The best way to stumble upon an interesting app is to see what other folks are using. Using the app "List my apps" linked at the bottom of this list and using the "bbcode" option inside it I generated the following list of apps which are installed on my Idol 3. In most cases the link will take you directly to the app no matter where it came from...some will kick you to a google search which should find them fairly easily as well. Many of the pay apps have free versions available. Feel free to reply back with YOUR list of apps and if you find an interesting app from someone's post hit the thanks button to let them know! I look forward to seeing what some of you use. List my apps is open source and available on both F-Droid and Google Play.
My Apps:
AdAway
Agenda Widget Plus
Amazon Kindle
Android Pro Widgets
App Redirect
App Settings
AppOpsXposed
Appstore
Barcode Scanner
BootManager
BusyBox Free
Connection Stabilizer Booster
ES File Explorer
ezPDF Reader
F-Droid
Fake Wifi Connection
[*] Fix Lollipop Memory Leak
Flipboard
Gas Guru
GeekBytes
Goodreads
GoodRx
Google Voice
GoogleOfflineVoice
GravityBox [LP]
GreenPower Premium
Hangar
Hangouts Dialer
HERE
IVONA Amy UK English beta
IVONA Text-to-Speech HQ
Jango Radio
KeePassDroid
LBE Security Master
Lenovo Camera and Gallery
Lightning
List My Apps
Lolistat
LPThemer
Lux
MDScan
MinMinGuard
Mint
[*] MobileActiveRadioFix
Moon+ Reader Pro
MortPlayer Audio Books
n7player
Nandroid Manager
NetEase Music
Network
Network Speed Indicator
NotifyClean
Nova Launcher
Nova Launcher Prime
Pandora
Pandora Patcher
PaperKarma
Play Store Fixes
PlayPermissionsExposed
RDMissedCall Patcher
RebootManager
Remove Battery Saver Warning Color
Rocket Blocker
RocketDial
RocketDial Theme Neon Black
ROM Toolbox Pro
[*] RootCloak
Screebl Pro
Screen Off
Secure Settings
Servicely
Smart Unlock
Smoked Glass Digital Weather Clock Small
Spotify
Statusbar download progress
StopSwitchDelay
Super Star® Rewards
SuperSU Pro
SwiftKey Keyboard
Syncthing Silk
Talkatone
Tapatalk
Tasker
Titanium Backup
Titanium Backup PRO
Torque (free)
Totally Free VPN
Truecaller
TuneIn Radio Pro
Universal Init.d
Wakelock Detector Free
Waze
WeFi Pro
XBlast Tools
XInstaller
XInternalSD
xKindleMod
Xposed Installer
XVoice+
ZIPme
List made using List My Apps
That's a long list bro.. All are good apps. Let me add some of my favourites that's not in that list :
- Office Suite Premium
- Poweramp
- Musixmatch
- Aldiko Book Reader Premium
- Manga Rock
- Root Cleaner
- Greenify Pro
- Recently Pro
- Solid Explorer Pro
- Canvertpad Plus
Those are great apps! Try them and u'll love them
snugroho3 said:
That's a long list bro.. All are good apps. Let me add some of my favourites that's not in that list :
- Office Suite Premium
- Poweramp
- Musixmatch
- Aldiko Book Reader Premium
- Manga Rock
- Root Cleaner
- Greenify Pro
- Recently Pro
- Solid Explorer Pro
- Canvertpad Plus
Those are great apps! Try them and u'll love them
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply. Please consider using list my apps so it will provide links for folks. I personally prefer Moon Reader Pro over Aldiko especially since I use the text to speech option to have it read ebooks as audiobooks in the car with the IVONA Amy UK tts voice. I use es file explorer over solid explorer(I'm not fond of apps that provide crippled free versions or in this case "14 day trial software") and Servicely (written by francisco franco if you recognize the name) as an alternate to Greenify that may interest you. Did you mean "Convertpad?"
famewolf said:
Thanks for the reply. Please consider using list my apps so it will provide links for folks. I personally prefer Moon Reader Pro over Aldiko especially since I use the text to speech option to have it read ebooks as audiobooks in the car with the IVONA Amy UK tts voice. I use es file explorer over solid explorer(I'm not fond of apps that provide crippled free versions or in this case "14 day trial software") and Servicely (written by francisco franco if you recognize the name) as an alternate to Greenify that may interest you. Did you mean "Convertpad?"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Servicely is very good app and of course I know Sir Francisco with his famous Franco kernel but somehow Greenify in boost mode (need root and Xposed) works better (at least for me) because you can still received all notification from apps without the apps awaken.
Also you can use Greenify together with Nova launcher to add DT2S+greenified apps. You just double tap the home screen to put the phone in sleep + greenified all running apps.
Ahh.. yes, it's convertpad. It's the easiest to use multi-converter
---------- Post added at 11:54 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:52 AM ----------
Btw, do you know Xposed module to make battery circle icon and remove carrier name in lock screen that works for Idol 5.5?
Among those I use (not including a bunch of widely used apps):
Action Launcher 3 - Minimalistic launcher that gives me what I want and doesn't include a bunch of things I generally don't use. I like having one home screen with a minimum of clutter. This optimizes that preference with some unique features.
AdAway
AppDialer Pro - Number/QWERTY keypad that "dials up" whatever installed app (and, optionally, contact) you want. Its useful widget does the same.
Draft - Dropbox friendly, searchable notes app that seems abandoned by the dev. I'd like a better alternative, but I don't know that there is one that specifically matches my usage. I prefer this to something like Evernote for privacy reasons, not that Dropbox is ideal.
ES File Explorer - I use Solid Explorer, too, but this does more. Its FTP server is an approach I often use to transfer files onto the device from a computer.
Ghostery Browser - Gives the same shield from tracking and such that the Chrome extension does on a computer.
GMD Gestures - Adds a layer of usability to my minimalistic approach. On a larger screen, like a tablet or even a Nexus 6, I don't use it as much. Still, this is a major part of my user experience, one of the first things I install.
Javelin - Good, clean, alternative browser with popup feature
JotterPad - Stylish, non-programming, writing oriented text editor.
Link Bubble - Popup browser. Javelin does this, too, but I like Link Bubble's implementation a little better.
MessagEase - Out of the ordinary keyboard that offers all sorts of features that most don't (keyboard shortcuts/macros, forward delete, easy access to special characters, pretty much every functionality you'd ever find in a keyboard). Takes getting used to, but I use it more than any other.
Minuum Keyboard - Sort of like Fleksy, but I find it more usable. It was my main keyboard for awhile, but I haven't used it much, lately.
Moon+ Reader - Another staple, well tended to by its dev. By far my favorite book reader. I stopped even thinking about the rest long ago.
Music Folder Player Full - Simple, straight forward music player. Old school approach. Direct and to the point. Once in awhile, I'll try one of the flashy ones, but find that their "features" are no more than eye candy to me and delete them.
Pocket - Read articles saved from websites.
Popup Widget - I don't use this all that often, but it's very helpful when I want it. I don't want widgets permanently on my screen that I rarely use. This allows me to tap an icon or execute a gesture (via GMS) to popup a widget when I want it temporarily (weather, calendars, etc.)
Titanium Backup
TweetCaster
Viper4Android - Sound quality enhancement that I didn't realize how much I needed until I tried it.
Wallpaper Saver - Great for getting wallpaper from ROMs, launchers, wherever. Though I find that I tend to prefer wallpaper from sources other than those places.
I've used and liked both Greenify and Servicely, too. I also like Recently and bought it.
maigre said:
Among those I use (not including a bunch of widely used apps):
Action Launcher 3 - Minimalistic launcher that gives me what I want and doesn't include a bunch of things I generally don't use. I like having one home screen with a minimum of clutter. This optimizes that preference with some unique features.
AdAway
AppDialer Pro - Number/QWERTY keypad that "dials up" whatever installed app (and, optionally, contact) you want. Its useful widget does the same.
Draft - Dropbox friendly, searchable notes app that seems abandoned by the dev. I'd like a better alternative, but I don't know that there is one that specifically matches my usage. I prefer this to something like Evernote for privacy reasons, not that Dropbox is ideal.
ES File Explorer - I use Solid Explorer, too, but this does more. Its FTP server is an approach I often use to transfer files onto the device from a computer.
Ghostery Browser - Gives the same shield from tracking and such that the Chrome extension does on a computer.
GMD Gestures - Adds a layer of usability to my minimalistic approach. On a larger screen, like a tablet or even a Nexus 6, I don't use it as much. Still, this is a major part of my user experience, one of the first things I install.
Javelin - Good, clean, alternative browser with popup feature
JotterPad - Stylish, non-programming, writing oriented text editor.
Link Bubble - Popup browser. Javelin does this, too, but I like Link Bubble's implementation a little better.
MessagEase - Out of the ordinary keyboard that offers all sorts of features that most don't (keyboard shortcuts/macros, forward delete, easy access to special characters, pretty much every functionality you'd ever find in a keyboard). Takes getting used to, but I use it more than any other.
Minuum Keyboard - Sort of like Fleksy, but I find it more usable. It was my main keyboard for awhile, but I haven't used it much, lately.
Moon+ Reader - Another staple, well tended to by its dev. By far my favorite book reader. I stopped even thinking about the rest long ago.
Music Folder Player Full - Simple, straight forward music player. Old school approach. Direct and to the point. Once in awhile, I'll try one of the flashy ones, but find that their "features" are no more than eye candy to me and delete them.
Pocket - Read articles saved from websites.
Popup Widget - I don't use this all that often, but it's very helpful when I want it. I don't want widgets permanently on my screen that I rarely use. This allows me to tap an icon or execute a gesture (via GMS) to popup a widget when I want it temporarily (weather, calendars, etc.)
Titanium Backup
TweetCaster
Viper4Android - Sound quality enhancement that I didn't realize how much I needed until I tried it.
Wallpaper Saver - Great for getting wallpaper from ROMs, launchers, wherever. Though I find that I tend to prefer wallpaper from sources other than those places.
I've used and liked both Greenify and Servicely, too. I also like Recently and bought it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This looks like you used list my apps but didn't save it as bb code (share it to email and email to yourself)....the bbcode would contain links to the apps your mentioning whether they are on f-droid, amazon appstore or google play...I mention this to make it easier on others as for example some of the apps I use are xda only version and it uses a google search which should take the user to them. I have not seen a need for "recently" as I use a combination of the built in "recents" and my most popularly used apps in notification area via the app "Hanger". See Screenshot.
In place of Action Launcher 3 I'd probably use Lucid Launcher (Pro) which is what I use on my devices with less memory. (http://www.xda-developers.com/lucid-launcher-a-unique-launcher-made-from-scratch/)
Instead of dropbox you may prefer syncthing which is an opensource alternative to bittorrent sync...I use it to keep folders in sync between my pc and my phone unless you actually have a need to access your files from the net somewhere via dropbox. You actually have viper4android installed on your idol 3? I'm assuming you flashed the zip...and disabled the built in JBL audio enhancements? Does it strictly work on headphones or improve sound on the speakers as well? (I used it a long time ago).
why is this thread in idol3 forum? it has to be in main forum, because it has nothing to do with idol3
DallasCZ said:
why is this thread in idol3 forum? it has to be in main forum, because it has nothing to do with idol3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Practically every device has a thread with "favorite apps to use on my xxx device" so no it doesn't HAVE to be in the main forum. Among my apps are a list of xposed modules that work on our specific version of lolipop...thats pretty relevent. Apps that work around quirks such as reboot manager which gives us "reboot to bootloader and reboot to recovery" from in the rom are very idol specific. Rootcloak can be used to make the system update checker work..thats pretty relevant and why it's in bold among the other bug fix modules.
If you must, report it to a mod and they can decide where it goes.
no apps you are listing are device specific .. reboot manager is not idol specific... Almost none device with stock rom have reboot to bootloader or recovery option.
and anyway here is subforum called "Onetouch Idol 3 Themes and Apps" (where you allready started many dead threads), so i think its better to move it there.
famewolf said:
This looks like you used list my apps but didn't save it as bb code (share it to email and email to yourself)....the bbcode would contain links to the apps your mentioning whether they are on f-droid, amazon appstore or google play...I mention this to make it easier on others as for example some of the apps I use are xda only version and it uses a google search which should take the user to them. I have not seen a need for "recently" as I use a combination of the built in "recents" and my most popularly used apps in notification area via the app "Hanger". See Screenshot.
In place of Action Launcher 3 I'd probably use Lucid Launcher (Pro) which is what I use on my devices with less memory. (http://www.xda-developers.com/lucid-launcher-a-unique-launcher-made-from-scratch/)
Instead of dropbox you may prefer syncthing which is an opensource alternative to bittorrent sync...I use it to keep folders in sync between my pc and my phone unless you actually have a need to access your files from the net somewhere via dropbox. You actually have viper4android installed on your idol 3? I'm assuming you flashed the zip...and disabled the built in JBL audio enhancements? Does it strictly work on headphones or improve sound on the speakers as well? (I used it a long time ago).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't use any app to list the ones I mentioned. I just used the forum's list format. I'll try and get to doing it as you would like so that the links will be there for those who might want them.
I've played around some with SyncThing and more secure alternatives to the usual cloud storage. The problem in the case of my notes is that they're synched to my Mac, too, and the program I use there is close to perfect for how I use it. And it won't sync to my own server or some of the more secure public ones. But I may migrate in those directions at some point. I'd just need to find an another Mac program that would work for me.
I didn't install V4A on the Idol 3. I put it on my Nexus 6. V4A addresses sound quality on the phone speakers, ear buds/headsets and bluetooth speakers. USB connected speakers, too. It doesn't do anything for phone call audio. It takes some playing around to get it right, a process I'm still in the midst of. But the difference is striking compared to the stock audio processing, at least when I've got it configured to my comfort. I don't know what would happen on the Idol 3. Disabling the JBL audio would be wise if you play around with JBL. As you know well, you'll want a good backup in case you want to dump V4A and restore a good working JBL. But maybe the JBL processing compares favorably.
DallasCZ said:
no apps you are listing are device specific .. reboot manager is not idol specific... Almost none device with stock rom have reboot to bootloader or recovery option.
and anyway here is subforum called "Onetouch Idol 3 Themes and Apps" (where you allready started many dead threads), so i think its better to move it there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It sure would be nice if you were as diligent about policing your own threads as you are about policing mine. The mod's don't agree with you. I was told general conversation like this belongs in general. Discussing installing viper4android on the idol3 is idol 3 specific. Instead of pretending to be a mod how about responding to the 5 day old request for posting @petrov.0's corrected TWRP link to the 1st post of your twrp thread?
Now I'm going to stop responding to you...report it to the mod's and Mod's if you agree this is the appropriate location for general discussion of apps to be used on the idol then please remove his posts AND my replies so this thread can stay on topic.
maigre said:
I didn't use any app to list the ones I mentioned. I just used the forum's list format. I'll try and get to doing it as you would like so that the links will be there for those who might want them.
I've played around some with SyncThing and more secure alternatives to the usual cloud storage. The problem in the case of my notes is that they're synched to my Mac, too, and the program I use there is close to perfect for how I use it. And it won't sync to my own server or some of the more secure public ones. But I may migrate in those directions at some point. I'd just need to find an another Mac program that would work for me.
I didn't install V4A on the Idol 3. I put it on my Nexus 6. V4A addresses sound quality on the phone speakers, ear buds/headsets and bluetooth speakers. USB connected speakers, too. It doesn't do anything for phone call audio. It takes some playing around to get it right, a process I'm still in the midst of. But the difference is striking compared to the stock audio processing, at least when I've got it configured to my comfort. I don't know what would happen on the Idol 3. Disabling the JBL audio would be wise if you play around with JBL. As you know well, you'll want a good backup in case you want to dump V4A and restore a good working JBL. But maybe the JBL processing compares favorably.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There was another user interested in running viper4android on the idol 3...I may get around to making a backup and trying to install it to see how it does on the idol 3. I use the speakers to play music when travelling and it's got great sound/volume already in my opinion but always willing to try options. I use syncthing to backup my TWRP and Titaniumbackup folders among others.....if you set your titaniumbackup to run on a schedule it keeps pretty well in sync. You will have to either patch your platform.xml to see that syncthing has full rights to write to the external sdcard or use an xposed module to accomplish the same thing.
Hmm I guess I should add xposed module "Sticky Location Icon Fix [LP]" to the list..It stops the location icon from always showing up in notification bar even when location is not being used. The dev released it "yesterday" since it's now after midnight even in pacific time.
famewolf said:
There was another user interested in running viper4android on the idol 3...I may get around to making a backup and trying to install it to see how it does on the idol 3. I use the speakers to play music when travelling and it's got great sound/volume already in my opinion but always willing to try options. I use syncthing to backup my TWRP and Titaniumbackup folders among others.....if you set your titaniumbackup to run on a schedule it keeps pretty well in sync. You will have to either patch your platform.xml to see that syncthing has full rights to write to the external sdcard or use an xposed module to accomplish the same thing.
Hmm I guess I should add xposed module "Sticky Location Icon Fix [LP]" to the list..It stops the location icon from always showing up in notification bar even when location is not being used. The dev released it "yesterday" since it's now after midnight even in pacific time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The V4A installation is pretty quick and easy. It's what becomes of the JBL stuff that is the potential greater issue. But, there's always that backup. I found the speakers on the Idol 3 to be one of its surprise nice features, too. I had no quarrel with the sound as is. But I didn't on the N6, either.
A couple of other apps that I use: Smart Unlock and Simple Reboot. The former has been covered here, IIRC. I used to use Llama (sort of like Tasker) to perform the same thing and it worked great for a couple of years. But it became problematic. On my wife's phone, she actually got completely locked out at one point. We almost had to wipe it clean and start over again. Smart Unlock and Lollipop's similar functionality are an adequate, if inferior substitute to when Llama worked right. Simple Reboot is Franco's implementation of a common feature set — a boot menu that'll allow you to reboot to recovery, bootloader, etc.
Related
Just wondering if there was a top-X list somewhere for beginner users who have just moved to Vibrant like myself. I read http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=732458 and found some valuable tips but did you see a list posted anywhere. Just wondering!
lektrix said:
Just wondering if there was a top-X list somewhere for beginner users who have just moved to Vibrant like myself. I read http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=732458 and found some valuable tips but did you see a list posted anywhere. Just wondering!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
here are a couple of my favorite apps... a bunch of them are paid, but worth it I think.
3G Watchdog
ad free
barcode scanner
go sms
gps status
isyncr
power amp
quickpic
root explorer
smart keyboard pro
springpad
tapatalk
titanium backup
tweetdeck
widgetlocker
also Launcher Pro or ADW EX, both are great!
Oh yea..those are awesome...
I love ADW EX...but not to repaeat i will try to just add on...
XDA Developers
Advanced Task Killer
Beautiful Widgets
Bloater
Audio manager (Hide it Pro)
Chandroid (for the deviant in me)
Dropbox
Handcent SMS
Lookout Mobile Security
MetaMorph
arelia said:
Oh yea..those are awesome...
I love ADW EX...but not to repaeat i will try to just add on...
XDA Developers
Advanced Task Killer
Beautiful Widgets
Bloater
Audio manager (Hide it Pro)
Chandroid (for the deviant in me)
Dropbox
Handcent SMS
Lookout Mobile Security
MetaMorph
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
good choice on Bloater there
text secretary, Zedge, Applanet, root explorer, rom manager, mobile ap shortcut, setcpu, appbrain
birgertime said:
good choice on Bloater there
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes....you made my day with that app after my first ROM flash !!
here are some of my favorites in no particular order:
BLN control
Desktop visualizer
zdbox
voodoo control
Titanium backup
shootme
coltage control
root explorer
wolfram alpha
appbrain market
poweramp
pulse
unified remote
3g watchdog
Soundhound ftw.
oh, and Megavideo is a close second.
I'm guessing all of these require you to "root" the phone or modify it in some way? I modify desktop computers all the time but not really familiar with mobile phones...lots of reading for me to do, hopefully I get myself up to par!
BTW I have no data, just WIFI!
lektrix said:
I'm guessing all of these require you to "root" the phone or modify it in some way? I modify desktop computers all the time but not really familiar with mobile phones...lots of reading for me to do, hopefully I get myself up to par!
BTW I have no data, just WIFI!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MOST of the ones listed, no.
But trust me, if you read, "rooting" will be the least of your worries .
birgertime said:
MOST of the ones listed, no.
But trust me, if you read, "rooting" will be the least of your worries .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly, once you root look out because no matter how great the rom your running is you'll still want to checkout the latest & greatest. If you do decide to root you'll definitely want these apps.
Root Explorer
Rom Manager
Superuser
Titanium backup
SGS Tools
Angry birds rio!
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA Premium App
My Personal TOP 10+ Apps
-------------------
1. AdFree
2. AppBrain
3. Battery Indicator
4. Beautiful Widgets
5. Download All Files
6. MyWeb
7. Pandora
8. TubeMate
9. Root Explorer
10. Quick Boot (One of my fav's! Reboots phone faster than the Power Menu mods)
11. IP Webcam
12. CacheMate
13. Remote Notifier
These i use quite a bit
Real Calc
Barcode scanner
Task manger
Cam scanner
Ulysse Gizmo
System panel
For fun Pic Say
I use Launcher Pro, System Panel (paid version to monitor what apps are using my battery), Swiftkey (30 day trial is available in the market, I find the prediction better and faster than the gingerbread keyboard), Tapatalk Pro (for viewing message boards), last.fm (music app like pandora)
adfree
barcode scanner
call confirm
ebuddy
kapersky mobile security (they are giving away 6 months free service)
root explorer
miui music player
save mms
xda
key ring rewards
games:
crazy snowboard
zendice
tri-towers
words free
pool break pro
poker square
let's golf
homerun battle 3D
doodle bowling
Titanium Backup
AutoStarts
Elixir, System Panel, and Androzip all have good task managers and do more than just manage apps
DropBox
FolderOrganizer
SwipePad and/or PowerStrip
GPS Test
Tricorder
Virtual Trackball (but use the dpad)
VLC S&C
gStrings
iMap Weather (spot on, and never runs in the background)
Traffic Widget
Inserty and/or Clipper
*Quick Addroid (get the Pro version) I open this most often, works for anything you have to remember, great for tracking medications, smokes, diet, times your Ex.... whatever, in case you want to keep track....
Business Calendar or Touch Calendar (I hear Gemini is good if you like it, too)
Extensive Notes or NoteEverything
Smart Keyboard or Ultra Keyboard (Smart runs a bit cleaner, but it's not quite as cute/customizeable) - they both allow voice input right from the keyboard, swipe entry, and a recognizable layout
Ringdroid
Car Home from Market, but it needs a clock
Simple Audio Manager - it's so tiny and useful I almost forgot it
Right now I like Seesmic, but you'll likely troll around for the right Social app(s) for you.
I am also heavily dependent on Google Voice and am very happy with Handcent for SMS (so I know who I'm texting by what color their bubble is. Trust me, it's worth it.)
And yes, as a matter of fact, I do spend way too much time checking out apps, and all of these developers have been great with me, and I'm a pest.
Once you get a handle on things, if you want to automate volume/connectivity, I strongly recommend Tasker. I tried Locale, and a bunch of other schedulers, auto-text reply apps, call filters, power managers, but Tasker replaced all of them, and just the way I like it.
EDIT: Blast those background apps. I recommend SMSBackup+, too. Backs up your call log to your calendar.
pulse reader - this one is the best!
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
See most of my favorites already. As a fellow newbie I find these useful:
Quick boot (awesome)
Bloater
SGS tools
My backup (too cheap for TB pro)
Voodoo Control
Quickpic
Voltage Control
XDA App
Ad free android
Rom manager
Ebuddy
Go SMS
Launcher Pro
Winamp
Tune in radio
Games:
Star Traders RPG Elite
(mostly text based RPG w/fantastic Devs and frequent updates)
Yongzh's GBA Emulator
(just so I can play pokemon lol)
EDT's ZSJPJ Tweaked + Overstock 1.4.2
Sent from my Vibrant using XDA App
Hello! I have not rooted an android device in a lot of time, and I am basically a noob, but I do read a lot, and my first rooting more than year ago turned out to be a complete success, as far as my knowledge goes.
Now I have A Nook Simple Touch model BNRV-300 with current firmware version 1.2.1 and I would like to add more features to it, because for the price I got it it gives me NOTHING I need.
B&N Forcing updates over the air and registration using the Internet when I first start the device is RIDICULOUS and is evenworse than a DRM protection!
product containing such DRM should be banned for sale at least in Eirope by the Customer PRotection, for limitations they imply on the users!!!
now lets return to the topic and my QUESTION
I already said I have a Nook Simple Touch BNRV-300 with current firmware version 1.2.1
My question is: Currently what is the best method to Root this device in order to get access to more features software? I am looking for method that includes making a BACKUP. Is there currently and entire Custom firmware released that will REPLACE the existing useless firmware on the Nook Simple touch?
What custom apps, kernel, and roms can you reccoment me?
Also If you know any interesting guides I will be happy to read them!
Thank you in advance and have a nice reading!
NookManagerand NTGAppsAttack; latuk's latest kernel for overclocking, ondemand governor and Class 10 SD card fix; old versions of Kindle (3.2.0.35), Google Books (1.0.16), Kobo (3.3.1517), Aldiko (200081), Perfect Viewer (1.9.2.2), iTriage (4.00), Springpad (3.2.7) and ReadItLater (1.3.0.1). From the market; Aardict (with full text of Wikipedia etc.), APV PDF Viewer, BBC News, Channel 4 News, Checkers, Chess, ColorDict, ConvertPad, Cook Recipes, Crosswords, Depth of Field Calculator, Dreams Interpretation, ElectroDroid, FastMode2, FBReader, Four in a Row, gReader, Guardian, Independent, Laters Pro, Google Maps, Nemo Picross, New Scientist, OpenSudoku, Opera Mini, Photo Tools, ReadIt, RealCalc, Reversi, Shelves 0.0.0.1c, Sky News, Super sudoku, SuperCHM, UK Newspapers, WebMD, Wikitravel Offline, Wikivoyage offline, World Newspapers.
I've just got a Nook simple touch. I want to root it. Need the best procedure to do so.
Nook Simple Touch
Model Number; BNRV300
SW version: 1.2.1
sameee781 said:
I've just got a Nook simple touch. I want to root it. Need the best procedure to do so.
Nook Simple Touch
Model Number; BNRV300
SW version: 1.2.1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Look up, or start here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=35267728
OB
Sent from my SPH-D710VMUB using Tapatalk 2
Ditto what OverByter said. The NookManager is, in my experience, a very simple and foolproof method. Whether you decide to pursue GoogleApps, etc., is up to you. But for root and a simple initial set-up, NM is the way to go, IMHO.
Just rooted and installed google market
nmyshkin said:
Ditto what OverByter said. The NookManager is, in my experience, a very simple and foolproof method. Whether you decide to pursue GoogleApps, etc., is up to you. But for root and a simple initial set-up, NM is the way to go, IMHO.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, following the advice from this thread, I just rooted my Nook Simple Touch GlowLight. I have previously rooted nook simple touch with the same process.
The market is working, gmail is working. What I dont understand is how to make it user friendly etc. How do I make it like a tablet. I installed some launchers but I have to go into apps and then select it to run it everytime.
I am just wondering what should be done once you have rooted and googlified the nook.
Any recommendations on launchers, themes any other enhancements and ideas to use a rooted nook will be really helpful.
Thank you!!
I tried a bunch of launchers when I first rooted and finally settled on ADW. For me it was easy to set up (once I got over the "I don't know anything about Android" feeling) and I initially used the selected app screen as my "Home". There are two ways to do that. One, after installing ADW and rebooting the Nook it will ask which app you want to use to open "Home" and you will have a chance to set that one as default (either the B&N stock Home screen or the ADW app drawer). And/or, you can use NTMM to assign the QuickNav "Home" button to ADW Launcher.
Pretty much any launcher should provide you with the same options once installed when you reboot.
So that's what I used to do but I eventually went back to the B&N "Home" screen on boot and then after that I can access it from a long press of the "N" button (again, you can assign that with NTMM). I've almost completely reassigned by QuickNav buttons (except for Library). See this post (result in #4).
I've also done the multi-touch enhancement (nice for Opera Mobile and some other apps), No-Refresh and FastMode2 (contrary to what the posts seem to indicate about FastMode2 I have found that the app does indeed toggle the mode on my NST so I assigned it to one of the side buttons and No-Refresh to another one).
Lots of info on various apps out there. Here's my "short" list of what worked for me (in no particular order):
Cool Reader (I only use this to set the screen saver to my current book!)
Perfect Viewer
Crosswords
Amazon Kindle (the enhanced version posted elsewhere on XDA)
Orion PDF viewer
QuickPic
PrinterShare
Kingsoft Office
Dropbox
ES File Explorer
Places (Google Maps variant)
Email (gave up on Gmail--this app is found in another XDA post as well)
Opera Mobile
NewsHog
BBC News
Those are on my ADW home screen along with the GenieWidget for local weather and a widget for Clean Master. I've divided the app drawer behind the home screen into two categories, "everything" and "utilities" which is where I leave my focus and there the following are found:
ADB Konnect
Clean Master
No-frills CPU Control
Nook Touch Mod Manager
No Refresh settings
Root Browser
Rotation Locker
Search Market (got rid of Amazon Market which was giving me a lot of trouble)
Settings (B&N)
Tasker
WiFi File Transfer
Other apps that hide in the "everything" section because I almost never need to access them are:
ADW Config
AdAway
FastMode2
News and Weather (Genie Widget)
No Refresh
RockPlayer
Superuser
etc.
I also did the triple Flash installation described elsewhere but it really only works with SWF files as far as I can tell and only with Flash-able browsers like Dolphin (which has other issues). And I did a Framework-res.apk mod to slightly grey the backgrounds of menus so that some of the "invisible" menu options that come with many apps can actually be read).
I don't know how many times I've made backups and redone things, trying to find what works for me (mostly reading, some browsing). My Nook is still fully B&N functional, as far as I know. The only thing I have not tried is logging on in the store. Except for the inadequacy of Opera Mobile (I've tried every other browser known to humans and aliens), the set-up actually is pretty nice
nmyshkin said:
I tried a bunch of launchers when I first rooted and finally settled on ADW. For me it was easy to set up (once I got over the "I don't know anything about Android" feeling) and I initially used the selected app screen as my "Home". There are two ways to do that. One, after installing ADW and rebooting the Nook it will ask which app you want to use to open "Home" and you will have a chance to set that one as default (either the B&N stock Home screen or the ADW app drawer). And/or, you can use NTMM to assign the QuickNav "Home" button to ADW Launcher.
Pretty much any launcher should provide you with the same options once installed when you reboot.
So that's what I used to do but I eventually went back to the B&N "Home" screen on boot and then after that I can access it from a long press of the "N" button (again, you can assign that with NTMM). I've almost completely reassigned by QuickNav buttons (except for Library). See this post (result in #4).
I've also done the multi-touch enhancement (nice for Opera Mobile and some other apps), No-Refresh and FastMode2 (contrary to what the posts seem to indicate about FastMode2 I have found that the app does indeed toggle the mode on my NST so I assigned it to one of the side buttons and No-Refresh to another one).
Lots of info on various apps out there. Here's my "short" list of what worked for me (in no particular order):
Cool Reader (I only use this to set the screen saver to my current book!)
Perfect Viewer
Crosswords
Amazon Kindle (the enhanced version posted elsewhere on XDA)
Orion PDF viewer
QuickPic
PrinterShare
Kingsoft Office
Dropbox
ES File Explorer
Places (Google Maps variant)
Email (gave up on Gmail--this app is found in another XDA post as well)
Opera Mobile
NewsHog
BBC News
Those are on my ADW home screen along with the GenieWidget for local weather and a widget for Clean Master. I've divided the app drawer behind the home screen into two categories, "everything" and "utilities" which is where I leave my focus and there the following are found:
ADB Konnect
Clean Master
No-frills CPU Control
Nook Touch Mod Manager
No Refresh settings
Root Browser
Rotation Locker
Search Market (got rid of Amazon Market which was giving me a lot of trouble)
Settings (B&N)
Tasker
WiFi File Transfer
Other apps that hide in the "everything" section because I almost never need to access them are:
ADW Config
AdAway
FastMode2
News and Weather (Genie Widget)
No Refresh
RockPlayer
Superuser
etc.
I also did the triple Flash installation described elsewhere but it really only works with SWF files as far as I can tell and only with Flash-able browsers like Dolphin (which has other issues). And I did a Framework-res.apk mod to slightly grey the backgrounds of menus so that some of the "invisible" menu options that come with many apps can actually be read).
I don't know how many times I've made backups and redone things, trying to find what works for me (mostly reading, some browsing). My Nook is still fully B&N functional, as far as I know. The only thing I have not tried is logging on in the store. Except for the inadequacy of Opera Mobile (I've tried every other browser known to humans and aliens), the set-up actually is pretty nice
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great list! Didn't know about Wifi transfer. Very usefull.
What version of Crosswords did you get to work on your nook. I couldn't get any of the ones I tried to work?
richardcoop said:
Great list! Didn't know about Wifi transfer. Very usefull.
What version of Crosswords did you get to work on your nook. I couldn't get any of the ones I tried to work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I really like WiFi Transfer. Saves a lot of wear and tear on that USB jack. The only limitation I could find (beyond the 5 MB file size limit for the free version) is that transfers to the internal My Files folder are not updated in the Library unless you reboot. So I just use the sdcard.
You're right, no market crossword apps work properly on the rooted Nook. I accidentally stumbled across a version of Crosswords that does, however. Check your PMs.
nmyshkin said:
You're right, no market crossword apps work properly on the rooted Nook. I accidentally stumbled across a version of Crosswords that does, however. Check your PMs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
PMs? I don't understand.
richardcoop said:
PMs? I don't understand.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your personal messages on the site.
OB
Sent from my SPH-D710VMUB using Tapatalk 2
I moved my question to the help thread, I think it was the wrong thread here...
Presenting.. the Next Best Thing to Root for the U.S. Samsung Galaxy S7 T-mobile edition (model SM-G930T that is)
As of 6/7/16, no root is publicly available. I purchased my S7 on 5/26/16 and decided to keep it despite the lack of root. This is my story.
INTRO
So the ol' Galaxy Note II up and died on me a couple weekends back, and I blew 40 bucks on a new battery before I realized it was gone gone gone. Queue new phone shopping, the hip glasses-toting dudes at T-mobile swayed me to an S7. I didn't want something as big as my last phone and forget using a bumper case with that curved-screen edge (an acquaintance of mine quotes: "The only thing that ****ing screen is good for is when I'm high as hell and want to read the clock without lifting my head". He dropped his and shattered it.), so I went with the plain ol' S7. Well, now I know why the salesguy got real quiet when the first thing I told him I would do was 'root the phone'. Being a programmer, I was pretty bummed and unhappy about owning a device that I am purposely locked out of Administrating.. but the return fee was $50, and I really liked what the S7 brought to the table.
Goes without saying, I was ready to pay for the rootable HTC-10 (my local store didn't even carry it, the salesman said they were 'test-marketing it' at a couple other stores across town) or the LG monstrosity (I haven't liked this company since the spying TV debacle, tho once upon a time they made good and cheap TVs), but I hated how much bigger the devices were and that svelte S7 really impressed me otherwise. Samsung really does make the 'iPhone of Androids'.
So, I decided to stick with the S7, and un-screw it pretty much as best as I could. And, because all I read was mostly a lot of 'is the root out yets', I thought it would be cool to share.
ABOUT THE S7
Not too terribly much has changed in the android linux filesystem since the last time I seriously delved into it. Got a vague idea where most of what is what, but I also recognize that the Path to Rooting is two: Utilizing a bootloader to actually flash the chip, or Piggybacking on some existing Administrative-privileged software in the otherwise 'closed' environment. Samsung shipped the U.S. T-mobile S7's (mine is SM-G930T) with a locked bootloader to make it nigh-impossible to root via flashing. Get to it, ya chip-hackers.
However, it is a universal law of the internet that someone out there will find an operable software workaround, and this is usually some 13-year-old kid from Finland, or at least it was in the case where I found drivers for a Voodoo 3 card during the advent of Windows XP. God bless the internet will provide, and in this case that gentle soul is none other than a man by the appropriate name of OSPolice.
PACKAGE DISABLER PRO - THE 99 CENT APP
play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ospolice.packagedisablerpro&hl=en
This little gem of an app I purchased for $0.99 off the play store. This is the key to enjoying the disabling features of Root access and the key to un-screwing the T-mobile Galaxy S7. What this app does is essentially co-opt the Administrative access that Samsung Knox (the 'security' software) uses and allows you to disable any and all packages on the phone. When you first activate it you will have to accept an agreement tied to Samsung Knox (don't worry, this in no way causes anything to 'phone home' as far as I can tell).
I would recommend the very first thing you do is go to the settings and add a password to the app, that way nobody else can get in, because this can seriously **** with your phone's software, if you disable the wrong package the phone will not boot up properly and you will need to reinstall. There is an option to Disable All Bloatware based on automatic picks from the application but this can screw up some phones and you will miss a lot of crap, so DO NOT AUTO-DISABLE.
There is also another important reason you should manually disable these. Clicking on a package from the main app brings up a screen where you have several options (the auto-google feature is quite helpful to researching various processes). There is also an important little button that says 'Clear Data', erasing the temporary package data. Due to info I found on another forum, which I am too lazy to dig up here and now, there is an important process to disabling with Package Disabler Pro:
THE DISABLING PROCESS
1. If the package is not enabled, enable it.
2. While the package IS ENABLED, click Clear Data.
3. DISABLE the package with the Disable button.
4. Click CLEAR DATA a second time.
5. On to the next one...
It appears there may be some data that is not erased when the package is disabled. In any case, this fixed all of the problems I had disabling earlier without using the Clear Data button. This is important to stop certain packages from utilizing an outside process to re-enable themselves.
Below I am listing all of the processes that I disabled. Your list might be different; before I did this I updated the phone's system software from T-mobile's servers (as of 5/25), and I don't plan to auto-update again until I root or have to reload everything.
Also, please keep in mind I turned off a few features with this method, you will have to ADJUST YOUR PACKAGES ACCORDINGLY or know what to re-enable from the below list. I turned off all wi-fi calling (don't like 'weird' internet connections), all NFC and payment such as the Samsung pay chip (nothing I want/need enabled right now). I kept Bluetooth connectivity on since I pair the phone with my car for and it's more or less an 'established' form of protocol, neverless if I didn't use it I would deactivate it as well. Security Over All is my philosophy.
THE SINGLE PROBLEM I HAVE HAD is being unable to 'browse' for a background when choosing a new one for the lock screen. I kept the lock screen with a stock dark blue and had already set my live wallpaper (play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dkeesto.holographlw&hl=en if you are curious, Digital Hive by the unsurpassed Cypher Cove). So set your backgrounds before disabling all these, or try and figure out which disabled package screws this up, though I tried re-enabling anything with 'wallpaper' in it to no avail.
I also disabled a lot of the Google services, I check my gmail online, phone apps seem so hideously insecure to my mind, and I don't want to use any drive or cloud backup services AT ALL. Go with an all-encrypted service or backup your data yourself, and I don't trust any non-rooted backup apps. If you use the Gmail app or etc, simply don't disable it.
A LIST OF PACKAGES I DISABLED (remember to Clear Data, then Disable, then Clear Data a second time!):
AASAservice
Access cloud
AllShare FileShare Service
Amazon
ANT + DUT
ANT HAL Service
ANT Radio Service
ANT+ Plugins Service
AutoPreconfig
Basic Daydreams
BBCAgent
BeaconManager
Beaming Service
Briefing (**** you)
Calculator
Calendar
Camera test
Carmode Stub
ChocoEUKor
Color Adjustment
com.android.providers.partnerbookmarks
com.android.sharedstoragebackup
com.android.wallpapercropper
com.facebook.appmanager
com.facebook.system
com.samsung.android.app.watchmanagerstub
com.samsung.android.sm.devicesecurity
com.samsung.dcmservice
com.samsung.enhanceservice
com.samsung.faceservice
com.samsung.hs20provider
com.samsung.ipservice
com.samsung.storyservice
com.sec.android.app.minimode.res
com.sec.android.app.wfdbroker
com.sec.bcservice
com.tmobile.pr.adapt
Context Service
Control TV
CoolEUKor
Device Unlock
DeviceTest
Dictionary
EasyOneHand
EasySetup
Email
Enhanced features
eSE UCS Plugin
Facebook
Favorite Contacts
Filter Installer
Filter Manager
Filter Provider
Foundation
Galaxy Apps
Galaxy Essentials Widget
Gallery (I use an app called QuickPic, don't disable if you use the regular Gallery)
Game Launcher
Game Tools
GamepadService
GameService
Gear VR Service
Gear VR SetupWizardStub
Gear VR Shelf
Gmail (You might not want to disable, but for security's sake you should and use your browser)
Google App
Google Backup Transport
Google Calendar Sync
Google Contacts Sync
Google One Time Init
Google Partner Setup
Google Play Movies & TV
Good Play Music
Hancom Office Editor
Hangouts
Health Service (this auto-health reading stuff is kind of scary)
Help
Highlight video player
IMS Settings
ImsLogger+
IntelligenceService2
Interaction control
Internet (have a secondary browser in place, I initially used Chrome)
IPsec Service
Kies Application BnR
KNOX
KnoxAppsUpdateAgent
Live wallpaper picker
Lookout
Magnifier
Market Feedback Agent
MDMApp
Memo
Message service
Messages (I use an app called Textra, it is pleasant, don't disable if you use this for text messages)
MmsService (I have had no trouble sending/receiving MMS text with this disabled)
Mobile tracker
My Files
My interests
My Places
Nearby Service
Nfc Service
NSDSWebApp
Personal Data Management
Photo Editor
Photo Screensavers
Photos
Print Spooler (might be necessary for phone-to-printer if you're into that)
Private Mode Service
Quick connect
Remote Controls
RoseEUKor
S Finder
S Health
S Voice App
Safety assistance
Safety information
Samsung account
Samsung ApexService
Samsung Billing
Samsung Content Agent
Samsung Galaxy
Samsung Gear
Samsung keyboard (HAVE ANOTHER KEYBOARD INSTALLED [I use Hacker's Keyboard] OR DO NOT DISABLE THIS)
Samsung Location DSK
Samsung Milk Music
Samsung MirrorLink 1.1
Samsung Pay Stub
Samsung Payment Framework
Samsung Push Service
Samsung setup wizard
Samsung text-to-speech engine
Samsung+
SamsungDLPService
SapaMonitor
Screen Mirroring
Security policy updates
SecurityLogAgent
Settings Receiver
ShootingModeProvider
Simple Sharing
SLLibrary
Slow and fast-motion video player and editor
Smart Manager
Smart Manager Provider
SmartCallProvider
SmartcardManager
SmartcardService
SmartFaceService
SmartManager Clean DSK
SnsImageCache
Software update
Software Update
Sound detectors
Sound picker
T-Mobile
T-Mobil Name ID
T-Mobile TV
Theme store
Themes
TouchWiz easy home
TouchWiz home
Trim
Universal switch
UrgentFWUpdateNfc
UrgentFWUpdateTSP
Video collage
Video Editor Lite
Video Player (Stock, don't disable if you use, I use an app called VLC that plays damn near anything)
Virtual tour
Visual Voicemail
Visual Voicemail
Voice Assistant
Voice service
Voice wake-up
WallpaperCompression
Weather
Weather
Wi-Fi Direct
Wi-Fi Direct share
Wi-Fi Calling Settings
withTV
And that's it! Boy, wasn't that a lot of clicking clear data and all that junk! But it is worth it!
A FEW OTHER FEATURES I DON'T USE
Fingerprints.. never tested with this. I fail to see the usefulness of a fingerprint compared to a password in your head, and it's a whole lot easier to duplicate the former and scan someone's phone (call it the 'law gets in' password). So some of these might have disabled fingerprint functionality.
Voice-assistance.. again, the possibility of my phone recording me without me knowing is kind of scary. There's a lot of Samsung S-voice crap built in, I had this sort of thing on my last phone and never had the need for it.
Always-On Screen - It displays the time, had it on for a couple days and it worked just fine, but ultimately a battery eater, and the config options are real limited. I ended up turning this off.
The Samsung TouchWiz Launcher - As soon as I got all my packages disabled, I ditched this one. You can use anything you like, but personally I found a new home with NovaLauncher.
The Camera I tried to keep as whole as possible, I set it as the 'double-home-button-click-to-open', which was default behavior, and I really like it this way - double-click and you have a camera, and it works regardless of locked screen. They've really improved the camera software, I can double-click and start recording and that's just the way I like to use a phone. Now if there were only a way to compress, encrypt, and auto-transmit those movies immediately after recording...
DEVELOPER OPTIONS
Settings -> About device -> Click on 'Build Version' a bunch of times. If you're reading these forums you should probably know how to activate this.
Some cool settings, the only one I toggle is USB debugging.. for ease of file transfer on a PC thru USB cable, something which ALL modern phones suck ass at. It almost makes me want to program a simple universal file transfer software suite.
WHAT I WISH I STILL HAD
Encrypted Backup Solutions/State Backups: TitaniumBackup & Nandroid are the ****. Man do I miss having root access.
Customized Pull-down Notification Screen: I hate that first row of settings buttons. I will probably have to pony up the 5 bucks to NovaLauncher to see if they can make those go away.
One-touch Reboot app - Not getting this one until root Administrative access. I'll have to live without until then.
Otherwise, I have been pretty conveniently able to live without Root on this phone, and I hope this guide can make you happy, too!
SOME APP SUGGESTIONS - USEFUL
I've peppered the above with some apps I really like, here are some more:
Firefox - My favorite browser. I keep a copy of chrome for emergencies. 'Noscript' and 'Phony' are must-have extensions. Still looking for a good page-to-pdf extractor.
Orbot/Orfox - Best TOR/browser combo.
Rocket Player - FANTASTIC music app that I ponied up the money to unlock (mostly to play FLACs). Near-perfect, and a relief because Winamp **** the bed when it came to Android.
DuckDuckGo - I use this to replace the Google search bar widget. Doesn't work the same (click to open) but works quickly.
ZDBox - I use this exclusively for the 5x2 'control' widget on my home page. One-touch turnon/offs (or some options send you to the settings screen) for the following: WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, Mobile Network, Airplane Mode, TaskKiller, disable Screen Rotate, Brightness, Applock (you specify) and Flashlight (my default light, big screwy button but I'm used to it now).
ZDCal - From the makers of ZDBox, a free calendar that displays as a strip in the notification bar and also places a date at the top of the screen. Be careful, the first time I set it up I blindly clicked a couple pages and set up a period calendar that promptly notified me when I was beginning ovulation (I am a man).
SOME APP SUGGESTIONS - GAMES
Stellar Solitaire - The best Solitaire app ever. Tons of games, demos, beautiful for a phone screen.
Cliffy Run - A rager game my awesome friend made that is totally and amazingly simple and has some great graphics.
Neko Atsume - A stupid japanese cat simulator that I can't stop checking.
Source - A free 'pipes' puzzle game. I'm at 1 hr 2 mins on insane level. Great for killing time in the DMV.
SOME APP SUGGESTIONS - PROGRAMMER/NERD
OS Monitor - Process/Connection task-manager
JuiceSSH - My terminal app of choice.
Blowtorch Beta - My MUD app of choice. Told ya I nerd.
AndFTP - My FTP/SSHFTP app of choice.
AndroZip - My compression app, and, surprisingly, file manager of choice.
Fing - 1st of the 2 best wireless discovery apps ever.
Wifi Analyzer - 2nd of the 2 best wireless discovery apps ever.
Usemon - Resource Analyzer. Has a cool option for the notification screen, and measures both frequency and % use graphs when many progs do one or the other.
Cargo Decoder - If you want to read what exactly is in the tanker truck you are driving behind and how badly a spill will **** up your day.
Maverick - For all your GPS/compass/accelerometer needs.
FINALE
Please feel free to add anything to the above! I am pleased that I got my phone to do most of the things I wanted without a root. That being said, as soon as it is possible I will be jumping on that train. If you have any suggestions, please contribute! And thanks for reading!
Solid post man. I will be looking to clear data on my disabled apps. That is great advice. Thank you for this!
I can say i agree, mostly. I too miss root, but can manage without it. I really wish I still had full functionality of tasker. I had some kickass gps profiles and such that I can't use anymore. Do you know a workaround for that?
Sent from my SM-G935T using XDA-Developers mobile app
looking to get an s7, waiting on more info from this thread, can anyone else confirm
rkohliny said:
looking to get an s7, waiting on more info from this thread, can anyone else confirm
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What more info? How much more detail do you need?
Just completed this entire process...thank you so much! Have you been noticing faster speeds and better battery life as a result?
thank you!
Thank you. My phone is running better and faster and cooler. Thanks again
Sent from my SM-G930T using XDA-Developers mobile app
great post. im bummed as well regarding the locked bootloader that TMO has implemented. It's still a new enough phone that I'm trying to get the 'samsung experience' so personally disabled lookout and the TMO crapware. I will be saving this post for when I'm ready to go barebones (like I always eventually do) does anyone know of a good rootless ad block? Every time I launch a game and stare at a 30 second video for a different game it makes me miss adblocker terribly
I used this list as a base for safe to remove applications. Ridiculous that Samsung thinks it's this necessary to have this many applications installed.
I use the Theme Engine and a few Samsung apps (their browser with Crystal Adblock, works great and I also use Screen Mirroring/Quick Connect.) So I skipped disabling those, but got everything else. Thanks for the list. Looks like you spent a lot of time compiling it all together.
Seems to have definitely made the phone a lot snappier so thanks for this! However I can't seem to figure out which is affecting my wifi calling. It'll turn on on reboot but if it drops it won't come back on. Any ideas? Also I didn't turn off the lasy three ok his list.
Could you please share the XML file of PACKAGE DISABLER PRO? ....
PS Thank you for the great Post!
dantes5823 said:
Seems to have definitely made the phone a lot snappier so thanks for this! However I can't seem to figure out which is affecting my wifi calling. It'll turn on on reboot but if it drops it won't come back on. Any ideas? Also I didn't turn off the lasy three ok his list.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you ever find out why WIFI calling isn't working properly? Mine won't even start on a reboot!
Looks like Debloater will do the same thing as well.
Thanks for the list of apps that i can safely disable
Very nice write up..
1st: Excellent post, lots and LOTS of detail!
2nd: OMG, I hope I don't mess anything up!
Yikes!
Bambi
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S7 using XDA Labs
NOTICE: I HAVE PERSONALLY TESTED THE DELETION OF THESE APPS USING TITANIUM BACKUP WITH NO SYSTEM ISSUES. HOWEVER, I TAKE NO LIABILITY SHOULD ANYTHING GO WRONG. ALWAYS BACK UP YOUR DEVICE, AND DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK! SUGGESTIONS ARE WELCOME AND WILL BE ADDED TO THE ALPHABETICALLY ORDERED LIST
AFTER YOU DEBLOAT, YOU MAY LOSE SCREEN ROTATION. THE FIX IS EASY AND OUTLINED HERE
RED = LOSS OF PRIMARY SYSTEM FUNCTIONS (Ex: Screen Rotation)
GREEN = LOSS OF RELATED SYSTEM FUNCTIONS ONLY (Ex: Touchwiz Launcher, Knox)
WHITE = LOSS / REMOVAL OF APP ONLY (SELF CONTAINED. Ex: Flipboard)
Safe To Remove
AllShare FileShare Service
ANT+ DUT --------------------------------------------| The ANT list of services relate to health / fitness tracking equipment that do not use bluetooth. Do not remove if you use these kinds of items
ANT HAL Service -------------------------------------Same as above
ANT Radio Service -----------------------------------Same as above
ANT+ Plugins Service--------------------------------Same as above
App Widget
Backup and Restore
Backup and Restore Agent
Basic Daydreams
BBCAgent
Briefing
Bubbles --------------------------------------------------A live wallpaper
Car Mode ------------------------------------------------Samsung Car Mode Feature
CarModeRemote ---------------------------------------Related To Car Mode Feature
ChocoEUKor --------------------------------------------Custom font, I use the stock one
Clock (Digital) ------------------------------------------TouchWiz Widget, I use Nova Launcher
Clock (Digital_easy) ----------------------------------TouchWiz Widget, I use Nova Launcher
CoolEUKor ----------------------------------------------Custom Font
Drive
Dropbox
Dual Clock (Digital) -----------------------------------Touchwiz Widget, Not Applicable To Other Launchers (Like Nova)
Easy settings -------------------------------------------Dumbed-down settings for the technologically illiterate customer buying a Note 4
Email -----------------------------------------------------I use the GMail app
Evernote
Facebook
Flipboard
Galaxy Apps
Galaxy Apps Widget
Gear VR Service
Gear VR SetupWizardStub
Gear VR Shell
Google Play Books
Google Play Games
Google Play Movies
Google Play Music
Google Play Newsstand
Google+
Hancom Office 2014
Hangouts -----------------------------------------------------------I use the stock messaging app
Health Service
Help
Kies Application BnR
KLMS Agent
KNOX
KNOX SetupWizardClient
KnoxAppsUpdateAgent
KnoxFolderContainer
Live Wallpaper Picker
Music ------------------------------------------ You will lose the ability to listen to .AMR files directly (Ex: Visual Voicemail Sent As An MMS With .AMR Extension)
My interests
My Places
My places
MyKNOXSetupWizard
Pages Manager
Peel Smart Remote -----------------------------------------------------------Note 4 can function as an IR Remote. This app can be re-downloaded from Google Play however
PEN.UP
Phase beam ---------------------------------------------------------------------Live wallpaper
Photo Screensavers
Photos
Print Spooler 1
Push To Talk
Quick connect
RoseEUKor - a different font. I use the stock font
S Finder
S Health
Samsung account
Samsung Billing
Samsung Content Agent
Samsung Galaxy
Samsung keyboard ---------------------------- I use google keyboard
Samsung Link Platform
Samsung Print Service Plugin
Samsung Push Service
Samsung setup wizard
SamsungDLPService
SamsungSans
SapaMonitor
Scrapbook
Slow motion
suretap Wallet
TalkBack
TMobile TV -----------------------Disabling or Removing May Also Delete TMobile Visual Voicemail
TouchWiz easy home ------------------------------Launcher portion of Touchwiz (Easy Version)
TouchWiz Home-------------------------------------Launcher portion of Touchwiz
Weather----------------------------------------------Stock weather app, I use the "Okay Google" command
withTV
Unsafe To Remove
Launcher - Causes Ultra Power Saving Mode to break, and "EmergencyManagerService has stopped" on every reboot
Here are the packages I currently have frozen with no loss in functionality (beyond what the packages themselves provide, of course)
Briefing
Car Mode
CarModeRemote
com.facebook.appmanager
com.facebook.system
Email
Facebook
Flipboard
Galaxy Apps
Galaxy AppsWidget
Gear VR Service
Gear VR SetupWizardStub
Gear VR Shell
Hancom Office
Health Service
Internet
KLMS Agent
KNOX
KNOX SetupWizardClient
KnoxAppsUpdateAgent
KnoxFolderContainer
Launcher
Lookout
Magnifier
Messages
Music
My Interests
My Places
My places
Nearby devices
Nerby Service
New Registration
Peel Smart Remote
PEN.UP
Personal Data Management
Photo Studio
Photos
Quick Connect
S Beam
S Finder
S Health
S Voice
Samsung Link Platform
Samsung Milk Music
Samsung MirrorLink
Samsung Print Service Plugin
Samsung Push service
Samsung text-to-speech engine
Samsung+
Samsung DLPService
Scrapbook
Slow Motion
Smart Manager
Studio
T-Mobile
T-Mobile Name ID
T-Movile TV
TalkBack
TouchWiz easy home
TouchWiz home
Video clip studio
Virtual tour
Visual Voicemail
Voice Recorder
Weather
withTV
Just a heads up, that rotation issue can be resolved by replacing a file that gets removed when Facebook is uninstalled. http://forum.xda-developers.com/not...-screen-rotation-fix-libgnustlshared-t3408140. One additional step I had to do was set permissions for the file to -rw-r--r--
How do you debloat ?
nostreborderaj said:
Just a heads up, that rotation issue can be resolved by replacing a file that gets removed when Facebook is uninstalled. http://forum.xda-developers.com/not...-screen-rotation-fix-libgnustlshared-t3408140. One additional step I had to do was set permissions for the file to -rw-r--r--
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for this! I will do another debloat test tomorrow and add this to the guide! Great Info!
kyoji001 said:
Here are the packages I currently have frozen with no loss in functionality (beyond what the packages themselves provide, of course)
Thank you for the great list! I will test all of these out tomorrow and update the main post. Your feedback and contribution is appreciated!
PS: One common issue I have found is that you get the error "EmergencyManagerService has stopped working". This also causes Ultra Power Saving Mode to stop working correctly. Does anyone know what is responsible for this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WaterMan! said:
kyoji001 said:
Here are the packages I currently have frozen with no loss in functionality (beyond what the packages themselves provide, of course)
Thank you for the great list! I will test all of these out tomorrow and update the main post. Your feedback and contribution is appreciated!
PS: One common issue I have found is that you get the error "EmergencyManagerService has stopped working". This also causes Ultra Power Saving Mode to stop working correctly. Does anyone know what is responsible for this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey Waterman,
No, I haven't received any errors like that. I just tried Ultra Power Saving mode and it seemed to work fine!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WaterMan! said:
Hey everyone! Post here all the apps that you have successfully frozen, or removed, without any issues. If you know what they are responsible for, post that as well. I will keep this post updated in Alphabetic order!
After a couple days of debloating, messing up the system, and restoring, there are clearly some apps that cause major issues if removed. For example, the Facebook app causes the screen rotation function to permanently break, if it is removed. There is also another app that results in screen rotation breaking, I have yet to identify it, but I suspect it is one of the KNOX-related apps.
*UPDATE* We have some new information folks! I will be doing a very large debloat tomorrow and this thread will get a huge update
RED = LOSS OF PRIMARY SYSTEM FUNCTIONS (Ex: Screen Rotation)
ORANGE = LOSS OF RELATED SYSTEM FUNCTIONS ONLY (Ex: Touchwiz Launcher, Knox)
WHITE = LOSS / REMOVAL OF APP ONLY (SELF CONTAINED. Ex: Flipboard)
Safe To Remove
Safe To Freeze (No Loss Of Functionality If Frozen, LOSS OF FUNCTIONS IF REMOVED)
-Facebook - Results In Loss Of Screen Rotation
Unsafe To Remove Or Freeze (Loss Of Function If Removed / Frozen)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This fixes the screen rotation issue with Facebook.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/not...-screen-rotation-fix-libgnustlshared-t3408140
Oops didnt see @nostreborderaj's post. ;p
Nice thread ?
Hey everyone,
So I compiled this entire list and did it myself. I was doing it in batches. The last portion was after Phase Beam, and that caused an error in the system
"EmergencyManagerService has stopped working"
This causes the error to come up on every reboot, and breaks ultra power saving mode functionality. At this point I am going through them one by one and trying to identify which app breaks this when removed. This may take a while ...
Here's what I've personally removed:
system/app/AccuweatherPhone2014_T_MMR
system/app/AmazonShopping_TMO
system/app/AntHalService
system/app/ANTPlusPlugins
system/app/ANTPlusTest
system/app/ANTRadioService
system/app/BasicDreams
system/app/BBCAgent
system/app/BookmarkProvider
system/app/Books
system/app/ChocoEUKor
system/app/com.mobitv.client.tmobiletvhd
system/app/CoolEUKor
system/app/DigitalClock_MUPG
system/app/DigitalClockEasy_MUPG
system/app/Drive
system/app/Dropbox
system/app/DualClockDigital_MUPG
system/app/EasymodeContactsWidget_RECT
system/app/EasySettings
system/app/EasySetup
system/app/ELMAgent
system/app/Facebook_latest
system/app/FactoryCameraFB
system/app/FBAppManager
system/app/Flipboard
system/app/FlipboardBriefing
system/app/GameOptimizer
system/app/Kies
system/app/KnoxAppsUpdateAgent
system/app/KnoxAttestationAgent
system/app/KnoxFolderContainer
system/app/KnoxSetupWizardClient
system/app/KnoxSwitcher
system/app/MobilePrintSvc_Samsung
system/app/Music2
system/app/Newsstand
system/app/PartnerBookmarksProvider
system/app/PENUP
system/app/PlayGames
system/app/PlusOne
system/app/Post_T_Promo
system/app/RoseEUKor
system/app/SamsungAppsWidget_BannerStyle_common
system/app/SamsungDLPService
system/app/SamsungSans
system/app/SamsungTTS
system/app/SamsungWidget_ActiveApplication
system/app/SBrowser_4_LATEST
system/app/SecEmail_K
system/app/SecExchange
system/app/SecurityLogAgent
system/app/SLocation
system/app/SnsImageCache
system/app/SPrintSpooler6
system/app/talkback
system/app/UniversalMDMClient
system/app/Videos
system/app/Vvm_TMO
system/app/WeatherDaemon2014_T_MMR
system/app/withTV
system/priv-app/AccessTmobile_TMO
system/priv-app/AdaptClient
system/priv-app/AutomationTest_FB
system/priv-app/DiagMonAgent
system/priv-app/EasyLauncher2
system/priv-app/ECID-release_TMO
system/priv-app/FBInstaller
system/priv-app/FotaAgent
system/priv-app/HancomOfficeEditor
system/priv-app/KLMSAgent
system/priv-app/LocationWidget_M
system/priv-app/Lookout_TMO
system/priv-app/MILK_US
system/priv-app/NoiseField
system/priv-app/SAMSUNG_PLUS
system/priv-app/SamsungLinkPlatform
system/priv-app/SecMyFiles2014MUP
system/priv-app/SOAgent
system/priv-app/SNS_v2
system/priv-app/SPPPushClient_Prod
system/priv-app/TouchWizHome
system/media/audio/ui/PowerOn.ogg
so far haven't had any issues
Thanks for the topic/lists @WaterMan! & @kyoji001, I loves some debloating... wait! I... don't care for bloat... Err, both! :silly:
Are you guys using a particular tool for uninstallation or doing so manually? I've used TB with filters in the past but have encountered some (minor, but semi annoying) issues in the past. I had planned on using System App Remover on my next fresh install based on recommendations/friendliness wrt lib files but then an update added a location permission, which set off my sketch alert and put me off of that app.
Ok, this is going to be long... feel free to skim :good: I did an interesting test last night, although I'm still running 5.1.1 (TEKxodus 7.4R2). I had removed about 200 unwanted system apps along with their data via TB a couple of months ago. Like I said, issues were minor and sporadic (mostly various GAPPS fc's). My phone's been running fine, so I didn't bother trying the following until last night, mainly just in the interest of contributing to this discussion, although I can't say yet whether or not this is "safe" on MM... if you think it might be problematic for any reason, please chime in! The steps that I took are here: extracted the system/lib directory from my current ROM's install archive, cut & pasted the entire original system/lib directory into the same directory on the active TB debloated ROM skipping present files and replacing those that were missing/deleted - I skipped subfolders at first then checked my install to see if any of them were missing files which they weren't, next I wiped cache & dalvik in recovery and optimized databases in Synapse (for good measure...), step 4) ????, 5) Profit!(?)
I used Root Explorer to do my lib directory manipulation, and after copying the missing modules, I selected all files in my actual system/lib directories to get a count then did the same in the folder I had extracted which then contained all of the files that were already present and therefor skipped. There were 7 more files in my active lib directory, so it seems that's how many modules my debloating had removed.
I wasn't really sure if/how I'd be able to tell if restoring the modules had any positive effect since the only problems that I had with my phone were so sporadic. I did however run a bench (Antutu) before and after (this morning after the phone had been back on overnight and I had used it a decent amount). The main reason that I was curious about bench scores is that I expected to get higher average scores after debloating, but was surprised that my bench scores stayed exactly where they had been (always somewhere between 68,000 and 69,200. I always screenshot the detailed results with all of the sections expanded (scroll-capture :good: ) after running a bench and jot down any factors or settings that might have some impact on performance on the image before saving it.
Well, it turns out I was... very possibly... right to be suspicious about the lack of an increase in my average bench score. I made sure to use my phone some before testing after my dalvik/cache wipes and such - played a game for a bit, did some web browsing. So after some pretty surprisingly consistent scoring within a pretty narrow range, this morning I hit 72,871(!) with all of the extra points attributed to the (surprisingly, I suppose) 3D tests... some of the other results that I saw in the detailed section were actually a bit lower compared to my test from last night, but all within 500 points of my previous average, i.e. "normal". I'll test again in a week or so or before updating to MM (whichever comes first).
So to wrap this up, I would cautiously recommend this technique for debloating. Summarized: uninstall unwanted system apps however you want, then restore your system/lib directory to it's default install state from the extracted folder from whatever ROM you have installed. Do so at your own risk, of course, particularly if you're on MM. I'll follow the same steps that I posted after doing the update and report back on the results.
Thanks again for this thread and the bloat lists. This type of thread is always a super helpful resource!
The list I compiled is what I personally removed, and tested, using Titanium Backup. No side effects other than the app in question being deleted obviously. I just moved the list around, I have one last chunk of apps to go through. One of these causes the error "emergencyManagerService has stopped" when deleted, and also causes ultra power saving mode to stop working. I will have it done by tonight, and find exactly what app is doing this!
WaterMan! said:
The list I compiled is what I personally removed, and tested, using Titanium Backup. No side effects other than the app in question being deleted obviously. I just moved the list around, I have one last chunk of apps to go through. One of these causes the error "emergencyManagerService has stopped" when deleted, and also causes ultra power saving mode to stop working. I will have it done by tonight, and find exactly what app is doing this!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey Waterman,
Looking at your list my bet is on something to do with the Launcher. Ultra Power Saving replaces your default launcher with a special BW launcher; I'm thinking that its just a skinned Touchwiz launcher.
kyoji001 said:
Hey Waterman,
Looking at your list my bet is on something to do with the Launcher. Ultra Power Saving replaces your default launcher with a special BW launcher; I'm thinking that its just a skinned Touchwiz launcher.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Spot on! Post has been updated! Seems like my list is practically complete I may do some more tweaking here and there, but that is the vast majority of it. Thanks for the great info!
Never mind. I found the S7 clock apk and it works fine.
Umm...I accidentally uninstalled the stock clock app Could someone possibly upload that apk?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WaterMan! said:
Spot on! Post has been updated! Seems like my list is practically complete I may do some more tweaking here and there, but that is the vast majority of it. Thanks for the great info!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know if its worth mentioning in your first post, but the ANT HAL services all have to do with basically fitness wearables. If you use any that aren't BT and remove the ANT+ packages I imagine they will stop functioning.
How do you actually go about removing thsese items?
What are the steps for debloating?
Thanks!
Personally I like some of the Samsung apps & features otherwise I would use a non-Samsung ROM like Resurrection Remix.
I love SHealth and have a Gear VR. I'm surprised if you have a Note 4 and don't use SHealth with its cool heartrate, pulse ox, UV, stress level and other monitoring features. Also think the Samsung photo editor is actually one of the better ones.
Never used CarMode is but it seems like something useful.
Not sure what happens with any of these if you remove Samsung Account and Galaxy Apps I think they may be necessary at least for updates to these apps and for storing the SHealth data.
hehehaha123 said:
How do you actually go about removing thsese items?
What are the steps for debloating?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used Titanium Backup. There are other apps out there as well, or you can even do it manually.
kyoji001 said:
I don't know if its worth mentioning in your first post, but the ANT HAL services all have to do with basically fitness wearables. If you use any that aren't BT and remove the ANT+ packages I imagine they will stop functioning.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes that is true, and that is exactly what ANT+ does. 99% of people will never use it, I know I personally will not. I haven't yet posted what everything does, but I will. I have been busy and out of town
Aethera said:
Personally I like some of the Samsung apps & features otherwise I would use a non-Samsung ROM like Resurrection Remix.
I love SHealth and have a Gear VR. I'm surprised if you have a Note 4 and don't use SHealth with its cool heartrate, pulse ox, UV, stress level and other monitoring features. Also think the Samsung photo editor is actually one of the better ones.
Never used CarMode is but it seems like something useful.
Not sure what happens with any of these if you remove Samsung Account and Galaxy Apps I think they may be necessary at least for updates to these apps and for storing the SHealth data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again, you may use it, but that's a niche. I would never use any of those features. Note 4 is way too big to work out with, nor would I want to. I have never touched the Photo Editor. Car Mode does nothing practical other than neuter phone functionality when driving. Proceed with caution, and don't delete anything you use.
Evening all,
As I'll soon be back on android I've been looking at apps for things like twitter and such. But also trying to see what other useful apps I could will need. I use all iPhone native apps at the moment mainly because I've never really liked the iOS and didn't want to get attached to any apps. The only two external apps I use is Tapatalk and waze.
What are the apps you all use on a regular basis and any that I should avoid?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Allo for messaging is really nice, Duo for video calls, Chrome for your browser, and Swype or Gboard for the keyboard.
Basically avoid anything made by Cheetah Mobile.
Launcher - Nova Launcher
Browser - Samsung Internet Beta
Music - Shuttle Music Player (good looking, has any feature you could want)
Podcast app - Pocketcasts
As for chat apps, they can basically all do voice and video calling, ask your friends what they use and use it.
You'll run into more apps as you get into the world of custom roms and rooting. Xposed still isn't available for nougat.
aalxx said:
Basically avoid anything made by Cheetah Mobile.
Music - Shuttle Music Player (good looking, has any feature you could want) .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will this app work with iTunes? From a mac? This is the next thing I need to look at as all my music is stored on my iTunes which is on my mac!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
aalxx said:
Basically avoid anything made by Cheetah Mobile.
Launcher - Nova Launcher
Browser - Samsung Internet Beta
Music - Shuttle Music Player (good looking, has any feature you could want)
Podcast app - Pocketcasts
As for chat apps, they can basically all do voice and video calling, ask your friends what they use and use it.
You'll run into more apps as you get into the world of custom roms and rooting. Xposed still isn't available for nougat.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's Wrong with Clean Master?
running water said:
Will this app work with iTunes? From a mac? This is the next thing I need to look at as all my music is stored on my iTunes which is on my mac!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know, all my music is downloaded, you could try to download that music on your Mac and then use a USB cable to put it in your phone.
Edit: found something that might help you. This article (http://www.consumerreports.org/smartphones/how-to-play-itunes-music-on-an-android-smartphone/) shows how you can upload music from your iTunes library to your google play music library. I'm assuming you can download these songs somehow from one of the services.
choccy31 said:
What's Wrong with Clean Master?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Useless because LMK (low memory killer) exists. Contrary to popular belief android is pretty good at managing ram and "boosting" is unnecessary. Also cleaning junk is easy to do on your own. Basically it's an app which offers little additional functionality and uses misconceptions to make you think you need it.
Here's a couple of apps that I use relatively often, if not daily:
Texting (SMS/MMS): Textra
- Has been my texting app of choice at least the last 2 years. It's clean and simple and is everything I like in a texting app. And, if you're a fan of all things Dark Mode, they have it too.
- Chomp SMS is Textra's sibling app (same developer) and as all of the features that Textra has, plus theming.
Podcasts: Stitcher
Streaming music: Spotify
Keyboard: Swiftkey
- There's a bunch of keyboards out there, but this one's my personal favorite.
Mobile Payments: Samsung Pay
- I've never used Android Pay, but it's basically the same thing as Apple Pay, as both use NFC. I prefer Samsung Pay over both of those for the reason that you can use them at the older MST (magnetic strip terminals), where NFC won't work. If you've used Apple Pay and liked it, give Samsung Pay a shot. Most of the time, Samsung Pay works at places with the MST, in my personal experience.
Send Payment to friends/family: Venmo
- Simple and secure way to send money to friends/family. Useful so you can pay people back quickly, like if they paid for something for you and you have to pay them back.
Sending texts from your Tablet/PC: MightyText
- Similar concept of being able to send iMessages from your iPad or MacBook. As long as your phone's working, you shouldn't have issues sending messages. I've had times where I texted people using this app (there's also a Chrome extension too) and my phone wasn't on me... XD The free version only allows you to send 200 messages/month (I believe, correct me otherwise). Pro is a monthly subscription, but can send unlimited messages.
FluxionFluff said:
Here's a couple of apps that I use relatively often, if not daily:
Texting (SMS/MMS): Textra
- Has been my texting app of choice at least the last 2 years. It's clean and simple and is everything I like in a texting app. And, if you're a fan of all things Dark Mode, they have it too.
- Chomp SMS is Textra's sibling app (same developer) and as all of the features that Textra has, plus theming.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just got my S8... I've been using Textra for 2+ years and I was going to make it my default SMS app on S8. I have a Gear S3 watch too and when I went to swap the default, phone warned of 'missing functions' if I didn't stick with Samsung Messages app.
Any thoughts here? I'm inclined to ignore!
kartman_canada said:
Just got my S8... I've been using Textra for 2+ years and I was going to make it my default SMS app on S8. I have a Gear S3 watch too and when I went to swap the default, phone warned of 'missing functions' if I didn't stick with Samsung Messages app.
Any thoughts here? I'm inclined to ignore!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could be a few things. Sammy's stock messenger works like the Apple texting app, in that you get in-line read/receive notices and "other person is typing" icon things if you are both using the Sammy app. Most other features Textra can probably do just fine, Im betting if you installed a 1:1 clone of the Sammy app but with a different app sig and title, youd get the same warning.
Gentle Alarm app is a great clock/alarm. I've had it on all phones since my Samsung Captivate.
Waze is a good choice to stick to, over Google Maps. I love Google Maps, but Waze is FAR better on your battery for some reason. On my Note 5, with the screen on, fairly bright, and Google Maps navigating me somewhere, even plugged in the battery drains. But with Waze, it not only doesnt drain but charges properly, even if I also run music from the phone over bluetooth. Google owns both, but they give different directions sometimes, which is odd...but not a huge deal.
Google Play Music i think is a good suggestion, you can grab a 4 month free trial (which also includes Youtube Red) to test it out. Ive been using it over Spotify and IHeartRadio for a while.
Battery Widget Reborn is the best battery status monitor.
Dark Sky is the best (IMHO) weather app.
ES File Explorer is obviously a decent recommendation.
PowerAmp for playing music files stored locally.
QuickPic for viewing photos (unless you use the free Google cloud storage for photos).
Textra, of course.
There are others I cant think of now.
EDIT to add another thumbs up for Swiftkey, with a caveat. For me on my last three devices (Note 5, Xperia Z Ultra, Nexus 5) Swiftkey lags HARD on the Hangouts app and a few other apps. It was pure chance I got the issue across three phones, but it is a "common" issue with no real fix and has been around a while. If you do experience that issue with Swiftkey, my next keyboard recommendation would be Minuum. I dont use its teenie tiny mode that its famous/infamous for, I use it in the "full" keyboard layout and it is at least as good as Swiftkey.
Been using Textra for a while now. Tempted to use the S8 default messaging app for a while to see how it feels and what it offers so I'll be able to fairly compare it to Textra.
Agree with the following recommendations others have mentioned:
QuickPic for photo albums
Google Play (free) and Pandora for streaming
Waze for navigation (I live in the DC area and real-time traffic conditions can easily make a difference of 45-60 minutes in my commute)
Any task killer app is counter productive... I've written many posts about this topic in the past explaining why. It basically creates a bunch of work for the operating system with no benefit.
However, using the built-in running apps button and closing some apps you're not using can help because of the way some apps don't play nicely in the background.
Skype for video calls
SwiftKey for keyboard. I've been a long time Swype user (and alpha tester), but Nuance hasn't done much with it since they bought it, and it's losing traction
Nova for launcher
Chrome browser
Hangouts for chat
MightyText -- mixed results with this one. Really liked it for a while, but it took a significant toll on my battery, so I didn't always keep it installed. When I tried it again recently, it was much less reliable than I remembered. I had some duplicate messages and many missed messages that I never received in my browser, and many I sent from the browser that never made it to my recipients. Reliability is fundamental in texting, so I'll avoid this one most likely.
Nine for enterprise email
Useless because LMK (low memory killer) exists. Contrary to popular belief android is pretty good at managing ram and "boosting" is unnecessary. Also cleaning junk is easy to do on your own. Basically it's an app which offers little additional functionality and uses misconceptions to make you think you need it.[/QUOTE]
So true
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Join by Joaoapps (allows sync of messages to chrome desktop so you can sms from there)
PlayerPro (music player)
Nova Launcher Prime
Timely (perfect clock app with chill wakeup sounds)