Database Users

Annoying Ads Problem

Hi!
How do I permanently block or remove all the Ads in the apps without rooting my Galaxy S4?

Buy the paid-version of the app in question.

Turn off Internet connection.

I do not believe that is possible
there is an approach of building a custom host file that redirects adds into 127.0.0.1 but you need root for that
Other options I do not know, and most probably it's best to just buy the apps you want

DemonWareXT said:
I do not believe that is possible
there is an approach of building a custom host file that redirects adds into 127.0.0.1 but you need root for that
Other options I do not know, and most probably it's best to just buy the apps you want
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeh but there are some apps that you cannot buy. it that way.
ads in notifications and new link in the home page.
the ads in notification can be disabled,
is there a way to stop creating new advertistin icon on the "desktop"?
thanks

Even if you are rooted, it wont work now. Adaway used to work very well but as soon as it pulled out from playstore, it doesn't work for me. It doesn't block ad.

sohebq said:
Even if you are rooted, it wont work now. Adaway used to work very well but as soon as it pulled out from playstore, it doesn't work for me. It doesn't block ad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It should still work actually, at least it does for me.
It however, does not work on apps that have the adds compiled in, or cached down.
For example, Astro File manager, without adaway, it display awful adds. With adaway it only displays adds for itself, because it already knows them.

Why do people prefer AdAway to AdBlock Plus?

Spent this weekend putting all my root goodness back on my G4 -- thanks again to all the devs who worked on this. I didn't realize how much I missed being rooted until I was again!
I had been running AdBlock Plus on my previous phone, galaxy S4, and never thought much about it, but in the course of reading various threads while waiting for root on the G4, it seems like most people mention AdAway as the preferred ad blocking tool. I gave it a shot, and it seemed to be far inferior to AdBlock. So I feel like I must be doing something wrong and was hoping for some discussion on this.
AdAway works by changing the hosts file to block known ad sources. For me this caused several problems. Web pages still load slowly (perhaps because of timeouts associated with trying to access a non-responding server?). There are still large areas on the screen with broken link icons where the ads used to be, which is pretty ugly. I tried using the AdAway local server, to provide a response to the spoofed/blocked domains, it didn't seem to make much difference. Finally, using the default config, many commercial web sites are just blocked entirely, which is a non starter.
My understanding is that AdBlock instead creates a proxy. With AdBlock web pages load MUCH faster than with AdAway, even when running the local server. It also removes the content entirely, instead of just blocking, so the output is a lot prettier.
The difference in web browsing experience was stark for me. AdBlock was the clear winner. So I'm trying to understand why so many people seem to prefer adaway. I would rather use a more light-weight solution if it works as well, but it just didn't seem to for me. Am I missing something?

I prefer AdFree, http://adfree.bigtincan.com/.

jamtre said:
Spent this weekend putting all my root goodness back on my G4 -- thanks again to all the devs who worked on this. I didn't realize how much I missed being rooted until I was again!
I had been running AdBlock Plus on my previous phone, galaxy S4, and never thought much about it, but in the course of reading various threads while waiting for root on the G4, it seems like most people mention AdAway as the preferred ad blocking tool. I gave it a shot, and it seemed to be far inferior to AdBlock. So I feel like I must be doing something wrong and was hoping for some discussion on this.
AdAway works by changing the hosts file to block known ad sources. For me this caused several problems. Web pages still load slowly (perhaps because of timeouts associated with trying to access a non-responding server?). There are still large areas on the screen with broken link icons where the ads used to be, which is pretty ugly. I tried using the AdAway local server, to provide a response to the spoofed/blocked domains, it didn't seem to make much difference. Finally, using the default config, many commercial web sites are just blocked entirely, which is a non starter.
My understanding is that AdBlock instead creates a proxy. With AdBlock web pages load MUCH faster than with AdAway, even when running the local server. It also removes the content entirely, instead of just blocking, so the output is a lot prettier.
The difference in web browsing experience was stark for me. AdBlock was the clear winner. So I'm trying to understand why so many people seem to prefer adaway. I would rather use a more light-weight solution if it works as well, but it just didn't seem to for me. Am I missing something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just a thought, but AdBlock Plus has to be running 24/7 in the background, so some people may notice or think it takes a hit on battery and system resources. I am running AdBlock Plus now as well, but I downloaded AdFree after the user above recommended it, I'll give it a go.

geoff5093 said:
Just a thought, but AdBlock Plus has to be running 24/7 in the background, so some people may notice or think it takes a hit on battery and system resources. I am running AdBlock Plus now as well, but I downloaded AdFree after the user above recommended it, I'll give it a go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll try AdFree too, hadn't seen it before. But it seems to work the same way as AdAway does so I'm not expecting much difference...

