How to customize your note 2 like a pro - root not required

Which homepack do you like best?

  • Simply Productive V5

    Votes: 31 60.8%
  • Inspired V1

    Votes: 20 39.2%

  • Total voters
    51

Dakota0206

Senior Member
Sep 17, 2011
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770
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www.okc-tech.com
HOW TO CUSTOMIZE YOUR NOTE 2 LIKE A PRO - ROOT NOT REQUIRED
I started this thread as a heads up to check out buzz launcher. But it is kind of morphing into a how to create custom homescreen thread. Posting instructions for each one of my homepacks was really junking up the place. Hopefully everyone likes the new format.


CUSTOM LAUNCHER
First you need a 3rd party launcher like NOVA, APEX or Buzz Launcher. All of my designs I have posted are using Buzz Launcher. That way if you like them, you can download them! You can also recreate any of my themes using a different launcher. It will just take a little longer to setup.

If you are not familiar with Buzz Launcher... Buzz Launcher is a new concept launcher capable of importing others' Homescreens to your own device intact. Share your Homescreen with your friends via SNS! Buzz launcher is specifically designed to help you create diverse Homescreens. Experience uniquely designed Homescreens on Buzz Launcher! ...from their website

Buzz Launcher - play store link (my homepack designs are at the bottom of the OP)
Nova Launcher - play store link
Apex Launcher - play store link




BUZZ CUSTOM WIDGET APP - play store link
You can create your own widgets including digital clock, date, and battery by using Buzz Custom Widget Editor.

CREATE NEW BUZZ WIDGET - select + in upper right corner > select folder icon in upper right corner > select save as > name & save your widget!
ADD OBJECT TO WIDGET - select + in upper left corner > select what type of object you would like to add
EDIT AN OBJECT - select Select an object > select which object your would like to edit > select the decor tab to change the color, font and opacity > the size, move, and rotate tabs are pretty straight forward > use the anchor tab to get perfect alignments when moving an object > be sure to save the widget after changes
ASIGN A HOTSPOT - select the Activity object > select the decor tab > to launch an app, select App > to launch a SiMi Folder or other shortcut, select shortcut
NOTE - If you are using Buzz Launcher the buzz widgets are uploaded and downloaded with homepacks, and makes for easy setup
MORE INFO - XDA thread with more info http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2206094



ULTIMATE CUSTOM WIDGET (UCCW) - play store link
Make your own widgets easily in a WYSIWYG (What-you-see-is-what-you-get) editor. Use custom layout, fonts, images, shapes, interesting objects like series clocks, weather information with icons,
unread sms and gmail counts, battery information with bars and pie graphs, analog clocks, TASKER VARIABLES and more. Use hotspots to assign actions to widget.
Does not require programming, editing xml files or rooting your phone. Share your creations easily either through uzip files or make apks and post on Google play.


USING A UZIP FILE - download a .uzip file > Open UCCW > select "OPEN" > select "Open uzip" > navigate to where you downloaded the .uzip file and select it > You should be able to edit the widget now > Save & Go to Home screen and add the widget > Profit!
USING UCCW WIDGET FROM THE PLAY STORE - download a UCCW widget from the play store > long press on homescreen to add a widget > select the UCCW widget size you want > select which UCCW widget you wish to add
ADD MORE FONTS - download font files and place them in sdcard/fonts/ > UCCW will automatically find them



MINIMALISTIC TEXT - play store link
Minimalistic Text is a widget app that displays information in a minimalistic way.
It can be configured to display time, date, battery and weather information. The layout of the widget is highly customizable through the layout editor.




SIMPLE TEXT - play store link
With this app you can create bunch of text icons really fast without using Photoshop or any photo editors




SIMI FOLDER - play store link
SiMi Folder is a customizable Folder Widget with a horizontal/vertical scrollable Launcher.


CREATE A NEW FOLDER - launch the SiMi Folder app > select Folders > select Add Folder > type your Foldername > foldertype is App Folder > widget setting don't matter because I am using Buzz Custom Widget app for that > To edit the appearance select Launcher settings and edit as you wish > select Save > locate and select your newly created folder > select Add > Check any apps you want in the folder > select Save



POWER TOGGLES - play store link



SIMPLE CALENDAR WIDGET - play store link
This widget calendar is analog of standard calendar widget




CUSTOM LOCK SCREEN
To use a custom lock screen you need to disable the stock lock screen. Go to setting > lock screen > select screen lock > select none

HOLO LOCKER - play store link
Simple and fast lock screen replacement, based on stock Jelly Bean lock screen.
UNLOCK WITH WIFI - play store link
Tired of entering your password every time you turn on your phone? Unlock With WiFi™ unlocks your phone when you're connected to your home WiFi network. When you're at home, or work, you don't need to worry about losing your phone, so why should you have to enter your password? Unlock With WiFi is the leading password convenience app on the market. It's focus is on reliability, quality, and a great user experience. The setup wizard makes it easy to setup, and helpful dialogs are displayed if something isn't quite right.




