Develop Bugs

[Q] Sense on different DPI?

Having such a big screen, but having it on 240dip is just a waste for me. And I love the new Sense especially the notifications bar. And just the whole feel of a Sense rom including the messages app and the smart dialer. I don't need the sense homescreen as I use ADW.
But When I lower my DPI to 170 roughly, then I can't link contacts and pretty much all the HTC apps screw up at some point. Was wondering if there was any workaround.
BTW, I need 170DPI because I have a 6x6 homescreen

bump........

I have never had as many scaling problems when changing the DPI as I've had in this phone!
I use the CM7 Nightly's as Sense looks rubbish on anything other than 240, and theres no way I'm using 240.
I used to have a Dell Streak and it scaled everything perfectly from 100-260 DPI. I don't understand why the DHD won't do it, and no one ever seems to give a straight answer.
Even on a non Sense build you still get scaling problems when using a DPI other than 240. There even seems to be problems when using 240DPI! Unfortunately I dont have any screenshots but if I ever come accross it again I'll take some.
Currently I'm using CM7 with a 190DPI. It all depends on the apps you use that won't scale porperly.
You just have to use trial and error. For example you may try 200DPI and there might be 3 apps that dont scale correctly, so you change to 205DPI and you find 2 of the apps scale correctly but then another one pops up that doesn't! The big one for me was the Facebook app, which scales perfectly at 190DPI but not at others.
Take the Facebook app for example (these DPIs are just an example), It won't scale properly at 120-139 but it will scale properly from 140-149, then it wont scale from 150-179 but will from 180-189, then it wont scale from 190-219 but will scale properly from 220-249. There does seem to be some kind of pattern. I guess if you were really anal you could make up a chart of DPIs and apps and tick which apps scale on which DPIs so you could make a good comprimise.
But if you DEFINATELY must have Sense, then I can only presume you'll have to keep at 240DPI.

How to Change The Resolution of Your Phone / A Must if You Have Root!

So it has been mentioned throughout a lot of threads but I figured I would give a step by step and overview for the people who do not know about this or are unsure what it means and does. You must be rooted to use this.
When you compare our phones to a phone that has a qHD display you will see that the qHD display will have smaller text and will allow you to view more on the screen at one time then our WVGA screen allows. Well this is how you can even the playing field and view your phone like it was a qHD or even a 720p screen.
No more super large text like your phone was built for the blind. Also, a great feature if you use an alternate launcher you can set the screen to 5x5 or even 6x6 depending on the resolution you pick.
You will need the 2 apps from below.
First you need to install busybox. Download the app and then open it. From there it will ask you to install. Just choose okay for all the defaults and don't change anything.
https://market.android.com/details?...t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsInN0ZXJpY3Nvbi5idXN5Ym94Il0.
Next app is lcd resolution. This is where you change the resolution.
https://market.android.com/details?...NvbS53ZW1vYnMuYW5kcm9pZC5sY2RyZXNvbHV0aW9uIl0.
There are 2 settings I use, 200 which is almost identical to qhd. qHD is 960x540 and the app allows you to set it at 960x576. You can also set it at 160 which is 720p. You can use all the settings in-between as well but I stick to these 2. You can do your own testing and see what works best for you. Make sure when testing that you do not click save on boot in case your Rom does not play nice with that resolution. I have found that 200 works almost everything but 160 can be a little more tricky, especially with certain themes. You top bar will be all blurry. A reset will put you back to stock if your Rom does not like the resolution as long as you did not click set on boot.
By doing this hack, TW launcher will not play nice so you must use an alternative. All other launchers will work. The stock dialer will also not work. You can use Go contacts, dialer one or Ex Dialer. They all look and function great. You will also need an alternate calendar and calculator app. Their are a ton to choose from.
When setting your system to 200, you might encounter an error message saying certain apps are not compatible with your phone in the market. This is because this setting while close to qhd is not exactly the same resolution so the market app does not think is is compatible as it is not a standard resolution. There are 2 ways around this. You can install the app through Amazon market as it does not know the resolution you are running on your phone or you can switch back to stock (240) then clear market data and you can download the app. Then switch back to 200. This won't happen with every app as a lot will still download when st to 200.
When running at 160 (720p) you will not have this issue in the market as this is a native resolution of Android and is recognized by every app.
I think that covers it all for now and I cannot imagine going back to a WVGA resolution as it looks sooooooo much better running at a near qhd res.
Below are 2 picks showing the difference. One is stock, one is set to 200 (qhd) and the other to 160 (720p).
Stock (240)
qHD (200)
720p (160)

I like 720p. Also, you can edit your build.prop manually and modify:
ro.sf.lcd_density=240
Does anyone know how to modify a theme to make it work with this?

bertm13 said:
I like 720p. Also, you can edit your build.prop manually and modify:
ro.sf.lcd_density=240
Does anyone know how to modify a theme to make it work with this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah TW theme built for 720p setting would be a keeper.

bertm13 said:
I like 720p. Also, you can edit your build.prop manually and modify:
ro.sf.lcd_density=240
Does anyone know how to modify a theme to make it work with this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That works as well but the app makes it much quicker to jump between resolutions then having to edit the file.

