Database Info

THANKS AT&T for an Android Phone! But NO WAY to your implmentation of it...

Source: HERE
AT&T: The most crippled Android experience
We try to be fair to every handset, but the are some we just can’t help but make fun of. Everyone thought Verizon was going to cripple Android, but they became friends with Google and offered the full Android experience.
AT&T is in bed with Apple and has gone to extreme measures to make sure their first Android phone, the Motorola Backflip, was under-powered and locked down. We already knew about the lack of Google search and today another limitation has surfaced.
The Backflip has no option to install applications from unknown sources (aka non-Market applications). This is important to note because every Android phone (that I know of) has included this as a default option of the Android OS.
Maybe it was done to “protect” the users, but this blocks the install of apps purchased on alternative markets and beta apps like Swype. Developers will also be unable to easily load and test their apps on the device before they release them.
Basically, AT&T is offering the same locked-in market experience that iPhone users get to enjoy put up with.
To add insult to injury, customers are also not allowed to remove the dozen or so AT&T apps that come preloaded with the device (bloatware). Android phones already struggle with limited storage space and having the carrier dictate which ones are installed on a user’s phone is a disappointment.
So to recap the AT&T Backflip:
1. Outdated Android 1.5 with Motoblur
2. No Google search (replaced by Yahoo)
3. Unable to remove AT&T bloatware apps
4. Cannot install non-market apps
Let us hope that AT&T offers a more open experience on their future devices, because this is not the Android that we know and love.
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Honestly, I am SO... SO SO SO SO SO SO glad I am not on AT&T with my Android devices, nor that I waited for them to FINALLY get one, I would be PI$$ED about this!!
Well, until it was rooted and custom ROM's released... but still... seriously??

Yep, they just don't get it & continue to screw their customers!

[Q] n00b with 2 new/ Tmobile Avants - rudimentary questions about custom roms

Hi ... I'm a n00b when it comes to phone hacks but not technology so please don't dumb your answers down on account of me.
We bought two Tmobile Samsung Avants a cpl days ago (one to use and one as a spare) because the price was right and I'm leaving a WM device for Android. HOWEVER I don't like the idea that Google, who has no personal or business relationship with me, has access to all my personal information just because I'm using a phone they've branded. So I'm looking for an Android ROM that doesn't have Google tentacles in it.
I've been researching this since we got the phones but I'm not clear on what ROMS are avail for my phone ... it doesn't look like cyanogenmod has one (although they have one for my gf's old Exhibit T599!! ) - is there a repository, website or thread I haven't found that has a list of what's out there? am I stuck rooting the phone and MANUALLY removing everything? The phones have Kitkat installed.
I saw a youtube vid where they've ported Lollipop to the Avant - would that come de-Googled?
Do Android ROMs from Android come without a Google footprint? Some users have posted that Android as an independent company is not necessarily Google and their OS is NOT a Google product so my thoughts are you can have one without the other.
Any help / info is appreciated. thanks!

master-richie said:
Hi ... I'm a n00b when it comes to phone hacks but not technology so please don't dumb your answers down on account of me.
We bought two Tmobile Samsung Avants a cpl days ago (one to use and one as a spare) because the price was right and I'm leaving a WM device for Android. HOWEVER I don't like the idea that Google, who has no personal or business relationship with me, has access to all my personal information just because I'm using a phone they've branded. So I'm looking for an Android ROM that doesn't have Google tentacles in it.
I've been researching this since we got the phones but I'm not clear on what ROMS are avail for my phone ... it doesn't look like cyanogenmod has one (although they have one for my gf's old Exhibit T599!! ) - is there a repository, website or thread I haven't found that has a list of what's out there? am I stuck rooting the phone and MANUALLY removing everything? The phones have Kitkat installed.
I saw a youtube vid where they've ported Lollipop to the Avant - would that come de-Googled?
Do Android ROMs from Android come without a Google footprint? Some users have posted that Android as an independent company is not necessarily Google and their OS is NOT a Google product so my thoughts are you can have one without the other.
Any help / info is appreciated. thanks!
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Click to collapse
There is a project that doesnt have google stuff but you lose alot. Like no app store and things like that. Also Android is a google project. Like WP is by microsoft.
No there is no site like you are looking for.
Android is not a company but an OS like IOS, Windows, Linux and such.
The issue is mainly that if your device is not widely used then there may not be anything available for it. You also need to find out if the bootloader is locked or not and if kernel source is available for the device.
Google doesnt brand phones persay. The android operating system is theirs.

