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Koush Auto Browser without commands.

Well i know many of you have done this but i havnt seen it posted in this thread so here it goes just in case. * Longer Process* but skips dealing with all the commands.
To get auto rotate browser without going through all the command process.
1. Download Koush auto rotate browser here, http://www.koushikdutta.com/2008/12/auto-rotate-for-android-browser.html.
2. Open the browser.apk file, I use winrar.
3. Copy all files from that zip.
4. Open any theme of your choice using winrar, goto app and open the browser.apk
5. Open the browser.apk in winrar and paste the files that you have copied from Koush's browser.apk
6. Save, Now you must autosign your update.zip by following this thread. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=3178676
7. Now put the update.zip that you just signed into the root of your sdcard.
7. Turn off phone and boot using home+power
8. Now hit alt+s to update, when finished reboot and walaah!
*This is for the people who are not comfortable using command prompt, works like a charm, has been tested on my phone using jf 1.31 rc30
? Has anyone els tried this and succeeded ?

Not understanding # 2, I went and downloaded the browser, it's an .apk not a zip file?

just fyi, the koush's browser does not need the odex file removed. it is just unnecessary, so why not remove it?

Edit your link for autosigning

chief2842 said:
Not understanding # 2, I went and downloaded the browser, it's an .apk not a zip file?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is an apk file but opens up as zip

momentarylapseofreason said:
Edit your link for autosigning
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
autosign link now fixed, thanks for the heads up.

diaztradeinc said:
4. Open any theme of your choice using winrar, goto app and open the browser.apk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok- G1 newbie here- by theme you mean JF RC30/ADP1/RC8 etc?- YES is the answer to that-
now do i just zip the folder with the pasted files in it? Do i add it to archive? I did that, then chose RAR format and then changed name of file to Browser.apk. Is this correct?

crap! just realised i need java installed for this to work....... will try later..... still not sure if i did the rezipping procedure properly....

am i supposed to rename the "updated_signed.zip" file to "update.zip"?

stogchris81 said:
am i supposed to rename the "updated_signed.zip" file to "update.zip"?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you do, let me know how it works out for you.

actually, it hasnt worked out for me. ive done everything 5 times and it wont work.

stogchris81 said:
actually, it hasnt worked out for me. ive done everything 5 times and it wont work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried rebooting your phone after the update?

Well, I didn't before now, lol. Howerver, still a no go..

If his file is an apk, why can't you open the update, and replace the whole browser.apk file, then just resign it?

ill try it.
Has that worked for you?

hondamx525 said:
If his file is an apk, why can't you open the update, and replace the whole browser.apk file, then just resign it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes that's what I have done and its worked with all themes I have applied it to
I don't know why it wouldn't work for you, maybe your missing a step?

Me? i was just making a recommendation, i haven't tried it. Because he said to open the apk, and replace certain files.

Swype Recolor.

Does anybody have time to explain to me how to recolor the swype keyboard? I'm not a complete n00b just a n00b to android. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

calripkenturner said:
Does anybody have time to explain to me how to recolor the swype keyboard? I'm not a complete n00b just a n00b to android. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
extract it, check out the folders in the assets folder edit the ones that need changed. Drop them back into the original apk and push back to your phone.

Thanks S Dot, I'm gonna work on it now.

calripkenturner said:
Thanks S Dot, I'm gonna work on it now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
np. pm me if you need anything.

Any suggestions on how to do that on a Mac? I can't do anything with an APK without some sort of software and I dunno what to use!

woofers1803 said:
Any suggestions on how to do that on a Mac? I can't do anything with an APK without some sort of software and I dunno what to use!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
change the extension .apk to .zip and unzip it. keep in mind you have to sign that zip before you change it back to apk when you closed it up. just use photoshop or anything to edit the pics.

