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Is this android vulnerability bug #8219321 fixed?
In 2013, Bluebox Security announced that they had found a bug in Android that could be used to modify the contents of any application package (including ones distributed as part of the system software) without affecting the attached cryptographic signatures; details to be disclosed at Black Hat USA 2013. I don't want to explain in detail as this site explain it well: http://www.computerworld.com/article/2483525/security0/android-flaw-lets-attackers-modify-apps-without-breaking-signatures.html
However there was no news if it has been fixed. I find that there is really an app "Xmodgames" which is exactly doing the same thing.After granting it root permissions It modifies game files without breaking its signature.
You can't update that app automatically from play store once its signature get broken right? I assumed the same thing but even if xmodgames applies the mod on a game you can still update that game from play store. It means that it keeps the signature intact. Has it not really  been fixed till yet?

The answer is important for me because then  I'll look forward how apps with granted root permissions do that without breaking signature.

The only way an APK needs to be resigned is if its content gets altered. I don't know about XmodGames, but a similar tool, Lucky Patcher, extracts the file called classes.dex (the binary) from the target base.apk (signed archive), performs a check to determine the bytes to patch, creates the base.odex with what's unchanged from the classes.dex and the patch itself (the patched bytes must be located at the same offset as the original ones), and finally puts the base.odex into a subdirectory called arm where the original base.apk resides, for which root is needed.

I find that after apk is installed, its classes l.dex file is copied in /data/dalvik-cache folder. Doesn't it require new signature after modifying it?

The funny thing is that the DEX and ODEX are not signed: they are executables. Think of them as a sequence of ones and zeroes. The APK is somewhat of a ZIP archive, and can archives be signed? Indeed they can. So, resign just the APK if you edit its contents and repack it. Patch the DEX and ODEX directly, no further operations required. Granted, patching is way harder than decompiling, editing, recompiling and signing.

@DeathMaskSalesman Do you have any link where I can learn more about dex and odex patching and modification?

These are the Smali instructions references. You should be able to correctly patch a DEX file by binary editing it, and replacing its opcodes, although I suggest you to try decompiling from a computer to familiarize with Smali's workings, first.

Yes it was fixed (sourced from MasterKeyDualFix) on Wed Jul 03rd 2013. Generally vulnerabilities like this are reported to Google a long time prior to it being publicly announced. In this case it was reported to Google in Feb 2013 and the fix had already been passed to OEMs to include in their releases. (Note, the date it was committed to AOSP (the first link) is not the date it was available to Google and the OEMs)
As for the second part of your question I believe XMOD works by modifying the files after the app has been installed which bypasses the signature checks. Although I am not that familiar with XMOD I'm pretty sure that it is not using this vulnerability.

If I recall correctly, XMOD patches the classes.dex, similarly to Lucky Patcher, which creates a patched ODEX, so it's possible to update the app without changing its signature.

That's why both lucky patcher and xmodgames were removed from play store. This is big vulnerability to android apps. Any app with fully granted root permissions can modify other apps in its environment without breaking the signature.

@user334283 Sure, but the only thing Google does by removing them, is to bury their heads in the sand, instead of properly counter the vulnerability.


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Install button not working (third party app) on Nexus 5X
I am unable to click on install button. I have made back up some of my apps. But now when I'm clicking on the install button, it's not working. Cancel button is working nicely. I purchased it 3 days ago. I didn't install any app that is related to screen brightness. I googled for this problem, I found an issue with screen brightness app. I didn't install any kind of these apps. I'm using Marshmallow 6.0.
Any suggestion please.

At last I got the solution. I didn't install any screen filter app. But in Nexus 5X, there is an option which controls screen brightness.
Make Adaptive Brightness turned on, you can find it in Settings > Display > Adaptive Brightness > ON. That's it, now you can install any app form any source.

source: Stack Exchange

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

sort: votes


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Why Android show "Network may be monitored" with Nordvpn?
According the customer service,  it is a feature. However,  I would like to understand why Android cannot separate Vpn traffic from real monitoring of attackers.
Fig. 1 Text Network may be monitored on the screen

OS: Oxygen OS 3.1
Phone: One plus 2

It's really unclear what you're asking here. What does the VPN have to do with monitoring of attackers? The notification is trying to tell you that whoever owns the VPN service can potentially see your network traffic (which is absolutely true).

@eldarerathis It seems you understand my question. Please, see the body for the figure of the case.

Android shows that for any VPN service you use, be it an external app or not. It's just a mandatory warning.

@AndyYan Yes. The point of this thread is to understand why. Why it cannot exclude your VPN from other uses?

Background
This is a known feature  which occurs when a Installing a private CA certificate for use with vpn or private web site encryption and or authentication  or using self signed certificates, figuring in bug reports:

Issue 62076: "network may be monitored"
Issue 82036: Self signed certificates cause  "network may be monitored" warning

Common refrain of user complaints is that this warning is (amongst others)

Of no real use
Inconvenience to corporates
Impractical to expect users to get  Google approved CA certificates for their uses

Google engineer has clarified in the first source (post 8) :

The "User" portion of the trusted credential store is non-system CA certificates that have been installed and are trusted by the browser and other things that use the system Trusted Certificate Store. This warning is about protecting the user of the device

(Emphasis supplied)
And provides an example  of how  user security can be breached

Coming to your question

Why Android cannot separate Vpn traffic from real monitoring of attackers.

Android cannot. Period.
Whether it is VPN or monitoring by attackers. As explained, it is only providing a warning that your network traffic can be monitored if you continue to use VPN / apps / self signed CA.
If you want the OS capability to deal with this kind of protection, then it seems to exist in the world's costliest Android phone - Solarin

Very nice phone! It has some nice features, existing only in a few models at the moment. I need to get one similar one day. How did you find the company? Is there any reviews about their phone in practice?

Googling sirin labs + previews, you get much better results. It is very impressive phone. I would like to get more analysis about their security tweaks of Snapdragon 820 cpu and their power management - - I think the price does not matter, since it is only such a phone in the market, offering us a possibility to compare our own phones to it and develop better ones. - - I contacted them about those things.

Was wondering,  since there had been no revert

all_licenses: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/


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Access the network without logging into the captive portal on Android?
I want to access the local network on a hotspot on my Android devie without logging in, but if i connect to it, i get the "Sign in to network" notification and the sign in site, but all my other traffic go through LTE.
Also other apps see like that I am not connected to any wifi network.
How should i force Android to use the wifi network as a "normal" wifi network (without logging in), and do not use LTE?
(Android 6.0 Cyanogenmod 13)

Doesn't temporarily turning off cellular data work?

Make sure you have enabled root access for ADB in developer options
Connect you phone to your computer via usb or open a terminal emulator on your device (skip step 3)
Type adb shell to open a shell (Assuming you have adb installed)
Type su to gain superuser permissions
Tyoe settings put global captive_portal_detection_enabled 0 to prevent the Wi-Fi from disconnecting if there is no internet connection

Source: https://android.stackexchange.com/a/148442/62445


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Viewing and Transfering files between Nexus 7 (13) and Win 7sp1 x64
Having difficulty with both USB and wifi file transfers.  I recently upgraded my desktop from XP to Win7, all was working well with XP.
Over wifi ES file explorer sees the shared Win7 HDDs but will not open them to view contents.  Permissions on the HDDs are set to allow all users full access.
From the Win7 end the Nexus7 does not show at all on the LAN.
Connecting USB and using ES file explorer I don't know how to make the Win7 PC accessible.
In Win7 explorer the Nexus7 shows up and when Nexus7 USB for file transfers is selected most folders and files are accessible.  The exception are uTorrent down loaded files, why are these not accessible?
If anyone can help with file transfers or provide edifying links it will be appreciated.

Follow this answer to access Android Devices' files over a PC.
https://android.stackexchange.com/a/42703/21342
You don't have to download any other application to start an FTP Server on your device, simply go to Remote Manager in Tools and press Start.
Make sure that both the phone and PC are on the same network.


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How to keep the extension code of outbound dialing?
We can dial (555)555-5555,2000 so as to reach the extension code 2000 on Lollipop and later.
However, the call log shows only (555)555-5555. I tried a couple of call log apps and dialer apps, but it seems the same. This results in an inconvenience: I can not see to which extension I dialed when I see the logs (e.g. ext 2000 to John, or 2001 to Bob, etc).
Is there any setting or way to keep the extension number for outbound calling in the log?

I'd like to see this implemented into a dialler app again, like on android 2.3 with some phones...


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Enabling USB debugging in recovery mode in rooted Android
My Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is rooted. After I installed some apps, my phone crashed and would keep giving errors. I want to access my phone data like pics from my PC, but the USB debugging is off and I can only switch on in the recovery mode.
Is there any way to back up my data before I factory reset?

By default TWRP starts mtp when you boot into recovery. Boot into recovery connect your phone to your pc and if your drivers are configured properly you will be easily able to get back all you lost.

