rooted users are still forced into payment or did I misunderstand that? Say a 6P owner takes the official Oreo update and installs Substratum, that person will have to pay for Andromeda for any theming to work, right? I'm not saying that's bad practise, it is well within your right to get paid for the tremendous amount of amazing work you guys do. Heck, I wouldn't even mind an ad or two in Substratum. I'm merely highlighting the fine line between your profitable enterprise and the free open source nature of this community.
For the record, again, that is completely unrelated to my endless respect for your work.

Timmmmaaahh said:
@nicholaschum @Char_G
Good day!
Look at that, mister Chum himself responds and that is, naturally, very much appreciated. About the term 'force', of course I could find my way around it, this is more about the people that can't. And don't think I didn't consult anyone beforehand, I'd spoken about aforementioned issues to theme developers and people that exceed my skill level with great length. But you're right, I should've gone to the source, that approach was wrong of me. I have adjusted the review yesterday. Fact remains, though, that Substratum still has a long way to go in terms of compatibility and stability. I'm glad I had your undivided attention to the matter. In all honesty, I personally din't consider Play Store reviews to be as 'significant' as they seem to be judging by the reaction. Of course, I'm not a developer, how would I know. Therefore I offer my apologies and I'll be more considerate upon writing further reviews.
It's a little troubling, still, that non-rooted users are still forced into payment or did I misunderstand that? Say a 6P owner takes the official Oreo update and installs Substratum, that person will have to pay for Andromeda for any theming to work, right? I'm not saying that's bad practise, it is well within your right to get paid for the tremendous amount of amazing work you guys do. Heck, I wouldn't even mind an ad or two in Substratum. I'm merely highlighting the fine line between your profitable enterprise and the free open source nature of this community.
For the record, again, that is completely unrelated to my endless respect for your work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again, no one is being 'forced' to do anything, they are quite welcome to use Substratum with root or with a supported custom ROM for free. If they choose to stay unrooted, then they will have to choose between paying the small fee to use Substratum with andromeda or theming manually without our apps to ease the process.

Am I missing something or has XDA place SEVERE restrictions on what devices

It's been a spell since I've last logged into XDA Developers... something I used to do often in the days of hacking my Android phones.... something I did a lot of from early days through about 2017.... So.... I've been turned on to Ulefone phones and I have found them to be quite superior and cost effective against the miss-mash of your typical HTC, Samsung, etc. I've decided to take the plunge and root one of these devices (I own three) and thought to myself..... I said self?.... XDA is the place to go! Imagine my surprise when I found that there is little to nothing on Ulefone on XDA-Developers and Ulefone, among many other manufactures aren't even listed under Devices. Further, it appears that XDA has become just one giant blog. With the face lift I recognize nothing about XDA. Can't even find the listing of forums by devices and history that used to exist. Has XDA jumped the shark since I last participated? If so why? If not... will someone please explain what I am missing?
Thanks
hdokes

These are cool. IR cam too. Was looking at them a while back but the Note 10+ fit my purposes better.
These are a great survial phone.

The answer is simple. It is because ulefone phones uses either mediatek or unisoc chipsets, which are not popular enough for the developers in XDA to own. Most XDA developers own Snapdragon or Exynos (or both) phones.

hdokes said:
Can't even find the listing of forums by devices
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not convinced if I correctly understood but is it this you're looking for?
All forums by manufacturer
We have thousands of forums for almost every device by all manufacturers. Use this section to find what you're looking for, or use the search at the top of the site.
forum.xda-developers.com
Legacy and Low Activity Devices are listed here:
Legacy & Low Activity Devices
forum.xda-developers.com
Development for devices that don't have an own device forum (yet) is available at
Miscellaneous Android Development
For ROMs, kernels, tools and scripts only (devices that do not have a forum on XDA)
forum.xda-developers.com
And same applies for guides, how-to's etc:
Android General
Android root tutorials, one-click root tools, ROMs and other Android modifications can be found in this forum for devices without a dedicated device forum
forum.xda-developers.com
Maybe just a look into General Development bings something up, in which you're interested:
General Development
forum.xda-developers.com

