Database Users

[Q] I have a market with one app........

I only have one app in my market, it is download-able but none the less its the only thing there. any idears?

Any ideas folks?

So you started doing the Manualnooter 4.5.2 for 1.2
Just continue one with the rest of the steps. Reading further down on the Step-by-step guide you get these instructions.
Market has limited visibility - This is a known tablet issue, not just a NOOKcolor one.
Originally Posted by Pentagram
For those with missing apps in market this did the trick for me:
STEPS:
1) Already have your Google Account entered into the table & synced.
Settings=> Accounts & sync => Add your account/Sync your account
2) Run Android Market first by using your desktop icon or the applet grid panel choosing the Market app. When run it should produce a Market with missing apps when you search as is usual.
3) Leave the Android Market program running & tap the Home button to go to the desktop.
Replaces 4-6 = Nook Color Tools => All Settings => Manage Applications
4) Tap the Menu button, then select the Settings option in the bottom bar that pops up.
5) Select the Applications option
6) Select the Manage applications option
7) Select the Running TAB to show all running applications.
8) Scroll down the list until you see Market, then select it.
9) Tap on the Clear cache option button
10) Tap on the Force stop option button. DO NOT tap on the Clear data button here under Market, it will break the process I believe!
11) Tap on the Back button to go back to the entire list of running apps.
12) Scroll the app list up until you see the Google Services Framework app & select it.
13) Tap on the Clear data button here first, then tap on the OK button to confirm the action.
13) Tap on the Force close button now.
14) Now tap on the Back button or use the Home button to go back to the main desktop screen.
15) If you have the Market app on your desktop, then tap on it to run it, or open the dockbar applet panel & run Market from there again.
16) You should get an error box that has "Attention", then states that "An error has occurred. Please try again later."
This is good & what seems should happen if all is going well.
17) Now just hold down the On\Off button & then use the shut down menus to shut down the device normally.
18) Now just turn the device back On normally, let it boot to the desktop ... when you get a working Wifi connection, try Market again ... hopefully if all went as it did for me many times, Market should work fully now & show apps that used to be missing!

Thanks, your awesome!
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

Ok so now I have a market with apps but they won't actually download. Any idears?
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

Ok so just angry birds won't dl. Weirddddd
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using XDA App

[Guide] Tuning the Nexus 7 with Android 5.0 Lollipop for Maximum Performance!

Welcome to JimTDI's Guide - Tuning the Nexus 7 with Android 5 Lollipop for Maximum Performance!
What's Up
The goal of this guide is to provide you with a well performing base for your Nexus 7 on which you can then build upon, enabling all the features of Lollipop that you want and need, and leaving the ones that affect performance and are unnecessary or unneeded by you, off or disabled.
Don't worry... we're not going to harm or do anything to your Nexus 7 that can't be easily undone. None of my tuning tips "alter" or "root" your Nexus 7, or do anything that would void your warranty - but let's face it, if you have a Nexus 7, it's probably old enough that it doesn't have a warranty anyway. That being said, use common sense, and make your own choices - I am not responsible for any damage to your Nexus 7 because of my recommendations and tuning tips. Rest assured though, I have tested my recommended settings extensively on both the Nexus 7 2012 and Nexus 7 2013 Wi-Fi models. I'll be as gentle, and as non-technical as possible as we tune your Nexus 7. So, let's begin...
This guide has been recently updated to cover tuning the latest released versions of Android 5 Lollipop on both the Nexus 7 2012 and Nexus 7 2013 Wi-Fi and Mobile models. I'll refer to them as the Nexus 7(12) or Nexus 7(13) hereafter when we need specifics.
The Nexus 7(12) was available in 3 models, with either 8, 16 or 32GB of storage memory - and with 1 GB of memory to run applications. The Nexus 7(13) was available with either 16 or 32GB of storage, and 2GBs of memory to run applications. There were Wi-Fi and mobile editions available. It's always prudent for a Nexus 7 owner to know the specifics of the tablet they own, especially when asking for help or seeking out support, repair, software patches or looking for accessories like a case, or parts.
If you're not sure which model you have here's a tip, if there's a camera on the back side (facing away from you) it's a 2013 model, if it has just a front-facing camera only (no camera on the backside), then it's a 2012.
As you can see from the above specs, the Nexus 7(12) has very limited application memory with just 1GB on board, just one half of what the Nexus 7(13) has. It also has a bit slower processor than the Nexus 7(13) does (you can look those specs up later). Therefore the goal of this guide is to reduce anything that uses excessive memory, battery, and processing power while still providing a buttery smooth, fully functional user interface. After all, that's what the Lollipop & the Material Design experience is all about
What's New
As of this writing (I update this guide regularly!) these are the current Android 5 Lollipop versions for the various Nexus 7 models. For the best performance, -MAKE SURE- you have the latest Android 5 Lollipop version for your particular Nexus 7 device.
Nexus 7(12) Wi-Fi 5.0.2 (prior release 5.0, no 5.0.1 version for the Nexus 7(12) was ever released).
Nexus 7(12) Mobile 5.0.2
Nexus 7(13) Wi-Fi 5.0.2 (prior releases 5.0, and 5.0.1)
Nexus 7(13) Mobile 5.0.2
Some users have received updates from Android 4.x to Android 5 Lollipop "over-the-air" (known as OTA), and some users have either side-loaded or flashed factory images of Android 5 Lollipop. This guide is written assuming you already have Android 5 Lollipop installed on your Nexus 7 tablet. Many users of the Nexus 7 (particularly the 2012 model) have reported major performance issues since the Android 5 Lollipop "update". The majority of users reporting performance issues are those who received their update "over the air" (OTA) while keeping all of their old Apps and settings.
Because of this, if you are experiencing slowness and lag AFTER applying these tuning tips, I then recommend that you do a "Factory Reset" (see the Factory Reset section at the bottom of this guide). Just so you know, "Factory Reset" is a bit of misleading term, as your Nexus 7 probably did not come with Lollipop on it from the factory, and a "Factory Reset" will take you back to a clean base Android 5 Lollipop installation without any of your applications or settings retained. Try my recommended settings below first - many of these settings may make a difference in the performance you see on your Nexus 7 without doing the Factory Reset. If you flashed a factory image to get Lollipop on your Nexus 7, you got a clean base install, and probably don't need to worry about a Factory Reset.
Do you have enough cash? (if you have extra, you can send me some!)
Android Lollipop (and prior versions of Android) use a portion of your Nexus 7's storage space to hold temporary data about the programs you have run, or are running. This area of storage is called the "Recovery Cache" (pronounced "cash"). Over time this area of your storage can hold old outdated or not used information about your system and programs. It is highly recommended to wipe Recovery Cache on your Nexus 7. You do NOT need to do a "Factory Reset" (see above) to wipe Recovery Cache, and you will not lose any of your settings or Apps wiping your Recovery Cache. Wiping the cache at this point will help assure you have a trouble-free and well performing system. Please see the section "Wipe Recovery Cache" directly below on how to perform this important step.
Wipe Recovery Cache
Turn off your Nexus 7
When the device turns off, press & hold the Volume Down button, and then press & hold the Power button simultaneously until the device turns on, then release both buttons.
You'll see the word "Start" with an arrow drawn around it.
Press the Volume Down button twice to highlight Recovery mode.
Press the Power button to start Recovery mode, and release it. You'll see the Google logo, and after a moment you'll see an image of an Android robot laying on it's back with a red exclamation mark.
While holding down the Power button, press and hold the Volume Up button for a second, then release both buttons.
Use the volume buttons to scroll to "wipe cache partition" then briefly press the Power button to select it.
When the cache is cleared (may take a few seconds to a few minutes), press the Power button on the option "reboot system now."
OK, First Things First
When you first run Android Lollipop, it has some housekeeping chores it needs to perform. You want to help these processes as much as possible to improve the performance on your Nexus 7 both the first time you run Lollipop and as time continues.
Lollipop uses a new Android Run Time "engine" (ART) to run programs. ART needs to pre-compile all of the Apps that you install before Android can run them for the first time. This pre-compile is very resource intensive, the more Apps you install, the more compiling will take place. But it doesn't all take place at once! This compilation takes place in the background, usually in idle-time so if you install a bunch of Apps - be patient as Lollipop needs time to compile them. Lollipop assumes you want to run some Apps too, not just wait for your Apps to compile, so it balances time for you to run Apps while it waits to pre-compile others as idle system time allows. Give Lollipop a day or two (or even a week) to settle-in on your Nexus 7, then just remember Lollipop and ART will work in the background after you install new Apps before you actually have the App available to run. ART likes battery too, so be sure to keep your Nexus 7 charged as much as possible until things settle in.
Now that you know a little about ART, Launch the Google Play Store. Tap the 3 stacked bars in the upper left corner and then select "Settings". Select "Auto-update apps" and set the radio button to "Do not auto-update apps". This will prevent Google Play from auto-updating user applications and more importantly compiling them in the background while you are trying to tune/run your Nexus 7. The Google core applications (Maps, GMail, Chrome, etc.) will all still update with "Auto-Update" set to "Do not auto-update apps". You will still receive all notifications about updates from Google Play for Apps you have installed, if you turn on "Notifications" in the same Google Play settings screen where you disable auto-updates. It is recommended that you wait until all Google core Apps have updated, before you begin to install your own Apps, but I understand, easier said than done... Turning off auto-updates of your applications puts you in control of when and which App updates are applied, and the amount of work ART needs to do, and do it in a more controlled manner.
What? - There's More??
Yes! - as if there's not enough going on already in the background, Android Lollipop's Media Scanner also likes to run, reading through the entire storage space on your Nexus 7 looking for various media files to index so that your Apps later can read the index and find your songs, photos, and movie files. Be aware that Media Scanner runs each and every time you reboot your Nexus 7 too, and that uses a lot of battery and affects performance while it runs. I recommend not rebooting or powering off your Nexus 7 unless you need to, unless you want to rescan your media files often (totally un-necessary!). Let your Nexus 7 sleep while you're not using it, and if necessary, plug it in to charge. It's better anyway to leave it on so it can perform maintenance on itself during idle time, while it, and you, sleep.
What do you mean don't swipe, I'm not a thief!
Android Lollipop has an "Overview" button (the big square icon at the bottom right side of the main screen). It stores a graphical card list (Rolodex or Carousel style) of recently used and running Apps allowing you to easily switch between them. Quite a useful feature, quite nice to pick up where you left off! One change in Lollipop is that this list remains, even after a reboot. Speaking of unnecessary things, I recommend -not- removing Apps from the Overview List, and allowing Lollipop to manage them. I know... it feels like something you should do, but just ignore your urge to clear them, the Apps shown there are using limited or no resources and virtually not affecting your performance. Additionally, you'll be swiping them away all the time since there is no "Clear All" feature (by design!). Closing Apps from the Overview Rolodex menu panel takes time, system resources, and uses battery.
Now the fun stuff!
OK, now that we've got a few things out of the way, and you've met ART, wiped your Recovery Cache (you did, right??, if not go back and do it!), and possibly performed a Factory Reset, it's time to change some settings to help your Nexus 7 run smoother and be buttery smooth and snappy. While my settings are not for everyone, you can use them as a base for yours and then enable what you might need, like Bluetooth if you use a Bluetooth device, or enable NFC if you make payments with your Nexus 7 at point-of-sale terminals, etc. Let's go!
Settings --> Wi-Fi --> tap 3 dots upper right --> Advanced --> Scanning Always Available --> OFF
Settings --> Wi-Fi --> tap 3 dots upper right --> Advanced --> Keep Wi-Fi on during sleep --> Always
Settings --> Wi-Fi --> tap 3 dots upper right --> Advanced --> Wi-Fi frequency band --> Automatic (Nexus 7(13) model setting only!)
Settings --> Bluetooth --> OFF (unless you use it)
Settings --> More --> NFC --> OFF
Settings --> Display --> Adaptive Brightness - OFF
Settings --> Display --> Sleep --> 2 minutes
Settings --> Display --> Daydream - OFF
Settings --> Display --> When Device Is Rotated --> set to: "Stay in current orientation" (will save you about 3-5% constant CPU usage). This turns Auto-Rotate off. You can later toggle this on/off as one of the items in the Quick Settings panel with a two finger swipe down from the top on your main Launcher screen so switching it on/off later for NetFlix, etc. is easy.
Settings --> Sound & Notification --> Set all Volumes to lowest level you still can hear comfortably.
Settings --> Sound & Notification --> Events and Reminders --> ON
Settings --> Sound & Notification --> Messages --> OFF
Settings --> Sound & Notification --> Other Sounds --> Screen Locking Sounds --> OFF
Settings --> Sound & Notification --> Other Sounds --> Touch Sounds --> OFF
Settings --> Sound & Notification --> Pulse Notification light --> OFF (Nexus 7(13) only!)
Settings --> Sound & Notification --> When Device is locked --> Don't show notifications at all
Settings --> Sound & Notification --> App notifications --> be aware there are settings for notifications from each App you have. If you don't want Pandora for example notifying you when new music is added to a channel you are subscribed to, or song notifications, you can either set Pandora to Block --> ON, and/or set the Pandora Notifications to --> Priority
Settings --> Sound & Notification --> Notification access --> Uncheck All Boxes (don't allow any, also helps with data privacy!)
Settings --> Storage --> Tap the 3 dots in the upper right, USB computer connection --> set to MTP. This will allow your Nexus 7 to connect to your PC as a Media device. If you want to connect it as a camera to transfer photos, select PTP instead.
Settings --> Battery --> Tap the 3 dots in the upper right, Battery Saver --> OFF, and Turn on Automatically --> Never
Settings --> Location --> ON, set Mode also to Device Only for now. This activates the GPS chip/hardware location of your Nexus 7, but not software location services.
Settings --> Security --> Power button instantly locks --> OFF (this option will only show if you have a lock method specified in Settings --> Security - Screen Lock (I use a PIN).
Settings --> Security --> Owner Info (enter your name and phone number, "Reward if Found..., etc." here, this displays on the lock screen or if your Nexus 7 is rebooted.
Settings --> Security --> Trust Agents --> Deactivate All (turning off Smart Lock (Google) here, removes the display and configuration items in Settings --> Security --> Smart Lock, so if you want to use Smart Lock, (Face Unlock, etc.) leave this set ON. You can toggle it easily, so don't worry if you decide not to use Smart Lock initially, and later decide to use it).
Settings --> Security --> Screen Pinning --> OFF
Settings --> Accounts, select your Google account --> Privacy --> Search --> Google Now --> OFF
Settings --> Accounts, select your Google account --> Privacy --> Search --> Tablet Search --> Uncheck all boxes
Settings --> Accounts, select your Google account --> Privacy --> Search --> Voice --> "OK Google" detection --> all sliders set to OFF
Settings --> Accounts, select your Google account --> Privacy --> Search --> Voice --> Audio History --> OFF
Settings --> Accounts, select your Google account --> Privacy --> Search --> Voice --> Block offensive words --> OFF (damnit!)
Settings --> Accounts, select your Google account --> Ads --> Opt out of interest-based ads - slider set to ON
Settings --> Language & Input --> Voice Input --> Turn OFF "Enhanced Google services", turn ON "Basic Google recognition"
Settings --> Printing --> Cloud Print - OFF (this one really seems to help performance!!)
Developers Options
The following settings are in the 'Developer Options' section of your Settings. If you don't have a 'Developer Options' listed in your Settings, go to Settings --> About Tablet and tap "Build Number" 7 times to enable Developer Settings.
Settings --> Developer Options --> USB debugging --> ON (checked) (can be used later if necessary to recover your Nexus 7 or use advanced ADB commands). Just turn it on and leave it alone for now, no harm!
Settings --> Developer Options --> Use NuPlayer (experimental) --> OFF (unchecked)
Settings --> Developer Options --> Window animation scale --> Animation OFF
Settings --> Developer Options --> Transition animation scale --> Animation OFF
Settings --> Developer Options --> Animator duration scale --> Animation Off
To turn Developer Settings back off: Settings --> Developer Options --> slider switch at top right, OFF (more than OK to leave Developer Settings enabled however!)
More Google Settings
Now let's make some more changes to how your Google Account is associated with your Nexus 7. We covered some of these settings above, but lets go through them again anyway. Go to your App List (where you select icons from to drag to your desktop), and run the already installed App called "Google Settings" (you may be really surprised at some of the default settings!)
Tap the 3 dots upper right - Usage & Diagnostics - set Slider to OFF
Play Games - (you may receive a notice about a Google Account problem, just ignore it) "Level Up Notifications" - uncheck the box, make sure all boxes are unchecked. Also make sure to set "Game Profile" to "Hidden" in the Play Games settings.
Location - set slider to On, and Mode to "Device Only"
Disable 'Google Now' Search & Now --> Google Now, slide to OFF
Turn Tablet Search off - Search & Now --> Tablet Search, uncheck all the boxes.
Accounts & Privacy - all sliders set to OFF, especially "Personal Results", also, "Manage App History", uncheck App History
Voice - all sliders set to OFF
Security - set all sliders to OFF
Some other useful tips for great performance
Some users report intermittent or non-existent Wi-Fi connections after installing or updating to Lollipop. Make sure your wireless router is operating on Channel 11 or under. Lollipop seems to have problems with routers running Channels above 11. If you're not sure what channel your router is on, you can download the excellent free app called "Wifi Analyzer" by author "farproc" from Google Play to easily see these details. You can also make sure your router is not on the same channel as one of your neighbors with this must-have utility.
Check Google Play for updates to your applications regularly, especially for Google's core Apps (Google Maps, Google Play Music, Chrome Browser, etc.) themselves, which have recently updated. Many users are saying the newly updated Google Apps are boosting performance on the Nexus 7 as well. Remember you now have auto-update turned OFF for your Apps, so be sure to check Google Play often for updates and watch your notifications since we set notifications for App updates ON (above).
Use a 3rd Party Launcher! - What is a Launcher? The Launcher is the program that fires when you press the <Home> button (the circle) at the middle bottom of the main screen in Android. It is the program that you drop your icons and widgets onto to later "launch" them by tapping on them. Google provides a "stock" launcher with Lollipop - but you can easily replace it. Simply go to Google Play and select/install the Launcher you want to use, just like any other Android Application. In fact you can have several Launchers installed and switch between them easily. You don't delete the stock launcher, just add others, and select the new one to use, just as you can have two or three browsers installed on your system. Next Launcher 3D (my favorite!), Nova Launcher, Apex Launcher and Go Launcher are all good launcher choices. You can install one or all of them, and choose which one you want to use as you experiment more. To roll back to the original "stock" launcher after you have installed a (better!) Launcher, go into Settings --> (Device Section) --> Home, and select the radio button for the Launcher you would like to use. Using a different Launcher is easy, and does not require you to alter or "root" your Nexus 7, and switching back to the Google Launcher is even easier!
Note: If you choose Nova Launcher (an excellent choice for a first-timer changing Launchers!!), make this change in Nova: Nova Settings --> Desktop --> Wallpaper Scrolling --> Force.
Do not use a Live Wallpaper! Live Wallpapers eat CPU and battery. Later, once you achieve your performance nirvana on your Nexus 7 - you can then try a Live Wallpaper if you so desire.
Nexus 7(12) users - Don't forget you have a camera - Go to Google Play and install "Camera Nexus 7 (official)", Nexus 7(13) users should have Google Camera installed in Lollipop by default.
You may want to strongly consider replacing the stock Lollipop keyboard with a third party (better!) keyboard such as SwiftKey (free). This also seems to help boost performance some as well. You can always add a keyboard, change to it, try it, and change back to the stock quite easily in Settings --> Language & input. If you decide to keep the Lollipop (white) keyboard, be aware you can make it dark again and appear with separate keys by going to Settings --> Language & input, Google Keyboard --> Appearance & layouts --> Theme, and select Material Dark, or if you prefer the KitKat look, Holo Blue or Holo White.
Consider using a 3rd Party Browser to surf the web from your Nexus 7. Boat Browser, Ghostery Privacy Browser, Opera Mobile or Firefox are all good browser choices! If you choose to use Chrome, make sure to check for updates regularly! Many users report better luck using the latest beta version(s) of Chrome.
Too many Nexus 7 users having problems with performance are using the Facebook App. This can not be a coincidence. It is recommended that you uninstall the Facebook App, and use Facebook with a browser such as Firefox or Ghostery until you stabilize your Nexus 7, and/or until Facebook updates their application. Some users have reported great success using the App "Tinfoil for Facebook", available on Google Play, to access Facebook.
Factory Reset
To perform a Factory Reset (as referenced above in this guide): Settings --> Backup and Reset --> Factory Data Reset. Note: you will lose -ALL- of your personal data, music, pictures, etc., so back those items up if you wish to keep them.
Remember - Android 5 Lollipop is a major new release of Android, and is now just a few months old. I will continue to update this guide as I discover more in the settings, other new Android 5 versions for the Nexus 7 are released, or other tips & tricks are discovered to maximize performance of the Nexus 7. Please post any tips you find. All models of the Nexus 7 can run Lollipop outstandingly well, just not the way it is set to run out of the box. Best of luck achieving maximum performance, and have fun with your Nexus 7!!
Updated: 01/31/2015

