yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] Tomo123:
I've got brightness set on 15%. Works for me, be it day or night. There are ocassional moments when that value is not enough, so it's raised more. Of course, it goes back to 15% as soon as possible.

As for MyAndroidTools, it's simple. After you install an app, do you need it to start automatically on boot, wifi, mount or any other broadcast receiver? Does it have to sync in the background? No? Turn those broadcast receivers off, then.

Is it an email or messenger app? It needs it's startup on wifi/data/boot broadcast, so you can receive push messages, or e-mail. Don't turn off those, or else no messages :)

A good idea is to google the definition of broadcast receivers, and which of those does what. That way, you can decide for yourself the best course of action for every new app you install. It keeps your phone and apps in check. Once you learn the dark arts of tuning services and receivers, it'll become a second nature.

Install an app, run MyAndroidTools, turn off what's not needed and done. After that, start up your firewall and block internet traffic to the app, if it doesn't need it. One more layer of security.
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] sotoLOTO-:
Thanks! I don't even use an antivirus app [since I don't use the phone for ... too private stuff and so on] let alone a firewall. Maybe using a firewall makes sense so as to block an apps access to the internet.
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] Tomo123:
No need for an antivirus. Total waste of cpu cycles, ram and ultimately, the battery. Your private stuff is as secure as you remembering to grab your phone as you leave someplace, and not forget it on a, let's say, coffee shop table for anyone to peruse through at their own leisure. Carrying it with you is the best security you can have.

Blocking apps of suspicious nature is the second best thing you can do. Google should have installed a firewall on all internet able devices from the get-go. But, Google being nosy little dumplings they are, don't want us blocking their sniffing attempts... Or attempts of any other apps from the Play Store. That's where firewalls come in.

Here's the firewall I use - best there is ( grab the Free Version 2.1.3, and if you would like to thank the dev, donate ):

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1957231

While you're at it, install AdAway too - a really wonderful tool. Unless you like ads?! In that case, prepare torches and pitchforks. This man needs a cleansing!

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2190753
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] sotoLOTO-:
Thanks! Have learnt too much from you already. But too much is never enough ... Have already got AdAway ... think you had recommended it and i got it some time ago. Works well. And not to worry! I hate ads too! :) As to the firewall ... thanks for the tip. Will try it.

It seems you have the same approach to things as I do. I hate 'Big Brother', let's call it that as an umbrella term. And not only in the sense of being surveillanced, but also in terms of having someone else deciding what's best for your device/pc/phone, be it Google, LG or whoever ... I don't understand why they all suck so MUCH! It's always us the users who eventually find the right way how things should be and how they should work properly. Whatever it is they sell you off the shop is ALWAYS sh*t and they'll almost have you believe they know what they're doing when actually they DONT!!! The case with the LG Spirit is a prime example of that!
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] ivanlaki:
Using BetterBatteryStats app i found out that most of my alarms are from Whatsapp around 35%(which i dont mind because i use it really a lot) and Google Play Services around 25-30% and im asking is there maybe some services i can disable (because there are always at least 6-7 services from that app running). I know that im on a google phone and its a core app for funcionality of the android but are some of these services unnecesary/safe to disable? :confused:
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] jonixas:
It's like Bethesda games - everything the dev spends thousands of manhours doing, some guy in a basement will one-up him in a few weeks.
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] sotoLOTO-:
[MENTION=5043095]Tomo123[/MENTION], how can I see which apps I need to block from using the internet? I mean how do I see if an app (which actually doesn't need access to internet) is actually using the internet (which then will show me I need to block it).
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] Tomo123:
Start up the firewall, select Blacklist so it blocks the apps you select, and choose whichever one you feel it does not need internet access, then apply rules.

Example:

http://imgur.com/myClr2m

3G/4G is blocked for most of my apps, except those I need GPRS access, like Total Commander Google Drive plugin.

WiFi is not blocked for apps I need to have WiFi for.

WPS Office is the best Office replacement app, for me... at least. But it leaks data. So I blocked it fully.

