nexus | digital nomad

Ubuntu Touch install on Nexus 4

Post author:Leo Gaggl
Post published:January 26, 2014
Post category:documentation mobile
Post comments:0 Comments

This is the last of a series of alternative mobile OS installs and the easiest install by a country mile ! Install Everything is quite well documented here: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Touch/Install. sudo add-apt-repository ppa:phablet-team/tools sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install phablet-tools android-tools-adb android-tools-fastboot phablet-flash ubuntu-system --channel devel --bootstrap That is it really ! This is how a OS change on a mobile should work ! Issues Ubuntu touch can not yet handle the radio firmware past Android 4.3 devices. So if your N4 was upgraded to Android 4.4 (KitKat) you need to flash the radio to the Android 4.3 (up to Version 2.0.1700.84) else WIFI will not work. Download 4.3 Stock Image from: https://developers.google.com/android/nexus/images#occamjwr66y fastboot flash radio fastboot flash radio radio-mako-m9615a-cefwmazm-2.0.1700.84.img fastboot reboot Wifi setup (Optional - this can be done via phone UI as well). Connect the phone via USB adb shell nmcli -pretty dev wifi connect NETWORK-NAME password PASSWORD

Connection Android 4.x MTP mass storage to Ubuntu 12.x

Post author:Leo Gaggl
Post published:March 23, 2013
Post category:documentation
Post comments:3 Comments

The ability to connect Android 4.+ devices to Ubuntu using the USB Mass Storage interface has always been a pain. With Ubuntu 13.04 a new MTP back-end (gvfs-mtp) is going to be introduced, but I have had some issues with the 13.04 Beta so I found this backport PPA to Ubuntu 12.04 and 12.10 sudo add-apt-repository ppa:langdalepl/gvfs-mtp sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install gvfs sudo apt-get upgrade Kudos to Phillip Langdale for the work and maintaining the PPA !

Galaxy Nexus Firmware Upgrade on Ubuntu (manual)

Post author:Leo Gaggl
Post published:May 28, 2012
Post category:documentation mobile
Post comments:17 Comments

As a Galaxy Nexus Owner I have been waiting for months for an OTA (over the air) upgrade to the factory installed Firmware (4.0.2). I am finally sick of waiting and complaining to Google (an absolute lost cause). After some research it turns out that (contrary to popular opinion) not every unlocked Google Nexus actually has the 'official' Google Firmware. Some of them have a Samsung variant (WTF !?) of the firmware. Now I really don't want to get off the technical topic, but I personally think that this means Google is misleading their most loyal customer base. The reason I chose a Nexus device over the (from a hardware perspective) superior HTC One X was the fact that they were supposed to have the official Google Firmware and I did not have to wait forever for bugfixes from the manufacturers. There are a reportedly several different versions out there. Google's 'official' build for the GSM version of the Galaxy Nexus is named 'yakju'. Samsung builds 'yakjusc', 'yakjuxw' and 'yakjuux'. While they appear mostly the same, only Google’s yakju build is likely to get updates as they happen. Go figure why there was a need for others ... :( To find out which version your Nexus uses you can use this key combination (in the phone app) *#*#4636#*#* or for a more permanent option grab "Android System Info" from the Google Market. Disclaimer: this procedure obiously has the potential to 'brick' your mobile. Only attempt this if you are absolutely…

Accessing Samsung Galaxy Nexus as USB Media Device Ubuntu 12.04

Post author:Leo Gaggl
Post published:May 7, 2012
Post category:documentation mobile
Post comments:0 Comments

To use a Samsung Galaxy Nexus as a media device (MTP) there is a utility called gMTP. sudo apt-get install gmtp mtpfs mtp-tools NOTE: Unfortunately there is a bug in the 64-bit version at the moment (https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/mtpfs/+bug/936165) - which means it's not all that useful to me at the moment.

Nokia Bluetooth Keyboard on Android

Post author:Leo Gaggl
Post published:September 6, 2011
Post category:documentation mobile
Post comments:8 Comments

One of my oldest pieces of hardware is a trusty Nokia SU-8W Bluetooth Keyboard. I have tried to revive it on an Android 1.6 & 2.0 device with not much luck. However I got it working successfully on a Gingerbread (2.3.4) Google Nexus S. Pre-requisites SU-8W Manual (http://nds1.nokia.com/phones/files/guides/Nokia_SU-8W_Wireless_Keyboard_UG_en.pdf) BlueKeyboard JP (https://market.android.com/details?id=elbrain.bluekeyboard.ime) Steps Install the BlueKeyboard JP from the Android Market Go to Settings > Wireless & Networks > Bluetooth Settings Scan for devices and click to pair the Nokia SU-8W Enter a passcode (I used the highly inventive 0000 combinaton) on the phone and click 'OK' Enter the same on the SU-8W (need to use green 'fn' keys for numbers) and hit enter The phone should show the Nokia SU-8W as paired but not connected Go to Settings > Language & keyboard > BlueKeyboard JP Settings Select the Nokia SU-8W as the keyboard and make any other changes you might need Click the 'Back' symbol and tick the option box to enable the 'BlueKeyboard JP' keyboard In any data entry field (i.e. GMail) hold the finger on the input box and click 'Input method' and select BlueKeyboard JP Wait for the keyboard to connect. Enjoy !