Alright, I got my Slide yesterday, and overall I am happy, but here are some things I have found. If anyone can help solve any of these issues, I will be indebted. This are in no particular order, just as I can remember them!
1. Can the LED change colors? My 3rd party apps have been unable to change the color.
2. MyModes:
Can I manually enter the location at which I wish the mode to change? Right now I need to be physically at the location for it to recognize that is where I want the mode to change.
Can I change the ringtone to vibrate instead of silent under mymode settings?
3. Custom notification ringtone: I can see the ringtones I have put on my SD card in some apps, but not in others. For instance, in Gmail - I cannot get my custom ringtone to show up in avaialbe ring tones, but I see it in other apps.
4. My GPS is ALWAYS searching
5. MyFaves: How do I turn off the notification for myfaves activity? CAn you turn my faves off?
6. Can you turn Sense (Expresso Sense, TMO sense, whatever they are calling it) off? Too many duplicate apps (mail, gmail, htc mail, music, htc music, 3 different messaging apps)
7. The messaging icon always displays an unread message, even tho I have read the message.
Thats all I have come up with, or can remember. What "bugs" have others found/fixed? Any one heard of an update to correct some of these bugs?
Thanks
K
kstar54 said:
Alright, I got my Slide yesterday, and overall I am happy, but here are some things I have found. If anyone can help solve any of these issues, I will be indebted. This are in no particular order, just as I can remember them!
1. Can the LED change colors? My 3rd party apps have been unable to change the color.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At the moment no. But then again there hasnt been any dev. for this phone yet so its hard to tell if it suppports it.
kstar54 said:
2. MyModes:
Can I manually enter the location at which I wish the mode to change? Right now I need to be physically at the location for it to recognize that is where I want the mode to change.
Can I change the ringtone to vibrate instead of silent under mymode settings?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not exactly sure on how the my modes determines the location. buti only have 2 one for home and one for away.
kstar54 said:
3. Custom notification ringtone: I can see the ringtones I have put on my SD card in some apps, but not in others. For instance, in Gmail - I cannot get my custom ringtone to show up in avaialbe ring tones, but I see it in other apps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
try ringdroid. also do you have the folder structure correct in your sdcard for the notification sounds.
kstar54 said:
4. My GPS is ALWAYS searching
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i dont have this problem. make sure your gps is switched to be active and not just use cell towers
kstar54 said:
5. MyFaves: How do I turn off the notification for myfaves activity? CAn you turn my faves off?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i dont use this feature it seams to get in the way of the phone. but i also noticed when i tested it. that when a fav person sent a message ... when i opened it once in any form it was read all the way around.
kstar54 said:
6. Can you turn Sense (Expresso Sense, TMO sense, whatever they are calling it) off? Too many duplicate apps (mail, gmail, htc mail, music, htc music, 3 different messaging apps)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
install another launcher for eclair and then from homescreen menu > settings > applications > manage applications > htc sence > remove default > hit home > choose new launcher
kstar54 said:
7. The messaging icon always displays an unread message, even tho I have read the message.
Thats all I have come up with, or can remember. What "bugs" have others found/fixed? Any one heard of an update to correct some of these bugs?
Thanks
K
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this happend to me a simple restart solved the problem. this also happend on htc touchflo 2d, 3d on windows mobile so im going to say this is a htc bug.
A bug I noticed: plug in the USB, and there's 3 different modes: sdcard access, sync, and charge only. Setting it to charge only launches the sync software on the PC, setting it to sync mode does not. Also, it seems to turn USB debug mode off and on by itself.
try ringdroid. also do you have the folder structure correct in your sdcard for the notification sounds.
I have them like in my G1 - in a media/audio/ringtone, notification, and alarms
i dont have this problem. make sure your gps is switched to be active and not just use cell towers
Reboot corrected the issue.
this happend to me a simple restart solved the problem. this also happend on htc touchflo 2d, 3d on windows mobile so im going to say this is a htc bug.[/QUOTE]
Seems inconvienient that I would have to rebooteverytime to correct this
Another thing that has come up - My Homescreen is not rotating (yes it is set to) unless I open the keyboard (which is loose already).
goodwinm said:
A bug I noticed: plug in the USB, and there's 3 different modes: sdcard access, sync, and charge only. Setting it to charge only launches the sync software on the PC, setting it to sync mode does not. Also, it seems to turn USB debug mode off and on by itself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not a bug. That's what it's supposed to do. Go go 2.1 and sense UI. You can set the default action for this in your settings
Menu > Settings > Connect to PC.
************
I have noticed, the keyboard backlight doesn't always light up. I'll go to respond to a sms and the backlight for the menu buttons and the keyboard doesn't light up.
The keyboard is lit based on the light sensor. No light, it's on. Enough light, it kicks off.
here's a bug that i noticed, at least i think it's a bug. volume rocker/ringer volume does not control the notification volume(aka txt messages). any ideas on that one?
wasn't a problem on my cliq(which was my first android phone, slide is my second)
Had something last-night ping me when I was messin with home screens. After going back to SenceUI app icons were being selected with out my hand touching the screen, it happened about 4 times. Didnt activate the icon, just highlighted it, and would go away when I would select something else.
I thought it was my case or something, cause I was holding it, but then I saw wesgamer say something similar to the touchscreen messing up as well.
It was small and brief, but note worthy none the less.
kstar54 said:
Another thing that has come up - My Homescreen is not rotating (yes it is set to) unless I open the keyboard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im also having this issue, happened on Home screen and DeskClock. DeskClock is fixed by Opening the keyboard, letting it go horizontal, and then closing the keyboard. Home screen, not so much.
I've run into a couple little bugs too...
Sometimes a text message thread will become out of order (the message I sent gets placed below the message I received as a response).
It also hapened in the very beginning when I only had a few texts in total on the phone so I dont think its related to having too many mesages stored.
A couple times the screen decided to scroll all the way up or down without cause. It has only scrolled down in a text thread and only up on a web page (XDA actually). I had a hell of a time trying to read something from the middle of a text thread! haha
I have had the messaging icon read 1 and all of them be read. I have also had the messages get out of order if text are sent back and forth between a minute.
I have one contact with a different ringtone and that ringtone never goes off, always the default one.
I've also had a problem with sd mounting, I had mine set to charge only and I hooked it up to my laptop and no option would come out to mount. I tried changing the setting to automatically mount and that didn't work either. A restart did.
Lastly, I had a theme downloaded from the theme site and had it as my installed theme. I went to the theme selection page and uninstalled the theme while still having it set as my theme and this made the phone crash and restart.
slvrblt - same thing happens to me
turboyo - I have had the messaging icon read 1 and all of them be read. I have also had the messages get out of order if text are sent back and forth between a minute.
i have that happen too. anyone not have their phone vibrate when text messages are received when vibrate mode is selected?
also sometimes when i'm writing a text message the cursor will jump around, anyone experience that?
this is a great phone with so many little dumb problems lol
The stock messaging app is garbage compared to Handcent and Chomp.
I was able to get rid of the duplicate Faves notification, but I can't remember how. Helpful, huh? I did go through the built-in "Manage Applications" via Settings and did some Force Stop on the redundant apps. I also went through via the Tools in Astro with Process Manager and took out a few things. So far, it seems as the management of processes being run is not as efficient as stock Android. Using the same process managers as on my G1, I always have much, much more to kill in the Slide. This has beat up my battery life and stopping several of these "unused" items has helped, but some apps have caused processes from several other apps to run and bloat the memory.
