Related
Let me start by introducing myself. I'm the new owner of a Droid 2 Global (but I'm posting in Plain Droid 2 General, because the distinction has no relevance for my questions).
I previously owned an HTC Titan (which I left stock, which is unusual for me). Before that I had an HTC Apache, which I customized heavily, back in the day when XDA only covered HTC WinMo phones. I was even customizing ROMs, although not at a particularly advanced level. I mostly followed other forums, but many of the important utilities used originated here.
But enough of the old history. I now have the D2G. Relative to the tiny low resolution screen of my WinMo phones, this was a real upgrade .
So the first thing I did was root the phone, and installed Fission. I've also installed various apps I've seen recommended, and am wanting to hear any suggestions people have for other apps.
I'm no interested in most of the things that top many "must-have apps" lists, like social networking apps, and I'm especially interested in knowing about interesting obscure apps, but I could still have missed some interesting mainstream apps.
I'm including an annotated list of my currently installed (non-rom) apps.
Thanks for any suggestions!
Current Apps:
Adobe Flash Player 10.1 (com.adoble.flashplayer)
Adobe Reader (com.adobe.reader)
AudioManager (com.smartandroid.audiowidget) I'm not particularly happy about this app's widgets being refreshed by polling, rather than by somehow subscribing to the volume change events. Is there a similar root-only app hat works like that?
Barcode Scanner (com.google.zxing.client.android)
Compass (com.apksoftware.compass)
Dolphin Browser HD (mobi.mgeek.TunnyBrowser)
Droid 2 Bootstrapper (com.koushikdutta.droid2.bootstrap)
Earth (com.google.earth)
eSpeak TTS (com.marvin.espeak)
Fission Rom Manager Lite (br.romdownloader)
GMail (com.google.android.gm) Fission omits this since it is on the market
Goggles (com.google.android.apps.unveil) Interesting, albeit not practical
Google Sky Map (com.googl.android.stardroid) A bit more practical
Google Translate (com.google.android.apps.translate)
GPS Test (com.chartcross.gpstest)
Maps (com.google.android.apps.maps) Fission omits this since it is on the market
Root Explorer (com.speedsoftware.rootexplorer)
Shopper (com.google.android.apps.shopper)
Street View (com.google.android.street) Fission omits this since it is on the market
Superuser (com.noshufou.android.su) Downloaded latest version from market, so I am notified of updates
Terminal Emulator (jackpal.androidterm)
Titanium Backup (com.keramidas.TitaniumBackup)
Titanium Backup Pro (com.keramidas.TitaniumBackupPro)
Voice Search (com.google.android.voicesearch) Fission omits this since it is on the market
YouTube (com.google.android.youtube) Fission omits this since it is on the market
Update: Apps I've tried based on suggestions and think that I will stick with (unless I see something better) will be added to the above list, in bold.
Handcent sms. Best text messaging app out there and its free. Launcherpro is also awesome.
Sent from my DROID2 using XDA App
i would get a cpu control app like setcpu, or if you want to overclock go with droid overclock by jrummy, i personally cant use an android phone without fancy widget. i also noticed that there wasnt an xda app in there
orkillakilla said:
Handcent sms. Best text messaging app out there and its free. Launcherpro is also awesome.
Sent from my DROID2 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed, I'd go ADW launcher though
theimpaler747 said:
Agreed, I'd go ADW launcher though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
theres a new version called adw ex and it costs$2.50 but it is SO worth it. so much more customization. i also second handcent sms.
botnryan said:
theres a new version called adw ex and it costs$2.50 but it is SO worth it. so much more customization. i also second handcent sms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have it, and love it as well
Here's some worth checking out:
Google Voice: Google Voice will transcribe your voicemails to text, store them on the web, make them searchable, and allow you to archive them forever. Single most amazing thing to happen to phones since they got data connections. Ignore the rest of this list and get google voice. It's worth the few minutes of setup time.
qik: You can stream video live to the web. I haven't really found a great use for it, but how cool is that?
Dropbox: If you don't use Dropbox on your PC, that's a whole other story I need to tell you about, but there's an app for your android. It syncs your data to the cloud and keeps all your computers in sync with the newest versions.
Google Sky Map: Do you see a constellation? Hold your phone at arms length in front of the stars in question and google sky map will tell you their names, the name of the constellation, and other cool stuff. It's one of those you have to see it to believe it.
Jorte is a much better calendar than the default one. You can put much more useful widgets on the desktop and see the names of your events when you're in monthly or weekly views.
ADW is an awesome launcher (I use it), but Launcher Pro is probably cool too.
Get your bank's mobile banking app. Super useful.
Verizon has an app that shows you your minutes used, txts sent, and data downloaded.
