Related
Hi!
Could anyone help steer me towards a solution please?
Or tell me if its impossible (and why).
I am trying to put together a script of some kind which I can use to do a basic rebuild of my Archos 70 after I have done a Full Reinitialization. I like to mess around installing all sorts of stuff, but when done, it's nice to reset and go
back to a clean machine.
As it's not rooted (yet?) I generally rebuild manually which takes ages.
Although a relative newbie at Android/Linux, I have worked with scripting
on mainframes and in the Windoze arena for many years.
The scripting requirement is quite simple, namely to install packages one by one from the SD card. Also to copy back Bookmarks, launcher setting etc
I am happy to work in any language which will work, but to date have just been trying with .SL (Bash?) scripts which run quite happily from within the SL4A environment or according to my theory, should work also from Android natively.
I envisage the script residing on the SD card and when invoked installing my launcher, Dolphin Browser, various other apps and games, then copying back the settings which I have saved (also by script) before the Initialisation.
Trouble is, I can find no simple samples which help. When I try, I can 'cp' stuff about and echo messages etc, but when I try to install, I don't really know where to start. I have tried just the name of the app package
'/sdcard/sdcard/packagename.apk', it replies 'permission denied' and if I try 'sudo package.apk', it says 'not found'.
I am assuming that the 'permission denied' is a good sign because it understands what I'm trying to do at least. But if I am allowed to do it myself, then surely my script should be allowed to do it?
I am quite happy messing around myself. But if anyone has any pointers
(sample scripts, which language/environment to use, etc.) I would be most grateful.
Sorry if this is covered elsewhere. I have searched but was unable to find much which helped. I am continuing the search!
Thanks in anticipation!
1. All normal installed Apps are installed in /data/app as the apk
2. Local/private data comes into /data/data/name.of.the.package
Both directories are ony accessible with root.
Hell again,
Thanks for your reply fzelle, but I'm not sure as to whether I may have explained it properly.
I am running 'Quick System Info' which is great, and it has a function to backup all the installed apps to a directory you can get at without root access. From there I have copied them onto the SD card.
I am not just trying to copy them into the working directory.
If I click on an app, it lets me install it without any problem.
I am trying to automate that part of the process, and I need the name of the software which does the installation, and how to actually give it the parameters for it to do the install. Although a Linux newbie, I don't really understand why, if I am allowed to install apps myself,
a script that I run should not be allowed to install them also?
Anyone got any ideas please?
Oops! - Sorry for that unfortunate typo at the beginning of my last post. Please read as 'Hello'!
No, i didn't understand you wrong.
You want to automate the installation of your std programs, and that normaly doesn't only include the apk but also the private Data.
And if you manually want to install this, you need root to be able to write in /data/data
If you just want to Backup/Install the apps, use appSaver from the market.
That has allready everything you need, and doesn't need root.
fzelle said:
1. All normal installed Apps are installed in /data/app as the apk
2. Local/private data comes into /data/data/name.of.the.package
Both directories are ony accessible with root.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not entirely true.
I have some SSH tunnels set up on my rooted phone that use keys and a shell script to launch them, all set up with Better Terminal Emulator. The key and script files are located under /data/data/com.magicandroidapps.bettertempro/home. I wanted to use the same keys and script on my A70, so I copied the files from my phone to the same directory on my A70 using the terminal command line. Although you can't browse to the app folders under /data/data/, there is some ability to copy stuff into them. I guess the trick is knowing what and to where.
I've not used appsaver, but Astro will also let you back up and reinstall your apps all at once.
Hi there,
I have an HTC Evo 3d, running LeeDroid's ROM from very early days. To be honest, never really messed about with it much, but had noticed it added a 'Secure' box to SMS.
Now, i don't 'think' i ever set a password for this, however it keeps asking for one, and i cannot access my secure messages. So, i was wondering if anyone knows if there is a way i can reset this password, or somehow backup the messages so they are not lost, then maybe reinstall something, and start from scratch, but WITHOUT losing the messages within?
I have had a look on both this site, and Google, however so far have been unable to find the correct answer, as not sure i'm even asking the right questions, lol!
Hopefully someone can point me in the right direction!
Thanks.
R0N4LD said:
Hi there,
I have an HTC Evo 3d, running LeeDroid's ROM from very early days. To be honest, never really messed about with it much, but had noticed it added a 'Secure' box to SMS.
Now, i don't 'think' i ever set a password for this, however it keeps asking for one, and i cannot access my secure messages. So, i was wondering if anyone knows if there is a way i can reset this password, or somehow backup the messages so they are not lost, then maybe reinstall something, and start from scratch, but WITHOUT losing the messages within?
I have had a look on both this site, and Google, however so far have been unable to find the correct answer, as not sure i'm even asking the right questions, lol!
Hopefully someone can point me in the right direction!
