Database Users

Rooted Dream's enormous security hole

This actually applies to most HTC handsets, heck, maybe most phones, but this is the Dream forum and I wanted to talk about the Dream (since I own one). I actually had realized this the day I first rooted my phone, but it had been on the back of my mind until today when I ported MCR 2.6 for the Dream and saw the laughable WaveSecure app. I then thought about posting this general warning for Dream users and hopefully we can brainstorm and bring this big security hole to an end.
WaveSecure is an app that runs as a high priority process in your phone and it can do silly things such as disallow the usage of the device or access to the data on it by placing a locking screen on your phone. To enable your phone back, you enter a pin. Does that sound familiar? Ofcourse, your phone already has a lockscreen. The app also has a few backup and restore features, but nothing that hasn't been done before. Probably the only worthwhile feature is the ability to lock your phone remotely (but then the lockscreen was already active anyway).
Our rooted phones are different than stock ones, though. If you lose your phone and a knowledgeable person gets a hold of it, all they have to do is reset the phone, hold Home and Red, and voila, they have access to ALL your personal data inside your phone. I'm not only talking about the SDCard here, because accessing that data is so stupidly simple, but your phone writes enormous amounts of personal data to /data. There you can find account logins for all your installed apps, contacts info, you can find browser cache info and if you do your banking on your phone's Browser and have cookies set, well, they're all there. I've looked through several of the files in /data and most things there are dumped in human readable format, so a crook wouldn't even have to try very hard. I found my home's wifi hidden SSID AND 22 character lenght alphanumerical WAP2 encryption key in a file, and both were labeled as such .
One solution I see is easy, modify recovery to give you an option to prompt for password on start. But there's still the fact that, with the device on, we can still adb remount and then adb pull /data, so the adb binary would also have to be re-written for this purpose.
There's still yet another problem, though. Fastboot... Most of us are running a flavor of an Engineering SPL (either Death SPL or Hard SPL), and even if we block /recovery and /system, a crook can still fastboot flash boot and fastboot flash system and with a minimal booting image (no android runtime, only enough in /bin to boot a linux system) he can still get adb pull /data access.
That's where I'm at a loss, though. How do we patch SPL to prevent unauthorized usage? Are there any other security gaps I might have missed?
Comment, discuss, develop.

I'm confused. Wiping clears out the /data partition. Where are you getting all this data from post-wipe?

And that's exactly why I carry my important data safely with me. Wipe clears out the /data partition as much as "Emptying the Recycle Bin" erases deleted data in Windows.... meaning, it's still there. Although flash memory is better at deleting data, it can still be easily recovered, but then again, how are you supposed to wipe if you don't have the phone with you. I didn't see anything about remote wipe. Also, any person with two neurons firing would think right away about removing the battery and SIM before attempting anything.
Also, so let's say a wipe did clear /data entirely and you were able to remotely wipe EVERY SINGLE TIME the phone was lost or stolen (I once went a week without realizing I had lost my phone, paying that kind of bill and talking to Customer Service for hours on end is no fun), it still doesn't mean that the security gaps are not there. I still think they should be fixed, even if to foil people not interested in the data at all but on using the phone for their own. Don't you hate it when people find phones on the street, and instead of trying to return it they take it to their nearest mom & pop phone shop and have it unlocked, etc?

Oh, I see what you meant XD. Edited my post.

I've noticed this too, but the safest way to secure it is to have android encrypt the files as they are put on the data partition. Even then, that data is still unsecure. We should file an issue with the google code page for android and have them worry about it

Well, this has actually been considered...
For 'droid 1.6: From the home screen, Menu --> Settings --> Security --> "Use secure credentials". It is, of course, up to the application to make use of secure credentials. This is something that you should question the developers of secure applications about.
Other times, you may note that applications like "Password safe" will password protect and encrypt their data sets.
So it is definitely up to you to ensure that the applications that you use are written with security in mind.
Now for your home wifi password... does that really matter that much? They have to actually be IN (or very near to) your home to make use of it.

