text:
Boot from SD or external hardware device?
I've tried researching this before, but was unable to encounter an answer. Can you boot a rooted device through USB-C, SD, or something? I'm currently running a Galaxy S9+ and want to keep Android Pie on the internal storage, but I want to choose to boot from an external device through the bootloader (if there is one). I know how to access recovery mode and such (the mode where you hold the Bixby button, volume up button, and power button), but I don't know if a bootloader can be accessed. Please inform me if it is possible to boot from external hardware via a bootloader, not sure how strict Google is.

Google isn't strict in this regard, Samsung is. But yes, it's not impossible to boot from external sd card. On a Qualcomm device for instance, you need to replace every instance of mmcblk0 with mmcblk1. This includes - but not limited to - modification of RAM disk (like init .rc) files inside boot.img. For that, bootloader needs to be unlocked. On Treble devices, you will also need to modify device tree blob (dtb) which is usually appended to kernel image, also inside boot.img. Kernel cmdline from boot.img and fstab file from /vendor partition also need to be modified.

This is how I did it on my old device: https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/help/how-to-boot-sd-card-qmobile-z8-bricked-t3712171. But this is very device specific; you won't get any practical help unless one has exactly same device as yours and he is willing to do exactly what you want.

You always have to modify boot.img, so the answer is no. If you considering to edit boot.img and manage to mount the external disk to /system, you should mount another partition to /data too.
There are apps like Multirom out there which can loop mount ext4 image files located on internal storage. Afaik not for pie, you should try with some old device first before soft bricking your S9+


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Record audio with display off
I am having this issue with my Android phone: when I turn the display off, the audio becomes jagged. Here is an example of the issue:
http://chymera.eu/debug/audiobug.wav
This has only started happening recently, and checking in with a few other devices, it seems this is not a generic problem. This is all happening on a CAT S41 with Android 8.0.0

Usually the component that manges the CPU slows down the CPUs when the screen is off (and no call is running) to save battery. An app developer can set various "WAKE LOCKS" to prevent the system from going into power save or sleep mode. There also extra apps available that can manually or automatically enable such wake locks.

@Robert As far as I can tell, all audio recording apps suffer from this issue. Can you recommend any applications which allow me to set the wake lock? Would this have to be done generally, or can I make it contingent on whether ro not the recordin gapp or the recording functionality is running?

I neither do audio recording nor use wake lock apps, I only know they exist, therefore I can't get you any advice. Sorry.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Stopping ongoing app updates
How do I force an abort on ongoing app updates happening on my Sony Xperia Aqua Android mobile? It is slowing down all other processes. My cell is setup to do updates when it finds a wifi connection, so I can turn wifi off, but I need it for the other things. Wish there was a way I could put the update downloads on hold and then resume after I'm done using the wifi.

Few solutions:

Open Google Play Store. Goto Settings -> Auto-update apps, then select "Don't auto-update apps". (But Google Play Services and Google Play Store will be updated regardless of this settings).
You can install a firewall and block Google Play Services, Download, Download Manager and Google Play Store to block updates. Unblock them when you need to update apps.

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


text:
Open winmail.dat files on Android
How can I read winmail.dat files on my Android?
I currently get an error message that I do not have an app to view it.

winmail.dat files are Microsoft proprietary files created by Microsoft Outlook and Exchange. Usually Email apps from Microsoft should be able to handle such files. However searching for winmail.dat in Google Play Store shows that several other apps are claiming to be able to open such files.
If you receive such files the sender is using Outlook via Exchange and your contact is misconfigured. Contact the sender and ask to change your contact to plain text format then you will no longer receive such attachments.

Another option might be to open in webmail?  It's been a while, but I recall they should be readable that way.


text:
Record audio from Bluetooth headset
When I try to record audio and have my Bluetooth headset connected, the phone instead records from the internal phone microphone. The headsets all have included microphones for handsfree calling.
This is reproducible with all top-rated audio recorders and three bluetooth headsets.

You need to use an app that supports recording with a Bluetooth headset like: cinema fv-5 lite

Finally!  Something that actually DOES use the bluetooth mic.  (+1 for that)  A lot of apps say they do, and even have a setting for it with the correct name for my headset, but like the OP said, they still use the internal mic regardless.  I only want to record audio though, and I didn't see a way in Cinema to disable the video recording.  Is that possible?


text:
Running "tcpdump" on Android shell gives error: "not executable: 32-bit ELF file"
I'm trying to install tcpdump to monitor network traffic. I've tried multiple versions from link1 and link2. Whenever I try to execute I get an error:
~$ adb connect 192.168.1.10:5555
~$ adb root
~$ adb push tcpdump /data/local
~$ adb shell
~$ su
~# cd /data/local
~# chmod 777 tcpdump
~# ./tcpdump -s 0 -v -w out.pcap
/system/bin/sh: ./tcpdump: not executable: 32-bit ELF file

Any help is appreciated.
EDIT:
~$ uname -m
i686

using the wrong tcpdump ... Use a 64bit version ( arm64 )

@Zillinium Where do you recommend I get a 64-bit ? Can't seem to find any

You are on x86 architecture but trying to run a tcpdump binary built for ARM architecture. Link2 provides source code and link1 a 32-bit ARM binary which won't work obviously. You need a 32-bit executable for Intel / AMD processors which you can build from source code, or try this one.
RELATED: ARM vs. x86.


text:
Link between device state & user settable root of trust
I am (still) trying to understand exactly how verified boot works and I am wondering what happens when a user-settable root of trust is used by the device.
As said here:

If the device is LOCKED, the bootloader goes through the steps in
  Verifying Boot to verify the device's software. LOCKED devices boot
  only if the loaded OS is properly signed by the root of trust. For
  more details, see The boot flow.

Does the fact of setting a user-settable root of trust imply that
the device has to be UNLOCKED?
Does it mean that a LOCKED device can
boot on a custom OS if it is signed with the user-settable root of
trust?
Is the warning still displayed if the user-settable root of
trust is used to validate tue boot process?

Custom root of trust has to be set from fastboot according to docs. The OEM can implement it in different ways, the docs recommend that a custom certificate can only be installed from UNLOCKED state
Once your certificate is installed as root of trust, you can boot in LOCKED mode (only binaries signed by either you or the OEM will be allowed to boot)
Following the docs, a warning should be displayed if booting a custom signed firmware (booting the OEM signed one shouldn't ?)


text:
Is there any way to return the AM/PM to my status bar?
This is specific to a carrier-locked (VZW) Samsung Galaxy Note 9 running v9.0 Pie. Samsung decided to take away the AM/PM indication in the status bar clock, likely to save space for the "hole punch". They didn't even see fit to make it an optional toggle. My web searches have returned no result apart that people other than just myself rely on it being there. Does anyone here have a solution of any kind? The key here is the ability to note the meridiem at a glance from any screen
Also: Yes, I know the "Always On" screen has faces that include AM/PM. That doesn't quite work for what I need.
And please, don't respond with "why can't you just look out the window?" like somebody in every other forum I've searched. Some of us don't have windows or operate on a normal human schedule.

Don't see a "AM/PM" indicator on the status bar clock on my Pixel 2 running Android 9.0. Personally use 24 hr clock format. Did find: https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/112787369#comment17 which makes it seem like an existing issue with Android 9.


text:
Blocked on android phone, will my messages ever be read?
Just to keep things short, I was blocked practically everywhere by someone.
I was drunk one night and sent some very very bad messages to this person via SMS!
I am just hoping that there is no change that they'd ever read it. I've read somewhere that Android pushes the SMS messages into a separate inbox, meaning that the person can view them one day if they access that inbox?
That would kind of defeat the purpose of the blocking feature a bit. I just hope they never get read!
If anyone can give me there 2 cents that would be great. Thank you.
EDIT: The phone in question here is a motorola phone, which I assume has very little bloatware (being close to stock android).

It would entirely depend on the device, the SMS app, and its settings. For example, on Microsoft's SMS organizer app that I use, blocked SMS are stored for days before they are deleted.
The same is the case for most devices. Just like they will try to notify the user that a blocked number tried to call them, some apps may show a notification that a blocked number tried to text them. The others would keep the message and not notify. The remaining few would drop the message and neither save it, nor notify.
TL;DR: It will depend on the device and the SMS app used. You cannot do anything anymore. So, just hope that they never get to see it and move on.

The phone in question here is a motorola phone, which I assume has very little bloatware (being close to stock android). If so, do you know how many days the messages are stored for? (Yes, trying to move on... :( )

@noob If the app used by Motorola is Google's Android Messages app, then any messages from blocked senders are dropped. They will never get your message anymore.

The simple answer is we don't know if they will ever be read. Why we don't know?
Because it depends on whether the person to whom you sent the SMS decides to unblock blocked numbers or not.
When a number is blocked, the SMS are received but the messaging app (at least the standard that comes with most devices), put them in archives and doesn't alert or give notifications about them. However, they are present on the Message app. If the number is unblocked, then all those SMS will be available to read.


text:
I just want to call numbers I find on the internet!
When I click on a phone number in Chrome on the internet it prompts me to download Hangouts. I just want to call it with the default Samsung dialer not Hangouts! How do I do this?

What prevents you from simply typing the number by hand?

Sounds like the default application has been changed from "dialer" to "hangouts" - so when you press a phone number, it's calling to the default handler for that thing... which is the phone number.
So, look in your phone's settings for default apps and see what's selected for the dialer call as it should now be hangouts (so just look for hangouts in there and if you find it, click on it to change it - maybe, depends on your phone).
Good luck!


text:
How to transfer the data from my current sd-card to my new sd-card?
I got my Samsung Galaxy J3 crown in December and put my previous 64 GB card in it and used it for about 4 months. Then I got a 128 GB card and put it in my phone.
I am unsure how to transfer everything from the old to the new card especially because the default download location is there. I cant find it in the settings and really need some help.

