Related
First - I've searched, searched and searched for my particular circumstances, so if this is the wrong place for my questions I apologize in advance. (I've seen all the warnings, in so many posts - honestly! It's kept me searching and not posting for weeks.)
I bought a G1 off eBay (no tmobile in my area); it wasn't unlocked so I bought an unlock code. So far, so good. But it took forever researching how to get my particular obscure carrier settings into the APN (Iowa Wireless) and I couldn't bypass and use wifi because it wouldn't reboot (no root workaround). So then, I flashed to the 29 rom. I had lots of problems with adb but finally found a Windows XP machine that it would work on and managed to get my phone working. I had to enter some command line intent commands (that I don't have here at work) but it's been a long complicated road. I'm not even sure I could duplicate any of it.
So now I have a G1 phone that can't get paid apps, which stinks (and yes, I installed the Market Enabler app). It isn't a developer phone. The details:
Firmware 1.0
Baseband version: 62.33.20.08H_1.22.12.29
Kernel: 2.6.25-01843-gfea26b0 [email protected] #6
Build Number: kila-user 1.0 TC4-RC29 115247 ota-rel-keys.release-keys
I desperately need ebook reading capability, so without paid apps I'm up a creek. The web browser won't even open local files that I can tell and when I click on an html file it opens in a viewer that never displays my files, which tend to have lots of javascript and css. And we won't even talk about chm files and pdb/prc compiled ebooks. Is there a rom that will get me access to the Market so I can buy a couple of readers?
When I got the G1, I was thinking that an HTC phone would be the successor to the hackable Motorola phones (I used to have an A780). But in a way, this forum is too much of a good thing. There are so many roms, bootloaders and some kind of radio thing that I'm kinda scared to mess with. So, that's my next question - is there some kind of table where I can see comparisons on which roms do what and what files go together? I'm piecing things from posts and I keep getting lost.
And for my next question - if I do get up enough nerve to get install a non-standard rom, will my unlock code still work if everything gets wiped?
Lastly, and I know this is sensitive because it is an Android community - I found a few tantalizing posts while researching all my issues that hinted that maybe someone might be working on a non-Android solution. I don't know if was OpenMoko or something like that but seriously, I would jump at the opportunity to have an accessible Linux system.
As awesome as the G1 is (and the bar code thing was my killer app) it's a lot of hassle for a working mother and grandmother. I have 7 and 9 year old kids to hang out with instead of muttering "Frak this" after the tenth or twentieth rewording of the google search terms.
Thanks for letting me get this out of my system. I'm reading deprived and starting to reevaluate my old Shadow sitting on the shelf.
Terry in Iowa
Being the nice guy I am, this is a database listed under the Developer's section under INFORMATIVE THREADS (lots of goodies under there): http://www.simonwalkerphotos.com/android/android_build_information.asp
it lists the features of each ROM in the forums all neatly organized. =)
For your other question: the unlock code works perfectly fine after several wipes, its permanent. I unlocked my phone (from T-Mobile) and have gone through at least 8 ROMs and the unlock still works. With these new ROMs, you get developer capabilities and should be able to download that reader you're after.
Just take your time and don't rush things and you'll be fine. A piece of cake really.
Thanks. Your link is exactly what I needed. I know I missed it, whether it's because it's 11th on the list and my eyes were so glazed over, or I was hung up on getting root (the main thread for root on that page didn't work for me - the mount commands) or that I kinda expected it to be down in the actual ROM section.
I know this isn't about the ROM list but it's so frustrating to have threads marked but not work, and the solutions are often way down in the comment thread. That makes it so hard to get anywhere. I hope I don't sound too ungrateful, especially since I wanted the G1 because of the community support. It's just been way more work than I expected from previous experiences with other phones and pdas.
Well, I looked through the spreadsheet and I think I'm going to try out CyanogenMod v3.4.6 (Stable). Now I just need to set aside some time to gather everything together. (I'm learning...)
Thanks again,
Terry
No worries, we all gotta start somewhere. Once you have root, its pretty much just a straight ROM flash from there, depending on whether the ROM you've chosen needs the new Haykuro SPL or just HardSPL. With Haykuro SPL, there's really only 2 extra steps and you can just straight flash ROMs from there. Just be careful if you're flashing the Haykuro SPL because if you do it incorrectly, you'll brick you're phone. But don't be too scared, if you did everything correctly, there shouldn't be any reason why it won't work.
I had no trouble with the HardSPL, the radio update, the pimped out recovery image but the actual CyanogenMod almost gave me a heart attack. I applied the update.zip and rebooted, and it hung on a cool animated android screen (after the G1 splash). I took the battery out, wiped the phone (which I forgot to do the first time) and tried it again. Same results. I took the battery out again and applied the update.zip and the 3rd time it actually booted.
My previously installed programs were still there, so I'm not quite sure what happened but I'm not going to question it any further. ;-)
Thanks again for the little bit of hand holding.
Terry (proud owner of 8 paid apps and still looking...)
Good luck. If you use Apps2SD, after you re-apps2sd after a flash/wipe, it will take a very long time to boot and you might think that it has frozen, but in reality, its just loading all the apps over again so it could take up to 10min. But glad you got it working regardless. Have fun.
Hi,
I got a few spare androids' and i'm considering giving them to my kids (11 and 12) to play around with it and enjoy the android experience. however I don't want them being able to put 3rd party applications. how do i go about removing the option of "unknown sources" and maybe wifi from the settings.apk.
I'm not new to java and xml but sort of new to android development, I've tried several ways to remove it from the apk only (ark, ddx, baksmali, apksign) I did it in so many ways that i can't remember them all. I've also tried to decode the apk with apktool, ddx, baksmali, and creating a new project from existing source in eclipse, and I couldn't figure out what parts I have to modify to get it working (i kept on getting errors in eclipse so i wasn't even able to compile and test it in DDMS-eclipse).
Also i would like to know if maybe it is necessary to port the whole kernel source into eclipse?
I've searched all over the internet for a information for this specific thing and I couldn't find anything.
Btw, I'm using nix lucid.
Thanks In advance.
any help would be appreciated!
how about flash the supere rom without the google apps? that way they wont be able to access the market..
lagu805 said:
how about flash the supere rom without the google apps? that way they wont be able to access the market..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know, the problem is not the market, i can pull it out from the phone with adb in a second w/o superE, but they can still install stuff on it with a sd card, and I would hate to not put in a file browser on the phone.
I think it would be a good idea to make a rom that's made for kids, for playing games and stuff without me worrying about it.
I'm sure that they will try to figure out a way to get around the "no market on the phone" and I should not underestimate a kid (even a 12 year old). I've seen him getting around lots of technological obstacle's.
I think that the world could use a kid's version of android, you know, get them hooked when they're young. The last thing i would like to hear from my kids is talking about iPhone or Windows. We're all linux in our house
Interesting. I too gave Magics to my 11 & 12 yr olds, one without a data plan and the other without a SIM at all. I think the right way might be multiuser like we already do on the desktops. Sudo would be a nice touch but I'd be happy to login as admin to install or whatnot.
Multiuser is something I'd like to see anyway with most or some settings on a per user basis. Or at least just for security, normal login can't do critical tasks that might cause issues. I think we'll hear about this again once we hear about some seriously dangerous apps/scams/viri on the phones.
In the meantime your best bet is education and rules about what can and can't be done. Then once per week or so you take the phone and check things out, update as needed, etc. So far my kids have little interest in breaking the rules and are happy browsing the market for fun things.
I think the only way to achieve this is to download the AOSP, edit the sources to remove the options and then compile your own ROM.
3rdcoast said:
Interesting. I too gave Magics to my 11 & 12 yr olds, one without a data plan and the other without a SIM at all. I think the right way might be multiuser like we already do on the desktops. Sudo would be a nice touch but I'd be happy to login as admin to install or whatnot.
Multiuser is something I'd like to see anyway with most or some settings on a per user basis. Or at least just for security, normal login can't do critical tasks that might cause issues. I think we'll hear about this again once we hear about some seriously dangerous apps/scams/viri on the phones.
In the meantime your best bet is education and rules about what can and can't be done. Then once per week or so you take the phone and check things out, update as needed, etc. So far my kids have little interest in breaking the rules and are happy browsing the market for fun things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well, it is just a nix and SUDO should be possible, but setting this up is a quite a project and I don't think this is a one day project.
As for educating, I think they know right from wrong and I don't think that they will willingly break the rules, the market however is full of apps that are not meant for young kids..... what do you think they're going to do when they bump in to one of those apps? .
Actually what i wanted to do is to give them a phone with a line and no data plan so they can play games or watch movies, If the kids want to use the internet, there are more than enough boxes at home they can use. This phone is strictly for voice text and games.
What I want to accomplish in general, is having a child safe phone, and have the other parents here who want their kids to have to have an android, enjoy it. My way of giving back to the community.
But to have a phone that will be suitable for the purpose (not just for my kids) the data has to be completely disabled, and wifi is going to be the issue. putting on an encryption on wifi is a joke, ever heard of aircrack? I'm sure there are lots of determined horny 15 year olds that will get around that. (am i paranoid?)
Case_ said:
I think the only way to achieve this is to download the AOSP, edit the sources to remove the options and then compile your own ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's exactly what i want to do. The question is how do I do it?
Again, I'm not a complete noob, I just never played around with android as an OS. so if I can have the first push here here what I'm supposed to do to start this I would really appreciate it.
As I've said in my first post, I tried a few things and i couldn't get it right. what part of this don't i get??
Thanks a lot.
well your not even going in the right direction..
do you have an IDE with compiler and the android SDK all set up? then you can check on dferrera post on how to compile android from source... its listed in this forum.. please search
if your not a programmer or have no idea what classes - functions etc are then this might now be an option for you that is something you can be instructed on
you are going to need to learn to compile android from source and modify it, this is a very big task mate - be prepared, and no one can answer all the questions for u
alan090 said:
well your not even going in the right direction..
do you have an IDE with compiler and the android SDK all set up? then you can check on dferrera post on how to compile android from source... its listed in this forum.. please search
if your not a programmer or have no idea what classes - functions etc are then this might now be an option for you that is something you can be instructed on
you are going to need to learn to compile android from source and modify it, this is a very big task mate - be prepared, and no one can answer all the questions for u
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply, but i can't seem to get java5 working on 10.04 (the 10.04 repos have only java6 but i did add the old repos and ran in to some issues), I had it working on 9.04 though. anyone made it run on 10.04? or should I downgrade (or run it in VB) to 9.04/.10?
k50aker said:
Thanks for the reply, but i can't seem to get java5 working on 10.04 (the 10.04 repos have only java6 but i did add the old repos and ran in to some issues), I had it working on 9.04 though. anyone made it run on 10.04? or should I downgrade (or run it in VB) to 9.04/.10?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Add these 2 lines to the end of /etc/apt/sources.list file
Code:
deb http://pl.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ jaunty multiverse
deb http://pl.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ jaunty universe
then do:
Code:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install sun-java5-jdk
@k50aker
Hiding Wifi and other things should be quite easy task, but... how do you want to protect against system reinstallation? They could download any ROM from internet and install it in just 10 minutes. Backuping is easy too, so they could have 2 systems installed and switch between them when their dad comes home.
Android phones aren't desktops. You can't have root and don't give it to other users of a device.
Mod. edit: not dev related, moved to general
I wouldn't want to hide WiFI, the device is useless without connectivity, much cheaper toys out there for that if I wanted stand alone.
My two children each have a Magic and this is my experience, none of the worries that many parents seem to fear. They are well behaved and so far no problems and they are ready for 2.1 since 1.5 is just too confining even for them. Education goes a long way.
The best choice I made was to not put a SIM in one of the phones. WiFI is ideal since she is nearly always in a zone. This has gotten her used to IM instead of texting. Same effect but costs nothing. A SIP app works almost as well as SIM voice. Someday I'll do a data only SIM so she has total coverage, she'll understand that heavy data is to be done over WiFI and cell data is for VoIP and for times when it is really needed and can't wait.
However it would be nice if there was a limited setting requiring admin password for certain functions. But really, there hasn't been any problems but my kids might be grateful enough to not abuse the rights I give them. Best advice besides education if they are very young is to not SIM until after they get into the alternatives and not be addicted to texting. The older one has learned to watch her usage patterns and has to pay if she goes over budget.
Switch33 said:
Add these 2 lines to the end of /etc/apt/sources.list file
Code:
deb http://pl.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ jaunty multiverse
deb http://pl.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ jaunty universe
then do:
Code:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install sun-java5-jdk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
those ropes are for jaunty not for lucid, and I have tried that before anyway and this is what i get:
Code:
desktop:~$ sudo apt-get install sun-java5-jdk
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
sun-java5-jdk is already the newest version.
The following packages were automatically installed and are no longer required:
libwv2-4
Use 'apt-get autoremove' to remove them.
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 11 not upgraded.
1 not fully installed or removed.
After this operation, 0B of additional disk space will be used.
Setting up sun-java5-doc (1.5.0-19-0ubuntu0.9.04) ...
This package is an installer package, it does not actually contain the
J2SDK documentation. You will need to go download one of the
archives:
jdk-1_5_0-doc.zip jdk-1_5_0-doc-ja.zip
(choose the non-update version if this is the first installation).
Please visit
http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.5.0/download.html
now and download. The file should be owned by root.root and be copied
to /tmp.
[Press RETURN to try again, 'no' + RETURN to abort] no
Abort installation of J2SDK documentation
dpkg: error processing sun-java5-doc (--configure):
subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1
Errors were encountered while processing:
sun-java5-doc
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)
Brut.all said:
@k50aker
Hiding Wifi and other things should be quite easy task, but... how do you want to protect against system reinstallation? They could download any ROM from internet and install it in just 10 minutes. Backuping is easy too, so they could have 2 systems installed and switch between them when their dad comes home.
Android phones aren't desktops. You can't have root and don't give it to other users of a device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are right, but one of the later steps I thought about would be a custom boot and custom or no recovery. But I will figure that out later in the project.
But i will probably change my direction on this (wifi etc.) based on what you guys say.
Greetings all
I realize the info I need is probably posted here... somewhere. But, at this point I am beyond confused.
I did the first, 2nd and the 3rd Eris leaks and my info is as follows
[Firmware - 2.1
baseband - 2.42.00.04.12
kernel - 2.6.29-8a03cb9a
htc-kernel and18-2#1
build - 2.36.605.1 cl165907 release-keys
software - 2.36.605.1
browser - 3.1
pri - 2.11_002
prl - 51920
Truthfully, I dont know what any of it means. I don't know if I am able to Root or not or even what I would be getting If I did or if I need to.
I also Don't know which of the dozen or so tutorials, fixes, ROM's etc I should trust, try or attempt or what they mean
What I do know is simple. I want the phone to work when all is said and done. Meaning, I want the GPS, Bluetooth, WiFi etc to all function properly.
What I would like is also simple and that is, to be able to get rid of the 1.2 dozen or so apps that I must constantly kill on this phone ( MP3 store, Voce Dialer, my uploads etc.) and the 20+ I have to kill on reboot. And have my phone run as smooth, fast and trouble free as possible.
The only widget I run is the weather, currently either 9s or weather bug and I also have a widget for Pandora and an app called music player on the home screen, but neither of those should be or need to be running, all syncs, auto updates, message / mail pushing are turned off or set to manual, this phone is a phone first, weather 2nd, and internet & email 3rd. all the other things are just toys to me. I would use the Sense weather widget if I could but I am
using Launcherpro so can only Open the sense weather app manually, not with the perfect 1x2 widget or full screen one. I also use the Sense Calender/ agenda app and would like to continue to do so.
I would also like, as I said, have everything else just work, the google account syncing, the market, all the other stuff that is needed in the background to make the unit function properly.
I Hope somebody out there understands what I am trying to convey to all of you, and I don't come off as being to demanding or inflexible. I am open to anything as long as it will do what I need. I know a lot of people here are Techies and want the latest, greatest, fastest etc. but I just need things to work. If that means staying with what I got, so be it.
My biggest grips with the phone is the crap that runs in the background, that I must kill and constantly restarts, even when the phone is idle. If this can be fixed in Root, I am all for it, if android 2.2 fixes this, ditto. if there is another way that doens't require any of this, I am open to suggestions on that as well.
But, I must stress, I do need this phone to simply work as intended. I am in the minority I am sure but I actually use the "phone" part more then anything else and need it to just work.
Maybe I don't need root! I really don't know. But as it stands now, with leak3 I will get no future updates or fixes unless I have it or something similar, Correct?
Thanks for any simplified help or advice on this
P.S if at all possible, please dont direct me to another link to read. Unless, that will do exactly what I am trying to accomplish and need the phone to do. And, is fairly simple to understand and execute. Not one full of links telling me, you need this, so go here and u will want that so go there etc..
This is realy important with the"ROM" issue, which I realy dont understand at all
Thanks in advance
Kalie
yes you can root it is benificial to most, and follow these instructions to ROOT after reading more into the matter. If you need any personal help still you may PM me tomorrow and i will at least help you find all the necessary resources and knowledge to decide if you should root or not.
Please move to general discussion.
I think the first thing that you really need to understand is that with Android things are going to run in the background, regardless of what you do. Background process run whether stock or rooted. There are no custom ROMs that somehow prevent background processes from running. It took me a long time to come to terms with this concept because I want to feel like everything on my phone is "clean". However, with Android the system is meant to run this way and the OS will stop processes only when needed. When you kill processes via task manager app or whatever you are simply wasting time, slowing down your phone, wasting battery, and maybe causing other "hiccups" in the operation of the system. As much as it feels good to make sure that stuff is not running you are really doing no good by constantly chasing your tail on this issue.
With leak v3 you can receive future updates. If you haven't already, you should be receiving the MR4 OTA update which includes some minor bug fixes.
