[Q] Android market purchased apps, wiping SD cards - Nook Color Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I tried searching for the answer to my question in multiple forums as well as reading the suggested similar threads, but didn't get a definitive answer. Apologies if this has been resolved, if someone could point me to the right thread.
If I wipe my SD install of CM7 without backing up the apps (or if something happens between backups), will Android Market have the full list of apps that I purchased and downloaded for me to re-download to my NC?
I ask because I've fiddled with different SD cards and different ROMs, and each time I look at the Market the list of apps I've downloaded (all free so far, until I get this question answered ) are different and incomplete.
I saw that there is an Eris Market Fix for this issue. Does Google put some sort of unique identifier file on each gapps install to cause this? According to their FAQ all you need to do is log into the same Google account for a complete history of (re-downloadable) apps in the My Apps area, but that hasn't been the case for me.

All paid apps will remain listed in the Market forever, but not free apps. On the other hand, on the first install of a new Android device, it will attempt to sync up with the apps you had installed previous (free and paid).
The Android Marketplace site does remember free apps however, and you can use that to push previously installed applications to a new device.
But keep in mind, free or paid, the Market only remembers that you downloaded them. It will not retain any data for those applications. That's where software like Titanium Backup comes in.

Thanks, that's very helpful! I just got Ti Backup Pro, using in conjunction with Dropbox, I was worried about my paid apps not showing up as such whenever I wipe / update my SD cards

Related

Odd Market Problem with MN 4.5.6 and later

I haven't seen this particular problem discussed yet, so here goes. Prior to the B&N 1.2 update, I was running B&N 1.1 with the AutoNooter. I had no particular problem using the Market. After cleaning everything back to stock B&N 1.1, I updated to 1.2 and rooted with MN 4.5.6. After doing the Market visibility fix, the downloads shown in the Market did not include any of my freeware downloads, but did include all but one of my paid downloads. In any event, I was able to recover everything but the one paid download, something called Ibird Pro. Some things (News and Weather) did not work as they had before, but most were fine. When I try searching for Ibird Pro (or Ibird Lite for that matter), the Market would not return the program. When I visit the Android Market on my PC, "My Account" shows the program, but won't let me download it because it insists that "This item is not compatible with your device." The Market Help advice is that the app is incompatible either with my screen size or Android version. Well, it was compatible before the B&N update and MN 4.5.6, and Android is now supposed to be 2.2. It seems like this is an issue of the NOOKColor reporting the wrong OS or wrong hardware info to the Market. Any help would be appreciated. (I have tried MN 4.5.18 and .25, after wiping back to a clean B&N 1.2, but they give me flakier results with the Market than 4.5.6.). If this has been discussed, can somebody point me to the thread. Thanks.
Sorry if this seems a silly question, but you don't mention what fixes you have tried other than the market fix in the MN OP. Have you tried any of the other fixes mentioned in the thread itself?
I had a few missing apps, not the amount you seem to be reporting, but others had more and reported that clearing market data and cache, then renaming vending.apk to somethinbg like vending.apk.OLD, reboot, rename back to vending.apk, reboot again, worked to fix the visibility. Worked for me too and no problems since. This was for MN 4.5.25, and can be found somewhere around pg 96 of the MN thread in the dev subforum.
As for the incompatible app message, there are a couple fixes depending. Some have had to go into nook color tools and uncheck 'allow non-market apps', reboot, recheck it, reboot,and it should be fine. This seems to work even for some apps you get from the market but don' t install with the same message you received.
Using a different app to install also works for many. I had to use color tools for one, root explorer for two others which would not install. I copied them from another device onto an sd card, then copied into the correct folders in my nook before installing. Adb is another option to install problem aps.
After doing the market visibility fix, all of the apps, except Ibird Pro, that were still missing form "my downloads" were free ones. That was not a big problem. I just had to look them up and install them again. After I did that, they were back in "my downloads" again. The problem with Ibird Pro appears to be that the Market thinks it won't run on my Nook, so it doesn't show it on the Nook. As I explained, the Market on PC Browser won't send it to the Nook because it claims it is not compatible. I tried several of the fixes mentioned in the developers thread, including renaming vending.apk, etc., but nothing worked. After reading your post I tried unchecking "allow market apps, rebooting, etc." also without any luck. My hope is that this is a different issue than those fixes address. (I can't post in the developers forum because I'm considered a newby here.) It seems like the Nook is simply reporting the wrong hardware or OS to the Market. There could be a simple solution to this, like finding and modifying a text file somewhere in the system. If I were a betting man, I'd bet this is an issue with the B&N 1.2 update, rather than the MN files.
Yeah the post restriction is kinda painful. I only registered to be able to thank those whose work I used and post my experiences w/ .25 as there have been some interesting differences in how the update has been affecting users, and more data can help poinpoint why. Still, I understand why it's there.
I missed that the unsupported message was on your pc, sorry. I think the issue is MN from what you said though. I may be mixing up the large amount of info I've been absorbing recently, but there was a signature issue with the new market or something like that, and I believe I read part of the fix was to change the device the market sees the nook as.
I could be way off, but I remember reading something to that effect in the mn thread. I'm still very new to anroid roms, this is the first I've gotten to play with. =) But this could be exactly your problem.

