Develop Bugs

Track lost phone with GPS?

I know that Android based phones have applications where you can track your phone through GPS software should it ever get lost. Is there such an application for our phones? I'd hate to lose my phone that has GPS capability and not be able to find it. And the thought of losing it and someone else finding it, hack it, and use it for their own personal use would be very more irritating.
And I know that the Motorola CLIQ even has the capability to erase all your stored information on the phone should you lose it to prevent someone from hacking into the phone and retrieving your sensitive information. Again, is there any software for our phones also?

Im Packing said:
I know that Android based phones have applications where you can track your phone through GPS software should it ever get lost. Is there such an application for our phones? I'd hate to lose my phone that has GPS capability and not be able to find it. And the thought of losing it and someone else finding it, hack it, and use it for their own personal use would be very more irritating.
And I know that the Motorola CLIQ even has the capability to erase all your stored information on the phone should you lose it to prevent someone from hacking into the phone and retrieving your sensitive information. Again, is there any software for our phones also?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sprite Terminator:
http://store.spritesoftware.com/?page_id=280

Search the forum, there are already two threads on this subject:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=479257
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=469415&highlight=anti+theft

i personally prefer remotetracker.
i lost my phone b4. n it works fine. i able to track bak my phone.

[email protected] said:
Search the forum, there are already two threads on this subject:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=479257
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=469415&highlight=anti+theft
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I always do use the "Search" function, but even with sifting through posts I didn't come across the two you listed. Thank you. Maybe I'm trying to be too technical with my searches...

Free web services (and Beta), with "Find" and "Erase" functions, among others:
www.flexilis.com
www.mobiwee.com

I just tried the Maspware GuardsMobile and ended up locking my phone up. It recommended disabling balloon pop-ups and a soft-restart. I allowed that then it gave me errors loading some related tracking.exe file. I tried to enter the default pin and it didn't work. Gave me 3 attempts. After the 3rd attempt the phone was locked! Searched around and came up with nothing. There's not even a guide explaining what happens.
So now I'm forced to reflash the phone and restore my PIM. I do not recommend this program for anyone with cooked ROMs.
I'm going to now play with Ultimate Theft Alert.

Can't find any command lines for Ultimate Theft Alert V35. I don't think I really like it a whole lot as some of the others...think I'll try my luck at Maspware GuardMobile again.

Ok, reinstalled GuardMobile. Activated it (fingers crossed). It recommended disabling the SMS bubbles again and a soft-reset. I let it and amazingly my phone didnt lock up this time when entering the demo password "1234".
I feel much more comfortable trialing this program than Ultimate Theft Alert as they list the commands on their website, and you don't get ANY commands list until you've purchased UTA. So without having any commands to trial the program I will not be purchasing UTA.
Time to play around with MaspWare GuardMobile now...

Ok, just tried to exit GuardMobile and I got the freaking error again!
"An unexpected error has occurred in GuardMobile_TS.exe.
Select Quit and them restart this program, or select Details for more information.
Luckily this time I didn't leave it active while testing. Reset phone and it works. But everytime I try and test the locate or monitor it fails to send SMS. Then I exit the program and it crashes. I'm going to uninstall and forget this program...AGAIN!

Sprite Terminator seems to work so far. Only exception is that I can't use the "Alternate GPS" It doesn't give me a lock on my position and comes up with all ZEROS. Going to keep playing with this.

Had you tried any of the web services I've posted?
They both work fine for me. And they are both free (at least, for now, at Beta stage...).

there's a program called WIMP, i havent tried it yet though

Sprite Terminator works, BUT when it intercepts the SMS code it doesn't text back.
vmiguel said:
Had you tried any of the web services I've posted?
They both work fine for me. And they are both free (at least, for now, at Beta stage...).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haven't tried them...yet, but I've already downloaded the programs and thank you for the suggestions.
moukun said:
there's a program called WIMP, i havent tried it yet though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wimp didn't work receiving SMS codes.

Do any of these programs have a "explode and burn the face off the thief who stole my phone" option?

illmurs said:
Do any of these programs have a "explode and burn the face off the thief who stole my phone" option?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only in the professional edition.

illmurs said:
Do any of these programs have a "explode and burn the face off the thief who stole my phone" option?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, Flexilis have a "Scream" command, that will make the phone starts playing a rather anoying horn sound, for 30 seconds.
Handy to find a lost device, at least. And to get some atention on a stolen one, but the thief can just turn it off...

Kaspersky Mobile Security 8
Looks like no one has mentioned or tried this software yet.
I've already tried the 1 month trial version and then purchased a 1 year plan which I believe is worth every penny.
It's an anti virus, anti spam, sms and phone blocker and phone locater.
link:
http://www.kaspersky.com/kaspersky_mobile_security?thru=reseller=kmssidebanner3
Features:
Block access to contacts, photos or files on your phone if it is lost or stolen
Get the GPS location of a lost or stolen phone
Encrypt sensitive personal and business data
Remotely wipe your smartphone if necessary
Block unwanted calls and SMSs
Cybercrime and your smartphone
Stop cybercriminals hijacking your smartphone to make money
Block the sending of data to third parties
Prevent corruption of personal data
Hope this helps!

jpijper said:
Only in the professional edition.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
vmiguel said:
Well, Flexilis have a "Scream" command, that will make the phone starts playing a rather anoying horn sound, for 30 seconds.
Handy to find a lost device, at least. And to get some atention on a stolen one, but the thief can just turn it off...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm might be at least a bit useful like you say - maybe a password to turn off sound will be better?

Well, they are in Beta, so accepting ideas and feature requests... why don't you send them an e-mail?
I'm going to give kaspersky a run, it sounds good.

[Q] newbie looking for advide

Hi folks,
I am going to buy my very first smart phone. I am currently debating between iPhone 4 and Samsung Vibrant Galaxy S (in Canada) Without going into the question og whether I need to get a data plan or not, I have some very specific questions that I would appreciate your words of wisdome on:
1: Is there a free third party GPS app that does not consume data while on the road (i.e. direct satellite connection). Would a paid app such as CoPilot Live 8 still be not good enough because Samsung GPS has reliability issues?
2: Does Google Maps continuously consume data while showing you your route on the road or does it just downlaod the map once and then simply use the gps-satellite channel? I need a good gps system on the phone so that I can have the phone in my backpack and follow the directions via my motorcycle's blue tooth enabled helmet.
3: Does Samsung Galaxy S have capability of turning speech into a text SMS?
4: Is there an alternative to the dreaded Kies for Samsung?
5: From being a complete noob up until a week ago to words like jailbreak, rooting, froyo, etc, I have come a long way and have explored several options. So wondering rooting is even necessary and it it is, is there a Cydia like application for Android. iPhone users use Cydia primarily for installing pirated software such as TomTom.
6: Can I turn off data consumption and use wifi and still receive calls?
Thanks in advance

datawiz2012 said:
1: Is there a free third party GPS app that does not consume data while on the road (i.e. direct satellite connection). Would a paid app such as CoPilot Live 8 still be not good enough because Samsung GPS has reliability issues?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Copilot is available for Android too, but in my opinion, Travroute suck. There are plenty of alternatives, but depends on your country. We aren't really too sure how good navigation is on the final froyo either, but car navigation should be fine. Worst comes to worst, you can get a bluetooth GPS.
datawiz2012 said:
2: Does Google Maps continuously consume data while showing you your route on the road or does it just downlaod the map once and then simply use the gps-satellite channel? I need a good gps system on the phone so that I can have the phone in my backpack and follow the directions via my motorcycle's blue tooth enabled helmet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are some that read off the directions.. Depends on the app.
datawiz2012 said:
3: Does Samsung Galaxy S have capability of turning speech into a text SMS?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are apparently a few, but maybe best to give it a try yourself at a store, to see what results are like. Speech recognition has a habit of being slightly "meh". With VOIP though, in some countries, short phone calls cost cheaper on VOIP/skype than an SMS though.
datawiz2012 said:
4: Is there an alternative to the dreaded Kies for Samsung?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For flashing, there is heimdell and odin. Contacts sync with google contacts anyway. You can set the phone too mass transfer mode to expose it as files in normal file browsing tools to copy data/music.
datawiz2012 said:
5: From being a complete noob up until a week ago to words like jailbreak, rooting, froyo, etc, I have come a long way and have explored several options. So wondering rooting is even necessary and it it is, is there a Cydia like application for Android. iPhone users use Cydia primarily for installing pirated software such as TomTom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We don't need jailbreaking really because Android is open, whereas Apple screws developers around with restructions. And you can root if you want to, but you only need to do so if you are messing with low level OS stuff.
And unlike iOS, anyone can open an app store for Android, because Apple restricts apps which can be install.
datawiz2012 said:
6: Can I turn off data consumption and use wifi and still receive calls?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use Wifi to receive calls? For voice calls, you simply hold the power button, and there is an option to turn off 3G data/HSDPA. Haven't tested it properly, but pretty sure it works the way you want (maybe check the manual). VOIP apps exists too, like Skype and Sipdroid (and in late firmware's, they actually work properly).
Other considerations are:
1) The iPhones are MUCH more restrictive for developers. Apple will tell you they are the most consumer friendly company on the planet, but the harsh reality is, they REALLY aren't.
2) Android is far more customisable than iOS.
3)If you own an iPhone, you should assume you need to use iTunes (say goodbye to flac support, and many other things).
4) You buy from the Android store, I think the purchased apps should also work on any other future compatible android phone. If you buy on the iPhone store, they will only work on future Apple devices.
5) Some people will tell you the iPhone doesn't lag, etc. I tested an iPhone 4G the other day, and this is DEFINITELY untrue.
6) Steve jobs is no better than most politicians. He does consistently deceive people and blatantly lie during announcements. For iinstance, at first he tried to claim there was no antenna issue (and it was simply shonky software), despite antenna experts PROVING there was. The iPhone succeeded solely because people were sucked in by Steve Job's exageration of multi-touch. The first iPhone couldn't even run third party apps.
7) Android is growing quickly. The app store now has over 100,000 apps. Whilst there are less apps than Apple's platform, you'll find that all the good ones seems to be there.
Anyway, my opinion is that consumers should avoid the iPhones.. Another phone you may wish to consider though is the new HTC desire HD.

thanks for your very very detailed reply. Much appreciated. I am still confused about the GPS stuff. Hopefully other people will pitch in as well. I should have phrased my question about turning off data better than I did.
What I'd meant was whether I can turn off 3G so that I don't use internet data while using a GPS app such as CoPilot but would doing so prevent me from receiving/making calls?
Thanks,

[NEWS] Errant Data usage [Link]

Reading stories like this makes me glad mine is off.
Errant Data Usage

glad i have a 1.5GB plan. though i never see it chew up much. but aye, it's a good course to make MS do another update if they don't fix it with the feb patch.

I have a suspicion that this is just another thing the press have jumped on to attack Microsoft. I don't think it is a large scale issue or we would have heard about it before now in these forums.

well to be honest it has been noted around here in a few threads before, and most of us believe it comes from the feedback system in the phone. i think just having it so that it only sends data when connected to wifi will automatically resolve it.
but aye, wait for MS to do their investigations. i'm sure if they just "bing" it, they'll find our posts and say that is their solution as well

randude said:
I have a suspicion that this is just another thing the press have jumped on to attack Microsoft. I don't think it is a large scale issue or we would have heard about it before now in these forums.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A lot of people report high battery consumption with WP7 devices. This could be the reason.

randude said:
I have a suspicion that this is just another thing the press have jumped on to attack Microsoft. I don't think it is a large scale issue or we would have heard about it before now in these forums.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MS has acknowledged the fact and looking into the resolution, so I don't think it is some mumbo-jumbo.

The Gate Keeper said:
well to be honest it has been noted around here in a few threads before, and most of us believe it comes from the feedback system in the phone. i think just having it so that it only sends data when connected to wifi will automatically resolve it.
but aye, wait for MS to do their investigations. i'm sure if they just "bing" it, they'll find our posts and say that is their solution as well
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a workaround and not a solution, I am pretty sure they want to solve it rather than telling the users to disable the feature.

lqaddict said:
This is a workaround and not a solution, I am pretty sure they want to solve it rather than telling the users to disable the feature.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yea i agree. but i'm just saying that MS could propose it as a temporary work around if it is indeed the cause of the issue, until they fix it in an update.

I have a suspicion this is a 3rd party app issue, as it's not everyone who's having this problem... Could still be the OS, of course.

CreepinJesus said:
I have a suspicion this is a 3rd party app issue, as it's not everyone who's having this problem... Could still be the OS, of course.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uncertain about everyone having the issue. In all likelihood it could well be a majority. How would anyone know how much data they were using unless they studied the statement or had a monitor installed? Most people might not be aware of it at all and unconcerned.

MartyLK said:
Uncertain about everyone having the issue. In all likelihood it could well be a majority. How would anyone know how much data they were using unless they studied the statement or had a monitor installed? Most people might not be aware of it at all and unconcerned.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most people have limited cap on 3G data, so it's not that difficult to realize whether your phone is abusing your monthly plan or not.
Actually, from the comments at engadget and other blogs, it does seem that the vast majority of users are not affected by the issue. And I've never heard a single one in Italy affected as well. So it maybe a carrier-specific problem, or a 3rd party app available on certain markets/networks.
Or there might not be an issue at all, the high data consumption being just caused by applications running under the lockscreen in standby (so that wifi goes off and 3g kicks in).

MartyLK said:
Uncertain about everyone having the issue. In all likelihood it could well be a majority. How would anyone know how much data they were using unless they studied the statement or had a monitor installed? Most people might not be aware of it at all and unconcerned.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True... I know I'm ok because I have checked my online statement thing and I've only used a couple of MB so far this month.

Feedback Function? i dont think so.......
One thing that has NEVER been talked about is another new function.......
Location!
You all know that via windowslive we can locate our phones, erase them, block them ect.
Well this function is on by default.
I guess to find out where it is, (its regularly saving its current location on windows live) It has to send some kind of info to Microsoft.
Now i dont think to save location info would need Mbs of data, but who knows?
Since the feedback option is (proven? because deactivated by some? anybody?) not the problem, and the find my phone service is not mentioned, i would look into that........

SPVlover said:
...
I guess to find out where it is, (its regularly saving its current location on windows live) It has to send some kind of info to Microsoft.
Now i dont think to save location info would need Mbs of data, but who knows?
...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That depends how often it's sending location info, and whether it's using AGPS. I don't know the details... Mine is turned off anyway.

SPVlover said:
One thing that has NEVER been talked about is another new function.......
Location!
You all know that via windowslive we can locate our phones, erase them, block them ect.
Well this function is on by default.
I guess to find out where it is, (its regularly saving its current location on windows live) It has to send some kind of info to Microsoft.
Now i dont think to save location info would need Mbs of data, but who knows?
Since the feedback option is (proven? because deactivated by some? anybody?) not the problem, and the find my phone service is not mentioned, i would look into that........
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Location is switched on on my phone and I haven't noticed any large data usage.

I am not getting extra data usage when I'm not using my phone it's only about 5k every now and then when it checks email but Saturday I was at the NEC and used IE a lot and wow it ate data!!! I used nearly 30mb just on general surfing, my old Blackberry Storm 2 on the same type of use would have been about 5mb!!!! so why is the phone using so much data when I was just surfing?

alan1467 said:
I am not getting extra data usage when I'm not using my phone it's only about 5k every now and then when it checks email but Saturday I was at the NEC and used IE a lot and wow it ate data!!! I used nearly 30mb just on general surfing, my old Blackberry Storm 2 on the same type of use would have been about 5mb!!!! so why is the phone using so much data when I was just surfing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you have it on mobile viewing, or desktop viewing? Remember that other phones searched from Google used to limit the viewing for mobile devices. Google would reformat them. Bing doesn't do that, especially if you have it browse as if you're using a desktop.
I have location services on all the time, as well as 3G. The phone uses probably 5MB/day along with my emails, and some MSN. Location services is not the problem, and I lock and find my phone everyday to make sure it's working Yes, I'm over protective.
It's a 3rd party app or feedback.

I've had all location services and features turned on except Feedback since October and have barely been using 50MB a month, which includes downloading games and Apps from Marketplace.
Could be the feedback feature i suppose, i've recently turned mine on but disabled the option to send via GPRS so it won't make a difference i guess.

I've had all location services and features turned on except Feedback since October and have barely been using 50MB a month, which includes downloading a couple of games and Apps from Marketplace.
Could be the feedback feature i suppose, i've recently turned mine on but disabled the option to send via GPRS so it won't make a difference i guess.

bmazloum said:
Do you have it on mobile viewing, or desktop viewing? Remember that other phones searched from Google used to limit the viewing for mobile devices. Google would reformat them. Bing doesn't do that, especially if you have it browse as if you're using a desktop.
I have location services on all the time, as well as 3G. The phone uses probably 5MB/day along with my emails, and some MSN. Location services is not the problem, and I lock and find my phone everyday to make sure it's working Yes, I'm over protective.
It's a 3rd party app or feedback.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes I have it in desktop view do you think that could be it?

[Q] Facebook Check In - WTH?

Anybody have this working with a hoot?
Neither mine or my wifes works very well. Always seems to be about a town behind or can't find anything local. Both are stock rooted. Nothing fancy.
I thre in a 3rd party check in that does considerably better, but still doesn't always figure out where we are.
Thoughts? A search and Google search yields nothing.

Its probably finding your location either by towers or switchboards.

make sure your gps is on and do it from outside the location. even great gps units get whacky locations when you use them indoors

If it's not GPS and it's by cell towers, you may want to try the fix here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1448015

I'll never understand why people "check in" on Facebook.

Check in and 4square are sofa king stoopid. It's like saying, "hey! I'm not home. Go break into my house. Isn't it cool that you all know where I am at all times on FB?" Screw that noise, yo.

At all times? Are you checking in all day long? It's a useful tool if you're meeting up with people somewhere, especially for bar-hopping, and you can restrict who sees your checkins, so I don't see any issues with home security.

Mine always thought I was at work no matter where I went. I installed GPS status and reset the aGPS data. Then I had the app download the aGPS data. Since then it has been working great.

Worked perfect for me inside a club.

fonseca898 said:
At all times? Are you checking in all day long? It's a useful tool if you're meeting up with people somewhere, especially for bar-hopping, and you can restrict who sees your checkins, so I don't see any issues with home security.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No. I don't check in at all. Some of my goofball friends use those apps and check in every damn place they go. It's annoying. As if everyone wants to know that they are at Starbucks, DSW, or every time they go to Lifetime Fitness. I met a buddy for breakfast this morning and he tagged me with his stoopid check in. It was super ghey-ish. I guess I just don't get it or that twitter crap.
If I want people to meet me someplace, I'll call, text or email them. I don't have to tell everybody on FB where I am, as if I'm fishing for someone random fool to hang out with or bragging about my exploits 24/7.
I probably sound like a pompous ass or a Debbie downer. My bad.

Glad this thread was here for you to vent your dislike of a feature.. Hope you feel better.
Anyway, glad I am not alone in seeing a huge lag in the GPS. If I am tagging the location of a picture, I'll be damned, but I get the same thing - last known location was the previous town or yep.. Work.
Looks like unless I keep GPS alive at all times, it never locks or gives me the correct ballpark to even search for my location by name.

Ok. So we're "ghey" and "stoopid" because we have different likes. Got it.
Thankfully, the world isn't entirely like you.
Yer a great help...

gpshemi said:
Ok. So we're "ghey" and "stoopid" because we have different likes. Got it.
Thankfully, the world isn't entirely like you.
Yer a great help...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You missed my closing disclaimer. My apologies for hijacking the thread. Carry on.

General Whomp - A Tale of Swift Return (lol)

Kind of bummed, ahh well.
Now that that is unrooting and relocking is out of the way... have to say I am sad about this one. I was excited for it, spent HOURS getting it all setup. You all know the deal, lol.
Ran into two issues that I found that apparently showed up with OnePlus' implementation of Android 12 and persist even still... all this time later.
1. The Display Timeout option is not properly (normally) exposed to things like Tasker
2. Call redirection (for things like Google Voice) is broken
I recognize that these are probably issues that 90% of people don't notice/care about, but they're also extremely well documented and reported in all of the normal OnePlus places. I find it bonkers that after all this time, those issues still exist. I use Google Voice to make calls as needed for business when I am on the move without exposing my personal number (and to avoid carrying two devices). I made a number of calls before realizing that it was not working properly (since it's not obvious).
Coupled with some of the little Pixel things I was fine giving up... eh. Just feel sour about long time bugs like that.
Maybe I will try the OnePlus 12 next year. For now, the OnePlus 11 goes back to Amazon.
Just a little rant into the void.

I can't believe they still haven't fixed call redirection. That's been an issue since Android 12 on the OP9. It was so annoying I just switched Google Voice to prefer wifi/mobile data and used the dialer in the app to work around it.

EtherealRemnant said:
I can't believe they still haven't fixed call redirection. That's been an issue since Android 12 on the OP9. It was so annoying I just switched Google Voice to prefer wifi/mobile data and used the dialer in the app to work around it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah... I could work around that... yes, it would be annoying when I am getting in the car to remember to have to get out of the parking lot (off wifi) before making the call... but it would end up ok. Then sometimes (hit or miss in my experience) the call would get messed up when I arrive somewhere and connect to wifi again during the call).
And I could work around the Display Timeout issue using different apps and such.
And workaround this and that, etc. But it's just BS to me. Like... fix these old bugs that you create in your build that don't exist in Android/every other build. Admittedly, I was really annoyed at the several calls I made where I had no idea the wrong number was being shown on the receivers ID. Soured the whole thing for me.

dmarden said:
Yeah... I could work around that... yes, it would be annoying when I am getting in the car to remember to have to get out of the parking lot (off wifi) before making the call... but it would end up ok. Then sometimes (hit or miss in my experience) the call would get messed up when I arrive somewhere and connect to wifi again during the call).
And I could work around the Display Timeout issue using different apps and such.
And workaround this and that, etc. But it's just BS to me. Like... fix these old bugs that you create in your build that don't exist in Android/every other build. Admittedly, I was really annoyed at the several calls I made where I had no idea the wrong number was being shown on the receivers ID. Soured the whole thing for me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Totally agreed. I dumped my OnePlus 9 for the Pixel 7 Pro and chose the S23 Ultra over the much cheaper OnePlus 11 because of my software experience with the 9.

EtherealRemnant said:
Totally agreed. I dumped my OnePlus 9 for the Pixel 7 Pro and chose the S23 Ultra over the much cheaper OnePlus 11 because of my software experience with the 9.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would love to try the S23 Ultra, but from what I've read... the hoops to unlock and root are just a pain. Getting an import model, etc etc.
I root for many fewer reasons than I once did... but I still have reasons to do it. Someday.

dmarden said:
I would love to try the S23 Ultra, but from what I've read... the hoops to unlock and root are just a pain. Getting an import model, etc etc.
I root for many fewer reasons than I once did... but I still have reasons to do it. Someday.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I kept my Pixel for my rooting needs (really just for Network Signal Guru) and haven't missed it at all on the S23U. There's no way I'll ever import a phone with all the compatibility issues AT&T and Verizon have with them plus they never have n71 for T-Mobile either.

EtherealRemnant said:
Yeah I kept my Pixel for my rooting needs (really just for Network Signal Guru) and haven't missed it at all on the S23U. There's no way I'll ever import a phone with all the compatibility issues AT&T and Verizon have with them plus they never have n71 for T-Mobile either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Every year I think more and more about it. At this point I am using root for 4 apps and only 2 of them matter.
1. Adguard - So I can nicely adblock without using VPN style blocking.
2. Swift Backup because I actually find myself regularly wanting to roll back or recover.
The other two are Tasker, but that's mostly just for self granting permissions, and my file explorer that I can easily live without.

dmarden said:
Every year I think more and more about it. At this point I am using root for 4 apps and only 2 of them matter.
1. Adguard - So I can nicely adblock without using VPN style blocking.
2. Swift Backup because I actually find myself regularly wanting to roll back or recover.
The other two are Tasker, but that's mostly just for self granting permissions, and my file explorer that I can easily live without.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I switched to Brave so I don't need an ad blocker (ads in apps don't bother me, just the nonsense that happens in the browser, and in fact I get free service from Boost for watching ads anyway) and I started noticing problems with backups that included app data so I just switched to Google Backup. I will say though, Shizuku is supported by Swift Backup. You can back up and restore everything except the app data without root using Shizuku.

EtherealRemnant said:
I switched to Brave so I don't need an ad blocker (ads in apps don't bother me, just the nonsense that happens in the browser, and in fact I get free service from Boost for watching ads anyway) and I started noticing problems with backups that included app data so I just switched to Google Backup. I will say though, Shizuku is supported by Swift Backup. You can back up and restore everything except the app data without root using Shizuku.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I have needed that app data a number of times... for better or worse, I guess.

I'm selling my OnePlus 11. The software is beyond frustrating and the simple tweaks one can do with Developer Options and ADB are either locked out on this phone or revert to defaults upon reboot. Clearly, OnePlus doesn't listen to their fan base outside of China. The development potential was what drove me to buy this, but it has been a complete disappointment. The lack of wireless charging has also proven to be an inconvenience and I don't trust the longevity of the charging port.
It looks like if you want a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 running clean versions of Android, Motorola and Sony are the way to go.