Snailsoft
∞ and beyond!
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SB Mod Squad ⭐
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Member for 2 years
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- Canada
Although several articles have been posted about using SAI or Antisplit, nobody has done one for APKtool.
Each method/tool has pros and cons.
SAI and Antisplit are fast, but they are also limited by Android 11 and up security.
APKtool fully decompiles and recompiles. This works better but takes much longer.
*All of these will fail if applied to a protected app.
Install the GUI version from Russian developer, APKtool-M
Locate your split app. It may be xapk/apks/apk+ or some other extension.
I am going to use, Zombie Roadkill, as an example with its .apks format.
Simply click on the game as though you are going to install it.
Depending upon the apps you have installed this will look different. You should see an option of what to do with the file. Alternatively, you can launch APKtool-M and browse to the file.
Once selected, APKtool-M should recognize the split content and prompt you how to proceed.
From here, you will be prompted with what parts you want merged.
Experienced coders will recognize base, architecture v7/v8, resolution, languages, etc. You can custom build your apk. Split apk's allow the device to chose which parts to use, making installation smaller. This is important now that manufactures have taken away your ability to upgrade SDcard storage and software developers are massively bloating apps.
If you are uncertain, it's best to select all parts. It will result in a larger apk but also ensures widest compatibility.
Select, ANTISPLIT, and the contents selected will be extracted to a temp folder.
Once extracted, you will be prompted on how you want the apk compiled.
AAPT for apps designed for Android 1-8, and, AAPT2 for Android 9 and above.
For the Signature file, I strongly suggest using the TestKey. It's a developers default key and will bypass almost all signature testing, as well as make future updates easier.
There are additional Settings one might use for cleaning code or other methods. For purely anti-splitting the default unchecked is usually sufficient.
Press, OK, and wait... depending upon the amount of data this may take a minute or several hours. This game took 2 minutes.
It will decompile, merge, recompile, sign, and clean up.
Once done, if all wen't well, you will have a standard APK.
You will be prompted as to what should be done with the new APK.
I usually install to test the process worked, and if it did, uninstall and prepare to mod the apk.
You can also select OK to exit.
You will now have a new apk.
Sometimes it's stored in the same folder as the split file, other times it's stored in the APKtool-M folder.
-=eof=-
Each method/tool has pros and cons.
SAI and Antisplit are fast, but they are also limited by Android 11 and up security.
APKtool fully decompiles and recompiles. This works better but takes much longer.
*All of these will fail if applied to a protected app.
Install the GUI version from Russian developer, APKtool-M
Locate your split app. It may be xapk/apks/apk+ or some other extension.
I am going to use, Zombie Roadkill, as an example with its .apks format.
Simply click on the game as though you are going to install it.
Depending upon the apps you have installed this will look different. You should see an option of what to do with the file. Alternatively, you can launch APKtool-M and browse to the file.
Once selected, APKtool-M should recognize the split content and prompt you how to proceed.
From here, you will be prompted with what parts you want merged.
Experienced coders will recognize base, architecture v7/v8, resolution, languages, etc. You can custom build your apk. Split apk's allow the device to chose which parts to use, making installation smaller. This is important now that manufactures have taken away your ability to upgrade SDcard storage and software developers are massively bloating apps.
If you are uncertain, it's best to select all parts. It will result in a larger apk but also ensures widest compatibility.
Select, ANTISPLIT, and the contents selected will be extracted to a temp folder.
Once extracted, you will be prompted on how you want the apk compiled.
AAPT for apps designed for Android 1-8, and, AAPT2 for Android 9 and above.
For the Signature file, I strongly suggest using the TestKey. It's a developers default key and will bypass almost all signature testing, as well as make future updates easier.
There are additional Settings one might use for cleaning code or other methods. For purely anti-splitting the default unchecked is usually sufficient.
Press, OK, and wait... depending upon the amount of data this may take a minute or several hours. This game took 2 minutes.
It will decompile, merge, recompile, sign, and clean up.
Once done, if all wen't well, you will have a standard APK.
You will be prompted as to what should be done with the new APK.
I usually install to test the process worked, and if it did, uninstall and prepare to mod the apk.
You can also select OK to exit.
You will now have a new apk.
Sometimes it's stored in the same folder as the split file, other times it's stored in the APKtool-M folder.
-=eof=-
Last edited:
