Database Users

Very Quick Question

If I take a ROM in .ZIP format and unzip it on my PC into a folder with the same name...
Then delete any .APKs of programs I have no use for (Twidroid, facebook, etc) and then replace the boot.img with a different kernel of my choice and different SuperUser.apk...
Can I then ZIP this primary folder and load it as a ROM onto my MT3G?
Forgive me if this sounds really stupid, but I have no idea.
Would it need to be "cooked" before I can load it??

When you cook you need to make sure the gloves are on and you have the oven's temp turned up real nicely to fry that thing
I guess you didnt search or something? I need you to confirm that you cant/can see this at the top left corner of screen:
xda-developers > Dream > Dream Android Development
Press Dream then head to Q&A section please.Wait a sec...Thats not a Dream..You belong here for asking q's about your phone:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=480
Just do a search for signing tool and it shows up.

rbrainard said:
If I take a ROM in .ZIP format and unzip it on my PC into a folder with the same name...
Then delete any .APKs of programs I have no use for (Twidroid, facebook, etc) and then replace the boot.img with a different kernel of my choice and different SuperUser.apk...
Can I then ZIP this primary folder and load it as a ROM onto my MT3G?
Forgive me if this sounds really stupid, but I have no idea.
Would it need to be "cooked" before I can load it??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its more complicated than it looks...
First u will have to know if removing those .apk will not cause any trouble...
Second u will have to sign the apks u r going to add, and signed the zip too...
about changing the boot.img has been tried before in another thread...
but most important u will have to search, search and read, read...
going to try and find some thread for u, before the mods closed this...

Need to have it resigned...once a zip file is open it breaks the signature but I would aslo like to kno if this is possible

ilostchild said:
Need to have it resigned...once a zip file is open it breaks the signature but I would aslo like to kno if this is possible
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
here its a thread about resigned:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=473580
read it all, has interesting stuff, but keep searching...
actually i would like to try this too...
if u ask devs, unless they want to teach u, great...

Wow...
You can open zips (roms/updates) and browse them without the need to resign them. If you change any of the contents in a zip (rom/update) file, as in remove or add, then you have to resign. You do not have to resign the apks you add to the zip (rom/update) file.
To do what you want to do, refer to the link about signing zips that was posted above. Remove the APKs, sign the zip (rom/update) file, and apply the update to your phone.

bring in the wrecking crew!

anyone know how to run this on a mac?

Ha people had post, but the one that make the thread, its no where...

Sweet! Thanks folks.
The "Search" function is the most important in any forum, but it does the user no good if they have absolutely positively no idea what to search for... lol
My goal is to take Manup's Eclair_2.1-v1.5 and remove all the .APKs I don't have any use for... Swap the boot.img for the eclair one with the 10MB hack, replace the SpareParts.APK with one that contains "Keep home app in memory" option, etc, etc, etc.

rbrainard said:
If I take a ROM in .ZIP format and unzip it on my PC into a folder with the same name...
Then delete any .APKs of programs I have no use for (Twidroid, facebook, etc) and then replace the boot.img with a different kernel of my choice and different SuperUser.apk...
Can I then ZIP this primary folder and load it as a ROM onto my MT3G?
Forgive me if this sounds really stupid, but I have no idea.
Would it need to be "cooked" before I can load it??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You've just described in detail what about 90% of roms out there really are: open zip, add/remove files, ..., profit!!!
As mentioned correctly by Moonspoon, all you'd need afterwards is to sign your package (just to ensure that there's no problems with the signature, delete the three files inside /META-INF (leave the folders alone)).
Also, as mentioned by ginatojr (kind of...), you have to know which files you're removing, for example, removing TelephonyProvider.apk, well, that should be obvious. One that's not so obvious is gtalkservice.apk. When I first started, I removed it because I though it was part of Google Talk, when in fact it's more closely related to GoogleApps and SubscribedFeedsProvider.
The only times you want to deal with signatures is if your roms come from two different sources (if you're using an AOSP test-signed core and want to toss in some release-singed Google apps), but for the most part it's unnecessary and mostly discouraged as it's a different can of worms.
So, yeah, that's basically "Rom Cooking 101", where most other people releasing roms are at "Rom Cooking 102", there's really nothing to it.

rbrainard said:
Sweet! Thanks folks.
The "Search" function is the most important in any forum, but it does the user no good if they have absolutely positively no idea what to search for... lol
My goal is to take Manup's Eclair_2.1-v1.5 and remove all the .APKs I don't have any use for... Swap the boot.img for the eclair one with the 10MB hack, replace the SpareParts.APK with one that contains "Keep home app in memory" option, etc, etc, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The keep in home might not work on 2.1 roms yet.

If this works out... My future plans would include doing this to streamline and modify any ROM of my choice as they are released.
I have absolutely no intention of modifying ROMs for redistribution.
This will be for my own personal needs alone.

Can anyone tell me where the .APK files of Market downloads are stored on the handset?

rbrainard said:
Can anyone tell me where the .APK files of Market downloads are stored on the handset?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NEVERMIND!
Found them in /SDCard/BackupRoot/app directory.

[Q] How to make an update script

Hey all.
I've been searching all over, for a guide to make your own update script.
Did take a look at corky's thread, but that was not what I had planed for.
Since I play a lot around with ICS on my HD2, I kinda wanna do a simple update.zip script, so I can install all those programs that do not follow the aosp rom.
For instance:
Install those apk's you have on the side, and then flash it in cvm
Is it possible??
Hope I explained it good enough ;-)

Stenager129 said:
Hey all.
I've been searching all over, for a guide to make your own update script.
Did take a look at corky's thread, but that was not what I had planed for.
Since I play a lot around with ICS on my HD2, I kinda wanna do a simple update.zip script, so I can install all those programs that do not follow the aosp rom.
For instance:
Install those apk's you have on the side, and then flash it in cvm
Is it possible??
Hope I explained it good enough ;-)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
eyeyeyeyeyeyey... searching skills need improvement D
yes its, possible. in fact its very easy
here you go:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=936175
one more hint. just take an existent rom.zip. delete what is inside and put your own files in there. and check the updater script, if it needs adjustments. use total commander to open the zips as normal folders. this way you wont mess up the compression or other settings. generally, total commander is best allround tool ))

Script to remove bloatware

I figured this would be a good time to learn instead of always relaying on the devs. Does anyone know how to create a script to remove bloatware that is flashable in recovery or executable in terminal?

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2370164
I know it's not gonna be the same as the note3, but it gives you an idea as how others have done it.
And this one is an aroma package, so it cannot be simply edited. This is more of an example for how to proceed.
♢NoteIII♢

LeftyGR said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2370164
I know it's not gonna be the same as the note3, but it gives you an idea as how others have done it.
And this one is an aroma package, so it cannot be simply edited. This is more of an example for how to proceed.
♢NoteIII♢
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been searching around but I can't find a system that work. There's a rom on the Sprint Note 3 forum and the Dev posted a super simple script to run in terminal using
mount -o rw,remout /system
rm /system/app/Accuweatherphone2013.apk
reboot.
to execute in terminal sh/ sdcard/*filename*.sh (file has to be on root of internal memory)
for whatever reason it's not working,

Try making a flashable zip to delete a specific app you don't want and see if that works. If it does then that should be the direction to take.
It should work... should.
♢NoteIII♢

@scrosler
I know you are a very busy man and you have already given the community so much. If you could provide any advice it would be greatly appreciated.

I've been testing this script for hours and can't figure out why it will not debloat... Does anyone know working script to debloat roms?

2swizzle said:
I've been testing this script for hours and can't figure out why it will not debloat... Does anyone know working script to debloat roms?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As I was implying before, there is another way besides scripts in a terminal emulator...
Make a zip you can flash in safestrap. I've made you one that you can expand on.
This zip will remove a font apk file. I chose this in particular, because it's benign and won't mess up any functionality of anyone's system.
Here is the file I chose to delete:
View attachment 2460606
Using Notepad++ (available free, just google notepad plus plus) I put together this updater-script:
View attachment 2460610
Then created a zip using 7zip (also available free, use google again).
Booted into safestrap recovery and installed it.
Rebooted system and file is now gone:
View attachment 2460614
The highlighted section inside updater-script would need to have a line in it for each apk you want to delete. If it has an .odex file associated with it, you need to also include a line to delete that as well.
Try it out!

