Has anybody messed with the lcd density in their build.prop folder? I saw this thread, http://androidforums.com/eris-all-things-root/164880-froyo-resolution-tweak.html, over at androidforums and was wondering if anybody else has tried this?
ill try it out right now sec
EDIT: yeah it does work, it increases the resolution size thereby making things smaller on your screen proportionally. our screens are rather tiny anyway though.
i tried it out at a ridiculous 130 which made things super small i may try out 140 for giggles. it does make things harder to use (and read) considering the size of screen objects is responsible for more than legibility like a desktop (a caveat of touch screens -- ease of use and interaction is based on ability to easily touch objects in the ui. make them too small and you lose a bit of your ease of use).
either way, its a neat little thing to mess with if you'd like to see what other res may look like on your eris' screen.
RE-edit: 140 is fine w/ launcher pro and icon drawing but it makes certain things super blurry or misaligned so you're not really getting the proper res up/down effect. google reader @ 140 renders horribly so the problem goes a bit beyond color banding like the original post over there says. going the other way to 165 also blurs stuff up. It's probably because our ui elements aren't necessarily vector or anything like that. mostly they are pngs which this density setting appears to resize on the fly causing some nasty image quality degradation. im sure someone else could chime in on this w/ a bit more knowledge. purely conjecture
Eh, dirty hack. I use more icons widget so I have tons of free space. It makes widgets weird too.
However I am really interested in that game he posted a screeny of.
Anyone?
Hungry Man said:
However I am really interested in that game he posted a screeny of.
Anyone?
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Click to collapse
That game is Galcon... I'm addicted to it. Been playing the flash version on the web for a year or more now. It was only on iphone until about last month.
Thanks for the great tip. Perfect for internet browsing.
by the way, if you use this in sense the buttons at the bottom become unaligned and text under widgets and icons move. From what I've seen it works perfect in launcherpro.
homewmt said:
Thanks for the great tip. Perfect for internet browsing.
by the way, if you use this in sense the buttons at the bottom become unaligned and text under widgets and icons move. From what I've seen it works perfect in launcherpro.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, it works great in launcher pro, expect if you use folders. When you try to open a folder it crashes. ADW doesn't have this issue with its folders.. but not a big deal otherwise.
I posted a similar guide for my Galaxy SII, so I figured I would share the love here. Hopefully this helps out a few folks who want to better utilize the amazing screen on the GSIII. Please feel free to comment and make suggestions and please "thank" if you appreciate the post!
General Info for Beginners:
The Galaxy SIII comes with a gorgeous 4.8 inch, 1280 x 720 (albeit pentile) screen. As great as the screen looks, I couldn't help but feel that there is a lot of "wasted space" at the existing resolution. The best example of this fact is the app drawers default 4 x 5 layout. In my opinion, things look much better when the the icons are a bit smaller and more tightly grouped. For those that feel the same way, there is a simple build.prop edit you can do to "trick" you phone to thinking it is set to a higher resolution
How-To Change the Density Setting:
To accomplish this, all you have to do is change the build.prop setting for "ro.sf.lcd_density". There are multiple programs out there that makes this much easier but I have found the best results with "ROM Toolbox". Feel free to buy the full version to support the dev but if all you are looking to do is change the density setting, the lite version will do just fine.
1. download and install "ROM Toolbox" from the Google Play Store
2. go to the "Performance" tab
3. click "build.prop tweaks"
4. change the "LCD Density" slider to whatever DPI you like
5. reboot
As mentioned, there are multiple programs out there but based on my personal experiences, DO NOT USE "LCD DENSITY MODDER" from the play store. This app is known to cause soft-bricks/bootloops. However, I have been told that LCD Density Modder CAN still help with the Play Store app issue, but you will have to buy the pro version for that feature. Thanks uber_mike! (more on that later)
What Setting to Choose:
This is matter of personal opinion so try out different setups and see what you like best. Remember, the lower you set the number, the smaller your icons/text will appear but will also give you more screen real estate. I suggest starting from about 280 or so and working your way down and find something you like.