A couple other people mentioned it but Rindgdroid for creating notifications: sdcard/media/audio/notifications. Most of the things I've done I saved as a notification. I've used the pre-installed Voice Recorder then opened up that saved file in Ringdroid and saved as a 'Notification'. It's then shown up via Settings/Notifications in K9 Mail and the Gmail app. I have not tried this for other types of notifications.
So far, I love the phone. The standard "complaints" but have really taken to Swype as an alternate to the keyboard, especially for shorter messages. Genius is super. This is a phone that desperately needs a custom ROM though to help alleviate the excess stuff.
1. Can it be used as a daily driver ?
2. Does the N bootloader and radio work with and can boot existing marshmallow custom Roms and twrp 3
3 Will dirty flashing work ( earse data but leave data/media intact before flashing preview using fastboot)
4 What's wrong with twrp on N, I read some people saying that twrp asks a password or something. So pls tell me about it
Thanks
Here are all the known issues with Android N
Platform Issues
Performance and battery
System and app performance is known to be periodically slow / janky, and device may become occasionally unresponsive. These problems may become more acute with prolonged use.
Battery life may be regressed in this release for screen-on and screen-off use cases.
Dialer
Dialer app does not support Direct boot. This will be addressed later in N Developer Preview.
Voicemail playback does not work.
System UI
Some new or modified strings in the system UI are not translated to all languages.
Overview UI is still in development, and subject to change. For example, we intend to remove the timer that appears when the user switches between apps.
Settings controls and toggles may be slow or appear to be unresponsive.
Visual design of notifications is subject to change.
In the Gmail app, direct archiving of emails included in a notification bundle does not work properly.
Android for Work
Work Security Challenge
After migration to N, or after the user creates work profiles, work profiles can't create keys in the keystore until the user changes their pattern, PIN, or password, or sets up a Work Challenge.
In Direct boot mode, applying the passcode restrictions to the device causes the work profile to be unlocked, even though the device is locked. This makes the work profile accessible even though it should be protected by the device lock screen.
When the user enters a wrong password and pin, the system does not display any informational message; instead, it only clears the input field. This issue does not affect pattern or fingerprint input.
On a tablet, the background displayed with the work challenge is disproportionately small.
The version of Google Apps Device Policy that is bundled with N Developer Preview does not yet support the Work Profile Security Challenge feature. Developers should instead use TestDPC to test this feature.
Always On VPN
If Always On VPN mode is turned on, but VPN is not available, apps not specified as exceptions to the Always On policy connect over the ordinary network. Unless specified as exceptions to Always On VPN policy, apps should be offline if they have no VPN connection available.
When Always On mode is on, a VPN connection is not established after a device reboots into Direct boot mode, even after the user unlocks the secure lock screen.
Improved Contacts
Bluetooth PBAP/MAP devices do not display Caller ID for work contacts. The next release of Preview resolves this issue.
Work Mode
The Google Now Launcher does not display whether Work Mode is on or off. The Launcher also does not show app suspension state.
After the user turns Work Mode off and on, the system no longer shows Work profile app widgets, such as Calendar.
Suspend Packages
Device admins can suspend critical system packages, which may lead to unexpected behavior, such as placing calls despite the Telephone disabled dialog’s being displayed.
Other
The Settings app crashes on launch if DISALLOW_MOUNT_PHYSICAL_MEDIA is set to true when the user inserts physical media such as an SD card.
The DPM.setPackagesSuspended state does not persist when the user uninstalls and then reinstalls an app. Either the app should remain suspended after uninstall/reinstall, or suspended apps should not be uninstallable
The first check-in in a Work Profile takes several minutes to complete. This may cause the device to take longer than normal to be visible in the Play EMM API.
Notifications from Work Profile apps are not visible to notification listeners installed in the personal profile. As a result, the system does not display Notifications as expected.
The version of Google Apps Device Policy that is bundled with N Developer Preview does not yet support the Work Profile Security Challenge feature. Developers should instead use TestDPC to test this feature.
Keyboard
Bluetooth pairing between keyboards and Android devices may be unstable.
Video
Video playback may lag and show interruptions.
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi has undergone some refactoring which may change API corner case behavior. Specifically, applications which attempt to connect to specific networks, or attempt to reconnect to networks should retest.
The legacy DHCP client has been removed from the platform. The only DHCP client that the platform supports is the DHCP client introduced in M.
Direct boot
NFC doesn't function until first unlock.
When a phone with Bluetooth enabled is restarted, Bluetooth does not turn on automatically. You must manually re-enable Bluetooth.
Under some circumstances, the default ringtone may not sound for phone calls and messages. This behavior is fixed in the next N Preview release, with one exception (and workaround):
On a device that is not freshly wiped--one that has been booted at least once since being set to direct boot mode--the default notification ringtone does not sound. The user can work around this issue by manually selecting a ringtone from Settings.
Direct boot is not enabled by default on devices running an N Developer Preview build. To enable direct boot for testing and development, go to Developer Options and tap Convert to File Encryption. In this dev preview, this requires a factory reset to repartition and reformat your device for File-based Encryption.
Picture-in-picture for Android TV
The PIP integration in the Recents UI is not finalized, and is subject to change.
The animation of the PIP window is not smooth. Future releases of the Preview will improve this.
Future releases of the Preview will improve upon the visual design and layout alignment of PIP.
Bug reports
Bug reports do not always complete successfully (as a workaround, sometimes they can still be accessed through the bug report document provider in internal storage).
Split-screen Multi-window
Apps may experience crashes and unexpected UI behavior when put into split-screen mode. These are app issues that must be fixed by the app developer.
When an app targets a version of the Android platform earlier than N, the App may not work with split-screen toast may appear multiple times.
Long-pressing the Overview button while using an app with a fixed orientation may produce unexpected app behavior.
Apps may flicker while resizing.
Animations are not yet final.
Input method
Google Keyboard unexpectedly falls back to the generic Google keyboard when Use system language, but Google Keyboard doesn’t support any of the languages selected in the system-language preferences. It should fall back to American English.
You can work around this problem by adding at least one language that Google Keyboard supports.
Accessibility
TalkBack exhibits issues with features including Notifications, Quick Settings Tiles and Multi-window display that may cause system crashing or lack of spoken feedback from TalkBack. Future releases of the preview will address these issues.
N has been pretty stable for me so far. Dark mode took a few taps to get it to turn on and a few slow downs in the camera app one time, but mostly pretty good. Way better than some custom ROMs (or even some stock ROMs on crappy phones) I've run back in the day.
Have a good one!
State of market
Do NOT buy this watch. It looks like excellent value for money, but much modern H1 / W5 series with Android 9 and full Play Store just hit the shelves on AliExpress for almost the same price.
If mine arrives I'll create separate thread about them.
Brands
My specific watch that I used to experiment with is G4P, bought straight from Chinese factory:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
However almost everything from this thread applies to any watch running on SP9820E SoC, like G4E or G4H series.
Those watches are also often rebranded and sold as: Kinyo, Garett, Lemfo, Wonlex, Locon and many more.
Just check in spec if it is running on 9820E chip and you are good to go.
Reasons for modding
Those watches by default use very limited set of very simple applications presented in most ugly launcher and icon sets achievable by humans.
You can not install any extra applications and what you get from the box is very disappointing.
