Develop Bugs

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?
Click to expand...
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
Click to expand...
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.

3-D Texting!

Hi everyone, forgive if anything like this is already up (I searched and found nothing). But I completely customized the text messaging appearance so that it takes advantage of the pure black that the AMOLED uses.
(This is all using the app: "Handcent SMS")
I downloaded "handcent SMS" went into settings --->custom style--->bubble settings:
Here is where I Changed Conversation style to: Android
Background color: pure black (all colors to zero)
Incoming background and outgoing background to: pure black
(By then everything should be black)
Now this is what makes the effect happen:
I adjusted incoming font color to pure red (255)
Then I put outgoing font color to 138-Green and 255-Blue
I adjusted both fonts to size 22.
I Also noticed that the date font color also helps with the effect and I have mine at 83-green.
So once you have all these setting in place, the pure black and the incoming red font should look like it pops right out at you, while the blue outgoing font color sits in the back!!!
I noticed the effect pops out more outside or whenever theres a more light in the room!
(First write up, forgive if I'm not as thorough as I should be)
Give it a shot, mess around with the colors!

Interesting effect. I do like the glossy black background. Though I found the pure red to be too harsh. I settled on official Android Blue (51, 181, 229) for the incoming text font color.
Will try it out for a few days to see whether it's a keeper.
Update: Making the incoming text font a couple of points larger than the outgoing enhances the 3D effect.

uhhh, screenshot?

emerica243 said:
uhhh, screenshot?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
screen shot or didnt happen..

ummm...not even sure what to say about this. my mother always told me if i have nothing nice to say, dont say anything at all.
........

I'm gonna give this a shot when I get home today. Sounds like a neat little effect.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

I've noticed 3D looking text in other apps like tibu but I've never though of using it for texting, its pretty cool

can you take a screenshot of it?

Crazy! It actually does give a semi 3D effect

z06mike said:
Crazy! It actually does give a semi 3D effect
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you post a screenshot?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

Eh, the red text certainly pops out but I wouldn't say it does so in a 3d kind of way. In fact it looks sort of pixelated to me and harsh to look at. More like it's grabbing my attention by being so stark compared to the rest of the screen.
I think I like your color settings for the outgoing text though, very easy on the eyes. I'm messing around with options for the other color, so far I'm working with max green, mid blue and red.

Still waiting for a screenie
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

Blue and red colors always appear to have depth on a solid color hence the red and blue 3D glasses. It's an optical illusion but neat if you like that sort of stuff.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

Can someone post a screenshot

Wow pretty cool!!!!!

Ok so clearly a troll post. Looking at the instructions alone you can tell nothing 3D about it. I'll post a screenshot in 10 mins. Maybe we can get an op to get rid of it.
Screen shot attached

ellimistx99 said:
Ok so clearly a troll post. Looking at the instructions alone you can tell nothing 3D about it. I'll post a screenshot in 10 mins. Maybe we can get an op to get rid of it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It actually gives you an optical illusion of a 3D effect.
And it works, I tried it on my phone.
Nice find OP.

SynFox said:
It actually gives you an optical illusion of a 3D effect.
And it works, I tried it on my phone.
Nice find OP.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just updated a screenshot of it. Look at my results. I followed the instructions in the OP. If you think it's any different then provide a screenshot as proof.

You can see same illusion/effect in Titanium backup's app list

ellimistx99 said:
I just updated a screenshot of it. Look at my results. I followed the instructions in the OP. If you think it's any different then provide a screenshot as proof.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ever thought that this effect won't come out in a screenshot because it's an effect of the AMOLED screen or the specifical display?
Ever thought that this is an optical illusion and not an actual 3D-effect and you might just not see it because it is, in fact, an illusion?

Lockscreen wallpaper quality?