You may also notice that text and icons appear less sharp when messing with these settings. Keep in mind that because you are not truly changing your screen resolution, the translation will not be perfect. Personally, given the natural sharpness of AMOLED screens, I think most people while not be bothered by this or even notice.
"Phone Mode" vs "Tablet Mode"
As some posters have reported, going to 240 dpi or below will result in Android thinking your device is a tablet. I have been running 240 for a few days now and I'm loving it. In my opinion, may apps look a lot better in Tablet mode but if there are certain phone only apps you MUST have, please keep this in mind.
Potential Issues and Workarounds:
You will inevitably run into some compatibility issues so here are few final thoughts
Which ROM to use?
TouchWiz-based Roms: All roms based on stock Samsung TW for the GSIII were written with only the native resolution in mind. This means that certain apps and aspects of the OS will not scale well with a higher resolution::
- TouchWiz UX Launcher: If you are dead-set on using the default TW launcher, this mod may not be for you. The proportions will look way off and because you cannot edit things like margin or grid layout, it is not fixable. Aftermarket launchers like Apex handle the conversion much better (more on that later)
- The Phone Dialer: The dialer looks like small box that fills up only a portion of the screen. To resolve, you can use an aftermarket dialer app like "exDialer" from the Play Store
- TW E-mail App: The TW e-mail app (not gmail) also doesn't scale well. You can flash the AOSP version of e-mail as a workaround
- Stock Camera App: You will notice some of the border coloring and margins doesn't scale very well but the functionality is still perfect
- Notification Bar: I have noticed the little lines in the pull-down become off-center after you adjust the dpi. Again, a minor annoyance which doesn't effect functionality
- Twitter:*You may have profile pictures show up in 2 different sizes (Thanks Msilvame!)
Some additional feedback from other posters(thanks mhtruth!) but note that I personally do not have all of these issues
*status bar quick toggles DON'T scroll (stuck with just the 1st 5)
*status bar "remove all (X)" missing (swiping still works)
* in call speaker boost doesn't work...(only stops you from hearing not the person on the other end)
* some apps go into tablet mode (ex. HBO GO)
AOSP ROMs: CM9 and AOKP handle the conversion a bit better. You won't run into the dialer or e-mail issue like with TW ROMs but there are still some bugs. I realize there are not any AOSP Roms for the GSIII yet but this is based on my experiences from my GSII
Update: looks like we have CM9 Nightly's now!
Update 2: and now we have AOKP! Thank you devs! FYI, I've been running AOKP since last night and it's working great, not a single bug
- Certain pictures of contacts may appear too zoomed in, i.e. messaging notification pictures or the favorites tab
- Other aspects of the OS may become hard to read when scaled down so much, i.e. lock screen add-on buttons, notification pull down buttons
The Play Store Doesn't Show All Apps? - This is the biggest pain in the a$$ when you mess with the lcd density settings. There is a bug in the play store that prevents you from seeing certain apps when you change the lcd settings away from default.
I have seen a few "hacked" versions of the vending.apk out there that makes the play store think you are always set to a stock dpi but for some reason, this only works for a little while. LCD Density Modder Pro has a feature where it can install a "fixed" Play Store app that can help with this issue also, but there is also a workaround.
Here are the steps to get the market working again:
1. Change LCD Density back to stock (320)
2. Reboot to take effect
3. Clear the data for the Google Play Store AND Google Services Framework
4. Open the Play Store app and you should see everything again
5. Change LCD density back to whatever you like.
6. Reboot
I know this is a bit cumbersome but it's the best solution for now. I haven't quite nailed down what triggers the market to "break" but hopefully you won't have to do this fix too often. In opinion, this small annoyance is worth it.
Also, one thing I noticed when using Rom Toolbox is that after you set your dpi to a lower setting using the "build.prop tweaks" menu, if you go back and try to set it to the stock 320, it will max out at 280 or so. Not sure why this is the case but to do this manually, go to "build.prop editor" instead and change the "ro.sf.lcd_density" to 320.
