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Dear xda'er from the USA: To the disappointment of some in this forum, the xda-team has decided to split the sections on the Samsung Galaxy S i9000 and its US-counterparts into SEPARATE sections! You will be able to get some help here but you will likely be better helped/supported/suited in the forums that belong to your specific device!
Note: Many of the FAQs may still apply to you and you are welcome to make use of our setup. However, if you have open questions I suggest directing them to the above mentioned forums.
IP-Notice: You are welcome to use the information in this thread! If you do, please link the original source.
I try to give credit where due. If you feel I am using your content without your authorization or proper credits, please contact me!
General Note: There are now four official models of the Samsung Galaxy S outside the US: the GT-I9000 (International), GT-I9000M (Canada), GT-I9000B (Brazil), GT-I9000T (Mexico). All information in this FAQ is based on the GT-I9000 International version. Most of them also apply to the other models. The I9000M and I9000T are virtually identical to the I9000 and are mostly compatible with I9000 software. The I9000B has an added digital television receiver and is generally not as compatible. Please check carefully before starting to mess with the firmware on your device, check for possible compatibility issues beforehand and ALWAYS make sure you have three button recovery (see FAQ#A12)
Note: The I9000B has a separate FAQ
Note2: For the Korean Galaxy S SHW-M110S, please see this separate FAQ
Disclaimer: This FAQ is provided as-is without any warranties to completeness/correctness. I will take no responsibility if you break/brick/damage your phone.
Contents:
Post#1: Frequently Asked Questions
Post#2: HOWTO Section
Post#3: ADB Tutorial
Post#4: Tutorials and Fixes
Post#5: Tips & Tricks
Post#6: Firmware Selection Guide
FAQ Sections:
A. General
B. Firmware
C. Modding
D. Applications
E. Recovery
(A) General:
1.How can I reset my phone?
2.I have flashed a new firmware and now my phone won't connect to 3G. What's wrong?
3.Can I disable 2G broadband like on the Desire/N1?
4.I flashed a new firmware and now I cannot download protected apps and Market-enabler doesn't work. How can I still install protected apps?
5.My phone takes forever to get a GPS-fix? Is there a solution to this problem?
6.I am experiencing long loading times when opening apps/intermittent lags when switching screens. What is the problem?
7.My G-sensor seems to be off. How can I calibrate it?
8.I have a SIM-Locked phone. Is there anything I need to look out for?
9.When will Ice Cream Sandwich be released for my shiny new phone?
10.I'm running Linux. Can I still flash my firmware? Do I need to install Windows?
11.Most phones have a bunch of codes that can be entered in the dialer for special functions. What are they on the SGS?
12.My phone cannot enter download mode or recovery mode using the buttons combos. What can I do?
13.I live in Canada/Mexico (The Americas in general). Can I get my phone to use the 850Mhz bands with I9000 Modems?
1.How can I reset my phone?
On the Galaxy S the soft-reset is achieved by pressing and holding the power button. A hard-reset can executed by pressing and holding VolumeUP+Home+Power. There you will find the options "reboot", "apply sdcard:update.zip", "wipe data/factory reset" and "wipe cache partition". (Note: The list of options can vary considerably after installing modified firmware/kernels)
The "wipe data/factory reset" option will restore your phone to the original configuration of the firmware YOU LAST INSTALLED (including any updates made via update.zip). This will NOT bring your phone back to the firmware installed when you originally bought it unless you haven't flashed your phone.
You can navigate the recovery screen using VolumeUp & VolumeDown and use the Home button to select.
2.I have flashed a new firmware and now my phone won't connect to 3G. What's wrong?
The CSC you used is most likely not intended for your area. This means that the broadband provider settings are not included and need to be configured manually. To do this, go to Settings->Wireless and Networks->Mobile Networks->Access Point Names, press the settings-button and select "New APN". You will then need to enter the respective data as provided by you mobile operator. APN settings can usually be found on the operators website.
3.Can I disable 2G broadband like on the Desire/N1?
As of firmware XWJM1 (July 2010), this function is available in the wireless settings. All current firmwares now have this feature.
4.I flashed a new firmware and now I cannot download protected apps and Market-enabler doesn't work. How can I still install protected apps?
This is done by google to protect commercial applications from piracy. This usually only happens on internal beta firmwares. Use Eris Market Fix from the Market or the tutorial in P#4,T#1. Both fixes require root privileges (See FAQ#C1)
5.My phone takes forever to get a GPS-fix? Is there a solution to this problem?
It appears that the XWJM1 and XWJM2 firmwares have mostly fixed the major GPS issues and the general consensus is that these firmwares deliver consistently better GPS results than previous firmwares. The usability, however, still varies per location and sometimes the software gets no fix despite seeing plenty of satellites.
To date, there appear to be no better fixes available. There are still many reports that GPS is flaky and it appears as if Samsung is no longer working on improvements in this area.
6.I am experiencing long loading times when opening apps/intermittent lags when switching screens. What is the problem?
The Samsung Galaxy S uses the internal SD to store cache data by default. This storage uses the severely outdated RFS (FAT-related) filesystem. Next the to poor performance in a good state, RFS appears to rapidly manifest massive amounts of filesystem errors which cause the experience on the SGS to degrade over time.
Currently almost all custom kernels fix the problem by replacing the RFS filesystem with ext4 on (virtually) all partitions (some do not touch the /efs partition). Original credit for the discovery that the filesystem was the problem belongs to mimocan and the fix has since been refined by RyanZA, z4ziggy, sztupy and most notably supercurio.
7.My G-sensor seems to be off. How can I calibrate it?
The G-sensor calibration appears to be off in a lot of shipped devices. Current firmwares can calibrate the accelerometer in the Display menu.
8.I have a SIM-Locked phone. Is there anything I need to look out for?
As of now there are several reports of successfully flashed SIM-locked phones and no reports of any (related) problems.
This means that as of now (there seem) to be no specific restrictions for SIM-locked phone except the lock itself. However, the lock on the Galaxy S can be easily removed. Please refer to T&T#20 for unlocking your phone.
9.When will Ice Cream Sandwich be released for my shiny new phone?
At the moment, there are no indications that Samsung will release a fully featured Android 4.0 firmware for the Galaxy S. They are, however, porting several ICS features to Android 2.3. While this is very disappointing, there are several ICS ports based (in part) on the sources for the Nexus S available already which will probably result in a relatively stable build in the long term.
10.I'm running Linux/OSX. Can I still flash my firmware? Do I need to install windows?
If you are running Linux or OSX you do not need to install Windows. You can either run Odin in a virtual machine or alternatively use Heimdall by Benjamin Dobell. Heimdall runs natively on Linux and OSX and has reached a well tested release state.
11.Most phones have a bunch of codes that can be entered in the dialer for special functions. What are they on the SGS?
There is a list of "secret codes" here. There are also several apps in the market with these features in the market.
12.My phone cannot enter download mode or recovery mode using the buttons combos. What can I do?
Some batches in various countries seem to not have this feature. However, Samsung Canada has released a fix via Kies (for the I9000M) and it has been adopted to suit a larger audience (I9000 and I9000M). Instructions on how to update your phone to get the three-button-combo can be found here or here. Note: Follow the instructions in that post CAREFULLY and read it completely BEFORE attempting to do anything on your phone. If done improperly, this can still brick your device!!!
13.I live in Canada/Mexico (The Americas in general). Can I get my phone to use the 850Mhz bands with I9000 Modems?
Users in the Americas will find that the I9000 modems use the 900Mhz band which is not used in the Americas. However, since the I9000 is virtually hardware-identical to the I9000M and others which do use the 850Mhz band, the band can enabled on the I9000 modems. There is a guide here.
(B) Firmware:
1.What is a ROM/firmware?
2.Can I update my firmware?
3.Why are there sometimes multiple files in the firmware archive/folder?/Why do I get three different versions when using *#1234#?
4.Can I mix PDA/Modem/CSC files from different firmwares without bricking my phone?
5.My phones software version says I9000XXJF3/XXJF5/xxxxx. What does this mean?
6.I want to install new firmware but I want to have a backup of my original firmware to go back to in case I need to go back for warranty reasons. Can I backup my original firmware somehow?
7.Can I flash an Asian ROM on my European device or vice versa?
8.What is the .pit file? Why are there different versions?
9.I flashed a new firmware using Odin (or Kies) and now my phone is acting weird (force closes etc)? Also, my settings are also still there.
1.What is a ROM/firmware?
The firmware/ROM is the software that runs on the phone. In case of the Galaxy S this is (currently) Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread. The Galaxy S was initially released with Android 2.1 Eclair and will most likely not receive any major firmware upgrades anymore. Samsung is porting several features from newer Android versions but has refused to bring a fully-featured Android 4.0 release on the grounds that the TouchWiz UI together with ICS would be to big for the normal system partition.
2.Can I update my firmware?
Most likely: Yes. You can update your firmware through Samsungs official application (Kies) and with firmwares that have been leaked or otherwise been obtained for installation without using the Samsung Kies software. You can find firmwares made by Samsung for phones all over the world, here. You will also find a guide to the installation in HOWTO#1 in the second post of this thread.
Note: Please also keep in mind that not all firmwares that come with phones are available. Reflashing to stock may not be possible because the specific firmware isn't available!
