[Q] Can I Do These Things When Rooted? - General Questions and Answers

Hi all,
For reasons that are explained here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=46338664#post46338664 , I am wanting to try a couple of ideas for controlling/modifying the power on/off function of my phone (Sony Xperia Z). I never wanted to root this phone but now it seems like I'm going to have to to give me any fighting chance of getting around the issue I'm currently in.
Anyway, what I need to know is if any of the following things will be possible if I were to root my device:
--- Disable power button from waking screen or doing anything else, and preferably set a combination of keys to be what lights-up the screen, (e.g. nothing will happen on the phone unless for example the volume up key, then volume down key, then power button are pressed in that order). Then, if this is achievable, would it be possible to keep my mobile internet data turned on, while disabling people from calling me, (so that my phone won't ring at all)
--- Edit the power off function on my device so that instead of just turning off, it reboots instead. (However in saying this I would want this function hidden, as in, I want there to be a button that says 'Power Off', but instead of just powering-off, it does a reboot instead).
--- If the above is not possible, is there some sort of light 'sleep' mode that my phone can be put into so that it appears off, however can be automated to turn back on at a set time. (I understand that Android's can't be woken when shut-down because they literally are completely shut down and can't run any apps, but maybe there's a way to have it in a sort of 'sleep' mode where it can be automated to turn on at a set time?)
--- Any other option that will either A) make someone think my phone is turned off when it's actually still on, or B) allow my phone to turn back on automatically at a set time, or do a reboot instead of shut down when 'power off' is chosen.
Any help on this would be amazing, thanks guys

MHarris333 said:
Hi all,
For reasons that are explained here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=46338664#post46338664 , I am wanting to try a couple of ideas for controlling/modifying the power on/off function of my phone (Sony Xperia Z). I never wanted to root this phone but now it seems like I'm going to have to to give me any fighting chance of getting around the issue I'm currently in.
Anyway, what I need to know is if any of the following things will be possible if I were to root my device:
--- Disable power button from waking screen or doing anything else, and preferably set a combination of keys to be what lights-up the screen, (e.g. nothing will happen on the phone unless for example the volume up key, then volume down key, then power button are pressed in that order). Then, if this is achievable, would it be possible to keep my mobile internet data turned on, while disabling people from calling me, (so that my phone won't ring at all)
--- Edit the power off function on my device so that instead of just turning off, it reboots instead. (However in saying this I would want this function hidden, as in, I want there to be a button that says 'Power Off', but instead of just powering-off, it does a reboot instead).
--- If the above is not possible, is there some sort of light 'sleep' mode that my phone can be put into so that it appears off, however can be automated to turn back on at a set time. (I understand that Android's can't be woken when shut-down because they literally are completely shut down and can't run any apps, but maybe there's a way to have it in a sort of 'sleep' mode where it can be automated to turn on at a set time?)
--- Any other option that will either A) make someone think my phone is turned off when it's actually still on, or B) allow my phone to turn back on automatically at a set time, or do a reboot instead of shut down when 'power off' is chosen.
Any help on this would be amazing, thanks guys
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
YEP, as far as I know you can do all this AFTER you root your phone.. BUT you'll have to do a lot of in-depth MODIFICATION of your system's files (like framework-res.apk, android.policy.jar, services.jar, framework.jar, framework2.jar, etc.)...
Now when I say "modification", I mean that you will have to do a lot of smali and xml editing, etc. you might also have to write a couple of init.d scripts too.. its because the modifications you want to make on your phone are integrated deep inside your phone's framework.. so yeah

Root it, and install xposed framework and you can do all you say and more without any modifications yourself
Sent from my C6903 using xda premium

Install exposed and some modules like xblast exposed tweakbox these help modification without decompilation happy modding
Sent from my Xperia Live with Walkman using xda app-developers app

gregbradley said:
Root it, and install xposed framework and you can do all you say and more without any modifications yourself
Sent from my C6903 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you think I can do all this stuff without having to get into complicated things like code/scripts and all that? I am relatively tech-savy but my coding skills aren't tip-top to say the least

*UPDATE*
UPDATE:
I have now rooted the device, so is there anyone that can give me some step-by-step instructions on how to do either of these options?
(I've also gotten the Xposed Framework)
Thanks,
Mike

Just download the modules and activate reboot then edit what you want
Sent from my Xperia Live with Walkman using xda app-developers app

Related

New User Needing Help!

