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So im a samsung galaxy note 3 user i love the way my phone is i havent rooted yet cuz didnt feel the need to, but i recently got the update for kitkat that i havent pushed yet as i read that it is terrible, due to the fact it stops you from using your external sd card, now im trying to understand this as it very unclear, so my question is when it says that it doesnt allow third party apps to write on the external sd card, does that mean apps that are not from google play can not be saved on the sd card, or is it all apps third party and google play apps cant be saved on the sd card.
I just want to get a clear view of it so i can decide not to update to kitkat and just keep jellybean on it or update to it. For example i got tons of songs saved on my external sd card i generally use the stock music player, but if i say i download a music player from the google play store will i be able to access my songs off my external sd card if i upgrade to kitkat, also is getting apps off the google play store consider third party apps since its not stock or is third party apps consider apps from other site other then the google play store,
Thank you for assisting me in this just want to know whats, as i rarely dont download apps i just use my phone for business and personal like videos and music and making word docs,
This should be in the Q&A section
portebr3 said:
when it says that it doesnt allow third party apps to write on the external sd card, does that mean apps that are not from google play can not be saved on the sd card, or is it all apps third party and google play apps cant be saved on the sd card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It means any apps that Samsung hasn't pre installed. That includes apps from Play Store.
portebr3 said:
For example i got tons of songs saved on my external sd card i generally use the stock music player, but if i say i download a music player from the google play store will i be able to access my songs off my external sd card
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You will need to duplicate the music into that apps folder or it won't be able to access the music
portebr3 said:
if i upgrade to kitkat, also is getting apps off the google play store consider third party apps since its not stock or is third party apps consider apps from other site other then the google play store
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They are also third party apps as I said above.
And yes, this is a major annoyance but it isn't Samsungs fault. Google changed how sd cards work in 4.4 and later Android versions.
The Kitkat SD Card restriction can be explain in simple like this :
Global Read, Restricted Write ( for 3rd party apss).
Meaning, you can use any apps (stock / 3rd party) to read anything on your SD Card, BUT you will need Stock App from Samsung or using Root for Global Write privilege or use 3rd party apps for Restricted Write (only in its own folder).
You can store Music from your PC via USB to your SD Card (Global Read & Write from USB), and then you can use any phone apps (stock/3rd party) to play (read) the music as it will be considered as only reading not writing.
Examples
nlatifolia said:
The Kitkat SD Card restriction can be explain in simple like this :
Global Read, Restricted Write ( for 3rd party apss).
Meaning, you can use any apps (stock / 3rd party) to read anything on your SD Card, BUT you will need Stock App from Samsung or using Root for Global Write privilege or use 3rd party apps for Restricted Write (only in its own folder).
You can store Music from your PC via USB to your SD Card (Global Read & Write from USB), and then you can use any phone apps (stock/3rd party) to play (read) the music as it will be considered as only reading not writing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello thank you guys for the assistance i know this could be a pain so just so that i am clear. If i install a third party app say a third party music player, how would i make a folder for that app to put my music on. Step by step examples would be helpful. I'm not sure if i install the third party app will it automatically create a folder on my SD card and ill have to access the folder thru my pc to add the music to it. Or after installing the app i would manually create a folder for the app on my sd card. thanks in advance im a noob trying to be somebody
portebr3 said:
Hello thank you guys for the assistance i know this could be a pain so just so that i am clear. If i install a third party app say a third party music player, how would i make a folder for that app to put my music on. Step by step examples would be helpful. I'm not sure if i install the third party app will it automatically create a folder on my SD card and ill have to access the folder thru my pc to add the music to it. Or after installing the app i would manually create a folder for the app on my sd card. thanks in advance im a noob trying to be somebody
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All u need to know is already answered in the last paragraph of my answer.
It means app developers need to update one tiny permission for it to work. Most are too lazy to do so, however. That'll change once the S5 is out, since it comes pre-loaded with 4.4.2.... They won't have a choice if they want to keep selling.
Also, N7Player works perfectly fine with music on the MicroSD. They fixed it almost immediately. Stock music player is, like most stock apps, rubbish.
In fact, most popular apps have been updated to write to SD in 4.4. I've not run into any issues since about a week after 4.4 came out.
ShadowLea said:
It means app developers need to update one tiny permission for it to work. Most are too lazy to do so, however. That'll change once the S5 is out, since it comes pre-loaded with 4.4.2.... They won't have a choice if they want to keep selling.
Also, N7Player works perfectly fine with music on the MicroSD. They fixed it almost immediately. Stock music player is, like most stock apps, rubbish.
In fact, most popular apps have been updated to write to SD in 4.4. I've not run into any issues since about a week after 4.4 came out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So Shadow are you having any problems with the new update on your note 3, i heard the stock camera is buggy.
Also i used to be able to download paid apps games like gta or need for speed on my phone well thunderbolt before i got the note 3. All i needed to do was put the file they supplied and put in the data folder or somewhere in the android folder i think it was obb folder, so my question is with the new kitkat update will i still be able to put free paid game apps on my note 3 or will the kitkat prevent me from doing so.
portebr3 said:
So Shadow are you having any problems with the new update on your note 3, i heard the stock camera is buggy.
Also i used to be able to download paid apps games like gta or need for speed on my phone well thunderbolt before i got the note 3. All i needed to do was put the file they supplied and put in the data folder or somewhere in the android folder i think it was obb folder, so my question is with the new kitkat update will i still be able to put free paid game apps on my note 3 or will the kitkat prevent me from doing so.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I only have about 12 paid apps from Google play (Out of 198) and the rest is from 'alternative sources' (we all know which ones.) Works fine, no issue. KitKat does nothing against it.
As for the stock camera, I've not noticed issues. I rarely use it (Prefer FV5), and when I do I set everything manually (I'm a photographer, so I can't stand pre-determined settings and filters). So whatever issues others have I probably bypass.
ShadowLea said:
I only have about 12 apps from Google play (Out of 198) and the rest is from 'alternative sources' (we all know which ones.) Works fine, no issue. KitKat does nothing against it.
As for the stock camera, I've not noticed issues. I rarely use it (Prefer FV5), and when I do I set everything manually (I'm a photographer, so I can't stand pre-determined settings and filters). So whatever issues others have I probably bypass.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok whoa 198 apps damn i never even reach 10 apps lol but thats amazing, so shadow what would u suggest u think i should take the update or not take the update, I dont think ill be rooting as i heard the knox app will alert my carrier Eastlink that i rooted and void my warranty but thinkin i about it for the future.
portebr3 said:
Ok whoa 198 apps damn i never even reach 10 apps lol but thats amazing, so shadow what would u suggest u think i should take the update or not take the update, I dont think ill be rooting as i heard the knox app will alert my carrier Eastlink that i rooted and void my warranty but thinkin i about it for the future.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rooting will trip the knox fuse permanently, this means you won't be able to get warranty, or use knox on your device forever. (a very long time), it won't "alert" your carrier by itself but they will check the counter in download mode and know if you need warranty.