LeftyGR said:
As I was implying before, there is another way besides scripts in a terminal emulator...
Make a zip you can flash in safestrap. I've made you one that you can expand on.
This zip will remove a font apk file. I chose this in particular, because it's benign and won't mess up any functionality of anyone's system.
Here is the file I chose to delete:
View attachment 2460606
Using Notepad++ (available free, just google notepad plus plus) I put together this updater-script:
View attachment 2460610
Then created a zip using 7zip (also available free, use google again).
Booted into safestrap recovery and installed it.
Rebooted system and file is now gone:
View attachment 2460614
The highlighted section inside updater-script would need to have a line in it for each apk you want to delete. If it has an .odex file associated with it, you need to also include a line to delete that as well.
Try it out!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hahahaha I hate programming.... I already had all this code done, the problem I was having, I was zipping with the file with the built in windows zip compresser. For what ever reason it wouldn't flash, I installed 7zip and it worked perfectly hahahaha. Thank you so much my friend :good:

Check the Verizon Note 2 ROMs ... I know @mikeyxda had a script to debloat posted in his thread. Perhaps you could take a peak at it for some clues???
Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

YankInDaSouth said:
Check the Verizon Note 2 ROMs ... I know @mikeyxda had a script to debloat posted in his thread. Perhaps you could take a peak at it for some clues???
Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I remember that mikeyxda, he had the brilliant instant wake feature on his rom!!! I figured out how to run it using a zip. I think I would prefer that method so I don't have to run terminal every time I flash a rom. Thanks for looking out though, I will also create a script for terminal in case any one wants it.

Ah ... gotcha. I just remembered he had some kind of debloat
Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

Battery Drain Fix (Stock KK/CM11)

- Unzip and copy this file (power_profile.xml) with winRAR to your current framework-res.apk (res/xml)
- Flash your rom again
- wipe cache and dalvik
(decompiling and recompiling not needed !)

- Unzip and copy this file (power_profile.xml) with winRAR to your current framework-res.apk (res/xml)
- Flash your rom again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you flash your rom again, the edited framework-res.apk will get overwritten, so what's exactly the point of editing it?

And what does this change exactly do?

zxz0O0 said:
If you flash your rom again, the edited framework-res.apk will get overwritten, so what's exactly the point of editing it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You decompress your rom and put that file on framework-res/res/xml with winRAR and you repack your rom again. That's all !
Update : fix radio voltage

marouane80 said:
- Unzip and copy this file (power_profile.xml) with winRAR to your current framework-res.apk (res/xml)
- Flash your rom again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is just plain wrong on so many levels...
1. Don't tinker with an .apk unless you decompiled it. With your way you will inevitable break zipalign, thus slowing everything down.
2. The power_profile.xml you provided is already pre-compiled. Why?
3. You flash the Rom again - This overwrites the changes you made before. Lee me guess, without going back to the original framework you device did not boot? That is because you not only broke zipalign, but also the .apk's signature. So the system refuses to install the vital framework.
I said it before in one of your threads. Be careful on what you upload here, as people usually trust xda and, excuse my language, rubbish like yours is of no use for anyone...
I hope you realize that by now.
So long...

