Disabling Android OTA Notifications

So I've got my Nexus 4 happily running SlimKat for a few weeks now. Today, I suddenly get the much-anticipated OTA notification for Android 5.0 Lollipop. A bit surprised because I thought rooted phones running custom ROMs will not get the OTA notification. In any case, you should not let the OTA update proceed because it will definitely mess up your phone.

Question now is, how to disable the OTA notification. It can't be dismissed. It shows up after a reboot. The guys on the forums talk about disabling SystemUpdateService or turning off notifications for Google Framework Services. The best and easiest method I've found is to long-press the actual OTA notification, go to App info, then turn off Show notifications (for Google Play services). This stopped the OTA notification for good. Not sure what else I broke though.

Factory Default for Nokia E75

Sister is in need of a spare phone, so I thought of resetting my retired Nokia E75, and giving it to her.

From the Ctrl Panel, go to Settings, then General, then Factory Settings. "Restore all original phone settings? Phone will restart." Sure. Post-restart, all my old data and applications are still there. Hmm, not what I wanted.

Then I read somewhere that you can use special code *#7379# to reformat the phone. However, because "newer" phones like the N- or E-Series have the UDP (user data preservation) feature, not all of the data may be wiped. What we need here is a hard reset to bring the phone back to how it was coming from the factory. And this is how you do it:

1. Make sure phone is powered off.
2. Hold * (star key), 3 (number button), and talk (green key) simultaneously, and power on the phone while still holding all three buttons.
3. Let go of the power button once phone has started booting up. Release the other keys once you see the Nokia handshake animation.

SlimKat on the Nexus 4

Definitely thought about flashing Lollipop on my brand new Nexus 4, but later decided against it. Given that this is my daily driver, I don't have to time to play around and get things working. Would rather stick to what I know is working properly. From what I've seen so far, for me, Lollipop doesn't bring anything significant, except for Material Design and Project Volta. By upgrading all my Google apps to the latest version and using a good custom ROM and kernel, I should be OK.

Read up on the forums and settled on SlimKat and franco kernel. No need for fancy features and eye candy. All I need is a minimal, stable ROM with good battery life. Been using Slim since my SGS days, so no second thoughts there. Hopefully, a Slim version of Lollipop will be released soon.

Lollipop on the Nexus 7

Wasn't expecting the 2012 Nexus 7 (WiFi) to get a taste of Android 5.0 Lollipop, but here we are. Factory images for the Nexus devices just went live on the Google Developers website. Instead of waiting for the OTA, might as well just flash the image myself. This, of course, means that I'll lose userdata, but no biggie.

Manual flashing instructions are the image site itself, or you can use the guides here and here. If you're lazy like me, you can use a toolkit like WugFresh's NRT (Nexus Root Toolkit). CNET has some good instructions on how to use NRT. The software updates itself, downloads dependencies for unlocking and rooting, and downloads the correct image for your device model and build. After a couple of reboots, my Nexus 7 is now running LRX21P.

It might just be me, but everything seems a bit sluggish. Updating the Google apps takes 5-10 minutes each. I'll give it a few days to adjust, and see how it goes.

Nokia Lumia 530

Big W is having one of its one-day sales again. Special mentions are the $39 Nokia Lumia 530, $15 scooters, $6 for 6 Hot Wheels, $248 Windows 8.1 laptop, etc. I was planning to be there first thing in the morning, but as usual, it didn't happen.

Passed by this afternoon, and was surprised that there are still two boxes of Lumia 530 left. Do I need another smartphone when I still have two spares? No. Is it cheap? Yes. So I bought one. By the time I thought about it, and decided to get the last remaining one, it's already been sold.

Here are some specifications to convince you that $39 is a bargain:

• Runs Windows Phone 8.1
• Comes with Nokia Mix Radio, Nokia HERE Maps
• 1.2GHz quad-core Qualcomm Krait CPU with Snapdragon 200 SOC
• 512MB RAM, 4GB internal storage, up to 128GB microSD removable storage, 15GB free cloud storage
• Telstra pre-paid SIM with $10 credit
• 3 months free international Skype calls
• extra coloured cover

Nexus 4

I've had the HTC Raider for almost two years now, and it's starting to show it's age. Battery life has decreased significantly, so I installed an extended battery, which increased the phone thickness and weight. With the custom ROM I'm using, MMS is not working, getting low call volume, mute button not working, self-restarts, etc.

So I decided to get a Nexus 4 (codename Mako). The LG E960 may be two years old, but it's got pretty decent specs - 4.7" IPS display (318 ppi), 1.5GHz quad-core Krait, 2GB RAM, and 16GB internal storage. Only downside, as with all Nexus devices, is that battery is not removable and no external storage. I heard battery life and camera quality is below average, too.

One interesting feature is that the phone actually supports LTE, but is not advertised/marketed. The forums tell my that by flashing some hybrid modem, the phone can actually make use of LTE. Found out later that it only supports AWS band 4, which is predominantly used in US/Canada. No use for me then.

Maybe I should've bought a cheapo Huawei Ascend G526 or Y550 and get 4G LTE. Then again, I want Android 5.0 Lollipop, so Nexus 4 is still the way to go.