Related
Hello!
So, I'm not really a noob to this, just to this account and posting on the site. Therefore, I am blocked out of the Dev section, which is the only one REALLY for the Kindle 2.
Anyways, I have a question or questions!
I have been a long time android user and loved to modify my phone and try out the tons of new ROMs out there and always have the latest software running.
At work for xmas we had a raffle and I won a Kindle Fire running OS version 10.2.4. Now, I never really touched anything Kindle or any related things so I was out of the loop. I looked some stuff up and surmised that I have a Kindle Fire 2, which is fairly new. I also seemed to find that the Kindle Fire series runs modified android, can be rooted, and the Original Fire has some ROMs for it.
Now, when it comes to the Kindle 2 things seem to be a little confusing.
As far as I can tell, you can root the device, with Qemu method, and install and run android apps? I could not find anything on getting a recovery on the system, and thus, no ROMs. Is this basically true?
If so, is there any news on headway for making this available? I want to work on getting JB or something that is true android running on the Fire but if we don't have much of any progress, then I will just wait.
Thanks!
It seems as though you and I have similar problems. I do have a Kindle 2 and I'm fairly happy with the the actual hardware but I'm not at all satisfied with Amazon's spammy OS. I'm hoping that I can either root it and download something like Go Launcher Ex to get an android style launcher or simply replace the current os with a viable ROM.
Unlike the OP, my experience with this type of thing is very limited and I'm having trouble understanding some of the jargon being used on many of the guides that have been provided on this subject. If anyone would be willing to walk me through this process, I'd really appreciate it. Oh, and my current version is 10.1.1.
Hi all
I am reasonably versed in computers, having read Electronic Engineering at uni, but haven't dabbled with unix (Andriod's base O/S?) since - a decade ago.
This is also my first smartphone, as my aging work BB is no good for personal email etc.
I therefore have a range of questions, that I could not find the answer to in the main thread that gregbradley runs or on the next 5 pages of threads. These questions range from the very basic, so please forgive me!
how do you stop free apps installing their advertising engines, or at least access the same information that you permit the app to access (I remember reading privacy issues related to this)
apart from allowing you to tinker with the phone what is the benefit of rooting (which I assme means gaining admin access df. unix)
what are the additional features on the xperia t of the popular customer ROMS and do they alway require rooting to apply?
If you have to apply an earlier firmware to be able to root the phone, what are you loosing (does Sony publish a changelog?) and sure firmware updates tend to be a good thing, so isn't this a problem?
So firstly, is there some documentation I should be reading:
a) about basic good practice on an andriod phone?
b) about the benefits of custom roms
c) about the benefits of rooting, apart from being about to install custom roms?
d) about what are the most common alternative settings ppl make to a stock Xperia T?
many thanks,
icstm
icstm said:
Hi all
I am reasonably versed in computers, having read Electronic Engineering at uni, but haven't dabbled with unix (Andriod's base O/S?) since - a decade ago.
This is also my first smartphone, as my aging work BB is no good for personal email etc.
I therefore have a range of questions, that I could not find the answer to in the main thread that gregbradley runs or on the next 5 pages of threads. These questions range from the very basic, so please forgive me!
how do you stop free apps installing their advertising engines, or at least access the same information that you permit the app to access (I remember reading privacy issues related to this)
apart from allowing you to tinker with the phone what is the benefit of rooting (which I assme means gaining admin access df. unix)
what are the additional features on the xperia t of the popular customer ROMS and do they alway require rooting to apply?
If you have to apply an earlier firmware to be able to root the phone, what are you loosing (does Sony publish a changelog?) and sure firmware updates tend to be a good thing, so isn't this a problem?
So firstly, is there some documentation I should be reading:
a) about basic good practice on an andriod phone?
b) about the benefits of custom roms
c) about the benefits of rooting, apart from being about to install custom roms?
d) about what are the most common alternative settings ppl make to a stock Xperia T?
many thanks,
icstm
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) You must root the phone and install an add blocker
2) A vast amount of extra access that allows you to uninstall unwanted bloatware and generally customise your phone as you want.
3) Custom roms need at least root privilage and a recovery installed. Some roms require an unlocked bootloader as they need a custom kernel to work.
4) After downgrading to root, you can upgrade and keep root, there are plenty of threads about it
The best place to start reading is the all in one thread, its the very first thread in the Q&A section. Posts 2 and 3 explain all you need to know. If you need any further questions answering please ask in that thread.
