HTC Sense 6 0 Bluetooth security issue explained

Bluetooth is not a new technology and has long been associated with hands free headsets but with newer devices over the last few years it has obviously evolved into a technology that connects to printers, headphones, speakers, cars and of course other phones.

It wasnt long ago that I still used a Microsoft Zune with my phone sitting idle as I didnt trust the battery or it didnt have the capacity to store my music library, it has only been due to looking into the issue I am going to describe that I have begun to consider using a Bluetooth headset, reflecting on the pain of trying to untangle my headphones as I make my daily commute into the city.

But I digress, I made a discovery on the new HTC One M8 (originally noticed on the M7 port by rider5512) that when I shared had a few other users concerned about using Bluetooth securely.

One of the advantages of being an early adopter and someone who has owned the previous iteration of a flag ship model is that you quickly spot the changes that have been made and one of them was a change in the Bluetooth setup where the ability to set a visibility time out was no longer present and the only options I could see for Bluetooth were on or off.

I checked some other devices, including the Sony Xperia Tablet Z (running the latest nightly of Cyanogenmod 11), the HTC One M7 and the LG G2. I also saw, via a quick Google search that this was standard for Apple devices.

Here you can see that same interface on the HTC One M7 (on Sense 5.5) with visibility time-out options from Cyanogenmod 11 showing on the right:

Of all the other models I checked, only the HTC One M8 lacked this visibility option.

So why might this be a concern?

If your device is visible it means that anyone with a Bluetooth connection can see it, there have been pranks with the name Bluejacking where you can be sent unsolicited text message and pictures which are mostly harmless or as you imagine explicit but nothing more than nuisance, with no data being stolen.

In more extreme cases there is something that is called Bluesnarfing (which sounds ridiculous I know) where an attacker can change or copy information from your phone such as your phone book, address book and calendar or even taking it over completely. Obviously this situations are rare and extreme and as a smart reader of this blog, you are likely avoiding it.

At the very least you will be exposing your Bluetooth address to others, for the paranoid Bluetooth can also be used to track you. Certainly if more people in Hollywood were able to disable Bluetooth visibility the cast of Person of Interest would certainly have to do more work than forced pairing.

Having a visible device will also increase battery consumption!

I asked Jason Dunn, the current outgoing Senior Manager of the HTC community about this and he quickly got a few details from me and escalated it as initially he thought his was current practice as it didnt seem to be broken function on the M8 but the lack of option altogether.

In less than a week (a credit again to Jason and HTC for working closely with the community), Jason was able to give me a simple yet delightful answer.

In simplest terms, the device is only in discover mode, while you are present in the Bluetooth settings screen.

Again, so simple but that has two strong reasons:

• You won’t accidentally leave the device in a discoverable state.
• For non-technical end-users it provides a simple yet effective way for them to easily connect their device to other Bluetooth devices.

You can see a quick demonstration below, on the top my Xperia has been unable to find my One M8, on the bottom (and you will have to take my word for it) is in the Bluetooth settings screen and therefore visible.

Basically, HTC have done a great implementation for end users that does not compromise security at all! Once paired the devices will continue to function and connect as you would expect!

On a final note, it is very sad to see Jason moving on from his position at HTC, but I continue to look forward to his thoughts on Twitter and I already had the pleasure of meeting his replacement, Laura Kimball, at the HTC London meet last month.

Great job HTC!

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HTC One M8 received Android 5 0 1 Lollipop with the HTC Sense 6 UI

The best smartphone of the 2014 – the HTC One M8 is already running Android 5.0.1 with the HTC Sense 6.0 interface. Thanks to the OTA update package from the 13th January HTC One M8 owners can already enjoy all the goodies that comes with one of the biggest Android platform update – Lollipop.

The UI is slightly refreshed, but it’s still HTC Sense 6.0 after all. However, HTC is already working on the HTC Sense 7 update that will become official together with the HTC One M9 premiere (if that’s the proper name).

Currently only the HTC One M8 Developer Edition is getting Lollipop OTA and it’s tagged as 4.16.1540.8. WWE Edition (.401) is around the corner too, and it should appear later this week. It will be tagged as 4.16.401.8. But don’t be disappointed, you can already have Android 5.0.1 Lollipop running on your device, even if it’s not the Developer Edition. Just head to this thread and install the latest Android Revolution HD 30.1 based on the 4.16.1540.8 update. It should work on most variants of the HTC One M8, except the U.S. models.