woofers1803 said:
Any suggestions on how to do that on a Mac? I can't do anything with an APK without some sort of software and I dunno what to use!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i use a mac, and i use the app called BetterZip. you can drag and drop .apk's into it and it will show you the contents. from there you can extract (drag and drop) what you would like and then simple add them back in (drag and drop). after youre happy with what youve modded you can then save the apk directly and proceed to adb push it to your phone. no "signing" required. very simple.
whatever you do, DO NOT rename the .apk to .zip and try to edit it, etc, etc. it will not work. maybe thats when you need to "sign" it or whatever. but using BetterZip there is none of that required. it can directly read and write the apk and requires nothing special.
another tip is if you are using photoshop to edit the images you should "save for web & devices" it makes much more optimized/smaller files

andyriot said:
i use a mac, and i use the app called BetterZip. you can drag and drop .apk's into it and it will show you the contents. from there you can extract (drag and drop) what you would like and then simple add them back in (drag and drop). after youre happy with what youve modded you can then save the apk directly and proceed to adb push it to your phone. no "signing" required. very simple.
whatever you do, DO NOT rename the .apk to .zip and try to edit it, etc, etc. it will not work. maybe thats when you need to "sign" it or whatever. but using BetterZip there is none of that required. it can directly read and write the apk and requires nothing special.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is similar to windows but we use a different program. I would recommend doing the above also. Very easy that way.

I got it pushed over and it shows in my manage aplications, but im getting force closes every 5 seconds and it hasnt opened at all. any ideas?

Help signing Apk?

I had a mod done to my widgetlocker apk , but i cant adb push it. Can someone please sign it for me so i can install using root explorer? Im not sure how difficult it is , so if its insanely hard or something im sorry for asking haha . Thanks .

Get apkmanager and it will sign it for you. Plus apk manager will let you decompile and recompile then sign so you can mod anything and it's a whole lot easier.
Sent from my Incognito Droid using Tapatalk

1. Add your JDK Directory to the Path variable (Right click on My Computer, Properties, Advanced, Environment Variables)
2. At the command prompt, navigate to the containing folder
3. keytool -genkeypair
4. jarsigner -verbose APPNAME.apk mykey
5. Push the signed app

sorry guys but im not real sure what a JDK directory is or anything. I didnt do the mod myself. i made a donation and had it done by someone on here. Once they returned it to me via email they told me to adb push it.. but i do not have any exp doing that and was hoping someone could help me out... there would be a nicely themed widgetlocker.apk in it for you haha

Different problem, same answer.
I have been trying to install a custom framework res for a while now. I am on a Mac. I simply have been changing ext to zip, unzipping, making changes, rezipping, using mv command in terminal to change to apk, and pushing to phone. It hasn't even kind of worked. Could someone please help? Are there any steps I'm missing? Do I need to sign the framework res apk?
Please help

lucas.scott said:
I had a mod done to my widgetlocker apk , but i cant adb push it. Can someone please sign it for me so i can install using root explorer? Im not sure how difficult it is , so if its insanely hard or something im sorry for asking haha . Thanks .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Post it or post a link to it and I'll sign it.
That said, if you modify one apk it is highly unlikely you will not modify others (which is a good thing). Therefore, I would highly recommend getting acquainted with the proper tools.
First you will need to install the Android SDK on your computer. Here is the link:
http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html Bear in mind that to use it you will also need to install the JDK (Java Developers Kit) on your computer but the links are in the instructions so it is very easy.
In addition to the SDK download 7zip if you do not already have it. It is a free archive utility that enables opening and editing the contents of archives without extracting them.
Lastly, if you just plan on editing images download Stericson's autosign tool so that once you finish changing images you can resign the apk which is necessary to install. However, if you want to delve a little deeper into apps I highly recommend Apk Manager. Not only does it include a signing tool but can also decompile apks so that you can do deeper editing.

