Customizing the Tolino

[IngoPan]

Hi,
I just unzipped the EPubProd.apk and edited the assets/environments/app.properties.prod for not calling home anymore. Unfortunately, i cannot adb push it back nor install the apk. Certificate error. Whats the easiest way please to get a valid signed modified EPubProd. apk? I am missing something here unfortunately Thx in advance .

Ingo

[Peripathetic]

Originally Posted by IngoPan

I just unzipped the EPubProd.apk and edited the assets/environments/app.properties.prod for not calling home anymore. Unfortunately, i cannot adb push it back nor install the apk. Certificate error. Whats the easiest way please to get a valid signed modified EPubProd. apk?

It looks like either:

1. You're trying to install your version of EPubProd.apk as a user app (into /data) with adb install: this will not work unless it were correctly signed with the same certificate as the system package - or -
2. The signature got mangled when you were modifying the file so Android is treating it as an app with no signature and refuses to run it.

What you should be doing is:

• Leave the existing signature in place, unchanged. It will be invalid but Android does not verify it for system apps.
• Just replace the file on the /system partition with your modified version with adb push, do not install it.

If you wanted to sign the APK with your own certificate, it's also possible but you would have to re-sign the whole system (all the other APKs). It's extra work and no benefit unless you wanted to modify the framework.

You can use WinMerge to compare the APK you created with the original version and the version I posted (it can look inside automatically if you change both extensions to .zip). Signature data is under META-INF inside the archive. None of the files there should be changed. Once you're sure of that, you can replace the file with adb push.

[oliverdb]

Hello everybody,

I am quite happy with my modified EPubProd.apk with which I have no bookmark sign, no shop in the main page and everything works smooth.

BUT: I have only few covers of books. The rest of them appear without cover. Does anyone have the same issue? Is there a solution for that? Did i make a mistake or somehting like that? It is not a big deal, but I am confused...

thanks again

[Sasha1968]

Hello. Maybe someone will come in handy. After being done as described https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...3&postcount=21, got Root with Magisk 20.4.

Anyone have any ideas how to make separate warm and cold light adjustment in AlReaderX Pro on Tolino Epos 2?

[book14]

I just installed it on my Tolino shine 2 HD.

What I did:

- Compared the original boot images (13.2.1) from shine 3 and vision 4 HD, vision 3 HD, vision 2, shine 2 HD, page.
They are identical. I thought, give it a try.
- Updated to 13.2.1 on my shine 2 HD.
- Tried to install TWRP (3.3.1.v2) from Ryogo and of course Team Win (thanks a lot!) by fastboot, didn't work (unknown partition 'boot-13.2.1-adb-root-mtp.img', fastboot: error: cannot determine image filename for 'boot-13.2.1-adb-root-mtp.img').
- Booted into TWRP by fastboot and installed TWRP.
- Rebooted, everything was fine.
- Rebooted to TWRP and installed boot-13.2.1-adb-root-mtp.img.
- Rebooted, everything was fine, adb was working now.
- Installed Simple Ink Launcher (1.2) from Dmitriy Simbiriatin (thanks a lot!)
- Installed Total Commander (3.0 ARMv7) from Ghisler brothers (thanks a lot!, much nicer than 2.91)
- Tried to copy modified EPubProd.apk by TC over the original one. Didn't work, no root rights. This came unexpected, since Peripathetic stated boot-13.2.1-adb-root-mtp.img provides root rights. Maybe I misunderstand something here.
- Installed Magisk (19.3) from topjohnwu (thanks a lot!), gave TC superuser rights and replaced EPubProd.apk.
- Rebooted et voila! I share Peripathetic's opinion. The bookmark icon on every page is distracting.

Thanks a lot to all mentioned developers, awesome works

I'm curious if this improves battery life. I come from https://forum.alles-ebook.de/thread/...dels/?pageNo=1 with 12.2.0 and used the original EPubProd.apk. No good idea, this combination just eats your battery

[elprofe]

Originally Posted by Peripathetic

Accessing the Bootloader Mode

• Install the Android ADB driver if you haven't already (bootloader driver is included with it)
• Power off the device completely (hold button until dialog appears and choose "Switch off")
• Connect device to computer via USB cable
• Optionally, open the Device Manager (press Win-X, then M) and unmute audio to see and hear when a device is connected and disconnected
• Press and keep holding the button for 30 seconds (note: this step is specific to Shine 3, which has only one button, other devices have different ways of entering the bootloader mode)

Device will enter the bootloader mode and Windows will start installing the driver for it. Meanwhile, after a couple of seconds, the device will leave the bootloader mode and proceed with normal startup (boot), which can't be prevented. If you left the Device Manager open, you could have been able to see an "Android Bootloader Interface" device show up briefly, and then disappear.

Replacing the stock recovery with TWRP

About Recovery and TWRP:

Spoiler:

Most Android devices include a separate, minimal operating system that can be booted into (started) if the main one doesn't work. This is called "recovery [mode]." The device vendor's version of this system ("stock recovery") is usually very simple: it can be used only to wipe all user data or install updates (with a signature check), which is not very useful for our purposes. This separate operating system, stored on its own recovery partition, can be replaced with a different, much powerful one. The most prevalent such system for modern devices is called TeamWin Recovery Project (TWRP).

• Download Ryogo's TWRP for Tolino Shine 3 (note: this is device-specific, other devices need their own builds)
• Download the Android SDK Platform Tools, which include Fastboot and ADB (to be used later)
• Open the command prompt (Win-X, C) and run:
  fastboot boot twrp.img
• The tool will hang at a prompt saying: Waiting for device
• Enter the bootloader mode once again, as described in the previous section. If everything goes well, the device should run TWRP from the external image file (twrp.img):
  
  Attachment 176995

So far, nothing has been modified on the device yet. If you do not want to replace the stock recovery, you can still use TWRP occasionally this way but it is cumbersome. Eventually, we want to flash the image to the device so that it can be used on its own. However, it's good practice to make sure an image is bootable before flashing it.

• To flash the recovery image, run:
  fastboot flash recovery twrp.img
• And make the device enter the bootloader mode once again, as described above.

Note that after flashing an image, the device remains in bootloader mode, which gives us an opportunity to flash another image at once.

• To flash a (modified) boot image, which is the remaining thing to do while we are in the bootloader mode:
  fastboot flash boot boot.img

However, we don't have a modified boot image yet: this will be covered in the next installment.

One way to enter recovery mode on the Shine 3 is to make sure the device is powered off, USB cable is not connected, and hold the button for about 25 seconds, at which point the screen should show the TWRP starting. There is another, more convenient way as well, more on that later.

Hi, I just got this device and the only thing that I want to do is install Koreader (which is also distributed as an Android app). Thanks for sharing your findings, Peripathetic

I'm on Firmware 1.14 btw

I read all the steps in your tutorial but cannot figure out how to connect to the device on adb mode. Whenever I reboot and hold the power for 30 seconds, a new device gets connected very briefly and then I get an "unrecognized usb device" on Windows, before I got that prompt I managed to install the adb driver for a device called "i.mx6sl NTX Smart Device".

I'm at a loss on how to proceed, as I have the latest version of the firmware I did not want to flash your modified boot image as I think that'd be a bit dangerous.

Any ideas?

[letrot]

Hi everyone.

First of all, thanks for the excellent guide, and all the background information. Good reading, learned a lot in the last 24hrs. THANKS.

Applied the steps to my "tolino vision 4 hd", first with FW 12.1.0, then moved on to 14.1.0. Everything in terms of flashing, adb etc works just the same as with 12.1.0.

Anyhow, I'm trying to use the "onleihe" app (a German public libraries service), which works as I'd expect it (can borrow and return ebooks just fine), however I can't open any books. The app does not allow using its internal reader on the tolino (no clue why, on a samsung tablet it works, however with a much more recent android version).
So, the app suggests to use an external reader and I understand using the "pockebook reader" (com.obreey.reader) app should do the trick. CoolReader is not offered in the selection by "onleihe", apparently it is not "registered" as a reader app somehow?

However, I can't get "pocketbook reader" to launch, no matter which version I try. I'm trying to simply open it from onetouch launcher. Tried 3.02, 3.2 and 4.36.
Google Playstore page says it is compatible with android "4.1 and up" - we are on 4.4, right?

Error I get is:

Couldn't load pocketbook from loader
dalvik.system.PathClassLoader[
DexPathList[
[zip file "/data/app/com.obreey.reader-1.apk"],
nativeLibraryDirectories=[/data/app-lib/com.obreey.reader-1, /system/lib]
]]: 
findLibrary returned null

Coulnd't find anything on this I could make sense of through google. Lots of programmers having similar errors if they don't link the one or other library. However, as playstore says pocketbook reader should be fine on Android >4.1... I think it must be something tolino-rom-specific. Maybe a simple symlink or so... but looking through the above folders, I don't see what should be missing.

Any ideas anyone?

[ottischwenk]

Originally Posted by letrot

Anyhow, I'm trying to use the "onleihe" app
....
Any ideas anyone?

Use the browser and the Tolino app - Onleihe books can be borrowed and read.

[letrot]

Thanks for the reply. I believe getting pocketbook reader to work on the (stripped down?) tolino firmware will not be successful. The "browser" always complained about the adobeID being wrong (no, it ain't! I'm not that thick-thumbed that I couldn't type my oh-so-simple simple password!)

Solution: I came accross this (maintained?) alternative firmware which (for me on a tolino vision 4 HD) was "a piece of cake" to install.

I've further sideloaded "onleihe" and "pocketbook reader" and am extremely happy with that setup for my limited needs.

And that shows: my adobeID password wasn't wrong! Onleihe + Pockebook on this firmware happily accepted it straight away (or, I managed to misstype the password "password" ;-) 7 times wrong and got my spelling right because of flashing another firmware ...no way)

[Jagspike]

Does this guide work for the tolino 2 on it's lastest version ? (14) as i'm thinking in getting one for myself soon

[ottischwenk]

Originally Posted by Jagspike

Does this guide work for the tolino 2 on it's lastest version ? (14) as i'm thinking in getting one for myself soon

Which Tolino? There are a lot of 2!
Shine 2, Vision 2, Page 2, Epos 2.

Alternative firmware can not be installed in Page 2 and Epos 2.

[Jagspike]

Originally Posted by ottischwenk

Which Tolino? There are a lot of 2!
Shine 2, Vision 2, Page 2, Epos 2.

Alternative firmware can not be installed in Page 2 and Epos 2.

The tolino shine 2 HD with the lastest firmware, as i can see this tuto is for the 13.2.1 but on the page it wont show that explicit version and as far as i know i could get any firmware version

[ottischwenk]

Originally Posted by Jagspike

and as far as i know i could get any firmware version

From 11 up

[Jagspike]

thanks a lot, in that case i'll get the shine 2

[Alik]

Hello everyone,

I tried to make this modification for my new Tolino Shine 3 but it's not working properly for me. I'm not sure if there was something changed in HW during the time on this device, but when I use FW 13.2.1 and patch_installer_tolino_v#.zip everything works fine until I put device to sleep. When I wake it, it opened the book and react on click for about 2 seconds, then it freeze completely and device reboot itself. But this is not happening all the time, sometimes it works and freeze again after 3rd-4th sleep and wake up. Did anytone have this issue ?