Haven't tried it, but found this solution on XDA:
Add to default.prop and /system/build.prop
persist.service.adb.enable=1
persist.service.debuggable=1
persist.sys.usb.config=mtp,adb

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


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How do I prevent apps from blocking a second screen?
I used Google cast to cast my phone's screen. That worked. But all4, the Channel 4 catch-up app, wouldn't display on the second screen. A message popped up saying "all 4 doesn't work on secondary screens". How can i stop the app from detecting this? I'm rooted and xposed, s5 touchwiz lollipop

Try xPrivacy.
You might be able to limit the permissions of the all4 application you mentioned in such a way that it cannot tell if Google cast is running.
The Github page has the full options on what is available.

Looks promising thanks. Don't have time to investigate properly, but as bounty is expiring tomorrow, decided to award it now. If you or anyone has a clue what permission to restrict, please do tell


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Can I display a person's full name for SMS in Google Hangouts?
For the Google Hangouts app, it appears that SMS messages (as opposed to actual Hangouts messages, which I'm sure would behave differently) only display a person's first name under an SMS received from them.  This is normally fine, but is confusing when you're in a group text with, say, a fella named "Bob Jones" and another fella names "Bob Smith".
The Google Hangouts phone notifications are specific when you first receive the SMS, but when scrolling through the messages in app I will simply see all messages being received from "Bob", with no way to disambiguate. I could view message details and look at the "From" phone number and see which Bob in my contacts has that number, but we all know that's not going to happen.
An ideal option for me would be to have Google Hangouts display a person's full name under each SMS.  Unfortunately I looked through the app's own settings menu, but could find no such option.
Has anyone else solved this problem?
Things I've considered:

I thought about concatenating both peoples' names (i.e. "BobJones" and "BobSmith") but when I use a voice command to call someone, my concern is that the voice command wouldn't quite work with such weird pronunciations, especially considering I'm not actually working with names as simple as Bob, Jones, and Smith.

Does this work --- https://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/4a1z0i/i_discovered_a_method_for_displaying_contact/ ?

@gunner It appears that this fix would last for a day.  But considering the issues the people on that post were having, there's probably not an ideal fix.  I'll just have to deal with it.
Thanks, though!


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Moto X Play notifications
As everyone knows Moto X Play does not have any LED notification.
It becomes very difficult without LED notification. You'd need to take your mobile to check of there's any missed call, message or even to check if the battery is full.
There are some apps available which needs root access to enable LED notification. But rooting will void warranty.
Are there any apps available which enables LED notification with out rooting.
Any other tip or trick or apps like ifttt (if that can help) is also welcome.

The LED on modern Moto devices (although disabled in software) is hardwired to the charging circuit, there is no way to use it as a notification system since software cannot control it other than to say if it's enabled or disabled at which point it will light when charging and that's it... this is what Moto Display is for.

apps like IFTTT are used for automating work by creating a recipe or using the one's already available, it won't help you enable your LED notification light.
Someone from Motorola Customer Care stated-
"Unfortunately, you can't enable the notification light of your Moto X play, this feature is not available anymore, we have replaced the LED for Active display, It will show notifications as well, the LED that we have included is just for emergency It just light up when your device is full of charge or when It needs charge."
Here's the link for it-
https://www.quora.com/How-do-I-enable-the-notification-light-of-Moto-X-Play
The gist comes out, that you must root your device in order to use the apps available on the Play Store to enable the LED notifications.
hope this helps..

Thanks yashtheastral. I'm well aware of ifttt and wanted to know of there's any channel that can illuminate LED. I went through that quota post as well. The LED is never used whether it is fully charged or while the charge is almost out. Even if it is lit at sometime I'd like to know if it could be lit any other time or any API for that matter.


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Samsung G530 won't trickle charge when full?
Until the past few weeks, I could leave my device plugged in and it'd go to 100% in the morning but recently it seems that once it reaches 100%, it just stops. Not even tricke charge. I've watched it, when it reaches 100%, it acts like it is unplugged and keeps running.  I've had to turn off my device to ensure it does reach 100% for the morning.
I am using original Samsung charger and I've tried different charger (my car is Energizer brand, the battery pack is PNY brand) and I've tried different cable. No matter what I did, once it hits 100% it stops trickling and starts discharging like I unplugged the cable.
Is there a setting in Android that I may have accidentally changed? Or is there something else?

Modern batteries disconnect your phone from the charger once it reaches 100%, which is mostly an disadvantage to many people, but the truth is, it helps from battery accidents and problems. Trickle charge is one of the reasons why batteries set on fire, usually because of heat. (But the truth is I don't know more about trickle-charging your phone, letting it reach 101%... Haha!)
An workaround to the draining battery after the disconnection is to try to turn off your phone once it is charging. Don't worry, if you're waiting for an alarm, it will turn your phone automatically.

May have been a recent update or something? I can understand shutting off charging at 100%. The only issue I may get is an emergency phone call at 4 am since incoming call does not power the phone on, and if it doesn't trickle to keep it at 100% while on, then I'm going to have to put up with half-dead phone by morning.


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ext sd card is not working at all and not appearing
all other sd cards are working but my card is not showing....neither on mobile or laptop.what to do my all data is in the card.the data card being inserted in my GT-S7562 mobile phone and laptop is not being recognized and neither the data

The SD card may be damaged. If not, try to mount the SD card, because it may be unmounted by the system itself. To do this, go to Settings, to Storage, navigate to the bottom, and then press Mount SD Card.


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i hv tried opening a soccer game i hv just downloaded
Every time I open it ,it loads then just crushes and goes back to the home screen. I have  tried to reinstall it but all in vain I have tried to clear all the background apps but still no sign of improvement. The game is Winner Eleven Elite by Touch Tao.

Maybe the game doesn't support your device. If you have any other devices, try to open the game, and if it still doesn't, then try contacting the developer of the game.

There has been a recent lagging of the phone .can that be the prob


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Strange applications are being installed sometimes
I am using Android 5.1 and there is strange thing.Sometimes, when I am connected to wifi apps are being installed without permissions.When I go to settings and uncheck 'Allow installing apps from sources different to google play store' I have no idea how, but after around hour it is being marked as checked and new app is being installed.
I tryed installing anti virus programs like AVG's mobile version, Avast's mobile version, Malwarbytes and others..Do you have any ideas how to fix that, without reseting phone's fabric settings.
Thanks! :)

Not sure your carrier, but some use DT Ignite which will do this.  Happened on my Verizon S7 Edge.  Go to Settings - Application Manager, browse the list and look for "DT Ignite" and Disable it if you see it.

backup important data
do factory reset

if your device is rooted or the factory reset didn't work:

search for a complete factory image for this specific device model (also known as ROM)
flash it. (or if scared, find someone who is willing to do it)

Anything else would be a half measure, but if you really want to avoid resetting:

check if the attached Google account is compromised, because it's possible to install apps remotely via Google play.
Another possibility is some applications which got "device administrator" permission, so you can first find "device administrators" in settings and make sure that there are no device administrators.

I tryed this, but it doesn't worked.I mean the apps are still being installed.Maybe there is an app, which controlls device..

what exactly did you try?

Well, I installed antivirus softwares and scanned it.


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how to clean out a htc desire 626s
I have a Boost Mobile HTC Desire 626s. I just upgraded to a ZTE Warp Elite. When I 1st got the HTC phone I got the phone rooted. The phone worked fine except for 1 annoying problem. Every few days a bar would popup saying a "system update" was needed. The only 2 options were "later (as in doing the install later)" and "install". I keep hitting later. I got tired of seening that popup every few days so I hit install. Big mistake.  The phone is now stuck in a sys update loop. It says download complete, starting to unzip the file. But the unzip does nothing then error's out after a while. I spoke to Boost Mobile today. And even bigger mistake. All the hard master reset did was wipe out my pictures, phone list and so on (all that stuff is backed up on my laptop already, no lose there). But the hard reset didn't fix the system update loop problem. And now the phone is stuck in a basic phone activation loop as well.  I am trying to setup the phone so my nephew can use the phone like a tablet for now. And if he keeps his grades up in school I will activate his phone on my cell phone plain with his own number. If I can clear up this mess and get the phone working right again.
I 1st used the unlocker that I found on the HTC web page, then I used Kingo Root to root the phone. The factory reset line is missing from the download mode. Also if I go to bootloader > boot to recovery mode. The phone boots out to normal phone mode.  I am stuck and I don't know how to fix this.  A point of interest I an a Windows tech. I have been fixing Windows based laptops and desktops for years as well as 2 way radios and tv's.
Steve

Basically you need to do the same thing as if you had a failed update on a non-rooted phone.  Go to HTC, grab the utility meant for communicating between your computer and phone.  Then download that and a factory Android zip and use the utility to flash that to the phone.
It took me a little bit, but I seem to have dug out the official HTC info on this.
You want to go to the Manual system update instructions section on this page and follow those instructions.  If for whatever reason you can not get the utility to see the phone and flash the factory zip you are SOL without a custom recovery or ability to boot to the OS there is not anything else you can do.  You will want to send it in for warranty replacement if you have that going (contact Boost).  with the custom recovery gone and the OS stuck in a boot loop with the official OTA version (NEVER apply OTA updates or you will lose root and your custom recovery EVERY time).  If you hate the notification pop-up you should look for a ROM that says it is a rooted factory ROM with the update check modified so it does not check for updates.  Otherwise ALWAYS say update later and ignore it.
Here's the HTC info page: http://www.htc.com/us/support/htc-desire-626s-boost/news/
Also factory reset is gotten to through the recovery menu and NOT download mode.  Factory reset only removes saved user data and does nothing to the actual system files themselves.  To do that you need to actually download the zip from HTC and use their utility to flash it.
IF YOU STILL HAVE THE CUSTOM RECOVERY (TWRP OR CLOCKWORK) YOU CAN FLASH ANY ROM ZIP MEANT FOR THE CDMA VERSION OF THE 626s WHICH I FOUND A FEW LISTED ON XDA FORUMS UNDER THE 626 SECTION (here's a stock ROM you can flash with custom recovery (and if needed grab microsd card plug in to computer reader to load the file on it then plug in to phone and restart to recovery): http://forum.xda-developers.com/desire-626/development/rom-flashable-stock-htc-626s-debloated-t3293602
Again, this only works if you have the custom recovery and NOT the stock recovery.