B-man007 said:
I've noticed this too, but the safest way to secure it is to have android encrypt the files as they are put on the data partition. Even then, that data is still unsecure. We should file an issue with the google code page for android and have them worry about it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No device can be more secure than being encrypted (assuming use of strong encryption). There is most definitely NO WAY EXCEPT encryption to secure your data.
I guarantee that EVEN WITH a no-root recovery partition and a no-fastboot bootloader that enforces system image signatures, that the data on the device *CAN STILL* be read off it.
It is definitely impossible to secure these devices against being read through something like jtag. And if it is read through jtag, the only thing that can possibly protect your data is encryption.

is it possible to do a complete wipe of the device? i know its not permanent but i figure if i quit banking online after i wipe the phone then i am no longer succeptible to that form of theft

I bet this is making some people that sold their rooted G1's nervous right now lol

this is the same issue blackberry users have, , even with a remote wipe ,there was concern that data can still be retrieved. That's also why the secret service is so concerned about the president having and using one daily, if its ever lost or stolen, ,,well you know, ,,
So rooted or not android is not the only platform with this issue. .

I would like to address this
"Don't you hate it when people find phones on the street, and instead of trying to return it they take it to their nearest mom & pop phone shop and have it unlocked, etc?"
Did you know if you called any cellphone carrier that you have and told them your phone was lost/stolen they will put the IMEI or ESN on the lost/stolen list, and then it can no longer be active on their network and from what I hear any other networks.

card13 said:
I would like to address this
"Don't you hate it when people find phones on the street, and instead of trying to return it they take it to their nearest mom & pop phone shop and have it unlocked, etc?"
Did you know if you called any cellphone carrier that you have and told them your phone was lost/stolen they will put the IMEI or ESN on the lost/stolen list, and then it can no longer be active on their network and from what I hear any other networks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depends on where you are, here in Canada, if it gets blacklisted by Rogers, it will still work on Fido (which happens to be owned by rogers).
There is also the possibility of rewriting the IMEI. Not exactly a major difficulty.

I have an idea. Since that, if someone gets hold of your phone physically, there's no way that he/she will be restricted from accessing the data, unless it's encrypted properly.
Therefore, to enhance the security, the data (or at least, /data) should be encrypted all time. I'm not familiar with Linux so I have no idea if it's doable or not, but that's a start.
That way, even if someone gets hold of your phone, and flash/hack/cheat all kinds of things, fastboot, recovery, adb... He/she will still be unable to access your data.
To do this, the bootloader (or the init script?) needs to implement a way to unlock the data.
To further increase the security, remote shutdown and wipe should be implemented as well.
Remote lock will NOT work because, while a phone is locked, it means it's running, and the data is already unencrypted at that point, and while I don't have much knowledge in hacking. I think a serious-enough person can hack the phone and get the data.
Of course, this still doesn't solve the problem that, if you, or your family member, is being held at gunpoint.
Just my 2 cents.

1) No changes to bootloader. Bootloader is not relevant to encrypted /data. The changes would be to add in the appropriate encryption scheme to the kernel. Also, to mount the /data partition using the selected encryption method, and to prompt at the appropriate time (mount time) for password. This would be DURING BOOT.
2) The reason you don't want to do this is that d/encryption eats CPU and memory.
bug666 said:
I have an idea. Since that, if someone gets hold of your phone physically, there's no way that he/she will be restricted from accessing the data, unless it's encrypted properly.
Therefore, to enhance the security, the data (or at least, /data) should be encrypted all time. I'm not familiar with Linux so I have no idea if it's doable or not, but that's a start.
That way, even if someone gets hold of your phone, and flash/hack/cheat all kinds of things, fastboot, recovery, adb... He/she will still be unable to access your data.
To do this, the bootloader (or the init script?) needs to implement a way to unlock the data.
To further increase the security, remote shutdown and wipe should be implemented as well.
Remote lock will NOT work because, while a phone is locked, it means it's running, and the data is already unencrypted at that point, and while I don't have much knowledge in hacking. I think a serious-enough person can hack the phone and get the data.
Of course, this still doesn't solve the problem that, if you, or your family member, is being held at gunpoint.
Just my 2 cents.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