Is there a way to make the lockscreen wallpaper good quality like the homescreen one? It seems the lockscreen is allways a lower quality, also while im at it is there a status bar transparency mod for jedi x?
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app

Turning off "Ripple Effect" in Lock Screen Option will make lockscreen quality same as home screen. Of course, you won't have anymore ripple effect or ink effect but oh well

That gets rid of those dark blotches on the ls as well.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2

make sure the wallpaper you're using is the right resolution, if you crop the photo it will stretch to fit and ruin quality

Finally found a thread where I can help out! Okay, so I have this problem ALL the time; not only is it a big deal finding photos with the right resolution for this gigantic phone but it is also a pain setting up the wallpaper because you're only subjected to a certain size by the system. Here is how I found my ways across this problem.
1. Use wallpaper wizardrii here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.twistedapps.wallpaperwizardrii
Use this app to stretch the wallpaper to fit your launcher.
2. If your photo is too small of a resolution to where it'd look like a Super Mario SNES game on your background use this: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.niksoftware.snapseed
Snapseed not only has a sexy UI but is very reliable and I use it for low resolution photos. Now what you do for things like this is adjust the sharpness of the photo, not to where it looks like it was drawn by a pencil but to where the blurs disappear. I also adjust the contrast and saturate my photos but only when it's a sexy wallpaper.
Finally, and this is the last of all resorts.. use Photoshop for your computer and literally adjust almost every single pixel to resize your wallpaper to a newer and bigger size. This is my last resort ever, I've done this once, it took 6 hours for that to be fixed and I'll never do that ever again.
If all else fails Google is your bestest friend or you can go here: http://www.wallbase.cc
Hit that thanks button! I wish you the best of luck in your wallpaper quest!

frostyroot said:
Finally found a thread where I can help out! Okay, so I have this problem ALL the time; not only is it a big deal finding photos with the right resolution for this gigantic phone but it is also a pain setting up the wallpaper because you're only subjected to a certain size by the system. Here is how I found my ways across this problem.
1. Use wallpaper wizardrii here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.twistedapps.wallpaperwizardrii
Use this app to stretch the wallpaper to fit your launcher.
2. If your photo is too small of a resolution to where it'd look like a Super Mario SNES game on your background use this: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.niksoftware.snapseed
Snapseed not only has a sexy UI but is very reliable and I use it for low resolution photos. Now what you do for things like this is adjust the sharpness of the photo, not to where it looks like it was drawn by a pencil but to where the blurs disappear. I also adjust the contrast and saturate my photos but only when it's a sexy wallpaper.
Finally, and this is the last of all resorts.. use Photoshop for your computer and literally adjust almost every single pixel to resize your wallpaper to a newer and bigger size. This is my last resort ever, I've done this once, it took 6 hours for that to be fixed and I'll never do that ever again.
If all else fails Google is your bestest friend or you can go here: http://www.wallbase.cc
Hit that thanks button! I wish you the best of luck in your wallpaper quest!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Big thank you:thumbup:
Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk 2

Thanks for replys!
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda app-developers app

JB Aspect free cropping [UPDATED 2013/06/22]

Available on Play.
This is an small app that lets you crop an image freely when trying to set the wallpaper or lock screen background.
In the Jelly Bean stock and stock-based ROMs, is not possible to properly set the home and lock screen wallpapers, due to a nice new feature of keeping the crop box aspect fixed to a square, but the area to be cropped is a smaller rectangle.
When trying to set the lock screen wallpaper with a portrait image, the always squared crop box touches the lateral borders of the image, forcing you to select a much smaller area -possibly scaling the picture-, and thus leaving us in a less than optimal situation, unhappy with our powerful pocket computer that could do much better with such a trivial task.
This lazily done app comes as an option when you try to set a wallpaper, and just calls the stock Gallery app with a crop action without the aspectX and aspectY parameters that lock the aspect of the crop box.
Note: This app needs the stock Gallery or Note 2 Gallery.
UPDATE:
2013/16/22 [v1.51]
- Fixed character encoding error in image paths.
- Other minor fixes.
2013/06/09 [v1.5]
- Prevents hiding part of wallpaper behind status bar.
- Lock screen wallpaper can be cropped to any size.
- Can work with AOSP's Gallery.
- Launcher icon with settings for some of the above features.
- Fixed screen rotation bugs.
If wallpaper scrolling is enabled, it's better to select an squared area or wider, or else you will see black bars to the sides or a scaled image. This version lets you choose what happens in that case.
2013/05/06
- Works with Quickpic.
- Better lockscreen wallpaper size (checks status bar height).
- Home screen wallpaper maximum width is 960; minimum is 800.
- Checks if lockscreen wallpaper is writable. If not, S2 Gallery handles it.
2013/05/05
- Handles all lock screen wallpaper process. Works on Note 2 Gallery.
MAY NEED ROOT. This works by saving the image directly to the Gallery data folder.
- Lock screen crop box is fixed to match the screen.
- No lateral black bars in home screen.
- Signed. You must uninstall the previous version before trying to install this one.
- Kick ass icon.
2013/04/23
- Processes and sets Home wallpaper to prevent zooming.
- Checks whether the Gallery activity exists.
Tested with the Gallery Note 2 and seems to be doing OK. However, when setting lock screen, the cropping rectangle has locked aspect, but still it lets you crop any image properly.
Please point any fault you find, I'll try to find time to work on them. And all suggestions are welcome.

Works great. Cheers.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

Works for me too!:thumbup:
"To err is human, to forgive is divine"
Sent from my SGS II

Thanks

thanks.its great

Getting FC while trying to crop using the app...
Any suggestions?

You are much to humble, your simple app is great!
Get this into the Play Store a.s.a.p.
I bet you can make a lot of people happy with this.

Works in NeatROM Lite 4.6.1.
Thks.

Dude....u r a genius.....
This is what I got before your app...
And this is after....
Many thanks fella.....
And as someone else said.....get it on playstore asap.....
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Xparent Green Tapatalk 2

Great little app, thanks! With a bit of polishing, this will be even better.
Well done... and get it onto PlayStore

thanks
its really works and i love this apk . but there is a problem that home screen zoomed BG but nice with lock screen . you have to provide it

Boss Thanks a Lot Work Likes A Charm. :good:

great job
i was searching for this kind of apps. , good job

ApriliaM3 said:
Great little app, thanks! With a bit of polishing, this will be even better.
Well done... and get it onto PlayStore
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you! What do you suggest to make it better?

jay_badboy0 said:
Getting FC while trying to crop using the app...
Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sorry, I have only tested this in Neat Rom. It must work on WanamLite as well. The app requires the stock gallery apk (SecGallery2.apk, package name com.sec.android.gallery3d). I'll make it check for some possible errors.

I m using Note2gallery and this app is not working

Handy.....thanks
s2rootbox......

nchejuan said:
This is an small app that lets you crop an image freely when trying to set the wallpaper or lock screen background.
In the Jelly Bean stock and stock-based ROMs, is not possible to properly set the home and lock screen wallpapers, due to a nice new feature of keeping the crop box aspect fixed to a square, but the area to be cropped is a smaller rectangle.
When trying to set the lock screen wallpaper with a portrait image, the always squared crop box touches the lateral borders of the image, forcing you to select a much smaller area -possibly scaling the picture-, and thus leaving us in a less than optimal situation, unhappy with our powerful pocket computer that could do much better with such a trivial task.
This lazily done app comes as an option when you try to set a wallpaper, and just calls the stock Gallery app with a crop action without the aspectX and aspectY parameters that lock the aspect of the crop box.
There's still some problems: Sometimes the lock screen BG will be stretched, and the home screen will be zoomed if you try to select an area close to the sides of the image. But mostly works great for the lock screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Many many thanks :highfive:

OP, are you planning to update the app top sort the small niggles it has?
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

kranti2064 said:
OP, are you planning to update the app top sort the small niggles it has?
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I made some updates. Hope it's fixed for those who where having problems.

Home screen background question

Call me odd but i don't want a background on my homescreen or lock screen. I simply want it plain black. But I see no option to simply pick no background which with every other smartphone I ever owned or messed around with resulted in a plain black background. How do I set no background? Thanks

StoneRyno said:
Call me odd but i don't want a background on my homescreen or lock screen. I simply want it plain black. But I see no option to simply pick no background which with every other smartphone I ever owned or messed around with resulted in a plain black background. How do I set no background? Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just find a black image and use that.
Sent from my LG-H810 using XDA Free mobile app

go on google find a black background and set it as the wallpaper?
Take a picture on your phone in a dark room with your camera facing down on a desk and set it as the wallpaper?

I had thought of doing that. But I thought the idea of the no background was so that the background wasn't consuming resources. Every time I exit an app it has to load the background like android decided to turn it off while in the app. So even though the background image would be all black it's still going to have to go through that processing. I am not sure of the impact of that. I know with older devices having no background was recommended because it consumed resources. I don't know why there is a no background setting, it seems kind of stupid that it was left out.