If you have a PC and an USB SD-card reader I would do the following:

Unmount/eject the old SD-card (or simply power down the Android phone)
Place it into the USB SD-card reader and connect it to your PC
Copy all the files using the Explorer or a similar file manager to a folder on your hard disk
Eject/unmount the USB SD-card reader
Replace the old SD-card with the new SD-card
Connect the USB SD-card reader with the new SD-card inserted to your PC
Copy all the files from the folder on your hard disk to the new SD-card
Eject/unmount the USB SD-card reader
Place the new SD-card in your Android phone

If something goes wrong you can still switch back to your old SD-card and you can start another try.


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What does the charge counter in battery indicates?
I have used the adb shell dumpsys battery command on my phone. It delivers the following results (posted on the image). Most of the terms, I can understand but not the charge counter. What does it indicate and why does it decrease whenever I connect my phone to the USB cable? What is the significance of charge counter for battery?
I tried googling but cant find the answers.

I checked the Android source and the value shows your remaining battery capacity in microampere-hours.
BATTERY_PROPERTY_CHARGE_COUNTER
Added in API level 21

public static final int BATTERY_PROPERTY_CHARGE_COUNTER

Battery capacity in microampere-hours, as an integer.

Constant Value: 1 (0x00000001)

Source - Developer.Android.com

The temperature shows 350 is it in Kelvin or in other format. I have also another doubt lenovo vibe k5 note's output produces two presets and status. Does it mean it can hold two batteries?.

@BalaSubramanian the temperature is in tenth of a degree centrigrate. You divide it by 10 to get the celcius value. In your case it is 35 Degrees. The K5 doesn't seem to have 2 batteries, but maybe there's a difference in the way the system utlizies the battery cells. I don't have a clue about that.


text:
Android Studios Adb server problems

I formatted the desktop and i'm try to install the Android Studios version 3.2.1 installation setup was completed but when try to run the project .It show error log like this Unable to detect adb version, adb output:I try to install the SDK manager manually. i try to update the tool with stable latest version 3.3.2 when run this project again show like this . So kindly help out from this issuse

Hardly It takes 2 days to find the answer and fixed.
Error Reasons happened  for me
**OS some .dll files missing*
*Os get erupted**
I faced this type of error in my PC .So check and download the images file properly and install it.
Now i currently working on the Android studios for the project. I do no the exact reason for the error . But tired this way to Solve this error .
If you want to install the Android studios you have to check  the Android Debug-Bridge is running or not .
It has two methods
Method 1:
ABD is part of the Android SDK and is made up of three components: a client, a daemon, and a server.  Daemon is the server establishing the bridge for Emulator and USB type .
You have to download the Latest SDK manager from the developer.android.com in that there is a folder called platform-tools go inside the folder and see the adb.exe file.
Now open the Command prompt and make the directory where the SDk manager you download.
Example refer the screenshot below
D:cd sdk-tools-windows-4333796\platform-tools(this example)
then u see like this
D:\sdk-tools-windows-4333796\platform-tools>
then u check for the ADB server is running or not
D:\sdk-tools-windows-4333796\platform-tools>  adb start-server (enter into cmd prompt just hit enter)
after few second  it will be display i like this

daemon not running; starting now at tcp:5037
daemon started successfully

above message say about the server is starting .
simply go to the Task manager in the you able to see the adb.exe in the process
then Install the Android studios it will work fine.
Method 2:
Directly you install the Android Studios .After the completion of installation process.
Go to the terminal inside the Android studios just type the command  adb start-server
After few second  it will be display i like this

daemon not running; starting now at tcp:5037
daemon started successfully


text:
Cannot download through a link
I have google play and app gallery (from Huawei). but whenever i need to download an app through a link it brings me directly to the Huawei Gallery and of course it is telling me the app is not available in my region. how can I solve the problem, I have a google account on my phone and the Huawei cloud account.

when I try to download it is asking if i want huawei app gallery or play store, even if i select play store it still brings me to huawei app gallery

Can you add on the question the phone model (what Huawei model) and Android version?

Huawei mate 20 X Android version 9

Try the following:

Settings -> Apps & notifications -> Apps -> App Gallery -> Open by default, select "Ask every time" (or "Don't open in this app").
Settings -> Apps & notifications -> Apps -> Google Play Store -> Open by default, select "Always allow".

You find "play.google.com" in Other defaults or Supported links of App Gallery, remove it also (just in case).

I have a Huawei phone andthe settings are different:I have Apps < app launch.when i google under play store i cannot select open by default, it says that I have chosen to open this app by default sometimes


text:
Difference between Android sensors (acceleration, gyroscope, rotation vector)
I have an Android 7 phone and I have written an Android application for recording the following sensor values:
Accelerometer (Sensor.TYPE_ACCELEROMETER)
Linear acceleration (Sensor.TYPE_LINEAR_ACCELERATION)
Gravity (Sensor.TYPE_GRAVITY)
Gyroscope (Sensor.TYPE_GYROSCOPE)
Magnetic Field (Sensor.TYPE_MAGNETIC_FIELD)
Rotation Vector (Sensor.TYPE_ROTATION_VECTOR)
Game Rotation Vector (Sensor.TYPE_GAME_ROTATION_VECTOR)

I think the linear acceleration is the accelerometer minus gravity.
Can somebody explain what the difference between accelerometer, gyroscope, rotation vector and game rotation vector is? I've read the description in the Android documentation but it is not clear to me.
Moreover, can I use the magnetic field recordings to calculate some motion or position measurements which I'm not getting from the other listed sensor measurements?

A gyroscope is a proper gyroscope, it finds the ground... Accelerometer reads gforces and finds the acceleration.... Gravity sensor must measure weight changes from say, jumping.. Magnetic Field messures the grounds magnetic energy ( for GPS Coordinates & Compass ) .... Rotation vector is a metal ball that falls to the side for landscape or to the bottom for portrait orientation recognition... Game Rotation Vector may be the gyroscope... Many older sensors are only available because a gyroscope wasn't available... Now heaps of devices have gyroscopes, you don't need a rotation sensor..

@Zillinium Thank you for the explanations. So what I understand is that I just need gyroscope and accelerometer, right? But what about linear acceleration (accelerometer minus gravity)? And is the magnetic field measures of any use for motion and position?

Each Land Mass or Area on earth has a different magnetic frequency, This is like a signature... So yes the magnetic readings are uses for position with the GPS ... If you use high accuracy GPS, The magnetic readings, i think it is call magnetic frequency, is used for calculating the real time position...

@Zillinium Alright, but just for orientation and motion of phone on same place the magnetic field readings are not of any use?

I can't think of many uses for it to do with orientation, however it could help with rotation ( Compass ) .


text:
Will clearing image cache delete images from gallery?
I have an OPPO A3s where there is an option to clear image cache approx. 900 mb. size.
I want to know if clearing it will delete my pictures or not?

No. Just backup before trying if you don't trust the app.

The device should only clear the thumbnail cache which is used to show the images faster in the gallery when you scroll. It is also used in other places such as file manager.
The cache will be rebuild again unless you reduce the number of images on your device. So, deleting it adds very less practical benefit.
Also, it is a good idea to take a backup of your photos before touching them. Do not risk your data just in case the app has some bug.

If you are deleting the image cache and not the images, then your images are safe. The image cache consists of thumbnails created by different apps not the real image themselves.


text:
Android for Work or Custom Rom?
We are attempting to present our progressive web application inside android for our end users who are seniors and would like to have special requirements met that I am not sure which approach we should move forward with. Help from the community would be much appreciated!
We have developed a web application that we would like to run on top of in a sort of advanced kiosk mode on an android OS in a tablet device. Additionally we need to offer our users an interface to modify their wifi settings. These are our rough requirements and wonder if we can reach them using Android for Work or if the community has recommended solutions such as if a custom ROM is necessary:

boot into kiosk mode
initial boot screen is branded or customizable
remove the android header bar
expose via our interface connectivity settings like wifi, bluetooth, and cellular data
access to the device camera
access to power off function
access battery levels

My research into current EMM provider solutions on the market shows that these solutions can really do a lot with the Android OS with the Device Owner permission. We are testing one option now. I'm just not sure if this would be the right approach. Your help is appreciated.

You could try the Android Management API, it allows to manage a device the same way an EMM provider would do.


text:
How to root a rare Android device?
I have with me a Sharp RoBoHoN (SR-01M-W), it is an android device only sold in Asia, and there are very limited information about it on the internet and it is very hard to find outside of Japan, so I have been trying to learn as much as I can about how it works.
I have already decompiled a few of the system apps and learned some interesting things about it, but some of the things I want to do next will require root (swapping out systems apps, installing Google play store, doing a NANDroid backup, etc).
So how can I gain a root shell?

I don't want to change anything on the device permanently / make sure anything I do is reversible, if root is gone after a restart/factory reset, that would be even better.
I don't have the factory image.
I am able to do a factory reset, but I don't know how to get into fastboot/recovery (It doesn't even have volume buttons).
I have tried the DirtyCow exploit, which is able to write to run-as but it couldn't set my uid
I know there are a few "one click root" apps out there, but they don't seems trust worthy and I want to do everything manually if possible to make sure I am not bricking it.
It runs Android 5.0.2

First things first, you must have factory firmware image and enough information to flash it through fastboot or Download Mode, in case things go wrong. Custom recovery will get things more easy for you. Did you check adb shell? Might be your device has a userdebug or eng build of ROM and you already have a root shell. And don't go for one click solutions unless you are ready for worst consequences, they can do more harm than good.

Gaining root access could potentially lead to a reverse engineering of the device to locate an exploit and/or execute an exploit that could compromise the integrity of the system..
My concerns with this are SERIOUS !
Your specific device has many Physical Capabilities being a robot fitted with a projector.
Some famous hacks in the past have targeted people in a physical way, specifically I'm referring to a hack done on a Epilepsy foundation website that caused people visiting the site to have epileptic fits.
If someone was to gain access to your device they could potentially cause harm, Real Physical Harm using the robot to perform physical actions that could directly or indirectly cause physical harm.

Showing flashing light's from the projector to cause epileptic fits !
Walking around and causing dangerous situations like standing at the top of stairs.
Showing disturbing or hypnotic video using the projector.

