Odin Tools no longer works with the last firmware update on RP4 and Odin 2 Mini

[Bertoku]

As reported by other users on Retroid's Reddit, with the latest Retroid Pocket 4 software update (1.0.0.77) Odin Tools no longer works since the apps override doesn't apply anymore.
Even though it's not "officially" supported on RP4, it would be nice to have this great and useful app back.

[langerhans]

I guess they changed the way overrides are applied on that update. Maybe next Odin 2 update will break it as well cause usually the system apps seem to be shared between the devices. Then I can take a look. Without a device on hand it would be a guessing game to find out what broke. Maybe if someone could dump the retroid settings app from that update I could take a look.

[langerhans]

Update on this: It appears that Ayn has turned off permissive mode for SELinux in the latest firmware. This affects both the RP4P And O2Mini and will very likely also happen on the O2 in the next firmware update.
This basically breaks almost all functions of OdinTools.
The only way around that I can think of right now is providing a root script that installs OdinTools as system app.
Since I don't have any of the affected devices I'll need to wait for the next O2 update and see if I can get it working again.
Thanks to @GlazedBelmont for looking into this.

[Teppichseite]

@langerhans @GlazedBelmont Seems like the issue is connected with the PServerBinder service they exposed on the Odin 2 and the RP4Pro. I guess they allowed via this service to run sudo commands from apps without privileged access.

The service still exists on the newest RP4Pro, but the the transaction to send data to the service fails.

When debugging the issue this line here returns the error: https://github.com/langerhans/OdinTools/blob/main/app/src/main/java/de/langerhans/odintools/tools/ShellExecutor.kt#L34

The exact error is

android.os.DeadObjectException: Transaction failed on small parcel; remote process probably died, but this could also be caused by running out of binder buffe

If they decided to not let normal apps run sudo commands anymore via PServerBinder (which is sad, but makes sense), then one workaround would be something like Shizuku (https://github.com/RikkaApps/Shizuku) which gives you at least ADB permissions. Problem is of course that it requires more installation effort for the user.

[DroidlyMobile]

I fully rooted and unlocked r/w permissions on the Odin 2/Mini/RP4 Pro when I developed my own app for the Mini to control performance modes and fan speeds etc the app wouldn't work because permissions were blocked via chmod. But with the latest version of the Odin 2 main model the app worked fine but again my device had to be full rooted with a custom Super img.

[Teppichseite]

I went now with Shizuku to support those device specific features in my case (https://github.com/Teppichseite/HandheldExp).

This allows normal apps to gain ADB privileges which are most of the time sufficient for the job.
The upside of this approach is that no root access or providing the app as system app is required. Additionally some users are probably already using Shizuku for other apps.
The downside is that Shizuku has to be started manually after every device restart.

So Shizuku could be also a potential solution for OdinTools.

[vpnnnm]

I went now with Shizuku to support those device specific features in my case (https://github.com/Teppichseite/HandheldExp).

This allows normal apps to gain ADB privileges which are most of the time sufficient for the job. The upside of this approach is that no root access or providing the app as system app is required. Additionally some users are probably already using Shizuku for other apps. The downside is that Shizuku has to be started manually after every device restart.

So Shizuku could be also a potential solution for OdinTools.

Hi, could you please elaborate on the process using Shinzuku?

[cubeii]

I went now with Shizuku to support those device specific features in my case (https://github.com/Teppichseite/HandheldExp).

This allows normal apps to gain ADB privileges which are most of the time sufficient for the job. The upside of this approach is that no root access or providing the app as system app is required. Additionally some users are probably already using Shizuku for other apps. The downside is that Shizuku has to be started manually after every device restart.

So Shizuku could be also a potential solution for OdinTools.

im using shizuku on my mobile phones for more than a year now. i already tried it on my rp4pro. it wont pair via wireless adb. the keyboard is not showing. i even tried pairing a bluetooth keyboard and using other keyboard apps. there is no way to type in the pairing code. im not sure if this happens to other rp4pro owners.