Database Users

Noobie here... Seeking some advice post root

Hi everybody,
I just moved from an iphone 3g (which i had jailbroken) to an incredible thanks to at&t contract finally finishing. Hv rooted the inc on my mac using the unrevoked method. Everything works fine (still have stock eclair 2.1 and sense running). Hv installed a bunch of apps from the market but hv not sideloaded anything yet or uninstalled anything (htc sense etc etc) yet. I would really appreciate some guidance from the community on the following since i am very new to the platform as a whole.
1. I dont want to lose the ability to update to the official froyo release (whenever it happens) so will I have to unroot (if thats even possible) to get the froyo update? If yes, whats the correct way so that I can bookmark that.
2. I want to be able to use the tethering without paying 20$ extra per month to VZ (in fact would probably use USB tethering to my macbook more often than wifi tethering/hotspot, but obviously I would like both! ). How should i do that? Obviously the stock app will just alert verizon, right? Is there another app that will work now that i hv rooted? Any special instructions to follow?
3. Would like to optimize the capability of the device by removing crapware and useless stuff which comes with the phone. Hv not yet even figured out what each app does yet. I will use my inc primarily for entertainment - games, social networking, browsing, streaming music, videos, google voice, true VoIP (not official VZ skype), GPS navigation, tethering (when no wifi) but will be OTA syncing my office exchange email account, contacts, calendar as well to make this a backup phone to my official bberry. Any suggestions on which apps to remove? Also how should I remove them without bricking the phone. Is there a cleaner method?
4. I actually like Sense even though it seems it uses up some memory - any way i can remove the useless parts of Sense (since I wont be using USB sync and I am sure some other stuff in sense is just bloatware) without losing the other features that look great - to be honest the phone looks too plain without sense (nexus 1 looked really naked). I would like to retain the look and feel of the sense ui.
5. How do I get swype on this? I played with it when i was shopping for android phones on the captivate (which unfortunately was on at&t) and I am amazed at how great that was! I badly badly badly badly need that!!
6. Any standard add-ons, apps which you would recommend for my intended usage?
7. Now that I am rooted which post-root apps should i install to make the inc more useful? Any obvious ones which you would recommend?
8. The people sense widget is just too much, anything a bit saner which is like a launchpad but without the screen wastage?
9. In jailbroken iphones, you could install lockinfo which was a spectacular agglomeration of all things (missed calls, voice mails waiting, email msg list, twitter feed, facebook feed, weather, calendar, tasks, sms msgs) in 1 simple scrollable screen. Anything similar in Sense/HTC widgets/App store? Just one glance would tell me everything.
Sorry, since I am new I decided to ask all questions in 1 shot. Obviously dont expect to have all questions answered by 1 person but if the devs/users can point me in the right direction, with links and some comments, I will greatly appreciate it.
Thanks and hoping to be a contributor to the android community sometime soon as I was in the iphone community until i just could not take at&t anymore.

1.yes you need to unroot to recieve otas
2.there is an app incthe market called wifi tether that is free.
3.look in the theme/app sectiom. there is a skinned version there.
4. adb in recovery os the only way to remove crapware
7-8 . there are not many apps for root users lile there was with cydia.
also, there are many widets avaliable in the android market. there is lots of good apps in the market. explore.
if you have any other questions feel free to pm me amy time.

jdkoreclipse said:
1.yes you need to unroot to recieve otas
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, if you are running the stock rom ou will recieve OTAs. The OTA doesn't magically detect "this phone is rooted."

rpearl said:
No, if you are running the stock rom ou will recieve OTAs. The OTA doesn't magically detect "this phone is rooted."
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
doesnt somethong change the ctacerts and otacerts?
Sent from my Incredible using XDA App

No. it's also not suggested and is reported to have negative side effects.

One important thing, Install Rom Manager from the market.
With this app you can do a backup of the Rom (stock sense and rooted) you're running now and install others to try, if you don't like them just restore the one you had before and done, you can as many back up as you want.
Also check in the theme section and you'll find lots of themes to make your phone look and work beautiful, this also allows you to get to recovery without having to turnoff your phone and install anything you want from the sd card.
Also, if you don't like some of the crap ware that Sense has, there's a post for removing the apps you don't want on Sense and it tell you which ones are safe to remove.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=710009
Hope this helps a little.
Some apps for us the rooted...shootme or drocap to take pictures of your screens, titanium backup, wifi tether, etc.

Appreciate the help everybody! Only thing I am still seeking an answer for is swype on my inc if anybody can guide me.
Thanks

khanam said:
Appreciate the help everybody! Only thing I am still seeking an answer for is swype on my inc if anybody can guide me.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here you go. I use the red skinned Swype, looks great and works great.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=701198

Thanks! Just realized one more thing. I cant seem to be able to use skype over wifi only. Is this verizon's way of using up my minutes one way or another?

[Q] Rooting Advantages and Disadvantages

I have been reading this forum for some weeks now and wanted to thank you all for the great info here. I got my first Android phone (Vibrant) a few weeks ago.
I found out about rooting just yesterday. Since I really don't want to spend a lot of time troubleshooting the phone, I had a few questions to figure out whether I should root or not:
Will rooting my phone be overall worth it? Will I have to troubleshoot it a lot as a result? It works well now.
How will the updates work in the future? For example, I won't have to worry about Android 2.2 because it will be included in Cyanogen? Will my phone notify me when it's time to update?
This one is important: are there any instructions that tell me how to backup my current phone so that I can restore it to the original condition in case something happens?
Is Cyanogen accepted to be the best for rooting?
Will all my applications become uninstalled? Will anything else change besides my access level? I read some conflicting into on this.
Can you think of any disadvantages to rooting (other than possible voiding of warranty if you can't hide it)?
Do you guys have a list in this forum as to which applications are bloatware and should be removed (and are safe to remove)? I don't know anything about Android, so I have no idea
And finally, is there a thread/list where all the most important/useful applications that should be installed after rooting are listed? I know titanium backup is one. I couldn't understand what BusyBox does. So a list with explanations would be great.
I haven't liked the battery life of this phone and I am hoping that after removing all the bloatware from it that issue might be fixed as well. My phone starts with 160M+ memory. Even though I keep killing open applications, the performance keeps dropping over time until I can't get more memory beyond ~90M. This is when I have to shut down the phone and turn back on. Other than tethering, my main reason for rooting is 1.performance gain and 2.battery life extension.
Thanks for all the help. A lot of talented people on this forum.

