Develop Bugs

Super V7.01_20170123 Android N ROM - SPFT + OTA release

Its finally here! The first final release for Nougat 7.0
For now its through SPFT. If you want the OTA you'll have to wait until next month.
http://community.umidigi.com/thread-6292-1-1.html
Enjoy!

OTA "is working" for me...
I have to download .zip file from UMI DIGI site copy to SD card and use "Local update" in phone update menu. No personal data will be removed.

Hi i am using version from october 20161017.
Must i first upgrade to 20161721 and then upgrade via SPFT to Nougat?

No need for that. Flash it from your current rom.

Battery consumption
Hi. What about battery consumption in 7?? It looks more battery consumption for me ....

Is the camera any better?

drakJBC1 said:
Hi. What about battery consumption in 7?? It looks more battery consumption for me ....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Because this is the first official version of Nougat the optimisation for Wakelocks isn't the best. Also when you upgrade to a totally new Android version you need a at least 3 charge cycles where you go from 100% to 5% before you charge your device up to 100% again. One thing I've done due to the poor Wakelock management is using greenify, it works even better if you have a rooted device.

dkzg said:
Is the camera any better?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The camera on umi super will always be rubbish. I haven't noticed any real change.

Creedo4Life said:
The camera on umi super will always be rubbish. I haven't noticed any real change.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The lens is not the software is bad. What about third party camera apps? Are they still black?

dkzg said:
The lens is not the software is bad. What about third party camera apps? Are they still black?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The dark camera issue has somewhat been resolved in third party apps. I noticed a bug that still persist using the selfie camera on snapchat, taking photos looks fine but if you try video recording the screen goes very dark like the previous dark camera issue.
If the poor camera was just down to software don't you think Umi would've fixed it already? I mean i had this phone since July 2016 and not much has changed. I never got this device for the camera though but for the reasonable hardware for a very cheap price.

Creedo4Life said:
The dark camera issue has somewhat been resolved in third party apps. I noticed a bug that still persist using the selfie camera on snapchat, taking photos looks fine but if you try video recording the screen goes very dark like the previous dark camera issue.
If the poor camera was just down to software don't you think Umi would've fixed it already? I mean i had this phone since July 2016 and not much has changed. I never got this device for the camera though but for the reasonable hardware for a very cheap price.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try Open camera app on play store. It stopped twitching of the picture. But it was dark. If it's not great!
Im not an expert but i think the problem is that they take the camera module from i.e. Samsung Galaxy s6 and some new processor from MediaTek and can't make them fully compatible...or something like that...

i am asking here because in the umi forums no one seems to be interested in responding to questions.
does anyone still has android 6 installed and rooted? i would need the apk: mtkquicksearchbox
this is the grey searchbox enabled on the homescreen by default. with this one you could search and find everything and i have no idea why i now have to cope with that bad google one.

Any root methods for Android 7.0 of UMi Super?

mclaren2 said:
i am asking here because in the umi forums no one seems to be interested in responding to questions.
does anyone still has android 6 installed and rooted? i would need the apk: mtkquicksearchbox
this is the grey searchbox enabled on the homescreen by default. with this one you could search and find everything and i have no idea why i now have to cope with that bad google one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have bad news for you. THe Mtkquicksearchbox doesn't work on Nougat 7. Before switching over i saved the APK and when i tried to install it after i upgraded from N6 to N7 the app just won't install.
I believe it has to do with something on the writing permissions on the system. Even after rooting my phone and giving rw permission in es file explorer it wouldn't work.
I prefer the mtk quicksearch over google and hope this might come back in a later software upgrade by Umi but i highly doubt they will put it back in future releases of N7, i could be wrong though.

Creedo4Life said:
I have bad news for you. THe Mtkquicksearchbox doesn't work on Nougat 7. Before switching over i saved the APK and when i tried to install it after i upgraded from N6 to N7 the app just won't install.
I believe it has to do with something on the writing permissions on the system. Even after rooting my phone and giving rw permission in es file explorer it wouldn't work.
I prefer the mtk quicksearch over google and hope this might come back in a later software upgrade by Umi but i highly doubt they will put it back in future releases of N7, i could be wrong though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thank you for this answer, i suspected something like this.

Sim Card Not Detected
I updated my Android Umi Super through the local method.
But now my simcards cannot be detected.
I have tried re-booting...cold boots, Airplane Mode On Off
Simcard removal... Another Local Install
Etc.
What Should I do.

Updated to the latest firmware, now I'm getting constant soft reboots...
Tried through local OTA and the soft reboots started. Redownloaded and managed to get it to flash through local OTA again in between soft reboots, no change. Full factory reset, no change.
Tried updating through SPTool, still getting the same soft reboots every minute or so.
Any ideas out there?