dkdude36 said:
I have been trying to install a custom framework res for a while now. I am on a Mac. I simply have been changing ext to zip, unzipping, making changes, rezipping, using mv command in terminal to change to apk, and pushing to phone. It hasn't even kind of worked. Could someone please help? Are there any steps I'm missing? Do I need to sign the framework res apk?
Please help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The framework-res.apk does not need to be resigned. In fact, there are few, if any, reasons why any system app would need to be resigned. Therefore, that should not be your issue.
That said, in the steps you listed above I see several areas which could problems so, it would be beneficial if you provided more information. Here are my initial comments:
1)When you are rezipping the apk are you recompressing the folder created when you unzipped the apk OR, are you selecting the contents of the folder (e.g. AndroidManifest.xml, res folder, etc. ) and compressing them? It is important to do it the second way I described.
2)No need to bother with the mv command as you are using it. Once you've rezipped the apk (it will likely be named Archive.zip) you will need to rename it "framework-res.apk" at which point you should only need to push the apk back to the phone. The process would go like this:
a)put modified framework-res.apk into the tools folder (located in the SDK folder)
b)open up terminal.app
c)type "cd " (without the quotes) and drag the tools folder located in the sdk folder into the terminal terminal window, and press Enter
d)type "./adb remount" (without the quotes) and press Enter
e)type "./adb push framework-res.apk /system/framework/" (without the quotes) and press Enter
f)type "./adb reboot" (without the quotes) and press Enter. (The phone will reboot which is necessary to see your changes)
g)Marvel at your accomplishment
Obviously, you should make a nandroid backup of your phone first so that in case you mess anything up you can restore it as if nothing happened.
If you have any more questions simply post them and I'd be happy to answer them. I bought and rooted my EVO the day it first came out which was before there were any Mac tutorials and have since become fluent in adb due to lots of trial and error.

could you possibly help me with my widgetlocker apk? i have adb pushed ( finally learned how to do that on mac) and it still wont install . have contacted ultralynx (he did the mod) but im not getting a response...thank you .

lucas.scott said:
could you possibly help me with my widgetlocker apk? i have adb pushed ( finally learned how to do that on mac) and it still wont install . have contacted ultralynx (he did the mod) but im not getting a response...thank you .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm... If ultralynx did the mod for you it is probably already signed. I've seen some of his threads and he clearly knows what he is doing. And, signing is apk-modding-101.
Where did you ./adb push the widget locker to? /system/app/ or /data/app/? Adb push does not install the apk if you push to /data/app/
My recommendation would be to do the following:
1)Using root explorer, find and delete the widgetlocker.apk from wherever you adb pushed it on your phone. Exit out of Root Explorer.
2)Reboot phone
3)Confirm that you don't have any previously installed versions of WIdget Locker on your phone. From your home screen press the menu button and navigate to Settings-->Applications-->Manage Applications-->All and look for Widget Locker. If you find it select and uninstall it.
4)Assuming the modified widget locker.apk was signed you should not need to mess with adb. You certainly can but it is not necessary and I'd hate to confuse you with the commands. So... Instead, connect the EVO to your computer and mount as disk drive. Put the widget locker.apk you want to install on your sdcard. Personally, I would recommend creating a folder named Apps and putting it in there.
5)Unmount phone as disk drive and unplug phone from computer
6) Using any file manager (Root explorer is fine) navigate to the apk on your sdcard and select install.
If that doesn't work let me know

Found problem, need answer
okolowicz said:
The framework-res.apk does not need to be resigned. In fact, there are few, if any, reasons why any system app would need to be resigned. Therefore, that should not be your issue.
That said, in the steps you listed above I see several areas which could problems so, it would be beneficial if you provided more information. Here are my initial comments:
1)When you are rezipping the apk are you recompressing the folder created when you unzipped the apk OR, are you selecting the contents of the folder (e.g. AndroidManifest.xml, res folder, etc. ) and compressing them? It is important to do it the second way I described.
2)No need to bother with the mv command as you are using it. Once you've rezipped the apk (it will likely be named Archive.zip) you will need to rename it "framework-res.apk" at which point you should only need to push the apk back to the phone. The process would go like this:
a)put modified framework-res.apk into the tools folder (located in the SDK folder)
b)open up terminal.app
c)type "cd " (without the quotes) and drag the tools folder located in the sdk folder into the terminal terminal window, and press Enter
d)type "./adb remount" (without the quotes) and press Enter
e)type "./adb push framework-res.apk /system/framework/" (without the quotes) and press Enter
f)type "./adb reboot" (without the quotes) and press Enter. (The phone will reboot which is necessary to see your changes)
g)Marvel at your accomplishment
Obviously, you should make a nandroid backup of your phone first so that in case you mess anything up you can restore it as if nothing happened.
If you have any more questions simply post them and I'd be happy to answer them. I bought and rooted my EVO the day it first came out which was before there were any Mac tutorials and have since become fluent in adb due to lots of trial and error.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the help okolwoiz. I am fluent in adb and have been hacking for a while. I think I know the problem. The mod I was trying to theme (drop down notifications bar) is a .9.png, which means it is automatically resized to fit the phone. These are different than normal .png files. I know i need to use a draw9 something file in the sdk, but I don't know how. Any help would be great. Thanks
Dk

yeah i have tried all of that . It always just says "Application not installed" . No matter how i get it on the phone . ore than happy to send it to you to see if its the file or my phone .

Thanks this thread has helped me and I was just wondering through aimlessly.. And stumbled upon tis thread.
Sent from my netarchy_toast, froyo beast of a machine evo!

glad it helped someone haha

[Q] How to modify lenovo-res.apk?

Hi, I'm trying translate lenovo-res.apk for my lenovo a850 but I still can't do it. I always get only bootloop. I try apktool, kitchen, jBart... I'm trying it many days. Can anyone help me? Thanks

Tedruart said:
Hi, I'm trying translate lenovo-res.apk for my lenovo a850 but I still can't do it. I always get only bootloop. I try apktool, kitchen, jBart... I'm trying it many days. Can anyone help me? Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same problem on Lenovo P770....

I can help. Try the following steps:
1. Make a full backup of your device!
2. Get the lenovo-res.apk file onto your PC. Copy it to a safe place as a backup.
3. Download an archive manager (WinRAR, 7zip), and open it.
4. While in the archiver, navigate to the directory where the lenovo-res.apk file is located (not the backup one!).
5. Extract lenovo-res.apk to an empty folder of your choice (name suggestion - "lenovo-res modding").
6. Go back to your regular file explorer and open the folder you just extracted the files to. Open and modify what you like.
7. Now, open up your archiver program again, and navigate to the directory inside the lenovo-res.apk file where the files you modified belong (for example, lenovo-res.apk\res\drawable-mdpi).
8. Back in your regular file explorer, select and drag the modified files from the file explorer window into the archiver window. Drop the files in the archiver window.
9. Hit "Yes" or "OK" if asked if you're sure.
10. Repeat steps 6-9 as many times as necessary.
11. When done, close the archiver window to finalize the changes.
12, Now, you can ADB push the modded lenovo-res.apk file to your device, but don't replace the one on your system with the push! You will get a bootloop!
13. Instead, push it to your external sdcard (for example, /mnt/sdcard).
14. On your device, open up your file explorer app (I use ES File Explorer), and navigate to where you pushed the lenovo-res.apk. Copy it, and paste it directly into the directory where the system file is (for example, /system/framework).
15. If the paste succeeds, you did it. Your device will hot reboot itself after the replacement, and will then boot up using the new lenovo-res.apk.
16. Done!
If the above steps are helpful, please, please click the Thanks button below!
:good:

Thanks, but this will not help me. Because I need give to lenovo-res.apk new slovak and czech translates (folders values-sk and values-cs). If I unzip the apk file, as you wrote, there is no all subdirectories in "res" directory, where language files are.
All Subdirectories in "res" directory are creates only when you use JBart or Apktool:
color\
drawable\
drawable-hdpi\
layout\
values\
values-in\
values-ms\
values-ru\
values-vi\
values-zh-rCN\
If you will use 7ZIP, there are only:
color\
drawable\
drawable-hdpi\
layout\
I need to add values-sk and values-cs subdirectories. Normaly I use jBart or Apktool, make lenovo-res.apk file, no errors. Then install ROM file, but phone will stop on bootloop. On all other apk files procedure with jBart/Apktool works well, except lenovo-res.apk not.
I do not know how to compile this one apk. Please help me. Thanks.

I know this is a little bit off topic..Kindly help.. am trying to locate the systemUI apk on my lenovo k80m.. cant seem to find it in priv- app or app folders.

