TL:DR: Just dust the inside (boards, components, ventilation grates, speakers)

I have an old Sony KDL-70R550A and for the last few years, it would get stuck in these restart loops. Sometimes it would do it once a week, other times its daily and persistent.
I tried alot of the typical fixes online but nothing worked - power rest, factory reset, disabling bravia sync (Turning off Bravia Sync genuinely helped for a bit but eventually the problem came back).

I heard the powerboard might need replacing so i opened it up to find the board number. I ordered a second hand board, DPS-248BP, from AliExpress. It was going to take a couple of weeks to arrive, so I dusted the boards, components, ventilation grates and speakers with a soft bristle brush, and closed it back up. To my amazement the TV worked flawlessly after the clean. I would leave it on for 8hrs a day for a few days, and it didn't reboot once. Even with Bravia Sync enabled, it was working like brand new. I guess I wont need the new board, but it's good to have as back up.

I know it's an old TV, but hopefully someone with a similar model might find it useful.

Quick note: this is a Settings app update (com.android.settings), not a firmware/OTA update. You're updating one app; your OS, data, and other apps are untouched. The E-Ink Center lives inside this app, which is why updating it fixes the crash.

What it fixes: on v2.7.13 (vc 20713), setting an app to Regal or HD256 crashes the E-Ink Center and makes it impossible to reopen for that app. v2.7.14 (vc 20714) fixes it. May also help with other flaky Settings screens and a hotspot issue.

Steps

You'll need ADB and USB debugging on (Settings → About → tap build number 7×, then enable USB debugging in Developer options).

1. Download the APK (Bigme's own CDN — this is the b651 build; don't force it onto other models):

https://bdbos.bigme.vip/xrzapp/b651/%5Bb651%5D\_Settings\_v2.7.14\_release\_2026-07-22.apk

(%5B / %5D are just the encoded square brackets in the filename.)

2. (Optional) Check your current version:

adb shell dumpsys package com.android.settings | grep versionCode

Windows: use findstr /I versionCode instead of grep versionCode. You'll see two lines — the higher is your installed version, the lower is the factory build. 20713 = the buggy build.

3. Install:

adb install -r \[b651]\_Settings\_v2.7.14\_release\_2026-07-22.apk

-r upgrades in place and keeps data. It's platform-signed with the same cert as the existing Settings, so it's a normal in-place upgrade — no downgrade errors, nothing to uninstall.

If adb install complains, use the streamed variant:

adb push \[b651]\_Settings\_v2.7.14\_release\_2026-07-22.apk /data/local/tmp/
adb shell pm install -r /data/local/tmp/\[b651]\_Settings\_v2.7.14\_release\_2026-07-22.apk

4. Verify — installed version should now read 20714:

adb shell dumpsys package com.android.settings | findstr /I versionCode

5. Test: open the E-Ink Center on whatever app was stuck on Regal/HD256 — it should open without crashing, and you can change the mode again.

---

Note: rolling back the Settings app is blocked for normal users (system app, downgrade refused) — but since 20714 is strictly a fix over 20713, there's no reason to.

I've been using KOReader on a Bigme HiBreak Pro (an e-ink Android phone), where KOReader has no control over the system lock screen — but the device's screensaver app can be pointed at a single image file on disk. The built-in coverimage plugin already exploits that to show the current book's cover.

What it doesn't do is show how far through the book you are, and it only rewrites the file when you open a book.

So I forked it. coverprogress composites a progress overlay onto the cover and refreshes as you read.

➡️ GitHub: https://github.com/joemk88/koreader-coverprogress

BigMe Screensaver displaying currently reading book with Progress Bar

Who this is actually for

Worth being precise, because KOReader already has a Screensaver feature and this is not a replacement for it.

Android devices (Bigme, Onyx, Tolino and similar) — KOReader is just an app here and can't touch the system lock screen. A file on disk plus the vendor's screensaver app is the only route, which is what coverimage exists for. This adds progress to it.

Kobo and other devices where KOReader owns the sleep screen — the built-in Screensaver can already show a cover, and separately can show reading-progress screens. What it doesn't offer is a cover with a progress bar composited onto it. This plugin generates that image, and you point Sleep Screen → Wallpaper → Show custom image at the result.

