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How to disable Vibration in Android devices?
I find vibration super annoying and utterly useless, especially in tablets.
I want to totally disable or even destroy, if needed, the vibration feature or part of all my 6 Google Nexus phones and tablets, and 1 Samsung tablet.
Anybody can help?

It depends on the mobile. On Samsung Galaxy S7, there's "Sounds and Vibration" in "Settings".
For Nexus devices, you may want to check Change volume, sound & vibrate settings.

Thanks for the info. Any clue about Nexus devices? I have only 1 Sumsung tablet, but 6 Nexus phones and tablets.

@NickChen Updated my answer for Nexus devices.

I have stock ROMs from Google on all Nexus devices, mostly rooted. There is no option to disable vibration or haptic feedback in Settings, not even the Developer options.

In AOSP there is no way to entirely disable vibration to my knowledge (currently running Android 7.1.2.).

Is their anything like sound & vibration settings, Sometimes you will have sound profiles in their, you'll see the one that you're using is marked beside it, Try to open the settings for the profile your using and then see if you can turn it off in their ... so Sound & Vibration > Profile Settings Button > Turn of vibration . ???? I'm on 5.0 so I'm not sure if it's still their

Install Vibration Tuner Xposed module (root required) after installing Xposed framework and set "global vibration strength" to 0%.
Compatible with at least Android 5-7 (I don't personally own a device with Oreo installed).


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Android Emulator size issue
I'm having some issues managing/running AVDs from the commandline.  Whatever device I create/run seems to get cropped and displayed wrongly (see below).  I've tried various devices and settings (-scale) and have looked at the avd config files (they just seem to get reset after I make a change).
How can I fix this?
System Info:

Windows 10;
Latest Android SDK (manual install - no Android Studio);
Android Version: 23

Make sure you select the right device resolution and screen size
There are a variety of options for example:

dpi (1440 x 2560)
xxhdpi (1080 x 1920)
tvdpi (800 x1280)
xhdpi (1080 x1920)

In my setup (API 23)
Here is my configuration:

5 inch screen size
Density 480
Monitor dpi 96

Can you check if these values correct you problem, I suggest you try from GUI this time:
See image:

To start from GUI go to the folder where android sdk was extracted for example:
C:\Users\Test\Android\android-sdk\AVD Manager.exe

I don't think the GUI is available in the sdk-only version, but I'll have a look, thanks.

Also in GUI toggle the option: Scale to real size, you need to disable it, if it was enabled

Did you manage to resolve this matter?

Yeah, I caved and used the Android Studio installer. Works fine now, but seems odd that the stand alone SDK doesn't... I'll give you the answer, but it's gonna need more investigation I think.

Seems strange, but be welcome to answer your own question when you find the solution.  If I get something I will update you too.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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Can't install app from APK
I have a Jadoo4 USB stick that runs on Android, similar to Chromecast. It has an app to watch live TV from East Asia.
I made an APK of that app, but whenever I try to install it on other devices (like my phone), it fails. This is the error that I get on my phone.

Translation: This package conflicts with another package with the same name

The app is provided by the producer. And I don't know if it's specially made for the device. The device doesn't seem very special. It's like a USB/Chromecast but running full Android on it.
The device that runs the app has Android KitKat on it. On my phone, I run Android 7.1. I even tried to install the app virtual Android 4.4 (VirtualBox). First, it seemed that the installation was successful, but after 1 minute, I got the message that the installation failed. On the virtual machine, the error is just "App installation failed".
Any idea why that might be?

I'm curious how you made an APK of that app. Did you compile it from the source code, or... what? If you want to install it on other device, provided that the original device is rooted, you can pull the original APK file from the device to the PC, and then push it to the other device to install it.

On the other hand, it seems strange that you got "package conflict" on your phone. Have you installed the APK before from somewhere else?

Tell us some details how you made the apk. About the error in your android virtual machine with virtualbox: It most certainly is an x86 machine (virtualbox does not support arm) and therefore a completely different architecture, which needs support from the app.

The apk might be corrupted. Try to download it from a different source. Or if you tried to crack it try it with a new pattern(lucky patch).

It means that you might have the same app from another developer or a different app with the name of an existing app.
In that case you have to uninstall the older APK in order to use the new one.
hope it helps .

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

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


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WiFi-Direct using an Access Point
I have some doubts about how the Wifi-Direct (P2P) works. I want to connect an android device to a hardware able to use Wifi. I am not sure if I can use Wifi-Direct to connect the android with the hardware using an extenal wifi with internet (Acces Point) or they need to be only connected without any external wifi.
Question: Can I connect the android and the hardware using Wifi-P2P through an external network (Router) or only with a direct connection between them?

Your question is not very clear. Can you please edit and revise it?

WiFi direct, pretty much by definition, is intended to remove the need for a dedicated access point/router between the devices. The method you're describing just a typical wireless LAN at present. What's the context of your situation? What problem are you looking to solve?

No.
Wifi direct : direct share data between two devices (pictures, video, music, files), without internet.
Acces point by wifi : acces to internet


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How to search "My apps" on Google Play or show a text listing?
I have quite a number of Android devices.  Not all of them have the same apps.  On Google Play, it shows a My Apps section that shows a picture with the name of the apps in what appears a random order. I'm not sure how many, but it's quite a few pages where I have to keep clicking "more" to see more of them. It takes me a very long time to find a particular app on the list.
Google Play on the Android (phones and tablets) have a menu item called Library which allows you to see your My Apps. I can scroll down the huge list that includes pictures, but it takes a very long time to find the app I'm looking for.  Sometimes, I get to the bottom and have to start over because I miss it on the list. The Google Play app has a search feature, but it doesn't search just "My Apps", it searches all the apps on Google.
If there is a way to get a text listing of "My Apps", it would be easy to find the app that I'm looking for. The most ideal method would be an adb shell command to list the My Apps Library. By the way, the My Apps Library is a list of the apps on all your devices, not just the individual device you're currently using. One of the purposes of trying to search the list is so that I can better manage the redundant and obsolete apps in my library.
My question is, how to search the list rather than having to scroll down the list?

Well there's this: https://9to5google.com/2017/02/03/google-testing-redesign-my-apps-section-google-play-sort-option/

@AndroidDev Thanks for prompt the input!  The link shows an image of what I tried to describe that shows in the updated androids for the libraries and installed applications.  It doesn't show, or describe a method of actually searching the **My Apps" only, just scrolling through them.  Are you provide the link as a suggestion for me to post the question to that community in their comment section?

I had a similar problem. Have not found a better solution then:

List all the apps on the Google Play's My Apps website (with repeated clicking show more)
Selected all site content with Ctrl + A
Copied it
Pasted into a text document
Search for the keyword there

Thanks for the input, but I believe you are describing the problem that I expressed in my question.  Over the years I have accumulated more apps that I actually can count.  I believe every time you install an app, the number increases... while I don't think uninstalling the app decreases the number.  So with there being so many apps, I kind of give up after so many of the clicks that you describe.  With the question unanswered, someone might discover a method to eliminate the many clicks, or the actually flaw might eventually get fixed.

The apps are listed under My Apps in an order of Date first acquired. The app which you most recently acquired is listed on the top.
I was/am in a similar situation wherein I was looking for an app from my library. The app is called Flamingo and it was unlisted from the store. That means, it won't come up in the full search on the Play Store, but the app is downloadable if I open the direct Play Store URL or open it from My Apps.
I spent hours scrolling through the list of apps and finally found it. So, long story short, Google Play gives us no way of searching through the My Apps list.
Partial solution:
Google Play store on Android now allows us to sort the Library - Not on this device  in an Alphabetical Order. This makes it much easier to scroll through and reach the app, provided we know the initials of the app's name.

Still, no go when you only remember a partial name and want to do some hit and trial.

I believe to search apps under 'Installed' or 'Library' lists just can't be done currently. The option is just not available.
When one tries to search an app, I believe it is safe to assume one will know the name of the app they want to search. If this is the case (knowing the app name), you have an interim solution, which is to use the sort options available in both the above lists (Installed & Library). If one chose the sort option to list apps in those list to an 'alphabetical option', then one could just quickly scroll to the alphabet the app they want to search for in the quickest time.
Until Google wakes up to this missing feature, this is as good as it gets.

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


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Samsung galaxy S Duos 2 gt-s7582 codename error
Trying to install ressurection remix 7.1 ends in error because my samsung which should be named kyleprods is named kylepro(which is the codename for gt-s7580).
Also, there is no OS installed on it yet, it is erased.
Is there a way to change it? The system folder is empty so no build info.
Trying to install an OS for kylepro(gt-s7580) ends in unable to mount /system error.
To note, I have TWRP recovery.
Edit: It is 7582 because of the sticker under the battery + booting screen.

Go to download mode and flash with stock rom https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=385035244224393610
hope your problem will be solved.

Please don't provide random unverified links.  What is the source of this file/link?

Solved by installing another TWRP Recovery, the other one was mislabeled.


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"OK Google" stops working after a phone call
Most of the time, the "OK Google" feature of Google Assistant works fine. I say "OK Google" and it goes into listen mode. However, everytime I finish a phone call, my phone no longer goes into listen mode when I say, "OK Google". Doesn't matter whether it's immediately after the call or half an hour later, it basically just ignores me completely.
Rebooting the phone is the only solution I've found that fixes it. I am currently on Android 7, but I believe this was an issue on Android 6 as well. I have a Galaxy S7.
Is there something else apart from rebooting I can do to stop this from happening?

Go to settings then under app section find google app and after that clear it's cache and data .


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Termux/node.js steam hourboost on android
i'm newbie in scripting i'm trying to run node.js script with termux on android and i'm getting errors everytime i have no idea how to fix i know nothing about that so what code must i use?
https://i.stack.imgur.com/QuRMn.jpg here is screenshot
https://i.stack.imgur.com/vhKW0.jpg he do it without problems

From the console it seems, the script requires root privileges to be executed which are not available/disabled on your device

Hey, thank u so much for response, i have rooted device but still not working

Have you checked the logs, and see the information there?

Which logs? i checked termux logs but here is ony npm-debug

Btw i have rooted phone but still i can't find termux's default directory ''/data/data/com.termux/files/home.'' i change it to /storage/emulated/0/Download/Termux i rooted device with KingRoot

I think your device was not properly rooted.  How recent did you perfom the rooting?

I used KingRoot for root

Did you try using tsu? But yeah, sounds like you're not really rooted.


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Kernel module for create hostapd on android things
I am trying to create an access point on Android Things for raspberry pi 3, the hostapd configuration:
cat > data/misc/wifi/hostapd.conf << EOF
interface=wlan0
driver=nl80211
ctrl_interface=/data/misc/wifi/hostapd
ssid=myid
channel=6
ieee80211n=1
hw_mode=g
ignore_broadcast_ssid=0
wpa=2
rsn_pairwise=CCMP
wpa_passphrase=mypassword
EOF

I have the following errors on logcat when call /system/bin/hostapd -e /data/misc/wifi/entropy.bin /data/misc/wifi/hostapd.conf
output:
E hostapd : Failed to create interface mon.wlan0: -95 (Operation not supported on transport endpoint)

I hostapd : rfkill: Cannot open RFKILL control device

W hostapd : wlan0: Could not connect to kernel driver

If I write lsmod I Have the following error:
lsmod: No file /proc/modules: No such file or directory

So what is the correct driver= value to create the ap?

check if the kernel has enabled support for the nl80211 driver as build in module

Android's built-in hostapd is problematic (may be built without certain features). Use a custom built binary, that works.


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How do I block ALL callers from leaving voicemail?
My work is with liars who like to lie about leaving messages. As a result, I have incorporated notice into my contract that they cannot leave me a voicemail, send text messages, or send emails (which are a security risk in my profession).
I have had people stand right in front of me and look me straight in the eye and say the left me a voicemail message, even though I haven't had voicemail since 1990s.
Here is the problem:
I recently purchased a new unlocked Moto G5 Plus from Motorola; and service through Republic Wireless. Republic set it up so that I had to run an update in order for the service to be turned on. This update forced me to activate voicemail in order to complete the update. Now they tell me they can't shut off voice mail, too bad, so sad.
I don't have time to play games with liars who say they've left me a voicemail. It's too time consuming to mess with this.
I would like it to say I do not accept voicemail, but I will return missed calls listed on caller ID. That would be a bonus.
I'm not sure if it's Nougat 7.0 or 7.1. I tried to find it in the phone, but I guess I'm not that smart.
This is what Republic Wireless has to say about the matter.
"I see you are looking for a way to disable the voicemail feature on your Moto G5+ phone and have come to a sticking point with the fact that this is not a feature that Republic Wireless offers. I'm sorry to hear the request is not one we can complete for you at this time but it appears you are looking for anyway to shut voicemail off.  There are two workaround solutions i have found that will get your desired results. The first is to simply fill your voicemail inbox up. To do this, we recommend you call your Republic number 5-7 times and play music for 5-7 minutes into the voicemail each time. Once full all callers will hear is a message that states your voicemail box is full and the caller will not be able to leave a message.  The other option is to use the voicemail forwarding option within the Republic App on your phone. You can forward your number to an unanswered line where the caller again will not be able to leave a message. Our best recommendation in this situation is to obtain a free number from GoogleVoice to forward to.  I hope these alternative solutions will have the desired result for you and if you have any questions in completing either of them please let us know."
It appears they are telling me my options are 1. to waste a huge amount of storage space to fill up the voicemail box, or, 2. to use a google program that has a lot of poor reviews on CNET, and doesn't seem to specifically address my issue.
Please, someone tell me how to block all callers from leaving voicemail, and if possible, to say No leaving voicemail, but I will return missed calls.
Thank you very much.

Can't you just go in the dialer app and turn off the call forwarding? Go to the dialer/Phone app, go to the go to the Settings, select Call Settings, Call Forwarding, and change When Busy, When Unanswered, and When unreachable to Off? Works with most phones (menu may vary slightly) and most carriers, although since RW is primarily a "VoIP" WiFi carrier they may be in complete control of the forwarding. Sounds like if this is a serious issue, you may want to switch carriers to something more traditional.

Use a VoIP provider
Like Google voice/Grass Hopper that allows you to either turn off voice mail or get it transcribed and emailed to you.
Handing out your VoIP number you can have people call that and forward to your phone and if you don't pick up you can turn off voicemail or probably better get it transcribed and sent to you.

The OP already mentioned they don't want to use Google Voice.

@Iszi, Yup, but since voicemail is handled on the carrier network and the carrier apparently won't turn it off, the only way to not go to voicemail is to go to forward the call to a VoIP provider and terminate the call there. Besides, I did list an alternative: Grass Hopper :) And unless he wants to install a asterisk box and handle his own routing and forwarding this is probably the way to go.


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Can I move the keyboard selector button?
I have a Samsung Galaxy S8+. The way that I naturally grip the phone, combined with the practically bezel-less display, means that I'm often hitting the keyboard selection button by accident while I'm typing one-handed.

Is there any way to move this button to the left side of the screen, or elsewhere, so I'm less likely to hit it on accident?

Here's a recent article on XDA that touches the topic of navbar customization in Nougat, but unfortunately, it will not work for non-native implementations such as Samsung's. Just for reference.

I guess I'll have to wait for Android O and see if Samsung brings that in.


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Can multiple androids be paired to work on the same task?
PlayStation 3 consoles were combined to make a super computer. Can the Android phones be modified in the same way? Could I use the processing power of 2 phones to play a movie that 1 would not.
https://www.engadget.com/2007/08/11/sonys-warhawk-server-farm-is-made-of-ps3s/

Yes, see https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/168142/using-phones-computing-power-to-assist-in-pcs-calculation/168146#168146

It depends on the workload but you absolutely could use Android phones as a cluster in much the same way they did with the PS3's.
You'd probably need some sort of server-client setup. With a server setup to manage the clients, assign work and manage the overall process and the clients setup to complete the work.
This is an interesting idea, for sure!


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Disabling certain applications on Android 6.0.1
I am trying to disable certain applications from being run on our android company issued cellphones. We tried simply downloading Applock on the play store but apparently some employees have gone around this. Is this anything in android that gives you the option to disable installation or running applications? I have root access and all phones running superuser.

Please read the tags before posting your question.

Just a question: Why have you rooted corporate phones? Also, there is a class of products called "Mobile Device Management" which address this need along with providing centralized management and reporting. You should look into that.

This isn't a corporate company. Just a small family owned company


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Guest account on LineageOS 14.1
I have a Samsung Galaxy S2 (i9100) smartphone with LineageOS 14.1 (2017-02-22 nightly) which is based on Android 7.1.1 (Nougat).
I'd like to enable the guest account feature, but I can't find anything in  Settings. How can I do that?
Please notice my device is encrypted. Are guest accounts compatible with encryption?
See also this thread on Reddit.

Slide down status bar to quick access screen and you will see a blue icon in the top right side. press on it and click add guest.

I don't have any blue icon there...

i have edited the post

Nothing, I don't have that blue icon. According to the Reddit thread the LineageOS developer responsible for the Samsung Galaxy S2 chose to disable the guest feature for some reasons...

ah, unlucky you. sorry i couldn't help.


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How can I do USB tethering with my Samsung Galaxy S5 with the wifi still turned on?
How can I do USB tethering with my Samsung Galaxy S5 with the wifi still turned on?
Hello,
So I have checked with my old phone (Samsung Galaxy Ace) and it can do USB tethering just fine with wifi connection still turned on.
But when I try to do the same thing with my Samsung Galaxy S5 and when I click on USB tethering it prompts me "Turning on USB tethering will turn off wi-fi".
What is this nonsense and how can I fix it?

Possible duplicate of Can I use my Android device as Wi-Fi Adapter for my PC (i.e. Tethering to PC through USB, but using Wi-Fi not Phone Network)?

Checked that link already, does not solve the problem.


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How do I update ADB on my phone
So my phone was stuck in a boot loop. Last time this happened, I just simply used adb sideload after wiping my phone to flash a new rom. It worked fine. This time, however, it won't let me use adb sideload, it says it is out of date and I need a newer version. But I don't know how to update it if I can't even use my phone. I have a sd card slot, but for some reason no matter how I format the sd card, it isn't readable from my mac to TWRP. What I mean is I can place the file on the SD card on the mac, but it won't show up when I put it back in the phone. Help me please haha im struggling

You should update the one on your computer, not the phone.

You didn't tell which phone is that? Which android version, model etc.

Flash the latest TWRP from bootloader, then try sideloading, if that still doesn't work format the SDcard as NTFS and make sure to safely eject it! tell us if it works.


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My Galaxy Tab 4 won't turn on?
I turned it on this morning and it was fine but it died. I tried turning it on later and the Galaxy Tab 4 logo popped up and it vibrated but the screen only turned on for maybe a second and then the screen went immediately black.

Did you put it in charge with a wall charger?

Your cable to recharge is dead. Change your cable.


text:
How much space do I need for 1hr of 1080p video?
I have a Samsung Galaxy S6 edge with 10GB of space free. I'd like record roughly 1hr continuously using the standard camera app.
Do you see any problem with this?

Depends very much on the camera app used and which codec/compression that is using, no general answer on that. And yes, often there's a time limit so recording automatically stops at e.g. 30min – which some apps work around by creating multiple files for the same recording (imitating a stop/record).

See also https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/57417/how-do-i-record-a-video-with-a-file-size-larger-than-4gb-on-galaxy-s4-exfat-sd-c

1hr of 1080p footage shouldn't take up 10GB. the data amount changes based on a few factors such as frame rate and bit rate. 60fps takes up more space than 30fps. higher bit rates also take up more storage space. It could anywhere from a few hundred MB to 2 GB perhaps. It also depends on the storage format the video is saved in. Some formats use different forms of compression, some are more effective than others.

On my smartphone, I have a less than 4 minutes footage which is almost 1Gb. One hour would be more than 15 Gb.

Record one minute and check how much storage it takes and duplicate by 60

Are there any other limitations? Google is reporting sporadically that there are artificial time limits. I don't have the time/battery to test these limits (massively disorganised)

i dont think there are. i suggest you check the camera app settings.