I'm on Kitkat and don't see any issues, camera works perfectly and I use it very, very regularly so I'm sure.
Not sure about the SD Card stuff, I haven't encountered a situation where something didn't work on that department so idk.
It's Google's fault (the SD Card) btw.
I would recommend updating as always, but be aware that you can not downgrade.
I came across an article about the SD permissions setup in 4.4 and there is an app available on Play Store that will restore SD card functionality (need to be rooted of course):
https://play.google.com/store/apps/...d&utm_medium=WidgetWeb&utm_campaign=Playboard
zedman169 said:
I came across an article about the SD permissions setup in 4.4 and there is an app available on Play Store that will restore SD card functionality (need to be rooted of course):
https://play.google.com/store/apps/...d&utm_medium=WidgetWeb&utm_campaign=Playboard
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have root you can even "fix" the sd permissions with a terminal emulator app; there's a thread somewhere here about it.
portebr3 said:
Ok whoa 198 apps damn i never even reach 10 apps lol but thats amazing, so shadow what would u suggest u think i should take the update or not take the update, I dont think ill be rooting as i heard the knox app will alert my carrier Eastlink that i rooted and void my warranty but thinkin i about it for the future.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
KNOX the app and KNOX the eFuse have nothing to do with eachother. (except that KNOX app won't work if you trip the fuse). It won't alert your carrier. It'll just set a flag in your device saying you tripped it, and they check that if you try to claim a warranty issue.
Most of the apps I use haven't got an issue with the SD anymore, with a few exceptions like the OfficeSuitePro and Kingsoft (annoying..). Since I keep my internal memory clear of personal data, all the apps are installed on the internal memory and don't require the MicroSD. I move any files it saved on the internal memory to the SD myself through ES File Explorer. Easier than rooting. (I own two MicroSD's 64GB, so I can swap them out when I need to. One is a secondary SD with purely films and tv shows and comics, in case I get stranded on public transport again).
In all honesty, I rather regretted updating. Mine worked flawlessly on 4.3, but I updated out of curiosity (And because 4.4 has RAW compatibility), and got a massive battery drain for killing the proverbial cat in return.
Consequential factory reset rendered my Helium backup MIA (Had to reinstall each app, back them up and manually replace the backup files with the old ones in windows, then restoring), which took about 12 hours.
Got the Mediaserver bug which I never had. More or less fixed it, but it wakelocked my phone from 100 to 0 in 5 hours flat last night again. Gone now, but it'll be back..
So you should really just ask: "Does mine work without issue on 4.3?" "Yes?" "Then stick with it."
Okay, looking at KitKat for both my Note 10.1 and my Note 2.
I want all the updates and potential performance benefits, the only thing I'm concerned about are the SD card permission changes. I've read through various threads but still can't quite get it settled in my head. I'm not rooted on either and know that is an option but, in the meantime...
I like having my sd cards organised as I want, managed via ES explorer, directories for music, books, videos, documents etc.
I use Moon reader for my books, Poweramp for my music, Beyondpod for my podcasts.
ES file explorer to copy files between card and dropbox etc.
I like to be able to open and edit text documents from a number of apps.
I sometimes copy ebooks from my dropbox to the books folder on either device. Same thing with music and text documents if I want a local copy.
My Note 10.1 is 16GB so I use the move to sd card option for lots of apps.
What am I going to lose...?
Thanks.
If you have Root, install this app and you should be able to write to your SD card
https://play.google.com/store/apps/...utm_source=42matters.com&utm_medium=WidgetWeb
kempas said:
Okay, looking at KitKat for both my Note 10.1 and my Note 2.
I want all the updates and potential performance benefits, the only thing I'm concerned about are the SD card permission changes. I've read through various threads but still can't quite get it settled in my head. I'm not rooted on either and know that is an option but, in the meantime...
I like having my sd cards organised as I want, managed via ES explorer, directories for music, books, videos, documents etc.
I use Moon reader for my books, Poweramp for my music, Beyondpod for my podcasts.
ES file explorer to copy files between card and dropbox etc.
I like to be able to open and edit text documents from a number of apps.
I sometimes copy ebooks from my dropbox to the books folder on either device. Same thing with music and text documents if I want a local copy.
My Note 10.1 is 16GB so I use the move to sd card option for lots of apps.
What am I going to lose...?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ESFileExplorer for one. You'll have to use Samsung's My Files instead because it has universal permissions. You'll be able to open files stored by specific apps in other apps (EG: open a document created and stored on external SD by Hancom in Polaris) but you'll have to save it somewhere else because the second app won't have write permissions for a file/folder created by another app. Apps still have access to the external SD but now it's on a 1:1 basis. For example, if you have an SD folder called "Documents" that you centralized all your documents in (no matter where they were created) every app can see it and open files in it. But they can't save to it because they don't have write permissions. So Hancom can only save external SD files in a folder it created.
Google's always hated external SD and now they've made using it so cumbersome people won't want to. They say it's for security but if any app can open and read SD files and still copy or save them elsewhere what makes that more secure? Maybe I'm missing something.
Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk
toyanucci said:
[YouTube Video Here]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great video tutorial for those who've rooted. There's really two external SD card conversations, one for those willing to root and another for those who can't or won't. Sadly, the latter group is stuck with discussing new ways to do things involving external storage that used to work on 4.3.
BarryH_GEG said:
Great video tutorial for those who've rooted. There's really two external SD card conversations, one for those willing to root and another for those who can't or won't. Sadly, the latter group is stuck with discussing new ways to do things involving external storage that used to work on 4.3.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think because of the SD Card issues I might be tempted to root although I will have to first see how it affects me whenever I do get 4.4.
Sent from Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition via Tapatalk.
Geordie Affy said:
I think because of the SD Card issues I might be tempted to root although I will have to first see how it affects me whenever I do get 4.4.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You'll lose KNOX, screw up DRM-protected content to varying degrees, and give up access to Samsung Hub content and AllShare Cast. You can install Xposed which can trick some apps in to thinking a rooted device isn't but installing it and configuring it is a project unto itself. Not trying to sell you for or against but it's not as pain free as some folks make it out to be. Before SELinux enforcing and KNOX you could root, tweak, run TriangleAway, and unroot and you'd be as good as stock. Life's not that simple anymore. Also, If you resell your tablet it can also affect its resale value and not disclosing its altered status qualifies it for a return under eBay's buyer protection program should the buyer file a claim. I use KNOX so rooting's not an option for me.
