Database Users

Just bought a Samsung Vibrant questions.

Well, I don't have it yet bought it off Tmo online because I was offered the $165 deal. I am new to the whole android thing and never owned an android phone before. Been browsing this site for over an hour and had to make an account there is so much to learn.
I learned a lot and the tips and tricks told me a lot.
Though I would like to hear from you guys.
I don't plan on rooting it just yet but I don't like touchwiz so I will be using Launcher Pro.
What apps and tips do you recommend for me? I am very excited and cannot wait for my new phone. Will be hanging out here a lot!
So thanks in advance and awesome forum you guys have here.
~George

Congratulations, you will love it.
As soon as you get it, I'd recommend going to the market and browsing through all of the most popular applications. Remember that you can always uninstall apps you don't like. Even if you buy one, you have a significant window of time to uninstall it for a refund.

Chalup said:
Congratulations, you will love it.
As soon as you get it, I'd recommend going to the market and browsing through all of the most popular applications. Remember that you can always uninstall apps you don't like. Even if you buy one, you have a significant window of time to uninstall it for a refund.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In addition to what I bolded above. The phone comes pre-installed with a lot of "bloatware" applications such as Kindle, MobiTV and all these other things. They cannot be uninstalled so technically you can't "uninstall apps that you don't like." The workaround is to root the phone and search the forum for removing stock apps and it'll be in there.
I would suggest trying out ADW Launcher rather than already deciding with Launcher Pro. Both has its advantages and its a matter of preference, both are great. I prefer ADW Launcher for more customization but it really depends on the user.
I would also lower the brightness all the way to the left simply because the phone is bright enough and it isn't necessary. This is a good way to have more hours on your battery. It might also be a good idea for when you get the phone, don't start off charging it right away. Let the battery drain to 0%.. keep turning the phone on until its unable to turn on, THEN start charging.. this way it will maximize the amount of hours on your battery. You might have to do this a couple of times to get the hand of it. The battery isn't a problem though, its pretty good compared to my previous phone, G1.

Chalup said:
Congratulations, you will love it.
As soon as you get it, I'd recommend going to the market and browsing through all of the most popular applications. Remember that you can always uninstall apps you don't like. Even if you buy one, you have a significant window of time to uninstall it for a refund.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome I am planning on using the GPS but all the GPS problems I am seeing is making me reluctant a bit. Let's hope I do not regret it.
Secondly refunds and apps sounds awesome *curses*Apple app store*curses*
Also when you buy an app does it charge your bill or a credit card?
I am a bit of a music freak and love having my music organized and I was told a program called "doubletwist" works great for android devices. I am looking for an alternative to itunes and zune software which have been great to me in organizing my music on my device.

zephiK said:
In addition to what I bolded above. The phone comes pre-installed with a lot of "bloatware" applications such as Kindle, MobiTV and all these other things. They cannot be uninstalled so technically you can't "uninstall apps that you don't like." The workaround is to root the phone and search the forum for removing stock apps and it'll be in there.
I would suggest trying out ADW Launcher rather than already deciding with Launcher Pro. Both has its advantages and its a matter of preference, both are great. I prefer ADW Launcher for more customization but it really depends on the user.
I would also lower the brightness all the way to the left simply because the phone is bright enough and it isn't necessary. This is a good way to have more hours on your battery. It might also be a good idea for when you get the phone, don't start off charging it right away. Let the battery drain to 0%.. keep turning the phone on until its unable to turn on, THEN start charging.. this way it will maximize the amount of hours on your battery. You might have to do this a couple of times to get the hand of it. The battery isn't a problem though, its pretty good compared to my previous phone, G1.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yah, I forgot to ask about that. I was wondering if I could remove the mobi tv app I will never use it. (avatar I want to see, I will definitely be using kindle and sims 3 is pretty cool I don't mind it at all)
Thanks for the suggestion about ADW Launcher I did already check it out and it's pretty awesome but I like the look of LP a bit more. I will certainly try both out though.
I will eventually root the phone however if samsung does not continue giving us support.
I did play with the phone for some time at the Tmobile store and I have to say I am super impressed with it. Hopefully it all works out for me.

PathogenX said:
Yah, I forgot to ask about that. I was wondering if I could remove the mobi tv app I will never use it. (avatar I want to see, I will definitely be using kindle and sims 3 is pretty cool I don't mind it at all)
Thanks for the suggestion about ADW Launcher I did already check it out and it's pretty awesome but I like the look of LP a bit more. I will certainly try both out though.
I will eventually root the phone however if samsung does not continue giving us support.
I did play with the phone for some time at the Tmobile store and I have to say I am super impressed with it. Hopefully it all works out for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can ONLY remove it when you root your phone, basically the stock apps cannot be removed because they're located in /system/apps/ and you'll get Permission Denied. The root process takes less than a minute and theres a "One click" root floating around the dev forum. On the stickied thread theres instructions on how to un-root, which is fairly simple as well.
I'm pretty sure Samsung will continue supporting the phone, its one of their significant releases. I prefer having custom ROMs since they add more features to the phone that wouldn't normally come along with the stock ROM.

