pro1x Pro¹ X, stock Android does not remember to use alternative launcher

[Jacob_S 128]

To add some information: I have a original Pro1 (no X) with LineageOS 18.1 (didn't have time to update to 19 yet) and I have been using Nova Launcher on it for a long time now. A few days ago I experienced the issue you're describing for the first time. I suspect it could be related to the fact, that I recently I updated a bunch of apps via Playstore, including some Google Apps, that work quite deep in the system, e.g. Device Health Services, Google and Digital Wellbeing.

[steeb 27]

Also, I can pretty consistently get it to happen after using the camera button while the phone is locked.

[Rob. S. 1,634]

2 hours ago, Jacob_S said:

To add some information: I have a original Pro1 (no X) with LineageOS 18.1 (didn't have time to update to 19 yet) and I have been using Nova Launcher on it for a long time now. A few days ago I experienced the issue you're describing for the first time. I suspect it could be related to the fact, that I recently I updated a bunch of apps via Playstore, including some Google Apps, that work quite deep in the system, e.g. Device Health Services, Google and Digital Wellbeing.

Interesting. I still have a Pro1 with LOS 18.1 running Nova, too, and I'll keep an eye on it whether it starts to misbehave as well...

[JoeF 11]

So, I sent a message to Nova support, and this is their answer:

Quote

Please note, the issue you are experiencing is not Nova specific and will happen in all 3rd party launchers, not just Nova. 

 

If you are having issues with Nova staying as your default launcher, try this: Reboot your device. Or you can try Phone Settings -> Apps -> Default Apps -> Home App -> Nova Launcher. The path mentioned above might be slightly different depending on your device and/or your version of Android. You might need to do this numerous times and reboot numerous times for this to fix the issue. 

 

This is a very well known issue on all devices running Android 9, 10, 11 and 12. 

 

You can also check the URL below that will give some explanation about this possibly being linked to Digital Wellbeing that might be installed on your device. If it is, then follow the steps the URL below provides.

 

Detailing issues of repeated prompts for Home Launcher when using 3rd party launchers (github.com)

 

If this doesn't fix your issue, then you need to contact your device OEM directly as the issue is on their end and has nothing to do with Nova or any other 3rd party launcher, as this issue will happen in all 3rd party launchers.

The Digital Wellbeing app can't be uninstalled, but it can be disabled.

Edited August 26, 2022 by JoeF

[EskeRahn 5,399]

17 minutes ago, JoeF said:

So, I sent a message to Nova support, and this is their answer:

The Digital Wellbeing app can't be uninstalled, but it can be disabled.

If you do not think disable is enough you actually can uninstall it - though for the user only, with adb.
Look in this and search for "uninstall", e.g.

ADB shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.google.android.apps.wellbeing

For apps you are NOT allowed to disable from the phone, and if you feel uninstall is a bit drastic you can also disable through ADB:

ADB shell pm disable-user com.google.android.apps.wellbeing
ADB shell am force-stop   com.google.android.apps.wellbeing
ADB shell pm clear        com.google.android.apps.wellbeing

Note the silly detail that an app is NOT stopped by being disabled!!! You need to also do an explicit stop (a bug dating back to android 4 or 5)... Disable is only about starting an app...

[EskeRahn 5,399]

PS it then make sense that I do NOT see the issue, as I (as one of the first items) disabled "digital wellbeing"

[Rob. S. 1,634]

11 hours ago, JoeF said:

So, I sent a message to Nova support, and this is their answer:

[...]

The Digital Wellbeing app can't be uninstalled, but it can be disabled.

Thanks a lot! 

(Just in case someone might wonder, and the method described in https://gist.github.com/bengalih/ee939232fcde3c22516134e10cabbf11 is not precise there, either, it probably isn't enough to disable Digital Wellbeing features, you actually need to disable the app, going through Settings, Apps and notifications, See all apps, Digital wellbeing, Uninstall, Disable. At least I hope I got that right...).