There is no reason to not root this phone in my opinion. You can unroot it. You will get OTA updates using the stock ROM. Many of the recommended apps, guides, useful information is in the sticky at the top. Please read that, then ask any more detailed question you may have.
edit: when you root, there will be NO change to your apps/contacts/settings/etc.... you will reboot and be like "well, am I rooted?"... look for the superuser app in your app drawer, there? Good, you were successful.

Ok, you got an excellent thread there that pretty much answered all my questions! I will root my phone and get back here if I have any more questions, with a cleaned up list. Thanks.

will applying the RyanZA fix stop the OTA update?

A lot of people have this misconception that rooting means modifying their phone. Rooting by itself is not really modifying anything on your phone, all it does is give you super user privileges.
Think of your Mac or Windows PC, you have administrative accounts and you have user accounts. Admins can do anything, user accounts are typically limited.
When you have root access to your phone, you are the admin. You can access features that default account can't.
With that said, once you do have su you step into a whole new world with many different paths. You can can simply stay rooted and use apps that required root access and leave it at that.
Or you can dive into custom ROMs. This is where you step off the manufacturers intended path and follow community developed versions of the operating system.
Alternatively, in between those two extremes above you can do many things in between. You can stay with stock rom but have custom (modules or programs) APKs, or other modifications that change or expand on stock ROM.
Always keep in mind that once you choose to root, what happens to your device is your responsibility. Once again, your responsibility. If you are not willing to accept that, then stay non-rooted/stock and responsibility will be on Samsung to add/remove features, provide updates, fix bugs, etc.

Ok, so a few questions:
I bought Autostart and hid the system apps. Now what? I don't know what to disable from this list. There are applications, but they are listed under several categories. For example, "Application Removed." I have no idea what that category is for. Should I just worry about "After Startup"? Please elaborate.
You don't recommend AppKiller. Won't all those open applications just drain the battery? For example, if I have TeleNav open, how can I close it after I am done using it without AKiller?
There is an entire thread of various people posting various things, but I still would like to see just ONE combined list of all the "safe" bloatware to remove and "risky" ones. That thread did not help me at all since various people are reporting various things.
You recommend Root Explorer, which is kind of expensive. Is there any reason why I can't use the uninstall function of Titanium Backup? Is it any less thorough?
Where is the restart function?
How can I disable those annoying power down and power up sounds of the phone? Can this be done without lowering system volume?
Thanks!

Awesome, Glad to hear your root went well.
1. I bought Autostart and hid the system apps. Now what? I don't know what to disable from this list. There are applications, but they are listed under several categories. For example, "Application Removed." I have no idea what that category is for. Should I just worry about "After Startup"? Please elaborate.
I remove almost all non-system apps unless it is logical wht said app would need to function, aka, text received you would not want to block messanger/handcent..... if there is something you are questioning, just let me know.
2. You don't recommend AppKiller. Won't all those open applications just drain the battery? For example, if I have TeleNav open, how can I close it after I am done using it without AKiller?
Now that you have root, remove all of the bloatware and it will not be an issue. These run in the background and very likely are not using ANY of your resources.
3. There is an entire thread of various people posting various things, but I still would like to see just ONE combined list of all the "safe" bloatware to remove and "risky" ones. That thread did not help me at all since various people are reporting various things.
I used that thread because a lot of people posted the apps they removed. Almost all of them can be removed, if there is one you are questioning, let me know.
4. You recommend Root Explorer, which is kind of expensive. Is there any reason why I can't use the uninstall function of Titanium Backup? Is it any less thorough?
I mentioned in the sticky that I do not use TB. I know it allows you to remove apps, but Root Explorer does this and a lot more. For example..... #6
5. Where is the restart function?
Not sure I know what you mean? if you want a reboot option you can get Quick Boot from the market.
6. How can I disable those annoying power down and power up sounds of the phone? Can this be done without lowering system volume?
In the sticky I show where the files are located. With Root Explorer you can navigate to them and delete the files.

I agree with a lot on this thread. A master Guide for rooting/unrooting and usage should be made. The FAQ currently stickied is informative for the most part but it focuses on far too many things to be able to go into enough detail on each. Personally I would like a "All things root" guide or something sticked which is comprehensive and focuses JUST on that, with the most common root usage apps and things posted (including safe disabling or removal of bloat, backing up, flashing roms, etc.) so that people who have NO idea whatsoever and it is their first phone or something can just read that and feel at home. I may start working on one if no one else does it, we'll see.

}{Alienz}{ said:
so that people who have NO idea whatsoever and it is their first phone or something can just read that and feel at home.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd say that if someone has no idea what they are doing, the last thing they should be attempting is flashing firmware on their phone.
The layer of obscurity and technical difficulty associated with rooting/modding is of benefit in terms of preventing people from doing things they should not be doing without sufficient knowledge base.
There is plenty of info here and online in general to start someone off if they are interested in learning about this in general.
IMHO, creating a trail of bread crumbs for someone who doesn't know what they are doing is more likely to hurt them or community in general rather than help them.

In my experience rooting your could be fun and a nightmare, if not done properly and, you have of time on you're you could become a rom switching addict cyanogen is currently available for the vibrant you can still root, but you will be on stock vibrant rom.till samsung release the source code so no froyo.and the rumor is that they won't release the source code.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App

s15274n said:
Awesome, Glad to hear your root went well.
1. I bought Autostart and hid the system apps. Now what? I don't know what to disable from this list. There are applications, but they are listed under several categories. For example, "Application Removed." I have no idea what that category is for. Should I just worry about "After Startup"? Please elaborate.
I remove almost all non-system apps unless it is logical wht said app would need to function, aka, text received you would not want to block messanger/handcent..... if there is something you are questioning, just let me know.
2. You don't recommend AppKiller. Won't all those open applications just drain the battery? For example, if I have TeleNav open, how can I close it after I am done using it without AKiller?
Now that you have root, remove all of the bloatware and it will not be an issue. These run in the background and very likely are not using ANY of your resources.
3. There is an entire thread of various people posting various things, but I still would like to see just ONE combined list of all the "safe" bloatware to remove and "risky" ones. That thread did not help me at all since various people are reporting various things.
I used that thread because a lot of people posted the apps they removed. Almost all of them can be removed, if there is one you are questioning, let me know.
4. You recommend Root Explorer, which is kind of expensive. Is there any reason why I can't use the uninstall function of Titanium Backup? Is it any less thorough?
I mentioned in the sticky that I do not use TB. I know it allows you to remove apps, but Root Explorer does this and a lot more. For example..... #6
5. Where is the restart function?
Not sure I know what you mean? if you want a reboot option you can get Quick Boot from the market.
6. How can I disable those annoying power down and power up sounds of the phone? Can this be done without lowering system volume?
In the sticky I show where the files are located. With Root Explorer you can navigate to them and delete the files.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. What I don't understand is that the category says "New Outgoing Call" and GVoice beneath it. So I should NOT disable it, right? Because it has nothing to do with startup? But if so, then almost every other category has nothing to do with startup either. It is only the first listing that says "After Startup" and it misses A LOT of applications that do start up, like TeleNav. I don't even see TeleNav anywhere in that list. Same is true for "Email," Gallery," "Voice Dialer," and a bunch of other apps that I don't want to start on startup. I don't see any way of killing these other than by ATKiller. Am I missing something here?
2. See the problem is this: right now I have Telenav and I use it sometimes. However, I don't want it to run just whenever. So if I don't want to uninstall it, isn't my only solution ATKiller? There are other programs like this. And I can't disable them from the Autostart menu either since they're not there (Filtered out System files).
3. That site does not list what each of the bloatware does. For example, I am not sure I want to remove Account and Sync because I might need it for my bills. Same thing with "MyFiles." I don't even know what "vvm" is.
4. I am not able to tether the phone. I already tried Barnacle and it said "Running..." after I disabled supplicant, used channel 6, and disable ad-hoc. Then I tried this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=739147&highlight=tether, but I am still not able to connect. My laptop detects the phone as "computer-to-computer network," but when I click connect, it keeps trying to connect and then doesn't. I am not sure where to go from here.
Thanks.

