Onyx Boox BT Remote Direction Buttons Reversed

[bazookajoe]

Hi,

Was messing around with buttons to see what they'd do on Windows (I mainly use the remote on Bluestacks but was watching it work on Chrome). I've somehow managed to reverse the left and right direction buttons and that's real annoying.

I've tried resetting (holding until light turns pink is a reset apparently?), the two discontinued apps I've seen suggested (Boox Assistant and a firmware updater?) I've tried on my Leaf to no avail and the leaflet that comes in the box is useless.

Any known button combos to swap back or am I going to have to contact Onyx?

I never fail to impress myself with my ability to think "hey I hope this doesn't ruin how it works or something", do it anyway and then it does.

[Renate]

The buttons can get switched around in lots of places.
Get UsbMode.apk from my website.
Try it on your phone with your remote paired.
Does it do what you think it should?
Now check on your Leaf.

There's keypad.json, bt_keypd.json and a configuration that can all swap things.
Some of that changed with the 3.2.1 release.
Also the keylayout.

[bazookajoe]

That's a super neat tool Renate. You're so clever!

It's Moon+. That's my main reader and as it was exhibiting the same behaviour on Bluestacks via Windows 10 Surface Pro and my Leaf and one of my Tab A's and the fact it's not updated for a few weeks that I can see (I did check) so I thought it must be system-wide due to me ballsing around but it does the right direction w/your tool and in Kindle and Libby on Bluestacks & Leaf.

So Moon's just partially choked on 3 different devices because reasons? But how because my 8BitDo Zero2 mini gamepad that I sometimes use as a remote is still responding correctly with how I set D-Pad prefs the same as Onyx should respond but Onyx Remote just about-faced on one app? That's why I can't work out how it could be after a Moon+ update because surely it would hit Zero2 as well, or why on earth Onyx would only start hating one app? Ugh. I mean I can manually swap the prefs depending on remote but it's a bit of a pain and just strange as well.

Tangent: Is there an easy way to set my Onyx Leaf case buttons from VOLUME to DPAD in those preference files you mentioned (or somewhere else) or is it to do with some of the over-my-head stuff you've got in your 3.2.1 update & your Poke buttons post where I'll have to make a Magisk module that leave me with a sense of existential dread? Moon+ and Kindle are fine obviously but Libby just tries to turn my volume up and down. Libby does turn on DPAD w/Onyx Remote & my Zero2 even though it has no page-turn settings so a blanket remap to DPAD would cover all my apps.

[bazookajoe]

Also Smart Cover option in Settings is useless because it only lets you choose screenshot or rotate page 90deg. Do you know what would be better, Onyx? Page Turn vs. Long Press Volume Control! Yeah! I'm a genius.

[Renate]

You need to see what's going on first.

# input keyevent 92
# input keyevent 93

That's PgUp, PgDn respectively.
Are they getting changed to VolUp/Vol Dn?
What are your case keys actually generating (Linux & Android)?
What does /system/usr/keylayout/gpio.kl say?

[bazookajoe]

This is the official magnetised Leaf Case (thought I'd specify for future reference).

Not sure if I did it right, but I got into shell and typed the events and your tool returned:

92 returns PAGE_UP: 0x5c 92
93 returns PAGE_DOWN: 0x5d 93

Via your tool the input commands you gave me plus the case buttons don't return any Linux values at all.

Android code results from your tool pressing the case buttons:

VOLUME_UP: 0x18 24
VOLUME_DOWN: 0x19 25

/system/usr/keylayout/gpio.kl:

key 115 VOLUME_UP
key 114 VOLUME_DOWN
key 102 HOME
key 528 FOCUS
key 766 CAMERA

I turned off Vol control options in Freda, Kindle and Moon+ and that lost me page turn so it's just default Volume Up and Volume Down across the board on all apps as far as I'm concerned. Launcher and non-reader apps are all Volume Control too.

[Renate]

Alright. Then it seems like the case controls are supposed to be Volume controls. A reader app can "eat" Volume presses if it desires or let them go to the system which will affect the Volume slider bar.

So your Onyx Bluetooth remote, do all the keys generate what you would expect them to generate? If a keypad is known to mounted to the screen and rotated when you rotate the screen that will switch the keys around too. I'm floundering here to understand exactly what has changed. Is the only place where you noticed a change is on Moon?

[wakkaday]

are these buttons worth buying instead of a magnetic case, which is heavy?

[Renate]

It's a matter of taste. The "TV remote style" Onyx remote gives you a lot of button options but it's a bit big.
A $1 Chinese "selfie clicker" can do page turns (only forward) but they all tend to sleep after one minute.
I think that the 8BitDo pads are kind of cute: https://www.8bitdo.com/zero2/
You may need to change keymaps and/or modify your apps to behave how you want.

[bazookajoe]

I'll have to do some more testing Renate so far it's just Moon+ I think. So, maybe it is Moon+ it's just pretty weird given I can fix the issue with D-Pad settings, meaning, have Moon+ really changed D-Pad settings because my Zero2's still work. I've been sidetracked at hospital. Will update after doing more tests.

[bazookajoe]

Originally Posted by wakkaday

are these buttons worth buying instead of a magnetic case, which is heavy?

The Leaf case is light which is a big plus for me. It's really a use-case thing like Renate said. I wasn't having a nearly $AU340 (plus nearly $50 shipping!) device sitting around or going in my bag without protecting the screen and the case does that as it's a nice "book cover" with two buttons on the side when opened.

Remotes are amazing if you have any chronic pain issues, arthritis or like, RSI or something. Literally lifechanging for me because even though the Leaf is light (170g) that's still a struggle for me depending on how bad I am at the time. Plus, you can then use them on your other devices too if you need.

I like having all 3 of the options Renate mentioned because a) I'm extra and b) I have different use-cases due to how my pain levels are or where I am sitting/reading.

I personally wouldn't have bought the Onyx remote if I'd thought to try D-Pad mode instead of Analog mode on my Zero2 mini-game controller which has now given me Libby which volume clickers don't work with. If you don't use Libby then get a cheap volume clicker like Renate said for a few bucks on eBay or Amazon. They work with most popular apps.

They're really handy if you read laying down in bed even if you don't have chronic pain/hand issues tapping the screen constantly is awful and the case buttons don't work best in that situation as they're in the middle of the case (though, different Onyx models do have different cases). I don't know how people read laying on their back without a remote honestly.

Edit: and those cheap volume/track changing clickers from AliExpress or eBay or whatever are so light it's crazy. You'll barely register the weight.

[bazookajoe]

It's definitely Moon+ only. I now have a brand new second remote and it works in the same fashion. For some reason Zero2 respects my OG settings still but after last update (I guess) the Onyx one reverses function specifically in left & right D-Pad. Just thought I'd update. Very odd.