Hi guys,
I just recently got hold of an HTC Touch Cruise but the O2 XDA Orbit 2 rebranded version.
Ive been installing a few useful apps on this but some of the changes i make are lost after the phone has beeen switched off and then on!
Examples of this are the "hide sim" reg edit and the PCM keyboard as the default.
I am assuming that maybe the O2 version of WM6 on this is locked to prevent making these changes.
First, if anyone can confirm this or if not tell how me how ot get round this problem i would be grateful.
If this is the case then i would like to flash the phone with an "editable" version of WM6, are these what the ROMS people mention on here are?
If i am right about the ROMS could anyone recommend a good ROM, if they are specific to anything, one that is more finger firendly rather than stylus would be about the only thing i can think of to specify.
I realise this is a bit cheeky asking for all this but i have had a brief of the forum but would perhaps jus tlike a few pointers if anyone can spare the time.
Many thanks
Hi,
If you are turning your phone off by holding the power button then when you turn it on again it will reboot to the ROM image and you will lose all of your installed programs and edits. Try turning it "off" with a brief press on the button, you shouldn't lose anything then. At least I don't.
AFIK the standard O2 ROM allows registry edits, however you cannot edit the ROM contents. You can install apps and they should be persistent unless you do a full power down.
As for the question about ROMs, yes they are customised versions of WM6.1.
You MUST run USPL before trying to re-flash your ROM I suggest you read the upgrading forum there is a sticky there about USPL and loads of other threads about upgrading.
Personally I like ASergs and Bepes ROMs better than most. They are stable and have most of the apps I require.
Hope this helps, Good luck
Neil
Thanks so much for your reply and especially the promptness!!!
When i turn my phone off i have been holding the button at the top, i if i just press it shortly then all it does is powers the screen off. To be honest now i can get away without ever powering off since i charge every night.
If my phone freezes etc should i be using the reset button with the stylus to reboot - will this cause me to lose my edits?
Also if i used one of the customised ROMS is it still the same if i turn the phone completley off that i lose any settings?
I will give the upgrade thread now to gain better understanding, thanks again.
Guide
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=381600
neila said:
Hi,
If you are turning your phone off by holding the power button then when you turn it on again it will reboot to the ROM image and you will lose all of your installed programs and edits. Try turning it "off" with a brief press on the button, you shouldn't lose anything then. At least I don't.
Neil
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What?
Turning it off will cause a hard reset or what exactly do you mean?
neila said:
Hi,
If you are turning your phone off by holding the power button then when you turn it on again it will reboot to the ROM image and you will lose all of your installed programs and edits. Try turning it "off" with a brief press on the button, you shouldn't lose anything then. At least I don't.
AFIK the standard O2 ROM allows registry edits, however you cannot edit the ROM contents. You can install apps and they should be persistent unless you do a full power down.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm sorry to inform you that it should not be behaving that way, and if it does, your phone is most probably broken.
If you mean Hard-Resetting, your phone does not hard-reset when pressing and holding the power button. you'll have to do a combination of other buttons and the soft-reset button to accomplish that.
Oops, Sorry about that! I had total brain failure!
Of course turning the device off by holding the power button does not cause a hard reset.
My apologies for any confusion caused.
Cheers
Neil
Ok, on my device (which is actually an O2 Xda orbit 2, if that makes any difference) When i press the powerbutton once shortly it turns off the screen but all things are still running on the phone eg calls will still come in and alarms, sms etc.
If i press and hold the button the phone switches off completley but then when i turn back on after this i find some stuff has not saved how i expect. Installed apps still remain but things like default keyboard and my hide sim reg change revert.
When you hold down the power button at least on the TC, it asks whether you want to power off, presumably yours isn't asking you and just turns off anyway.
When stuff that you expect to be saved but isn't, like the default keyboard. Do you use sip changer or something like that? If I am using PocketCM keyboard for example and reset my device it defaults back to the Cruise/Diamond keyboard and I have to set PocketCM again. If you use something like a SIP Changer it will set it for you.
So that sounds like configuration things and not necessarily strange behavior.

[Q] I don't know how to make it work.