This seems like a good idea but it's not. 1 minute of a dark environment will take up less space than others. It's a good indicator, though, but not perfect.


text:
Secondary memory storage of a mobile device
If I want to do an analogous comparison of a hard disk of a desktop computer(or a laptop) with a android mobile device then I hear lot of terms which confuse me. Can someone help me understand if all of them are overlapping or different. Which one is exactly analogous to a hard disk? Or one is subset of other. I googled a bit but didn't get good summary of all of them at once place.

ROM Memory
Flash Memory
Internal Storage
Internal SD Card
External SD Card

I believe Random access memory (RAM) in a smart phone is a physically different electronic unit (installed on RAM slots on motherboard) just like it happens in desktop computers also and has absolutely nothing to do with above terms that I've mentioned?

https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/89737/storage-space-and-memory-mobile-phone-architecture-versus-pc-architecture?rq=1

ROM works somewhat like RAM. But instead of it emptying every time you turn off the device, defined as volatile, ROM withholds its data through power loss. Data on a ROM chip is less accessible than RAM.
Flash memory is a technology that is used a lot in SSD storage devices. NAND and NOR chips are forms of flash memory. Usually non-volatile, flash memory is a lot faster than a disc for long-term storage. Though both are solid-state, do not confuse this type of memory with RAM, they are not the same thing.
Internal storage is just your devices built-in storage device.
An internal SD card is a Secure Digital device that the manufacturer builds into the device. The internal SD card is most likely for extra space apart from the internal storage.
An external SD card is one that the user can install. This is for expansive storage. The user can go buy their own SD card, however big they want, and put it into their device. Some PCs are made with SD card slots. The specific format on mobile devices is micro SD.

RAM in a mobile device is usually soldered onto the motherboard, vs the modules that can be installed and removed from a PC motherboard.


text:
Share Facebook Post via Whatsapp
Today I saw an interesting post on Facebook (App). So I decided to share it through Whatsapp with my friends. But I can't find any Whatsapp share button on FB App. There is only Messenger share button. So how I can share it through Whatsapp.

Click the post you want to share, in the top left hand corner there is a down arrow click it for options. You can copy the link and send from WhatsApp or if your keyboard has the option share it from the clipboard.

Suppose you want to share a video, click on the video.
Once it starts playing, now 'right-click' on the playing video, you will see a drop-down like this:
Select the 'Show Video URL option, you will get the link. Copy and paste it into a new window to test if it opens up the desired FB post or not.. Thanks.!


text:
My phone is no longer downloading from playstore
Please I bought solo aspire 4 phone I was doing downloading from play store but I noticed since 18hrs now I  cant download again when my download from play store reaches 23%-45%. It's stop downloading and will won't install too
Please what is the solution for that.

Try to clear cache and data of native download manager

As you are not seeing any error, it is really hard to provide you a solution.
but as part of troubleshooting.
just go to Settings > App > Play Store and clear cache and clear Data.
If that does not work, you can download latest Google Play Store (Google it for APK) and copy it on your device and manually install it again.
Even if that does not work, then last resort is to do a factory reset.
Lastly, you recently bought your phone and so you have warranty, let the service center guys take the headache.
(I am assuming, you are not rooted).


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Creating an image file of my Nexus 5
I have a report to write related to any  forensics case, so what i was planing to do is create an image file of my nexus 5 which has nothing in it ( as i did a factory reset). i was hoping to create an image file and look into the phone so that i could find something valuable. The issue here is i don't want to root the phone so i need an alternative to create a .dd file where i can look into any files. Any suggestions. And i would be happy to hear other ways to write a good forensics report on any case.
Thanks

Is the bootloader unlocked?

The only way to create an image of your device is using the recovery mode, but a custom recovery flashed find on Internet. The default recovery is not able to do a backup of the device. Flash a custom recovery then do a backup in it.


text:
Can't play .MP4 files on my android phone
I have an LG l33l. I recently recorded a video on my computer using Bandicam, in the .mp4 file. I edit my videos on my phone, so as usual, i try to take the recorded .mp4 file and send it to my phone. (My phone is connected to my computer with a USB cord.) So I send it and it completely sends. I unhook my phone and go to play it on my phone. But when I do I get this error message "unsupported format" I dont know what to do from here. Please help. Sorry if my explanation was confusing, ask me any questions you need to answer my question.

Try with VLC for Android. If not playing, then your mp4 is not compliant. MP4 is like a nut which contains a video stream and an audio stream. Of one these are not compliant in your video. Encode in mp4 with AAC and AVC for audio/video to be compliant with all devices.


text:
Android Boot loop causes
Greeting fellow enthusiasts
My daughter(device) is an asus zenfone c. And She has already been rooted. The other day, i've downloaded a game which tell me that the game can't be played on a rooted device. But before I proceed on de-rooting my daughter. I've been warned by the de-rooting software provider that playing with root access could cause boot loop.
And now here i am wondering "what is the connection in playing with root and boot loop?" So what i want to ask is. Can anyone told me what thing i should and shouldn't do to avoid boot loop.
Thank you in advance and sorry for bad english and not pinpointing my question

There are a lot of causes ! You don't need to have a list of thing can causes boot loop. Better is need to prepare a nice plan and check everything is ok before do something risky. Must to know : read root/flash guide entire before play with a device.

Haha thanks sir. I'll keep it in mind.. but if only if you could tell me just a few example of the causes... ^^v


text:
What is the functionality concept behind Wi-Fi sharing (aka Wi-Fi Profile share)?
Recent versions of Samsung devices (at least to my knowledge) are equipped with a rather unique feature
called "WiFi Profile share" or just Wi-Fi Sharing.
My little understanding of this feature suggest that, a WiFi connection is "shared over WiFi"
unlike traditional hotspot feature which shares mobile data (3g, 4g etc.)
I would like to know how this idea of rebroadcasting a WiFi connection works. In most desktop environments this is achieved through
an implemenation of virtual wlan drivers, which then are used to rebroadcast/share a given connection through another SSID.
My question is how is this achieved in android through this feature (WiFi profile share)? Is a new interface apart from wlan0 created? Perhaps with Wi-Fi direct?
I understand it is not possible to have two concurrent wireless connections via the same interface (which is why WiFi functionality is disabled when mobile hospot is active)

The rationale of asking this question was that I wanted to achieve the same from my Android tablet to my beloved Symbian device (i.e Share Wi-Fi from my Android tablet to my Symbian device "over wi-fi" because the latter can't connect to captive portal wi-fi networks)

After a lot of digging the clue came from Wi-Fi Direct.
The concept explained

Wi-Fi direct is a wireless standard that allows creation of a
  connection between any two devices without a wireless access point (or
  going through a router).

Wi-Fi direct uses a Wi-Fi protected setup (WPS) protocol when connecting two devices.

Additional protocols have been created to make Wi-Fi direct more useful such as Universal Plug and Play, Zero Configuration and Device Profile for Web services.
More importantly when a p2p connection is formed over Wi-Fi, the device continues to maintain the uplink connection over any other network for internet connectivity on this device.
Wi-Fi direct uses a concept called software access points (Soft AP) which makes it possible for a device to act as both the access point that the Wi-Fi comes from and the
client that uses it".

The Soft AP provides a version of Wi-Fi protected Setup with its push
  button or PIN based setup.

WiFi direct and IP address
In Android, the WiFiP2pMangerclass (provides the API for managing Wi-Fi peer-to-peer connectivity) assigns IP address to every Group Owner which is 192.168.49.1, and uses the
192.168.49.0/24 pool in DHCP to assign addresses to devices that join the Group Owner.

Wi-Fi direct is a single hop radio communication, however supports
  multi-hop radio communications, with intermediate Wi-Fi nodes as
  packet relays.

There is a little backdraw with this setup, as traffic wont be routed over multiple hops as they do have the same IP space. Now here comes the implementation of a tunneling proxy
that allows passing requests and responses to the connected clients (which would foward the connection to connected clients)

Given my limited programming skills, this research has enlightened me, and allowed me to visualise how these great concepts have been incorporated into one of the the excellent application I have been looking for,
to ease the burden of trying to tether a "wi-fi connection over wi-fi".

The workaround
To cut the long story short, I ended up getting an application using a similar concept NetShare tethering (no root) application as  a solution to the problem addresed.

Apart from other "extra" features it offers, I was only interesting in this WLAN direct via proxy concept.

Now this application uses a vpn proxy to route traffic from device
  connected to Wi-Fi network to another client via a p2p connectivity.

Essentially, it uses a HTTP proxy to route traffic to the client and configuring the connection is fairly easy:
Go to connection settings of any device e.g PC, Iphone etc (but in this case used a Symbian device)
Add the wireless acess point if not done already, and input the Wi-Fi direct Group password.
Under advanced settings change proxy settings:
Server: 192.168.49.1
Port: 8282
(remember to allow this port on firewall settings for other devices)

Remarks: While I couldn't get into whole detail of how Wi-Fi profile share in Samsung devices works, this research has helped me see a similar concept  impemented in other ways to achieve the ultimate goal (Sharing a Wi-Fi connection over Wi-Fi or at least over Wi-Fi Direct)
Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with this application in any way, but it was an answer to my question hence why I explained my research.
References

Share internet by using WiFi-direct Android
How Wi-Fi Direct Works As A Gateway To The Internet Of Things
Assigning Wifi Direct Group Owner's IP address in Android
How to get each device's IP address in Wi-Fi Direct scenario?
Wi-Fi Direct
Multi-hop routing
Proxy Server


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Missing icons after memory move
I formated my SD card as internal use, then moved various programs from internal to the SD card. All went well except the icons for the moved programs are gone from the phone screens. How do I get them back?

You should reboot your device to resolve this matter. After the the icon cache rebuilds (after reboot), then recreate shortcuts and widgets on your home screen.


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Are files created in "/storage/emulated/0" supposed to appear in "/storage/sdcard0"?
From what I guess, internal storage is available by every user. If emulated storage is a storage location, made for a specific user, are files created in /storage/emulated/0 supposed to appear in /storage/sdcard0? I assume no, because files that are user created should show up in emulated only, otherwise files created by the user would be available for all other users to see.

What makes you think /storage/emulated/0 is specific to a given user – and not just the "first emulated storage device", as /storage/sdcard0 is the first (internal) SD card?

@Izzy Because the numbering (i.e., in this case '0') indicates a storage space allocated for a specific user. Didn't Android become a multi-user platform as of Android 4.2?

Ah, sorry – mixed that up again (0 vs. /0 is too easy to confuse). Please check with: Why did /sdcard/ turn into /sdcard/0/ with 4.2? and Confused by the many locations of the virtual /sdcard/. I never played with multi-user myself, so I didn't dig deeper here. If you have multiple users on your device, can you check? I'd be curious, but my guess is that /storage/sdcard0 always points to the corresponding user's dir, as /storage/emulated/legacy/ does.

@Izzy I read both of those questions before coming here. I don't think we need to create multiple users as I am just mentioning "0", just the singular owner. I'm asking if user created files are supposed to show up in "/storage/sdcard0". My question could indicate a fundamental lack of understanding about how the Android file structure is designed, so I don't know if what I'm asking even makes sense. From what I gather, I believe that's the whole point of "/storage/emulated" in the first place, to provide a specific space for each user to confine folders and files away from other users.

@Izzy it's just system default these days for the 0 to be included. That, or yet more government conspiracy.

@Narcotixs The directories are linked to the same physical location, which is normal.

@DanBrown If I got this right, the OP is asking: "If /storage/sdcard0 is freely readable and writable, what's the point of having a /storage/emulated/X directory for each user?", which is a good question.

@DeathMaskSalesman If that's the case, then no idea. Never really meddled with multi-user (but who has?)

Exact that's what's puzzling me – and what I, too, only recognized after writing my initial comment. Hence the question if one with multiple users on a device could cross-check, please.

@DanBrown I myself, one hour ago. Didn't like the experience.

@Izzy From what I quickly nabbed, when you create a second user, they claim /storage/sdcard10 rather than, say 1 or 2

OK, @DanBrown – and after that (or even before), check with the mount command. Surprise, I expect: there's a FUSE file system overlayed (that's how the internal SD card is separated from the other internal storage while sitting on the very same partition). What I suspect now is that this FUSE system might take care for separating user data, mapping the "SD card" to the appropriate place.

@Izzy Hmmm, that would make sense. I don't have a rooted device to mess with ATM (I actually don't have a rooted device at all, I've just realised) so I can't really mess with terminal.

@DanBrown no need for root, you can use a terminal without :) And yeah, my guess seems correct: Why does Android use fuse for internal SD card mount? says The FUSE filesystem also manages permissions for the files stored in the /data/media folder. Let's see if I can find some more evidence that justifies an answer :)

Related: What is /storage/emulated/0/?

I've checked on one of my devices, and as the comment chain already suspected, you don't need to worry about everyone having access to everybody elses data. First:
/storage/sdcard0 -> /storage/emulated/legacy

Which means, it's just a symlink which always points to the data of the current user:
/storage/emulated/legacy -> /mnt/shell/emulated/0

(the first user – in my case the only one). Second, where you usually look for it:
/sdcard -> /storage/emulated/legacy

Same game again. So for the emulated SD card (aka the "internal SD card), the Android system takes care to map it accordingly for the current user. Not sure about the external SD card (if that e.g. could be used to share data between multiple users). This is usually found in /storage/sdcard1:
$ mount | grep sdcard
/dev/block/vold/179:65 /mnt/media_rw/sdcard1 vfat […]
/dev/fuse /storage/sdcard1 fuse […]
$ ls /mnt/media_rw/sdcard1
/mnt/media_rw/sdcard1: Permission denied
$ su -c "ls /mnt/media_rw/sdcard1"
[data from external SD card]

So you can see the external SD card can only be accessed directly with root powers, why "ordinary users" have to go via a FUSE mount overlayed on that. So the system again might take care that each user can only access his/her own data in that place. I'm not familiar enough with the internals to say for sure (or even to say what exactly is done there).
Now for your explicit question, whether files created in /storage/emulated/0 supposed to appear in /storage/sdcard0: Assuming you're speaking about /mnt/shell/emulated/0 (I couldn't find /storage/emulated/0 on my device), empirically they of course do, as both are the very same location: /storage/sdcard0 -> /storage/emulated/legacy -> /mnt/shell/emulated/0 – which means that /storage/sdcard0 shows what's contained in /mnt/shell/emulated/0. But your concern is unwarranted: due to the "middle-man" (/storage/emulated/legacy), /storage/sdcard0 always points to the storage of the "logged-in user" – so if e.g. the second user looks there, (s)he will see what's in /mnt/shell/emulated/1 (or which ever his/her emulated storage area is).

So as a PS, let me sum up things from the comments, as a short FAQ:

I wonder what would happen if a different user tries to access and save data in a different user's emulated storage?
He receives an error message that it's either not there or not accessible.
Why are these symlinks needed?
Multiple reasons, many of them historical (one word: "compatibility").
What are those symlinks and how do they work, in laymens terms?
They are basically "signposts", saying "please look there". Other than you initially assumed, they don't contain any data themselves – they are really only signposts or "pointers". The data itself resides at the "targeted location", and only there. For more details, please see the Wikipedia article on symbolic links.

Also see:

Accessing the File System
Let's clear up the confusion regarding storage in Android once and for all, including adoptable storage in Marshmallow.
How does the multi-user feature work in terms of paths on Android?
(contains another little FAQ, not only for developers)
The Storage Situation: Removable Storage
Storage (Android documentation)

This may be off-topic slightly, but why are these symlinks needed? What was the reason why the storage architecture was changed and designed to what it is now?

Why does "/storage/sdcard0" point to "/storage/emulated/legacy"? I thought emulated storage should always point to the original storage location (i.e., internal storage or the real virtual storage location) or is there no pointing at all, that it is just a mutual bidirectional reference towards each other?

Sorry, I cannot answer that. Maybe you ask it as a separate question? Also, if this answers your original question, consider accepting it, @Narcotixs ;) And sorry for having rejected your edit: your change doesn't reflect what I found; /sdcard here is a direct link to /storage/emulated/legacy, not to /storage/sdcard0.

It's hard to say if you actually answered the question, the symlinks are helpful, but it introduced more questions. I now want to know if symlinks bi-directional? If I create a file in /storage/emulated/0, will it show up in /storage/sdcard0? Your arrow points and indicates a transfer of information (i.e., from storage to emulated), but does it go in reverse as well? That was my question. From what you are saying, I assume that is true. Would you agree?

Symlinks are unidirectional, some kind of "redirects" (aka "look there"). But as such, if you'd create a file at /storage/emulated/0, it would of course show up in /storage/sdcard0, as in both are pointing to the very same place. Oh, I see, I should have written that explicitly – that's the problem if you work with a thing every day, it's clear that a symlink does that :) OK, will add that to my answer.

If all the locations point to the same virtual storage, what's the point in having separate storage locations for each different user (if more than one exists of course)? So, /storage/emulated/0,1,2,3,etc. they all point to /storage/sdcard0, which also points to /sdcard? So why do the numbers exist? Why allocate a numerical folder if they all point to the same location and contain the same exact information?

You again turned the horse around, which causes your confusion ("why does it have its head at the wrong end?"). It's not /storage/emulated/* pointing to /storage/sdcard0 but the other way around. So if "user0" is logged in, sdcard0 points to emulated/0 but if "user1" is logged in it points to emulated/1 – i.e. "the sdcard" always points to the emulated storage area dedicated to the logged-in user – which of course holds different content for each user.

The thread continues at: https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/173918/when-files-are-created-in-android-4-2-and-above-are-files-ever-stored-in-one-lo

Mr Expensive Toys said:
Am amazed that this problem is still showing up as it started happening as far back as Honeycomb.
So, the /storage/emulated/0/DCIM/Camera is the same folder as your normal DCIM/Camera folder.  Its just a symlink.   So the files are actually in the right location you just have an app that put bad data into the MediaStore Database.
When accessing files from your PC your are actually enumerating the MediaStorage database for files.   Its not pulling a traditional directory lists.   So what you see is based on what is in that database and the path entries in the database.
Files in the database pointing to emulated directories aren't shown as they are assumed to be duplicates as its the same physical directory as your normal DCIM/Camera.     What is going on is that some poorly written third party apps are inserting entries into the database with the /storage/emulated/0/DCIM/Camera path instead of the proper root path to DCIM/Camera.    Which means that the MTP service can't see them when you are hooked up to your PC.
Usually the easiest way to fix the problem is to just clear the MediaStore databases to get the bad entries out of the MediaStore Database and let the system reindex the files and put into the database with the proper paths.
Settings->apps
Hit 3 dot menu in top right and select Show System
Find Media Storage, Select it, Select Storage, then Clear Data
Find External Storage, Select it , Select Storage, then Clear Data
Turn phone off, turn phone back on, wait for indexer service to rebuild the data.
When you are done the files should show up with proper directory tree and be visible from the PC.   Depending on amount of files on the phone it can take as 10-20 minutes to rebuild the media database as the service walks the phone directories, getting meta data, creating thumbnails, etc.


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Stop Calendar from changing time-zone
I use Google Calendar instead of the stock calendar on my LG G5. I travel internationally on a weekly basis, and the Calendar app would automatically adjust the calendar events' scheduled time once I landed to a different time zone (if Auto Date & Time is on) or once I adjusted the time zone manually (if Auto Date & Time is off).
The fact that Calendar Events' times got changed is utterly impractical and annoying.
For example, I would add an event at 8pm on a future date in that destination of a different time zone, and once I land there, the Calendar event time will be changed to 2pm. This throws off the timing of all my events. I almost missed several flights because the alarm did not go off at the right time, especially in connected flights crossing multiple time zones.
How can I stop Calendar from doing that? If I recall, iPhone does not do that.

It's a bit of inconvenience of how Google Calendar uses time zones.
Here is a brief explanation of how it uses time zones:

How Calendar uses time zones
When you create an event, you'll see it in your local time zone. It
will also show up in the local time zones for anyone you invite, even
if they're in a different time zone.

