Database Users

Block ads on your Android phone (2010-04-15)

AdFree is a fantastic program created by XDA user delta_foxtrot2 (see this thread in the G1 forum) to facilitate using your hosts file to block ad servers. This makes it extremely easy. Of course you will need root access!
Unfortunately I found some ads still weren't blocked and the last update to the AdFree hosts file happened 2010-02-27. So I decided to update the hosts file myself. I merged the hosts files from adfree/mvps/yoyo and added a bunch of mobile ad providers I've found myself. The list is free of duplicates and comments, so as to keep it as small as possible (it still amounts to about 635 kB).
To install this hosts file, you still need root access obviously:
download the zip
unpack it to the directory where adb.exe is located (if you don't know what adb is or how to get it running, please use the search)
open a command prompt
Code:
adb shell mount -o rw,remount -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system
adb push hosts.for.mobile.txt /etc/hosts
adb shell mount -o ro,remount -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system
You might need to restart your phone. Also clearing the Android browser cache will apparently help in getting rid of already cached ads (worked for me, ymmv).
As for ethical discussions on blocking ads for free apps, blah. I don't so much have a problem with ads, as I do with the personal data that gets send to the ad providers. I'm talking about location data and whatever else they might want to know about my device and what I'm running ("analytics" is a fancy name for "we want to find out as much about you as we possibly can get away with").
Anyway.. use it, don't use it, up to you.
Last updated
15-4-2010 23:23 (20808 hosts blocked)
.

Thanks a bunch!

Thanks for the updated hosts. So should we even bother with the program, especially if it doesn't get updated hardly at all?

You're welcome!
If you push my hosts file, you don't need the AdFree app, but I wanted to acknowledge his work and give people a simpler alternative to using adb.
Best choice right now is my hosts file as it's simply more comprehensive.
Sent from my HTC Hero using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalk

phaelox said:
You're welcome!
If you push my hosts file, you don't need the AdFree app, but I wanted to acknowledge his work and give people a simpler alternative to using adb.
Best choice right now is my hosts file as it's simply more comprehensive.
Sent from my HTC Hero using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Understood. Yeah, it was a great start/beginning to blocking ads, but no updates. Thanks again.

Thanks! I've been looking for something like this for awhile. Real quick question: is getting "Data connectivity errors" in browser normal with this? It didn't start till I pushed this on my phone.

tmayne said:
Real quick question: is getting "Data connectivity errors" in browser normal with this? It didn't start till I pushed this on my phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Short answer: Yes.
Long answer:
You may know this, but I'll explain anyway. The way this works is as follows. The loopback address for any network interface is 127.0.0.1 -- this is the address for the device, but only from the device itself, it loops back on itself. We don't want to waste bandwidth with ads, or have ad providers collect all sorts of data on us, so we don't want to connect to them. Any FQDN -Fully Qualified Domain Name- (for example: analytics.admob.com) needs to be converted into an IP address to be able to connect to it. Here's where the 'hosts' file comes in. It's a simple text file with a record on each line that says redirect 'hostname' to 'ip-address'. So we put a line in that reads '127.0.0.1 analytics.admob.com'. This tells our device that any connection made to 'analytics.admob.com' needs to be redirected to '127.0.0.1', which is your device. Basically a dead-end, as you are not running their webserver serving ads on your device, so this results in a data connection error.
Now, usually you will surf to a site that loads images (advertisements) from a server that is listed in this hosts file, and as a result the ads will not load. That shouldn't popup any error windows. But if you try to visit http://analytics.admob.com in your browser, then yes, you will see an error.
If the latter happens with a site you do wish to visit, just open the hosts file in a text editor (one that supports UNIX-style line ends) and remove the line in question, or put a '#' in front of the line to comment it out.
Hope that made it clearer.

Yeah it did. No worries though since it seems that after pressing "Ok" everything works fine! Small trade off for blocked ads! Thanks!

Thanks for this How-TO!
So basicaly that mean we can restrict acces to certain websites from our phone?
eg: adding this line
Code:
127.0.0.1 forum.xda-developers.com
and I'll no longer be able to browse XDA from my phone?
Keep writing such How-To, like this one and the one to sign update.zip, I found this interessant and usefull

tmayne said:
Yeah it did. No worries though since it seems that after pressing "Ok" everything works fine! Small trade off for blocked ads! Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're welcome, glad I could help.
carbonyle said:
Thanks for this How-TO!
So basicaly that mean we can restrict acces to certain websites from our phone?
eg: adding this line
Code:
127.0.0.1 forum.xda-developers.com
and I'll no longer be able to browse XDA from my phone?
Keep writing such How-To, like this one and the one to sign update.zip, I found this interessant and usefull
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cheers. And yes, that's exactly right. Just remember the hosts file takes FQDN's, so you can block a domain (or subdomain) this way, but not a directory or page on a domain. Also, blocking a domain does not also block its subdomains.
PS. this method of using the hosts file is not unique to your android phone, it works on most operating systems on PC as well. See this Wikipedia entry for more info.

what about non rooted phones? I just got myself a htc desire, I'm happy with it but would be happier if I wouldn't be required to see all those ads.

