Develop Bugs

List of apps for Debloating and "Android OS" Battery Hogging Fix

By now we've learned that TouchWiz is pretty damn bloated. I did some work on my T-Mobile Note II and managed to clean up a lot of bloat. That said, I'm going to cut straight to the chase... The following list includes the apps that I have either uninstalled with ROM Cleaner (available from the Note 2 International Forum) and Frozen with Titanium Backup. So far I have not had any weird bugs or loss of functionality. Obviously you need to be rooted for this. However, your mileage may vary and I am not responsible at all. I have tested this for me and it works. I have about 1200MB to 1400MB of free RAM at boot!
Uninstalled with ROMcleaner:
Adobe Reader PDF reader
AllShare Cast
Nearby devices
AllShare Play
AllShare Service
Chaton
ChocoEUKor font
DSM
DownloadThemAll
Samsung fota updates
Upgarde installer
Game Hub
Market Feedback Agent
Samsung Help Hub
Helv Neue S font
Idea Idea Sketch
Learning HUB
Music Hub
MusicFX
MobilePrint
MobileTrackerTwo
Official Top 40
MyFiles
Google Plus
PRUI
Readers Hub Store
Reader Hub App
Reader Hub Bridge
RoseEUKor Font
Samsung APPS
Samsung UNA3
HTML Viewer
Samsing Note
Samsung Snote syncadapter
S Suggest
Software Update
talkback
Trim
Video Hub
WebManual
Frozen with Titanium:
Amazon
Bonus Apps
CapabilityManagerService
Enterprise SysScope
Enterprise VPN Services
EnterprisePermissions
Favorite Apps
Favorite Contacts
Play Books
Play Movies
Group Cast
Kies Air
Kies Via Wifi
Media Hub
MobileLife
Need For speed
Remote Controls
Samsung Account
Samsung Backup Provider
Browser Synadapter
Cloud Data Relay
Contact SyncAdapter
SmemoSyncadapter
Samsung Syncadapters
Simple Alarm Clock
Software Update
Swype
T-mo my account
T-Mo name ID
Mobile TV
TMserverapp
Visual Voicemail
VPN Client
Yahoo Finance
Yahoo News
UltraCfg
Testservice
SysScope
Smartcardservice
Service Mode
Self Test mode
Screen Recorder
Samsung SEtup wizard
Samsung Push Service
Samsung Backup
Preconfig
PhoneUtil
NFS Service
SNS
Popupuireciever
I know there's some typos in there, but you get the idea.
Now, if you go to your battery usage, you will see that Android OS is eating a lot of battery, even when idle... Lots of wakelocks, etc. Turns out it's mediaserver eating up all of the battery and throwing partial wakelocks...
Here's the fix:
From an ADB shell or a terminal on the phone... YOU MUST BE ROOTED:
Code:
su
pm enable com.android.providers.media/com.android.providers.media.MediaScannerReceiver
My battery life at idle has SUBSTANTIALLY improved. My free RAM has improved as well.
I'm not going to lie... The debloating doesn't make things seem that much faster, and this phone is so damn fast that it really doesn't matter that much. But that pm enable fix is slick and helps a lot as far as battery while idling.
Please don't hesitate to share your findings or improvements to this. I welcome any constructive input.

Thanks! I've been meaning to research on which apps were safe to freeze/uninstall.

Thanks

when you do the mediaserver fix through the terminal is it supposed to say "new state:enabled" ?

bapurado said:
when you do the mediaserver fix through the terminal is it supposed to say "new state:enabled" ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It didn't do that for me, but check and see if MediaServer is running as a SERVICE, then you'll know if it worked

Once I put in the commands it said enable is that correct? And is this to minimize the media server's percentage in the battery screen shot?
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium

acrown said:
Once I put in the commands it said enable is that correct? And is this to minimize the media server's percentage in the battery screen shot?
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you'd feel more comfortable there's a free app in the Play Store called Media Rescan Root that will do the same thing...
The command disables mediaserver from constantly scanning storage for new media; it's out of control and likely a bug specific to our device/series of devices.

Ran the code via Rom ToolBox terminal.
I'm a heavy user, the S2 barely lasted my work day. This bad boy was getting to 30 something % by 5pm, after being off the charger around 6:30am. It's 4pm and I'm at 48% - 10 hours. That's moderate use.
I think this lil script did it's job. I'm pretty freakin' impressed.

If you'd feel more comfortable there's a free app in the Play Store called Media Rescan Root that will do the same thing...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly i dont think this is a big an issue on my note 2 as it was for my GS1 which took a long time to media scan on boot. I don't think I've seen my note 2 media scan on boot and the boot time is really amazing as it is stock.

@OP
Thanks for sharing. You're a bit too aggressive for my tastes, but we all use our phones differently. No criticisms below, just discussion points.
Many of the apps you've removed, like Amazon, are ones I use frequently, and honestly, I find it difficult to believe it uses any meaningful amount of juice if you're not actually shopping with it. I certainly could be wrong, but on all the phones I've ever used, apps like that have never made an appearance of concern in battery history. YMMV.
Also, I think it's interesting that you chose to "freeze" apps that can be downloaded from the Market (Amazon, Play Books, Play Movies). Freezing stops them from running, but they're still sitting there eating up storage space (albeit very little). I'd just totally uninstall them and reinstall if needed.
I heard that some of the bloatware from Tmobile actually reinstalls itself when frozen/removed. Any experience with that?

distortedloop said:
@OP
Thanks for sharing. You're a bit too aggressive for my tastes, but we all use our phones differently. No criticisms below, just discussion points.
Many of the apps you've removed, like Amazon, are ones I use frequently, and honestly, I find it difficult to believe it uses any meaningful amount of juice if you're not actually shopping with it. I certainly could be wrong, but on all the phones I've ever used, apps like that have never made an appearance of concern in battery history. YMMV.
Also, I think it's interesting that you chose to "freeze" apps that can be downloaded from the Market (Amazon, Play Books, Play Movies). Freezing stops them from running, but they're still sitting there eating up storage space (albeit very little). I'd just totally uninstall them and reinstall if needed.
I heard that some of the bloatware from Tmobile actually reinstalls itself when frozen/removed. Any experience with that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The my T-Mobile program keeps popping back up, but that's the only one. I don't mind, to be honest. And I agree, this is too agressive. It's not like this big list is getting in the way, and I honestly doubt he's seeing much, if any, improvement. But, you are right, YMMV.

mdt73 said:
The my T-Mobile program keeps popping back up, but that's the only one. I don't mind, to be honest. And I agree, this is too agressive. It's not like this big list is getting in the way, and I honestly doubt he's seeing much, if any, improvement. But, you are right, YMMV.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, the My T-Mobile app is one I would want to keep; nice to have a quick easy access to my account information. If carriers are going to add bloat, that's the kind of stuff they should be adding.