First of all, hello everybody on this community.
I'd been reading on internet how to fix this issue, but no clue at all.
My english is not so good so I'll try to be as clear as possible.
My mother gave me a HTC Inspired 4G, it has many apps and stuffs. It was working fine but it has a lot of apps that I wouldn't be using so (here comes the stupidest idea) I decided to reset it from insight (at that moment I didn't know about the power and volume shortcut).
After I did it, it reset itself then after everything seems normal, I unlocked the screen and then the whole screen turned to black. I could still see the time, date and also open the upper menu, but when I pressed Menu or any button, it just vibrate and nothing happens. Also I got a few errors like xxxx stopped working.
I can manage it to open Config menu, but I can't do much, I tryied to add my wifi connection but when I press the white space to put the password, then keyboard wont display. Also when it used to get stuck on Rethink Possible, but after plug in the cellphone to my laptop I could pass it. Now I removed the microsd and won't need to be plug it for that.
So right now, I can't download anything, I don't know how to fix it or return it the way it used to be.
I don't know anything about root and all those stuffs.
But I learn fast, so any link, tutorial, tips or guidance for these issues, I'll make good use of it.
What I have to do in order to make it work.
Thank you very much in advance.
Do you know what software version you are running, whether the phone is unlocked or rooted, or any other details?
It says 2.3.3 if that what you mean, also I don't know exactly what rooted means but if I'm not mistaken, my cellphone is rooted.
When I turned on by pressing volume and power buttons, I get some kind of options like fastboot and so on, also when I choose Recovery, I get something called Ace Hack Kit, I don't know what's for. I see many options but I can't figure it out which one would help me with this.
It's obvious something been done on this cellphone but I though since I reseted it, everything would be deleted.
Shaagan said:
It says 2.3.3 if that what you mean, also I don't know exactly what rooted means but if I'm not mistaken, my cellphone is rooted.
When I turned on by pressing volume and power buttons, I get some kind of options like fastboot and so on, also when I choose Recovery, I get something called Ace Hack Kit, I don't know what's for. I see many options but I can't figure it out which one would help me with this.
It's obvious something been done on this cellphone but I though since I reseted it, everything would be deleted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What do those options say exactly when you press power and volume?

[Q] *HELP NEEDED* Alternate Power-off Option?

Hi all,
I'm having some trouble at the moment with my fantastic parents (sarcasm), who force me to suspend my phone, (which is my only internet source), at 7pm each night. However after getting an android phone about a year ago and discovering the Wifi Hotspot feature, this was no longer a problem given that I would just turn that on each night before giving my phone to them and therefore continue to use the internet past 7. Now however it seems they have worked out that I'm doing 'something' with my phone to continue internet usage after 7, however they have no idea what it is, so what they're doing is turning off my phone when I give it to them.
The good news however, is that they really aren't tech-savy at all, so I'm after some simple solution to work around this issue. The ideas I'm needing come along the lines of the following: (My phone is an Xperia Z btw)
---The power menu only has a "Power Off" option, this is what they're using to turn the phone off. Maybe if there was a way to make this option reboot the phone rather than power off, I could then set Tasker to turn on the Wifi Hotspot when the phone turns back on.
---Disable the power button from doing anything? (I would be happy to replace the power button function with a volume button, or even (if the negation of the power button could be temporary and easy to turned on/off), I would be happy to have to connect the phone to a charger in the morning to make the screen light up to be able to unlock it then turn off whatever is used to disable the power button so that I can continue to use it normally throughout the day
---Disable the screen from turning on at all unless some event happens such as the charger is connected for example? (The idea of this would be that when they press the power button to turn my phone off, nothing happens on the screen at all and they think that the phone is already turned off)
---Any other idea you might have. Long story short, I need a way of having my phone turned on after they turn it off or at least a way to trick them or prevent them from turning it off.
A major point to add though is that I REALLY REALLY don't want to root my phone. This will be my last resort option if I really have to, but if you can think of any idea that will solve this problem without rooting, that would be awesome.
Sorry for the 'noob'-sounding post, but I'm desperate for some help on this issue.
Thanks to all of you have read this and are able to offer some advice
-Michael
First of all.. ...
K.... some ideas..
U can change the lock screen to display turning off the device.. or some thing like that.. or just apply a password to unlock...
Think some more creative ideas Bro...
This is going to be Fun!!
Sent from my HTC Explorer using xda app-developers app
If u were rooted,then there was many way to come out of problem.
Why don't you talk to your parents and get permission to use internet.
Or try some black wallpaper which stays even when pressing power button..or anything like that...
Sent by 桑傑庫馬爾 :stirthepot:
jime1 said:
First of all.. ...
K.... some ideas..
U can change the lock screen to display turning off the device.. or some thing like that.. or just apply a password to unlock...
Think some more creative ideas Bro...
This is going to be Fun!!
Sent from my HTC Explorer using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I could try changing the background I guess, but with password locking, you don't need to unlock the phone to turn it off, the Xperia Z let's you shut down on the lock screen
Oh man... is there any setting to change that ' shut down without unlocking' thing ?
Keep searching :thumbup::thumbup:
Sent from my HTC Explorer using xda app-developers app
jime1 said:
Oh man... is there any setting to change that ' shut down without unlocking' thing ?
Keep searching :thumbup::thumbup:
Sent from my HTC Explorer using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well yeah there might be, but if the screen lights up at all when the power button is either pressed or held which they'll do to turn it off, then they'll know it's on obviously, so if there's no power-off option, they'll just come to me and tell me to turn it off. the idea is for them to think it's turned off not have them know it's on but not let them turn it off
Anyway, thanks for your ideas, the background change is at least a start
Try changing shut down button into some combination of key so.. like volume up + volume down + power key..
Sent from my HTC Explorer using xda app-developers app