I have been told that setting your dpi to 240 will also help with Play Store issues, since 240 is a stock resolution on other devices (GSII comes to mind). Feel free to try this out, but the size of icons and fonts may be a bit too small for some tastes (thanks DutchDogg54 and chakra!)
Everything Looks Too "Stretched Out"? - Having an aftermarket launcher will help with this tremendously, as the TW launcher does not scale well at all. I personally use Apex Launcher and there are some settings you can change to make the proportions look better
1. Homescreen Settings: Change the Vertical and Horizontal margins to medium or large
2. Dock Settings: Same as above.
You may also want to mess with different homescreen grid configurations now that you have extra room. I have bumped up mine to 5 x 5 and it looks great.
Bumping up the font size can also help even things out. At 260 dpi, I put mine to "normal", but at stock I used "tiny" (thanks falconator!)
List of all the ICS compatible launchers that will work for this mod:
- Apex Launcher (my fave)
- Nova Launcher
- Go Launcher
- Stock ICS Launcher / Trebuchet Launcher
- Atom Launcher (new!)
And that's it. I hope this will help you out so that you won't have to go through all the trial and error I did. I promise you, after you do this, it will be impossible for you to go back to the stock resolution (everything looks HUGE)
Update: I have added some of my and mhtruth's screenshots for those who are interested. I also added a screenshot of HBO GO in tablet mode
My setup:
- 240 dpi (Tablet Mode)
- Team Sonic Free GS3 Rom (R3)
- Apex Launcher with kovdev ICS Theme
- Homescreen: 6 x 5 grid, Horizontal Margin: Medium, Vertical Margin: Large
- Dock: Horizontal Margin: Large, Vertical Margin: Medium
- EX Dialer and Contacts (for better scalability)
- Font Size: "Normal"
- "Enhanced Email" App (need it for exchange access)
Feel free to show off your own homescreen screenshots! I will update OP and add yours too!
Changing my dpi on the Galaxy Note was almost a necessity, not sure its required on the S3, but then again its personal preference. I might try it just to see how it looks.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
Thanks! I remember doing this on my Atrix, but I forgot how. I can't stand the large icons and such.
I tried this a few hours ago on my Verizon SGS3 and it would boot, but the screen went black after the "Galaxy SIII" text and wouldn't come back on making the device unusable. I did use LCD density modder though. I'll probably edit build.prop directly but the thought of having a broken play store doesn't thrill me.
Edit: Directly editing build.prop worked! I have it set to 260 dpi and it looks great. I also was able to use LCD density modder to fix the play store!
uber_mike said:
I tried this a few hours ago on my Verizon SGS3 and it would boot, but the screen went black after the "Galaxy SIII" text and wouldn't come back on making the device unusable. I did use LCD density modder though. I'll probably edit build.prop directly but the thought of having a broken play store doesn't thrill me.
Edit: Directly editing build.prop worked! I have it set to 260 dpi and it looks great. I also was able to use LCD density modder to fix the play store!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the input!
Did you use LCD Density Modder to edit build.prop AND fix the play store? Also, having never been able to use LCD Density Modder given the problems I had before, does the hacked Play Store come as the latest Jelly Bean version?
Nice writeup! I have practically the same setup but now I can just refer to this if I need to re-setup.
elterible said:
Thanks for the input!
Did you use LCD Density Modder to edit build.prop AND fix the play store? Also, having never been able to use LCD Density Modder given the problems I had before, does the hacked Play Store come as the latest Jelly Bean version?
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Click to collapse
I can't get my Play Store to function properly at 260, but I LOVE the look. Maybe mod the LCD density manually and use the Modder app to fix the Store? Im going to try that.
240 is a stock density for many devices, just use 240 and the play store works as normal.
so thanks for reminding me about this. I used to do this for my Vibrant. I remember I needed to grab the spare parts app though and turn on compatibility mode or something? Currently I'm having an issue with the space between my dock and page indicators as you can see..
rom toolbox set & lcd density set to 280. Saved and rebooted a few times already
elterible said:
Thanks for the input!