If you're happy with the stock sleep screen, you don't need this.

What it adds over coverimage

• Progress bar and percentage drawn onto the cover
• Rewrites on page turns (debounced), not just on book open
• Four layouts, because a bar that looks right on a 0.50-aspect phone screen sits on the artwork on a 0.75-aspect tablet
• Light/dark background chosen per book by analysing the cover
• A Kobo-style info card option — percentage read plus estimated time remaining, no bar
• No disk cache, atomic writes, output verified before it's published

Install is the usual: drop coverprogress.koplugin into your plugins/ directory. Disable the built-in coverimage first — both write to the same default path and will race, which can leave you with a truncated JPEG that renders with a grey band across the bottom. Ask me how I know.

Settings live in Screen → Cover screensaver (with progress), and are document-only, so open a book first.

Default output is /storage/emulated/0/cover.jpg on Android and <settings dir>/cover.jpg elsewhere.

Layout modes

The right choice depends on your screen's aspect ratio relative to a 2:3 cover:

• Bar in the margin (default) — cover centred at full size, bar in the letterbox below it. For tall screens where a portrait cover is width-limited and can't reach the bottom edge.
• Bar below cover — reserves the band before scaling, so the cover is shrunk and raised. Necessary on tablets and most Kobos, where the cover is height-limited and runs to the bottom.
• Bar over cover — full-bleed with a compact overlay.
• Kobo style box — bordered card, no bar.

Two bits that might interest people

Choosing the background colour. Auto mode counts what fraction of the cover's pixels fall below a luminance threshold rather than taking a mean. Mean brightness turns out to be useless here — a lot of covers are pale stock with heavy black artwork, and the average lands mid-grey for things that are obviously light or dark to the eye. Across five test covers, mean luminance classified all five the same way; the dark-fraction test separated them correctly. The threshold matters too: one cover's accent colour measured luminance 116, so a 128 cut-off counted every block of it as "dark" and flipped a plainly light cover to black. The plugin uses 110, and the README explains why you shouldn't push it past about 130 (pale cover stock clusters around 140).

Placing the overlay bar. For the full-bleed mode it searches upward from the bottom for a strip with low standard deviation of luminance. Deviation rather than brightness, because it detects lettering and detail regardless of shade — which means the bar avoids the title and author block instead of striking through it. On test covers this moved the bar 68–306px up and dropped the local deviation from 70.5 to 2.1 in the worst case.

Time remaining

The info card's estimate comes from the statistics plugin. Note for anyone doing something similar: there's no getAvgTimePerPage() accessor — the value lives on the plain field avg_time on the ReaderStatistics instance, and needs the NaN guard (avg == avg) the plugin itself uses, since it can be NaN on a book with no page stats yet. I worked this out by reading how SimpleUI does it, which goes further and queries statistics.sqlite3 directly because it needs figures for books that aren't open.

Notes

• Renders are debounced 5s after the last page turn, plus forced on open, flush, suspend and close
• Errors are contained and logged rather than propagating — a screensaver plugin shouldn't be able to break the reader
• Runs on Android, Kobo and the emulator; nothing in it is device-specific, so it should work anywhere with a file-based screensaver. PocketBook may need BMP output, which is supported via the file extension
• MIT, derived from coverimage

Feedback welcome, particularly from anyone on a screen shape I haven't tested — I've only had a phone and a Kobo to work with, and everything wider than that was verified by faking the resolution.

[Release] coverprogress — KOReader plugin that puts your current book (with reading progress) on the Bigme screensaver

Yesterday I posted a guide on pointing the Bigme ScreenSaver app at KOReader's cover image file, so your lock screen always shows whatever you're reading. I thought it would be cool if it would show a progress bar as well.

So I wrote a KOreader plugin that embeds a progress bar to the cover. Lock screen now shows the cover plus a live progress bar and percentage, updating as you read.

Built and tested on my HiBreak Pro BW, but it works on any Bigme Android device — and on Kobo too, as it turns out.