zephiK said:
You can ONLY remove it when you root your phone, basically the stock apps cannot be removed because they're located in /system/apps/ and you'll get Permission Denied. The root process takes less than a minute and theres a "One click" root floating around the dev forum. On the stickied thread theres instructions on how to un-root, which is fairly simple as well.
I'm pretty sure Samsung will continue supporting the phone, its one of their significant releases. I prefer having custom ROMs since they add more features to the phone that wouldn't normally come along with the stock ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not going to bull**** anyone but I have no knowledge of rooting and have only been browsing this site for a 2 hours and I am kinda weary about it. But that one click makes it sound easy and harmless. Maybe you can guide me.
Also I went ahead and downloaded Double twist and fell in love with it. It uses AmazonMP3 which is something I have invested some money into and it has the appstore right there. I know for a fact that I will DEFINITELY enjoy my time with android now.
I am liking this more and more.Also thanks for the help I appreciate it! ^_^

PathogenX said:
I am not going to bull**** anyone but I have no knowledge of rooting and have only been browsing this site for a 2 hours and I am kinda weary about it. But that one click makes it sound easy and harmless. Maybe you can guide me.
Also I went ahead and downloaded Double twist and fell in love with it. It uses AmazonMP3 which is something I have invested some money into and it has the appstore right there. I know for a fact that I will DEFINITELY enjoy my time with android now.
I am liking this more and more.Also thanks for the help I appreciate it! ^_^
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought you read the stickied post? http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=732458 its all there rooting is like one of the first things discussed in that thread.

zephiK said:
I thought you read the stickied post? its all there rooting is like one of the first things discussed in that thread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't read it in detail I just browsed through it but now I am
I will certainly post once I get the phone in and express my first impressions.

Rooting as a whole

Seems after getting the Note 4 I have found my self wondering how I was ever with out root. Its crazy I cant stand this phone with out root. Its maddening to know I have Ads and apps I don't need. If Verizon didn't offer this phone at Christmas for 150.00 I would have never got it. #1 Reason no root was out yet but I took a chance. I know now or always have that you DEVS work hard to get stuff done. This was just a big ....
THANK YOU FOR YOUR HARD WORK!

Root will be out soon. I had no patience and switched to the Dev edition. I HATE ads and clustered samsung status bar with passion...

WhiteReign said:
Seems after getting the Note 4 I have found my self wondering how I was ever with out root. Its crazy I cant stand this phone with out root. Its maddening to know I have Ads and apps I don't need. If Verizon didn't offer this phone at Christmas for 150.00 I would have never got it. #1 Reason no root was out yet but I took a chance. I know now or always have that you DEVS work hard to get stuff done. This was just a big ....
THANK YOU FOR YOUR HARD WORK!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Articulated very nicely. I too long for Root and full control of my phone restored in my hands.

Op is the one who has joined XDA since 2011 and more than 400+ thanks (out of 500+ posts ) Posted this in the wrong forum accidentally or didn't know this is development forum

This is exactly why I sold my Verizon n4 and got a nexus 6. I have never had a phone without root. It was driving me nuts as well. I love the phone but couldn't deal with no root. I check back periodically to see if root has been achieved. Maybe one day I will have a n4 again.

Meh... You can disable the bloat with the stock app manager... Yeah, not 100%, but I am not gonna obsess about 4 or 5 tiny apps or services running in the background that I don't see or notice anyway... I am not that much of a control freak... It's a phone, not the center of my universe that I feel compelled to bend 100% to my will.. hehe
Root would be nice I guess, but on these newer phones, the appeal is less and less. I can skin it however I want with dozens of launchers, and debloating a few extra apps with root won't make it any faster...
By the time root comes out, the devs will have moved on to newer phones so the ROM support will suck anyway...

It's unfortunate. I would love to have root access on this phone for various reasons . My next phone will have it, even if I have to leave Verizon.
Sadly, the Verizon Note 4 is never going to see it...at least not before the next round of Note flagships

First post, just got a note 4. Had a rooted lg g2 before it. I'm loving the note so far (only had it about a week), but I use limelight to play computer games on my phone and it doesn't support mouse input very well without root access. . . As has been said I've disabled most of the bloat, but it would be nice to be able to just get rid of it. Also Sixaxis controller requires root to pair a ps3 or 4 controller to my phone... I hope root comes soon, maybe I should become a developer to help the cause. I too thank you for all your work.

SquireSCA said:
Meh... You can disable the bloat with the stock app manager... Yeah, not 100%, but I am not gonna obsess about 4 or 5 tiny apps or services running in the background that I don't see or notice anyway... I am not that much of a control freak... It's a phone, not the center of my universe that I feel compelled to bend 100% to my will.. hehe
Root would be nice I guess, but on these newer phones, the appeal is less and less. I can skin it however I want with dozens of launchers, and debloating a few extra apps with root won't make it any faster...
By the time root comes out, the devs will have moved on to newer phones so the ROM support will suck anyway...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can disable any app you want using adb shell.
This issue around root has been interesting for me. For awhile, I was like you, OP and many others who feel they must have root. However, after about 5 weeks of use now, I find myself perfectly happy with the Note 4 just the way it is and I wonder if I'll even take root-ability into consideration when making my next phone purchase.

