[Q] Launcher problems since ICS - Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Just updated to European ICS earlier. As expected, it reset my home screen layout and app drawer sorting. Irritating but fixable.
I spent a not-inconsiderable amount of time reorganising things how I like, folders and widgets etc. I made sure to backup TwLauncher's data using Titanium when I was done just in case.
So a bit later, I try to view an image in "My Files" with the gallery app, and it closes instantly saying the "media scanner running". No worries, I've seen that before, except... it isn't running. Nothing is scanning my media files as far as I can tell. So, I hold in power and do a reboot, thinking that'll clear the problem.
Boom. When the phone reloads, my home screen is once more 'stock', and what's worse, trying to open applications leads to a blank screen for about 5 minutes, at which point it loads up and once more, everything is all just stock / alphabetical.
Can someone tell me what's going wrong, and how I can avoid it happening again, so I don't waste my time reorganising? (Please, no clever reply of "What's going wrong is you're using TouchWiz")
Much appreciated,
Matt

Related

[Q] Need help finding a ROM....

First, I have an Incredible and have done all the goodies to it, but my wife has an Eris and Im gonna need some help getting it right.
I month or so ago I rooted my wife's Eris and installed xtrSense on it because it looked closest to stock (with Sense). A couple weeks later htc mail kept force closing, over and over. Then some days it would go an entire day and not have service, while mine would when they are sitting next to each other. (by no service I mean the phone part of the smartphone did not function).
The biggest problem I am going to have in finding a ROM for this thing is she LOVES the HTC calendar widget and the HTC mail widgets. She has 2 work emails and a personal email, all of which have their own HTC mail widget.
Is there a vanilla ROM that has a widget that is similar to the HTC Mail widget?
I have been leaning towards KaosFroyo but the problem being the mail widget. I LOVE that Gingerbread theme by SicNside though!
Sorry for the long winded post!
Honestly, Ryan - instead of switching it up on her, re-download xtrSENSE, wipe, and flash it. This time, flash it TWICE just to make sure. Reboot, let it go, and then set it up with all her ****.
Once that's done, go to this thread and download the newest ERIS radio available:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=650121
Download it to the phone, rename it to "update.zip" and put it in the root, reboot to recovery, flash it, reboot, let it install, reboot, and wait for your phone to start up.
Give it a little bit - and you should be good to go.
Long answer short: no (not that I've seen), the HTC widgets are pretty darn exclusive.
elitenls said:
Honestly, Ryan - instead of switching it up on her, re-download xtrSENSE, wipe, and flash it. This time, flash it TWICE just to make sure. Reboot, let it go, and then set it up with all her ****.
Once that's done, go to this thread and download the newest ERIS radio available:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=650121
Download it to the phone, rename it to "update.zip" and put it in the root, reboot to recovery, flash it, reboot, let it install, reboot, and wait for your phone to start up.
Give it a little bit - and you should be good to go.
Long answer short: no (not that I've seen), the HTC widgets are pretty darn exclusive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks very much for the reply. One question though, why install it twice?
Flash it twice just to be sure. It gets rid of any stray files from the old stuff
Sent from my FroyoEris using XDA App
RyanTX said:
Thanks very much for the reply. One question though, why install it twice?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only needed if the phone suffers from OCD: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.
Complete and utter BS voodo - computers are deterministic. Sort of like saying you will do a better job at work today if you drive there three or four times "just to make sure".
The suggestion the first responder provided is no different than if you simply performed a "wipe data/factory reset" in Amon_RA.
What you really ought to try is clearing the data store for a few selected apps (Settings -> Applications -> Manage applications), rather than nuking all the user data and settings and starting all over. You might even consider making a backup so you can make several attempts at it if something doesn't work out as you expect.
Thanks for the replies.
I always nandroid before doing a ROM, especially on her phone. I just dont get why all of a sudden she had an "x" over the signal bars on her phone for an entire day, then all of a sudden it started working again. Also the htc mail force closing literally every 10 seconds.
