Built in adware? - Verizon Galaxy Note 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I just read about a find my mobile exploit, and went into settings to turn it off for now.
I look into the Samsung account, scroll down, and see "ads"!
It looks like by default, we are allowing Samsung to spam us with ads so I turned it the hell off!
I still haven't found where to turn find my mobile off yet, but I never installed the app, so we might be safe.
Thoughts?

If you click on it, it asks you to consent to receiving "customized services" (a crap-ton of ads). (I have it unchecked.)
But, I have it installed and tried it out on my computer. I haven't noticed any additional ads on my phone. Just my 2cents.

Related

Market not working (download won't start) new Evo

Ok,
(Before those that have nothing to do start shouting, I have searched! I spend hours last night looking and time this morning looking. This error is NOT related to a googlemail/gmail switch..it is NOT related to internet connection..it is NOT related to some obscure cache issue [i think]. So now that caveate is out of the way....)
I cannot download anything from the Market. Here is the process as I see it...
- Open Market app from phone
- Find app I want and click download
- Go back to main Market screen and click download tab
- App sits there with a 'starting download process'
Now...if the error is somewhere there...can someone please tell me.
But...a few minutes later I get this...
- Alert noise goes off
- Alert says Google Talk authentication failed
- Go and stop the app in the running apps screen
- Find GTalk app on phone and start it up
- It hangs up on the Talk bubble screen with Signing in swirly thing just going round
- Eventually that alert noise goes off again
So...there seems to have been an issue many months back when UK customers switched from googlemail domains to gmail domains. But I have never had either. I am registered with google and I have one of my personal emails set up on that account. I can log into google, I can use Picasa, I can use the forums, etc.
Now, I already have three different email accounts to keep track of...do not need a fourth. But in a fit of desperation I tried to set up a gmail account last night. After 30 minutes of trying to find a user name I gave up. I do not want to be D.sablesurfer.432456 or whatever stupid azz suggestion it gives.
So...things I am wondering...
Is Google Talk integrated with Market somehow?
Can you just use Market with a regular Google log in?
How do I make google talk work since there appears to be no where on phone to change any settings?
Where is google talk looking on my phone for log in information?
Does this have anything to do with the weird sprint email address that seems to be registered to my phone? (Current username = [email protected]) (Obviously where my name would be my real name.)
Please help, the internet has been wholey useless in showing me an answer to this issue.
Oh...and if I log into google web page from phone...and choose Talk from the more menu...
....I am logged into Talk!!!
Yep, it just pulls right up with no complaints.
Ok, lots of looks no feedback.
I stopped by Sprint today and they say basically that my really old Google log in will not work. They said will need to set up an actual GMail account and replace it on the phone.
HOWEVER....there is NO way to replace it without the factory reset. Seriously? Has the Evo or HTC...or Sprint locked this thing down so much that you can never change accounts?
I changed password online...and the incorrect password screen ONLY lets me change password. The account name is greyed out.
I went into Manage Applications and the only button active is the Force Stop. The Clear Data button doesn't even exist. And after the force stop it still does not exist.
How does this make any sense? Really? People are NEVER going to change accounts? Sounds way too strict to me at moment.
So basically...unless anyone else has an idea...on the Evo (not heros or g1's)...I will have to do the factory reset tonight? This sucks.
Have you tried settings, accounts and sync, click on the google account and hit remove account?
Yup, no go. The default in the Evo seems to be permanently locked in. Well until you do the factory reset. I just posted my findings/tip over on general. This is a pisser for a newbie to android and as a LONG time programmer sucks to be locked in like that.
My market was useless earlier.
the name###@sprintpcs.com is just sprints username for you, it's used for network stuff
I'm having the same issue. tired the google search too ... wish I didn't have to do a hard reset... I hope somebody come up with a fix for this
EDIT:
Here's all that I did. I'm not sure which part fixed the issue.
*I un-synced Gmail (still didn't work)
*I deleted the pop Gmail account I had set up (still didn't work)
*I went into the market, canceled everything that was pending a download, then I re-synced Gmail, and set my pop Gmail account back up and BAM!!!! It worked. (Oh and I restarted after I did all of this)
Hope this helps...