One more thing I still don't know: how are the updates going to work from now on? Whenever an Android update comes out, like 2.1update or Froyo, do I have to come here and do everything manually? Or is there a way from within the phone to find out with one click? I am assuming whatever update is available for the phone will also be available for custom download (otherwise I could unroot, update, reroot?).
Thanks.
By the way, I also agree about a complete guide. It's not that it will enable the clueless to mess up their phone, but rather the opposite - it will allow the clueless to become cluefull. Such a guide would be very helpful. Meanwhile I am having to jump from thread to thread and then to Google trying to find out about this or that. That's not to say that the guide available isn't very helpful already.

I've already contacted a few people about starting said guide. I have not got much feedback from people willing to help....
^ you've asked a lot man... I can try and answer some, but you need to keep doing some reading. I feel like I've offered up a lot as is.
Just b/c you have root, does not mean you will not receive the OTA updates. If Froyo is released, you can update from the phone, you will lose root though. Most of us, will wait for the developers to have a stock froyo + root that we can flash.
why use telenav? I am not familiar.. just curious why not use google nav?
autostarts, just b/c you have it set to not start an app on boot, does not mean when you click the icon to open it will cause an issue. Really not that big of a deal. If you notice an issue, just set the app back to enabled.
Do not use a task killer.
The thread I linked has plenty of information for what you can remove from the phone, with instructions.... same for the barnacle tether app. If you want, download Wireless Tether, google it... the source code is on google.
http://code.google.com/p/android-wifi-tether/downloads/list

androidaddict23 said:
In my experience rooting your could be fun and a nightmare, if not done properly and, you have of time on you're you could become a rom switching addict cyanogen is currently available for the vibrant you can still root, but you will be on stock vibrant rom.till samsung release the source code so no froyo.and the rumor is that they won't release the source code.
Sent from my Nexus One using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cyanogen is not yet available for the Vibrant. It will soon.
Froyo-cooked ROMS are already out for the Vibrant (alas with some bugs) so I don't think there's a reason to think Cyanogen won't be on Froyo.
Also: Never having done a root/rom flash does not make someone stupid or signify they should never try it. It just means they should READ some documentation and be technically up to the challenge before they do. I don't think having a clear guide on most of the process will hurt anyone who is coming into this but doesn't yet know all the details and steps of what to do.

Excelsius said:
Ok, you got an excellent thread there that pretty much answered all my questions! I will root my phone and get back here if I have any more questions, with a cleaned up list. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
glad the root went well for you. I am wanting to root my phone too, but not sure which root method is easiest and best.
Which root method did you use?
I had a mytouch rooted before the Vibrant, but they are way different and I dont want to screw up

s15274n said:
I've already contacted a few people about starting said guide. I have not got much feedback from people willing to help....
^ you've asked a lot man... I can try and answer some, but you need to keep doing some reading. I feel like I've offered up a lot as is.
Just b/c you have root, does not mean you will not receive the OTA updates. If Froyo is released, you can update from the phone, you will lose root though. Most of us, will wait for the developers to have a stock froyo + root that we can flash.
why use telenav? I am not familiar.. just curious why not use google nav?
autostarts, just b/c you have it set to not start an app on boot, does not mean when you click the icon to open it will cause an issue. Really not that big of a deal. If you notice an issue, just set the app back to enabled.
Do not use a task killer.
The thread I linked has plenty of information for what you can remove from the phone, with instructions.... same for the barnacle tether app. If you want, download Wireless Tether, google it... the source code is on google.
http://code.google.com/p/android-wifi-tether/downloads/list
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I appreciate all your answers. I don't mean to say that anyone else can't answer as well. I am still unclear on several things I asked and would appreciate if someone could chime in, at least about the exact procedures for using autostart and the reasoning behind not using the task killer. I am new to Android, but I am pretty good at computers, including building them. So when I am learning about doing this or that, I would like to know about the reasoning behind that. I am sure that all of the questions I ask here I can find out on my own, but I was hoping that I could utilize the purpose of the forum and learn something from the veterans rather than reinventing the wheel myself.
I am using Telenav because I have a one month free trial. I discovered Google Nav just yesterday. I just want to compare them myself, even though it is unlikely I will pay $10/month in either case. But remember that Telenav is just one of the applications causing issues.
Thanks for all the answers. Please don't feel pressured to answer all the things I might ask. If I don't get enough answers, I'll just do a quick thread search and if that's not fruitful, I'll create a specific thread for autostart usage.

androidaddict23 said:
till samsung release the source code so no froyo.and the rumor is that they won't release the source code.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Isn't this illegal? I thought the whole point of Android was opensource and under the GPL License, they are required to post the full source code, right? Or I could just be way off base here.

kboater said:
glad the root went well for you. I am wanting to root my phone too, but not sure which root method is easiest and best.
Which root method did you use?
I had a mytouch rooted before the Vibrant, but they are way different and I dont want to screw up
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used the first procedure recommended in the sticky: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=7150299&postcount=1
I am not sure why it said that you have to restart several times. Here are some clarifications on the steps there that I think were not too clear:
1. When you connect your device, you need to pull down the message area, click on the USB, and only then you will see the option to MOUNT your phone. I had to experiment to figure this out.
2. The guide doesn't say, but if your USB debugging mode is on, I would disable it, just to be safe: Settings (this is that leftmost button on your phone when you're at your desktop)-->Applications-->Development-->USB debugging (uncheck). This might be unnecessary, but I did it just to be safe.
3. When you are copying the Update.zip file into your phone, make sure you check the size of the folder. It must be your internal storage - it will be 12GB+ and will have your system files. If you have trouble identifying this, simply remove your SD card!
4. When you are restarting the phone, make sure you press the volume button in the MIDDLE so that it is entirely pressed (up and down). While holding it, press and hold the power. Do not let go of the volume button until your enter the recovery menu.
Anyway, that's what I did and rooted from the first time without any issues.

t0phux said:
Isn't this illegal? I thought the whole point of Android was opensource and under the GPL License, they are required to post the full source code, right? Or I could just be way off base here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It could be that Samsung has modified the code for their own phones making the code their property, while the "regular" 2.2 (unmodified) would be available to everyone. I could be wrong, but I think this how it would work.

