How to Change The Resolution of Your Phone / A Must if You Have Root!

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eman3316@optonline.net

Senior Member
Jun 23, 2007
4,637
1,310
So it has been mentioned throughout a lot of threads but I figured I would give a step by step and overview for the people who do not know about this or are unsure what it means and does. You must be rooted to use this.

When you compare our phones to a phone that has a qHD display you will see that the qHD display will have smaller text and will allow you to view more on the screen at one time then our WVGA screen allows. Well this is how you can even the playing field and view your phone like it was a qHD or even a 720p screen.

No more super large text like your phone was built for the blind. Also, a great feature if you use an alternate launcher you can set the screen to 5x5 or even 6x6 depending on the resolution you pick.


You will need the 2 apps from below.

First you need to install busybox. Download the app and then open it. From there it will ask you to install. Just choose okay for all the defaults and don't change anything.
https://market.android.com/details?...t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsInN0ZXJpY3Nvbi5idXN5Ym94Il0.

Next app is lcd resolution. This is where you change the resolution.
https://market.android.com/details?...NvbS53ZW1vYnMuYW5kcm9pZC5sY2RyZXNvbHV0aW9uIl0.

There are 2 settings I use, 200 which is almost identical to qhd. qHD is 960x540 and the app allows you to set it at 960x576. You can also set it at 160 which is 720p. You can use all the settings in-between as well but I stick to these 2. You can do your own testing and see what works best for you. Make sure when testing that you do not click save on boot in case your Rom does not play nice with that resolution. I have found that 200 works almost everything but 160 can be a little more tricky, especially with certain themes. You top bar will be all blurry. A reset will put you back to stock if your Rom does not like the resolution as long as you did not click set on boot.

By doing this hack, TW launcher will not play nice so you must use an alternative. All other launchers will work. The stock dialer will also not work. You can use Go contacts, dialer one or Ex Dialer. They all look and function great. You will also need an alternate calendar and calculator app. Their are a ton to choose from.

When setting your system to 200, you might encounter an error message saying certain apps are not compatible with your phone in the market. This is because this setting while close to qhd is not exactly the same resolution so the market app does not think is is compatible as it is not a standard resolution. There are 2 ways around this. You can install the app through Amazon market as it does not know the resolution you are running on your phone or you can switch back to stock (240) then clear market data and you can download the app. Then switch back to 200. This won't happen with every app as a lot will still download when st to 200.

When running at 160 (720p) you will not have this issue in the market as this is a native resolution of Android and is recognized by every app.

I think that covers it all for now and I cannot imagine going back to a WVGA resolution as it looks sooooooo much better running at a near qhd res.

Below are 2 picks showing the difference. One is stock, one is set to 200 (qhd) and the other to 160 (720p).

Stock (240)


qHD (200)


720p (160)
 
Last edited:

bertm13

Senior Member
Sep 6, 2010
74
13
Michigan
I like 720p. Also, you can edit your build.prop manually and modify:
ro.sf.lcd_density=240
Does anyone know how to modify a theme to make it work with this?
 

xlGmanlx

Senior Member
Jul 21, 2010
6,803
546
www.life360.com
When i changed it with LCD density the resolution changed but there was lots of space under the home screen # indicator, can you do a shot of your home screen and wallpaper to see what it looks like?
 

daneurysm

Senior Member
Jun 13, 2010
2,040
335
When i changed it with LCD density the resolution changed but there was lots of space under the home screen # indicator, can you do a shot of your home screen and wallpaper to see what it looks like?

you can't use Touchwiz. Need another launcher, and dialer. On some roms the camera and music apps break too if you go too low (like 720p), likely others.
 

kingsway8605

Senior Member
Apr 26, 2010
1,431
493
I am confused, if the resolution can be improved via software, then how come the manufacturers are not doing it, what is the catch?

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
 
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daneurysm

Senior Member
Jun 13, 2010
2,040
335
I am confused, if the resolution can be improved via software, then how come the manufacturers are not doing it, what is the catch?

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk

I was going to take issue with OP's terminology but decided to not be 'that guy'...

...but here we are.

This doesn't actually change the resolution of the panel at all. You always have the same amount of pixels. Period. All this does is scale the UI. at a screen density of 160 our screen will display things at the size that a 720p screen of identical size would display them. However we lose detail on fonts whereas a 720p screen would have the same amount of detail at 160 as we would at 240....roughly. If you can live with smaller and slightly blocky fonts, go for it.

I can. It's awesome.

another confusing but interesting tidbit: LCD Pixels are made up of red green and blue subpixels. Our panel and the 720p Galaxy Nexus panel have an identical amount of subpixels. But the 720p panel achieves a higher resolution by using less subpixels for each pixel. That is why it is said to have a "pentile" display, as each pixel is composed an arrangement of 5 sub-pixels whereas we have 12 sub-pixels for each pixel. This also explains why 800x480 (WVGA) "pentile" panels look like crap...err...ahem...receive so much criticism. (See: motorola displays)

EDIT: Also, more sub-pixels per pixel means better 'sub-pixel hinting'...which is an effect used to enhance text on LCD panels. The fact that we have so many sub-pixels is probably the only reason why we can pull this off. Of course I'm assuming that android takes advantage of subpixels.
 
Last edited:

MoMatt

Senior Member
Oct 31, 2010
99
27
Just a reminder to everyone to nandroid before doing anything like this;

My phone won't boot after doing this. I can get into CWM, but anytime I try to reboot it gets stuck in a loop at the Sprint / 4g animation. I suspect it has something to do with busybox installation but who knows.

I did NOT have the "Set on Boot" selected in the LCD density app. I think I already had busybox support... maybe trying to install the market busybox app borked something.

Anyhoo... always do a nandroid, kids!
 

eman3316@optonline.net

Senior Member
Jun 23, 2007
4,637
1,310
As Dan mentioned, it does not actually change the resolution in the true sense but for the purpose of this thread I didn't get into that detail.

I think our screens look 10x better then the Evo 3d and the photon screens when our screens are set to WVGA compared to their qhd display. This only makes it better. With a screen this large it only makes sense to shrink things down to get more on the screen.

Now the Galaxy Nexus screen, I am expecting that to be a killer screen.
 

daneurysm

Senior Member
Jun 13, 2010
2,040
335
Ok thanks, it was leaving like choke real estate under the page number on the screens, I actually like Touchwiz but thanks for the heads up

I think if we could yank touchwiz off of a Galaxy Note it would do 720p (160) and if not whatever the density setting is on the Galaxy Note would make it fit perfectly.

As far as I've seen, touchwiz isn't ingrained in Android at all. I could be wrong, but, it seems like just a launcher. It's nothing like Sense which has it's big fat tentacles way up Android's ass.

...though I'm not a fan of Touchwiz, so, it really doesn't bother me at all. It's not that I hate touchwiz--I was actually astonished to find how nice it was after all of the Sense-o-philes bashed the crap out of it--I just love me some Launcher Pro and/or ADWex, depending on the time of day....though every now and then I throw on Launcher7 for giggles.
 

xlGmanlx

Senior Member
Jul 21, 2010
6,803
546
www.life360.com
I think you are right on all accounts. I actually like its styling (well with ICS + ICS Twist) but the fact that the launcher is hardware accelerated is too much to give up
I think if we could yank touchwiz off of a Galaxy Note it would do 720p (160) and if not whatever the density setting is on the Galaxy Note would make it fit perfectly.

As far as I've seen, touchwiz isn't ingrained in Android at all. I could be wrong, but, it seems like just a launcher. It's nothing like Sense which has it's big fat tentacles way up Android's ass.

...though I'm not a fan of Touchwiz, so, it really doesn't bother me at all. It's not that I hate touchwiz--I was actually astonished to find how nice it was after all of the Sense-o-philes bashed the crap out of it--I just love me some Launcher Pro and/or ADWex, depending on the time of day....though every now and then I throw on Launcher7 for giggles.
 

daneurysm

Senior Member
Jun 13, 2010
2,040
335
I think you are right on all accounts. I actually like its styling (well with ICS + ICS Twist) but the fact that the launcher is hardware accelerated is too much to give up

Has this been verified? I stopped caring about it once I got LP/ADW up and running and it seems supernaturally smooth. Though I have to admit that the transition to the app drawer in TW is phenomenally smooth...aside from that, though, I don't really see it.

...and if only TW is hardware accelerated that must be via an API. Samsung proprietary? Considering the popularity of the SGS2 worldwide I'd imagine there would have to be another launcher that would take advantage of these hooks.

Honestly if we do, in fact, have hardware acceleration (and I believe we do) why wouldn't that be system wide? Once you go into settings you are out of the launcher and if anyone remembers Cupcake or Donut holy crap was that a painful experience for what was at the time super fast 528-800mhz phones (g1/hero and moment).
 

elephant007

Senior Member
Mar 10, 2008
307
119
this is a great find I think, I really like the tight resolution, not too keen on having to change the type of launcher either

Has anyone noticed the jacked up notification on the notification bar?

And too bad there's not a way to make the dialer and home screens fit the screen now!

Thanks for the hint
 

psych2l

Senior Member
May 25, 2010
535
85
Boston
Tried this at 160 using go launcher on starburst 1.9.8r with the beta ICS theme and it looked great except the status bar was screwed up. Do you think it might be the theme or rom?
 

eman3316@optonline.net

Senior Member
Jun 23, 2007
4,637
1,310
Tried this at 160 using go launcher on starburst 1.9.8r with the beta ICS theme and it looked great except the status bar was screwed up. Do you think it might be the theme or rom?

Was it a theme you added on to the Rom? If so, you can try it without the theme.

