text:
Volume and sound randomly skipping - how to diagnose?
When listening to media on my phone (Android 11) for the last week or so, the audio will change at random and unprompted, e.g.:

rewinding or fast-forwarding (NB - these functions are mapped to my volume keys if that is relevant)
volume going up or down (including down to zero volume, and up to max)
media pausing at random and also playing at random (this is the biggest issue, as even if I have force-quit my media application, any time the phone is turned on, the application randomly restarts and may start playing my most recent audio at any volume.)

It does not happen in a predictable way - sometimes behaviour is normal for hours at a time, sometimes there is a glitch every few seconds. It does not seem to be related to network issues or my headphones, and the volume change buttons don't seem to be obviously broken (and also shouldn't affect pause/restart functions). Without touching anything, I have also occasionally seen the volume slider oscillate randomly up and down. This happens across several apps.
I cannot tell if it is a hardware or software issue. Is there any way to either diagnose the cause of this sort of problem, or any way to lock the volume or pause-play functionality so that it does not change unless I explicitly confirm it?

Even if the volume keys are not broken they may still causing trouble. In rare cases keys can still work but are so sensible that even the lightest stroke or a movement of the device itself can trigger the button. I would first shot down the device and leave it off for a few minutes. Then start it up again but leave it in flight mode without any network connection and do more tests. I would especially test if you see e.g. the volume go up and down if pressing the volume button has an effect on this like stopping.

Usually, a general troubleshooting is to monitor the log when it happens.


text:
locked from "find my device" cannot open Nokia C 110
I have a new phone (Nokia C110), but it's locked from Google's "Find My Device". I locked it because I lost the phone, then I recovered it. I tried my "Find my device" password, but can't seem to unlock it. Once you lock it the password field disappears off the website and there is no way to put a different password in or delete the old. Is there any way to unlock my phone without erasing the data?
P.S. I must have spent 6 hours today searching for an answer. Half were about how to do a factory reset because google locks the phone so tightly you have to go through hell even to do that! It won't let me go to settings, I don't have a pattern lock or camera on the main screen, and the google log in screen doesn't come up when I start so all of those solutions are out. Like one of the other folks who asked the question, I didn't have any password on it originally.
Also put a password on it twice. I believe the first one took because later on it said it could not find the device, but I tried both with no luck.

Please don't repost the same question. If you've lost access to your previous account, then please follow the procedure on I accidentally created two accounts; how do I merge them?

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Do photos survive a factory reset (Android)?
I sold my old Oreo but I'm paranoid.
I had about twenty old photos (nothing special) and I deleted them, even from the trash. Then factory reset.
I recorded some blank videos and then a factory reset. Another x2 factory reset.
(I didn't have screen lock)
I know, Oreo is FBE but I still don't know if those encrypted files remain there or are deleted via garbage collection with the use of the phone.
My real question is this: in 6 months will those stupid encrypted files still be on the phone or will they have already been removed? Will they be there forever inaccessible?

Did you have many Android environments/workspace in that phone? An environment/workspace is similar to the Microsoft Windows feature where multiple users can login to a single computer.

Related: How to recover a deleted file from /data partition on a rooted phone? & How to make a complete factory reset, without anyone being able to retrieve my data?

Related: Should I trust that the Android factory reset actually erases my data?

I sold my old Oreo but I'm paranoid. I had about twenty old photos
(nothing special) and I deleted them, even from the trash. Then
factory reset.

That should be enough. As explained on security.SE:

All android 7+ devices are enrolled with File Based Encryption (FBE)
that encrypts /data partition from first boot. FBE keys are bound to
TEE [Trusted Execution Environment] and user screen lock authentication.
On factory reset, TEE clears stored keys and OS wipes the data.
At this point, even if your screen
lock password is known, it's not possible to decrypt recovered data.

Should I trust that the Android factory reset actually erases my data?
So yes, a factory reset is enough to delete everything - because the data is encrypted, and the reset throws away the key.

I know, Oreo is FBE but I still don't know if those encrypted files
remain there or are deleted via garbage collection with the use of the
phone.

The encrypted files may remain, but it does not matter, as the key is gone.

My real question is this: in 6 months will those stupid encrypted
files still be on the phone or will they have already been removed?
Will they be there forever inaccessible?

Maybe they will, but again, it does not matter.
Barring any bugs in the implementation, the data is gone forever.

One caveat would be: This does not necessarily apply to data on the external SD card. So if you have one, make sure to wipe it separately (or just take it out :-) ).

only for curiosity: why these encrypted useless inacessible "files" may remain? shouldn't they be overwritten with the use? shouldn't they be part of garbage collection?

@rizzi66: Because "overwrite" slowly wears out the flash, it's best to do it only when needed.  Since the data is impossible to decrypt, there's no need to "overwrite" it.

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


text:
What is Aging Function app in Infinix phone?
Does anyone know what is this Aging Function in my Infinix phone used for?
I was looking at my phone when I saw this Aging Function. I tried to launch it but I can't.
Do I have to remove it?

Please edit your question and add the exact model name of your phone, the Android version that is installed and best a screen shot of "Aging Fungtion" - whatever that is.

Duplicate with possible insightful comments, but not yet answered properly: What is a system app "AgingFunction"?


text:
How to avoid auto launch force stopped application in Android 13
I am using Moto G72 which comes with Android 12. I was happy with Android 12. I am using the Greenify application to force stop unwanted applications. Whenever we click the icons of the unwanted applications, then only the applications wake up from sleep. Recently I got an Android 13 update. After updating, force stopped applications automatically wake up after a certain amount of time. I changed the battery usage of unwanted applications to Restricted. But no use. I can see the battery drain is more in Android 13 than 12.

Self promotion: How to stop background apps on Android?


text:
Cannot receive SMS on Android Second Profile
I have a OnePlus 10 Pro with Android 14, with the second profile for work use.
I have never been able to receive SMS on the second profile, which is a pain in the butt to say the least, like getting confirming notifications from online verification etc.  Does anyone know a work around that that?  Thanks a lot.

That is the way Google designed it. See section "Send or receive a text message" on https://support.google.com/work/android/answer/6275589?hl=en


text:
Macrodroid: Handling notification
I have a macro which sets a notification. This notification should invoke a macro upon clicking. That macro should have the text of the notification available to it for further processing.
The first image is the macro which creates the notification. Macro name = zzz test macro 1.1

It's notification handler is shown in the second image.

This notification displays a text test1 : test2. It invokes a macro zzz test macro 1.2. As you can see, it tries to use the built-in variable {notification}, but it didn't work.

How do I make the text test1 : test2 available to macro1.2 when it is invoked by the notification?
EDIT :: The above is only a MWE. The first macro will be triggered by messages, GeoFence, location, cell connection, wifi or even other notification sent via HTTP. The notification sent by this macro will display something about the trigger and other information which is dynamic and differ from notification to notification. By the time any notification is clicked, several newer notification might already be displayed. The action undertaken by this click should be specific to only the current notification being handled. This is why a global variable will not work.
Any help would be greatly appreciated

I am aware that {notification} is not working here cause it is not available as variable to this macro. I am using it here merely to highlight what I want. I am looking for an alternative to it.


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Google Fit doesn't record steps accurately
I have been very frustrated trying to get an accurate record of steps in the Google Fit app. I have only one device, a Fitbit Sense watch, which counts my steps, and I have disactivated activity tracking in the Google Fit app. I have specified that Fit can receive steps data from another app. However, Google Fit always has a considerably lower number of steps. The difference is not consistent; it can be 70% to 80% of what the watch records. It is always lower.
The watch transmits the steps accurately to another app, so the fault cannot lie with the Fitbit Sense app.
I noticed that in the Fit app, the steps are broken down by minutes the walking started. Is Fit consistently rounding down?
I want the steps transmitted to Google Fit to be recorded as received, not reworked in any way. I have three apps which show steps; two are in agreement and one is way off. This is not satisfactory.

See my question/solution to this issue at the link; in summary I had to use a third-party sync tool to correct this issue. https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/250826/google-fit-not-tracking-importing-activities-accurately

Maybe Fitbit is the problem.  We have used Samsung Watch and Phone for years and the health app integrates the two readings.

The watch is mainly recording arm swings
The phone is mainly recording hip motion

The readings will be different.  If you walk without moving your upper body much then the watch may record a lower count.  Similarly, if the phone is in your pocket or handbag and is not moving much, it may have a lower reading.  It depends on how you are moving.


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Hisense Touch cannot open file picker/login menus (black screens and crashes)
I have a Hisense Touch with Android 11 and Touch OS 1, it has Google Play Services from a seller on Aliexpress. I cannot open the file picker in installed applications even though all permissions are allowed, etc. The crash also occurs when clicking the login button on Pocket and the share button in the file manager. When the apps I'm trying to use crash, there is no dialogue box.
I'm new to Android but from what I understand, this is a device marketed to the Chinese market and has some Chinese ROM of Android with workarounds installed by the seller, this is an e-reader device.
My post on XDA has a recording of the crash occurring and a log file that adb spit out that I'm not too sure what to do with, but KiwiBrowser is the main app I am trying to use that keeps crashing. Thank you!

I dont think we can do much if the app itself is crashing, because its badly written.  I would avoid cheap technical stuff from these outlets.  I bought some luggage tiles and the instructions were directing me to iPhone app instead of Android.  They didnt respond for weeks, eventually I got my money back.  Once I had send teh tiles back, they came back with the correct site for Android.


text:
Samsung Galaxy S24 Android 13 Notification Suppression for Children's School
Small non-profit that cares for high-risk children uses stealth recording software on company-owned cell phones that stay on the property to protect the kids. They have legal right, etc.
Cannot find a way to disable the constant notifications now showing anytime a screenshot is taken or sounds are recorded. Many hours online to Samsung already.
Software developers used the following and it works temporarily, but notifiers come back every time phone is restarted:
adb shell cmd device_config put privacy camera_mic_icons_enabled true default
adb shell cmd device_config put privacy camera_mic_icons_enabled false default

Can anyone point me in a different direction?