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried your carrier password? Like on Sprint usually my default password is 1) the last 4 of my phone number (most likely) or 2) my voicemail password. Start with one of those.
Hello there, I know that this an old thread but just in case anyone is still interested in this I found out some information(the hard way). First of, if you aren't rooted then there is little than you can do apart from cry and try to guess the password. Trust me, I've tried alternatives and even though both the password and secure box messages are stored in plain text, the directories they are in are inaccessible without root access. Unfortunately rooting your device deletes all messages and there is NO way to backup the secure box messages. If you do have root access then carry on reading.
I'm yet to find out where the secure box messages database is but the password is stored on plain text in this file "/data/data/com.android.mms/shared_prefs/com.android.mms.categoryInfo.xml" either read it or delete the file to reassert the password. Deleting the file will not affect the secure box messages in anyway.
Stefan3 said:
Hello there, I know that this an old thread but just in case anyone is still interested in this I found out some information(the hard way). First of, if you aren't rooted then there is little than you can do apart from cry and try to guess the password. Trust me, I've tried alternatives and even though both the password and secure box messages are stored in plain text, the directories they are in are inaccessible without root access. Unfortunately rooting your device deletes all messages and there is NO way to backup the secure box messages. If you do have root access then carry on reading.
I'm yet to find out where the secure box messages database is but the password is stored on plain text in this file "/data/data/com.android.mms/shared_prefs/com.android.mms.categoryInfo.xml" either read it or delete the file to reassert the password. Deleting the file will not affect the secure box messages in anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much for your assistance. Can you explain I. Detail how to get to that file? I put that link in the search bar (internal storage) and it won't pull anything up. I'm not super savy when it comes to stuff like this. Do you mind helping me out?
Stefan3 said:
Hello there, I know that this an old thread but just in case anyone is still interested in this I found out some information(the hard way). First of, if you aren't rooted then there is little than you can do apart from cry and try to guess the password. Trust me, I've tried alternatives and even though both the password and secure box messages are stored in plain text, the directories they are in are inaccessible without root access. Unfortunately rooting your device deletes all messages and there is NO way to backup the secure box messages. If you do have root access then carry on reading.
I'm yet to find out where the secure box messages database is but the password is stored on plain text in this file "/data/data/com.android.mms/shared_prefs/com.android.mms.categoryInfo.xml" either read it or delete the file to reassert the password. Deleting the file will not affect the secure box messages in anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks a bunch!!!
If you haven't rooted your device and don't remember setting the password for the secure box, you can try the same password you have for your HTC account. It worked for me, thankfully.
Stefan3 said:
Hello there, I know that this an old thread but just in case anyone is still interested in this I found out some information(the hard way). First of, if you aren't rooted then there is little than you can do apart from cry and try to guess the password. Trust me, I've tried alternatives and even though both the password and secure box messages are stored in plain text, the directories they are in are inaccessible without root access. Unfortunately rooting your device deletes all messages and there is NO way to backup the secure box messages. If you do have root access then carry on reading.
I'm yet to find out where the secure box messages database is but the password is stored on plain text in this file "/data/data/com.android.mms/shared_prefs/com.android.mms.categoryInfo.xml" either read it or delete the file to reassert the password. Deleting the file will not affect the secure box messages in anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks it worked for me 100%
Stefan3 said:
Hello there, I know that this an old thread but just in case anyone is still interested in this I found out some information(the hard way). First of, if you aren't rooted then there is little than you can do apart from cry and try to guess the password. Trust me, I've tried alternatives and even though both the password and secure box messages are stored in plain text, the directories they are in are inaccessible without root access. Unfortunately rooting your device deletes all messages and there is NO way to backup the secure box messages. If you do have root access then carry on reading.
I'm yet to find out where the secure box messages database is but the password is stored on plain text in this file "/data/data/com.android.mms/shared_prefs/com.android.mms.categoryInfo.xml" either read it or delete the file to reassert the password. Deleting the file will not affect the secure box messages in anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you so much for the password file location. I was able to recover the secure box password for a Desire 500 using this info without having root.
Here's what I did:
* Backup com.android.mms
Code:
adb backup -f backup.ab com.android.mms
* Extract the resulting backup.ab to backup.tar using Android Backup Extractor (can't post link, so search GitHub for it - author nelenkov)
Code:
java -jar abe.jar unpack backup.ab backup.tar
one could also use dd if available
Code:
dd if=backup.ab bs=1 skip=24|openssl zlib -d > backup.tar
* Find com.android.mms.categoryInfo.xml in apps/com.android.mms/sp directory of extracted .tar
help
positivew said:
Thank you so much for the password file location. I was able to recover the secure box password for a Desire 500 using this info without having root.