3.Why are there sometimes multiple files in the firmware archive/folder?/Why do I get three different versions when using *#1234#?
Galaxy S firmware updates come in three parts (which are sometimes packaged as one file):
-The CODE itself (called PDA). This is android and all the applications that come with it. (The archives/folders will be named after the version of this file)
-The MODEM (called Phone). This is the firmware of the wireless chipset of the device and will operate you WiFi, Blutooth and 3G/2G/GSM connections. (ie Radio ROM)
-The CSC (short for Customer Specific Customization). This includes connection data for the broadband networks as well as apps that are only available in certain languages/intended for a specific area.
If we ask for your firmware, we want to know all three!
Since not all of these require updates simultaneously, often then CSC and MODEM files will have lower version numbers.
(Also when packaged in one file the repartition option should NEVER be checked in Odin because it will mess up your partition layout and will require a reflash with three-part firmware!)
Most firmwares that are currently available are no longer split up into the three parts and instead delivered as one which can be flashed by entering it as the PDA/CODE in Odin.
4.Can I mix PDA/Modem/CSC files from different firmwares without bricking my phone?
Yes. Most Modem/CSC files will work with any PDA. However, there may be compatibility issues which may force you to reflash your phone. Note also that newer CSCs usually include newer versions of the software that comes with them (Some of which may not be upgradable via the market or other means).
5.My phones software version says I9000XXJF3/XXJF5/xxxxx. What does this mean?
The first two letters describe the country while the third gives the year, the fourth gives the month and the last number/letter is the version of the firmware (from that specific month. Numbering starts at 1-9 and then uses letters from A-Z). For an extensive list of the country codes, see this thread.
Note: To better distinguish the firmware releases based on a new Android version (2.1 vs 2.2 vs 2.3 etc), Samsung has shifted the use of the third and forth letter and these are now no longer coherent with the year and month according to Samsung's old system.
6.I want to install new firmware but I want to have a backup of my original firmware to go back to in case I need to go back for warranty reasons. Can I backup my original firmware somehow?
You can backup most of your firmware through Clockwork Recovery, however, since this already requires root it is not suitable for a warranty return. Nevertheless virtually all firmwares that are currently being shipped with the phone are available and thus a restoration is almost always possible.
7.Can I flash an Asian ROM on my European device or vice versa?
Flashing firmwares between several areas is easily possible. Please make sure you have the correct model before flashing. The international SGS has the model I9000. The Korean version and the US variants have significantly different model numbers and firmwares for those phones should NEVER be flashed on the I9000 or vice versa.
8.What is the .pit file? Why are there different versions?
There are now three different versions of the .pit file. 513.pit, 512.pit and 803.pit. Most firmwares since the end of 2010 do not require a .pit file to be selected. Generally only the 512 version is used. The .pit file is only necessary if you intend to repartition the phone. If you do, you inadvertently wipe all your data (not the internal SDcard). Since the partitioning of the device has not changed for more than a year, repartitioning is almost never necessary unless you used a custom firmware like cyanogenmod, which changes the partition sizes.
The .pit file maps partitions on the NAND storage.
9.I flashed a new firmware using Odin (or Kies) and now my phone is acting weird (force closes etc)? Also, my settings are also still there.
Some firmwares that can be flashed via Odin and the firmwares that are flashed using Kies, do not touch your settings and they do not empty your cache and appdata partitions. As a results, there is data there from previous firmwares which may lead to unforseen complications. Especially so, if your previous firmware was based on a different android version (i.e. flashing from XWJM6(android 2.1) to XXJPC(android 2.2)). You can attempt to overcome this by wiping the cache. Usually, to resolve this, you have to do a factory reset according to FAQ#A1
(C) Modding:
1.What is root/rooting?
2.What are customROMs? How do I get them?
1.What is root/rooting?
root is the user account in Linux with all privileges. The root user can edit anything on the system. For safety reasons, users do not have all those privileges. When you root your phone, you will gain write access to areas of the phone you couldn't previously access and are allowed to run more commands in the terminal. Because applications do not get a lot of priviledges, some of them require you to root the device in order for them to function properly (or fully). There is a tutorial for rooting in the Post #2 and there is a Chainfire Root that works most firmwares. CF-Root essentially is a kernel that is flashed over the original kernel.
If all of this means nothing to you then you are probably wise to NOT root your phone. Mistakes using root can break your phone very easily. (Usually, but not always, these can be solved with a reflash)
2.What are customROMs? How do I get them?
Custom ROMs are modified versions of the Samsung firmware or complete rewrites of the Android OS for the Galaxy S such as Cyanogenmod (and the derivative MIUI). Almost all current custom ROMs are based on Android 2.3 with some now being based Android 4. They can be found in the Android Development Subforum.
(D) Applications:
1.I tried using Allshare/DLNA but it will not recognize my device/play any files?
2.Can I change the default homescreen of the Touchwiz Launcher?
1.I tried using Allshare/DLNA but it will not recognize my device/play any files?
As of now a lot of DLNA certified devices/software do not work with Allshare. However, Samsung TVs should work and Windows Media Player 12 as well as Samsung's PC Share Manager work in most cases.
2.Can I change the default homescreen of the Touchwiz Launcher?
You cannot change the default Homescreen in the settings. However, if you are rooted, there is a way to change the default homescreen. See T&T#5 for more info.
(E) Recovery:
1.WHAAAA! I think I bricked my phone. My flash was unsuccessful/My device boots to a black screen/similar scenarios. Can I still save my device?
1.WHAAAA! I think I bricked my phone. My flash was unsuccessful/My device boots to a black screen/similar scenarios. Can I still save my device?
Most likely: YES! In almost any case, you should still be able to turn off the device (if necessary by removing the battery) and start into download-mode (VolumeDown+Home+Power) or recovery-mode (VolumeUp+Home+Power). After (for example) an unsuccessful flash, you can retry the flash in download-mode (same steps as when flashing a functioning device). If a flash to a functioning f/w (without applying any update.zip) doesn't help or you cannot get your PC to flash at all, you can ask for help here.
If you see a symbol asking you to connect to the PC, depending on how you arrived at this point, it may be sufficient to connect to the PC and run Odin (i.e. press "start" when the phone is recognized) without adding any files. This may, however, leave some residual issues if (for example) had an incorrect/incomplete flash so you may want to do a normal flash after this!
If you do not have download mode and for some ludicrous reason felt the need to go ahead and modify your firmware regardless of this lacking, there is now a guide on creating a home-made JIG which will force your device into download mode without the actual button combo here. Also pre-fabricated JIG dongles can be purchased on ebay for a couple of EUR/USD.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Changelog:
[12th July] FAQ created.
[12th July] Added Flash HOWTOs in Post#2
[13th July] Added list of CustomROMs in FAQ#10
[16th July] Added notification for US phone users
[18th July] Added rooting to HOWTOs
[18th July] Added ADB tutorial in Post#2
[19th July] Moved ADB tutorial to Post#3
[19th July] Added Tutorial/Fix section in Post#4
[19th July] Added "Protected Apps Market Fix" in Post#4, Tutorial#1
[24th July] Removed SIM-Unlocked as a requirement from flash HOWTO (Post#2, HOWTO#1).
[24th July] Added Tags for categorizing the FAQ
[26th July] Added Tip&Tricks section in Post#5
[20th August] Added a ROM-Selection Guide in Post#6
[30th August] Major Rework of the FAQ section
[8th October] Added "Installing any official firmware using Kies" in Post#4, Tutorial#2
[17th October '10] Added "Extracting Samsung Phone Drivers from Kies Installer" in Post#4, Tutorial#3
[2nd March '11] Began Major Update
[5th November '11] Updated to recent release of Android 2.3 and other changes
[7th January '12] Some updates to reflect recent changes regarding software and Android 4.
[6th April '12] More updates regarding Android 4.0 and some other updates.
Flash/Update Guides
!!!READ THE GUIDES AND NOTES COMPLETELY!!!
General Note:Flashing may refer to both methods. However, Method 2 requires files to already be on the phone. Therefore if you semi-bricked your phone, method 1 is usually the preferred way to fix it.
General Note 2: Flashing firmware and/or factory resets will WIPE your APN settings. Make sure you are using the right APN if that is a possible issue with your provider.
Important General Note: Several batches of phones that were sold have the download-mode button combo disabled (VolumeDown+Home+Power or alternatively Home+Power on some phones). Check if the download-mode combo works BEFORE flashing! Please refer to FAQ#A12 and T&T#23 for a fix for the download mode if it doesn't work on your phone!
HOW TO:
1.Flash Firmware and kernels using Odin.
Note: This will in (almost) all cases erase all your data and applications (includind root!). It will NOT touch the internal or external SD card.
Requirements:
-Odin3 version 1.82 (Note: Odin should be on the system partition (the partition where windows is installed) to avoid possible issues)
-".PIT" file for the Samsung Galaxy S (See FAQ#B9 or the source of the FW for the version to use! Not needed for kernel flashes.) .PIT files are usually not necessary anymore since the partition layout of the SGS hasn't changed since the end of 2010
-USB cable
-Desired firmware package or desired kernel package
Procedure:
1.Open ODIN. (And close Kies, if you have it open. It is important to have ODIN open BEFORE connecting the phone via USB!)