IMHO Google did a good job in re-enabling those notification icons after a reboot. For 99.99999% of all Android users this is the best way to make malicious apps accessing camera or microphone visible to the user. That some users would prefer having a stealth way to supervise Android users (no matter if legal/legitimate or not) is bad for them but in this case I think the needs of the majority of Android users has a much higher importance.


text:
Android 13 car head unit won't route phone calls or AV-IN audio to USB DAC/AMP
I have a full blown Android 13 car head unit - EX-ALS215 (Snapdragon 662).
Audio is output from a 3.5mm jack socket on the unit's harness (audio-out socket).
I have then connected a Cyrus Soundkey DAC/AMP to one of the USB sockets of the head unit.
All audio is now output via the DAC except phone calls and the audio from the AV-IN.
(AV-IN is part of the unit's harness and is where I plug my TV tuner as input [Video/L/R])
So, voice calls and AV-IN persist in coming out of the 'audio-out' socket on the harness.
Why is this happening and how can all audio be routed to USB?
Clue#1: I have tested the Cyrus Soundkey with a Samsung Galaxy A53 and when making a phone call the audio from the call was correctly routed to the earphones plugged into the DAC. The microphone used during the call was the one built into the A53. I am at a loss as to what is happening.
UPDATE#1 (01 Feb 2024):
I used adb to investigate why this is happening. Can you see anything obvious in the text files? or Would you like me to try something else?
OBSERVATIONS:

I am no expert, but is dumpsys audio showing the "Cyrus Soundkey" (usb_headset(4000000)) being the default for voice calls?
post.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=3377686&d=1706801391

dumpsys media_session: shows the com.wits.ksw.bt application (the KSW BT dialer) making a voice call? Does this mean that kswBt tries to output to the Soundkey and it fails, defaulting back to the builtin speakerphone (as seen in practice)? UPDATE: This entry does NOT represent a phone call. Instead it represents BT audio played on my phone via this BT app which is also responsible for voice calls. Indeed BT audio from my phone played using this app, does go through the USB DAC.

SUGGESTIONS:

Is it possible that the Soundkey is being rejected due to an audio incompatibility with the telephony audio (24bit vs 16bit or something)?
Someone suggested that A FiiO Q3 DAC would work with voice calls because it supports USB Audio Class 1.0. Others have said that a FiiO K3 DAC which also supports USB Audio Class 1.0 exhibited the same problem with voice calls. (FYI. The former has a unit from same manufacturer as mine, bought 2 years ago and upgraded to A13 & current firmware. The latter was from same manufacturer in 2020 A10.)

LINKS TO FILES:
dumpsys audio, media.audio_policy, dumpsys media_session, media.audio_flinger.

Be aware that 'Android car head unit' can mean slightly different things, see https://www.androidpolice.com/android-auto-vs-android-automotive-vs-google-automotive-services/ for an explanation of differences.

Please clarify.  The statements are contradictory about phone calls and audio In.  Please explain what a head unit is.

I have added a link and some more details in my question above. If you need more info, tell me. I have hardware screenshots etc. Anything you want tell me.

It looks like after more than a week and 77 views and a bounty of 50, there has been no response.
Today I received the FiiO Q3 which someone claimed would work with voice calls because it supports USB Audio Class 1.0 {16bit} (press 'Gain' button while connecting it to USB). I tried it both in default mode {32bit} and UAC1.0 mode {16bit} and nothing changed. ie. Whatever the behavior of the Cyrus Soundkey was, the Q3 replicated it exactly. No magical improvement in the audio routing.
The voice calls were still routed to the harness, instead of to the DAC. Same thing with DTV audio - still routed to the harness, instead of to the DAC.
My conclusion is that the com.wits.ksw.bt application (the KSW BT dialer) and the DTV application are both hardcoded to specifically use the internal speaker output disregarding any other output. I suppose that person that claimed that the FiiO Q3 was able to overcome this problem was either totally mistaken or his android HU was substantially different (e.g. mine is CCC while his is CCI).
Further detailed info can be found in this thread between these 2 posts:
https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?p=30805968
https://f30.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?p=30891352


text:
Backup SMS and MMS to Google One on G Suite or Google Workspace account
I'm a G Suite/Google Workspace user. I have 22977 messages including media (MMS & RCS), but it can't backup to Google. In Android backup, it only shows 1.0 MB for backed-up SMS and MMS.

How to fix it?


text:
Restoring Lost Messages
I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing while using Messages for Web and instead of typing in a new message to my wife, I did something to cause our whole 5 year long conversation thread to disappear. (I say 'disappear' than 'deleted' for reasons I'll describe below.)
Since I was on Messages for Web, I quickly hopped on my phone. Nope, gone there too. I checked the Archive. Not there. So I started Googling. Most sites said that if texts are deleted, then they're gone for good, but I did find this that says to use the app SMS Backup and Restore to check if the messages are truly gone.
So I download the app and lo and behold, the entire conversation is there! I successfully create a backup of the entire conversation! I can see the messages in the xml file that is generated and I have it stored in triplicate on my phone, my Google Drive, and my desktop.
The problem now lies in restoring the messages. When I try to use SMS Backup and Restore's restore feature, it runs, but at conclusion says that all ~30000 items are duplicates and that nothing was restored.
This leads to my question: How can I restore these messages - either using SMS Back and Restore, or by some other method, since they clearly still exist on the phone in some unknown location.

check the xml file for 'deleted' flags. or, as the link says, messages just lost track to conversation. in that case clear app data and import backup again.


text:
How can I disable Auto-Sign on my Facebook app?
Currently if I sign out of the Facebook app, sign in requires only that I press on my name. There is no password required.  How can I change this? I'd like to have to type in my password each time to login to the Facebook app?

If the app does not support it, you cannot change it.  I would recommend that you use an app locker.  I have always used one.  There are many around.  I currently use Kaspersky for anti-virus and it has this feature.  There are free ones around too.

After installation, you select which apps require more security.
You select what sort of security you want, I use a 6 digit pin or a fingerprint.
When you press on the app icon, the AppLocker will pop up and you can enter your pin or whatever.

I lock all my sensitive apps this way, this includes Banking, Social, Email,  Internet (browsers etc), and Play Store (so no one else can install another app).

Is there no way to completely sign out? There used to be a checkbox you could check or uncheck to select "Keep me logged in" (at least on the web version of FB)


text:
"package installer keeps stopping"
I have a rooted (Magisk) Fairphone 5 running the Fairphone ROM.  I installed F-Droid using adb.  I cannot update F-Droid itself from with in F-Droid.  From F-Droid I have tried to install OI File Manager, LinPhone, and Easter Eggs.  They do not install and the only feedback I get is "package installer keeps stopping".  I also downloaded the OI File Manager apk from the github site directly to my phone and tried to install it from AOSP file manager with the same results. I am allowing installing APKs from unknown sources in settings.  I am able to install apks using adb.
I ran adb logcat when trying to install OI File Manager and found two possible errors:
NotificationService: Cannot find enqueued record for key: 0|org.fdroid.fdroid|1|https://f-droid.org/repo/org.openintents.filemanager_40.apk|10195

PackageParser: Unknown element under <manifest>: meta-data at /data/user/0/org.fdroid.fdroid/cache/apks/f-droid.org--1/org.openintents.filemanager_40.apk Binary XML file line #63

I have also installed SAI which gives more detailed error messages and it says "Can't install packages while in secure FRP"
But since it is happening with different APKs, I am not sure how to proceed to fix this.

I know that this issue stems from the triggering of FRP at some point in the rooting or setup process.  So the solution is to solve that problem so I have posted a new question to that end.

As mentioned in my comment, this problem is a system level problem, not a problem with F-droid, the package installer or any individual APK file.  I have solved it using
adb shell settings put secure secure_frp_mode 0

and this solution persists across restarts, at least in my rooted context.


text:
bypass/remove FRP on rooted Fairphone 5
I rooted a new Fairphone 5 using Magisk.  After rooting I wanted to run the setup wizard again so I used
adb shell
su
pm enable com.google.android.setupwizard/com.google.android.setupwizard.SetupWizardActivity
exit
exit
adb shell settings put secure user_setup_complete 0
adb reboot

At some point in the rooting and setting up process I must have triggered FRP because now I cannot install APKs outside of the Play store because of FRP.  I get the error
Can't install packages while in secure FRP

I can still install APKs with adb.  I can temporarily fix the problem using
adb shell settings put secure secure_frp_mode 0

Otherwise I have full access to my phone and I have not had basic access to phone blocked by a "verify my google account" dialog like so many people having FRP issues.
There are quite a few discussions at android.stackexchange.com about dealign with FRP problems, some with answers.  Some of the answers seem device specific but none deal with Fairphone 5.  Is there a device-neutral way to fix this FRP issue?   I have moved data and apps over to this new phone from my old phone so I would prefer to not have to do a factory reset to fix this issue.

I said above that using
adb shell settings put secure secure_frp_mode 0

was a temporary fix but in fact it persists across restarts. So for this rooted phone, I am saying that this is the answer.


text:
How to disable charging *from* the tablet?
Usually you plug tablet/phone in order to charge that tablet/phone.
I have peculiar problem with "reverse" setup -- I have a keyboard (digital piano) plugged in to the wall socket, then I use MIDI-USB converter to connect to the tablet via USB (so MIDI on the keyboard side, USB on the tablet side). And on the connection somehow tablet gets the idea it needs to charge the keyboard.
Of course it does not make sense, but drains the tablet battery pretty quickly.
So my question is how to disable charging from the tablet?
If this matters: tablet is Samsung TAB S6 LITE SM-P610.

Where does the MIDI-USB converter get it's power from? Can it get the power from MIDI side? Because if not the USB side is the only option to power it. Assuming the MIDI-USB adapter has no battery then "charging" means simply that the tablet provides the necessary power to the adapter. The only thing you can try is placing an active hub in between so the hub powers the USB-MIDI adapter.

@Robert, I always assumed it is a passive element, basically like a cable. Good catch, thank you very much.


text:
Moved the SIM card from an iPhone 6 to a Samsung Galaxy S20, cannot receive texts from iPhone users
A friend had an iPhone 6 and received a newer Samsung Galaxy S20 phone. He moved the SIM card from the iPhone to the Samsung phone. He had trouble receiving text messages.
He removed the SIM card and put it back in the iPhone and followed instructions to delete all messages on the SIM card. Now, in the Samsung phone, it receives text messages fine from most people, but certain iPhone user texts are not received.