[Q] CM7 on SD, cannot download some apps

Loaded CM7 via SD card per directions from this web page (which were great, by the way).
I can get into the apps market. I can download many apps. But I cannot download basic ones like youtube and flash. In the market, there is no "download" blue button like on other apps. Button just never appears.
Anyone? Thanks in advance.
(by the way, love the quick references the board provides to similar topics when you type your subject line. Slick, and user-friendly!)
The new market is "device aware" or won't let certain applications be downloaded to devices that don't meet requirements (example: GPS).
You can get around this one of three ways
1) Download to another device and transfer the apk via ADB or TB
2) Uninstall the market updates on your device to the old market (pre-device check)
3) Find an old gapps zip and install vending.apk to gain the old market back (pre-device check)
thanks. Know where I could GET those pre-check market files?
I am guessing a lot more people are having this issue if this is the case.
JMG
http://goo-inside.me/gapps/
Yes. MANY people have been having this problem. I'm guessing there are quite a few posts on just the front pages right now.

[Solution] Applications and games owned by this account will appear here

I have had this issue for a very long time and could not find a lasting and solid solution. After researching the problem for a few weeks I found a solution that worked for me, finally.
The issue seems to have triggered when I used the Titanium Backup Pro Market tools to unlink and link apps to my market account and system apps were added by accident. This should work with any app that can link and unlink apps to and from the Market.
Here is the step-by-step solution for TB Pro:
1) Go to Market Tools -> Market Doctor and Unlink all User & System apps.
2) Reboot device.
3) Open any Root Explorer or Browser and locate and delete the file "market_assets.db" in "/data/data/com.android.vending/databases".
4) Reboot device.
5) Go to TB Pro and to Market Tools -> Market Doctor -> User Apps and link all the User Apps that you installed on your device from the Android Market. Make sure that no System App is linked.
6) Reboot device.
Then the apps you have linked to your account will appear again in Your Apps of the Market after a few minutes. If they do not then install a new free app or a free app that you had previously installed and uninstalled and your apps should appear soon.
In my case I had used all proposed solutions with no luck and this was the only solid solution. I used TB Pro and Root Browser Lite to do this. You could probably use MyBackup for free (30 days trial) to do the same process but if you had this issues chances are that you already have an app that can unlink and link apps from the market.
I hope this sorts out your issue too
Edit 6 FEB 2012: This solution is temporary unfortunately. The cause of the problem is linking apps to the market that were not downloaded from the market or linking to the market from a backup that is quite old/corrupted. To sort this out there is an app now and you can find it from here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=22178757&postcount=162
It is called Market Fixer and it detects market links that are problematic and removes them to restore the My Apps functionality in the Market.
Cool thanks, I had already found that solution by myself and it works fine, but doesn't survive a hard reset, meaning everytime I flash a new rom with full wipe the problem comes back and I have to go through this again...
I tried to use another account with a full wipe and no problem, so my account must be screwed for life.
Thanks titanium
Sent from my GT-N7000 using XDA App
Also, with market enabler I can see paid apps and even install previous bought apps but cannot buy anything.
With 2 accounts setup at the same time, I can mysteriously buy apps !!!
If I delete the second account, bam, I can't buy anymore.
Looks like the simple presence of a "clean" account sorts things out for the corrupted one...
Sent from my GT-N7000 using XDA App
Latoc said:
Also, with market enabler I can see paid apps and even install previous bought apps but cannot buy anything.
With 2 accounts setup at the same time, I can mysteriously buy apps !!!
If I delete the second account, bam, I can't buy anymore.
Looks like the simple presence of a "clean" account sorts things out for the corrupted one...
Sent from my GT-N7000 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This hasn't occurred to me at any point. I can always purchase apps from the Market.
Vrayhem said:
I have had this issue for a very long time and could not find a lasting and solid solution. After researching the problem for a few weeks I found a solution that worked for me, finally.
The issue seems to have triggered when I used the Titanium Backup Pro Market tools to unlink and link apps to my market account and system apps were added by accident. This should work with any app that can link and unlink apps to and from the Market.
