Few quick questions on MIUI 11 - Redmi 7A Questions & Answers

Can anyone help answer a few quick questions on MIUI 11 on the Redmi 7A ( or any other Xiaomi device) please?
1. Does MIUI 11 have the cursor magnifier bubble that pops up when editing text or moving the cursor? This is native in Android Pie but some Android 9.0 builds (I'm looking at you Samsung) didn't have it in. Do a lot of texting so this is really useful.
2. Is MIUI 11 still stuffed with ads like the previous versions? Have Xiaomi finally provided a one click option to remove / stop all ads?
3. Can you remove factory apps in MIUI 11, either through Settings or using adb? (I've no use for Facebook, Twitter and a bunch of other bloat in any ROM).
Thanks in advance, looking at getting a Redmi 7A (or Android Pie based Redmi device) as a cheap second phone which will e used for email, chat and text but find editing text is very fiddly on Android without the cursor magnifier thing that iOS has.

I can only answer questions 2 and 3. 2) Miui contains ads that can be disabled in each app from an option called recommendations. After this, the ads are not usually noticed in apps. 3) It is possible to debloat the device without root, there is even a tool that lets you see which apps you can disable: https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/development/miui-xiaomi-global-debloater-the4anoni-t3879739
My opinion: If you unlock the device, flash mokee, you can use it with up to android 10 (It has less lags than miui, and you can restrict usage in the background) and with/without gapps, and you will get a lot of battery. Or reach the end of the day with 60-70% (no games, occasional uses,we are in quarantine, I have not tried it in a day outside.).

So I ended up buying a brand new Redmi 7A running Global firmware Android Pie and can answer the questions:
1. MIUI 11 does not have the cursor magnifier thing like stock Android it uses the same teardrop bubble cursor that Samsung phones use (this might be fixed in MIUI 12).
2. Yes, it's still stuffed with ads and you have to go into individual apps to try and get rid of them. Even this doesn't work fully though, the whole UI is riddled with ads.
3. Not possible to remove the apps and in fact, it's the worst phone I've ever seen that doesn't even let you disable apps either. All the Google crap like Music, Movies, Books, Games, etc. you can't even disable let alone uninstall them like you can on other phones.
I had the phone for approximately 1 day, hated MIUI and promptly sent it back for a full refund. Never again Xiaomi

Related

Color OS v2.1 for Onyx (SCREENSHOTS PROVIDED)

Hey, guys. This ROM is originally made by Shumxin, I am just sharing it because I recently started using it and I actually liked it a lot. It is based on Android Lollipop 5.1.1. The SCREENSHOTS are given in the attachments. (I am using UPPERCASE letters so that you don't ignore the important parts.)
Here are it's pros and the cons, followed by a conclusion;
PROS:
1) The system is VERY smooth and works lightning fast. Your phone won't lag a bit. (More than 2 GB of RAM stays free when idle, shown in screenshot)
2) FANTASTIC BATTERY LIFE. Battery usage is VERY LOW, this is what impressed me the most.
2) Even though the UI's default theme is very boring, you can spice it up with a theme, like the one I used. There are ABOVE hundreds of THEMES available.
3) Camera app has some nice features add.
CONS:
1) You'll probably run away after reading this; Gapps cannot be flashed while using this ROM. However, you can download it externally. But once everything has been installed (including the Play Services framework), the Play Store crashes in some cases, and in the other cases it won't connect to the servers. And here's a problem for Clash of Clans players; even if Google Play is installed, you won't be able to play COC and all other games that requires Google Play.
2) The market is very messed up, well, for who doesn't know Chinese language
CONCLUSION:
If you are a gamer, this ROM is a straight no. And if you were wondering about how can we download applications, we can always download the apk files from apkmirror.com and alternative website (Google up).
If you are a regular user seeking for fluid performance and good battery saving options, this ROM is a MUST. Trust me when I say this, you'll love it.
Visit this thread to download:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-x/general/rom-color-os-v2-1-oneplus-x-shumxin-t3320161
@meraj99 Does your WhatsApp receive notifications without locking it in the background
Adesh15 said:
@meraj99 Does your WhatsApp receive notifications without locking it in the background
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, it can be controlled though
Adesh15 said:
@meraj99 Does your WhatsApp receive notifications without locking it in the background
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AFAIK, there's a setting in COS, that let's background apps to be FCed that you need to enable for Whatsapp to run in background in COS. I used COS on my Oppo Find 7S, till I relinquished it to my wife....enough knowledge is enough...
Dead Cookies leave no trails...

