Database Users

Install your own apps via xRecovery - Collection of xRecovery files

Hi Guys!
Now that finally the devs arrived with some amazing ROMs, I change these ROMs a lot every day. But I experienced some problems because I often do that at work where I don't have adb shell available. So I created an xRecovery zip-file to install Android Terminal Emulator before booting into the ROM the first time.
That gave me the idea to offer you some zip-files with useful (free) applications you perhaps want to have pre-installed on any ROM before booting it.
I also attached two blank zip-files where you can easily add your own apps, perhaps a preferred keyboard in your language or whatever you want to push onto your phone via xRecovery.
If somebody's interested we could turn this into some kind of collection for universally usable xRecovery files.
How to use the blank zip-files:
To use this method, you need to have the app available as an apk-file, of course.
If you have the app already installed on the ROM you're looking to replace, you can just use a root file manager like Root Explorer to copy and paste the apk file from \data\app\ to your SD card.
If you cannot get the apk file, you can request it here or send me a PM and I'll try to prepare the zip-file for you. Don't ask me to do this with paid apps! This whole method is meant to be used with free apps and I will not add or support warez in any form!
Okay, now let's start. As you can see, I attached two blank zip-files: blank_data-app.zip and blank_system-app.zip. Why two of them?
There are basically two locations where you'll want to install your own apk's:
\data\app\ --> contains all non-system-relevant user apps and should be your choice in most cases. If you install here, you can easily uninstall the apps later if you don't need them anymore.
\system\app\ --> contains system-relevant and pre-installed apps such as vending.apk / phonebook.apk / Email.apk / Gmail.apk / Calender.apk / etc.
Only install here if you want to replace one of these apps with a themed one or if you want to force-update market for example! It's not possible to uninstall anything you installed here the usual way! You'll have to use Titanium Backup or another third-party app.
Only overwrite existing apps in this folder if you know what you're doing!
So, just choose where you want to install your app, open (NOT extract!) the corresponding file with a zip-file manager of your choice (I'd recommend 7Zip or WinRAR) and drag the apk-file you want to install into data\app\ (for blank_data-app.zip) or system\app\ (for blank_system-app.zip. pretty obvious, huh? ). Confirm to copy the file there and close the zip file.
That's it. Now you just have to give your zip-file an appropriate name and push it onto your SD card to install it via xRecovery-->install custom zip-->choose custom zip from sdcard.
__________________________________________________
Some comments on the zip-files attached:
- Android_Terminal_Emulator.zip:
This is useful if you installed a new ROM and experience problems like flashing homescreen or no GSM/data connection. In that case, open ATE and type the following:
su (confirm SuperUser rights)
busybox killall servicemanager
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This will restart the phone and hopefully solve your problems. (I know this mini guide seems not to fit here, but perhaps someone reads it before spamming the dev thread with questions that were answered a thousand times )
- JIT_Enabler_v2-zdz.zip:
all KUDOS go to zdzihu. Make sure you visit his thread to always get the latest version of JIT Enabler.
Note that you only need this file on 2.1 ROMs where JIT Enabler isn't pre-enabled! On 2.2+ ROMs JIT is always included.
- New Market V2.2.11.zip:
Make sure to sign into your google account and open market once (accept licence agreement) before you update to the new market. Many people experience problems if they don't do this!
- TitaniumBackup-3.6.7.1.zip:
You can also create this file yourself. If you open TB and tap on Settings-->more... there's an option to create an update.zip
- XDA_app.zip:
Useful for any kind of problems of course
__________________________________________________
So, not much of a collection at the moment, but perhaps there's interest for something like that. If you know something that will come handy to have it preinstalled, just tell me!
Cheers
qwer23

very nice idea, but i was wondering if there is a guide to how to make .zip files for xrecovery
"instead of giving me a fish to eat for a day, teach me how to fish!"
Sent from my X10 using Tapatalk

mezo9090 said:
very nice idea, but i was wondering if there is a guide to how to make .zip files for xrecovery
"instead of giving me a fish to eat for a day, teach me how to fish!"
Sent from my X10 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i like that point of view! well i only found one for creating a whole update. zip for a rom with android kitchen I can explain some of the basics inside this zip file this evening after work. a zip just for installing apps is created quite easily. it gets more complicated if you have to set permissions and things like that.
Sent from my rooted X10i using XDA App

good idea!
thanks

Great! thanks a lot for this useful guide, I will use it.
Just one question in the same line like mezo, If I already have a rom zip file and I want to add to this rom the apps, would it be possible? and Could you explain us? or its just copy the files inside the \data\app\ folder?
Thanks again for your help.