I am running Calk's 1.5a Rom and it works at 160 by itself, with the honey theme and the ICS mixup theme as well...
 

eman3316@optonline.net

Senior Member
Jun 23, 2007
4,637
1,310
Anyone figure out a way to replicate a true qHD resolution? Being that it is a little off you get the apps not compatible message in the market. If you were able to replicate the exact res like 720p does you would not get that message.
 

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    So it has been mentioned throughout a lot of threads but I figured I would give a step by step and overview for the people who do not know about this or are unsure what it means and does. You must be rooted to use this.

    When you compare our phones to a phone that has a qHD display you will see that the qHD display will have smaller text and will allow you to view more on the screen at one time then our WVGA screen allows. Well this is how you can even the playing field and view your phone like it was a qHD or even a 720p screen.

    No more super large text like your phone was built for the blind. Also, a great feature if you use an alternate launcher you can set the screen to 5x5 or even 6x6 depending on the resolution you pick.


    You will need the 2 apps from below.

    First you need to install busybox. Download the app and then open it. From there it will ask you to install. Just choose okay for all the defaults and don't change anything.
    https://market.android.com/details?...t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsInN0ZXJpY3Nvbi5idXN5Ym94Il0.

    Next app is lcd resolution. This is where you change the resolution.
    https://market.android.com/details?...NvbS53ZW1vYnMuYW5kcm9pZC5sY2RyZXNvbHV0aW9uIl0.

    There are 2 settings I use, 200 which is almost identical to qhd. qHD is 960x540 and the app allows you to set it at 960x576. You can also set it at 160 which is 720p. You can use all the settings in-between as well but I stick to these 2. You can do your own testing and see what works best for you. Make sure when testing that you do not click save on boot in case your Rom does not play nice with that resolution. I have found that 200 works almost everything but 160 can be a little more tricky, especially with certain themes. You top bar will be all blurry. A reset will put you back to stock if your Rom does not like the resolution as long as you did not click set on boot.

    By doing this hack, TW launcher will not play nice so you must use an alternative. All other launchers will work. The stock dialer will also not work. You can use Go contacts, dialer one or Ex Dialer. They all look and function great. You will also need an alternate calendar and calculator app. Their are a ton to choose from.

    When setting your system to 200, you might encounter an error message saying certain apps are not compatible with your phone in the market. This is because this setting while close to qhd is not exactly the same resolution so the market app does not think is is compatible as it is not a standard resolution. There are 2 ways around this. You can install the app through Amazon market as it does not know the resolution you are running on your phone or you can switch back to stock (240) then clear market data and you can download the app. Then switch back to 200. This won't happen with every app as a lot will still download when st to 200.

    When running at 160 (720p) you will not have this issue in the market as this is a native resolution of Android and is recognized by every app.

    I think that covers it all for now and I cannot imagine going back to a WVGA resolution as it looks sooooooo much better running at a near qhd res.

    Below are 2 picks showing the difference. One is stock, one is set to 200 (qhd) and the other to 160 (720p).

    Stock (240)


    qHD (200)


    720p (160)
    2
    If anyone tries it, please report back and I will update the OP if it works succesfully.

    https://market.android.com/details?...wyLDEsImNvbS5iaXJkYXBpLmFuZHJvaWQuZHBpcHJvIl0.

    Works perfectly! I tested 180DPI with the quick test mode, hot reboot and no permanent changes. Test ran fine so I set the phone to 180DPI and did a full reboot, this also worked, but I did see some force closes. Once the phone rebooted a few times, the force closes stopped and the extra screen space was nice.

    I then set the market fix for 240DPI and confirmed I was able to update apps. I just downloaded Opera Mini and installed without error on 180DPI setting. So it looks like $3 well spent and a nice compromise between changed DPI and a working market.
    1
    I am confused, if the resolution can be improved via software, then how come the manufacturers are not doing it, what is the catch?

    Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk
    1
    Anybody confirm this to work on the Evo 3d? I would root it for this if it was confirmed

    Adjusting the density will work on any Android device. I don't know how far back the current density syntax goes but I doubt there are that many eclair (or older) devices out there....

    The "720p" setting would likely be a tad more precise on an Evo3D with it's (horrible and upsetting) 16:9 ratio.

    Just, please, understand that this doesn't actually change your resolution. If you haven't already read back a page or two for details.
    1
    I want to start of by saying i love this it makes my phone that much more amazing. But i do miss touchwiz. So i was doing some digging and found

    This

    Im curious if someone could tell me if this launcher would work on our phone?
    Thanks! Also forgive me if this is a stupid question im unsure how different the launcher would be between ours and the GSM version of the phone im thinking there should be none.

    Ok i tested this and it works perfectly so im now running Touch Wiz at 160dpi. Just go down to the 3rd post download the .zip for 160dpi and flash it through your recovery and enjoy the awesomeness!!! Obviously do a backup first but ive had no problems. Some widgets are funny but you can resize them via the instructions in the original post, Huge props to petsasj Make sure to give him a thanks!