➡️GitHub: https://github.com/joemk88/koreader-coverprogress

https://preview.redd.it/yvyohi5kd6fh1.jpg?width=843&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1b865ed680a9e874aebc06b62a85081099b9e9fa

---

What it does

It's a fork of KOReader's built-in coverimage plugin, which already writes the current book's cover to a file. This version adds:

• A progress bar and percentage composited onto the cover
• Live updates as you read, not just on book open
• Four layouts so it looks right on phones and tablets
• Automatic light/dark background chosen per book from the cover art
• A Kobo-style info box option, if you prefer that look

---

Install

1. Grab the ZIP from the GitHub link (Code → Download ZIP) and extract it
2. Copy the coverprogress.koplugin folder to /storage/emulated/0/koreader/plugins/
3. Important: go to Tools → More tools → Plugin management and untick coverimage. The built-in one writes to the same file and the two will fight over it
4. Restart KOReader

Then open a book — the settings are document-only and won't show up from the file browser — and go to:

Menu (gear icon) → Screen → Cover screensaver (with progress) → Enabled

That writes /storage/emulated/0/cover.jpg straight away.

---

Point the screensaver at it

Same as the old guide:

1. Open the BigMe ScreenSaver app
2. Picture mode
3. Select image → Single Image mode
4. Add image → Camera Roll (tab at the top)
5. Pick the album called "unknown" — that's cover.jpg sitting in storage root, so it shows up unnamed
6. Select it

Lock the phone to check. Open a different book, lock again, and it should follow.

---

Pick the right layout

This is the one setting worth thinking about, and it depends on your device's screen shape.

Progress bar in the margin (default) — cover stays centred at full size, bar sits in the empty band underneath. On the HiBreak's very tall screen a portrait cover is limited by width and physically can't reach the bottom, so there's always a margin to put the bar in. Nothing ever covers the artwork. This is the one for phones.

Progress bar below cover — shrinks and lifts the cover slightly to make room. Use this on B6/B7 and other tablets. Those screens are wide enough that a cover runs right to the bottom edge, so the default would put the bar across the artwork.

Progress bar overlays cover — full-bleed cover with a small bar on top. It scans for a strip with no lettering so it doesn't end up striking through the author's name, and picks black or white based on what's underneath.

Kobo style box — a small bordered card with "43% read · 2 hours to go" instead of a bar. Needs the statistics plugin enabled, and it takes a bit of reading before the time estimate means anything.

---

Background colour

White, black, or Auto (the default), which decides per book by measuring how dark the cover is.

The menu shows what it measured, e.g. "Auto background (now: white, cover 25% dark)", and there's a sensitivity slider underneath. If a cover comes out wrong, read its percentage and set the threshold either side of it.

Worth mentioning why it counts dark pixels rather than averaging brightness: a lot of covers are pale stock with heavy black artwork, and the average of those lands in the middle and calls everything mid-grey. Counting how much is actually dark separates them properly.

---

Also works on Kobo

Not really this sub's concern, but if anyone has one lying around: drop the folder in /mnt/onboard/.adds/koreader/plugins/, then Sleep Screen → Wallpaper → Show custom image and point it at /mnt/onboard/.adds/koreader/cover.jpg. Turn off the sleep screen message too, or KOReader prints its own text over the top.

I used mine to test the tablet layouts, since Kobo screens are roughly the same shape as a B7.

---

Notes

• It doesn't rewrite on every single page turn — there's a 5 second quiet period after you stop turning pages, adjustable in the menu
• Output path, update delay and all the layout tuning are in the menu or as constants at the top of main.lua
• Full docs, tunables and troubleshooting are in the README on GitHub

If you try it on a B6, B7 or anything that isn't a HiBreak, I'd be interested to hear how the layouts land — I've only been able to test tablet dimensions by faking the resolution, so real-device feedback is welcome. Issues and PRs open on GitHub.

https://preview.redd.it/t6cuivb0soeh1.png?width=824&format=png&auto=webp&s=c539bf0bdae23abbdbd02c60dd24428172843feb

I've been on 3.1.6 for a while on my HiBreak Pro BW and i got this new update that's untitled - it just says Settings: Fixed Known Issues. It was very quick and didn't reboot the phone after.

