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  • Help getting a launcher on TCL Flip 2

Hello all, I recently bought the TCL Flip 2 and am looking to install apps on it such as Waze and Telegram, to replace a smartphone.

I installed a few APKs using WebADB, and would like to launch them. The [Login to see the link] that offers a launcher app does not list this phone; I nevertheless tried the instructions under "All Other Phones," but the adb monkey command did not produce any notification on the phone.

Is a firmware update the only way to get a launcher installed?

(Note that I'm not talking about installing APKs via the phone file manager; I'm fine with using WebADB for installing apps.)

(I did consult [Login to see the link] but did not find an answer; please note that the thread currently contains 1,316 posts, its first post has not been updated with all the information; it also links to a wiki on GH which is very hard to understand and also seems to self-imply being out-of-date.)

Thank you in advance for your help!

    bl_apps4flip Dial ##217703## to bring up the list of apps.
    (never tried it yet let me k if it work)

        samtee Dial ##217703##

        *#*#217703#*#*

          1. *#*#217703#*#* does not work -- it does bring up the 'secret launcher', but that still does not include arbitrarily APKs I installed via WebADB. (Sorry this was somehow removed from my original post)
          2. I did try [Login to see the link]'s launcher, but I would not like to remove the browser at this point. Is there any way that does not involve removing the browser?
          3. To that end, I tried the _ATT version of the launcher package, but I do not see it in the menu, even after reboot, despite the fact that [Login to see the link] 's instructions seemed to imply it worked for non-ATT phones (this is a TracFone). Perhaps it is due to the 9-app restriction?
          4. I can customize the left/right shortcut keys to go to the calculator, perhaps I should rename the launcher to com.android.calculator2?

          Thanks in advance!

            bl_apps4flip You could tell me the package name of an app that you removed already, and I'll change this package name to match that, though I would highly recommend you remove the browser.

              [Login to see the link] Thanks, that would be really helpful. But whatever app I choose, I would have to apk uninstall it, correct? apk disable-user won't be enough because you can't replace a disabled app?

              If so, I tried removing both the calendar and the calculator; neither work. The browser is supposed to work?
              (The browser is necessary for now for something custom, though longer-term I guess I could create custom shell apks for them)

              1|Gflip6_TF:/ $ pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.android.calculator2                 
Failure to remove user owner's system package: com.android.calculator2

1|Gflip6_TF:/ $ pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.android.calendar
Failure to remove user owner's system package: com.android.calendar

                bl_apps4flip uninstalling won't get rid of the package, for that you would have to remove it entirely from /system/apps/

                  [Login to see the link] I see the apps in /system/apps, but any changes I make there say that the FS is readonly

                  1|Gflip6_TF:/system/app $ rm OP07Browser                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
rm: OP07Browser: Read-only file system

                  Based on [Login to see the link], I also tried the following, which didn't work either:

                  /vendor/bin/write_protect 0
/system/bin/sh: /vendor/bin/write_protect: can't execute: Permission denied

                    bl_apps4flip in shell run su (and allow root to shell in magisk) and then run vendor/bin/write_protect 0

                      bl_apps4flip Hmm... First, did you root?

                      Once you are rooted with @neutronscotts boot image (i can help if you need) you can install the ATT Package of Lionscribe's Launcher just fine. Until then, the apps wont install, even if WebADB says completed.

                          FliphoneBochur Did the OP ever mention successfully seeing his applications? I am suggesting that they may have never installed...

                          WebADB install APK function is not correctly configured for error handling and will show success even on failed installations

                              Biden2020prez Good point. That's what I dislike about that feature. They should really incorporate error handling. Whatever.

                                Indeed I did not root -- as I mentioned in my question, I was looking to just install apps without a firmware update. I guess that's not possible? OK, in that case I guess I'll have a go at it and ask you for help if necessary. Thanks!

                                [Login to see the link] [Login to see the link] -- You are indeed correct that WebADB indicated success, leading me to believe that the APKs had installed, but I just checked using pm list packages | grep -i att and nothing comes up.

                                [Login to see the link] -- su seems not to be present at all without rooting.

                                Q: Are the instructions & neutron.img posted at the [Login to see the link] current?

                                  bl_apps4flip Yes.
                                  Fyi, you don't need grep to search for a specific package; you can just search with pm list packages search-term, and it will output any packages containing that.