Cool games:
Rocket Bunnies
Mechanics Touch
Robo Defense
Repilica Island
Air Control
Buka
Radiant
Totemo
Feedback on the suggestions: (Updated)
Its really not clear what Handcent SMS gets me over the default provider, especially since I don't use SMS very much. Also if I do decide to go Google Voice in the future, said app becomes somewhat moot, since AIUI only the GV app works well with GV's SMS.
ADW Launcher EX looks interesting. I do have some reservations though. I remember that early on all replacement launchers had issues that varied from effectively locking you out of the phone by breaking (with the breakage surviving restarts), through to eating up battery like crazy. Have those all been pretty well resolved?
The XDA-Developers app has ads, and more importantly does not seem to let me refer back to older posts while composing.
I'm not sure what to make of Dolphin HD. It has ads unless you buy a license, but those ads are hidden away in places like the bookmarks management screen (while the bookmarks sidebar is what you use most of the time). It does support downloading any file even if no app for the format is installed. On the other hand functionality like a password manager is only available in an add-on (and the password manager one is a paid add-on).
I've used both adw and launcher pro, I loved adw but I just didn't find it as stable or as smooth as launcher pro, so I stayed with launcher pro, just a little input for your consideration
Sent from my WICKED FAST Droid 2 Global with fission using XDA app
I'm sure there is someone who will disagree, but I really like Dolphin HD browser. It may be a hair slower than some other browsers, but I really like the bookmarks bar on the left side.
Sent from my DROID2 using XDA App
Some other apps I've found are the miui music app (best music player app I've found) and also the miren browser from the miui rom. Worth checking out and they are free.
Sent from my DROID2 using XDA App
I just downloaded that miren browser, I haven't heard of it. I'm going to have to test it for a while.
Sent from my DROID2 using XDA App
AdFree if you don't like the ads. Cachemate, drocap2. Just some suggestions
Sent from my DROID2 using XDA App
Tried the miren browser. I still prefer dolphin though.
Sent from my DROID2 using XDA App
chompSMS over Handcent for me. Main reason for these is the popup notifications. Saves me from turning on screen, unlocking, dragging down status bar, tapping message, and then being able to read it. Auto lights up screen (20 sec configurable for me) and opens a pop-up window, you can instant-reply there too. Oh and the quick-compose, I map that through the LauncherPro activities feature to search button + P to instantly start composing an SMS.
andChat if you ever need irc
tTorrent Lite looks nice haven't used it just have it installed
K-9 Mail much better than gmail (gmail hogs precious vertical viewing area when in landscape mode)
GTask, enable tasks in google labs on your gmail (if this is still a labs feature and not official now).
MusicJunk: I won't spoil this one for you.
I'd say that's it.
I actually like go sms, its very customizable and has the pop ups like chomp, although I disable them from time to time. And I also found hancent a little buggy, sometimes it wouldn't send my messages, go sms sends them very fast, almost as soon as I hit send.
Sent from my WICKED FAST Droid 2 Global with fission using XDA app
rusty815 said:
I actually like go sms, its very customizable and has the pop ups like chomp, although I disable them from time to time. And I also found hancent a little buggy, sometimes it wouldn't send my messages, go sms sends them very fast, almost as soon as I hit send.
Sent from my WICKED FAST Droid 2 Global with fission using XDA app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
IMO, Go SMS, like most apps, uses too much vertical space. Who needs half an inch for a message ? I wish more would do it like k-9 mail and just make it like 1/4th inch high at the max.
I don't use very many social networking apps and mainly use my phone for media purposes aside from some of the more popular news type apps like Tapatalk, Pulse news reader and stuff here are a few you may be interested in:
Media Apps:
BeyondPod - If you like podcasts this app is amazing. Doggcatcher is pretty good also, but I simply prefer the more minimalist style of BeyondPod.
iSyncr - if you want to sync music from itunes to your phone
PlayerPro - imo this is the best music player for android hands down. its very customizable and has a ton of options and features. If you are interested in trying it check out the Sens skin for it.
RockPlayer - plays literally any video format. Eventually I hope to move to vPlayer, but that isn't all that stable on the Droid 2/X phones atm.
XiiaLive - a shoutcast streaming player with a pretty good interface. I think Winamp may also stream as well.
System/Widget Apps:
LauncherPro - other people have mentioned it. To clarify I have never had a reboot lock problem or any battery drain from it and I have been using it since I got my droid 2 back in the summer (4-5+ months), so I can confidently say it is more than stable and very fast.
