IMPORTANT: HUGE update to AndroidForums.com

[Slug]

The .4a update has eliminated the FC issue with my Sony Z3 and Z3+, thanks.

 

[lunatic59]

FC is fixed on the Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 ed.) too. While the opening welcome screens identified it properly, on the forums tab, it only shows "My Device" Model SM-P600.

 

[jshaw42]

All the changes are not so great. Take a look at my post on the Galaxy S7 forum.
http://androidforums.com/threads/page-style.1113429/

 

[kate]

In a browser there is no top navigation when viewing the individual forums/areas of devices that were merged together (missing My Forums, My Posts, New Posts, etc.):

 

[Thom]

Go to the Phones section and click (See All). This is the phone and tablet current and archive device areas (previously forums).

... Thom

 

[tommo47]

Here's a good one :-

Using a browser on my HTC M9, if I'm in portrait mode I get this :-

1) Tap the 3 dot menu button.
2) Tap 'My Posts'.
3) Result - as it used to be.



If I'm in landscape mode I get this :-

1) Tap 'My Posts'.
2) Result - different!



It's the same on both stock HTC and Firefox browsers.

Assuming that I can no longer 'Favourite' my devices from now on I've got round it by a direct link :-



What is the long term intention as far as browser access to Android Forums is concerned?

 

[andMego]

I figured it out, the app is wrongly identifying the phone as the LG F90 instead of the LG Volt, so it's using http://androidforums.com/devices/lg-f90.2120/. would merging these two forums (the F90 and the Volt) be the simplest way to fix this?

This still isn't fixed. Sorry for bugging but I would like to try use the app. The LG Volt is the LG F90 for CDMA so why aren't these forums merged?

 

[Xyro]

Here's a good one :-

That's a long standing quirk of the site UI. In the second instance, just click here:

 

[PyroSporker]

So as I understand it? This new application scans your device and installed applications automatically? This is a feature I have no interest in and would prefer to not have at all or turn off in an advanced menu prior to having it take place.
I do see the benefit this would provide to likely 8 out of 10 of the new visitors to the site/application, but it is not for me.

Specifically, how does the application scan the device and ascertain which model the device is?
I was looking at the application prior to not installing it and was curious about the application permissions.

 

[steve]

What's the purpose of Timeline in the app? It seems to be a bunch of messages from different threads with no organization?

The current purpose of the Timeline is to show you the latest new threads and latest posts (responses), sorted by posted date. This Timeline will only show threads and posts that are in a current Channel on your phone. You will also see news threads thrown into the mix, these are news posts that are tag/keyword related to the channels. As the app matures, this we plan to improve to show more what the user wants (will vary per user).

This still isn't fixed. Sorry for bugging but I would like to try use the app. The LG Volt is the LG F90 for CDMA so why aren't these forums merged?

I have identified the problem and in the next update, the logic changes will address the issues for some device channels not showing correctly. If we need to merge anything at that point I can do so.

So as I understand it? This new application scans your device and installed applications automatically? This is a feature I have no interest in and would prefer to not have at all or turn off in an advanced menu prior to having it take place.
I do see the benefit this would provide to likely 8 out of 10 of the new visitors to the site/application, but it is not for me.

Specifically, how does the application scan the device and ascertain which model the device is?
I was looking at the application prior to not installing it and was curious about the application permissions.

The app does not scan your device but rather queries main launcher intents. This requires no special application permission so I am not sure what permission you're referring to.
The detection of device and carrier is never easy. Custom ROMs or anyone with a rooted phone can change Build.prop and change these values. Not to mention there are so many devices, variants of devices, carriers switching towers, multiple networks, etc etc. Some device manufacturers even use same model numbers for different devices! With this being said we built a complex system that uses Jared's library here: https://github.com/jaredrummler/AndroidDeviceNames for a base lookup of data (device channels only). On the web, we also use the data for a lookup table for auto-approving and merging of channels. If the channel's unique identifier is approved (device, carrier), we will show the proper-named channel in the list. If not you will see a generic.

Without getting too technical, I hope that gives you some more insight on everything going on. I will take note and will discuss more with the boss, that you want a way to disable the auto app channels. Unfortionatally, there is no current way to do so.

Sorry for any grammar errors... typed all that fast.