Unfortunately root is required to remount /system as writable to be able to overwrite the hosts file.
Without root you could use another free app found in Market called "AdBlock", which functions as a localhost proxy. Just set localhost as proxy in APN/wifi settings. It doesn't come with a prefilled list of keywords to block though, but it works on a URL level, not FQDN, so you can specify a url or part of it to block.

Just one more quick concern about the Data Connectivity issues: Certain areas of my university require a redirect page login in order to connect to wifi. However, it seems that at certain locations, I get the Data Connectivity error pop up repeatedly and my phone never makes it to the redirect page.
Actually it seems my phone only likes the wifi in my dorm. As stepping outside (to a library or classroom) and attempting to connect to the same wifi produces the error.
Is this an issue with the hosts file or with the phone itself??
Thanks!

If you DO see the wifi redirect page at SOME locations, then the hosts file is not blocking it (wouldn't make sense as it's likely an intranet page anyway). Sounds like wifi reception is unstable on your phone.
This is getting off-topic, but..... Have you already updated your radio? (the part of the ROM that handles everything related to GSM/3G/WiFi/Bluetooth connections). If not, here for the latest radio update.zip - flash through recovery.

phaelox said:
If you DO see the wifi redirect page at SOME locations, then the hosts file is not blocking it (wouldn't make sense as it's likely an intranet page anyway). Sounds like wifi reception is unstable on your phone.
This is getting off-topic, but..... Have you already updated your radio? (the part of the ROM that handles everything related to GSM/3G/WiFi/Bluetooth connections). If not, or the latest radio update.zip - flash through recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I should note that I'm using a Motorola Cliq...Handler 1.5 ROM. There is a radio update available for the Motorola Cliq (I'm currently using 1.3.18 and 1.4.8 has been released) but there are some apk incompatibilities with it (particularly Swype which I love...since it's in closed beta right now, there are no accessible updates for it unfortunately).
Since I bought my phone off of ebay, I can't send it back for a new one. The essential things work but it is a bit frustrating that it has some problems.

tmayne said:
I should note that I'm using a Motorola Cliq...Handler 1.5 ROM. There is a radio update available for the Motorola Cliq (I'm currently using 1.3.18 and 1.4.8 has been released) but there are some apk incompatibilities with it (particularly Swype which I love...since it's in closed beta right now, there are no accessible updates for it unfortunately).
Since I bought my phone off of ebay, I can't send it back for a new one. The essential things work but it is a bit frustrating that it has some problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty sure that updating radio won't affect other softwares since "radio" is *just* the piece of code that can handle GSM/Wifi/BT/3G, ... signals

I'll always keep an open mind, but from what I know, I'm with carbonyle on this.
Back on topic:
if you come across an app that still displays ad, regardless of my hosts file, please reply in this topic with the app/version (and a logcat output would be nice if you know how) and I'll see if I can find the ad provider domain and update the hosts file.

I'm confused... This is for blocking apps adds???

:No-Frost: said:
I'm confused... This is for blocking apps adds???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it is. See it like a firewall wich blocks mobile ads. Because the app wont recieve any response from the ad url it tries to reach, it'll simply not display the ad (like when you use the app without wifi or data connextion on)

Wooooooo thanks... worked like a charm in glympse shazam and others =D...
PS: Air Control still have adds... Mmm how can we know what's the host for the add in the apps so we can contribute into blocking them???

[Q] Limited number of apps??

I'm buying one tomorrow and i heared that there is a very limited number of available apps in the Andoid marcket because of QVGA resolution, what about this rumor?. Can someone tell me if there is a significant number of apps available.
Looking foward for a reply
Best Wishes to all

interested too...
well, I don't know because i don't have it, but it's strange... many android apps shouldn't care about the screen size, or, almost, that's what i hope!
let us know, dear users!

Unfortunately, yes. There is a limitation
And not due to market but to devs who don't allow their app for QVGA (even it works well).
Anyway i'm huge app user and I find almost 90% of my usual apps. So not a big deal and u can always find alternatives to find the missing apps ;-)
On the X10mini we had a trick, installing the tattoo patched market, but since I have the "new" market on my flipout, i don't want to lose it.

okey i was downloading lots of apps and there are LOTS really, no big deal with this issue,
someone know a really missable app?

mixzing and radar now! are (or where) missing on the charm. (pretty much the same phone
I've contacted the devs, and they provided direct APK's but didn't specify if they'd make the app compatible/available in the market
Radar Now!
http://www.radarnow.net/apk/rn_2_4.apk
Mixzing
http://www.mixzing.com/install/android/com.mixzing.basic.apk

Is there anywhere we can find a list of the missing apps? I'm not too concerned because there are often apps missing from the markets of different handsets. For instance angry birds was not available on the galaxy s. And the g1 still offers pacman for free. However it would be nice to know what's missing.
Also has anybody come across apps where the square screen has been an issue. Maybe part of the screen cropped at the bottom? Or anything similar?

Usually there is no issue at all, however a compass APP that I downloaded thought I was holding the device differently and therefor showed north as always being east.
Radar now usually fills the entire screen on my mytouch, however on my wifes charm it needs to be slightly scrolled down to see the weather and stuff.
Beyond that though I have not run into any other issue with any app, including games.
Angry birds would run, if it could fit on the damn device....

