text:
com.google.android.trichromelibrary - An app that gets installs multiple times .....what's the point?
As  I understand com.google.android.trichromelibrary is supposed to be a  webview replacement in android 10+
 find /data/app -type d   -iname "*trichrome*" -exec du -hs  {} \;
70M     /data/app/com.google.android.trichromelibrary_475808733-hbwaY4KXRVEdoKq10mzzfQ==
71M     /data/app/com.google.android.trichromelibrary_484407333-96Dwrx11cIuvXstExOmMTA==
72M     /data/app/com.google.android.trichromelibrary.dev_495100733-Znh6eO5SOBu_ORYXeXI2zw==
71M     /data/app/com.google.android.trichromelibrary_484408833-7teK0Hyij0I9yq5l070LmQ==

After uninstall
# find /data/app -type d   -iname "*trichrome*" -exec ls -ald  {>
drwxrwxr-x 4 system system 3488 2022-03-23 18:10 /data/app/com.google.android.trichromelibrary_484407333-96Dwrx11cIuvXstExOmMTA==
drwxrwxr-x 4 system system 3488 2022-03-31 00:38 /data/app/com.google.android.trichromelibrary_484408833-7teK0Hyij0I9yq5l070LmQ==

4 instances ? for the same app. Why ? I manged to remove 2 of them  using pm uninstall so as to keep just 1 -  but  I get the below error, after being stuck with 2 instances remaining instead of 1.
pm uninstall com.google.android.trichromelibrary_484407333                         <
Failure [DELETE_FAILED_USED_SHARED_LIBRARY]

My Questions
-- Why 4 instances of the same app. Is it by design ?  How do I know which app tried to install the additional instance of  trichrome library and why did it do so when 1 exists
-- This happened in the past too. How do I prevent recurrence. So I dont have to clean up everytime.
-- Other than brute  rm -rf on the un-wanted folder anyway I can uninstall the unwanted instance

Related: Multiple numbered copies of com.google.android.gms inside /data/app using up all the space on a device, Can I delete old trichrome library under /data/app?. As of current, without knowing how Play Store/Services works, it's just assumed that a clean-up code to remove old, unused instances is inefficient/does not exist.

I am aware of the above. That's  the purpose of the Q . Why ? the x'ple instances and How to prevent them

https://github.com/Undefined-User/TrichromeLibrary_Remover

I don't understand anything about webview but my guess is that is unique profile for each app that uses webview (I only have two)? edit: just deleted it, now my chrome browser app data and macrodroid wigdet is gone - obviously these apps created trichrome data then..


text:
"Auto Update: Security" apk in downloads section
I found an apk called "Auto Update: Security" in the downloads folder of my phone.
I wasn't able to access its details as every time I tried to do so the package installer would start, with the warning that downloading apks from an external source is unsafe. I ended up deleting the apk as I wasn't able to confirm its origin
Is this a normal update for the Security app? If so, then why do I get the warning?
I don't recall having any system app updates ever being pushed through the downloads section since it has a separate section called "System app updates".
The device in question is a POCO M3 and is running on MIUI.

Seems very uncommon, though without knowing what it is actually (since there's no info about this APK on the internet), it's hard to comment further. Perhaps next time you can upload it to VirusTotal to get some basic information about the app.

Android system update are usually not stored in the Downloads folder and they don't come as an APK. The file may be downloaded by an app that is not present in Google Play Store or it is malware that tries to trick you to install it. I would recommend to delete it. If the update comes from an app the app should inform and ask you before downloading an update.

@AndrewT. I checked the System app updates section and it shows a prompt to update the Security app, so it's possible that I may have uninstalled the update. Even then, it seems pretty sketchy to me. I ran the phone through the Bitdefender app as well as Malwarebytes and nothing came up, but I doubt whether they ever detect anything.

@Robert I deleted the app and cleared the browser data as well. Is this enough?

If you have not installed the APK file this should be enough.

https://blog.zimperium.com/new-advanced-android-malware-posing-as-system-update/
This is the closest I could find and frankly speaking, it's pretty terrifying.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
How to setup whatsapp account on second sim without alerting whatsapp contacts of first sim?
My phone is Samsung F41 Galaxy. It allows to use dual sim.
But I don't want to merge two whatsapp accounts of dual sim. So how to setup whatsapp account on second sim without alerting whatsapp contacts of first sim?
Second sim is for office purpose.

You can use the "Insular" from F-Droid.
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.oasisfeng.island.fdroid/
It activates the Android feature called "Work Profile", (which is essentially a different user account), and lets you install app copies into it. You can control what data are shared between those two profiles.
In principle, that is also doable with console command pm , but is much more tedious.
Also, there is a feature of certain ROMs, such as OnePlus, which has this feature built in. (But it uses a different user ID, so you can have three copies of an app  within a single GUI, one default, one in Insular, and one  in an OnePlus "parallel app".)
The downside of this is that TWRP backups (nandroid) will  not work. You can use Titanium Backup, or just do the backups manually.

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


text:
Migrate LG QuickMemo+ notes to ColorNote/Google Keep
I bought a new phone and it didn't have any note app aside from Google Keep. I mess around with Google Keep and didn't find any import option so I try ColorNote.
Then from my old LG phone, I tried to share the memo, but the format is .lqm. When I force them to open with ColorNote or WPS Office, it broke, and only random symbols and jumbled words remained. The share option didn't have a share as picture/PDF/text, just share as .lqm.
Is there a way to migrate this? Would be nice if I can use Google Keep, but ColorNote is ok too.

Far from a full solution, but I found a YouTube video at least explaining a QuickMemo-lqm-to-txt-File-Converter tool to convert .lqm files into .txt files.

That works, but sadly I can't import it to ColorNote or GKeep. But I can use Evernote so I think that's ok


text:
How to wipe cache from Mi Recovery Mode (no root, no OEM unlocked)?
I saturated my phone memory, and while attempting to restart it to delete files, it got stuck on the "Mi" logo. I only have a partial backup.
Phone: Xiaomi Redmi Note 5, not rooted, not "OEM" unlocked.
What I want to do: wipe the cache (in the hopes that it will solve the problem), or if possible save the data to do a factory reset.
What I can do: I can access the Mi 3.0 recovery mode, use adb and fastboot.
What I can't do: The recovery mode doesn't offer a "wipe cache" option (only factory reset), and I can't wipe cache through adb or fastboot because the phone is not unlocked, a few examples :
adb shell su -c "rm -rf /data/data/<app's package>/cache/*"
error: closed

fastboot erase cache
******** Did you mean to fastboot format this ext4 partition?
Erasing 'cache'                                    FAILED (remote: 'Erase is not allowed in Lock State')
fastboot: error: Command failed

fastboot flash recovery twrp.img
Sending 'recovery' (35280 KB)                      OKAY [  0.856s]
Writing 'recovery'                                 FAILED (remote: 'Flashing is not allowed in Lock State')

Recovery mode also has a "pcsuite.mi.com" option, but I can't seem to make it work. I don't know how to use it, even if I have installed the Mi Suite, it doesn't detect my phone.
Do you think there is a possibility here to wipe the cache ? Or is it impossible and I must do a factory reset ?

@alecxs A little update: after a few manipulations (new loader because preexisting ones didn't work on Redmi Note 5, patching the driver, desactivating some windows securities) we solved a USB error 5, but still get a Sahara Error. I think I'm going to stop here, I was glad I could try this far. I am going to do a reset to factory setting. Thanks a lot for your help!

Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.


text:
Suspicious data usage by apps
Here are a list of apps that I found on my phone:
Now all of these apps seem to be preinstalled as they aren't device administrators and are impossible to disable or uninstall.
They all seem to be sending data somewhere on a daily basis, as seen here:

Now obviously a smartphone would require a fingerprint service as well as one for factory tests, but why should they send data continuously? What is the data that they send? Is there any way to restrict it?
Device is a POCO M3 running MIUI.

https://www.xda-developers.com/report-android-phones-transmit-data-to-adups-a-chinese-firm

I have Poco M3 but I have only com.huaqin.

@alecxs The part that worries is the most is that I can't find any information online. My phone has been acting weird as well so maybe I'll have to replace it.


text:
Replicate android folder structure preserving folder date and time
I have a samsung galaxy S8 SM-G950W. I want to replicate exact date and time of folders all 3 date and time fields (date created, date modified, date accessed) from within my s8 into my desktop PC. The s8 is not rooted, it is snapdragon CPU. Thanks

Does this answer your question? Copy photos to new Samsung Galaxy S22 and maintain time/date stamps

Do I need to use CMD (admin or not) or android studio? Also, I dont have a micro sd card as the sim try is slightly broken so I cannot pull it out to put in a micro sd card. The folders/files are on my galaxy s8 internal storage.

I tried adb today and when i pull a file or folder from my android to PC, the date modified and date accessed remain preserved but the date created changes to the current date and time. I have even tried filezilla but same problem

Related for future readers (since you have found it by yourself): Is there a way to backup contents of internal SD, while preserving the file's modification date?

what is created date? https://www.howtogeek.com/517098/linux-file-timestamps-explained-atime-mtime-and-ctime/

date created on windows when right clicking on a photo and then clicking properties.
What if i install linux on hard drive and then format a usb into ext4 and then try to copy folders and photos ...will that preserve the date and time stamp?
Also, where do i get tar on android? how do I use those steps outlined in the howtogeek.com link ? or are their steps done with android connected to a linux system ?

Does this answer your question? ADB pull stops after first error

what you mean is mtime it represents the date of when the picture (content) was created. what you see in windows is the birth crtime when file (bin) was created on disk. that date is irrelevant. the link just explains "The Difference Between atime, mtime, and ctime"

I prefer to work with windows, not linux. Also, that link https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/226573/adb-pull-stops-after-first-error does not seem to answer my question becuse, im looking to preserve 3 dates and their respective times, when I use adb, date created (birth time) changes to current date & time which is not what I want

I know this is kinda late but I found a few workarounds which is still incomplete but hey better than nothing. So basically this method will only work for folders/subfolders which have photos and videos. Create a main folder in the root directory of your android phone, copy the folder you intend to preserve the date and time into that folder then make a zip archive using solid explorer or filemanagerplus and transfer that zip archive or copy archive to windows 10/11 pro and extract using winzip.

It didn't work, the times for date created and date modified and date accessed are still -1 seconds short of the actual time within android. Does anyone have a solution to preserving the exact second and "expanding" date modified into date created and date accessed?


text:
Can you record video to external drive?
If I connect an external ssd drive to the phone, it can browse its file system and write to it. Is there an app (or a setting) that allows me to record video directly to this external drive? The use case is shooting longer videos without stopping to transfer files.

