text:
Moving applications from the Internal Storage to my SD Card
How can I move applications from my internal storage on my Android 4.4.4 to my SD Card? I am trying to move Facebook to my SD Card so that I can update it.
Here is an image of the problem:

I have tried:

Rebooting the phone.
Removing the SD Card.
Unmounting the SD Card.

I don't have access to a Computer and Laptop.

The "Uninstall updates" and "Disable" buttons in your screenshot show that this app is installed in the system image: that is, it was pre-installed on the phone, not installed by the user. System apps can't be moved to the SD card.

Then how can I update them? Google Play says that I can't update them because of their default location.

Since this is your real problem, please ask a question about this. Give full details including the text of any error messages and what phone you have.

This is the question: Google Play won't allow me to update applications

i achieved that, with you diferent way, one was with the aplication ES File Explorer that allow you move files manually and it give to you more options that the configuration of the android, and the other way that i use was download a apk of the app i really dont know why with the apk app allow me to change the Location and with the official not.


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How can I flip or mirror the entire screen display (have root)
I have a rooted Android device and I want to see everything that is on the screen "reversed" or "flipped horizontally" basically so that if you viewed the screen in a mirror it would look correct (text legible as normal) but if you view it directly without the mirror it would look backwords (text running the wrong direction and flipped).
I found this page with people talking about a tablet that was malfunctioning in the manner that I am hoping to achieve, but there wasn't much info that would help me do this on purpose.
I'm hopping for some low level setting or flag somewhere on the system that I can change with root that will flip the whole display for me.

Can you tell us why do you want this? I mean, there may be a higher goal which you want to achieve through this , but can also be achieved another way.

I have a specialized screen but it's control board in it is currently a bit wonky atm and it mirrors the content just as I described. My intent is to mirror it again in the Android device that I am am driving content with so that it offsets the screen and displays normally. Obviously not ideal, but this would make it easier to use this screen while we wait for the fix to the control board.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Disable harmful app notification
A notification with a heading "Disable harmful app" from something that looks like Google Play (because of the logo). No amount of settings is making it go away

This can be removed in Google Settings.

Open Settings.
Select "Google" (if there is no "Google", open Google Settings from your launcher).
Select "Security".
Select "Google Play Protect".
Turn off "Scan device for security threats".

If you don't trust the app you could also uninstall it. Some root apps are flagged as malware (when they are not), but there are also real viruses for Android.

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


text:
What is the Difference Between an Android Phone and Android Tablet?
This is probably a dumb question, but I have never had a phone or tablet before.
So what is the difference between a tablet and phone?
From what I can see the tablets do not come with the monthly data plans (so are cheaper).

But is there a sim card slot in a tablet if you want one?
Do all tablets have WiFi so I can link to my home broadband router. (I found out today that phones do - that shows you how green I am.)
Do they all come with a usb slot?
Can tablets and phones both do Google Play?

From what I can tell the APK files will work on phones and tablets (provided the apk can cope with the different screen resolutions).
Is there any difference?

Size is the main difference. Mobiles fit into your pocket while tablets don't. As a general rule, you can do everything that you can on a tablet which you can do on a phone (camera is noticeably low end on tablet). But for all the features you need on a phone you would need to spend more. Define your need and Google

The ability to make a phone call is the main difference and I'm not talking VoIP. You won't find anyone using a tablet to make phone calls.

Questions that ask several other questions aren't the best format for Stack Exchange, but I'll answer these anyway.

But is there a sim card slot in a tablet if you want one?

Depends on the model. Some do, but these are obviously used for just data and this can be used for internet access when outside of a Wi-Fi zone. Many mobile networks provide data-only SIM cards that are just used for internet which are perfect for tablets, but if you get a full SIM, with texting and calling, you'll be able to text but have a difficult time with making calls (I don't think most tablets even come with a dialer app?)

Do all tablets have WiFi so I can link to my home broadband router. (I found out today that phones do - that shows you how green I am.)

I think it's safe to say that all tablets aimed towards the average consumer have Wi-Fi built into them. ;^)
Just read the specs of the tablet before you buy it and you'll be fine.

Do they all come with a usb slot?

Again, it depends on the model, but all have some way to connect them to a charger. Micro-USB and USB Type-C ports are commonplace nowadays.

Can tablets and phones both do Google Play?

Yes assuming that the manufacturer installs it in the first place. The only time you'll not find it is on Amazon Fire devices, specialist devices, and in countries which prohibit Google Play due to laws or whatever. There are ways to install Google Play yourself though.


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Downloaded photos from Samsung Galaxy S7 are corrupted on PC but viewed OK from Android Gallery after the internal storage got full
I have a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge on Android 6.0. I usually take videos and photos and then get a message from the Camera app that I can't use the app anymore since my phone memory/RAM is full. I usually connect the phone to a PC and then download and delete the photos from the phone, and it's back running fine. The last time when it was full, I noticed it was going to take forever to transfer.
I checked the phone's DCIM Camera folder and noticed some 8GB JPEG images. Strange, and I thought they were created while I was "shooting video" and the phone may have been low on space already, and I was hitting that PHOTO button during video shooting to also get some photos during the video shooting.
Interestingly, in the Windows folder preview, I could even see a small "preview" of the actual JPEG image even though it was 8GB in size supposedly, but I could not "open it", may have complained of RAM or some other issue can't remember.
I also noticed there were some files that had corrupted file names like: 2018Ȱ620_160140, basically after the "2018", some kind of strange mark above O.
The issue/complaint is, well I can't really remember for "sure" if even the 8GB file photos displayed perfectly fine on my phone, but all the others that I at least know for sure looked all great on the phone but were corrupt if I tried to view them on my computer. It didn't matter if I viewed the version I copied to my computer, or if I viewed it on PC directly from my phone.
The phone does not use any SD card, only the built-in RAM/memory it came with, etc.
I just retried everything with a different USB cable, no difference. I had also rebooted the phone in case anyone wondered, made no difference.
Why are my photos all being corrupted when I transfer/copy them to my computer?

It seems an issue with the USB port on my computer corrupting the data.
I can see the photos just fine from another computer, and after I transferred/copied some over USB, I can also open them up fine on the computer.

Did you conclude this was the problem?  If so, can you mark your own answer as accepted?


text:
How can i safely clean up my phone for selling
I am getting rid of my Samsung S 8 and need to reset to factory settingsHowever in the list of personal it tells me i am signed in to  yahoo  amongst others .Are my emails safe if Yahoo and others when i hit reset

Make sure you don't forget to remove your accounts, especially the Google account, before you reset the device for selling. Otherwise the buyer runs into FRP (Factory Reset Protection) and would require your account data to be able to use the device. // A factory reset wouldn't touh what's not on the device. But whether mails are safe with Yahoo is a completely different story, with the amount of data breaches they had already I'd rather not store mine there …

If you mean to ask: "Are [your] emails safe if Yahoo and others [are deleted] when [you] hit reset?"
Then the answer to your question is yes, absolutely. Your phone simply acts as a medium between the email app (Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, etc.) and where your emails are actually stored (in the respective apps' servers).
Using your example: Your Yahoo account, and all of the emails for it, are all part of Yahoo's servers. Deleting your Yahoo account off of your phone will make no difference to the account or emails still contained in Yahoo's servers. You would have to use a Desktop browser and log in to your Yahoo account, then find the option to delete your account, and explicitly click that option - if you were trying to delete your account.
So yes, you have nothing to fear by factory resetting your phone in terms of keeping your account and emails safe.


text:
How can I see my notifications only every hour?
Let me apologize in advance for the bad title, but I didn't quite know how to describe it. What I want is a way for my phone to only show me the notifications from time to time instead of showing them to me as soon as they pop up.
So instead of showing me the notifications from every app as soon as they appear (which is the default) I want a way for Android to keep them hidden and just show, for example, all the notifications for the last hour at once. Then an hour from then it would show me all the notification from that hour, and so on.
I have looked at ways to do this using Android settings itself and I've looked for apps that do that, but no luck. Is there a way to do such a thing?
Thank you.


text:
How to know when my smartphone is EOL?
Long story short, I have been under the impression that my Samsung Galaxy S5 had still been receiving security updates even though I was aware it wouldn't be getting any major Android updates. One Google search later, I found out that this is not the case. After some reading, I went on Samsung's page and found a list displaying what Samsung apparently plans to keep updates for.
What I don't understand is why I'm not being told that my phone is effectively a legacy device and is not being supported anymore. It's one thing to lose out on Android updates, but it's another thing to be missing critical security updates. All vendors should be sending out some kind of message to outdated/unsupported phones, otherwise everyone will be under the stupid impression that they can keep the same phone forever and still be secure.
Is there some way to find out when my particular smartphone vendor effectively stops pushing out updates for a particular phone? There's got to be something better than checking their crumby website every now and then. Any leads?

If you are in the United States, unfortunately you are stuck with checking vendor website occasionally. Any automated notification of 'EOL'  is at the discretion of the handset maker or carrier who don't want the added customer support expense when grandma sees the EOL  message. See Why is Android Update story so bad for details on updates.

Usually manufactureres/vendors stop supporting devices after max 18 month, some keep flagships updated for 2 to 3 years. It would be a very rare case where a device receives longer official support – so the user should rather expect to receive no more updates after ~2 years (warranty end). To keep it up-to-date afterwards, watching out for custom ROMs is the only way.

The only way easy way to have an Android phone with current software is to buy from one of the 4 companies (Google, Honor/Huawei, OnePlus, Xiaomi) that bother to keep older devices up to date (though all but Google tend to be a few months late);

XDA - Here's a list of Android devices updated with Project Treble support

so that the OS will notify you of updates when they are available.
You can double-check by cross-referencing the kernel version and Android security patch level with

The Linux Kernel Archives
Android Security Bulletins

LineageOS is a nice alternative for unsupported phones, but is not without issues;

LineageOS CVE Checklist

Google explicitly stated that they will only support their devices for at least 2 years (3 years for the recent Pixel 2 & 3), no guarantee after that.

@AndrewT A 3+ year promise is a lot better than the nothing from Samsung etc.

Note that the 4 year old Nexus 5X is still getting updates.

As of October 2023, some Google Nexus devices and all Google Pixel devices tell the user if their device is already EOL when they try to check for OS updates:
As documented in It's Time to Retire Your Unsupported Things,

[...] as of October 15, 2019, you might see a screen such as the following when checking for OS updates on some unsupported Google Nexus devices, such as the Nexus 5X:

On Pixel 3a:

Regular updates have ended for this device
Android version: 12
Android security update: May 5, 2022
 Your device will no longer receive regularly scheduled system updates and security updates.
Your Pixel 3a is running the last version of Android available on this device.
Learn more

As for other manufacturers, as mentioned in the previous link, there is not yet a notification or even a statement directly on the device.

I have been using a smartphone since 2011, and I can say that I've never been pushed a warning when the device software has reached EOL from the vendor. That goes for both Android [...]

I'm afraid users still have to check for external sources, e.g. official sites, aggregator info, 3rd-party apps, etc.


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Copy all URLs of all tabs simultaneously
I have a Samsung mobile.
I am using Google Chrome on Android.
I have opened more than 20 tabs in past 20 days.
Now, I want to copy and store all the URLs (website links) of all the opened tabs in a text format in mobile (memo)  or email all the URLs combined before closing all the tabs.
How can I do it on mobile?

Dupe of How can I export the list of open Chrome tabs?. Note that there are only a few solutions (and need root access) for doing it from mobile directly.

Sync the open tabs in Chrome for Android with Chrome for PC. Once the sync is completed you would see the opened tabs of your Android under History section (click Tabs from Other Devices in left panel) in your Chrome for PC. Thereafter, click the three dots line in the upper right panel, choose Open all. Make sure to close other tabs in your Chrome for PC.
Next, install OneTab extension. Click its icon in toolbar, and it would reduce all the opened tabs into a single tab by providing hyperlinks to the recently closed tabs. You can export the URLs from Import/Export URL option in the right panel of that tab.

Sir , i want solution for Mobile Phone . I am using Chrome in Mobile Phone Samsung (not PC). I need a text file in mobile or email having all the opened tabs urls in it .

Yes, I have given a solution for the mobile phone. You would need a PC for that.


text:
Google Play won't allow me to update applications
Google Play will not allow me to update my Facebook Application. It keeps saying that I can't update Facebook because of its default location.
[1]
My phone is an Android 4.4.4, Gualcomm® snapdragon

I have looked at the link that @SSS has directed me too, but it doesn't help. If I go to Settings->Storage, I don't see Set SD Card as default.
My phone's model number is MTN-8978P and it is an Android 4.4.4.

Does your phone have an SD card slot?

Yes. With an SD Card. 8GB. @SSS

What's the phone model? On googling the error I found this. Try if the solution works.

@SSS I have edited the question.

Can you try the following: remove SD card, restart phone, update app and reinsert card again. Remember to eject SD safely from storage settings.

@SSS. I tried it but it still didn't work. I got Error code: -20.  My Chrome is version 23.0.2.

Have you tried the following: clear data of play store, or remove google account from settings -> accounts and re-add it. If absolutely nothing works, go to https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/facebook-2/facebook/facebook-180-0-0-35-82-release/ and get the appropriate facebook version. Also are you sure you chrome is verwsion 23??? That's 5 years old maybe? You desperately need to update it.


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Honor 7 boot loop after changing display+frame
A few weeks ago, my friend's Honor 7 display cracked. So I ordered a new display+frame from "Ali" as I already have done a few times before. After transferring all the hardware to the new frame and connecting everything as it was before, two issues arose:

The battery seems dead. When plugged into a charger, the battery does not charge. But I found a useful thread which might work, so this is not the main issue.

The more pressing issue is:

The phone enters a boot loop when powered up (it does not matter if I power it up with or without a battery). SD card and SIM card are not in the phone when powering up. The boot loop consists of a short vibration and then showing the first screen "Honor - powered by android", then going dark and starting over. It is to be noted that no rooting or flashing was done to this phone.

I already tried the old display again but now the same issue arises there too. It can only enter "Fastboot mode" not "Huawei eRecovery". When trying to enter "Huawei eRecovery", it just vibrates really short and then does nothing.
Since the phone is still locked and I can't power it up, my hands are kinda tied up. Any advice would be great. Even if it is just telling me that nothing can be done here.

You should take the phone to a repair shop and explain the situation to them. Most likely a physical component is damaged or not connected, and the bootloop is caused when Android first tries to initialize or use that component. If recovery has the same problem, but fastboot mode doesn't, that narrows the problem down to a component that's initialized by the recovery image, but isn't by the bootloader. It could be as simple as that some RAM or storage, but not all of it, is damaged. This damage could be permanent or could just be a faulty connection. Possibly it was caused by the same physical stress that broke the display in the first place.

The phone worked fine after the display broke so I guess I damaged a component when installing it into a new frame. Thank you for you answer!


text:
No "Use system certificates" when trying to connect to WiFi
I am having a problem connecting to my university Eduroam WiFi.
If I understand correctly, in CA certificate I am supposed to select CA certificate if it is there or Use system certificate and input my university domain.
But, I only have: Select certificate or Don't validate. And if I click Select certificate, nothing is changing, there is not a Domain field appearing like I think it should (and where I could the domain name) (see screenshot).

Can you help?

https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/162927/how-to-connect-to-peap-mschapv2-wi-fi-using-system-certificates-in-android-7-1-n

I solved this problem at my university (not Eduroam) by installing a CA certificate in Android (8). It then becomes a choice in the CA Certificate menu and you can sign in.
Hopefully, you can find out from the IT people where is the CA Certificate to download to your Android.
I think choosing "Don't validate" is unwise, and that's actually what many university IT web sites advise (Google finds the instructions easily).
Edit: for Eduroam, there's an app that reportedly solves the problem for Android 8.

The CA certificate you installed came from the university, right?  How did you get it?

@endolith That's a funny question. I actually obtained it by seeing how my Windows 10 PC connected to the WiFi (I exported the same certificate it downloads somehow). But you're right - the IT people from the university should provide it to you. Some universities feel that is a security risk to provide it (?). Maybe others have no clue it even exists because they paid consultants to set up their Wifi and it "just works." At my university, the attitude with Android requiring pre-installed certificates is "this is a problem with your phone, not our servers."

I actually need the certificate for my ISP's Wi-Fi nodes, but they also have no clue it even exists...  Quote from their tech support: "you need to contact the manufacture of the phone so they can assist you on how to get access to this certificates."

@Fuhrmanator Do you have a link how to do that export frim windows?

@lucidbrot sadly I don't. I managed to do it on a new windows 10 system that had not connected to the school's wifi and then I exported the certificate.https://www.top-password.com/blog/view-installed-certificates-in-windows-10-8-7/ I suppose you could also create a new user on the Windows system and view the added certificate that way?

@lucidbrot if that link works for you, let me know and I will add it to the answer.

@Fuhrmanator I hope I will find time to try it out before the semester kicks in. But yes, if it works I will let you know

For Eduroam specifically, there seems to be a CA Certificate installer available for many operating systems to be found at cat.eduroam.org.
It is specific to your Institution and features Linux, Windows, Mac OS, Android, ChromeOS and iOS.


text:
How to automate actions in certain apps?
I have a Note 5 running Android 7.0. I use an app to get scheduled for work. Is there any app that could automate my scheduling in the app? Getting schedule is very hard if I do it manually by updating the screen manually for 30 minutes at least. I checked Automate and MacroDroid but could not find any actions that would control third party apps. If no app is available, is there examples of a Java code to see how controlling on Android works. I could modify the code for my use case. Thanks!

You might want to explain where the schedule is coming from (csv file, different app), as automated 'manual' re-entry is only slightly better than physically typing. Also mention if you are using a cloud calendar provider (Google Calendar/Microsoft Outlook, etc.)

Hi. This is an app as you can see on the screenshot. When I click that 'update schedule' button, it shows hours with + sign. If there is no + sign, it means that hour is scheduled for someone else. It does not download any file nor uses calendar. It has only internet connection. The only way I can think of would be emitating my clicking of buttons with a script or code.

You can look into AutoInput. https://lifehacker.com/autoinput-for-tasker-automates-any-ui-interaction-for-t-1646593876 I have not tried it but read a lot that it can automate UI interaction.

Automate has two Interact blocks for simulating touch actions within other apps. If the other app doesn't support automation, that the only way.

Firelord and ballzak, thanks! That was the solution!

By default regular Apps can't control other apps.
There are two exceptions:

If the app is a system app (signed with the same cryptographic key that was used to sign the OS itself)
An app can request access to the "accessibility services". Using this service  an app can interact with other apps.

Note that Google is currently (mid 2018) restricting the accessibility service usage. Only apps that use it for legitimate purposes are allowed (helping disabled people to use an Android phone. As you can imagine controlling third party apps is not a legitimate purpose for Google's perspective.

So, then, is there a possibility to create a script or code that would emulate touching the screen as if it was human input but automated?

Tasker can do that

Automate can do that, use the Interact blocks.


text:
Reanchor keyboard
I somehow caused my android keyboard to float on the screen, and also to be a bit smaller, instead of being anchored at the bottom.  How do I anchor it again?  Thanks

What keyboard are you using, and on what device? I can't envision a tear-away keyboard on a phone, so probably a tablet.

Samsung S7 using android operating system.  I now know the answer:  Press the microphone icon and then the keyboard icon that appears.


text:
Getting "Unfortunately, the process com.android.phone has stopped" on Yuntab K17 tablet
My daughter has a Yuntab K17 tablet with Android OS 5.1, all of a sudden started popping the error message:

Unfortunately, the process com.android.phone has stopped.

This tablet has a place to insert two SIM cards, however, we've never done that. It's strictly used by her for light gaming and watching videos on YouTube. She was watching a YouTube video when the error message first appeared. She hadn't installed anything new on the tablet in several days. As soon as you hit the "OK" button on the error message, it immediately reappears.
I've spent a combined 6 hours wading through countless articles on the web trying to find a solution and have yet to come across one that works:

I wiped the cache partition
I've done the factory reset multiple times after backing up all her files on an SD card. I'm assuming doing the factory reset would negate the need to clear caches and data of the various apps (phone, SIM toolkit, etc) which I've seen suggested
I've turned off auto update timezone, and switched it to 24-hour time format
I performed the root recovery check (before and after the factory reset) and it said (both times): "Error: found 1 modified files system check FAIL!!"

and done just about every other thing I've seen in multiple articles and help threads. As I said, ABSOLUTELY none of the suggestions I've read have worked.
I'll include the info below in case it is helpful somehow. I am admittedly an extreme novice when it comes to anything other than basic usage of the Android operating systems:
About Tablet info: Android version 5.1
Android security patch level: 2017-03-05
Baseband version: unknown
Kernel version: 3.1.72+ BUILDSERVER@BUILDSERVER6 #1 Tue Jul 11 18 18:04 CST 2017
Build number: k17 vkb0433_20170711 Custom
Build version: vkb0433

First method involves clearing cache of Phone Dialer and Contacts app, then rebooting your tablet. This fixed the problem for me too. If this fails, try the second method which involves flashing the Stock ROM. You can find it through Google using your phone's model number, and you can also see tutorials on YouTube as to how to flash that ROM in your tablet, and XDA Developers gives you best solution.
If none of the method works, send your tablet to your OEM's service center but your tablet should not be rooted when sending to their service center because rooting voids the warranty and the personnel at the service center would be unable to flash or fix the problems.

Thank you for taking the time to make some suggestions. I'm currently trying to figure out how to flash the stock rom for this tablet. I'm not having much luck, but I've also not had a lot of time in the past few days to devote to messing with this issue.

An idea is to disable the current Phone app.
I'm supposing here you can handle ADB commands safely. If you have any queries, you can ask, don't end up bricking your device.

From the command prompt, type
adb shell
su

(not sure if your device is rooted, but it is required. Look up for rooting guides)
To confirm the package name, type
pm list packages  | grep 'phone'

which package:com.android.phone should appear
To disable it, type
pm disable package:com.android.phone

If it was a success, type
pm list packages d

and check if package:com.android.phone is listed
Reboot your device and install Google's Phone app from your favourite app store.

Let me know if there are any issues.


text:
Can I find lost phone with power off? How to take back data from lost phone?

My Asus Zenfone5 lost 2 dsys ago, I can't find it beacuse its power off. So I was wondering if there is any software I can turn it on without installed any apps on it before. If not i can only buy a new one.
I know I can redownload apps by google, but I can't find my photos in google+. I'm not sure did I backup or sync them to somewhere else and don't know how to find it. Is there any way I can find out?

Afraid you need to buy a new one. Chances to find it are little, unless you know where you lost it or it's a narrow area. No "remote power-on" – for on what should that react if it's not powered already? 2) If you didn't make backups, you'll have nothing to restore from, sorry. I don't use Google Apps for that (I always backup to my own computers, not to "other people's computers" aka Cloud), so I cannot tell you where to look; but I'd start with Google Drive, which is where most of those backups go to.

As Izzy said, you are out of luck, 2) Login to the same Google account you had on your phone and go to https://photos.google.com for your picture and video backups to see if they exist. You can also go to https://myaccount.google.com/dashboard and open the Android tile and if there is a Backup, click that link which will take you to the Google Drive file, double clicking that will tell you (vaguely) what it contains, typically call history, apps (and their configuration settings, not the actual data), and system settings like wallpaper and WiFi passwords. If it's not there, it's gone.

Thanks for suggests. So if I can't find my picture in Google photo that means I didn't Backup and can not find it in dashboard's Backup right? I stored some of them in SD card on that phone.


text:
Reduce space between icons on home screen without changing icon size
I would like to reduce the space between the app-icons on my home screen without changing their size, so that I could fit more icons on one screen. The size of text or buttons in menus should not be affected.
I‘m using Android 7.1 (with LineageOS 14.1) and a solution with adb would be ok.
The „Home Screen Settings“ give me the opportunity to turn off icon labels and I can modify the “Grid size” to from “Comfortable” to “Cozy” or “Condensed”, but that does reduce the icon’s size.
I tried changing the screen resolution:
adb shell wm size 1080x1920

as well as changing the density:
adb shell wm density 250

but both changes the size of the icons.
I attached a screenshot to illustrate how much space there would actually be left on the screen for more icons.

Thank you for any suggestions!

Reducing the gap also reduces the sizes. If you are using the default launcher Trebuchet, you should also see Custom in the Grid Size settings. Clicking it allow to set the number of icons per columns and rows. Select a high number for colums and rows.

Confirm your choice, then go back to the Home screen and rearrange the icons. You will be able to fit as many icons as you selected in the settings. The gap between them will be reduced.

If 7x7 is not enough, you can use other launchers. Nova launcher for example allow a 12x12 grid.
Note: I am not related to Trebuchet nor Nova launchers developers.


text:
Notification images appear in Google Photos backup
Why are images that appear in my notifications starting to appear in my Google Photos? How do I stop it?

Can you open the Photos app and go to Settings - Backup & Sync, then Device Folders and check what is ticked? What app is putting images in your notifications, that app's folder is likely being backed up or you set that app to save it's images to a folder that is being backed up.

Many apps are starting to put pics in the notifications, Groupon, Reddit, Trulia, etc. For backup I only have Photos selected, nothing for any apps. I don't think the notification photos are stored on the device because when I open Device Folders in the Photos app I don't see the pics in any folder.

Gotcha... So in Photo, tap one of these pictures to view it, then press the 3-dot menu button and select Info, that should show you where the file is stored. Photo is a Gallery replacement, it will display pictures from any folder that does not contain the empty file .nomedia in it. Are they being backed up as well?

Yeah this kind-of confirms what I was thinking. Pictures that are stored on my phone do show the path to the folder. The pics are not on the phone (stored in the cloud) only have the file name. These pics that came from notifications only have the file name, so they are not stored on the phone. No, the only pics being backed up are the photos I take and these notification images.


text:
Add swap support to Android
I own Samsung Galaxy GT-i9082, Trust me, its really very slow due to its low RAM i.e 1GB only. I have Installed Custom ROM of Lineage OS From XDA but it still doesn't supports swapping which is the only way to increase my SMARTphone's RAM. How can I add Swap support to my Kernel? I am really a new born baby in android and don't know much about it.

Swap in Android requires special kernel support... to my knowledge there is no stock based custom kernel pre-built with swap support for your device. You can see if your kernel, or any kernel for that matter, has swap support by opening a terminal (via Termux or other terminal application) and entering the following command:
cat /proc/cpuinfo
And look at the Features line in the output for swp or swap, if one of those occurs and you are rooted, then you maybe able to use swap space. - Source
Building a kernel yourself with this support is outside the scope of Android Authority, if you wish to pursue this option I would suggest using a dedicated forum for this type of thing such as XDA's Galaxy Grand Duos Development forum for more information.
That said, there is one custom ROM I am aware of which has swap support built in called Viper OS, more information on this ROM is available in it's official support thread on XDA Developers.
Be aware there are custom kernels that support zRAM, or compressed RAM, which might be sufficient for your needs... They increase usable RAM by using the kernel to compress the data it stores in RAM at the cost of some performance and battery life, the amount of benefit or performance/battery loss is purely based on your individual usage. Grephene and DedS kernel are available for your device which support zRAM. For more information on zRAM and it's potential benefits and issues, please see What is zRAM in kernel and Z-RAM, do you use it? threads on XDA or see Google for more information.

"The SWP instruction was deprecated in the ARMv6 architecture, superseded
by the LDREX/STREX family of instructions". But kernel can still be built with CONFIG_SWAP. So the condition cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep -E 'swp|swap' isn't always true.


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Write text messages using Vim
I have an Android phone (Motorola XT 1068 Moto G) that I use mostly for sending text messages.
Being a heavy Vim user, I'm frustrated with the low speed of writing messages using the Android keyboard.
Is there some way I can use Vim to write text messages on the phone?

With AirDroid + withExEditor
First, you establish a connection between a laptop or desktop computer with a proper keyboard and the Android phone.
On the phone, install the AirDroid app.
On the laptop, use the web application to connect to your phone. Currently (2018-06-21), this requires a free registration.
Using "Messages" in the web application (see screenshot below) you'll be able to write text messages on your laptop, sending them via your phone.

To write those messsages conveniently using Vim, you can use the withExEditor add-on for Firefox and Chrome.
After installling the add-on, and doing some additional setup on your laptop, you can use gVim to write your text messages.


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Setting static ip for Android hotspot
I'm connecting to my Android's hotspot. I see that the IP is 192.168.43.0/24, so any ip in 192.168.43.X would be reserved for Android's DHCP server. But I need the machine that connects to Android's hotspot to have a static IP. I would have multiple Android hotspots connected to my machine using different WiFi nic cards. How would I set the static IPs in order to prevent any conflicts?
Edit:
This question asks how to configure the DHCP settings of Android
How configure the DHCP settings of WIFI Tethering(Hotspot) in android I don't want to change DHCP settings, but I want to modify DHCP settings, but I want to set a static IP

You will need a file (an excel spreadsheet or a text file) to keep the allocated addresses, prevent allocating the same addresses twice or more to different machines. It will help differentiating and remembering the devices in case you forget. For example, you can increment the address by 1 every time you setup a new machine. If the Gateway address is 192.168.43.1, then Machine A address should be 192.168.43.2, Machine B: 192.168.43.3, Machine C: 192.168.43.4, etc.

when i was in Marshmallow (MIUI7), i set up wifi with my pc and it assigned 192.168.43.168. and since then it would assign the same IP everytime i connect to  the hotspot. Same with android 9(Oxygen OS custom ROM). then  flashed LineageOS 18.1 (based on android 11) and that set up is no more working , it is assigning new IP everytime. I am also looking for a solution to this :(


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Micromax canvas juice 3 plus q394 reboots after every 5 minutes of use
Im using Micromax canvas juice 3 plus q394 from long time but from few months it overheats and restarts consistently every five minutes of use, i used all hibernate apps as well as memory, cache cleaners app but none of worked if anyone know how to solve this problem please your answer.

There can be multiple causes of your android's random behavior. I am listing some of then with solution.

In most cases, random restarts are caused by a poor quality app. Try uninstalling apps you don’t use. Be sure the apps you do use are reliable, especially the apps that handle email or text messaging.
If you disabled apps that are required to run the Android OS, it may be causing your restarting issue. Have a look under “Settings” > “Applications” and swipe over to the list of apps that are “Turned Off” or “Disabled” and enable any apps that may be needed for your device to function properly.
Many Android devices are designed to shut off automatically if they become too hot. If you are trying to use 4G, GPS, and the screen is set to the brightest setting, it might restart itself or shut down. Try to take it easy and maybe disable features you don’t need.
Loose Battery is also one of the issues.The most common reason for this is the rear cover has become slightly bent and is no longer holding the battery into place. Another reason is the gold battery connectors are bent out of shape. Over time, the connectors may get worn down.
Sometimes the Android system software gets corrupted. If you are using a custom Android ROM, try a different version of the ROM or another type of ROM altogether. If you’re not using a custom ROM, your only option may be to try a factory reset of the device.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for your response 1. I Uninstalled those app which I'm not using already no difference 2. only android service is disabled due to ads 3. phone is not 4g GPS never turned on because im not using but overheats when playing clash of clans 4. Battery is non removeable 5. using the stock rom from 2 years no modification at all factory reset i will try.

Yes, and do take a backup before you do factory reset.

I create a backup on my pc but after factory reset the problem not solved it seems to be rom problem i think i should flash stock rom with mtk tool kit through pc but i want to why we untick preloader in mtk toolkit before flash a rom to mtk devices.


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Improve load time/animation on lock screen (Samsung S7, Android Oreo)
The animation of the lock screen takes a little while, maybe half a second before showing any information.
It's disguised as a fade in animation. This is annoying because pressing the home button to check my phone's status when the screen is off goes to the lock screen and then takes extra time to load up things like the time, the top bar etc.
My phone isn't slow, I don't know why it's forced me onto this slow animating gimmick from my Android Oreo upgrade. Everything was instant before hand.
The simple process:
-> Click Home Button
-> Shows wallpaper instantly
-> 0.5s
-> Fades in all text/buttons.

I had the same problem.
In Settings, Developer options, set Animator duration scale to off or 0.5x.
This should fix your problem.

Developer options is found where? :\

@insidesin See Where are the developer options in Android 4.2?


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How do I restore Whatsapp from backup after skipping the restore option?
I accidentally skipped Whatsapp restore option when I changed my device and now my backup on google drive is overwritten. How can I get my old backup? It was about 2.3gb of my data and I need those chats. Kindly help me.

If you still have your old phone, recovery will be pretty easy
First of all make sure to turn on backup on your new phone.
WhatsApp > Menu Button > Settings > Chat Settings > Backup conversations.

Now, follow these steps:

Install the data recovery software for Android mobiles on your Windows PC using this link.
Use the data recovery to scan your Android mobile phone. It supports up to 2000 Android mobiles, including Samsung mobiles, LG phones, HTC, Motorola, Lenovo, Nexus, ZTE, Huawei, Xiaomi, Blu, or other Android based phones and tablets.
Get back your lost WhatsApp messages on your old phone.
Now, you will need to transfer the/sd card/WhatsApp/folder from your old phone to the same folder on your new phone.

Hope this helps.


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How to add a Brother printer manually?
I switched printers (from Samsung to Brother), both are WiFi enabled and connected to a network 10.0.0.0/24.
My Android phone (Samsung 9+) is on another network within the same LAN (10.1.0.0/24). It can ping the printer so routing is OK.
The Brother print plug-in fails to find the printer automatically. This is understandable as they are on different VLANs.
How can I add such a "remote" printer? The Samsung plugin had an explicit "Add printer" entry, which I do not see in the Brother's one.

Never been able to get the Brother plugin to see my printer either, but I just use the default Cloud Print plugin and it works fine adding manually

@acejavelin: I tried to use the default printing service which allows me to manually add a printer. The printer is recognized but when I want to get back to the main page of the service, it crashes. I managed to use Brother iPrint&something app which allows a manual addition and I manage to print from there. This is a pain in the bottom, though, as it is not recognized as a target when printing (I have to print from within the app)


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Icons segment triangle
Segmented triangle with up and down arrows inside triangle appears on the status bar. Can not find what this means. I have checked four different sites.

It is the notificattion for data saver ON for OREO update.
Looks something like this.

Go to settings > connections >  Data Usage > Tap on Data Saver and turn it off
The icon will disapperar. Hope this helps


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How to download a specific part of any online streaming videos on Android phone?
I'm using an Android phone. I watch action movies online in it. I always want to download only some particular scenes of the movie. But I don't know how. So I download the complete movies which are very large in size and I cut specific parts of it using softwares. But I want to download only some parts of the online videos which are very small in size as compared to the whole movie. So my question is, is there any way to download parts of online streaming videos on Android. I'm not talking about YouTube videos. I'm taking about videos from movie websites.

You can use different Screen recorders for your requirement. Just start the recording where you wish to, and stop it when your are done. This way you can get your required length of video.
I'll try to list my top picks for the same.

AZ Screen Recorder: AZ Screen Recorder is the gold standard for screen recorder apps. It's light, easy, accessible, and cheap. It doesn't require root, has no watermarks and no time limits.

DU Recorder : It records your phone screen with up to 1080p/60fps quality. The app also works in 20 languages, has a decent UI, and a video editor built-in. It's all entirely free to download and use. It does have problems, though. Tablet support is a bit flaky and some people found bugs. Still, for free price, it's one of the better screen recording apps.

Vysor: Vysor is a fun little app that allows you to cast your device to your computer screen over USB. From there, you can use it on your computer or screen record it on your PC if you’d like to. It tends to work pretty well although you will need to fork out a little bit of money in order to get HD quality. This app doesn’t record anything on its own so don’t expect any options to do so. You’ll have to record it on your computer on your own.
Hope this helps.

Happy to help.please accept the answer if it satisfied your query


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Steam doesn't work over tethered wifi through an android phone, how do i solve this?
So i tried to use my android phone that is connected to a wifi, and used a wifi sharing app called (Netshare), to tether the internet to my mac(wirelessly). The internet worked, the browser works and i can even go to the steam's website through my browser, but when i try to open the steam app it says its not able to connect.Any workarounds?
Ive tried to look for solutions but haven't found any yet. But AFAIK this likely seems to be the problem with UDP ports(which steam game clients require supposedly)and which the app doesn't seem to provide(thats what i think).
I mean, as i run the hotspot the app creates another network named "something", and tells me to connect to it and configure the HTTP and HTTPS proxy on my computer with 192.168.49.1:8282and thats all. The internet does work but things like downloads and steam login doesn't.
So my question is,is there a way i could forward those ports or even make one (if thats whats needed)?
Sorry for a lame question but i don't know many technical terms.I just want to play DOTA on my mac tethering it wirelessly to my android phone, because the router is far away and i think this can be an alternative solution to buying an adapter(which i don't think is really necessary). Help.

Does it work if you use the phone's native WiFi Tethering? The app you are using seems to only acting as a proxy for http(s) which as you experience will let you browse the web, but that about it, leaving almost every other network service unusable.

@acejavelin yes, but i don't want to tether mobile data, but the wifi its connected to which the phone doesn't have natively.

what Android device doesn't have tethering built in? Or are you trying to bypass your carriers tethering restrictions

@acejavelin the scenario here is my android is phone is connected to a wifi and I want to share the intrenet coming through that wifi with my mac wirelessly which the app seems to be able to, but there are limitations as mentoined in the question(.Not trying to involve the native wifi tether /hotpot which requires mobile data if you want to add internet service to the hotspot.Whatsoever)

Gotcha... So your trying to make your phone a WiFi repeater basically. That doesn't work, Android has no capability of that. There are some root apps that allow the 5ghz radio to connect to WiFi and the 2.4ghz radio to act as an AP, but it's slow as WiFi is half-duplex and your doubling that. The solution your trying to use won't work. You would be better off picking up a cheap router that is DD-WRT capable and making it a repeater or bridge.

@acejavelin hey, do you have the link to that website or the app that you said would allow android phone to act as repeater, which you mentioned in the  comment above  by any means, I couldn't find it. Thanks anyways.


text:
Why do Docs, Sheets and Slides keep recreating their data?
Look, I am never, ever ever going to use Docs, Sheets and Slides on my LG K7 (running 5.1.1), but I have come to terms with the fact that there is no way to remove them from my phone without rooting, which I am not interested in doing.  But I figure at least I can free up scarce storage space by erasing the apps' data, which typically is on the order of about 70 MB each.  Liberating 200+ MB of available space on a phone that only has 4GB internal storage, 3/4 of which is taken up with the OS and apps that can't be removed:  it means the difference between "Not enough space to update apps" / "Voicemails will not be downloaded" and normal operation.
But every time I clear this memory -- without fail -- I find that within 24 hours the data is recreated and I am right back where I started.  Note that I'm not using Docs, Sheets or Slides during this 24 hour period, so the apps are not running.  Why does this data keep getting recreated, and is there anything I can do to stop it?

You shoud disable those apps:

Go to Settings › Apps – where you usually deleted the data
before deleting data:

push the "force close" button to make sure the app is not running. Else it might recreate data before you reach the point of disabling it.
then push the "disable" button, so it won't start anymore.
on "disable" you might be asked if you wish to revert to the "factory version". Say yes: this will remove all updates the app has received, and which are stored in "user space" as well. So this will even free additional space

finally push "clear cache" and "delete data", to complete the cleanup job.

Now that it's disabled, it won't start on its own anymore – and thus not collect or recreate any data. Nor should any updater pull updates for it.


text:
Run an android Virtual Machine on an android phone
I haven't been able to find an answer for this so I figured I would ask here.
Is there an app or method I can use to create and run an Android Virtual Machine on my Android Phone?
I have a personal phone I want to put my work email on; however, my work email requires Microsoft Intune which requires that I give permission for my company to clear my phone at any time without warning.  The reason they do this is in case I have company secrets on my phone and I if I become a risk they want to wipe my phone.  I wanted to work around this by putting an android virtual machine on my phone.  This way the company can clear my phone if they please but they will just wipe my VM not me actual personal phone.
I saw an article that VMWare was doing something like this but I couldn't find any documentation on it.
Does anyone know of a way to put a Android VM on an Android phone?

See: How can I run apps in an isolated environment on my smartphone?

I'd not even let that stuff into an isolated environment on my device. Either I have a separate spare device for it or, if the company insists I must run that stuff, they must provide the hardware as well. I don't like others in control of my devices.

Duplicate: https://android.stackexchange.com/q/106649/218526

@IrfanLatif Different though related. That question is about making an image/backup of an android phone which is not the same as a VM.

@Error-SyntacticalRemorse the question is about making a image/backup which is to be run on VM. The point is to run a VM on Android, whether it runs a new/stock ROM or a backup of running ROM is secondary. But the link is only for reference, I haven't voted to close as duplicate.

This does not seem to possible, I have looked for it for years and found nothing. This is probably because these points:

Android devices have a tiny amount of ram, which cannot be extended. With just 3 GB of RAM, you can forget to run pretty much any VM, as any normal OS needs at least 4 GB by now. A typical PC has 8 GB by now, or even 16. Virtualization is a field where extra ram is especially useful.
Pretty all Android devices are based on the ARM CPU architecture. ARM CPUs are very energy efficient, but at the same time pretty weak and feeble compared to full Desktop Grade CPUs from AMD and Intel (which burn a lot more electricity). They don't perform as well doing multitasking, which makes sense: You don't use multitasking much on mobile devices.
Virtual Machines are often not full emulation of another CPU, this means that you actually cannot run intel / AMD i386 code on an ARM CPU, so you would need a OS that is especially made for this, i.e. has been compiled for the ARM architecture, that cuts down the selection big time. Debian Linux prides itself on offering the distribution on many CPU architectures, but other manufacturers don't offer that. There is for example no standard full version of Windows 7 or 10 that supports ARM, and neither does Mac OS X.
VMs are more of a professional area, while mobile devices are oriented towards non-professional consumers.
Disk Storage is another problem: Most mobile devices have very little. A slim Linux can get by with just 4 GB, but a full fledge Linux needs around 10 GB, but a Windows needs around 20 GB just to get going. This is no issue on a laptop or desktop, where you will have 1 terabyte available (1000 GB), but an impossibility if you just have 32 GB.

All these things conspire together to make VMs on Android an impossibility

This answer is outdated, since there is an app that does exactly that, vmos. Also, the answer does not really address the question, which was about running an Android VM on Android, not running any random OS in a VM on Android. An Android VM does not require huge amounts of RAM, CPU power, x86 or a lot of disk storage. So, at best, point 4 applies to the question at all. And even that does not apply anymore, since there are VM apps on Anroid. Actually, there are even x86 VM apps.

@Dakkaron VMOS is a good effort and hopefully it gets improved over time. But ATM it can only be used to show your friends that you have got two (or more) ROMs on your device. It doesn't support basic things like calls, SMS, BT. Android version is 5. It's closed-source, current version has 4 trackers and asks for 40 permissions. But even if the app is not blamed, the design is a failure in my opinion. Android puts a lot of restrictions on apps to minimize use of resources (including CPU and RAM). So an app cannot host a full OS without any drawbacks (though they are trying to play games on it)

@IrfanLatif That's probably true, but the question was "Is it possible", not "is it good". And still, the answer does not address Android VMs but talks about VMs in general. And if you consider that emulators are basically VMs, there are tons of pretty usable VMs on Android ;)

@Dakkaron if you know the correct & updated answer, then feel free to post an answer. Whether this answer is correct or wrong (at the time of the posting), it's still an attempt to answer the question. Wrong answers should be downvoted, but not deleted unless under extreme circumstances.

@AndrewT. It is an answer, but not to this question. It answers "Can I run an x86 VM under Android?" But the question was "Can I run an Android VM under Android?" And nothing in the answer actually fits for an Android VM. 1) Android VMs don't need a lot of RAM. 2) Android VMs have no problem running on ARM. 3) Android IS especially made to run on ARM. 4) Does not matter to the question. 5) Android VMs don't need a lot of disk storage. Correct answers have been posted, so no need to spam more of the same. Just the accepted answer has nothing to do with the question.

Actually, 3) proves that the answerer didn't even read the question.

most of my phones in the last 5-10 years are more powerful than the first machine I ran a VM on... this is OK information, but definitely not an "answer"

You can run Android emulator on an Android phone using VMOS, exactly what you want.

There's a company called Hypori that already has a virtual android available for both Android and iOS. The only issue is that they only have this available for companies and not for consumer.

Yes. Samsung phones have inbuilt shared folder called knox which is a secure android VM onside an android os.

As @rahul-jain notes, Samsung & Knox make this easy with a kind of "hybrid VM" called Secure Folder™. This is a bit like a BSD jail or a Solaris container/zone as opposed to a full VM. It's pretty slick. I'm looking for a manageable and automatic way to duplicate or transfer a secure folder VM with its settings and apps from one Knox enabled android device to another. I hope that one fine day an end-user accessible solution with the ability to store the secured VM in the cloud or on a desktop computer (& even to run it from those environments) becomes available as well.


text:
Trying to perform ADB Backup but it prompts for a password
I am trying to perform an ADB backup but I got stuck at the step where the phone receives the request of backup from the computer (the command I used on ADB was
adb backup -apk -shared -all -f F:\Android backup.ab).
It is asking for a password as in the pic below (sorry my phone is in Chinese, I will translate the dialogue below):
'The system has received a request to backup all data to the computer; do you allow this action?
If you did not request to do so, please do not allow this action.
Your phone has been encrypted, therefore you must encrypt your backup. Please enter password below:'
I actually forgot that I ever encrypted my phone; and I certainly don't remember having set a password for the encryption (I use the unlocking pattern in daily operations). So I thought this is to set a password for the backup action.
But as you can see, I typed some words in, but the 'Backup your data' at the bottom right button just wouldn't respond no matter how many times I pressed it. (I pressed the 'Do not backup' button next to it and it quit instantly, so I am sure the screen is reacting to my touch alright)
Would anyone mind lending a hand please? Thank you so much!

 Click on the image to enlarge the image

If have seen devices where the backup app was defect. On the adb shell execute /system/bin/bu backup if it throws an error backup is defect on your device.

@Robert Hi Robert so I am new to both ADB and this forum so please bear with me; when you mention adb shell, do you mean the cmd.exe I type the backup command in? Because that line of command doesn't seem to work

I think I have a lock pattern set for the encryption instead of a password because everytime I power the phone on it only asks for the pattern - so is that what is it asking for here? I don't see a pattern entering function though

See if answers here help https://android.stackexchange.com/q/96892/131553

Learning the capabilities of adb and it's shell is always a good idea. For more details search android.stackexchange.com and the Internet for adb and/or adb shell and you will find dozen of tutorials.


text:
RCA Android Viking Pro 10
Can't remember RCA viking pro 10 Google sign in or password. I did a factory reset and was stopped by the FPR request. I don't recall EVER "syncing" to a Google account. Is there any way I can get around this ?
   Thank You for any help.                John

It's a bit unclear what you're asking here: did you forget the password, or do you simply not want to use a Google account on the device, or only not enable syncing for specific (which?) items? Did you maybe mean you performed a factory-reset instead of a simple reboot, and now hit FRP (factory-reset protection)? Please [edit] your post and make it clear. While on it, also give it a clear title so folks with the appropriate knowledge know to chime in; with the current title only the few using that specific device might do so ;)

Thanks Izzy. I did indeed perform a factory-reset instead of a simple reboot, and now hit FRP (factory-reset protection.) I don't recall EVER "syncing" to a Google account. but that's what is being requested. Is there any other way of starting over or getting around the FRP?

What's important is not if you ever "synced" – but if you ever configured an Google account with that device. As for getting around the FRP: Have you followed the link to our wiki which I provided, and checked with the corresponding section? That's why I included the link in the first place ;)


text:
how to block an OS app popup?
Something on my smartphone sends a message once a day, sometimes I see a tiny fast dark background popup on the bottom saying it is doing so.
Such application seems related to the SIM card, as the popup I receive is from my cell phone provider/carrier/operator.
One second later I receive this:

The app name is "Serviços TIM".
That app package name is "com.android.stk" (I found that using Brevent).
It is an OS App.
It has the exactly same version of "SIM ToolKit" (I guess .stk means that), but at apps list it is in an independent entry with it's own options.
The real huge problem is that, when that popup shows and the screen is locked and remains like that for 8h+, the screen WILL NOT TURN OFF and will spend my battery from 100% to 40% or less and I may depend on having the battery at that time! :(. I usually let it out of the charger, and without that popup it would only spend about 5-10% of the battery.
My smartphone J7 is not rooted, I wonder if that would be the only option?

update:

This other app I think is the culprit from sending the message. It already had SMS disabled but not the phone permission! (I have other app to let me read/send SMS btw)

also the SIM toolkit, I force stop it (and disabled all notifications now 2019):

Final result is: none of these actions above worked, the popup still happens :(

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

First get the stk and stk2 package name and path, then back them up with pull :
adb shell pm list packages | grep stk

adb shell pm path com.android.stk
adb pull /system/app/Stk/Stk.apk

adb shell pm path com.android.stk2
adb pull /system/app/Stk2/Stk2.apk

Next we uninstall both :
adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.android.stk
adb shell pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.android.stk2

Old answer (in case you fear trying the uninstall steps above):
I managed to minimize the problem by using the "do not disturb" feature.
By "minimize" I mean that if I am using the phone the popup will still show up, otherwise it wont mess it's battery (neither show up).
I can allow all exceptions least "reminders" apparently.
Obs.: "do not disturb" is not 100%, I think about 10% of the times it will still allow that abusive popup to keep the screen ON for many hours!
The simToolkit app package "com.android.stk" (which I found out using Brevent), is called "Serviços TIM" and seems to be a mirroed/dup (???) package from the default simToolkit.
My next step (as soon that popup annoys me enough) is to try to uninstall that package by using this tip by @Izzy, thx!
How to remove the SIM Toolkit from my phone? (Without root or flashing any ROM)

adb uninstall failed
Uninstall via adb without root
How to disable Google Apps in Mi Phones

It seem to me like a flash message. These messages contain only two options- Cancel and OK. If you press OK, the plan mentioned in the message will get activated and it will cost you some money. This can be very irritating.
You can deactivate Flash messages but the process is different for different service providers
you can find the ways to stop flash messages in other operators here and have an idea about your own service provider.

Please see https://android.stackexchange.com/help/referencing

There is no app "SIM Toolkit" here that I can run (it is on the configuration that shows the list of apps but not accessible/runnable as a normal app, I dont understand why they do that...), but there was the "ServiÇos ..." one! but it hadnt equivalent option...

This is definitely flash SMS that you are receiving because it contains information about some calling plans. Is there any other SIM/operator related application on your device?

does flash SMS comes thru CellBroadcasts? if so, I got a tip about SMS app where I can disable it, still testing what happens tho. I also deactivated all I could from SIM Toolkit about notifications in popups. I will add some info to the OP btw :)


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How to restore GBWA backup on new phone to GBWA app
I'm simultaneously running Whatsapp & GBwhatsapp on my phone for both of my numbers.
For me it's easy to just transfer Whatsapp data to new phone. However, when its come to GBWhatsapp i feel like there is no one how can actually help to transfer GBWhatsapp data to new phone on GBWhatsapp application.
I have purchased a new phone, now trying all effort to get the GBWhatsapp data to be restore on new phone on GBWA app.
I tried compressing GBWA data using ES file explorer and moved to new phone and verified my number with GBWA. However, after verifying the account i do not get any option to restore even-though backup folder already exist on new phone.
As I don't wanted to loose my data, i again verified my account on old phone and removed GBWA from new phone. I have read multiple articles and checked many videos but didn't find them useful in my case.
Could you please help me to get my issue resolved.

if you do the following it must work:
go to gbwhatsapp on your old phone choose GB Settings
--> other MODS
-->6.7 Backup data (i do for secority reasons also the following, go to gbwhatsapp--> settings--> chats-- make backup)
then transfer the    whole GBWHatsapp map to sdcard, and take it out of your old phone.
install GBWhatsapp on your new phone and DONT OPEN IT YET
now put in your sdcard with the backup of GBWHatsapp in your new phone
--> copy GBWhatsapp map to internal memory
--> then open GBwhastapp and choose for restore


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Where to get stock samsung galaxy images?
in particular I am looking at Samsung Galaxy S3 factory image. Samsung download site was useless.

sammobile is considered to be the go-to for this. Paying a fee will help in downloading faster. make sure you select the right device, region, language.There tools available on XDA that offer stock images too

this require paid subscription - not a best solution

If you don't want to pay and get from reliable source, search on XDA (not that they are unreliable but you never know)

Please note that questions asking us to find or recommend an app, device, ROM, accessory or off-site resource are off-topic for Android Enthusiasts.

@Izzy - I am not asking for any recommendation, I am asking where to find android resource for android phone. If you think this is off-topic for this forum, then your qualification as a moderator raises questions.

Dmitry, please read again: "asking us to find […] an app, device, ROM […] off-topic". You just asked us where to find galaxy images. That's off-topic here.

@Izzy - yet similar question from got 134 up votes from  community: https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/17152/where-can-i-find-stock-or-custom-roms-for-my-android-device?noredirect=1&lq=1 Whomever decided to include "ROM" into this rule is obviously lacking moderating capabilities. This is my point.

Yes, the one canonical question we keep so you don't have to go home empty-handed. So my point is: I've explained that in detail, you can cross-check that with our Meta questions on this site's scope, and especially read this one. No more discussion here.


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Unable to copy files from one /data/data/ directory to another (Root)
I'm trying to copy one file from /data/data/com.application1/myfile to /data/data/com.application2/myfile
The file arrives with owner and group set to the app that it came from. I then changed the owner and group the application running it (A SSH application).
The permissions change, but I still get access denied. I tried using chattr -i myfile but the issue is still there. Even chmod 777 still gives access denied.
user@htc_m8:/data/data/org.galexander.sshd/home $ /system/bin/whoami
u0_a149

user@htc_m8:/data/data/org.galexander.sshd/home $ /system/bin/ls -la
-rwx------ u0_a149  u0_a149        10 2018-06-23 16:23 myfile

user@htc_m8:/data/data/org.galexander.sshd/home $ /system/bin/echo test > testfile

user@htc_m8:/data/data/org.galexander.sshd/home $ /system/bin/ls -la
-rwx------ u0_a149  u0_a149        10 2018-06-23 16:23 myfile
-rw------- u0_a149  u0_a149         5 2018-06-23 16:37 testfile

user@htc_m8:/data/data/org.galexander.sshd/home $ /system/bin/cat testfile
test

user@htc_m8:/data/data/org.galexander.sshd/home $ /system/bin/cat myfile
cat: myfile: Permission denied

I have busybox installed, but in the example I'm using native commands, however the busybox commands give the same output.
I just can't see what is different about the file I created compared to the one I copied. Same owner/group/permissions.

Android runs in "SELinux" mode. More information here SELinux concepts
This means in addition to the standard linux permissions it also has additional attributes attached.
Running attr -l myfile showed the following Attribute "selinux" has a 38 byte value for myfile
Using /system/bin/ls -alZ you can see the selinux attribute value.
-rwx------ u0_a141  u0_a141           u:object_r:app_data_file:s0 myfile
-rw------- u0_a141  u0_a141           u:object_r:app_data_file:s0:c512,c768 testfile

The file I copied was missing some extra data on the end, c512,c768, I presume this is something like an AppID.
Running su -c restorecon myfile fixed this and restored the file to the correct attribute value. Ref: Explanation of the chcon command - Post


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cannot recover data from or unlock my phone Lenovo Z2 plus
I needed some data from my old phone Lenovo Zuk Z2 plus (Z2132) but I have forgotten the lock screen PIN.
I tried a lot of recovery software, but all of them had a pre-requisite to either have the phone's USB Debugging mode enabled OR the device being rooted AND it's neither of those things.
I tried to enable USB Debugging mode using adb, however it doesn't detect any device when my device is on the lock screen. It detects it as (no serial number)    unauthorized only when the device is in recovery mode (that I got to via holding Volume Down & Power button).
I researched and found that if I run the command adb usb or some adb command, it would request me to allow USB Debugging via a popup. But the device is only detected when in recovery mode (hence, no popup there).
Is there any way I can access my data OR get my device to be detected when on lockscreen OR enable the usb debugging mode somehow.

There are couple of methods to unlock your device. It depends on you whether you want data from you internal storage or you want data from your applications.

If you want data from your internal storage, you can just download Aroma File Manager and flash it from your boot manager in your android device. Aroma File Manager let you browse your Internal Storage and can let you copy and paste file from your internal storage to external storage like SD card.
If you want your android device back to normal state without loosing your device Storage you can simply delete the Gesture.key or pass.key file from your root folder /data/system/gesture.key which you can browsed with the help of Aroma File Manager.

Conclusion is that you need Aroma File Manager to have access to your android device storage which can help you to get all you data back to you even if you don't know your password.
MAIN POINT IS THAT THE ABOVE STEP WILL VOID YOUR ANDROID PHONE WARRANTY.

You presupposed that OP's device is using a third party custom recovery. OP has not clarified it so it cannot be assumed. And a third party software cannot be installed using a stock recovery.

Yes, and the device is using the stock recovery. Is there anyway? I have some really important data in it :/

You can use above method after installing TWRP Recovery on your device.

@KetanMalhotra Please be warned that you would have to unlock the bootloader to install a custom recovery and unlocking the bootloader would delete all your userdata, so the answer posted here is not really useful for your case at all.


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ES file explorer is showing my Android phone's internal storage as SD Card
It's been a year since I've started using ES file explorer. It was working fine before. But after some update it started showing my phone's internal storage as SD card storage and SD card as phone memory. I'm continuously updating the app. Reinstalled it some times. But the issue is always present with every update. It's too annoying.The screenshot that I've added here shows the issue. I'm using a 16 GB memory card and ES explorer is showing it as internal storage. How can I fix this issue?

I have a device with only one internal storage that has the same problem. Everything besides the system thinks the external SD card is the internal storage.

This is just a naming issue. AFAIK Google gives no clear directions how to name the mount points of the internal "sdcard" section and the external sd-card. Therefore every manufacturer makes it a little bit different. Therefore it is not easy for an app to identify what is what.


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android can't connect to public WiFi
Have Essential with current OS. Just recently my phone won't connect to at least 2 public WiFi providers in Canada. One is Datavalet and the other is ConnectivityCheck. These are used in all Starbucks and many chain restaurants.
The familiar Starbucks connect page just keeps loading and loading in a loop. The others style the connect page just times out. Clearly from looking around others aren't having the same problem. A waiter once showed me how his Apple connected without issue. I have no problem at home, work or independent restaurants and cafes.
My assumption is that an App is interfereing but I haven't installed any new apps. This is a new problem as well, just noticed it in the last few weeks. Anyone have any ideas?

Try configuring your your wi-fi settings to use DHCP settings instead of static

Have you tried a Network Settings Reset within Android's settings menu? It will often clear up unusual network connectivity issues. Be aware this will reset all data settings in the device, including any stored WiFi passwords.


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How can I continuously measure mobile network coverage on a particular journey?
Every day I spend almost 2 hours on a train to my job and back. My current cellular provider gives me a terrible service most of the time within the train. I'd like to buy/borrow SIM cards of all available providers and measure the network performance while I'm traveling, and then compare the results afterwards to see which one performed best.
How can I record and compare the network coverage on a journey like this?


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How do I Disable Android Device Manager on Sold Device?
I am a GSuite user and a ZTE Axon 7 device that I recently sold via SWAPPA was setup with Android Device Manager. I did a factory reset on the device, but when the buyer powered on the device, he said that the device indicated that it was already associated with a Google account and he would need the credentials to configure it. I went into the standard Find my Device and tried to remove it, and it appeared to have been removed from whatever screen I was on, but the buyer is still complaining. I am still seeing the device here: https://www.google.com/android/find I wondered if GSuite's device management might be at play, and just went there to "delete" it. Am wondering what else I can do?

An answer that works... Give him your email and password to unlock the device. Once they are in and working, change your password.
Yes, it has potential risks, but 99.99% of the time this would work out just fine.


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Alarm app bootloop
My phone is stuck in a bootloop (at least, a manual one):

The phone boots, and goes through the entire boot animation
The default alarm app goes off (before I see the home screen)
If I turn the alarm off, the app crashes, and then I go to a black screen.  It does offer to restart the app, but that does nothing.
If I snooze the alarm, I go to a  black screen, no crash.

I've never set an alarm on the phone.
I'm able to boot to recovery (TWRP), and I've cleared the cache, dalvik cache, and data.  I've also sideloaded a fresh image of lineage (one that I've used successfully in the past), to no avail.
I'm using a OnePlus One on Lineage 14.1 (Android 7.1).  I've really loved this phone, so I'm willing to try pretty much anything.

As an update to this question:  The next day, my phone suddenly started working.  No idea why, I didn't do a thing (besides charge it).  I'm leaving this question open in hopes that a future passerby knows what is happening and could potentially help others.


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Can 5GHz wi-fi be disabled in Nougat?
I have an ASUS Zenpad 10 that I travel with a lot, as in I'm connecting to other people's networks where I have zero control over the router settings.
Since upgrading to Nougat 7.0 the tablet now permanently prefers connecting to the faster, but usually weak and spotty 5 GHz networks instead of the slower but much stronger and much more reliable 2.4 GHz networks. They're still fast enough to stream Netflix so they're fast enough for me.
The tablet won't upgrade beyond 7.0, I assume this is controlled by my carrier, Verizon?
I would love to find a way to convince my Tablet that 5GHz simply doesn't exist. Is there a third party app for this or something?

I don't think Verizon is controlling your updates, but rather ASUS just hasn't released any updates for your tablet

Following this discussion with Izzy, I think your scenario is the opposite of the described problem in that post, it seems you simply want stick to the 2.4GHz connection because it is associated with better signal strength (although slightly slower when compared to 5GHz).
As such I'd recommend  this tool called, Wifi Band Switcher on this thread. This app has been reverse engineered from the code from that gives advanced wi-fi menu since it essentially uses some standard AOSP hidden APIs. So the developer created an app that uses these same hidden APIs. With this you can force the WLAN band to be always the 2.4GHz.
Note: the app must be installed as system app.
Usage:
Just extract apk and using root explorer paste in system/app set permissions

rw-r--r-

Not the prettiest interface but could possibly do the job, it is essentially the same implementation found in native android ROMs:

Alternatively you could try using using Wi-fi analyzer by farproc (to analyse the available bands) in conjuction with its open source plug-in Wi-fi Connecter Library to selectively connect to the 2.4Ghz band.

If you are viewing the AP list of networks in Wi-fi Analyzer which
  shows you both the 5.0Ghz and the 2.4Ghz, with this plugin installed
  you can then tap and connect.

Additionally as suggested by Izzy in that discussion, you could also try
Smart WiFi Selector(trial)

The Wifi Band Switcher seems to have done the trick, I didn't even need to use a terminal to install it properly, Thank You!!

On my android nougat the Wifi Band Switcher crashes.


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View HDMI output on Android Phone
I have a raspberry pi: it is normally run 'headless' (sans monitor).   I would like to be able to connect the video output on a Samsung Galaxy Phone.  For this exercise, the solution must use a wired connection (HDMI, USB) and not rely on a network connection (SSH / VNC or similar).
My Google search brings up articles of how to cast video from the Android device through HDMI.  I would like to wire and direct HDMI into the Android device's display.
Questions:
Assuming there is a cable that can bridge HDMI into the Android device: does Android support wired HDMI capability?  What is the nomenclature for the capability?
Bonus: can the same thing be done from the raspberry pi's USB port?  That is, direct the video out through a USB port, through a USB cable and into the Android device for display?

Assuming there is a cable that can bridge HDMI into the Android device: does Android support wired HDMI capability? What is the nomenclature for the capability?

Nothing in the Android Compatibility Definition Document indicates that such a feature is supported by Android.
Consider that HDMI inputs on a PC is usually done via specialized capture cards and that you are asking for physical input to device which normally operates on battery. Remember that any hardware that isn't being sold/used as a 'feature' is a waste of space and power on a phone.

Bonus: can the same thing be done from the raspberry pi's USB port? That is, direct the video out through a USB port, through a USB cable and into the Android device for display?

You would need VNC but this thread indicates that it is possible over USB:
https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=105336


text:
How to do I change all my default save directory to one folder?
Is there an app or settings (asus zenfone zoom) to change all my default save directory to one folder. This folder will be the "inbox" of my phone.

What do you mean by "default save directory"? What kind of file are you hoping to save there?

The short answer: No.
The long answer: Yes, but you must root your device, and it depend of wich version of Android is installed on your phone, that cancel your warranty.
If your device is rooted or if you accept to root it, you can install Xposed (that make fail your SafetyNet), and install this module: https://forum.xda-developers.com/xposed/modules/mod-downloads2sd-t2656338.
This possibility may ultimately prove non-functional if you are using a recent version of Android.
Apart from this possibility, there are no other options.
If you find another one, don't hesitate to share it here.


text:
Can you change the number of icons In the 'quick settings' tray (Android Oreo)
Oreo has reduced the number of icons in the quick settings tray from 9 to 6. Is it possible to adjust the number of icons shown, e.g. to 6 or 12?
Edit: Just to clarify: I mean the layout of the drawer, e.g. 3x2 (Oreo) vs. 3x3 (Nougat) vs. 4x2 (Samsung). I don't mean the total number of icons shown, including the icons accesses by swiping left/right.

Not in pure AOSP Android, but maybe... What device specifically?

Use "System UI Tuner" app which found on Google Play Store. It need some permissions from ADB. Dont worry that describes within the App

The app can customise many settings, but I was specifically wondering whether you can change the layout - from 3x2, to 3x3 (as it was in nougat) or e.g. 4x2 (Samsung). I couldn't see that in the screenshots of the app


text:
Copying url file from Windows 10 computer to Samsung Galaxy A5 fails, system sound sounds
I have created a .url file using Windows Explorer on a Windows 10 computer. When I try to copy the .url file to my Samsung Galaxy A5 phone the file cannot be copied to my phone. I just hear a strange sound, which is either SystemSound.Asterisk or SystemSound.Exclamation. I cannot tell the difference between these two sounds.
What causes that I am not able to copy the .url file and why does the sound sound (as specified above) instead?

For sending an URL from your PC to a smartphone I would not use a URL file - it is very generic, and I don't think many apps can handle this file format. better try one of the various playlist formats (M3U, PLS, what ever your player on Android supports).

I just want to know why I am not able to copy an url File to my phone, but other files as well.There must be a reason for this.

I use URL Opener to open the file in Firefox for Android. It works great. Copying via FTP or WEBDAV works, but not when Windows PC is connected to Android via USB.

Could you please explain the last sentence of your answer?

Norbert... to add to my last sentence... copying a .URL file via FTP or WEBDAV works, but using Win10, regular file explorer i.e. via MTP does not seem to work...
It is still very annoying to me since the USB method is the fastest.

example: A Folder with Show/Movie... which includes .url files for the Show/Movie, its actors, etc... like links to imdb,com.
Windows File Explorer (via USB) will copy the folder and its contents, BUT will "bleep" for the .url files and not copy those over.
Frustrating, but there is probably a simple solution.


text:
File transfer works only with specified suffixes
No problems to transfer files with some extensions like .jpg via bluetooth.
But for files with majority of other suffixes (e. g. .avi, .apk) I have first rename them, then transfer them and finally on the target device rename it back:
name.apk ---> name.jpg ----- bluetooth transfer ----> name.jpg ---> name.apk

Is there any more simple way to do it?
(For example from Adroid 5.0 to Android 2.2.)

No, there is no simple solution except run some third party application on your device that accepts any types of files.
Usually Bluetooth implementation on handheld devices limits receving file type to only supported. Such as 3gp, jpg and few others.
Also this days security is a problem so Android may also reject any APK or other risk file types.
So by other words: it is limited by device by security reason.

Which 3rd party application?

Any one that impl,ements ObjectPush or FileTransfer Profiles. For example this one: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=it.medieval.blueftp&hl=en_US

Thanks. I just want to state that this is not security in my view but just some kind of obfuscation and creating a bad experience for experienced users. A warning on the receiving side or the option to run a malware check seems more appropriate. Phishers will probably also tell people to rename it to .txt and back when copying and people will do it.

Most Androids don't accept .apk file over bluetooth. This is to prevent people from sending malicious software to phones that are not protected.
If you still want to send APKs over Bluetooth, there are mainly 3 ways of doing so:

Change the extension (.APK) from your phone. This way you can trick the phone in still accepting the application.
You can zip the .apk file and send it over bluetooth and unzip it again at receivers end.
Another way is to use some third party app which allows you to directly transfer .apk file.

Which 3rd party application?

There are many such applications present in the market like apk extractor , Apk Share Bluetooth , etc. You can search on play store.


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How to extract alarm ringtone files from my phone?
I have an OPPO R11 and I really like one of the default alarm sounds, so I was wondering how I could extract the sound file from the Android system to save it. I've tried downloading ES File Explorer, and so far the only ringtone and notification sounds that I've found are for Google hangouts only. I've searched it pretty extensively but still haven't found where all the system tones are stored.

It isn't rooted, is it ?

Yes, it isn't rooted.

As far as i know you won't be able to read system directory on your phone without root permissions which also means that you won't be able get ringtones as it requires atleast read permission on system partition


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How to choose YouTube resolution using Mobile version (m.youtube.com), not desktop nor app
On an android phone, using Firefox, I access the YouTube.Com website.
But for resolution control, I am content when YouTube delivers "m.youtube.com".   I know how to force FireFox to solicit the desktop version.
I note that the desktop web page (during video playback) allows me to adjust the video resolution with the settings/gear, but when using the m.youtube version, I have no means to adjust the playback.  I am also aware that I could log into YouTube/Google, and record my resolution choice.
For privacy reasons:  I choose not to use the YouTube application; I clear retained info on closing FireFox; I avoid the desktop webpage on my android phone since everything gets ridiculously tiny, and; I do not log in to YouTube or Google.

Does anyone know of a way to force the resolution low (rather than auto) on m.youtube.com?
Does anyone know of a way to view the resolution that youtube delivers on m.youtube.com?
If I play one video on the standard desktop and select a particular resolution setting there, will it carry over to subsequent views on m.youtube.come ?

I note that:

The m.youtube site does not have a resolution selection in the
settings section of the vertical-3-dots
On video playback, the m.youtube does not provide a gear on playback.

Thanks !

You could try using NewPipe if you aren't willing to use the official app. This lets you choose the quality level.

I had wanted to avoid apps, altogether, for this purpose.   I will look-see at the referenced app, in any case.  Thanks

Had the same problem and just figured it out. I hope the pictures work!

Photos are not searchable as "answers". While I believe that you believe these images are an "answer", I similarly believe that this technique should never draw traction as an "acceptable answer for stackexchange.com". Please take the few moments to solidify your answer as TEXT.

Hmm.   I wonder if that is an amendment to the interface on the desktop, since I originally wrote the question.


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Custom Recovery, Custom Rom for Micromax Canvas Juice 3 Plus q394
I have Micromax camvas juice 3 plus q394 i want an custom Recovery as well as custom rom i want to xposed my device but i searched on good for many hours but didn't get instead of a stock rom if anyone has custom Recovery and custom rom please share the link.

Apparently there was no shared construction, to make short no TWRP/CWM or even custom ROM were made for your device.
Which means you two options, see three:

Build your own custom recovery and adapt it to your phone using the basic TWRP sources available on Github for example
Make your own request on the XDA forum which is specialized enough on the subject for me to recommend it to you, but there is no guarantee that someone will want to necessarily look into your case
The ultimate option is, as they say, a phone call to a friend, in short, assuming you know someone who has the knowledge to do the job.

Wishing you the best of luck for the future.

Thanks for your response @Rom if it is possible can u provide a link how to build custom rom for mtk devices will be so helpful.

Porting an existing sources of custom ROM isn't easy and it's the most of time 50% useless to follow a thread because u could get some various unknow error(s). You can follow this thread but i don't think that it will works: https://sites.google.com/site/portingteams/home/how-to-port-custom-roms-for-all-mtk-chipsets, personally i will follow this thread: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2754145.

Thanks for help @Rom And can i convert this https://www.androidgsmbd.com/resurrection-remix-v5-8-5-nougat-custom-rom-for-mt6582-kernel-3-10-54-lp/  rom to my device because both has same chipset as well as kernel version or suggest any bug free custom rom.

Itsn't a task like "converting", you don't have to convert a file format to another. If you must to porting a custom ROM to your device, so fork RR sources on Github to your one and modify them, compile, and test it, by it could become hard regarding hardware issues u could get.

I mean porting that rom link above by replacing files that u suggested from stock rom to port rom like i want to port Resurrection Remix v5.8.5 which is running on kernel 3.10.54 mt6582 same as my device can i give it a try to port?


text:
Red exclamation mark at top left when booting phone
was experimenting( more specifically, trying to flash ROMs) with my Samsung Galaxy J1 Ace(rooted). It was all going well till I tried flashing the TWRP recovery mode. I followed all the steps mentioned on various xda forums but a red exclamation mark appears at the top left of the screen when I try to turn it on, along with the Samsung logo and it the phone just hangs. When I go to the download mode, it shows MDM Download : 0. I tried flashing, using ODIN, other versions of the TWRP for my phone model but the same error persists.
Is my phone soft-bricked?
How do I fix it?
I am trying to restore the original stock Samsung firmware now.
Many thanks.

Thanks a lot! Upvoted your answer and left a note there: while Odin is only available for Windows, there are two other similar applications which work with other OSes as well and could be used in the same way (just in case someone in the same situation has no Windows but e.g. a Linux machine running). // Will cleanup comments now as they got obsolete. Thanks again for sharing, and enjoy your further stay with us!

Alright everyone, I have managed to solve the issue.  If you find yourself in this same error, visit this site to know properly how to fix your SAMSUNG device.
In short, you need a PC running a Windows OS, a software called Odin(v3.07)[used by SAMSUNG internally, so its legit] and the original stock firmware. Download the proper combo( country-region and phone model).
Hold the Power, Home AND volume down buttons simultaneously for around 5 seconds(until the Download mode comes up).
Then connect it to your PC using a usb cable and run Odin. Now click on the PDA and navigate to the extracted stock Samsung firmware file (MD5 type). Select it and wait for a while, the Odin will take some time (around a minute) to check and process the MD5 file.
Then click 'Start', let the flashing finish(takes around 10-15 minutes) and voila!

Thanks and thumbs-up for sharing your solution! Just to point out, there are alternatives to Odin, mentioned in our odin tag-wiki. So especially when using a non-Windows machine and having no Windows machine at hand, the same approach should work with JOdin3 or Heimdall (link again to the corresponding tag-wiki).


text:
App to block or limit my network operator?
I'm having some trouble with my network operator. They have recently changed the underlying network they used by default to a different one and the service is very poor now. I have come to realize that they still support (and will keep on supporting, I've checked this) the old network, it's just that my phone won't use that one by default but the new one.
Anyone knows if there's an app to limit the network operator my phone uses, or to block the one that doesn't barely work?
This is for both calls and Internet.
Thanks

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts. Please edit your question to include phone make/model as well as which carrier you are using. Also mention if you tried altering the APN and what happened when you did.

What do you mean by "underlying network"? Did they change the band steering so your device is using a different band by default? Are we talking about LTE, HSPA, CDMA, etc. or something else? Your question is very vague...


text:
Unlabled app entries appearing in battery history. Suspicious?
This morning I noticed weird untitled entries in my battery history, which I'd never seen before.  I'm also not sure why some rows were not showing the percentages. (When tapped on, the entry detail views show the percentages.) The entries have the same code/gear icon as the Android OS entry:

entries / detail / same icon as Android OS (click images for larger variant)
These aren't appearing in the last-hour view now, so it appears to be something that launched earlier, and then stopped. "Force stop" and "report" are grayed out in the detail views.
Is this suspicious? Is there some way of checking these further?
This is on a non-rooted HTC One M9 running Android 6.0

My first thought were system processes; but though the icon would fit that assumption, they'd at least carry a process id (numerical), and rarely show up in packs like that. So it's at least strange. Are you familiar with ADB, so you could make a dump of battery stats (adb dumpsys batterystats) to investigate?

Just tried "adb shell dumpsys batterystats > output.txt". Gives a hell of a lot of lines... I guess I would need something like https://developer.android.com/studio/profile/battery-historian to make more sense of it?

That might definitely help. Sorry, but I've never digged into battery stats, I just know they are there …

Did you install any app from Unknown sources,  i.e. downloading the apk and then installing? If yes, Can you see these apps in the Apps section in Settings of your phone? And if yes, is the uninstall button active?
If not, this might be due to the administrator privilages this app has got. First, you need to remove administrator privilages from the app. i would recommend to download ES File Manager from Play Store and finding that app. Then try to uninstall these apps and see if these really have administrator privilages. And, if they have, remove them using ES File Manager only and then, uninstall the applications.
Hope, this works fine for you. Basically, these apps are downloaded with the .apk file you download from the unknown resources, get themself administrator privilages and start showing ads on your device.

The only app I've ever done through unknown sources was ABP, because Google kicked it out of the the store ( https://techcrunch.com/2013/03/14/adblock-plusresponds-to-google-play-bar/ ). Oh and years ago on another phone I installed a beta version of a navigation app called "Metr0" that's been developed since Palm Pilots and Symbian phones. Otherwise, I stay away from unknown sources for the obvious reasons.

Well, there is a possibility that when you downloaded ABP, you downloaded a bunch of malware with that as well. It is very common with ad-supported websites. Check if the apps are present in Safe Mode as well and try uninstalling the apps