I used to use adaway but it broke my Pandora app, and after switching to adblock plus it hasn't crashed
Sent from my LG-H811 using Tapatalk

Some people don't like ABP's "Approved Advertisers" (or whatever they call it), where some ads aren't blocked by default. I know my boss complains about it, but it doesn't typically bother me. That may be the reason some people prefer AdAway (or some other similar host blocker).

I noticed that with Adblock Plus, anytime I tried to go to Android Central i'd get a Error 400 and couldn't open the site. With Adaway it loads fine, minus the godawful scrolling ads.

I used to use AdBlock Plus but I remember there was a reason I switched over to AdBlock instead. I think they were blocking all ads, even those you should just leave alone to support sites you enjoy or something along those lines. Since switching to AdBlock I'm never bothered with ads and enable ads for sites I respect.

I've never really had any of those issues with Adaway. I haven't used ABP in a while but the last time I did (and to the best of my knowledge out still works this way) it was just a proxy, which newer versions of Android wouldn't let the app configure itself. I could never get it working without being really slow and clunky and I couldn't figure out how to use it on a data connection at all. I'm away from wifi a lot so something that doesn't work at all half the time and works poorly the other half was useless to me.

Zorque said:
I've never really had any of those issues with Adaway. I haven't used ABP in a while but the last time I did (and to the best of my knowledge out still works this way) it was just a proxy, which newer versions of Android wouldn't let the app configure itself. I could never get it working without being really slow and clunky and I couldn't figure out how to use it on a data connection at all. I'm away from wifi a lot so something that doesn't work at all half the time and works poorly the other half was useless to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's only if you aren't rooted. There is no manual config if you are. You need to be rooted for adaway no matter what so seems fair to compare root mode of ABP only.

I have been using adfree since before they pulled all ad blocking apps from the play store. Adfree doesn't slow anything down or leave broken links in web pages. Pages load fast like they should plus it blocks ads and popups in apps also which is great cause I have been going almost postal on some of these ads popping up when I close some apps. I guess I'm OCD about that.

Yea I noticed that when using Adblock Plus, my links on SlickDeals.net won't work. They get a redirect error and just fail.
Going through a Proxy is dangerous too since any and all traffic goes through them, so be careful when entering login/credit card information. You are also creating a bottleneck where all traffic must go through, so if the Proxy is overloaded or offline, so is your connection unless you change your local routing (I guess by uninstalling the app).
For me it is a back and forth issue. I prefer NOT to use a Proxy. This is a work related phone so I do not want to have any 3rd party company playing Man-in-the-middle with my data traffic.
Personally I like to just block apps on my device. Yes it causes longer page loading times while crap sits there and times out... but at least my data is safe and the page is easier to navigate once the ads are gone.
I just downloaded AdFree from the official website but it requires Root (I haven't rooted yet). I think all Ad blocking apps require root.

Many sites on slickdeals redirect through viglink.com or similar for revenue. All you have to do is whitelist those [*.viglink.com] and it will begin to redirect just fine

player911 said:
Yea I noticed that when using Adblock Plus, my links on SlickDeals.net won't work. They get a redirect error and just fail.
Going through a Proxy is dangerous too since any and all traffic goes through them, so be careful when entering login/credit card information. You are also creating a bottleneck where all traffic must go through, so if the Proxy is overloaded or offline, so is your connection unless you change your local routing (I guess by uninstalling the app).
For me it is a back and forth issue. I prefer NOT to use a Proxy. This is a work related phone so I do not want to have any 3rd party company playing Man-in-the-middle with my data traffic.
Personally I like to just block apps on my device. Yes it causes longer page loading times while crap sits there and times out... but at least my data is safe and the page is easier to navigate once the ads are gone.
I just downloaded AdFree from the official website but it requires Root (I haven't rooted yet). I think all Ad blocking apps require root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but the proxy is on you own device. Not in any other server.