All root breaks is Samsungs gimmicky crap no one uses anyway. There are better things out there that all work with root just fine.
GldRush98 said:
All root breaks is Samsungs gimmicky crap no one uses anyway. There are better things out there that all work with root just fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Speak for yourself. Comments like yours leave neophytes with a false sense of security and then they post "why can't I _____ after rooting?" I'm not saying root is good, bad, or indifferent. But there are people that use that "gimmicky crap" and they should know before hand that they'll potentially lose it if they root. Even if you think the alternatives are better.
I have never used Samsung Hub nor Allsharcast and I dont intend on re-selling anyways and also never use knox.
I think I'm going to start researching how to root and the rest of the stuff and might do it regardless as I'm sick of certain restrictions (main reason I left apple years ago). But at the min don't have time to spend on researching so will have to wait. I purchased extra warrenty from the store I bought it from so woste ccase I will get them to fix it if after i trip knkx I need something fixed.
Sent from Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition via Tapatalk.
Thanks all, may well have to root then. Although just got a Samsung dvr/bluray combo today and that allows remote connections via allsharecast so if that works as I hope them may have to stick on JB...
I assume app move to sd card is still possible?
OK to start things off this is going to be a long list of questions/issues and various impressions, some opinionated and some fact. I've had apple phones for years and appreciate both, I changed because my iphone couldn't do some things my note 3 can do such as open up 200+ MB pdfs with relative ease, but then again the samsung struggles to do simple things the iphone did fresh out of the box. This is not meant to be a discussion of which is better but it would help to know what I'm comparing it to and how I think simple things should work. I use a PC just FYI.
1.) Data Transfer of large files from various desktops to the Note 3 either through internal memory or external sd card.
My first issue is that I cannot move large files from my internal memory to my sd card. The sd card in question is a sandisk 128gb but have also tried to few others just to make sure it's not the card. If I download a large file on utorrent such as a 720p movie or better, I cannot move it from internal memory to sd card. I just won't do it. Not only will it refuse to move large files but any photos are sometime hit and miss, sometimes it moves them with no issue at all, most of the time the files stay in the parent folder and don't end up in the destination folder. I can move various files if I connect it to my desktop and drag and drop them onto the sd card but sometimes moving the file corrupts it where it cannot be played on the phone. I've also tried this with numerous computers with the same result. to move files on the phone i go to my files, select the directory and then select the file I want to move. I hold down on it to select it and then press move, it then shows the internal and external storage options, i select the sd card and the folder I want the file in and then press move here in the top right hand corner. If there is another way let me know.
Second issue is when dragging and dropping large music files directly to the sd card or internal memory from a pc. If a drag and drop a FLAC album it corrupts it about 50% of the time. I routinely go to play the album and get the message that it does not support the file type or something to that affect. I often just delete it and redo the process, most of the time that works. On MP3's, if I drag and drop an entire discography of an artist (say 8gb or so) it's corrupted 100% of the time. When I go to playback the albums they play at double speed. I have to go back and drop them one by one and sometimes (but rarely) that has the same issue.
2.) Audio Playback/Microphone/Headphone/Bluetooth Issues
Firstly, I thought that all 3.5mm headphone jacks were on a standard. I did not realize that the note did not come with headphones and that the headphones that I used with an apple device would not fully function on an android device. This seems like something so simple it shouldn't even be an issue. All of the headphones, earbuds, etc I have that have inline controls do not adjust the volume or skip tracks on my android device. You name it, like a half dozen brands. It just doesn't work...
When trying to use talk to text for a text message either with headphones with inline mic or with a Bluetooth headset it does not use the microphone on the accessory device, it uses the internal phone mic which is an issue for me. So instead of using the mic right next to my mouth I have to hold the phone up to my mouth in loud places. I don't know any way to change this...I couldn't find it in any settings.
3.) Lockscreen (I don't know how this is supposed to work, I looked it up and I'm assuming its something I'm doing.)
I want my lockscreen to be simple but I cannot seem to get the weather off of my lockscreen. It does not appear unless I swipe down and there it is. How do I remove it? If I open up the lockscreen editor by swiping from left to right its not there. I only have one lockscreen page so I don't know whats going on.
When I have notifications on my lock screen and click on them it puts a box around the lower part of my lock screen where you normally swipe as to say swipe here stupid to unlock. Is that the case or am I missing something else? It seems as though if my phone doesn't have a security lock on it and I press on my notification it should just open it. Or is it intentionally non-intuitive for some other reason?
4.) GLITCHES!!!!!!!! Various other issues
Routinely my music apps gets stuck on a page. Say if I'm listening to an album and try to back it up to my list of albums it just loads the same page over and over again. I have to hit my homebutton and open up the music app again from the icon and sometimes that causes it to crash. It does this on the stock Samsung music player and on play music. Normally my phone plays music 24/7 so it may be just how much I use it for that purpose.
Apps crash on a regular basis, at least a few times a day. I'd say I have an app crash maybe 3-5 times a day on average. Some more than others. Because of all the glitches I did a factory reset weeks ago to see if there was another issue. I've also tried uninstalling and re-installing all the apps that normally crash but that hasn't seemed to help. I don't believe apps used by millions on other android devices such as Bank of America (crashes literally every time I use it) or Pandora could be the problem.
Google integration is sketchy at best, It routinely doesn't delete e-mails off the google server when I delete them off my phone. It's really hit and miss. Sometimes it works, sometimes it will load the same e-mails dozens of times even though I've deleted it daily. The google+ photo backup is hit and miss and even updates over cellular even though its set to only update over wifi when plugged in. All of the sync settings seem appropriate for what I want it just doesn't work.
Text scaling under most situations is completely absurd. I've got 5.7" of screen and have to re-scale practically everything that loads so I can read it. This is especially and issue when reading forums which I'm on frequently. Is there a way to change this? If there isn't there definitely should be! Not a glitch but an issue.
All social media apps that load from a page (a wall, forum, feed, whetever) always reload when I click on something and go back forcing me to start over from the beginning. I've only had this issue on this phone, my previous iphones just take me back to where I was. Is there a way to change this annoying problem?
5.) The Photo Gallery
It just doesn't work. I don't know any other way to put it, its the second biggest failure on the phone. i wouldn't trust it with important anything! It routinely just looses photos, online account's don't update at all, s health photo that I've deleted dozens of times keeps showing up in my photos, all my album covers end up in my gallery and I have to manually go back and delete them all, photos end up corrupted and not able to view them whether on sd card or on phone, it goes on and on. Is there another application I can use? Can I make another app my default gallery app? Some online photos like picassa/google+ don't load correctly, it'll show the preview photo and when clicked on it'll show a completely different photo from that album. I would just delete it but can't delete online account photos from my phone gallery app and when I delete them online it doesn't update it on my gallery.
