yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Android] CleveRuse:
Tommy, Ur advise on theming RootExplorer absolutely does NOT work! I figure either ur advise was incomplete; such as leaving out some important step cuz it should be obvious .....or u're wrong (maybe an older version of RE was modifiable, but it doesn't seem to be now)

I doubt that Ur wrong, soooo....... R u sure u didn't leave out a step or something?

Here's wut I did:

1) found 1.apk and 2.apk in $HOME/apktool/ and deleted them.

2) placed RootExplorer.apk (forget actual name ....com.speedsoftware.....)

in the 'mod_here_multi' folder and decoded with option 3. (received no errors)

3) made a couple edits to png files, then recompiled. (again, no errors)

4) replaced the missing META-INF folder.

5) placed in 'mod_here_solo' and chose options 3 and 1 to sign with test keys.

6) renamed the newly signed apk so its easier to type, then, after insuring that the previous version of RE was uninstalled from my phone, I installed thru adb by typing:

'adb install rootex.apk'

......but after all that, I'm still receiving the same parsing error that states that the certificate is missing from from my apk! I've tried doing this many times but I always get the same parsing error!

I would love to know how to build, sign and install this properly .....but was wondering if u could build, sign, and check that it installs and fuctions if I send u my themed, decoded version of RootExplorer.

Note: same trouble with HomeSmack.apk ....and prolly other apks as well.

Thnx TT! It's prolly my fault, I know u know wut u're doing, I'm just frustrated cuz I I know I followed Ur advise from the other thread exactly!

Should I also delete the 2 framework files in the working folder of AU? ....cuz i don't remember u saying that. I figured that's wut is actually erased when deleting from /apktool folder anyway.
[Android] JDMpire:
And I was >just< searching for something like this about 10min ago....

Good job!!!
[Android] CleveRuse:
Yeah, tommy's AU tool is awesome! Don't pay any attn to my posts ....I'm an idiot, lol!

EDIT: Well ....except for this post of coarse;)
[Android] tommytomatoe:
Okay. First thing i see wrong is step 4. When resigning with test or private keys it is redundant and unnecessary to replace meta inf. Resigning replaces the meta inf.

Can you pm me your copy of root explorer? Please don't post apk here because that would be associated with warez. I own the app so its okay.
[Android] CleveRuse:
So I did NOT in fact follow Ur instructions perfectly, lol ....figures

K, I will pm u when I'm home. And obviously I don't take for granted that u will or must help me ....but it is appreciated;)
[Android] tommytomatoe:
It's all good man! I'm just glad I can help others out. :-)

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[Android] Jsmokey:
You could try opening the apk with 7zip and just modify what you want without extracting the apk or breaking original signing and see if that works. Done it that way a few times with no problems with other apk's.

You can even open the original and modified ones side by side and just copy all your edited files right over. I always did that in windows with 7z file manager not sure if linux's 7z has a file manager but the windows version does, and from what I've read 7z is the only archive utility that can open an apk and not break the signing.

Hope that works for ya.

Sent from my i897 w/Andromeda 3, Suckerpunch kernel, & 1.3Ghz OC using Tegrak.
[Android] CleveRuse:
Thnks for the advise, I appreciate it .....but no, that.......

Oh, wait... Well maybe it is cuz I'm not using 7zip. I don't have windows so i use 7z. But I doubt that's the answer cuz this method works with just bout every other apk. User apps too ....but not some (eg: root explorer) I don't know why.

Bit I'm trying not adding the META-INF now as T explained. When it doesn't work, Ima send it over to him, LOL.

But yeah, I use that method all the time, unless I'm editing xmls or sumthin.
[Android] CleveRuse:
PM sent.

Ok, after re-doing w/out adding META-INF, it installs, but now I'm back to the trouble I had bak when I tried theming RE w APK Mgr; it FC's when o try to open it.

Note: least I can see wut it looks like on my phone now --not as good as I thought it would;) -image too sharp
[Android] Jsmokey:
Have you tried clearing app data or maybe clear cache in recovery? That clears up fc issues sometimes when you have data left from a previous install of apps when going to modified versions.

Wish I could be of more help but I've never tried working on RE so not sure what exactly causing your issue with fc's but if you haven't done it thats what i'd try.

I've done the same thing before sharpen, looks great on pc then looks terrible once on the device, really frustrating to go through all the work then have to redo parts of it so it looks right.