seb93 said:
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but the proxy is on you own device. Not in any other server.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Either way adblock downloads the whole page ads and all then removes it. Adblock app has to be running in background to strip ads.
Adaway blocks access to the ad site altogether.
As for site formatting being wrong or not pretty would be the site page programmer programming certaib spaces in the page dedicated to thr ad that was supposed to show there.
I also like no ads in apps and youtube. Hence why I prefer adaway.
Parcing a large host file may require more resources..
In both you can whitelist if youre missing content you'd prefer to see.

clockcycle said:
Either way adblock downloads the whole page ads and all then removes it. Adblock app has to be running in background to strip ads.
Adaway blocks access to the ad site altogether.
As for site formatting being wrong or not pretty would be the site page programmer programming certaib spaces in the page dedicated to thr ad that was supposed to show there.
I also like no ads in apps and youtube. Hence why I prefer adaway.
Parcing a large host file may require more resources..
In both you can whitelist if youre missing content you'd prefer to see.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was just saying that adblock is not "dangerous" because he thought the traffic goes through another server.
Envoyé de mon LG-H815 en utilisant Tapatalk

seb93 said:
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but the proxy is on you own device. Not in any other server.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct. Proxying elsewhere can be very dangerous.

I think I can answer this question...ADP sucks (and I use it religiously in Chrome) when it comes to your phone.
It COMPLETELY broke MMS for me (on Cricket). I removed ADP, rebooted, and was good to go.

I've always Adfree as it is simple and lightweight only modifying the hosts file.

Adblock kills MMS for me. Cannot send or receive.

Reasons, Advantages and Disadvantages to unlock/root the G5 Plus

I am asking myself - specifically for the G5 Plus, but probably in a more general sense - where the huge advantages and disadvantages of rooting are, considering that the G5 plus comes with a relativly clean Android 7.XXX and a not an old overloaded android version, which didn't use to have many of the capabilities that Android 7 offers. I know that my questions might particularily overlap with questions in other topics, but for sure not every question, especially specific G5 Plus questions.
Overall I am interested in the topics security and product-experience, if you want to call it like that. I ask myself: Is root still worth losing warranty or is it not? Keywords or keyquestions that cross my mind are:
OTA updates: I guess those won't be possible anymore?
Encryption: Will it still work and increase security if the phone is lost?
Backup functionality, especially in combination with cloud services: Is there something like -backup my whole phone down to the very core on some google server (best proteced with a password and some AES256 encryption)- so that I can restore it some day in an easy manner? How would you backup your phone and settings, etc. with and without root?
Safety: What could happen if I lose my (bootloader unlocked and) rooted phone: Will someone be able to read my passwords (e.g. google...) and other sensitive information directly from the phone, even if it was locked, in the moment I lost it? What is the worst thing that could happen?
Root Functionality: How does the root access / superuser specificly work, e.g. if I'd accidentally install an app or similar, which might contain a virus: Is an app like this instantly capable of messing my whole system or will I be able to manually confirm specific security related changes, especially system changes, that an app might try to do? With other words: Does root mean that the system will be wasted by even the tiniest mistake or is there some security buffer?
Unlock Bootloader only: Is it an option (or make any sense to you) to just unlock the bootloader and install a the G5 Plus TWRP recovery without rooting the phone and does this give any advantages or is this just a totally nonsensical option, which is maybe not even possible? If I got it right, rooting does not necessarily need to reset the phone in any way, while unlocking the bootloader enforces to do a reset, right? In this context I was also asking myself if unlocking the bootloader (now that I don't have wasted precious time on customizing my phone, yet) right now is a useful option (without any disadvantage besides losing the warranty) and if I ever experience the necessity to root, I will only need like 2 commands and it is done - without having to reset my phone again?
Root Must Have: Is there any specific functionality or reason - you would say - one should definitly root the phone for, as it is a must have functionality, which would be locked without root?: I only have virtual examples, e.g. if Nougat would prevent me from changing the volume to a level higher than 50 % and the absolute exclusive possibility to change this was to get root access. Another example , although really not that critical one, could be: I noticed that I am only allowed to install 5 different finger prints... root could give me the possibility to install infinite finger prints?
Feature Loss: Does one lose some other neat features or functionality that is usually provided by Google or Motorola if the phone is not rooted but not possible anymore if it is rooted?
Third Party Trust: How can you people trust the TWRP Backup or custom ROMs? Don't you fear that there might be a virus or trojan horse within?
Best regards and thanks in advance for your patience with a newbie

