T800 T700 Disable Software and Enable Navigation Bar on Galaxy Tab S

Did you know that it is possible to disable the softkeys and enable Navigation bar like the one present in Nexus tablets? This has to be done in such a way that you must enable navigation bar first and then disable the Samsung softkeys.

T800 T700 Disable Software and Enable Navigation Bar on Galaxy Tab S

This method also requires you to have root on Tab S tablet and file manager with root manager. I recommend using Solid Explorer.

To Enable NavBar:
In root file manager:
open "/system/build.prop"
add this line at the bottom of the file
qemu.hw.mainkeys=0
Reboot to ensure the Navbar is enabled before moving on

To Disable Softkeys:
In root file manager:
open "system/usr/keylaout/Generic.kl"

The Generic.kl contains all the key mapping. Search for the following keys (158 and 254) and comment them out with a # symbol. They will be looking like this:

# key 158  BACK
# key 254  APP_SWITCH

Then using the solid explorer, open open "system/usr/keylaout/gpio-keys.kl". Commet the 172 line with # symbol. It should be looking like this.

# key 172  HOME         WAKE

Now let us disable the softkey backlight. To do this, go Settings > Display > Advanced (section) > Touch key light duration > Always off