On the OS, I forgot to add. The operating system is not completely gone. I can bring up the home page and run app's that don't require access to the internet. But the boot loop will interrupt what ever is running and after the zip error message the phone restarts it's self and reboots.

When you say "if the utility can't see the phone to flash factory zip" Is there a manual way to flash the factory zip file? Were can I find a custom recovery prog that can boot the the OS if I need it?

I have the HTC Sync Manager software downloaded and installed. The sync manager is synced up with the phone and ready to go.  I also found at the HTC webpage RUU_A32E_WHL_M60_DESIRE_SENSE70_SPCS_MR_Sprint_WWE_2.27.651.6.exe.  If this works. Then that's it? The job is done?

The sync manager is working and syncing up to the phone. But the instructions say to "Once the device is properly recognized on the PC, locate the HTC Desire™ ROM Update that you downloaded. Double-click on the file to launch the system update wizard.
Follow all of the system update wizard instructions shown on your PC. "  , The file I downloaded is    RUU_A32E_WHL_M60_DESIRE_SENSE70_SPCS_MR_Sprint_WWE_2.27.651.6.exe.  When I dbl click on the RUU file it makes my laptop go nuts, lock up and then a blue screen crash.

well you will need to run that it looks like.  Make sure you downloaded the correct file and could try downloading again if it had an issue during download maybe it is corrupt.  You will probably also need to right click it and choose run as admin for it to work correctly.  You can try using compatibility mode (right click file and there should be a tab for it) and try selecting Windows XP if for some reason it does not run when you right click and select run as admin.

Is Sprint your carrier?  Make sure this file is exactly what you need and not for maybe  a different phone.  If you have anti virus (including Windows Defender) you may also need to disable that temporarily until this is done (usually in settings disable any auto file scanners).

My carrier is Boost Mobile, a sub of Sprint.   I am going to have to go with a custom recovery system because this boot loop that is in the phone cycles about every 7 minutes. When the boot loop cycles it cuts the USB connection to the laptop. And when I run the RUU as admin. It takes about 5 minutes for the box to come up asking if I want to run it as an admin.

I have a self booting (ISO) cd in Linux format for a prog called Slitaz, Cwm that is a left over from my old ZTE Warp 4G phone. Can this be used to flash the right RUU to the Desire 626s?

Mike are you online?

:-D  The phone is DONE.  The bootloop is GONE. The phone is re-setup as a new stock (non-rooted) phone, and is ready for activation. That's what I want for my nephew's  phone.  I don't want him to have root access. He is just curious enough to go into the root files if he had access and mess them up.  Anyways it is done.  YIPPEE, HOORAY!!!!

Glad I could get you back to a working condition.  Yeah what you just did is what we like to call the unbrick procedure.  This basically requires a factory image and utility you connect the usb to the phone and use utility to flash the factory image.  Once done it will be just like you got it out of the box when you first bought it (maybe a little different since it probably is a newer version of Android but thats what that phone now looks like out of a box).   Sorry I was not online earlier for you I can be random some times.

If you don't mind please mark my answer as correct so I get me some points please (I'm new round here :-) ).

I don't see any way to mark your answer as correct.

Someone got it if you didn't find it.  I am not sure either as I only had one question soo far not fully answered.  Glad I got you working again.


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Recovery of deleted whatsapp photos on samsung galaxy s4
I had recently went to Europe so i captured all of my photos from my mom mobile through which i had sent to myself. My mom mobile got lost and i mistakenly deleted all photos by going to to miscellaneous files and deleting all of them. I also forget to save my photos on somewhere or backup my whatsapp account. Those photos were very precious for me. I had tried many things but cannot get those photos. Pls help me to get my photos if theres any way.

I dunno if I like the first answer to this.  Seems to not explain anything.
First did you have the setting enabled to sync device photos to Google, Dropbox, or Google Drive automatically as they were take?  Check Google Drive, Picasa (that has the ability to also sync device photos to it), Dropbox, etc.
Also Whats App Recovery Info (there are several possibilities which can work even after you have uninstalled the app): http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/how-to/How-to-recover-deleted-WhatsApp-texts-photos-videos/articleshow/19525440.cms
Last, but not least, you can connect your device as USB storage (NOT MPT) on a computer.  You need to Google your android version and USB mode as it changes depending on the version of Android you are using.  I usually just connect the USB cable from my phone to the computer and you should get a notification that says connected as Camera MPT or Charge Only.  If you tap this notification it should take you to the list of modes.  You want USB Storage mode.
Some info on changing USB connection mode (again if using lollipop or marshmallow should be able to plug the USB cable in to a computer and to your device and tap the USB connection notification and change the mode that way.  This even works with the older Android OS versions as well): http://www.howtogeek.com/192732/android-usb-connections-explained-mtp-ptp-and-usb-mass-storage/
Basically you want your Android storage to have Drive letters (in windows) or actual mount point (*nix and OSX) you can not do the following if you have to open the MPT folder and then double click internal and/or external (if you have microsd installed)).
Once the storage has a drive letter you can use any storage recovery software made for the File System your storage is formatted for (MOST LIKELY FAT32 or exFAT).  This will take a good amount of time to scan your storage as it is doing a THOROUGH low level scan.  This can recover files even after they are deleted (think of storage as a book and the list of files as an index.  When I delete something I am removing the index entry to it I am not actually removing the data in full).  NOW this will only remain as long as your device does not write NEW data to the spot in the storage where the data you wish to recover is on the disk or it will be overwritten and no longer there.  SO DO NOT USE THE STORAGE if you can help it until you run the recovery scan.

Case 1:Photo recovery from phone’s memory card
Many phones contain a memory card which is often used to store various data for example, songs, photos, videos. Thus if lost photos were saved on memory card you need to perform the recovery from it. A data recovery program will help you fix the issue.
Case 2:Recover photos from internal memory storage
IF this phone does not contain a memory card, thus you need to recover data from the internal storage.
This process requires root privileges on your phone.
Please do not add new data to your phone.
Recovery process
Step 1: Connect your phone to computer via USB cable.
Step 2: Download Android Data Recovery to your computer. Install and launch it and you’ll see the interface below. Click “Refresh Device” and the software will recognize storages on your phone.
Step 3: Select the storage device where deleted photos were stored and click “Next” button to start scanning.
Step 4: Preview and recover deleted photos. Select photos you want to recover and click “Recover” button to save deleted photos on computer.
http://www.eassos.com/how-to/recover-deleted-photos-from-memory-cards-and-Android-phones.php


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TalkBack menu entry should beep and be present by default
Android 4..4.2 here.
I have written about the fact that it is a shame for Android not to have a mode where you can configure the device upon first boot using your voice, which would be helpful for non-seeing users who might want to configure the device on their own using their own voice.
When this happens, TalkBack should be enabled by default.
However, it can happen to anyone to lose their vision for a fixed or extended period of time. When this happens, what the user wants out of their phone is first and foremost the ability to make phone calls and read and compose SMS messages.
Therefore, I suggest that when the power key is held down, the TalkBack entry be always present in the menu. This entry should be there as a polymorphic entry, so when the user hovers it, it beeps and reads "TalkBack", so it can easily be double tapped to be activated. That is, this entry works with TalkBack enabled.
This should raise blindness awareness.
If the user still has vision and doesn't want this entry because the beep bothers them, they should be able to reconfigure an alternative such as power plus double home tap toggled TalkBack (unlike double home tap that brings up the still clumsy, actually imo unusable by non-seeing people, Google now).
At least, is there currently a menu setting where I can change this for the time being, just in case I lose my vision again...
but this is not what I am asking. I would like to know how and when Android developers will address the entire issue, and also whether this is the right place to address the issue, or whether there is a separate forum for seeing users who want to support blind accessibility on Android in all of its device forms.
Thanks.

Yeah, I will say I am sorry this does seem to be a thing with developers.  Not keeping those user's with impairments in mind when designing things, and they only seem to make those adjustments after users inform them that while it is nice to have accessibility if they can't get to it EASILY it's uselss.  Can't believe Android did not have this setting from day 1.

I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it is a feature request description, not a question that can be answered by a community of users.

