How-to convert an App to a System App

Prequisites:

• root access
• adb ready to use (i.e., the Android SDK installed)

1. Obtain the .apk file of the app you want to make a system app
2. Push the .apk file to the device: adb push my-app.apk /sdcard/

3. Mount /system/ read-write

   adb shell
   su
   mount -o rw,remount /system
   

4. Place the .apk file in the correct directory. This is /system/app/ for Android 4.2 and lower, and /system/priv-app/ for Android 4.3 and higher. The further steps will asume we are on Android 4.4 and therefore use priv-app

   adb shell
   su
   cd /sdcard
   mv my-app.apk /system/priv-app
   chmod 644 /system/priv-app/my-app.apk
   

5. Reboot the device: adb reboot