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.
Related
So yes, Titanium Backup and the deletion of google talk are at it again. This time I actually knew I shouldn't delete then brain farted and did it anyway. So here lies my marketless and FC gapps everytime I pull the market app up.
For the record I searched as best as possible for a solution and the closest I got was a link for gtalk and the Evo 4G, and needless to say it still doesn't work, the market and the force close gapps.service still happens after re install
A solution without a flash and re-root is preferred, please educate the new guy! Thanks for the record I know I'm a jack wagon lol.
Search these forums (or Google) for Fascinate System Dump. It will have whatever files you deleted.
So dump files obtained. Is this is simple drag and drop to the OS or do I need a program on the computer to be able to interface with the filesystem on the Fascinate?
Bare with me guys, while I bring myself up to speed on tearing through the Andriod OS, hacking windows is one thing - tearing apart my phone for the first time - thats a whole nother ball game for me.
DeezNotes said:
Search these forums (or Google) for Fascinate System Dump. It will have whatever files you deleted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I did that, finally got the files onto my phone and reinstalled all the google.apks including ones that were already existing on the phone.
To no avail I still get the gapps Force close and I'm still unable to download from market after restoring Google Talk Service.
Any help or a simple suggestion would be appreciated - been trying this all day with no success.
I'm not sure if you "installed" the apps or if you placed them back in their proper folder(s), but my guess is that any app you had pre-installed which you deleted was previously in the /system/app folder. The dump has all the files in this folder. You don't need to re-install these files, you need to just copy them back to the /system/app folder.
When you download and install an app, it will install to /data/app. If you "installed" the files rather than copying them back to /system/app, that may be the problem.
On a side-note, this is why I like to move files from one folder to another rather than use Titanium Backup to delete apps/files.
Don't forget to reboot your phone after you copy the files back to /system/app.
Lastly, I'm not responsible for what you break.
DeezNotes said:
I'm not sure if you "installed" the apps or if you placed them back in their proper folder(s), but my guess is that any app you had pre-installed which you deleted was previously in the /system/app folder. The dump has all the files in this folder. You don't need to re-install these files, you need to just copy them back to the /system/app folder.
When you download and install an app, it will install to /data/app. If you "installed" the files rather than copying them back to /system/app, that may be the problem.
On a side-note, this is why I like to move files from one folder to another rather than use Titanium Backup to delete apps/files.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Roger that side note - that will be my new policy when managing files.
As far as the clarification - I have been indeed installing the apps instead of moving them to the appropriate location - I guess the difference in installation location never occurred to me. Thank you in advance for the heads up and I'll report my success or failure, hopefully success after i get out of work this evening.
Don't worry if I brick I won't hold you accountable - after all I'm the one who deleted Google apps from the Andriod phone. LOL, In hindsight it was a terrible Idea.
I don't need to do back ups I said. I'm not gonna mess around that much I said...
So to spare you the details, I accidentally deleted my Contacts and Contacts storage apks on my phone. Bad times are being had. I was looking into android data recovery programs, but I can't seem to get the programs to recognize my phone. I'm about to just revert to OG stock and start from scratch. Will this get me these apps back? Is there another option? Any advice you guys could give me would be great. Sorry for being such a Newb :-\
Hi,
Yes if you return to stock you will have all your system apps...
What is exactly the name of the apps you deleted?
In case I'm right (I see only three) , see in attachment... Extract the three apk's, with a file explorer and move them to /system/app then set the correct permissions like the other apps here and reboot...
Good day, all!
I've been working on [my first] ROM for Verizon S5 and everything seems to be going great! I've cleaned out as much Samsung/Verizon/Google trash as I can, applied some tweaks to build.prop, changed some default apps to (IMHO) better replacements, and anything that is left (functions correctly) has been moved to /data/app so they can be Uninstalled fully (not just Turned Off). Just a few quick questions:
1) How can I "bake-in" app data? I have replaced the normal, crap launcher with Holo Launcher and cannot seem to get correct permissions when the ROM is installed thru SS. I believe the issue is permissions for /data/data/ get screwed up or not set correctly. I have looked and looked and tried to determine the correct permissions, but still no joy. I've tried to fix /data/data permissions in the updater-script, but it seems like each subfolder/file has different permissions making me think I'll have to go thru them one-by-one.
I have a work-around in place using a OneTimeInit script that does work, but it seems like that's not really the best approach?
2) Kind of ties into question number 1, I patched the framework-res.apk in to allow WiFiHotspot, but without being able to install the system settings data properly, there is not a "Quick Shortcut". Again, I've resolved the problem using the OneTimeInit to update Sqlite DBs after the system is up.