Greg
EDIT, Just read that you have already seen my thread. Please feel free to ask in that thread if anything is not clear, however, you can also use the search function in order to find answers. Its nice to see new users and people here will be happy to help, especially as you seem to know to ask questions in the Q&A thread, unlike many others
Mental (and virtual) note: post excessive answer tomorrow after a good nights sleep and clear things up which greg did not fully answer, as I think.
Piece of cake.
@schaggo
looking forward to it! :fingers-crossed:
icstm said:
...unix (Andriod's base O/S?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kernel (and some ported tools) only, but of course the philosophy behind the thing. Yes.
how do you stop free apps installing their advertising engines, or at least access the same information that you permit the app to access (I remember reading privacy issues related to this)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Theres a couple of ad providers which apps use to display in-app ads. If there's no free version as in freely free, that's the distribution model a dev choses. Either pay and give the dev a compensation, or use the free ad-supported version from where the dev gets compensation. If you're not ok with either of the latter two, then most common ad providers can be blocked by using a modified hosts file, redirecting server requests for known ad-providers servers to the local loop. You need root access to your device to do that though. More on that later.
apart from allowing you to tinker with the phone what is the benefit of rooting (which I assme means gaining admin access df. unix)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rooting your device is not strictly comparable in running your desktop box with root. Yes, it's running (certain) stuff with superuser rights, but that's not exactly the point. Rooting basically means - among other things - obtaining write access to the otherwise user-inaccessible system partitions (/system, /data et al.) and mess around with them. This is needed for certain things a user might wants to do, sneaking in a modified hosts file, for example. I don't know what you'd describe as "tinker" but I guess yes, tinker it is.
what are the additional features on the xperia t of the popular customer ROMS and do they alway require rooting to apply?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's usually the same as with every other device: basically theres modified stock ROMs or "real" custom ROMs. The first being for example slimmed down ROMs, with "useless" manufacturer or telco provider added junk-/crap-/adware and -services. Then theres "enhanced" stock based ROMs with added or modified stuff. Instead of 5 notification area toggles you can have up to 14, freely modifiable toggles. Or skin and theme the user interface, or use modified kernels with support for additional services or so. And then there's the "real" custom ROMs which you'll find under "Original Android Development". This is user generated code which you'll find in AOSP or Cyanogenmod ROMs. These kind of ROMs do not base on stock code at all, except for the parts which are highly device specific as closed-source device driver blobs etc, but the system as such is completely open source, comparable to how the Linux/Unix universe works. The benefit of such ROMs is usually that they are quite "barebones" and as such perform much better in terms of interface fluidity etc. But you may miss out on cool manufacturer added stuff specifically tailored for the device at hand, if theres no compatible open source alternative. A great example for this is the Samsung Galaxy Note: the S-Pen is supported in Cyanogenmod, but there's cool S-Pen features CM cant offer, you'll only find them in Samsungs stock ROM. You may find a comparable analogy for the Xperia T, or any other device.
If you have to apply an earlier firmware to be able to root the phone, what are you loosing (does Sony publish a changelog?) and sure firmware updates tend to be a good thing, so isn't this a problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's no detailed changelog for stock firmware updates. This is the case for most if not all manufacturers. Samsung doesn't release a changelog at all, for example. And updates can be a good thing, or a bad thing. A good thing is added functionality, a bad thing is closing an exploit to root the device, for example. You get the idea.
For the device at hand: there's no big differences between .3.195 and 3.223 or even the "old" .1.303 (or so) so in case you want root but not unlock your device, go ahead, you won't lose much especially if you don't know about it
d) about what are the most common alternative settings ppl make to a stock Xperia T?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, modern mobile operating systems offer a ton of settings to play around with, you'll find [number of users]*[number of features]^(numbers of features) of recommendations regarding best settings. Basically it's always the same: the more you do, the more you try to get out of your device, the higher the energy consumption will be, the shorter your battery time will be. Apply some common sense and you'll find your own best settings. Probably not what you wanted to hear, but, well, that's the way it works
Just curious who saw these posts on Google+ the other day. Lets discuss.
Steve Kondik - 22 hours ago
The Death of Root
Android 4.3 introduces some new and much needed security features which not only restrict setuid binaries on the system partition (su), but also limit the capabilities of processes. In the current architecture, even if you could get elevated privileges, you can't do anything out of the ordinary. Root in the shell via ADB is all I use, and it still works just fine.
This isn't a problem for me, since I use CM. When there is a situation that I'd need root, I just modify the system to accomodate what I'm trying to accomplish in a secure way. I can understand the desire to have full root on stock ROMs, since you're severely limited in what you can do and there is no provision for making any sort of real changes or improving the architecture.