Sent from my i897 w/Andromeda 3, Suckerpunch kernel, & 1.3Ghz OC using Tegrak.
[Android] tommytomatoe:
Hey cleve. So what is the exact modification you are doing to re? I am just getting off work so i won't look at it tonight, but i will look at it tomorrow in between classes. Let me know. Thanks.

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[Android] CleveRuse:
I'm just modding pngs in both drawable n draw-hdpi. I don't even think I touched any .9's -just pngs.

Ima try just adding my modded pngs to the archive of the market version, then delete the META-INF and re-sign to see if that works ....I'm not getting errors (up or down) but maybe sumthin is getting built wrong ...cuz it does open after installing, but as soon as I try to scroll, it FCs. Sounds like a patch that can't stretch properly, huh!

And that was a good suggestion jsmoke. I did forget to try clearing info stuff ....but it didn't help ....I'm tellin u guys, this thing's laughin at me, lol! We'll show this apk whose boss tho;)
[Android] CleveRuse:
Well, apparently just adding the themed pngs to the archive and replacing the META-INF doesn't work. I get a parsing error (no certificates) I could have sworn I've replaced META-INF folders b4 to sign apks. I wish I could delete archive files in Linux (thats so retarded that I cant) I can usually delete folders, just not files, but now I can't even do that! Sooo frustrated. I should change my screen-name to that; 'SoooooooooFrustrated'

Note: I've even tried opening the archive as root with 7zip or with other archivers, but can not delete archive files still! Doesn't make sense.
[Android] tommytomatoe:
give this a try for me. I can't test right now, but I will tomorrow.

Make your mod. Use the original apk. Don't touch the meta-inf, leave it as is. Push it to system/app. That should work. Reason is system/app doesn't check for signatures like data/app. Give that a try.
[Android] CleveRuse:
Just to be clear, all I'm doing is changing the hue of images. Also, simply pulling the app icon, modding that one icon by changing color, then installing, does allow it to install w/out error. So my Linux version of 7zip is not breaking the certificate (signature). The app also does open, just as it would if I mod, recompile n sign ....but it always FCs when I touch the screen! I've had this issue for bout 4months now w RE! It doesn't make any F*#king sense! Even just changing the hue of one png breaks the whole effin thing! I'm completely lost!!!!???????????

Clearing data, cache, restarting app, rebooting device, etc.... Nothing works! This thing ain't playing around, lol;)

grrrrrrrrrrrr:)

Edit: Tommy, this is why I started the thread; 'unmodifiable APKs'. I believe u when u say u've themed RE b4, I just don't see how;) I would have posted here in the beginning, but I was sure then, as now, that it has nothing to do w/ AU .....but obviously, I'm glad u saw the post, lol!
[Android] CleveRuse:
Ok will do

Btw, I don't (and didnt) expect u to see these or respond tonight, LOL! I just figured i'd have it all ready;)

Go to bed or sumthin, lol. I can wait days bro!
[Android] CleveRuse:
Nope. I didn't think 'push' would work either, cuz it installs and opens fine when installed to /data/app/. It's just that i can't touch the screen once opened w/out it FCing. The problem with the certificate is fixed I believe..

(i didn't realize that the whole META-INF folder was the "signature" people where referring to. I thought it was a file inside it. That's why i was using the sign option. But now i realize that I prolly only need that option for creating new apps or sumthin. Otherwise, I can always just re-add the folder from the unmodified apk. That's wut I do for system apps, but didn't know the META-INF is the Sig for both)

Note: I've themed a bunch of user apps:

xda, tapatalk, setCPU, ROM Mgr, ShootMe, MusicMod, etc.....

I don't know wut the problem is.
[Android] Jsmokey:
Have you tried zip-aligning it? I was having almost this same issue last night and that was the only thing that got my project working right don't know why but it did. I also had to sign with test keys for some reason too, the og meta-inf just wouldn't work even after zip aligning.

Edit: I re read everything and if you haven't tried I'd definitely check zipalignment, if it fails then zipalign the apk and you should be golden. If the zipalign does checkout to be ok I have no clue what else could be causing all these issues for you.

Sent from my i897 w/Andromeda 3, Suckerpunch kernel, & 1.3Ghz OC using Tegrak.
[Android] tommytomatoe:
Dear Android-Utility Supporters and Users,

I have an idea that I want to test. Your support is greatly appreciated. Thank you for using and sharing this utility. I created a Google account dedicated to AU. I want to be able to share latest changes with users who are in my address book. Basically, you will get the latest changes and updates before it is official on themikmik or xda. This assists me in bug tracking and testing, as well as getting the bleeding edge to your hands faster.