Did you use LCD Density Modder to edit build.prop AND fix the play store? Also, having never been able to use LCD Density Modder given the problems I had before, does the hacked Play Store come as the latest Jelly Bean version?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, just for the play store fix. I used root browser to edit build.prop. The play store appears to be the regular ICS version, but I haven't seen the JB one so I'm not sure.
uber_mike said:
Nope, just for the play store fix. I used root browser to edit build.prop. It appears to be the regular ICS version, but I haven't seen the JB one so I'm not sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I will update OP with your findings
eff0rtless said:
so thanks for reminding me about this. I used to do this for my Vibrant. I remember I needed to grab the spare parts app though and turn on compatibility mode or something? Currently I'm having an issue with the space between my dock and page indicators as you can see..
rom toolbox set & lcd density set to 280. Saved and rebooted a few times already
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, using the default TouchWiz UX Launcher is not ideal for this mod. TW does not scale well and you cannot adjust things like "margin" or grid layout to maximize the new "resolution". If you MUST use TW, then this mod may not be right for you but this is easily remedied by an aftermarket launcher, as detailed in my post. Your options are:
- Apex Launcher (my personal favorite)
- Nova Launcher
- Go Launcher
- Atom Launcher
- Default ICS Launcher
I will update OP with some screenshots
I know on some devices changing the screen density will make your phone show as not compatible with certain apps in Google Play, so be aware.
toddbw said:
I know on some devices changing the screen density will make your phone show as not compatible with certain apps in Google Play, so be aware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, this is very annoying issue. I tried to address this as best as possible in the "Potential Issues and Workarounds" section.
elterible said:
Yeah, using the default TouchWiz UX Launcher is not ideal for this mod. TW does not scale well and you cannot adjust things like "margin" or grid layout to maximize the new "resolution". If you MUST use TW, then this mod may not be right for you but this is easily remedied by an aftermarket launcher, as detailed in my post. Your options are:
- Apex Launcher (my personal favorite)
- Nova Launcher
- Go Launcher
- Atom Launcher
- Default ICS Launcher
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
oooh yeaaaah. ur right. I forgot that tw is locked in at that stock size. I'll give those a try and see what I can get
Thanks, 320 was too big for me.
Great guide, I used to do this on my og evo. It would be nice if there was a standard setting between hdpi and xhdpi to avoid conflicts on the play store (213 ftw!) though.
Also don't forget you can change text size under display settings, which has a somewhat similar effect to setting dpi lower. I find that setting it to tiny or small tightens things up a bit, although it's not truly system wide.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
falconator said:
Great guide, I used to do this on my og evo. It would be nice if there was a standard setting between hdpi and xhdpi to avoid conflicts on the play store (213 ftw!) though.
Also don't forget you can change text size under display settings, which has a somewhat similar effect to setting dpi lower. I find that setting it to tiny or small tightens things up a bit, although it's not truly system wide.
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried 240 and it works great, no play store issues. Thanks a bunch OP for mentioning the dialer/contacts app. Looks/works great!
Sent from Sprint's 3rd Blazed ICS Galaxy
Thanks for the input everyone. Again, I will update OP with notes
any apex launcher users getting app drawer lag? It's pretty noticeable to me =\
Hi there! My name is Ben and im owning this nexus 4 phone for a month more or less. Since I bought it this forum has been an awesome place to look for answers as my last phone ran android 2.1. A genius friend of mine installed the paranoid android ROM on my phone for me and I'm very happy with all the tweaks. One thing that keeps bothering me though is that ever since I got the phone, when I try to set a new wallpaper, despite the nice sketch of how it's going to look horizontally an vertically on the phone's screen, it crops only the left side of the picture as a wallpaper, it comes out pixelated and swiping home screens doesn't scroll the wallpaper image. I've tried looking it up online, tried to mess with the phone settings, PA settings, launcher settings, but I just couldn't find a way to solve this. Ive tried the image 2 wallpaper app but it still doesn't put the wallpaper the way I set it and just crops only the left side, just less pixelated. I assume this isn't normal? as I said the problem existed even before the PA ROM was installed and that only confuses me more. Thanks in advance if you can help me! B
p.s. I'm running stock PA launcher, only used it to reduce the amount of home screen pages (now i have 3)
jellybean 4.3 with PA 3.99.
bump
Hi all
Has anyone got a fix for the slight ui stutter that seems to happen on nova and apex (and most launchers) ? is only a little but enough to annoy me have tried turning on GPU rendering , disabling hardware interface and loads of different launchers.