Here's what I did:
* Backup com.android.mms
Code:
adb backup -f backup.ab com.android.mms
* Extract the resulting backup.ab to backup.tar using Android Backup Extractor (can't post link, so search GitHub for it - author nelenkov)
Code:
java -jar abe.jar unpack backup.ab backup.tar
one could also use dd if available
Code:
dd if=backup.ab bs=1 skip=24|openssl zlib -d > backup.tar
* Find com.android.mms.categoryInfo.xml in apps/com.android.mms/sp directory of extracted .tar
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hey, i am new in these stuffs, can you please provide a better tutorial of what you did and how you did, i am also not having root and also i am not having the secure box password.
Hello!
positivew said:
Thank you so much for the password file location. I was able to recover the secure box password for a Desire 500 using this info without having root.
Here's what I did:
* Backup com.android.mms
Code:
adb backup -f backup.ab com.android.mms
* Extract the resulting backup.ab to backup.tar using Android Backup Extractor (can't post link, so search GitHub for it - author nelenkov)
Code:
java -jar abe.jar unpack backup.ab backup.tar
one could also use dd if available
Code:
dd if=backup.ab bs=1 skip=24|openssl zlib -d > backup.tar
* Find com.android.mms.categoryInfo.xml in apps/com.android.mms/sp directory of extracted .tar
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
positivew, thanks for your contribution! I got really excited when you mentioned there is a way to access the information without being rooted, but I am encountering some trouble when trying to backup com.android.mms through adb. Initially the process seems to be working fine, but the resulting backup only appears as a 1kb file. When I subsequently unpack to tar, the file shows no information. Certain posts online indicate that this might be due to com.android.mms being a system file and thus inaccessible unless you are rooted. Could you please detail the process you used a little further, I would be very grateful!
for HTC users - solution is a bit differrent
briggsjoshua said:
positivew, thanks for your contribution! I got really excited when you mentioned there is a way to access the information without being rooted, but I am encountering some trouble when trying to backup com.android.mms through adb. Initially the process seems to be working fine, but the resulting backup only appears as a 1kb file. When I subsequently unpack to tar, the file shows no information. Certain posts online indicate that this might be due to com.android.mms being a system file and thus inaccessible unless you are rooted. Could you please detail the process you used a little further, I would be very grateful!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you've got same issue as I do, then first you need to figure out the exact name of your messaging app. To do this, one could install "App extractor" from the market, and extract the Messaging application. File name .apk will be the package name, which for HTC Sense goes like this:
Code:
com.htc.sense.mms
and NOT
Code:
com.android.mms
Then, do the backup as suggested above, using
Code:
adb backup -f somenameofyourbackup.ab com.htc.sense.mms
You should get .ab file of around 8 to 12kb, depends on your message file.
Than just use whatever method for extraction you prefer (I used dd on ubuntu, but not the openssl version, rather python one)
Code:
dd if=yourbackupfile.ab bs=1 skip=24 | python -c "import zlib,sys;sys.stdout.write(zlib.decompress(sys.stdin.read()))" | tar -xvf
make sure to set correct path to yourbackupfile.ab (or place it in the home directory)
Then you should get folder app/com.htc.sense.mms/sp/ and here the file com.htc.sense.mms.categoryInfo.xml where the password is stored in plaintext.
Voila
Worked Like A Charm!
Many thanks. Recovered my password on my HTC One (M7)
Please help, I cant find the ./data/data only ./data - I use x-plore file manager
We are a large urban school district located in southern California that will be soon be distributing approximately 11,000 android tablets to our first grade classrooms. The biggest challenge we’ve had with this project so far is coming up with a way to quickly and reliably clone the devices with all the apps and settings. The approach we’ve been attempting to take is the same as how we would handle PC’s by creating a master image that then gets copied to all the other devices.
Our first attempt at doing this was by using adb backup/restore. This process was less than ideal as it didn’t copy all the settings/preferences that we wanted and still required a lot of manual configuration to get the devices in to our ideal state. The bigger problem we had here was that sometimes it would just hang during the restore. Most of the time it did work but we’ve run in to this restore problem enough that we need something more reliable.
So our current cloning method is using Clockworkmod Recovery. Basically we flash CWM on to the device, make our backup, copy that backup to the destination devices and restore it with CWM. Seems to work great. And it copies everything on the devices so there’s virtually no manual configuration that needs to be done.
However there’s a few caveats with this process. At first we found that it was also cloning the MAC address which of course caused havoc on our wireless network. Through a whole lot of trial and error I found that if I delete /data/nvram/RestoreFlag from the data backup tar the MAC address no longer gets cloned. Thought we were good, but…
The next problem we found when attempting to enroll the devices in to our MDM system. They end up replacing each other because they all show the same UDID and GUID. The MDM app is installed in the backup image but we are waiting until after it is restored to complete the enrollment. I’m not sure if the UDID and GUID is something specific to the MDM or if that’s a global Android thing.
So does anyone know if there something else I can delete from the backup to prevent this? This also raises the question, are there any other items in a CWM backup that should not be copied between devices? Or is there a better method we could use to clones the devices?
