Database Users

Auto updates of software - how to?

Hi,
I need auto update functionality for my application. I.e., the new exe/dll shall be downloaded by GPRS and existing program files shall be replaced. Now I wonder, how this could be done in an easy way.
The problem is, that the application is continuously running and updates shall be done more or less "on the fly". Currently, the application is automatically started on boot through registry settings in HKLM/init
So my idea was the following: Creating a "starter programme" for the application: When the device (HTC ARTEMIS) is booted, the starter programme is first launched (through HKLM/init), looks into a pre-defined directory if there are any files. If there are, these files are copied into the directory of the application. Afterwards, the starter programme launches the main application. Do you think that could work? Or are there any better ways (maybe even supported by the OS) to perform SW-updates?
Günther

I have auto update functionality in my commercial application.
1) When data is replicated to server, main appliation also check availability of new version. If new version is available a and upgrade is mandatory, application launch new process - updater.exe.
2) Updater waiting to main application correct exit (saving data on dirty forms etc.)
3) After main application exit updater download new version descriptor (list of files with targer location, install scripts (dll with well known special interface which can be used for many special tasks - create shortcuts, delete file, modify registry, install new certificate). Updater downloads all files, process install scripts and then launch main application again. New install CAB file is usually stored to extended ROM (autoinstall after HARD Reset).
As a server component is used web service with some methods (GetDescriptor, DownloadFile).

ma_gu said:
Hi,
I need auto update functionality for my application. I.e., the new exe/dll shall be downloaded by GPRS and existing program files shall be replaced. Now I wonder, how this could be done in an easy way.
The problem is, that the application is continuously running and updates shall be done more or less "on the fly". Currently, the application is automatically started on boot through registry settings in HKLM/init
So my idea was the following: Creating a "starter programme" for the application: When the device (HTC ARTEMIS) is booted, the starter programme is first launched (through HKLM/init), looks into a pre-defined directory if there are any files. If there are, these files are copied into the directory of the application. Afterwards, the starter programme launches the main application. Do you think that could work? Or are there any better ways (maybe even supported by the OS) to perform SW-updates?
Günther
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems to be a good idea. This way, you can update the application while it's running and changes become active when the device is rebooted or the application is exited and started again. It's just excellent.
My needings were more simple, so the update feature I designed works as following:
1. The program is divided into a launcher, an updater library and the true application.
2. When the program is started, the launcher copy the update library call such a copy (just call it updlibcpy).
3. updlibcpy uses http to check if an update is available. The check is performed by downloading an "update manifest" containing the MD5 hash of each file of the updated application and checking it against the MD5 hashes of the current program files.
4. If one or more files need to be updated, updlibcpy does the task. Since only updated files are downloaded, no bandwidth is wasted. The only file that cannot be updated is the launcher, but it is so simple that it should never need an update.
5. When updlibcpy has ended, the control is passed back to the launcher, which invokes the true application executable.
The main difficulty was handling the high packet loss that the HTC devices I used has shown. This caused frequent application hang-ups during start-up, unless the GPRS connection was terminated and started again. Once I solved this problem by giving a timeout to the update (using threads), all worked perfectly.
The only improvement I'm thinking about is some sort of "transactionality" of the update, so that if one file updates correctly while another doesn't, the succesfully updated files roll back to the not updated version.

[GUIDE] Android Dictionary!!

I was going through another site & came across a Terminology Guide. I couldn’t find something similar here so just wanted to take it upon myself to create a well organized post providing abbreviations & terminology so that any one, Master or Newbie, can have a quick reference guide to all things droid. I myself do not know everything but I do know some things & I believe with some help from the moderators & contributing members of xda-developers, we can throw together a one-stop-shop for all the droid info.
[FONT=&quot]A special thanks to [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Sam Fisher [/FONT][FONT=&quot]at[/FONT][FONT=&quot] droidforums [/FONT][FONT=&quot]for the inspiration[/FONT][FONT=&quot]!![/FONT]
Thanks to My_Immortal, OmegaRED^ & Spaarc for their suggestions & information shared!
________________
ADK: Android Development Kit, What people use to develop anything for the Android such as ROM's
The ADK (Android development kit) is divided into 3 parts
1. Android SDK (Software development Kit): used to make easy programs which only require touch & some sensors , e.g. Games
2. Android NDK ( Native Development Kit): this is used to Create apps which require Hardware or Use the native binaries & libraries of Android , eg. Camera , CyanogenMod Settings, Oxygen Settings , etc.
3. Android PDK ( Platform Development Kit): As the name suggests this is the main kit which allows to make all ".mk" files (eg. Android.mk, etc) & most of the files found on github
Basically Dev's like FXP , Z , Achotjan , kxhawkins , etc. Use the PDK to make AOSP/CM7 ROMs from source
& Also use NDK to edit the system apk's etc. to make it stable
adb: Android Debug Bridge, a command-line debugging application included with the SDK. It provides tools to browse the device, copy tools on the device, & forward ports for debugging. If you are developing in Eclipse using the ADT Plugin, adb is integrated into your development environment.
AOSP: Android Open System Project, usually you will see this term when referring to a program or ROM. This will mean that the program or ROM was taken from Google & does not contain any modifications done by the phone Manufacturer or the phone service provider. This is Android the way Google intended.
Application Programming Interface (API): An interface used by applications to communicate with each other. An API is a library that may include specification for routines, data structures, object classes, and variables. APIs are particularly useful in extending a platform.
Apps2SD: A method of storing items and Cache on the device’s microSD card, allowing you to run apps on external memory.
Boot Animation: A term for a graphical representation of the boot process of the OS. Boot animation can be a simple visualization of the scrolling boot messages in the console, or it can present graphics or some combination of both. Boot animation is not necessarily designed for marketing purposes, but can enhance the experience of the user as eye candy, or provide the user with messages to diagnose the state of the system.
Baseband or Radio: In communications & signal processing, the baseband describes signals & systems whose range of the frequencies measured from close to 0 hertz to a cut-off frequency, a maximum bandwidth or highest signal frequency; it is sometimes used to describe frequencies starting close to zero
Boot Loader/SPL: In literal terms, boot loader is code that is executed before any Operating System starts to run. The concept of boot loaders is universal to virtually all Operating systems that include operating systems on your PC, laptop, Smartphone, & other such devices. Boot loaders basically package the instructions to boot operating system kernel & most of them also have their own debugging or modification environment. As the boot loader kicks off before any piece of software on your device, it makes it extremely processor specific & every motherboard has its own boot loader.
Boot Loader/SPL (Unlocked): A locked or unlocked boot loader is what gives you access to “root.” “Root” is another big word in the Android community. If you “root” a device, it means you have “super user” access or “administrator” access to the operating system that runs on your phone. Root access of your Android device gives you the ability to flash ROMs.
One of the most popular ROMs was created by a team called the CyanogenMod(CM), & their current rom is CM7, which is built on Android 2.3 Gingerbread. What this means is that if you have a phone that has an unlocked boot loader & root access, you can flash the CM7 ROM to your phone with a couple more steps. This also means that you can get access to most of the features in the latest version of Android that is commercially available, without having to wait for your manufacturer or carrier to give you an official update.
Boot Loop: Simply means something is preventing the phone from completing it's boot cycle & is stuck between the boot animation & the unlock screen, creating a looped animation. This is often fixed by either reloading a NAndroid, or Reflashing a ROM from the xRecovery/ClockworkMod Recovery/Flashtool.
Brick or Bricked: Jargon for a completely unrecoverable device, (no more than a brick or paperweight)
Note: It is my understanding that radio will boot first, followed by other systems. So it is IMPORTANT that your radio image/version will work with your SPL image/version. This is the one & only reason for phones being bricked. You cannot brick your phone by flashing a ROM or Boot image or recovery image. Once you flash the wrong radio for the SPL, the only known method of recovery is to send the phone back into SE for repair.
How do I know the phone is hard-bricked? A hard-bricked phone cannot boot into boot loader, recovery, or into normal operation modes. You cannot connect to a hard-bricked phone via adb or fastboot. You can only see one screen on the phone & it will be the first splash screen.
Bug or Software Bug: An Error or flaw in software that produces a failure or unexpected/unwanted result. Typically created from incorrect code, this is why some ROMs are better & smoother running than others because developers have taken the time to input "perfect" code (read put in a lot of hours & hard work)
Busybox: A single multicall binary that packages the functionality of most widely used standard Unix tools, BusyBox provides a fairly complete environment for any small or embedded system.
Canvas: A drawing surface that handles compositing of the actual bits against a Bitmap or Surface object. It has methods for standard computer drawing of bitmaps, lines, circles, rectangles, text, and so on, and is bound to a Bitmap or Surface. Canvas is the simplest, easiest way to draw 2D objects on the screen. However, it does not support hardware acceleration, as OpenGL ES does. The base class is Canvas.
COMPCACHE: (compressed caching) is, in short, virtual swap, setting aside a certain percentage (usually 25%) of your RAM as 'compressed' swap. Compcache compresses the data that would normally go to swap, then moves it back into RAM, and reverses the process when moving it out of the 'compressed' swap. However, this is a classic space-time trade-off. You effectively get more RAM from the compression, but it is slower than 'normal' RAM due to the CPU time required to compress and decompress the swapped pages.
ClockworkMod: A recovery program that is often used to apply updates, ROMs, or create a back up or restore a backup file
Custom ROM: A custom ROM can range in definition from some custom code modifications to make Android run better on a device, all the way to changing the homescreen, background services, and default software.
Many software experts collaborate together in communities to build the fastest or most feature filled ROM’s. The most popular today are CyanogenMod (which supports over 70 devices!), AOKP (a lightweight ROM with plenty of customization options), and Android Revolution, a heavyweight ROM which often focusses on looking great. Just because these Android builds are made by ‘ordinary people’ and not highly paid developers at HTC or Samsung doesn’t mean they are full of bugs or risky to use. In most cases the software built by communities is ten times better. Release cycles are much shorter, fun features can be put in, and anyone can contribute an idea to the development.
DALVIK: An open source, register-based virtual machine (VM) that’s part of the Android OS. The Dalvik VM executes files in the Dalvik Executable (.dex) format, a format that is optimized for efficient storage and memory-mappable execution & relies on the Linux kernel for additional functionality like threading & low-level memory management. The virtual machine is register-based, and it can run classes compiled by a Java language compiler that have been transformed into its native format using the included "dx" tool. The Dalvik core class library is intended to provide a familiar development base for those used to programming with Java Standard Edition, but it is geared specifically to the needs of a small mobile device.
Dalvik Cache: A program cache area for the program Dalvik. Dalvik is a java based virtual machine that is the basis for running your programs (the ones that have the .apk extension). In order to make access times faster (because there's not JIT (just in time) compiler installed by default), the dalvik-cache is the result of dalvik doing a optimization of the running program. It's similar to the prefetch files in Windows.
DDMS: Dalvik Debug Monitor Service, a GUI debugging application included with the SDK. It provides screen capture, log dump, and process examination capabilities. If you are developing in Eclipse using the ADT Plugin, DDMS is integrated into your development environment.
Deep Sleep: A state when the CPU is off, display dark, device is waiting for external input.
Density-Independent pixels (dp): A virtual pixel unit equivalent to one physical pixel on an average, “medium” density 160 dpi screen. On higher ppi screens, dp’s are scaled to retain a constant size (px = dp * (dpi/160)). For example, on a 200 dpi screen, the dp would take up 1.25 physical pixels.
Dots per inch (DPI, or dpi) is a measure of spatial video dot density, in particular the number of individual dots that can be placed in a line within the span of 1 inch (2.54 cm).
De-odex: Apk files have respective odexes that devs use to supposedly save space. Deodexing means you convert it back to a .dex file & put it back inside the apk. This allows you to easily replace files (not having to worry about odexes), but the main point was to deodex services.jar so that you can change all text to different colors (such as the clock color to white) & to deodex services.jar, you need to deodex everything.
Dev. or Developer: An individual that creates, or alters a file in such a manner as to advance the program
Drawable: A compiled visual resource that can be used as a background, title, or other part of the screen. A drawable is typically loaded into another UI element, for example as a background image. A drawable is not able to receive events, but does assign various other properties such as "state" and scheduling, to enable subclasses such as animation objects or image libraries. Many drawable objects are loaded from drawable resource files — xml or bitmap files that describe the image. Drawable resources are compiled into subclasses of android.graphics.drawable.
Fastboot: Protocol used to update the flash file system in Android devices from a host over USB. It allows flashing of unsigned partition images.
FC/FC’s: Short for “force close,” meaning an app that has crashed.
Flash: Rewrite the software/firmware on your phone using a computer to "flash" or completely rewrite the memory (ROM) of your phone. This is done using ODIN.
Flash Memory: a program technology that can be electrically erased & reprogrammed
Flashtool: It is a S1 flashing software that works for all Sony phones from X10 to Xperia Z Ultra. They all use the S1 protocol for flashing firmwares.
This program was originally made to flash sin files downloaded by SEUS or PCC. From time to time, sin files have been bundled into what is now well known FTF (Flash Tool Firmwares). That is the core of Flashtool and the reason of its name.
Flashtool can also easily unlock the bootloader of the phone using the BLU icon as far as the bootloader of your phone is unlockable.
Flashing: The ROM memory used in smartphones and tablets etc. is often same as flash memory found in SD Cards and USB flash drives, simply optimized for better speed and performance while running the operating system.
Hard Reset: The act of resetting your phone to its “factory” state. A hard reset erases all user data, logins, and passwords. This process may or may not erase the contents of the internal storage and/or microSD card as well.
JIT: The Just-in-Time Compiler, released with Android 2.2, it’s a method of greatly speeding up apps in Android. The JIT compiler analyzes an app’s code and converts it, allowing the app to run faster. It does all this while the application is running, hence “just in time.” The JIT compiler for Android functions with a very short “warm up” time; it doesn’t take very long to analyze the code before it starts working.
Kernel: The main component of Android operating system.
It is a bridge between applications & the actual data processing done at the hardware level.
The kernel's responsibilities include managing the system's resources (the communication between hardware & software components).
[Usually as a basic component of an operating system, a kernel can provide the lowest-level abstraction layer for the resources
(especially processors & I/O devices) that application software must control to perform its function.
It typically makes these facilities available to application processes through inter-process communication mechanisms & system calls.
Operating system tasks are done differently by different kernels, depending on their design & implementation.]
Launcher: Collectively, the part of the Android UI on the home screen that allows you to launch apps, make phone calls, etc. It is built into Android, or can be purchased in the Android Market.
Manifest File: An XML file that each application must define, to describe the application's package name, version, components (activities, intent filters, services), imported libraries, and describes the various activities, and so on. See The AndroidManifest.xml File for complete information.
Nine-patch / 9-patch / Ninepatch image: A re-sizeable bitmap resource that can be used for backgrounds or other images on the device.
Nandroid or Nandroid Backup: A file typically created in the custom recovery program, such as xRecovery, that is a carbon copy of whatever state your phone is in before a drastic change is made. The file then can be moved onto or off of the SD card for later use in case something should go wrong in the ROM or Update, or a Boot Loop occurs
ODIN: It is the program you can use to flash phones.
e.g. : 'Odin Multi-Downloader v3.95' is used to flash the Samsung Galaxy. It's usually included in firmware packs.
OEM: Original Equipment Manufacturer, the people who actually put together electronic hardware. Also refers to any equipment original to the phone, or produced by the company for the phone
OpenGL ES: A cross-platform API for full-function 2D and 3D graphics on embedded systems. Android provides OpenGL ES libraries that you can use for fast, complex 3D images. It is harder to use than a Canvas object, but better for 3D objects. The android.opengl and javax.microedition.khronos.opengles packages expose OpenGL ES functionality.
OS: Operating system, I.E. Windows Vista, LINUX or MAC or Android
OTA: Over-the-Air; method T-Mobile, & some other phone companies, uses to update Android phones. The new versions of Android are developed by Google & then released to OEM's, Sony Ericsson in our case. The OEM then writes drivers that enable the new software to work on the phone's hardware. They also develop any specialized UI (user interface), like Timescape & Mediascape, or other software they want to include. Once this is complete, they turn it over to the cell phone company, (e.g.)Tmobile, who then have to do the final checks to make sure the update works, & then distributes it over there data network using their cell transmitters.
Overclocking (OC): Speeding up the CPU past the factory presets to achieve a faster & more responsive device (prolonged run can be injurious to your device, so be careful.
Partition: The phone’s internal memory (not the SD Card) is solid-state (flash) memory. It can be partitioned much like a normal hard drive can be partitioned. On an Android device, the Bootloader exists in its own partition. Recovery is another partition; radio, system, Cache, etc. are all partitions.
Here are the standard partitions on an Android phone:
/misc – miscellaneous…
/boot – bootloader, kernel
/recovery – holds the recovery program (either clockworkmod or RA recovery for a rooted Evo)
/system – operating system goes here: Android, etc.
/cache – cached data from OS usage
/data – user applications, data, settings, etc.
The below partitions are not Android-specific. They are tied to the hardware of the phone, but the kernel may have code allowing Android to interact with said hardware.
/radio – the phone’s radio firmware, controls cellular, data, GPS, bluetooth.
/wimax – firmware for Sprint’s flavor of 4G, WiMax.
Recovery Mode: A small separate operating mode you can boost your device into, used for device administration. Two popular custom recovery modes for our device are xRecovery and ClockworkMod.
ROM: Read Only Memory, a program used to make changes to anything from the look of the home screen to icons to custom boot animation.
Root: Common word associated with giving a user "super user" access to their phones programming & other various aspects that would normally not be possible, also known as "Jailbroken" for iPhone's, "Administrator Rights" in Windows OS.
Shell or SSH: The shell is the layer of programming that understands & executes the commands a user enters. In some systems, the shell is called a command interpreter. A shell usually implies an interface with a command syntax (think of the DOS operating system & its "C:>" prompts & user commands such as "dir" & "edit"). secure shell or ssh is a network protocol that allows data to be exchanged using a secure channel between two networked devices
Soft Reset: The act of rebooting your phone, whether intentionally or otherwise, same effect as when you remove and replace the battery.
SQLite: An embedded relational database management system contained in a relatively small (~275 kB) C programming library. It is multitasking concerning reads. Writes can be done only one-at-a-time. It is a popular choice for local/client storage on web browsers. It has many bindings to programming languages. It is arguably the most widely used database engine, as it is used today by several widespread browsers, operating systems, embedded systems among others
Stock: Simply means an unaltered state, such as when you first purchase your phone from Verizon/Your Service Provider or when you repair your phone using PC Companion or SE Update Service(SEUS)
SU: "Super user", or root permissions
SWAP: is, in short, virtual RAM. With swap, a small portion of the hard drive is set aside and used like RAM. The computer will attempt to keep as much information as possible in RAM until the RAM is full. At that point, the computer will begin moving inactive blocks of memory (called pages) to the hard disk, freeing up RAM for active processes. If one of the pages on the hard disk needs to be accessed again, it will be moved back into RAM, and a different inactive page in RAM will be moved onto the hard disk ('swapped'). The trade off is disks and SD cards are considerably slower than physical RAM, so when something needs to be swapped, there is a noticeable performance hit.
Unlike traditional swap, Android's Memory Manager kills inactive processes to free up memory. Android signals to the process, then the process will usually write out a small bit of specific information about its state (for example, Google Maps may write out the map view coordinates; Browser might write the URL of the page being viewed) and then the process exits. When you next access that application, it is restarted: the application is loaded from storage, and retrieves the state information that it saved when it last closed. In some applications, this makes it seem as if the application never closed at all. This is not much different from traditional swap, except that Android apps are specially programmed to write out very specific information, making Android's Memory Manager more efficient that swap.
Theme: A set of icons, backgrounds & app trays that change the aesthetics of the overall look of the Android & its applications. It has a set of properties (text size, background color, and so on) bundled together to define various default display settings. Android provides a few standard themes, listed in R.style (starting with "Theme_").
TWRP: TeamWin Recovery Project – or TWRP for short – is a fully touch-based custom recovery that was initially developed for Nexus devices, but has since been made available for countless other smartphones and tablets as well, in form of both official and third-party builds.
TUN/TAP: Refers to a network TUNnel, operates within layer 3 packets, or ip packets. Packets sent by a system via a TUN/TAP device are delivered to a user-space program that attaches itself to the device. A user space program may also pass packets into a TUN/TAP device. In this case TUN/TAP device delivers (or "injects") these packets to the operating system's network stack thus emulating their reception from an external source.
Underclocking(UC): Slowing down the CPU mainly to limit battery usage
Undervolting(UV): Basically keeping the clock speed same (or overclocking it) & reduce the voltage at each cpu cycle.
Updater Script: A scripting language called Edify for all Android OS since “Donut.” Updater Script is used with recovery mode, to perform a wide range of functions on files and permissions.
xRecovery: A recovery program based on the ClockworkMod Recovery sources used to apply updates, ROMs, or create a back up or restore a backup file
Zipalign: An archive alignment tool that optimizes the way a .apk is packaged. Doing so enables the Android operating system to interact with the application more efficiently, and hence has the potential to make the application and system much faster. Execution time is minimized for zipaligned applications, resulting is less RAM consumption when running the .apk.
File Types:
.dex: Compiled Android application code file. Android programs are compiled into .dex (Dalvik Executable) files, which are in turn zipped into a single .apk file on the device. .dex files can be created by automatically translating compiled applications written in the Java programming language.
.sbf: Summation Briefcase File
.apk or APK's: An .apk file extension denotes an Android Package (APK) file, an .apk file can be opened & inspected using common archive tools. Each Android application is compiled and packaged in a single file that includes all of the application's code (.dex files), resources, assets, and manifest file. The application package file can have any name but must use the .apk extension. For example: myExampleAppname.apk. For convenience, an application package file is often referred to as an ".apk".
.tar: Similar to a zip file(derived from tape archive), a tar file archives multiple files into one file
.tgz: TGZ files (gnu-zipped .tar file) are commonly used as install packages for Slackware Linux.
pheeeeww!!This took sometime!!
Well this is all I can think of off the top of my head but as I think of more I will edit them in here & I encourage the mods to put things that I either forgot or just simply am not aware of. Also I request fellow user to suggest any terms frequently used & not added or any discrepancies found, kindly PM me!!
Thank you & happy hacking/flashing!!
_____________________________________
X10 LED States:-
--------------------------------------
W-LOD: White LED of DEATH.
--------------------------------------
Sometimes a R-LOD is similar to a W-LOD but the LED is red instead.
Usually results in a Reboot, or a Freeze or a Crash
-------------------------------
Flashing R-L: Red LED.
-------------------------------
Led flashes RED 3 times.
Indicates Requirement for Charge
--------------------------------
G-LS: Green LED Steady.
--------------------------------
LED goes Steady GREEN while USB is plugged in.
Flash Mode Entered/Fully Charged.
CPU : -
----------------------------------------
Central Processing Unit: -
----------------------------------------
It's pretty much the heart of your device pumping data through & from all the attached devices the Kernel & Modules is its soul & it's OS is it's skin & flesh.
-----------------------
Core Clock Speed: -
-----------------------
It is the actual clock speed that the CPU is running at. "Not the multiplied speed."
It's good to remember a CPU's performance is also effected by its memory's speed.
Similar rules exist for the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit).

