Database Users

Loads of Questions Regarding my Nexus 4

Hello guys,
Firstly, I have to thank all members of this forum for helping newbies like me to do wonders with our phones.
On topic, I have recently purchased the much coveted Nexus 4. The first thing I did after unboxing it was to unlock and root it.
And up until now I have been quite content using the stock ROM. But, now I want to mix it up a little bit.
Through XDA I have become aware of quite a few ways of modding my phone and generally I do not like to do anything without knowing what I am doing. So, therefore there a number of unanswered questions in my mind, which I hope that you guys can help me out with.
Adsaway
1. I have been using Adsaway ever since I rooted my phone and got to say, its amazing. But, I have been wondering if there is any way by which I could replace "Webpage not found" with something like a plain white color or plain black color. The "webpage not found" notification in place of the ads is quite ugly.
2. Talking about ads, I understand that adsaway only prevents you from receiving the ad instead of blocking the request for the ad. I found this thread on XDA where someone said that you could considerably increase battery life by using Lucky Patcher (no, I do not use this tool for cracking). I want to know how safe this is especially considering that you can mess up your phone using Lucky Patcher. Link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=28929442
Improving Battery Life
Link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2107163
This thread talks about how you can improve your battery life by flashing factory images. I definitely want to try it out. But, if I flash factory images wouldn't I be flashing the custom recovery too? And, does this mean that I have to stay on stock ROMs to improve battery life? I kind of find it a little bit confusing.
Further, he talks about 'kernel'. Being an engineer, I know what a kernel is. But, in the context of android, when flashing ROMs, is the kernel included with the custom ROM? or do you have to install the kernel separately? And, what are the advantages of flashing a custom kernel?
Titanium Backup
1. I know that this tool backs up your phone by basically creating a image file but I have no idea on how to use it to flash custom ROMs. An explanation or a link would be really helpful. If this question has been asked and answered before, sorry for asking it again.
2. Since the Nexus does not come with any desktop software, how do you do a normal backup of your phone? Again, this is a very basic question and I could probably find the answer online so feel free to ignore this question.
Finally, thank you all for being so patient and answering my queries. I hope that this will help other newbies as well.

Hi, I may be able to help with some of your questions.
I'm not sure but the "Webpage not found" error may be a result of the browser you use, or not . Anyway I use the app 'Adaway' with the Chrome beta browser and do not get that error in either the browser or other apps that have ads in them.
The first time I've heard of Lucky Patcher so I cant comment. But I personally wouldn't install it unless it is open source and proven not to be stealing your info. these kind of things are sketchy in my opinion. The thing is with adaway it is changing your Hosts file so any ad request is pointing back to the phone. So its not like you are using data to block the ads. So I can't imagine there is a huge battery savings.
From reading the thread about flashing the stock Image, it seems very hit or miss on getting any results. If you are planning to run a custom rom I wouldn't bother. When installing a rom you will usually be wiping all of that anyway.
Roms come with a kernel built in. The advantages of changing kernels depend on what kernel you install but they usually include options to be able to under or overclock the cpu and gpu. Adjust the voltages of the cpu. Change the cpu and gpu governors and i/o scheduler as well as the readahead value for eMMC. You can adjust color and gamma values for the screen. Adjust the vibration level of the phone. And some kernel developers will add their own tweeks to the governors for improved performance.
Titanium backup actually backs up each app and its associated data on your phone allowing you to restore them after flashing a new rom. You can restore apps themselves after a new rom install from the play store without using something like titanium backup but you will lose any data that is associated with that app. Restoring app data can cause issues though. So it is not recommended to restore any system apps after a rom install although I usually will restore Phone/Messaging storage data and have never had an issue but the possibility is there.
In the process of installing custom roms you will need to install a custom bootloader. Either CWM or TWRP usually. These bootloaders give you the option to do a full system image called a Nandroid. This is what most people use as a backup.
Hope this is some help. I am no expert, this is just what I have learned from experiance here at XDA.