Also they are meant to be managed exclusively by corresponding phone application like SeTracker 2 (or rebrands like Garett Tracker),
which means you need to send your data to Chinese service and use WeeChat for chats/video calls, whether you like it or not.
This is true shame, because SP9820E is quite powerful hardware, here is GeekBench score.
Do not be fooled by oversimplified stock software - you can run pretty much any "real" application on it.
Luckily because those watches use Android under the hood you can transform them to something more feature-rich and more pleasant to use.
Android KitKat is NOT Android Wear
Those watches use Android 4.4, codename KitKat. Just like old phones. Please do not confuse it with Android Wear operating system and do not try to use applications built for Android Wear. Whatever you use must be Android 4.4 compatible, anything newer won't install at all. Android on this watch is heavily modified, lacks some components and you will run into many crashes or weird behaviour. Sections below will help you to navigate through those issues.
Also applications back in KitKat era were not designed with watch screens in mind, so expect bad interface scaling, not accessible buttons and huge or microscopic fonts.
How to install any application from stock Launcher?
Get application *.apk file from trusted site.
Set up Bluetooth connection between your watch (in Settings -> More -> Bluetooth) and computer / phone. Do not use macOS computer, it does not work. Android phone seems to be most compatible.
Upload *.apk file to watch using Bluetooth.
On watch go to Settings -> Tools -> File explorer and select Local -> bluetooth. Click on *.apk file and install it.
Installed application will not be visible from stock Launcher. So I really recommend installing another Launcher as first application.
Launcher
I use Nova Launcher. You need 5.5.4 version, this is the last one compatible with Android 4.4.
Once you install it using installation method described above press power button and it should prompt you which Launcher to use. Select Nova.
And enjoy freedom. It is also surprisingly fast and does not consume more battery than stock one.
If you have Nova Pro purchased you can activate it in two ways:
Use APK extractor on phone where you have Nova Prime activation installed. Dump license application to phone storage and install it the same way as launcher itself. But beware - it must be 2017 or earlier activation package. You cannot dump it from modern phone.
Search for nova_launcher_prime_v2017_full.apk and install this fake license. This is questionable way of activating it. But if you do not have old phone with old license preinstalled you have no other options. I think that if you own legal license on Play Store you will do no harm to developers this way.
Tips:
To avoid being asked for launcher when pressing power button you can disable stock launcher (requires root) through ADB shell: su, and then pm disable com.sgtc.launcher.
This firmware has very aggressive power management and you may notice lag when waking up watch after longer period of time. This is because Nova got killed by operating system and must start from scratch. To avoid it convert Nova launcher to system application (requires root). This can be done using Link2SD application. Open it, search for Nova, click on Nova, click triple dot menu menu and you will have option to convert to system. Remember to have default launcher or ADB enabled while doing this, because you will need one of those to invoke reboot.
Lock screen using button (broken, workarounds available)
If you have two Launchers power button will always prompt for Launcher when pressed on unlocked screen. You cannot change it without root, there is something modified under the hood and even Nova cannot set itself as default Launcher.
The workarounds are to lock screen using icon:
Add Nova action widget and set it to lock screen.
Add Power Toggles widget and add lock screen button to it.
Settings (partially works)
Settings are very simplified compared to stock Android 4.4. I've tried to install stock AOSP Settings APP but it fails. A lot of "hidden settings" applications allows to invoke deep buried panels like HotSpot or lock screen patterns configurations. Tedious job, lot of crashes along the way.
You can also:
Go to engineering mode by dialling *#*#83781#*#*.
Go to Developer Options by using Developer Options Shortcut application.
Status bar (broken, workaround available)
It does not work on any launcher (I tested a few beside Nova). Probably it was so heavily modified that API is no longer compatible. It cannot even be invoked by ADB service call statusbar 1.
The good replacement is Power Toggles, which allows to add widgets with battery level, fast volume profiles switching, enabling Wi-Fi, Bluetooth. Pretty much everything you used status bar for. Except cellular signal strength. I use version 6.0.4.
Tips:
Just as for launcher - aggressive power management will close it as inactive user application after short period. So because it is invoked every time screen is turned on best way to reduce screen wake up time is to convert Power Toggles to system application (requires root). This can be done using Link2SD application. Open it, search for Power Toggles, click on Power Toggles, click triple dot menu menu and you will have option to convert to system. Reboot watch.
You can set different battery colors, which makes it easier to use on small screen. I has mine set up to red (below 20%), yellow (20-80%) and green (above 80%).
You can set how frequent battery indicator is refreshed. By default it is quite laggy.
To get something looking like real status bar disable home screen margins in Nova launcher. Check my screenshot below for final effect.
Notification bar (broken)
Same deal as with Status bar - probably it was so heavily modified that API is no longer compatible with launchers.
You can open notification list service directly from Nova action. But you cannot manage it in any way (like cleaning old notifications) so it is pretty useless long list of accumulated trash.
I haven't found any good replacement.
Luckily Nova launcher notification dots work on applications icons and you can pretty much quickly figure out what just pinged you.
Clock time picker (broken)
By default you manage alarm clocks on this watch through phone application. But if you open on watch stock Android clock app you will see that you cannot set time, only set alarms on and off. Probably some Android component is missing. No fix or workaround yet. Also beware, because once you add alarm using APP on the watch there is no way to remove it - no option in app itself and SeTracker sees only first 3 of them. You will need to clean app data from ADB.
Power management (work in progress)
There are no options to keep app running in background. I'm still searching for good power management app replacement to keep things like WhatsApp or other services running.
For controlling:
screen delay (by default set to annoyingly short 10 seconds)
fine screen brightness
you can use buttons on Power Toggles widget. Once you set it to your preference widget can be removed and settings are remembered after reboot.
Screen rotation (tricky, broken)
Accelerometer is mounted 90 degrees clockwise and stock applications have this tilt compensation hardcoded into them.
This really dumb design has bad consequences:
If accelerometer rotation (auto-rotation) is enabled all "real" applications will think "up" is on the side where power button and flashlight is.
If accelerometer rotation is disabled most "real" applications will stay in fixed portrait orientation (also called user rotation) but some may still rely on accelerometer. The reason is that you can not fully disable accelerometer. Disabled only means "not taken into consideration unless explicitly asked for". And a lot of applications (mostly camera-related) still try to be user friendly and rotates screen the wrong way.
If you mess something up you can lock Screen Rotation again by adding such button on Power Toggles widget and using it.
Or if you have root:
disable accelerometer rotation: settings put system accelerometer_rotation 0
set user rotation to portrait mode: settings put system user_rotation 0
Start sound
Requires root.
First remount /custom in read-write mode: mount -o rw,remount /custom.
Then remove /custom/movies/bootsound.mp3.
Apps recommendations (please share yours)
A lot of "phone" applications work out of the box, assuming you get Android 4.4 compatible versions of them. You can install them the same way as launcher or through ADB. My set is:
Simple Keyboard is perfect for this watch. Disable symbols, set height to 150% and typing will be really comfortable and fast.
Power Toggles. Must have to compensate broken status bar and missing settings.
WhatsApp. Communication freedom. Pretty much you can stop here if you want this watch to be simple device for kid.
VLC for listening audiobooks (although interface does not scale well, looking for something better).
Wulkanowy (polish e-grade book with lessons plan, homework, etc. I assume a lot of people from Poland will come here because of Garett popularity so I'm mentioning it).
Solid Explorer. Built-in explorer is very castrated and crashes often when other apps try to use it (for example to select icon picture or file to share). Solid Explorer is stable and has a lot of built-in format viewers. Unfortunately one cannot run FTP server using it - button to start is off the screen. Bug reported, I hope it will get fixed soon.
OurGroceries. Excellent shopping/checkbox list that can be synchronized between various devices. Very useful to make list of things kid should take to school for example.
Diki. Online dictionary with simple interface that scales very well on this small screen. Translations are straightforward, without tons of magic grammar shortcuts. Allows to listen for words pronunciation.
Stock apps that are preinstalled and work OK:
Dialer
Contacts (you can even import cards from vcf file)
Flashlight
Looking for:
CalDav / CardDav sync (unfortunately there is no accounts management in API and most apps adding Dav support to Android crash).
Call blocker that will reject everything outside contacts list. To protect kid from scammers, marketers and other unwanted calls.
Known to fail:
SMSes. Can be sent but watch management API interrupts receiving to capture push control commands. Installing any other SMS application and setting it as default one breaks watch management from phone application.
WhatsApp. Camera during video calls is upside down.
Google Play Services. Instant crash.
Google Chrome 81. Crashes after few seconds of activity. For all apps that need SystemWebView component to work try Bromite replacement. However in KitKat WebView was not an application and Developer Options has no way of choosing default one. So it may fix very small amount of applications which are self-aware of different WebViews providers.
Google Calendar. Needs working Google Play Services.
F-Droid store. Crashes randomly and may require patience to install anything.
OpenSync. Cannot add any DAV account due to SSL crash.
Wikipedia. No articles can be displayed. Probably due to their latest TLS 1.2 mandatory API switch. However simply bookmarking Wikipedia in Bromite browser works just fine.
ADB and USB debugging
By default those watches are sold with charging cable only, it does not have signal pins. Your life will be a lot easier if you will be able to transfer files directly from your computer to watch and use ADB to do stuff. You can check cable dimensions here: https://allegro.pl/oferta/magnetyczny-kabel-zasilajacy-do-garett-kids-xd-10972606997 . Remember - it must have four pogo pins.
Connecting with cable is straightforward just like when connecting regular phone. Just be aware of two things:
Magnets are not strong enough to press four pins to contact pads. If you have trouble connecting try pressing magnet plug to watch firmly.
This is Android 4.4, so you need ancient knowledge. Like for example there is no "cmd" command available in ADB shell. Some command line switches are very different from what is being used today. Etc.
You can set USB to file transfer mode. Android File Transfer desktop application works perfectly and transfers are surprisingly fast. Probably it is the most convenient way to transfer applications, audiobooks and music to this watch.
Root
Based on https://github.com/eisaev/SuperSUInstaller process.
Install Developer Options Shortcut. Installation method is irrelevant. You can do it the same way as Launcher installation described above. Or if you already have more advanced stuff installed you can use an file transfer method and any file manager to do it.
Run Developer Options Shortcut and enable USB debugging.
Install SuperSU Installer. Again installation method is irrelevant.
Run SuperSU Installer. Wait for Hello World message and go back to Launcher.
In Local files on the watch there should be new SuperSU Manager APK generated. Install it but do not open.
Restart watch.
Disable WiFi and Bluetooth.
Connect USB cable.
Open dialer and enter *#*#83781#*#*. Engineering settings will open.
Go to CONNECTIVITY tab.
Click Start Service.
Click Wifi eut and confirm popup.
run adb shell on your computer
in shell enter: am start --user 0 -n ru.eisaev.supersuinstaller/.MainActivity
Wait for Hello world message on watch screen.
In shell enter: am start --user 0 -n eu.chainfire.supersu/.MainActivity
On watch screen SuperSU Manager should pop up and offer binary update. Choose Normal mode.
Restart watch.
Open SuperSU Manager. Method is irrelevant, can be clicked from Nova launcher or invoked from ADB like in 16.
Go to Settings and set Default access to Grant.
Confirm that you have root access by going to ADB shell and invoking: su
Clean up all files generated by SuperSU Installer from Local directory on the watch.
This method slightly diverges from original because users are different and because SuperSU Installer crashes when leaving to desktop using home button. Making it impossible to go from step 8 to 9 described in original method.
So for Installer and Manager to see each other at the same time you need to do this weird loop: install Installer which generates Manager which you can install prematurely to be able to later fire up both Installer and Manager at the same time from ADB without using watch home button.
Kudos for eisaev for discovering this process and building SuperSU!
My result
Home screen of Nova launcher:
Power Toggles bar on top emulates status bar. It handles battery info, fast volume and brightness settings and connectivity settings.
Two Nova action widgets added on the bottom - one for power off, second one for applications list.
Application list:
Nova allows to hide applications, so I used it to hide everything kid is not supposed to mess with. Like settings of various sort.
Many apps like Calculator or Gallery I've extracted directly from my old Android 4.4 phone.
Keyboard:
Simple Keyboard is far more usable and fast than stock keyboard. Kid has no problem with typing on it. However just as on stock keyboard you have to type blindly and occasionally minimize keyboard to verify what you've typed.
Please contribute
If you have found solution to any of mentioned problems, encountered new problem on your own or just found good app please share in comments.
bbkr said:
Brands
My specific watch that I used to experiment with is G4P, bought straight from Chinese factory:
View attachment 5407991
However almost everything from this thread applies to any watch running on SP9820E SoC, like G4E or G4H series.
Those watches are also often rebranded and sold as: Kinyo, Garett, Lemfo, Wonlex, Locon and many more.
Just check in spec if it is running on 9820E chip and you are good to go.
Reasons for modding
Those watches by default use very limited set of very simple applications presented in most ugly launcher and icon sets achievable by humans.
You can not install any extra applications and what you get from the box is very disappointing.
Also they are meant to be managed exclusively by corresponding phone application like SeTracker 2 (or rebrands like Garett Tracker),
which means you need to send your data to Chinese service and use WeeChat for chats/video calls, whether you like it or not.
This is true shame, because SP9820E is quite powerful hardware, here is GeekBench score.
Do not be fooled by oversimplified stock software - you can run pretty much any "real" application on it.
Luckily because those watches use Android under the hood you can transform them to something more feature-rich and more pleasant to use.
Android KitKat is NOT Android Wear
Those watches use Android 4.4, codename KitKat. Just like old phones. Please do not confuse it with Android Wear operating system and do not try to use applications built for Android Wear. Whatever you use must be Android 4.4 compatible, anything newer won't install at all. Android on this watch is heavily modified, lacks some components and you will run into many crashes or weird behaviour. Sections below will help you to navigate through those issues.
Also applications back in KitKat era were not designed with watch screens in mind, so expect bad interface scaling, not accessible buttons and huge or microscopic fonts.
How to install any application from stock Launcher?
Get application *.apk file from trusted site.
Set up Bluetooth connection between your watch (in Settings -> More -> Bluetooth) and computer / phone. Do not use macOS computer, it does not work. Android phone seems to be most compatible.
Upload *.apk file to watch using Bluetooth.
On watch go to Settings -> Tools -> File explorer and select Local -> bluetooth. Click on *.apk file and install it.
Installed application will not be visible from stock Launcher. So I really recommend installing another Launcher as first application.
Launcher
I use Nova Launcher. You need 5.5.4 version, this is the last one compatible with Android 4.4.
Once you install it using installation method described above press power button and it should prompt you which Launcher to use. Select Nova.
