Access Patch feeds for earlier webOS versions [homebrew] 4

While everyone looks forward to when then next over-the-air webOS version update is pushed out to your phones or TouchPads (or new webOS Doctors are available prior to the OTA update), one of the biggest short-term frustrations that many people find is that their favorite patches are not yet available for that new version. It's up to the patch authors (or the community) to test the patches and then either update the WebOS Internals' Patch Portal to indicate that the patch is working for the new version or update the patch to be compatible with the new version. When the webOS version changes a full x.1 version (e.g. 2.1 to 2.2), many/most patches will probably need to be updated due to the significant changes that is indicated from a pull point-update. However, when the update is only a x.x.1 update (e.g. 2.2.3 to 2.2.4), much of the underlying webOS code is probably not updated and many 2.2.3 patches will still work. Unfortunately, Preware will not show those old patches since they are not tagged as compatible for your device.

However, one way to get around this is to manually add the previous version's patch feed to preware to get access to the older feed. Then, when you try to apply the patch, you will typically get either a successful install or a error message indicating that the patch is not compatible. Please remember that you are trying to install a version of the patch that the author has not indicated is compatible for your device and this may potentially cause damage to your device or data. If you are willing to take that risk and not blame the patch authors for any issues, continue after the break for instructions.

This example is to add patches for webOS version 2.2.3, but update the data as necessary

• Open Preware
• Swipe down from the top-left and choose Manage feeds
• Scroll down to the bottom to the NEW FEED section. Add the following info:
  • NAME = patches223 (replace "223" with the webOS version you are adding)
  • URL = http://ipkg.preware.org/feeds/webos-patches/2.2.3 (replace "2.2.3" with the webOS version you are adding)
  • IS COMPRESSED = YES
• Tap the "Add Feed" button. Be sure to read the pop-up message and the tap "Ok" if you agree
• Swipe back (or press the back arrow) to go to the main Preware page and refresh your feeds

At this point, all the older patches should be available. If you are able to install any patches and you find that they work in the new version, it would be great if you could then go to WebOS Internals' Patch Portal and update the patch to indicate it is compatible with the new version.

Thanks to @kb7sqi on twitter for this tip