When i changed it with LCD density the resolution changed but there was lots of space under the home screen # indicator, can you do a shot of your home screen and wallpaper to see what it looks like?

xlGmanlx said:
When i changed it with LCD density the resolution changed but there was lots of space under the home screen # indicator, can you do a shot of your home screen and wallpaper to see what it looks like?
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Click to collapse
you can't use Touchwiz. Need another launcher, and dialer. On some roms the camera and music apps break too if you go too low (like 720p), likely others.

I am confused, if the resolution can be improved via software, then how come the manufacturers are not doing it, what is the catch?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

kingsway8605 said:
I am confused, if the resolution can be improved via software, then how come the manufacturers are not doing it, what is the catch?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was going to take issue with OP's terminology but decided to not be 'that guy'...
...but here we are.
This doesn't actually change the resolution of the panel at all. You always have the same amount of pixels. Period. All this does is scale the UI. at a screen density of 160 our screen will display things at the size that a 720p screen of identical size would display them. However we lose detail on fonts whereas a 720p screen would have the same amount of detail at 160 as we would at 240....roughly. If you can live with smaller and slightly blocky fonts, go for it.
I can. It's awesome.
another confusing but interesting tidbit: LCD Pixels are made up of red green and blue subpixels. Our panel and the 720p Galaxy Nexus panel have an identical amount of subpixels. But the 720p panel achieves a higher resolution by using less subpixels for each pixel. That is why it is said to have a "pentile" display, as each pixel is composed an arrangement of 5 sub-pixels whereas we have 12 sub-pixels for each pixel. This also explains why 800x480 (WVGA) "pentile" panels look like crap...err...ahem...receive so much criticism. (See: motorola displays)
EDIT: Also, more sub-pixels per pixel means better 'sub-pixel hinting'...which is an effect used to enhance text on LCD panels. The fact that we have so many sub-pixels is probably the only reason why we can pull this off. Of course I'm assuming that android takes advantage of subpixels.

Just a reminder to everyone to nandroid before doing anything like this;
My phone won't boot after doing this. I can get into CWM, but anytime I try to reboot it gets stuck in a loop at the Sprint / 4g animation. I suspect it has something to do with busybox installation but who knows.
I did NOT have the "Set on Boot" selected in the LCD density app. I think I already had busybox support... maybe trying to install the market busybox app borked something.
Anyhoo... always do a nandroid, kids!

As Dan mentioned, it does not actually change the resolution in the true sense but for the purpose of this thread I didn't get into that detail.
I think our screens look 10x better then the Evo 3d and the photon screens when our screens are set to WVGA compared to their qhd display. This only makes it better. With a screen this large it only makes sense to shrink things down to get more on the screen.
Now the Galaxy Nexus screen, I am expecting that to be a killer screen.

Ok thanks, it was leaving like choke real estate under the page number on the screens, I actually like Touchwiz but thanks for the heads up
daneurysm said:
you can't use Touchwiz. Need another launcher, and dialer. On some roms the camera and music apps break too if you go too low (like 720p), likely others.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

xlGmanlx said:
Ok thanks, it was leaving like choke real estate under the page number on the screens, I actually like Touchwiz but thanks for the heads up
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think if we could yank touchwiz off of a Galaxy Note it would do 720p (160) and if not whatever the density setting is on the Galaxy Note would make it fit perfectly.
As far as I've seen, touchwiz isn't ingrained in Android at all. I could be wrong, but, it seems like just a launcher. It's nothing like Sense which has it's big fat tentacles way up Android's ass.
...though I'm not a fan of Touchwiz, so, it really doesn't bother me at all. It's not that I hate touchwiz--I was actually astonished to find how nice it was after all of the Sense-o-philes bashed the crap out of it--I just love me some Launcher Pro and/or ADWex, depending on the time of day....though every now and then I throw on Launcher7 for giggles.

I think you are right on all accounts. I actually like its styling (well with ICS + ICS Twist) but the fact that the launcher is hardware accelerated is too much to give up
daneurysm said:
I think if we could yank touchwiz off of a Galaxy Note it would do 720p (160) and if not whatever the density setting is on the Galaxy Note would make it fit perfectly.
As far as I've seen, touchwiz isn't ingrained in Android at all. I could be wrong, but, it seems like just a launcher. It's nothing like Sense which has it's big fat tentacles way up Android's ass.
...though I'm not a fan of Touchwiz, so, it really doesn't bother me at all. It's not that I hate touchwiz--I was actually astonished to find how nice it was after all of the Sense-o-philes bashed the crap out of it--I just love me some Launcher Pro and/or ADWex, depending on the time of day....though every now and then I throw on Launcher7 for giggles.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

xlGmanlx said:
I think you are right on all accounts. I actually like its styling (well with ICS + ICS Twist) but the fact that the launcher is hardware accelerated is too much to give up
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Click to collapse
Has this been verified? I stopped caring about it once I got LP/ADW up and running and it seems supernaturally smooth. Though I have to admit that the transition to the app drawer in TW is phenomenally smooth...aside from that, though, I don't really see it.
...and if only TW is hardware accelerated that must be via an API. Samsung proprietary? Considering the popularity of the SGS2 worldwide I'd imagine there would have to be another launcher that would take advantage of these hooks.
Honestly if we do, in fact, have hardware acceleration (and I believe we do) why wouldn't that be system wide? Once you go into settings you are out of the launcher and if anyone remembers Cupcake or Donut holy crap was that a painful experience for what was at the time super fast 528-800mhz phones (g1/hero and moment).

this is a great find I think, I really like the tight resolution, not too keen on having to change the type of launcher either
Has anyone noticed the jacked up notification on the notification bar?
And too bad there's not a way to make the dialer and home screens fit the screen now!
Thanks for the hint

Tried this at 160 using go launcher on starburst 1.9.8r with the beta ICS theme and it looked great except the status bar was screwed up. Do you think it might be the theme or rom?

psych2l said:
Tried this at 160 using go launcher on starburst 1.9.8r with the beta ICS theme and it looked great except the status bar was screwed up. Do you think it might be the theme or rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Was it a theme you added on to the Rom? If so, you can try it without the theme.
I am running Calk's 1.5a Rom and it works at 160 by itself, with the honey theme and the ICS mixup theme as well...

Tried it at 200 but didn't like how it screwed the dialer up and went back to 240.

tenaciousj said:
Tried it at 200 but didn't like how it screwed the dialer up and went back to 240.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Download GoContacts, it comes with GoDialer. Both better than stock apps and free and work at any density.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using XDA App

Anyone figure out a way to replicate a true qHD resolution? Being that it is a little off you get the apps not compatible message in the market. If you were able to replicate the exact res like 720p does you would not get that message.

What dpi are you running?

I was wondering what dpi everybody is running. Currently I am running stock but was wondering if there is a good dpi level everybody is using that gives more space and does not cause force closes.
Sent from my SM-N900T using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

400. No problems with FC on any DPI in the past.
However it does mess with a lot of apps. To fix this you need the Xposed framework and an app called App Settings.
I've dialed it down to 320, sure makes things TINY but love the extra real estate. 480 on this phone is huge, reminds me of the folks running 800x600 on 21" monitors!

cpufrost said:
400. No problems with FC on any DPI in the past.
However it does mess with alot of apps. To fix this you need the Xposed framework and an app called App Settings.
I've dialed it down to 320, sure makes things TINY but love the extra real estate. 480 on this phone is huge, reminds me of the folks running 800x600 on 21" monitors!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
400 sounds pretty high to me. i haven't rooted my N3 yet so i cant change my DPI but on my N2 i was running 280 and it seemed perfect to me. Thats what ill use on my N3

320, and I think it makes things look normal. I put it at 220 in per-app DPI and that was tiny. 320 on the Note 3 is comparable to 220 on the Note 1 which was what I always set my Note 1 to (ran it at 200 for a while even to get the Nexus 7 style tablet UI). I use per-app DPI to set the dialer and camera and other Samsung apps back to stock since they get distorted at 320dpi.
Edit: You realize the N1/N2 and N3 are not comparable in dpi right? The increased resolution means to get N2 280dpi you'll likely need 380-400. 280dpi on N3 is getting pretty small. N1 220 compares roughly to N3 320.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using xda app-developers app

rlee008 said:
400 sounds pretty high to me. i haven't rooted my N3 yet so i cant change my DPI but on my N2 i was running 280 and it seemed perfect to me. Thats what ill use on my N3
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Click to collapse
It's a 1080 display, 320 is definitely the lowest I'd go!
280 would definitely be small.
320 on 720 devices such as the Note II look about the same as 480 on the Note 3, in my experience.
Nice thing is it's easy to change in build.prop.

I like 360. Its a nice round number... Puns aside, I really do like this dpi.
That or 380
Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

Thanks for the replies. Okay so if I set it somewhere around 360 to 400 I will have no problems with system ui only apps that I will have to adjust with app settings module? Would I have to go into each one and adjust or adjust all at once. I have a lot of apps. Also what is the stock dpi set at? To change it I would edit it under build prop using rom toolbox?
Was wondering if you guys could post screen shots to get a better idea.
Sent from my SM-N900T using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

circuit.007 said:
Thanks for the replies. Okay so if I set it somewhere around 360 to 400 I will have no problems with system ui only apps that I will have to adjust with app settings module? Would I have to go into each one and adjust or adjust all at once. I have a lot of apps. Also what is the stock dpi set at? To change it I would edit it under build prop using rom toolbox?
Was wondering if you guys could post screen shots to get a better idea.
Sent from my SM-N900T using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you use app settings you can fix issues with programs not displaying correctly OR just looking too small...
Default is 480 in build.prop.
I use root explorer, open the system folder R/W and click and hold build.prop and select open with, text editor. Make changes and it will save original as build.prop.bak. Reboot to see changes.
I can post a screen shot of the settings used in app settings. Once you get the hang of this you can adjust as you wish. With some apps I prefer to use a slightly different DPI in app settings so it's not as big as it would appear at 480 yet not as tiny as it would appear at 320. That's the nice thing as you can pick anywhere in between for a balance that suits your needs/wants.
Furthermore, all these settings will be saved/backed up if you use Titantium Backup to back up your device. That's a good thing if you're a flashaholic like I tend to be!

ignore this post please, i posted in wrong thread

cpufrost said:
If you use app settings you can fix issues with programs not displaying correctly OR just looking too small...
Default is 480 in build.prop.
I use root explorer, open the system folder R/W and click and hold build.prop and select open with, text editor. Make changes and it will save original as build.prop.bak. Reboot to see changes.
I can post a screen shot of the settings used in app settings. Once you get the hang of this you can adjust as you wish. With some apps I prefer to use a slightly different DPI in app settings so it's not as big as it would appear at 480 yet not as tiny as it would appear at 320. That's the nice thing as you can pick anywhere in between for a balance that suits your needs/wants.
Furthermore, all these settings will be saved/backed up if you use Titantium Backup to back up your device. That's a good thing if you're a flashaholic like I tend to be!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Globally I use default settings but I like to adjust the dpi for certain apps using App Settings. For example, for some apps I like a tablet look to them which can be achieved sometimes. Notablly this can be done with gmail app. In this case I set dpi to 320 and screen dp to 800x1280. Here is a screen shot. Maybe not for everybody but I like it.

I personally use 400 for most apps except for media player style apps as the large button interfaces help for use on the go.
That said, do you guys have issues with the gallery photo editor app and other apps that display pictures using stock libraries (or so I'm guessing) where the picture is zoomed and cropped where you cannot see the whole pic even if you try to zoom out?
So far the google gallery photo editor, the samsung photo editor and ES file explorer all have the same problem for all DPIs other than 480 applied globally or specifically to "Android System".
Even if I set the photo editors to 480, as long as the "Android System" package is not 480 the pictures will be cropped.
Thanks

mscion said:
Globally I use default settings but I like to adjust the dpi for certain apps using App Settings. For example, for some apps I like a tablet look to them which can be achieved sometimes. Notablly this can be done with gmail app. In this case I set dpi to 320 and screen dp to 800x1280. Here is a screen shot. Maybe not for everybody but I like it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you change your dp (i assume that's the resolution) to 800x1200? I already did the global DPI change to 400, but I want to see how that resolution looks for myself.

Techngro said:
How did you change your dp (i assume that's the resolution) to 800x1200? I already did the global DPI change to 400, but I want to see how that resolution looks for myself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi. I'm just using the xposed module called App Settings. In the screen shot you can see where I change the dpi for the gmail app and the screen dp. There are a set of dp you choose from. Some make a difference and other settings don't seem to have an effect. Might want to do a back up before trying. Sometimes a bad selection can cause problems when booting up. Hope it works out!

I run almost everything at 340, as 320 is just a little too small for me. For the Samsung apps (that I haven't removed), I either use ones modded for multi-dpi from the International Note 3, or ones that I have modded myself, at 320. I don't think I have anything that still runs at the stock 480. Having a screen this size, but with everything blown up that large just seems like an incredibly bad utilization of space to me...
Sent from my SM-N900T using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

does anyone know how to make it so that your keyboard won't shrink? I use SwiftKey and though you can make it bigger it's not big enough and of you try using app settings it messes with it and turns out all bonky. I want to go down to something like 400 but the keyboard gets a tad small.

Screen Density

Has anyone changed theirs yet? If so, what to? It's set at 640 and I think everything is too large, almost comically so.

sabret00the said:
Has anyone changed theirs yet? If so, what to? It's set at 640 and I think everything is too large, almost comically so.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
u can change density from build.prop. Find the line ro_lcd_density=640. change the value according to your convenience. well, i hav tried this in many AOSP roms.

arunoday said:
u can change density from build.prop. Find the line ro_lcd_density=640. change the value according to your convenience. well, i hav tried this in many AOSP roms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was hoping a few people had tried and could recommend a density.

From my experience LG's system doesn't like global density changing (especially with kitkat). The best solution is to use Xposed framework and App Settings module (v1.9<) to change selected apps.

sabret00the said:
Has anyone changed theirs yet? If so, what to? It's set at 640 and I think everything is too large, almost comically so.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I used the app "textdroider_dpi" to change my G2's dpi from 480 to 400.
I was comfortable with this value and it's -17% change. Thus, I changed my G3's dpi from 640 to 530. Works great for me.
Now the amazing thing about G3 is that the dialer and cam works with this dpi change too. No need to use Xposed app settings to specify stock dpi on these apps :good:

MasK said:
I used the app "textdroider_dpi" to change my G2's dpi from 480 to 400.
I was comfortable with this value and it's -17% change. Thus, I changed my G3's dpi from 640 to 530. Works great for me.
Now the amazing thing about G3 is that the dialer and cam works with this dpi change too. No need to use Xposed app settings to specify stock dpi on these apps :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
530 is really nice, feels like what it's supposed to be. Fonts seem a little off though.

sabret00the said:
530 is really nice, feels like what it's supposed to be. Fonts seem a little off though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The font size can be changed in the settings to preference. Also, if you're using a 3rd-party launcher like Nova, you can change the grid and icon size to compensate

MasK said:
The font size can be changed in the settings to preference. Also, if you're using a 3rd-party launcher like Nova, you can change the grid and icon size to compensate
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True, but I think there's probably a sweet spot for me around 590 as 530 makes the phone feel like a phablet.

Setting natural DPI Setting

Hello guys,
I bought a new Wileyfox Swift and I'm really curious what dpi setting setting is the natural/standard one for a 5 " Display , especially for the wileyfox swift. It is said that the display has a natural of 296 ppi. which DPI Setting should I use in Cyanogen OS ? The standard of 320 DPI or a value near the natural ppi of the display? 300 DPI or less? I just want a setting the fit's the standard.
Does this value or setting has impact on other things or only the scale of things on screen?
Again, should the cyanogen os standard value of DPI be set near the standard PPI value of the smartphone display`?
thanks in advance for all helpful answers.

That is a neat little option.
Usually it affects the size of items which can be displayed. Depending on the apps you use, you'll find that their appearance and subtle part of functionality on the UX side will change a bit. Some layouts are available only for certain DPI settings. Play around with it and choose your favourite. With lower DPI you can get a bit more screen estate for content- text, icons, etc.
The difference between 300 vs 320 DPI is mostly unnoticeable. As you are looking for the natural look, you can leave it as either of the two. You can try with lower values as well. It is possible to have some problems here and there if you use DPI that is largely different than on the device (something like 240).

Pak0St said:
That is a neat little option.
Usually it affects the size of items which can be displayed. Depending on the apps you use, you'll find that their appearance and subtle part of functionality on the UX side will change a bit. Some layouts are available only for certain DPI settings. Play around with it and choose your favourite. With lower DPI you can get a bit more screen estate for content- text, icons, etc.
The difference between 300 vs 320 DPI is mostly unnoticeable. As you are looking for the natural look, you can leave it as either of the two. You can try with lower values as well. It is possible to have some problems here and there if you use DPI that is largely different than on the device (something like 240).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much I guess I should consider a mental doctor because I'm switching from 300 to 320 and back several times a day lol. Some applications looking better with 300 but 320 looks more clear?!?
Anyway, appreciate you took your time to answer and I guess I'll keep the 300..... Or?.... Wow... Hard decision lol.

Take a look in this thread:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/xpo...2014-05-14-t2437377/post63835421#post63835421
I haven't tried this Xposed module to change the DPI on per-app basis. If you are on CyanogenMod instead of CyanogenOS, it is definitely worth a look.
Best case scenario- you won't change the DPI for the entire system and restart each time