text:
Debunk: tripping KNOX removes your battery life?
UPDATE 04/21/2020
Great news for people struggling with battery issues on these phones.  I used a non-root APP called "Repair Battery Life", and it actually fixed my rapid battery drain issue!  It identified some cells that were somehow not working and fixed them.  I did some tests to see if restarting the phone would cause the cells to fault out again, and restarting did not cause that to happen; so, I went so far as to reformat the phones.  Reformatting the phones seems to re-create the battery issues.  I don't know why, but I've tested this on S8+ Korean and S8 Hong Kong, and I get the same issues (seems like the same battery cells) that are resolved by this app and don't recur (so far) without reformat).
I feel a bit nervous to post this because I don't hope Samsung finds a new way to hurt users who root their phones, but it's such an important discovery, I really hope someone can explain why/what might be happening that this software solves a very serious problem.  My battery life is up by hours!
ORIGINAL ASKED
I've heard various people in XDA reporting that rooting a Samsung S8 (or similar--S8+, S7, S7 Edge, S6, S5, S9, etc.) will remove 30% of your battery life, permanently.
Is there any truth to this?  I think the myth is built on reports that KNOX uses 30% of the battery life in some phones and removing it will increase battery life by 30%, but I have no way to preverify that.
My experience is that a damaged Samsung phone will lose a lot of its battery life.  Maybe damaging it trips Knox?

Update: I have spoken with a few second-hand sellers now who have universally told me that the battery life is significantly reduced in rooted phones.

power consuming depends on display and cpu usage, which is controlled by several settings and kernel (and you). if a ROM is rooted or custom ROM installed this opens availbility to control parameters. influences is possible in both directions depending on cleverness of the developer. even simple OTA on stock ROM can change power consuming - which have impact to battery life

@alecxs it's an interesting blurb, but it only whets my curiosity further to know how, specifically, tripping knox might lead to a reduction in battery life.  I noticed when my phone was damaged an immediate huge reduction in battery life which did not cease when I replaced the battery and the faulty antenna.  Eventually, the phone broke, and the phone is not off-warranty; so, I tend to believe the cause is the damage.  I do wonder if something related occurred due to the impact, though, and if similar reductions are seen immediately after knox is tripped.  In fact, I plan to test it, myself.

i can not see any relationship between physical damage and knox

My thinking is that the phone's being damaged may have inadvertently broken the efuse or triggered something that broke the efuse, and the result of the fuse being severed is a change in the way energy moves about the phone: "...a reverse engineer by the name of Speedy22 theorized that Microsoft could actually blow the CPU's eFuses in such a way that "it may be possible to shut power off to the CPU permanently or increase the core supply to the point of self-destruct."  The warranty is not void 0x0.

knox is a encryption container. tripping knox means nothing more than erasing all data and permanently disable this security feature https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o08PJj-LfKs

Regarding the latest revision about "Repair Battery Life" app, are you sure?

@AndrewT. Yes.  I'm sure.  I've tested this on three phones, now, and two of them have had very substantial battery increases.  I haven't used a high-precision timer to see how the battery life has changed, but I do gauge my battery life based on games played.  The difference is very noticeable, as if the battery life has doubled.  The batteries would usually drain to 85% within a few minutes of unplugging them, which I found very irritating.  I would play 2-3 games before getting the 15% battery warnings.  Now, after using the app, I don't have the rapid 15% loss and am at 50% after 3 games.

@AndrewT. As far as the third phone, it has a broken screen, and the phone isn't really used.  I've noticed that the initial rapid 15% loss isn't happening, but I haven't done any gaming on that phone.  I hope to do more investigating over time and will update as time goes on.  If you have any requests, please let me know, and I will do my best to comply with whatever steps you hope to see in an attempt to uncover more info!  Thank you!


text:
Connecting Samsung S9 to MacBook's USB Type-C behaves like charging - not charging - charging - etc
I am trying to use my Samsung S9 to test a mobile app. I activated the "Developer options" and these are my "USB settings" (opened when I tap on the "Android System" notification):

And when I "Tap for more settings" I see:

Now every 10 seconds my phone will behave as if I would just plug it the USB cable back in again making the charging noise and showing the battery percentage:

This does not sound healthy for the battery of my phone if these are indeed battery cycles.
How can I stop charging or stop in the state charging? (If I select that the USB controlled by options "Connected device", I don't see anymore the phone with adb and my MAcBook starts charging from my phone.)

Disable charging while connected via USB requires a special data-only USB cable or a rooted Android device so that charging can be disabled by software. However the behavior you describe sounds buggy. May be the USB cable is defect or there is a driver issue on your Mac causing the device to permanently reconnect.