MrShides said:
Usually there is no issue at all, however a compass APP that I downloaded thought I was holding the device differently and therefor showed north as always being east.
Radar now usually fills the entire screen on my mytouch, however on my wifes charm it needs to be slightly scrolled down to see the weather and stuff.
Beyond that though I have not run into any other issue with any app, including games.
Angry birds would run, if it could fit on the damn device....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much. A bit of scrolling or having to turn the handset around now and then I can deal with. I think I will be buying 1 of these soon

Use a hack
if you want to be able to load "all" apps:
On a rooted phone, you can use this replacement for the market app:
xda-dev thread
But because locations on the Flipout are a bit different, use this:
Code:
adb shell
su
mount -o rw,remount /dev/block/mtdblock7 /system
exit
adb pull /system/app/com.android.vending.apk Vending.old.apk
adb push Vending.apk /system/app/com.android.vending.apk
or from a terminal on the Flipout
Code:
su
mount -o rw,remount /dev/block/mtdblock7 /system
cp /system/app/com.android.vending.apk /sdcard/Vending.old.apk
cp /sdcard/Vending.apk /system/app/com.android.vending.apk
Once you use the new Market, you can get all apps, except for those that have additional requirements (for example, an autofocus camera )
After using it for some time, I had a problem where Market would FC once the app finished downloading, and I had to the manually go to /cache and install it from there. To fix that you copy the old Vending.apk, reboot, and then copy the new apk again. Maybe the above thread has a fix for this problem... I haven't checked.
Most apps work really well on the Flipout!

Yes but...this is the old market ^^ Not the one with automatic updates and new tab for comms.
No way I'll go back to the old one :/
But for people who don't have a lot of apps, it's good solution, used it on my x10mini and was fine

Sakem said:
Yes but...this is the old market ^^ Not the one with automatic updates and new tab for comms.
No way I'll go back to the old one :/
But for people who don't have a lot of apps, it's good solution, used it on my x10mini and was fine
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But you can switch between them, no?
The old market when you want to search for an app, and the new one for updates (i.e. most of the time). Oh... maybe if an app isn't found it can't get updated? Hmmm....
BTW: I'm curious - do most people use auto-update? I haven't yet, because I heard of too many cases of an update breaking the app. I like to wait a bit, and see that it doesn't break stuff. I guess it depends on how much you need the particular app....

2 markets in 1 Android OS ?!?
2 Windows Explorer in 1 Windows OS ?!?
Think it's not possible ^^ market is part of the OS
"update breaking the app".....? I use Android for 11 months now and constantly update manually my apps through the market and never had a problem with it !!??
So why automatic updates would break it :/
IMO Market V2 is a great great improvement and I was waiting for it for months now

Sakem said:
2 markets in 1 Android OS ?!?
2 Windows Explorer in 1 Windows OS ?!?
Think it's not possible ^^ market is part of the OS
"update breaking the app".....? I use Android for 11 months now and constantly update manually my apps through the market and never had a problem with it !!??
So why automatic updates would break it :/
IMO Market V2 is a great great improvement and I was waiting for it for months now
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually the market is not part of the os... it is a system app called vending.apk

So a system app is not part of an OS :/ Right
So we can have 2 versions of the market on our androphones ? (Incredible !)

Sakem said:
So a system app is not part of an OS :/ Right
So we can have 2 versions of the market on our androphones ? (Incredible !)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is correct, once rooted the system apps can be removed, changed, and manipulated

OMG I think you really take me for a huuuuuuge noob ^^
So u definitely confirm u succeed in having 2 different versions of the market working at same time on your androphone ? (2 markets in your drawer)
If yes , you're right I feel in shame cos I thought I had a better andro level for 11 months manipulating it and I'm in fact a big noob.
If no, I'm right from the beginning and that was indeed a useless talk ^^

Sakem said:
OMG I think you really take me for a huuuuuuge noob ^^
So u definitely confirm u succeed in having 2 different versions of the market working at same time on your androphone ? (2 markets in your drawer)
If yes , you're right I feel in shame cos I thought I had a better andro level for 11 months manipulating it and I'm in fact a big noob.
If no, I'm right from the beginning and that was indeed a useless talk ^^
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It depends... what markets are they? Are you referring to 2 versions of the same android market?

Even better solution
I followed the instructions of hacking Vendor.apk, and produced one out of the new Market app.
So, included below is the result: new Market app, for Flipout with larger screen apps enabled.
Till now, it works really well. I see lots of apps (>1900 video, as oposed to just a bit over 1000), and I have auto update and a comment tab.
Also, FC seem to be gone (since I started with the Flipout version), but maybe it is still too early to tell since I've only been using it for a day.
I also added the autofocus camera file, which enabled me to also see and install google goggles.
Directions for installation are (copied from the original post.)
Code:
adb pull /system/app/com.android.vending.apk Vending.backup.apk
adb push Vending_v2007.apk /sdcard
adb push android.hardware.camera.autofocus.xml.txt /sdcard/android.hardware.camera.autofocus.xml
adb shell
su
mount -o rw,remount /dev/block/mtdblock7 /system
cp /sdcard/Vending_v2007.apk /system/app/com.android.vending.apk
cp /sdcard/Vending_v2007.apk /data/app/com.android.vending.apk
cp /sdcard/android.hardware.camera.autofocus.xml /system/etc/permissions
chmod 644 /system/app/com.android.vending.apk
chmod 644 /data/app/com.android.vending.apk
chmod 644 /system/etc/permissions/android.hardware.camera.autofocus.xml
chown system.system /system/app/com.android.vending.apk
rm -r /data/data/com.android.vending
reboot
Run market enabler: in "Setting list" long press on [us] T-Mobile (T-Mobile) -> Fake this provider now.
Now Run Market Application (you should find it in the list of all installed applications if you set permissions correctly).
Be careful with autoupdate of your market (that will overwrite your changes).
If anything goes wrong: place your original Vending.apk files, set permissions, delete cache. It should be as before.
The hack did not allow me to download apps until I ran the market enabler. I'm not sure why that is.
The one I used is called "MarketAccess".