linelock said:
Hi, I may be able to help with some of your questions.
I'm not sure but the "Webpage not found" error may be a result of the browser you use, or not . Anyway I use the app 'Adaway' with the Chrome beta browser and do not get that error in either the browser or other apps that have ads in them.
The first time I've heard of Lucky Patcher so I cant comment. But I personally wouldn't install it unless it is open source and proven not to be stealing your info. these kind of things are sketchy in my opinion. The thing is with adaway it is changing your Hosts file so any ad request is pointing back to the phone. So its not like you are using data to block the ads. So I can't imagine there is a huge battery savings.
From reading the thread about flashing the stock Image, it seems very hit or miss on getting any results. If you are planning to run a custom rom I wouldn't bother. When installing a rom you will usually be wiping all of that anyway.
Roms come with a kernel built in. The advantages of changing kernels depend on what kernel you install but they usually include options to be able to under or overclock the cpu and gpu. Adjust the voltages of the cpu. Change the cpu and gpu governors and i/o scheduler as well as the readahead value for eMMC. You can adjust color and gamma values for the screen. Adjust the vibration level of the phone. And some kernel developers will add their own tweeks to the governors for improved performance.
Titanium backup actually backs up each app and its associated data on your phone allowing you to restore them after flashing a new rom. You can restore apps themselves after a new rom install from the play store without using something like titanium backup but you will lose any data that is associated with that app. Restoring app data can cause issues though. So it is not recommended to restore any system apps after a rom install although I usually will restore Phone/Messaging storage data and have never had an issue but the possibility is there.
In the process of installing custom roms you will need to install a custom bootloader. Either CWM or TWRP usually. These bootloaders give you the option to do a full system image called a Nandroid. This is what most people use as a backup.
Hope this is some help. I am no expert, this is just what I have learned from experiance here at XDA.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, thanks for the comprehensive reply. It answers many of my questions. Firstly, I am going to do away with Lucky Patcher and at this time I do not think I need a custom kernel.
However, after reading your reply I have a fresh set of questions:
1. If restoring apps can cause issues, then what is the alternative if you do not want to lose your app data? Are you saying that once I install the custom ROM, I could restore most apps using Titanium Backup but for system apps (meaning root access apps right?) I should just do a fresh install from the Play Store?
2. I have already flashed CWM during root so 1 plus point for me . From your description, it is my understanding that people will create a Nandroid right before flashing a custom ROM/kernel so that in case anything goes wrong they can just restore back to previous state using the Nandroid image. Again, correct me if I am wrong.
Well and another problem that I forgot to mention in my opening post is with my WiFi:
Many a times, even after connecting to my home wifi network, I cannot access the internet. Then, if I reboot my phone and reconnect to wifi it starts working. Weird, I know. And, no its not a problem with my WiFi network, I verified that.

w1ndhawk said:
Adsaway
1. I have been using Adsaway ever since I rooted my phone and got to say, its amazing. But, I have been wondering if there is any way by which I could replace "Webpage not found" with something like a plain white color or plain black color. The "webpage not found" notification in place of the ads is quite ugly.
2. Talking about ads, I understand that adsaway only prevents you from receiving the ad instead of blocking the request for the ad. I found this thread on XDA where someone said that you could considerably increase battery life by using Lucky Patcher (no, I do not use this tool for cracking). I want to know how safe this is especially considering that you can mess up your phone using Lucky Patcher. Link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=28929442
Improving Battery Life
Link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2107163
This thread talks about how you can improve your battery life by flashing factory images. I definitely want to try it out. But, if I flash factory images wouldn't I be flashing the custom recovery too? And, does this mean that I have to stay on stock ROMs to improve battery life? I kind of find it a little bit confusing.
Further, he talks about 'kernel'. Being an engineer, I know what a kernel is. But, in the context of android, when flashing ROMs, is the kernel included with the custom ROM? or do you have to install the kernel separately? And, what are the advantages of flashing a custom kernel?
Titanium Backup
1. I know that this tool backs up your phone by basically creating a image file but I have no idea on how to use it to flash custom ROMs. An explanation or a link would be really helpful. If this question has been asked and answered before, sorry for asking it again.
2. Since the Nexus does not come with any desktop software, how do you do a normal backup of your phone? Again, this is a very basic question and I could probably find the answer online so feel free to ignore this question.
Finally, thank you all for being so patient and answering my queries. I hope that this will help other newbies as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
2. Adsaway blocks ads in apps so they aren't downloaded AFAIK(don't see the Download arrow in status bar) which saves power
3. You don't have to stay on stock after flashing the images. The images touch different partitions that were probably flashed improperly at the factory.
4.Kernels are already inside custom Roms. Custom kernels that are available separate have their own perks though and are from different Devs.
6. For Titanium after you backup you just connect your phone to your pc and it'll be detected. No desktop software is needed, just drap and drop.

By system apps I mean things like android settings. I use TB for stuff like games so I don't have to stay over from the start. when you install TB you will see what is labeled as a system app and what is labeled as a user app.
Exactly, a nandroid is a like a disk image that you can restore.
Sorry I can't help with your wifi issue, I'm not having that problem.

@Ace42
Ok so I guess it should do no harm if I first flash stock images and then over that flash the custom . NM/kernel of my choice. In fact there is a chance it may improve my battery life.
Thanks for clarifying the titanium backup part, it sounds simple enough.
OT:
I managed to solve the webpage not found problem on ad away. All you have to do is enable web server in preferences.
Again, thank you guys.

linelock said:
From reading the thread about flashing the stock Image, it seems very hit or miss on getting any results. If you are planning to run a custom rom I wouldn't bother. When installing a rom you will usually be wiping all of that anyway.
In the process of installing custom roms you will need to install a custom bootloader. Either CWM or TWRP usually. These bootloaders give you the option to do a full system image called a Nandroid. This is what most people use as a backup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
These paragraphs are incorrect.
The top one was covered already.
There are no custom bootloaders for the Nexus 4. There are custom recoveries, but a bootloader is by no means a recovery. Do not confuse the two.

w1ndhawk said:
@Ace42
Ok so I guess it should do no harm if I first flash stock images and then over that flash the custom . NM/kernel of my choice. In fact there is a chance it may improve my battery life.
Thanks for clarifying the titanium backup part, it sounds simple enough.
OT:
I managed to solve the webpage not found problem on ad away. All you have to do is enable web server in preferences.
Again, thank you guys.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No harm at all. After you do the images you can go to whatever custom setup you wanted. It personally increased my battery life and many other users here by varying degrees.

lucky patcher is for using "stolen" apps, patching their licence checks etc. it is frowned upon and can carry many bad things in it.

simms22 said:
lucky patcher is for using "stolen" apps, patching their licence checks etc. it is frowned upon and can carry many bad things in it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True, but apparently it does have its uses or so I've heard.
However, what do you mean it can carry many bad things?

I thought I’d give my 2 cents on Titanium Backup…
It doesn’t create an image file of the current state of your phone. That would be a Nandroid backup done via CWM Recovery.
Titanium Backup allows you to backup apps. That means apps installed by the user (user apps) and apps that came baked into the ROM (system apps). As mentioned, it’s not recommended to restore system apps because this often causes weird issues.
When you restore, you can also choose whether to restore the app only or the app plus data. In rare cases, restoring app data causes weird issues.
One of my favorite feature of Titanium Backup is how it allows you to create a zip file of your backup that can be flashed from recovery.
Everybody uses Titanium Backup differently. But here’s how I tend to use it when moving between ROMs.
1. Backup all user apps.
2. Create a zip of the backed up user apps (no app data).
3. Wipe data (factory reset), wipe dalvik cache, flash new ROM.
4. Boot into the newly flashed ROM and go through the initial setup process.
5. Reboot into recovery.
6. Flash the zip created by Titanium Backup.
Sure, I lose all app data, but that just means I guarantee myself a clean slate to start.

ohyeahar said:
I thought I’d give my 2 cents on Titanium Backup…
It doesn’t create an image file of the current state of your phone. That would be a Nandroid backup done via CWM Recovery.
Titanium Backup allows you to backup apps. That means apps installed by the user (user apps) and apps that came baked into the ROM (system apps). As mentioned, it’s not recommended to restore system apps because this often causes weird issues.
When you restore, you can also choose whether to restore the app only or the app plus data. In rare cases, restoring app data causes weird issues.
One of my favorite feature of Titanium Backup is how it allows you to create a zip file of your backup that can be flashed from recovery.
Everybody uses Titanium Backup differently. But here’s how I tend to use it when moving between ROMs.
1. Backup all user apps.
2. Create a zip of the backed up user apps (no app data).
3. Wipe data (factory reset), wipe dalvik cache, flash new ROM.
4. Boot into the newly flashed ROM and go through the initial setup process.
5. Reboot into recovery.
6. Flash the zip created by Titanium Backup.
Sure, I lose all app data, but that just means I guarantee myself a clean slate to start.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey thanks ohyeahar. Going to follow this when flashing my custom ROM.
So ideally, aside from user apps you shouldn't restore anything. However, I would like to save backup and restore my contacts and also app data for the game Subway Surf. How safe is this? And, let us suppose do I face some problems after restoring app data, will just uninstalling and resintalling the application suffice in alleviating the problems?
OT:
Now, that I will be flashing factory image (to try and improve my battery life), I assume I am going to lose my unlock+root. Should I be making a nandroid before doing this in the case of some problem?

Reflashing the system image will remove root yes, but your bootloader will still be unlocked. All you need to do after flashing the new system image is install http://download.chainfire.eu/306/SuperSU/UPDATE-SuperSU-v1.00.zip from CWM (or TWRP).
--You should always have at least one nandroid backup on your phone in case anything goes wrong.

w1ndhawk said:
Hey thanks ohyeahar. Going to follow this when flashing my custom ROM.
So ideally, aside from user apps you shouldn't restore anything. However, I would like to save backup and restore my contacts and also app data for the game Subway Surf. How safe is this? And, let us suppose do I face some problems after restoring app data, will just uninstalling and resintalling the application suffice in alleviating the problems?
OT:
Now, that I will be flashing factory image (to try and improve my battery life), I assume I am going to lose my unlock+root. Should I be making a nandroid before doing this in the case of some problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your contacts shouldn’t require backing up because they should be backed up to your Google account.
If you want to restore app data for certain apps, I would do it one at a time. That way, if problems occur, you at least know which app is the culprit.
If you uninstall and reinstall the problematic app, that would work. Or you can simply just go into the app settings and clear data for that app. That should be sufficient.

[Q] Please help, S4 Complete Backup (Nandroid) tool/ dicerctions needed

Hey everyone, I'm new to android game, I've been cracking iPhones since 1st gen, decided to challenge myself. I have an S4, rooted, but no CWM installed. I want to save the recovery so if any issues ever occur, I can just flash it and have it covered under warranty, and also to be ble to return to stock wen I sell the phone.
Is there a tool i can use to make a nandroid backup? On my Nexus 7, There is an all-in-one tool and I can make a nandroid straight from my PC. Is there anything similar for the s4? If not, how to I make a nandroid backup? thank you everyone for your help, I appreciate it

Odin back to stock if you ever need to.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda app-developers app

Dimon1990 said:
Hey everyone, I'm new to android game, I've been cracking iPhones since 1st gen, decided to challenge myself. I have an S4, rooted, but no CWM installed. I want to save the recovery so if any issues ever occur, I can just flash it and have it covered under warranty, and also to be ble to return to stock wen I sell the phone.
Is there a tool i can use to make a nandroid backup? On my Nexus 7, There is an all-in-one tool and I can make a nandroid straight from my PC. Is there anything similar for the s4? If not, how to I make a nandroid backup? thank you everyone for your help, I appreciate it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not entirely sure it's possible to do a nandroid backup without first having a custom recovery. However, it is "always" possible to use the Odin method to return to stock (including stock recovery). Personally, I installed TWRP and immediately did a full nandroid (including system, boot, cache, etc...) and I've frequently found myself restoring pieces of it as I manage to screw up different things. I did return my recovery back to stock once by using the "dd" method to flash the stock recovery.img onto the correct emmc block. There's instructions how to do this exactly on the TWRP homepage (make sure you get the correct phone - block numbers are different for different devices) - but instead of re-flashing TWRP, I pulled the recovery.img from the giant Odin image available here on XDA.
It may also be possible to use "dd" to pull a copy of your existing recovery image as well, but I've never tried it.

Aou said:
I'm not entirely sure it's possible to do a nandroid backup without first having a custom recovery. However, it is "always" possible to use the Odin method to return to stock (including stock recovery). Personally, I installed TWRP and immediately did a full nandroid (including system, boot, cache, etc...) and I've frequently found myself restoring pieces of it as I manage to screw up different things. I did return my recovery back to stock once by using the "dd" method to flash the stock recovery.img onto the correct emmc block. There's instructions how to do this exactly on the TWRP homepage (make sure you get the correct phone - block numbers are different for different devices) - but instead of re-flashing TWRP, I pulled the recovery.img from the giant Odin image available here on XDA.
It may also be possible to use "dd" to pull a copy of your existing recovery image as well, but I've never tried it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you! I'll be installing TWRP today, what is Odin if I can ask? I've never heard of any of it from Nexus 7.
Also, If i do a titanium backup, can I easily restore apps with setting and save games while I'm running CM10.1?

Dimon1990 said:
Thank you! I'll be installing TWRP today, what is Odin if I can ask? I've never heard of any of it from Nexus 7.
Also, If i do a titanium backup, can I easily restore apps with setting and save games while I'm running CM10.1?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You better find out what odin is because it's the only way you'll be installing twrp. And don't count on tibu restoring all your apps seamlessly. Never reinstall system apps.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda app-developers app

jd1639 said:
You better find out what odin is because it's the only way you'll be installing twrp. And don't count on tibu restoring all your apps seamlessly. Never reinstall system apps.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I installed TWRP through GooManager. I looked up ODIN and got general info, hopefully I won't get stuck, but I'm sure I'll find my way around. Thank you so much for your help! I figured that sys apps will just be for stock, but i have a MC4 save that i don't want to lose ::cyclops: it looks like it's CM10.1 time for me!

Dimon1990 said:
Thank you! I'll be installing TWRP today, what is Odin if I can ask? I've never heard of any of it from Nexus 7.
Also, If i do a titanium backup, can I easily restore apps with setting and save games while I'm running CM10.1?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's the thread that explains how to return to stock using Odin. Be prepared for a large download.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2261573
In short, "Odin Mode" is the download mode that's built-in to just about every modern Samsung device, beginning as far back as the Captivate, afaik. Each device has a button combination to enter "download mode" or "odin mode". This special mode sometimes requires specific drivers to connect to your PC. Flashing stock firmware using this method is common, but with an unlocked bootloader, it could be used to flash about anything. It's like a secondary recovery in a sense. It's harder to destroy download mode, but still possible if you mess up the bootloader somehow.
For our device the easiest methods to get to download mode are:
- Hold down the power button until the device force-resets itself. The moment the device turns black, release the power button and begin holding down the Vol-Down button. The device with vibrate once as usual, but then you'll see a screen that you've never seen before (begins with "Warning!!").
- Using any shell, such as ADB Shell or a terminal emulator, give the command "reboot download". This may require root privileges, I'm not sure.
- There's apps for this - haven't tried them yet.
As for Titanium backup - I love this program and have purchased Pro (totally worth it). As others have said, it's a bad idea to backup/restore System apps. Only do so with extreme caution. It is possible to restore only the data from system apps, but again do so with caution.
While Google does its own job at re-installing apps after a factory reset (if you allow it to), it usually doesn't backup data for each app. I have a couple authenticator apps that I backup this way, and it works great for this. I've also managed to keep my copy of Angry Birds Samsung Edition from my Infuse. Other applications that have since disappeared from Google Play are still backed up and get migrated to each new device I purchase.
And for that matter, with almost every User application, you can easily back it up (with data) and restore it on a completely different ROM. When changing major android versions, you sometimes will find apps force-closing on you, requiring that you wipe their data... but I haven't had that problem in a long time.
You'll see some other things that you can backup, like SMS, Access Points, Bluetooth Pairings, etc. .... I recommend only restoring these with caution - especially cross-ROM or cross-device.
Okay, I'm done being long-winded. Good luck, have fun.

Good write up
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda app-developers app

Aou said:
Here's the thread that explains how to return to stock using Odin. Be prepared for a large download.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2261573
Thank you so much!
In short, "Odin Mode" is the download mode that's built-in to just about every modern Samsung device, beginning as far back as the Captivate, afaik. Each device has a button combination to enter "download mode" or "odin mode". This special mode sometimes requires specific drivers to connect to your PC. Flashing stock firmware using this method is common, but with an unlocked bootloader, it could be used to flash about anything. It's like a secondary recovery in a sense. It's harder to destroy download mode, but still possible if you mess up the bootloader somehow.
For our device the easiest methods to get to download mode are:
- Hold down the power button until the device force-resets itself. The moment the device turns black, release the power button and begin holding down the Vol-Down button. The device with vibrate once as usual, but then you'll see a screen that you've never seen before (begins with "Warning!!").
- Using any shell, such as ADB Shell or a terminal emulator, give the command "reboot download". This may require root privileges, I'm not sure.
- There's apps for this - haven't tried them yet.
As for Titanium backup - I love this program and have purchased Pro (totally worth it). As others have said, it's a bad idea to backup/restore System apps. Only do so with extreme caution. It is possible to restore only the data from system apps, but again do so with caution.
While Google does its own job at re-installing apps after a factory reset (if you allow it to), it usually doesn't backup data for each app. I have a couple authenticator apps that I backup this way, and it works great for this. I've also managed to keep my copy of Angry Birds Samsung Edition from my Infuse. Other applications that have since disappeared from Google Play are still backed up and get migrated to each new device I purchase.
And for that matter, with almost every User application, you can easily back it up (with data) and restore it on a completely different ROM. When changing major android versions, you sometimes will find apps force-closing on you, requiring that you wipe their data... but I haven't had that problem in a long time.
You'll see some other things that you can backup, like SMS, Access Points, Bluetooth Pairings, etc. .... I recommend only restoring these with caution - especially cross-ROM or cross-device.
Okay, I'm done being long-winded. Good luck, have fun.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much!

About to unlock/root best way to save current apps

Not sure why I didn't unlock and robot phone initially. However, I'm planning to do this now. Unfortunately, by waiting, I've got a good filtered list of apps installed that I use compared to the ones I've installed over the years.
In the past, when already rooted, I would just do a backup using titanium of the apps currently on the phone and just restore that set after a clean wipe which would would also bring back all of my app settings.
Is there a similar way of doing this now or do I just have to suck it up and get a current list of all the apps I have and do an ota install of them again?

If you do a factory reset on the device when you log back on it will ask if you want to restore your apps. Just click yes and it will put everything back on that was there before.

How would it know what "before" was though. Does it somehow know what was on the device just before and not pull apps that I have installed since the beginning of time?

qdroid said:
How would it know what "before" was though. Does it somehow know what was on the device just before and not pull apps that I have installed since the beginning of time?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Turn on developer options and use "adb" to backup the phone.

Xposed on Huawei Ascend XT

I have system-less root on my Huawei Ascend XT and also system-less Xposed installed and working. See https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=70512435&postcount=3 for Xposed installation instructions I used.
Let's discuss anything regarding Xposed and modules in this thread .
Thanks, divineBliss
EDIT: WARNING: NOTE: CAUTION:
Please be aware that if you install Xposed framework on your XT, at times the phone won't boot correctly as evidenced by the fact that if you try to go to bring up the phone settings window/app, the screen will just flicker and the settings screen won't open. The simple solution is to just reboot the phone. Sometimes it takes multiple reboots before the phone successfully reboots/settings app can be successfully opened. This issue has been experienced by me and several others who installed Xposed framework on the XT.
For me personally, the advantages of using Xposed modules far outweigh this minor inconvenience which only happens after a phone reboot.

Not running xposed yet but have there been any issues or maybe a list of what works and doesn't? I'd like to know what others are getting from xposed.
Sent from my H1611 using Tapatalk

I got Xposed modules that let me listen to YouTube with app YouTube app minimized and even screen off.
And another module to adjust YouTube volume/scroll video by swiping on video screen.
See
http://www.howtogeek.com/263663/how...k-for-frustration-free-android-customization/
I used Magisk to install Xposed framework.
Also see: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=70472229&postcount=488

Some how Xposed didn't install right, It wasn't working so I uninstalled it. My phone started to boot to recovery mode. Couldn't get passed it. I went into TWPR and recovered the Boot backup that TWRP installs to your internal. It "worked" but whenever it booted back to the home screen I got a black screen with nothing but for my notification bar and soft keys.
I tried to use my Backup from whenever I rooted but they are not showing up. I backed them up onto my computer so I put them onto my SD card and they are still not showing up in TWRP

1. After you installed Xposed with Magisk and rebooted the phone, what happened?
2. Did you wait about 30 minutes if the screen was dark or on the boot logo?
3. Go into TWRP and make sure you selected external SD for source. Use the TWRP file manager to make sure you it can access external SD - specifically the folder where you put the TWRP backup.
dabadguycr said:
Some how Xposed didn't install right, It wasn't working so I uninstalled it. My phone started to boot to recovery mode. Couldn't get passed it. I went into TWPR and recovered the Boot backup that TWRP installs to your internal. It "worked" but whenever it booted back to the home screen I got a black screen with nothing but for my notification bar and soft keys.
I tried to use my Backup from whenever I rooted but they are not showing up. I backed them up onto my computer so I put them onto my SD card and they are still not showing up in TWRP
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

divineBliss said:
1. After you installed Xposed with Magisk and rebooted the phone, what happened?
2. Did you wait about 30 minutes if the screen was dark or on the boot logo?
3. Go into TWRP and make sure you selected external SD for source. Use the TWRP file manager to make sure you it can access external SD - specifically the folder where you put the TWRP backup.
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1. It was working great for about 20mins than everything started to freeze up and crash. Everything before was working great.
2. Yes, it only took around 10mins to boot back up.
3. I did that and my SD card is showing up. What file should the backups be in? I'm thinking I should make another backup than place the ones I have into that file.
I'm wondering if it is something with my launcher. I get Notification bar with everything and Soft key but nothing else.

1. After it booted up fine for 20 minutes, what did you do during that 20 minutes before it crapped out?
2 . So after you installed Xposed Framework with Magisk, the phone booted up fine within 10 minutes?
3. Yes, go back into TWRP and backup just the recovery so you see what directory it creates, then put your original TWRP backup into a similar parallel directory and see what happens.
What launcher are you using?
dabadguycr said:
1. It was working great for about 20mins than everything started to freeze up and crash. Everything before was working great.
2. Yes, it only took around 10mins to boot back up.
3. I did that and my SD card is showing up. What file should the backups be in? I'm thinking I should make another backup than place the ones I have into that file.
I'm wondering if it is something with my launcher. I get Notification bar with everything and Soft key but nothing else.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

divineBliss said:
1. After it booted up fine for 20 minutes, what did you do during that 20 minutes before it crapped out?
2 . So after you installed Xposed Framework with Magisk, the phone booted up fine within 10 minutes?
3. Yes, go back into TWRP and backup just the recovery so you see what directory it creates, then put your original TWRP backup into a similar parallel directory and see what happens.
What launcher are you using?
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Click to collapse
I did 3. Took about 5mins to reboot. No launcher but luckily I had a pop up for updates so I was able to get into store to download a launcher.
imma try to download one.
It just says Download Pending nothing else.

Did you just restore a TWRP backup? Rooted backup or before root backup? Why was there no launcher in this backup?
dabadguycr said:
I did 3. Took about 5mins to reboot. No launcher but luckily I had a pop up for updates so I was able to get into store to download a launcher.
imma try to download one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

divineBliss said:
Did you just restore a TWRP backup? Rooted backup or before root backup? Why was there no launcher in this backup?
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Click to collapse
I thought I froze the stock launcher I think I may have deleted it. The stock launcher is found in the System files since it's read only I can not restore the system.
I thought I placed the stock recovery on my phone but I guess not. I still have super user and root.
I just checked my root with rootchecker and its working perfectly.

You can check or uncheck the box when TWRP starts to make System writable and you need to do that now to restore your System backup from TWRP. If you made a backup after rooting, you could try to restore that.
dabadguycr said:
I thought I froze the stock launcher I think I may have deleted it. The stock launcher is found in the System files since it's read only I can not restore the system.
I thought I was using a stock back up but I still have root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Is your phone working now? What was the lesson learned out of all this? Got some notes/bullets to share for others?
dabadguycr said:
I thought I froze the stock launcher I think I may have deleted it. The stock launcher is found in the System files since it's read only I can not restore the system.
I thought I placed the stock recovery on my phone but I guess not. I still have super user and root.
I just checked my root with rootchecker and its working perfectly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

divineBliss said:
Is your phone working now? What was the lesson learned out of all this? Got some notes/bullets to share for others?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it's working again!!
I learned be very very careful removing Xposed and do not remove or freeze the stock launcher.
If you are restoring from a older backup and it doesn't show up. Make a new backup (I did cache only back up so I could tell the difference easier) on your SD Card. It should create a folders called
TWRP/BACKUP/(folder with 8 different letters and numbers) / (Then your new backup file)
Place your old backup folder under the new one. It will now show up in TWRP.
It's safe to restore a backup with root and super user. Takes around 10mins first boot.

Now that you have mastered restoring in 10 minutes, try Xposed again. I got it installed first try with Magisk. .
Every time I boot, I click the settings icon to make sure it works. Sometimes the screen just flashes and no settings screen comes up, so I just reboot. I'm not sure if that's caused by Xposed or what at this point, but it's not worth uninstalling Xposed for me to find out at this point.
dabadguycr said:
Yes, it's working again!!
I learned be very very careful removing Xposed and do not remove or freeze the stock launcher.
If you are restoring from a older backup and it doesn't show up. Make a new backup (I did cache only back up so I could tell the difference easier) on your SD Card. It should create a folders called
TWRP/BACKUP/(folder with 8 different letters and numbers) / (Then your new backup file)
Place your old backup folder under the new one. It will now show up in TWRP.
It's safe to restore a backup with root and super user. Takes around 10mins first boot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

divineBliss said:
Now that you have mastered restoring in 10 minutes, try Xposed again. I got it installed first try with Magisk. .
Every time I boot, I click the settings icon to make sure it works. Sometimes the screen just flashes and no settings screen comes up, so I just reboot. I'm not sure if that's caused by Xposed or what at this point, but it's not worth uninstalling Xposed for me to find out at this point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I honestly think Magisk uninstall was what crashed my phone. I think I may have uninstalled it wrong. From the guide I read it said download the uninstall go into custom recovery and open the zip. I just thought it was Xposed because that's when my system started freezing.

divineBliss said:
Thanks, these details are important. So make a backup of Boot, System, and Data (and be sure you already have a good backup of Cust somewhere) if you want to try installing Xposed again. Depending on what else you do, you should only need to restore System if things get messed up trying to install Xposed again. And again, I have it installed with Xposed modules working, so it's possible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does installing Xposed even touch the system? It looked like it modifies the boot but doesn't touch the system.

The Xposed install is supposed to be system-less, and you get did things working by only restoring Boot, that's why I said probably just Boot needs to be restored. If things didn't work after that, I'd restore System, and then if still not working, restore Data after that.
If you do try and reinstall Xposed, can you take notes on where it takes a long wait before something happens ........ I forgot to do that and don't remember now. It's not fun when the screen goes dark and you don't expect it ....... actually I seem to remember that happening for like 30 minutes ??? when I install Magisk/Xposed ........ the screen wasn't even on.
dabadguycr said:
Also
Does installing Xposed even touch the system? It looked like it modifies the boot but doesn't touch the system.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

divineBliss said:
The Xposed install is supposed to be system-less, and you did things working by only restoring Boot, that's why I said probably just Boot needs to be restored. If things didn't work after that, I'd restore System, and then if still not working, restore Data after that.
If you do try and reinstall Xposed, can you take notes on where it takes a long wait before something happens ........ I forgot to do that and don't remember now. It's not fun when the screen goes dark and you don't expect it ....... actually I seem to remember that happening for like 30 minutes ??? when I install Magisk/Xposed ........ the screen wasn't even on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm going to install it manually. I think Magisk was what missed up my phone last time so I rather go that path then taking the chance at missing something up again.
I'm going to install sdk23 should I install arm arm64 or x86.
I don't believe our phone is a 32bit system so x86 is out. I think arm64? Correct?

Yes, arm64. Take notes and good luck . Do you have a link on how to install it manually?
dabadguycr said:
I'm going to install it manually. I think Magisk was what missed up my phone last time so I rather go that path then taking the chance at missing something up again.
I'm going to install sdk23 should I install arm arm64 or x86.
I don't believe our phone is a 32bit system so x86 is out. I think arm64? Correct?
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Click to collapse

divineBliss said:
Yes, arm64. Take notes and good luck . Do you have a link on how to install it manually?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3034811
I'm using this link.
Believe I just download the zip to SD card
Go into TWRP
Click install
Find the zip
Swipe to install
Click Wipe
Wipe cache and dalvik

Getting rid of OTA updates on a rooted device by freezing "Software Update" apps

Getting rid of OTA updates on a rooted device by freezing "Software Update" apps
I have a rooted Galaxy s10+ with android pie. Doesn't freezing "Software Update" system apps of my android by Titanium Backup make booting problems for my device? Is it safe for me to freeze those apps? I ask because I've heard freezing some system apps like "Device Care" stops the device from booting. As other fellas I get ota update notifications and I wanna get rid of them by freezing those apps.

not a soul to answer?

dont know, never used it on this app
why dont you just hide the notifications?

TexasHoldemJoker said:
dont know, never used it on this app
why dont you just hide the notifications?
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Click to collapse
because they come back, of course I tried that. you cannot just hide their notifications. They are system apps which android doesn't let you to hide their notifications. you can even stop the apps with some apps but they come back. I just wanna know the answer to my question because all other ways has already been tried and they were unsuccessful.

You can freeze the software update without issues, or at least you could back in Galaxy S4 days. Pie might work differently than lollipop.

StoneyJSG said:
You can freeze the software update without issues, or at least you could back in Galaxy S4 days. Pie might work differently than lollipop.
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Click to collapse
thank you for your reply but that is what I'm afraid of. As I have so many data and customization on my phone, I wanna be 100% sure that Android Pie works fine and boots successfully with frozen "Software Update" apps (there are two apps).

sorena2 said:
because they come back, of course I tried that. you cannot just hide their notifications. They are system apps which android doesn't let you to hide their notifications. you can even stop the apps with some apps but they come back. I just wanna know the answer to my question because all other ways has already been tried and they were unsuccessful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am Sure Auto notifications can hide them permanently, and it works in pie

TexasHoldemJoker said:
I am Sure Auto notifications can hide them permanently, and it works in pie
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I'd tried that too, it worked messy on my phone and used much of my mobile's resources. still waiting for someone to say that s/he tried to freeze the source of the problem and wiped the problem clean successfully.

sorena2 said:
Thanks, I'd tried that too, it worked messy on my phone and used much of my mobile's resources. still waiting for someone to say that s/he tried to freeze the source of the problem and wiped the problem clean successfully.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are willing to wait until i geht my next Update notifications i can try it for you, but this might Take Long?

TexasHoldemJoker said:
If you are willing to wait until i geht my next Update notifications i can try it for you, but this might Take Long?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol that is very nice of you. If you don't mind messing with your Android Pie you can do it now because I just wanna see that the OS boots after freezing "software update" apps using Titanium Backup

sorena2 said:
not a soul to answer?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some ideas:
Autonotification blocks permanent notifications permanently .
Or make a Nandroid backup with TWRP and restore if necessary.
Or use TWRP file manager (or aroma file manager https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1646108) to backup packages .xml file (should work also on PIE) in the data/system folder, which contains information About enabled and disabled packages.

ninestarkoko said:
Some ideas:
Autonotification blocks permanent notifications permanently .
Or make a Nandroid backup with TWRP and restore if necessary.
Or use TWRP file manager (or aroma file manager https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1646108) to backup packages .xml file (should work also on PIE) in the data/system folder, which contains information About enabled and disabled packages.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you, I still wanna wait for someone who has done the freezing way. No TWRP on my mobile and I also want things to be done clean. don't like any overload by other apps like autonotification.

sorena2 said:
Thank you, I still wanna wait for someone who has done the freezing way. No TWRP on my mobile and I also want things to be done clean. don't like any overload by other apps like autonotification.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok.
Always know that having root without having a custom recovery (TWRP) can be very risky because, in case you or some root-app make your phone bootloop, you cannot recover easily (And you lose your data).

ninestarkoko said:
Ok.
Always know that having root without having a custom recovery (TWRP) can be very risky because, in case you or some root-app make your phone bootloop, you cannot recover easily (And you lose your data).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your advice. Yea you are right but at the moment s10+ was just released and its TWRP wasn't working properly. I'm an advanced user but I just don't have enough time to do it all over again let alone getting back up gets much time itself.
Still waiting for the answer folks ?

SO basically you are asking someone else to potentially F*** up their phone because you are not willing to try it yourself ? Sorry, but that's how it sounds....

Cholerabob said:
SO basically you are asking someone else to potentially F*** up their phone because you are not willing to try it yourself ? Sorry, but that's how it sounds....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course not. Some people have enough time to try different software and ways to make phones better. Some even have recovery software like TWRP which can undo if something go wrong. I'm asking them to share if they had the experience I mentioned. I was one of them a while ago.

sorena2 said:
Of course not. Some people have enough time to try different software and ways to make phones better. Some even have recovery software like TWRP which can undo if something go wrong. I'm asking them to share if they had the experience I mentioned. I was one of them a while ago.
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Click to collapse
Cool:good: