[Q] Does AT&T restrict installs? - Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I've been looking at videos and reviews of this phone and most of the reviews are about the international version that's been out for a while so it's hard to find answer to this question.
I'm currently on an HTC Aria and AT&T restricted you from installing 3rd party apps, anything that wasn't on the Market you couldn't install which was one of the major reasons I rooted it and installed Cynagmod. Do they still do that with the Galaxy S II? Everything else about it looks awesome to the point where I'm not entirely sure I'd need to root it.
Also did AT&T disable the option for tethering? I rarely do it but it's saved my ass in a pinch so I'd like to be able to on the rare occasion I need it.

Even if you can install third party apps you should root. Not sure about the tethering though, they might as well charge you every month.

rj.camargo said:
Even if you can install third party apps you should root. Not sure about the tethering though, they might as well charge you every month.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True. I will probably root it. Then it wouldn't matter.

Related

[Q] Non-Market Apps?

I've heard that the Atrix, Inspire 4G, and a few other newer phones aren't supporting installation of non-market downloaded apps. Has anyone heard if the TB will follow suit? Since there are some unboxings and reviews of it on youtube, I would figure someone would have checked already but I can't find anything on it.
Classick206 said:
I've heard that the Atrix, Inspire 4G, and a few other newer phones aren't supporting installation of non-market downloaded apps. Has anyone heard if the TB will follow suit? Since there are some unboxings and reviews of it on youtube, I would figure someone would have checked already but I can't find anything on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
at&t does to all android phones regardless so thats expected
Verizon hasnt yet so i doubt it
even so, just use ADB to sideload if it comes to it
from what I know its an ATT thing not an htc thing... they wouldn't allow nonmarket apps on the aria either... if I pick up the phone and go into development and it doesn't allow me to install non market apps I'll give it right back to them... not to steal anything but becuase sometimes newer isn't always better... sometimes older versions work better for me
They shouldn't be able to block you from installing anything, it's trash.
Any way to do this yet without the wonder machine?
yes, either root the phone or use htc sync if you hate adb

Bloatware removal?

I don't have a E3D yet but I thought I'd pass this on to xda user as I didn't see this mentioned yet.
Just uninstall (most) bloatware like a normal app!!
From Android Central
rstuckmaier said:
I don't have a E3D yet but I thought I'd pass this on to xda user as I didn't see this mentioned yet.
Just uninstall (most) bloatware like a normal app!!
From Android Central
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice find!
Sent from my PG06100 using Tapatalk
This in and of its self is pure awesome
Yes I noticed that most of the crap can be removed like Nascar, and Blockbuster.
I'm glad that more carriers are moving toward this. Sprint has it's own section of the market so if we want it we should be able to get it from there.
You still can't remove anything that's part of Sense...Footprints, Peep, or anything that's HTC branded (HTC Likes, etc). Which is the whole point anyway, since all those seem to perpetually running in the background.
sweet
Sweet just removed NASCAR ! More to come just wanted to see for myself
just tried it. Still can't take out Polaris Office and Amazon MP3. Well better some then none at all... Had my phone since Wednesday... phone is simply AMAZING!!!!
cant take off blockbuster
Blockbuster is removable.
the ones you can remove are Sprint Radio, Sprint TV, Blockbuster, 3D games, Qik...think there is one or two others.
...but I just noticed all those apps that can be removed are available via the market. they don't show as installed on the market just have the Update button. and will still only have the updte button after you uninstall. I also noticed in Sprint Zone under sprint apps, it still says Sprint Radio, and a few other i uninstalled are on my phone yet I uninstalled them via apps management. so are they truly deleted off your phone or not? just wondering.
LOL this is why a lot of people want root to remove junk from their phones that they never wanted installed in the first place.
wish more was able to be removed with out root
Hey guys I'm still pretty new to this whole forum concept, but I have done some research and to the best of my knowledge when I purchased my EVO 3D, one of the main premises behind this was to be able to remove the factory stock bs and bloatware. However there seems to be an issue because every posting on every forum all says the same thing, that you should be able to remove all this without rooting or unlocking the bootloader. I have also read that this is due to the OTA update released by Sprint for ICS on it. I simply want to remove the junk on my phone without rooting it if possible. Please guys a little help, and if I messed up and posted this wrong simply tell me and I will fix it. I have rooted several of my phones with no problem, I just want this one optimized with minimal garbage and would like to pick one of your brains' if you would be so kind. The closer to stock rom the better, just less the crap. Any suggestions etc, please let me know
Thanks ahead of time everyone
-Mike
ps I also am open to a custom rom I just would like to have some feedback from someone more experienced than I am
psrobinson said:
Blockbuster is removable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Security App - Best, Necessary?