Wooaarr said:
This is just plain wrong on so many levels...
1. Don't tinker with an .apk unless you decompiled it. With your way you will inevitable break zipalign, thus slowing everything down.
2. The power_profile.xml you provided is already pre-compiled. Why?
3. You flash the Rom again - This overwrites the changes you made before. Lee me guess, without going back to the original framework you device did not boot? That is because you not only broke zipalign, but also the .apk's signature. So the system refuses to install the vital framework.
I said it before in one of your threads. Be careful on what you upload here, as people usually trust xda and, excuse my language, rubbish like yours is of no use for anyone...
I hope you realize that by now.
So long...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can verify it by decompiling your new framework-res.apk and compare it with stock one.
just for sharing with people
if you don't like it so it's not for you and don't use it. it's simple

marouane80 said:
you can verify it by decompiling your new framework-res.apk and compare it with stock one.
if you don't like it so it's not for you and don't use it. it's simple
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you upload something that is wrong, than I think it is fair enough if I say something. It seems you find stuff on the internet and just upload it as 'new' here.
Anyway best of luck with your endeavors. I'm out...

Wooaarr said:
If you upload something that is wrong, than I think it is fair enough if I say something. It seems you find stuff on the internet and just upload it as 'new' here.
Anyway best of luck with your endeavors. I'm out...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
who told you that ??? give me the link where you found my work !
i think you are a little bit paranoid. don't use anything from me or talk to the moderator or specialist, he can verify my files !
please leave this thread alone
if someone want to verify. see these two files and compare them

marouane80 said:
who told you that ??? give me the link where you found my work !
i think you are a little bit paranoid. don't use anything from me or talk to the moderator or specialist, he can verify my files !
please leave this thread alone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok I said I'm out, but you are pushing it...
Do you have any idea what the power_profile.xml actually does?
It provides consumption values to the framework, so that this may properly calculate the battery consumption. Changing values in there won't change anything else then the readings in the battery report or apps that call upon that data.
It will in no way affect the actual energy consumption, so I stand by what I said before.
You provide a not working thing, period!
If you don't believe me read more about it over
here...
Anyway that's it from me, good luck...

Wooaarr said:
Ok I said I'm out, but you are pushing it...
Do you have any idea what the power_profile.xml actually does?
It provides consumption values to the framework, so that this may properly calculate the battery consumption. Changing values in there won't change anything else then the readings in the battery report or apps that call upon that data.
It will in no way affect the actual energy consumption, so I stand by what I said before.
You provide a not working thing, period!
If you don't believe me read more about it over
here...
Anyway that's it from me, good luck...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
u're wrong. it works for me :good:
there are many errors when compiling roms from cyanogenmod and stock rom by sony and samsung and others. see my sound fix thread for example you will see the difference ! cyanogenmod didn't fix that sound problem yet !
http://forum.xda-developers.com/sony-xperia-z1-compact/general/cm11-sound-fix-ultimate-t2861135
And as you can see on stock rom or cm11 give a high value (for radio, BT,GPS, screen-on or cpu idle) will drain battery fast !
compare the two files decompiled !

So what is about with this mod? What are the benefits of using this? Can someone confirm working this? I read this discusion and i dont know its safe or i brick my device?

it really works for me. i never upload that never works or never tested. i got a great battery life after found this solution : two days with heavy usage. believe it or not ! make a backup and test. better you decompile and modify the values like uploaded here. :good:

ok so can you adviced me what i need to do?
im using stsock kk russian second edition 108.
what i need to change or is any option to create flashable zip file to instal it via recovery or i need to push it manually? why i need to flash new firmware after this operation? after flashing i understand that all of my data will erased with all settings and all my file will be cleaned ? i dont udnerstand why it wouldnt works after flashing? maybe you could post some instructions step by step to clean up everything im a little bit scared that i can brick my phone or something.
cheers

I see that it was mentioned before, but it seems it went unheard.
This mod will not work because of the simple reason that the second step overwrites the change!
Flashing the ROM again will remove the modified framework-res.apk file.
You can try and see for yourself. after doing the steps, unpack the apk again and see which power_profiles.xml is there.
I'm pretty sure you'll find the default one.
Also, the file has nothing to do with actual power consumption, as is mentioned in the Android documentation.
I hate to say it but the battery improvement you noticed is just a placebo
If you really want us to believe it works, then at least show us what you got. A screenshot of battery usage and screen time are a good proof