The device we are currently using is a Lenovo A1000 (MTK MT8317). After creating the backup I’ve been removing the system and cache tars entirely and only the file mentioned above from within the data tar. So the only parts that get restored are data and boot. Any suggestions are welcome.
ttttttttttttttttt said:
We are a large urban school district located in southern California that will be soon be distributing approximately 11,000 android tablets to our first grade classrooms. The biggest challenge we’ve had with this project so far is coming up with a way to quickly and reliably clone the devices with all the apps and settings. The approach we’ve been attempting to take is the same as how we would handle PC’s by creating a master image that then gets copied to all the other devices.
Our first attempt at doing this was by using adb backup/restore. This process was less than ideal as it didn’t copy all the settings/preferences that we wanted and still required a lot of manual configuration to get the devices in to our ideal state. The bigger problem we had here was that sometimes it would just hang during the restore. Most of the time it did work but we’ve run in to this restore problem enough that we need something more reliable.
So our current cloning method is using Clockworkmod Recovery. Basically we flash CWM on to the device, make our backup, copy that backup to the destination devices and restore it with CWM. Seems to work great. And it copies everything on the devices so there’s virtually no manual configuration that needs to be done.
However there’s a few caveats with this process. At first we found that it was also cloning the MAC address which of course caused havoc on our wireless network. Through a whole lot of trial and error I found that if I delete /data/nvram/RestoreFlag from the data backup tar the MAC address no longer gets cloned. Thought we were good, but…
The next problem we found when attempting to enroll the devices in to our MDM system. They end up replacing each other because they all show the same UDID and GUID. The MDM app is installed in the backup image but we are waiting until after it is restored to complete the enrollment. I’m not sure if the UDID and GUID is something specific to the MDM or if that’s a global Android thing.
So does anyone know if there something else I can delete from the backup to prevent this? This also raises the question, are there any other items in a CWM backup that should not be copied between devices? Or is there a better method we could use to clones the devices?
The device we are currently using is a Lenovo A1000 (MTK MT8317). After creating the backup I’ve been removing the system and cache tars entirely and only the file mentioned above from within the data tar. So the only parts that get restored are data and boot. Any suggestions are welcome.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can try use adb from Android SDK but this method needs root
We did initially try adb but it was inconsistent during the restore phase. Sometimes it would just stop in the middle and never complete. Didn’t try it on a rooted device. So maybe that would have helped…
Anyhow I found the solution to my immediate problem. Figured out what our MDM vendor refers to as the UDID is really the Android_ID. So by deleting that row from the settings database in our master backup image it’ll generate a new one the first time the OS starts after restoring with CWM.
I’m still a little concerned we’re going to find other issues cause by this cloning method later on but I guess we’ll just have to roll with the punches as they come.
In case someone else ever needs to clone devices like this and in the interest of sharing here’s the basic steps we’re following.
1.) Setup the master device as you like with all the apps and settings.
2.) Install Clockworkmod Recovery on to the master device
3.) Boot into CWM Recovery
4.) Mount /data and connect to adb
5.) Delete /data/nvram/RestoreFlag (this step prevents duplication of MAC address)
6.) Using sqlite open the database (this prevents duplication of Android_ID): \data\data\com.android.providers.settings\databases\settings.db
execute: delete from secure where name='android_id';
7.) unmount /data
8.) Create a backup
9.) Boot the device back in to normal mode and copy the clockworkmod folder to your computer. This the backup image you’ll restore on the other devices.
10.) [OPTIONAL] I deleted the system and cache backup files from this folder and also removed them from the nandroid file. There didn’t seem to be anything in these we cared about so removing those speeds up the restore process.
Once you have the backup image here’s how to restore it on the other devices:
1.) Install CWM Recovery
2.) Copy the clockworkmod folder from your computer on to the device
3.) Boot in to CWM Recovery
4.) Restore the backup
5.) Reboot the device back in to normal mode
6.) [OPTIONAL] Complete MDM enrollment
Sorry for the thread grave dig, but thanks for posting info on how to do this. I have attempted cloning in the past and ran into similar issues. My question - is this process the same for Android Lollipop 5.0/5.1? I have some Lenovo K3 Notes I'd like to deploy and cloning would save a lot of time.
Haven’t had the need to do any devices running 5.x versions so can’t say for sure. I would imagine a similar process would work.
But I will provide a bit of an update. Our initial deployment of 11,000 Lenovo A1000 devices have been out in the field since February/March of 2014 and no trouble has come to light using this cloning method. These devices run 4.1.2
Sometime around May 2014 we did another round that was about 300 Lenovo A3000 devices. Don’t have one of these handy and I don’t remember the exact Android version but it was 4.x something.
Then starting in October 2014 we put out another 9000 or so Lenovo A3500 devices. These run 4.4.2
All around so far so good.
For the A3000 and A3500 there were two changes to the process. For step 5 in creating the backup I had to clear the entire nvram directory instead of just the one file. I don’t remember what exactly but there was something undesirable getting copied over. The result of clearing this directory is the first boot after the restore takes a little longer as each app runs through the “update” process at startup. The second change was I could not get CWM to backup and restore to/from the internal memory so instead did it from a micro-sd card. This ended up speeding up the restore process since we didn’t have to copy the backup to each device and instead just moved the sd card with the files already there.
this should be pinned in android dev
also sorry for grave digging? except this should be a maintained topic. why isnt this an ongoing thread?
Hello everyone,
I use an LG Optimus L4 II (e445). I rooted it but then decided I had too much on it and decided to restore to factory settings. It all worked fine. However, when I got to the Google Account sign in page, it gave me the "couldn't establish a reliable connection to the server" error message. I followed every single tutorial I could find online as to how to solve this. None of them worked. Eventually, I re-rooted it (using VRoot) and managed to download an apk of ES file explorer and locate the hosts file. This had one line that shouldn't have been there:
127.234.104.240 android.clients.google.com
From what I can make out, this is the address of google's sign in servers. So somehow (I suspect malware/dodgy rooting program?) my hosts file has been edited to stop me logging into google. Restoring the device does nothing, neither does unrooting/rerooting. When I open up the file in ES (when rooted) and edit out the bad lines, I can't save for some reason- I think the /system folder is write protected.
So I tried to make the /system folder writeable. I used the android sdk to do this (mount -o command) but this did not do anything. I downloaded the mount /system apk and installed that, it did not help either. I tried /pull and /push on the hosts file to edit it and send it back using the apk. I could successfully pull and edit it, but it would not let me push it back. I'm kind of stuck here. I can effectively not use my phone- I can't use most apps and can't download any, and have no other solutions up my sleeve. Any ideas?
Thanks a lot,
Louis
(PS I hope I've posted correctly, I'm a n00b to this website )
Louietheflyisme said:
Hello everyone,
I use an LG Optimus L4 II (e445). I rooted it but then decided I had too much on it and decided to restore to factory settings. It all worked fine. However, when I got to the Google Account sign in page, it gave me the "couldn't establish a reliable connection to the server" error message. I followed every single tutorial I could find online as to how to solve this. None of them worked. Eventually, I re-rooted it (using VRoot) and managed to download an apk of ES file explorer and locate the hosts file. This had one line that shouldn't have been there:
127.234.104.240 android.clients.google.com
From what I can make out, this is the address of google's sign in servers. So somehow (I suspect malware/dodgy rooting program?) my hosts file has been edited to stop me logging into google. Restoring the device does nothing, neither does unrooting/rerooting. When I open up the file in ES (when rooted) and edit out the bad lines, I can't save for some reason- I think the /system folder is write protected.
So I tried to make the /system folder writeable. I used the android sdk to do this (mount -o command) but this did not do anything. I downloaded the mount /system apk and installed that, it did not help either. I tried /pull and /push on the hosts file to edit it and send it back using the apk. I could successfully pull and edit it, but it would not let me push it back. I'm kind of stuck here. I can effectively not use my phone- I can't use most apps and can't download any, and have no other solutions up my sleeve. Any ideas?
Thanks a lot,
Louis
(PS I hope I've posted correctly, I'm a n00b to this website )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After trying for a few weeks now, I've still had no success. One idea has come to me though- installing a rom. Would downloading a custom ROM change my hosts file? Also, if so, could anyone recommend one that is similar to default android? One last idea that I've got at the moment is sonehow completely wiping the hard drive of the phone and reinstalling androud on it, though I have no idea whether that is even possible, and if so, how to do it. I would really appreciate some help here!
Thanks again,
Louis
After reading, I can only talk as one who knows less than you.
Let me say this from the start.
Root=/= unlock bootloader
Find a way to unlock boot loader first, with a Google search.
Use fastboot to flash a recovery (.IMG) made for your phone. fastboot is something like adb.
Let's just say that that is more complicated than rooting. It gave me a headache at first.
_______/
Pertaining to your problem, how about a reflash of the system image?
The official lg mobile support tool may help you with this.
Search for your phone model on the lg support page, look under manuals and downloads, then under software update.
J2270A said:
After reading, I can only talk as one who knows less than you.
Let me say this from the start.
Root=/= unlock bootloader
Find a way to unlock boot loader first, with a Google search.
Use fastboot to flash a recovery (.IMG) made for your phone. fastboot is something like adb.
Let's just say that that is more complicated than rooting. It gave me a headache at first.
_______/
Pertaining to your problem, how about a reflash of the system image?
The official lg mobile support tool may help you with this.
Search for your phone model on the lg support page, look under manuals and downloads, then under software update.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not entirely sure I understand you here, but I'll try. What would unlocking the bootloader do to my phone? Would it enable r/w on the system folder? Also, what is a reflash of the system image? How would I do that?