lbcoder said:
1) No changes to bootloader. Bootloader is not relevant to encrypted /data. The changes would be to add in the appropriate encryption scheme to the kernel. Also, to mount the /data partition using the selected encryption method, and to prompt at the appropriate time (mount time) for password. This would be DURING BOOT.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So that's the init scripts?
lbcoder said:
2) The reason you don't want to do this is that d/encryption eats CPU and memory.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And battery, may I add?
To what extent is the question, I don't think it's a must-have feature for everybody, but think some may be willing to put up with the trade off...?

bug666 said:
So that's the init scripts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mainly kernel, but yes, some adjustment would have to be made to the init.
And battery, may I add?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Certainly. Anything that eats CPU eats batter.
To what extent is the question, I don't think it's a must-have feature for everybody, but think some may be willing to put up with the trade off...?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A better implementation would be to encrypt *some* data, i.e. application home directories, but specifically NOT the ~/lib directory. Because really, do you CARE if your APK's or dalvik cache are encrypted or not? This would minimize the performance impact (to negligible) while providing the desired data security.
Also, encryption on a per-application basis would allow this to be done withOUT having to pause bootup to ask for a password... it could be done more intelligently on first-access-attempt.

Anybody tried using Walkie Vault (http://www.walkie-vault.com/)...? Can it encrypt the data/home folder...?
A system-wide usable encryption system that different apps may make use of is a good idea, but is it on Android's agenda yet...?

It hasn't quite entered the collective consciousness that the connected smartphone, as configured today and if logged into online services, is the ultimate personal identity device. Unlike other personal effects we keep on us at all times (id cards, keys), a Google login gives a thief potentially a treasure trove of data to exploit without requiring any further identification to the phone other than the lock screen (assuming the user has set one). Once it becomes a big enough issue we may see solutions such as:
- Built in biometric identification (fingerprint scan, iris scan) replaces lock screen.
- OS framework requires apps storing sensitive user data to store into encrypted databases, authenticated from above biometric keys.
- Carriers, digital identity providers (e.g. Google, MSN) providing remote wipe as free standard services and accessible over the phone, not just a web page.

No computer is 100% secure.
Biometrics are often easy to fool.
3 of the fingerprint scanners I have encountered were easily by-passed with a pencil, and a rubber glove. Not to say they are all like that, but some are super simple to get around. Myth busters bypassed one with a photo copier and a sharpie. My buddy bought one super cheap, and put it on his wife's computer to make her feel safer. We bypassed it by breathing on it. (it was super cheap)
The current "Lock" on the G1 is like that super cheap biometric scanner. Your fingers leave behind oils. Oils are what leave the marks on the screen. Breathe hot air on the screen and you can see the pattern of the lock sequence. Some lock.
Note to self: remember to wipe off screen everytime you unlock phone.
I think that the best way around this is to remove all the data from the phone in the first place. For several years now I have been telling my friends that google's ultimate goal will be server side data storage that you log into to use.
The world of cell phones is headed this direction as well.
Google voice, Google Chrome, Google Docs, Cloud....all operate under the idea that you connect to the data, manipulate it, save it, then (ideally) your device forgets it was there.
If you want to stop cell phone theft, you have to hard code the phone to accept only one set of data, and any attempt to change that data in a way not prescribed by the phone will result in the destruction of the data and the usability of the phone. Not real cost effective for a device that lasts on the average of 18 months.
Another option is to make a daily use phone. Only good for 24 hours. Then you have to get a new one. Make them cheap, and disposable.
Common users would freak out over having to back up the data all the time, or you would need a uplink storage location like...oh say Google voice, Google Chrome, Google Docs, Cloud.
The average consumer has no clue what that thing in their hand is capable of doing, storing, or tracking. The techno geek is the problem and much like ROM's, what stops a Techno geek today, won't necessarily stop him tomorrow.
In the mean time, wave secure at least offers you the satisfaction of telling you when someone has put a different sim in your phone.
And it will scare the crap out of someone when they pull out the sim card. it is very loud!
But I agree the android system needs a better lock.