2.Select the PDA/Modem/CSC/.PIT files in Odin. (For kernel flashes, only PDA is required. For FW flashes, at least a PDA is required. Some PDAs have Modem and CSC integrated. If you decide to repartition, make sure you choose the right file, currently almost always the one with the ending 512.PIT)
[Optional]3.Check the "Re-Partition" checkbox. (Only do this if you have separate packages for PDA, Modem and CSC AND you have a .PIT file selected! Don't do this for single PDA flashes or kernel flashes!)
4.Turn the phone into the download mode by pressing and holding VolumeDown+Home+Power.
5.Connect your phone with your computer and wait until the drivers are installed.
6.When the drivers are installed, click Start.
7.The phone will be flashed and once it’s finished, it will boot up. (Do NOT disconnect the usb-cable, remove the battery or otherwise interrupt this process!)
8.You have successfully flashed your phone.
2.Update to CustomROMs/Mods/Root using .zip files
Note: Depending on the firmware you selected, this may or may not wipe your applications and the respective data. In any case, it will not touch your internal and external SDcards!
Requirements:
-ADB (from the Android Software Development Kit) -- Optional
-CustomROM File
-USB-cable
-2e recovery, Clockwork recovery (can be installed using HOWTO#1 and an appropriate kernel) (Note: 3e recovery will not allow the installation of .zip files that aren't signed by Samsung and is as such not usable for this procedure)
There are two methods for applying the update. Procedure A requires some basics in using a terminal (and ADB). Procedure B can be carried out by anybody but usually isn't available if the bootloader does not have download mode. See FAQ#A12 for more information on download mode using the button combo.
Note: The recovery screen can be navigated using the Volume Up and Volume Down Buttons (Up and Down) and the Home Button (To Select)
Procedure A: (Requires ADB)
1.Copy the CustomROM/root file to the "/sdcard/" folder on the phone and (if not already the case) rename to "update.zip"
2.On the phone go to Settings->Applications->Development and check "USB debugging"
3.Extract the Android SDK and navigate to the /tools/ subfolder of the SDK folder using cmd.exe.
4.Run "adb reboot recovery" to enter recovery mode
5.Wait for the recovery screen en select "apply: /sdcard/update.zip"
6.Wait for it to finish and reboot.
Procedure B: (Does NOT require ADB)
1.Copy the CustomROM/root file to the "/sdcard/" folder on the phone and (if not already the case) rename to "update.zip"
2.Restart in Recovery Mode by pressing an holding VolumeUP+Home+Power.
3.Wait for the recovery screen en select "apply: /sdcard/update.zip"
4.Wait for it to finish and reboot.
If you encounter trouble with the ROM afterwards, enter recovery mode again and select "factory reset/wipe data/cache" and confirm before seeking help.
ADB Tutorial
ADB Tutorial
Many tutorials, fixes and mods are written assuming a basic knowledge of ADB. ADB is a command-line tool that is part of the Android Software Development Kit (a.k.a. Android SDK or ADK). This tutorial is aimed at getting you acquainted with the basic functions/workings of the ADB tool.
(Note: I do not currently use/have Linux installed. For now, this tutorial will be Windows-only. However, I suspect Linux users are versed in command-lines already and do not need a tutorial like this to open adb)
Requirements:
-Android Software Development Kit (you do not need to run "SDK Setup.exe" to use ADB!)
-Rooted Samsung Galaxy S
-Busybox (installed from market and updated!)
Basic Setup:
In order to use ADB you will first need to decompress the Android SDK. For simplicity, decompress the folder "android-sdk-windows" into the root of one of your partitions. (I am using the root folder of my D: partition for the purpose of this tutorial)
You now need to start the Windows Command-Line tool "cmd". This differs per Windows version:
XP: Go to the start menu and click "Run", type "cmd.exe" and confirm with "Run"
Windows Vista/7: Go to the start menu, type "cmd.exe" and hit enter.
You will now see a command-prompt open (I erased my username):
As stated before, my "android-sdk-windows" folder is located on my D: partition. You will now need to navigate to the "platform-tools" subfolder of the "android-sdk-windows" folder:
Before we go any further we will now have to complete some steps on our phone:
-Make sure the phone is rooted (find the application "Superuser Permission")/has the latest version of busybox installed (Run "BusyBox installer" and make sure it says, that the latest version is installed). If not, root your phone according to the HOWTO in Post#2 and install busybox from the market (and follow the instructions in the description) respectively.
-Put your phone in USB debugging mode: "Settings"->"Applications"->"Development" and check "USB debugging"
-Close all other applications on your phone and go back to the TouchWiz Launcher Home Screen
-Connect the phone to your PC
Now, we are ready to run ADB:
I hope this helps all those who were clueless so far on all the adb-based tutorials for fixes etc.
Tutorial for Market Fix
Note: This section is strictly a work in progress and new tutorials will be added when they become available and have been confirmed as working!
Content:
1.Market Protected Application Fix
2.Installing any official firmware using Kies
3.Extracting Samsung Phone Drivers from Kies Installer
4.Backing up the /efs folder
Tutorials/Fixes:
1.Market Protected Applications Fix
Background: In order to prevent the illegal copying of copyrighted applications google has integrated what are called protected apps. These applications have some copying protection which means they cannot be backup-ed without root. In order to prevent rooted/modified phones from getting those applications, google market checks the build.prop file in the /system/ folder against a verified list to see if the version of your firmware is an official release. This tutorial will show you the steps to replacing the build.prop of the firmware you installed with that of a firmware that is verifiedand accepted by google.
Note: MoDaCo's r2 and the derivatives thereof have a fix included for this in the ROM (can be found in "MCR Scripts").
NOTE: As of now, "Eris Market Fix" from the android market seems to work on the SGS. It uses a similar procedure and should achieve identical results (for now). The app itself can be uninstalled after the fix is working.
Requirements:
-Rooted Samsung Galaxy S
-ADB (from the Android Software Development Kit)
-build.prop from a recognized official firmware
Procedure:
1.Download and extract "build.prop".
2.Copy the "build.prop" to the root of your internal SD card (to the folder "/sdcard")
3.Make sure the phone is rooted (find the application "Superuser Permission")/has the latest version of busybox installed (Run "BusyBox installer" and make sure it says, that the latest version is installed). If not, root your phone according to the HOWTO in Post#2 and install busybox from the market (and follow the instructions in the description) respectively.
4.Run the following commands in ADB (for a tutorial on ADB, see Post#3):
Code:
adb shell
su
mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system
busybox mv /sdcard/build.prop /system/build.prop
reboot
5.Wait for the phone to reboot. Check if can see protected apps (for example the paid version of tapatalk)
6.If you cannot see protected apps, you may have to wait a while in order for market to recheck the build.prop. This process can be helped bu setting the system time (manually) to 23:59 (i.e. 11:59PM) and wait for it to pass the 0:00 (i.e. 12:00AM) mark. Then return the time to the correct time setting and reboot. (You may still need to wait a few minutes before you can actually see protected applications)
7.If you still can't see protected applications, restart in recovery mode ("Volume Up"+"Home"+"Start") and wipe the cache of your phone. (You may still need to wait a few minutes before you can actually see protected applications)
For the interested, here a explanation of the code:
mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system
mount is the linux routine to mount a device to a specific path
-o will allow you to issue several commands to the mount routine, separated by commas
remount will unmount and then mount the filesystem again
rw will cause the filesystem to be mounted with read/write permissions
-t is the parameter used to define the filesystem
yaffs2 is "yet another flash file system 2"
/dev/block/mtdblock3 is the hardware-location of the system path
/system is the path to which you want to remount the hardware location
busybox mv /sdcard/build.prop /system/build.prop
busybox causes the following commands to be executed by busybox instead of default android
mv moves files from one location to another
/sdcard/build.prop is the path to the file that is being moved
/system/build.prop is the path where the file gets moved to
2.Installing any official firmware using Kies
Background: In August 2010 Samsung started (if only scarcely) to release official and test updates for the i9000 firmware. Since many users have flashed different firmware and the ways of backing up original product codes were not know at the time, most people who flashed their phones do not have the original settings from their country and/or provider and can thus not get the official updates for their area. Forthermore, some updates were only released in one or a few areas and people outside those areas wanted access. Consequently, Zangieff figured out a way to fake the phone information for Kies in order for it to find and install updates from a specific area. This is a slightly adapted version of his fix.
NOTE: There have been no firmware releases for some areas and providers through Kies. This fix is only able to upgrade to versions that have actually been released on Kies.
Requirements:
-Samsung Galaxy S
-Samsung Kies
-Basic knowledge of regedit
Procedure:
1.Run Kies, connect the phone and make sure it is properly recognized.
1.1.If you have never before opened the firmware upgrade widget with your phone connected before, open it now and then close it again (Do NOT close Kies!)
1.2.Optional: (Only do this if you are looking for experimental updates!)
1.2a. Open the firmware upgrade widget in Kies
1.2b. Press Ctrl+Alt+U+P simultaneously. Kies will confirm the correct sequence with "Test Mode is ON".