I have the same behaviour with all 3 cables I have. When connected to the charger, no such behaviour happens. I only see it when I connect the phone to my MacBook Pro USB-C port (any of the 4 ports)

Could it be the app under test that's causing this? If this behavior persists in safe mode then it is surely app related

See this for  safe mode https://www.thecustomdroid.com/enter-samsung-galaxy-s9-safe-mode/

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
root and stored passwords concerns
I think I've read a lot about the good and bad of rooting devices, probably some outdated info also. I'm a bit confused.
I confess I'm a little root-o-phobic and I take a lot of precautions what I grant root access.
My only concern is about stored passwords (mostly Gmail app and stock email app).
I know that passwords are probably not in plain text but I'm little concern about it since root can remove one layer of security
Thanks

In my opinion root doesn't remove any layer of security (at least if you know what you are doing). It enables you to add as many layers of security as you want. There is a long list of processes which belong to AOSP and your device's OEM/vendor which are already running with root privileges. So your device is always rooted, it's just you - the owner of the device - who doesn't have root powers (mostly for your good). It's even possible to control root powers through Linux capabilities and SELinux; both very mature frameworks in Android. But you need some advanced skills to harness their powers

In that case, you'd better keep your passwords on plain paper in a heavy metal safe only – and never ever use a desktop OS to maintain/enter them. All desktop OSes known to me have "root access": it's called "root" with Linux/Unix, "Administrator" with Windows, and so on.
And like on all those: you should make sure what has access to "root powers" – and like on those you need to explicitly grant access. On Android, it's a core app often referred to as "SuperUser" managing that: as soon as a (new) app requests root access, you'll see a pop-up asking you whether you confirm (you can then chose yes/no and whether to always apply that decision when this app asks again).
Yes, like on all those, an application with "root powers" can (at least theoretically) access all your stored passwords, as any other data. That is why a properly coded application never stores your passwords in "plain text", but rather encrypts (or at least hashes) them.
Not rooting your device only takes that decision from you at the cost of not being able to "fully use your device". But yes, you should always be careful deciding what permissions you grant to an app – and in the first place, what apps you install.

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


text:
How do I record audio of an application when sharing the screen on Zoom Android?
I am using Android's Zoom application to screen share with other people. They all see my screens are fine, but the audio from the application is mute.
I can mute and unmute the hardware microphone (it picks up the ambient noises or my speech), but the sound from the Android application itself (e.g. video playing, system sounds, youtube video, etc) is non-existent.
In the desktop version of Zoom, when you screen share, there is a checkbox for sharing system sounds or the screen you are sharing, but I don't see such an option with the Android version.
How do I record audio of an application when sharing the screen on Zoom (Android)?
I'm using Samsung ActiveTab 2 (on Samsung's Android 9 I think).

https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/103589/is-there-a-way-to-mirror-my-screen-to-a-pc-with-sound
this is not zoom but might be an option for you


text:
How do I copy damaged data partition from locked Google Pixel
I have a Google Pixel (sailfilsh) device that complains about damaged data partition upon boot. It only offers to reboot (the same thing happens again) or to wipe the data.
I have not previously unlocked the bootloader, so trying to boot TWRP fails. I can't unlock the bootloader at this point, because doing so would wipe the data partition.
I am able to boot to the recovery mode, but the options available there look useless on surface.
Considering that I know the encryption passcode (numeric), is there a way to dump to data partition via USB to a computer? How?
(I'm mainly interested in recovering photos that had not been backed up by the time the data partition got corrupted.)

you are screwed. you can neither repair device nor safe your data. believe it or not, there is no official way to flash ROM with locked bootloader because google rely on fastboot. buy new phone that is googles philosophy

Xiaomi Mi 5 looks similar specifications. i don't believe it (because it should be OEM signed) but if you are really lucky the prog_ufs_firehose_8996_ddr.elf works for your device https://android.stackexchange.com/q/221452


text:
When does a Google account automatically backup on a Samsung Galaxy S6?
I need to backup my phone (Samsung Galaxy S6 running Android 7.0) using Google Drive but there is only a toggle in the phone settings saying 'Back up my data'. This is on but there is no indication that anything is happening, and no backups have appeared in Google Drive (the 'backup settings' button takes me right back to the menu in first screenshot).
Is there a schedule that I don't know about, or a way I can force Google to make a backup right now?

Is it not available on https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/backups ?

