jefftheworld's Kobo Vox Guides

[jefftheworld]

I'm going to use this thread to put up various guides on customizing your Kobo Vox. I'll rank them in two areas; expertise required and my opinion on how vital it is to making the Vox better)

Each tutorial will list all the tools you need and tell you if you need to complete another one or more of the other tutorials first. I will use as many screenshots as I can and try to make it as simple as possible.

Keep coming back here as I'll be adding content as much as I can!


Table of Contents:

1. Rooting your Vox (Expertise: Beginner, Importance: critical)
2. Unrooting your Vox (Expertise: Beginner, Importance: ???)
3. Removing unwanted apps manually (Expersise: Intermediate, Importance: moderate)

Coming soon:
4. Removing unwanted apps automatically (Expertise: Beginner, Importance: moderate)

[jefftheworld]

1. Rooting your Vox (Expertise: Beginner, Importance: critical)

Prerequisite Tools, Apps or Tutorials
The only prerequisite for this tutorial is to enable USB debugging. To do this simply go into Settings > Applications > Development and tick the USB debugging box.

Steps

1. Open the web browser and download the GingerBreak program. I've hosted a version of it that I have confirmed works on the Vox. Just click here if you're browsing from your Vox.

2. You'll now see the program (Android uses a .apk file format for apps) sitting in your downloads. You may have to open the downloads program or it may open automatically.

To start the install click on the gingerbreak-1.apk.

3. Pretty obvious what you got to do at this screen. Press install.

4. It will install.

5. Now click open.

6. You'll see a screen like the one below. You do not need to have a microSD card, this message references the internal memory. If you're plugged into a computer and you've mounted the internal memory to the computer you must unmount it from the computer for now.

If you're unsure of all this, just make sure you're unplugged from the computer and that you device hasn't just turned on (you'll see a "preparing sd card" message on your notification bar for a few seconds after booting your device, make sure that's not there). If you've got nothing along your notification bar other than the download symbol you see in the screenshot below, you're safe.

7. Close that warning and you'll see the following screen. Just tap Root Device!

8. You'll see this screen and within a couple minutes your device will reboot.

9. Once it's rebooted you'll now see an app called Superuser in your app drawer. You're done! You've successfully rooted your Vox!

Remember to turn off USB debugging in your settings!

Additional Notes:
Superuser works by acting as a gatekeeper of root access. Other apps an request root access but you will get a notification from Superuser before they are allowed to gain root access. You can choose to accept or decline access and you can choose to have Superuser remember your choice for the future.

Generally you'll never need to open the Superuser app itself, unless you're changing settings or want to revoke access to an app you'd previously given access.

Within the Superuser app you'll see a list of programs you've allowed access. Some apps may have multiple entries, if they have multiple processes that require root access.

You'll also see a log of all root access granted through Superuser.

And a page with settings you can muck about with.

[jefftheworld]

2. Un-rooting your Vox (Expertise: Beginner, Importance: ???)

Prerequisite Tools, Apps or Tutorials
Obviously you need to have completed the first tutorial in order to complete this one. This tutorial is not one that has any concrete usefulness, there's no real benefit to unrooting, but if you wish to do it you can.

The other requirment is to enable USB debugging. To do this simply go into Settings > Applications > Development and tick the USB debugging box.

Steps

1. Find the GingerBreak app in your app drawer and open it. If you uninstalled it after rooting, reinstall it.

2. Press the big "Unroot" button.

3. GingerBreak will remove Superuser and reboot your device.

4.After it reboots, press your menu button and click manage applications.

5. Click on GingerBreak...

6. Uninstall it.

7. Dudes, it's really that easy.

Note: If you void your warranty by rooting, I can't suggest that you unroot in order to return your device. That would be wrong.

Also Note: Any apps that require root can now be uninstalled, too. Since they're useless.

[Moketa]

Can we install Android Market after rooting?

[taming]

Not yet. Jeff and others are working on it at XDA.

[jefftheworld]

Any ideas for more tutorials, just ask!

[profbisson]

Jeff; installing the app gives me a virus warning - "eu.chainfire.gingerbread is infected". What gives????

[jefftheworld]

On your Vox? The file is totally safe, I can assure you. It may be giving a false nagative since GingerBreak writes to normally locked system directories.

[profbisson]

Thanks, will try it.

[Pushka]

My virus detector picked it up too - and said "it dealt with it". Hope it works - it is pretty stringent due to our work server access and it is a right royal pain sometimes.

[davidkettle]

Pardon my ignorance, but why would the average user want to root their Vox? If they're not careful or don't know what they're doing, they might screw things up, no? Like logging into Windows or Linux as 'admin' or 'root'. What benefits are there to doing that?

Originally Posted by jefftheworld

I'm going to use this thread to put up various guides on customizing your Kobo Vox. I'll rank them in two areas; expertise required and my opinion on how vital it is to making the Vox better)

Each tutorial will list all the tools you need and tell you if you need to complete another one or more of the other tutorials first. I will use as many screenshots as I can and try to make it as simple as possible.

Keep coming back here as I'll be adding content as much as I can!


Table of Contents:

1. Rooting your Vox (Expertise: Beginner, Importance: critical)
2. Unrooting your Vox (Expertise: Beginner, Importance: ???)


Coming soon:

3. Removing unwanted apps manually (Expersise: Intermediate, Importance: moderate)
4. Removing unwanted apps automatically (Expertise: Beginner, Importance: moderate)

[Psyke]

Originally Posted by davidkettle

Pardon my ignorance, but why would the average user want to root their Vox? If they're not careful or don't know what they're doing, they might screw things up, no? Like logging into Windows or Linux as 'admin' or 'root'. What benefits are there to doing that?

It allows the user to do things you wouldn't otherwise be able to do, like delete useless apps/links that can suck up space/memory, and other things you might require admin rights for.

But you're right, an average/novice user shouldn't be mucking about with things like this. However, if they decide to do so, it's at their devices own peril.

[jefftheworld]

Originally Posted by davidkettle

Pardon my ignorance, but why would the average user want to root their Vox? If they're not careful or don't know what they're doing, they might screw things up, no? Like logging into Windows or Linux as 'admin' or 'root'. What benefits are there to doing that?

There is almost no danger in using the rooting method I detailed above, other than voiding your warranty.

The average user certainly wont be logging in as root very much (or at all, perhaps) but having root access is required to install and use a great number of apps.

When you buy a desktop computer, as the owner, you have admin access. Why should it be any different on a phone or tablet?

[davidkettle]

I agree, as long as you're aware of the danger. I only log in as root to my computer when necessary. Even though I consider myself fairly technical (I'm a programmer), I like to play safe. And if there are no significant benefits (plus it voids the warranty), why bother? Of course, the choice should be up to you, not the manufacturer or retailer.

I've installed a couple of apps that weren't from Kobo's market (I downloaded them directly from the developer's web site), and I didn't have to log in as root. I just turned on the option to "install from unknown sources". I haven't tried uninstalling anything (and probably won't, until I start to run out of memory), so I don't know about that.

Originally Posted by jefftheworld

There is almost no danger in using the rooting method I detailed above, other than voiding your warranty.

The average user certainly wont be logging in as root very much (or at all, perhaps) but having root access is required to install and use a great number of apps.

When you buy a desktop computer, as the owner, you have admin access. Why should it be any different on a phone or tablet?

[Psyke]

Originally Posted by davidkettle

I agree, as long as you're aware of the danger. I only log in as root to my computer when necessary. Even though I consider myself fairly technical (I'm a programmer), I like to play safe.

I wish I had clients like you 'cause the programmers here at the office are terrible for getting caught with their pants down .

Usually Technical people are the worse ones to give this sort of access to because they are also usually the most overconfident "it'll never happen to me" sort of people when it comes to virii and malware, and are also the first machines to get hit with the blasted things