The system image is untouched: ro.build.date is still Fri Mar 6 2026 and the incremental is unchanged. So this was definitely not a firmware flash so 3.1.6 is still 3.1.6 at the image level.

The only thing i noticed it change is com.android.settings to versionName=2.7.13

So it seems this was a minor patch to the Settings app - anyone noticed anything different?

I used Claude AI to run a diff of the two versions (2.5.13 → 2.7.13):

• Scrolling Screenshot — new Full Screenshot and Scrolling/Long Screenshot options.
• App launch/disable — Wasn't able to find this feature in settings but could launch it using adb command adb shell am start -n "com.android.settings/.Settings\$XRZAppDisableActivity"
• E-ink page-turn animations — transition effects for page turns (left-to-right, top-to-bottom, diagonals, etc.), aimed at Magazine/Comic modes to cut ghosting. Extra animation support for XReader Pro.
• E-ink Centre config upload/download — upload your display config and pull "recommended" ones (requires login).
• App-picker in button/action config — you can now choose a specific app to launch when configuring button actions.
• Control Center — a new Control Center entry appears. (not sure which one?)
• Gesture accessibility service — a new accessibility service was added. (not sure which one?)
• Power Manage screen restructured.
• App Lock — a complete lock-apps-behind-fingerprint/PIN feature, with lock-after-exit and lock-after-screen-off modes (this is why the update quietly added the USE_FINGERPRINT permission). The backing service is present and enabled, but the UI screens are exported="false" — so unlike App-disable, you can't open them from ADB (only an internal, headless auth-gateway is exported, and it opens blank). No menu entry, no search result, survives a reboot with still no way in. On the BW it's effectively staged: built, but not surfaced and not reachable without root or a future menu entry. (If anyone finds it on a colour model, let me know)
• WiFi hotspot 5GHz band label fixed ("5.0 GHz Band preferred" → "5 GHz Band"; a broken wifi_ap_prefer_5G string was corrected and a proper wifi_ap_choose_5G added)
• Hotspot speed option now shown.
• Cert info screen switched to dynamic model/FCC/CMIIT placeholders (was hardcoded to HiBreak Pro).
• Menu label fix ("recent task change" → "recent task manage").

As most of you know, the Hibreak Pro (BigMe OS 3.1.6.) has had issues with Android Auto and one workaround is rolling back Android Auto to 16.5.6612 and Google app to 17.10.61.
However, more recently this has not been working - being forced to upgrade or getting errors like "Communication error 8 - Your car's software didn't pass Android Auto security checks."

So I decided to update to the latest version of Android Auto (17.1.662414) and Google app (17.38.11) and try some adb debugging to understand the issue.
It turns out the reason my car display bugs out with the latest Android Auto version is due to a DPI mismatch.
So i changed the DPI to 160 and it's working! If 160 doesn't work try 240, then 320.

Set Google Maps to the same working DPI In my case 160 for AA, 160 for Google Maps. WORKS PERFECTLY.

Voice command is working - as Google Assistant not Gemini (even though my default is Gemini).

Please let me know if that fixes it for you also!

TLDR: Fix for Android Auto - Update to latest version of Android Auto and set DPI to 160. Let me know if it works for you too please

UPDATE------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's an update block. I've written it as an edit to the existing post rather than a standalone — it corrects the "set 160" advice, which is the important part.

EDIT / UPDATE — the fix isn't "set DPI to 160". Here's the actual rule.

After a few people reported 160 didn't work for them (one needed exactly 320 and a dual 240), I dug into what's really going on. It has nothing to do with your screen size or the head unit's resolution.

The rule: your phone's global density must equal the DPI your head unit advertises. That's it. Any value works as long as both sides agree — they just have to match.

How I confirmed it. The Desktop Head Unit's config files (/usr/lib/android-sdk/extras/google/auto/config/) expose resolution and DPI as independent fields:

default.ini        → resolution = 800x480    dpi = 160
default_720p.ini   → resolution = 1280x720   dpi = 160
default_1080p.ini  → resolution = 1920x1080  dpi = 160

Note every resolution advertises 160. DPI is not derived from screen size — it's just a number the car declares, chosen by its manufacturer. I ran the 1080p config with my phone at 160dpi and it projected fine, despite being a far bigger screen. So resolution is irrelevant. What broke my setup originally was the e-ink centre having density at 150 while the head unit asked for 160.