@AndrewT. No. I have a new phone now though.


text:
Formatted whole Flash
i perfomed a format whole flash on my leagoo kiicaa android device using SP flashtool, after that i flashed the firmware file on it and it was successful. but the phone would not power on or show any sign of life even after flashing again. please what can i do community?
the phone was getting stuck on the logo screen each time i powerit on so i decided to flash it, after the flashing process the problem still persisted so i did a format whole flash and then flashed the stock rom on it again hoping it would solve the problem but unfortunately the phone did not power on or charge after that although the system still detects it whenever i connect it.i used the download only option to format it, and i used MT6580.txt as the scatter file. my phone's model is LEAGOO KIICAA POWER....here is the link for the firmware i used http://www.mediafire.com/file/a3z3m9uh7djgdbs/Leagoo_Kiicaa_Power_MT6580_20170915_7.0.zip/file

good news: "Download Only" option does not format whole flash. preloader seems still working. important partitions for IMEI and calibration data are still valid. bad news: flashing ROM does not fix previous problem (must have other cause, maybe hardware related). it seems there are different models T591/T592 (not sure if ROM is different). i recommend to make full ROM dump and split into partitions with Wwr MTK for further examining. If scatter file looks good it should be possible to flash lk and boot to make fastboot working. in fastboot check bootloader unlock status and flash from fastboot

please how do i perform a ROM dump and the other things you recommended, i dont av a clue

https://android.stackexchange.com/q/220584

when i'm trying to do a readback of the emmc and i click on add, it adds a file and names it ROM 0 and i couldn't edit anything there, i was unable to set the region, length and start address as u explained in the above link. what could be wrong?

i av done that not working

thanks i got now

i am afraid your phone can not be fixed with a single Q&A. post link to your xda thread for further support

https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/223638/formatted-whole-flash

check out this xda thread there is ROM for different hardware (revision R2)


text:
How to view which files are on internal memory, and which are on SD Card (formatted as Internal Storage)?
On Android 9 (Pie) how to visualize SD Card (formatted as Internal) vs Internal Storage? I need them differentiated, as I'm chronically out of space and can't download apps, but have 200+ GB on my SD card.
The OS does not seem to differentiate between the two physical storage devices, as far as I can tell. Is it possible without rooting?
Bonus points if it's doable in a nice visual structure like SpaceMonger / WinDirStat / Baobab. Here's an example of the SpaceMonger User Interface where you can immediately identify the problem areas

Does this answer your question? How disk space is used on Android device?

Seems to be an answer that requires Rooting the device. Is there another way?

i don't know of any, search on Software Recommendations Stack Exchange or F-Droid or Google Play


text:
mounting an app folder to external storage fails for Write access on Android Q but will work in Android Pie
I could mount my partitions holding whatsapp (exFat) and titanium  ( ext4 ) backup data on android Pie  but right now on Q  it will not let a RW operation be performed after mounting
I understand /sdcard is a virtual emulated FS and the fact that there are app specific views etc. But after going through all that perplexing stuff, I couldn't crystallize on a working solution.
I've gone through a related Q on stack but none of these approaches work for me.
So lemme explain a bit where I come from :
{} I can successfully bind mount /storage/emulated/0/WhatsApp to exFat /storage/[UUID]/WhatsApp for RW. Obviously because exFat is Permission unaware file system. Did a regular mount and it will mount to /mnt/media/runtime/[Read & Write & Full &  Default] with 3 separate 'mask' options mask==6 , 7 and 23 ( BTW that mask option isn't quite your umask . Its 'decimalized' umask -convert that 7 to binary to get real umask ). So in fact it invokes the same path as mentioned in the article behind the covers viz  /mnt/media/runtime/[Read & Write & Full &  Default]
{} I need to similarly mount  an ext4 partition with Titanium backup. Here are the issues.
If I mount  /storage/emulated/0/Titanium to ext4 /storage/[UUID]/Titanium  ( like I mentioned in fact it mounts to /mnt/media/runtime/[Read & Write & Full &  Default] with 3 separate 'mask' options  underneath. With this mount. I can  Restore Apps but cant backup Apps. So R is allowed RW is not and I granted Titanium Root access. Maybe the explorer components of that apps are not using Root level access.
Somewhere i read - mount using correct options of sdcardfs and 'fuse`. My question is precisely How ?

{} I found somewhere a bindfs binary but it does not work with my  CPU Architecture
{} Now with everything the same I Could RW using above approach in Android Pie . This is an issue with Android Q ...what changed ? how do I work around ?


text:
How to stop a website from referring to it's app/play store?
I'm trying to use Prime Video as a desktop website on Chrome (Galaxy S9+). The PrimeVideo app would not let me view any better than 720p, which is ridiculous. But the website always refers me back to the app or the play store's download page.
Is there a way around it, or any other way to view at least 1080p on my S9+?

You can open the website in incognito mode.
It will not redirect you to the Play Store

It would not make a difference by using incognito mode. Regardless, I'd have to log into my account even during incognito mode. Thanks for your response though.


text:
TWRP, can't uncheck "Mount system partition read-only"
I installed this Twrp on my Samsung a40 using Heimdall, worked well but I can't uncheck the option "Mount system partition read-only" in Mount. So, I can't flash Magisk, it fails to mount /system. I get the following error "unable to find partition for path /system" when I try to write to the /system. Any ideas, how I can fix it ?

try mount -r /system_root from twrp terminal. magisk error is most likely not related to read-only problem because it is systemless root method. unable to find partition error is maybe caused by wrong recovery.fstab. claim it to TWRP maintainer or unpack twrp.img and fix yourself. in twrp terminal, type ls -1 $(find /dev/block -name by-name)/* use this paths for /etc/recovery.fstab (or twrp.fstab if exist)


text:
Can apps use USB communications without USB debugging?
This question is from a user's perspective, but it's about whether or not developers can accomplish this.
I recently installed DroidCam to use my phone as a webcam for my computer. It works either via LAN or via USB. However, to use it via USB, the user must enable USB debugging on their device, and the phone app communicates with the PC app through ADB.
This is odd to me. Is this the only option developers have for Android-app-to-PC-app communication via USB? Or is there another way that doesn't require USB debugging, and doesn't expose the user to the security risks inherent with USB debugging?
The app developers' guide to setting up USB communications is here.

I would assume that the reason for the requirement to enable ADB for the USB connection is that the used app transmits the video data via IP.
By default Android devices don't support IP traffic via USB. Only via ADB it is possible to establish an IP communication between Android phone and PC through USB (using port forwarding - a feature provided by ADB).
Apps can make use of the USB without ADB however the development is way more difficult and the chance that it does not work on certain devices is high. Comparing it with a connection via ADB the latter is easier to establish, works reliable and does not require extra development work on Android side. Hence it is the simplest available solution.


text:
Why downloaded videos by VidMate can only be played using PLAYit?
I have downloaded a video from YouTube using VidMate. The video is in 1080p and is in MP4 format.

When I tried to play it on mobile, it was not playing. I also tried it on PC using VLC Player, but it can't play the video too. Instead, the player shows this

I tried converting it, but no video converter is able to convert it.
I researched VidMate and found out that it says "use PLAYit player to play the video". When I download the app, it plays successfully.
Why can downloaded videos by VidMate only be played using PLAYit even though it is in MP4 format?

Looking from user reviews for 'PLAYit' and searching for 'VidMate', looks like videos downloaded using VidMate are now encoded/encrypted so that it can only be played using PLAYit. I haven't tried examining the downloaded video in detail, but it already looks shady enough...

yes i have tried things like converting but no converter in converting that encrypted video, and unfortunately there is no decrypter is available yet. but the solution is that use some old version of vidmat and never update it.


text:
ADM (Advanced Download Manager) is not grabbing links automatically
In my previous Android phone, when I to copied any link, there was a popup window of ADM asking whether I wanted to download the specific file or not. It required that ADM should be running in the background.
But now, there's no such pop-up. I've to manually paste links. Although I've enabled the pop-up permission of the app in phone settings.
Is there some other android permission, or ADM setting that I'm missing?
EDIT : I've also checked for auto intercept links, I've enabled it. Still not working.

How to intercept Chrome links with Advanced Download Manager (ADM)?

I haven't used this feature of ADM before, but what you're describing reminded me of a change Android 10 has for security reasons.
In Android 10 apps that are not in focus cannot access your clipboard, not even Google's own Translate app.
Source: https://developer.android.com/about/versions/10/privacy/changes#clipboard-data

You can do this:
Choose ADM as your default browser.
When open a link, the ADM editor will open.


text:
Flashing Custom Rom
How do I choose the correct firmware for my phone?
I have a Samsung a310f that is frp locked on the back IT'S written yately "gugg", UK which could mean that it was made in the UK or for the UK now when I am on SamMobile I don't know if choosing the one for my country or the one that made the phone.

first remove FRP then goto settings and enable OEM unlocking in developer options, otherwise you can't flash custom ROM https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/127739/how-to-bypass-verify-your-account-factory-reset-protection#comment285010_127739

I can't get all the methods from YouTube to work in removing frp, what can I do

ask the previous owner for google password

The phone was stolen

Bluetooth method

PC method

For this model you can flash many official ROM versions.
https://fw.updato.com was a good source of download collection and tutorials in early years, but this site became worst since they monetarized everything
You can flash with Odin or Heimdall
Be aware there is downgrade protection for bootloader and flashing another ROM does not remove FRP lock. Only the methods for by-pass FRP may vary.
For Android 7 Nougat CF-Auto-Root is available but it requires OEM unlocking in developer options
Flashing TWRP is another option but it requires OEM unlocking, too

I have heard about "combination ROM" will help to by-pass FRP. Also some people report successful downgrade, i will revise my answer when i am back at PC https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3586815


text:
How to enable missing system UI notification icons?
Is there a way to fix missing notifications icons on MIUI, on MIUI 9 there is no toggle symbol for VPN activated like WiFi or Bluetooth. I need a convenient way to confirm whether the VPN is running or not.
On stock Android, an active VPN connection is indicated by a "key" icon but on on MIUI 9. Is there a way or fix to make sure the icon appears, other thanconstantly looking on the shade to confirm if the VPN is still active

Is it the same even if you switch VPN?

@beeshyams yes even when the vpn is on

I meant if you change the VPN provider, is the icon still missing. As an example related to a particular VPN provider (includes MIUI)

@beeshyams yes even when I change the provider nothing displays


text:
How to send BTC from my coinbase account using shell script in android only
Please i am thinking of automating BTC send from my coinbase account to another coinbase user via email. I read coinbase API documentations and the only thing that is close to what I need is the script below:
#!/system/bin/sh
curl https://api.coinbase.com/v2/accounts/2ccf394c-193b-5b2a-9155-3b4732659yam/transactions/
  -X POST \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer abd90df5f27a7b170cd775abf89d632b350b7c1c9d53e08b340cd9832ce52c2c' \
  -d '{
    "type": "send",
    "to": "EMAIL_ADDRESS",
    "amount": "ALL_SATOSHI",
    "currency": "BTC",
    "idem": "9316dd16-0c05"
  }'

but it is not working at all when I wrote it in a script named "send.sh" it says "-X" not found, and some other stuffs. Please how can I get this working only in android, all I need is a script that once I execute it I will get the specified Satoshi amount in the coinbase account that has the associated email address specified as the receiver. And there is no API key and API secret specified in the script, I don't know if that is the problem.
Please can someone help me provide a solution please, I sincerely appreciate. Thanks!

Well, if you're determined to play with Bitcoin... You seem to be missing a backslash at the end of your second line.
#!/system/bin/sh
curl https://api.coinbase.com/v2/accounts/2ccf394c-193b-5b2a-9155-3b4732659yam/transactions/ \
  -X POST \
...


text:
Android Font Deleted/Not Working
I was trying to change the font for BENGALI language in my phone. I have my phone rooted.

Copied these six fonts to someplace else and then Deleted these six fonts from system/fonts. I could not install my intended font. So, wanted to revert back to the originals.
When I copied the original fonts back, and restarted the phone, the BENGALI fonts are still not working. What to do??
I am using Derpfest rom on Android 10.

I got it. The permission bits for the font files should be rw-r--r-- . When you copy some file from someplace else to any system folder , check for this pattern in the permission bits and make necessary corrections to do that. It should work.


text:
"Package installer keeps stopping" error when trying to uninstall Zoom Android app
I have a Nokia 6.1 Plus running Android 10. I am unable to uninstall the Zoom Android app. When I try to uninstall, I receive an error message "Package installer keeps stopping".

I don't get the error while uninstalling/installing other downloaded apps.
How to uninstall this app?

Uninstall from Play store?

Uninstalling from play store worked for me !


text:
Document file names automatically change during Share
I'm using a Huawei Y7 Android 8.1.0. Everytime I select share for a PDF or DOCX file and select whatsapp or viber, the file gets renamed to a longer file name. In Whatsapp it shows 'NULL' in the thread. When opened within Whatsapp it shows long file name. Does anyone know how to stop this. It happens for file names less than 8 characters. My issue is I want to share the file with the name I have given but not a long meaningless code. All software including android and apps are updated. App caches cleared. Can anyone help?

Mine does the same when I share a file from the location in which it resides (like a pdf in "files"). But when I share it through WhatsApp (click on the attachment button in the chat) then it shows the correct name. Hope it helps for you too.


text:
Switch between search engines on Brave Browser
I am using the Brave browser on Android and would like to know if there is a way to switch easily between search engines.
This feature exists for Firefox and Opera who provide small icons of different engines when typing in the search bar and you just have to click on the one you want to use. Here is an example with Firefox

For example, I am mostly using duckduckgo.com but sometimes would like to use Google. I already know I can add "!g" in DuckDuckGo, but I'm looking for something more straightforward.
Given Brave is based on Google Chrome, I guess that it explains why it is not implemented natively, but maybe an alternative exists in Chrome that would do the job on the Brave browser?

I use Brave too, and you've got that option in Parameters to choose a different search engine. Here, in Europe, it's set to Qwant by default, but you can choose another one in a preset list. Don't know if you can edit the list to add a search engine that's not already there, though.

@Didier Yes but I already know that. as I said I already switched to duck. what I need is a straightforward and simple way to switch easily like for Firefox

You can do it by using keywords.
Go to Settings -> Search Engines -> Manage Search Engines -> Default Search Engines. There, you will see the keywords for different search engines listed, which you edit to your liking. For example, for Google, the default keyword is :g. So if you prefix your search with :g, it will search on Google, no matter what your default search engine is.
I have modified the keywords as per DDG bangs. For instance, I use !g instead of :g for Google.


text:
How can I stop the native clock app's countdown-timer from throwing one notification per minute?
I have Android 8.1.0 installed, and when using the countdown of the native clock app, it throws one notification per minute. I would just like to turn that off.
In the Settings under:

Apps & notifications

Clock

App notifications

ALARM_NOTIFICATION_LOW_CHANNEL

Importance

I picked "Low - No sound or visual interruption".
When I listen to audio from another app, the timer doesn't make a noise, but it pauses the audio I am listening to and shows a notification dropdown. This dropdown is also annoying while using a browser, because it overlaps the URL bar and the top part of a site...
Unfortunately, googling made me no wiser. Thanks for any tips on how to turn that off.

Which Android device are you using?

Archos Access 50s 4G

Changed the settings in ALARM_NOTIFICATION_CHANNEL, instead of ALARM_NOTIFICATION_LOW_CHANNEL and that fixed it.

Would like to accept this answer, since the issue is solved, but the interface says I need to wait two days ...


text:
Do 360/3D videos in Chrome and YouTube app work on a phone without gyroscope?
I'd like to buy a new phone, I am considering a Nokia 5.3. I just noticed in its specification that it doesn't have a gyroscope. I wonder if embedded 3D/360 videos in Chrome ( and such videos in YouTube app ) would work on this phone ( + Google cardboard ).

Google Cardboard appears to require a gyroscope to operate.
From: https://support.google.com/cardboard/answer/6295046?co=GENIE.Platform%3DAndroid&hl=en

Check phone requirements
Note: If you get a device incompatible message, you may not have a phone fitted with a gyroscope.

Using a gyroscope improves the orientation position of the handset so that turning your head to the left 45 degrees actually feels similar to a 45 degree turn rather than something else.
Note that if you want to view 360 degree video and are willing to deal with swiping/dragging on the screen to move around, that shouldn't require a gyroscope.
I believe there are various apps which will play 360 degree video/3D? without a gyroscope, YMMV.
If you really want to do VR/AR type behavior with your phone (in Cardboard or not) you are better off getting a phone with a gyroscope.
As ARCore is Google's AR platform, and they list supported devices here if you want to find something guaranteed to work.

Thank you very much! Nokia 5.3 is not even listed on ARCore.


text:
avdmanager hangs on "Loading local repository..." Linux
Repro:

Headless Ubuntu 18.04 LTS VM (kvm note enabled)
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y wget openjdk-8-jre-headless libc6-i386 lib32stdc++6 python3-pip nginx unzip
sudo wget https://dl.google.com/android/repository/commandlinetools-linux-6200805_latest.zip
sudo unzip commandlinetools-linux-6200805_latest.zip -d /opt
sudo /opt/tools/bin/sdkmanager --install --sdk_root=/opt "system-images;android-19;default;armeabi-v7a" "platform-tools" "platforms;android-19"
/opt/tools/bin/avdmanager create avd -n arm -k "system-images;android-19;default;armeabi-v7a" -f

On step 7 in hangs with Loading local repository...
Notes:

Running the avdmanager as sudo doesn't help, and the image need's to be created by a user anyway.
Tried sudo setfacl -m u:username:rwx /opt/tools/bin/avdmanager didn't help
setting ANDROID_HOME=/opt and PATH=$PATH:$ANDROID_HOME/tools:$ANDROID_HOME/platform-tools doesn't help
newer version of command line tools don't help ether.

What is the problem? How can I investigate? Have I missed something?

It happened because since version (6200805) Command Line Tools should be placed inside cmdline-tools directory. It should be created manually in ANDROID_HOME.
Please see this answer With the mentioned configuration everything works fine.


text:
How to install any app as a parallel app in OnePlus 6?
OxygenOS in some OnePlus devices allows its users to create a clone of an existing app using a feature called "Parallel apps" under Settings app. The problem, however, is that only a handful of apps are listed as "eligible" to be run in parallel. As a result, the user has to resort to third-party apps to run an app of their choice in parallel. To make a case here, "Firefox for Android" cannot be installed as a parallel app!
I'm looking for a workaround for this superficial limit of only eligible apps to be run as parallel apps.
Note: I am using a OnePlus 6 running OxygenOS 10.3.2 (Android 10) with Magisk and Riru.

The solution is quite simple. Setup adb and issue this command:
adb shell pm install --user UID PKG

where:

UID: the uid of the "Parallel apps" user. To get the UID, you would have to create the user first. Find Parallel apps setting in your Settings app, enable any of the eligible apps (as that would create the user in the background), then disable that app you just enabled.
Ordinarily, the UID might be 999, but OnePlus can change the UID in future. So to ensure the UID of Parallel apps user, run the command:
adb shell pm list users
adb shell cmd user list      # alternative command

Example output:

Users:
    UserInfo{0:Owner :13} running
    UserInfo{999:Parallel Apps:4000030} running

The numeric string before ":Parallel Apps" is the UID of that user.
PKG: the package/app you are trying to install

Lo and behold, you have an app running under Parallel Apps.
Tip: you can install any app, regardless that the app is installed under the primary user or not. You can also install a third-party client for Play Store or an altogether different market app to install/remove apps from Parallel apps user conveniently. See this XDA thread for more details.
Issues:

The "Parallel apps" setting under Settings app would not list these apps.
If your parallel app is indeed a clone/duplicate of an app running under primary user, than removing the primary user's app would automatically remove your sideloaded parallel app too. So, if Firefox is installed as both primary and parallel app and you happen to remove primary Firefox app, the other one would be nuked too.
User beeshyams mentioned that TWRP backup/restore functionality breaks if "Parallel Apps" user exists.


