iPhone User Agent Spoof - How to make all mobile websites display perfectly - Page 4

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Member: blackbird34608
at: 01:55 PM 09/01/2009

I wonder if it is possible to make a "Remix" version of the browser like the "Remix" version of the built in music app. The Remix version of the browser would have this tweak and maybe downloads too.

Member: d0lph1nK1ng
at: 02:39 PM 09/01/2009

Originally Posted by blackbird34608:
I wonder if it is possible to make a "Remix" version of the browser like the "Remix" version of the built in music app. The Remix version of the browser would have this tweak and maybe downloads too.

execellent idea

Member: clipcarl
at: 03:17 PM 09/01/2009

No, it wouldn't easily be possible. The user agent string isn't in the browser app but in part of the WebOS libraries. There is no way to have an app use a different version of the libraries (I don't think).

Member: getmoneyeveryday
at: 08:03 PM 09/01/2009

Do I have to download both files and install both of them or just pick 1?
by the way if the google maps is fixed now then why is the file still named change-user-agent-breaks-google-maps-1.1.zip" ?

Member: getmoneyeveryday
at: 08:08 PM 09/01/2009

Originally Posted by getmoneyeveryday:
Do I have to download both files and install both of them or just pick 1?
by the way if the google maps is fixed now then why is the file still named change-user-agent-breaks-google-maps-1.1.zip" ?

this is very tempting, when you said google latitude.. my eyes are popping out like "whoa" but seriously Does it really work? how? Pre's web browser app with gps? Can you give us a screenshot?

Member: hofs1
at: 10:16 PM 09/01/2009

Ok i have been playing with the user agent switcher in Firefox and created a user agent that displays all the sites ok PLUS the mlb mobile premium pages for the Pre works fine too.....now can anyone create the installer for me so i can try it on my pre.

My modded user agent

Mozilla/5.0 ( iPhone; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en )(webOS/1.0; U; en-US) AppleWebKit/420.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/4A102 Safari/ Pre/1.0 / 419 (United States)

Default Palm pre user agent

Mozilla/5.0 (webOS/1.0; U; en-US) AppleWebKit/525.27.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/1.0 Safari/525.27.1 Pre/1.0

any help would be great

Member: wtgreen
at: 01:19 PM 09/02/2009

Originally Posted by hofs1:
Ok i have been playing with the user agent switcher in Firefox and created a user agent that displays all the sites ok PLUS the mlb mobile premium pages for the Pre works fine too.....now can anyone create the installer for me so i can try it on my pre.

My modded user agent

Mozilla/5.0 ( iPhone; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en )(webOS/1.0; U; en-US) AppleWebKit/420.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/4A102 Safari/ Pre/1.0 / 419 (United States)

Default Palm pre user agent

Mozilla/5.0 (webOS/1.0; U; en-US) AppleWebKit/525.27.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/1.0 Safari/525.27.1 Pre/1.0

any help would be great

ClipCarl... have you tried this yourself? Might this obviously unconventional user agent string allow us to have our cake and eat it too with Google Maps working?

Member: flamand
at: 01:32 PM 09/02/2009

I found an iphone site that doesn't load: zinio.com/iphone. It works fine in Firefox with user agent switcher. It's a way to access the magazines that Zinio lets iphone users read for free.

Member: hofs1
at: 01:41 PM 09/02/2009

Originally Posted by wtgreen:
ClipCarl... have you tried this yourself? Might this obviously unconventional user agent string allow us to have our cake and eat it too with Google Maps working?

Oh yeah its Unconventional for sure hell i didnt think it would work at all.... i was bored and played with variations for a few hours in firefox....and it will obviously need extensive checking etc etc

BUT it seems to allow "Palm Pre MLB Premium" and Yahoo Mobile etc.to load fine.

i dont remember trying walmart though.

Member: wtgreen
at: 02:17 PM 09/02/2009

Originally Posted by flamand:
I found an iphone site that doesn't load: zinio.com/iphone. It works fine in Firefox with user agent switcher. It's a way to access the magazines that Zinio lets iphone users read for free.