6.) Voicemail
I recieved a voicemail the first 10 minutes I had my phone and clicked on it in my notifications and it called my voicemail. I was confused at first, was i holding a 700 dollar phone or 90's Nokia? Seriously? And on top of that it didn't come with ATT visual voicemail out of the box, I had to download it. WTF! No I don't need voicemail on a phone I need 20 other google apps instead...seriously? On top of that att visual voicemail app is crap. I routinely miss voicemails because it not reliable enough to show all my voicemails in my notifications. Is that how all android devices are? I may be a little spoiled by the voicemail being on a tab in my phone app but it seems as though if there is an att specific model this should work better than it does...
7.) Text messaging
I don't use the stock mesaging app because it wouldn't reliably send a photo...that is all. I use textra now and it works better but still isn't what I would consider to be reliable...
8.) General Gripes about the phone app
The buttons are so large it looks like its designed for the seeing impaired.
Color scheme looks like I'm 4 and trying to push blocks into the appropriate holes...
I can't figure out how to change the color scheme on it, can you change it?
I hate the cartoonish figures for people that don't have photos.
Okay, it generally looks childish or like it was designed by Mattel. I need something far more professional looking.
On a positive note, speech and handwriting recognition is second to none, S Pen apps and S pen integration in general is very refined. It's extremely fast with very little lag in all situations. There are lots of positives so I'm not downing the phone at all but it just needs to fit my needs better. That's not everything but a good start. Thanks for your time and patience.
And to sum it all up, I think you should go back to i... :sly:
Sent from my N9005
Dejan Sathanas said:
And to sum it all up, I think you should go back to i... :sly:
Sent from my N9005
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So your note does all of this also?
Lythropus said:
So your note does all of this also?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First - ur post is too big to even read.
You are in xda and there is ton of information here. If you search , u will realize that most of the issues have solution...
When moving from another OS its always difficult but stay and you will love it.
Let me rephrase, it's not an android problem that I'm aware of: is my phone ****ed up and in need of replacement our does every note 900a cnc2 do this stupid ****?
The new os doesn't seem to be an issue this is mainly a hardware issue unless you're saying all android phones corrupt photos straight out the box. Which I know that isn't the case.
Some of my gripes are android related but mostly sounds like a hardware issue.
Try moving the large file using "my files", 3rd party file manager cannot move file from internal to external sd (a limitation introduced in kitkat).
Also try copying your music collection using card reader.
stonedead said:
Try moving the large file using "my files", 3rd party file manager cannot move file from internal to external sd (a limitation introduced in kitkat).
Also try copying your music collection using card reader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've only tried my files to move it on the phone, it will not move them.
I basically have to use a card reader to copy anything over a gig or so reliably. I can drag and drop it but that doesn't always work.
Lythropus said:
...
My first issue is that I cannot move large files from my internal memory to my sd card.
...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Really, and you did that just fine on the iPhone? :silly: That would be quite a full miracle given how (as far as I know) the iPhone never had a SD card :silly:
Read around - if you are on 4.4 there are some new security restrictions on writing to the external SD. If you are on 4.3 you are probably doing something wrong.
xclub_101 said:
Really, and you did that just fine on the iPhone? :silly: That would be quite a full miracle given how (as far as I know) the iPhone never had a SD card :silly:
Read around - if you are on 4.4 there are some new security restrictions on writing to the external SD. If you are on 4.3 you are probably doing something wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course I didn't, I.used third party software to drag and drop mp3's on internal storage of a jailbroken device. It worked 100% of the time.
But you're still missing the point. My files are being corrupted whether on the external sd card or the internal storage. There aren't any examples off this on my model phone on your forum...
As far as I know my files isn't a third party so it should have full access to read and write to my sd card per 4.4
That does explain why u torrent won't do it though.
Did u use your iTunes mp3 files? My girlfriend is also into that icrap and when she used my computer for music files I learned that you don't wanna use iTunes. Don't take this as a apple...uhm... disliker read about it if u don't believe it. Itunes messes with the music files and therefor I had to do my whole music storage from the scratch.
I think what @Dejan Sathanas was trying to say was: that if you are not ready to switch u will find strange issues that nobody else encounters and end up spamming the threats. For example: I haven't had any issue moving any files ever on any android device!
So long story short
1. Get the device u prefer (even if it is an apple)
2. Try some music files that didn't run through apple tech
4aces said:
Did u use your iTunes mp3 files? My girlfriend is also into that icrap and when she used my computer for music files I learned that you don't wanna use iTunes. Don't take this as a apple...uhm... disliker read about it if u don't believe it. Itunes messes with the music files and therefor I had to do my whole music storage from the scratch.
I think what @Dejan Sathanas was trying to say was: that if you are not ready to switch u will find strange issues that nobody else encounters and end up spamming the threats. For example: I haven't had any issue moving any files ever on any android device!
So long story short
1. Get the device u prefer (even if it is an apple)
2. Try some music files that didn't run through apple tech
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't use the ALAC files from my Apple device. I was under the impression they wouldn't play on here, just used mp3s and flacs. I tried to upload a pic of what the corrupt files look like on my phone but got an error that said could not complete this operation due to low memory. I'll figure it out when I get off work and upload them.
Took it to best buy\ATT, they sent me to the Samsung rep/dealer in store. He couldn't figure out what was going on, why it wouldn't move files, why some would corrupt, update Google anything, etc so they are sending me a new one.
My note 3 has been quite laggy over the last month or so. A bit of googling, and I found a post saying that removing the SD card will help with wake lag. My wake lag has never been a big issue, it's mostly switching between apps and loading things on chrome.
Any idea why removing the SD card would fix the lag? Should I buy a new SD card?
It's a class 10 32gb lexar SD card if that matters, it's over a year old and has been through a few different phones.
Sounds like nonsense! While opening stuffs from SD card might take some time in comparison with opening something from phone's memory itself, but that shouldn't matter when the card is not in use. You can still just use the phone without the card to see whether there is any difference or not.
ithehappy said:
Sounds like nonsense! While opening stuffs from SD card might take some time in comparison with opening something from phone's memory itself, but that shouldn't matter when the card is not in use. You can still just use the phone without the card to see whether there is any difference or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know it sounds odd, but it seems to be true. I have the s pen set to open an action memo when I remove the pen. It went from 5s to almost instant.
And if you search on google, you'll see a number of threads about wake lag and removing the sd card improved it.
Hmm, don't know what to make of it. Probably Samsung is right by claiming external cards do make a phone run slower! I don't have one installed anyway.
What app are you using to set Action memo on S Pen remove? Note buddy?
ithehappy said:
Hmm, don't know what to make of it. Probably Samsung is right by claiming external cards do make a phone run slower! I don't have one installed anyway.
What app are you using to set Action memo on S Pen remove? Note buddy?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's in the s pen settings, under detachment options. No 3rd party app needed.
The SDcard doesn't make the phone slower. Mediascanner/Indexingservice does. There is a very simple solution to this problem. (And it's not removing the MicroSD. Although that works too.)
Just pop a .nomedia file into every folder you dont need for the system. (like a folder with magazines. You don't need to see those in a gallery app, you can just open them from a file explorer. Ditto for documents, films, navigational files, etc.)
The .nomedia file excludes the folder from the index service. You can find one to copy in the Android directory.
The nomedia files also apply to subdirectories, so any folders within the folder containing the nomedia file are also excluded, no need to place one in those.
(Don't exclude the folder containing your alarm or ringtone!)
And can people please start remembering that MicroSD's are meant for MEDIA, not apps? You're not supposed to run programs from a portable harddrive on a desktop, either...
I've spent the past 3 weeks pretty solid working out how I want to transform the 3 Fire's I got for $35 for my boys, 10, 8, and 4. I figure I'd post where I've finally landed along with some other things I've tried both with success and failure, and hopefully save some people some effort. I'd suggest reading through this before you use it as a stepbystep guide to make sure this works for you. I apologize if it's a bit jumbled, but everything should be here for you to convert your Fire. Again, I'd suggest reading through the whole thing to come up with a plan of action for you.
Goal: Turn this Fire into a glorified gameboy, used ONLY by kids, not shared with parent(s) and child
On 5.1.1
Assuming you've purchased an SD card, you will want to repartition in preparation for moving files and content.
Pointers for this:
Make two partitions, 1 which is about 70% of the card formatted as Fat32, must be a PRIMARY partition.
Second partition will be the remaining space, make it ext2, must be a PRIMARY partition. (From what I can tell the reason people suggest using ext2, and not 3 or 4, is because with 3 and 4 there is some built in backup and recovery operations which is great for when you're running a full Linux operating system, but for our purposes all it does is cause more writes which in THEORY will shorten the life of your SD card)
I formatted the Fat32 partition as the first partition, and the EXT partition as the 2nd. Not sure if the order matters or not, but I've had no problems doing it this way thus far.
Reference: http://rootmyandroid.org/increase-internal-memory-phone.html/
Reference: http://rootmyandroid.org/how-to-use-link2sd-tutorial-guide.html/
Note:
During initial setup, don't bother with multiple user profiles (reasons explained later).
Using root junky's super tool (Thanks root junky, you made this all possible!!! http://rootjunkysdl.com/?device=Amazon Fire 5th gen&folder=SuperTool) do the following:
Root
Prevent OTA
Install Google Play
Install NovaLauncher (this is important if you're not going to use the built in Kids Mode in FireOS)
In Google Play Store download the following:
Link2SD (This is assuming you've purchased an SD card)
Kids Place - The VERY SIMPLE reason I went with using this app (which essentially becomes an alternative launcher) instead of using the built in FireOS's profiles and kids mode, is because the built in kids mode will ONLY allow you to use apps which you've downloaded FROM the AMAZON app store. I understand why they do it this way, I mean, the whole point of the fire is to keep you inside the Amazon ecosystem after all. But, I have MANY games I've paid full price for on Google Play that are appropriate for my kids. Since I can't put them into the kids profile built into the FireOS (If anyone can link me to a guide which is different, I'd love to hear about it) I couldn't use the built in stuff. In addition, the built in kids mode really is a pretty awesome feature on the fire, but the icons are freaking huge and kind of a waste of space.... going with this alternative method of Kids Place gives you smaller icons therefore you can "shove" more icons on a single view. Icons which take up half the screen are great, but if you're a dad like me who's going a little overboard and putting 100+ games on these things, it'll be a bit of a pain to scroll through them for your kids using the built in profile in the OS.
Note:
You can get Link2SD from the Amazon app store, but the version there is older than what's in Google Play and ultimately didn't work. Once I got the Google Play version, worked like a champ. NOTEx2: For whatever reason (this was frustrating for me to figure out), even though I partitioned 70% of the 64GB Samsung microSD to Fat32, and the other 30% I partitioned to ext2 (BTW I did the Fat32 first and ext2 second... not really sure if it matters the order or not but that's what worked first time for me so I went with it), when I launched Link2SD and it asked me which partition to use, I had to choose ext4 for it to finally work. Choosing both ext2 and Fat32 would both result in basically it saying: "yeah, you chose the wrong one punk" (or whatever it says).
Kids Place - similar to the one above, there is weirdness in the version on Amazon vs Google Play. On Amazon it actually claims the version there is slightly newer than Google Play, but when I'd launch apps on the one I got from Amazon it would kill the WiFi for that app. I realize that this is a built in option into Kids Place, being able to choose WiFi on or off per app (which is really cool), but the one from Amazon seemed to do it when and how it wanted instead of what I was telling it to do. Google Play's version had no such problems.
(( A word of caution using Link2SD's "feature" of being able to "Link Internal Data". DON'T DO IT. I've not been burned HARD CORE by it. The symptom is that if you POWER DOWN, and POWER ON the tablet, Apps go missing. Through reading and troubleshooting, it appears via this forum (http://androidforums.com/threads/link2sd-missing-apps-after-reboot.858565/) that the culprit is when you choose the Link2SD option to "Link Internal Data" to the SD Card. There's even a nifty batch way to enable it on ALL apps. Well, after powering off and powering back on the tablet (after I was COMPLETELY done putting on 150 games), when it came back up I only had like 15 apps on it. Everything else was POOF, gone. I've noticed sometimes after a power cycle like that the apps might take a few moments to 'come alive', but even after 15 minutes of waiting I had nada. Went in search and found I'm not the only one. I've now since completely redone (including reformatting the SD Card) all 3 Fire's and so far after multiple reboots, I've not lost a single app. So for now at least, this does seem to be the problem ))
You will need to spend the $2.35 on Link2SD Plus (striking out due to my caution above, that being said I'm glad I threw this guy $2.35 because my tablet would basically be worthless without the app), and after you install Kids Place, you'll need to upgrade to premium for $4.99. Here's why:
Link2SD - Plus - This is what allows you to automatically move files and content to the SD card when an app is installed. This is mega important to me because that piddly 5.x GB of usable space gets eaten up ridiculously fast otherwise. Dive into the settings once you have plus, and just go turn everything on. Auto move everything. Be sure to go into all menus and sub menus.