Pls so I shouldn't download the v7.01...... Again if there will be problem right.

Microphone not working well after update
Since my upgrade to android 7 on my UMI super I have found a few bugs:
1.) Banking app is not working any more
2.) When I do a video chat with my friends they can't hear me at all and mostly hear white noise. This is the same on skype, messenger, watsapp calling etc. This was not present in android 6. I have reset my phone and still both problems exist Anyway to revert back to android 6?

Have they fixed the crap/no gps lock issues??? Or is that just a pipe dream???

Do all P2XL users have stutters & slowdowns?

My phone is smooth for the most part.
Some minimal stuttering when scrolling.
Sometimes I have stutters when swiping down or opening notifications, using multitasking. It's still less than competition.
What bothers me the most are the slowdowns, there are menus and UI elements that consistently have like 15fp/s.
I have these in certain locations or apps.
1. When I have the old open with menu pop-up with apps shown in a vertical list
2. Google Photos when in landcape and it seemingly switches to different color space
3. Some older gen apps
I haven't been able to find anyone else who confirms experiencing these issues too.
Google support was useless.

Try disabling Digital Wellbeing. It's helped a lot of Pixel users.
https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/12/18616747/google-digital-wellbeing-slower-pixel-performance

try going back to the latest version of oreo. I find it smoother and the battery seems more steady on the decline.

aoaleman said:
Try disabling Digital Wellbeing. It's helped a lot of Pixel users.
https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/12/18616747/google-digital-wellbeing-slower-pixel-performance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I already did that, it improved the responsiveness and delay, but all of these issues still stand.
I can't understand if I am truly the only one, because I can't find nobody complaining, except when there was that huge delay, but I don't have such extreme case.
dimpoblimpo said:
try going back to the latest version of oreo. I find it smoother and the battery seems more steady on the decline.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't really want to do that, there are many improvements from Pie, that I really favor. Did You go back to Oreo because You were experiencing the issues, how long ago was this?

Try factory resetting then restoring. I'm on pie and have no stuttering whatsoever

I don't really want to do that, there are many improvements from Pie, that I really favor. Did You go back to Oreo because You were experiencing the issues, how long ago was this?[/QUOTE]
I got my pixel 2xl in November and liked oreo but upgraded after a few weeks to pie. Had it going for a little over a month and battery was the first thing I noticed having the operating system take up second most battery next to screen on time. Too many features and background stuff happening I saw no benefit for so I decided to try Pie ROMs to customize the volume rocker menu and just have a cleaner gapps with less pie stuff. After a few weeks of different ROMs I just went back to stock Oreo and haven't looked back. My curiosity of trying pie and customizing ROMs was fulfilled and now I'm just keeping what I found the safest for everyday when shuffling apps and relying on battery.

beezar said:
Try factory resetting then restoring. I'm on pie and have no stuttering whatsoever
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I already did that. Did not help at all. I have the same issues in Safe Mode too.
Can you try to record a 4K video, then play it back on Google Photos, and as it's playing swipe up?

Nobody asked the most important things:
1: stock, unrooted?
2. Beta Q or official Pie?

richii0207 said:
Nobody asked the most important things:
1: stock, unrooted?
2. Beta Q or official Pie?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 ^^^^^^^^^^^
If 100% stock, there's probably not much you can do except a factory reset. If you've already done that with little to no improvement, then maybe you just have an aging device.
If rooted, I'd suggest a full wipe, 100% clean flash of the latest factory image (leave the -w intact).
My 2 XL is one of the earliest released devices (Oct 17) and it still runs like new. Of course I'm rooted and flash a fresh factory image monthly (or every other month) and only charge my battery for 15% to 95% (no empirical evidence that it absolutely helps, but it doesn't hurt).

richii0207 said:
Nobody asked the most important things:
1: stock, unrooted?
2. Beta Q or official Pie?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Az Biker said:
+1 ^^^^^^^^^^^
If 100% stock, there's probably not much you can do except a factory reset. If you've already done that with little to no improvement, then maybe you just have an aging device.
If rooted, I'd suggest a full wipe, 100% clean flash of the latest factory image (leave the -w intact).
My 2 XL is one of the earliest released devices (Oct 17) and it still runs like new. Of course I'm rooted and flash a fresh factory image monthly (or every other month) and only charge my battery for 15% to 95% (no empirical evidence that it absolutely helps, but it doesn't hurt).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stock official Pie. Had the issue for all the versions I ever had, since I started noticing the issues ~1 month after purchase. Purchased as new in 2018 November.
Not related to aging, maybe defective hardware. No physical or otherwise abuse. I take extra care not to overcharge the battery, or discharge.
It runs "like new" to me as well, but I have stutters in certain places, and it's uncertain to me if it's even a hardware defect, maybe it's software bug.
I have performed a factory reset. And I also tried opting in for Android Q beta, and then opting out, to make the phone download a new factory image. But I only ever did it with the phone, without rooting or anything similar.

Xypleth said:
Stock official Pie. Had the issue for all the versions I ever had, since I started noticing the issues ~1 month after purchase. Purchased as new in 2018 November.
Not related to aging, maybe defective hardware. No physical or otherwise abuse. I take extra care not to overcharge the battery, or discharge.
It runs "like new" to me as well, but I have stutters in certain places, and it's uncertain to me if it's even a hardware defect, maybe it's software bug.
I have performed a factory reset. And I also tried opting in for Android Q beta, and then opting out, to make the phone download a new factory image. But I only ever did it with the phone, without rooting or anything similar.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Still under the 1 year warranty, why not get an RMA and get a replacement?

Az Biker said:
Still under the 1 year warranty, why not get an RMA and get a replacement?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm just not convinced that this is indeed a hardware issue.
I've seen users talking about this, a little bit, but none have taken this seriously, so maybe they just get used to it.
For comparison OnePlus 3T and Samsung S8 is so much more laggy compared. But I didn't get the low frame rates in earlier mentioned areas.
Edit: To further explain the reason for not RMA'ing. If there's no proof that the issue is RMA'able, then I'm just going to waste my and their time on something that can't be fixed.
Edit2: There are people saying that Samsung phones don't lag and stutter, yet I have not seen a single Samsung phone that doesn't lag and stutter. Yes, even the S10. Pixel 2 XL is smoother than the S10. But while it is smoother, I experience these frame rate slow downs, I do not see on other phones.

Xypleth said:
I'm just not convinced that this is indeed a hardware issue.
I've seen users talking about this, a little bit, but none have taken this seriously, so maybe they just get used to it.
For comparison OnePlus 3T and Samsung S8 is so much more laggy compared. But I didn't get the low frame rates in earlier mentioned areas.
Edit: To further explain the reason for not RMA'ing. If there's no proof that the issue is RMA'able, then I'm just going to waste my and their time on something that can't be fixed.
Edit2: There are people saying that Samsung phones don't lag and stutter, yet I have not seen a single Samsung phone that doesn't lag and stutter. Yes, even the S10. Pixel 2 XL is smoother than the S10. But while it is smoother, I experience these frame rate slow downs, I do not see on other phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My RMA suggestion was based on your comment that this was first noticed soon after purchase as well as on multiple versions.
Only you know what's best for you and your device; we're just offering suggestions for your to consider :good:

Az Biker said:
My RMA suggestion was based on your comment that this was first noticed soon after purchase as well as on multiple versions.
Only you know what's best for you and your device; we're just offering suggestions for your to consider :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I appreciate it, very much.
So You're saying, that You don't experience any stutters or lags, that I mentioned, or that I didn't..?
And You are not counting in, but notice the lags and stutters that get introduced, when you use the phone while apps are installing or updating, yes?

Xypleth said:
I appreciate it, very much.
So You're saying, that You don't experience any stutters or lags, that I mentioned, or that I didn't..?
And You are not counting in, but notice the lags and stutters that get introduced, when you use the phone while apps are installing or updating, yes?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only time I experience stutters/lag with my 2 XL is when I refuse to stop using Froyo era apps, or when messing with custom Roms / kernels. The lag usually goes away once I clean flash the factory image, or delete the 30 year old apps
I've been very fortunate with most of my devices. Maybe I'm not as adventurous in my flashing, beta testing, or experimenting as others,

Az Biker said:
The only time I experience stutters/lag with my 2 XL is when I refuse to stop using Froyo era apps, or when messing with custom Roms / kernels. The lag usually goes away once I clean flash the factory image, or delete the 30 year old apps
I've been very fortunate with most of my devices. Maybe I'm not as adventurous in my flashing, beta testing, or experimenting as others,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can I ask You to help test out a few places?
Here is a example of the effect I experience: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Rj1VLkESQfonsaVAA
The Google Photos place has this, some older gen apps as in the video above.
And when opening a download, or getting the old gen app list, which looks like this: https://i.imgur.com/qhRZE09.png
To replicate:
1. Open Google app
2. Open any link which has a picture that can be downloaded
3. Long press on a picture to download
4. Press on notification of downloaded file message, it should open in "Chrome" with pathway file:///storage...
5. Click on "share" button

Xypleth said:
Can I ask You to help test out a few places?
Here is a example of the effect I experience: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Rj1VLkESQfonsaVAA
The Google Photos place has this, some older gen apps as in the video above.
And when opening a download, or getting the old gen app list, which looks like this: https://i.imgur.com/qhRZE09.png
To replicate:
1. Open Google app
2. Open any link which has a picture that can be downloaded
3. Long press on a picture to download
4. Press on notification of downloaded file message, it should open in "Chrome" with pathway file:///storage...
5. Click on "share" button
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Absolutely, the "Open with" dialog is the single lagging place in all the Pixel UI.
Always experienced this in every version, stock / Q, with or without custom kernels.

Xypleth said:
Can I ask You to help test out a few places?
Here is a example of the effect I experience: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Rj1VLkESQfonsaVAA
The Google Photos place has this, some older gen apps as in the video above.
And when opening a download, or getting the old gen app list, which looks like this: https://i.imgur.com/qhRZE09.png
To replicate:
1. Open Google app
2. Open any link which has a picture that can be downloaded
3. Long press on a picture to download
4. Press on notification of downloaded file message, it should open in "Chrome" with pathway file:///storage...
5. Click on "share" button
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I went to imgur, clicked link to download pic, clicked on download file, popped right open.
Did this a few times, no lag at all.

blackbird5308 said:
Absolutely, the "Open with" dialog is the single lagging place in all the Pixel UI.
Always experienced this in every version, stock / Q, with or without custom kernels.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is reassuring, but still troubling. Thanks for telling me.
I have exactly the same experience, I also tried Q and it was the same.
Az Biker said:
I went to imgur, clicked link to download pic, clicked on download file, popped right open.
Did this a few times, no lag at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Popped right open, means that you have a default set for the app which opens the download.
What stutters here is the menu that shows apps to : open the file with

Az Biker said:
The only time I experience stutters/lag with my 2 XL is when I refuse to stop using Froyo era apps, or when messing with custom Roms / kernels. The lag usually goes away once I clean flash the factory image, or delete the 30 year old apps
I've been very fortunate with most of my devices. Maybe I'm not as adventurous in my flashing, beta testing, or experimenting as others,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What setup of ROM, kernel and mods do you have?

[Question] Recomnded stock version

Hello,
(Short version)
What is the best stock software version/update in your opinion?
Any reason not to upgrade to the latest version?
(More details)
Just got this tablet today.
I think I'll stay on stock for now.
Model - SM-T837R4
Came with version - T837R4TYU1BSCB
Update wants to update to version - T837R4TYS1BSE1
(attached current version in pics)
Thanks to anyone who helps in advanced.

Well, I think that it's always worh updating. Because of the newer security patches available. And just because you can
I'm on Android 10 and I see no differences with Android 9.

I'm on Android 10, last update, and everything runs smooth and perfectly. I agree with exnokiafan. Worth the update

Hm, I use this tablet to play Rules Of Survival and I suspect I had better performance on Pie than 10. I don't know if I can still agree with my previous answer .
Everything depends on the use you make of this tablet.

exnokiafan
InsertCoin_Pls
Thank you both for your input and giving your opinion.
I decided to update the tablet. I haven't had a chanceto use it yet, but just scrolling and opening apps looks fine and smooth
I plan tp use it mostly for watching content, and for 1 game, but rarely, so I belive it will be fine.
Thank you both again, appriciate it.

opeller said:
exnokiafan
InsertCoin_Pls
Thank you both for your input and giving your opinion.
I decided to update the tablet. I haven't had a chanceto use it yet, but just scrolling and opening apps looks fine and smooth
I plan tp use it mostly for watching content, and for 1 game, but rarely, so I belive it will be fine.
Thank you both again, appriciate it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice. I Use the tablet just like you. One game and streaming contents to Chromecast. I have updated, kind of heavily debloated it with adb and rooted it. I still have to find a way to make it pass the cst check but since I don't use any banking app or anything similar I might forget about this detail. It's warranty is gone but it will expire in 2 months. Tbh this is the only device I haven't rooted at day one xD.
I needed root to try a couple of things in order to fix the heavy lag that affects rules of survival. LoL. I hope you will enjoy your updated and safe tablet ))

exnokiafan said:
Nice. I Use the tablet just like you. One game and streaming contents to Chromecast. I have updated, kind of heavily debloated it with adb and rooted it. I still have to find a way to make it pass the cst check but since I don't use any banking app or anything similar I might forget about this detail. It's warranty is gone but it will expire in 2 months. Tbh this is the only device I haven't rooted at day one xD.
I needed root to try a couple of things in order to fix the heavy lag that affects rules of survival. LoL. I hope you will enjoy your updated and safe tablet ))
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you
I hope we both can get the most out of our tablets and enjoy ourselves.

CalyxOS has been released

CalyxOs has been released. This is great news for us.
Download and install instructions: https://calyxos.org/news/2021/01/26/pixel5-pixel4a5g-support/
Features: https://calyxos.org/features/
Do not forget to join our Telegram channel to stay up to date:
Telegram: Contact @pixel4a5gupdates
t.me
Let's use this thread for a Calyx discussion.

Screenies

radogost said:
Screenies
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Esim support?

Happy days!! This is the reason for getting the 4a 5g.
Is it already daily driver ready?

FooYoungHi said:
Happy days!! This is the reason for getting the 4a 5g.
Is it already daily driver ready?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got it running and no issues with the ROM itself, I like it alot, but the whole playstore and getting aurora to work made me give up, I was not able to get my preferred playstore apps.

shannoncole05 said:
I got it running and no issues with the ROM itself, I like it alot, but the whole playstore and getting aurora to work made me give up, I was not able to get my preferred playstore apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Solution: Uninstall Aurora and reinstall it from F-Droid.

Before I dive in, 2 questions:
- I'm still runnin the december update, do I need to update to the januari update before I can flash Calyx?
- Is there a way to backup my current install?
Edit: I bit the bullet anyways, first updating to the Januari update, painless process, btw. I decided that I didn't care about a backup.
First impressions: Very nice looking and I saw pretty quickly that within CalyxOS you can back stuff up outside of the bootloader.
Had the 'Aurora store' bug, fixed after reinstalling it.
Gonna love exploring the OS in the coming days.
I have one question about a launcher: I have the paid version of Nova Launcher, and I'm logged into Aurora anonymously, so I can't DL paid apps. Does anyone have an alternative to Nova Launcher? I absolutely love this app (the gestures etc. are a dream) so preferably a FOSS alternative with close to the same functionality would be awesome. I have been able to migrate to FOSS/free apps for all of my paid ones, but I still can't find anything better as a launcher.
Edit2: Might have been nice for them to put a warning before flashing that it will completely wipe your phone.. I made a few last minute backups on the internal storage before flashing. Everything is lost now. Luckily I back stuff up often, but I still lost stuff, so a warning from them might've been nice.
Edit3: I now can't log into my google account (for retrieving my whatsapp backup Fixed by using another phone and copying the local backup to my Pixel) because it can't connect to the server... know error apparently, but I can't find a fix for it.
Why oh, why, do I always decide to try this stuff on a sunday evening when I should go to bed...

FooYoungHi said:
Before I dive in, 2 questions:
- I'm still runnin the december update, do I need to update to the januari update before I can flash Calyx?
- Is there a way to backup my current install?
Edit: I bit the bullet anyways, first updating to the Januari update, painless process, btw. I decided that I didn't care about a backup.
First impressions: Very nice looking and I saw pretty quickly that within CalyxOS you can back stuff up outside of the bootloader.
Had the 'Aurora store' bug, fixed after reinstalling it.
Gonna love exploring the OS in the coming days.
I have one question about a launcher: I have the paid version of Nova Launcher, and I'm logged into Aurora anonymously, so I can't DL paid apps. Does anyone have an alternative to Nova Launcher? I absolutely love this app (the gestures etc. are a dream) so preferably a FOSS alternative with close to the same functionality would be awesome. I have been able to migrate to FOSS/free apps for all of my paid ones, but I still can't find anything better as a launcher.
Edit2: Might have been nice for them to put a warning before flashing that it will completely wipe your phone.. I made a few last minute backups on the internal storage before flashing. Everything is lost now. Luckily I back stuff up often, but I still lost stuff, so a warning from them might've been nice.
Edit3: I now can't log into my google account (for retrieving my whatsapp backup Fixed by using another phone and copying the local backup to my Pixel) because it can't connect to the server... know error apparently, but I can't find a fix for it.
Why oh, why, do I always decide to try this stuff on a sunday evening when I should go to bed...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try Lawnchair Launcher and sideload
https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/deletescape/lawnchair/lawnchair-2-1-2627-ci-q-merge-release/

shannoncole05 said:
Try Lawnchair Launcher and sideload
https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/deletescape/lawnchair/lawnchair-2-1-2627-ci-q-merge-release/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I'll give that one a shot.
I ran into something I didn't see for years on a smartphone: ADS!! Since root is impossible and not recommended, adaway won't work.. Any other solutions?

FooYoungHi said:
Thanks, I'll give that one a shot.
I ran into something I didn't see for years on a smartphone: ADS!! Since root is impossible and not recommended, adaway won't work.. Any other solutions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
for ADs try Blokada: https://blokada.org/
or the new Adaway, also with rootles mode VPN: https://github.com/AdAway/AdAway

Just got the februari update.. the most painless update I've ever had on a smartphone. Really digging CalyxOS.
About the adblockers; I already run a 'normal' VPN, so VPN based ablocking won't work, right?
Some other random questions:
Any suggestions for (preferably FOSS) keyboards? I currently use love swiftkey, but I refuse to sign up to download skins, can't seem to restore my backup, and I don't trust Microsoft. I can't seem to find a lot of open source ones.
I also have some shared calendars from google that I unfortunately need to use, but I don't want to sign in to google on my phone. Any tips to get this to work? I can import regular google calendars into my nextcloud, but not the shared ones.

FooYoungHi said:
Just got the februari update.. the most painless update I've ever had on a smartphone. Really digging CalyxOS.
About the adblockers; I already run a 'normal' VPN, so VPN based ablocking won't work, right?
Some other random questions:
Any suggestions for (preferably FOSS) keyboards? I currently use love swiftkey, but I refuse to sign up to download skins, can't seem to restore my backup, and I don't trust Microsoft. I can't seem to find a lot of open source ones.
I also have some shared calendars from google that I unfortunately need to use, but I don't want to sign in to google on my phone. Any tips to get this to work? I can import regular google calendars into my nextcloud, but not the shared ones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
About the adblockers with VPN - you can utilize "Secure DNS" option in Android. I highly recommend NextDNS or BlahDNS for no-logging, adblocking DNS service.
As for the keyboards, there are AnysoftKeyboard (has swipe), OpenBoard and FlorisBoard. I am using Anysoftkeyboard and I am pretty happy. I'm beta testing it, and new version should be out soon. Also, Calyx has a firewall feature that allows you to block internet access for any app you want. Just go to the Settings -> Apps and then Data Usage and you can block Swiftkey from there. Calyx Team is currently working on a better UI for firewall, should be out in the following months.

radogost said:
About the adblockers with VPN - you can utilize "Secure DNS" option in Android. I highly recommend NextDNS or BlahDNS for no-logging, adblocking DNS service.
As for the keyboards, there are AnysoftKeyboard (has swipe), OpenBoard and FlorisBoard. I am using Anysoftkeyboard and I am pretty happy. I'm beta testing it, and new version should be out soon. Also, Calyx has a firewall feature that allows you to block internet access for any app you want. Just go to the Settings -> Apps and then Data Usage and you can block Swiftkey from there. Calyx Team is currently working on a better UI for firewall, should be out in the following months.
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I'm liking Anysoftkeyboard so far. I only wish you could remove the smilie and voice buttons, that would make the spacebar a bit wider.
Will the scureDNS stuff work nicely with a VPN, since they use their own ones, AFAIK. I got it to work, just wondering if it doen't mess with the security of the VPN.

FooYoungHi said:
I'm liking Anysoftkeyboard so far. I only wish you could remove the smilie and voice buttons, that would make the spacebar a bit wider.
Will the scureDNS stuff work nicely with a VPN, since they use their own ones, AFAIK. I got it to work, just wondering if it doen't mess with the security of the VPN.
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Click to collapse
You can delete the smiley button. Look in "bottom" layouts, and pick minimal or classic

FooYoungHi said:
Any suggestions for (preferably FOSS) keyboards? I currently use love swiftkey, but I refuse to sign up to download skins, can't seem to restore my backup, and I don't trust Microsoft. I can't seem to find a lot of open source ones.
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I love using Anysoft Keyboard

I just tried calyxos first time it today myself for 8 hours today. It ha sbeen very nice so far, although most of that 8 hours went in to setting everything up.
Soemthing I hate is that the google camera apk from aurora store is super old.. Ibut that is not calyxos fault.. Probably not that the small arrow to lower the keyboard is ont he left side and doesnt seem to be adjustable either..?
Will have to look around for some safe place to download a more recent gcam or I guess use some port.. Too bad I heard the ports are always buggy and bad and since I got a true pixel for the first time ever I was looking forward to run it with the best possible camera software.

cHECKjAM said:
Will have to look around for some safe place to download a more recent gcam or I guess use some port.. Too bad I heard the ports are always buggy and bad and since I got a true pixel for the first time ever I was looking forward to run it with the best possible camera software.
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Click to collapse
I am using GCam 7.3.018 by Urnyx05 since few weeks and it is all good... If I remember well, I got it here https://www.celsoazevedo.com/files/android/google-camera/dev-urnyx05/
I don't know if the version 8 does the job on this device, I did not try but am interested to hear back if you try
Edit: check this thread https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/gcam-camera-px-for-google-pixel-1-2-3-3a-4.3875663/post-84514901

ichino_o said:
I am using GCam 7.3.018 by Urnyx05 since few weeks and it is all good... If I remember well, I got it here https://www.celsoazevedo.com/files/android/google-camera/dev-urnyx05/
I don't know if the version 8 does the job on this device, I did not try but am interested to hear back if you try
Edit: check this thread https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/gcam-camera-px-for-google-pixel-1-2-3-3a-4.3875663/post-84514901
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I went ahead and installed the latest official Google camera software from apkmirror. I didnt want to go through the rabbithole of finding what port is the least broken, while also getting the latest and greatest update wise..
Altough now that I've used it for a few days im suspecting I don't have HDR. I cant find any options with HDR anywhere in the app, so maybe something wrong as I heard that if you run googles own gcam on custom roms (I guess calyxos as well?) You loose HDR?
Also its quite annoying that you have to use Google photos to o preview the pictures and I don't want to use that.

cHECKjAM said:
I didnt want to go through the rabbithole of finding what port is the least broken, while also getting the latest and greatest update wise..
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I can just say that downloading the version 8.1 linked in the thread I referred to in my previous post should make you happy... I just tried it and all seems to be working without any hassle. And it does not look like leading you to a rabbithole.
cHECKjAM said:
Altough now that I've used it for a few days im suspecting I don't have HDR. I cant find any options with HDR anywhere in the app, so maybe something wrong as I heard that if you run googles own gcam on custom roms (I guess calyxos as well?) You loose HDR?
Also its quite annoying that you have to use Google photos to o preview the pictures and I don't want to use that.
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Click to collapse
I guess that is why people are porting the app. I have working HDR (at least the option is here and can be switched, how to make sure that hdr is ok btw?) and I can check the photos with the alternative gallery apps, or at least with the default gallery. There is an option in GCam to allow using gallery other that Google Photo.
May I ask why Google photo is a problem? Looks like you can block all privacy-concerning behaviors...
Then, more generally, I am running CalyxOS with default microG settings on this device since two weeks and everything is just perfect. All is working perfectly and the battery consumtion is really good.
Great job! Perfect ROM for me on this device.

ichino_o said:
I can just say that downloading the version 8.1 linked in the thread I referred to in my previous post should make you happy... I just tried it and all seems to be working without any hassle. And it does not look like leading you to a rabbithole.
I guess that is why people are porting the app. I have working HDR (at least the option is here and can be switched, how to make sure that hdr is ok btw?) and I can check the photos with the alternative gallery apps, or at least with the default gallery. There is an option in GCam to allow using gallery other that Google Photo.
May I ask why Google photo is a problem? Looks like you can block all privacy-concerning behaviors...
Then, more generally, I am running CalyxOS with default microG settings on this device since two weeks and everything is just perfect. All is working perfectly and the battery consumtion is really good.
Great job! Perfect ROM for me on this device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exciting! I just went ahead and downloaded the gcam mod you linked to, latest version.
I was already quite happy with the camera just moving from a xiaomi Mi 8 with lineage - using the f-droid open camera only.. Totally worthless experience imo..
At first glance there is definetly more options here including HDR. However the third party picture viewer is still not optional..
Honestly you are right I could use google photos and just remove internet access but I would rather not.. But if Im forced I guess I must.. Did you do anything special to get third party gallerys to work?
About the calyxos on pixel 4a 5g .. I absolutely LOOOOVE it man.. It is lightyears ahead of lineage experience that Ive had past 2 years. Love it!

General GrapheneOS is available for the Pixel6/6Pro

GrapheneOS​The private and secure mobile operating system with Android app compatibility. Developed as a non-profit open source project.
website : https://grapheneos.org/
WebUSB-based Installation : https://grapheneos.org/install/web
CMD Line Installation : https://grapheneos.org/install/cli
Releases : https://grapheneos.org/releases#raven-stable
This is listed as "Experimental"...

Not to sound like a broken record but with no play services do Google Photos and app updates work with that "sandboxed Play services compatibility layer" mentioned on they site?

Android-Desire said:
Not to sound like a broken record but with no play services do Google Photos and app updates work with that "sandboxed Play services compatibility layer" mentioned on they site?
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yes. works very well (as long as you install all 3 parts of sandboxed play services). I would maybe wait a few days before installing it on the Pixel 6. but using A12 on my 3xl and everything works, photos, gboard, official gcam (all running with network access disabled).
Also, GrapheneOS for Pixel 6 still says Experimental on their download page (it might just need to be updated). But if you're okay with maybe experiencing some bugs, it should work fine (but as stated above, most should wait a few days, they're very good on updating - especially the first few weeks after release)

Good to hear about... will be watching! cheers

I basically bought my P6P for this, so I'm extremely happy development is moving forward! Really hoping that, when a stable version is out, it will be possible to use the phone "normally" with it. Keep it up, Graphene team!

I'm with @Alex-Absolute I purchased my P6 just for GrapheneOS support, coming from a string of OnePlus devices. Though I am going to wait until it's listed as stable to switch, I'm excited they have a working build going!

I've got the release page in Windows' Aignes Website-Watcher, set to look for changes after "Pixel 6 Pro" and before "Version", so I should know when it changes to Stable.

roirraW edor ehT said:
I've got the release page in Windows' Aignes Website-Watcher, set to look for changes after "Pixel 6 Pro" and before "Version", so I should know when it changes to Stable.
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Amazing, thanks for the tip!

Alekos said:
yes. works very well (as long as you install all 3 parts of sandboxed play services). I would maybe wait a few days before installing it on the Pixel 6. but using A12 on my 3xl and everything works, photos, gboard, official gcam (all running with network access disabled).
Also, GrapheneOS for Pixel 6 still says Experimental on their download page (it might just need to be updated). But if you're okay with maybe experiencing some bugs, it should work fine (but as stated above, most should wait a few days, they're very good on updating - especially the first few weeks after release)
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Click to collapse
I used GrapheneOS on my 4a during most of the Experimental days, and i did not experience 1 hicup. I would compare their Experimental Builds to Android 12 Beta. So it's nothing to be afraid of. It's definitely ready for daily use in my own opinion....

Are there any screenshots of this OS? I always like trying new things but I'm thinking there isn't much to look at that would be different from a standard Android OS

Alex-Absolute said:
Amazing, thanks for the tip!
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Click to collapse
You're welcome, I'm using the free version - it's been around for a very long time on Windows, and I'm using the Android app which appears to more or less sync with the Windows version through Dropbox, if you have or create an account with Dropbox. It doesn't work perfectly for me, but I at least get notifications on my phone about the same changes in websites that the Windows program lets me know about - so I at least know that I should get on the computer and look to see what's new.
Sorry to anyone for the OT - I have lots of Android-related sites set to give me notifications of changes through this program.
The non-free version is a little pricey for my needs.

RetroTech07 said:
Are there any screenshots of this OS? I always like trying new things but I'm thinking there isn't much to look at that would be different from a standard Android OS
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will post some screens later this evening...

I've wanted to switch to this for a long time (It's actually a huge reason I switched back to the Pixel series) but I'm not sure if I can commit to losing Android Auto

AndroidAddict420 said:
I used GrapheneOS on my 4a during most of the Experimental days, and i did not experience 1 hicup. I would compare their Experimental Builds to Android 12 Beta. So it's nothing to be afraid of. It's definitely ready for daily use in my own opinion....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree. I've been using it off and on for 18 months on different pixels. but just good to be cautious, as always...
GrapheneOS just tweeted a few hours ago, the next release will be Stable for the 6 series (most likely this week)

Alekos said:
Also, GrapheneOS for Pixel 6 still says Experimental on their download page
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Click to collapse
What I read about that is that its not experimental in the "unstable" sense, its that they haven't fully implemented the security enhancements.

Flippy125 said:
I've wanted to switch to this for a long time (It's actually a huge reason I switched back to the Pixel series) but I'm not sure if I can commit to losing Android Auto
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Click to collapse
Given the sandboxed mode for play services, do you really have to lose auto?

The.Jericho.Initiative said:
Given the sandboxed mode for play services, do you really have to lose auto?
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Good question. Last time I looked into it, AA was a no-go. Guess there's only one way to find out. I'll report back later if it works or not
UPDATE: Still a no-go. I just receive an error that the AA protocol isn't supported. Guess I'll go back to compromising my privacy for the sake of convenience while driving.
Other than that+call screeening, this build is solid for an "experimental" build (Tbh they could have put the stable flag on this, but I assume they are waiting for bug reports before doing so). If anyone is looking for a good de-Googling solution, this is it.

Flippy125 said:
Good question. Last time I looked into it, AA was a no-go. Guess there's only one way to find out. I'll report back later if it works or not
UPDATE: Still a no-go. I just receive an error that the AA protocol isn't supported. Guess I'll go back to compromising my privacy for the sake of convenience while driving.
Other than that+call screeening, this build is solid for an "experimental" build (Tbh they could have put the stable flag on this, but I assume they are waiting for bug reports before doing so). If anyone is looking for a good de-Googling solution, this is it.
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Click to collapse
Despite the hassle and increased expense, perhaps one of those Carplay AI boxes like Apple Pi might be the necessary workaround?
I'm very interested in this OS, but I too rely on carplay/auto as a general rule while driving. If I have to outsource my maps and music to an external box in order to have more comprehensive device security, that might just be the way it has to be.

Flippy125 said:
UPDATE: Still a no-go. I just receive an error that the AA protocol isn't supported. Guess I'll go back to compromising my privacy for the sake of convenience while driving.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for reporting. As curious as I am about this OS, this rules this out for me too. Been using AA for almost four years now and I'm hooked.

I want privacy, but I cannot live without syncing all my stuff together. Is this OS for me?