I made a few updates to this Guide - post #1 of this thread. Now, includes the Nexus 7 Mobile tablets too, reworded some stuff, and added a few tips. Thank you all for your feedback along the way... !!!
Glad to see the LTE versions of the Nexus 7 get Lollipop too!

Many thanks as usual
I suggested your guide to several users of this fantastic tablet
May I create a couple of 3D into an italian forum (named ANDROIDIANI) recalling this your guide ?? Of course i will underline your reference, this 3D, etc ...

Yes, of course. No problem at all !!

JimTDI said:
Yes, of course. No problem at all !!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok thanks i will inform you when and where i forward your big guide
Ciao
---------- Post added at 02:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:42 PM ----------
Here my first 2 post dedicated to your guide:
http://www.androidiani.com/forum/go...-per-lavorare-meglio-con-lollipop-jimtdi.html
http://www.androidiani.com/forum/go...-per-lavorare-meglio-con-lollipop-jimtdi.html
ciao and thanks so much
paolo

Many Thanks
Many thanks for this, very educational, I had not a clue about most of this.
Mick.
JimTDI said:
Welcome to JimTDI's Guide - Tuning the Nexus 7 with Android 5 Lollipop for Maximum Performance!
What's Up
The goal of this guide is to provide you with a well performing base for your Nexus 7 on which you can then build upon, enabling all the features of Lollipop that you want and need, and leaving the ones that affect performance and are unnecessary or unneeded by you, off or disabled.
Don't worry... we're not going to harm or do anything to your Nexus 7 that can't be easily undone. None of my tuning tips "alter" or "root" your Nexus 7, or do anything that would void your warranty - but let's face it, if you have a Nexus 7, it's probably old enough that it doesn't have a warranty anyway. That being said, use common sense, and make your own choices - I am not responsible for any damage to your Nexus 7 because of my recommendations and tuning tips. Rest assured though, I have tested my recommended settings extensively on both the Nexus 7 2012 and Nexus 7 2013 Wi-Fi models. I'll be as gentle, and as non-technical as possible as we tune your Nexus 7. So, let's begin...
This guide has been recently updated to cover tuning the latest released versions of Android 5 Lollipop on both the Nexus 7 2012 and Nexus 7 2013 Wi-Fi and Mobile models. I'll refer to them as the Nexus 7(12) or Nexus 7(13) hereafter when we need specifics.
The Nexus 7(12) was available in 3 models, with either 8, 16 or 32GB of storage memory - and with 1 GB of memory to run applications. The Nexus 7(13) was available with either 16 or 32GB of storage, and 2GBs of memory to run applications. There were Wi-Fi and mobile editions available. It's always prudent for a Nexus 7 owner to know the specifics of the tablet they own, especially when asking for help or seeking out support, repair, software patches or looking for accessories like a case, or parts.
If you're not sure which model you have here's a tip, if there's a camera on the back side (facing away from you) it's a 2013 model, if it has just a front-facing camera only (no camera on the backside), then it's a 2012.
As you can see from the above specs, the Nexus 7(12) has very limited application memory with just 1GB on board, just one half of what the Nexus 7(13) has. It also has a bit slower processor than the Nexus 7(13) does (you can look those specs up later). Therefore the goal of this guide is to reduce anything that uses excessive memory, battery, and processing power while still providing a buttery smooth, fully functional user interface. After all, that's what the Lollipop & the Material Design experience is all about
What's New
As of this writing (I update this guide regularly!) these are the current Android 5 Lollipop versions for the various Nexus 7 models. For the best performance, -MAKE SURE- you have the latest Android 5 Lollipop version for your particular Nexus 7 device.
Nexus 7(12) Wi-Fi 5.0.2 (prior release 5.0, no 5.0.1 version for the Nexus 7(12) was ever released).
Nexus 7(12) Mobile 5.0.2
Nexus 7(13) Wi-Fi 5.0.2 (prior releases 5.0, and 5.0.1)
Nexus 7(13) Mobile 5.0.2
Some users have received updates from Android 4.x to Android 5 Lollipop "over-the-air" (known as OTA), and some users have either side-loaded or flashed factory images of Android 5 Lollipop. This guide is written assuming you already have Android 5 Lollipop installed on your Nexus 7 tablet. Many users of the Nexus 7 (particularly the 2012 model) have reported major performance issues since the Android 5 Lollipop "update". The majority of users reporting performance issues are those who received their update "over the air" (OTA) while keeping all of their old Apps and settings.
Because of this, if you are experiencing slowness and lag AFTER applying these tuning tips, I then recommend that you do a "Factory Reset" (see the Factory Reset section at the bottom of this guide). Just so you know, "Factory Reset" is a bit of misleading term, as your Nexus 7 probably did not come with Lollipop on it from the factory, and a "Factory Reset" will take you back to a clean base Android 5 Lollipop installation without any of your applications or settings retained. Try my recommended settings below first - many of these settings may make a difference in the performance you see on your Nexus 7 without doing the Factory Reset. If you flashed a factory image to get Lollipop on your Nexus 7, you got a clean base install, and probably don't need to worry about a Factory Reset.
Do you have enough cash? (if you have extra, you can send me some!)
Android Lollipop (and prior versions of Android) use a portion of your Nexus 7's storage space to hold temporary data about the programs you have run, or are running. This area of storage is called the "Recovery Cache" (pronounced "cash"). Over time this area of your storage can hold old outdated or not used information about your system and programs. It is highly recommended to wipe Recovery Cache on your Nexus 7. You do NOT need to do a "Factory Reset" (see above) to wipe Recovery Cache, and you will not lose any of your settings or Apps wiping your Recovery Cache. Wiping the cache at this point will help assure you have a trouble-free and well performing system. Please see the section "Wipe Recovery Cache" directly below on how to perform this important step.
Wipe Recovery Cache
Turn off your Nexus 7
When the device turns off, press & hold the Volume Down button, and then press & hold the Power button simultaneously until the device turns on, then release both buttons.
You'll see the word "Start" with an arrow drawn around it.
Press the Volume Down button twice to highlight Recovery mode.
Press the Power button to start Recovery mode, and release it. You'll see the Google logo, and after a moment you'll see an image of an Android robot laying on it's back with a red exclamation mark.
While holding down the Power button, press and hold the Volume Up button for a second, then release both buttons.
Use the volume buttons to scroll to "wipe cache partition" then briefly press the Power button to select it.
When the cache is cleared (may take a few seconds to a few minutes), press the Power button on the option "reboot system now."
OK, First Things First
When you first run Android Lollipop, it has some housekeeping chores it needs to perform. You want to help these processes as much as possible to improve the performance on your Nexus 7 both the first time you run Lollipop and as time continues.
Lollipop uses a new Android Run Time "engine" (ART) to run programs. ART needs to pre-compile all of the Apps that you install before Android can run them for the first time. This pre-compile is very resource intensive, the more Apps you install, the more compiling will take place. But it doesn't all take place at once! This compilation takes place in the background, usually in idle-time so if you install a bunch of Apps - be patient as Lollipop needs time to compile them. Lollipop assumes you want to run some Apps too, not just wait for your Apps to compile, so it balances time for you to run Apps while it waits to pre-compile others as idle system time allows. Give Lollipop a day or two (or even a week) to settle-in on your Nexus 7, then just remember Lollipop and ART will work in the background after you install new Apps before you actually have the App available to run. ART likes battery too, so be sure to keep your Nexus 7 charged as much as possible until things settle in.
Now that you know a little about ART, Launch the Google Play Store. Tap the 3 stacked bars in the upper left corner and then select "Settings". Select "Auto-update apps" and set the radio button to "Do not auto-update apps". This will prevent Google Play from auto-updating user applications and more importantly compiling them in the background while you are trying to tune/run your Nexus 7. The Google core applications (Maps, GMail, Chrome, etc.) will all still update with "Auto-Update" set to "Do not auto-update apps". You will still receive all notifications about updates from Google Play for Apps you have installed, if you turn on "Notifications" in the same Google Play settings screen where you disable auto-updates. It is recommended that you wait until all Google core Apps have updated, before you begin to install your own Apps, but I understand, easier said than done... Turning off auto-updates of your applications puts you in control of when and which App updates are applied, and the amount of work ART needs to do, and do it in a more controlled manner.
What? - There's More??
Yes! - as if there's not enough going on already in the background, Android Lollipop's Media Scanner also likes to run, reading through the entire storage space on your Nexus 7 looking for various media files to index so that your Apps later can read the index and find your songs, photos, and movie files. Be aware that Media Scanner runs each and every time you reboot your Nexus 7 too, and that uses a lot of battery and affects performance while it runs. I recommend not rebooting or powering off your Nexus 7 unless you need to, unless you want to rescan your media files often (totally un-necessary!). Let your Nexus 7 sleep while you're not using it, and if necessary, plug it in to charge. It's better anyway to leave it on so it can perform maintenance on itself during idle time, while it, and you, sleep.
What do you mean don't swipe, I'm not a thief!
Android Lollipop has an "Overview" button (the big square icon at the bottom right side of the main screen). It stores a graphical card list (Rolodex or Carousel style) of recently used and running Apps allowing you to easily switch between them. Quite a useful feature, quite nice to pick up where you left off! One change in Lollipop is that this list remains, even after a reboot. Speaking of unnecessary things, I recommend -not- removing Apps from the Overview List, and allowing Lollipop to manage them. I know... it feels like something you should do, but just ignore your urge to clear them, the Apps shown there are using limited or no resources and virtually not affecting your performance. Additionally, you'll be swiping them away all the time since there is no "Clear All" feature (by design!). Closing Apps from the Overview Rolodex menu panel takes time, system resources, and uses battery.
Now the fun stuff!
OK, now that we've got a few things out of the way, and you've met ART, wiped your Recovery Cache (you did, right??, if not go back and do it!), and possibly performed a Factory Reset, it's time to change some settings to help your Nexus 7 run smoother and be buttery smooth and snappy. While my settings are not for everyone, you can use them as a base for yours and then enable what you might need, like Bluetooth if you use a Bluetooth device, or enable NFC if you make payments with your Nexus 7 at point-of-sale terminals, etc. Let's go!
Settings --> Wi-Fi --> tap 3 dots upper right --> Advanced --> Scanning Always Available --> OFF
Settings --> Wi-Fi --> tap 3 dots upper right --> Advanced --> Keep Wi-Fi on during sleep --> Always
Settings --> Wi-Fi --> tap 3 dots upper right --> Advanced --> Wi-Fi frequency band --> Automatic (Nexus 7(13) model setting only!)
Settings --> Bluetooth --> OFF (unless you use it)
Settings --> More --> NFC --> OFF
Settings --> Display --> Adaptive Brightness - OFF
Settings --> Display --> Sleep --> 2 minutes
Settings --> Display --> Daydream - OFF
Settings --> Display --> When Device Is Rotated --> set to: "Stay in current orientation" (will save you about 3-5% constant CPU usage). This turns Auto-Rotate off. You can later toggle this on/off as one of the items in the Quick Settings panel with a two finger swipe down from the top on your main Launcher screen so switching it on/off later for NetFlix, etc. is easy.
Settings --> Sound & Notification --> Set all Volumes to lowest level you still can hear comfortably.
Settings --> Sound & Notification --> Events and Reminders --> ON
Settings --> Sound & Notification --> Messages --> OFF
Settings --> Sound & Notification --> Other Sounds --> Screen Locking Sounds --> OFF
Settings --> Sound & Notification --> Other Sounds --> Touch Sounds --> OFF
Settings --> Sound & Notification --> Pulse Notification light --> OFF (Nexus 7(13) only!)
Settings --> Sound & Notification --> When Device is locked --> Don't show notifications at all
Settings --> Sound & Notification --> App notifications --> be aware there are settings for notifications from each App you have. If you don't want Pandora for example notifying you when new music is added to a channel you are subscribed to, or song notifications, you can either set Pandora to Block --> ON, and/or set the Pandora Notifications to --> Priority
Settings --> Sound & Notification --> Notification access --> Uncheck All Boxes (don't allow any, also helps with data privacy!)
Settings --> Storage --> Tap the 3 dots in the upper right, USB computer connection --> set to MTP. This will allow your Nexus 7 to connect to your PC as a Media device. If you want to connect it as a camera to transfer photos, select PTP instead.
Settings --> Battery --> Tap the 3 dots in the upper right, Battery Saver --> OFF, and Turn on Automatically --> Never