Excelsius said:
I used the first procedure recommended in the sticky: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=7150299&postcount=1
I am not sure why it said that you have to restart several times. Here are some clarifications on the steps there that I think were not too clear:
1. When you connect your device, you need to pull down the message area, click on the USB, and only then you will see the option to MOUNT your phone. I had to experiment to figure this out.
2. The guide doesn't say, but if your USB debugging mode is on, I would disable it, just to be safe: Settings (this is that leftmost button on your phone when you're at your desktop)-->Applications-->Development-->USB debugging (uncheck). This might be unnecessary, but I did it just to be safe.
3. When you are copying the Update.zip file into your phone, make sure you check the size of the folder. It must be your internal storage - it will be 12GB+ and will have your system files. If you have trouble identifying this, simply remove your SD card!
4. When you are restarting the phone, make sure you press the volume button in the MIDDLE so that it is entirely pressed (up and down). While holding it, press and hold the power. Do not let go of the volume button until your enter the recovery menu.
Anyway, that's what I did and rooted from the first time without any issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks
10 char

[Q] Android / Glacier Noob Questions

So, I've been a long time WinMo user and I just switched to Android (the Glacier) Great phone. A lot is foreign to me, though.
I'm a software developer and a Linux user so I'm pretty comfortable finding my way around the Android dev tools and the terminal (although I found it odd that the phone comes with neither a file manager nor a terminal)
Anyhow, I have a few questions:
-I've seen a lot of threads declaring how awesome Android's process management is and how it's bad to kill processes manually. I don't understand this. I've been playing with my phone non-stop for the past few days and on a number of occasions, have met with slow performance and even not-enough-memory prompts. This is usually after installing a dozen (or dozens) of apps back to back and playing with them all. So long as you are aware of the ramifications of killing a particular process, what's wrong with doing so?
-I've rooted my phone. If I ever get an OTA update, would it be a good idea to unroot prior to applying the update?
-When I select "Allow automatic updating" in the Market for my purchased apps, how exactly does that work? Are updates looked for my Android? Are they looked for when the Market is launched? Are those individual apps first loaded and then look for updates?
-I imported my contacts from WinMo Outlook into Google via ActiveSync in order to get them on my phone. Consequently, I have GTalk contacts and stuff on my phone that I don't want. If I delete them from Contacts, will they be deleted from my Google account? That is to say, if I delete [email protected] from my Contacts, will he suddenly disappear from my IM client?
Thanks for your help! I appreciate it!

LOL you see like you I been also using *nix for ages far as I can count 10+ years and I am Unix Admin. When I got MT4G as it was my first AOSP device I was like yourself shocked it didn't have file manager, basic console, or anything.
It seem that if you wanted to do anything it was required you waste your life installing some backward software though Market that claimed it to be freeware but IRL is actually adware. Also if you want anything done it is required you have root lol and if you do want root you void warranty its like whole catch 22 statement to me. So here I am doing what I do best and owned AOSP along with google market.
UPDATE:
So here ill actually answer some of your questions as I didn't want to due to it being very long but hey it might help you out.
1) Far as the process goes as you know in *nix world we have saying "unused memory is wasted memory" same apply as mostly its cached and does not treat it same as in WM. When you "exit" task if you call it exit that is in first place its put on dormant status so if resource is required then its reallocated. This is why you don't exit them forcefully as data may not be synced and saved. In this case my best advice for you is disable service from booting up in first place and also auto close it if it restarts.
2) Don't worry about OTA as you will more likely get update via dev of XDA long before you officially get it though carrier. You have S off so don't worry about it as its no factor.
3) It is tracked via google account and though your carrier I think, I don't know as I didn't ever officially buy single package however I did cURL 8.1gb of paid app archive of market before getting banned. From what I know once app is installed if you have auto update the current version is checked though market to see if any new version is available. Now when you buy app its under your acc so you can use it in diff device or install it many time as you want even if its updated.
4) I can't say about GTalk as I never used but far as AutoSync goes mostly your TMo data and email is synced though Google accounts like gmail.

I see. I can see how task management is rather pointless then, heh. I wonder where my "out of memory" issue came from. Leaky app, perhaps.

Is there a way to rename applications in the "All Programs" list?

[Q] Going after minimalistic set of programms/feature on N7

Hi, a new guy here!
I recently became a happy owner of 32Gb wi-fi only N7. I’m familiar with software dev (windows developer for 20 years with some work on unix) and customization/modding/flashing process (mostly for satellite receivers). However this is my first tablet and my first Android device so I could use some help 
I successfully unlocked, rooted and installed custom recovery on my N7. I would like to get to a bare bones state of the N7 and then slowly add new features/programs to it when it becomes necessary for me. So I would like to remove all non essential parts that were preinstalled on my N7.
I was under impression that I could uninstall programs using N7 UI after device gets rooted. However it seems that for majority of the apps I still only have an option to disable.
I shelled into N7 and looked around. It seems that all (majority?) of the apps are in /system/apps folder. Can I simply remove the apps and their files from that folder? Does this folder only contain user apps or does it also have system apps that are essential for N7 to function? Is there a chance to brick it by removing something (everything?) from that folder?
I searched on a forum for a list of apps that are safe to remove. I thought it would exist since it seems to be something many of us would be interested in doing. I didn’t find the list. If there is such a thing and someone could direct me there, it would be great!
Given that I can remove apps by deleting them from that folder safely, I still have a question what each app does and how important it is. Is safe to assume that any app that has a wheel with a drive belt on it as an icon in apps screen on N7 is system app and has to stay?
I have two keyboard app installed – one is Android keyboard and one is ASUS keyboard. Judging by the name 2 of these are essential since Android is the OS and ASUS is the manufacturer. But do I really need two of them?
If there is a resource/thread that discussed something similar, please let know. I look forward to learn from anyone on this forum! 

