Database Develop

[ROM] Nothing Special (Plain) v1.3 (UPDATED 03/31/11)

Development dropped in favor of Liberation.
Only difference between Nothing Special 1.3 and Liberation 1.0 is that Google Car Home has been replaced by the stock HTC Car Panel. This is to remove "holes" left by the removal of a stock app. Also, this no longer conflicts with my intent of having a stock ROM minus carrier bloat/restrictions. Google Car Home can be added by the user if they so choose.

Great job. All the stock roms seem to be outdated.
SX Reapz!

Looks nice. Is there any benefit, though, over RUUing, adb shell, and then using rm to delete CityID etc?

pianoplayer said:
Looks nice. Is there any benefit, though, over RUUing, adb shell, and then using rm to delete CityID etc?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A few.
Apply this ROM is faster than using the RUU, re-rooting, and then manually deleting the programs you want. On the plus side, the slower method lets you delete any program YOU want, rather than being a one-size fits all type deal.
I'm using a memory/task killing teak offered by the Android Kitchen that is a bit more aggressive in memory conservation. This should give a slight performance boost over the RUU.
So really, it's more of a convenience than using the RUU. Many people who flash ROMs don't even know how to remove programs via ADB.

what kind of feed back are you looking for, there is more bloat but that is kinda user preference I remove almost everything and leave just the apps, kinda like the magnoila desenseitize but i do it manually bucause that wont flash for me on the stock rom

so far so good, can you post the list of addons i see carhome which is a good move

tjamscad said:
what kind of feed back are you looking for, there is more bloat but that is kinda user preference I remove almost everything and leave just the apps, kinda like the magnoila desenseitize but i do it manually bucause that wont flash for me on the stock rom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just wanted to make sure that I didn't screw anything up. Everyone has a different definition of "bloat." I decided to leave whatever HTC/Google apps came with the phone, and removed Verizon's additional bloat. Removing HTC's apps and cause minor stability issues that the casual user won't want to deal with. Those who know how to manually remove the apps tend to know how to deal with the minor issues that crop up.
tjamscad said:
so far so good, can you post the list of addons i see carhome which is a good move
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had Car Home listed under removed apps as the replacement for HTC Car Panel. I've copied it under features as well as per your suggestion. Otherwise, that's pretty much it.
If you want to further remove apps, a very simple way to do so is to unzip the package, delete the APKs under /system/app that you don't want, re-zip using a program like 7-ZIP (free), then flash it.
You can also do this to package ring tones in the /system/media folder so that they are stored in /system, don't take up user space, and will work correctly even when the device is USB mounted or just booting up.

do i use rom manager/ clockwork to flash this rom???

ahjdmarchi said:
do i use rom manager/ clockwork to flash this rom???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't use ROM Manager, so I couldn't tell you how to use it in that way. I just download and flash via Clockwork Recovery.

i have used clockwork and rom manager both work just fine

how do you feel about removing the HTCSetupWizzard.apk I find it to be bothersome when i have install a new rom and that pops up. I am not tring to be a jerk just throwing things out there. its your rom

VZW backup assistant, vzw 3g hot spot

tjamscad said:
how do you feel about removing the HTCSetupWizzard.apk I find it to be bothersome when i have install a new rom and that pops up. I am not tring to be a jerk just throwing things out there. its your rom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're absolutely not being a jerk. Like I said, no ROM will make everyone happy. Any user is free to modify the zip and delete the APKs (and corresponding odex files) from the /system/app folder prior to flashing.
HTCSetupWizard only pops up when data is wiped. On the "stable" release, if you just do a flash over, (same on any future upgrades) it won't pop up.
tjamscad said:
VZW backup assistant, vzw 3g hot spot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Deleting VZW backup assistant causes a "hole" in HTC's setup wizard. The point of this ROM was to maintain the user experience while deleting unused bloat. Also, this ROM pre-dates both Google's backup option as well as HTC's Sense.com option, so VZWBackup is a decent free alternative.
The 3G Hotspot option isn't made by Verizon, it's an HTC app (it's the same app on their unlocked phones). Some people, for whatever reason, will pay for tethering. They need this app to do so and it's not replaceable via the Android/VCAST markets. Also, there's a way to use this app to tether for free, essentially disabling the aspect that reports to Verizon. However, due to questionably legality, I can't detail how that works here.
However, I see your points, and I'll look at it more when I get back from my business trip.

Looking for a good "stock" ROM to replace Virtuous which seems to have been abandoned.
Any first hand experiences with this ROM? I'm starting to think the silence is a good thing (no problems).

I run it with Lou's #8 and it's running absolutely flawlessly. No complaints.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App

Installed this last night and so far it has been awesome! Very Snappy too.
Titanium seems to be broken, telling me it doesn't have root/BusyBox (even though I granted it root permissions), but I don't think it's the ROM since everything else that uses root works (Root explorer, ROM Manager, etc). Not a big deal since I can just use AppBrain, although a little more work involved there.
This is just what I was hoping for! Thanks.

craighwk said:
Installed this last night and so far it has been awesome! Very Snappy too.
Titanium seems to be broken, telling me it doesn't have root/BusyBox (even though I granted it root permissions), but I don't think it's the ROM since everything else that uses root works (Root explorer, ROM Manager, etc). Not a big deal since I can just use AppBrain, although a little more work involved there.
This is just what I was hoping for! Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At the bottom of titanium click "Problems?" And it will fix that problem by downloading busybox. Hope it helps.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App

all good no problems, when do you consider it stable? Not sure you could do anything else to it with out loosing the stock start over feel.

THis is just what i've been looking for, im not too crazy for those roms with 5h!tty mods and ugly colors, just wanted a stock without the bload, just google and HTC stuff and this one seems to offer that.
So nothing got broken in the process of removing the bloat right? will work just like the stock minus the bloat?
Would LOVE to get a ROM like this but with Sense 2.0 in it, now that would be awesome!

Great to always have a copy of this on your SD card. As a backup rom, for those of us who forget to nandroid sometimes

Removing/freezing bloat after OTA

I noticed there are some new apps and some new processes with the new update to ICS, like Google+ and a new messenger and some new authenticators. Does anyone have an updated list of what is safe to disable/freeze?

Marvin- said:
I noticed there are some new apps and some new processes with the new update to ICS, like Google+ and a new messenger and some new authenticators. Does anyone have an updated list of what is safe to disable/freeze?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm just looking to remove that junk. Root Uninstaller didn't seem to be helpful. Thankfully, this Moto junk is my work phone and not my personal. I'd never buy one of these!

I too am interested after noticing that I am down 75MB+ of available memory on average after the OTA ICS upgrade (coming from stock GB).

Actually, you don't really need any special guide. Almost everything can be either uninstalled or frozen by going into Settings => Applications and finding the app in the list. This is now built in to Android, so if you can disable it from there, it is safe. Also, most of the additional bloatware that isn't directly VZW can just be uninstalled now.

Awesome. I noticed that you can disable natively now. I just wanted to make sure disabling or removing stuff would not hurt future updates like people have said it would in the past.

Marvin- said:
Awesome. I noticed that you can disable natively now. I just wanted to make sure disabling or removing stuff would not hurt future updates like people have said it would in the past.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, this is now an Android feature. You can, of course, root your phone and further disable some software, but for the most part, you should be fine sticking with the safety of the native disabling.

Excellent, thanks for the quick response.

i like how they discourage you from disabling the bloatware by telling you stuff might misbehave... yeah, if i disable the NFL thing and my phone misbehaves, it's getting returned. lol
i can't wait for the day when the carriers are forced to allow us to completely remove the bloat that comes on phones, just like PC manufacturers were required to in the 90s.
has anyone experimented with repartitioning so that the app storage and user data areas are in the same partition? i really don't see any reason to keep them separate. right now i could get another 2gb back from the app partition to store more music in if i wanted to.

Gibson99 said:
i like how they discourage you from disabling the bloatware by telling you stuff might misbehave... yeah, if i disable the NFL thing and my phone misbehaves, it's getting returned. lol
i can't wait for the day when the carriers are forced to allow us to completely remove the bloat that comes on phones, just like PC manufacturers were required to in the 90s.
has anyone experimented with repartitioning so that the app storage and user data areas are in the same partition? i really don't see any reason to keep them separate. right now i could get another 2gb back from the app partition to store more music in if i wanted to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The "your phone might misbehave" is more of a generic message, but it can apply to anything. For example, if you have an app that relies on one of the activities from the NFL app, it is quite possible that your phone will do something unexpected (like crash).
Of course, I do also wish I could completely and safely obliterate all the VZW stuff.
As for repartitioning, Motorola does this so that they can continue to provide a mass storage connection mode. If you repartition to unified storage, it will mean that you will be restricted to MTP/PTP transfer modes. It also means that you'll need to be a LOT more careful when modifying your phone's OS. Personally, I recommend you simply invest $35 in a 32GB mirco SD card, or if you really have a lot of music, spring for a 64GB one.

[Q] What can I do with Root without installing a new ROM?

So I'm pretty happy with Lollipop as a whole, but there are just some things that I'd like to change, and I'm curious if I can do it with just root or if they are ROM level features.
So the main two are, softkey change (I want the back button on the right) and activating the LED.
I'm sure there are a couple other things, but I can't think of them right now.

Rooted devices allow you to backup, restore and freeze apps easy with Titanium Backup.
Allows you the block ads; I would always pay for apps but some idiot developers like to make money by pop up ads (charge for your hard work, do not say it is free and put out lame ads)
These two reasons are valid reasons to root even if you like the stock ROM

AstroDigital said:
Rooted devices allow you to backup, restore and freeze apps easy with Titanium Backup.
Allows you the block ads; I would always pay for apps but some idiot developers like to make money by pop up ads (charge for your hard work, do not say it is free and put out lame ads)
These two reasons are valid reasons to root even if you like the stock ROM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I totally appreciate Adblock and such.
I'm definitely going to root for that and things like Greenify.
I'm mostly curious if the LED/Softkeys and maybe Knock to Wake are things you can do without doing a full on ROM.

gorillaz1 said:
Yeah, I totally appreciate Adblock and such.
I'm definitely going to root for that and things like Greenify.
I'm mostly curious if the LED/Softkeys and maybe Knock to Wake are things you can do without doing a full on ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Franco Kernel has LED and DTTW. Not sure about softkeys as I like the current set up. This would keep you on stock rom.

Ahh ya know, hadn't thought about upgrading the kernel without doing a ROM, that's a solid idea.
Thank you Tone.

gorillaz1 said:
Yeah, I totally appreciate Adblock and such.
I'm definitely going to root for that and things like Greenify.
I'm mostly curious if the LED/Softkeys and maybe Knock to Wake are things you can do without doing a full on ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ditto what tone suggested, Lean kernel also allows LED and dt2w, works pretty good. There are some mighty good roms that allow nav keys changes and have so many features it makes it tough to go back to stock.
I was convinced no more flashing rom's, until I wanted to squeeze some more battery out of my N6. Then after I flashed Lean kernel, I figured well just make a nandroid and try some of the roms out. I've been on BlissPop since the 2nd week I got my N6. There are plenty of excellent roms available, with more each day, I know Bliss allows nav key changes, soooo maybe you want to test it?

gorillaz1 said:
So I'm pretty happy with Lollipop as a whole, but there are just some things that I'd like to change, and I'm curious if I can do it with just root or if they are ROM level features.
So the main two are, softkey change (I want the back button on the right) and activating the LED.
I'm sure there are a couple other things, but I can't think of them right now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I personally like the double tap to wake app that can be found on the play store which requires root access.

New to Android. Just looking for some pointers.

Hey all. Long time Blackberry user here. I have a couple questions about my note 5 I just picked up.
- Can I root the device (I'm on verizon)? I've done a bunch of googling and so far it seems like verizon has done a good job at making it impossible?
- The main reason I want to root is to just to rid my phone of all the JUNK apps I don't want. If rooting my phone isn't possible, what's the best way to prevent the apps from taking up space and using up data? With no sdcard slot, space will be a premium, and I'd like to free up as much as possible.
-RYknow

-RYknow said:
Hey all. Long time Blackberry user here. I have a couple questions about my note 5 I just picked up.
- Can I root the device (I'm on verizon)? I've done a bunch of googling and so far it seems like verizon has done a good job at making it impossible?
- The main reason I want to root is to just to rid my phone of all the JUNK apps I don't want. If rooting my phone isn't possible, what's the best way to prevent the apps from taking up space and using up data? With no sdcard slot, space will be a premium, and I'd like to free up as much as possible.
-RYknow
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Right now without root access on our Verizon Galaxy Note 5s there's no way to get rid of the apps to free up space. However there is a way to disable the apps by using Package Disabler but you have to make sure that you don't disable anything if you don't know what it does because you can end up causing the phone not to work or not boot in which case you'll have to do a restore and lose everything. I actually made the mistake and disabled some things that I shouldn't have and it caused the phone to get stuck at the Verizon logo so just be careful what you do with it! Also if you disable certain things that the system needs it can actually become detrimental to the battery life and make it run out faster. Personally I'd say to just leave it alone unless it's actually doing something because on mine I noticed that if I don't use them or tap into them they won't run anyway.

-RYknow said:
Hey all. Long time Blackberry user here. I have a couple questions about my note 5 I just picked up.
- Can I root the device (I'm on verizon)? I've done a bunch of googling and so far it seems like verizon has done a good job at making it impossible?
- The main reason I want to root is to just to rid my phone of all the JUNK apps I don't want. If rooting my phone isn't possible, what's the best way to prevent the apps from taking up space and using up data? With no sdcard slot, space will be a premium, and I'd like to free up as much as possible.
-RYknow
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi,
Here's a few pointers, what i do (managing free space)
Firstly, i am also on a branded version. No root, stock Rom.
I found that i could uninstall most of my carriers bloatware,
( see... Device /Settings /App Manager)
Other system bloat apps, i just disabled in App Manager.
Check system apps like...
Eg S Voice.. Briefing.. S HEALTH ?, (if you can disable.)
Secondly your stock Smart Manager, /App Powersaving, the apps i hardly use, i set to always... optimizing.
I used to store movies on my ext Sd card, (but as
we have no Ext Sd card) , i keep my movies on
a mini OTG SanDisk. If i want to watch,i plug /attach, OTG and watch.( Saves a lot of space)
Eventually, you just "adapt" to the limited space.
Good luck
Post note,
Root, is not always the answer.!
Sometimes you just create, more problems /issues
for yourself.
All my other devices Note 2/3/4 is rooted.
My Note5 is not rooted and i am overall very happy with device.
I only have 2 x small system bugs, nothing to stress about /root (Found a roundabout way to fix these.)
Otherwise.......
(Battery life is good , Device runs very smooth, optimized good)

willcor said:
hi,
Here's a few pointers, what i do (managing free space)
Firstly, i am also on a branded version. No root, stock Rom.
I found that i could uninstall most of my carriers bloatware,
( see... Device /Settings /App Manager)
Other system bloat apps, i just disabled in App Manager.
Check system apps like...
Eg S Voice.. Briefing.. S HEALTH ?, (if you can disable.)
Secondly your stock Smart Manager, /App Powersaving, the apps i hardly use, i set to always... optimizing.
I used to store movies on my ext Sd card, (but as
we have no Ext Sd card) , i keep my movies on
a mini OTG SanDisk. If i want to watch,i plug /attach, OTG and watch.( Saves a lot of space)
Eventually, you just "adapt" to the limited space.
Good luck
Post note,
Root, is not always the answer.!
Sometimes you just create, more problems /issues
for yourself.
All my other devices Note 2/3/4 is rooted.
My Note5 is not rooted and i am overall very happy with device.
I only have 2 x small system bugs, nothing to stress about /root (Found a roundabout way to fix these.)
Otherwise.......
(Battery life is good , Device runs very smooth, optimized good)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the response. I've gone through and just disabled all the verizon apps that I could, as well as a few of the samsung apps I feel pretty confident I won't be using. Seems like rooting is more of a headache then I really want to get into right now with a new device, and a brand new platform (I've literally been using an android for 2 days now).
Thanks again!
-RYknow

-RYknow said:
Thanks for the response. I've gone through and just disabled all the verizon apps that I could, as well as a few of the samsung apps I feel pretty confident I won't be using. Seems like rooting is more of a headache then I really want to get into right now with a new device, and a brand new platform (I've literally been using an android for 2 days now).
Thanks again!
-RYknow
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah , dont root it. It voids your warranty, and also few features will not work. Like private mode, Samsung Pay etc

My stock N6 32GB becomes laggy after about 2 days use and requires rebooting

I have this strange problem with my N6 in that after about 2 days use it becomes quite laggy and unusable requiring a restart. When this happens the camera becomes unusable as with HRD+ off, taking a picture from pressing the shutter button to an image being captured can take several seconds. This isn't really acceptable.
And every now and then I clear the cache also which helps but seems a bit drastic.
Can anybody think what might be causing this? It's quite annoying as you might expect and didn't appear to be like that when I first bought the phone.
I don't run anything fancy and use a standard wallpaper (no active ones) and very few if any background tasks apart from the usual Google ones.
Maybe when (and if) Nougat comes out for it, it might improve but it seems strange that a phone would do that.
Thanks

lchiu7 said:
I have this strange problem with my N6 in that after about 2 days use it becomes quite laggy and unusable ......
Can anybody think what might be causing this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
An app or Google play services.
Try Advanced Task killer and uninstall the Google services updates.

Flash a custom ROM and use a good Kernel... Problem solved.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA-Developers mobile app

If your phone doesn't run hot without reason, you should backup your important internal stuff to PC or USB and flash a clean factory image to wipe the phone totally.
First i would try shayneflashindaily's advice.

Thanks. I installed Advanced Task Killer and killed a few tasks that I didn't know were running and that seemed to help. Not clear to me how to uninstall Google Drives l Services Update.
It does run hot sometimes for no apparent reason but while I'm happy to do factory reset I'm not sure I want to flash a custom ROM or kernel.
Doesn't a different kernel require root? The bootloader is unlocked but I never was able to gain root and given I use credit card payment over NFC I think root would break that.

I had the same problem and i've opened the very same thread.
No matter what advice i followed or what app i used to fix the problem, neither truly fixed it 100%. You will experience the same problem after a bit, along with low battery and general hotness of the phone.
Only one cure to it: decrypt your phone. It's the only way and that fixed 100% my problems. So you need a force encrypt disabled rom such pure nexus and Fed Patcher. That means you need to install also TWRP.
The main culprit is the forced encryption.

lchiu7 said:
Not clear to me how to uninstall Google Drives l Services Update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Settings - Apps - select Drive and uninstall.
Do this with all apps you don't use.
I use credit card payment over NFC I think root would break that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Root will break NFC paying, but some managed to unroot add card number and root again.
Decryption will speed up a bit the performance, but you need root access.
A prerooted stock rom of Danvd is a good choice, but take care with rooting as long as you need apps that refuse to work with rooted phones.

NLBeev said:
Settings - Apps - select Drive and uninstall.
Do this with all apps you don't use.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The poster said remove Google Play Services. That's what I am not sure about how to uninstall. On my phone the options Disable and Force Stop are both greyed out.
NLBeev said:
Root will break NFC paying, but some managed to unroot add card number and root again.
Decryption will speed up a bit the performance, but you need root access.
A prerooted stock rom of Danvd is a good choice, but take care with rooting as long as you need apps that refuse to work with rooted phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That seems like a bridge too far for me. The only reason I considered rooting the N6 before was to enable the notification light which apparently does exist on the N6 but requires Root for LIghtflow to use it. I decided the alternative of the Amoled notifications was good enough and provided more information

lchiu7 said:
The poster said remove Google Play Services. That's what I am not sure about how to uninstall. On my phone the options Disable and Force Stop are both greyed out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have to check out the Android device manager in Settings - security - device administrators.
For more info - follow the link.
https://www.androidpit.com/google-play-services-what-is-it-and-what-is-it-for

The link doesn't work but I can't see anything about who is a device administrator - just a few services like Gmail, Android Pay and Android Device Manager

lchiu7 said:
The link doesn't work but I can't see anything about who is a device administrator - just a few services like Gmail, Android Pay and Android Device Manager
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try the link again; the last slash is removed. It should work now.
Device admin... Uncheck Android device manager.

I disabled Android Device Manager but still cannot disable Google Play Services as it's greyed out.
Might leave it as I do need Google Play Services

Deleted (wrong thread)