Unofficial Xposed for Samsung TouchWiz Lollipop is Here

Android Lollipop has changed the way us users, and more importantly, developers think. Every application we see on the internet/Play Store has been materialized, and redesigned the best to suite our hungry enthusiast’s needs. When the Android L preview was released mid-way last year, developers were having a hard time figuring out how to port applications, and design MODs for it.

However, one big flaw took over the internet. People who were using Android Lollipop on their Android devices had to live without Xposed for a long time. The reason being a slightly new ART runtime, and many more system applications, which were deliberately blocking our popular and much-needed framework. But, it wasn’t as hard to port Xposed to Lollipop devices as we all thought it would be.

However, something very disturbing caught the attention of our fellow developers recently. With the release of Samsung’s TouchWiz, which now runs on Lollipop, it was really hard to get MODs and tweaks to work. Most importantly, Xposed Framework didn’t have any hope of running on top of TouchWiz Lollipop on Samsung devices, thanks to the latest ART runtime, 64-bit support and SELinux restrictions in the OS.

rovo89, yet another XDA developer got things to work, and created a very unstable Xposed Framework for TouchWiz Lollipop. the heavily customized TouchWiz is the culprit behind this, as the Samsung devices running AOSP ROMs are working fine with Xposed Lollipop.

So, today, at XDA, arter97 was finally able to port an unofficial build of Xposed to Samsung’s TouchWiz Lollipop. However, the restriction here is that there is no support for 64-bit Android devices, or Samsung devices running Android 5.1, Lollipop (yet). This means that the much popular Galaxy S6, and the S6 Edge still don’t have support for an Xposed Framework.

Warning

This is just a temporary workaround until the Official support for Samsung TouchWiz ROMs is announced. So, you can expect several bugs and frequent instability in the functionality of the app. Kindly follow the below guide carefully to avoid boot loops on your Samsung device. Talking about boot loops, some of the users reported boot issues after flashing this. This means that if you’re ready to take the risk, proceed with caution. DroidViews or any of its community members will not be responsible for any harm done to your device.

Pre-Requisites

This time, reading and following the Pre-Requisites is really important. As this is just a temporary workaround, you still need to be well aware of the fact that this might as well brick your Samsung Lollipop device. If you are ready to proceed, make sure you follow each and every step with caution.

• Enable USB Debugging: Link
• Install Required USB Drivers: Link
• Ensure that you have rooted, and installed a custom recovery on your TouchWiz Lollipop device. We recommend TWRP.
• We highly insist you take a full Nandroid backup of your Samsung TouchWiz Lollipop device first. No matter how harsh the result might be, a backup can save your day!
• Firstly you’ll need the Xposed Installer file: Link
• You will also need the Xposed framework ZIP file that we’ll be flashing via recovery: xposed-sdk21-arm-20150430-arter97.zip

Supported Devices

Although the developer claims that this might work on almost every TouchWiz device, he also claims that this will not work on devices with :

• 64-bit Processors. Alas, the S6, and the S6 Edge are not be supported.
• Samsung devices running Android 5.1, Lollipop and above.

arter97 claims that this might work on all the other Samsung TouchWiz Lollipop devices other than the ones mentioned above.

Install Xposed Framework On Samsung’s TouchWiz Lollipop Devices:

Once everything is set, you may now proceed with the actual process.

1. Download the XposedInstaller application from the given download link, and install it on your Samsung device.
2. Now, download and transfer the Xposed Framework ZIP file onto your Samsung device using the USB Cable that came with it.
3. Power down your device, and boot into the Recovery mode. This might be different for different devices.
4. Now, select and clean the device’s Cache for best performance.
5. Tap on Install, and find and locate the Xposed Framework file (xposed-sdk21-arm-20150430-arter97.zip) that you downloaded and transferred earlier on your Samsung device.
6. Swipe to confirm the flash. Note that this might take a couple of minutes, so stretch your legs, and grab a nice coffee.
7. Once done, reboot your Samsung device.

Voila! If this guide helped you, and if you’re now able to use Xposed on your Samsung Lollipop device, sure do let us know in the comments below. Also, if you’re suffering from a boot loop, or are having problems with flashing the ZIP, refer to us in the comments. As always, happy flashing!

Also see:

How to Install Xposed Framework on Samsung TW Lollipop ROMs

source: xda