Volume Toggle (Free or Pro) - I have been using free for months. Its similar to AudioManager except superior in every way. I am fairly sure it works with system change events in the latest versions of it. If nothing else give it a shot. It has a nice widget you can tap to change profiles and can auto-profile things like the headset. The ads in the free version are so minimal you wouldn't notice them as they only exist down in the profile creation screens so you wouldn't see them 9/10 days.
SimiClock - A great homescreen widget with date/time/weather and a super minimalistic look.
Launch-X (Free or pro) - A pretty neat launcher widget with a decent amount of customization.
Other Interesting Apps:
TippyTipper - easy tip calculator
Urbanspoon - find good places to eat fast!
psx4droid- Play playstation games on your phone
An app you will probably never hear of:
SimplyNoise - A White noise generator. It really helps me when studying and/or programming. Its basically a version of the website http://www.simplynoise.com/ stuffed into a concise little app. Its kinda weird, but I really like it!
swift key
its a keyboard with the capability of predicting the next word you're going to write and it works very well with the physical keyboard (the whole purpose of owning a droid 2 lol) it is a paid app but it is so worth it
I got the update to gmail 2.3.5 today and it broke some widgets like gmail unread count. All i get are FCs. Does anyone have the last version of gmail? Care to post the apk
From something awesome
Can you not just remove updates from Settings -> Applications?
I can remove the whole of gmail but i cant role back to an earlier version without the earlier versions apk.
From something awesome
eatmold said:
Can you not just remove updates from Settings -> Applications?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You reminded me why i bought TitaniumBackup Pro =) got it all taken care of...
From something awesome
Crap I need it also. My TB has been skipping it. I thought no reason to back it up...
Hi
This one i have ripped from the oldest ROM i had
Hope it can make you smile again
The version i reverted to is 2.3.4.1
From something awesome
The latest version does not permit any other app to read emails which is ridiculous.
-untick automatic updates
-uninstall update
Fr4gg0r said:
The latest version does not permit any other app to read emails which is ridiculous.
-untick automatic updates
-uninstall update
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To be fare none of the old versions specifically allowed for emails to be read. It was a work around that allowed apps to read the gmail.db directly that allowed apps like unread count to do what they did.
Apparently this undocumented "api" has chabged somehow
From something awesome
The READ_GMAIL permission was granted to every app, now it's only granted to apps by google.
If it's granted to every app, it's kinda of an api.
Fr4gg0r said:
The READ_GMAIL permission was granted to every app, now it's only granted to apps by google.
If it's granted to every app, it's kinda of an api.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea i guess the permission is a standard one but there was no method calls or dedicated classes for accessing gmail. I don't even think there was a public uri for accessing the database.
I guess it was somewhere inbetween an api and a hack
From something awesome
Gmail 2.3.4.1
The Contentobserver still works, one possibility would be to read the database as root then.
Fr4gg0r said:
The READ_GMAIL permission was granted to every app, now it's only granted to apps by google.
If it's granted to every app, it's kinda of an api.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly. If devs never ever used undocumented APIs, MANY apps would be neutered and lack numerous features that allow the android versions to be much better vs. the iOS ones. One huge benefit of open source is the ability to find/utilize tweaks and such that the original programmers never thought of themselves.
Not only did it mess up permissions with other apps, the 2.3.5 update has been giving me separate notifications for each of my gmail accounts on my phone. Since I have two, it's now taking up twice the space instead of having it all in one notification like before.
This is just a crazy 'upgrade' to something that was working great. So do they expect every app that wants access to gmail to have to use the wireless radio to query the gmail servers? Was it really so insecure to have mail read from a db?
I have actually been working on a gmail widget that used the permission READ_GMAIL but now im not even continuing to pursue it
From something awesome
What are the recommended apps to disable and/or get rid of? I did a factory reset because of nasty wake locks and trying to figure everything that can be disabled without losing features or anything. I know some of this is subjective, but still like some ideas. Thanks.
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
List of them
jagrave said:
What are the recommended apps to disable and/or get rid of? I did a factory reset because of nasty wake locks and trying to figure everything that can be disabled without losing features or anything. I know some of this is subjective, but still like some ideas. Thanks.
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1.if you have two tts then disable one!
2.if you dont use apk's like chaton you can uninstall or disable it!
3.you can disable widgets that you dont use!
4.you can disable system lockscreen if you are using any second lockscreen from playstore.
5.disable useless apk's like samsung hub, watchon, Samsung apps etc.
Hit thanks if i helped you!
Mehul mehta said:
1.if you have two tts then disable one!
2.if you dont use apk's like chaton you can uninstall or disable it!
3.you can disable widgets that you dont use!
4.you can disable system lockscreen if you are using any second lockscreen from playstore.
5.disable useless apk's like samsung hub, watchon, Samsung apps etc.
Hit thanks if i helped you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is tts? I think part of the problem is that I don't know what certain things are. For example, wh as the is the travel wallpaper?
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
jagrave said:
What is tts? I think part of the problem is that I don't know what certain things are. For example, wh as the is the travel wallpaper?
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tts is text to speech! Its used in s voice! And travel wallpaper is for wallpaper scrolling! If you dont want your wallpaper to scroll then you can diaable it! Anything else?
Mehul mehta said:
Tts is text to speech! Its used in s voice! And travel wallpaper is for wallpaper scrolling! If you dont want your wallpaper to scroll then you can diaable it! Anything else?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You said if you have two tts, where would I find them? One isn't showing up under all my apps.
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Tts
Two tts means mybe you have google tts and samsung tts both on your s5!so you u can disable one!
Go to settings and then to application manager in general tab!
Go to system apps and go through the list of apps!
Background apks like tts never show in the apps!
Mehul mehta said:
Two tts means mybe you have google tts and samsung tts both on your s5!so you u can disable one!
Go to settings and then to application manager in general tab!
Go to system apps and go through the list of apps!
Background apks like tts never show in the apps!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK I see them. Which one should I disable, Samsung or google?
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
By the way s5 is awesome! Even my s2 is completely s5
The useless one is samsung tts you can disable that one!
Mehul mehta said:
The useless one is samsung tts you can disable that one!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Won't let me disable that one lol
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Until I can completely remove some bloat, I have the following turned off so far. It's by no means a thorough list.
Accessories
Audible
BlurbCheckout
Calculator (installed 3rd party Calculator)
Caller Name ID
Cloud
FamilyBase Companion
Google Play Books
HP Print Service Plugin
Message+ (Didn't even bother to figer out what this is before I killed it)
Messages (installed Hangouts and/or 3rd party messagin app)
My InfoZone
NFL Mobile
Smart Remote (downloaded the latest WatchOn app from Samsung)
Swype
Verizon Location Agent
Verizon Support and Protection
Verizon Tones
VZ Navigator
As far as the text-to-speech deletion goes, just uninstall whichever ones you don't anticipate needing.
Settings>Language and Input>text-to-speech options>Listen to an example. Really it's personal preference, and uninstalling unused tts voice data only serves to free up internal storage. For example, the "high quality" female English US voice for Google TTS is 244MB, The Samsung high quality voice data is around 90MB per language/gender.
jagrave said:
Won't let me disable that one lol
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Samsung has launched s5 devices with less permissions do to whatever you want! So maybe you have to root your device (which is not possible right now bcoz it will cut your warranty out) So another solution for it is try to search for an app on play store which disables system applications! Without root
I've turned off the following:
Accessories
Audible
Blurb Checkout
Caller Name ID
Family Base Companion
Flipboard
Google Play Books
Google Play Newsstand
IMDb
Isis Mobile Wallet
My InfoZone
My Magazine
NFL Mobile
Samsung Link Platform
Slacker
Smart Remote
VZ Navigator
This is my complete list... everything still works (except the Samsung bloat crap like S-voice and the verizon garbage pre-loaded). I did turn off some Google apps that were needless, and the Samsung fitness stuff (e.g. ANT+ connection, fitness, etc.), in addition to other things (S-pen, fonts, etc.)
ravenofdoom said:
This is my complete list... everything still works (except the Samsung bloat crap like S-voice and the verizon garbage pre-loaded). I did turn off some Google apps that were needless, and the Samsung fitness stuff (e.g. ANT+ connection, fitness, etc.), in addition to other things (S-pen, fonts, etc.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What are things like samsung billing, the app that just says samsung galaxy, and samsung link? What do they do?
jagrave said:
What are things like samsung billing, the app that just says samsung galaxy, and samsung link? What do they do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe samsung billing is for app purchases through their proprietary app store
Samsung Link is a protocol for connecting only with samsung TV's/laptops - has functionality for screen-mirroring, DLNA only with samsung branded devices.
Samsung Galaxy... I'm not entirely sure what it does to be honest. I've tested fairly extensively if any functionality / apps / services are broken as a result, and everything still seems to work fine. I have a suspicion that this is related to a tutorial/demo function.
ravenofdoom said:
I believe samsung billing is for app purchases through their proprietary app store
Samsung Link is a protocol for connecting only with samsung TV's/laptops - has functionality for screen-mirroring, DLNA only with samsung branded devices.
Samsung Galaxy... I'm not entirely sure what it does to be honest. I've tested fairly extensively if any functionality / apps / services are broken as a result, and everything still seems to work fine. I have a suspicion that this is related to a tutorial/demo function.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah ok, thanks! I see that you have the "Downloads" app turned off. What does that app do? I know it's part of media, which is giving me a lot of wakelocks. The three things that are part of "Media", can you uninstall all three, and what does each one do?
ravenofdoom said:
I believe samsung billing is for app purchases through their proprietary app store
Samsung Link is a protocol for connecting only with samsung TV's/laptops - has functionality for screen-mirroring, DLNA only with samsung branded devices.
Samsung Galaxy... I'm not entirely sure what it does to be honest. I've tested fairly extensively if any functionality / apps / services are broken as a result, and everything still seems to work fine. I have a suspicion that this is related to a tutorial/demo function.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is with 2 hour 11 min screen on time. So Not Bad At All. (Not sure why, but keyboard randomly does that) but it is waking up a lot.
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
jagrave said:
Ah ok, thanks! I see that you have the "Downloads" app turned off. What does that app do? I know it's part of media, which is giving me a lot of wakelocks. The three things that are part of "Media", can you uninstall all three, and what does each one do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Downloads app is just an app that shows a history/list of everything you've recently downloaded (e.g. in the downloads folder). I prefer to use ESFileExplorer as it's more versatile as a file manager, and I don't care for an app that tracks file downloads/history.
In previous android versions, I believe the Media app was part of what cached/listed files such as images (thumbnails), music files, docs, etc. I vaguely recall disabling it in the past to find that all my MP3's and photos no longer appeared in the gallery/google music app. I would not disable it if my memory serves me correctly.
Yeah, your battery usage looks about in-par with mine. I came from a GNex and was used to seeing display always overtaking androidOS/systemUI (man, that phone had atrocious battery life and screen-on time)... the GS5 has such a great power-sipping display that I came to the same surprise as you to find it ranks on-par/sometimes below OS usage in a normal day. The battery life on this phone rocks.
EDIT: Media usage will sometimes spike if you've recently added a bunch of new files (photos, mp3's, etc.) to your device, as it's scanning/caching/indexing lists to the files. I'd give it a day or two if that's the case, and you'll see it won't consume much of anything once things are static on your phone.
ravenofdoom said:
Downloads app is just an app that shows a history/list of everything you've recently downloaded (e.g. in the downloads folder). I prefer to use ESFileExplorer as it's more versatile as a file manager, and I don't care for an app that tracks file downloads/history.
In previous android versions, I believe the Media app was part of what cached/listed files such as images (thumbnails), music files, docs, etc. I vaguely recall disabling it in the past to find that all my MP3's and photos no longer appeared in the gallery/google music app. I would not disable it if my memory serves me correctly.
Yeah, your battery usage looks about in-par with mine. I came from a GNex and was used to seeing display always overtaking androidOS/systemUI (man, that phone had atrocious battery life and screen-on time)... the GS5 has such a great power-sipping display that I came to the same surprise as you to find it ranks on-par/sometimes below OS usage in a normal day. The battery life on this phone rocks.
EDIT: Media usage will sometimes spike if you've recently added a bunch of new files (photos, mp3's, etc.) to your device, as it's scanning/caching/indexing lists to the files. I'd give it a day or two if that's the case, and you'll see it won't consume much of anything once things are static on your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh OK. I see. So perfectly safe to disable downloads. What about the media app itself? Do you have it disabled? That screen shot with the high media usage, I'm not sure we have it was so high. It's first time it has been like that and I haven't added any more music. Another question.
Do You Know What The Chrome sandbox is? And does your keyboard ever do that thing with the capital letters?
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
jagrave said:
Oh OK. I see. So perfectly safe to disable downloads. What about the media app itself? Do you have it disabled? That screen shot with the high media usage, I'm not sure we have it was so high. It's first time it has been like that and I haven't added any more music. Another question.
Do You Know What The Chrome sandbox is? And does your keyboard ever do that thing with the capital letters?
Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't have the media app disabled and wouldn't recommend it. I also wouldn't disable chrome sandbox ( though I'm not sure of its function, its installed alongside the app so it may be a plugin for other apps).
Not sure what keyboard caps problem you're referring to. I use only the android keyboard (not Samsung nor Swype).
Hi All,
Now that most people have installed the OTA KitKat and knowing that this will be the last update Motorola makes for our phones, I thought it would be a good idea to make a collection of all the system bloatware that came with the OTA that is able to be removed safely without affecting the performance or running of the phone (either frozen or deleted for those of us lucky enough to be unlocked and already rooted). Lord knows I have been waiting a long long time to delete these apps and not just have them frozen! I'll keep a running list in the second post, hopefully in alphabetical order, as people post up any that I have forgotten about or didn't think of.
Again, this is just a list of everything that is safe to remove if people don't use the apps / functions, not necessarily things that have to be removed.
...there's nothing like freeing up memory and RAM 8)
EDIT: The hard ones to pick out are gonna be all the "com.***" ones since they're not quite as self-explanatory...
List of bloat:
- Amazon
- Amazon App Suite
- Amazon Kindle
- Amazon mp3
- Android Keyboard (AOSP)
- Android Live Wallpapers
- Audible
- Black Hole
- Bubbles
- Calculator
- Calendar
- Circles
- Cloud
- Cloud Print - thanks @jldr
- Droid Zap
- Email
- Face Unlock
- Google Play Books
- Google Play Games
- Google Play Movies & TV
- Google Play Newstand
- Google Search - thanks @Sefirosu
- Hangouts
- Help - thanks @scobywhru
- Homescreen Tips
- HP Print Service Plugin - thanks @jldr
- IMDb
- Live Wallpaper Picker
- Magic Smoke Wallpapers
- Maps - thanks @Sefirosu
- MC3
- Messaging
- Movie Studio
- Music Visualization Wallpapers
- NFL Mobile - thanks @jldr
- Phase Beam
- Quickoffice
- RealRacing2
- Setup 4.4.2-10 - thanks @scobywhru
- Setup Wizard 4.4.2-10 - thanks @scobywhru
- Setup Wizard 1.0 - thanks @scobywhru
- Setup Wizard 1.3 - thanks @scobywhru
- Slacker Radio
- SmartActions
- SmartActions Android Framework
- SmartActions Proprietary Framework
- Talkback
- Translate
- Verizon Tones
- VZ Navigator
- Weather
- YouTube
- Zappos
Calculator, Youtube, Live Wallpaper?
jldr said:
Calculator, Youtube, Live Wallpaper?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like I said, they are removable but some people will want to keep them. Personally I keep the YouTube, but use a scientific calculator app and don't use live wallpaper.
Ah I see, I didn't think those were removable. I thought they were system apps.
You're right, they are system apps, but can be frozen and for those of us lucky enough to be unlocked and rooted on KK they can be deleted (using TiBu or some other method). Everything listed above is considered a "system app". But, the list is not comprehensive.
That's why I was looking for input for some of the more not-as-obviously-named removable apps. I know there was a list floating around somewhere, I had a bunch of stuff frozen from that list whilst on JB. But now that our phones are not going to be updated any further (and if there is a surprise update that comes to us, we can put the phones back to "stock" using SamuriHL's RSD Lite scripts), I'd like to delete them permanently.
Just an update - I was able to safely remove the all-important NFL Mobile app without hardbricking
Guys, I'm sorry to crash this thread, I'm locked and on 9.18.64. Since your all rooted and unlocked, I was wondering if anyone of you would be willing to give SamuriHl a freshly installed and rooted system dump using the safestrap method he outlines in the KitKat root tracking thread? I'd like to be a guinea pig for this one chance root experiment. That's the only missing piece ATM.
jldr said:
Just an update - I was able to safely remove the all-important NFL Mobile app without hardbricking
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, yes. How could I miss that one. Added, thanks!
Would love to help @MarcusWhite but I do not have SS installed. I also am a pretty big noob about these things, I can'do much past rooting/unlocking/custom ROMs.
Also I found another bloatware - HP Printer Service or whatever it's called.
jldr said:
Also I found another bloatware - HP Printer Service or whatever it's called.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good call, I forgot all the wifi printer apps!
Updated the list with some others that I found as well (Email, Hangouts, Messaging, Music Visualization Wallpapers, etc.) All can be safely removed, but make sure you have another method for emailing or texting, lol
Freeze bloatware
K, I was able to freeze the bloatware using my unrooted 4.4.2.
I went into each apps settings (long press the icon, app info). Then I cleared the "Show notifications" check, Force stop, then Disable. After that the offending apps weren't showing up under the app screen.
If you go to Play store, you'll find them listed as "Disabled".
Hope this helps some, and keep up the good fight for Root access with this update.
onecoolfirefighter said:
K, I was able to freeze the bloatware using my unrooted 4.4.2.
I went into each apps settings (long press the icon, app info). Then I cleared the "Show notifications" check, Force stop, then Disable. After that the offending apps weren't showing up under the app screen.
If you go to Play store, you'll find them listed as "Disabled".
Hope this helps some, and keep up the good fight for Root access with this update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sigh... Please don't spam this thread with posts about root on stock KK. If you don't have it by now, get used to not having it on this phone EVER.
I have removed and disabled the google search app without any negative issues to the rom.
I don't use it as I find myself using my personal browser more than the useless google app. Plus no google now push. However, it does remove the search bar, but doesn't break the roms ability to search from an up swipe from the dock using a browser with search functions, or another search app.