Maybe a mod could be prepared to separate /data into a cryptfs system, only trouble is that to make it secure a start/unlock password would need to be entered.

[Q] Motoblur features do they work

Okay I've always had a concern of having my phone stolen and the data in it being used for nefarious purposes (i.e. someone buys with my google account). Well not that worried but its a thought. So after 6 months of cursing blur and trying to get rid of it I thought I would try out the "Locate my phone" with it.
Logged into my blur account and yep there is my phone (phone number isn't recongised), but when I try the "locate my phone" feature it just ends up searching and never finding. Not sure if this is a carrier issue (I brought an unlocked phone from the UK and I live in Australia, my carrier does not support the Milestone 2), but just wondering if anyone else has trialed this.
I had a go at lookout but kept force closing for some reason, and I figured if Blur did what I needed, no need to pay for Lookout.

I used the motoblur apps when I first got the phone just to see what they were like...
But I quickly got rid of them as the phone was running so slow and chuggy for a 1GHz and battery life was atrocious.
As for the locate my phone feature, you would have to leave GPS on all the time yeah?...the amount of apps and Google apps that can keep track of your movements if of more concern to me than tracking the phone if ever lost (I've never lost a phone to date, touch wood!)
Sent from my Milestone 2 using XDA app

I had tried to use the feature to test that if it works, but even if I enabled GPS, the web page was keeping finding my tombstone and resulted in failure. Maybe it was caused by the position I'm in (you know China's GFW always blocks some normal internet requests). Anyway, since then, I turned to pay attention to my bags instead of trusting in blur. And I should remind you that any thief who got your phone will pull out your battery at once and therefore any app can not work.
Sent from my Milestone 2

I'm not overly sure they would always pull the battery, if I was a theif I would pull the info on the phone first that way to grab details about the customer to onsell. Also be interested incase I left my phone at work (on my charger) and panicked when I got home.
I gave up on it, and tried Seekdroid, works great, only a $1. I have no issue with being tracked by my phone, I figured that they could do it from cell towers anyway (did install the app that access the tracking data out of interest). My life is so dull that I cannot see a reason why anyone would care for that info (they would find out the bus route to work and home again mainly)

MotoBlur Works for me.
Blur works fine for me. At least in South America, I tested the locate my phone feature and it worked flawlessly. I heard seekdroid is another great app for finding your phone as well.

Motoblur is a piece of crap, it only exists to slow down the device.
Sent from my A953 using XDA Premium App

[req] lock power button on lockscreen

helo, i can't believe that most of the roms i tried don't have a settings to block the Power menu when your phone is locked (only miui have it so far), my phone can be geolocalized by android device manager if i lost it ok it's good. the thing can simply be defeated by turning off my phone as you can turn off the phone from the lockscreen... why even android don't have this function on stock ? incredible.
thanks you

You don't need the menu to power most devices down, either hold the power button or remove the battery.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

schiznik said:
You don't need the menu to power most devices down, either hold the power button or remove the battery.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ours nexus 4 and few others phones battery can't be removed, only few percents of the popuplation (advanced users aka geeks) know that you can force power shutdown with long pressing. (for example none of my friends know that...) to fix that it would be cool if someone can introduce a change how force to shutdown work, maybe only with a combination of buttons

turlulu said:
ours nexus 4 and few others phones battery can't be removed, only few percents of the popuplation (advanced users aka geeks) know that you can force power shutdown with long pressing. (for example none of my friends know that...) to fix that it would be cool if someone can introduce a change how force to shutdown work, maybe only with a combination of buttons
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That force-shutdown is a low-level thing in either the bootloader or (in well-designed devices) the hardware itself. There's no way to change it.
Anyone who is stealing a phone and attempting to disable tracking is going to be smart enough to use hardware methods to shut down the device and wipe it to nuke any trackers.
After all it's pointless to steal a device and power it down for eternity. Even if powered on, throwing it in a foil pouch will isolate it from all networks.