Nowadays, mainly in the US that I have seen it, sim cards are one way or another link to a device imei. He probably just need to call the carrier and they will update it.
Another thing, his friends might set the messages to only be sent as imessage but I am probably 90% wrong, I haven't touch and iphone in years. Try to test it with another iPhone.

iPhone users send text messages using the iOS app "Messages" by Apple. This app can send SMS and iMessages, the latter is an Apple proprietary messaging system.
If you move from an iPhone to a non-iPhone then the other iPhone users will still send you iMessages instead of SMS as the iMessage system still knows your phone number and associates your old iPhone to it.
It doesn't know that you have moved to a phone not capable to receive iMessage.
Therefore you have to inform Apple/the iMessage system that you can no longer receive iMessages: you have to deregister your phone number at Apple.
Apple provides a web site for deregistering your phone number in the iMessage system:
https://selfsolve.apple.com/deregister-imessage/


text:
How can third-party apps be set as system apps on Redmi Note 11 running MIUI 14?
I'm thinking about turning this third-party app into a system app. It has some great functionalities that could benefit  me. Can you help me understand the process

On stock device you can not make an app a system app. Only the manufacturer can do that by signing the app appropriately. Also regular apps have no advantage in being installed as system app as you need to consider extended permissions available to system apps have when developing the app.


text:
WhatsApp Call Lowers Media Volume
The volume of the media I'm trying to watch is automatically lowered when I enter a WhatsApp call. The position on the slider does not change so it appears to be the correct volume, but it is noticeably lower.
Any ideas on how to remedy this? Either by restoring the correct volume or lowering call volume below the minimum would be preferable.
Phone Model: Oppo Find X5 Lite,
Android Version: 13,

This looks like audio ducking. We have an existing question about Disable or change audio ducking (lowering)?, consider checking it. Otherwise, you might want to try searching for similar keywords in the Settings.

Does this answer your question? Disable or change audio ducking (lowering)?

Unfortunately those do not answer my questions. They either do not work or I don't have the settings they talk about on my Android version. Thank you though.
And thank you for bringing the name to my attention, I was not aware it was called that and it should make figuring this out easier.


text:
Why does Whoscall database update fail on ADSL 2M/64K?
Why does Whoscall database update fail on ADSL 2M/64K Wi-Fi?

When talking about third party apps please always include the app store link as apps can have different names in other localizations.

I was going to but was afraid of being kicked off for spamming. https://whoscall.com/ has both major app store links. Two birds with one stone.

Because Whoscall assumes a slow network is no network.
因 Whoscall 誤以為網路慢就是沒有網路。
Turn on your cellular data and it will succeed.
開啟行動數據就會成功。


text:
"3 lines with a T" icon on Samsung Phone app call history
What does that one icon with the 3 lines and T on call history of the Samsung Phone app? Why doesn’t it show for the other ones?

Welcome to [Android.SE]. Since manufacturers tend to customize their Android including the apps and their behavior, could you mention the app name, or at least the device model and Android version?

I do know it’s a Samsung I will have to wait to get the specifics

May be your question is understandable for native English speakers, I am am not and I don't understand what you are asking for. Your question is simply too short.


text:
On what relies the limit for maximum eSims on my device?
I have a Pixel6 and it supports 1 eSim.
Since eSims are just software, what are the limiting factors to not have basically unlimited eSims on a smartphone?
Where is it coming from?:

The lawmaker?
The telcos?
The phone manufacturers?
The phone operating system manufacturer?

Any or all of the above.  To manage real production and price point, everything is designed to have limits, thats life.  What are you trying to solve ?

eSIM are not pure software. For security reasons the storage is a hardware component similar to the old SIM cards, just way smaller and AFAIK today integrated into the central SoC.
Also your statement "Pixel6 and it supports 1 eSim" is not correct. you can only have one eSIM active at a time but you can have multiple eSIM profiles installed and easily switch between them (usually you can have up to eight eSIM profiles installed, they are often called "lines").
The reason why you have only one eSIM is because the phone is designed to work as a dual-SIM phone: one physical SIM and one eSIM can be active.
Each active SIM requires the phone to search for the operator network and then connect to it and keep the connection. So when two SIM "cards" are active the whole radio system of your phone is shared between two providers. This means increased radio traffic and the necessity to manage things like hand-over and so on two times in parallel. This means it costs battery and it can come to conflicts where both connections want to use the radio system and the antennas at the same time.
Increasing the number of active SIM cards would increase those situations so each connection would suffer.


text:
Flashing twrp failed on Moto G5s
I wanted to install twrp on Moto G5s but faced the following error:
Inspiron-7501:~/Downloads$ fastboot flash recovery twrp-3.5.img
(bootloader) is-logical:recovery: not found
Sending 'recovery' (15714 KB)                      OKAY [  0.711s]
Writing 'recovery'                                 (bootloader) Image not signed or corrupt
OKAY [  0.132s]
Finished. Total time: 0.848s

I tried multiple recovery images, including lineage recovery, and, as i mentioned, twrp.
I checked for the right files for my device (montana) and unlocked the bootloader previously.
If someone has an idea, i would appreciate some help.
Thanks in advance, Bennett.

Is your device bootloader unlocked?

yes it is, also according to settings.

In Android settings you only see "OEM unlock" which allows/disallows unlocking, but the question is if you have really have unlocked your device (e.g. via fastboot).


text:
Login into a phone with broken screen using adb
I have a Android 10 phone with broken screen (it doesn't display anything and doesn't react to touches) that has ADB enabled. It boots (probably to the lockscreen) as I can see it in adb devices and it gets an IP, but unfortunately adb devices lists it as unauthorized.
I tried unlocking it with a keyboard via USB-OTG (pressing the power button, then pressing enter (not sure if needed), then waiting a moment (in case enter only caused a wrong pin message) and then entering the PIN again and pressing enter, but it doesn't seem to change things and I cannot see if it was successful.
My PC is authorized and usually I was able to use adb pull/shell/..., but I think this might have required unlocking the screen.
Is there a way to get somehow blindly authorize adb access to the data?

Your main problem is that adb requires the phone to operate as USB client where as connecting an USB keyboard/mouse requires the phone to operate in OTG mode as USB hosts. To my knowledge both modes can not be used at the same time and the adb authorization dialog vanishes once you disconnect the adb usb connection. So the only way would be to use the USB keyboard to pair a bluetooth keyboard, then switch to adb ,mode and use the bluetooth keyboard to authorize adb. Doing that all blind is next to impossible.

Good point. The question is whether the popup always appears after a reboot, even for known devices. I know it does not appear for every new connection, but it may reappear after a reboot. I hoped that unlocking with OTG first and then connecting to a computer would result in an authorized adb connection (since the computer previously was authorized), but it is still unauthorized and I can't see if there is a popup or not.

Adb authorization Dialog only appears upon first connection (or better every time the connection is established until you agree go it) . But since Android 12 or 13 there is a function active by default that removes the trust state after some weeks or months. This function can be disabled in developer settings.

It's Android 10 and seems to still have adb but unauthorized. Sadly I have no idea what's on the screen and the phone also does not support HDMI output. Usually I use adb all the time, so I am also confused why it is not authorized.


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Flip right shift and cursor "up" keys for external USB keyboard on Android
On my USB-C keyboard which I use with my Android phone (Samsung Galaxy S23), the placement of the right shift-key is very weird and I keep hitting the "up" cursor key, which I curse the keyboard designers for.
There is a thread with (kind of) a solution for exactly the same problem for Windows here:
Solutions for keyboard with awkward up arrow key
but I haven't seen anything the likes for Android.
So the question is: can I flip the keys, so that the physical "up" key has the menaing of "Shift" and vice versa, in Android?
If it doesn't work natively, can you recomment an app that allows this?

This may be old, but I haven't found evidence that this has changed in all the years of Android. Full details are from an old AOSP github repo.
This will require root access as it requires you to edit system-level files.

Android uses the standard Linux input event device (/dev/event0) and driver as described in the linux/input.h kernel header file. For more information regarding standard Linux input drivers, please see Linux Input drivers at http://kernel.org.
Key Layout Map Selection of a Key Layout Map Key layout maps are
installed in /system/usr/keylayout and /data/usr/keylayout.
For each keyboard device xxx, set the android.keylayout.xxx system
property (see Building New Device for help setting system properties).
If you don't specify a keylayout file, Android will default to
/system/usr/keylayout/qwerty.kl.
File Format Key layout maps are stored on the device as UTF-8 text
files and have the following characteristics:
Comments: The pound symbol (#) denotes a comment and everything after
the pound symbol on a line is ignored.

Whitespace: All empty lines are
ignored. Key definitions: Key definitions follow the syntax key
SCANCODE KEYCODE [FLAGS...], where SCANCODE is a number, KEYCODE is
defined in your specific keylayout file (android.keylayout.xxx), and
potential FLAGS are defined as follows:

SHIFT: While pressed, the shift key modifier is set

ALT: While pressed, the alt key modifier is set

CAPS: While pressed, the caps lock key modifier is set

WAKE: When this key is pressed while the device is asleep, the device will wake up and the key event gets sent to the app.

WAKE_DROPPED: When this key is pressed while the device is asleep, the device will wake up and the key event does not get sent to the app.

Using the above commands to help, you could change the file from something like:
key 13    DPAD_UP
key 15    SHIFT

to:
key 13    SHIFT
key 15    DPAD_UP

This was a big nostalgia moment for me - I used to be really into
keyboard remapping back in the "new-ROM-every-other-afternoon" days.

Thank you for the idea and the explanation!

That's definitely something I'll try if needed. Since it is a dual-sim phone where one of the SIM cards is from my employer though, I think I can only get root access (without getting in trouble) while that card is not in. So while I like working with down-to-earth solutions like this one, I must say in this case I'd prefer an app without root access, if that exists. But if there are no other solutions in the next days, I'll try that one out!