Great idea, thanks!
Sent from my Freex10 2.2.1 Darkstyle

770G said:
Great! thanks a lot for this useful guide, I will use it.
Just one question in the same line like mezo, If I already have a rom zip file and I want to add to this rom the apps, would it be possible? and Could you explain us? or its just copy the files inside the \data\app\ folder?
Thanks again for your help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As long as the apps aren't system-relevan, it's as easy as that, yes
For all of you willing to learn more: I'm quite a noob, too, but I'll try to make a tutorial on how to create recovery zip-files as soon as I can.
Won't be today though, because I'll go out to party into my birthday this evening
So long,
qwer23

mezo9090 said:
very nice idea, but i was wondering if there is a guide to how to make .zip files for xrecovery
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can use the Android Kitchen to create custom zip files, I use the Cygwin method as it makes file management a little easier imo.

Great idea man, a lot of thanks!

1 zip - several apps
Is it possible to create one zip to install several apk's?
Maybe I have a few "stock" apps, the ones that I always need, and want to install all in a single step.
Can this be done or I have to install one by one even using xRecovery?
Thanks!
Great tuto and thank you for sharing

jpdediego said:
Is it possible to create one zip to install several apk's?
Maybe I have a few "stock" apps, the ones that I always need, and want to install all in a single step.
Can this be done or I have to install one by one even using xRecovery?
Thanks!
Great tuto and thank you for sharing
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can throw as many apps as you want into the zip file. everything inside the data\app folder will be installed
Sent from my rooted X10i using XDA App

Hello all. Ihave a problem with xRecovery 0.2 (the last release) when I reboot my phone holding the back button a few moments after the SE Logo appears, it doesn't work. I've installed it with the xRecovery installer and with the FlashTool with BusyBox 1.17 installed. I'm on a X10 2.1 Generic . Thaks

Gugoo said:
Hello all. Ihave a problem with xRecovery 0.2 (the last release) when I reboot my phone holding the back button a few moments after the SE Logo appears, it doesn't work. I've installed it with the xRecovery installer and with the FlashTool with BusyBox 1.17 installed. I'm on a X10 2.1 Generic . Thaks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Firstly, the xRecovery depends upon its version of busybox. In the version I use it is 1. 15. 3
So re-install xRecovery(just in case).
Secondly, u don't hv to keep the back key pressed but tap it a few times repeatedly during the screen with "Sony Ericsson" logo.
Hope this helps.
Regards
kLouD™
Sent from my X10i on zdzihu's 2.2.1(beta3) using XDA App

thanks for the info!

kloud_ said:
Secondly, u don't hv to keep the back key pressed but tap it a few times repeatedly during the screen with "Sony Ericsson" logo.
Hope this helps.
Regards
kLouD™
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thx but that doesn't working =(

it works ! thx

bro i need your help... im using froyo custom rom on my x10.. now i need to install backup & restore apps but it said apps cannot installed. so how to install it using xrecovery... i have the apk as well.. but i think the apk is for Eclair.

Sof_600 said:
bro i need your help... im using froyo custom rom on my x10.. now i need to install backup & restore apps but it said apps cannot installed. so how to install it using xrecovery... i have the apk as well.. but i think the apk is for Eclair.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry, backup and restore only works with stock se rom and mods based on it (like kx10 or blue sparks,...). it's impossible to install on any 2.2/2. 3 or 2.1 AOSP rom.
Sent from my rooted X10i using XDA App

in deed ..you only have to press twice.. (press one..wait one sec then press again and release...and wait for the terminal to popup) voilà!
--------
hey im having a problem.
I know that you will say "this belong to another thread" but since this way i can trick the thing and install again the system apps like the Package administrator etc, i need to know what to do in mi case with this method:
mi BETA3 was working smooth!
iv been using the BETA3 a long time but some days ago, suddently i couldn't install apps anymore (thouse that are in mi SD or frome the market...not even Applanet...nothing)
The screen shows the "barber shop black and white" bar rolling and rolling and never stop.
Mi USB detection is not working, that means that mi PC is recognazing the phone (it sound like a UYSB is been conected) but never apear the folder of the SD. nto even options of debugging usb etc in the notification bar of the device.
and when i get in Settings> runing aplications, all aplication are in "calculating..." mode. so they say 00 mb. and never stop triying to get the numbers. its so odd.
the other aplication (that came installed with the BETA) works fine.
I have tryed, erasing the firmwares and isntalling them from the beginning and everything worked fine with old firms like 2.0 and 2.1 update1. too!
then i do the root (first z4root, then busybox, then xRecovery) and make xrecovery work. install the beta 3, and again i can't do anything.
i triyed installing the BETA4 but never stop rebooting so i just yield and stick with BETA3.
any idea..plzzz!!! i really don't whon't to use Eclair...it's just so ugly!!