Entropy512 said:
That force-shutdown is a low-level thing in either the bootloader or (in well-designed devices) the hardware itself. There's no way to change it.
Anyone who is stealing a phone and attempting to disable tracking is going to be smart enough to use hardware methods to shut down the device and wipe it to nuke any trackers.
After all it's pointless to steal a device and power it down for eternity. Even if powered on, throwing it in a foil pouch will isolate it from all networks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you overestimate the average IQ of the population, how many people will do what you said ? 5%, 10% ? they don't even know what Android or IOS mean.
thanks for your replies, i found a way to do that by editing a file.

turlulu said:
you overestimate the average IQ of the population, how many people will do what you said ? 5%, 10% ? they don't even know what Android or IOS mean.
thanks for your replies, i found a way to do that by editing a file.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mind posting a link?
I never thought of this feature before this thread, but now would like to configure this way as well.

tjhart85 said:
Mind posting a link?
I never thought of this feature before this thread, but now would like to configure this way as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think it's possible to disable the long press power button event (10 seconds) at all (like Entropy said it should be implemented in hardware). And I can't believe that disabling the power menu by just modifying a file.
I implemented an option to disable the power menu when the screen is locked (actually for another reason: I don't like that everyone is able to unmute my phone or put it in flight mode). I'll push it to Gerrit soon.

turlulu said:
you overestimate the average IQ of the population, how many people will do what you said ? 5%, 10% ? they don't even know what Android or IOS mean.
thanks for your replies, i found a way to do that by editing a file.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Um, what percentage of thieves will do it?
If someone is stealing your phone to get at your data, then encrypt it with a PIN lock.
If someone is stealing your phone just to steal your phone - that's a thing of the past with IMEI blacklists.

Entropy512 said:
If someone is stealing your phone just to steal your phone - that's a thing of the past with IMEI blacklists.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have carriers who support IMEI blacklists? Here in Germany I know only one carrier who implemented it, and it's working only if the stolen phone tries to connect to their network.
But ignoring that thief question - the reason why I build the patch is that I just don't understand why it's forbidden to change the ringer volume on the lockscreen, but it's possible to enable flight mode or even shutdown the phone.

tjhart85 said:
Mind posting a link?
I never thought of this feature before this thread, but now would like to configure this way as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.droidforums.net/forum/mo...e-power-options-while-locked.html#post1624119

[Q] Lock screen security bypass with Android Wear watch connected?

Hi,
Is it possible to bypass the lock screen security feature while my Samsung Gear Live is connected to my phone (Samsung S5)? My Samsung Galaxy Gear 1 allows me to bypass the lock screen security as long as it's connected to my phone. I was hoping that feature was also available with an Android Wear watch. Any ideas?
Thanks,
GP

dornier said:
Hi,
Is it possible to bypass the lock screen security feature while my Samsung Gear Live is connected to my phone (Samsung S5)? My Samsung Galaxy Gear 1 allows me to bypass the lock screen security as long as it's connected to my phone. I was hoping that feature was also available with an Android Wear watch. Any ideas?
Thanks,
GP
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use a tasker profile for that. Done

No lock home xposed plug in works great. There is an appstore app as well, it gets used with the pebble (called pebble lock I believe)
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Free mobile app

This one is not free but gets the job done
Wear Unlock
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.npike.android.wearunlock
Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

I use either tasker or delayed lock.

Pebble locker works great
You can set WiFi networks or Bluetooth devices as trusted admins so the lock screen won't be used if your connected to any you have set. Eg set your home WiFi and watch as trusted. Then whenever your at home you won't get the pin lock. When you out and have your watch you won't need it. But leave phone on bus with no watch or trusted WiFi then it locks down. Its v good
https://play.google.com/store/apps/...ocker&pcampaignid=APPU_13zLU6C-IM-I7AbNsYCYBA

Problem with this software or the tasker BTNear function, is the battery consumption it requires to track the device.
Here is an alternative solution i made here that take virtually no battery, and root is not needed.
The trick is that it will not track the device itselft, but the notification Android make when the device is connected/disconnected.

Sichroteph said:
Problem with this software or the tasker BTNear function, is the battery consumption it requires to track the device.
Here is an alternative solution i made here that take virtually no battery, and root is not needed.
The trick is that it will not track the device itselft, but the notification Android make when the device is connected/disconnected.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
...dammit. That's genius. Why didn't I think of that before making a way-too-complicated set of Tasker profiles and actions? :|

Wear Unlock will do it, but I experienced some battery drain (on the phone) that I believe was related to it (since it went away when i uninstalled it).
Either way, I found the app to not be as helpful as I originally thought, just because of how good the reception between watch and phone is. I have to basically leave my house before it would lock my phone, I was hoping for a solution that would lock my phone if I just stepped outside of the room. Plus, with Wear Aware I get vibrations when the two lose communication anyway, so its not like I'm going to forget it somewhere and wish it was locked anyway.

Ubelsteiner said:
Wear Unlock will do it, but I experienced some battery drain (on the phone) that I believe was related to it (since it went away when i uninstalled it).
Either way, I found the app to not be as helpful as I originally thought, just because of how good the reception between watch and phone is. I have to basically leave my house before it would lock my phone, I was hoping for a solution that would lock my phone if I just stepped outside of the room. Plus, with Wear Aware I get vibrations when the two lose communication anyway, so its not like I'm going to forget it somewhere and wish it was locked anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For me, the point is in case the phone gets stolen somehow. At least then it'll lock itself before I can get to a computer or another phone and lock it remotely.

I use the No Lock Home module from Xposed, works a treat.
Sent from my SM-N9005 using XDA Free mobile app

Pebble Unlocker is what I had been using before the LG G watch and it still works with the LG. Also allows you to set other trusted BT and WiFi devices (car's BT, home WiFi, etc).

mbsmd said:
Pebble Unlocker is what I had been using before the LG G watch and it still works with the LG. Also allows you to set other trusted BT and WiFi devices (car's BT, home WiFi, etc).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea but does it work like in the Google IO demo? (where the guy just handed his phone to the dude standing right next to him and it would require a pin to unlock).

TjPhysicist said:
Yea but does it work like in the Google IO demo? (where the guy just handed his phone to the dude standing right next to him and it would require a pin to unlock).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Didn't see that, but no, it doesn't. Does anything?

TjPhysicist said:
Yea but does it work like in the Google IO demo? (where the guy just handed his phone to the dude standing right next to him and it would require a pin to unlock).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How should that work?

Bierfreund said:
How should that work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Idk "magic" ? You saw the video... if it works it's probably the best way to use watch to unlock...I feel like "unlock on bt connected to watch" is a bit too insecure
---------- Post added at 11:42 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:41 AM ----------
mbsmd said:
Didn't see that, but no, it doesn't. Does anything?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Watch the Google io demo...I've been trying to find out how it works...it is supposed to work (they said it'd be in L release)

[Q] Work Phone Part Duex - Ideas?

Following up with my new work S5 (thanks to the guys in my other thread who schooled me on Knox). Bottom line, we moved from Blackberry to the (our) neutered version of the S5. I am trying to replicate some of the simpler functionality of the BB with the new phone. Now, I have a rooted G3 as a personal phone, so I know how Android works pretty much, but the work phone is pretty locked down. We use Knox for work email and stuff, and the Play store is whitelisted to select apps. No free downloading. Here's what I am trying to do...
#1
My BB has a stupidly simple magnet in the case, so when I put the device in the holster, it went to vibrate-only mode. When I took it out, it would go back to the normal sound profile. No fuss, no user intervention needed. So, TecTiles is one of the apps I was able to get installed, and I ordered some. I can program them to set the phone to silent mode, but am I correct that I would still need to trigger the device to come OUT of silent mode? It's not automatic when it loses connection to the tile?
#2 (bigger)
I have the wireless charging back plate, and I have two issues. First, the "DU-DUNK" sound when the device gets fully charged, discharged a little, then starts charging again. I can't install Battery Doctor to silence it, I can't root to silence it. Can I write a tag with enough specificity to allow sounds for text and phone calls (I have an on call job) and keep the rest quiet?
The other nut kicker is the simple act of going in to clock mode (like a nite stand). Samsung removed the clock from Daydream (FFS), and I can't install any from Play (all I have tried are locked out). Any ideas on that one? Silly as it sounds, I used the BB as my alarm clock, especially while traveling. Timley looks GREAT. Can't install it.
Any help from the pros here would be appreciated.

