Database Users

New to Note, need advice picking a P600 ROM

So, I finally decided to upgrade from my old Xoom. It's been great, and still is, but I just got my tax refund and I haven't scratched my new-tech itch in several months. Been looking at this tab for a while because, simply put, it appears to be the best one out there. So when I saw it a couple days ago, I ordered the 32gb Groupon deal online for $425. Now, I'm usually a hardcore CyanogenMod fan, but looks like there's some fun stuff in TouchWiz to play around with on this tab. So I need a KNOX-free TW ROM, with the Samsung apps, but preferably no other bloat. And as many enhancements to the functionality as possible, mainly stuff to tweak and customize. Basically, I want AOSP, but with TW functionality. Obviously that's not entirely possible, so what's the closest I can get? I know I could use Xposed to get *PARTIAL* TW functionality on AOSP, but I want the full experience.
(PS: Also, if anyone wants to share the best way to root, I'd appreciate that too, although I could find it myself. I'm lazy =P)
(PPS: Oh, and I'd appreciate kernel suggestions as well.)

NickWhit1992 said:
So, I finally decided to upgrade from my old Xoom. It's been great, and still is, but I just got my tax refund and I haven't scratched my new-tech itch in several months. Been looking at this tab for a while because, simply put, it appears to be the best one out there. So when I saw it a couple days ago, I ordered the 32gb to play around with on this tab. So I need a KNOX-free TW ROM, with the Samsung apps, but preferably no other bloat. And as many enhancements to the functionality as possible, mainly stuff to tweak and customize. Basically, I want AOSP, but with TW functionality. Obviously that's not entirely possible, so what's the closest I can get? I know I could use Xposed to get *PARTIAL* TW functionality on AOSP, but I want the full experience.
(PS: Also, if anyone wants to share the best way to root, I'd appreciate that too, although I could find it myself. I'm lazy =P)
(PPS: Oh, and I'd appreciate kernel suggestions as well.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Personally I always end up going back to CleanROM. On my note 2 I flashed probably around 30 different roms.. And even now I have CleanROM on both devices. As far as AOSP and TW, I'd much rather have TW over AOSP if it's actually smooth.
My vote/suggestion is CleanROM/bindroid with both GMD gesture control apps installed.

+1 for clean rom. Been running it for a couple days along with some xposed modules and definitely loving it.

Im using clean rom with bindroid kernal. Clean rom was great then bindroid took it to the next level. I really want to try megablast since the maker's kernal was amazing

Cleanrom with bindroid is a great combo. Word to the wise though, several of the xposed tweaks are incompatible and create big issues. Coming from an HP Touchpad, the note is great. I did like the AOSP roms on a tablet, but Samsung did it right.
Sent from behind your couch while chillin with the Boogeyman!

Looks like I'm going with CleanROM with the Bindroid kernel, then. Appreciate the advice, fellas.
siralsmooth said:
Word to the wise though, several of the xposed tweaks are incompatible and create big issues.
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Click to collapse
Any specific ones you know of that I need to avoid? I have a ton on my S3, but being as old as it is, I've only got a few on my Xoom, didn't wanna bog it down. I was kinda looking forward to loading up the Note, because it can handle it. Currently I'm running BootManager, Network Speed Indicator, SnapShare, and the Xposed Preference Injector on the Xoom, but I wanted to add CrappaLinks, Pandora Patcher, XuiMod, and YouTube AdAway to those for the Note, and then play around with other mods.
Edit: Also, I seem to remember reading somewhere that the Aldiko ereader app doesn't play nice on the Note because of the screen rez, I think. Is this true? I've been using Aldiko on my tab and phones for years, along with the Aldiko Sync app to keep everything up to date between devices. Am I gonna have to give up on that now?

Lockscreen mod tweaks cause lockups and crashes. I've tried numerous times to get camera and other Widgets as I have on my note 3 without success. Ad away works great, but anything to do with framework files on touchwiz is picky. Tread carefully.
Sent from behind your couch while chillin with the Boogeyman!

siralsmooth said:
Lockscreen mod tweaks cause lockups and crashes. I've tried numerous times to get camera and other Widgets as I have on my note 3 without success. Ad away works great, but anything to do with framework files on touchwiz is picky. Tread carefully.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
10-4. Guess I'll just activate mods one at a time, and see if anything messes up. If so, I can just flash my ROM again, should overwrite Xposed, and then avoid whichever mod caused the issues.