 

[El Presidente]

Are there any plans for dealing with devices that aren't released yet?

We've seen a tonne of rumours about the Galaxy S8 and LG G6 this week and we have nowhere to talk about them. How does a member who wants to talk about one of these devices use channels to do so? As we technically have no device forums at the moment, just this, how do our members use the web interface to do that?

Sorry if it's been asked before and I've missed it.

 

[lunatic59]

Model SM-T230NU

Not recognizing this device.

 

[steve]

Are there any plans for dealing with devices that aren't released yet?

We've seen a tonne of rumours about the Galaxy S8 and LG G6 this week and we have nowhere to talk about them. How does a member who wants to talk about one of these devices use channels to do so? As we technically have no device forums at the moment, just this, how do our members use the web interface to do that?

Sorry if it's been asked before and I've missed it.

@Phases should be responsible for this.
...but we can easily add rumored devices and later add children to those channels if we would not have the actual unique identifier beforehand.

Model SM-T230NU

Not recognizing this device.

Next update should fix this. If it does not, I will fix that channel after you get a new build with the updated logic. Sorry for the delay.

 

[PyroSporker]

The app does not scan your device but rather queries main launcher intents. This requires no special application permission so I am not sure what permission you're referring to.
The detection of device and carrier is never easy. Custom ROMs or anyone with a rooted phone can change Build.prop and change these values. Not to mention there are so many devices, variants of devices, carriers switching towers, multiple networks, etc etc. Some device manufacturers even use same model numbers for different devices! With this being said we built a complex system that uses Jared's library here: https://github.com/jaredrummler/AndroidDeviceNames for a base lookup of data (device channels only). On the web, we also use the data for a lookup table for auto-approving and merging of channels. If the channel's unique identifier is approved (device, carrier), we will show the proper-named channel in the list. If not you will see a generic.

Without getting too technical, I hope that gives you some more insight on everything going on. I will take note and will discuss more with the boss, that you want a way to disable the auto app channels. Unfortunately, there is no current way to do so.

Sorry for any grammar errors... typed all that fast.

Steve, thanks for the great reply. The insight is greatly appreciated. I find it fascinating.
I didn't have any one particular permission in mind, I just wondered what all was going on behind the scene since it didn't appear there was an applicable permission listed (as far as I knew)
Keep up the good work!

 

[bcrichster]

OK.. Needing to recognize an unknown device is ridiculous.. Really. That's some spyware access/doors. Stop it, doesn't even seem necessary. It should work without doing a device profile for anything.

 

[Spec2nirvash]

@stevealbright will this app work with an Android device running 4.0.4? On a Huawei M931 I get an incompatibility error.

Edit - that is, when attempting to download from Play Store

 

[steve]

OK.. Needing to recognize an unknown device is ridiculous.. Really. That's some spyware access/doors. Stop it, doesn't even seem necessary. It should work without doing a device profile for anything.

It's NOT needed, this is why we have a generic device channel called 'My Device' that is a catch all. It's not about limiting access to the site it's about easily showing the user what is relevant to them. Detecting what device and carrier you have does not take any special permission and is not a security risk. The difference what we are doing from anything else that can detect your device or carrier is we are doing it accurately and letting you see what we detect and verify. I also wouldn't say detecting a device is ridiculous... but more so efficient.

@stevealbright will this app work with an Android device running 4.0.4? On a Huawei M931 I get an incompatibility error.

Edit - that is, when attempting to download from Play Store

No sorry. The minimum SDK we currently support is SDK 19, which is KitKat 4.4 – 4.4.4. ICS is getting pretty old and as the frameworks get larger and larger... it gets more tedious to support.

 

[Fox Mulder]

And you thought us 4.4.2 people were pushing it.
One thing I just noticed about the web version of the forums-
Previously if you went to a device forum and clicked on a "Root" post, it would apply a filter so you would see only Root posts for that device. That was instead of the old Root subforum or tab, fine.
But now, the same action brings up Root posts for all devices. That is unacceptable, if I wanted to see assorted root discussions I would be in the general Root forum and not a device-specific one. This needs to be fixed.

 

[Spec2nirvash]

It's NOT needed, this is why we have a generic device channel called 'My Device' that is a catch all. It's not about limiting access to the site it's about easily showing the user what is relevant to them. Detecting what device and carrier you have does not take any special permission and is not a security risk. The difference what we are doing from anything else that can detect your device or carrier is we are doing it accurately and letting you see what we detect and verify. I also wouldn't say detecting a device is ridiculous... but more so efficient.


No sorry. The minimum SDK we currently support is SDK 19, which is KitKat 4.4 – 4.4.4. ICS is getting pretty old and as the frameworks get larger and larger... it gets more tedious to support.

Good to know... I use my M931 to harvest downloaded apks and sideload them to my BlackBerry. Apks from 4.0.4 run smooth while 5.X apks are usually rejected or very unstable. KK it is.

 

[spock1104]

This still isn't fixed. Sorry for bugging but I would like to try use the app. The LG Volt is the LG F90 for CDMA so why aren't these forums merged?

@stevealbright Although the F90 and the Volt are similar, they're not the same phone and merging the forums will just make a support nightmare. I don't want to deal with people flashing the wrong images. I'd request they not be merged if it can be helped. Is there any way we can help you with the app's phone identification? Would naming the F90 forum F90 instead of LG Volt help?

http://www.lg.com/us/cell-phones/lg-AS876-f90

vs

http://www.lg.com/us/cell-phones/lg-LS740-Boost-Mobile-volt

 

[iowabowtech]

With this being said we built a complex system that uses Jared's library here: https://github.com/jaredrummler/AndroidDeviceNames for a base lookup of data (device channels only). On the web, we also use the data for a lookup table for auto-approving and merging of channels. If the channel's unique identifier is approved (device, carrier), we will show the proper-named channel in the list. If not you will see a generic.

With that being said, will AF be adding device forums/channels (i don't yet get the difference if any) based on the devices directly supported in this repo? Did you fork it with plans to maintain a parallel repo with a greater support level for the devices you wish to have channels for here?

Thanks for that explanation by the way. I finally see the intent and direction here. Just curious as to how much management there'll be on the AF end of things as it could go a number of directions, some of which would be a fair bit (read lot) of ongoing effort to maintain.

In any case, cheers to all involved.

 

[steve]

@stevealbright Although the F90 and the Volt are similar, they're not the same phone and merging the forums will just make a support nightmare. I don't want to deal with people flashing the wrong images. I'd request they not be merged if it can be helped. Is there any way we can help you with the app's phone identification? Would naming the F90 forum F90 instead of LG Volt help?

http://www.lg.com/us/cell-phones/lg-AS876-f90

vs

http://www.lg.com/us/cell-phones/lg-LS740-Boost-Mobile-volt

Good points. I will take a better look at those two devices today. Thanks for the links!

With that being said, will AF be adding device forums/channels (i don't yet get the difference if any) based on the devices directly supported in this repo? Did you fork it with plans to maintain a parallel repo with a greater support level for the devices you wish to have channels for here?

Thanks for that explanation by the way. I finally see the intent and direction here. Just curious as to how much management there'll be on the AF end of things as it could go a number of directions, some of which would be a fair bit (read lot) of ongoing effort to maintain.

In any case, cheers to all involved.

A Channel can best be explained as a glorified tag that acts like a forum. The end result is easier central management, faster database queries, and better insight on Apps, games, devices and carriers being used.
No need to fork the repo as the Android library keeps up to date from Jared. If the library can't find a device, it reaches out the Google maintained data (link in repo). The lookup table on the server we will continue to update as new devices get added from Google but our plan is that we would already have rumored device channels created or our app(s) let us know new devices as testers use them before a public announcement (nothing more than a website detecting user agents in a way).

 

[Thom]

How do I move a thread from ...

Android Questions

... to ...​

Android Devices (Motorola Droid Turbo)?​

... Thom

 

[PyroSporker]

"So I asked Steve how he identified that new unknown device"

No need to fork the repo as the Android library keeps up to date from Jared.

( sorry folks )

 

[kate]

How do I move a thread from ...

Android Questions

... to ...​

Android Devices (Motorola Droid Turbo)?​

Doesn't look like we can move them to a specific phone/device right now during the transition, based on Robs post here I'm guessing there might be a method after the update.

Seems you can move threads to the general "Android Devices" section (near the top under Channels), but I haven't done it to confirm.