Just an update....angry birds will not let you get past the first screen that shows you how to play the game. You cannot click the "check" to go past that screen as it is off the side.
I'm wondering if one of those density switcher apps might resolve this?

Mine works
Strange... my version of angry birds works, no switcher. I forgot where I got it from, 'cause I couldn't find it on the market.
It is caled AngryBirds_1.3.5.apk. Is it ok to post it here? It's a free version.
Oh, there, I tried it again. Once you get to the first screen with a crosshair on the pig, press home (home key), then once out of angry birds, enter it again, and you'll see the options. From then on it plays well.

Auto-rotate screen (colaberative 6 axis, G-Sensor, Accelerometer, Gyrometer) fix

First off let me say thanks to the many members that posted pieces of this fix for various Samsung phones.
The sole purpose of this post is to condense the info I found spread out across multiple threads when trying to resolve this issue myself. Hopefully making it easier for future users that may have the same problem I did. Which is why I have the various sensor names in the subject.
If your phone is having problems auto-rotating, or does not rotate at all in any app (like mine did). These steps should get you working again. This will be overkill in some cases but I like to cover all my bases when something is not working to begin with.
Note: This assumes you are running Android 2.2 (if you are not, you will not be able to perform the last step, but your phone should still work properly without it). Your phone will need to be rooted with busybox and you will need a terminal emulator app installed. I have attached the "Android Terminal Emulator" apk just in case you don't have or know what that is.
open your terminal type su press enter
type cd /data/system press enter
type rm ms3c_yamaha.cfg press enter
type cd /system/bin press enter
type ./sensorcalibutil_yamaha press enter
secure your phone on a flat level surface and gently press the enter key on your keyboard
type exit press enter
type exit press enter
Close your terminal and go to menu -> Display -> Horizantal calibration
turn your phone upside down with the bottom edge over hanging the table you used as a flat surface so that you can just barely see the calibration button when you are looking under the phone. Gently press the calibration button.
All done, you should be in working order!

Nice post! But the Epic does not require all of these steps that other phones might.(assuming your using Terminal Emulator)
Once within terminal, type
"su"
then you only need to type
"sensorcalibutil_yamaha" and press enter. Then follow the steps on the screen.
As far as hanging the bottom edge over the table goes, it's not necessary. The Epic is level on both ends because the camera protrudes at the other.

A couple of weeks ago, i had the problem where sensorcalibutil... in terminal emulator (and adb etc) was failing when trying to execute. Deleting the file above did fix this. So, maybe update the op to only try that if it fails. Thx for putting this together juise
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

decalex said:
A couple of weeks ago, i had the problem where sensorcalibutil... in terminal emulator (and adb etc) was failing when trying to execute. Deleting the file above did fix this. So, maybe update the op to only try that if it fails. Thx for putting this together juise
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good point. I've never run into that issue myself, and I'm not sure what would cause it, but deleting that file would fix it.

Auto rotation.
Thanks for posting this. I was having this problem on my phone and now it's fixed!

Ahhh! This has finally fixed my auto-rotation issues! My phone has been unable to auto-rotate for months and now it works again. Thanks much!

mattallica76 said:
Nice post! But the Epic does not require all of these steps that other phones might.(assuming your using Terminal Emulator)
Once within terminal, type
"su"
then you only need to type
"sensorcalibutil_yamaha" and press enter. Then follow the steps on the screen.
As far as hanging the bottom edge over the table goes, it's not necessary. The Epic is level on both ends because the camera protrudes at the other.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually I needed to delete the cfg file with my Epic, so the need is there depending on the problem. This why I say in some cases this may be overkill, but it if you follow the instructions as posted no harm can come of completing all the steps I chose to list. As long as you don't have faulty hardware you should be back in business after completing them.
If my years with BSD/Linux have taught me anything, it's assume nothing! If you know *nix you'll notice that my commands assume nothing about the user environment. To me that is the safest way to provide instructions like these to users that may not be familiar with the OS.