mlin said:
You can disable any app you want using adb shell.
This issue around root has been interesting for me. For awhile, I was like you, OP and many others who feel they must have root. However, after about 5 weeks of use now, I find myself perfectly happy with the Note 4 just the way it is and I wonder if I'll even take root-ability into consideration when making my next phone purchase.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am with you. Root used to be mandatory IMHO, as phone makers just didn't seem to be able to get the phone's to work properly out of the box... slow, clunky, missing things, instability, outdated software, etc...
Nowadays, I just don't see that. Typically it is the ROMs that are unstable, miss features, etc... I see thread after thread of this great new ROM! But the camera is flunky, doesn't have data, or the IR blaster doesn't work, etc...
I had an LG G2 and the ROMs didn't impress me much. Went to a GS5 and was even less impressed. None of the ones that I tried were measurably faster than stock, none were 100% functional, or if they were, they were just tweaked stock ROMs and so what's the point? Risk warranty issues or bricking it, or not able to get OTA's, for what? Just to be able to brag to my nerd friends that I had a transparent status bar because a regular one bothers me SOOOO SOOOO much? LOL
The Note 4, is amazing. Debloat it with ADB or with the app manager, install your favorite launcher and icon pack to get the look and feel that you want, and know that it will work 100%, it's fast, stable and no warranty issues, no being left out when Lollipop drops and you want it but it breaks root again so you have to stick with the old software, etc...

I'm with you guys. I come from a Nexus4 and still have a Nexus7. I miss root for Titanium backup and that's about it. Sure I'm going to once it drops but the note is a very capable device able to stand on its own.

SquireSCA said:
Meh... You can disable the bloat with the stock app manager... Yeah, not 100%, but I am not gonna obsess about 4 or 5 tiny apps or services running in the background that I don't see or notice anyway... I am not that much of a control freak... It's a phone, not the center of my universe that I feel compelled to bend 100% to my will.. hehe
Root would be nice I guess, but on these newer phones, the appeal is less and less. I can skin it however I want with dozens of launchers, and debloating a few extra apps with root won't make it any faster...
By the time root comes out, the devs will have moved on to newer phones so the ROM support will suck anyway...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
4 or 5 apps? You must be oblivious to the hundreds of services and dozens of apps that are running on your phone. Don't forget about hundreds of intents that must all be doing something in your favor.
Big Red just wants your phone to run smooth and they want your battery life to be even more fabulous.

xdadevnube said:
4 or 5 apps? You must be oblivious to the hundreds of services and dozens of apps that are running on your phone. Don't forget about hundreds of intents that must all be doing something in your favor.
Big Red just wants your phone to run smooth and they want your battery life to be even more fabulous.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can disable any app on the phone with this.

xdadevnube said:
4 or 5 apps? You must be oblivious to the hundreds of services and dozens of apps that are running on your phone. Don't forget about hundreds of intents that must all be doing something in your favor.
Big Red just wants your phone to run smooth and they want your battery life to be even more fabulous.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can disable most of the things in the app manager. There are only a few that you can't, but then you can do that with ADB. Either way, you can debloat the phone, without root, and without risk of messing up your warranty or the ability to get the Lollipop OTA in a few weeks.
Also, a lot of reviews have shown that disabling everything under the sun to free up RAM, can actually slow your phone down, not speed it up.
Getting the true crap disabled, is the biggest thing and anyone can do that without root today.

It doesn't have to be the center of someone's Universe for them to enjoy changing it and making it their own, people do this will all types of things. Some would call it a "hobby" or an interest. Lots of people enjoy spending hours on Facebook or playing video games, others enjoy tinkering with their devices.
I went for a while with a retail Note 4 and ended up getting a DE. There are too many things that I missed, here are some of them:
Add WiFi HotSpot Toggle and Bypass Subscription Check
Add Flashlight Toggle
AdAway
Titanium Backup
Viper4Android
Root Explorer
Xposed Framework with the following modules:
-Youtube AdAway
-Play Store Link In App Info
-Wanam
-Swype Keyboard Tweaks
-Notify Clean (Clean notification area)
-No Map Tips (Disable Google Play Maps location accuracy tips)
-Google Play Music Listen Later (Change the default Google Play Music pane and tabs)
-Disable Clear Defaults Dialog
Chrome Pie (Add Pie control to Chrome)

SquireSCA said:
Meh... You can disable the bloat with the stock app manager... Yeah, not 100%, but I am not gonna obsess about 4 or 5 tiny apps or services running in the background that I don't see or notice anyway... I am not that much of a control freak... It's a phone, not the center of my universe that I feel compelled to bend 100% to my will.. hehe
Root would be nice I guess, but on these newer phones, the appeal is less and less. I can skin it however I want with dozens of launchers, and debloating a few extra apps with root won't make it any faster...
By the time root comes out, the devs will have moved on to newer phones so the ROM support will suck anyway...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And whats even better you can block every single possible app with adb !
Until we get root its live able without it.
Sent from my SM-N910V using XDA Free mobile app