Kids Place - The premium features is key for me. For example: A) You can make this app launch upon reboot, thus it basically "forces" this into a kid only/friendly device. If your kids are sneaky, or bored, they'll try to break out of Kids Place. Then they'll delete apps, make folders, sabotage they're brothers devices, etc. B) You can change the name that's displayed on top from "Kids Place", to something else like their name, give them a fun nickname, whatever. For my 10 year old he won't feel like it's just a little kid thing. C) You can do this part without premium, but it's critical for me to mention it: You can change what the home "button" does so that it directs you back to Kids Place instead of the regular home launcher. The reason you need to install NovaLauncher above is because if you still have the stock firelauncher, you can NOT replace the home button with another launcher otherwise. [Word of caution, if you enable the 'background' premium feature, Kids Place is still running, just more in the background. Took me a few minutes to figure out that's what I had done. I kept thing something was wrong and wondering when whenever I launched Kids Place it kept asking me if I want to shut it down or go into settings.... it's because it was running the whole time already)
Once you've done all that, simply download apps (Amazon Underground still seems too good to be true, but I'm hopeful), sideload apps, get apps from Google Play, then go into the Kids Place settings and choose which apps you want (Manage Apps).
Other things worth noting:
SlimRom. So, this is cool. It's fast, and pretty awesome. For me however, at the end of the day, it didn't make sense to introduce something in addition that could go wrong. If you're like me and you have no intention of using this device yourself and you ONLY want this to be a device for your kids, I don't think SlimRom is worth putting in. If it's a shared device, it might be worth it. The only thing I really forgot to test when I had put SlimRom on one of the devices was how the Amazon App store would work, and whether or not the device would be recognized properly with the Amazon Underground portion.
That's it, I hope you find this helpful. I welcome any feedback or suggestions on how to make this a more gooder guide for anyone like myself who's first jump into amazon tablets has been these fires. They truly are AMAZING devices for the price.
hobojester said:
The only thing I really forgot to test when I had put SlimRom on one of the devices was how the Amazon App store would work, and whether or not the device would be recognized properly with the Amazon Underground portion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems pretty comprehensive guide for those using it the same way, very nice work
And when I had Slim on it worked fine with my amazon app store and underground apps. And the music and video ones for that matter. I couldn't get the kindle app to show my books but someone solved that by using older apk after I went back to stock.
@hobojester, THANKS so much for posting.
I purchased the $35 Fire Tablet for my 3 girls (9, 7, 5).
I've rooted at 5.0.1 and disabled OTA, disabled ads, Installed GooglePlay store, and loaded Nova launcher. Although I haven't taken it another few steps with Kids Place, I feel that I'll start with just locking down and hiding the apps via Nova Launcher will be enough for now. My kids are pretty savvy at navigating interfaces and even when they touch/exit an app, they know how to get back to it. I know there are holes with settings and NovaLauncher settings so when they figure them out, they can reenable certain functionality.
I'll look into Kids Place though, that might be my next step.
Also, about the whole SD card partitioning, I've installed a 32GB card and the tablet stated that it would start using the card as the default storage device. I'm guessing your method moves EVERYTHING to the card, and the default behavior for the Fire Tablet is to install some things on internal memory and 'other' storage is routed to the card? I've installed quite a bit of applications since I plugged in my SD card and it doesn't seem to be full... although I didn't check the storage stats before I wrapped the tablets.
Also, I've heard some good press on the Circle (with Disney) router, so I did order one for the home as yet another piece of the parenting puzzle:
[edit] sorry, didn't have sufficient permissions to post outside links. Google up: "Circle router with Disney"
Pond-life said:
Seems pretty comprehensive guide for those using it the same way, very nice work
And when I had Slim on it worked fine with my amazon app store and underground apps. And the music and video ones for that matter. I couldn't get the kindle app to show my books but someone solved that by using older apk after I went back to stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to know about Slim and the Amazon store. Again, if I were going to use the tablet in a 'shared' environment where I'm using it AND my kids are using it, I'd totally use Slim. It was awesome. In this particular instance where this $35 device is a glorified gameboy, Slim is just something that is an extra layer of complexity that's really not needed and *could* get in the way. I have no intention of my kids even getting on the internet with this device. Not until there's a real need, and even then, I'd probably go get the K9 browser and use that.
TheTruthKC said:
@hobojester, THANKS so much for posting.
I purchased the $35 Fire Tablet for my 3 girls (9, 7, 5).
I've rooted at 5.0.1 and disabled OTA, disabled ads, Installed GooglePlay store, and loaded Nova launcher. Although I haven't taken it another few steps with Kids Place, I feel that I'll start with just locking down and hiding the apps via Nova Launcher will be enough for now. My kids are pretty savvy at navigating interfaces and even when they touch/exit an app, they know how to get back to it. I know there are holes with settings and NovaLauncher settings so when they figure them out, they can reenable certain functionality.
I'll look into Kids Place though, that might be my next step.
Also, about the whole SD card partitioning, I've installed a 32GB card and the tablet stated that it would start using the card as the default storage device. I'm guessing your method moves EVERYTHING to the card, and the default behavior for the Fire Tablet is to install some things on internal memory and 'other' storage is routed to the card? I've installed quite a bit of applications since I plugged in my SD card and it doesn't seem to be full... although I didn't check the storage stats before I wrapped the tablets.
Also, I've heard some good press on the Circle (with Disney) router, so I did order one for the home as yet another piece of the parenting puzzle:
[edit] sorry, didn't have sufficient permissions to post outside links. Google up: "Circle router with Disney"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad you can find this useful.
As far as the storage card piece, you are correct in that "my" method moves EVERYTHING. Some apps are "self contained" as I like to think of it, when you download it. Popular games like Geometry Dash have everything contained in the downloaded app (or the .APK file). That is just the app itself. You can tell the OS to auto put the "app" on the storage card, and that works out great, but it's a little misleading. The problem comes in when you have games like Knights of the Old Republic. That app itself is something like 40 MB or what not, but after you launch the app, it'll download this extra content, which in this particular case is 2 GB. The kicker: it'll ONLY store that "content" (as I call it) into what the device considers "External Storage", which is ACTUALLY on the INTERNAL storage. That whole emulated SDcard business Android does. It's all funky. For fear of sounding like a commercial, Link2SD fixes all of that. Linux (what Android is built off of (oh, and hi iPhone users, so is iOS for the record)) has this thing called "Symbolic Links". You can google it up more about it, but think of it as an uber shortcut. You create a symbolic link on internal storage to the actual physical SD card, and the program THINKS it's writing to internal storage when in fact it's writing to the SD card. The kicker: you can only create symbolic links if you're rooted. The nice thing about Link2SD, is that it'll symbolic link EVERYTHING. The "app", the "content", and all of the saved game data and what not (which take a game like MineCraft, can get pretty big if your kids (like mine) go crazy building worlds). And you can have it to it all automagically. But you will need to pop that SDCard out, put it in your computer, and get it re-partitioned (visit the links I posted in the original guide for more in depth details).