Don't touch system apps, since you've frozen all the bloat. Only ones left are the system/Google ones, and blocking those without deep knowledge of what causes what would result in problems. So, stick with user apps and feel free to experiment. you can always undo the changes.

And set the firewall to apply rules on boot ( in the settings ).

[MENTION=5525412]jonixas[/MENTION] Yeah :) I guess those devs get paid by the hour :D
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] sotoLOTO-:
Thanks! I got the point ... i was more asking about how to tell if an app is using the net so as to know if i should block it. Of course I can (as u suggest) go all out and block every single non-system app that I think does not need internet, but I was too lazy to go thru all that, so that's what I was asking about.

This is what I've blocked for now. Guess it's fine.

Could not see where in the settings to set it to auto-start on boot.

PS Tomo123, do u use Nova Laucher
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] Tomo123:
Here's how I have it set up:

In User interface:

- everything unchecked, except "Show filter option" and "Show UID for apps"

In Log:

- everything unchecked

In Security:

- everything unchecked

In Experimental:

- only checked "Enable inbound connections" ( because I use Samba and FTP )

In Profiles:

- everything unchecked

In Binaries:

- leave default

Sorry, I've forgot that they have changed apply on boot and that it works automatically now. No need for that. As for which app to block and which one to leave unblocked... you need to check out tha permissions of an app when installing it. If it asks for WiFi or internet permissions, it will use them one way or another. Then, you will know if you need to block it or not. But the best course of action is the one you did. Block every non system app you feel does not need internet access. It's much easier to do so when you have a fresh phone and you do it app by app :)

I do not use Nova, since LG's default launcher works fast enough and has a much lower memory footprint than Nova and Tesla notifications plugin.
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] sotoLOTO-:
Thanks, I dont use Tesla notifications plugin. I only use Nova Launcher because to me it feels like it run much lighter and smoother than the stock one. It's also way more customizable. As to the RAM footprint, since I dont use Tesla notifications plugin, Nova doesn't feel that hard on the RAM, but ...
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] polfrank:
Can I use the Doze app from the Playstore instead of a firewall app? Isn't it the same thing practically?
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] Tomo123:
[MENTION=4722961]polfrank[/MENTION] Nope. Doze does not run true iptables firewall ( like the one on home routers, for example... ). It just turns off connectivity, like battery saver mode does. Waste of space, if you ask me. Just a renamed Battery Saver.

Install OS Monitor from the Play Store and check how much RAM it uses. In the process list, click the process you're interested in and see it's memory usage.
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] sotoLOTO-:
Thanks mate! What's the idea in OS Monitor to show the memory usage as X mb / Y mb / Z mb .. where xyz are various numbers. Prolly one is cached or sth like that, or perhaps has sth to do with the page file/swap file. Anyway, as the screens show for me Nova seems to take less RAM. dunno why it takes more for u. I'm also reluctant to switch to the stock home, cos if I have to do that, then there seems to be no way to merge my Nova screen layout into the stock home launcher. I do have backup of Nova launcher, but can't apply them to the stock launcher. How do I then apply the Nova layout to the stock one, if I should ever switch to it.

on a side note - i followed all your advices for optimizing the Spirit and it seems quite ok now. Question is ... what do I use Greenify for ... cos it seems it at the moment it can do nothing 4 me. It tells me nothing needs hibernation so I guess all is in order. Or am I missing somehow the point of this app and how to use it?
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] Tomo123:
I guess I used an older version of Nova... but, if you're using Nova combined with Screen Off ( that double tap screen off app ), then RAM usage goes up more than with Stock launcher. No matter, since 15-20 megs does not make a difference, as long as the phone works like you want it to.

As for Greenify, since now you know how to tweak the phone... honestly, there's no use for it anymore. You know how to freeze bloatware, stop undesired services and broadcast receivers, put apps behind the firewall and whatnot :)

It only gets easier through time - tweaking, that is. Everything you want to know has been, probably, already solved through this forum.