And enjoy freedom. It is also surprisingly fast and does not consume more battery than stock one.
If you have Nova Pro purchased you can activate it in two ways:
Use APK extractor on phone where you have Nova Prime activation installed. Dump license application to phone storage and install it the same way as launcher itself. But beware - it must be 2017 or earlier activation package. You cannot dump it from modern phone.
Search for nova_launcher_prime_v2017_full.apk and install this fake license. This is questionable way of activating it. But if you do not have old phone with old license preinstalled you have no other options. I think that if you own legal license on Play Store you will do no harm to developers this way.
Tips:
To avoid being asked for launcher when pressing power button you can disable stock launcher (requires root) through ADB shell: su, and then pm disable com.sgtc.launcher.
This firmware has very aggressive power management and you may notice lag when waking up watch after longer period of time. This is because Nova got killed by operating system and must start from scratch. To avoid it convert Nova launcher to system application (requires root). This can be done using Link2SD application. Open it, search for Nova, click on Nova, click triple dot menu menu and you will have option to convert to system. Remember to have default launcher or ADB enabled while doing this, because you will need one of those to invoke reboot.
Lock screen using button (broken, workarounds available)
If you have two Launchers power button will always prompt for Launcher when pressed on unlocked screen. You cannot change it without root, there is something modified under the hood and even Nova cannot set itself as default Launcher.
The workarounds are to lock screen using icon:
Add Nova action widget and set it to lock screen.
Add Power Toggles widget and add lock screen button to it.
Settings (partially works)
Settings are very simplified compared to stock Android 4.4. I've tried to install stock AOSP Settings APP but it fails. A lot of "hidden settings" applications allows to invoke deep buried panels like HotSpot or lock screen patterns configurations. Tedious job, lot of crashes along the way.
You can also:
*#*#83781#*#*.
Developer Options Shortcut application.
Status bar (broken, workaround available)
It does not work on any launcher (I tested a few beside Nova). Probably it was so heavily modified that API is no longer compatible. It cannot even be invoked by ADB service call statusbar 1.
The good replacement is Power Toggles, which allows to add widgets with battery level, fast volume profiles switching, enabling Wi-Fi, Bluetooth. Pretty much everything you used status bar for. Except cellular signal strength. I use version 6.0.4.
Tips:
Just as for launcher - aggressive power management will close it as inactive user application after short period. So because it is invoked every time screen is turned on best way to reduce screen wake up time is to convert Power Toggles to system application (requires root). This can be done using Link2SD application. Open it, search for Power Toggles, click on Power Toggles, click triple dot menu menu and you will have option to convert to system. Reboot watch.
You can set different battery colors, which makes it easier to use on small screen. I has mine set up to red (below 20%), yellow (20-80%) and green (above 80%).
You can set how frequent battery indicator is refreshed. By default it is quite laggy.
To get something looking like real status bar disable home screen margins in Nova launcher. Check my screenshot below for final effect.
Notification bar (broken)
Same deal as with Status bar - probably it was so heavily modified that API is no longer compatible with launchers.
You can open notification list service directly from Nova action. But you cannot manage it in any way (like cleaning old notifications) so it is pretty useless long list of accumulated trash.
I haven't found any good replacement.
Luckily Nova launcher notification dots work on applications icons and you can pretty much quickly figure out what just pinged you.
Clock time picker (broken)
By default you manage alarm clocks on this watch through phone application. But if you open on watch stock Android clock app you will see that you cannot set time, only set alarms on and off. Probably some Android component is missing. No fix or workaround yet. Also beware, because once you add alarm using APP on the watch there is no way to remove it - no option in app itself and SeTracker sees only first 3 of them. You will need to clean app data from ADB.
Power management (work in progress)
There are no options to keep app running in background. I'm still searching for good power management app replacement to keep things like WhatsApp or other services running.
For controlling:
screen delay (by default set to annoyingly short 10 seconds)
fine screen brightness
Power Toggles widget. Once you set it to your preference widget can be removed and settings are remembered after reboot.
Screen rotation (tricky, broken)
Accelerometer is mounted 90 degrees clockwise and stock applications have this tilt compensation hardcoded into them.
This really dumb design has bad consequences:
If accelerometer rotation (auto-rotation) is enabled all "real" applications will think "up" is on the side where power button and flashlight is.
If accelerometer rotation is disabled most "real" applications will stay in fixed portrait orientation (also called user rotation) but some may still rely on accelerometer. The reason is that you can not fully disable accelerometer. Disabled only means "not taken into consideration unless explicitly asked for". And a lot of applications (mostly camera-related) still try to be user friendly and rotates screen the wrong way.
If you mess something up you can lock Screen Rotation again by adding such button on Power Toggles widget and using it.
Or if you have root:
disable accelerometer rotation: settings put system accelerometer_rotation 0
set user rotation to portrait mode: settings put system user_rotation 0
Start sound
Requires root. Remove /custom/movies/bootsound.mp3.
Apps recommendations (please share yours)
A lot of "phone" applications work out of the box, assuming you get Android 4.4 compatible versions of them. You can install them the same way as launcher or through ADB. My set is:
Simple Keyboard is perfect for this watch. Disable symbols, set height to 150% and typing will be really comfortable and fast.
Power Toggles. Must have to compensate broken status bar and missing settings.
WhatsApp. Communication freedom. Pretty much you can stop here if you want this watch to be simple device for kid.
VLC for listening audiobooks (although interface does not scale well, looking for something better).
Wulkanowy (polish e-grade book with lessons plan, homework, etc. I assume a lot of people from Poland will come here because of Garett popularity so I'm mentioning it).
Solid Explorer. Built-in explorer is very castrated and crashes often when other apps try to use it (for example to select icon picture or file to share). Solid Explorer is stable and has a lot of built-in format viewers. Unfortunately one cannot run FTP server using it - button to start is off the screen. Bug reported, I hope it will get fixed soon.
OurGroceries. Excellent shopping/checkbox list that can be synchronized between various devices. Very useful to make list of things kid should take to school for example.
Diki. Online dictionary with simple interface that scales very well on this small screen. Translations are straightforward, without tons of magic grammar shortcuts. Allows to listen for words pronunciation.
Stock apps that are preinstalled and work OK:
Dialer
Contacts (you can even import cards from vcf file)
Flashlight
Looking for:
CalDav / CardDav sync (unfortunately there is no accounts management in API and most apps adding Dav support to Android crash).
Call blocker that will reject everything outside contacts list. To protect kid from scammers, marketers and other unwanted calls.
Known to fail:
SMSes. Can be sent but watch management API interrupts receiving to capture push control commands. Installing any other SMS application and setting it as default one breaks watch management from phone application.
WhatsApp. Camera during video calls is upside down.
Google Play Services. Instant crash.
Google Chrome 81. Crashes after few seconds of activity. For all apps that need SystemWebView component to work try Bromite replacement. However in KitKat WebView was not an application and Developer Options has no way of choosing default one. So it may fix very small amount of applications which are self-aware of different WebViews providers.
Google Calendar. Needs working Google Play Services.
F-Droid store. Crashes randomly and may require patience to install anything.
OpenSync. Cannot add any DAV account due to SSL crash.
Wikipedia. No articles can be displayed. Probably due to their latest TLS 1.2 mandatory API switch. However simply bookmarking Wikipedia in Bromite browser works just fine.