Thank you for this consolidation... for noobies like me, searching all the forums can be a lil intimidating... this may be "overkill" like you said, but it sped up my auto-rotate like nobody's business. You get TWO thumbs up...

juise said:
Actually I needed to delete the cfg file with my Epic, so the need is there depending on the problem. This why I say in some cases this may be overkill, but it if you follow the instructions as posted no harm can come of completing all the steps I chose to list. As long as you don't have faulty hardware you should be back in business after completing them.
If my years with BSD/Linux have taught me anything, it's assume nothing! If you know *nix you'll notice that my commands assume nothing about the user environment. To me that is the safest way to provide instructions like these to users that may not be familiar with the OS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good philosophy. I'm just currious as to why that file would get corrupted in the first place. Unless folks are trying to restore data from a froyo Rom onto an eclair rom, this should not be happening. The file resides on the data partition which would have been wiped durring the install process, assuming it was done correctly. Ha, there I go assuming again.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

meh i guess it works. didnt really do anything though.

[REF] Samsung Galaxy S II FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

Some answered questions that might make it easier for people to find stuff. Feel free to post a link to a question you think should be added. Your post will be deleted, to keep this short and clean, but I'll add it to the first post
What are the specifications of the Samsung Galaxy S II?
Answer:
See this link thanks to RyanZA
How do I get the phone in mass storage mode when connected to a PC?
Answer
-Enable usb debugging from Menu > Settings > Applications
-return to home screen
-plug usb cable in
-pull down status bar
-press ' connect usb storage' button
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alternatively, without USB debugging enabled
stuclark said:
Go to Settings > Wireless & Network > USB utilities and click the button > then (and ONLY then) plug in USB cable
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How can I use tethering via my Galaxy S II?
Answer
Tethering is enabled in the installed Android OS. Go to Menu > Settings > Wireless & Networks > Tethering
How can I reset the counter in download mode and remove the yellow warning triangle?
See http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1068522
Does the SGS II have NFC (Near Field Communications) Support?
Answer:
P-Eazy said:
I have an email from Samsung claiming that no models worldwide will support NFC, I have posted it earlier in this forum. Samsung Korea have also confirmed that NFC capabilities will be included in new uSIM or MMC technology, it has therefore been left out of their phone models.
The extra thickness of the SGS2 in Korea has nothing to do with NFC, they have an extra chip/antenna on board to connect to high speed internet services.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why doesn't my phone show all 1GB of RAM?
Answer:
MrYiff said:
The SGS2 does have 1GB of RAM however some is reserved for use by the GPU and so doesn't show up in any task manager.
For example my phone has been running for almost 24hrs with various applications and games being used and is currently showing as 165MB RAM in use and 528MB free.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does Gingerbreak work on the SGS 2?
Answer:
Chainfire said:
No. GingerBreak was able to root a number of engineering samples of the SGS2, but it does NOT work on retail devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can root using the guide at this page
OMGWTFBBQ! Where's Flash?
Yes, even Engadget didn't spot this one, hence the OMGWTFBBQ that must have been running through their journalist heads...
Answer:
awesome-member said:
you could add enabling 'plugins' on web browser to run flash. as it is by default turned off. even people at engadget were unable to run flash.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Where is the stock Music Player app?
Answer:
pulser_g2 said:
There does not appear to be the stock Android music application on the ROMs I have got here. I can only find the Touchwiz music application. I will look into getting the stock one to run on this device
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is my password to get into recovery?
Answer:
MrYiff said:
It is the same as your screen unlock password. So if you use a text password, just enter it here. Similarly, if you use a numerical "PIN" to unlock the screen, just enter it on the upper row of numerical keys. If you use a pattern lock you will not see this screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OMG WTF I was conned. Where's my 16 GB??? I WANT IT NAO!
Answer:
Your device uses 500 MB of space for the actual system software, plus around 2GB for your applications and their data storage. There are other partitions used for other system functions, and these take up some of the remaining space.
RyanZA said:
Code:
$ /data/local/tmp/busybox df -h /data
/data/local/tmp/busybox df -h /data
Filesystem Size Used Available Use% Mounted on
/dev/block/mmcblk0p10
2.0G 156.8M 1.8G 8% /data
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How can I disable the camera shutter sound?
Answer:
pulser_g2 said:
If you are rooted, you can do this by renaming the shutter sound ogg file in /system/media/audio/ui. Rename it to .ogg.bak and it should stop the noise.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also while using another launcher (third party), some of the Samsung widgets do not appear under the widget list. Does anyone know why this happens?
Answer:
EleCtrOx666 said:
It's normal - Samsung widgets will only work in Touchwiz.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do you turn off or disable the boot chime/jingle/noise/tune/music?
pulser_g2 said:
THIS IS UNTESTED. Rename the file /system/etc/1_Power_on.ogg using a root file explorer or adb shell. BE SURE YOU KNOW HOW TO RECOVER IF THIS WERE TO BREAK SOMETHING
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How can I restore the original lockscreen background?
Answer:
RyanZA said:
Set it as normal background, save it as an image, then set the image as the lockscreen background.
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Anyone knows when is the Tegra 2 (NVidia) version coming out? What is the difference between the Tegra 2 and the Exynos processor? What would I lose if I get the Tegra 2 version, assuming it would have better support for gaming over the Exynos?
RyanZA said:
Tegra 2 is slower, and so far there's no confirmation of any models shipping or going to ship with Tegra 2 yet. So it might be awhile before you'll be able to get one, if ever(?).
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According to Samsung, "For Hong Kong, the processor will be Tegra 2 and the display will be SUPER AMOLED Plus."
Can you wake your phone up from any other key than power button?
RyanZA said:
Home button wakes it up too.
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How do you change the applications docked at the bottom of the screen? I've seen this in a forum, but have forgotten where
Answer:
Beards said:
1. Click on Applications (bottom right).
2. Click on Menu then on Edit.
3. Now from the list of applications you have on your phone drag an icon down to whichever of the icons you want to replace.
4. Click Save... job done.
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what is the biggest microsd card i can put in this thing. What do the 'classes' mean? which class is recommended?
Answer:
Beards said:
32GB
The classes refer to the speed the card can read & write date.
The greater the class the greater the speed.
Classes start at 2, then 4, 6, 8 & 10.
However not all manufacturers class rating is equal in speed.
i.e. A Sandisk Class 2 is greater in speed to a Kingston Class 4.
My favorite card is the Sandisk 32GB Class 4.
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Any other cool tricks?
Answer:
Moandal said:
There are some cool tricks (especially if you didn't have the Galaxy S) in this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1053751
particularly the following:
Has anyone else noticed in the contacts list, dragging left on a contact sends them an SMS, and right calls them??
Also, you can pinch-zoom the app drawer...
This is a big one: apparently Home + Power buttons = screenshot
if you hold your finger down on the notification bar after a few seconds it becomes a brightness scroll. You just move your finger left/right on the notification bar to decrease/increase the brightness.
In the browser address bar type in "about:useragent" and it will let you change user agent strings
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when is Samsung releasing the source for the firmware?

