Inception - Expanding Nokia N9's possibilities

One of the key advantages of the MeeGo Harmattan system in Nokia N9 over other mobile platforms is its unmatched openness. Without any modifications, there is a possibility of easy access to the sytem terminal, root permissions, and all system resources, etc. In other words, the system virtually begs for tampering with it.

This does not mean, however, that there are no restrictions whatsoever. There is a system component called Aegis to protect you . It's a kind of a guard that is designed to not allow destructive modifications of the system, by overseeing the installation of packages and reduction of permissions (even for root). This is mainly due to security reasons. 

Inception is required to introduce particular modifications in the system (like LED modifications). I recommend that you do not install it unless you really need it and know what it is.

Inception is a tool that enables full system privileges, or something like iOS jailbreaking or rooting in Android. In contrast to these modifications it does not, however, turn the system totally upside down, but is just a kind of a supplement exploiting vulnerabilities of Aegis. After installation of Inception, Aegis is not removed. Inception is relatively easy to install, and it's relatively easy to revert any changes it makes.

First: a backup. I recommend to do it before introducing any modification, so this is not an exception. We can create a copy of the menu Settings -> Sync and backup -> Backup. Select new backup, give the name, we press Run, and at the end of the process, copy the backup folder to the computer's memory. Backup copies are stored in the /home/user/MyDocs/.backups (in other words, in a hidden folder .Backups on your Nokia N9 if we connect to the computer via USB cable).

Then: Download the installation package inception_0.2.5_armel.deb , save in your phone, for example, in the folder /home/user/MyDocs (this is the directory you see when you connect to PC with USB cable) and install it. Please note that to install it you will need to swith "Allow installations from non-Store sources" (Settings -> Applications -> Installations) to on. Next, open your file manager, (e.g. FileBox from Nokia Store and open inception_0.2.5_armel.deb file) Once installed, launch Nokia N9's Terminal and type: 

devel-su

Password: rootme

/usr/sbin/pasiv

Note: When you type your password, the letters do not appear on the screen, watch for any typos too.

N9 displays a screen with information about Inception and the entire set of warnings. Type yes and press Enter. The installation is complete. Now, it is recommended to change the default root password. Type: 

passwd root 

New password: [newpassword] 

Re-enter new password: [newpassword]

And that's basically all. Now you can restart your phone.

Now we can start to use additional features such as overclocking. If you want to restore your phone to its original state, perform the flashing operation.

These instructions are aimed at advanced users aware of their actions. While using the Inception modification, do not install software from unknown sources as they may potentially damage your phone. If you have any problems with the software and the need to use the service must first restore the phone to factory condition with a flash. This and other modifications carried out at your own risk.