Replacement SystemUI.apk v2: Permanent back and menu buttons, n as Home button

Search This thread

revcompgeek

Member
Oct 18, 2010
8
39
I have been tweaking the SystemUI application, changing the way a few things work.

Installation Instructions
  1. Download View attachment SystemUI.apk
  2. Make sure /system is remounted R/W. This can be done with Root Explorer or ES File Explorer. If you get a "Read-only filesystem" error this is the step you missed.
  3. Replace /system/app/SystemUI.apk with the downloaded one.
    At this point it is normal for the status bar to disappear. If it starts Force Closing repeatedly, pasting again should stop it so that you can continue to fix the permissions.
  4. Make sure the file is owned by the root user and group.
  5. Make sure the permissions of the file are 644, or read, write for user and read for group and other.
  6. Reboot and enjoy!
I plan on adding killing the current application by long-tapping the back button like CyanogenMod. I can probably add other tweaks if requested.

Changelog
Version 2:
  • No more QuickNav bar when you press the n button
  • n button acts like a standard Home button
Version 1:
  • Permanent back and menu buttons
 
Last edited:

cfoesch

Senior Member
Dec 27, 2011
267
98
Albuquerque, NM
Hm.. seems to be an early beta... we're trying to work the kinks out of it... but it seems to have some problems right now. (When does anyone release anything right the first time?)

----

I've got it, and it all works as advertised now. :) I'm rolling it into my update-package, and yay. :) ... I really need to find a way to get this package out there...
 
Last edited:

revcompgeek

Member
Oct 18, 2010
8
39
Whoops, forgot Certs the first time around. Download the attachment again, this new one should work great!
 
Last edited:

Elmar1801

Senior Member
Jan 26, 2008
349
75
NRW
Thanks for that. I tested it in settings and no back button! (permissions changed)

Edit: Now it works. This is great! Thanks
 
Last edited:

revcompgeek

Member
Oct 18, 2010
8
39
That is extremely easy to do, but I don't have much artistic talent, so I'm not going to make them from scratch. What would you like to see replaced?
 

rjin9673

Senior Member
Dec 20, 2010
138
30
That is extremely easy to do, but I don't have much artistic talent, so I'm not going to make them from scratch. What would you like to see replaced?

I've had lots of fun in the past replacing most icons with those like the Suave HD Redone pack on my Epic 4g. I'll probably wind up doing the same on here.

Here's a link to the forum post. He originally did it for MIUI but you can rip out the icons and put them in any ROM/Launcher.

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1330577
 

dragon_76

Senior Member
Apr 21, 2007
618
100
Chicago, IL
So far works great! If you could manage the book button as a home button, I could stop using button savior. Is that possible?

Sent from my BNTV250 using xda premium
 

ShinnAsuka

Senior Member
Dec 9, 2011
735
146
after using your SystemUI.apk, my n button has completely stopped working. i simply just did as you said in your post "replace the SystemUI.apk". I am now stuck with not being able to use the n button for anything. Any ideas on how to get it to work correctly? are there any permissions or anything that i need to set?
 

revcompgeek

Member
Oct 18, 2010
8
39
That usually happens when it's initially replaced. Have you tried rebooting? How are you replacing it?

All the apk's in that directory are chmod 644, but it works for me 666. They also should be owned by root.
 

Elmar1801

Senior Member
Jan 26, 2008
349
75
NRW
Please add a version number or a date on thread header text. So we can better see when an update is available.

Sent from my B&N Nook Tablet using XDA Premium App
 

ShinnAsuka

Senior Member
Dec 9, 2011
735
146
That usually happens when it's initially replaced. Have you tried rebooting? How are you replacing it?

All the apk's in that directory are chmod 644, but it works for me 666. They also should be owned by root.

yea i rebooted a few times and it still didn't work. my last attempt seems to have solved the problem i was having, i had to change permission for owner all three of them needed to be checked (read, write, and execute). Seems to be working now but I'll have to test it a bit more. Thanks for the reply.

I actually backed up the original one anyways so I could have simply just replaced it again to revert back, but it seems to be working for the time being

Well, seems like everything is working like it should for the time being...

Which buttons are the menu and back permanent buttons? are you talking about the ones on the status bar? I don't really see any changes because they were always there to begin with...
 
Last edited:

dugpol

New member
Oct 15, 2010
1
0
works great thanks! Nook tablet keeps getting better and better!

would love a permanent active apps button a la honeycomb (w/o having to use the honeycomb launcher) :)
 

Indirect

Senior Member
Mar 25, 2011
2,346
3,001
Florida
set the permissions to
Code:
Read, Write, Nothing
Read, nothing, nothing
Read, nothing, nothing

in otherwords, 644

Enjoy..
 

promek

Senior Member
Feb 5, 2011
100
12
yea i rebooted a few times and it still didn't work. my last attempt seems to have solved the problem i was having, i had to change permission for owner all three of them needed to be checked (read, write, and execute). Seems to be working now but I'll have to test it a bit more. Thanks for the reply.

I actually backed up the original one anyways so I could have simply just replaced it again to revert back, but it seems to be working for the time being

Well, seems like everything is working like it should for the time being...

Which buttons are the menu and back permanent buttons? are you talking about the ones on the status bar? I don't really see any changes because they were always there to begin with...

i didnt backup my systemUI my mistake very noobish
can you upload your old one if you dont mind


EDIT
Nevermind i got it off the 1.4.0
acclaim update

Also, thankyou Indirect for all your hardwork!
 
Last edited:

ShinnAsuka

Senior Member
Dec 9, 2011
735
146
for some reason, ever since replacing the systemui.apk, my nt sometimes blacks out, as in its still on but i am just left with a black screen. anyone else encounter this? i am going to change my permissions to what indirect posted and see if that changes anything.

and @promek: i guess i can upload my original systemui.apk when i figure out how to upload stuff and post it here on xda...
 

promek

Senior Member
Feb 5, 2011
100
12
for some reason, ever since replacing the systemui.apk, my nt sometimes blacks out, as in its still on but i am just left with a black screen. anyone else encounter this? i am going to change my permissions to what indirect posted and see if that changes anything.

and @promek: i guess i can upload my original systemui.apk when i figure out how to upload stuff and post it here on xda...

No Need, I have replaced it and reverted back with the one from the acclaim update for 1.4.0

it was just my preference with the default N... No disrespect to Indirect of course.
thanks again
 

Top Liked Posts

  • There are no posts matching your filters.
  • 36
    I have been tweaking the SystemUI application, changing the way a few things work.

    Installation Instructions
    1. Download View attachment SystemUI.apk
    2. Make sure /system is remounted R/W. This can be done with Root Explorer or ES File Explorer. If you get a "Read-only filesystem" error this is the step you missed.
    3. Replace /system/app/SystemUI.apk with the downloaded one.
      At this point it is normal for the status bar to disappear. If it starts Force Closing repeatedly, pasting again should stop it so that you can continue to fix the permissions.
    4. Make sure the file is owned by the root user and group.
    5. Make sure the permissions of the file are 644, or read, write for user and read for group and other.
    6. Reboot and enjoy!
    I plan on adding killing the current application by long-tapping the back button like CyanogenMod. I can probably add other tweaks if requested.

    Changelog
    Version 2:
    • No more QuickNav bar when you press the n button
    • n button acts like a standard Home button
    Version 1:
    • Permanent back and menu buttons
    4
    :confused: Does anyone still have version 1 of the systemui apk because i would like to keep the quick nav bar that v2 removes :confused:

    I love the quicknav bar too. So I modified xecuter's mod and came up with this :)

    Press "n" button - go to quicknav bar
    Press the soft home button - go to home directly

    SystemUI140.zip - for 1.4.0 (not tested but should work)
    SystemUI141.zip - for 1.4.1

    Flash with CWM.
    Or you can extract the apk and use Root Explorer to replace the original, then set permission to 644 (all read, top write). Don't forget to backup.

    xecuter's excellent work which I use:
    http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=21149748&postcount=21
    2
    I was digging through the SystemUI.apk (after decompiling), and I found some code in a smali file that looks like it might be what you are after...

    (Code excerpt from ../smali/com/android/systemui/statusbar/StatusBarService.smali at ~line 3394)
    Code:
        const-string v0, "Sending intent to launch last book"
    
        invoke-static {v3, v0}, Landroid/util/Slog;->d(Ljava/lang/String;Ljava/lang/String;)I
    
        .line 2022
        new-instance v0, Landroid/content/Intent;
    
        const-string v1, "com.bn.nook.launch.LAST_BOOK"


    I tried changing com.bn.nook.launch.LAST_BOOK to com.bn.intent.action.home (..found that intent in another file), recompiled and installed, but now I don't have a status bar at all (..back ups are good!).

    ..I don't know if my recompile of the apk was bad (it did spit a few error messages), or if I need a more generic home intent, or if I am just not looking in the right place, but thought I would share just in case it helps someone else..

    EDIT:

    found another more generic home intent: android.intent.category.HOME

    ...still getting error when trying to recompile though:
    Code:
    [tln@HP-laptop nook_tab]$ apktool b -f -d SysUI-decompiled
    I: Smaling...
    I: Building resources...
    aapt: /lib/libz.so.1: no version information available (required by aapt)
    I: Building apk file...
    aapt: /lib/libz.so.1: no version information available (required by aapt)

    Yup, you're looking at the right place. I have tried what you did too but changing one line wasn't enough. mine compiled without error, but it some sort broke the button too. (pressing it goes to no where).. There were a few more lines to add, i copied some code i found in the lower part of the same smali file. I've attached my systemui apk in the other thread here, you can decompile it to see the changes I made.
    2
    It appears the latest version causes some of the text to be incorrect with v1.4.3 when the SystemUI.apk is replaced. I'd love to build a new one, or provide the file for someone else to.

    For me to do it, I'm not sure I know how. What what done to SystemUI.apk to make the change?
    The systemui.apk got significantly changed in the 1.4.3 update. I tried patching one but cannot test it. I will post it here and someone please test it and give feedback. I will pull it down if broken.

    Edit: And I just added a zip to put the original systemUI.apk back on your system if something is wrong with the patched one.

    Edit: Removed. Revised versions added in post below.
    2
    Ok so after unpacking the apk and doing some digging, I found that



    Now I know very little about this stuff so sorry if this is obvious, but if we were to find the parent and change the limiting height factors for both the Vertical (portrait) and Horizontal (landscape) layouts, wouldn't we then be changing the height of the status bar?

    Edit: And just to add, I'm in the smali files looking through a few right now for this parent parameter. Does anyone know ahead of time if it not located in here?

    Edit 2: I found the .paramter "parent" in StatusBarPolicy.smali

    It doesn't have any variable attached, but it makes me feel like I'm looking in the right place.

    not too sure how you can make the bar taller, the background are .9 pngs. Not sure how it will affect the nook if you resize them. manage to move the icons about by editing layout.xml , which I can understand compared to smali files. lol.

    looks like this now

    1112314.png


    I'm left with changing the intent of the home icon (was the reading button) to function as the home button... need some help there :p (revcomp?) i will attach my edited framework and systemui once i replace back some of the stock icons which i have mistakenly replaced..