You can also freeze google maps along with its companion app without issue.
You should also consider putting a list of apps not to mess with this time around. This is because a few system apps have become more vital in the rom.
For instance, Google Play Services was able to be disabled and removed without reinstalling automatically in Jelly Bean, but it can no longer be frozen or deleted as it will seriously mess up the google play store with it's recent update in kitkat.
Sefirosu said:
I have removed and disabled the google search app without any negative issues to the rom.
I don't use it as I find myself using my personal browser more than the useless google app. Plus no google now push. However, it does remove the search bar, but doesn't break the roms ability to search from an up swipe from the dock using a browser with search functions, or another search app.
You can also freeze google maps along with its companion app without issue.
You should also consider putting a list of apps not to mess with this time around. This is because a few system apps have become more vital in the rom.
For instance, Google Play Services was able to be disabled and removed without reinstalling automatically in Jelly Bean, but it can no longer be frozen or deleted as it will seriously mess up the google play store with it's recent update in kitkat.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! They've been added to the list.
The "do not touch" app list sounds like a good idea, but I was thinking of just leaving it as whatever isn't listed in post #2 shouldn't be touched
LifeAsADroid said:
Sigh... Please don't spam this thread with posts about root on stock KK. If you don't have it by now, get used to not having it on this phone EVER.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha. How do you like your crow prepared? Despite the fact that root and unlock is now available again for a short time, anyway, I think he was showing how there is some freeze ability without root with this update.
With that said, I can't find acoustic warning in tibu, is it now called something else? I can't stand the auto volume drop when I hook to my truck radio.
Update: nvm. Its no longer standalone. Its in android os. You have to use xposed to disable it.
Something I killed in this list removed my speech to text capability. The microphone icon is gone from the keyboard when texting. Any idea what did it?
Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk
If I had to guess, I'd say it was removing Google search that did the trick. That's when mine disappeared anyway. I rarely use the option so it didn't bother me too much. If you haven't uninstalled Google search, then you should just be able to verify Google voice typing is enabled. If that doesn't do it, you might also have to long press the button to the left of the space bar and assign the mic to that key.
Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using XDA Free mobile app
I think you can add
Help
Home Screen Tips
You can add the following as well since they aren't needed once you setup the device.
Setup 4.4.2-10
Setup Wizard 4.4.2-10
Setup Wizard 1.3
Setup Wizard 1.0
OK, I'll bite. It seems I'm only able to freeze bloatware. I try uninstalling w/ TBU, but they're all still there. Since I don't see any reason to have to restore them for an OTA, I'd just like to get rid of them.
So my calendar notifications have been weird since the day I got my S8, they only seem to work when it feels like working..
I've just missed an appointment because I didn't get a notifications (I set 3), is there a solution?
Two things I found online, first one worked for a day or two, second one apparently did the trick:
Disable battery saving per app - you have to do this for each app you don't get notifications from
https://android.gadgethacks.com/how-to/fix-delayed-notifications-your-galaxy-s8-s8-0177437/
Disable Google app - apparently Google app causes problems, so you have to disable it. Just the Google app, nothing else by Google.
Also you have to check enabled notifications: Settings - Notifications - Calendar
WM_Rizzo said:
Two things I found online, first one worked for a day or two, second one apparently did the trick:
Disable battery saving per app - you have to do this for each app you don't get notifications from
cannot quote this because of forum rules
Disable Google app - apparently Google app causes problems, so you have to disable it. Just the Google app, nothing else by Google.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've started a new thread about this one.
Do you mean disable google in settings->applications->application manager->google app (it is now saying disabled on my device).
I'm curious if this is gonna do the trick. I'll try and come bazck if it does not.
I't is strange that there are not MORE people complaining about this, maybe no one uses calendar apps.
I have the same issue on my note 8, I try everything to make the calendar notifications working but nothing seems to work.
I've search for a solution all around the web but there's no way...
I'm having the same problem from day one! I hoped Oreo fw wouldn't have this problem anymore but unfortunately it's still there. It's driving me nuts!
How the hell did Samsung not fix this already? Calendar application should be one of the most important apps in a smartphone. Yet it's totally unreliable and there is no solution for this! It probably has something to do with aggressive power saving.
Anyone found a way to fix this?
Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
My solution to this and whole lot of other notifications is disabling Doze through adb:
Code:
adb shell dumpsys deviceidle disable
Mehmedalija said:
I'm having the same problem from day one! I hoped Oreo fw wouldn't have this problem anymore but unfortunately it's still there. It's driving me nuts!
How the hell did Samsung not fix this already? Calendar application should be one of the most important apps in a smartphone. Yet it's totally unreliable and there is no solution for this! It probably has something to do with aggressive power saving.