Why the crash happens. Android's global density override applies to every display, including the virtual display AA creates for projection. So it overrides the density Gearhead set from the car's config, the projection UI inflates against a config it can't resolve, and the process dies:

E/GH.DisplayLayout: Virtual display does not have the correct DPI (expected: 160, got 150)
E/AndroidRuntime: FATAL EXCEPTION: main
  Process: com.google.android.projection.gearhead:projection
  java.lang.IllegalStateException: ViewTreeLifecycleOwner not found

The transport then collapses ~200ms later, which is what surfaces as "Failed to read from transport – disconnect" on the DHU, or a communication error in the car. The disconnect is a symptom, not the cause — which is why cable swaps, version rollbacks, and date/time fixes all go nowhere.

How to find YOUR number. Don't guess. Gearhead logs it, and it prints before the crash, so this works even when AA is completely broken:

adb logcat -c
adb logcat -v time > aa.txt

Connect (in your actual car, not the DHU — see below), let it fail, Ctrl+C, then search aa.txt for:

I/GH.DisplayLayout: displayDimensions Point(W, H), dpi X
E/GH.DisplayLayout: Virtual display does not have the correct DPI (expected: X, got Y)

X is your number. Set the e-ink centre DPI to it (or adb shell wm density X) and reconnect.

Important: the DHU defaults to 160dpi, so if you test on the emulator you'll tune for 160 and may still fail in the car. Capture the log from the real head unit.

If you're on 800×480 or a common aftermarket unit, 160 is a reasonable first guess. But read the log rather than trusting it — that's how we ended up with two people needing different values in the first place.

Two notes on tuning it. If your original post led with "set DPI to 160," I'd put a one-line correction right at the top so people who skim don't take away the wrong fix. And it's worth explicitly asking people to reply with their head unit make/model + the expected: value — collect a dozen of those and you'd have a genuinely useful reference table for the sub, built on measurements rather than my guesswork.

The BigMe Hibreak has had compatibility issues with the new versions of Android Auto for the last few months. One workaround has been to rollback to an earlier versions of Android Auto (Android Auto 16.4.661014-release ). For more information on that process: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bigme/comments/1ti7o21/the_ultimate_hibreak_configuration_optimisation/
That workaround has worked well for a while.

However, as of today, Android Auto is forcing an update when connecting - it won't let AA run unless you press the Update button which shows up as a pop-up on the phone.

We really need BigMe to finally provide us a fix to make HiBreak phones compatible with the new versions of Android Auto. u/Decent-Tough-4273

Pinned guide — covers all BigMe HiBreak variants (HiBreak, HiBreak S, HiBreak Pro, HiBreak Plus). Replaces my earlier v2.9.6 tips post.

This is a living document. Drop your own tweaks in the comments and I'll fold the good ones in.

Sections are ordered: Essential Fixes → Optimisations → Aesthetic Preferences. Skim the headers, jump to what you need.

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🔧 PART 1 — ESSENTIAL FIXES

These are the settings/workarounds that materially affect whether the phone functions as a daily driver. Do these first. Also worth considering a different launcher when first setting phone up, especially if running into issues with notification dots not clearing: See 11. Launcher Recommendations.

---

1. Battery & Background App Refresh

By default, BigMe OS aggressively kills background apps to save battery. This is great for standby time, terrible for getting phone calls, SMS and WhatsApp pings. It also cause music apps to turn off in the background whilst listening.

For every app where you care about real-time notifications or background behaviour, set both of the following:

• Settings → Apps → [app] → App battery usage → Unrestricted
• Settings → Background App Refresh → [app]

Apps that should be set to Unrestricted + Background allowed (minimum recommended list):

• Phone (Google Phone — see Fix #5)
• Messages / your SMS app
• Google Play services
• Google Play Store
• WhatsApp / Signal / Telegram / Messenger — anything you get DMs on
• Gmail / Outlook / your mail client
• Spotify / YouTube Music / Poweramp / whatever you stream with
• Calendar
• Clock
• Android Auto (if you use it)
• Authenticator apps (Google / Microsoft / Authy)

If a notification ever feels "late," the app is probably still restricted. Check there first.

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2. Android Auto is broken - but there is a work-around

Since the latest updates from Google, Android Auto on the HiBreak will constantly reboot when connected, in-car voice commands won't work, and Google Maps loads as a black screen inside AA. The fix is a combination of app rollbacks and switching your default navigation app.

2a. Roll back Android Auto, Google App, and Google Maps

1. Open the Play Store → find each of Google App, Google Maps, and Android Auto → tap the three-dot menu → Uninstall updates.
2. Install APKMirror Installer from the Play Store (this is the helper app that lets you sideload split APKs).
3. Go to apkmirror.com on the phone's browser and download these specific versions:
   • Android Auto 16.4.661014-release (arm64-v8a, 120–640dpi, Android 12L+) — fixes the reboot loop
   • Google App 17.10.61.ve (arm64-v8a + arm-v7a, 480dpi, Android 12L+) — fixes in-car voice commands / Gemini
   • Google Maps 26.09.03.873668274 (120–640dpi, Android 12L+) — fixes the black screen, but see 2b below
4. Open each downloaded .apkm file with APKMirror Installer to install.
5. Disable auto-update for all three: Play Store → tap the app → three-dot menu → uncheck Enable auto-update.

If you skip step 5, the Play Store will silently re-update them and you'll have to do this again.

2b. Use other navigation apps instead of Google Maps

Even with the rollback, Google Maps on Android Auto remains buggy on the HiBreak — the on-screen buttons don't respond well, which makes it borderline unusable while driving.

Waze is the better choice on this phone. Fewer bugs, buttons actually respond, and it works correctly with AA on 3.1.6. Install it from the Play Store and set it as your default navigation app in AA settings.

If you do not like Waze there are other alternatives such as HERE WeGO and Sygic GPS

(You can keep Google Maps installed for general use — just don't rely on it for in-car navigation. See Fix #4 for the DPI workaround that lets you keep both apps tuned for different purposes.)

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3. Android Auto colour glitch on screen lock — E-ink screensaver fix

Symptom: connect to AA, screen locks or dims, and the AA display comes back with incorrect pinkish colours.

Fix: Open Screen Saver App → E-ink Centre → set to Custom:

• Antishake: ON
• AutoClean: ON
• Refresh Mode: HD256

There's also a separate unresolved AA graphical glitch some users hit even with the above applied. If you've found a fix, please comment on this thread — would also love BigMe to put it on their radar.

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4. E-ink Centre DPI adjustments for Android Auto + navigation apps

By default, the Android Auto UI and Google Maps render with text/buttons that are either too large to fit cleanly on the head unit or too small to be legible. The fix is to set per-app DPI overrides in the E-ink Centre.

Important caveat: each app's DPI setting applies to both the phone screen and the car display — they're not independent. So when you tune for AA, the phone view of that app changes too. You have to pick a balance between what looks good on the phone (e-ink) and what works on the car display.

Recommended DPI values:

• Android Auto: 150–200
  • Open Android Auto settings on the phone → E-ink Centre → set DPI to 150–200.
• Navigation App (if used inside AA): ~190
  • Open Maps on the phone → E-ink Centre → set DPI to ~190.

The "two apps, two purposes" workaround

Rather than constantly re-tuning DPI when you switch between driving and walking, split the work across two apps:

• Waze → optimised DPI for Android Auto / driving
• Google Maps → optimised DPI for walking / public transport on the phone

This way each app sits at the DPI that suits its primary use, and you don't have to fiddle with sliders every time you get in or out of the car.

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5. Default Phone app keeps resetting to BigMe Phone after reboot

After every reboot, the system reverts the default dialler to the built-in BigMe Phone app (the light icon) instead of Google Phone (the dark icon). Both are literally called "Phone," so the icon shade is your only visual cue.

Fix after each reboot: Settings → Default Apps → Phone App → select Phone (dark icon).

It's annoying. Until BigMe fixes the persistence bug, this is a manual step every reboot. Add it to your reboot checklist.

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6. Bluetooth audio not coming through — A2DP offload fix

Symptom: BT headphones / car stereo connect fine but no audio plays.

Fix:

1. Settings → About Phone → tap Build Number 7 times to enable Developer Options.
2. Settings → System → Developer Options.
3. Scroll to Disable Bluetooth A2DP Hardware Offload → toggle ON.
4. Reboot.

This is a known Qualcomm/Android quirk and the offload toggle resolves it on the HiBreak.

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⚙️ PART 2 — OPTIMISATIONS

Quality-of-life stuff. Not strictly required, but the phone is meaningfully better with these in place.

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7. Debloat the phone

There's a lot of preinstalled software you'll never touch. Follow the excellent existing debloat walkthrough rather than me duplicating it here:

➡️ Debloating the HiBreak Pro and setting up (guide)

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8. Volume buttons as page-scroll buttons (article reader setup)

Massively underrated for an e-ink device. Page-turn with the hardware volume rocker in reader apps:

➡️ My Favourite Article Reader Mode Setup (Google Reading Mode + Volume Button Page Turning)

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9. Per-app accessibility tweaks

For e-ink, less motion = less ghosting, and higher contrast = better legibility. Worth checking these in every app you use heavily:

• Reduce animations — in-app setting if available (most Google apps, many third-party apps have one).
• Low vision / high contrast mode — better contrast on e-ink.
• Simple mode — some apps offer a stripped-down UI (Uber's Simple Mode is a great example; far more usable on e-ink than the default).

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10. Better default apps

• Camera: Camera for Android — much better controls and image processing than stock.
• Weather: Weawow — clean, highly configurable, e-ink-friendly widgets.
• Note Taking: inkit — for low-latency note taking with palm rejection (Stylus models only: HiBreak Plus)

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🎨 PART 3 — AESTHETIC PREFERENCES (personal taste — share yours!)

This is where it gets subjective. Below is my preferred setup, plus the launchers I'd recommend depending on what you're after. Drop your own combos in the comments and I'll add them up here as they roll in.

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11. Launcher recommendations

The default BigMe launcher has two persistent issues: notification dots don't always clear on some apps, and clock/date format options are limited. Switching launchers fixes both.

• Want a grid-style launcher similar to the BigMe default? → Nova Launcher
• Want something minimal / list-based? → Niagara Launcher or inkOS or AIO Launcher

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12. My personal setup

• Launcher: Nova Launcher
  • Set transition animation to Revolving Door for home screen icons — much less ghosting than the default slide transition.
  • Set the Desktop search bar to Monochrome in Nova settings.
• Icon pack: Monoic SQ Black — clean monochrome square icons that suit e-ink.
  • Missing an icon for an app? Ask ChatGPT to generate one in the same style, drop it into a custom icon folder, and assign it via Nova.
• Clock widget: Magic Clock Widget, font set to Droid Sans Mono.

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💬 Community input wanted

If you've found:

• A fix for the AA graphical glitch on screen lock that isn't the screensaver workaround above
• Better APK versions for the Google/AA rollback
• A working default-Phone-app persistence fix
• Your own launcher / icon pack / widget setup

…drop it below and I'll pull it into the main post with credit.

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Last updated: BigMe OS 3.1.6. Will revise as new firmware drops.

https://preview.redd.it/hj9ci9ztaf0h1.png?width=348&format=png&auto=webp&s=f51e0b4a0cfdb4b59fd0511d09810f4a4aab9016

If you're using Brave on KDE Plasma 6 with Wayland and a custom GTK theme (like WhiteSur), you've probably noticed that enabling "Use GTK" in Brave's appearance settings results in grotesquely oversized window buttons.

The fix:

Launch Brave with --gtk-version=4 instead of relying on the GTK appearance setting. This gives you smaller, properly styled buttons (but very close to each other).

Then add this to ~/.config/gtk-4.0/gtk.css to fix button spacing:

css

headerbar button {
  margin: 0 2px;
  min-height: 16px;
  min-width: 16px;
  padding: 2px;
}

Adjust the margin value to taste.

Also, if web page content ignores your system dark mode, add --force-dark-mode to your launch flags. GTK mode doesn't reliably pass the dark preference to web content on Wayland.