The list goes on...
Please for the sake of your health, do not root this robot.
Haha...
However i found many ways to root that CPU Model ( Snapdragon 400 )
Please look up how to root Snapdragon 400 CPU...
KingRoot Application will work...


text:
how can i backup wifi profiles without root?
this option isn't available in my default backup app ( huawei backup )
android 5.1
that's what Available in the default  backup app

note: the managers category doesn't contain any wifi info

If your backup app doesn't have such a category, then you cannot back it up. Even in cases where it is synced to your Google account (via the Settings > Google > Backup option) , it is restored only to the phone when you restore the backup while setting up as a new phone. But that will not show you the raw credentials if you're looking to use them. Do note that Google 's backup has its own flaws and this restore may not always work.
If you need the raw credentials, then you will need to ask the owner of that WiFi network.

thanks
although i thought there would be a way around this cause one of my cousins
have the option of backuping wifi profiles
..
then he can view the with an sql viewr (.db) without root
i think this was possible only after he installed an old version of the backup
manger as i think !


text:
My phone won't send icmp/ping unless WiiFi connected. Can this be fixed?
I have local terminal access and ping command works when WiFi connected, but not when connected via cellular service. I get same results using ping within other apps.
Can this be "fixed?"
Phone is Verizon, brand Samsng J7 V, software build M1AJQ.J727VVRU2BSA1

Mobile network operaters block outbound ICMP echo sometimes, and inbound ICMP echo most of the times. You can use nping to use TCP or UDP for pinging if you know some open port on destination. Or you can use a third party service like https://ping.eu/ping. But be sure your endpoint is responsive to echo requests, some routers and PCs are also configured not to respond. E.g. on Linux or Android to block echo requests:
echo 1 >/proc/sys/net/ipv4/icmp_echo_ignore_all


text:
What is directory access permission?
I recently got a Android 9 phone, and I noticed a new section under special access called "directory access". It lists no apps
This wasn't present on my old Android 8.1 phone, so I'm pretty sure it's new
What is it for?

The Android permissions model has been evolving with each release.  Starting in Android P, apps can request "directory access" to receive permission to access a scoped directory on the device.
For example, an app that requests the permission WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE gets full access to external storage.
However, using scoped access, an app that takes and manages pictures might request access to the Pictures folder on your external storage device.  This allows you to ensure that the app in question can read/write data to Pictures and not say, Messages (or anything else in external storage for that matter).
The API is still fairly new so I'm not surprised that you don't see any apps currently using that feature.
Android has been fine tuning access rights for apps, allowed developers (and users!) greater control over who gets access to what.
You can read more about scoped access here: https://developer.android.com/training/articles/scoped-directory-access

And the settings are saved in /data/system/urigrants.xml.

Thanks for the answer! Wasn't sure I'd get one. I upvoted and accepted


text:
Third Party Apps cant get wifi SSID
This is the my first time asking in this SE site.
I have a Xiaomi Redmi 6 Pro running MIUI custom from Xiaomi.eu.
The problem is that in every app (third party apps) that uses Wifi, the SSID is not shown.
It may look like nothing but I have problems with many DashCam apps that don't even connect.
I know I must open an issue to the site where I got the ROM, but I don't know if its directly related to the ROM modification or is a permission that needs to be fixed. I tried to wipe completely my phone but nothing. Even after several updates, same problem. This started when I got Android P.

What you are seeing is most likely the result of an update to the Android SDK that app developers haven't addressed.
Starting in Android P, there were changes to the way apps can retrieve WiFi information.
See: https://developer.android.com/about/versions/pie/android-9.0-changes-all

Similar restrictions also apply to the getConnectionInfo() method,
  which returns a WifiInfo object describing the current Wi-Fi
  connection. You can only use this object's methods to retrieve SSID
  and BSSID values if the calling app has the following permissions:

ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION or ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION
ACCESS_WIFI_STATE

Retrieving the SSID or BSSID also requires location services to be
  enabled on the device (under Settings > Location).

In your device settings, double check to make sure the apps in question are granted location permissions.  You can also go into app permissions and select "All Permissions" to view exactly what the app requests.
If you don't see the above permissions, plus location permission, then probably the app developer needs to issue an update to their app.  Don't be afraid to contact them through their support channels and inquiry about updates - sometimes they are fairly responsive.

This was all I needed to know, thanks


text:
What is the circle showing on android call screen?

What is showing on this circle in middle?

My guess is some sort of Caller ID Picture, Sometimes they're taken from Facebook profile pictures or Google Hangouts profile picture's depending on your settings...

The spot is for the contact's picture. If you have no specific picture saved for the contact, then the system will show this default dummy picture.
Or in other case, if this picture is different from the default contact picture, then there's some picture added for this contact. Check the contact to see if it has an associated picture.


text:
Restore baseband/IMEI of Motorola Moto E5 Plus (Hannah) (XT1924-7)
I have an issue with the baseband/IMEI of my Motorola Moto E5 Plus.
Could this have been caused by flashing a firmware version with RSU (Russian?) found in a repository on XDA with the stock("") firmware and restoration guide and made the mistake of not checking the file thoroughly and believe I flashed the right carrier and version but the wrong region?  I've been digging all over XDA and elsewhere and tried using Lenovo device repair assistant to no avail.
Also, would flashing the HLOS omg be a possible fix? From what I've been able to discover on my own, it seems that is where the instructions for the radio come from in firmware?
I know I'm an amateur but any help is much appreciated.

Did you ever solve your issues?
My backups were faulty (my fault).
I tried the same version of OTA I was on from: https://mirrors.lolinet.com/firmware/moto/hannah/official/Metropcs/ and boot failed. So I downloaded the newest OTA from the same link, that flashes fine. IMEI/bands/all that work fine.
I can not verify authenticity though.
What I did:

Download the newest OTA from lolinet
Uncompress ota.zip to a new folder
Open the new folder, open flashfile.xml on part of the screen (I just let IE open it, Notepad++ would be fine also)
Open cmd from Start/search on another part of the desktop screen (command prompt)
cd desktop, cd newOTAfolder
Boot phone into Download mode (power off, hold power/volume down)
Following the flashfile
fastboot oem fb_mode_set
fastboot flash partition gpt.bin
fastboot flash bootloader bootloader.img
fastboot flash modem NON-HLOS.bin
fastboot flash fsg fsg.mbn
fastboot erase modemst1
fastboot erase modemst2
fastboot flash dsp adspso.bin
fastboot flash logo logo.bin
fastboot flash boot boot.img
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
fastboot flash system system.img_sparsechunk.0
fastboot flash system system.img_sparsechunk.1
fastboot flash system system.img_sparsechunk.2
fastboot flash system system.img_sparsechunk.3
fastboot flash system system.img_sparsechunk.4
fastboot flash vendor vendor.img
fastboot flash oem oem.img
fastboot erase cache
fastboot erase userdata
fastboot erase DDR
fastboot oem fb_mode_clear
fastboot reboot

This gets you Completely wiped/Stock.
Please follow the flashfile.xml, just use my iteration as a guide to reading it.
I use an adb/fastboot that is system-wide. If you just download the self-contained adb/fastboot, you need to uncompress the OTA.zip from lolinet into the adb/fastboot folder.
For what it is worth, on the METRO/Moto E5 Plus, the best custom ROM I have found is AOSPe/AEX. I am currently going back to STOCK and modding that though as all over ROMs have been faulty in ways that make for not using as a daily driver.


text:
Android status bar symbols
Why has Android not made available the meaning of all the relevant status bar symbols?  Why can I not find this complete list?  I try to find out and post it, now Android is stopping me from doing this because I cannot find a ""TAG"" ???  What is going on?

It is mostly because status bar icons vary from OEM to OEM. Each one has a slightly modified icon set to go with their overall skin/UI. And then icons will depend a lot on the features incorporated within a device. So, developing a full list of icon sets seems like a tough task. Because you'll eventually miss at least something used on a phone.
Other than that, 3rd party apps also show their icons up the status bar. And it's impossible to keep a track of each and every app.


text:
How to erase Kyocera recovery partition
I'd like someone tell me how to erase the recovery partition in Kyocera phones. The thing is that I need to power it in fastboot mode, and that is the only way, it's only possible if the recovery partition is empty. Thanks

I'm not familiar with Kyocera, but doesn't the recovery have an option to reboot to bootloader/fastboot? You won't even be able to delete recovery if you cannot go into the fastboot  mode or else if your device is not rooted.

Had same problems with an old MTK... I think i ended up using the boot.img to overwrite the recovery.img...

Singhnsk thanks for your attention. No, the recovery menú have only 3 options and the fastboot mode reboot is not present.

Zillinium that sound good, and it's that I want to do. Now, how do you can do it without the sideload option or the fastboot mode? This Kyocera's processor is not mtk, it's qualcomm.


text:
How to take screenshot, when app does not allow to do it?
My education app does not app me to take screenshot when I play video on it. So can you please tell me , there is any to take out the screenshot.

Video Frame Grabbers...

Without changing the Screenshot Security, a solution would be Video Frame Grabbers ... I use PhotoEditor   GooglePlay Link
Steps to grab that Video Frame ( Screenshot )

Open Photo Editor App

Go To Tools

Go To Video Capture

Open The Video

Capture Frame

If it is a protected video from Google Play or online, you need to use a different method.

Online

ADM ( Advanced Download Manager )

Google Play

Requires root access to pull the video from /data/data/


text:
How to run SSH/SFTP server for multiple user logins with password authentication on Android?
I want to run an SSH server on my Android phone so that my clients (varying between 10 to 20) can easily and securely share data with me when I'm on the go, without using any third-party hosting services like email, file sharing, etc. Every user should have their own directory (enforced using SFTP's chroot) and he/she should be able to log in using his/her own password (not the key file) I provide them, optionally sharing credentials with other users if one needs to.
I didn't find any such flexible solution, especially FOSS. So I built sshd program from openssh source code, using gcc-linux-aarch64 cross compiler on Ubuntu. However, when I execute it on my phone, it throws an error:
~# sshd -d
Privilege Separation user sshd does not exist

How can I add sshd and other users on Android? My phone is rooted.
PS: I'm jotting down an answer to my own question of what limitations I faced and how I have been achieving this for the past few years. Any other method - particularly a non-root solution through GUI for ease of a common user - would be appreciated.