_Diver said:
Hi, a new guy here!
I recently became a happy owner of 32Gb wi-fi only N7. I’m familiar with software dev (windows developer for 20 years with some work on unix) and customization/modding/flashing process (mostly for satellite receivers). However this is my first tablet and my first Android device so I could use some help 
I successfully unlocked, rooted and installed custom recovery on my N7. I would like to get to a bare bones state of the N7 and then slowly add new features/programs to it when it becomes necessary for me. So I would like to remove all non essential parts that were preinstalled on my N7.
I was under impression that I could uninstall programs using N7 UI after device gets rooted. However it seems that for majority of the apps I still only have an option to disable.
I shelled into N7 and looked around. It seems that all (majority?) of the apps are in /system/apps folder. Can I simply remove the apps and their files from that folder? Does this folder only contain user apps or does it also have system apps that are essential for N7 to function? Is there a chance to brick it by removing something (everything?) from that folder?
I searched on a forum for a list of apps that are safe to remove. I thought it would exist since it seems to be something many of us would be interested in doing. I didn’t find the list. If there is such a thing and someone could direct me there, it would be great!
Given that I can remove apps by deleting them from that folder safely, I still have a question what each app does and how important it is. Is safe to assume that any app that has a wheel with a drive belt on it as an icon in apps screen on N7 is system app and has to stay?
I have two keyboard app installed – one is Android keyboard and one is ASUS keyboard. Judging by the name 2 of these are essential since Android is the OS and ASUS is the manufacturer. But do I really need two of them?
If there is a resource/thread that discussed something similar, please let know. I look forward to learn from anyone on this forum! 
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have the energy right now to address every app one at a time, but I'll nudge you in the right direction. That should help you start tinkering.
The Nexus 7 is very popular in this community because it's intentionally more open, and less bloated, than much of the competition.
That being said, sure there are apps you could uninstall if you decide to. Some of the custom ROM's will have probably already have done this for you, but may create little unexpected quirks here and there.
The first thing you'll want to do is backing everything up thoroughly. I would use Titanium Pro (you'll see it referred to as Tibu a lot), to backup all apps and settings. Then I would use the Google Nexus 7 toolkit (found in the forums here) to do a backup, as well as make a nandroid backup.
Ok, so you're ready to tinker. Well, if you bought Titanium Pro from the app store, you've already got all you really need. First, use titanium to freeze an app you don't feel you need, and don't think is required. Re-boot, go about your daily routine, and see if all is ok. Continue on in this manner. Once you've frozen everything you're interested in, and made sure all is well, you can probably go ahead and uninstall them through Tibu. Freezing them should generally make them not start up anyways, so unless the tiny amount of space they take up is a concern, that's really all you generally need to do *.
* Ok, sometimes you have to fully uninstall things you don't want, but this should get you plenty to tinker with for now.

bladebarrier,
Thanks for your response. I understand the approach you suggested – disabling apps one at a time and then when they all disabled and device is working to my liking for a while I could uninstall them.
However, I’m somewhat frustrated with a sheer number of apps that I have out of the box and I can’t find a good description of what they do. For example:
Mobile Network Configuration
Google Partner Setup
Google Services Framework
Searching online doesn’t yield definitive answers if it’s something I need or will N7 work without them. I have google play store and google play services installed – does store app require services? Reading a bit about it doesn’t make it seem so, but I’m not 100% sure. So I was wondering if there is a list of apps that are required for N7 well being and that cannot be removed no matter what.
For example, Black Viper has an excellent example of what I’m looking for but for windows nt services: (can't post a link)
This page explain what each service is, what it does and if it’s safe to disable it depending on configuration you’re seeking – minimal set, typical, out of box of experimental. I would love to find something like that for N7 system apps 
I installed CWM recovery when I rooted and as far as I can understand I does NAND backups. I plan on moving the backup file from the device to my desktop and keeping it there for safety reason.
The Tibu process that you described, as far as I understand (and I might be wrong here) is basically equivalent of disabling the apps using native N7 setting app, rebooting, using it for a while and then removing .apk and .odex (or simply app_name.*) files from system/apps folder. Tibu just makes it easier. Did I get that right?
And it’s still removing one app/widget at the time. I’d like to clean it out completely first and start from that point. So Tibu will probably not help me there. So my main Q is still out there – can I brick it by removing everything from system/app? Are there only user apps there or essential system apps as well? With CWM back up file on hand will I be able to recover if my experiment goes bad? 
> * Ok, sometimes you have to fully uninstall things you don't want, but this should get you plenty to tinker with for now.
One of the reasons I want to have them removed is to clean up the list of apps I have on N7. Right now I have 5 pages of apps and I have little idea what they do and if I need them – I had Korean keyboard installed for example.
As I mentioned I’m a newb in this area, so maybe my approach is a bit dumb, so please be patient with me

_Diver said:
bladebarrier,
Thanks for your response. I understand the approach you suggested – disabling apps one at a time and then when they all disabled and device is working to my liking for a while I could uninstall them.
However, I’m somewhat frustrated with a sheer number of apps that I have out of the box and I can’t find a good description of what they do. For example:
Mobile Network Configuration
Google Partner Setup
Google Services Framework
Searching online doesn’t yield definitive answers if it’s something I need or will N7 work without them. I have google play store and google play services installed – does store app require services? Reading a bit about it doesn’t make it seem so, but I’m not 100% sure. So I was wondering if there is a list of apps that are required for N7 well being and that cannot be removed no matter what.
For example, Black Viper has an excellent example of what I’m looking for but for windows nt services: (can't post a link)
This page explain what each service is, what it does and if it’s safe to disable it depending on configuration you’re seeking – minimal set, typical, out of box of experimental. I would love to find something like that for N7 system apps 
I installed CWM recovery when I rooted and as far as I can understand I does NAND backups. I plan on moving the backup file from the device to my desktop and keeping it there for safety reason.
The Tibu process that you described, as far as I understand (and I might be wrong here) is basically equivalent of disabling the apps using native N7 setting app, rebooting, using it for a while and then removing .apk and .odex (or simply app_name.*) files from system/apps folder. Tibu just makes it easier. Did I get that right?
And it’s still removing one app/widget at the time. I’d like to clean it out completely first and start from that point. So Tibu will probably not help me there. So my main Q is still out there – can I brick it by removing everything from system/app? Are there only user apps there or essential system apps as well? With CWM back up file on hand will I be able to recover if my experiment goes bad? 
> * Ok, sometimes you have to fully uninstall things you don't want, but this should get you plenty to tinker with for now.
One of the reasons I want to have them removed is to clean up the list of apps I have on N7. Right now I have 5 pages of apps and I have little idea what they do and if I need them – I had Korean keyboard installed for example.
As I mentioned I’m a newb in this area, so maybe my approach is a bit dumb, so please be patient with me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Removing Google framework services is a big no-no. To be honest, the easiest way to accomplish what you want is installing a custom ROM like CyanogenMod, especially since you've done all the prep work for such a thing.
Once you install any official CM build it is as close to app-less as you can get on a modular OS like this.