CHANGE YOUR SYSTEM FONT
FONTOMIZER SP (Font for Galaxy) - play store link
Download and install Fontomizer > then go to http://www.fontomizer.net/ to download fonts > Select font download to install > go to phone settings > select display > select font style > select your new font!



FLOATING NOTIFICATIONS - play store link
Floating Notifications is a new and intuitive way to view your notifications. It can take a notification from any app and present it to you as a floating icon, similar to Facebook chat heads, but for any application. It even works in fullscreen mode (in Games, Youtube etc) and is fully customizable. Themes for FN can be found both on the Play Store (search "FN Theme") or on XDA http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2283623



3D IMAGE LIVE WALLPAPER PARALLAX EFFECT - play store link
iOS 7 showed a snazzy new Parallax feature Apple showed off on stage. Interestingly enough this has been available on Android since November, and here's a quick look at the awesome app available to all.




ROUNDR - play store link
RoundR is an open source application that rounds the corners of your screen!




STATUSBAR+ - play store link
StatusBar+ is the best custom status bar, battery bar, and popup notification app combined into one application. This means less battery usage and more time to use your phone!








BELOW ARE MY DESIGNS





Jelly Bean | Download Homepack | Setup Instructions





Dark Elegance | Download Homepack | Setup Instructions





Vintage Nexus | Download Homepack | Setup Instructions





Simply Beautiful | Download Homepack | Setup Instructions






iOS7 REMiX V1 | Download Homepack | Setup Instructions






HTC METRO | Download Homepack | Setup Instructions






SIMPLY PRODUCTIVE SLIDE PANEL | Download Homepack | Setup Instructions






INSPIRED | Download Homepack | Setup Instructions
 
Last edited:

JeramyEggs

Senior Member
Jan 4, 2011
1,107
420
0
Charleston Il
Thanks for sharing. This is another example of why I fell in love with android. Just to be helpful, and not picking at all, you could always just go into settings/display, and change your wallpapers there. That saves you from jumping back into touchwiz. Again, thanks for sharing.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2
 

DaemonAshra

Senior Member
Oct 17, 2009
300
81
0
31
Mesa
I did use Buzz Launcher until Action Launcher got updated with quick widgets. I don't think I'll ever be switching launchers again.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using xda premium
 

idiotzach15

Senior Member
Apr 7, 2012
447
83
0
Laurel, MD
I really love the ease of customization on Buzz Launcher. I however left my phone on overnight and it seems to have drained my battery quite a bit. I'll keep using it and see how it goes.
 

Dakota0206

Senior Member
Sep 17, 2011
1,050
770
0
www.okc-tech.com
I really love the ease of customization on Buzz Launcher. I however left my phone on overnight and it seems to have drained my battery quite a bit. I'll keep using it and see how it goes.
I have also had diminished battery life, although I still make it through a day easily. I am also using the phone more playing with the launcher and the setup, so I attribute most of the battery loss to that. But I wondered if the large increase of widgets running would use more system memory which would drain the battery more?

Its not a huge down side for me since I only really care about making it through the day. And it still beats the GNex battery life by a mile :D
 
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idiotzach15

Senior Member
Apr 7, 2012
447
83
0
Laurel, MD
I have also had diminished battery life, although I still make it through a day easily. I am also using the phone more playing with the launcher and the setup, so I attribute most of the battery loss to that. But I wondered if the large increase is the number of widgets running would use more system memory which would drain the battery more?

Its not a huge down side for me since I only really care about making it through the day. And it still beats the GNex battery life by a mile :D
Absolutely true. I used to hardly get through a day without even using wifi or 4G. But I typically use lots of widgets so it might just be downloading and trying 20 different themes
 

Dakota0206

Senior Member
Sep 17, 2011
1,050
770
0
www.okc-tech.com
Absolutely true. I used to hardly get through a day without even using wifi or 4G. But I typically use lots of widgets so it might just be downloading and trying 20 different themes
Ughh, you quoted my bad grammar. I tried to fix it, lol.

Be sure you post any awesome setups you find, and let us know how you set it up, and tweaked it for the Note 2!
 
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Dakota0206

Senior Member
Sep 17, 2011
1,050
770
0
www.okc-tech.com
Still loving this. I wish that the Homescreen Buzz download section had a search feature, though

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using xda app-developers app
I agree.

You can find my home pack by selecting category, make sure functional is selected, then select Power User. It isnt too far down the list.

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk 2
 
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