distortedloop said:
Actually, the My T-Mobile app is one I would want to keep; nice to have a quick easy access to my account information. If carriers are going to add bloat, that's the kind of stuff they should be adding.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, true, I am not on T-Mobile, so I don't use it. The program is tiny anyways, so it's no big deal. Now, if it were Need For Speed... I would do battle! LoL!

distortedloop said:
@OP
Thanks for sharing. You're a bit too aggressive for my tastes, but we all use our phones differently. No criticisms below, just discussion points.
Many of the apps you've removed, like Amazon, are ones I use frequently, and honestly, I find it difficult to believe it uses any meaningful amount of juice if you're not actually shopping with it. I certainly could be wrong, but on all the phones I've ever used, apps like that have never made an appearance of concern in battery history. YMMV.
Also, I think it's interesting that you chose to "freeze" apps that can be downloaded from the Market (Amazon, Play Books, Play Movies). Freezing stops them from running, but they're still sitting there eating up storage space (albeit very little). I'd just totally uninstall them and reinstall if needed.
I heard that some of the bloatware from Tmobile actually reinstalls itself when frozen/removed. Any experience with that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All I was doing was listing what you can do, and what I did. I froze Play Books and Movies because they're always running and eating up RAM, even when you kill them. They are always running if they are installed. And in reference to your question about T-Mobile stuff reinstalling itself, I've never had that in my experience if I've actually completely removed something. I don't see technically how that would be possible.
I froze Amazon because f**k them, and f**k T-Mobile for installing Amazon as a system app, meaning you can't remove it without root. I spent $700 on a device, it's absurd that I should not have control over what apps I can and can't have on my device... Don't you think?
I was only sharing what I did and what I found is safe, eg. this didn't bork my phone
Thanks for your input

brashmadcap said:
All I was doing was listing what you can do, and what I did. I froze Play Books and Movies because they're always running and eating up RAM, even when you kill them. They are always running if they are installed. And in reference to your question about T-Mobile stuff reinstalling itself, I've never had that in my experience if I've actually completely removed something. I don't see technically how that would be possible.
I froze Amazon because f**k them, and f**k T-Mobile for installing Amazon as a system app, meaning you can't remove it without root. I spent $700 on a device, it's absurd that I should not have control over what apps I can and can't have on my device... Don't you think?
I was only sharing what I did and what I found is safe, eg. this didn't bork my phone
Thanks for your input
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Winky faces aside, I think you took my post far too personally. You invited discussion, and I offered up some. No offense was intended.
You also apparently completely missed my point re: "freezing" vs. removing. You clearly have root access, as indicated by some of the tips you give which you specifically say "YOU MUST BE ROOTED", so I'm confused by what you mean when you say "you can't remove it without root." You can't remove any system apps, which most of which you removed are, without root, so that's irrelevant. My confusion was simply why, considering you must have root to do some of what you did" you chose to freeze som market-downloadable apps rather than simply uninstall/remove them?
My logic tree when I decide whether to remove or freeze is simple. Freeze stuff I might want/need back that's not easily obtainable/installable, just to be safe. Remove stuff I know is safe and that I can easily obtain/reinstall through the Play store or other places.
I'm not interested in an argument, so I think I'll just move along from here and find a discussion a bit less defensive.
Peace.

1 there are many more that can go
2 can you sort them alphabetically
3 thanx fellow minimalist

distortedloop said:
Winky faces aside, I think you took my post far too personally. You invited discussion, and I offered up some. No offense was intended.
You also apparently completely missed my point re: "freezing" vs. removing. You clearly have root access, as indicated by some of the tips you give which you specifically say "YOU MUST BE ROOTED", so I'm confused by what you mean when you say "you can't remove it without root." You can't remove any system apps, which most of which you removed are, without root, so that's irrelevant. My confusion was simply why, considering you must have root to do some of what you did" you chose to freeze som market-downloadable apps rather than simply uninstall/remove them?
My logic tree when I decide whether to remove or freeze is simple. Freeze stuff I might want/need back that's not easily obtainable/installable, just to be safe. Remove stuff I know is safe and that I can easily obtain/reinstall through the Play store or other places.
I'm not interested in an argument, so I think I'll just move along from here and find a discussion a bit less defensive.
Peace.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thinly veiled sarcasm aside, I didn't mean to be abrasive. Just sharing what I did. I was more referring to the absurdity of the carriers forcing apps on you, then forcing you to void your warranty in order to remove them. That was not an assault on you. I know you know that you have to be rooted, you've been here for a while.

fit333 said:
1 there are many more that can go
2 can you sort them alphabetically
3 thanx fellow minimalist
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Cool! Which other ones did you remove?
2. No
3. You're welcome

This works so good on my at&t i317. Thanks for the post.I'm seeing a lot better battery as well
Sent from The Samsung Nerd Man cave

The media scanner eating battery was a big issue on my GT-i9300 GS3. It's not been too big of a deal on my GN2 so far.
I was just curious, should the code "disable" the scanner on boot and not enable?
Here's what was posted:
Code:
su
pm enable com.android.providers.media/com.android.providers.media.MediaScannerReceiver
Should it be (?):
Code:
su
pm disable com.android.providers.media/com.android.providers.media.MediaScannerReceiver
I just want to know because I think I'm going to disable the media scanner on boot to try it out on my GN2.
Thanks for the info!

[Q] GN8 Gallery data eating up drive space

The Android Gallery app data (Settings/Device Storage/Applications/Gallery/Data) in our GN8 keeps growing. It gets about 50Mb larger each time the tab is turned on or restarted. It doesn't grow while the tablet or Gallery application is in use and overall data usage doesn't increase either.
Here's what I've found...so far:
* Wi-Fi data consumption does not increase. This would be important if this were happening on a smartphone...3G or 4G data cap considerations.
* Sync is turned OFF...everywhere. All syncs are turned off for Google and Samsung accounts, email, internet, etc.
* Google+ and Picassa apps have been turned OFF. Accounts were never created for either one.
* The only Gallery settings (Wi-Fi OFF) are for Tag Buddy and Face Tag. Both have been turned OFF.
* Clearing the Gallery data starts the process all over again. Each subsequent cold boot or restart of the tab results in about a 50Mb increase of the Gallery data...NOT Wi-Fi data consumption. Clearing the Gallery data also resets Tab Buddy and Face Tag settings to default.
I'm starting to think this is some sort of Google-related Gallery pix auto-backup feature. But considering those apps that may be affected by syncing or backing-up of photos are turned OFF, why is this happening at all???
If this behavior is not normal (as designed), how can it be stopped/prevented?
Any advice or recommendations are greatly appreciated.