Resurrecting the spark Galaxy S5 somehow lost

I feel like my phone got extremely boring and harsh to use day to day, it lacks the initial freshness and stuff like that, it just isn't so fly like it was a few weeks ago. I was wondering if someone could bring up some root tweaks to refresh the user experience, possibly without losing the original rom

main43 said:
I feel like my phone got extremely boring and harsh to use day to day, it lacks the initial freshness and stuff like that, it just isn't so fly like it was a few weeks ago. I was wondering if someone could bring up some root tweaks to refresh the user experience, possibly without losing the original rom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could try installing Xposed installer, it has some nice modules to add looks and fuctionality to the phone.

First, thank you for your quick response.
I already have Wanam and squashed every fancy bit out of it, but it just doesn't feel so alive even through it looks at it best. I would apprecciate if someone could acknowledge some tweaks that can do things like gesture swiping between multitasked applications, like in chrome for android and its tabs, or as it was on old iPhones with some tweaks from Cydia.

I feel the same way too. Unfortunately, the phone really was well made and Android has come a long way. There aren't many things to really mod.
Even the kernels aren't important as much because the battery life is far superior to previous Samsung phones.
The only reason I use a custom kernel is for the fast charge.

A potential bug for installing xposed is S Health not working(can work through build prop edit ) and air gestures not working at all.

Air gestures work well with mine, i thought something should be worked out with the basic framework, like they did with the volume panel when you increase or decrease the volume, it moves smoothly now, not in small cut steps like on previous firmwares. Small bits like that add to the experience and when they are composed good, it can turn out very well. Aah if i could work in some UI development..

I love that you came up with this thread! I have been feeling the same way. Got everything pretty close to how I like it between rooting and many xposed mods. Don't really want to accept that maybe I don't need to constantly be on XDA finding new tweaks to try. I guess with my previous S3 I got so used to all the custom roms I could play with that would each feel a little different. I think a big problem with the xposed mods is that once you have found and used them they are pretty much always available whatever ROM you use as long as you have root. Once you have found that particular module and enjoyed its unique abilities it becomes an expected part of your experience from then on. And now most of them can do almost all the same things as the most feature rich custom Roms. Thankfully it looks like CM is finally starting to roll out for the S5 and hopefully the usual suspects and some surprise Roms will pop up. Unfortunately I've already played with almost all of the CM11 based ones on my S3 already so I think there will not be a whole lot of freshness there. Oh poor me! Bring on Android L!
Tapped It!

I hope something will be done with system physics and touch picking behaviour, i love Android and would love it to have the same feel like iPhone when scrolling etc. Try it and you will know what i mean. And i know it is very possible even with an open OS like Android so shut up and develop the fresh out of it.

New user to Samsung products Note 4

I've been using the nexus since it has came out, Since my nexus 5 is slowing dying with the mic/speaker and display port always unplugging it self(common problem over time). I've decided to get a note 4 off my friend, the main problem I have with it is all the bloat ware and the notification tab being so weird compared to the stock android experience I had with the Nexus. What have you guys done to get used to the phone being new to it, Is there stuff I can to do to it to make more Androidie I guess?

So many answers to your questions.
You could flash CM and basically make it a nexus.
Or
You could flash any of the multitude of TW based ROMs that have different themes /features, many of which customize the notification and quick toggle area.
Or
You can run a debloater script and just uninstall all the crap you don't use or need.

Themes on Note 4 stock android?

Hey all,
Need a new Android phone and I think the Note 4 is the way to go, I've had one before and I enjoyed it but that was a while ago. Note 5 doesn't have the removal battery that I need.
I hate the Samsung theme though it's so ugly, so is there any way I can change it easily to something stock android looking with a custom rom?
Thanks

jameslfc5 said:
Hey all,
Need a new Android phone and I think the Note 4 is the way to go, I've had one before and I enjoyed it but that was a while ago. Note 5 doesn't have the removal battery that I need.
I hate the Samsung theme though it's so ugly, so is there any way I can change it easily to something stock android looking with a custom rom?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
offtopic- don't buy a note 4 its has aged now ....camera isn't too good and it lags.

jameslfc5 said:
Hey all,
Need a new Android phone and I think the Note 4 is the way to go, I've had one before and I enjoyed it but that was a while ago. Note 5 doesn't have the removal battery that I need.
I hate the Samsung theme though it's so ugly, so is there any way I can change it easily to something stock android looking with a custom rom?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I love my Note 4 so I would highly recommend it. The Note 5 is a total deal-breaker for me with no removable battery and no SD card slot either. The mind boggles with those choices by Samsung. Anyway, I totally support the move to the Note 4. It is a damn fine phone. Although the second poster is right, the camera can tend to lag. But personally, it's not a big issue for me. In fact, I've just upgraded to an S7 so we can sell it and get a Note 4 for my best friend. That's how much we love this model.
As for theme changing, the easiest way to do that is to just load a launcher onto your device. Even the best launchers have free options.
My top 3 favourite Launchers are Nova, Apex and LINE Launchers.
If you prefer fancy widgets and 3D options, look at Go Launcher or Next Launcher. But they are riddled with ads for their other products.
You will find a lot more options available through a Launcher in terms of customising your device to look and feel how you want it to. For most, it's as simple as downloading a theme and activating it through your launcher settings. Very easy and straight forward.

You don't need a custom ROM for that, http://forum.xda-developers.com/android/apps-games/official-layers-bitsyko-apps-rro-t3012172
And this is one of the best time to buy Note 4 by the way, price is low, camera is still solid, one of the fastest I have used, don't know exactly how much faster the camera on the Note 5 is to call Note 4 camera laggy and slow!, but it is irrelevant to me, can't ever touch a mess of greasy glass nuisance.

Anthro.Girl said:
I love my Note 4 so I would highly recommend it. The Note 5 is a total deal-breaker for me with no removable battery and no SD card slot either. The mind boggles with those choices by Samsung. Anyway, I totally support the move to the Note 4. It is a damn fine phone. Although the second poster is right, the camera can tend to lag. But personally, it's not a big issue for me. In fact, I've just upgraded to an S7 so we can sell it and get a Note 4 for my best friend. That's how much we love this model.
As for theme changing, the easiest way to do that is to just load a launcher onto your device. Even the best launchers have free options.
My top 3 favourite Launchers are Nova, Apex and LINE Launchers.
If you prefer fancy widgets and 3D options, look at Go Launcher or Next Launcher. But they are riddled with ads for their other products.
You will find a lot more options available through a Launcher in terms of customising your device to look and feel how you want it to. For most, it's as simple as downloading a theme and activating it through your launcher settings. Very easy and straight forward.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks everyone for your comments.
Anthro- I am receiving my Note 4 today and need it for a long plane journey so I can have a removable battery and keep a spare, also I want the SD card function to switch between the phone and my GoPro on holiday. Hopefully with a ROM like Dr.Keaton it will be fast and smooth. As for the theme advice, thanks for that but I like a full theme which themes the full system like the setting and pull down menu etc. I am sure Iw ill figure this all out tonight when playing with my phone.
I may consider the Note 5 in the future but I can't seem to get one in the UK at the minute.
Thanks again

New S10+ owner looking for setup recommending (came from iPhone)

Greetings android users! I am reaching out to XDA community for some advice on my new S10+ setup, configurations, and some do's and don'ts.
I have been a long time Apple user (since the first original iPhone), but lately the lack of innovation from Tim Cook has been pushing me away. Anyways, when Samsung announced the S10+ with One UI, I was hooked! I picked up my first android device on Friday and have been greatly enjoying the it!
Now, at this time, I have not installed any apps from Google Play store as I have been reading many different things that others are doing to remove Google and Samsung from the phone. I looked around on reddit and various forums for setup guides, what apps to remove/block, and recommendations that iPhone users should do when moving to android. However, I have not come across a guide/list with the various things people have done.
Lastly, I read that many android users have done one of two things. One, some folks do not use the Google Play store to install any apps to bypass Google's analytics. by installing all apps manually. In addition to this, folks are blocking anything google and Samsung related. Secondly, I read that some users are flashing their device and installing custom roms to completely remove anything related to google and Samsung and will install the apps manually.
Based on this information and coming from iPhone, what are your recommendations? Should I not use the Google Play store and install the apps manually? If so, where and how would I go about it? Should I just block Google and Samsung in general to prevent any invasion of privacy and from gaining analytics? Or, should I flash and use a custom rom?
Any advice you can provide would be really helpful! Thanks in advance for reading my post.

I switch from back and forth from iOS and Android all the time. There are certain things you'll come to appreciate about each.
The good news for you is that the there isn't a huge difference in how android (ahem - specifically samung for the past couple years) performs in terms of fluidity and responsiveness. During the early days this was horrendous, and don't let any fanboys tell you different. With the S10, I find myself not having to play the disable/remove apps/features game like before (out of habit I did anyway lol). This means you can really just start enjoying things as is, without having to worry about the best performance. - so far at least.
WIth that said, if you're new to the platform, I'd start with the basics of getting familar with the OS and apps. If you ever run into a situation where you think "i don't like that way that works/feels/looks" figure out how to change it. That's the one of the best parts about android honestly. And since you found your way over to XDA, sometimes it can seem like a never ending game. It seems like the days of custom roms may be slowly coming to an end, but in a way it's a good thing because the phones are so good out of the box now.
Probably not what you wanted to hear, but it's the truth imo.
If you're looking on how to some ideas on where to start from there -
-Play with a different launcher (i love nova premium)
-Figure out which widgets do what you want - you can take this really far into customization if you look at different homescreen setups... the rabbit hole can go pretty deep
-Find the right app for certain things so you don't have to live with double or triple of the same thing (calendar/messaging/keyboard for example)
I wouldn't worry about much else for now. Keep reading the boards, and you'll figure out how things go. Back in the days we used to have to flash custom roms sometimes weekly to try and get good performing, stable devices with great battery life. Then it moved to disabling a bunch of **** we didn't use, and now it's fine so far as is.
Oh and while you can prevent some apps from collecting data about you, in the bigger picture, there's nothing you can do about it. Ask marketing people who are into big data, we are all already profiled. If you don't want data collected, you gotta disconnect, go move to the woods and live off the land.

Danslides1 said:
I switch from back and forth from iOS and Android all the time. There are certain things you'll come to appreciate about each.
The good news for you is that the there isn't a huge difference in how android (ahem - specifically samung for the past couple years) performs in terms of fluidity and responsiveness. During the early days this was horrendous, and don't let any fanboys tell you different. With the S10, I find myself not having to play the disable/remove apps/features game like before (out of habit I did anyway lol). This means you can really just start enjoying things as is, without having to worry about the best performance. - so far at least.
WIth that said, if you're new to the platform, I'd start with the basics of getting familar with the OS and apps. If you ever run into a situation where you think "i don't like that way that works/feels/looks" figure out how to change it. That's the one of the best parts about android honestly. And since you found your way over to XDA, sometimes it can seem like a never ending game. It seems like the days of custom roms may be slowly coming to an end, but in a way it's a good thing because the phones are so good out of the box now.
Probably not what you wanted to hear, but it's the truth imo.
If you're looking on how to some ideas on where to start from there -
-Play with a different launcher (i love nova premium)
-Figure out which widgets do what you want - you can take this really far into customization if you look at different homescreen setups... the rabbit hole can go pretty deep
-Find the right app for certain things so you don't have to live with double or triple of the same thing (calendar/messaging/keyboard for example)
I wouldn't worry about much else for now. Keep reading the boards, and you'll figure out how things go. Back in the days we used to have to flash custom roms sometimes weekly to try and get good performing, stable devices with great battery life. Then it moved to disabling a bunch of **** we didn't use, and now it's fine so far as is.
Oh and while you can prevent some apps from collecting data about you, in the bigger picture, there's nothing you can do about it. Ask marketing people who are into big data, we are all already profiled. If you don't want data collected, you gotta disconnect, go move to the woods and live off the land.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the information. I find the OneUI very fluid and responsiveness - I also find the colors more vivid than my iPhone XS MAX. I remember when some of my friends had the older galaxy and pixels phones they would complain about how it slows down over time, while my iPhone would be running strong. However, I have encountered several issues with black screen and freezing on my iPhone XS Max.
The customization is really nice on the S10+. Honestly, it feels great to be able to make theme changes and different customization to my phone in order to make it more personal to me! That is one thing I was also "jealous" about and wished the iPhones had - everyone's phone looks the same!
Makes sense about the custom roms. Not having any knowledge about them I wasn't sure if it was the way to go. Based on what you're saying they are slowly coming to an end, so I guess I won't need to worry about it.
You mentioned "Find the right app for certain things so you don't have to live with double or triple of the same thing (calendar/messaging/keyboard for example)". Do you have any app recommendations I could start with? Also, do you use the default google mail app, or is there a better one that I should use?

Best email app is AquaMail
Nothing much when you install it first. But once you experiment with its options you'll find an ocean of possibilities.
When finally set up it is a powerful monster.

I've gotta agree with Aquamail. I've tried a lot of email apps and stuck with this one. The developer regularly updates the app and responds to problems.

tiho5 said:
Best email app is AquaMail
Nothing much when you install it first. But once you experiment with its options you'll find an ocean of possibilities.
When finally set up it is a powerful monster.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tel864 said:
I've gotta agree with Aquamail. I've tried a lot of email apps and stuck with this one. The developer regularly updates the app and responds to problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you both for the recommendation.

@Tel864 and @tiho5 when setting up Aquamail for the first time, do you use the connect feature for "Connet a Gmail account from the phone's Settings" or setup manual?

Curlypx said:
Do you have any app recommendations I could start with? Also, do you use the default google mail app, or is there a better one that I should use?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's stuff I'm playing with at the moment
Gcam (grab from the s10 themes and apps forum)
Gboard keyboard, I used to use swiftkey
I haven't decided on Textra or the Google messages app yet
Fluid navigation gestures
Goodlock (using the task switcher and multitasking app)
Other stuff I suggest to check out
Nova launcher prime
Zooper or KWGT widgets
I use chrome beta as my browser, but I love kiwi. Id switch to kiwi of it would sync with my chrome stuff
The rabbit hole is insanely deep. You can get lost in the apps available here on xda alone. Install a bunch and delete a bunch. The fun part is whenever you get board with your phone, enough time will have passed for new stuff to come out. Keeps it interesting.

1. Bluemail - Playstore
2. Nicelock- Playstore
3. ES File Explorer- Playstore
4. Screen Lock- Playstore
5. GBInsta- Alternate Instagram with customised options- Google it
6. Tubemate- Customised YouTube- Google it
7. Fildo- Music- Google it
8. Navbar Apps- Playstore
9. Phone Info- Playstore
10.SMS Backup and Restore- Playstore
11.Zedge Ringtones- Playstore
12 Waze - Navigation- Playstore
13. Team Blackout APK- Google it. It's trusted. Will give you black Telegram etc.
14. XDA Labs
Sent from my Samsung SM-G975F using XDA Labs

ashishpmb said:
13. Team Blackout APK- Google it. It's trusted. Will give you black Telegram etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Black telegram? Telegram has a dark mode?
Does it also manage to blacken WhatsApp?

Hey there, you might want to check my guide for power optimisation basics, I didn't go in depth with specific apps since it really depends on user requirements/tastes and on date.
If you have doubts about two similar apps but can't decide just google a "A Vs B Reddit", it's the fastest way to hear honest reviews that aren't bought.
For basic phone functions, prioritize Samsung apps over Google ones unless the function is strictly related to a specific Google service such as Drive, I find Samsung apps to be way more polished and seamless than Google ones.