Yes. The "Open Camera" free software app from the F-Droid store lets you select the directory to save files.
I have just tried it with connecting a usb3 ssd with otg, and saved a video onto it.
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/net.sourceforge.opencamera/


text:
Stores the OS a list of installed apps and their install locations?
Some time ago I made a backup of the internal data partition with TWRP. Then I installed and updated some apps in the adopted storage. Due to some other issue with the phone, internal data was partly deleted and I restored the (slightly outdated) data from backup.
Nevertheless the newly installed apps on adopted storage don't show and updated apps only appear after renaming the app installation directory (usually the an appended "-2" must be changed to "-1").
So I conclude that the system somewhere in the data stores a list of the installed apps and their install location, but where (and in which data format)?

Does this answer your question? Where are UID for each application stored?

@alecxs Thank you. This is what I wanted.


text:
Chat between two Android smartphones
Suppose two people are on a plane, a few meters apart, with Android smartphones without internet access, and would like to communicate by text messages and if possible also by audio call, using Wifi or Bluetooth (both allowed on this plane).
How can this be achieved?
So far I have only been able to think of very complicated solutions, like using XMPP clients on the two phones, or Mumble clients on the two phones, setting up an XMPP server or a Mumble server on one of the phones, and communicating by Wifi, the main problem being that I haven't been able to find any XMPP or Mumble server for Android, so the only way out I have devised would be to install a Linux distro on one of the Android phones and inside of it, a standard XMPP or Mumble server. This is very heavy. Surely there must be easier solutions. Many thanks in advance.

Just search for Wifi direct chat.

I remember an option with bluetoooth. I clicked on the above link and I also see "wifi bluetooth chat" in the list. If this is the one I'm thinking of, it worked real well, without requiring connection to wifi.

I finally found, used and enjoyed Briar, which exactly did the job for text messages and pictures (communicates over wifi or over bluetooth, in p2p fashion), though not for audio or video messages or calls.


text:
How to periodically switch on and switch off flashlight with 1kHz rate on rooted Redmi Note 5 Oro?
My objective is to write a shell script to periodically turn off and on my phone's flashlight (about 1 kHz or 500Hz). My phone is rooted. So I gained superuser shell access (#)
These are the files under my sys/class/leds/flashlight
whyred:/sys/class/leds/flashlight # ls
brightness device max_brightness power subsystem trigger uevent

(Original screenshot of the terminal)
I was able to modify the content of the brightness file and was able to manually switch off and on my flashlight. However, I want to periodically switch on and off with a delay and for that, I need a timer trigger. But within the trigger file above, there is no delay section indicated. There was just some contents within the file (no numbers)
whyred:/sys/class/leds/flashlight # cat trigger
[none] bkl-trigger switch0_trigger flash0_trigger flash1_trigger torch0_trigger torch1_trigger switch1_trigger flash2_trigger torch2_trigger dc-online usb-online main-online pc_port-online battery-charging-or-full battery-charging battery-full battery-charging-blink-full-solid rfkill0 mmc0 mmc1 bms-online parallel-online rfkill1

(Original screenshot of the terminal)
I was able to clock into a period of about 1-3ms by writing a bash script, that echoes brightness 100 followed by sleep and then echoes 0 brightness
Script:
while [ 1 le 100]
do
echo "100" > ~/sys/class/leds/brightness
sleep(0.001)
echo "100" > ~/sys/class/leds/brightness)
sleep(0.001)
done  # end

But I want at least a 1 kHz frequency, so a timer is the one, sleep function is not advisable.
How can I about attaining my objective?

I don't think you will find a trigger with such a high frequency. Instead I would write a small C program that tries to enable/disable the flash light. For the timing use busy waiting and as time source may be clock_gettime(CLOCK_MONOTONIC,..).

Hi , had a look through your link, but pardon me being a beginner find it difficult to understand it, can you post some other link or a C code that does the same in linux  kernel?

Sorry Edmund, but this site here is for end-users, not for programmers/developers. But another hint would be to look for [tag:automation] apps like [tag:tasker], which should also be capable of toggling the flashlight.

OP's own follow-up question: How to use system timer to run a task periodically on a rooted Redmi Note 5 Pro with Busybox installed?

There is Termux and Termux:API.
Termux:

Android terminal emulator and Linux environment application that works directly with no rooting or setup required. A minimal base system is installed automatically, additional packages are available using the package manager.

Termux:API:

This addon exposes device functionality as API to command line programs in Termux.

Install both of them from the F-droid website.
Then open up Termux and run pkg install termux-api nano
Make a shell script with nano using nano torch.sh
Use termux-torch on and termux-torch off to switch on and off the torch.
Also make other edits to fulfill your needs. If you want to do it periodically, use a while loop.
Save and exit the file with Ctrl + X, then type "Y" and enter.
Run cat torch.sh to make sure the shell script is edited successfully.
Make sure the shell script is executable by running chmod +x torch.sh
Finally, run ./torch.sh
P.S. You don't even need root to do that lol

Hi box cpm, a fantastic answer actually, i did as you indicated and i was able to control the torch on and off using the above script, like simply within a while loop, i wrote termux-torch on and termux-torch off(no delay between these 2 statements) , and your method works on even non-rooted phones ! lol :} Amazing!  But there is one problem, even without me introducing a delay between on and off statements, the period is too high like 0.5 seconds, i want period in range of 1 ms, do you have any other solution to tackle this problem!


text:
How can I tell if an Android device is locked to a specific carrier?
I want to know if an Android tablet is specific to a cellular carrier (T-Mobile, Verizon, etc.). The particular one I have in my hand now is a Samsung Galaxy Tab A, but I have multiple types of tablets in my environment, so I need to know a way to understand if the tablet is locked to T-Mobile or if I can simply swap SIMs to a different carrier.
Where can I look in my T-Mobile tablet to check?

I would start by reading out the correct model name from the Android settings phone/tablet info page, especially the SM-* name which you can use to check the hardware spec on various pages (including supported bands).

This is going to sound super simple, but I keep a AT&T SIM around just for this... Pop in a T-Mobile SIM and it works, then pop in the AT&T SIM, if it works it's unlocked, if it pops up a window looking for a code to carrier unlock the device, well, it's locked. Note that the SIM does NOT have to active, if the device is carrier locked it won't even attempt to connect to the network.


text:
How to create Mount script or Link2sd symbolic link in adoptable storage (format microsdcard as internal memory) any help
Question : How to create Mount script or Link2sd symbolic link in adoptable storage (format microsdcard as internal memory) any help
I have an old mobile with upgrade of Android 6.0.1 marshemellow with 16gb internal memory(11gb reserved for system and only 5 GB free space for user apps and files). I want to make 128gb  or 64 GB microsdcard as internal memory.
I had changed many apps manifest through apkeditor and changed their default install location. To external still some files are moved and many apps cAnt change the manifest.
So to add at least 60gb I decided to move apps and folder redirect dcim  download whatsapp Facebook to external micro SD card so that at least 2gb space is always free in internal memory.
Now the question and problem is that can I cheat or mislead the Android 6.0.1 marshmallow (without root or with root) through

using  apps like  link2sd or app2sd or folder redirection appps or
through SM PM command

adb shell sm list-disks adoptable sm partition disk:179:160 mixed 25
adb shell sm format private:179,3

through creating own symbolic link boot.init script to decieve Android 6.0.1 is  and move or link apk files like data lib hex off apk to.memory card

Can both adoptable storage (format as sd as internal and the link2sd symbolic link mount scripts) work together as after formatting as card as internal Android  assumes no external card and the how will be it work from redirecting or symbolic link to internal folder. I tried Inc it gave "Mount script error"

Any way or script if I can write or tell it will be great help for my problem.

https://chat.stackexchange.com/transcript/130014/2021/9/26

@alecxs bro gr8 love  to see if reply after long long time...Yes I remember that was my android 5.1.1 phone which is not working and damaged ...This post is for another phone that is Android 6..0.1 ....Which I formatted again

@alecxs bro in this query as it's with Android 6.0.1 marshmallow I am able to  Micrrsdcard  formatted as internal.memory and can move 10℅ to 20% to external micro SD card  by default it installs automatically ...others I edited apkeditor apps manifest default install location to external thus it's successful to.move (25%-35%) rest 55%- 65% apps are still unmovable now what I am planning is to link or symbolic link or mount or move those 65% apps by cheating receiving Android 6.0 .1 and linking  or folder redirect mount script to Micrsd card format as internal as link2sd aapp do ..

@alecxs bro my major concern and study from.forum.linka are that as in Android 6.0.1 marshmallow the microsd card formatted as internal so it mounts that card to name /sdcard whereas if I root and use linked it will search and work on external as card not a mounted folder to creTe symbolic links within external card....Now how to create our own mount script which can redirect  symbolic the internal memory apps to the /scarf mounted folder that Microsdcard formated as internal...Is it possible or just my imagination....Can u help me in guiding or writing such mount script

grep /mnt/expand /proc/mounts

@alecxs bro here is a link in XDA where a developer in  1st page gave solution to change linked boot script for Android 6.0.1 https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/link2sd.3222034/

Thx, I have replied in that thread...

@alecxs thanks bro will try


text:
How can I make a phone call on Google Voice on a phone without mobile service?
On an Andorid hone without mobile service, I try to use Google Voice to make a phone call in two ways:

is it possible to make a phone call on Google Voice app? It always asks for verifying your own phone number and linking number.

When I try to open voice.google.com on Google Chrome browser, and try to make a phone call, it asks "Google will call your phone and connect you to ...". (I used to have a mobile service, but now don't.)

How can I make either way work, without having a mobile service?
Thanks.

According to Google, on Android in the GV app, you just have to open settings and under "calls" tap "Making and Receiving Calls" and select "Prefer Wifi and mobile data"
I THINK you might have to unlink your mobile number if it is still linked. If you don't have carrier service anymore, you should do this anyway. Has to be done through web browser, if I remember correctly.