SquireSCA said:
You can disable most of the things in the app manager. There are only a few that you can't, but then you can do that with ADB. Either way, you can debloat the phone, without root, and without risk of messing up your warranty or the ability to get the Lollipop OTA in a few weeks.
Also, a lot of reviews have shown that disabling everything under the sun to free up RAM, can actually slow your phone down, not speed it up.
Getting the true crap disabled, is the biggest thing and anyone can do that without root today.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
like I said, oblivious

The Note 4 is so sick the way it is! Do I wish we had root? Check. Do I wish we had unlocked bootloader? Check. Am I gonna give up on THE best phone out right now because I don't have those things? Hell NO! The phone is a beast! And I'll keep waiting, maybe for nothing....... but if it is for nothing, I'll live. Love the Note 4! And sticking with it no matter what.

zounduser said:
The Note 4 is so sick the way it is! Do I wish we had root? Check. Do I wish we had unlocked bootloader? Check. Am I gonna give up on THE best phone out right now because I don't have those things? Hell NO! The phone is a beast! And I'll keep waiting, maybe for nothing....... but if it is for nothing, I'll live. Love the Note 4! And sticking with it no matter what.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Phone sucks without root. Seems like you don't need your xda account anymore
Sent from my SM-N900V using XDA Free mobile app
---------- Post added at 11:21 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:20 PM ----------
I can't use a phone without pie controls. Comes in handywhen laying in the bed
Sent from my SM-N900V using XDA Free mobile app

I miss being able to use better battery stats to follow wakelocks. I haven't had any real issues with wakelocks so far, but it really is just a matter of time.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

Quite dangerous malware ! especially china phones

http://now.avg.com/malware-is-still-spying-on-you-after-your-mobile-is-off/
Did anybody noticed that phon behaved weirdly sometimes ??

You thinking too much lol

THe sad reality is, because everythning is free, they must make money on personal information and " big data"
THe sad reality is the whole phone is one big spyware. If you look when you install apps you can see what they have permssion too. Also if you read the agreements you can see they basically have access to most of your personal information and photos and contacts. This is the sad reality, unfortunately people do not care or think as much about it.
On PC it is more easy to protect yourself from collection of "big data" with extensions like Privdog in chrome browser, also with more powerful anti-malware programs and firewall which you can control more easy.
But most important of all...you can actually uninstall all apps you do not want, as it is currently you can't delete pre-installed spyware..
Not enough people are investigating the problems cause there is simply to many phones and every phone has it own software.. if everyone would had the same software just as iphone more people would investigate spyware problems...
for a phone like Mate 7 no one will investigate the software... like for instance a samsung s5 which have more users.
One thing I like with Mate 7 though is that you can choose which apps that have internet access... this is very good and powerful... and will help you be more safe if you do not trust a certain app..just block internet access to it.. and the information a certain app collect luckily will stay just locally on your phone.

This is only an issue if you give it root access? If you pay attention to what permissions you give apps then this shouldn't be too big of an issue... Or if you stay non rooted, its a non issue.

gn0s1s said:
This is only an issue if you give it root access? If you pay attention to what permissions you give apps then this shouldn't be too big of an issue... Or if you stay non rooted, its a non issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But u have no idea that pre-installed apps which are already in the phone when you purchase it..
It has nothing to do with root..
Think xiaomi was suspect checking up their users few months back

blackinfinity said:
THe sad reality is, because everythning is free, they must make money on personal information and " big data"
THe sad reality is the whole phone is one big spyware. If you look when you install apps you can see what they have permssion too. Also if you read the agreements you can see they basically have access to most of your personal information and photos and contacts. This is the sad reality, unfortunately people do not care or think as much about it.
On PC it is more easy to protect yourself from collection of "big data" with extensions like Privdog in chrome browser, also with more powerful anti-malware programs and firewall which you can control more easy.
But most important of all...you can actually uninstall all apps you do not want, as it is currently you can't delete pre-installed spyware..
Not enough people are investigating the problems cause there is simply to many phones and every phone has it own software.. if everyone would had the same software just as iphone more people would investigate spyware problems...
for a phone like Mate 7 no one will investigate the software... like for instance a samsung s5 which have more users.
One thing I like with Mate 7 though is that you can choose which apps that have internet access... this is very good and powerful... and will help you be more safe if you do not trust a certain app..just block internet access to it.. and the information a certain app collect luckily will stay just locally on your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2887632/secure-advertising-tool-privdog-compromises-https-security.html
You might want to reconsider using Privdog .....
---------- Post added at 11:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:18 PM ----------
Simona Simmy said:
But u have no idea that pre-installed apps which are already in the phone when you purchase it..
It has nothing to do with root..
Think xiaomi was suspect checking up their users few months back
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It does at least in regards to the exploit you are talking about. The article says
The malware affects versions of Android older than v.5 (Lollipop) and requires root permission to hijack the shut down process.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
which means to perform this hijack you need to have root permissions. Unless you mean that they have given special permissions in which pre-installed software has this enabled...but i would ask to what end. There are much easier ways to track user behaviour and collect data, and this would seem to massively impact battery life and phone performance.

gn0s1s said:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/2887632/secure-advertising-tool-privdog-compromises-https-security.html
You might want to reconsider using Privdog .....
---------- Post added at 11:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:18 PM ----------
It does at least in regards to the exploit you are talking about. The article says which means to perform this hijack you need to have root permissions. Unless you mean that they have given special permissions in which pre-installed software has this enabled...but i would ask to what end. There are much easier ways to track user behaviour and collect data, and this would seem to massively impact battery life and phone performance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well in real world these software manufs smartphone manuf. Microsoft apple china manufs.and others they ALREADY has all info bout ppl looong time ago.. bcos ppl just when register somewhere or buy device auto giving info about themselves .. but they dont use it in harm way,spam way or malware way .
Ppl have enabled sharing location and they already know your position..
Unless someone hack something..