Some workarounds:
1. Disable device time zone
When you travel to a different time zone, you can see your calendar in the local time.

Open the Google Calendar app .
In the top left, tap Menu .
At the bottom, tap Settings .
Tap General.
Tap Use device time zone on or off.

If "Use device time zone" is on, your time zone will update
automatically as you travel. If "Use device time zone is off", you can
select a time zone from the drop-down menu.

2. Create an event in a different time zone
There is another workaround involving setting time zone for an individual event in Google Calendar.
For example, if you're going on a trip to Bahamas and want to make sure your 2 PM island tour shows up on your calendar correctly, you should choose the time zone for Bahamas while creating your event. i.e

Create an event

Open the Calendar app .
Tap Create .
Tap Event .
Start typing in a title for your event. You'll often see suggestions – choose one or keep typing.
Tap Done .
Edit event details like the date, location, time, event visibility, and who's invited. If you don't share your calendar, you
won't see visibility settings at all for your event.
Optional: If you have more than one calendar and want to change which one you're adding the event to, go to the top and tap the
calendar name.
Tap Save.

References

Google Calendar help: Change calendar time zone without changing event times
Google Calendar help: Create an event

Can you try turning "Automatic time zone" off?

Go into the Settings app,
Scroll down and select "Date & time",
Click the toggle named "Automatic time zone" until it turns grey.

Now, make sure you've selected the desired time zone under the "Select time zone" option.


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Root attempt Galaxy S8+, touch screen unresponsive at TWRP
I'm going to try to keep this as simple as possible as I don't really know what I did wrong or how I ended up where I am now.
I have a Samsung Galaxy S8+ running Android 7.0 and I decided to root it. I decided to follow this guy's instructions on how to do it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh-I4uxAmUY
I follow his steps and am bought to the "Unmodified System Partition" menu after having gone through the process of factory resetting, wiping my data and using Odin to flash twrp-3.1.0-r1_dreamlteks.
The problem is that now the touch screen is unresponsive. It does literally nothing.
I am stuck at the screen that says "Keep System Read only?" where I have to "Swipe to Unlock Modifications", but find myself unable to do so because my touch screen doesn't let me swipe!
So now I'm panicking:
Firstly, I can't get the phone to shut down. Holding the power button does nothing, even if I hold it for a full minute.
Secondly, I can't boot the phone into anything except this unresponsive TWRP thing.
Thirdly, my computer no longer recognizes my phone when I try to connect it via USB (might be unrelated?).
Is my phone just bricked now?
Can I save this rooting attempt in any way, or at least revert to the stock?
Will bringing the phone to a retailer help me in any way, or have I already broken the warranty?
UPDATE 1: RMarkwald has bought it to my attention that I need to revert back to stock, but I am not sure I understand how to do so from my current situation, being locked at the TWRP-screen and all. Any information on the topic in future replies is deeply appreciated.

It seems that you flashed the TWRP.img file for the S8 (dreamlte) and not the S8+ (dream2lte) based off of the device type you have, and the filename for TWRP you listed.  In the tutorial he states he's showing this on the S8, and the steps apply to the S8+, but you need the S8+'s TWRP file.  The file he provides is for the S8.  You would need to flash the TWRP from here https://dl.twrp.me/dream2lte/.  I'm not sure how you get out of that screen, wait until battery dies and try to flash back to stock...?

Thanks a lot mate, how exactly do I go about getting back to stock? Like what files and what operations would I need to carry out to achieve that? I'm sorry if this is a little beyond the scope of the original question, but I'll update it to reflect my extended questioning if you feel like making an answer.

You'd need ODIN, and the stock firmware .tar.md5 files for your device/carrier, for example T-Mobile's stock set of files is 3.5 GB compressed into a .zip file, 6.1 GB when unzipped.  I was able to get mine from T-Mobile's XDA thread for the device, not sure who your carrier is exactly, you may have luck here (since yours is the Exynos version, which can have TWRP flashed) https://www.sammobile.com/2017/04/19/first-firmware-for-the-galaxy-s8-is-now-available-for-download/.

Okay, cool, I think I've tracked down a copy of such. I'm from Norway, and using Telenor so https://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/galaxy-s8/SM-G955F/TEN/download/G955FXXU1AQDD/129156/ looks about right. Now I'll just enjoy those sweet 15 kbs for the next 3 hours. Then I just boot into recovery mode, hook up my USB, run Odin, and try to flash the monstrosity from with the zip? Thanks so much for the help mate.

You should have 6 .tar.md5 files inside of the zip, unzip the zip to get those.  They should be AP, BL, CP, CSC, HOME_CSC, USERDATA.  Boot phone to Download Mode (with phone off, hold Bixby button, Vol Down, and Power buttons together, let go once you see something happen, at warning screen hit Vol Down to continue to Download Mode), connected to computer, open ODIN, then add the files accordingly.  I've heard there's issues w/ carrier files since USERDATA is new, moved out of AP now.  Apparently waiting for a newer ODIN to accomodate...not sure if this affects Exynos variant or not...

I can't find a guide at the moment, but AP goes in AP slot, BL in BL, and so on, but the new USERDATA there isn't a location in ODIN (if your firmware has this file in the download), so I'm not sure what the solution is for this right now, until a new ODIN is leaked/available.

Good information man, good information. You're giving me some hope here! If you happen to come upon a guide I'd love you forever if you shared it. That being said, if I attempt the flashing process without knowing where to put USERDATA will I be able to try again at a later point in time? My only real goal here is to not mess anything up permanently, as I'm sure you can understand.

I hate to burden you further with a different question (you've already been more than helpful in helping me get to the bottom of my enigma) but my folder only did not include a USERDATA, but only the other files (BL, AP, CP, CSC). Would it be safe to try and flash my device with these files alone? I'm a little worried about stepping into perma-brick territory and you seem very knowledgeable on the topic.

The USERDATA must be for carriers (I use T-Mobile), I would say you are okay to flash what you've got.  Since getting the T-Mo S8, the USERDATA file is new, I never had that file either when I had my T-Mo S7 Edge.

have you been successful with proposed procedure? I have exactly the same problem that I used S8+ tar file in my S8 phone. How was the phone behavior when battery died. Did you start charging and was you able to go to download mode?

Apologies for the late reply @user243446. And yes, I was. I had to let the phone die naturally from battery loss, then boot it into download mode when the battery finally needed charging again and it worked. Hope it works for you.


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Autoupdate not working automatically
I have set the Play store to autoupdate on wifi, and all the individual app settings allow autoupdate, but still I am being asked to approve individual updates for each app. When I approve them, there don't seem to be any changes to the permissions. What else could be the reason that autoupdate isn't working?
I am using a Samsung Galaxy S5 mini which recently updated to marshmallow (the autoupdate for apps was already not working before the OS update)

There are two levels of auto-update, general/global which is controlled by the Google Play Store settings, and, individual auto-update which is of course set individually for the application. They may be set to conflict with one another, or to be compatible. When they conflict (like global:ON, and individual:OFF, Or vice-versa), the dialog will be expected to appear. Check to see the settings (general+individual), for the apps in question, agree.

If I go into the Play store, under Settings, in the category General, it says "autoupdate over wifi only". If I go to a specific app (e.g. youtube) and click the 3 bars in the top right it shows autoupdate ticked. Could I be missing something or looking in the wrong place?

Is your WiFi available at all times? Some devices turn off WiFi as a performance/power saving measure. The Google Updates cannot be scheduled to a particular time, so it must be available when it wants to do updates to your device. Otherwise it bypasses you until a further attempt next time.

Yes, I'm connected to wifi more or less constantly.

One thing which might matter (but shouldn't): I set the data usage for the play store to restrict background data. It says "wifi will be used if available".

Quote: "Yes, I'm connected to wifi more or less constantly." I'm convinced the problem is related to the "less" in your statement. Like, if your Wifi disconnects when your screen sleeps, and similar cases.

In the advanced settings for WiFi, it says "keep wifi on during sleep: always". Is there another setting I could check?

I meant "less" in the sense that when I go out I don't have wifi. But autoupdate sometimes doesn't work even when I'm at home.


text:
How can I recover my SD card?
Is there a way to recover my SD card (for free)? I get a message that says it has been corrupted. Simply formatting it again hasn't worked.

Have you tried SD Card Formatter on a PC? It seems the best way to format a SD Card, however if formatting in Android doesn't works I think it's pretty much dead.
But as I said, try SD Card Formatter to see if that helps.
https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_4/


text:
Does a new software update take up more space, or replace the space of the old version?
Just today my Galaxy s6 received the Android 7.0 update. I haven't installed it yet, though, because I'm concerned about space. Unfortunately the Galaxy s6 doesn't have external storage so I have to be very careful about managing my device. I have two questions:
1) How big is Android 7.0 for my phone?
2) Will Android 7.0 take up that amount in #1 PLUS what Android 6 takes up already, or will it replace what Android 6 takes up and hopefully leave me with very little decrease in storage?
Thank you!

System updates are applied (typically) to the /system partition, which is not accessible to you or your applications but is reserved for the operating system. It will over-write your existing Android version and should not take up more user space (this space is already reserved for the operating system, it usually is from 512MB to 4GB of reserved space, regardless if it is all used or not, and it is not accessible to you as a user). The exception being it needs to download the update file before it can apply it which can be quite large, anywhere from 200MB to 2.5GB in some cases but this is temporary storage only and it is released after the update is complete.
It is also important to note that due to the change in runtime of Android from 6 (ART) to 7 (JIT) the amount of space needed for your applications and they compiled versions reduces, sometimes drastically. It is not uncommon when upgrading from Marshmallow to Nougat to gain a few gigabytes of storage space after it is completed.

2) System updates overwrite /system/ - anything that's common in your current OS and the incoming update will be overwritten, instead of coexisting. However, major updates such as jumping between major Android versions usually introduce a number of added features that will result in either additional files (i.e. not in your current OS) or files that are larger than existing ones, so there will still be a noticeable change in free /system space.
I don't have a GS6 myself, so I can't speak for over-the-air (OTA) updates, but I checked the full updates listed on SamMobile, and Android 6.0.x packages are about 1.7GB in size, while Android 7.x are about 2.0GB, so there's approximately a 300MB increase.
Problem is - none of this above should really matter to you, since the changes happen in /system and will not affect your available internal storage or app installation space (/data). What you should care as a user is reserving enough space so that the OTA update can be downloaded to and stored on your device.


text:
Gboard: Is there anyway to switch language by swiping spacebar?
I have two languages on Gboard and when I want to switch between them, I have to press the globe button. Is there anyway to switch language by swiping spacebar?
I've seen this feature on Samsung Keyboard and I was wondering if it's available on the new Gboard.

Simply use SwiftKey..

There is no as such settings that enables you the Language switch on the basis of swiping Spacebar.
But there are two options you can set in the settings.
1. Enables the Switch Language Key:- It enables you with the same features like swipe to change the language, on Clicking on this Globe Switch key your language will get automatically switched based on their preferences in the Settings.
if you have to do more with the language then this is the best option.
2. By clicking on Spacebar:-
if you have disabled the Language Switch in Settings. then you can get the language Popup by clicking on the Spacebar.

I had the same issue. Once you set up the Gboard, un your input settings , select Gboard as your preferred keyboard and save. Go in messages or WhatsApp or browser wherever you need to type and make your Gboard appear. Long press the comma at the left of the space bar,you'll have the option to get into settings of Gboard, where it proposes you to select the language. Set off "use system language" and select as many languages desired. You'll be then good to go and will be able to switch between selected languages through long press on space bar.

Swiping the spacebar is available in Hacker's keyboard.


text:
Backup size doesn't seem to be correct
I installed TWRP 3.1.0-0 (unofficial, from here) on my Redmi 3S Prime and tried to make a Nandroid backup. I've never taken Nandroid backup before. I have a linux PC. On my PC, I installed adb and fastoot drivers and used took the backup by typing adb backup --twrp in the terminal. My phone showed that the backup size was 9757 MB but the backup.ab file created was only 2.1 GB. Where is the problem? Did I do anything wrong? By the way, I backed up the boot, system and data (excl. storage) partitions. Doing backups on internal storage works fine. So, what is happening?

Seems to be a bug. I tested it on my device multiple times: in GUI mode backup is created fine, whereas console command give this fake.
I already created the ticket on their Github, but they don't read it, as it seems.

So, what should I do you suggest?

Nothing you can do here. Make backups via GUI until they fix the problem.


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What is the purpose and function of the "Media Storage" application and the media scanner?
I want to know what the purpose of the system app "Media Storage" and the media scanner is for and why for any reason a user would choose to not scan media on boot.

Explained here: https://android.stackexchange.com/a/209119/218526

Media Storage, package name com.android.providers.media, is an implementation of MediaStore:

The Media provider contains meta data for all available media on both internal and external storage devices.

It scans and stores media file info for quick access, and provides secure (content:/// scheme, as with all other providers) URIs pointing to the files for access by other apps.
By default, Media Storage has a broadcast receiver MediaScannerReceiver that listens for android.intent.action.BOOT_COMPLETED, so media scanner will launch on boot. Such receivers are unlikely to be disabled by end users unless with root permissions.

Can you explain the purpose of either. You explained the function, what it does, but not its purpose, what it is used for in a utilitarian sense.

"It scans and stores media file info for quick access" - so that individual media apps would not need to scan folders manually for an up-to-date library (e.g. painful if you have a lot of music / adds music often); "provides secure URIs" - so as to comply with the overall security mechanism of recent Android versions.

I thought you were asking the question from a power-user perspective, since you asked "why users would skip scanning".

"It scans and stores media file info for quick access" (function) "so that individual media apps would not need to scan folders manually for an up-to-date library" (purpose) . When you add why it's needed, it makes a lot more sense (e.g., A car goes from A-B (function) to minimize time and effort needed to travel (purpose)). I don't have any perspective of how to ask a question if I don't know how something operates. You still have yet to explain the purpose of Media Scanner.

Yeah, guess I was still quite stuck in the "developer" sense I acquired last summer in internship. The stuff I wrote are mostly from memory back then too.

So any idea on the purpose of media scanner? Why is it needed if files should constantly reflect (e.g., in Windows Explorer) what is being shown in storage?

I can't tell you what Google was thinking when they crafted it, but only what I think is reasonable... Individual apps don't necessarily know that a file has been updated, and thus will not retrieve the updated info unless manually asked to (e.g. folder-based players). Media scanner provides a way to scan once and let all apps that uses MediaStore know the updated details (via sending a broadcast indicating the scan is complete).

The MediaStore is the database holding the meta-data for all the device files. And the Media Scanner is the service in charge if inserting each file meta-data into the MediaStore database. The files meta-data is the information about file type (audio, video, image, etc), mime-types, image-size, orientations, the file path, and a very long etc. This is the way developers can query such information when creating apps. So, for example, a gallery app can do queries to show lets say albums of only photos or videos, exclude audio, or show images of only a specific type, etc.


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Google now travel time updates
I use a google pixel and yesterday, google now asked if I'm interested in travel time updates to a shopping mall I recently visited and I happened to tap on 'yes'. Now, it shows me the ETA to that place all the time. I wish to disable ETA for this place now.
I'm pretty sure this feature was available as a yes/no questionier in google now > customize > everything else. But at the moment I do not see it. Has it moved elsewhere? Anyone having insight on this, please help.


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When files are created in Android 4.2 and above, are files ever stored in one location?

/sdcard -> /storage/sdcard0
/storage/sdcard0 -> /storage/emulated/legacy
/storage/emulated/legacy -> /storage/emulated/0

It is known that symlinks in the above example are locations on the Android file system that reference other storage locations on a device. However, when a user creates a file, in any of the locations above, all of the locations will contain the same file, but where is the original file? Does the file remain in the location in which it was created and is referenced by all the other symlinks? I would like to know if any of the above locations store the original file or if there no original file, what is the technical process that Android handles that file?

The device which is mounted, in all of your three examples, is always the internal storage, masked by FUSE. The "real" location is /data/media.

You might wish to read the Wikipedia article on symbolic links to get an understanding of how they work :) Apart from that, there's a system call (getExternalStorageDirectory()) used by apps to determine their "entry point", if that's what you mean. (For interested readers: this is the question which led to the current one.)

@Izzy , Well. I was hoping someone could help explain it simply for me to understand...My guess is that it exists in the file path in which it was intentionally created. I believe emulated storage is just a reference to sdcard storage and that files actually reside in sdcard storage. Would you agree?

Not really, which is why I linked the Wikipedia article. Symlinks are just "pointers" you could understand as "please go there". So files are always stored "there", where the symlinks point to – i.e. the "real location". Second, no: it's the other way around. (Internal) SD-Card storage simply is a reference to the emulated storage: /storage/sdcard0 -> /storage/emulated/legacy :)

The thread continues at: https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/173983/why-does-multi-user-exist-in-android-if-it-doesnt-work


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no more free space after android update
I have a Samsung J5 since I upgraded to android 6.0.1, I lost 4.61 GB from my storage space, its 8GB in total. I tried to wipe data and still 4.61 GB is used. I do not know how to delete the files or to return to an old android version but I really need those 4.61 GB
Help please

No way to revert back to an old version since you are on marshmallow, Samsung won't allow you to, for security reasons.
You can get back some space by uninstalling  bloatwares, but you'll need root.
Try also moving movable apps to an external memory, works with mine (I also have a J5 8GB), at Settings > Application > Application Manager


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Uninstall harmful app. 'Mobile tracker' can damage your device.'
I have a Samsung Galaxy S3 international i9300 since 2012. I've never rooted it. The last app I've installed was a few months ago. I'm running Android 4.4.4.
Today, for the first time ever, I've gotten this notification. It appeared sometime while I was using the Dolphin browser app.
XDA forum thread seems inconclusive. Some say it's an app that you have to install (obviously I've never installed this app), others say it's a part of Samsungs firmware.
Does anyone know what this might be?
EDIT:
Although I haven't been able to confirm this, this seems to be an official Android or Google Play notification. I've clicked the uninstall button and the (Samsung's pre-installed) app 'Mobile tracker' has been removed from the applications list.

Answer: malware, addware and so... Stop browsing on untrusted websites with an untrusted browser. Some websites, those that have free contents are known to be full of malwares. Don't simply install.

Did the message come with a button to install a package that will "clean" it out for you? I suspect it is clickbait for malware, if you haven't installed anything recently.

@wbogacz looks like a native notification. The only button available is the "Disable" button.

Come to think of it. The white triangle with a black question mark is every-so-slightly different from the original Samsung's icon. Hmm... Should I do a factory reset or just change browsers? Is there a virus/malvare/adware checker for Android (that can be easily uninstalled later)?

Some of those malicious Javascript popups are pretty good in imitating "native screens" – especially on devices as common as that (a screenshot might help, in case you see it again – which doesn't mean you should hunt for it, rather follow the advises given in previous comments). If you didn't interact with it (i.e. pressed any button/link it showed) but "backed out" (back button, power off, whatever to "abort"), no harm should have been done. Forget about any app calling itself "Anti VIRUS" – they often introduce more trouble than they solve. …

… though if you insist, find some here: Anti-Malware . Make sure to read the previous-to-last bullet point here first, though – then you know what I mean by "introducing trouble". Same for the "introduction" at the top of the app listing.

I faced the same notification on my Galaxy S 3 yesterday. It prompted me to uninstall it as the app can be used to spy on me. Here is a picture of the pop up:

I clicked on the OK button and hope that no malware has infiltrated the phone this way.

I have got S3 i9300, I got this message too. The message was from Google appstore app. I could disable it.  But couldn't remove it.


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wpa_supplicant.conf permission
So I'm facing this problem for a while now . What happens is that my phone reboots automatically sometimes and after the reboot I can't use my WiFi . The button is stuck at off:

So after doing some research on this I wiped my /data/misc/WiFi folder to fix it (didn't create a backup though). So the problem got fixed but it came back again. So I wiped again and it didn't work this time.
In order to restore the folder I copied the WPA_supplicant files in the folder manually. But I don't know what permission to set it to . And even if I change the permissions it gets reverted back to 0660. Also I don't know whether the the .conf file is even compatible for my phone as I got that one from an XDA post.

Can anybody guide me how I can fix this ?

It's not just the permissions, it's also the ownership – which is not clear from your description/screenshots. Not sure if there are device specific differences; AFAIR they must be owned by system, but I cannot remember the group.

@Izzy wifi:wifi in my stock Android 6.0.1. :)

once you restored the permissions and owner/group, you may need to run this from the adb shell: restorecon -Rv /data/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf

On my phone permissions and ownership looks like:
ls -las /data/misc/wifi/
12 drwxrwx---  4 wifi   wifi    4096 2017-08-14 16:30 .
 8 drwxrwx--t 39 system misc    4096 2017-08-12 20:54 ..
 8 -rw-rw----  1 system wifi      21 2017-08-14 16:30 entropy.bin
48 -rw-rw----  1 system wifi   43098 2017-08-12 22:36 hostapd.conf
 8 -rw-------  1 system system  3136 2017-08-12 23:27 ipconfig.txt
52 -rw-------  1 system system 44517 2017-08-14 16:30 networkHistory.txt
 4 -rw-rw----  1 wifi   wifi     186 2017-08-14 16:30 p2p_supplicant.conf
12 drwxrwx---  2 wifi   wifi    4096 2017-08-14 16:30 sockets
 8 -rw-------  1 system system    20 2017-08-12 22:36 softap.conf
12 drwxrwx---  2 wifi   wifi    4096 1970-01-10 00:56 wpa_supplicant
16 -rw-rw----  1 wifi   wifi   10957 2017-08-14 16:30 wpa_supplicant.conf


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What is this doorbell sound on notifications (ONYX Lineage14.1-20170420)
When I receive a notification on my phone, it plays a long doorbell sound (regardless of which app causes the notification). Where does it come from and how do I disable it? I can't find it in Sound or Notification options.
I recorded the sound in a video from my other phone, here is a link to it:
https://youtu.be/O4brgMjAS3M
Furthermore, last time I wanted to authenticate with google 2 step verification, the sound kept playing until i rebooted my phone (latest gapps installed - mini 20170427)

This tune is definitely "Argon" from the alarms ringtone. Check your alarm settings.

Thanks Andy, you pointed me to what is apparently a glitch in the OS. The tune for notifications was indeed set to Argon, however, when I selected Argon from the list of tunes, another tune was played than the one in my youtube movie. So I thought that couldn't be the setting causing this sound. Also, while the main sounds menu showed "Argon", when I clicked the setting to change the tune, no tune was selected in the list (So the Argon radiobutton in the tune list was blank, while the menu showed Argon was selected). I've now set it to "None" and the problem seems to be solved.

That sounds quite messed up. I have a handful of LOS14.1 devices and none of them seem to have this issue, though. Might wanna wait for a newer version of the ROM?

Now that I've selected the "None" option, the choice is in fact checked in the "None"-radiobutton when I re-open the tune picker. I cannot revert to the faulty state with the radiobutton not being checked. That's because the tune radiobutton picker does work properly. I suspect during installation or a previous upgrade, the configured tune somehow became set to an option which did not appear in the radiobutton list. (In other words, the choices for a tune changed after an upgrade, while the stored choice was still set to a deprecated tune)


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Android 7.0 on LG G-Pad X8.0 doesn't allow restricted profiles?
I have followed the instructions on setting up a restricted account on Android 7.0, but on my LG G-Pad X8.0, the Add User section doesn't have an option to selected regarding restricting an account.
What gives? Was this feature really removed?

Possibly. The system integrator (i.e. LG) can choose whether to include the feature or disable it.

If your device have a SIM card port (the chip which is used to be able to make phone calls and access the internet through 3G or 4G, no Wi Fi) then it is considered a MOBILE PHONE. Restricted Profiles are not supported on mobile phones:
"Phone options
Unfortunately, restricted profiles aren’t available on Android phones running any version of the OS. It’s a logistical problem, claims a Google engineer, since phones are used for calls and texting, and restricting access could make the device owner miss such things."
http://www.greenbot.com/article/2949895/android/how-to-make-your-android-device-safe-for-kids.html


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Is there a way on a DUAL SIM Android phone to configure on a per-app basis, which app uses which sim card to access internet?
Let's say, I have two SIM cards, the first one has an unlimited but slow 3G internet connection, the other SIM has a very fast LTE Internet connection with limited data volume.
So I would use the first SIM card for all apps, downloads, web surfing, app updates, music streaming, data synchronisation like Dropbox and Google Drive etc.
But for Skype/WhatsApp video calls and HD video streaming I would prefer to use the second sim card with LTE.
Is that possible on Android?
If it is inpossible, probably another scenario will work somehow: if I start Skype/Netflix, all background internet connections should be stopped and the second sim must be activated for internet connections.
If there is no app for that yet, but it is possible to do so programmatically without rooting, that would work, too.
Thanks

Simple answer... No, this is not possible, at least not without root access, even then it would be extremely difficult if it was even possible.

If you can implement it programmatically, then a quick rough idea I can think of that can achieve this is using the android's VpnService, using this you can get the name of the your desired mobile network and then drop or allow any app's traffic

For a rooted device, see https://android.stackexchange.com/q/180064/131553. @acejavelin


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Whatsapp Online Status Inquiry
This question might have already been answered so sorry in advance.
My question is: If I am using Whatsapp, it would obviously show me as online but what if I have the application open but my screen timed-out/turned-off, will it still show me as online? Or will it show as last seen (time before screen time-out)? Will it only show as online when I'm in the app actively using it, or will it show as online until I close it (go to home screen or close the app)?
Thank you.

I think it's when you're actively using the app, or when you briefly quite the app (using the home button)

WhatsApp will only show you as online when you're in the app. In fact - even if you reply to a message from in-notification, you still won't be shown as online.


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Can Android Device Manager remotely erase my stolen phone's data AFTER synced gmail account's password has already been changed by me?
My android phone has been stolen. The thief took out the sim and immediately turned it off.My Gmail account was synced to it and I tried to remotely ring,locate and erase data using gmail on PC.However, since the phone was off and having no internet connection, the access was being continuously denied.When I tried erasing data remotely, a message appeared "Request sent". After that I changed the password to my gmail account that was synced on the stolen mobile android device. Now I have the following concerns:
1) Since request for erasing password was already sent before the password was changed by me, does this mean that whenever my phone will be turned on, the android device manager will wipeout/erase all data or will it show an authentication error since the password has been changed and gmail is no longer synced.
2) If I ask the network service provider to block my phone, can it still be traceable by the imei number?
3) Any other information as to how to get my phone traced back or atleast erase all the data? (I have the Imei number with me)

1) The phone is still tied to your Google account, it just can't sync any data because the password is incorrect. ADM will still issues the Erase command, and if successful you will receive an email with a message noting it was received by the device and it's approximate location if available. The fact that you changed your password after the fact is not relevant. (I do not have a reference for this, it is from practical testing)
2) No, the service would have to be active otherwise the tower blocks communication to that IMEI, thus it cannot locate it. That said, even if the service is active the carrier likely would not reveal it's location even to law enforcement without a court order and that is almost impossible to obtain for just a stolen phone.
3) No, sorry... Once you no longer have the phone in your possession your options are pretty limited, what happens next depends on the phone and the Android version. You have pretty much done all you can do.
Most likely the thief performed a factory reset and all your data is gone anyway, the information on a device is rarely what a thief is after. Their primary concern is a quick turn-over of the device for a cash. Best case scenario at this point is you had a newer phone with Marshmallow and FRP will make it worthless, next worse would be they were able to bypass FRP or it was an older device and they got a few $$$ for it, and the worst case scenario (and least likely) is they were able to access your device and you have all your credit card information, etc on it locally and they hit pay dirt.
TBH, at this point there isn't much you can do except buy another phone and move on.

Good answer. Can you please answer my question with some further explanation.  My phone was locked with Fingerprint security at that time with Android version 7.0. Kindly check this question: https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/187609/how-to-locate-lost-android-phone-after-changing-password

Pretty sure this answer is also an answer to your question... In reality I should flag your question as a duplicate of this one.


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Unknown "white rectangle" system notification icon on Samsung Galaxy
I have Samsung Galaxy S7 running on Android 7.0 Nougat. I got a new notification symbol that looks like a white rectangle on the right side (which is usually for system icons).

Sometimes it's gone while I'm browsing with the Chrome browser but then it's back.
I don't use or install any Cast apps. Long-pressing the icon only open the notification bar, but no additional information. Toggling GPS, NFC, Bluetooth didn't help.
What does this icon represent?

Pull down the notification bar and long press on that notification, you should see the app associated with this icon. This could belong to an app you installed.

This method disappeared after Lollipop I suppose.

Nope, it still exists! Simply touch the i symbole

It's on the right, meaning it is a system icon. It isn't a notification you can long press.


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Locating application files on the android system
I am a total novice regarding the android environment.
I need to locate some files related to an application on the android system. My goal is to find a private key that would be stored in file format, but any file related to this application could give me other clues.
This application has been removed from Google Play, and the author doesn't answer my email.
Based on the error message I (almost 100% certainty) think the app uses the open source library CoPay. But I don't know which version of the library. It's a really old version, sure of it.
So I have looked at the old code of this library:

it's written in Javascript
it uses Angular.js

In the code I have seen so far, I don't understand where the private key that I'm searching for, could be stored. I'm gonna ask a specific StackOverflow question about that point I don't understand in the Javascript code, but that's another story.
At this point I am wondering:

how does Angular.js and Javascript can run on an android system ?
how to find the files related to this application on the Android system ?

For the moment I use Android Terminal Emulator to do some ls -lRa > my.log and explore the android system on my PC viewing the resulting search. But I'm lost in the 82000 files that are found.
Not one javascript file. No Node.js or npm mentions either. No mentions of Cordova.
I just don't know where to start.
Any clue ?

Using abd shell and the ps command, I determine the name of the package of the application.
Then, the files related to an application are located in the directory:
/data/data/package.name/

But the files in here are not accessible unless you have root rights. Or unless you run adb shell, and run-as my.debugable.app.
Unfortunaly release application are NOT eligible for the run-as command.
Not possible to list files in such a directory with ls
So the necessary next step is to learn how to root an android phone.


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As a Google Voice number user, what app should I use for texting now?
Google has decided to push hangouts for enterprise, or something, and now there's a big obnoxious message that takes up half the Hangouts app whenever I open it into the "conversations" view.
I use a google voice number for all my calls and texting in the US (calls to my google voice number are forwarded to whatever local carrier number I have at the time, texts are done over Data but appear to be from my google voice number to whoever gets a message from me). I wish to maintain this paradigm.
In compliance with Google's indecisiveness, I tried switching over to the Android "Google Voice" app, but none of my 2+ years of conversation history on Hangouts is available there. So, I would like to, as seamlessly as possible, continue to text using my Google Voice number using whatever app Google has decided I should be using now.
Which app should I use for texting now, and how can I port my Hangouts conversation history to that app? Bonus points if I can use that app on desktop (via browser or otherwise) to text from my Google Voice number (as I could with Hangouts).

Hangouts still works for texting to and from Google Voice only, and I don't think that is supposed to go away (at least not anytime soon)... it doesn't work as your default SIM carrier's SMS/MMS app anymore. I use it daily and just updated yesterday and it still works with the Google Voice number.
I had the Google Voice app installed, but saw no advantage to it over Hangouts so I continue to use Hangouts and the Hangouts Dialer app and have had no issues so far. That may change later, but for the foreseeable future it is working with Google Voice only.

Google Voice users will also be affected, but not as much as
  Hangouts-only users. The rule only applies to messages sent and
  received with your carrier phone number—all SMS messages sent with
  your Google Voice number will remain unaffected. "For SMS users using
  Google Voice on Hangouts on Android Google Voice users who also send
  carrier SMS messages will need to choose another default messaging
  app. Their Google Voice messages will be unaffected and will still be
  available in Google Hangouts," the e-mail states. "For Google Voice
  users on Hangouts on Android Google Voice users who do not use carrier
  SMS, text messaging will not be affected and no notification will be
  shown."
  - Source

I saw this as well, but does your hangouts still have the huge obnoxious "this is going away" message taking up half your hangouts screen? It's driving me insane. Hence my desire to switch

@komali_2 Remember that when you switched SMS to Hangouts years ago there was a message saying that SMS/MMS messages will only be stored LOCALLY (meaning in the app) and not online. As of now there is no way to export them or move them to another app as they are not stored in the normal SMS database.

@komali_2 No, the warning is gone. I use a different app for my carrier's SMS app, as soon as I changed it so that was the default app the message went away, but SMS via Google Voice still works in Hangouts only.

Is that the case though, for google voice messages?

@komali_2 Hangouts still works for Google Voice SMS/MMS, both send and receive, and phone calls, voicemail messages, etc. But Hangouts no longer works (or won't as of May 22) for SMS with my AT&T phone number, I switched back to the default Motorola Messaging app. Is that what you are asking me?

Currently hanguts can also not be set as the default sms app. It lets you send sms once you are in the app but you can't launch it from your contacts app or links elsewhere.


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How to make changes done through `adb settings put` persist through device reboots?
The specific changes I attempted were to a database entry following instructions in this question: Possible to turn on Airplane mode with WiFi on only?
The changes to either row would take effect immediately but are reset following a reboot. The updated rows retain their row-id but revert to the previous/default data following reboot.
the exact command I used was:
adb shell settings put global airplane_mode_radios  "cell,bluetooth,nfc,wimax"

The following command would result in an exception where it is unable to find the key:
adb shell content update --uri content://settings/global --bind value:s:'cell,bluetooth,nfc,wimax' --where "name='airplane_mode_radios'"

I'm using Android 4.2.2 and the latest ADB available as of end of March.

Does "settings put" not persist? I've been using it to modify my captive portal and navigation bar settings, and those do persist as far as I see.

Also, it's suggested that you open a full adb shell and execute the command within, instead of doing everything in a single line.

Confirm Yan's words: mine are persisted too. Your problem lies elsewhere.

I confirm that on my phone they are not persisted, on a LG G6 with Android 8.0.0. Opening adb shell didn't help.

Having the same problem. My settings set by adb put don't persist after reboot, which is annoying.

I can confirm the same as @MarcoLackovic on a Pixel 3XL with Android 9.  Seriously it is (pardon my language) pissing me off that I have to plug my phone in to run adb commands after every reboot - and even if I don't reboot it STILL forgets it after a week or two.  Seriously makes me wish I was a hermit dying in a cave sometimes that software engineers don't care anymore to quality like they did in the 1970s... (that's an Alan Kay reference on how a 1970s era computer could have instant response but 2GHz PCs take minutes to load)


text:
Which file contains autocomplete suggestions for email address in Gmail, and can I clear it?
When I compose a new message in Gmail on my Android phone I'm offered several suggestions for the recipient (i.e. for the email's To: field) via an autocomplete function. These are often very old/unknown contacts which I'd like to no longer see as autocomplete suggestions, but I can't yet work out how to clear this list.
The contacts suggested appear to have come from an old list of "Other" contacts, i.e. people that I've contacted infrequently and who were not actual contacts that I ever added to my contact list. These only show up when I compose a new message in Gmail on my phone, and the autocomplete works as expected when on a non-Android device (laptop). My list of "Other" contacts have been wiped clean in my Google account, but after a sync I still get these autocomplete suggestions in Gmail on the phone. I get no such misbehavior when I compose an email in Gmail through Chrome on my laptop.
I've tried all manner of account syncs, remove and restore my account, clear data and cache of the Contacts and Gmail apps, reinstall factory versions of those apps, etc., all to no avail. I know enough Linux that I'm not too scared of getting into the filesystem and monkeying about, but not so much that I don't feel the need to ask for help from experts who might help keep me from bricking my phone.
My hunch/assumption is that the Android Gmail autocomplete function is reading these outdated contacts from a list stored somewhere in a file on my phone which is impervious to the contact sync process or somehow not being cleared as expected otherwise.
My idea is to somehow search Android's filesystem for a file that contains the unwanted contacts and if found then wipe that file clean. Is this reasonable, and if so can anyone suggest guidance that'll make this less of a wild goose chase?
My phone details:
Model: Nexus 5X
Android version: 7.1.2
Baseband version: M8994F-2.6.37.2.21
Kernel version: 3.10.73-ge570678
Build version: N2G47F

I had very similar problem. In addition to that sometimes the e-mail address of the recipient was "beautified" like that:
Pawel Debski president bla bla something <e-mail address>
What I found was that Google on his own created Google Contacts profile for me (https://contacts.google.com/) and than my e-mail clients on few devices started creating contacts there, often duplicated with different labels. Some of the labels corresponded to the circles in Google Plus profile, but some were created by various e-mail clients more or less randomly.
When I cleaned-up all the contacts there the problem was solved.


text:
Download some video from the Facebook application
Is it possible to download some video from the Facebook application?

You can use the site SaveVideo, insert the link of the video and download the video


text:
Unable to find partition for path '/sdcard' in TWRP
I have been trying to root my Nexus 5x running Android 7.1.2 (N2G47F)
So put SuperSU.zip file to install it from TWRP.
I executed following command -
fastboot flash recovery twrp-3.0.2-0-bullhead.img
But when I get into TWRP I can not find SU file becouse TWRP can not find nexus build in card.
In log console I am getting following error.
Unable to find partition for path '/sdcard'
any ideas?
Thanks!

Sounds like encryption. Try using the latest version here.

nice. Newere version unlike older asked me for password. I was able to root my phone thank you.

I'm moving that to an answer.

Sounds like encryption is blocking the recovery from accessing the internal storage. Try using the latest version here.


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It's there a way to get /system partition permanent read/write access even after reboot?
I used ADB.exe to get access to my System partition, I linked the dalvik-cache folder there to save space on my data partition, but the problem is I need to convert it read/write everytime I want to install a new app (or even if the old app wants to update), is there a way to make the partition always read/write instead read-only? Thanks!

I reckon that needs to be done on a kernel level...

That means I need a custom kernel, right? My device doesn't have development of a custom kernel... thanks for your answer!

Not even most custom kernels would do it (not really useful unless under certain situations like yours). I think you could look up init.d and have a init.d script that do the remount job on reboot for you. Can't really guarantee it will work though - I've seldom had luck executing init.d scripts that requires su.

@AndyYan A custom kernel with init.d support is unnecessary. I'll post an answer soon.

Yeah I didn't say a custom kernel is necessary, but I was thinking init.d is. The 3rd one you raise is an interesting one I've never seen though.

I want to add also, that auto RW mount is a huge security flaw.

You don't need to make /system permanently R/W. You just need to mount it as R/W at every boot. So I'm providing you with a few options to mount /system as R/W at boot automatically, but do note that these methods mount /system as R/W in master mount namespace, which means ALL programs can write to it as long as file permission is right. This creates a severely huge security flaw. Do it at your own risk.
The following options are not steps of a single method, but different approaches.

If you can modify your boot image, then editing /init.rc is the best and easiest way.
If you can't modify /boot directly, but init.d is availble, you can write a simple script to mount /system as R/W. As is mentioned in comments, it may not go right through if you try to call su from an init.d script.
If both 1 and 2 is unavailable and you have root (I suppose you do by asking this question), replace a system service (debuggerd is the best choice) binary with a custom shell script. Then run start debuggerd to activate it (effective from next boot).

The script required by method 2 and 3 is very simple, like below.
#!/system/bin/sh
/system/bin/mount -o rw,remount /system

You probably would like to add a sleep loop after it if you use method 3, as whenever debuggerd exits, it will be restarted.
BTW, you can easily add init.d support by yourself with method 3. Just take a glance at this. However in my opinion, re-partitioning is the best way to utilize free space /system, yet it's potentially harmful.

Method 3 seems conceived by a malware writer. I like it. +1.