Database Develop

Windows phone security- is there one and if so, how does it work?

Hi,
So, Android has a permission system which albeit somewhat flawed (malware can gain permissions not intended for it) and not very suitable for laymen (non rooted phones have to either accept all permissions or be denied from the app. In many programs people don't have the luxury of not using them) theoretically has merit. IOS has...well actually I'm not sure how it works security wise but I pressume it creates sandboxes for each app, layman wise it is reasonable since you (theoretically) can deny access for all programs to certain components (no need to jailbreak).
How does WP works?
Thank you.

Security is different, apps can't do as much as on android. But iOS is better in this, because capabilities are like in Android: you can see what the apps want prior to installing them, but blocking some of them isn't possible.

I am very saddened to hear this.
Is there an ability in place similar to Androids rooting?
Also, what do you mean by "apps can't do as much as on android"?
Thank you!

@th0mas96's post is technically *mostly* accurate but very confusing and doesn't actually answer your question at all.
The short version is that WP apps use a capability-and-sandbox system much like iOS and Android, with each app getting a sandbox that gives it read-only access to the app-specific install directory and the global system directory, read/write access to the app-specific data directory, and access to whatever other stuff is specified in the capabilities. Capabilities are currently all-or-nothing; you can't reject or disable any capability except by just not installing the app.
I could go into the technical implementation of the system a bit, but the short version is that WP8 apps use fairly standard NT (as in the NT kernel that is at the core of PC Windows versions) security features: each app has a unique token (rather than inheriting the token of the process that crated it, the way it normally works on PC but very much like how Windows Store apps work on Win8) which contains the app-specific Security IDentifier (SID) that gives access to the app directories, plus the SIDs of the various capabilities that the app has.
What @th0mas96 was talking about is that WP capabilities usable by third-party developers are much more restrictive than they are on Android. For example, Android allows an app have full read-write access to your contacts or to send SMS directly. WP8 doesn't allow that unless you use capabilities that are normally neither allowed on the store nor allowed in sideloaded apps (Microsoft's code can have them, of course - that's how the built-in SMS app works - but not Joe Random Dev). The downside of this is obvious; some app behaviors (like a full replacement for the SMS app or phone dialer) are not possible. The upside is that apps are *way* more limited in how malicious they can be; the most common way that Android malware makes money (remember, the vast majority of malware is for profit) is by sending SMS to "premium" numbers. On WP8, an app could *compose* such a message, but it couldn't *send* it for you (unless it had a capability that third-party apps normally can't have) so you'd have a chance to see what the app was doing and decide not to send that message after all.
This means that the ability to disable capabilities is much less important on WP8 than on Android.

Oh, then those restrictions are actually good news.
Aside from from your typical run-of-the-mill malware my main concern was actually privacy. I have a huge displeasure from apps like Whatsapp which on android takes a whole plethora of liberties and was hoping that perhaps some other system may contain their user data voracity and their ability to control the divice their on.
Is there any link in which I could see the full list of those restrictions?
I'm still downhearted from not having a more fine grained control of the system but maybe it still has it uses in some scenarios...
Also, thank you very much for your comprehensive explanation!

i found a tiny file stored inside some of the unbranded htc accord RUUs. its call disablewriteprotect.test. the only thing the file contains is a sentence stating write protection will be disabled until this file is removed. followed by a music note and some other symbol. so there you go thats how you make your entire htc 8x read and write. one file less than 1kb in size. ROOT!
but how can we flash this file. im still working on it. this file is located within the efi partition which also houses the ffuloader.efi, and severl other efi executables. check this post http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=53687985#post53687985
you wont find that on google search.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA Free mobile app

Window phone Security Issues
Your Windows Phone is secure by design. Many security features are turned on by default. For example, apps you download from the Windows Phone Store are tested by Microsoft and encrypted to make sure you don't accidentally install malicious software on your Windows phone.
Set a password
Setting up Kid's Corner
If you've ever handed your smartphone to a child, you know that they can quickly get into all sorts of apps and settings they shouldn't. No such worries with Kid's Corner, a place on your phone where your child can play with the games, apps, music and videos
Use the free Find My Phone service
Say yes to updates . check out more at Master Software Solutions - Windows Phone Update

grilledcheesesandwich said:
i found a tiny file stored inside some of the unbranded htc accord RUUs. its call disablewriteprotect.test. the only thing the file contains is a sentence stating write protection will be disabled until this file is removed. followed by a music note and some other symbol. so there you go thats how you make your entire htc 8x read and write. one file less than 1kb in size. ROOT!
but how can we flash this file. im still working on it. this file is located within the efi partition which also houses the ffuloader.efi, and severl other efi executables. check this post http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=53687985#post53687985
you wont find that on google search.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds interesting.
Not something I'd try )) but interesting.
Aman Raien said:
Your Windows Phone is secure by design. Many security features are turned on by default. For example, apps you download from the Windows Phone Store are tested by Microsoft and encrypted to make sure you don't accidentally install malicious software on your Windows phone.
Set a password
Setting up Kid's Corner
If you've ever handed your smartphone to a child, you know that they can quickly get into all sorts of apps and settings they shouldn't. No such worries with Kid's Corner, a place on your phone where your child can play with the games, apps, music and videos
Use the free Find My Phone service
Say yes to updates . check out more at Master Software Solutions - Windows Phone Update
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I pressume this is an advert for Master Software Solutions, but nevertheless I did google the term you suggested and got nil results. I also browsed the main site of the company itself but haven't found anything related, nor did I find anything on their facebook page.
Regardless, I checked out this Kids corner thing, it's cute but not really security related...
Thx anyway.

[ROM][N8000] Una ROM, Private, Fast, And Good Looking:)