master-richie said:
Hi ... I'm a n00b when it comes to phone hacks but not technology so please don't dumb your answers down on account of me.
We bought two Tmobile Samsung Avants a cpl days ago (one to use and one as a spare) because the price was right and I'm leaving a WM device for Android. HOWEVER I don't like the idea that Google, who has no personal or business relationship with me, has access to all my personal information just because I'm using a phone they've branded. So I'm looking for an Android ROM that doesn't have Google tentacles in it.
I've been researching this since we got the phones but I'm not clear on what ROMS are avail for my phone ... it doesn't look like cyanogenmod has one (although they have one for my gf's old Exhibit T599!! ) - is there a repository, website or thread I haven't found that has a list of what's out there? am I stuck rooting the phone and MANUALLY removing everything? The phones have Kitkat installed.
I saw a youtube vid where they've ported Lollipop to the Avant - would that come de-Googled?
Do Android ROMs from Android come without a Google footprint? Some users have posted that Android as an independent company is not necessarily Google and their OS is NOT a Google product so my thoughts are you can have one without the other.
Any help / info is appreciated. thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google has not shown itself to be a malicious company. Is it a little creepy that they know everything about you? Yes. Will it make your user experience better? Probably. When you flash a custom ROM it removes all of the Google apps but the Google apps are really useful. Play Store, Maps, Gmail (can store all your contacts so if you get a new phone you can just import them), etc. are all very useful in my opinion. I don't personally need Google Music for example so I deleted that. All of my music comes through Spotify and Bandcamp downloads. But I can't imagine my phone without the Play Store and Gmail. It would make the experience very annoying. Cyanogen Inc. is looking into pushing their ROMs on to retail Android phones so the phone would come with Cyanogenmod and have their own equivalent to GApps. But, that won't happen for a while. The best bet to get Google out of your hair is to root it and delete the apps you don't need, or use SlimRom.
Edit: Make sure your phone is the same model as the ones that SlimRom is created for.

dictatorkara said:
Google has not shown itself to be a malicious company. Is it a little creepy that they know everything about you? Yes. Will it make your user experience better? Probably. When you flash a custom ROM it removes all of the Google apps but the Google apps are really useful. Play Store, Maps, Gmail (can store all your contacts so if you get a new phone you can just import them), etc. are all very useful in my opinion. I don't personally need Google Music for example so I deleted that. All of my music comes through Spotify and Bandcamp downloads. But I can't imagine my phone without the Play Store and Gmail. It would make the experience very annoying. Cyanogen Inc. is looking into pushing their ROMs on to retail Android phones so the phone would come with Cyanogenmod and have their own equivalent to GApps. But, that won't happen for a while. The best bet to get Google out of your hair is to root it and delete the apps you don't need, or use SlimRom.
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This is not true. Even without gapps there are still many google base system files that are built into the system. There is only one Google-less project that is being worked on but they do have issues as the OS is not built to run without them. Even Slim Rom still use alot of googles stuff.

zelendel said:
This is not true. Even without gapps there are still many google base system files that are built into the system. There is only one Google-less project that is being worked on but they do have issues as the OS is not built to run without them. Even Slim Rom still use alot of googles stuff.
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I didn't say you can completely de-Google an Android device. But, you can make it appear to be de-Googled, although the system files you mentioned will still be there. But you can completely opt out of Gmail and the like.

dictatorkara said:
I didn't say you can completely de-Google an Android device. But, you can make it appear to be de-Googled, although the system files you mentioned will still be there. But you can completely opt out of Gmail and the like.
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Click to collapse
I used to have an IT company not too long ago and I run a bunch of commercial grade servers in my house - My needs aren't the same as the typical phone user with respect to data redundancy, cloud computing, etc - I have that capability already. I pretty much use my phone to snap photos, internet browsing, texting, making calls and sometimes use the gps when driving. What I don't need is a copy of all my activity, contacts, calls, texts and browsing history stored on google servers to be sold or given to entities that I a. wouldn't consent to b. have no clue it's happening.
I don't really care if there is a Google footprint left in the phone, I just want to remove Google's ability to mine my personal data from my phone which also includes registering my device via a google+ account.
With respect to playstore, isn't Aptoid a suitable alternative?
What is SlimROM? where can I get more info on it? I saw the post you had linked to originally which prompted me to post my OP because I couldn't find any other info on it

master-richie said:
I used to have an IT company not too long ago and I run a bunch of commercial grade servers in my house - My needs aren't the same as the typical phone user with respect to data redundancy, cloud computing, etc - I have that capability already. I pretty much use my phone to snap photos, internet browsing, texting, making calls and sometimes use the gps when driving. What I don't need is a copy of all my activity, contacts, calls, texts and browsing history stored on google servers to be sold or given to entities that I a. wouldn't consent to b. have no clue it's happening.
I don't really care if there is a Google footprint left in the phone, I just want to remove Google's ability to mine my personal data from my phone which also includes registering my device via a google+ account.
With respect to playstore, isn't Aptoid a suitable alternative?
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Click to collapse
No Dont use that. They are all warez and are known for including data miners, Keyloggers and screen recorders.
Ill be honest. You picked the wrong OS for that then. GPS itself uses google software to connect to the satalites.
This is your best option
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1715375

