Launching a web link from Android home screen always launches the native browser on Galaxy S5 stock 4.4.2.
Phone is rooted.
No other browsers are installed, except for Chrome.
Changing default browser is impossible because when I go to Settings > Application manager > Internet > Clear defaults is grayed out.
How can I get it ti present me with a choice screen on which browser I want to use?
I tried installing Firefox and Dolphin and still the problem remains - no prompts to choose default browser.
EDIT:
HUGE clarification: I just texted a web page link to someone and I realized that I could click on it when looking at my sent text...
Well clicking on it DOES bring up the choice menu of which browser I want to use to open that web page link.
SO this is only about launching web links from Home Screen:
Native Browser > Bookmarks > Long press on any bookmark to CHECK it > Settings [three dots in upper right] > Add shortcut to home screen.
Now *those* Home Screen bookmark shortcuts can only be launched in Native Browser whereas you used to have a choice which browser to use before....
The Internet app will always be grayed regardless of whatever browser you install. You need to root your phone to freeze (Disable) the stock Internet app.
Strange, installing a new browser should clear defaults and give you the option to choose which browser to use as default again, I disabled Chrome before I rooted from Application Manager, try doing that
If that fails, Try clearing the cache from recovery
Thank you for posting.
First poster: The phone is rooted. What do you mean by freeze (disable) stock internet app?
I tried Settings > Application manager > ALL > Internet > Force stop
No change. Clear defaults is still grayed out in the default browser.
Second poster: I agree, I tried installing new browsers and still the defaults remain.
We are trying to change the default away from the stock browser so I don't know what Chrome has to do with it but OK I Force Stopped Chrome in the Application Manager too.
No change.
I then went to TWRP Recovery and wiped Cache. No Change.
Clear defaults is still grayed out in the default browser. Phone is T-Mobile Galaxy S5, rooted, stock Android 4.4.2, Baseband G900TUVU1ANE6
Any other ideas?
I was suggesting actually disabling Chrome from Application Manager, same place as you forced stop - it might say "Uninstall updates", then once you do that, Disable should appear
Once Chrome is disabled, it might force Android to clear defaults on it - same with the Stock browser
Chrome can be Turned off. But Chrome is not default and doing that has no bearing on native browser which still insists on being default regardless of how many other browsers are installed.
I really only want the option to choose which browser launches an internet link, I like not to have a default browser so that I can open different links in different browsers.
But now I get no choice to choose, every link opens in native browser which is not affected by anything suggested so far...
If you're rooted, disable the stock / native browser
Find it in /system/app or wherever it is, and rename the .apk to .apk.old
EDIT - /system/app/SBrowser
Rename SBrowser.apk to SBrowser.apk.old
EDIT -There is SBrowserTry too - has the same icon as the SBrowser
Not specifically for this issue, but shows you the files corresponding to the stock browser you can rename
http://www.s4miniarchive.com/2014/08/galaxy-s5-internet-browser-for-galaxy-s4-mini.html
Renaming them automatically removes all my internet links from Home Screens.
Now there's no way to have the internet page links on home screens... making which browser is default irrelevant.
How else would I test or set a default browser, if my web links disappeared from the Home Screen?
Renaming them back, restores earlier behavior of native browser (what is the name of the native browser?) being default with no option to change the default browser.
Somewhat on topic, I cannot believe that no one in this world has a need to open url shortcuts, I mean I've had my Windows Favorites folder for 20 years, it's filled with all my shortcuts and in Android 3 there was an app that would automatically open them (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zapek.android.stuntzurl) but Android 4 broke that and so I guess it is not possible to have url shortcuts simply open a web page in Android 4.
Also, somewhat on topic, why is there no folder which contains contents of home screens so that they can be backed up, I mean, in Windows there is a Desktop folder and it contains everything that you have on your Desktop, you can back that folder up, so that if anything disappears you can simply restore it... why not in Android?
And while I'm on a role, is it not mind-boggling that you cannot import or backup bookmarks to files in Android browsers? No, you have to have a desktop computer, make accounts, upload your settings and bookmarks, then try to download it into Android browsers (which inevitably can and does fail to import all data)... why would there not be a simple, import or export bookmarks feature in Android browsers... how is this not unbelievable for any Android browser creator not to offer that option, to import/export bookmarks from a file, or from other Android browsers even?
But back on topic if anyone has any ideas on how to get a prompt asking me which browser I want to open a Home Screen web link in... please post...
HUGE clarification: I just texted a web page link to someone and I realized that I could click on it when looking at my sent text...
Well clicking on it DOES bring up the choice menu of which browser I want to use to open that web page link.
SO this is only about launching web links from Home Screen:
Native Browser > Bookmarks > Long press on any bookmark to CHECK it > Settings [three dots in upper right] > Add shortcut to home screen.
Now *those* Home Screen bookmark shortcuts can only be launched in Native Browser whereas you used to have a choice which browser to use before....
Sounds like whichever browser you use to create the shortcuts, is the only one that will open the shortcuts, so if you want to use a different browser, you'll need to create those shortcuts from that browser in the first place
Android is massively different and limited compared to Windows/PC OS - you can't really compare them and expect a comparably young mobile OS to live up to the same standards as a mature PC OS
But I do agree, you should be given the same choice with web links / shortcuts, it's not exactly brain surgery to know the links need to open a browser, and give the user choice of which one to use
I distinctly remember being able to do this on my old phones in Android.
1. How do you add a bookmark shortcut from Chrome or any browser other than native browser?
2. Can you replicate this issue, do you also not get a choice on which browser to use when you click on a bookmark shortcut on your Home Screen?