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whatsapp useless(?) files are safe to delete? dbcrypt and .trash
whatsapp useless(?) files are safe to delete? dbcrypt and .trash.
I was never able to restore a dbcrypt file, and whatsapp creates many.
This folder just seems to try to fill remaining space with random data on my old J7 2015. (it is in the internal storage, unmovable)
/storage/emulated/0/WhatsApp/.trash
It almost feel like they want to force us buy a new phone, because they fill it with useless files and then complain about no space left on device w/o showing the mess the very whatsapp did!
so, is it ok to delete them?
any other better suggestion?

You could try it making a backup and restoring from it will remove useless files. Then you're sure that they really are not necessary.


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Unable to remove malware, even after factory reset and system flash. Sony Xperia 1 IV, XQ-CT72
I had a rooted phone, in which I misclicked an apk and installed it. Almost immediately I uninstalled it and disabled the network (I also had afwall and netguard enabled). However it was too late. I got a ~100's of 0kb system apps without icons. I re-flashed the phone with fresh stock firmware and factory reset it, however the broken system apps (and likely the malware) are still there.
Does anyone have suggestions on what can be done to fix this? Or any knowledge of similar malware?
Some antivirus I could use, or maybe something stronger than a system flash?
Thanks in advance.

Picture after factory reset and flash.

Where do you got the stock firmware image from? Are you sure it is genuine? Are you sure the rro packages are really malware, because Android knows such packages that are loaded using an file-system overlay: https://source.android.com/docs/core/runtime/rros?hl=en

I got the stock firmware from XperiFirm 5.7.0 (by Igor Eisberg), I am pretty sure it's genuine. I am very sure these are malware because there are 0 kb system apps with version 1, that only got installed when I installed the malware.

Do you still have the .APK file which you installed? I'd be interested in taking a look at it.

No, It's been deleted sadly.


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Data recovery on locked out Infinix Hot 10
I had forgotten my PIN on Infinix Hot 10. I am unable to get in without a backup. I got the phone new and didn't create a backup as a first-time Android user, which I had saved important notes in my Android notepad.
My question is, if I factory reset the phone and use a data recovery, will I be able to recover the message in my notepad?
I really need help on this before I make the attempt.

Android phones are encrypted by default and a factory reset erases the master key making all data inaccessible for your life time and beyond.

@Robert, why not make that an answer?


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Unlock Unisoc bootloader on Linux
I need a Linux command to unlock my Unisoc bootloader using modified fastboot.
The command ./fastboot devices  keeps telling me permission is denied.
joseph@penguin:~/modified_fastboot$ ./fastboot devices
-bash: ./fastboot: Permission denied

Screenshot of terminal output

The permission denied is a message from Linux. Make sure to properly configure your Linux system (whatever distribution you use) to be able to access Android devices via USB. Hopefully you are talking about a real Linux system, not a Linux on Windows (WSL).

by coincidence someone posted this today on xda (don't know what it is, maybe spam) https://unisoc-android.github.io/subut

Temporary fix: run the command as root
sudo ./fastboot devices

Permanent fix:

use lsusb to identify your device USB VendorID
configure udev to set proper permissions when your device is plugged in

https://stackoverflow.com/a/28127944/12075599


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Will clearing Android Messages storage and cache cause lose of text messages?
I recently discovered that my Android Messages app (version: messages.android_20240109_01_RCO4.phone_dynamic, updated on Jan 25, 2024) in my Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G (SM-G781V, Android 13) has been displaying text messages with an obnoxious line height.
I found this solution on a Google support forum, but before I try it, I want to make sure I won't lose all my old text messages.

Settings - applications - force stop then storage and cache - clear data then clear cache.

Possibly related issue: Google Messages Not Functioning Well (on Galaxy S20 5G)

It won't delete your MMS/SMS (the conventional messages) in any case if you clear data of the default Messaging app. I'm not exactly sure about RCS chats but technically they should also be not cleared.

A more safer approach would be

Download another Messaging app (get a good 3rd part messaging app from Play Store)
Make it the default messaging app
See if all your messages (both SMS/MMS and RCS) are visible there
Clear data of the original Messaging app you were refering to
Once it's done, open it and make it the default Messaging app again
After making sure all messages are back there, uninstall the third party app you installed

I followed these steps and found that my messages remained intact.


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How to set secondary screen as default for mirror mode?
I have a rooted LG phone running android 12. There is screen+ feature in LG like samsung dex that gets activated only when connected with usb to monitor. But when I connect via wifi to any display device for screen mirroring, only main android screen is shown.  I want to mirror only secondary screen i.e. screen+ desktop. Ticking force desktop mode in developer options did not help.
Is there any way to set screen+ desktop as a default screen for mirroring by making changes in android system settings ?

Do you want to mirror the second screen while it is shown via USB on an external monitor if without a monitor connected via USB?

I want to mirror the second screen which is screen+ desktop via wifi to any casting device without the need of usb to hdmi cable.


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Media Server draining my phone battery?
I noticed from yesterday that my phone is using 1% every 2 minutes.
From battery I can see Media Server with almost 70% consumption
The app can't be closed
What should I do please ?
*No I don't have microSD

What Media Server are you talking about?

This is what is called from battery consumption

Try to install an app list/info app that shows you the app name and the package name. Without the package name it is difficult to guess if this is a system app in an endless loop (e.g. caused by indexing a defect audio/video file) or malware that uses this name.

From app list I can't find the Media server

In Android settings you may have to enable the option to show system apps. The app list in Android settings doesn't show app package names. Therefore my recommendation is to use a third party app manager app from Play Store.

Today it disappeared and seems ok for now

Today it disappeared and seems ok for now


text:
How to I ensure few specific apps is always running? If not launch each applications
I am looking for app or a way to ensure specific apps are always running in the background/foreground all the time.
Edit: apps in question does run as a foreground service.
If they are stopped for any reason, they will be started again by the app or process.
Does app called "Tasker" has capability like this?

Android imposes background limitations on apps. If an app needs to run in background, it should run a foreground service. See Why do apps run in background on Android?

The apps I'm going to run do run as foreground service.

If the device is for business/corporate use you may want to look into Mobile Device Management (MDM) / Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM), see: https://www.android.com/enterprise/management/ From what I understand you can either run the device in kiosk mode or 'white list' apps from battery optimizations

Edit application permissions to include background & foreground activity
Unrestrict data usage
Exclude from battery optimization
Exclude from game-mode optimization
If applicable and/or desired, exclude from Do Not Disturb, etc
Lock the process (through Recent Apps screen)
Set up automation to relaunch program in the event of unintended closure (e.g., via Tasker, Macrodroid, etc.)


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/e/ OS location service jumps between correct and fixed wrong location
I have /e/ OS 1.18 installed on my phone.
Ever since I've started using /e/ OS, occasionally my phone would pick a semi-random* fixed location and then alternatingly pass on either my real location or the randomly picked one to apps using the location service.
*By semi-random I mean that it is usually relatively close to me (generally no further than 100km) and usually in a plausible place (a public road, square, railway station...) but otherwise wholly inexplicable.
In the past I had some luck with clearing cache & storage of the System App called Nominatim Geolocator (or similar) – this would fix the problem for a few weeks – but in my current version of /e/ OS I cannot find this app anymore.
In the Advanced Privacy settings, I chose to expose my location and IP address, but this did not help. Neither did clearing cache & storage of Advanced Privacy, nor disabling Advanced Privacy as the mock location app via the developer options.
What can I do to permanently get rid of this problem?

It sounds to me that your GPS hardware is not working reliably.  When Location Services is on, it tries its best, using GPS, Cell Tower etc.  In this case its using the Cell-tower location.

Is there a way to disable usage of cell tower location and force usage of GPS coordinates?


text:
How to back up OSMAnd favourites using ADB?
First attempt to back up favourites to my PC after enabling USB debugging and connecting the phone to the PC:

Open OSMAnd+ 4.6.11
Click the hamburger menu
Click Settings
Click Export to file
Expand My Places
Check Favourites
Click Continue
Give up because there's no option to save to a local file

Second attempt, based on this:

adb pull /storage/[ID omitted]/Android/data/net.osmand.plus
Give up because net.osmand.plus/files/favourites.gpx has no favourites

Third attempt, based on this:

adb backup -f osmand.ab net.osmand.plus
Unlock phone and answer backup prompt
Give up because osmand.ab is some 47 bytes

How do I actually do a backup of favourites from my phone to my PC using ADB? The phone is not rooted.

As mentioned in a comment relating to the export issue mentioned above, there is a working solution to this:

Open OSMAnd+
Click the hamburger menu
Click Settings
Click OsmAnd settings
Click Data storage folder
Choose an external storage and follow the instructions

After this I was able to back up favourites by running adb pull /sdcard/Android/data/net.osmand.plus/files/favorites (your path may vary).


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Summon on Samsung of bent arrow icon to the left with a number 2?
I woke up to a bent arrow pointing down to the left with a number two. I know this isn’t missed calls as it didn’t have a phone. This icon was in my notifications bar and I swiped away before I saw what it was. Has anyone came across this?

You can try to check the Android notification history: https://android.stackexchange.com/q/50177/2241

Hi, could you [edit] and clarify the title? I have a difficulty in understanding the title, particularly "summon"(?)

It means two missed calls.  The notification bar gives a summary, not phone numbers.  Look at your call history to confirm.

There were no missed calls and it wasn’t the missed call symbol. There were no phone with the icon.


text:
What is "root" and why does it keep contacting different servers?
I have blocked this "root" [app/service/user] from accessing the network. However, I can find no specific answers as to what it is and why it attempts to contact only random servers. I use NetGuard to better control the network on my phone, that is where the screenshot came from.

I have searched for days for an answer to my question, but there are literally millions of instances across the network and boolean searches only narrow it to tens of thousands.
Should I be worried about malicious intent or just keep it locked down?

By the user-id 0 (Linux root user) you can see that these request don't belong to apps, but to system components (e.g. services) that run as root user (or if your system is rooted to programs that are executed via su).

If you are really worried, just run a decent virus scanner

As @Robert already pointed out, those are requests made by the system itself. Most of them will probably originate from Google Mobile Services (including analytics) – all those google.com and 1e100.net ones. Though I'd indeed wonder what accesses .gov servers or .ring.com, facebook etc at system level (port 443 indicates web servers being accessed and not just name servers to resolve IP addresses). So I guess you should be worried about your Facebook & Co apps if you're afraid about tracking ;)

@Izzy GMS and other system/framework apps don't run with root (0) UID. So it must be some init service. Most probably netd, which is Android's DNS caching daemon i.e. it forwards DNS queries to internet as requested by apps.

