Resurrect your N9
As of 2015, the N9 is an orphan in the world of mobile phones. No other MeeGo-based phones have been released to the public, and much of the corporate support offered has now been gone. Firmware and flashers are no longer available from Nokia, the Ovi Store has withdrawn all N9/N950 apps, and the MeeGo.com forums are no more.
The good news is that the N9 lives on, with the support of members of the Maemo community. Whether you've just acquired an N9, or are dusting off an old device, this page will help you get up to speed.
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Firmware
You may wish to consider whether to re-flash your phone's firmware. Even if you are already on the latest firmware (40.2012.21-3), you may need to re-flash if you are interested in the following:
- Open-Mode Kernel disables Nokia's Aegis security system. This is easier to install on a freshly re-flashed device.
- UbiBoot allows you to boot alternative kernels or operating systems. Requires the use of the Open-Mode kernel.
- Changing Firmware Variant, e.g. in order to gain localised applications. There are limitations to which firmware variants you can change to/from. See Flashing N9 for further details.
Regardless of your reason for flashing your device, you MUST read the Flashing N9 page thoroughly in order to understand the risks, and how to flash your device successfully.
See also: Firmware flashing discussion thread
Nokia Store and Repositories
A mirror of Nokia's software repositories is hosted on OpenRepos.net. This contains copies of the free system software and apps for the N9, including most (if not all) of the free apps that were available on the Nokia Store (which no longer works). Another mirror, thecust.net contains the developer packages required for enabling Developer mode.
To use these repositories, you must disable Nokia's repositories, and replace them. Installing the N9 RepoMirror package will do this for you.
- On your phone, open Settings/Applications/Installations, and enable the option 'Allow installations from Non-Store sources'.
- Open your phone's web browser, and navigate to https://openrepos.net/content/ancelad/n9-repomirror.
- Download and install the RepoMirror package.
- Some users have reported problems with the latest version (0.7.2). Using an older version (0.6.0) seems to help in this instance.
See also: N9 RepoMirror discussion thread
Warehouse
Warehouse is a package browser for OpenRepos. It allows you to browse, select and install packages directly from your device, in a similar way to the Nokia Store app worked. It can be downloaded from OpenRepos here.
Developer Mode
Enabling Developer Mode requires the installation of additional developer packages. As the original Nokia repositories are no longer available, you must install RepoMirror first.
To enable Developer Mode:
- Open Settings/Security/Developer mode, and enable the option 'Developer mode'.
- After downloading the base packages, your phone will restart. You will find some extra apps such as Terminal are now installed.
- You can now enable further options, including logging, power analysis and IPv6 from Settings/Security/Developer mode.
Stock Apps
Many of the N9's apps still work fine out of the box. Some need some slight modification, and others are no longer fully functioning. Thankfully, there is often a community-written replacement available.
AccuWeather
Not usable: locations and weather updates are not available.
MeeCast is a good replacement. The MeeCast widget can replace AccuWeather on the events screen, as well as the lock and standby screens. (Install the widget via MeeCast's Settings/Appearance menu.)
Drive
Needs modifying: Nokia accounts are no longer functioning, so Drive will not start.
Open the Drive app once, then close it when you are prompted for Nokia account details. After you have run Drive once, a configuration file will be created at /home/user/.config/Nokia/Drive.ini with default values. You will need to add a value ssoDone under the [GeneralSettings] section.
... [GeneralSettings] ssoDone=true ...
Having saved your changes, you will be able to run Drive normally.
Maps
Needs modifying: Nokia accounts are no longer functioning, so Maps will not start.
Open the Maps app once, then close it when you are prompted for Nokia account details. After you have run Maps once, a configuration file will be created at /home/user/.config/Nokia/Maps.ini with default values. You will need to add a value isSsoEnabled under the [General] section.
... [General] isSsoEnabled=false ...
Maps will now skip the Nokia account screen when you next open it.