After weeks of hard work we (uncle Fab and Setmov) proudly present you the first Una ROM for the Galaxy Note 10.1 N8000, based on 4.1.2 XXCML2.
DISCLAIMER​
As usual, your phone your responsability, we won't take any responsability if it flies out of the window or if your girlfriend/boyfriend runs away with it.
PLEASE, DO READ OP COMPLETELY AND CAREFULLY BEFORE ASKING ANY QUESTIONS, ANSWERS TO MOST PROBLEMS ARE HERE​
WHAT IS UNA?​
Una is a new concept that takes security to a new level.
Are you tired of seeing so much blatant, outrageous and shameless invasion of your privacy and data mining hidden behind nice sentences like "enhanced use experience" or "complete integration with the system"? We decided to develop secure ROMs where privacy means just that – Private!.
It’s free of charge, we are a non profit structure and we are not here to make big bucks
WHAT UNA ISN'T​
UNA isn't a way to help you to stealthily buy massive destruction weapons to foment a coup d'etat in your favorite banana republic or to prepare the third world war.
UNA secures what leaves from your phone (ie your personal data doesn't leak and no app can look over your shoulder to spy your activities), but it can't completely secure what comes into your phone.
Why is that?
Because it's just not possible to fully secure a phone from what comes into it, and anyone claiming to be able to do it is either a liar, or an ignorant, or both.
There are too many attacks, some not well documented, if documented at all, and some unknown to the public, and there are too many ways to hack a phone, especially if the user doesn't use his/her common sense.
If you are the type of person that installs apps from shaddy source and/or warez web sites (sites offering cracked paid apps) chances are that at some point you will unknowingly install a malware or a spyware. The same applies if you click on any link, specially on SMS' and emails, if you let any pop out window appear or if you don't protect your lockscreen with a password/pin/pattern and let anyone get physical access to your phone.
A bit of judgment and common sense can save you a lot of trouble, but there's unfortunately nothing UNA can do about it.
Then, if you use your phone to call through GSM your provider will know where you are. If he didn't you wouldn't be able to make any call, the signal has to find you and there's nothing UNA or anyone can do about it.
The only way to prevent that is to disable the phone functions (but then your phone will turn into a wifi only device) and reenable them when needed, head to the scripts section to learn how to do it.
Last but not least, bear in mind that the agencies have armies of tech savvy henchmen and 10 storeys computers, and tricks we can't even imagine, so think twice and use your brain before you attempt to outsmart them...
UNA IS FOR YOU IF:​
. You are willing to learn how to use an unconventional ROM and generally speaking to understand how things work, even if it sometimes requires a little effort to fix this or that little problem (bear in mind that it took us a lot of work to develop Una to where it is now),
. You don't mind a few little occasional bugs here and there that come from all the restrictions the ROM contains,
. You want to take back ownership of your phone from google’s claws.
UNA IS NOT FOR YOU IF:​
. All that you care about is the latest gimmick in the latest OS,
. You can't live without the google’s apps,
. You are the kind of person that never reads through the OP and only scroll down to the download section, and then complain that things don't work and/or ask stupid questions that have already been answered in OP.
An example? One guy makes a mod and writes clearly in OP that it's specifically for 4.2.2. Then some people complain: "it doesn't work on 4.4.2"...
ARE WE PARANOID TIN FOIL HATS? OR TERRORISTS? OR CARTEL BOSSES?​
Nope, we only are people that don't see why we shouldn't be in control of our phones. Or why our phones can be wiped remotely, why apps or updates or who knows what can be downloaded and installed without asking for our consent, why SMS' can be sent without us to know, why we should pay for the bandwidth used for data mining and unwanted downloads, and why all those activities should deplete our battery and kill our RAM.
You think we are overreacting here?
You don't have to take our word for it, just download and install Network Log from here:
https://f-droid.org/repository/browse/?fdfilter=network+log&fdid=com.googlecode.networklog
Give it root permission, start logging and open some web pages. Come back to Network Log after a few minutes and see for yourself, you'll be surprised (or maybe horrified?) to find out that your android system, your settings, your kernel etc. connect to all sorts of funny IPs, including and foremost google’s.
Now you see what we mean?
It's time to go for Una
UNA'S FEATURES​
. Rooted.
. Deodexed.
. Zipaligned.
. Busybox and sqlite installed.
. Init.d support and scripts.
. Auto start disabled for most apps.
. About 100 system apps and 40 framework jars removed, plus files here and there.
. Very low RAM and CPU consumption.
. Heavily and extensively modified system, in order to make it secure and prevent it from leaking your data.
. App Settings, Firewall and Xprivacy built-in, and already applied out of the box to make sure you are well protected.
. Xprivacy is a fantastic tool but it has one big limitation, it can't restrict the Android System from accessing your serial numbers and leaking it. For that reason these IDs have been edited as follows:
ro.serialno is set to "1",
build.serial has been scrambled so that the system can't read it anymore and shows an empty value instead,
android id is set to "android".
. Serial_number, model_number, model_name, manufacturer and device_name in wpa_supplicant.conf all show an empty value (check the screenshots).
These fields normally show values that identify you and the system sends them home everytime you connect to the internet, Xprivacy can't do anything about it but Una can.
. USB ID (iSerial) set to 1.
. Vulnerabilities patched thanks to Master Key Multi Fix and Fake ID Fix.
. ADB disabled (can be re-enabled, see below).
. By default ADB and all google access (including youtube, blogspot and google search) are disabled. You can re-enable some or all of them, instructions are in the "HOW TO USE THE ROM" section.
. Plenty of under the hood modifications to make the ROM fast and fluid.
. Call button in contacts.
. Lollipop HD wallpapers.
. All apps can be opened in floating or static multiwindows mode.
. Heaps of hand picked and carefully scrutinized open source apps.
There are 2 non open source apps (Greenify and Quick Pic) but they are safe, believe me, I have thoroughly examined them. Still, you can always uninstall them if you feel like it.
In time we will develop our own apps, but first we want to see how people respond to the Una concept...
INSTALLED APPS/TOOLS​
. 920 Editor, to create and edit scripts or text files.
. AF+ Firewall.
. Alarm clock.
. APG, to encrypt messages.
. App Settings, to restrict apps' permissions, change DPI on a per app basis and more.
. Arity, a calcultor.
. Conversations, a secure and encrypted chat, modded by uncle Fab for increased security.
. Fdroid, an alternative to the Play Store, and all the apps are open source!
. Floating stickies, to make small notes on the fly.
. FTP Server, to copy files to/from your phone wirelessly.
. Ghost Commander, a very powerful dual panel root file manager.
. Gravity Box, a theming engine.
. Greenify, to make apps behave by hibernating them when not in use.
. K9 Mail, an email client.
. Kernel Adiutor, if you feel like playing with kernel tweaks (but you have to know what you are doing).
. Lightning, a fast and light weight browser.
. Master Key Multi Fix, a patch to some vulnerabilities.
. Network Log, to check where your apps connect and chase unwanted connections.
. Open Camera.
. Tor (Orbot) for Android, modded by uncle Fab for increased security.
. Orweb, a browser designed to work along with Tor.
. OS Monitor, to monitor and kill your phone's processes, and more.
. Pale Moon, based on Firefox for Android, for a full desktop experience with Mozilla add-ons preinstalled for enhanced security.
. PDF Reader.
. Preferences Manager, to edit the otherwise difficult to read shared_prefs files in data/data.
. Quick Dic, a good selection of free dictionaries.
. Quick Pic, a Gallery app.
. Rmaps, a maps app where you can download maps from various sources for offline use.
. Terminal Emulator, fire up your commands and show your phone who is the boss!
. Text Secure, a secure and encrypted SMS app, modded by uncle Fab for increased security.
. Tint Browser, another fast web browser.
. Urecord, to record sounds with different sample rates.
. USB Mass Storage Enabler, to connect your phone to any computer (note that it only mounts the external SD).
. Viper4Android FX, a powerful sound enhancer.
. Viper4Android XHiFi, some more sound enhancements.
. VLC, a video and music player favourite.
. WI-Fi Privacy Police, to secure your connections even better than they already are.
. Xposed Installer, a great framework that enables apps like App Settings or Xprivacy to work.
. Xprivacy, last but not least, the best privacy app.
INSTALLATION​
As usual, make a backup first!
Do backup your contacts and whatever is important because all your apps and data will be erased (your sd card contents won't be deleted though).
Do backup your /system/csc folder, in case you need it for later.
Do backup your efs folder (VERY IMPORTANT).
Open the android terminal on your phone and type:
su
enter, then type:
busybox dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p3 of=/sdcard/efs.img
enter, this will create an efs backup called efs.img in your sd card.
To restore it, first make sure the efs.img is in your internal sd card, then type:
su
enter, then type:
busybox dd if=/sdcard/efs.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p3
enter, your efs will be restored in no time.