I have heard really cool things about the Disney router. For now, my kids don't really have any need (or business) getting on the internet unsupervised. When they do, I'll probably give them the K9 browser.
Sorry for the questions but I can't figure it out, searching doesn't find it, and I'm trying to get these wrapped.
Do I need to still select Fire OS" install supported apps to sd". Or do I do it all with LInk2DS? I haven't Rom'd these yet and I probably won't until we get back from vacation. They are only rooted with stock rom. I also don't need to do the whole kids place thing as my kids are a little older...Thanks for taking the time to write this all up!
Also I have partitions shown in my Disk usage app that are named "External", "SDcard1", system and "SD Card". I know "SD Card" is the exfat 2 part I made base on the size, but as for the "external" and SDcard1, they are both roughly 5 gb ( my sd was only 8 gigs so I made the FAT 32 5 gigs and the rest the exfat 2. But now I am not sure of the naming and I can't tell based only on size. So, is "External" really the built in amazon storage, and "sdcard1" is my microsd?
Like your thinking.
How are you getting past the "Apps with usage access" request for Kids Place?
howzitnow said:
Sorry for the questions but I can't figure it out, searching doesn't find it, and I'm trying to get these wrapped.
Do I need to still select Fire OS" install supported apps to sd". Or do I do it all with LInk2DS? I haven't Rom'd these yet and I probably won't until we get back from vacation. They are only rooted with stock rom. I also don't need to do the whole kids place thing as my kids are a little older...Thanks for taking the time to write this all up!
Also I have partitions shown in my Disk usage app that are named "External", "SDcard1", system and "SD Card". I know "SD Card" is the exfat 2 part I made base on the size, but as for the "external" and SDcard1, they are both roughly 5 gb ( my sd was only 8 gigs so I made the FAT 32 5 gigs and the rest the exfat 2. But now I am not sure of the naming and I can't tell based only on size. So, is "External" really the built in amazon storage, and "sdcard1" is my microsd?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This will be a good chance for me to point out (I'll edit the guide in a second): DO NOT LINK "INTERNAL" Data via Link2SD. It has caused apps to disappear and never come back. I actually had to start completely over on all there of my devices. That "option" to Link the Internal Data is only available when you purchase the Plus version of Link2SD, DON'T CHOOSE THAT OPTION!!!
Now, with that out of the way, Link2SD is clever in how it works, and I am barely out of the n00b stage on this so I'll give a disclaimer that I may be totally feeding you false information here, but here's how I understand it: First of all, what I did was leave the SD card settings inside the OS all 'defaults', which installs the "App" to the SD Card. Now with that, I believe what happens is Link2SD intercepts that 'transfer' and puts the actual apps on the EXT partition. There is the incredibly critical option in Link2SD to put all other data (except "internal" data of course) on the SD Card. That's what moves the really big parts of those big games and apps. So when the App is relocated, it's put onto that EXT part and the Content on your FAT32 part. To address your question regarding External, SDCard#, and 'where in the heck is the EXT' part.... the EXT partition is mounted and 'located' under the 'local' storage under something like the /data/sdex2 folder. Welcome to the world of Linux... on a computer Linux (if my really old dusty Linux knowledge still works) when you need to access the CD drive you have to MOUNT it, and than LINK that mount to basically a local folder (something like /MNT/CDROM). Your EXT partition is mounted the same way as a folder, and for whatever reason in an app like ES File Explorer you won't see it as another drive, you'll only see the FAT32 drive. Maybe that has something to do with it being FAT32, I'm not sure. ...... the long point here is that Link2SD intercepts or coordinates with the OS's moving of apps to locate the App data to your EXT partition (mounted to that /data/xxxxx folder) and all the other really big stuff to the FAT32 partition. Again, I may be way off here, but hey, makes sense in my brain right now .
Inside of Link2SD there's an option in the menu to see the storage consumption, and THERE it'll actually show you the EXT partition as well as the FAT32 partition.
If my kids were a little older and I truly didn't care about them mucking around in settings, potentially deleting things etc., I'd probably give SlimRom a go for that. I've been messing around with it some more and it is just simply more 'pure' Android OS so it'd give the more 'true' Android experience.... if you really care .
cogito808 said:
Like your thinking.
How are you getting past the "Apps with usage access" request for Kids Place?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not, simply because FireOS doesn't have that option. I just have to hit 'Cancel' and move on. If you were to put on SlimRom you'd have that option. From what I can tell the biggest thing we're missing out on by staying on FireOS and not having this option would be limiting time in Kids Place for certain apps and what not. For me personally, I'll just set a timer, but if it's something you want to use, I'd absolutely suggest putting SlimRom on there and then basically following the rest of the guide. Everything still applies.
If anyone cares, I set up SlimLP for my mom who is a bit less technologically advanced than I am and I put smart launcher on the device and just hid the apps I thought would be bad if she were to accidentally open them and not know what she was doing. (I thought his could be useful for some of the people here as well)
How do I avoid using the "Link Internal Data" feature? I do not see this option anywhere in the App.
Edit: OK. found it. I was looking in settings (before moving anything) but once I move an app the options come up.
chemie99 said:
How do I avoid using the "Link Internal Data" feature? I do not see this option anywhere in the App.
Edit: OK. found it. I was looking in settings (before moving anything) but once I move an app the options come up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I found out the hard way how bad this can be.... like... 6pm on the 24th, type of thing, RIGHT when I had finished it all up. I had some kind of heavenly help nudge me into thinking "you should turn these off completely, and simulate Christmas morning, see how long it'll take to fully boot back up".... and you can imagine my stomach drop when I went from having 150 games down to something like 3... it was painful. So, yeah, avoid that setting AT ALL COSTS!
How do you partition the SD card on the tablet? Also is this worth doing when you can install xposed SD card modules and be able to move obb files
Sent from my KFFOWI using Tapatalk
just wondering on the reason for 70/30 FAT32/EXT2. What gets installed in each partition?
tonyt3rry said:
How do you partition the SD card on the tablet? Also is this worth doing when you can install xposed SD card modules and be able to move obb files
Sent from my KFFOWI using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I"m not familiar with the xposed SD card modules so I can't help there. As far as HOW you do it, I linked to some articles in the first post that might help (Reference: http://rootmyandroid.org/increase-in...ry-phone.html/
Reference: http://rootmyandroid.org/how-to-use-...al-guide.html/)
chemie99 said:
just wondering on the reason for 70/30 FAT32/EXT2. What gets installed in each partition?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Basically the "app" gets installed to the 30% EXT2, and allt he "content" goes tot he 70% FAST32. Content will typically be data that gets downloaded after the app is installed. Take Knights Of The Old Republic for example, the "app" is like 50MB, but the "content" which gets downloaded upon the first time launching the actual program, is 2GB.