When there are multiple processes running with the same UID, it's possible to filter out the one doing network activity using cls_cgroup and xt_cgroup Linux features. But it requires a rooted device, some familiarity with Linux networking, and most probably a custom kernel.


text:
Samsung Email on S10+ only showing unread emails
Samsung Email on S10+ only shows unread emails. I see some (but not all) of the new emails, but as soon as I read them, they disappear.  As a result, it always looks like I have no emails, even though there are hundreds of read emails visible on other machines (like a PC using a web browser).  I cannot scroll down through previous emails to find a message.  Using Microsoft 365 email services and Samsung Email.  I cannot find any way to configure this app.

According to the screenshots from the Play Store, there should be a navigation drawer on the left that can be opened by either swiping the edge of the screen or pressing the 3-horizontal lines on the top-left. Have you tried it?

Thanks, Andrew!  When I swipe the left edge of the screen right, all I get is a list of icons (probably some kind of quick launch gimmick).  When I am looking at the Inbox, there is a 3-horizontal-lines thingy, but all that gets me is a list of folders.  I looked at the Play Store and could not find a screen shot that showed a navigation drawer.  Which screen shot were you referring to?

I just tried Blue Mail, and it, too, only shows a subset of the emails that I am receiving.  Maybe there is an email server setting that I need to tweak.  Puzzling.

This one is the navigation drawer, showing "Inbox" and "Unread". I thought the issue was it's on "Unread" folder, but considering that after using 3rd-party email apps it's still the same, then perhaps it's a server setting. I just did a quick search "microsoft 365 email delete after read" and one of the results is from Microsoft Community where it mentioned the "Leave a copy of the messages on server" settings.

Now, I want to stop the Samsung Email app from working with my email, but I can't find any way to tell it to stop.  If this app is configurable, all of the settings are hidden

I finally found the configuration forms, but not in the app at all, which is very confusing.  I disabled Samsung Email.  I believe that some messages were missing from my main email display (on my desktop).  The whole thing became too unreliable and dangerous for me to continue using.


text:
Has my battery actually been replaced? Samsung A40
I went to a phone repair shop to have my display replaced, which was cracked. I took the opportunity to have the battery replaced too: My Samsung A40 is four years old and I noticed that the battery wasn't lasting as long as it used to. I have picked up my phone from the shop and while it is obvious that the display has been replaced, I am suspicious that they simply left the old battery in there:

The battery is draining quickly, as it was before: It's gone from 97% to 90% in about two hours. (I have not charged it since getting it back.)

When I turned on my phone after getting it back from the shop, the battery was at 97%, which is, I think, more or less the level it was at before I switched it off in the shop.

Under Settings > Device care > Battery > Battery usage, there is usage data for the last seven days. Shouldn't this be blank? Or does a change of batter not reset this?

Am I just being overly suspicious or is there a way to confirm whether the battery has been replaced? (Even if I did open it up and look, I didn't think to write down the serial number of the old battery.) If I were to go back to the shop to complain, then I would need firm proof.
EDIT: My original question was not clear. Put succinctly: Is there a way to tell whether a battery has been replaced using only the software?

How should the device know the battery has been replaced? A battery is a built-in component not designed to be replaced regularly. Even the maximum battery mAh is hard-coded into the ROM.

Dropping 7% in 2 hours is not excessive.  You can see under battery usage, what is using it up.  The biggest user is normally the touch screen.  On some phones the GPS consumes a fair bit of power.  Switch it off, if you dont need it on all the time.

Battery life
Battery life is definitely not one of the strongest suits of the Galaxy A40 but it's not necessarily a weak point either. The 3,100mAh unit didn't deliver the runtimes we expected, especially in the web browsing and video playback tests. Still, an overall 73h endurance rating is fairly dependable so you will probably squeeze out a full day of moderate usage.

From gsmarena.  Note I have no affiliation with the site, its just the first one in the search.


text:
Disable Factory reset via ADB
I want to disable factory reset/data wipe on my phone via ADB. I tried running
pm disable 'com.android.settings/com.android.settings.SubSettings'
but it threw
Exception occurred while executing 'disable':
java.lang.SecurityException: Shell cannot change component state for ComponentInfo{com.android.settings/com.android.settings.SubSettings} to 2
        at com.android.server.pm.PackageManagerService.setEnabledSettings(PackageManagerService.java:3808)
        at com.android.server.pm.PackageManagerService.-$$Nest$msetEnabledSettings(Unknown Source:0)
        at com.android.server.pm.PackageManagerService$IPackageManagerImpl.setComponentEnabledSetting(PackageManagerService.java:5652)
        at com.android.server.pm.PackageManagerShellCommand.runSetEnabledSetting(PackageManagerShellCommand.java:2363)
        at com.android.server.pm.PackageManagerShellCommand.onCommand(PackageManagerShellCommand.java:272)
        at com.android.modules.utils.BasicShellCommandHandler.exec(BasicShellCommandHandler.java:97)
        at android.os.ShellCommand.exec(ShellCommand.java:38)
        at com.android.server.pm.PackageManagerService$IPackageManagerImpl.onShellCommand(PackageManagerService.java:6045)
        at android.os.Binder.shellCommand(Binder.java:1049)
        at android.os.Binder.onTransact(Binder.java:877)
        at android.content.pm.IPackageManager$Stub.onTransact(IPackageManager.java:4313)
        at com.android.server.pm.PackageManagerService$IPackageManagerImpl.onTransact(PackageManagerService.java:6029)
        at android.os.Binder.execTransactInternal(Binder.java:1285)
        at android.os.Binder.execTransact(Binder.java:1244)

How can I achieve this? I want to disable the factory reset on my Android phone. If theres no way to achieve it through adb, how else can it be done? I have heard of people doing it, so I know there is a way, I just need help doing it.
I also tried pm disable com.android.settings but it threw

Exception occurred while executing 'disable':
java.lang.SecurityException: Shell cannot change component state for null to 2
        at com.android.server.pm.PackageManagerService.setEnabledSettings(PackageManagerService.java:3808)
        at com.android.server.pm.PackageManagerService.-$$Nest$msetEnabledSettings(Unknown Source:0)
        at com.android.server.pm.PackageManagerService$IPackageManagerImpl.setApplicationEnabledSetting(PackageManagerService.java:5528)
        at com.android.server.pm.PackageManagerShellCommand.runSetEnabledSetting(PackageManagerShellCommand.java:2356)
        at com.android.server.pm.PackageManagerShellCommand.onCommand(PackageManagerShellCommand.java:272)
        at com.android.modules.utils.BasicShellCommandHandler.exec(BasicShellCommandHandler.java:97)
        at android.os.ShellCommand.exec(ShellCommand.java:38)
        at com.android.server.pm.PackageManagerService$IPackageManagerImpl.onShellCommand(PackageManagerService.java:6045)
        at android.os.Binder.shellCommand(Binder.java:1049)
        at android.os.Binder.onTransact(Binder.java:877)
        at android.content.pm.IPackageManager$Stub.onTransact(IPackageManager.java:4313)
        at com.android.server.pm.PackageManagerService$IPackageManagerImpl.onTransact(PackageManagerService.java:6029)
        at android.os.Binder.execTransactInternal(Binder.java:1285)
        at android.os.Binder.execTransact(Binder.java:1244)```

If you disable or uninstall Settings app, your device will work fine until you restart or power off the device -- then it will get stuck in a  bootloop.


text:
How to install Open Gapps on Android Cuttlefish
I wanted to install Open Gapps (google play services) on cuttlefish virtual device (CVD). I tried using adb but flash archive is not present in the AVD image. Any idea how to install Open Gapps on CVD?
https://source.android.com/docs/setup/create/cuttlefish-use


text:
"Sorry, I could not acquire root privileges" error message on Titanium Backup
When running Titanium Backup, it fails with Sorry, I could not acquire root privileges [...]. The su it reports as using is /system/bin/su - it exists and works.
My environment: Google Pixel 8 Pro running the latest version of the standard Husky rooted with Magisk.
I have tried all the usual stuff: reboot; uninstall and reinstall TB; and a host of other useless methods.
After the reinstall, Magisk asks whether to grant root privileges to TB. Subsequent starts of TB result in a Magisk toast saying that root has been granted to TB. So TB actually has root privileges but doesn't know about it.
This is REALLY annoying as the P8 is new - replaces a P5 so I need to restore a few things.

can you try older Magisk, let's say v24.3?

Titanium Backup has not seen any updates since 2019, so it might have trouble on newer Android versions. For a possible alternative, you could take a look at Neo Backup.

Related on Magisk GitHub: Issue #672 - Titanium Backup Problem

Thank you for your replies! 2019?! Hmm, time to look for a replacement. If the quality of the Neo Backup FAQ is any indication, the software must be good.


text:
Screen-lock: any way to specify a list of sensitive apps to opt-out locking all apps?
Recently I started using screen locking, just because I started using NFC and Google Wallet. If the device does not have a screen-lock set up, Google Wallet removes cards the in 5 minutes. Okay, this sounds reasonable to me for the security reasons. I don't consider all other applications super-sensitive so for me this is totally fine not to use screen locking for them. The annoying thing about the screen lock is that it locks almost everything except a more or less safe audio player with very limited capabilities like "start"/"stop"/"prev/next track": switching to another playlist requires the device to be unlocked; using a dumb calculator with zero personal data requires the device to be unlocked; opening a short-lived Firefox Focus instance requires it too.
I find the idea of locking all apps regardless their sensitiveness quite annoying, and I'm wondering is there probably a way to screen-lock only a specified list of applications I consider critical?
Currently I have a Pixel 6 Pro device with rooted stock Android 14 (not sure if I'm fine to switch to another Android-based OS, but why not?), so I guess Magisk-, XPosed/LSPosed-, XPrivacyLua-based extensions might be great in this case.

Its easier to use a Screen Lock or App Lock app.  I have used AppLock in the past and it works well.  You can select which apps need to be locked.
Since then I have moved to Kaspersky for its anti-virus functions.  IT comes bundled with App Lock, so I am using that.  This too works well and allows you to select the apps.

Did you have success with using these third-party lock screens along with Google Wallet (with cards not being removed by it)? I think this might not work well because Google Wallet would still expect a system level lock screen (not these third-party ones).


text:
ADB stopped working after installing Windows 11 23H2
I've been using ADB from the command prompt on this Microsoft Surface Book 3 laptop with success for about a year. It upgraded to Windows 11 23H2 from 22H2 a couple of weeks ago, and since then, ADB can't see any devices. I've rebooted laptop and devices, tried two different cables, and updated ADB. I now have:
> adb --version
Android Debug Bridge version 1.0.41
Version 35.0.1-11580240
Installed as C:\android\platform-tools\adb.exe
Running on Windows 10.0.22631

> adb devices
List of devices attached

It does not sound a tone when an Android device is connected, which it used to do.
I'd never needed to install special USB drivers on Windows 10 or 11, so I have not tried that. The devices do not show up in Windows Explorer. What am I missing?

As soon as I post the question, I think of something else to try, and start finding the solution.
The laptop had lost the ability to access ADB devices on its USB-A ports. It could do that via its sole USB-C port, and sounds a tone when an Android device is connected there. That's specific enough to report as a bug.
I don't usually use the USB-C port because it is too close to the power connector, making it awkward to have power and USB-C connected at the same time.
Then the laptop started ignoring its keyboard. This model is actually a 2-in-1, a large Windows tablet with an attachable keyboard, which bears the USB ports, power connector and so on. Detaching and re-attaching the keyboard got it working, and now the USB-A ports can see Android devices. Computers!


text:
شركات سامسنج ارجا حل المشكله هذي بسرع وقت asseAhmad
شتريت مؤخرًا هاتف Samsung A21 مستعملًا ولكنه يخبرني دائمًا أنه "غير مسجل على الشبكة" وقد حاولت عدة مرات مسح البيانات الموجودة على Sim Toolkit وإعادة ضبط إعدادات الشبكة وإعادة ضبط المصنع ولكن لا شيء في النهاية. عندما اتصلت بالشخص الذي،  أخبرني شخص ما مرة أخرى أنه كان من الممكن أن يكون قد تم حظره من قبل الشركة المصنعة. الرجاء من أي شخص أن يساعدني في الحل

Hi. Please [edit] and post your question in English language. You may take help from a text translator service or a friend. Posts written in non-English languages are subject to closure and removal.


text:
Android system not using the configured DNS server
Running android 10.
Network app shows correct the 2 DNS servers that i configured for my wifi, in ipv4, as well as 2 mobile data DNSes in ipv6.
But regardless of my configured servers, it never passes through them. Using a DNS query tester, it looks like it defaults to the first mobile data DNS, despite data being turned off. The request fails, probably since my router doesn't support ipv6. It can query my local DNS just fine when explicitly used.
The only requests ever logged by my local DNS server are from google.com, connectivitycheck.gstatic.com, dns.quad9.net for some reason, and ONE app that follows policy (an XMPP client).
Using a packet sniffer, it looked like everything was going through 8.8.8.8, though i'm not sure exactly how the app works.
I also tried forcing the DNS under a local VPN with this app, which definitely blocked all calls to 8.8.8.8 because then no domain names could be resolved, effectively blocking internet. Explicit calls to my DNS server still work.
There's a lot of weird android behavior, but this just seems like a bug.

Check network settings if privacy DNS is enabled. If it is enabled all DNS server configuration received via DHCP are ignored and instead one of the large DNS servers like 8.8.8.8 that supports DNS over HTTPS/TLS are used.

Thanks Robert, it was private DNS. I assumed my phone didn't even have it after snooping around wifi settings so much, but there it is, and i had even configured it in the past to use quad9, which explains the bootstrapping queries.


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How to update pmp7100D3G_QUAD from android 4.2.2 to 5.0
How to update pmp7100D3G_QUAD from android 4.2.2 to 5.0?
Or use it as a display for a phone


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Deleted contacts from removed dual-SIM still visible in WhatsApp
Earlier I had 2 SIM cards and contacts from both contacts were visible in my WhatsApp.
But after removing one of my SIM cards, the contacts from both 2 SIM contacts are still visible in WhatsApp (which are not visible in my address book, only in WhatsApp).
Please tell me, how to delete them.


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Stream audio from android to PC
I don't have a place to connect a cable on my phone. I would like to stream to pc where I can enjoy the audio on the big Headphones that connect via cable.
PC does not have bluetooth.
thanks

USB Bluetooth dongles are very cheap, therefore I would try this way first.


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Find My Device without working Wi-Fi e.g. because it connected to public Wi-Fi that has a captive portal
To my understanding, Find My Device needs to connect to the Internet to work. I know that sometimes there is the last-seen location, but this doesn't always seem to work. Sometimes my phone connects to unreliable Wi-Fi connections that may be behind a firewall, have a captive portal or simple not working because the coffee shop is overloaded etc.
Is there a way to have the phone, or specifically the Find My Device service, automatically switch to data from the SIM card if Wi-Fi is connected, but the Internet still isn't accessible? Does anyone know the details about the last-seen location, should there always be one? Are there any services or IP addresses that should be whitelisted from any firewalls or anti-trackers for Find My Device to always work?


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Can an app tell if it's been downloaded through an unofficial store?
Let's say I download an app using Aurora Store and I start using it, can this app know what source it has been downloaded from?
Can it tell if the download source was different from the Play Store?

Yes. It is possible. See https://stackoverflow.com/q/70421457

Android saves for each app by which other app the app had been installed. This information can be queried via Android API and it can be queried using pm on adb level:
First list the packages installed:
adb shell pm list packages

Select an app package name from the list you want to query, e.g. Chrome com.android.chrome, and execute:
adb shell pm dump com.android.chrome | grep installerPackageName

Usually you will get the result that it had been installed from Google Play Store:
installerPackageName=com.android.vending

Other possible values (observed on Android 13) are com.google.android.packageinstaller if the app had been e.g. downloaded by a third party app (e.g. Chrome, Firefox F-Droid) and directly installed.
Apps installed via Aurora Store Session Installer will end up with
installerPackageName=com.aurora.store

Apps that have been installed via adb install don't have the installerPackageName property.
Also of interest could be the packageSource value on Android 13+ devices.
adb shell pm dump com.android.chrome | grep packageSource

These are the possible packageSource values.

0 = PACKAGE_SOURCE_STORE - Play Store, also for apps installed via adb
1 = PACKAGE_SOURCE_OTHER
2 = ??
3 = PACKAGE_SOURCE_LOCAL_FILE - web browser, third party store
4 = PACKAGE_SOURCE_DOWNLOADED_FILE


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weird BT issue Pixel 5
BT Shure TW2 in ears connect fine to Mac.  But intermittent to Pixel 5, whether Wifi or cell/data.
BT speaker is no issue with either.
I've reset BT/WiFi.  Re-paired. Re-started the Pixel 5.
Any ideas?

So BT pairing fails with Pixel 5?

With in ears only.  BT speaker is fine.

aOS 14 11.5.23
BT connects to P5, and while it says OK, the sound is awful, like sideband, no fideity.  Eventually, after enough tries, it's OK.

May be it connects as Handy-free headset? AFIAR codecs got Handy-free are just for voice (low bandwidth codec).

no.  previously worked fine.

Previous to what ?  Please update your question with answers in teh comment and more detail about what is happening.

previous to the Nov update.
The BT in-ears have no issue connecting to a Mac desktop.
The P5 has no issue connecting to a BT speaker.
But intermittently, although they connect to the P5 every time, they have the sound of sideband, like garbled 8bit.
Sometimes restarting the P5 fixes it, sometimes resetting WiFi/BT fixes it.
Sometimes, time fixes it.
Sometimes re-pairing on the phone or from the case, as Shure suggests, fixes it.
I can find or make no consistency in the problem.
I want to think it's the Shures themselves, but they connect and work fine with the Mac every time.

appears to be slow changeover to dala/cell.


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How do I know what kind of code fix was given to a specific CVE for Android?
Consider CVE-2023-21385 which was discovered in AOSP. In this security bulletin, they mentioned that this issue was fixed.
Is there any chance to know what kind of fix was given to this CVE (code changes done) that I can take a look at as it is an open-source project?

The CVE mentions Whitechapel which is a Google chip. So I would start by looking at the Git repo where drivers and services are located that belong to this chip. Unless the CVE is mentioned in the got comment you will have to search for it on your own.

@Robert I have tried this but this approach takes a lot of brute force searching through the code and PR's. Is there any other optimal way to do this?


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Pull password.key file without rooting
Is there a way to access the password.key file without rooting the phone?
Is there a way of reading the chip without going through the Android security stuff to gain full access?

How old is the Android device? To my knowledge the password.key file is only relevant for old versions prior to Android 6. Afterwards "Gatekeeper" was introduced.

@Robert ok, so it's "gatekeeper.password.key" now?

Yes, but Gatekeeper on recent devices is a hardware security based protection which means manipulating that file will only end up in total data loss. If an Android phone has been rebooted it requires the PIN/password/pattern to decrypt the user data files. No matter what you do will change that as the PIN/password/pattern is required to build the encryption key.

@Robert just want the file to crack the password, if that is possible

Good luck, that would require to crack the Gatekeeper TEE environment to get the "hardware-backed secret key" and then reverse the stored HMAC-SHA256: https://source.android.com/docs/security/features/authentication/gatekeeper Both is impossible for common users.

@Robert OK, so it's impossible. Thanks for Infos mate:)


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Cannot use voice command through Google Search Bar microphone icon
I have a Pixel 7. I have typically been able to just go to the search bar on the bottom screen of my phone and say set an alarm and it always set an alarm. Now it's sending me to a website.
Is there any way to take it back to just setting the alarm?

Unfortunately, it's not possible to access Google Assistant anymore through the microphone icon from the Google Search bar widget. Users have to use alternative triggers like saying "Hey Google", long-pressing the home button, squeezing the phone (on select Pixel), or long-pressing the power button (on select Pixel).
There were big changes in January 2024 related to Google Assistant, including the shortcut from the microphone icon. As Google stated in Changes we’re making to Google Assistant,

We’re also bringing you a more consistent experience within the Google app: The microphone icon will now trigger Search results in response to your queries, which is its most popular use case. You can continue to activate Assistant as you always have: Just say “Hey Google” or long press on the home or power button (on select phones) on Android [...]. But you’ll no longer be able to use the microphone icon in the Search bar to complete actions like “turn on the lights” or “send a message.” This includes the microphone in the Pixel Search bar, which will now activate Voice Search instead of Assistant. [...]

When the user taps the microphone icon for the first time after the update, there will be a pop-up that states

Access to Google Assistant has moved
The microphone button on the search bar now opens Google Voice Search instead of Assistant.
You can still access Assistant with "Hey Google" or if you press & hold the power button to seat alarms, send messages, and more anytime.


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Where are the user/config files for the game "Ridiculous Fishing"?
Perhaps this question is too specific, but I am also interested in the more general question of where Android stores hidden/system files, especially user data that would be helpful to transfer to another device.
The specific question is about the game Ridiculous Fishing. It would be nice to be able to transfer my progress to another Android device.
Just plugging the phone into my computer, I can see the following directories, but there are no files in them:
/Android/data/com.vlambeer.RidiculousFishing.humble/cache
/Android/obb/com.vlambeer.RidiculousFishing.humble

Device in question is a Samsung Galaxy S9+, running Android 10. But I have also run this game on other devices such as the Google Pixel (Android 9) and had the same problem finding user data files.
Is there any way to backup or transfer the configuration files for this game?
Are there other locations that can be searched?

Where do Android apps store data?

What Android version is running on your Android device and what on the "another Android device"? Have you tried to extract the data using adb backup ?


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How to run my service on a rooted Android 10 as a root?
I have a rooted Android 10. And I've written a service which I want to run under too, in background. A service uses a microphone and location.
I've not found any information of how to run a service on a rooted device under root. I've found some about running some commands in a service under root, though, but it may be only a part of what I need.
How to do it?
update #1

By "service" I mean "a class inherited from Service"

I am not aware about the differencess in my case in regards to an init service, a framework service, or just a normal background process. However, I need it to run forever. I guess that it'd be an init service.

It should be be restarted if it fails, or it it gets, for some reason, killed by the system.

It's written in Kotlin. Which is to say, in Java

As I've mentioned, I've rooted my device

What do you mean by "service"? An init service, a framework service, or just a normal background process? Do you want to keep it running forever? Should it be restarted if it fails? How have you written it? A shell script, a native binary, or Java code? How have you rooted the device?

You cannot run a Service alone. It is an entry point of an Android app. So your question is how to run a whole app with root privileges?

@IrfanLatif why can't I run a Service alone? It can be launched via ADB at least.

There seems to be a gross misunderstanding. A Service is an app component. And you cannot run a component without running the app. An app keeps running as long as long any of its components is running e.g. a Service or an Activity. So you do not start a Service from ADB. You ask the Android framework to start a Service which belongs to an app. ...

... And you cannot change the UID of the app (which means you cannot run it with root). UID is assigned by the Android OS at the time of app installation and it always runs with the same UID. If you need root privileges, run another process with UID 0 (using su usually, but depends on how you rooted the device) which performs the required privileged tasks, and you need to communicate with this process from your app to get the results (if any). I think you need to spend some time in understanding the basics of Android and Linux/UNIX.

And you cannot run a component (Service) without running the app. -- where did I say that I needed to do it otherwise? @IrfanLatif

And you cannot change the UID of the app (which means you cannot run it with root). - yes I can, by calling setuid(0) from NDK @IrfanLatif

"yes I can, by calling setuid(0) from NDK". So you can switch an Android app's UID to 0 (root) by calling setuid? Great. Please demonstrate that and have a 500-points bounty from me

No you can't cash your reputation. But community will benefit from your knowledge and revolutionary idea. // By the way, if you can simply switch your app's UID to 0 (root) by calling setuid, why have you rooted your device? And why are you asking how to run a service as root? You already know it. But it looks like you are not clear what you are asking. Try rephrasing your question. Please note that development related questions are off-topic here.


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"Changing sensor privacy requires the following permission: android.permission.MANAGE_SENSOR_PRIVACY" when trying to change sensor_privacy
I would like to use the following command from ADB
service call sensor_privacy 4 i32 1

to turn OFF my sensor, but it gives me
Changing sensor privacy requires the following permission: android.permission.MANAGE_SENSOR_PRIVACY
   at com.android.server.SensorPrivacyService$SensorPrivacyServiceImpl.enforceSensorPrivacyPermission(SensorPrivacyService.java:130)
   at com.android.server.SensorPrivacyService$SensorPrivacyServiceImpl.setSensorPrivacy(SensorPrivacyService.java:99)
   at android.hardware.ISensorPrivacyManager$Stub.onTransact(ISensorPrivacyManager.java:135)
   at android.os.Binder.execTransactInternal(Binder.java:1159)
   at android.os.BinderexecTransact(Binder.java:1123)

Can someone help me? I'm new to this.


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error when compilling TWRP for VTR P10
i'm using manjaro linux
i/m trying to compile TWRP for Huawei p10 vtr-l09
i'm using this repo:
https://github.com/minimal-manifest-twrp/platform_manifest_twrp_omni?tab=readme-ov-file
and this is the device tree:
https://github.com/josip-k/android_device_huawei_vtr
after:
cd twrp
export ALLOW_MISSING_DEPENDENCIES=true

when i try to build twrp i get:
./build/envsetup.sh
zsh: permission denied: ./build/envsetup.sh

when i try with root privileges i get:
sudo ./build/envsetup.sh
sudo: ./build/envsetup.sh: command not found

so where is the problem?


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Set ISO country code on non-root phone with adb
I want to try the new body-temperature mode of my pixel 8 pro's IR sensor, however that is locked to the US. Apparently the app checks for the SIM ISO country code so I would like to change that to US. Someone wrote a guide that uses the apps Shizuku and Carrier Vanity Name to change the code. I would like to do the same using adb. However, executing setprop gsm.sim.operator.iso-country us results in Failed to set property 'gsm.sim.operator.iso-country' to 'us'. See dmesg for error reason.
I suppose it's a permission problem, but without root access, I can't access dmesg to look for the reason of the error. How can I debug this? And how can Shizuku execute the command that I can't, when from my understanding I need to grant Shizuku permissions using adb in the first place?

Such features are locked by all the carriers in your country.  They are also locked properly by the Phone manufacturers because they cant risk being fined for breaching the local laws.
They don't just use the SIM, but also the Carrier, information from GPS, information from Cell Towers and information from Wifi connections.
Your chance of bypassing it are slim to zero.  If someone has managed to do it, then ask that someone.
Your best bet is to do what I did (to get around a different restriction).  Look for a Chinese phone on Ebay or Aliexpress that advertises this feature, and buy it.  Note, it can't be a normal well known brand.  It needs to be unregulated and unknown brand.  The instructions will probably in Chinese, I had to get them translated by a friend.  Also beware of false claims.

There are enough reports that have successfully unlocked the body temp mode by changing the ISO country code using the aforementioned Shizuku + Carrier Vanity Name apps, I just want to know if there is another way to unlock or why only this way works. Buying another phone is not going to help.


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All Internet apps in grayscale
All Internet apps (chrome, Facebook, Gmail, YouTube) are only showing in grayscale. System settings don't seem to be the problem and all other apps show color.
Moto G5 power
Android v13

Are you talking about the app icons or the apps itself? If it is the first you may have enabled the aggressive battery saver which blocks most apps and disables them.

@Robert the apps themselves

This seems to be something to do with Digital Wellbeing, but since I can't get that to turn on, here's a Reddit thread that seems very relevant.


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Android 11 - Folders structure of hundreds of Categorized applications with their unique manually selected folders Backup
I made folders of applications according to their categories on my Android 11 Tablet, I have hundreds of Applications due to my needs and work, for this reason they need to be categorized, each folder has its own name and its individually selected icon (from Nexus Icon packs).
The whole process of creations and assigning is very boring and time wasting. in order to save time on each factory reset operation I need to make backups of all those folder structures and their manually selected icons.  Can anyone help on how to backup all of those things with their folder structure and icons.

It sems like you are talking about the launcher and the app icons/folders it shows. Have you tried to use a launcher that supports exporting/importing it's configuration like Nova Launcher (AFAIR import/export requires the paid "prime" extension).


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How can I provide a gallery for the system camera app on a fully managed phone
I have a fully managed (by Microsoft Intune) Samsung A34 phone, that comes with a system camera but no gallery.
I have added a third-party gallery app to our managed Play-Store along with a third party camera app. The third party apps work along nicely, however, the system camera app tells me that there's no app associated for this action, when I tap on the miniature image that the camera app shows of the last photo that was taken.
Is there a solution for this, or am I stuck with my third-party apps work-around.

The "system camera" should be the Samsung Camera app (com.sec.android.app.camera)  correct? It should be tied to the Samsung Gallery app (com.sec.android.gallery3d).

Well, the thing is: on the managed phone, there's no gallery app by default. On Google Play-Store, I am unable to find a gallery app from Samsung. I find a lot else from Samsung on Google Play, but apparently there's no gallery. Which brings me back to my original problem: how to tell the system camera to play nice with a third-party gallery? Am I missing something here? I mean, is this really a use case that nobody cared to think about, or even imagined?


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How to install Android apps in television set-top boxes
I am running a set-top box from a provider called Sky, and, this, is in turn connected to an Android television.
I can chromecast YouTube videos from my Android smartphone to the Android television (without the need to install a separate adapter (this should confirm that my Android television is indeed an Android television).
I don't think chromecast connects directly to the set-top box. I think it connects to the television, overriding the set-top box.
Nevertheless, when I turn on both the television and the set-top box (my Sky, box, ) I can navigate though television programs and to a special apps section, where I can choose from apps such as Netflix, Prime Video, and Rai Play.
I would like to know, is there set-top boxes that allow you to install Android apps onto them and others that don't?
Which ones are they?
How do I install an app on my set-top box?
Is set-top box what it's called (and not satellite dish or descrambler (I believe it's connected to a satellite dish))?
My question is, how do I install an app from Google Play onto my Sky set-top box?
Thanks.

That depends on the set-top box. A lot of them are running a proprietary OS. Of course you can only install Android apps if it runs an Android based OS (the name may be different). Unfortunately you forgot to add the exact model name of the Sky set-top box, so we can not check what OS it is running...


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App doesn't start with root. Can't find cause
I am running a rooted Galaxy S20 with BeyondROM 6.3 and Magisk 27.0.
My banking app is working fine after I enabled hiding the Magisk app and adding my banking app to the deny list.
Now the problem is that I can't start the app from my health insurance and I just can't figure out why. It's this app.
Every time I'm starting it I just get stuck on the loading screen and it's even so bad that my phone is frozen for some seconds.
I'm pretty sure it has something to do with my rooted device since they even say in the app infos on play store that you can't use it with a rooted app.
How can I get this thing to work?
Output from logcat for some seconds after starting the app:
https://file.io/f0b7aTrQqm6V
(had to upload it because the file is too long otherwise)
In Line 94 it starts with
02-17 18:56:40.593  7429  9046 I Pageboost: start alp : de.barmergek.serviceapp

and then in lines 119 & 120 we have:
02-17 18:56:40.620  7429  7522 I ActivityManager: Start proc 17694:de.barmergek.serviceapp/u0a383 for activelaunch {de.barmergek.serviceapp/de.barmer.serviceapp.viewlayer.activities.NativeSplashActivity}
02-17 18:56:40.626 17694 17694 I Magisk  : zygisk64: [de.barmergek.serviceapp] is on the denylist

which is the standard activity to start the app and the confirmation that the denylist is working.
Maybe line 193 can give some additional information:
02-17 18:56:40.680  7429 11408 D WindowManagerServiceExt:
notifyOccludeChangeNotice:
cn=ComponentInfo{de.barmergek.serviceapp/de.barmer.serviceapp.viewlayer.activities.NativeSplashActivity}
occludesParent=true inMultiWindow=false styleFloating=false
caller=com.android.server.wm.WindowManagerServiceExt.updateOccludeTargetIfNeeded:1
com.android.server.wm.DisplayContent.ensureActivitiesVisible:64
com.android.server.wm.RootWindowContainer.ensureActivitiesVisible:36
com.android.server.wm.RootWindowContainer.ensureActivitiesVisible:1
com.android.server.wm.TaskFragment.completePause:246

Have you checked logcat for errors?

Does it not seem logical that the app info is saying that for a reason.  They have deliberately written it to detect if it is rooted.

@Robert unfortunately I don't really know how to do this, could you provide additional information on this?

@RohitGupta I mean the banking app is also normally not running if your device is rooted but i got it to work with the Magisk DenyList. So there maybe is also a possibility to get this app to work with root.

logcat is accessible via adb. IMHO it is a basic requirement to work with Android in an advanced way.

okay so i got a log from logcat but there is a lot of unneeded stuff in there i think. I could use some filters as i can see in the adb logcat --help page but I don't really know what to filter for.
added the file in the original post

@Robert any idea on this matter?

Sorry, I can't you help on that topic. Barmer App is a "monster" of a React-Native app. Just the 64bit ARM Version has 100MB which means it has dozen of native .so libraries and an own JavaScript engine executing the whole react byte code. In my opinion the whole react native topic is just a waste of resources but developers love it as they can use JavaScript. Again something you can blame Facebook/Meta for...

@Robert okay thats a bummer... thanks for your support nonetheless!


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Tried flashing Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G but now it doesn't start
I attempted to flash my Xiaomi 11 Lite 5G device with the intention of rooting it. Following instructions from a random individual on YouTube, I used Magisk to install a boot.img file using platform tools. Prior to this, I had used MiUnlock to unlock the bootloader. As my PC didn't recognize my cellphone initially, I installed new drivers to establish a connection.
Upon restarting the device, it entered into a cycle of rebooting without progressing past the MIUI logo. Eventually, it froze at the logo, and even when I connected the charger while it was turned off, the battery percentage did not display; instead, it immediately jumped to the MIUI logo and froze again. Despite extensive searching, I have been unable to find any solutions to this specific error. Interestingly, it doesn't appear to be a complete freeze; rather, it seems to be stuck in a sort of safe mode, as now it consistently boots into fastboot mode.
I have attempted to flash the original ROM (which I downloaded) back onto the device, but it seems as though the connection is being interrupted once the flashing process begins. Unfortunately, none of the button combinations seem to work, so accessing recovery mode is currently impossible.
Any assistance in resolving this issue would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
C:\Users\andre\Desktop\platform-tools>fastboot devices
468d0968         fastboot

C:\Users\andre\Desktop\platform-tools>fastboot flash boot "C:\Users\andre\Desktop\boot.img"

You wrote that installing the original ROM fails. Please add the flash command and the full output as text into your question.

As @Robert said, we would need a lot more information to even try to help, but honestly although Magisk works well in many cases, it isn't hard to find stories of it totally bricking devices either. I am also unclear as to the state of the device, can you access fastboot at this point or not?

When I turn on the device, it shows the fastboot screen, which initially seemed like a straightforward issue to resolve. However, when I attempted to execute a command, the device appeared as disconnected on the PC. I speculated that perhaps running the command first and then connecting the device might yield different results.
After installing the original boot.img and subsequently flashing the original ROM, I was pleased to find that it worked! This approach successfully resolved the issue.
This was the tutorial by the way
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8chR9dooc4&t=721s

Hi, looks like you've found the solution by yourself, which is great! Consider posting it as a proper answer since self-answering is not only allowed but even encouraged. Thanks!


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Samsung Galaxy Tab E - "An error has occurred while updating the device software."
When I try to boot my Samsung Galaxy Tab E 9.6, it comes up with this error:
"An error has occurred while updating the device software. Use the Emergency Recovery function in the SmartSwitch PC Software."

I tried using SmartSwitch but it always repeats Plugin as Administrator and doesn't really do anything.
It connects to Odin but cannot flash.


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Whatsapp Chat History TXT File very long, display name of group participants spelled different in some parts of the chat
This is very strange. I downloaded a 400 page Whatsapp chat history from a group chat. I noticed that one of the group participants their name is spelled different in parts of the chat. The time stamp in certain areas of the chat are out of order as well. I deleted the group chat on my phone and only have this file. What went wrong?


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Cannot change number format in Google Sheets, "Cell" tab is missing
I have Pixel 7 and Google Sheets (version 1.24.062.03.90). It seems like the option to format cells is gone. This is how it looks after I tap the Format icon "A≈".

It does not work like described here, because at point 4. there just is no "Cell".

Format numbers, dates, and currencies
To format numbers, dates, or currencies in a spreadsheet, follow these steps:

On your Android phone or tablet, open a spreadsheet in the Google Sheets app.
Tap a cell or range of cells.
Tap Format.
Tap Cell and then Number format.
Tap an option from the list. The format will be applied to your selected cells.

source: Format numbers, dates, and currencies
What I am trying to do? I want to customize the date format. I just don't get there...

Is it possible for you to clear Google Sheets' cache and data? This will allow to check if the issue persists as the app should acts as if it was used for the first time.

@ReddyLutonadio good tip. I did that after a force stop, app relaunch and even phone reboot. nothing helped. but a couple of days later it just looked like it was supposed to. problem vanished, mystery persists...

For a more recent appearance with the Format drawer:

Scroll down until a row of cell formatting is visible, from left to right:

$ (currency)
% (percentage)
.0← (reduce decimal)
.00→ (increase decimal)
123 (custom format)

Select 123

For an older appearance with a drawer having Text and Cell tabs:

Select the Cell tab
Scroll to the bottom
Tap Number format


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Is the received SMS from Google with a code genuine?
I just received an SMS, the phone shows that the sender is "Google"
it says:

.Google (some Arabic) G-123131231 (some code basically).

Could this actually be Google?
Why was it sent to me?

Maybe someone is trying to login to your Google account, and Google is sending you the 2fa code. As long as you're not logging in yourself, ignore the message.
You may also want to change your password, just to be safe.
And it is recommended to check the list of logged-on devices.

And it is recommended to check the list of logged-on devices Google My Devices.

@Robert Good point, added.


text:
How can you distinguish between SMS and MMS if the message is short and contains no media?
I sent a short message to someone, and I thought I was sending an SMS, but when I asked them if they have read my SMS, they corrected me, and said "yes, I read your MMS". How did they know it's an MMS? What's the difference in this case? I know MMS allows for longer text, and images/videos, but my message was short and contained no media, so how did they know it was MMS and not SMS? What gave it away?
Note that the CRS was enabled. Is this what gave it away?
We both use Samsung phones, although mine is newer.

SMS are directly sent to the target device. For MMS the target device only gets a data SMS containing the information that there is an MMS available. The device then can connect to the MMS server using data connection and download the MMS. If I remember correctly this should more or less the way it works.

I'm not sure that's true, because when I receive a long message, which means an MMS, I just get the message itself, not a message telling me where to download it.

The is done automatically by your phone. As I said the first SMS containing the MMS notification is a data SMS, such SMS are never displayed to the user.

See also the technical description how an MMS is received: 2nd paragraph of the "Technical description": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multimedia_Messaging_Service#Technical_description The "SMS control message" is the data SMS I was talking about.

Then again, the question is, how did she know it's MMS if the data SMS is not displayed to the user, but the user directly sees the message?

That your SMS app does not display the message type does not mean it is not shown by other SMS apps.

Yeah, that could be.
Thanks for the info.

Depending on the apps, some messaging apps have a feature to display whether a message is an SMS, MMS, or RCS; whether it's on a different menu or directly beside the message. RCS feature is unrelated to knowing the message type.
Google Messages

Long tap the message
Select the overflow menu (3 vertical dots) on the top-right
Tap View details
Message Details will show the type: SMS, MMS, RCS

Samsung Messages

Long tap the message
Select View details
Message details will show the type: Text message (SMS), Multimedia message (MMS)

Truecaller

Long tap the message
Tap More on the bottom-right
Tap Message details
The type will be shown under the text: SMS, MMS

Also, RCS messages may be shown as MMS instead on another messaging app.

Google Messages (sent with RCS)
Samsung Messages (RCS disabled)
Truecaller (no RCS support)