it's not working on mi xRecovery. i put the apps insinde app folder of thwe .zip and put it in a random folder of mi SD, then do >the Recovery > install custom.zip>Choose from SD card>confirm install the selected "blank_data-app.zip".
and it say:
Finding update package.....
opening update package.....
E i asume E means Error!) can't open blablabla/blblabla folder/blank_data-app.zip (bad)
installation Abnorted.
i asume iv done something wrong...!?!?
PS: BTW can somebody sen me the original .apk of FROYO bwecasue i can't find them , to use the system-apps.zip
thanxxx!!!

Having Troubles With XRECOVERY

I'm having huge troubles installing Xrecovery to my x8 rooted 2.1 i have busybox and also have root explorer i have done everything correct ive even done manual install and automatic but neither work i really need someone to help me because xrecovery just won't work for me.

The "official" post is here(don't mind the x10 title). I will explane it to you myself.
Instructions:
1. Download the recovery file (from here)
2. Extract it, (it contains 3 files) and copy/move the files to your SDcard (anywhere)
3. Run "Root Explorer" (a phone app, you can find it from the market) and with it copy/move the 3 files in the /system/bin folder (just put them there).
4. Reboot you phone and when you see the "Sony Ericsson" start clicking the "back" button (do not stop until you see the Xrecovery).
P.S.: Do not install an other bussy box. Xrecovery works fine with this version so there is not need to chenge it.

Its Still not working........... PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME IM GOING CRAZYYYYY

Try again with a video this time...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6eRfqs8TVs

Its Still Not working.....

Before you get crazy reinstall the rom you have (flash your phone). But this is the last solution you should try....

so install 2.1 again and how when i flash my phone then what do i do? im a total newbie!

Go here, download the files again and do it step by step again with the new files.... You may have the wrong version...
(as GreatApo said)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=878426
The other way is to update/repair your phone with pc suit (cd was on the box, but can be installs from phone too). This will delete all your data on your phone. Then u will have to do it from the begining ..... Dont forget to buck up if you try this.
Ps:flash and install is done with seus

You can get the latest SE Update Service or PC Companion from SE Support page. Reflash your phone. It will wipe off complete data and will be a clean installation. Then root it. And then go for xRecovery from the above provided link.
It should work then.

ok so i reupdated my x8 to 2.1 so you want me to root it, install busybox from the market and root explorer and load the xrecovery files on?

The comprehensive guide to put a custom ROM on your X8 for NOOBS! (2.3)

