Develop Bugs

Experienced Developer, new to mobile hacking, where to start?

I have experience as a .net developer, a SQL developer, and a network administrator, but I've never done anything with mobile development. I'll be able to do some damage, but I need someone to point me in the right direction here.
I am not interested in messing with the existing windows CE os AT ALL, only Android. I motivated by this phone because it's the only modern phone who's ESN can be activated on verizion without a data plan.
SO, can an experienced person within the community give me a lay of the land of where I can contribute and get working?
my 2c: Most of the hacking i've done was on PSP, and they always loaded custom firmware by getting into the core / bios area, just like all of the other jailbreak methods. Can we do that?

Gaujo said:
I have experience as a .net developer, a SQL developer, and a network administrator, but I've never done anything with mobile development. I'll be able to do some damage, but I need someone to point me in the right direction here.
I am not interested in messing with the existing windows CE os AT ALL, only Android. I motivated by this phone because it's the only modern phone who's ESN can be activated on verizion without a data plan.
SO, can an experienced person within the community give me a lay of the land of where I can contribute and get working?
my 2c: Most of the hacking i've done was on PSP, and they always loaded custom firmware by getting into the core / bios area, just like all of the other jailbreak methods. Can we do that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well, one major thing that you can help with, is getting drivers for the kin two, because the ones we have are only diag drivers, and do not let us see the phone in windows explorer...the diag drivers only let us see the filesystem in Bitpim.

welcome to the "i know kung-fu but this seems to need jiu-jitsu" group of developpers.
As noted above... drivers.. drivers drivers....
In the other threads you can see my hardware attempts resume about the usb access to the devices and explanation about why we didnt flashed anything yet (tldr; is shop-protected).
The only driver available for flashing (in windows) or linux direct access turned us into a nvflash executable being frozen, doing anything. For the other modes we have not data on how to operate with them.
On your request: yes, you could run android here, as tegra 2500 was made for wince and android (currently they work with froyo), so i guess we could do the move (i would want to backup Win CE anyway... just in case ... for messing around with flashing...).

johnkussack said:
welcome to the "i know kung-fu but this seems to need jiu-jitsu" group of developpers.
As noted above... drivers.. drivers drivers....
In the other threads you can see my hardware attempts resume about the usb access to the devices and explanation about why we didnt flashed anything yet (tldr; is shop-protected).
The only driver available for flashing (in windows) or linux direct access turned us into a nvflash executable being frozen, doing anything. For the other modes we have not data on how to operate with them.
On your request: yes, you could run android here, as tegra 2500 was made for wince and android (currently they work with froyo), so i guess we could do the move (i would want to backup Win CE anyway... just in case ... for messing around with flashing...).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've never edited or created a driver, but if someone will point me in a specific driver, I will hammer away as best I can.
I don't understand what you mean here:
" The only driver available for flashing (in windows) or linux direct access turned us into a nvflash executable being frozen, doing anything. For the other modes we have not data on how to operate with them."​

Point 1) The APX mode (booting with USB keys + power) is what we called as flashing "part", which uses nvflash (.exe) as tool to do flashing to the devices.
The driver you can get from nvidia (that one exists) lets nvflash find the device but the kin seems to be writeprotected, so the tool outputs an error while connecting to the KIN. Also, further attemps make nvflash get stuck in the connection process forever (and ever).
Point 2) The other modes (normal or special keys hold) have no known drivers nor known-yet ways to get them. Of course, if i knew how to make one, i would have tried to make it myself, as i tried with the MPMz protocol on the kin, so can't point you in any direction there.
That's what i meant.