Note:

Make sure your phone is accessible from internet as explained here.
You need a rooted device.

Android phones nowadays aren't those old low-end devices, they can run a full-featured SSH server happily. And it's an easy recipe:

Get fully static sshd binary for your phone's architecture. See details below.
Create /etc/passwd and /etc/shadow. To add a new user with password like we do on a Linux OS:
~# mount -o rw,remount /system; mount -o rw,remount /
~# touch /etc/passwd /etc/shadow
~# busybox adduser -D -H -h /dev/null -s /system/bin/false -u 900 sshd
~# busybox adduser -D -H -h /home/user1 -s /system/bin/sh -u 901 user1
~# toybox passwd user1
~# mkdir -p /data/home/user1/Documents /home /sdcard/home /etc/ssh
~# mount -o bind /data/home /home
~# mount -o bind /data/home /mnt/runtime/default/emulated/0/home
~# chmod 0750 /data/home/user1; chown 0.901 /data/home/user1

First bind mount is required because otherwise SFTP's chroot won't work with /data's bad ownership. Second is to easily access shared files from /sdcard/home. To set non-root permissions on /sdcard/home, use bindfs instead.
sshd user is for Privilege Separation. user1 is our first user that'll be able to login through SSH. In the same way more users can be added.
Add required configurations to /etc/ssh/sshd_config (defaults suffice in most cases):
UsePAM no
PasswordAuthentication yes
Subsystem sftp internal-sftp
Match User user1
  ChrootDirectory /home/user1

Run SSH server, may use logwrapper to get log in logcat:
~# ssh-keygen -A    # generate host keys on first use
~# /system/bin/sshd -4 -E /sdcard/home/.sshd.log

Now you can access server through SFTP / SSHFS. SSHD can also be run as an init service that's handled by Android's init. See this answer for explanation.

DETAILS:
SSH server lets you login remotely after proper authentication. Additionally it serves sharing of files and many other resource sharing securely. But there is no concept of Linux console login on Android (1) because it boots directly to GUI. However it makes use of Discretionary Access Control (DAC) of Linux kernel which is based on UIDs / GIDs and permission mode. Every installed app is considers as a *NIX user and is assigned a unique UID at install time. See this answer for more details on this.
HOW USER LOGIN AND AUTHENTICATION WORK:
Traditionally /etc/passwd contained username vs. UID/GID mapping, while supplementary GIDs were added to /etc/group. Password was also added to /etc/passwd which was later moved to /etc/shadow with the introduction of shadow password suite. Similarly /etc/gshadow contains Secure Group Account Information. These files are read by privilege granting programs such as login, su, sshd etc. and managed by administering programs such as passwd and useradd.
Most of these programs are part of shadow and util-linux package and their behavior is controlled by defining a number of configuration items in /etc/login.defs, for instance logging of different events, password expiry, environment variables etc. Also there are many files that are required or updated by these utilities, including nologin, default/useradd, adduser.conf, skel/, shells, subuid, subgid, limits files under /etc/, /var/log/faillog, /var/log/lastlog, /var/run/utmp, /var/run/wtmp and possibly others.
To centralize the functionality of these privilege granting and administering programs, a more sophisticated authentication mechanism PAM was introduced. Instead of directly handling the user login and authentication stuff, programs link to PAM libraries (called modules) which in turn respond accordingly depending on its configuration files mainly under /etc/pam.d and /etc/security.
Other than PAM, a complicated name resolution mechanism NSS also (a set of modules) exists on Linux distros which controls - among many other things - how passwd, group, and shadow databases are read depending on its configuration file /etc/nsswitch.conf. Both PAM and NSS can be configured to use remote database service like LDAP / NIS. And then there are centralized caching daemons like NSCD and SSSD. Working together, they complete the puzzle of user logins (identification and authentication) on Linux.
HOW TO SETUP LOGIN ENVIRONMENT ON ANDROID:
None of the above described configuration files and libraries exist on Android because user logins don't happen at all. But the programs built with Linux's standard libc APIs require all these files and services - including PAM - on Android too, which is near to impossible. PAM can be disabled for sshd by setting UsePAM no in sshd_config so that it directly reads files /etc/passwd, /etc/group and /etc/shadow.
PAM be gone, still we need to provide a minimal environment that meets the least requirements of login process. ssh binary for instance, needs /etc/passwd to exist necessarily because it sets $HOME from there to read known_hosts, config and id_* key. Also if host is a domain name and not an IP address, /etc/resolv.conf must exist with nameserver for DNS to work. It's a different story explained here.
So we need to create the relevant files on Android manually. Or use the non-PAM counterparts of shadow-utils such as useradd and passwd to update these files. We can get a minimal set of these utilities on Android, e.g. with busybox or toybox.
RUNNING LINUX PROGRAMS ON ANDROID:
Ideally you should write / modify the source code of a program in accordance with Android environment and then build dynamic binaries / libraries using Android's NDK and Bionic libc. But due to differences among Linux distros and Android such as in filesystem hierarchy, kernel configuration, implementation of libc and other libraries (2), code written for Linux distros need heavy modification on Android, otherwise don't mind failed attempts. In case of openssh, see the list of modification patches in AOSP and on Termux. Two of these patches are no password authentication (3) and no multiple users (4, 5). Former was worked around on Termux by introducing new APIs in termux-auth (6, 7), but the later can't be achieved without setting up login environment on Android.
Other options is to build fully static binary with Linux's libc such as glibc, musl or uClibc. While it's easy to statically build small libraries, libc itself links to many other libraries. In case of glibc, all of them can't be built statically, such as dynamically-loaded modules. I'm not sure how effective --enable-static-nss is, but, e.g. gconv can't be linked statically (8). So sshd binary must not be built with glibc, otherwise it won't work without NSS modules.
Also set Privilege Separation Path to some existing directory like /data/local/tmp and disable any other unnecessary features like utmp, wtmp, lastlog etc. Or you would need to create /var directory in rootfs.
FURTHER READING:

Basic explanation on NSS , LDAP and PAM
How To Add Linux User on Android?
Linux vs. Android
How to connect two phones via SSH?


text:
How does game guardian collects data from?
I have a rooted android phone, I just only wanted to know how to get apps Variable values by using the android shell.

Would you clarify apps Variable?

Like the value of no. of coins in a game, or any string value, or any data stored in memory address

Those must be saved in some kind of database in app's data folder, may be encrypted and not simply readable.

"Game Guardian" sounds more like an app that scans and manipulates app data in-memory. This requires knowledge of the general in-memory structure of Linux processes. A generic manipulation tool that can be accessed from a PC would be Frida.

Thank you for telling me about Frida, but i want variable values, not manipulating functions

It works by scanning the /data/data/com.example.app/ database file's...

You select the game, or it grabbs the active application from running applications.
It uses the selected package name like so ...
grep (options) "/data/data/"+com.example.app+"/*.dbs"

It searches the text of all (.*) databases and sometimes other files like configuration files..
If multiple of the number you are searching for is found, then it will ask you to change the number ( buy something - Make your money value change ) Now it will check the lines in the dstabase that it found the first search at, and look for difference's...
So lets say you had 100 dollars in-game ... Your initial search for 100 gives 5 results in various places...
You buy something and your value changes to say 95..
The app uses a grep or similar command to search the 5 initial results and see what has changed to 95 .... When it locates the line responsible for the 100 to 95 change, it has located your Money Value in the game databases .... Now you can manipulate that line to say 1,000,000 ... When you restart the game, you'll have the additional money ...
This is a very old form of game hacking and these days, you can just buy the money from Google Play without paying anything by using an Intent Override...
The game asks you to complete the purchase in Google Play, Instead you can intercept the request and automatically accept the payment as-if it was successful...
If you are interested in that avenue, have a look at LuckyPatcher.apk ... I will not provide a link due to the nature of the application, you'll need to find that yourself.


text:
What does this sms mean( >4 157>?0A=>)
I'm not sure if this is android related but can't find anything on this,
I keep on getting a sms with the message(>4 157>?0A=>). Does anyone know what this error is?

edit: I live in South Africa, I get that messages from different numbers that I believe to be a part of a service people use to send out messages. I have seen the same message from the same number I have received an EA login code.
I use a Samsung note 4, Android version 6.0.1

In the screenshot, it can be seen that the SMS came from a number. So, try to dial that number to find out who is it.

Country Code +27 is South Africa, and the number of digits is accurate for that country. Know anyone there? If not, expect a large bill. Also, research first before calling any strange numbers.

Yeah, I stay in South Africa, I get it from a lot of numbers so I assume its just a reused number for services.

If someone has made malware and have installed it in your phone this message can mean anything. I can't see any other reason for someone to send such a strange SMS. It may be an alternative of a C&C server. Don't respond to it as it may be some kind of scam and charge you but if I were you I would run a malware scan.

I ran scan with bitdefender and my device is clean.

Is your phone rooted ? If yes then the malware may be such sophisticated that a malware scan cannot detect it. I would suggest a wipe if this persists and see what happens.

It could be related to many things on Android, but most likely it is one of two things based on the nature of it's content.

SMS Remote Control Message
Malicious applications can receive command messages and do specific actions based on that command, it may be an application that is being controlled via SMS command...

Back before Android 5.0 day's, SMS Message's could be easily hidden from the user and malware like this was reasonably hard to identify, as you wouldn't even see the outgoing or incoming message's...
  This can still be achieved, however the constant permission acceptance and the new Default SMS App selection in Settings make it a lot harder to perform tasks in the background, hence the visible command message.

Zero SMS / Flash SMS
It is also possible that someone is attempting to send you a Hidden SMS called a Flash Zero SMS.

