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Thread: How do I take back control of my phone

  1. #21
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    Yes not trying to avoid google - remembering that android is google and any android phone has to deal with google and other android phones are worse than Google as those brands add all their bloatware.

    Iphones are even worse - as some one said - it is their way or the highway - at least there are options with Android - oh by the way the fact that it is a Google phone is almost irrelevant - it is the android system - Google do not put additional "bloatware" on their branded phones over what is already contained in native android.

    My post was about Android knowing better than the user on what they want - the same as Apple to -and highlighting a couple of examples - asking is there a way to deal with this. Not possible with Apple but maybe with Android.

    I am surprised that a few people on here do not seem to appreciate that Android is a Google product and that a Google phone uses that same product in its basic form where other Android phones use the same OS but add a lot of other crap to make it their own. The Samsung S4 bloatware got copied over the Pixel 2 and works fine - so even though I have the latest Pixel 2 XL it is running some Samsung Bloatware for some process and is working fine - eg I have stayed with Samsung Internet as it has some functions I prefer.

    So the original is is how to take control of the latest Android OS and make it your own.

    Cheers



  • #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by garrycol View Post
    I have a recently purchased Google Pixel 2 XL and all its current content was copied over from my old Samsung S4 - not quite the seamless process I was led to believe but I got most of the information across.

    All my contacts and photo folders copied across Ok and were working fine. Today Mr Android tells me I need to update the operating system to the absolute latest android version which was quickly done.

    But now Mr Android has decided it knows better than me and has completely deleted my Pic folder and created its own - based around its own ideas of subject matter - on of which is selfies - so any pic that has a human face in it has been moved to a selfie folder, not the previous folders of Me, Mum, Brothers, Friends etc. Oh I had 6 different car folders by model name - now all there is, isone folder it calls cars. Yes all the actual pics are still there listed in date order but the folder structure has been completely destroyed.

    Also it wants me to use the "cloud" - I have previously told it to #@&% off but it really wants me to use it which I have no intention of doing but it is still wanting me to sync and go to the cloud.

    Oh - why do I need a gmail address - I dont want one but had to create one for the old Samsung but I never used it and it was generally ignored - not any more - to create a contact in my contact list I have to attach it to a gmail address - sorry but I dont want it attached to a gmail address, I just want a contacts list.

    Why do I need a gmail address to use my phone - dont need it, dont want it but apparently the phone wants it.

    So how to I take control of my latest smart phone so it does what I want it to do and not what Mr Google Android wants it to do.

    Also, if I go back and create my photo folders again, will Mr Android take them away again with the next update.

    Garry

    Where to start................

    You have purchased a Google phone, so its not surprising it has Google products.

    I am not sure what your aversion to the "cloud" is, you are lucky enough to get free unlimited space which many of us would love. Instead of mucking around worrying about losing your photos, you can take a photo and it auto uploads to your cloud account. Rather than have to copy all your photos on to your device and carry them around, you can access them all with Google Photos anytime.

    Why do you need a Gmail address ? Well you cant download or update apps without one, that's nothing new. You said you had one on your old phone but didn't use it, if your phone updated apps and security updates then you did use it. You just didnt know you did.

    You are going from something old to something new. You should always do any updates first up when getting a new phone.

    I get a new phone each year (lease). All I do each time is update if it needs updating, then simply login with my gmail address. I have text messages as far back as Oct 2014 on my phone at the moment, email as far back as 2007 and I havent had to transfer photos for years (or more importantly

    I wouldn't listen to much to some of the "aluminium foil on your head" stuff that comes up in this forum at times, as far too many haven't progressed with technology for a long, long time.

    If you need any help with a particular issue, post back.

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    Thanks for that - I dont agree but my point is that I should be able to choose what of these features I want to use or not use - I do not want to use the cloud - dont need it =, dont want it - I want the stuff on my phone - it should not be up to Android do determine what I want. I have more than enough storage on the phone for whatever I want.

    To resolve a couple of issues I was asked to send screens shots of issues - took the screen shots but I have never been able to find them - not on the phone but "google" have advised they were taken but cannot advise where they have been stored. They are not in my pics likewise soem pics that were on the phone have disappeared - no idea where they have gone - cloud is not on but stuff just goes somewhere.

    Can anyone recommend a good photo management app that will takeover from the google system so that stuff goes where I want not google and I can actually view my screen shots.

    Thanks

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    In that case, I would sell it and buy something that suits. Its not up to android to determine what you have, its a case of you having one of the most technologically uptodate phones and have no idea how to operate it.

    Your screen shots will be in Gallery, which is where any pictures have been stored for a number of years, or under Google Photos if the Pixel uses that as its Gallery. You are upgrading from a 5 year old phone, which is light years in technology terms.

    You can actually view your screen shots, you just don't have any idea how to and dont need some sort of management system. You just need to learn.


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    Quote Originally Posted by garrycol View Post
    Thanks for that - I dont agree but my point is that I should be able to choose what of these features I want to use or not use - I do not want to use the cloud - dont need it =, dont want it - I want the stuff on my phone - it should not be up to Android do determine what I want. I have more than enough storage on the phone for whatever I want.
    If you want to use an Android phone, you need a Gmail account. If you want to use an Apple phone, you need an Apple account. Its as simple as that.

    If you don't want to use Google Drive/Google Photos synched, don't use them. Its as simple as that. But as I said, don't blame the device because you don't know what you are doing. Its either learn, or take it to a tech professional and get them to set it up how you want it.

    A simple Google will answer most questions , and Youtube usually has a video for most stuff as well such as what I have posted.

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    Quote Originally Posted by admin View Post
    Your screen shots will be in Gallery, which is where any pictures have been stored for a number of years, or under Google Photos if the Pixel uses that as its Gallery. You are upgrading from a 5 year old phone, which is light years in technology terms.
    I had no issue with my precious Android - and the screen shots are not in any of the locations you listed above - and not where that video has them. I do know how to use the phone and have been using Android for about 6 years on various phones. Yes I had to have a Gmail account previously but it was not used except for the store - not for contacts, pics etc

    Thanks
    Last edited by garrycol; 19-07-18 at 10:18 PM.

  • #27
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    Our Admin is unfortunately ignorant of quite a few things, so allow me to correct some of his 'facts':

    You do NOT need to have a Google account or a Gmail to use Android.
    You can safely download the app's apk file and install it yourself.
    However without an account you can not update an app within Android but need to manually download the updated apk and install it over the existing app.
    You generally do NOT lose your settings, data or game progress levels that way. However errors in the update could lead to that.

    Android version Updates(ROMs) are provided by the phone company, not Google. In your case this might be different but your phone is made by LG and it's OS must be compiled to work with it's hardware.
    Android updates always worked for me WITHOUT a Google account. I have done this many times, but not on a Google phone.
    After such an update you will likely lose features (some that you might have liked) but gain others. Check first the updated features in version history.
    Some flaws are fixed others NOT and new flaws are added :
    The battery drain issue mentioned after the update would bother me big time.

    For some of the more popular Phones you can find Community created ROMs and install (usually ROOTED) versions with improved features(for some) but importantly giving you more control of your device.
    However you must be fully aware what you are doing so you don't brick it.
    A good place to start is :
    

    It is totally possible to be 'up to date' and a bit beyond with technology without being a consumer sheep.


    Unless it is a major security flaw, so called security updates are not essential(and based on Google and third patrties can do with your data questionable) as long as you are aware of the security risks and know what you are doing. Using my Android phone to access my financial services would be totally out of the question for me.
    All these 'security updates' are useless when the security breaches come from the apps themselves.
    With Android Oreo I find that I can disable all the permissions of an app and it still works, while I switch off wifi/data when I use apps that don't require internet access.
    I make sure that no other apps are running in the back ground when I have to switch on wifi/data.

    In the past Apple's 'security updates' were mostly to thwart Jailbreaking which allowed users to take control of their devices. This comes with the side effect that third parties could have access too if you are not careful.

    As for the cloud, I have 384 GB of offline storage on my phone. No need to waste my valuable Data quota, downloading images and videos that I already own + if your device is infected it will infect all the files that are connected to it, which can include your cloud data.
    The only safe way to keep your files safe is the keep them on harddrives that are NOT CONNECTED to anything.
    Last edited by Uncle Fester; 20-07-18 at 01:13 PM.
    Update: A deletion of features that work well and ain't broke but are deemed outdated in order to add things that are up to date and broken.
    Compatibility: A word soon to be deleted from our dictionaries as it is outdated.
    Humans: Entities that are not only outdated but broken... AI-self-learning-update-error...terminate...terminate...

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