PW5:Make Library page Default on start in Launcher,Cloud Not Available Error

[Hightree]

Originally Posted by j.p.s

For the PW5, you can go as low as 5.14.1.1

Thank you!

Anybody uses 5.14.1.1?
How obsessive is interface (comparing to whats described in the 1st post, i.e. 5.15.1 FW)?
Don't know how to try this FW without flashing.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by Hightree

Thank you!

Anybody uses 5.14.1.1?
How obsessive is interface (comparing to whats described in the 1st post, i.e. 5.15.1 FW)?
Don't know how to try this FW without flashing.

Have you tried searching existing threads?
Search -> Advanced Search
Besides searching on keywords, you can search on thread prefixes, such as "Firmware Update" and several of the results are about 5.14.x

I don't know of anyone being able to run kindle firmware in an emulator.

[Hightree]

Here's where all the stuff for Library page/membership checking/Cloud error happens:
===========
231126:064348 cvm[2949]: E CustomerStatusRequestProcessor:Error::Internet connection is not available, hence returning default response
231126:064348 cvm[2949]: E KppActionHelper:Error::kppAction Action:kppCustomerMembership Result:Failure
[!]231126:064348 KPPMainApp: [4385] [LipcUtils:INFO] Successfully set lipc hash property
231126:064348 cvm[2949]: I com.amazon.kindle.restricted.library.action.Sharin gServiceHandler:Information::Get Content Sharing Available status: false
=======

Didn't dig it dipper, but can bet
com.amazon.kindle.restricted.library.action.Sharin gServiceHandler:Information::Get
is a java class/method.

For some reason whatever code in
KppActionHelper:Error::kppAction Action:kppCustomerMembership
doesn't accept fake registration.

[joh77]

@Hightree, I hope you can find a fix regarding "Cloud not available" error. This is very annoying, but don't want to downgrade my OS..

[Hightree]

Originally Posted by joh77

@Hightree, I hope you can find a fix regarding "Cloud not available" error. This is very annoying, but don't want to downgrade my OS..

My sincere advise is to get rid of the device, its very easy to brick and if its PW5 - totally impossible to recover.
There's nothing we can do without rewriting the code unfortunately.
If it were the only issue with PW5...
There's tons of spyware, high CPU load due to Amazon junk etc, etc. Some can be fixed, but again easy to brick.
I'm looking for another brand. Amazon lost its mind with recent Kindle versions.
Especially without JB is literally nothing more but a poor console/client for consuming Amazon content.
Even JB doesn't help much.

[mergen3107]

With the command

lipc -a -v > lipc.txt

I found that you can go to the tabs!

lipc-set-prop com.lab126.appmgrd start app://com.lab126.KPPMainApp?view=KPP_HOME
lipc-set-prop com.lab126.appmgrd start app://com.lab126.KPPMainApp?view=KPP_LIBRARY
lipc-set-prop com.lab126.appmgrd start app://com.lab126.KPPMainApp?view=KPP_NOTEBOOK
lipc-set-prop com.lab126.appmgrd start app://com.lab126.KPPMainApp?view=KPP_MORE

These are for Kindle Scribe. To find your own, go to the tab on Kindle and do:

lipc-get-prop com.lab126.appmgrd ActiveContext

However, I don't know how to make it open on startup.

Good luck

[KetchupCider]

Thank you mergen3107 -- your post had some excellent direction for my testing with this. I took a look at changing /var/local/mesquite/start.sh:

APP=booklet.home

changed to

APP=KPPMainApp?view=KPP_LIBRARY

However, unfortunately this change seems to be overwritten on boot.

I did see some conversation in this thread about a database entry, so I searched around in files and found a lot of references to the Home screen entry (com.lab126.booklet.home) in /var/local/appreg.db.

Just wanted to contribute my findings so far, even if I couldn't find a full solution for this. If there is a way to preserve changes to start.sh across reboots, or to modify the code that's written into that file on boot, that might be the best bet for automatically directing to your Library instead of the Home screen on boot.

[Sentenced]

The file in /var/local/mesquite/start.sh seems to be unpacked from a SquashFS img in /opt/var/local/local.sqsh at boot, which is why your change does not persist. I tried to patch it during boot, but it did not have an effect, so I'm not sure if its actually executed at any point.

But one option to change the default view is to simply wait for the home screen to load, and then use the same LIPC command to change to the library view. The tricky part is to determine when to run the command (you can't do it too early, and waiting too long is obviously not optimal either), but we can poll the activeView prop periodically to determine when KPP_HOME is active. I'm new to the Kindle ecosystem and haven't had time to properly investigate if there's a better way to force the app to load the library screen directly, but I think this is a decent compromise (the home screen shows up for less than a second before the library activates... might be possible to decrease it further by tweaking the polling frequency, or writing a custom LIPC event listener).

Example upstart script below (put into /etc/upstart/defaultscreen.conf). You should be able to test it before rebooting by going into the home screen and executing "start defaultscreen".

start on started kppmainapp

script
source /etc/upstart/functions

f_log I defaultscreen "defaultscreen.conf started"
           
sleep 2                                              

while ! lipc-get-prop com.lab126.appmgrd activeView | grep KPP_HOME >/dev/null; do               
    f_log I defaultscreen "Home screen not yet active, sleeping 300ms"               
    usleep 300000                                                
done 
                                                             
f_log I homescreen "Homescreen is active, switching screens"
                                          
lipc-set-prop com.lab126.appmgrd start app://com.lab126.KPPMainApp?view=KPP_LIBRARY
          
end script

As for the ridiculous cloud error nag screen, for some reason that part of KPPMainApp does not respect the system-wide isRegistered IPC prop (that can be set to 1 by manually creating a reginfo file) even though much of the rest of the app does. I think this might be due to some missing post registration sync operation not being executed correctly (possibly requiring the creation of additional files and/or registry entries). On a side note, I also noticed a fake registered device will quite annoyingly constantly try to sync to the cloud, even if airplane mode is enabled, causing massive spam in the system log (and possibly increased battery drain).

We can however patch the nag screen away by modifying the Hermes bytecode in /app/KPPMainApp/js/KPPMainApp.js.hbc. Below is a simple shell script patcher that works on 5.16.2.1.1, and patches the file directly (without creating a backup first, so do it manually). Separate fake registering is not required, but collection creation remains disabled, so further investigation is needed to enable that (very likely related to the sync issue I mentioned earlier).

#!/bin/sh

FILE=KPPMainApp.js.hbc
ORIGINAL_CHECKSUM=459d917210ebe4cf6908974cef9fb378
PATCHED_CHECKSUM=5a7cec166d174b5917100264ef4dba40

if [ ! -f $FILE ]; then
   echo $FILE not found in working directory
   exit
fi

checksum=$(md5sum $FILE | awk '{ print $1 }')

if [ "$checksum" != "$ORIGINAL_CHECKSUM" ]; then
   echo "$FILE has an incorrect checksum: $checksum (expected $ORIGINAL_CHECKSUM)"
   echo "This patch is compatible with fw 5.16.2.1.1 only"
   exit
fi

echo Press OK to start patching $FILE
echo NOTE: Make sure you have a backup first!

read

printf '\034' | dd of=$FILE bs=1 seek=89860 conv=notrunc
printf '\152\000\001\130\000' | dd of=$FILE bs=1 seek=1309769 conv=notrunc

echo Verifying patched file checksum...

checksum=$(md5sum $FILE | awk '{ print $1 }')

if [ "$checksum" == "$PATCHED_CHECKSUM" ]; then
    echo "Patched file checksum ok."
elif [ "$checksum" == "$ORIGINAL_CHECKSUM" ]; then
    echo "File checksum did not change. Make sure your file system is not read-only."
else
    echo "WARNING: Patched file checksum is incorrect. Something went wrong!"
fi

The standard disclaimer applies: You probably should not attempt this if you are not comfortable in the Linux/Kindle shell (i.e. know how to execute the script in the correct folder and mount your root file system rw), and do not come complaining to me if you manage to brick your device. Make sure you have SSH access at boot (or some other way to recover your device) in case KPPMainApp fails to launch correctly.

[KetchupCider]

Originally Posted by Sentenced

The file in /var/local/mesquite/start.sh seems to be unpacked from a SquashFS img in /opt/var/local/local.sqsh at boot, which is why your change does not persist. I tried to patch it during boot, but it did not have an effect, so I'm not sure if its actually executed at any point.

But one option to change the default view is to simply wait for the home screen to load, and then use the same LIPC command to change to the library view. The tricky part is to determine when to run the command (you can't do it too early, and waiting too long is obviously not optimal either), but we can poll the activeView prop periodically to determine when KPP_HOME is active. I'm new to the Kindle ecosystem and haven't had time to properly investigate if there's a better way to force the app to load the library screen directly, but I think this is a decent compromise (the home screen shows up for less than a second before the library activates... might be possible to decrease it further by tweaking the polling frequency, or writing a custom LIPC event listener).

Example upstart script below (put into /etc/upstart/defaultscreen.conf). You should be able to test it before rebooting by going into the home screen and executing "start defaultscreen".

start on started kppmainapp

script
source /etc/upstart/functions

f_log I defaultscreen "defaultscreen.conf started"
           
sleep 2                                              

while ! lipc-get-prop com.lab126.appmgrd activeView | grep KPP_HOME >/dev/null; do               
    f_log I defaultscreen "Home screen not yet active, sleeping 300ms"               
    usleep 300000                                                
done 
                                                             
f_log I homescreen "Homescreen is active, switching screens"
                                          
lipc-set-prop com.lab126.appmgrd start app://com.lab126.KPPMainApp?view=KPP_LIBRARY
          
end script

As for the ridiculous cloud error nag screen, for some reason that part of KPPMainApp does not respect the system-wide isRegistered IPC prop (that can be set to 1 by manually creating a reginfo file) even though much of the rest of the app does. I think this might be due to some missing post registration sync operation not being executed correctly (possibly requiring the creation of additional files and/or registry entries). On a side note, I also noticed a fake registered device will quite annoyingly constantly try to sync to the cloud, even if airplane mode is enabled, causing massive spam in the system log (and possibly increased battery drain).

We can however patch the nag screen away by modifying the Hermes bytecode in /app/KPPMainApp/js/KPPMainApp.js.hbc. Below is a simple shell script patcher that works on 5.16.2.1.1, and patches the file directly (without creating a backup first, so do it manually). Separate fake registering is not required, but collection creation remains disabled, so further investigation is needed to enable that (very likely related to the sync issue I mentioned earlier).

#!/bin/sh

FILE=KPPMainApp.js.hbc
ORIGINAL_CHECKSUM=459d917210ebe4cf6908974cef9fb378
PATCHED_CHECKSUM=5a7cec166d174b5917100264ef4dba40

if [ ! -f $FILE ]; then
   echo $FILE not found in working directory
   exit
fi

checksum=$(md5sum $FILE | awk '{ print $1 }')

if [ "$checksum" != "$ORIGINAL_CHECKSUM" ]; then
   echo "$FILE has an incorrect checksum: $checksum (expected $ORIGINAL_CHECKSUM)"
   echo "This patch is compatible with fw 5.16.2.1.1 only"
   exit
fi

echo Press OK to start patching $FILE
echo NOTE: Make sure you have a backup first!

read

printf '\034' | dd of=$FILE bs=1 seek=89860 conv=notrunc
printf '\152\000\001\130\000' | dd of=$FILE bs=1 seek=1309769 conv=notrunc

echo Verifying patched file checksum...

checksum=$(md5sum $FILE | awk '{ print $1 }')

if [ "$checksum" == "$PATCHED_CHECKSUM" ]; then
    echo "Patched file checksum ok."
elif [ "$checksum" == "$ORIGINAL_CHECKSUM" ]; then
    echo "File checksum did not change. Make sure your file system is not read-only."
else
    echo "WARNING: Patched file checksum is incorrect. Something went wrong!"
fi

The standard disclaimer applies: You probably should not attempt this if you are not comfortable in the Linux/Kindle shell (i.e. know how to execute the script in the correct folder and mount your root file system rw), and do not come complaining to me if you manage to brick your device. Make sure you have SSH access at boot (or some other way to recover your device) in case KPPMainApp fails to launch correctly.

That's an awesome find, thank you so much for sharing! I haven't dealt with modifying SquashFS images before, I wonder if it would be possible to mount the image and modify the contents to overwrite the mesquite start.sh. If it mounts like most other image files I've seen, that would seem fairly simple to do... just not sure if any other checks are done of the local.sqsh file during boot, like hash checks and whatnot.

That might result in a brick if the system refuses to boot a modified local.sqsh file... but that's all just my speculation at this point.

[vvvad]

Combined with the patching to remove the nag, an expedient way to deal with the collections issue seems (i don't know if it works with never registered devices) to be LibrarianSync https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=245691 which has a 'create collection from folder structure' button available in kual.

[KetchupCider]

I just tested the /etc/upstart/defaultscreen.conf method to automatically switch to Library view, and it worked flawlessly on both the PW4 and the PW5! Both running 5.15.1. Wanted to share the results here if it helps.

Edited to add, I decreased the time from 300ms to 50ms (iteratively tested through 150, 100, then 50 across reboots on both devices) and found that 50ms works well on both devices to skip right to the Library on boot. I don't even see the ad-laden homescreen anymore with this!

[mergen3107]

Cool! So we just need to add this lipc command in the end? Or what are the exact steps please?

[shamanNS]

Originally Posted by KetchupCider

I don't even see the ad-laden homescreen anymore with this!

You will still get to see the Home tab content anytime you use KUAL or KOL? Since those exit out back to Home IIRC.

[KetchupCider]

Originally Posted by shamanNS

You will still get to see the Home tab content anytime you use KUAL or KOL? Since those exit out back to Home IIRC.

Darn, that's the use case I couldn't remember -- I tested only from boot, and it's certainly fast enough a transition that I don't even see the Home tab content.

Just tried exiting KUAL and it didn't work unfortunately. I'll see if modifying the sleep time back up to 300ms will catch it when I exit KUAL though.

Originally Posted by mergen3107

Cool! So we just need to add this lipc command in the end? Or what are the exact steps please?

I followed the instructions from Sentenced above; step by step:

• SSH into Kindle
• Set filesystem rewritable: mntroot rw
• Create a new file /etc/upstart/defaultscreen.conf: nano /etc/upstart/defaultscreen.conf
• Paste contents of Sentenced's script into the editor:
  

  start on started kppmainapp
  
  script
  source /etc/upstart/functions
  
  f_log I defaultscreen "defaultscreen.conf started"
             
  sleep 2                                              
  
  while ! lipc-get-prop com.lab126.appmgrd activeView | grep KPP_HOME >/dev/null; do               
      f_log I defaultscreen "Home screen not yet active, sleeping 300ms"               
      usleep 300000                                                
  done 
                                                               
  f_log I homescreen "Homescreen is active, switching screens"
                                            
  lipc-set-prop com.lab126.appmgrd start app://com.lab126.KPPMainApp?view=KPP_LIBRARY
            
  end script

• Save contents of file using Ctrl+O, exit nano using Ctrl+X
• Set filesystem read-only: mntroot ro
• Reboot device from either using the reboot command, or from the Kindle options... or manually power off/power on, etc

You can modify the 300ms time within the script before adding it, to change the value to whatever you'd like to test or run. Also, you can use other editors besides nano, that's just the one I usually go to.

Note I'm not responsible for any issues caused by this, as I only tested with a PW4 and PW5 using 5.15.1

[mergen3107]

Thanks! Will try soon