Here is the step-by-step solution for TB Pro:
1) Go to Market Tools -> Market Doctor and Unlink all User & System apps.
2) Reboot device.
3) Open any Root Explorer or Browser and locate and delete the file "market_assets.db" in "/data/data/com.android.vending/databases".
4) Reboot device.
5) Go to TB Pro and to Market Tools -> Market Doctor -> User Apps and link all the User Apps that you installed on your device from the Android Market. Make sure that no System App is linked.
6) Reboot device.
Then the apps you have linked to your account will appear again in Your Apps of the Market after a few minutes. If they do not then install a new free app or a free app that you had previously installed and uninstalled and your apps should appear soon.
In my case I had used all proposed solutions with no luck and this was the only solid solution. I used TB Pro and Root Browser Lite to do this. You could probably use MyBackup for free (30 days trial) to do the same process but if you had this issues chances are that you already have an app that can unlink and link apps from the market.
I hope this sorts out your issue too
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This solution fixed the problem for me (for the time being). Thanks!!!
Vrayhem said:
...
3) Open any Root Explorer or Browser and locate and delete the file "market_assets.db" in "/data/data/com.android.vending/databases".
...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Strange ...
I could not find the "maket_assets.db" in the indicated folder.
Worse ! I could find the databases folder !
ledbrv said:
Strange ...
I could not find the "maket_assets.db" in the indicated folder.
Worse ! I could find the databases folder !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is strange. Are you looking in the internal SD card? What rom are you running and which version of the Market you have installed?
Vrayhem said:
This is strange. Are you looking in the internal SD card? What rom are you running and which version of the Market you have installed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am using Root Explorer. From "/" i navigate to "/data/data/com.android.vending/".
At that folder is see these sub-folders:
app_carrier_billing
app_sslcache
app_uri_url_map
cache
lib
But there is no databases sub-folder.
I am using DarkyROM 10.4.2 and Market version is 3.4.4.
@Vrayhem
I'm not sure yet but it seems to work.
I had too much disappointment to excite me too.
But thank you very much for your job.
@ledbrv
What root browser to you use?
If it is ES Explorer you can't search file in root system with it.
Choose "Root Browser Lite"
Bye
ledbrv said:
I am using Root Explorer. From "/" i navigate to "/data/data/com.android.vending/".
At that folder is see these sub-folders:
app_carrier_billing
app_sslcache
app_uri_url_map
cache
lib
But there is no databases sub-folder.
I am using DarkyROM 10.4.2 and Market version is 3.4.4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are missing the folders databases and shared_prefs then. What happens if you try to create an empty folder there called databases?
Alternatively you can search for the file "market_assets.db" to see where it is saved at. Root browser lite has both search and create new folder functions.
I use Root Explorer.
I created the "databases" folder under /data/data/com.android.vending/ and rebooted. Nothing happened. No files appeared inside databases. Then I "Force stop" and "Clear data" of Market app and reboot. After that databases folder disappears again.
ledbrv said:
I use Root Explorer.
I created the "databases" folder under /data/data/com.android.vending/ and rebooted. Nothing happened. No files appeared inside databases. Then I "Force stop" and "Clear data" of Market app and reboot. After that databases folder disappears again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This can only be explained by the fact that you are using a custom rom which is probably based on a previous stock rom than the one we have or it has been modified to affect that part of the market.
I also had an Android Market account corruption where apps I never purchased or never downloaded appeared in my apps when I logged into my account on the PC. Some of those apps would appear under my Apps in the Market for a long time. What I did was flash the latest rom XLA4 with Mobile Odin Pro (to not lose root), flash the CF root kernel to restore CWM functionality, wipe internal sd card/apps/data/factory reset/dalvik cache, install all the apps I wanted through the Android Market account on my PC and then follow the procedure I mention in my first post here. Now (today in fact) I checked my Android Market account online and all the "fake" apps are gone, the duplicates are gone and everything is in place. Also the Market on my phone is working great with no issues and all the apps I linked are there.
Hi,
One day after the changes, the market on my phone is still working great with no issues.
Just a point, system applications are considered not installed.
It seems to me that before this kind of application was not in the list of installed applications on the market or unable to uninstall.
Could you tell me what you think about and if I have to do something?
mich0111 said:
Hi,
One day after the changes, the market on my phone is still working great with no issues.
Just a point, system applications are considered not installed.
It seems to me that before this kind of application was not in the list of installed applications on the market or unable to uninstall.
Could you tell me what you think about and if I have to do something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
System applications should not appear in your apps unless you updated an app like Youtube or Maps at some point, so that it will give you the option to uninstall it. You probably added them with TB Pro when you linked the apps to the market as part of the solution. I haven't added them in my case and added only the apps I have installed/bought from the market myself. Therefore, they are not in the Not Installed section.
Some apps indeed do not have the option to be uninstalled (even apps I have bought myself) but it is rare and you can still uninstall them using TB Pro.
Tried this just now on a Galaxy Nexus with ICS 4.0.2 stock rom. (Should this work on this phone too?)
Only thing I did different is I left a couple system apps (like maps etc..) checked during the restore market links in Titanium Backup...
Could this be the problem? Also after deleting the database file and rebooting, I spent about 10+ mins deselecting system and amazon apps from the restore market links, before actually running it. Did it repopulate the database before ran the fix links option and screw things up?
I tried also clearing market data to see if that would help but i did this after this fix did not work. It didn't help either.
quick_ said:
Tried this just now on a Galaxy Nexus with ICS 4.0.2 stock rom. (Should this work on this phone too?)
Only thing I did different is I left a couple system apps (like maps etc..) checked during the restore market links in Titanium Backup...
Could this be the problem? Also after deleting the database file and rebooting, I spent about 10+ mins deselecting system and amazon apps from the restore market links, before actually running it. Did it repopulate the database before ran the fix links option and screw things up?
I tried also clearing market data to see if that would help but i did this after this fix did not work. It didn't help either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do not know if this fix will work with ICS. You can try it again only adding apps you actually purchased or installed free through the Market to see if that was the issue.
Vrayhem said:
I do not know if this fix will work with ICS. You can try it again only adding apps you actually purchased or installed free through the Market to see if that was the issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I did try it again like you mention and still no luck. I did however do a complete wipe and reinstalled the stock rom. Initially the market was working, until I restored user apps with data with titanium backup, then immediately I was back to the same problem.
So like you said initially, its definitely related to Titanium Backup.
Thanks,
Vrayhem,
Thank you so much for posting this solution.
I followed your instructions carefully on my fully rooted OEM Rom Atrix 2, but it did not work for me the first time. However, I performed them again, only this time, for each and every one of the reboots (I rebooted using Quick Boot ver.4.1), on the way back up I booted back up into recovery, and wiped the cache. I am not sure how that could have made a difference, but it appears to have been necessary in my case. I have not installed a custom ROM yet (was waiting for bootloader unlocking, but it's not hopeful, so I'll be using some other method).
Motorola Atrix 2
Model MB865
Market ver.3.4.4
Root Explorer ver.2.17.2
Quick Boot ver.4.1
Titanium BU Pro ver.4.7.5
System ver. 55.11.16.MB865.ATT.en.US
Android OS v.2.3.5
Kernel 2.6.35.7-gac99e44
[email protected] #1
Build Number 5.5.1-175_EDFFW1-16
======UPDATE======
Well, it worked for a few days. Somehow, it broke again on it's own. I had not messed with any market links or anything. Didn't flash anything, and didn't even muddle with any system files. Just flat out, unprovoked, snafu for no apparent reason.
meh.
Does this work across devices?
Sent from my Triumph using XDA App
This is very frustrating because I am having this happen more and more on different roms and even before installing titanium backup. The fix discussed here did not fix mine either. Sucks because it is only on some roms and not others.

[Q] "Crap" Everywhere - From Uninstalled Apps

In trying to free up some space on my KF today, I noticed that apps that I had uninstalled, both before and after I rooted my KF, still left the entire app on my KF.
What's up with this?
For example, one of the first things I installed, kinda jokingly, was the Nook app. This was days after I got my KF and I had also downloaded a few free books for it. I uninstalled that app 6 months ago, yet all the Nook files were still there, including the .apk. I was able to delete them all and not cause any noticeable problem with my KF, but I have d/l'd a lot of apps and deleted them since I got my KF on the first day it was released. So if it had an easy name to remember, not too big of an issue, but app names in the directory aren't always straightforward to what they are... they may be listed by their developer's name or such.
I'm not opposed to completely wiping it and re-installing everything, but there are a number of games that I would lose my progress in if I did that. Plus, I am not in desperate need of space... yet. Granted, the TWRP backup doesn't help much when it comes to space, but it is a nice thing to have.
[BTW, my KF has been rooted for several months now, and was just updated with the latest KFU v9.6, running GoLauncher. It's a pretty straight forward rooted device that I haven't tweaked much because I really do read a lot on it.]
So I was wondering if there was an app that works better than the free version of SD Maid to clean up all this left over garbage? Even SD Maid didn't detect the Nook app still being there (the free version doesn't do all the paid version does, but, for the most part, it still shows ya what it found). Or if someone has a detailed guide of walking you through how to clean up useless files... that would be cool too.
Like I said, there is definitely a lot of crap taking up space that can be deleted. But I don't know Android (I'm really a Windows/Cisco guy), so I don't know to what extent I can delete stuff without causing problems.
Any help would be appreciated.
BTW, could the Image Verification images be any harder? LOL
PBFred said:
In trying to free up some space on my KF today, I noticed that apps that I had uninstalled, both before and after I rooted my KF, still left the entire app on my KF.
What's up with this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe this is an issue in older Android versions. I noticed my phone doing the same thing while it was in Eclair, then in Froyo and then in GingerBread.
It looks to me like ICS will automatically remove any orphan data it finds - I've tried deleting just an application's apk and, after rebooting the system, its data was gone as well (tried on both my phone and KF).
PBFred said:
So if it had an easy name to remember, not too big of an issue, but app names in the directory aren't always straightforward to what they are... they may be listed by their developer's name or such.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess you can try "pm list packages -f" to get the names of the apks and their matching data folders.
PBFred said:
I'm not opposed to completely wiping it and re-installing everything, but there are a number of games that I would lose my progress in if I did that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can most likely extract their data. Alternatively, you may want to look into Titanium Backup for backing up both apps and their data.
PBFred said:
Granted, the TWRP backup doesn't help much when it comes to space, but it is a nice thing to have.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could also move the TWRP backup to the computer...
I would just backup any apps/games on TB while also saving the contents of your SD on your computer. Then simply use TWRP to wide SD card. You can then move your TWRP backups to the SD card from your computer and restore app and data on TB.

[Q] Rooted/Custom Rom'd AT&T S4, now for some very basic questions!