Updated version to enable Unknown Sources

This is the latest release of my fix (June 14, 2011). This version addresses the Market ID and Moto Blur issue.
This version does not require the use of scripts on the phone. It uses ADB and sqlite3 (both are included in the zip file).
I created a new thread here because the older version was so full of bugs and comments about said bugs I figured it was time to start fresh, seeing how I am using a different method (the method I should have used to begin with) for this hack. Also, this should have been in development to begin with.
I have not had a chance to test the latest version, aside from verifying the awk command works as exptected. The rest is a strong educated guess, mixed with a re-tooling of it to just use Android Debug Bridge to do what I was having scripts do in the past. Should be much more reliable.
IF YOU DECIDE TO USE THESE INSTRUCTIONS: PLEASE, read through this page entirely from top to bottom at least once prior to doing anything. This way, if you are unsure on anything, you can ask the questions you need answers to. I am not liable for anybody messing up their phone because they didn't think to read the F'n manual prior to following these steps.
If you don't read this through completely before starting, and you brick your system, Don't come crying to me. I warned you.
This version makes it close to impossible to brick the system, but I left that bit in to cover my arse.
If you do not have the phone rooted, download the second zip file, and install the drivers found below:
Motorola Driver(install before you run the batch file)
You will need to enable USB Debugging:
On your phone,go to Settings->Applications->Development->Check "USB Debugging"
Latest version installs busybox for you, but if it doesn't, the script will pause for you to check, and tell you how to quit out of my script before proceding. If you have issues with that, let me know. I haven't tested this version, but by all accounts, it should be more reliable than my previous iterations, with the plus side of not having to purchase an app.
I have not tested it, so you may still need to tell it to install, but it should install the apk.
1. Download the attachment located in this post.
Unzip to a folder on your desktop.
PLUG IN YOUR PHONE NOW!!!
Double click on the batch file ("enable_unknown_sources.bat"). You may have to run as administrator, but I don't think so. Built on Windows XP (I'm a linux guy who wrote this at work in a couple minutes)
When it prompts for you to OK the super user for "unknown", look at your phone. It should have a prompt. If not, it may be ok. We will see....
once your phone has rebooted, you phone will have "unknown sources" enabled already. Don't worry about rebooting. The batch file did that for you.
Quite a bit less work than before. Good news: it's done! never to worry about it again...unless you upgrade....
DISCLAIMER:
DO NOT FOLLOW ANY OF MY STEPS IF YOU ARE UNSURE OF WHAT YOU ARE DOING! I have done my best to ensure that the instructions are accurate, but I made mistakes in the first revision, so who's to say that I didn't miss something this go 'round as well? If you decide to follow this walk-through, your actions are an agreement to not hold me liable if your phone becomes a pretty brick. I am not responsible for what you do with this information. If you have no idea how to do any portion of these instructions, you can either walk away (best idea), or ask for help here.
I am also not the 2nd shooter on the grassy knoll, nor am I the cause of all your woes throughout life. I always wanted to say that in a disclaimer.
Thanks to Vahnyyz for reminding me that I forgot to have you enable USB Debugging.
IF YOU HAVE PROBLEMS:
Have you installed the Motorola Drivers?
Do you have Debugging enabled?
If the answer to the 2 questions above are "yes, damnit! Give me a good answer, and stop wasting my time with these stupid questions", then you will need to tell me at what point the scripts fail. I will look into the problem as fast as I can.

so I tried the program you put on and everything because I haven't been able to root my phone as of yet, but the file I downloaded that included rooting did not work, everytime I ran the application it stated that "Device Not Found" and my phone is connected through USB at the moment.

Forgot a part
Thanks for letting me know about your issue. You need to do the following:
Ensure you have installed the drivers on you computer
Ensure USB Debugging is turned on
To enable USB Debugging, (on your phone...duh) go to Settings->Applications->Development->Check "USB Debugging"

as soon as I run the. bat file, command screen tells me to make sure that busybox is installed, which it is, to unplug phone, go to, busybox and install. Wife's phone is already rooted, once I hit next, "unknown" will pop up on the screen for a second and then....nothing.

Need to fix that to state "....after you ensure busybox is installed, plug phone back in"
Just plug the phone back up prior to proceding
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

How is the no blur version coming along....anxiously waiting for that!

JBallin4life27 said:
How is the no blur version coming along....anxiously waiting for that!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am running into a problem I believe is caused by an older version of clockworkmod. I am trying to see if I can get a newer version running.
The issue:
It appears that the update file I generate is incompatable with the updater built into the version of ClockWorkMod I am running. Anybody have a newer build of the CWM I can use for testing?

jonsjava said:
I am running into a problem I believe is caused by an older version of clockworkmod. I am trying to see if I can get a newer version running.
The issue:
It appears that the update file I generate is incompatable with the updater built into the version of ClockWorkMod I am running. Anybody have a newer build of the CWM I can use for testing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had CM6 running on my motorola backflip and still have all the files saved on my computer...would it be in there somewhere and would that be useful to you?

JBallin4life27 said:
I had CM6 running on my motorola backflip and still have all the files saved on my computer...would it be in there somewhere and would that be useful to you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm needing the second stage recovery file to make ClockWorkMod something newer than 2.x.x Needing to have it somewhere in the neighborhood of 3.x

jonsjava said:
I'm needing the second stage recovery file to make ClockWorkMod something newer than 2.x.x Needing to have it somewhere in the neighborhood of 3.x
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea lol...no idea what that all means...sorry i'm not any help

[Q] Really nervous about accidentally bricking, so just some cautionary questions...

So I have an Optimus G LS970, added a couple apps, but other than that it's pretty basic. I'm wanting to root this device and eventually add a custom rom on it perhaps, but I've very new to this and don't want to accidentally brick my device.
1) I've been looking for stable linux rooting methods, the only one I've found that looks promising is here, but it's 2 years old. Does anyone know anything about it's stability for android 4.1.2, kernel 3.4.0?
2) In order to transfer files (music, pictures, pdfs/ebooks) to/from my device it needs to be mounted, but I haven't been able to mount it for this (or any other) purpose at all. It shows up as connected (command "lsusb" shows "Bus 002 Device 028: ID 1004:631d LG Electronics, Inc.") but it won't mount. Will this be possible once rooted, or is there some other cause to this?
3) Once rooted, I want to get rid of some of the Preinstalled apps but I'm not sure which will lead to instability and which would be fine to remove, does anyone know where I can check this, or would I just need to list all the apps I don't want on my phone and have you all tell me on an app-by-app basis which is safe to remove?
4) Lastly, when it comes to using alternative app markets, I haven't had much luck. I was trying to test using alt stores with f-droid and nothing showed in the lists, so I don't know if that's a thing with f-droid or my device. Is there anything you need to do to use alt app stores aside from enabling it in the system settings, and installing the app store's .. app?
Thanks in advance!