I use Dolphin, and to create homescreen shortcuts, open the website you want, hit the small dolphin icon at the bottom, choose "Add to" and choose "Home screen"
And no, even clearing defaults on dolphin, when I click the shortcut, it only opens in Dolphin, no choice - so I guess that's the issue, if you want it to open in a certain browser, create the shortcut using that browser
I have Chrome disabled
Thanks for the tip. Dolphin works!
Can Home Screen shortcuts be created in Chrome or Firefox?
I don't have Chrome running so can't test, but Firefox can, I just went to the Bookmarks tab and long pressed on one of my bookmarks and it gave the option to add to homescreen
EDIT - Enabled Chrome, just visit the site you want to add, hit the 3 dots top right menu, "Add to home screen"
Related
I changed the user agent on the default browser to Desktop.
Now everytime I start the browser, it force closes before even loading up anything.
Method used:
Go in browser, type in about:debug in address bar and press go
Menu > More > Settings > UAString > Desktop
I rebooted and I still have the same problem.
Is there anyway to fix this without having to delete the apk and reinstalling the browser? If that is the wya to do it, what all do i have to delete and reinstall.
Thanks
If you'd looked like 6 threads below yours, you'd have found this:
lpaddikt said:
about:debug will make your browser crash all the time and then you have to clear the data for the browser in manage application to get it to work again. It doesn't work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Happened to my Vibrant as well.
Solution is in thread mentioned above
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=732925
Does anyone have a fix for the browser defaulting to mobile view and setting it to desktop view? i cannot find a fix to this in the settings. This wasnt an issue on the Evo.
it is very annoying to scroll down to the bottom of every page and click desktop view. some pages like ESPN do no even have this. Even after to select desktop it will go right back to mobile view if you move to another page within the same site.
I couldn't find this setting in the default browser either. Pretty sure there isn't a option to change the user agent in 2.1 stock browser.
You can always switch to Dolphin HD or xScope which allow you to switch user agents.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
I'm in the same boat. On my rooted hero xscope browser with the user agent set to computer worked perfectly. On the epic you can set it to computer and it stills goes to the mobile sight. I really need to figure it out for ESPN. No fantasy football and this baby is going back to the store lol
Open the browser then type in about:debug and hit enter. It wont do anything after hitting enter but if you go into options you will now have a option to change the UAString from mobile to desktop. The option is at the bottom of the option list.
Have you tried opera mini?
I really like Dolphin HD, but I also like the Amazon Browser, and am still playing with both. Right now in the Silk browser any time I click a link it asks me which browser I want to use to perform that action. I don't want to set a default, what I want is for it to just use the browser I'm already in to open the link. If I'm using Dolphin, Dolphin just opens the link without asking. So it's only in the Silk browser that this happens. But if I set a default action, I'm not sure how I later un-set it.
Similar with the launcher -- I like Go Launcher a lot, but I am wary of cliking that make it the default checkbox, because I don't know how I would later uncheck it if for whatever reason I needed to go back to stock, like for warranty or something.
Does anyone know how you set/unset these two defaults and what effect it has if I do set it in Silk?
You can undo the default by going to Settings (top of screen) ->applications, finding the current default application and simply clicking on Clear Default in the Launch by Default section.
Thanks, that's exactly what I was looking for
When I view the Kindle Browser in applications, the "clear defaults" button under Launch by Default is grayed out. Likewise, when I view Dolphin HD it is grayed out.
Does anyone know how to work around this so I can set the default browser?
Thanks
at the current state, none is defined as a default browser. After selecting one of them, then it can be deselected.
Sent from my Amazon Kindle Fire using Tapatalk
In the past, Samsung phones had an option for opening links in background. Extremely useful for a site like XDA. You could long press on a link, choose the "Open in Background" option, and the link would open in a new tab, but you wouldn't be switched to the new tab. This used to be enabled in the browser settings, under the advanced tab. I can't find the option. Why on earth they would remove it is a bit beyond my paygrade.
Is the option just hidden? Are there other hidden options? The Aboutebug command use to work in chrome? Are there similar commands/easter eggs for the stock browser or chrome?
If you've been able to download the Samsung Internet browser from the Google Play Store, you still may not have the ability to activate any downloaded ad-blocking plug-ins, due to not having the menu item needed to enable and manage them in the Samsung browser's settings menu.
Note that it could be that you *do* have the appropriate menu item available, as some folks have reported that they have it.
I was not that lucky, and had to resort to a work-around to make it appear.
If you also need to do that, here is one way to do it:
In the browser's address bar, enter the following pseudo-url (do not include the quotation marks): "about:contentblock"
Then, visit the advanced settings menu ("More->Settings->Advanced") where you can now see a new entry ("Block content"), *if you have already installed one of the available ad-block plug-ins from the Play Store*.
Two decent ones are "Adblock Plus (Samsung Browser)" and "Crystal Adblock for Samsung" - they must be downloaded and installed separately from the browser itself, and must be installed before the browser will display the enable settings, even if you've already issued the "about:contentblock" pseudo-url.
Advancing to the "Block content" settings will show a switch to allow adblocking plug-ins to function, and will show a list of all installed adblock plug-ins, and allow you to select one of them to be active.
If, like me, you find you must use this work-around to get the "Block content" options to show up, then you will have to do this each time the Samsung Browser is restarted (easier to just leave it running, but, you know, stuff happens).
Therefore, it might be handy to set up a bookmark to perform the "about:contentblock" procedure. Just go into the bookmarks menu, tap the Add button, and type a name for your bookmark (I used "Enable Block content menu"), and enter " about:contentblock" as the bookmark's URL.
After clicking on this bookmark whenever the browser is restarted, you will, unfortunately, also still have to go into the "Block content" settings and turn on ad-blocking and reselect an installed plugin.
Hope some of you find this helpful.
Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk