I wanted to try and see if it were possible to avoid having to hack smali code, or use CDMA Workshop to globally change your phone settings for displaying the carrier name, with the goal of making it easier for someone to change the 'Sprint' banner text on their vanilla lockscreen, HTC Lockscree, or Notifications Window, to something else.
Here's a way if you are interested (see end of post for links for HTC Lockscreen and/or Notification Window):
0. Make a nandroid before attempting this!
1. Download the attached XML file which I have modified to allow this option. The XML file, keyguard_screen_tab_unlock.xml, has been given a .txt extension so that it downloads correctly. After downloading, remove the .txt extension.
2. Open up the compiled binary XML file you just downloaded in your favorite hex editing program, I prefer HxD. It is freeware, and it's what all the kids are using .
3. I have modified the attached XML file to default to say 'HTC EVO' as the banner. This is just so that there is something to search for and replace. In addition, the compiled XML will allow for a replacement string up to 20 characters in length. You CANNOT exceed, or shorten the actual character length of data when hex editing. That is, you cannot delete anything in the file, only replace.
But, you say: "Hey John, 'HTC EVO' is NOT 20 characters in length!" This is correct, it is only 7, and as such, to the left (front) of this text are 13 spaces that I've left empty for you.
4. Search for the hex value of this 20 character string I've inserted into the XML, which is the following sequence:
Code:
20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 48 54 43 20 45 56 4F
As you can quickly tell, the hex value '20' represents a space, while the last 7 hex values represent the text 'HTC EVO', as follows:
Code:
20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 48 54 43 20 45 56 4F
H T C E V O
5. Figure out the text you want to use for the lockscreen banner, again, up to 20 characters in length, and use the following site to convert your text to hex equivalents:
http://www.string-functions.com/string-hex.aspx
In my example, I will use "John's Phone", which converts to:
Code:
4a 6f 68 6e 27 73 20 50 68 6f 6e 65
6. Since "John's Phone" is only 12 characters in length, I need eight more characters to replace a fixed 20 character length string with another 20 character length string, so I have to append 8 hex equivalent spaces, represented by '20' to the front of my new string:
Code:
20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 4a 6f 68 6e 27 73 20 50 68 6f 6e 65
7. Now that I have my new string, in the hex editor that I just opened the XML file in, simply search & replace the old hex value (be sure to search for hex, not text):
Code:
20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 48 54 43 20 45 56 4F
With the new hex value:
Code:
20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 4a 6f 68 6e 27 73 20 50 68 6f 6e 65
8. Save the modified XML file.
This XML file's home is in your framework-res.apk file, in the '/res/layout' folder. And you need to replace the default 'keyguard_screen_tab_unlock.xml' with your modified version.
9. Pull the current framework-res.apk file to your working folder via adb:
Code:
adb pull /system/framework/framework-res.apk .
10. Open the .apk file up by using any zip type program, 7zip, winRar, WinZip, etc, navigate to the '/res/layout/' folder and drop in your modified 'keyguard_screen_tab_unlock.xml' file.
11. Close up the file and push back to your phone:
Code:
adb remount
adb push framework-res.apk /system/framework
adb reboot
That's it. No decompiling java code, no hex workshop, just a little elbow grease. Once your phone comes back up, if you followed the steps correctly, you will see your newly modified custom banner on the stock vanilla lockscreen, assuming that this is what you are already running. Note, pushing a live apk file back to your phone may reset your widgets and/or cause you to have to reset up your sync accounts. You can avoid this by creating a flashable zip, or pushing to the phone as soon as it responds to adb remount.
While it seems like a lot of steps, I just wanted to lay this out as explicitly as possible. Anyone who does any sort of themeing or mild work on the phone should be able to pull this off in a few minutes at most.
Reference:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
EDIT: See Here for similar instructions for the stock HTC LockScreen.
EDIT 2: See Here for instructions for modifying the banner text on the status bar notification window.
EDIT 3: If running CyanogenMod, use the applicable version attached with the .cm6*.txt extension, and be sure to remove everything after the .xml extension.
EDIT 4: If running vanilla locks mod for Sense (rotary, slider, etc), use the applicable version attached with the .vanilla*.txt extension, and be sure to remove everything after the .xml extension.
This is great! Thanks.
nukedukem said:
This is great! Thanks.
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Click to collapse
Sure thing. Would love to see a screen capture by someone who pulls this off successfully, to verify there are no errors in the steps / sequence I posted.
I removed the text completely with 20's, so maybe this isn't the best example, but it worked. Thanks again.
nukedukem said:
I removed the text completely with 20's, so maybe this isn't the best example, but it worked. Thanks again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, great example. I fully expected that some would want to do that. Nice. Thanks for the confirmation.
Similar Solution for Status Bar
Here is an example for doing something similar for the status bar drown down menu, by replacing 'Sprint' with your own text, w/o CDMA Workshop.
This did, however, require some smali edits, which I was trying to avoid...
I am a total newb when it comes hex editing and so forth, but I was able to follow every single step with no problems, however, my lock screen still says "Sprint" following a reboot. I'm on Fresh 3.3.0.1. Any suggestions on what to check?
erikivy said:
I am a total newb when it comes hex editing and so forth, but I was able to follow every single step with no problems, however, my lock screen still says "Sprint" following a reboot. I'm on Fresh 3.3.0.1. Any suggestions on what to check?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you using the HTC Lockscreen, or the Android Lockscreen? This is specifically for the Android Lockscreen.