In order to participate, there is only one requirement. This tool is and always will be a free utility, so while donations and the like are appreciated, it is never necessary. You are always welcomed to request to be a tester of the latest commits. Without my main testers (ching, misfit, and rydah), a lot of this would not be as bug-free as it is. Thank you guys. The one requirement to participate is to email the dedicated account with a subject of "AU" or "Android-utility".

The email is android.utility.tt@gmail.com

Please do not abuse. :-)

Any questions can be directed to my pm or existing Google account for those who know me.

Sincerely,

Tommy Nguyen (tommytomatoe)
[Android] Flecky:
Very good.

Thank you.
[Android] tommytomatoe:
Cleve,

Man. I understand your frustration! This version of Root explorer doesn't want to be tampered with. I tried resigning with test keys, private keys, and simply pushing to system/app. All three methods the app appears, but like you experienced, it force closes shortly after starting up. Damn. Not sure what to say. This is a newer version than the one I have at home on my iMac.

Another thing I noticed is they used DSA algorithm as opposed to RSA to sign the original apk. I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it, but somewhere in the code the apk checks for the original keys. As soon as it's tampered with, the apk no longer works. Sorry man I guess this won't work without speedsoftware's release keys.

---------- Post added at 02:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:57 PM ----------

Cleve,

Update. I'm going through the code. Indeed, speedsoftware does put a check in the smali to check for the original keys. I'm looking for a hack now, but no promises.

---------- Post added at 02:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:07 PM ----------

Update. I created DSA release keys but again, it force closes shortly after opening. I tried simply resigning the original modified apk but no go. The check is there to prevent piracy and is understandable, but it does make it hard for actual purchasers of the app to theme it to there liking. Sorry Cleve.
[Android] CleveRuse:
LOL, yeah, tried that too. I've tried everything I could think of. Did u say u tried this on RootExplorer?
[Android] CleveRuse:
Well that sucks! ......but I feel completely vindicated!:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

Ha ha, least I'm not completely retarded;) So there IS a such thing as an un-modifiable apk! ....and it WAS becuz of the keys as i stated that I had suspected in my OT! (......sorry, LOL, I had to add that last part) Guys, I thought I was going insane.

Of coarse, I've been trying to pin-point the problem for months, only to arrive no further to understanding as a suspicion; and it took u ...wut, like 10 min's? to diagnose the exact problem. -awesome!

At this point, I'm completely satisfied to know that its nearly impossible;)

Thnx T:)
[Android] Jsmokey:
I had worked on an older version I had also. Sucks that its unmodifiable now though, I completely understand why they are starting to do it though with all the piracy going on these days. Sorry about your luck and all your wasted time trying to re-theme it. Maybe someone can come up with a workaround for it though in the future with some more digging around.

Sent from my i897 w/Andromeda 3, Suckerpunch kernel, & 1.3Ghz OC using Tegrak.
[Android] tommytomatoe:
Good news coming in a couple weeks.

tapatalk signature here. lovely.
[Android] CleveRuse:
Tease ! ;)
[Android] Jsmokey:
Can we maybe get a little preview? ;)

Sent from my i897 w/Andromeda 3, Suckerpunch kernel, & 1.3Ghz OC using Tegrak.
[Android] topsign:
Thanks for the great tool

I got below error message when decomplie a apk file

/home/xxx/android-utility/working-folder/mod-here-solo/CMWallpapers/res/values/public.xml:55: error: Public entry identifier 0x7f020034 entry index is larger than available symbols (index 52, total symbols 52).
/home/xxx/android-utility/working-folder/mod-here-solo/CMWallpapers/res/values/public.xml:55: error: Public symbol drawable/APKTOOL_DUMMY_0034 declared here is not defined.
/home/xxx/android-utility/working-folder/mod-here-solo/CMWallpapers/res/values/public.xml:56: error: Public entry identifier 0x7f020035 entry index is larger than available symbols (index 53, total symbols 52).
/home/xxx/android-utility/working-folder/mod-here-solo/CMWallpapers/res/values/public.xml:56: error: Public symbol drawable/APKTOOL_DUMMY_0035 declared here is not defined.
/home/xxx/android-utility/working-folder/mod-here-solo/CMWallpapers/res/values/public.xml:53: error: Public symbol drawable/wallpaper_prash_revolutionary declared here is not defined.
/home/xxx/android-utility/working-folder/mod-here-solo/CMWallpapers/res/values/public.xml:54: error: Public symbol drawable/wallpaper_prash_revolutionary_small declared here is not defined.
Exception in thread "main" brut.androlib.AndrolibException: brut.common.BrutException: could not exec command: [aapt, p, -F, /tmp/APKTOOL1457426997872541288.tmp, -I, /home/xxx/apktool/framework/1.apk, -S, /home/xxx/android-utility/working-folder/mod-here-solo/CMWallpapers/res, -M, /home/xxx/android-utility/working-folder/mod-here-solo/CMWallpapers/AndroidManifest.xml]
at brut.androlib.res.AndrolibResources.aaptPackage(Unknown Source)
at brut.androlib.Androlib.buildResourcesFull(Unknown Source)
at brut.androlib.Androlib.buildResources(Unknown Source)
at brut.androlib.Androlib.build(Unknown Source)
at brut.androlib.Androlib.build(Unknown Source)
at brut.apktool.Main.cmdBuild(Unknown Source)
at brut.apktool.Main.main(Unknown Source)
Caused by: brut.common.BrutException: could not exec command: [aapt, p, -F, /tmp/APKTOOL1457426997872541288.tmp, -I, /home/xxx/apktool/framework/1.apk, -S, /home/xxx/android-utility/working-folder/mod-here-solo/CMWallpapers/res, -M, /home/xxx/android-utility/working-folder/mod-here-solo/CMWallpapers/AndroidManifest.xml]
at brut.util.OS.exec(Unknown Source)
... 7 more
[Android] tommytomatoe:
^topsign

Thanks for using au.

Your error looks like an output of a Recompile not decompile. Are you sure that's the decompile?

It looks like you added some pngs that weren't there before and the apk didnt like it. Did you install the framework first?

tapatalk signature here. lovely.
[Android] tommytomatoe:
well..I have a plan to make a full app for AU. :-) I'm gonna start with just the installer. Then eventually move onto other aspects. Mac will be first, of course ;-) Then Linux.
[Android] Jsmokey:
Sounds awesome, cant wait to try it out.

Just curious, I've been working on getting au working from a different directory to clean up some android tools and get em all together in one folder. I got the menu part of the script working but still working on tools, is there a specific part if the script where the locations are specified?

I haven't really looked through the script in much detail so I might run through it tonight and see if I can get it figured out.

Sent from my i897 w/Andromeda 3, Suckerpunch kernel, & 1.3Ghz OC using Tegrak.
[Android] tommytomatoe:
Unfortunately AU is designed to only work from the android-utility folder in the HOME directory. The scripts have over 20 instances that depend on that.

But...I was requested by one of my testers to make it work in the $HOME/android/android-utility directory. Its for mac. If you want that I can shoot you a link later.

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[Android] tommytomatoe:
Hey smokey. This one goes into #HOME/android/android-utility instead of $HOME/android-utility

http://themikmik.com/showthread.php?p=107311

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[Android] reekotubbs:
@tommytomatoe I want to utilize your app, but I want to know if it allows you to modify apk's like the current google voice?

I have been trying to use apk manager, apktool, and apk edit, but all error out with

"Exception in thread "main" brut.androlib.err.UndefinedResObject: resource spec: 0x01010363"

Any help would be appreciated.
[Android] tommytomatoe:
AU utilitizes five different versions of apktool and the user has the option to change them on the fly. So...hope that helps :-) I haven't personally themed the new Google app, but if you use au you will have many options to choose from. Happy modding!

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[Android] topsign:
Yes, you are right. the error comes out frm recompile. I deleted a few jpgs and pngs. framework installed.
[Android] reekotubbs:
Oops didn't notice this is only for Mac and Linux. I can't use unless I set up a vm.
[Android] Jsmokey:
Thanks for offering but I'm mainly doing all my work right now on ubuntu and anti X linux.

So in theory if I wanted to I could go through and rewrite the instances to get it working where I want it to?

Sent from my i897 w/Andromeda 3, Suckerpunch kernel, & 1.3Ghz OC using Tegrak.
[Android] tommytomatoe:
Yeah you can do that. Use sed and grep. Swap all instances of $HOME/android-utility to whatever you want :-)

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[Android] tommytomatoe:
Should not be any jpgs lol. And that's why your apk won't compile. You're missing pngs.

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[Android] CleveRuse:
Tommy ...yep, me again. WTF, lol;D here's my problem; none of my apks will build with my changes in them.

Wut I like to do is keep the same apk folder in my 'projects' folder and keep making tiny mods (mostly xml at this point) and continuously rebuild them till I'm satisfied. I don't know exactly wut occurs at wut point, but at some point my modifications just stop being built; so that the apk that name is built, but none of my changes r included.

.......so I try renaming the folder but it still builds the old with old name and still no changes .......so i try making a copy of the original apk with the last mods that DID build, move it outside of AU completely, rename it, place bak in 'mod-here-multi', re-decompile it, make the same new mods that I've been trying to make for two days now, then build it. But usually only the name changes, it still has the old edits from the original apk.

I'm currently trying to build SystemUI.apk. the last time I built it, I had to change the name outside of AU (as described above) to 'helterskelter' (so I'll remember) and rebuild it, but that didn't work. It still would not show any changes in the new build. Even after deleting all original and new apks and rebooting my comp, it doesn't work. So i tried introducing a whole new SysUI and going thru whole process again, but now it will only build as 'helterskelter'. (and I doubt my changes r there. Idk. I'm too confused. I give up;)

WTF is going on T? How do I stop this from happening ...or wipe AU's memory so it stops doing these screwy things? .......grrrrrrrrrr, LOL :D
[Android] Jsmokey:
Cool thats exactly what I was planning on trying once I had some free time on my hands to take a wack at it.

Sent from my i897 w/Andromeda 3, Suckerpunch kernel, & 1.3Ghz OC using Tegrak.
[Android] tommytomatoe:
Lol. Sounds frustrating my friend. Sorry!

But I got your fix. First, back up your entire working folder if you want. Just copy it to the desktop.

Open a new terminal.

Type: installau

Select the install working folder option. It will ask some questions about your old working folder.

Then place a new apk (can be modded no problem) into multi folder. Run AU and decode with option 3. :-)

You can always use the installau command to wipe the au "memory".

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[Android] tommytomatoe:
Let me know if you want the exact command :-) I used it to make the other version for the mac.

tapatalk signature here. lovely.
[Android] CleveRuse:
great customer service! :D I knew u'd know wut to do .....too bad im impatient n just wiped n reinstalled, lol! But now i know so...

Soon as i get a donation from my theme, i know who ill be transferring funds to;)
[Android] Jsmokey:
I may take you up on that but I'm gonna give it a go later and see how far I can get on my own I need to brush up on my scripting skills its been a while since I really did anything with scripts and it'd really help automate some of the work in the roms and a few other projects I have going.

Sent from my i897 w/Andromeda 3, Suckerpunch kernel, & 1.3Ghz OC using Tegrak.
[Android] absolutzero1906:
Tommy I know this may or may not be the right place to ask, but I am using your tool I thought I would ask. I am trying to change the battery charge animation and having a hell of a time to get it to recompile. Here is what I did. The original framework-res has 100 pngs for the animation I only need 33. So I changed the stat_sys_battery_charge xml and then deleted the pngs that were not needed. I then I tried to recompile and got a bunch of errors in the public xml. So first I tried to delete public xml and ok I know that wasn't smart maybe but then I got a bung of different errors. If you need more I can post the errors. I am sure it is something simple that I am missing. Any help will be appreciated. Thanks.
[Android] tommytomatoe:
This is indeed the place to ask. There are three xml for the battery. The one you mentioned, the charge one, and also one that begins with zzz. I'm.not home or else I will tell you exactly which ones. I'll update later.

And yes it is okay to delete the.public.xml before recompile :-)

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[Android] absolutzero1906:
Cool Thanks man. I will wait for u to update.
[Android] topsign:
@tommytomate

below error pops up when decompile an apk file

Exception in thread "main" brut.androlib.AndrolibException: brut.directory.DirectoryException: java.util.zip.ZipException: error in opening zip file
at brut.androlib.ApkDecoder.hasSources(Unknown Source)
at brut.androlib.ApkDecoder.decode(Unknown Source)
at brut.apktool.Main.cmdDecode(Unknown Source)
at brut.apktool.Main.main(Unknown Source)
Caused by: brut.directory.DirectoryException: java.util.zip.ZipException: error in opening zip file
at brut.directory.ZipRODirectory.<init>(Unknown Source)
at brut.directory.ZipRODirectory.<init>(Unknown Source)
at brut.androlib.res.util.ExtFile.getDirectory(Unknown Source)
... 4 more
Caused by: java.util.zip.ZipException: error in opening zip file
at java.util.zip.ZipFile.open(Native Method)
at java.util.zip.ZipFile.<init>(ZipFile.java:131)
at java.util.zip.ZipFile.<init>(ZipFile.java:148)
... 7 more

framework installed., did i miss sth?