I heard about Lookout for checking CIQ on phone and saw that they have a security app. Also saw something by NetQin. I used to use BitDefender on my pc but then it got buggy.
My first smartphone and I'm paranoid. So do most people use a security/anti-virus app on their phone? If so, which do you suggest?
I've had more than my fair share of smart phones. This is my 4th one this year. As for me, I've never used a virus scanner on my phone or any of my computers. I'm just smart and make sure I don't download things I don't know what they are.
I've been using the free version of Lookout for about 3 years through an OG Droid, Droid 2, Droid X2, and now my Rezound. I've never had any issues with it. It seems to work the way it's supposed to.
Not really necessary. But it's up to you really, personal preference in this matter.
Yeah, I have read that Android doesn't propagate viruses, but seems like there would still be a chance of getting malware or spyware.
Also, does anyone worry about intrusions via bluetooth or something from another person even without using a trojan? I used to read about that ability years ago, where someone could go through your files and grab what they wanted via bluetooth. Is there a way for anyone to do that with our phones?
Heavily researched this the other day. Not sure if you're worried more about the malware side of life, or the potential of theft - but if you're looking to ID a perp for trying to gank your phone, nothing comes close to the feature set in Cerberus.
Android market link: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.lsdroid.cerberus&hl=en
Android Police review: http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/1...s-a-clear-winner-in-keeping-your-device-safe/
Hadn't even heard of it before last week, but after 10 minutes of messing w/ it, I was sold. Better than anything else in the market by far in terms of what it does & I can confirm everything is working on my Rezound. Also, it's only $3 and change. Can't beat that
Also, for reference, I previously used Prey, but I like this much better.
(Favorite feature is the front cam snaps that get sent to my email, each time my pattern lock is incorrectly swiped)
feralicious said:
Yeah, I have read that Android doesn't propagate viruses, but seems like there would still be a chance of getting malware or spyware.
Also, does anyone worry about intrusions via bluetooth or something from another person even without using a trojan? I used to read about that ability years ago, where someone could go through your files and grab what they wanted via bluetooth. Is there a way for anyone to do that with our phones?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wrote a paper on Bluetooth for school. Those attacks were fixed with Bluetooth 2.0
platinumthomas said:
I wrote a paper on Bluetooth for school. Those attacks were fixed with Bluetooth 2.0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hm... how does it do that, in layman's terms?
I'm paranoid a bit since our phones are now pretty much like laptops. I have my laptop on lockdown though and this is my first smartphone so I want to be sure I'm not leaving a security hole open for some nefarious character to take advantage of.
Well, I know I already mentioned Lookout, but I'm going to mention them again. These guys seem to know what they're doing. I mean, as this article states, Google trusts them enough to tell them what to remove from the market, so I would assume that they're pretty legit. Again, I've never had an issue with anything, and I've been running Lookout for a while.
The new avast!, which bought and incorporated Theft Aware, seems like the best option on the market to me....It's what I use.
dustintheweb said:
(Favorite feature is the front cam snaps that get sent to my email, each time my pattern lock is incorrectly swiped)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice feature, I'm going to check it out just for that.
Check out Zoner
Sent from my HTC Rezound 4G using XDA premium.
I use lookout, been using it for over two years now on 4 android phones.
Sent from my rezound.

Keeping the S7 Without Unlocked Bootloader

I was very excited to see a sale on the S7 at Best Buy and was finally ready to relieve my nearly 4 years old Note II of duty until I came here to look into what mod options were available... only to find that there aren't any yet.
So, for those of you who have bought the S7 and have NOT returned it, what reasons have you decided to stick it out? Were you particularly deep in modding your phone before? Are you just happy with the few tools that have come out so far? Are you holding out hope for an unlocked bootloader eventually?
I haven't completely decided against it, but I'm seriously second guessing staying a Samsung customer after this fiasco. My Note II has been solid and a best, no replacements since I bought it on release, but I am way too into my modifications that I'm not sure I'd enjoy upgrading yet or seeking a third option.
Well I really enjoyed running custom ROMs in the past especially Aosp ones, but the fact that my s5 has cracked screen I not sure I'd want to go back. Since I got the free VR which would be worthless without either S6 or S7, I'm kind of stuck. I mean S6 is no go for me no SD card also IP rating. That aside it isn't to bad I was able to get themed pretty close to Aosp without root and I still have faith that we'll unlock this beast eventually. Samsung can't keep us down.
I came from a G3, before that a Note 2. I came back to samsung because I didn't like anything about the G5 and I was tired of some of the problems in LG's software on the G3. I had both devices rooted running debloated stock roms. The main reason I root is to get rid of apps I cannot uninstall and to block ads while sticking with a stock based rom to be able to use the features the manufacturer built into the software. I am disappointed that we may never get root or an unlocked bootloader as I would like to be able to uninstall some apps like facebook, FB messenger, the 4 amazon apps and the 3 sprint apps I cannot get rid of as well as run an ad blocker.
While I still cannot get rid of ads, There are ways to disable the apps using an app called "Package Disabler Pro" or you can use Gatesjuniors' Debloater which is what I'm using because its one less app on my phone, you can find it here http://forum.xda-developers.com/android/software/debloater-remove-carrier-bloat-t2998294 . I have Nova launcher installed and have no lag, call quality is great, mobile signal strength and speed is better than I've ever had with Sprint. My wifi reception is equally as impressive as I still have very usable wifi 30+ yards away from my router through the walls in my house. My G3 had trouble connecting 10 yards away (another reason I came back to samsung).
All that being said, this is the first phone I haven't rooted within the first week of getting it and honestly, other than an annoying ad occasionally (as most of my apps and games are paid for so I don't get many ads anyway) I really see no need to root this phone at this time. I've had the S7 for 3 weeks now and I love it. Wireless charging is awesome as I haven't plugged it in to charge since the first week and on that note the fast charging is even more awesome as it will charge 50% in 30 minutes. The peace of mind in the fact that if it gets wet its no big deal. The screen and performance is phenomenal. Its so much easier to handle than the Note 2 was, I don't miss the heft of that phone at all. If you can get the Gear VR I highly recommend it, I was not a believer and thought I would just sell it but decided to try it to see if it was any good and it made a believer out of me, the Gear VR is awesome and a lot of fun.
Get the S7, it is a huge upgrade to the Note 2 and well worth it in my opinion.
I've kept it because the only reason I rooted in the first place was the free hotspot, and it's not essential that I have it, so I can go without. I'm also keeping it because it's a huge improvement in specs over the S5 I had before.
Free stuff
I came from a SGS4. Heavily modded, custom rom etc... As someone mentioned earlier, the main reason I rooted was for free hotspot activation (and some other free -cough- stuff). For now, I have the hotspot activated for free without root. Happy as a clam. The phone is fantastic. Even if/when Sprint forces an update and locks down my hotspot mod, I love the phone and would not switch to something else. I can still put free -cough- stuff on my phone without root. I'm sure someone will eventually find a way to root the device.
makane716 said:
I came from a SGS4. Heavily modded, custom rom etc... As someone mentioned earlier, the main reason I rooted was for free hotspot activation (and some other free -cough- stuff). For now, I have the hotspot activated for free without root. Happy as a clam. The phone is fantastic. Even if/when Sprint forces an update and locks down my hotspot mod, I love the phone and would not switch to something else. I can still put free -cough- stuff on my phone without root. I'm sure someone will eventually find a way to root the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well Sprint just pushed an update that gets rid of the ability to mod the phone to use hotpot. The update became available yesterday and it locks down the APN settings to where they are greyed out.
I have had no such update. I just did the mod 1 hour ago. Working fine.
Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk
---------- Post added at 12:16 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:44 AM ----------
Macguyver said:
I came from a G3, before that a Note 2. I came back to samsung because I didn't like anything about the G5 and I was tired of some of the problems in LG's software on the G3. I had both devices rooted running debloated stock roms. The main reason I root is to get rid of apps I cannot uninstall and to block ads while sticking with a stock based rom to be able to use the features the manufacturer built into the software. I am disappointed that we may never get root or an unlocked bootloader as I would like to be able to uninstall some apps like facebook, FB messenger, the 4 amazon apps and the 3 sprint apps I cannot get rid of as well as run an ad blocker.
While I still cannot get rid of ads, There are ways to disable the apps using an app called "Package Disabler Pro" or you can use Gatesjuniors' Debloater which is what I'm using because its one less app on my phone, you can find it here http://forum.xda-developers.com/android/software/debloater-remove-carrier-bloat-t2998294 . I have Nova launcher installed and have no lag, call quality is great, mobile signal strength and speed is better than I've ever had with Sprint. My wifi reception is equally as impressive as I still have very usable wifi 30+ yards away from my router through the walls in my house. My G3 had trouble connecting 10 yards away (another reason I came back to samsung).
All that being said, this is the first phone I haven't rooted within the first week of getting it and honestly, other than an annoying ad occasionally (as most of my apps and games are paid for so I don't get many ads anyway) I really see no need to root this phone at this time. I've had the S7 for 3 weeks now and I love it. Wireless charging is awesome as I haven't plugged it in to charge since the first week and on that note the fast charging is even more awesome as it will charge 50% in 30 minutes. The peace of mind in the fact that if it gets wet its no big deal. The screen and performance is phenomenal. Its so much easier to handle than the Note 2 was, I don't miss the heft of that phone at all. If you can get the Gear VR I highly recommend it, I was not a believer and thought I would just sell it but decided to try it to see if it was any good and it made a believer out of me, the Gear VR is awesome and a lot of fun.
Get the S7, it is a huge upgrade to the Note 2 and well worth it in my opinion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can still block ads without root. adguard.com . Uses a local vpn to filter out the ads. It does consume a small amount of data to do so. Might not be the best choice on low data plans.
I know with the Sprint unlimited anything plan, they made mobile hotspot up to 3GB included. I don't actually use it much anyway, so that may be enough for me. I'm still so very on the fence.
People keep talking about free VR, how did you get it for free??
VassagoX said:
I know with the Sprint unlimited anything plan, they made mobile hotspot up to 3GB included. I don't actually use it much anyway, so that may be enough for me. I'm still so very on the fence.
People keep talking about free VR, how did you get it for free??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apart of a pre-order promo which I would guess is over now.
VassagoX said:
I know with the Sprint unlimited anything plan, they made mobile hotspot up to 3GB included. I don't actually use it much anyway, so that may be enough for me. I'm still so very on the fence.
People keep talking about free VR, how did you get it for free??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm on the Sprint unlimited everything plan. I could not activate the hotspot without the mod. Of course, I activated my phone via website. But then, that's how I got my msl code to mod the apn. Oh well.
El.Dante565 said:
Apart of a pre-order promo which I would guess is over now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahhh, gotcha. Then I guess I'm out of luck on that one. Best Buy has a pretty good promo for $99 right now with a free wireless charger, so I guess that eats the cost of the VR if you wanted to buy it. I'm thinking about it.
makane716 said:
I'm on the Sprint unlimited everything plan. I could not activate the hotspot without the mod. Of course, I activated my phone via website. But then, that's how I got my msl code to mod the apn. Oh well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's strange. Are you on the $75 plan? It's supposed to be included.
VassagoX said:
Ahhh, gotcha. Then I guess I'm out of luck on that one. Best Buy has a pretty good promo for $99 right now with a free wireless charger, so I guess that eats the cost of the VR if you wanted to buy it. I'm thinking about it.
That's strange. Are you on the $75 plan? It's supposed to be included.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I was. Bestbuy did not want to honor the $99.99 sale price with 2 year activation (my current contract had expired at the beginning of the month) as they said Sprint wouldn't let them. So I chewed Sprint up and down until they pushed the upgrade through at $99.99. So I did tge activation swap through the website. Now I see I'm on a DIFFERENT unlimited plan. Some kinda "framily" plan for $30. Oh well. Still unlimited
Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk
makane716 said:
I have had no such update. I just did the mod 1 hour ago. Working fine.
Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk
---------- Post added at 12:16 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:44 AM ----------
You can still block ads without root. adguard.com . Uses a local vpn to filter out the ads. It does consume a small amount of data to do so. Might not be the best choice on low data plans.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I'll give that a shot. I have unlimited data so it's not a worry.
I use about 100gb a month on data with hotspot. S7 not my option anymore. LG G5 is next.
Yeah, I think I'm going to hold off as well at this point. I want to see if they will bend under pressure.
eloko said:
I use about 100gb a month on data with hotspot. S7 not my option anymore. LG G5 is next.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
T-Mobile has announced the LG G5 will have a locked bootloader. Will have to see if other providers will follow suit.
makane716 said:
T-Mobile has announced the LG G5 will have a locked bootloader. Will have to see if other providers will follow suit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What?! Oh man... Tmo and sprint are the unlocked ones.. But if tmo is locked, more likely sprint will...
Seriously?! What are these companies thinking? Do they not realize how much of their sales is due to the modifiable side of their phones?
VassagoX said:
Seriously?! What are these companies thinking? Do they not realize how much of their sales is due to the modifiable side of their phones?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is exactly why I moved from iOS to android. The ability to take 3rd party apps, straight out of the box and modify bloatware, the ui, etc...
Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk
makane716 said:
That is exactly why I moved from iOS to android. The ability to take 3rd party apps, straight out of the box and modify bloatware, the ui, etc...
Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The first part of this post will be my response to the OP post. The second part will address the user I quoted.
I actually bought this phone because I am losing my desire to mod/flash/root etc. While it's been fun the past 8 years or so, I've realized it has consumed TONS of my time. I can honestly say it got to the point where when I got home, the first thing I would do is get on my laptop or the app and open XDA. Next thing I know I'm flashing a new ROM only to find out in a few days or so that it lacks "this" feature or "that" feature isn't working properly and I'm back on xda looking for something different. It gets old having to reflash the phone because I "couldn't hear outgoing calls" or incoming mms wasn't working. I know seasoned xda members know as well as I that once you tweak one thing it inherently messes up another. Anyhow, this phone is a beast without root. No need for overclock, or even flashing a CM/AOSP rom. If I wanted that I would've picked up a Nexus. As a previous usuer mentioned, adblocking is possible without root as well as hotspot. I'm happy with my S7 and keeping it. Now regarding the user's quote, Samsung is the driver of Android sales worldwide. They want to keep that spot and unfortunately the vast majority of their users don't care about root. Samsung is taking on Apple knuckle to knuckle and in order to win over customers from Apple, they will have to provide the same level of security and functionality as Apple which means no root. Winning over Apple customers will yield them way more profit in the short and long run vs. providing unlock for their "power" users. I'm not cheering on Samsung to continue making their devices "NSA" friendly, but in a world of ever increasing security threats particularly of the cyber nature, rooting will become increasingly more difficult as OEMs try to gain their customers' confidence in the security of their mobile devices.

S9+ TMobile not rootable?

I've searched and just got my new S9+ coming from LG and forums here are so different in gathering info. Is this variant rootable yet? If so can someone post a link... In the mean time I'll keep searching. :silly:
storm68 said:
I've searched and just got my new S9+ coming from LG and forums here are so different in gathering info. Is this variant rootable yet? If so can someone post a link... In the mean time I'll keep searching. :silly:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope it's not, and will be a loooooooong time before it is.
Well? After much research I was able to disable bloatware, get YouTube ad free and some more all without root. Honestly? This phone is good enough not to root really. I usually rooted to get a kernel to speed things up and get less lag, amazingly there's no need. Also for Xposed but I also don't see the need. So waiting for something that now I feel is not needed is ok. But having the itch to root will always exist. Lol
storm68 said:
Well? After much research I was able to disable bloatware, get YouTube ad free and some more all without root. Honestly? This phone is good enough not to root really. I usually rooted to get a kernel to speed things up and get less lag, amazingly there's no need. Also for Xposed but I also don't see the need. So waiting for something that now I feel is not needed is ok. But having the itch to root will always exist. Lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well now you got me happy cuz this is my first phone that's locked down, and Im shocked at how much bloat there is. Fnucking Facebook?
If you can point me to some helpful threads that would be awesome - I keep coming up with Exynos threads
Pashovski said:
Well now you got me happy cuz this is my first phone that's locked down, and Im shocked at how much bloat there is. Fnucking Facebook?
If you can point me to some helpful threads that would be awesome - I keep coming up with Exynos threads
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm on Snapdragon directly from T-mobile in the US.
Very little bloatware installed. And what was there I was able to uninstall easily including Facebook.
This was the first device I've owned that I've been able to do this without root.
Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
I have a question if i was to purchase a Samsiung galaxy s9+ from samsung themselves, will i be able to root the phone at that point.
I have been on iPhone for a long period of time because it is so easy to Jailbreak a phone once the program comes out, its just one click and done. I always recalled android phone goes through steps in order to be rooted, and i do mean really long steps, and the smallest mess up would brick the phone, i know now that the bricking the phone is a lot less likely. But it is still hard to root the phone..
Also back in the day, all android phones can be rooted except for Verizon Android phones. Now all carrier Samsung galaxy phones cant be or takes time to root. things have changed in the community i see.
Dasin said:
I have a question if i was to purchase a Samsiung galaxy s9+ from samsung themselves, will i be able to root the phone at that point.
I have been on iPhone for a long period of time because it is so easy to Jailbreak a phone once the program comes out, its just one click and done. I always recalled android phone goes through steps in order to be rooted, and i do mean really long steps, and the smallest mess up would brick the phone, i know now that the bricking the phone is a lot less likely. But it is still hard to root the phone..
Also back in the day, all android phones can be rooted except for Verizon Android phones. Now all carrier Samsung galaxy phones cant be or takes time to root. things have changed in the community i see.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With iphones you have to jailbreak just to get it semi-useful. My tmo s9+ had hardly anything already on it that wasn't easily removable. No need for root IMO.
Oyeve said:
With iphones you have to jailbreak just to get it semi-useful. My tmo s9+ had hardly anything already on it that wasn't easily removable. No need for root IMO.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, the main reason why I want to root is to find a bypass for the tethering. Example: On the iPhone there is a application called (Tetherme) it pretty much bypass the tethering provision so that the hotspot usage shows up as Phone usage not Hotspot usage.
I want to do that on the Samsung Galaxy s9+, I want to use the native tethering connectivity that is on the device and have it show up as phone usage not hotspot usage.
What I'm going to end up doing is selling my phone in order to purchase one directly from Samsung.
Dasin said:
Well, the main reason why I want to root is to find a bypass for the tethering. Example: On the iPhone there is a application called (Tetherme) it pretty much bypass the tethering provision so that the hotspot usage shows up as Phone usage not Hotspot usage.
I want to do that on the Samsung Galaxy s9+, I want to use the native tethering connectivity that is on the device and have it show up as phone usage not hotspot usage.
What I'm going to end up doing is selling my phone in order to purchase one directly from Samsung.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same over here iwant hotspot tether s9 plus iwas om iPhone 6s plus jailbroken I miss my hot spot :crying:

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