JsChiSurf said:
Are you using the HTC Lockscreen, or the Android Lockscreen? This is specifically for the Android Lockscreen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahhhhh, that must be it. Thanks for the quick clarification.
erikivy said:
Ahhhhh, that must be it. Thanks for the quick clarification.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want to verify your work, you can temporarily (or permanently) move the HTC Lockscreen out of the way, just to test.
Via adb, try the following:
Code:
adb remount
adb shell
cd /system/app
mv HtcLockScreen.apk HtcLockScreen.apk.bak
reboot
After rebooting, your phone should come up with the Android lockscreen in place, hopefully, with your custom text.
If you want to go back to your HTC Lockscreen:
Code:
adb remount
adb shell
cd /system/app
mv HtcLockScreen.apk.bak HtcLockScreen.apk
reboot
BTW, if interested, I could take some time and see if I can put together the same mod for the stock HTC Lock as well.
JsChiSurf said:
Here is an example for doing something similar for the status bar drown down menu, by replacing 'Sprint' with your own text, w/o CDMA Workshop.
This did, however, require some smali edits, which I was trying to avoid...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would be very much interested in knowing how you did this as I can't run CDMA workshop in a virtual machine.
JsChiSurf said:
BTW, if interested, I could take some time and see if I can put together the same mod for the stock HTC Lock as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This may come in handy too
JsChiSurf said:
If you want to verify your work, you can temporarily (or permanently) move the HTC Lockscreen out of the way, just to test.
Via adb, try the following:
Code:
adb remount
adb shell
cd /system/app
mv HtcLockScreen.apk HtcLockScreen.apk.bak
adb reboot
After rebooting, your phone should come up with the Android lockscreen in place, hopefully, with your custom text.
If you want to go back to your HTC Lockscreen:
Code:
adb remount
adb shell
cd /system/app
mv HtcLockScreen.apk.bak HtcLockScreen.apk
adb reboot
BTW, if interested, I could take some time and see if I can put together the same mod for the stock HTC Lock as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This worked perfectly! Thanks for going the extra mile to help a rookie. I'm a long-time CM6 user just experimenting with Fresh, so I have no love-affair with the HTC lock screen. I'm happy to see the familiar vanilla lock.
nukedukem said:
I would be very much interested in knowing how you did this as I can't run CDMA workshop in a virtual machine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't given up on trying to accomplish this 100% through XML edits. By coupling with a recompiled services.jar, it can be problematic for those who may already have a custom services.jar file for other mods. If I don't find a solution, I'll post what I did for the current method.
nukedukem said:
This may come in handy too
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll take a look. Can't imagine it should be much different that the vanilla lock change.
erikivy said:
This worked perfectly! Thanks for going the extra mile to help a rookie. I'm a long-time CM6 user just experimenting with Fresh, so I have no love-affair with the HTC lock screen. I'm happy to see the familiar vanilla lock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sweet. The fact that you pulled it off no longer makes you a rookie .
HTC Lock Screen
Okay, attached is the XML file to edit if using the stock HTC Lockscreen, as opposed to the Vanilla Android Lockscreen.
The instructions are virtually the same, with the exception being the name of the attached / applicable file is 'lock_screen_bar.xml'. Again, the attachment has been given a .txt extension for download, be sure to rename by removing the .txt extension prior to editing.
There are a couple of important differences between this mod and the vanilla mod. Since on the HTC Lockscreen the 'Sprint' text is centered, and I wanted to allow for up to 20 characters in the name, you have to center your text across the 20 characters, rather than right align by appending the spaces to the front of your string. Also, I defaulted / hard coded the text in the attached file to be 'Sprint', rather than 'HTC EVO', to make it appear to be more 'stock' in nature.
So, now, when you search for the hex value to replace, which is Sprint surrounded by spaces, you will search for:
Code:
20 20 20 20 20 20 20 53 70 72 69 6E 74 20 20 20 20 20 20 20
S p r i n t
To re-iterate, it is imperative that you try and keep an equal number of spaces to the left/right of your text, to keep it centered on the lockbar. So, using "John's Phone" as the example, which again translates to:
Code:
4a 6f 68 6e 27 73 20 50 68 6f 6e 65
You can see that there are 12 hex characters, since we need 20, I need 8 spaces (20 - 12 = 8), equally distributed to the front and back of the string, or 4 each:
Code:
20 20 20 20 4a 6f 68 6e 27 73 20 50 68 6f 6e 65 20 20 20 20
So, we simply search and replace (in hex mode) the original value:
Code:
20 20 20 20 20 20 20 53 70 72 69 6E 74 20 20 20 20 20 20 20
For the new:
Code:
20 20 20 20 4a 6f 68 6e 27 73 20 50 68 6f 6e 65 20 20 20 20
Then, follow the instructions in the OP to pull/push your file. This time, the file to pull is 'HtcLockScreen.apk' in the '/system/app' folder, and the home for the XML file 'lock_screen_bar.xml' is the '/res/layout' folder of the apk.
And once done, after a reboot, voila:
WOOOOOOOOOOH 2xThumbs-Up
oops, my bad
Is this doable on the incredible?
Here is the file. You could possibly modify this for me? I see what you did with the HTC EVO banner in the hex, but I don't know where to add that here.
silverxbv2 said:
Is this doable on the incredible?
Here is the file. You could possibly modify this for me? I see what you did with the HTC EVO banner in the hex, but I don't know where to add that here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What does it normally say by default? Verizon?
Hey... This thing makes phone calls too!
Can you use root explorer instead of adb push??