How to change system User Agent to Samsung Galaxy S8?
Hi,
I wonder if we can change the User Agent so it appears that we're using a Samsung Galaxy S8 instead of RPi3?
Will changing product model, name, build characteristics in build.prop will cause any problem?
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I've changed two of the three names in build.prop to help differentiate between different raspberries without any seeming issues. I just appended onto the end of the existing name. But I doubt if totally replacing the values would break anything. I believe I left the device name as is. The model, I believe, shows in the Android Settings, so that helps figure out which pi you're on, if you have multiple raspberries.
The reason for my question because Google store shows many apps as not compatible so you won't be able to download.
For ex. Whatsapp is one of them
I also noticed there is a notice when you first run Whatsapp it tells you it's not compatible with tablets.
I assume that's the reaosn why voice calls isn't working.
Have you tried manually downloading the application's APK file from the web? I had to do that for several applications that my device said I wasn't compatible for. (Ex. Android Auto)
Hope that helps!
Sure i did but ended up with a virus on my system, i don't remember whether Mcafee or Kaspersky find and removed it
It's called .kpsh
Besides it doesn't make sense to install Google play then look for apps on the web
Lol, it does when the play store sees your device as something it's not and says you can't download something that you simply can. I downloaded the whatsapp apk file just fine on my rpi3. Hope you figure it out.
I also got whatsapp installed on my rpi3 long time ago, my problem is not searching for apps on the web and install them!
Can you git rid of that message when whatsapp tells you it's not compatible with tablets when you first run it?
Were you able to make any voice call?
I'll test it in a few hours when I'm back home.
Have you looked into "whatsapp web" as you could always use your rpi3 as a mirror for your whatsapp?
Just a thought.
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Hi,
Now google play thinks that i'm using Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge as in screenshot,
However, Whatsapp still can't be downloaded coz not compatible!
@kalkov, can you help?
Hey everyone,
I think @steveo has posted the most simple way of fixing it. The only way I am aware of is to modify the system properties (http://codekiem.com/2013/02/13/market-helper/):
1) adb remount + adb shell + vim
2) extract the sdcard and do it on your PC
3) use an app (something like "market helper")
I didn't know the property values have such a big impact on the Google Play. I think you can just change it to whatever you like. If we find another name, which doesn't restricts the use of Google Play, we will be glad to change it by default. However, we shouldn't be violating any policies of other commercial products.
BTW: We have a full recovery support by now. Unfortunately, we have found a HUGE issue with the graphics layer, which prevents us from pushing a new release. I hope we can fix it in the next days and make installing OpenGApps a lot easier.
Thank you for replying @Igor,
I never knew that app actually exists, nevertheless it doesn't contain newer phones models, besides it asks for permission to access my google account data.
Therefore i would like it to do it myself
I had success to change Rpi3 name to Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
After i installed that app, i realised that i must change from tablet to phone
Which values do i need to modify?
P.s. i already changed ro.build.characteristics from tablet to phone though.
Edit: After i permit the app to access my data it doesn't even work!
Token not found error
I'm sorry to hear that the app doesn't work. I thought it would be the only thing it actually should be able to do
Well, according to http://techcookies.net/how-to-fake-android-to-think-you-have-a-different-device/ there are only these two properties you have to modify:
If you say the device type (tablet or phone) does make a difference, we will think about changing it to "phone" by default. Or are there any reasons not to?
I already modified
ro.product.model
ro.product.manufacturer
and many other values
Now Google play identify my Rpi3 as Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge but still treats it as a tablet not a phone no matter what!
So changing device type from tablet to phone doesn't make any difference
Even Whatsapp thinks that i'm using a tablet as you can see in the below screenshot.
(I assume that's why voice calls doesn't work)
So if you or anyone else can get rid of that Whatsapp alert then please let me know.
Update: I changed device name to Samsung Galaxy S8 but still no joy
Who can solve this mystery?
We will test the recovery + google play today, so maybe I'll get a minute to check why WhatsApp can't be installed. I really can't imagine any good reason for it.
We found the cause of the problem with WhatsApp. It not because of the tablet mode. The installation using Google Play is blocked because WhatsApp uses the "android.hardware.telephony" feature, which we (understandably) can't provide. However, we will look into faking it... Maybe there is a chance
Hi Igor,
I usually download Whatsapp using the apk file which can downloaded off the official link
https://www.cdn.whatsapp.net/android/2.17.350/WhatsApp.apk
It works pretty fine, voice messages works too .... means the microphone input is working
The only problem is voice calls isn't working (it's disconnected after the 1st ring)
So, i thought if we found the reason why the installation is blocked using Google play then voice calls will work as well.
The lack of android.hardware.telephony makes sense.
I hope you have success solving that issue so good luck
We have just released a new version. Feel free to test installing WhatsApp from Google Play
Oh cool! How did you do that?
Thanks a lot Igor.
Now i'm confused, regarding Whatsapp voice calls, how come it works on Android-X86 while it doesn't on RPi 3 ... is it due to the lack on internal sound card?
Well, we just pretend we have one
I'll find out what is wrong with those calls as soon as we finish the organizational stuff. Setting up and maintaining all the infrastructure keeps us pretty busy.
I do understand that you are so busy taking care of many things, that's why i told you not to bother yourself in some other topic.
I was just thinking out loud .. sorry
@Igor, i'm still investigating the voice call issue, this log might help a bit.
Is it possible to upload that Telecom service apk for me please?
It's Cellular Data apk right?
We have reverted our recent changes. The next release will include the telecom and telephony services again. We will upload it today or tomorrow.
Thank you, i think the next release will be perfect
@roxette, not yet. the VPN client isn't even connecting anymore... but there seem to be some errors we may be able to fix in the future.
No problem, you had done a great job fixing so many bugs already,
So it's time to take a break.
Version 0.3.1 should be online now.
Cool, i'll start downloading and testing right away
BTW: your log shows another error "libdiag.so not found". Since it is a proprietary file, we won't be able to include it by default. But you could try adding it manually and checking if it fixes voice calls.
Hi Igor,
After adding some other libs i ended up with 2 issues
Should i give up?
No, you shouldn't
I've found a repository from Google with those libs and included them into the 0.3.2 release just for testing. Maybe the won't generate those errors.
Well, after googling some other libs i think i hit a dead end
Failed to open libwvm.so: dlopen failed: cannot locate symbol "_ZN7android16MediaBufferGroupC1Ev" ---- I guess this is related to the so many input buffer size erros.
sensor or listener is null ...which sensor?
@roxette, thanks for posting your updates. I hope I'll get some spare time this week to look into the voice calls. We can only do small steps at a time
I hope you have enough patience 
Sure, let me know what steps you want me to do when you have time.
I have much patience than you might think, i remember i'm after this issue since i installed RTAndroid
@DJon, it's a logitech USB headset not just a microphone.
I think any cheap USB microphone will work for Whatsapp voice messaging.
I want to buy a USB microphone for a project- Alexa on raspberry pi. I looked on Amazon and most cheap ones have bad reviews. The only one I have found that has good reviews is the on from pi hut. Might get that one. Just FYI