1.2c. Close the firmware upgrade widget of Kies
2.Run regedit (Start-->Run...-->Type "regedit"-->Press Ok) (Windows XP)/(Start-->Type "regedit"-->Press Enter) (Windows Vista/7)
3.Use regedit to navigate to "HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Samsung/Kies/DeviceDB/". You will find a number of folders in numerical order (usually) starting from 1. Find the folder with the relevant keys (see below) and make sure it is the one currently in use. [If you find several folders with the keys and don't know which are the right ones, delete all of them, repeat step 1 and 1.1 and find the folder with the lowest value. (You may have to use F5 or View--->Refresh to get to see the new folders)]
4.Find the registry keys "HIDSWVER" and "ProductCode"
5.Replace them with the appropriate keys as needed for your desired upgrade.
6.Open the upgrade widget in Kies and enjoy updating.
To find the appropriate values for HIDSWVER and ProductCode, check this thread for an extensive list of codes.
Note: If you close Kies, you will have to repeat the process.
Note2: You can upgrade to the most recent official firmware version from any firmware version even if you already have the same version or a newer one installed
3.Extracting Samsung Phone Drivers from Kies Installer
Background: Not all users are interested in installing the full software package Kies in order to get to flash their phone via Odin or Heimdall. The Kies installer turns out to be extractable using 7-zip and the phone drivers have a separate installer. This allows for installing only the phone USB drivers and lets you avoid installing Kies and the included bloatware.
Requirements:
-Samsung Kies installer package (found here)
-7-zip (found here)
Procedure:
1.Install 7-zip
2.Right click the Kies installer and Find 7-zip->Extract to "Kies_x.x.x.xxxxx_xx\"
3.Navigate to "Kies_x.x.x.xxxxx_xx-->CabFile-->USB Driver"
4.Right click the "SAMSUNG_USB_Driver_for_Mobile_Phones.exe.cab" file and 7-zip->Extract to "SAMSUNG_USB_Driver_for_Mobile_Phones.exe\"
5.Open the folder SAMSUNG_USB_Driver_for_Mobile_Phones.exe\ and execute SAMSUNG_USB_Driver_for_Mobile_Phones.exe and follow the installer instructions.
6.Enjoy connecting your phone without the full Kies install.
4.Backing up the /efs folder
Background: Some experimental firmwares modify the /efs folder. This can cause IMEI corruption and/or change the product code your phone reports.
Requirements:
-Rooted Phone
Either (A):
-ADB (from the Android Software Development Kit)
Or (B):
-Root Explorer (from market)
Procedure:
1.Make sure your phone is rooted (and busybox is installed for ADB procedure)
A:
1A.Enable USB debugging mode (Settings-->Application-->Development-->USB debugging)
2A.Connect the phone to USB
3A.Open a command prompt and enter adb (see tutorial)
4A.Acquire root privileges (type "su"). (Make sure you accept the root-prompt on the phone)
5A.Execute "busybox cp -a /efs /sdcard/"
6A.Disconnect the phone, deactivate USB debugging, reconnect the phone and backup the copy of the efs folder to your PC
B:
1B.Use root explorer and navigate to the root of the filesystem /
2B.Press "Mount R/W"
3B.Copy the efs folder to your sdcard
4B.Connect the phone to the PC and backup the copy of the efs folder to your PC.
2. Restore the backup if your IMEI gets corrupted or your product code is changed by a firmware.
Tips&Tricks
Handy Tip&Tricks
by Forum Members
This is for all Samsung Galaxy S users (GT-i9000 only. Some might work on US versions). It is a collection of handy tutorials that were posted in the development section but that do not need to be on the first page constantly.
Note: These links are provided as-is and most are untested by me! All credit for the procedure goes to the respecitve poster/involved parties.
1. Changing Fonts (for free) by socket84
2. Replacing Samsung Media Player with Android default by aditya_t90
3. Generating TUN.KO for OpenVPN on SGS by newmail
4. Replacing TouchWiz calendar with Android default by tommy34
5. Setting default homescreen in TouchWiz launcher by socket84 or the derived SGS Screen Changer by pedrodh
6. Installing Samsung Phone drivers WITHOUT Kies
7. OneClick Lagfix by RyanZA
8. CFLagFix by Chainfire
9. LagFix using update.zip by Tayutama
10. SuperOneClick Root by CLShortFuse
11. Headphone SoundQuality Fix or MixGet from Market by gilsken
12. AMOLED Screen for Notifications App by madmack
13. Using LED-Button Backlights for notifications by neldar
14. Comparing Firmwares on Packages by GAda
15. Stopping automatic media scan & scan on demand by aditya_t90
16. Overclocking/UnderVoltaging the CPU by raspdeep
17. Creating FlipFont APKs by ritalin
18. Circle Battery Indicator Mod by Fightspit (ported to SGS by designgears)
19. Official Firmware Update without running Kies by miki4242
20. Unlocking/Unfreezing Samsung Galaxy S for Free (collaboration, see thread for credits)
21. Choosing between GlassLock and Android's stock lock screen by Ateisti or Android Stock Lockscreen for JM8,JPH,JPK,JM9,JPM,JPA,JP6 by Project1.exe
22. Flashing under Linux and MacOS X using Heimdall by Benjamin Dobell
23. Restoring the three button recovery/download combo by Richthofen
24. ADB filesystem plugin for Total Commander by sztupy
25. Enabling Landscape Mode in TouchWiz Launcher by scheichuwe
Firmware and LagFix Selection Guide
Last Updated: April 3, 2010. Up-to-date as of April 3, 2011 15:53 CEST
As you may have noticed, there are a lot of firmwares on samfirmware.com and it's not very clear which ones are best/least buggy etc.
In this section, I will give a general guide to which firmware to use depending on your preferences:
If you like the stock Samsung Galaxy S experience and are looking for the most stable/bugfree version:
-Flash I9000ZSJPK or I9000XWJS8 according to HOWTO#1.
-Install the one of the kernels below or one of the lagfixes from FAQ#A6.
If you would like have the latest firmware and are willing to tolerate some bugs (this is beta firmware):
-Flash I9000XWJVK according to HOWTO#1.
For a list of current custom ROMs, see this thread
Lagfixes and Kernels:
In FAQ#A6 the currently used methods for lagfixes are described. There are a number of enhanced kernels (most of which use at least one of the lagfixes) that add features such as more accessible RAM, enhanced compiling, Clockwork Recovery, Blacklight Notification and several various features depending on the Kernel. Here is a list of the popular, well tested, optimized kernels (Note: Some of them include an overclock):
-hardcore's speedmod Froyo
-laststufo's Super Optimized Kernel
-supercurio's Voodoo Lagfix
-DamianGto's Ultimate Kernel
-tegrak's lagfix build Kernel
There is a frequently updated list here
General Note:
If you want to take the modding further, look at FAQ#D2 in Post#1 for a list of Custom ROMs and chose one you like. Depending on whether or not there is a lagfix integrated, you should then apply one of the lagfixes from the first suggestion. I would also suggest avoiding loop-mount fixes like OCLF and CFLF (see FAQ#A6) because performance rapidly declines over time.
Note: None of the available ROMs completely fix the poor GPS. Most of the ROMs noted above are provide roughly the same GPS performance. Samsung is hoping to release a full GPS fix in september (hopefully with the froyo release) It is not clear if or when Samsung will release a full fix for the GPS issues. However, it is doubtful since there are now many indications that the issue is in fact hardware related and even the final Froyo release doesn't completely fix the GPS.
For us coming from HTC devices if we hose the recovery partition is there a way to recover the phone. It was HBOOT (FastBoot) in the HTCs. Does ODIN provide the ultimate "debricking" feature. I realize there are ways to brick that are unrecoverable, but if I hose the recovery and I am done I will be very hands off on modding.
thanks for this. a good starting point to gather all the info!
should sticky this
I think we are still out of a mod for this forum...
might wanna add this for calibration of the orientation sensor:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=6999499&postcount=8
tommy34 said:
might wanna add this for calibration of the orientation sensor:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=6999499&postcount=8
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Added! Thanks =)
can this be a sticky, its very informative?
Great! I've acctually been waiting for a thread like this!
In Sweden one operator(Tele2) seems to have issues with the device not switching to 3G even when available. Does anybody else have these issues with their operators?
FrezoreR said:
Great! I've acctually been waiting for a thread like this!
In Sweden one operator(Tele2) seems to have issues with the device not switching to 3G even when available. Does anybody else have these issues with their operators?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you check your APN settings? Did you contact the provider concerning the issue?
Darkstriker said:
It appears it doesn't take long for this reserved post to become useful. I'll post short guides on flashing firmware here. (...)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In the Flash Firmware using Odin guide didn't you forget to add "SIM unlocked phone" as a requirement?
Akerfeldt said:
In the Flash Firmware using Odin guide didn't you forget to add "SIM unlocked phone" as a requirement?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know it says so in the guide but I recall having read that SIM-locked phones can be flashed as well. Don't quote me on that!
Added it as a requirement for now.
Edit: I did read it here. However, it seems that those phones aren't actually SIM-locked, so for now, SIM-Unlocked is definitely a requirement.
Thanks for pointing it out! =)
Darkstriker said:
Did you check your APN settings? Did you contact the provider concerning the issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The APN settings should be fine, the phone works on both 2G, 3G and HSPDA, but when it at some point have switched to 2G it will stay in 2G and you would have to manually set it to 3G.