ADB and USB debugging
By default those watches are sold with charging cable only, it does not have signal pins. Your life will be a lot easier if you will be able to transfer files directly from your computer to watch and use ADB to do stuff. You can check cable dimensions here: https://allegro.pl/oferta/magnetyczny-kabel-zasilajacy-do-garett-kids-xd-10972606997 . Remember - it must have four pogo pins.
Connecting with cable is straightforward just like when connecting regular phone. Just be aware of two things:
Magnets are not strong enough to press four pins to contact pads. If you have trouble connecting try pressing magnet plug to watch firmly.
This is Android 4.4, so you need ancient knowledge. Like for example there is no "cmd" command available in ADB shell. Some command line switches are very different from what is being used today. Etc.
You can set USB to file transfer mode. Android File Transfer desktop application works perfectly and transfers are surprisingly fast. Probably it is the most convenient way to transfer applications, audiobooks and music to this watch.
Root
Based on https://github.com/eisaev/SuperSUInstaller process.
Developer Options Shortcut. Installation method is irrelevant. You can do it the same way as Launcher installation described above. Or if you already have more advanced stuff installed you can use an file transfer method and any file manager to do it.
Developer Options Shortcut and enable USB debugging.
SuperSU Installer. Again installation method is irrelevant.
SuperSU Installer. Wait for Hello World message and go back to Launcher.
In Local files on the watch there should be new SuperSU Manager APK generated. Install it but do not open.
Restart watch.
Disable WiFi and Bluetooth.
Connect USB cable.
Open dialer and enter *#*#83781#*#*. Engineering settings will open.
Go to CONNECTIVITY tab.
Start Service.
Wifi eut and confirm popup.
run adb shell on your computer
in shell enter: am start --user 0 -n ru.eisaev.supersuinstaller/.MainActivity
Wait for Hello world message on watch screen.
In shell enter: am start --user 0 -n eu.chainfire.supersu/.MainActivity
On watch screen SuperSU Manager should pop up and offer binary update. Choose Normal mode.
Restart watch.
Open SuperSU Manager. Method is irrelevant, can be clicked from Nova launcher or invoked from ADB like in 16.
Go to Settings and set Default access to Grant.
Confirm that you have root access by going to ADB shell and invoking: su
Clean up all files generated by SuperSU Installer from Local directory on the watch.
This method slightly diverges from original because users are different and because SuperSU Installer crashes when leaving to desktop using home button. Making it impossible to go from step 8 to 9 described in original method.
So for Installer and Manager to see each other at the same time you need to do this weird loop: install Installer which generates Manager which you can install prematurely to be able to later fire up both Installer and Manager at the same time from ADB without using watch home button.
Kudos for eisaev for discovering this process and building SuperSU!
My result
Home screen of Nova launcher:
View attachment 5420419
bar on top emulates status bar. It handles battery info, fast volume and brightness settings and connectivity settings.
Two Nova action widgets added on the bottom - one for power off, second one for applications list.
Application list:
View attachment 5420423
Nova allows to hide applications, so I used it to hide everything kid is not supposed to mess with. Like settings of various sort.
Many apps like Calculator or Gallery I've extracted directly from my old Android 4.4 phone.
Keyboard:
View attachment 5420427
Simple Keyboard is far more usable and fast than stock keyboard. Kid has no problem with typing on it. However just as on stock keyboard you have to type blindly and occasionally minimize keyboard to verify what you've typed.
Please contribute
If you have found solution to any of mentioned problems, encountered new problem on your own or just found good app please share in comments.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought this watch for my child, but when I want to use another tracking program other than the se tracker program, I cannot change the ip number. Can you help me with this? Since I couldn't find any more resources about g4h, I asked for help under this topic. The link to the watch I actually bought is below. If I can change the server of the watch with the sms sent to the watch, maybe I can switch to an application other than tracker. Engineering mode opens but I don't know how to do it.
Find my kids application server: pw,123456,ip,tcp.findmykids.org,8001#
https://tr.aliexpress.com/item/1005002878573395.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.1cc04c4dVwpHt3
got one watch with the same chipset, but it is running at Android 8.1. any idea for root it?
already try above way to to do it. but it was failed.
rootzero7 said:
got one watch with the same chipset, but it is running at Android 8.1. any idea for root it?
already try above way to to do it. but it was failed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No model name, no build version... with amount of details you provided you won't get an answer.
afyden2018 said:
I bought this watch for my child, but when I want to use another tracking program other than the se tracker program, I cannot change the ip number. Can you help me with this? Since I couldn't find any more resources about g4h, I asked for help under this topic. The link to the watch I actually bought is below. If I can change the server of the watch with the sms sent to the watch, maybe I can switch to an application other than tracker. Engineering mode opens but I don't know how to do it.
Find my kids application server: pw,123456,ip,tcp.findmykids.org,8001#
https://tr.aliexpress.com/item/1005002878573395.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.1cc04c4dVwpHt3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What you want is not possible.
Findmykids.org and SE Tracker do not speak the same protocol, it is not the matter of simply changing IP.
Also findmykids.org service running on watch is for Android 5.0 and up, while this watch runs on Android 4.4.
By the way: location reporting IP is stored in /custom/config. You can remount storage it in read-write mode and change it, but as I said earlier this is pointless. What you need is Android Service running on the watch, reporting to findmykids.org in data format expected by this site.
here is some detail for this watch. it comes NO band name.
chipset,
processor : 0
model name : ARMv8 Processor
BogoMIPS : 52.00
Features : half thumb fastmult vfp edsp neon vfpv3 tls vfpv4 idiva idivt vfpd32 lpae evtstrm aes pmull sha1 sha2 crc32
CPU implementer : 0x41
CPU architecture: 8
CPU variant : 0x0
CPU part : 0xd03
CPU revision : 4
processor : 1
model name : ARMv8 Processor
BogoMIPS : 52.00
Features : half thumb fastmult vfp edsp neon vfpv3 tls vfpv4 idiva idivt vfpd32 lpae evtstrm aes pmull sha1 sha2 crc32
CPU implementer : 0x41
CPU architecture: 8
CPU variant : 0x0
CPU part : 0xd03
CPU revision : 4
Hardware : Spreadtrum SC9820e
Revision : 0000
Serial : 0000000000000000
re : Spreadtrum SC9820e
Revision : 0000
Serial : 0000000000000000
getprop | grep ver
[persist.sys.android.version]: [9.0]
[ro.build.version.release]: [8.1.0]
[ro.build.version.sdk]: [27]
[ro.build.version.security_patch]: [2019-11-05]
kernel info.
Linux localhost 4.4.83+ #1 SMP PREEMPT Fri Aug 20 17:30:34 CST 2021 armv7l
install the SuperSUInstaller apk file and launched it .
adb logcat says the connection was denied by SElinux. also there is no cmd_services running when "enable wifi eut". which "superSUinstaller" needs it to run on.
also by dig the system, it seems like the SELinux was misconfigured somehow.
does it work on android 9
because i try to root LEMFO LEMP
and got this message
DMN_C16_TFT_PIX32:/ $ am start --user 0 -n ru.eisaev.supersuinstaller/.MainActivity
Starting: Intent { cmp=ru.eisaev.supersuinstaller/.MainActivity }
DMN_C16_TFT_PIX32:/ $ am start --user 0 -n eu.chainfire.supersu/.MainActivity
Starting: Intent { cmp=eu.chainfire.supersu/.MainActivity }
Error type 3
Error: Activity class {eu.chainfire.supersu/eu.chainfire.supersu.MainActivity} does not exist.
i realy need solution for root this Sh*t devices
Great tutorial!
