This is going to be a long post which would be broken into series / parts. In these tutorials, we will focus more on apps, battery life, ROMs etc. All I'm gonna discuss here are as a result of over 6 years experience garnered over the years via testing, flashing and even soft-bricking of devices.

Disclaimer:Flashing, rooting, installing of incompatible apps are all risky endeavors and I take no responsibility if your damage / brick your device during the processes listed earlier.

Feel free to ask questions by quoting me or any other contributor. Listed below are my device history and the reason for this is to give you a glimpse of devices I have worked with and familiar with for the purpose of asking questions.

1. Motorola Atrix 4g (Sold)
2. Samsung S2 (Sold)
3. Samsung S3 (Sold)
4. HTC One M7 (Sold)
5. Samsung S4 (Sold)
6. HTC One M7 (Purplish camera issue common in htc one)
7. Samsung Galaxy Note 2(Sold)
8. Samsung S4 (Sold)
9. Xiaomi MI2 (Bricked, fixed but stolen)
10. Samsung Galaxy Note 2 (Abandoned)
11. HTC Droid DNA (Sold)
13. Motorola RAZR MAXX (Screen ish)
14. Samsung S4 (My daily flasher)

Samsung S4 is my best phone cos of the size, perfect fit for my hand. Moreover, other than fingerprint and probably screen resolution, with the right ROM, you need not buy Samsung S5. I have also successfully run Samsung s6 edge and Note 5 ROMs on my S4 without issue.

To the main purpose of this topic, I will start with battery management and getting out the best.

As smartphone users, we usually don't wanna run out of juice since this ensures we stay in touch with our necessary day to day activities. With advancement in technology, various vendors have tried and keep trying all that's required to ensure phone batteries last long enough. I dislike the idea of going around with my charger and coupled with the fact that extended batteries are scarce in this part of the world, I want to have as more battery life as I can get.

In android and other OS, battery life depends on various factors which could be the battery capacity, ROM, kernel, apps, memory management which is also dependent on ROM etc. In other series, I will focus on others but for now, we will begin with apps.

Let's roll

Xposed: Xposed is a framework for modules that can change the behavior of the system and apps without touching any APKs. That's great because it means that modules can work for different versions and even ROMs without any changes (as long as the original code was not changed too much). It's also easy to undo. As all changes are done in the memory, you just need to deactivate the module and reboot to get your original system back. There are many other advantages, but here is just one more: Multiple modules can do changes to the same part of the system or app. With modified APKs, you to decide for one. No way to combine them, unless the author builds multiple APKs with different combinations.

In simple term, xposed is a sort of app that you can either install directly or flash onto your phone which offers you loads and endless capabilities of modifying your phone without the stress of flashing new ROM. That is, for example, if I need a particular functionality on my phone e.g I could want my phone to shutdown some processor when the screen is off or turn off internet or sync when screen is off which could only be derived by flashing a particular ROM, with xposed, I wouldn't be needing another ROM. All that is required is to get xposed working on my phone and install the particular add-on (modules).

Xposed have a whole lot of add-ons (modules) that perform their own special functions.

Advantages:

1. No need to modify any APKs. This means:
2. No need to decompile, change things...
3. Your mod is not bound to a specific version of the ROM. Unless there is a major change in the methods called for a certain functionality, your mod will continue to work even when you upgrade your ROM.
4. Many modules work for a wide range of ROMs from different vendors.
5. Multiple mods can be installed at the same time, even if they modify the same app. So you can use these battery icons and those quick toggles.
6. It does its magic at runtime.
7. It can be disabled easily without having to reflash.
8. There is a repository with many popular modules.

To use Xposed, your device needs to be rooted. To root your device, please google the process suited for your type of device. Rooting can mess up your device if you use the wrong method or files. Ensure you make a backup before rooting.

Do note that xposed can also cause bootloops which literally means your device being stuck on the boot screen without proper booting into the main system. So its essential you back up your device.

Download:
You can download the installer from http://dl.xposed.info/latest.apk.

How to install:
First step for everything you do: Create a nandroid backup and make sure you know how to restore it!
I'm not responsible for anything you do with your phone/tablet/rice cooker.
There is also the risk to soft-brick your device. In such a case, see below for ways to recover from it.