oshmoun said:
I see that it was mentioned before, but it seems it went unheard.
This mod will not work because of the simple reason that the second step overwrites the change!
Flashing the ROM again will remove the modified framework-res.apk file.
You can try and see for yourself. after doing the steps, unpack the apk again and see which power_profiles.xml is there.
I'm pretty sure you'll find the default one.
Also, the file has nothing to do with actual power consumption, as is mentioned in the Android documentation.
I hate to say it but the battery improvement you noticed is just a placebo
If you really want us to believe it works, then at least show us what you got. A screenshot of battery usage and screen time are a good proof
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think he means open the ZIP of your Rom on PC, put that file in and then put the Rom to phone again and flash it over your current Rom.
And yes, a proof would be good

Is there any way to fix/improve battery life on CM11? Z1C with the same usage on stock rom gets over 2.5x longer battery life.

marouane80 said:
- Unzip and copy this file (power_profile.xml) with winRAR to your current framework-res.apk (res/xml)
- Flash your rom again
- wipe cache and dalvik
(decompiling and recompiling not needed !)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I replaced in the archive file, but how to pack in the APK?
P.S Understood with the help of Root Explorer

oshmoun said:
I see that it was mentioned before, but it seems it went unheard.
This mod will not work because of the simple reason that the second step overwrites the change!
Flashing the ROM again will remove the modified framework-res.apk file.
You can try and see for yourself. after doing the steps, unpack the apk again and see which power_profiles.xml is there.
I'm pretty sure you'll find the default one.
Also, the file has nothing to do with actual power consumption, as is mentioned in the Android documentation.
I hate to say it but the battery improvement you noticed is just a placebo
If you really want us to believe it works, then at least show us what you got. A screenshot of battery usage and screen time are a good proof
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you got a bad or an oudated apktool. i don't have any error after decompiling. try it by yourself !
it's not a placebo. it's my work

John.D.. said:
Well, I replaced in the archive file, but how to pack in the APK?
P.S Understood with the help of Root Explorer
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry but you must have some basic knowledge on decompiling to make the change. if you don't know what is decomiling/compiling, juste take the file and put it like in OP. thanx

marouane80 said:
sorry but you must have some basic knowledge on decompiling to make the change. if you don't know what is decomiling/compiling, juste take the file and put it like in OP. thanx
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, but it was very simple) I just renamed the Root Explorer in zip archive, there has replaced the file, and then simply copied the zip on the apk, it works)
but how does it affect the battery, I still do not understand

Can't Modify SecContacts_M_OSup_Note_Legacy_USA.apk

Background: Really not loving the default New Contact icons and the random colors. Should be easy enough to change. What I tried (and failed miserably...)
MODest ROM 11 (Twiz/stock 6.01-based)
Flashpoint 5 Kernel
Copied SecContacts_M_OSup_Note_Legacy_USA.apk from
/system/priv-app/SecContacts_M_OSup_Note_Legacy_USA/
to my Win7 PC.
Used 7-Zip to unpack the file to a temporary folder.
Found the .qmg files I didn't like.
Found a .qmg that would be a passable replacement for the ones I didn't dig.
Made 11 copies of that image in a working folder.
Renamed each copy to the exact name of each of the 11 files I wanted to replace.
Dragged those 11 files back into the open .apk in 7-Zip
On the Phone, in Root Explorer:
Made a copy of SecContacts_M_OSup_Note_Legacy_USA.apk in the same folder:
/system/priv-app/SecContacts_M_OSup_Note_Legacy_USA/
deleted the original
Copied my mod'd apk back into this folder and set the perms.
Rebooted.
No Phone or Contacts on home screen or in Apps
Tried to 'install' the apk from Root Explorer.
Wouldn't install
Tried to delete cache & Dalvik from TWRP.
No Joy.
Tried to do a partial Nandroid restore of Contacts and sec.phone from Titanium (nothing there called /systempriv-app/SecContacts_M_OSup_Note_Legacy_USA)
No Joy.
Nandroid restore from TWRP.
Back to normal.
Okay, what did I do wrong, and how can I change the icons?
Should I have used APKTook instead of 7-Zip, created a new signature, etc?
Should my mod'd apk somehow be flashed from recovery rather than copied to a system folder?
Is this some perverted Samsung-ism that would have worked fine on any other phone on the planet?
Thanks for reading.