Same problem here, hope someone with great idea can help. I am also struck on my HTC evo
Market still won't downlaod
I'm on JI6,
i have this problem that i cannot get the Market to download.
I didn't see and end to this story, only that it could be a Market problem.
But still i have this issue now for 3 days, i did most of the things in this thread.
nothing works ...
HELP
This happens to everyone.
Go to applications.
Click all applications.
Find market. Click market.
Click, clear cache, and clear data.
Restart.
I'm over that, clear the data of download manager ,and from the Market application, removed the update from the market , wifi on , wifi off .....
Still wont download
Then it's your internet if that does not work.
Check your firewall
what firewall , if i work in 3G ?
I'm having the same problem...I just flashed Myn's 2.2 RL3 and it is no different than it ever was. It's pissing me off. I've tried every solution that I could find.
I was having a similar issue with my Evo running OMJ's 4.5.
On the market.android.com site I would click install, select my phone, and it said my install would start shortly, but it never did. I scoured the net and found a fix that worked for me. Try this:
Menu -> Settings -> Appplicaltions -> Manage Applications
Select the 'All' tab
Scroll down and open 'Google Services Framework' -> Clear Data and Force Stop
Hit back and open 'Market' -> Clear Data, Clear Cache (if available), and Force Stop
Reboot
Open Market. You are going to get an error, be patient and let it sit for a moment and it will come up by itself.
You should be golden after this. Let me know how it works for you.
Why must people resurrect dead threads, do they lack the ability to read, the last post to this thread was in the first week of november, if this was still happening, this would be an active thread.

[Q] What "Find My Phone" Do You Install On Your Shiny New Galaxy Nexus?

I consider the "find my phone" software a necessary must on any mobile device. The ability to locate, ping, and wipe your Mobile is an extraordinary advantage in the digital age. I've used it once to find an errant iPhone 3GS and again on WP7 with a Samsung Focus along with helping my sister who continually forgets where her iPhone is.
What do you use on your Galaxy Nexus? Have you had an unfortunate circumstance that allowed you to field test it yet?
I've always had Lookout installed with all my phones. Fortunately I have never had to use it.
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.lookout&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDEsImNvbS5sb29rb3V0Il0.
I used ' Where's My Droid' on my N One and continue to use it on my GNex, also had loads of added bits with tasker working off the same trigger like lock phone and give warning message with a contact number to return... just in case it was a nice old lady that found it Not sure if Tasker will work fully on ICS yet so i've not set it up.
I also had Lookout installed but whenever i tried to locate it on their site it could never get a lock on. I dont know if they didn't fully support the UK that was the problem or that i was always flashing ROMs and it constantly being installed caused problems.
I have a Google Apps account for my family and a few of us have Android devices, so I installed the Google Apps Device Policy app on all the Android phones (in the Market and it's by Google). That app enables device policies and such for each user/device (encryption, syncing, syncing while roaming... anything a business would want to restrict/allow for their device).The plus about that app is that it gives me access to this (the mydevices link):
http://www.google.com/support/mobile/bin/answer.py?answer=1235372&topic=1233222
It's free and allows Google Apps users to lock, locate, reset pin, ring device, etc for Android devices. Remote wipe and everything else is part of Google Apps too.
Don't need a separate app and monthly fees, it's all handled by Google and works perfectly.
Interesting. Do you have to setup a server or what? I understand the client side policy app but not the backend.
How do you tie them together?
G2x - 2.3.7 CM7
Transformer - 3.2 Revolver OC/UV
player911 said:
Interesting. Do you have to setup a server or what? I understand the client side policy app but not the backend.
How do you tie them together?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Didn't have to set up anything, no servers or tying any services together. On my android phone, I just setup my account with my Google Apps email/password, install the Device Policy app, and .... done.
All the devices show up for my family in my Google Apps control panel (under settings -> mobile if you're familiar with Google Apps's panel). And that mydevices link "just works". Don't have to set up anything else, it's great. Google does it all for you.
I believe the device policy app periodically pings Google's servers every few days (it's a bare app with no settings, only a couple pages of info on policies and current status), that process lets the Google Apps admin (me in this case) restrict/allow anything via the Apps Control panel.
