1. #1
    winston_one
    winston_one is offline
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    Samsung Propel-SGH-A767 Blue
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    I have a Samsung Propel A767.

    I have installed some apps that are pretty network intensive. (email, IM, ect.) I am constantly prompted to allow the app to access the data network. How can I give permission to an app so It only asks once, or not at all. In other words, I trust this app so I don't ever want to be prompted to allow it to access the network.

    Example. Ebuddy messenger launches and tries to connect to the network...

    I get prompted with this screen.

    --

    eBuddy will send personal data. This will require use of airtime for which you may be charged. Continue?

    This time, Ask me again next time.
    Not this time. Ask me again next time.

    --

    Unfortunately, there is no option that just says: "always allow this application to access the net"

    The messenger and email programs constatly cause this prompt to occur and it makes them too frustrating to use.

    Does anyone know of a way to address this?


    See More: Help-- Samsung Propel a767 How to give an app permission to access network.




  2. #2
    winston_one
    winston_one is offline
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    Re: Help-- Samsung Propel a767 How to give an app permission to access network.

    I think the problem comes from the fact that the java app is unsigned.



    I've read some things that say having the application signed will allow the option to "allow, and dont ask again."







    I've also read that the process of getting a java application signed involves about $400-$700 for EVERY version of the software. Also, the certificate expires after one year, so the application developers must pay the CA for every version every year to remain a signed application.



    This makes sense why the authors of these applications don't bother with paying a CA like verisign or whomever else is in the application signing business. Even the Google apps like gmail and google maps aren't signed.



    The applications that do appear to be signed (the ones that come pre-installed on the phone, and the ones available to be purchased at the MEdia net) require you to pay for them. Several of these apps require a subscription of about $3 a month.



    You can check to see if the app is signed by going to the app and selecting properties. You will also notice that the CA that has signed these apps is AT&T or Cingular. So basically this "security feature" is a way for at&t to eliminate competition of free java apps from their paid applications that you can buy from them.







    I've looked for a way around this. The closest I came was installing your own homemade certificate and the signing the app to that homemade certificate. Unfortunately, there is no way to add your homemade certificate to the Propel the way you can on other "real" smart phones.





    So, Unless the developer decides to pay have their app signed by a CA(which will probably never happen for a free application), we are probably stuck having to constantly grant permission for our apps to be able to access the data network that we are already paying for.



    The other alternative would be for at&t or samsung to release a firmware that would allow this "security feature" of prompting for net access to be removed completely, but why would they. They have us locked into their proprietary system. Lets hope they do the right thing and serve their already paying customers instead of simply trying to bilk us for more money.



  3. #3
    winston_one
    winston_one is offline
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    Re: Help-- Samsung Propel a767 How to give an app permission to access network.

    OK, I've had some success in getting rid of the nag screen on my apps.
    The app I'm using is called ebuddy and allows me to connect to several IM services at the same time including GTALK. Being that it is an IM client that needs constant status updates, it would prompt me for permission to access the network about every two seconds.
    After modifying the settings.bin file with a HEX editor and rebooting the phone, eBuddy started up and prompted me to "Allow and don't ask again" I chose that option and didn't get prompted after that until I added my MSN account to eBuddy. When I added the account I was prompted and only had the regular options of "Allow, and ask again next time", but it never asked again. It seems there are certain actions with this app that will cause it top prompt, but they are rare requests and for the most part I am not prompted anymore. So, I would consider this a success.
    I also tried this with some other apps like google maps, and it did not work. I may have done it wrong so I'll uninstall it, re-install it and try it again.
    Google mail does not appear to have a settings.bin file. However I have read that there are ways around this. I'll try it when I have time.
    Here are the steps I took to "fix" eBuddy.
    1, Change the USB mode on the phone.

    On the Propel, dial *#0523# (this gets you into some debug screen)(WARNING!!! I'm betting you can mess up the phone pretty bad by messing with these settings so proceed at your own risk) keep pushing # until you get to a menu that looks like this:

    [1] Debug Screen
    [2] Version Information
    [3] RF Test
    [4] UMTS rf nv
    [5] Read gsm rf nv
    [6] Write gsm rf nv
    [7] Band Base
    [8] Audio

    Now start pushing the down arrow( you will see the options change each time) until the menu looks like this:

    [1] Batt.Temp
    [2] FTM NV read
    [3] FTM NV set
    [4] FTM NV unset
    [5] Version Info
    [6] USB Configuration
    [7] DIAG Configuration
    [8] Power on info

    Push 6 for USB Configuration.

    You will see:

    [1] Samsung USB[*]
    [2] Qualcomm USB []
    [3] PictBridge USB []

    Push 2 for Qualcomm USB. It will say "Qualcomm USB Configured. Plz Reconnect the Cable.0" Push confirm to exit. If you want to change it back to the Samsung USB, just follow the same steps as before. I have just left mine as the qualcomm usb and have had no problems charging or doing anything with USB on the phone. I haven't found any reason to put it back to Samsung USB mode yet.

    2. Download and install the qualcomm drivers on the PC.

    I just did a google search for "qualcomm usb driver" and found the file hosted on rapid share. Then extract the drivers to a folder on your PC.

    Connect the phone to the PC with the USB cable, then (on the phone) choose PC Studio. The PC should then find new hardware. When it asks for drivers, point the new hardware wizard to the folder that you extracted the Qualcomm drivers in. It should do this three times(a modem, a diagnostics tool, and something else), though I think the only one that is important is the Qualcomm diagnostics, but Installed all three anyway (the all use the same drivers).

    3. Install the BitPim software

    Do a goolge search on BitPim. Download it and install it on the PC. Run it.

    If it doesn't automatically try to detect your phone, then go to Edit and select Detect Phone.

    Click the Phone Wizard button.

    Select your provider (mine is at&t, but you can also select sprint, then select Samsung, then select SPH-A740 (the SPH-A747 or Propel is not listed). Then click NEXT.

    On the Comm port screen you want the one that has "Qualcomm diagnostics interface" in the description. Mine was COM5, yours may be different.

    Dont click "detect phone" it won’t work anyway. Click FINISH.

    In BitPIM select VIEW, and then select VIEW FILESYSTEM. Then, in the left most column near the bottom click on FILESYSTEM. Now in the column just to the right of that column, select the folder "/" and it will retrieve the file system of the phone.

    Browse to the folder /Media/Games and you will see all of the apps you have installed on the phone. each app should have a sub folder called appdb. Select that and you should see the settings.bin file(Gmail does not have the settings.bin file, that’s another story). Right click it and choose SAVE, then save it to your PC. Now make a copy of the original settings.bin as a backup.


    Do a google search for "free hex editor" and install one. (I know very little about HEX editing) Open the settings.bin file with the HEX editor and look for byte 07. change whatever is in that byte to 40. Then save it.

    Go back to BitPIM. Right click on settings.bin and select OVERWRITE. A window will appear, browse to the settings.bin file you modified with the HEX editor.

    Unplug the phone from the PC. . Go to the app and launch it. When I got prompted to allow access to the data network I had the option to "Allow, and don't ask again." SUCCESS!



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