Yeah we are a group on a Swedish android forum where someone have contacted both samsung and tele2 about the problem. But if not anyone here has the same problem it surely must be tied to the operator, which is what I have thought all along.
efbenson said:
For us coming from HTC devices if we hose the recovery partition is there a way to recover the phone. It was HBOOT (FastBoot) in the HTCs. Does ODIN provide the ultimate "debricking" feature. I realize there are ways to brick that are unrecoverable, but if I hose the recovery and I am done I will be very hands off on modding.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sorry efbenson, I seem to completely have missed your post.
I'm not sure how this works on HTC android devices since I have only had a Windows-mobile version. What seems to be the equivalent of the features you are "describing" is the download-mode (VolDown+Home+Power) which can be reached even after interrupted firmware-flashed (experienced it myself. Still scary as hell!)
However, I don't think I'm fully qualified to answer your question. Maybe you could reformulate it, since it's not very clear right now.
This definitely deserves a sticky, thanks for this DS
FrezoreR said:
The APN settings should be fine, the phone works on both 2G, 3G and HSPDA, but when it at some point have switched to 2G it will stay in 2G and you would have to manually set it to 3G.
Yeah we are a group on a Swedish android forum where someone have contacted both samsung and tele2 about the problem. But if not anyone here has the same problem it surely must be tied to the operator, which is what I have thought all along.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't had such problems and I dont remember reading anything of the kind so far so this likely is an issue with your provider. Maybe you can check if this occurs everywhere or only in specific areas (like cities) or something like that.
I got a uk glow worm on the 27th (2 days before release ) and one of the first things that I tried to do was to root with glownooter. Bad idea! I thought that I had bricked my device. I had to use a lot of trickery to recover from a loading screen lock-up and once I did the first thing that I did was backup my nook (Which i should have done before).
UPDATE!
Please try my new ROOT install pack HERE:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=34216660#post34216660
This can be used to root and install the most requested things of this thread in just one zip.
Here is a quick guide to most things you will need to do to get started. I will update this guide as I discover and build new modifications.
To Backup and Restore
Follow this guide. Please do this BEFORE any other tinkering!
http://blog.the-ebook-reader.com/20...-and-restore-nook-glow-and-nook-simple-touch/
Its important to check your backup before proceeding! Please listen to roustabout and dont skip this step... He knows what he's talking about
roustabout said:
I'd like to suggest an addition to the backup method that many folks are using - always test your restore, but dont test it (the first time) on your device.
Your backup file should be about 2 gig.
find a 2 gig or larger flash drive or sdcard and restore your backup image to that drive.
when you're done, there should be 8 partitions, as there were on your Nook to begin with.
If you can't get that working - you're not ready to root yet. Until you're sure you can restore, don't start making changes, please.
People turn up all the time having screwed themselves over by restoring a partial backup and not knowing it, or having restored only one partition from a complete backup and having blown out the partition table.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks roustabout
To Root!
Make sure you use the CWM file suitable for your SD Card. I used "2gb_clockwork-rc2" because my card was 2gb+.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1360994 (Thanks mali100)
Use WinImage with admin rights to restore CWM virtual hdd image to your SD.
Download tinynoot-1-of-2 and tinynoot-2-of-2
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1650593 (Thanks to eded333 and roustabout)
Put on CWM boot SD.
Install them in CWM back to back (I didn't bother with the restart in the middle as it should not make a difference considering the file content). After a restart you should have root access and an android launcher on your 1.2.0 Nook (among other files). If nook fails to boot one of the tinynoot files may have corrupted. Recover, Re-download and Retry!
To Add Apps
Using ADB to install apps is easy. Extract this to your C drive:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/13673492/ADB + Fastboot + Drivers.zip
Navigate to the folder in a cmd prompt.
Drop your APK into the same folder and on your nook open the "adbwireless" app and enable ADB
That app will tell you what your nooks IP address is.
Then you can:
Code:
adb connect ip.address.of.nook:portnumber
adb install app_of_your_choice.apk
Setup ADB over USB
OK I have taken the liberty of building a quick driver mod to support your nook through USB. It works for me. First you need to have the android SDK if you don't already (sure you do but just in case ).
http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html
Make sure you tick to install the android USB driver when the SDK is installed.
Browse to extras\google\usb_driver in your SDK folder (wherever you put it) and replace android_winusb.inf with my file:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/13673492/android_winusb.inf
Next go to C:\Users\your_user_account\.android and replace adb_usb.ini with my file:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/13673492/adb_usb.ini
In device manager, point google ADB driver to this and hopefully that should get you set up!
To test type
Code:
adb devices
Its working if you get something like this:
Code:
* daemon not running. starting it now on port ____ *
* daemon started successfully *
List of devices attached
[YOUR NOOK] device
And then try
Code:
adb install app_of_your_choice.apk
UPDATE
Install Multitouch Kernel With Overclocking
Install the CWM zip using your clockworkmod SD card
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1906507
:good: Thanks to johnjtaylor for discovering that this kernel works works.
Hopefully this more comprehensive guide will get others with this software to start playing around.
If this helps, be polite and say thankyou
Have you setup ADB yet? If you can connect with ADB and get a shell, you can execute a 'df' at the shell prompt to see how much free space is available in each partition. On my NST (no glowlight) apps seem to be installed in /data/app so see how much free space is there. On the NST, this appears to be the same partition that books purchased from B&N are placed in, so if you have a lot of books from B&N, you may have to archive some to install apps. Of course all this is going on the assumption that the NST Glow is similar to the NST in this regard.
David0226 said:
Have you setup ADB yet? If you can connect with ADB and get a shell, you can execute a 'df' at the shell prompt to see how much free space is available in each partition. On my NST (no glowlight) apps seem to be installed in /data/app so see how much free space is there. On the NST, this appears to be the same partition that books purchased from B&N are placed in, so if you have a lot of books from B&N, you may have to archive some to install apps. Of course all this is going on the assumption that the NST Glow is similar to the NST in this regard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for replying. I'm actually working setting up ADB now. As for books I only just got my nook so all of my titles are epub format on an sd card so i wouldn't think it would be that. As soon as I get ADB set up I will post back my results incase it helps anyone else with this new software version.
Can you look in the documentation that comes with the reader for any reference to 'third party software' or 'GPL software'. They should list where to download / apply for the source code somewhere. Once we can see the source code we can compare it against the existing versions and identify any significant issues.
I set up ADB.
Plenty of space in all partitions including /data for the apps that I want. Managed to install through "adb install some_app_i_want.apk" so problem resides with the amazon app store. Not really an issue for me because I have a specific set of apps that I want and don't need to browse the app store.
I will try to work out what's wrong for others.
staylo said:
Can you look in the documentation that comes with the reader for any reference to 'third party software' or 'GPL software'. They should list where to download / apply for the source code somewhere. Once we can see the source code we can compare it against the existing versions and identify any significant issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I'm looking for it now
No reference to GPL. Only references to third party software are to tell me that my warranty is no longer valid (no surprise there!)
Is there any other place I can find this info thats not the documentation?
loney01843 said:
No reference to GPL. Only references to third party software are to tell me that my warranty is no longer valid (no surprise there!)
Is there any other place I can find this info thats not the documentation?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nothing obvious from the uk.nook.com website. On the US site the 'support' section links to terms of service which contain the links to the open source code (see http://www.barnesandnoble.com/container/nook_lnav.asp?pid=43307 and search for NOOK 1.1.5 OSS Release ), but I can't see an equivalent on the UK site. It's an oversight, but such things happen with a new product launch.
You can email them at [email protected] . The relevant paragraph from the US site is:
1. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, certain components of the Software are licensed subject to the General Public License Version 2.0, a copy of which is attached as Exhibit A (the "GPL License"). You may not use these components except in compliance with the GPL License. In addition, you may have additional rights with respect to such components under the GPL License, including, without limitation, the right to obtain the source code for such components from us. You may obtain a copy of such source code by contacting us through the contact information provided on the Web Site. We will provide such source code in accordance with the GPL License.
I don't legally have the right to request the source code myself, because I don't own a UK NOOK yet. (Yeah, thinly veiled excuse for laziness!)
staylo said:
Nothing obvious from the uk.nook.com website. On the US site the 'support' section links to terms of service which contain the links to the open source code (see http://www.barnesandnoble.com/container/nook_lnav.asp?pid=43307 and search for NOOK 1.1.5 OSS Release ), but I can't see an equivalent on the UK site. It's an oversight, but such things happen with a new product launch.
You can email them at [email protected] . The relevant paragraph from the US site is:
1. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, certain components of the Software are licensed subject to the General Public License Version 2.0, a copy of which is attached as Exhibit A (the "GPL License"). You may not use these components except in compliance with the GPL License. In addition, you may have additional rights with respect to such components under the GPL License, including, without limitation, the right to obtain the source code for such components from us. You may obtain a copy of such source code by contacting us through the contact information provided on the Web Site. We will provide such source code in accordance with the GPL License.
I don't legally have the right to request the source code myself, because I don't own a UK NOOK yet. (Yeah, thinly veiled excuse for laziness!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're obviously not that lazy. Thanks for looking and gathering all of the extra info I need. I'll send B&N an e-mail and see what they say. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't want to hand it out considering you can use it for an easy root setup and install the amazon and kobo stores which could financially damage their advance into new territories! What are we to do! Can't even subscribe to a newspaper or magazine through the nook store yet!
