ungooglifying your android
Mother Google is everywhere.
Mother CIA.
The CIA owns Google,
heart and soul
You don't have to believe me of course.
Maybe you're just tired of Google everywhere on your phone, Google Play, Google Maps, Google saving your Calendar and Contacts, the "voice recognition services"
Maybe your just another realistic paranoid
staring at your android
thinking
"I thought this was open source!
Why is it constantly determinig my location and asking for permissions to ...!"
Most ppl are fine with stock Android and Apple IOS.
They don't care about tracking
they are "good consumers"
If you are still reading
then perhaps you are not one of those silly sheep carrying a portable surveillance device on themselves willingly.
The Patriot Act 1 & 2 force companies to place NSA backkdoors in all closed source and encrypted communication tech.
And Google is owned
by Mother.
So.
We can use this Apple idiot IOS shite
with its Skynet protocol embedded in Bonjour
and its machine grinding Itunes and Blah Blah
Or we can go Android and and get Mother Google wiping our asses and giving us a little blue line from where we are to where we want to be.
Fuck.
There are these things called MAPS.
Save yourself if you can!
Ungooglify!
Here's how you can remove all of the Google
and all of the phone company spyware
and the micro$hit
from you Android device.
This is NOT for a computer newbie
if you don't know the difference between fat 32 and ntfs or ext4 or what an .iso file is
you may be in over your head
but I'll try to make it easy if you persist
OK.
You got your funky android phone.
I have to say right now that your phone SERVICE provider "might" have some sort of issues with you doing this, but what I will show you to do is not harmful but beneficial so you should be able to deal with it diplomatically.
Or use a cheap other phone to try it on first before you tackle your main device.
It is definately possible to Brick it
but it is also definately possible to unbrick it
its just a lot of work
Our Android phone is running a computer operating system called android.
Android is "based" on linux which in turn was built on the foundations of Unix.
Android is basically a linux style OS under the hood and you can prove that to yourself by Rooting the phone, looking at the filesystem (which is laid out in Unix style) and installing a terminal and running linux/unix commands to the shell.
We haven't Rooted it yet though so we will have to get there.
When you phone starts up
it first calls a Bootloader
This is the black screen at the start of a pc booting up where it says Amibios/Phoenix/American Megatrends/etc. then it checks the ram and hard drives and selects the boot drive with the OS
The phone has a separate "partition" that holds a "factory image" of the operating system so that if you muck up your phone you can reboot into a "Recovery Mode" which will allow you to "factory reset" the phone to the original stae when it was shipped.
The Bootloader can boot to the OS or boot into a Recovery Mode, a separate small tiny operating system designed to allow you to maintain and restore the device or "debug" it with commands while it is connected to a PC.
In order to put our own Android and configuration on the phone we have to wipe out the manufacturers "recovery partition" and os and replace it with one that has the ability to load device "images" that are not officially endorsed by the manufacturer.
there are a few Recovery Mode "images" we could use
I am going to focus on "Team Win Recovery Project" known generally as TWRP
If we can put TWRP on the Recovery Mode then we can load the device with new info in several ways
Unfortunately
our beloved device manufacturers love their bloated spyware riddled messes that they call an operating system and to "protect you" they encrypt the Bootloader so that the Recovery Image can only be loaded with an encrypted manufacturers image.
So we have to beg them for a key to unlock the bootloader so it will let us continue with our warranty voiding mission.
Obviously, it must be a phone you own at this point, because you have to go to the maufacturers website to get the unlock code for the bootloader.
It will tell you what to do
you will have to boot your phone into the manufacturers recovery, and probably install a utility to get a code back from the phone
you send this to them using the provided form
and you will get an unlock code with instructions to unlock your bootloader
Once you have the bootloader unlocked you will never have to do it again unless you restore the phone with the full manufacturer's device image.
so you unlock the bootloader
Download TWRP (the .IMG file, not the apk)
At this point, if you didn't have to do it to get the bootloader unlock code you have to get ADB and install it.