JustAk said:
So I have an Optimus G LS970, added a couple apps, but other than that it's pretty basic. I'm wanting to root this device and eventually add a custom rom on it perhaps, but I've very new to this and don't want to accidentally brick my device.
1) I've been looking for stable linux rooting methods, the only one I've found that looks promising is here, but it's 2 years old. Does anyone know anything about it's stability for android 4.1.2, kernel 3.4.0?
2) In order to transfer files (music, pictures, pdfs/ebooks) to/from my device it needs to be mounted, but I haven't been able to mount it for this (or any other) purpose at all. It shows up as connected (command "lsusb" shows "Bus 002 Device 028: ID 1004:631d LG Electronics, Inc.") but it won't mount. Will this be possible once rooted, or is there some other cause to this?
3) Once rooted, I want to get rid of some of the Preinstalled apps but I'm not sure which will lead to instability and which would be fine to remove, does anyone know where I can check this, or would I just need to list all the apps I don't want on my phone and have you all tell me on an app-by-app basis which is safe to remove?
4) Lastly, when it comes to using alternative app markets, I haven't had much luck. I was trying to test using alt stores with f-droid and nothing showed in the lists, so I don't know if that's a thing with f-droid or my device. Is there anything you need to do to use alt app stores aside from enabling it in the system settings, and installing the app store's .. app?
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All of your questions are answered here. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2050582
And the FAQ.
1. See above
2. Install the LG drivers, link is in that OP, then tick MPT. That should transfer your files. If not, you may need to uninstall, then reinstall them.
3. DO NOT remove any apps unless you unlock! Info is in that link also.
4. I have no idea on that one.
Sent from my LG-LS970 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

engine95 said:
All of your questions are answered here. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2050582
And the FAQ.
1. See above
2. Install the LG drivers, link is in that OP, then tick MPT. That should transfer your files. If not, you may need to uninstall, then reinstall them.
3. DO NOT remove any apps unless you unlock! Info is in that link also.
4. I have no idea on that one.
Sent from my LG-LS970 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) *EDIT* [Doesn't say anything about linux rooting, how am I supposed to install a windows drive on a linux system?] I overlooked the linux mention. Thanks! Can't find something. How/where do I find adb?
2) Ignore, see 1) [Again, how am I supposed to install the Windows driver in linux?]
3) Thanks for that. I didn't know the importance of unlocking the bootloader.

JustAk said:
1) *EDIT* [Doesn't say anything about linux rooting, how am I supposed to install a windows drive on a linux system?] I overlooked the linux mention. Thanks! Can't find something. How/where do I find adb?
2) Ignore, see 1) [Again, how am I supposed to install the Windows driver in linux?]
3) Thanks for that. I didn't know the importance of unlocking the bootloader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry bout that. Linux drivers are native, so they're anyway installed.
You use either fiddy629 root for Linux, or Framaroot.
Sent from my LG-LS970 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
---------- Post added at 10:53 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:51 PM ----------
Edit. You don't have to have ADB, but there's alot of info if you google it.
Sent from my LG-LS970 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

engine95 said:
Sorry bout that. Linux drivers are native, so they're anyway installed.
You use either fiddy629 root for Linux, or Framaroot.
Sent from my LG-LS970 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
---------- Post added at 10:53 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:51 PM ----------
Edit. You don't have to have ADB, but there's alot of info if you google it.
Sent from my LG-LS970 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried fiddy619's thing here using the universal linux one. It asked me for ADB. Found that debian has "android-tools-adb" so I installed that, now there's this:
Code:
Using: /usr/bin/adb
Waiting for device... Connect your LGOG via USB in Charge Only Mode
* daemon not running. starting it now on port 5037 *
* daemon started successfully *
Device found
Beginning Root Process
Disconnect your phone from USB
Disable USB Debugging
Enable USB Debugging
Press enter to Continue
I can't tell if this is telling me to do these things, or if it's saying it already did them. Any idea?

JustAk said:
I tried fiddy619's thing here using the universal linux one. It asked me for ADB. Found that debian has "android-tools-adb" so I installed that, now there's this:
Code:
Using: /usr/bin/adb
Waiting for device... Connect your LGOG via USB in Charge Only Mode
* daemon not running. starting it now on port 5037 *
* daemon started successfully *
Device found
Beginning Root Process
Disconnect your phone from USB
Disable USB Debugging
Enable USB Debugging
Press enter to Continue
I can't tell if this is telling me to do these things, or if it's saying it already did them. Any idea?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nevermind that, I got it working just fine. took o nly a couple seconds and it was done. Now I have "SuperSU" in my apps menu, so I'm guessing it worked.

