Amaze crashes in new 3.10 release

[DMcCunney]

I have Amaze installed on an HP Slate Plus, which is an older 7" tablet with a 1.3ghz quad core nVidia Tegra CPU, 1280x800 screen, 1GB RAM and 8GB flash, running 4.2 Jellybean.

I can make Amaze crash reliably by going the Settings and tapping on About Amaze File Manager.

I can also make Amaze crash by tapping on a file in an Amaze directory listing. The dialog box asking what I want to use to view the file comes up, but Amaze goes away.

I don't recall this behavior in the 3.00 release. I have that on another tablet running 5.01 Lollipop, and cannot reproduce the crashes there. This may be Android version dependent.

[Yowlen]

I'm running Android 5.1.1 on an LG Leon LTE (MS345/H345, ARM), as well as Android 4.4.2 on an Acer B1-730 (vespatn, x86). I can reproduce these crashes on Amaze 3.1.0 Beta 2 every time on both devices. The crashes don't occur on Amaze 3.0.1. Since the devices run different architectures & different Android versions, this issue is likely not related to either of them.

[DMcCunney]

Thanks, Yowlen. I've rolled back to the 3.0 version from the F-Droid repository for the moment, and it's behaving as expected. This sort of thing is what betas are for. :-)

[Yowlen]

Haha, yeah, it's a shame F-Droid & Google Play don't consider 3.1.0 as a beta. Both give it as an upgrade rather than Play's beta tester thing & F-Droid's Unstable Update thing. But thankfully, at least on F-Droid, we can roll back & tell it to ignore the 3.1.0 update. Anyway, glad I could help. Hopefully this gets fixed quickly, since I enjoy the layout changes (per-file/folder menus mainly) but this bug kinds defeats the usage purpose.

[DMcCunney]

Well, F-Droid is now labeling 3.10 as beta 2. I'd have grabbed it anyway to play with it, and at least with F-Droid I can roll back to a prior version.

I looked at a number of Android file managers, and have the payware version of Solid Explorer installed as well because I like the dual pane interface. But I give preference to open source efforts, and Amaze is the best of those I've seen. I'm happily recommending it to others, but I will suggest they avoid the 3.10 beta and wait for the dust to settle.

[Yowlen]

That's because the version number is "3.1.0 Beta 2". The actual beta/unstable flag is separate from the version number. F-Droid & the Play Store still automatically updates to it - even if you're not a beta tester (Play Store) or have the Unstable Updates option checked (F-Droid), so it's still considered a stable/full release in that sense.

On Oct 7, 2016 9:20 PM, "DMcCunney" notifications@github.com wrote:

Well, F-Droid is now labeling 3.10 as beta 2. I'd have grabbed it anyway to play with it, and at least with F-Droid I can roll back to a prior version.

I looked at a number of Android file managers, and have the payware version of Solid Explorer installed as well because I like the dual pane interface. But I give preference to open source efforts, and Amaze is the best of those I've seen. I'm happily recommending it to others, but I will suggest they avoid the 3.10 beta and wait for the dust to settle.

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[Rbagman]

I get similar behavior on Samsung Note 2 (GT-7100); Android 4.4.2.

The about selection causes crash; app selector causes the crash message, but if I select Amaze it switches back (after one or two tap attempts) like nothings wrong.

I also like the UI improvements, especially the smarter scrollbar and the multi-select checkmark overlay.

@DMcCunney, have you tried Ghost Commander?

[DMcCunney]

@Rbagman have you tried Ghost Commander?

Yes. I dual boot Windows and Linux on the desktop, and have looked at a number of file managers. I looked at Ghost Commander on Android as well.

It works, but it's not exactly optimized for smaller screens, and it's not what I'd call pretty. I'm generally happy with Google's Material design specs, and give preference to apps that try to follow them. One of the reasons I like Amaze is that it looks good on device as well as being full featured and powerful. I wouldn't mind a dual-pane option in future releases, but it's not a must have. Dual-pane simply makes it more convenient if I need to copy/move stuff between internal and external storage.

[VishalNehra]

Guys, download fdroid build from AFH, for the time being. Latest is 3.1.1 it'll eventually get on fdroid too but I have no idea when. If the about screen crashes on this new version too, then report here. Edit : It's up on fdroid too, test and report (:

[Yowlen]

1. Not on F-Droid yet.
2. The key from the 3.1.1 apk in the AFH F-Droid folder doesn't seem to match the one used by the F-Droid repo. Upgrade fails.

Anyway, I'll test & get back to you. Edit: Tested the APH F-Droid 3.1.1 apk. No crashes in both cases. Thanks. Hopefully F-Droid will update their repo soon. :) Edit 2: I'm having the same issue when exiting as DMcCunney. Not sure why it doesn't crash on About for me but does for them, though.

[DMcCunney]

@vishal0071 download fdroid build from AFH, for the time being.

I just did. The signing key is different, so I had to uninstall the version from F-Droid before it would install. It's better, but there is still a quirk or two.

The crash on tapping About Amaze File Manager in Settings still exists here.

It doesn't crash on tapping a file in a directory display. It brings up the dialog box letting me select what to use to view the file, and successfully returns to Amaze after. But I get the "Unfortunately, Amaze has stopped" crash report when I exit from Amaze. That happens even if I just invoke Amaze and close it again without actually doing anything.

[VishalNehra]

Try the latest beta and report https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=312978532265362809

[Yowlen]

No crash on exit there. Looks good as far as I can see.

[DMcCunney]

Just grabbed 3.12 beta 2 from AFH. Still crashes if I tap on About Amaze, but the other crashes seem to be gone. Looks good thus far.

(And 3.11 is now on F-Droid)

[Yowlen]

@DMcCunney I'm inclined to suspect the About crash is an issue with your ROM. Might have to go through the list of resources used to see if anything is missing. For example, whether you have Google's apps (Gapps) installed, or maybe a problem with an outdated/missing WebView.

[VishalNehra]

Yeah, I was unable to find any report regarding this fc on play store too. Seems like you're the only one with this fc. Either give me the logcat so that I can pinpoint the problem or try changing rom.

[VishalNehra]

I'm getting reports from multiple users regarding about screen crash. One thing common is that them all are on fdroid build. Leads me to believe that it is due to missing google play services or other google proprietary api from system. Could you please give me the logcat so that I can find a workaround?

[DMcCunney]

@Yowlen and Vishal0071 I'll see about sending along a logcat later. The crash on selecting About Amaze doesn't affect the other functionality, so it's not a critical fix for me.

Someone has built a Clockwork Mod ROM for this device model, and I may look at it down the road.

And yes, the Gapps are installed and up to date. Everything else works as expected, as long as it doesn't require a more recent Android version than Jellybean.

But I'm a bit confused. The problems with crashing selecting About Amaze did not affect the older 3.0 builds. I assumed the routines that implemented About Amaze wouldn't have changed and would still do the same things the same way. I don't understand what might break this in the newer versions.

[VishalNehra]

Because the new About screen is super cool! :P https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0u8_WTGBLT8MFRlMVB4WjNIZlE/view?usp=drivesdk Waiting for your logcat, no need to flash cwm or another new ROM.

[Yowlen]

Hmm, I don't have Jellybean, but I just tested on my Kitkat tablet (not rooted, so logcat won't be possible) and it's crashing for me there. WebView (the built-in Android web page renderer) updates are only given for 5.x and above, so I'd start looking for a problem in your coding with older web browsers.

[VishalNehra]

There are apps to capture logcat for non rooted devices. BTW about screen itself does not relate with webview. So that is not the problem.

[Yowlen]

Sorry, I was thinking of dmesg. Still, I don't have access to a computer, and the no root logcat apps require a connection to one via either USB or TCP and my tablet doesn't have Linux drivers (never go Acer, ugh) so I can't just redirect it to a chroot Linux installation on my phone, so I still can't do a logcat capture. Heh, tbh, if I had access to a computer, I'd have my tablet rooted so that I wouldn't need it in the first place. XD

[VishalNehra]

What about aLogcat and catlog

[Yowlen]

Both say they won't work in Android 4.1+ without root because of permission changes required to view other apps' logcats. So, no, they won't work for my tablet.

[VishalNehra]

One last thing in that case, could you download from play store, after opting into beta, and press the report button on fc?

[Yowlen]

Done. Report sent from crash when tapping the About button.

[VishalNehra]

Didn't get it. You sure you downloaded from play store? What did you type in the message?

[Yowlen]

Essentially "Here's the report requested when tapping the About button". I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Acer's bug reporter is broken. Acer doesn't use Google's report system. They have their own called Acer Nidus. And since they refuse to release timely updates (evident in that I'm stuck w/ Kitkat on a one and a half year old tablet), having it break compatibility with newer Play Services versions is expected.

[VishalNehra]

Surprisingly I did get the report ;) Anyways, found the fix, will be up in some hours, currently going to sleep. Thanks for reporting BTW (:

[Yowlen]

Awesome. Glad I could help. I'll test when I get the update. Good night.

[DMcCunney]

On Sun, Oct 9, 2016 at 2:57 PM, Yowlen notifications@github.com wrote:

Sorry, I was thinking of dmesg. Still, I don't have access to a computer, and the no root logcat apps require a USB connection, so I still can't do a logcat capture. Heh, tbh, if I had access to a computer, I'd have my tablet rooted so that I wouldn't need it in the first place. XD

Kingo Root and TowelRoot both have apks that can be downloaded and attempt to root the device without connection to a host PC. A friend used the Kingo apk to root his tablet. (I use Kingo connected via USB to my PC.) If they don't work, they shouldn't cause problems. They should just fail to root the device.

See https://www.kingoapp.com/ for Kingo and http://towelroot.org/ for Towelroot.

The XDA Developer's thread on Towelroot is here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2783157

---

Dennis

[Yowlen]

I'm well aware of both apps, and have tried them both. Neither support Acer devices beyond the A800, which is an ARM device. x86 devices like my tablet are generally unrootable without a USB connection. Acer compounds the problem with their lack of Linux/Mac drivers, so they force any USB debugging connection to be done via Windows.

Funny thing, btw: Both apps crashed my tablet to where I had to reflash the stock ROM, so they can apparently gain root since the system partition obviously was modified, but it gets detected for whatever reason & the tablet rejects the changes during bootup, causing a bootloop.

[DMcCunney]

On Mon, Oct 10, 2016 at 4:30 AM, Yowlen notifications@github.com wrote:

I'm well aware of both apps, and have tried them both. Neither support Acer devices beyond the A800, which is an ARM device. x86 devices like my tablet are generally unrootable without a USB connection. Acer compounds the problem with their lack of Linux/Mac drivers, so they force any USB debugging connection to be done via Windows.

sigh

I thought you might be aware of them, and that this was an area where x86 vs ARM could bite.

The friend I mentioned who rooted his tablet with Kingo's apk was delighted, because his household is entirely Linux and Mac, and he doesn't have a Windows machine to root from. He hadn't found a rooting solution that worked from a Linux host. But his tablet is an ARM device.

It was worth a mention.

---

Dennis

[Yowlen]

I appreciate the attempt. Also, it's worth mentioning King Root (not to be confused with Kingo Root) is what I used to root my phone. It's apk-based like Towelroot, but compatible with a lot more devices up through 7.0 (Nougat), and constantly updated. Kingroot also has a USB mode like Kingo Root, in the event the apk mode doesn't work, so it essentially replaces both of the other methods. The main downside is that Kingroot uses its own superuser app instead of SuperSU, but it's not too hard to switch afterwards. Unfortunately, like Towelroot, it screwed my x86 tablet into the bootloop thing (apk mode, untested w/ USB mode, but I already have a script for rooting my tablet via USB, so there's no point). Link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/android/apps-games/one-click-root-tool-android-2-x-5-0-t3107461

Anyway, back on topic, I don't see the update for the About crash fix yet.

[DMcCunney]

On Mon, Oct 10, 2016 at 4:00 PM, Yowlen notifications@github.com wrote:

I appreciate the attempt. Also, it's worth mentioning King Root (not to be confused with Kingo Root) is what I used to root my phone. It's apk-based like Towelroot, but compatible with a lot more devices up through 6.x, and constantly updated. Kingroot also has a USB mode like Kingo Root, in the event the apk mode doesn't work, so it essentially replaces both of the other methods. The main downside is that Kingroot uses its own superuser app instead of SuperSU, but it's not too hard to switch afterwards.

Kingo Root also bundles its own superuser app, called Superuser. It's getting annoying. Kingo when used via USB now not only pushes the root exploit and the Superuser app, but also a Superbattery app that takes over the lock screen and a shopping app called AliExpress. I wanted neither, and they went away. Their Superuser app also wants to be active in other areas, and wants to optimize apps you run for fast loading, and pops up a dialog box every time you install something offering to do so. It's not clear just what optimization is being performed, and I don't want it anyway. Fortunately, going into Superuser preferences and turning off Toast notifications shuts it up. I tell people about Kingo as a rooting option, but toss in the warning about possibly unwanted side effects.

I downloaded and installed SuperSU, and at some point Superuser goes away.

Anyway, back on topic, I don't see the update for the About crash fix yet.

Nor have I, but devs have to sleep sometime. :-) I expect Vishal will have it up soon enough, and I will be curious to see the new About screen. It appears that code did get touched in the upgrades.

---

Dennis https://plus.google.com/u/0/105128793974319004519

[Yowlen]

Kingroot has its own cleaner app called Purify (available on the Play Store, unlike Kingroot itself; Google doesn't mind apps that use root, but not apps that GIVE root lol). Think of it as their brand of Clean Master. As for actual replacement of superuser apps, if the device has a custom recovery (TWRP/CWM), the flashable zip is the easiest method. If not, FlashFire can help. Made by Chainfire, who makes SuperSU, and on the Play Store, as well. KingRoot + FlashFire have become my go-to apps, tbh.

Anyway, I thought it was submitted but had to undergo a sort of vetting process before the Play Store put it up - check for viruses or whatever. Now that I think about it, that wouldn't take hours. My bad. XD

[VishalNehra]

I took a day off! Anyways it's fixed. I'll be fixing some more critical bugs for this beta, so wait for some more time (: