Database Develop

Need help solving an issue, play store misbehaving on my SM-T810

Hello, I hope I can post this here.. i tried, i searched... can't find any solution to my issue.
Model : SM-T810 , with Samsung 128GB UHS microSD. OS : stock Nougat from Samsung.
Here is the problem :
On the play store, if there are pending updates, they only install one at a time, and then it won't do more. Like if there is 5 pending updates, it will maybe do one, and then the other 4 stay pending. It might only do the download portion of the first one and not go to the install phase. If there's no pending updates, and i try to install an app, only the downloading portion of the process shows up, it stops after that, it doesn't go to installing. I have to close the store and go back in for it to install, but if there's a queue of downloads (updates or asked to install multiple apps), I have to close the store for the same amount of apps in the queue for them to install one by one. Now I noticed that every once and a while, 2 or 3 will have updated overnight but that's it!
I closed the process, I cleared the cache, I cleared the data, I cleared the download manager's data and cache, i rebooted, i forced a wrong date and time then set it to auto-date and time to retry, etc.... I uninstalled the Play Store updates, nothing worked!!!
The next step was to do a factory reset. I did not want to lose some progress on some games, AND I have an app to read PDF files and did not want to lose read/unread status of my files...
So I used Odin to flash TWRP, did a backup, rooted, used Titanium Backup to backup my apps.
Then I did factory reset. Store behaved normally again! Installed a few apps, waited a few hours, still good. Did a restore of my apps from titanium backup, everything seemed fine, then a few hours later, store still was not updating or installing the apps right...
Did another factory reset, store worked fine, only restored a couple of backed up apps (the critical ones that i wanted to keep the saves from), everything worked fine. Over the course of 24 hrs, i re-installed a bunch of my regular apps via the play store. Play store worked fine. I did to another Nandroid backup with TWRP just in case.
Then all of a sudden, it started to lag a bit between clicking install, to downloading, to installing. And then a few hours later, issue completely came back, store won't install without me closing it between the download finish and install.
Now one of the last steps I did before it started acting up again was moving ONE app to the SD card (not using any root features). I'm not sure if that caused the issue to come back.
I did notice that Android left a bunch of files on my SD card, some Android folder, with a bunch of subfolders.
I'm wondering if the SD card could be the culprit... I will do one last restore from my last working Nandroid backup and not move anything to the SD card.
If it comes up again, i think i will move the data that i have on my SD card that I dont want to loose (my PDF, pictures, etc.) on to my NAS, and do a factory reset without the SD card installed. Maybe even re-flash with Samsung Kies... and forget about my Titanium Backup saves...
It's my last resort so I was hoping anyone would have any idea on what else to try before doing that?
One last point : yes the stores kinda slows down at some point where the download process takes a few seconds to kick in, and then a few seconds to installing, up to the point where it never does. BUT the rest of my tablet still is really fast, no slow downs anywhere else... All apps launch fast
Thanks!

Auto updates are bad. They just kill the performance of your s2.. better do such things manually.

Niii4 said:
Auto updates are bad. They just kill the performance of your s2.. better do such things manually.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Auto updates of the apps? Or the OS?
Apps i can see... but still... If I turn that off, that solves the issue of the auto-updates. But then if I want to update a bunch, they will only do one by one, i have to close the store and open again after each updated app.
But even with app auto-updates, if i want to install one new app on my S2, it will only download, but not install, i have to close the store and open it again for it to install. Then the next time that I want to install an app, I have to do the same thing again, close and open. It's like the download manager doesn't tell the Play Store app to do the install (or tell whatever app or service to install the APK...)

Niii4 said:
Auto updates are bad. They just kill the performance of your s2.. better do such things manually.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What a bunch of nonsense. Please stop spreading misinformation.
@stefer09 A logcat reader may help you determine the cause of the issue.

Niii4 said:
Auto updates are bad. They just kill the performance of your s2.. better do such things manually.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
fonetyk said:
What a bunch of nonsense. Please stop spreading misinformation.
@stefer09 A logcat reader may help you determine the cause of the issue.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, that's new for me, I'll read into it!

stefer09 said:
Thanks, that's new for me, I'll read into it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am having the same issue on my sm-t810 as well hope you find a solution and post it.

Tabpro8.4 said:
I am having the same issue on my sm-t810 as well hope you find a solution and post it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After more research i've seen other people on other devices with same issue... no answer or solution in sight
if i find something ill come back here for sure

I had an OTA update last night to NRD90M.T810XXU2DQCL and the play store is working better now but it is still slow to update.

Tabpro8.4 said:
I had an OTA update last night to NRD90M.T810XXU2DQCL and the play store is working better now but it is still slow to update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info.
I would check for OTA update but since i rooted mine, it won't do them...
I'd have to flash the stock rom from samsung again and loose my saved data... which right now i might be OK living without...
Anyone knows if I loose TWRP if i flash a stock rom with odin ? If so... am i better using Kies?

Fair, let's recap: you do not use stock rom. You have root, twrp, flashed this and that and a morbid desire to have always the very lastest version of whatever the app. And now the Play store doesn't work properly anymore.. d
Do you see the pattern?
But, hey, maybe you need even more *lates updates* to fix your issue.
Updates = bad performance and new issues in general. Period.

Niii4 said:
Fair, let's recap: you do not use stock rom. You have root, twrp, flashed this and that and a morbid desire to have always the very lastest version of whatever the app. And now the Play store doesn't work properly anymore.. d
Do you see the pattern?
But, hey, maybe you need even more *lates updates* to fix your issue.
Updates = bad performance and new issues in general. Period.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wooooh, DON'T jump to conclusions here.
I was running the STOCK out of the box Android for the S2, no root, no TWRP. The issue started after one year of usage, and not only included updating apps but installing FRESH NEW ONES TOO.
The "flash this and that" came AFTER i ran into issues.
I also have a Note 5 supplied from work and for that reason I'm still runing stock, not rooted, and never will root it. I have over 100 apps on there, 5 email accounts (2 professionnal, 3 personnal), multiple google calendars, multiple outlook calendars, auto-update is on, it's been over a year and a half, if not more, and never ran into this kind of issue, ever! It's synced with my CPAP, my smart watch, and my headphones. And it's still goes the same speed and gives me the same performance as when i took it out of the box.
My tab S2 is my second Android tablet, before I had a Tab 3 that never gave me issues like that either, and always had auto-updates on.
Sometimes you need updates. Some online services might not work right or at all if you don't have the app that matches the features, like evernote, facebook, onedrive, dropbox, etc...
Or you get new hardware that requires an update.
Yes sometimes they include bugs ... which are fixed in a later version.

Niii4 said:
Fair, let's recap: you do not use stock rom. You have root, twrp, flashed this and that and a morbid desire to have always the very lastest version of whatever the app. And now the Play store doesn't work properly anymore.. d
Do you see the pattern?
But, hey, maybe you need even more *lates updates* to fix your issue.
Updates = bad performance and new issues in general. Period.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my case I do have stock rom and have had issues with play store since update to Nought. It does seem better since last night's OTA update.

Tabpro8.4 said:
In my case I do have stock rom and have had issues with play store since update to Nought. It does seem better since last night's OTA update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I saw multiple posts of people having different phones running stock having this exact issue for a while with no solution in view. I think it has to do with Nougat too... But my Note 5 is on Nougat and no issue... it might be brought on with specific services or apps running while on Nougat.

Tabpro8.4 said:
In my case I do have stock rom and have had issues with play store since update to Nought. It does seem better since last night's OTA update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for letting me know about the OTA update. Since i was rooted, i can't get OTA updates, would have needed to wait for the 7.1 Rom to flash...
I ended up taking screenshots of the stuff i didnt want to loose (read/unread status of my pdf files, nevermind the save games) and then i used Samsung Smart Switch to reflash the whole thing back to strictly stock, lastest firmware. So far so good, crossing fingers

I*was*running the STOCK out of the box Android for the S2, no root, no TWRP. The issue started after one year of usage,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fair. So in this *year of usage* you never ever updated the OS?
And auto-update was of course *off*, right?
If that's the case, then clearly there must be some other issue with your s2.
Otherwise, you have merely confirmed what I have told in the very beginning: updates = bad performance and new issues in general. Period.
By the by, apps like evernote and facebook track and spy on you.
About your Note 5, maybe there weren't so many updates..

Niii4 said:
Fair. So in this *year of usage* you never ever updated the OS?
And auto-update was of course *off*, right?
If that's the case, then clearly there must be some other issue with your s2.
Otherwise, you have merely confirmed what I have told in the very beginning: updates = bad performance and new issues in general. Period.
By the by, apps like evernote and facebook track and spy on you.
About your Note 5, maybe there weren't so many updates..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
...
Yes in that year of usage I upgraded the OS from 5 to 6 to 7. Yes auto-update was on, for Android and for my apps. By stock rom i meant nothing flashed "this and that" like you said.
If you would read my other comments, you'd also realize that another member helped me more by letting me know there was an OTA update that helped him. I reflashed my S2 with Samsung Smart Switch and haven't had any issue with the Play Store since... that proves that updates do fix issues.
There's no OS versions, app versions, firmware versions on any devices that don't have any issues whatsoever. Updates might bring bugs but they also fix the ones from previous versions. If you think that anything stock out of the box never have any issues whatsoever, you're wrong.
Apps like evernote and facebook spy and track you? Really? And you're on a forum for Android based product and don't think that Google tracks what you do? If you dont sign in with your google account and only browse the web with your tablet, that's your business, but you can't go on forums and admonish people for doing otherwise.
Besides, this is a forum where a good part of the posts are about custom roms, flashing different boot/recovery loaders, different kernels, unlocking phones... and you're judging me because i do app updates, and flash "this and that" ?
Come on...

No judging here. Just pointed out the probem at hand.
You did update the OS at least twice.. see?
OEM updates = bad in general.
Sure, new updates fix what *previous updates* screwed up to begin with; sometimes.
I totally agree that there is no OS version that is 100% issue free, but -- why trying to fix something that seems to work?
You see, that is my whole point.
I told you about evernote and facebook because you mentioned to have them on your Note 5 which happens to be your professional work phone?!
Just be aware that Evernote steals content just like the FB messenger. And I mean literally. Your creative ideas become their property. You did agree to their terms! FB also records the mic(s) 24/7.
Certainly Google tracks and spies as well. Then again, you can deactivate or block (firewall) those services/apps.
Just remember, things that are *free* come with a price.

Niii4, I tried to subtely pass the message that I did not want any of your help when I said that SOMEONE ELSE helped me with their input and update.
I didn't say that I was using evernote and facebook on my Note 5 from work. Jumping to conclusions again.
You want to know what are the biggest secrets in my Evernote notes ??? RECIPES!!!!!
Oh no... they can read the oh so secret lemon crinkle cookies recipe that is available with a quick online search! Here's the link btw : http://www.laurenslatest.com/lemon-crinkle-cookies/
I came here after trying a lot of troubleshooting steps, when everything that I've tried failed. And someone else helped me.
All you brought to the table was misinformation about updates in general and spread paranoia on who is spying on who.
fonetyk asked you to stop that, and I asked you to stop that. So far my issue has been resolved and i'm thankful to the user Tabpro8.4 for his comment.
Please, please leave my thread.

First and foremost, this is a forum and thus other users that may encounter similar or the exact same problem(s) will seek to comprehend the whole issue at hand and not just one side of a problem.
Oh yeah, an OTA update seemed to have fixed it. Seemed.. for now.
Second, this is not exclusively about *helping you*. Apparently you are quite knowledge resistant, especially when facts are being stated that don't conform your general view.
True, you only have hundreds of apps on your work phone. But definitely not FB messenger or whatnot. Whatever. What's right is right, and what's fair is fair.
I suppose, you are probably right, the work you do must be of no interest for anybody in this world; at all. Same for your private life. Now, be a neat little sheep and go on chewing the green.. (while we are watching you).
Oh, and you stalking all my comments, telling people to ignore me is hilarious. Keep up the great whine. ?

Niii4 said:
First and foremost, this is a forum and thus other users that may encounter similiar or the exact same problem(s) will seek to comprehend the whole issue at hand and not just one side of a problem.
Oh yeah, an OTA update seemed to have fixed it. Seemed.. for now.
Second, this is not exclusively about *helping you*. Apparently you are quite knowledge resistant, especially when facts are being stated that don't conform your general view.
True, you only have hundreds of apps on your work phone. But definitely not FB messenger or whatnot. Whatever. What's right is right, and what's fair is fair.
I suppose, you are probably right, the work you do must be of no interest for anybody in this world; at all. Same for your private life. Now, be a neat little sheep and go on chewing the green.. (while we are watching you).
Oh, and you stalking all my comments, telling people to ignore me is hilarious. Keep up the great whine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol... knowledge resistant. Thats cute.
:angel:
Stalking your comments... ah! Maybe you got that dead pixel from trying to plug your bluray player on your tablet. Seriously clueless or just trolling...
My issue is resolved so im unsubbing from this thread.
Bye bye :good:

Are the current Fire 7 Tablets being sold still rootable? [11-24-2017]

I've been reading threads and am seeing some conflicting information.
Some people say you have to downgrade first.
Some people say you can't root it at all.
Not sure what to believe? Really would like to buy one now that they are on sale.
Thank you so much.

CircularApex said:
I've been reading threads and am seeing some conflicting information.
Some people say you have to downgrade first.
Some people say you can't root it at all.
Not sure what to believe? Really would like to buy one now that they are on sale.
Thank you so much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no root for 7th gen fire(s) on any firmware version

sd_shadow said:
no root for 7th gen fire(s) on any firmware version
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you

Well, dang! Hope someone finds a way soon

miztrniceguy said:
Well, dang! Hope someone finds a way soon
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't hold your breath. Recent FireOS builds benefit from an effort to clean up sloppy (Android) code by Google and others following several high profile security lapses.

sadly, in my brief search about installing stock android on a Fire 7 didn't reveal that the results were talking about older versions, not the current version I got delivered today for $30.
---------- Post added at 06:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:46 PM ----------
Currently perusing thread by Savvytechwinner about bloatware removal tool to see if compatible

miztrniceguy said:
sadly, in my brief search about installing stock android on a Fire 7 didn't reveal that the results were talking about older versions, not the current version I got delivered today for $30.
---------- Post added at 06:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:46 PM ----------
Currently perusing thread by Savvytechwinner about bloatware removal tool to see if compatible
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unlikely unless your device arrived with FireOS 5.4.0.1 or lower. Keep in mind Amazon's generous return policy while considering alternatives. You'll be able to install Google's Play Store which is something if you can live with FireOS and a heavy suite of preinstalled apps.

For the statistics:
I bought a Fire Gen 5 from Amazon.de Warehouse that came with 5.3.3.0

Davey126 said:
Unlikely unless your device arrived with FireOS 5.4.0.1 or lower. Keep in mind Amazon's generous return policy while considering alternatives. You'll be able to install Google's Play Store which is something if you can live with FireOS and a heavy suite of preinstalled apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
not sure what it had at first, but as soon as I connected to wifi during setup it updated to 5.4.0.0
I tried several times to interrupt the process but could not. It briefly flashes a "not now" right after you put in wifi password, but doesn't work. 3 times I powered down during the downloading process, booted to recovery, factory restore, and started over. i didn't try pulling power to wifi, but I might at a future date to see what happens. In the mean time I was able to install Google Play.

What version did you receive?

bought a blue one on friday that has 5.4.0.0 preinstalled ??

I turned off the WiFi at the router while it was downloading the update (eg right after it started the process) and it popped up a dialog that said that my connection was slow and it would continue downloading in the background. I still had to turn the WiFi on to complete the setup process after I got that far, but I kept turning it off between steps (and in particular right after it finished the whole thing about getting account details and all.) It never updated the system. So mine is still at the 5.4.0.0 it arrived running. It wants to update, but can't seem to if I'm keeping it busy. Hopefully it won't sneak and do it later. So I guess this method at least works to get you started.
It seems there is a firmware binary for downgrading via adb sideload on the recovery. I'm not sure how safe this is (and mine is still on 5.4.0.0, so I have no reason to flash 5.4.0.0 to it.) KingRoot says a root is available, but it sticks at 1% so I guess it's not working. I'm trying the "updated tools" posted in this forum here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/amazon-fire/help/fire-7-2017-7th-gen-downgrade-debloat-t3699937 and so far everything is saying "success." It doesn't include a root option though. It does say it blocks the OTA updates? It uses adb uninstall from the user level, so I'm not sure how effective that is. Guess it can't hurt anything anyway. Isn't 5.4.0.0 rootable? EDIT: KingRoot now no longer shows a root option. With OTA updater removed I can't get to the system section that shows the current OS version (since they don't have a proper "about" page with actual details.) Maybe it did manage to sneak that update through. (I think it was 5.4.0.1 that it was trying to do first.) EDIT2: Kept retrying KingRoot and suddenly the root option appears again. I think maybe the method it uses is unreliable or something. This time around it didn't freeze at 1% but still did take a long time there. In fact, it's very slow the whole way through (I haven't the slightest clue what it's doing. Normally rooting doesn't take very long on any device, but I guess it depends on the exploit used. It seemed to me more like this was downloading a significant amount of data rather than trying exploits though.) Didn't work though. I saw someone else say it can't be rooted from anything past 5.3.3 something? I guess you can't downgrade to that though or people would already be doing it.
(To be clear, I'm not a fan of KingRoot -- I consider it bloatware and potentially dangerous -- but it seems a lot of Amazon Fire users are using it, so I have to presume it at least is somewhat reliable for them.)
Anyway, at least with all this it has the Play Store, an optional debloat that removes Amazon apps (I may put the app store back just in case, but most of it is a bit excessive IMO,) it removes the ads, and it offers a means of changing the default launcher (sort of. It hijacks anyway. The end result is close enough if a bit messy I guess.)
BTW, as a tip from someone who's used to seeking out lower firmware systems in general, don't buy straight from the source or a "fast" place that goes through stock quickly and doesn't keep a lot at a time (since everything is so automated) like Amazon. Go to a brick and mortar store like Walmart, Target, etc etc. Even online they are more likely to have backstock that has been sitting on a shelf for an unknown length of time. There are never any guarantees, but this does increase your chances of getting something older.

Nazo said:
I turned off the WiFi at the router while it was downloading the update (eg right after it started the process) and it popped up a dialog that said that my connection was slow and it would continue downloading in the background. I still had to turn the WiFi on to complete the setup process after I got that far, but I kept turning it off between steps (and in particular right after it finished the whole thing about getting account details and all.) It never updated the system. So mine is still at the 5.4.0.0 it arrived running. It wants to update, but can't seem to if I'm keeping it busy. Hopefully it won't sneak and do it later. So I guess this method at least works to get you started.
It seems there is a firmware binary for downgrading via adb sideload on the recovery. I'm not sure how safe this is (and mine is still on 5.4.0.0, so I have no reason to flash 5.4.0.0 to it.) KingRoot says a root is available, but it sticks at 1% so I guess it's not working. I'm trying the "updated tools" posted in this forum here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/amazon-fire/help/fire-7-2017-7th-gen-downgrade-debloat-t3699937 and so far everything is saying "success." It doesn't include a root option though. It does say it blocks the OTA updates? It uses adb uninstall from the user level, so I'm not sure how effective that is. Guess it can't hurt anything anyway. Isn't 5.4.0.0 rootable? EDIT: KingRoot now no longer shows a root option. With OTA updater removed I can't get to the system section that shows the current OS version (since they don't have a proper "about" page with actual details.) Maybe it did manage to sneak that update through. (I think it was 5.4.0.1 that it was trying to do first.) EDIT2: Kept retrying KingRoot and suddenly the root option appears again. I think maybe the method it uses is unreliable or something. This time around it didn't freeze at 1% but still did take a long time there. In fact, it's very slow the whole way through (I haven't the slightest clue what it's doing. Normally rooting doesn't take very long on any device, but I guess it depends on the exploit used. It seemed to me more like this was downloading a significant amount of data rather than trying exploits though.) Didn't work though. I saw someone else say it can't be rooted from anything past 5.3.3 something? I guess you can't downgrade to that though or people would already be doing it.
(To be clear, I'm not a fan of KingRoot -- I consider it bloatware and potentially dangerous -- but it seems a lot of Amazon Fire users are using it, so I have to presume it at least is somewhat reliable for them.)
Anyway, at least with all this it has the Play Store, an optional debloat that removes Amazon apps (I may put the app store back just in case, but most of it is a bit excessive IMO,) it removes the ads, and it offers a means of changing the default launcher (sort of. It hijacks anyway. The end result is close enough if a bit messy I guess.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
- no root exploit is available above FireOS 5.3.1
- FireOS 5.3.2.1 and above cannot be rolled back to a rootable build
- KingRoot is a POS that has no idea it is running on FireOS; the algorithm that tests for various vulnerabilities is unreliable at best; runs the entire gambit of suspected Android 5.1.1 exploits many of which are irrelevant
- you will need to perform a 'factory reset' from stock recovery or sideload FireOS 5.4.0.0 to restore any of the apps/functionality the debloat script killed; you'll loose the OTA block and have to go through the same WiFi toggle hoops documented above; you can also block access to access to Amazon's OTA update servers if you scare up the current URL/IPV4/IPV6 list (always changing)
Nazo said:
BTW, as a tip from someone who's used to seeking out lower firmware systems in general, don't buy straight from the source or a "fast" place that goes through stock quickly and doesn't keep a lot at a time (since everything is so automated) like Amazon. Go to a brick and mortar store like Walmart, Target, etc etc. Even online they are more likely to have backstock that has been sitting on a shelf for an unknown length of time. There are never any guarantees, but this does increase your chances of getting something older.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep - purposely snagged a handful early build 5th gen Fire's at a flagging B&M 6 months after they were released. All were rocking FireOS 5.0.1 which supports booting TWRP. First boot was to a custom ROM; never saw FireOS.

Davey126 said:
- no root exploit is available above FireOS 5.3.1
- FireOS 5.3.2.1 and above cannot be rolled back to a rootable build
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's what I thought I had confirmed elsewhere, but I really hoped I was wrong.
- KingRoot is a POS that has no idea it is running on FireOS; the algorithm that tests for various vulnerabilities is unreliable at best; runs the entire gambit of suspected Android 5.1.1 exploits many of which are irrelevant
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. I always avoid it if I can, but thought if anything out there would have it it would be that. Presumably once root is established (assuming it's a true root) it's no longer needed. Well, since it doesn't work it's not needed either. Already uninstalled, lol. I trust it about as much as I'd trust a snake oil salesman who says he also is running a new bank system with my money.
- you will need to perform a 'factory reset' from stock recovery or sideload FireOS 5.4.0.0 to restore any of the apps/functionality the debloat script killed; you'll loose the OTA block and have to go through the same WiFi toggle hoops documented above; you can also block access to access to Amazon's OTA update servers if you scare up the current URL/IPV4/IPV6 list (always changing)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, blocking it isn't as easy as you think. Many routers (sadly, mine included) do not have any options to block stuff like this. That would, of course, be too easy. Naturally you could block DNS addresses with root on Android, but that... needs root... But the OTA update tool is more harm than good regardless. The only single thing it does that isn't actually harmful is just showing the current system version. All the rest is just harmful. At least from the perspective of someone who doesn't want a super locked-down device.
I don't think I'd ever want to, but given that those apps are still technically present (hence the reason a factory reset restores them) I do wonder if you can't just access them directly from the ROM itself? I suppose if you could get to the actual APK files you could install those. But stuff like the Amazon AppStore has an official downloadable APK, so there's no real problem there.
Yep - purposely snagged a handful early build 5th gen Fire's at a flagging B&M 6 months after they were released. All were rocking FireOS 5.0.1 which supports booting TWRP. First boot was to a custom ROM; never saw FireOS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kind of depressing that we'll probably never see an unlocked bootloader, much less a true custom ROM.

Nazo said:
I don't think I'd ever want to, but given that those apps are still technically present (hence the reason a factory reset restores them) I do wonder if you can't just access them directly from the ROM itself? I suppose if you could get to the actual APK files you could install those. But stuff like the Amazon AppStore has an official downloadable APK, so there's no real problem there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Problem arises during installation as ROM sees a variant is already installed but does not have permission to update/replace it. Same for read/execute access. Relevant permissions are associated with Android user profiles which are inaccessible with the level of access permitted on a locked down device.

The batch script uses uninstall. Would it be better to simply disable? I don't like the idea that something might let the OTA updater run though. In my experience some apps -- particularly certain system apps -- can still background run after disabling them. (For example, on a device that didn't support NFC I was disabling the NFC service because, well, why do I need a NFC service on something with no NFC? Yet even with it disabled it was always running every time I ever checked.) I don't relish the idea of starting over, but it would be better now before I've seriously started rather than later.

Nazo said:
The batch script uses uninstall. Would it be better to simply disable? I don't like the idea that something might let the OTA updater run though. In my experience some apps -- particularly certain system apps -- can still background run after disabling them. (For example, on a device that didn't support NFC I was disabling the NFC service because, well, why do I need a NFC service on something with no NFC? Yet even with it disabled it was always running every time I ever checked.) I don't relish the idea of starting over, but it would be better now before I've seriously started rather than later.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can't disable most 'system' apps on a Lollipop era unrooted ROM. And - as you observed Android has full permission to reenable any app. Uninstall is the best workaround for a device with limited user permissions. For obvious reasons Amazon blocked the behavior/command in FireOS 5.4.0.1 and above. It is unlikely their engineers will look back to older releases with an eye toward reversing OTA blocks on a minuscule community of devices.

I guess the best thing to do is to edit that batch file to not completely remove a few basics like the Amazon app store itself. I didn't really understand why it removed everything Amazon entirely, not just the actual bloaty stuff. EDIT: I guess this is worth the effort anyway because it's removing stuff like the standard Android contacts even. Not sure why they'd do that. BTW, if anyone else decides to do this it seems "Venezia" is the package for the Amazon app store.
EDIT2: Waugh! I got a bit tap happy there after a factory reset. I tried to hit the "continue" button more than once because it was so slow to load the next page I thought I mistapped. When it got to the wifi selection screen there was at least momentarily the "not now" button available and because I had tapped that extra time in that exact spot it actually went through to the "not now" button and let me skip the setup... So now it doesn't even have a configured WiFi and still let me get to the home screen and everything. This is sort of a better way to anyone who can manage it.
Maybe this method actually requires an initial setup -- maybe it sets some bit somewhere that doesn't clear with a factory reset. Since you can factory reset from the recovery menu, I imagine you could try this if it manages to download the update and reboots to apply it. (Well, I guess the question is if it applies before or after the reboot, but I'd have to assume after since it must surely modify things that are in use.)
PS. After this factory reset I see that it definitely never let an OTA update through. It's still on 5.4.0.0. Well, I suspected as much but couldn't verify before. Since it has no wifi even configured this time around it doesn't even know there is an update waiting just yet. I'll fix that soon enough.
EDIT3: I made a modified version of that batch file where I tried to identify things a bit more and be slightly less extreme in my removals. I used pm hide on a few where it's slightly more questionable since it's not as hard to fix as an uninstall (though, as discussed it's questionable whether they'll actually STAY disabled.
I read that "hide" is a bit more thorough in many ways though and the ones I used hide on I think are slightly less likely to bypass the disabling.) I don't see why the original creator removed some very basic Android apps like the e-mail and clock apps. There are alternatives, but these are as small and minimal as it gets, so it seems pretty weird and extreme to remove them. (I would definitely say it would be better to disable even if you don't want them.) While I was at it I did a hide only version since that's "safer" overall, though a lot of stuff may still bypass it obviously. (It may be best to actually remove the updates rather than hiding them.) I didn't feel like making a more thorough one that actually asks on each or something. (Going for minimal work here, lol.) The hide version seems to not work though atm and I have no idea why. (It only shows the status for a few things and most of the icons are still there despite a lack of any errors.)
Input is welcome since I just modified their batch file as simply as I could and was very unsure about a lot of things.

@Nazo - a couple quick comments regarding your previous post:
- in recent FireOS builds queued OTA updates get applied early in the boot process before UI is presented
- pm hide is not durable and easily reversed; I believe Amazon crippled the command in FireOS 5.3.x.x and above (possibly a rev or two earlier)

Davey126 said:
- in recent FireOS builds queued OTA updates get applied early in the boot process before UI is presented
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That wouldn't be before recovery though surely. (Actually, if I were to guess I'd assume it's a recovery automatic update type thing? I don't know if holding the button for the recovery menu would beat this or not, but I would assume so since otherwise you could have a permanent brick if a boot loop occurred in a broken update or something.)
- pm hide is not durable and easily reversed; I believe Amazon crippled the command in FireOS 5.3.x.x and above (possibly a rev or two earlier)
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Seems so. It looks like pm hide basically doesn't work at all to put it simply. A couple of apps were disabled and that's it. In the end only uninstall has any sort of reliability whatsoever. Too bad it's such a messy solution. I really wish someone would figure out a way to root this thing.

How likely is it that we will see TWRP and/or LineageOS soon?

I have to ask this. I needed a new phone a month ago, and I chose to wait for this one instead of getting a Note 9, and now I still don't have a usable phone and have less than 20 days to return this one. When I did my research about my next phone I was told that Sony phones are developer-friendly and tend to have a clean Android experience, on top of that, this phone has a 3.5mm jack with a great DAC. Now I come to find out that not only does this phone come with bloatware/spyware, even though you can root it, in Android 10, OEMs have the system locked down as read-only, and while Magik can gimmick /system to remove apps, there is no way to delete apps installed in /oem.
Placing apps in a directory that is impossible to change is inexcusable, especially when they are:
1) A game no one wanted which will be irrelevant in 6 months
2) A FREE TRIAL APP
3) A social media application not everyone uses
It isn't by mistake that Sony did this, and it tells me that the pittance they get from Activision, Jay Z, and Microsoft matters more to them than I do as a customer. Some will say that it is possible to simply de-activate the apps, at least unlike Facebook, there are no background services still running and collecting your data, but I say that is irrelevant. I own my phone; I should be able to control what's on it.
I was still running Android 8 on my One Plus 3T that recently died, so I'm not familiar with how Android works today. We went from simple to hard, to harder. There is A/B, no more stock recovery, and apparently fastboot is dead and is replaced by a blank bootloader flash mode that only lets you know you are in it with a tiny blue LED? I don't know how viable TRWP and Linage are on a phone like this, which is why I am asking. There is only one thing I know for sure right now: I don't have much time to wait for custom ROMs built from the ground up to develop and mature.

You can disable verity and delete them. However, even if you could remove them, they'll just keep coming back with updates. Just disable them and move on with life.
LineageOS is pointless because you're going to lose the Sony camera. Why spend $1,200 if you're going to do that? At that point, just get a Pixel 4a for $350.
Some will say that it is possible to simply de-activate the apps, at least unlike Facebook, there are no background services still running and collecting your data, but I say that is irrelevant. I own my phone; I should be able to control what's on it.
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You totally can. Again, this is about dm-verity, which most custom roms disable and spoof to appear enabled. However, if you're gonna do this on the official rom, it'll be your job to pretty much delete every single piece of bloatware every time you update your phone. It's much easier to simply disable the packages because the disable setting is retained through updates.
There is A/B, no more stock recovery
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Welcome to pretty much every single device since Pixel 3. This is a Google thing, and has nothing to do with Sony.
apparently fastboot is dead and is replaced by a blank bootloader flash mode that only lets you know you are in it with a tiny blue LED?
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Okay, I'll give you this one. Sony did a piss-poor job here. It took me several hours to figure out that:
Vol. Up + Insert USB cable = blue led = fast boot, for which you need to manually install the Google fastboot driver.
Vol. Down + Insert USB cable = green led = download mode, for NewFlasher flashing.
The only indicator is the blue/green LED, which indicates the various modes.

For future reference, I flashed the RU region firmware and it only came with 1 bloatware: Yandex. Best thing about it is, you can uninstall Yandex. So basically I have the 1 II without bloatware! (Except Facebook, but I use it anyway)

YandereSan said:
You can disable verify and delete them. However, even if you could remove them, they'll just keep coming back with updates. Just disable them and move on with life.
LineageOS is pointless because you're going to lose the Sony camera. Why spend $1,200 if you're going to do that? At that point, just get a Pixel 4a for $350.
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First of, thanks for being cool with your response
Second, I bought this phone for a few reasons, and the camera isn't one of them. For any given phone I want:
1) For it to be unlockable so I can install whatever recovery/kernel/OS I want on it. There aren't many phones like that anymore, at least not in the US.
2) Hardware that will last me at least four years.
3) A 3.5mm headphone Jack with a good DAC.
4) A good, large, color-accurate display.
5) Fingerprint reader.
5) Expendable storage (or a LOT of onboard storage and OTG as a compromise).
I have been using the menu button on the left and back button on the right for eight years now, and I can't fix that on this phone
You totally can. Again, this is about dm-verity, which most custom roms disable and spoof to appear enabled. However, if you're gonna do this on the official rom, it'll be your job to pretty much delete every single piece of bloatware every time you update your phone. It's much easier to simply disable the packages because the disable setting is retained through updates.
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Click to collapse
Honestly, the only updates I care about are security updates. If we get lineage or some other mature ROM that can do most of what I want, I'll ditch stock., I only need stock for now. If I do end up updating stock and getting those apps back, I don't mind spending another 5 minutes removing them after the update. I don't like disabled apps for three reasons:
1) If it doesn't disable background services. If you just disable Facebook, Facebook's other services will still keep tracking you and selling your personal information.
2) They still appear in the app menus and stuff, which I hate. It pisses me off seeing COD and a TRIAL for something I'll never, ever, use.
3) I am 99.9% some vulnerability can't exploit them, but I can be 100% sure if they aren't there.
As for why this is all the way it is, I did learn after the fact that it is mostly Google's BS and not Sony. Still, it sucks. I hope I can maybe flash DM variety and disable it on stock.
If I can disable DM variety I'm keeping the phone. If I can't and it doesn't seem like we'll get TWRP and Lineage then I guess I'm getting an Exynos Note 9. I really don't want to though, but those OEM apps WILL haunt me every time I use my phone, touch my phone, think about my phone, or am otherwise reminded I own this phone. Maybe I'm crazy, but that's irrelevant, because that's how it is.

I tried to flash dm variety and disable verification, etc, and it didn't unlock the system, so until TRWP comes to Android 10, it looks like stock in the US is out.
iArvee said:
For future reference, I flashed the RU region firmware and it only came with 1 bloatware: Yandex. Best thing about it is, you can uninstall Yandex. So basically I have the 1 II without bloatware! (Except Facebook, but I use it anyway)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are a god. I looked at the Russian firmware and it doesn't look like it's been dirtied by crazy Putin. You can systemlessy remove all the apps you don't want. I got Magisk and Xposed working on it. I also have 4G on t-mobile, and it lists 5GNR as an option, which the US version did not. To note, I do not have VoLTE or Wifi Calling (not that I care).
I'm going to try and flash the HK dual sim variant just to see if I can unlock the mythical sex sim slot, and also if also fits the bill. I realized that to test dual sim you need a dual sim tray. There is no way to get the Q51 tray to work for this. It doesn't seem that people are selling replacement parts for this phone yet, so right now I can't buy a Q2 tray to test it. I'll circle back around to this in a few months when it becomes time to flip the phone for a Q2, just to see if maybe I don't have to do that.
Thanks everyone for the replies. We could maybe use this as a general TRWP/LineageOS update thread, though I suspect someone will make a new thread as those pass certain milestones.

Downgrade to Android 8.1

My Razer Phone 2 has, I believe, a bad battery. It shuts down without any warning whatsoever, often with as much as 40-50% remaining battery power (according to the battery indicator in the status bar). When plugged in, it operates completely normally.
I opened a support case with Razer. They initially told me, based on my serial number, that my phone was under warranty (I didn't think it was, as I bought it more than a year prior). Now, they're telling me it's not, and want me to pay a $99 diagnostic fee, and if the battery is bad, there'll be an ADDITIONAL charge (I'm guesstimating at least $200) for parts and labor. Rather than pay all that (and, on top of everything else, they're EXTREMELY slow in responding to me, often taking more than a week!), I found someone selling an OEM Razer battery for a Phone 2 on eBay, that they describe as "open box" (whatever that means), for roughly $100. I found a Razer Phone 2 tear-down video on YouTube, which makes getting to the battery seem not too terribly difficult, so I bought the battery and will attempt to replace it myself.
Anyway, once I do that, I want to re-flash the software onto my phone, and start from scratch with it. I have this app on my phone called Font Changer Lite, which I use to change the font system-wide on my phone (it requires root). Lately, it's been informing me, if I attempt to open it, that it requires system write access, which it doesn't have, and so it immediately closes. It worked fine when I first got the phone and rooted it, and I'm not sure what happened. I'm thinking it might be a result of my phone having Android 9 on it, now. When I rooted it, it was running 8.1, and I don't remember how it got 9 on it (it won't take OTA updates, since it's rooted) - give me a break; I'm old here, LOL! ? I did install TWRP, so maybe it got on there that way (it's been a while, and I don't remember exactly what procedure I followed to install TWRP).
Anyway, can I flash 8.1 from Razer's factory images, without bricking the phone (considering it's running 9, now)? I had a Nexus 6 that I somehow temporarily bricked by flashing an older version of Android (I was able to eventually recover it), and I don't want to do the same to my Razer Phone 2! I'm thinking (hoping?) that my Font Changer Lite app will work OK running on 8.1.
Thanks.

Welp, apparently there's no downgrading from Android 9 to 8.1, on these phones. I was able to replace my battery (it really wasn't difficult, at all), and now the phone operates just fine, exactly like when it was new.
However, I tried to flash the newest 8.1 release, and the phone just wouldn't boot up - it was just stuck forever at the swirling energy screen. I then flashed the most recent Android 9 release from Razer's factory images page, and it booted right up! So, I'm on Android 9, now, rooted and with TWRP.
Of course, my Font Changer Lite app is again complaining it doesn't have write access to the system partition, and it the closes, rendering it useless (it's an old app the developer stopped supporting years ago). So, I deleted it, but I'm able to use Root Explorer to change the font system-wide, by simply renaming copies of my preferred font (FuturaHandwritten) to whatever font I want to replace in System/Fonts, and it seems to be working perfectly.
One question I do have is, my phone is now again alerting me there's a system update, but it won't take (I'm sure because I'm rooted, or have TWRP as a custom recovery). It's relatively small (it was either 80 or 800 MB in size - I don't remember which; far smaller than a full system update), and said it contained security updates through July, 2020.
Is there any way to take or apply this update, without flashing back to stock, and then having to re-root/flash TWRP, and then having to go through and completely set my phone up, again (there's a LOT of time-consuming customization I perform on my phone, like changing the fonts)? I really don't want to have to do that!
Thanks.

dmw_4814 said:
Welp, apparently there's no downgrading from Android 9 to 8.1, on these phones. I was able to replace my battery (it really wasn't difficult, at all), and now the phone operates just fine, exactly like when it was new.
However, I tried to flash the newest 8.1 release, and the phone just wouldn't boot up - it was just stuck forever at the swirling energy screen. I then flashed the most recent Android 9 release from Razer's factory images page, and it booted right up! So, I'm on Android 9, now, rooted and with TWRP.
Of course, my Font Changer Lite app is again complaining it doesn't have write access to the system partition, and it the closes, rendering it useless (it's an old app the developer stopped supporting years ago). So, I deleted it, but I'm able to use Root Explorer to change the font system-wide, by simply renaming copies of my preferred font (FuturaHandwritten) to whatever font I want to replace in System/Fonts, and it seems to be working perfectly.
One question I do have is, my phone is now again alerting me there's a system update, but it won't take (I'm sure because I'm rooted, or have TWRP as a custom recovery). It's relatively small (it was either 80 or 800 MB in size - I don't remember which; far smaller than a full system update), and said it contained security updates through July, 2020.
Is there any way to take or apply this update, without flashing back to stock, and then having to re-root/flash TWRP, and then having to go through and completely set my phone up, again (there's a LOT of time-consuming customization I perform on my phone, like changing the fonts)? I really don't want to have to do that!
Thanks.
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so i have att unlocked razer phone 2 and have camera issue ( when you start camera app screen is black for about 40seconds and then camera starts but autofocus is not working, back camera functions normal) and most annoying sometimes while in call people cant hear me well. on roms site theres only 2 roms for att. 8.1 and 9 tried 8.1 and stuck on powered by android screen. then installed 9 and it worked but my issues still there...
what if I flash rom for global version? will it brick?
or maybe any other suggestions on how to fix this issues?

Some hand holding with firmware upgrades, running LOS+microg

I have been running LineageOS+MicroG on my last 3 phones but am mostly a novice. LineageOS just packages things well enough that getting it installed is pretty easy. Most recently, I updated to 17.1 on my Payton device, and voila, I've got a problem where the phone reboots after powering on. Happens much faster with the radios on, much slower with safe mode and airplane mode on. So the obvious answer is usually "flash back to stock and try again". Here come my questions... Please keep in mind I also run Linux.
1. When people talk about going back to stock, doesn't this always entail losing your data? How do those of you who use your phone as a daily driver manage this? I've not heard great things about doing TWRP backups, and the amount of configuration I have to do at new-install time is crazy.
2. While running LineageOS or other such custom ROMs... How do you get "hardware updates": upgrades to things like modem/radio firmware that are outside the realm of the OS (if there is such a thing). I've had a few problems (including the current one) that I _suspect_ are related to running old "firmware" as I would normally call it. The solutions that I _think_ I've seen for this look like they are Windows-specific and also require going back to stock or losing your data. It's puzzling to me why updating hardware would require going back to stock, unless you need to let the stock OTA updates install in order to actually GET that firmware.

1) To my knowledge and at least for me, 'we' are using Android 9 firmware with Android 10 OS. I do not expect any further firmware updates.
2) I've been told that LOS is running slower on X4 compared to other ROMs such as Pixel Experience, but I can't speak for either as I use HAVOC. I can't speak for the rebooting issue though, I haven't looked at the X4 LOS thread much.
*3) LOS to my knowledge woln't work with MicroG because it doesn't allow for spoofing. HAVOC does, and personally I was using Android 9 w/ HAVOC and MicroG so I could use the GCam but due to personal reasons I had to install GPlay and so at the same time I also upgraded to Android 10. One point at least in my experience, the phone was getting more and more difficult to use over time but rebooting the phone fixed it completely. I almost never rebooted my phone back on 9 so it caught me off guard personally.
It sounds like you might be trying to go down a more privacy centered phone like I was until recently. Personally, I liked the Android 9 w/ HAVOC and MicroG. I can give you my list of apps I used but you probably know most of them (Simple Mobile Tools, OSMAND, K9, Fennec, NewPipe, VLC ect.) The launcher would get a little buggy (context menus would stop working after a while on app icons) and for some reason the audio would start for a split second, pause, for a sec, then continue. Other than that, it was great. I used that config setup for a year.
On a completely unrelated note, AT&T will most likely not work with the unlocked X4 after a couple of years, doesn't affect me but just a heads up.