+Koushik Dutta and +Chainfire are working hard to permit root in some way on 4.3, but I feel that anything done at this point might severely compromise the security of the system and we should start considering better options. Going forward, I'm interested in building framework extensions and APIs into CM to continue to abolish the root requirement.
A few good use cases for root are:
* Firewalls and network software, potentially requiring raw sockets.
* Managing the DNS resolver
* Tweaking various sysfs nodes to control the kernel
All of these can be done without exposing root, and they can be done in a very secure way.
If you're using CM or another custom ROM, what do you actually use root for?
Brought to you by Sprint and the letters GS and the number 4
Steve Kondik - 21 hours ago
An example to go with my previous post on root..
Let's say that I wanted to write an application that would let me block or rate limit network access for other applications. Seems easy, just run "iptables" as root and add some firewall rules. Calling "su iptables ...." and managing the list is easy. The harder, but much better way would be to extend the framework. This also has the side effect of opening this up for other developers to use.
To do this, you need two things:
1. A way to add the rules (which requires root)
2. An API to add the rules
3. Access control to this API
All Android systems run a daemon, "netd", which runs as root and manages various aspects of the network such as tethering and traffic shaping. The framework has a service, appropriately named "NetworkManagementService" which communicates with netd using a simple protocol over a socket. Applications with the right permissions can get a handle to this service using Binder, and control the network without actually needing root.
So to build a firewall API, it's really easy. You put the pieces that require elevated privileges into netd, then add a few methods to the NMS such as "addRule", "deleteRule", and "listRules". You can create and enforce a new permission, "android.permission.MODIFY_FIREWALL_STATE" that applications would require. You can even pop up a "scary" dialog similar to the newish VPNService when something needs it.
Then of course you upload your patches to the CM Gerrit, we iterate a bit, and ship it. If it turns out to be insanely useful, maybe it will go to Android proper.
Now you can write your app and a whole new class of applications that you couldn't do without using the root sledgehammer before. Yeah, it's harder, and you need to learn the system architecture a bit, but the result is much better and more importantly it's not a gaping security hole.
Of course it's possible to write malware that mirrors all of your packets to a remote site without your knowledge using this API, but Android's VPNService is actually more suited to this and it's already part of the framework
I might be exploiting this as an opportunity to sell the ideas behind CM, but I think it's a powerful concept. If your app needs to do something that normally can't be done, you can easily bend the system to your will and do it right.
If it not more root on 4,3 we keep what we got and add
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda premium
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2376881
I have a nexus 7 and the 4.3 update has already been rooted
Sent from my SPH-L720 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
Did you guys read the article or just the title.
Brought to you by Sprint and the letters GS and the number 4
Why? Are the two not related? Or is the title misleading?
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
Probably because the title says AFTER 4.3
I'm no dev, but I have very little attachment to root. I am required to have it if I want to be able to flash ROM's or custom recoveries or mods or what-have-you, but if all of those things could be accomplished without root, I would do it. The reason its so exploited in the dev community is that there is no other framework to do the things they want to do.
If however they were to work with major devs (like Kondik mentions CM) on expanding frameworks to make ROM's and whatnot take without needing root, I would have no problem with it. Hell, I'd welcome losing the step on every new phone of having to master a new rooting technique. It would also make me contemplate trying an HTC phone, as rooting the EVO 3D put an inordinately bad taste in my mouth.
mattkane21 said:
would also make me contemplate trying an HTC phone, as rooting the EVO 3D put an inordinately bad taste in my mouth.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1. That phone was such an unbelievable pain in the a$$. The whole process took forever, with the HTC dev unlock and ridiculous "wire trick" to achieve s-off in order to flash custom kernels. Then, once that crap was all done, always having to think about what hboot you're using with what rom. Especially for someone like me who's constantly switching between stock and AOSP, having to flash another hboot all the time is such a freaking hassle. The ironic part is that there are tons of great roms for that phone.
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda premium
So jn essence what this is saying is after 4.3 there will be no need for root yet we will still have all the benefits of root?
Am I reading this correctly?
shawn1224 said:
So jn essence what this is saying is after 4.3 there will be no need for root yet we will still have all the benefits of root?
Am I reading this correctly?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes in a way. It is kind of looking at a different integration of what is possible without needing root, or why would we really need root when running something like CM. And with the new security features rooting might make your device unsecured.