JustAk said:
Nevermind that, I got it working just fine. took o nly a couple seconds and it was done. Now I have "SuperSU" in my apps menu, so I'm guessing it worked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome, glad to hear it worked! Which if you have SuperSU it should have. I too only use linux(Linux Mint specifically) and while most guides are made for Windows, things are usually easier from the linux terminal because we don't need to download drivers, android uses a modified linux kernel, etc. Welcome to the forums, glad to have you here! All the info you need is here and plenty of people will be glad to help(as engine has already demonstrated). As for the alternative app markets, Ive read plenty and tested a few but really, nothing comes close to the play store. On our phone Banks Gapps is the standard google apps package to install if you are flashing a custom rom. Just make sure you get the correct version of gapps for the version of android your rom is based on.

HPTesla said:
Awesome, glad to hear it worked! Which if you have SuperSU it should have. I too only use linux(Linux Mint specifically) and while most guides are made for Windows, things are usually easier from the linux terminal because we don't need to download drivers, android uses a modified linux kernel, etc. Welcome to the forums, glad to have you here! All the info you need is here and plenty of people will be glad to help(as engine has already demonstrated). As for the alternative app markets, Ive read plenty and tested a few but really, nothing comes close to the play store. On our phone Banks Gapps is the standard google apps package to install if you are flashing a custom rom. Just make sure you get the correct version of gapps for the version of android your rom is based on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah. brilliant, thanks!
The only problem I'm now having is getting the phone to connect to my computer so I can transfer music or ebooks or whathaveyou to/from my device. I've gone through the arch wiki for android (even though I'm running debian) and this forum postt but I keep getting an error:
Code:
$ android-connect
Listing raw device(s)
Device 0 (VID=1004 and PID=61f9) is a LG Electronics Inc. V909 G-Slate.
Found 1 device(s):
LG Electronics Inc.: V909 G-Slate (1004:61f9) @ bus 2, dev 8
Attempting to connect device
PTP_ERROR_IO: failed to open session, trying again after resetting USB interface
LIBMTP libusb: Attempt to reset device
Android device detected, assigning default bug flags
Error 1: Get Storage information failed.
Error 2: PTP Layer error 02fe: get_handles_recursively(): could not get object handles.
Error 2: (Look this up in ptp.h for an explanation.)
Listing File Information on Device with name: (NULL)
LIBMTP_Get_Storage() failed:-1
I can start a separate thread regarding this issue, but if you have any insight, figured it couldn't hurt to ask real quick.

JustAk said:
Ah. brilliant, thanks!
The only problem I'm now having is getting the phone to connect to my computer so I can transfer music or ebooks or whathaveyou to/from my device. I've gone through the arch wiki for android (even though I'm running debian) and this forum postt but I keep getting an error:
Code:
$ android-connect
Listing raw device(s)
Device 0 (VID=1004 and PID=61f9) is a LG Electronics Inc. V909 G-Slate.
Found 1 device(s):
LG Electronics Inc.: V909 G-Slate (1004:61f9) @ bus 2, dev 8
Attempting to connect device
PTP_ERROR_IO: failed to open session, trying again after resetting USB interface
LIBMTP libusb: Attempt to reset device
Android device detected, assigning default bug flags
Error 1: Get Storage information failed.
Error 2: PTP Layer error 02fe: get_handles_recursively(): could not get object handles.
Error 2: (Look this up in ptp.h for an explanation.)
Listing File Information on Device with name: (NULL)
LIBMTP_Get_Storage() failed:-1
I can start a separate thread regarding this issue, but if you have any insight, figured it couldn't hurt to ask real quick.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This may or may not help, but when I've had issues with Linux hooking up I've had to format my SD. Something gets stuck in there that Linux just didn't like.
Sent from my LG-LS970 using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

JustAk said:
Ah. brilliant, thanks!
The only problem I'm now having is getting the phone to connect to my computer so I can transfer music or ebooks or whathaveyou to/from my device. I've gone through the arch wiki for android (even though I'm running debian) and this forum postt but I keep getting an error:
Code:
$ android-connect
Listing raw device(s)
Device 0 (VID=1004 and PID=61f9) is a LG Electronics Inc. V909 G-Slate.
Found 1 device(s):
LG Electronics Inc.: V909 G-Slate (1004:61f9) @ bus 2, dev 8
Attempting to connect device
PTP_ERROR_IO: failed to open session, trying again after resetting USB interface
LIBMTP libusb: Attempt to reset device
Android device detected, assigning default bug flags
Error 1: Get Storage information failed.
Error 2: PTP Layer error 02fe: get_handles_recursively(): could not get object handles.
Error 2: (Look this up in ptp.h for an explanation.)
Listing File Information on Device with name: (NULL)
LIBMTP_Get_Storage() failed:-1
I can start a separate thread regarding this issue, but if you have any insight, figured it couldn't hurt to ask real quick.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you doing this with the phone turned on and booted into the os? It gives you a PTP error first, make sure the phone is in MTP. At the bottom you also have a LIBMTP error tho. I don't have much experience with debian but from what I understand it is extremely stable but the downside is that it can be a bit out of date at times. Ubuntu and all ubuntu derivatives had a major mtp flaw awhile back but it has since been fixed. Im not sure if it has been fixed in debian. Yes ubuntu is based off of debian, but just like linux mint will add things to the ubuntu base, ubuntu will do the same to the debian base. So LIBMTP MAY be out of date, Im not sure. I know that I have no problem seeing my phone from either the terminal or file browser. Check this out and see if it helps any.
If not you may have to follow engine's advice and format the sd.
EDIT: Also this might work, it is for linux mint but adding the repository and installing it should work on debian(I think) since they all use .deb files. Before ubuntu officially supported mtp by default this was the most popular work around.

HPTesla said:
Are you doing this with the phone turned on and booted into the os? It gives you a PTP error first, make sure the phone is in MTP. At the bottom you also have a LIBMTP error tho. I don't have much experience with debian but from what I understand it is extremely stable but the downside is that it can be a bit out of date at times. Ubuntu and all ubuntu derivatives had a major mtp flaw awhile back but it has since been fixed. Im not sure if it has been fixed in debian. Yes ubuntu is based off of debian, but just like linux mint will add things to the ubuntu base, ubuntu will do the same to the debian base. So LIBMTP MAY be out of date, Im not sure. I know that I have no problem seeing my phone from either the terminal or file browser. Check this out and see if it helps any.
If not you may have to follow engine's advice and format the sd.
EDIT: Also this might work, it is for linux mint but adding the repository and installing it should work on debian(I think) since they all use .deb files. Before ubuntu officially supported mtp by default this was the most popular work around.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The first thing you linked to (steneteg.org or somesuch) was another avenue I went down trying to solve this, but alas it resulted with much the same problems. The second link to the linuxmint forums looked very promising, the only problem with it is the ppa has been dropped by webupd8 so it no longer is available (404s).
I have just discovered earlier today that adb push/pull works for getting things onto/off of my device, but I can't use adb to mount the device to allow it to be seen with a filemanager (thunar in this case). So, that's progress I think.
EDIT : I just saw mention somewhere of androidair, have yyou any experience with this app's reliability/security?

JustAk said:
The first thing you linked to (steneteg.org or somesuch) was another avenue I went down trying to solve this, but alas it resulted with much the same problems. The second link to the linuxmint forums looked very promising, the only problem with it is the ppa has been dropped by webupd8 so it no longer is available (404s).
I have just discovered earlier today that adb push/pull works for getting things onto/off of my device, but I can't use adb to mount the device to allow it to be seen with a filemanager (thunar in this case). So, that's progress I think.
EDIT : I just saw mention somewhere of androidair, have yyou any experience with this app's reliability/security?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can try searching for other places where go-mptfs is located, other ppas where it still might be. The ubuntu forums also has this as a possible solution. I haven't used androidair but I have moved files over wifi using the sshdroid app and an ssh server on my pc with great success. If you have any experience with ssh that could be a possible solution although it is obviously slower than usb. But ssh in general is a simple and great tool, also pretty secure since you are simply connected to your home wifi - as long as your wifi is secure you should be fine.
On my pc I believe its openssh that I use - plenty of tutorials out there for that - and here is the link to sshdroid in the play store. Hope this helps!
EDIT: I will also be at work until 2p.m. EST so may not be able to reply back until then - don't worry, I will as soon as I get home if you have any other issues.

Linux & Heimdall

Just want to flash TWRP and root sm-t700 using linux anyone tried this?
Sent from my Moto G using XDA Free mobile app

Want this also. No Windows available here at home nor at work.
Thanks All

I'm also a Linux only PC user but have concluded that l have two options. One is a Windows Virtualbox environment using an old Windows OS (e.g. XP, Vista) that I own. My concern with this option is the reliability of the VM's USB connection. I have used it successfully to update firmware on a TV remote but would be more cautious in an activity which may brick an expensive device.
The more reliable option is to use a USB Hard drive bay and an old unused 30-40GB hard drive (Sata or IDE) or a 32-64GB bootable USB flash drive to install a Windows OS and boot off it just when up need Odin or KIES 3.
All of my research and reading conclude that Heidelberg and/or the Java alternative combined with recent Samsung devices are not ready yet so these other options are safer and faster to set up and use at this time.
If you do not presently have a copy of a Windows OS you likely can find a friend who has a old unused XP CD lying around.
Up to a week ago when I bought my Tab S I only had Nexus devices (10 and 5) so their Linux ADB capability made any firmware changes a breeze. Too bad Google does not enforcement ADB as a standard. Let OEM's put out their own KIES equivalents, as much of that functionality can be worked around anyway (e.g. network shares).
Sent from my SM-T800 using XDA Premium HD app

3DSammy said:
I'm also a Linux only PC user but have concluded that l have two options. One is a Windows Virtualbox environment using an old Windows OS (e.g. XP, Vista) that I own. My concern with this option is the reliability of the VM's USB connection. I have used it successfully to update firmware on a TV remote but would be more cautious in an activity which may brick an expensive device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The way I understand it (I might be horribly wrong is that you should be ok if all you're going to do is to flash a custom recovery, not an entire ROM since only the recovery partition would be affected.
If you do not presently have a copy of a Windows OS you likely can find a friend who has a old unused XP CD lying around.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are actually legal ways of downloading Windows for free. One is to download a copy from Microsoft itself. Google for "Windows evaluation copy". This will get you a perfectly free copy of Windows 8.1. The only catch, besides the need to register and give some personal info, is that your Windows installation will time out after 30 days, which should be more than enough time to flash a custom recovery onto your Android device.
I've also heard of a probably legal way to download a copy of Windows 7 from a licensed online distributor. This was supposed to be a backup copy of the OEM version (for those who lost or damaged their Windows installer), which needs to be activated with a valid key. However, you can run your Windows install without activation also for 30 days.
Speaking of legal, I'm actually more concerned about the legality of Odin. Does anybody have any idea who authored the software?

Odin is samsungs official software.

Microsoft also has VM images for download, which are meant for testing Internet Explorer versions... They also have limited lifetime, but if you want a VM it's a faster option.
Too lazy to Google for the url, cause I'm on the phone and all
EDIT: http://dev.modern.ie/tools/vms/

Real or virtual Windows is the only way to go. Heimdall or anything that uses its code doesn't work on the tab s.

fred_be9300 said:
Microsoft also has VM images for download, which are meant for testing Internet Explorer versions... They also have limited lifetime, but if you want a VM it's a faster option.
Too lazy to Google for the url, cause I'm on the phone and all
EDIT: http://dev.modern.ie/tools/vms/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems to be the better option if you don't want to bother with the process of virtual disk setup and OS installation. Like you said it's also a much smaller download if you choose the IE6 on XP VM (1GB vs. the 3GB+ needed for Windows 7/8). But does the VM copy actually provide USB access? I'm asking because I usually use KVM/QEMU rather than VirtualBox, which is quite hard to set up from the command line compared to KVM.

Gondwanaland said:
But does the VM copy actually provide USB access?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know. I guess that's depends more on the features of the VM player software (VMware, kvm, VirtualBox, ..) than on the VM. I've never tried using USB within a VM.

fred_be9300 said:
I don't know. I guess that's depends more on the features of the VM player software (VMware, kvm, VirtualBox, ..) than on the VM. I've never tried using USB within a VM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
USB's working fine. I just checked with the IE8 on WinXP image for Virtualbox, which I ran under KVM! Tip for KVM users the zip archive contains a file with an .ova extension. This appears to be a standard Unix tar archive that in turn contains two files with .vdmk and .ovf extensions. The .vdmk file is the Virtualbox image that you can run through KVM in read-only mode. If you want to save changes, you need to convert the image to KVM's native qcow2 format. Note: I only tested if Odin can recognize a Samsung device is connected. I haven't actually tried flashing an image, yet.

Gondwanaland said:
... Note: I only tested if Odin can recognize a Samsung device is connected. I haven't actually tried flashing an image, yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you attempt to flash please post your results either way, thanks.
Sent from my SM-T800 using XDA Premium HD app

Successful Odin flashing from a Virtualbox VM
I have successfully flashed Samsung stock firmware to a SM-T800 from a Virtualbox Windows 7 VM guest with Odin v3.10 and a Ubuntu 14.04 host. The guide is general to Windows VMs. I set up both an XP and Windows 7 which had both KIES3 and Odin v3.10 access to the SM-T800 but only flashed with the Win7 VM.
[How-To] Linux, Virtualbox and ODIN for your Samsung device
Also I rooted without tripping KNOX using this guide:
[GUIDE] How to root without tripping knox - Kitkat and Lollipop, Locked bootloader

It's also quite easy to create a bootable version of Windows on a usb drive.

Use Heimdall, worked for me
lucasavalos said:
Just want to flash TWRP and root sm-t700 using linux anyone tried this?
Sent from my Moto G using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just installed TWRP 3.1.1; then Lineage 14.1
Here's my setup:
Target: SM-T700
Workstation: Arch Linux, system update 2011-11-11
Heimdall 1.4.2
Run heimdall command line as root, one command per boot works and if I got an error I needed to unplug the battery to get another successful command
Try
Code:
#heimdall print-pit
and if that works and reboots your device then
Code:
#heimdall flash --RECOVERY twrp-3.1.1-0-klimtwifi.img --no-reboot
Then unplug the battery, boot straight to recovery; failing recovery boot on first try overwrites your TWRP recovery image.
Good luck!

Unplug the battery? On a T700? Interesting lol.

My XZ1 compact story

So I bought a new phone since my old Onyx (One+ X) died (cracked screen and charging port is getting iffy). And finally I decided on this one, a cheap Chinese docomo branded one off Ebay.
I was so exited when it arrived, the UPS truck was at my gate when I got home that day, ready to leave, but the driver was nice enough to wait and give me my package then and there. Pheew.
Well, now to my, bootloader unlocking, recovery flashing, after market os installation and rooting story...
Bootloader:
The phone was supposed to be unlocked, and I guess that only meant SIM unlocked, because the service menu read "Bootloader unlock allowed: no". Damn.
A few Duckduckgo searches later, turned up I needed the "S!Unlock tool" which I found a copy off online, but username/password fields needed to be filled in, and I think I found a pirated s/n which didn't seem to work, (might have if I had tried harder).
But since it was just over £22 at https://networkunlocking.com/ I thought I could spare that on the off chance it worked. I was very surprised when it finally did, truth, I needed a few tries. And it actually did turn that service menu's pesky "no" to a thumbs-up "yes". Yay!
So now, pulling the cable, holding "volume up" and inserting cable for that blue light goodness, and running the "flashtool.exe -i 0x???? oem unlock bootloader 0x????????????" comand.
Not so fast, that doesnät work with newer flashtool versions...
Finding the old one from my Xperia Arc days and runnning it again, Yay!
(Wish I had read ahead and done that temporary root trick to rip my DRM codes off my phone first. But I don't plan to revert to stock, and I gather (might be wrong) that the DRM is only needed for stock roms, and not Lineage OS and such.)
Recovery (TWRP):
Now the problems start for real, getting into recovery was a **** and a half. Most guides for the phone says to push "volume up" multiple times during the boot-process. This turns out to be plain wrong. The actual button combo is holding "volume down" and "power" button together atleast until the screen goes blank after the unlocked bootloader warning.
Now, I wanted 17.1 on the phone and the recommended TWRp is 3.1.1 or something, and this works to install lineage fine, but don't forget to erase /data partition as I did. Stupid mistake that made wifi fail miserably, and probably a lot of other stuff, that I never tried before noticing my mistake.
However trying to get my own set of ringtones on the phone turned out to be another issue, going back into recovery when I noticed my ringtone.zip had failed. Obviously the media folder had moved since los 15.1,so no wonder right? Turns out it wasn't the only problem. TWRP 3.1.1 (or something) failed to unencrypt the root partition, so changing anything via recovery was a lie. fortunately the latest recovery, 3.5.2_9 did. So after installing that everything was rosy peaches.
Rooting:
SuperSU? forget it.
Magisk? yeah, but how? No really good step by step guide out there, except download from the github page, but what version?
A little trial and error, tried with the arm64 version and it turned out to be the right one. (Sometimes you just get it right on the first try...)
Renamed the apk to .zip put it on the phones memory, entered recovery and installed the zip, et voi effing la, Magisk root installed.
Root checker verifies root status, TitaniumBackup and RootExplorer works. Yes, my phone is playing ball.
Final notes:
This above looks simple right? In fact this was a two day process since the guides are surely lacking for this phone, a lot of trial and error, the greatesthurdle was getting into Recovery, until I found the right button combo I accidently managed to enter it once making me believe I had the right combo and something was wrong with the phone. 4 hours or so wasted trying different versions rebooting and flashing. Getting back my Viber messages turned out to be a problem to, TitaniumBackup got the messages back, but the db had references to my old images on my old phone, and probable pointed at the wrong directory so trying to send images either from gallery or take new photos crashed the app. Solution, backup the messages to my google account, uninstall and reinstall viber and restore from that backup. TitaniumBAckup is good but no magic bullet, it's a ***** that we have to rely on Google for backups though, I am allergic to the cloud, something about it makes my skin crawl.
Otherwise I like the phone, it says docomo on the back, something I can live with. The Chinese vendor even supplied one glass screen protector for the phone and a clear soft plastic case, in case I wanted some extra protection. I only wish there was a screen protector that had the same surface as the one that was on the phone in the box, that slightly opaque cloudy feel was so nice on my finger.
Can I recommend this phone? Nah, if noone writes a step by step guide that will cut down the time I spent on making this phone palpatable, I can't. But if you, like me, don't mind to tinker and don't want a phablet or spend way too much for the privilege to get a screen size you don't want, then sure. But why do we have to get them from China?

My trusty xz1 compact is slowly dieing on me and i am looking for a replacement how much did you pay for yours and is a really new or just refurbished ?

"Final notes:
This above looks simple right? In fact this was a two day process since the guides are surely lacking for this phone, a lot of trial and error, the greatesthurdle was getting into Recovery, until I found the right button combo I accidently managed to enter it once making me believe I had the right combo and something was wrong with the phone"
This Phone is in the mobile Sphere already ancient. Don't expect to get any help here or newer hot to guides.
my biggest problem is the fastboot recognition of my Windows. If this would work reliable i could better flash the phone but getting the right driver is a kind of roulette for this phone.

muhschaf said:
my biggest problem is the fastboot recognition of my Windows. If this would work reliable i could better flash the phone but getting the right driver is a kind of roulette for this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also had a non-connecting fastboot issue on Windows until I ran into this guide showing me it was not about a driver but an installation method:
How to install Sony Xperia Drivers Manually (Super Easy Guide)
Step-by-Step guidelines to install Sony Xperia Drivers Manually (this method can be used on Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, 8.1 and Windows 10).
xperiausbdriver.com

4qx said:
Also had a non-connecting fastboot issue on Windows until I ran into this guide showing me it was not about a driver but an installation method:
How to install Sony Xperia Drivers Manually (Super Easy Guide)
Step-by-Step guidelines to install Sony Xperia Drivers Manually (this method can be used on Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, 8.1 and Windows 10).
xperiausbdriver.com
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Handy cannot boot now anyway so i would probably not able to recover anyway.

muhschaf said:
cannot boot now anyway so i would probably not able to recover anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone completely refuses to boot?
Do you have recovery installed? If not, are you able to install it via fastboot on linux?

4qx said:
The phone completely refuses to boot?
Do you have recovery installed? If not, are you able to install it via fastboot on linux?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
okay i will explain.
i had this common issue with this running out of internal space (13GB pictures i could not find, only 300MB left) and after looking into it i figured, that, due to my constant app installing and deinstalling, i had literrally thousends of little images (thumbnails, icons, you name it) that got not deintalled for whatever reason and clogged up my internal memory. So i made a Backup and decided to completly wipe and flash the newest lilac from Modpunk (18.1) and did a big Mistake here. i go into recovery and wiped EVERYTHING...without checking that recovery is untouched. then during the same session i installed the ROM and rebooted...so far all nice and dandy. Setting up the Phone, then get the newsest Gapps and then try to reboot into recovery to install them...well did i mentioned that i had wiped EVERYTHING? Well, there was no recovery anymore. Not my first rodeo i headbutt myself into the desk and spun up ADB/fastboot...only to run into the same problem i run everytime due to improper intalled driver i forgot already about. Longs story short: after some time handy refused to boot also into system.
Phone is now unbootable into any state, but Black screen fastboot over hardware buttons...
i COULD still try to make a blind fastboot flash after following the driver install instruction from above, but consider my lucky or clumsyness i will **** this up too and only waste time. and due to my current covid recovery i have not the energy nor the patient to diddle around with this sorry excuse of an absolute restrictive Phone and rather get me a S5 mini or something else that has no bootlock whatsoever and let you flash it from the very start.
i am plain running out of patient with sonys harassment.
/€: Also the constant "cannot get root" on a rooted phone is plain BS³. having permanent trouble to install adaway or use my sdcard proper is so friggin annoying that i now will search for a android version that got rid of this bull**** and will buy any phone that is suported by that ROM.
It is MY phone, and not Goolge nor the the phone company will dictade what i can or cannot install on it. i decide and i carry the risk, period. and the biggest security reason holds the phone anyway.

@muhschaf okay so it doesn't seem bricked. Pretty sure you just need to flash the recovery through fastboot and flash a ROM. Try that on Windows with the driver method; if that fails boot a Linux distro e.g. EndeavourOS, even from a USB without installing no adb/fastboot driver is necessary for Linux, it just works. You can do it.

4qx said:
@muhschaf okay so it doesn't seem bricked. Pretty sure you just need to flash the recovery through fastboot and flash a ROM. Try that on Windows with the driver method; if that fails boot a Linux distro e.g. EndeavourOS, even from a USB without installing no adb/fastboot driver is necessary for Linux, it just works. You can do it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i known, the question is more "i really want that?" like i said i struggle with this phone ever since. and i realized yesterday the problem is not the phone itself, it's the bull**** of androids security architecture. Google seems to be very prone to make sure that they can shove any amount of advertisements down your throat. Given that they earn their money with ad network it doesn't surprise me.
i came to the conclusion that in reality i want to have a reliable way to install ad away on any given phone i own. i archive similar things on my desktop with Firefox and umatrix and ublock. And what can is say: Having Advertisment fee Internet is a bliss and i not care a bit about "but the free stuff" and i incrisingly fury about my inability to archive similar things on my phone i rely quite a bit.

@muhschaf I get it but you know what they say: good things require effort. But I find that once I set my Android up, I'm happy to have done it.
In regards to ads, you can actually install uBO on Android Firefox now, and many other addons also.

So i gave it a try again and the result was that it detects now a "?" under fastboot but ADB can't see anything failing sucsequently to flash recovery. i am also seemingly unable to get even into hardware fastboot anymore. But could be quite possible that the battery is already drained again. so i recharge it the night.
4qx: i was going away from uBO several years ago. Wonder that he has survived the drain after his "whitelist" decision, but it seems like.
Adaway block advertisement in apps and this is mainly the feature i wanted, see advertisment have gotten out of the browser itself into the Base/apps systems (Android, Windows) and therefore the Adblocker have to go with it. under windows i can control the System itself pretty easy and throughoutly with Powershell and package debloating scripts or regedit. under Android i haven't this option and have to rely on app like adaway. This shortcoming is pretty frustraing for an "Open Source" OS

After nearly a Year i stumble upon something windows related and now i have finally my xz1c back:
Windows USB Hubs of ANY kind (Monitor USB Hubs, Powers external USB Hubs, hell sometimes even the PCH, that is technical also a USB Hub), can and sometime WILL prevent proper lowlevel access to devices like...USB Headsets (Logitech Pro X) and Mobile Phones in fastboot mode (xz1c).
To circumvent this you have to connect the phone to a USB Port on the Back of your PC Motherboard DIRECTLY. every other Port can have an USB Hub in between that alters your write or readout and therefore failed the flashing.