Nice effort! Thanks!
Although, you got the Kernel thing wrong:
kloud_ said:
Kernel: The govenor of the CPU usage and Battery output, one can upload certain Kernals to achieve greater performance speed of their device at the cost of some battery life
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kernel: It's the main component of Android operating system.
It is a bridge between applications and the actual data processing done at the hardware level.
The kernel's responsibilities include managing the system's resources (the communication between hardware and software components).
[Usually as a basic component of an operating system, a kernel can provide the lowest-level abstraction layer for the resources
(especially processors and I/O devices) that application software must control to perform its function.
It typically makes these facilities available to application processes through inter-process communication mechanisms and system calls.
Operating system tasks are done differently by different kernels, depending on their design and implementation.]

My_Immortal said:
Nice effort! Thanks!
Although, you got the Kernel thing really wrong:
Kernel: It's the main component of Android operating system.
It is a bridge between applications and the actual data processing done at the hardware level.
The kernel's responsibilities include managing the system's resources (the communication between hardware and software components).
[Usually as a basic component of an operating system, a kernel can provide the lowest-level abstraction layer for the resources
(especially processors and I/O devices) that application software must control to perform its function.
It typically makes these facilities available to application processes through inter-process communication mechanisms and system calls.
Operating system tasks are done differently by different kernels, depending on their design and implementation.]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for correcting me... got a bit distracted and thus the blunder. My bad.
Have edited the term

Good work thaks
Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk

Brilliant. Prefect for newbies. I wish there was something like this when i started lol.
Sent from my X10 TripNMiUI-1.8.19 using XDA App

kylec said:
Brilliant. Prefect for newbies. I wish there was something like this when i started lol.
Sent from my X10 TripNMiUI-1.8.19 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
better late than never!!

Nice work Bro, great idea, wants a sticky

colossus said:
Nice work Bro, great idea, wants a sticky
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks Smarts or Colossus!

vERY nice guide
The ADK (android development kit) is divided into 3 parts
1.Android SDK (Software development Kit) : used to make easy programs which only require touch and some sensors , eg. Games
2.Android NDK ( Native Development Kit) : this is used to Create apps which require Hardware or Use the native binaries and libraries of Android , eg. Camera , CyanogenMod Settings , Oxygen Settings , etc.
3.Android PDK ( Platform Development Kit) : As the name suggests this is the main kit which allows to make all ".mk" files (eg. Android.mk , etc) and most of the files found on github
Basically Dev's like FXP , Z , Achotjan , kxhawkins , etc. Use the PDK to make AOSP/CM7 ROMs from source
And Also use NDK to edit the system apk's etc.. to make it stable
That's some knowledge from my side

spaarc said:
vERY nice guide
The ADK (android development kit) is divided into 3 parts
1.Android SDK (Software development Kit) : used to make easy programs which only require touch and some sensors , eg. Games
2.Android NDK ( Native Development Kit) : this is used to Create apps which require Hardware or Use the native binaries and libraries of Android , eg. Camera , CyanogenMod Settings , Oxygen Settings , etc.
3.Android PDK ( Platform Development Kit) : As the name suggests this is the main kit which allows to make all ".mk" files (eg. Android.mk , etc) and most of the files found on github
Basically Dev's like FXP , Z , Achotjan , kxhawkins , etc. Use the PDK to make AOSP/CM7 ROMs from source
And Also use NDK to edit the system apk's etc.. to make it stable
That's some knowledge from my side
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks Spaarc.
Will add it right away! Thanks once again

This could be called "AndroidDictionary for noobs"
Infinity Ytinifni S. Sent from Xperia X10i-modded.

X10 Led States:-
----------------------
W-Lod: White LED of DOOM.
--------------------------------------
Sometimes a R-lod is similar to a W-lod but the LED is red instead.
Usually results in a Reboot, or a Freeze or a Crash
R-R-L: Red Rolling LED.
-------------------------------
Led flashes RED 3 times.
Indicates Requirement for Charge
G-LS: Green LED Steady.
--------------------------------
LED goes Steady GREEN while usb is plugged in.
Flash Mode Entered and or Fully Charged.
Cpu's. Central Processing Unit:-
----------------------------------------
It's pretty much the heart of your device pumping data through and from all the attached devices the Kernel and Modules is it's soul and it's OS is it's skin and flesh.
Core Clock Speed:Is the actual clock speed that the CPU is running at. "not the multiplied speed."
It's good to remember a CPU's performance is also effected by it's memory's speed.
Similar rules exist for the GPU.
This place was so color less i figured i would bring some.

haha
thanks for the post OmegaRED^

thanx pretty usefull info out there.!!

Definetly a Sticky. Thanks very much!
Now I know what a "WLOD" is. I had no idea before.
Karl

i though WLOD is stand for White LED of death....just like blue screen of death for windows (but who cares...it still got same meaning anyway )
anyway...nice thread....should request for sticky

Arnold.Alexius said:
i though WLOD is stand for White LED of death....just like blue screen of death for windows (but who cares...it still got same meaning anyway )
anyway...nice thread....should request for sticky
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks... it stands for death but I liked the way it sounds so didn't change what OmegaRED^ had suggested!

A few corrections.
OTA: Over The Air.
tar: Tape ARchive - archive consisting of multiple files that has not been compressed.
tgz: compressed tarbol (tape archive) usually with gzip.
shell: the standard command language interpreter.
ssh: secure shell - provides secure encrypted communications between two untrusted hosts over an insecure network.