Warning: Noobish question
Is there anyway to connect to my university's Cisco Nac Agent using the Galaxy S2.
I am asking this because i remember there used to be a lot of commotion regarding Cisco Services on the Galaxy S2 at Samasung's mobile unpacked event

thanks for the tips...new user coming from an iphone 4...waiting for phone to arrive from the UK.

Does this baby records stereo audio in video clips? Only phonearena mentions that, but not a word about it in the official specs and other reviews I saw.

Will we ever see a 32 GB Version?

guent_peer said:
Will we ever see a 32 GB Version?
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yes .

Another one thats going to be asked is what about Recovery and wiping battery stats etc .
jje

How do you enable/disable N wifi?

Another question from me.Can you wake your phone up from any other key than power button?
Does Widgetlocker lockscreen or no-lock work?

The Samsung App 'MiniDiary'.
This is very similar to the version Samsung put on the SGS.
Whilst it looks great it does have one major flaw..... You can not save the cards you add to the diary.
As such a fresh factory reset deletes all MiniDiary notes and photo's.
Question therefore reads ~ Has anyone found or can think of a way to recover the cards saved using MiniDiary?
If so it would be good to add this to the Topic here.

Beards said:
The Samsung App 'MiniDiary'.
This is very similar to the version Samsung put on the SGS.
Whilst it looks great it does have one major flaw..... You can not save the cards you add to the diary.
As such a fresh factory reset deletes all MiniDiary notes and photo's.
Question therefore reads ~ Has anyone found or can think of a way to recover the cards saved using MiniDiary?
If so it would be good to add this to the Topic here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could use something like titanium backup - or if you don't like that, you can just use something like root explorer to copy out it's data directory. Both requires root though, and I can't see a way around that...
The idea behind a diary app without internet syncing is terrible though, although I don't know of any that actually do sync...
EDIT: If you go into a diary entry, you can publish that one entry to facebook, or send as an email.. but yeah, hardly a backup.

RyanZA said:
You could use something like titanium backup - or if you don't like that, you can just use something like root explorer to copy out it's data directory. Both requires root though, and I can't see a way around that...
The idea behind a diary app without internet syncing is terrible though, although I don't know of any that actually do sync...
EDIT: If you go into a diary entry, you can publish that one entry to facebook, or send as an email.. but yeah, hardly a backup.
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Yeah, thanks Ryan. I did think Titanium and rooting would probably have to be the only option.
It was a long-shot to hope there could be a better way of syncing the data.
As you say, it is inexcusable in that Samsung provided a Diary App that you could not sync or backup.... They did it on the SGS and I complained to them then. Obviously no one listens or thinks deeper than the surface of using this App.
EDITED:
Would z4root work with the SGS II?

Beards said:
Yeah, thanks Ryan. I did think Titanium and rooting would probably have to be the only option.
It was a long-shot to hope there could be a better way of syncing the data.
As you say, it is inexcusable in that Samsung provided a Diary App that you could not sync or backup.... They did it on the SGS and I complained to them then. Obviously no one listens or thinks deeper than the surface of using this App.
EDITED:
Would z4root work with the SGS II?
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z4root will not work - only known method of rooting is flashing a different kernel. Hopefully someone finds an exploit...
As far as diary apps, there doesn't seem to be any internet syncing diary apps in general. So maybe nobody has thought of syncing with a blog or something yet... weird.
Maybe I should make a diary app that syncs back and forth to google docs or something, haha.