I'll let you know when / if I get a response
There is a setting in nook touch tools that you need to "arm," to allow software from unknown sources to be installed before the Amazon appstore can install software on a tinynooted device.
The setting is a tickbox, "Allow non-Market apps"
Untick it if it is ticked by default, then re-tick it to get apps to install.
roustabout said:
There is a setting in nook touch tools that you need to "arm," to allow software from unknown sources to be installed before the Amazon appstore can install software on a tinynooted device.
The setting is a tickbox, "Allow non-Market apps"
Untick it if it is ticked by default, then re-tick it to get apps to install.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply but I actually tried that. No joy. However perhaps it is this that is not working and not amazon app store. Im just installing through ADB instead. I wonder if I can enable unknown sources through ADB. Something to look at I guess!
UK tinynoot attempt failing
loney01843 said:
Thanks for the reply but I actually tried that. No joy. However perhaps it is this that is not working and not amazon app store. Im just installing through ADB instead. I wonder if I can enable unknown sources through ADB. Something to look at I guess!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried using the tinynoot process from roustabout's thread here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1650593 and am stuck on the final reboot with a "Your NOOK is starting up..." message. Could you let me know if you used a different tinynoot method/set of files?
smerrett said:
I tried using the tinynoot process from roustabout's thread here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1650593 and am stuck on the final reboot with a "Your NOOK is starting up..." message. Could you let me know if you used a different tinynoot method/set of files?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep thats what I used. You on 1.2.0 and did you back up?
I didn't backup first and to get out of the starting message I used this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1289233&highlight=restore
Then I made a backup using this:
http://blog.the-ebook-reader.com/20...-and-restore-nook-glow-and-nook-simple-touch/
I hope this helps!
loney01843 said:
Yep thats what I used. You on 1.2.0 and did you back up?
I didn't backup first and to get out of the starting message I used this:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1289233&highlight=restore
Then I made a backup using this:
http://blog.the-ebook-reader.com/20...-and-restore-nook-glow-and-nook-simple-touch/
I hope this helps!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the tip on screen freeze but the link to the images on that post don't work for me. I am on 1.2 and made a backup before attempting any rooting - have managed to reinstate my original nook so quite pleased with myself.
Is there any point in rooting until someone can find a way of getting apps onto the 1.2 NSTG?
smerrett said:
Thanks for the tip on screen freeze but the link to the images on that post don't work for me. I am on 1.2 and made a backup before attempting any rooting - have managed to reinstate my original nook so quite pleased with myself.
Is there any point in rooting until someone can find a way of getting apps onto the 1.2 NSTG?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great that you got a backup. If you want custom apps you can either wait for a different root kit or push ahead (since you have a safety net).
As I said, it worked for me.
If you don't mind searching for the .apk files you want you can use this:
Code:
adb connect ip.address.of.nook:portnumber
adb install app_of_your_choice.apk
This has worked fine for me so far. Just don't try for custom kernels yet as they seem to give me troubles.
I will work more on this tomorrow including adjusting framework for gapps.
loney01843 said:
Great that you got a backup. If you want custom apps you can either wait for a different root kit or push ahead (since you have a safety net).
As I said, it worked for me.
If you don't mind searching for the .apk files you want you can use this:
Code:
adb connect ip.address.of.nook:portnumber
adb install app_of_your_choice.apk
This has worked fine for me so far. Just don't try for custom kernels yet as they seem to give me troubles.
I will work more on this tomorrow including adjusting framework for gapps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks also for the code but as this is my first foray into rooting I think I'll hang around and watch for a bit! Perhaps if I start learning some more I may feel confident enough to try it.
Do you have copies of the files needed for the factory reset - the links are still not working for me.
Thanks again and sorry for bothering you. Hope tomorrow is productive for you.
smerrett said:
Thanks also for the code but as this is my first foray into rooting I think I'll hang around and watch for a bit! Perhaps if I start learning some more I may feel confident enough to try it.
Do you have copies of the files needed for the factory reset - the links are still not working for me.
Thanks again and sorry for bothering you. Hope tomorrow is productive for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/13673492/n2T-Recovery_0.2.img
This is the file needed to force factory reset. However a quality backup like you have is far more important.
For anyone who wants to give this a go, here is a quick guide for root access and app installs using windows tools until I can make something more complete:
Make sure you use the CWM file suitable for your SD Card. I used "2gb_clockwork-rc2" because my card was 2gb+.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1360994
(Thanks mali100)
Use WinImage with admin rights to restore CWM virtual hdd image to your SD.
Download tinynoot-1-of-2 and tinynoot-2-of-2
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1650593
(Thanks to eded333 and roustabout)
Put on CWM boot SD.
Install them in CWM back to back (I didn't bother with the restart in the middle as it should not make a difference considering the file content). After a restart you should have root access and an android launcher on your 1.2.0 Nook (among other files). If nook fails to boot one of the tinynoot files may have corrupted. Recover, Re-download and Retry!
Using ADB to install apps is easy. Extract this to your C drive:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/13673492/ADB + Fastboot + Drivers.zip
Navigate to the folder in a cmd prompt.
Drop your APK into the same folder and on your nook open the "adbwireless" app and enable ADB
That app will tell you what your nooks IP address is.
Then you can:
Code:
adb connect ip.address.of.nook:portnumber
adb install app_of_your_choice.apk
Hopefully this more comprehensive guide will get others with this software to start playing around.
Click thanks if this guides helpful.
loney01843 said:
If nook fails to boot one of the tinynoot files may have corrupted. Recover, Re-download and Retry!
Navigate to the folder in a cmd prompt.
Drop your APK into the same folder and on your nook open the "adbwireless" app and enable ADB
That app will tell you what your nooks IP address is.
Then you can:
Code:
adb connect ip.address.of.nook:portnumber
adb install app_of_your_choice.apk
Hopefully this more comprehensive guide will get others with this software to start playing around.
Click thanks if this guides helpful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great - thanks to your more detailed instructions, I have persevered and the second attempt at installing the tinynoot zips worked. Your post gave me the confidence to try installing apks for the first time and for anyone else who is unfamiliar with the processes used, I found these two pages useful for:
navigating within a command prompt (how naive): pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleid=1723&page=3
Pasting text into a command prompt (ditto): megaleecher.net/Copy_Paste_Text_Dos_Window
Sorry, as a newb I'm not trusted to post outside links yet. It took a couple of attempts of pasting and pressing enter to work out how to install using the adb code but it's not as hard as I expected.
I have tried installing the 1 Mobile Market which works but it is unable to install apps itself (not enough space).
Also, I have just installed NoRefreshToggle and can't seem to get it to work. Any thoughts - is 1.2 to blame? Really want this to work as Business Calendar Free is just a series of blinks at the moment!
Great! I'm glad you pushed onward and have root.
I am going through possibilities of other ways to install apps and mods.
No refresh is something that I would like as well but I think that the framework may need editing for 1.2.0. For fast mode a new kernel will need to be made or existing one modified.
Be aware that installing kernels not designed for this firmware can give you some serious problems.
Once I can setup app markets, I will work on these other modifications.
Stay tuned :good:
Take a look at the overclock kernel - it's got a lot of the norefresh features baked in, and gives you a nice ability to control both clock and kernel tuning (via the governor control.)
You're right, you can flash the two zips back to back with no ill effect, I was mistaken about what the second zip was doing.
I mistyped when I typed "nook touch tools," I meant nook color tools.
I'm very interested that the amazon store is not working in 1.2. I will see if the software's available for my device, so I can try to see what's happened.
As of now, the us bn site does not mention an os 1.2 for the glowlight.
So after reading about all the App Store hacks that have developed around Fiddler2, I decided to give it a go myself. After setting up the proxy, I noticed that most SSL-based transactions were failing to connect on my device (Windows Updates, Email, etc).
I exported the SSL cert that fiddler 2 installed on my development PC, emailed it to myself, and installed it on my Windows Phone device. LO and Behold, Most of my SSL issues went away! (App store still woudn't auth). More Interestingly, Windows Updates started checking for updates successfully. These transactions are done with SOAP calls.
The basic process is as follows:
1. Phone initiates a connection to the windows update server
2. a series of cab files are downloaded containing certificate and base URL info of the update server
3. the phone connects to the update server with a list of all updates it has installed as well as a unique device identifier.
4. the server responds with a list of updates that it wants the phone to evaluate.
5. If the phone decides it needs the update, it sends a request to the server for instructions to deter
6. the server responds with a specially crafted packet that contains a link to where the microsoft cab can be downloaded from as well as a checksum of the cab file and evaluation instructions to determine if the update is needed. (checking registry keys, etc the SOAP commands contain things like RegRead32)
7. the phone then downloads and installs the update, if needed.
Fiddling around with fiddler, I was able to remove the "filter" GUID from the phones request to the server. As a result, it evaluated and installed any update it could get its hands on. The Hardware Test app still shows that my last update was 5/1/2013, but the number of updated packages included in that update jumped from 83 to 200!
I have some more experiments I would like to try (such as trying to blindly write a reg key instead of just reading it...anyone know of a good one?). I am also wondering if I can somehow package a Microsoft cab file, and tell the update mechanism to download and install it. Depending on how it evaluates the cabs, I might be able to get away with signing the cab with the private key from the Fiddler certificate I installed.