On Linux, to install ADB use:
$ sudo apt-get install android-tools-adb android-tools-fastboot
or install adb and fastboot with package manager
In windows we can either install a minimal adb fastboot
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2317790
or we can usually get a specific adb/fastboot from the manufacturer that sometimes has extras
or we can install the Android Studio Developer ide and tools and after installing 5G or so we can copy over the 9 megs or so
its easier to find a small adb/fastboot
its just 4 files in a folder
ADB is the Android Debug Bridge
https://developer.android.com/studio/command-line/adb
At this point I need to explain the crucial detail for you to understand:
Each phone is different
even from the same manufacturer
even from different production runs of the same device
this is because of drivers
in one build there is X networking card and y fm radio device and Z bluetooth chip, while a different model might use different chips for all 3
As well, the android devices throttle cpu speeds according to activity to maximize battery life and there are special drivers for that power management for each and every main cpu chip
So the Factory Reset that we use to boot up and load the main image in has to be written specifically for that phone, and any ROM image that we want to install containing either the manufacturers device image and the applicattions, or a custom ROM with proper drivers for the device and a base set of apps suited for the device, we need reset images .img and ROMS .rom that are SPECIFIC for our device.
the first place to look is here:
https://forum.xda-developers.com
Look for the specific forum for your device
you will find links to custom roms and recovery for each device in a separate forum.
The same goes for TWRP recovery, you need one for your specific device.
My phone is an HTC one for example.
There are several variants for the htc one and specific carriers (phone) have specific roms and recovery.
see here
https://twrp.me/Devices/HTC/
My specific phone is HTC one m7 GSM
GSM means a general unlocked phone with no specific phone carrier.
so these are the files
and starting with the latest one I install them and try them eventually settling on a previous version
https://dl.twrp.me/m7/twrp-2.7.1.1-m7.img.html
which as you can see by the filename is for the m7 specifically
Once TWRP is installed (which I'll explain) then we can load a new operating system base android onto the phone, but the ROM has to be for the m7 too!
so first I go here
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2428276
this is all the stock recovery roms from the manufacturer in case I want to go back to the bloated spyware that it came with.
So this is the place to start for my phone
https://forum.xda-developers.com/htc-one/general
there I find:
a better windows driver so I don't have to use the HTC sync software, it will just appear in windows
https://forum.xda-developers.com/htc-one/general/driver-htc-driver-4-17-0-001-2016-06-20-t3402216
it also has this tutorial about resetting to stock
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2358738
updated adb and fastboot for the device
https://forum.xda-developers.com/htc-one/general/tool-updated-ad
so this forum gives me a set of mods I could try and their specific forum pages for each
https://forum.xda-developers.com/htc-one/general/nougat-roms-international-htc-one-m7-t3524060
and after trying about 10 of them settle on XenonHD which is based on "Lineage OS" which is a common rom used as a base Android build.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/htc-one/orig-development/rom-xenonhd-5-0-2-beta1-27-12-14-t2986038
I choose zenon because it is very slim and has a only a couple important applications and no google.
XenonHD is a security conscious OS.
base roms are about 350 megs and 1G when installed
the 4 that work for me are Slim, AICP, Resurrection, and XenonHD. Slim is too slim and the other two are fine but not as finely tuned as XenonHD imho.
http://www.xenonhd.com/
So I'll settle on this one that works XenonHD 18 m7
the basic instructions:
You signed on to the manufacturers website into their developer section and you filled out the form or whatever other hoop you jumped and you got the unlock code for the bootloader.
You followed the instructions to install the unlock code into the bootloader.
You have booted into factory reset mode and at the top of your phone it says "tampered - bootloader unlocked" to test it
reboot the phone and on your computer you have intalled the sync manager and or the windows drivers
copy over the TWRP .img and the customrom.zip into the Download folder on the phone or even into the music folder, so you'll see it for sure.
reboot into factory reset mode
on my phone this is power and volume down at the same time for 3 sec.