This was an easy explanation for all noobs, like me. Thanks

ynkamat said:
This was an easy explanation for all noobs, like me. Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're welcome!
Warm Regards
kLouD
Sent from my X10i on J's CM7 & DooM's v4 kernel using XDA Premium App

android dictionary

i found this in xperia x10 general section maybe we should have the same thread in our general section
[source] xperia x10 general section from kloud_
I was going through another site & came across a Terminology Guide. I couldn’t find something similar here so just wanted to take it upon myself to create a well organized post providing abbreviations & terminology so that any one, Master or Newbie, can have a quick reference guide to all things droid. I myself do not know everything but I do know some things & I believe with some help from the moderators & contributing members of xda-developers, we can throw together a one-stop-shop for all the droid info.
A special thanks to Sam Fisher at droidforums for the inspiration!!
Thanks to My_Immortal, OmegaRED^ & Spaarc for their suggestions & information shared!
________________
ADK: Android Development Kit, What people use to develop anything for the Android such as ROM's
The ADK (Android development kit) is divided into 3 parts
1. Android SDK (Software development Kit): used to make easy programs which only require touch & some sensors , e.g. Games
2. Android NDK ( Native Development Kit): this is used to Create apps which require Hardware or Use the native binaries & libraries of Android , eg. Camera , CyanogenMod Settings, Oxygen Settings , etc.
3. Android PDK ( Platform Development Kit): As the name suggests this is the main kit which allows to make all ".mk" files (eg. Android.mk , etc) & most of the files found on github
Basically Dev's like FXP , Z , Achotjan , kxhawkins , etc. Use the PDK to make AOSP/CM7 ROMs from source
& Also use NDK to edit the system apk's etc.. to make it stable
adb: Android Debug Bridge, a command-line debugging application included with the SDK. It provides tools to browse the device, copy tools on the device, & forward ports for debugging. If you are developing in Eclipse using the ADT Plugin, adb is integrated into your development environment.
AOSP: Android Open System Project, usually you will see this term when referring to a program or ROM. This will mean that the program or ROM was taken from Google & does not contain any modifications done by the phone Manufacturer or the phone service provider. This is Android the way Google intended.
Baseband or Radio: In communications & signal processing, the baseband describes signals & systems whose range of the frequencies measured from close to 0 hertz to a cut-off frequency, a maximum bandwidth or highest signal frequency; it is sometimes used to describe frequencies starting close to zero
Boot Loader/SPL: In literal terms, boot loader is code that is executed before any Operating System starts to run. The concept of boot loaders is universal to virtually all Operating systems that includes operating systems on your PC, laptop, Smartphone, & other such devices. Boot loaders basically package the instructions to boot operating system kernel & most of them also have their own debugging or modification environment. As the boot loader kicks off before any piece of software on your device, it makes it extremely processor specific & every motherboard has its own boot loader.
Boot Loader/SPL (Unlocked): A locked or unlocked boot loader is what gives you access to “root.” “Root” is another big word in the Android community. If you “root” a device, it means you have “super user” access or “administrator” access to the operating system that runs on your phone. Root access of your Android device gives you the ability to flash ROMs.
One of the most popular ROMs was created by a team called the CyanogenMod(CM), & their current rom is CM7, which is built on Android 2.3 Gingerbread. What this means is that if you have a phone that has an unlocked boot loader & root access, you can flash the CM7 ROM to your phone with a couple more steps. This also means that you can get access to most of the features in the latest version of Android that is commercially available, without having to wait for your manufacturer or carrier to give you an official update.
Boot Loop: Simply means something is preventing the phone from completing it's boot cycle & is stuck between the boot animation & the unlock screen, creating a looped animation. This is often fixed by either reloading a NAndroid, or Reflashing a ROM from the xRecovery/ClockworkMod Recovery/Flashtool.
Brick or Bricked: Jargon for a completely unrecoverable device, (no more than a brick or paperweight)
Note: It is my understanding that radio will boot first, followed by other systems. So it is IMPORTANT that your radio image/version will work with your SPL image/version. This is the one & only reason for phones being bricked. You cannot brick your phone by flashing a ROM or Boot image or recovery image. Once you flash the wrong radio for the SPL, the only known method of recovery is to send the phone back into SE for repair.
How do I know the phone is hard-bricked? A hard-bricked phone cannot boot into boot loader, recovery, or into normal operation modes. You cannot connect to a hard-bricked phone via adb or fastboot. You can only see one screen on the phone & it will be the first splash screen.
Bug or Software Bug: An Error or flaw in software that produces a failure or unexpected/unwanted result. Typically created from incorrect code, this is why some ROMs are better & smoother running than others because developers have taken the time to input "perfect" code (read put in a lot of hours & hard work)
Busybox: A single multicall binary that packages the functionality of most widely used standard Unix tools, BusyBox provides a fairly complete environment for any small or embedded system.
COMPCACHE: (compressed caching) is, in short, virtual swap, setting aside a certain percentage (usually 25%) of your RAM as 'compressed' swap. Compcache compresses the data that would normally go to swap, then moves it back into RAM, and reverses the process when moving it out of the 'compressed' swap. However, this is a classic space-time tradeoff. You effectively get more RAM from the compression, but it is slower than 'normal' RAM due to the CPU time required to compress and decompress the swapped pages.
ClockworkMod: A recovery program that is often used to apply updates, ROMs, or create a back up or restore a backup file
Dalvik: An open source, register-based virtual machine (VM) that’s part of the Android OS. The Dalvik VM executes files in the Dalvik Executable (.dex) format & relies on the Linux kernel for additional functionality like threading & low-level memory management. The virtual machine is register-based, and it can run classes compiled by a Java language compiler that have been transformed into its native format using the included "dx" tool.
Dalvik Cache: A program cache area for the program Dalvik. Dalvik is a java based virtual machine that is the basis for running your programs (the ones that have the .apk extension). In order to make access times faster (because there's not JIT (just in time) compiler installed by default), the dalvik-cache is the result of dalvik doing a optimization of the running program. It's similar to the prefetch files in Windows.
DDMS: Dalvik Debug Monitor Service, a GUI debugging application included with the SDK. It provides screen capture, log dump, and process examination capabilities. If you are developing in Eclipse using the ADT Plugin, DDMS is integrated into your development environment.
Deep Sleep: A state when the CPU is off, display dark, device is waiting for external input.
De-odex: Apk files have respective odexes that devs use to supposedly save space. Deodexing means you convert it back to a .dex file & put it back inside the apk. This allows you to easily replace files (not having to worry about odexes), but the main point was to deodex services.jar so that you can change all text to different colors (such as the clock color to white) & to deodex services.jar, you need to deodex everything.
Dev. or Developer: An individual that creates, or alters a file in such a manner as to advance the program
Drawable: A compiled visual resource that can be used as a background, title, or other part of the screen. A drawable is typically loaded into another UI element, for example as a background image. A drawable is not able to receive events, but does assign various other properties such as "state" and scheduling, to enable subclasses such as animation objects or image libraries. Many drawable objects are loaded from drawable resource files — xml or bitmap files that describe the image. Drawable resources are compiled into subclasses of android.graphics.drawable. For more information about drawables and other resources.
Fastboot: Protocol used to update the flash file system in Android devices from a host over USB. It allows flashing of unsigned partition images.
Flash: Rewrite the software/firmware on your phone using a computer to "flash" or completely rewrite the memory (ROM) of your phone. This is done using ODIN.
Flash Memory: a program technology that can be electrically erased & reprogrammed
Kernel: The main component of Android operating system.
It is a bridge between applications & the actual data processing done at the hardware level.
The kernel's responsibilities include managing the system's resources (the communication between hardware & software components).
[Usually as a basic component of an operating system, a kernel can provide the lowest-level abstraction layer for the resources
(especially processors & I/O devices) that application software must control to perform its function.
It typically makes these facilities available to application processes through inter-process communication mechanisms & system calls.
Operating system tasks are done differently by different kernels, depending on their design & implementation.]
Manifest File: An XML file that each application must define, to describe the application's package name, version, components (activities, intent filters, services), imported libraries, and describes the various activities, and so on. See The AndroidManifest.xml File for complete information.
Nine-patch / 9-patch / Ninepatch image
A re-sizeable bitmap resource that can be used for backgrounds or other images on the device.
Nandroid or Nandroid Backup: A file typically created in the custom recovery program, such as xRecovery, that is a carbon copy of whatever state your phone is in before a drastic change is made. The file then can be moved onto or off of the SD card for later use in case something should go wrong in the ROM or Update, or a Boot Loop occurs
ODIN: It is the program you can use to flash phones.
e.g. : 'Odin Multi-Downloader v3.95' is used to flash the Samsung Galaxy. It's usually included in firmware packs.
OEM: Original Equipment Manufacturer, the people who actually put together electronic hardware. Also refers to any equipment original to the phone, or produced by the company for the phone
OpenGL ES: Android provides OpenGL ES libraries that you can use for fast, complex 3D images. It is harder to use than a Canvas object, but better for 3D objects. The android.opengl and javax.microedition.khronos.opengles packages expose OpenGL ES functionality.
OS: Operating system, I.E. Windows Vista, LINUX or MAC or Android
OTA: Over-the-Air; method T-Mobile, & some other phone companies, uses to update Android phones. The new versions of Android are developed by Google & then released to OEM's, Sony Ericsson in our case. The OEM then writes drivers that enable the new software to work on the phone's hardware. They also develop any specialized UI (user interface), like Timescape & Mediascape, or other software they want to include. Once this is complete, they turn it over to the cell phone company, (e.g.)Tmobile, who then have to do the final checks to make sure the update works, & then distributes it over there data network using their cell transmitters.
Overclocking (OC): Speeding up the CPU past the factory presets to achieve a faster & more responsive device (prolonged run can be injurious to your device, so be careful.)
ROM: Read Only Memory, a program used to make changes to anything from the look of the home screen to icons to custom boot animation
Root: Common word associated with giving a user "super user" access to their phones programming & other various aspects that would normally not be possible, also known as "Jailbroken" for iPhone's, "Administrator Rights" in Windows OS.
Shell or SSH: The shell is the layer of programming that understands & executes the commands a user enters. In some systems, the shell is called a command interpreter. A shell usually implies an interface with a command syntax (think of the DOS operating system & its "C:>" prompts & user commands such as "dir" & "edit"). secure shell or ssh is a network protocol that allows data to be exchanged using a secure channel between two networked devices
SQLite: An embedded relational database management system contained in a relatively small (~275 kB) C programming library. It is multitasking concerning reads. Writes can be done only one-at-a-time. It is a popular choice for local/client storage on web browsers. It has many bindings to programming languages. It is arguably the most widely used database engine, as it is used today by several widespread browsers, operating systems, embedded systems among others
Stock: Simply means an unaltered state, such as when you first purchase your phone fromVerizon/Your Service Provider or when you repair your phone using PC Companion or SE Update Service(SEUS)
SU: "Super user", or root permissions
SWAP: is, in short, virtual RAM. With swap, a small portion of the hard drive is set aside and used like RAM. The computer will attempt to keep as much information as possible in RAM until the RAM is full. At that point, the computer will begin moving inactive blocks of memory (called pages) to the hard disk, freeing up RAM for active processes. If one of the pages on the hard disk needs to be accessed again, it will be moved back into RAM, and a different inactive page in RAM will be moved onto the hard disk ('swapped'). The trade off is disks and SD cards are considerably slower than physical RAM, so when something needs to be swapped, there is a noticeable performance hit.
Unlike traditional swap, Android's Memory Manager kills inactive processes to free up memory. Android signals to the process, then the process will usually write out a small bit of specific information about its state (for example, Google Maps may write out the map view coordinates; Browser might write the URL of the page being viewed) and then the process exits. When you next access that application, it is restarted: the application is loaded from storage, and retrieves the state information that it saved when it last closed. In some applications, this makes it seem as if the application never closed at all. This is not much different from traditional swap, except that Android apps are specially programed to write out very specific information, making Android's Memory Manager more efficient that swap.
Theme: A set of icons, backgrounds & app trays that change the aesthetics of the overall look of the Android & its applications. It has a set of properties (text size, background color, and so on) bundled together to define various default display settings. Android provides a few standard themes, listed in R.style (starting with "Theme_").
TUN/TAP: Refers to a network TUNnel, operates within layer 3 packets, or ip packets. Packets sent by a system via a TUN/TAP device are delivered to a user-space program that attaches itself to the device. A user space program may also pass packets into a TUN/TAP device. In this case TUN/TAP device delivers (or "injects") these packets to the operating system's network stack thus emulating their reception from an external source.
Underclocking(UC): Slowing down the CPU mainly to limit battery usage
Undervolting(UV): Basically keeping the clock speed same (or overclocking it) & reduce the voltage at each cpu cycle.
xRecovery: A recovery program based on the ClockworkMod Recovery sources used to apply updates, ROMs, or create a back up or restore a backup file
File Types:
.dex: Compiled Android application code file. Android programs are compiled into .dex (Dalvik Executable) files, which are in turn zipped into a single .apk file on the device. .dex files can be created by automatically translating compiled applications written in the Java programming language.
.sbf: Summation Briefcase File
.apk or APK's: An .apk file extension denotes an Android Package (APK) file, an .apk file can be opened & inspected using common archive tools. Each Android application is compiled and packaged in a single file that includes all of the application's code (.dex files), resources, assets, and manifest file. The application package file can have any name but must use the .apk extension. For example: myExampleAppname.apk. For convenience, an application package file is often referred to as an ".apk".
.tar: Similar to a zip file(derived from tape archive), a tar file archives multiple files into one file
.tgz: TGZ files (gnu-zipped .tar file) are commonly used as install packages for Slackware Linux.
pheeeeww!!This took sometime!!
Well this is all I can think of off the top of my head but as I think of more I will edit them in here & I encourage the mods to put things that I either forgot or just simply am not aware of. Also I request fellow user to suggest any terms frequently used & not added or any discrepancies found, kindly PM me!!
Thank you & happy hacking/flashing!!
_____________________________________
X10 LED States:-
--------------------------------------
W-LOD: White LED of DEATH.
--------------------------------------
Sometimes a R-LOD is similar to a W-LOD but the LED is red instead.
Usually results in a Reboot, or a Freeze or a Crash
-------------------------------
Flashing R-L: Red LED.
-------------------------------
Led flashes RED 3 times.
Indicates Requirement for Charge
--------------------------------
G-LS: Green LED Steady.
--------------------------------
LED goes Steady GREEN while USB is plugged in.
Flash Mode Entered/Fully Charged.
CPU : -
----------------------------------------
Central Processing Unit: -
----------------------------------------
It's pretty much the heart of your device pumping data through & from all the attached devices the Kernel & Modules is its soul & it's OS is it's skin & flesh.
-----------------------
Core Clock Speed: -
-----------------------
It is the actual clock speed that the CPU is running at. "Not the multiplied speed."
It's good to remember a CPU's performance is also effected by its memory's speed.
Similar rules exist for the GPU (Graphics Processing Unit).