Obtaining root is going to give you the ability to apply custom ROMs but I am not sure that this will accomplish what you have in mind. Custom ROMs do offer some significant performance enhancements but they will not stop background apps from running and all of them include a good number of the native apps that you want to get rid of (amazon mp3, etc). With root you can remove native apps but it is another required learning process.
Rooting your phone is more than just loading a custom ROM, it is a learning process that requires a lot of reading and understanding of how the operating system works, how to load custom ROMs, and all of the other things that come along with rooting.
I understand that you want to make this as easy as possible but learning is only easy if you are interested in what you are trying to do. I don't want to discourage you from rooting your Eris but I do think that you need to take some time to understand what it is that you are considering doing.
There are a lot of great resources on this site to use to educate yourself on the root process and what rooting really means for you. Good luck
mod, please move this to the general section, not a development topic, thanks.
"With leak v3 you can receive future updates. If you haven't already, you should be receiving the MR4 OTA update which includes some minor bug fixes.
"
Did I read this correctly?
Since I installed Leak 1 and the subsequent leak 2 and leak 3, I have not had any updates from verizon.
At what point in time, if ever, will I get an update from Verizon that does not come from a forum and or somebody claiming they figured it out and it's the same as the official, just "Not Official" since i am on the leaked version of Android 2.1
If I can eventually get 2.2 android, without going thru the Agg. of rooting and the trial and eroor with the many different ROMS, I would love that.
With that said, if there is something proven I can do , to undo what I have done ( Leak 1, 2 and 3) that will allow my phone then to be "Officialy" updated by verizon I would love to know how to do this
Thanks again for the Help
Kalie S
Hi, a new guy here!
I recently became a happy owner of 32Gb wi-fi only N7. I’m familiar with software dev (windows developer for 20 years with some work on unix) and customization/modding/flashing process (mostly for satellite receivers). However this is my first tablet and my first Android device so I could use some help
I successfully unlocked, rooted and installed custom recovery on my N7. I would like to get to a bare bones state of the N7 and then slowly add new features/programs to it when it becomes necessary for me. So I would like to remove all non essential parts that were preinstalled on my N7.
I was under impression that I could uninstall programs using N7 UI after device gets rooted. However it seems that for majority of the apps I still only have an option to disable.
I shelled into N7 and looked around. It seems that all (majority?) of the apps are in /system/apps folder. Can I simply remove the apps and their files from that folder? Does this folder only contain user apps or does it also have system apps that are essential for N7 to function? Is there a chance to brick it by removing something (everything?) from that folder?
I searched on a forum for a list of apps that are safe to remove. I thought it would exist since it seems to be something many of us would be interested in doing. I didn’t find the list. If there is such a thing and someone could direct me there, it would be great!
Given that I can remove apps by deleting them from that folder safely, I still have a question what each app does and how important it is. Is safe to assume that any app that has a wheel with a drive belt on it as an icon in apps screen on N7 is system app and has to stay?
I have two keyboard app installed – one is Android keyboard and one is ASUS keyboard. Judging by the name 2 of these are essential since Android is the OS and ASUS is the manufacturer. But do I really need two of them?
If there is a resource/thread that discussed something similar, please let know. I look forward to learn from anyone on this forum!
_Diver said:
Hi, a new guy here!
I recently became a happy owner of 32Gb wi-fi only N7. I’m familiar with software dev (windows developer for 20 years with some work on unix) and customization/modding/flashing process (mostly for satellite receivers). However this is my first tablet and my first Android device so I could use some help
I successfully unlocked, rooted and installed custom recovery on my N7. I would like to get to a bare bones state of the N7 and then slowly add new features/programs to it when it becomes necessary for me. So I would like to remove all non essential parts that were preinstalled on my N7.
I was under impression that I could uninstall programs using N7 UI after device gets rooted. However it seems that for majority of the apps I still only have an option to disable.
I shelled into N7 and looked around. It seems that all (majority?) of the apps are in /system/apps folder. Can I simply remove the apps and their files from that folder? Does this folder only contain user apps or does it also have system apps that are essential for N7 to function? Is there a chance to brick it by removing something (everything?) from that folder?
I searched on a forum for a list of apps that are safe to remove. I thought it would exist since it seems to be something many of us would be interested in doing. I didn’t find the list. If there is such a thing and someone could direct me there, it would be great!
Given that I can remove apps by deleting them from that folder safely, I still have a question what each app does and how important it is. Is safe to assume that any app that has a wheel with a drive belt on it as an icon in apps screen on N7 is system app and has to stay?
I have two keyboard app installed – one is Android keyboard and one is ASUS keyboard. Judging by the name 2 of these are essential since Android is the OS and ASUS is the manufacturer. But do I really need two of them?
If there is a resource/thread that discussed something similar, please let know. I look forward to learn from anyone on this forum!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have the energy right now to address every app one at a time, but I'll nudge you in the right direction. That should help you start tinkering.
The Nexus 7 is very popular in this community because it's intentionally more open, and less bloated, than much of the competition.
That being said, sure there are apps you could uninstall if you decide to. Some of the custom ROM's will have probably already have done this for you, but may create little unexpected quirks here and there.
The first thing you'll want to do is backing everything up thoroughly. I would use Titanium Pro (you'll see it referred to as Tibu a lot), to backup all apps and settings. Then I would use the Google Nexus 7 toolkit (found in the forums here) to do a backup, as well as make a nandroid backup.
Ok, so you're ready to tinker. Well, if you bought Titanium Pro from the app store, you've already got all you really need. First, use titanium to freeze an app you don't feel you need, and don't think is required. Re-boot, go about your daily routine, and see if all is ok. Continue on in this manner. Once you've frozen everything you're interested in, and made sure all is well, you can probably go ahead and uninstall them through Tibu. Freezing them should generally make them not start up anyways, so unless the tiny amount of space they take up is a concern, that's really all you generally need to do *.
* Ok, sometimes you have to fully uninstall things you don't want, but this should get you plenty to tinker with for now.
bladebarrier,
Thanks for your response. I understand the approach you suggested – disabling apps one at a time and then when they all disabled and device is working to my liking for a while I could uninstall them.
However, I’m somewhat frustrated with a sheer number of apps that I have out of the box and I can’t find a good description of what they do. For example:
Mobile Network Configuration
Google Partner Setup
Google Services Framework
Searching online doesn’t yield definitive answers if it’s something I need or will N7 work without them. I have google play store and google play services installed – does store app require services? Reading a bit about it doesn’t make it seem so, but I’m not 100% sure. So I was wondering if there is a list of apps that are required for N7 well being and that cannot be removed no matter what.
For example, Black Viper has an excellent example of what I’m looking for but for windows nt services: (can't post a link)
This page explain what each service is, what it does and if it’s safe to disable it depending on configuration you’re seeking – minimal set, typical, out of box of experimental. I would love to find something like that for N7 system apps
I installed CWM recovery when I rooted and as far as I can understand I does NAND backups. I plan on moving the backup file from the device to my desktop and keeping it there for safety reason.
The Tibu process that you described, as far as I understand (and I might be wrong here) is basically equivalent of disabling the apps using native N7 setting app, rebooting, using it for a while and then removing .apk and .odex (or simply app_name.*) files from system/apps folder. Tibu just makes it easier. Did I get that right?
And it’s still removing one app/widget at the time. I’d like to clean it out completely first and start from that point. So Tibu will probably not help me there. So my main Q is still out there – can I brick it by removing everything from system/app? Are there only user apps there or essential system apps as well? With CWM back up file on hand will I be able to recover if my experiment goes bad?
> * Ok, sometimes you have to fully uninstall things you don't want, but this should get you plenty to tinker with for now.
One of the reasons I want to have them removed is to clean up the list of apps I have on N7. Right now I have 5 pages of apps and I have little idea what they do and if I need them – I had Korean keyboard installed for example.
As I mentioned I’m a newb in this area, so maybe my approach is a bit dumb, so please be patient with me
_Diver said:
bladebarrier,
Thanks for your response. I understand the approach you suggested – disabling apps one at a time and then when they all disabled and device is working to my liking for a while I could uninstall them.
However, I’m somewhat frustrated with a sheer number of apps that I have out of the box and I can’t find a good description of what they do. For example:
Mobile Network Configuration
Google Partner Setup
Google Services Framework
Searching online doesn’t yield definitive answers if it’s something I need or will N7 work without them. I have google play store and google play services installed – does store app require services? Reading a bit about it doesn’t make it seem so, but I’m not 100% sure. So I was wondering if there is a list of apps that are required for N7 well being and that cannot be removed no matter what.
For example, Black Viper has an excellent example of what I’m looking for but for windows nt services: (can't post a link)
This page explain what each service is, what it does and if it’s safe to disable it depending on configuration you’re seeking – minimal set, typical, out of box of experimental. I would love to find something like that for N7 system apps
I installed CWM recovery when I rooted and as far as I can understand I does NAND backups. I plan on moving the backup file from the device to my desktop and keeping it there for safety reason.
The Tibu process that you described, as far as I understand (and I might be wrong here) is basically equivalent of disabling the apps using native N7 setting app, rebooting, using it for a while and then removing .apk and .odex (or simply app_name.*) files from system/apps folder. Tibu just makes it easier. Did I get that right?
And it’s still removing one app/widget at the time. I’d like to clean it out completely first and start from that point. So Tibu will probably not help me there. So my main Q is still out there – can I brick it by removing everything from system/app? Are there only user apps there or essential system apps as well? With CWM back up file on hand will I be able to recover if my experiment goes bad?
> * Ok, sometimes you have to fully uninstall things you don't want, but this should get you plenty to tinker with for now.
One of the reasons I want to have them removed is to clean up the list of apps I have on N7. Right now I have 5 pages of apps and I have little idea what they do and if I need them – I had Korean keyboard installed for example.
As I mentioned I’m a newb in this area, so maybe my approach is a bit dumb, so please be patient with me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Removing Google framework services is a big no-no. To be honest, the easiest way to accomplish what you want is installing a custom ROM like CyanogenMod, especially since you've done all the prep work for such a thing.
Once you install any official CM build it is as close to app-less as you can get on a modular OS like this.
littleemp said:
Removing Google framework services is a big no-no. To be honest, the easiest way to accomplish what you want is installing a custom ROM like CyanogenMod, especially since you've done all the prep work for such a thing.
Once you install any official CM build it is as close to app-less as you can get on a modular OS like this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's what i suspected! i thought that google framework would be something essential, but there is not much easily available information there to arrive at that conclusion
since i'm new to this, i thought i should stay away from any rom flashing until i get a bit more familiar with a device, terminology and stuff like that. i'm looking at the "[ROM] CyanogenMod 10.1 [OFFICIAL]" thread and i'm not sure about half of the terms - GAPPS, PSA, Nightlies i do know what ROM is, I do know what kernel is, virtual machine, etc. But it's applied to the platform that I have little experience with, so it makes me a little bit uneasy
_Diver said:
bladebarrier,
Thanks for your response. I understand the approach you suggested – disabling apps one at a time and then when they all disabled and device is working to my liking for a while I could uninstall them.
However, I’m somewhat frustrated with a sheer number of apps that I have out of the box and I can’t find a good description of what they do. For example:
Mobile Network Configuration
Google Partner Setup
Google Services Framework
Searching online doesn’t yield definitive answers if it’s something I need or will N7 work without them. I have google play store and google play services installed – does store app require services? Reading a bit about it doesn’t make it seem so, but I’m not 100% sure. So I was wondering if there is a list of apps that are required for N7 well being and that cannot be removed no matter what.
For example, Black Viper has an excellent example of what I’m looking for but for windows nt services: (can't post a link)
This page explain what each service is, what it does and if it’s safe to disable it depending on configuration you’re seeking – minimal set, typical, out of box of experimental. I would love to find something like that for N7 system apps
I installed CWM recovery when I rooted and as far as I can understand I does NAND backups. I plan on moving the backup file from the device to my desktop and keeping it there for safety reason.
The Tibu process that you described, as far as I understand (and I might be wrong here) is basically equivalent of disabling the apps using native N7 setting app, rebooting, using it for a while and then removing .apk and .odex (or simply app_name.*) files from system/apps folder. Tibu just makes it easier. Did I get that right?
And it’s still removing one app/widget at the time. I’d like to clean it out completely first and start from that point. So Tibu will probably not help me there. So my main Q is still out there – can I brick it by removing everything from system/app? Are there only user apps there or essential system apps as well? With CWM back up file on hand will I be able to recover if my experiment goes bad?
> * Ok, sometimes you have to fully uninstall things you don't want, but this should get you plenty to tinker with for now.
One of the reasons I want to have them removed is to clean up the list of apps I have on N7. Right now I have 5 pages of apps and I have little idea what they do and if I need them – I had Korean keyboard installed for example.
As I mentioned I’m a newb in this area, so maybe my approach is a bit dumb, so please be patient with me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tibu requires root access, in order to perform what we're discussing. I'm relatively new to JB, but I can't imagine any stock settings replicating its capabilities.
As far as a whole bunch of apps being in your list, that's sort of the way Android works. Think of it like "superfetch", or whatever that term was in Windows Vista. Basically, two things happen when you boot. Android looks at a list of apps that are designed to start on boot, and also apps that it expects you may want to run in the future. Both of these are designed to make the device run smoother overall, and it will kill apps if extra ram is required and they are not in use. Certain Android apps require themselves to run at all times. Some of these are apps like Tasker (if you're using tasker profiles), some of these are system apps that make the device function, some of these are apps that maintain widgets or background monitoring (weather apps, gmail, calendar).
Now, there are two ways to go about sorting what is bloat, and what is there because Android decided to load it. You can install an app called Autostarts, that will give an insight into apps that start up when certain criteria are met. You can also use it to stop those apps from queuing up at those trigger points. This is another root required app, and while I purchased it long ago, may have a free version as well. It's time consuming to use, and not perfect, which is why Tibu is better for flat out locking down unwanted apps.
Back to my initial thoughts though, you will see apps in your system list that you haven't touched since boot, because Android tries to anticipate your needs. People used to use "task killers" to close the apps, and came to realize that unless one is causing a real problem, it's just going to go back into the cached app list again anyways, thus reducing battery life when it has to load it over and over again. "Task killer" is a dirty word around XDA, unless you're using it to close an app that doesn't just go into the background like a good little app should.
Basically, you're going to start playing whack-a-mole if you want your list to remain as small as possible, at all times, and yet still actually use the device for anything interesting. You can reduce it, via various methods, and if this were a device from say "insert-name" brand, and was loaded with bloat apps, by all means you should clean those out. However, I think you'll find that while google does install things that aren't needed, or even used by everyone, it's mostly not a big issue.
Check out Better Battery Stats, in the XDA forums. It's an app that shows a pretty good picture of what is actually going on when you're not looking, and can provide data on how to improve your performance. It's probably a better way to start delving into what processes are actually being used, and which ones are just basically harmless. You'll also learn a good bit about how Android works from the Dev's explanations of many of the processes.
---------- Post added at 08:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:32 PM ----------
_Diver said:
that's what i suspected! i thought that google framework would be something essential, but there is not much easily available information there to arrive at that conclusion
since i'm new to this, i thought i should stay away from any rom flashing until i get a bit more familiar with a device, terminology and stuff like that. i'm looking at the "[ROM] CyanogenMod 10.1 [OFFICIAL]" thread and i'm not sure about half of the terms - GAPPS, PSA, Nightlies i do know what ROM is, I do know what kernel is, virtual machine, etc. But it's applied to the platform that I have little experience with, so it makes me a little bit uneasy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make sure whichever ROM you use, if you decide to, supports your HSPA+ model. There is a separate development section in the Nexus 7 forums, for those of us that have the HSPA+ version. We are the minority, as the Nexus 7 was initially released as a wifi only tablet.
bladebarrier said:
Tibu requires root access, in order to perform what we're discussing. I'm relatively new to JB, but I can't imagine any stock settings replicating its capabilities.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i do have SU privileges, so what i was talking about was disabling an app thru N7 setting screen and then when i deem the app ok to remove, going to adb shell and removing the actual file.
i just did this:
mount -o remount rw /system
rm iWnnIME_Kbd_White.apk
rm iWnnIME.apk
and it removed the japanese keyboard. however when i go back to app screen under settings, i still see it but now it has a grey icon with a SD symbols in the corner. so it appears it recognizes that the app is gone, but it's still referenced in the list. i pushed the files back using NRT and it all back to the way it was. so looks like my idea of cleaning the list by removing the apk might not fly.
and now I wonder how Tibu uninstalls the apps.
bladebarrier said:
People used to use "task killers" to close the apps, and came to realize that unless one is causing a real problem, it's just going to go back into the cached app list again anyways, thus reducing battery life when it has to load it over and over again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand the notion of apps being in the cache and being removed when more RAM is needed, however the purist in me just doesn't want the junk apps to be there in first place However there is a lot of validity to these of your words:
bladebarrier said:
Basically, you're going to start playing whack-a-mole if you want your list to remain as small as possible, at all times, and yet still actually use the device for anything interesting.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My wife got Kindle Fire HD recently and she's been using it happily. While I was thinking why would anyone want a closed up system (well, more closed up system then Nexus), she's been using it and I've been frustrated with my N7 so i might just let it go and enjoy the japanese and korean keyboards anyway
bladebarrier said:
Make sure whichever ROM you use, if you decide to, supports your HSPA+ model.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i'm wifi only
ngshniq every
i think i found what i was after: http wiki.cyanogenmod.org/wiki/barebones (url modified since i still can't post urls). this wiki page has the list of app with a short description and if it's safe to remove. it also has additional information that explains why i still saw the reference to the app in the list when apk file was deleted:
looks like i need to pay attention to 2 additional files:
/data/system/packages.xml
/data/system/packages.list
i bet I would find a reference to the apps in these and i would need to remove it in order to have the app disappear from the app list. i'll play around a bit more and report back
One thing, could you explain your reasoning behind wanting to delete everything but the essentials? Do you have a particular goal in mind or is it because of your windows background? Because if so, you should know that android operates very differently when compared to windows, and such, the requirements to keep your device working in tip top shape vary greatly.
In my opinion, with your current limited knowledge of each process/app inner workings, what you're trying to do surefire way to break something beyond repair and needing to use a factory image to get back to zero. A custom ROM will be much safer and yield the exact same results that you're looking for. (Eventually, once you understand what each thing does, then this manual approach could satisfy your needs)
Note: GApps are the basic Google apps to flash on top of the barebones system. Gmail, Play store, and the framework.
Nightlies are experimental builds compiled nightly by a bot with the latest CyanogenMod code available.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD
My goal was to simplify my approach to N7 by removing anything that I don’t need now and slowly adding all necessary components as I get familiar with it. But it seems at this point that this approach is a bit more complicated as thought it would be.
So I think I would leave it alone for now and revisit this later
_Diver said:
My goal was to simplify my approach to N7 by removing anything that I don’t need now and slowly adding all necessary components as I get familiar with it. But it seems at this point that this approach is a bit more complicated as thought it would be.
So I think I would leave it alone for now and revisit this later
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what you've done manually, you're clearly far ahead of a new user when it comes to understanding linux/unix.
If you want to lock down parts of what google implements, purely to keep it minimalistic, I would agree with the above poster. Go for one of the popular ROM options that are available, like CM, and work your way backwards. The Nexus 7 only has as much bloat as you allow it to have via the settings. This is another reason why Better Battery Stats is an excellent way to make sure your device isn't draining battery, yet isn't locked down. The other day I noticed an app that kept fetching my position, even though the case was closed (magnetic sleep mode). It turned out I forgot to disable the tracking in google maps (why it was defaulted to ON, I have no idea). BBS showed me what was running during the sleep phase, and I fixed it when I woke up the next morning after wondering why my battery dropped.
The Kindle Fire is a great option, because it doesn't require any of this fussing about. My woman loves hers. LOVES IT. Personally, I like to tinker a bit, and I'm too invested in Android apps to not have access to the play store. The Nexus 7, is for people like what you find here. We like to tinker, and make everything custom. At the same time, you could spend all day trying to figure out why EntriesRefresh_wakelock is your highest partial wakelock count, at 60seconds per 7 hours, or you can find that you just went 7 hours and only used 6% of the battery, even though you've been connected to wifi, texting, emailing, and checking the weather and news, the whole time. Not bad, honestly.
The biggest investment you can do for your Nexus, is probably getting a case that magnetically puts it to rest when you close it. After that, learn about the settings that drain battery in the background. Then, get Tasker and play around that (it's like programming, without the need to learn the code). After that, go to a custom ROM, or dig out Tibu, and basically start customizing which apps you will use. If that doesn't pass the time long enough, you can literally make your own ROM and put together exactly what you want. Whether the performance will be that much better or not, and whether you'll spend most of your day trying to look for coding errors, is up to you. I don't have the patience to code, but you're a coder, so what is broccoli to me, may be bacon to you.
Hello Guys,
before I start: My apologies for this, I am not quite sure if I am even in the right Topic.
I think of myself as pretty new to Android, but got some experiences in Rooting, Custom Roms and such. But that is already as far as it gets.
Now my Problem: We lost our BES and now my Company decided to go with Android (SG4 I9505) and I have to make it happen :angel:.
1. I Need some Kind of Freeware tool to administer Android Devices (Basic: find device, delete data, restrict Apps)
2. If something like this dont exist (which I dont think-I just havent found it)), I would Need to know if I can use CM 10.2 as our Standard Rom and before you start rolling your eyes with experimental and such....
I have to restrict the phone solely to Telefone, Exchange and some preselected (mostly travel)Tools. NO GAPPS!!! and I think that nightly CM provides this with no problems
To realize this I downloaded the nightly from 18th, I think. I then added some APK´s into \System\app Folder and installed the ROM. This actually worked fine until I updated to phone afterwards via build in updating tool - all Tools were gone.(what did I miss?)
Now, our Standard is SG4 I-9505.
Any ideas on how I could do this? (I couldnt find what I was looking for)
1. Adminster a fleet of androids (free)
2. Customize a Custom ROM for corporate Identity (How to pre-setup Exchange Boot Logo, Lockscreen, etc.)
3. or customize a ROM to the Point it cannot do much except what is in the \System\app Folder and turn off updates
Any link is much appreciated. Sadly there is sooooo much andoid articles out there that I seem to get lost while searching for the right one. Thanks in advance!!!!
AccEss-dEniEd said:
1. Adminster a fleet of androids (free)
2. Customize a Custom ROM for corporate Identity (How to pre-setup Exchange Boot Logo, Lockscreen, etc.)
3. or customize a ROM to the Point it cannot do much except what is in the \System\app Folder and turn off updates
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My guess is I'll get flamed for saying this - but here goes.
Android corporate (MDM) leaves a lot to be desired next to iOS, at least as far as I've been able to find. We manage a lot of iPads and obviously minus the custom ROM we've been able to do it all for little to no cost. We've shied away from Android a lot because of the limited MDM control.
But, since you asked:
1. Meraki Systems Manager (and the accompanying app from Google Play)
2. Good luck with that
3. See number 2
I think the reality is you're going to need to do something to the effect of either cook your own ROM and deploy it or use a tool like CWM to create an "image" that you would then restore to the devices. I did that with a batch of 60+ Nexus 7s and it worked out pretty well.
Edit:
With all that said - I would urge your management to reconsider their approach as the world has changed since Blackberry was the only game in town. Yes, still stick with MDM, device location, remote wipe etc. But unless you're dealing with highly sensitive information (exp banking), let people actually USE the device you're giving them. Don't lock it down to where its basically a first generation iPhone. I'm a big fan of giving someone a good tool and letting them use it the way that works best for them, while still keeping the device and more importantly the data under corporate control.
Assuming you have Exchange, does this not provide the management part?
