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Expressive Launcher 5.0.1 QA — No Place Like Home

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@denson9874 denson9874 released this 23 Oct 23:38
qa-v5.0.1-63
13a868e

5.0.1 is a "stay Home" release. It fixes two ways Home could crash, and two ways it could quietly lose your setup. Nothing flashy, just a launcher that keeps its footing. If your Home screen got stuck crashing after you renamed a shortcut, this is the update for you.

✨ What's New & Improved

1. 🔁 Renaming a shortcut no longer traps Home in a crash loop

  • The bug: Renaming an Open app action shortcut, the kind you add from Widgets → Expressive Launcher L3 → Actions, saved a name Home couldn't read back. From then on, Home crashed every time it started, until you cleared the app's data.
  • The fix: Home now reads those names correctly, so your renamed shortcut keeps its new name. If a saved name can't be read, Home skips it instead of crashing. On first start, 5.0.1 also repairs names that 5.0.0 saved.
  • Already stuck in the loop? Install 5.0.1 from GitHub or Obtainium; the in-app updater can't help while Home keeps crashing. You don't need to clear data.

2. 💾 Restores keep your layout, and backups keep your latest changes

  • Wallpaper-only restore: Restoring a backup with only Wallpaper selected used to delete your Home layout, custom icons, drawer folders and folder-widget styles along the way. Now it restores just the wallpaper, as it says.
  • Fresher backups: A custom icon, drawer folder or folder-widget style you changed just before making a backup could be missing from it. Backups now include those latest changes too.

3. ♿ Accessibility tools no longer crash Home around widgets

  • If a widget disappeared while its resize handles were open (for example, its app was disabled), the handles stayed on screen. An accessibility service such as TalkBack, an automation app or a password manager could then crash Home just by inspecting them. The handles now close with the widget, and Home ignores resize requests for a widget that's gone.

4. 📱 Widgets open on tablets and unfolded foldables

  • On tablets and unfolded foldables, opening Widgets crashed Home: right away if you have a work profile, or as soon as suggestions loaded if you don't. Both two-pane layouts are fixed, so the picker opens with its Suggestions, Personal and Work tabs.

5. 📣 Announcements link updated

  • Settings → About now opens our announcements channel at its new home, @ExpressiveGroup.

😄 Launcher Humor

🔁 Home got a little attached to the old name of your shortcut. Now it just says "nice to meet you" and moves on.

💾 "Restore wallpaper only" used to mean "restore the wallpaper, and also forget where you put everything". It now means exactly what it says.

💬 Community Notes

  • Still being worked on (see the 5.0.0 release notes for workarounds):
    • Home can stop updating after a dark-mode or font change. Restart Home from ⋮ in Home settings. Fixed in 5.0.2 QA.
    • Swiping up on a cover folder doesn't open it yet; tap still opens the cover app.
    • The headphone battery card in At a Glance doesn't appear yet.
    • Lowering Dock pages or Dock rows, or folding a foldable, can remove dock icons that no longer fit.
    • After a "No room for a widget here." message, Home can later draw every icon and widget in the top-left corner. Your layout is safe: restart Home from ⋮ in Home settings and everything returns to its place. A fix is coming in the next update. Fixed in 5.0.2 QA.
  • Validation: 565 automated tests pass. The fixes were checked on Android 17 (QPR2) emulators: a Pixel phone and a tablet, with and without a work profile. Physical-device reports are very welcome.
  • Developer Support: Expressive Pro is available as a one-time $4.99 activation. Every dollar directly funds our ongoing tooling and infrastructure expenses—including automated CI/CD servers, dedicated Android 17 testing devices/emulators, signing pipelines, and active continuous development—keeping Expressive fast, independent, and completely ad-free.

🧩 Release Riddle

I have two panes but no glass, a list on my left and a gallery on my right. Big screens used to slam me shut the moment you opened me. What am I?

Tap to reveal answer

The widget picker on a tablet! Two panes, zero windows, and as of 5.0.1 it stays open. 🪟📱

🛡️ Verification & Technical Details

  • Launcher Version: 5.0.1 (Build 63), QA channel
  • Source revision: f5db953613ea3de9f1850dcdfa432916b0d78a5d
  • APK SHA-256: a133fbbca5803fd6c1ce471e29c5de2c5222ae18184a7696a6c978f31776e2bb
  • Validation: Jenkins QA build #9 passed 565 unit tests and all 11 smoke flows on the pinned Android 17 QPR2 emulator (CP41.260831.007), including an in-place upgrade from the previous QA build.
  • Package ID: dev.launcher.expressive.l3
  • Release Certificate SHA-256: C1:41:60:30:6D:5C:05:9B:3D:11:9F:15:FB:74:E0:8C:57:CC:27:23:16:E8:0B:36:E1:92:C7:1D:C9:E4:D0:D2

🔗 Links & Downloads:

Derived from Lawnchair and AOSP Launcher3; see the repository's license and upstream notices.

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