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I am seriously concerned about this new 4.3 firmware that includes CarrierIQ spyware crap? I don't see much discussion about it, am I the only one that is really upset about this or am I over reacting?
D0T-C0M said:
I am seriously concerned about this new 4.3 firmware that includes CarrierIQ spyware crap? I don't see much discussion about it, am I the only one that is really upset about this or am I over reacting?
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Is it still present in AT&T builds? I know it's inactive in Canadian builds and IIRC it's there on TMO.
I just don't really care as long as they don't share what's on my phone with my wife...
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using xda app-developers app
polobunny said:
Is it still present in AT&T builds? I know it's inactive in Canadian builds and IIRC it's there on TMO.
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Not sure about the AT&T build but Its in the new JB4.3 canadian builds for ROGERS , BELL , TELUS and FIDO. Whether its active or not I really don't trust it being in my phone.
polobunny said:
I know it's inactive in Canadian builds and IIRC it's there on TMO.
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Click to collapse
How do you know its inactive? The post here shows it active. Maybe its just idling doing nothing but I wouldn't trust a 3rd party from another country to adhere to our privacy laws.
Voodoo Carrier IQ detector is an app in the play store by a developer named Supercurio. I remember using a lot of his work back in the Captivate days, so I would trust him. I'm not sure how accurate the app could be, and he even says that in the app description. worth a shot to see what it says though.
Edit: just ran it on mine (at&t) and it said it was not present.
D0T-C0M said:
Not sure about the AT&T build but Its in the new JB4.3 canadian builds for ROGERS , BELL , TELUS and FIDO. Whether its active or not I really don't trust it being in my phone.
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Click to collapse
D0T-C0M said:
How do you know its inactive? The post here shows it active. Maybe its just idling doing nothing but I wouldn't trust a 3rd party from another country to adhere to our privacy laws.
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Click to collapse
There's apps you can use to detect the files and if it's running. The post you linked/made to doesn't show it's active, it shows an intent. An intent has nothing to do whether it's running or not, simply that it's either installed or partially installed.
polobunny said:
The post you linked/made to doesn't show it's active, it shows an intent. An intent has nothing to do whether it's running or not, simply that it's either installed or partially installed.
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Well I'm no expert in all this so I'm trying to get some expert advice, I'm concerned because it wasn't in the firmware before and now it is. From what I've read the program is so encrusted in the OS that it acts somewhat like a rootkit. Certainly I can't be the only one concerned about this?
D0T-C0M said:
Well I'm no expert in all this so I'm trying to get some expert advice, I'm concerned because it wasn't in the firmware before and now it is. From what I've read the program is so encrusted in the OS that it acts somewhat like a rootkit. Certainly I can't be the only one concerned about this?
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I agree it would be concerning IF it was active, which it doesn't appear to be. I think we're just having remnants from the US builds (Sprint?) when the Canadian carriers stripped it from the ROM.
CRTC has a bit stricter policies on snooping on your users than the US has, so it be quite the drama if Carrier IQ suddenly ended up on Canadian phones.
polobunny said:
I agree it would be concerning IF it was active, which it doesn't appear to be. I think we're just having remnants from the US builds (Sprint?) when the Canadian carriers stripped it from the ROM.
CRTC has a bit stricter policies on snooping on your users than the US has, so it be quite the drama if Carrier IQ suddenly ended up on Canadian phones.
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Click to collapse
I've already contacted @openmedia_ca and they also are very concerned and told me they would look into it. I talked to FIDO support and they just contacted me indicating to me that they have contacted the manufacturer (samsung) as to why it was added to the latest firmware.
D0T-C0M said:
I've already contacted @openmedia_ca and they also are very concerned and told me they would look into it. I talked to FIDO support and they just contacted me indicating to me that they have contacted the manufacturer (samsung) as to why it was added to the latest firmware.
