Help Brand new Android phone...... Useless.

[Android Question]

I bought a cheap Net10 phone with the intent to use it as a music player. I wanted to install Power amp media player app and play files off of a 32gb micro SD card.

Upon firing up the phone it starts updating. All is fine until the "Google play services" and "Google play store" updates. With these two updates, the remaining 9/10ths of storage memory is full and throwing a
"low on space" error.

I go back and uninstall/disable every useless app I can get access to, clear all cache's delete all data. Before I get to the end of the list all the data is back! WTF?

I disable WiFi, Bluetooth and enable airplane mode. The phone should be as inert as a brick. I repeat the scrubbing and clearing And receive half my memory back in return. Before I can blink IT'S ALL BACK! Full up! I have repeated this more than a dozen times, there is no mistake. All comms disabled, airplane mode on. Data returns.

Now I would like to know, With all radios disabled, where the h&ll is the data coming from? And how does google play use 80% of the storage and play store use the rest? Not enough storage for even one app? REALLY? All internal storage is available, Sd card is installed. There is not enough system memory to download even one app? I got memory to burn, but I can't use it.

 

[The_Chief]

There is a difference between USER memory (such as the microSD card), where your personal files and data are stored, and SYSTEM memory, where the operating system and system apps reside. Cheap phones will have very little RAM (system memory) and will fill up quickly. Most newer phones have at least 2-3GB of RAM... the newest ones are sporting upwards of 6. So it doesn't surprise me that a super cheap phone will disappoint users by using up available system memory. This is a classic case of "you get what you pay for". I can only recommend that you return the device and buy a gently used one off Swappa... one with as much RAM as you can afford.

As far as data goes, I have no idea why airplane mode is not preventing data. The operating system, however, will repopulate the cache as a function of Android, in order to work... that does not require any data. Perhaps someone else can help with this one. I hope this helps.

 

[girolez]

If you only want to play music with it:

Factory reset
Do not sign up to your google account - skip it
Sideload the app you want from somewhere http://powerampapp.com/download-poweramp/ maybe

 

[Harry Mudd]

Sideload? I'm pretty dumb but I'm all ears, what is sideload? I have the app in my Gmail list of apps with the purchased unlocker. Can I snatch the files out of another phone and just drop them into the offending phone? Will that work?

If I could delete google play and the playstore I would have more room than I will ever need, they take up almost 140mb from 156mb available. the problem is that without it I don't know how to get app files and how to install them.

 

[girolez]

Sideload is where you download the .apk file for an app from somewhere (such as the app's
own website which i linked earlier) and then install it by clicking on the downloaded file and using the installer that will be offered as a choice for the action. Before this will work you must go into
Settings
Security
And allow "unknown sources"

By default you cannot install apps other than from playstore.

If you do this you should first be satisfied that the source of the download is safe. (Research it on the web and check for bad reviews)

 

[Bg260]

Some of Power Amps special features require root. Is your device rooted?

 

[Harry Mudd]

Some of Power Amps special features require root. Is your device rooted?

I looked into root access but it intimidated me and I ran away. I commented before that I'm fairly dumb. I would love to root this phone so I could dump the 100 useless bits of garbage that google has shoehorned into it!

I read a site on rooting phones. About 25% into it my eyes glazed over and I got distracted by a shiny object. I don't remember what I did after that.

 

[Bg260]

I looked into root access but it intimidated me and I ran away. I commented before that I'm fairly dumb.

Merely uninformed, what phone is it?

 

[girolez]

You do not need root access to use poweramp, it just gives more features. Suggest you try it without root before risking rooting your phone.

 

[Bg260]

Yes, there is risk involved. Many take the plunge without knowing the risk. However the device has been called "useless" rendered so by the OEM and Carrier and their generous portion of apps they think you "can't live without". Mostly just ways to help us spend our money. This is not Androids fault. It was also stated that we "get what we pay for". We get what they think we should pay for. Some can't afford the latest and greatest. So we make use of what we have. An excellent way to do that is with root access. So who's to blame for that? Please take note that root access is not readily attainable for all devices. There are financial risks involved, namely the full value of your phone minus the cost of one paperweight. I just don't want to hear that it is useless, because it is not.

Edit: If it's a Tracphone......

 

[Harry Mudd]

AAAAAaaaaaHahahaha!!!! Yes, it's a tracfone. Don't cry for the phone, It's a LG35g with 2.3.6 android on it. I bought it at Walmart for $10. I was trying to get a music player with a huge (comparatively) battery. Plus Poweramp has features you can't get in a standard mp3 player.

I can load up the micro sd card and play music with the stock android player but it has no features and without EQ or tone controls it sounds sort of flat.

I am just incredulous that it is completely obsolete new out of the box. It won't load even one single app, and I haven't even considered trying it as a phone yet. I am new to android and so far I am not impressed. The several problems I find with this unit are all engineered in on purpose. I think a grade school child wouldn't have made the mistakes I find in this phone.

 

[mikedt]

It's about 4 years old I think, and an absolute cheapo crappy thing when it was new. Newer more decent Androids will impress more no doubt.

 

[Bg260]

As I said before. It's not Androids fault. It's those that think they know what we want. I will also recant a bit. For $10, you got your money's worth. People who develop Android don't use tracphone, so there isn't very much that can be done. Same also with Pre-paid but to a lesser degree.

Now here's some bang for the buck

Link

 

[Spec2nirvash]

Here's a bigger bang for only $20:

If you're looking for a cheap media player go to Walmart and buy a Coolpad Rogue, they are sold under the Family Mobile brand. $20 brand new.

For that $20 you get:

4GLTE capability
Comes with Lollipop 5.1.1
1.1 GHz dual core CPU
1GB RAM, 4GB shared memory.
Bluetooth capability.
480x800 rez 4" display. Not bad at all.

Yeah both front and back cameras are lousy, but again, can't argue the price and the surprisingly solid food stamp phone you get here... I bought it as a joke, being a Coolpad (anybody remember the Quattro 4G? Lol)

This phone runs Minecraft with barely a hiccup, and has better specs than some of the Blu Studio phones on Amazon for 4X the price.

Oh, recently I've scored an AT&T Kyocera Hydro Air and a Boost Hydro Icon for 25 each brand new in Walmarts around here. Theyre revamping the electronics departments and flushing everything into clearance. Some great stuff to be had for real cheap... they're even selling off Boost and VZW Moto "E" phones for $20 and I hear they're good buys.

Eat the ten bucks you wasted, go to a big box store and shop the clearance racks