How To Set Right Permissions Of Folders, APKs and LIBs On Android

Lollipop brought major changes in Android structure. In KitKat there were not subfolders under system/app and system/priv-app. In KitKat these folders contain only the apk files while now in Lollipop you will find subfolders. They have the same name with the apk files that are located in these folders. Some apk folders also include “lib” and “arm” subfolders. So this is a bit confusing and some people aren’t able to set the right permissions.

The help you and all other people who find confusing and can’t set the right permissions on Lollipop and higher version we wrote this guide. You will learn how to set the right permissions of “folder”, “apk” and “lib” files. If you have no idea about Android permissions make sure to read everything carefully because we will try to explain as simple as possible.

You may have ended up here because probably you wanted to replace some files with other ones and there they said to set the right permissions and that’s all. So you have no idea how to do that and you found this guide. Well, if it’s so you are in the right place. This guide is the one you need to understand how to set the right permissions on Android.

Firstly let me say that before replacing any file make sure to save the current file somewhere else. In case something goes wrong you have the old file and can restore it. Also remember that for those folder that have subfolders inside we should set the permissions separately.

But what does this mean? Let’s say you downloaded a zip file of “S7 camera”. After you download it and extract the file you will see a “S7 camera” folder. Open it and you will see “S7 camera” apk and “lib” folder together. In the “lib” folder there is also an “arm” folder. In “arm” folder there are some “lib” files.

To set the right permissions of an apk file we should set the permissions of all “folder”, “apk” and “lib” files and subfolders/subfiles one by one. If you set the permission only for the main folder and reboot your device, the app may not work properly. So be aware of this. A “lib folder” and a “lib file” has different permissions.

Here are the right permissions for Folders, APKs, and LIBs:

• Right permissions for Folders are: “rwxr-xr-x” 
• Right permissions for APKs are: “rw-r–r–“
• Right permissions for LIBs are: “rw-r–r–“

Let’s say you downloaded an app and you wanna replace it. First you will need the zip file “example.zip”. Download it on your phone and extract the files. Navigate to “system/app” and copy the folder of the app you wanna replace somewhere on your SDcard. Then delete the app folder from there. Now copy the new folder to “system/app” and right press on it.

If you are using ES File Explorer, click on the three dot menu in the right bottom. Choose properties and a new window will pop-up. In this window tap on permissions and change them to “rwxr-xr-x”. 

Open this folder and you wanna see a “lib” folder and an apk file “example.apk”. Long press on the apk file and like you did with the folder, change the permissions to “rw-r–r–“. Now long press on the lib folder and set the permissions to “rwxr-xr-x“.

Then open “lib” folder and you will find an “arm” folder inside it. Long press and set the permissions to “rwxr-xr-x”. Open the “arm” folder and you gonna see “lib files”. Long press on it and change the permissions to “rw-r–r–“. Remember you should change the permissions of all files, no matter if it’s a folder, apk or lib files.

Once you change the permissions of each files separately reboot the phone. After reboot the phone, to prevent FCs conflicts with the previous app it’s needed to clear data. So go to Settings > Application Manager > Name of App and clear data.

If you did all these steps carefully you will be able to enjoy the new app without any problem. Do you have any other questions? Feel free to ask in the comment section below.