Settings --> Location --> ON, set Mode also to Device Only for now. This activates the GPS chip/hardware location of your Nexus 7, but not software location services.
Settings --> Security --> Power button instantly locks --> OFF (this option will only show if you have a lock method specified in Settings --> Security - Screen Lock (I use a PIN).
Settings --> Security --> Owner Info (enter your name and phone number, "Reward if Found..., etc." here, this displays on the lock screen or if your Nexus 7 is rebooted.
Settings --> Security --> Trust Agents --> Deactivate All (turning off Smart Lock (Google) here, removes the display and configuration items in Settings --> Security --> Smart Lock, so if you want to use Smart Lock, (Face Unlock, etc.) leave this set ON. You can toggle it easily, so don't worry if you decide not to use Smart Lock initially, and later decide to use it).
Settings --> Security --> Screen Pinning --> OFF
Settings --> Accounts, select your Google account --> Privacy --> Search --> Google Now --> OFF
Settings --> Accounts, select your Google account --> Privacy --> Search --> Tablet Search --> Uncheck all boxes
Settings --> Accounts, select your Google account --> Privacy --> Search --> Voice --> "OK Google" detection --> all sliders set to OFF
Settings --> Accounts, select your Google account --> Privacy --> Search --> Voice --> Audio History --> OFF
Settings --> Accounts, select your Google account --> Privacy --> Search --> Voice --> Block offensive words --> OFF (damnit!)
Settings --> Accounts, select your Google account --> Ads --> Opt out of interest-based ads - slider set to ON
Settings --> Language & Input --> Voice Input --> Turn OFF "Enhanced Google services", turn ON "Basic Google recognition"
Settings --> Printing --> Cloud Print - OFF (this one really seems to help performance!!)
Developers Options
The following settings are in the 'Developer Options' section of your Settings. If you don't have a 'Developer Options' listed in your Settings, go to Settings --> About Tablet and tap "Build Number" 7 times to enable Developer Settings.
Settings --> Developer Options --> USB debugging --> ON (checked) (can be used later if necessary to recover your Nexus 7 or use advanced ADB commands). Just turn it on and leave it alone for now, no harm!
Settings --> Developer Options --> Use NuPlayer (experimental) --> OFF (unchecked)
Settings --> Developer Options --> Window animation scale --> Animation OFF
Settings --> Developer Options --> Transition animation scale --> Animation OFF
Settings --> Developer Options --> Animator duration scale --> Animation Off
To turn Developer Settings back off: Settings --> Developer Options --> slider switch at top right, OFF (more than OK to leave Developer Settings enabled however!)
More Google Settings
Now let's make some more changes to how your Google Account is associated with your Nexus 7. We covered some of these settings above, but lets go through them again anyway. Go to your App List (where you select icons from to drag to your desktop), and run the already installed App called "Google Settings" (you may be really surprised at some of the default settings!)
Tap the 3 dots upper right - Usage & Diagnostics - set Slider to OFF
Play Games - (you may receive a notice about a Google Account problem, just ignore it) "Level Up Notifications" - uncheck the box, make sure all boxes are unchecked. Also make sure to set "Game Profile" to "Hidden" in the Play Games settings.
Location - set slider to On, and Mode to "Device Only"
Disable 'Google Now' Search & Now --> Google Now, slide to OFF
Turn Tablet Search off - Search & Now --> Tablet Search, uncheck all the boxes.
Accounts & Privacy - all sliders set to OFF, especially "Personal Results", also, "Manage App History", uncheck App History
Voice - all sliders set to OFF
Security - set all sliders to OFF
Some other useful tips for great performance
Some users report intermittent or non-existent Wi-Fi connections after installing or updating to Lollipop. Make sure your wireless router is operating on Channel 11 or under. Lollipop seems to have problems with routers running Channels above 11. If you're not sure what channel your router is on, you can download the excellent free app called "Wifi Analyzer" by author "farproc" from Google Play to easily see these details. You can also make sure your router is not on the same channel as one of your neighbors with this must-have utility.
Check Google Play for updates to your applications regularly, especially for Google's core Apps (Google Maps, Google Play Music, Chrome Browser, etc.) themselves, which have recently updated. Many users are saying the newly updated Google Apps are boosting performance on the Nexus 7 as well. Remember you now have auto-update turned OFF for your Apps, so be sure to check Google Play often for updates and watch your notifications since we set notifications for App updates ON (above).
Use a 3rd Party Launcher! - What is a Launcher? The Launcher is the program that fires when you press the <Home> button (the circle) at the middle bottom of the main screen in Android. It is the program that you drop your icons and widgets onto to later "launch" them by tapping on them. Google provides a "stock" launcher with Lollipop - but you can easily replace it. Simply go to Google Play and select/install the Launcher you want to use, just like any other Android Application. In fact you can have several Launchers installed and switch between them easily. You don't delete the stock launcher, just add others, and select the new one to use, just as you can have two or three browsers installed on your system. Next Launcher 3D (my favorite!), Nova Launcher, Apex Launcher and Go Launcher are all good launcher choices. You can install one or all of them, and choose which one you want to use as you experiment more. To roll back to the original "stock" launcher after you have installed a (better!) Launcher, go into Settings --> (Device Section) --> Home, and select the radio button for the Launcher you would like to use. Using a different Launcher is easy, and does not require you to alter or "root" your Nexus 7, and switching back to the Google Launcher is even easier!
Note: If you choose Nova Launcher (an excellent choice for a first-timer changing Launchers!!), make this change in Nova: Nova Settings --> Desktop --> Wallpaper Scrolling --> Force.
Do not use a Live Wallpaper! Live Wallpapers eat CPU and battery. Later, once you achieve your performance nirvana on your Nexus 7 - you can then try a Live Wallpaper if you so desire.
Nexus 7(12) users - Don't forget you have a camera - Go to Google Play and install "Camera Nexus 7 (official)", Nexus 7(13) users should have Google Camera installed in Lollipop by default.
You may want to strongly consider replacing the stock Lollipop keyboard with a third party (better!) keyboard such as SwiftKey (free). This also seems to help boost performance some as well. You can always add a keyboard, change to it, try it, and change back to the stock quite easily in Settings --> Language & input. If you decide to keep the Lollipop (white) keyboard, be aware you can make it dark again and appear with separate keys by going to Settings --> Language & input, Google Keyboard --> Appearance & layouts --> Theme, and select Material Dark, or if you prefer the KitKat look, Holo Blue or Holo White.
Consider using a 3rd Party Browser to surf the web from your Nexus 7. Boat Browser, Ghostery Privacy Browser, Opera Mobile or Firefox are all good browser choices! If you choose to use Chrome, make sure to check for updates regularly! Many users report better luck using the latest beta version(s) of Chrome.
Too many Nexus 7 users having problems with performance are using the Facebook App. This can not be a coincidence. It is recommended that you uninstall the Facebook App, and use Facebook with a browser such as Firefox or Ghostery until you stabilize your Nexus 7, and/or until Facebook updates their application. Some users have reported great success using the App "Tinfoil for Facebook", available on Google Play, to access Facebook.
Factory Reset
To perform a Factory Reset (as referenced above in this guide): Settings --> Backup and Reset --> Factory Data Reset. Note: you will lose -ALL- of your personal data, music, pictures, etc., so back those items up if you wish to keep them.
Remember - Android 5 Lollipop is a major new release of Android, and is now just a few months old. I will continue to update this guide as I discover more in the settings, other new Android 5 versions for the Nexus 7 are released, or other tips & tricks are discovered to maximize performance of the Nexus 7. Please post any tips you find. All models of the Nexus 7 can run Lollipop outstandingly well, just not the way it is set to run out of the box. Best of luck achieving maximum performance, and have fun with your Nexus 7!!
Updated: 01/31/2015
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

I just posted a new version of my Tuning Guide for the Nexus 7 & Lollipop here:
https://productforums.google.com/d/msg/nexus/EWUtW5-fVrE/zgxJ-S7NSNkJ
I would update it here, but the document is too big now according to a message from this forum when trying to save it...

JimTDI said:
I just posted a new version of my Tuning Guide for the Nexus 7 & Lollipop here:
https://productforums.google.com/d/msg/nexus/EWUtW5-fVrE/zgxJ-S7NSNkJ
I would update it here, but the document is too big now according to a message from this forum when trying to save it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will post my issue and dubt regarding N7 2012 3G with LL there
Many thanks
Paolo

Hello. Thanks for your very useful Guide. Having gone through all your steps I feel my Nexus-7 2012 has improved (less problems) but now I cannot get any sound from the keyboard pressing. Unlike many users, we prefer sound as I can tell whether or not a character has been pressed, eg when entering password. When I go to settings/options etc etc I cannot see any option that allows me to turn keyboard sounds on and off. Perhaps that is being governed by some other weird settings somewhere. Can you help please? Like so many other people, my Nexus-7 was screwed up by Android 5. I am on 5.1.1 ie the latest/last for this machine. Kept failing to respond, or dying to black, though never predictable. Always fine on Android 4 that it came with.

Hi - yes, 5.1.1 crippled many a Nexus 7. Can you tell me the values for Settings > Language & Input > Current Keyboard? If it's the Google Keyboard, touch that (right below current keyboard) then select Preferences > Sound on keypress (make sure it's turned on), and also check Volume on keypress there in the keyboard preferences. If you're using a different keyboard, then we may need to approach this differently to solve your problem.

HI Jim,
our N7 is really too old but ... sometimes some owners ask me on Italian forum in which way they can speed their N7 with LL
I always forward them to this topic and to your very interesting guide
Thanks a lot for all your effort addressed to N7
Really appreciate
Ciao
Paolo

paolocorpo said:
HI Jim,
our N7 is really too old but ... sometimes some owners ask me on Italian forum in which way they can speed their N7 with LL
I always forward them to this topic and to your very interesting guide
Thanks a lot for all your effort addressed to N7
Really appreciate
Ciao
Paolo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you Paolo for your kind words!
-Jim

Cant get Keyboard to click
Hello. Thanks for the Guide. I used it to try to fix my Nexus-7 2012 after the dreaded Android 5 update. It is a bit better after your suggested changes to settings, though still far from good compared to what it was like under Android 4. A key annoying problem is that I cant get the keyboard to click when I try to login to the tablet. I have tried what seems like everything but nothing works. Clicking is important to me because otherwise it is very difficult to tell whether a key stroke has been accepted or not, which is essential when entering passwords. Thanks for any help. Regards Roger Keynes
---------- Post added at 01:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:18 PM ----------
Sorry. Just realised you had replied earlier to my original post. I will look for my settings shortly and post them here. Regards RK
---------- Post added at 01:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:31 PM ----------
Sorry. Just realised you had replied earlier to my original post. I will look for my settings shortly and post them here. Regards RK

No clicking from keyboard
Hello again. The Current Keyboard is English (UK) Gboard, which I believe is the Google Keyboard. Preferences seem to show Sound-on-keypress being ON, and Volume on keypress being 98%. I would have expected that to give me clicking, but it doesnt. Tablet has been turned off and on (many many times of course, due to the frustrations with it hanging up etc) but still I get no clicking. The tablet is basically just as it came orignally, apart from the 'automatically delivered' Android updates, and addition of various Apps from Google Play. No attempt ever made to 'root' it, or anything like that. Any help would be welcomed. Thanks and regards Roger K
PS... Sorry for any mistakes trying to use this forum...not intentional!
---------- Post added at 06:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:53 PM ----------
Sorry but not sure whether you will have seen my keyboard settings that you asked for. I'm obviously not very good at using these forums. In case you didnt see my reply, it says keyboard is Gboard, and Sound on keypress seems to be ON, and Volume on keypress set to 98%. Thanks for any help, regards Roger Keynes

Re: keyboard click
Hello again Jim. Are you able to give me some help with this (refce my post in August)? Sorry but I'm not sure exactly where or how to look for any feedback from you. Perhaps you are on holiday, on maybe not monitoring this any longer? Kind regards, Roger Keynes, Beanosenior.

Do you hear any touch sounds? I have a PIN set and I do get sounds when I enter it to unlock my Nexus 7. I also tried a GMail with GBoard as my keyboard. I am able to hear keypresses there also, so try looking at Settings > Sound & notification > Other Sounds > Touch Sounds > slide to ON.
Sorry it took me a bit of time to get back with you - you're right, I was on holiday.