The status of Android without a Google Account

Hi everyone,
I have been researching and I've compiled a list of all the options available to use an Android device with Cyanogenmod without a Google account and I was wondering if anyone has a better solution considering the options I've found are all lacking.
Here is what I found including the issues for each option:
- Amazon web store (Not every app is available)
- Third party repositories, like apkmirror (Security implications of running apk that anyone can upload)
- F-Droid (Not every app is available)
- Getting the apps I need from the play store once and then backup the apks with a file manager (No updates) or I am going to need a different phone with a Google account and the play store.
Moral of the story, it's not easy to run an android phone without a google account.
Ps. A solution that I think could work (but I wasn't able to find a project that works) is an open source apk downloader (maybe on github) that get the apps straight from google via command line but all the projects I've seen are either out of date or not working...
Any suggestion is really appreciated! Thank you all!

Keep an android device with google play installed, then move the apks of things i really want, or bought already.
But honestly, after some choices I've made (running my own dropbox-like service on my server) I could definitely live with just F-Droid. Of course I'm not using some stuff like facebook or snapchat, so my needs in terms of apps isn't as extensive as others. Sometimes it does feel like i'm hamstrung when the next new fad comes and goes, but I'll live without them.

surfinpika said:
Keep an android device with google play installed, then move the apks of things i really want, or bought already.
But honestly, after some choices I've made (running my own dropbox-like service on my server) I could definitely live with just F-Droid. Of course I'm not using some stuff like facebook or snapchat, so my needs in terms of apps isn't as extensive as others. Sometimes it does feel like i'm hamstrung when the next new fad comes and goes, but I'll live without them.
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Hi surfinpika,
thanks for your input, I am starting to feel like your solution (of having a separate device with just the google account setup) is the cleanest option.
I am not into facebook or snapchat or the next fad either... but f-droid wouldn't cut it for me, stuff like keepass2android or some of the other apps I use are definitely not there. I wonder what are the security implications of using F-Droid compared to getting the apks from apkmirror. Considering my level of paranoia I wouldn't feel safe with either option.

_polymar said:
Hi surfinpika,
thanks for your input, I am starting to feel like your solution (of having a separate device with just the google account setup) is the cleanest option.
I am not into facebook or snapchat or the next fad either... but f-droid wouldn't cut it for me, stuff like keepass2android or some of the other apps I use are definitely not there. I wonder what are the security implications of using F-Droid compared to getting the apks from apkmirror. Considering my level of paranoia I wouldn't feel safe with either option.
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Click to collapse
One issue I can think of with this approach is that both the device with google play store and the device where the apps are going to be installed will require the same CPU architecture.
Won't be able to download the apk on a cheap android (most likely ARM) and install it on ARM64...

_polymar said:
One issue I can think of with this approach is that both the device with google play store and the device where the apps are going to be installed will require the same CPU architecture.
Won't be able to download the apk on a cheap android (most likely ARM) and install it on ARM64...
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Click to collapse
Yeah, luckily my back up is the same architecture as my non-gapps phone.
And there are also ways of getting some of the apks straight from the sources, like keepass2android from the project's website. but even if it is google, they sort of give a sense of security in that the apk won't be messed with.
It's such a mess though otherwise, hard to separate the google from the android, and no other viable OSs are any better. hope some competition at least makes a nice little niche to get away from the big G.

Motorola XT2125-4 EdgeS Help needed

Hi,
I purchased a new phone a Motorola Edge S (hardware SKU XT2125-4), unfortunately it is a China ROM phone which means it didn't come with Google play store. This was side loaded and I am able to install apps from google. But I have SO many issues with this and I am hoping someone has something helpful to actually use this phone
1. When I try to use Google setup a nearby device (to transfer everything over to this phone), it simply can't find my new phone (despite having bluetooth and location on for both phones
2. I can't restore contacts from google drive even though I can connect
3. I downloaded the MAGISK app, however the file browser is unable to install as the app is not allowed. The toggle to trust the app can not be changed.
I am at a loss as to how to actually use this phone as essentially it's useless at the moment. Any help would be appreciated.
It is already running Android Version 11
Baseband version M55_HI20_209.334.01.60R NIO_PVT_SUPERSDS_CUST
Kernel Version 4.19.136-perf+
Build Number RRN31.Q1-20-17-6
I can provide any / all other information if needed
If the solution is to root the phone, I'm ok with that too, but see point 3.

