I need to debug some low-level stuff on an Android device. Specifically the Bluetooth Stack. So far I tried to figure out what's going on by just reading the source code and I saw that there are a lot of logging there which can be very helpful.
My problem is with how to enable them, the Bluetooth Stack has a file called bt_stack.conf which is located at /etc/bluetooth/, I saw that this is used by the code to determine which log subsystems to enable. The problem is that I can't edit this file because of permissions, so I can't enable the logs.
One option would be to Root the device and edit the file, and I don't mind doing so on my development phone, but I will soon have to debug it on other phones as well. There must be better way to debug low level Android stuff other then rooting the phone using third-party tools.
How is it done usually by system level Android developers?
Related
So, as the title describes, I'm looking for a way to boot an Android device when the power charger is connected. We are making dedicated devices, in kiosk mode, and are using the Android Management API to setup everything on the device.
This covers most of our requirements, like preinstalling apps, disabling everything else, hooking it up to Managed Google Play, getting device reports etc... But for this power thing, I can't find any solutions in the docs.
The problem is that the physical power button isn't accessible to the user (don't ask my why :)), and when the battery drains they have to be able to power it up again, without unscrewing the case to get to the physical button.
I know this can be done in different ways, but I can't find anything that would work with Android Management API. I'm looking at this "fastboot" approach, since it seems pretty simple https://source.android.com/devices/bootloader/unlock-trusty#off-mode-charging
Initially, I though I could run this somehow using the devices/issueCommand endpoint https://developers.google.com/android/management/reference/rest/v1/enterprises.devices/issueCommand, but that seems to support only some predefined commands like: LOCK, RESET_PASSWORD and REBOOT.
Maybe I'm just missing something. If someone has another approach in mind, please share.
If it's any help, we also have the Android Management API hooked up to the PubSub API, and a topic there that the pulls the reports of the devices. Theoretically, I could listed to the "power connected" event there, and run some command on the device. But again, the problem is how to run this command on the device remotely.
Maybe a solution would be to make another app that will run as a background process that runs this command. I guess I would need to add it as "receiverActivity" in the policy. But the same problem remains... how to invoke this activity from the Android Management API.
The bottom line is that this needs to be fully automated. Running this command on each device manually is not an option.
Also, worth mentioning, this is an Ionic app. Although it's probably not impossible, we would like to keep this logic outside of the app itself. Ideal solution would be just to run some adb command remotely using the Android Management API.
Or maybe there is a good 3rd party app that does this, and I could install that app in the policy and invoke it somehow.
All suggestions are welcome. Maybe there is a simple solution that I've missed.
UPDATE AFTER COMMENTS: I'm not looking how the actual app can do this. I'm looking for a way to execute some "native" command when the device is initially setup from the Android Management API policy. So it should execute only once. When it sets up everything initially. It should edit some file on the device (or run some command) to enable this feature. Later, it shouldn't care if the device is turned on or not, or what apps are running on it. There are a few different ways how to do this suggested here https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/20021/automatically-power-on-android-when-the-charger-is-connected. I'm looking for a way to trigger one of these commands when the device is setup initially (only once). In other words, this should execute only when the device is enrolled. It shouldn't care about any apps running on the device.
So the "free" way to do this is using the fastboot commands. But from the AMA API this is currently not (and most likely ever) possible. This problem will always be hardware specific, since the bootloader is controlling the boot process, and the bootloader is custom made for each device.
There are options for different manufacturers though. Look into OEMConfig apps (which you can get in the Play Store for Work or from the manufacturer themselves).
Samsung has it's KNOX API, and the paid ProKiosk mode supports controlling Power Control.
Regarding the post in your question solving the problem, you will not be able to modify any files in the system since that's restricted to root. This will also never work for Managed Devices.
You could "half-automate" the process by setting up a raspberry pi or some other device with a script that waits for fastboot devices to get connected and executing the command. That way you just visit every device and put it into fastboot and plug in the device and you're off to the next one.
For clarification: adb and fastboot are two entirely different things. Fastboot is running while the device is in it's bootloader. Adb is running while the device has started android. It should technically be not possible to execute fastboot commands while android is started since the bootloader has already exited.
I have a situation:
1. Samsung 7 has a strange bug in my app.
2. This device is 10000 miles away from me.
What are the opportunities for debugging this device remotely.
When tester on the other side can do everything.
I tried adb tcpip <port>
but device ip can be only local(192.168.....)
The rude way is to get Android Studio there and install team viewer on the phone. It's not working every time.
And when we have 1 hour intersection it's difficult to support.
Is there any other way?
Have your user enable Developer Options on the device. You should already know how to do that.
See whether the device has Take Bug Report and/or Bug Report Shortcut settings. If you enabled Bug Report Shortcut a Take Bug Report option will appear when pressing/holding the power button.
Instruct your user to take a bug report -- either through Developer Options, or from the power menu -- as soon as your app crashes.
As for the APK you send to your user, make sure debugging is enabled, so you get all your log messages. If you obfuscate the APK, be sure you keep your mapping files handy.
If you have some idea of where the bug is happening, an option could be to set up something like http://www.acra.ch/ and send your tester a new apk.
This way when the bug is provoked, given you set up useful log events, you will receive information about the crash or bug. ACRA lets you include the LogCat as well, which is pretty useful.
There are several options:
-Build APK and send it to the phone. Install and check/try again.
-Create Android Virtual Device identical to the model located remotely, install Samsung Android firmware.
There is no clear solution about debugging out of local network.
You could try something like LogmeIn for Android - this way both devices will be in the same network.
Once done, just do usual adb connect ipadress If t refuses to do so first, try enabling ADB over WiFi option
I have an app installed on my device.
An app that I developed, but I haven't got the source code anymore.
Is it possible to attach log cat to this app?
yes you can, just enable usb debugging on your android device, and plug the device where you have the application installed on it, by that, you will see all the logs on logcat.
Depends if you've left logs in the code. If you did, the easiest method would be probably going into your Android Studio and checking you Android Monitor tab. You can switch devices / applications there.
If you don't have any logs and your question actually means you want to add some logs in, then I'm afraid you can't reliably do that.
I have a hobby android app idea that basically just uses Android's sensors and logs them long term for several days (external battery). The sensors needed are in $200 phones, and I can get ones for under $100 if the screen doesnt work.
My question is, is it pretty easy to make an app that starts and loads via debugging, keeps running when disconnected and when I connect I can extract the log file, or would this so be difficult I would be ahead just to spend the extra $100?
As mentioned, turning on USB debugging without the screen isn't possible. You can't enable USB debugging over USB for security reasons, so your only option would be to use hardware commands to put the device in firmware download mode (presumably it will have a way to do that), then load a custom OS which allows USB debugging by default.
Personally I think that's more than $100 worth of work, so I'd just go with the working device. Then you can use it for other stuff down the line.
Alternately, you can probably get a replacement screen for not too much, and for most devices changing the screen is relatively easy. I'd look into that option as well.
The first barrier you may find is that you must activate the Developer Options in the settings and the USB Debugging. And when you connect to the computer, you must accept that cumputer as the Debugger.
I don't know if it's possible to do it without a working screen.
App will keep running & yes you can can extract the log file when connecting again.
But the problem is in the first step. if your screen if not working, then how would you add your workstation as a trusted device in your "display not working device". I doubt if there is such way, because we need to do several things like switching on developer options, usb debugging etc.
I hope you got your answer.
I am looking generally in to Android development.
I keep seeing information on root however I am unclear how this relates to general android app development.
I understand that there is an emulator however when I get to actually test the software on a phone does that phone have to be a rooted device or is this only required if you wish to edit the core features of the os?
Finally are there are any development disadvantages to rooting the device such as that is no longer behaves like other android phones I may deploy too?
Thank you
You don't need root to develop for Android.
The easiest setup is to run Eclipse with the Android Development Tools installed. Then, you can debug your application in the emulator, or register your phone with the SDK and debug directly on your phone. The only thing you need to do on your phone is check the development mode under Settings -> Applications
I can understand the allure of having a rooted device, but I can't really see a reason for changing the bootloader or os binaries. You can, however, change most of the default applications (including the Home application) with other applications available on the Market. For instance, OpenHome is about $5 and allows you to replace the home app, add themes, and replace many of the core apps (e.g. clock).
Rooting is only required, if you want to play around with advanced features or update your firmware, etc.
If you develop your software using the Android SDK you will be able to use it on your phone regularly (as long as you have the corresponding version). No rooting needed.
I have never heard of any problems according to your concerns. But I cannot deny that there are none. Though I personally don't expect that there are any problems with rooted phones.
On the Nexus S running Android 2.3, the /data folder is not visible in the DDMS File Explorer or the ADB shell, but it is visible in the emulator. This occurred with debug turned on in both the manifest and on the phone. I confirmed that debug mode was properly enabled by successfully stepping through the app using breakpoints and also by receiving messages from logcat.
Not being able to see the /data folder means that you will not be able to get your application's private data.