Just thought I'd pass along
Very, very nice finds! I had noticed the cert pinning used on the store and on dev-unlocking, but apparently had failed to look into the update process.
Give me a little while and I'll find you the reg key used for dev-unlock. I can't guarantee you that I'll be able to give you the exact value you need - they seem to have changed the format since WP7, and I'll be working blind from templates and policy files here - but it's worth a shot. Mind you, I wouldn't be surprised if the whole process is read-only, or if the responses from Microsoft are signed (although you could try re-signing them, I guess). For what it's worth, creating an entire update from scratch (or even editing one) is unlikely to work; Windows has required a Microsoft signature (not just any trusted signature) on update files for many years now. It's certainly possible that they messed that up, though.
I also kind of want to see if some of the recent ZIP signature validation bypass exploits from Android (where you could create a ZIP file containing multiple files that have the same name, and the original would be used for the signature but the *last* copy of each file would be the one actually unpacked) might be made to work as well. I've got some ideas about that... not sure if it would work for the update format, though.
Please keep researching this!
Not that i seriously looked into that, but you may probably consider these entries as interesting
Code:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\DeviceReg\Install]
"MaxUnsignedApp"=DWORD:A
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\PackageManager]
"EnableAppLicenseCheck"=dword:00000000
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\PackageManager]
"EnableAppSignatureCheck"=dword:00000000
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\PackageManager]
"EnableAppProvisioning"=dword:00000000
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\.NETCompactFramework\Managed Debugger]
"Enabled"=dword:0
"AttachEnabled"=dword:1
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Silverlight\Debugger]
"WaitForAttach"=dword:1
Some of those might get obsolete already, though.
Though, the most interesting thing one can do with registry is enabling KD.
For what it's worth, creating an entire update from scratch (or even editing one) is unlikely to work; Windows has required a Microsoft signature (not just any trusted signature) on update files for many years now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah
I've never really looked at the fact: which certificate is used by actual cabs? look at *.cat file
GoodDayToDie said:
Very, very nice finds! I had noticed the cert pinning used on the store and on dev-unlocking, but apparently had failed to look into the update process.
Give me a little while and I'll find you the reg key used for dev-unlock. I can't guarantee you that I'll be able to give you the exact value you need - they seem to have changed the format since WP7, and I'll be working blind from templates and policy files here - but it's worth a shot. Mind you, I wouldn't be surprised if the whole process is read-only, or if the responses from Microsoft are signed (although you could try re-signing them, I guess). For what it's worth, creating an entire update from scratch (or even editing one) is unlikely to work; Windows has required a Microsoft signature (not just any trusted signature) on update files for many years now. It's certainly possible that they messed that up, though.
I also kind of want to see if some of the recent ZIP signature validation bypass exploits from Android (where you could create a ZIP file containing multiple files that have the same name, and the original would be used for the signature but the *last* copy of each file would be the one actually unpacked) might be made to work as well. I've got some ideas about that... not sure if it would work for the update format, though.
Please keep researching this!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will do! Here is where it gets interesting...The attached screenshots are of a SOAP request from my phone to the update server (I disabled filtering, so the GUID isn't present) and then it's response for "missing" updates to evaluate.
the section labeled "xml" contains the instructions on how to evaluate if the update is needed.
here is a cleaned up, friendly dump of what is in the "XML" section it needs to parse to determine if an update is applicable:
Code:
<UpdateIdentity UpdateID="f092f820-8161-410b-ab11-c7a6d36b7837" RevisionNumber="101" />
<Properties UpdateType="Software" />
<Relationships>
<Prerequisites>
<UpdateIdentity UpdateID="eb644fbf-5e6e-4719-b97c-485ffb9e867f" />
<AtLeastOne>
<UpdateIdentity UpdateID="450b8808-d056-4c18-a383-2db11e463eb0" />
</AtLeastOne>
</Prerequisites>
</Relationships>
<ApplicabilityRules>
<IsInstalled>
<CspQuery LocUri="./DevDetail/SwV" Comparison="GreaterThanOrEqualTo" Value="9.0.0.0" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/msus/2002/12/MobileApplicabilityRules" />
</IsInstalled>
<IsSuperseded />
<IsInstallable>
<And xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/msus/2002/12/LogicalApplicabilityRules">
<CspQuery LocUri="./DevDetail/SwV" Comparison="LessThan" Value="9.0.0.0" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/msus/2002/12/MobileApplicabilityRules" />
<b.RegSz Key="HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE" Subkey="Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\DeviceUpdate\Agent\Protocol" Value="TestTarget" Comparison="EqualTo" Data="72c5dc6d-00a9-412f-9d13-f4f483f2ed7f" xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/msus/2002/12/BaseApplicabilityRules" />
</And>
</IsInstallable>
</ApplicabilityRules>
an interesting URL with info from someone else that was looking into this for Win7...
http://withinwindows.com/2011/03/06/notes-on-windows-phone-7-update-process-thus-far/
I wonder if we can figure out what "updates" are actually required if we can trick the server into giving us more OOB updates/othercarrier updates/updates we aren't "supposed" to have..
Found some info on the "Evaluate" action:
Action: The action that clients in the specified target group will perform on this revision: Install, Uninstall, PreDeploymentCheck (which means that clients will not offer the update, just report back on the status), Block (which means that the update will not be deployed, and is used to override another deployment), Evaluate (which means that clients will not offer the update and will not report back on the status), or Bundle (which means that clients will not offer the update for install; it is only deployed because it is bundled by some other explicitly deployed update).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
source:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc251980.aspx
I was also messing with fiddler and I noticed my phone access two different places when a phone update is selected. One of the pages is: http://ds.download.windowsupdate.com/wp8/MicrosoftUpdate/Redir/duredir.cab . In that cab is this file wuredir.xml and consists of:
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<WuRedir xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/msus/2002/12/wuredir" redirectorId="1002">
<Protocol
elementVersion="1"
clientServerUrl="https://fe1.update.microsoft.com/v6/"
reportingServerUrl="http://statsfe1.update.microsoft.com/" />
</WuRedir>
the second page accessed is: http://fe1.update.microsoft.com/WP8/MicrosoftUpdate/Selfupdate/5_UssDetection.dll
I hexed the .dll after download and found some download links to some cert files, which are:
Microsoft Windows Phone Production PCA 2012.crt
http://www.microsoft.com/pkiops/certs/Microsoft Windows Phone Production PCA 2012.crt
MicRooCerAut_2010-06-23.crt
http://www.microsoft.com/pki/certs/MicRooCerAut_2010-06-23.crt
MicTimStaPCA_2010-07-01.crt
http://www.microsoft.com/pki/certs/MicTimStaPCA_2010-07-01.crt
can any of this info help us?
If either that DLL or any of those certificates are not signed (highly unlikely, but worth checking), or if the DLL doesn't enforce the signature check (extremely unlikely), or if any of the certs include the private key or use a weak hash algorithm or a short key... maybe. I checked the certs, though; they at least are clean. Nothing useful that I saw.
Reverse engineering the DLL may be useful, but it's probably native code and therefore a pain to decompile.
aclegg2011 said:
I was also messing with fiddler and I noticed my phone access two different places when a phone update is selected. One of the pages is: http://ds.download.windowsupdate.com/wp8/MicrosoftUpdate/Redir/duredir.cab . In that cab is this file wuredir.xml and consists of:
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<WuRedir xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/msus/2002/12/wuredir" redirectorId="1002">
<Protocol
elementVersion="1"
clientServerUrl="https://fe1.update.microsoft.com/v6/"
reportingServerUrl="http://statsfe1.update.microsoft.com/" />
</WuRedir>
the second page accessed is: http://fe1.update.microsoft.com/WP8/MicrosoftUpdate/Selfupdate/5_UssDetection.dll
I hexed the .dll after download and found some download links to some cert files, which are:
Microsoft Windows Phone Production PCA 2012.crt
http://www.microsoft.com/pkiops/certs/Microsoft Windows Phone Production PCA 2012.crt
MicRooCerAut_2010-06-23.crt
http://www.microsoft.com/pki/certs/MicRooCerAut_2010-06-23.crt
MicTimStaPCA_2010-07-01.crt
http://www.microsoft.com/pki/certs/MicTimStaPCA_2010-07-01.crt
can any of this info help us?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Those are the first steps in the update process. Basically, it gets the certs that it will use for validation and server communication. then the CAB file contains the info on what servers are used for Windows Update communications. It then logs that a request has been made to the tracking server. After that, it gets a list of updates from the v6 address. If there are no updates, Once the update process is complete, it logs the result to the tracking server.
Do you guys think I could use this to fix the problems I seem to have when trying to stream or download music from Xbox Music? I get a lot of errors, or this song can't be played on your device and some times the app crashes. I have had this problem since I switch from my Windows Phone 7 device to my Nokia Lumia 920, and I am on my 4th 920. I think for some reason the Music store is getting botched certificates or something.
Kind of on the same subject. anyways i extracted around 140 Certificated from a HTC 8x Ruu. then installed them to my pc. Which is windows 7. The cool part was i was able to install windows phone sdk 8 and 8.1 with emulators and visual studio 2013. which i though all of these were not possible to run on windows 7. all because of certificates from a rom.