RyanZA said:
z4root will not work - only known method of rooting is flashing a different kernel. Hopefully someone finds an exploit...
As far as diary apps, there doesn't seem to be any internet syncing diary apps in general. So maybe nobody has thought of syncing with a blog or something yet... weird.
Maybe I should make a diary app that syncs back and forth to google docs or something, haha.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is Journal - Orange Diary which has Import/Export to Google Docs and Backup as well.
It also allows you to add photo's similar to MiniDiary but with Journal you can add as many photo's as you want, plus audio notes as well.
However, it doesn't have the same facility as MiniDiary to link your photo's directly to a map which is a boom, plus I rather like the eye-candy of MiniDiary.
You make a Diary app Ryan that does all this and I'll pay.

I have an issue with adding fonts - I have rooted the phone and have root explorer but i am unable to add in new fonts to the system\fonts folder - any ideas?
thanks

number9dream said:
I have an issue with adding fonts - I have rooted the phone and have root explorer but i am unable to add in new fonts to the system\fonts folder - any ideas?
Click to expand...
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Enabled R/W (read/write) at the top of the screen using Root Explorer when in the correct directory?

number9dream said:
I have an issue with adding fonts - I have rooted the phone and have root explorer but i am unable to add in new fonts to the system\fonts folder - any ideas?
thanks
Click to expand...
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We would need to know step by step what you did and what happened to help you. I installed 5 or 6 sets of fonts yesterday.

Beards said:
As you say, it is inexcusable in that Samsung provided a Diary App that you could not sync or backup.... They did it on the SGS and I complained to them then. Obviously no one listens or thinks deeper than the surface of using this App.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would recommend Evernote. It would do everything you need from a diary and can sync from and online account with cleints for iOS, Android, PC, Mac. It also has a nice widget. For me it replaced all notepads, memos, etc.

what is the biggest microsd card i can put in this thing.
What do the 'classes' mean? which class is recommended?

Playstation Vue on rooted Fire TV

Has anyone figured out how to get ps vue to work with firetv that is rooted? I've gone the route of renaming su.apk in shell to xsu.apk. When I do this I can access root in shell but can not give permission to installed rooted apps on screen. I've tried root cloak. It's a no go. Plus why is there no gui for su for fire tv. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

1. What did you think would happen if you rename your su and Superuser.apk? It all would magically work regardless?
2. Other people report that Root Cloak worked for them as recently as 24 days ago. Might not work on the FireTV - but still...
3. You can get the information on why the su GUI does not work on the FireTV from here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=68273660&postcount=67

Thanks for replying. By changing su name I still have root abilities through adbfire. I can access and change root files. The issue is once I originally grant root access on fire tv I can never get it to appear again. Is there any way to clear su.apk access without gui? In app section all su options are grayed out. It's strictly read only su. The link below is the post for renaming su files. It does work. System is still rooted. I just can't get popup to grant access to apps. I've been trying off and on for a few months. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/fire-tv/help/playstation-vue-fire-tv-fire-tv-stick-t3247813/page2

Not through adbfire - through adb and the shell.
Adbfire is a "eazy to use" frontend that prevents users from learning to navigate using adb commands and the shell by makeing them click buttons with preset commands backed in, that sometimes are just silly. Then it pops up fake progress counter animations to put their minds to ease.
Every time someone says that "adbfire doesn't work" I die a little bit more, deep in my heart.
But you have made it to the actual shell, so congratulations, you are using the real deal.
-
Here is what happens as far as I understand it - could be wrong - but it is a pretty educated guess.
Once you rename su and Superuser.apk - all apps loose access to it.
The prompt is not poping up, because the apps already think they have SU access - but because they cant access su.
Here is why.
Apps that require su, have to address su, and they certainly don't expect su to be named xsu.
Its great that you can call su functions by typing in xsu into the shell instead - but that won't help your apps.
If an app cant get su access - it usually just prompts su and the Superuser.apk again. There is no need to "clear Superuser.apk access" in fact - just uninstalling an app that requires root and reinstalling it again is enough for the rootmanager to forget it ever existed. So you can in fact test your theory that way. My best guess is, that you are wrong and it won't work regardless, because none of the apps calls a binary named xsu. xsu could in fact be named "makeamericagreatagain" and it would make no discernible difference.
The thing why I preface this with "I could be wrong" is, that I havent looked into how systemless root works, and how those guys get root access to their apps, without having a binary named su in /system. Maybe the apps call Superuser.apk (which is now called xSuperuser.apk so they cant find it) and xSuperuser.apk of course cant find su, because you renamed it xsu. But in any case - they are not using the usual Superuser.apks

Thanks for the quick reply. You are right about the renaming of su. I tried same thing on old tablet and got the same results. Even with having gui access. I could not get it to grant root abilities. Next step is to find a way to edit apk's and find a way change where it looks for root files. I only need to edit 3 apps. (adaway, xposed, and hdxposed) If can figure out how to do it once the others should be easier. This should be interesting.

