Guide to Modding your A1200
motomaniacs:
F. HOW TO CHANGE SKINS AND THEMES
1. What are Skins and Themes?
On the A1200, “skin” means
• all display icons
• all GUI components like buttons, status bar, scrollbar, etc.
while “theme” means
• the poweron/poweroff animation screen (by default usually the Motorola startup)
• the wallpaper.
Skins and Themes can be changed separately.
The skin configuration data is stored in a file called ezx_skins.cfg while the theme configuration data is in a file called ezx_theme.cfg. Both of these are located in the /ezx_user/download/appwrite/setup folder within the phone’s folder structure (so is not directly accessible unless you install a program like telnet).
===========================================================================================
CAUTION
Changing themes and skins is one of the most common means that users kill their phones. You must not change themes and skins simply by installing them using linloader or else you run the risk of freezing your phone. (This is different from previous Motorola phones where you could simply install additional themes). The reason is the limited space in the ezx_usr folder. If it fills up the memory it will not leave enough space and will freeze the phone when you reboot.
The following 2 situations can cause this to occur:
• if a skin or theme is added to ezx_usr and does not leave sufficient free memory
• you get an error during theme installation, then you try to select that partially installed theme and then reboot the phone
If your phone has crashed then the phone will hang on turning it on - it will freeze on either the motorola screen or startup wall paper of theme. If you try to turn it off using the red power key, it will just beep and do nothing. The only way to turn it off is to take out the battery.
If this happens, first try to take out the battery, wait a few minutes and then reinsert and turn back on. If it still freezes then the only solution is to flash your phone to restore it back to vanilla (This will also wipe out all your stuff including contacts/sms/files...everything on the phone!! – so make sure that you back these up using Motorola Phone Tools before trying any theme/skin changes. Even though the phone has frozen you will still be able to get it into boot mode (see section on flashing)
If you are not sure or have a firmware version that you can not recover then it is recommended that you do not change your phone’s skins or theme!
===========================================================================================
What Method do I Use to Change Skins/Themes
There are several ways described in the various threads to change themes/skins. Some seem to work for some people and not for others so it is hard to write a general set of instructions. Two of the methods that I tried are (1) using a skin/theme installer program written by eakrin; and (2) using the linloader script. I froze my phone twice just using the linloader method requiring me to reflash it (see caution above), but found that that Eakrins’ method only changed the status and scroller bar colors and did not change the Global Navigation Bar (GNB) icons at the top and the shortcut icons at the bottom.
After a lot of experimentation I found that using a combination of the two methods appears to be a successful (and safe!) way to install skins. At a high level you need to do the following (detailed instructions for each step follow):
1. Download the skin you want and install the skin using Eakrin’s Skin Installer program.
2.Turn the phone off and on
3. If only the status and scroll bar has changed, but not the icons, then use linloader to run that skin's lin file to complete the change
4. Turn the phone off and on and the skin should now be complete.
If you want to change the phone to another skin then use Eakrin's Skin Installer to install the next skin (which will delete the old skin). When you turn the file back on, you will notice the icons have returned to the grey default. It is now safe to use linloader to run the next skin's lin file. Using this method I have successfully changed over a dozen skins.
NEVER RUN LINLOADER two times in a row without running Eakrin's skin installer against a *.pskn file first to clear out the old skin - otherwise you run the risk of filling up the memory and freezing the phone.
2. How to Install Eakrin’s Skin and Theme Installers
Eakrin’s program is a mpkg program that changes the phone to the selected skin or theme, by first deleting the old skin/theme before installing the new skin file into /ezx_user/download/skin and the theme file into /ezx_user/download/theme - so it does not fill up the memory.
1. Go to this thread on Installing Skins.
2. Download Eakrin’s skin installer and theme installer on page 1.
3. These are regular zip files so you will need to Unzip them before copying them to your phone.
4. Copy these files (A1200_skin_installer_0.2.pkg and A1200_theme_installer_0.2.pkg) to the root folder of your phone’s SD card as explained in the section “How to Copy Files to your Phone”.
5. Install them using mpkg installer.[/list]
motomaniacs:
2a. How to Change Your Phone’s Skin - Part 1
To change your skin perform the following steps:
Select a skin that you like. See here and here for a huge selection.
(The one that I like is tlinux1 !)
Even though many of the skins displayed in this forum and on the various skins websites are shown with Chinese characters - they will have your default language when installed - with some exceptions – if an icon has Chinese letters as part of the icon they will still be in Chinese; and the words for "Mobile"; "Home" and "Office" under Contacts stayed as Chinese characters – probably because these are also icons.
Download the rar file to your pc.
Unrar it – each skin should consist of a folder containing a number of skin and theme files:
eg:
Code:
tlinux1\
tlinux1.pskn
tlinux1.skn
iconres.ezx
logo file in jpg or png (optional)
off/on gifs
It should also contain a lin file e.g. tlinux1.lin (Not all skin developers have included this in their skin package however)
Create a folder called “themes” directly under the root on your SD card.
Copy the entire skin folder under this themes folder on your SD card. e.g. e:\themes\tlinux1
Copy the lin file directly under the themes folder (ie move it out of its skin folder)
eg :
Code:
themes\
tlinux1\
tlinux1.lin
IMPORTANT: Make sure you do not have any spaces in any of the folder names (ie do NOT call it themes\fun skin\) This will prevent the programs from installing.
For skin installation, use the phone's File Manager to find the *.pskn file in the skin folder. Hold the stylus on the file until the small menu appears. Select “Open with” and choose the Skin Installer. If it has worked you should hear a woman's voice saying “Installation complete”.
Restart the phone to make new skin active.
You should see the new skin installed. If only the status and scroll bar have changed then you will also need to do part 2b using linloader.
motomaniacs:
2b. How to Change Your Phone’s Skin - Part 2
Always run Eakrins installer program against a *.pskn file prior to doing this to clear out any old skins.
Create a new folder called "install" (without quotes) right under the themes\ folder on the SD card (ie themes\install) The .lin file copies some text file to this folder during installation
Use Program Manager to find the skin's lin file and tap and hold the stylus on the file until the small menu appears. Select “Open with” and choose the loader program (It may take up to 10 seconds to complete - you should hear a set of beeps when done).
Restart the phone and the icons should now have changed.
Note 1: On successful installation, you should see that three files 1) on.gif 2) off.gif 3) desk.jpg from choosen skin folder have been copied directly under the themes\ folder on SD card. This verifies that install worked correctly.
Note 2: You do not have to run the same skin's *.lin file as you installed with Eakrin's program. If you like the status/scroll bar to be one skin's style and the icons to be another skin's style then this works ok. (ie can install tlinux1 with Eakrin's installer then run LEE_blue.lin skin.)
2c. How to Change your Phone’s Theme
Changing your theme changes the animations displayed when you start and turn off your phone. Any theme can be used with any skin (or by itself). You change the theme by running a file with the *.phm extension.
Some skin packages already have this file (eg TLINUX.phm) - but if your package does not then it is very easy to create one as it consists of only three lines (see below). You can either copy this *.phm file from another skin package or create it new. Edit it using Wordpad (not Notepad) substituting in the names of the startup and shutdown gifs that you want to use on lines 2 and 3. Put this file in the same directory as the skin package with the gifs you want to use.
Example of a *.phm file (eg TLINUX1.phm)
Code:
[THEME_CONFIG_TABLE]
PowerOnScreen = on.gif
PowerOffScreen = off.gif
Then run it as follows:
Hold the stylus on the *.phm file until the small menu appears. Select “Open with” and choose the theme installer. If it has worked you should hear a voice saying “Installation complete”.
Restart your phone to make new theme active.
3. How to restore back to default skin and theme.
The original skin can be set back to the default by going to Setting -->Scheme on the phone and changing it there. However this does not delete the additional skin. Instead the skin and theme installer should be used to remove the old skin and replace it back to the default. This is done as follows:
Download the file with the A1200 default skin and theme from the same place as you found the Skin/theme installers.
Do as the above for changing skins/themes
Restart your phone to make default skin and theme active.
motomaniacs:
G. HOW TO INCREASE THE VOLUME OF THE HEADSET AND SPEAKERPHONE
Many people find the level of the volume on the headset and the speaker phone too low. The following mod will fix this. You will need yan0’s MKPKG installed prior to doing this mod (see section B above).
Go to this thread and download the following 2 files from the first page of that thread and unrar them
• volumeup_v1.01.rar ==> (unrars to) ==> volumeup_v1.01.pkg
• mpkg.rar ==> (unrars to) ==> mpgk.lin
Now plug the phone into the PC and do the following steps:
Go to the “.system” folder on the SD card
Then go to the directory \QTDownLoad \mpkg\
Rename the “mpkg.lin” that you should find in that directory to “mpkg.lin.bak”
Copy the new mpkg.lin that you downloaded into .system\QTDownLoad\mpkg\ folder.
Copy the volumeup_v1.01.pkg to the root directory of your SD card
Unplug the phone.
From Application Launcher-->File Manager locate the volumeup_v1.01.pkg file and install it (see section B on how to install pkg files). You should hear a tone after it installs correctly.
Turn the phone off and on. When it come back on you will see a new icon called "VolumeUp" under Games in the Menu.
Run this app by clicking on it and you should hear an increase in the volume.
Notes:
You will need to rerun this app every time you turn the phone off and on - as the phone will reset to default volume when turned off. If you dont want the volume gain for whatever reason just restart your phone.
Running this app will disable the menu screen click sounds (when you tap on something). No fix for this has been found.
Running this app may cause the radio volume to go down. There is no fix for this at the moment. See thread for more detail.
If you are not satisfied with this volume gain, then go to the page 8 of the same thread and download the latest sound table file from Alpha. At the time of writing this was called "Alpha's jan07_ezx_volumetable.rar" .
Alpha's file tweaks the volumetable file to increase the volume slightly more and improve the sound quality. To use this file, do the following:
Plug the phone into the PC
Go to the root directory of the SD card
You should see a new directory called volumeup\
Copy ezx_volumetable.cfg to this directory
Go the directory .system\QTDownLoad\ and you should see a new directory volumeup\
Copy ezx_volumetable.cfg to this directory also
[In other words copy ezx_volumetable.cfg to 2 places: the directory volumeup\ and the directory .system\QTDownLoad\volumeup]
Unplug the phone.
Turn the phone off and on.
Depending on your firmware you may or may not have to run the volumeup app. I found with Bint's .08p plus the volume was louder as soon as I turned on my phone and the menu screen clicks could be heard (and were loud). Starting the volume app turned the sound back down again. You may have to experiment how it works on your phone.
H. HOW TO TURN OFF THE CAMERA SOUND
Many people do not want the camera "click" sound when taking photos. There is a download file called A1200_nosound in the downloads section that will permit photos to be taken with no sound. Download it then follow these instructions (You will need MPKG installer installed on your phone)
Unrar the file
Copy the file to your SD card
Unplug the phone; find the file using File Manager and install it using mpkg.
Turn your phone off and on and you should see a new icon in your Application Launcher of a speaker with the round circle with a bar through it. Click on this icon to turn the camera sound off.
One this is run the camera will no longer make a sound (even if you turn phone off and on). The only way to get sound back is if you actually go to the camera setup and choose a sound.
motomaniacs:
I. HOW TO CHANGE FONTS
Some users found that you can change the fonts on your A1200 fairly easily - so that they can be italic or Arial or anything you want. However this may not work on the generic firmwares such as .46p. For a detailed discussion plus lots of screen shots see here this thread.
A summary of the instructions is as follows:
Download the file startup1.rar from the thread listed above to your PC.
Unrar this file so you get startup1.txt (see section B of the writeup on how to do this).
Copy this file to the root directory on your SD card
On your PC, go to Control Panel --> Fonts and copy whatever fonts you want to try to the root directory on your SD card (eg verdana.ttf)
Rename the font that you want to try to myfont.ttf
Unplug phone from PC and turn it off and then back on. You should see the font has changed.
If it does not then this does not work on your firmware. You can change to a different font by renaming its file to myfont.ttf.
To return your phone to its default font, just delete either the script (startup.txt) or the myfont.ttf file and when you restart your phone it will be back to its original typeface.
J. HOW TO ENABLE EDGE
Thanks to a lot of detective work by Alpha43 and some other users on this forum it has recently been figured out how to turn on EDGE on the A1200 which permits much faster web browsing than the native GPRS. In order to turn on Edge you need to download the following two files from the first page of this thread.
RadioComm_V_11[1].1.0.zip - RadioComm is Motorola's own phone service software that its technicians use.
Edge.rar - script that you run via RadioComm that will automatically make the required changes
Then follow these instructions:
Unrar "Edge.rar" and place file on desktop
Unzip RadioComm file and install it on your PC.
If you get the message that you have to install microsoft .net framework then cancel the install and go to http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=0856eacb-4362-4b0d-8edd-aab15c5e04f5&displaylang=en and download the .net work framwork and install it. Reboot PC and try to install RadioComm again.
Start RadioComm. It will display a settings window. Enter MA = GSM and Settings = M-Link USB driver
You should now see the main RadioComm panel. It should have a red "Radio Detection" button on the top right and you should see a Red square down in the taskbar icons area. When these turn green this indicates that the progam has detected the phone (radio) correctly.
Now close down RadioComm.On your phone go to Setup --> USB mode and select "Modem".
Connect your phone to PC via USB cable and start Radiocomm,
Select connection mode as USB if the software asks for it.
If your phone does not seem to be detected, go to Setup --> USB mode on the phone (while still plugged in) and select "USB Net". If still nothing, set back to "Modem".
When your phone is detected for the first time, a prompt may appear asking to install drivers. Select Yes and install the driver. This wil be repeated about 20 times so be patient!
You may have to reboot the system after all drivers are installed and restart RadioComm.
You will know when it has detected the phone correctly when the Radio Detection button on the right turns green.
After you have got RadioComm working and detecting the phone, the rest is simple
Look to the far right you will see a bunch of buttons, one of them is labelled 'setup button', click that.
A window will pop-up, press the browse button and go to the location where you have unrar the EDGE.rar file, select EDGE.tcs file.
Type in the label of the button something like 'Enable EDGE' or what ever you like, then click the button label 'SET'.
When done close that window, now you should have a new button labeled the way you name it,
Click on the button to run the script. A series of log results should be displayed in the big white window. The last one should say 'Complete"
Now just exit RadioComm, unplug the phone and restart it.
If you have done it successfully you should see a "E" instead of a "G" in your Status Line. This of course assumes that Edge is available from your provider. If it is not you will still see the G.
E statuses:
E that is Green = connected and receiving data
E with a line under it = connected to an edge network
E with no line and not green = edge is available.
Radio Detection Colour Statuses Guide:
Red Circle: no radio is detected.
Blue Circle: radio detected ok and in Motorola USB Modem mode. (AT commands or QC test commands)
Green Circle: radio detected ok and in USB Composite Device mode. (Motorola P2K Test Commands)
Yellow Circle: radio is enumerated as a USB LAN device but the socket connection is not yet successful. (Motorola P2K or QC test commands in USB LAN mode)
Pink Circle: radio is enumerated as a USB LAN device and the socket connection was successful. (Motorola P2K or QC test commands in USB LAN mode)
Blue Circle: radio detected ok and in Motorola USB Modem mode. (AT commands or QC test commands)
Green Circle: radio detected ok and in USB Composite Device mode. (Motorola P2K Test Commands)
Yellow Circle: radio is enumerated as a USB LAN device but the socket connection is not yet successful. (Motorola P2K or QC test commands in USB LAN mode)
Pink Circle: radio is enumerated as a USB LAN device and the socket connection was successful. (Motorola P2K or QC test commands in USB LAN mode)
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page