This site and a few others require the change-user-agent-breaks-google-maps script, which offeres a complete iPhone user agent string. It does unfortunately break Palm's Google Maps app - as the name implies - presumably because Google Maps is using the user agent string to determine what flavor of Google Maps your device supports.

So for now, you have to pick your poison.

Member: getmoneyeveryday
at: 02:34 PM 09/02/2009

Originally Posted by clipcarl:
We all know that the Palm Pre has a fantastic web browser that handles full web pages very well. But I've noticed that many mobile websites designed for the small screen of mobile devices don't display properly on the Pre. To add insult to injury these same sites display perfectly on the iPhone which uses the same browser engine.

The problem is that these mobile sites do not recognize the Pre and send it generic web pages that don't look good or work very well. On the other hand these sites recognize the iPhone and send it web pages that are designed to look and work perfectly on it.

My solution is to change the Pre's browser so that it identifies itself to websites as an iPhone. Web sites will send your Pre pages designed for the iPhone which also work perfectly on the Pre. Technically I accomplish this by patching a library on the Pre to modify the user agent string sent to websites. (If you don't understand that last sentence that's OK.)

Here is what the USA Today mobile website looks like before and after:

Yahoo News before and after:

You need to be able to access a root command line on your Pre to use this patch. This is very easy to do by downloading the developer's kit from Palm, putting your Pre in developer mode a running the novaterm program on your computer. See this site for complete instructions.

I have extensively tested this patch and I believe it to be safe. There is a lot of error checking to make sure nothing unexpected or bad happens to your phone. However, it's a very good idea to back up your phone before doing this just in case. You may only use this patch if you accept that no one other than you yourself is responsible for any problems you may have if you try this.

How to install:

Download only one of the attached files (change-user-agent-1.1.zip or change-user-agent-breaks-google-maps-1.1.zip) to your computer. The one named change-user-agent-breaks-google-maps fixes even more web sites but breaks the Pre's Google Maps app. I suggest you don't use that version unless you have to.

Unzip the file to reveal another file called "change-user-agent" (or "change-user-agent-breaks-google-maps").

Attach your Pre to your computer using the USB cable and put the Pre in USB Drive mode.

Copy the "change-user-agent" file (or the "change-user-agent-breaks-google-maps" file) to your Pre using your computer's normal method. Put the file in the root of the drive and not in a subdirectory.

Access a root command line on your Pre. You can do this using Palm's "novaterm" program installed as part of the developer's kit or by using an SSH client program if you have installed an SSH server on your Pre. See this site for instruction on how to access the Linux root command line on your Pre.

From the command line run the file. Simply type:
/media/internal/change-user-agent

-or-

/media/internal/change-user-agent-breaks-google-maps
(if you're using this version)

Your Pre will reboot with the patch installed.

If you decide you would like to uninstall the patch and revert back, simply follow the above instructions and add the work "uninstall" on the command line in step #6. For example:
/media/internal/change-user-agent uninstall

Enjoy! If you find this useful please post a reply here to keep this thread alive so that others will see it. Thank you!

UPDATE: Now plays nice with Google Maps!

UPDATE 2: The second version attached here works with more web sites, but breaks Google Maps (Sprint Navigation still works fine though). Unfortunately, you have to choose between even better web site compatibility or Google Maps. The regular version fixes most sites, but the version that breaks Google Maps fixes almost everything. You only need one of the two files.

I notice the new google agent tweak has been added to the new version 2.03 of webos quick install. that leaves my other question unanswered. the 2nd attachment. does it work without breaking google maps?

Member: bdubbx
at: 10:31 PM 09/02/2009

Originally Posted by clipcarl:
@jrstinkfish, @sandrshe, @bdubbx and @wtgreen:

The attached version creates a more complete iPhone user agent string and Walmart, eBay, SnapMyLife, and zinio.com (?) all seem to work fine...

...but this version breaks Google Maps (Sprint Navigation works fine though). Unfortunately, you have to pick your poison. If you want more universal compatibility with web sites you have to give up Google Maps.

I tried this one as well, and the SnapMyLife site is still the same...I appreciate the effort though! Since it's the only mobile site I use that is off, I'm going to remove this for now to keep gmaps. I'm subscribing though just incase there's more found.

I also didn't realize that snapmylife had a dedicated iphone url...it's actually much better than the mobile version anyways...

Member: wtgreen
at: 11:00 PM 09/02/2009

Originally Posted by bdubbx:
I tried this one as well, and the SnapMyLife site is still the same...I appreciate the effort though! Since it's the only mobile site I use that is off, I'm going to remove this for now to keep gmaps. I'm subscribing though just incase there's more found.

I also didn't realize that snapmylife had a dedicated iphone url...it's actually much better than the mobile version anyways...

I used the break-google-maps version and went to snapmylife.com and it automatically directed meto the iphone-specific url. I'm guessing something must have went wrong with your install if you aren't getting the same result.

Banned: dbdoinit
at: 11:33 PM 09/02/2009

HEY - Yahoo just changed their login page and it fits like it actually recognizes this phone ! Check it out so i know if it's just me or not. Thanx.

Member: getmoneyeveryday
at: 11:57 PM 09/02/2009

I read a while ago somebody said that was fixed. I been waiting for an answer. Finally I decided this isn't worth it. I can't compromise Google maps not to mention any other vunerabilities that this code may to affect the WebOs which I'm unaware/unsure of.

Member: clipcarl
at: 12:46 PM 09/03/2009

Originally Posted by getmoneyeveryday:
I read a while ago somebody said that was fixed. I been waiting for an answer. Finally I decided this isn't worth it. I can't compromise Google maps not to mention any other vunerabilities that this code may to affect the WebOs which I'm unaware/unsure of.

If you had actually read the post you quoted earlier you would know the answer to your question. The first version does not break Google Maps and that's the one everyone should use. The second version named change-user-agent-breaks-google-maps is the one that (surprise) breaks Google Maps.

And just because you couldn't understand what was clearly written doesn't mean you should spread FUD about non-existent vulnerabilities. Geez.

Member: bdubbx
at: 01:21 PM 09/03/2009

That makes sense...I typed in "m.snapmylife.com", and it took me straight to the mobile site, not a google search nor the iphone version...I didn't realize what the patch was actually doing.

Since I don't use my phone for too much browsing, what other sites does this make a big difference on? (no need to mention the ones already said in previous posts) Maybe I just don't know what I'm missing!

Originally Posted by wtgreen:
I used the break-google-maps version and went to snapmylife.com and it automatically directed meto the iphone-specific url. I'm guessing something must have went wrong with your install if you aren't getting the same result.

Member: clipcarl
at: 02:34 PM 09/03/2009

Originally Posted by bdubbx:
...
Since I don't use my phone for too much browsing, what other sites does this make a big difference on? (no need to mention the ones already said in previous posts) Maybe I just don't know what I'm missing!

Here are a few of the mobile sites on which I've noticed a difference:

USA Today
Yahoo
Yahoo News
Time
Newsweek
Baltimore Sun
eBay
The New York Times (minor differences)

That's a pretty significant proportion of the sites in my bookmarks (more than one third)! (I didn't test sites that I don't go to myself but I expect that an equally high proportion of mobile sites would benefit.

Member: geodosch
at: 08:55 PM 09/03/2009

I had the same problem with the Yahoo! news page (I got tired of stretching it to get it big enough to read.) But today when I went to it, I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was a completely different design, and perfect for the Pre! I don't know if what I'm seeing is the iPhone page, or something new.

No, I haven't done any patching, so I assume Yahoo has changed something.

Attached: Y-news_ss.jpg (62.2 KB)

Member: clipcarl
at: 07:07 PM 09/05/2009

I've updated the script to use the idea you suggested. Many, many thanks!

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