3) How do I de-odex the stock ROM? Using Android Kitchen doesn't seem to do it right. It works mostly but I still seem to get various FCs. I tend to believe that some things just cannot (should not) be De-Odex'd?
I've also discontinued Zip-Aligning because it sometimes produces errors on my ROM. Is it not advised to use Android Kitchen to do these tasks or is there some trick to getting it to work just right?
Bonus Question) I was going to share my ROM on XDA but it says I'm not allowed to post in Development. I assume because of my low post count. Any way I can get an over-ride or should I just make a few more posts and then do it?
Thanks again guys!
I appreciate all the help as always!
Jake
jake5253 said:
Good day, all!
I've been working on [my first] ROM for Verizon S5 and everything seems to be going great! I've cleaned out as much Samsung/Verizon/Google trash as I can, applied some tweaks to build.prop, changed some default apps to (IMHO) better replacements, and anything that is left (functions correctly) has been moved to /data/app so they can be Uninstalled fully (not just Turned Off). Just a few quick questions:
1) How can I "bake-in" app data? I have replaced the normal, crap launcher with Holo Launcher and cannot seem to get correct permissions when the ROM is installed thru SS. I believe the issue is permissions for /data/data/ get screwed up or not set correctly. I have looked and looked and tried to determine the correct permissions, but still no joy. I've tried to fix /data/data permissions in the updater-script, but it seems like each subfolder/file has different permissions making me think I'll have to go thru them one-by-one.
I have a work-around in place using a OneTimeInit script that does work, but it seems like that's not really the best approach?
2) Kind of ties into question number 1, I patched the framework-res.apk in to allow WiFiHotspot, but without being able to install the system settings data properly, there is not a "Quick Shortcut". Again, I've resolved the problem using the OneTimeInit to update Sqlite DBs after the system is up.
3) How do I de-odex the stock ROM? Using Android Kitchen doesn't seem to do it right. It works mostly but I still seem to get various FCs. I tend to believe that some things just cannot (should not) be De-Odex'd?
I've also discontinued Zip-Aligning because it sometimes produces errors on my ROM. Is it not advised to use Android Kitchen to do these tasks or is there some trick to getting it to work just right?
Bonus Question) I was going to share my ROM on XDA but it says I'm not allowed to post in Development. I assume because of my low post count. Any way I can get an over-ride or should I just make a few more posts and then do it?
Thanks again guys!
I appreciate all the help as always!
Jake
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1: All I had to do was place apk in /system/app or /system/priv-app and thats it. Make sure when you add your apks you dont unzip the archive. basically use kitchen and build your base rom then simply open the archive and make your edits. I also used the updater script from beans base build and only edited the ui print.. Messing with the updater script i wouldnt recommend as it could be causing some of your issues.
2: If using beans base theres no reason for you to edit anything as the hotspot is already baked in.. you must have borked it.. If you are not using beans base then maybe you should copy his files for the native hotspot as its already done properly. I wouldnt mess with framework or settings apks unless you know what your doing. Id work on gettin the fcs n other issues sorted first as you might b doin too much too fast.. work on learning how to make your apks work first before making edits to framework n settings apks.
3: The kitchen is best to deodex and zipalign.. also these two things should not cause fcs or errors if done properly. zipalign should help more than anything.. i just like workin with deodex bcuz its easier and only one set of files instead of .apk and .odex for just bout everything..
Again, if you are not using beans bases id recommend to do so.. his bases are already deodexed have hotspot zipaligned read/write to ext sd etc.. so you wouldnt have to do all from scratch and have so many issues..
Sent from my SM-G900V using XDA Premium HD app
elliwigy said:
1: All I had to do was place apk in /system/app or /system/priv-app and thats it. Make sure when you add your apks you dont unzip the archive. basically use kitchen and build your base rom then simply open the archive and make your edits. I also used the updater script from beans base build and only edited the ui print.. Messing with the updater script i wouldnt recommend as it could be causing some of your issues.
2: If using beans base theres no reason for you to edit anything as the hotspot is already baked in.. you must have borked it.. If you are not using beans base then maybe you should copy his files for the native hotspot as its already done properly. I wouldnt mess with framework or settings apks unless you know what your doing. Id work on gettin the fcs n other issues sorted first as you might b doin too much too fast.. work on learning how to make your apks work first before making edits to framework n settings apks.
3: The kitchen is best to deodex and zipalign.. also these two things should not cause fcs or errors if done properly. zipalign should help more than anything.. i just like workin with deodex bcuz its easier and only one set of files instead of .apk and .odex for just bout everything..
Again, if you are not using beans bases id recommend to do so.. his bases are already deodexed have hotspot zipaligned read/write to ext sd etc.. so you wouldnt have to do all from scratch and have so many issues..
