Database Users

App Request : Enable keypad backlight while screen is on

For any devs out there...
Would it or is it possible to develop an app that will keep the backlight on for the keypad ? i.e. On while the screen is on and go off when the screen goes off ?
In the dark its very annoying when using the Hero and having to fumble for the right key to press - Home, Back, Search etc.

i second that

well erm just press any key and the light will go on dude, you dont need an app for this

So you fumble and hit Home or even power off (to sleep) the screen when you only wanted to hit search or back.
Flicking the scroll wheel is the only way to light up the keys and not press the wrong one by mistake, but that tends to highlight a button, link etc... and sometimes if you hit the ball too hard, you select a screen element.
Still a pain and TBH not like any handset I used before. Backlight time out was always linked to screen time out.

You dont need to hit any key, just move the scroll wheel even slightly and lights come up. And it does need decent amount of pressure to press the scroll button, you wont accidentally press it.

er, yer, I know... but I don't want too

lets just say "even if it doesnt make sense to some people, WE want it!"
btw, there is one app "dark keys" that keeps the backlights of the keypads off all the time. this was made for the white G1. maybe it can simply be rewritten to make the reverse happen?

joemax said:
For any devs out there...
Would it or is it possible to develop an app that will keep the backlight on for the keypad ? i.e. On while the screen is on and go off when the screen goes off ?
In the dark its very annoying when using the Hero and having to fumble for the right key to press - Home, Back, Search etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
i'm beeing annoyed by the keys not being lit as well ...

Glad I'm not the only one

Yeah, I want it too. Thanks for bringing this up!

I think it's good idea, btw it looks cool at night. I want it too

Good idea. +1

So which dev is gong to earn a couple of $$, ££, €€ by writing this for each copy sold then ??

From what I can tell of the API docs (http://developer.android.com/reference/android/os/PowerManager.html, the SDK only allows for the keyboard backlight to be on in FULL_WAKE_LOCK state, meaning the screen will have to be full brightness.
So I don't think this request can be achieved by a pure SDK app.

How come it lights up at any screen brightness on the Hero ?
Surely its also a hardware call and not just an OS call ? These would be independent of Android and particular to each manufactures handset, else they would all be the same.
Not questioning you, but it would seem strange that its not addressable separately to the screen ???

joemax said:
How come it lights up at any screen brightness on the Hero ?
Surely its also a hardware call and not just an OS call ? These would be independent of Android and particular to each manufactures handset, else they would all be the same.
Not questioning you, but it would seem strange that its not addressable separately to the screen ???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm by no means an Android SDK expert, just posting what I found in a quick search round the docs. Happy to be proven wrong!
Lee

Of course - wasn't criticising at all

Might be able to dabble in the /sys/class/leds/ folder.
I'll take a look when I get in.
Not a dev though. Lol.

soulehmoo said:
Might be able to dabble in the /sys/class/leds/ folder.
I'll take a look when I get in.
Not a dev though. Lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct.
echoing a value to:
/sys/devices/platform/i2c-adapter/i2c-0/0-0066/leds/button-backlight/brightness
through adb shell turns on the backlight.
I think an SDK app could be created as a service with a broadcast receiver listening for the power state changing that just writes a positive value to the file above.
Loads of similar examples here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=565015
I'll take this on, just about got it working.

Wicked thx
You are stars (especially fullerlee)
Don't make it too expensive though

'Dot' bug AFTER update

Has anyone else notice the 'dot bug' on the home screen?
if your on the main homescreen (screen 3), it should have 2 dots in each bottom corner indicating 2 screens to the right and 2 to the left.
if i go into an app from screen 5 and then exit the app by pressing the home button, it takes me to screen 3 however i have 4 dots on the bottom left - which is obv wrong!
I only noticed it after the new update (which i did manually)...i havent rooted.

Easy to reproduce, sounds like a simple bug and the developer of the activity needs a holiday

The same bug is affecting me - nice catch!

Same issue here, not so perfect phone now You'd think they'd test updates before rolling them out, saying that it is a minor thing but would be nice of them to sort it out as soon as possible and the Carrier | (pipe) issue too.

yeah i would think that they would catch something like that but i guess not. Some people are saying they are not experiencing the bug, mostly people that have received the update via OTA; then again others say they have. I still haven't updated figured i would wait for the OTA but i'm getting impatient..

Same here. Updated via OTA

I think everyone with the update has it. Doesn't bother me any; my screens are all different enough from each other that I can tell at a glance which one I'm on, so I never look at the dots.

adam18488 said:
Has anyone else notice the 'dot bug' on the home screen?
if your on the main homescreen (screen 3), it should have 2 dots in each bottom corner indicating 2 screens to the right and 2 to the left.
if i go into an app from screen 5 and then exit the app by pressing the home button, it takes me to screen 3 however i have 4 dots on the bottom left - which is obv wrong!
I only noticed it after the new update (which i did manually)...i havent rooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did the manual update and do not have that issue.

scuzzy19 said:
Did the manual update and do not have that issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Done the manual update as well and I have the bug as well. Not that it's annoying or anything

johnsto said:
Easy to reproduce, sounds like a simple bug and the developer of the activity needs a holiday
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly, people need to relax.

fixxed by flashing this launcher.... i know it was to fix the fc's before the update but it works for this too (as i hoped)
EDIT: almost forgot the link
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=622150&highlight=launcher+dot

RonnieFoxxx said:
fixxed by flashing this launcher.... i know it was to fix the fc's before the update but it works for this too (as i hoped)
EDIT: almost forgot the link
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=622150&highlight=launcher+dot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Assume this requires root?