ForestCat said:
Background: Really not loving the default New Contact icons and the random colors. Should be easy enough to change. What I tried (and failed miserably...)
MODest ROM 11 (Twiz/stock 6.01-based)
Flashpoint 5 Kernel
Copied SecContacts_M_OSup_Note_Legacy_USA.apk from
/system/priv-app/SecContacts_M_OSup_Note_Legacy_USA/
to my Win7 PC.
Used 7-Zip to unpack the file to a temporary folder.
Found the .qmg files I didn't like.
Found a .qmg that would be a passable replacement for the ones I didn't dig.
Made 11 copies of that image in a working folder.
Renamed each copy to the exact name of each of the 11 files I wanted to replace.
Dragged those 11 files back into the open .apk in 7-Zip
On the Phone, in Root Explorer:
Made a copy of SecContacts_M_OSup_Note_Legacy_USA.apk in the same folder:
/system/priv-app/SecContacts_M_OSup_Note_Legacy_USA/
deleted the original
Copied my mod'd apk back into this folder and set the perms.
Rebooted.
No Phone or Contacts on home screen or in Apps
Tried to 'install' the apk from Root Explorer.
Wouldn't install
Tried to delete cache & Dalvik from TWRP.
No Joy.
Tried to do a partial Nandroid restore of Contacts and sec.phone from Titanium (nothing there called /systempriv-app/SecContacts_M_OSup_Note_Legacy_USA)
No Joy.
Nandroid restore from TWRP.
Back to normal.
Okay, what did I do wrong, and how can I change the icons?
Should I have used APKTook instead of 7-Zip, created a new signature, etc?
Should my mod'd apk somehow be flashed from recovery rather than copied to a system folder?
Is this some perverted Samsung-ism that would have worked fine on any other phone on the planet?
Thanks for reading.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That apk took me a long time to figure out too. It's one of the apps you I had to modify for multi dpi. The only way I know of is to change the compression when you're putting the app back together and even then it took a couple tries. There's probably a better way but the compression change seems to work well enough.
I don't know if 7-zip has this option, but with winrar you can change the compression to "store". You should know right away whether or not it worked. You'll see the little phone icon in the bottom left of the lock screen. You may still have to do a factory reset to see your changes (probably not though) but the app should work without it.
By the way, you can swap those image files for .png files if you'd like. Just delete the corresponding .qmg or .pio file.
I saw your post in the rom thread about theming TouchWiz. You should check out @supergrobi94's theming threads. He's put together an impressive collection of options for 6.0.1 and 5.1.1 and there's also a [how to] section that uses the vrtheme zip that will modify the res folder of a specific app without having to break it down. I'm not sure how active he is these days but he's always been very helpful with requests and questions in the past if you need it.
Supergrobi94's theming threads:
This one has all the themes
This is the [how to] thread