What exactly do you mean?
As in you clear data then restart the tablet and 50 MB appears? Every time you restart, so just to understand 0 data .... restart 50MB.... restart then 50 + 50 =100 and adding 50MB every restart?
As far as Google+ account goes I believe this is done automatically.
Check out these sites.
http://www.iwebsoftsolution.com/thr...ur-android-gallery-app-is-using-so-much-data/
http://lifehacker.com/disable-google-photo-sync-to-clean-up-your-gallery-app-1148620893
http://android.appstorm.net/how-to/internet/how-to-remove-picasa-albums-from-your-gallery/
Hoping this helps
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium

EnzoS. said:
The Android Gallery app data (Settings/Device Storage/Applications/Gallery/Data) in our GN8 keeps growing. It gets about 50Mb larger each time the tab is turned on or restarted. It doesn't grow while the tablet or Gallery application is in use and overall data usage doesn't increase either.
Here's what I've found...so far:
* Wi-Fi data consumption does not increase. This would be important if this were happening on a smartphone...3G or 4G data cap considerations.
* Sync is turned OFF...everywhere. All syncs are turned off for Google and Samsung accounts, email, internet, etc.
* Google+ and Picassa apps have been turned OFF. Accounts were never created for either one.
* The only Gallery settings (Wi-Fi OFF) are for Tag Buddy and Face Tag. Both have been turned OFF.
* Clearing the Gallery data starts the process all over again. Each subsequent cold boot or restart of the tab results in about a 50Mb increase of the Gallery data...NOT Wi-Fi data consumption. Clearing the Gallery data also resets Tab Buddy and Face Tag settings to default.
I'm starting to think this is some sort of Google-related Gallery pix auto-backup feature. But considering those apps that may be affected by syncing or backing-up of photos are turned OFF, why is this happening at all???
If this behavior is not normal (as designed), how can it be stopped/prevented?
Any advice or recommendations are greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I replied to your earlier thread... My fix works well and cleared up the index cache with images.

Harjan112 said in a previous post:
What exactly do you mean? As in you clear data then restart the tablet and 50 MB appears? Every time you restart, so just to understand 0 data .... restart 50MB.... restart then 50 + 50 =100 and adding 50MB every restart?
Yup...that's exactly what's happening. At one time, the data size increased by about 50Mb each time the tab was started, restarted, rebooted. The "50Mb" number changes with the size of the Gallery. That is, if the Gallery has a ton of pictures in it, that 50Mb might be considerably larger. If the Gallery is reduced in number of images, the "add on" data level might be proportionally smaller. Yes, if the data is cleared and starts at 0 (zero), each successive start or restart increases the size of that data that is reported. I have never let the data increase go for any length of time to see if it eventually stops at the byte size of all images in the gallery. From what I can see, it can keep growing indefinitely. Driving me nuts.
I haven't taken the time to review the sites you included but I'll do that right now.
I might add at this time that the tablet IS NOT ROOTED. Consequently, other recommended "fixes" or installed apps could not be considered.
One other thing: we do not have a Google+ account. As a result, Google+ is not used and has been turned off.
Once again, thank you very much for following through with this.

EnzoS. said:
One other thing: we do not have a Google+ account. As a result, Google+ is not used and has been turned off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This quite frankly all depends off when you made the Google account, because Google started cramming Google+ down the throats of people that made new account and were not aware of this happening, same goes for me I never signed up for Google+ but when I looked to figure out the problem you are having I came to the conclusion that I had to my surprise Google+
I would go thru every setting/option in your Google account just to make sure.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium

Harjan112 said:
This quite frankly all depends off when you made the Google account, because Google started cramming Google+ down the throats of people that made new account and were not aware of this happening, same goes for me I never signed up for Google+ but when I looked to figure out the problem you are having I came to the conclusion that I had to my surprise Google+
I would go thru every setting/option in your Google account just to make sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You might be on to something. We bought the tab in July (2013) equipped with Android 4.1.2 and setup the Google account upon initial startup. A few months later, the 4.2.2 upgrade was crammed down my throat then I started noticing the strange/weird stuff. If my memory is correct, stuff relative to Google+ and Picasa started showing up. Picasa, in particular came up as one of the choices when selecting wallpaper along with the Gallery choices. About that time, I turned off Google+ and Picasa having never setup accounts for either one of them.
Being an Android novice, I started thinking that even though I dropped both Google+ and Picasa they might have retained their default settings that may to this day be affecting how the Gallery works. That being said, keep in mind that I have never seen any spike in Wi-Fi data usage which would have (IMO) indicated the Gallery might be trying to upload pictures to online accounts (Google+ and/or Picasa). The only thing that keeps getting bigger is: Settings > Applications manager > All > Gallery > Data. I believe that some sort of unnecessary caching is going on and I have no idea where the files that are being created are being stored (not rooted).
I made sure that the Google account has EVERYTHING sync-associated (all check boxes) UNCHECKED...from day one. I've seen in more than one forum that there should have been a box to check/uncheck within the Google account settings for syncing pictures. Those suggestions might be for certain Samsung/Android cellphones. On our Note 8.0 there is no such box.
I'm sure I've left out some details but you've been really good at prying information out of me so I'm hoping you have more questions.
So...what do you think? Could the Google+ and/or Picasa accounts been setup without my knowledge? If so, should I go into them and turn everything off or has turning them off already done all that for me?
I'm starting to confuse myself.
EnzoS

EnzoS. said:
I believe that some sort of unnecessary caching is going on and I have no idea where the files that are being created are being stored (not rooted).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gallery caches & thumbnails can be found here "../mnt/sdcard/Android/data/com.sec.android.gallery3d" in My files.
Some folders like will be hidden.
So, change settings in your file manager or in system to display hidden files & folders.
As you suggested, I would indeed just try to log into Google+ and make sure everything is off/disabled, once you are sure disable Google+, and for picassa do the same procedure.
Also take a look at this site http://marcwillmore.com/2013/04/24/...d-albums-from-your-android-jellybean-gallery/ especially the part about "Cloud agent"
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium

@ EnzoS if everything else fails, go to your settings... gallery ... clear data and cache, then turn it off.
After you've done that go to the play store and get Quickpic that is IMO about the best gallery replacement that's out there and best off all it's FREE and AD FREE.
Here's a direct link https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.alensw.PicFolder
Hoping it helps
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium

Harjan112 said:
@ EnzoS if everything else fails, go to your settings... gallery ... clear data and cache, then turn it off.
After you've done that go to the play store and get Quickpic that is IMO about the best gallery replacement that's out there and best off all it's FREE and AD FREE.
Here's a direct link https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.alensw.PicFolder
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Harjan112: Thank you again for your suggestion. My next step will be exactly as you described. I've heard nothing negative about QuickPic and I can't wait to try it out. I do have one concern, however. I read somewhere, and I think it was in a not-so-recent post that warned about some form of conflict with the tab's camera. I think it said that if the stock Gallery was not available to view a recently-taken picture by tapping the little thumbnail in the lower-right corner of the camera UI, there was no way to quickly view a snapshot because this function might be tied exclusively to the stock Gallery. Have you heard anything in this regard or has the current version of QuickPic overcome this issue?
EnzoS