Is there a way to backup all of her home screens, then wipe, then install xtrSense again? It takes forever to re-set up all of her screens since they are all full.
RyanTX said:
Thanks for the replies.
I always nandroid before doing a ROM, especially on her phone. I just dont get why all of a sudden she had an "x" over the signal bars on her phone for an entire day, then all of a sudden it started working again. Also the htc mail force closing literally every 10 seconds.
Is there a way to backup all of her home screens, then wipe, then install xtrSense again? It takes forever to re-set up all of her screens since they are all full.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll admit that the signal issue is a little strange (but you didn't mention whether it comes right back after rebooting, or whether you checked to see if airplane mode had been toggled on accidentally).
Have you tried clearing the application data and cache for the HTC Mail App to see if that changes anything?
The HTC version of Sense had a thing called "Themes" that you could create - but it didn't save them to the SD card, so if you did a factory reset (or a wipe), you would lose all your themes. Kind of stupid, really; but then again, making those settings survive a ROM replacement (or factory reset) wasn't part of HTC's requirements.
I think you are kind of stuck, unless xtrSense uses a 3rd-party launcher. (For instance, ADW and Launcher Pro have means to backup your home screens) Apps, emails, contacts, bookmarks, and SMS/MMS messages can all be backed up using 3rd-Party (market) apps for those purposes, but I will agree with you - restoring a Sense ROM takes some time.
bftb0 said:
I'll admit that the signal issue is a little strange (but you didn't mention whether it comes right back after rebooting, or whether you checked to see if airplane mode had been toggled on accidentally).
Have you tried clearing the application data and cache for the HTC Mail App to see if that changes anything?
The HTC version of Sense had a thing called "Themes" that you could create - but it didn't save them to the SD card, so if you did a factory reset (or a wipe), you would lose all your themes. Kind of stupid, really; but then again, making those settings survive a ROM replacement (or factory reset) wasn't part of HTC's requirements.
I think you are kind of stuck, unless xtrSense uses a 3rd-party launcher. (For instance, ADW and Launcher Pro have means to backup your home screens) Apps, emails, contacts, bookmarks, and SMS/MMS messages can all be backed up using 3rd-Party (market) apps for those purposes, but I will agree with you - restoring a Sense ROM takes some time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This should really be a reply to RyanTX, but I was lazy.
My Backup Root (free on the market - make sure and look for ROOT version, not My Backup Pro which costs $) will backup your home screens.
The only problem with any program that backs up your home screens, including Launcher Pro or ADW (at least it used to be - let me know if anything's changed) is that due to restrictions made by Google, they will NOT restore widgets, only everything else, which pretty much defeats the usefullness of the ability IMHO.
roirraW "edor" ehT said:
This should really be a reply to RyanTX, but I was lazy.
My Backup Root (free on the market - make sure and look for ROOT version, not My Backup Pro which costs $) will backup your home screens.
The only problem with any program that backs up your home screens, including Launcher Pro or ADW (at least it used to be - let me know if anything's changed) is that due to restrictions made by Google, they will NOT restore widgets, only everything else, which pretty much defeats the usefullness of the ability IMHO.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even the "built in" ADW backup/restore method won't handle widgets, so maybe it is an Google API thing, I don't know. OTOH, I have 7 home pages with only 4 widgets in use, so I find that backup/restore darned handy - even if I have to fix up a few widgets manually, it still saves me plenty of time. You're right, it would be great if it worked perfectly - but a little bit (or a lot in my case) is better than nothing at all.
bftb0 said:
Even the "built in" ADW backup/restore method won't handle widgets, so maybe it is an Google API thing, I don't know. OTOH, I have 7 home pages with only 4 widgets in use, so I find that backup/restore darned handy - even if I have to fix up a few widgets manually, it still saves me plenty of time. You're right, it would be great if it worked perfectly - but a little bit (or a lot in my case) is better than nothing at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True. I guess as long as someone isn't like I used to be; I used to have 20+ widgets over several home screens. Now I like to keep things simple, I only have six things, and only on one screen, although five of the six are widgets.