Oswald Boelcke said:
I'm not convinced if I correctly understood but is it this you're looking for?
All forums by manufacturer
We have thousands of forums for almost every device by all manufacturers. Use this section to find what you're looking for, or use the search at the top of the site.
forum.xda-developers.com
Legacy and Low Activity Devices are listed here:
Legacy & Low Activity Devices
forum.xda-developers.com
Development for devices that don't have an own device forum (yet) is available at
Miscellaneous Android Development
For ROMs, kernels, tools and scripts only (devices that do not have a forum on XDA)
forum.xda-developers.com
And same applies for guides, how-to's etc:
Android General
Android root tutorials, one-click root tools, ROMs and other Android modifications can be found in this forum for devices without a dedicated device forum
forum.xda-developers.com
Maybe just a look into General Development bings something up, in which you're interested:
General Development
forum.xda-developers.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, where is General Development listed on the navigation menu?
I tried to find it... three, four times.
The site layout is not intuitive, worse hitting the back key makes you have to start over on the menu options many times.
How hard is navigation here? I bookmark the Note 10+ forum
Not to b*tch but damn I literally find these XDA sub forums by accident like viewing your post/links or when doing a Google search.
Meh...

blackhawk said:
Ok, where is General Development listed on the navigation menu?
I tried to find it... three, four times.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I certainly don't want to argue or to start a discussion how objective or subjective intuition is but I find General Development via https://forum.xda-developers.com/ and then at all categories (left column, pretty much down). I'm just a moderator here and have nothing to do with the appearance of the website but I'm convinced it's not so easy to setup a site with I don't know how many fora but I know already with 3.5+ million threads. Personally (but I'm not well educated in this manner) I don't know a subject matter website of this size. And I'm convinced our admins as the relay stations to the backroom guys are always interested in constructive suggestions. So, please do not hesitate to share your suggestions.
Spoiler: Screenshot
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}

Oswald Boelcke said:
I certainly don't want to argue or to start a discussion how objective or subjective intuition is but I find General Development via https://forum.xda-developers.com/ and then at all categories (left column, pretty much down). I'm just a moderator here and have nothing to do with the appearance of the website but I'm convinced it's not so easy to setup a site with I don't know how many fora but I know already with 3.5+ million threads. Personally (but I'm not well educated in this manner) I don't know a subject matter website of this size. And I'm convinced our admins as the relay stations to the backroom guys are always interested in constructive suggestions. So, please do not hesitate to share your suggestions.
Spoiler: Screenshot
View attachment 5382487
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the new tricks and doors
No intention to argue or rant... but damn it's noticable.
Ok I get it you have to actually tap on "forum" to get to next menu even through there are visible categories below it. Mr Wizard we know you can do it... yeah-yeah, sure-sure, right. Hell I'm not even sure of the navigation pathway half the time and it isn't shown... or is it? Hoping my fingers remember.
The problem is widespread, inconsistent in presentation and pervasive here. I normally ignore it because it's like trying to ID individuals in a school of sardines, just too many to bother trying to describe.
Worse I've seen what happens when they -try- to streamline features here. *groan*
The last edit button change is still fking with my dyslexic brain The funny part is was better the way it was before... so yeah any "fixes" here are scary and guarentee to cause spatial distortion.
Which is why I generally ignore them. Unfortunately a lot of this forum gets ignore as well because of the navigation labyrinth.
meh.

blackhawk said:
The last edit button change is still fking with my dyslexic brain
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just for me to learn - although it has to wait till tomorrow as my usual logoff time approaches, what do you mean by "last edit button change"?

Oswald Boelcke said:
I certainly don't want to argue or to start a discussion how objective or subjective intuition is but I find General Development via https://forum.xda-developers.com/ and then at all categories (left column, pretty much down). I'm just a moderator here and have nothing to do with the appearance of the website but I'm convinced it's not so easy to setup a site with I don't know how many fora but I know already with 3.5+ million threads. Personally (but I'm not well educated in this manner) I don't know a subject matter website of this size. And I'm convinced our admins as the relay stations to the backroom guys are always interested in constructive suggestions. So, please do not hesitate to share your suggestions.
Spoiler: Screenshot
View attachment 5382487
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With a site as large as XDA it's difficult to create an easy-to-use directory.
Spoiler: Maybe General Development links can have their own box like General Discussion does?
One issue could be: All Categories" is collapsed by default, so it's not obvious that it's not just device forums?
Spoiler: screenshot
Personally, I would like to see a direct link to General Discussion and General Development in this bar.
@svetius

sd_shadow said:
With a site as large as XDA it's difficult to create an easy-to-use directory.
Spoiler: Maybe General Development links can have their own box like General Discussion does?
View attachment 5382559
One issue could be: All Categories" is collapsed by default, so it's not obvious that it's not just device forums?
Spoiler: screenshot
View attachment 5382583
Personally, I would like to see a direct link to General Discussion and General Development in this bar.
View attachment 5382555
@svetius
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Personally, I'm absolutely with you. Let's see how it evolves. From my personal point of view, since the transition to XF we really walked in big steps.