Sell me on root

I haven't updated and I have plenty of devices that are rooted, but it's always usually a hassle, usually stuff breaks and not everything works. The main reason I like to root. Is to remove bloatware and change some main features. What for you guys is the selling point to root your phone?

I haven't done it yet, but I like to have it to increase battery life to the max and remove ads.

GigaSPX said:
I haven't done it yet, but I like to have it to increase battery life to the max and remove ads.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it's root... If that doesn't sell you... then buy an iPhone.

RBThompsonV said:
it's root... If that doesn't sell you... then buy an iPhone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you referring to me or TC? I'm just telling him what I like root for and what its selling point for me is.
Even then, an iPhone still can't do as much as stock Android phones. I just haven't the time to do root on my S7 Edge because I'm still speculating on whether the bugs will be fixed and all (such as making Samsung Pay work).

GigaSPX said:
Are you referring to me or TC? I'm just telling him what I like root for and what its selling point for me is.
Even then, an iPhone still can't do as much as stock Android phones. I just haven't the time to do root on my S7 Edge because I'm still speculating on whether the bugs will be fixed and all (such as making Samsung Pay work).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, I was just being a douche to the OP....

I'm on apd2 just got the phone today. Is that version rootable?
Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

alsgarage said:
I'm on apd2 just got the phone today. Is that version rootable?
Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup and PE1 is also.

Doesn't look like anyone is selling this person on root. I'll try.
I have rooted my phones in the past but going to stay away from it for now on the S7 Edge because of Samsung Pay.
Best reasons to root from my perspective, off the top of my head:
Titanium backup! This is one of the things I miss the most.
Xposed Modules: GravityBox (love playing and tweaking the settings), YouTube Adaway (if you don't have a Red account, use this)
Viper4Android (best audio tweaking/enhancing mod for any phone)
Liveboot (changes boot animation, love this one)
There's this thing called Lucky Patcher but you can research that on your own

xocomaox said:
Doesn't look like anyone is selling this person on root. I'll try.
I have rooted my phones in the past but going to stay away from it for now on the S7 Edge because of Samsung Pay.
Best reasons to root from my perspective, off the top of my head:
Titanium backup! This is one of the things I miss the most.
Xposed Modules: GravityBox (love playing and tweaking the settings), YouTube Adaway (if you don't have a Red account, use this)
Viper4Android (best audio tweaking/enhancing mod for any phone)
Liveboot (changes boot animation, love this one)
There's this thing called Lucky Patcher but you can research that on your own
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See, that's why I'm swaying my mind about root. Samsung Pay is extraordinarily versatile and it actually accepted one of my credit cards for use. I have NEVER used Samsung Pay in a real life situation yet since I haven't a need to, but I would like to keep my options opened in case I do forget my wallet and all.
Whyyyyyyy? >_<

GigaSPX said:
See, that's why I'm swaying my mind about root. Samsung Pay is extraordinarily versatile and it actually accepted one of my credit cards for use. I have NEVER used Samsung Pay in a real life situation yet since I haven't a need to, but I would like to keep my options opened in case I do forget my wallet and all.
Whyyyyyyy? >_<
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should really try it out sooner rather than later. There are such great things with root and you currently have nothing keeping you from doing it. You can always go back to stock to use SPay, but at least decide if you would like it or not.
Actually, if you live in the US, make three small purchases between now and August 2nd to get a free $10 Amazon gift card. It's the current promo going on right now. Although you may want to waif for another "First use" Samsung Pay promo where you can sometimes get decent stuff. I got a $30 eBay gift card for my first SPay use back in April.

And Qualcomm S7 root is reversible so you can try it and, if you don't like it, restore the non-rooted state with Samsung Pay.
Other thoughts (on how I use root):
App settings: this allows you to set DPI (and other settings) per app. This way, I can run the phone at 400 dpi but have the camera and other apps run at their native DPI full screen
Amplify/Greenify can do wonders to your battery by controlling how often certain programs call home.

Anyone know if update that came out today kills root?
Sent from my SM-G935V using XDA-Developers mobile app

mdonnelly1127 said:
Anyone know if update that came out today kills root?
Sent from my SM-G935V using XDA-Developers mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty sure it does not as the idea behind this root method is that you are not rooting the kernel that this firmware update comes with, but the engineering one. Since you are only allowed to flash "official" firmwares, this update would not block it.
You're not exploiting the carrier's stuff, but an engineering kernel that is legal to flash tot he phone without rejection. If that makes sense.

xocomaox said:
I'm pretty sure it does not as the idea behind this root method is that you are not rooting the kernel that this firmware update comes with, but the engineering one. Since you are only allowed to flash "official" firmwares, this update would not block it.
You're not exploiting the carrier's stuff, but an engineering kernel that is legal to flash tot he phone without rejection. If that makes sense.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It does lol thank you
Sent from my SM-G935V using XDA-Developers mobile app

i love having root but I actually use SamPay allot so unfortunately root doesn't give me anything i want more than SamPay. Hopefully something like rootcloak will allow SamPay to work soon??