Thanks. Why does Google Voice want to link phone number? I linked it to the phone number on a phone that I borrowed with mobile service. Do you mean that I should unlink it on that phone. I now want to use it on a phone without mobile service, besides the one that I borrowed.


text:
My SD card is acting up, how can I recover what's in it?
Last night, on my phone, I was trying to copy a file from one folder in the SD to another folder. But whenever I tap paste, the SD card would disconnect (I see a "this operation could not be completed" message when I try to open a folder). I'd have to either restart the phone or force stop the explorer app in order to access the SD card, but then, again as soon as I paste, it disconnects. I couple of restarts and I get a message "SD card currputed  fix?" (or something like that).
I took out the card, put it in a card reader and plugged it into the computer. It mounted normally and I could see my files. I started uploading its contents to the cloud but one folder was taking too long so I opted to back up to local drive. But then all of a sudden the SD card dismounts, I guess similar to what it was doing in the phone. A few more such attempts and now I see the drive name changed to strange characters.
What can I do to extract/recover everything from it? I remember doing something similar a while back (thanks the Alecxs) on Linux, but it was for getting my files out of a corrupted adopted SD card...can't remember the steps for the life of me. It was very involved (relative to copy and past on Windows), but WELL worth it.
Appreciate all the help I can get!

this card is dead, don't use it anymore. you can try gddrescue to get image, or try on PC straight from card reader. but I guess it will disconnect again

https://www.klennet.com https://www.z-a-recovery.com https://www.runtime.org


text:
How to repack Magisk boot image? (Magisk installed)
everyone.
I have a OnePlus 5t, updated to Android 9 and Project Treble.
I have my own Magisk module for my own tweaks, but I am not satisfied. I found that I need a patched init.rc in order to have one script of mine run when I need it.
There is an official howto chapter dedicated to an "overlay.d" directory that can modify files on the root of the filesystem, say /init.rc, https://topjohnwu.github.io/Magisk/guides.html#root-directory-overlay-system , however, this "howto" is terse and hard to understand for people not familiar with Magisk's internals.
There is also a script that should help to repack the boot image https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk/blob/master/scripts/boot_patch.sh , but it is relying on certain commands not in that directory.
By trial and error I have found a way to extract "magiskboot" from the magisk's install Magisk-*.zip, and I also found that this magiskboot can unpack the /dev/disk/by-name/boot partition. (I know, that is probably insane, a partition is not a file, but somehow magiskboot manages to navigate it by itself.) But that requires running that command on the phone itself (with magisk's su), and I am not sure how valid this is. Trying to run the "boot_patch.sh" by first copying it to the phone, and using the extracted rootfs.cpio seems way beyond my ability, and I am also very unsure whether this can be done with the system booted, or I should do it from TWRP, or whatever.
So, a decent guide (for dummies) on how to patch the boot image would be appreciated. I only need to add two files: custom.rc, with the service description, and a custom.sh with the service code itself.
Help would be appreciated!

Does this answer your question? How to run an executable on boot and keep it running?

Note magisk doesn't actually modify files on filesystem, that's why it's called overlay ;) https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2073775

@alecxs no, unfortunately not. I had followed that guide, before asking this question, and I have my "service.sh" in /bin/, and service.rc in /etc/init/ , but the service is not getting registered with the android init, and `setprop svc.start custom" does not trigger it. Overlaying is totally fine, I don't really care how exactly my services get into the system, as long as it does not trigger dm-verity and cts.

so "for dummies" downgrade cpio 2.12, run unpackimg.sh, create overlay.d directory, copy-paste custom.rc example code and place file in overlay.d, name your script myscript.sh and place in sbin, run repackimg.sh and fastboot boot image-new.img


text:
Cannot install certificates. Error: "Private key required to install a certificate"
I am trying to download and install a certificate to use my workplace's wifi. I have a Pixel 2 running Android 11. I took these steps to install the certificate as intended: I Download the file, go through Settings > Security > Encryption & credentials > Install a certificate > Wifi certificate, and select the downloaded cert. This kicks me back a screen displaying a toast that reads "Private key required to install a certificate." I've contacted Google support on this issue, and this was their response:
Due to security vulnerability reasons, the option to bypass the CA Certificate validation for enterprise networks has been recently removed from Pixel. In this case, we'd recommend you to reach out to your local network administrator to explore the alternate options in connecting to their Wifi network. For more information please refer to this link https://source.android.com/security/bulletin/pixel/2020-12-01
I realize this may mean I'm out of luck, but still, I'd like to ask if anyone has any suggestions, workarounds, or suitable alternatives. I haven't asked a question on here before, so I hope I'm in the right place. Thank you for your help.

I think you have chose the wrong category. On Android a "Wifi certificate" is a certificate with private key used for WPA1/2/3 enterprise authentication by using a certificate (EAP-TLS). If you just want to install a trusted certificate without private key select "CA certificate". The newly installed root-CA certificate should then also be available in the Wifi WPA enterprise CA-cert settings.

Thank you for your comment. If I try to install the certificate as a CA certificate, I click "Install anyway" at the warning and select my certificate, but am met with the same error message.

In what file type did you got the "Wifi certificate" you are trying to install (crt/cer/der file or PEM file with text content)? Because CA certificate installation on Android 11 works, I have just tested it.

It's unedited name after the download is "https_interception_ca_certificate.crt".
I believe you, I've successfully installed them in the past as well. Recently resetting my wireless settings forced me to reinstall this certificate, but I am met with the above error.

The file name sounds not like a Wifi certificate for authentication, instead if seems to be an network interception certificate from a proxy. Even if you install it, it will only be valid for Chrome, apps ignore such installed certificates by default (-> no network connection for apps). CA certificates that are accepted by all apps can only be installed on rooted devices. https://stackoverflow.com/questions/62730978/some-androids-apps-wont-connect-through-fiddler/62731432#62731432

Ok, thank you, that looks like a really complete answer. I don't want to be picky, but at this point, even just being able to use Chrome would be great. Do you think there is there anything I can do to just get it installed?

As it is a public certificate there is no reason to keep the certificate secret. So if you could upload it somewhere we could check if the problem is the certificate. Because on my Pixel 3 running Android 11 (but not with the latest security updates) certificates can be installed without problems.

Though I am reasonably confident it's not the certificate, that would be great, thank you. How would you prefer I share it?

Certificates are so small, just upload it somewhere and post the link.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1N-aNvKeWIGKvf1DbJvM4WEVICCEyyp1H/view?usp=sharing

The file is a regular X.509 certificate just as you would expect. Could be really a bug in Android preventing the installation. Google in the last months is good in adding new bugs...

Yeah, that's what I was hoping to avoid, but if that's it then that's it. Thank you very much for your help, you've been kind and knowledgeable.


text:
Cannot write WhatsApp message directly from address book
I used to be able to see a contact in the address book (Contacts), and have an icon to jump straight to writing a message in WhatsApp.
Also, whenever I added a phone number for a contact, if that phone number was ok for receiving WhatsApp messages, the icon showed up after a few seconds. So this was also a quick way to check if a phone number that I added was good for receiving WhatsApp messages.
Now I don't see that anymore. Is there a way to recover that?
Using Android 12 in a Galaxy S10e.

it might be some integration issue. clear data/cache for both apps if you have backup on cloud for both apps. you can also try reinstalling the apps.

@MANI - Do you have android 12? Do you see that integration?

Yes, I have used all Android versions. Never faced this kind of issue. I'm using Google Phone app as of now. Did you try my suggestion?

@MANI - So far, I have cleared cache in both apps, and checked they have the required permissions. This didn't help. The two next steps 1) Clearing data, 2) Reinstalling apps, require more preparation, with a backup.
Many of my contacts are stored in the phone, so they are not backed up to my Google account (and I would rather keep it that way).


text:
How to fix Kali NetHunter app crashing every time?
Kali NetHunter app is crashing on a rooted Android. Root installed with Magisk and Kali NetHunter installed with nethunter-generic-arm64.
Phone details: Redmi Note 11 (MIUI 13 - Android version 11)
I'm opening the NetHunter app - it opens for first time - takes location & storage permission - it exits (closes app) automatically - till here is fine, everything goes as per many tutorials show - then after reopening, it asks for root permission - after giving root permission it again closes - then for the last time when we open the Kali NetHunter App (latest version - tested with both the APKs - one which gets per-installed while installing from Magisk and generic zip file & one downloaded and installed from NetHunter store) - it shows black screen and then exits after few seconds.
Someone have solution for this?
Here is a issue related to it, that I can relate or is same as mine a bit: Gitlab issues
(another issue - not so relatable but could help : not so helpful issue)
Update
OLD version (specifically v2019.1, Github repo) the NetHunter app is working - means not crashing (but not able to download chroot- says some Javax...SSl... error) - I haven't got any version from 2020 but after v2021.4 nothing is working.
Download Log

The first step in fixing a bug or bypassing the problem is understanding why and what happens. I would recommend to check logcat if you see an exception or a problem. One the the cause has been identified you can try to bypass the problem or open an Gitlab issue that has the chance of being fixed.

I have already created an issue on their official Gitlab repo, but don't have any response.
I'll surely check logcat and share the log here.

Without any debugging details the chance of your issue is very low that it will be resolved. Tom my experience issues without debugging details are mostly not resolved, unless some developer has very similar device and thus is able to reproduce the issue. So if you want the issue t be resolved you have to provide more detailed debugging info and logcat is the very basic information. As you have a rooted device logcat shouldn't be a problem for you.

Here is the logcat's log download file (size:8.62mb). The log is captured from the steps mentioned in problem description till last (apps crashes)

And how should we know when the error occurred? You have posted a logcat that covers a few weeks instead of just that part when the error occurred. Clear the logcat using logcat -c then start logcat, reproduce the error search the error in logcat based on the shown time and extract it and add it to your issue.

thanks to telling - I'm new to use logcat, here is the new log download link - one more update the OLD version (specifically v2019.1, github repo) the Nethunter app is working - means not crashing (but not able to download chroot- says some javax...SSl... error) - I haven't got any version from 2020 but after v2021.4 nothing is working!!\

The StackOverflowError starting at 64949 looks very strange. I would add the logcat starting with that line to your issue at Github. The rest is up to the Nethunter app developers.

I have created an issue on the gitlab - on official repo of nethunter app!
here is the link - redirect - you can also refer to this also other similar issue

Solution for this you may try this https://youtu.be/WQuGGlcuZa0

The issue was of permissions - to solve the issue, run the following commands in AndroidSU
pm grant com.offsec.nethunter android.permission.ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION

pm grant com.offsec.nethunter android.permission.ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION

pm grant com.offsec.nethunter android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE

pm grant com.offsec.nethunter android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE

pm grant com.offsec.nethunter com.offsec.nhterm.permission.RUN_SCRIPT

pm grant com.offsec.nethunter com.offsec.nhterm.permission.RUN_SCRIPT_SU

pm grant com.offsec.nethunter com.offsec.nhterm.permission.RUN_SCRIPT_NH

pm grant com.offsec.nethunter com.offsec.nhterm.permission.RUN_SCRIPT_NH_LOGIN

The above commands are given by developer of NetHunter App, @yesimxev. You can check the discussion on GitLab.
You can also check this video, Gdrive link, to see what was the problem.


text:
Lower the minimum brightness without third party apps
My default lowest brightness value is around 33. I can't go lower than that from the brightness slider. 33 is too bright for me. I want to take it even lower near 15. Although I can lower it to 15 by modifying the brightness file located in sys/class/backlight/ it is temporary. So I want an permanent solution like changing some values here and there. I don't want to use an third party app as they're inconvenient and create issues oftentimes.
I'm using Pocophone with a custom ROM Android 11. And I have Root access with Magisk 24. So I can do pretty much anything.