Actually this has been handled I believe.  Here is the Official Info from the page I will link below this.
"Option 1: Turn on TalkBack when you first turn on your device
This option is available for devices running Android 4.0 and above. Learn how to check your Android version.
When you first turn on your Android device, you can enable TalkBack from the initial setup screen.
If possible, keep headphones handy so that you can plug them in when it's time to enter any passwords, such as your WiFi password. By default, key echo is only turned on if headphones are plugged into your device. You can change this setting later in your Android device settings.
Devices running Android 4.1 and above: Press and hold two fingers on the setup screen. When your device recognizes this gesture, TalkBack is enabled and a tutorial begins.
Devices running Android 4.0: Use your finger to draw a closed rectangle on the setup screen. When your device recognizes this gesture, you'll hear a beep."
https://support.google.com/accessibility/android/answer/6007100?hl=en&ref_topic=3529932


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Google now won't read the contents of lists
Google now won't read the contents of the lists add in the following two screenshots.

Click image for larger version
This is completely unusable from the point of view of blind users, who may want to compose a text, e.g. am impersonal or asynchronous one add opposed to a phone call, and know the list contents which are currently not read out.
Is there a fix for now? Do newer Google devices fix this issue?
Thanks.

Do you have Google Talkback Installed and activated?  This utility is meant specifically to help blind users interact with Android.  If you have not installed, configured, and tried out Talk back yet I highly suggest it for the visually impaired.  It installs as an accessibility service so it can be run system wide, and you should still be able to utilize whatever other methods you are already comfortable with while adding this one to hopefully help fill in holes like this one.
Talk Back Info Page: http://www.androidcentral.com/what-google-talk-back


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About Adding Sim slot on Lg optimus Exceed 2
My cousin presented me a new Lg optimus Exceed 2 from Us and i was in India..there is no sim slot for this mobile..i need to insert any sim to this mobile.?please help me..
Thank you,
Ajay

According to PDAdb, the phone is Verizon-exclusive and CDMA-only, hence it doesn't have a SIM slot (the store programs the cell info into the phone on purchase).
That is, even if you somehow manage to open a hole in the mid-frame, solder a SIM slot on it, and persuade the OS into accepting it, you still will not be able to use it because there's no GSM support at all.


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Android Emulator change system sound
So whenever I turn on emulator, system sound changes. It feels like lower frequencies are cut off, or some strange filter is turning on.
Any idea why it happens?

I'm running Windows 10 and I found that when launching the Android emulator, it would disable my Dolby audio enhancements. I simply had to turn it back on in the Sound properties.


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Non google-playstore based community android-app rating website
Is there any comunity based android-app rating web site where the app-popularity is not based on google-playstore?
The sites i found so far either indirectly uses google-playstore-ranking or some technical writer tells you "wich are the best XXX apps for YYY".
I am interested in community based ranking where even apps that are not available in google-playstore can be ranked.
I am thinking of something similar to *.stackexchange where registered user can either

up and downvote apps
or give an app a quality value (i.e. 1-5 stars)

I found https://www.slant.co/tags/android:

users can ask subjective questions.

i.e. What is the best android app for xxx

users can give subjective answers.

i.e. The yyy app is a good candidate

users can add subjective pro and contra arguments.

i.e. contra: the yyy app consumes to much energy

The community can add more answers and pro/contra arguments and rate each seperatly.


text:
Does whatsapp backup media on Google Drive?
I linked my Google drive account with whatsapp for backup. They give the impression that all accompanying media including video and images gets backed up too.
You can back up your chats and media to Google Drive, so if you switch Android phones or get a new one, your chats and media are transferrable. To use Google Drive, make sure the following is true:

 - Your device must be synced with Google Drive. Google Play Services
   must be installed (only available for Android 2.3.4 and later).
 - Your Google Drive account must have enough space for all of your WhatsApp
   data
 - Your phone must have enough free space to create the backup.

However, it seams that there is only 19mb of hidden data on the Drive after a full backup.
And restoring whatsapp to another device, I get an image not found error when I try to open recent images.

So what is the case? Is whatsapp dishonest if they do not state the limitations of their backup feature? Especially when we need to move images off the device, due to space constraints.

If you see that size is not matching, it's likely that you didn't tick include videos in WhatsApp settings

If you have ticked it and it still doesn't match, that's strange because I have restored to test, when starting to use this feature and all media plus charts are backed up.

does whatsapp keep previous backups on Google Drive ?

No
WhatsApp FAQ says :

Every time you run a Google Drive backup on a Google account, the previous Google Drive backup will be overwritten. There is no way to restore an older Google Drive backup.

So if for some reason your backup doesn't include videos after ticking it also, it makes sense to take a fresh backup on WiFi

But when I restored the media to a different device and tried to open images, I get an image not found error popup.

I can't answer why - only reason would be that your backup was not complete / corrupted.  Quick search on internet doesn't show similar complaints. You would expect multiple hits if this was truly a bug


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Can't connect the camera- what to do?
I am using Xiaomi Redmi 3s prime. I have an issue came up recently. After clicking 2-3 photos an camera error occurs and it says that "can't connect the camera". Then I need to shut down the camera and then have to try after sometime. How to resolve this issue? Is it a problem of software or hardware? please help. Thanks.

Did you try resetting your phone?

Hard reset is never a good solution. Even rebooting violates Linux philosophy.

There could be two solutions for it:

Other Programmes might have been using the camera. Uninstall or force stop that app and try restarting your phone. It should work.
Check whether You have given all permissions to camera in security option in settings or in the home screen. Since i had a miui ROM so i know permissions in miui is very hard to handle.

ok i did restart the phone, it is fine for the time being but I'll ping if it hangs up again. Thanks

This is usually caused when another program is using the camera. Have you tried doing a hard restart, killing all apps that have camera permission or look like they may use the camera, Have you checked for spyware of sorts? Do all of these and if you still have problem update your question stating what you've done.

This should be a comment, not an answer.


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Signing in goggles account error
I have been asked to sign in to goggles account but when I do it gives me error. What might be the cause

It is possible you are using your goggles.com account credentials to reach google.com. Ascertain you are supplying the right credentials and try again.

Check caps lock. Check the username is the same as one you have used before. Then carefully check the password.
Typing accuracy is crucial. For example, note that you type 'goggles' above when I think you meant 'google'.


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How to keep audio players from starting automatically upon reconnecting to a bluetooth device?
Galaxy S4, 5.0.1
How is the system determining which audio app to use when reconnecting to a bluetooth device? Is there a way to change it?
I downloaded some MP3s that won't work in the Google Play Music App, nor Amazon Music app for whatever reason. So I gave up, and decided to play a podcast using a podcast app. Then I connected to my car's bluetooth stereo, and even though the podcast app was open and playing, it tries to use Amazon Music to play the last unplayable MP3 I tried in it. It fails, giving me an annoying notification.
This happens even if I close Amazon Music from the task manager. It still keeps opening back up and trying to play music when connecting via bluetooth, it's like my phone does not have my podcast app recognized as a playback app if Amazon Music (or Google Play Music) apps have been opened since the last phone boot. They seem to have priority over it.
Is there anyway to change how this 'last music app' is triggered or configured?

Due to poor development with some phones, most music apps will still be running in a background process even after you close it.
My advice is to use an app called "Purify". Unlike most task managers, this app keeps app processes closed after you close the app.
But be aware that Purify can temper with many of your social media apps and you may not be able to receive notifications from Facebook or Instagram after you close the apps.
Purify SHOULD be able to prevent your audio player from automatically opening when connecting bluetooth.
Also, it works BEST on a ROOTED device.
If it doesn't work, let me know!

If the device is rooted, there are other methods with less side effects – to e.g. disable the corresponding broadcast receivers of the apps you want to silence :)


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Can android use wifi as client to a Sony camera, and also have an active 4G-connection at the same time
I have a Sony QX1 camera that acts as a wifi AP. My phone connects to it as a client, and I use the playmemories app to control the camera.
Is there any way I can have both wifi and 4G active at the same time, remotely connecting via Teamviewer (or similar) over 4G to the phone from a laptop.
Any help is highly appreciated. Thanks

Why don't you just try and see what happens? With Stock Android, your device will keep up the mobile connection if the connected wifi doesn't provide internet access (which the camera doesn't). It will show an ! in the wifi symbol in the status bar.

Of course I already tried :). Is there a way around the standard behaviour though?

I don't understand. For my phone, standard behavior is that if connected to a wifi network that doesn't provide internet access (like the camera's wifi), the 4G connection will remain activated. Does your device act differently?

I have a Sony Xperia Z5. I have wifi and 4G enabled, and when I connect to the Sony QX1 through wifi - I can not get internet access through the 4G connection. Which phone do you have?

