[HOWTO][4.2]Now there's an app for that. Enable Multiple Users in Android

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zanderman112

Senior Member
Oct 6, 2010
7,957
1,844
SouthEast USA
www.twitter.com
For Android 4.2 Try this:

FYI, since I stumbled across this looking for 4.2 and it came up because *not 4.2* is in the title, in case it's not here - 4.2 how to (possibly depending on build)

adb shell
su
pm get-max-users (should show 1)
setprop fw.max_users (some number above 2, I chose 7)
pm create-user someusername here

repeat the create-user as wanted.

That popped up a "Users" tab for me after creating 1 that allowed me to create more.

Your mileage may vary, and I did this on a different device so I may just be useless ;)

Or this:
For those who doesn't to worry to do it wrong I've coded a app of this procedure.

Link: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2187934

See you!

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk 2

Only bug I noticed was that in order to switch from any non primary user back to the primary(as far as using a visual UI), your lock screen *has* to be in landscape mode. Easy enough I guess so have at it!

Thanks to everyone keeping the info flooding in on this subject. Hopefully KLP will have this baked in for phones as well.



Original Method for 4.1 below:


Been featured on the below sites!



*Insert Disclaimer Here*
Also, I have navigation bar mod on my 7/30 build of CM10, so ignore those.
This should work on any Jellybean Android 4.1.x ROM built from AOSP, like CM10, AOKP, etc.
Please read this entire post before doing any of this!
This feature is now in AOSP fully as of Android 4.2!!



After reading about the recent discovery of multiple user code being in JB, I decided to mess with it.

Here's a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfHWV_-X3a8&hd=1

Manual method(fun, makes you feel like a hacker):
First, we need to enable this.
Go to Terminal Emulator and type these in:

Code:
su
Code:
pm create-user test
Hint: "test" being the name of the 2nd user. You can change that to a name, or whatever.

Now, we've created a 2nd User on your JB 4.1 device. Hold the Power/Lock button to bring up the power menu, and you should see this:
42575122-4df4-e952.jpg


From here, you can switch to the 2nd user, which will have a fresh homescreen, and show you the tutorial. Settings are limited to this user, as seen here:
42575122-4f35-f7d4.jpg


In case someone hasn´t figured out how to rename/change any usename, it's pretty easy.

You only have to go to /data/system/users and edit the "userX.xml" file, where X is the user numer(0,1,2,...). The change the name between and to any other you like. For example, from guest to invitado. Save the file and reboot. It work well for me.

P.S: If you don't know which user number has the one you wanna change, check out the userlist.xml file, which has the same path above.


To remove this 2nd user from your phone, switch back to the primary user via the power menu, and go back to Terminal Emulator.

Type this in:
Code:
su
Hint: only if it isn't still running from before
Code:
pm remove-user 1
Hint: primary user in this case is 0, 2nd is 1, so on and so on.

Now you should only have one user, and your Power Menu should not have the ability to switch to a new user anymore.

To double check, go back to the Terminal Emulator and type this:
Code:
su
Code:
pm list-users
Should say:

Code:
Users:
        UserInfo{0:Primary:3}

Easy Method:

XDA member Raghav Sood has an app that does all of the above for you.
http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1824066


At the moment, this isn't extremely usable, ie texts from the primary user's still show in the 2nd test account. But, with the right launcher installed, and hiding the apps from the drawer on the 2nd account, this can still be usable in its current form.

My suggestions:
1.) Label the 2nd user Guest
2.) Use Nova or Apex as the launcher for the Guest user, and hide all of the apps you want(texts, social media, email, etc) from the app drawer.
3.) Setup a security lockscreen on the primary user to prevent Guests from gaining access(each user has different lockscreen settings)

You can read more about this here:
http://phandroid.com/2012/07/31/cod...oid/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews and on their source link.


Feedback:
http://goo.gl/AnXT7 ;)

P.S. - This was done by modifying code in the Settings app, and i did submit the patch to CM Code-Review(http://goo.gl/PU4wQ), it ins't in yet as it's buggy.
We've tested it pretty extensively, and it's insanely broken.