[Q] Are Reboot Utilities safe?

Whenever I turn off or reboot my phone from the ROM's power menu the system takes a second or two to close apps and then turns off. While the reboot utilities turn off the OS the moment I press the reboot/power off option on the menu.
Are these utilities safe to use as they seem be like yanking the power cord off of a running device?
(I'm on 5.0 preview and the power menu is limited to just Power Off for now, and I'd like convenient options to go to recovery/bootloader, but not at the cost of corrupting OS files, thanks)
thanks so much people, but don't everybody speak at once.
the_rebel said:
thanks so much people, but don't everybody speak at once.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's a sure fire way to get an answer.
It kinda worked.
the_rebel said:
It kinda worked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not really. I didn't give you a useful answer. I didn't know the answer the first time I read the thread. You're right that it needs to unmount the filesystems cleanly when shutting down, but whether that's what is happening when you shut down via the power menu that causes the delay I don't know
I use the "reboot" command all the time though, and I haven't lost any data yet
Yeah it usually works safe enough, but I vaguely remember an year or so back on my N4 it created some problem, and I stopped using any abrupt reboots. Stopping to use those was easy on custom ROMs anyway.
The logic is sound. If there's some file activity going on, an abrupt reboot will cause file system corruption - hell we use safely remove on USB drives too, this is a whole computer.

Power button / Screen Wake Suddenly don't work

Hey guys,
strange and frustrating problem. I was using my phone pretty extensively today (although nothing crazy), mostly thanks to Pokemon Go. Tonight after using my phone normally, I went to press the power button to turn the screen off and nothing happened. I was able to reboot (by changing one of the long-press actions to bring up the power menu via GravityBox) and then was unable to power on the phone. It seems like my hardware power button has suddenly become unresponsive. This leaves me unable to power on/off the phone, including booting into the bootloader. Also, I seem to be unable to wake my phone up by double tapping the screen or swiping up.
The phone otherwise functions fine. If I get a notification, the screen wakes up and I can use the phone. Otherwise, the only way I've been able to get into the phone is by connecting it to a computer and issuing ADB commands. The IR blaster functions fine which makes me think it's not the hardware button?
Has this happened to anyone else before? Can the power button just break like that without any water / physical damage? The fact that I also can't wake the screen makes me think it's a software issue. One other thing I suspect is that my phone abruptly died yesterday (battery died despite software thinking it still had juice left). In the past, with the modified kernel / rom, this has resulted in some nasty issues, including 4G not working and the Android system process basically exploding. I thought I lucked out when I powered it on after that, but maybe it just took a day for this issue to manifest itself.
I'm going to make a NANDROID backup and try flashing a few different things to see if I can fix it. I'll post my progress here.
Current build:
- Verizon M8, S-OFF
- TWRP
- Android GPE 6.0 (MRA58K.H13)
Edit: I haven't been able to find a fix. I'm a bit afraid to try a full RUU since I can't use the hardware keys to reboot into the bootloader should something go wrong. It may just be that my PWR hardware button is f'd which really sucks. I'm not sure I'm up to cracking open the phone to fix it. In the meantime I downloaded an app called Gravity Screen On/Off which uses the phone's proximity sensor to wake the screen up and it seems to work ok for now.

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