Hello,
I decided to write this because I had a hell of a time finding out how to do this - all the information is here on the forums but not all in one place so you can just read and install the custom ROM.
The ROM that is available that I have successfully tested is CM7_RC1_X8_004
You will need the following programs:
SuperOneClick - to root your phone
Busybox - from the android Market
Xrecovery
Super Manager - from the Market
X10 Flashtool
and your ROM
Rooting
~~~~~
So First we want to root the phone, we will need to set the USB debugging mode to on. Go into settings - applications - Development and click on the tick next to USB debugging to turn it on. Plug the Phone into the PC via the USB Cable.
At the end of this post are files download SuperOneclick and extract it into a folder on your desktop then run the exe file called SuperOneClick.exe and click on root, it will scroll through a load of things then come up with a message that says "Root files have been installed would you like to run a test?" To which I always say Yes then it says "A su command will now be sent to your phone please hit allow in superuser" (there were no messages on my phone so I just hit OK on that message) Then a message comes up asking you to donate, so if that utility is handy for you feel free to donate to the makers of SuperOneclick!
You can now turn off USB debugging.
Installing BusyBox
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Go to settings - sound and display and set the screen timeout to 30 mins I have found it to keep locking while installing Busybox as it takes a while to do.
Go to the market and search for Busybox and install and accept permissions on it. once this part of the application has installed you need to run it as it has only been copied to the phone - now you have to actually install it.
So run the busybox app and say OK to the message from the developer (reading it first of course) then it will ask you for permission which you say yes.
Next we see a screen saying Status: Working, Your phone is Rooted, amount of free space in system is 10128kb, Busybox not found. (we haven't installed it yet.)
The first time I did this it took ages to get anywhere and ages to install so just be patient and wait for it. Choose Busybox 1.17.1 but change the location of the install to system/xbin (the drop down box at the bottom of the page.) Then Click Install. For me this time it failed so lets try v 1.18 and the default location. back up and then relaunch busybox installer.
I found I had to change the settings a couple times when I installed before to get it to install, you might not find that. Sure enough this time it installed fine using v1.18 and the default save location.
installing Super Manager and Xrecovery
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
First you need to download the new ROM files from here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=973753
Go to the third post and download the rom: (currently
http://hotfile.com/dl/109568508/3381b40/CM7_RC1_X8_004.rar.html)
Once it's down extract the files to another folder in your desktop and you should have the files LiveWallpapers.zip, Update.zip, changelog.txt and a BASEBAND folder.
Then connect your phone and copy the three files and the folder to a new directory on your SDcard. (I called mine ROM) Now remove the cable from the PC not forgetting to unmount it first.
Then you need to download Super Manager from the market and install it then run it - choose File explorer - click on the favourite icon at the bottom(the picture of a folder and a heart) and choose SD card, navigate to your folder where you stored the files and click on all the ticks next to the files and folder and then when they are all selected click on any file and hold it till a menu appears and choose copy (This is to copy the files)
Then Click on the favourites one again and choose root path. Then go to System and then Bin and then click on one file and hold the button till the menu appears and scroll to the bottom where you see paste and click on it and this will paste the files into this folder.
X10 Flash tool
~~~~~~~~~~
Next we need to use the X10 Flastool so download it from
http://www.multiupload.com/GYL7A7XQBT
(The thread I got this from is: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=920746).
Once downloaded you need to extract the files and run X10FlashTool.exe.
Then before you plug the phone back in you need to put it into USB debugging mode again. Go into settings - applications - Development and click on the tick next to USB debugging to turn it on. Plug the phone back into the PC.
In the X10Flashtool click on the button that says ask root perms and press allow on the phone when it comes up and in the FlashTool it will say "INFO - Root Access Allowed."
Then Click Optimize and it will then reboot your phone, let the phone come back up and then in x10 Flasher click ask root perms and it should say Allowed again after a short time.
Then click on xRecovery. Power the phone off and wait for 20 seconds and then power it back on. As soon as you see the words "Sony Ericsson" appear on the screen start hammering the back button. Then the phone will boot into xRecovery.
Backup your phone
Use the sound volume up and down buttons to move up and down the menus and the home button to select the option (I think the back button is back as well). Choose the backup/restore option, then backup to backup your phone to the SD card (First the system and then the data)
Then when it's finished it will say complete and you can go ahead and put the new rom on the phone. Choose install Custom Zip, then choose custom zip from SDcard. Navigate to the directory you put your ROM in and choose update.zip it will ask you if you are sure so choose yes and it will update your phone.
Once it says Install from SDcard complete hit backup then choose the top option reboot phone.
Your Phone will then reboot into Android 2.3

Good job on this

Restoring your Phone to It's previous working state
To restore you phone back to how it was before you started all this all you need to do is Boot xRecovery by hammering the back button once you see the very first Sony Ericsson which takes you into xRecovery.
Then use the volume up and down on the side of the phone and choose backup and restore and you can choose advanced restore to restore a different component or just do a restore to do the whole phone back as it was.
I have just restored back successfully!

is there a big risk that i will damage my phone in case i will do everything in #1post step by step with instruction?

I don't really think so, but there is always the possibility when flashing your phone that you might Brick it.
I didn't break mine and I will do this to test every new firmware that comes out and because I've done it once most of the hard work is done which was installing xRecovery.
In short I offer you no guarantee this won't brick your phone what you do is at your own risk, but I had no trouble.

Yeah i know this that im doing it on my own risk, im only asking of probability of breaking phone cus i want root and install custom rom but i have a little bad luck

OK,
I don't know about failures - I haven't seen anyone complaining about destroying their phone and it didn't happen to me, that's all I know sorry.

super manager isn't copying and pasting files. i follow the guide and when i click paste, nothing happens.
edit: it just says "prepare to copy" when i try to copy the files, then nothing when i paste

stef.t97 said:
super manager isn't copying and pasting files. i follow the guide and when i click paste, nothing happens.
edit: it just says "prepare to copy" when i try to copy the files, then nothing when i paste
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In supermanager open the folder system and then select the folder Bin, you have to change the folder from read to read and write first before u can copy anything.

thanks, realized i hadn't given super manager super user permission. what do i do differently when installing Rachts Roms because they don't come with an update.zip?

stef.t97 said:
thanks, realized i hadn't given super manager super user permission. what do i do differently when installing Rachts Roms because they don't come with an update.zip?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When u have Xrecovery and make an backup it will create a folder in SD card "backup" after u download the Rom from racth u put the folder on the backup folder, then in XRecovery u go to backup then restore, u will see the rom there, just press ok and it will do the rest like the zip file.