Is Samsung Pay more useful than Android Pay, which I believe works with root? I don't really care about either app because my bank is always behind the times and still can't be used in Apple Pay or Android Pay (I just tried again and still not supported by my bank).
You guys pretty much hit all the reasons that I like root, especially all the Xposed modules to do things like keep YouTube playing with screen off and recording phone calls, and just having control over the operating system in general. I couldn't imagine if Windows was locked down like Android, yet 99% of people just accept being restricted on their mobile devices. I've always tinkered with computers though so having less than root or admin access to stuff is maddening. I'm glad that I'm a domain admin at work and not just another pleeb user, haha.
I wouldn't necessarily count on root helping your battery life a ton, though. I've done lots of crap to try and help, yet it still consumes 2 or 3% an hour in standby, just as it did when it was full of bloat with tons of wake locks. That's with AOD on and Bluetooth enabled and connected to my Gear S2 though, which are bigger battery hogs than the little tweaks that I've done with Greenify, Amplify, and Titanium app-freezing.
A couple other things I want root for are Tasker & FolderMount, though the latter has caused me to Odin my phone back to life twice in an attempt to make it work.

snake2332 said:
Is Samsung Pay more useful than Android Pay, which I believe works with root? I don't really care about either app because my bank is always behind the times and still can't be used in Apple Pay or Android Pay (I just tried again and still not supported by my bank).
You guys pretty much hit all the reasons that I like root, especially all the Xposed modules to do things like keep YouTube playing with screen off and recording phone calls, and just having control over the operating system in general. I couldn't imagine if Windows was locked down like Android, yet 99% of people just accept being restricted on their mobile devices. I've always tinkered with computers though so having less than root or admin access to stuff is maddening. I'm glad that I'm a domain admin at work and not just another pleeb user, haha.
I wouldn't necessarily count on root helping your battery life a ton, though. I've done lots of crap to try and help, yet it still consumes 2 or 3% an hour in standby, just as it did when it was full of bloat with tons of wake locks. That's with AOD on and Bluetooth enabled and connected to my Gear S2 though, which are bigger battery hogs than the little tweaks that I've done with Greenify, Amplify, and Titanium app-freezing.
A couple other things I want root for are Tasker & FolderMount, though the latter has caused me to Odin my phone back to life twice in an attempt to make it work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android Pay does not work with root iirc.

snake2332 said:
Is Samsung Pay more useful than Android Pay, which I believe works with root? I don't really care about either app because my bank is always behind the times and still can't be used in Apple Pay or Android Pay (I just tried again and still not supported by my bank).
You guys pretty much hit all the reasons that I like root, especially all the Xposed modules to do things like keep YouTube playing with screen off and recording phone calls, and just having control over the operating system in general. I couldn't imagine if Windows was locked down like Android, yet 99% of people just accept being restricted on their mobile devices. I've always tinkered with computers though so having less than root or admin access to stuff is maddening. I'm glad that I'm a domain admin at work and not just another pleeb user, haha.
I wouldn't necessarily count on root helping your battery life a ton, though. I've done lots of crap to try and help, yet it still consumes 2 or 3% an hour in standby, just as it did when it was full of bloat with tons of wake locks. That's with AOD on and Bluetooth enabled and connected to my Gear S2 though, which are bigger battery hogs than the little tweaks that I've done with Greenify, Amplify, and Titanium app-freezing.
A couple other things I want root for are Tasker & FolderMount, though the latter has caused me to Odin my phone back to life twice in an attempt to make it work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
IMO, I feel like I have faster battery drainage with root than without, and I'm on the U firmware right now.

I would say that if you don't know if/why you want root, then you probably don't want it. Particularly in the case of the s7e for VZ. There really isn't anything in the way of custom ROMs or mods yet. I also don't think battery life and performance are any better with root, and in fact I believe it could be the opposite. One of the most common things I hear is people wanting to remove bloat, although the effect of that can mostly be accomplished through an app like package disabler.
Having said that I rooted simply because I wanted to. I like knowing that I can do whatever I'd like on my device. While I have yet to find any critical functionality that being rooted on the S7E gives me that I didn't have without it...I like playing around with things like tasker, and editing the build.prop file.
I've had Titanium backup for a long time, and I certainly like being able to use that again.
I'd like to see a native tethering mod, but since I have Foxfi that's simply a matter of convenience.

