Category Archives: Android Development

[Tutorial] Rooting and Installing Cyanogenmod 11 (Android 4.4 KitKat) w/ Google Apps on the Droid RAZR Maxx

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Here are my notes on rooting and installing Cyanogenmod 11 (Android 4.4 KitKat) on my Motorola RAZR Maxx.  This guide follows almost the exact same steps as my previous guide found here: http://jackstromberg.com/2013/09/tutorial-rooting-and-installing-cyanogenmod-10-2-w-google-apps-on-the-droid-razr-maxx/

If you followed my previous tutorial and are trying to upgrade to Cyanogenmod 11, follow this guide starting at step 18.  If you receive Error Status 6 when installing new Cyanogenmod version, please see the notes at the bottom of this guide.

By reading this, you are agreeing that I take no responsibility for what you do with your phone, nor will send me angry emails saying I janked your phone.

  1. Enable USB debugging
    1. Settings->Developer Options->Enable Developer options at the top-> (Hit ok on the notification asking for Allow development settings)->Check USB debugging (Click OK on the Allow USB debugging? dialog).
  2. Download a copy of latest build of Cyanogenmod
    1. http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Spyder_Info
    2. I am going to live on the edge and install a nightly to get to 11.  If you don't want bugs, use a stable version (As of right now (12/21/2013), Cyanogenmod has not officially released a stable version of Cyanogenmod 11 for the Droid RAZR Maxx).
    3. Notes: I found a pretty sweet page that lists the nightly changes to the rom.  If you are curious, you can view the nightly changes here: http://www.cmxlog.com/11/spyder/
  3. Download a copy of Google Apps
    1. http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Gapps
    2. By default, Cyanogenmod cannot ship with Google Apps due to legality reasons, so these will need to be installed manually.  Without these, you will not have Google Play, Music, Maps, etc.  In this case, grab a copy of gApps for 11.  If you don't have a program to download torrent files, you will need to download the gApps package from the AFH link provided on the cyanogenmod page.
  4. Download a copy of RazrBlade, which we will use to exploit the phone and gain root access:
    1. For Windows: http://cmw.cmfs.me/razrblade/razr_blade_win.zip
    2. For Mac: http://cmw.cmfs.me/razrblade/razr_blade_mac.zip
    3. For Linux: http://cmw.cmfs.me/razrblade/razr_blade_linux.zip
  5. Extract the files of the razr_blade_XXX.zip archive.
  6. If you are running windows, download a copy of the Motorola drivers to connect your phone.
    1. Motorola x86 drivers: http://goo.im/devs/Hashcode/moto_root/Motorola_End_User_Driver_Installation_5.9.0_32bit.msi
      Motorola x64 drivers: http://www.adbtoolkit.com/drivers/applications/motorola/Motorola_End_User_Driver_Installation_5.9.0_64bit.msi
  7. Run through the Motorola driver installation if you are running windows.
  8. Plug your phone in to your machine
  9. Navigate back to the files you extracted, right click Run.bat, run as Administrator
    1. If you are on Linux, execute RootLinux.sh and if you are on Mac OS, execute RootMac.sh
  10. Press any key to continue
    Razr Blade - Phase 1
  11. Once your phone has completed phase one (which ends up with a reboot of the phone), complete the following tasks on your phone
    1. Click Apps->SmartActions->Get Started->Next->Battery Saver->Save->Home button
  12. Press any key to continue with "Phase two"
    Razr Blade - Phase 2

