Root Explorer - App's Removed - Help

[csantoro85]

I Rooted my phone and also downloaded Root Explorer so I could remove certain app's. So I removed 5 of them (City ID and Amazon Ringtone, etc.) I was later told that I will not be able to do a System Update with these removed instead of being renamed. So I found the system files online and re-added them to my phone, but when I go back into Root Explorer to switch them from .apk's to .bak's, they are not being listed there, even though I re-added them. Can anyone help?

 

[csantoro85]

I read that you have to grant them to be System Applications. Anyone know how to this?

 

[MotoCache1]

You could try putting them in with "ADB install"...

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

 

[csantoro85]

Is that an App? How do I do that?

 

[MotoCache1]

I'm mobile so I can't elaborate. Just Google "ADB install".

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

 

[nerdkill]

subscribed, i did the same thing.

 

[xMercury]

Is that an App? How do I do that?

This would be a series of commands where you push the files to the system through a terminal application, either from your computer or phone. You'll have to mount the system folder in rw state before pushing them as well.

I use ConnectBot on my phone for all my terminal needs. Download it and run the following commands after placing all apk files on your sd card:

su
mount -o rw,remount -t ext3 /dev/block/mmcblk1p21 /system
cp /sdcard/[apk name].apk /system/app/[apk name].apk
reboot

Note: Obviously you'll have to run the third line for each apk file you want to copy before running the reboot command. Also, apk file names are case sensitive, so be aware of that.

 

[MotoCache1]

Actually, I'm thinking now - ADB install may put them in the wrong place unless something in the APK identifies it as a system app.

Also, I posted this from my phone before I saw xMercury's post which is spot on. I looked at a copy of a Droid OTA package to get an example of why it matters that the files are actually there. Here's where YouTube gets updated in the FRG01B update:

apply_patch("/system/app/YouTube.apk", "-",
            d1541ed3d1e26db5d2bfd0dc255d01b0aa0eb1af, 688263,
            34197c8fded28e28939492e3dacbdc64f8f1c56b, package_extract_file("patch/system/app/YouTube.apk.p"));

Rather than just replacing the files outright, they "patch" them which is a logical combination of the original file and the "patch" (.p) file that results in the new file. I'm assuming the primary reason for doing it this way is to make the update smaller. Anyway, those big hex numbers in the apply_patch call are SHA hashes. If your original file isn't identical to the one it expects, then that call will fail. If that happens I don't know if the whole update will bomb out or just that one step.

Anyway, I was curious why it would matter whether or not the files were there for an update and there's the answer.

xMercury's post will get the files there, which should make everything happy. If you rename the files BAK, it would appear that you're going to have to rename them back to their original names before accepting/applying an update since the apply_patch command references the filenames explicitly.

 

[bcals0087]

Now my question is...why would you not be able to do it like this? Load the apk's onto the sd card in a folder labeled moto crapware. Whether they are downloaded directly from the phone or the computer is solely the users choice. After that open root explorer, mount as r/w navigate to your /sd/motocrapware folder where the apks lie. Long press and hit move. Then back out to the main screen on explorer, navigate to /system/app and simply place them there. Whether you decide to open them again is your choice, but if that duplicate file is just put back why the need for terminal work and adb. Seems too complicated that way. When i first rooted the first thing i did was move the blockbuster app and citi id app into a folder on my sd card. That's as good as deleting them off of the internal memory. However i just moved them back on and renamed them as its a better alternative. Just my thought. I think this should work, but please do correct me if i'm wrong.

 

[nerdkill]

wouldn't the update just skip over apps that are not installed on your phone? or just reinstall them? i feel like this isn't going to be too big of a deal. is it confirmed that it will screw up the update? or is it just a theory?

edit: hopefully by then we'll have an unlocked boot loader and not have any of these issues.

 

[bcals0087]

You would think but i read somewhere on these forums or elsewhere that when an update hits and gets to that app it fails for that update and then the update as a whole fails. Cause its not reinstalling the apps its only updating what's already installed

 

[nerdkill]

You would think but i read somewhere on these forums or elsewhere that when an update hits and gets to that app it fails for that update and then the update as a whole fails. Cause its not reinstalling the apps its only updating what's already installed

ugh what a pain. we'll see how it goes. i'm sure it won't be too hard to reinstall everything. one thread i read didn't say anything about that and then i read a second after i was done uninstalling and it said the update deal. oh well, i think there will be easier ways to do this once birdman cracks the bootloader.

 

[bcals0087]

lol i agree

 

[Sydman]

Or follow the instructions you are given in the first place instead of jumping in before knowing what you are doing. That helps too.

 

[bcals0087]

Yeah i suppose that would work too. But sh*t happens