kevintm78 said:
That apk took me a long time to figure out too. It's one of the apps you I had to modify for multi dpi. The only way I know of is to change the compression when you're putting the app back together and even then it took a couple tries. There's probably a better way but the compression change seems to work well enough.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, that makes perfect sense. But I'd never have figured it out myself, lol.
I'll dig into those theming threads, thanks.
kevintm78 said:
☆☆Edge Panel for ModestRom v11☆☆
DOWNLOAD-This will change your Contacts app to the S6 version and the IncallUI app to the Note 7 version because the people stripe will not work with the N4 contacts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, this is from the MODest ROM thread, but I think it's germain here.
SO.....
If I want to 'try out' that Edge Panel, is there a way to revert back to the stock apps in question other than restoring a nandroid backup or re-flashing the ROM?
I ask because I'm thinking that, at least in the case of the Note 4 and its well known memory problems, 'bulk' memory writes like ROMs, nandroid retores, etc., stress the device, so I'm trying not to do it more than I have to.
During my last episode(see above) putting the stock apk back in its original folder didn't work.
Is there a standard procedure for either android generically, or touchwiz specifically, for safely reverting back to the stock system apps after experimenting w/ custom stuff?
EDIT: Just tried something. In Root Explorer, went into:
/system/priv-app/SecContacts_M_OSup_Note_Legacy_USA/
and simply renamed the .apk to .foo
Rebooted.
No Contacts, as expected, but no Phone either??? Not sure why.
Anyway, back into Root Explorer.
Rename .foo back to .apk
Reboot.
Still no Contacts or Phone, so something bigger at work here.
Before I have to restore Nandroid anyway (unless there's a better way???),
I flashed your EdgePanel.zip in TWRP to see if it would restore the Phone/Contacts apps.
Wiped the cache. Reboot.
Edge Panel is now there, but still no Phone or Contacts. WTF???
Last resort-TWRP- Factory Reset.
Now the Contacts/Phone are back (and all my other stuff is gone, lol)
So is whacking the Data a necessity here?
If so, it makes trying out things related to the phone/contacts a LOT more tedious...
Any workaround???
Thanks again.

ForestCat said:
OK, this is from the MODest ROM thread, but I think it's germain here.
SO.....
If I want to 'try out' that Edge Panel, is there a way to revert back to the stock apps in question other than restoring a nandroid backup or re-flashing the ROM?
I ask because I'm thinking that, at least in the case of the Note 4 and its well known memory problems, 'bulk' memory writes like ROMs, nandroid retores, etc., stress the device, so I'm trying not to do it more than I have to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, it doesn't look like I ever made an easy way to go back. I had thought I did but I'm either overlooking it or it's not there. Feel free to rifle through my androidfilehost folders if you want to double check. All of my stuff is very organized so it could be buried in there somewhere.
If you still need a recovery zip let me know and I'll get one together. I'm actually going to make one anyway but if you need it right away I can get on it. I didn't realize that there wasn't a way back to stock.
ForestCat said:
During my last episode(see above) putting the stock apk back in its original folder didn't work.
Is there a standard procedure for either android generically, or touchwiz specifically, for safely reverting back to the stock system apps after experimenting w/ custom stuff?
EDIT: Just tried something. In Root Explorer, went into:
/system/priv-app/SecContacts_M_OSup_Note_Legacy_USA/
and simply renamed the .apk to .foo
Rebooted.
No Contacts, as expected, but no Phone either??? Not sure why.
Anyway, back into Root Explorer.
Rename .foo back to .apk
Reboot.
Still no Contacts or Phone, so something bigger at work here.
Before I have to restore Nandroid anyway (unless there's a better way???),
I flashed your EdgePanel.zip in TWRP to see if it would restore the Phone/Contacts apps.
Wiped the cache. Reboot.
Edge Panel is now there, but still no Phone or Contacts. WTF???
Last resort-TWRP- Factory Reset.
Now the Contacts/Phone are back (and all my other stuff is gone, lol)
So is whacking the Data a necessity here?
If so, it makes trying out things related to the phone/contacts a LOT more tedious...
Any workaround???
Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is strange that they are not coming back. You may just want to double check your permissions and that there isn't two of the same apps in your folder. At the time of making that Edge zip I was still using other programs to make zips for me and the major downside to that is having to name the new apps the exact same as the old so it would get overwritten so if it doesn't match you'll end up with two active apps in one folder.
Now I think the best way to do that is to use a binary script (osm0sis has great tutorials for this) to change the app getting replaced to a .bak file and then just copy the new app to the system, set perms, and reboot (dalvik cache/ cache needs to be wiped if it's a framework .jar file). But to each their own. If you can get the job done a better way then I would use what you're comfortable with.
My system to test apps isn't much difference than yours. I think the only thing I do differently is change the app to be replaced to .bak instead of .foo although I can't imagine there's much difference. There's been a few apps like the Contacts app that gave me a bunch of trouble when modifying them but I can't remember ever having trouble bringing back the stock app. I wish I had more insight on that situation for you. If push comes to shove I would reflash the rom zip over factory reset only because the factory reset won't correct the system partition problem, if that's what's going on in this case.