The mydevices webpage is more of a "push", since "ring device", "reset pin", "locate device", and all those buttons are instantaneous. i.e. I click "ring device" and a few seconds later my phone rings super loud, even when on silent (this is assuming there is a data connection available to the phone).
I got SeekDroid from the Amazon Appstore when it was free. It's pretty good. It gives the GPS location from where the phone was last used, lets you send alarms and messages to the phone, lock the phone, and remote wipe the phone and SD card if necessary.
---------- Post added at 02:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:04 PM ----------
BinaryTB said:
Didn't have to set up anything, no servers or tying any services together. On my android phone, I just setup my account with my Google Apps email/password, install the Device Policy app, and .... done.
All the devices show up for my family in my Google Apps control panel (under settings -> mobile if you're familiar with Google Apps's panel). And that mydevices link "just works". Don't have to set up anything else, it's great. Google does it all for you.
I believe the device policy app periodically pings Google's servers every few days (it's a bare app with no settings, only a couple pages of info on policies and current status), that process lets the Google Apps admin (me in this case) restrict/allow anything via the Apps Control panel.
The mydevices webpage is more of a "push", since "ring device", "reset pin", "locate device", and all those buttons are instantaneous. i.e. I click "ring device" and a few seconds later my phone rings super loud, even when on silent (this is assuming there is a data connection available to the phone).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that sounds cool, i may have to look into it when my GN arrives.
BinaryTB said:
I have a Google Apps account for my family and a few of us have Android devices, so I installed the Google Apps Device Policy app on all the Android phones (in the Market and it's by Google). That app enables device policies and such for each user/device (encryption, syncing, syncing while roaming... anything a business would want to restrict/allow for their device).The plus about that app is that it gives me access to this (the mydevices link):
http://www.google.com/support/mobile/bin/answer.py?answer=1235372&topic=1233222
It's free and allows Google Apps users to lock, locate, reset pin, ring device, etc for Android devices. Remote wipe and everything else is part of Google Apps too.
Don't need a separate app and monthly fees, it's all handled by Google and works perfectly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately the first line is: This article applies only for Google Apps for Business, Education, and Government customers.
Any work arounds found by XDA?
Anyone else?
Another vote for Seekdroid. It always worked well on my Desire and i plan on using it with my GN. One of the best features is you can actually remove seekdroid from appearing in the phone menu or app list which prevents anyone from removing the app without your permission.
I used http://www.mobiledefense.com/ on my nexus s. Not sure if they ever released a retail version yet though. Kinda curious about the Google Apps thing now though...
Cerberus, Cerberus, Cerberus!!!
Such an excellent application! Please check it out, you won't be disappointed!!
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Prey yet.
Just tried Cerberus. Wow. Awesome! Thanks for the suggestion.
I've always used prey - I actually had a friend get his laptop stolen in Africa, and he's currently coordinating with the African police to get it back. They've made arrests and stuff - I was extremely impressed.
African police drop what they are doing to chase down a misplaced gadget?
More stories please?!
I've always used wheres my droid, but after reading above about prey i am probably going to switch to that.
I've used prey since day one and find it very good and also the ability to alert you it's missing if the sim card changes is a god send as well.
Might check out cerberus as someone mentioned it 3 times so compelled to look now lol
Just launched prey and the logon prompt is all screwed up and you cannot put in some details so you can never login... time to try others now.
---------- Post added at 09:52 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:28 AM ----------
Brought cerberus really like the fact it can take a photo of the person trying to get past my passcode, might try it out on my other half lol
bmstrong said:
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Prey yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.prey
Excatly.
The best i've ever tried up to now.
Love the way it enables gps also if it's down.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned AndroidLost. AndroidLost has remote wipe, GPS locate (never had to use it), send SMS/MMS from phone remotely, make calls, take pictures without the user knowing, record audio clips with the MIC without the user knowing.... all through a web page. No one else uses this?

[Q] "An update is required to access Samsung services"

Keep getting a popup warning every morning when we turn on our Note 8.0 then start the wi-fi that says: "An update is required to access Samsung services". So far we've answered "No" each time the warning is displayed until I find out what they want to update and just how much extra data will be deposited onto the tab if we allow it.