I'll try these things if I can, but would still appreciate help.
Look around on http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Basic_concepts?
It should give you some info in flashing and unlocking.
It can give people quite a headache, with all those terms.
________
As for the part under the line, I'm talking about a restoring of the phone to the default state via official methods.
Instructions would be given by the official support programme.
J2270A said:
Look around on [I can't post urls yet ]
It should give you some info in flashing and unlocking.
It can give people quite a headache, with all those terms.
________
As for the part under the line, I'm talking about a restoring of the phone to the default state via official methods.
Instructions would be given by the official support programme.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, so from what I can work out, cyanogen does not support my device. Would doing it for a similar device work? Are there any ROMs that support my device?
under the line, restoring the phone via the official ways actually just wipes the user data, not including the HOSTS file which is what I need to wipe. What I really need it is basically a ROM that completely wipes my phone and reinstalls some version of android.
Any other ideas?
While there may not be official support for a phone for a custom ROM, you may be able to find unofficial ports/versions if you search for it in the forums.
From what I know, a system reinstall via official methods wipes data and almost everything else, then downloads from its servers system files to be installed to the phone. At least, my phone was reverted to a stock ROM when I restored it after using a custom ROM. It may be different for some, but generally, this is what I think.
Important: only use a ROM made for your device model only, do not use the ones made for a similar phone, the small differences are no longer small in this case and will cause a system error(?)
Generally, once you have successfully unlocked boot loader using a method for your phone, the instructions afterwards are generally the same for all phones. You'll be able to get better answers in the threads specifically for your phone, so try to look for one and look for the already tried methods,
Here's one:
<You'll need to quote to copy link>
Louietheflyisme said:
Hello everyone,
I use an LG Optimus L4 II (e445). I rooted it but then decided I had too much on it and decided to restore to factory settings. It all worked fine. However, when I got to the Google Account sign in page, it gave me the "couldn't establish a reliable connection to the server" error message. I followed every single tutorial I could find online as to how to solve this. None of them worked. Eventually, I re-rooted it (using VRoot) and managed to download an apk of ES file explorer and locate the hosts file. This had one line that shouldn't have been there:
127.234.104.240 android.clients.google.com
From what I can make out, this is the address of google's sign in servers. So somehow (I suspect malware/dodgy rooting program?) my hosts file has been edited to stop me logging into google. Restoring the device does nothing, neither does unrooting/rerooting. When I open up the file in ES (when rooted) and edit out the bad lines, I can't save for some reason- I think the /system folder is write protected.
So I tried to make the /system folder writeable. I used the android sdk to do this (mount -o command) but this did not do anything. I downloaded the mount /system apk and installed that, it did not help either. I tried /pull and /push on the hosts file to edit it and send it back using the apk. I could successfully pull and edit it, but it would not let me push it back. I'm kind of stuck here. I can effectively not use my phone- I can't use most apps and can't download any, and have no other solutions up my sleeve. Any ideas?
Thanks a lot,
Louis
(PS I hope I've posted correctly, I'm a n00b to this website )
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Well, the same problem persists on my phone as well. Whenever I change the hosts file by removing the additional line, it saves but after some time it comes again and I have to remove it again and again!
Ish Takkar said:
Well, the same problem persists on my phone as well. Whenever I change the hosts file by removing the additional line, it saves but after some time it comes again and I have to remove it again and again!
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I have this problem with my S3 and I always delete the "hosts" file! I should find witch process make this file!!
The multi user and guest account feature is not available on either of the two recent releases of Lollipop for the Z3v. I did some research and it appears this is the case, not only on other Verizon handsets like the Droid Turbo and the Galaxy S5 / S6, but a few other non-VZW devices as well. I'm not sure why it was removed but apparently it's just hidden. It can be enabled and I followed the instructions for doing this for the various other devices and can report that it works for our Z3v (see attached screenshots).
I've kind of cleaned up the instructions and put them below. Usual disclaimer - I'm not responsible for anything that may happen to you or your cat if you choose to do the following. You DO need root access to edit and write to the system file.
** To be safe, please make a backup of your phone and/or a copy of the build.prop file that you are going to edit.
Get ES File Explorer. Run it and enable Root Explorer setting. (You may be able to use any file explorer and editor with root access but this is used most in the instructions and works.)
With ES File Explorer, go to device/system/ and find the file: build.prop
Choose to edit it with ES Note Editor.
Scroll to the end of the file and type in the following:
fw.max_users=5
fw.show_multiuserui=1
Save the file.
I'm not sure if the next step is required but it was in half the instructions I saw, and I did it myself: Click and hold the file, go to Properties, and then change the permissions to Read, Write & Execute. [all three]
Reboot your phone.
When you're up and running, access multi user mode by pulling down your notification shade and then clicking on your user icon at the top right corner.
