Database Develop

[Q] gapps on Fire HD that survive OTA updates?

Hi,
Am giving my Dad a Fire HD 8.9 for xmas.
What I'd like to do is get Google Market/Play on it + Drive, Search, Maps etc...
When he goes home, I don;t want to be on the hook for rooting and reinstalling....so in my ideal world I need to:
1. Have a method for installing the gapps.
2. When Fire HD updates occur, the gapps should persist.
3. Ideally, if there are updates to the gapps, he should be able to get them to self update.
Thoughts? Is it possible? Can one root, install gapps, somehow make them user apps, then unroot?
s.

After the 7.2.2 update, I lost root, but Google Play, Chrome, YouTube, and Google Plus all seemed to continue working fine without root access. So I think the root is only need to install them, but afterwards seem to work fine without it.
Apex launcher did stop working after losing root though. But I'm kinda over needing a custom launcher now, I'm okay using the stock launcher now.
I didn't try all the Google apps, but I suspect if Play and Chrome still work, the others probably would too.

Not sure if anyone noticed, but if you had nova launcher previously installed when rooted and then updated to 7.2.X, nova launcher still works like a charm. Plus, you can also set it as your default launcher .

Newest OTA installation aborted

Hello all. I have the VZW dev edition of the moto x with an unlocked bootloader. I am trying to update my Moto X to the latest OTA from 4.4.2 but am running into an issue.
I flashed stock recovery and downloaded the latest OTA. When flashing the OTA zip in stock recovery, the installation aborts due to a problem with vznavigator.apk. It says "/system/app/vznavigator.apk" has unexptected contents. Installation aborted.
I am guessing my vznavigator.apk is messed up for some reason. Does anyone have the stock version they can give me so I can try to get past this error? Any other tricks?
Thanks

You can always get it from the Google Play Store.
Or perform the OTA update manually.

I already tried getting from play store. Doesn't work. I don't think the play store version places vznavigator.apk in the system/apps folder.
Regarding updating manually, this is what I am doing... Flashing manually in recovery.
Sent from my Moto X

You could try using mfastboot to flash the system.img from 4.4.2 to fix any inconsistencies in system. Then try the update again.

On the phone... go App Drawer -> Settings -> Apps. Swipe to get to ALL. Scroll DOwn to VZ Navigator and tap it. Hit the button to uninstall updates.
Then try the OTA again.

KidJoe said:
On the phone... go App Drawer -> Settings -> Apps. Swipe to get to ALL. Scroll DOwn to VZ Navigator and tap it. Hit the button to uninstall updates.
Then try the OTA again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think disabled or non-updated apps matter. When I did my update I did reflash /system but all my apps stayed disabled when I was up and running on 4.4.4.
I also did updates on my Razr Maxx that was rooted and while I didn't flash /system, I did undo any changes I had made to it and took standard OTA without re-enabling apps that were disabled.
I'm guessing VZNav was removed or otherwise modified with a method that wasn't the stock disable option.
Flashing /system should work. I don't think installing from the Play Store will because it would be a user app, not a system app.
Just my thoughts.

Reflashing the system.img worked perfectly! Thanks guys!

fury683 said:
I don't think disabled or non-updated apps matter. When I did my update I did reflash /system but all my apps stayed disabled when I was up and running on 4.4.4.
I also did updates on my Razr Maxx that was rooted and while I didn't flash /system, I did undo any changes I had made to it and took standard OTA without re-enabling apps that were disabled.
I'm guessing VZNav was removed or otherwise modified with a method that wasn't the stock disable option.
Flashing /system should work. I don't think installing from the Play Store will because it would be a user app, not a system app.
Just my thoughts.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Disabled and non-updated doesn't matter.. UPDATED might. Hence why I suggested to uninstall the updates.
My thinking was that it is possible that Verizon had updated VZNav AFTER they approved the 4.4.4 update (so the update is looking for a checksum of an older version).
Yes, flashing system will always work. I just usually suggest the simple things first (I have a longer list on the pages in my signature), and with the amount of people that are flashing the WRONG system.img and other components (i.e. not paying attention and using the ROM for the carrier, model and version phone they have), and those who don't realize the difference between mfastboot and fastboot, I've been hesitant to suggest flashing system.img until other things have been tried.