Tnx for the info. This very useful specially to us noobs....
Sent from my E15i using xda premium

Everyone browse this forum must read this at least one time!!!!!!!!!!
Sent from my X8 using xda premium

AOSP: Android Open System Project, usually you will see this term when referring to a program or ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AOSP is Android Open Source Project
posted via Tapatalk 2 Beta

Thanks for sharing.
Sent from my E15i using Tapatalk

[GUIDE] [ROOT] Install a Linux OS alongside almost any Android device [DECEMBER 2017]

I spent weeks trying to find a way to install a Linux distribution alongside my Android devices, or replace Android with one entirely. While researching the possibility, I was really disappointed to learn installing a distribution alongside Android was already a 'fad' which had already come and pretty much gone. A lot of the methods that worked in 2012 and 2013, no longer work on current Android devices, or at least very few of them. However I don't go down without a fight. Please note, I did NOT create any of this software nor did I develop it. I just put it all back together, in a working order. Though it's pretty much impossible to brick your device using this guide, I still feel obligated to say: I am not responsible for any damage this guide may cause to your device, yourself, or the jealous friends you'll have after installation is completed xD
In order to install a Linux distribution, your Android device MUST be rooted. Unfortunately there is no way around that. After more than 2 weeks of research, reading and testing, I have managed to get three different distributions working across four devices, with plans to test it on at least one more device:
- Amazon Kindle HD 8.9 (Rooted with TWRP custom recovery and a custom CyanogenMod [CM] Marshmallow 6.0 ROM).
- Samsung Galaxy J1 (Rooted. Android Lollipop 5.1.1).
- Samsung Galaxy S3 (Rooted with TWRP custom recovery and a custom SlimRom Marshmallow 6.0 ROM).
- Samsung Galaxy S7 (Rooted, US Variant, Android Nougat 7.0).
- (Plan to test) Amazon Fire 7 (Rooted. Custom Lollipop 5.1.1 ROM).
The following guides will allow you to install any Linux distribution you desire (provided it's available). You can install the distributions as a .img on your internal storage/sdcard or partition part (or use all) of an removable sdcard (external storage). It is recommended you have at least 4GB of free storage space. If you want to try another distribution, it's just a case of deleting a few files or folders to uninstall them. Or you can partition another part of your sdcard (external storage). Please note you will not be able to repartition any internal storage.
These guides will be long. It will seem harder than it is. I really think this is one of the coolest things for Android I've stumbled upon. I haven't even begun to scrape the surface of what this allows you to do. Be patient and have fun
Part One: Installing a Linux distribution on internal storage
To get started, you need to do and have installed the following things:
- Make sure you have root.
- Make sure you have BusyBox installed and working.
- Terminal Emulator for Android, Termux and it's API or an SSH client.
- VNC Viewer for Android or your preferred VNC viewer.
- Linux Deploy
- AParted ( Sd card Partition )
1. Go to Sourceforge and download your preferred Linux .img. Those .img files are courtesy of a once awesome organization called 'LinuxOnAndroid'. Simply click on one of the nine distributions and download whichever one and size you prefer.
2. Extract the .zip in a folder on your PC. Name the folder the name of the distribution (i.e. Kali, Debian etc). **NOTE: You MUST download and extract all distributions on your desktop PC. These .zip files will not decompile and extract properly on your Android and the .img files will not boot.**
3. On your Android, using a root explorer, create a folder with the distribution's name in /sdcard or /storage/emulated/0. On your PC, in your extracted Linux distribution folder, copy and paste the .img file into the folder you created in one of those two storage directories.
4. If you haven't already, download and install Linux Deploy from Google Play.
5. It's now time to configure your distribution. Tap the three lines at the bottom right corner. You will then get a screen with a list of configurations. For the purpose of this guide, I have selected the Debian distribution. The first set of configurations should be as follows (See image below the list):
- Containerization method: chroot
- Distribution: Debian
- Architecture: armhf (This allows the Linux OS to be compatible with armv7)
- Source Path: (This will be an automatically selected URL and will vary from distribution to distribution. You should never have to change this configuration)
{
"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"
}
6. Now we configure the type of installation we will be doing. For this particular guide, we are installing the distribution on internal storage. Please configure your settings as listed (See image below the list):
- Installation Type: File
- Installation Path: /sdcard/Debian or /storage/emulated/0/Debian
- Image size: 6000 (The lowest recommended allocation is 4000MB [4GB])
- File System: ext4 (Not all devices support ext4. Some only support ext2 or ext3. If ext4 doesn't work, try one of the other two. You will also have to select the proper .img format from LinuxOnAndroid i.e. ext4, ext3, ext2).
- User Name: android (You can choose any name you like. This will be used to connect to the OS via a VNC viewer later on).
- User Password: ******* (Although the password is automatically generated, you can make this any password you want. This will be used to connect to the OS via a VNC viewer later on).
7. Set the configurations below See images below the lists):
- Privileged Users: root (This will be the name given to you when entering a root shell via the sudo command. You can change this to your liking)
- DNS: Automatic Detection
- Localization: en_US.UTF-8 (Language and region selection. If you're not sure of this setting, use Google to determine your local i.e. en = English, US = United States)
- INIT: Make sure box is checked to enable
- Init System: run-parts
- Mounts: Make sure box is checked to enable
- SSH: Make sure box is checked to enable (This allows you to set up an SSH client to connect to the Linux OS as opposed to using a VNC viewer)
- GUI: Make sure box is checked to enable (This tells the Linux OS to create a graphical interface so you're able to use a VNC viewer)
- Graphics Subsystem: VNC
8. Now you can configure GUI settings. This creates graphics of high or low quality. You are able to customize these settings to your liking and they will vary from device to device based on screen sizes and resolutions. In this case, I have the distribution loaded on my Galaxy J1 so these settings are set to my taste based on that device (See image below the list):
- Display: 0
- Depth (bits): 24 (The higher the number, the better the graphics)
- DPI: 100 (Dots per inch)
- Width: 800
- Height: 480
9. Tap the back button once. From the main screen swipe right or tap the three lines in the upper left corner and tap the settings option. Here you can configure the application settings for Linux Deploy. A lot of these options are already selected and some don't require any changes. Please set the settings according to the list below (See image below the list):
- Lock Screen: Make sure the box is checked
- Lock WiFi: Make sure box is checked (Some devices will turn off WiFi when you aren't using Android for a period of time. Some carriers and manufacturers do not give you the option to 'keep WiFi on' when the device is 'asleep.' Checking this box will allow the application to attempt to keep WiFi on)
- Wake Lock: Make sure box is checked. (This option can be set to your taste. However, to avoid problems with Linux Deploy and a VNC viewer in case you don't shut down your Linux environment or Linux Deploy, keep this box checked)
- Language: English (Obviously this option would change depending on your preferred language)
- Font Size: 10 = default (This changes the size of the text in Linux Deploy application only)
- Scroll Size: 100 (This tells Linux Deploy how many lines of text you're able to scroll back and look at in the application)
- Theme: Dark or Light (Take your pick)
- Timestamp: Shows the timestamp next to the lines of test in the application. Totally up to you)
- Show Icon: Make sure box is checked (Some devices will attempt to shut down Linux Deploy, even with root. Displaying the icon in the status bar allows a constant notification to be present, which generally stops the system from shutting down the app)
- Stealth Mode: Hides the application icon within your launcher
- Autostart: Check the box if you want Linux Deploy to open and start the Linux OS each time you reboot. This is not recommended especially for lower end/older devices
- Autostart Delay: Tells Linux Deploy how long after the system boots, to open and activate the container (Linux OS)
- Network Trigger: Check this box if you plan on leaving your distribution running while traveling with your device.
- Terminal Command: telnet 127.0.0.1 5023 (This allows you to open a terminal in your distribution that connects to the device. This is just a standard terminal so you don't have to open a terminal emulator in Android. In order to use this you'll need to install the telnet package once your distribution is operational)
- ENV Directory: Auto selected. No need to change (Not sure what exactly this does)
- Path Variable: Blank. (Also not sure of this setting so I didn't change it)
- Enable CLI: Make sure this box is checked (Allows the application to use a command line within, I believe, both the application and the distribution)
- Update ENV: Update the operating environment (This updates the operating environment setup of Linux Deploy. (Please see the next step on how this function works)
- Remove ENV: Removes/deletes the operating environment (This removes/deletes the operating environment. Anytime you change the settings in this settings menu, you MUST tap Remove ENV and tap yes. Then tap Update ENV and yes to update the settings you just changed. Only do these last two
steps when completely done changing settings)
- Telnet: Enable telnetd daemon (Make sure box is checked. You need this option if you choose to install and use the telnet application on your Linux distribution)
- Port: 5023 (Preconfigured. The port that telnet uses to connect to your device inside the Linux OS via terminal)
- Localhost: Make sure this box is checked. This is a security feature which allows only the localhost (that's you inside the Linux OS) to be allowed to connect to the distribution. Leaving the box blank can potentially set yourself up to be hacked, in a bad way. Leave it blank at your own risk and is you know what you're doing)
- Enable Httpd daemon: I am not sure what this does. The box is preconfigured as blank, so I left it as such
- Debug mode: Enable debugging information if you wish
- Trace mode: Enable if you wish.
- Logging: Enable if you wish. The setting below it tells Linux Deploy what type of file to save logs as
10. Now once all those settings are configured, scroll up and tap on Remove ENV and yes when it asks. Then tap on Update ENV and yes when it asks. You have not configured Linux Deploy. Tap the arrow (back) at the top left of the screen.
11. Tap the three dots at the top right of the screen. Tap 'Install'. If everything has been properly configured, and you placed your .img of your distribution in the correct place, Linux Deploy should begin to install your chosen distribution.
If installation doesn't work or fails to install for whatever reason, don't worry; it will NOT brick you're device. It is impossible. You CAN however, corrupt your sdcard, which usually just means you have to reformat it completely and repartition it (but that is a discussion for my next thread). The installation process requires a constant connection to WiFi until it completes. The time the installation takes depends on several variables i.e. your chosen img size and distribution, how good your WiFi connection is and so on. Based on my experience, installation took anywhere from 10 minutes to as long as 40 minutes. If for whatever reason it doesn't complete installation, it will list errors. Be sure to get a screen shot of those errors. I've never had Linux Deploy freeze during installation. You may see the same line of text for a few minutes, especially during the first few minutes of installation.
12. Installation will be complete when you see <<deploy appear as the last line of text. Tap stop at the bottom of the screen. When the process completes (usually a few seconds), tap the three dots at the top right again. Tap configure. This will assure your Distribution is configured to the proper settings that we set up earlier. It will also install any needed updates. This process could take anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute or two (usually). When completed tap stop.
13. You should be ready to launch the distribution. Tap start at the bottom of the screen. If absolutely no errors are given, this should boot up your distribution. If you see the word 'skip,' this is ok and is NOT an error.
14. Now here's the fun part. It's time to configure a VNC viewer. For the purpose of this guide, and one of two VNC viewers I use, we will be setting up VNC Viewer for Android. It will start in landscape mode, but you can rotate once the viewer connects to the distribution. Remember the settings you configured in Linux Deploy? Your distribution will be your chosen height and width once it loads.
15. You will need to set up VNC Viewer for Android as follows:
- Nickname: android (Or the name you chose in Linux Deploy as the 'username')
- Password: The password you set up in Linux Deploy
- Address: 127.0.0.1 (This should be universal for all devices and is what the Linux Deploy application uses to connect)
- Port: 5900 (Also preconfigured in Linux Deploy and it's the port it uses to connect)
- Username: You can leave this blank. I usually do
- Color Format: 24-bit color (4 bpp) (This allows for the best quality graphics possible. And honestly, the graphics are pretty great)
- Local Mouse Pointer: Check the box for a track-pad type mouse (I think? Should enable the mouse to act like a track pad on a laptop. Leave unchecked to use the mouse as pointer tapping?)
- Force Full Screen Bitmap: Make sure box is checked (Could be preference, but I've always had the box checked)
- Use Immersive mode (Devices running KitKat 4.4 and above ONLY)
- Use Wake Lock: Check the box if you desire
- Repeater: No repeater (Not a clue what this does)
That's it. You should be configured. Scroll to the top of the screen in the VNC viewer and make sure the box is checked where it says 'keep' to save the settings when you restart the application.
Now the moment of truth. Can I have a drum roll please? tap, tap, ap, tap, tap.....tap on connect.....iy might take a second or two for your distribution's wallpaper to appear. You may get an error box that pops up just before it fully boots. Just tap on ok or use the 'mouse pointer' to tap it. Sometimes the distribution boots a tad slower than the virtual connection through the viewer.
That's it! You have successfuly installed a Linux OS alongside your Android device. You can interact with your device in a terminal and view files and folders on your distribution, that exist on your device. Perhaps the coolest part of all, you now have access to hundreds, if not thousands of applets in the terminal. Tap on the far bottom left corner icon that will bring up your menu. Tap on system tools and tap on the terminal. Now you can use Linux terminal like it was a full, operating system...because it is You also get a root shell. In terminal type:
Code:
sudo -i
If you want to install an application, for example git (github for Linux. You have access to just about every repository on github now) you need to have a root shell first. Type in the terminal:
Code:
sudo -i
apt-get install git
Debian on my Samsung Galaxy J1, Lollipop 5.1.1
Type in the letter Y if propted. To get a list of all available applications you can install with that command (this is a very, very long list), type in the terminal:
Code:
apt list
To exit the VNC connection ONLY, simply tap your recent apps button and swipe it away. To stop the Linux distribution, in Linux deploy, tap the stop button at the bottom of the screen. Then tap the three bars at the top left and tap exit. This should be done EVERY time you want to end your session in Linux Deploy. Do NOT exit or stop Linux Deploy via the recent apps button.
Please stay tuned for the next post below this one titled: 'Part Two: Partitioning external storage (removable sdcard) and installing a Linux Distribution onto it'
I want to thank everyone who followed this guide. Please give me a thanks by tapping the thumb at the bottom of this post or consider a small donation I really think this is awesome and I haven't begun to scratch the surface. I've been too excited getting this to work on so many devices! Please post your results and problems. I very much look forward to your replies!