to the OP thanks a Lot i appreciate this Guide!
and on the same vein as the others i am having some problems pasting the contents of the ROM. i have given Super manager root prves. but it says not enough free desc space which seems right to me cus there is only 128Mb storage on the phone.
i feel like i am missing sumthing basic please assist me, Thanks!

skowrone said:
Yeah i know this that im doing it on my own risk, im only asking of probability of breaking phone cus i want root and install custom rom but i have a little bad luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just need to be well prepared!!!!
Based on my experience.. I didn't really know what I've done that make my phone cannot boot... it's all because not really prepared... Need to do some research and reading 1st..
Luckily, when done some reading, I manage to boot the phone after flashing with SEUS..
And after that... I prepare to do checklist... Now.. Everything seems OK...

genghisk said:
to the OP thanks a Lot i appreciate this Guide!
and on the same vein as the others i am having some problems pasting the contents of the ROM. i have given Super manager root prves. but it says not enough free desc space which seems right to me cus there is only 128Mb storage on the phone.
i feel like i am missing sumthing basic please assist me, Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With your phone did you get a 2GB SD card? I did with mine and that's where you need to copy the ROM files to(you need to copy the files in windows to the SD card). The only thing I was copying with super manager was the xRecovery files. (and I'm not sure I needed to do that since you kinda install xrecovery on the flash tool, I just posted exactly what I did)
mss_2212, yeah using the SE repair might get you out of a few scrapes, it's good that they offer such a utility to completely flash your phone back to the latest SE update!

Well, V6.0a is now out I am downloading that as we speak.

^^ how is it running? i see BlueTooth not working.
i realize my error you were talking about copying the files for Xrecovery i thought you were referring to the ROM files.

Thanks for the help! I hope I success for the install of the last custom rom from CM 2.3! If it's good, it will be translate for the french forums! ;-)

I'm still setting it up to how I like it but so far so good - it's nie and stable for me and WI-FI works which is a dream.
Don't forget to make a backup first of your old ROM though!
Thanks

Hi!
I tried to install the last 2.3.3 CM7 with this guide, but I get a problem with the X10 flashtool... In fact, I don't understand if I have to lauch the .exe in my phone, or in the PC. Because with the phone I can "ask root perms" but I get an error (it says me to use usb debug the phone and install...) but I think that I've followed the guide And since the PC, there is no file in the "firmware" fold...
So I install the custom ROM, without that step, and it success, even if I get another problem, but I think, because of the instability of the rom (no market, and no possibility to dl by internet)
Thanks for the help!

Hello,
Not quite sure what you're getting at, I will try to help if I can (I'm still a bit of a noob really myself)
You need to run the x10 flash tool on the PC with your phone connected in usb debugging mode before it will work.
"Then before you plug the phone back in you need to put it into USB debugging mode again. Go into settings - applications - Development and click on the tick next to USB debugging to turn it on. Plug the phone back into the PC."
The Market and other applications are included in the latest version(.6a as of this writing) in a zip file called gapps-gb-20110307-signed.zip to install them you need to boot into xRecovery and choose install custom zip and then point it to that file which is next to the install.zip. Then the market will work.
v.6a is really nice but ultimately I had to revert because I needed to take some pics but a lot of stuff is working well!

Accessing Phone System files via PC

Hi
Need a little help, deleted my systemui.apk & now my phone constantly gives me a force close notice related to this. I had backup up the file on my SD card before the erroneous deletion.
Anyway, is there anyway to push the backed up systemUI.apk back to the system/app folder on the phone without flashing my whole firmware again.
Also am on 2.3.3 rooted with locked bootloader hence wouldn't want to repeat the root process.
Cheers

TanMak said:
Hi
Need a little help, deleted my systemui.apk & now my phone constantly gives me a force close notice related to this. I had backup up the file on my SD card before the erroneous deletion.
Anyway, is there anyway to push the backed up systemUI.apk back to the system/app folder on the phone without flashing my whole firmware again.
Also am on 2.3.3 rooted with locked bootloader hence wouldn't want to repeat the root process.
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cant you use root explorer to put the file back?
Sent from my LT15i using XDA Premium App

Try using adb.
Sent from my LT15i using XDA App

Thanks for the prompt response chaps ... The phone would not move from the force close screen. Was planning on flash but got pre-occupied for about a half hour & when i returned to the phone it was on the home screen although with 0.7inches from the top missing. Anyway i eventually sorted it through root explorer, rebooted & all's well
Cheers