Trying to get my phone ready for Android L

I've decided to get my phone ready to accept the (hopefully soon) OTA update for my 2013 X. Right now it's on 4.4.4, bootloader unlocked (thanks Sunshine!), and rooted. I had it rooted to take advantage of Xposed and Secure Settings with Tasker integration. I also used TitaniumBackup to freeze the Verizon and some Moto apps I never used.
Currently, I have uninstalled every Xposed module I downloaded, then unistalled Xposed itself and finally the Xposed installer app. After that I went into Titanium and defrosted everything that was frozen. Now I have a fair amount of updates coming in from the Play store for all those apps that were frozen. Should I go ahead and update them?
From what I've read, there's been talk on whether or not I have to un-root my phone. I thought I just had to use the toolkit to flash back the stock recovery? That should be the only thing left to do? What about some apps that are device administrators like Cerberus? Do I need to remove them from that list?
Thank you for any advice. I plan on flashing stock recovery when I get home this evening.

Generally speaking an OTA will probably fail if apps it expects to be present are missing or modified in the /system partition. I don't know if having additional items (like Cerberus) will halt the OTA or not. Custom recovery may also interfere with the OTA.
It sounds like you already did all the work, but I personally wouldn't have done any of that until the OTA was actually rolling out. I know they said it will be soon, but it could still be weeks away. I wouldn't give up my phone that was setup how I like it, but that's just my preference.
When the OTA drops, if you try and install it will do all of the validation before it installs anything. If the validation fails, it will tell you it has an error and it won't work. Then you'll have to fix whatever was modified, or reflash the stock firmware to be compatible with the OTA.
I don't believe updating the apps is necessary. I don't even think they need to be active (you can use the Disable function in the App Info screen to hide them), they just need to be present in your /system folder with the correct signature, is how I understand it.

Will I lose Google Play if it updates?

I bought this for my mom and I was wondering if the tablet did regular updates, would it lose google play? What would an OTA take out other than root?

I'm currently on 5.1.1(got mine the day the update was released and updated without knowing) and I was able to install google play and services and haven't had any problems with either. As far as OTA updates, I doubt it will prevent it from working but can't say for sure because we don't know what Amazon will do.

tuckerwagner said:
I'm currently on 5.1.1(got mine the day the update was released and updated without knowing) and I was able to install google play and services and haven't had any problems with either. As far as OTA updates, I doubt it will prevent it from working but can't say for sure because we don't know what Amazon will do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Others have mentioned that the Amazon updates are full images, so I would speculate that if you had root and installed to system it would probably be wiped out. If you used the script, it just installs like a regular app and should be retained through an OTA like all the other apps. That's not to say that an OS change couldn't cause the frameworks or app to crash\stop functioning.

Didn't some others say they couldn't install Play store completely on 5.1.1 ?

[PSA] Information Regarding Firmware Version 5.1.1
Vlasp said:
List of things you can't do:
Remove Amazon Bloatware
Boot a .img from Fastboot
Downgrade to an earlier release
Root
Install Custom ROMS
Remove Lockscreen Ads
List of things you can do:
Install and use the Google Play Framework and Services
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The current update may not break google play but at any time in the future a update may come out that does indeed break it. Why risk it? Just disable OTA.
It seems a bunch of people got screwed because they failed to kill OTA & got hit by 5.1.1. It's just foolish to leave OTA enabled. You can always apply a new update manually or even temporarily re-enable OTA if a new update proves safe & you want it.

blueberry.sky said:
[PSA] Information Regarding Firmware Version 5.1.1
It's just foolish to leave OTA enabled. You can always apply a new update manually or even temporarily re-enable OTA if a new update proves safe & you want it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This. Completely automatic updates are for the elderly that have to call their children to be reminded how to cut/paste in Excel.

julianpaul said:
Didn't some others say they couldn't install Play store completely on 5.1.1 ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Google Play script from 5.0.1 works just the same in 5.1.1 without issue.