A Magisk module BrightHack OP7T would help you.

A simple Magisk module for lowering the minimum brightness

I'm assuming you know the basics.

Is it only for OnePlus device? Or the other devices are supported as well?

Should work on other devices as well, judging from the code.


text:
Unknown files inside the root folder, filename starting with ".reaper"
I previewed (not downloaded) by mistake today a malicious PDF on the Gmail app with Adobe Reader app, and I already inspected the phone for malware, uninstalled the Adobe Reader app in case it was exploited, removed all Gmail cache (including content from com.google.android.gm), reviewed the apps, etc.
But during this phone inspection, there are files in the root of my phone called:

.reaper_activate_file.txt with content {"is_reset":"1","time_stamp":"1649891130602"}
.reaper_action_file.txt with content 1649891130602
a file called .turing.dat

that I don't recognize.
I keep deleting these files and they keep showing up. I'm not sure if these files were there before or if they were generated after the incident today.
Has someone seen these files before? Is there any app that can show me which app generated these files?  If someone here is familiar with these 2 files and knows where they are coming from, please let me know.
Thanks!

Have the same 3 files on my Infinix Hot 10s / Android 11.
Plz keep me informed.


text:
Is it possible to use the built-in VPN client in the work profile?
As the title says, I'm looking for a way to set up the built-in VPN client to work with the work profile (under Shelter/Island). There's no separate Settings app in the work profile to allow that, or an option to specify the profile when adding a VPN configuration in the main settings app. Most online references to VPNs in the work profile mention third-party clients; however I need to connect to an L2TP/IPsec VPN, and AFAICT no such client exists.
Google's VPN documentation says you may need a separate VPN app "to run a separate VPN for the personal profile or work profile" - but I don't want that, I just want to run the one VPN, under the work profile. On a separate page describing the built-in client it says "you can make a VPN work only for apps associated with your work profile", but does not explain how, and I'm not finding such an option. Any help appreciated!


text:
Wi-Fi direct vs. Nearby Share
I wonder which is a faster way to share large files: Wi-Fi direct or Nearby Share.

Nearby Share uses Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy, WebRTC or peer-to-peer WiFi. For larger files I would expect that also Wifi is used, in such a case there should ne not much of a difference to Wifi direct.

Nearby Share uses Wifi for sharing files. So, it does not make much difference.

You should always use Nearby Share.
Nearby Share uses the fastest possible connection it can establish with both devices. If it is not possible to establish a stable or secure proprietary Wi-Fi Direct connection, then it may fall back to using Bluetooth only. That will always be a magnitude slower.

Nearby Share uses Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy, WebRTC, UWB, and peer-to-peer Wi-Fi to allow users to share files and links between devices. It was first released on August 4, 2020

Have you used the Nearby Share app on Windows?
I'm able to send a 1.2GB file from my phone to my PC at 60MB/s and I'm about thirty feet and four walls away.


text:
Device only boots to fastboot
After turning off the phone . I tried restart the device but it only boots to fastboot. I tried the volume up and power button one but it automatically boots to fastboot. I also tried flashing with MiFlash tool but I accidentally Flashed clean all and Lock after the flash the device booted to Fastboot mode again. Now if I try flashing it says error “not allowed in Locked state. Please help me fix it . Device name: Redmi Note 8 pro

try 'fastboot continue'

thanks for the help . It says "Failed (remote: not support on security) "

try to unlock bootloader from mtkclient https://www.droidwin.com/unlock-bootloader-on-mediatek-devices-using-mtkclient/

thanks I will let you know if it worked !! thank you

sorry it didn't work

copy-paste exact steps and terminal output of mtkclient into your question (windows mark with right mouse click and hit enter). (post formatting: type four leading spaces for lines of code, or use three \``` backticks markdown for code block)


text:
Where in the Play Store can I see reaction from an app developer
I recently sent private feedback to the developers of Microsoft Launcher (Beta), using the app's Feedback option (Options > Help and Feedback > Send feedback).
Now, a few days later, I got a notification from the Play Store that the developer responded, but I can't find the response anywhere. What I do see is this:

Open Play Store

Click on my profile picture, and select Offers and Notifications

Select the Notifications tab. There's one entry that says: Reaction from the developer on your review: View the response, and update your review for Microsoft Launcher:

Clicking on this entry opens the app's information page in the Play Store, but not my message, nor the developer's response.

Where can I find the developer's response? It seems to be integrated in Play Store?
This old question suggests that an email is sent, but I can't find anything (not in the spam folder either)
If it makes a difference, this is an old phone with Android 8.1

I found my own answer already. When using a newer phone with Android 11, I do see my own feedback and the developer's response.
Not even having Microsoft Launcher installed on that phone, I can search the Play Store for it, and on the app's information page (2nd screenshot in my question) I see the information I was looking for.


text:
chmod and chown silently fail in shell for TwinApps media directory
I think I have a similar issue to Can't use chmod to alter permissions on emulated phone but the emulation is happening on the android device itself via the TwinApps feature, which allows you to use multiple copies of an app that doesn't support multiple accounts (in this case, WhatsApp).
I would like to copy a photo to overwrite the profile photo of one of the accounts into the directory. Unfortunately trying to open the folder on the device itself or via adb, the app's folders in media are Permission Denied. No matter what I try I cannot get into the folder.
Here is interesting output of ls -la (I made a tmp folder which I was able to rm later)
total 6
drwx--S--- 2 u0_a228    media_rw 3452 2022-04-15 14:53 test
drwx--S--- 3 u2357_a228 media_rw 3452 2022-04-03 13:08 com.whatsapp

This 'u2357_a228' user is likely the emulated app user, and I have no idea how to become it to mess with the folder inside. Like I said, chmod and chown just fail silently.
Any tips on what I can do are appreciated.

android 11 scoped storage - use built-in file manager

@alecxs same issue even with built-in file manager. Shows up as an empty folder and that I have no permissions.

probably intended because you only have permissions for profile 0. can you login to another profile maybe? I am afraid there is no way to access


text:
Why aren't my images geotagged?
I have a Blackview A60Pro running Android 9.
Location is enabled (Settings -> Security & location -> Location is "On")
The Camera app has all the permissions it requests, including Location (both "access approximate location (network-based)" and "access precise location (GPS and network-based)")
Location is enabled in the Camera app settings.
I read this question and downloaded My GPS location to make sure I have a GPS fix before taking pictures.
But the resulting JPEG files don't have any location information in the EXIF data. What am I missing?

I don't know what Camera app the Blackview uses, but have you tried 3rd-party Camera apps? Also, is the Camera app shown on the history of recent access on the Location setting? I just tested Google Camera (not available on Play Store) on Pixel 3a and the GPS location is stored in the "Composite" section, "GPS Latitude/Longitude/Altitude" fields.

"have you tried 3rd-party Camera apps?" I've just downloaded Open Camera and it's recording GPS location!


text:
How can I open the power menu in Android without pressing the power button?
The power button on my Android phone is dodgy and doesn't always work. I think it's on its last legs so I want to avoid pressing it if possible to extend its lifespan!
I know nothing about coding or how Android works. But I was wondering if it is possible to send the button press event to the system using this sort of code somehow: KeyEvent#KEYCODE_POWER.
Is there a way I can open the power menu via the screen only? Is there something I can type into a terminal (how do you get a terminal in Android?) that would open the power menu?

I should note I'm using LineageOS and not rooted, but can root if that helps.

Go to Settings -> Accessibility -> Set Accessibility Menu to On.
Press the Accessibility Menu icon, you should see among the icons, one dedicated to Power.
Press it to show the Power menu.

Thank you for the answer but unfortunately I'm using LineageOS and the Accessibility Menu is missing, so this solution won't work for me. Is there another way?

@glauco You can install Android Accessibility Suite from the Play Store (just know that it is an app by Google). There are other possibilities to show the power menu, but they all require Accessibility service.

Note that now on LineageOS 14 (240205 build on Fairphone 4) the accessibility tab allows enabling the the accessibility meny which allows emulate a power button use.


text:
Can Sensors Off (developer options) be controlled via ADB?
Can Sensors Off (developer options) introduced in Android 10 be controlled via ADB?

Haven't got it from AOSP sources yet: Sensors Off | Android Open Source Project

Try calling setSensorPrivacy. Read here how to do this.

Ohh, I barely got there, @irfan-latif.
I used the service list command to get the existing list. Then when I call it with the command service call sensor_privacy 4 i32 1, it outputs the parcel result, as in the link below.
It seems, there is also something that must be given a value for it to run. However, I don't know how.
Photos:

.
.

Btw, specifically my device is running Android 12L, and I'm new to this. My B Markdown.

You are calling the wrong method. For Android 12 the code should be 7, not 4.

One number left below..
It's on 8th method. Now, it works!
Photos: service call sensor_privacy 8.
Take your point by answering. Thanks.

First of all, thanks to @irfan-latif for providing the right answer to this question in the comments column. But apparently, this will be allowed. So, I will help complete the answer.
On Android 10:
service call sensor_privacy 4 i32 1

service call sensor_privacy 4 i32 0

On Android 11:
service call sensor_privacy 4 i32 1

service call sensor_privacy 4 i32 0

On Android 12:
service call sensor_privacy 8 i32 1

service call sensor_privacy 8 i32 0

On Android 12L:
service call sensor_privacy 8 i32 1

service call sensor_privacy 8 i32 0

On Android 13:
service call sensor_privacy 9 i32 1

service call sensor_privacy 9 i32 0

Else, the above command does not produce anything, you can search for ISensorPrivacyManager Interface in Android Code Search according to the revised version of your Android device[2] (Hint: the number on the back is the revision number.). Then, change the sequence number of the Method in which setSensorPrivacy() resides.
[2]: getprop | grep ro.vendor_dlkm.build.id

The specific error I get is Result: Parcel(00000000    '....') Oneplus 5T, LineageOS 18.1 / Android 11. Both service call sensor_privacy 4 i32 1 and [...] 0 of course.