Can't Modify SecContacts_M_OSup_Note_Legacy_USA.apk

Background: Really not loving the default New Contact icons and the random colors. Should be easy enough to change. What I tried (and failed miserably...)
MODest ROM 11 (Twiz/stock 6.01-based)
Flashpoint 5 Kernel
Copied SecContacts_M_OSup_Note_Legacy_USA.apk from
/system/priv-app/SecContacts_M_OSup_Note_Legacy_USA/
to my Win7 PC.
Used 7-Zip to unpack the file to a temporary folder.
Found the .qmg files I didn't like.
Found a .qmg that would be a passable replacement for the ones I didn't dig.
Made 11 copies of that image in a working folder.
Renamed each copy to the exact name of each of the 11 files I wanted to replace.
Dragged those 11 files back into the open .apk in 7-Zip
On the Phone, in Root Explorer:
Made a copy of SecContacts_M_OSup_Note_Legacy_USA.apk in the same folder:
/system/priv-app/SecContacts_M_OSup_Note_Legacy_USA/
deleted the original
Copied my mod'd apk back into this folder and set the perms.
Rebooted.
No Phone or Contacts on home screen or in Apps
Tried to 'install' the apk from Root Explorer.
Wouldn't install
Tried to delete cache & Dalvik from TWRP.
No Joy.
Tried to do a partial Nandroid restore of Contacts and sec.phone from Titanium (nothing there called /systempriv-app/SecContacts_M_OSup_Note_Legacy_USA)
No Joy.
Nandroid restore from TWRP.
Back to normal.
Okay, what did I do wrong, and how can I change the icons?
Should I have used APKTook instead of 7-Zip, created a new signature, etc?
Should my mod'd apk somehow be flashed from recovery rather than copied to a system folder?
Is this some perverted Samsung-ism that would have worked fine on any other phone on the planet?
Thanks for reading.

ForestCat said:
Background: Really not loving the default New Contact icons and the random colors. Should be easy enough to change. What I tried (and failed miserably...)
MODest ROM 11 (Twiz/stock 6.01-based)
Flashpoint 5 Kernel
Copied SecContacts_M_OSup_Note_Legacy_USA.apk from
/system/priv-app/SecContacts_M_OSup_Note_Legacy_USA/
to my Win7 PC.
Used 7-Zip to unpack the file to a temporary folder.
Found the .qmg files I didn't like.
Found a .qmg that would be a passable replacement for the ones I didn't dig.
Made 11 copies of that image in a working folder.
Renamed each copy to the exact name of each of the 11 files I wanted to replace.
Dragged those 11 files back into the open .apk in 7-Zip
On the Phone, in Root Explorer:
Made a copy of SecContacts_M_OSup_Note_Legacy_USA.apk in the same folder:
/system/priv-app/SecContacts_M_OSup_Note_Legacy_USA/
deleted the original
Copied my mod'd apk back into this folder and set the perms.
Rebooted.
No Phone or Contacts on home screen or in Apps
Tried to 'install' the apk from Root Explorer.
Wouldn't install
Tried to delete cache & Dalvik from TWRP.
No Joy.
Tried to do a partial Nandroid restore of Contacts and sec.phone from Titanium (nothing there called /systempriv-app/SecContacts_M_OSup_Note_Legacy_USA)
No Joy.
Nandroid restore from TWRP.
Back to normal.
Okay, what did I do wrong, and how can I change the icons?
Should I have used APKTook instead of 7-Zip, created a new signature, etc?
Should my mod'd apk somehow be flashed from recovery rather than copied to a system folder?
Is this some perverted Samsung-ism that would have worked fine on any other phone on the planet?
Thanks for reading.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That apk took me a long time to figure out too. It's one of the apps you I had to modify for multi dpi. The only way I know of is to change the compression when you're putting the app back together and even then it took a couple tries. There's probably a better way but the compression change seems to work well enough.
I don't know if 7-zip has this option, but with winrar you can change the compression to "store". You should know right away whether or not it worked. You'll see the little phone icon in the bottom left of the lock screen. You may still have to do a factory reset to see your changes (probably not though) but the app should work without it.
By the way, you can swap those image files for .png files if you'd like. Just delete the corresponding .qmg or .pio file.
I saw your post in the rom thread about theming TouchWiz. You should check out @supergrobi94's theming threads. He's put together an impressive collection of options for 6.0.1 and 5.1.1 and there's also a [how to] section that uses the vrtheme zip that will modify the res folder of a specific app without having to break it down. I'm not sure how active he is these days but he's always been very helpful with requests and questions in the past if you need it.
Supergrobi94's theming threads:
This one has all the themes
This is the [how to] thread

kevintm78 said:
That apk took me a long time to figure out too. It's one of the apps you I had to modify for multi dpi. The only way I know of is to change the compression when you're putting the app back together and even then it took a couple tries. There's probably a better way but the compression change seems to work well enough.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, that makes perfect sense. But I'd never have figured it out myself, lol.
I'll dig into those theming threads, thanks.
kevintm78 said:
☆☆Edge Panel for ModestRom v11☆☆
DOWNLOAD-This will change your Contacts app to the S6 version and the IncallUI app to the Note 7 version because the people stripe will not work with the N4 contacts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, this is from the MODest ROM thread, but I think it's germain here.
SO.....
If I want to 'try out' that Edge Panel, is there a way to revert back to the stock apps in question other than restoring a nandroid backup or re-flashing the ROM?
I ask because I'm thinking that, at least in the case of the Note 4 and its well known memory problems, 'bulk' memory writes like ROMs, nandroid retores, etc., stress the device, so I'm trying not to do it more than I have to.
During my last episode(see above) putting the stock apk back in its original folder didn't work.
Is there a standard procedure for either android generically, or touchwiz specifically, for safely reverting back to the stock system apps after experimenting w/ custom stuff?
EDIT: Just tried something. In Root Explorer, went into:
/system/priv-app/SecContacts_M_OSup_Note_Legacy_USA/
and simply renamed the .apk to .foo
Rebooted.
No Contacts, as expected, but no Phone either??? Not sure why.
Anyway, back into Root Explorer.
Rename .foo back to .apk
Reboot.
Still no Contacts or Phone, so something bigger at work here.
Before I have to restore Nandroid anyway (unless there's a better way???),
I flashed your EdgePanel.zip in TWRP to see if it would restore the Phone/Contacts apps.
Wiped the cache. Reboot.
Edge Panel is now there, but still no Phone or Contacts. WTF???
Last resort-TWRP- Factory Reset.
Now the Contacts/Phone are back (and all my other stuff is gone, lol)
So is whacking the Data a necessity here?
If so, it makes trying out things related to the phone/contacts a LOT more tedious...
Any workaround???
Thanks again.

ForestCat said:
OK, this is from the MODest ROM thread, but I think it's germain here.
SO.....
If I want to 'try out' that Edge Panel, is there a way to revert back to the stock apps in question other than restoring a nandroid backup or re-flashing the ROM?
I ask because I'm thinking that, at least in the case of the Note 4 and its well known memory problems, 'bulk' memory writes like ROMs, nandroid retores, etc., stress the device, so I'm trying not to do it more than I have to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it doesn't look like I ever made an easy way to go back. I had thought I did but I'm either overlooking it or it's not there. Feel free to rifle through my androidfilehost folders if you want to double check. All of my stuff is very organized so it could be buried in there somewhere.
If you still need a recovery zip let me know and I'll get one together. I'm actually going to make one anyway but if you need it right away I can get on it. I didn't realize that there wasn't a way back to stock.
ForestCat said:
During my last episode(see above) putting the stock apk back in its original folder didn't work.
Is there a standard procedure for either android generically, or touchwiz specifically, for safely reverting back to the stock system apps after experimenting w/ custom stuff?
EDIT: Just tried something. In Root Explorer, went into:
/system/priv-app/SecContacts_M_OSup_Note_Legacy_USA/
and simply renamed the .apk to .foo
Rebooted.
No Contacts, as expected, but no Phone either??? Not sure why.
Anyway, back into Root Explorer.
Rename .foo back to .apk
Reboot.
Still no Contacts or Phone, so something bigger at work here.
Before I have to restore Nandroid anyway (unless there's a better way???),
I flashed your EdgePanel.zip in TWRP to see if it would restore the Phone/Contacts apps.
Wiped the cache. Reboot.
Edge Panel is now there, but still no Phone or Contacts. WTF???
Last resort-TWRP- Factory Reset.
Now the Contacts/Phone are back (and all my other stuff is gone, lol)
So is whacking the Data a necessity here?
If so, it makes trying out things related to the phone/contacts a LOT more tedious...
Any workaround???
Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is strange that they are not coming back. You may just want to double check your permissions and that there isn't two of the same apps in your folder. At the time of making that Edge zip I was still using other programs to make zips for me and the major downside to that is having to name the new apps the exact same as the old so it would get overwritten so if it doesn't match you'll end up with two active apps in one folder.
Now I think the best way to do that is to use a binary script (osm0sis has great tutorials for this) to change the app getting replaced to a .bak file and then just copy the new app to the system, set perms, and reboot (dalvik cache/ cache needs to be wiped if it's a framework .jar file). But to each their own. If you can get the job done a better way then I would use what you're comfortable with.
My system to test apps isn't much difference than yours. I think the only thing I do differently is change the app to be replaced to .bak instead of .foo although I can't imagine there's much difference. There's been a few apps like the Contacts app that gave me a bunch of trouble when modifying them but I can't remember ever having trouble bringing back the stock app. I wish I had more insight on that situation for you. If push comes to shove I would reflash the rom zip over factory reset only because the factory reset won't correct the system partition problem, if that's what's going on in this case.