I bought polish Garett kids 4g and I want to play with it a little bit (it's not only for kids but also for daddies ).
1. I installed WhatsApp (KitKat version) and it works great. Surprisingly I can see it in the default launcher next to "steps" ("kroki") and "QR code". How it is possible and how to do it with other apps?
2. When I change watch faces I can see a little weather icon on the preview. But when I choose one there is no weather. Do you know what weather application is missing and how to force it to show weather on the watch face?
Thanks alot! I asked for the firmware from chinese's seller, and I had got a link:
QQ邮箱中转站文件
mail.qq.com
ivvitan said:
Thanks alot! I asked for the firmware from chinese's seller, and I had got a link:
QQ邮箱中转站文件
mail.qq.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello,I have a watch of the same model, but I don't know how to brush it. I tried SPD_ Research_ Tool, the driver is also installed. I tried to insert the data cable when the watch is shutting down, but the Tool reported an error "user cancel". Can you tell me how you brush the watch?Thanks.
Is there a possibility of putting an android later than android 4.4 in these watches?
Surely there must be a dev on xda who could port a rom to this watch.. anyone ?
bbkr said:
State of market
Do NOT buy this watch. It looks like excellent value for money, but much modern H1 / W5 series with Android 9 and full Play Store just hit the shelves on AliExpress for almost the same price.
If mine arrives I'll create separate thread about them.
Brands
My specific watch that I used to experiment with is G4P, bought straight from Chinese factory:
View attachment 5407991
However almost everything from this thread applies to any watch running on SP9820E SoC, like G4E or G4H series.
Those watches are also often rebranded and sold as: Kinyo, Garett, Lemfo, Wonlex, Locon and many more.
Just check in spec if it is running on 9820E chip and you are good to go.
Reasons for modding
Those watches by default use very limited set of very simple applications presented in most ugly launcher and icon sets achievable by humans.
You can not install any extra applications and what you get from the box is very disappointing.
Also they are meant to be managed exclusively by corresponding phone application like SeTracker 2 (or rebrands like Garett Tracker),
which means you need to send your data to Chinese service and use WeeChat for chats/video calls, whether you like it or not.
This is true shame, because SP9820E is quite powerful hardware, here is GeekBench score.
Do not be fooled by oversimplified stock software - you can run pretty much any "real" application on it.
Luckily because those watches use Android under the hood you can transform them to something more feature-rich and more pleasant to use.
Android KitKat is NOT Android Wear
Those watches use Android 4.4, codename KitKat. Just like old phones. Please do not confuse it with Android Wear operating system and do not try to use applications built for Android Wear. Whatever you use must be Android 4.4 compatible, anything newer won't install at all. Android on this watch is heavily modified, lacks some components and you will run into many crashes or weird behaviour. Sections below will help you to navigate through those issues.
Also applications back in KitKat era were not designed with watch screens in mind, so expect bad interface scaling, not accessible buttons and huge or microscopic fonts.
How to install any application from stock Launcher?
Get application *.apk file from trusted site.
Set up Bluetooth connection between your watch (in Settings -> More -> Bluetooth) and computer / phone. Do not use macOS computer, it does not work. Android phone seems to be most compatible.
Upload *.apk file to watch using Bluetooth.
On watch go to Settings -> Tools -> File explorer and select Local -> bluetooth. Click on *.apk file and install it.
Installed application will not be visible from stock Launcher. So I really recommend installing another Launcher as first application.
Launcher
I use Nova Launcher. You need 5.5.4 version, this is the last one compatible with Android 4.4.
Once you install it using installation method described above press power button and it should prompt you which Launcher to use. Select Nova.
And enjoy freedom. It is also surprisingly fast and does not consume more battery than stock one.
If you have Nova Pro purchased you can activate it in two ways:
Use APK extractor on phone where you have Nova Prime activation installed. Dump license application to phone storage and install it the same way as launcher itself. But beware - it must be 2017 or earlier activation package. You cannot dump it from modern phone.
Search for nova_launcher_prime_v2017_full.apk and install this fake license. This is questionable way of activating it. But if you do not have old phone with old license preinstalled you have no other options. I think that if you own legal license on Play Store you will do no harm to developers this way.
Tips:
To avoid being asked for launcher when pressing power button you can disable stock launcher (requires root) through ADB shell: su, and then pm disable com.sgtc.launcher.
This firmware has very aggressive power management and you may notice lag when waking up watch after longer period of time. This is because Nova got killed by operating system and must start from scratch. To avoid it convert Nova launcher to system application (requires root). This can be done using Link2SD application. Open it, search for Nova, click on Nova, click triple dot menu menu and you will have option to convert to system. Remember to have default launcher or ADB enabled while doing this, because you will need one of those to invoke reboot.
Lock screen using button (broken, workarounds available)
If you have two Launchers power button will always prompt for Launcher when pressed on unlocked screen. You cannot change it without root, there is something modified under the hood and even Nova cannot set itself as default Launcher.
The workarounds are to lock screen using icon:
Add Nova action widget and set it to lock screen.
Add Power Toggles widget and add lock screen button to it.
Settings (partially works)
Settings are very simplified compared to stock Android 4.4. I've tried to install stock AOSP Settings APP but it fails. A lot of "hidden settings" applications allows to invoke deep buried panels like HotSpot or lock screen patterns configurations. Tedious job, lot of crashes along the way.
You can also:
Go to engineering mode by dialling *#*#83781#*#*.
Go to Developer Options by using Developer Options Shortcut application.
Status bar (broken, workaround available)
It does not work on any launcher (I tested a few beside Nova). Probably it was so heavily modified that API is no longer compatible. It cannot even be invoked by ADB service call statusbar 1.
The good replacement is Power Toggles, which allows to add widgets with battery level, fast volume profiles switching, enabling Wi-Fi, Bluetooth. Pretty much everything you used status bar for. Except cellular signal strength. I use version 6.0.4.
Tips:
Just as for launcher - aggressive power management will close it as inactive user application after short period. So because it is invoked every time screen is turned on best way to reduce screen wake up time is to convert Power Toggles to system application (requires root). This can be done using Link2SD application. Open it, search for Power Toggles, click on Power Toggles, click triple dot menu menu and you will have option to convert to system. Reboot watch.
You can set different battery colors, which makes it easier to use on small screen. I has mine set up to red (below 20%), yellow (20-80%) and green (above 80%).
You can set how frequent battery indicator is refreshed. By default it is quite laggy.
To get something looking like real status bar disable home screen margins in Nova launcher. Check my screenshot below for final effect.
Notification bar (broken)
Same deal as with Status bar - probably it was so heavily modified that API is no longer compatible with launchers.
You can open notification list service directly from Nova action. But you cannot manage it in any way (like cleaning old notifications) so it is pretty useless long list of accumulated trash.
I haven't found any good replacement.
Luckily Nova launcher notification dots work on applications icons and you can pretty much quickly figure out what just pinged you.
Clock time picker (broken)
By default you manage alarm clocks on this watch through phone application. But if you open on watch stock Android clock app you will see that you cannot set time, only set alarms on and off. Probably some Android component is missing. No fix or workaround yet. Also beware, because once you add alarm using APP on the watch there is no way to remove it - no option in app itself and SeTracker sees only first 3 of them. You will need to clean app data from ADB.
