Unknown widgets appeared on Note 4 lock screen. Anybody else?

HakanM

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Hi,

All of a sudden a strange functionality appeared on my Note 4 lock screen.

A band is placed on my lock screen, which shows icons of "Recently used apps" and I can access those apps directly from lock screen simply by touching its icon in that band.
I do not have any third party app installed on my phone that provides such functionality.
I myself did not turn on that functionality and even don't know whatever it is.
It, all of a sudden by itself, appeared on my phone.
When my battery died and phone was restarted, it was gone.
After a day, again all of a sudden, it appeared again.
When it there, it functions perfectly. When it is gone, it is gone.

I made screen shots and VIDEO of my LOCK SCREEN to show how that source unknown widget looks and functions.

Does anybody else has this?
Does anyone know what that is?
How to activate it? How to deactivate it?

Thanks for your help.

My lock screen security is set to SWIPE. (no security)

Model No:
SM-N910CQ

Androd Version
6.0.1

Kernel Version
3.10.9-9439819
dpi@SWDD5614 #1
Tue Jan 10 15:52:26 KST 2017

Build number
MMB29K.N910CXXS2DQA9

SE for android status
Enforcing
SEPF_SECMOBILE_6.0.1_0030
Tue Jan 10 16:23:10 2017

Security software version
MDF v1.1 Release 6
VPN v1.4 Release 6.0
ASKS v1.2_161011
 

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nahoku

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Not many apps are allowed to access the lock screen. That "P" icon looks like the Peel remote control icon. If you pull down the notification shade and press and hold on the notification, if there is one, does it open an app page?
 

B. Diddy

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Welcome to Android Central! I think @nahoku is on the right track. That screenshot with the "Pick a Widget" selection shows a widget bar that is specifically for remote control, and the other widget bars are set up the same way. So try going to the App Manager, select Peel Remote, and see if you can Disable it there.
 

HakanM

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Hi,
Thank you for your reply.
Yes, it turned out to be the Peel Remote.
PR is an app installed on my phone may be more than a year ago and I had never used it.
And although it was installed on my phone more than a year already, that lock screen widget for "Recently Used Apps" had never appeared before.
I will still not be using the "Peel Remote" itself but I want to keep using the functionality it provided on my lock screen.
I will appreciate if you may give any clues how to activate it (the "Recently Used Apps" widget) and How to deactivate it WITHOUT starting (or using) Peel Remote.
Because currently this is exactly what it does; all of a sudden it appears by itself and than again all of a sudden it disappears just by itself. Without my any interference with the Peel Remote.
Thanks.
 

nahoku

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When the Note 4 was released it came with Samsung's simple remote control app called Smart Remote, then later Peel took over and changed it to what it is today. In the beginning, I used to use the Smart remote, but after it became Peel, I never used it again or updated it, so I've never seen this lock screen widget. I also own a Note 4. That said, I don't know what activates it, but you might try communicating with Peel themselves to see what they say. Did you already run the Peel app to see if there's any setting for this lock screen widget? I imagine that if it's actually coming from the Peel app, there would be a setting somewhere for this.

Edit... Just an afterthought, but for some reason, it doesn't look like Peel would be responsible for this widget. Too much stuff there unrelated to a remote control. If you force stop and turn off the Peel app, does this widget disappear and not show up again? Just seems strange to me as it's farming social media, email, cloud services, etc. Looks like some kind of launcher app. I could be wrong though.
 
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AXEL314

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As an avid user of Peel Remote up to only a couple months ago, this is something Peel Remote wouldn't have - it just seems too ... intrusive?
 

AXEL314

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The latest version of Peel Remote doesn't have a widget settings in the app just for reference.
 

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B. Diddy

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Hmm. I'm wondering if this is some hidden "feature" sprung onto you by some app you installed. We've seen this kind of annoying behavior from various apps -- one example is changing the lockscreen or charging screen, of course while throwing some ads in. This was seen with apps like Flash Keyboard, Z Camera, and ES File Explorer for a while. You might have to uninstall apps one by one until the widget goes away, if you want to figure out where it's coming from.
 

HakanM

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It is the Peel Remote indeed.
But yes, in my phone as well, Peel Remote has no menu title for widget settings.

As nahoku suggested
If you force stop and turn off the Peel app, does this widget disappear and not show up again?
, force stopping the Peel Remote from the application manager, immediately turns off that lock screen widget as well.
But after a while, without me doing anything related to the Peel Remote, the widget appears again.
By the way, it is not only at the lock screen. If you swipe down the notification bar, it is there as well. (as seen in the photos)

On the other hand, I tried the "Smart Manager" app to "End All" background applications while the widget was active.
First of all, although the widget was active, Peel Remote was not listed under "Smart Manager > RAM > Background Applications". And, pressing "End All" there did not make the widget disappear. It stayed.

What ever it is; Absolutely NO adds at all. No disturbance. Quite handy widget (or a quite handy launcher app)

I simply want to understand what triggered/triggers it and how to turn it on and off manually.
 

nahoku

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All very interesting and mysterious! I don't use Peel, and it's not updated, so no means to play with this.

But after a while, without me doing anything related to the Peel Remote, the widget appears again.
When the widget reappears, did you check the Peel app again to see if it had restarted itself? I know you say it wasn't listed in Smart Manager, or ram, but was the app itself running again? Most, if not all, "process killers" (not sure if this applies to Smart Manager) do not force stop apps, they only drop them out of cache. So if Peel had indeed restarted, and you used a process killer, it wouldn't have forced stopped Peel. Peel would have to be forced stopped manually in the application manager on the app itself.

This is the kind of troubleshooting that's rather fun... especially since you do want this launcher to be there! I'm anxious to see the outcome!
 

nahoku

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I can see you're on MM where they hid the running services in Dev Options! Have no idea why they did that...Grrrrrr!!! The widget service sure looks like it may be it, but getting late here so gotta pass on this tonight. Thanks for posting back! I'll check back tomorrow.
 

HakanM

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I don't know what those "AdRequestBrokerService" and "MeasurementBrokerService"s are.
Could Peel possibly be collecting my personal usage data through that widget?
 

nahoku

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Could Peel possibly be collecting my personal usage data through that widget?
I wouldn't be surprised if they did... and I'm sure they do. Nowadays all data = $$$ for these people.

I just updated Peel on my Kitkat Note 4. There's a widget for the Peel app in widgets, so the widget service might just be for that. As for the services you show in the screenshots, I don't see Trigger or Google Play Services listed, so there is a difference here between our apps. I'm curious if the launcher toolbar you're seeing will show up on my phone, but it hasn't yet. I'll report back in a few hours to let you know if it shows up anywhere. I have a feeling it's not going to show, but we'll see. Might be a good idea for you to contact Peel and ask them directly about the toolbar to see what they say.
 

nahoku

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I've been letting Peel run (in cached apps) for about 5 hours now. I haven't seen the toolbar popup yet on lock screen or otherwise. Sorry, couldn't reproduce.
 

AXEL314

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I've uploaded a video of my Peel Remote widget and lockscreen behaviors, and this is the way I've come to know its functions. The design language of OP's "pick a widget" tray also doesn't seem from Peel.

https://youtu.be/umXHqj_O_Ow

And they don't show up in the widget list?

Peel shows up in the widget list and if placed on the homescreen it appears as a remote control.
 
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nahoku

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And they don't show up in the widget list?
This is the latest version of the Peel widget. Looks similar to AXEL314. There are no settings for a toolbar as far as I can see. Then again, I don't use the app and only updated to research. Its already gone from my phone.

Peelwid.jpg
 

HakanM

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Hi,
Sorry I couldn't write since few days. I caught a severe flu and my head felt like a bag of water.

Yes, there is a widget for Peel listed under the widget list but when I activate (put) that widget on my home screen, its appearance and behavior is totally different than the initial behavior I described and pictured.

Noticed one more thing; force stopping the WidgetService of the Peel Remote from the Application Manager did NOT kill (stop) the strange lock screen launcher app (widget). It kept alive and functioning.
But, force stopping the Peel Remote itself from the application manager, did immediately kill that lock screen widget.

Anyway,
It is obvious that it is something from Peel but not being able to control its behavior from some settings and not being to disable or activate it on my own decision irritated me and in the end I DISABLED Peel Remote from App Manager.
Since then, no sign of that strange lock screen launcher app (widget).
 

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