Develop Bugs

[INFO][HOWTO] Official Galaxy Nexus LCD Density Modding Thread

***REQUIRES ROOT***
This thread will serve as a discussion for modifying the LCD Density of the Samsung Glaxy Nexus. Stock density is 320 dpi, and the preferred modded density is 240 dpi. Please feel free to discuss lcd density, and notify me of anything you want added to the list.
Why modify the lcd density of your phone? Simple answer: more screen real estate.
1. How to modify you lcd density
Note: You can always go back to 320 dpi at any time by following these same steps and putting 320 back in for 240!
240 dpi is the recommended modded dpi for the Galaxy Nexus. You can however set it to whatever you want. Just know that many dpi's will cause the on screen buttons to disappear, and even possibly cause the launcher to crash. In both cases you can use the adb method to restore to 240 or 320.
241 dpi is also a good number to try. It fixes the problems some apps have when running at 240 dpi. Credit goes to g33k3r. However it will cause market incompatibilities. Read #6 to fix this.
246 will fix the contact widget, and quick contact, but it will use the old style contact info which shows a large contact image above their info, not small and to the side. Credit goes to maddler.
250 dpi OR 260 dpi OR 280 dpi are also good values if you would like a smaller than stock value, but 240 is too small for you.
Method 1 (Using an app):
Download LCD Density Modder (Free) / LCD Density Modder Pro from market. Set density to 240 or 241, apply, then reboot. There are multiple different apps that can change your dpi, but this app is guaranteed to work on the Galaxy Nexus.
Method 2 (Modify a file):
Using Root File Explorer or a similar program, modify /system/build.prop file (must mount /system as r/w).
Replace:
ro.sf.lcd_density=320
With:
ro.sf.lcd_density=240
Save and reboot.
Method 3 (Using adb):
adb pull /system/build.prop C:/build.prop
In build.prop, replace:
ro.sf.lcd_density=320
With:
ro.sf.lcd_density=240
adb remount
adb push C:/build.prop /system/build.prop
Reboot phone.
2. Apps where UI is different on 240 dpi (for better or worse, ui elements have been rearranged, but none are broken)
Launcher: Home screen icons are still 4x4 and squished into the center of the screen. App drawer and Widget drawer do not fill. There is a mod that fixes this in this thread: FIX HERE
Market: Now has 2 columns instead of one when listing apps.
Gmail: Quick access icons have been romved from the bottom and placed on the top. Only first two icons are visible, other are collapsed into the drop down menu.
People: Contact info now has a two column layout: a small icon of contact on left (static) with all of the contact info as a scrolling pane on the right (no visible divider). Favorite contact icons are much smaller.
3. Apps where UI is broken, but still useable
Sports Tracker: Some interface items dont stretch to fill the screen.
ADW /ADW Ex Launcher: There is a blue line and a menu icon above the homescreen at all times.
Speedtest.net: App shows up centered on screen, not filling whole screen.
Kindle: It still works but the text is now centered in the middle and there is a large amount of paddling around it.
4. Apps where UI is completely broken
Music: App displays incorrectly at 240 dpi. Run at 241 to fix this
5. Android UI glitches
Sometimes when selecting text the menu bar on the top of the screen will have a weird blue streak across it.
Stock ICS keyboard the popup when you press a key seems like it gets clipped off a little on the bottom.
Clicking the picture of a contact either from the people app, or from a 1x1 contact widget you no longer get the quick access popup, instead it is now the person's contact picture blown up to full screen and half cut off on the right side.
6. Market apps incompatable with device (according to market)
None that I know of. Since 240 dpi is a standard dpi for most android phones, I don't envision very many apps being incompabile. If you find an app that the market say is incompatible, you can try setting your density back to 320 temporarily in order to download it.
For those with market issues on a non-standard dpi (241, 250, 260, 280 etc.), try this:
1. Boot your phone into 320 or 240 dpi mode (depending on which kind of compatibility you want).
2. Find the Market app under manage apps. Click uninstall updates, clear data, clear cache.
3. Find Market Updater under manage apps and click Disable.
4. Open Market and accept terms of service.
5. Change dpi back to 241 and reboot.
Alternatively, LCD Density Modder Pro has the ability to download and install a modded market apk to fix market compatibility issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
7. Apps that crash (with possible workarounds)
Youtube: Will crash on start. Open from landscape mode! Youtube will not crash if openened in landscape mode. You can also open youtube links from the browser and other apps just fine.
8. Before and After Photos (320 dpi on left, 240 dpi on right):
***CLICK ANY SCREENSHOT TO VIEW FULL SIZE!***
Settings:
People:
Contact Info (note that the bottom bar has merged into the top bar):
Android Market:

***RESERVED***

can you provide a screenshot?
like a before/after pic.

I think this is crazy.
The stock DPI is amazing.
Get an SGSII if you want an old-school resolution or have bad eyes.
My stock DPI is absolutely beautiful...

ericshmerick said:
I think this is crazy.
The stock DPI is amazing.
Get an SGSII if you want an old-school resolution or have bad eyes.
My stock DPI is absolutely beautiful...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are completely missing the point. On Android when you change the DPI, you are essentially telling android the size at which to "scale" all objects on the screen. Notice how the Galaxy Nexus has a 720p screen yet you can only fit 4x4 icons on the desktop like the Galaxy S2? Well that is because the 320 dpi is telling android to scale those things bigger. Setting it to 240 dpi will make everything smaller and give you more screen "real estate". The resolution is still 720p.
You mention having bad eyes, but when you lower the dpi you actually need GOOD eyes because everything is smaller and harder to read if you have bad eyes.
paOol said:
can you provide a screenshot?
like a before/after pic.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am going to post some screenshots later today.

YouTube crashes on launch for me when set to 240 DPI. I have not performed a wipe, though I have tried wiping the settings and cache for the app.

LadFromWales85 said:
YouTube crashes on launch for me when set to 240 DPI. I have not performed a wipe, though I have tried wiping the settings and cache for the app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah yes, thanks for reminding me. YT crashes for me as well, however if you have the widget you can click one of the videos and it will open that video. You can search for videos from there, but you cant access the home page for some reason.
EDIT: It turns out if you open youtube in landscape mode it will work!

Well thx for the Tip with the density. But however...When I start DPI Changer I get an error "Unable to read configuration file"
Any ideas?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using My Thumb...

Kizura said:
Well thx for the Tip with the density. But however...When I start DPI Changer I get an error "Unable to read configuration file"
Any ideas?
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using My Thumb...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you rooted? This requires root.

for sure iam rooted...it was the first thing i have done... and i have ARHD Custom rom installed.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

Kizura said:
for sure iam rooted...it was the first thing i have done... and i have ARHD Custom rom installed.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have Root File Explorer? You can use the second method i listed to change the build.prop file. You can also use adb to pull the file locally, edit it, and push it back to the phone.

Oh ok then I will do it manually
I will report back soon ...I hope xD
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
Edit: Ok this is more awesome as it was on my DHD !!!
Really thank you for that great Tip and the Help

Kizura said:
Oh ok then I will do it manually
I will report back soon ...I hope xD
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
Edit: Ok this is more awesome as it was on my DHD !!!
Really thank you for that great Tip and the Help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome. Make sure to check out my modified home screen launcher to get the full effect:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1390935
Also, if you find any apps that don't display properly or something else is wrong with them (when running in 240 dpi), please post back in this thread to help inform others.

Mhh I use adb launcher... but on top of the screen is now a blue horizontal line with the three dots for options on the right side....
Will your mod take care of this? I hope you know what I mean...
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

Kizura said:
Mhh I use adb launcher... but on top of the screen is now a blue horizontal line with the three dots for options on the right side....
Will your mod take care of this? I hope you know what I mean...
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have ADW Ex launcher and i see that as well. It is the default titlebar and menu system for apps in ICS. Did you experience this when in 320 dpi as well or only in 240? I haven't tested it in 320.
And no, my mod only affects the stock launcher so it will not fix your problem.

No with 320 dpi that line doesn't appear its there since I have 240 Dpi...
Tested your Launcher replacement...
Great Work
But as you said it will not fix this "line affect" in adw
Maybe in a future update in adw launcher it will be fixed.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

I added photos to the main post now. Click on any photo to view the original size image!

Awesome, really cool. Trying it out today to see if I like it.
Another noticed bug - if you have a contact on your home screen (single icon version), which normally pops up the quick box for the contact, this now just seems to pop up their display picture and nothing else.

I see what you mean about the contact. It also happens when in the people app and you click their picture. I added it to the first post. thanks.

I thought changing the DPI would enable the ICS for tablets UI?

Changing DPI to 540

If you like a tighter crisp viewing experience, I can confirm that adjusting DPI down to 540 is stable.
I use Texdroider DPI, works with 5.1 :good:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.texdroider.texdroider_dpi
WARNING: Be careful, setting too low can bootloop your phone
It's your phone, your responsibility.

Could you maybe upload some screenshots to see how it looks. Im a little worried about getting a bootloop
Sent from my VS986 using XDA Free mobile app

Screenshots
I am experiencing no side effect or lag with DPI change.
On a side note-
There are several Nandroid backup options available, I use online Nandroid Backup w Nandroid Manager

Does this require root>?

wrichards2009 said:
Does this require root>?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes.

By stable, do you mean LG camera works too!? I tried 520 over the weekend and it kept FC, didn't think there was a sweet spot!

@540 camera works great. I haven't taken it down to 520.
Good feedback thanks

Ok, so I did this like I have on any other device by adjusting the build.prop with root explorer and I entered 540. And now I am in a boot loop.. any suggestions?
2 hours later.. had to flash stock firmware.

This is mine at 580. 540 starts to make things a little too small for these old eyes.

JacRyan said:
Screenshots
I am experiencing no side effect or lag with DPI change.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even shortcuts on the lockscreen?

fr4nk1yn said:
Even shortcuts on the lockscreen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont use shortcuts on my lockscreen.
Enabled 5 to test. All sized and working correctly.
Unable to screenshot lockscreen but no issues

JacRyan said:
I dont use shortcuts on my lockscreen.
Enabled 5 to test. All sized and working correctly.
Unable to screenshot lockscreen but no issues
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks. The adb method causes weirdness like blank shorcuts. I may have to break down and root.

540 working great thanks

The only issue I have with 540 is you can no longer switch between saving to the MicroSD card vs internal in the LG camera app.

For the record
If you want to change to 540dpi I would without a doubt use Kernel auditor or Es File Manager. If you edit your build prop with Root Explorer you will boot loop! Root Explorer opens the G3/G4 build prop in a TRuncated mode because the file is too large and when you save that file it will only save the available truncated portion, BE CAREFUL AND PAY ATTENTION. Setting to 540 dpi will not effect anything on your device, all other posts and problems are due to other issues. Please read and save yourself the KDZ flash time, friends.
Thank you

It doesn't require root.
Enable developer mode, and usb debugging.
Use Minimal adb and fastboot
open the folder
shift right click open command prompt from there
type adb shell wm density 540
This works on any device without root

I did 540 dpi today and I have to say I really like it. Everything is a bit smaller now, it has more like a tablet feel rather than a phone. But you get quite a bit more content on the screen, and for myself it's the perfect balance between readability and usability.

endleesss said:
It doesn't require root.
Enable developer mode, and usb debugging.
Use Minimal adb and fastboot
open the folder
shift right click open command prompt from there
type adb shell wm density 540
This works on any device without root
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup this is how I do it. Lowering the DPI was one of the main reasons why I wanted root. Now I don't even care about root. I love the LG software and tweaks so there is not much I would change. I do like some XPOSED Status bar tweaks to do center clock and hide some of the million icons (alarm, nfc, location, vpn, 4G/3G, Cellular strength, WiFi etc.). LG goes overboard with icons man. I just want a 4G/3G+Signal & Battery OR WiFi & Battery. 2 icons max. Plus a clock of course... an option for a Center clock would be awesome.

There is a big difference changing dpi with adb shell wm density vs texdroider_dpi app. For me at least, when i change dpi with adb shell, some apps don't work right, like:
ebay: the menu that shows your profile pic and links to home watching, etc is screwed up
amazon: product pics, when you enlarge, you can't zoom in & out, can only see the top left corner
tinycam: on a single camera view, the video feed is zoome in about 10x
with textdroider, all of those apps work properly. Did anyone else experience this?
I have done 530 with adb command, but not with texdroider, is it safe to change to 530 with texdroider?

They should both be the same output. Although not all density settings are equal. Some settings cause weird issues like what you posted. I think I use 540 and don't experience anything weird.

marshmallow lg radio and internet not working.

I am on rooted stock marshmallow with xposed installed.I have changed resolution to 1080p and 530dpi.I face a problem everytime i try to open lg fm radio and lg internet i see ''unfortunately ,app has stopped'' and i see the logo of android robot instead of the app icon.How can i restore the fm radio and lg internet browser?

soulfreem said:
I am on rooted stock marshmallow with xposed installed.I have changed resolution to 1080p and 530dpi.I face a problem everytime i try to open lg fm radio and lg internet i see ''unfortunately ,app has stopped'' and i see the logo of android robot instead of the app icon.How can i restore the fm radio and lg internet browser?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that is simply caused by your dpi settings, android uses diff dpi folders for diff devices in terms of icons. there is hdpi xhdpi etc, each folder is used in a certain range of dpi, i can't remember but for simplicity i'll use fake examples.
say hdpi folder is 50-100 dpi.
and xhdpi folder is 101-150 dpi. (these folders are found in the apk for the app.)
i used to be a old school themer who themed directly with apk files so i know this topic =D
if lg programmed your phone as 125 dpi default, then they probably only built files and icons for the xhdpi folder. (layouts tell your phone how to draw the ui).
if you switch your dpi to anything lower than 101, then the app will instantly crash because its looking for files in the hdpi folder now instead of xhdpi and lg didn't make the app compatible for those settings because they are assuming you aren't going to change your dpi and they only built the app for that specific phone/dpi range to save money, time, etc. and for control.
essentially your apps are instantly crashing because you have changed the dpi out of the range that will look for the correct files in the apk. if you slowly move your dpi towards the default ( rebooting every time and trying the apps ) eventually you will find the lowest or highest possible setting that won't bump you into the wrong layout and icon folders (folders inside the app (apk)).
can i ask you what version of lg g3 you are running because i'm jealous your radio is working (when you have the correct dpi range set )
(some things you might notice, are that the only apps that stop working are the LG apps that came with the phone, playstore apps are programmed to run in a wider range of dpi settings so they can be installed across a wider range of phones)
This is one of the reason people run AOSP / Cyanogenmod or other popular roms because most of those can run on almost any dpi (within reason) cyanogenmod has dpi built into the settings menu now, but has a bunch of presets, you still have to use build.prop if you want to try things outside of those values but their range is really good i don't think you would want to.. The catch 22 is sometimes you lose your radio and ir blaster anyways on other roms. i think both are working on cm 12.1 but i'm not 100% about fm radio, i have seen lots of ppl get the ir blaster working but you need to flash a patch that changes a few settings (selinux permissive and something else i think) there is a flashable fix for it somewhere kicking around xda if you search for it i'm sure you can find it.
on cm13 the ir blaster is working but the lg quick remote app isn't so you have to use a playstore app until lg releases a version for marshmallow and someone ports it to aosp, also will probably have to turn selinux to 0 still as well

Camera Forced close when I record with dpi changed in build.prop

Good afternoon,
I changed the dpi in build.prop recently, but only now that I realize that the camera stopped recording . When put to record , advancing to one second it gives force close . What can it be?
I am using the rom marshmallow

The dpi. Lg apps dont work with lower dpi

Recent apps issue with DPI & Resolution change

Just flashed Lee 5.0 and on Oreo now and no issues yet and I finally decided to lower my resolution to 1080x1920 to see if it improves battery life. So far no change but I'll give it a couple days.
My issue is why are my recent apps previews and when I initially open an app it seems to open to a higher dpi then quickly goes to the one I have set. Also my lockscreen clock is bigger than my unlocked status bar clock and even the other icons like wifi, etc. It's not too much of a major issue yet but I'd like to see if there's an easy fix. Ive searched the 10 forums and also the rest of XDA to see if other phones have had this issue when changing doing but found nothing.
Also rebooted and cleared cache a couple times
Here's some screen shots of the kinda useless recent app - previews now

NIKEstickER said:
Just flashed Lee 5.0 and on Oreo now and no issues yet and I finally decided to lower my resolution to 1080x1920 to see if it improves battery life. So far no change but I'll give it a couple days.
My issue is why are my recent apps previews and when I initially open an app it seems to open to a higher dpi then quickly goes to the one I have set. Also my lockscreen clock is bigger than my unlocked status bar clock and even the other icons like wifi, etc. It's not too much of a major issue yet but I'd like to see if there's an easy fix. Ive searched the 10 forums and also the rest of XDA to see if other phones have had this issue when changing doing but found nothing.
Also rebooted and cleared cache a couple times
Here's some screen shots of the kinda useless recent app - previews now
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What are you changing your resolution/dpi with?
Should be zero negative side effects when using the settings > display > display size
options that are built into the native Settings...
Sent from my HTC6545LVW using Tapatalk

santod040 said:
What are you changing your resolution/dpi with?
Should be zero negative side effects when using the settings > display > display size
options that are built into the native Settings...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes but that doesn't lower the resolution. I used a root app called "easy dpi changer"