Here's an example how I learnt something new sometime ago:

I have a really crappy, almost unknown, Allwinner A10 HDMI TV stick that I use to play emulators on ( NES, SNES... ). But I had to create a .kl keymap file for a gamepad I have. So, rooting it was a must. After rooting, there was no way to remount it's ext4 system partition to rw. Either it was some kind of ying yang flying tiger chinese protection, or a bad system partition. For a month, I tried and tried to find a solution to my problem. But, after a long and unfruitful search, there it was. A fellow XDA member came up with a solution that was godsent. How, I don't know. But it solved all of my problems.

You remember stuff like that. Same as tweaking. It's a learning process. Most important thing is having means to reflash the phone back to a usable state after a failed experiment. Then, it's time to have fun all over again, until you break something else.

Install LG drivers on your PC. You'll thank me later :)
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] ivanlaki:
Hello, i need help, yesterday i stopped getting notifications from my apps(i actually care only about whatsapp notif). I've disabled some apps and hibernated some others,can you tell me is there a problem with it(see pictures)
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] Tomo123:
[MENTION=7061627]ivanlaki[/MENTION] Try enabling: EULA, LG PC Suite, LG PC Suite Service, Nadogradnja softvera ( google translated to Software upgrade ), Natrag ( Home? ), Font Server and DRM. Then reboot and report.
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] ivanlaki:
okay thanks, it looks like the problem is in Home, Font Server and DRM(i dont really get why but it is), now im getting notifications finally:)

As for launcher, sorry my phone is in my language, 'Natrag' is Home haha, i've disabled it because i have some lags very often(you probably dont cause you have made everything ran smoothly) so i use this one( http://xdaforums.com/crossdevice-dev/sony-themes-apps/app-xperia-z5-compact-launcher-t3203711 ) simple and fast, using only 13 mb RAM
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] sotoLOTO-:
Can u use that one (i.e. the Xperia Z5 Compact Launcher) on an LG Spirit?
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] ivanlaki:
Yes, it says that its only for xperia rom based devices but it works just excellent for me :)
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] sotoLOTO-:
Cool... thanks! 13mb of ram sounds really light indeed. Will give it a try. How is it compared to Nova Launcher?

PS [MENTION=5043095]Tomo123[/MENTION] - What's the idea in OS Monitor to show the memory usage as X mb / Y mb / Z mb .. where xyz are various numbers. Prolly one is cached or sth like that, or perhaps has sth to do with the page file/swap file, and the others are ... no idea what they are.
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] Tomo123:
My guess is that it shows the virtual / resident / shared memory usage. In that order

Virtual = the total amount of virtual memory used by the task. It includes all code, data and shared libraries plus pages that have been swapped out and pages that have been mapped but not used.

Resident = stands for the resident size, which is an accurate representation of how much actual physical memory a process is consuming.

Shared = indicates how much of the virtual memory size is actually sharable (memory or libraries).

Anyone, feel free to correct me.
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] ivanlaki:
I heard that this method can cause problems with overheating and even burn cpu, is it safe to use it? :confused:
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] sotoLOTO-:
Works ok for me so far. I think it sorta sped up the phone as well, but it might be the placebo effect. not 100% sure. But do disable LG MLT ...
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] Tomo123:
[MENTION=7061627]ivanlaki[/MENTION] Chance for that happening with this phone is minimal at best.
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] sotoLOTO-:
[MENTION=5043095]Tomo123[/MENTION] man, I froze 'File Explorer' cos I installed Total Commander ... wanted a more advanced explorer cos the stock one kinda sux. What plug-in app for Total Commander do I need in order to transfer files wirelessly from my PC to the phone, cos at the moment I sorta use bluetooth and that's somehow limited. I though total commander would have a better solution of transferring files from phone to PC and vice versa.
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] sotoLOTO-:
Man, the only settings for the Xperia Z5 Compact Launcher ... are they what my attachment shows? Aren't there any other settings? If you say yes, then I won't even install it.
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] ivanlaki:
[MENTION=7064381]jonathansmith[/MENTION]

i've disabled LG MLT via App Quarantine, but in Hidden Menu i get 'Hidden Menu has crashed' when i press on LG MLT, any solutions?(if you said them already then sorry for my questions)

And for launcher, I have in settings this: The size of the icons(small,big), the switcher for or against name of the app in 4 main apps on the bottom, transition effects(5 of them) and adding icons to home from all apps drawer by pressing..