I also submitted a patch to AOSP related to this(http://goo.gl/u0WbN), and it got rejected, due to what i said.
The below line comes a developer at google, who's been working on this since more than a year:
"Multi-user feature is not ready for deployment. Bad things will happen if you use it in its current state!"







I have it working om my GSM GN.

I found that in the second account there are apps that I don't have in the primary account, for example: Google Wallet, Play Magazines, Play Books and Play Films. (I'm from Belgium)
Oh, they disappeared as soon as I signed in with my Google account. :(

If you are on the second user, most of the data from the primary user is hidden (you can not acces it).
For example:
- photo's
- unlocked levels in Angry Birds
- music
- contacts
- google account
- clipboard
- home screen

But there are a few exceptions:
- all the apps are there, as if they were just installed
- the recent apps menu
- the use-app-as-default-setting (I don't know the official name). For example: if you set Apex as default in the Guest account, it will also be default in the primary account.
- your messages (!)



Ps: this was my first post on xda :)
I hope you find it usefull.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app

Sent from Mr. Z's Galaxy S3.
 
Last edited:

monstaX

Senior Member
Dec 24, 2011
450
143
Texas
It. just. Looks. So .






Sexy :')



Great tut btw!!! I shall do this
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
 

NeoNikon

Senior Member
May 10, 2012
303
44
great! will come in very handy since im always working with Ethiopian children and trust me they're pretty smart they always blackmail me saying they'l send my contacts dirty pictures and messages. now its all going to be stopped :D ! thanks bro
 

monstaX

Senior Member
Dec 24, 2011
450
143
Texas
great! will come in very handy since im always working with Ethiopian children and trust me they're pretty smart they always blackmail me saying they'l send my contacts dirty pictures and messages. now its all going to be stopped :D ! thanks bro


Good luck with that.... 0.o
Sent from my SPH-L710 using XDA App
 

cdesai

Inactive Recognized Developer
Jan 16, 2011
2,296
4,089
IN YOUR HEAD
http://goo.gl/AnXT7 ;)

P.S. - This was done by modifying code in the Settings app, and i did submit the patch to CM Code-Review(http://goo.gl/PU4wQ), it ins't in yet as it's buggy.
We've tested it pretty extensively, and it's insanely broken.

I also submitted a patch to AOSP related to this(http://goo.gl/u0WbN), and it got rejected, due to what i said.
The below line comes a developer at google, who's been working on this since more than a year:
"Multi-user feature is not ready for deployment. Bad things will happen if you use it in its current state!"
 
Last edited:

rezkon

Senior Member
Dec 6, 2010
71
3
Just tested with team eos jelly bean rom and it worked, on the motorola xoom MZ601
 

Roodborstje

New member
Aug 1, 2012
1
4
mijnwebpage.weebly.com
I have it working om my GSM GN.

I found that in the second account there are apps that I don't have in the primary account, for example: Google Wallet, Play Magazines, Play Books and Play Films. (I'm from Belgium)
Oh, they disappeared as soon as I signed in with my Google account. :(

If you are on the second user, most of the data from the primary user is hidden (you can not acces it).
For example:
- photo's
- unlocked levels in Angry Birds
- music
- contacts
- google account
- clipboard
- home screen

But there are a few exceptions:
- all the apps are there, as if they were just installed
- the recent apps menu
- the use-app-as-default-setting (I don't know the official name). For example: if you set Apex as default in the Guest account, it will also be default in the primary account.
- your messages (!)



Ps: this was my first post on xda :)
I hope you find it usefull.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
 

zanderman112

Senior Member
Oct 6, 2010
7,957
1,844
SouthEast USA
www.twitter.com
I have it working om my GSM GN.

I found that in the second account there are apps that I don't have in the primary account, for example: Google Wallet, Play Magazines, Play Books and Play Films. (I'm from Belgium)
Oh, they disappeared as soon as I signed in with my Google account. :(

If you are on the second user, most of the data from the primary user is hidden (you can not acces it).
For example:
- photo's
- unlocked levels in Angry Birds
- music
- contacts
- google account
- clipboard
- home screen

But there are a few exceptions:
- all the apps are there, as if they were just installed
- the recent apps menu
- the use-app-as-default-setting (I don't know the official name). For example: if you set Apex as default in the Guest account, it will also be default in the primary account.
- your messages (!)



Ps: this was my first post on xda :)
I hope you find it usefull.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app

That is really useful information :)

Just goes to show just how usable or unusable it can really be in its current state.

Sent from Mr. Z's Galaxy S3.
 

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  • 66
    For Android 4.2 Try this:

    FYI, since I stumbled across this looking for 4.2 and it came up because *not 4.2* is in the title, in case it's not here - 4.2 how to (possibly depending on build)

    adb shell
    su
    pm get-max-users (should show 1)
    setprop fw.max_users (some number above 2, I chose 7)
    pm create-user someusername here

    repeat the create-user as wanted.

    That popped up a "Users" tab for me after creating 1 that allowed me to create more.

    Your mileage may vary, and I did this on a different device so I may just be useless ;)

    Or this:
    For those who doesn't to worry to do it wrong I've coded a app of this procedure.

    Link: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2187934

    See you!

    Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk 2

    Only bug I noticed was that in order to switch from any non primary user back to the primary(as far as using a visual UI), your lock screen *has* to be in landscape mode. Easy enough I guess so have at it!

    Thanks to everyone keeping the info flooding in on this subject. Hopefully KLP will have this baked in for phones as well.



    Original Method for 4.1 below:


    Been featured on the below sites!



    *Insert Disclaimer Here*
    Also, I have navigation bar mod on my 7/30 build of CM10, so ignore those.
    This should work on any Jellybean Android 4.1.x ROM built from AOSP, like CM10, AOKP, etc.
    Please read this entire post before doing any of this!
    This feature is now in AOSP fully as of Android 4.2!!



    After reading about the recent discovery of multiple user code being in JB, I decided to mess with it.

    Here's a video:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfHWV_-X3a8&hd=1

    Manual method(fun, makes you feel like a hacker):
    First, we need to enable this.
    Go to Terminal Emulator and type these in:

    Code:
    su
    Code:
    pm create-user test
    Hint: "test" being the name of the 2nd user. You can change that to a name, or whatever.

    Now, we've created a 2nd User on your JB 4.1 device. Hold the Power/Lock button to bring up the power menu, and you should see this:
    42575122-4df4-e952.jpg


    From here, you can switch to the 2nd user, which will have a fresh homescreen, and show you the tutorial. Settings are limited to this user, as seen here:
    42575122-4f35-f7d4.jpg


    In case someone hasn´t figured out how to rename/change any usename, it's pretty easy.

    You only have to go to /data/system/users and edit the "userX.xml" file, where X is the user numer(0,1,2,...). The change the name between and to any other you like. For example, from guest to invitado. Save the file and reboot. It work well for me.

    P.S: If you don't know which user number has the one you wanna change, check out the userlist.xml file, which has the same path above.


    To remove this 2nd user from your phone, switch back to the primary user via the power menu, and go back to Terminal Emulator.

    Type this in:
    Code:
    su
    Hint: only if it isn't still running from before
    Code:
    pm remove-user 1
    Hint: primary user in this case is 0, 2nd is 1, so on and so on.

    Now you should only have one user, and your Power Menu should not have the ability to switch to a new user anymore.

    To double check, go back to the Terminal Emulator and type this:
    Code:
    su
    Code:
    pm list-users
    Should say:

    Code:
    Users:
            UserInfo{0:Primary:3}

    Easy Method:

    XDA member Raghav Sood has an app that does all of the above for you.
    http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1824066


    At the moment, this isn't extremely usable, ie texts from the primary user's still show in the 2nd test account. But, with the right launcher installed, and hiding the apps from the drawer on the 2nd account, this can still be usable in its current form.

    My suggestions:
    1.) Label the 2nd user Guest
    2.) Use Nova or Apex as the launcher for the Guest user, and hide all of the apps you want(texts, social media, email, etc) from the app drawer.
    3.) Setup a security lockscreen on the primary user to prevent Guests from gaining access(each user has different lockscreen settings)

    You can read more about this here:
    http://phandroid.com/2012/07/31/cod...oid/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews and on their source link.


    Feedback:
    http://goo.gl/AnXT7 ;)

    P.S. - This was done by modifying code in the Settings app, and i did submit the patch to CM Code-Review(http://goo.gl/PU4wQ), it ins't in yet as it's buggy.
    We've tested it pretty extensively, and it's insanely broken.

    I also submitted a patch to AOSP related to this(http://goo.gl/u0WbN), and it got rejected, due to what i said.
    The below line comes a developer at google, who's been working on this since more than a year:
    "Multi-user feature is not ready for deployment. Bad things will happen if you use it in its current state!"







    I have it working om my GSM GN.

    I found that in the second account there are apps that I don't have in the primary account, for example: Google Wallet, Play Magazines, Play Books and Play Films. (I'm from Belgium)
    Oh, they disappeared as soon as I signed in with my Google account. :(

    If you are on the second user, most of the data from the primary user is hidden (you can not acces it).
    For example:
    - photo's
    - unlocked levels in Angry Birds
    - music
    - contacts
    - google account
    - clipboard
    - home screen

    But there are a few exceptions:
    - all the apps are there, as if they were just installed
    - the recent apps menu
    - the use-app-as-default-setting (I don't know the official name). For example: if you set Apex as default in the Guest account, it will also be default in the primary account.
    - your messages (!)



    Ps: this was my first post on xda :)
    I hope you find it usefull.

    Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app

    Sent from Mr. Z's Galaxy S3.
    6
    So since nobody else seems to have wanted to try it out, I have decided to take the plunge and try renaming and deleting the Primary user on my Nexus S. Wish me luck!! I'll post the results soon.

    ---------- Post added at 05:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:44 PM ----------

    RESULTS:

    Renaming:

    No ill effects noticed. Phone worked fine.

    Deletion:

    Not possible. Turns out, you can't delete the currently active account, and root doesn't work across user accounts so I can't delete it from others. I even tried re rooting the device with the new accounts. Doesn't work.

    So I decided to make it as if I'd deleted the primary user. I went to userlist.xml in /data/system/users, and I deleted the 0, AKA Primary, user.

    Do not do this. Bad things happen. When I rebooted the device, it got stuck on the multi colored X boot animation. Checking the LogCat revealed that my deleting the user had caused multiple Null Pointer Exceptions. Either way, the system failed to boot.

    Fixing it turned out to be simple enough. I downloaded the stock image from Google, and even though the device couldn't boot, adb was still accessible.

    So type:
    Code:
    adb reboot boatloader
    to get your device out of the hung boot operation. Then use the flash-all.sh script given with the Stock image to flash it to your phone again. You'll now have a root-less factory condition phone.

    In light of the near brick condition of deleting the Primary user, I'll be disabling that option completely in my app in an upcoming upgrade. Renaming will still be permitted. If anyone wants anything else included in the upgrade, please reply to this post with a suggestion within the next 24 hours.
    6
    Uploading a video now of it.

    Edit: Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfHWV_-X3a8&feature=youtube_gdata_player
    Sent from Mr. Z's Galaxy S3.
    6
    FYI, since I stumbled across this looking for 4.2 and it came up because *not 4.2* is in the title, in case it's not here - 4.2 how to (possibly depending on build)

    adb shell
    su
    pm get-max-users (should show 1)
    setprop fw.max_users (some number above 2, I chose 7)
    pm create-user someusername here

    repeat the create-user as wanted.

    That popped up a "Users" tab for me after creating 1 that allowed me to create more.

    Your mileage may vary, and I did this on a different device so I may just be useless ;)
    4
    I have it working om my GSM GN.

    I found that in the second account there are apps that I don't have in the primary account, for example: Google Wallet, Play Magazines, Play Books and Play Films. (I'm from Belgium)
    Oh, they disappeared as soon as I signed in with my Google account. :(

    If you are on the second user, most of the data from the primary user is hidden (you can not acces it).
    For example:
    - photo's
    - unlocked levels in Angry Birds
    - music
    - contacts
    - google account
    - clipboard
    - home screen

    But there are a few exceptions:
    - all the apps are there, as if they were just installed
    - the recent apps menu
    - the use-app-as-default-setting (I don't know the official name). For example: if you set Apex as default in the Guest account, it will also be default in the primary account.
    - your messages (!)



    Ps: this was my first post on xda :)
    I hope you find it usefull.

    Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app