EnzoS. said:
I think it said that if the stock Gallery was not available to view a recently-taken picture by tapping the little thumbnail in the lower-right corner of the camera UI, there was no way to quickly view a snapshot because this function might be tied exclusively to the stock Gallery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is correct, I guess that would be the only downfall.
Check out this camera app that could replace the stock camera, it does have the preview window and you can choose what app you want to use for previewing the pictures.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.almalence.opencam
Hoping this helps
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium

EnzoS. said:
Harjan112: Thank you again for your suggestion. My next step will be exactly as you described. I've heard nothing negative about QuickPic and I can't wait to try it out. I do have one concern, however. I read somewhere, and I think it was in a not-so-recent post that warned about some form of conflict with the tab's camera. I think it said that if the stock Gallery was not available to view a recently-taken picture by tapping the little thumbnail in the lower-right corner of the camera UI, there was no way to quickly view a snapshot because this function might be tied exclusively to the stock Gallery. Have you heard anything in this regard or has the current version of QuickPic overcome this issue?
EnzoS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I gave quickpic a try, still like the Gallery app the best on a tablet. The only way your going to be happy is to root and setup exposed with wanam module at the very minimum. I know, you do not want to void warranty, but you can root without flashing, and completely remove it as well.
Also, quickpic does create some sort of cache, though you can adjust what cache you want to some degree.
I did a side by side comparison with quickness and use, in some ways quickpic seems easier at finding what you want quickly, but the way I organized my media on SD and setup paths to point to them properly, makes both near equals. Though Gallery is faster at bringing up images when quickly scrolling, while both have caching disabled.
Not that I am pro Gallery, just I feel I am going backwards with non-tablet apps over stock.
If I were constantly battling over 500MB of cached images, which can be easily done if left stock, I would lean towards rooting over dealing with app shortcomings.

gooberdude said:
Well, I gave quickpic a try, still like the Gallery app the best on a tablet. The only way your going to be happy is to root and setup exposed with wanam module at the very minimum. I know, you do not want to void warranty, but you can root without flashing, and completely remove it as well.
Also, quickpic does create some sort of cache, though you can adjust what cache you want to some degree.
I did a side by side comparison with quickness and use, in some ways quickpic seems easier at finding what you want quickly, but the way I organized my media on SD and setup paths to point to them properly, makes both near equals. Though Gallery is faster at bringing up images when quickly scrolling, while both have caching disabled.
Not that I am pro Gallery, just I feel I am going backwards with non-tablet apps over stock.
If I were constantly battling over 500MB of cached images, which can be easily done if left stock, I would lean towards rooting over dealing with app shortcomings.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's good to hear that you actually have experience with the app in question. So many forum responders have never even used a particular app or have encountered various issues but have opinions and recommendations anyway.
WRT my acceptance of the tab's performance, that's what I was initially looking to find out. Is this phenomenon of the Gallery's data "bloat" what is expected to be happening or do we have a problem that should be fixed? I believe you are saying that this is normal behavior. If so, I'm good with that and will periodically take steps to clean it up...as I have been doing for many months now. If this is not normal, that is, the size of the "data" should reach a plateau and stop growing, I want to do something about it. Otherwise, I'd be perfectly happy to accept it as SOP and move on. No need to go nuts over a non-issue (ha).
Like you, I'd prefer to use the apps that came with the device rather than be constantly looking for something that might be superior to or offer a couple more insignificant features. Although we don't like what they did with the appearance of the Gallery app when the 4.2.2 upgrade was forced down our throats, we're perfectly happy with the way it performs. We don't need anything capable of graphic manipulations on an 8" tablet that the wife uses primarily to play off-line games and to periodically check the weather radar and email. We're in our 60s and don't need another play toy (ha). When we need to perform any high intensity graphics or audio editing, we use the PC with a 22" HD monitor.
One last thing: please check out the screen dump I attached. So there's no more confusion, I have pointed to the reading on the Application Manager screen for the Gallery app that grows every time the tab is started or restarted. I trust we're on the same page with all this.
Very best...
EnzoS

I am actually using both apps I suggested here and not just put it on here without thinking that it might help you.
I hope you figure out what's wrong.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium

I got it that you're using both the apps. Actually, that's probably the only way to see if it's gonna make a difference. I would never suggest that you're making a recommendation without actually thinking (knowing) that it would help the issue.
So...can I assume that you believe there is actually something wrong here or am I just complaining about something that is working properly but not necessarily up to my expectations? If this is the way it's supposed to work, I'm good with it. I'll leave it alone and go on to something new.
Were you able to view the image I attached?
What say you...oh wise one?
EnzoS

Where are the pictures located (internal or external SD card) and how many pictures are we talking?
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium

Everything is on internal SD. As an experiment, I took the number of pictures down to under 10. Right now, I loaded it up to 239 in 5 separate directories...EVERYTHING in the "Pictures" directory.

I just did a little experiment myself and transferred my pictures from my Note2 to my Note8, 600 some pics on external 64GB SD card, then turned my gallery back on to see what would happen here are some screenshots
Then did a restart
As you can see gallery data goes up but on quickpic it stays the same.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium

Hi
I have the same problem but with a huge space 51 GB !!!!
And Google photos sync is off.
But also with this I still can install or uninstall apps without any problems.
I am using x note rom v5

am2010r said:
I have the same problem but with a huge space 51 GB !!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Something doesn't look right at all.
The Note8 comes only in 2 "flavors" 16 or 32 GB internal memory!!!
Something is reporting the size wrong.
You could always give quickpic a try and see what happens.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium

Harjan112 said:
I just did a little experiment myself and transferred my pictures from my Note2 to my Note8, 600 some pics on external 64GB SD card, then turned my gallery back on to see what would happen here are some screenshots
Then did a restart
As you can see gallery data goes up but on quickpic it stays the same.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It looks as though our conversation has attracted (finally) others who might be having the same problem. Thank you for your 2 cents am2010r.
Harjan112: Is it correct that you loaded your Note 8.0 with a bunch more pictures, checked the "data" reading, it was 14.73, then you rebooted and it was 38.50??? If that's the case, it appears that yours is doing what mine is doing: the "data" reading increases (at whatever increment the system wants to) upon each boot/reboot.
If that's the case then I have to assume the system wants to do that and I'll accept it and move on.
Of course, I thank you very much for taking all your time to help me unravel this.
EnzoS

Package Disabler Pro for the Note 7.

