Related
Is this needed? I do have 3rd party installs enabled.
no
10char
Waste of battery at this time.
May be useful in the future when android gets huge
Right now low risk but as time goes on it will necessary. For now unless you use the phone like a computer not necessary, I have been trying out "Lookout" and found it has not had any real effect on battery that i can tell (still get 20 hours +) so I wouldn't worry so much about battery drain. I think the real risk is when you download apps and they want unfettered access to your phone, not sure why that is necessary............it isn't. So, to me it is all these app companies that data mine that is the real concern. I am going to test this app for another 2 weeks and see what I find. I'll post when I am done testing.
Will install if risk increase in the future but right now nonsense to use it
drcrappants said:
Is this needed? I do have 3rd party installs enabled.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
anthonys2r said:
no
10char
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
exactly.
Android sandboxes process. As long as you watch the permissions for apps you install, you'll be good.
I browse the web constantly and had the antivirus running..it never caught anything so I deducted that it was a waste to have
oka1 said:
Right now low risk but as time goes on it will necessary. For now unless you use the phone like a computer not necessary, I have been trying out "Lookout" and found it has not had any real effect on battery that i can tell (still get 20 hours +) so I wouldn't worry so much about battery drain. I think the real risk is when you download apps and they want unfettered access to your phone, not sure why that is necessary............it isn't. So, to me it is all these app companies that data mine that is the real concern. I am going to test this app for another 2 weeks and see what I find. I'll post when I am done testing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
what kind of permissions should i be on the lookout for? i never even looked when i installed because of ignorance
All apps ask for permission, some will take all the information on the phone when they ask, there is a routine that someone posted (it was also on Youtube) that shows what they are taking/looking at etc. i do not remember who did it. Look in the bible or do a search (probably in google be better) might be able to get more there.
Woohoo!
It's my first "official" android phone, and it's my first phone with a data plan.
Any tips or suggestions for me?
Get a widget that will track how much data you use so you won't go over.
Get a lot of applications that are awesome and customize the phone; make it yours.
Get aa launcher off of the marketplace.
Never ever install a task killer....
mgymnop said:
Never ever install a task killer....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
why? I kill everything almost every 5 minutes, and all it does is free up RAM...
Because people new to android don't realize certain tasks need to run in order for the phone to function properly.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
FLAC Vest said:
Get a widget that will track how much data you use so you won't go over.
Get a lot of applications that are awesome and customize the phone; make it yours.
Get aa launcher off of the marketplace.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got the 2GB plan for the first month, just in case. I'll be tracking my usage anyway. Any tips on which tracking app works better?
I will be customizing the phone soon. Once I learn about deodexing and whatnot, I'll run designgears' ROM.
mgymnop said:
Never ever install a task killer....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why not? I've always installed Advanced Task Killer on all my friends' android phones, and they've loved it.
Techcruncher said:
why? I kill everything almost every 5 minutes, and all it does is free up RAM...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It would save battery too, since it clears background processes.
3G Watchdog works well to track your data and also includes a handy widget. Congrats on the Atrix it's a fine phone.
txtsd said:
I got the 2GB plan for the first month, just in case. I'll be tracking my usage anyway. Any tips on which tracking app works better?
I will be customizing the phone soon. Once I learn about deodexing and whatnot, I'll run designgears' ROM.
Why not? I've always installed Advanced Task Killer on all my friends' android phones, and they've loved it.
It would save battery too, since it clears background processes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) clearing the ram is doing nothing for you, especially with a gig of it. ANDROID itself will handle processes and memory management better than any task killer will.
2) most likely its hurting your battery and not helping it. Just like whoever a few posts up said -"I kill everything running every 5 minutes and all it does is free up ram"
Most of the stuff your killing is just starting itself back up, this uses cpu, and its killing the battery.
Why do you think your killing stuff so often.
You can tweak the way android does this in the kernels lowmemorykiller. Obviously this is not an option to mess with in the kernel on the atrix due to the bootloader.
You guys /may/ be able to change the minfree setting in runtime to tell android to more or less aggressively kill off background apps/processes depending on how much free ram is available. This is a MUCH better/more efficient option than a task killer.
Im not really interested enough to mess with it, but it may be worth looking into, but then again maybe not with a gig of ram.