I recently rooted/installed CleanROM for my S4, but now I have some basic questions regarding what actually happened in the process and how I could improve it. (First smartphone, first Android).
1. Is flashing the exact equivalent of installing a kernel/ROM/app in a recovery like TeamWin that is zipped in an SD card? All I did was select my zipped file and install--the guide says to use GooManager but I never used it. Also, does updating TWRP, kernel, or ROM (same application/kernel/ROM, but newer version) require that you delete the old ZIP, copy over the new ZIP, then install it? Is there a cleaner method (I feel that since we have to wipe to prevent old files from interfering with new ROM that maybe parts of the old version of a ROM may be redundant or may interfere with the new ROM?
2. Is there a way I can save the phone settings when dealing with one ROM and transferring these settings to another ROM? I really don't want to spend 20 minutes to go through all the settings and change it to my liking every time I install a new ROM.
3. With TWRP I could backup the entire ROM and also be able to install that backup ROM if I don't like the new ROM installed? What does Titanium Backup offer in regards to this aside from backing up app data and the ability freeze/uninstall system apps?
4. Does Titanium Backup leave any residual files? I see other apps designed to uninstall system apps and Titanium Backup seems like an all-in-one jack of all trades.
5. I thought I wiped everything and to me, that sounds like reformatting the entire drive. I only wiped system, boot, and data though (good enough for ROMs, according to what I've read). I was surprised when I saw my videos that I had already backed up to my PC accessible on the phone. Should I just wipe literally everything (I assume it would be cleaner) like cache, preload, EFS, modem, recovery, etc.? Will wiping literally everything be like reformatting my phone (since my phone was not reformatted because my personal videos was still there when I installed my custom ROM? If I were to install completely different ROMs cleanly and wanted to keep my personal files, I would only need to wipe system, data, and boot?
4. Do I have to use CASUAL again to install an updated TWRP?
5. Does backing up a ROM also backup its root? I'm going to assume this is a dumb question and the answer is no. I'm also guessing I have to block OTA updates from AT&T to ensure I keep my root. How would I go about doing this? Also, would my phone be "safe" if I stick to my ROM (no updates or anything) for 4+ years? I'm asking this as an extreme case because I feel like I'm missing out on AT&T security updates that could protect my phone and also I don't think the developer my ROM (CleanROM) will do frequent updates).
6. I had problems with my computer not being able to recognize my phone and my SD card in the phone after I wiped everything and before I installed a ROM. I literally had to take the SD card from the phone and use an SD card reader to transfer my custom ROM/loki then put it back into the phone. Was I missing a driver?
7. What are some must-have apps a newly rooted user would want?
8. I read that you only need 1 EFS backup and you don't need to back it up every time you are going to install a custom ROM. Can I get a confirmation?
9. What does Goo Manager do and would I want it?
10. Is it essential that I keep up to date with news about my custom ROM/phone to ensure my phone is secured?
**Not Root/ROM related--Is swiping an app away from the Recent Apps List (long-press home button) the equivalent of killing an app? I use the Recent Apps List often but I don't want to go about swiping apps away if means it is killing it, since I read that killing apps are bad and actually drains battery life. Also, is there a mod that lets you access the Recent Apps List by long-pressing the menu one? I only see a mod that kills the app if you long-press it.
Also, any ROMs you guys can recommend me that is like CleanROM? It has to be TW-based because I use multi-windows. Basically, I want a stable, popular (popular ones tend to be more frequently updated, which is important because there are often bugs in custom ROMs), and optimized/debloated ROM (as debloated as possible, I rather use my own large list of apps than pre-installed ones). I was looking at GoldenEye but I'm not sure.
Thanks. I'm hoping for many responses as I have more questions to ask but not a lot of free time (I will check back on this thread every several hours until there are no more responses on the thread.
Hey there! Here is my take on at least some of your questions. I am not a super pro, but I will try not to give you any wrong info.
1. The zip files that are still out on your SD card are just the install files for whatever you are flashing. They won't be cleaned up automatically and you will need to delete them yourself if you want them gone. That being said I would recommend leaving the previous version's zip out there in case you need to back out of the new version.
2. If by phone settings you mean all of the settings in the various option menus baked into the ROM it is best to redo those when switching between ROMs. Many ROMs add and take away options and add whole new option sections so you will want to go through those and set things to your liking. Another option is to use a launcher like Nova Launcher that lets you back up its settings and restore them which is a big chunk of the things I change when going to a new ROM. Some people may have a different opinion on this one.
3. Yes if you make a backup in a recovery like TWRP and then restore from it it will be like you never flashed the other ROM. Titanium backup does what you say and also can backup individual Apps themselves and restore them.