Meizu M2 mini freeze and drains battery since latest Google Play Services update

Since latest Google Play Services update (14.7.99) that occured on 4th decembre 2018, my battery lasts only a couple of hours even if I am not using it. All Google Apps don't work anymore including Play Store.
When downgrading to version 14.5.82, everything works again but even if I disable automatic updates in Play Store, Google Play Services keeps updating itself to latest version without asking me any permission.
Is there a way to force block of Google Play Services update until a fix is found ?
Otherwise, does anyone can give me an updated guide for installing TWRP and an alternative ROM ?
I am using Flyme 6.2.0.0G. I have root access with SuperSU installed in system. Root access is confirmed with RootChecker. But I understood that this is not enough. Getting root access doesn't mean bootloader is unlocked, does it ? Is there a way checking bootloader is unlocked before trying to install TWRP ?
Thanks for any response you could give me.

bgillet said:
Since latest Google Play Services update (14.7.99) that occured on 4th decembre 2018, my battery lasts only a couple of hours even if I am not using it. All Google Apps don't work anymore including Play Store.
When downgrading to version 14.5.82, everything works again but even if I disable automatic updates in Play Store, Google Play Services keeps updating itself to latest version without asking me any permission.
Is there a way to force block of Google Play Services update until a fix is found ?
Otherwise, does anyone can give me an updated guide for installing TWRP and an alternative ROM ?
I am using Flyme 6.2.0.0G. I have root access with SuperSU installed in system. Root access is confirmed with RootChecker. But I understood that this is not enough. Getting root access doesn't mean bootloader is unlocked, does it ? Is there a way checking bootloader is unlocked before trying to install TWRP ?
Thanks for any response you could give me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a post on forum about unlocking bootloader and my tries on checking it on comments. See if it helps. Dont flash twrp without confirming bootloader unlock. Otherwise your recovery may lose and may cause brick.

adarshm4you said:
There is a post on forum about unlocking bootloader and my tries on checking it on comments. See if it helps. Dont flash twrp without confirming bootloader unlock. Otherwise your recovery may lose and may cause brick.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi !
Thanks for the answer but which post precisely are you talking about because there are many ? Could you give me a link to it ?
Regards

bgillet said:
Otherwise, does anyone can give me an updated guide for installing TWRP and an alternative ROM ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I started to have this issue on 6/12/18. Google play services used 25% of my battery and I could not use any Google service. (It asked me to sign in again and again.)
I followed this guide (the flash recovery part is mistyped there, I needed fastboot flash recovery filename.xxx to install the new recovery). I downgraded to Flyme 4.5.2 (or whichever version allowed me root by signing in to Flyme), unlocked the recovery and installed AOSP. (CM12 had the same issue with google, Lineage OS didn't boot up.) When I sign in from AOSP, Google emails me that a login was made from a Meizu M6 Note. It thinks my device is safe. It even lets me download Netflix.
I also tried whitelisting my device and allowing less secure apps at Google while on CM, these didn't seem to help.

MEIZU is out of Google certificate.

villenjak said:
MEIZU is out of Google certificate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
M2 is out. All new devices released on 2018 are google certified.

About it, custom rom doesn't work. Google Play Service does not work on Lineage Os.

Same here. I've tried to use custom Roms with Android 5.1, 7.1 and it's all the same.
On the other hand, I've got back to Flyme and the issue also occurs, but there's a slight difference. After the Play Store auto updates to v. 12.x.x. then it stops working (error 920 or can't log in). Resolution for this is to delete the Google account in Settings and add it again, yet this works for 5 minutes tops...