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Let's see if it gets you answers, although like I said it seems to be the only trace of Carrier IQ, so it really looks like they simply forgot to remove a bit.
polobunny said:
Let's see if it gets you answers, although like I said it seems to be the only trace of Carrier IQ, so it really looks like they simply forgot to remove a bit.
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Click to collapse
Hopefully they forgot to take it out and they will remove it.
D0T-C0M said:
Hopefully they forgot to take it out and they will remove it.
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Click to collapse
That's somewhat unlikely they'll issue an OTA only to remove left-over non-active parts if it's the case. Canadian providers are somewhat notorious for their sparse updates, which are (usually) simple US rom variants without the carrier bloat.
polobunny said:
That's somewhat unlikely they'll issue an OTA only to remove left-over non-active parts if it's the case. Canadian providers are somewhat notorious for their sparse updates, which are (usually) simple US rom variants without the carrier bloat.
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Your probably right.
BTW out of curiosity how do you know that the CIQ program is inactive? Is that confirmed or an educated guess?
D0T-C0M said:
Your probably right.
BTW out of curiosity how do you know that the CIQ program is inactive? Is that confirmed or an educated guess?
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Click to collapse
Educated guess.
CIQ leaves more than just 1 intent. There needs to be more, and so far the only thing I've seen shows an intent to a settings page that does not seem to work (can't launch it). Using "am" (Activity Manager) you can also see what services are running and it doesn't show anything related. You can also further check by looking at the apps pre-installed and nothing pops-out as out of the ordinary. Luckily our canadian phones are kinda stripped down of carrier bloat so that's an easy task.
To say it's like a "rootkit" is a bit overdoing it since it can technically be detected, it's just hiding from prying eyes as a background service. I don't agree with it, don't agree with what it's doing and I don't agree it should ever be on any phone and used the way it is because of the privacy breach though.
Edit: Also here's a long thread started by TrevE about CIQ. Lots of interesting information there.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1247108
polobunny said:
Educated guess.
CIQ leaves more than just 1 intent. There needs to be more, and so far the only thing I've seen shows an intent to a settings page that does not seem to work (can't launch it). Using "am" (Activity Manager) you can also see what services are running and it doesn't show anything related. You can also further check by looking at the apps pre-installed and nothing pops-out as out of the ordinary. Luckily our canadian phones are kinda stripped down of carrier bloat so that's an easy task.
To say it's like a "rootkit" is a bit overdoing it since it can technically be detected, it's just hiding from prying eyes as a background service. I don't agree with it, don't agree with what it's doing and I don't agree it should ever be on any phone and used the way it is because of the privacy breach though.
Edit: Also here's a long thread started by TrevE about CIQ. Lots of interesting information there.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1247108
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Many thanks for the long detailed reply.
One more reason for me to stay at 4.1.2
Sent from my Nexus 10 using xda app-developers app
Hello XDA. Long time lurker, 3rd time poster.
I recently got the Pixel 2 XL. Love the phone. Found something unusual and Google support didn't have an answer.
I was whitelisting some apps from inside PIA VPN as downloads won't work in many apps with the VPN on for some reason. As I was scrolling the list, I found two Verizon system files or apps that don't show up anywhere else. They aren't apps, or show up under processes in developer options. I imagine they would show up under titanium backup but I'm trying not to root so I can take advantage of monthly updates. I don't have Verizon, and I bought this phone from the Google web site. One is called vzw_multicast_mw and the other is called my Verizon services.
Does anyone else notice this? Does anyone know what these are? As I said, I have only used this phone on Project Fi. I can speculate all day but really I don't want them there. Support offered to replace my phone but I'm thinking every Pixel 2 has these files and I'm the only one that noticed. Can anyone else who is running a pixel 2 that's not or ever been on Verizon confirm/deny? I've included screenshots. I really want these gone. They might be sending analytics to Verizon.
Yes, AFAIK the base images include some amount of software from the big carriers that you can't get rid of. I'm on Verizon and also see vzw_multicast_mw and My Verizon Services, but also hidden apps "Sprint DM" and "Project Fi". There has been carrier-specific software included in the base images since at least the Nexus 6, maybe longer.