Make sure the phone is plugged into the computer now and you have installed the adb fastboot into a folder.
lets say its c:\adb\
browse to that folder in windows and you will see 4 files.
right click in the window while pressing the control key and choose "open command prompt here"
or run cmd.exe
type
cd c:\adb
on the phone
look at the options in reset mode
there is boot
fastboot
recovery
etc
use the volume and pwr buttons to choose "fastboot"
your phone should switch to fastboot mode in red and it should after second say fastboo-usb if the cable is connected
on the computer type
fastboot devices
and your device should be listed
if it isn't retry or check the fastboot section of xda for your device
it should
copy the TWRP from wherever it is on you windows machineinto the folder where adb and fastboot are
rename it twrp.img
type in the folder c:\adb\ at the commandline
fastboot flash recovery twrp.img
which means fastboot load image twrp.img and flash/write it to the partition called recovery.
it should start connecting then upload
when it is finished on the phone go out of fastboot mode back into the bootloader, and choose Recovery Mode.
The device should boot into TWRP
if it doesn't
just back into fastboot and try another TWRP .img
you don't have to rename it it just makes it easier to type.
You can also use the same process to install cyanogen or another recovery img instead of twrp
you should now load into a recovery that does not look like something from your manufacturer
if it works you can reboot your phone and it should be as it always was except the recovery is different under the hood
so lets get to the wiping out the rest of it bit
copy everything you like off the phone.
data "should" be safe but I'm not looking over your shoulder so be smart and back up.
Go back to the bootloader and into recovery mode
choose "install"
navigate to the xenonhd.zip or whatever rom you put in downloads or music.
let it do its thing
if it doesn't say successful keep trying
its best the first time to download 3 different rom types and more then one of each and put them in download so you can test 4-6 for compatibility and useability. I usually give them short simle names like xen17.zip and xen18.zip
it takes only 10 minutes or less to flash a rom and reboot.
its faster if you don't have craploads of music and documents on the device as those get counted on each roms first boot.
note that when you boot into a new rom if you have a file exploere in the rom you can look around and see your data files should still be there, music files and stuff should too.
the documents are in a different filesystem partitionthan the system files so you can change roms and not lose all music and pics and docs
contacts usually flush though.
there you go!
take it for a spin!
I'll add some applications for you and explain how to do everything you would do with google, without using google.
but for now you have an unbloated non-spy phone!
-----
Pt.2
When you first get your phone
before you start it up and first connect it to the internet
or after you've factory reset it with the manufacturer reset
your phones OS at the start with no movies/apps etc. is about 1.5 G.
Once you set up networking and connect to the net and let the phone update
the manufacturer will bloat your phone OS out to 6-9G in the nest day or so!
An OS only needs about 1.5 G for any computing device and basic applications.
The slimmest I've seen is 700 megs for a phone OS that workedm but it was basically only useable as a phone and basic browsing.
A good replacement OS on your phone will start at about 1.2 G with everything working and after you add some basic productivity, media viewing, games, and utilities it will end up at around 1.5 G
and it will not grow!
my phone doesn't have an extra SD slot so I definately did not want 5-7 G of completely useless crap that was intent on recording my every word and location and music preference
I wanted that extra 5 G for music and I have a personal dislI definate do NOT need someone to tell me where I am or give me a blue line from where I am to where I am going
so I now have the XenonHD or some other rom on my phone
What do I need to make it usefull?
it doesn't have Google installed?
and no Google Play?
no Google Maps?
No Gmail alerts?
No Facrack popups?
How can that be useful you might think.
The GSuite takes about 1.5 G itself
Facecrack is 460 megs!
Are there alternatives?
That work?
Yes.
To install apps into an android device we use two methods.
one is Google Play.
GPlay itself is an app, along with about 10 other apps in the GSuite, they are all installed together, installing one gets the others eventually.
it's so convenient most ppl never question Mother Google and her updates.
without google play to autmatically install apps you select using your gmail credentials etc., how do you get apps?
by downloading .APK android package files
so you look on a web search or Google Play for free apps you want to try, then search the web for a .apk
If your rom doesn't include an app called "files" or"file manager" to look at the files on the devices and select downloaded files try M/Xplorer or 7zipper.apk and it will be easier
untill you have a file explorer you can only install a .apk by clicking the notification in the status bar that tells you it has downloaded
If you look at the apps on the basic rom you've installed over the factory one you see no google at all.
if you do,
try another rom
or spend the time uninstalling every single Google app.
Gmail itself, will run in your browser.
so you can get your mail.
the browser itself should not be Chrome
that's Mother Goolgle, uninstall it if its there and get Firefox Lite (27meg) instead of the full FFox (100meg). You also might find if you look in the apps of the phone there might be and unrecognized icon that is called "browser". If that works you might be fine but I have found that using FFox lite is best because you no that facecrack and google and everything will work in a FFox browser in a pinch.
I turn off location services and speech recognition on my phone.
Speech recognition is fun, but basically it records all speech around it into a text file
even when it is sleeping
Mother google gets a little update every once in a while containing everything said around the phone.
you agreed to let it so it could "train the voice recognition"
right.
Anyway lets get a replacement for google maps which we can use in the FFox browser if we need to.
I use Maps ME.
You install it
choose the cities that you want maps for
it downloads a 40meg pack for each city or district
it works offline
Maps ME is free and uses open source maps
it works fine
I can read a maps and don't need directions.
if you want to talk to your phone to get where you are going
fine
I'm fine with looking at a maps and navigating by myself without Mother holding my hand.
Facecrack is pervasive. And gradually it will merge with Google into something more pervasive but for now lets get Facebook Lite which is 120m instead of 460 megs for the full facebook app and doesn't run like a sluggish snail or intrude on your notices when it's off.
The standard camera works but mine has a camera app from "cyanogen mod" that is very good, and there are numerous other better free camera apps with loads of options if the stock one on the rom you have installed sucks
To play music you will probably want a different player as most of the mods for phones have a very basic one
I use "Black Player" free version
there is an important note for you at this point if you use your phone for mp3 playing not just streaming.
in android/linux/unix ther are files and folders whose name start with a "dot"
they are called "dot files" and they are usually system files which are hidden from the user
if you put 20 albums on your device
ones with album covers
in the music folder
when you open your photo viewer/gallery app
you might see all the album covers mixed in with your pictures!
The android os scans all the user data partition for media at startup
if a folder of pictures that isn;t in your dcim camera or picturs folders keeps showing, then you need to go into your music folder and place ".nomedia" file there.
in the top level of the music folder
the pictures should disappear from your gallery after a reboot since music won't be scanned
but then the standard music player won't see the music!
wow
major design oversight
so "Black Player" and a couple other music apps will ignore the .nomedia file
the other option is to change your gallery/viewer software to a better one that allows you to set "exceptions" on folders like the music folder and the software will not show the files in that set of folders
my favorite is called F-Stop
if you want the fm radio you will have to get the apk of the fm radio player that your manufacturer releases, most of them release an apk for their fm radio players to the main apk repositories as a service to their customers who have changed their devices.
to test the 3d capability of your device the 4 Xon games are good. You could download any one of them and test your 3d in about 5 minutes
for free apk word games I suggest Crosswords Free, Wordsearch Free, Hangman Free, and Word Connect
all of which play offline
if you are addicted to games on google play
you are forever lost.
Sorry.
I'll think a bit and add some more and at the end I'll give you some examples for the ADB and Fastboot like how to install remotely and unbrick your android over usb.
--
in the mean time here are some decent free applications to round out what you have in your base rom
uptodown, apkpure, apkmonk are 3 apk repositories you can search for apps in
all these are there
look for these apks:
audiofx - a system equalizer
blackplayer - music
pitchlab - guitar/instrument tuner
OpenDocument reader - read openoffice files
x-plore - file manager
7zipper - file manager
m/x - file manager
wi fi ftp server - ftp
root checker - check for root permission (advanced)
magisk - superuser root permission activator
simple calendar - calendar that saves on the device not to google
colornote - notes
f-stop - media viewer/gallery
Firefox lite/facebook lite - ick
bluetooth multiconnect - play to 3 bt devices at once
bluetooth talkie - phone becomes a walkie talkie thru bt
chess free - well...
pdf creator - pdfs
epub - ereader
pluma - vector draw
pen tool svg - vector draw
artflow - sketchbook/art
tayasui sketches - sketchbook/art
wave editor for android -record edit audio
wierd code dev stuff:
AIDE - androide ide
CppDroid - C++ ide/compiler
Quoda - C++/Java ide