Reserved for part two guide

Reserved for part three guide

Reserved for my comment
Awesome guide though, will follow when I can download everything

The repeater in above mentioned is for setting up remote access and viewing. And httpd.conf:
---------- Post added at 09:21 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:18 AM ----------
jeremyandroid said:
The repeater in above mentioned is for setting up remote access and viewing. And httpd.conf: is historically named after httpd daemon for Apache2 set up
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

jeremyandroid said:
The repeater in above mentioned is for setting up remote access and viewing. And httpd.conf:
---------- Post added at 09:21 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:18 AM ----------
jeremyandroid said:
The repeater in above mentioned is for setting up remote access and viewing. And httpd.conf: is historically named after httpd daemon for Apache2 set up
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like your avatar. Speaking of Kali, I installed that one first. Love it. But I get a 404 when trying to upgrade most of the add on 'security' tools. Is there any way I can get those to work or an I out of luck?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

DragonFire1024 said:
jeremyandroid said:
The repeater in above mentioned is for setting up remote access and viewing. And httpd.conf:
---------- Post added at 09:21 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:18 AM ----------
Like your avatar. Speaking of Kali, I installed that one first. Love it. But I get a 404 when trying to upgrade most of the add on 'security' tools. Is there any way I can get those to work or an I out of luck?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
404 error is .sources list problem usually providing you allocated enough space for Kali. May have to either use original ones or replace with rolling ones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

jeremyandroid said:
DragonFire1024 said:
404 error is .sources list problem usually providing you allocated enough space for Kali. May have to either use original ones or replace with rolling ones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
10000 should be enough? I will have to try it again and see what happens.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

DragonFire1024 said:
jeremyandroid said:
10000 should be enough? I will have to try it again and see what happens.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes should be plenty Kali comes with like several hundred tools so I'm pretty sure it's over 4gig so that will be fine
---------- Post added at 10:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:47 PM ----------
Also not trying to sound like I know everything because I don't! I just love to learn and love Linux and Android. Im just now back on here I authored roms for the Note 2 years ago so it's been a long time lol. However I have used Linux for years and made custom distributions and kernels. Android has changed so much I'm catching up lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

So I had 3/4 of the second Guide written when the house lost heat. It got so cold my fans on my PC were starting to run too slowly, so it shut down as a precaution. I lost the work I had done on the second guide. So until I get heat back at home, I can't write the second guide. Apologies for the delay.

Latest Ubuntu running like a champ Thanks man!
Though any idea on how to make the screen bigger (without zooming in)?

Craz Basics said:
Latest Ubuntu running like a champ Thanks man!
Though any idea on how to make the screen bigger (without zooming in)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have to mess around with the VNC settings in Linux Deploy. Might take a few times to tweak to your liking.

DragonFire1024 said:
I spent weeks trying to find a way to install a Linux distribution alongside my Android devices, or replace Android with one entirely. While researching the possibility, I was really disappointed to learn installing a distribution alongside Android was already a 'fad' which had already come and pretty much gone. A lot of the methods that worked in 2012 and 2013, no longer work on current Android devices, or at least very few of them. However I don't go down without a fight. Please note, I did NOT create any of this software nor did I develop it. I just put it all back together, in a working order. Though it's pretty much impossible to brick your device using this guide, I still feel obligated to say: I am not responsible for any damage this guide may cause to your device, yourself, or the jealous friends you'll have after installation is completed xD!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Quick question for anyone who might know...
I'm running Debian on my Xperia Xc, and I'm interested in copying files back and forth from Linux to Android. I was able to figure out how to mount the loop device, and get access to it in terminal, but files don't show up in file manager, even though I go to the same directory I can see them in terminal.
How can I get the device to show up in the file manager?
Thanks
Edit - I was able to get it working in reverse, (show my Android file system on Linux), by using custom mount point option in LD, so I guess that works... Would still be interested to know if there's a way to do it the other way...

Question, Does installing a Linux Distro in this fashion allow one to pair and access simple B/T serial devices other than a B/T mouse our keyboard? I installed GNU Root Debian Jessie and got is working with LXDE but
none of my tracking apps that have to use a USB or B/T connection to an outboard receiver are accessible. Don't have access to /dev so I could change permissions on the ports the GNU Root Debian. Wireless or USB peripherals
are useless. I want to specifically run Xastir with outboard datastreams. Piece 'o cake with a laptop but no dice with GRB. Kurt KC9LDH

Any idea how to get it to work with magisk? I think it's due to busybox not working but when set to chroot, nothing happens when trying to start or install.

Humpie said:
Any idea how to get it to work with magisk? I think it's due to busybox not working but when set to chroot, nothing happens when trying to start or install.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have no idea actually. I only have two devices with unlocked bootloaders and niether of them have magisk. Sorry I'm not more familiar with it.

DragonFire1024 said:
I have no idea actually. I only have two devices with unlocked bootloaders and niether of them have magisk. Sorry I'm not more familiar with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahhw that's a shame. It really is the cleanest way to root since apps like Netflix will still be available in the play store and Google pay etc will still work.
But I have a module which should have put busybox in /system/xbin (and it works in termux, I can type "chroot")
Edit: I'm a bit further, I set PATH to /system/bin/sh and chroot now at least runs, but it won't mount the img, let's download that again..
Edit2: mounting container gives me a fail... Any idea?

Okay I've got debian working by installing it into a folder instead of an IMG file. For some reason the img didn't work (might be android 8.1 or magisk related). I also didn't have to download an img from sourceforge as the app can download the files itself.

Humpie said:
Okay I've got debian working by installing it into a folder instead of an IMG file. For some reason the img didn't work (might be android 8.1 or magisk related). I also didn't have to download an img from sourceforge as the app can download the files itself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
An .img works best if you use external sdcard. You can partition it or use the whole thing.

DragonFire1024 said:
An .img works best if you use external sdcard. You can partition it or use the whole thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, however my pixel 2xl doesn't have an sdcard slot .

[GUIDE][RECOVERY][ROM] Xiaomi/Fengmi/Wemax Mi Led/Laser Projector/TV

Projectivy Launcher (formerly ProjecTivy Tools) now has its own dedicated thread located here.
Intro
There's so much information here that a new user could probably feel lost without the courage to read everything. So let's keep things simple : as the thread's title says, the primary aimed devices are projectors produced by Xiaomi related brands (xiaomi/fengmi/wemax), though it could probably be useful to other Android Tv models and other brands, so you might want to keep reading until the end of the introduction.
What you can find here :
Full tutorial to Googlize your chinese device with my custom made Google Apps package dedicated to Android Tv 6 (only tested on MiUi Tv, root required)
General FAQ related to these devices [post #2]
Information on how to root xiaomi/wemax/fengmi/vava projectors (and custom made TWRP for many chinese models) [post #2]
Full firmware and OTA for many models [post #2]
Google Apps / Services instructions
Here's a full tutorial to root and install Google services on your Android 6 MiUi device (ie: chinese xiaomi/fengmi/wemax).
This has been tested successfully on all devices where a custom TWRP is available below. If anything goes wrong for you, try to factory reset / clean flash
Except for "AndroidMediaShell" (Google Cast server), most (all?) features are working fine including :
Tv settings
Google Play (to let it install/update apps, please enable the Accessibility Service)
ATV remote service : if you install Google ATV remote on your smartphone, everything (including speech recognition) will work
Google Assistant : with the Accessibility Service enabled, a short press on the mic button on your stock remote control will launch Google Assistant. Then, when it's listening, press and hold the mic button while speaking and release it when done. According you've used More Locale to change to your mother tongue, this will even work in your language.
Installation steps:
root your device (see post #2) (you don't need to flash any firmware)
if not already done, install the latest version of ProjecTivy Launcher and launch it
execute Applications / install 3rd party apps, then install :
Aptoide Tv Store
ATV launcher [optional] (alternative launcher)
Youtube [optional]
MoreLocale [optional] (in case your mother tongue is not english, it will let you choose more than what's listed in Android settings)
Google Apps/services (don't forget it )
execute Applications / Freeze Stock launcher (to disable your stock home screen)
execute Applications / Freeze Stock apps (to disable most Xiaomi apps and services)
execute System / Custom Props override (to pass safetynet checks, enable more stock behavior and fix black screen with non-stock launcher)
execute System / Accessibility Service, enable the service in accessibility settings (to fix "Google Play" ability to install/update apps and to link the stock remote control "Voice recognition" button to Google Assistant as well as many other features)
[Optional] Install magisk module "Nexus Media" to change the stock bootanimation (go to Shortcuts / Magisk Manager to execute it, and then in the left menu, "Downloads" section, just install "Nexus Media")
Reboot and complete the Welcome app to setup your Google account (first and second boot will be longer than usual)
Note that an Android accessibility setting might get enabled after the first reboot when Google Apps have been installed. It'll cause green borders around buttons. Just go to settings / accessibility and disable "talkback".
Launch Google Play to update Google apps and let the update finish before exiting Google Play (if the app's accessibility service is running as it should, it will display a message when launching/exiting Google Play)
[Optional] start MoreLocale to change your language
Disable the "smart update" in the projector settings so that it doesn't try to download and install OTAs (which would just display an "error" message after each boot, when it fails to install it)
Enjoy your Google Tv device !
Important :
Once installed, don't change the device resolution in the Android Tv settings. This is not supported by the video drivers that will then only display a checkerboard. The only known solution as of now is to factory reset and start again.
Engineering Menu App Translation
Here you'll find information about xiaomi's engineering menu app.
After a bit of google translate and reverse engineering, here's a translation of the different menus, along with my own values (1st one is for "rainman", second one for "batman")
Projector information
- Brightness [1541][1610]
- DLP vendor name [APPO][APPO]
- Production Week [1812][1921]
- Contrast ratio [3828][3370]
- Brightness Uniformity [940][856]
- Serial Number
- Color coordinates [r:860 g:860 b:860 x:283 y:302][r:860 g:860 b:860 x:2720 y:2790]
Solid color (android) -> displays a solid color (using android system)
Solid color (projector) -> displays a solid color (native)
Other image test (android) -> displays a gradient (using android system)
Other image test (projector) -> displays a gradient (native)
Color wheel delay -> when incorrectly set, this can lead to posterization issues (gradients become unnatural and tend to display large uniform areas) [490][420]
Save color wheel delay to Android
Image mode: change the screen light intensity
- Standard
- Highlight
- Energy saving
Temperature monitoring
- ambient temperature [31][43]
- color wheel [52][63]
- Laser temperature channel 1 [60][74]
- Laser temperature channel 2 [61][74]
- DMD temperature [-][0]
Model name [MiProjA1][MiProjLAS2]
Human body induction -> enables/disables IR sensor that disable image when coming close to the laser
Save information to projector
DLP version [major:1, minor:2, patch:5][major:7, minor:3, patch:7]
3D (when modified, need to restart to take effect) -> enable/disable 3d support
Devices list
For reference, here's a list of devices where ProjecTivy (and several of its special features) has been tested working fine.
Only models using Android 6 can be rooted yet.
1080p Laser Projectors:
Xiaomi Mi Laser UST Projector 150" (chinese) / MiProjA1 / model: MJJGYY01FM / codename: rainman
Wemax One 7000 / MiProjA1 / model: FMWS01C / codename: rainman (thanks rockpaperscissors)
Wemax One Pro / MiProjA1 / model: FMWS02C / codename: rainman
Xiaomi Mi laser UST Projector 150" (international) / MiProjA1 / model: MJJGYY02FM / codename: anglee (thanks Nathan0121) (no root supported yet)
Xiaomi Mijia ALPD 3.0 (rear throw laser) / model: L185JCN / codename: franky (no feedback concerning twrp yet, try rainman and report if it works)
4k Laser Projectors:
Xiaomi Mi Laser UST Projector 150" 4k (chinese) / MiProjLas2 / model: MJJGTYDS01FM / codename: batman
Xiaomi Mijia 1S 4k (chinese) / MiProjLas2 / model: MJJGTYDS04FM/ codename: batman
Wemax A300 / MiProjLas2 / model: L1668FCF / codename: batman
Fengmi 4K cinema laser / MiProjLas2 / model: L176FCN / codename: batman
probably not released yet / MiProjLas2 / model: L246 / codename: batman
Fengmi 4K cinema pro laser / FMProjA2 / model: L176FCNPro / codename: jerry (no root supported yet)
Fengmi 4K C2 (cinema 2) / ? / model: L166FCN / codename: jerry (no root supported yet)
Fengmi 4k Max / model: L406FCN / codename: jerry (no root supported yet)
Xiaomi Mi 4K laser UST Projector 150" (international) / model: XMJGTYDS01FM / codename: angleeUHD (no root supported yet)
Led projectors:
Xiaomi Mi Home Projector Lite / Mijia DLP Projector Youth edition / MiProjLED1 / model: MJJGTYDS02FM / codename: conan (root using rainman twrp below)
Mi Smart Compact Projector (international) / Mijia DLP Projector Youth Global edition / model: M055MGN / MiProjM05 / SJL4014GL / codename: ?
Fengmi M055FCN / model: M055FCN / MiProjLED1 / codename: doraemon (root using rainman twrp below)
Xiaomi Mijia Mi / ZMiProj / model: TYY01ZM / codename: zodiac
Tvs:
Xiaomi Mi TV 3s / codename: mission impossible
Xiaomi Mi TV 4 / codename: pulpfiction
Xiaomi Mi TV 4a/4c/4s/4x / codename: matrix/xmen
to be completed
More in post #2 below