Brought to you by Sprint and the letters GS and the number 4
Ok cool but would this also pertain to standalone mods/extension or are you talkin code baked into CM only
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2
shawn1224 said:
Ok cool but would this also pertain to standalone mods/extension or are you talkin code baked into CM only
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, it would work for pretty much any ROM,or could. He is the founder of CM so he talks about it. Many ROMs use CM as a base and build off it though, almost all AOSP ROMs do.
Brought to you by Sprint and the letters GS and the number 4
Hi Everyone,
Is there a simple way to determine which methods to do which things are for which device?
It seems (unless I am missing something-- it wouldn't be the first time) that this forum mixes the 2012 and the new version of the Fire HD and apparently they are so NOT the same device that it could be disastrous to try some of the things listed here.
I bought a Fire HD this Christmas for my daughter and simply want to root it and hopefully install TWRP and a ROM to make it more generically Android. If nothing else, at least get GAPPS, so she won't have to pay for apps she already has on her phone.
I see threads here that imply that it is possible (second bootloader, etc), but there is no mention anywhere if these methods are for the older or newer version (again, unless I have missed it).
I was hoping that at least in this top level forum for all of the Fire HD devices, that in the FAQ it would help spell out what can and can't be done and how to determine the differences by tread title.
If I'm missing something (and again, my ADD makes that a definite possibility :silly, please let me know, but other XDA forums (my Galaxy S4 for example) has rules for how things get posted to help differentiate between hardware differences that could cause a brick to happen.
I understand that there are many more older Fire HD devices out there, but Amazon sold tonnage this past Christmas of the new ones so hopefully good things are in store, but that makes differentiation even more important, no?
Thanks in advance,
Dan
Dan Miller said:
Hi Everyone,
Is there a simple way to determine which methods to do which things are for which device?
It seems (unless I am missing something-- it wouldn't be the first time) that this forum mixes the 2012 and the new version of the Fire HD and apparently they are so NOT the same device that it could be disastrous to try some of the things listed here.
I bought a Fire HD this Christmas for my daughter and simply want to root it and hopefully install TWRP and a ROM to make it more generically Android. If nothing else, at least get GAPPS, so she won't have to pay for apps she already has on her phone.
I see threads here that imply that it is possible (second bootloader, etc), but there is no mention anywhere if these methods are for the older or newer version (again, unless I have missed it).
I was hoping that at least in this top level forum for all of the Fire HD devices, that in the FAQ it would help spell out what can and can't be done and how to determine the differences by tread title.
If I'm missing something (and again, my ADD makes that a definite possibility :silly, please let me know, but other XDA forums (my Galaxy S4 for example) has rules for how things get posted to help differentiate between hardware differences that could cause a brick to happen.
I understand that there are many more older Fire HD devices out there, but Amazon sold tonnage this past Christmas of the new ones so hopefully good things are in store, but that makes differentiation even more important, no?
Thanks in advance,
Dan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Short answer: no.
You're not missing anything. Many (if not MOST) posts are extremely ambiguous about which hardware is being reference (Kindle, Kindle 2, HD, HD 2, HDX) then there's the size variations. Just the other day I asked a very similar question.
What I can tell you to look for is the firmware version number referenced because that is a great indicator of what's intended. Combine that with other hints and you can usually tell pretty well. For example, Kinde Fire HD could mean the 2012[ish] model that will be running 7.x firmware. The 2013 Kindle Fire HDs will be running 11.x now (if they're updated and as of when I'm posting this). That's the next major clue, look at when the post was made because that likely refers to the generation of device if it's a ROM/HACK (as opposed to inquiry). Firmware names tend to have the hardware nick-name in them too which can help also.
Personally, if I posted something hardware dependent I would provide my model #, year/month purchased, firmware version, model name (HD, HDX) and size.
Blame Amazon for being ridiculous with their product names.
Same boat
I too wish the Kindle names were less ambiguous. Moving forward, i would like to see new threads specify 2012 or 2013 models. I keep clicking on thread after thread hoping that somewhere a Cyanogenmod or other ROM has been found to work on the 2013/SOHO KFHD, but keep going in circles.
There are not many threads about the 2013 Kindle Fire HD 7 because there are not many exploits. There is root, remove lock screen ads and the ability to install Google Play although Google Play at this point is for window shopping only. Attempts to download from the play store, at this point, will freeze the tablet and you will need to reboot it. I added the links in my signature to help people find the few topics available.