I have access to a rooted Samsung Galaxy S4 Active, and installed the Super Download Lite - a bandwidth booster that allows both 4G and Wifi to be active at the same time - to boost a download. This app has a "Dual Networks" setting to enable both networks that requires root access.
I had control of the phone via Teamviewer over 4G while I connected to the wifi of the QX1. I instantly lost contact across the 4G and could not reconnect


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Failed to verify whole-file signature while rooting on Moto 2G XT1064
First question on here. I've seen others with this verification problem but I couldn't find an answer for the Moto 2G XT1064 specifically. I've gone through all the prior steps, unlocking the bootloader, setting USB debugging to true, installed Moto 2G drivers and android drivers, and so forth. (However, the "OEM unlock" developer option doesn't exist on my Marshmallow 6.0).
Anyways, whenever I try to flash/install SuperSu.zip, I keep getting this error:
verifying update package...
E:failed to verify whole-file signature
E:signature verification failed
installation aborted.

It doesn't matter which SuperSu version I flash, 2.68 or 2.65. It still gets that error. I don't know how to get past the verification failure. Anyone have any clue? Thank you!
EDIT: I use titan-24.11.10-BR-boot.img

What's your current recovery? Post pics of your bootloader and recovery.

Try to get a custom recovery and try to flash it again...

Your on Marshmallow, you need to do some extra steps...
First, install TWRP 3.0 or higher, or be able to boot it one time, and you need to have SuperSU 2.76 or 2.78 (even #'s are stable versions) on the device.
Start TWRP, go to Advanced - Terminal and enter
echo SYSTEMLESS=true>>/data/.supersu and press ENTER
Then exit and go back to home and Install SuperSU normally.

Sorry, Android noob. I installed the boot image, but how exactly do I "start" TWRP? Load recovery mode on my Moto 2G, or run a command prompt on my computer?

@CreativiTimothy Insulting me won't help you root your phone. The answer is you put the current TWRP img file on your PC in the fastboot directory, to start TWRP you can enter fastboot boot twrp.img or you can flash it with fastboot flash recovery twrp.img and then start it from the bootloader. (replace "twrp.img" with the name of your actual twrp image file)

????? I said I was an Android noob, not you. That's why I asked noobish questions like how to start TWRP. Okay, I see. Let me try that

@CreativiTimothy Sorry, I took your comment incorrectly and misunderstood your intent.

Okay, I installed the TWRP. How do I go to Advanced - Terminal? Is that on the computer CMD or on the Moto 2G?

@CreativiTimothy You start TWRP... if you flashed it, power off and enter the bootloader, then start recovery, this should start TWRP. In TWRP, press the Advanced button, then press the Terminal button. Once the terminal is open enter the command EXACTLY as shown in my answer. Then exit the terminal and press the Home button. Press Install and select the SuperSU zip file and flash it, you should notice a message about a systemless install occuring, once it completes reboot and enjoy your rooted device.

There isn't an advanced button. There is "Reboot system now" "Reboot to bootloader" and a couple other options, but not advanced. I'm not sure what you're referring to

Let us continue this discussion in chat.

@CreativiTimothy Did you get it working? I posted in chat but you didn't respond... If you're not in a chat room SA doesn't notify of you new messages unless you turn on Desktop Notifications in the chat room.

Sorry, late reply. I just replied to the chatroom


text:
Why can't I download anything on my phone?
I can download and install apps from Google Play but I can't download any zip file, 7z file, Google Drive website file, mp3, torrent, etc on my phone. I haven't changed any settings as far as i know and I can't download anything from any trusted site. Even the bittorrent app's downloads turn red and stay at 0 despite being known good files. This happens when I try to download files on 4g and also wifi. How can I fix this without doing a factory reset?

I've researched the issue and I've tried downloading things other people say fixed this for them (Astro downloader for example) but nothing works for me.

Is "Restrict background data" turned on?

No, I checked and it's off.

A small guess. Maybe the built-in Download Provider is broken?

Check for Restricted Background data. If it is enabled then you will have problems while downloading irrespective of it being 4G or Wifi. Go to Settings -> Data usage -> Download Manager --> restrict background data option (disable).
You could try any downloader like Download Accelerator Plus (works for me). All you need is to open your website in its local browser or provide download url in the app. Below is screenshot of the app Browser where you need to search in order to download. Then save it in your sdcard or internal storage when you see download option.

According to the OP's comment (with copyedit),

[...] with continued fiddling, I found a solution. After moving to an apartment downtown, I found myself unable to download on my phone even though I was on WiFi. Because my phone says 4G, I installed 4G Speed Browser and browsed/downloaded from there with my phone set to "2G only". This combo works! Very small files are downloading very slowly over WiFi, but at least they're working.

The "4G Speed Browser" might be Uc Mini - 4G Speed Browser, but without the OP's confirmation, this is just a guess.

all_licenses: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


text:
facebook app autoupdate stoping
I need to stop auto updating Facebook app and tried these steps.
But still Facebook app is auto updating. After updating and installing the app, it is shown "Facebook app is successfully updated" message in my android phone.
Additional info.
Phone model : HTC Desire 630
OS : Android M
So can I stop auto updating the Facebook app?

For one, I can't open the link. Did you turn off auto-updating in the Play Store settings?
Most apps will auto-update through the Play Store. Turn that off and it shouldn't update anymore.

I already turn off auto update through play store.


text:
How do I get Gallery and Photos to ignore the images in a specified directory?
When I open Gallery or Google Photos, there are dozens or hundreds of albums and photos that have been automatically pulled from my Music directory, where there are lots of JPEGs that are cover art for MP3 files.
They make it so that it is very hard to find particular photos I've taken with my camera, and in any case it is useless to have them displayed there as I never want to browse music cover art in my Gallery.
I can't find any option to exclude folders, though. How do I make it so the image files in my Music directory are not included in Gallery or Google Photos?

@beeshyams, thank you for responding. If I put .nomedia to my music folder, won't that also stop my MP3 files from being seen by music apps?

@beeshyams, the solution for playing music from a folder with a .nomedia file in it is to use a different music player than I am now. I don't want to have to take on specific music player apps in order to handle a problem with image galleries.

@beeshyams, Thanks for your continued interest. I'm using N7 Player. And it's not the best player, but, if I have to choose between the hassle of unwanted images in my gallery and the hassle of using a new music player that I didn't select for it's features but for one obscure file handling issue, I'll go with the devil I know.

Here's a solution to this old question:
NB :

this applies to

Android 13
the Samsung gallery application

various hacks suggested by other answers did not work for me :

.nomedia files
renaming all album art files to Cover.jpg / AlbumArt.jpg / whatever

How to proceed :

start the Gallery application
click the bottom-right hamburger icon (≡) | Settings
disable the Select albums to display option. This actually controls which option will appear hereafter :

when enabled : you'll get Select albums to display
when disabled : you'll get Select albums to hide

leave the Settings page
click the Albums bottom tab
open the top-right menu 3 vertical dots (⋮) | Hide albums
select the albums you want to hide

After that, you'll have to clear the Gallery's cache :

return to your Home screen / App screen (the screen having the Gallery icon)
long press the Gallery icon until a context menu appears
in this context menu, click the top-right circled "i" ⓘ
on this new Application information page, click on Storage
click Purge cache
enjoy

source : https://doc.callmematthi.eu/Android.html#hideAlbumArtFromGalleryApp


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Galaxy s5 bricked
I have a galaxy s5 that goes in bootloop.It doesn't enter in recovery but it goes in download mode.I have available an other s5.Is there something to do to make possible that the galaxy cone to work again?

Use the Heimdall Suite to flash a recovery image.

If you own windows, use the lastest version of Odin. Then look for your STOCK rom on the internet and then download it. THEN, follow the steps here:   http://www.w0lfdroid.com/2014/04/How-to-Flash-Restore-Galaxy-S5-All-Variants-to-Stock-ROM-Using-Odin3.html

I have already done this...nothing:(:(:(

Can you please give me some info about your phone? Do you remember what model? What carrier?


text:
Phone always goes to TWRP recovery when powered on
I just recently installed/flashed TWRP Recovery on my rooted Samsung Galaxy S6 running Android 5.1.1 with no custom rom.
TWRP Recovery runs fine I assume (haven't tried any features), although whenever I now boot up my phone it goes straight to TWRP recovery. I definitely do not want this, help?
How I installed TWRP Recovery:

Downloaded and installed Flashify from Play Store
Opened Flashify and selected Install Recovery (or similar) and selected TWRP
Downloaded ..forgot.. It ended with .img
Pressed "Yup!" To flashing it
Pressed "Reboot Now"

I don't really know much about flashing stuff/TWRP and really any advanced root stuff. How do I make my phone not boot into TWRP Recovery every time (I can't access my phone now...)Phone's model number: SM-G920I

DM-Verity

"This device uses dm-verity!
  This means that swiping to allow system modifications will prevent you from being able to boot if you are using the stock kernel. In order to bypass dm-verity's boot prevention, you will have to install a kernel that has dm-verity disabled in the fstab."

DM-Verity Reference: https://twrp.me/devices/samsunggalaxys6.html
Is most likely the culprit here.  What this does is run a check on boot and if you are using the stock kernel and it sees a different recovery or even ROM than DM-Verity expects it will not allow you to boot the OS and only recovery so that you can put the official OS and recovery back.  The only way to fix this is to use a custom kernel (or custom ROM that includes a custom kernel),
OR of course if you were to do a full factory image flash (using ODiN you visit Samsung site and get the Factory image meant for your device (be sure model matches your phone's before downloading), put device in download mode and run Odin to flash the factory image.  Of course you will lose root and the custom recovery this way, but it should boot.
Since you did not include your actual model number I hesitate to link just any ROM or Kernel as they may be intended for another variety of the S6.  If you would like comment or edit your question and add the SM-blah model number and I can be of more help in linking ROMs/Kernels (not really what this site is for, but if you need those to get your phone basically running I can at least find the most popular variety of what you need which should hopefully get you working again.  Yuo can google SM-blah ROM XDA and that should give you links to the XDA forums for your device.  They are very well know community that does custom Android work of all kinds.  I can't say it enough make sure you verify your phone's SM-blah model number against the developers ROM info page to make sure it is actually meant to be used with the exact version of the S6 you have.
Possibly Flashify (DOUBT IT)
Flashify selected the wrong partition automatically (it does warn you to verify it chose the right partition before flash), so you would need to flash a ROM and start again (Flash ROM, GApps AND Recovery.zip [https://twrp.me/devices/samsunggalaxys6.html])  DO NOT FORGET TO FLASH THE RECOVERY IF IT IS IN WRONG PLACE YOU NEED TO GET IT IN RIGHT PLACE BEFORE RESTARTING AFTER FLASHING THE OS IF NOT YOU MAY LOSE THE RECOVERY.

Added my phone's model number at the end of my question. I will be more than happy to use a custom kernel/rom. I was kinda assuming I could get away with it because I used an auto-root kernel to root my phone, so I thought I could get away with it.

Well auto root gives you root and it may also include a kernel, but that would most likely be a separate run through from the root procedure (though it could copy a kernel during root.  Also if your phone has had an update and is using a different version of Android may need an updated utility.  You have root though or no super user and you would have failed the recovery flash.  Is it TWRP or stock recovery when it boots now?  On it with model hold for more info.

Hmm? I didn't do anything yet, so it's still TWRP? I have SuperSU (chainfire). Also haven't updated my phone (5.1.1) since rooting it.

Here is a ROM I would suggest if you are just getting started.  It is a modified stock ROM [Marshmallow]: http://bestandroidstuffs.com/install-android-6-0-1-xtrestolite-rom-on-galaxy-s6-sm-g920i/
Another one is a port of S7 Edge ROM giving you all the features S7 Edge has: http://www.teamandroid.com/2016/04/08/install-android-601-noblerom-galaxy-s6-g920i-marshmallow-custom-rom/  and finally a CM13 [unofficial]: http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s6/development/rom-galaxy-s6unofficial-cyranogenmod-t3434849

Here is just a custom kernel (modified stock) if all you wanted to try was just to swap out the kernel: http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s6/development/rom-tyrannus-rom-v1-0-31-07-2015-t3169760  Finally the XDA Forums [JUST BE SURE TO ALWAYS CHECK TO MAKE SURE WHATEVER YOU DOWNLOAD IS FOR THE SM-920I] as this section of their forums covers about 15-20 different versions of the S6: http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s6

How do I download the files for the Marshmallow ROM and add them to my phone storage if I can't access my phone or is it possible to access it via PC (even with lock screen enabled)? Also, what data is being deleted when I do a factory reset from TWRP?

Well you have several options if you can use Micro SD card you could remove it from phone use adapter and plug in to computer copy files and put back in phone.  TWRP should have a file manager and I believe even allows you to mount storage over USB cable to computer if you check in it's settings.   You could use an adapter which enables you to plug USB drive into your charge port (usually like under $5) if your device and/or recovery supports USB OTG (Probably does).
Worst case you need to manually boot to download mode and use Odin (will need ODIN ROM image frm XDA forums or Google search)

SOO worst case is you find the XDA unbrick thread with your Factory ROM in an image meant for use with Odin then download that and the right Odin version (should be whole thread with instructions on how).  Then Connect USB from computer to phone do manual button press boot method to get to download mode open Odin (with admin rights), open image file with Odin and then flash.  This will be a full factory image without root.  You could pre-collect everything then use same root method and when you get recovery on boot then flash custom stuff.
That should make sense I hope.

http://www.gizmoadvices.com/unbrick-unroot-galaxy-s6-and-galaxy-s6-edge/ should be what you need. They say unroot in the title, but they have you do that by flashing the factory image so really this is how to unbrick your Samsung S6

"Unbricking" the device seems to be a good option, but what will it change, eg Change back to Stock Recovery, change kernel? Because I rooted my phone using an auto-root kernel, will it mess up if I change my kernel? And, afterwards, can I install a custom rom and then reinstall TWRP Recovery and it will work?

Unbricking will take the phone back to how it was when you got it out of the box, and then you can choose to root it again if you want.  If you use the same method just download the custom Kernel (could try just this if using a modified stock kernel and see if it boots or skip this and go for custom ROM and Gapps replacing the factory ROM) ROM, Gapps, Recovery and whatever else then when you get to the point it boots to only recovery the files are already there.

Wait, couldn't I use the adb push to put the ROM files on my phone instead? Otherwise, I will try unbrick it and root again, install a rom and then try install TWRP again. But it will delete all my data? The only thing I care about is my photos, how can I transfer them to my computer from TWRP Recovery?

You could try it, but depends on if the recovery supports it.  ADB is a daemon that runs in the background so if you can not boot in to Android ADB is not available.  I think TWRP has tried to do something in allowing ADB during recovery, but I think it is a custom version and I don't know if it has access to the actual device storage (depends whats mounted which there is a mount menu in the recovery, but if only /recovery is mounted its only thing you could copy to which would not have enough room for much of anything and would not be accessible for installs).

It's not a bad thing to take the phone back to factory.  Yo already know how to root it, and yeah it's extra steps, but it is Friday and the weekend now just set aside a couple hours get the factory image and use an older Windows machine if your current one does not like the exe.  You can not put the exe on the phone it will do nothing for you the factory image is inside that exe and you need to run it to get what you need out of it your phone can't use it.

Which kernel/rom should I install to get out of the "soft brick", and if possible can you tell me how to instal, with TWRP Recovery? I will try putting the file on the phone with ADB. If that doesn't work I will take the phone back to factory. I don't really want to reset it to factory, since I want to keep my photos, but it won't matter that much if it's the only (and easiest) option to fix my phone.

I provided links to both a modified stock kernel and modified stock ROM for your phone in earlier comments.  Those links take you to the XDA threads where you can read the info about them if you wish before downloading.  They are not direct file download links.  You can also find more info on things like using ADB in recovery for your device possibly in the XDA QA threads.

I decided to do the factory reset with Odin. I connected my phone, ran Odin and put my phone into download mode. I then downloaded the firmware. It says it's a 1.7GB file, estimating 7 hours.. So I took my phone out of download mode by holding Power+Up+Down volume. I turned it back on, and some how it booted up normally. Any idea how putting my phone in download mode could have any effect? Restarted phone and still booted up. Should I try go in recovery mode and see if TWRP is still there?

@Mike may I suggest you go over all those comments and see what can be integrated with your answer, and then delete the ones of you that got obsolete plus "flag obsolete" those of Kamdroid which are no longer needed? Currently, it's a bit too long a tail of comments here :)


text:
Change os variable for touch sensibility becasue when in sms writing mode random touched started
This problem happens when we are in text writing mode and then when switched to main page (home) random touches stopped.
I suggest that wet screen maked it but when I go back to home page everything is OK.
I suggest that my xperia Sony after broke and changing the screen glass when under sun light occur problem again but in Game Mode everything is OK. (when a game is running everything is OK.)
After all the stories I concluded that the Android operating system may be a variable for sensitivity in sms mode.(or keyboard Mode)
Accordingly if I can change the value android sensibility variable for touch in writing sms MODE we hope to fix it. Is there any solution for change android variables like this by programming or by rooting my phone?
EDIT:
SONY XPERIA Z1

I notice English must not be your first language so excuse me if I misunderstand what you are asking here...
What do you mean by random touches?  I am taking this to mean when a certain screen is open random touch events happen on screen as if you are tapping it yet you are not.
I am not sure where Game Mode comes in and what exactly you mean.
Replacing the screen may not have fully fixed your issue.  Keep in mind there is both your screen and the digitizer (the sensor that activates when you actually touch the screen) and you also have highlight lamps.  Anyways replacing these with after market stuff is always a crap shoot.  You could have gotten a lower grade screen (LCD get rated A B C D by how many dead pixels or other small issues are allowed to be present in a screen before sale).  You may have even gotten a screen not truly made for your device.  These can all cause different issues in different ways.  I have seen heat be a factor (where if your CPU temp is high the screen is warm and this changes how/when touches get detected).  I mean you could have even accidentally left a tiny piece of glass in there and it is randomly pushing on the screen, or the data cable when you connected it if it is not seated all the way or if the contacts were shorted out from getting wet this again could cause odd random issues.
As far as adjusting touch sensitivity that is a device setting any user can get to:
"Introduction
ANdroid has a feature that lets you control the sensitivity of your screen. While it's not an accessibility feature per say, it could be useful for people with dexterity issues. If you want to be very sure you are touching the right thing, set the screen sensitivity lower and you will have to work harder to activate things. If you need a softer touch because you just can't muscle your screen around, set the sensitivity higher. When I started seeing lollypop devices, I noticed that they really took some serious muscle to get them going and now I have begun doing this to all of the devices I see so that they work better with talkback.
To change this setting:
tap settings.
Tap Language and Input.
Scroll to the very bottom of these settings and tap pointer speed.
I have seen sevreal default speeds, none over %50. Increase the slider to make the touch screen more sensitive and easier to tab. Decrease the slider to make your touch screen less sensitive and more difficult to tap.
Tap OK and then experiment with the results.
Works on:
HTC! m9,
Samsung Galaxy Note3 Lollypop,
Motorola moto G lollypop,
Motorola Moto X Lollypop,"
Reference: https://www.inclusiveandroid.com/content/how-control-sensitivity-your-screen
The place where you find this setting also depends on which version of Android you are currently using so if you do not see it you can google Adjust touch sensitivity Sony Xperia
I did find this specifically for the Xperia, but if you have the Z2 or if you have a different OS version than what this users used you may again have to do some more searching.
"You have simply follow some of the steps after that your problem will be solved:::::::::::::::>>>>>>>>>>>

First of all go to the main menu
Then go to the setting icon
Then go to the display option
Then tap on the touch option
Then increase the level of touch
Then save the setting
After that restart your device

All the best
Thank you"
Reference: http://androidqueries.com/how-increase-touch-sensitivity-sony-xperia-u-mobile-13238.html

Ok dude....if you have root there would be a solution for that problem.
Mount system as r/w and go to system/usr/idc.
It that folder you will find 3 files.
Open, with a text editor, the file called "clearpad.idc" .
In that file search for " touch.filter.level = 2 "
By default the value would be "2".
Change that value the as you want between 1 and 7. (I would recommend "4" or "5")
Reboot your device.
source is here


text:
How do I "unroot" my android device
Now with Pokemon GO pushing the new update and not allowing rooted devices in the game, I want to reverse that.
So how do I unroot my device
Bonus: How do I manipulate the app into thinking I do not have root access
Edit: I used SuperUser's Full unroot option but it does not remove root access. Either SuperUser has a problem or my phone's jacked up

If this is the case, it explains a large amount of the lost users ;) (including me, cry!).

Sorry, but your question is off topic here. The [android] tag gives specific guidance for this. I have voted to migrate to the proper site.

But Which site?

Look I'm in mobile, I'm sorry

If you want to unroot only to play Pokemon Go, you don't need to do so.
Just root with Magisk:

Download the magisk installer from the official post on XDA-Developers
Flash it with the custom recovery.
Install the Magisk app (also in that post on XDA)

Now, to hide root from Pokemon GO:

Go to Magisk Hide and enable Pokemon GO
Go to Settings, and press on Hide Magisk Manager

It will take a while, just let it work.
When it finishes, reboot your device and open Pokemon Go.
If it still detects root, clear the data of Pokemon Go.

How to Unroot

Open SuperSU and go to the settings tab.
Scroll down and press "Full unroot".
You'll be asked to confirm you want to fully unroot, press continue.
SuperSU will close when finished, now restart your device.
Now uninstall SuperSU and you should be unrooted.
Make Pokemon GO think you're unrooted
An application called Magisk can do this. I have not tried it, but you're meant to be able to "turn off" root when playing Pokemon GO, and back on again when you're not. This will also work for Android Pay because it also uses the same method to detect root.I would probably try this one:Magisk! – How to Play Pokemon Go on Rooted Android!

Or you can search online for other tutorials on how to do this.

You don't need to unroot. You can use Magisk to hide your root status. Head over to XDA to learn how to do it.

First How to Just Unroot the Device
You can unroot the phone by opening SuperSU app and choosing full unroot (or just removing /system/bin/su is sufficient usually, and can be done with a file manager like ES File Manager (left hand tray has tools header and under that is the root access toggle and Mount R/W tap that and select /system to be rw) you can then delete the su binary in /system/bin (sometimes /system/xbin though this is more rare)).
More Detail and possible solutions [First Guest Account]
I do not know of any direct ways of hiding SU from apps, but you could try a guest user and if you leave the multi user option in SuperSU unchecked then the guest user account may be able to run the app and the app may not see the root.
More Detail and possible solutions [Second Unroot then use Custom Recovery to Apply Root when Done]
You can lose root and be OK if you maintain the custom recovery.  Then what you could do is do full unroot from inside SuperSU app and restart device. Now install and/or run Pokemon GO!.  When done restart to recovery and flash SuperSU.zip and restart again.  Now you will have root access back until next time you wish to play Pokemon GO!.
Editorial [some Concern for Users from the Author]
Now you do realize Pokemon GO! was done by an NSA contracted company and is used by the government as a general spy tool (think about it a bunch of people running anround with phone cameras and mics running is a wet dream for those guys), so you may want to re-think what games you play and what permissions you are allowing apps running on your devices to use (same guy that designed Google Earth Originally for the CIA/NSA before Google Bought it and same guy who wrote the Game Ingress that was originally done by a company under direct CIA contract before Google bought them).
Reference [I'm not just a conspiracy theory nut without backup proof ;-)]:
https://www.corbettreport.com/the-cias-pokemon-go-app-is-doing-what-the-patriot-act-cant/
http://www.networkworld.com/article/3099092/mobile-wireless/the-cia-nsa-and-pokmon-go.html

I'm not really sure your conspiracy theory has anything to do with answering the OP's question.

as the newly added header suggests it's just concern from me to users, plus also demonstrates why it is a good idea to investigate permissions users grant to applications they use which does have practical security applications.

Great but again, not relevant to the question...

Relevant in that security should be thought of in everything you do not just a subject spoken about when directly queried.  The example given is for the OPs directly stated app its not just something added out of left field.

I appreciate your feedback on this and for me that kinda thing is more an exception than the rule as evidenced by my others answers around the site.  The example given is just soo blatant I would have felt like I let users of that app down if I did not at least mention it.

Okay that's great and all, but still, the conspiracy theory adds nothing to your answer, and in fact was unwarranted completely, the OP never asked about the mechanics behind Pokemon GO...

It adds information pertaining to the app the user is using and could help them decide whether or not the proposed solutions are worth the trouble or if since they may not have known of this may cause them to not use the app and not need to go through the motions of the answer and is a third option if you will.  Yes it is a slight stretch, but again I feel it does add some valuable info (as reference links show this is not just my opinion research has been done).


text:
Why to get Mobile Broadcast notices in OxygenOS 3.x abroad?
I am abroad and get such notices about cell broadcast etc when in Baltics in Fig. 1. My SIM card settings are in Fig. (2-3).
Fig. 1 Broadcast-notice visible often in Baltics,
Fig. 2 Settings > SIM Cards > Sim Card 1,
Fig. 3 Settings > SIM cards > Sim card 2

I googled the [city] 14442 but could not find anything about it.
Perhaps, it is some piece of information about radio channels but could not find about it.
Some threads recommend to configure Call Settings (here thread Turning off cell broadcast in HTC Desire 816).
To turn them off in OxygenOS, you can go to Settings > More > Mobile Broadcast settings > choose there appropriately.

Turn off Amber alerts.

OS: OxygenOS 3.1 (Android 6.x)
Phone: Oneplus 2
Related: Examples of mobile broadcasts being used, Turning off cell broadcast in HTC Desire 816

My guess would be the provider announces the Cell Broadcast channel that way. Check these posts for more details.

@Izzy Yes, I think you are right. I cannot find any Call Settings in OxygenOS, see the body.

Masi, that got nothing to do with call settings. It's the cell broadcast channel you have to select in the cell broadcasts app (if your device has any). A little Google-Fu turned up this thread. Quoting: Go to settings/Wireless & Networks/More/Emergency Broadcasts. (that's where you at least can turn them off). You can also check for an app named "cell broadcast" – or see the second link in my previous comment.

Android 6 feature in some regions. I have not get them in default Android 7 anymore.


text:
How to Auto-upload Screenshots of Android to Google Photos or Other?
I just noticed that my phone is not automatically uploading screenshots into Google Photos.
Phone: Oneplus 2
OS: OxygenOS 3.1 (Android 6.x)
Phone: Oneplus 3T
OS: Oreo 8.0

use Google Now

AFAIK , auto uploaded to Google photos is not a standard feature of stock. I am not aware of Oxygen. I suggested Google Now since it shows the option of Google photos amongst a bunch of others

Use Google Photos and enable Back & Sync for the feature.
Differential solution.
Use Mega where you can enable Auto-upload of pictures/camera shots to the application.
OS: Oreo 8.0
Phone: Oneplus 3T

Auto-upload of Screenshots is not a standard feature in Android 6.x at the moment. (beeshyams)


text:
Nexus 6P adapter confusion
I just received a new Google Nexus 6P, and the included power adapter is something I have never seen. It has diagonal pins, so I am unable to plug into any outlets (I am in the US). Is this some kind of international adapter? Or am I missing something obvious?

Thank you.

Adapters vary across the globe, and there is a World Standard body to differentiate them. You were shipped the incorrect one.
This is a Type "I" adapter, mainly used in SE Asia, comes in styles with 2 (yours) or 3 pins.
This style is used in Australia, New Zealand, China & Argentina.
See here for the different types of adapters.

Direct Answer
You got an ac adapter meant for a different part of the globe as wbogacz stated, but if you still have the adapter from the Nexus or well any device just about you should be able to use it with no problems.  You may be able to look in the packaging and many ac adapters sent these days can be converted (usually the plug face slides away and you can grab another plug face (meant for that charger not another) and slide the US plug face on to it if they shipped it with your device and it just has a different plug adapter connected to it.
Possible Immediate Solution
I use my Nexus 7 tablet ac adapters to charge my Battery backup pack, my phone, my ps4 controller and a good number of other USB devices.  If you look at the label of an adapter you have as long as it says it does an Output of no more than 2 amps than the vast majority of devices will be OK with using it (some newer devices have fast charge and their chargers may read up to 5v while devices and the charger should be able to handle that if you want to be safer I do not use USB AC Adapters on devices that do not fast charge (when plugged in the lock screen will read charging, charging rapidly, or charging slowly (rare)) that have outputs above 2A.
Easiest solution (though slower charge)
If totally unsure you can always connect the USB cable to a computer USB port and that will almost never cause any issues (though it will only slowly charge most devices).
Tech Notes

I can plug my fast charging phone in to a 2amp charger and it will still read charging quickly this does not mean the charger is unsafe for use with other devices just that the device is still capable of fast charging when connected to it.

How to be absolutely sure a charger is safe for a bettery

You can also be detailed and look at your physical battery (or documentation if it is sealed and you can not see the actual battery) and there will be a label mentioning input Volts if the charger label OUTPUT voltage is equal to or less than the stated INPUT voltage on the battery label you are definitely SAFE to use that charger with that device


text:
Can the Nexus 6P use GSM data if the connected Wifi has no route to the internet?
I have a Nexus 6P and use it to connect to a Phantom 3 4K drone using WiFi. Obviously, because it's a private WiFi network with no external connectivity my phone can not contact the internet via WiFi.
This wouldn't be a problem but the app that I need to use, DroneDeploy, requires a connection to the drone via the DJI Go app (which needs to use the WiFi to connect) and the internet to pull down waypoint settings and to use mapping images.
I have a 4G connection however when my phone connects to the WiFi it doesn't seem to try and fall back on the GSM for external connectivity.
Is there a way I can get my phone to use the 4G connection for the internet connection while maintaining the private WiFi link to the drone?
Thanks in advance!

Android 5+ should do this automatically in most cases if there is no route to the internet you will see ! next to wifi icon in notification tray.  You should also still see the mobile data icon showing you are connected to mobile data like LTE or 4G.
You could try to go in to developer settings and enable Cellular Data Always Active
Enabling Developer Settings Menu in Android 6 (4-7 I believe)

Go in to device settings
scroll to bottom
Tap About Phone or About Device or About Tablet
Scroll down to where it says Build Number
Tap this about 8-10x (You will see toast come up after the first several taps and it will say you are x taps away from enabling development settings).

When you are done you can hit back until you are back to the Device Settings window.  Now you should see a new entry toward the bottom labeled Developer Options {}
Enabling Cellular Data Always Active [and possibly Aggressive Wi-Fi to Cellular Handover]

Go in to Device Settings Menu
Tap Developer Options
Scroll Down to Cellular Data Always Active
Tap to Enable this
As it says it will keep Mobile Data connected even if Wi-Fi is connected (so when you disable Wi-Fi Mobile Data is already there no wait.  This can cause your battery to drain more quickly (mine isn't hardly noticeable and I have this enabled and have for some time), but if battery life is a concern it is something to keep an eye on until you have used it and know how your device reacts.
You could also try enabling Aggressive Wi-Fi to Cellular Handover at the same time as this tells the device to favor cellular data when Wi-Fi Signal is low, BUT if drone signal gets low while flying Wi-Fi may drop in favor of Cellular so you may want to try this when drone is flying in safe conditions.  This is just something that could help you in your endeavor it is not a mandatory setting if you rather leave it disabled and only try it if you don't get what you want in your first tests.

Caveat with some Basic Info
You MAY still have some issues since you will now be connected to both networks. You won't know without testing if for instance I go to a website it first sends out a DNS request. The device will have to choose whether to use Wi-Fi or Cellular Data for this request which is hard to adjust [Google: Split DNS VPN to get a feel for what I mean here].  You can get all nitty gritty and look at modifying the routing table if you have root access and all, but hopefully it just works and enabling this setting is all you need.
Note About Accessing Dev Settings
Some Android Versions maybe slightly different in ow you "unhide" developer settings.  So, if what I detailed does not work you can Google: Android x.x Enable Developer Settings (replace X.X with your android version ie. Android 4 or Android 4.4.1 depending on what exact version you are running).

I enabled data always active mode and tried again.
When I first connect to the private WiFi network, I see that the WiFi Indicator has the !, and next to it is the cellular signal strength with 4G above indicating that i have a data connection.
The drone fails to connect until the nexus pops up with the "This network has no internet connection, do you want to stay connected" box. If I say "Yes" then the drone connects, but the 4G indicator is removed and I lose internet connection.
If I ignore the box, I retain internet access from the 4G but am unable to connect to the drone.
:/

@Chaostime yup. Android still doesn't support having two active connection completely. You can actively communicate over just one. Samsung Galaxy S6 and above and some other OEMs' phones have ability to connect to two networks and communicate over them actively under certain circumstances. You might want to look into that. Stock/Vanilla android OS can itself communicate with two networks but allow apps to only use one of them (the active one). But on certain custom ROMs and OEM devices, you can connect to resources from both devices. your Drone is on WiFi and internet is via 4G, causing issues


text:
Made a Backup with TWRP, but the backup was moved to my computer. Can I still flash?
So I bricked my Galaxy S6 by wiping the system, data, boot, and all that. Before though, I made a nandroid backup and move the files to my MAC in a folder. But when I try putting the nandroid files back into the empty SD card, I won't show up in the "Restore" option! The kinds of files look like these,

I just want to restore the rom files. Not the data, how would I do this on a mac? I am currently using JOdin. Could I install md5 through TWRP? Is that even possible?? Please help!

/sdcard/TWRP/BACKUPS/<serial>/BACKUP_DIR_NAME/all files -- is this the path where you moved your backup files into SD card?

/sdcard/TWRP/BACKUPS/2016-09-11--21-24-27_LRX22G.S906LUDU1AOG8/(Then the files).                                                         It still doesn't recognize the files. I don't know what I am doing wrong! I will send more screenshots of the issue.

Inside the BACKUPS folder you need to have a folder with name as the Serial number of your device. Inside that, put your 2016...

My experience tells me that for TWRP to detect backup files the latter should be in a directory whose name would be shown as the name of the backup and that directory in turn should be under:
/sdcard/TWRP/BACKUPS/<serial>/

Here, replace <serial> with the serial number of your device. You can find the serial number of your device using the command:

getprop ro.serialno   # prefix adb shell, as appropriate

E.g. my backup files for the backup named 13-09-2016.Weekly are under:
/sdcard/TWRP/BACKUPS/X1JE45FGI3/13-09-2016.Weekly/

That was my problem. I simply didn't have THAT folder with serial number. Luckily I was able to obtain it by looking at the "recovery.log". I was able to restore my rom now. I'm so glad that my parents didn't find out I had bricked my device!


text:
Stop Text Notifications From Showing On Edge
I have the Galaxy Note Edge and have tried the stock app, Handcent as well as Chomp, but all of them will display a text message on the Edge Screen.
I have disabled the display message over lock screen option, and no messages are displayed there, but the preview shows on the Edge.
How can I disable that?

I was trying to see if I could find a filter which would let you choose which notifications you would want to display on the edge and which you would not.  That way you could use the Edge deal, but get rid of the SMS notifications.  In all my searches I can only find a setting on how to disable/enable all or no notifications.
"Edge Screen Settings - Samsung Galaxy Note® Edge
Check out this Edge Screen video for more information.
From a Home screen, navigate: Apps > Settings> Edge screen.
The following options display:

Manage panels
Express me
Information stream
Night clock
Edge screen text
Edge screen timeout
Notifications

Shows notifications on the Edge screen.

Enabled when a checkmark is present.
Use Edge screen on left

Alternatively: you can access the Edge screen settings by swiping upward on the Edge screen from the bottom then tapping Settings icon."
Reference: http://www.verizonwireless.com/support/knowledge-base-140340/
Now I do not own an Edge variety of phone myself (I will not buy a phone personally that does not allow me to swap out my battery and/or does not allow me to use an external SD Card).  So there could still be a way I am unaware of to set it so you can use Edge for notifications and then just block those notifications you do not want to display.  Of course this is ONLY notifications you can still have the clock/date and news feed and other stuff still running on the Edge while notifications do not.

That was it, thank you!  I have had this phone for almost 2 years and I immediately changed the setting when I got the phone, but the recent "upgrade" to marshmallow changed it again.