FAQ and more resources related to these devices
Differences between projector devices
Wemax One / Chinese Xiaomi Mi Laser:
They are (almost ?) the same.
Software-wise :
They are exactly the same (exaclty same codename, firmware, etc...)
Hardware-wise :
Wemax is black, Xiaomi Mi is white
Wemax is described to be 7000 lumens (1688 ansi lumens), Xiaomi mi 5000 lumens (1600 ansi lumens) (not sure if hardware is different or it's only a software parameter that changes its laser power)
Chinese Xiaomi Mi Laser/ International Xiaomi Mi Laser:
Software-wise :
Chinese one comes with android 6.0.1 and MiUI Tv (a Xiaomi UI dedicated to chinese users), International one comes with android 8.1 (more details below)
Hardware-wise :
Chinese one is equipped with DDR3 ram, International version DDR4
Chinese one has Amlogic T968 with onboard Mali T830 gpu, International one has Amlogic T962 with onboard Mali 450 gpu (somewhat less powerful, not sure it has any real world impact)
Also note than more often than not, International version will probably come with a warranty. It might be important, as few people complaining about dead white pixels seem to have a hard time getting their chinese projector repaired.
Pros/Cons of 8.1 international device / firmware (as of 10/10/2018)
This might help people choose between 02 international version and 01/wemax devices. Most of the information below come from this test. This is however subject to change as I believe Xiaomi will probably enhance their drivers in the coming monthes.
Pros
Complete software translations (no more chinese ressources)
Better user interface
Google Play Store availability
Better support of media apps that hardly work on 6.01 (Netflix, Prime Video...)
Better default colorimetry (but less configurable)
Less input lag (75,6 ms vs 126,6 ms) fixed on 1218+ firmwares
Cons
No 3d support
Less options related to display settings (missing RGB levels)
Worse image quality as noise reduction and sharpness seem to be less effective than on the 01 version
Judder and image tearing during media playback
Can devices international firmware be flashed on chinese models
No :
- devices hardware is not exactly the same
- partition layout is different (android 8.x requires a vendor partition)
- we don't have access to any international firmware
Supported video modes
EDID data here for "rainman" (1080p version) : View attachment edid-rainman-report.txt
EDID data here for "batman" (2160p version) : View attachment edid-batman-report.txt
EDID data here for "jerry" (2160p version) : View attachment edid-jerry-report.txt
EDID data extracted with HDMI 2.0 enabled from /sys/devices/hdmirx.28/hdmirx/hdmirx0/edid and analyzed with Advantiv EDID Editor 1.01.0268
Is my 4K device really displaying in 2160p ? Why does YouTube refuse to stream 4k ?
- Yes.
- Blame it on Google. Or AmLogic.
More details here.
Note : more recent devices such as Fengmi Cinema 4k pro (codename Jerry) based on Amlogic T972 soc don't have this limitation (they support VP9 hardware accelerated decoding)(but seem to lack 3D support)
ALR Screens
Interesting post from @servo386 regarding Ambient Light Rejection screens dedicated to UST devices.
Rainbow effect
I see many questions regarding rainbow effect (due to the DLP technology used). What I can say is that I never saw anybody complaining about it on the Mi laser projectors. A previous projector I owned (an Optoma) was also using DLP technology and I could see this rainbow effect from time to time. In the case of rainman/batman, I've never been able to see it.
Input lag
The Mi laser projectors have relatively high input lag (150/175 ms). Firmware updates sometimes help. As of september 2019, the lowest input lag can be obtained on "Monitor" or "Game" mode (approximately 100ms on batman, 75ms on rainman). If your device is rooted and you're using the ProjecTivy Tools, you can also use the "User" mode, and long press the "back" button to get down to the same input lag as "Monitor" mode, with the benefits of keeping your calibration settings.
Dead/black/white pixels
One owner of the chinese version here (french) who had a dead pixel managed to fix it by increasing RGB custom settings above 1500 for some time (don't know how long). When reverting to previous values, the white pixel had disappeared. Didn't work out for another user, but it might be worth a try.
This might change in the future (in this case, please keep me informed), but trying to manually repair by changing the chip is a dead end. It's not the usual Texas Instrument DLP4710FQL, but the DLP4711FQL (source), which is not compatible(source) and can't be bought online.
Display issues with MJJGTYDS01FM (Xiaomi branded 4k model)
Many display issues can affect this device : taking time (minutes) to start displaying something, displaying only half image or white lines/bands... Most issues appear when the device is cold and get fixed when it has heat up.
Seems like a hardware design issue that can be fixed by removing a few screws. More information here. After this, like your projector, you won't be screwed anymore
More details can be found here as well.
HDMI input ports don't work anymore in International devices after upgrade
Install the tools, launch engineering menu and select "HDCP key reset" (thanks @xthing)
Cross platform Remote Control
I also developped a simple web based remote control for MiUI TV (Xiaomi with chinese interface) based android devices (such as projectors, boxes, TVs).
No need to install anything special on your controlled device, this website/webapp communicates with the MiUI TV internal web server to send events to your device.
It should be compatible with anything running a web browser (provided it's quite up to date): Android, iPhone/iPad, PC/Mac computers...
Just head to http://mireco.hopto.org, configure your device local IP address and you're good to go.
More details on GitHub.
Other Tools
MiiInfo from 4PDA user Loly, shows various details concerning your projector.
Firmware updates after rooting and/or installing Google Apps
Firmware updates won't install if files on your system or kernel partition are modified. Using the ProjecTivy Tools and installing the Google apps won't modify existing system files, but rooting with magisk will modify the kernel. So before any update, you have to restore your kernel (aka "boot") partition using TWRP, and then reapply Magisk once update is done.
Google Apps Issues / not yet working
Amazon Prime video : it's been reported that Amazon purposefully blocks the app on projectors. The app loads, but refuses to stream videos. Some previous versions (requiring mouse for some features) work fine though. You can install the most recent compatible one using the ProjecTivy Tools.
Netflix : No recent Tv version seems to work. Some previous versions (requiring mouse for some features) work fine though. You can install the most recent compatible one using the ProjecTivy Tools. Anyway, due to missing full widevine support, full hd / 4k will probably never work.
Chromecast framework (Google Cast Server, aka AndroidMediaShell) isn't supported (devices need to be approved by Google to be supported)
Recovery
To go into recovery, turn off your projector, unplug it, hold down OK and BACK buttons simultaneously (OK and HOME for anglee) on your remote and plug back your projector while still holding them down.
Warning : don't "hot-unplug" it, turn it off before, or it won't work.
If you're looking for TWRP, have a look a few points below
Unroot
Start the Magisk Manager app and select uninstall
OR
Boot Twrp and reflash the Boot (kernel) backup you made just before installing Magisk
Factory Reset
Reflash the full stock firmware available below in this post. This doesn't require any intervention on your part so it should work even if you can't see the display
OR
Boot the stock recovery and select the "reset device" (not sure of the exact terms) option
Root
Note : both methods below work for rainman as well as batman (4k) devices.
Easy Method:
This method doesn't require any special hardware, only the TWRP I made (3.2.2.0, based on stock recovery files), along with another config file.
Thanks to @cr4zyw3ld3r who made a video tutorial based on the following instructions.
For french people, here you can find a tutorial made by Pierre. Thanks to him.
Extract this file View attachment batman_twrp_3.2.2.0b.zip (for "batman" 4k), this file View attachment zodiac_twrp_3.2.2.0.zip (for "zodiac"), or this file View attachment rainman_twrp_3.2.2.0.zip (for "rainman" 1080p and most other devices such as conan) at the root of your (FAT32 formatted) USB drive, where you also place the latest magisk version (magisk 20+ version support has been added on tools v3.5+), and plug it into your projector (I used the right USB port)
I also built (but not tested) a twrp for Vava projectors here : View attachment vava_twrp_3.2.2.0b.zip (please report if it works).
Download ADB for your computer (check here)
Start command line (terminal)
Enable USB debugging in Android settings / developer options (you can access them from the projectivy tools)
Type "adb connect IP_OF_YOUR_DEVICE:5555" to connect through the network
Type "adb reboot update" (This will restart your device and make it boot the TWRP on the USB drive.)
Once in TWRP a mouse will be required. Make backups if you wish (at least "boot" partition that you'll need to restore before applying any OTA update), and then mount SYSTEM, and install magisk in order to root the device (it will be in "/udisk" and will be called Magisk-......zip)
Note : to thank the donors, I also developed an application that installs on your Android smartphone, which automates steps 1 to 6. There is no need for computer or custom command lines in this case. Once the app is connected to your projector, you're only one button click away from TWRP.
Note : if it still boots to stock recovery and not twrp, make sure you extracted the zip and not only copied it to your usb drive. If it's extracted correctly but still doesn't work, try another usb drive, a few people reported that this fixed their issue (some users had to try 3 or 4 usb devices before finding one the works).
Old Method:
With the correct hardware, you can root your device, following this tutorial from @servo386
To simplifiy the rooting process described in the link above :
Extract this file View attachment twrp-files.zip at the root of your USB drive, where you also place the latest magisk version (as of now 19.3), and plug it into your projector
Follow the steps described in the tutorial, up to the point where you have a root console access in recovery
Then, according you've plugged your USB drive before starting your device, just type ". /udisk/twrp.sh" in the root console. This will copy the necessary files and automatically run twrp, reducing the number of steps (and potential mistakes) to root your device.
Once in TWRP, make backups if you wish, and then mount SYSTEM, and install magisk in order to root the device (it will be in "/udisk" and will be called Magisk-.....zip)
Roms / Dumps
Due to issues on the new XDA 2021 website (preventing edition of long posts containing many links), full firmwares and OTA have been (temporarily ?) moved to post #4.
You'll have to scroll down by yourself, I can't even add a link to it

Spocky great work this looks fantastic,
you highlighted that you're not yet rooted and I've tried a few things so far that haven't worked however a few days ago one of the guys on the XDA forums has managed to access command line probably using the jtag points on the board. It's quite likely but this is a good way to get a ADB and then root access, and therefore if uses nandroid type tools he should be able to complete a full dump of the ROM.
I have a Chinese projector with same firmware as your own, but I'm hoping we can load the Android TV launcher interface as in the international version.
Let me know if you need anything specific tested.

Roms / Dumps
Warning: Full roms below can help you recover your device if you're stuck with a non functional projector. However, if your device shipped with a more recent firmware than the one you're trying to flash and has a more recent hardware revision, you might have display issues. So before flashing a full firmware, please try to boot to recovery and use the "wipe all data" option. On MiTv devices, this will basically do the same thing (this will automatically flash the device with the stock shipped firmware, which is present on the /backup partition).
MJJGYY01FM / FMWS01C / FMWS02C (Chinese Xiaomi Mi Projector / Wemax One) [rainman]
Full rom 1.3.63 (6.0.1.935) (thanks to @servo386 and rockpaperscissors)
OTA [user] from 6.0.1.935 to 6.0.1.1074 (1.3.63 to 1.3.74)
OTA [user] from 6.0.1.935 to 6.0.1.1218 (1.3.63 to 1.3.97)
OTA [user] from 6.0.1.935 to 6.0.1.1289 (1.3.63 to 1.3.105)
OTA [user] from 6.0.1.1074 to 6.0.1.1218 (1.3.74 to 1.3.97)
OTA [user] from 6.0.1.1218 to 6.0.1.1289 (1.3.97 to 1.3.105)
OTA [user] from 6.0.1.1289 to 6.0.1.1425 (1.3.105 to 1.3.105)
OTA [user] from 6.0.1.1289 to 6.0.1.1453 (1.3.105 to 1.3.105) (Latest Stable)
MJJGTYDS01FM / L1668FCF / L176FCN / L246 (4k Chinese Xiaomi/Mijia Mi Projector / Wemax A300 / Fengmi Cinema 4k) [batman]
Full rom 1.3.97 (6.0.1.312) ONLY FOR MIJIA
Full rom 1.3.105 (6.0.1.494) Owners of recent fengmi devices, use the rom below
Full rom 1.3.105 (6.0.1.669) Should be working on most recent Fengmi Cinema 4k, with hardware version l176_1. If yours is fm_10, it probably won't work (I still need a /dev/block/backup image of fm_10 hardware version)
Full rom 1.3.105 (6.0.1.724) Extracted from a recent Mijia 1S. Should probably work on most batman devices (people with fengmi 4k fm_10 stuck on a black screen, give it a try)
OTA [user] from 6.0.1.312 to 6.0.1.494 (1.3.97 to 1.3.105)
OTA [user] from 6.0.1.494 to 6.0.1.624 (1.3.105 to 1.3.105) (ONLY FOR MIJIA)
OTA [user] from 6.0.1.494 to 6.0.1.793 (1.3.105 to 1.3.105) (Latest Stable)
MJJGYY02FM (International Xiaomi Mi Projector) [anglee]
Full rom 8.1.0.1317 (OPM8.190205.001.1317)
Full rom 9.0.0.1911 (PQ3B.190705.003.1911)
L176FCNPro / L166FCN / L406FCN (Fengmi 4K cinema pro, 4k Max, C2) [jerry]
Full rom 1.2.1.1689 (only for Cinema Pro, more recent device should use the next one)
Full rom 1.4.6.2378 (use this one for Fengmi C2 and Max 4k. Cinema Pro should work fine too)
MJJGTYDS02FM (Mijia Projector Youth edition) [conan]
Full rom 1.3.97 (6.0.1.304)
Full rom 1.3.123 (6.0.1.519) (Prefer this version as it's probably compatible with most recent devices too)
TYY01ZM (Xiaomi Mijia Mi) [zodiac]
Full rom 1.3.67 (6.0.1.391)
M055FCN (Fengmi M055FCN) [doraemon]
Full rom 1.3.123 (6.0.1.309)
L206FCN-X2 (Fengmi Formovie T1) [nemo]
OTA [user] from 2.0.0.2289 to 3.0.0.3049 (Not final, but stable)
How to flash :
[OTA only] be sure your current firmware version is the same as the "from" version specified above.
Download and extract the zip file to the root of a USB thumb device and follow the procedure to boot into recovery mode. The full firmware or OTA update will be automatically installed (approximately 5 minutes will be necessary). You shouldn't lose any data (well, unless there's a power cut during the update process ). Even after flashing the full firmware, I still had my apps installed. I suppose you need to factory reset if you want a clean install.
Those willing to reinstall from scratch will need to use the "wipe all data" from the recovery menu. If you can't acces it somehow, you can try flashing a full rom (935 for rainman, 312 for batman *mijia* or 494 for batman *fengmi/wemax*), and then flash to the latest available OTA (you might need to chain flash if no direct OTA is available from you stock full rom to the rom you're targeting).
Please note that for a few users, the OTA won't install (it will stop during the update process with a chinese message). It's due to the fact that during installation, a check on the system files and kernel is made and at least one could not pass. This will be the case if you have rooted your device (only kernel is modified then). In that case, if you want to apply the update, you'll need to revert to an unmodified kernel/system. If you didn't modify system partition, restoring kernel partition (boot.img) should be enough (or uninstall Magisk from magisk manager app). If not, try restoring system.img also. If nothing works, reinstall from scratch (see just above)

wemax 7000
Great job !
I will try it tomorrow on my wemax 7000.
Let me know how I can help.
Should I also make a dump of my Chinese rom ?
How did you dump yours ?
I also badly hope to get the android tv rom working with the play store.
Thanks a lot !