Did anyone just try pressing on one of the dots to switch screens, then going back? Mine had this when I first updated, but I did that, and haven't had it since (even after power down).

mikeybags said:
Did anyone just try pressing on one of the dots to switch screens, then going back? Mine had this when I first updated, but I did that, and haven't had it since (even after power down).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have tried it and still have different dot count once in a while after using the launcher But not a problem for me right now.

mikeybags said:
Did anyone just try pressing on one of the dots to switch screens, then going back? Mine had this when I first updated, but I did that, and haven't had it since (even after power down).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that doesn't solve it mikeybags, you'll see if you try it with an app on another screen, open the app from the other screen then hit home, you'll see the dots dont go back to ".." ".."

You don't even have to move screens or press the dots to fix this...
Just hold the background and move half-way as if you're changing screens and let go.
Fixed.
Why is this such a big deal?

mobiousdigital said:
Assume this requires root?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes sorry i was half asleep when i posted this and only afterwards realized this. well for all you rooted users that updated and are having this problem, there is your fix.

[Q] change lock screen unlock method?

mine now doesn't have a bar going across or something to drag down like iphone/htc sense - the whole image moves instead? seems very weird and would like to change it if i can?
i can't see an option to though. would prefer an pure android type of unlock method (with a custom wallpaper though). can i do this without rooting? want to leave that for a week or 2 to get used to the phone 1st
ta all

Look on the market .
jje

And look for what? I cant find anything useful, like stock lockscreen.
Anyway, i think you need an update.zip for things like that.

BlackLine said:
And look for what? I cant find anything useful, like stock lockscreen.
Anyway, i think you need an update.zip for things like that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i searched for " lock screen " and found something useful
lock screen
just use google there are endless possibilities
click here
there is even a video WOW

i do have 'goto my lockscreen' or whatever it's called but a lot of these alternate apps have a major problem (or 2) in that they interfere with bluetooth and wake up on any button press.
that's not really useful

1. Get widgetlocker
2. Win!
3. ???

tommo123 said:
i do have 'goto my lockscreen' or whatever it's called but a lot of these alternate apps have a major problem (or 2) in that they interfere with bluetooth and wake up on any button press.
that's not really useful
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try widget locker

I use 'ripple lock' which is a honeycomb'esqe unlock screen.
It is good but relatively new so there is room for improvement. however, the developer updates it regularly!
Sent from my Galaxy S2 using XDA App

dealwithit said:
try widget locker
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
just did. very nice but wakes up on any button press
havent tested if it causes bluetooth problems yet but will do later on - off to see green lantern in a bit

tommo123 said:
just did. very nice but wakes up on any button press
havent tested if it causes bluetooth problems yet but will do later on - off to see green lantern in a bit
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Widgetlocker is very configureable and you can tell it to stop waking on certain button presses. I am currently using it here and it is pretty awesome.

tommo123 said:
just did. very nice but wakes up on any button press
havent tested if it causes bluetooth problems yet but will do later on - off to see green lantern in a bit
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Edite widget locker settings, if i'm not mistaking you can disable hardware buttons unlock

ta, but i already unticked everything i could under buttons and inputs but vol down e.g brings the unlock screen up when it should do nothing
think it's a limitation of android and can't really 'replace' the real lockscreen as such. maybe a version that requires root will do it, who knows.
at the very least this will cause battery rundown.

You are right. I missed your point. I was talking about unlocking. Device wakes up when you press the hardware buttons, but will not unlock with the settings i was talking about.

i missed that part of yours too.
ta for the help mate

Screen can be turned off by touching cornor once in stock. Why not in custom ROMs?

I thought that shortcut to turn off the screen by touching the corner once is highly desirable when I can't reach the power button because the phone is lying on the table. Yes, I am that lazy.
Yet, none of the custom ROMs I tried carries that shortcut. Instead, I have to touch the narrow status bar twice in order to turn off the screen. More often than not, I end up touching the clock which appears when I pull down the status bar and, apparently, when I touch the bar. This mistake opens the time and date setting and leads to me shouting and picking up the phone from the table and squeeze the power button angrily.
Is anyone missing that shortcut?

95139ieaci said:
I thought that shortcut to turn off the screen by touching the corner once is highly desirable when I can't reach the power button because the phone is lying on the table. Yes, I am that lazy.
Yet, none of the custom ROMs I tried carries that shortcut. Instead, I have to touch the narrow status bar twice in order to turn off the screen. More often than not, I end up touching the clock which appears when I pull down the status bar and, apparently, when I touch the bar. This mistake opens the time and date setting and leads to me shouting and picking up the phone from the table and squeeze the power button angrily.
Is anyone missing that shortcut?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do u turn screan off by touching corners. Are u sure u are not running a 3party apps for that.

maydayind said:
How do u turn screan off by touching corners. Are u sure u are not running a 3party apps for that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. I remember specifically liking this one stock function, otherwise the stock ROM sucks.
But my LG G2 is a Korean version.