If you don't want to root I'm not sure there's much you can do about it. FWIW, it doesn't bother me.
Verizon snoopware?
I didn't see the Sprint stuff which is why I was concerned. It's not interfering with my phone that I can tell, or even that they are active. I was wondering if there was a Verizon/Google conspiracy here that Verizon manged to include snoopware on all Pixel phones. I guess I'm tired of the lack of transparency. It took 5 Google support staff before they finally gave up and offered me a replacement, which I don't think will actually matter. It's telling that their own support staff has no idea, though I shouldn't be surprised. They are probably trained to deal with end users, not phone nerds.
I'll probably give in and root eventually, but I've never owned a phone with monthly updates so I'm giving that a go. I guess I'll ignore them for now. Still would be interested to hear what exactly they are as I feel like so far this is all just a guess.
See here is the thing. All devices that are global will have all the needed carrier files for it to work. Verizon needs those files or the device won't work on their network
My GF recently inherited an older Galaxy S5 phone. The factory build only goes up to 6.0.1 and of course this phone hasn't been patched for Meltdown/Specter or any other recent security updates. The good news is that I understand this isn't much of a concern as long as all apps are downloaded and updated through the play store. She is an end-user, not a tinkerer. That is for me to do!
Here are my questions.
-What would be the main advantages of installing LineageOS for a very basic user? Would it improve security, performance, or battery life on the Galaxy S5?
-Will updates and bug fixes come in over the air much like they do for a supported factory OS or would I need to do these myself?
-Any apparent bugs in the most recent version?
-Would is be best to leave the phone as is since it is working and she is probably not really at risk for most of the security concerns?
I also have an older Galaxy S3 as well as some crappy Asus Zenfone 2E or something myself and would consider modding these if there was a benefit.
Thanks,
Conor
cwatkin said:
My GF recently inherited an older Galaxy S5 phone. The factory build only goes up to 6.0.1 and of course this phone hasn't been patched for Meltdown/Specter or any other recent security updates. The good news is that I understand this isn't much of a concern as long as all apps are downloaded and updated through the play store. She is an end-user, not a tinkerer. That is for me to do!
Here are my questions.
-What would be the main advantages of installing LineageOS for a very basic user? Would it improve security, performance, or battery life on the Galaxy S5?
-Will updates and bug fixes come in over the air much like they do for a supported factory OS or would I need to do these myself?
-Any apparent bugs in the most recent version?
-Would is be best to leave the phone as is since it is working and she is probably not really at risk for most of the security concerns?
I also have an older Galaxy S3 as well as some crappy Asus Zenfone 2E or something myself and would consider modding these if there was a benefit.
Thanks,
Conor
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My main motivation is not security, but privacy. With lineageOS I can avoid Google apps.
I doubt there are big advantages in other aspects.
Biggest security risk is still the user. The more power you have over the OS, the higher the risk.
Ota updates come in weekly. Need like four or five taps to get downloaded and installed.
For older phones lineageOS helps you in saving storage space, or get adopted SD storage.
I may try the Galaxy S3 first.
kurtn said:
My main motivation is not security, but privacy. With lineageOS I can avoid Google apps.
I doubt there are big advantages in other aspects.
Biggest security risk is still the user. The more power you have over the OS, the higher the risk.
Ota updates come in weekly. Need like four or five taps to get downloaded and installed.
For older phones lineageOS helps you in saving storage space, or get adopted SD storage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I may try this on my Galaxy S3 first and see what I think. This is a spare phone for me so it can be my guinea pig. I also have a Nexus 6 and see that is on the supported device list. I consider that my go-to if something were to happen to my Note 8 but might install this to get Oreo if it works out well on the S3. The Asus is not but this was probably sold as a cheap throwaway phone anyway. The storage is basically full from the get-go with useless apps.