I'm in the same situation. Purchased the XT2125 as well. Got the Google stuff working by side loading the play store, services and framework. However, initially, while everything else was working, the contacts wouldn't sync. After a few hours of searching, finally came across an article which said that I also needed to side load an apk called google contacts sync and give it permission. Contacts started syncing after that. Fast forward a couple of days and a system update later, SMS are delivered with really long delays and outbound ones fail. Google maps crashes constantly and navigation just doesn't work. I don't know what to do with this phone now honestly, since I need Google maps navigation on a regular basis. Have tried reinstalling maps, resetting permissions, clearing cache and data but nothing seems to work. And with the SMS delay, I can't sign on our complete transactions on a lot of apps because the SMS usually arrives after such a delay that the code has expired. Feels like such a waste of money this phone even though it's supposed to be great bang for the buck.

I am hopeful that when they release the Moto G100 (same phone actually), that we will be able to flash it with this ROM to make it usable.

Slartibartfast70 said:
Hi,
I purchased a new phone a Motorola Edge S (hardware SKU XT2125-4), unfortunately it is a China ROM phone which means it didn't come with Google play store. This was side loaded and I am able to install apps from google. But I have SO many issues with this and I am hoping someone has something helpful to actually use this phone
1. When I try to use Google setup a nearby device (to transfer everything over to this phone), it simply can't find my new phone (despite having bluetooth and location on for both phones
2. I can't restore contacts from google drive even though I can connect
3. I downloaded the MAGISK app, however the file browser is unable to install as the app is not allowed. The toggle to trust the app can not be changed.
I am at a loss as to how to actually use this phone as essentially it's useless at the moment. Any help would be appreciated.
It is already running Android Version 11
Baseband version M55_HI20_209.334.01.60R NIO_PVT_SUPERSDS_CUST
Kernel Version 4.19.136-perf+
Build Number RRN31.Q1-20-17-6
I can provide any / all other information if needed
If the solution is to root the phone, I'm ok with that too, but see point 3.
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Click to collapse
Wait it's like that with motorola too
I thought it's only like that with xiaomi
Seems like even with motorola it doesn't come with google apps if it's a china rom
Though it was only with xiaomi where if it's a china rom it doesn't come with any google apps guess im wrong

Slartibartfast70 said:
I am hopeful that when they release the Moto G100 (same phone actually), that we will be able to flash it with this ROM to make it usable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I think it's being released in a couple of days. Anyway, I did a factory reset and the maps issues sorted out. Had to go through the pain of sideloading google again but the device is being shown as google play certified, but yeah, would be nice to just have the international rom on it.
Were you able to make any headway with your device? I didn't put a sim in mine but the rest of it seems to be working ok, except Youtube Vanced isn't signing in with a google account.

Switch from iOS to 8T - some questions

Hello
I did pick an Oneplus 8T on Prime Day, its still sealed and
last 3 Days i collect some Informations about Android / OxygenOS and about Custom Roms and Debloat Stuff.
I had an Samsung Galaxy S2 as my Daily Driver , at this time Android was really Bad
in the end i Root and used Cynagon with Android 6? idk anymore.
since those Days i used Apple Devices as my Daily Driver, i try some breaks from the Apple ecosystem with an P30 Pro and S10+ ( for an Month ) but switched back to iOS cuz Privacy issues.
And this is the Reason why i start the Thread "Privacy" is important for me.
So how is the Privacy and influence from Google to Track and Spy at you if u:
1. Create a New Account
2. Turn everything OFF u can
3. Dont use Google APP´s / Services ( Not that hard .. if coming from Apple )
4. Debloat with ADB
and using maybe only the Google Playstore.
Thanks for any helpfull comments

Lineage OS is officially supported on the 8t, for privacy i'd flash that and not use gapps. You can get your bootloader unlocked easily and be off the to races

Or just use oos and debloat all of Google apps with xxxnolimits magisk ROM

You can use Android without creating a Google account. You can also disable pretty much every app.
You do need a Google account to use the Play store. So if you want to install apps without an account, just download APKs from the internet.
Just curious, what kind of information do you not want to share with Google? Or Apple for that matter?

xocomaox said:
Just curious, what kind of information do you not want to share with Google? Or Apple for that matter?
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Do you work for interpol or something?

sansanc said:
Do you work for interpol or something?
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Click to collapse
I don't believe so. Why?