Keyboard clicks - Touch sounds
JimTDI said:
Do you hear any touch sounds? I have a PIN set and I do get sounds when I enter it to unlock my Nexus 7. I also tried a GMail with GBoard as my keyboard. I am able to hear keypresses there also, so try looking at Settings > Sound & notification > Other Sounds > Touch Sounds > slide to ON.
Sorry it took me a bit of time to get back with you - you're right, I was on holiday.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Jim. Thanks for your feedback. I checked as you suggested, and found that Touch Sounds is already set to ON, and Screen locking sounds is also set to ON. (Docking sounds was OFF, and although I dont think that setting is relevant for me I did turn it on, and powered the N7 off and back on but no change; still no clicking. The places I want clicking are 1) when logging in to the N7, ie to unlock it (what you called a PIN I think), and 2) when putting in password to log in to my email (the latter not gmail but some other provider, but essentially the same thing as you said in your reply). It's really odd. If it hadnt been originally clicking (under Android 4) I perhaps would never have realised that it COULD click! The N7 is in one of those fairly standard protective cases, ie when you close the cover the N7 goes off. We use the machine mainly for downloading the daily TIMES Newspaper, and when away on holiday without laptop then we also use it for Internet and Email. There are many Apps loaded on it but few are used. There's plenty of space available. Every night we charge it up fully. Apart from the clicking issue, the only problem we have is that on some days/times it seems to be hanging, and it's a pig to get into, ie struggle to get to the PIN/login screen. In some of those cases we might see the msg that the UI (user interface I guess) is not responding. The only way to fix it is to power off (hold power button in for 10 secs or so). Sometimes even that does not work at the first try. Though the WiFi signal in the house is showing as fairly week, it doesnt really seem to be that per-se which is affecting it. We've been on holiday where the signal was much better but still had similar problems. As you can guess from the above, patience is needed when using the N7; and it wasnt like that under Android 4. I have a little more patience in this particular respect than my dear wife! Once you finally get to the PIN screen, and on to the Times App, or the Internet/Email, it seems to work quite reasonably. Not that fast, but at least tolerable. All your suggestions in the guide have, I think, helped, but as you can gather there's still a fair frequency of despair! I keep thinking of ditching it for a more modern tablet (Samsung S2 seems good even though 2+ years old), but then the good old N7 behaves for a while and i continue to save my money...... Any thoughts welcomed. Best regards.

beanosenior said:
Hi Jim. Thanks for your feedback. I checked as you suggested, and found that Touch Sounds is already set to ON, and Screen locking sounds is also set to ON. (Docking sounds was OFF, and although I dont think that setting is relevant for me I did turn it on, and powered the N7 off and back on but no change; still no clicking. The places I want clicking are 1) when logging in to the N7, ie to unlock it (what you called a PIN I think), and 2) when putting in password to log in to my email (the latter not gmail but some other provider, but essentially the same thing as you said in your reply). It's really odd. If it hadnt been originally clicking (under Android 4) I perhaps would never have realised that it COULD click! The N7 is in one of those fairly standard protective cases, ie when you close the cover the N7 goes off. We use the machine mainly for downloading the daily TIMES Newspaper, and when away on holiday without laptop then we also use it for Internet and Email. There are many Apps loaded on it but few are used. There's plenty of space available. Every night we charge it up fully. Apart from the clicking issue, the only problem we have is that on some days/times it seems to be hanging, and it's a pig to get into, ie struggle to get to the PIN/login screen. In some of those cases we might see the msg that the UI (user interface I guess) is not responding. The only way to fix it is to power off (hold power button in for 10 secs or so). Sometimes even that does not work at the first try. Though the WiFi signal in the house is showing as fairly week, it doesnt really seem to be that per-se which is affecting it. We've been on holiday where the signal was much better but still had similar problems. As you can guess from the above, patience is needed when using the N7; and it wasnt like that under Android 4. I have a little more patience in this particular respect than my dear wife! Once you finally get to the PIN screen, and on to the Times App, or the Internet/Email, it seems to work quite reasonably. Not that fast, but at least tolerable. All your suggestions in the guide have, I think, helped, but as you can gather there's still a fair frequency of despair! I keep thinking of ditching it for a more modern tablet (Samsung S2 seems good even though 2+ years old), but then the good old N7 behaves for a while and i continue to save my money...... Any thoughts welcomed. Best regards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not quite sure what to recommend to you as far as getting your clicking back, sorry.
As far as performance goes - on one of my Nexus 7s (2012) I am running what's called Pure Nexus and it's running really fast. If you feel technically comfortable with altering your Nexus 7 it might be a way to go...

After a lot of time using stock rom and your tips and tricks I have decided to downgrade from 5 to 4 version
The usage with 5 is very ... unusable
I am obligated to use rom stock because unfortunately I have an app that cannot runs with Tom custom
Inviato dal mio HTC One M9 utilizzando Tapatalk

paolocorpo said:
After a lot of time using stock rom and your tips and tricks I have decided to downgrade from 5 to 4 version
The usage with 5 is very ... unusable
I am obligated to use rom stock because unfortunately I have an app that cannot runs with Tom custom
Inviato dal mio HTC One M9 utilizzando Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I get it... Lollipop did a number on many of the Nexus 7(12s), hence the guide. Good luck flashing back!

[Guide Step-by-Step] Bypass FRP NXT-L29C605B100

Hi everyone,
I know this is quite old but while trying to get past FRP on a Mate 8 I bought recently I ran into a few issues that I thought I would share.
I followed a couple of guides to no avail, I found the information contained within this one to be the most helpful.
The first issue I ran into was not having access to the Assist option on input fields, the options I had were Cut, Copy and Share.
After clicking Share I was given a limited menu of installed applications, but included in the list was Gmail. This opened the app and allowed me to sign into an account (not a Google account though so it had to be Yahoo) I emailed myself a link to Google and was able to open Chrome.
On a side note another way to do this is using the Notes function from the Emergency Call screen. Not recommended obviously.
I used the guide above to download the APKs needed but Chrome didn't allow me access to launch the APKs.
This is where I became stuck for a long time! I tried so much stuff to be able to install those APKs, i tried using file:///sdcard/ but Chrome just tried to download them again.
After much fiddling and cycling through all Share option apps I was back in Gmail, this is where I struck gold. While in Gmail if you go into the account settings you can press the 3dot menu in the upper right corner and choose the option Manage Accounts. This will take you to the full settings menu albeit with some limitations (can't enable Developer Options)
From here it's pretty plain sailing, go down to Advanced Options then into Memory & Storage. Use Storage Cleaner, this will let you either click Storage in the top left or once the scan has finished the option Store Manager will appear at the bottom. This screen gives you two circles that represents Phone storage (left) and Micro SD (right) pressing either circle will take you into File Manager and allow you to install the APKs and you can follow the guide linked above from Step 5 to get around FRP
I hope this helps someone out there.
Step-by-Step
1. Boot phone and get to FRP Gmail input screen.
2. Input any text and Long Hold for options
3. Choose Share and share with Gmail
4. Sign into a Yahoo account and email yourself a link
5. Click link to open Chrome and download APKs from here
6. Use long hold share menu to get back to Gmail
7. Tap 3Line menu on top left, choose Settings
8. 3Dot menu on top right, choose Manage Accounts
9. Advanced Settings then choose Memory & Storage
10. Storage Cleaner then either top left for Storage or bottom for Store Manager
11. Press either of the storage circles, this will open File Manager, navigate to downloaded APKs and install them.
12. Follow THIS GUIDE from Step 5
13. Relax after the longest step by step guide ever???

Unlocking Bowflex Velocore

Note that this post is being updated with new information as we figure things out.
This jailbreak should allow you to use the console like a normal Android tablet, install and run any software on it from the Play Store and sideload software as well as run the JRNY app. It does not root the device. We have tested it on Bowflex Velocore, but assume that it will most likely work on other new Bowflex products with an Android tablet that are locked into JRNY. While we believe things are working in general, it has not been extensively tested. We are releasing it early in hopes to get more people interested in improving it.
Follow these instructions at your own risk. Read through all of the instructions before deciding to follow through. Making modification to your device may cause it to stop working. It may also void your warranty.
The instructions were written after we had already jailbroken our bikes, so we didn't really have a way to test that they work exactly as documented on a locked bike. Some experimentation may be needed. Good luck!
Step 1: Reboot.
Step 2: On the Bowflex screen showing the serial number, rapidly tap on upper right corner until a menu appears.
Step 3: Select 'Manufacturing App'.
Step 4: Long press the home button at the back of the screen and wait for Google Assistant to pop up.
Step 5: Type 'settings' to Google assistant and hit enter.
Step 6: In settings, enable ADB debugging from: System - Developer Settings - USB debugging.
Step 7: Look up your ip address from Network settings.
Step 8: Using adb (from Android platform tools) on your Desktop (which needs to be connected to the same network as your Velocore):
adb connect <replace-with-velocore-ip-address-from-step-7>​adb shell​touch /sdcard/Pictures/nautilus​am stopservice com.nautilus.nautiluslauncher/com.nautilus.nautiluslauncher.thirdparty.appmonitor.AppMonitorService​settings put secure ntls_launcher_preference 0​settings put secure navigationbar_switch 1​settings put secure notification_switch 1​settings put secure statusbar_switch 1​settings put global ota_disable_automatic_update 1​Step 9: In settings - apps, force-stop NautilusLauncher.
Step 10: In settings - apps, set Quickstep as the default home app. Otherwise NautilusLauncher will take over when you press the home button and undo the jailbreak.
At this point, a reboot should take you to the Android home screen instead of JRNY. For JRNY to be able to connect to the bike, some of the services in NautilusLauncher need to be running. Unfortunately, starting NautilusLauncher will undo the jailbreak. To get around that, use the following to automatically start NautilusLauncher at startup and perform a jailbreak:
Step 11: Install Tasker (costs $3.50)
Step 12: In Tasker, create a new Profile 'Event - System - Device Boot'. Add the following tasks to the profile:
Task 1: App - Launch App - NautilusLauncher
Task 2: Task - Wait, configuration: 30 seconds
Task 3: Code - ADB Wifi, configuration:
Command:
until appMonitor=$(dumpsys activity services AppMonitorService | grep "(nothing)"); do am stopservice com.nautilus.nautiluslauncher/com.nautilus.nautiluslauncher.thirdparty.appmonitor.AppMonitorService; sleep 1; done;​settings put secure ntls_launcher_preference 0;​settings put secure navigationbar_switch 1;​settings put secure notification_switch 1;​settings put secure statusbar_switch 1;​settings put global ota_disable_automatic_update 1;​settings put system screen_brightness 255;​
At this point one more problem remains. JRNY app has its own screen saver which turns the screen off after five minutes of inactivity. If you have some other app at the foreground, you'll soon notice that your screen turns black and you seemingly can only get forwards by rebooting. To solve this:
Step 13: In Tasker, create a new Profile 'Event - System - Device Boot'. Add the following tasks to the profile:
Task 1: Task - Wait, configuration: 50 ms
Task 2: Display - Display Brightness: 255
Task 3: Task - Goto, configuration: 1
At this point, a reboot takes you to the Android home screen. After a few seconds, Tasker will launch NautilusLauncher and you will be taken to JRNY. Once the tasker wait has finished, a jailbreak is done. Then, you can swipe off JRNY and NautilusLauncher and should be fully jailbroken.
Note that Bowflex pushes software updates to the bike automatically. It's possible that future updates will stop this jailbreak from working. To try to prevent this, we have uninstalled the nautilus_ota_client app as well as set the 'ota_disable_automatic_update' setting above. We haven't confirmed that these are effective to preventing updates. If you decide to uninstall the app and use the setting, consider the following:
You may not receive new updates to the software of the bike anymore.
In case you later decide that you want to get updates again, make sure to backup the apk before uninstalling!.
----------
Troubleshooting:
If your console takes a long time to boot, the jailbreak may try to execute too early. Try to increase the wait time.
Sometimes the launcher seems to restart itself before the jailbreak is completed. You might still get jailbroken on the second start, but if not, just reboot and try again.
Sometimes when escaping JRNY after the jailbreak, the background might show the Bowflex image. Not sure if it actually effects anything, but just in case, you can just reboot and try again.
Some people seem to have trouble with an automated jailbreak using the device boot Tasker profile (step 12). If you are experiencing this, a more manual approach might work better for you:
Remove the profile from step 12.
Instead, create a profile 'Event - Hardware - Volume Long Press'.
Add task 'Code - ADB Wifi' with the commands from the initial instructions.
Save.
Now, when you reboot, it'll take you to the Android home screen. Then, start the 'NautilusLauncher' app, which will take you to JRNY. Once in JRNY, long press the 'volume up' button behind the screen to manually perform the unlock.
Some people have had problem with step 10 (set Quickstep as default home app). You can try rebooting all the way to JRNY, then doing 'adb shell am stopservice com.nautilus.nautiluslauncher/com.nautilus.nautiluslauncher.thirdparty.appmonitor.AppMonitorService'. Then swiping up and going to settings, force-stopping NautilusLauncher and then setting Quickstep as the default home launcher app.
If the unlock doesn't work after the Tasker automation, you should still be able to connect using adb and execute the commands on adb shell to perform the unlock manually after which you can then edit your Tasker profile.
To view the bike data (burn rate, resistance) with 3rd party applications (full screen):
Start a JRNY workout with entertainment feature available. Manual workout under programs works well.
Choose any of the entertainment app options (ie Netflix) and start workout.
Swipe entertainment app to the side and open the 3rd party application you'd like to use
Use Peloton app (or other apps (with Zwift, use the workout with Zwift program instead)) while showing cadence, resistance and heart rate (split-screen):
Start JRNY app
Go back to the home screen.
Start Peloton app
Swipe up to the side-by-side app selector.
Long press the Peloton icon and select split-screen. This splits the screen to left and right, with left part running Peloton.
Click JRNY app on the right part of screen.
Adjust the screen divider so that Peloton app takes 2/3rds of the screen.
Select programs - work out with Peloton on JRNY and click start workout.
Select your program in the peloton app.
You can have your heart rate monitor synced either to the Peloton app or the JRNY app via the normal heart rate monitor options of the apps.
To get Zwift working on the bike:
Install xapk manager from https://apkfab.com/xapk-manager/com.apkfab.installer/download
Download zwift from https://m.apkpure.com/zwift/com.zwift.zwiftgame
Install
To run, start JRNY and have the workout with Zwift program running. After that switch to Zwift and it'll see the data from the bike.
It looks like getting the bike to send data to Zwift is a bit trickier than I originally thought. Sometimes it's easy to get the link to work. Other times, not so much. Figuring out how you can use Zwift consistently still needs some more work.
The bike console is a bit underpowered for Zwift graphics, so also experimenting with remote desktop type apps to have Zwift running on a laptop while the screen is shown on the bike console with smoother graphics. So far have had some good results with cast receiver / chrome cast. But it is only one way, so while you can see the screen, you can't control it.
----------
Some random notes for anyone interested in helping and improving the jailbreak:
Before starting to hack around, I strongly recommend that you back up all of the custom nautilus software apks so that you have some way of reinstalling them later if required.
adb via usb
If you open the back of the screen, there is a micro usb slot on the motherboard that can used to connect adb.
As you can connect adb via wifi, not sure if this is really needed for anything.
adb reboot recovery
Reboots, takes you to a screen saying 'erasing' and in the end you end up on a standard android tablet setup screen with all custom software (including the bowflex software) erased.
adb reboot bootloader (my personal experience with this):
Rebooted, got to the 'powered by android' screen, but seemed to be stuck there.
Tried a bunch of key presses at the back of the screen. With some of them pressed, the console playd a sound effect, but wasn't able to get forwards from the screen.
For a while thought that i had bricked the console. Unplugged it for half an hour and when i came back and plugged it back it, it booted again.
factory reset
Unplug the bike.
Hold the top button (which looks like a disk/arrow).
Plug back in.
Release the button once you see a while box blip that says applying golden image.
NOTE: I wasn't able to get this to work after erasing the device with 'adb reboot recovery', which probably means that it only works as long as NautilusLauncher is installed.
serial port
The bike connects to the console via a serial port. The device entry for it is /dev/ttyS4.
Only system/root has access to the device, which is why we need NautilusLauncher running to get JRNY to connect to the bike.
NautilusLauncher has a service called SerialPortService, which basically forwards input and output from and to the serial port to tcp:9999.
JRNY app connects to the serial port via the tcp port.
It might be interesting to make an app that connects to tcp:9999 to listen to the bike, e.g. for a custom HUD.
JRNY
Doesn't require system privileges unlike the other bowflex apps.
You can unpack the apk, make changes to it (such as disabling the screen saver and connecting to a different tcp port to connect to the bike), repack and sign it with our own key and have it successfully installed and ran. While the bike connectivity works after doing this, the app seems to have problems, e.g. if trying to bring up the overlay or start with workout with zwift program. Hoping that these can be fixed over time.
"/sdcard/Pictures/nautilus"
The existance of this file controls if NautilusLauncher disables adb debugging upon startup.
modifying JRNY
unpack: apktool d Bowflex_base.apk
...make changes...
repack: apktool b Bowflex_base -o Bowflex_edited.apk
create your own signing key: keytool -genkey -v -keystore my-apk-hack-key.keystore -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -validity 10000
sign the modified apk: jarsigner -verbose -sigalg MD5withRSA -digestalg SHA1 -keystore my-apk-hack-key.keystore Bowflex_edited.apk mykey
disable JRNY screen saver by modifying JRNY apk:
edit smali/com/nautilus/bowflex/managers/ScreenDimmingManager.smali
change 'getDimmingEnabled' method to:
.method public static final synthetic access$getDimmingEnabled$p(Lcom/nautilus/bowflex/managers/ScreenDimmingManagerZ
.locals 0
const/4 p0, 0x0
return p0
.end method
over-the-air updates
Bowflex pushes new updates to the console. It's possible that one of these future updates will cause this jailbreak to stop working.
To prevent that, we have uninstalled the nautilus_ota_client app, as well use the setting 'settings put global ota_disable_automatic_update 1'.
We haven't really looked into the updating process, so not completely sure that the above will actually prevent them.
In future, we are hoping to be able to pull the updated apks from somewhere and perform the updates manually. Meanwhile, you can just keep using the current versions of the software.
There is a file that (we assume) contains the credentials for the ota updates. This may be helpful in pulling the updated apks / firmware manually in future: /sdcard/Nautilus/redbend/Credentials.txt
secret menus
In the Bowflex screen showing the serial number
Rapidly click on top right corner to bring up their super secret menu.
Rapidly click on top left corner to bring up the current firmware version number.
Rapidly click on bottom left corner to bring up their secret menu.
In the jrny app login screen:
Rapidly click on top right corner to bring up their advanced features menu.

