Alcatel Pop Astro. Disable/freeze without root.

[anon(9633271)]

Current versions of the Alcatel OneTouch Pop Astro (5042T) have no root method.
While older versions could be rooted with Framaroot, TMO/TCL has since patched that option away.

Be that as it may, i've stumbled upon the next best thing.
A privliged shell that will allow...
The ability to display (most of) the contents of the /data partition.
The ability to disable any preinstalled app with package manager.

Note, this should also work with other models of MTK based phones that have EngineerMode.

1). Open the dialer and press *#*#825364#*#*
2). This opens MTK EngineerMode.
Swipe left to the Connectivity tab, tap CDS Information.
3). This opens Common Data Service.
Tap Network Utility.

In the top field is the option to input shell commands.
No, you can't remount /system as rw but you can use the following commands to debloat the system.

ls /data/data

This displays installed packages which are needed for the next command.
(i made screenshots of the ls output to make it easier for me to reference the list.)

pm disable-user -0 com.vender.packagename
or
pm disable com.vender.packagename

The advantage of the first pm command is that every disabled app will be shown in System Settings/Applications under the disabled column.
This makes it faster and easier to track which apps are disabled, in the event that a problem arrises.

To re-enable an app use this command.

pm enable com.vender.packagename

That's that, let me know how you get along.
i'll add my list of safely disabled apps to this thread at a later date.

 

[Rukbat]

Good find.

 

[anon(9633271)]

Good find.

Thank you much.
Let me know how it works out for you.

If you find any other advantageous commands to run in that shell, please share 'em.

 

[anon(9633271)]

5042T - Safely disabled. No adverse wakelocks. (So far)
checked with GSam Battery Monitor (Free in the Play Store).

Though disabling apps is generally safe, (worst case senario, a factory reset will undo changes) i advise doing research on apps you're unsure of before disabling them.

(*) Disabled through EngineerMode shell.
Otherwise, disabled using native function in System settings/Applications.

Android Keyboard (*)
App Source
Auto Dialer (*)
Basic Daydreams
Calendar
Calendar Storage (*)
Chrome
com.android.backupconfirm (*)
com.android.browserprovider (*)
com.android.providers.partnerbookmarks (*)
com.android.sharedstoragebackup (*)
com.jrdcom.fota (*)
com.jrdcom.launcher.resource (*)
com.jrdcom.partnerbrowsercustomizations (*)
com.mediatek.batterywarning (*)
Compass
ConfigUpdater
demo stub
Device Unlock
Drive
Exchange Service (*)
Face Unlock
Facebook
Gmail
Google Backup Transport
Google Calendar Sync
Google Partner Setup
Google Play Books
Google Play Games
Google Play Movies & TV
Google Play Music
Google Play Newsstand
Google Search
Google Text-to-speech Engine
Google+
Guest Mode (*)
Hangous
Help Me
Kingsoft Office
Lookout
Maps
Market Feedback Agent
MTK Thermal Manager (*)
MTKLogger (*)
MTKThermalStress (*)
ONETOUCH Launcher (*)
OperatorPlugin
Picasa Uploader
Pico TTS
Print Spooler
RootPA (*)
Scheduled power on & off (*)
Search applications' provider
Storage Cleaning Assistant
Street View
Swype
System updates (*)
T-Mobile My Account
T-Mobile Name ID
T-Mobile TV
Talk Back
To Do (*)
Twitter
VCalendar
Visual Voicemail
Weather
WiFi Direct (*)
Wireless emergency alerts (*)
YouTube

Having just discovered the possibilities of the EngineerMode shell yesterday, (1/29/16) this is of course, a work in progress.

i'll update as i further experiment...

 

[anon(9633271)]

Great news for those of us that are rockin' the Pop Astro.
If you have custom build version A3CUMC1 you can finally root this phone. KingRoot v4.80.C135.b242 has it covered.

If you have the newest custom build version, A3FUMF0 you may still be in luck. Check out this thread at XDA for more info.

[Q] Alcatel Onetouch Pop Astro? (5042T) | Android Development and Hacking

Happy rooting, my friends.

 

[anon(9633271)]

For those interested, i've uploaded the KingRoot apk mentioned above, along with a few files that somebody may find useful to my G Drive. Enjoy.

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0BzpZT0wH7GkgVjY2S19zM0hqRG8#list

 

[Steinamite]

Hi. Thanks for this info! I'm not so savvy with this kind of thing but I did manage to get to the CDS. From there though, it's not so clear to me what to do.

I entered the ls /data/data in the first field but it didn't seem to do anything. Is that a lower case letter "L" or an upper case letter "i"? I tried both but neither seemed to do anything.

Beyond that, the next step is also unclear. Does the "pm disable-user..." go in the second field?