DarrellRaines said:
Because people new to android don't realize certain tasks need to run in order for the phone to function properly.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could've said- task killers sometimes kill tasks that are necessary for the functioning of the phone.
waltah! said:
3G Watchdog works well to track your data and also includes a handy widget. Congrats on the Atrix it's a fine phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just installed it. Seems to work fine with 4G despite the name. ty!
txtsd said:
You could've said- task killers sometimes kill tasks that are necessary for the functioning of the phone.
Just installed it. Seems to work fine with 4G despite the name. ty!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The name 4G is not entirely accurate... You are still on 3G, but with a enhanced backhaul. LTE will be true 4G.
None the less I hope u enjoy the Atrix.
Don
dlwoodjr said:
The name 4G is not entirely accurate... You are still on 3G, but with a enhanced backhaul. LTE will be true 4G.
None the less I hope u enjoy the Atrix.
Don
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
O_O I see. I must familiarize myself with the technicalities of the mobile world ASAP. This lack of knowledge is disturbing. Very disturbing indeed.
txtsd said:
You could've said- task killers sometimes kill tasks that are necessary for the functioning of the phone.
Just installed it. Seems to work fine with 4G despite the name. ty!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Isn't that what I said?
Sent from my MB860 using XDA App
Well they're all pretty accurate from what I have seen; data usage widget is a good free one that shows data and wifi in one widget.
You can configure for the day, week, month,or what I always use, month from a specific date to match your billing date.
I've been thinking about this for months and I searched through the forums. I can't find an application that uses GPS data to enable or disable the WiMAX radio automatically. Since 4G is really not that widespread, even in a big city like Austin, it would sure make sense to save on battery while enjoying faster speeds when available. If you just leave 4G on, battery life is destroyed.
I was thinking it could be some sort of widget based solution. 4G off/on/auto. When in auto mode, it's pairing 4G availabily (signal too) with location information. This data could be stored locally or stored remotely (anonymously) to better the community.
I am honestly confused that Sprint doesn't have something like this already integrated to save the battery. Why can't the tower just alert the phone that it has 4G hardware present? That would be pretty sweet as well.
Another idea could be to use Sprint's 4G coverage map along with user-sourced data.
I would pay good money for something like that.
Havr you tried juice defender? Im not sure about 4g data, but i know it can do wifi based on location. I dont live in a 4g area, so ive never tried testing it. Pm me, or gtalk me and ill give ya any guidance and help i can.
Sent from my Sacs Royal Liquid Rom using XDA App
Locale. Its expencive, and takes a small amount of a month to learn how to use, but with it; you are able to control everything and automate anything on your phone based off of location, time, and condition. Pretty nifty if you take the time to configure the thing!
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
I didn't think about locale. You are right though, after you learn the software it is amazing. I haven't really needed the automation recently, so it slipped my mind. Great software for your purpose.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA Premium App
What sort of resource demand (battery drain) is there from Locale?
+1 for Local.
Battery use is minimal. It sleeps for up to ten minutes, wakes up, checks your situations and then goes back to sleep.
so you can give it detailed map data of the entire U.S. WiMax coverage and have it automatically enable the radio when in range?
sounds like you want the Sensorly app to integrate with the Tasker app. I swear by Tasker, but as of yet, it doesn't seem to want to toggle the CM7 WiMax.
Anyone know if Sprint is actively monitoring Hotspot usage on custom ROMs? I know they can, but never really worried about it since I only use it once every month or so for small amounts of data.
The other day I enabled it for a couple minutes just to test a tablet's wifi access out, and less than 5 minutes later, I got a message:
From 4483:
SprintFreeMsg: Turn your Evo 4G into a Wi-Fi router and connect up to 5 devices with Sprint Mobile Hotspot.
It could be a coincidence, but the timing is suspicious. Is there real concern about being charged/dropped? I've read some have been dropped for excessive forced roaming using custom ROMs, but didn't know if I should suspend use of limited Hotspot usage unless I pay the $30 monthly (which I'd never do for < 1 hour usage / month).
wvufan said:
Anyone know if Sprint is actively monitoring Hotspot usage on custom ROMs? I know they can, but never really worried about it since I only use it once every month or so for small amounts of data.