While browsing the registry, I found a key referencing a "Lexicon Update". It is a packed .SDC file, and therefore impossible to open (They are used internally by MS and are encryped strongly). This raises suspicion that this is something MS does not want us to see, as otherwise it would not use the .SDC format, only used for encrypting unreleased software (For example, this was used for pre-release windows 7. I highly doubt this is pre-release software, as it is installed as a registry key, but if we could open this file somehow, it might come of some kind of interest.
You can download it from here:, or you can find the key yourself at:
DOWNLOAD:
https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=254910&clcid=0x804
KEY LOCATION:
SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\LEXICONUPDATE
Wrong thread. This should be moved to the Windows Phone 8 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting area.
As identified in this post http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=65344931&postcount=10 lots of apps and websites have stopped working over the past year or so (depending maybe on your ROM). This has been traced to the root certificates (used to trust websites and set up secure ssl connctions) becoming out of date. Modern devices also have many more root certificates installed by default.
Note that this doesn't fix the google market on the nook touch, nor the kindle book store. It does fix the kindle app for syncing books purchased elsewhere.
I'll port the instructions over into this post later (see the link above for now). It requires root (so is slightly risky).
If you identify any more failing sites, please provide an https link which fails to open on the nook (but does work on a PC) and I'll add the root authority to my files. Anyone working on ROMs is welcome to redistribute my cacerts.bks
<reserved>
Aargh!
tshoulihane said:
As identified in this post http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=65344931&postcount=10 lots of apps and websites have stopped working over the past year or so (depending maybe on your ROM). This has been traced to the root certificates (used to trust websites and set up secure ssl connctions) becoming out of date. Modern devices also have many more root certificates installed by default.
Note that this doesn't fix the google market on the nook touch, nor the kindle book store. It does fix the kindle app for syncing books purchased elsewhere.
I'll port the instructions over into this post later (see the link above for now). It requires root (so is slightly risky).
If you identify any more failing sites, please provide an https link which fails to open on the nook (but does work on a PC) and I'll add the root authority to my files. Anyone working on ROMs is welcome to redistribute my cacerts.bks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been using your updated cacerts.bks file and it is great. In January another certificate expired and I'm fairly confident it's the reason a news app (News Republic) started throwing up security certificate errors and refused to connect with the server. I think I need to be able to do the certificate updates, but I am trying to avoid going down the SDK road (a massive download I will never use for anything else) and all those complexities.
Except, nothing else seems to work. There is an ancient thread in which people discuss various ways to update pre-ICS cacerts. Unfortunately, none of them work--I've tried them all. The browser idea seems promising and Opera Mobile responds as described, but then nothing happens to the cacerts.bks file.
Portecle looks really promising (images below). It can obviously open and inspect the cacerts.bks file (password: changeit). It shows the additions you made and also indicates the expired certificate.
So I went searching for a replacement and found something that seems like the right thing (attached as a zip). It imported easily into Portecle and then appeared along with the new ones you added.
Then I returned the file to the NST and made the permissions the same as the old file. A reboot put me in a loop out of which I just barely managed to recover by inserting my NookManager card at just the right moment.
So I don't get it. The bouncycastle files recommended in the CAcerts wiki for this task are too old to be available. Surprise.
I'm tempted to NOT fix the permissions on the cacerts.bks file when I return it to the NST because I once had a similar problem with a settings.db file and it turned out that restoring the "correct" permissions resulted in a bootloop while leaving them as they were when the file was copied back made it all work just fine. But I'm too timid to try that just now.
Any insights?
From my linked thread,
Download http://www.bouncycastle.org/download...dk15on-146.jar - this is used locally on your PC to manipulate the certificates and needs to be version 146 or 147 to work with android (or old android at least)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It seems that when I used a different version, I got a bootloop. Although the link I referenced seems to have died, the filename still turns up plenty of hits. http://polydistortion.net/bc/download/ for example (version 1.47).
I agree its a lot of pain, and I'm not sure I still have the toolchain download that I used for this work. I'll have a dig around...
tshoulihane said:
From my linked thread,
It seems that when I used a different version, I got a bootloop. Although the link I referenced seems to have died, the filename still turns up plenty of hits. http://polydistortion.net/bc/download/ for example (version 1.47).
I agree its a lot of pain, and I'm not sure I still have the toolchain download that I used for this work. I'll have a dig around...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yipes. Well, I downloaded the jar file (many thanks...I did search on the file name and came up empty) and followed your example on the other thread. Everything behaved as it should. Except for the boot loop....... This time it was even harder to get out of it.
Two possibilities come to mind. My JDK is 1.8.0_73. Maybe that's too new to work properly. The other is that the certificate, despite playing nicely as far as console feedback went, is of the wrong format, although this does not show up in the feedback or in Portecle.
Anyway, I'm sufficiently intimidated now that I'm not going back there unless I have a better way of getting out of boot loops (since I'm doing ADB over Wi-Fi).
Edit: temptation... So I went back to the CAcerts Wiki and noticed they suggest Java 6. Now, of course, the Wiki is old, but so is the Java underlying the NST, so I found an install of Java 6 and put it on the laptop we have attached to the TV (which runs Kodi and very little else). Then I repeated the entire procedure with--supposedly--all the right components. Same dreaded bootloop. So either the certificate I have has an incompatible format, or I am just hopeless at this. Maybe both
all of the old bouncy castle api releases are archived on their ftp server under ftp://ftp.bouncycastle.org/pub. i managed to find the .jar files referenced in the other thread on there and updated my cacerts.bks using the cacerts wiki instructions a few days ago. hope it helps you. using the newer release gave me a bootloop as well, but once i grabbed the older version from their ftp all was good!
shadylady said:
all of the old bouncy castle api releases are archived on their ftp server under ftp://ftp.bouncycastle.org/pub. i managed to find the .jar files referenced in the other thread on there and updated my cacerts.bks using the cacerts wiki instructions a few days ago. hope it helps you. using the newer release gave me a bootloop as well, but once i grabbed the older version from their ftp all was good!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which java version were you running?
Edit: Hmm....I'm not having any luck with the link you provided. Using an FTP client I am asked for a logon and in my browser (Firefox) it never connects.
Here we go: http://www.bouncycastle.org/archive/
Remains to be seen if that will do the trick for me...
the bootloop version was whatever bouncycastle.org has as their latest release.
the one i downloaded from the ftp that didn't bootloop was this one: bcprov-jdk16-146.jar
you'll need to ftp in and use the password "anonymous" and some bogus email to get onto the ftp. from that web version of the archive it should be this package: http://www.bouncycastle.org/archive/146/bcprov-jdk16-146.tar.gz
i'm running mac, so my default java was 1.6. i updated to 1.8 but that happened after i got this all up and running already. this was the version that was default:
$ /Library/Java/JavaVirtualMachines/1.6.0.jdk/Contents/Commands/java -version
java version "1.6.0_65"
Java(TM) SE Runtime Environment (build 1.6.0_65-b14-468-11M4833)
Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM (build 20.65-b04-468, mixed mode)
so jdk 1.6 + API 146 (or 147?) seems to be the proper mix.
at first i thought it wasn't working, because although i updated the cacerts.bks, the amazon kindle app kept saying "incorrect email/password". took me a while before i read the entire thread and realized that amazon now does two-step authentication so i had to enter the one time passcode they had sent to my email.
nmyshkin said:
Which java version were you running?
Edit: Hmm....I'm not having any luck with the link you provided. Using an FTP client I am asked for a logon and in my browser (Firefox) it never connects.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well....progress, or at least I think so. This may be an easier method.
Go to http://www.bouncycastle.org/archive/ and download bcprov-jdk15on-146.jar
Go to https://sourceforge.net/projects/portecle/ and download potecle (an executable jar)
Unzip portecle. Rename the bcprov-jdk15on-146.jar to simply bcprov.jar and copy that into the unzipped portecle folder (overwrite the newer version already present).
To run portecle, just double-click on portecle.jar. You will get a statement about the 146 file being out of date, resulting in not everything working, but enough works for our purposes.
Copy cacerts.bks from your NST (system/etc/security) to your PC, open portecle and import your cacerts file (password is "changeit"). You now have a nice graphical interface for perusing and updating your certificates! If you have a *.cer certificate to update, rename the "cer" to "crt" and use the import function. It's really that simple. I tried it, copied the file back onto my NST, fixed the permissions and.......{drumroll}.......no bootloop I'm running jdk 1.8.x
That's the good news. The bad news is that I did not succeed in updating the entrust certificate. I added three from their website and while they did not break cacerts, they did not restore functionality to NewsRepublic, which is what I was hoping to do
So....this may work. It's certainly easy, but clearly you need to have the correct updated certificate to get the desired result. Duh.
Edit: OK, it's ALL bad news
Don't do any of this. It seems to go OK but yesterday I found I could not successfully open the NPR app. I thought, "well, another one bites the dust", but I was curious so I used SearchMarket to see if the app was still listed for the NST. It was. So maybe it got corrupted somehow? Anyway, I uninstalled it and was going to reinstall from the Market but suddenly I got messages about the download failing. Oh no, not another function going south?!
Well, it's all fine, but the problem was the cacerts.bks file that I had made using the method above. Although there is no bootloop on restart, there is bad ju-ju nonetheless. Restoring my backup of cacerts.bks fixed NPR and SearchMarket. So....don't go there (and the two people who thanked me, feel free to unthank me )