text:
Built-in Trojan?
So I bought this tablet from a little-known company called iGet. The tablet was brand new and all the apps you see on the following screen came with the tablet or were installed from the Play store (Camera, Clock, FM Radio, and Sound Recorder are built-in).

The model of the tablet is Smart W103. It runs Android 9 Pie.
The problem is that ESET finds a trojan as part of the OS. Or could it be a false positive? AVG was not able to detect it.
TrojanDropper.Agent.DHC is the culprit in question. It's in MtkSettings.apk as part of settings.

Some other info:
When you press Build number in settings several times, you get developer as usual. However, pressing Custom build version several times reveals the Device info option.

There it's possible to get to several advanced features:

pressing ProductName info several times opens MTKLogger
pressing LCM info several times opens EngineerMode
pressing TP driver opens Hardware Check

Also "spam" links open in Chrome randomly on their own from time to time. What's up with that? See attached screenshot for reference.

Extract the APK and upload it to virustotal.com usually you will see that may be one or two will detect it as something generic but not more. Then the chance is that it is a false positive.

In order the find the spamming app, you can try the approach in the answer here or in my answer here.

I'm not quite sure how to extract from system folder without rooting. However I'll certainly try that Chrome browser trick.

@IJK_Principle please use @ followed by the name of the person to whom you are trying to address with your comment. Otherwise, nobody would be notified of any of your comments. As concerns extracting APK, you don't need root access for that. Try any famous "backup" app from Play Store and it should be able to do the work for you. You can try this libre software app as a starting point. https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.smartpack.packagemanager/

@Robert this is the result https://i.imgur.com/vhbdZDN.png ,I used Package manager from F-Droid as suggested by Firelord. Seems only ESET finds something malicious. I won't worry. Thanks

@Firelord thanks for suggesting the Package manager app. I'll try your tips regarding the spam next, thanks.


text:
Time of individual calls in history, if *same* number consecutively
Samsung Galaxy S10, Andorid 11, OneUI 3.1
To obtain time and number of recent calls, I got to the phone app, tap "recent" on the bottom, and see a list of incoming and outgoing calls with phone number and time. However, if it was the same phone number several times consecutively, it shows only the last time, and the number of calls in brackets: "phone_number (3) 12:34".
Is there a way to get a list of all calls individually (for all numbers, even if several times the same number consecutively).
(I know I can tap a line, hit "i", and see the whole list of calls for only this number.)
I prefer a native solution, but if a 3rd party app should be necessary, I prefer clean (as few rights as possible, no advertising, possibly open source) over "for free".

The free software Simple Dialer has a relevant setting. As of now, the text of the setting is this:
"Group subsequent calls with the same number at the call log"
Disable the setting. That would list each call as a separate entry. Note that reverse chronological order of all the calls would not be affected. So if you had made a call to X at 01:00, then to Y at 02:00, then to Z at 03:00, and then X again at 04:00, it would show up as expected:

X at 04:00
Z at 03:00
Y at 02:00
X at 01:00

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
After I installed an app, the phone now scans NFC every time I unlock the screen (Android 12)
I did not know that an App can modify system behavior like this.
I have phone always on silent. I installed "Xiaomi Wear". During installation in Play Store, the phone made a short vibration. I thought that was weird, since the phone is on silent, and it never vibrates.
Anyway, after installation, the phone is now changed to vibrate every time I unlock it. A short vibration, but with full force (unlike when unlock with fingerprint).
Apparently, the phone scans NFC every time I unlock it - and since I have a bank card on the back, I guess it vibrates to signify it found something.
But I don't understand why an app can cause something like this, and how I can prevent it?

Possibly related: How to stop Samsung Galaxy S20 vibrating on resuming and entering lock mode?; this one is due to the NFC setting being enabled. Otherwise, try to identify the cause by following How to determine which app is causing vibration?

Thanks, that led me understand why (NFC is scanning a card on the back of my phone). The question is still why, and how an app can cause this to happen every time the phone is unlocked. I edited the post.

If it's NFC, then I think that's the Android system itself that does the vibration and the Xiaomi Wear app might be a red-herring. Android system may bypass the user's setting. If possible, follow the second link to be sure which component did the vibration.

It stopped when I uninstalled Xiaomi Wear, and started again when I reinstalled it. So It's definitely that app that causes it, but I don't understand how that app can make a system wide change like that... Like mentioned, even during installation it made the phone vibrate - before I even opened the app!

Ah, I see... from the Play Store and its AndroidManifest.xml, Xiaomi Wear has the NFC permission. This means that this app is now a candidate to process the NFC tags (handled by com.xiaomi.wearable.nfc.NfcScanActivity) and that's why the device now vibrates (done by the Android system, not the app) every time an NFC tag is scanned. Just to clarify since the question has been changed, did you want to prevent the NFC scanning or the vibration?

I wanted to prevent the scanning, since I don't know what the purpose of scanning every time a phone unlocks is? It doesn't do anything, I get no prompt that NFC is found.

I would assume that when NFC is enabled it scans periodically while the phone is unlocked.

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


text:
Cannot backup Andrioid Chrome data with adb
I've connected my Samsung Galaxy S2 to my computer via USB debugging and run:
adb backup -noapk com.android.chrome
The result file backup.ab has only 41 bytes.
What's wrong?


text:
ADB not connecting after rooting with Magisk
I rooted my Coolpad Modena 2 (E502) using Magisk. After I rebooted it, ADB stopped connecting.
Things I've tried:

Wiping the phone and rooting it again
Using different USBs

adb devices just shows "List of devices attached" and nothing else. USB debugging was turned on and I can connect fastboot but not adb. Also when selecting an option from the notification "Connected only for charging", it doesn't save the option, leaving it at the default Charging option.
EDIT: i managed to fix it by disabling factory mode.

What does adb devices show? Is the phone detected in MTP or USB tethering mode? This might sound silly but did you absolutely made certain that USB debugging was not turned off or did not get turned off in the time during which you performed the diagnosis?

adb devices just shows "List of devices attached" and nothing else and yes usb debugging was turned on and i can connect fastboot but not adb. Also when selecting a option from the notification "Connected only for charging" it dosn't save the option leaving it at the default Charging option.

Please clarify your specific problem or provide additional details to highlight exactly what you need. As it's currently written, it's hard to tell exactly what you're asking.

The issue is that when connecting the usb to the device adb dosn't connect to the phone, i can still charge it but i can't connect from adb to the phone. It shows me that the usb is connected on the device but adb just dosn't connect

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


text:
Apps I use every day marked "unused", and permissions reset
The automatic permission removal of unused apps is a great feature that I quite like (and therefore don't want to necessarily disable for a bunch of apps). However, my phone does not correctly identify unused apps. There are apps I use every day that get their permissions removed every 3 months (seems to be the interval the phone checks).
For example: I use Android Auto which calls up Maps (built-in Google Maps app) just about every day, and every so often, location permission for Maps gets revoked "due to not being used". I use Google Voice (via forwarding) for my voicemail, and permission for contacts gets revoked, etc.
It would seem whatever is supposed to track app usage does not function, and I wonder if there's a way to diagnose/fix that?
Under my Google account "Activity controls", I do have basically everything turned off for privacy, and I hope that's not the issue: (web and app activity -> off, location history -> off, YouTube history -> off, Ad personalization -> off)
As of right now, at least several of the apps that got permissions revoked are listed in the battery usage statistics (from the last charge), so evidently some parts of the system can correctly track usage.
Details:

Samsung A52 5G
Android 11 One UI 3.1 (using Nova launcher if that matters)

Android developers says (see last para) you can alter the default time. You can try setting it to 1000ms to see if it works!//If it does increase the threshold value to a laaaaaarge value //I am on Android 12 so can't say if it works on 11 or not

Of course, this would apply to the whole device and therefore may not be ideal from privacy view - it's a compromise

@beeshyams your suggestion could functionally turn off the feature by setting the threshold to something like years of time, but I'm looking for why usage is not detected correctly. I have had permissions revoked on apps I use every day. Is there a way to debug what the current timer value is (then go open an app and see if it resets)? or to debug for example a log of activities that should have reset the timer?

I know what you are looking for and don't have answers, some other Samsung users reported similar 2. My logic was of that there is a bug in detection mechanism which is triggering this for example daily, trying to increase this to two days for example, can possibly help in fine tuning a figure which is neither turning off privacy control nor hampering your usage//It's a long shot //I was Googling yesterday and saw at least three reports from Samsung users - didn't bookmark them to share

@beeshyams if the answer is "there is no way" for anyone other than Samsung to fix / debug this, then I would be willing to accept your suggestion of setting the threshold timer as an answer. It would seem Samsung may have "customized" this feature because instead of each app having it's own threshold, it would seem there is just some sort of global scan every three months to put apps in hibernation (unless it hibernates after the correct time, then simply generates a notification only every three months).

I suspect (no evidence) that it one of Samsung things. For now you can probably try to see if setting the threshold to 2 or 3 days holds as suggested. Meanwhile, maybe some Samsung user or somebody who actually knows can give an authorative answer

Here's another Samsung user, quoting your question here! https://us.community.samsung.com/t5/Galaxy-Note-Phones/forced-mass-app-perm-removal-turn-OFF-GLOBALLY-Could-have-caused/td-p/2164142

I'm using Nova launcher as well. I'm sure it doesn't have anything to do with this but thought I would mention it in case we see a pattern here...
I ran across this today with some apps that I installed yesterday and I think I may have an idea what's going on here... Galaxy Note 9 still and I'm going to keep using it until I can't out of protest for the removal of the SD card and headphone jack. Lol
Anyways... I received a notification about apps automatically being disabled that weren't used. When I looked at them, several of them were apps that I just used today.
Going through the apps list before putting anything back the way it should be there were three categories, disabled, auto disabled, manually disabled. One that I chose to focus on was Microsoft ToDo.
I launched the app, refreshed the list, and it was still showing as manually disabled while it was running.
I have this listed manually as a deep-sleeping app.
I'm not particularly concerned about that app or I wouldn't have put it there. It was something easy to drill down into.
What it seems like to me is that when you put an app to sleep so that it only runs when you manually run it, The app is listed as being manually disabled and it remains in the disabled status even when you launch the app and have it active.
Since I just updated that app yesterday and used it, and then saw the permissions removed today, I started looking into it and I've come up with a preliminary theory as to what's going on. It still needs some work and verification but I don't have time to dig into it further at the moment. So if I get anything wrong here, any corrections would be appreciated...
From what I can tell, any app that is in the disabled status is included in the list when it removes the permissions. It simply doesn't say so when it notifies you of the permissions removal. Since deep sleeping apps show up as disabled, it removes those permissions. It may do this to sleeping apps as well although I haven't had time to get that far into it.
Within the apps settings, there isn't a separate setting for deep sleeping. It's enabled or disabled. So on another app...Shazam, it was showing all permissions off. It is this today. I didn't turn them off. I keep Shazam in deep sleep. If I want to run it I run it.
Putting it into deep sleep however pushes it into disabled status.(Says "Turn On") and remains so even when I run the app.
Putting it into deep sleep does not change the permissions however. So when I would run it, it ran under the permissions that I'd set for.
When the phone swept for unused apps it saw it as disabled and stripped the permissions. I'm assuming that any app that is disabled when the cleanup runs, including deep sleeping apps, is thrown into the "hasn't been used in 90 days" category and stripped of permissions.
I guess I'll have to wait 90 days to confirm this but every app that I had deep sleeping did have it permissions stripped.
It seems to me that I can't put an app to sleep and have it only run when I want it with permissions set as I want without having it eventually getting the permissions stripped and having to reset them.
Some things that I need to check on later are the "Put unused apps to sleep" feature that "puts unused apps to sleep when they haven't been used in a while" since there's no indication as to what a while means or even what it means to be unused. In "memory" there is an "apps not used recently" list that can be accessed on my phone. I'm suddenly uncertain how that list is utilized, if at all. It doesn't include Microsoft ToDo or Shazam right now. And there's no indication giving any hint on what the relationship between "recently" and "a while" mean. Lol
Basically putting an app into deep sleep it's kind of like putting it in Schrodinger's box. It's both being used and not used at the same time.
This has the feel of an error... One that should have been caught long ago by Samsung. I don't think they intended for deep sleeping apps to have their permissions completely removed when the auto clean up runs but that is what it seems to be doing. It would be great if somebody can verify it.

I am struggling to see how this answers the question.  There is too much waffle for a start.  Please read the help on how to answer a question.

So, I don't know much about android or coding for it. But I had a similar problem with an app. It was an app that comes up automatically under certain use cases. I'm pretty sure it was a texting app. Well months would go by where I did not click on the app to open it. Only on notifications that popped up, and this would happen to me too. Unless I either closed the app in recently used applications and opened it, or went and pressed on the icon. I know when in the car Android auto can auto connect and give you a notification. Maybe that is why, I don't know I'm just spit balling, but, when I started to open the app at least once a month manually it stopped happening. This was a Galaxy S8 too, I have a pixel 4xl now. But that stopped it for me. Almost seemed like the OS forgot the app was running in the background. It's not an educated guess cause like I said I don't know a lot about Android, or various flavors of it, but maybe it's a similar issue?

according to the docs linked in the comments, interacting with a notification should reset the timer just like opening an app manually. My problem is even with apps I open manually however. I took a trip abroad in January, used google translate a bunch, then in Feb, its permissions were revoked because "I hadn't used it in over 3 months" despite extensive use less than a month ago. I saddened to hear sorta confirmation this may just be a Samsung thing however.

In 2024, Settings -> Battery -> Background usage limits  allows one to control which apps should not be put to sleep.
In addition, each app has a setting under App -> App Info, called Remove permissions if app is unused.


text:
Does "allow background data usage" only apply for mobile data?
I have the samsung a32 5g.
Will an app still use wifi in the background if this is turned off?

By "turned off", do you mean the option is turned off, thus allowing data, or the option is turned on, thus blocking data usage?

Turned off, meaning it won't allow data usage. I want to know if Wi-fi is in this category of "data usage" and whether or not the app will use Wi-fi in the background regardless if this option is turned on or not.


text:
Galaxy Z Flip - show screen automatically when flipped open
Samsung says that the lock screen can be turned off with:
Go to Settings > Lock screen > Screen lock type > enter your passcode > None > Remove data.
I don't have the 'None' option though, please see:

So currently I need to press the button to show the lock screen, and then swipe it up to access the phone.. it's annoying. How do you make the lock screen go away completely?

A couple of years ago some users reported that None option was visible but greyed out. It was traced to a device administrator app. See if a device administrator app enforced this lock screen policy (doesn't make sense though). As a workaround, you can try an automation app wherein the action is to automatically swipe the lockscreen once display lights up.

thanks bud........................


text:
Bluetooth -- is there a regional difference in implementation?
I have a new Sony Xperia 5 III
The bluetooth on it acts really funny. For example, when I get into the car, the car often fails to pair up with it, and I often have to go into the phone and manually connect the bluetooth. (No other phone, Android or iPhone, has this issue in my car.)
When I paired up with a megaboom speaker today, it took two tries, which never happens with the megaboom.
What do we think is going on?

This may help https://android.stackexchange.com/a/239489/131553

@beeshyams Thanks! That is not relevant, I am afraid. It has happened on fully clean systems (clean on both sides of the bluetooth story).

IDK if this would help but from developer options change the Bluetooth AVCRP  to a lower /higher one

@beeshyams And where is that setting changed in an android phone?  I don't see it so far...

It would be under developer options (about phone - build number, tap on it 7 times or more)

@beeshyams FYI, I tried the "Bluetooth AVCRP" modification path. It makes no difference. The problem is the phone. Suggest avoiding that model, as Sony messed something up.

Answer: The Sony Xperia 5 III just has bluetooth problems with some systems.
There does not seem to be a fix. The fix is to use a different make and model of phone.


text:
How to migrate playlists (for local music library)
My old and new Android phones have SD cards, and the entire music library (mp3 & flac) is on the SD card.
On the new phone, the playlists are all there, but they have no songs in them.
I use BlackPlayer EX on old and new phones.
Old phone: Android 10 with SD card
New phone: Android 11 with SD card
(Both phones are Sony Xperia models, fwiw)
How to get the playlists to migrate properly?

@beeshyams Your comment about scoped storage appears not to apply. On the new phone, the music player sees and plays all the music just fine. AND it is able to read all the playlist names from the db where that is stored. (The db must have been migrated by one of the migration processes.)

Good, at least scoped storage isn't the problem. Not sure what can be done

You can try this app or some others on Play Store

@beeshyams That app seems to be for streaming services. My library is local. I don't see mention of support for local music libraries?

@beeshyams I solved it. See answer below.

OK, I figured it out.  Black Player on both old and new phone, local MP3 and FLAC files on SD card (in /music/ folder on old and new phone). Old android phone on android 9/10  New android phone on android 10/11/12.
Steps:
(Assumes Windows laptop, adjust as appro for Mac)

On old phone, in Black Player, export all playlists to m3u
On new phone, in Black Player, delete all empty playlists (if they migrated), and create one new test playlist of two or three tracks
Install the WebDAV Server app (the free one by "The Olive Tree") on both old and new phone
Start WebDAV server on old phone, give permissions, ignore warning that is made for older version of Android
On laptop, in Explorer, right click on My Computer, choose Map Drive, and enter the full url to the webdav (http://:8080 -- this is shown in the WebDAV app)
The newly mapped drive, say Z:, open in Explorer, scroll all the way down, you should see your playlists as m3u files
Copy all of them to local laptop (Say to c:\temp\oldphone)
Now do steps 3 and 4 on NEW phone, and then copy over the test playlist
Using VSCode or Notepad++, open the test playlist from the new phone, note the path to the files
Now do a global replace on the playlists to adjust the path to the mp3/flac files in all the m3u files
Now copy all the m3u files to the NEW phone
Now in Black Player, at the bottom of the Playlists area, select Import Playlist
Select ALL the playlists, and select Import

TADA!


text:
How to edit markdown files stored in Google Drive?
It's bizarre but I can't find a good way to edit my markdown files that I store in Google Drive on Android. The problem seems to be twofold -

no apps support browsing google drive files
google drive doesn't support folder-based offline sync (and syncing file by file is not good enough)

What is a nice, hassle-free to edit my markdown files stored in Google Drive?

This looks like one for https://softwarerecs.stackexchange.com/

@Chenmunka it's explicitly asking for a how-to, which is not accepted on SR but totally fine here – even if the answer turns out to be a Markdown editor app like neutriNote (integrated GDrive backup – so not sure if it really fits).


text:
Unable to mount a block partition from Windows to Android device
I am not able to mount an image over a network onto my Android device. I tried to pull the userdata partition onto my Windows using:
adb pull /dev/block/mm..0p29 userdata.img

Now, I am trying to mount this image on some other Android device over network using Samba/CIFS:
busybox mount -t cifs -o vers=1.0,username=...,pass=..."//ipaddr/folder" /mnt/folder

to mention I don't see the CIFS in my filesystems, so I tried to build a kernel with CIFS support but failed to have one. I tried to push an already built cifs.ko into system/bin/modules and load it, but it still doesn't show up in /proc/filesystems.
My device is rooted, I have tried using SambaDocumentsProvider/CIFSManager but even after clicking on mount option, I don't find any files shown via the file explorers.
I can't even see any mountpoint being shown. I have set my device to permissive to get rid of any SELinux issues.
if anyone knows how to fix it, please share it with me.

I think you misunderstood something. You cant directly mount an file-system image located at a cifs share. You first have to mount the cifs share (or a folder in it) and then you may be able to mount the file-system image.

yes i first want to mount a cifs share folder and i am unable to mount it. Any leads would be appreciated

android is encrypted is your partition image even mountable at all?


text:
How to prevent Google Voice incoming calls from vibrating my phone?
How can I configure Google Voice so that when I receive a call my phone from Google Voice, the phone doesn't vibrate?
I configured Google Voice to forward call to my phone. However, even when the phone on silent mode (no sound, no vibration), the phone vibrates.
How can I configure Google Voice so that when I receive a call my phone from Google Voice, the phone doesn't vibrate? I want it to stay 100% silent.
I use Samsung Galaxy S9 (non-rooted Android 10, One UI 2.0).


text:
Creating launcher icon to Google Play Store's "Manage apps & device" page (preferably in Nova launcher)
I had a home screen icon to the "Manage apps & device" page in Google Play Store.  Specifically, I had this set up in Nova Launcher (Prime).
I tried to recall how I accomplished this, and I simply do not recall, as it was several years ago.
Looking at the Nova Launcher backup file, I see that I had a shortcut to action=com.google.android.finsky.VIEW_MY_DOWNLOADS.  Yet when I go to the Activities list for the Google Play Store, I do not see this activity.
How can one setup a launcher icon to directly access the Google Play Store's "Manage apps & device" page?  Alternatively, the "Pending downloads" page might be acceptable as well.
To avoid accidentally posting an XY question, my goal is to quickly see what apps that were downloaded from the Google Play Store have available updates (and download updates if desired).  The device is running Android Nougat and has auto-updates disabled.

Edit:
The reason why I am interested in how I previously set up this Nova Launcher icon is that I want to open the "Manage apps & device" page as a "tap" (single-click) behaviour on a folder icon.  Specifically, Nova allows creating a launcher icon for a folder that uses "swipe to open" to open the folder, and specifying a "tap action" when tapping on the icon.  (A bug in Nova appears to prevent enabling "swipe to open" while having no "tap action".)
For the "tap action", the user can select almost anything, including any available shortcut or any available activity (but not manually entering an activity string).  I just want to figure out how to specify opening the "Manage apps & device" page for the "tap action".

Long-Press on the Play Store shortcut.
My Apps will be among the option shown. Long press on it to move it to your screen an create a shortcut.
Press the icon to open Manage apps & device.

Thanks Reddy.  I knew it must had been something so obvious I wasn't seeing it.  One of the challenges of SE is to provide sufficient details without overwhelming people.  I erred on the side of not overwhelming others, which has caused your excellent answer to not work for what I'm trying to accomplish.  If I edit my question, would you mind taking another look?

@RockPaperLz-MaskitorCasket using this activity com.google.android.finsky.VIEW_MY_DOWNLOADS via Automate opens the desired Play store page. Do you want to launch it from Nova launcher?

Yes, but I want to launch it for the "tap action" on a folder, for which the user can select any available shortcut or activity.


text:
How to stop my notification bar from constantly scrolling down?
Whenever I am viewing some word document or PDF or the Instagram chat in my Samsung A20 phone, the notification bar automatically scrolls down even when it does not have any notification.
Even the "finger sensor gestures" (open and close the notification panel using the fingerprint sensor) have been turned off in my settings.
Please help me to solve this problem.


text:
Fastbooot: FAILED (remote: 'unknown command')
I've bee trying to install twrp on my Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1 X00TD. So, first I enabled USB debugging, connected my phone to computer and booted into fastboot by adb reboot bootloader. After that I tried to run command fastboot oem unlock. But the device showed the following error.
FAILED (remote: 'unknown command')
fastboot: error: Command failed

No matter what command I try it responded in the same manner except for the fastboot reboot command which rebooted my device into system. Also in the fastboot mode the screen shows CSC FASTBOOT MODE instead of FASTBOOT MODE. I don't know if this has something to do with the problem.
this is the script I used to unlock my bootloader.
#!/bin/bash

#
#    This file is create by liunianliang
#    For download all img by fastboot
#    2018/01/17
#

# set path
if [ -z "`which fastboot`" ] && [ -e "fastboot" ];then
    for i in `echo $PATH | sed -e 's/:/ /g'`;do
        cp -rf fastboot $i/fastboot > /dev/null
    done
    export PATH=`pwd`:$PATH
fi

# check fastboot tool
if [ -z "`which fastboot`" ];then
    echo -e "Error: No fastboot tool found !!!"
    exit 1
fi

# default platform
default_platform="sdm636"

# default buildtype
default_buildtype="eng"

# default slot
default_slot="a"

# get platform from fastboot command
platform=`fastboot getvar platform 2>&1 | grep platform | awk '{print $NF}'`

# get build-type from fastboot command
buildtype=`fastboot getvar build-type 2>&1 | grep build-type | awk '{print $NF}'`

# get slot from fastboot command
slot=`fastboot getvar current-slot 2>&1 | grep current-slot | awk '{print $NF}'`

secret_key=`fastboot getvar secret-key-opt 2>&1 | grep secret-key-opt | awk '{print $NF}'`
secret_partition=`fastboot oem get_random_partition 2>&1 | grep bootloader | awk '{print $NF}'`

if [ -z "$platform" ];then
    platform="$default_platform"
fi

if [ -z "$buildtype" ];then
    buildtype="$default_buildtype"
fi

if [ -z "$slot" ];then
    slot="$default_slot"
fi

if [ "$buildtype" = "user" ];then
    echo $secret_key > default_key.bin
    fastboot flash $secret_partition default_key.bin
    fastboot flashing unlock
    fastboot flashing unlock_critical
fi

# function of download
split=$(printf "%-60s" "-")
function flash_one_image() {
    echo -e "\n${split// /-}"
    if [ -e "${platform}_$2" ];then
        echo -e "\E[0;32mbegin fastboot download ${platform}_$2\E[00m\n"
        fastboot flash $1 ${platform}_$2
    elif [ -e "$2" ];then
        echo -e "\E[0;32mbegin fastboot download $2\E[00m\n"
        fastboot flash $1 $2
    else
        echo -e "\E[1;31mCan't find file: $2 or ${platform}_$2, Skip!\E[00m\n"
    fi
}

echo -e "\nAll is download,do you want to reboot(y/n) ?"
read x
if [ "$x" == "y" ] || [ "$x" == "Y" ];then
    fastboot oem recovery_and_reboot
fi

Recently my phone was given to service. I don't know whether they have
done anything wrong with my system firmware.

fastboot oem indicates that all commands that begin with that words are non-standardized. That means the command you try is simply not implemented in your device model or you have to use a slightly different command. Check the net for an description for your exact model how to unlock bootloader. Be aware that some site just provide generated tutorials that are simply wrong.

@Robert it's not an issue just with oem unlock. No matter whatever command I try it responds the same. I was using an unlock file from the internet. I will update the post with that.

https://www.xda-developers.com/google-releases-separate-adb-and-fastboot-binary-downloads

@alecxs I use manjaro and these binaries are in their latest version.

Why don't use official UnlockTool.apk

Read and try to follow this guide provided by LineageOS: https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/X00TD/install#unlocking-the-bootloader. No need to provide bootloader commands to unlock via fastboot.

neither the tool is working. the unlock button is disabled. I think my bootloader is already unlocked because it shows your phone can't be trusted message each time when I boot. But still it can't flash a recovery. When I try to flash one it takes way too long and never happens.

if your concern is flashing only, use edl.py

maybe permission issue? can you try another PC/OS? https://android.stackexchange.com/q/214930

@alecxs can you explain about edl.py

with edl.py one can read/write any qualcomm device regardless of bootloader state

@NewtronMalayalam this thread could be helpful: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/stuck-at-csc-fastboot-mode.4204771/post-84322019


text:
SD Card suddenly not recognized?
Xiaomis Redmi 8 stopped recognizing a 128gb SD card by SanDisk a few months after first usage.
The card is not broken, neither is the phones slot.
The card works fine in my Samsung M20 and other cards work for the phone.
I guess the file system is the reason, but the phone couldn't format it in a way it is recognizeable again.
How do I know what file system the SD is using and which the phone needs?
And what else could be the problem?
Have a nice day

can you see it 'adb shell sm list-volumes public' or 'adb shell grep media_rw /proc/mounts' is mounted?


text:
"Something came up. The application has cancelled the request to choose a device"
I'm a tech savy person but this has me at my wits end.
I have two apps and two devices I want to connect to with my OnePlus 5T running Android 10, OxygenOS 10.0.1

Image Sync, trying to connect to Pentax KS2
GoPro Quik, trying to connect to GoPro Hero Silver 7.

For Image Sync, this is what happens:

On my phone: turn on NFC
Turn on my Pentax camera.
Open the app on my phone, click on "cam images" to try to download the camera's pictures.
App wants me to connect through NFC or through wi-fi. I pick NFC and put the camera near the phone.
The connection seems to work, I see "connection successful" at the bottom of my phone. Then a popup lets me select my camera. I click "connect" and immediately after, another popup appears saying "Something came up. The application has cancelled the request to choose a device"
If I go the wi-fi route, the same thing happens.

For the GoPro, my phone is able to find my camera but when I try to download the images, it says "connecting" and nothing happens. Then another popup: "we had trouble connecting with your GoPro".
My phone has developer mode turned on. Is there a setting that i'm missing? It can't be that both apps are faulty, right? It has to be my phone.
I've tried various combinations of connections on my phone turned on/off: wi-fi, bluetooth, data. Nothing works.

If you've enabled developer mode have you looked at adb logcat to see if any related message appears when attempting the action.

@MorrisonChang I tried that but I didn't get a lot of useful information

Well this is what worked.
For GoPro:

Phone: Clear all active apps and clear the app's cache.
Phone: "Forget" the camera on the app, and also forget the WiFi network.
Phone: Turn off data connection, leave only wi-fi and Bluetooth.
Turn on the camera, WiFi should be enabled automatically.
Phone: connect to the WiFi network normally, through the phone settings.
Phone: open app, connection should work.

For Image Sync:

Phone: Clear the apps' cache AND local data.
Phone: Forget the camera's WiFi network.
Phone: Turn off data connection, leave only wi-fi and Bluetooth.
Turn on the camera and enable its WiFi.
Phone: connect to the WiFi network normally, through the phone settings.
Phone: Open the app. It will ask you to accept terms and conditions and some permissions.


text:
Does the Log4j vulnerability affect Android users?
The new vulnerability CVE-2021-44228 (also known as Log4Shell) is wreaking havoc, but very little of the discussion is voiced about the average android user.
Is the average Android OS user at risk? I heard that Java's JNDI is not implemented in Android, but is that referring to the Java editors available for Android or the Android OS itself? Is Android's native logging mechanism that logs all activity in general susceptible to the Log4j vulnerability?

What "Java editors" are you talking about? Android native logging does not support message formatting at all (that is how the vulnerability can be triggered in log4j2) therefore it is safe to use.

@Robert I don't know which Java editors, I don't know much at all about java. I was just confused because people were saying "Android doesn't support JNDI" so I was unsure as to if they were referring to any java editor or just the native android logging.
so, in short, android is safe? Even if android logs a log4j attack vector/code, there will be no effect?

As far as I know Android does not support JNDI which is a requirement for the attack. No JNDI no attack.

@Robert Thank you. That reassures me a bit. Some users on twitter changed their profile name into a log4j attack vector (most probably to test it against twitter servers). I ,unwittingly, tapped on one of their profiles and tapped on the share option on one of their tweets.
My fear is that this action will be logged in my device as something like "attempted to share 's tweet" and as a result the attack vector will be in my system. But reviewing the facts, I don't have anything to worry about right? I've been losing sleep over this.

@Robert wait when you said android native logging does not support formatting, did you mean android logging as in the logs of actions and interactions of apps on the device? like the stuff you see when you use logcat?

Google Security Blog statement on Log4j vulnerability as of 2021-12-17:

Android is not aware of any impact to the Android Platform or Enterprise. At this time, no update is required for this specific vulnerability, but we encourage our customers to ensure that the latest security updates are applied to their devices.

Original Answer/Background info for context:
Q: What is the Log4j vulnerability (also known as Log4Shell)
JNDI is the Java Naming and Directory Interface. It is not an app, but a library/service allowing for runtime configuration. Log4j is a common library used in server applications. Certain strings when used with the v2.x version of the Log4j library can invoke the JNDI API which can result in leaking of sensitive information and thereby facilitate other attacks. Basically this a variation of input sanitization, except in a logging utility which for reasons had a useful but dangerous feature enabled.
Q: Input Sanitization?
You probably heard of so called SQL injection attacks where some specially crafted string can modify the commands given to the database engine. Example:

Here, Robert '); DROP TABLE Students; -- can be inserted into this query insert into Students (id, name) values (42, $name). When the software directly substitutes $name with the name, it becomes this query/command: insert into Students (id, name) values (42, Robert '); DROP TABLE Students; --) (insert, and then drop the table, everything else is commented out).
Developers need to sanitize the input, that is, check for every possible dangerous value. Developers can for example escape the ' in the name before substituting. Alternatively developers using SQL can use prepared statements, where no substitution is even done.
In the case of the Log4j vulnerability, developers were expecting the Log4j library to record application/server values, including input strings, with the expectation that those strings were plaintext and not able to invoke APIs.
Q: Is Android OS vulnerable?
A: Not by this particular vulnerability - Android OS while parts are written in Java uses its own logging library. Android OS also doesn't use JNDI protocol/service and isolates each app in its own sandbox. While this means that this particular JNDI exploit can't be used on Android, history has shown that Android is not without bugs and exploits, resulting in more security with each version.
Q: Are Android Apps vulnerable?
A: Depends - Android apps can either only exist on device OR serve as the front end of a cloud service. Android apps undoubtedly have their own bugs. On older devices apps could access the global logcat where poorly written apps may output username/passwords/other keys which while useful for debugging isn't good in a production app. As of Android 4.1 Android apps can only access their own logs.
The servers which the mobile apps depend upon is a different story as noted in the media.
Q: But what about Android Apps which use Log4j
A: On device a developer would really need to put in effort to add in Log4j separately. As seen here Log4j out of the box needs Java classes which Android doesn't support. And while there is a port for Android it is based on Log4j version 1.x which is EOL, it seems that version had it own problems which would dissuade Android developers. Alternatively an Android developer may use slf4j for Android or other actively developed logger shims on top of Android framework's native logging facility.
References:
What is JNDI? What is its basic use? When is it used?
https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/apache-log4j-vulnerability-cve-2021-44228/
Comic strips by xkcd: № 327

I think this xkcd is applicable as well: https://xkcd.com/2347/


text:
USB OTG only working on charging mode
I have an android tablet that came with OTG support and adb binary already installed, I would like to connect my phone to use adb but when I connect it only charges the phone and adb does not show my device connected, the default usb setting of my phone is MTP, my tablet seems not have a setting to change the usb mode.

Have you activated USB debugging on the tablet?

yes I did on both

Did You try https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.htetznaing.adbotg

Yes and not worked, neither Bugjaeguer. I'm not sure but I think its about a property called ro.sys.usb.charging.only that is set true, idk what this property is for, if you know let me know, anyway I'll try later set ro.sys.usb.charging.only=false and see whats happen


text:
Can one add a virtual background with Cisco Webex and Google Duo with a Samsung Galaxy S21?
I read on https://www.sammobile.com/news/galaxy-s21-custom-backgrounds-video-calls-duo-teams-webex-zoom/:

Galaxy S21 smartphones offer custom backgrounds during video calls via Cisco Webex, Google Duo, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom.

This is currently incorrect as the S21s, or at least most of them, do not support custom backgrounds during video calls Microsoft Teams. As for Zoom, the quote is misleading because Zoom has being providing custom background support since at least the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Android 10.
Can one add a virtual background with Cisco Webex and Google Duo with a Samsung Galaxy S21?
If it depends on the S21 version, then my main interest is the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (US version).

I don't know how much you have known about it, but I think this is an exclusive Samsung feature accessible from system Settings, not from each individual app.

@AndrewT. Thanks, the feature doesn't seem to work anymore for Microsoft Teams, so I wonder if it also doesn't work for the other videoconference apps it used to support.


text:
When does an app go into deep sleep?
I have a Samsung S20FE (Android 11 + OneUI 3.1).
I was learning about the different battery optimization settings. I think I have a good understanding of Android's Doze mode.
Now, I've seen there is (under Battery → Background usage limits) something called "Deep Sleep".
According to this question, it seems "Deep Sleep" is OEM specific, and is not found in every manufacturer's device.
I noticed that an application that is already excluded from "Doze mode" (in other words, an application that is NOT optimized) can not be excluded from "deep sleep mode" (in other words, can not be added to the never-sleeping-apps list).
Thus, I suppose an application goes first into "doze mode", and then into "deep sleep". Am I correct ?
If yes, under what circumstances does an app go into Deep Sleep ? Could an app like Skype (that is natively allowed to wake up the phone even in Doze Mode, I believe) go into Deep Sleep if it isn't used for a while ? Does it make sense to add Skype to Deep Sleep's never-sleeping-apps list if I want it to be always responsive (i.e., I want to receive Skype calls even if I haven't used Skype for some time) ? Or is it unnecessary ?

While this might not answer the question, some info that might help solve the issue partially, including the Deep Sleep function: Don't kill my app! for Samsung

@AndrewT. Thanks, it's an interesting read indeed.


text:
How to transfer USB debugging authorization permission from one laptop to another?
I have an Android device with Android 5.0. I turned on USB debugging and connected it to one laptop. The android device displayed a pop-up for USB debugging authorization, I allowed it. After a few days, I accidentally broke the Android device screen, it's not sensing any touch input and the screen display is quite broken. I have another laptop, and now I want, connect to that Android device to USB debugging.

How do I do it?
Is it possible to force "USB Debug authorization" from the laptop side?
Are USB Debugging Permission given to one laptop stored/saved in that laptop, like a file in the android-sdk folder or platform-tools folder, so that I can copy that file to another laptop and make it works, OR transfer RSA fingerprint, or any other ideas?

as for why need another-laptop, why not just use one-laptop already with usb debug authorized permission, cause that laptop has only 4gb ram and very slow processor. laptop-2 is more better

Check Android ADB Key Not Working and Storage location of "adb_keys"

You can simply copy the adb private adb public key file to a new computer or a different user profile:
# Windows
%USERPROFILE%\.android\adbkey
%USERPROFILE%\.android\adbkey.pub

# Linux/MacOS
~/.android/adbkey
~/.android/adbkey.pub

Afterwards you may have to restart the local adb server if it is running. You can do so executing adb kill-server.
Afterwards the new adb keys should be used and you can open adb connection to your phone.


text:
unlocked phone can be used for all compatible phone service providers?
There is an Android phone ad like this:
Due to USA carrier VoLTE restrictions, this phone is only certified to work on T-Mobile and T-Mobile MNVOs(Mint Mobile, Google Fi, etc.) It however is unlocked and will work on any carrier outside the USA. Inside the USA, T-Mobile and T-Mobile MNVOs only.
I am confused. The phone is unlocked. So it should work for AT&T because T-Mobile and AT&T are both use GSM. And the phone may also work on Verizon if it supports CDMA.  Am I right?  How is the phone restricted to only work on the T-Mobile network?
EDIT:
The phone's spec says it will support almost all networks in the world. From a hardware point of view, this unlocked phone can be used for any phone provider in the US?

Might help if you could mention the device model to check the spec. While I don't really know what "USA carrier VoLTE restrictions" really are, I think this is about LTE frequency bands in the USA and the fact that not all devices supporting all LTE bands.

Irrespective of which bands and network frequencies your device supports, the carriers (in the US especially) are notorious for only enabling VoLTE and VoWiFi calling on devices that have been certified by them.
The phone will work with AT&T's 3G and 2G networks if the bands are compatible with them. However, for 4G, the operator is not going to enable VoLTE services since the device is not certified by them. VoLTE provisioning is entirely operator-dependent even if the device hardware supports it.
You can follow the list of AT&T's supported devices below. Only these devices will be able to use VoLTE services once they shut down 3G services (early 2022).
https://www.att.com/idpassets/images/support/wireless/Devices-Working-on-ATT-Network.pdf
Edit: The same is for 5G services as well. They'll only enable VoNR for devices that are certified by them.


text:
yestel x7 - boot loop - flash
I am trying to solve a boot loop problem on YesTel x7 running on Android 9. I did factory reset but that didn't help it is still stuck. I want to flash the system as a last resort. I have never done it before. Following tutorials I installed SP Flash Tool Download and mediatek-preloader-usb-vcom-drivers  I was trying to find firmaware for that model, but couldn't find any apk file.
Does the flush have to be done with corresponding to the model apk file or can it be done with some sort of universal apk?

downloaded apk is scam/malware for sure. ROM never is apk file. you can read ROM from device

Does this answer your question? Backup/dump kernel image (and full ROM) without root for Mediatek Devices

You could try to contact customer support, but their website looks ancient http://www.yestel.mobi heyunshanyx@hotmail.com


text:
How can I see how much electricity a device connected via USB is drawing from my phone?
I have connected a device to my phone via an USB cable so that it receives some electricity from the phone. How can I see how much electricity a device connected via USB is drawing from my phone?

I use Android 12 with a Google Pixel 6

Related: Is there a USB power consumption meter?

The only possibility that comes to my mind is using an app that shows the current drawn from the battery. If you know how much the common battery usage in milliampere is without the connected USB device you can calculate the USB power usage.

@Robert thanks, "If you know how much the common battery usage in milliampere is without the connected USB device" yes that's the issue, it's a bit difficult to precisely estimate the consumption as it keeps varying depending on the activity of the the apps and the system.

I see two possibilities to make an estimation: If the battery usage monitor has a graphical plot over the last few minutes you should be able to "see" (in brain average calculation) an average value. So if you capture a few minutes before and after the USB device is connected you should be able to get an estimation. Best would be if the battery monitor app would calculate the average values for you for, e.g. for each of the last fiew minutes.

For little money there are USB-Amperemeters. They measure the current [mA] that flows through them and also cummulate the energy, measured in milliampere-hours [mAh]. Just search for Usb Ampmeter or Usb Powermeter.
I don't know about your cabling, but probably you will need an adapter additionally, as the ones i know use standard size Usb Ports.


text:
Redmi 9 Prime hard bricked
I will explain every step I took till this point to maybe help explain the situation
I ran into multiple problems from today's evening
The first was the drivers i guess, I tried to unlock the phone (Redmi 9 Prime) after waiting more than sufficient time in the official tool. But the official tool won't recognize my phone so I tried installing many drivers, tried many cables, different ports, etc.
Nothing seemed to work.
I came across an unofficial tool called XiaoMiToolV2. This recognized my phone and unlocked my phone successfully.
After that I tried to install TWRP on my phone.
The commands I used were:
fastboot flash recovery twrp.img
fastboot flash vbmeta vbmeta.img

Unfortunately I messed up in the next command, instead of trying to boot into the TWRP image, I accidentally flashed it to the boot partition
fastboot flash boot twrp.img

I was suppposed to delete the flash word from the line..
I pressed enter before I realized and it was done..
I tried the originally intended command anyway:
fastboot boot twrp.img

But it was too late i guess, the phone was bricked and I could not access anything other than the Fastboot mode itself.
Next to fix that I tried using the same XiaoMiToolV2 which had an option called Fix Bootloop or something along that line
I pressed that and it seemed to download the latest stock ROM and flash it with fastboot
The process seemed to be successful but the bootloop was still there.
So I looked into it and downloaded the MIUI 12.5 Global Fastboot ROM along with MiFlash tool
This ended up being unsuccessful as the it kept returning "Flash preloader error"
I looked at the "flash_all.bat" file and tried executing the command that flashes the preloader manually using fastboot. It worked, so I did the same thing for the subsequent commands in order. Everything was successful and I was hopeful ( I am suspecting the firmware was not compatible with my phone but it did say "lancelot" idk why then and forcing to be flashed bricked my phone? )
Then I finally did fastboot reboot after all the operations got over and that's it
Till that point the phone was atleast turning on and booting to Fastboot mode, then it just didn't respond to anything completely powered down
I tried charging the phone for 30 minutes, still no response.
After a bit of research I am now skeptical that the device may be completely bricked.. But I haven't done anything outside the things I mentioned here..

https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/hardbricked-redmi-9-mt6769.4302829/post-85441123

In the post which says it's solved following a tutorial, the tutorial link is broken..
anyway update, I used the SP Flash tool along with stock firmware and got somewhere it showed the Redmi logo but powered down once again and now it's not getting recognized by SP Flash tool either..

preloader mode works best without battery

Ah yes.. that would be ideal but it's a non-removal battery. Almost all modern phones are right?
Preloader mode did get detected in the first try, SP Flash tool was flashing, the phone booted to "Redmi" boot screen and then the flashing got interrupted in the middle. Then it never registered as Mediatek COM port again just Unknown device
It didn't finish the flashing so it's not booting to anything either..

flashing preloader is risky and almost never necessary. on weak usb connection it might have corrupted preloader. disconnect battery, search for kcol0 test point and short it to ground (do not solder it)


text:
How can I simultaneously use mobile data and WiFi?
Through a combination of Afwall/Netguard and Automate/Tasker, I'd like to use both my mobile data and WiF at the same time.
For example, I'd like for some live/realtime widgets on the homescreen to use WiFi, but at the same time I'd like the browser session I'm on to be using mobile data.
The current setup I have is this - if Chrome is on the foreground then turn of WiFi and use mobile data. When it's not in the foreground use mobile data.
But the problem with this is that it's slow. It will take a sec or two to turn off mobile data and switch on WiFi and wait for it to connect, and vise versa. If they are both on though, it wouldn't be this slow.
Any tips?
Android 7 | Rooted 1 | Xposed

On most devices, in Developer Options, there's an option called "Cellular data always active" (for fast network switching).

"(for fast network switching)" Doesn't that mean it's either or...only faster switching between them? Can I have one app use data and another use WiFi at the same time (let's say split screen working on both apps simultaneously).

Hmm, I guess I misunderstood the intent. Perhaps the answer to a similar situation might help, though it might not be that easy.

The question has been already asked many times e.g. here: https://android.stackexchange.com/q/242307/218526

@Irfan Latif I searched, extensively, b4 posting. The only useful one I was able to find was yur linked "example". Idk, maybe others are better searchers. I saw that u also commented with the same comment on the question you linked, saying that they needed to be rooted & with a link to another question. And in that question u commented to "inject manual rules" %, as well as needing to be rooted. Perhaps u can expound a little more in my question with some more knowledge on how to do this. If anything at least this would then be the go-to reference in the future for ppl looking to do the same.

Firstly, if you did a search before posting the question, it's a better idea to add links in the question so that responders don't send you back to the same links, and mods don't close your question as a duplicate. // Secondly, good answers to such questions don't exist because the solutions are out of the scope of an ordinary user. If you've a rooted device and some prior knowledge of Linux/Android network routing, my hints are enough to reach a working solution. In other case, spending an hour or so in writing an answer that a big majority of the visitors find useless, is a wastage of time.

@Irfan Latif Thanks for your contribution.


text:
Installing drivers consecutively for all interfaces/ports within an inf file
This concerns an inf file which contain a number of interfaces/ports that need support of drivers. Instead of installing the driver for each interface/port one by one, is there a way to install the driver consecutively (one after another) to all the ports/interfaces in one go?
Does installing the driver for interface/port at the bottom of the pack ensure driver is installed for all interfaces/ports.
Hoping someone in the forum can give an answer

If the driver does not contain the USB device IDs of your device you have to manually select the correct one. You did not include any information on your device and it's state (bootloader, recovery or regular boot) so it is not possible to tell you which driver to select.

@Robert:The first image shows the interfaces for adb & fastboot mode that require Google Usb drivers (androidwinusb.inf) & the second image is of Mediatek USB Vcom driver & the ports that require drivers .                    Just want to know for this type of INF file,does selecting the bottom option auto install drivers for all interfaces/ports

This is the dialog for manually updating and selecting an appropriate driver.


text:
Disable power saving mode for WebView on Android 9
I have a Samsung Galaxy Tab Active2 (SM-T390) tablet with Android 9 and One UI 1.1 and the latest available updates. An app with an WebView looses connection after about six minutes of standby. I tried to disable enrgy saving for the app as well as Chrome and Android System WebView (Chrome and WebView disables each other). This approach does work for another Samsung device with Android 10, but not on Android 9.
Is there another app, which I have to exclude from power saving? Or is this a bug in Android or from Samsung?

Are you on Wifi or mobile data?

I'm on Wifi. Does this make a difference?

Then most likely the connection is closed because your device shuts down Wifi.

Can I do something against it except never turn the screen off?


text:
Prevent Termux from opening STL files
I have Termux installed and when I try to open STL (3D model) it opens a Termux instead my STL viewer. How to prevent this behavior? There is no setting for Termux "open by default".

Based on experiences, you need to "Reset the app preferences" from Settings - Apps - See all apps - 3-dot menu instead. Note that this will reset all app preferences. The "Open by default" is only for web links, not internal file associations. However, just to make sure that your other apps also register STL files on their AndroidManifest (this needs to be implemented by the devs). Otherwise, while you can open the files directly from those apps, they still won't appear as a selection when you're trying to open the STL files from outside the apps.

Thanks for your reply. But I cannot reproduce your approach. There is only menu item "Show System" under three dots in Apps - See all apps. AOS 11 (Asus stock ROM)


text:
New Phone > Videos received via Whatsapp play in Gallery but not in Whatsapp anymore
I've spent hours on this and am amazed there is no obvious answer from googling.
I got a new phone, a Google Pixel 4a. I am transferring data and settings from my old phone, an HTC One M8. I made a Whatsapp backup that saved to Google Drive then installed Whatsapp on the new phone, it detected the backup and I have all my chats, photos and animated gifs.
This is where it gets confusing...
In Whatsapp > Settings > Chat backup I have NOT enabled "Include Videos" yet somehow all videos that were sent to me via Whatsapp when I was using it on my old phone ARE in my new phone? Maybe that was because of how I transferred data between the old and the new phone during the initial setup? I used the Google Pixel app and both phones were connected via a cable. I can play these videos on the new phone in the "Files" app.
In Whatsapp > Manage Storage .. it only sees about 300MB of used space. But when I connect the phone to the laptop and browse the Whatsapp media folder all the videos ARE in there in the Whatsapp Video folder, taking up almost 2GB. Yet they will not play IN Whatsapp, only via the "Files" app.
This is what I have tried:

Clearing Whatsapp cache.
Checked my internet/network connection and I am connected (although this is un-necessary in my case because the videos ARE already in the phone and they do play on the phone from the "Files" app.
Restarted the phone.
Whatsapp has FULL permissions to do whatever it wants on the new phone.

Possible solution?
It's like Whatsapp doesn't see the videos even though they are there? Maybe it's because of how those videos got on the new phone in the first place? Did that Google Pixel Setup Wizard put them in the wrong place? They were originally in the internal storage of my old phone and my new phone only has internal storage also.
This post speaks about renaming the Whatsapp folder in internal memory then downloading an image from a chat which forces Whatsapp to create another Whatsapp folder to be created in internal memory?
As an example of a video that was originally sent to me via Whatsapp on my old phone but does not play in Whatsapp on the new phone but DOES play in the "Files" app... From the "Files" app I can see its location is:
/storage/emulated/0/Whatsapp/Media/WhatsApp Video/ViD-2021.....mp4
An example of an image that does display in Whatsapp on the new phone when I check it in the "Files" app its location is:
/storage/emulated/0/Android/media/com.whatsapp/Whatsapp/Media/WhatsApp Images/IMG-2021.....jpg
So do I need to drag all the videos from:
/storage/emulated/0/Whatsapp/Media/WhatsApp Video/...
into
/storage/emulated/0/Android/media/com.whatsapp/Whatsapp/Media/WhatsApp Video/...
??
Update
I tried that idea and copied a video from:
/storage/emulated/0/Whatsapp/Media/WhatsApp Video/...
into
/storage/emulated/0/Android/media/com.whatsapp/Whatsapp/Media/WhatsApp Video/...
Now when I go back in to Whatsapp this time the thumbnail of the video is no longer greyed out suggesting that I just have to click on the thumbnail for the video to play but when I do I still get the same error message:

Sorry, This media file appears to be missing...

I tried clearing the Whatsapp app cache and restarting the phone but this made no difference.
Any help gratefully appreciated,
Flex

Turns out I was doing the right thing... moving those videos into..
/storage/emulated/0/Android/media/com.whatsapp/Whatsapp/Media/WhatsApp Video/...
DID make them play in Whatsapp... What was confusing me is the first few videos I was testing to playback within Whatsapp had been deleted by the original sender at their end so they weren't playing but for an entirely different reason!
As to why I had all my Whatsapp videos on the new phone even though I had not enabled Whatsapp to backup videos that was because the Pixel install wizard transferred them over from my old phone. Whatsapp > Manage Storage.. was only seeing about 300MB of used space because the Whatsapp videos were copied over from the old phone to the wrong place on the new phone where Whatsapp wasn't looking.
I guess that's just a feature of how Whatsapp works: if someone sends you a video via Whatsapp and then subsequently deletes it at their end from their Whatsapp conversation with you it will no longer play from your Whatsapp... EVEN if you still have the video in the Whatsapp media folder in your phone!


text:
How can I unlock a carrier locked Android phone?
Is there a way to unlock a Samsung phone locked to a carrier without contacting the carrier for its unlock code?

How does carrier/network lock work? How is it implemented?

thanks for sharing that! so does that mean flashing an unlocked firmware won’t work?

Bootloader unlock/custom firmware has no effect on a carrier/SIM lock.


text:
How to fix LineageOS 18.1 bootloop on Sony Xperia XZ3?
I installed LineageOS 18.1 following official guide and also installed MindTheGapps. Now I am stuck in infinite loop of booting: LineageOS logo flashes for few seconds and phone reboots same thing happens over and over again. How can I fix this? I tried reinstalling the LineageOS again, but same thing happens.

Though this issue is hopefully no longer there: have you tried without installing MindTheGapps? Could well be that package is the culprit. If all is fine without that, take a closer look if you maybe picked the wrong version of it (version of GApps must match Android version).

I tried without and with it still doesn't boot.

Was worth a try, and at least narrows things down. You performed a complete wipe before flashing, I assume – so I'm out of ideas then, sorry.

Remove the SD card when, that will stop the bootloop. When you've booted up again, insert the SD card and continue as usual :)

I have no SD card inserted into this phone.


text:
Is it possible to recover a corrupt Samsung note?
I lost some notes from the app Samsung Notes and I think I know why or at least how to reproduce the event. This happens when the phone has no space left (0 free bytes). When whatsapp app makes a backup at 2am, it eats a lot of space and then a few minutes later it comes back to normal. When I click in a note to open it while the phone has 0 free bytes, the note doesn't open anymore (message: "Can't open note. File corrupt"). It also doesn't let me share it anymore or convert it to pdf or text (message: "File corrupt or not supported). The phone is a Samsung Galaxy A5. I'd like to know if the notes are really lost forever or there is something I could do. Thanks.

If your flash has not a single byte free then every used app can't save anything at that time. So your data exists only in volotile RAM. In general Linux and Android should be used in a way so that you never encounter a no space left scenario, the strangest things can happen otherwise. I would consider this a problem of WhatsApp, it had to check free space while making backup and abort before it is running out of space. Also it is your task to ensure enough free space is a available.

Understood, too bad..


text:
How do I disable auto-start in Android 11?
How can the program auto-start be controlled in Android 11?
I am using a Celero5G phone running the latest version of Android 11. I have been unable to find any help on this matter.

Possible duplicate: Disable autostart on boot and restrict background execution

Yea, that's pretty useless. It's either a duplicate or not. Not. Android 11 either allows manipulation of which programs autostart, or it doesn't. Developer mode allows for this, but I am not a developer. Can it be accomplished using the Android 11 operating system ??

It's a possible duplicate since Android 4.4 and above allows manipulation of autostart. However, in most cases, there's no built-in UI for it in stock ROM. Thus, you have to rely on adb shell/terminal emulator app or download and use 3rd-party apps for this.

Now that is useful information. Thank you, I will follow your suggested route.


text:
How can I ring my phone when it connects to WiFi
My WiFi has been spotty lately. I'm working from home, so this means work outages of 1-10 minutes every few days.
I would like to use my mobile phone as an alarm, so that when it reconnects to WiFi it will ring & let me know to get back to my desk.
Can it be done?

Other than a possibility of some focused 3rd-party apps, general automation apps might also help.

You many not want to depend on Android for this. Android goes into deep sleep to preserve battery all the time. At times I wake up my phone from deep sleep only to find it quickly reconnecting to a wifi, not because wifi signal was bad, but because of deep sleep. You "might get" false positives due to this deep sleep issue.


text:
How to remove Google Smart Lock saved passwords in Instagram?
How do I remove these accounts and saved passwords from Google Smart Lock in Instagram?

I have tried all different methods to remove it but no use. I have deleted all of my Chrome passwords, Google passwords, Instagram clear all data, turn off auto-fill for Google, but still this doesn't go away.
Moreover, I don't have access to these accounts in Instagram too. Please help me remove this Smart Lock popup along with its saved accounts.

By "Google passwords", did you mean Settings - Google - (Select your Google Account) - Manage your Google Account - Security tab - Password Managers (under "Signing in to other sites") - (Search for Instagram)?

Yes. Not just instagram, ive deleted everything in hope of this going away but it doesnt. Also ive deleted in password manager of google too.


text:
Cant uninstall but device admistrative is empty
I have an app which was downloaded by pre-owner of the phone and I can't uninstall.That app uses all permissions and I cant change its permissions nor uninstall.Im using samsung galaxy A8 star (android 10 +)

Have you performed a factory reset before starting to use the phone?

No I don't...later I have factory reset still it's same

Then the device is most likely unlocked/rooted and the app has been installed as system app.

Is there any way to uninstall??

If the app is installed as system app you have to manually delete the apk via adb as shown here: https://android.stackexchange.com/q/12405/2241 Warning: The file name is not the app package name, thus make sure you are deleting the correct file, otherwise the device may fail to boot. In general I would recommend to reset the whole device by installing a fresh system firmware but you need to get the exactly matching firmware for your device and region.


text:
Granular Audio Controls like a PC
Is there a way to:

Allow for an indefinite number of apps to play audio at the same time. Or in other words, to not allow any app to stop the audio playback of another (other than calls).

If 1. is possible, adjust the volume each app on a per app basis

thanks


text:
Disable IPv6 via WIFI to Pixel 3a
I have Pixel 3a without SIM card, so I use this phone only with WIFI.
How can I disable IPV6 in this phone? That the phone will use only IPv4?

So what is the problem caused by IPv6?

I have script that debug only IPv4


text:
How to stop Samsung S7 from wanting to update Android version?
I'm using my old Samsung S7 to test apps (that I develop) on Android 8.0.0 (Oreo).
But every time I come back to my phone the below screen (Program Update) appears and the phone wants to do an system update of Android to a newer version.
How can I remove the downloaded system update from my Samsung S7?
And how can I stop my Samsung S7 from wanting to update Android in the future?
Program Update:

System Info:

System Update Settings:

https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/how-prevent-from-auto-upgrading-to-oreo.3751839/

It's not possible unless you root your Samsung S7.

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts. While this is a valid answer, could you [edit] and expand the answer for those who have their devices rooted?

Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please [edit] to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center.


text:
Where to find Memos app folder in Samsung Galaxy J3
I am having a major problem with my Galaxy J3 (besides just being a J3 ^_^). The thing has been doing random reboots when in the middle of work, went to the bios screen a couple times, then started trying to install (an update?) which failed, then showed the android icon falling, syntax came up saying erasing, then started scrolling files and said "formatting".
In a panic, not knowing what that meant, I pulled out the battery and left it out a few minutes. When it was put back in it rebooted as normal but that was the last straw. Contacted Samsung and ordered a new phone. I've been successful with Smart Switch for the mains like contacts, photos etc. But Samsung neglected to clue me in that Smart Switch has to work for literally 2 days to move everything? Is this true?
Anyway, still need apps and "Memos" which had no visible backup and restore. All I can find is to manually share to Gmail which would take a LONG time since I have literally over 500 memos. Probably should have done it anyway because now the phone has gone to not powering on at all. I've had the battery tested and found it has some damage (over heating?) but the new battery isn't giving a charge.
At this point I could care less about the J3 phone (horrible thing) but I do need those memos for sure! Anyone know how to access them when the phone is apparently dead? Or where on the phone folders if connected to your laptop? Any recommended data recovery tools you can vouch for?
Don't mind paying a little for good results but of course free is always best if it does the job. Thanks for any advice!

Does this answer your question? Anyone know where memos are stored on a Samsung Galaxy S6?


text:
Remap Bluetooth headset buttons on Android
I have my Bluetooth headset and it has 3 buttons:

BACK/Volume-
NEXT/Volume+
PLAY/STOP

I need to map one button (any of these) to take action after pressing (e.g. turn on the flashlight, or directly make a call to a specific person).
I found Remap Bluetooth Headset's media key [Android 9], so I installed AutoVoice and Tasker, but I am not able to call action after the button on the headset is pressed (of course, I am pretty newbie with AutoVoice and Tasker, so maybe my fault).
Could you please help me?

For this task, you could use "Button Mapper" current version 3.09. You can not only remap the buttons to any action you want (even macros you define) but also add extra functions by defining actions for double or triple clicks.


text:
Why Mi Mover doesn't move apps but samsung smart switch can?
I move all apps to mi mover.

Some apps are moved
Another apps have a message "not installed"

This is weird. The whole point of using mi mover is so I don't have to reinstall all those apps one by one.
So I reinstall one by one.
Then I tried to move the apps again.
Now it seems to be working.
However, when I open whatsapp in the new phone I do not see my old whatsapp. I basically have to input my phone number again and uses back up again.
So basically it's useless.
I have to reinstall every app and move them like normal like usual.
So what's the point of using mi mover?
When I use samsung switch I think I got things moving quickly.
Why the differences?

If the app uses the AndroidKeyStore it can't be migrated because the cryptographic keys can't be extracted from the AndroidKeyStore, they can only be used on that device. If an app uses such a key to encrypt it's user data then migration will always fail.

I am quite sure I can move using samsung smart switch just fine.


text:
Recover data from bootlooping phone
The phone is bootlooping and I can only get to fastboot mode. It says PHONE Unlocked, but I can't flash TWRP. How can I recover the data?

What happens when you try to flash TWRP? Show us the the output of your console/cmd. // Also, which phone and Android version are you using? Which TWRP version did you use and from where did you download it?

@Firelord C:\ADB>fastboot flash recovery twrp-3.1.1-0-grace.img target reported max download size of 471859200 bytes sending 'recovery' (26226 KB)... OKAY [  0.640s] writing 'recovery'... FAILED (remote: Command not allowed) finished. total time: 0.662s The phone is a Huawei P8, it has android 6. I downloaded TWRP from the official website.

Please clarify your specific problem or provide additional details to highlight exactly what you need. As it's currently written, it's hard to tell exactly what you're asking.

@Community I'm trying to recover the data from a bootlooping phone. I can only get it to fastboot but I cannot flash anything.

try boot twrp or flash recovery2 https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/twrp-3-2-2-unofficial-huawei-p8-gra-l09.3811895

@alecxs I tried, but got error. C:\ADB>fastboot flash recovery2 twrp-3.1.1-0-grace.img target reported max download size of 471859200 bytes sending 'recovery2' (26226 KB)... OKAY [  0.611s] writing 'recovery2'... FAILED (remote: Command not allowed) finished. total time: 0.611s

try fastboot boot <file>

@alecxs same error

sounds like your phone is FRP locked. try IDT Image Download Tool or check these comments https://android.stackexchange.com/q/229072


text:
Root Samsung device with Qualcomm chipset, without tripping knox?
I currently own a Samsung device with 730g snapdragon processor,I wish to root the device
After some research what I have understood is, Exynos processors Have efuse, which can be blown when unsigned code is run during boot(when trying to root) and essentially trips knox permanently
Since my phone has Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, would it trip knox permanently when I try to root the device?

What does the rooting tutorial say?

It doesn't address this issue

then it will trip knox


text:
Can anyone help me install a Custom OS on this old tablet?
I have an LG G Pad™ 7.0 LTE that I got as a gift and I want to install a Custom Rom such as LineageOS on it.  The only problem is that I do not know how to do this on a somewhat old tablet such as this. The tablet in question is:

This is a LG G Pad™ 7.0 LTE that used to be from AT&T.
The operating system is an Android 5.0.2 or Lollipop.

I was following the instructions on how to install the Custom Rom but I struggle with rooting portion of it. The recommended rooting programs such as Kingaroot or iRoot have failed and I think bricked my tablet. I am looking fomr more hlp with this. Can anyone help with rooting my tablet?

https://forum.xda-developers.com/f/lg-g-pad-7-roms-kernels-recoveries-other-deve.9004

That site did help me out. I still need to install the OS and Root it though.

It seems as though that LG phones are the hardest to mod for.

choose some stable ROM, follow the tutorial, post link and tell us which step failed for you (kindly edit your question)

I was able to find the problem with some help from the Android OS reddit.


text:
Where I can see the list of the devices connected to my Wi-Fi hotspot on Android 12?
I use Android 12 + Google Pixel 6.
I can't find the list:

AFAIK, stock Android (AOSP) has never integrated such functionality built-in. Unless there's any reference about it somewhere, this is a dupe of an existing question.

@AndrewT. Got it, thanks!


text:
Complete backup in offline mode
In front of me I have an Android phone that has been infected with a malware installed as system service. I want to perform a factory reset on this phone, but first I need to make a backup, of course. The phone needs to stay in offline mode, due to the malware.
After making the backup, I want to selectively reinstall the apps and restore their data. For now, I'm assuming that I don't need the APKs, but having them wouldn't hurt.
One thing is that the malware has installed itself as a system service, so can I even trust my backup anymore?
How should I (as a software developer) proceed?
More importantly, how should an ordinary Android user deal with this situation? This means the only allowed tools are those that have a GUI and that have acceptable usability. And, of course, no root access to the phone. Shouldn't Google as the manufactorer of the Android operating system provide these very basic services?

You can create an backup of all apps via adb backup (for those apps that allow it). For being able to selectively restore you need to backup every app on your own, preferably by a script like https://codeberg.org/izzy/Adebar. But you will recognize that may be 50% of the apps don't allow backup.

@Robert That's exactly the answer I didn't want to hear. I was more interested from the perspective of an ordinary Android user. An ordinary Android user should not have to use adb backup (which is deprecated, by the way) or the more modern adb shell bmgr. An ordinary Android user should not have to enable the developer mode just to do a regular backup.

Shouldn't Google as the manufacturer of the Android operating system provide these very basic services? If something doesn't bring revenue to the table, then there is no point working on it from their perspective. Keeping Android users powerless and dumb is a design approach of Google and Android OEMs. Providing powerful backup tools means user can avoid using Google cloud services for backup, or can use a competing product (such as from Amazon, Microsoft, etc.) on their device. That's a loss in revenue. Hence, broken-by-design tools we have got.

By the design of Google backup is uploaded to cloud. An offline backup is therefore deprecated from Googles perspective. Anyway ADB backup works and deprecated just means it will be removed some day in future. BTW: from an app developer perspective you can discuss if users should have the permission to make a backup. Having access to the data allows users to manipulate app data.

Also, this can get very technical but you need to dig more information on this malware. If a malware can compromise your phone and gain root access (assuming that's the case), then so can you, provided you find a trustworthy exploitation tool or have the skillset to design and deploy a payload to compromise your Android. If you can gain root acces (which you should because your malware probably has it anyway) you can get complete access to all the apps' private data you want. Restoring all of that would be impossible without root access though.

You should tell us the Android device and Android version you are using. You might be having an Android version where Verified Boot is not enforced. Otherwise, a persistent malware should fail verified boot and the device ought to refuse to boot successfully.

In addition to Firelord's comment, which I agree to, you have to keep in mind that even with root access keys from AndroidKeystore can't be exported (protected by TEE) and will be missing in any backup no matter what permissions you have.


text:
How to make calls ring (with sound) while messages vibrate?
This seems like a fairly basic thing but I'm having trouble nonetheless. I'd like my calls to ring (with sound) while messages vibrate (no sound). How do I do this?

Setting sound mode to "sound" and turning notification volume down means calls ring, but I get no vibration.
Setting sound mode to "vibrate" means messages vibrate, but I get no ringing for calls.

I am using Android 11 and have a Samsung Glaxy A71.

Grant Messages app the VIBRATE permission while disallow to the Phone app: https://android.stackexchange.com/a/215658/218526. Or replace the stock Phone app with some other app which provides control over vibration behavior.

There is a very simple solution

The Ringtones (used by Calls) and Notification sounds (used by Messages) can be set to different audio.
For Notifications (under Settings->Sounds and Vibration), select a tone without audio.

As an example Zedge has such ringtones.


text:
Chrome doesn't always suggest PDF reader when trying to open PDF files from Downloads tab
I have downloaded a PDF file within Chrome: https://github.com/besp9510/dma_pwm/blob/master/doc/raspberry_pi_dma_pwm.pdf
When I want to open it from the Downloads tab, it offers me ridiculous options instead of the installed PDF reader or office application: GymRun, Automate, and RAR.

Tried clearing the cache, but that didn't help. Opening the PDF from a file browser directly opens it with the office app.
Why does this happen, and is there anything to fix this?

Could you provide the link to this PDF if it's publicly available? Also, have you tried downloading other PDF files with Chrome?

This is the PDF: https://github.com/besp9510/dma_pwm/blob/master/doc/raspberry_pi_dma_pwm.pdf
For other files, scenario is the same unfortunately. And I can't uninstall Chrome, only "disable".

I just did some further testing on Chrome for Android with https://www.adobe.com/content/dam/acom/en/devnet/pdf/pdfs/PDF32000_2008.pdf (PDF file specification, 21.4MB) and https://google-developer-training.github.io/android-developer-fundamentals-course-concepts/en/android-developer-fundamentals-course-concepts-en.pdf (Android Developer Fundamental Course Concepts, 15.8MB), and the Chrome recognized them as PDF files. Could you try them?

OMG. These are working. Microsoft stepped into github, and ruined all of it just like it did with windows? :D But really, how can Github give a file with PDF extension which then is not being recognized as PDF?

No, it seems more technical than that, possibly unrelated to Microsoft/GitHub, more about the creation of the PDF file. I'm currently investigating the content of that PDF file, and it seems there's something particular with this (it looks compressed/encrypted), and thus why RAR was shown out of nowhere. I'm currently trying to replicate it with other PDF files with the same characteristic to confirm this hypothesis.

Okay, but still: in case navigating to downloads folder with "My files" or "FX explorer" and touching on the PDF, the default PDF viewer opens without any issue (in this case Office for Android). Anyway, thank you!!

Github delivers this PDF file with content-type application/octet-stream (his is equivalent to "unknown file") instead of the common application/pdf. As the possible apps are determined by the content-type Android is unable to show you the correct application list.

@Robert I guess that makes more sense, and probably affects all PDF files on GitHub...

And Chrome stores the "content-type" per downloaded file, and later when I select "Downloads", it uses that "content-type" instead of the file's extension? So Chrome maintenances a DB with content-types for all downloaded files?


text:
Intermitent SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR when using Android Wi-Fi hotspot
When browsing the internet using the Wi-Fi hotspot of my Android phone (Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro), some requests fail with the following error: net::ERR_SSL_PROTOCOL_ERROR
Here is a screenshot of the error I'm getting in Chrome for Mac OS:

I noticed that it is happening only on specific websites (I have no issues on Stack Overflow for example). This also seems to be happening regardless of the LTE network quality.
I tried using the Wi-Fi hotspot from another phone, and everything is working as intended.
I'm using a Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro running MIUI 12.5.6, and I'm browsing on Chrome on Mac OS 10.14.6.
Anybody have an idea on how to debug this issue? Thank you

I fixed the issue, turns out the default APN was not correctly configured.
I re-configured my APN with the configuration given by my phone provider (for Orange in France, the config is here: https://assistance.orange.fr/mobile-tablette/tous-les-mobiles-et-tablettes/installer-et-utiliser/se-connecter-et-parametrer-un-reseau/se-connecter-a-un-reseau-mobile-3-4g/comment-ajouter-un-point-d-acces-internet-apn-sur-votre-mobile-xiaomi-sous-android-_321636-856633)


text:
How to enable WiFi sharing in Android 8.1 in LG Nexus 5x
Currently, when we try to turn on Hotspot in Nexus 5x, then WiFi just gets disabled and only mobile data is shared over WiFi instead of already connected WiFi (broadband). Using Netshare WiFi sharing on LG Nexus 5x isn't working all that great for WiFi sharing with Mac.
When Samsung Galaxy S7 and above can achieve this feat, then I guess that there should be a way to achieve the same for stock Android in Nexus 5x.
Is there a way to enable wifi sharing in Android 8.1 in LG Nexus 5x when we turn on the default hotspot on? Is there a way to share WiFi in Nexus 5x on Android 8.1 using methods such as the one mentioned at How do you enable Hotspot Wifi Sharing on Nexus 5 Android M version on Sprint, Tmobile, and AT&T??

Regarding the question you linked, it might be you misunderstood the situation. It was to enable the mobile hotspot in the first place since some mobile operators disable it.

Duplicate of How to use Wi-Fi and hotspot at the same time on Android?. Some manufacturers and modern devices have this feature inbuilt, but others need some hacks to use this.


text:
How to install LineageOS on the Fairphone 3+
This is my third attempt to install LineageOS (I've tried already with two other apparently supported devices, to no avail). I'm close to giving up. So I'll try to be as clear as possible.

I'm very comfortable using the Linux command line (I use it every day at work). My laptop has Fedora installed on it.
I have no "technical" experience with Android. My only experience is just using it as any other "non-technical" user would do.
I have a brand new Fairphone 3+ to which I want to install the latest LineageOS. The Fairphone 3+ is listed in the official list of supported devices.

I followed the instructions mentioned here. I enabled USB debugging and unlocked the  bootloader successfully. Then I went ahead and tried to flash the latest Lineage Recovery image (got it from here), when I encountered the first problem:
$ sudo platform-tools/fastboot flash boot lineage-18.1-20211213-recovery-FP3.img
fastboot: error: boot partition is smaller than boot image

The first option that came to my mind was to use TWRP because I know the image size of TWRP is smaller, but then I saw the warning at the end of this page that says that "Fairphone does not support the use of the TWRP". So I abandoned the idea of using TWRP. Then I read here that I should try to flash to boot_a or boot_b instead (no idea what that means). So I did:
$ sudo platform-tools/fastboot flash boot_a lineage-18.1-20211213-recovery-FP3.img
Sending 'boot_a' (65536 KB)                        OKAY [  2.194s]
Writing 'boot_a'                                   OKAY [  0.629s]
Finished. Total time: 2.953s

After that I went ahead and booted into recovery. I was surprised that it worked, but it did and I saw the Lineage Recovery menu. I did the mentioned factory reset successfully. But I got a problem during sideload:
$ sudo platform-tools/adb sideload lineage-18.1-20211213-nightly-FP3-signed.zip
adb: failed to read command: Success

I noticed at the bottom of the phone's screen the following text:
Now send the package you want to apply
to the device with "adb sideload <filename>"...

But when I executed the actual adb sideload ... command no text was appended to the phone's screen.
Many sites mention that if the sideload stops at 47% and shows the failed to read command: Success message it means that it was in fact successful. But in my case there is no percentage at all. It seems as if the transfer doesn't even take place. Anyway, if a boot the phone normally I still boot into the "original" (or "factory") Android, not into LineageOS. So clearly the sideloading is not successful.
What am I doing wrong? Is this problem maybe related to the first one (that the Lineage Recovery image was too big for the boot partition)?
I'm slowly getting the feeling that the world of Android hacking (in the sense of just playing around) in general and of LineageOS in particular is just impenetrable and made just for a very few lucky geniuses.

I'm not really familiar with Fedora, but maybe try updating adb and fastboot following this post on Ask Fedora?

@AndrewT. I installed the android-tools package and used the adb binary from it but I get exactly the same problem.


text:
Non oem headphones not recognized byphone
I have a blackview bv9900 pro and I have been trying to find a new set of headphones as the oem ones are not comfortable, however all the usb-c headphones and even a usb-c to 3.5 mm adaptor I've bought are not working with the phone.
The operating system doesn't even seem to recognize that anything has been plugged in. I've tried some very basic usb-c headphones from amazon (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07V6FXJ3Q and
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B097MXHTH9) and the 3.5mm usb-c adapter (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VX67Y2M/) none of these have worked, however, if I plug the OEM headset in it works just fine.
I'm wondering if there are any tools I can use to try and get more information from the android system to see if it recongizes that something has been plugged in and if so what it thinks it is that has been plugged in, preferably unrooted, though I don't have issues with going through adb but I don't really know where to start with this. Blackview support has been totally useless in helping me figure out whats going on. The phone is currently running Android 10.

What happens if you connect the original working headphones to a PC? Do they work and what type of device is shown when you connect them to a PC?

@Robert Interestingly when I plug in the OEM headphones to my computer it complains about the computer not charging. If I plug in the cheap amazon usbc headphones they connect as a sound device and I can see them in device manager under sound devices. I cant find anywhere in device manager where the OEM headphones are listed....


text:
How can I copy to the clipboard the title of a webpage on Chrome for Android?
How can I copy  to the clipboard  the title of a webpage on Chrome for Android?
I use Android 12 with a Google Pixel 6.

When you execute the "share with" function in Chrome for a website the selected app seems to get the title and the address so there should be a way depending on the apps you have installed. For example Amaze file manager saves both in a txt file you can then open and copy the title.


text:
Is it possible to "freeze" applications so that they do not run unless "unfrozen" - essentially make them work only when they're in the foreground?
What it says on the tin.
I'm used to a work partition, but since recent android versions don't support the required storage permissions (which means that I can't get data out of the work partition short of a root terminal) I have to install chat applications in my main profile.
I don't like how applications like Whatsapp run in the background constantly, and am trying to find a way to freeze them, so they only run when they're in the foreground.
I'm using Android 11.

Have you tried to just disable background network access for e.g. Whatsapp? You will still receive push notifications for new messages but Whatsapp will not be able to retrieve the actual message when it is in background.

What you describe is essentially what apps like Insular (no trackers), its PlayStore sibling Island (with trackers) or Greenify (also trackers; all 3 apps from the same dev) are doing. You can find some more candidates in my listing here.

@Robert I don't want it running in the background.

@Izzy I was using shelter before I upgraded to android 11 (from 9).  My previous config carried over but none of the applications could access files, so I had to stop using it.  There's also no option to share files with the main profile, which is a dealbreaker for me.

Ah, yes – there were "breaking changes" with Android 11. I wasn't aware they could have effect here. Yes, Shelter can isolate apps, and then this might come up. I only remember having used Greenify ages ago and it simply "froze" apps when you didn't use them. Titanium Backup could do something similar "on demand" via a widget, but that needs a rooted device.


text:
Has the choice of "network mode" an effect on battery when mobile data is switched off?
I have read that 2G uses less battery than 4G LTE, especially if I don't need much data.
Some sources :
https://www.uswitch.com/mobiles/guides/how-can-i-make-my-phone-battery-last-longer/
Does 4G consume more battery than 3G if I don't use it for data?
https://www.telecomhall.net/t/why-lte-4g-drains-battery-faster-than-2g-3g/138
Now, my question is : if I switch mobile data off, has the "mobile network" setting (2G/3G/4G) still an impact on battery consumption ?
The reason behind this question is that I am looking for the most battery-efficient configuration in my use case. Most of the time I am connected through Wi-Fi. Mobile data is switched off. Now, as for the mobile network setting, is there some kind of optimization to be done ? I'm hesitating between 2 settings :

The default setting is 4G with VoLTE on
Or would it be more battery efficient to switch VoLTE off, and activate 2G ?

Where did you read that? And when was that information posted? When a technology is new it usually draws more power, e.g. first 5G phones had a very high power consumption when 5G was active. Now the 5G models don't need much more power. So it may be that 4G was using more power when it was new but now I don't think it really matters. Also before VoLTE was present in all devices the phone had to keep a 3G or 2G connection additionally to the 4G connection for phone calls.

Where did I read that ? Well, there's a bunch of websites pretending that, some very recent (2021). I just updated my post with my sources. I also added some infos as for why I ask that question