If that sounds like too much work you can use the scripts provided to backup/restore your efs, instructions are in the scripts section.
To install the ROM you need a Custom Recovery and Philz' comes highly recommended.
We chose Philz since AFAIK it's the only one that allows you to lock you recovery with a password (if your recovery is not password protected it wouldn't take more than 2 minutes for someone to disable your pattern or pin protected lockscreen and access all your personal data on the phone).
Alas, we didn't find any working Philz recovery for the N8000 so for now we'll use High On Android (based on CWM).
Get it from here (credits @Koush and @zedomax):
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1831173
Now, download Una for N8000 from here:
http://unaos.com/
Head to the DOWNLOAD section and chose the N8000 model.
After the download, unzip the file and copy the folder that's inside into your sd card.
Boot into recovery.
Go to restore from sdcard, and go for it!
Once it's done reboot, congratulations, you have installed Una ROM on your phone!
HOW TO USE THE ROM​
. Swipe down to access the applications drawer.
. Swipe up to open notifications.
. Press on the home button to turn off the screen
. Go to settings and set a stong password/pin/pattern protected lockscreen (recommended).
. Go in recovery and set a recovery password (recommended).
. Long pressing the back key brings you back to the last application (convenient to switch from one app to another).
. Press the reboot menu in the home screen to reboot/shutdown/boot into recovery or bootloader (note that there's an option to take screenshots in the reboot menu).
. Go to /system/etc/security/cacerts, check the certificates that are there (you'll find the certificate's name approximately by the middle of the file), and erase the ones you don't need/like.
When you want to transfer files to/from your phone open the USB Mass Storage Enabler app and enable mass storage, that's it. When you are done, don't forget to eject your phone from the computer and to reenable MTP from the app.
. When you install a new application, by default it will be fully restricted in both Xprivacy and the Firewall.
Before you open the newly installed app wait until the Xprivacy icon appears in the status bar, then and only then can you open it.
Most likely the app will crash.
Go to Xprivacy, open its settings and then usage data, you will see what restrictions caused the crash. Re enable some, provided that they are not too invasive.
Many apps require "load.Library" to be allowed in the shell section, that's ok.
Others may need to access the sd card, that's in the storage section and it's ok to allow it for apps that really need to access the storage, like players, cameras or file managers (for other apps try to keep it restricted).
Root apps obviously need "su" and/or 'sh", and sometimes "exec", in the shell section.
Always try to enable as few fields as possible, and bear in mind that data requested by an app is not necessarily needed for that app to work (especially true for identification, internet and mcc/mmc access).
Lastly, give the app internet access in the Firewall if, and only if, it needs it, and restrict some more permissions in App Settings.
If you can't tame the app consider uninstalling it and look for a similar one that has less built-in spyware.
SCRIPTS​
. As said above, by default ADB and all google access (including youtube, blogspot and google search) are disabled.
If you want to re-enable some or all of them, open the script folder located in system/etc.
Click on the desired script and choose edit.
Copy the whole text and paste it into the Android Terminal, voila, the script is automagically executed.
. You will see more scripts to disable/enable the Bluetooth, the Media Storage/Provider, the MTP Application and the Phone.
If you disable the Phone and later want to re-enable it do as follows:
untick App Settings in Xposed's modules section, re-enable Phone, reboot, then enable App Settings again.
. I forgot to put the scripts to backup/restore your efs partition, let me know if you need them and I'll add them.
. Other scripts can enable/disable am and pm, but don't play with it unless you know what you're doing.
. You can uninstall the Wallpaper Chooser and the Media Storage/Provider if you want, or keep them disabled and resurrect them when needed.
. If you are very privacy concerned you should consider using the "uncle's phone lite" mod because it enables you to call with only the Phone and the Telephony Provider apps (CSC, Contacts, Contacts Storage, Logs Provider and STK are completely de-activated). That's the method I use to make calls, but you have to know that the dialler forces close after you complete the call (not a big deal in my opinion but still, I may look into it one of these days). You'll find the mod in the add-ons section.
ENCRYPTION​
If encryption is your thing we have you covered with the following installed apps:
APG, Conversations, K9 Mail and Text Secure.
BUGS​. Quick Dic won't download any dictionary, it's actually not a bug but a Una restriction since the app downloads from a google owned web site.
If you need to download dictionaries, temporarly enable google by running the "enable_google" script (don't forget to disable it again when you're done). After you've run the script go to the firewall, open its settings, go to "Set custom script" and click "OK" (do the same if you decide to disable again google's stuff).
. You can't download anything from Lightning and Tint Browser, that's because the Download Manager and the Download UI have been uninstalled. If you need to download something, copy the link and paste it in Pale Moon, it has its own download engine.
. I haven't been able to test properly the Phone/3G Features because the tab I used to make this ROM was in a rather poor shape and had its SIM card slot broken. I set restrictions the best I could by taking examples from other ROMs I made, but you may have to fine tune the Phone and Telephony Provider apps in Xprivacy, sorry about that .
. All the installed apps work, but other apps you install may crash. I call that kind of apps "google’s henchmen", they only work if the play store services or the bla bla app are installed and of course they won't on Una since all that garbage has been removed.
If I install your app, why do you want to force me to install your boss' app too? Forget about those apps and search Fdroid, you'll find what you need...
. Depending the way you use your phone you may have to fine tune Xprivacy and reenable some permissions, I'm sorry for the inconvenience but it's impossible to set Xprivacy for all users since we all have different ways to use our phone.
ADD-ONS​
. Sony Xperia Keyboard, flash it in recovery.
Credits KristianCarl for porting it, and unclefab for theming it in green.
It's not open source and that's why it's not included in the rom by default, but it's my every day keyboard because it works fine and because I themed it to make it look nice.
Don't give it internet access in the Firewall.
In Xprivacy, only allow "loadLibrary" in the shell section. You may have to enable a few fields in the contacts section depending your phone's configuration.
In App Settings, restrict "Read_Phone_State" and "Record_Audio".
I removed the Chinese Keyboard, tell me if you want it and I'll readd it.
. HD Wallpapers
. Universe Wallpapers
http://romcook.com/?d=550FEB5C16
If there are enough users' requests then I'll upload the following:
. Uncle's phone lite (with clipboard and dialer) for hardcore users. It's safer than using the regular phone configuration, but the dialer forces close when you hang up the call. Flash it in recovery, wipe dalvik-cache, reboot.
. Completely disable internet access for the Android System. Lightning and Tint Browser won't connect anymore since they use the same web engine as the Android System, but Pale Moon still works thanks to its build-in web engine. Flash it in recovery, wipe dalvik-cache, reboot.
RECOMMENDED NON OPEN SOURCE APPS​
. Pri-fy, from chainfire the root master:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2631512
. Logging Test:
http://androidsecuritytest.com/
UPDATES?​
I'm working on some improvements on kernel and system level to make Una even more secure, but I will release them for the N8000 if, and only if, there are enough users' feedback for the current version, because it's a lot of work to implement such stuff in a ROM moreover that I don't own this tab.
No ETA though, you'll have to be patient because now we have to design and release Una for many other phones.
Still, any suggestions/comments/bug reports are welcome, help us to improve Una!
FEATURE REQUESTS​
Yeah, sure, we'll see what we can do but we don't promise anything
That's all for now, enjoy the ROM!!!
The Una team
CREDITS​
Big thanks to:
F-Droid
M66B (Xprivacy)
Rovo89 (Xposed)
Tungstwenty (App Settings, Master Key Multi Fix, Fake ID Fix)
Ukanth (AF+Firewall)
Jecelyin (920 Editor)
Kraigsandroid (Alarm Klock)
Thialfihar (APG)
Arity (Arity calculator)
Siacs (Conversations)
Ppareit (FTP)
Ghost Squared (Ghost Commander File manager)
Mohammad Adib (Floating Stickies)
C3C076(Gravity Box)
Oasisfeng (Greenify)
K-9 Dog Walkers (K9 Mail)
Grarak (Kernel Adiutor)
Anthonycr (Lightning)
Xperiacle (Multiwindows Manager)
Pragmatic Software (Network Log)
Mdwh2(Open Camera)
The Guardian Project (Orbot and Orweb)
Eolwral (OS Monitor)
Moon Child and Cyansmoker (Pale Moon)
Droidapps (PDF Reader)
Simon Marquis (Preferences Manager)
Thad Hughes (Quick Dic)
Q-Supreme team (Quick Pic)
Robert.Developer (Rmaps)
Search Light (Search Light)
Jackpal (Terminal Emulator)
Anasthase (Tint Browser And Tint Browser Adblock Addon)
Thomasebell (Urecord)
Mohammad Abu-Garbeyyeh (USB Mass Storage Enabler)
Zhuhang (Viper4Android FX and Viper4Android XHiFi)
Videolan.org (VLC)
Brambonne (Wi-Fi Privacy Police)
NOTE:​Screenshots:
We don't owe the device so we didn't have the time to make screenshots. The rom is very similar to the UnaOs ROM for the Galaxy Tab 7, so if you want to see how it looks like, please head to our website http://unaos.com and check the gallery section.

I dont suppose this might work on the wifi only version n8013?
If this were art, una would be a masterpiece
Just the right kinda of attitude and work towards privacy and security, ......having xprivacy preinstalled and pre-configured is one of those little things i like to call, "ahead of the game"
All the right ingredients here, you have my tip of the hat sirs........

banderos101 said:
I dont suppose this might work on the wifi only version n8013?
If this were art, una would be a masterpiece
Just the right kinda of attitude and work towards privacy and security, ......having xprivacy preinstalled and pre-configured is one of those little things i like to call, "ahead of the game"
All the right ingredients here, you have my tip of the hat sirs........
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@banderos101 thank you for your support. We truly appreciate it.
On another thread for the SM-T111 (3G and Wifi) rom HERE, it seems someone has managed to install our rom on the SM-T110 (Wifi only) model. So, since your tab (the N8013) has (or it should have) the same hardware of the N8000 except for the 3G, you can always give it a try. Of course, if you do, make a full backup of your current system, so in case of failure you can go back and restore it. If you are going to give it a try, please let us know.
Thank you

Thanks for this amazing rom
any hope that you guys could make this available for the note 2 as well
specially for the LTE GT-N7105 Note 2

How to install when I installed kit kat 4.4.2 Greetings

So I installed it on my n8013, but there was an error when restoring the data and whatever else comes after that. It booted fine though and WiFi worked out of the box. The lack of a terminal app made it hard to do anything right off the bat. I'll check out some more of it later on and report back. Just wish I could have experienced this how it was intended.
Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk

electrikjesus said:
So I installed it on my n8013, but there was an error when restoring the data and whatever else comes after that. It booted fine though and WiFi worked out of the box. The lack of a terminal app made it hard to do anything right off the bat. I'll check out some more of it later on and report back. Just wish I could have experienced this how it was intended.
Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There s a terminal app in the Rom, or maybe it has been wiped away with the rest of the data?
If you want to try again what you can do is downloading aroma fm from here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1646108
Put it somewhere on your internal sd.
Now, reflash una rom.
Do not boot but flash aroma fm.
Once aroma is opened go to system/apps and delete the following apps:
contacts, contacts provider, csc, logsprovider, phone, telephony manager.
Clear cache and dalvik cache, reboot.
Hopefully this time the data will restore properly
@theonepharaoh:
unfortunately we don t have any Note II at hand, so we can t make a Una rom for that model

unclefab said:
@theonepharaoh:
unfortunately we don t have any Note II at hand, so we can t make a Una rom for that model
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well I happen to have one
I can test the rom for you
plus it has the same chip that is in the note 10.1 and the S3

Is stagefright Vulnerable with this rom?
If not
Assuming theirs no flashable zip or installable app in the future, will you guys be patching your roms against stagefright if a method comes out?
Android security is surely lacking, the ratio of devices that have a chance of getting a HINT of a patch, and those that wont is kinda staggering........i find myself hoping for the next competitor to come along already, that actually implements from the ground up, a RESPECTABLE security and privacy implementation
or, somesort of fork of android or maybe even another OS......something that either has really strong security/privacy from the get go, or has good devs maintaining very well, for patching the new stuff i.e. stagefright...........one of the missing ingredients.......one of the few things that has had me keep my current device for the best part of 4 years, and no plans to change.........i am keeping an eye out for ara though........interested to see how that plays out.......imagine any propriety components being switched out for open source componants with driver/kernel/i.e support..........the fact that someone doesnt have to spend the time and resources to create a WHOLE phone to replace the gpu/cpu/storage/camera/mic, assuming one can.........very interested to see how ara plays out
Sorry for the off topic'ish

We want it on 8010 too!

Can this encrypt the external sd card too like Samnsungs vanilla rom?

Can I install this on the N8010?

The description is good, but then I head to the site... Which relies on javascript and several third-party requests (including google and vimeo), and doesn't contain any download links anywhere in sight. Well, thanks.

[REQUEST] Waze Module to allow use of Old Voice Packs

Waze uses celebrity voices for navigation occasionally but they are only available for a limited time.
This was the previous method of getting the voices to work once they were removed from the app: https://www.reddit.com/r/waze/comments/57t2ue/waze_voice_pack_archive/
It seems the old method of downloading a voice then replacing the .mp3 files in the folder now either result in no audio at all or just a glitchy experience.
It would be great to have a module that allows users to replace the voices with one of the old ones.
Here's a list of celebrity recordings in the new .mp3 format vs the reddit archive that uses .bin files: http://www.mikeyip.com/2016/04/celebrity-for-waze.html
Anyone willing to help out the community and make a simple module to do this? I know a lot of people would appreciate it!

Bump

How to get Waze celebrity and other voices back onto your Waze app
Hey, Merry Christmas everybody! I finally cracked the code - I hacked the waze celebrity voices back onto my Waze app!
As most of you have figured out, Waze recently disabled the ability to use whatever voices that you copy into the "sound" folder. With older versions you could do so, but now they just won't play when you choose the folder you dumped the voices into. Instead, you'll be greeted with the frustrating sound of silence anytime you choose that voice in settings. Add to this the annoying fact that new celebrity voices are updated onto your voices menu as a promotional thing, only to be automatically deleted after a certain amount of time, and you'll see why I was this close to downgrading my Waze version just to be able to get whatever voice when I could get it! However, after ages of poking at this I finally figured it out: it's just a simple file flag change.
SHORT/GEEK VERSION
*I'm assuming you're rooted.
*Download whatever celebrity voices you want (the folders and their mp3s) into a desired location on your phone for copying and/or backup
*Using the Waze app, download a useless foreign voice and make a note of the name
*Copy all the mp3s of your desired celebrity voice
*/data/data/com.waze/waze/sound/[The useless foreign voice folder]/Paste (overwrite) the desired celebrity voice mp3s over the mp3s already there
*Long press any mp3 you just pasted in/Select all/3-dot menu icon/"Change SE context"/"Enter context manually"
*Manually type in:
Code:
u:object_r:app_data_file:s0:c512,c768
*Press OK
*Change all mp3 permissions to "rw-------" (0600)
*Rejoice!
THOROUGH/NON-GEEK VERSION:
*I recommend being rooted, since you have to be able to access, copy, and edit Waze system files with a root explorer app. How to root your phone is beyond the scope of this short tutorial. Good luck.
*Using Root Explorer, make a separate folder to hold your downloaded voices wherever you want in your file system (I just made a folder called "Celebrity Voices" within /data/data/com.waze/waze/sound, and Waze doesn't screw with it, but it will delete any other celebrity/promotional folders it wants from the "sound" folder on your next update).
*Download whatever celebrity voice you want onto your phone, and copy/paste it into the folder you just made.
*Now do the following: [your new folder]/long press any mp3 file/3-dot menu icon/"Change SE context". You should see a popup window that has something like this under the file name:
Code:
"Current value: u:object_r:app_data_file:s0" (This is why the files DON'T work)
*Now do the same in your Waze "sound" folder /data/data/com.waze/waze/sound/(Any currently working Waze voice folder like "eng_nathan" or whatever)/long press any mp3 file/3-dot menu icon/"Change SE context". Now you should see something like this:
Code:
"Current value: u:object_r:app_data_file:s0:c512,c768" (This is what the files have to be to work)
*Waze won't allow you to just make your own folders you can choose within the app voice menu, because it's not programmed to (this is why it won't screw with the folder you created- it doesn't know it's there!). So, you'll have to copy your desired voice files into an already existing voice folder that you know you won't use and paste them over its files- something like Serbian or another foreign language you don't speak and know you'll never need. Basically you're hijacking the folder Waze uses and replacing it with voices you want.
*First you have to go get those voices on your phone: Waze app/left swipe screen/gear symbol(preferences or settings)/Voice directions. Choose a voice you know you won't need (Example: I use "Deutsch - Mica" for my Arnold Schwarzenegger voice), and tap it to start downloading. This should take you back to the main screen where you'll see the red text showing you the download progress. Wait until it's finished.
*Now go back to your downloaded voice folder: Long press any mp3/Select all (a little square icon)/COPY
*Go into /data/data/com.waze/waze/sound/[the folder of your new Waze voice you just downloaded]/PASTE (choose "yes" if asked to overwrite existing files).
*Long press any mp3 you just copied over/Select all/3-dot menu icon/"Change SE context"/"Enter context manually"
*Manually type in:
Code:
u:object_r:app_data_file:s0:c512,c768
*Press ok. Watch the magic happen. Congrats, you just "hacked" your Waze voices. And also, you just earned a geek point. Score!
*Double check under the mp3 file names that the permissions are set to "rw-------". If not, do the following: Long press any mp3/Select all/3-dot menu icon/Permissions/Only check "Read" and "Write" next to Owner, and set all others to unchecked/Press OK.
*Now go to Waze and see if your celebrity of choice gives you directions.
NOTES:
*Highly recommended- make a text note somewhere on your phone to keep track of what voices are the same as the celebrity voice you hacked in. Download enough voices and you'll find yourself saying "Dammit, was C3P0 the "Gabriela" voice or the "Shahdan" voice?"
*Create a text file somewhere on your phone with the correct SE Context code pre-written into it so you can copy/paste it into any new voice's SE Context Manual entry line(cause that crap's just a pain in the butt to type out on a phone).
*Don't bother screwing with the SE Context of the files BEFORE you copy them into your Waze "sound" folder, because the copy/paste process breaks the changes and you'll just have to do it over again. This one took me a while to figure out.
*I personally never had to reset my phone- I found I could use my new voices immediately.
*Individual mileage may vary, and the folders may not be labeled exactly as written here. Use your imagination, and good luck.
*Don't worry if you change your mind about someday needing some foreign language as originally provided by Waze that you replaced with Morgan Freeman or something. Who knows, you might want to learn Spanish someday! You can always just delete that folder, go back into Waze, and download it as before, and it will start fresh. Just don't forget to back up Morgan...
*You can manipulate these voices in a sound editor and do whatever you want with them as long as the mp3 filenames stay exactly the same as before. If you're a sound geek this can be way fun.
*Anytime a new voice shows up on your phone, copy and paste it over into your personal celebrity voices folder and label its folder so you can identify it easily later on, because they'll just hijack it away from you when its promotional period is over. Just copy them into another foreign language folder as above and it's yours whenever you want.
*I have tried to find all the voices you can download from other websites, but I know there are others out there. I just received and nabbed Santa Claus ("Coca-Cola shill" version) and Liam Neeson (promotion for "The Commuter") on my phone as well. My all-time favorite: T-Pain...
*I am using:
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 running Lineage OS 14.1
Root Explorer 4.1.6
Waze 4.25.0.2
Merry Christmas, or whatever holiday you celebrate at this time of year!
Regzim

Hi Regzim
I used your method on a rooted phone (which is not mine!) running Kitkat and it worked like a charm.
My own phone isn't rooted and runs Nougat in which there is no access to Waze files. So, I'm looking for a method to use the voice recording feature in Waze on a rooted phone to use an old voice pack and then share it with my non-rooted phone (take a look at this thread)
Any idea?
P.S:
I'm testing a stupid workaround. I installed Waze in Bluestacks and tried to record prompts one by one using stereo mix. The problem is that there's a weird noise on the recordings in Waze. However, there's no noise when I used a voice recording app (Easy Voice Recorder) in Bluestacks.
Do you have any clue why it is so?
Thanks

Making this work on non-rooted phones...
Hi Sedhadi!
Awesome, I'm glad it worked- I was holding my breath wondering if this was a "my phone only" kind of thing or that maybe they changed the file flag differently for different phones or something. :laugh:
Hmmm... making this work on a non-rooted phone? That's a tricky chestnut to crack. I think I've seen that thread before in my quest to figure this out, but it seems like most of those methods they mention are older pre-Waze update methods that don't take the SE context into account and are thus no longer useful to newer Waze versions...
I don't have time to sink my teeth into it thoroughly at the moment, but my mind immediately goes to ADB (Android Debug Bridge) push/pull. Basically it allows you to poke around and manipulate files in your phone through a terminal interface on your computer using command line prompts. I'm not sure off the top of my head whether you need to be rooted to use ADB as well. Ironically I don't have any non-rooted phones around to test this out on, so I can't help you there without a thorough web search. However, I couldn't find anything on how to change SE context using ADB, and since getting this to work hinges completely on the SE context, the prognosis doesn't look good. Do a search for "all things android se android commands" for now and see what you can find, but when I get some free time I'll poke around and check out what I can discover as far as method goes.
Also FWIW, there are some apps out there that root your phone for a limited time, so you may be able to get that going just long enough to manipulate the files as needed, but you'd have to work fast, and have Root Explorer ready to go. Disclaimer: some of the temp root apps can be adware bombs, so caveat emptor...
As for the weird sound, I'd need to hear it to be sure but I'm thinking it may be the normal "noise floor" problems (electronic interference, background noise, crappy mouthpiece, etc.) that come with recording anything using your phone's built-in microphone/mouthpiece. Is it a buzzing, a hiss, or what? For those reasons I'm not a big fan of the "record your own directions" function on Waze, as the sound quality mostly comes out pretty crappy in the end because of the technical limits of the mouthpiece.
Regzim
---------- Post added at 03:24 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:21 AM ----------
P.S., just realized I didn't know what Bluestacks was until I looked it up- since it's an emulator, you might be getting weird noises because of your COMPUTER'S microphone/ audio input device. What kind of mic do you have?
Regzim

Hi Regzim
Thanks for taking the time to answer.
In that Reddit thread, it was suggested to replace a recorded voice files with a celebrity voice pack instead of doing so to a useless foreign voice. I tested that method and it worked and I could hear the prompts while navigating but the share button didn't activate (which means Waze realized I manipulated the files).
If we find a workaround (like changing SE context (which I tried to pull off on these files as well but failed)), then there will be no need to come up with a solution for non-root phones because we can share the celebrity voice as a recorded voice.
P.S: I didn't use any real mic. I used Stereo Mix (aka What You Hear) feature of Windows. I played the celebrity's voice in VLC and started recording in Waze in Bluestacks. So, no extra noise actually adds up to the source sound. But the result in Waze is awful.
It seems there's something wrong with Waze while recording.
Regards

Another bump. Would love to have an easy solution for non-rooted phones.

Waze voice packs
Did you guys made any progress on this?

I have a non rooted Samsung s8 so I am interested as well. Please find a work around! Thank you.

This is not the right section. It needs to be posted in the module section. However what you're requesting doesn't need Xposed AT ALL.

Is this still working for some?
I downloaded the bottom three voices in Waze and followed the instructions (not for the first time, new phone).
The permissions and SE context are correct, but still no sound.

joekeee said:
Is this still working for some?
I downloaded the bottom three voices in Waze and followed the instructions (not for the first time, new phone).
The permissions and SE context are correct, but still no sound.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Still works!
But for me it only works when I choose a language that doesn't contain a _ in the foldername.
Like Croatian, Swedish, Turkish.

Regzim said:
*Long press any mp3 you just pasted in/Select all/3-dot menu icon/"Change SE context"/"Enter context manually"
*Manually type in:
Code:
u:object_r:app_data_file:s0:c512,c768
*Press OK
*Change all mp3 permissions to "rw-------" (0600)
*Rejoice!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for putting this up. I was bummed when they changed it and would love to get celeb voices back. I'm rooted and got up to copying and overwriting the files into the foreign Waze sound folder, but I don't get anything like "Change SE context". I originally copied the files with ES File Explorer and didn't see anything like that, so I specifically tried Root Explorer free version and still no option like that. I also can't see the rw permissions (I CAN see and modify those permissions in ES). Is that something that's only in the paid version?

No "Change SE context" in menu
raulrocks said:
Thanks for putting this up. I was bummed when they changed it and would love to get celeb voices back. I'm rooted and got up to copying and overwriting the files into the foreign Waze sound folder, but I don't get anything like "Change SE context". I originally copied the files with ES File Explorer and didn't see anything like that, so I specifically tried Root Explorer free version and still no option like that. I also can't see the rw permissions (I CAN see and modify those permissions in ES). Is that something that's only in the paid version?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmmm... I wonder if this is a "my phone/OS only" thing. But this doesn't make sense since the SE context thing is within Root Explorer, not exclusive to my OS. Not quite sure if I've got the free version of Root Explorer (Version 4.1.6) as well, but these options were in my version when I long pressed the files/3-dot menu/Change SE context near the bottom of the drop-down menu. At the time of writing this the free version is up to 4.4.3 FWIW.
Gotta admit I'm flummoxed on this one. There's just too many variables from phone to phone to explore here, but an app is an app - either it has the same menu items on every phone or it's not the same version or app!
Some ideas off the top of my head that may be worth chasing down:
*The free version may not provide the SE context option (to be honest I can't remember whether I am on the free version, or if ages ago I cleverly "got hold" of the paid version if you follow my meaning). Maybe bite the bullet and buy the app (or "get hold" of it somehow)?
*An upgrade to Root Explorer somewhere along the line maybe broke or eliminated this option. This is not out of the question since I read all the time about loyal users *****ing about how their app used to "be perfect" until the latest stupid upgrade changed everything for the worse. I never have this problem since I sideload every app into my phone manually and turn off automatic upgrades on all apps, because I can't stand upgrades breaking and/or ruining perfectly good working apps. Sure, my apps are sometimes a little behind the times, but they freaking work and keep working until I outgrow them or something better comes along. Maybe find version 4.1.6 somehow and see what happens?
Sorry if none of this works and if I can't be of more help than this. Bummed to think only an elite few may be able to do this, because I hate it when software nazis lock up options that allow us users to customize.
Hope you crack this, and please share if you do!
Regzim

Thanks for the additional info, especially the version!
I had installed the first "Root Explorer" that was free, but it has different version numbers. Based on your info it looks like the one you have (by Speed Software) call their pro version Root Explorer and their free version simply Explorer. And yes indeedy do you need to the paid version to view/edit root files. I happened to come across the current version and everything you said fell into place.
Even though it was 3:40 am, ran down to my car (3 flights) and was ELATED and did a happy dance when 3PO said "In 0.1 miles turn left master"!
HOOOOO-raaaaaayyyy!!!! And thanks, triple thumbs up! :good::good::good:

Hi
I rooted my Xperia Z5 (7.1.1) yesterday. This method doesn't seem to be working on my phone. All I get is silence.
Any idea what the problem may be?

Sedhadi said:
Hi
I rooted my Xperia Z5 (7.1.1) yesterday. This method doesn't seem to be working on my phone. All I get is silence.
Any idea what the problem may be?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hai,
this method still work for me.
i use 1+5.
Regards

barani kumar said:
hai,
this method still work for me.
i use 1+5.
Regards
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi
What's your Android and Waze version?

Sedhadi said:
Hi
What's your Android and Waze version?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hai
I'm using 1+5 with OOS beta 35 (Pie)
Waze 4.52.3. 4
Im been using this method for long time.
And I do clean install every few month.
So Im very confident this method work for latest ver.
Regards.

Do I have to be rooted to do this?
I have a s8 and can't find the Waze file can someone help

Question Downloaded files disappearing after 1-3 days

Hello everyone! I have this device (with MIUI Global 12.5.3) for a month now and I have an issue, I cannot resolve: any downloaded file (pictures, documents, ebooks ... you name it), from any source (Google Drive, files downloaded with Chrome) is disappearing from the phone after 1 to 3 days, no matter what I do with them. I tried moving from Download folder to any other, tried to rename with Total Commander, rename in terminal (with Terminal Emulator) ... still some app or system service deletes them - not only from the Download folder but from any other location. Have anybody met this kind of behavior? Is there any solution?
update: the ROM is a plain MIUI Global 12.5.3 with no modification, no root, MI Unlock status is locked ... the phone behaved in the described way from the first minute, out from the box.
update 2: files copied by USB are fine

blews said:
Hello everyone! I have this device (with MIUI Global 12.5.3) for a month now and I have an issue, I cannot resolve: any downloaded file (pictures, documents, ebooks ... you name it), from any source (Google Drive, files downloaded with Chrome) is disappearing from the phone after 1 to 3 days, no matter what I do with them. I tried moving from Download folder to any other, tried to rename with Total Commander, rename in terminal (with Terminal Emulator) ... still some app or system service deletes them - not only from the Download folder but from any other location. Have anybody met this kind of behavior? Is there any solution?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please give us more details like ROM twrp root....
May then someone can help

Hi at all,
Same issue here - my business files are disappearing randomly after a while after i download and move them to custom folders. (I use several webbrowsers to download and Total Commander to move or copy the files).
It's a pure disaster - my business files, work shift plans and so on get all deleted....
Anyone knows a solution to this issue, it's a killer bug?!
I no more can recommend the the phone, nor the company. Such a s***** mess..., they totally f****d it, honestly.
I disabled the security app, no more scans, cleanings or antivirus activities, all disabled, no change in this behaviour so far. More & more people are complaining about this issue, just search for it on the web.
Phone: Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro, no rooting -> Brand Firmware up to date (MIUI Global 12.5.10.0 (RJDEUXM); Android Version 11 RKQ1.200826.002.
Many thx in advance to whom who may help me and the rest of the users.

ppcppcppc said:
Hi at all,
Same issue here - my business files are disappearing randomly after a while after i download and move them to custom folders. (I use several webbrowsers to download and Total Commander to move or copy the files).
It's a pure disaster - my business files, work shift plans and so on get all deleted....
Anyone knows a solution to this issue, it's a killer bug?!
I no more can recommend the the phone, nor the company. Such a s***** mess..., they totally f****d it, honestly.
I disabled the security app, no more scans, cleanings or antivirus activities, all disabled, no change in this behaviour so far. More & more people are complaining about this issue, just search for it on the web.
Phone: Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro, no rooting -> Brand Firmware up to date (MIUI Global 12.5.10.0 (RJDEUXM); Android Version 11 RKQ1.200826.002.
Many thx in advance to whom who may help me and the rest of the users.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's no solution, only a workaround: don't MOVE the downloaded files to their final location. If you COPY, it seems they will be "alive". If you move, even if the file is in the downloaded location for several months, it'll vanish in max. 3 days - just tried few weeks ago.
Meantime the phone is updated to Miui Global 12.5.6 - the problem stayed (so the AOD 10 sec. limit), i don't think they'll fix these "features".

blews said:
There's no solution, only a workaround: don't MOVE the downloaded files to their final location. If you COPY, it seems they will be "alive". If you move, even if the file is in the downloaded location for several months, it'll vanish in max. 3 days - just tried few weeks ago.
Meantime the phone is updated to Miui Global 12.5.6 - the problem stayed (so the AOD 10 sec. limit), i don't think they'll fix these "features".
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Too too too bad XIAOMI. That is my LAST phone from you. Initially I was blown away from your hardware quality in a positive manner......BUT this is a killer function, like robbery in ones own home, coming back and finding things stolen.
I lost trust in you XIAOMI, and "trust" that is the most valuable good in the digital world - users should NEVER lose it in YOU. You totally blew it.
Thanks for N.O.T.H.I.N.G...... no more your devices. Back to SONY or SAMSUNG.
Thanks @blews.

ppcppcppc said:
Too too too bad XIAOMI. That is my LAST phone from you. Initially I was blown away from your hardware quality in a positive manner......BUT this is a killer function, like robbery in ones own home, coming back and finding things stolen.
I lost trust in you XIAOMI, and "trust" that is the most valuable good in the digital world - users should NEVER lose it in YOU. You totally blew it.
Thanks for N.O.T.H.I.N.G...... no more your devices. Back to SONY or SAMSUNG.
Thanks @blews.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My thoughts are the same: decent hardware for the price, but software wise is the worst phone i ever had. I never hated my phones until this. Maybe with a custom rom or root would be better but due to banking apps these are not an option.