littleemp said:
Removing Google framework services is a big no-no. To be honest, the easiest way to accomplish what you want is installing a custom ROM like CyanogenMod, especially since you've done all the prep work for such a thing.
Once you install any official CM build it is as close to app-less as you can get on a modular OS like this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's what i suspected! i thought that google framework would be something essential, but there is not much easily available information there to arrive at that conclusion
since i'm new to this, i thought i should stay away from any rom flashing until i get a bit more familiar with a device, terminology and stuff like that. i'm looking at the "[ROM] CyanogenMod 10.1 [OFFICIAL]" thread and i'm not sure about half of the terms - GAPPS, PSA, Nightlies i do know what ROM is, I do know what kernel is, virtual machine, etc. But it's applied to the platform that I have little experience with, so it makes me a little bit uneasy

_Diver said:
bladebarrier,
Thanks for your response. I understand the approach you suggested – disabling apps one at a time and then when they all disabled and device is working to my liking for a while I could uninstall them.
However, I’m somewhat frustrated with a sheer number of apps that I have out of the box and I can’t find a good description of what they do. For example:
Mobile Network Configuration
Google Partner Setup
Google Services Framework
Searching online doesn’t yield definitive answers if it’s something I need or will N7 work without them. I have google play store and google play services installed – does store app require services? Reading a bit about it doesn’t make it seem so, but I’m not 100% sure. So I was wondering if there is a list of apps that are required for N7 well being and that cannot be removed no matter what.
For example, Black Viper has an excellent example of what I’m looking for but for windows nt services: (can't post a link)
This page explain what each service is, what it does and if it’s safe to disable it depending on configuration you’re seeking – minimal set, typical, out of box of experimental. I would love to find something like that for N7 system apps 
I installed CWM recovery when I rooted and as far as I can understand I does NAND backups. I plan on moving the backup file from the device to my desktop and keeping it there for safety reason.
The Tibu process that you described, as far as I understand (and I might be wrong here) is basically equivalent of disabling the apps using native N7 setting app, rebooting, using it for a while and then removing .apk and .odex (or simply app_name.*) files from system/apps folder. Tibu just makes it easier. Did I get that right?
And it’s still removing one app/widget at the time. I’d like to clean it out completely first and start from that point. So Tibu will probably not help me there. So my main Q is still out there – can I brick it by removing everything from system/app? Are there only user apps there or essential system apps as well? With CWM back up file on hand will I be able to recover if my experiment goes bad? 
> * Ok, sometimes you have to fully uninstall things you don't want, but this should get you plenty to tinker with for now.
One of the reasons I want to have them removed is to clean up the list of apps I have on N7. Right now I have 5 pages of apps and I have little idea what they do and if I need them – I had Korean keyboard installed for example.
As I mentioned I’m a newb in this area, so maybe my approach is a bit dumb, so please be patient with me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tibu requires root access, in order to perform what we're discussing. I'm relatively new to JB, but I can't imagine any stock settings replicating its capabilities.
As far as a whole bunch of apps being in your list, that's sort of the way Android works. Think of it like "superfetch", or whatever that term was in Windows Vista. Basically, two things happen when you boot. Android looks at a list of apps that are designed to start on boot, and also apps that it expects you may want to run in the future. Both of these are designed to make the device run smoother overall, and it will kill apps if extra ram is required and they are not in use. Certain Android apps require themselves to run at all times. Some of these are apps like Tasker (if you're using tasker profiles), some of these are system apps that make the device function, some of these are apps that maintain widgets or background monitoring (weather apps, gmail, calendar).
Now, there are two ways to go about sorting what is bloat, and what is there because Android decided to load it. You can install an app called Autostarts, that will give an insight into apps that start up when certain criteria are met. You can also use it to stop those apps from queuing up at those trigger points. This is another root required app, and while I purchased it long ago, may have a free version as well. It's time consuming to use, and not perfect, which is why Tibu is better for flat out locking down unwanted apps.
Back to my initial thoughts though, you will see apps in your system list that you haven't touched since boot, because Android tries to anticipate your needs. People used to use "task killers" to close the apps, and came to realize that unless one is causing a real problem, it's just going to go back into the cached app list again anyways, thus reducing battery life when it has to load it over and over again. "Task killer" is a dirty word around XDA, unless you're using it to close an app that doesn't just go into the background like a good little app should.
Basically, you're going to start playing whack-a-mole if you want your list to remain as small as possible, at all times, and yet still actually use the device for anything interesting. You can reduce it, via various methods, and if this were a device from say "insert-name" brand, and was loaded with bloat apps, by all means you should clean those out. However, I think you'll find that while google does install things that aren't needed, or even used by everyone, it's mostly not a big issue.
Check out Better Battery Stats, in the XDA forums. It's an app that shows a pretty good picture of what is actually going on when you're not looking, and can provide data on how to improve your performance. It's probably a better way to start delving into what processes are actually being used, and which ones are just basically harmless. You'll also learn a good bit about how Android works from the Dev's explanations of many of the processes.
---------- Post added at 08:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:32 PM ----------
_Diver said:
that's what i suspected! i thought that google framework would be something essential, but there is not much easily available information there to arrive at that conclusion
since i'm new to this, i thought i should stay away from any rom flashing until i get a bit more familiar with a device, terminology and stuff like that. i'm looking at the "[ROM] CyanogenMod 10.1 [OFFICIAL]" thread and i'm not sure about half of the terms - GAPPS, PSA, Nightlies i do know what ROM is, I do know what kernel is, virtual machine, etc. But it's applied to the platform that I have little experience with, so it makes me a little bit uneasy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make sure whichever ROM you use, if you decide to, supports your HSPA+ model. There is a separate development section in the Nexus 7 forums, for those of us that have the HSPA+ version. We are the minority, as the Nexus 7 was initially released as a wifi only tablet.