4. Once you have a recovery installed you should not have to go through the hoops you went through to get it there to update it. Check the thread for the recovery for upgrade instructions.
5. Your SD card will not be wiped when you wipe system or data. There is also the internal "sdcard" that if I recall is not wiped when you do a standard wipe which will keep things like pics and videos between flashes.
6. So you were trying to access the phone storage/SD card while it was in recovery? I have never had much luck with that. I always just make sure I have all of the files I will need to install the new ROM moved over before I wipe it. That being said if you have the right driver it might be possible.
7. Titanium Backup, a file explorer that can leverage Root access like Root Explorer, maybe something like Greenify (I think it takes Root). Other than that check out the thread in the Apps/Themes subforum where people list their top 5 apps.
8. Pass (but I think what you heard/read is right)
9. Goo Manager can let you know if there is updated version of your ROM or what other ROMs are available for your device and download them. It can also be used to install a recovery. Personally I don't use it and just check ROM threads for updates if the ROM doesn't offer OTA updates.
10. I rarely see mention of security fixes/features in custom ROMs so I don't think you need to stay on top of threads for that reason. With that said, if security is crazy super important to you then a custom ROM might not be your best bet. Even though source code is available for most if not all of them that doesn't mean someone has gone through the code looking for security flaws (or even malicious code).
11. You can test this yourself. Go into the "Apps" section of the options and look at what Apps are running then swipe one away and check again. Personally I would go ahead and swipe away Apps as needed since that is a core Android feature. I haven't seen a mod for what you are asking.
12. The other two TW-based ROMs I have used are Goldeneye and Alpha. Both are good, but I am using Alpha now due to its higher degree of customization. Goldeneye hasn't been updated in a month or so, Alpha is being updated regularly at the moment.
---------- Post added at 08:15 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:09 PM ----------
Here is the link to the thread where people list out their top 5 apps!
Nice post, very good help...serious...
Incredibly helpful, thanks. I will post more questions if I have here, kind of busy at the moment.
Question:
What is the best way to detect whether a third-party app has a keylogger? I read from an article that it is incredibly easy for someone to put a keylogger on an app. Is Avast Mobile Security and Antivirus capable/overkill for this job? Also, I was worried that Avast may actually be bad because it would deteriorate (wear and tear on the SSD of the phone) through all the scannings? Or am I completely wrong? If I am wrong, I'm guessing it's because an antivirus only reads your files and therefore does not wear down a SSD (I'm not even sure if this is right).
mindstormer said:
Question:
What is the best way to detect whether a third-party app has a keylogger? I read from an article that it is incredibly easy for someone to put a keylogger on an app. Is Avast Mobile Security and Antivirus capable/overkill for this job? Also, I was worried that Avast may actually be bad because it would deteriorate (wear and tear on the SSD of the phone) through all the scannings? Or am I completely wrong? If I am wrong, I'm guessing it's because an antivirus only reads your files and therefore does not wear down a SSD (I'm not even sure if this is right).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can read a SSD all day long, that doesn't wear it out. Writing to a SSD will cause wear, not reading. I'm thinking that most antivirus apps can find that kind of stuff, but don't download from unknown sources or those you don't trust. Even Google Play has some shady stuff. I would recommend researching an app on Google if you have any doubts about it. I'm sure it can be done, but I really doubt any of your friends know how to reprogram one of your apps to have a keylogger, plus I wouldn't let them use my phone in the first place.
To answer your questions:
1. Antivirus doesn't wear anything out, it just puts load on your system.
2. Most antivirus apps should detect apps like the ones your talking about.
agent929 said:
You can read a SSD all day long, that doesn't wear it out. Writing to a SSD will cause wear, not reading. I'm thinking that most antivirus apps can find that kind of stuff, but don't download from unknown sources or those you don't trust. Even Google Play has some shady stuff. I would recommend researching an app on Google if you have any doubts about it. I'm sure it can be done, but I really doubt any of your friends know how to reprogram one of your apps to have a keylogger, plus I wouldn't let them use my phone in the first place.
To answer your questions:
1. Antivirus doesn't wear anything out, it just puts load on your system.
2. Most antivirus apps should detect apps like the ones your talking about.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the confirmation.
Another question for anyone:
Clean Master found the folder of an app that I installed on a precious ROM, so I not wipe the device cleanly. I though wiping system, boot, and data was enough--what was I missing, or should I have checked everything to be wiped on TeamWin Recovery?
Are you sure its not coming from your SD card?
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