I totally agree. The banking point just minimizes the options. It urges me to look activly for a new device...too bad.

At last, guess I found a working solution to this pain in the ...
Go to settings in the security app. There find the function "cleaning". In this subsetting just turn on "remember for cleaning". Set the remembering intervall to the maximum (e.g. 15 days).
Now the app asks now and then to clean in the notification bar. Just swipe the message to the side to close it. Nothing will be deleted this way...!
I remember that this remembering notification appeared by default as I first got the phone. In the brginning, there was no automatic deletion issue.
Hope this helps as I think it does on my device so far.....
Over and out.

I don't know... On my device I didn't gave consent to the security app's 'Terms and conditions' so I thought the app doesn't run. So, in my eyes one more issue concerning trust in a Xiaomi device.

blews said:
I don't know... On my device I didn't gave consent to the security app's 'Terms and conditions' so I thought the app doesn't run. So, in my eyes one more issue concerning trust in a Xiaomi device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No it seems to run in some kind of way, no idea how. Same with my app situation here, I had withdrawn all consents, still had that issue.
Other example is the file manager app or the carussel wallpaper app - the apps tell you in case of withdrawn consent the app would not work. But they still do! You leave the app and directly restart it, then it runs!
To limit the Xiaomi homecalling I use apps to block the outgoing connections selectivly...really good so far. I recommend apps like "Blokada" and alike whitch open a virtual VPN on your device, in which you can massivly filter whatever you want. Not only saves battery, it speeds the device up and of course gets you a little bit of trust back in your decvice - but not in Xiaomi.
Hope I could help you. Bye.
Update 02-13-2022:
Nope. Files still disappearing. Trying Total Commander update with new write permissions, hope it helps....
Update 10-04-2022:
At last....Files are not disappearing. I updatet Total Commander and received Updates from Xiaomi. Additionaly I configured the "Security" app as mentioned in the post above.
Thanks so far.

[APP][NST/G] Mantano Reader [MOD]

Edit 1-8-23: I've updated the Mantano apk file. Seems there were still some issues with the aspect ratio of the default.png (book cover) image. Fixed now at 1.5!
I keep my NSTG on FW 1.2.1 because there are issues with Tasker and plugins on FW 1.2.2. The resulting apps are OK, but development is a problem unless I do it on FW 1.2.1. So that one device has B&N apps removed. AlReader has been my go-to reader app. Until now.
While working on some thorny issues with a Tasker app update I came across a book I wanted to read. Unfortunately it was only available in PDF format and AlReader can't handle that. I soon found that something like EBookDroid really couldn't deal well with a PDF file that begged for text reflow (problematic as that is). I wanted something that was at least as good as the stock reader. I could have just picked up one of my other NSTs and read the book that way, but when you abandon the B&N system you should at least break even, not lose. So I went searching through the forum for some ideas.
Mantano Reader caught my interest. Not only can it reflow PDF text (pretty much like the stock reader-don't get too excited), it can also display PDFs as a continuous scroll, with zoom. It can handle Adobe DRM books! And the TTS works (not a big deal). So I looked around and started with version 2.2.12 from Apkpure. This is the last version for Android 2.1. I found that full-screen reading was broken in this version and I couldn't see why, so I worked my way back until it wasn't broken. That was version 2.2.3.
Not for everyone
Those are some of Mantano's virtues, but it's not for everyone. I think it's chief drawback is the absence of full font support. There is only the default (admittedly not bad) and although there is provision for user fonts, there are issues. More on that later. Then there is the really tiny user interface. The colors render somewhat muddy on the NST also. Those are really tough issues to address, certainly beyond my pay grade. Also, none of the syncing, cloud, downloading of dictionaries, OPDS books, fulfilling of .acsm files, additional fonts, user manuals, etc., works. Can't be fixed. I looked. Finally, the reader options are pretty simple, about what is available for the stock reader (except for fonts). So if you like the hundreds of setting combinations in something like AlReader or FB Reader, this app is not for you. If you want something straightforward so you can just read a book without all the B&N hoopla, Mantano may be worth a look.
Mods
When I started getting serious about this I decided to try to learn by doing. My goal was to remove (or at least hide/disable) stuff that did not work. Almost all of my modifications were in the resources folder of the apk file. There was also one annoying issue with the aspect ratio of book covers that required a minor change in two smali files (thanks to @Renate). Here's a short list:
1. Removed Bookstore (OPDS) tab on home screen (formerly "My Catalogs" as described in User Guide)
2. Removed menu icons for sync and cloud
3. Disabled sections in Settings that don't work (Login, Sync, Dictionary download, Fonts, User Manual download)
4. Corrected font colors in some local dialogs so text is visible
5. Made the page number black, smaller, and with a transparent background for less visual distraction
Also, there were a few dialogs with invisible text that used the system framework to generate the window. The only way to fix this was to make a few very minor changes in framework-res.apk. This worked well and even helped with a few other apps that formerly had invisible text. A win-win. You can update your framework-res.apk using the CWM zip provided below. Despite its filename, it is not an "update" zip. You'll just be installing a zip file with CWM.
Making do
Overdrive Library epubs: No app will be able to fulfill .acsm files on the NST/G. The SSL is just not up to it. So there's no point in registering the device with Adobe. That just wastes one of your allowed devices and so I disabled that first Settings selection. However, the app can read Adobe DRM books, understands due-dates, etc. You just need to introduce your device to ADE running on your PC (ver. 3.0 works well for me on Windows) and transfer fulfilled books from there, just as you would with the stock reader.
Fonts: You can, in theory, supply your own TrueType fonts and place them in /sdcard/Mantano/fonts. When a book is opened, the lower menu options include "Themes". This odd term is for adjusting the appearance of the book (fonts, margins, justification, line spacing, colors). You can make a new theme or edit the default one. Either way, you will get to select a font. You will see the font you added in the folder (you can copy any font you like from /system/fonts or from anywhere else). The problem is that Mantano has no way to deal with font families. For example, I prefer Malabar. Of course, there is the base font, the bold instance, italic, bold italic. Mantano makes you choose one of these. Clearly you choose the base font (no need to copy over the others). If there are italics or bold type in a book, the reader uses the default font. This would not be such an issue for small sections of emphasized text, but the font scales are not the same. Malabar is larger than the default font. So any italics is obviously smaller. I tried a software package for scaling the font but it just turned it into rubbish. I am learning to like the default font. This issue was fixed in version 2.4.6, based on what I've read. But that won't run on the NST, of course.
Dictionaries: The reader has the ability to go out to find definitions on the WWW. Big pain. Although you can't download any dictionaries from within the app, Mantano does play nicely with ColorDict and there are plenty of dictionary options for that. Easy fix.
User Guide: I poked around and found a guide labeled "Version 2.1". That was the best I could do. It seems pretty close, although what was the "Bookstore" tab in this version (which I have removed) is referred to as "My Catalogs" in the manual. Either way, it's non-functional and gone. The same goes for references to cloud, accounts and sync. None of it works and all of it has either been removed from view or disabled in this mod.
Extras
Unlike AlReader and FB Reader, Mantano's main activity is the library view. That means there is no simple way to use the "reading now" status bar button to go directly to your current book.
I also like to be able to use the current book cover as a screensaver. AlReader and CoolReader both have this capability. Mantano does not, but it does create thumbnails for each book (if you let it) and one of those is screensaver size (default.png). For some unknown reason, all the thumbnails of various sizes for display in the library have the correct aspect ratio except for default.png. I fixed this in the app with a view to using it as a screensaver image.
To address these issues, I have used Tasker to create two small apps. Mantano_Extras1 enables a listener for when the reader is closed (either by two presses of the back button or simply by pressing the "n" button). When that happens, the Mantano database is queried for the last reading point/book. This is stored in a variable. Accessing Mantano_Extras1 after setup sends a command to open that file. If Mantano is your default app for epubs and/or pdfs, the book will open automatically to the right place without passing through the library. Thus assigning Mantano_Extras1 to the "reading now" button with NookTouch ModManager restores the function of that button.
Mantano_Extras2 does everything described above. During setup it also creates the folder /media/screensavers/CurrentBookCover. When the reader is exited and the database information stored in a variable, it copies the default.png for the current book to that folder. If you select that folder in your NST Settings app for the screensaver, the current cover will be displayed during sleep.
I should add that both apps check to see if the current book has changed before they do anything. If there is no change, they simply stop.
As these are Tasker-generated apps (but don't require Tasker to run), they have a dependency on two small library files. If you don't have one of my other Tasker apps already, you need to copy the two files in the zip as below:
/system/etc/permissions/com.google.android.maps.xml
/system/framework/com.google.android.maps.jar
Set permissions for both files to rw-r--r-- and reboot. Without these files resident, the app will not install.
The apps also use sqlite3 and busybox. If you rooted with NookManager you already have busybox. A few other special packages probably include it. If you have it, you will find it in /system/xbin. If it's not there, copy the file from the zip to that location and set permissions to rwx-rwx-rwx.
If you don't already have sqlite3, move the file from the zip to /system/bin and set the permissions to rwx r-x r-x.
When you have prepared the way, reboot and then install whichever of the two "Extras" apps you want. When you first tap on the app icon there will be a pause while things are set up and then a request for root access. Once that's done they are good to go. Use NTMM to assign the app to the "reading now" status bar button and set your screensaver directory to "CurrentBookCover" (if you installed Mantano_Extras2).