bladebarrier said:
Tibu requires root access, in order to perform what we're discussing. I'm relatively new to JB, but I can't imagine any stock settings replicating its capabilities.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i do have SU privileges, so what i was talking about was disabling an app thru N7 setting screen and then when i deem the app ok to remove, going to adb shell and removing the actual file.
i just did this:
mount -o remount rw /system
rm iWnnIME_Kbd_White.apk
rm iWnnIME.apk
and it removed the japanese keyboard. however when i go back to app screen under settings, i still see it but now it has a grey icon with a SD symbols in the corner. so it appears it recognizes that the app is gone, but it's still referenced in the list. i pushed the files back using NRT and it all back to the way it was. so looks like my idea of cleaning the list by removing the apk might not fly.
and now I wonder how Tibu uninstalls the apps.
bladebarrier said:
People used to use "task killers" to close the apps, and came to realize that unless one is causing a real problem, it's just going to go back into the cached app list again anyways, thus reducing battery life when it has to load it over and over again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand the notion of apps being in the cache and being removed when more RAM is needed, however the purist in me just doesn't want the junk apps to be there in first place However there is a lot of validity to these of your words:
bladebarrier said:
Basically, you're going to start playing whack-a-mole if you want your list to remain as small as possible, at all times, and yet still actually use the device for anything interesting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My wife got Kindle Fire HD recently and she's been using it happily. While I was thinking why would anyone want a closed up system (well, more closed up system then Nexus), she's been using it and I've been frustrated with my N7 so i might just let it go and enjoy the japanese and korean keyboards anyway
bladebarrier said:
Make sure whichever ROM you use, if you decide to, supports your HSPA+ model.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i'm wifi only

ngshniq every
i think i found what i was after: http wiki.cyanogenmod.org/wiki/barebones (url modified since i still can't post urls). this wiki page has the list of app with a short description and if it's safe to remove. it also has additional information that explains why i still saw the reference to the app in the list when apk file was deleted:
looks like i need to pay attention to 2 additional files:
/data/system/packages.xml
/data/system/packages.list
i bet I would find a reference to the apps in these and i would need to remove it in order to have the app disappear from the app list. i'll play around a bit more and report back

One thing, could you explain your reasoning behind wanting to delete everything but the essentials? Do you have a particular goal in mind or is it because of your windows background? Because if so, you should know that android operates very differently when compared to windows, and such, the requirements to keep your device working in tip top shape vary greatly.
In my opinion, with your current limited knowledge of each process/app inner workings, what you're trying to do surefire way to break something beyond repair and needing to use a factory image to get back to zero. A custom ROM will be much safer and yield the exact same results that you're looking for. (Eventually, once you understand what each thing does, then this manual approach could satisfy your needs)
Note: GApps are the basic Google apps to flash on top of the barebones system. Gmail, Play store, and the framework.
Nightlies are experimental builds compiled nightly by a bot with the latest CyanogenMod code available.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

My goal was to simplify my approach to N7 by removing anything that I don’t need now and slowly adding all necessary components as I get familiar with it. But it seems at this point that this approach is a bit more complicated as thought it would be.
So I think I would leave it alone for now and revisit this later 

_Diver said:
My goal was to simplify my approach to N7 by removing anything that I don’t need now and slowly adding all necessary components as I get familiar with it. But it seems at this point that this approach is a bit more complicated as thought it would be.
So I think I would leave it alone for now and revisit this later 
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what you've done manually, you're clearly far ahead of a new user when it comes to understanding linux/unix.
If you want to lock down parts of what google implements, purely to keep it minimalistic, I would agree with the above poster. Go for one of the popular ROM options that are available, like CM, and work your way backwards. The Nexus 7 only has as much bloat as you allow it to have via the settings. This is another reason why Better Battery Stats is an excellent way to make sure your device isn't draining battery, yet isn't locked down. The other day I noticed an app that kept fetching my position, even though the case was closed (magnetic sleep mode). It turned out I forgot to disable the tracking in google maps (why it was defaulted to ON, I have no idea). BBS showed me what was running during the sleep phase, and I fixed it when I woke up the next morning after wondering why my battery dropped.
The Kindle Fire is a great option, because it doesn't require any of this fussing about. My woman loves hers. LOVES IT. Personally, I like to tinker a bit, and I'm too invested in Android apps to not have access to the play store. The Nexus 7, is for people like what you find here. We like to tinker, and make everything custom. At the same time, you could spend all day trying to figure out why EntriesRefresh_wakelock is your highest partial wakelock count, at 60seconds per 7 hours, or you can find that you just went 7 hours and only used 6% of the battery, even though you've been connected to wifi, texting, emailing, and checking the weather and news, the whole time. Not bad, honestly.
The biggest investment you can do for your Nexus, is probably getting a case that magnetically puts it to rest when you close it. After that, learn about the settings that drain battery in the background. Then, get Tasker and play around that (it's like programming, without the need to learn the code). After that, go to a custom ROM, or dig out Tibu, and basically start customizing which apps you will use. If that doesn't pass the time long enough, you can literally make your own ROM and put together exactly what you want. Whether the performance will be that much better or not, and whether you'll spend most of your day trying to look for coding errors, is up to you. I don't have the patience to code, but you're a coder, so what is broccoli to me, may be bacon to you.

Long time root user - transitioning to unrooted phone?

I've rooted all my devices since the days of the OG Droid. Up until a year or two ago, root and custom roms were a must have for a lot of useful features, but the dependency on root features has definitely gone down as stock android has advanced.
With the Moto X being mostly stock, and a little harder to root (especially with every OTA) I've been thinking about just going stock and keeping it unrooted when it arrives today.
As of now I use root mainly for just backing up and syncing app data between my phone and tablet (since a lot of apps don't implement google's cloud sync). It appears that Helium works with the Moto X, though that's definitely not as seamless or quick of a process. I also use Greenify but apparently that doesn't need root anymore.
Has anyone else gone down this path? I feel like I might end up missing a lot of things I can't even think of right now.