I assume you can use the Google Play Store if you wish. There are Google Apps I would want like the play store and Hangouts, etc. I run my business off a Google Voice number that redirects to my cell phone number so would want Hangouts for sure. I know this can be a piece of junk but I use it.
Conor
cwatkin said:
I may try this on my Galaxy S3 first and see what I think. This is a spare phone for me so it can be my guinea pig. I also have a Nexus 6 and see that is on the supported device list. I consider that my go-to if something were to happen to my Note 8 but might install this to get Oreo if it works out well on the S3. The Asus is not but this was probably sold as a cheap throwaway phone anyway. The storage is basically full from the get-go with useless apps.
I assume you can use the Google Play Store if you wish. There are Google Apps I would want like the play store and Hangouts, etc. I run my business off a Google Voice number that redirects to my cell phone number so would want Hangouts for sure. I know this can be a piece of junk but I use it.
Conor
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you can use OpenGapps or similar to get apps from Goggle. Only thing she might miss if she uses them is the Samsung apps which won't install, but there are plenty alternatives, but transferring old data may be an issue.
cwatkin said:
I may try this on my Galaxy S3 first and see what I think. This is a spare phone for me so it can be my guinea pig. I also have a Nexus 6 and see that is on the supported device list. I consider that my go-to if something were to happen to my Note 8 but might install this to get Oreo if it works out well on the S3. The Asus is not but this was probably sold as a cheap throwaway phone anyway. The storage is basically full from the get-go with useless apps.
I assume you can use the Google Play Store if you wish. There are Google Apps I would want like the play store and Hangouts, etc. I run my business off a Google Voice number that redirects to my cell phone number so would want Hangouts for sure. I know this can be a piece of junk but I use it.
Conor
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I started custom ROM business with a broken display phone. After first success I bought the exactly same model for use as primary phone. I continued using the broken one as versuchskaninchen. Testing alternatives or trying to reproduce bugs with clean installation. That's the recommended method for reporting a bug.
Software support of s3 is not as good as nexus. I bought a used s3 because dev is working on bringing device drivers to Linux kernel. - not completed yet.
Most people use play app (in GApps package) to access play store. I use more privacy friendly open source alternatives. Only WhatsApp is a social standard in Germany. I get it from play store with an app called yalp.
I am not sure this would be best for my GF.
My GF is not technically inclined at all and does not like change. I have her phone setup and working well for her right now and figure that if she is happy, I should leave it alone. I might mess around with a spare phone though.
I had to basically pry the old and unsupported Windows 8 phone from her. My mom upgraded and gave her an old S5. The Nokia Lumia 635 was a solid phone but nothing was being updated and it had essentially become a phone for talking, texting, and a WIFI hotspot as support for all the apps was dropped.
I have never seen anything concrete about rooting a Nokia Lumia but these would be a fun project since they are basically useless. Her old phone was a Lumia 635.
Conor
Just out of curiosity. I know in most cases it isn't needed anymore but I've been on phones with locked BLs for about 3 years now so I might end up unlocking mine just to tinker around a little bit. Assuming we will be able to of course.
Right now I would say no - don't see a reason to. But I don't even know if I'll get this phone for sure I love tinkering with phones though. So on second thought If I do buy it, then I'll probably end up unlocking & rooting it at some point.
Root ofc, but who would need custom ROMs on a Pixel with 5 years of software updates?
xLexip said:
Root ofc, but who would need custom ROMs on a Pixel with 5 years of software updates?
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Click to collapse
True, I haven't been able to run a custom ROM in 3 or 4 years so I'm behind the times lol. Not sure if there are still any features left in ROMs that stock doesn't have. Some folks just like the feeling of being on something custom. But yeah, I can totally see people just rooting in current times for AdAway and stuff like that.
On this topic, any idea if we'll be able to root and unlock the bootloader since it'll be the new tensor chip? I'm asking because on Samsung devices I remember being able to unlock only the Exynos and not Snapdragon, and I may be asking something silly here. Thanks!
If possible to unlock new chip, then I will root this badboy! Happy Flashing
xLexip said:
Root ofc, but who would need custom ROMs on a Pixel with 5 years of software updates?
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Click to collapse
5 years of security updates, not software
This time I've said no but if there is a healthy custom scene then it will be a consideration.
The trade off will be having to see what we lose in unlocking the bootloader and rooting.
DinarQ8 said:
5 years of security updates, not software
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Security updates are also software updates imo.
And Google doesn't just merge the android revisions, they still push some tweaks and fixes afaik.
I will not. I retired my 3XL this spring because I got a free Note 20 Ultra. So no root on it. The only thing I was rooting for was ad blocking and with Brave the few ads I get in apps don't bother me.
With Magisk Hide gone away I don't want to lose my banking apps and such.
FWIW I hate Sammy's software. Drives me crazy.
If the security chip somehow doesn't make it much harder, then sure I'll continue with AdAway and some free tethering. Otherwise, I've made my peace with it. Will grit my teeth and deal with these VPN ad blockers.
TonikJDK said:
I will not. I retired my 3XL this spring because I got a free Note 20 Ultra. So no root on it. The only thing I was rooting for was ad blocking and with Brave the few ads I get in apps don't bother me.
With Magisk Hide gone away I don't want to lose my banking apps and such.
FWIW I hate Sammy's software. Drives me crazy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am in this same boat. I feel like I had a Google phone for years.. going from the Nexus line to Pixel and then have the 1XL, 2XL, 3XL and didn't continue to buy because they started making a mid-range device... well now they're back to making a high end phone, but I switched to the S21 Ultra.. Sammy software (One UI) I am not a fan of.. I do miss the simple and clean stock android software, but samsung/vzw has done a good job of getting me the monthly updates, the camera and phone in general is phenomenal.. will be hard to leave this phone especially with no magisk hide
TonikJDK said:
I will not. I retired my 3XL this spring because I got a free Note 20 Ultra. So no root on it. The only thing I was rooting for was ad blocking and with Brave the few ads I get in apps don't bother me.
With Magisk Hide gone away I don't want to lose my banking apps and such.
FWIW I hate Sammy's software. Drives me crazy.
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Click to collapse
Yeah I've been running Sammy devices the last 3-4 years waiting on Google to put out something like the P6. I'm so ready to get back on the Pixel train.
batpoil said:
On this topic, any idea if we'll be able to root and unlock the bootloader since it'll be the new tensor chip? I'm asking because on Samsung devices I remember being able to unlock only the Exynos and not Snapdragon, and I may be asking something silly here. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If it can be unlocked/rooted, then I plan to buy. If not, I'll have to reconsider. I realize nowadays there's smaller need to flash, but it's kinda a hobby of mine and I like being able to tinker with my device
darbylonia said:
If it can be unlocked/rooted, then I plan to buy. If not, I'll have to reconsider. I realize nowadays there's smaller need to flash, but it's kinda a hobby of mine and I like being able to tinker with my device
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Click to collapse
That's the XDA spirit!
znel52 said:
Just out of curiosity. I know in most cases it isn't needed anymore but I've been on phones with locked BLs for about 3 years now so I might end up unlocking mine just to tinker around a little bit. Assuming we will be able to of course.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I love to tinker too! Kills the boredom.
batpoil said:
On this topic, any idea if we'll be able to root and unlock the bootloader since it'll be the new tensor chip? I'm asking because on Samsung devices I remember being able to unlock only the Exynos and not Snapdragon, and I may be asking something silly here. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is one hell of a good question. Totally forgotten about the new chip!!
The only reason why I have flashed all my pixels was ad blocking. Nowadays, do you think DNS blocking like dns.adguard.com is good enough to achieve the same result or hosts based blocking is still the king?
I'm using Firefox with ublock origin, so that takes care of the websites, so there's just apps that remain.
Of course now Google is using it's own chip and it remains to be seen if it's a good thing or bad. Some people say it's a good thing, because in theory Google can now provide longer support, since drivers have always been the main issue.
Also lately Google has been making noises about upstreaming Android kernel changes with the eventual goal of just straight up using mainline kernel and modulizing the drivers. That will open possibilities way beyond rooting, more ROM variety, etc.
BL unlocked and root before opening the box.
Under no circumstances I will own a phone (or a computer, for the shake of it) that sends any data to servers of Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Apple, Amazon and the likes.
Cloud is just the marketing shiite to refer to someone else's computer.
Therefore I need root to remove all the crap, to do backups against my own computers, to have a proper firewall that blocks domains and IPs of unwanted servers, and so on.
To date,
Google has always allowed bootloader unlocking on their devices so I do hold out hope that they won't be making a change of tradition there.
They have been pushing OEMs and parts suppliers like Qualcomm to keep updated support for their products and part of that is contributing to providing source (AOSP). Further, as stated above, they are looking to eventually get on mainline Linux kernel if possible and have been going down that road for several years now.
Also let's not forget that Google makes it mandatory to release kernel sources for devices. It's just that not all OEMs comply and Google has never really enforced it for anyone else.
It's just my guess, but I think they will release all the sources and allow bootloader unlock. It would be a pretty massive change in rhetoric otherwise and massively hypocritical if they stopped now.
Hello all! I have a galaxy s20 g980f stock with oneui 4 beta 1. What are my options to get rid of as much as possible bloatware, de-google, de-samsung etc.? im aware of adb debloating, but it has certain lmitations like knox. so what else? Custom rom? Which one is most debloated and 100% functional?
and1ronik said:
Hello all! I have a galaxy s20 g980f stock with oneui 4 beta 1. What are my options to get rid of as much as possible bloatware, de-google, de-samsung etc.? im aware of adb debloating, but it has certain lmitations like knox. so what else? Custom rom? Which one is most debloated and 100% functional?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
De-bloating is subjective: one man's bloat is another man's treasure. Moreover, aggressive debloating tends to result in broken functionality and it is time consuming to track down the removed package that causes a failure.
Custom ROMs vary greatly in objectives and quality. At the end of the day, the only way you will get exactly what you want is to roll your own.
sjevtic said:
De-bloating is subjective: one man's bloat is another man's treasure. Moreover, aggressive debloating tends to result in broken functionality and it is time consuming to track down the removed package that causes a failure.
Custom ROMs vary greatly in objectives and quality. At the end of the day, the only way you will get exactly what you want is to roll your own.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I cant agree here. I assume there is a common meaning for debloating - getting rid of all preinstalled software that has spying and advertising functions, and replacing it with analog functional software without spying and advertising parts. For example i uninstalled samsung keyboard and replaced with one of foss options.
Now the main and only problem I got is that i was not able to find official detailed explanation of each stock package - over 400 of them. Do you now where this can be found?
and1ronik said:
Well, I cant agree here. I assume there is a common meaning for debloating - getting rid of all preinstalled software that has spying and advertising functions, and replacing it with analog functional software without spying and advertising parts. For example i uninstalled samsung keyboard and replaced with one of foss options.
Now the main and only problem I got is that i was not able to find official detailed explanation of each stock package - over 400 of them. Do you now where this can be found?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is exactly my point. I actually like the Samsung Keyboard. That said, if you *really" want every last piece of invasive software off, you will likely be better served with LineageOS or some other close descendant of AOSP. For what it's worth, one of the most invasive pieces of software on just about any stock device is Google Play Services. However, without it, most of the Google apps won't work, and plenty of other apps downloaded from the Play Store will have issues too.
The closest I've seen to a list of stock packages I've seen is this: https://docs.samsungknox.com/CCMode/G980F_R.pdf. It doesn't provide descriptions though.
As you encounter .apk files in the firmware package, here's an easy way to determine the package name from the occasionally less than informative file name:
Bash:
aapt dump badging file.apk | grep -Po "^package: \Kname=\'\S+?\'"
Attached is the list of bloat specs I used when building my image for the G986B culled from a variety of sources. It should serve as a useful starting point.
Try florisboard from f-droid, i personally found it perfect. But off course I understand your point, it is common too. I go radical, i deleted google play, framework and all google apps, i simply do not use any soft that requires google, for me its an affordable price for privacy and freedom.
By the way for debloating I am using AppManager from Muntashirakon, in ADB mode. I see the packages there, but no description, so yeah its a hit or miss. But there is an option to disable, then you see what happens and if problems you enable it back. Pretty decent, but not perfect. I wish I could root at least, but i guess need to wait for full A12 firmware and a matching TWRP recovery. Currently device is running on A12 Oneui 4 beta1.
Thanks a lot, I was going to ask you for this, where to start putting together own rom!!
Wondering, why are Calyx and Graphene roms not getting much attention here on XDA? And linux phones deserve some, even though they're technically not XDA..
The g980f in subject I just happen to have, if i would have to buy a phone now I wouldn't consider Samsung at all for the restrictions. Few months ago I disabled Samsung Pay Services - phone got locked irreversibly. I called Samsung and only option they offered is hard reset. Lost some sweet stuff with it and will never go Samsung again.
and1ronik said:
Try florisboard from f-droid, i personally found it perfect. But off course I understand your point, it is common too. I go radical, i deleted google play, framework and all google apps, i simply do not use any soft that requires google, for me its an affordable price for privacy and freedom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That keyboard actually looks pretty good. That said, I don't have the patience to fully cut Google/Samsung out of my life.
and1ronik said:
By the way for debloating I am using AppManager from Muntashirakon, in ADB mode. I see the packages there, but no description, so yeah its a hit or miss. But there is an option to disable, then you see what happens and if problems you enable it back. Pretty decent, but not perfect. I wish I could root at least, but i guess need to wait for full A12 firmware and a matching TWRP recovery. Currently device is running on A12 Oneui 4 beta1.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know that you need an Android 12-based TWRP, but you definitely need a compatible version of Magisk. Modding is generally a lot harder when you're on the bleeding edge, and is further complicated by the fact that you can't roll back the bootloader; you'll never find me on the latest build. It looks like there is a Android-12 compatible Magisk Canary build but I haven't tried it yet.
and1ronik said:
Wondering, why are Calyx and Graphene roms not getting much attention here on XDA? And linux phones deserve some, even though they're technically not XDA..
Click to expand...
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Because the Android phone market is too fragmented. Any custom ROM is available for at most a handful of the hundreds of actively marketed devices in the Android ecosystem.
Of course the bigger question is why we even need the abomination of an OS that is Android. In short, we don't: Sharp was already selling its Zaurus line of Linux PDAs 20 years ago. Google, however, decided it needed to insert itself into the mobile market, and the rest is history.
and1ronik said:
The g980f in subject I just happen to have, if i would have to buy a phone now I wouldn't consider Samsung at all for the restrictions. Few months ago I disabled Samsung Pay Services - phone got locked irreversibly. I called Samsung and only option they offered is hard reset. Lost some sweet stuff with it and will never go Samsung again.
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Samsung's "security" practices are obnoxious, though at least in the US, the carriers share plenty of blame for phones being locked down. That said, I have yet to find to find hardware that is more compelling--the lack of a SD card slot is a deal breaker.
By the way i am on beta oneui 4, and i'm not going to update to full A 12 yet, so I keep an option to go back to 11 anytime, and there I can go custom rom or root at least.
And the lack of sd card in pixels is the only thing holding me from switching too.. but very little, im actually going to get a pixel 5 as parallel to the s20. Lack of SD card can be partiality cured by cloud storage. I guess its less inconvenience comparing to struggling with samsung's bs..
From what i see online, pixels have widest rom options, Calyx, Graphene, e/OS, so I can experiment and see what works best for me.