ret4425 said:
Following up with my new work S5 (thanks to the guys in my other thread who schooled me on Knox). Bottom line, we moved from Blackberry to the (our) neutered version of the S5. I am trying to replicate some of the simpler functionality of the BB with the new phone. Now, I have a rooted G3 as a personal phone, so I know how Android works pretty much, but the work phone is pretty locked down. We use Knox for work email and stuff, and the Play store is whitelisted to select apps. No free downloading. Here's what I am trying to do...
#1
My BB has a stupidly simple magnet in the case, so when I put the device in the holster, it went to vibrate-only mode. When I took it out, it would go back to the normal sound profile. No fuss, no user intervention needed. So, TecTiles is one of the apps I was able to get installed, and I ordered some. I can program them to set the phone to silent mode, but am I correct that I would still need to trigger the device to come OUT of silent mode? It's not automatic when it loses connection to the tile?
#2 (bigger)
I have the wireless charging back plate, and I have two issues. First, the "DU-DUNK" sound when the device gets fully charged, discharged a little, then starts charging again. I can't install Battery Doctor to silence it, I can't root to silence it. Can I write a tag with enough specificity to allow sounds for text and phone calls (I have an on call job) and keep the rest quiet?
The other nut kicker is the simple act of going in to clock mode (like a nite stand). Samsung removed the clock from Daydream (FFS), and I can't install any from Play (all I have tried are locked out). Any ideas on that one? Silly as it sounds, I used the BB as my alarm clock, especially while traveling. Timley looks GREAT. Can't install it.
Any help from the pros here would be appreciated.
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Question...
I didn't read your other thread, but do you have the ability to use outside Media sources? MicroSD or MicroUSB flash drives?
If so, perhaps consider locating .apk's that you want/need for your functions and side load them by running the .apk's from the external drive.
What I use... http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Andro...-fkmr0&keywords=sandisk+flash+drive+dual+mode
And I can't imagine them whitelisting the app to go with it, as it is a storage device, not something malicious.

kprice8 said:
Question...
I didn't read your other thread, but do you have the ability to use outside Media sources? MicroSD or MicroUSB flash drives?
If so, perhaps consider locating .apk's that you want/need for your functions and side load them by running the .apk's from the external drive.
What I use... http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Andro...-fkmr0&keywords=sandisk+flash+drive+dual+mode
And I can't imagine them whitelisting the app to go with it, as it is a storage device, not something malicious.
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Thanks for responding. I'm sorry for sounding like a n00b, is this functionally any different from downloading an .apk on the SD card and installing it through a file explorer? As an aside, the way the restrictions work, the apps will install for a brief moment, and then they are uninstalled by the device. Is this method any different?
Thanks

ret4425 said:
Thanks for responding. I'm sorry for sounding like a n00b, is this functionally any different from downloading an .apk on the SD card and installing it through a file explorer? As an aside, the way the restrictions work, the apps will install for a brief moment, and then they are uninstalled by the device. Is this method any different?
Thanks
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If you can manually put the .apk on the SD card, or microusb capable flash drive, it may work and stick. Not guaranteed as I have not tried on a phone like yours. GL

kprice8 said:
If you can manually put the .apk on the SD card, or microusb capable flash drive, it may work and stick. Not guaranteed as I have not tried on a phone like yours. GL
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Yeah no dice, it works more like a removal than a block. It will install any app, then remove it when it checks it against the security policy. It's weird, some apps that seem just as innocuous (and are not on the list) install and work. Who knows. The whole thing feels very...unfinished. Like the whole Android enterprise thing isn't quite all put together yet. But I guess free it free, even if it's nerf'd free.