Notes so far:
A guest user does not have access to the original user's files on the internal drive - the guest user has their own file directory. The guest CAN access the External SD Card, though.
Therefore, an app such as Movie Creator can and will create a "highlight" movie that is composed from photos that are saved on the external SD Card. Just keep this in mind as far as privacy.
There is a per user option that lets you decide whether or not the additional users can use the phone and access the text messages. If you disable this ability, while they cannot open the phone app to make a call, the CAN receive an incoming call.
You can find out more about the nuances of additional users with your Google Fu.
Enjoy!
Wow! Great work!
AddictedToGlass said:
Wow! Great work!
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Thanks! I really wanted this feature and it seemed like not many people care too much about it. It's my way of circumventing the awful permissions control we currently have in Android. That is, there are apps I want to use but refuse to install because of their overreaching permission requirements (contacts, etc) and so I can now create a second user with a new "dummy" Gmail account that has no sensitive information and install these apps without worrying.
By the way, something neat I figured out about this. Additional user accounts are not allowed to side load apps (the toggle to install from unknown sources is grayed out). I figured out that if the main user / owner restores an app through Titanium Backup, any other currently existing user will have it installed for some reason. I don't know why this happens but it's a neat glitch that gets you around that restriction.
Well I think most people simply don't let others touch their phones and so don't have a use for multiple user accounts. I find that my phone, as big as the screen is, is becoming more and more of a computer / tablet replacement. I like the idea of a multiuser functionality, but mostly to hide my own stuff. I'll silk never let anyone else touch my phone!
The use for multi-user that I've seen that makes the most sense is people with children. They will create a user profile for the child so they can't get into any of the parent's stuff or settings. That or the guest profile which will let them do whatever the heck they want without screwing up the phone.
Aside from that I have read that devs find the feature very useful for testing. Heck, that's not a bad idea to install and test apps, in general.
uh oh.
Well something didnt work. Maybe a certain build I have to be on or what. I followed the instructions to a t. Now stuck on endless boot loop. Only bad part is I'm on as hotel room working out of town without a laptop Or pc to fix it. I used a one click root just today and didn't install a proper recovery. Any thoughts
rpelljr said:
Well something didnt work. Maybe a certain build I have to be on or what. I followed the instructions to a t. Now stuck on endless boot loop. Only bad part is I'm on as hotel room working out of town without a laptop Or pc to fix it. I used a one click root just today and didn't install a proper recovery. Any thoughts
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I had a problem with this also twice cause I'm always doing stupid things to my phone my guess is you didn't change the system to r/w but modified it anyway or you used a editor that would let you input the correct values I used s manager I think. As far as getting your phone working you could try safe mode or maybe a factory reset if you can hold power and the volume button down and enter recovery.
Tigerhoods said:
I had a problem with this also twice cause I'm always doing stupid things to my phone my guess is you didn't change the system to r/w but modified it anyway or you used a editor that would let you input the correct values I used s manager I think. As far as getting your phone working you could try safe mode or maybe a factory reset if you can hold power and the volume button down and enter recovery.
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I believe the mistake was made when i changed the permissions per instructions. I finially got to my house and im using adb to freeze the loop then going to push a script over to fix the permissions. I will update when i get it done and I will post my fix. Also I used ES file explorer, which i have already used it for years now. Never had anything like this happen before. it just baffles me. I have never got any instructions off of XDA that led to any malfuntion of my phone. But oh well, sh!+ happens.
rpelljr said:
I believe the mistake was made when i changed the permissions per instructions. I finially got to my house and im using adb to freeze the loop then going to push a script over to fix the permissions. I will update when i get it done and I will post my fix. Also I used ES file explorer, which i have already used it for years now. Never had anything like this happen before. it just baffles me. I have never got any instructions off of XDA that led to any malfuntion of my phone. But oh well, sh!+ happens.
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Hey! I'm so sorry! I got a couple of new phones (Droid Maxx 2 and LG G4) and have been using those phones so I haven't been checking these forums like I was when I just had the Z3v. Really sorry to hear that you ran into that kind of trouble . Thing is, the instructions above are culled from 4 or 5 different sets of instructions for various devices that I found across the web. I performed them step by step myself while cross referencing them to each other and combined them all to the instruction set above as I did it. Did you ever fix it with the method you mentioned? I'm curious if it was the permissions thing (odd, because it worked for me).
Jurassic Pork Fried Rice said:
Hey! I'm so sorry! I got a couple of new phones (Droid Maxx 2 and LG G4) and have been using those phones so I haven't been checking these forums like I was when I just had the Z3v. Really sorry to hear that you ran into that kind of trouble . Thing is, the instructions above are culled from 4 or 5 different sets of instructions for various devices that I found across the web. I performed them step by step myself while cross referencing them to each other and combined them all to the instruction set above as I did it. Did you ever fix it with the method you mentioned? I'm curious if it was the permissions thing (odd, because it worked for me).