I just got my MotoMaker yesterday, and I was basically in the same boat. I was initially going to just unlock the bootloader, install TWRP, and install SuperUser, but the Moto site was rejecting my device key. I usually will immediately root a device and install Titanium Backup to install my standard set of apps. I gave up waiting for Moto to update their db and started installing apps without unlocking. Most apps I use don't really store much beyond some basic settings locally, so I just re-downloaded everything I wanted from the Play Store and logged into everything again. The few apps that had locally saved data that I wanted to transfer (games, mostly) I ended up using adb on my computer to backup individually, then used adb to push the apps to the new phone. This worked for most things... some apps don't let you back them up. My biggest concern was Google Authenticator, which I use for a number of websites. For that, I had to cheat. Since my existing phone was already rooted, I used adb to pull the stored secrets database off the phone (which you can't do without root). I found this awesome tool which lets you generate QR codes directly from a Google Authenticator db file, and used that to add the secrets to a freshly installed copy of Authenticator.
In the end, the Moto site finally let me get an unlock code, though I think I've decided to skip that, at least for the time being. Unlocking the device wipes it, and I've got things installed and configured the way I want. I don't see myself wanting to push any non-stock roms to this (I really like the Moto additions). I still want root (mostly for backups, though it does make tweaking the device a bit easier), but I can live without it for now.

detonation said:
I've rooted all my devices since the days of the OG Droid. Up until a year or two ago, root and custom roms were a must have for a lot of useful features, but the dependency on root features has definitely gone down as stock android has advanced.
With the Moto X being mostly stock, and a little harder to root (especially with every OTA) I've been thinking about just going stock and keeping it unrooted when it arrives today.
As of now I use root mainly for just backing up and syncing app data between my phone and tablet (since a lot of apps don't implement google's cloud sync). It appears that Helium works with the Moto X, though that's definitely not as seamless or quick of a process. I also use Greenify but apparently that doesn't need root anymore.
Has anyone else gone down this path? I feel like I might end up missing a lot of things I can't even think of right now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am the same as you. Traditionally, I always rooted but for the X I've just felt no need. (I was worried about receiving future updates, mostly).
I wrote a guide on backing up and restoring app data to the Moto X without root.
Helium works well for backing up your old devices, but it seems to have trouble for many on restoring the data. That's where my guide comes in, helping lay out the adb commands to finish up.
I will add, though, that after the Lenovo/Moto X announcement, it seems likely that I will root this in the future in case Lenovo drops the ball with delivering future OS updates.

Thanks, forgot about using adb for backup/restore

First Andoid I haven't felt the need to root, it's just so stable and smooth. The only reason I can imagine rooting it would be to install Adaway. Didn't realize how many ads there are until now :laugh:

I have rooted all my previous phones up until the X. I'm still able to enjoy it without the root access.
Usually rooting was necessary to debloat the phone and tune it to a stock like Android experience. Haven't really needed it with the X obviously.
The only thing that bothers me I guess is I didn't realize some of the apps I use had ads....lol
I just want adblocking again.

I was in the same boat before. Flash flash flash... That's all I ever did. Of course it was due to HTC and Samsung. Then with my n4 I went custom kernel and a few mods. The only thing I truly miss root for is ad block but that I can live with out
Sent from my XT1053 using Tapatalk

This is my fifth android phone and the first I didn't root. Finally saw no need to as like you say android has come along way, especially with being able to disable and hide apps you don't want. I have used Helium for backup, it needs to be connected to a PC for the first use and then every time the phone is rebooted, a little bit of a hassle. I also have used mybackup pro since 2010 and it never needed root but doesn't have the option to back up to box or dropbox only their own cloud storage.

Same thing for me. Decided first phone not needing root. Tethering even works out of the box! (XT 1053 on AT&T).
The only catch I had with helium was that I wasn't able to restore google authenticator data. So I manually used an SQL lite tool to extract the keys and just re-enter in a new install of google authenticator.

I refuse to limit myself so I got a developers edition. Being one if the first in America with 4.4.2 and being able to fix the exchange email issues beforehand etc are reasons I made sure I had root as an option. However this and my Nexus5 are the first phones that don't have Cyanogen Mod and so far I don't see a need or have a desire to run a different OS.
MotoX GSM Developer Edition, Bootloader Unlocked, Rooted, Stock 4.4.2 Great Britain on T-Mobile !

You're a better man than I if you can pull it off
Galaxy S4 was my first bootloader-locked phone, and I couldn't stand it. I'm on Moto X Dev version now.

I got my Moto X (at&t version) a couple weeks ago and like you I've always rooted. This time the experience was great out of the box, I just reinstalled everything fresh. I hate seeing tons of folders on my "sdcard" so now I feel like its clean and there is no legacy garbage brought over from my old phone. The only thing I am missing over my old phone (HTC One X) is being able to tether for free.
Also, the Motorola Migrate app is actually pretty good at bring your pics, texts and call logs over to your Moto X.
compulov said:
found this awesome tool which lets you generate QR codes directly from a Google Authenticator db file, and used that to add the secrets to a freshly installed copy of Authenticator.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you share a link to this? I need this also!

msk said:
I got my Moto X (at&t version) a couple weeks ago and like you I've always rooted. This time the experience was great out of the box, I just reinstalled everything fresh. I hate seeing tons of folders on my "sdcard" so now I feel like its clean and there is no legacy garbage brought over from my old phone. The only thing I am missing over my old phone (HTC One X) is being able to tether for free.
Also, the Motorola Migrate app is actually pretty good at bring your pics, texts and call logs over to your Moto X.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's exactly how I felt... I wanted to start clean. I have all my photos uploaded to Google+ via auto backup and I occasionally import them all into Lightroom on my laptop, so that was a non-issue. As for SMS, I've been using SMS Backup+ for a few years now to automatically backup my SMS and call history to my Gmail account. It also makes it easy to search my SMS history if I'm looking for an old message.
Can you share a link to this? I need this also!
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The tool I used can be found here: https://github.com/ikonst/authenticator-import
It's basically an html page and some javascripts that you run locally in your browser (no web server needed). I actually want to run this again and save the QR codes either into Lastpasss or an encrypted file or something, just so I have easy access to them in the future.

I can do lots of things without needing root now thanks to third party apps. There are still essential reasons I need root. Ads blocking and apps permission management mainly and have more to do with security and anti-malware, I purchase my apps so it's not about depriving devs. App Ops will no longer work with Android 4.4.2 without root, I think it's a major mistake by Google. Also Cerberus needs root to exist through factory reset.
But so far I haven't root my Moto X due to warranty, but will eventually. I think the Moto X is very usable without needing root and KitKat with ART performance really help with that.
Just a question about the bootloader on the MotoX. If I unlock it, can I relock it and unlock it later without needing to use the unlock code or run into any trouble?
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I was in the same boat for about a day. I couldn't help myself and had to get the Xposed Framework up and running. I need Gravity Box and Xprivacy.
Sent from my XT1053 using xda app-developers app

overthatscreen said:
I was in the same boat for about a day. I couldn't help myself and had to get the Xposed Framework up and running. I need Gravity Box and Xprivacy.
Sent from my XT1053 using xda app-developers app
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+1

I am probably going to root but only because I often use tethering. I used to do all the custom roms and such, but those are more of a PITA than they're worth the majority of the time.

deanrobbins said:
I am probably going to root but only because I often use tethering. I used to do all the custom roms and such, but those are more of a PITA than they're worth the majority of the time.
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I rooted because I needed to get that stupid at&t logo off the top of the screen and gravity box was + and greenify.
MOTO X Slapped