The other day I enabled it for a couple minutes just to test a tablet's wifi access out, and less than 5 minutes later, I got a message:
From 4483:
SprintFreeMsg: Turn your Evo 4G into a Wi-Fi router and connect up to 5 devices with Sprint Mobile Hotspot.
It could be a coincidence, but the timing is suspicious. Is there real concern about being charged/dropped? I've read some have been dropped for excessive forced roaming using custom ROMs, but didn't know if I should suspend use of limited Hotspot usage unless I pay the $30 monthly (which I'd never do for < 1 hour usage / month).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ha, I jsut got the same one, and I never tether. Coincident
Anyone know if Sprint is actively monitoring Hotspot usage on custom ROMs? I know they can,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no they cant.
wvufan said:
Anyone know if Sprint is actively monitoring Hotspot usage on custom ROMs? I know they can, but never really worried about it since I only use it once every month or so for small amounts of data.
The other day I enabled it for a couple minutes just to test a tablet's wifi access out, and less than 5 minutes later, I got a message:
From 4483:
SprintFreeMsg: Turn your Evo 4G into a Wi-Fi router and connect up to 5 devices with Sprint Mobile Hotspot.
It could be a coincidence, but the timing is suspicious. Is there real concern about being charged/dropped? I've read some have been dropped for excessive forced roaming using custom ROMs, but didn't know if I should suspend use of limited Hotspot usage unless I pay the $30 monthly (which I'd never do for < 1 hour usage / month).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's coincidence.
They can't tell if you're tethering from a custom rom.
This has been discussed by verizon customers for some time now. Carriers can monitor tethering, rooted or not. They can also block tethering apps in the market, which is what verizon and the others have done. Sprint doesnt block the apps in the market and could care less if your tethering without paying for it. If you pay the $10 a month for premium data you have unlimited data. They care less how you use it.
I was wondering the same thing since some ROMs come with Wireless Tether, which comes from the market, and the Sense ones come with Mobile Hot Spot. I remember reading that Mobile Hot Spot connects the the devices differently than the Wireless Tether and didn't know if Sprint was able to trace if you're using one or the other. Looks like they can't tell the difference between the two. And since you have unlimited data, they'll let you use as much data to tether as you want.
mikeyinid said:
Carriers can monitor tethering, rooted or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do you base this claim on?
mattykinsx said:
What do you base this claim on?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My girlfriend has a Nexus S 4G(unrooted) and according to her she tethered for a day and the next was told to pay for it to continue to tether.
goodboynyc said:
My girlfriend has a Nexus S 4G(unrooted) and according to her she tethered for a day and the next was told to pay for it to continue to tether.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure it has some sort of Sprint apps on it like SprintIQ/Sprint Zone or something that could potentially monitor that.
Especially if she used the tether function that is built in.
But if you use AOSP or some sort of ROM with the Sprint monitor apps removed it they can't monitor it.
There's no way for Sprint to know if I, with my Evo, tether with CM7
mattykinsx said:
What do you base this claim on?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://appadvice.com/appnn/2011/03/unauthorized-tethering-warnings-atts-bark-bigger-bite
Thats about att
http://stopthecap.com/2011/05/05/ve...start-cracking-down-on-tethering-freeloaders/
This is just in general.
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news...own-on-wireless-tethering-app-for-android.ars
This talks about Sprint being the only carrier that doesnt block tethering apps in the market.
.
If you think for a second they cant tell whos tethering, your wrong. I cant give you the science behind it, but carriers do know whos tethering. I think alot of it based on usage. If your tethering and playing COD, that would probably piss them off more than just checking emails, or browsing forums.
mattykinsx said:
I'm sure it has some sort of Sprint apps on it like SprintIQ/Sprint Zone or something that could potentially monitor that.
Especially if she used the tether function that is built in.
But if you use AOSP or some sort of ROM with the Sprint monitor apps removed it they can't monitor it.
There's no way for Sprint to know if I, with my Evo, tether with CM7
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
since the nexus s has 0 sprint apps on it, that is not the case.
mikeyinid said:
http://appadvice.com/appnn/2011/03/unauthorized-tethering-warnings-atts-bark-bigger-bite
Thats about att
http://stopthecap.com/2011/05/05/ve...start-cracking-down-on-tethering-freeloaders/
This is just in general.