Its only a small issue for an otherwise great tab ! but just feel it shouldn't happen. everything loads at lightning speeds so makes no sense ... guessing its poor software optimization.
The Lenovo launcher is terrible and its clear they sped up the transitions to hide the choppiness.
Next launcher etc work very smoothly but the wallpaper bugs if i rotate the screen.
Would rather not root the tab as it will stop me watching NOW tv etc.
Ps tried super touch but no use
I discovered the same issue - switched to Action Launcher 3
I have a Yoga 2 830, manually updated to Lollipop 5.01 using the Intel tool. I always immediately replace the stock launcher with Apex. It was with Apex I saw saw the little graphical glitches. There appeared to be no pattern, occurrence or reason for it.
At any rate, I switched to Action Launcher 3. You get all the same features and functionality, plus it has a smaller memory footprint.
For the record, I'm rooted using the Intel FBRL and also used it to install the current Xposed Framework ZIP. Everything is peachy so far!
-Jay
jimmipp said:
Hi all
Has anyone got a fix for the slight ui stutter that seems to happen on nova and apex (and most launchers) ? is only a little but enough to annoy me have tried turning on GPU rendering , disabling hardware interface and loads of different launchers.
Its only a small issue for an otherwise great tab ! but just feel it shouldn't happen. everything loads at lightning speeds so makes no sense ... guessing its poor software optimization.
The Lenovo launcher is terrible and its clear they sped up the transitions to hide the choppiness.
Next launcher etc work very smoothly but the wallpaper bugs if i rotate the screen.
Would rather not root the tab as it will stop me watching NOW tv etc.
Ps tried super touch but no use
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I Just got a ZTE ZMax Pro (Z981) today from MetroPCS overall the phone is great but im having a weird issue when setting my wallpaper, when viewing images in the gallery or previewing to set the wallpaper everything looks fine but when the image is a wallpaper i notice a slight change in the color like a slight green tint.
preview images below edit: cant post images... any idea what could be causing this ? Using Stock with Nova Launcher, Color Correction is off.
This is a minor problem and isnt a deal breaker to me but if its fixable it be nice.
Any help or input would be appreciated, thank you.
SeeMackosaurus said:
I Just got a ZTE ZMax Pro (Z981) today from MetroPCS overall the phone is great but im having a weird issue when setting my wallpaper, when viewing images in the gallery or previewing to set the wallpaper everything looks fine but when the image is a wallpaper i notice a slight change in the color like a slight green tint.
preview images below edit: cant post images... any idea what could be causing this ? Using Stock with Nova Launcher, Color Correction is off.
This is a minor problem and isnt a deal breaker to me but if its fixable it be nice.
Any help or input would be appreciated, thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you played with your screen anamation in developer options it will change visuals as well as if you have a adaptive brightness set u may just b seeing rough version or a installed app affecting you , I use Nova without issue on the z981 ,it preforms sexy like a unlimited data mod lol , and it may make a diff if you are using free version or paid lite may have bugs I'd try my custom launcher c if it has a better effect or check , check all you nova visuals you may have simply made a mistake in display preference good luck
Thanks for the input, i had animation scale to off, and reverting it back to 1x and restarting did not fix the issue, also playing with the nova animations and tinkering with settings didnt fix it, im using nova prime, tried with the stock launcher also gives me the darker wallpaper, im not sure what it is, because when im looking at the image to set it the colors are fine, its not until its a wallpaper that its darker, like i said it isnt horrible after awhile i dont even notice but its just odd..
what is this custom launcher you speak of?
and yes this phone is pretty amazing, i was little bummed at first because the blade was out of stock where i went but upon further review im happy i got this, could care less about the camera.. on another note can we be expecting android 7.0 in the future ?