This is nice work. I have heard good thing about Mantano reader before. I believe it still exists although under new name I think. Its sad that you had to remove app options to make it work on NST. Still I am glad that you make some improvement that could if exploited properly make this device better than before. I believe that solving invisible text message is best of what you did and if understood properly can make number of apps that had this problem before usable again for this device. I would not dismiss even TTS working as I remember that someone tried to implement that on NST before yet I do not remember it was solved. So if it work out of box with Mantano reader it might be prudent to see what makes it work if it is fine TTS not some hardly intelligible sound generator. This options you removed how did you confirmed that they are not working? For cloud I believe it was NST lockout and now enforced TLS1.2 it can not reach that gives you hard time. Yet for syncing it is little harder to understand. For the rest like OPDS and such I guess my knowledge is not sufficient to guess how that even work so if you know more than me I am more than ready to listen.

SJT75 said:
I believe it still exists although under new name I think.
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Now Bookari.
SJT75 said:
Its sad that you had to remove app options to make it work on NST.
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I didn't so much remove options to make it work. It worked as-is, but not the login/download components, and they are not necessary for the reading functions.
SJT75 said:
I believe that solving invisible text message is best of what you did and if understood properly can make number of apps that had this problem before usable again for this device
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It's possible. I noticed improvement in dialog boxes for ES File Explorer. But there are other types of dialog boxes and I only dealt with what was needed for this app. Spillover is a gift.
SJT75 said:
I would not dismiss even TTS working as I remember that someone tried to implement that on NST before yet I do not remember it was solved. So if it work out of box with Mantano reader it might be prudent to see what makes it work if it is fine TTS not some hardly intelligible sound generator.
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Well, that could have been me. Pico TTS (if not removed) always worked on the NST if you downloaded some voices. I have a post about this somewhere with links. But the quality is really wretched. I looked at this further awhile back and found that Google TTS began with Android 2.2 (of course). There is a "bridge" system involving a custom settings app but each application must include this custom code to work. I did a MOD for AlReader to enable this, but it's not easy and would be (nearly) impossible for Mantano as very few of the smali files have descriptive names. Most are just "a.smali, b.smali", etc. So it's really difficult to track down what you want.
SJT75 said:
This options you removed how did you confirmed that they are not working? For cloud I believe it was NST lockout and now enforced TLS1.2 it can not reach that gives you hard time. Yet for syncing it is little harder to understand. For the rest like OPDS and such I guess my knowledge is not sufficient to guess how that even work so if you know more than me I am more than ready to listen.
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Click to collapse
It's not all SSL. Or it may be that also. The URLs in the apk file don't go anywhere, even on my PC browser. So far I've gotten up to version 4.5 and still no working URLs. Perhaps when Bookari emerged as the name the old URLs were abandoned and the old Mantano apps became crippled in this way.

Thanks nmyshkin you clarified some things. I agree that change to new platform and abandoning the URL domain for cloud use could be cause for that option not functioning anymore. Yet unless the syncing have not be performed through a same route (login account on the same domain) sync should function fine from one device to another for example. About the rest you are correct I have come to a same conclusion that even slight upgrade of Android on this device would make vast improvement in options available to exploit. Sadly B&N did not go that way. I will look upon PicoTTS to see if something about the way it actually work can be understood to evaluate if it is worth the effort or it maybe can be discarded as irrelevant for this device.

Just crossed my mind... nmyshkin did you tried to hunt down inside apk file exact spot where that URL is written/coded and change it to something else like IP address of your computer/drive/*/*/sync folder ?

SJT75 said:
Just crossed my mind... nmyshkin did you tried to hunt down inside apk file exact spot where that URL is written/coded and change it to something else like IP address of your computer/drive/*/*/sync folder ?
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No, it didn't occur to me. I only read on one device so that's not the kind of thing that interests me. Also, I just transfer books over from my PC to the Nook when I get them, usually via FTP.
I did see cloud, sync, etc., URLs but I suspect that just changing them would not produce the capability you seem to be hinting at. It's likely a lot more complicated than that. It seems to me that syncing implies active communications from both ends. Teaching your PC to respond to the overtures of the Nook would be a whole other rats nest.

You are correct. Using URLs to connect to PC is not safe. Therefore some home workgroup network or SFTP access are more reasonable way. Maybe if you change cloud sink URL to Dropbox folder you get something?

SJT75 said:
You are correct. Using URLs to connect to PC is not safe. Therefore some home workgroup network or SFTP access are more reasonable way. Maybe if you change cloud sink URL to Dropbox folder you get something?
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I don't think so. The app innards were designed for negotiating with certain remote servers and expect a certain dialog. Just changing the URL doesn't address these issues. Using Dropbox as an example, there are login credentials to be supplied and other issues to be addressed before files can be freely moved in either direction.

Well yes unless dropbox folder is public shared one what I wrote will not work. What if you link sync/cloud to internal folders on device inside Dropbox application that also initiate script written to execute Dropbox synchronization? Then login credentials would come from Dropbox app I think.

SJT75 said:
Well yes unless dropbox folder is public shared one what I wrote will not work. What if you link sync/cloud to internal folders on device inside Dropbox application that also initiate script written to execute Dropbox synchronization? Then login credentials would come from Dropbox app I think.
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1. I am not a Java programmer. What you are suggesting is going to require significant changes in the app. It's not in the same league as the modifications I made.
2. I have no interest in the feature. People who must have synchronization with myriad other devices would be better served by selecting an app that currently has this feature working (like FB Reader).
3. If someone who is a Java programmer and is interested in this feature wants to take a crack at it, more power to them. I personally think it's a dead end. Just about the time you get it figured out, Dropbox will no longer work on the NST. Any modification that relies on exchange with an external commercial server has a built-in self-destruct timer, just waiting for tightening external server access rules. It's over for Android 2.1.

nmyshkin said:
Just about the time you get it figured out, Dropbox will no longer work on the NST. Any modification that relies on exchange with an external commercial server has a built-in self-destruct timer, just waiting for tightening external server access rules. It's over for Android 2.1.
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Amen to that. Making NST more cooperative with Calibre is much better option anyway. Commercial server could be also a trap. There was an outcry when Remarkable for example started charging access to their services out of blue and without warning.