Yeah.. indeed the output of the both commands is Result: Parcel(00000000 '....'), and check the Sensors Off icon on the notification bar.
Else, you need to check the ISensorPrivacyManager Interface on your phone's Android version/revision to Android Code Search, or you can contact the developer of the ROM concerned for help. Because, this command is the basis of AOSP.


text:
Is there some way to move apps and settings from an Android phone to another?
Is there some way to move apps and settings from an Android phone to another?
I remember I could open Google Store in a webpage in computer, and then see what apps are installed on a phone, and request an app to be installed on another phone. Is it still possible? I can't find it in Google Store webpage any more.
Thanks.

app itself actually is only apk file - can be installed from google play. settings are phone specific and can't migrate. apps data depends on app + phone model. nowadays it's common OEMs provide D2D transfer apps 1, 2,

3, 4, 5, 6, 7

Thanks. @alecxs. Does D2D transfer app require to be installed on both phones? The source phone has Android too old and can't install some of the apps. Which tool(s) can I use for the source phone being Kyocera Hydro Icon, and the destination Moto G Pure?

I am not sure if it's possible to migrate such android version gap. surely it's not a straightforward process. maybe check if "backup user data" entry exist in recovery mode. otherwise you could root the device, or dump userdata from EDL mode. next you could try my script and see what's happen if restored to new device. another approach could be adb backup or google drive


text:
Facebook whitehat settings
I am trying to enable Facebook whitehat to test the Facebook Android app. I
went here:
https://facebook.com/whitehat/researcher-settings
I click "Enable the Whitehat Settings menu for your Facebook account". Then I
click "Facebook Lite for Android". Then I go here:
https://facebook.com/whitehat/researcher-settings/help
Under "Enable setting from Facebook on Android", it says go to the "Bookmark
menu". I don't know what that is, so I just click on the menu button on the top
right corner. Then I click Settings, then Privacy. On the next screen, I don't
see anything for Whitehat.

It seems the "Whitehat settings" option does not show up immediately, but after about one day upon enabling the option.


text:
How to install gapps on anbox for linux
I want to install gapps on Anbox. Below is a screenshot of Settings, about device.
I'm hoping to find out what version of gapps should be used.

Is your anbox a snap?

@karthiknair I run both  snap based and non snap based Anbox

You should be able to get the Androdi device info by executing adb shell getprop. As far as I know Anbox should be a fork of Android x86, so most likely is is an x86_64 or x86 platform.


text:
Can I recover data from overwritten file on Android?
I have a Samsung Galaxy S8+ on which I wrote a lot of text in a simple text editor app I got from the Google Play store. I saved this in a text file, and later, I used the Samsung My Files app to locate and open a different text file. I noticed at the time that two instances of the text editor were running. That seemed interesting but not like a problem.
But then I tried to open the first file to write more and found out the entire contents were replaced by the text from the second file. I did not backup the file before this happened, but the text it was replaced with is much smaller, so there could be chunks of original text remaining in freed sectors.
I installed a bunch of android data recovery applications on my Windows PC that said they could recover overwritten files, but I haven’t got one to show me either unused sector contents or deleted temp files from the text editor. Can anyone recommend recovery software or another method that might work?

If you had used Samsung Editor, there were some chance to restore it using Samsung backup but as you've used third party app Simple text Editor, unfortunately, it already have a few reviews mentioning the overwrite problem you've faced with no supporting reply from the dev. With that in mind, considering the restricted Storage access as Media Storage in Windows started with Android 6/7, Recovering files had become a very limited area, prior to that, the storage was available to be accessed like a Memory card/Pen Drive which was easy to recover.

For this, AFAIK and experienced, the typical Recovery software won't show this file as deleted or won't provide you the previous version of the same file currently over-written.

Does this answer your question? Can I access the Memo data without rooting?

Does this answer your question? Is it possible to recover deleted files without root on Android 12?

get (decrypted) block partition image and search for plain text in HxD editor

Thank you. I do not have Smart Switch installed, and I don't want to install anything on the phone in case it writes over the data I am trying to recover. Getting the block partition image hasn't worked (with adb) because the phone isn't rooted. I think rooting will be my next step.

Do not try to unlock bootloader! take some hours time and read careful each and every sublink you can find in depth starting from my link, before even think about trying to root. you should understand that there is no solution so far, you will be the very first..


text:
Is there a folder for local unix sockets under Android?
On a normal linux installation the right path for local sockets is /run as described in the FSH.
But this folder does not exist under Android. I have checked both an old and a new device.
There is the folder /dev/socket but it may only be used by the init process (as described here).
So I wonder what the right path is?

There's no concept of shared directories like /run, /tmp and /var on Android. Neither the IPC through UNIX sockets (with path) and named pipes etc. is the recommended way. Instead use Binder IPC.

@IrfanLatif Binder IPC is for system-level developement. I want to do IPC on app level (my process is running as root)...


text:
How can I transfer files between this phone and my laptop?
I connect my Moto G Pure phone to my laptop (running NixOS) using the charging cable of the phone, with the phone turned on and with it turned off. In both cases, the phone doesn't show up in the output of lsblk in my laptop, so I can't mount it. (In contrast, when I connect another Kyocera Android phone to my laptop, it is shown up in lsblk output.) How can I transfer files between the phone and my laptop, using USB connection?
When the phone is on, upon connecting it to my laptop, the phone notifies me "USB debugging connected: Tap to turn off USB debugging", and when I tap the notification, it says "Please enable developer options first". What does the phone mean by the two messages, and how shall I follow them?
Thanks.

Update:
I run SimpleSSHD app on the phone and connect to it from my laptop. I wonder where I can find the "Download" directory? It seems that I can only access directories and files within the working directory for SimpleSSHD.
$ ssh -p 2222 192.168.1.53
The authenticity of host '[192.168.1.53]:2222 ([192.168.1.53]:2222)' can't be established.
ED25519 key fingerprint is SHA256:/DnSdeb9tCgbi2sUD2M57HgZc8R0IDvRs8mWCG7ou/A.
This key is not known by any other names
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no/[fingerprint])? yes
Warning: Permanently added '[192.168.1.53]:2222' (ED25519) to the list of known hosts.
t@192.168.1.53's password:
:/data/user/0/org.galexander.sshd/files $ ls
dropbear.err  dropbear.pid  dropbear_ed25519_host_key
:/data/user/0/org.galexander.sshd/files $ cd ../
:/data/user/0/org.galexander.sshd $ cd ..
:/data/user/0 $ cd ..
:/data/user $ ls
ls: .: Permission denied
1|:/data/user $ sudo ls
sh: sudo: inaccessible or not found
127|:/data/user $ cd ..
:/data $ ls
ls: .: Permission denied
1|:/data $ ls /
ls: /: Permission denied
1|:/data $ su root
sh: su: inaccessible or not found
127|:/data $ cd user
:/data/user $ ls
ls: .: Permission denied
1|:/data/user $ cd 0
:/data/user/0 $ ls
ls: .: Permission denied
1|:/data/user/0 $ cd org.gal*
sh: cd: /data/user/0/org.gal*: No such file or directory
2|:/data/user/0 $ cd org.galexander.sshd                                                       :/data/user/0/org.galexander.sshd $ ls
cache  code_cache  files  lib  shared_prefs
:/data/user/0/org.galexander.sshd $ ls *
cache:

code_cache:

files:
dropbear.err  dropbear.pid  dropbear_ed25519_host_key

lib:
libbuffersu.so  librsync.so  libscp.so  libsftp-server.so  libsimplesshd-jni.so

shared_prefs:
org.galexander.sshd_preferences.xml

I also have permission problem to access the working directory of the sshd app using a terminal emulator on the phone
:/ $ cd /data/user/0/org.galexander.sshd/files
/system/bin/sh: cd: /data/user/0/org.galexander.sshd/files: Permission denied
2|:/ $ cd /data
:/data $ cd user
:/data/user $ ls
ls: .: Permission denied
1|:/data/user $ cd 0
:/data/user/0 $ ls
ls: .: Permission denied
1|:/data/user/0 $ cd org.galexander.sshd
/system/bin/sh: cd: /data/user/0/org.galexander.sshd: Permission denied
2|:/data/user/0 $

This is an answer to the Title (problem X), not the Body (problem Y), of the question.
You might consider installing SSHelper on your device.  This allows the usual scp and rsync commands to work, as well as providing a handy ssh console session.
It also allows you to do it all via wi-fi, without the physical USB connection.
See How to rsync to android - Ask Ubuntu.

Thanks. See my update. I don't have permission to access files and directories outside the working directory of the SSHD server app. I don't have this problem with a Kyocera Hydro Icon phone.


text:
Format SD card to be internal storage, restart phone, missing SD card?
I am running on Android 8.0.0 on a Motorola E5 Cruise, I tried to use my Motorola to format my SD card as internal storage, then I restart my phone and it says the SD card is missing when I have not removed it, and if I try to do any in phone troubleshooting that I know how to do the only option is to reformat the device again which then would defeat the purpose of why I'm trying to format it as internal storage, is there anything I can do?
I have access to a Linux PC to use for the purposes of reformatting should that be beneficial for this, but I would like to know a step-by-step, please.
I have no need to recover the data. I just want to use it as an internal SD, or if I need to get another SD to replace it but would want to know the exact parameters of any SD I would need to get so I don't waste my money.
The first image I expected before the restart, but the rest of the images are what happened afterwards.

what dialog says that? it's intended SD Card disappeared for the sake of becoming adoptable-storage (unsupported on Oreo FBE)

I will add attachments of images clarifying if I can figure out how

@alecxs I added images clarifying what I meant, clearly not what's supposed to happen

It seems like the issue ended up being the fact that the SD card had previously been used on a different device? When I bought a brand new SD card, same specs but different brand, I had absolutely no issue.
Must be UHS-1.


text:
How can I disable Google AMP in Google Search on Opera?
AMP creates some issues such as dark mode incompatibility on some websites. How can I disable Google AMP in Google Search on Opera?


text:
How can I get root or TWRP without being able to enter any recovery?
I have a phone running Android Marshmallow (6) and apps constantly crash. Most apps I would like to use do not support Android 6. I would like to update to a custom ROM or a newer version.

adb and fastboot work
fastboot mode and recovery mode do not work
the device does not have too

How can I proceed? I find it's sort of chicken and egg problem with no recovery and no root. To be clear, I can't even get into stock recovery. The phone is Xperia Z2. Flashtool works but I can't find any newer versions of FTF files.