No response?
172 view, no answers :-/. Guys tell me: Is it due to the length of the text? Is it something else? I could split it up in several questions, but I though that this would be unwanted.
And I will be thankful for every help on either of the bold buzzwords, it is not like you need to comment on everything

Must have for me: correct timestamps when moving or copying files using TC. Only possible with root.
Unlock only: yes makes sense. Unlock is the part where you lose all data, and then you can use fastboot boot to make backup. Rooting itself should not lose any data, so it is advantageous to unlock early. Root has time.
Lost functionality: on most devices using Magisk 12 you can pass SafetyNet, which means you can use Android pay, play Pokemon go etc, but the apps trying to detect root/unlocked devices get changed and may not work anymore at some time. Probably you will have lost this possibility when starting with unlocked bootloader and need to install Magisk to get green SafetyNet. Magisk hides the unlocked bootloader.
OTA: do a backup of boot partition before rooting, do no modifications on other partitions than data, cache and boot and you should be fine restoring boot partition to do OTA. It's easy to overlook some app using root to write system, logo, recovery, something, but backup should help. Or install complete firmware, then OTA is possible again.
Note: I do not have the device, just saw the questions which have the same answers for all current Motorola Android devices - you may search in general forums or forums for similar devices for answers

OTA updates: if you are rooted you have tempered with the system partition and therefore ota are not easily installed
Encryption:it is possible to wipe the phone and use if you are unlocked
Backup functionality Google already does backup some settings natively. you can still do an adb backup even without root
Safety: if they are techies they know how to access files via twrp etc. but worst thing is they just wipe it and use the phone
Root Functionality: root gives some apps access to the system partition which is not possible normaly. if you installe some dubious app which wants access to root to mess with your system you are lost.
Unlock Bootloader only: you need to unlock the phone to root it. by unlocking your phone is wiped clean. than you can root it. the advantage of installing twrp are the "easy backups" and installing custom roms or even root. there are no real advantages or disadvantages anymore. earlier you had to unlock/root/install custom rom to have some extra functionalities but android did mature and has most functions built in
Root Must Have: there may be some system limits which you can bypass with root like headphne volume limit, reading wifi passwords or/and having systemwide adblock. I personally do not see a benefit anymore. I used to root for having system-wide adblock but I can achieve it with rootless apps like adguard.
Feature Loss: you will lose android pay. you can not use some apps like mario run or pokemon go. you will lose OTA feature.
Third Party Trust: actually I dont know. with the custom rom base growing I only trust official lineageOS as it is review by many people before building. therefore the chance is reduced to have some spyware feature in it

I too would like to know, has the source code to ANY custom ROMs been reviewed by third party to verify no malicious code?
Although I worry that some ROMs could violate my data privacy, root is something that I simply cannot willingly go without - if I don't have root access, it's simply not *MY* phone, it's a phone that is configured to someone else's [some company's] desires and priorities.
I'm disappointed that the built in tethering does an "entitlement" check - AFAIK it's actually illegal (or, at least against contracts the companies signed with the FCC) for the cell phone provider to attempt to control what a user does with their allotted amount of cell data. Yes, the cell provider company can decide how MUCH data you are allowed based on what plan you pay for, but they are not supposed to restrict HOW you use YOUR data. Therefore, I demand unrestricted "tethering" from any smart phone that I use.
There are other apps I like to use that require root access: Root file explorers, Titanium Backup, Smarter WiFi Manager, Greenify/Servicely etc., but most of all, I CANNOT STAND the intrusive obnoxious awful ads which seem to be prevalent these days! A good ad blocker is an absolute must! The blame rests squarely on the shoulders of the websites which allow such awful advertisements such as "pop behind" windows and particularly, ads which cause the web page scroll to constantly keep jumping away from what you are trying to read making the site basically unusable. There is also lately a prevalence of "click bait" ads/links which brings you to malicious/obnoxious websites which popup dialogs trying to stop you from closing the web page or navigate away - they put up big flashing red letters and say things like "We have detected a virus on your computer do not close this window or your passwords will be stolen and your data lost" and when you try to close the page it keeps popping up a dialog making it difficult. Sorry, but, such ads simply can't be tolerated - even this [xda] website sometimes has unpleasant ads, or at least there were times when I really regretted turning off my ad blocker when visiting this site in the past, that is for sure!
I usually use a "custom ROM", I miss exposed very much, but, I suspect there are too many malwares in the xposed repository these days? (I'm not sure of this, just suspicious).
I like to be able to change the color of my status bar clock to green and position it in the center as that is easier for me to use (see it quickly when I want). However, the standard launcher is far too limited in how customizable it is, so I use a combination of Nova Prime (requires root for some features) and Chronos Weather/Clock/Calendar widget which puts a larger clock right in the upper middle of my desktop so I turn off the status bar clock (Nova Prime feature, one that requires root).
Oh, and I like to use a custom "System Font", I'm not sure if we can do that without root? It really makes the phone feel like MY phone and look (and operate) how I want it to.

critofur said:
[...]
I'm disappointed that the built in tethering does an "entitlement" check - AFAIK it's actually illegal (or, at least against contracts the companies signed with the FCC) for the cell phone provider to attempt to control what a user does with their allotted amount of cell data. Yes, the cell provider company can decide how MUCH data you are allowed based on what plan you pay for, but they are not supposed to restrict HOW you use YOUR data. Therefore, I demand unrestricted "tethering" from any smart phone that I use.
There are other apps I like to use that require root access: Root file explorers, Titanium Backup, Smarter WiFi Manager, Greenify/Servicely etc., but most of all, I CANNOT STAND the intrusive obnoxious awful ads which seem to be prevalent these days! A good ad blocker is an absolute must! [...]
[...]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you explain the entitlement check a little further? Does it mean that with the current Android version and an unrooted/locked G5 plus it is impossible to use the Smartphone Mobile data connection, e.g. on a notebook via wifi tethering? This would be a real argument to root.
Did you try adguard, as ckret suggested? Is there a huge difference between an adblocker with root or an adblocker like adguard without root on the phone? I basically assume that with nougat it is possible to grant apps access to almost anything (except for root) - including to block features other apps use, e.g. advertisements. But I am actually not sure.
Maybe ckret knows more on this aspect, as he seems to know both adblock concepts - the rooted and the unrooted one with adguard?

Comparing DNS66 (local DNS server without root) with adaway (root):
+ You can select blocking per app with DNS66, adaway modifies hosts file which always is valid for all apps and system services
- You can not use another VPN while DNS66 is active
- You need to disable VPN under Nougat while using Download Manager (bug in Nougat, for all VPN services)
Personally I have root, but use DNS66. I don't need adblock when connecting to my computer at home (that's when I need to use another VPN) and am using Marshmallow ATM, but probably would continue using DNS66 when on Nougat. For PlayStore there is a workaround implemented, and if some download fails I'd know I need to disable VPN.
This is why I only said Total Commander copying timestamp is my only real killer app (besides Titanium Backup) which makes me need root. Android O is supposed to change the behavior implementing SDCardFS which shall allow setting timestamp without root.

sky-head said:
Could you explain the entitlement check a little further? Does it mean that with the current Android version and an unrooted/locked G5 plus it is impossible to use the Smartphone Mobile data connection, e.g. on a notebook via wifi tethering? This would be a real argument to root.
Did you try adguard, as ckret suggested? Is there a huge difference between an adblocker with root or an adblocker like adguard without root on the phone? I basically assume that with nougat it is possible to grant apps access to almost anything (except for root) - including to block features other apps use, e.g. advertisements. But I am actually not sure.
Maybe ckret knows more on this aspect, as he seems to know both adblock concepts - the rooted and the unrooted one with adguard?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
adaway:
adaway replaces the hosts file in your system with a custom hosts file which redirects some requests to 127.0.0.1 which results in ads not being shown
since it is deeplevel change of the hosts file the app requires root to change the file
pro:
* ads are blocked when resources are requested
* it is system-wide and everything is checked on demand
con:
* system slows down with big hosts file as every request must be checked everytime a site/app is opened
* if a wrong request is blocked your app/site might not show/work at all since it is a system-wide check
adguard:
this app has two different ways of blocking ads
vpn: a local vpn server is created on the system and all requests are rerouted through it. works the same way as adaway but without a root access.
pro:
* rootless method
* you can create a bypass for different sites/apps
con:
* you can not use a 2nd vpn connection while the app is active
* it may use a bit more battery as it creates a server but this should be negligible
proxy: this is nearly the same as vpn just you should be able to use a vpn connection
so big pro and con for me is that i do not have to reroute all apps through the adblock check
important apps (banking e.g.) are free to use the connection without being rerouted.

I know it might seem like a stupid question, but how often (and for which reason) do you use/need a(nother) VPN connection?
Does this also mean things like tethering or a WLAN access like eduroam - or is this something different?
I am actually not sure if I ever needed VPN on my smartphone

sky-head said:
I know it might seem like a stupid question, but how often (and for which reason) do you use/need a(nother) VPN connection?
Does this also mean things like tethering or a WLAN access like eduroam - or is this something different?
I am actually not sure if I ever needed VPN on my smartphone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you need a vpn connection if you want to access the intranet without being physically there
e.g. intranet of a company to access emails or if you are a student and got some special tool/e.g. which can only be accessed through the university connection
most times you will only use vpn on a notebook or pc but I hardly doubt most people will use it on their phones

ckret said:
you need a vpn connection if you want to access the intranet without being physically there
e.g. intranet of a company to access emails or if you are a student and got some special tool/e.g. which can only be accessed through the university connection
most times you will only use vpn on a notebook or pc but I hardly doubt most people will use it on their phones
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
... exactly what I was thinking about it. I've never been needing a VPN on my phone. On the notebook I need it on a regular basis, thats true.
I should have been asking "I know it might seem like a stupid question, but how often (and for which reason) do you use/need a(nother) VPN connection on your smartphone?", to state my question more precisely.

Using AVM Fritzbox as router makes it possible to use the standard phone via SIP. This only does work when you're in your intranet, directly or via VPN. Also I need to access my documents on my computer, my media library at home, to configure the router and more and therefore I use VPN on a regular basis. Yes, I do these things using the smartphone. But when using VPN, I do not need adblock.

How to make Dns66 to work on MIUI?

Is there a way to make Dns66 properly/usefully work on MIUI?
I've set all kinds of settings I could imagine - as on screenshots, but cannot make it to work:
- Dns66 does not autostart on (re)boot, I must manually start the app and start its VPN
- When screen isblocked and later unlocked, I must again manually reopen Dns66 and manually restart its VPN
Etc.
Huawei' EMUI is e.g. also very picky but yet, Dns66 can be easily (with the same/similar settings) made to work there, and without root:
- Dns66 autostarts on (re)boot and establishes its VPN for DNS
- Dns66 is not running (as an app in the background), only its service runs
- If Dns66 app is started and killed, its service still continues to run
- When screen locks, its VPN closes, but once screen is unlocked, Dns66 automatically re-stablishes its VPN
- When connection breaks and later re-establishes, Dns66 reopens its VPN
The whole point of Dns66 is that it does not require root (on 'normal' phones) - unlike e.g. AdAway (which needs root), so is it possible to make Dns66 to work also on this Xiaomi's EMUI?
Btw, the advantage of Dns66 is not only that it does not require root - it can be also easily stopped/restarted, while stopping AdAway requires to restart the phone; and restarting it requires to update all hosts sources and again to restart the phone
Moreover, with Dns66 you can whitelist URLs (allowing a particular URL blocked by proceeding hosts sources, but for all apps) and also apps (allowing all the otherwise blocked URLs, but for a particular app), whereas with AdAway you can only whitelist URLs

I always used DNS66 on Samsung phones but when I switched to Xiaomi it stopped working, always got Google ads.
I decided to switch to Adguard.
In case of, I suggest to use only stable or beta builds because the nightly ones are often battery eaters.

I had the same problem with dns66. You can use blokada and it works very good. Completely free and no "premium" features

rms112 said:
I had the same problem with dns66. You can use blokada and it works very good. Completely free and no "premium" features
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Blokada 'works' - showing green, but it doesn't really block me from ads.
With Dns66 I can define several host sources, with Blokada only one DNS server can be enabled - so which one should I use to get me free of ads and analytics?
Tried AdGiard and AdGuard Family - I see the ads
I want with Blokada (if possible) something to be of the same/similar level of protection like when using Blu or Basic EnergizedPtitection hosts sources with Dns66 (or with AdAway - currently cannot use AdAway since I didn't root my Xiaomi yet):
https://block.energized.pro/blu/formats/hosts.txt
https://block.energized.pro/basic/formats/hosts.txt

rms112 said:
I had the same problem with dns66. You can use blokada and it works very good. Completely free and no "premium" features
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried Blokada Slim (as available on Playstore), but it's not the real ad blocker
Edit: Checking now Blokada Open source edition

zgfg said:
Blokada 'works' - showing green, but it doesn't really block me from ads.
With Dns66 I can define several host sources, with Blokada only one DNS server can be enabled - so which one should I use to get me free of ads and analytics?
Tried AdGiard and AdGuard Family - I see the ads
I want with Blokada (if possible) something to be of the same/similar level of protection like when using Blu or Basic EnergizedPtitection hosts sources with Dns66 (or with AdAway - currently cannot use AdAway since I didn't root my Xiaomi yet):
https://block.energized.pro/blu/formats/hosts.txt
https://block.energized.pro/basic/formats/hosts.txt
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never seen ads with Adguard.
It works like a charm.

giodeluigi said:
Never seen ads with Adguard.
It works like a charm.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As you cited above, I was talking about using AdGuard DNS server in Blokada Slim (not about using AdGuard apk) - and that didn't block ads
And with Blokada Open Source edition, nothing better than with DNs66 - although I enabled Autostart, I must still manually start Blokada on each reboot and leave it working in the background to get it blocking ads
Seems the real problem is in Xiaomi/MIUI (on Huawei, also Android 9, Dns66 can automatically start its invisible service on reboot, restart after every Airplane, without the need to manually start the app)

zgfg said:
As you cited above, I was talking about using AdGuard DNS server in Blokada Slim (not about using AdGuard apk) - and that didn't block ads
And with Blokada Open Source edition, nothing better than with DNs66 - although I enabled Autostart, I must still manually start Blokada on each reboot and leave it working in the background to get it blocking ads
Seems the real problem is in Xiaomi/MIUI (on Huawei, also Android 9, Dns66 can automatically start its invisible service on reboot, restart after every Airplane, without the need to manually start the app)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can also use private Adguard DNS without the need of any third part adblocking app.

giodeluigi said:
You can also use private Adguard DNS without the need of any third part adblocking app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course
But anyway, thanks for all the tips, unfortunately none of them provides complete solution for what I was asking for.
I will install the good old AdAway.
I would already root, but it takes a week first to unlock Bootloader
In the meantime, @mods please close the thread

Thread closed at op's request.
strongst
Forum Moderator

OTA update block with AdAway (no root)