Power management (work in progress)
There are no options to keep app running in background. I'm still searching for good power management app replacement to keep things like WhatsApp or other services running.
For controlling:
screen delay (by default set to annoyingly short 10 seconds)
fine screen brightness
you can use buttons on Power Toggles widget. Once you set it to your preference widget can be removed and settings are remembered after reboot.
Screen rotation (tricky, broken)
Accelerometer is mounted 90 degrees clockwise and stock applications have this tilt compensation hardcoded into them.
This really dumb design has bad consequences:
If accelerometer rotation (auto-rotation) is enabled all "real" applications will think "up" is on the side where power button and flashlight is.
If accelerometer rotation is disabled most "real" applications will stay in fixed portrait orientation (also called user rotation) but some may still rely on accelerometer. The reason is that you can not fully disable accelerometer. Disabled only means "not taken into consideration unless explicitly asked for". And a lot of applications (mostly camera-related) still try to be user friendly and rotates screen the wrong way.
If you mess something up you can lock Screen Rotation again by adding such button on Power Toggles widget and using it.
Or if you have root:
disable accelerometer rotation: settings put system accelerometer_rotation 0
set user rotation to portrait mode: settings put system user_rotation 0
Start sound
Requires root.
First remount /custom in read-write mode: mount -o rw,remount /custom.
Then remove /custom/movies/bootsound.mp3.
Apps recommendations (please share yours)
A lot of "phone" applications work out of the box, assuming you get Android 4.4 compatible versions of them. You can install them the same way as launcher or through ADB. My set is:
Simple Keyboard is perfect for this watch. Disable symbols, set height to 150% and typing will be really comfortable and fast.
Power Toggles. Must have to compensate broken status bar and missing settings.
WhatsApp. Communication freedom. Pretty much you can stop here if you want this watch to be simple device for kid.
VLC for listening audiobooks (although interface does not scale well, looking for something better).
Wulkanowy (polish e-grade book with lessons plan, homework, etc. I assume a lot of people from Poland will come here because of Garett popularity so I'm mentioning it).
Solid Explorer. Built-in explorer is very castrated and crashes often when other apps try to use it (for example to select icon picture or file to share). Solid Explorer is stable and has a lot of built-in format viewers. Unfortunately one cannot run FTP server using it - button to start is off the screen. Bug reported, I hope it will get fixed soon.
OurGroceries. Excellent shopping/checkbox list that can be synchronized between various devices. Very useful to make list of things kid should take to school for example.
Diki. Online dictionary with simple interface that scales very well on this small screen. Translations are straightforward, without tons of magic grammar shortcuts. Allows to listen for words pronunciation.
Stock apps that are preinstalled and work OK:
Dialer
Contacts (you can even import cards from vcf file)
Flashlight
Looking for:
CalDav / CardDav sync (unfortunately there is no accounts management in API and most apps adding Dav support to Android crash).
Call blocker that will reject everything outside contacts list. To protect kid from scammers, marketers and other unwanted calls.
Known to fail:
SMSes. Can be sent but watch management API interrupts receiving to capture push control commands. Installing any other SMS application and setting it as default one breaks watch management from phone application.
WhatsApp. Camera during video calls is upside down.
Google Play Services. Instant crash.
Google Chrome 81. Crashes after few seconds of activity. For all apps that need SystemWebView component to work try Bromite replacement. However in KitKat WebView was not an application and Developer Options has no way of choosing default one. So it may fix very small amount of applications which are self-aware of different WebViews providers.
Google Calendar. Needs working Google Play Services.
F-Droid store. Crashes randomly and may require patience to install anything.
OpenSync. Cannot add any DAV account due to SSL crash.
Wikipedia. No articles can be displayed. Probably due to their latest TLS 1.2 mandatory API switch. However simply bookmarking Wikipedia in Bromite browser works just fine.
ADB and USB debugging
By default those watches are sold with charging cable only, it does not have signal pins. Your life will be a lot easier if you will be able to transfer files directly from your computer to watch and use ADB to do stuff. You can check cable dimensions here: https://allegro.pl/oferta/magnetyczny-kabel-zasilajacy-do-garett-kids-xd-10972606997 . Remember - it must have four pogo pins.
Connecting with cable is straightforward just like when connecting regular phone. Just be aware of two things:
Magnets are not strong enough to press four pins to contact pads. If you have trouble connecting try pressing magnet plug to watch firmly.
This is Android 4.4, so you need ancient knowledge. Like for example there is no "cmd" command available in ADB shell. Some command line switches are very different from what is being used today. Etc.
You can set USB to file transfer mode. Android File Transfer desktop application works perfectly and transfers are surprisingly fast. Probably it is the most convenient way to transfer applications, audiobooks and music to this watch.
Root
Based on https://github.com/eisaev/SuperSUInstaller process.
Install Developer Options Shortcut. Installation method is irrelevant. You can do it the same way as Launcher installation described above. Or if you already have more advanced stuff installed you can use an file transfer method and any file manager to do it.
Run Developer Options Shortcut and enable USB debugging.
Install SuperSU Installer. Again installation method is irrelevant.
Run SuperSU Installer. Wait for Hello World message and go back to Launcher.
In Local files on the watch there should be new SuperSU Manager APK generated. Install it but do not open.
Restart watch.
Disable WiFi and Bluetooth.
Connect USB cable.
Open dialer and enter *#*#83781#*#*. Engineering settings will open.
Go to CONNECTIVITY tab.
Click Start Service.
Click Wifi eut and confirm popup.
run adb shell on your computer
in shell enter: am start --user 0 -n ru.eisaev.supersuinstaller/.MainActivity
Wait for Hello world message on watch screen.
In shell enter: am start --user 0 -n eu.chainfire.supersu/.MainActivity
On watch screen SuperSU Manager should pop up and offer binary update. Choose Normal mode.
Restart watch.
Open SuperSU Manager. Method is irrelevant, can be clicked from Nova launcher or invoked from ADB like in 16.
Go to Settings and set Default access to Grant.
Confirm that you have root access by going to ADB shell and invoking: su
Clean up all files generated by SuperSU Installer from Local directory on the watch.
This method slightly diverges from original because users are different and because SuperSU Installer crashes when leaving to desktop using home button. Making it impossible to go from step 8 to 9 described in original method.
So for Installer and Manager to see each other at the same time you need to do this weird loop: install Installer which generates Manager which you can install prematurely to be able to later fire up both Installer and Manager at the same time from ADB without using watch home button.
Kudos for eisaev for discovering this process and building SuperSU!
My result
Home screen of Nova launcher:
View attachment 5420419
Power Toggles bar on top emulates status bar. It handles battery info, fast volume and brightness settings and connectivity settings.
Two Nova action widgets added on the bottom - one for power off, second one for applications list.
Application list:
View attachment 5420423
Nova allows to hide applications, so I used it to hide everything kid is not supposed to mess with. Like settings of various sort.
Many apps like Calculator or Gallery I've extracted directly from my old Android 4.4 phone.
Keyboard:
View attachment 5420427
Simple Keyboard is far more usable and fast than stock keyboard. Kid has no problem with typing on it. However just as on stock keyboard you have to type blindly and occasionally minimize keyboard to verify what you've typed.
Please contribute
If you have found solution to any of mentioned problems, encountered new problem on your own or just found good app please share in comments.
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thank for this tutorial