[Q] "google play services" requirement without gapps

Hi,
I run OmniRom without gapps (with NOGAPPS actually) and there's an app that refuses to start with the error "google play services is not installed, contact the device manufacturer".
Is there anything I can do to "fool" the app in thinking GSF is installed? I don't care about the push notifications the app is using.
Thank you.

wkwkwk said:
Hi,
I run OmniRom without gapps (with NOGAPPS actually) and there's an app that refuses to start with the error "google play services is not installed, contact the device manufacturer".
Is there anything I can do to "fool" the app in thinking GSF is installed? I don't care about the push notifications the app is using.
Thank you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is this problematic app?

thenookieforlife3 said:
What is this problematic app?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello. Thanks for your reply. It's:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nz.co.asb.asbmobile
I tried using apktool to decompress it, remove the dependencies from AndroidManifest.xml but I couldn't compile it back.
Thoughts?
Thank you

wkwkwk said:
Hello. Thanks for your reply. It's:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nz.co.asb.asbmobile
I tried using apktool to decompress it, remove the dependencies from AndroidManifest.xml but I couldn't compile it back.
Thoughts?
Thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The hard thing about decompressing, editing, and recompiling apps is that when you recompile it you also have to resign it. See, when you take apart an app the signature is stripped, and the signature is what allows the app to install properly.
Fortunately, there are several utilities out there that will help you do this.

thenookieforlife3 said:
The hard thing about decompressing, editing, and recompiling apps is that when you recompile it you also have to resign it. See, when you take apart an app the signature is stripped, and the signature is what allows the app to install properly.
Fortunately, there are several utilities out there that will help you do this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem wasn't the signing part, I wasn't reaching that step since the apk wasn't building anymore afterwards, it was giving out errors about not finding some files (I don't recall exactly as I haven't tried lately).
Would you recommend a particular app (ideally to run under linux but can manage with Windows if need be) to decompile and compile an apk?
Thank you

wkwkwk said:
The problem wasn't the signing part, I wasn't reaching that step since the apk wasn't building anymore afterwards, it was giving out errors about not finding some files (I don't recall exactly as I haven't tried lately).
Would you recommend a particular app (ideally to run under linux but can manage with Windows if need be) to decompile and compile an apk?
Thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What I meant to say was, don't actually decompile the app and then try to recompile it! It will give you errors, as you've seen.
Instead, try the following steps:
1. Copy the .apk file to a safe, secure place as a backup.
2. Download and/or open up an archive management program, i.e. 7zip or WinRAR.
3. Navigate to the directory where the .apk you want to mod is located. Not the backup one, of course!
4. Extract the .apk to a folder of your choice. Folder name example - "[name_of_app] modding" (without quotes).
5. Open up your regular file manager and navigate to that folder you just extracted to. Modify the files you want to modify.
6. Now, pay close attention to this part - In your archive manager, go into the acual .apk file you want to modify. It will just open right up as if it was a .zip.
7. Navigate to the directory in the .apk where the files you modded belong.
8. Now, back to your file explorer, click-and-drag the file(s) you modified from the file explorer window to the archive manager window. Drop the file in the archive manager window. It will ask you if you're sure that you want to overwrite, hit "Yes".
9. Once the file's in place, close the archive manager to finalize the change.
10. Now, all you have to do is put the modified app back on your device, use a tool like ZipSigner (find on Google Play) to resign it, and install!
Please do give me a few post thanks if the above instructions helped you. :good:

thenookieforlife3 said:
What I meant to say was, don't actually decompile the app and then try to recompile it! It will give you errors, as you've seen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the detailed instructions, however, to modify AndroidManifest.xml (where the GSF requirement is put) you need to decompile the apk using apktool or similar.
Simply unzipping the APK will not allow you to change AndroidManifest.xml.
I wish it were that simple

wkwkwk said:
Thanks for the detailed instructions, however, to modify AndroidManifest.xml (where the GSF requirement is put) you need to decompile the apk using apktool or similar.
Simply unzipping the APK will not allow you to change AndroidManifest.xml.
I wish it were that simple
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's odd, because that method is what has consistently worked for me!