kevintm78 said:
If you still need a recovery zip let me know and I'll get one together..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First, Merry Christmas!
Thanks very much. No rush on that, I'm OK on the Edge version for the minute.
What would be extremely useful if you have some time/curiousity would be to replicate my steps, ie renaming the untouched apk in a fresh MODest flash (i.e. break the contacts/phone function), and then see if you can get the whole thing working again without a factory reset, or if not, why. I see on xda, you & I are not the first ones to be tripping over this contacts.apk issue.
The other thing that would be telling is after successfully installing the Edge.zip, whether you can modify something (like a picture) within the contacts apk within the zip, reflash the zip and have contacts/phone still working with the change active.
I think there just HAS to be abetter way than Factory Resets.
Thanks so much again for the insights. I really want to become at least minimally competent at hacking my own ROMs together so I don't have to feel like such a noob/mooch on here, but I really do appreciate the help.
What are your weapons/platform of choice, or, if there are better tools for noobs learning the ropes, I'm all ears.
EDIT: Just found this. The last post is interesting...
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s5/devs-only/recompile-seccontacts-apk-t3377142/page2

ForestCat said:
First, Merry Christmas!
Thanks very much. No rush on that, I'm OK on the Edge version for the minute.
What would be extremely useful if you have some time/curiousity would be to replicate my steps, ie renaming the untouched apk in a fresh MODest flash (i.e. break the contacts/phone function), and then see if you can get the whole thing working again without a factory reset, or if not, why. I see on xda, you & I are not the first ones to be tripping over this contacts.apk issue.
The other thing that would be telling is after successfully installing the Edge.zip, whether you can modify something (like a picture) within the contacts apk within the zip, reflash the zip and have contacts/phone still working with the change active.
I think there just HAS to be abetter way than Factory Resets.
Thanks so much again for the insights. I really want to become at least minimally competent at hacking my own ROMs together so I don't have to feel like such a noob/mooch on here, but I really do appreciate the help.
What are your weapons/platform of choice, or, if there are better tools for noobs learning the ropes, I'm all ears.
EDIT: Just found this. The last post is interesting...
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s5/devs-only/recompile-seccontacts-apk-t3377142/page2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not exactly sure what's going on with your contacts app not showing back up. Ever since modestrom v8 (I think) I've been doing the multi dpi on SecContacts_M_OSup_Note_Legacy_USA and every time I would test it doing the same as your way. After a reboot if the modified app was no good, then I would just delete that new app and change the name of the old app back to .apk, reboot and it would work again. I can't remember running in to any problems where I would have to factory reset or reflash the rom to get things working again.
There has been a couple times where I've had to factory reset to get a color change to show up or if you're adding toggles to the QS drop down that also (sometimes) requires a factory reset to show up.
As far as the post you linked, that is exactly how I do it except I use winrar to open the newly compiled app and drag the changes to the original. When I drag the changes over I change the compression method from "normal" to "store". If I don't change the compression the app doesn't work for me. The apps that I've ran into where I had to change the compression are: secContacts, secCamera, secSettings, and framework-res.apk. Any other app that I've worked on can be dragged and dropped without compression changes.
Jar files don't need an original signature though (so long as signature verification has been disabled, which it has in modestrom). They can be decompiled, edited, recompiled, and copied to the system. It does require a dalvik cache/cache wipe though on all framework files except for the framework-res.apk and twframework-res.apk
If you get a chance, you should start using apktool to decompile/recompile. It will make things easier for you in the long run and most of the time if you've made any mistakes in your edits apktool will catch it. If you're not familiar with apktool you can try using Tickle My Android or Advanced Apktool. You may also want to get Apktool by itself. I use all three of them. Android can be fickle and sometimes what works with one app won't work with another. What's nice about TMA and Advanced Apktool is that they'll do the drag and drop method for you, but when the compression needs to be changed that's when I use apktool by itself.
Sorry for the word vomit. Hopefully, this all makes sense.