AccEss-dEniEd said:
Hello Guys,
before I start: My apologies for this, I am not quite sure if I am even in the right Topic.
I think of myself as pretty new to Android, but got some experiences in Rooting, Custom Roms and such. But that is already as far as it gets.
Now my Problem: We lost our BES and now my Company decided to go with Android (SG4 I9505) and I have to make it happen :angel:.
1. I Need some Kind of Freeware tool to administer Android Devices (Basic: find device, delete data, restrict Apps)
2. If something like this dont exist (which I dont think-I just havent found it)), I would Need to know if I can use CM 10.2 as our Standard Rom and before you start rolling your eyes with experimental and such....
I have to restrict the phone solely to Telefone, Exchange and some preselected (mostly travel)Tools. NO GAPPS!!! and I think that nightly CM provides this with no problems
To realize this I downloaded the nightly from 18th, I think. I then added some APK´s into \System\app Folder and installed the ROM. This actually worked fine until I updated to phone afterwards via build in updating tool - all Tools were gone.(what did I miss?)
Now, our Standard is SG4 I-9505.
Any ideas on how I could do this? (I couldnt find what I was looking for)
1. Adminster a fleet of androids (free)
2. Customize a Custom ROM for corporate Identity (How to pre-setup Exchange Boot Logo, Lockscreen, etc.)
3. or customize a ROM to the Point it cannot do much except what is in the \System\app Folder and turn off updates
Any link is much appreciated. Sadly there is sooooo much andoid articles out there that I seem to get lost while searching for the right one. Thanks in advance!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I currently work in the infrastructure of a good sized corporation. We're using IOS with a mixture of android hardware and there's some good news and bad news for what you want to do.
Good news is, like Jpcurrie said, exchange will handle remote wiping and locking the phone down. you can require the phone to use a PIN, remote wipe and and a bit more. As for locating the phone, Google actually has finally built in remote locating of your device and remote wipe as well. There's a couple good apps out there (lookout) will turn on your GPS and allow you to locate the phone and they're free. If you happen to have a virtualized environment with VMware, you could also use VMware View Horizons which builds in a secure sector on the phone and you can remotely manage which apps and files the user can use. the best part of View is you can use a BYOD model and keep corporate data secure. The biggest issue is if you don't happen to already use a VMware architecture it gets pricey quickly.
Here's the rub now. you want to install your own logos on the bootup which you could do by installing a custom ROM. This will void your warranty on the hardware and as it isn't 100% stable you'll be spending a LOT of time trying to keep a consistent environment.
Like netsyd said, talk to management about an MDM, and the branding of the devices, maybe even talk to them about using a BYOD to reduce costs of hardware and administration of that hardware.
Isn´t Knox supposed to allow administrators to only delete the data that belongs to the Corporate account (emails, calendars, tasks, etc.), or an administrator can still force a full device wipe? Sorry if the questions is too basic, I've tried searching around for info on Knox but couldn't find anything besides press releases.
I'm not a network administrator, I'm just a user and my school secure wifi installs a device administrator.
I'm sorry to deviate the topic a little bit from the original.
At Delta we use Air Watch but it's far from free. You can however manage devices and remote wipe. You can also view installed apps and remove what should not be there. Options for device profiles also. I help maintain these devices everyday. Not Free but an MDM is your best bet.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using xda app-developers app
long time - no see
Hiya,
sorry I didn t answer - kinda was overwhelmed with this Task.
Wanted still to thank you: I did what you suggestet and wanted to let you know where I am now.
1. Meraki = implemented - now runnning 160+ devices. (at no costs)
2. CM12.1 implemented (without GAPPS/no SU)
3. Standard Image/w Apps defined. (Mostly Offline capable Tools like "here" etc.(which actually reduced costs))
4. Since Android has limited capability to be administered in a "real" professional Fashion we mitigated this issue by creating a policy to forbid the user to temper with the device (e.g. Installation of Software/SU etc) yet to allow the Installation of Software manually by us via creating a ticket. We check the Software mainly for "sanity" and malware and install it if ok.
This has been working so far like a charm for us. None of the user were happy to loose the Gapps obviously - but once they had their Software and settled in, all was ok. For the Administering part: Meraki can tell me if Software is beeing installed without our Knowledge, also we see if SM doesnt speak with us anymore. So, for now, we got the most out of the System and I am happy to say: I got minimal Control in a Quality sense. No no more "KO Critera" - and we have implemented Android. Tracking etc. is forbidden in Germany anyway - so we use Meraki mainly to wipe if lost and to check if someone goes against policy.
What is still open:
- I am still working on a way to have the user enter his credentials and automatically enter These in all respective config files. (haven't had much luck - with the absense of SU obviously.
- a Little cosmetics still open (I am still trying to figure out how the theming really works ... I usually f**k up the Pictures and sounds.... but so far making Progress
- with less and less good Android devices coming out (now, I am probably beeing flamed now ) that suits our needs (open bootloader, known/supported CPUs, removable battery, SD Card Slot) - I think we might Switch by Q4/2016.
netsyd said:
My guess is I'll get flamed for saying this - but here goes.
Android corporate (MDM) leaves a lot to be desired next to iOS, at least as far as I've been able to find. We manage a lot of iPads and obviously minus the custom ROM we've been able to do it all for little to no cost. We've shied away from Android a lot because of the limited MDM control.
But, since you asked:
1. Meraki Systems Manager (and the accompanying app from Google Play)
2. Good luck with that
3. See number 2
I think the reality is you're going to need to do something to the effect of either cook your own ROM and deploy it or use a tool like CWM to create an "image" that you would then restore to the devices. I did that with a batch of 60+ Nexus 7s and it worked out pretty well.
Edit:
With all that said - I would urge your management to reconsider their approach as the world has changed since Blackberry was the only game in town. Yes, still stick with MDM, device location, remote wipe etc. But unless you're dealing with highly sensitive information (exp banking), let people actually USE the device you're giving them. Don't lock it down to where its basically a first generation iPhone. I'm a big fan of giving someone a good tool and letting them use it the way that works best for them, while still keeping the device and more importantly the data under corporate control.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse