My phone is forcing upon me an update that I wish to stave off, if possible, or stop altogether if possible.
The upcoming update will happen in a day if I don't figure out how to stop it.

How can we definitively tell if the baseband will be incremented with any given forced update?
And how can we tell if this is a security-only update, or if the baseband will be updated too?

Use Package Disabler or an adb edit to disable these two services. Stops it dead in its tracks.

blackhawk said:

Use Package Disabler or an adb edit to disable these two services. Stops it dead in its tracks.

Ah. Too late! This time anyway.
But your information is good for next time.

I'll use this information in the future (and so can others, which is the point of my fleshing what you just had suggested as the answer) to disable the following two services on my T-Mobile Galaxy A32 5G (SM-326U) Android 12 setup...
When I looked to disable those two services using my MuntashirAkon App Manager...

• <https://github.com/MuntashirAkon/AppManager>

I found that perhaps that second service has a different name?
As for "Package Disabler", I didn't even know you could disable system packages without being root (alas, my phone can't be rooted).

It's nice to know you can disable system apps without root.

So that others don't have to look for it, I think I found it here, at least with my first set of search terms.

• Package Disabler
• <https://www.packagedisabler.com>
  • The only NON-root solution that let’s you disable any unwanted packages that come pre-installed / installed with your phone / tablet.
    
    You can disable apps with 1 click. Disabled application / package will not be uninstalled or updated using Google play or any other means.
    
    This app also provides password / uninstall protection to avoid misuse.

When I searched on XDA-Developers forum threads for package disabler, I found a bunch of hits, but I don't know which are canonical updated threads.
These non-forum articles showed up in a google search for more information about this useful "package disabler" tool which purports to disable system packages without needing to be root.
Regarding the adb commands, I use adb all day every day for a variety of things (see below) but I haven't used adb (or ladb) to disable a service which requires root as I didn't know you could do that.
As for how to use either local adb (ladb) to disable packages (without needing the PC and without needing to be rooted), my first task was to look up what the ladb commands might be...
And then let's look up some of the adb commands to figure out what they are to disable the two services using a PC but without needing to be rooted.
Obviously I have some homework to do before I can successfully disable the two services listed above without needing to be rooted (as my phone can't be rooted) using just adb (which seems like the easiest way to approach this task)...

Since I'm always connected to my phone via adb anyway (as I mirror my screen and audio onto my PC) I may as well use the adb commands to disable the two update services, where might these be the related necessary adb commands to employ for that task?

C:\> adb shell pm list packages | findstr /i soagent C:\> adb shell pm list packages -d | findstr /i soagent C:\> adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.sec.android.soagent C:\> adb shell pm enable --user 0 com.sec.android.soagentLikewise, these are likely the related steps for com.wssyncmldm:

C:\> adb shell pm list packages | findstr /i wssyncmldm
C:\> adb shell pm list packages -d | findstr /i wssyncmldm
C:\> adb shell pm disable-user --user 0 com.wssyncmldm
C:\> adb shell pm enable --user 0 com.wssyncmldm

But first, may I confirm that my two services are of a different name than that which was initially suggested?

And may I confirm the adb commands to disable those two services?

You can probably roll it back from 12 to 11 if you want provided the boot loader wasn't upgraded too.

This stock Samsung N10+ hasn't been updated in over 3 years; still running on Pie. Current load is over 2.5 yo, still fast, very stable with minimal maintenance. Security simply isn't an issue with its current configuration... screw the Google scare hype. This is what Android is capable of... if you leave it be.

blackhawk said:

You can probably roll it back from 12 to 11 if you want provided the boot loader wasn't upgraded too.

Thank you for that suggestion, where I really don't know that much about Android, which I openly admit. I can research if pointed in the right direction though.

I am told the bootloader for the T-Mobile A32-5G needs to be version 5 or below (maybe even 3 or below) in order to root the Samsung Galaxy A32-5G, and mine is currently version 8.

I don't know how to roll back a bootloader, but even so, I'm not sure I understand your suggestion of rolling back the Android version from 12 to 11.