Edit: WARNING A few reports of AdAway temporarily stopping the service. You could possibly double up with Adguard or a similar connection blocker. But it's not going to be 100%. Router blocking or a Pi-Hole setup is going to be more secure, so only use this as a temporary measure.
---
I have been able to block FireTV updates using the latest AdAway. It still has the normal rooted method for the lucky folks (edit hosts) but now has VPN "emulation" for those without root. This supposedly uses "VPN API but does not connect to a VPN server" like with editing the DNS but all local to the device. It's open source, on XDA, and has been around forever, so I trust it more than the OpenDNS option.
I don't know how well this works and for how long, but update checks are coming back with errors. It also has a request logger and shows softwareupdates.amazon.com is being triggered & denied. No other domains are checked by the updater after that one fails FWIW.
Latest version 5.11.0
[APP][ROOT/NONROOT][OFFICIAL] AdAway v6.1.0
AdAway AdAway is an open source ad blocker for Android using the hosts file. Google Play Store notice According the Google Play Developer Policy, especially the "Device and Network Abuse" section, ad blocker like AdAway violates the "Apps that...
forum.xda-developers.com
TLDR setup: Sideload it, select the VPN option during setup, let it sync their block lists (mine kept going, so I just force closed and restarted after a few min), add the 5 domains under the router block method here: AFTV, ensure it's set to autostart in preferences. I also turned on "monitor connection" and IPv6 support but may not be needed. Restart.
INSTALL / SETUP​
Sideload it
Select the VPN option during first run. I had to use my remote w/cursor but may be able to get around this if you just click ok after moving around a bit or force close it and can get it to start up w/out setup.
Let it sync their default block lists. Mine kept going, so I force closed AdAway after a few minutes.
ADDING AMAZON UPDATE DOMAINS​On the main page, select "Blocked" at the top. Add these from the AFTV article then hit APPLY.
d1s31zyz7dcc2d.cloudfront.net
amzdigital-a.akamaihd.net
amzdigitaldownloads.edgesuite.net
softwareupdates.amazon.com
updates.amazon.com
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Click to collapse
If there are any more, please share. This seems to do the trick though, and the built-in logger doesn't show any other connections triggered when softwareupdates.amazon.com fails. If this prevents another app from working, you can add the app to the exclude list in preferences.
PREFERENCES​
Go to Preferences (bottom left) -> click VPN based ad blocker
Make sure it's enabled at startup
I also selected monitor connection and IPv6 support but no idea if its needed
You can exclude apps. Useful if something isn't working OR one of the domains they block by default messes with an app.
Restart the device
Once you're back up, check the notifications and there should be a persistent notification for AdAway, showing it is active. Go check for an update in the FireTV settings. It should show a connection error.
OPTIONAL AUTOMATION​If you're super paranoid and want to get fancy, AdAway also responds to external commands. If you use something like Tasker or Automagic, you can send intents to start & stop the service. Example workflow: periodically test the update URLs, if they come back with a normal response then AdAway isn't blocking and probably isn't active, send start service intent.
Automation
AdAway is a free and open source ad blocker for Android. - AdAway/AdAway
github.com

thank you very much, looks like it worked! now i get the update error.
i hope this method will stay, but i cant see why not. nothing will update on the firetv now so it should stay.

5.11 will not install due to an error that it requires newer SDK version in Fire OS 6.2.8.1.

I tried this method with Blokada and it seems to work the same so for people having trouble with AdAway I recommend this app instead.

l_p_4_7 said:
I tried this method with Blokada and it seems to work the same so for people having trouble with AdAway I recommend this app instead.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I have Blokada installed in Nox from a few weeks ago and it works great. I had forgotten about it since I only used it for blocking the VM ads and it didn't occur to me that I could also use it for the FS4K.

l_p_4_7 said:
I tried this method with Blokada and it seems to work the same so for people having trouble with AdAway I recommend this app instead.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for the info, i tried adaway one my first firetv cube and it works great, but on my second one somehow it adaway doesnt use a VPN. will give blokada a try.
is there anything special to mind when using blokada?

I just added the domains listed above to the blocked hosts list and then excluded a few apps that might be affected by the VPN (I've excluded YouTube, Plex and Kodi). I haven't noticed any other problems so far.

some feedback:
adaway seems to not autostart anymore on my devices, so i switched completely to blockada.
Blockada seems to work fine now and also autostarts.
Time to set up a pihole it seems.

Codiox said:
some feedback:
adaway seems to not autostart anymore on my devices, so i switched completely to blockada.
Blockada seems to work fine now and also autostarts.
Time to set up a pihole it seems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah unfortunately I think it's having problems for me as well. I caught it mid-update today. Got the pihole planned for this weekend. But all this effort just to use the launcher we want... No idea how the devs here stay motivated to stick around.

psymsi said:
Yeah unfortunately I think it's having problems for me as well. I caught it mid-update today. Got the pihole planned for this weekend. But all this effort just to use the launcher we want... No idea how the devs here stay motivated to stick around.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually i just set up the pihole last night, was really easy following a tutorial and it works great.
I recommend using RaspberryOS light without a Desktop. With this the RaspPi only uses about 1-3% CPU and like 5MB RAM while operating.
i used an old RaspPi 1B+ i bought back in 2012.

l_p_4_7 said:
I tried this method with Blokada and it seems to work the same so for people having trouble with AdAway I recommend this app instead.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you enter those 5 lines in blocked hosts in Blokada? Or where did you enter them? Someone on another posts mentioned they entered them in the blocked hosts so i did the same but it did not work or block updates.