yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] unibomber:
I have found removing one of these files has made the recent app button almost instant. I don't know which one is the one that made it faster.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] CheesyNutz:
Unused ram is wasted ram
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] AlkaliV2:
Very cool. I hadn't tested the multi-task button since doing my slimming down, but now I am going to try it out.

Unused/unwanted programs waste my RAM.

Compare two setups. The first is stock software exactly the way it comes with Facebook, ChatOn, Hancom, Twitter, Air Wake Up, Direct Answer, etc. Many of these programs you don't use are set to launch at boot. You can verify this by checking the Startup Manager tab of Android Tuner. On boot stock RAM usage is full of programs I don't necessarily need running in memory and the Android OS has to use its memory management routines in order to close those apps and fill the RAM with apps I launch.

The second setup is my setup which boots with on 908MB of RAM used and the RAM is filled by programs I launch and want to stay in memory without having to close other programs in the background that Samsung gave priority.

(less programs closed = less CPU routines = lower battery usage)

Which setup is more efficient for the end user? This post isn't about stripping it down so I don't ever use the RAM, it is about creating a library of information about what these programs do so users can remove what they want and run a system tailored to their needs; not the needs of the many.

Edit: is anyone running pure stock and can tell me what RAM usage is on a clean boot? I genuinely cannot remember its been so long.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] AlkaliV2:
UPDATE v1

-Added some new descriptions/explanations

-Discovered error in original list "com.sec.android.app.SmartClipService" is part of S-Pen feature. I put mine back.

-Added some references for where I found my information

-Added a few people to the 'Thanks' section. Take the time to thank them when you can!
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] gretschpr:
Thanks for this! Now, just to be sure, if i remove/freeze all of those under "Reference list/apps removed", I won't lose the "functional features with my list" features?? :D
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] fAiLOfax:
I'm glad I could help! ;)
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] AlkaliV2:
I did add a few back that if removed would break certain features, but the descriptions are bolded. Otherwise, yes if you remove things from the reference list it should still function similarly to mine.

However, if you run into anything weird using that list (force close/crash/unusable feature) let me know so we can track it down and know what it does.

Edit: [MENTION=913285]gretschpr[/MENTION] you MUST install Viper4Android before removing AdaptSound and SoundAlive so that you have a mixer control installed. Otherwise, potential force closes.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] gretschpr:
Much thanks! I'll give it a try!
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] steve97ta:
This is a great list! Had about 20 that I didn't know I could remove. Total of 184 apps when I boot up very nice!
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] Ed Law:
That sounds about right!

It gets addictive trying to figure out what can and can not be removed. haha
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] d12unk13astard:
Thanks for this list, my phone seems a bit snappier now and no fc's.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] AlkaliV2:
I'm glad to hear it! Keep testing and if you see anything strange please report it so we can pin down what app it is. I'm going to revise it when Lollipop comes out, but it will require EXTENSIVE testing. Enjoy!
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] sidhak:
Awesome. have been looking for something like this. I am stock rooted Tmobile Note 4 and since I am in India I do not need ant tmobile stuff. An list where I can find tmobile apps which are safe to remove.

Regards
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] AlkaliV2:
This list should help. http://xdaforums.com/note-4-tmobile/general/experiencing-lag-t2914618
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] egren58:
Someone should make a rom
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] SiNJiN76:
Great list that's informative! Seen other lists that just list things without explantion. I'm always thinking what these system apps do whenever I see the list thru TB and tell myself that one day I'll remove each one by one... Thanks for going through the trouble of doing this! (OP and all that contributed)

---------- Post added at 07:25 AM ---------- Previous post was at 07:20 AM ----------

Try to remember! :D
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] AlkaliV2:
UPDATE v1.01

-Added a section explaining what each item does to the best of my knowledge

-Not completed, but quite expansive

-Covers removing Samsung keyboard, Private Mode, and Wi-Fi Calling
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] reikai10:
Reply

Is there a reason I need to install V4A if I don't remove AdaptSound and SoundAlive?
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] AlkaliV2:
No, there is no need to do Viper4Android if you leave Adapt Sound and SoundAlive in place. Viper acts as a replacement for those files in Android and you need one or the other for a fully functioning phone.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] masri1987:
i know it's not a TW feature, but what would break the wifi calling abilities?
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] Malibuz0r:
Edit: Delete this
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] AlkaliV2:
I put a bold description next to all the things needed for Wi-Fi calling under the section "Other Software Explained"

Edit: I haven't finished the list, but you also need "Wifiservice" installed to make Wi-Fi work at all. I'm going to get to finishing the list as soon as I get caught up in my classes.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] masri1987:
I see that now, thank you for clarifying, one more thing, not sure what i'm removing but this happens on every tw rom after i get it all set up

When i boot i get a "emergency services manager" force closes. any idea what i may have removed?
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] steve97ta:
If you sick to the list you should be okay with no errors. I remove all the emergency stuff with no problems or errors. I do receive all the amber alerts and stuff via texts though. Always freeze the apps before you remove them
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] AlkaliV2:
Emergency SMS can be turned off under the stock Messages settings. Settings > Emergency Settings

By the way you phrased it I was unsure whether you were getting the SMS by choice or weren't sure how to turn them off, but I posted it anyway in case someone else didn't know how to turn them off. Thanks for answering that question for me, I was unable to get back to this yesterday. :good:
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] rudbwoy:
*Freezing these Apps will have the same effect as uninstalling them and is a much safer option for the user. Please consider freezing first and then uninstalling after you have tested the device.*

Excellent! Subscribed.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] A30laa:
Does anyone know if there is post where I could maybe download all these apk in a zip file...

I deleted something to do with samsung account and now when I try to uncheck reactivation lock I keep getting force closed and I know it was my fault since it started to happen after I went into titanium backup and started deleting things
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] AlkaliV2:
All of the Samsung APKs you need are found in the stock NK4 ROM (or the ROM you downloaded) found in the Android Development forum. Just open the zip and copy the APKs you need out of

/system/app

/system/priv-app

and paste them to those folders on your phone. If you don't know which APK it is then you're better off dirty flashing the ROM and then freezing them this time until you know what they do.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] masri1987:
running rapture 2.4.1 but i've tried several times and android system is constantly draining my battery, not sure what i'm removing that's causing it
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] AlkaliV2:
If you updated to COD6 (any part of it, modem bootloader, kernel, ROM) then Android System drain exists on that platform. To stop it you are going to have to ODIN back to NK4 and then follow the guide. Otherwise, you're mixing two version of firmware and it will lead to mixed results.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] masri1987:
yeah well i odin'd back to the full firmware from nk4 , i'm doing it again today with a wipe of internal storage as well as system (didn't do that prior), will report back
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] AlkaliV2:
UPDATED: Post 2 contains a list of software that can be frozen and/or removed from the Lollipop release COD6

-I feel obligated to say that Lollipop is far more inflexible to software removal than Kit-Kat was. There are several things in the OP that I would have removed without hesitation that caused negative effects on Lollipop software. My only advice is that if you look at the Kit-Kat list and remove software that is named similarly in Lollipop you might have a bad time.

-Another important note is that I am testing the apps that are frozen in the second list (Going on week 2) and for my uses it is going well with everything in that list frozen. I'll add more to the "Removed" section if I feel it is worth minimizing the system partition.

-I left in Adapt Sound and Sound Alive installed because Viper4Android is only working with custom kernels set to permissive. If you want to learn how to do this so you can remove Samsung sound software that information is available in the kernel threads

This guide is intended to work with the Stock ROM and the Alliance v1 Release. If you use this information on another ROM I cannot tell you what to expect.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] Ry&Owley:
Is there a way I can get access to the Camera Test (Factory test menu for the camera hardware)

software? I'm trying to swap the S6 camera module into the note 4 and something like this would be super useful to me.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] masri1987:
lol

I went ahead and attempted to freeze\remove things prior to your write up on LP, and i had a very bad time, System UI crashes galore.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] AlkaliV2:
Sorry, I didn't see this until just now. If you want to get the attention of a certain member you can quote their post or do an "@" symbol followed by their username. Just for future reference.

The camera test software that is installed has to be accessed through something like an automated tasking program or through a keycode entry in the dial pad/phone app. It will let you run a standard test, but it isn't going to give you any meaningful feedback as far as error code. That would all have to be handled via ADB.

Link to Note 4 Secret Menu by TEKHD
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] beauwilliams:
This is the best debloat list I have seen for touchwiz on XDA. Sound advice and (for once) descriptions about what the software we are freezing/uninstalling is actually for. Bravo!
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] W3TH3KINGzz:
After going through an freezing majority of the kit Kat list on my note 4 I still noticed a lot of battery loss when screen was on so I used better battery plus from xposed (better battery stats showed it to) and came across a process called factory mode(this usually only activates if you downgrade which I have from 5.0.1 lollipop to kit Kat 4.4.4 at least this Is what I read factory mode acts upon) anyways it was causing a huge chunk of battery loss, I had a backup so I decided to use titanium back up and freeze the factory mode an hoped it wouldn't cause any problems as of right now while screen is on battery is dropping at a much much slower rate! And i have not had any problems thus far freezing it in another day or 2 I will delete it an report back, anyways my point is if your getting this problem it is thus far safe to say it's safe to freeze it
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] W3TH3KINGzz:
Just want to report back and say freezing factory mode has allowed me a huge amount of battery gain I went from 4 an a half hours of SOT to 8hrs of SOT why this was draining by battery I'm not sure but if you downgrade an come across your Android battery states saying android system is draining it the most an you check better battery states an it shows factory mode go ahead an freeze that :) again I may possibly remove it entirely an report back if it causes any issues
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] AlkaliV2:
I'm glad that worked for you and had impressive results. Before everyone tries this in response to your suggestion:

Will you test if you can perform dialer codes to access the factory menus? And you are using this on Kit-Kat (4.4.4) correct?

My understanding of that particular service is that it allows for dialer codes to get to the hidden menus in the phone. Ones that allow you to update your digitizer firmware, confirm the touch settings of your screen, verify if your device is sending mobile packet data, and so many other hidden features. There is no logical reason why having these menus enabled would cut your SOT in half on Lollipop or Kit-Kat so I can't say why this would happen. Unless you are comparing Lollipop SOT to Kit-Kat SOT which is not a direct comparison at all. Early Lollipop releases have been notoriously bad at saving battery. 5.1.1 should help that if/when we get it.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] W3TH3KINGzz:
When I looked into it I found that service mode and one other process I can't recall is what allowed access to those menus but I'll check into it as it's still disabled and let you know if I can gain access to them
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] sublimaze:
AlkaliV2, thanks for posting this helpful info. I bookmarked this thread in my Chrome xda folder :good:
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] ewingr:
I just applied a lot of the Lolly Pop freezes...on 5.1.1. I'll post back if anything seems problematic.

Just curious...I presume this is expected to free up resources that means less memory swapping, resulting in increased performance. Would this also help battery performance? (I did read that it won't help RAM availability).
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] AlkaliV2:
The best way I can think to answer this question is with another question:

If you had only two apps on your phone--a dialer app for making calls (that only affects battery when used) and an app similar to Facebook that commonly wakes up the phone and accesses the web--would you lose battery power at a faster rate than if you just had the dialer app?

In my barely educated opinion having the more active app on your phone would increase battery loss because it keeps your phone so busy all the time.

If you had 100 dialer apps and no active applications, even though there are more apps filling the memory they aren't really doing anything unless you select it. This may cause a little more battery drain since they would be stored in RAM, but the Facebook type of app polls your antenna (4G/Wifi) every few minutes, activates your speaker, lights up the LED, and causes you to turn the screen on every little while leading the battery to die much, much faster.

Using that example, I think you would agree that battery life is not about how many apps you have, but about what types of apps are running on the phone. So, if you follow my guide apps that are frozen/removed/unneeded can no longer affect your battery which is just my way of getting rid of potential battery killers put in place by the manufacturer.

Hopefully that answers your question and gives you some idea about where real battery drain comes from. This was also intended to address why some people on the same ROM and same hardware often see different battery times. It is almost never the ROM's fault for poor battery life unless it is just a bad build. More often it is a bad flash or the apps users install that cripple their battery time.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] ewingr:
Yup, thanks.

And, FYI...phone is operating fine. Not sure I won't try something later that won't work, but I know where to look to unfreeze ;)

I do my battery testing by leaving it at 100% and same operating parameters (ie. WiFi on, BT on, Power Saving Off), over night. NExt morning I check how much it used / hour.

Before the change, I used .9417 % / hour, last night it used .5882 % / hour.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] masri1987:
can't tell you how many times i've visited this thread for reference. thanks again!!
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] AlkaliV2:
You doing that is why I like making these posts. I'm just one guy and this stuff works for me and my hardware but for me to believe it is helping others I like when people test the changes like you did. It really is something I appreciate as honest feedback for the work I've done. I'm glad you saw marked improvement and the next guide I would recommend if you are willing to use Xposed is found here http://xdaforums.com/android/general/guide-0-0-hour-idle-battery-drain-stock-t2973588 and even with it being a little long it does a really good job of suggesting alarms that can be managed with Amplify. I did not get 0% battery drain; others in the thread reported success but I saw a minor difference at best. I also submitted the wakelock to him as well that break Wi-Fi calling so that wakelock is mentioned specifically in the thread.

I'm glad it continues to be a good guide! I didn't feel like I needed to update it since COG2 is pretty much exactly COD6, but if 5.1.1 adds anything new I'll definitely do a follow up. Thanks for the feedback!
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] ewingr:
I would like to use Xposed...but I'm reading pretty consistently that Xposed puts a pretty hard hit on LP ROMS...and that it in fact is not working right at sl on 5.1.1 which is what I'm testing on. So, I'll hold off of Xposed for now.

But it's good to know about your suggestion for future reference.

Thanks for your thread.

---------- Post added at 07:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:24 PM ----------

I think I have discovered a problem. Of course, not absolutely sure it is one of the above disables. In fact, I don't see one you identified that seems to be what should be the issue.

Per the picture below, when I click the icon pointed to in red, the phone app closes.

I'm not really sure what that icon is even supposed to do. I was trying to get the contact added to a Contacts Group.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] AlkaliV2:
I don't have that button on any of the ROMs I've tried, so I need some basic info:

ROM you are running

Firmware you're on

Third Party Dialer or Contact Apps you have

What app you launched to get to that screen (Dailer, contacts, etc.)
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] ewingr:
I just defrosted everything, and it still happens. So It's not due to any of the freezes from the liost.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] ewingr:
Are there any recommendations on which system apps could, or should not, be made into a user app?
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] AlkaliV2:
Sorry, I was on campus all day today so I waited until I got home tonight to respond.

The best way for me to tell you what should be a system app versus a user app is based on how much data it generates. Usually things like Google Maps, Hangouts, etc, etc, etc are all installed to the system because Google wants them to be on your device and updated promptly. But if you use Hangouts for SMS, Hangouts, MMS and calls you are generating tons of data that is being saved to the smaller system partition that when full impedes performance.

So I personally move every Google Play Store app (Exceptions: Google Now, Hangouts) to the User app category that way if they generate a bunch of data I can clean it up rather easily. I also tend to move the random Samsung apps like S-Note, S-Health, PenUP, etc over to user apps also. Truthfully, I uninstall them because I don't use Samsung software on my device for the most part. The only one I leave is S-Voice temporarily to get screen-off Google Now working and then to make the home key work faster by disabling that setting in S-Voice.

So here is quick 3 steps I use to decide User App or Not:

1.) If it can be found in the App Menu, it can safely be a User App

(Exceptions: Gallery, Camera, Phone Dialer, Messages, and Scrapbook)

2.) If you control whether it is on or off through the Settings menu it should

NOT

be a user app (NFC, Wi-Fi Sharing, MirrorLink, etc)

3.) Does this app seem like a background process? If it seems like a helper process, leave it.

4.) Unspoken (but often typed) rule: Backup your apps! That way if something doesn't work right you can put it back and it will work again.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] ctrlaltdeln:
Could this be related to the "favorite contacts" service that was in the frozen list?
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] AlkaliV2:
Favorite contacts is a Touchwiz widget that will show your "Starred" or favorite contacts with their pictures on the Touchwiz Desktop.

I just defrosted it on my device to verify and it does not create the buttons in that picture. Freezing an application won't hide user interface buttons, it just makes it to where if you press that button it force closes.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] ctrlaltdeln:
Just sharing some good reads regarding bloat ware. ...

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=3067501

Also this one for Simplrom, a heavily debloated rom for 910u/f...

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=3034419

Thanks to op for putting this together, I could probably recite that list from memory, I've read it so many times.lol

---------- Post added at 09:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:37 PM ----------

Looking for help pinning down app/service that's causing me trouble,

The issue is, after disabling apps, when I hover the spen over a text field, and the little circle with the capital T in it pops up, ....if I tap it, it does nothing. I believe it is supposed to bring up the handwriting input box.

I've got no clues over here, maybe someone smarter than me could answer.

Thanks in advance
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] AlkaliV2:
I need to know what ROM you're on, but I'm using Rapture v4 right now and attempting to get it to work. At the moment for me it force closes because I think I am missing the font package, but I have to get Calc 2 done first. I'll post here if I find it.

Edit: Something I also just realized, there are two apps that use this feature: Memo and S-Note. Ensure you have both of those installed.

Edit2: There are also two font packages and I'm not sure which one is required but one is RoseEUKor and the other is ChocoEUKor. One of the two of them is the font used to display what you write. If they are frozen or removed then the box will force close. Back to Calc 2...
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] ewingr:
I'm confused about the comment about hiding interface buttons, if it's related to my quoted post.

But, I too defrosted the Favorites app mentioned, and clicking the button in the picture still acts the same.
[T-Mobile Galaxy Note 4 General] AlkaliV2:
Buttons don't go away when you freeze apps. Otherwise there would be broken looking interfaces all over the place.

You know when you fresh install a ROM or flash a firmware and the only Text Messaging/MMS software on the phone is Samsung Messaging? Tons of things use this application, from swiping left in the contacts list to choosing a default messaging client. If you freeze Messaging the smaller yellow mail icon that will text message your contact does not go away. In fact, it stays there and if you don't have an app to replace it, it just force closes.

The only logical thing I can think of is that you are running an international or Canadian firmware that has an extra button in the contacts menu or it is an extra feature of a Facebook contact that I've never seen because I don't run Facebook. I've never stripped down an International/Canadian ROM so I cannot even begin to guess if there is a separate task that controls that extra green button and Samsung created extra contact menu items for Facebook that works through SNS and Facebook software to make your Facebook contacts look like your regular contacts. If it isn't either of these things then you have a unicorn and you need to re-apply stock firmware for sanity's sake. Especially if you are running a T-Mobile phone because that button isn't part of the stock experience.