I used to be all about root until the Note 5. That phone was fast enough and good enough battery that I didn't need to break samsung pay forever to get root. Then I had a Nexus 6p, rooted immediately but no ROMS were as dependable as stock so I stayed stock and used Android Pay. Now I jump ship to VZW where we seem to get the lock down more often than not, and I really don't care.
Keep it stock, enjoy monthly security updates and Samsung Pay. Just use Samsung browser adaway for Internet ads, and Package Disabler Pro if you'd care to slim down any apps that aren't easily disabled without it. Root causes more headache than its worth for me.

Blocking Ads Without Root? Will ZTE Ever Step Up?

Long story short I haven't unlocked my bootloader to root my phone yet, since ZTE are offering virtually zero support and haven't even supplied a factory image (WTF!), so I don't have a properly working method to block ads.
This makes YouTube absolutely worthless to me, I'm not going to watch a 30 second ad about something I probably hate with a fiery passion in order to watch a 2 minute video. Just simply browsing the web has become painful and indescribably annoying.
So is there any (actually effective) method out there which I can use to block the cancer of the internet known as advertisements without having root? Will ZTE ever do what every other company does and offer some bare minimum support for the community? If I knew ZTE were going to be this horrible about support I wouldn't have even bought the phone to begin with.

Cyrus D. said:
Long story short I haven't unlocked my bootloader to root my phone yet, since ZTE are offering virtually zero support and haven't even supplied a factory image (WTF!), so I don't have a properly working method to block ads.
This makes YouTube absolutely worthless to me, I'm not going to watch a 30 second ad about something I probably hate with a fiery passion in order to watch a 2 minute video. Just simply browsing the web has become painful and indescribably annoying.
So is there any (actually effective) method out there which I can use to block the cancer of the internet known as advertisements without having root? Will ZTE ever do what every other company does and offer some bare minimum support for the community? If I knew ZTE were going to be this horrible about support I wouldn't have even bought the phone to begin with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try Adguard, works like a charm

Gachmuret said:
Try Adguard, works like a charm
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And it won't steal my info????

Cyrus D. said:
Long story short I haven't unlocked my bootloader to root my phone yet, since ZTE are offering virtually zero support and haven't even supplied a factory image (WTF!), so I don't have a properly working method to block ads.
This makes YouTube absolutely worthless to me, I'm not going to watch a 30 second ad about something I probably hate with a fiery passion in order to watch a 2 minute video. Just simply browsing the web has become painful and indescribably annoying.
So is there any (actually effective) method out there which I can use to block the cancer of the internet known as advertisements without having root? Will ZTE ever do what every other company does and offer some bare minimum support for the community? If I knew ZTE were going to be this horrible about support I wouldn't have even bought the phone to begin with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had my Axon 7 rooted and xposed working perfectly WAYYYYYYY before I unlocked it. And I am willing to bet that if you look in the rest of this wonderful XDA section you will find a posting or two about root without bootloader unlock, and the first step is making a backup so if something does go wrong you can use your backup!

Gachmuret said:
Try Adguard, works like a charm
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's paid only in order to block ads in apps and it's not even a one time purchase, it's an annual license. I won't purchase licenses which expire for Android apps. For now I have the free version installed, but the fact that it gives a warning stating that it's reported battery or data usage will be false (other application's stats will supposedly be recorded as AdGuard's) makes it suspicious to even begin with.
tabletalker7 said:
I had my Axon 7 rooted and xposed working perfectly WAYYYYYYY before I unlocked it. And I am willing to bet that if you look in the rest of this wonderful XDA section you will find a posting or two about root without bootloader unlock, and the first step is making a backup so if something does go wrong you can use your backup!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The last time I checked on rooting without unlocking it was super convoluted and there were reports of people left and right bricking things.
- What do I even backup with and can it even be done fully without having root in the first place?
- Can it use ZTE's OTA updates without bricking if that's done?
- Is it actually a full proper root?

Cyrus D. said:
It's paid only in order to block ads in apps and it's not even a one time purchase, it's an annual license. I won't purchase licenses which expire for Android apps. For now I have the free version installed, but the fact that it gives a warning stating that it's reported battery or data usage will be false (other application's stats will supposedly be recorded as AdGuard's) makes it suspicious to even begin with.
The last time I checked on rooting without unlocking it was super convoluted and there were reports of people left and right bricking things.
- What do I even backup with and can it even be done fully without having root in the first place?
- Can it use ZTE's OTA updates without bricking if that's done?
- Is it actually a full proper root?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It worked for me. On the forum for Axon 7 root without unlock the first thing you do is make a backup of the boot and recovery. You can flash those with the same program used to root it and install TWRP. After that we also have a forum here with full stock roms that you can flash with TWRP just to unbrick and they work.

I live in Spain, have a Play Music subscription (YouTube RED isn't available here... *sigh*) and have installed AdGuard two days ago to get rid of those stupid, stupid commercials, but it seriously messed up my battery info.
I would reach around 20% battery and the phone would just turn off. Completely drained. Kaput. Happened twice with full charge with original charger and cable (I thought my Moto X's QC2 had broken something, but it's the app after all).
I have it set up on manual mode now, so that I can activate it outside home and avoid YouTube's commercials and consequent date plan limit (even if I'm a paying customer! Dang it Google!!!).

The non-Play Store versions of Lightning Browser (free) have built-in adblock. You can get it from the developer's github or from F-Droid. It also has a dark theme that's perfect for AMOLED screens like the Axon 7's.

*** Thread Cleaned ***
Let's keep the comments respectful, and on-topic. If you think a comment falls outside of XDA Rules, simply hit the REPORT icon.

Cyrus D. said:
Long story short I haven't unlocked my bootloader to root my phone yet, since ZTE are offering virtually zero support and haven't even supplied a factory image (WTF!), so I don't have a properly working method to block ads.
This makes YouTube absolutely worthless to me, I'm not going to watch a 30 second ad about something I probably hate with a fiery passion in order to watch a 2 minute video. Just simply browsing the web has become painful and indescribably annoying.
So is there any (actually effective) method out there which I can use to block the cancer of the internet known as advertisements without having root? Will ZTE ever do what every other company does and offer some bare minimum support for the community? If I knew ZTE were going to be this horrible about support I wouldn't have even bought the phone to begin with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really cannot fathom why you're equating "ZTE stepping up" with "root". Because AFAIK, no OEM actively supports rooting their phones.
So what it comes down to is your unwillingness to root your phone using the proven method available here on XDA. It sounds like you're afraid for some reason, which I don't understand because it's virtually impossible to hard brick your phone at this point, assuming you can follow simple instructions.
AdAway works just fine on my A2017U running B27 and was the single biggest reason I rooted my phone in the first place. My bootloader is still locked, as well.

rczrider said:
I really cannot fathom why you're equating "ZTE stepping up" with "root". Because AFAIK, no OEM actively supports rooting their phones.
So what it comes down to is your unwillingness to root your phone using the proven method available here on XDA. It sounds like you're afraid for some reason, which I don't understand because it's virtually impossible to hard brick your phone at this point, assuming you can follow simple instructions.
AdAway works just fine on my A2017U running B27 and was the single biggest reason I rooted my phone in the first place. My bootloader is still locked, as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gotta ask, adaway fails with my axon, I figured it was since we have the systemless root, how did you get it to work?

It's not ZTE's job to block ads for you. Most vendor-specific flavors of android don't offer built-in ad blocking. If you want to complain to anyone, complain to Google for not allowing extensions in Chrome. They're lagging behind IOS there.
Use adguard like others have suggested, or root your phone if you want deeper ad blocking.

Ruttix said:
Gotta ask, adaway fails with my axon, I figured it was since we have the systemless root, how did you get it to work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Adaway works with systemless root.
If you turn off /system write protection, you can use adaway fine, but it modifies /system.
If you want to do it without modifying system, you'll probably need to use magisk.

I don't know how it's mistaken for anything else but I guess I have to clarify. By ZTE steping up, I didn't mean that they should provide us with direct root or adblock or anything like that. I meant they should have offered the basics everyone does, like a freakin' factory image and clear info so those who brick their phones can figure out how to fix it without praying someone on some forums can save them.
As for no company supporting root, even if they don't directly state it, that's pretty much OnePlus's thing, the direct competitor to ZTE right now.

Ruttix said:
Gotta ask, adaway fails with my axon, I figured it was since we have the systemless root, how did you get it to work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Type this in terminal:
Code:
reboot disemmcwp

AdGuard lifetime license is cheap. Especially because you can switch currencies when you add it to your cart, and then switch it back to your currency when you enter your credit card. I got 3 lifetime licenses for like 8 bucks apiece just last week.
I got a refund, though, because I had too many questions that it didn't answer. I think it's a legit product but I've gotten used to NetGuard's logging functions whereas AdGuard is kinda "set it and forget it" but their advanced functions feel clunky.

Cyrus D. said:
It's paid only in order to block ads in apps and it's not even a one time purchase, it's an annual license. I won't purchase licenses which expire for Android apps. For now I have the free version installed, but the fact that it gives a warning stating that it's reported battery or data usage will be false (other application's stats will supposedly be recorded as AdGuard's) makes it suspicious to even begin with.
root?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are wrong,
There's life time subscription.
I've bought 4 licenses for using it at 2 Windows and 2 android device.
No impact on battery life over 6 months I'm using on 2 smartphone and 2 windows(surface pro 4 and thinkpad 8)
I'm also using at my iPad as free safari extension and battery life is once again rock solid.
And is doing very very good job indeed blocking not only ads but other on line threads too.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

paatha13 said:
You are wrong,
There's life time subscription.
I've bought 4 licenses for using it at 2 Windows and 2 android device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There was only one purchase link, and it took me to a page which was offering annual licenses. That's it.

I don't understand why this thread is still going strong.
It's virtually impossible to brick your phone (the U variant, anyway) just by rooting.
AdGuard sucks, rooting is easy, and AdAway is free.

rczrider said:
I don't understand why this thread is still going strong.
It's virtually impossible to brick your phone (the U variant, anyway) just by rooting.
AdGuard sucks, rooting is easy, and AdAway is free.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@rczrider: I want to do what you have described, i.e. root to get AdAway installed. I understand about rooting, but what OTAs from ZTA? Do they still work without problem or does one have to unroot (and perhaps even undo AdAway) first?
I know that that info exists somewhere in the the thread about rooting, but that is now very long and that info is not easy to find.
Thanks