Oswald Boelcke said:
Just for me to learn - although it has to wait till tomorrow as my usual logoff time approaches, what do you mean by "last edit button change"?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This. It was better before. The least used buttons should be on the left margin.

blackhawk said:
This. It was better before. The least used buttons should be on the left margin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right it was like this

blackhawk said:
This. It was better before. The least used buttons should be on the left margin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks very much. You confirmed what I assumed it to be. It's possible to change that via Stylus on Firefox, the browser I always use.
Spoiler: Screenshot

Oswald Boelcke said:
Thanks very much. You confirmed what I assumed it to be. It's possible to change that via Stylus on Firefox, the browser I always use.
Spoiler: Screenshot
View attachment 5382595
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Spoiler: Off-topic: Firefox?
You may be the only one still using it.
Firefox Lost 46 Million Users in the Last Three Years
Yikes, Firefox Lost 46 Million Users in the Last Three Years
The popularity of Chromium-based browsers is proving to be an uphill battle for Firefox.
gizmodo.com

sd_shadow said:
With a site as large as XDA it's difficult to create an easy-to-use directory.
Spoiler: Maybe General Development links can have their own box like General Discussion does?
View attachment 5382559
One issue could be: All Categories" is collapsed by default, so it's not obvious that it's not just device forums?
Spoiler: screenshot
View attachment 5382583
Personally, I would like to see a direct link to General Discussion and General Development in this bar.
View attachment 5382555
@svetius
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly, I don't like the idea of giving General Development much higher visibility...I much rather people use the search, and go into a specific section for the sake of organization.

svetius said:
Honestly, I don't like the idea of giving General Development much higher visibility...I much rather people use the search, and go into a specific section for the sake of organization.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It should be a visible option. More to do, learn, explore. You don't use what you don't know is there.
Search? Don't get me started. To do a search of XDA I use the Google search engine "*whatever*, XDA"

sd_shadow said:
Spoiler: Off-topic: Firefox?
You may be the only one still using it.
Firefox Lost 46 Million Users in the Last Three Years
Yikes, Firefox Lost 46 Million Users in the Last Three Years
The popularity of Chromium-based browsers is proving to be an uphill battle for Firefox.
gizmodo.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use my Android only for all internet, Brave is my primary browser. I have no website apks loaded.
My laptop never touches the internet
Malware issues are pretty much nonexistent for me on both devices.

Question Circumventing application device ban

Does anyone know how to know how to circumvent a device ban on android? Clearing cache, deleting app, deleting app history does not work. They are placing a device ban for this particular app on the phone.
Any recommendations or advice appreciated.
Thank you.

They who. What app

Tinder

Maybe "They" think it is not appropriate. Any other app being blocked? When blocked does it give you some info/message

Am just trying to figure out how to circumvent a device ban. Have been researching xprivacy and things like this but have not quite figure out how they are linking the device. Even a factory reset doesn’t work.

If a factory reset didn't fix it I'd wonder if your phone is even legal? That pretty much has to be the IMEI is banned AFAIK.
Did you buy it from a legit source?

Laser422 said:
Am just trying to figure out how to circumvent a device ban. Have been researching xprivacy and things like this but have not quite figure out how they are linking the device. Even a factory reset doesn’t work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably IMEI based. That's what other apps like Snapchat have used for handing out device bans. You can't circumvent it if its IMEI based unless you know how to mask it or spoof it. The app may also look for additional things like the MAC address and IP address in combination.

enigmaamit said:
Probably IMEI based. That's what other apps like Snapchat have used for handing out device bans. You can't circumvent it if its IMEI based unless you know how to mask it or spoof it. The app may also look for additional things like the MAC address and IP address in combination.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I would imagine it is IMEI based.
Any recommendations on how to spoof it?
Thanks

Laser422 said:
Yeah, I would imagine it is IMEI based.
Any recommendations on how to spoof it?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I doubt XDA would take kindly to people advising how to conceal IMEI.

Journyman16 said:
I doubt XDA would take kindly to people advising how to conceal IMEI.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello and good afternoon, @Journyman16
Just for your information: We do not allow discussions of or support for the change or edit of IMEI's. But we accept if the discussion is about the restoration or repair of the original IMEI. And we also allow spoofing or masking of IMEI as long as it's done on sofware level and the actual, original IMEI isn't tampered with. Spoofing of IMEI's is mainly used out of privacy concerns; however, if such talks deviate to illegal purposes we'd highly appreciate a report.
Regards
Oswald Boelcke
Senior Moderator

Oswald Boelcke said:
Hello and good afternoon, @Journyman16
Just for your information: We do not allow discussions of or support for the change or edit of IMEI's. But we accept if the discussion is about the restoration or repair of the original IMEI. And we also allow spoofing or masking of IMEI as long as it's done on sofware level and the actual, original IMEI isn't tampered with. Spoofing of IMEI's is mainly used out of privacy concerns; however, if such talks deviate to illegal purposes we'd highly appreciate a report.
Regards
Oswald Boelcke
Senior Moderator
CC: @Badger50
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for clarifying Oswald. I didn't know how it might be seen by XDA. TBH I didn't really know what a 'device ban' is having only heard of IMEI's being banned after the phone being stolen.

Laser422 said:
Yeah, I would imagine it is IMEI based.
Any recommendations on how to spoof it?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There used to be some ways to do that (with root) on older android versions, but i've never needed to try anything like this personally.
I believe there are xposed modules purpose built for obfuscating IMEI, MAC address and IP address, to disallow apps from identifying devices, like xprivacy, but again, I don't think these work on newer versions of Android.
You can try, but going by my current knowledge (on newer android versions), the only recourse you have is to get a new device (and preferably use a different account) to log into the app in question if it really matters to you.

Journyman16 said:
TBH I didn't really know what a 'device ban' is having only heard of IMEI's being banned after the phone being stolen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are many apps that use "device ban" in addition to "account ban". They usually create a device ID in their database which is based on IMEI, MAC address and IP addresses, and can deny access to their services based on one or more of these identifiers.
Game companies do this all the time, and social media companies like SnapChat and TikTok also employ similar banning techniques. And over the years, it's getting damn near impossible to circumvent these bans. Upto Android 6, you could just provide fake device identifiers to the app with xposed modules and mess around with them but with all the exploits being patched, it is no longer that easy on a software level now.

Thanks for the response
We have tried xprivacy and haven’t had much luck. I’m trying to figure out what the next step is

In these forums the people aren’t experienced enough because this is really getting hard/technical, you’re looking in the wrong place sorry to tell you

Kekleroni said:
In these forums the people aren’t experienced enough because this is really getting hard/technical, you’re looking in the wrong place sorry to tell you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are many knowledgeable people on this forum, but with how large this site is, we can't all see everything. Comments like yours don't help, and I'd like to point you to Rule 10:
10. Help others if you can.
If you see posts from others where you can help out, please do so. This place exists because people are helping each other, and even if you are relatively new to the matter, there's probably quite a few people with less experience than you, who could benefit from what you've learned. Don't be shy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have nothing constructive and helpful to say, it is probably better to say nothing.

@Laser422 What do you mean by "device ban"? Are you saying that the Play Store won't let you install the app? Can you provide screenshots? What make and model is your phone, and what OS version are you running? Is your bootloader unlocked and are you rooted?
Do this:
Go to Play Store. Tap profile icon upper right. Tap Settings.
Expand About section. Do you see "Play Protect certification - Device is certified"?

V0latyle said:
@Laser422 What do you mean by "device ban"? Are you saying that the Play Store won't let you install the app? Can you provide screenshots? What make and model is your phone, and what OS version are you running? Is your bootloader unlocked and are you rooted?
Do this:
Go to Play Store. Tap profile icon upper right. Tap Settings.
Expand About section. Do you see "Play Protect certification - Device is certified"?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's most likely an account ban. Tinder probably thought he was catfishing. Or somebody reported him.
Terms of Use
With 43 billion matches to date, Tinder® is the world’s most popular dating app, making it the place to meet new people.
policies.tinder.com

gernerttl said:
It's most likely an account ban. Tinder probably thought he was catfishing. Or somebody reported him.
Terms of Use
With 43 billion matches to date, Tinder® is the world’s most popular dating app, making it the place to meet new people.
policies.tinder.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That wouldn't prevent him from installing the app. He just wouldn't be able to log in.

Or using a company phone with policy in place only allowing some apps