How would changing the OS change the bootloader version?

blackhawk said:

This stock Samsung N10+ hasn't been updated in over 3 years; still running on Pie. Current load is over 2.5 yo, still fast, very stable with minimal maintenance. Security simply isn't an issue with its current configuration... screw the Google scare hype. This is what Android is capable of... if you leave it be.

I very much appreciate your kind and thoughtful advice that pointed me in the direction of the two packages that I needed to disable, which is what I needed to research in the right direction.

I also much appreciate that you mentioned adb will do the job of disabling those packages without me being rooted, as that too was a required datapoint that I didn't know until you told me.

Thank you very much for your kind advice, where I do agree with you this hype about having the latest security patches isn't something I'm all that worried about.

However....

There is this "nagging concern" that, as of Google's Project Mainline and Project Treble (both since renamed), the way that the 25 core modules update is no longer via carrier updates but over the air with Google Framework Services updates (not to be confused with Google Play Services updates).

• AdServices multi-package multi-type Android 13
• adbd com.android.adbd APEX Android 11
• AppSearch com.android.appsearch APEX Android 13
• ART com.android.art APEX Android 12
• Bluetooth APEX Android 13
• CellBroadcast com.android.cellbroadcast APEX Android 11
• Conscrypt com.android.conscrypt APEX Android 10
• Device Scheduling com.android.scheduling APEX Android 12
• DNS Resolver com.android.resolv APEX Android 10
• DocumentsUI com.android.documentsui APK Android 10
• ExtServices com.android.ext.services APK (Android 10)
• ExtServices com.android.ext.services APEX (Android 11)
• IPsec/IKEv2 Library com.android.ipsec APEX Android 11
• Media Media: com.android.media Android 10 (extractors)
• Media Codecs: com.android.media.swcodec APEX Android 10 (extractors, MediaSession API) Android 11 (MediaParser API)
• MediaProvider com.android.mediaprovider APEX Android 11
• ModuleMetadata com.android.modulemetadata APK Android 10
• Network Stack Network Stack Permission Configuration: com.android.networkstack.permissionconfig
• Captive Portal Login: com.android.captiveportallogin
• Network Components: com.android.networkstack APK Android 10
• NNAPI Runtime com.android.neuralnetworks APK Android 11
• OnDevicePersonalization Runtime Multiple Multiple Android 13
• PermissionController com.android.permissioncontroller APK Android 10
• SDK Extensions com.android.sdkext APEX Android 11
• Statsd com.android.os.statsd APEX Android 11
• Tethering com.android.tethering APK Android 11
• Time Zone Data com.android.tzdata APEX Android 10
• UWB com.android.uwb APEX Android 13
• Wi-Fi com.android.wifi APEX Android 11

It's all very confusing HOW Android updates nowadays.

• Some updates are over the air by the carrier
• Other updates are done separately for the 25 core modules
• Still others are done over a Google Play Store app Activity
  • (These last app updates are not really part of the Google Play Store app but the Activity for app updates appears in the settings for the Google Play Store app so a lot of people associate those app updates with the Google Play Store app).

In short, does this method of disabling two packages "really" work to stop all updates?

• Or does it just work for the Project Mainline updates?
• Or just the carrier supplied security updates?

I don't know.

You're welcome.
The bootloader version can be upgraded but not rolled back on a Snapdragon. If just the rom was upgraded from 11 to 12 it can be rolled back by flashing Android 11 if the bootloader wasn't upgraded too. I think this is the case for you but check it to be sure. Personally I don't muck with the firmware. A Samsung Experience center at a Best Buy can also flash it back to 11.

I really don't worry about updating any apps unless there's a improvement I need, so I don't.
It leads to a more stable platform since everything is already running well, more importantly it's fulfilling its mission. In the end that's all that counts. This is my solution; it may not be what others do but it works very well for me. I send almost zero time now troubleshooting... it just runs.

blackhawk said:

You're welcome.

Without you, I wouldn't have known the name of the two packages, nor that adb can disable them without me being rooted. Thanks.

What I don't know, yet anyway, is which of the following software versions those two packages above facilitated the updates for...

1. Android version [e.g., Android 12]
2. Baseband version [e.g., A326USQS8BVL3]
3. Security update [e.g., Dec. 1, 2022]
4. Google Play System [e.g., March 1, 2022]
5. Google Play Services [e.g., 22.42.12 (190400-481949630]
6. Google Play Store [e.g., 33.5.16-21 [0][PR] 4933219047]
7. Firmware (such as the Qualcomm modem firmware)
8. 25 Core modules in Project Mainline
   • These are apparently updated either over Google Play Services on the net or OTA by partners.
9. Default/original apps (such as Chrome, YouTube, etc.)
10. User apps (of which there may be hundreds)

blackhawk said:

The bootloader version can be upgraded but not rolled back on a Snapdragon.

I didn't think it was going to be easy to unlock the bootloader, let alone roll it backward a notch or two.

BTW, it's not a Snapdragon I don't think.
DevCheck (see attached screenshot) shows it to be a "Mediatek Dimensity 720" powering this SM-A326U Galaxy A32 5G.

blackhawk said:

If just the rom was upgraded from 11 to 12 it can be rolled back by flashing Android 11 if the bootloader wasn't upgraded too. I think this is the case for you but check it to be sure. Personally I don't muck with the firmware. A Samsung Experience center at a Best Buy can also flash it back to 11.

I've seen that link, and I found it fantastic, where I think I'm stuck in not being able to root unless something new comes up - which is my main purpose here in at least freezing the bootloader version at 8.

The main lack of information I have at the moment is I don't know WHAT PROCESS updates the bootloader.

blackhawk said:

I really don't worry about updating any apps unless there's a improvement I need, so I don't.

I'm with you 100% in that I don't update ANY apps unless I KNOW it has something I want (which almost never happens).

That's good that neither of us worries about app updates because most people don't realize what a MESS app updates truly are!

I've found out most people THINK that the Google Play Store does a check for new apps for ALL your installed apps - but I've tested it and it doesn't even come close (see attached screenshot proof).

The Google Play Store app update section isn't even part of the Google Play Store (it's an Activity within it but it's independent of the Google Play Store app itself) - but what's worse is the fact it updates barely any apps.

Maybe a dozen. Maybe even two dozen.

But the Google Play Store app update Activity MISSES hundreds upon hundreds of apps, which the screenshots below prove to be the case.

Luckily, as a result of that opinion which we both share that we don't update apps unless we need to, this whole app update mess isn't an issue for either one of us, but bear in mind that a LOT of people "think" the Google Play Store app "updates" all their apps.

It's not even close.

blackhawk said:

It leads to a more stable platform since everything is already running well, more importantly it's fulfilling its mission. In the end that's all that counts. This is my solution; it may not be what others do but it works very well for me. I send almost zero time now troubleshooting... it just runs.

I'm like you in that I don't update the hundreds of apps unless any one of them needs to be updated, which almost never happens.

But what is driving me nuts is the CONFUSION about what process updates what part of the Android operating system.

For example, I'm currently at:

• The Google Play System = March 1, 2022
  • Settings > About phone > Software information
• The Google Play Services = Version 22.42.12 (190400-481949630)
  • Settings > Apps > Your apps > Google Play Services
• The Google Play Store = 33.5.16-21 [0][PR] 4933219047
  • Settings > Apps > Your apps > Google Play Services

But what is the process that updates those three entities?

It behooves us to nail this down as I'm confused what is updated when & how.

While there are at least a half dozen important layers of Android which are updated on a variety of schedules, I think the fundamental updated layers may be:

1. The Android OS version, baseband & security patch levels
2. The Google Play {System,Services,Store} system update levels
3. The versions of the 25 core modules of Project Mainline
4. The versions of the firmware in Project Treble
5. The versions of all the apps supplied with the native OS

I'm embarrassed, for example, to state that I have no idea whatsoever what updates the BASEBAND, for example.

Worse, I have no idea what process updates the 25 core modules of the Project Mainline modules (which is the core of Android).
What process updates those two dozen critical core modules?

com.wssyncmldm is what does all OTA firmware updates for the phone including the bootloader as far as I know. To stop OTA upgrades only it needs to be disabled. It's the only one that can permanently screw you up.

I'm not familiar with the MediaTek chipsets. Galaxy store updates it's apps as well, I firewall block it unless I need to use it.

I keep installable backup copies of all my apps including system. That way on a reload or if they get an unwanted update, I'm ready.
Worksv on Android 9,10, not sure about higher. Newer versions are on Playstore.

blackhawk said:

com.wssyncmldm is what does all OTA firmware updates for the phone including the bootloader as far as I know. To stop OTA upgrades only it needs to be disabled. It's the only one that can permanently screw you up.

Thank you for confirming com.wssyncmldm does the over-the-air firmware updates, and, particularly the caveat that it's the only updater package that can permanently screw the ability to root up.

Android is broken into so many components that I am going nuts trying to figure out what updates what - so that helps (a little).

blackhawk said:

I'm not familiar with the MediaTek chipsets. Galaxy store updates it's apps as well, I firewall block it unless I need to use it.

Thank you for bringing up the Galaxy App update mechanism, which I had omitted in my description of what updates apps above.

1. The OTA update often updates default system apps
2. The Google Play Store Activity Updater updates "some" apps
3. The FOSS Google Play Store clients also update "many" apps
4. The Samsung Galaxy Store updater updates its own apps
5. There are app updaters I've tested which update ALL apps
   • (Of course, these assume an update is available.)

Just so that you know, I never create ANY login on my phone, so I can't log into the galaxy store even if I had wanted to do so.

• Is there any app in the Samsung Galaxy Store worth the login requirements?

That means I don't have a Google Account set up on my phone either (even as I have a Google Account), so I've learned empirically that if you log into the GMail app even once, it CREATES a Google Account on your phone.

The phone works better WITHOUT the Google Account setup.

Likewise if you log into the Google Maps app, or Google Voice, etc., but luckily ALL the Google apps have equivalent apps which generally work better than the Google apps do anyway.

• GMail === FairMail mail client
• Chrome === Ungoogled Chromium web client
• YouTube === NewPipe YouTube client
• Google Play Store === Aurora Google Play Store client
• Google Maps === works fine w/o a login
• Google Calendar === Etar
• Google Messages === Pulse SMS (before Klinker sold to Maple Media)
• Google launcher === Nova Launcher (before they sold out)

Note a good reason for SAVING all the APKs you install is shown in the case of Nova and Pulse where both went over to the dark side.

blackhawk said:

I keep installable backup copies of all my apps including system. That way on a reload or if they get an unwanted update, I'm ready.
Worksv on Android 9,10, not sure about higher. Newer versions are on Playstore.

Like you, I maintain all my APKs independently OUTSIDE of the current daily drive phone, where it's all completely automatic.

The FOSS Google Play Store clients have an option to NOT DELETE the APK when you install any app off the Google Play Store repository.

That fact bears repeating.

When you install an app off the Google Play store, presumably this sequence occurs:
1. The client finds the app & then you download the APK
2. The client initiates the installation of the APK
3. Then the client always DELETES the downloaded APK

But when you install that same app off that same repository using the FOSS Google Play Store clients, and if you check the box to NOT DELETE the APK after installation, then THIS sequence happens.

1. The client finds the app & then you download the APK
2. The client initiates the installation of the APK
3. Then the client always DOES NOT DELETE the downloaded APK

In addition, my Android file system and my Windows file systems are exactly the same (so to speak) since I use free WebDAV servers to mount my entire Android filesystem onto Windows as a drive letter over Wi-Fi (no cables necessary).

• Can you mount BOTH Android internal & external storage onto Windows as a drive letter over Wi-Fi using a SINGLE WebDAV server?

That way, when I need to re-populate a new phone, I first bring over the homescreen and all the icon locations (which Nova does nicely), and then, one by one, I populate the apps by SLIDING them over using my mouse to slide from Windows to the mirrored Android.

See the screenshots below proving all that I say above.

BTW, I have one WARNING about extracting APKs, where I've tested ALL the free extractors extent, and where I've had some bad experiences where the extracted APK doesn't work on a different model phone (generally it's different in every way, hardware & software).

I've had MUCH BETTER experience just NOT DELETING the APK when it's downloaded off the Google Play Store repository, or the F-Droid repository, or the GitHub/Sourceforge/Guardian/etc., repositories.

This problem, I think, will only get worse as of the August 2022 decree by Google regarding APEX files (instead of APK files) on the Google Play Store repository.

In summary, Android UPDATES are complex, and I do NOT profess to understand what updates what - so any help anyone can provide is welcome as I am confused as to what updates what.

Since my credibility matters, screenshots below prove all I say above.

I use whatever comes in handy and don't go more nuts than I need to in order to get the job done.

The reason to be able to access the Samsung Galaxy store are the free icon packs and themes.
Edge add ons and certain other apps like Sound Assistant. The Good Lock family of apps are of particular interest for a Samsung user.

Nova isn't as fast or efficient as One UI. One UI is a very stable launcher and very customizable.
My stock N10+ homescreen running on One UI, modified with various Good Lock apps and One handed Operation plus. Digi Clock and Energy Ring are 3rd party apps.

blackhawk said:

Nova isn't as fast or efficient as One UI.

Nova free went over to the dark side as of the Branch acquisition.

• Nova Launcher and Sesame Search have been acquired by Branch, an analytics company

As a direct result of the Branch acquisition, my Nova free is the last known good version (namely the pre-branch 7.0.57 version):

• <https://novalauncher.com/beta>
• <https://novalauncher.com/apk/NovaLauncher_7.0.57.apk>
  • Name: NovaLauncher_7.0.57.apk
  • Size: 8687535 bytes (8483 KiB)
  • SHA256: 05AE72221D8D4F3D6A111A3220A0C87040806AF4E53053EF64F2DE426990893E

Mostly what I like(d) about Nova free is the ability to save the homescreen (and all the folders, shortcuts, and icons) EXACTLY and then re-load it on any number of phones, no matter what make/model of that phone.

Another feature I really liked about Nova free is its ability to put icons on any grid and in any location whatsoever.

Last summer I had opened a thread seeking a replacement app launcher...

• Nova launcher used to be the best free Android launcher - until now - so what's better?

We discussed the merits at that time...

blackhawk said:

One UI is a very stable launcher and very customizable.

I'm happy with my last-known-good-version of Nova free, but because they went over to the dark side, I have to find another app launcher.

If OneUI does those things, I might consider it.

1. Save homescreen/folders/icons & re-use later
2. Put icons on any grid (or no grid) whatsoever

GalaxyA325G said:

Mostly what I like(d) about Nova free is the ability to save the homescreen (and all the folders, shortcuts, and icons) EXACTLY and then re-load it on any number of phones, no matter what make/model of that phone.

The only other thing I really liked about Nova free is its ability to put icons on any grid and in any location whatsoever.

I'm happy with my last-known-good-version of Nova free, but because they went over to the dark side, I have to find another app launcher.

If OneUI does those two things, I might consider it.

1. Save homescreen/folders/icons & re-use later
2. Put icons on any grid (or no grid) whatsoever

Does it?

Click to expand...

SmartSwitch can save icons and homescreen, however on a clean load I wouldn't use SmartSwitch other than to save homescreen settings so you'll need to rebuild the icons and apps although Goodlock apps and homepage settings remain in effect. So it's not like you just landed on mars and everything looks unworldly with no button navigation
Other than folders you're locked into the grid pattern.

One UI is faster, more efficient and very stable. In fact in 3 years I've never had it crash and force a reboot. Let me put this way, one of the most surefire ways to boot loop a Samsung is a 3rd party launcher. Been there, done that twice, back to back full reloads That convinced me to live with the white page indicators. That's my only real criticism of One UI.
Pick your poison wisely...

I didn't read the whole thread, but for instance it's already enough to freeze the "Software-Update" package to stop "Software-Update" notifications.

In my S8 with Android 9 it's located in /system/priv-app/FotaAgent/FotaAgent.apk. Just rename to "FotaAgent.apk.bak" and that's it!