[MENTION=5043095]Tomo123[/MENTION]

can you explain me why? becase of the low transmission speed(1200 MHz)?
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] sotoLOTO-:
If you get the crash for MLT then thats good (I think, not 100%) cos that means you've successfully disabled it. Still ... follow Tomo's way of disabling it .. not with that app of yours. ... basically follow my post #71 and Tomos post #76 earlier on in this thread.

As to your launcher app ... sounds like it is stripped of any customizability whatsoever ... as far as I see it, one cannot do anything with this launcher. Fine that it runs low on RAM, but Nova Lancher for example is ridiculously customizable and I love that. And it runs smooth. JSYK! :) nothing against your launcher.
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] Tomo123:
Personally, I use Total Commander for 99% of file management tasks on my phone. There is no better replacement. It's mostly based on file transfers from file servers TO the phone VIA the phone. It does not have a file server plugin of it's own. There is a WIFI file transfer plugin, but it's not worth it.

For system mods and root stuff, Root Explorer is still the best.

For file transfers to and from the phone, there are a couple of apps I rely upon:

FTP Server Pro - for, well, FTP transfers.

PirateBox - for easy wireless file sharing between friends and groups.

SambaDroid or Samba Server - mostly home use. Nothing beats the simplicity of Samba shares.

Tiny Web Server - just what it says, a tiny web server that shares files or user created web sites. Really cool for fast file sharing.
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] sotoLOTO-:
10x mate .. have no knowledge as to why I'd need system mods and root stuff, so I guess I'll stay away from Root Explorer for now. Will give your other apps a try though! Great stuff!

Told you you should share with us what apps you use. :) We can only learn from that! Like you I also value selecting the right stuff, but it's tough to select the right stuff when you don't know what the right stuff is. Knowledge sharing is vital! :)
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] ivanlaki:
I turned on "High temperature property OFF" and "Thermal mitigation daemon OFF" and here i am with 53 C temperature without using any app in background,is it normal?
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] Tomo123:
NO, that's NOT NORMAL! You have a serious issue with your phone. Probably a problematic app stuck cpu cycling in the background. CPU usage at 57% on reported idle? Current usage at -401mA?! RAM through the roof...

Install OS Monitor and see what's causing high CPU usage. That's your problem app.
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] jonixas:
Duuuude, thats some heavy usage going on there
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] sotoLOTO-:
Can't I map my external SD card as a drive on my PC when I;m using Samba? For now I can only map the internal memory as a drive on my pc...
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] Tomo123:
It's an older app, and the dev is a busy guy. But it works very, very well. There are a couple hiccups you have to work around manually.

Open Samba Filesharing Server for Android

In options, disable automatic overwriting of smb.conf ( it's in the bottom, if I remember correctly )

Install Root Explorer and give it root permissions when it asks.

Go to /data/data/com.funkyfresh.samba/files

Find "smb.conf" file, hold finger on it and select option "Open in Text Editor".

Go to the bottom of it and find this line:

[sdcard]

There will be some stuff written below it, but never mind that. Find a line that says:

path = /mnt/sdcard/ ( or whatever is set )

Change that path line to this value:

path = /storage/

Save the file and enjoy your fully mapped phone. Remember to set a good samba password before this and watch out you don't delete any important files by accident :)

Yup, you could do it with most other file explorers, but I only trust Root Explorer for stuff like this.
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] sotoLOTO-:
I don't see this in options - 'disable automatic overwriting of smb.conf'. Just not there. Perhaps it's in an older version or sth.

PS

I am using the app from the play store ... I also tried an *.apk file which found on the internet, which was actually the Pro version, but that one would not start the Samba service at all ... it stayed stopped and that's it. So I switched back to the free (non-Pro) version of the app.

