[Q] Reducing Audio Latency Through Mods - Sprint Samsung Galaxy S 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshoot

I'm using a USB MIDI keyboard (through a mini USB connector) and trying to use my Galaxy S4 to drive the sound. The reason is that it's a small, portable, solid state computing device (stage vibrations already killed a couple hard drives in the last few months) that I already own. The drawback, of course, is latency. The delay between key press and sound generation makes this unworkable.
Here's a list of what I've done, I'd love to hear any advice for making this possible. I'm hoping to update this into a complete tutorial if it is successful:
1) The best app as far as sounds available (for the music I play, this may vary for you) AND allowing external keyboard control is Music Synthesizer (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.levien.synthesizer). It would be ideal if there was an app that allowed VST plugins for custom sounds or had its own internal latency controls, but none seem to exist on Android. Please, please notify me if I'm wrong. That would make this whole setup better.
2) Because stock Android is super bloated, I wiped and flashed TriFroceRom onto my device using TWRP. This was harder for me than I'd like to admit, so allow me to point future people to what worked for me:
First you'll need to get TWRP up and running. Here's the walk through that worked for me: http://wccftech.com/install-twrp-recovery-on-samsung-galaxy-s4-i9505/
This is the best tutorial I've found for installing TriForce: http://wccftech.com/flash-triforcerom-54-samsung-galaxy-s4-sphl720/. MAKE SURE you do not just reboot straight away. Follow that last step about going back to home, reboot menu, into system. And it may ask to fix your root permissions too. I skipped that part and had a dead phone for a while.
Also, if you're on this stage and wondering about the best way to back everything up before you do it, G Cloud (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.genie9.gcloudbackup&hl=en) is your answer. It is free, works perfect on upload and download, and lets you look at what is on their server at any time (including browsing photos, not just file names). Text messages and contacts sync too. If you pay a little bit of money for the full version, it will even keep your application data. If you're super cool and want to put in my referral number, it's BG2III (gives me more storage, and those are uppercase letter i not number 1s).
3) I then added Ktweaker so that I could overclock and improve the system performance. I watched this video to figure it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5hcuLG-xp0. He has a link to download the files for Ktweaker which is this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2294083 but you ALSO need to know that, with the links provided, you PROBABLY need 4.3 touchwiz version. TriForce Rom is a touchwiz rom for sure, and depending on when in the future you see this, check your device's about page (in the settings on your phone) to make sure which version of android you're running.
ALL OF THIS SAID, I have noticed zero improvement. I've read some documentation on Ktweaker and watched some videos on optimizing it and tried several different settings (overclocking, changing the CPU governor, reducing internal and external read ahead (and increasing, for kicks and giggles, though it seemed counter to my intuition), and ultimately have found not a single detectable millisecond of improvement in the latency.
Does anybody have any ideas? I understand that the Nexus devices are supposed to have lower latency, but a new device is not currently in my budget. It seems to me that MIDI controllers have been possible with very low latency since far before the computing power of even this phone was available, so conceivably there should be a way.

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Related

*** Galaxy Tab Master Tweak Thread***

Hi everyone.
Id like to start a thread where we collect, post and discuss all known individual tweaks and changes that can be made to the Galaxy Tab in order to gain performance and stability.
My experience with the Galaxy Tab has been similar to my latest phone, an HTC HD2. When I got the HD2 about one year ago, I positively hated it... slow, unstable, all sorts of problems, lags, crashes... its the way most of the hardware today is released. One year later, my HD2 has become the most amazing machine I've ever owned. From pushing it 1.6GHz stable, to tweaking registry, XML files, services and making everything work well. I remember not being able to watch smooth video on the HD2 to being able to watch flawlessly 720p content and going from the extreme of detesting the phone to loving it.
It was with the HD2 I discovered Android and fell in love with it. Since I have now two HD2s I have one with an SD ROM version of Gingerbread (that I can dual boot still from Windows Mobile) and a Froyo NAND. I run Android on the HD2 much much much faster and smoother than on the Galaxy Tab, that I also hated when I bought it a few weeks and that am starting to like after getting to know it, a new ROM, apps, etc. Even at 1GHz stock the HD2 with Froyo is vastly faster, smoother, more responsive and better to use. The approach d like to do as far as tweaking the Galaxy Tab is the same as I did for the HD2 with Windows Mobile, that is, install the best/fastest ROM I can, delete and remove all stuff I don't need and then tweak what's left.
The tweaks I've done so far on the Galaxy are simple but have made a huge difference. Id like with this thread to be able to collect individual tweaks and post them all here to share with everyone.
Im using Roto JMI Pre-Rooted Firmware v2 which was the main step after getting rid of the stock Samsung Rom that is nothing but a collection of problems.
The first thing I learned with this Tab is that WHATEVER IS ON YOUR HOME SCREENS THAT MOVES, IS BAD! Forget about having ANY type of apps or widgets that do any type of refresh, including stuff running on the upper task bar if they change icons or the move around… that mean a CPU cycle and refresh each time and there goes the tab's performance and battery life. The same goes for any type of Live Wallpaper. Beautiful but deadly. Never touch them!
- So, after a new ROM, the first thing I did was changing the file system to EXT4. This is the SINGLE BEST THING you can do to radically improve the performance of the Tab. Its extremely easy to do and the step-by-step instructions are as follow:
- Make sure you have an miniSD Card in with plenty of available space (it will be used automatically to backup your system during the conversion process)
- Get p1000-mck-r3-ext4-cwm.tar (the EXT4 Conversion Kernel)
- Connect the Tab in Downloading Mode to your PC via USB, start Odin3 1.7 and load the Kernel (click on the PDA button and select the p1000-mck-r3-ext4-cwm.tar and make sure PDA stays ticked after selecting the file).
- UNTICK Re-Partition check box and make sure the only boxes ticked are:
Auto Reboot
F. Reset Time
The PDA tickbox
- Click start and wait for PASS! (it will show highlighted green or Yellow on Odin)
- Now the Tab will restart and get stuck on the Samsung loading screen. This is normal. Turn it off by holding the power button for 5 seconds.
- Turn on the Tab again on into RECOVERY mode (Press Volume UP and Power On at the same time) and the EXT4 conversion will start automatically. The process will take up to one hour depending on how much stuff you have on your Tab. It took about 10 minutes on mine because I have a fresh install of Roto JMI v2.
- Once finished, click "Reboot System Now" (by pressing the power button).
- The reboot may take a while first time so be patient!
- Done!
- After that, the first tweak I did was to get rid of all my favorite widgets that moved around… net meter, news, weather and all these beautiful things KILL the Tab. Equally I had a CPU meter on the tray refreshing every 2 seconds and it took me a while to figure out that was the reason why every 2 seconds the system would stutter, whether watching a movie or browsing the web. So, out!
- Next was to install SetCPU under the ON DEMAND setting, minimum around 750MHz and maximum 1000MHz (unfortunately only with a custom Kernel you can go higher, currently up to 1.4GHz but not full stable and with lots of issues pending so I don’t recommend it)
- My following step was to get rid of the stock Samsung Homescreen (that is a resource hog and slow as hell) and replace it with a new one. I've tried them all and am making no recommendation here but the one that works for me and is by far the best IMO is LauncherPro. This single app makes using the Tab a whole better experience.
- Next was to disable the USELESS and (resource pig) Gallery and replace it with an app called QuickPic that is blazing fast (actually instant) and simply amazing to browse and view all media on the Tab.
- Next was to greatly improve the poor native GPS reception by replacing high performance files and drivers from the Orange Rom P1000JHKA1 that seems to work on all versions of the Tab, as originally posted here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=922692
- With SystemApp Remover 4.12 I have disabled all system apps and services I don’t need (BE VERY CAREFUL AND DON'T REMOVE ROM APPS YOU WILL NEED). I have actually deleted some from ROM (Root access required of course), this includes useless stuff like STK Service starting every time, most of the Samsung stuff that I really don’t care for and just about all apps I know for sure I will never open a single time. Now, its important to understand if these apps are removed they will be removed PERMANENTLY from ROM so to get the back a hard reset will not be enough, you'll have to fully flash the ROM again. For most system apps I don’t use but am not sure, I use a different option and that is to simply disable them. In my case this includes all Bluetooth stuff (I never use it and even if it's off the Services are still running robbing performance and memory) and apps like the built-in Browser, Email and Messaging that suck and that I replaced with better apps. Its always a safer bet, at least initially to disable the apps you don’t need that uninstall them because at least you can go back and change your mind This is one area where Id like to learn more. There are many background services that I don’t know what they do and if they can be disabled or not. If someone knows what each one does and the safety of getting rid of them OR NOT, it would be great to post it here!
- Them, with Startup Auditor 2.3.2 I have disabled all unnecessary apps that start automatically every time the Tab boots so I don't have excess applications starting up that are not needed. Some I configured to be killed AGAIN if the system tries to restart them later after the boot-up
- Using Task Manager 1.0.7 and letting always run on background, I have configured all apps that I don’t need running to be auto-killed every time the phone goes to stand-by (screen off). This saves me lots of memory and CPU time on apps that I am actually not using.
- Finally, I monitor what is going on with an app called CPU Usage Timeliness Free 1.7.1.0 and use it to see EXACTLY which applications are using CPU cycles and interfering with performance. With it I have found that on my Tab I have an unsolved problem that is using over 100MB of memory and non-stop CPU usage between 15% and 45% of something called SECURITY STORAGE. I have no idea what it does. It can't be disabled and I don’t know where all the activity comes from. If someone know more about this and how to fix it, that will be great. Most of the performance issues I have on my Tab come from this Service that I don’t know how to tame. Surely, we can find a solution.
The system background services is one area where I'd like to know one by one, what each service does and if we need them or not, if it can be tweaked, disabled or deleted. Below is a complete list of the services I have safely disabled so far that have given me great performance boosts and with no negative issues on the system (IN BOLD), and OTHERS I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT (not bold). Please note these are background services that start automatically. The changes made to the disabled apps/services is that they are reverted to ON-DEMAND so they all still work perfectly.
CALENDAR
CALENDAR STORAGE
COM. SEC.ANDROID.PROVIDERS.DOWNLOADS
CSC
DOWNLOAD MANAGER
DRM CONTENT
EMAIL
GALLERY
GOOGLE PARTNER SETUP
GOOGLE SERVICES FRAMEWORK
MARKET
MEDIA STORAGE
MESSAGING
MUSIC
SAMSUNG ACCOUNT
SERVICE MODE
SNS
WIPEOUT RECEIVER
WORLD CLOCK
Furthermore I uninstalled several of the Samsung Apps I don’t use and STK Service and disabled these system Apps I don’t use (YOU SHOULD CHOOSE THE ONES YOU WANT TO ENABLE OR DISABLE AS YOU MIGHT HAVE DIFFERENT NEEDS):
All Bluetooth Services
All LiveWallpapers Services
Browser
CarHomeGoogle
CarHomeLauncher
Google Feedback
Screen Capture Service
Voice Search
Originally with my Tab I was getting Quadrant below 600 on average. Now, its always over 1900. This is not a "little" improvement, this is amazing upgrading. But id like this to be a starting point to learn and share more ways with everyone we can all share on things we can do to make the Tab as good as it was intended to be for everyone
Cheers!
1.4 oc is stable, and doesn't have any issues for alot of users.
all the things you disabled are all the things i use every day lol
never the less, good post, im going to use a couple apps you mentioned.
natious said:
1.4 oc is stable, and doesn't have any issues for alot of users.
all the things you disabled are all the things i use every day lol
never the less, good post, im going to use a couple apps you mentioned.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The first block of disabled items (in bold) from CALENDAR to WORLD CLOCK are disabled start-ups but the apps works as usual. It just frees resources not required on boot till you actually start the application when you want.
The second block from Bluetooth Services to Voice Search are all disabled as I use none of those. Items disabled can be restarted again at any time upon activating them follwing a reboot, while items deleted (like Samsung Apps and STK) are gone forever.
Ive never flashed a ModaCo Kernel and got lots of feedback regarding probelms with 1.4OC. Do you have any issues at all or none? We are using different ROMs... What Quadrant do you get currently?
Cheers
Thank you for your post.
You have solved many of my questions. Also I am User of HD2 and had the same impressions, but now with Android Nand everything was great, also started to love it.
As for GTAB'll make those adjustments you suggested, some will not disable because I use Bluetooth as an example.
Any news please keep posting.
Success!
VeEuzUKY said:
The first block of disabled items (in bold) from CALENDAR to WORLD CLOCK are disabled start-ups but the apps works as usual. It just frees resources not required on boot till you actually start the application when you want.
The second block from Bluetooth Services to Voice Search are all disabled as I use none of those. Items disabled can be restarted again at any time upon activating them follwing a reboot, while items deleted (like Samsung Apps and STK) are gone forever.
Ive never flashed a ModaCo Kernel and got lots of feedback regarding probelms with 1.4OC. Do you have any issues at all or none? We are using different ROMs... What Quadrant do you get currently?
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So far the oc is good, things load a little faster, especially nfs shift. Last run of quadrant was 2300-2400.
Ill try it again later after these optimizations and see how it goes, a member here has gotten 3000.
Having done nothing but root, my tab gets about 1000 quadrant score. I have tried setcpu using on demand and it actuall has made my tab worse. I am very hesitant to flash anything on the tab. It seems very involved and complicated. I have an HD2 as well and have been flashing since Android was on SD. That process is simple. Everything I have read about flashing things to the tab doesn't look that way. I really havent had any issues with my tab as stock other than a bit laggy at times. I would like to hear more about all of this. The oppinions I have read are either do it or don't do it. There are more problem posts after attempting to flash than there are good ones where it worked. I really could care less about a quadrant score to be honest, but I would like to have a faster smoother running tab. I really dont care about making calls on it either. Thats why I have a phone. JMO. I think part of the issue in this thread is that there are Euro and USA version which are completely different and require different roms and such.
I have been reading and lurking in the tab development thread for a while now and am not impressed with any of it yet. Maybe someone could shed some light on things and change my mind.
dubie76 said:
Having done nothing but root, my tab gets about 1000 quadrant score. I have tried setcpu using on demand and it actuall has made my tab worse. I am very hesitant to flash anything on the tab. It seems very involved and complicated. I have an HD2 as well and have been flashing since Android was on SD. That process is simple. Everything I have read about flashing things to the tab doesn't look that way. I really havent had any issues with my tab as stock other than a bit laggy at times. I would like to hear more about all of this. The oppinions I have read are either do it or don't do it. There are more problem posts after attempting to flash than there are good ones where it worked. I really could care less about a quadrant score to be honest, but I would like to have a faster smoother running tab. I really dont care about making calls on it either. Thats why I have a phone. JMO. I think part of the issue in this thread is that there are Euro and USA version which are completely different and require different roms and such.
I have been reading and lurking in the tab development thread for a while now and am not impressed with any of it yet. Maybe someone could shed some light on things and change my mind.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
flash modacos kernel and rom, convert to ext4, you'll be amazed.
to OP
In startup auditor i just checked disable all, and am not having any problems, unless you are using task manager to disable
...CALENDAR
CALENDAR STORAGE...
edit: But when i check advanced task killer, it still shows that all the disabled apps are running
dubie76 said:
Having done nothing but root, my tab gets about 1000 quadrant score. I have tried setcpu using on demand and it actuall has made my tab worse. I am very hesitant to flash anything on the tab. It seems very involved and complicated. I have an HD2 as well and have been flashing since Android was on SD. That process is simple. Everything I have read about flashing things to the tab doesn't look that way. I really havent had any issues with my tab as stock other than a bit laggy at times. I would like to hear more about all of this. The oppinions I have read are either do it or don't do it. There are more problem posts after attempting to flash than there are good ones where it worked. I really could care less about a quadrant score to be honest, but I would like to have a faster smoother running tab. I really dont care about making calls on it either. Thats why I have a phone. JMO. I think part of the issue in this thread is that there are Euro and USA version which are completely different and require different roms and such.
I have been reading and lurking in the tab development thread for a while now and am not impressed with any of it yet. Maybe someone could shed some light on things and change my mind.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. The process of flashing the Galaxy is much more dauting than anything on the HD2. I suggest you do the EXT4 file converstion. All you need is follow the step by step I wrote above. It makes a huge difference. As for everything else, I too hold off to do too much flashing. The ROM I use now is great and lighter than stock but your seems to work well so keep it. For me when a ROM is good I just use it. When I bought the HD2 I flashed it 2 times with a custom ROM till i found one that worked for me and kept it for 8 months. But backing up and restoring WinMo is much easier... on Androind its all more complicated if you dont know what you are doing. Disable some start-ups on your unit, convert the file system to EXT4 and make sure you have nothing on your home screen doing a lot of refreshing and your tab will work great
natious said:
flash modacos kernel and rom, convert to ext4, you'll be amazed.
to OP
In startup auditor i just checked disable all, and am not having any problems, unless you are using task manager to disable
...CALENDAR
CALENDAR STORAGE...
edit: But when i check advanced task killer, it still shows that all the disabled apps are running
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is everything working 100% on that ROM? I do not want any ROMS that are having problems.
I too am not impressed with anything that us out yet...seems like any ROM process is tedious and complicated.
Glad the thread starter modified his tab to his liking, but what's the point of having it if you need to drastically change everything. I have a rooted DInc and not use any of things......didn't really see a performance gain with set CPU.
I'm going to continue waiting for something more reliable and use my tab the way it was meant to be, with all its hardware and widgets.
dubie76 said:
Having done nothing but root, my tab gets about 1000 quadrant score. I have tried setcpu using on demand and it actuall has made my tab worse. I am very hesitant to flash anything on the tab. It seems very involved and complicated. I have an HD2 as well and have been flashing since Android was on SD. That process is simple. Everything I have read about flashing things to the tab doesn't look that way. I really havent had any issues with my tab as stock other than a bit laggy at times. I would like to hear more about all of this. The oppinions I have read are either do it or don't do it. There are more problem posts after attempting to flash than there are good ones where it worked. I really could care less about a quadrant score to be honest, but I would like to have a faster smoother running tab. I really dont care about making calls on it either. Thats why I have a phone. JMO. I think part of the issue in this thread is that there are Euro and USA version which are completely different and require different roms and such.
I have been reading and lurking in the tab development thread for a while now and am not impressed with any of it yet. Maybe someone could shed some light on things and change my mind.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
dubie76 said:
Is everything working 100% on that ROM? I do not want any ROMS that are having problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure is, I use my tab as a phone replacement so I had to have everything work, you will be waiting eons for a decent update from samsung
Sent from my Galaxy Tab of awsomeness
AlpineM3 said:
I too am not impressed with anything that us out yet...seems like any ROM process is tedious and complicated.
Glad the thread starter modified his tab to his liking, but what's the point of having it if you need to drastically change everything. I have a rooted DInc and not use any of things......didn't really see a performance gain with set CPU.
I'm going to continue waiting for something more reliable and use my tab the way it was meant to be, with all its hardware and widgets.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How are you not impressed if you haven't tried anything?
Sent from my Galaxy Tab of awsomeness
Thank you for your detailed post. While I agree with you that the stock SGT rom and browser suck but where do you think the JMI, JMF, JMx ROMs coming from?
Most ROMs I've seen (except for CM) are based from some sort of Jxx
Please keep the tweak posts going. Good stuff and thanks!
natious said:
How are you not impressed if you haven't tried anything?
Sent from my Galaxy Tab of awsomeness
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not impressed with all the problems being posted just tring to flash it, and how complex it is to do it. Guess that's what I meant. Flashing the hd2 is a very simple process. Tab is not
Sent from my HTC HD2 using XDA App
My boy,
Only getting my Galaxy tomorrow but looking through threads on my favorite forum.
And guess the first one I happen into... I will follow avidly.
Hi dubie76,
Try an app called OCLF 2.0 on the Market. It is a Lag fix app for the Samsung Galaxy S which also works on the Tab.
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.rc.QuickFixLagFixR2
You have to install EXT2 tools and then install one click lag fix, both are done within the app.
I had this on my Tab before flashed to a custom ROM. The tab was much faster and did not have and lag compared to stock, the Quadrant score was around 1900.
Also you can uninstall the modifications in the app and easily reverse back to stock. The only disadvantage is you will loss about 800mb of internal memory (the 2Gb space), so if you don't have much space left, you will need to uninstall some apps and reinstall them once you applied the lag fix.
P.S. thanks to OP for the SystemApp Remover & Startup Auditor suggestion.
Custom ROMs?
Hi everyone!
Consider this:
The locked GTab (in standby) on an original ROM with a connected to it BT headset wakes up after replying a call from BT and can potentially have anything pressed as being in the bag due to its size...
My point is that there is NO fix for this on XDA therefore why should I expect any significant advancements from a custom ROM if such simple things cannot be fixed on Android.
My personal view is that Android is unfortunatelly not as flexible for adjustments as WinMo (i have HD2 as well with a wonderful custom Artemis ROM).
I've tried two Roto ROMs on my GT and they havent provided any noticeable enhancements in performance to my eye (perhaps some rating went up - I dont care about tech stats). I reverted to stock ROM P1000XWJMI that works as fast for a "regular user".
I am sad to resume my experience with hacking the GT as not worth it: you get serious risk of getting the GT bricked (much more complicated than with WinMo), loose the warranty and are open for instability and sudden incompatibilities with crashes.
On the third custom ROM installation attempt I was stuck on a black screen after powering on (stuck on the bootloader!) and couldnt initiate flash for multiple times. I was shocked and very nervous. Thats when the stock ROM saved my ass and I am not willing the risk of playing around any more with non-firmware ROMs for Android GT.
Regarding the alternative screen lockers available - please do not suggest Screen Suite (the best of the worst) and things like No-Lock (to get rid of the original locker) as they all mess up once in a while (tested) with the default ROM settings and the original core locker.
PS
In my view the best thing we can and should do first of all is to COMPLAIN to SAMSUNG Tech Support and Software Developers (I did twice already).
If every one of us from theese GTab forums would do this they would definitely get faster with resolving issues.
mrbuz said:
Hi everyone!
Consider this:
The locked GTab (in standby) on an original ROM with a connected to it BT headset wakes up after replying a call from BT and can potentially have anything pressed as being in the bag due to its size...
My point is that there is NO fix for this on XDA therefore why should I expect any significant advancements from a custom ROM if such simple things cannot be fixed on Android.
My personal view is that Android is unfortunatelly not as flexible for adjustments as WinMo (i have HD2 as well with a wonderful custom Artemis ROM).
I've tried two Roto ROMs on my GT and they havent provided any noticeable enhancements in performance to my eye (perhaps some rating went up - I dont care about tech stats). I reverted to stock ROM P1000XWJMI that works as fast for a "regular user".
I am sad to resume my experience with hacking the GT as not worth it: you get serious risk of getting the GT bricked (much more complicated than with WinMo), loose the warranty and are open for instability and sudden incompatibilities with crashes.
On the third custom ROM installation attempt I was stuck on a black screen after powering on (stuck on the bootloader!) and couldnt initiate flash for multiple times. I was shocked and very nervous. Thats when the stock ROM saved my ass and I am not willing the risk of playing around any more with non-firmware ROMs for Android GT.
Regarding the alternative screen lockers available - please do not suggest Screen Suite (the best of the worst) and things like No-Lock (to get rid of the original locker) as they all mess up once in a while (tested) with the default ROM settings and the original core locker.
PS
In my view the best thing we can and should do first of all is to COMPLAIN to SAMSUNG Tech Support and Software Developers (I did twice already).
If every one of us from theese GTab forums would do this they would definitely get faster with resolving issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So what if the screen goes on in your bag, unless you have a fresh finger floating around in there nothing can press any buttons on the capcitive screen, also my tab I just hit the lock button in a bt call, screen turns off phone stays on
Sent from my Galaxy Tab of awsomeness
Im so confused. I have my tab rooted and oclf 2.0. Im scoring 2200 in quadrant and.my dolphin hd browser is SO laggy. Even with flash disabled. Any ideas?
koxville said:
Im so confused. I have my tab rooted and oclf 2.0. Im scoring 2200 in quadrant and.my dolphin hd browser is SO laggy. Even with flash disabled. Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
because quadrant doesn't mean **** in the real world, i score 2300 but thats with the 1.4 oc.
Give miren a try, tbh its the best

Buyers guide (Galaxy S2 review vs iPhone4)

Hi guys,
I thought i share my thoughts and experience with people who have not decided which phone to buy. Maybe my input will make the decision easier (or maybe it will confuse you even more hehe).
Also I am hoping people with Android experience maybe can assist me with some of my negative bullets. I'm very new to Android so i apologies for my mistakes in my so called review/comparison.
And lastly i dont want to start any fanboy android vs iOS. This is just my personal view of the two phones/OS'es. Its maybe a bit unfair since i been using iPhone for the last 3 years and Android for only a week but still some of the bullets are independent of that. Any how lets dig into it, First i take the negative side of SGII and next the positive sides.
(maybe my topic is a bit misleading but below some of the items are compared against iPhone but i wont write all the plus/negative for iPhone since the SGII list is already pretty big and i want to focus on SGII which i hope can replace my iPhone)
- When i exit USB mode (where i can access the SD card) i cant find a way to reconnect it without cable unplug->plug. Is there a way i missed?
- Browser doesnt word wrap the text/column so good on table tab. I had a side by side comparison with my iPhone4. On iphone the whole article including images are resized and the text is fully readable. On Galaxy S2 images are not resized and text is readable but just barely. So the whole screen real-state is not fully utilized with the lower resolution and bad browser formatting.I have tested Opera also but the whole word wrapping experience left a very bad taste in my mouth. It was the worst experience ever, the article jump up and down every 5 sec or so, i think the browser got confused for some reason and couldnt decide how to format the page (this was when double tapping).
- Default browser crashes (go to qj.net where i usually visit to read about games).
- Text selection is a pain sometimes. First problem is that in every app it behaves differently. Second problem is that the process to select a text isnt so smooth.
- Confused about task and background proceses that start magically! When using taskmanager i can see mostly 2-3 tasks there and this makes sense. Now using other task killers suddenly they show 10-15 tasks. I understand these are background task but its beyond me why some of them suddenly are there. Like Kies, this should never be started unless i am using Kies. I can see now why my battery goes dows so fast (well compared to iPhone again). Why is there so many tasks started and why cant i control them from vanila Android. This should be a must. I dont want to root my phone to do the basic settings.
- Pretty much all application is downloaded can only be installed on phone memory. Why doesnt Google enforce developers to adapt to new versions of Android is beyond me.
- I havent found a way to backup everything on the phone (including applications and their save data) to my pc/mac. Without this i dont like to experiment rooting and other shizzles.
- Apps are not as smooth and functional on GS2 compared to iPhone4. Ex: Tunein Radio, i cant skip to next song. Ex2: ign app (iphone) allow for daily videos while the Android version is very poorly done and dont have any videos. Feels like Everything works just a little better on iPhone compared to Android phones.This is something most people cant understand if they havent had iPhone for a long time i think.
- Slow battery charging. I usually start charing at around 20% battery left. In one hour GS2 reaches around 40-50% while iPhone goes to 80%
- Headset lacks volume + next/back track when playing music.
- Creating folder through Kies Air not possible. for ex in media make a folder called movies.
- Drag&Drop in Kies air missing.
- When uploading a file through Kies Air there should be a progress bar, now it just looks busy and you dont know if its uploading or it hangs.
Ok now to some good sides on the Galaxy S2:
+ Brilliant screen (even if i think resolution could be better)
+ Flexibility and open market for every sort of application. Much like windows here you can add more functionality and make the phone very personal.
+ Excellent codec support. It plays pretty much everything i through at it. Well done Samsung.
+ Very good camera (even better then iPhone i admit)
+ Very good video recording (also better then iPhone)
+ Very light
+ Feels pretty good in your hand (even though i’m afraid one day the backvocer will break, i had a Nokia N95 and one day the smal plastic edges broke when i was opening the cover. Same thing will happen ti GS2 i’m sure)
+ Expandibale uSD.
+ Very cool fearure called Kies Air where i can access most studd through browser. (this can also be added to minus since it doenst work perfectly everytime i tested but the potential is there)
+ Nice features like pinch effect for desktop + many nice widgets.
+ I think you can make proper call recording on SGII (CallRecorder) but havent confirmed myself yet.
Lastly i like to say SGII is a wonderful phone and i really really want to use it as my primary phone. The one thing i hope Samsung fixes that will make me more loyal to Android is the default browser. The text wrapping must be improved and the browser more stable. I like the smoothness of the default browser and this is the most used part of the phone and so far my iPhone is better but i hope 2.3.4 update maybe can improve this.
Any input, tips, tricks are welcome. I really appreciate your help.
Hopefully this will help you, at least in some areas (i numbered them in the order that you have used):
1) using developer mode at least (i prefer it as its faster and more compatible than samsung's stuff) you can mount/umount at will the card on the pc via the phone without unplugging
2) You may want to try Opera Mobile, it seems to do a very good job at this. I'd like to see this in the stock browser too, but hey, this is Android, you have the choice to change the browser if you like ;-)
3) Well, same thing I guess. 2.3.4 may improve stability but the rest, I don't know, I wouldn't bet on it. I like Firefox quite a bit as well, but text wrapping is odd on it.
4) Android issue =/
5) I wouldn't use any task killer. Check the active apps and uninstall any app that doesn't behave (keep only the ones you REALLY need that still do stuff in the background, like email etc, but not too many). Seems to work a zillion time better for battery life. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a decent way to enforce such a policy.
Regular background tasks are not necessarily ever active. It just means they're frozen in the background and do nothing. As long as they do nothing it's fine, it's just faster to start them again (instant, in fact). The issue is really when they're activating every XX minutes while in the background.
6)Doesn't matter, the recent samsung phones such as the SGS2 have a HUGE internal memory compared to other phones, you'll never have space issues for that imo.
7)Install a kernel with CWM and then, boot in recovery and run a nandroid backup. It will create the backups on your sdcard. Copy them to your PC. Also, copy /efs using tools or manually..
You can restore using a CWM kernel later on and nandroid restore.
You can also use stuff like TitaniumBackup, but it's not nearly as thorough as nandroid backup (which is doing basically disk images, while Titanium and other such apps just copy app/settings)
8)Trollish subject. Some apps are superior on Android, some are superior on iOS. Heh SGS2's browser speed eats my IP4 for breakfast for example. If the same Android app doesnt have the feature of the iOS app, complain to the dev or find another app.
9) it's true it's like that, nothing you can do about it (technically, something could be done but that's probably not wise at all)
10) Use another music player, such as PowerAmp if you like. There's (many, many) other possibilities as well. It also let you boost the volume higher than the stock max volume (although I find stock to be loud enough)
11) Don't use KIES air to do that then ;-)
12) Likewise. There are apps like KIES air, you might want to try them btw. Make a little search, I dont have the name in mind, but they do exist, others will probably point them out
13) I do get a progress bar that moves, maybe a browser issue. Anyway, see point 12)
Cheers for the answers and help. I write the comments inline below.
bilboa1 said:
Hopefully this will help you, at least in some areas (i numbered them in the order that you have used):
1) using developer mode at least (i prefer it as its faster and more compatible than samsung's stuff) you can mount/umount at will the card on the pc via the phone without unplugging
A: i did test this mode but it asked me to unplug the cable also, same thing for MTP. Dont you get that?
2) You may want to try Opera Mobile, it seems to do a very good job at this. I'd like to see this in the stock browser too, but hey, this is Android, you have the choice to change the browser if you like ;-)
A: As mentioned i already tested this. Opera does some things better and some things worse. For instance visiting one of my favorite sites like Engadget.com the whole page jump up and down when i zoom in a little. To be honest the stock + Opera feel very bad compared to iPhones browser. I hope Opera or Samsung improve on this area. This is the most used feature for me.
3) Well, same thing I guess. 2.3.4 may improve stability but the rest, I don't know, I wouldn't bet on it. I like Firefox quite a bit as well, but text wrapping is odd on it.
A: Lets hope so
4) Android issue =/
A:
5) I wouldn't use any task killer. Check the active apps and uninstall any app that doesn't behave (keep only the ones you REALLY need that still do stuff in the background, like email etc, but not too many). Seems to work a zillion time better for battery life. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a decent way to enforce such a policy.
Regular background tasks are not necessarily ever active. It just means they're frozen in the background and do nothing. As long as they do nothing it's fine, it's just faster to start them again (instant, in fact). The issue is really when they're activating every XX minutes while in the background.
A: Yes true, i think Android just shows to much info for regular user. I have to see past the background tasks perhaps. Also some appz you can not remove like the hubs and such. Sure i can root and hack but i'm not so interested to do so just yet. Maybe when i'm a bit more user and understand Android better
6)Doesn't matter, the recent samsung phones such as the SGS2 have a HUGE internal memory compared to other phones, you'll never have space issues for that imo.
A: Actually i got over 12Gig of Appz on my iPhone so 16Gig (or actually 12Gig which is free) isnt all to much when you have navigator (3,5Gig) and games and blogs and such. But sure its enought for a time to come. The bottom line is Google must be tougher with the market otherwise the fragmentation will just grow.
7)Install a kernel with CWM and then, boot in recovery and run a nandroid backup. It will create the backups on your sdcard. Copy them to your PC. Also, copy /efs using tools or manually..
You can restore using a CWM kernel later on and nandroid restore.
You can also use stuff like TitaniumBackup, but it's not nearly as thorough as nandroid backup (which is doing basically disk images, while Titanium and other such apps just copy app/settings)
A: Thanks for the tips, i will write it down. As said i dont dare yet to mess with hacking but soon i was actually considering using the TitaniumB , hear its easy to use.
8)Trollish subject. Some apps are superior on Android, some are superior on iOS. Heh SGS2's browser speed eats my IP4 for breakfast for example. If the same Android app doesnt have the feature of the iOS app, complain to the dev or find another app.
A: I'm noob on what is there on the market so i'm sure there are many awesome apps on Android but when comparing the same app on Android vs iOS the Android was inferior. That was what i was comparing.
Another thing i dont really experience is the speed. To be honest i dont see such a huge speed difference when using my Wlan at home. But maybe you are right
9) it's true it's like that, nothing you can do about it (technically, something could be done but that's probably not wise at all)
A: I guess your right. On the other hand it could be possible a fw update could adjust some values for the current input, this could be a software limitation also i think. Lets hope
10) Use another music player, such as PowerAmp if you like. There's (many, many) other possibilities as well. It also let you boost the volume higher than the stock max volume (although I find stock to be loud enough)
A:Thanks for the tips will test this. Actually this is same thing as the copy/paste issue. I expect the behaviour to be the same no matter application (coming from iOS) but here it seems its application to application. This offer more freedom to developers for sure but it will also generate crapy software and result in a bad user experience. It would be so much better if there were a set of rules that all developers should follow on certain areas (this one is one such area).
11) Don't use KIES air to do that then ;-)
A: hehe true but this is the official way so i thought it should have been well tested and all
12) Likewise. There are apps like KIES air, you might want to try them btw.
Make a little search, I dont have the name in mind, but they do exist, others will probably point them out
A: Will do.
13) I do get a progress bar that moves, maybe a browser issue. Anyway, see point 12)
A: Strange, have to test again on IE which i hate, i use Firefox only. Also tested Safari on my mac.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks again for your input mate. Back to play more with my GSII
Applications can also be installed on the external sd card.
Applications and I also believe their user data are backed up on google server. So if you factory reset the phone and sync with google, it will download all previous apps.
About the slow charging - are you on old firmware version or do you charge over USB?
Creating a folder through kies air is not possible, that is correct. To be honest I am happy that there is even an app which allows to copy media etc. over wifi, you know there are phones which don't have that, for example the iPhone.
All apps I am using are working fine. If an app is not stable it's developer's fault, not the phone.
Ios is from 2007.. android 09.. 1-2 years between them. just think how far android have gone the last year.. give it 2 years and then compare it to iphone 4 in it current state.. well yes i know android is older.. but the initial realse was around 08-09 and IOS june - 07.
and yes.. so far iphone fits those who just want it to work better.. that means ppl not that used to computers etc.
and currently i dont own an iphone but i got a first generation ipod touch.. and yes even that stoneage IOS thing does alot of things better then my S2..
bah but this iphone vs android is getting old its a subject that can go on forever and ever..
well ill stick with my laggy android.. well i've been told by my iphony friends that its laggy.. i just dont see it
vampyren said:
Hi guys,
Any input, tips, tricks are welcome. I really appreciate your help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice overview.
IMO S2 is the best phone on the market now. But due to appl's hype, n matter what hardware specs they release, the iphone will always be superior to ANY phone. They could release an iphone with 1st gen hardware, and it will still make more sales than sgs2.
But, slowly more and more ppl are moving towards androi, and apple are losing sales. they even copied bb and android in ios 5..
Also coming from an iPhone 4 to the GS2 I can safely say that I don't miss the iPhone at all which I thought I would.
Having owned a Nexus S in the past and feeling a bit bewildered as there was a lot of stuff within the OS which felt unpolished and unfinished and now 2.3.3 is like night and day for that and it feels much more like a complete OS to me.
@OP give it time there will be a lot of things you can do with your new phone which would require rooting on your iPhone 4
The world of apps and widgets and customization is at your finger tips so jump right in and enjoy
My phone is running ADW Launcher EX with 90% icon dock size, 5x5 grid for homescreen, transparent drawer and miui weather
The only thing you might miss is the app store and iTunes integration (if you use it), other than that the Galaxy S II has it beaten quite comfortably.
@zxz0O0:
OOH that is cool , i think some option about it but didnt think it was what i thought it was nice to have it confirmed. Then this is pretty much what Apple is adding into iOS now with the cloud thing. Pretty cool Android has it already. By the way why do people use program like TitaniumBackup when there is google sync ? is there any limitation to the cloud backup? will all games data, programs data, settings be backed up or just Android OS stuff?
About FW i use the latest i think KE7 i think its called but i read there is a new one coming out next week so hoping for better battery life.
And your last point is something we can debate about for a long time but my view is that if you dont have strict rules developers do what ever they want and can let their app go without update. On the other hand if Google enforce some guideline like having option to install to SD card developers must go by that or their application is removed from market. In the end users will benefit and the platform will grow. But this is my view alone.
@olyloh6696:
I dont think its just hype really. I mean we are comparing a year old phone to SGII here and they are pretty much head to head in most scenarios i tested. But i see your point and i do agree that Android has a charm about it. I love the moving background, i love the whole flexibility to do what you want with the interface. Specially SGII's support for codecs so i dont have to spend 2 day re-encoding all my movies etc. So there are definatley benefits with Android but iOS has the benefit to be easy and working perfectly with the functions it offers from the get go. I think its a matter of preference and more advanced users will move to Android (a bit like me).
@daleski75:
Yupp i think i just need to play with it more and get used to the eco system
I think i will harass Opera developers to fix the formatting thing on the webpages now
Thanks for your input guys, gonna go out and take a walk now, later.
There are also many other good browsers, xscope, miren and dolphin hd to name a few, they all have their own way to format the page and all are pretty good many have different options too for formatting and text wrapping (I believe the default samsung browser also has some options)
also I believe google sync doesnt save all app data (eg angry birds progress is not saved)
That is correct...Google Sync doesn't backup app data (like your Angry Birds scores). This is where Titanium Backup (commonly abbreviated to as TiBu) comes in. It "sort of" does cloud backup (via Dropbox), but its strength really shows when you start installing/changing/updating custom ROMs. Typically, it's used to backup your apps and their data to a folder on your SD card. I can also do some pretty advanced stuff that you probably wouldn't use much (if at all). In my view, the strength is it's ability to deal with batch jobs. For example, before installing a new ROM, I backup all user installed applications (non-protected ones, anyway) with only a couple clicks. Restoring is just as easy, provided you have the paid version (it allows for hands-off batch restore of your apps). Another cool feature it has is "freezing" apps. Say you root your phone and may want to clean some carrier crapware off of it, but aren't *totally* sure. You can freeze those apps...they stay installed and can be defrosted at any time, but they won't be available for use until you do.
Also, I agree with you that a lot of iOS apps are much better than their Android counterparts. I believe this is the case for one main reason: there are tons of people using Android and tons of people on iPhones...you can essentially count on one hand the number of iOS phones Apple has to support, and they are all sold by Apple. Now, look at the number of Android phones and devices and their individual specifications...that makes developing apps for Android pretty complicated. Devs have to take into account different CPUs, memory limitations, and the biggie--SCREEN DIFFERENCES! However, I like being able to run an app developed for a phone on my Honeycomb tablet. Yeah, it may be ugly (not necessarily), but it almost always works! I have a network tool I use that only shows up on about 1/6th the screen of my tab, but I don't care...it still does the job.
Don't forget another important aspect of the Android vs. Apple thing...Apple has control of their devices and their operating systems, and the cell phone carriers don't have control over when Apple releases an update. On the Android side, you have some manufacturers that are prompt with getting an update ready, and those who abandon their devices after they leave the store shelf. Not only that, but those who do release updates, and most do, have to deal with the likes of AT&T and Verizon and everyone else here in the US. Each company wants a ROM customized only for them, and sometimes the manufacturers actually have to pay the cell companies to push out updates. This is what causes the splintering of Android, but openness is what gives it its strengths.
As a general rule, I find that the more "techy" people like the Android OS, since you can customize it and tweak it like crazy. Those who aren't quite as savvy will probably like iOS more (there's less to screw up and they all look the same). Please don't flame me for saying that...it's just a general observation that has many exceptions.
Well that's my two cents. Maybe it will be helpful in some way? <*schrugs*>
Brad
Sent from my Inspire 4G using XDA Premium App
There is no practical comparison possible between the mentioned phones.
Appreciate the explanation brad, TB is a nice tool indeed
Just one point, In regard to customization i can pretty do anything also when i jailbreak the iphone which is even simpler then rooting Android and what all techies do anyway with their Android phones
But i agree Android has its charm with the more open eco system.
The 2 area i wish to have before it gets perfect is the browsing and more resolution for the big ass screen (4.3)

2012 Nexus 7 So Slow It's Almost Unusable

This issue actually started before I updated to 4.4.4. I am currently on 5.02.
I have the WiFi version of the 2012 Nexus 7. I am running the stock Rom, and am rooted (using Wug).
I have several issues with this tablet, but by far the worst is it runs VERY slowly, sometimes taking 15-20 seconds or more to respond to my input.
I have tried doing a factory reset. The problem with that is that the tablet responded better for a day or so, but as soon as I set up my account it began downloading all my apps, making it impossible to determine whether one or more of them is responsible.
I have tried going into developer Options and checking the "Don't keep activities" option. That had no effect.
It's especially maddening when I'm trying to view web pages (using Chrome) and a page takes f o r e v e r to load. Then all those javascript ads that pop up just as the page finally loads (I tried deselecting that as well, but then I can't view slide shows, videos, and user comments on web sites).
It's also fun to click on a link, only to have the page jump right at that instant, resulting in the click hitting an unintended link!
At this point I am out of ideas, other than buying a different tablet, which I can't do right now due to financial reasons.
So my questions:
How do I troubleshoot the speed/lag issue?
How do I prevent my apps automatically installing themselves after a factory reset so I can install them one by one in an attempt to determine whether it's one or two apps causing this?
Is there a pop up blocker available for Chrome (or an alternate browser) to both block, or allow on a case by case basis those dang Javascript ads?
Thanks everyone.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Free mobile app
leebo said:
How do I troubleshoot the speed/lag issue?
How do I prevent my apps automatically installing themselves after a factory reset so I can install them one by one in an attempt to determine whether it's one or two apps causing this?
Is there a pop up blocker available for Chrome (or an alternate browser) to both block, or allow on a case by case basis those dang Javascript ads?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
2 of these are easy, the other may take more work.
To prevent the apps from automatically reinstalling, open the play store as soon as the tablet boots up, go to my apps > installed, and click Stop. Then go to Settings in play store, and change auto-update apps option to "Do not update".
There's many adblockers out there, if you're rooted then you shouldn't have a problem installing them. I use AdAway and it works fine, Adblock plus is also popular. Just download the .apk for one you want to use and install it, run the app, then reboot, profit.
As for lag, though it's possible you have an app causing you some issues, this older device is also pretty well known for having a big problem with declining i/o performance over time, and this is more likely the culprit. But any apps that constantly run in the background can exaggerate this further, especially since we also only have 1GB of RAM on this device.
As you mentioned, a factory reset can sometimes help with degrading performance, but it will just degrade over time again through regular use (or as soon as a bunch of apps are immediately restored). This can sometimes be mitigated to a point by using fstrim, but this is not the final solution for everyone.
For me, converting to F2FS format helped with this a lot, it actually felt faster than when it was brand new initially. But it takes some extra work to make the conversion, especially the first time (you have to format your partitions, losing all data in the process, so EVERYTHING you want to keep has to first be backed up elsewhere then restored after conversion). You'll also need to install an F2FS compatible kernel or ROM. Do your research before jumping in if you go this route, and backup your data!
Thanks Prismatic.
I've seen a few posts from people complaining about the slowness of the OG Nexus. Since hardware like cpu's and Ram don't actually slow down (to my knowledge at least), I assume it's usually due to the larger size of newer apps? Like a Windows thing where a version seemingly becomes slower after several years because hardware requirements get more demanding?
But has Chrome for Android really gotten that much larger over these years to cause our little tablets to slow so much? I'm almost at the point where I use my phone (HTC One) more than my tablet for looking things up and browsing.
As far as changing file systems, I'll have to look into whether the community overwhelmingly agrees that the speed gain is worth such a drastic measure. Thanks for the input.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Free mobile app
Chrome has been a problem (along with Facebook) for my 2012 for a long time. When I did the 5.0.2 upgrade I did a factory reset afterwards about did not let it reinstall apps. I installed some fresh from the Play Store that were essential (none that run continuously) one by one. I replaced Chrome as the default with UC Browser which has Facebook Fast integrated (does FB notifications running in background) and all was like new. The only defect is that you don't have a "share to FB" in other apps. Haven't tried FB Messenger yet either. Beside the system/Google and cloud apps running in the background the major hits are Amazon Kindle and my password manager (50 and 35 MB). UCB (w/FF) are only 7.3 MB. Leaves about 500 free ram.
---------- Post added at 08:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:01 PM ----------
BTW I only keep about a half dozen apps in "Recent Apps" and clear some out when it starts to lag a bit. The 2012 is not up to L's multitasking as L puts each tab or instance of an app there. Open a bunch of tabs in Chrome and you'll see what I mean.
I may try that myself. I already uninstalled FB (I've been suspecting it was a resource hog for a long time now).
I've been out of the loop for over a year though, what is "L"?
Sent from my HTC One using XDA Free mobile app
Let me guess: 16GB version? Those models used really crappy emmc that had a flash firmware bug where IO would get really slow once you hit 2-3 GB free space left on the device. If you're in that position, try freeing up space until you have 3-4GB free. It'll probably speed up again.
rtiangha said:
Let me guess: 16GB version? Those models used really crappy emmc that had a flash firmware bug where IO would get really slow once you hit 2-3 GB free space left on the device. If you're in that position, try freeing up space until you have 3-4GB free. It'll probably speed up again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are correct that I have the 16Gb version, but under storage it currently says, 8.5Gb free.
XDA Mobile App
Encrypted? If so, it wouldn't matter how much space you have free because as soon as the full-disk encryption operation completed, the internal map in the flash controller that keeps track of free blocks would think that there was no space left on the device (even though the OS and the file system would obviously report otherwise) and the only way to reset it once it gets to that point would be to reformat the file system (ex. Factory reset) which forces the flash controller to clear its internal map and start from scratch.
Either way, if your tablet is not encrypted and you're rooted, you could try to download the LagFix program from the Play Store and have it run fstrim, which would sync up the internal map of the flash controller with the current locations of free blocks of flash memory so the device doesn't keep slowing down trying to manually probe for free blocks every single damn time it needs to do a write operation. You may have to do it every once in a while as that internal map slowly fills up again though (the pro version lets you set a schedule). Theoretically, from Android 4.3 and onward, it's built into the OS and the the OS is supposed to be able to do it automatically based on certain conditions (ex. Idle for a certain amount of time, plugged in or 80%+ battery on a certain schedule), but I found that sometimes it needed to be done more often and it's always nice to be able to run the command manually if needed, although to be blunt, there's no reason why the end user should have to resort to this in the first place. That said, I don't know if LagFix will work on Lollipop (never tried; no longer have a rooted 16gb N7 due to a replacement logic board but a busted USB port so I can't unlock my bootloader to re-root the new board) and the program looks like it hasn't been updated since 2013. One way to find out, though and that'd be to try it.
Switching to F2FS as the file system rather than ext4 might help as well (I really wish I could re-root my device to try it for myself). The speed increases over other file systems when using it on flash memory come from letting the flash controller deal with the disk I/O rather than having the OS schedule things. When you look at the bug and what causes it, it could be the communication between the OS and the flash controller that's the culprit. So using a file system that cuts out the middle man and makes the controller deal with scheduling all the I/O might mitigate the problem (after all, the flash controller works fine when there's lots of free space, it's only when it fills up to less than 3gb of space that the flash controller's algorithm to sync what the file system advertises as free blocks with its own internal map starts to screw up).
I am not encrypted. I will try this LagFix app and report back, hopefully in next day or two. Do you recommend another factory reset first? Is been about three months.
XDA Mobile App
If you want, although I'd try LagFix first to see if that's all you need. If you do go through the wipe, run LagFix every so often to sync things up (assuming it works for you or on Lollipop in the first place).
OK, lagfix does NOT work on lollipop. It gives an error. When I can find the time maybe I'll try to convert to F2FS. Or else when I can find the money, try a new tablet.
Sent from a mobile device.
Question: When you wiped the device previously, how did you do it? If you're using TWRP and use the Advanced options under format to manually wipe /data and internal storage, it'll just use the rm command to delete the files which won't reset the controller's internal map. You need to use the factory wipe option, which will use the mkfs.ext4 commamnd to format the partition (which is what you want). If you've been doing it the wrong way, then that might explain why you're still getting the lag despite having a lot of space still free.
Also, the built-in trim functionality (supposedly) only triggers when the tablet is plugged in or at 70 or 80% battery *and* has been idle for 2-3 hours so if you use the tablet a lot or keep it powered off when not in use, there's a chance that the automated task won't run (and since LagFix doesn't work in Lollipop until the Dev updates it to be compatible, then there's currently no way to manually trigger it). So if you haven't already, try leaving it in powered on and plugged into the wall outlet overnight while you sleep and see if it's better in the morning. Might be worth a shot if all else fails.
Thanks. Yeah, I always leave it plugged in over night to make sure it's ready the next day.
I probably did do a factory wipe, but I'm not certain. Guess I'll try that again eventually.
XDA Mobile App
Cool. Well, if all else fails, there's one last trick to try, which is to zero fill all the empty spaces on the drive to tell the controller that the empty space is indeed empty when it hits the "start probing the file system for empty blocks to perform the write operation" part of its I/O algorithm. You can do that yourself on the command line by using dd to create a giant empty file until the drive is filled up, syncing the file buffers and then deleting the empty file, and then sync the file buffers one last time. There's also an app that can do it automatically, which is just a GUI that calls dd, rm, sync, rm and sync in the background. I forget the name, but it's in the store and I think it has "secure" as part of its name.
I had moderate success with that method as things would speed up again once done, but would slow up again over time as the drive was used. Formatting the partition is preferable because it saves on write operations and thus, wear and tear on the flash drive but the downside is that you lose all your data. And zero-fill was the preferred method outside of re-formatting the partition until someone figured out the fstrim trick. You might be able to run the fstrim command from the command line if you're rooted since LagFix doesn't work anymore on Lollipop, but I forgot what the command line arguments are. Google could probably help with that.
So still a few more things to try before giving up. But I wonder if F2FS would work better. Let us know if you ultimately go that route.
You can run the trim commands from terminal. But I found increasing the minimum clock helped.
Sent from my D6503 using XDA Free mobile app
leebo said:
This issue actually started before I updated to 4.4.4. I am currently on 5.02.
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Click to collapse
WOW same here, I updated from kitkat to 5.02 today and my god, this is TERRIBLE!!!
I keep rebooting in hope that SOMETHING will be better. I know this is an old tablet but I have a good mind to call Google tech support and complain about this abysmal ROM.
I did not do a wipe, just upgraded as you'd imagine that would be all one needs to do, it is a factory upgrade after all...
Some apps take forever to boot and then are inoperable because they can take a minute to respond to a touch (facebook seems the worst)
Others are very laggy but useable (like a cheap phone from 5 years ago).
I guess I have to try a factory reset/wipe.
So just to update: I have been wiping the cache partition about every five days. It lasts about two to three days. I plan on waiting until I have money to get a different tablet before getting a different ROM, or converting to the newer file system (though that will probably be some time from now). In its current condition I can't even give this thing away!
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
Same deal here. When new the Nexus 7 performs great. I have a 2012 8 gb version primarily for platform testing. The interface is so slow now I've given up and just use my phone. The keyboard takes forever to show up. When you first load an app it takes forever and switching between apps takes just as long. The last Nexus and Asus mobile device I will buy for a good while. At least I can still use it to test an app and know that the app will run on a crappy performing device.
Nexus 7 2012 (8gb)
Android 5.1.1
I've done factory resets and it doesn't really help, maybe for a few minutes and then back to the slow clunker. Even after the reset the keyboard is slow as snot to show up.
Just to update, I ended up using Wug's Nexus Root Toolkit to push 5.1 to my Nexus, then I did a factory reset. It had already downloaded 5.1 from Google, but I was desperate.
I had already given up and bought a Samsung Galaxy S 8.1 by then. It's now much faster. Because I bought the Samsung, I'm not using the Nexus very much, so I can't say for certain I cured it. It's worth a try however.
Signature edited to appease the OCD's
I would suggest installing Chroma 22/6/2015. It's very good since Android 5.1.1 fixes some memory leaks over 5.0.2 ^^ It runs perfectly P.S I wanted to sell or blow up my nexus with other roms so it's worth giving it a try ^^ I'd suggest wiping internal storage too after installation so you have a fresher feel ^^
Plz do it :3 You'll not regret it! The UI is pretty coolio too!

Your tips for speeding up the phone?

Using an A2017U B29 stock rooted. I find the phone to be generally laggy, especially in opening apps or switching apps, but even in things like SwiftKey appearing… My OnePlus One felt faster. And also (separate issue, I understand) double-tap to wake is slow, as is screen-on in general.
Please share your tips for speeding up the phone. If you can include links to tutorials or explanation threads where relevant, even better!
Thanks :good:
That's sorta unanswerable but my first cheap tip is to disable window and menu animations. I imagine some manufacturers tweak the timings so you don't feel the lag- I mean... animations are intentional lag, right?
Just go into developer settings near the bottom and turn them to whatever the next to lowest setting is. Personally I just disable the 3 animation settings because they're dumb. A window fade-in/out effect is telling your computer to do a math equation each time you switch a window. I'd rather the window simply open.
The same goes for 3d and transparency.. Unnecessary math. Even Microsoft got rid of the Windows Vista orb start button in Windows 7 because it shaves a few cpu cycles off to render a square versus a circle.
get fstrimm from the playstore
Thanks! I had turned off some of the animations already but turned off the other two now as well. Didn't see a big difference. Not sure how to turn off 3d and transparency (and wouldn't that affect how apps look?).
Moved my photos and videos to the SD card… that helped, too.
[comment moved]
Thanks — I did. Not sure yet if it made a difference... Moved my photos and videos to the SD card… that also helped.
Upgrade to the ZTE Axon Dmix7 custom ROM. You can dirty flash it and continue using your software since it is just an optimized Stock ROM. It is by far more agile than the Stock B29. It is fully reversible, since you can also dirty flash the stock B29 ROM again.
On top of that you can increase your user experience by more than 10% by reformatting your data partition to F2FS. This process is also reversible and very easy following the guide you can find in my signature.
I am using AKT kernel tweaks for SD820 since 3 days. My phones feels blazing fast now, and batterylife improved too. Check it out!
https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-3/how-to/advanced-interactive-governor-tweaks-t3476589
(you need to be rooted and unlocked to use this)

Microwear H5 MT6737M Android 6

Very scarce info everywhere, but quite a few people already use this $80 super-powerful watch including me (which is basically a micro-smartphone).
Many video reviews already.
I personally think that such powerful watch (much more powerful than my cheap 2016 tablet on previous Mediatek chip with less RAM) is a such small smartphone with illusion like it’s watch made by very modified version of Circle launcher with edited Android 6. I don’t see any limitations on this watch to run full stock Android OS here from the M6737M series smartphones, if ported. Even now all full-featured apps from Google store made for smartphones are perfectly runs here, including very big navigation apps and even the full “battery saver” function present from smartphones (first one which I see on Android watch ever). The only limitation which I noticed is very small display (specific apps cannot fit) and badly edited Android OS (like completely deleted status bar from OS, any 3rd-party status bar apps are installing fine but crashing on settings). Most 3rd-party launchers from Google store and open sources are installing here (only with few exceptions) - the most stable one I’ve found is open source “Essential Launcher” ver. 1.3.
My feeling from “lift wrist turn on” function with “swipe pages” makes almost iPhone X experience here, no any buttons needed, very stable power on only by view and swiping windows (including closing them by swiping to the right) makes very good feedback to the user.
Everything spoiled only by edited OS - awful work with fonts, too many illogical Menu lists, deleted functions like not present “Storage” in OS settings(only shortcut to file explorer) - the USB storage media not adding because of edits on OS level, considering normal micro-USB & even if you turn on “usb media” in developer settings.
Very few watch-faces with no way to install any others, it’s obviously fake feature to make you feel and use them as watch.
So, what I think many would be glad to see here - the root is the most important goal for now(developer menu allows bootloader unlock-not sure if it’s true because USB media settings there not works), maybe putting the normal Android is the next goal.
The root is very needed to firewall for very shady apps here, it’s very powerful device so it have full smartphone spyware, like notorious MTK Logger & Thermal Manager, which can work at sleep mode (it is almost suspicious that they broke USB media function so user can’t bypass network connection for installs). Root needed to work with display resolution and etc.
Edit: the processor by Aida app recognized as MT6737M but on Aliexpress you can find watch easily by search term processor "MTK6737M" (only like 7 sellers total).
I have the H5 as well, and you're correct! The main draw back is the stripped down OS, for example the call forwarding features are missing..
Ordered one of these a few weeks ago, should be getting delivery soon. Interesting to see how it performs, my last android watches have been mt6572 & mt6580, both of these I ported full Android versions to, I may give it a go at porting a full Android version to this in the future
Check this also:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/sm...dorid-6-0-finow-q1-pro-smartwatch-4g-t3745271
Well I got mine today, seems good so far. As for alternative launchers tried a few that work OK, if you want to change the clockskins for now I have found that Universal Launcher New Gen works just fine (you add clockskin folder +clockskins)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ricktop.ClockSkinCoco
I use mine at least 2 weeks maybe. Without root (which I plan to do but don't have time right now) I do not connect them to any Internet, so I'm using them as just watch (it's my first smartwatch). Files I'm sending through bluetooth from my Android phone, quite neat that you can install apps from bluetooth menu right away.
About battery - very good, if you don't connect them to networks at all, with battery Saver on & "wrist move activation" off they can work whole week on 1 charge (this includes some extensive using in 2 days on winter street with GPS apps, camera-video, constant time checking and etc.). They CAN HOLD MORE days, after the full charge, watch calculated the battery to the 15 days of work - which is believable, as I see now if you will check only time manually they can easily save 1 charge to 12-13 days. I use charger with them only once at week, it's quite shocking to read Apple Watch forums where people making that every 2-3 days.
They're quite powerful - making the zip archive internally from 250Mb photos/videos takes something like 2 minutes.
Because the step-counter here work always (even if you take them to the other room) - this device is just made for the SmartNavi (open source navigation app which use mainly step-counter with rare or no GPS connection for battery saving).
Can't wait for a custom recovery to be made for it, so I can root it. Tried all the rooting apps out on the web and none work so far.
Well I have managed to get Root access, using Magisk, and flashing patched boot image, struggling to create a TWRP recovery. Hoping someone out there can come up with a custom recovery.
Managed to port TWRP to it, but it is in miniature! going to have a play around with it to see if I can make it usable. Anyone with suggestions be grateful - well gave up on trying to amend TWRP resolution, and installed flashify - just flashed an AOSP ROM to the H5, happy days!
Well done stevea76
A step by step or point in the right directions kinda 'guide' would be really appreciated, cos the H5 with its stock funos is far from fun... sure its usable but no fun.
Wizard2004 said:
Well done stevea76
A step by step or point in the right directions kinda 'guide' would be really appreciated, cos the H5 with its stock funos is far from fun... sure its usable but no fun.
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I will put something together at the weekend, by then I should have something usable, don't want people breaking their new toys!
stevea76 said:
I will put something together at the weekend, by then I should have something usable, don't want people breaking their new toys!
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It would be interesting to find if there's any "recovery mode" on stock ROM image at all, considering that there's only 1 button. On similar watches from Samsung and etc they have quite awkward way to enter recovery - like some swipe to the left in time of logo showing and etc. I tried to repeat any swiping during boot - nothing...
Also, by the usual use of watch (almost a month now) I can say that in my case of use the battery holding 1 full charge for 7 days, so a week, the same amount calculated by OS also. That's the battery regime or mode which is now constant in my case (it can be different in situation of other people).
The battery here can be saved even more for a week - I managed to notice that "sleep stat" function are working here at all times and cannot be turned off like step counter in this Android OS, at the night time it randomly turning on the pulse checker light even if you not wearing them, which using the battery (not a big deal, but using some).
Wizard2004 said:
Well done stevea76
A step by step or point in the right directions kinda 'guide' would be really appreciated, cos the H5 with its stock funos is far from fun... sure its usable but no fun.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here is the link to the AOSP ROM I ported to the H5.
I must express it is a long winded way to flash it as I am not technically minded, just playing at it, and only do this if you have the stock ROM downloaded as a backup to revert back to and don't mind the possibility of wrecking your toy!, the only reason for me doing it this way is that the recovery TWRP I ported is functional, but not set for the screen size for the H5 so unless you have bionic eyes it is nearly impossible to use, hence the reason for my 'workaround' (note: If anyone can make the TWRP scaled for the watch, just flash the ROM in the usual way)
Here is a 'sort of' guide and link to files.
https://www.androidfilehost.com/?w=files&flid=252561
1. Flash
Microwear_Magisk_Patched_Boot_IMG using splash tool, reboot device.
2. Install Magisk Manager from here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/apps/magisk/official-magisk-v7-universal-systemless-t3473445/page4
Open Magisk manager and go to settings, set default action to 'Grant'
You now have root.
3. Flash
Microwear_H5_Recovery_TWRP using spflashtool.
4. Install
Flashify (for root users) from the Playstore.
5. Download directly to the watch (or to Computer and transfer to the watch) Microwear_H5_AOSP ROM AND the GAPPS of your choice (Open Gapps arm64 nano was my choice)
6. Use Flashify to install zip(s) making sure you click TWRP as recovery option and also tick the wipe cache, data etc (add the Gapps as well if you want Google)
Click Reboot on flashify.
Hopefully the watch boots to recovery and installs the ROM and gapps!
First boot sticks on boot animation, so if not starting after 3 or 4 minutes power off the watch and reboot, after another 5 to 10 minutes you should see 'android is starting'
Nav Bar is by default on permanently, to make this and notification bar 'hide' (fully Immersive) I used this method.
1. install on pc ADB (Guide below)
2. Enable developer options and USB debugging on watch.
3. connect watch (switched on)
4. Open ADB on pc.
5. Type: adb devices (click enter)
(should see you device is connected)
6. Then type: adb shell - (click enter)
7. Then type this line:
settings put global policy_control immersive.full=*
Now the navigation bar will pop up when you pull down or up slightly on the screen and will auto hide after a couple of seconds.
As for sensors I don't think any are working.
I have included 3 launchers on this ROM, so make your choice!
Please, please, please DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS if you don't know how to revert back to stock rom. I bear no responsibility for broken toys!
Guys, who already have a scatter file for this watch, i really want to make a backup of current ROM before checking for any new updates (which is quite good version from January and there's nowhere on Internet any firmware files for this watch, so saving and sharing ROM is important). If i manage to download ROM i will post it on Google drive.
I wanted to force watch go into it's own recovery but my ADB installation don't see this watch connected - there's a primitive subsystem on watch beside Android OS, it can be seen when you turn Android OS "power off" and connect USB for charging - it will show the battery, i'm puzzled how to enter into any settings of that subsystem.
The stock firmware is on the Microwear Website.
http://m.microweartech.com/en/MicrowearFirmware.html
stevea76 said:
The stock firmware is on the Microwear Website.
http://m.microweartech.com/en/MicrowearFirmware.html
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Yeah, i noticed only now, strangely but i remember that a month ago there was nothing about H5 model on their site when i searched…maybe because they just released it.
Also the firmware have the same scatter file - the first one which i found myself for some cheap smartphone on 6737 chip, as i remember i found it on reddit.
As i seen no updates of firmware for now.
crustier said:
Yeah, i noticed only now, strangely but i remember that a month ago there was nothing about H5 model on their site when i searched…maybe because they just released it.
Also the firmware have the same scatter file - the first one which i found myself for some cheap smartphone on 6737 chip, as i remember i found it on reddit.
As i seen no updates of firmware for now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No updates as yet. I have ported an AOSP version, pretty much stock Android to the H5, it is basic, but I like the 'stock experience' on a square watch. Not got the sensors set up, but not really bothered about how many steps I have done on any given day or my heart rate for that matter.
Also if you want fancy clockskins then Eric's launcher works just fine on it.
stevea76 said:
No updates as yet. I have ported an AOSP version, pretty much stock Android to the H5, it is basic, but I like the 'stock experience' on a square watch. Not got the sensors set up, but not really bothered about how many steps I have done on any given day or my heart rate for that matter.
Also if you want fancy clockskins then Eric's launcher works just fine on it.
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As i understand correctly - here they simulated or just copied clock skins from Apple watch?
Where to find Eric launcher?
For everyone else i will write again link to the firmware from Microwear site here – https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1WaktAl-cjCTE1l0jffA7BnevzESdlCwc?usp=sharing
because chinese support is very short in time and can vanish with website very easily (for example to find an older firmwares to my Onyx Boox ereader i used "webarchive" service, thanks gods we have it - only from this saved archived copies of pages i found the sharing links to the older firmwares, still i cannot find the first version of RemixOS release for KitKat-if anyone have the alpha - please message me)
Eric's launcher is here:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ricktop.ClockSkinCoco
All about the clockskins mainly for round Full Android watches here:
https://plus.google.com/communities/109827242607524552712
For square Full Android Watches here:
https://plus.google.com/communities/118413074291213420811
A useful forum for Full Android watches (round) with guides how to install custom watch faces:
http://roundandroidwatches.proboards.com

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