[Q] Widgets wont load

Hi all, noob here with a question. I've searched high and low but can't find an answer.
A short bit of background....Today for the first time I decided to set up my work email on my SGS II. My phone asked me to change some of the security rules associated with the phone. I accepted and it set about encrypting phone storage and usb storage. As a result of this my phone went haywire. Constantly force closing various apps hundreds of times. I was unable to use the phone for hours but eventually got in to delete the email account. Once I'd managed to do this the phone automatically decrypted itself.
As a result though, no widgets on my phone load. I've tried battery pulls but this hasn't worked.
Does anyone have any ideas before I have to do something drastic like delete and reinstall each app?
Thanks.
Android 2.33
I9100XXKE7
Gingerbread.XWKF3
Have you removed the widgets from your homescreen and then added them again? That normally solves widget issues.
If you have then yeah, uninstall and reinstall. It'll only take a minute for each one so it's hardly the end of the world. Just a pain in the arse.
Thanks, simple solution, should have tried that before!
It is an utter pain because most of my widgets and short cuts are invisible- using circle launcher and wave launcher.
I shall get to it now!

Please help Galaxy s 2 ATT

OKay, so this is my first android phone, coming from an Iphone 4 and let me tell you im about 80% disappointed.
Here are some problems im having, im hoping that you can help me turn that 80 into a 20.
1. Apps just randomly run in the background: I'll close all but my live background, my task manager and my alarm clock and go to sleep. When I wake up almost EVERY SINGLE app I have is running in the background. Why? How do I stop this, the Iphone never did this, I feel this is a hard fail on androids part.
2. Many apps force close while im trying to use them: Ive tried stock rom, and serenity 8, same apps same issues. Its becoming a turn off to use the phone for any apps.
3. Multitasking: Is there any? MOST of the time when I switch apps and "multitask" its just like having the app open at the start page, I dont have to reload the app but its not where I last left it like the Iphone. Even on web pages I find if I switch out of the web and go to another app if I return to the web im back at my home page and I have to go to my history just to get back where I was. Is there a way for me to fix this?
4: Ram usage: when I turn my phone off, then on I see 150 in the used ram. This number raises even with out opening any apps. I kill all apps and close all running programs I see nothing running except services and it raises as high as 600 mb with 0 apps open and nothing running except a live background and the task manager. My iphone never had a memory leak, how do I fix this? 600 mb to do nothing is a bit excessive.
As a software developer im really confused as how Google tricked everyone that android was good. Perhaps Im just uninformed and that is why I am here. I am wondering why there would be all these problems right out of the box on an item that is what 4th 5th generation? These are problems that shouldnt be as frequent in 1st and 2nd generations. Any help would be wonderful thank you.
1. this question has been asked a million times. In short, the Android OS handles memory much different than you'd expect. An app will appear as running after you close it but it may not be. Android just keeps that memory allocated to that app in case you need to use it again. But if the OS needs that memory for something else, it will release it from that app and use it for something else.
2. what apps FC on you?
3. i'll leave this for someone else to explain because I dont use the browser much so I dont have much experience with that.
4. this goes along with my answer for #1. Android OS likes to have its memory allocated but it doesnt mean those apps are running.
I might be a little off on my explanation so I'll leave it to the experts to clarify but i'm pretty sure i'm fairly accurate.
1/4 - Not deficiencies, Android is designed that way. If an app is resident in memory, it is more readily accessible. Some badly written apps DO more than just sit there in the task list - but most are OK. Sitting in memory is not bad - holding a wakelock or showing up in your battery usage is.
2 - No clue - not having this problem here. I haven't seen an FC in a few weeks, and the last one was my own fault. What apps?
3) This depends on the app. However, usually the browser returns to wherever I last was when I use it. In fact I wish it were easier to "go home"...
3) Matter of using the right button. Close the app with the home button, and restart it where it left off. Back out of the app with the back button, and start over.
List off apps that FC on me Both stock and Serenity 8:
Alarm Clock Plus
Chase
email
Gmail
hootsuite
maps
market
netflix
qik
web
Also no matter how I work the web 60% of the time I start back at my home page.
Lastly to do anything on android it seems like a process, just to switch from one app to another I have to do this, then that, then this, now im on my other app... Iphones multitasking is button click im there. Is there a multitasking app that works kinda like iphones? I really like the tray that holds ALL my open apps. Im trying hard to like this phone and android but being able to customize and have widgets just does not seem like it is worth it. Unless there are some really big secrets im missing.
Thank you all for the answers as well!
i really dont know what to tell you about the FC's because none of those FC on me ... whether I was stock or not. That just doesnt sound right. If you're stock, it shouldn't be FC'ing at all. I can understand if you're rooted and running S8 or some other ROM. Maybe something happened during the flash but stock should be fine.
I'm also trying out the browser on my phone and if I load a random website, go home, open another app and go back to the browser, its still on the last page I viewed.
DKS1282 said:
List off apps that FC on me Both stock and Serenity 8:
Alarm Clock Plus
Chase
email
Gmail
hootsuite
maps
market
netflix
qik
web
Also no matter how I work the web 60% of the time I start back at my home page.
Lastly to do anything on android it seems like a process, just to switch from one app to another I have to do this, then that, then this, now im on my other app... Iphones multitasking is button click im there. Is there a multitasking app that works kinda like iphones? I really like the tray that holds ALL my open apps. Im trying hard to like this phone and android but being able to customize and have widgets just does not seem like it is worth it. Unless there are some really big secrets im missing.
Thank you all for the answers as well!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're swithing from app to app, and want to do it more quickly, hold the home button for a few seconds (pretty much anywhere, no need to go 'home' first). It will open up a list of the last 6 apps you've used. Pretty sure from the point you left off.
holding the home button does work pretty well, although sometimes it does not have the last couple apps I was using, mainly Go SMS pro. I am currently running S8 thought it was stable, guess i'll reflash and give this another go for a week, if not then its return to the IP and trade this back for the 4s. Thanks for the help!
Any suggestion on what rom to flash to?
Having THAT many apps FC on you is usually a sign that you did one of two things:
1) Forgot to wipe data/factory reset when installing a new ROM
2) Performed an improper Titanium Backup restore - restoring more than just "MISSING apps and data"
Chase
email
Gmail
maps
market
netflix
web
I'm running Serendipity 8.1 and do not have any problems with these apps from your list. You may need to re-flash.
Edit: what Entropy said.
DKS1282 said:
holding the home button does work pretty well, although sometimes it does not have the last couple apps I was using, mainly Go SMS pro. I am currently running S8 thought it was stable, guess i'll reflash and give this another go for a week, if not then its return to the IP and trade this back for the 4s. Thanks for the help!
Any suggestion on what rom to flash to?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
any of them are good but I personally use UnNamed. You really should wipe your phone first. Thats probably why you have so many FC's. When you flash a new rom, make sure you do NOT restore system apps via Titanium Backup (if thats what you use).
Entropy512 said:
Having THAT many apps FC on you is usually a sign that you did one of two things:
1) Forgot to wipe data/factory reset when installing a new ROM
2) Performed an improper Titanium Backup restore - restoring more than just "MISSING apps and data"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i think thats exactly what happened because having that many FC's is not normal .
DKS1282 said:
List off apps that FC on me Both stock and Serenity 8:
Alarm Clock Plus
Chase
email
Gmail
hootsuite
maps
market
netflix
qik
web
Also no matter how I work the web 60% of the time I start back at my home page.
Lastly to do anything on android it seems like a process, just to switch from one app to another I have to do this, then that, then this, now im on my other app... Iphones multitasking is button click im there. Is there a multitasking app that works kinda like iphones? I really like the tray that holds ALL my open apps. Im trying hard to like this phone and android but being able to customize and have widgets just does not seem like it is worth it. Unless there are some really big secrets im missing.
Thank you all for the answers as well!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To switch between running apps all you have to do is long press the home button - one press to see the last six open apps and your there.
Having the browser return to the home page every time just means you don't know what you are doing.
Being concerned about what is being held in ram its also a sign you don't know what you are doing. The memory chip where the ram resides, where you see a list of apps being held has to remain powered on all the time. Whether it is holding 250 MB of data, 500 MB of data or just 10 MB of data it will still be drawing the same amount of power. And just because an apps data is being held in ram does not necessarily mean it is running. Top see what us running you need to check cpu usage.
The only time to concerned about ram is if more than 85% is being used then you would start having problems. But this does not happen on our phones, and only would happen if you had something causing a major memory leak.
All of your force closes are related to you or your particular phone. I have maybe five fc's in a month and three of those happened while I was running cm7.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using XDA App
Lot of user error here. I'm on the stock ROM with root.
Switch apps quickly by holding home.
If you use the back button to exit an app then you truly are exiting the app. Use home if you want it to start running.
Don't worry about ram usage. This device has 1GB and Android manages it very well without you ever having to worry.
I never have force closes unless it's the developers issue. If you're running from backed up apps then you can expect to have FCs. Install from fresh if you try a new ROM.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using XDA App
I think the main reason the op is having his browser reset most of the time is because the op is using some kind if task killer. This task killer is also probably the cause of a significant portion of the fc's being experienced.
There should be a forum rule against people who run task killers then complain about fc's, laggy apps, and problems with multitasking.
I mean it should be obvious running a "task killer" on a device designed specifically to multitask - it is so silly. Look at the two phrases side by side "task killer" "multitasking device" - can you see what I mean.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using XDA App
dayv said:
To switch between running apps all you have to do is long press the home button - one press to see the last six open apps and your there.
Having the browser return to the home page every time just means you don't know what you are doing.
Being concerned about what is being held in ram its also a sign you don't know what you are doing. The memory chip where the ram resides, where you see a list of apps being held has to remain powered on all the time. Whether it is holding 250 MB of data, 500 MB of data or just 10 MB of data it will still be drawing the same amount of power. And just because an apps data is being held in ram does not necessarily mean it is running. Top see what us running you need to check cpu usage.
The only time to concerned about ram is if more than 85% is being used then you would start having problems. But this does not happen on our phones, and only would happen if you had something causing a major memory leak.
All of your force closes are related to you or your particular phone. I have maybe five fc's in a month and three of those happened while I was running cm7.
Just because you don't know how to use a device does not make the device a general fail. Let's put the blame where it belongs, on the guy who has no understanding on what is going on with the processes in the device and drawing conclusions on based on an obviously ignorant perception those observations.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have upgraded to the Galaxy S2 from the Iphone 3gs. The long pressing of home button to bring up apps is something I did not know. Is there a thread somewhere to get this kind of information. Very helpful, thanks
Jim
jmj12us said:
I have upgraded to the Galaxy S2 from the Iphone 3gs. The long pressing of home button to bring up apps is something I did not know. Is there a thread somewhere to get this kind of information. Very helpful, thanks
Jim
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not that I know of. There are little tricks like that and a good majority of people would never know of them I'm afraid.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using XDA App
jmj12us said:
I have upgraded to the Galaxy S2 from the Iphone 3gs. The long pressing of home button to bring up apps is something I did not know. Is there a thread somewhere to get this kind of information. Very helpful, thanks
Jim
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Samsung has a tips and tricks page specifically for the AT&T GS2 that may show you some things you didn't know. One thing I didn't know was that you can take a screenshot with stock by pressing the power button and the home button at the same time. I also didn't know you can access the clipboard to show everything you "copied" from text fields.
http://www.samsung.com/us/article/tips--tricks-galaxy-s-ii-at-t-
As far as the OP's issues, I have all of those apps except for chase and hootsuite installed on stock and I don't FC at all. For the browser concerns, you may just be opening a new window each time you run the browser from the app icon. Try zooming all the way out of the page and then pinch to zoom out once more and it will show you the windows you have open, or you can press the menu key and select windows. The icon for "windows" in the menu will have a number on it if you have more than one open.
Entropy512 said:
Having THAT many apps FC on you is usually a sign that you did one of two things:
1) Forgot to wipe data/factory reset when installing a new ROM
2) Performed an improper Titanium Backup restore - restoring more than just "MISSING apps and data"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Number 1... I didnt do that. I didnt think I had to off of a stock rom, but your right, I should have.
Thread cleaned... Please do not make me have to do so again. This forum is for friendly discussion.. Lets keep it that way.
edit --- I see Devine madcat is pushing back to topic
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using XDA App

[Q] screen size wrong in apps after rooting

I rooted my EVO 3d. I used the HTC unlock and TWP. I can load roms at will. I have now tried 3 different ones (viper, Miui, Synergy) and keep getting the same problem. When i open an app the screen size is all wrong. Usually the right side of the screen can be overlapped or a black bar (about half an inch) is there. I guess i could live with the smaller screen, but it also throws the touch off. If i go to click a button in the app, i have to aim above or beside where i really want to aim.
At first i thought it was the first rom i tried, but i reloaded it. no luck. So now I've tried all sorts of versions of Factory resets, wiping cache, wiping dalvik and installed 2 more roms. All of them give me the same result.
At this point I have to assume there's a setting off? or something still on the SDcard that is holding some setting? Or is this a known issue with EVO 3d rooting? I find that hard to believe or no one would be rooting as it pretty much makes apps unusable. Normal things like Facebook I think are okay, but any app I buy and load seems off.
When the apps start up, if there's a video clip or a logo splash screen, i'm fine. Once it goes into the actual app, I lose my size.
At this point I'm about to unroot and go back to Sprint factory setup, but I like the Miui Rom I have on there now and would prefer to keep it if i can fix my problem.
Sorry if this is a doulbe post, i've spent days googling this, trying to fix it myself, going through every app on my phone looking for a setting doing this and at this point I need someone's expert advice.
Thanks!
all apps or just one in particular? because some apps still arent formatted for qHD displays
Every one I've tested so far. Ones that were fine prior to rooting.
Try downloading Spareparts and uncheck compatibility mode.

Android welcome screen bug

I've just had the weirdest bug experience ever. Or at least it was to me. Maybe its a known bug, but I can't find any references to it anywhere. (I don't really know what to search for to see if others have mentioned it or not)
I was trying to get back to the home screen, so pushed back repeatedly and very quickly. Suddenly all I could see was the wallpaper. I assumed the launcher was reloading. Imagine my surprise when instead I'm greeted with the Android language selection.
I was afraid if I selected anything it might wipe my phone, assuming it hadn't already, so did a reboot. Same thing. So, in dismay I proceeded to setup the phone. When I finished, everything back to normal. No applications missing, no contacts or messages gone.
The Samsung backup wasn't even responsible. It returned "no data" (presumably because all the data it had was already on the phone).
Anyone else experience this? Or hear of a similar bug. The only permanent effect it seems to have had was wiping half my Chrome bookmarks. I can certainly live with that. I can't be sure the phone did it, but I think its too much of a coincidence to be anything else.

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