Installation of the framework:
Download the Xposed Installer APK and install it
Launch the Xposed Installer, go to the "Framework" section and click on "Install/Update"
Reboot
Done!

You can verify this by starting the Xposed Installer again and making sure that the numbers in the "Framework" section are green.
If app_process jumped back to an older version (or none at all), you probably have a ROM with S-On or similar, which reverts any changes to /system after a reboot. Use installation via recovery in such cases.

Installation of any modules:
Download <module>.apk (e.g. via the builtin repository browser) and install it
Launch the Xposed Installer and go to the "Modules" section (you will also get there if you click on the notification warning you that the module is not enabled yet)
Enable the module by checking the checkbox
Reboot
Done!
(note that you can install the framework and enable/disable multiple modules at once and reboot afterwards)

Installation of modules gives you super power the same way rooting makes you a power-user. After installation of xposed and rebooting, lauch exposed and select modules in order to view the lists of available modules in the repository / store. Install your desired module per functionality needed. Some modules are brand specific e.g Sony, Samsung while some are O.S type specific e.g Samsung touchwiz or AOSP which is found in Techno, Infinix or other Google play edition ROMs.

It is essential to get the installation right. I will continue with the next series which will focus on some xposed modules for battery optimization and other superb modules.

Sorry for the long post

Update: For lollipop and Marshmallow non- touchwiz ROMs, you can find the specific files for your device in the link provided. The files are architecture specific. For example, my S4 device uses qualcomm chip and not the exynos chip, it is also a 32-bit arm architecture with sdk of 21 as indicated by xposed while installing therefore i will go for sdk 21- arm zip file and not the 64-bit file.


Procedure:

1. Install xposed apk file on your device then launch it, click on Framwork, if you get an error message in red text, note down the version number indicated in the error, if otherwise i.e green message of xposed being active then you are good to go.

2. Download the zip file matching the error message version number. Sdk 21 is for lollipop 5.0, sdk 22 is for 5.1 and sdk 23 is for Android 6.0+ devices

3. Boot into recovery. I prefer Philz torch recovery or TWRP.
4. flash the file and reboot. After reboot, launch xposed, it should be active.


Xposed for lollipop and MM is new therefore not all brands have a file to flash at the moment.

I will also be uploading xposed flash files for touchwiz themed samsung devices.

Note: The files in the link are for AOSP Android lollipop and Marshmallow devices and not Samsung factory default touchwiz ROMs

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/znt362iwezy2w6t/AADNaqzIuYOIcOuR7ROnq9m6a?dl=0

I do more than this on my Tecno boom J7

Just a tip of what is to come

Marvell23:
I do more than this on my Tecno boom J7

Is the thread only for Samsung??

Need to save this page and read carefully later

For all Android phones irrespective of brands. I will post more tips as a follow up to this topic

Now that we've discussed ways and steps of installing xposed framework onto our device, I'm going to delve into apps that are great for maximising battery life. I'm going to discuss some xposed add-ons otherwise known as modules. These modules are apps on their own and can't work without you having xposed.

The first one we will talk about is Deep sleep. Deep sleep is an add-on for xposed that can either be downloaded from playstore or directly from xposed downloads section. Downloading from playstore ensures you have the latest version running. Note that not all xposed add-ons can be gotten from playstore. In fact only abt 2% could be gotten from the store.

What does deep sleep do? Deep sleep allows you to extemd tour battery life simply by shutting down your CPU when your screen is off. This is a great battery saving add-on that keeps your battery consumption to the barest minimum. It has up to six profiles depending on which one is more suitable for you. Each profile consist of time for the CPU to wake up and run operations such as synchronization etc. You can also set it to be in deep sleep whenever the screen is off without waking at intervals. This helps shutdown processor thereby extending battery power.

It will be of use to folks out there that leave their phones on during the night, with deep sleep activated, you don't need to worry about battery drain on idle.

To confirm its efficiency and workability, you can download either of these two apps namely cpu-z or betterbatterystats which will give you details of your CPU. These applications lists the different frequencies at which your processor is running and also list application, processes or wakelocks keeping your device awake.

My preferred mode in deep sleep is "slumberer" which keeps the CPU asleep anytime my screen goes off.

Head on to playstore to check deep sleep out.

Sequel to my earlier discussion, another great app that works with xposed is Greenify. Greenify is a great app for getting the best out of your battery life. I can say it's one of the best out there. With Greenify, I don't worry about running out of battery. Pls note that Greenify cannot work without xposed. Just like deep sleep battery saver, you need to download Greenify and head on to xposed to activate it.

Greenify works wonders by hibernating applications you choose whenever you don't wanna use them. Simply put, it shuts down these applications and prevents them from autostart. As we all know, Android processes autostart themselves and most of these processes and services are controlled by "alarms". In my next write-up, I'll delve deeply into alarms, wakelocks and services to explain deeply how they adversely affect battery life and performance.

Greenify hibernates these applications and keeps them.that way till you relaunch them. Greenify is free to download however I'll advice you go for the donation package which offers you more control and options. The donate version is around $2 in playstore.

After installing, head on to xposed module and activate Greenify, then reboot. After rebooting, click the + button to add applications you want to hibernate. You also have option of creating hibernate icon on the lock screen. This is handy. After selecting the apps you need to hibernate, click on the dooze(zzz) button to put the selected apps into hibernation mode.

Advantage of the donate package is that it offers you option of hibernating system apps that autostart. This is a great feature. See screenshots of mine below.

I use the donation package so definitely, options will be different.

As a follow up to battery saving techniques, I'm quickly going to talk about another great application called titanium backup. As the name implies, it's an app that lets you backup and restore apps, ROM, redo backups, freeze apps, delete app cache, app data to mention a few. With titanium, apps you backup retain their current States after restore for example, if I backup my WhatsApp, all my chats to the point of backup would be available after restore.

This tutorial isn't to focus on its backup capabilities but to discuss a functionality most people aren't privy to which is ability to freeze apps. Note that this functionality is available only in the donation package so you can look for the donate package in playstore or some third party sites that offer the donate package for free.

Titanium backup works without xposed. It's a standalone app.
Why do I need it to save battery? As I stated earlier, Android processes start automatically and these processes slows down devices, consumes battery unnecessarily and this is where titanium comes into play, it allows you to freeze these apps including system apps I.e OS apps. It is essential for system apps that can't be ordinarily turned off.

To do this, launch titanium, then navigate to backup and restore, click on the app or system app you want to freeze them click on freeze. This will turn off the app and it won't be functional anymore. Note that freezing essential systems files can cause unexpected behavior so please be careful and ensure you know what you're freezing. In case you freeze in error, you can go back to the frozen app and click it then select defrost to unfreeze.

I frooze a lot of apps and system files and this has really increased my device response time and improved battery life since apps not needed by me are turned off.

Anything you freeze will appear blue

Next is the ultimate app that does the ultimate and it's gonna be a long one as I will expose you to the workings of Android and what you need to know about Android processes.

To be continued..... Thanks for reading

OutOnBail:
Next is the ultimate app that does the ultimate and it's gonna be a long one as I will expose you to the workings of Android and what you need to know about Android processes.

To be continued..... Thanks for reading

thumbs up bro!

Update on titanium backup..... Just in case you are able to get the paid version free from other source, congratulations as it will work with all functionality unlocked however, this might be short-lived once the app connects to the Internet. As a result of this, I will briefly talk about an app you can use to block access to the Internet.

The app is called Android firewall. It's working principle is simple, all you need do is install the app then select the apps be it third party apps and system apps you want to permit internet access to. Take note that some system apps are essential else you'd block such from accessing internet. System apps like Google play store, Google framework, Google contact sync, download manager, and the Android firewall itself. If you don't permit the Android firewall itself, it's as useless as blocking all apps from accessing.

With this, you'll have control over your data with proper management.

Once you tick the apps you wanna permit access to as seen in the picture attached, click on menu button of your phone then select "Apply rules" thereafter, select "Enable Firewall".

You can have as much as 6 profiles all having different permit and deny functions.

Marvell23:
I do more than this on my Tecno boom J7

I heard it's a really good music phone.

Marvell23:
I do more than this on my Tecno boom J7

I can imagine

ChidinmaRose:


I heard it's a really good music phone.

Yeah. It was all over the place last year