Flash Zero SMS Message's can be uses to see if your device is active buy using SMS Received Replys, but not allow you to see the message on your end ( usually ).
  Sometimes the Flash Zero SMS's PayLoad is not correctly formatted and you'll actually See the message being received.
   SMS PayLoads have a lot of power on any Mobile Phone, some Pay Loads can program your devices APN for example, Some can configure internet access settings, some can initiate a hidden call to monitor your device, please look into SS7 security protocol to understand more.

The Android version you are using will help to identify the source & help to understand what might be vulnerable.
You should use some sort of Online search engine to find out more information about the number, or even try calling it !

I can't seem to detect any malware, Do you have any advice on what to use, I used Bitdefender. I don't think I will get anywhere trying to track the number based on my edit.


text:
Can't Install BOTIM android application in Oreo
I have Moto G5 with android Oreo OS, I am trying to install BOTIM application from play store, play store able to download it, but it gives error during installation (Can't install BOTIM app). Even I have tried to clear the play store cache and app data with multiple restarts, still I am facing the issue. Also I tried to uninstall the Play Store updates and made Play Store as factory version, this doesn't workout either.
Pls suggest.

I have identified the issue. I mounted the SD card as Internal memory. Due to this the app (Not only this app, even ) failed to install in to memory. I remounted SD card as portable storage, then i am able to download and install the app.


text:
How to enter second phone for contact?
Just got Oreo and I can only enter 1 phone number in contacts,
how can I get it to record mobile and office?

To help other visitors, could you specify what Contacts app you're using? And if it's the default app, what phone it's on?

The Contacts app usually contains at least two types of contacts: Contacts stored locally on the phone and those stored on your SIM card.
Local contacts have a large variety of fields and attributes you can set. However if you select a contact from your SIM card you are limited to one phone number and one name per contact entry. This is limited by the SIM card.
Therefore you should make sure you are not creating/editing contacts stored on your SIM card.


text:
Hangouts Notification - SMS no longer supported
I just got an Android tablet (Lenovo 4 8") after using an iPad for a couple of years or so.
I'm getting the "SMS is no longer supported" notification from Hangouts repeatedly and I can't seem to get rid of it.
I've tried opening Hangouts and trying to find a setting to let me get rid of this message, or to declare an alternate SMS app (I have one).  But the instructions I've been able to find must be for an older version of the interface, because there's no Options menu item and I can't find an option in Settings to help.
How to get rid of "SMS is no longer supported" notification
I use Hangouts all the time and I'd like to continue using it.  But the SMS message is really annoying.

unintall / disbale hangout and instead install "Hangouts chats" https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.dynamite

I think you are getting this message again and again because Hangout is still registered as the default app to handle SMS messages (which it doesn't support anymore).
Therefore have to make a different app the default SMS app. To do so open the Android Settings app (the gear icon) and select the Apps and Notifications section (might be named a little different on your device depending on the Android version and manufacturer).
There you will find an entry that allows you to select the Default SMS app. If you can't choose the app your device may be missing an app that can handle SMS. In such a case search the Google PlayStore for an new SMS app.

That didn't work. I don't have Hangouts as default sms app and still get the notification

I was having the same notification. I did what was suggested in the comment above...went to SETTINGS, then APPS AND NOTIFICATIONS, then DEFAULT APP.  I selected the "messages" app that came with the phone because that's what i was already using. This did not clear the notification so...I opened the list of all apps and UNINSTALLED the Hangouts app.  That worked! Hope this helps.

Settings -> Apps -> Gear icon top right -> SMS settings
You have to download an alternate SMS app for it to work. I suggest GoSMS.
Restart tablet.


text:
Does Android keep deleted photos and images from the phone?
I heard from a friend that android phones can trace deleted photos and images and videos back even after deleting.  Is that true?
If so, how can it keep things there unseen until a technician finds out in service centre?
Thanks in advance.

This question isn't simple to answer. There are a number of factors; where the photos were saved, which app you used to delete files, what's the underlying filesystem, how much free space is available on the filesystem, how long it has been since you deleted photos, how much data you saved/deleted afterwards, if the device is rooted or not, and possibly some other parameters too. And it's applicable to every OS in the world, not only Android. And there are ways to make sure that data is deleted from device, and is no more recoverable. Online backups (intentional or hidden) are exception.

It is very basic when you try to understand the current digital storage techniques.
Deletion is not actually deletion on any OS, it would be far to demanding on the CPU if a full change from 1 to 0 was made on every single sector, therefore the computer just registers the area as reusable..
The next operation to copy onto that area will technically do the deletion ( sort of )

Think in all 1's & 0's with me for a second here >_<
Let's just say hypothetically your image looked like this in binary ( computer language )
1001001001001001001001001

To erase the image, your CPU would need to write 0 over all the sectors ( Secure Delete )... Let's say that each change from either a 1 or a 0 to a 0 will take 1 second... that's 25 seconds to delete that image..
Now let's look at how a computer handles this consumption...
Instead of taking 25 seconds to write nothing over the sectors, it could just mark these sectors as writeable...
Instead of 25 seconds to wite nothing + 25 seconds to wite a new same size file to the same area... It could just skip the first write ( 25 seconds ) and half the time by just overwriting instead of rewriting...
A full ( Double Cycle ) rewrite would consume twice the CPU for every single delete and write...
Therefore, computers do not "DELETE" so-to-speak.
The idea is all based on older Computers, The founding machines if you want ..
The founding machines are alot slower than modern computers and maybe some time soon this will be addressed...
To, Un Delete is not to UnDelete, As Delete is not to Delete...
Un Deleting is marking that area on the storage as Used again.. Meaning the computer knows the file exisrs their and it is not replaceable.
...
Dispite all of this, Android ( since 5.0+ ) now actually keeps your picture's in a hidden folder after deleting, you don't need to do a Sector Scan to find the files marked for replacement... Instead you can see the deleted image's very easily...
This is partly in my opinion due to Law Enforcement Agencies wanting easier access to deleted photos for the obvious reasons...
Ok so want to test what is findable on your phone ?
Run this program called Disk Digger from Google Play...
Disk Digger - Photo Edition Non Root (folder scan) - FREE
Disk Digger - Root ( full sector scan ) - PAID


text:
How does rooting and unrooting work?
How does rooting work?
What kind of code/programs the manufacturers don't want to install in the phones (so that people have to root)? Why?
Can it be unrooted too?
Thanks in advance.

I advise you to use the search functionality of this website. The two questions you have posted so far already have  answers somewhere on this website a few clicks away from you. In order to better understand how to use this website, visit our [help].

Thank you, Firelord.

Related: What special privileges “/system/xbin/su” does have w.r.t. root access?

Question is very vague.
Root access is access to the root system of the device, usually the user is restricted to an environment that only allows reading of the system, and other data that is needed or added is added to the partition called Data.
Access to the root system allows modifications of system files, and sometimes root applications require root access to do this.
However Android is literally running on Linux, and linux has many ways to change your id to root, once you've obtained root permissions and a root id, you can modify system files to allow root access through a program like SuperSU.
Root access allows adding & removing or ( RW Read Write permission to the system.
Is it dangerous, well yes it can be...
For example....
 Access to the system allows you to install system applications that can't be uninstalled, if a malicious application or hacker managed to install a virus, spyware or malware.. you would not be able to remove it without completely reinstalling the system.
Why do manufacturer's stop root access ?
It can be dangerous to require root access as i just mentioned, and it also allows users access to area's that they're not allowed to access like the Data partition...
Accessing each partition comes with separate risks and root access means access to everything.
People can pull song's and videos from applications that would otherwise be protected in the data partition for example.
..

Can it be unrooted too ?
Yes, however any modifications made to the system will be permanently applied... Factory reset will not reinstall the system like on Windows... Instead it just erases the Data partition to start from fresh.
This means once the root access has compromised your system integrity.. it is just that, compromised.
However you can reinstall the entire system firmware by using a custom recovery or program on a PC.


text:
How do I unlock my Samsung Galaxy Tab S4?
I just got a new Samsung Galaxy Tab S4. I did not set a password in the setup as I did not want one. The tablet timed out and now it wants a password which I don't have.
I have tried all the reset options I can find on Google, but none will take me to the reset screen.
What do I do now?

Boot into recovery mode and make a complete wipe of the phone. This will remove any password. WARNING: All your data will be removed too.

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

I have since found the answer. Shut the tablet off by holding power and volume down for about 45 sec. As soon as the Samsung logo appears, let go of the buttons and reapply with power and volume up until the boot screen appears. Use volume up or down to select which function you want and hit the power button to apply. It might take one or two tries for it to totally do the reset. Follow the directions with the setup.


text:
How to delete my personal files retained by an app?
I'm using Android Excel and Word apps on a non-rooted Galaxy Note 8. Over the past months I've opened a couple of files from external sources (email and SD card), but was shocked to find these files could still be opened after the source was gone.
It appears the files reside "somewhere" in /data/user/0. When I launch the app, it displays a file list including the path. I tried to delete these files and get a prompt saying I don't have permission.
This is crazy! If I ever lost my phone, these sensitive files would be compromised!

Some apps copy the files to be displayed into their app private data folder. When and if the file will be deleted is up to the used app. Clearing the data for the affected app should delete any cached files.

I'm using android Excel and Word apps. Files came from email to myself and from Sd card. When I launch the apps, it displays a file list including the path (data user 0 ...). Phone is not rooted.

Thank you both for these suggestions. I had tried reinstalling the Excel app, and as expected, the files were gone. I also tried clearing cache which did not work. If i cleared data, it removed the files, and everything else, which is the same as reinstalling the app. I guess when phone is out of warranty, I might try rooting. Do you have a recommendation for rooting sw for gn8?