Why MiUi 8?[New features]

Hi folks!
I am making this thread for people who haven't yet upgraded from MiUi 7 to MiUi 8. For all those, here are 10 good reasons why you should upgrade from MiUi 7 to MiUi 8!
1. The Calculator:
In MIUI 8, the new MIUI calculater app is now having the currency converter feature. We can even check 3 currencies at once with the MIUI Calculator App. Hence there's no need any 3rd party app for this feature. Not only that, but there's been additions like complex algebraic symbols for efficient and quick calculations.
2. Image Editor:
With the update of MIUI 8, now we can have more features when editing our image in Gallery. There are more settings and effects to play with, hence we can save up spaces from downloading 3rd party image editor.
3. Video Editor:
Did you know that we can finally edit our video in MIUI 8 without install any 3rd party apps? We can now easily trim our video and add some simple effects on it to make it more interesting!
4. Wallpaper Carousel:
We have Wallpaper Carousel that provides us daily wallpaper and Theme App Store which have thousands of wallpaper to be chosen. With MIUI 8, we don't even need to download any wallpaper from external sources.
5. Cleaner:
In MIUI 8 security app, one of its main features is Cleaner App. It will not just only clear cache, deep clean will help us remove the duplicate photos, big files and unused apps to clear up our storage even further. So why do we need a 3rd party app if we already have this feature in MIUI 8?
6. WiFi Transfer (Mobile to PC):
Did you know that MIUI allows us to transfer file from phone to PC via FTP? Frankly, this feature already existed since MIUI 5 and its still rocking! We don't need to download any 3rd party app to transfer our files wirelessly in MIUI.
7. Improved Mi - Drop:
In MIUI 8, we have a file-transferring feature called Mi Drop. This is used to transfer any files between two phones which have these features. This doesn't require any Internet Access to do it, just using Hotspot and transfer the file wirelessly. So we don't need any 3rd party app for this as well.
8. Anti-Virus:
Since MIUI 5, there is a virus scanner in Security App and downloading a 3rd party anti-virus app in MIUI ROM is not necessary at all. Although some might have said the MIUI virus scanner is not the most powerful, the native app is always the best as it "understands" the host (MIUI ROM) the most.
9. Data Usage:
Want to monitor your Data Plan usage? In MIUI 8, we have this feature under Security App. It is called Data Usage Stat. With this feature, we don't need to install any other apps to help us monitor our data usage. Isn't that awesome?
10. Battery Saver Auto Powered:
Want your phone to automatically power on the battery saver when you're sleeping? MIUI 8 can do that! It can be found under Security App > Battery > Battery Saver. This awesome feature was already implemented since previous MIUI versions and has some improvements!
11. Messaging Timer:
Do you know that MIUI Messaging has a feature that we can set a timer for our message to be sent? This feature is pretty useful for someone forgetful like me, and I bet it will be useful for you all as well!
12: Blocklist:
Is there's someone who always disturbs you and you want to ignore his call or SMS? Blocklist comes in handy when you set his number in the list. You will not receive any of his calls or SMS's anymore, and you can manage settings for the blocked numbers. This feature can be easily found in Security App.
13: Second Space:
Having second space is like having two mobiles in one mobile. This feature partitions your phone into two, so two people can use it randomly, protecting each others privacy as well!
14: Dual Apps:
Ever used Parallel Space? Imagine a MiUi built-in Parallel Space. Yep! MiUi 8 features dual apps, so you can have two instagrams or WhatsApps for different accounts!
15. Continuous Screenshot:
Ever wanted to take a screenshot of the whole page, but needed to take seperate screenshot for each column? Well, problem solved!
MiUi 8 introduced a new feature- continuous screenshot .
Here's how to take a continuous screenshot:
Just take a normal screenshot and when a pop-up displays at the upper right corner, tap it and tap on 'scroll' to take a continuous screenshot!
So, that's all for now folks! I'll keep updating the thread with new posts soon. Stay tuned!
Hit Thanks if I've Helped!
Regards,
PoseidonKing
it is really great list out here good feature in miui 8
look4sky said:
it is really great list out here good feature in miui 8
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hit Thanks button if this thread helped you!
Regards,
PoseidonKing
Thread Updated
Screenshot feature added!
Regards,
PoseidonKing

Issues with background apps

Hello, I have a Le Eco Le Pro 3 x722 since November and I am having some issues with the launched apps,
I mean.
When I start whatsapp (for example) and i tell the phone to have the app started on the background
it stops
For example : I start Whatsapp (with auto-launch and background ON) at 10 AM. And I look at the phone at 12 AM and i have no notifications, but if i open the app, 3 or 4 seconds later I have like 30 messages and it didn't notify me, do you know something??
PD: My brother has the same problem and the same device.
Probably due to background resource control. https://forum.xda-developers.com/le...s-background-resource-control-switch-t3598624
Also, change your region to U.S. Apparently other regions have issues with notifications in eUI (the unofficial vendor ROMs, that is, which 99% is what you're running). If you want good notification management, you definitely don't want to be on an eUI ROM, official or unofficial. Switch to LineageOS, AICP, literally anything else. Follow the link in my sig to learn how to unlock your bootloader and all that.

Mi A1 Moddability in general and Oreo vs. Nougat?

Hey guys,
up till today I'm still using a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 with Android 4.3.
It is modded to the max to exactly meet my needs and "paranoia":
- Custom Rom TouchWiz based rom
- Custom Kernel with some special script based tweaks (for example: MAC randomization everytime I turn Wifi on - handy for time limited free access points and to prevent beeing tracked etc.)
- Full Disk Encryption with a password different than my unlock pin (so when the device is off it requires a long password, but when on only a shorter pin)
- Xposed with the "old" Xprivacy Pro, Greenify and lots of other useful modules (like device shutdown after x failed amounts of unlock password etc)
- Lightning Launcher (allows "pinned" widgets that do not scroll - like the clock always beeing shown on top of all my homescreens) and custom widgets made with UCCW
- Button mods (double tap menu button turns on/off auto rotation, long menu switches last two apps, long back kills foreground app etc.) and homebutton mod to turn on flashlight when held while device is locked (to turn it on blindly / without looking)
- Sidebar Launcher Appsi for all my apps (and using xprivacy to prevent certain apps from showing up in the list at all)
... etc etc.
It took me a long time to set up everything and whenever I bought a new phone I sold it soon after because they never could be modded that hard like my old note 3 could be. (not to mention the built in batteries - I HATE that so much about all new devices).
Long story short: The Mi A1 could maaaaybe finally be the device to replace my Note 3 - but for that I need to be able to really mod it hard again hehe.
What really is important to me is beeing able to use xposed and xprivacy (unfortunately the xprivacy lua is not that good as the old one as far as it reads in the description), controlling the device encryption with my own 20+ Character Passphrase while still having a shorter pin when the device is booted up (and it beeing "full device encryption" not just file based if that still exists?). Removing all google apps except the playstore (and the account manager - dont even want the google play services crap) and preferably beeing able to install modded playstore which does not autoupdate itself etc.
-----
Do you guys think this is possible at all? And if so - should I stay with a 7.1.2 based rom or go for oreo? I mainly care about modability as I explained..
Hope someone is in the same boat or at least knows enough about this phone and the roms/kernels/availabe and working xposed mods to help me out.
There's pretty much no development for Nougat so it would be better if you were to get on oreo
Modabillity is pretty great with this phone so far
Look around on xda and see if you like it
berezker said:
There's pretty much no development for Nougat so it would be better if you were to get on oreo
Modabillity is pretty great with this phone so far
Look around on xda and see if you like it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but does xposed and stuff like modded playstore etc exist/work for oreo? and do you maybe know if its possible to have a different boot password than just the unlock pin when device is powered on?
and how about rootcloak and stuff like that? On my old note i can pretty much fake everything to apps and prevent root to be detected or feed them with fake data through xprivacy - but does this all still work to the same extend on the newer android versions? This safetynet bull**** has been around since when again? Can that still be fooled?
zroice said:
but does xposed and stuff like modded playstore etc exist/work for oreo? and do you maybe know if its possible to have a different boot password than just the unlock pin when device is powered on?
and how about rootcloak and stuff like that? On my old note i can pretty much fake everything to apps and prevent root to be detected or feed them with fake data through xprivacy - but does this all still work to the same extend on the newer android versions? This safetynet bull**** has been around since when again? Can that still be fooled?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not really sure about modded play store and boot password stuff but what I do know is that you can use Magisk (Similar to SuperSu + Extra useful mods) to hide root from certain apps that you choose
Xposed does work perfectly fine but it depends on the modules and whether they work on oreo. If not, magisk modules are also pretty good
If you happen to own a phone that you can flash Oreo on, (see, Lineage 15), then you can pretty much know and discover everything about Oreo and how modding works on it

[GUIDE/HOWTO][G920/G925-F-FD-I-S-K-L-T-W8] Which ROM to use for best stability and functionality

Introduction
I have spent too many hours trying to find the perfect ROM to install on my Samsung Galaxy S6 phone. My goal was to find an ultra debloated ROM without any Samsung or Google stuff with the bare minimum. Turns out, it's impossible. I also wanted to use something new that went out of the normal boring stuff we are used to see. The ROM and Kernel selection is just enormous. I also needed to address a very specific issue which is to maintain the cell phone up to date with the latest ROM it can take to be stable and usable while being able to install the latest version of apps from Google Play. I have a SIM card but I never recieve any phone calls on it and it's an international card that I cannot use without high fees. It's basically used when my wife, from another country, needs to contact me via SMS. So phone calls using the default call app is just useless for me.
Apps that I excessively use
So here is the list of apps that I use, or shall I say, OVER-use:
Facebook Messenger (video calls)
Grandstream Wave - GS Wave (All my phone calls using SIP service)
Camera app (My wife is in another country for now so pictures and videos is our way of communicating)
Microsoft Launcher (the only free launcher having a good balance between customization and those notification dots)
Banking apps (2 major ones, 1 credit card app, PayPal and Xoom)
Games (2 to 4 mostly from AI Factory and 1 from Facebook app)
Facebook, Reddit and Discord
GMail
Total Commander + LAN plugin
Magisk (latest available version on GitHub)
AdAway (latest available version for ROM version installed, removes pretty much all the ads in my games and apps)
Google Play (Obviously)
Mozilla Firefox or Microsoft Edge browser (depended on my mood as long as I was NOT using the infamous Google Chrome or Samsung Browser)
Open Camera (Only on AOSP roms or Stock roms higher than v7.0)
Problems / Issues / Bugs / Missing configs
After all of my tests, here is the list of all problems I have encountered under which ROM versions:
No floating video call window when call is unfocused. When unfocused, other person sees black screen until I get back the video call in full screen focus - Facebook Messenger (Stock rom v7.0) this issue does not happen on roms higher than v7.x, floating video call is possible with v8.x and higher roms.
Dark mode unavailable or requires heavy tweaks to fake or achieve a similar effect in OS, example, dark mode in the system settings menus - System configuration menus (Stock rom v7.x)
Camera's picture taking is not syncing with flash, therefor, picture is taken WITHOUT the flash leading to dark pictures - Default camera app (Stock roms higher than v7.0 and all AOSP roms)
Lower than usual voice recording audio - Facebook Messenger (sending a voice recording), Default camera app (all AOSP roms)
Unable to see the internal storage of my device in Windows Explorer - LineageOS roms (some custom roms do work that are not pure LineageOS)
Bluetooth connecting but no audio is directed to the device - Facebook Messenger and all other system sounds and music (AOSP roms higher than v7.x)
Bluetooth causes Facebook Messenger to drop connection when in use with BT device. Once disconnected, call ceases to drop - Facebook Messenger (AOSP roms)
Apps and system a tiny bit less responsive - Facebook game Words with Friends, Home screen and configs (Stock rom v7.0)
Contacts not syncing - GS Wave (AOSP roms with Open GApps Pico and Nano)
Username and passwords not automatically filled from stored passwords in Google account - Facebook, Reddit (All roms)
GMail dark mode and dark mode option unavailable - GMail (Stock rom v7.x)
Some games do not install or simply unavailable from Google Play - Super Mario Run (Highly debloated Stock rom v7.0)
Initial setup crashes after configuring the first time wifi connection, Google's update checking fails (AOSP roms with Open GApps)
When resizing the DP from 360 to 480 in the developper options, keyboard does not stretch to the entire screen width - System (Stock rom v7.x)
Lack of keyboard customization such as enabeling the numbers row instead of integrating them in the letter keys with long touch - System (all AOSP roms)
Random reboots or total system freeze. Very minimal and rare, not enough to remember too much about it, but still happened - System (Stock rom v7.0 other than SamStock)
Tests
My phone: Canadian Flat SM-G920W8
As of today, I have tested Ultimate Nougate, Oreo, Unofficial Lineage OS 14.1-17.1, FlynOS, NexusOS, S8 ports Note 8 ports, ViperOS, Marduck, SamStock, DotOS plus many other derivatives of LineageOS 16 and 17.1. If a rom was not mentioning compatibility with W8 version, I'd try using a compatible Kernel which seems to make the roms work and boot properly but most of these tests were performed with roms that stated supporting the T or W8 variants.
First test was to actually go through the Install process which Ultimate Oreo and 1 or 2 others failed. The amount of failed installs is very neglectible. Next was to actually boot into the OS. I got a few boot loops due to Kernel incompatibilities, again, just 1 or 2 failed REALLY and a few others were my fault for installing a wrong Kernel. So nothing to mention here too. Next was to actually be able to use the Camera app without doing anything else. All AOSP roms failed this. I simply opened the app, enabled flash and took a picture in a dark place. Picture has never been taken properly. Camera flashes correctly but picture is taken AFTER the flash turns out. Open Camera with the Camera API 2 enabled solved this issue.
Is was now left with rooting my phone. Note that most Stock roms and some AOSP roms have their own pre-built root which I utterly hate. Magisk is available and easily installable and works super fine so I do not need an old outdated version of Super SU or Magisk pre-installed. If the rom had Magisk pre-installed, I'd simply flash the Magisk app over it before booting to be at the latest version. I also needed to install Open GApps on AOSP roms and configure it. This was much easier to do when having a first time NO OPEN GAPPS intial boot. Basically, boot the first time without Open GApps, then reboot and install Open GApps and reboot to system, this resolves the wifi issue.
After all of this, it's time to let Google Play update everything it has to before starting to use Google Play and installing our apps. Turns out that I hate pretty much all of the launchers out there. They all have weird lacks. Lack of options, lack of configuration or no support for notification dots or a payment is needed to unlock this feature, lack of icon and folder lables. I tried the major ones and I even installed the hacked version available as torrents and I was not impressed by any one of them. Microsoft Launcher is the best one I know that offers enough options to configure what I want AND enables notification dots freely. The only last thing they could make available is the possibility to configure folder background colors and transparency and icon styles. To my opinion, that's all that's missing. I DO NOT use gestures so no comment on this.
Verdict
I absolutely NEED my bluetooth to work and I need this camera app to work flawlessly. This means that I am left with one single option. That is:
Stable Stock (Touchwiz based) rom version 7.0 (Nougat)
I tested some nice ones but again, I run into some issues, therefor:
MY RECOMMENDATION: SamStock ROM
ALTERNATIVELY, My Re-Pack of the above ROM: SamStock ROM (Lightly Debloated)
The only Problem I fell upon is the download which required me to use a separate download manager to download this rom from Android File Host. I also am displeased that SamStock DOES include his own version of Magisk integrated inside the rom so after rom installation, I have to flash MY version of Magisk immediately before booting. This rom is also completely Stock which means NO debloating, Everything is there, from Samsung apps to Google apps. Knox is the only thing that got removed. So this is also a very big file to download, almost 2gb when some roms go far below the 1gb size. So it's probably the most space greedy rom out there, but it's also the one I have the least problems with.
Why not the other roms such as Marduk? Because they are not 100% stock, they are moded stock roms with the author's personal touches and possible kernels. The customized roms brought some awkward issues at moments and made the phone unstable with some rare but random reboots and total freeze requiring me to hard reboot the phone using "Volume Down + Home + Power". Some others just had a weird issue where some apps and games were not available to download on Google Play while as with a same v7.0 rom like SamStock, these were available for download.
As for AOSP roms, the camera and bluetooth issues are just too major to make the roms usable on a daily basis. Open Camera DOES resolve the camera image issue but does not resolve the low volume issue.
I hope this will help any of you out there to clarify your decision on what to install. I did my job in trying pretty much all I could download from XDA for my version of the phone. I recon that some exceptions may happen and that you may have not run into any of the issues I listed. Please feel free to comment.
Reference and downloads
If you want a good list and explanations and valuable links for downloads, please checkout the website I dedicated for the Canadian model but also valid for other variants: http://dr.mywebcommunity.org/g920w8/
Website last update: 2021-09-01
Website update notes
2021-09-01
• Added my own "SamStock ROM (Lightly Debloated)" in the list
• Added "Recommended" tags in the "Downloads and links" section
• Added my recommended android launcher "Microsoft Launcher" in the apps list
Mod-coversation removed following up a personal conversation. Thank you XDA mods for your concerns about your online community!
I updated the website to include more information and added a few more links in the Downloads section. I also added a small menu to to make the navigation in the Downloads and links section a bit easier.
I also added a small text file listing the apps that can safely be removed in zipped Stock ROMS. Here's the direct link, it's also available in the "Downloads and links" section: http://dr.mywebcommunity.org/g920w8/debloat/debloat_safe.txt

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