[MOD] BackLightNotification v1.6 (eclair) - led notifications by touchkey backlight

This modification is ONLY for firmwares with Android 2.1 (eclair)!
if you are searching for a froyo (android 2.2) version: BLN for froyo

What is BackLightNotification?
The BackLightNotification mod converts the touchkey backlights into a notification led.

What is modified?
The BackLightNotification mod replaces the kernel by a modified kernel and it also replaces the lights.default.so in /system/lib/hw/.
In detail:
This kernel includes my backlight notification patch and additionally ext4 and tun modules. (For lagfix and vpn support.) The lights.default.so in /system/lib/hw/ enables android led notification via backlights. This mod does not include any modified app. To enable led/backlight notification for an app/function see the Q&A "How do i enable notification for ...?"

What Galaxy S phones are supported?
This kernel is only for i9000 and i9000m (Bell Vibrant).
If you want BLN for any other Galaxy S phone, then please ask someone who creates custom-kernels for that phone, whether she/he would like to include BLN. The patches are compatible to all already released Galaxy S phones.

Does this mod drain the battery?
No, that issue has been fixed in v1.0. Some blogs are still reporting that, but that is an old news that applies to an early beta version.
Measurements showed, that an ongoing BLN increases battery consumption by 0,18% per hour. The average battery consumption without BLN is 1,04% per hour, so an ongoing BLN results in an overall battery consumption of 1,22% per hour. And by the way: ongoing NoLed results in an overall battery consumption of more than 9,5% per hour. Please see the Q&A "How much does this modification affect battery life?".

How reliable will I be notified with this mod?
With this mod you will get 100% reliable notifications via touchkey backlights.

Why could you state, that this mod is 100% reliable?
The BLN mod activates already available APIs in android. If an application initiates a led notification, it will call the notification manager and that will call liblights (lights.default.so), which enables/disables the backlights by calling the (modified) touchkey kernel driver.

For more questions and answers have a look at the Q&A in the second post.


If you have A2SD or mimocan lagfix installed, remove/disable it before installing BacklightNotification.

Instructions for installation/update:

New method: SGS kernel flasher app:
If your phone is already rooted you can try the SGS kernel flasher app.
Just download&install the app and select any .tar or update.zip that you want to flash from this thread.
If your phone is not rooted and/or you dont want to root the phone, you can use the odin/heimdall method.

Update.zip-method:

1. Download "i9000_BacklightNotification_v1.6.zip" (md5: 606aa95a2b43be900928cd7a32eb5a7e)
2. copy the zip-file to /sdcard/
3. rename the zip-file to "update.zip"
4. power off the phone
5. boot into recovery mode (by pressing "Vol Up" + "home key" + "power key" together,
   when bootlogo appears, release the keys)
6. apply update.zip (Vol Up/Down to select and Home key to apply -
   you will see strange characters and a flickering screen, that is normal)
7. wait for reboot
8. install apps, if needed, see the Q&A "How do i enable backlight notification for ...?"

If you want to have more control over BacklightNotification:
BLN control app - blinking, call notification, scheduler and more to come


BackLightNotification with Voodoo lagfix(-only) beta4/v3.0:
i9000_BacklightNotification_v1.6_with_voodoo_lagfix_beta4.zip (md5: dde016adb2c18182a1bff25bdc6a0048)
Support for voodoo lagfix:
Discuss about Project Voodoo / lagfix, color or http://project-voodoo.org/


Removal:
Download "i9000_android_2.1_remove_backlight_notification.zip" (md5: 9a9baa80b18e24eac19c02e7cb3a153a)
(if you have the voodoo package, use the package from project-voodoo)
and continue with step 2. of the instructions above.


Todo for v2 (sorted by priority):

1. app to enable/disable bln function (without uninstalling) done
2. add an option to disable/enable bln (without uninstall) added with v1.1

Twitter:
http://twitter.com/neldar_dev

Credits:
supercurio (for voodoo lagfix, his kernel-update.zip-template and the ct-ng config)

Questions & Answers:

How do i enable led notification for ...?

• sms: notification by default
• touchwiz email: notification by default
• gmail: notification by default
• Google talk: notification by default
• calendar: download "Calendar notifier" app from market (alternative)
• call: my BLN control - Pro from market
• any other apps not shipped with stock-samsung firmware:
  ask the author of the app for notification led support

What lagfixes are supported?

• "Voodoo lagfix" is compatible (see first post for voodoo-enabled update.zip)
• Chainfire's CFLagFix is compatible
• RyanZA's OneClick LagFix APK is compatible
• RyanZA's One Click Lag Fix 2.0 is compatible
• Tayutama's "LagFix using update.zip's" is compatible
• Mimocan's lagfix is not compatible (solution: remove/disable lagfix)
• A2SD is not compatible (solution: remove/disable A2SD lagfix)

How much does this modification affect battery life?
With backlight notification permanently powered on, the battery lasts around 82 hours (around 3,5 days, 1,22% per hour). This means, that activated backlights will increase battery usage by about 0,18% per hour. If there is no backlight notification ongoing, battery life is normal (around 96 hours, 1,04% per hour). Tested with flight mode enabled.
How do you test the battery consumption? This is a common and reliable method.

Can you get this mod working with Android 2.2 (froyo)?
BacklightNotification for Froyo is now available.

Could you add a fade feature?
That is not possible, hardware is limited (by controller firmware) to simple on/off.

Could you add a flashing/blinking light/pulse feature/option?
That is available in the froyo kernel combined with the bln control pro.

I got the message "Cannot open update.zip (bad)". What does this message mean?
That means the file got corrupted, you should delete the update.zip in /sdcard/ and download the zip-file again, copy it again to /sdcard/ and rename it to "update.zip".


Source:
kernel: linux-2.6.29 updated | license: GPLv2
normal bln ramdisk | license: unknown (proprietary?) | author: samsung
voodoo lagfix ramdisk | license: GPLv3 | author: supercurio (Francois SIMOND)
BacklightNotification patches v1.6 for eclair | license: GPLv2 | author: neldar (Michael Richter) | comment: compatible to all Galaxy S phones, no porting needed (just enable KEYPAD_CYPRESS_TOUCH and disable KEYPAD_MELFAS_TOUCH in config)
Liblights for BacklightNotification | license: Apache-2.0 | comment: have a look at the NOTICE file


Chancelog:

v1.6 (stable)

• new sysfs interface (/sys/class/misc/backlightnotification/) - recommend update
• updated kernel source

v1.1:

• added: option to disable/enable bln (without uninstall)

v1.0 (stable, based on rc3)

v0.9.8 (release candidate 3):

• removed: wakelock -> (hugely) improved battery life

v0.9.6 (release candidate 2):

• improved battery life
• fixed: wakelock remains enabled after notification is disabled

v0.9.5 (release candidate 1):

• reduced size of initramfs
• some lowmemorykiller tweaks
• updated proprietary kernel modules
• solution for calendar & call notification: "Missed Call for Android 2.x" app

v0.9.1 beta:

• improved compatibility with lagfixes
  (see Q&A "What lagfixes are supported?")

v0.9 beta:

• initial release (first public beta)

Bec07 said:

Are you sure it's not working with JPC?

Does it drain due to missed call/message or because of the background process?

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

I'm absolutely sure that this modification will not work with Android 2.2 until Samsung will release their sources for 2.6.32 kernel. Hopefully they will release the sources soon after the official release of Android 2.2 for i9000.


There is a wakelock in the driver, to avoid that the backlight controller will be disabled while the phone is suspending.
BUT that means that a full/deep suspend is suppressed and the battery drains a lot faster. Only screen and touch input is disabled.
This should motivate you to react faster on a notification...

If you dont have a notification, the phone can do a full suspend and the battery last longer.

RyanZA said:

Technically cool... but this limitation makes it useless for everyday use for now. Hopefully someone can figure it out.

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

It drains battery less than NoLed, because the amoled screen is completely powered off.
And it is more reliable than NoLed, if the applications support led notification.

At the moment you can only choose between this solution and NoLed, both have their disadvantages...

It turns the backlights only on.
Flashing backlights may be a feature for a future release.

With enabled backlight the battery lasts around 36 hours.
If no notification is ongoing, battery life is normal.

Daneshm90 said:

Wow nice.

Would "flashing backlight" be hard to implement ? Would it require an intermediary android app to send calls ?

Just wondering.

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

Only flashing is not so hard, but to safe some battery life while backlights are off is hard.
Android needs around 200ms to suspend and another 200ms to resume.
And switching repeatedly between suspend/resume state could drain the battery even more, if it is not done right.


Samsung removed the led notification from their touchwiz phone app.
I dont know why they did that. It would not hurt anyone, if they had not removed it....
So call notification could be done by an additional intermediary app or by replacing the touchwiz phone app with the aosp phone app.

rpritch said:

I applied the update as described. Unfortunately, it bricked my phone. I can hear the Samsung start-up sound, but the screen doesn't come on. Any ideas?

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

Do you have a lagfix installed?
If yes and the lagfix requires a specific kernel, in that case you should flash that specific kernel.

Otherwise use this stock-samsung android 2.1 kernel with Odin:
http://www.multiupload.com/G5P9BUF2Q7 (md5: f87e6badf3eedac00e57eb43695cde07)
Put your phone into download mode:
Press "Vol Down" + "menu button" + "power button" together, for at least 6 seconds, until download screen appears.
Start Odin and connect your phone to the pc.
Select the appropriate pit file for your firmware and select Kernel_i9000_android_2.1_stock.tar for PDA in Odin.
DONT check "Re-partion".
Click "Start" to begin flash.

anamika said:

Cannot open update.zip (bad)....what does this message mean?

Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

That means the file got corrupted, you should download it again and copy it again to /sdcard/. Delete the old update.zip in /sdcard/ before that. I have added md5 sums to the first post.

The mod got an update, it is now more compatible with lagfixes.
I recommend you to update to v0.9.1 beta, if you are on v0.9 beta.

CLagFix 1.80 is tested and compatible.

OneClick LagFix should also work, but i have not tested it yet.

LevitateJay said:

Would it be possible for a youtube video or screenshots of this in action? I don't understand what this would actually look like

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

I dont have a camera to take a photo or make a film.
If some one else could do that, i would appreciate that.


So let me try to explain what it does:
If you get, for example, a sms from your friend on your phone with an unmodified samsung-firmware, you will be noticed only by an icon in the notification bar.
This mod allows now every app to activate the backlights (the two led lights under menu and back button) for notifications.
If you now get a sms on your phone the backlights will be activated while the screen is powered off and this is the signal that you should have a look at your phone.