Updated the instructions with a simple solution to the screen saver / black screen problem.

Updated with instructions on how to use the Peloton app (or other apps) while being able to see cadence, resistance and heart rate on the screen.

Hey, Thanks for the post, I'm very excited to not be locked into JRNY.
I'm not the most familiar with the tools in this process but I got to step 10. When i change to Quickstep the machine restarts, seems to hang a bit at the boot up screen (with the serial number) and just boots back into JRNY. I've tried a few times now with the same result.
in the troubleshooting section it states
If your console takes a long time to boot, the jailbreak may try to execute too early. Try to increase the wait time.
I'm wondering if that's my issue here and was curious how one might "increase the wait time?
Thanks for any clarification you can offer.

magufalo said:
Hey, Thanks for the post, I'm very excited to not be locked into JRNY.
I'm not the most familiar with the tools in this process but I got to step 10. When i change to Quickstep the machine restarts, seems to hang a bit at the boot up screen (with the serial number) and just boots back into JRNY. I've tried a few times now with the same result.
in the troubleshooting section it states
If your console takes a long time to boot, the jailbreak may try to execute too early. Try to increase the wait time.
I'm wondering if that's my issue here and was curious how one might "increase the wait time?
Thanks for any clarification you can offer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the most likely cause for that to happen would be if NautilusLauncher was still running.
When you do step 9 (In settings - apps, force-stop NautilusLauncher), does the 'force-stop' button turn gray? If not, see if you have 'Bowflex' application running and force-stop it first and then force-stop NautilusLauncher.

Is there any way to get the Bowflex_base.apk file? Right now I have a $3k android tablet with no NautilusLauncher/Utility/JRNY app. Thank you!

scafs said:
Is there any way to get the Bowflex_base.apk file? Right now I have a $3k android tablet with no NautilusLauncher/Utility/JRNY app. Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are links to the ota client and nautiluslauncher in the comments section of the reddit unlocking thread
https://www.reddit.com/r/Bowflex/comments/mi8wdo
I think they should be enough to get the bike to do a self update and restore all the original software.

xasmx said:
Note that this post is being updated with new information as we figure things out.
This jailbreak should allow you to use the console like a normal Android tablet, install and run any software on it from the Play Store and sideload software as well as run the JRNY app. It does not root the device. We have tested it on Bowflex Velocore, but assume that it will most likely work on other new Bowflex products with an Android tablet that are locked into JRNY. While we believe things are working in general, it has not been extensively tested. We are releasing it early in hopes to get more people interested in improving it.
Follow these instructions at your own risk. Read through all of the instructions before deciding to follow through. Making modification to your device may cause it to stop working. It may also void your warranty.
The instructions were written after we had already jailbroken our bikes, so we didn't really have a way to test that they work exactly as documented on a locked bike. Some experimentation may be needed. Good luck!
Step 1: Reboot.
Step 2: On the Bowflex screen showing the serial number, rapidly tap on upper right corner until a menu appears.
Step 3: Select 'Manufacturing App'.
Step 4: Long press the home button at the back of the screen and wait for Google Assistant to pop up.
Step 5: Type 'settings' to Google assistant and hit enter.
Step 6: In settings, enable ADB debugging from: System - Developer Settings - USB debugging.
Step 7: Look up your ip address from Network settings.
Step 8: Using adb (from Android platform tools) on your Desktop (which needs to be connected to the same network as your Velocore):
adb connect <replace-with-velocore-ip-address-from-step-7>​adb shell​touch /sdcard/Pictures/nautilus​am stopservice com.nautilus.nautiluslauncher/com.nautilus.nautiluslauncher.thirdparty.appmonitor.AppMonitorService​settings put secure ntls_launcher_preference 0​settings put secure navigationbar_switch 1​settings put secure notification_switch 1​settings put secure statusbar_switch 1​settings put global ota_disable_automatic_update 1​Step 9: In settings - apps, force-stop NautilusLauncher.
Step 10: In settings - apps, set Quickstep as the default home app. Otherwise NautilusLauncher will take over when you press the home button and undo the jailbreak.
At this point, a reboot should take you to the Android home screen instead of JRNY. For JRNY to be able to connect to the bike, some of the services in NautilusLauncher need to be running. Unfortunately, starting NautilusLauncher will undo the jailbreak. To get around that, use the following to automatically start NautilusLauncher at startup and perform a jailbreak:
Step 11: Install Tasker (costs $3.50)
Step 12: In Tasker, create a new Profile 'Event - System - Device Boot'. Add the following tasks to the profile:
Task 1: App - Launch App - NautilusLauncher
Task 2: Task - Wait, configuration: 30 seconds
Task 3: Code - ADB Wifi, configuration:
Command:
until appMonitor=$(dumpsys activity services AppMonitorService | grep "(nothing)"); do am stopservice com.nautilus.nautiluslauncher/com.nautilus.nautiluslauncher.thirdparty.appmonitor.AppMonitorService; sleep 1; done;​settings put secure ntls_launcher_preference 0;​settings put secure navigationbar_switch 1;​settings put secure notification_switch 1;​settings put secure statusbar_switch 1;​settings put global ota_disable_automatic_update 1;​settings put system screen_brightness 255;​
At this point one more problem remains. JRNY app has its own screen saver which turns the screen off after five minutes of inactivity. If you have some other app at the foreground, you'll soon notice that your screen turns black and you seemingly can only get forwards by rebooting. To solve this:
Step 13: In Tasker, create a new Profile 'Event - System - Device Boot'. Add the following tasks to the profile:
Task 1: Task - Wait, configuration: 50 ms
Task 2: Display - Display Brightness: 255
Task 3: Task - Goto, configuration: 1
At this point, a reboot takes you to the Android home screen. After a few seconds, Tasker will launch NautilusLauncher and you will be taken to JRNY. Once the tasker wait has finished, a jailbreak is done. Then, you can swipe off JRNY and NautilusLauncher and should be fully jailbroken.
Note that Bowflex pushes software updates to the bike automatically. It's possible that future updates will stop this jailbreak from working. To try to prevent this, we have uninstalled the nautilus_ota_client app as well as set the 'ota_disable_automatic_update' setting above. We haven't confirmed that these are effective to preventing updates. If you decide to uninstall the app and use the setting, consider the following:
You may not receive new updates to the software of the bike anymore.
In case you later decide that you want to get updates again, make sure to backup the apk before uninstalling!.
----------
Troubleshooting:
If your console takes a long time to boot, the jailbreak may try to execute too early. Try to increase the wait time.
Sometimes the launcher seems to restart itself before the jailbreak is completed. You might still get jailbroken on the second start, but if not, just reboot and try again.
Sometimes when escaping JRNY after the jailbreak, the background might show the Bowflex image. Not sure if it actually effects anything, but just in case, you can just reboot and try again.
Some people seem to have trouble with an automated jailbreak using the device boot Tasker profile (step 12). If you are experiencing this, a more manual approach might work better for you:
Remove the profile from step 12.
Instead, create a profile 'Event - Hardware - Volume Long Press'.
Add task 'Code - ADB Wifi' with the commands from the initial instructions.
Save.
Now, when you reboot, it'll take you to the Android home screen. Then, start the 'NautilusLauncher' app, which will take you to JRNY. Once in JRNY, long press the 'volume up' button behind the screen to manually perform the unlock.
Some people have had problem with step 10 (set Quickstep as default home app). You can try rebooting all the way to JRNY, then doing 'adb shell am stopservice com.nautilus.nautiluslauncher/com.nautilus.nautiluslauncher.thirdparty.appmonitor.AppMonitorService'. Then swiping up and going to settings, force-stopping NautilusLauncher and then setting Quickstep as the default home launcher app.
If the unlock doesn't work after the Tasker automation, you should still be able to connect using adb and execute the commands on adb shell to perform the unlock manually after which you can then edit your Tasker profile.
To view the bike data (burn rate, resistance) with 3rd party applications (full screen):
Start a JRNY workout with entertainment feature available. Manual workout under programs works well.
Choose any of the entertainment app options (ie Netflix) and start workout.
Swipe entertainment app to the side and open the 3rd party application you'd like to use
Use Peloton app (or other apps (with Zwift, use the workout with Zwift program instead)) while showing cadence, resistance and heart rate (split-screen):
Start JRNY app
Go back to the home screen.
Start Peloton app
Swipe up to the side-by-side app selector.
Long press the Peloton icon and select split-screen. This splits the screen to left and right, with left part running Peloton.
Click JRNY app on the right part of screen.
Adjust the screen divider so that Peloton app takes 2/3rds of the screen.
Select programs - work out with Peloton on JRNY and click start workout.
Select your program in the peloton app.
You can have your heart rate monitor synced either to the Peloton app or the JRNY app via the normal heart rate monitor options of the apps.
To get Zwift working on the bike:
Install xapk manager from https://apkfab.com/xapk-manager/com.apkfab.installer/download
Download zwift from https://m.apkpure.com/zwift/com.zwift.zwiftgame
Install
To run, start JRNY and have the workout with Zwift program running. After that switch to Zwift and it'll see the data from the bike.
It looks like getting the bike to send data to Zwift is a bit trickier than I originally thought. Sometimes it's easy to get the link to work. Other times, not so much. Figuring out how you can use Zwift consistently still needs some more work.
The bike console is a bit underpowered for Zwift graphics, so also experimenting with remote desktop type apps to have Zwift running on a laptop while the screen is shown on the bike console with smoother graphics. So far have had some good results with cast receiver / chrome cast. But it is only one way, so while you can see the screen, you can't control it.
----------
Some random notes for anyone interested in helping and improving the jailbreak:
Before starting to hack around, I strongly recommend that you back up all of the custom nautilus software apks so that you have some way of reinstalling them later if required.
adb via usb
If you open the back of the screen, there is a micro usb slot on the motherboard that can used to connect adb.
As you can connect adb via wifi, not sure if this is really needed for anything.
adb reboot recovery
Reboots, takes you to a screen saying 'erasing' and in the end you end up on a standard android tablet setup screen with all custom software (including the bowflex software) erased.
adb reboot bootloader (my personal experience with this):
Rebooted, got to the 'powered by android' screen, but seemed to be stuck there.
Tried a bunch of key presses at the back of the screen. With some of them pressed, the console playd a sound effect, but wasn't able to get forwards from the screen.
For a while thought that i had bricked the console. Unplugged it for half an hour and when i came back and plugged it back it, it booted again.
factory reset
Unplug the bike.
Hold the top button (which looks like a disk/arrow).
Plug back in.
Release the button once you see a while box blip that says applying golden image.
NOTE: I wasn't able to get this to work after erasing the device with 'adb reboot recovery', which probably means that it only works as long as NautilusLauncher is installed.
serial port
The bike connects to the console via a serial port. The device entry for it is /dev/ttyS4.
Only system/root has access to the device, which is why we need NautilusLauncher running to get JRNY to connect to the bike.
NautilusLauncher has a service called SerialPortService, which basically forwards input and output from and to the serial port to tcp:9999.
JRNY app connects to the serial port via the tcp port.
It might be interesting to make an app that connects to tcp:9999 to listen to the bike, e.g. for a custom HUD.
JRNY
Doesn't require system privileges unlike the other bowflex apps.
You can unpack the apk, make changes to it (such as disabling the screen saver and connecting to a different tcp port to connect to the bike), repack and sign it with our own key and have it successfully installed and ran. While the bike connectivity works after doing this, the app seems to have problems, e.g. if trying to bring up the overlay or start with workout with zwift program. Hoping that these can be fixed over time.
"/sdcard/Pictures/nautilus"
The existance of this file controls if NautilusLauncher disables adb debugging upon startup.
modifying JRNY
unpack: apktool d Bowflex_base.apk
...make changes...
repack: apktool b Bowflex_base -o Bowflex_edited.apk
create your own signing key: keytool -genkey -v -keystore my-apk-hack-key.keystore -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -validity 10000
sign the modified apk: jarsigner -verbose -sigalg MD5withRSA -digestalg SHA1 -keystore my-apk-hack-key.keystore Bowflex_edited.apk mykey
disable JRNY screen saver by modifying JRNY apk:
edit smali/com/nautilus/bowflex/managers/ScreenDimmingManager.smali
change 'getDimmingEnabled' method to:
.method public static final synthetic access$getDimmingEnabled$p(Lcom/nautilus/bowflex/managers/ScreenDimmingManagerZ
.locals 0
const/4 p0, 0x0
return p0
.end method
over-the-air updates
Bowflex pushes new updates to the console. It's possible that one of these future updates will cause this jailbreak to stop working.
To prevent that, we have uninstalled the nautilus_ota_client app, as well use the setting 'settings put global ota_disable_automatic_update 1'.
We haven't really looked into the updating process, so not completely sure that the above will actually prevent them.
In future, we are hoping to be able to pull the updated apks from somewhere and perform the updates manually. Meanwhile, you can just keep using the current versions of the software.
There is a file that (we assume) contains the credentials for the ota updates. This may be helpful in pulling the updated apks / firmware manually in future: /sdcard/Nautilus/redbend/Credentials.txt
secret menus
In the Bowflex screen showing the serial number
Rapidly click on top right corner to bring up their super secret menu.
Rapidly click on top left corner to bring up the current firmware version number.
Rapidly click on bottom left corner to bring up their secret menu.
In the jrny app login screen:
Rapidly click on top right corner to bring up their advanced features menu.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm atru

I got it unlocked! But now I'm struggling to reaccess JRNY. The generic app store app cannot find my bike and doesn't have an option for Velocore. Is there a way to have the original JRNY (built for the bike) and Peloton up on the screen?

I added links to backups of the preinstalled apps on Velocore to the Reddit thread.

Laurenann said:
I got it unlocked! But now I'm struggling to reaccess JRNY. The generic app store app cannot find my bike and doesn't have an option for Velocore. Is there a way to have the original JRNY (built for the bike) and Peloton up on the screen?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The generic version of the JRNY doesn't support Velocore. You need the version of JRNY that comes with the bike and to have that version of the JRNY app connect to the bike, you need to follow all the steps in the instructions. You can run the generic Peloton app and it'll show up on the screen. But if you want all the bike sensors to show up at the same time, there are some more specific instuctions for Peloton app later in the document.

Hello again - JRNY updated and I'm trying to re-jailbreak but can't access Google Assistant in any way. I long press the home button and the edge of the screen glows white and the little white bubble pops up on the bottom but that's it. I can't hold or tap it enough to make it show back up. Is there any other way to get to settings to force stop Nautilus?

Hi. I've heard from someone else that the jailbreak doesn't work, as described, after the latest update (5.0.0.292 version of NautilusLauncher). I'm still running with the old version myself (I disabled updated after the jailbreak), so not sure if you can get to the settings somehow.
You can still jailbreak the bike by first downgrading the software to 5.0.0.268 and then performing the jailbreak. To do that, you'll need to do a factory reset and then reinstall the old versions of the software that are linked in the reddit thread. Someone also wrote a bit more detailed instructions on how to do this in the comments section there.

EDIT- i now see the post from rg64ml128, and have located the links in the reddit thread I also missed. Thank you!
My bowflex velocore (my gfs bowflex velocore) has a dead spot in the screen, but I wasn't sure it wasn't just the UI /****ty firmware until I tried to do a factory reset to see if that would help solve the issue. I didn't follow any steps above under the assumption it would reboot to factory version of the pre installed software. Oops...
Turns out i factory reset the whole tablet to android, and now I'm stuck in Android mode with no way to get back to the original factory settings. this would be cool if it wasn't my gfs, who is pissed at me. Any one know of any way to go back to the beginning? So far I've seen no traces of the original software.

I factory reset my bowflex velocore using their secret menu (bottom left) and now I don't have audio, but am on android without all the bowflex preinstalled apps. Does anyone else have this issue?

quackinator said:
I factory reset my bowflex velocore using their secret menu (bottom left) and now I don't have audio, but am on android without all the bowflex preinstalled apps. Does anyone else have this issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure if I ever tried audio right after a factory reset, but I don't see any reason why it would not work. I've done factory resets and then reinstalled the bowflex apps with a jailbreak and definitely have audio at that point.

Unfortunately the jrny app links on the reddit post are no longer valid. Could anyone please share working links if possible?

Running the latest version 5.0.0.425 step 4 to get to the google assistance settings no longer works. When I gold the home button, google assistance appears for a second and immediately disappears, so I can't access settings to turn on.
What are my options ?

Has anyone tried adding a momentary switch on the unpopulated Boot SEL switch ( sw1 ) I am wondering what it does?
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}

Hi.
Any idea if that method is working on Vision Fitness treadmill?
Regards.

SP9820E SoC powered kid watches and rebrands: Kinyo, Garett, Lemfo, etc.

State of market
Do NOT buy this watch. It looks like excellent value for money, but much modern H1 / W5 series with Android 9 and full Play Store just hit the shelves on AliExpress for almost the same price.
If mine arrives I'll create separate thread about them.
Brands
My specific watch that I used to experiment with is G4P, bought straight from Chinese factory:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
However almost everything from this thread applies to any watch running on SP9820E SoC, like G4E or G4H series.
Those watches are also often rebranded and sold as: Kinyo, Garett, Lemfo, Wonlex, Locon and many more.
Just check in spec if it is running on 9820E chip and you are good to go.
Reasons for modding
Those watches by default use very limited set of very simple applications presented in most ugly launcher and icon sets achievable by humans.
You can not install any extra applications and what you get from the box is very disappointing.
Also they are meant to be managed exclusively by corresponding phone application like SeTracker 2 (or rebrands like Garett Tracker),
which means you need to send your data to Chinese service and use WeeChat for chats/video calls, whether you like it or not.
This is true shame, because SP9820E is quite powerful hardware, here is GeekBench score.
Do not be fooled by oversimplified stock software - you can run pretty much any "real" application on it.
Luckily because those watches use Android under the hood you can transform them to something more feature-rich and more pleasant to use.
Android KitKat is NOT Android Wear
Those watches use Android 4.4, codename KitKat. Just like old phones. Please do not confuse it with Android Wear operating system and do not try to use applications built for Android Wear. Whatever you use must be Android 4.4 compatible, anything newer won't install at all. Android on this watch is heavily modified, lacks some components and you will run into many crashes or weird behaviour. Sections below will help you to navigate through those issues.
Also applications back in KitKat era were not designed with watch screens in mind, so expect bad interface scaling, not accessible buttons and huge or microscopic fonts.
How to install any application from stock Launcher?
Get application *.apk file from trusted site.
Set up Bluetooth connection between your watch (in Settings -> More -> Bluetooth) and computer / phone. Do not use macOS computer, it does not work. Android phone seems to be most compatible.
Upload *.apk file to watch using Bluetooth.
On watch go to Settings -> Tools -> File explorer and select Local -> bluetooth. Click on *.apk file and install it.
Installed application will not be visible from stock Launcher. So I really recommend installing another Launcher as first application.
Launcher
I use Nova Launcher. You need 5.5.4 version, this is the last one compatible with Android 4.4.
Once you install it using installation method described above press power button and it should prompt you which Launcher to use. Select Nova.
And enjoy freedom. It is also surprisingly fast and does not consume more battery than stock one.
If you have Nova Pro purchased you can activate it in two ways:
Use APK extractor on phone where you have Nova Prime activation installed. Dump license application to phone storage and install it the same way as launcher itself. But beware - it must be 2017 or earlier activation package. You cannot dump it from modern phone.
Search for nova_launcher_prime_v2017_full.apk and install this fake license. This is questionable way of activating it. But if you do not have old phone with old license preinstalled you have no other options. I think that if you own legal license on Play Store you will do no harm to developers this way.
Tips:
To avoid being asked for launcher when pressing power button you can disable stock launcher (requires root) through ADB shell: su, and then pm disable com.sgtc.launcher.
This firmware has very aggressive power management and you may notice lag when waking up watch after longer period of time. This is because Nova got killed by operating system and must start from scratch. To avoid it convert Nova launcher to system application (requires root). This can be done using Link2SD application. Open it, search for Nova, click on Nova, click triple dot menu menu and you will have option to convert to system. Remember to have default launcher or ADB enabled while doing this, because you will need one of those to invoke reboot.
Lock screen using button (broken, workarounds available)
If you have two Launchers power button will always prompt for Launcher when pressed on unlocked screen. You cannot change it without root, there is something modified under the hood and even Nova cannot set itself as default Launcher.
The workarounds are to lock screen using icon:
Add Nova action widget and set it to lock screen.
Add Power Toggles widget and add lock screen button to it.
Settings (partially works)
Settings are very simplified compared to stock Android 4.4. I've tried to install stock AOSP Settings APP but it fails. A lot of "hidden settings" applications allows to invoke deep buried panels like HotSpot or lock screen patterns configurations. Tedious job, lot of crashes along the way.
You can also:
Go to engineering mode by dialling *#*#83781#*#*.
Go to Developer Options by using Developer Options Shortcut application.
Status bar (broken, workaround available)
It does not work on any launcher (I tested a few beside Nova). Probably it was so heavily modified that API is no longer compatible. It cannot even be invoked by ADB service call statusbar 1.
The good replacement is Power Toggles, which allows to add widgets with battery level, fast volume profiles switching, enabling Wi-Fi, Bluetooth. Pretty much everything you used status bar for. Except cellular signal strength. I use version 6.0.4.
Tips:
Just as for launcher - aggressive power management will close it as inactive user application after short period. So because it is invoked every time screen is turned on best way to reduce screen wake up time is to convert Power Toggles to system application (requires root). This can be done using Link2SD application. Open it, search for Power Toggles, click on Power Toggles, click triple dot menu menu and you will have option to convert to system. Reboot watch.
You can set different battery colors, which makes it easier to use on small screen. I has mine set up to red (below 20%), yellow (20-80%) and green (above 80%).
You can set how frequent battery indicator is refreshed. By default it is quite laggy.
To get something looking like real status bar disable home screen margins in Nova launcher. Check my screenshot below for final effect.
Notification bar (broken)
Same deal as with Status bar - probably it was so heavily modified that API is no longer compatible with launchers.
You can open notification list service directly from Nova action. But you cannot manage it in any way (like cleaning old notifications) so it is pretty useless long list of accumulated trash.
I haven't found any good replacement.
Luckily Nova launcher notification dots work on applications icons and you can pretty much quickly figure out what just pinged you.
Clock time picker (broken)
By default you manage alarm clocks on this watch through phone application. But if you open on watch stock Android clock app you will see that you cannot set time, only set alarms on and off. Probably some Android component is missing. No fix or workaround yet. Also beware, because once you add alarm using APP on the watch there is no way to remove it - no option in app itself and SeTracker sees only first 3 of them. You will need to clean app data from ADB.
Power management (work in progress)
There are no options to keep app running in background. I'm still searching for good power management app replacement to keep things like WhatsApp or other services running.
For controlling:
screen delay (by default set to annoyingly short 10 seconds)
fine screen brightness
you can use buttons on Power Toggles widget. Once you set it to your preference widget can be removed and settings are remembered after reboot.
Screen rotation (tricky, broken)
Accelerometer is mounted 90 degrees clockwise and stock applications have this tilt compensation hardcoded into them.
This really dumb design has bad consequences:
If accelerometer rotation (auto-rotation) is enabled all "real" applications will think "up" is on the side where power button and flashlight is.
If accelerometer rotation is disabled most "real" applications will stay in fixed portrait orientation (also called user rotation) but some may still rely on accelerometer. The reason is that you can not fully disable accelerometer. Disabled only means "not taken into consideration unless explicitly asked for". And a lot of applications (mostly camera-related) still try to be user friendly and rotates screen the wrong way.
If you mess something up you can lock Screen Rotation again by adding such button on Power Toggles widget and using it.
Or if you have root:
disable accelerometer rotation: settings put system accelerometer_rotation 0
set user rotation to portrait mode: settings put system user_rotation 0
Start sound
Requires root.
First remount /custom in read-write mode: mount -o rw,remount /custom.
Then remove /custom/movies/bootsound.mp3.
Apps recommendations (please share yours)
A lot of "phone" applications work out of the box, assuming you get Android 4.4 compatible versions of them. You can install them the same way as launcher or through ADB. My set is:
Simple Keyboard is perfect for this watch. Disable symbols, set height to 150% and typing will be really comfortable and fast.
Power Toggles. Must have to compensate broken status bar and missing settings.
WhatsApp. Communication freedom. Pretty much you can stop here if you want this watch to be simple device for kid.
VLC for listening audiobooks (although interface does not scale well, looking for something better).
Wulkanowy (polish e-grade book with lessons plan, homework, etc. I assume a lot of people from Poland will come here because of Garett popularity so I'm mentioning it).
Solid Explorer. Built-in explorer is very castrated and crashes often when other apps try to use it (for example to select icon picture or file to share). Solid Explorer is stable and has a lot of built-in format viewers. Unfortunately one cannot run FTP server using it - button to start is off the screen. Bug reported, I hope it will get fixed soon.
OurGroceries. Excellent shopping/checkbox list that can be synchronized between various devices. Very useful to make list of things kid should take to school for example.
Diki. Online dictionary with simple interface that scales very well on this small screen. Translations are straightforward, without tons of magic grammar shortcuts. Allows to listen for words pronunciation.
Stock apps that are preinstalled and work OK:
Dialer
Contacts (you can even import cards from vcf file)
Flashlight
Looking for:
CalDav / CardDav sync (unfortunately there is no accounts management in API and most apps adding Dav support to Android crash).
Call blocker that will reject everything outside contacts list. To protect kid from scammers, marketers and other unwanted calls.
Known to fail:
SMSes. Can be sent but watch management API interrupts receiving to capture push control commands. Installing any other SMS application and setting it as default one breaks watch management from phone application.
WhatsApp. Camera during video calls is upside down.
Google Play Services. Instant crash.
Google Chrome 81. Crashes after few seconds of activity. For all apps that need SystemWebView component to work try Bromite replacement. However in KitKat WebView was not an application and Developer Options has no way of choosing default one. So it may fix very small amount of applications which are self-aware of different WebViews providers.
Google Calendar. Needs working Google Play Services.
F-Droid store. Crashes randomly and may require patience to install anything.
OpenSync. Cannot add any DAV account due to SSL crash.
Wikipedia. No articles can be displayed. Probably due to their latest TLS 1.2 mandatory API switch. However simply bookmarking Wikipedia in Bromite browser works just fine.
ADB and USB debugging
By default those watches are sold with charging cable only, it does not have signal pins. Your life will be a lot easier if you will be able to transfer files directly from your computer to watch and use ADB to do stuff. You can check cable dimensions here: https://allegro.pl/oferta/magnetyczny-kabel-zasilajacy-do-garett-kids-xd-10972606997 . Remember - it must have four pogo pins.
Connecting with cable is straightforward just like when connecting regular phone. Just be aware of two things:
Magnets are not strong enough to press four pins to contact pads. If you have trouble connecting try pressing magnet plug to watch firmly.
This is Android 4.4, so you need ancient knowledge. Like for example there is no "cmd" command available in ADB shell. Some command line switches are very different from what is being used today. Etc.
You can set USB to file transfer mode. Android File Transfer desktop application works perfectly and transfers are surprisingly fast. Probably it is the most convenient way to transfer applications, audiobooks and music to this watch.
Root
Based on https://github.com/eisaev/SuperSUInstaller process.
Install Developer Options Shortcut. Installation method is irrelevant. You can do it the same way as Launcher installation described above. Or if you already have more advanced stuff installed you can use an file transfer method and any file manager to do it.
Run Developer Options Shortcut and enable USB debugging.
Install SuperSU Installer. Again installation method is irrelevant.
Run SuperSU Installer. Wait for Hello World message and go back to Launcher.
In Local files on the watch there should be new SuperSU Manager APK generated. Install it but do not open.
Restart watch.
Disable WiFi and Bluetooth.
Connect USB cable.
Open dialer and enter *#*#83781#*#*. Engineering settings will open.
Go to CONNECTIVITY tab.
Click Start Service.
Click Wifi eut and confirm popup.
run adb shell on your computer
in shell enter: am start --user 0 -n ru.eisaev.supersuinstaller/.MainActivity
Wait for Hello world message on watch screen.
In shell enter: am start --user 0 -n eu.chainfire.supersu/.MainActivity
On watch screen SuperSU Manager should pop up and offer binary update. Choose Normal mode.
Restart watch.
Open SuperSU Manager. Method is irrelevant, can be clicked from Nova launcher or invoked from ADB like in 16.
Go to Settings and set Default access to Grant.
Confirm that you have root access by going to ADB shell and invoking: su
Clean up all files generated by SuperSU Installer from Local directory on the watch.
This method slightly diverges from original because users are different and because SuperSU Installer crashes when leaving to desktop using home button. Making it impossible to go from step 8 to 9 described in original method.
So for Installer and Manager to see each other at the same time you need to do this weird loop: install Installer which generates Manager which you can install prematurely to be able to later fire up both Installer and Manager at the same time from ADB without using watch home button.
Kudos for eisaev for discovering this process and building SuperSU!
My result
Home screen of Nova launcher:
Power Toggles bar on top emulates status bar. It handles battery info, fast volume and brightness settings and connectivity settings.
Two Nova action widgets added on the bottom - one for power off, second one for applications list.
Application list:
Nova allows to hide applications, so I used it to hide everything kid is not supposed to mess with. Like settings of various sort.
Many apps like Calculator or Gallery I've extracted directly from my old Android 4.4 phone.
Keyboard:
Simple Keyboard is far more usable and fast than stock keyboard. Kid has no problem with typing on it. However just as on stock keyboard you have to type blindly and occasionally minimize keyboard to verify what you've typed.
Please contribute
If you have found solution to any of mentioned problems, encountered new problem on your own or just found good app please share in comments.

bbkr said:
Brands
My specific watch that I used to experiment with is G4P, bought straight from Chinese factory:
View attachment 5407991
However almost everything from this thread applies to any watch running on SP9820E SoC, like G4E or G4H series.
Those watches are also often rebranded and sold as: Kinyo, Garett, Lemfo, Wonlex, Locon and many more.
Just check in spec if it is running on 9820E chip and you are good to go.
Reasons for modding
Those watches by default use very limited set of very simple applications presented in most ugly launcher and icon sets achievable by humans.
You can not install any extra applications and what you get from the box is very disappointing.
Also they are meant to be managed exclusively by corresponding phone application like SeTracker 2 (or rebrands like Garett Tracker),
which means you need to send your data to Chinese service and use WeeChat for chats/video calls, whether you like it or not.
This is true shame, because SP9820E is quite powerful hardware, here is GeekBench score.
Do not be fooled by oversimplified stock software - you can run pretty much any "real" application on it.
Luckily because those watches use Android under the hood you can transform them to something more feature-rich and more pleasant to use.
Android KitKat is NOT Android Wear
Those watches use Android 4.4, codename KitKat. Just like old phones. Please do not confuse it with Android Wear operating system and do not try to use applications built for Android Wear. Whatever you use must be Android 4.4 compatible, anything newer won't install at all. Android on this watch is heavily modified, lacks some components and you will run into many crashes or weird behaviour. Sections below will help you to navigate through those issues.
Also applications back in KitKat era were not designed with watch screens in mind, so expect bad interface scaling, not accessible buttons and huge or microscopic fonts.
How to install any application from stock Launcher?
Get application *.apk file from trusted site.
Set up Bluetooth connection between your watch (in Settings -> More -> Bluetooth) and computer / phone. Do not use macOS computer, it does not work. Android phone seems to be most compatible.
Upload *.apk file to watch using Bluetooth.
On watch go to Settings -> Tools -> File explorer and select Local -> bluetooth. Click on *.apk file and install it.
Installed application will not be visible from stock Launcher. So I really recommend installing another Launcher as first application.
Launcher
I use Nova Launcher. You need 5.5.4 version, this is the last one compatible with Android 4.4.
Once you install it using installation method described above press power button and it should prompt you which Launcher to use. Select Nova.
And enjoy freedom. It is also surprisingly fast and does not consume more battery than stock one.
If you have Nova Pro purchased you can activate it in two ways:
Use APK extractor on phone where you have Nova Prime activation installed. Dump license application to phone storage and install it the same way as launcher itself. But beware - it must be 2017 or earlier activation package. You cannot dump it from modern phone.
Search for nova_launcher_prime_v2017_full.apk and install this fake license. This is questionable way of activating it. But if you do not have old phone with old license preinstalled you have no other options. I think that if you own legal license on Play Store you will do no harm to developers this way.
Tips:
To avoid being asked for launcher when pressing power button you can disable stock launcher (requires root) through ADB shell: su, and then pm disable com.sgtc.launcher.
This firmware has very aggressive power management and you may notice lag when waking up watch after longer period of time. This is because Nova got killed by operating system and must start from scratch. To avoid it convert Nova launcher to system application (requires root). This can be done using Link2SD application. Open it, search for Nova, click on Nova, click triple dot menu menu and you will have option to convert to system. Remember to have default launcher or ADB enabled while doing this, because you will need one of those to invoke reboot.
Lock screen using button (broken, workarounds available)
If you have two Launchers power button will always prompt for Launcher when pressed on unlocked screen. You cannot change it without root, there is something modified under the hood and even Nova cannot set itself as default Launcher.
The workarounds are to lock screen using icon:
Add Nova action widget and set it to lock screen.
Add Power Toggles widget and add lock screen button to it.
Settings (partially works)
Settings are very simplified compared to stock Android 4.4. I've tried to install stock AOSP Settings APP but it fails. A lot of "hidden settings" applications allows to invoke deep buried panels like HotSpot or lock screen patterns configurations. Tedious job, lot of crashes along the way.
You can also:
*#*#83781#*#*.
Developer Options Shortcut application.
Status bar (broken, workaround available)
It does not work on any launcher (I tested a few beside Nova). Probably it was so heavily modified that API is no longer compatible. It cannot even be invoked by ADB service call statusbar 1.
The good replacement is Power Toggles, which allows to add widgets with battery level, fast volume profiles switching, enabling Wi-Fi, Bluetooth. Pretty much everything you used status bar for. Except cellular signal strength. I use version 6.0.4.
Tips:
Just as for launcher - aggressive power management will close it as inactive user application after short period. So because it is invoked every time screen is turned on best way to reduce screen wake up time is to convert Power Toggles to system application (requires root). This can be done using Link2SD application. Open it, search for Power Toggles, click on Power Toggles, click triple dot menu menu and you will have option to convert to system. Reboot watch.
You can set different battery colors, which makes it easier to use on small screen. I has mine set up to red (below 20%), yellow (20-80%) and green (above 80%).
You can set how frequent battery indicator is refreshed. By default it is quite laggy.
To get something looking like real status bar disable home screen margins in Nova launcher. Check my screenshot below for final effect.
Notification bar (broken)
Same deal as with Status bar - probably it was so heavily modified that API is no longer compatible with launchers.
You can open notification list service directly from Nova action. But you cannot manage it in any way (like cleaning old notifications) so it is pretty useless long list of accumulated trash.
I haven't found any good replacement.
Luckily Nova launcher notification dots work on applications icons and you can pretty much quickly figure out what just pinged you.
Clock time picker (broken)
By default you manage alarm clocks on this watch through phone application. But if you open on watch stock Android clock app you will see that you cannot set time, only set alarms on and off. Probably some Android component is missing. No fix or workaround yet. Also beware, because once you add alarm using APP on the watch there is no way to remove it - no option in app itself and SeTracker sees only first 3 of them. You will need to clean app data from ADB.
Power management (work in progress)
There are no options to keep app running in background. I'm still searching for good power management app replacement to keep things like WhatsApp or other services running.
For controlling:
screen delay (by default set to annoyingly short 10 seconds)
fine screen brightness
Power Toggles widget. Once you set it to your preference widget can be removed and settings are remembered after reboot.
Screen rotation (tricky, broken)
Accelerometer is mounted 90 degrees clockwise and stock applications have this tilt compensation hardcoded into them.
This really dumb design has bad consequences:
If accelerometer rotation (auto-rotation) is enabled all "real" applications will think "up" is on the side where power button and flashlight is.
If accelerometer rotation is disabled most "real" applications will stay in fixed portrait orientation (also called user rotation) but some may still rely on accelerometer. The reason is that you can not fully disable accelerometer. Disabled only means "not taken into consideration unless explicitly asked for". And a lot of applications (mostly camera-related) still try to be user friendly and rotates screen the wrong way.
If you mess something up you can lock Screen Rotation again by adding such button on Power Toggles widget and using it.
Or if you have root:
disable accelerometer rotation: settings put system accelerometer_rotation 0
set user rotation to portrait mode: settings put system user_rotation 0
Start sound
Requires root. Remove /custom/movies/bootsound.mp3.
Apps recommendations (please share yours)
A lot of "phone" applications work out of the box, assuming you get Android 4.4 compatible versions of them. You can install them the same way as launcher or through ADB. My set is:
Simple Keyboard is perfect for this watch. Disable symbols, set height to 150% and typing will be really comfortable and fast.
Power Toggles. Must have to compensate broken status bar and missing settings.
WhatsApp. Communication freedom. Pretty much you can stop here if you want this watch to be simple device for kid.
VLC for listening audiobooks (although interface does not scale well, looking for something better).
Wulkanowy (polish e-grade book with lessons plan, homework, etc. I assume a lot of people from Poland will come here because of Garett popularity so I'm mentioning it).
Solid Explorer. Built-in explorer is very castrated and crashes often when other apps try to use it (for example to select icon picture or file to share). Solid Explorer is stable and has a lot of built-in format viewers. Unfortunately one cannot run FTP server using it - button to start is off the screen. Bug reported, I hope it will get fixed soon.
OurGroceries. Excellent shopping/checkbox list that can be synchronized between various devices. Very useful to make list of things kid should take to school for example.
Diki. Online dictionary with simple interface that scales very well on this small screen. Translations are straightforward, without tons of magic grammar shortcuts. Allows to listen for words pronunciation.
Stock apps that are preinstalled and work OK:
Dialer
Contacts (you can even import cards from vcf file)
Flashlight
Looking for:
CalDav / CardDav sync (unfortunately there is no accounts management in API and most apps adding Dav support to Android crash).
Call blocker that will reject everything outside contacts list. To protect kid from scammers, marketers and other unwanted calls.
Known to fail:
SMSes. Can be sent but watch management API interrupts receiving to capture push control commands. Installing any other SMS application and setting it as default one breaks watch management from phone application.
WhatsApp. Camera during video calls is upside down.
Google Play Services. Instant crash.
Google Chrome 81. Crashes after few seconds of activity. For all apps that need SystemWebView component to work try Bromite replacement. However in KitKat WebView was not an application and Developer Options has no way of choosing default one. So it may fix very small amount of applications which are self-aware of different WebViews providers.
Google Calendar. Needs working Google Play Services.
F-Droid store. Crashes randomly and may require patience to install anything.
OpenSync. Cannot add any DAV account due to SSL crash.
Wikipedia. No articles can be displayed. Probably due to their latest TLS 1.2 mandatory API switch. However simply bookmarking Wikipedia in Bromite browser works just fine.
ADB and USB debugging
By default those watches are sold with charging cable only, it does not have signal pins. Your life will be a lot easier if you will be able to transfer files directly from your computer to watch and use ADB to do stuff. You can check cable dimensions here: https://allegro.pl/oferta/magnetyczny-kabel-zasilajacy-do-garett-kids-xd-10972606997 . Remember - it must have four pogo pins.
Connecting with cable is straightforward just like when connecting regular phone. Just be aware of two things:
Magnets are not strong enough to press four pins to contact pads. If you have trouble connecting try pressing magnet plug to watch firmly.
This is Android 4.4, so you need ancient knowledge. Like for example there is no "cmd" command available in ADB shell. Some command line switches are very different from what is being used today. Etc.
You can set USB to file transfer mode. Android File Transfer desktop application works perfectly and transfers are surprisingly fast. Probably it is the most convenient way to transfer applications, audiobooks and music to this watch.
Root
Based on https://github.com/eisaev/SuperSUInstaller process.
Developer Options Shortcut. Installation method is irrelevant. You can do it the same way as Launcher installation described above. Or if you already have more advanced stuff installed you can use an file transfer method and any file manager to do it.
Developer Options Shortcut and enable USB debugging.
SuperSU Installer. Again installation method is irrelevant.
SuperSU Installer. Wait for Hello World message and go back to Launcher.
In Local files on the watch there should be new SuperSU Manager APK generated. Install it but do not open.
Restart watch.
Disable WiFi and Bluetooth.
Connect USB cable.
Open dialer and enter *#*#83781#*#*. Engineering settings will open.
Go to CONNECTIVITY tab.
Start Service.
Wifi eut and confirm popup.
run adb shell on your computer
in shell enter: am start --user 0 -n ru.eisaev.supersuinstaller/.MainActivity
Wait for Hello world message on watch screen.
In shell enter: am start --user 0 -n eu.chainfire.supersu/.MainActivity
On watch screen SuperSU Manager should pop up and offer binary update. Choose Normal mode.
Restart watch.
Open SuperSU Manager. Method is irrelevant, can be clicked from Nova launcher or invoked from ADB like in 16.
Go to Settings and set Default access to Grant.
Confirm that you have root access by going to ADB shell and invoking: su
Clean up all files generated by SuperSU Installer from Local directory on the watch.
This method slightly diverges from original because users are different and because SuperSU Installer crashes when leaving to desktop using home button. Making it impossible to go from step 8 to 9 described in original method.
So for Installer and Manager to see each other at the same time you need to do this weird loop: install Installer which generates Manager which you can install prematurely to be able to later fire up both Installer and Manager at the same time from ADB without using watch home button.
Kudos for eisaev for discovering this process and building SuperSU!
My result
Home screen of Nova launcher:
View attachment 5420419
bar on top emulates status bar. It handles battery info, fast volume and brightness settings and connectivity settings.
Two Nova action widgets added on the bottom - one for power off, second one for applications list.
Application list:
View attachment 5420423
Nova allows to hide applications, so I used it to hide everything kid is not supposed to mess with. Like settings of various sort.
Many apps like Calculator or Gallery I've extracted directly from my old Android 4.4 phone.
Keyboard:
View attachment 5420427
Simple Keyboard is far more usable and fast than stock keyboard. Kid has no problem with typing on it. However just as on stock keyboard you have to type blindly and occasionally minimize keyboard to verify what you've typed.
Please contribute
If you have found solution to any of mentioned problems, encountered new problem on your own or just found good app please share in comments.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought this watch for my child, but when I want to use another tracking program other than the se tracker program, I cannot change the ip number. Can you help me with this? Since I couldn't find any more resources about g4h, I asked for help under this topic. The link to the watch I actually bought is below. If I can change the server of the watch with the sms sent to the watch, maybe I can switch to an application other than tracker. Engineering mode opens but I don't know how to do it.
Find my kids application server: pw,123456,ip,tcp.findmykids.org,8001#
https://tr.aliexpress.com/item/1005002878573395.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.1cc04c4dVwpHt3

got one watch with the same chipset, but it is running at Android 8.1. any idea for root it?
already try above way to to do it. but it was failed.

rootzero7 said:
got one watch with the same chipset, but it is running at Android 8.1. any idea for root it?
already try above way to to do it. but it was failed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No model name, no build version... with amount of details you provided you won't get an answer.

afyden2018 said:
I bought this watch for my child, but when I want to use another tracking program other than the se tracker program, I cannot change the ip number. Can you help me with this? Since I couldn't find any more resources about g4h, I asked for help under this topic. The link to the watch I actually bought is below. If I can change the server of the watch with the sms sent to the watch, maybe I can switch to an application other than tracker. Engineering mode opens but I don't know how to do it.
Find my kids application server: pw,123456,ip,tcp.findmykids.org,8001#
https://tr.aliexpress.com/item/1005002878573395.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.1cc04c4dVwpHt3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What you want is not possible.
Findmykids.org and SE Tracker do not speak the same protocol, it is not the matter of simply changing IP.
Also findmykids.org service running on watch is for Android 5.0 and up, while this watch runs on Android 4.4.
By the way: location reporting IP is stored in /custom/config. You can remount storage it in read-write mode and change it, but as I said earlier this is pointless. What you need is Android Service running on the watch, reporting to findmykids.org in data format expected by this site.

here is some detail for this watch. it comes NO band name.
chipset,
processor : 0
model name : ARMv8 Processor
BogoMIPS : 52.00
Features : half thumb fastmult vfp edsp neon vfpv3 tls vfpv4 idiva idivt vfpd32 lpae evtstrm aes pmull sha1 sha2 crc32
CPU implementer : 0x41
CPU architecture: 8
CPU variant : 0x0
CPU part : 0xd03
CPU revision : 4
processor : 1
model name : ARMv8 Processor
BogoMIPS : 52.00
Features : half thumb fastmult vfp edsp neon vfpv3 tls vfpv4 idiva idivt vfpd32 lpae evtstrm aes pmull sha1 sha2 crc32
CPU implementer : 0x41
CPU architecture: 8
CPU variant : 0x0
CPU part : 0xd03
CPU revision : 4
Hardware : Spreadtrum SC9820e
Revision : 0000
Serial : 0000000000000000
re : Spreadtrum SC9820e
Revision : 0000
Serial : 0000000000000000
getprop | grep ver
[persist.sys.android.version]: [9.0]
[ro.build.version.release]: [8.1.0]
[ro.build.version.sdk]: [27]
[ro.build.version.security_patch]: [2019-11-05]
kernel info.
Linux localhost 4.4.83+ #1 SMP PREEMPT Fri Aug 20 17:30:34 CST 2021 armv7l

install the SuperSUInstaller apk file and launched it .
adb logcat says the connection was denied by SElinux. also there is no cmd_services running when "enable wifi eut". which "superSUinstaller" needs it to run on.
also by dig the system, it seems like the SELinux was misconfigured somehow.

does it work on android 9
because i try to root LEMFO LEMP
and got this message
DMN_C16_TFT_PIX32:/ $ am start --user 0 -n ru.eisaev.supersuinstaller/.MainActivity
Starting: Intent { cmp=ru.eisaev.supersuinstaller/.MainActivity }
DMN_C16_TFT_PIX32:/ $ am start --user 0 -n eu.chainfire.supersu/.MainActivity
Starting: Intent { cmp=eu.chainfire.supersu/.MainActivity }
Error type 3
Error: Activity class {eu.chainfire.supersu/eu.chainfire.supersu.MainActivity} does not exist.
i realy need solution for root this Sh*t devices

Great tutorial!
I bought polish Garett kids 4g and I want to play with it a little bit (it's not only for kids but also for daddies ).
1. I installed WhatsApp (KitKat version) and it works great. Surprisingly I can see it in the default launcher next to "steps" ("kroki") and "QR code". How it is possible and how to do it with other apps?
2. When I change watch faces I can see a little weather icon on the preview. But when I choose one there is no weather. Do you know what weather application is missing and how to force it to show weather on the watch face?

Thanks alot! I asked for the firmware from chinese's seller, and I had got a link:
QQ邮箱中转站文件
mail.qq.com

ivvitan said:
Thanks alot! I asked for the firmware from chinese's seller, and I had got a link:
QQ邮箱中转站文件
mail.qq.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello,I have a watch of the same model, but I don't know how to brush it. I tried SPD_ Research_ Tool, the driver is also installed. I tried to insert the data cable when the watch is shutting down, but the Tool reported an error "user cancel". Can you tell me how you brush the watch?Thanks.

Is there a possibility of putting an android later than android 4.4 in these watches?

Surely there must be a dev on xda who could port a rom to this watch.. anyone ?

bbkr said:
State of market
Do NOT buy this watch. It looks like excellent value for money, but much modern H1 / W5 series with Android 9 and full Play Store just hit the shelves on AliExpress for almost the same price.
If mine arrives I'll create separate thread about them.
Brands
My specific watch that I used to experiment with is G4P, bought straight from Chinese factory:
View attachment 5407991
However almost everything from this thread applies to any watch running on SP9820E SoC, like G4E or G4H series.
Those watches are also often rebranded and sold as: Kinyo, Garett, Lemfo, Wonlex, Locon and many more.
Just check in spec if it is running on 9820E chip and you are good to go.
Reasons for modding
Those watches by default use very limited set of very simple applications presented in most ugly launcher and icon sets achievable by humans.
You can not install any extra applications and what you get from the box is very disappointing.
Also they are meant to be managed exclusively by corresponding phone application like SeTracker 2 (or rebrands like Garett Tracker),
which means you need to send your data to Chinese service and use WeeChat for chats/video calls, whether you like it or not.
This is true shame, because SP9820E is quite powerful hardware, here is GeekBench score.
Do not be fooled by oversimplified stock software - you can run pretty much any "real" application on it.
Luckily because those watches use Android under the hood you can transform them to something more feature-rich and more pleasant to use.
Android KitKat is NOT Android Wear
Those watches use Android 4.4, codename KitKat. Just like old phones. Please do not confuse it with Android Wear operating system and do not try to use applications built for Android Wear. Whatever you use must be Android 4.4 compatible, anything newer won't install at all. Android on this watch is heavily modified, lacks some components and you will run into many crashes or weird behaviour. Sections below will help you to navigate through those issues.
Also applications back in KitKat era were not designed with watch screens in mind, so expect bad interface scaling, not accessible buttons and huge or microscopic fonts.
How to install any application from stock Launcher?
Get application *.apk file from trusted site.
Set up Bluetooth connection between your watch (in Settings -> More -> Bluetooth) and computer / phone. Do not use macOS computer, it does not work. Android phone seems to be most compatible.
Upload *.apk file to watch using Bluetooth.
On watch go to Settings -> Tools -> File explorer and select Local -> bluetooth. Click on *.apk file and install it.
Installed application will not be visible from stock Launcher. So I really recommend installing another Launcher as first application.
Launcher
I use Nova Launcher. You need 5.5.4 version, this is the last one compatible with Android 4.4.
Once you install it using installation method described above press power button and it should prompt you which Launcher to use. Select Nova.
And enjoy freedom. It is also surprisingly fast and does not consume more battery than stock one.
If you have Nova Pro purchased you can activate it in two ways:
Use APK extractor on phone where you have Nova Prime activation installed. Dump license application to phone storage and install it the same way as launcher itself. But beware - it must be 2017 or earlier activation package. You cannot dump it from modern phone.
Search for nova_launcher_prime_v2017_full.apk and install this fake license. This is questionable way of activating it. But if you do not have old phone with old license preinstalled you have no other options. I think that if you own legal license on Play Store you will do no harm to developers this way.
Tips:
To avoid being asked for launcher when pressing power button you can disable stock launcher (requires root) through ADB shell: su, and then pm disable com.sgtc.launcher.
This firmware has very aggressive power management and you may notice lag when waking up watch after longer period of time. This is because Nova got killed by operating system and must start from scratch. To avoid it convert Nova launcher to system application (requires root). This can be done using Link2SD application. Open it, search for Nova, click on Nova, click triple dot menu menu and you will have option to convert to system. Remember to have default launcher or ADB enabled while doing this, because you will need one of those to invoke reboot.
Lock screen using button (broken, workarounds available)
If you have two Launchers power button will always prompt for Launcher when pressed on unlocked screen. You cannot change it without root, there is something modified under the hood and even Nova cannot set itself as default Launcher.
The workarounds are to lock screen using icon:
Add Nova action widget and set it to lock screen.
Add Power Toggles widget and add lock screen button to it.
Settings (partially works)
Settings are very simplified compared to stock Android 4.4. I've tried to install stock AOSP Settings APP but it fails. A lot of "hidden settings" applications allows to invoke deep buried panels like HotSpot or lock screen patterns configurations. Tedious job, lot of crashes along the way.
You can also:
Go to engineering mode by dialling *#*#83781#*#*.
Go to Developer Options by using Developer Options Shortcut application.
Status bar (broken, workaround available)
It does not work on any launcher (I tested a few beside Nova). Probably it was so heavily modified that API is no longer compatible. It cannot even be invoked by ADB service call statusbar 1.
The good replacement is Power Toggles, which allows to add widgets with battery level, fast volume profiles switching, enabling Wi-Fi, Bluetooth. Pretty much everything you used status bar for. Except cellular signal strength. I use version 6.0.4.
Tips:
Just as for launcher - aggressive power management will close it as inactive user application after short period. So because it is invoked every time screen is turned on best way to reduce screen wake up time is to convert Power Toggles to system application (requires root). This can be done using Link2SD application. Open it, search for Power Toggles, click on Power Toggles, click triple dot menu menu and you will have option to convert to system. Reboot watch.
You can set different battery colors, which makes it easier to use on small screen. I has mine set up to red (below 20%), yellow (20-80%) and green (above 80%).
You can set how frequent battery indicator is refreshed. By default it is quite laggy.
To get something looking like real status bar disable home screen margins in Nova launcher. Check my screenshot below for final effect.
Notification bar (broken)
Same deal as with Status bar - probably it was so heavily modified that API is no longer compatible with launchers.
You can open notification list service directly from Nova action. But you cannot manage it in any way (like cleaning old notifications) so it is pretty useless long list of accumulated trash.
I haven't found any good replacement.
Luckily Nova launcher notification dots work on applications icons and you can pretty much quickly figure out what just pinged you.
Clock time picker (broken)
By default you manage alarm clocks on this watch through phone application. But if you open on watch stock Android clock app you will see that you cannot set time, only set alarms on and off. Probably some Android component is missing. No fix or workaround yet. Also beware, because once you add alarm using APP on the watch there is no way to remove it - no option in app itself and SeTracker sees only first 3 of them. You will need to clean app data from ADB.
Power management (work in progress)
There are no options to keep app running in background. I'm still searching for good power management app replacement to keep things like WhatsApp or other services running.
For controlling:
screen delay (by default set to annoyingly short 10 seconds)
fine screen brightness
you can use buttons on Power Toggles widget. Once you set it to your preference widget can be removed and settings are remembered after reboot.
Screen rotation (tricky, broken)
Accelerometer is mounted 90 degrees clockwise and stock applications have this tilt compensation hardcoded into them.
This really dumb design has bad consequences:
If accelerometer rotation (auto-rotation) is enabled all "real" applications will think "up" is on the side where power button and flashlight is.
If accelerometer rotation is disabled most "real" applications will stay in fixed portrait orientation (also called user rotation) but some may still rely on accelerometer. The reason is that you can not fully disable accelerometer. Disabled only means "not taken into consideration unless explicitly asked for". And a lot of applications (mostly camera-related) still try to be user friendly and rotates screen the wrong way.
If you mess something up you can lock Screen Rotation again by adding such button on Power Toggles widget and using it.
Or if you have root:
disable accelerometer rotation: settings put system accelerometer_rotation 0
set user rotation to portrait mode: settings put system user_rotation 0
Start sound
Requires root.
First remount /custom in read-write mode: mount -o rw,remount /custom.
Then remove /custom/movies/bootsound.mp3.
Apps recommendations (please share yours)
A lot of "phone" applications work out of the box, assuming you get Android 4.4 compatible versions of them. You can install them the same way as launcher or through ADB. My set is:
Simple Keyboard is perfect for this watch. Disable symbols, set height to 150% and typing will be really comfortable and fast.
Power Toggles. Must have to compensate broken status bar and missing settings.
WhatsApp. Communication freedom. Pretty much you can stop here if you want this watch to be simple device for kid.
VLC for listening audiobooks (although interface does not scale well, looking for something better).
Wulkanowy (polish e-grade book with lessons plan, homework, etc. I assume a lot of people from Poland will come here because of Garett popularity so I'm mentioning it).
Solid Explorer. Built-in explorer is very castrated and crashes often when other apps try to use it (for example to select icon picture or file to share). Solid Explorer is stable and has a lot of built-in format viewers. Unfortunately one cannot run FTP server using it - button to start is off the screen. Bug reported, I hope it will get fixed soon.
OurGroceries. Excellent shopping/checkbox list that can be synchronized between various devices. Very useful to make list of things kid should take to school for example.
Diki. Online dictionary with simple interface that scales very well on this small screen. Translations are straightforward, without tons of magic grammar shortcuts. Allows to listen for words pronunciation.
Stock apps that are preinstalled and work OK:
Dialer
Contacts (you can even import cards from vcf file)
Flashlight
Looking for:
CalDav / CardDav sync (unfortunately there is no accounts management in API and most apps adding Dav support to Android crash).
Call blocker that will reject everything outside contacts list. To protect kid from scammers, marketers and other unwanted calls.
Known to fail:
SMSes. Can be sent but watch management API interrupts receiving to capture push control commands. Installing any other SMS application and setting it as default one breaks watch management from phone application.
WhatsApp. Camera during video calls is upside down.
Google Play Services. Instant crash.
Google Chrome 81. Crashes after few seconds of activity. For all apps that need SystemWebView component to work try Bromite replacement. However in KitKat WebView was not an application and Developer Options has no way of choosing default one. So it may fix very small amount of applications which are self-aware of different WebViews providers.
Google Calendar. Needs working Google Play Services.
F-Droid store. Crashes randomly and may require patience to install anything.
OpenSync. Cannot add any DAV account due to SSL crash.
Wikipedia. No articles can be displayed. Probably due to their latest TLS 1.2 mandatory API switch. However simply bookmarking Wikipedia in Bromite browser works just fine.
ADB and USB debugging
By default those watches are sold with charging cable only, it does not have signal pins. Your life will be a lot easier if you will be able to transfer files directly from your computer to watch and use ADB to do stuff. You can check cable dimensions here: https://allegro.pl/oferta/magnetyczny-kabel-zasilajacy-do-garett-kids-xd-10972606997 . Remember - it must have four pogo pins.
Connecting with cable is straightforward just like when connecting regular phone. Just be aware of two things:
Magnets are not strong enough to press four pins to contact pads. If you have trouble connecting try pressing magnet plug to watch firmly.
This is Android 4.4, so you need ancient knowledge. Like for example there is no "cmd" command available in ADB shell. Some command line switches are very different from what is being used today. Etc.
You can set USB to file transfer mode. Android File Transfer desktop application works perfectly and transfers are surprisingly fast. Probably it is the most convenient way to transfer applications, audiobooks and music to this watch.
Root
Based on https://github.com/eisaev/SuperSUInstaller process.
Install Developer Options Shortcut. Installation method is irrelevant. You can do it the same way as Launcher installation described above. Or if you already have more advanced stuff installed you can use an file transfer method and any file manager to do it.
Run Developer Options Shortcut and enable USB debugging.
Install SuperSU Installer. Again installation method is irrelevant.
Run SuperSU Installer. Wait for Hello World message and go back to Launcher.
In Local files on the watch there should be new SuperSU Manager APK generated. Install it but do not open.
Restart watch.
Disable WiFi and Bluetooth.
Connect USB cable.
Open dialer and enter *#*#83781#*#*. Engineering settings will open.
Go to CONNECTIVITY tab.
Click Start Service.
Click Wifi eut and confirm popup.
run adb shell on your computer
in shell enter: am start --user 0 -n ru.eisaev.supersuinstaller/.MainActivity
Wait for Hello world message on watch screen.
In shell enter: am start --user 0 -n eu.chainfire.supersu/.MainActivity
On watch screen SuperSU Manager should pop up and offer binary update. Choose Normal mode.
Restart watch.
Open SuperSU Manager. Method is irrelevant, can be clicked from Nova launcher or invoked from ADB like in 16.
Go to Settings and set Default access to Grant.
Confirm that you have root access by going to ADB shell and invoking: su
Clean up all files generated by SuperSU Installer from Local directory on the watch.
This method slightly diverges from original because users are different and because SuperSU Installer crashes when leaving to desktop using home button. Making it impossible to go from step 8 to 9 described in original method.
So for Installer and Manager to see each other at the same time you need to do this weird loop: install Installer which generates Manager which you can install prematurely to be able to later fire up both Installer and Manager at the same time from ADB without using watch home button.
Kudos for eisaev for discovering this process and building SuperSU!
My result
Home screen of Nova launcher:
View attachment 5420419
Power Toggles bar on top emulates status bar. It handles battery info, fast volume and brightness settings and connectivity settings.
Two Nova action widgets added on the bottom - one for power off, second one for applications list.
Application list:
View attachment 5420423
Nova allows to hide applications, so I used it to hide everything kid is not supposed to mess with. Like settings of various sort.
Many apps like Calculator or Gallery I've extracted directly from my old Android 4.4 phone.
Keyboard:
View attachment 5420427
Simple Keyboard is far more usable and fast than stock keyboard. Kid has no problem with typing on it. However just as on stock keyboard you have to type blindly and occasionally minimize keyboard to verify what you've typed.
Please contribute
If you have found solution to any of mentioned problems, encountered new problem on your own or just found good app please share in comments.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thank for this tutorial