You saw Android Wear a couple of months ago when Google unveiled the SDK and both LG and Motorola presented the first promotional pictures. Then you watched the Google I/O keynote that officially launched the LG G Watch and Samsung's surprise addition of the Gear Live. And now you've got a shiny, brand new Android Wear watch before you... but all you can think about is ripping into the digital guts of that thing and doing all of the awful things that Google never intended. Admit it, you're one of us.
Android Police is here with a guide to fill all of your hacking and modding needs. Since Android Wear is so new, some of these methods may not be of much use at first, but the community will surely rise to the challenge before you know it. Let's get started!
These instructions assume that you are moderately familiar with using adb and fastboot. If you're using Windows, you will also need to have the USB drivers from the Android SDK installed and working properly. While it seems the KitKat SDK is sufficient for these steps, it's still best to get the most up-to-date versions of all of these tools before starting. Using outdated tools may result in unpredictable behavior.
Turn on (ADB) Debugging over USB and Bluetooth
To accomplish almost anything with Android Wear beyond its intended feature set, you'll have to start by enabling debug mode. Even gaining access to the bootloader or recovery is difficult, if not impossible, since there are no buttons on the G Watch (except for reset).
Since enabling debug mode is a necessity for most developers, these steps have already been documented on the
Android developer portal. The instructions in this guide are mostly identical to those provided, but with a few additional details and screenshots.
- Open Settings.
- Tap on Wear's watch face. This will take you to the voice prompt. Be sure to hit the watch face instead of a notification card.
- Wear will wait up to 3 seconds for you to say something, then it'll change to a scrollable list of native actions. You can speed this up by swiping up or tapping on the voice prompt.
- Scroll down and select Settings.
- Open About.
- Find Build number and tap on it 7 times. You're done when a toast popup appears with the message, "You are now a developer!"
- Swipe right (to go back) to the Settings menu.
- Open Developer options.
- Find and set ADB debugging to Enabled.
- You'll be asked if you're sure you want to enable. Tap the checkmark button to confirm.
- [Optional] If you want to also turn on debugging over Bluetooth, Find and set Debug over Bluetooth to Enabled.
Note: As long as debugging is enabled, attaching Android Wear to any computer with ADB installed will open a prompt like this on the phone your Wear device is paired with. If the computer belongs to you, it's probably safe to check the box and tap Ok so you won't have to authorize it each time. If you ever see this dialog when you aren't expecting it, you should probably play it safe and pressCancel.
Debugging Over Bluetooth
For most of the objectives in this guide, you will have to use adb and fastboot over a wired USB connection. However, if you're taking screenshots or developing an app, it might be more convenient to use adb over a wireless Bluetooth connection. This can be done by forwarding a socket through adb. That sounds more complicated than it really is.
- On your Android Wear device:
- Enable Debug over Bluetooth (described in the previous section).
- On the phone your Android Wear device is paired with:
- Attach the phone to your computer with a USB cable.
- Open the Android Wear companion app.
- Open the Settings screen (it may be an icon represented by a pair of gears, or it may be in the overflow menu).
- Enable on Debugging over Bluetooth.
Note: Don't worry if the companion app indicates the target device is not connected, the status doesn't always refresh correctly.
- On your computer:
- Open a terminal window and enter this command:
adb forward tcp:4444 localabstract:/adb-hub; adb connect localhost:4444
The first part of that line will map a socket through the phone that is paired to your Wear device, while the second part makes a connection. At this point, we've got two devices attached to your computer. You can see a list of attached devices with:
adb devices
The identifiers are listed on the left side, and their connection status on the right side. Since there are two devices visible to adb, it cannot automatically pick a default device. All of your commands will have to be sent using the -s flag along with a device identifier. We already declared the Android Wear watch would be on port 4444, so it's identifier appears as localhost:4444. For example, if we want to open a shell, the command will look something like this:
adb -s localhost:4444 shell
Taking Screenshots
Sometimes you want to snap a shot of what your device is showing you at a given moment. Unfortunately, the current run of Android Wear devices lack a convenient method for taking a screenshot. Until a better solution can be worked out, <cough>already on it<cough>, we have to rely on adb to fill the gap. Taking screenshots with adb requires debugging to be turned on and a connection to a computer through Bluetooth or USB.
From a terminal, enter the command:
adb shell screencap -p /sdcard/DCIM/screenshots/screenshot1.png
Reminder: change the file name for each screenshot.
The path can be set to any location you prefer, but the filename should be changed for each screenshot. If a filename already exists, it will be overwritten without warning. Also, if more than one device is attached, you'll have to use the -s flag to tell adb which device should be taking the screenshot.
Once you're done collecting screens, use adb pull to copy them over to your computer.
adb pull /sdcard/DCIM/screenshots/screenshot1.png
-or, to copy all of them at once-adb pull /sdcard/DCIM/screenshots/
Unlocking The Bootloader
Welp, it's time to talk about voiding your warranty. If that's not your cup of tea, this is probably a good place to stop. It's possible to do some real damage by unlocking your bootloader. You've been warned.
Disclaimer: I am not responsible for any harm to your device - proceed at your own risk.
Unlocking the bootloader will wipe user data from the device. Your installed apps should be restored automatically, but individual app data may not be. This includes collected data from your step counter, device pairings, and debug authorizations.
While it's possible to use adb over Bluetooth to reboot into the bootloader, you'll lose the connection once you're in there. The only way forward is with a wired USB connection to your Android Wear device.
The LG G Watch and Samsung Gear Live are shipping with locked bootloaders, but they are very easily unlocked with fastboot, just like a Nexus device. In fact, if you've ever unlocked a Nexus phone or tablet, the process is basically the same. However, getting to the bootloader isn't possible with a button combination, so you're stuck with adb, again. Open a terminal and enter this command to restart your Android Wear device in bootloader mode:
adb reboot-bootloader
The bootloaders on both devices are touch-enabled. The LG G Watch places three buttons across the bottom. There are left and right arrows on either side to cycle through different options, shown in red near the top of the screen. The commands are: Start, Power Off, Recovery Mode, and Restart Bootloader. Tap the arrows until the correct command is shown, then tap the circle in the center to perform the action. The Samsung Gear Live offers the same options, but you have to swipe to the right to change your selection, and swipe down to activate it.
Left: Samsung Gear Live bootloader, Center: LG G Watch bootloader, Right: prompt to unlock
To unlock your bootloader, run this command from a terminal
fastboot oem unlock
Warning: Samsung does not prompt for confirmation!!! It immediately unlocks the device and wipes your data. Come on, Samsung, get it together...
The LG G Watch will present you with the standard prompt advising you that this action may void your warranty and that your data will be wiped. The only thing of significance you're likely to lose is your pedometer info. Just about everything else should be stored by the apps on your phone. Once your watch is paired with your phone again, almost everything will be restored automatically.
To move ahead with the unlock, tap either arrow to change the option to "Yes - Unlock (may void warranty)," then tap the circle. The unlock will only take a moment to erase user data, and then you're done.
Left: LG bootloader unlocked, Right: LG boot screen with unlock icon
Oh, and before we assume Samsung is the only one that did a rush job with its bootloader, take a closer look at LG's unlock screen. Not only does it falsely claim that it will delete personal information on your phone, but it wants to inform the user that unlocking will allow for the installation of a "custome operting system". Way to go, LG.
Rooting
Alright, you've unlocked your bootloader and you're ready to tear it up with custom roms and other assorted mods. But wait, this is probably a good time to stop. No, I'm not messing with you. Justin Case and I only just acquired root on the G Watch on July 4th, and there's very little that can be done with it at this point. Additionally, there are no superuser managers (eg. Chainfire's SuperSU or Koush's Superuser) available to prevent an app from abusing root for malicious purposes. This situation will surely change over a matter of days, or even hours, but that's where we're at for the moment. I'm not suggesting that people avoid rooting, only that they wait until it can be done a little more safely.
If you're one of the people that wants to get started on building some root apps, or you just need to be on the bleeding edge, you're in the right place. So far, we only have the process worked out for the LG G Watch, but the Samsung Gear Live should be ready fairly soon.
LG G Watch
The process is very straight forward, but it requires that you already have your bootloader unlocked. If you haven't already done so, go back and complete that step first.
First, download our modified boot image (thanks to Justin Case):
File name: LGGW-rootboot.img
MD5: fe2e8e3bb008096100da3e2014c597f1
- AndroidFileHost
- MediaFire
- ZippyShare
- Mega
Now, reboot into the bootloader:
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