    1. Your phone will reboot again
    2. Phase four will start
    3. Your phone will reboot again
  13. After phase four completes, you should be notified the phone has been rooted.
    1. Phase 3 & 4
      Notes: I received some permission errors the first time I ran through this (as shown in the picture above).  I ended up rebooting the phone, making sure I had the latest version of SmartActions and then reran the batch file.  After that, I was able to successfully get the Superuser program (which we talk about next) to run.
  14. Next, grab a copy of Superuser.apk (included inside the razr_blade zip file) and copy it over to the SD card.
  15. At this time, copy over the cyanogenmod zipped file you downloaded earlier.  Throw it on the root of your SD card.
  16. Copy over the gApps zip file we downloaded earlier and throw that on the root of your SD card as well.
  17. Disconnect the phone from the computer and install the SuperUser application.  Apps->Files->SD Card->Superuser.apk, Install, Open.  If it asks to update, go ahead and allow it to update the binaries.
  18. Next, grab a copy of SafeStrap.  We will use this as the bootstrap to flash your phone to Cyanogenmod as well as provide an easy way to switch between different ROMs.
    1. https://goo.im/devs/Hashcode/spyder/safestrap/Safestrap-Spyder-3.73.apk
  19. Copy the file over to your phone
  20. Apps->Files->SD card->Safestrap-Spyder-3.73.apk->Package installer->Install->Open
  21. Hit Ok when prompted for superuser privileges, and then select Agree.
  22. Once inside the Safestrap application, click Install Recovery.
    1. Once installed, you should see the Recovery State say Installed
  23. Reboot your phone
  24. When you see the Safestrap splash screen, hit the Menu button on your phone.
  25. Once you have hit the Menu button, there will be a brief delay where you screen goes black and then redirects you to one with a couple of big buttons.  Push the button labeled Boot Options.
  26. Push the ROM-Slot-1 button.
  27. Select the size of your data store and then hit Activate.
    1. Note: This is the amount of space in the partition for Cyanogenmod operating system and associated apps. If you plan to only use the one slot, I would set the slot to 3GB. If you are going to be using multiple ROM slots and space was is an issue you might want to lower the allocation.
  28. Once it is done doing its shindig, hit the back button twice to get to the screen that shows Boot Options, Install, Backup, Restore, Mount, Wipe, Advanced, and Reboot.
  29. Push the Install button.
    1. Note, if the Install button is Red, you are going to override your stock ROM.  Make sure that you have activated ROM-Slot-1 before proceeding.
  30. Scroll down and select the Cyanogenmod zip file you copied to the SD card earlier.
  31. Swipe the "Swipe to Confirm Flash" area to begin flashing your phone with Cyanogenmod.
  32. Once done, it should say Successful in blue text.  Hit the Wipe cache/dalvik button.
    1. Swipe the Swipe to Wipe area (lol)
  33. Hit the Back button.
  34. Hit the Reboot System button.
  35. At this point, you should be greeted by the Cyanogenmod welcome screen upon boot.  I opted out of the Cyangenmod account and decided to continue on.
  36. Next, we need to install Google Apps on the phone.  To do this, reboot the phone and press the Menu button when you see the SafeStrap splash screen.
    1. Note: Google Apps are totally optional.  If you want to roll with Stock Cyanogenmod and manually install apps via their APK files for ultra security, that is totally cool.
    2. Note 2: If you receive an error saying "unable to mount '/osh' gapps", simply ignore the error and boot back into Cyanogenmod.  I received this error, but all the Google Apps seemed to have installed just fine.
  37. Hit the Install button.
  38. Select the gApps zip file from your SD card
  39. Swipe the Swipe to Confirm Flash area
  40. Once the apps have been successfully installed, hit the Wipe cache/dalvik button.
  41. Swipe the Swipe to Wipe area
  42. Hit the Back button
  43. Hit the Reboot System button
  44. Once you are greeted by a "Allow Google's location service to collect anonymous location data." prompt, you will know you have successfully installed the Google apps! 😛

That should do it!  Enjoy Cyanogenmod 11! 🙂

Notes:

If you receive the following error when trying to install the Cyanogenmod 11 package:

Finding update package...
Opening update package...
Installing update...
E: Error in /sdcard-ext/cm-11-2013-12-21-NIGHTLY-spyder.zip (Status 6)
Error flashing zip '/sdcard-ext/cm-11-2013-12-21-NIGHTLY-spyder.zip'

Please make sure you have upgraded to the latest version of SafeStrap.  SafeStrap v3.65 or higher must be installed for Cyanogenmod 11 to properly install.  As a heads up, you will need to open the SafeStrap app and press the Install Recovery button to actually get SafeStrap to upgrade to the latest version.  Simply upgrading the SafeStrap apk file will NOT complete the upgrade.

P.S. Here is the official Cyanogenmod info page for the Motorola Droid RAZR/RAZR MAXX (CDMA)
http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Spyder_Info

[Tutorial] Rooting and Installing Cyanogenmod 10.2 w/ Google Apps on the Droid RAZR Maxx

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Check out my new tutorial for upgrading to Cyanogenmod 11! http://jackstromberg.com/2013/12/tutorial-rooting-and-installing-cyanogenmod-11-android-4-4-kitkat-w-google-apps-on-the-droid-razr-maxx/

Here are my notes on rooting and installing Cyanogenmod 10.2 on my Motorola RAZR Maxx.

By reading this, you are agreeing that I take no responsibility for what you do with your phone, nor will send me angry emails saying I janked your phone.

  1. Enable USB debugging
    1. Settings->Developer Options->Enable Developer options at the top-> (Hit ok on the notification asking for Allow development settings)->Check USB debugging (Click OK on the Allow USB debugging? dialog).
  2. Download a copy of latest build of Cyanogenmod
    1. http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Spyder_Info
    2. I am going to live on the edge and install a nightly to get to 10.2.  If you don't want bugs, use a stable version.
    3. Notes: I found a pretty sweet page that lists the nightly changes to the rom.  If you are curious, you can view the nightly changes here: http://10.2.cmxlog.com/?device=xt907
  3. Download a copy of Google Apps
    1. http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Gapps
    2. By default, Cyanogenmod cannot ship with Google Apps by default, so these will need to be installed manually.  Without these, you will not have Google Play, Music, Maps, etc.  In this case, grab a copy of gApps for 10.2.
  4. Download a copy of RazrBlade, which we will use to exploit the phone and gain root access:
    1. http://cmw.cmfs.me/razrblade/razr_blade_win.zip
  5. Extract the files of the razr_blade_win.zip archieve.
  6. If you are running windows, download a copy of the Motorola drivers to connect your phone.
    1. Motorola x86 drivers: http://goo.im/devs/Hashcode/moto_root/Motorola_End_User_Driver_Installation_5.9.0_32bit.msi
      Motorola x64 drivers: http://goo.im/devs/Hashcode/moto_root/Motorola_End_User_Driver_Installation_5.9.0_64bit.msi
  7. Run through the Motorola driver installation if you are running windows.
  8. Plug your phone in to your machine
  9. Navigate back to the files you extracted, right click Run.bat, run as Administrator
    1. If you are on Linux, execute RootLinux.sh and if you are on Mac OS, execute RootMac.sh
  10. Press any key to continue
    Razr Blade - Phase 1
  11. Once your phone has completed phase one (which ends up with a reboot of the phone), complete the following tasks on your phone
    1. Click Apps->SmartActions->Get Started->Next->Battery Saver->Save->Home button
  12. Press any key to continue with "Phase two"
    Razr Blade - Phase 2

    1. Your phone will reboot again
    2. Phase four will start
    3. Your phone will reboot again
  13. After phase four completes, you should be notified the phone has been rooted.
    1. Phase 3 & 4
      Notes: I received some permission errors the first time I ran through this (as shown in the picture above).  I ended up rebooting the phone, making sure I had the latest version of SmartActions and then reran the batch file.  After that, I was able to successfully get the Superuser program (which we talk about next) to run.
  14. Next, grab a copy of Superuser.apk (included inside the razr_blade zip file) and copy it over to the SD card.
  15. At this time, copy over the cyanogenmod zipped file you downloaded earlier.  Throw it on the root of your SD card.
  16. Copy over the gApps zip file we downloaded earlier and throw that on the root of your SD card as well.
  17. Disconnect the phone from the computer and install the SuperUser application.  Apps->Files->SD Card->Superuser.apk, Install, Open.  If it asks to update, go ahead and allow it to update the binaries.
  18. Next, grab a copy of SafeStrap.  We will use this as the bootstrap to flash your phone to Cyanogenmod as well as provide an easy way to switch between different ROMs.
    1. http://goo.im/devs/Hashcode/spyder/safestrap//Safestrap-Spyder-3.63.apk
  19. Copy the file over to your phone
  20. Apps->Files->SD card->Safestrap-RAZR-D4-BIO-3.11.apk->Package installer->Install->Open
  21. Hit Ok when prompted for superuser privileges, and then select Agree.
  22. Once inside the Safestrap application, click Install Recovery.
    1. Once installed, you should see the Recovery State say Installed
  23. Reboot your phone
  24. When you see the Safestrap splash screen, hit the Menu button on your phone.
  25. Once you have hit the Menu button, there will be a brief delay where you screen goes black and then redirects you to one with a couple of big buttons.  Push the button labeled Boot Options.
  26. Push the ROM-Slot-1 button.
  27. Select the size of your data store (I used 3GB, couldn't find any documentation on what that actually does), and then hit Activate.
  28. Once it is done doing its shindig, hit the back button twice to get to the screen that shows Boot Options, Install, Backup, Restore, Mount, Wipe, Advanced, and Reboot.
  29. Push the Install button.
    1. Note, if the Install button is Red, you are going to override your stock ROM.  Make sure that you have activated ROM-Slot-1 before proceeding.
  30. Scroll down and select the Cyanogenmod zip file you copied to the SD card earlier.
  31. Swipe the "Swipe to Confirm Flash" area to begin flashing your phone with Cyanogenmod.
  32. Once done, it should say Successful in blue text.  Hit the Wipe cache/dalvik button.
    1. Swipe the Swipe to Wipe area (lol)
  33. Hit the Back button.
  34. Hit the Reboot System button.
  35. At this point, you should be greeted by the Cyanogenmod welcome screen upon boot.  I opted out of the Cyangenmod account and decided to continue on.
  36. Next, we need to install Google Apps on the phone.  To do this, reboot the phone and press the Menu button when you see the SafeStrap splash screen.
    1. Note, Google Apps are totally optional.  If you want to roll with Stock Cyanogenmod and manually install apps via their APK files for ultra security, that is totally cool.
  37. Hit the Install button.
  38. Select the gApps zip file from your SD card
  39. Swipe the Swipe to Confirm Flash area
  40. Once the apps have been successfully installed, hit the Wipe cache/dalvik button.
  41. Swipe the Swipe to Wipe area
  42. Hit the Back button
  43. Hit the Reboot System button
  44. Once you are greeted by a "Allow Google's location service to collect anonymous location data." prompt, you will know you have successfully installed the Google apps! 😛

That should do it!  Enjoy Cyanogenmod 10.2! 🙂

P.S. Here is the official Cyanogenmod info page for the Motorola Droid RAZR/RAZR MAXX (CDMA)
http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Spyder_Info

How to pass parameters back from intent

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Tonight I ran across the issue of, "How do I send a result back to the parent that spawned an intent?"

After finding out that it is nearly impossible to pass instances of objects to the intent, I decided why not send the result back from the spawned intent.

To do something like this, use the following code to spawn the child intent:

//Starting a new Intent
Intent intent = new Intent(getApplicationContext(), whateverClass.class);

// Maybe add a param or two?
intent.putExtra("someParam", paramValue);

// starting new activity
startActivityForResult(intent,SOMEINTEGERSHOULDGOHERE);

When you are done with the intent, use this code to close it.

Intent intent=new Intent();
intent.putExtra("myParam", thiscouldbeastringvariable);
intent.putExtra("mySecondParam", thiscouldbeanintvaraible);
setResult(RESULT_OK, intent);
finish();

Lastly, here is how we process our result given from the child:

@Override
public void onActivityResult(int requestCode, int resultCode, Intent data) {
super.onActivityResult(requestCode, resultCode, data);
switch(requestCode) {
case (SOMEINTEGERSHOULDGOHERE): // this was the integer you used to spawn the activity previously
if (resultCode == Activity.RESULT_OK) {
// Do whatever you want here.
// data.getStringExtra("ThisGetsOurParamBack");
}
break;
}
}

This is basically how to send data, process it in a new activity/intent, and then spit the results back to the parent.

How to make textview stay visible with softkeyboard

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If you have a textview that spans a few lines, but have buttons or something else below the textview that you would like to be shown, you can have the textview object be resized automatically to make room for Android's softkeyboard. To do this, simply add one line to your AndroidManifest.xml file.

android:windowSoftInputMode="adjustResize"

This line of code should go inside of the

<activity
android:name="SomeActivityName"
android:windowSoftInputMode="adjustResize" >
</activity>

How to link text in Android

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One of the weirdest things I stumbled across was the ability to hyperlink text in the Android environment.  Here is how to hyperlink text and then make it clickable.

TextView txtTheLink = (TextView)findViewById(R.id.txtTheLink); // Grab our textview/whatever with the HTML
txtTheLink.setText(Html.fromHtml("<a href=\"https://www.vooba.net\">Go to Vooba!</a>")); // Convert from HTML to remove the HTML tag>
txtLinks.setMovementMethod(LinkMovementMethod.getInstance()); // Activate the link

Hope this helps!

Permission to enable read/write access to SD card

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If you are looking for the permission to add to your AndroidManifest file, you are looking for the WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE setting. To do this programmatically, use this code:

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />

How to get default preferences

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You can get the default preferences from your preferences.xml file by using the following code:

// Get the xml/preferences.xml preferences
SharedPreferences preferences = PreferenceManager.getDefaultSharedPreferences(getBaseContext());
String settingValue = preferences.getString("setting", "");

How to use Unix Timestamp with Java

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You can use a unix timestamp in java wit the following code:

import java.util.Date;
String TimeStamp = "1324716371";
Date time=new Date((long)TimeStamp*1000);

Now, timestamp doesn't have to be a string, however in many of your projects you may have the value in that format. In this case, we convert it to a long (integer is too small), and then multiply it by 1000 since Java uses milliseconds.

How to get the version name from the AndroidManifest.xml file

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Use the following code snip in your application:

try
{
    String VersionName = this.getPackageManager().getPackageInfo(this.getPackageName(), 0).versionName;
}
catch (NameNotFoundException e)
{
    Log.v(tag, e.getMessage());
}

Android - How to scroll a workspace/activity/layout

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You need to add the ScrollView FrameLayout.  A great example on how to do this can be found here:

http://android-pro.blogspot.com/2010/02/android-scrollview.html