Anyone found a way to fix this?
Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
macBart said:
I've started a new thread about this one.
Do you mean disable google in settings->applications->application manager->google app (it is now saying disabled on my device).
I'm curious if this is gonna do the trick. I'll try and come bazck if it does not.
I't is strange that there are not MORE people complaining about this, maybe no one uses calendar apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I have the same problem, and I tried everything with samsung center, because I have J5 (2017) android 7.0 OS, but they did not help in any way. I found solution on forums, that works for me, and it is app on google play named "calendar notifier". It automaticly sinc with your calendar, and it plays any sound you choose for alarming, until you dissmiss it. It may happend that you hear 2 sounds, one from calendar it selfe, and one from calenad notifier, but you will not miss the appointment....
Any updates?
Has anyone heard of a forthcoming solution on this?
My only "fix" has been to disable the Google App except that app is how I launch commands for Google Home. Without it I cannot use my phone to take actions for my smart home devices. So it's a bit of an inconvenience for me. Plus surely there are people out there that like using the native google search capability on their phone while still getting notifications from apps.
I say from apps by the way as it's not just an issue exclusive to my calendar. When I have Google enabled it works for a while, but then will stop and many things stop. Text notification indicators, facebook notification indicators, calendar appointment notifications etc.
Do we need to be contacting Samsung support through their website or have people done this and it just doesn't help?
It's a bug in Android and it will be solved in next big update hopefully. Until then workaround is to use this app:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.github.quarck.calnotify
Read more about this problem here:
https://support.google.com/calendar/forum/AAAAd3GaXpEFzD9Y6ojci4/?hl=en
https://android-review.googlesource...iders/CalendarProvider/+/528295/?polygerrit=1
https://android.googlesource.com/pl...er/+/1f4773948f99c9460f2b3b397d87dc4aeb87d73e
Mehmedalija said:
It's a bug in Android and it will be solved in next big update hopefully. Until then workaround is to use this app:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.github.quarck.calnotify
Read more about this problem here:
https://support.google.com/calendar/forum/AAAAd3GaXpEFzD9Y6ojci4/?hl=en
https://android-review.googlesource...iders/CalendarProvider/+/528295/?polygerrit=1
https://android.googlesource.com/pl...er/+/1f4773948f99c9460f2b3b397d87dc4aeb87d73e
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FANTASTIC INFO. Thank you. Glad to see it's in the works for correction. Seemed like quite a large issue to have even happened and not being repaired quickly. But I suppose I don't know the complexities of what caused this or the best solution to fix it. Just seems like a lot of people rely on calendars and appointment reminders not working would be a big **** storm for them.
Just chiming in to let you know I'm having the same problem on my Note 8! It was working for a few months and then stopped! Tried clearing cache, data, and many other "fixes" that I've since forgotten. Nothing works. Recently got the Oreo update and SAME problem!! Really annoying! Maybe it's Google sabotage?! They are trying to control everything! Btw, downloaded the Google calendar app but I don't like it!
I had used successfully the adb doze disable on command prompt but my phone just "upgraded" to Oreo 8.0.0 and now my calendar notifications have stopped working again!!! I had a functioning calendar finally but now it's gone again!!! I ran the adb command line again (adb shell dumpsys deviceidle disable) but still no notifications! I cleared data, checked the app wasn't optimized and reverted to stock calendar but nothing! Does anyone know another command line to stop this doze crap in 8.0.0??? This is why I dread EVERY "upgrade"! How could they take this away from me again???!!! I used to love Samsung but now I hate it!!!
I did the device doze disable using SDK tools and this worked for months then it stopped notifications again... sometimes! Besides making calls this is the number one thing I need from my phone and it still doesn 't work! Anyone ever find a solution to this because I still need one! Using Android 8.0! I was using Calendar Events app, worked for a while then quit. Same with Calendar Notifier and Calendar Snooze app. Plus a number of other apps designed to work with the calendar. I've been relying on my calendar since my Galaxy S2!
I stopped using calendar notifications because of this issue. I have very spotty wifi and mobile data, I found that calendar notifications would only work with a data connection. Typically, I'd set a notification, but remember the appointment anyway. About 10 minutes in the car, data finally connects, the 30 minute old notification finally goes off....
It's a dismal state of affairs when the consumer becomes the software tester with such an essential device.
Well,this is weird. My Whatsapp notifications weren't working. When I set the notification in the app ,you can select the app that chooses the file eg Chomp(SMS), Audio files,Themes,Music.
Intutively, I chose Audio files, and that appears to work, but Whatsapp produced no sound on incoming messages. When I chose Chomp to select the MP3 file, it seems to work OK. I'll play a bit more and report back.
Cheers
Steve