One of the biggest changes in Android 5.0 is ART (Android Runtime) - an application runtime environment used by the older Android mobile operating system. ART replaces Dalvik, which is the process virtual machine originally used by Android, and performs transformation of the applications bytecode into native instructions that are later executed by the devices runtime environment. ART brings improvements in performance, garbage collection, applications debugging and profiling. Among with a tones of security fixes and other major changes, Android 5.0 Lollipop also contains major new platform features for developers, with over 5,000 new APIs added for use by applications.

Its definitely one of the most important system update in the Android history. And since HTC One M8 is the best Android device up to date, its a must have update for every HTC One M8 owner.

Android 5.0.1 Lollipop with the HTC Sense 6.0 for the HTC One M8 (4.16.1540.8) - link

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HTC One M8 3 28 401 6 new firmware details

While the new OTA update for the HTC One M8 is still hot & fresh (HTC One M8 received Android 4.4.4 update with HTC EYE camera experience!) we decided to take a quick look at the new firmware package included in the 3.28.401.6 update. There are few interesting changes in there!

1. Bootloader (hboot)

The new bootloader version is tagged as 3.19.0.0000 (previously 3.18.0.0000) and one of the most noticeable changes is the new "Software status" text at the very top of the screen in the bootloader mode. There are 2 possible variants of this text:

*** Software status: Modified ***

and

*** Software status: Official ***

This new text apparently replaced the existing until now "TAMPERED" text (or some may call it "flag"). When the "Official" will change to "Modified"? It seems that there are 3 commons situations: flashing custom recovery.img, boot.img (both with no HTC digital signature) or modifying anything on the system partition.

• How often that component receives an update? Very often

2. ADSP drivers (Advanced Digital Signal Processor)

The OpenDSP version is now 46.2.2-00564-M8974_F0.0811 and it previously was tagged as 38.2.2-00542-M8974.0311. The Harman & Kardon ADSP drivers were tagged as 45.2.2-00542-M8974_HM.0422 so maybe HTC incorporated proper H&K code changes in the international HTC One M8 as well? Audio and video improvements expected!

• How often that component receives an update? Rarely

3. Boot.img

New boot.img has a few changes in the ramdisk and a new kernel (3.4.0-g222defb) inside.

• How often that component receives an update? With every update

4. Emmc_fw16.img and emmc_fw32.img

These are totally new. We can only guess that emmc_fw.16/32.img are suppose to update the eMMC (embedded Multi-Media Controller) storage firmware.

• How often that component receives an update? Never before

5. Radio.img

The new radio in the 3.28.401.6 firmware is tagged as 1.21.21331147A1.19_2G and it replaced the 1.19.21331147A1.09G version.

• How often that component receives an update? Rarely

6. Recovery.img

As always, recovery images has also been updated (f.g. with a new kernel). Not many use stock recovery anyway.

• How often that component receives an update? With every update

7. Rpm.img

This component is responsible for a chipset firmware, voltage tables, etc.. Its one of the most crucial firmware parts.

• How often that component receives an update? Almost never

8. Sbl1-1, sbl1-2, sbl1-3 and sbl1-4

These are probably related to the bootloader security mechanisms. Sbl1-1, sbl1-2, sbl1-3 are updated in the 3.28.401.6 OTA package and sbl1-4 is a brend new one.

• How often that component receives an update? Almost never

9. Sensor_hub.img

The sensor_hub.img is the firmware for the sensor hub. A sensor hub is in itself a chip with its own LowPower microprocessor that can control the sensors in the device.

• How often that component receives an update? Almost never

10. Splash1.nb0

This is a splash-screen animation that appears right before you see the regular boot-animation.

• How often that component receives an update? Almost never

11. Tz.img

Tz.img is responsible for so called Trusted Zone: DRM keys at stuff. Its another crucial firmware part, better not to play with!

• How often that component receives an update? Rarely

12. wcnss.img

Also known as Wireless CoNnectivity SubSystem (thanks to tonokeemon @XDA for the info!). Its responsible for a Wi-Fi module firmware. Better dont mess with it!

• How often that component receives an update? Almost never

As you can see, the 3.28.401.6 update is not only based on Android 4.4.3 --> Android 4.4.4 change. It contains a fundamental changes in the device firmware too. Android Revolution HD 20.0 based on the latest 3.28.401.6 update is just about to be released. In a couple of hours you will be able to find the download link in my XDA thread or alternatively on the AndroidNow English board thread, where I keep all links to my custom ROMs.

You can download the new firmware from this thread: HTC One M8 firmware collection for different CID/MID.

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HTC Sense 6 0 UI Lollipop vs KitKat comparison

Earlier this month HTC has released Android 5.0 for the HTC One M8 together with the HTC Sense 6.0. New Over The Air (OTA) update started rolling out for WWE unbranded devices on Wednesday (28.01.2015), so during these few days I had a chance to look closely at the user interface changes after the update. I didnt expect many, because HTC Sense version is still the same, but Android Lollipop is quite a big platform upgrade, so some major and some little visual changes are all over the place.

I hope youll enjoy reading!

Something I couldnt really capture and compare are new Android 5.0 animations. The effect of the touched button is really nice. There are more improvements and changes in this area, but its not my intention here to describe Android L animations or transition effects. Below is just en example of how the new Android L touched button animation works.

Source: www.goo.gl/W59bHJ

Below you can find a side-by-side comparison of a different UI components from the HTC Sense 6.0 before and after the upgrade to Android 5.0 (KitkKat vs Lollipop). Picture on the left always represents Android 5.0.1 Lollipop with the HTC Sense 6.0, while the picture on the right shows Android 4.4.4 KitKat with the HTC Sense 6.0 on board too. Have fun!

Main screen - nothing has really changed here. Also the widgets screen where you can configure different widgets and a number of desktops remains unchanged.

Lock Screen - one of the most changed element of the HTC user interface. The notification system in Android 5.0 Lollipop has been significantly updated and this has an important impact to the Sense Lock Screen too.

First of all, the notifications are no longer visible on the status bar, but when the device is locked they appear on the lock screen in a form of a list with a content preview. You can dismiss any of them the same was as before - by sliding it left or right.

The bottom arrow pointing to slide a finger up to unlock the device is also gone. The "Charging" icon has been moved to the bottom of the screen and the look of the "locker" icon is also slightly different. In case of too many notifications on the Lock Screen you can expand the hidden ones by clicking on the "+1" button at the end of the list.

The animation to unlock the device is also different. It seems that now it makes no difference whether you move your finger up, left or right. No matter what direction you choose, the locker will only go up and unlock the device.

Pull down menu - that one is also related to the extended notifications system in the Android Lollipop. The pull down menu is now semi-transparent and it looks much different. The "X" icon works the same as before and you can use it to dismiss all notifications at once. There is also a "Settings" icon that takes you directly to the Settings menu. The Quick Settings icon is gone, because the flipping animation is also gone, and to enter the Quick Settings menu user has to swipe down again while being in the pull down menu.

You can also tap and hold your finger on the particular notification to see more details about the app that sent the notification.

Quick Settings - works pretty much the same, only the background is different due to the previously mentioned changes in the notifications system. I think even the icons are the same.

Task Manager - one of the greatest changes Ive noticed so far. The list of the applications you can run from the Tasks Manager is pretty impressive and its not gone even after device reboot. It works very fast too. This is a true multitasking, finally!

Keyboard selection - the keyboard icon to select different input method is moved from the notification bar to the navigation bar. You no longer need to pull down the menu and tap on the keyboard icon to change the input method. Just click on the keyboard icon on the very right side of the navigation bar.

The menu window to select a different keyboard type is also slightly different. Now its using Material Design framework.

Power menu - the only change in the Settings ---> Power menu is removed "Fast boot" mode. I have no clue why HTC decided to remove it but personally I wasnt even using it, so I dont cry :)

Security - there are quite a lot of changes in this system component. You cant add any lock screen widgets any more. As far as I know not many used that feature, but maybe HTC will bring it back in the HTC Sense 7.0 update. There is also a new feature called "Smart Lock" - a new tool to make unlocking your phone easier. You can set it to keep your phone unlocked when you have a trusted Bluetooth device connected to it, when its in a familiar location like your home or work or when it recognises your face. HTC also decided to remove the "Notification settings" and "Unlock Music Automatically" from the Security screen.

Settings menu - only 2 changes here - new search icon that allows you to find settings components fast and easy. However it doesnt have many key words yet. Also "Sound" changed to "Sound & Notifications" (more details about that change below).

App notification - one of the reasons why "Sounds" changed to "Sounds & notifications". You can now go to Settings ---> Sounds & Notifications ---> App notifications and scroll down to see a list of all apps installed on your device.

Just select and tap of the app to enter new menu where you can prevent the app from sending you any kind of notifications ("Block") or set the priority of the app notifications to be shown at the top of the list ("Priority").

Apps manager - slightly re-designed with a new cool "Material Design style" device RAM memory bar. Now it also separates system apps from user apps.

Another cool feature is a new "Disabled" tab in the Settings ---> Apps menu, where you can see a list of all disabled (frozen) apps. By taping on the app and entering App info screen you can enable the app.

Display & Gesture - a few little updates here too. "Brightness" changed to "Brightness level". The "NOTIFICATION LIGHT" sub-menu is moved to Settings ---> Sound & notification section.

Sound & Notifications - this place is quite re-organized. After the Android Lollipop update the "NOTIFICATIONS & ALARMS" sub-menu is gone and its content ("Notification sound" and "Alarm") is moved to "GENERAL" sub-menu.

There is also a new "NOTIFICATION" sub-menu with a possibility to configure Flash notifications, App light notifications, previously described App notifications, notifications content (when device is locked) and Notification access.

Thats all Ive spotted so far. My conclusion? Android 5.0 Lollipop update for the HTC One M8 is a huge improvement, yet most important changes are under the hood (like ART). However, regular user shouldnt be sad because there are quite a lot of UI changes too. The new notifications system works very well and Im sure HTC will bring us even more amazing stuff with the HTC Sense 7.0 update.

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HTC One M8 after 6 months of use With a great power comes a great responsibility

Being one of the lucky owners of the HTC One M8 I decided to write a few more words about that Android powered beast. It’s been already 6 months since I use it as my daily device and during that time I believe I discovered all pros and cons of the HTC One M8. My previous full review can be found here - HTC One M8 - My point of (re)view. Below I tried to summarize all my thoughts about the best Android device of the 2014.

1. The design. Its always been one of the strongest point of the HTC products. Looking back in time I remember the HTC Desire HD, HTC Sensation or HTC One X being one step ahead of the competition when it comes to the design. Nothing changed since then - HTC One M8 is the best looking Android phone up to date. Even tho there is just a little space for the creativity because 90% of the front panel is a touch screen, the HTC designers did a great job planning the remaining 10%. The aluminium uni-body construction has no competition among other Android devices. It just looks great and it feels amazing in the hand. What can I say about the competition? I like Sony Xperia design and thats all. Samsung Galaxy S5 looks no different to Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S3. Its just equipped with an extra aid kit. It seems that Samsung is somehow still in the 2012.
   Design: +1





2. The fragility. Aluminium is your friend when it comes to the design, but on the other hand it suffers from a painful disadvantage - its very delicate. Even tho Ive been using two different, both original HTC covers (HTC Flip Case and Translucent Hard Shell) I was not able to save my device from a few little scratches and two deeper ones. However, I havent dropped it even once. Furthermore, my HTC One M8 never touched a keys or anything that could leave a mark on it. Yet its not in a perfect condition, which hurts my eyes badly. In addition, there is this very thin black, plastic frame between the alu-body and a screen (including speakers). I think its the most delicate part of the device. It deforms really easily and quickly.
   Fragility: -1





3. The performance. Having Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 (4 x Krait 400 @ 2.26 GHz) on board, together with Adreno 330 GPU @ 578 MHz and LPDDR3 RAM @ 933 MHz means nothing but a pure power. I literally found no game so far that would lag on the HTC One M8. The UI is very fast and smooth, even scrolling the phone book with a hundred of entries there (most with pictures) gives no lags or slowdowns. Everything just works as it should. I think this is my first Android device that has no performance issues. Probably this is not just thanks to the great hardware, but also very well optimized HTC Sense code and Android 4.4.4 in general. HTC One M8 CPU also doesnt throttle too much thanks to the very well designed heat dissipation. But thats the next paragraph.
   Performance: +1
   
4. The heat. Uncle Ben would say - "With a great power comes a great responsibility". Thats very true. In Android super-phones world we can paraphrase it saying that with a great power comes a great... heat. And it turned out that this problem is finally solved. The HTC One M8 doesnt overheat at all. That means the CPU doesnt throttle and down-clock which has a very positive effect on the general performance. Im not saying its cold all the time, but its definitely less warm in a stress situations than the HTC One M7. Even tho both devices are built from aluminium in a most part, the M8 must have better heat dissipation solutions inside the body plus the Snapdragon 801 generates less heat.
   Heat: +1
   
5. The UI. HTC Sense UI is known since years to be the best Android user interface. HTC One M8 comes with an HTC Sense 6.0 UI and as a user of every previous Sense versions I must say its definitely the best one. It expands the features and possibilities of an Android device and gives very clean, simple and aesthetic user experience. Its also very smooth and easy to learn for a beginner HTC user. Having Samsung device (Note P605) on my left I must say these two user interfaces are not even comparable. Whats exciting is that HTC Sense 7.0 is already under development and well see it officially probably in March 2015 during the HTC One M9 (?) launch event.
   The UI: +1
   
   
   
   
   

Conclusion: The market of Android phones is pretty big. But if you are looking for a decent device, with a great look, feel and performance there is only one choice - the HTC One M8. It has no competition in terms of the design, it has a great performance and it doesnt overheat. Whats more it comes with a great User Interface, latest Android version and whats very important it regularly receives software updates from the HTC. The next one coming is with Android 5.0.2 Lollipop and it should arrive any day!

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