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news...own-on-wireless-tethering-app-for-android.ars
This talks about Sprint being the only carrier that doesnt block tethering apps in the market.
.
If you think for a second they cant tell whos tethering, your wrong. I cant give you the science behind it, but carriers do know whos tethering. I think alot of it based on usage. If your tethering and playing COD, that would probably piss them off more than just checking emails, or browsing forums.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure it is based on usage but that's no proof that they know you're tethering.
A reasonable person could use 5 GB a month tethering and I see no way and no proof that they would have any idea, unless they could see that you have downloaded a tether app from the market.
mikeyinid said:
since the nexus s has 0 sprint apps on it, that is not the case.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're misunderstanding.
Just because it doesn't have Sprint TV on it doesn't mean it doesn't have Sprint Framework.
Obviously you can activate and update your PRL/Profile with the Nexus S 4g so there is obviously some sort of Sprint framework and it's conceivable, that if they can tell you're tethering and it's not based on usage, (and there's been no evidence to prove they can presented here yet) that would be how.
So you think att or verizon will just send someone a letter or text saying "we know your tethering, knock it off" without REALLY knowing? Sounds like bad business to me.
mattykinsx said:
What do you base this claim on?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are a variety of ways they *could* track it if they wanted to. Whether or not they do is a different question, but they easily could. For example. think about some of what your computer tends to do in the background. If you're running Windows, it pings windowsupdate now and then, checks for antivirus updates from a Norton/McAfee/Kaspersky/whatever server, and even pings time.windows.com every now and then to sync your clock. All tell-tale signs you're using data on a Windows machine. I'm sure that similar clues can be identified for Mac and Linux, and that's just one way to go about it. Then it's just a question of matching up the phone's IP address at the time to an account, which I expect they track already.
Bottom line is that if someone gave me a directive and a budget to create a system to identify people who are tethering, I could come up with something that would probably be at least 90% effective, without any regard to what's on your phone.
bkrodgers is right. I don't know if Sprint does monitor, hence my question, but there are ways to look at the packets being sent to identify the source with reasonable accuracy. In addition to things like the user agent on browsers, which can be overridden but will give you away most of the time, there are other ways. There are well known network analysis tools that can look at the way low-level network negotiations work and accurately identify the specific version and operating system of a computer, and that's not even necessary because of the user agent and update signatures associated with various operating systems.
Because my tethering/hotspot usage is low compared to my normal usage (multiple gigabytes per month of podcasts and streaming audio usage), I don't think Sprint will care nearly so much about a few megs of tethering usage, but I also don't want to lose the good deal I have on my Sprint account. Thanks all for the feedback. I really wish I had some insight from a Sprint insider.
mikeyinid said:
So you think att or verizon will just send someone a letter or text saying "we know your tethering, knock it off" without REALLY knowing? Sounds like bad business to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you really want me to answer that question? lol
wvufan said:
bkrodgers is right. I don't know if Sprint does monitor, hence my question, but there are ways to look at the packets being sent to identify the source with reasonable accuracy. In addition to things like the user agent on browsers, which can be overridden but will give you away most of the time, there are other ways. There are well known network analysis tools that can look at the way low-level network negotiations work and accurately identify the specific version and operating system of a computer, and that's not even necessary because of the user agent and update signatures associated with various operating systems.
Because my tethering/hotspot usage is low compared to my normal usage (multiple gigabytes per month of podcasts and streaming audio usage), I don't think Sprint will care nearly so much about a few megs of tethering usage, but I also don't want to lose the good deal I have on my Sprint account. Thanks all for the feedback. I really wish I had some insight from a Sprint insider.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really don't know if they can tell or not but I haven't really seen evidence that they actually can besides knowing the market apps you get or ridiculous usage.
When you tether via Android it's the same kinda concept as having a wireless router. [no, it is not the same exact thing]
Can your ISP tell you have a router?
Because routers have a firewall built-in, usually.
But that's not applicable to tether apps.
Furthermore, even I have received the Sprint text message about the tether charge and I have never tethered.
I'm *not* saying is or isn't capable of telling if you're tethering, I just want some proof.
Edit: I just thought of a *possible way* they could tell.
MAC Addresses.
If there are multiple MAC addresses that are using your connection that would give it away right there.
Is that what's going on? No proof.
I should clarify that I'm not saying I believe Sprint is actually using anything like what I described. Though I wouldn't rule out Verizon and AT&T...they seem to know. For some reason I think Sprint's less evil, which might be naive. But they also seem to be less concerned about how much data people are using.
I don't think it's true that Sprint doesn't care if you tether though. If they didn't, they wouldn't be having manufacturers strip it out of their ROMs, and they wouldn't be selling a $30/month add-on. But that doesn't mean they care enough to go to the trouble I describe. At least not at this point.
I think they may have used data usage as an indicator in the past, but with streaming HD videos, music, and all sorts of other data heavy apps, it's easily possible to go past a couple GB with legit phone-only usage. At this point they'd need to go to something more sophisticated, and I don't think Sprint's concerned at that level.
mattykinsx said:
Edit: I just thought of a *possible way* they could tell.
MAC Addresses.
If there are multiple MAC addresses that are using your connection that would give it away right there.
Is that what's going on? No proof.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, I think they can only see the MAC address of the device directly connected to their network. Your ISP just sees your router's MAC address (though most routers have the ability to spoof the MAC address of the machine you were originally setup on, if your cable company requires that). Since your phone is basically the router, they'd just see the phone's MAC address.
But regardless, it still just comes down to whether they care enough to invest in a system to detect that. One way or the other, it can be done with pretty good accuracy if they really wanted to.
hhmmm, no comment
So this should be a no brainer right? but Im freaking stumped... I just got my S4 on thursday last week and already have used almost a gig of data... I checked and a couple things that make me wonder what is going on are that "remove Apps" has used 250M of data in the background, and "Android OS" has used about 300m.
How can I find out what in the OS is using my data? I really dont want to go over my limit and at this rate I probably will... Im on a 3 gig plan, but am thinking maybe I should bump it up to 5...
Have you been installing/uninstalling apps on your new phone? maybe that's the reason?
I usually do these operations while home on wifi.
Give it another day of NORMAL activity to see how it behaves. And no rush to upgrade to 5 GB if you are on AT&T, they charge you only extra $10 (I believe, not 100% sure) for each additional GB of data.
Also, this Q belongs in QA
schollianmj said:
So this should be a no brainer right? but Im freaking stumped... I just got my S4 on thursday last week and already have used almost a gig of data... I checked and a couple things that make me wonder what is going on are that "remove Apps" has used 250M of data in the background, and "Android OS" has used about 300m.
How can I find out what in the OS is using my data? I really dont want to go over my limit and at this rate I probably will... Im on a 3 gig plan, but am thinking maybe I should bump it up to 5...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use root explorer and see what is taken all the space.
this is related. If you are using the new Google streaming music service... WATCH YOUR DATA!
I skyrocketed over 2GB after just one day back and fourth to work. It obviously streams at a much higher data rate than Pandora, and you should take care to download most of your music on Wifi and keep it on the device, so just be aware of the data usage.
schollianmj said:
So this should be a no brainer right? but Im freaking stumped... I just got my S4 on thursday last week and already have used almost a gig of data... I checked and a couple things that make me wonder what is going on are that "remove Apps" has used 250M of data in the background, and "Android OS" has used about 300m.
How can I find out what in the OS is using my data? I really dont want to go over my limit and at this rate I probably will... Im on a 3 gig plan, but am thinking maybe I should bump it up to 5...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try Data Manager app.. does what you need
Well Im not streaming music, so that isnt it. Heck I froze all but the "Music" app, so play music and the like arent even running.
Im not concerned with data storage, so root explorer wont help me.
and yep, this question was such a no brainer, i posted in teh wrong darn section.... Oops.
Im wondering what in android OS would have chewed through that much data? I think I figured out the remove apps using high data, I had downloaded Speed Test and ran it quite a few times, used250M of data with it. once I deleted it it is nolonger in the list of apps to show its data usage, but the phone has to account for that data usage so it lumps it under remove apps.
I nowmally do all my downloading and is=nstalling of apps at home over wifi, which is part of why I was wondering about this....
Gonna download and check that app out now.
Thanks for teh responses!
Questions go in Q&A and Help section
Thread moved
FNM