Yeah...I'm paranoid but the fact is, we don't use any Samsung services. I'd really like to turn the Samsung account OFF if that's a safe thing to do.
What do you say Note 8.0/Android community? Should I allow the update or would turning off the Samsung account stop the update notices???
EnzoS
I believe you can turn off the account, as a fact I have mine turned off and whenever I re-flash a new Rom either Stock or Custom I always say No to the Samsung account, but you can remove/delete your Samsung account by going here https://account.samsung.com/membership/service/getServieInfoList.do sign in, profile, remove account.
On your tablet it will still show Samsung account and you will notice that it cannot sync "sync error" when you click that it will try to sync and will fail, after that the Samsung account will be gone or if you do see "remove account" just remove it with that.
I will include a picture of the services that will be stopped.
Hoping this helps
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium
Harjan112 said:
I believe you can turn off the account, as a fact I have mine turned off and whenever I re-flash a new Rom either Stock or Custom I always say No to the Samsung account, but you can remove/delete your Samsung account by going here https://account.samsung.com/membership/service/getServieInfoList.do sign in, profile, remove account.
On your tablet it will still show Samsung account and you will notice that it cannot sync "sync error" when you click that it will try to sync and will fail, after that the Samsung account will be gone or if you do see "remove account" just remove it with that.
I will include a picture of the services that will be stopped.
Hoping this helps
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Another U break it by disabling it thread... I see this all the time with peeps disabling features in MS Windows.
I use Samsung account to get the latest Samsung updates. Without your updates, your link, OS update, and most of all Miracast sync will not properly function. As there are bug fixes and added features.
I even have Google play store setup to be automated with updates as well. It is the only way to track the 200 or so downloaded apps being fixed and what not. Still waiting for 100% compatibility for Android 4.4.x... which may never be. HA!
Though I use dummy a google email account that are setup with features disabled. Google has buried a lot of user settings, but at least you have them to disable.
@gooberdude you telling us that if you don't setup the Samsung account you will NOT get an OS update? I find that strange cause as I said before I never set it up and still was getting my OS updates when I checked for updates, now of course after I Root the device with either CF-root or "the always mentioned by you" Saferoot, it will say that my device is modified and that there are no updates available.
I really don't see the point of a Samsung account and feel that Samsung is wasting resources/battery with constant syncing in trying to duplicate stuff (calendar, email, app store, etc) by putting an additional and IMHO unnecessary layer into the OS that Google already does.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium
Harjan112 said:
@gooberdude you telling us that if you don't setup the Samsung account you will NOT get an OS update? I find that strange cause as I said before I never set it up and still was getting my OS updates when I checked for updates, now of course after I Root the device with either CF-root or "the always mentioned by you" Saferoot, it will say that my device is modified and that there are no updates available.
I really don't see the point of a Samsung account and feel that Samsung is wasting resources/battery with constant syncing in trying to duplicate stuff (calendar, email, app store, etc) by putting an additional and IMHO unnecessary layer into the OS that Google already does.
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use saferoot and it does not show device is modified, because it is not flashed. Many root options require flashing, saferoot does not. So the flag is left alone.
Now for Samsung apps, you must have an account to use half of them. So if you are not using any Samsung apps, then don't bother with making an account.
I think you can still use the Samsung voice commander without an account... as it is at least 2x faster than Google and works just the same.
Its all up to you on what you want to do for getting updates. For me I get 3% battery drain every 12 hours when in sleep mode with WIFI enabled. Including having updates and email active. That is too small to think about disabling accounts or turning off sync and updates.
It seems too many Android peeps tweak things so much that they are paranoid by not doing enough. I am a minimalist. I do what I can with what I got, and find what is the issue before modifying, adding or removing stuff. I have found that Samsung and Google can interact well with each other to make operation of the tablet quick and stable. Though, Google needs to work more on getting things right with voice search and media player.
At least Samsung has addressed and fixed many wee issues with proper updates since January and March. Just waiting for 4.4.x to be released so I have that available when I want to upgrade.
@gooberdude don't hear me wrong, I am completely with you as far as the paranoia goes, I myself am a firm believer of Stock Rom with minimal tweaks, when it comes to updates I always check manually, I use the tablet mostly for reading my ebooks and occasional web browsing, email and getting good battery life, right now I'm at 2 days and 6 hours with 32% left, of course I enable my wifi when I need it.
I actually did send you a PM a few days ago asking about safe-root, don't know if you have seen or gotten that or not, I would like to start using safe-root to it full potential
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium
Here is the original link it has a step by step guide and has a reply with someone's video as well.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2565758
gooberdude said:
Here is the original link it has a step by step guide and has a reply with someone's video as well.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2565758
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you, I will give it another try later today
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium
Thanks guys for the comments and recommendations but perhaps I didn't make myself totally clear in the initial posting. I'd simply like to know if I can avoid being bothered to update my account or apps or whatever by turning off the Samsung account on the tablet. I don't have to (nor do I want to) delete the Samsung account entirely. I just want to take it off the tablet (turn it off/disable it) with hopes that the popups warning me that "An update is required to access Samsung services" will go away.
As I stated earlier, we don't use any Samsung services and don't even download any apps from the Samsung apps store. As Harjan112 said: "...Samsung is wasting resources/battery with constant syncing in trying to duplicate stuff (calendar, email, app store, etc) by putting an additional and IMHO unnecessary layer into the OS that Google already does." We also are quite minimalistic and are very happy to run the tab with as little as possible running in the background and only update what we use if absolutely necessary.
Your comments in this regard will be appreciated.
EnzoS
You can remove the account from the tablet without deleting it entirely.
Go to your settings... Accounts... Click Samsung account then on the right side of the screen you will see Accounts with your email address click that, then in the top right corner you should see remove account.
This also should stop the update notice.
Hoping this helps
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium
Harjan112...thank you very much for the detailed information. I needed to be assured that removing the Samsung account from the Note 8.0 was the right way to go and your explanation seems to be right on the money. The tab is my wife's and I don't think she would appreciate it too much if I decided to root the thing and experiment on it in any way (ha).
Now if I could only get an answer to my other problem: the Gallery's data file bloating itself for no apparent reason every time the tab is turned on or rebooted. It's pretty strange that (so far) 118 people have viewed the posting but not one reply...not even a foolish recommendation (ha).
Thank you again. I will definitely give it a try now.
EnzoS
Now if I could only get an answer to my other problem: the Gallery's data file bloating itself for no apparent reason every time the tab is turned on or rebooted. It's pretty strange that (so far) 118 people have viewed the posting but not one reply...not even a foolish recommendation (ha)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol... where exactly did you ask that question Are you sure it was in this thread
Anywho what do you mean by bloating? As in let say book covers for ebooks or album art for music or web albums?
Sent from my SPH-L900 using xda premium
Thank you for your interest in my "other" problem. I did indeed post my question in the Galaxy Note 8.0 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting thread as: "GN8 Gallery data eating up drive space" back on the 1st of March. I thought I was fairly clear on the description and I would appreciate it if you would check it out. I'd be more than happy if you had questions for me as I'm baffled by what's happening. Please read my post.
Best regards,
EnzoS
EnzoS. said:
Thank you for your interest in my "other" problem. I did indeed post my question in the Galaxy Note 8.0 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting thread as: "GN8 Gallery data eating up drive space" back on the 1st of March. I thought I was fairly clear on the description and I would appreciate it if you would check it out. I'd be more than happy if you had questions for me as I'm baffled by what's happening. Please read my post.
Best regards,
EnzoS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, well we did not follow your past question... I found with my antivirus app, that I get over 350MB of cached images just with my mp3 ID3 tags having album art.
I found that if you install Xposed framework and add the Wanam Xposed module, you have he ability to disable caching of images. Since disabling, I get zero cache. As for clearing the cache, you will either add a cleaner app or replace your antivirus with one that has built in added utilities.
Though one thing about disabling cache, you will notice slower image redraws with any images that are stored on slow SD cards. I have 633x UHS-1 SD card installed, and do not find images having issues with delayed image redraws from SD.
Hope this helps.

Where is the outrage with HTC RE: Yelp Ads?

Maybe a week ago I noticed that my lock screen started showing yelp advertisements for lunch and dinner.... I searched and found this ONE thread (http://forum.xda-developers.com/one-m9/help/ad-lockscreen-t3104580)
After a little more research it seems HTC has made a deal with Yelp and is talking to others about advertising on YOUR phone screen. Did I misunderstand this? I don't see any outrage and I'm wondering why? Did I get it wrong, or have we just gotten used to being abused by corporations for their own gain that we don't even notice any more?
So after a recent update HTC decided to start advertising on my lock screen... sure, right now I can still disable the advertising on the lock screen. but I cant remove yelp from my blink-feed. My blink-feed is advertising stuff I don't want and I cant disable it!!! Again.. Maybe I missed something?? I cant believe after paying >$650 for a flagship phone that people are not freaking out over this. Nowhere in the settings can I find an option to remove Yelp from my blink-feed.
So, Am I part of some Beta test.. and the rest of you don't have this issue?
Did I miss some "off" switch to disable the ads?
Are the rest of you so used to having content shoved in your face that you don't even notice?
Do you just not care?
At least Amazon has the decency to give you a discounted price on a device with "Special offers"
Whats the deal... I'd really like to know. Someone please tell me I have it all wrong.
**EDIT** Turning off "HTC Location Services" seems to stop Yelp for now.
edit, didn't read haha. Try contacting them and see what they say about you being unable to remove it
I don't have Yelp in my blinkfeeed nor anywhere on my phone, so no ads on my lock screen. Do you have a carrier branded M9 and if so, which carrier?
Sent from my HTC One M9 using Tapatalk
Meal time bundle
x51 said:
Maybe a week ago I noticed that my lock screen started showing yelp advertisements for lunch and dinner.... I searched and found this ONE thread (http://forum.xda-developers.com/one-m9/help/ad-lockscreen-t3104580)
After a little more research it seems HTC has made a deal with Yelp and is talking to others about advertising on YOUR phone screen. Did I misunderstand this? I don't see any outrage and I'm wondering why? Did I get it wrong, or have we just gotten used to being abused by corporations for their own gain that we don't even notice any more?
So after a recent update HTC decided to start advertising on my lock screen... sure, right now I can still disable the advertising on the lock screen. but I cant remove yelp from my blink-feed. My blink-feed is advertising stuff I don't want and I cant disable it!!! Again.. Maybe I missed something?? I cant believe after paying >$650 for a flagship phone that people are not freaking out over this. Nowhere in the settings can I find an option to remove Yelp from my blink-feed.
So, Am I part of some Beta test.. and the rest of you don't have this issue?
Did I miss some "off" switch to disable the ads?
Are the rest of you so used to having content shoved in your face that you don't even notice?
Do you just not care?
At least Amazon has the decency to give you a discounted price on a device with "Special offers"
Whats the deal... I'd really like to know. Someone please tell me I have it all wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is not advertising. I believe you are referring to the meal time recommendations that pop up on the lock screen. Go to Blinkfeed settings and find "Notification on lockscreen", click that and uncheck "Meal time bundle" (which shows you meal recommendations nearby). There are people that find it an interesting feature, for those that don't, just disable it.
effortless said:
This is not advertising. I believe you are referring to the meal time recommendations that pop up on the lock screen. Go to Blinkfeed settings and find "Notification on lockscreen", click that and uncheck "Meal time bundle" (which shows you meal recommendations nearby). There are people that find it an interesting feature, for those that don't, just disable it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought too that he meant that, but he already said in his post that he knows he can disable that, but what he cannot disable is YELP advertisements in blinkfeed itself.
sausje85 said:
I thought too that he meant that, but he already said in his post that he knows he can disable that, but what he cannot disable is YELP advertisements in blinkfeed itself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the heads up.. It's late and I did miss that. I'm not sure, I haven't seen that problem.
*deleted*
I'm pretty pissed about it. Mostly because there was no information from HTC about it. They just started showing up on my wife's M8 lock screen, and of course there was nothing in the lock screen settings about it, and as this was on "zero day", nothing showed up on Google. So I had no clue where this stuff was coming from, and it smelled like malware. Wasn't till the next day that search results came up, pointing to Blinkfeed as the culprit.
I suspect this is just the start of a movement toward "monetizing" the lock screen, as it's been blissfully free of ads till now, and is prime real estate for covering in ads to get in our face even if we don't unlock the damn phone.
effortless said:
This is not advertising. I believe you are referring to the meal time recommendations that pop up on the lock screen. Go to Blinkfeed settings and find "Notification on lockscreen", click that and uncheck "Meal time bundle" (which shows you meal recommendations nearby). There are people that find it an interesting feature, for those that don't, just disable it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Weather people find it useful or not is irrelevant. I purchased a phone with certain features and expectations, and you cant just force this type of intrusive advertising in my face to make a few bucks. I didn't sign up for that. It's one thing to sell the device like that from day one (I.E Kindle Fire). Then at least I could have made an informed decision to be advertised to or not. . I wouldn't, for example, complain about the ads on Facebook. They were always there. (And Facebook didn't charge me $650)
I'm all for new features.. and lots of people love yelp. This is not a bad OPTION, but this should have been an OPT in option. It shouldn't be an OPT out option, and it most certainly under any circumstances should not be a forced non-option.
I CAN turn off the lock screen stuff. (I.E mealtime bundle) But I don't see an option to remove Yelp from my blinkfeed. Sometimes when I remove a source from blinkfeed, the old posts stay until they get pushed off with new content.. I assumed this would be the same, but it was not. I kept getting yelp items in my blinkfeed telling me to try this or that restaurant.
I have the Developer edition M9. I'm running ARHD.
This is 100% with a doubt advertising. I dont have yelp installed, I've never had Yelp installed. I dont use yelp. HTC signed a deal with yelp, and rumors and leaked HTC images indicate there will be more coming.
So I see at least some of you don't have this issue?
Perhaps I'll try to delete data for blink-feed. Maybe disabling mealtime bundle didn't take? (even though the lock screen bit went away)
I also found that searching Google today indicated many more users complaining about Yelp in the blinkfeed than last week.
Also some more info here: http://blog.gsmarena.com/leaked-doc-reveals-htc-planning-introducing-ads-blinkfeed/
Not only that, but unless you live in a major metro area Yelp is totally useless. There are businesses that have been closed for over a year that are getting recommended to me. Oh, and last week I got this recommendation for lunch: http://i.imgur.com/XIJjSZt.jpg Yea, nice restaurant.
Turn off HTC location Services
Saw a solution here: http://forums.androidcentral.com/htc-one-m9/520602-do-messages-show-top-blinkfeed.html#post4414788
Thanks Neo905
Turn off HTC location Services.
I must have left this on. I tried this and cleared my blinkfeed data. I have been yelp free ever since.
This is a ridiculous fix... and a half measure work around. I'm guessing there is no yelp because HTC doesn't know where you are. What happens when they decide to advertize things that don't require a precise location?
x51 said:
Saw a solution here: http://forums.androidcentral.com/htc-one-m9/520602-do-messages-show-top-blinkfeed.html#post4414788
Thanks Neo905
Turn off HTC location Services.
I must have left this on. I tried this and cleared my blinkfeed data. I have been yelp free ever since.
This is a ridiculous fix... and a half measure work around. I'm guessing there is no yelp because HTC doesn't know where you are. What happens when they decide to advertize things that don't require a precise location?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then you would have to turn off all notifications from Sense Home. This solution here makes sense because I never signed onto HTC Location services when I first setup the phone. However, I kept getting notifications to complete this, so since I also don't use the Home widget, I just went and turned off all notifications for Home, Settings> Sounds & notifications> App notifications> Sense Home> turn on Block. I only use Facebook in Blinkfeed and it still updates itself.
I have to agree regarding "Where is the outrage?" Everyone I know with an HTC One M(x) is outraged about the yelp ads on Blinkfeed, yet the internet is surprisingly quiet on the issue. Even at XDA, where I would expect to see some serious backlash, there is very little mention of it. Yes, we can remove them from our lockscreens, but it still frustrates me to see Yelp ads on Blinkfeed. I didnt opt-in for this, I payed for my phone, I'm am not under contract, and I pay for my cell service. I have owned strictly HTC phones since the original EVO, but if this doesnt go away, I will be switching to another manufacturer. I will not pay full price for a phone and my service and then have forced ads on my home screen. WTF are they thinking? And more importantly, where is the backlash from the owner community???
How about finding the server ip it gets it's info from and block it in the host file?
Not the best method, but it should theoretically work.
My phone just started doing this TODAY, and when I went to blinkfeed -> 3 dots -> settings, I see that "Notification on lockscreen" is greyed out!
Any ideas?
I too have the same issue. Quite irritating. If I learn anything, I will post here. Glad I am not the only one experiencing this, but sad we have to experience this.
sausje85 said:
How about finding the server ip it gets it's info from and block it in the host file?
Not the best method, but it should theoretically work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I suspect AdAway should take care of this. I have it running and have never seen one of these.
I just had a chat with HTC. Press and hold on the Yelp tiles, then select remove. Blinkfeed supposedly will learn that you do not want yelp. :good:
Good Luck Everyone!
Yes, I confirm that seems to work. Getting those ads less and less. Still HTC should offer a normal option to turn that off. Maybe they will learn too if turnover drops.
You missed an off switch.
Run the "setup" app again. Turn off the "give my precise location blah blah blah" and the other one. Now you won't get location based ads at all.

Google Play Services Find My Device Issue

This is recurring in all phones I've had for at least a year now. Once again...And it is just now that I am once again getting upset at Google Play Services making itself a device admin daily on startup so it can update its app daily. So it can weasel into the browser and log my account and store cookies and track and etc etc etc.
If I do not lose my phone, then it should stop activating the find my device. If I lock my screen, then it should stop activating itself as an administrator. If it was just to find the device, then it should stop putting itself as an account in my browser.
The Google Play Services can no longer be reverted. It has turned the phone into just another chunk of Google Garbage.
It's a critical part of android. What is it you are trying to achieve by locking it down?
James.Miller said:
It's a critical part of android. What is it you are trying to achieve by locking it down?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
site storage in browser. I believe it is s carrier config or carrier settings. I have ridden myself of it by disabling carrier configs on other phones but here I can't disable carrier system apps.
I play with it off on some phones, and of course on rooted phones. It is irremovable here now. I had it removed during the first few days on my new A70 but now can't get it off noway no how.
The carrier configs and other things from carrier are a real problem. Carriers (used to) push settings they deem appropriate at regular intervals on an old phone I had. Their settings push included things like turning on location, and worse. all kinds of settings would get changed. Google calls these in its "partner" app. It's all tied together. There are credit agencies certs, and security companies in the system app.
James.Miller said:
It's a critical part of android. What is it you are trying to achieve by locking it down?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I may sell the phone if I can't use it on internet without continued police insults on my humanity. I'm sick of it all. Been taking abuse for years. Only useful as a gaming and music player.
In my experience, once you have confirmed to your own recognition that they are behind the curtain of the device, talking to you invisibly thru the back door in the comments sections of the internet, then the phone is no good.
I believe that screenshots of their android back-doored comments, -- along with proof in pictures or recordings that they have been speaking in narrative to you that way -- should be grounds for money back from the phone company for the device. The device is faulty then beyond the shadow of a doubt and worthless and irreparable. Money back should be the rule for hacked devices.
comments, recommendations...or other festures being hacked. I have had apps hacked, I have had voice recognition dictation hacked. etc. I don't remember a list of features of android I've stopped using because of insult hacks. The predictive words on the keypads, and auto correct, used to be a favorite exploit they'd use to deliver cracked commentaries against my humanity...
All features and apps I no longer use. And how many people would never pick up on how these devices are being used against them.
I think the phones should be peogrammed to avoid cached dns results, and to randomize the dns it uses. The apps such as YouTube should never return to an open session or use a cache. These devices are fast enough and simple LTE/4G is fast enough to load fresh sessions from sites from new lookup services.
if Google needs to have Find My Device in Android to serve customers who are afraid their devices will be stolen by non professional phone thieves or lost, then they should sell different versions for those who don't want a system admin like Google which gets its money from data theft and spamming.
The persistent settings in the browser for its default site bothers me. I got rid of it on my Oreo running phone. Took awhile, but I finally got rid of it on one phone by deleting all browser data. It comes back when the browser restarts on internet tho, and persists again like a foul barnacle. Used to be able to get rid of it.
Here it's seen it camoflages itself if I change the default search page, but it still persists

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