Getting a wemax dump would be great indeed !
I did it with adb, connected wirelessly to my computer.
To do the same :
- download adb for your system
- connect wirelessly by using "adb connect IP.OF.YOUR.WEMAX"
- create a folder for the dump on your computer : "mkdir dump"
- go in it : "cd dump"
- pull system files : "adb pull /system"
Then every file that doesn't require root access will be downloaded to your computer. Just make a zip of it and upload it somewhere.
If it feels too complex for you, wait for a few days, I'll probably upload a tool to make an archive and automatically upload it somewhere. I just need to fix a few things before.

Hello, I'm the one who got root via the HDMI->UART diagnostic bridge. All credit goes to @loly though on 4PDA, who is the person who actually figured out this process on his Xiaomi Mi TV 4A, which has a similar chip to this projector so I took a guess that it would work too.
The posts I made on AVSforum are pretty long and lots of pictures and formatting so for now im just gonna link it but hopefully I can easily copy over the posts and make them here too.
https://www.avforums.com/threads/xi...aser-projector.2142037/page-101#post-26580089

Hi,
I installed the app and got a Chinese popup telling me that what I was doing was forbidden to users.
The menu is in Chinese too and I tried translating it with google translate but It's very tedious and I'm not very confident going through the menus.
Thanks a lot for the procedure for the backup.
I will cleanup all the installed apps and maybe reset it completely so that i can share the backup online.
If you're going to prepare a tool to do so, I will wait so I can test it as well.
Let me know if I can help you by sending you more infos.
Cheers
Jerome

Xiaomi Mi Laser Root Procedure
This is a long one. Also it was originally written for an audience who may have not been as familiar with Android/Linux commands so it has lots of explanation that might feel out of place on XDA.
So first and foremost ALL CREDIT BELONGS TO @loly ON THE 4PDA.RU FORUM WHO ACTUALLY DISCOVERED THIS PROCESS
https://4pda.ru/forum/index.php?showtopic=810785&st=3260#entry75802829
I definitely am just a copy cat who guessed that his process would also work on this device since their both Xiaomi TV devices with Amlogic T96* boards.
So if you read his post (which you definitely should in addition to this post in order to get the full picture of how this is done), you'll see that this is quite complicated and a kind of high level hack. I hope I'll be able to explain it enough and walk through it enough for it be fairly accessible for less technically inclined people who want to root their Xiaomi projectors.
What is required:
1. HDMI cable you can chop up or an HDMI breakout cable like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Adapter-signals-Terminal-Breakout-Connector/dp/B01CU9SHOO/
2. UART to USB adapter cable/board like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Adapter-Serial-Converter-Development-Projects/dp/B075N82CDL though there are cheaper options available
3. Cables/wires to connect both things. The USB UART package above comes with some, though you'll have to strip the ends to screw them into the terminals of the HDMI breakout board.
4. A spare USB drive
5. A computer to use the USB to UART adapter and a terminal program, i am using Putty.
So the basic idea behind this is that one of the HDMI ports (HDMI 1 in this case, the one closest to the edge) also serves as a diagnostic/UART port via 3 of the 19 pins of the HDMI. When this HDMI port is properly wired to the UART adapter, and you have a terminal open observing said port, upon boot the machine reads out all its startup stuff and when booting into recovery, gives you a completely liberated UNIX terminal that accepts input from the UART terminal, with full root privileges and busybox! As @loly says in his post, here we thank the people at Xiaomi for not bothering to secure this section and giving us full diagnostic root access with busybox. This is almost surely the way the developers of this machine would interact with this machine and developed for it. So let me try to explain how this works and how we get to TWRP and root.
Steps:
1. We need to properly connect the correct pins on the HDMI cable to the correct pins on the UART.
Here I am going to re-post some of @loly's images from the original thread, so all credit goes to him.
Here we see the pins we need. Pin 14 is our VCC, which in this 5v (the UART adapter im using has a switch for 3.3v or 5v, this switch needs to be set to 5v!) Pin 15 is the receive pin and Pin 16 is the transmit pin
The fourth lead we need is the GND (ground), which in the case of an HDMI cable is usually an un-shielded wire that connects to the the case of the connector itself.
I'm going to stop here for a sec and say this is why it's alot easier to use the HDMI breakout board over trying strip an HDMI cable and finding which wire corresponds to which pin (you need a multi-meter to do that)
its a small investment but it makes everything ALOT easier. On the HDMI breakout board, the ground terminal is pin 20.
the corresponding pins on the UART are pretty straightforward. VCC goes to VCC on the UART, pretty straightforward, on the other hand the RX pin of the HDMI (pin 15) goes on the TX OF THE UART makes sense right? the receiever of the HDMI should be listening to the transmitter of the UART and vice versa, so the TX pin of the HDMI goes on the RX pin of the UART. The GND pin (pin 20 on breakout board) goes to the GND on the UART.
Here's my setup. Sorry for the not very great picture. The terminal blocks on the HDMI breakout board work basically like you were connecting speakers to an amp, you unscrew the terminal till you see a little metal hole and you stick the stripped tip of the cable into the hole and screw the terminal back up till its snuggly holding onto the cable. You can use a multi-meter if you have one to make sure the wire is making contact with the terminal and even test the exact pin with the cable to make sure the connection goes all the way. If you're cable is making contact with the metal of the terminal, it is almost certainly correctly making contact with the actual HDMI pin, barring maybe a badly manufactured breakout board. I used spare MALE end pin connector cables to strip the ends and stick in the terminals, and connected them to the FEMALE connectors that came with the UART adapter. You don't necessarily have to do it this way, you can directly strip one of the female ends of the cable and connect the other female end to the pins on the UART, but you'll have a pretty short cable from HDMI to USB and you'll probably need a USB extension to comfortably use it with a computer.
So now you have you're HDMI diagnostic cable!
2. Setup your computer for UART and Putty.
Connect your UART to USB adapter to your computer. In Windows 10, it should automatically install drivers, but if it doesn't, your device should come with a link or something to download the drivers. I'm not going to get into the specific of how to install drivers on Windows computers but needless to say, you need to get the computer to recognize the device and properly utilize it via the drivers. Once you have it properly installed on the machine, it should show up in your device manager under Ports (COM & LPT) or something similar.
this is important because we need to 1. determine what COM port you're device is on and 2. change the baud setting.
So in the photo you see that it tells you what COM port is, which we need for later.
Now you need to go into the settings of the device and go into Port Settings tab
WE NEED TO SET THE BITS PER SECOND TO 115200!
Very important!
Setting up putty:
Basically open up putty and put the button on Serial, set the speed to 115200 and in the SERIAL LINE put the correct COM port number (COM1, COM2, COM3, ect)
Pressing enter on this should open a big blank black terminal with no activity. Thats good because its working. If it wasn't, you'd get an error about not reaching COM port or something.
3. Testing out our diagnostic cable with UART and Putty
Unplug your projector. Plug your HDMI into HDMI port 1 and connect your USB to computer. Open up a Putty terminal session as outlined above. If you get a big black screen with no errors upon launching the terminal, youre in a good spot.
Plug in the Projector. If you've done everything right you should get a big long readout of text scrolling by as it boots. If you get this, congratulations, you've accessed the diagnostic correctly!
The final step for actually accessing the usable terminal is doing the same but while booting into recovery.
4. Booting into recovery
Turn off your projector. Unplug it. Take your remote and hold down THE OK BUTTON and the BACK BUTTON at the same time. While still holding this, plug in the projector. It should start booting up. You're terminal Putty should be going crazy with text readout like last time. After a few seconds, let go of the buttons. Your projector should eventually end up on the Recovery menu, which is just some big buttons in english and chinese with a black background.
image courtesy of jaberwocky on AVS
After the readout in the terminal has stopped, press enter. It should skip to a new line with
Code:
~#
Tada, root! You're officially in a fully privileged root terminal in the underlying unix system of the projector.
This is the hard part of all this. If you've successfully reached this part, you've won the battle. Everything from here on out is just a couple of commands and some files being downloaded and transferred.
Launching TWRP, making a Nand dump, flashing Magisk, getting Root
So if you indeed have reached the point where, from recovery, you can enter commands into the terminal session, now the question what to with it. The answer is basically anything you want, but let's launch TWRP and go from there.
So here is where you need to download this zip file, also courtesy of @loly from the original russian thread. He went to the trouble of (I'm assuming) compiling his own TWRP for Xiaomi Mi TV 4A which, which as I've mentioned before it's chip (Amlogic T962) is the in the same family as the chip in our projector (Amlogic T968) so it works. That said I would say right now this is not a full TWRP specially made for our projectors, so we aren't going to flash it. We are going to launch it from the terminal (as per @loly's instructions) and use it, but not flash it to our recovery partition. This is for the best right now because a. it's not for our device and b. stock recovery allows us to install OTA updates if they come in the future
View attachment TWRP.zip
my attached version has only the twrp folders, no recovery image, no magisk included.
https://yadi.sk/d/uTUrwdAl3ZyUcN <---- original zip
Download that zip file and unzip its contents right into your USB drive, so that the folder `twrp` (lowercase) is in the root of your drive . This will make it easier to type the commands exactly as they appear later. Ignore the recovery.img, we're not flashing this onto this device.
The magisk included in the TWRP.zip is old by this point. I flashed Magisk 17.1 flashable zip, the latest stable as of this writing. Get it here https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk/releases/download/v17.1/Magisk-v17.1.zip and put it on the flash drive.
A quick primer, this terminal instance has Busybox installed. Busybox is a "swiss army knife" of unix command like binaries because it packages all the standard linux commands into one single binary, so instead of calling
Code:
ls
to see the contents of the directory you instead would type
Code:
busybox ls
and it would work.
One last thing before I continue: while doing terminal stuff, I quickly learned that occasionally the terminal would throw up all kinds of gibberish which, as far as I can tell, had no rhyme or reason to it and more important had no discernible effect on what i was doing. Its a weird bug that maybe only ill experience because of my setup, I don't know. It would take two forms, one where it would throw up a bunch of lines of technical sounding text which included references to errors and such, but would ever actually affect anything. the other is when it would randomly spit out something like "hotplug_9" and again, id just press enter to get to the new line and nothing would have been affected. Don't be alarmed.
1. Insert USB drive into projector
Take your USB and plug it in. On your terminal, you should a small flurry of activity and references to a new device located at
Code:
/dev/block/sda1
or
Code:
/dev/block/sda2
take note of this, because this is the physical address of your USB drive thats going to have to be mounted. sda1 is the typical one, in my experience.
2. Mount USB and copy over files
This is just a series of commands, type them in precisely as I have them here, assuming you've maintained the same file structure on your USB stick as I did, unzipped the TWRP.zip straight onto the root of the USB.
Code:
busybox mount /dev/block/sda1 /sdcard
This mounts your USB device to the folder `/sdcard' if you're usb is at a different device location, change it appropriately.
Code:
busybox ls /sdcard
Just do a quick readout of the contents of `/sdcard` to make sure it properly mounted. you should see the contents of your USB drive listed here
Code:
busybox cp -r /sdcard/twrp/twres /
Copy the folder `twres` from the USB to the root of your projector
Code:
busybox cp -r /sdcard/twrp/license /
Copy the folder `license` to the root of your projector
Code:
busybox cp -rf /sdcard/twrp/etc/* /etc
Copy the contents of the folder `etc` to the etc directory on your projector
Code:
busybox cp -rf /sdcard/twrp/sbin/* /sbin
Copy the contents of the folder `sbin` to the sbin directory on your projector
Code:
busybox chmod -R 0750 /sbin
Change the permissions of the sbin folder to its all executable
So thats all the copying, now the moment of truth
3. Launch TWRP
YOU NEED A MOUSE PLUGGED INTO THE PROJECTOR TO NAVIGATE TWRP!
Code:
/sbin/run.sh
after hitting enter on this command, TWRP should boot up on your screen (and a bit of readout in your terminal
IF TWRP DOESN'T LAUNCH, YOU'VE DONE SOMETHING WRONG. GO BACK AND CHECK EVERYTHING.
I hope if you're doing this you're somewhat familiar with TWRP, but I will try to walk through the 2 most important things to do
4. Rom backup
One of the big buttons is BACKUP, go there and you'll see a series of check boxes for each of your partitions (boot, bootloader, recovery, system, ect). Select the ones you want (I selected all but I know for a fact this is unnecessary but I did't want to overlook anything and I didn't want to guess which I could ignore). It should ask you where to save the backup, select either the USB drive or internal memory and pick a folder. Slide over the thing to begin backup. It'll take a bit but eventually it should finish. Tada, you have a backup of your entire device.
5. Flash Magisk (ie get root)
This is the big kahuna, the one that unlocks everything OS-wide. Before trying to flash Magisk, we need to mount the system partition. This was big headache for me cause I didn't know why all the commands in the install scripts for failing and it was because /system/bin contains all the commands/binaries that Magisk installer script uses to do its stuff, so thats why we need to mount it first before trying anything. Go to the big MOUNT button and you should see checks next to USB and INTERNAL MEMORY or something to that effect, i can't remember off the top of my head. Almost certainly SYSTEM does not have a check next to it, meaning its not mounted. Click the check mark next to SYSTEM and that should be it, it is now mounted.
There is a quick way to check this, which is to go to ADVANCED>TERMINAL and in the terminal type
Code:
mount
if you get any sort of read out of device partitions, you're good, that means the mount command is working meaning the /system/bin is being made available to TWRP to execute commands.
With that done, go over to the INSTALL button on the home screen and navigate over to your USB stick and find the Magisk 17.1.zip. Select it. Check the check mark to reboot after install. Slide over the slider to begin the install. Moment of truth, you'll likely get to errors in big red text something like MOUNT -O BIND /SDCARD FAILED or something, thats fine, ignore it. It should go onto to say
Code:
|----Magisk Installer Script 17.1----|
or something like that, that means its doing its thing. Everything should go well and it should ask to reboot.
6. Verify root
Once you boot into the Xiaomi home screen after flashing Magisk, you should get some kind of thing asking to confirm that you want to install the application. That application is the Magisk Manager, which means you did it, Magisk installed successfully!
Go ahead and install some app that you know asks for superuser and it should prompt you for superuser access, grant it. You did it, you're root!
View attachment 4617430