PS2 Though I should try the other Samba app you suggested, the file sharing server you recommended from here http://xdaforums.com/android/apps-g...er-android-t2803452/post53869540#post53869540 but it is nowhere to be found ... the link is DL dead ...
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] Tomo123:
If you've installed Samba Filesharing Server for Android then it's this option on the bottom:

Don't rewrite smb.conf

But, if you installed SambaDroid, the free version, then you're limited to sdcard only. I think it's the limit of the free version.
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] sotoLOTO-:
yeah, thats what i was saying. the dl link there is dead. should I then use the Development version, provided there, cos there's nothing else available for download

---------- Post added at 01:53 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:51 AM ----------

the pro version of SambaDroid does not either allow access to the external sdcard ... only to the internal memory. So I guess it's only the Samba Filesharing Server, which as I said cannot be downloaded due to a dead link

---------- Post added at 01:54 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:53 AM ----------

Saw your edit! 10x ! : )
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] Tomo123:
No problem, install the dev version. It's the latest one.

To access it's options, hold the square nav □ button.
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] ivanlaki:
I dont see any of it causing problems.. Help pls..

What are some regularal temepratures? Around 40C?
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] Tomo123:
Mine is currently hovering at around 36-38, but that's while typing this message and waiting on a download in the background. So, I expect it to be even lower than 38.

EDIT: There's no need to worry about it. Few degrees does not mean a thing. Our CPU is declared to work without issues up to 90 degrees celsius. I seriously don't think it'll ever reach that. Just use it and have fun, and stop obsessing :)

But, if it's reaching +50 on idle, then it's an issue with a rogue app hogging the cpu. Use OS Monitor to check your phone periodically for issues.
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] Tomo123:
Also, install Catlog from the Play Store, search for this term from within the app: "thermalengine" and see that the true temperature is MUCH lower than the one reported.

At 44 degrees in Kernel Adiutor, true temp in logcat is 34.

Believe me, if it were true 44, you would feel it through the casing.

EDIT: Just to inform you guys, I just finished running a stability test to see how the phone handles extreme load. Well, it handled it great. I must admit. Catlog was running in the background, informing me that the phone raised a couple of alarms to the thermal control. First one was at around 43 degrees, second at around 47, third at around 49-50, where the temperature maxed out and cpu started forcefully dropping speed one step at a time to keep it limited to 50 degrees. Battery temp rose to 34 degrees. Phone back was lukewarm to the touch. Kernel Adiutor showed it was at 80 degrees ( yeah... right ). Going over 50 degrees would be a hard task to accomplish, indeed. Room temperature was 24 degrees, just for information.

This was done with thermal mitigation and high temp property disabled. So, there you have it. Disabling those is safe. Enjoy.
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] sotoLOTO-:
Thanks! Just to make sure I get what you are saying ... when you say 'This was done with thermal mitigation and high temp property disabled' you mean having the 2 settings "High temperature property OFF" and "Thermal mitigation daemon OFF" set to ON, right? meaning enabled. It's just a bit tricky. So having those two settings which are called 'bla bla OFF' and 'bla bla OFF' means that by enabling them two you actually turn those 2 bla bla things off.

I'm reading again your instructions post and it says - "High temperature property OFF" and "Thermal

mitigation daemon OFF", check them both so toast message pops up with Enabled ON state. I think this is pretty much how the whole thing is supposed to be understood and I'm sure other newbies like me will too have issues understanding this. Correct me if Im wrong pls.
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] Tomo123:
Correct.

Another way to confirm those settings is to start Kernel Adiutor, select Thermal and see if Core Control is the only one started. That means that Thermal Mitigation Daemon and High Temperature property are disabled.

But yeah, they got those settings on backwards. ON means OFF, OFF means ON :)
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] sotoLOTO-:
Thanks! What do you use 'Root explorer' for? Is it best for tweaking root files? ... I mean, for ordinary use I think we both use 'Total commander' file explorer. So I was just wondering what 'Root explorer' is better than 'Total commander' at?
[LG Spirit Guides, News, & Discussion] ivanlaki:
[MENTION=5043095]Tomo123[/MENTION]

Thank you very much for your testing:)