Database Develop

Tips for coping with an un-rooted device

There are a lot of threads here and in the VZW forum about how terrible this device is, etc, without root. I'm a former flash-a-holic and my last several devices have all been Samsung on stock, albeit rooted, firmware. those of us preferring touchwiz have our reasons, and those who prefer aosp have theirs, but this isn't a "why we can't have aosp" thread, this is about making lemonade with what we have.
so, my reasons for wanting root, and how I worked around them:
1. ad blocking. I LOVE adaway, its seriously the first app I'd install on a new device after rooting. without root, give adblock plus a try. you can turn off the status bar notifications in the app and by ticking the box in the app manager.
its simple enough to disable apps on WiFi, just input the proxy host name and port and you're done. I hadn't ever found a clear and concise instruction on how to do this with mobile data, so here it is- create a NEW APN and copy all of the info from the stock APN, and add the proxy host name and port. done, you now have ad blocking on WiFi and mobile data, without root, and without persistent notifications.
2. de-bloating. first, the s5 has less bloat than the s3 or s4, but its still there. it is INCREADIBLY easy to disable or uninstall on this device. go to the app drawer and press the settings icon (or long press the app switcher button) and select uninstall/disable apps. if its ATT or Samsung, and you don't want it, odds are you can either uninstall or disable it. just make sure that in Samsung Apps you disable automatic updates over WiFi. you can also hide them.
myth busting time: IF you were rooted, and IF you manually removed bloat apps, you do NOT gain ANY additional usable space in device storage.
3. tether bypass. there are multiple threads here on how to do this. I have a 10gb plan so its a non issue here.
4. Writing to extSDcard. most built in apps like the browser, email, and camera will save to the ext SD card. so will my files, which is actually a LOT better than on the s3 or s4.
5. removing bloat bookmarks from the stock browser. I prefer the stock browser over chrome, call me crazy. I also don't like the 4 pre-loaded bookmarks being in my list. I saw a tip here to just create a folder called My Bookmarks or whatever you like and put your bookmarks there. the bloat is still there but its not staring you in the face.
so what else have you guys been doing to get functionality that was easy and convenient with root, but still attainable without?

Russ77 said:
so what else have you guys been doing to get functionality that was easy and convenient with root, but still attainable without?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Speed- I find that a lot of people nag about speed, my phone is fluid in all ways. Three factors play into this, using the TW launcher, animation speed, one last tricky one-- S-Voice has a delay on the home button waiting for the possible hook in for user prompting it. My standpoint is you can get from a TW rom the kind of speed or more that you can with a rom somebody else pre-tweaked for you.
Remedies below.
1. Get Nova Launcher (you can look into others if you like, if you want an experienced users perspective on speed, use Nova it flies)
2. Enable Developer Options(click About Device, click build number until it says Dev mode is enabled), Turn OFF animations for Transition window animation scale, transition animation scale and animator duration scale.
3. Open up S Voice (through the double-tap shortcut or in the app drawer). Tap the menu button in the top right corner (three dots) and find the "Open via home key" option under "Wake-up." Disable for slightly faster home button response.
Some people may find this abrupt transition between applications off putting at first but once you give it an hour the phone is flying so fast I could never go back. Enjoy!

As mentioned above:
Nova Launcher
Transitions at .5 or OFF
De-bloating (see this thread)
And - tasker, tasker, tasker!

My tip.. simple but I'm a customize nerd.
iFont available for free from the Play store allows you to add hundreds of fonts to your phone right from the app, and is compatible with the font selection from settings - display.You can also load fonts from the internet or your computer and use that as your default font.
The one lag, I still can't stand... despite all the animations being off is the lag between camera and gallery... like I take a photo, click the little image to view it and it sits there for at least 15 seconds before the gallery opens up. Anyone else have this issue?? I'm so used to CM based roms and still try to swipe to view the gallery LOL

rachelm920 said:
My tip.. simple but I'm a customize nerd.
The one lag, I still can't stand... despite all the animations being off is the lag between camera and gallery... like I take a photo, click the little image to view it and it sits there for at least 15 seconds before the gallery opens up. Anyone else have this issue?? I'm so used to CM based roms and still try to swipe to view the gallery LOL
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using XDA Free mobile app
This could be due to your SD card. If you are saving pics to external SD and your card is a lower class it will read and write data in a longer time frame. If you are using internal memory and not the SD card slot then I'm not sure. Backup everything and try a factory reset. I personally don't have an SD card, I don't see the need without root. Also it takes about 3 seconds for me to do what takes you 15. That's why I think an SD might be the Culprit here

There is 1 thing you can not do without root that is needed for me. I own a Pioneer Appradio and use ARUnchained which requires root. If you don't know what it is then look it up. It basically mirrors your phone and lets you use touch on Pioneers Appradio. I used this with my GS3 and if I would have known we wouldn't have root after this long I would have kept it and not bought the GS5. There is no getting around root for this. Pioneer's stock app has restrictions and doesn't let you mirror everything where as ARUnchained solves this problem.

I would like to find a way to save stuff from Dropbox to the external memory.
Sent from my GS5

natefish said:
I would like to find a way to save stuff from Dropbox to the external memory. Sent from my GS5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is all you need.https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ttxapps.dropsync
I use the Pro, worth every penny.

abovenbeyond said:
Here is all you need. I use the Pro, worth every penny.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, but was there supposed to be a link?
Sent from my GS5

natefish said:
Thanks, but was there supposed to be a link?
Sent from my GS5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fixed

Russ77 said:
add the proxy host name and port.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Bit of a newb here.. but what exactly do I put in these spots? Tried this and kept saying no internet and switching back over. Any help would be appreciated.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

fsupartyboy850 said:
Bit of a newb here.. but what exactly do I put in these spots? Tried this and kept saying no internet and switching back over. Any help would be appreciated.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
proxy host is "localhost" without quotes....and proxy port is 2020....that should do it :good:

Anyone got a working "volume rocker skip"? I've seen the double press ones that work as a service..seems wonky.
--
Stephen

abovenbeyond said:
Here is all you need.https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ttxapps.dropsync
I use the Pro, worth every penny.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the tip - I was using "Sweet Home!" app to sync my camera photos with my laptop but after multiple years without issue, all of the sudden I'm getting an invalid syntax error. Tried getting help from the developers but got no response. Dropbox it is!

fsupartyboy850 said:
Bit of a newb here.. but what exactly do I put in these spots? Tried this and kept saying no internet and switching back over. Any help would be appreciated.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
RoguePC said:
proxy host is "localhost" without quotes....and proxy port is 2020....that should do it :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
RoguePC's got it covered.
my only real gripe with adblock + is it only blocks internet traffic, not in-app ads. still better than nothing though.

Anyone know how to remap buttons ? I highly doubt there is a way without root but not having a menu button is killing me

Add45 said:
Anyone know how to remap buttons ? I highly doubt there is a way without root but not having a menu button is killing me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The menu button function is still there ... just long-press the recent apps button. If you've got a specific app that doesn't display the 3-dots menu somewhere on the screen, you might want to reach out to the developer. That's part of modern Android UX standards. I recently reached out to Untappd and they updated their app to include it pretty quickly.

Wallcrawler77 said:
The menu button function is still there ... just long-press the recent apps button. If you've got a specific app that doesn't display the 3-dots menu somewhere on the screen, you might want to reach out to the developer. That's part of modern Android UX standards. I recently reached out to Untappd and they updated their app to include it pretty quickly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, but what I meant is that I do not like having to hold down the button to pull up tthe menu. I much rather prefer having the recent apps by holding down home.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

Add45 said:
Thanks, but what I meant is that I do not like having to hold down the button to pull up tthe menu. I much rather prefer having the recent apps by holding down home.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, gotcha. Unfortunately, short of root reassigning buttons, I don't think that's a desire that will see much traction in the future now that the UX standards require on-screen menus and more devices are coming out without any soft buttons at all. When you get down to it though, you're either tapping the bottom-left of your device or you're tapping the three dots on the screen.

Awesome app called quick click,let's you map your volume buttons for flashlight and a lot of others actions,just throwing it out there missed using xposed,mods with that.
SENT FROM DJMOUSE'S SM-G900A

Disable Digital Balance

Hi,
How is it possible to disable the new Emui 9 feature "Digital Balance"?
For some people i know it can be very important, but honestly i don't like my application usage being analised, tracked and displayed.
Already searched everywhere but with no success.
Cheers,

Here you can disable it. That toggle turn it off

But there are still Trackings.
How can ich disable Tracking-Schutz?

Someone knows?
What is the module, the. apk, for Digital Balance? I want disable-it whith ADB why the process is running in background and i dont want that. Thank you

com.huawei.parentcontrol

vruggie said:
com.huawei.parentcontrol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much! Go test it Yes, works! Fine!

If you download Link2SD from the appstore you can see the name off every app on your Phone. Goodluck

vruggie said:
If you download Link2SD from the appstore you can see the name off every app on your Phone. Goodluck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
:good:

Apps-->Apps(again)-->More(the three dots in the top right corner)-->Special access-->Access to user information-->More(again)-->Show system processes-->Digital balance. And then you just turn it off
This is my translation from norwegian, so the words might be a bit different on your device. Still hope this helps tho

SeeNine said:
Apps-->Apps(again)-->More(the three dots in the top right corner)-->Special access-->Access to user information-->More(again)-->Show system processes-->Digital balance. And then you just turn it off
This is my translation from Norwegian, so the words might be a bit different on your device. Still hope this helps tho
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, I just got the app but it doesn't show anything to do with turning it off. Does it only work if it is on your own phone and not on the screen time classed as your child's phone.
Does it only work on the P20 Pro because I have the P20.
Thanks.

no possible disable ???? no works here

pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.huawei.parentcontrol
Via adb and you're done.

[guide] TURN OFF THE MIUI ADS

for those on stock MIUI OS... are you sick and tired of seeing ads on your phone.
here's the 1st step in turning them off, i'm still exploring all the ads that will pop up and will be documenting on turning them off.
Go to; Setting - Additional Settings - Authorization & revocation - Uncheck msa
YMMV on the number of attempts you have to uncheck to successfully revoke

Aaagogo said:
for those on stock MIUI OS... are you sick and tired of seeing ads on your phone.
here's the 1st step in turning them off, i'm still exploring all the ads that will pop up and will be documenting on turning them off.
Go to; Setting - Additional Settings - Authorization & revocation - Uncheck msa
YMMV on the number of attempts you have to uncheck to successfully revoke
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol I debloated my device a hour ago. Also uninstalled MSA

!!!!!!!Root2!!!!!! said:
Lol I debloated my device a hour ago. Also uninstalled MSA
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
dude, that's a much better route vs revoking authorization. I'm still new/returning back to ADB,
could you share that command line so i can add it to the 1st post.
Cheers.

Aaagogo said:
dude, that's a much better route vs revoking authorization. I'm still new/returning back to ADB,
could you share that command line so i can add it to the 1st post.
Cheers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't do it the old way. I used saki's tool. Link
https://github.com/Saki-EU/XiaomiAD...wnload/6.3.1/XiaomiADBFastbootTools-6.3.1.jar
It's easy to use and let's us reinstall apps in case we delete the wrong ones.

!!!!!!!Root2!!!!!! said:
I didn't do it the old way. I used saki's tool. Link
https://github.com/Saki-EU/XiaomiAD...wnload/6.3.1/XiaomiADBFastbootTools-6.3.1.jar
It's easy to use and let's us reinstall apps in case we delete the wrong ones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, I also debloated my device weeks ago. And I'm having an issue that some apps change their position on home screen randomly and I can't even move them back to their old place. Do you experience something like that? And Which apps did you removed?

ravindu666 said:
Hi, I also debloated my device weeks ago. And I'm having an issue that some apps change their position on home screen randomly and I can't even move them back to their old place. Do you experience something like that? And Which apps did you removed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just removed Google apps and mi bloatware. I didn't go for system apps.
I too faced same kind of issue a month ago. Every time i open an app it's duplicate icon wad created and I couldn't delete it. I changed theme and it got fixed.

[/COLOR]
!!!!!!!Root2!!!!!! said:
I just removed Google apps and mi bloatware. I didn't go for system apps.
I too faced same kind of issue a month ago. Every time i open an app it's duplicate icon wad created and I couldn't delete it. I changed theme and it got fixed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe it's the theme then

thanks
Aaagogo said:
for those on stock MIUI OS... are you sick and tired of seeing ads on your phone.
here's the 1st step in turning them off, i'm still exploring all the ads that will pop up and will be documenting on turning them off.
Go to; Setting - Additional Settings - Authorization & revocation - Uncheck msa
YMMV on the number of attempts you have to uncheck to successfully revoke
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for this post

!!!!!!!Root2!!!!!! said:
I didn't do it the old way. I used saki's tool. Link
https://github.com/Saki-EU/XiaomiAD...wnload/6.3.1/XiaomiADBFastbootTools-6.3.1.jar
It's easy to use and let's us reinstall apps in case we delete the wrong ones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for sharing bro :good:
By the way, how i can open it? (The format file is .jar)
Edit: i forget to download java runtime, now i can open the jar

Can you post which apps / packages are save to remove without facing any issues afterwards? I assume you use adb

i got rid of;
the 3 facebook apk's
notepad
mi browser
mi drop
mi music
google duo
google video
google photos
google music
google search bar
miui feedback
i also found it better to do it manually, by going into file explorer in twrp and manually delete the related apks, the software just uninstalls but doesn't delete and i have had experience that they randomly gets reinstalled again.
edwardenglish said:
Can you post which apps / packages are save to remove without facing any issues afterwards? I assume you use adb
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

How to prevent ColorOS[CN] setting from changing back?

I realized that when I change some settings in ColorOS it magically changes back without telling you.
I installed Google Assistant from the app store. It required Google Assistance to be selected as the default Assistive App [default value : none]. After I changed that.. it changes back at some random amount of time.. I'm not able to work out how long it takes for it revert the setting.. but sure enough it will.
Another App is LastPass.. It requires me to Enable Autofill from accessbility Options.. Once again I turn it ON.. after some random amount of time it will revert it back to "Off"...
What can be done to stop this from happening?

Blah blah blah! said:
I realized that when I change some settings in ColorOS it magically changes back without telling you.
I installed Google Assistant from the app store. It required Google Assistance to be selected as the default Assistive App [default value : none]. After I changed that.. it changes back at some random amount of time.. I'm not able to work out how long it takes for it revert the setting.. but sure enough it will.
Another App is LastPass.. It requires me to Enable Autofill from accessbility Options.. Once again I turn it ON.. after some random amount of time it will revert it back to "Off"...
What can be done to stop this from happening?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Happens to some degree in the EU model too,noticed the lastpass app autofill stops amongst other things. Am thinkin maybe it's the Phone Manager app which I think kills battery intensive apps if you allow it

manus31 said:
Happens to some degree in the EU model too,noticed the lastpass app autofill stops amongst other things. Am thinkin maybe it's the Phone Manager app which I think kills battery intensive apps if you allow it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll give this a try.. I've gone into phone manager -> startup manager and allowed the two apps.. the two apps wasn't there even though I have allowed the app to run in the background.
We will see tomorrow.

Nope that didn't work.. anyone else have other suggestions? Anything to remove delete or hack?

Blah blah blah! said:
Nope that didn't work.. anyone else have other suggestions? Anything to remove delete or hack?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Man,I don't know what the issue is but read on the Realme community that the OS just reverts to defaults to ensure proper functioning of the phone,
ColorOS is certainly the biggest downside to this phone. Am missing OxygenOS on my 6T a lot though I'm Gona stick with the x2 pro for now,
Bought the phone for its flagship specs and storage and and to get away from the hassle of messing around with the phones setting's with tricks and mods.
Have decided to just accept colourOS for what it us.,though there is some battery drain,it's not awful and I'm still getting notifications.
Will just have to hope things improve with updates and the next big update should improve things a lot,mind you,it's a long way to April ?

Not notice anything revert on mine... This sounds like the same issue I had on the mi 9... I can't remember how I solved it but it was something to do with the auto security checks the phone manager app did... After a set amount of time the phone manager would perform certain checks and reset certain options throughout the operating system.

ngagephone said:
Not notice anything revert on mine... This sounds like the same issue I had on the mi 9... I can't remember how I solved it but it was something to do with the auto security checks the phone manager app did... After a set amount of time the phone manager would perform certain checks and reset certain options throughout the operating system.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds about right,Have feeling the phone manager app has something to do with it.It does not like the developer options

Ok.. I found my work around for now.
I'm using tasker every 10 mins to change the accessibility options for all the apps that need it and set the google assistant to default.
Working ok so far for the last day.

Blah blah blah! said:
Ok.. I found my work around for now.
I'm using tasker every 10 mins to change the accessibility options for all the apps that need it and set the google assistant to default.
Working ok so far for the last day.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems like more trouble than its worth,the only settings I'm having trouble keeping are the animation ones, but honestly it's not bothering me anymore. Have animations setting set to fast in the stock launcher setting and it's not so bad.
Didn't think lastpass was working but it has been appearing to autofill login to sites in a chrome

Did anyone found a solution? Im having this issues too...

B0dYGu4rD said:
Did anyone found a solution? Im having this issues too...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can simply turn off battery optimizing for the app and check... it works

Nice suggestion... Ill try this :good:

Question Did anyone find a solution against the agressive background killing of apps?

Apps will automatically close within 10-20 seconds after I leave the app through the home gesture. It drives me crazy that literally no app will stay open in my recents. I tried locking the apps in the recents, it did not help. (What's the sense of locking apps there then?!)
Anyone has a solution/workaround?

Just select to not optimize that app in battery settings....

I'm on OOS 13 Open Beta 2 build and haven't encountered this issue at all. Apps stay in background for hours honestly.
Maybe check Battery Optimization for each of those apps and permit Background Activity?

zopostyle said:
Just select to not optimize that app in battery settings....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did that but it doesn't help. Apps stay in recent when I leave them but if I open it again seconds later, I'm greeted with the splash screen and for example Chrome reloads the website.

hackslash said:
I'm on OOS 13 Open Beta 2 build and haven't encountered this issue at all. Apps stay in background for hours honestly.
Maybe check Battery Optimization for each of those apps and permit Background Activity?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried disabling every possible battery optimisation but apps still close seconds after I leave them.

Here is few solutions. Don't know if they works or not.
Oneplus
Hey Android vendors, don’t kill my app!
dontkillmyapp.com

Dayuser said:
Here is few solutions. Don't know if they works or not.
Oneplus
Hey Android vendors, don’t kill my app!
dontkillmyapp.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried everything described in there already, nothing helped sadly. Thanks though

memocatcher said:
Tried everything described in there already, nothing helped sadly. Thanks though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Final solution... Change phone

memocatcher said:
Apps will automatically close within 10-20 seconds after I leave the app through the home gesture. It drives me crazy that literally no app will stay open in my recents. I tried locking the apps in the recents, it did not help. (What's the sense of locking apps there then?!)
Anyone has a solution/workaround?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
stop using cos. install oos.

g96818 said:
stop using cos. install oos.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm on OOS 12.1

I have this same issue. All this ram and apps still closing out right after you leave them.

This is definitely a tweak/edit/change you did somewhere on your end. Maybe developer options?

Tilde88 said:
This is definitely a tweak/edit/change you did somewhere on your end. Maybe developer options?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, since its happening to.other people too as you can see. I tried everything

Yes It can be a "pita"! Looking for a solution as well...

memocatcher said:
Tried everything described in there already, nothing helped sadly. Thanks though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Developer options>standby apps, are all buckets showing as active? If not global power management is active.
Does it happen in safe mode ie 3rd party app causing it?

memocatcher said:
No, since its happening to.other people too as you can see. I tried everything
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Weird doesn't happen to me at all. I just checked, and I am even in battery saver mode. Programs stay in RAM as expected, and load immediately in the state/position they are in. Android 12 A.15, rooted, tons of debloat via adb disable. I also even run Malwarebytes with realtime stuff and scanning enabled.

Double post. Please delete

Tilde88 said:
Weird doesn't happen to me at all. I just checked, and I am even in battery saver mode. Programs stay in RAM as expected, and load immediately in the state/position they are in. Android 12 A.15, rooted, tons of debloat via adb disable. I also even run Malwarebytes with realtime stuff and scanning enabled.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sure it does, try opening one app, copy from one, switch to another and paste, continue doing that. Eventually it'll lose your position.
Apps remain in recents yes but the absolute state is not kept.

dladz said:
I'm sure it does, try opening one app, copy from one, switch to another and paste, continue doing that. Eventually it'll lose your position.
Apps remain in recents yes but the absolute state is not kept.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Um, yes, they absolutely stay in whatever position I left it in for as long as I leave it. Do I screen record for you?

Tilde88 said:
Um, yes, they absolutely stay in whatever position I left it in for as long as I leave it. Do I screen record for you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats so weird because they won't stay open in the background for like most of us. 10 seconds after I minimize an app like Gmail, then reopen it, I will be greeted with the Spash Screen of Gmail which takes like 1-2 seconds.
Chrome is even more annoying, since the website I was on 10 seconds ago, will have to reload.
It's stupidly annoying and I tried everything to get it fixed. With this behavior of RAM, that Apps close withing literaly seconds, 2 GB RAM could have also made the deal