So I purchased 20 Galaxy Tablets for my small business. My goal was to be able to customize the tablet to my specification i.e; turn off wifi, disable/delete/uninstall certain apps, and lock certain functionality. After a week or so of tinkering around I think am finished and ready to issue them out to my employees.
For anyone looking to do something similar with their tablet(s) here are the steps:
1. Installed custom clockworkmod recovery using odin3 V.1.85.
2. Rooted tablet
3. Once rooted, I downloaded the following; Smart App Protector, Titanium Backup, Root Explorer, and File Manager
3. I used Titanium Backup to uninstall the apps I did not want. Including some stock apps like Maps(navigation, latitude, and places are apart of the maps "bundle"), Browser, and all the wallpaper stuff I was able to find. *NOTE* Becareful what you uninstall, I had to restore the tablet a couple of times because I went on an uninstalling spree lol
3.5 Notice in step three I said I deleted anything wallpaper related. The reason for this is that I wanted all of my tablets to display the same wallpaper (company logo), and also wanted to prohibit the user from being able to change it. So after deleting wallpaper crap via Titanium I did the following
4. First I went into settings and set a wallpaper. *This step creates a temp wallpaper file which we will overwrite*
Then I created an image at 1280x850 res **The reason for setting it as 1280x850 instead of the native 1280x800 is that the next step will not allow you to crop therefor 1280x800 will give you a black bar at the top when the tablet is in portrait mode**
After creating the image I saved it as wallpaper.jpg, then copied it to sdcard directory of the tablet. Once in the tablet I opened Root Explorer and deleted the extension. So I was left with "wallpaper". Then I copied it to the directory /data/data/com.android.settings/files/ "clicked yes to overwrite" *After overwriting you need to edit the permission to read only. This is acheived by pressing and holding down on wallpaper until the menu pops up, select permissions and then set them to read only*
If done correctly this should disable the user from setting the wallpaper as anything else. Go ahead try it! lol
5. Then I opened up Titanium Backup, scrolled down to superuser and uninstalled it. Then I went into Market and uninstalled Titanium Backup and Root Explorer.
6. Finally I set up Smart App Protector to block Market and Settings.
Once everything was done I created a backup via Clockworkmod recovery. Then I restored the other 19 tablets using that backup.
I will be posting links on where to download everything.
Related
I'm using Cyanogenmod 5.0.7.1 on my Nexus One. Recently, it's been going through some random reboots, mostly while i'm on Pandora (music streaming app), but that's another matter probably. I don't think it's related, but after the last reboot, i noticed that the home screen icon where I usually have my Market app was a generic icon without a label. I should have tried to open it, but I trashed it instead.
I went into the apps menu to find the real market app to create another shortcut. It wasn't there. Application Manager (Settings -> Applications -> Manage; Filter:ALL) didn't show Market app, but did show "com.android.vending". Details window for that entry showed Application size of 0.00, with Data 108KB and Cache 1.79MB. So it appears Market app somehow got un-installled or deleted.
I hooked the device up to my computer, and `adb shell`ed to poke around. The directory listing for /system/app/ showed a "Vending.apk", so I copied it over to /sdcard, and tried to install from SD, but that didn't work, presumably because the installation it would overwrite is in /system/.
Has anyone experienced anything similar? I have no idea how the Market application disappeared. Is there a way to restore it without having to re-flash the the ROM?
Please help!
Market disappeared -- Resolved
To answer my own question, and for anyone who's interested, I followed the instructions at the CyanogenMod Wiki (wiki.cyanogenmod.com/index.php/Troubleshooting#Market_Broken), and it's working fine now.
Im a bit of a noob when it comes to Android.
im more a windows mobile person however....
For xmas i recieved an android tablet which is an awesome toy! but ive had issues with making the widgets work on the home screen - they dont show up.
Ive read forums and forums all day and each forum points back to xda:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=780828&page=13
Looks great, downloaded the apk tried to copy it to the system/app folder but it wont let me do it.
Ive managed to confuse myself after hours of reading so hoping someone can give me some ideas.
Ive read about needing the device 'rooted' i still dont understand what this is n how i do it.
Ive also read the file is to be pushed into the folder??
Ive downloaded the terminal emulator, file explorer etc... tried copy/paste, move, cut etc... all with the same answer of insufficent access.
The terminal emulator on the other hand i cannot use as its all touch screen with no hard buttons once running i cannot type into the program.
surely theres an easier way to load things into the system folders?
Sorry if its the wrong section or what seems a simple ask for some direction, I'm used to windows mobile and htc sence modding where you can just delete and replace files at will
Hey,
Root is like the administrator in Windows. By default, you have a user account, not a root or admin account. And therefore you're access permissions are limited. You do not have write permissions to most internal directories and are pretty much limited to the sd card, which is kinda like 'home' in linux or 'my documents' in windows. Also, cannot run applications that require su (superuser, ie: root, admin).
Rooting is the act of accessing the root user account, or admin account. Like 'jail-breaking' in the apple world.
How to root your android depends on which model you have.
For installing the widget app, as long as its an .apk file, you should be able to just click on it and be prompted to install it.
To access your widgets, should be able to log press on a blank area of the home screen and get a option box to select from. Or if you have a 'menu' button there should be an add option.
To use the Terminal, long press 'menu' and your keyboard will popup. Or click menu and there will be an option for the keyboard, also settings to change color, text size and others.
Sent from my ERIS using XDA App
Also, in the terminal, it will use linux commands, not windows commands.
You can google android commands and get a list of common commands.
Good luck. Have fun. If you don't have some linux experience, it may seem like there's a steep learning curve, but most things will become easy after a little tinkering.
Sent from my ERIS using XDA App
im finding this an incredibly steep curve - a bit too steep lol
I would recommend searching <(name of device) root guide> and then you will find your way around.
But, i don't think you need root, root is for when you need to install applications that you need higher permissions to control system settings. Also to install different versions of android.
Your problem seems to be only a bug. If you want to install an application that is not on the market, you just go to your settings and turn on installing from unknown sources.
You don't need to put it in system apps, the apk is like an .exe, just put it on your sd card, install a file manager program like ASTRO, and then open that app, go to the directory you transfered the file, and click it, ASTRO will give you the ability to install it.
patriotaus said:
I would recommend searching <(name of device) root guide> and then you will find your way around.
But, i don't think you need root, root is for when you need to install applications that you need higher permissions to control system settings. Also to install different versions of android.
Your problem seems to be only a bug. If you want to install an application that is not on the market, you just go to your settings and turn on installing from unknown sources.
You don't need to put it in system apps, the apk is like an .exe, just put it on your sd card, install a file manager program like ASTRO, and then open that app, go to the directory you transfered the file, and click it, ASTRO will give you the ability to install it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont think rooting is essential to do this but from what ive read - it helps.
the app in question is this: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=780828
this should replace the file on my system which doesnt work. unless anyone has a suggestion to get the same item by installing an apk to achieve as per the instructions state "copy into system/app and set permissions"
So how do you get it? The first step is to head over to this thread on the XDA Developers Forum. The top post includes a set of instructions and a download link for a zip archive containing three APK files that need to be installed in a particular order.
My Android 4.1 Galaxy Note II, with a KitKat launcher face-lift.
Now, advanced users who are already comfortable opening zip archives on their phone and managing files can do all of this downloading and installing directly on their Android phone. But in general, I recommend downloading the zip archive to your computer first, decompressing it, and placing the files somewhere you can access easily. To get them on your phone, email the each file individually (to limit the possibility of file size limitations) to an email account you can access from the phone. Alternately, you can send to Dropbox or Google Drive and then download them back down to your phone.
But before you proceed with installing them, make sure your phone is setup to work with files from sources other than Google. To do this, dive into your phone settings, select Security, and then with any luck you should see an option to accept files from "unknown sources." Make sure the box is checked and then back out to your home screen.
You'll also need to make sure you're comfortable with the worst case scenario: a factory reset. Members of the XDA Forum have reported mostly successful results using devices running Android 4.2 or later. Anything earlier is iffy. My Galaxy Note II running Android 4.1 was a rare exception, but even then, features such as Google Now voice commands did not work properly. This is a "use at your own risk" procedure, so make sure your photos, videos, data and settings are backed up before attempting this.
After installing the last of the APK files, you'll be walked through the introduction to the new KitKat launcher.
Once the files are accessible from your phone, via email or whatever method you chose, select the PreBuiltGMScore APK file first. You may be given a choice of how to install the APK. I went with the Package Installer, but other options may be just as viable. It may also warn you that you are replacing an existing file -- that's fine. Once installed, simply hit Done and move on to the next file, which in this case is the Velvet APK. Rinse and repeat, and finally move on to the GoogleHome APK file. At the end of installing that one, however, you'll want to hit Open instead of Done. Doing so will usher you into clean, slick world of the KitKat launcher.
As your first order of business, I suggest a tap and hold on the home screen, which will bring up options for changing the wallpaper, installing home screen widgets, and configuring your Google Now experience. If nothing else, choosing from the new wallpapers will help complete the KitKat transformation.
Many people would like to add custom fonts from their pc or online. The new Microsoft Office do allow to download custom fonts from cloud, but the list is not exhaustive. Furthermore if you want to use fonts other than English, there seems to be no way out. But fortunately I’ve found a way. Let’s get into action then:
Prerequisites:
Your device must have root access.
You must have a file manager other than the default file manager which can access root folders.
Before you begin please make sure Microsoft Word is not running; not even in background.
Steps:
Download or paste the fonts you want to use in your device’s internal/external memory.
Copy the font using the file manager. (In my case I’ve used ROM Toolbox lite)
Now keep pressing back until further pressing back will exit the program. Here you will see folders like .system, cache, config, data etc.
Now go to data>data>com.microsoft.office.word>files>data>fonts and paste your font
Follow the preceding steps for each fonts you want to use. In my case I could only copy one font at a time.
That’s it. Open Microsoft Word and you will see your desired fonts God willing.
Happy Typing.
Hey guys, this is my first thread, and I'm a bit confused on the app. Today I'll tell how did I stop the freaking google 'malware' from installing and updating every single day. This would work on any rooted device that has access to the data partition, maybe it could be reproduced via adb without root.
First off, I searched everywhere looking on how to disable, uninstall, break, or do anything to this forced battery hog. The best answers were using 'pm hide' on the package but this caused a very high battery usage, due to the file dependencies. So I searched where it was installed. Luckily enough, it is an user app, so it means I would find it on /data/app and /data/data. I will use solid explorer, but any file manager with root access and chmod to change permissions should do just fine.
Once we locate the folder (/data/app/com.google.android.instantapps.supervisor-1 in my case) we delete it. Utterly. After that, we will create a file, and name it exactly the same as the folder did. This is a dummy file that the system will believe it is a folder, and will try to install the application inside it. We fill that file with enough random characters for making the system think it can't just delete it (sometimes cleaners point empty files as worthless and wipe them out)
Now we need to make the dummy file unremovable for anyone but us, by using chmod. Solid explorer has a nice interface for that. We long press the file, enter to properties and set the permission to 0 0 0 (attributes tab). This makes play store unable to delete the file to recover the old folder, and when it tries to download the package, it will fail because it won't have a respective folder to be sent to.
After this, we reboot the phone and see that google play services for instant apps has lost roughly 90% of it's size, and when we enter settings>google>google play instant it'll ask for installation. I was bold enough to accept, just for getting an error dialogue when it tried to install itself.
Known issue: The app reinstalls once again after reboot. The cause is that, when android can't install the app in the first folder (the one that ends with a -1), it can create a second one (ending with a -2 instead), like an alternative. This is solved by just doing the same procedure above on the second folder, and you will end up having two dummy files instead of one. A third folder cannot show up, or at least it didn't in my phone.
Notes: You can repeat this with the folder in /data/data and any other data partition level instant app folder, but I wouldn't do it because I already broke all functionality since I deleted the base apk, and the app size is less than 300KB now so I don't think the trouble is worth it.
You must whitelist these files from any memory cleaner, i.e SD maid corpse finder will delete it thinking it's a leftover of an old app
WARNING; I'M NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY MISLEADS, WRONGS, OR PLUTONIUM-UNSTABLE ROMS THAT MAY EXPLODE IN ANY WAY. YOU ARE THE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR DEVICE'S SAFETY AS THIS ISN'T EVEN FULLY TESTED IN MY PHONE AND I DON'T KNOW THE ULTIMATE CONSEQUENCES OF DOING THIS. YOU ARE WARNED.
PD: Please make some suggestions about how I made the thread, I did what I think it's my best