jhordies said:
Hi,
I installed the app and got a Chinese popup telling me that what I was doing was forbidden to users.
The menu is in Chinese too and I tried translating it with google translate but It's very tedious and I'm not very confident going through the menus.
Thanks a lot for the procedure for the backup.
I will cleanup all the installed apps and maybe reset it completely so that i can share the backup online.
If you're going to prepare a tool to do so, I will wait so I can test it as well.
Let me know if I can help you by sending you more infos.
Cheers
Jerome
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's really not much this app can break (and not much to change neither). Most interesting thing would be the information page, along with the temperature page.
Concerning the dump, no need to cleanup anything as user data is stored :
- in /sdcard (internal memory) mount
- in app folder which can't be accessed without root
Dumping /system won't access any of them, this will basically only copy files that where part of the last firmware installed on your device.
As for my app, not sure I'll have time to finish it before next week.
servo386 said:
This is a long one. Also it was originally written for an audience who may have not been as familiar with Android/Linux commands so it has lots of explanation that might feel out of place on XDA.
So first and foremost ALL CREDIT BELONGS TO @loly ON THE 4PDA.RU FORUM WHO ACTUALLY DISCOVERED THIS PROCESS
https://4pda.ru/forum/index.php?showtopic=810785&st=3260#entry75802829
I definitely am just a copy cat who guessed that his process would also work on this device since their both Xiaomi TV devices with Amlogic T96* boards.
So if you read his post (which you definitely should in addition to this post in order to get the full picture of how this is done), you'll see that this is quite complicated and a kind of high level hack. I hope I'll be able to explain it enough and walk through it enough for it be fairly accessible for less technically inclined people who want to root their Xiaomi projectors.
What is required:
1. HDMI cable you can chop up or an HDMI breakout cable like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Adapter-signals-Terminal-Breakout-Connector/dp/B01CU9SHOO/
2. UART to USB adapter cable/board like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Adapter-Serial-Converter-Development-Projects/dp/B075N82CDL though there are cheaper options available
3. Cables/wires to connect both things. The USB UART package above comes with some, though you'll have to strip the ends to screw them into the terminals of the HDMI breakout board.
4. A spare USB drive
5. A computer to use the USB to UART adapter and a terminal program, i am using Putty.
So the basic idea behind this is that one of the HDMI ports (HDMI 1 in this case, the one closest to the edge) also serves as a diagnostic/UART port via 3 of the 19 pins of the HDMI. When this HDMI port is properly wired to the UART adapter, and you have a terminal open observing said port, upon boot the machine reads out all its startup stuff and when booting into recovery, gives you a completely liberated UNIX terminal that accepts input from the UART terminal, with full root privileges and busybox! As @loly says in his post, here we thank the people at Xiaomi for not bothering to secure this section and giving us full diagnostic root access with busybox. This is almost surely the way the developers of this machine would interact with this machine and developed for it. So let me try to explain how this works and how we get to TWRP and root.
Steps:
1. We need to properly connect the correct pins on the HDMI cable to the correct pins on the UART.
Here I am going to re-post some of @loly's images from the original thread, so all credit goes to him.
View attachment 4617376
Here we see the pins we need. Pin 14 is our VCC, which in this 5v (the UART adapter im using has a switch for 3.3v or 5v, this switch needs to be set to 5v!) Pin 15 is the receive pin and Pin 16 is the transmit pin
The fourth lead we need is the GND (ground), which in the case of an HDMI cable is usually an un-shielded wire that connects to the the case of the connector itself.
I'm going to stop here for a sec and say this is why it's alot easier to use the HDMI breakout board over trying strip an HDMI cable and finding which wire corresponds to which pin (you need a multi-meter to do that)
its a small investment but it makes everything ALOT easier. On the HDMI breakout board, the ground terminal is pin 20.
the corresponding pins on the UART are pretty straightforward. VCC goes to VCC on the UART, pretty straightforward, on the other hand the RX pin of the HDMI (pin 15) goes on the TX OF THE UART makes sense right? the receiever of the HDMI should be listening to the transmitter of the UART and vice versa, so the TX pin of the HDMI goes on the RX pin of the UART. The GND pin (pin 20 on breakout board) goes to the GND on the UART.
View attachment 4617377
Here's my setup. Sorry for the not very great picture. The terminal blocks on the HDMI breakout board work basically like you were connecting speakers to an amp, you unscrew the terminal till you see a little metal hole and you stick the stripped tip of the cable into the hole and screw the terminal back up till its snuggly holding onto the cable. You can use a multi-meter if you have one to make sure the wire is making contact with the terminal and even test the exact pin with the cable to make sure the connection goes all the way. If you're cable is making contact with the metal of the terminal, it is almost certainly correctly making contact with the actual HDMI pin, barring maybe a badly manufactured breakout board. I used spare MALE end pin connector cables to strip the ends and stick in the terminals, and connected them to the FEMALE connectors that came with the UART adapter. You don't necessarily have to do it this way, you can directly strip one of the female ends of the cable and connect the other female end to the pins on the UART, but you'll have a pretty short cable from HDMI to USB and you'll probably need a USB extension to comfortably use it with a computer.
So now you have you're HDMI diagnostic cable!
2. Setup your computer for UART and Putty.
Connect your UART to USB adapter to your computer. In Windows 10, it should automatically install drivers, but if it doesn't, your device should come with a link or something to download the drivers. I'm not going to get into the specific of how to install drivers on Windows computers but needless to say, you need to get the computer to recognize the device and properly utilize it via the drivers. Once you have it properly installed on the machine, it should show up in your device manager under Ports (COM & LPT) or something similar.
View attachment 4617379
this is important because we need to 1. determine what COM port you're device is on and 2. change the baud setting.
So in the photo you see that it tells you what COM port is, which we need for later.
Now you need to go into the settings of the device and go into Port Settings tab
View attachment 4617381
WE NEED TO SET THE BITS PER SECOND TO 115200!
Very important!
Setting up putty:
View attachment 4617383
Basically open up putty and put the button on Serial, set the speed to 115200 and in the SERIAL LINE put the correct COM port number (COM1, COM2, COM3, ect)
Pressing enter on this should open a big blank black terminal with no activity. Thats good because its working. If it wasn't, you'd get an error about not reaching COM port or something.
3. Testing out our diagnostic cable with UART and Putty
Unplug your projector. Plug your HDMI into HDMI port 1 and connect your USB to computer. Open up a Putty terminal session as outlined above. If you get a big black screen with no errors upon launching the terminal, youre in a good spot.
Plug in the Projector. If you've done everything right you should get a big long readout of text scrolling by as it boots. If you get this, congratulations, you've accessed the diagnostic correctly!
View attachment 4617385
The final step for actually accessing the usable terminal is doing the same but while booting into recovery.
4. Booting into recovery
Turn off your projector. Unplug it. Take your remote and hold down THE OK BUTTON and the BACK BUTTON at the same time. While still holding this, plug in the projector. It should start booting up. You're terminal Putty should be going crazy with text readout like last time. After a few seconds, let go of the buttons. Your projector should eventually end up on the Recovery menu, which is just some big buttons in english and chinese with a black background.
View attachment 4617401
image courtesy of jaberwocky on AVS
After the readout in the terminal has stopped, press enter. It should skip to a new line with
Code:
~#
Tada, root! You're officially in a fully privileged root terminal in the underlying unix system of the projector.
This is the hard part of all this. If you've successfully reached this part, you've won the battle. Everything from here on out is just a couple of commands and some files being downloaded and transferred.
Launching TWRP, making a Nand dump, flashing Magisk, getting Root
So if you indeed have reached the point where, from recovery, you can enter commands into the terminal session, now the question what to with it. The answer is basically anything you want, but let's launch TWRP and go from there.
So here is where you need to download this zip file, also courtesy of @loly from the original russian thread. He went to the trouble of (I'm assuming) compiling his own TWRP for Xiaomi Mi TV 4A which, which as I've mentioned before it's chip (Amlogic T962) is the in the same family as the chip in our projector (Amlogic T968) so it works. That said I would say right now this is not a full TWRP specially made for our projectors, so we aren't going to flash it. We are going to launch it from the terminal (as per @loly's instructions) and use it, but not flash it to our recovery partition. This is for the best right now because a. it's not for our device and b. stock recovery allows us to install OTA updates if they come in the future
View attachment 4617409
my attached version has only the twrp folders, no recovery image, no magisk included.
https://yadi.sk/d/uTUrwdAl3ZyUcN TERMINAL and in the terminal type
Code:
mount
if you get any sort of read out of device partitions, you're good, that means the mount command is working meaning the /system/bin is being made available to TWRP to execute commands.
With that done, go over to the INSTALL button on the home screen and navigate over to your USB stick and find the Magisk 17.1.zip. Select it. Check the check mark to reboot after install. Slide over the slider to begin the install. Moment of truth, you'll likely get to errors in big red text something like MOUNT -O BIND /SDCARD FAILED or something, thats fine, ignore it. It should go onto to say
Code:
|----Magisk Installer Script 17.1----|
or something like that, that means its doing its thing. Everything should go well and it should ask to reboot.
6. Verify root
Once you boot into the Xiaomi home screen after flashing Magisk, you should get some kind of thing asking to confirm that you want to install the application. That application is the Magisk Manager, which means you did it, Magisk installed successfully!
Go ahead and install some app that you know asks for superuser and it should prompt you for superuser access, grant it. You did it, you're root!
View attachment 4617430
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your time adding this post here and for the tests you've made to root this device. That's really cool !
If you have time, don't hesitate to post a full dump of your rom, we might learn a bit more than with mine.
Also I have not read your post from my computer so it might just be a bug, but Tapatalk reports your twrp.zip file as being 5 bytes only.
Edit: nevermind, your twrp is fine

I've ripped the "backup" archive that is a flashable update image of the stock image, used by the machine when you do "system restore" in recovery.
Basically here is the stock rom for the model 01 "rainmain" at last.
https://mega.nz/#!jY40SCQR!2gPjpPxzoDg3c1--pxGBR7qfKHxSyzWqU3eZGUz7kb0

#1 and #2 posts edited, adding many details, roms links...

Hi,
Thanks again guys for the effort you put on this.
I bought the hdmi breakout and a usb ttl and followed the instructions (very clear, thanks again for this) and backed up everything as you did but didn't root the device yet.
Are my .win backup files usefull to anyone (Wemax 7000) or do you need me to root the device to make the dump as spocky12 suggested?
I don't know how interesting my Chinese rom would be to others though...
Anyway it's good to know that we could flash the device with the android 8.1 rom when it will be available.
If you know anyone having the english rom, I would be willing to send him my cable to make a backup of his.
Cheers

jhordies said:
Hi,
Thanks again guys for the effort you put on this.
I bought the hdmi breakout and a usb ttl and followed the instructions (very clear, thanks again for this) and backed up everything as you did but didn't root the device yet.
Are my .win backup files usefull to anyone (Wemax 7000) or do you need me to root the device to make the dump as spocky12 suggested?
I don't know how interesting my Chinese rom would be to others though...
Anyway it's good to know that we could flash the device with the android 8.1 rom when it will be available.
If you know anyone having the english rom, I would be willing to send him my cable to make a backup of his.
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your message. Glad you managed to follow @servo386's intructions. If you don't mind, I'd be interested in your .win files, to validate a few assumptions I have.
Concerning the international model, unfortunately, as of now, no owner seems to be willing to take the plunge. Hopefully it'll change soon enough.

For hackers out there, I found a tool that might prove helpful to build customs roms or repack roms using international model paritions (once somebody will dump it).
It's AMLogic Tools 5.5.0 that can be found here. I haven't had time to read the full thread yet. There might be valuable information there.
You can use it with the stock rom (935) from @servo386 that I specifically extracted and repacked with latest (1074) recovery (stock "backup" rom does not ship with recovery, which is needed by AmLogic Tools).
You can use the "customization tool" to easily extract/repack a rom that can be flashed in recovery or with special Amlogic USB flash tool.
There is also a tool that can "convert" a classic recovery to TWRP recovery (but supposedly only works with S905/S912. Might be interesting to check what is needed to make it work on our chip)
Unfortunately, I'm not an expert at building custom roms in Android (the latest custom rom I built was for Windows Mobile 6.1) (Great. I'm feeling old now ). I'm not quite sure what is allowed to be flashed with our bootloader. I haven't tried to flash anything yet, as if I brick the projector, my wife will probably kill me . But I suppose that if the custom built firmware doesn't embed bootloader/recovery, most errors will be recoverable by flashing the stock rom again.
If you want to test, don't forget to call the built rom "update-rainman.zip" and to put it in the root folder of an USB device along with this file.

Hey, it's me again
Some of you might be interested in an update to a more recent (but beta) version for wemax/chinese Mi projector.
I added a link to OTA from 1074 (1.3.74, built on May 4th) to 1189 (1.3.95d, built on Oct 12th) in the second post (yes, it's still Android 6.0.1)
To install it, just extract the zip file to the root of a USB thumb device and follow the procedure to boot into recovery mode. The update will be automatically installed (approximately 5 minutes will be necessary). You won't lose any data (well, unless there's a power cut during the update process ).
I haven't tested much, but here are the changes I've seen :
- most menus (settings) are in english now
- new settings options (the only one still in chinese) : automatic power off after 10 minutes of inactivity (doesn't seem to work, though)
- new volume UI
- Karaoke app added
- new animations during recovery installation
- wmv3 video format support added
As a side note, I've found a reference to an upcoming Xiaomi Laser projector in code, that wasn't there before : MiProjLAS2, codename batman.

spocky12 said:
...
I added a link to OTA from 1074 (1.3.74, built on May 4th) to 1189 (1.3.95d, built on Oct 12th) in the second post (yes, it's still Android 6.0.1)
...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much for your work.
The file to update to the current beta is only 55Byte in size. Nothing happens when plugging in the USB stick.
===============================
I had two xiaomi laser projectors so far.
Projector 1 had dead pixels after 3 weeks of use. Here are the key figures from the engineering menu.
Here projector number 331 from 2018 calendar week 3:
It had a great contrast: 5382:1
The one complained to gearbest and got an exchange(Projector 2).
Here projector number 1196 from 2018 calendar week 13:
Contrast: 2441:1
Projector 2 unfortunately has too little contrast and is very blurred at the edges. Currently exchange projector 3 is on its way.
.bismarck

Thanks for your message. Comparing data from different projectors is really interesting.
Concerning the link, my bad, I've updated it to the right file, you can download it again if you wish.

Thanks spocky12, just loading the beta
When Projektor3 has arrived, I put the values from the menu here.
Edit: I copied the unzipped archive into the root of the USB stick. But nothing happens when inserting the stick.
.bismarck

You have to follow the procedure to boot into recovery. Either use :
- "ADB reboot recovery" if you have ADB
or
- unplug your projector, keep your remote "ok" and "back" pressed and plug your projector back in. It will boot into recovery and automatically start the update process.
(Your usb thumb drive should be formatted in fat32 and both files placed in its root folder).