Sent from my Nexus 7 Flo running Odex SinLess ROM 4.4.2 with ElementalX kernel using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
thank you
LinearEquation said:
There are not many threads about the 2013 Kindle Fire HD 7 because there are not many exploits. There is root, remove lock screen ads and the ability to install Google Play although Google Play at this point is for window shopping only. Attempts to download from the play store, at this point, will freeze the tablet and you will need to reboot it. I added the links in my signature to help people find the few topics available.
Sent from my Nexus 7 Flo running Odex SinLess ROM 4.4.2 with ElementalX kernel using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I appreciate the quick reply. Now i can rest finally knowing there is nothing more i can do with it for now. Wait...nevermind..now i have to start trying to hack my OUYA lol
Lmfao. stuck developers
Looking for input/opinions- thanks in advance!
I bought a Fire during one of the Christmastime sales a few years ago and never did anything with it. The box is still in shipping plastic.
I'd like to have an Android tablet for surfing and a few simple games (think sudoku, solitaire, word games).
I watch a lot of youtube videos, so being able to do that is a must.
Also, getting onto my google play account would be nice, hence the Android request.
Seems that Amazon has fallen out with Google of late and taken out much of the cross-connections from the Amazon interface. Is that right?
Not afraid of rooting things- been doing it since OG Droid days.
I'm not really sold on becoming a netizen of the Amazon fabric. I don't have any sort of Prime membership or use any of their services, outside of buying stuff.
I appreciate any and all responses!
phonetool said:
Looking for input/opinions- thanks in advance!
I bought a Fire during one of the Christmastime sales a few years ago and never did anything with it. The box is still in shipping plastic.
I'd like to have an Android tablet for surfing and a few simple games (think sudoku, solitaire, word games).
I watch a lot of youtube videos, so being able to do that is a must.
Also, getting onto my google play account would be nice, hence the Android request.
Seems that Amazon has fallen out with Google of late and taken out much of the cross-connections from the Amazon interface. Is that right?
Not afraid of rooting things- been doing it since OG Droid days.
I'm not really sold on becoming a netizen of the Amazon fabric. I don't have any sort of Prime membership or use any of their services, outside of buying stuff.
I appreciate any and all responses!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Given your description there is a good chance the device has the original 5.x bootloader which means a custom lollipop based ROM (Fire Nexus or Lineage 12.1) can be easily installed and maintained. Both are stable and feature complete. There is no reason to boot FireOS...ever. Doing so may yield an unrootable device that can not be rooted or accommodate a custom ROM. Once FireOS has been banished the device has no affiliation with Amazon other than the name on the back.
Keep in mind the device is strictly entry level: 1 GB RAM, 8 GB User Storage (5 GB usable), 600x1024 low-res panel, etc. Almost any modern phone (and most burner varients) will run circles around a 5th gen Fire.
I'm happy to provide an outline of the steps required which are not lengthy/hard if you remain somewhat skilled in tethered operations and have familiarity with terms such as ADB, Fastboot, GApps, SuperSU and TWRP. You'll also need a suitable Windows host, be comfortable working with file systems and the Windows command prompt. That said, I prefer not to invest the time if the device will remain drawered or sold given its limited capabilities. A simple ask before responding.
Davey126 said:
Given your description there is a good chance the device has the original 5.x bootloader which means a custom lollipop based ROM (Fire Nexus or Lineage 12.1) can be easily installed and maintained. Both are stable and feature complete. There is no reason to boot FireOS...ever. Doing so may yield an unrootable device that can not be rooted or accommodate a custom ROM. Once FireOS has been banished the device has no affiliation with Amazon other than the name on the back.
Keep in mind the device is strictly entry level: 1 GB RAM, 8 GB User Storage (5 GB usable), 600x1024 low-res panel, etc. Almost any modern phone (and most burner varients) will run circles around a 5th gen Fire.
I'm happy to provide an outline of the steps required which are not lengthy/hard if you remain somewhat skilled in tethered operations and have familiarity with terms such as ADB, Fastboot, GApps, SuperSU and TWRP. You'll also need a suitable Windows host, be comfortable working with file systems and the Windows command prompt. That said, I prefer not to invest the time if the device will remain drawered or sold given its limited capabilities. A simple ask before responding.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks very much for the info and offer!
I would like to try to put one of those two on the device.
I'm away from home this week, so cannot attempt anything just yet.
My Windows machine is a Samsung UMPC running Win7, otherwise I have a Raspberry Pi that does daily work. It does have ADB, but I haven't used it successfully (couldn't figure out the proper command structure on linux).
I'll do some reading this week on what's needed for the effort.
Thanks again!