Some of the steps may be relevant: {Root}{Sony Xperia Z2}{MM}{23.5.A.0.575} unlock bootloader, root and ROM flashing

read about FOTAkernel and get help on official support thread on xda-developers

There are constant notifications that an app has stopped working. Any idea how I can stop these so that it's easier to work on the phone to get root? I had to dirty flashing a FTF and think these errors happen because the version of Android is older and doesn't support them.

You can ignore those message or perform a factory reset. When unlocking the bootloader a factory reset will be performed anyway.

Is there a way to backup the apps and (more importantly) their data using adb without root?


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Speakerphone low volume on Samsung Galaxy S9 (software bug)
I have been using a Samsung S9 for the past three years. Recently there is a software bug that is causing a strange problem. The volume of the microphone at the top of the screen is really low for calls and audio messages. The speaker is still in perfect working condition. I tried testing the microphone by dialing the Samsung hardware test code *#0*#. For the test, the speaker is really loud and is in perfect working condition.
However, when we try to use the speaker for calls and audio messages, the volume is really low.  What is the reason for this? Is this planned obsolescence? Is there any way to fix this?
I plan to root the phone, use Busybox, and then increase the volume level of the microphone. Can anyone please help me with this?

I edited the tags, assuming this is about the microphone, not the speaker.

Sorry, I meant to say speaker

Did you recieve any software update(s) recently?

OP's follow-up question: Fix low earpiece volume on Samsung S9


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How to edit in directories like /system or /vendor?
I'm using LG V20 LOS 18.1. And trying to replace gps.conf from /vendor/etc folder to fix my gps using Root Explorer. I tried to set selinux mode to permissive as I remember worked for me earlier on other devices. Also, tried to type adb shell then su and mount -o rw,remount / using PC with the phone connected and I'm still getting an error: Operation failed! when trying to replace the file using Root Explorer. Any ideas how to solve it?

Check the mount command but I assume system and vendor are separate partitions so remounting the root partition doesn't make the writable, too. You can try to remount them separately to allow write. But please make sure to make a backup before messing up these partitions.

If I type mount -o rw,remount /system, it says 'system' not in /proc/mounts for some reason.

https://android.stackexchange.com/q/221947


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How to recover encrypted files from sdcard from phone with broken screen?
So I have a few problems with my Galaxy S9+ phone:

About a week ago, my old galaxy s9+ phone's screen started turning black right before the login screen.  I can see the Samsung and verizon splash screens, then mostly nothing but a few white lines at the top.  Since it was about time to upgrade, I went ahead and got a new s20 ultra.
The sdcard from it was encrypted and before I realized that, I used it in my new s20 phone, so it now has a few unencrypted files and lots of encrypted files - files and a bunch of other misc stuffs.
Using this YT video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoJt91zKOjE, I am able to boot the phone and mirror the screen to a monitor, but as soon as I login, I see the icon at the top of the screen showing that it is encrypting (or maybe re-encrypting) the sdcard, so I pulled it out as fast as possible.

All of the new files on the sdcard (from the new phone) are expendable.
How do I go about getting all of the "old" files off the sdcard?  Is the encryption process that starts when I boot the phone just encrypting the new files, or re-encrypting everything?

you can't get encryption key off device so your only chance is put SD Card back in S9+

Ok.  But what about the encryption process that starts as soon as th phone boots?  Is that double encrypting the already encrypted files? (is that even possible?)

I have heard FBE adoptable-storage is possible, but I don't find anything about this corner case behavior. usually adoptable-storage is FDE encrypted. In your case it's probably not about adoptable-storage at all, but Samsungs SD Card encryption feature - which does not decide about initial encryption itself. therefore my guess is what you see is resuming encryption (not  double encryption). make a 1:1 copy with dd and try


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gateway and dns in android
How to setup gateway and dns on android emulator correctly if my eth1 on emulator is connected to tap on host via:
emulator -dns-server 8.8.8.8 -selinux permissive -qemu -device virtio-net-pci,netdev=hn0 -netdev tap,id=hn0,ifname=tap0,script=no,downscript=no

and tap is connected to docker bridge on host :
bridge name bridge id       STP enabled interfaces
br-bf01bc4d9244     8000.0242c51c8c31   no      tap0
                            veth7b9d706

ip is brought up via link here
for now i have :
generic_car_x86_64:/ # getprop net.dns1
8.8.8.8
generic_car_x86_64:/ # getprop net.dns2
1.1.1.1
generic_car_x86_64:/ # ping 8.8.8.8
PING 8.8.8.8 (8.8.8.8) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=1 ttl=114 time=24.2 ms
64 bytes from 8.8.8.8: icmp_seq=2 ttl=114 time=62.3 ms
^C
--- 8.8.8.8 ping statistics ---
2 packets transmitted, 2 received, 0% packet loss, time 1001ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 24.216/43.299/62.382/19.083 ms
generic_car_x86_64:/ # ping 1.1.1.1
PING 1.1.1.1 (1.1.1.1) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 1.1.1.1: icmp_seq=1 ttl=58 time=11.0 ms
64 bytes from 1.1.1.1: icmp_seq=2 ttl=58 time=10.2 ms
^C
--- 1.1.1.1 ping statistics ---
2 packets transmitted, 2 received, 0% packet loss, time 1001ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 10.234/10.627/11.020/0.393 ms
generic_car_x86_64:/ # ping google.com
ping: unknown host google.com
2|generic_car_x86_64:/ #

how this is working????


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Should I migrate my data on my moto G7 power
I have a Motorola Moto G7 power. I just recently formatted my SD card to internal bc I needed the space but now my phone seems to be lagging bad and I see this migrate data thing but idk if I should do it or not. Can anyone help me please?

Does this answer your question? Can I control where apps are installed?


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Disable prompt when sending messages to shortcodes
I use Textra for my messaging, and am running Android 12 (kernel version 5.4.86) on my OnePlus 9 Pro. I interact with several services via shortcodes and know and trust them (and know I do not get charged for using them)... stuff like appointment confirmations from doctor's offices, etc. However, every time I try to respond to a message I get this annoying prompt:

Textra would like to send a message to XXXXXX.
 This may cause charges on your mobile account.
Cancel       Send

I recall getting something like that before, but I thought it'd had a "don't show this again" option -- which evidently no longer exists. Is there a way to make this prompt go away? Preferably I'd like it to just STFU altogether (I'm not going to text a shortcode I don't recognize, it's going straight to the blocklist) but if I can even get the message to go away on a per-shortcode basis that would be an improvement.

For reference this is in the US (I know SMS billing works differently in different countries)

Started getting the same thing on my OnePlus 8 after the recent upgrade to Android 12. The app (Google's) has full permissions to send SMS messages.

@Corrodias yes, I think it's an Android thing, thanks for noting that you are using a different app (Google Messages, vs Textra). It's really dumb that this can't be disabled, if I wanted my phone to babysit me I would've bought an iPhone


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How can I completely disable Low Memory Killer on Android 11?
I am currently using a Pixel 4a 5G, and despite it being an overpowered phone, I am never able to run an app, attend to the whims of life, and resume from where I left off, without Low Memory Killer (LMK) maliciously dropping my private browsing session (and no, the fix is not to stop private browsing, there's a reason I do this, and it's not girlfriend/super-cookie/ISP related).
I have tried everything to get LMK to mind its own business, including rooting, Memory Locker, I have even attempted enabling swap (through Terminal Emulator/other apps, to no avail), etc. Short of just switching to iPhone (any tips here? Does IOS have an annoying LMK, or is it balanced?) I would greatly appreciate any tips that will lead me to disabling this bad behaviour, before I end up destroying my overpriced phone.

Which web browser are you talking about? Why are you sure it is the Android memory management that kills the private browser session?

Because it has happened with all of the browsers that I have used: Brave, Firefox, Firefox Beta, Chrome, etc.

Unfortunately, it's too late, however, I did a lot of digging, and I found some article(s) on changing some of the LMK parameters: there is a file called /sys/module/lowmemorykiller/parameters/minfree which you can apparently tweak to fit your needs. You can set them like so: echo x1,x2,x3,x4,x5,x6 > /sys/module/lowmemorykiller/parameters/minfree, where x is the threshold you want, divided by the page size (4). More details at https://www.droidviews.com/tweak-android-low-memory-killer-needs/

@DevFunnie That seems like it would be a good self-answer. (Just one that doesn't work for me personally, I don't have /sys/module/lowmemorykiller.)


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Editing partition image
My Samsung phone lost its IMEI number. As far as i know it stored in /efs/sec_efs/SVC és !SVC files.
These files cannot be edited during running. My idea is that i "dd"-ed the efs partition to an image file, then i would edit these two text files, then restore the efs partition from the image with ODIN (It's similar to fastboot mode on other brands).
How can i edit the partition image file?

I wanted to mount the image file on the phone with ADB as a normal writeable partition, then edit the SVC files. But how can i mount it?
Mount the image file on Windows like CD/DVD/etc image files, then edit the text files. But how can i mount or edit the image file? Is there a working application for this?
There are lots of IMEI editor apps, but i can not trust these random apps from the net.
Any other idea to restore the IMEI?

(I know it's illegal to change IMEI. I don't want to change it, i want to restore the factory assigned IMEI.)

mount is a linux coreutil. use linux

Yes try mounting onto loop devices. A "dd-ed" partition image is different from a non dd-ed. Thats why its not recommended to magisk patch an extraxted partition image and flash it again. How about trying to get a new firmware and edit the new stock image.

PowerIso can open the Android image files.
https://www.poweriso.com/


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What is meant by "proportional" and "smearing" in batterystats
I want to analyze battery consumption of an app and ran:
> adb shell dumpsys batterystats > dump.txt

Within the filedump I found the section I am interested in:
  Estimated power use (mAh):
    Capacity: 3020, Typical: 3100, Computed drain: 1395, actual drain: 1510-1570
    Screen: 770 Excluded from smearing
    Uid u0a387: 364 ( wake=5.23 radio=0.0425 wifi=4.51 gps=349 sensor=4.88 ) Including smearing: 402 ( proportional=38.6 )
    Cell standby: 128 ( radio=128 ) Excluded from smearing
    Unaccounted: 115 ( ) Including smearing: 0 ( ) Excluded from smearing
    Uid u0a382: 40.6 ( wake=5.00 radio=1.40 wifi=34.2 ) Including smearing: 801 ( screen=684 proportional=76.9 )
    Idle: 27.4 Excluded from smearing
    Uid u0a83: 17.7 ( wake=0.240 radio=0.202 wifi=5.84 gps=2.33 sensor=9.06 ) Including smearing: 19.6 ( proportional=1.88 )
    Wifi: 10.0 ( wifi=10.0 ) Including smearing: 11.1 ( proportional=1.07 )
    ...

Each line contains info on "smearing", and if smearing is included part of this seems to be something called "proportional". These terms are not explained at all in the documentation.

Looks like the source code has some descriptions about them, though I haven't been able to really understand how they work.

@AndrewT. Looks like you are right, I'll update my answer

Thanks to @Andrew.T for pointing out the source code:

Smearing: Battery consumption which is shared with other components/processes is spread among apps. IFAIU there are two categories: "screen" and "proportional":

Screen: Smeared power from screen usage. Screen usage power is split and smeared among apps, based on activity time.
Proportional: Smeared power using proportional method. Power usage from hidden sippers is smeared to all apps proportionally (except for screen usage).

A "hidden sipper" is a source of battery usage which is one of IDLE, CELL, SCREEN, AMBIENT_DISPLAY, UNACCOUNTED, OVERCOUNTED or if it is a service or system app.
Proportional is then computed according to the following:
proportional power = hidden power * app power ratio
where "hidden power" is the power usage by hidden components(sippers), app power ratio the estimated power usage of a non-hidden sipper compared to the overall non-hidden sipper power usage.


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How do I make WhatsApp access contacts from a specific SIM?
I have two SIM cards, one personal and the other for business. I would like WhatsApp to use contacts in the SIM card that I use for business only rather than bringing all the contacts.
Is there a way to do so?

I dont think you can import the contacts from SIM.  Contacts are imported from your google account only.


text:
How to access sync'd Nextcloud files in termux
I am syncing files to my phone (Fairphone 4) with Nextcloud, and wish to access these files using termux. Currently access is denied, is there a way to set this up to work other than rooting the device or is that the way forward?

Unfortunately Termux cannot pass SAF-based storage access (like you would do with a file explorer by selecting - for example - a file using Google Drive app).
But there is an alternative : Rclone.
Rclone can give you access to many and many online drives (including NextCloud). It is only a command-line utility.
To install it in Termux, simply run pkg in rclone.
Then, you need to set the remotes (= online drives) you want : rclone config. See the docs to know how to add remotes correctly.
Say you now have a remote with the name "myRemote", you can do whatever you want :

Copy a file to current local directory in Termux : rclone copy myRemote:file2Copy.txt .
List the files on the remote : rclone ls myRemote:
Etc...

The only drawback, is that you can only access to rclone remotes using a terminal.
There is a way to mount rclone remotes on the device, but you need to be rooted. Check this great answer here if you are interested.


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GPT weird partitions, ROM dump problem, MTK phone
I used WWR MTK Tool and SP Flash Tool v5 to dump and analyze preloader and GPT from a new Oukitel K15 Pro phone with Android 11. Oukitel haven't posted the ROM for this model for some reason. Managed to read back the ROM with SP Flash tool, but resulting partitions have weird sizes, Boot.img being only 4 MB in size, Super partition only above 512 MB in size, UserData was almost 15 GB in size. Magisk doesn't recognize extracted/dumped boot.img as a legit file, throws error. This is one weirdo ROM if those values are correct. Super partition should contain system, product, and vendor, no? How could it be so small, and not 3-4 GB? Any help appreciated. Would want to root that sucker,maybe install a GSI, but it baffles me.]2]2

The small boot partition is most likely not boot.img but the bootloader. Have you checked where the different partitions are mounted at run-time (if the are mounted)?

probably your DA is not authorized so readback failed. use mtkclient

Must have been readback failure in SP Flash Tool. Thanks Alecxs for advice on using mtkclient. Worked perfectly. All partitions normal. Super is 4 GB, as expected, boot also normal. Rooting worked. Thanks for help, both of you.


text:
Google Pixel 2: Is it possible to verify that it cannot be OEM unlocked and why?
Background
Apparently, I have bought yet another brand new phone that is absolutely useless and has a value of zero.
It is a Google Pixel 2. I would like to OEM unlock it. This option is greyed out in settings -> system -> dev.options. Therefore neither bootloader nor recovery (nor anything else that would be in any way useful) are available. I can also not flash LineageOS and am stuck with what the ****** have provided for me in their boundless wisdom and unending benevolence.
It appears this is the case for many Google Pixel phones, see here, here, and here. It appears that some companies like Verizon routinely sell phones that are crippled in this way.
I understand that I have most likely wasted another bunch of money on this and will not be able to use this phone with Lineage. (And therefore I am not going to use it at all.)
Question
However, before I throw it away, I'd like to make sure that there is absolutely no way to get around the OEM lock and that I understand why. How can I do this?

Is there a way to verify positively that this phone cannot be OEM unlocked?
Is there a way to verify that it's perhaps one of the infamous Verizon ones that I didn't know about before I got this?
Is there another way to try to unlock this besides in the settings (see above) or via fastboot oem unlock?

Software
... is Android 10 from 2019, apparently. I know that this is old, but I do not care what software it has when I run it over with a steamroller.
Build number is something like QP**.******.004
Additional Information

Some people reported that factory resets work to enable the OEM unlock option. Factory reset (System -> Reser options -> Erase all data (factory reset)) changes nothing for me. This is unsurprising, since it was new.

Some people report that some Google Pixel Phones somehow come from Verizon (see here, here, and here); Verizon locks them and refuses to help unlocking them. Therefore, Google Pixel phones from Verizon seem to be unlockable (and as far as I am concerned unusable). I have not bought the phone from Verizon (at least not directly), I have never interacted with Verizon in any way (at least not directly), and I do not live in the US. I am therefore unsure this is actually a Verizon phone. Google's trademark obscurity, however, makes this very hard to know.

The greyed out OEM unlock option says "Connect to the internet or contact your carrier". This is a wrong and highly misleading error mesage. I assume this is a practical joke on the part of the ******* from Google. I am connected to the internet via Wifi and I do not have a carrier because I have not even a SIM in this device.

The first time the device is connected to the internet after each factory reset, I can actually switch the "OEM unlock" option. However, it doesn't actually unlock anything, it just pretends it does. After switching to fastboot mode, the device is still locked.
$ fastboot getvar unlocked
unlocked: no
$ fastboot getvar all
...
(bootloader) unlocked:no
...
$ fastboot oem device-info
(bootloader) Verity mode: true
(bootloader) Device unlocked: false
(bootloader) Device critical unlocked: true
...

There is also no integrity warning when the device reboots, and while the "OEM unlocking" switch can be switched (leading to the apparently usual confirmation dialogues), it always says "Allow the Bootloader to be Unlocked", while it should apparently say "bootloader is already unlocked".
Once I have actually tried to go into fastboot mode and do anything and then boot back into the "normal" Android ("normal" in quotation marks, cause this is about as normal as Kim Jong Un's Red Star OS), the option is greyed out again, not available any more, and says I should connect to the internet even though I am connected.

Of course:
FAILED (remote: 'Flashing Unlock is not allowed
')
fastboot: error: Command failed

(Yh, some programmer at Google or Verizon or whereever was too lazy to fix the newline in this stupid error message.)

Why would anyone end up in such a stupid situation, buying phones they cannot possibly use?
Well, I'd like LineageOS. Lineageos.org has a list of devices Lineage should work with, including Google Pixel 2. Unfortunately, for most of those, there are multiple versions. On many of these, in turn, you can, in fact, not install or run Lineage for various reasons. And as far as I can tell, it will be 100% impossible for you to know which one you get before you actually have it an try it directly. So we're stuck with wasting money.

Does this answer your question? Bootloader wont unlock on Google Pixel 2 (G011A)

@alecxs Thanks for your reply, the Google Support thread linked in that answer is helpful. I can confirm that my device behaves the same w.r.t. the get_unlock_ability setting. So would this answer my question as follows: No, it is impossible to know a phone is OEM-unlockable (cause Google wants it that way), but almost all Google Pixel devices (both those from Verizon, those from EE, and all those refurbished by Google) are, in fact, not unlockable?


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Settings app crash after Samsung update
Performed a software update today on my S22 Exynos (no root, stock firmware).
Update went smoothly, but now settings app won't open, instead crashing immediately.
Clearing cache partition did not fix it.
So I checked the logcat and I found this:
04-22 03:05:37.832 19859 19859 D AndroidRuntime: Shutting down VM
04-22 03:05:37.832 19859 19859 E AndroidRuntime: FATAL EXCEPTION: main
04-22 03:05:37.832 19859 19859 E AndroidRuntime: Process: com.android.settings, PID: 19859
04-22 03:05:37.832 19859 19859 E AndroidRuntime: java.lang.RuntimeException: Unable to start activity ComponentInfo{com.android.settings/com.android.settings.homepage.SettingsHomepageActivity}: android.view.InflateException: Binary XML file line #59 in com.android.settings:layout/sec_settings_base_layout: Could not inflate Behavior subclass androidx.coordinatorlayout.widget.Opacity

Full error stack trace.
This error seems different than presented by other similar questions, which involved missing packages. Right now I have no idea what to do with this information, but if anyone can help me avoid a hard reset I'd be very grateful.

backup your apps with D2D, adb backup or google drive, adb pull -a /sdcard pictures to PC and do factory reset


text:
Why my wireless debugging device permission keep revoking again and again?
I have enabled wireless debugging on my android phone and connected it with a linux machine. But after few minutes or hours i have to re-enable the wireless debugging to keep connected.
When running adb connect 192.168.1.11:5555 i am getting Device refused to connect error. So i have to connect my phone again with usb and give permission for wireless debugging. Which i am doing with below commands
adb tcpip 5555
adb connect 192.168.1.11:5555

I am on android 12 and arch linux. One more thing i want to share is, in wifi settings randomized mac-address is enabled, i have no idea if this is the reason or not.
If this is how wireless debugging works than is there a way to keep your device connected to adb with wireless-debugging without getting permissions provoked.

"randomized mac-address is enabled, i have no idea if this is the reason or not" - please rule this out first

@alecxs while going throgh developer options i found disable adb authorisation timeout according to it if not connected for a time period (default 7 days) permissions will be revoked. So maybe this is the reason.


text:
ZIP files with name "soda-en-US-v1001-1.zip" appearing on their own on Android 11
I have .ZIP files appearing on my Android 11 phone on their own. I don't know why they're there, and I don't know where they're coming from. Their located under Google, Download cache. 24 files named as follows:
soda-en-US-v1001-1.zip
All file names are the same except for the number at the end. All files are 50.05mb. If I try to open them, it says "unable to open archive. File is either corrupt or an unsupported format." I  didn't create these files, nor have I downloaded anything.
Why are these files being created on their own?

Looks like "soda" is a short-form of "Speech On-Device API" and related to Android on-device speech recognition. There's a similar discussion on Google Support (in Indonesian) mentioning to disable the Google app.

So, I went to Google settings-Voice-Offline Speech recognition and removed automatic downloads. Is this what is being referred to?

That suggestion was deemed as not working by the OP. Instead, it was suggested to also disable the Google app from the Android settings, and that's what the OP followed and deemed working. However, feel free to post an answer if either works well for you personally.

How, specifically, would I disable the Google app from the Android settings on my Android 11 phone?

Clarification - my Google app is always disabled because I never use Google. However, these files still show up. Are you referring to something other than what I'm thinking?

For me this approach worked: force stop download manager, then clear its data and cache, and then restart the phone.

The automatic downloading of soda-en-US-....zip files stopped when I deleted one of my old, useless Gmail accounts that I used to sign in to the Twitter website in old days. So when I deleted that Gmail account from my Android, the soda-en-US-v1001-1.zip file's downloading also stopped.
Also, I disabled automatic downloading in the Google setting account icon in the Google app - Settings - Voice - Offline speech recognition - Automatic download using WiFi - Off.


text:
Can I install an uncertified eSIM profile provisioned by myself on Android?
I would like to set up an SM-DP+ server to provision my own eSIM profiles. These usually get certified by GSMA and are used for large-scale Remote SIM Provisioning, but I would want to use this for home testing only, so getting official certification would be overkill.
I understand that I will need my own mobile network to work with it, which I also want to set up at home. My main concern is that either Android or the device manufacturers impose limitations that would only allow certified eSIM profiles to be installed on a device. I was thinking of using a Google Pixel 3A for testing, so I would be installing the eSIM profiles on this phone.
I also tried to find information on what's inside a SIM profile but there isn't much on the internet. I know it contains ISMI and some shared keys which it uses to connect to the MNOs network.
I would like to know what else is needed to create a functional eSIM profile and set up a server that provisions these to a Google Pixel 3A for a mock cellular network.

In the early 2000s, Chaos Computer Club described how to clone a SIM card (exploiting flaws in the reference implementation for the authentication algorithm, which carriers discontinued soon after, hence SIM cards issued from ca. 2002 on are not vulnerable). According to them, connecting to a GSM network requires the IMSI (subscriber ID) and the Ki (key). That presumably also goes for UMTS networks, but LTE may be different. (Basis for my suspicion: my oldest SIM in my collection, issued in 2000, works with 2G and 3G, but not with 4G.)

In order for your handset to establish secure communications with the SM-DP+ and then download and install a eSIM profile, the SM-DP+ will require 3 certificates signed by the GSMA's certificate issuer (DigiCert): DPtls (for initial contact), DPauth (for mutual authentication), and DPpb (for eSIM profile package binding).  Without these, the handset (actually the LPAd application and the eUICC) will refused to trust the SM-DP+.
The cost for the set of certificates is around $15k per year, and they can only be issued after a successful audit by the GSMA (which costs around a $20k).


text:
Upgrade Asus Zenfone 4 Z01KD to > 8 OS
As of September 2022, Slack will stop supporting the app for Android OS versions earlier than 9 (Pie). I have an Asus Zenfone 4 Z01KD mobile, stuck at Android 8. I have read suspicious guides online on how to download software updates of dubious origin to flash the upgrade "manually", or on how to get developer options activated and make the ZUI update recognize there is an actual update of the OS available. The latter don't work for me and the former look messy or dangerous.
Is it possible to safely upgrade a Zenfone 4 to OS later than 8? (There is no tag for #zenfone4, but only for #zenfone3 and #zenfone5).

Assuming that Z01KD is ZE554KL, perhaps as you know, there doesn't seem any official update to non-beta Android 9. This leaves the only option: custom ROM. However, searching a little bit about custom ROM for this specific model... doesn't seem promising at all.

@AndrewT. Thanks. Why do you say not promising ? (which by the way, is my same impression). Would you mind posting the least worst solution, just to have an available option to compare with?

Because I couldn't find any custom ROM for this specific model at all, even on XDA Forum (which is supposed to be the main hub for ROM developers). Either their community had a technical difficulty in developing one, or there's no interest in making one. Thus, my current answer as of now would be: there's no way to upgrade past Android 8, unless using an incomplete beta Android 9 is okay.

@AndrewT. thanks. What about Android 10 or 11?


text:
Disable Auto Updates for specific app on Fire TV
Is there a way to disable automatic updates for a specific app on a Fire TV device without disabling auto-update for all apps?
I have a specific app that I sideloaded an old version (but is also on the app store). I'm worried that if I have auto-update on it will update to the app store version. Optimally I'd like auto-updates on for all apps except for the one I sideloaded. Thanks!

Usually, this setting is on the App Store itself, like Google Play Store has "Enable auto update" setting on per-app entry.

I don't think such a setting exists for the Fire TV Store.


text:
Since when it is no longer possible to download APKs directly from Google Play?
As far as I could search on the site, this has always been the case. I could be totally wrong, but I remember being able to download directly from the "Android Market" back then (unless it was just my imagination).

I have been an Android user since 2013 (we are in 2022 now), and I know for sure that Play Store never provided a way to download APKs. It always installed the apps in the device.

Android Market was renamed to Play Store in March 2012, so your memories are pretty old if they are true (but there is at least one answer on the page you have linked from 2011 that also indicates that downloading is not possible without third party tools). I don't know when I started with Play Store but it was always pretty complicated to download APKs from it as it requires non-official tools that often stop working the next day.

I remember having a Galaxy S II at the time, where it has the bag log and it said "Market".

Yeah it was possible once upon a time, i was a really small kid back then but i remember doing it... vague memories, but yes.
Btw welcome back to the Android club.


text:
What version of Kiwi Browser can be installed on Android 5?
I have a Samsung SM-P905V tablet that is running Android 5.1.1. Nothing newer is available, and no one has figured out unlocking the bootloader to allow a custom ROM. I want to load Kiwi Browser and have tried to find an older version that will work.
From APKMirror I found com.kiwibrowser.browser_96.0.4664.46-466404611_minAPI21(x86)(nodpi)_apkmirror.com.apk. The page title is "Kiwi Browser - Fast & Quiet 96.0.4664.46 (x86) (Android 5.0+) Kiwi Browser - Fast & Quiet 96.0.4664.46 (x86) (Android 5.0+)". This fails installation - the message is "there was a problem parsing the package". I also tried to install kiwi-browser-99-0-4844-94.apk and get a similar error.
Is there any specific version that will work with Android 5.1.1?

Your main problem why you can't install the version com.kiwibrowser.browser_96.0.4664.46-466404611_minAPI21(x86)(nodpi)_apkmirror.com.apk is that this version is only for devices with x86 CPU.
But your tablet is an Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 that uses an Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 / Krait 400 CPU (ARMv7). Therefore when downloading an APK file from ApkMirror.com you have to select the armeabi-v7a variant (all the other variants like x86, x86_64 or arm64-v8a will not work on your device).
Note that using an outdated web browser is invitation for malicious sites to hack and infect your device. You should be really careful about which web site you look at when using such an outdated version.
So my recommendation would be to switch to a web browser that still supports Android 5.0 like Mozilla Firefox.

This version would work on your device
https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/geometry-ou/kiwi-browser-fast-quiet/kiwi-browser-fast-quiet-voavanga-release/kiwi-browser-fast-quiet-voavanga-android-apk-download/download/


text:
How do I turn on Carrier Location Services?
I have found a similar question about this, and it kind of makes me wonder what this service is. In the description it says you can turn it on and off in the apps if you look for Carrier Location Services. Now I had the request pop up after I updated to android 12. And after I denied the request on reflex I changed my mind and it seems like the app doesn't exist. Not even in the app store. What is that all about?
https://youtu.be/SLKc2DLNi4k
Not my video, but it shows the pop up and the text if you click on it.

Related: What is "Carrier Location Service"? (though not yet answered)

And after I denied the request on reflex I changed my mind and it seems like the app doesn't exist. Not even in the app store.

It is actually com.coloros.locationproxy. Now i do not know what it does but it is a system app found in Color OS,Realme UI, Funtouch OS, Oxygen OS (Color OS based versions), etc (basically OSs of brands under BBK Electronics)
Now if you want to re-enable it, go to settings> apps> list> check system apps> then search "carrier location services" or if not shown, use this app


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Why doesn't Monkey generate the same sequence of events?
I'm running stress tests on Android using Monkey to generate the workload. For the type of analysis I have to do, I need to generate the same sequence of events for each experiment. So, in every experiment, I always use the adb shell monkey command with the same seed. For instance:
while true; do

adb shell monkey -p com.android.chrome -s 1 --pct-appswitch 100 --ignore-crashes --ignore-timeouts --ignore-security-exceptions --monitor-native-crashes -v -v 1

sleep 1
adb shell monkey -p com.facebook.katana -s 1 --pct-appswitch 100 --ignore-crashes --ignore-timeouts --ignore-security-exceptions --monitor-native-crashes -v -v 1

sleep 1
adb shell monkey -p com.google.android.apps.maps -s 1 --pct-appswitch 100 --ignore-crashes --ignore-timeouts --ignore-security-exceptions --monitor-native-crashes -v -v 1

done

The applications I launch are ten in total. However, looking at the measurement data, it seems to me that the system is stressed differently with each run. In particular, I find that the average launch time of applications degrades to a different extent in each experiment. Is everything normal or is it possible that I am doing something wrong?
I realize that in different executions the system may respond differently. But by always setting the same seed (-s 1), shouldn't the extent of performance degradation be similar for each experiment?

Do you reset the app state of all involved apps every time (kill process and clear private app storage)? Because if the app start state is different then monkey may take a different path in each app. Also keep in mind that external factors like network delays can have an impact: If a network request takes a few milliseconds longer so the next monkey action is ignored

At the end of each experiment I do the Android reboot. It might not be enough? @Robert

Rebooting only kills the processes but leaves their app data so if an app saves internal state to app data and restores the state on next start you may get different results. So consider clearing app data using adb shell pm clear packageName

All right, thank you. One last thing. Should I clean only the apps that are part of my workload or would it be appropriate to clean others as well? @Robert