If you use AOKP you can just put a power button on the navbar and turn it off there, done.
Otherwise, there are other methods posted in this very forum. You didn't look.

khaytsus said:
If you use AOKP you can just put a power button on the navbar and turn it off there, done.
Otherwise, there are other methods posted in this very forum. You didn't look.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't use AOKP and I know there are other methods, but I want that particular method.
It's very neat, never misfire, invisible(until touched). Also it is a stock function(at least in the Korean version), therefore I wonder why doesn't custom ROMs include that which quite caters to G2.

95139ieaci said:
I don't use AOKP and I know there are other methods, but I want that particular method.
It's very neat, never misfire, invisible(until touched). Also it is a stock function(at least in the Korean version), therefore I wonder why doesn't custom ROMs include that which quite caters to G2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm on verizon stock, no such functionality and I have not read mention of it anywhere. I imagine if there were a spot where a single touch would shut off the screen it would be too easily triggered alllllll the time. Perhaps if you take a backup and flash back to stock you could demo this for better understanding?

Im on 100% stock TMo and I don't have this function. Double tap to turn screen off works fine for me though.

This rom can do it. One touch on the top right corner and it turns off.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2673143
The guy decided to remove it though for the other updates. I have V4.0 and have not left it for the sake of this feature.

Yes. You can actually switch off the screen by double tap anywhere in the status bar. I've tried all area and it just works! By default you need to be on homescreen to do this, but I think as the status bar was part of it, that why it works.
Sent from my LG-D802 using xda app-developers app

I was just messing around with the settings on my Sprint lg g2. You can also turn off the screen by double tapping on an empty area. I've got some empty space on a couple of my home screens with no apps or widgets, double tapping will turn off the screen.
Sent from my LG-LS980 using Tapatalk

coogrrr94 said:
I was just messing around with the settings on my Sprint lg g2. You can also turn off the screen by double tapping on an empty area. I've got some empty space on a couple of my home screens with no apps or widgets, double tapping will turn off the screen.
Sent from my LG-LS980 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haven't you heard of knock-on and knock-off features? Were you thinking you can only turn the screen on by double tapping it?
Sent from my LG-D802 using xda app-developers app

Almost all roms have that features of not in a different way.
Sent from my LG-D801 using Tapatalk

Try Invisible Lock Widget on Play Store. You set up an invisible widget on your home screen and press that. I've got 12 icons of it all round my clock.

What is the point of the led lights in the back/recents capacitive buttons?

I mean really, there needs to be option to have them on always when the screen is on. As of right now, they simply flash for about half a second after pressing one. I figured the point of them would be so you can easily see the buttons and press them?
The way it is makes them very hard to find in the dark.
Am I missing something?

Agreed makes no sense the way it is

I agree 100%. When I heard they were lit I was happy and thought it'd be like on a Samsung. But these little dots are useless, you can barely see them and the only light up once you have already hit the key, anyway.

I think they are doing everything to improve battery time even if it takes away good features. Same goes for proximity wave to peek at the ambient screen. They removed that with the first update. They should give us the option if we want to waste battery on certain features.

Personally I think the current consumption of the two LED's under those capacitive buttons is so small that might not even be measurable.
So having those two LED's lit while the screen is on could only bring benefits!

Use Keyboard Backlight Controller from Playstore. Works. Perfect. Needs only to be reactived after reboot. It's free and open source.

exis_tenz said:
Use Keyboard Backlight Controller from Playstore. Works. Perfect. Needs only to be reactived after reboot. It's free and open source.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems to require root - is that correct?
Alan

exis_tenz said:
Use Keyboard Backlight Controller from Playstore. Works. Perfect. Needs only to be reactived after reboot. It's free and open source.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, thanks a ton.
alan sh said:
Seems to require root - is that correct?
Alan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it required root.

ArkAngel06 said:
I mean really, there needs to be option to have them on always when the screen is on. As of right now, they simply flash for about half a second after pressing one. I figured the point of them would be so you can easily see the buttons and press them?
The way it is makes them very hard to find in the dark.
Am I missing something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Makes as much sense as a widget displaying the current weather. On some devices you can disable them without root. Perhaps they should be used as notifications on devices with no LED.

Haven't thought about that! They could easily be used for some fancy, animated notifications!

exis_tenz said:
Use Keyboard Backlight Controller from Playstore. Works. Perfect. Needs only to be reactived after reboot. It's free and open source.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm failing to find this app, could you provide me a direct link? I would love to be able to have these lights on all the time.
Thanks!

MZGSZM said:
I'm failing to find this app, could you provide me a direct link? I would love to be able to have these lights on all the time.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's apparently been removed from the App store, maybe by the author.
I have the apk as an attachment on this post. If someone sees this and would like it removed, just let me know.