Has anyone tried to see what works with some bloatware disabled & what doesn't work? Personally I would like the iris scanner and samsung pay to be enabled and everything else disabled.

Yeah, it's working for me quite well

XavierAD said:
Yeah, it's working for me quite well
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad to hear it,arguably the best feature available for any Samsung device,short of root/ROMs.
Hopefully it'll still work once Android 7.0 rolls out.

KOLIOSIS said:
Glad to hear it,arguably the best feature available for any Samsung device,short of root/ROMs.
Hopefully it'll still work once Android 7.0 rolls out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It will. They use Knox which is a product of Samsung.
Sent from my XT1528 using XDA Labs

I'm rather confused by this thread. Is the poster asking what will 'break' if you disabled all the bloatware? Or asking something else entirely? Cause you can disable everything that comes on any phone and it'll always work just fine.
And I have no idea what Android 7.0 would have to do with bloatware, or what KNOX would have to do with bloatware...

HikariNoKitsune said:
I'm rather confused by this thread. Is the poster asking what will 'break' if you disabled all the bloatware? Or asking something else entirely? Cause you can disable everything that comes on any phone and it'll always work just fine.
And I have no idea what Android 7.0 would have to do with bloatware, or what KNOX would have to do with bloatware...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't speak for the O.P.,but,my guess is, as with me, just making sure that it works before purchasing the Note 7,especially for those of us with the Snapdragon powered versions that may have no other way to disable bloat.
JMHO, but, the Q&A regarding functionality of PDP, whatever they may be, are of merit & might as well have a thread addressing the subject.
Most realize you can disable the bloat, but,not everyone, including yours truly, understand exactly how it works & why only on Samsung devices.
The Knox tie-in makes sense to me, even without a full understanding of how it works.

KOLIOSIS said:
I can't speak for the O.P.,but,my guess is, as with me, just making sure that it works before purchasing the Note 7,especially for those of us with the Snapdragon powered versions that may have no other way to disable bloat.
JMHO, but, the Q&A regarding functionality of PDP, whatever they may be, are of merit & might as well have a thread addressing the subject.
Most realize you can disable the bloat, but,not everyone, including yours truly, understand exactly how it works & why only on Samsung devices.
The Knox tie-in makes sense to me, even without a full understanding of how it works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
KNOX doesn't make much sense to me, because that's just a security platform. It just makes sure you protected from being 'hacked' per say. As in like, it adds an extra layer of security over your phone so someone can't just pick it up and plug it into a computer to gain access to all of your stuff. Though thats only the very loosest of analogies.
But I have to ask what you exactly mean by the "not everyone understands exactly how it works and why only on Samsung devices". Do you mean as in why disabling works? or something else. Because you can disable the bloatware on any android phone so long as the carrier and manufacturer didn't lock the option out. Which most devices will let you do it now because of the whole 'you'll get sued for forcing users to use a specific thing without giving them a way out' (an example would be microsoft getting sued over the bundling of Internet Explorer and Microsoft Office with the earlier Windows OS's).
What I'm wondering is, based on the title of the thread after thinking about it some, does the OP mean an app that disables/uninstalls bloat? Because I'm sure there are plenty of apps out there that do it. But most I think require Root in order to do it properly and reliably. I use Sprint for my service, and its Sprint ID and such are a pain in the ass, and they can't just be 'disabled' easily even though there is the option to (every time you disable it, Sprint just re-installs it the next time you reboot the phone because it thinks it got uninstalled somehow). But to get it to disable properly on my Note 5, I had to install some random app that I think was called App Quarantine. It looked like a bio-hazard symbol for the icon. I haven't re-installed it since this last wipe I was forced to do, so I can't remember exactly lol. But it was the only one that would let me actually disable the Sprint ID stuff and not have it re-install all the time.

HikariNoKitsune said:
What I'm wondering is, based on the title of the thread after thinking about it some, does the OP mean an app that disables/uninstalls bloat? Because I'm sure there are plenty of apps out there that do it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it's an app in the Google Play Store that has the ability to disable literally anything on Samsung devices,WITHOUT ROOT, so, care must be taken to not get carried away & I recommend only disabling, not deleting, in the event of not being able to take an update otherwise.
Not everything can be disabled natively, so, that explains the appeal of the app.
If you used it, you'd see the tie-in with Knox........

KOLIOSIS said:
Yes it's an app in the Google Play Store that has the ability to disable literally anything on Samsung devices,WITHOUT ROOT, so, care must be taken to not get carried away & I recommend only disabling, not deleting, in the event of not being able to take an update otherwise.
Not everything can be disabled natively, so, that explains the appeal of the app.
If you used it, you'd see the tie-in with Knox........
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then that makes alot more sense. I originally just thought they were basically asking if there was an app to disable everything instead of having to do it manually. I've always just manually disabled everything cause its not that hard to do. Just find the troublesome things and hit that disable button lol. But if this can do it all in one quick swoop, then I'm all in =O I'll definitely be looking into it later today when my phone finally arrives...
Sprint screwed up my pre-order, and is sending me the wrong device, so I have to take it into a store to get it exchanged because they refused to cancel my pre-order or change the order at all even though I legitimately ordered the dang thing 2 minutes past midnight on the 3rd. So ontop of that, they also didn't ship the phone when they said they would, AND the put restrictions on my package. I normally have to physically go to a UPS location to pick up my packages cause the dumb driver will never deliver to my house... always states that they can't find my house even though its the ONLY house down the ONLY long driveway... heck you can SEE my house above the trees! But nope, the guy wont deliver. But because of the restrictions, UPS wont let me flag the package as 'hold for pickup' like usual, so I gotta stand at the end of my drive way for hours upon hours just to catch the UPS driver. Then I gotta drive all the way into town to HOPEFULLY exchange the phone for the Black Onyx variant that I was supposed to get...
Anyway, sorry for the ramble o-o; didn't realize it was that long XD

HikariNoKitsune said:
Then that makes alot more sense. I originally just thought they were basically asking if there was an app to disable everything instead of having to do it manually. I've always just manually disabled everything cause its not that hard to do. Just find the troublesome things and hit that disable button lol. But if this can do it all in one quick swoop, then I'm all in =O I'll definitely be looking into it later today when my phone finally arrives...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's a nice tool to have, a powerful one.
Just a friendly piece of advice :
Read up on it before using, check the FAQs on the developers site if need be & go conservative at 1st if you're not familiar with what is safe to disable.
The app gives color-coded guidelines per each app on what is known to be safe to disable. You can go above and beyond that, but, mainly, just disable, do not delete anything & leave the stock keyboard alone.
You might be able to disable the stock launcher, provided you have another one installed, but, I'd leave it alone until you're certain one way or the other........

KOLIOSIS said:
It's a nice tool to have, a powerful one.
Just a friendly piece of advice :
Read up on it before using, check the FAQs on the developers site if need be & go conservative at 1st if you're not familiar with what is safe to disable.
The app gives color-coded guidelines per each app on what is known to be safe to disable. You can go above and beyond that, but, mainly, just disable, do not delete anything & leave the stock keyboard alone.
You might be able to disable the stock launcher, provided you have another one installed, but, I'd leave it alone until you're certain one way or the other........
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol I'd only disable the things I already know I need to disable. Like all the Sprint stuff. I leave the Samsung stuff alone cause I actually use alot of Samsung's things. But as for Sprint's stuff? All of that goes bye bye lol. Now that is assuming it doesn't somehow show things that you normally can't see from the applications manager. In which case then I wouldn't bother, cause I don't see much of a point lol.

there are a few package disabler for Samsung out there, which one the best?

amenlo9 said:
there are a few package disabler for Samsung out there, which one the best?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go with either one,the Pro+ has a hardware lockdown feature,otherwise,there two are identical:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ospolice.packagedisablerpremium&hl=en
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ospolice.packagedisablerpro&hl=en

I'm guessing Samsung still has a partnership w/Cheetah Mobile,which is one of the main reasons I like having this app,Package Disabler Pro,on-board to ward off the data mining/crapware/etc...
However,I'm not seeing anything in the apps,system or otherwise,that's jumping out & identifying itself as CheetahMobile/CleanMaster/etc.......
I'm guessing it's some/all of the apps identified w/the "Smart" moniker,but,I'm not 100% certain on that.
Anyone have an idea on which,if any,of the apps are actual CheetahMobile bloatware?
Thanks In Advance!

Using EZ Disabler here. Works well, but you gotta be careful using "disable bloat" part as it will turn off many useful things. I just went through and picked what i wanted. Very Easy to use though

Thanks for recommending Package Disabler Pro. I was worried Since not rooted. In past had always used TB . This worked Great!!
Sent from my SM-N930P using Tapatalk

Why would you guys use an app for disabling stuff.
Since we're on xda, enable USB debugging and use pm (package manager) cmd from adb shell.
For instance: adb shell pm hide 'package'
There are other interesting options: list, install, uninstall.
Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

millicent said:
Why would you guys use an app for disabling stuff.
Since we're on xda, enable USB debugging and use pm (package manager) cmd from adb shell.
For instance: adb shell pm hide 'package'
There are other interesting options: list, install, uninstall.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see your point, but i would also say there is a ease to the app though. Whatever works best for people. Im just glad there are options.

Anyone go back to stock from rooted?

I have been finding myself only using Magisk for EmojiOne, but noticing I don't use Emoji like I used to anymore and am thinking since I only use Substratum with a Center Clock mod and have stopped using it for Dark theming, maybe going back to a stock based setup would be fine. I can use the Andromeda thing with Substratum which is an extra step but can do my center clock and possibly emoji one via substratum... not sure what else I would want root for... Updating is a touch of a pain for me. What do yo guys think, and have any of you gone back to stock?

I went back to stock just because I didn't want to have the uncertainty of being rooted.
Nothing wrong with rooting but I love this phone the way it is.
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

For myself Rooting was a necessity. The devices sold in the past had so much Crapware.
It was nice to get the latest and greatest ROM and tweak the device to run faster because at that time they were just plain old slow.
Today, depending on where you bought a device devices are very fast. It seems to me that every ROM has an issue that influences the character of the device.
If your device comes from a carrier such as Verizon you should Root it to get rid of their crapware.
It seems their attitude is you only have the right to buy their device not the ability to control, I mean really you think you own it or something? ( yes I'm a VZW hater)
What was the question?

kdkinc said:
For myself Rooting was a necessity. The devices sold in the past had so much Crapware.
It was nice to get the latest and greatest ROM and tweak the device to run faster because at that time they were just plain old slow.
Today, depending on where you bought a device devices are very fast. It seems to me that every ROM has an issue that influences the character of the device.
If your device comes from a carrier such as Verizon you should Root it to get rid of their crapware.
It seems their attitude is you only have the right to buy their device not the ability to control, I mean really you think you own it or something? ( yes I'm a VZW hater)
What was the question?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol, I agree 100%. I can simply disable gMail and Calculator, the only 2 APPs pre-installed on my Pixel 2 XL that I don't need. I use Inbox by Google for eMails and a Calculator Widget for that. Aside from the EmojiOne and CenterClock, I don't even dark-theme anymore, especially not on this device with the "black crush" all the OLEDs have an issue with. I was rooted fro KCal, but am finding the Boosted setting works just fine and oddly my Blue Tint has weakened since my first few days where it was really bad. Almost like the display is wearing in and getting better? It's still there, but just not as much as that first fresh opening, so warming up the display isn't needed much for me now either.
I like to see where people's heads are at with each device, and this is one the extra input is nice to read.

I'm actually on the fence about rooting. Just received my phone this weekend and I can't decide. Going to unlock bootloader before fully setting up, but I have been playing with it a little. I've always rooted and ran custom ROMs as well as adaway. With PureNexus on my N6 I stopped flashing for over a year except the occasional ROM update. I simply like Android in it's simplest form.

I will always root, no matter what. The only downside is like you said, having to mess with getting OTAs in an unnatural way. However, seeing as how I flash all factory images, I get them sooner than those waiting on an OTA to hit their phone. Plus once you have all the tools ready to go, it literally only takes a few minutes to flash an update.
I always root because I usually run stock. And while stock on a Pixel 2 XL is damn near close to perfection, it will never be what "I" consider perfect. Which means I have to mess with the /system files to get things "perfect." I've modded the stock launcher, which I couldn't do if I was rooted. I've switched out fonts. I've changed the navbar, status bar, and quick settings. And of course, there's always AdAway which requires root. Granted some of those things can be achieved with third party apps, but I'd rather get it done "internally" whenever possible.

I used to have it for years, then more and more companies (Google and banks) made their apps check for root, and I tired of the cat and mouse game with SuperSU and Magisk. So I unrooted over a year ago. Didn't miss it at all until yesterday, when I wanted to do something with Tasker that requires root. But what I wanted to do falls into the category of "it would be nice" as opposed to "I have/need to do this", so I remain unrooted. I haven't really missed it much.

I am stuck without root since I have the Verizon model which was given to me free from work so I cannot complain too much. I have always rooted and messed with ROMs. The only thing I would need root for with the 2 XL is ad blocking with Chrome. I am trying the Samsung browser and ABP which work pretty well together.
If I didn't have the noise cancellation mic issue on my 6P I think I would have given up root a long time ago...

I rotate between stock and rooted daily lol
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

I am sort of glad I found this thread. I'm not a XDA regular but I've been following root guides from here since my Razr Mazz HD. I chose the Pixel in part for the ease of getting root and for Project Fi. Now that I have the phone, I'm not sure I want to root. I've never had a phone with quick updates before. I LOVE AdAway, but is it really worth the tradeoff? AdGuard is just as good if you don't use your VPN slot but if you DO use a VPN and need it.... not rooting forces me to choose between PIA and AdGuard. But do I even need a VPN anymore with Project Fi? Probably... Firefox with uBlock works pretty well too but doesn't work on apps. Oh the decisions.

Ruraltech said:
I am sort of glad I found this thread. I'm not a XDA regular but I've been following root guides from here since my Razr Mazz HD. I chose the Pixel in part for the ease of getting root and for Project Fi. Now that I have the phone, I'm not sure I want to root. I've never had a phone with quick updates before. I LOVE AdAway, but is it really worth the tradeoff? AdGuard is just as good if you don't use your VPN slot but if you DO use a VPN and need it.... not rooting forces me to choose between PIA and AdGuard. But do I even need a VPN anymore with Project Fi? Probably... Firefox with uBlock works pretty well too but doesn't work on apps. Oh the decisions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you like it the way it is, then I'd just leave it. It's a great device on stock. However, having root, AdAway, TiBu, kernels, and mods, is a lot of fun as well. As long as you know adb and fastboot fairly well, rooting and flashing monthly updates is pretty easy :good:

I was rooted from the get go!!

I'm going to try to live without root for a bit but already hating not having AdAway. I just know I won't keep up with updates if I have to do them. I sure wish AdAway didn't need root

Ruraltech said:
I am sort of glad I found this thread. I'm not a XDA regular but I've been following root guides from here since my Razr Mazz HD. I chose the Pixel in part for the ease of getting root and for Project Fi. Now that I have the phone, I'm not sure I want to root. I've never had a phone with quick updates before. I LOVE AdAway, but is it really worth the tradeoff? AdGuard is just as good if you don't use your VPN slot but if you DO use a VPN and need it.... not rooting forces me to choose between PIA and AdGuard. But do I even need a VPN anymore with Project Fi? Probably... Firefox with uBlock works pretty well too but doesn't work on apps. Oh the decisions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not regretting going back to stock from rooted as the only things I no longer have is center clock and emojione, which I 'could' get using Andromeda / Substratum but heard you have to reconnect to the computer anytime you reboot the phone and decided that's just not worth it for me. I am interested in ad blocking if possible without Root for Chrome. Only Ads that get in my way are via "News" and articles I touch from the Google Feed. Sadly many lately are blatant click-bait, page-hopping crap and slideshows that I refuse to go past the first page on.
Edit: Well, just ran across something known as DNS66 and have that up and running without Root and sure enough, it's blocking Ads on everything, even in Chrome without issue.

sharkie405 said:
I will always root, no matter what. The only downside is like you said, having to mess with getting OTAs in an unnatural way. However, seeing as how I flash all factory images, I get them sooner than those waiting on an OTA to hit their phone. Plus once you have all the tools ready to go, it literally only takes a few minutes to flash an update.
I always root because I usually run stock. And while stock on a Pixel 2 XL is damn near close to perfection, it will never be what "I" consider perfect. Which means I have to mess with the /system files to get things "perfect." I've modded the stock launcher, which I couldn't do if I was rooted. I've switched out fonts. I've changed the navbar, status bar, and quick settings. And of course, there's always AdAway which requires root. Granted some of those things can be achieved with third party apps, but I'd rather get it done "internally" whenever possible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whats your few minute process? Do you only have a few apps to restore with data?

plisskenn said:
Whats your few minute process? Do you only have a few apps to restore with data?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flash without wiping data.

plisskenn said:
Whats your few minute process? Do you only have a few apps to restore with data?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See below. ?
jrbxx7 said:
Flash without wiping data.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using XDA Labs

First thing I did with my unlocked XL 2 was to unlock the bootloader. I then rooted once Magisk was available. I root so I can do pain-free full TiBu of my apps and for AdAway. Even though I have corporate email on my phone, the Magisk Hide bypasses their restrictions in the email app.
I'm actually kind of shocked we don't have more ROMs for this phone, though I'm not a Dev and don't know how complex it may be. If more Devs release custom ROMs, I'll be trying some out for sure.

I never buy android phone unless it's bootloader-unlockable and root-able
Too many handicap applied without root.
I hate dns/vpn based adblock, it cluttering my status bar and notification. So, yes, i need root for adaway,
Google limit Tethering frequency option for my country (No 5Ghz) so, yes, i need root to enable it,
I like the ability to background play youtube, and see youtube without ads, so yes, i root my phone for that. Sure, no root option is available, but lot of problem with google account cant sign in, and this and that.
I like the ability to use Brevent, Edge Sense Plus, Greenify etc without the need of plugging my phone to PC and do adb command. So, yes, i rooted my phone for that.
The phone will never be 100% yours, unless you have total control over anything inside it
So,
There's no way am back to stock. Especially with xposed working so well right now.

otonieru said:
I like the ability to background play youtube, and see youtube without ads, so yes, i root my phone for that. Sure, no root option is available, but lot of problem with google account cant sign in, and this and that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Assuming you are using Magisk, how did you get YouTube Red without subscribing? (You can PM me if you don't want to hijack this thread...)

New to Android and just Bought a Razer

Hey all. So as the title says, I'm new to Android, I've had an iPhone for like 10 years now and fancied a change. Bought the Razer on Monday and was wondering whats the benefits of Rooting the phone? As someone who used to Jailbreak the iPhone for tweaks etc, why should I root my phone? And is there any advice/help for making my phone better out of the box?

My main reason is to block ads, web and YouTube.
Oh by the way welcome to the dark side. Lol

If ads don't bother you i personally wouldn't bother with all the trouble

I root mainly because of xposed/gravity box and ads blocker

waiflih said:
I root mainly because of xposed/gravity box and ads blocker
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's that?

Root is not that hard. Go to this post scroll down to "Prebuilt boot image:" download the IMG and flash it.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=76062554&postcount=1

I use root for several different things.
1) Get rid of Ads
2) Grant extra rights to an app called MacroDroid (This app allows you to fully automate your phone through macros, like setting up a rule that says when the phone connects to my work wi-fi then it automatically will switch to vibrate only. This particular rule does not require root but there are extra functions granted by root that allow you to pretty much create whatever kind of rule you want to suit your life. It's a very powerful app and useful app.)
3) Get access to the true file structure (or root) of the phone allowing you to change undercover things if you know what you are doing.
4) I have another app called Social Contact Photo sync that needs root to match up my phone contacts with their Facebook photos.
5) I have an app called Tiles that allows you to change out and add a few extra buttons to the quick menu in the pulldown tray.
6) This is probably the most important one though, Titanium Backup. This should be the first app you install after getting root. Not only does it back up the apps and things on your phone but it also saves the data within those apps. So any custom settings and whatnot you have made in the apps will be saved. It also has many many more features, such as cloud saves to Dropbox or Google Drive.
Ultimately though the real point of Rooting is to grant you admin access to do whatever you want with it, just the way a PC is. You own it, so make it yours.

lostnsound said:
I use root for several different things.
1) Get rid of Ads
2) Grant extra rights to an app called MacroDroid (This app allows you to fully automate your phone through macros, like setting up a rule that says when the phone connects to my work wi-fi then it automatically will switch to vibrate only. This particular rule does not require root but there are extra functions granted by root that allow you to pretty much create whatever kind of rule you want to suit your life. It's a very powerful app and useful app.)
3) Get access to the true file structure (or root) of the phone allowing you to change undercover things if you know what you are doing.
4) I have another app called Social Contact Photo sync that needs root to match up my phone contacts with their Facebook photos.
5) I have an app called Tiles that allows you to change out and add a few extra buttons to the quick menu in the pulldown tray.
6) This is probably the most important one though, Titanium Backup. This should be the first app you install after getting root. Not only does it back up the apps and things on your phone but it also saves the data within those apps. So any custom settings and whatnot you have made in the apps will be saved. It also has many many more features, such as cloud saves to Dropbox or Google Drive.
Ultimately though the real point of Rooting is to grant you admin access to do whatever you want with it, just the way a PC is. You own it, so make it yours.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome. That's very helpful and sounds like I'll be doing that then! One note, should I force the Oreo update first or leave it?

askylitangel said:
Awesome. That's very helpful and sounds like I'll be doing that then! One note, should I force the Oreo update first or leave it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you wanna try rooting i recommend you to back up your ohone ir sync it with google, then download the factory images of razer,
From here you can flash the factory images of oreo and have your phone factory reset, then from there set up your phone.
Oh to use the factiry images, you need to unlock your bootloader.

IM in the same boat, ive only ever owned iPhones going back to the 3GS the RazerPhone is my 1st Android phone too slowely getting use to it however the only problems i have is with lack of secuirty and OS updates that we are use to on Apple devices

iliais347 said:
If you wanna try rooting i recommend you to back up your ohone ir sync it with google, then download the factory images of razer,
From here you can flash the factory images of oreo and have your phone factory reset, then from there set up your phone.
Oh to use the factiry images, you need to unlock your bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So how do I go about doing that?

There's always a guide
https://forum.xda-developers.com/razer-phone/how-to/guide-to-unlocking-bootloader-t3706462
Please be aware that unlocking your phone will delete all data so backup pictures etc

SeriousFlash said:
There's always a guide
https://forum.xda-developers.com/razer-phone/how-to/guide-to-unlocking-bootloader-t3706462
Please be aware that unlocking your phone will delete all data so backup pictures etc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So is it worth waiting on 3 to push the Oreo update? (I'm from UK) or should I unlock the bootloader and force the update?

If you want to root your phone just go for the unlocking and debranding your phone to get Oreo and the easy root.
If you don't want to root then wait for three I would say since Oreo doesn't bring too much new stuff besides autofill in apps and better Dolby Atmos
The guides are all pretty straight forward and if something goes wrong you can always flash the recovery images

SeriousFlash said:
If you want to root your phone just go for the unlocking and debranding your phone to get Oreo and the easy root.
If you don't want to root then wait for three I would say since Oreo doesn't bring too much new stuff besides autofill in apps and better Dolby Atmos
The guides are all pretty straight forward and if something goes wrong you can always flash the recovery images
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome. Thank you so much! If I get lost you're the first person I'll ask for help aha

I should probs ask. But once it's rooted what do I do next? Like to block ads etc

Block Ads without a constantly running process by modifying the HOSTS file, OS Tweaks (L Speed, HEBF Optimizer, ect.), Better Customization (Substratum), more features you can use, Hack games with Game Gaurdian (Useful in games like City Racing 3D where you can hack the IAPs to get them free, because $100 for one car is too expensive), Bypass regional or device restrictions on the Play Store by spoofing a different devices specs.... and for my favorite root ability, ViPER Audio (Nothing sounds as near as good, not even Dolby Atmos)!
The list goes on and on... I love root. Most devices I use I root. However rooting voids your warranty. Also some devices have better development and are more stable, the Razer Phone is still new so it may be a while longer before we have more ROM options with root.
There are two types of root. System and Systemless (Recommended, especially for new users since a factory reset will often undo changes you made that may of bricked your phone when something went wrong)

FanboyStudios said:
Block Ads without a constantly running process by modifying the HOSTS file, OS Tweaks (L Speed, HEBF Optimizer, ect.), Better Customization (Substratum), more features you can use, Hack games with Game Gaurdian (Useful in games like City Racing 3D where you can hack the IAPs to get them free, because $100 for one car is too expensive), Bypass regional or device restrictions on the Play Store by spoofing a different devices specs.... and for my favorite root ability, ViPER Audio (Nothing sounds as near as good, not even Dolby Atmos)!
The list goes on and on... I love root. Most devices I use I root. However rooting voids your warranty. Also some devices have better development and are more stable, the Razer Phone is still new so it may be a while longer before we have more ROM options with root.
There are two types of root. System and Systemless (Recommended, especially for new users since a factory reset will often undo changes you made that may of bricked your phone when something went wrong)
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That sounds amazing tbh. Is there a tutorial for the systemless? And how would one go about installing the "add-ons" so to speak?

askylitangel said:
That sounds amazing tbh. Is there a tutorial for the systemless? And how would one go about installing the "add-ons" so to speak?
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Personally I would wait until there's more development and things are more stable... but if you so ask...
First you should get TWRP. https://forum.xda-developers.com/razer-phone/development/twrp-razer-phone-t3727333 After installing, back everything up to your microSD card. Then you need to install Magisk (This is the systemless root, I usually myself don't use systemless root and I prefer system root as I'm more careful and I want some of my changes to stay even after a factory reset). After that, you may get Magisk modules which add functionality and use some root apps.

Just a quick note, it does seem like there are some minor bugs with the Oreo update on the Razer.
Me and my gf have matching razers and both our phones have stopped syncing voicemails to our dialer and our dialers keep crashing.
We have also had a problem with the phone becoming entirely unresponsive even to force power off and after about 5 minutes the OS would crash and reboot then it would be fine.
This all seems to be a bug within Oreo, the only other phone to ahve the update seems to be the Pixel phones and they seem to be reporting similar issues.
I never had these issues prior to the update and we have both had these phones since day one (very awesome phone by the way regardless of the issues).