Tell me more ×
Android Enthusiasts Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for enthusiasts and power users of the Android operating system. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 1 down vote favorite

Is there a way to change between User and Eng mode on android devices? More specificity the Motorola Defy (2.2.2) and the Acer Iconia A500 (4.0.3) I need access to tools like dev tools. I dont mind if I have to root the DEFY.

share|improve this question
What precise capabilities do you need? – Chris Stratton Jul 1 '12 at 4:04
Developers Tools etc – SmartLemon Jul 1 '12 at 4:23
Network analysis as well – SmartLemon Jul 1 '12 at 4:23
Android is designed so that development can be done on a secured device. Build an apk set to be debuggable and you can use run-as to get a shell running as the apk userid. – Chris Stratton Jul 1 '12 at 4:32
1  
there are several network analysis tools on the Play market, such as Shark (based on Wireshark on desktop), they do need root access. – Lie Ryan Jul 2 '12 at 13:50
show 3 more comments

migrated from superuser.com Jul 1 '12 at 1:30

1 Answer

up vote 3 down vote accepted

No you cannot, that is done at build/compile of the source of the said Android version whatever that may be.

When the source gets compiled via 

. build/envsetup.sh

This is setting up the environment, and that reads in the potential devices via BoardConfig.mk within each device/product directory.

Its when lunch gets executed, the menu shows like this

$ lunch

You're building on Linux

Lunch menu... pick a combo:
     1. full-eng
     2. full_x86-eng
     3. simulator
     4. zte_blade-eng
     5. zte_blade-userdebug

Which would you like? [full-eng]

The above is the example of building the ROM for the Zte Blade, notice how userdebug and eng is prefixed!

share|improve this answer
While this is how it is set, it's not necessarily fully fixed to that setting. Changing some of the ro. system properties in the built image - or even setting ones that haven't been set yet on a running device - can substantially alter the behavior of the system. The results may not however be stable. – Chris Stratton Jul 1 '12 at 4:04
So there possibly is a way to change this? – SmartLemon Jul 1 '12 at 4:24
Yes, if you can write to arbitrary flash partitions. But you don't necessarily need to change the "mode" of the system, it may be enough to alter the specific things keyed to that which you want, for example install some tool for obtaining a root shell. – Chris Stratton Jul 1 '12 at 4:37

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.