Now here is something that could work. I'm a bit hesitant to recommend you doing it, because you are constantly modifying system files - but if you were willing to risk it before... It might work.
Read up on a program named "Remote adb Shell" in here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=69050521&postcount=3
Then maybe try two commands like these:
su -c 'mount -o remount,rw /system /system && sleep 1 && mv /system/app/Superuser.apk /system/app/XSuperuser.apk && mv /system/xbin/su /system/xbin/xsu' && exit
and
xsu -c 'mount -o remount,rw /system /system && sleep 1 && mv /system/app/XSuperuser.apk /system/app/Superuser.apk && mv /system/xbin/xsu /system/xbin/su' && exit
Now - understand, that I havent tested this myself - also - I havent looked if you need to chmod modify the su file first (add another
&& chmod 761 /system/xbin/su
- at the appropriate spot(s)), which you do according to this thread https://www.reddit.com/r/fireTV/comments/41e8z3/ps_vue_aftv_1_with_root/?st=iuk3lgx4&sh=36edc941 (which I think you took the method from) --
but if it works - it would allow you to switch between "rooted" and "non rooted" states with a few presses on your android smartphones (or tablets) screen.
Now - I don't know if you would need to reboot the AFTV for root or VUE to work again -- (make another entry with just
reboot
- in it) . The reboot might kill the concept - because switching between the states might take too long.
Also - you do this at your own risk. If you loose root (or worse.. ) as a result of this - its not my fault.

install xposed, install rootcloak and block the vue apk by package name. I use that method on my shield tv. Just reset my ftv so I'm still trying to set everything up before I get to this.

There you go.
Should have looked into the "doesn't know how to use rootcloak" angle a bit more.
Definitely the better solution. Go with that.

Just like you should go to "I'm a **** and my comments don't provide any help others than to prove I'm an asshole section."
This is a forum for questions and help. Thanks Noggind614 he gave me the correct command for the fire tv and root cloak. Don't use the phone or tablet com entry. For fire tv its. "com.snei.vue.firetv"

Thats not a command, thats literally the process name of the app others have suggested <ou to block with root cloak before.
Oh, and here is why I hate dumb people.
- They rather complain about solutions not working than to learn how they work. If you don't constantly have the filter on, that everything they say might in fact be just a made up "fact" trying to mask that they werent able to use an app - you are out of luck entirely, and situations like these happen.
- When they then resort to renaming system apps - because reddit told them to, not knowing what they are doing, and you have to explain to them, that stuff breaks, because they broke it - the< might act interested and willing to learn for a moment -
- but as soon as someone points out, that they don't know jack, their "facts" are all kinds of wrong, and the better solution was suggested by every entry in google, this forum, and even by myself (hinting at that it would be strange, that people report cloak works as recent as a month ago..) - they become tonguetied, and when you weigh in to make it clear for others that the solution the excluded from the beginning as "not working" is in fact the best one --
they take it ultra personal - and switch from thanking you for explaining to them how stuff works, to calling you a dickface -- because it becomes so very obvious whats wrong here.
So they are the assholes. They think the internet is here to serve them without even calling a dog a dog, they cause the majority of confusion in stating wrong information to begin with, they switch from thanking you for explaining to them what they are doing to calling you a dickface - because you just made it clear, that the solution someone else brought up is in fact the better one, so others wouldn't bother to go through the same pitfalls they went through - oh, and all information you have provided them so far all of a sudden becomes null and void - because it was just that, information - and not the entire step by step solution they wanted people to provide in the first place.
Now - not even "block the app with root cloak (exposed)" is enough information for someone like you in the end. No - you need a PN conversation to clarify that you should block the process everyone told you to block in the beginning. Because you didn't bother to find out how its named.
Instead of typing ps into the Fire TVs shell (or ps | grep vue), you used this forums PN function to ask someone else to do it for you. And you didn't have to know the ps command either, you probably could have looked up the apps (process) name elsewhere on the net.
Here i the mea culpa on my part. I am not a PS VUE user, because the service is not even available in my country. I might react threads though, where people rename android system files, and then complain about them "not working". I don't if blocking within root cloak using the process name of an app is something out of the ordenary, if it is, some of my criticism doesnt apply, although I highly doubt it at this point.
Tldr.
Dont ever take agreeing with someone else on what would be the best solution, as mocking you personally. I know that reddit QA culture demands, that every thread is a personalized support session for people with no clue but high aspirations - threads on forums usually are not. Clearing up "what the best solution seems to be" for the next person that reads along is something I don't do out of malice, I do out of responsibility.
Well, at least until someone calls me a **** for not providing an easier solution for them faster. Then all bets are off.
Everytime someone explains somethng on an open internet forum, there is the notion, that others are reading it, and that the information they are providing gets used further - that just the immediate support session they are driving at a time. This is the sole cause - why people might not wan't to protect you or others in the "looking fly" department - while you are actually -
- promoting, that people should modify system files - and then expect stuff to work regardlessly
- making it sound like a fact, that stuff doesn't work, when its actually working
This is not "acting like an asshole", this is actually responsible behavior.
n00bs usually don't become educated users, by calling the people explaining stuff to them dicks, or accusing them of "saying unimportant stuff, because - you just needed a step by step instruction, which you finally solicited from someone via PN - good job" - or by putting down people, that explain stuf to them, because it makes them look like n00bs.
This goes for me as well - in other areas.
Yet I never got the demand, that others should fix your issues for free, and on the spot, in detailed step by step instructions, while making it extra sure, that you can save face, and look like a hero at the end of the day - also what dicks, are they for actually daring to try to explain stuff to you instead of just fixing your problem.
Have I mentioned, that I sometimes hate what has become of the web in the recent years? Signs of getting old...
Also, yes, I do think that this response was needed.