Sent from my SM-G900V using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the response!
It seems perhaps I didn't quite make clear what I've done versus what I'm trying to accomplish.
Firstly, I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm "having so many issues". Everything in my ROM is in perfectly fine working order. I just have these few quirks that I would like to address both so I can learn, and to make this and future projects better.
While I appreciate the recommendation to use bean's base, I have taken a look at his and there seems to be nothing in his which copies data into /data/data/com.whatever.package (or at least there's nothing in his zip in the /data/data folder -- not sure if his ROM has the toggle activated?)
I have the Apps working correctly in my ROM -- they just go in /data/apps, /system/app or /system/priv-app, respectively.
What I need, is to get /data/data/com.whatever.package/ copied With Correct Permissions when the ROM is installed; I do not want a second zip to update things after install, especially for a toggle and a couple shortcuts, seems silly.
For instance, when you boot your phone up with the default [stock] samsung launcher, it has a list of default apps and widgets on the first screen you see such as phone, messages, a clock widget, etc, etc. Since I've replaced the stock launcher with Holo Launcher HD and some other default apps have also been replaced, there's very few shortcuts on the main launcher screen.
** Holo Launcher does have a list of default apps it adds to your main page, but many of those have been removed in my rom.
The solution I've come up with basically waits for the system to boot up to the point that Holo Launcher actually creates the default (mostly blank) /data/data/com.mobint.hololauncher.hd/databases/launcher.db and then my script uses sqlite3 to update the DBs with a list of different shortcuts -- ones to apps that actually exist.
The Hotspot Toggle is the same way as above.. Hotspot works fine in my rom if you go through settings!
I just cannot add the notification panel pull-down toggle to /data/data/com.android.providers.settings/database/settings.db until after the system boots up at least ONE time, and then update the DB to include WiFiHotspot in notification_panel_active_app_list and notification_panel_active_app_list_for_reset
As for the zipalign and deodexing, I will have to try those again now that I have a fairly stable rom.
****EDIT****
I think I figured it out. I can just use busybox to kill the systemui after I update the databases during the first boot. I also figured out how I can add the SetupWizard without it locking up on activation.
Thanks anyways, guys.
Look for my rom, coming soon!
=P
Please add support for more languages
I found a mod for Motorola latest 4.4 please port it
Sent from my SM-G900T using XDA Free mobile app
I am really pissed about this one.. tried to make a Titanium Backup of my stuff before I unrooted and wiped the phone to ODIN the ANE update (it refused to update after being towelrooted).. So that was my first introduction to the bug that prevents TiBu from writing to the extSD.. I found several threads pointing to adding a line to the profiles.xml file in system/etc/permissions. Well I added the line using ES3 note editor (copied the original file to .bak first), saved and rebooted, and as soon as I unlocked the phone, the toasts started popping up that nearly everything was crashing - repeatedly. I went and deleted the modified file and changed the .bak back to normal, but it did not fix it. No apps would open, and I had no data connection (neither Wifi or 3G). The only thing that fixed it was booting into recovery and wiping it.
And then it happened AGAIN when I tried it again (after the ANE update was flashed via ODIN, so I know it was clean). So WTF is happening, and why does restoring the original file not fix it??
At this point I can't even get TiBu to back up to the internal storage.
Taz420nj said:
I am really pissed about this one..
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There is no obvious reason why it shouldn't work of you reverted the changes. But of course that is the ultimate value of a tested backup method.. that ability to roll the clock back and revert accidental or inexplicable changes.
If you are certain that you reverted the edits.. no typos or line feed errors e.g.you used a linux aware file editor.. not notepad on a PC or something similar - then it's likely a permissions error.
What permissions does the file currently have? And what app did you edit the .xml with?
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fffft said:
There is no obvious reason why it shouldn't work of you reverted the changes. But of course that is the ultimate value of a tested backup method.. that ability to roll the clock back and revert accidental or inexplicable changes.
If you are certain that you reverted the edits.. no typos or line feed errors e.g.you used a linux aware file editor.. not notepad on a PC or something similar - then it's likely a permissions error.
What permissions does the file currently have? And what app did you edit the .xml with?
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As I said, I made a copy of the file and edited it with ES3 Note Editor right on the phone. Then I renamed the original file to platform.xml.bak, and copy/pasted the new platform.xml file into system/etc/permissions. When everything went haywire, I didn't try editing the file back (I couldn't - the toasts were popping up almost faster than I could clear them and Note Editor kept crashing), I just deleted the modified file and renamed platform.xml.bak back to platform.xml. I never edited the original file at all, so that's how I am 100% positive there are no errors in it - and that's why I can't figure out why renaming it back doesn't fix the mayhem.
Now I am a total weenie when it comes to Linux - I know OF the -rw-r--r-- permissions and what they mean, but I don't know how to make the phone tell me.. But in ES3 Explorer under file properties it simply says Readable: Yes Writable: Yes Hidden: No.
What sucks is I've had to go through and set the phone back up twice now, and lost all my settings/data in the meantime over this.. And I STILL don't have a working backup method, so if it borks again I'll be doing it all over again.. I am unwilling to blow the Knox fuse, hence not having a custom ROM at this point.. But I'm fine using Towelroot just so I can unbloat and install some things.
No one wishes for things to go awry. But of course they do sometimes and it would be imprudent not to plan for that eventuality. You didn't, nor do you seem to realize just how risky the changes you have been making are to your basic system stability. You are modifying critical, system level files and properties. The expected result if there is a typo or permissions error is chaos and corruption. If I was unable to have a working backup method (from refusing to increment Knox), I wouldn't risk the changes you are making.
It's all well and nice to customize features when things turn out smoothly. But all along you have been working without a safety net, so it's not reasonable to complain about the onerous amount of work it is to reinstall the firmware when fate bites you. You can't have it two ways at once. Either you incremement Knox, allowing inclusive backups and a way to recover. Or you accept that that you are taking crazy risks and having to start over the price for doing so.
You'd be in a better position if you had some basic tools to delineate what is going on. But you haven't taken the time to learn how to read file permissions. You are working deep within a linux filesystem, so this is a very basic and useful skill.
You don't use the same file manager as me, with mine (fx), you would long press and view details. Or even easier, use the ls command e.g. ls -la. There are a dozen ways you could check permissions and a simple forum search would elaborate on many of them. It sounds like you have permissions errors, i.e the system can't access the restored .xml sheet thereby causing numerous apps to crash.
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Uhhh, except in order to implement the safety net I have to make this simple change to this one critical system file. It's no different than not having a means to backup before rooting/flashing (since TiBu requires root and you can't do a nandroid from stock recovery) and something goes wrong.
Adding the <group gid="media_rw" /> line to the profile.xml is posted in MANY locations as a "this is all you have to do" solution to this rather stupid quirk in 4.4, with no mention whatsoever of checking/verifying permissions or any other cautions, and other people are not having this issue.
I installed FX, and it lists the permissions of all the files (including the copies of platform.xml and platform.xml.bak that I had saved on the SD card, and the virgin file currently in use) as 0644.
Taz420nj said:
Uhhh, except in order to implement the safety net I have to make this simple change to this one critical system file
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It's your phone so you can do as you like. But risks don't go away because you ignore them. There is nothing wrong with accepting a risk that you may have to start over if things go sideways. But plunging ahead recklessly then complaining about the work to recover is patently unreasonable
I had no problem effecting the changes you are attempting. Nor have many others. Perhaps you made a typo or followed a thread with erroneous advice. You may well have a permissions error because you didn't explicitly set it or check to see if it was correct.
It's all about attention to detail e.g. checking permissions and being prepared to deal with fallout when things go astray.
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I have a S6 lite 2022 LTE version SM-P619. It's rooted and works great but I tried to change to boot screen qmg and shut down qmg's with ones that have a bit more animation. They work once but next reboot or shut down the original boring qmg's are back and the ones I inserted into the media folder have gone poof. Start up ones are that important but my shutdown one is of a tv shutting down that look really nice on the tablet. once...
edit: after doing a few things on this tablen I begin to wonder, is there some sort of security on the root partion? When I delete a file from the system/app it comes back after rebooting. When I rename that file, it comes back to original after rebooting.
Most puzzled... never seen this happen before.
*Bump* because I would really like to know how to really delete an app without it returning after a reboot. Rooted and using Root Explorer. I go to Root/system/app and delete a file such as DailyBoard. When I reboot the tablet it is back in the app folder like it was never deleted. As well, the issue of overwriting the shutdown.qmg is same, reboot and original is back. Am I only one with this or is anyone else seeing this?
Okay, I finally found out why this happens. Samsung has made all dynamic partitions (odm, product, system, vendor) READ ONLY! So even if you are rooted, you won't be able to debloat or change files on anything in the tablet (S6 Lite LTE 2022 P619)
So after searching around for an answer, I stumble upon a solution that worked for me. But you have to be able re-build the AP-P619XXXXX.tar file. Reason is that you will have a new super.img that is Read Write and allows you to delete files and push files to your tablet without the changes being undone. And rebuilding the ap-tar file is because the tablet doesn't have a working fastboot in it.
Go to: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...system-partitions-to-read-write-mode.4521131/ and follow all instructions carefully. You DO need to be rooted and do need Magisk install to be able to use this method. Good Luck