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it is guys if done right your system needs to be switched to r/w then go back to r/o after modifying the build prop if you modify in r/o you will get bootloop to a hard brick it depends.
Jurassic Pork Fried Rice said:
Hey! I'm so sorry! I got a couple of new phones (Droid Maxx 2 and LG G4) and have been using those phones so I haven't been checking these forums like I was when I just had the Z3v. Really sorry to hear that you ran into that kind of trouble . Thing is, the instructions above are culled from 4 or 5 different sets of instructions for various devices that I found across the web. I performed them step by step myself while cross referencing them to each other and combined them all to the instruction set above as I did it. Did you ever fix it with the method you mentioned? I'm curious if it was the permissions thing (odd, because it worked for me).
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Well I kinda fixed it. I went and bought a HTC M9. Lol but not yet, I'm still working on it. I have found scripts to run, even a specific build.prop fix to push, but I have windows 10 and couldn't get adb to find the device. Plus I'm a little rusty. So I broke out my old windows 7 laptop I have used just for rooting an modding phones and tablets. I did get adb and fastboot to find it once. Then some reason lost it. I didn't have it ready to go. But I'm almost 100 percent sure I can get it. Just need to play around with it a little bit more. Having trouble with drivers etc. I will let you know when I have it.
And didn't really hurt my feelings getting the phone I truly want. I never had problems with HTC since I was flashing roms on my old window phones. I just want my pictures I cannot replace.
"Run it and enable Root Explorer setting. (You may be able to use any file explorer and editor with root access but this is used most in the instructions and works.)"
Alas- I am not rooted, and therefore can not enable "Root Explorer" option. Unless someone has some other suggestions- I think I can't do this unless I'm rooted.
Well this is probably what I did to brick my first z3v.
I don't suggest anyone do this at all. There does seem to be an issue with the permission setting on the build.prop file. If it's not reset correctly after editing, you'll get stuck in a loop or worse. I'm stuck in bootloop, but can get into recovery. I made a backup hoping to learn how to edit the build.prop (delete it and rename the copied original to set it back as it was). But I can't even run the original zip that GigaSPX made up for us. (I don't have a backup like I hought I did.)
Anytime I try to install the flashable prerooted zip it tells me it's done after 2 seconds and says;
set_perm: some changes failed
I'm typing this on my z2 tablet, which has the multi user feature enabled. I'm going to see if RootExplorer will give me some clues as to why this doesn't work.
In the mean time I'm hoping someone can help me out?
If love to get this feature to work, but it has to be safe.
Just checked the build.prop on my tablet and got no clue.
AddictedToGlass said:
Well this is probably what I did to brick my first z3v.
I don't suggest anyone do this at all. There does seem to be an issue with the permission setting on the build.prop file. If it's not reset correctly after editing, you'll get stuck in a loop or worse. I'm stuck in bootloop, but can get into recovery. I made a backup hoping to learn how to edit the build.prop (delete it and rename the copied original to set it back as it was). But I can't even run the original zip that GigaSPX made up for us. (I don't have a backup like I hought I did.)
Anytime I try to install the flashable prerooted zip it tells me it's done after 2 seconds and says;
set_perm: some changes failed
I'm typing this on my z2 tablet, which has the multi user feature enabled. I'm going to see if RootExplorer will give me some clues as to why this doesn't work.
In the mean time I'm hoping someone can help me out?
If love to get this feature to work, but it has to be safe.
Just checked the build.prop on my tablet and got no clue.
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Click to collapse
a backup usually means going into your twrp and hit the back up button and make a copy of your system including data and all that. This is mandatory before messing with the build prop. If you want Pm me your build prop and I will send it back to you. With multi user enabled.
Yup, I know what a back-up is and how to do it, and I know it's a must before messing with the build.prop. I just really thought I had done it recently...
-and I had! But I forgot that a few days ago I bought myself a Christmas present; a 200 Gb micro SD, and copied most of the contents to the new card from my old one. I chose not to copy the backup because I had planned to make some changes and create a more recent backup. Never happened though because I got side tracked loading music and such. Lol!
So I'm all back together, but would still like to play with this feature. So I'm going to give it another shot.
A guest user does not have access to the original user's files on the internal drive - the guest user has their own file directory. The guest CAN access the External SD Card, though.
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Perhaps the wrong thread but: enabled multi user on a Cube T8 only to find that guest and other user can access INTERNAL sd but not external sd. I'd rather have it the other way round. So the kids (other users) can use the whole of 32 GB sd card rather than me having to share the small internal sd with them.
Any ideas how to fix this? Phablet is not rooted btw.
got bootloop..... but i'm safe as i've backup.... through recovery..
I've inserted two lines and fell in bootloop
Thanks bro.. working....!!!! but second step is not needed...