kevintm78 said:
If you still need a recovery zip let me know and I'll get one together..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First, Merry Christmas!
Thanks very much. No rush on that, I'm OK on the Edge version for the minute.
What would be extremely useful if you have some time/curiousity would be to replicate my steps, ie renaming the untouched apk in a fresh MODest flash (i.e. break the contacts/phone function), and then see if you can get the whole thing working again without a factory reset, or if not, why. I see on xda, you & I are not the first ones to be tripping over this contacts.apk issue.
The other thing that would be telling is after successfully installing the Edge.zip, whether you can modify something (like a picture) within the contacts apk within the zip, reflash the zip and have contacts/phone still working with the change active.
I think there just HAS to be abetter way than Factory Resets.
Thanks so much again for the insights. I really want to become at least minimally competent at hacking my own ROMs together so I don't have to feel like such a noob/mooch on here, but I really do appreciate the help.
What are your weapons/platform of choice, or, if there are better tools for noobs learning the ropes, I'm all ears.
EDIT: Just found this. The last post is interesting...
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s5/devs-only/recompile-seccontacts-apk-t3377142/page2

ForestCat said:
First, Merry Christmas!
Thanks very much. No rush on that, I'm OK on the Edge version for the minute.
What would be extremely useful if you have some time/curiousity would be to replicate my steps, ie renaming the untouched apk in a fresh MODest flash (i.e. break the contacts/phone function), and then see if you can get the whole thing working again without a factory reset, or if not, why. I see on xda, you & I are not the first ones to be tripping over this contacts.apk issue.
The other thing that would be telling is after successfully installing the Edge.zip, whether you can modify something (like a picture) within the contacts apk within the zip, reflash the zip and have contacts/phone still working with the change active.
I think there just HAS to be abetter way than Factory Resets.
Thanks so much again for the insights. I really want to become at least minimally competent at hacking my own ROMs together so I don't have to feel like such a noob/mooch on here, but I really do appreciate the help.
What are your weapons/platform of choice, or, if there are better tools for noobs learning the ropes, I'm all ears.
EDIT: Just found this. The last post is interesting...
https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s5/devs-only/recompile-seccontacts-apk-t3377142/page2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not exactly sure what's going on with your contacts app not showing back up. Ever since modestrom v8 (I think) I've been doing the multi dpi on SecContacts_M_OSup_Note_Legacy_USA and every time I would test it doing the same as your way. After a reboot if the modified app was no good, then I would just delete that new app and change the name of the old app back to .apk, reboot and it would work again. I can't remember running in to any problems where I would have to factory reset or reflash the rom to get things working again.
There has been a couple times where I've had to factory reset to get a color change to show up or if you're adding toggles to the QS drop down that also (sometimes) requires a factory reset to show up.
As far as the post you linked, that is exactly how I do it except I use winrar to open the newly compiled app and drag the changes to the original. When I drag the changes over I change the compression method from "normal" to "store". If I don't change the compression the app doesn't work for me. The apps that I've ran into where I had to change the compression are: secContacts, secCamera, secSettings, and framework-res.apk. Any other app that I've worked on can be dragged and dropped without compression changes.
Jar files don't need an original signature though (so long as signature verification has been disabled, which it has in modestrom). They can be decompiled, edited, recompiled, and copied to the system. It does require a dalvik cache/cache wipe though on all framework files except for the framework-res.apk and twframework-res.apk
If you get a chance, you should start using apktool to decompile/recompile. It will make things easier for you in the long run and most of the time if you've made any mistakes in your edits apktool will catch it. If you're not familiar with apktool you can try using Tickle My Android or Advanced Apktool. You may also want to get Apktool by itself. I use all three of them. Android can be fickle and sometimes what works with one app won't work with another. What's nice about TMA and Advanced Apktool is that they'll do the drag and drop method for you, but when the compression needs to be changed that's when I use apktool by itself.
Sorry for the word vomit. Hopefully, this all makes sense.