An Alternative Solution
I also gave my kids 3 Fire tablets for Christmas. My kids are mostly older (12,11,4) and the older two have had other Android devices. I went a different direction from the OP, which I'll discuss here for posterity's sake. This is a bit harder than the OP's method but ends up with a more conventional Android environment.
As background, I used FireOS on the Fire Phone for a few weeks, and ran into many problems. I installed CM11 on the Fire Phone and bought another in the final sale. You can read about that on the Fire Phone forum if you're interested.
Also, I've used Screen Time Parental Control for a couple years now, and while somewhat expensive it's great for monitoring without being too invasive. I can let the kids have a lot of freedom with their devices, without having to be worried about them either being on them all the time, or doing weird things. Screen Time nominally works with FireOS but in the end I did not use the tablets as-is long enough to try installing it.
For these tablets, I decided the easiest path was to install CM12. This avoided waiting for Amazon for security updates, and any FireOS incompatibilities, as I'd experienced with the Fire Phone. Also, the kids are familiar with CM, and frankly any replacement Android device will be easier in the future. After my experience with the zombie Fire Phone from Amazon I'm less concerned about CM/ggow/XDA bugs than I am Amazon's.
I decided to create separate user accounts for each child, as opposed to having both my Google account and the child's Google account** under a single user. I've done this before, but it's awkward to have to switch between accounts when using Gmail/Hangouts/Drive/etc., and sometimes things get mixed up.
Thus, for each of the three tablets I went through this process:
[I don't have the tablets in front of me, so if one of these steps doesn't seem obvious ask and I'll look up the exact names/buttons.]
1) Install CM12 using the well-documented methods
2) Boot into CM
3) Configure for my primary Google account
- Download interesting applications that have been purchased on my account
- Open SuperSU, enable multi-user access
- Open Contacts, select "ME", change name to "Dad" (or whatever)*
- Open File Manager
- Settings / Enable multi user access
- Open main Settings app:
- Set screen lock / PIN
- Users / Add user / OK / Set up now
4) "Switching to new user"
- Google Launcher always
- Log in with the "child's" account** in the wizard
- Open Contacts, change "ME" to the child's name
- Open File Manager
- Settings / Switch to Root access mode
- Browse to /data/app/
- Change into interesting packages and pick the .apk file
- Select "Install"***
- Repeat as necessary
Here I installed Screen Time Parental Control from the Play Store and went through the steps for Child device. Also any customization for the account should go here, then you can switch back to your regular user.
To switch user, drag down the system tray, pick the head image in the top right corner, and then the appropriate name.
Notes:
* This is in a wacky place, but this contact is how CM identifies the user name to display in the switch screen. If you don't see "ME" don't add it, just browse around; it's there somewhere.
** Apparently Google only allows accounts for people >=13. Thus, if you are reading from Google, know that these are my own accounts and my children happen to use them.
*** This will actually not re-download the application, but it makes a temporary copy while installing. Application user data is always separate between users, but for the most part download data is shared. For most applications things work on either user; however, Electronic Arts applications don't work with separate users, and Terraria will print an error (but still worked once the core data was downloaded with my purchasing account). I'm sure there are other apps that roll their own security and will be in this situation, but out of a very large family library these are the only apps with which I've had trouble.
Finally, a last note that Screen Time does not presently block creating new users from the system tray. In theory a youngling could create a user that would not have Screen Time limits, but then they wouldn't be able to delete it without getting in to Settings, which you should block anyway. Depends how devious your children are; for me I'm just waiting until they figure it out to do anything about it... just keep an eye on it if you go this route.
Hopefully this helps someone, eventually!
Best,
Tim
I got two fire tablets for the kids for Xmas, one is the kids edition (with the 1yr of apps,etc) the other is a standard fire. Used root junkies tool on both to block lock screen ads and OTA and hide Apps. They were both running OK, occasionally have the odd situation where you try to open an app and it looks like it is reloading it or redownloading it, not sure if this is because internal space has ran out and its redownloading on the fly but its quite frustrating.
Decided to flash slim LP rom on the standard tablet as there were apps that weren't available(better choice on play store and it wasn't tied into the 1year subscription).
So glad I did, was pretty straight forward to get it up and running and the latest build is so solid, fast and stable, was expecting it to be a bit quicker than fire OS as it had a lot less bloat but it seriously impressed me. So I have kids place set up on it to control apps and play time. I also installed hilocker from the play store to help simplify/lock down the lock screen. For example you can disable the status bar in kids place,but the child is still able to turn the screen off and on, they can then access the pull down toggles and mess with things, but with hilocker you can disable it which is great. Battery life is just as great if not better and your also up to date with all Google's security patches to boot.
It is a very good value tablet, as its just been reduced to just £40 in the UK. One thing that would be a major improvement is I just wished they had put 16GB of storage instead of 8GB. I know it has the sd card option which is great but in reality you only get around 5GB of actual internal storage for apps, a lot of which can't be moved to the sd card or still take up internal space when they are. Again I can't recommend slim rom enough as it really makes a big difference to the tablet (besides providing full play store access) and makes it perfect for consuming media, browsing, or just handier for when you want to use a bigger screen than your phone.
Sent from my InFocus M810t using Tapatalk
gsmyth said:
One thing that would be a major improvement is I just wished they had put 16GB of storage instead of 8GB. I know it has the sd card option which is great but in reality you only get around 5GB of actual internal storage for apps, a lot of which can't be moved to the sd card or still take up internal space when they are.
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@gsmyth, look into Link2SD if you haven't already. Between that and a 32GB MicroSD I don't feel especially constrained by the 8GB onboard.
tdcrone said:
@gsmyth, look into Link2SD if you haven't already. Between that and a 32GB MicroSD I don't feel especially constrained by the 8GB onboard.
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How are you formatting your 2nd partition for links2sd?. I keep getting 'unable to mount' error, trying to setup as ext4, which I thought was the standard on newer hardware. I believe I tried ext 2 as well. Without 2nd partition obb and data stay on internal. Thanks
I wish to thank the OP for this, as I am trying to use, and bought the recommended apps... haven;t had the time to set this all up, and it gets a little confusing having all these other devices, but eventually I'll get it.