I'm really wishing there was an easier way to root this device. Unfortunately I have build version, A3FUMF0, which as far as the last post in this thread suggests, has not way to root as of yet.

Thanks for any help you can offer!

 

[anon(9633271)]

Hi. Thanks for this info! I'm not so savvy with this kind of thing but I did manage to get to the CDS. From there though, it's not so clear to me what to do.

I entered the ls /data/data in the first field but it didn't seem to do anything. Is that a lower case letter "L" or an upper case letter "i"? I tried both but neither seemed to do anything.

Beyond that, the next step is also unclear. Does the "pm disable-user..." go in the second field?

I'm really wishing there was an easier way to root this device. Unfortunately I have build version, A3FUMF0, which as far as the last post in this thread suggests, has not way to root as of yet.

Thanks for any help you can offer!

No problem, let's see if we can get this working for you.

The ls is a lower case L.
After you type in the command, for example, ls /data/data make sure you're hitting the Run button with the selection box to the right of that button as SHELL.
Hitting the return key on the keyboard won't execute the command.

Once you get the list of package names you'll need to either write them down or do screenshots to quickly reference the names.
You'll have to clear anything typed into that top line before attempting to execute the next command.

As for rooting the A3FUMF0 build version, you could always give it a try and see what happens.
If you do, install KingRoot, turn on USB debugging and give it a shot.

If you have any more questions, by all means, feel free to ask.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[anon(9633271)]

Steinamite, i uploaded the complete list of package names to my gDrive account for you, hope it helps. (Link below)

i've been working on a list of safe to disable apps for a while now, though it's coming along slowly.
As soon as it's done, i'll link to it in this thread.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzpZT0wH7GkgQ2VNeUJweGVEV1U/view?usp=drivesdk

 

[Steinamite]

Thank you for responding! So, I took screenshots of the long list that appeared when I entered in ls /data/data. By the way, it looks like there is a space after the ls. is that right? I typed that in with a space.

OK, so after I took screen shots, do I enter pm disable-user -0 com.vender.packagename into the same line once I clear it of the first command? If so, I tried that and received an error message and a bunch of other stuff that I couldn't understand.

 

[Steinamite]

By the way, I don't suppose there is now a way to root this device since your earlier post in January, eh? That would be so nice.

 

[anon(9633271)]

Thank you for responding! So, I took screenshots of the long list that appeared when I entered in ls /data/data. By the way, it looks like there is a space after the ls. is that right? I typed that in with a space.

OK, so after I took screen shots, do I enter pm disable-user -0 com.vender.packagename into the same line once I clear it of the first command? If so, I tried that and received an error message and a bunch of other stuff that I couldn't understand.

Correct, there is a space.
For package manager, i'll use Facebook as an example.
With the input line empty, you'd type:
pm disable-user -0 com.facebook.katana
Hit the Run button.

Here's the catch, you won't see any output of text on screen unless you typed something in wrong, in which case you'll get an error. My bad, i should have mentioned that earlier.

You can display disabled packages by typing:
pm list package -d

Remember to clear the input line each time.

As for rooting, you could try KingRoot, though i don't know if it will work.
One of my earlier posts has a link to my gDrive, where you can download the app.

 

[anon(9633271)]

By the way, I don't suppose there is now a way to root this device since your earlier post in January, eh? That would be so nice.

So how's the disabling working out for you?
Any luck with KingRoot?

Working on that safe/unsafe disable list still, upload it to my Gdrive for you when i'm through.

 

[Anthony Butner]

Nothing happened

Current versions of the Alcatel OneTouch Pop Astro (5042T) have no root method.
While older versions could be rooted with Framaroot, TMO/TCL has since patched that option away.

Be that as it may, i've stumbled upon the next best thing.
A privliged shell that will allow...
The ability to display (most of) the contents of the /data partition.
The ability to disable any preinstalled app with package manager.

Note, this should also work with other models of MTK based phones that have EngineerMode.

1). Open the dialer and press *#*#825364#*#*
2). This opens MTK EngineerMode.
Swipe left to the Connectivity tab, tap CDS Information.
3). This opens Common Data Service.
Tap Network Utility.

In the top field is the option to input shell commands.
No, you can't remount /system as rw but you can use the following commands to debloat the system.

ls /data/data

This displays installed packages which are needed for the next command.
(i made screenshots of the ls output to make it easier for me to reference the list.)

pm disable-user -0 com.vender.packagename
or
pm disable com.vender.packagename

The advantage of the first pm command is that every disabled app will be shown in System Settings/Applications under the disabled column.
This makes it faster and easier to track which apps are disabled, in the event that a problem arrises.

To re-enable an app use this command.

pm enable com.vender.packagename

That's that, let me know how you get along.
i'll add my list of safely disabled apps to this thread at a later date.

I typed .#.#825364#.#. and nothing happened. They numbers just disappeared from the display window. What should happen?