Apps store their data (including opened / downloaded / created files, databases, settings, caches etc.) in /data/data/<pkg_name>/ and /sdcard/Android/data/<pkg_name>/. It's not possible to delete files from former location without root access. So what you can do is either clear data of the app, or uninstall/reinstall the app in order to delete all files.

this is actually not always true on Honeywell devices.  I am seeing them hold onto these files after the app is deleted

@DaveFriedel what's not always true? The saved files location? See details here: Where Android apps store data? // PackageManager supports keeping files after package uninstall. See -k option with pm uninstall.

thank you for the reply and link.  I am at a loss why when I uninstall via the app as a user and even when they select Clear Data - it still retains this when the same method I did was the same that I use to store the other files as I use internal storage for everything. The only change I can tell on my end is offering the option for Internal Prefer instead of Internal Only - which then works correctly

Clearing App Data nor uninstalling app does not clear the data!


text:
I'm looking to buy a smartwatch. How can I tell if an app in the Play Store is compatible with it before buying the device?
I want to buy a smartwatch, but I am trying to research whether apps will will work with it before buying. Is there any way to do that?

The easiest way to check is to make sure it is labeled either "Wear OS", "Wear OS by Google" or "Android Wear".
Another way to check is if the watch supports the Google Assistant, it most likely is running Wear OS and should be supported as well.
Finally, if you want to be absolutely positive, you can always check the Wear OS website

I see that perhaps I asked my question too vaguely. I wanted to be able to look at an app to see if it would be compatible with Wear OS, without having a Wear OS device, (that is, before I make my smartwatch purchase). The Wear OS website provides absolutely nothing of functional value, for anything at all, let alone finding out what apps are compatible with Wear OS

Ah, I see. On the play store, there is generally a icon that looks like a little watch near the description. Apps that support Wear OS also usually have screenshots of the watch app.


text:
Why google play services restore its used space after I clear all data?
Before I clear all data, google play services used space is 126 MB.
After I clear all data, google play services used space is 50~ MB.
Before I know it (less than one minute), it restore back to 126 MB.
How is that? my WIFI and SIM data connection is not even on.

Play Services builds its working cache. So, it doesn't essentially need to download anything to become bigger. It starts up, builds its temporary and cached files and you arrive at that size. That said, connecting to the internet can make it more bigger as some content will be downloaded too.


text:
How to make MIUI 10 Android 8 to auto-connect to a filtered WiFi AP?
I have a well working WiFi AP - actually a number of them. They are just fine themselves. Other iOS, Mac, Windows etc devices auto-connect just fine to it.
I also have Xiaomi mi5 with MIUI 10 Android 8. I have a bunch of them. Even after a factory reset, network reset, ensuring auto-connect is on - it does not re-connect to filtered WiFi when it is restarted or when it comes back from out of range distance.
Device says "connected, no internet" on first connection or manual connections after. DHCP is all OK, gets IP. network communication works.
I do understand that it says "no internet" because it tried to test with google servers and it failed. They are filtered here, and no I'm not in China. But the logic of "no google server"="no internet" is not correct. I am assuming that this is the reason it decides not to connect. But I am not sure. And also other Android 7 devices don't have this issue.
I ran out of ideas. Any clues on how to make this work?

Is the problem the error message or you actually have no internet connection ?  Maybe the MIUI default dns is filtered ?


text:
Samsung "My Files" Downloads folder corrupted on non-rooted phone
On my Note 9 unrooted phone, for whatever reason, if I delete files from the "Downloads" section of the My Files app, these files (or references to them) aren't completely removed.  A residual "0 byte" file with no name and a time date stamp of "December 31, 1969 4:00pm" is leftover. Also, these residual files can't be moved or deleted.
This Downloads section seems to have a relation to the /emulated/0/Download/ folder... although, not the same thing. If I delete the "Download" folder, the "Downloads" section remains unaffected.
In the Windows OS world, I would just run chkdsk to quickly fix the corrupted file indexes on the file system. However, I'm not sure what the equivalent is for an unrooted Android OS.
Things I've tried:

Wipe the cache partition
Delete the /emulated/o/download folder and recreating it again.
Force Stopping the My Files app, clear cache, clear data.  This is supposed to be similar to clearing the app cache for 'Media Storage' app on non-Samsung Android devices

I REALLY don't want to factory reset my phone, considering how much time I spent configuring all my applications... unless I have absolutely no choice (and know for sure it would fix this issue).  This issue is completely over my head.  I'm hoping an Android expert will know what to do in this case without having to do a factory reset.  Maybe, I can do something via ADB shell?

There is an app named Media storage in Android OS that stores the database of files and folders in the storage of your device. Looks like there is some problem with this app, so you need to clear it's data and cache.
To do that, go to System settings->Apps, click on the menu button (3 dots) then click on Show system. Then, in the apps list, you can find an app named Media storage. Click on it and clear it's data and cache. See this screenshot :

Thanks so much.  However, I dont have that app listed on my phone's apps:  http://oucvlq.dm.files.1drv.com/y4pxoa1SpKM_c921ZWAOD6DNrGaTwiq-LC-bcg1DBufWvcvAN6Oe6Npif88RmUP8CtsaLoHIsTFscL69LZuFeLfDeVQddFK8oUtLFo0yt0yyzwC-erNcSZxOhhcUxTjMNejauHUOabKGFdgwC7Exhe2Z4Piw8IrbItHJEn6cPLLTbVVBbMjVldNdydHw4ZSedUXdoMG3YFbUbSYZnZhr9Odqw9Im7JYJnqc-jRaQXZZ2N4

Could I download it, install it, and then do it?  Would it be compatible with my Samsung Note 9 with Android Pie 9?  https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/google-inc/media-storage/media-storage-9-2-release/media-storage-9-2-android-apk-download/

Samsung's version of "Media Storage" IS the "My Files" app.  Unfortunately, deleting the app cache and app data for this app doesn't resolve the issue.  There are still strange files in the Downloads area.  In fact, sometimes the My Files app itself crashes if I go into the Downloads area.

Media storage is a system app, so it is pre-installed in the OS, you can't download it.

After clearing it's data and cache, have you rebooted your phone?

Have you tried any third-party file manager app?

Yes.  I've rebooted my phone after clearing the app cache and app data for the "My Files" app (Samsung's replacement for Media Storage).  Not sure what else to try.

According to me, Media storage app is present in every version of Android. The link which you provided me about your screenshot, I have understood that you haven't clicked on Show system option. Tap on the 3 dots icon at the top right part of the screen and click on Show system.

Let us continue this discussion in chat.

I had this problem, and somehow managed to delete the 0b file in my download folder (dated 1970 for some reason?) using a cleaning app called "SD maid".


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I can't write to my sd card
Some unknown file types appeared with weird name but significant size(one is 1.8gb), also can't delete it. After i reboot my phone, they disappear along with some other files like my photos and videos but i am able to write to my sd card for some days and again the same problem repeats.

this memory card is broken/corrupted that's why. You may try formatting it using a computer but I don't think it will work well long

How large and how old is the SD-card? Have you ever tested the SD-card by completely filling it up with data? There a forged SD-cards that claim to be much larger that they actually filling it completely such cards will fail.


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How to flash Cubot R11 stock ROM on bricked phone?
I am using Ubuntu and while attempting to root my Cubot R11 phone using fastboot, I ended up on a boot-loop cycle. Also, power+volume-up to enter recovery mode isn't working.

Orange State
Your device has been unlocked and can't be trusted
Your device will boot in 5 seconds

How can I fix this issue (Linux tools preferred)?

You can use SP Flash Tool. You need MediaTek MT65xx USB VCOM Preloader USB Drivers for it. If you care about data, you should make a full rom dump (or at least nvdata metadata oemkeystore and userdata partition). You need a scatter file for this. A scatter file you can create with WwR MTK v2.30.
If fastboot is working, you can try "fastboot format:ext4 cache" to fix bootloop. You can try to port a TWRP and "fastboot boot recovery.img" then you get full access via adb in recovery (and if metadata is still intact it will hopefully decrypt userdata).
If the bootloop is caused by flashing TWRP, install Universal Disable_Dm-Verity_ForceEncrypt.zip to disable the dm-verity boot chain validation.


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Detach a paid app from play store
I have the APK of the last good version of ROM Toolbox Pro, which had the app manager, and so far I've had to disable auto update to prevent it from being replaced by the newer version.
This is an app I purchased back in the day when it didn't have its features truncated, so deleting it from my play store library isn't an option. I've tried the Magisk detach module, but that messed up play store and I had to reset my phone.
How does one manually delink  the app? The phone is obviously rooted, using Magisk systemless root.

AFAIK not possible. Even if you unlink it (Titanium Backup has an option for that), Playstore App will re-link it within 24h.

The Magisk module works but inconsistently, at one time it ended up permanently crashing play store. So I'm looking for the general principle behind detaching apps.

By delink the app, do you mean stop it from updating.

Yes, and beyond simply disabling the 'enable auto update' option on its page, because it still ignores the setting and gets updated anyway once in a while. I don't want to see it in the list of pending updates at all.

Only option is to rebuild the application package with a different package name or to change the version to a newer one than is available online...  I use APK Editor to do repackaging and version changes... No matter what you do otherwise, Google Play will recognise the Application by the package name and then check the version in the application manifest to calculate if you need an update...

Doesn't it need a signing certificate if you repackage it?


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How to SCP files from a PC to storage in Termux
I can scp files from my Linux server to Termux directory on my Android smartphone but Termux directory is not accessible through file explorer. What exactly should be the destination path for scp so that it places the file in the storage, say in the Download directory which is accessible through the file explorer.

Possible duplicate of SSH client for Android with scp and sftp features

By design Android won't allow any other app to access Termux's data directory: /data/data/com.termux/files/home. However you can scp directly to SD card after granting WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission.
As referenced in Termux wiki:

It is necessary to grant storage permission for Termux on Android 6 and higher. Use 'Settings>Apps>Termux>Permissions>Storage' and set to true.

Now to copy files to Download directory:
~$ scp <file_name> <phone_IP>:/sdcard/Download/

RELATED: How to run SSH/SFTP server for multiple user logins with password authentication on Android?


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Data deleted after encryption - recoverable?
My device (Android 8.0) is encrypted with the default encryption (no startup password).
As far as a I know, when I have data on my phone and factory-reset the phone, the data is unrecoverable, since a new key for the encryption is being created and the old one is getting deleted. Am I correct?
Now, what happens when I delete data on my phone and then reset the phone - can the deleted data be recovered?

Answer is too late, but may be helpful for future visitors.

when I have data on my phone and factory-reset the phone, the data is unrecoverable, since a new key for the encryption is being created and the old one is getting deleted. Am I correct?

You are right.

what happens when I delete data on my phone and then reset the phone - can the deleted data be recovered?

It makes no difference. If luckily the data you deleted is available on the filesystem and data blocks aren't still overwritten, but the problem is it's still encrypted at the lower block level (userdata) which we can't decrypt after factory reset.
Additionally, during factory reset with stock recovery on newer Android devices, filesystem creation is preceded by BLKDISCARD or BLKSECDISCARD, which issues TRIM command to whole block device (userdata) and should Erase it completely (that's where flash storage differs from traditional HDDs).
Therefore the data is no way recoverable.
For details see: How to make a complete factory reset, without anyone being able to retrieve my data?


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Is it possible to prioritize wifi networks and bluetooth connections?
I can connect my camera to my phone over WifiI have a camera that can create its own access point, so that I can connect to it using an app on my phone.
When I activate the wifi on my phone however, it always picks my home network first, probably because it's the strongest signal.
Is it possible to configure Android to prioritize connecting to my camera's wifi, if available?
(I have the same problem with Bluetooth: when I want to connect my wireless headphones, it connects to the hifi speakers).

If your device is rooted, it's possible by adding priority to wpa_supplicant.conf file(s).

Gravitybox Xposed module features this, but requires a rooted device with Xposed Framework installed.


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What do options on this error mean?
I have Acer E39 phone (Android 4.4.2) that has 3 SIM. Today, when turned on, it didn't start normally but instead, I got the following options.

What does each of the options mean?
How do I debug further what the issue is?

Its the bootloader recovery menu in Chinese language, possibly device sold in China

What you see is the "Factory diagnosis menu". It is not designed to be used by end-users therefore it is mostly in Chinese.
If you have second phone you can use Google Translator app to translate the Chinese entries to your language (use translation via photo/picture).
I am not exactly sure how to enter it (my mother managed to enter it one time accidentally on a tablet). I assume that there is a certain combination of hardware keys that have to be pressed at boot time to enter it.
Usually the last Chinese menu entry means "reboot" or "shutdown". This allows you to exit this diagnose system. You should be able to select the entry using the volume up/down keys and the press the power key to select.
Once the device has rebooted the regular Android operating system should boot. If not your device may be affected by a hardware defect.


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How to get latest version of Google Play Store
I'm trying to solve a problem I'm having with Google Play Store. (Specifically, a continual "Error checking for updates" and an empty "Installed" list. I tried clearing the cache.)
The version I have of Play Store is 14.2.58, and I know it's not the latest. I've read that sometimes the app doesn't update automatically. But where do you go to upgrade the app manually?
When I google for it, I see a lot of third-party sites that offer the latest download, but I don't know if they can be trusted. If Google itself offers the download, I can't find it.

If you don't trust other sites, then use Yalp.

Yalp Store lets you download apps directly from Google Play Store as apk files. It can search for updates of installed apps and lets you search for other apps. Yalp saves downloaded apks to your default download folder. Other features include browsing categories, viewing and leaving reviews, black/whitelisting apps for updates, filtering apps by being free/paid and containing/not containing ads.
To supplement the features related to Google Play, Yalp Store has ordinary package manager features: listing, running, installing and uninstalling local apps

Also, visit What are the alternative Android app markets? to get a list of other apps/places/sites that can help you get it.

It seems like an alternative to Play Store. I want to update the Play Store itself.

Use it to update Play store, then remove it.

I installed F- droid to get Yalp Store, then ran Yalp Store. I did a search for Google Play Store but did not see it anywhere in the list.

Then I recommend using Apkmirror or Apkpure to download the latest version of Google Play Store. I have use and still use their services without problems.

To install the latest version of Google Play Store, launch Play Store, then go to Settings, then click on Play Store version one or two times. It will show a dialog box and the latest version will be installed.

This ought to be the best answer, but when I try it, it tells me the Google Play Store is up to date. Which I know it's not true because there's at least a 14.3 version out there

Then you need to use an APK file of the latest version of Play Store and install it manually, as mentioned in the second answer.


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How to remove package uninstaller notification (in notification bar)?
I installed tower fortress game from playstore and after when I uninstalled it this notification sticked in my notification bar and is not going away!
It's been more than 4-5 hours and still it's sticked there!
Experts plz help me!
My phone:- Lenovo K8 Note Android Oreo

Restart the device, if it does not go away force stop the "Package installer" service from "Settings > Apps"

When I go to settings, app and search for the package installer it's not there. Is there any other way to get it off!? It's been days and I can't remove it.

Open Notification Bar and Long press on notification.
Then click on information button and block package installer notification and then enable it .


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Why restarting the phone fixes the problem of Google Keep of not syncing the notes?
That was the question only, because that happens to me a lot.
I work with keep in pc and android, and sometimes even if a have an Internet connection the notes are not syncing. And I wonder why this problem is fixed only by restarting the phone. Or better explained...
Why the process of restarting the device fix the syncing error?, so what's happening internally in the phone that's fixing the problem
Is this an app related issue?

Have you tried manually going into Settings - >Accounts >your Google account > Sync now instead of restarting the device?

No but maybe I formulated my question wrongly. What I mean is "Why the process of restarting the device fix the syncing error", so what's happening internally in the phone that's fixing the problem


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How to keep useful but rarely used apps uninstalled in the phone (ready-to-install, ideally including their settings)?
Currently I have installed ~500 apps, mostly productivity apps and tools of various types.
I would like to have only ~100 most frequent apps installed and keep the rest (~400) uninstalled, stored in the file system along with their settings. If needed, I would like to restore such a stored app (ideally including its settings), use it and when no longer needed, archive + uninstall again.
The sample of such an app is a Latin lexicon or some infrequently used measurement tool.
Is there an app or some procedure for this task? Or the truth is that there is no tool which can easily backup and restore settings of 3rd-party apps (only the APKs themselves)? Could you refer to a tool who could at least partially automate this? At least some APK install+deinstall tool keeping user-friendly record about each app and showing Archive/Restore button next to it?

The reason of my expectation is unnecessarily high battery consumption with ~500 installed apps, because many of them also install their own services, slowing down the device. I want to have them at hand if needed (including their settings) but normally keep them away from the OS.
The phone is not rooted.

I have the same problem, not 500 or so apps but many apps which I don't use regularly. Since my device is rooted, I use the app Apptoggle. It is a straightforward app to disable or enable an app on the fly. Let me know if this solution is acceptable to you.

The only non-root app I'm aware of for that would be Helium Backup, which lets you backup and restore apps including their data. Catch: apps can opt-out of this kind of backup, which uses adb backup behind the scenes – so this might only cover parts of the apps you wish to deal with, and you must make sure the backup really worked before deleting an app you want to restore later.
All other approaches I'm aware of require root.
But be welcome to take a look at my list of battery savers; some "hibernators" might work, too (even without root). Battery-wise I'd expect such a "hibernator" to have the intended effect – while with Helium+uninstall I'm pretty sure (what's not installed cannot use resources). Years ago, when I still had GApps on my device, I used Greenify to hibernate Google Maps, which was permanentĺy active in background though I rarely even started it. Effect was as intended.

I am accepting this as a valid approach, generally viable for most devices. In my specific case, I also explored Firelord's comment above and based on it I found there is a no-root solution for Samsung devices, app Package Disabler Pro+ (Samsung) which solves the enablement/disablement on Samsung devices by creative use of their Knox feature.

You can go to Settings > Backup & reset > set Back up my data to ON. Set/select a backup account, then enable Automatic restore.
If the phone was rooted, Titanium Backup is probably what you should try.

You can backup, restore, freeze (with Pro) your apps + data + Market links. This includes all protected apps & system apps, plus external data on your SD card.

From its website:

Titanium Backup is a backup utility for Android that backs up your system and user applications along with their data on external storage of your choice

Edit: OP could also use adb backup as described on this answer
Edit 2: Below is the response I received from Google Product Forum after asking if the backup data of a removed app are removed during the next sync,

Please what is the basis of the first paragraph? Per my understanding, if I back up settings ("Back up my data" = ON) and then de-install their app, aren't the data (here with focus on settings) deleted from the backup on next sync, considered to be no longer needed?

If that's the Google Cloud backup, then 1) apps must support it and 2) you cannot "restore on demand" – plus especially you cannot restore selected apps. Restore only happens at re-initialization after a factory reset, if at all (and only for apps you haven't deleted). And what will be restored varies from nothing via some to most. This definitely doesn't fit the requirement. And as for TiBu (which would do this wonderfully), OP explicitly wrote the device is not rooted. I use TiBu myself for almost 10 years now and won't miss it – but miroslav cannot do so.

Per my understanding (Backup & restore, the backups should be still be there after sync even if you deleted the app. But will research, and report back. @Izzy That's why I wrote: "If the phone was rooted.." :)

Yes, I saw the conditional. Didn't delete the answer :) If you figure a way to restore single apps from a GCloud backup on-demand, or even apps you explicitely deleted, and that for end-users, I guess there are many who'd like to know that solution. To my knowledge: "fat chance". I gladly stand corrected – even though I'd never backup my stuff to the cloud, or even use GApps on my devices :)

@Izzy I never use Backup & restore. I go with Titanium Backup because I prefer to keep my backups local. I have queried in Google Products Forum the question asked by OP about the backup data being possibly deleted after sync if app was removed. No answer so far.


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How to connect an Android phone to PC for internet via USB
I need to share the internet connection of the PC with the smartphone, using a USB cable, is it possible to do that?
My router has some problems and the WiFi doesn't work. But on my computer, the internet works.
My phone is a Honor 7s
The Android version is 8.1.0

Check this answer

Yes, it is possible, but you need to root your device.
The Android kernel supports it, simply there is no option to do that in the GUI.
There are also apps to do it, but all of them requires root privilege.
The other direction (sharing your wifi or mobile network for a computer connected with usb) works seamlessly.


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Save contacts to phone not Google account
On my new ASUS ZenFone I could not figure out how to save contacts just to my phone.
The default app should be Google Contacts and despite some suggestions even here it does not seem possible. There is no option to choose where to save new contact. There is just Default account for new contacts and it is set to my Google account, as there is no other account to by set.
EDIT: I decided to use MyLocalAccount app to fix this problem with Contacts app. But now I have the same problem with Phone app, which is showing all contacts in its Contacts tab.
I probably could live without ever going to this tab, but it would be nice if there is a way to do it.

You should try to use a 3rd party Contacts app. I have seen similar behavior in Motorola contacts app. They left no option to store contacts locally to the device.
Most likely using the Play Store version of Google Contacts will help. If not, try something else. There are ample contacts app and I do not wanna be partial about a specific app.

I have decided to use FJs MyLocalAccount as I am already using his MyPhoneExplorer. But now I facce similar problem with Phone app.


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What is PD1A.180720.030 in Android 9.0.0 (PD1A.180720.030)?
https://developers.google.com/android/drivers has binaries like

Pixel 3 XL binaries for Android 9.0.0 (PD1A.180720.030)
Pixel 3 XL binaries for Android 9.0.0 (PD1A.180720.031)
Pixel 3 XL binaries for Android 9.0.0 (PQ1A.181105.017.A1)
...

What is the number in the parenthesis?
Further, I have Pixel 3XL and the system version is Android 9.0, which binary should I download?

They are build numbers:
According to Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL First Factory Images are Available!:

Google just posted the first factory image and OTA files for the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. Since today is basically launch day, the timing seems just about right.
The files are available as Android 9.0.0 builds PD1A.180720.030 and PD1A.180720.031 for both phones, the second being the Verizon specific build. This is the build you should find out of the box.

About PQ1A.181105.017.A1, a reponse is found in this article:

Google is rolling out the November 2018 security patch update for its latest flagships Pixel 3 and Pixel 3XL. The current updates are also making their way to the older devices Pixel 2 and Pixel 2XL.
The new build number which accompanies the software goes by PQ1A.181105.017.A1. Both Pixel 3/3XL and Pixel 2/2XL are getting an upgrade with this new build.

Summary:

PD1A.180720.030: International build (released date: 20 July 2018).
PD1A.180720.031: Verizon build (released date: 20 July 2018).
PQ1A.181105.017.A1: November 2018 security patch (released date: 05 November 2018).

What's the general technique to find out the meaning of a build number? Nexus 5X binaries for Android 8.1.0 have so many different build numbers. Does my phone itself tell me what build number it needs?

Read: Codenames, Tags, and Build Numbers


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Nexus 10 boots into fastboot, but not into anything else
I am stuck with what seams like a dead Nexus 10 or a stupid issue.
If the device is powered off -- And I hit vol+ vol- and pwr -- It boots into fastboot.  After that, no joy.  I get black screen if I attempt to start (No Google logo even).  I get black screen when I try recovery.  I simply cannot get past fastboot.
Things I have attempted:

Disconnect / Reconnect Battery
Erased Cache
Finally flash-all with Manta Image (successful)

Still after all that, it boots straight to black screen.  Something is royally screwed, or I am missing something glaring .. Suggestions?


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Cannot boot into homescreen after installed Android PIE
My phone model is Asus Zenfone Max Z010D. My power button and volume up button are not working. Is there anyway to boot to the homescreen?
Since I have installed Android pie (AEX custom rom), they have this EDL issue (cannot reboot to device/recovery). I accidently rebooted the device, and it went to EDL. Then I rebooted it by holding the volume down key with the phone connected to computer by usb, but it then went off automatically. Now it is only showing the offline charging, while connected to charger.
How to resolve this?

I belive it wouldn't be possible to boot the phone without atleast the 2 volume buttons. But there is a long way, you can flash it's firmware while it's off and then it will boot itself. On the other side, your phone will be reformatted.

@TerribleDog Thats not a problem tell me how to flash its firmware??

you can find it in google based on your phone

https://firmwarefile.com/asus-zenfone-max-z010d


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Why can't I write to recovery using fastboot on A/B device?
I'm trying to flash TWRP Recovery into my Mi A2 recovery. However I get the error when flashing:
~$ fastboot flash recovery twrp.img
FAILED (remote: '(recovery_a) No such partition')

Does anyone know how to fix this error? I did test flashing it to boot_b, and that did work. but that's not the recovery slot.

That's expected. Devices with A/B partition scheme don't have a recovery partition. You can only boot in recovery mode with fastboot boot twrp.img. But to permanently flash recovery to device which can be booted into by proper key combination, you need to unpack both of your boot.imgs (A/B) from device and replace the ramdisk with the one extracted from twrp.img. Then repack and flash boot.imgs back to device.
On TWRP this has  been previously achieved by flashing a special ZIP file, or one could do manually. Now the official TWRP release includes the option Install Recovery Ramdisk:

Use magiskboot to allow repacking boot images for installing TWRP

Traditionally boot.img and recovery.img had two major components; kernel and ramdisk. On A/B devices, no ramdisk is required for normal boot because system.img is mounted as rootfs when processing Device Tree (dtb) which is appended to kernel image usually. So the ramdisk.cpio in boot.img is that of recovery. Since kernel is same for a device (other than build configurations), so only ramdisk needs to be replaced.
Sources:

Implementing A/B Updates
System-as-root

Thank you so much, I had no idea.

In layman terms: first flash TWRP image into your phone via fastboot and this command fastboot boot twrp.img, once you booted on recovery mode (TWRP), use it to install TWRP permanently via the zip for your phone


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Huawei hotspot killing internet
have a Huawei mobile phone. When I turn on the hotspot, I no longer have an internet connection on the phone itself. I've never had this problem on any other phone. I tried changing service providers and that didn't help. Is it specific to Huawei?

Probably you need to root your device and remove the crap.

Remove what crap?

Sorry, I've tried to say that it is clearly not an ordinary function of your phone. It is either a hardware problem, or you have some buggy apps. Android apps can manipulate your internet connections if you give them permission to do that; rooting or a factory reset could guarantee their elimination. I suspect, you can also first try a factory reset. I hope, maybe others might give you a hardware-specific and maybe better option as an answer.


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Blue pointer in Google Maps isn't moving, but stays still
I'm using Redmi Note 4 on Android 5.0 Lollipop. When I enter into the navigation mode of Google Maps, the pointer doesn't move at all. But when I exit the navigation mode, the pointer moves on the map.
The GPS is working finely, and the map is getting the info but doesn't work for the navigation mode only.
What is the reason, how to fix it?

Do you have any vpn service/ad blocker running? I had similar issue, it was solved after I deactivated th ad blocker.


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SamsungWidget_ProgramMonitor is not listed on Widgets selection screen
On my Samsung Galaxy S3 (GT-I9300) with the latest stock ROM there are following files present in /system/app:

SamsungWidget_ProgramMonitor.apk (484 kb -rw-r-r--)
SamsungWidget_ProgramMonitor.odex (5829 kb -rw-r-r--)

but the widget is not listed in "Apps and widgets", so I can't add it to the home screen.
How to add it?
Below is a picture of the widget. This is not a screenshot of my phone.


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Honor play won't install apks and apps from unknown sources
can't find any specific info on the honor play and why I cant install apks and unknown sources apps. The menus seem to be a little different to general android advice and I feel I've got the right options checked but I'm confused as heck. For info it's an honor play, android version 9, don't want to root the device, trying to install older update on Google play services pre March 2017 so I can spoof location but no apks seem to work.
Whenever I try to install any 3rd party apps or apks I get this message or similar, I've checked the options and on honor play there's a list of programs such as browsers and apps where I can allow them to install programs and they all have permission. There isn't a general option that covers everything like on most other android mobiles.

Check whether your device's internal storage has enough space or not. Due to low space also, this error is shown.


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Pushing a directory of code to GitHub from Android
I have a directory structure containing code on my Android phone. I would like to push the code to GitHub. I have downloaded the FastHub app and tried the mobile and desktop versions of my GitHub account but am still unable to do it because I want to upload everything in one go.
Perhaps I need a shell client with git installed or added on on Android.
Can someone please tell me how I can accomplish my task?
Thanks.

FastHub is just a GitHub client, so it's of no use where Git is needed. As you suspected this requires a Git client, though it doesn't need to be run in a shell.
Up to at least Android 10 MGit is one useable option.

GitHub: When starting a new repo, create a repo with a readme so it can be cloned immediately. Copy the URL to the repo, e.g. https://github.com/username/reponame.

MGit: Go to Settings and set the storage location for repos if the root of emulated external storage isn't a good spot.

MGit: Press +, paste the repo URL into the "Remote URL" field, check "Clone recursively" if necessary (no idea if that works), and press "Clone". It should quickly start the process, but it can be slow if it's a huge repo.

Copy and paste the files with your code into the repo directory using a file manager. Recommend copying so there's a backup in case something goes wrong while still learning this process, but users choice.

MGit: Go into the repo and move over to the Status area to confirm your files are being detected.

MGit: Open the menu by pressing the hamburger or swiping from the right, press "Add all to stage", and then "Commit", and enter your commit info. Recommend filling the optional Author field so it doesn't use a default, which looks odd on GitHub. Press "Commit" to finalize it.

MGit: Open the menu and press "Push" and then "origin". Now the login..

GitHub: Go to Settings -> Developer settings -> Personal access tokens (easy link). Press "Generate new token" and confirm password if necessary.

GitHub, PAT: It's good to add a note specific to the app + repo as it's easy to forget what each is for, and the note apparently can't be changed after. For the scope select "repo", then scroll down and press "Generate token". Make sure the token is copied before leaving the page.

MGit: Enter the PAT you just created as the password on the login. Now it should successfully push.

If a shell client is preferred Termux may work. If a real shell client is preferred a Linux chroot environment like UserLAnd is the way to go, as it's almost a real Linux install. Beyond Android 10 this will all probably fail because of storage permission changes.