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How to specify the directory path on external memory card?
An app currently saves files to "mydir" on the internal memory:
/storage/emulated/0/mydir
Instead, I want the files saved onto external memory card, but I am unable to figure out what is the right path. The attempts below do not work:
/SanDisk SD card/mydir
/storage/SanDisk SD card/mydir
/storage/emulated/SanDisk SD card/mydir
Android 9 , Redmi 8
"SanDisk SD card" comes from a file manager app, not sure if the card is to be specified by this or something else.

Does this answer your question? How to save files to external SD card on a non-rooted Android?

/storage/36E2-14BB/

this is what stands for the external microSD card,
/storage/36E2-14BB/mydir

...and this is for my own custom directory on the microSD.
(I got the /storage/36E2-14BB/ from an app where the available folder options were listed in a drop-down menu. Otherwise, no clue how to arrive to the 36E2-14BB and it is is unique or universal to each microSD cards.)


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adb install upload location/cache
In such cases when performing adb install fails, where does the uploaded APK end up and does it get removed automatically?
I'm trying to workout if there is a cache somewhere that I should be removing after successful/failed installs to save space (without uninstalling the actual app)?

Cleanup should be handled by the operating system.
Logically any temp files generated during installation or a failed install will be reclaimed at some point.
If you are checking the app size in settings: from an end-user perspective one reason why your app is bigger than just the APK is due to Ahead-Of-Time Compilation as well as any resources unpacked from the compressed APK file.
See: Discrepancy between sizes of apps listed in Play Store vs. actual installed app size for more details.


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The "Storage Space Running Out" notification in status bar will nothide or delete
I tried the common answer I see here. I long-pressed the notification, then chose "App Info". It comes up as the "Android System", version 4.4.4 (old!) but the "Force Stop", "Disable" and "Show Notifications" box, which is checked, are all greyed out and I cannot change them. Can I hide the notification? Thank you!

Unfortunately, you cannot block notifications from "Android System". Later versions of Android (i.e. Android 9 (Pie)) allow blocking of categories of notifications, but for your case the easiest solution is to either get used to it or attempt to free up space on your device. I wish you good luck!


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Cannot get location if using GPS only
I have just factory reset my phone.
To get the location, there are 3 options:
High accuracy, Battery saving, GPS only.
For any app that would use/show my location, I get no location if using GPS only, even if I wait for several minutes with the phone in the backyard.
I do not recall checking this since a long time ago, but with my old phones (ca. 2010), which I think used pure GPS with no assistance, location worked wel..
Is this behaviour expected?
Can GPS location be underperforming for some reason?

In a different context, this app was recommended to help get the initial fix of satellites. See if that helps you. I haven't needed to try that


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How can I transfer/copy open chrome tabs from an android phone to a windows pc?
There is already a question regarding this exact same topic here: Android Enthusiasts
\
The reason I'm posting this query again here is because I can't comment on the answers available there since I don't have 50reps yet. I urgently need someone to please clear this up for me as it's very important. I need to format my phone and sell it asap which is why I'm asking this question
The solution mentioned by Louis Madox on the original question isn't a step by step guide and since I'm not a developer which is why I'm having trouble understanding. I have successfully opened the chrome dev tools on my pc and connected my phone. After that how do I add the line of code mentioned there in the open dev tool window? I mean exactly which option do I click?
and since the code keeps changing for every new chrome version as added by Codebling, my chrome version on pc is 80.0.3987.163
Thank you in advance to anyone that helps me out by answering.

How about Chrome Tab Sync or TabCloud?

chrome tab sync only shows around 10 or so open phone tabs on my pc. I have around a 1000

i have 3 tabs open. i use favorites

try adb backup com.android.chrome https://android.stackexchange.com/q/210545


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No difference between USB 2.0 and USB 3.2, why?
I have a doubt about USB type declared by smartphone manufacturer.
Some smartphone declares USB Type C 3.2, for example Galaxy S20 Ultra.
The new Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro is declared as USB 2.0 on Type C.
I try to check the real connection, and when I connect to my Mac the Samsung I have 480 Mb/s negotiation.
Looks like even if Samsung declare USB Type C 3.2 the max data transfer is 480 Mb/s, and I can prove it with a benchmark.
I connect the Xiaomi, the same. The Huawei P30 Pro, the same.
Is not the cable: I use a very good cable and when I connect my Oculus Quest to the same port, the connection is negotiated at 5 Gb/s.
So my question: why a lot of smartphone manufacturer declare USB 3.2 port but the data transfer is capped to 480 Mb/s?

Does your benchmark measures the USB Transferspeed only? Usually you transfer files via USB and therefore you are measuring the flash performance as well.

tl:dr; You aren't doing an apple to apple, real-world comparison and missing out on many other factors

You are looking at speeds at the USB controller end on PC, further, it is shared between the ports attached to it drawing incorrect conclusions (because you aren't considering other factors)

Firstly, USB 2.0 is half - duplex, which means that while the maximum speed is 480 megabits per second, the actual is roughly half of that. In practice you won't exceed 240 megabits per second speed

In contrast USB 3.0 is full - duplex so, in theory, you can get 10 times higher performance. In practice you aren't likely to get that because of

Type of memory used: Actual data transfer is a function of the USB protocol AND the memory used (protocol may provide high transfer speeds theoretically but the actual speeds depend on the read / write speeds of memory). You mention three devices - Galaxy S20 Ultra,
Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro both of which have UFS 3.0 memory while Huawei P30 Pro has UFS 2.1. All other things being equal UFS 2.1 gives roughly half performance of UFS 3.0

Memory and protocol combination

On the far right of the graph, the Galaxy S10e and Honor View 20 provide results indicative of what one can expect from a USB 3.0 and UFS 2.1 hardware combination

To the left of those results, the Huawei Mate 30 Pro and OnePlus 7T Pro indicate peak performance from a USB 3.1 and UFS 3.0 memory setup.

Note that the second set of phones have better standards but poorer performance compared to the first!  In other words, latest is not equal to best

As if this wasn't confusing enough, it is said that faulty MTP protocol implementation is the reason why Pixel 4 phones perform poorly in  the above comparison. For more, see Tested: The Google Pixel series has a strange USB-C transfer problem

To sum it up, consider all factors before comparing and do a real world comparison as explained in link above.

I try also a live benchmark using a USB 3.0 memory stick. It's the same: the S20 Ultra is very slow. I try also file transfer with a very good USB-C cable, then one I use for the Oculus Quest. Also the P40 Pro is very slow. I cannot obtain the USB 3.0 speed.

Does your benchmark use read and write cycles? Is it complete as described in answer? Did you see the test procedure in the last link of the answer? Also edit your question to link the test results very slow is subjective

I'm downloading a 10 GB sample file.


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Extend pc monitor on 2020 generation tablet, by cable
Do tablets released in 2020 have a technology that allows to use them directly (no sofware to install, only cable) as a PC secondary monitor?
I want to buy a tablet to use it as secondary screen for my pc by cable and I want to know which features/hardware must have to be use it as secondary PC monitor.
I am asking because I have been using spacedesk to connect my tablet to PC via Wi-Fi. It works fine but if the connection is not good or the tablet processor is not powerful enough, there is too much delay between PC and tablet monitors.

Tablets are not designed to show display signals for e.g. a PC. Usually a tablet don't has any hardware support for receiving display signals.
Hence everything has to be transmitted via IP for example as video stream. Video encoding and decoding comes at a price that the latency is much higher that a standard HDMI or DisplayPort connection which mostly transmit uncompressed data.
If you have problems with your Wifi connection you can try to use the USB connection via ADB to establish a IP connection between your PC and the tablet. In detail the following command allows you to connect a TCP port on-device with a TCP port on your PC:
adb forward tcp:5000 tcp:5000

Therefore if you configure a remote screen software to use the port specified here as forwarded port (or change the port forwarding to match the used tcp port on the software) you can get a Wifi independent connection.


text:
3rd party messaging apps with random silent notifications problem
I am having a weird issue. I am on Android 10 on my LG G6 and I haven't installed any doze control app or greenify type apps etc on my phone but whenever I receive any message on 3rd party apps like Whatsapp or Skype etc, many of notifications arrive on time but some of the messages arrive with no vibration and no sound like silent notifications. I haven't set any DND or anything. It's just clean install rom and I have also faced this issue at my official stock ROM Android 9. Same behaviour recorded in that as well. For testing I captured notifications and what I saw is some of the messages comes via silent channelID which is very strange for me as no settings applied. It's all random messages and same behaviour when I am using my phone so I believe it's not doze level thing. I am attaching screenshots of notifications log, please guide me what's wrong going on here. Thanks.
Screenshots: https://postimg.cc/gallery/G3Tbjcg

The same issue on Galaxy Note 9, observed this issue in Nov 2018 but no resolution. The same issue in One Plus also. Very difficult to say whether it is an Android issue or applications issue.
Found this issue in Android Issue Tracker, Google is working on this, although I have observed this issue in Android 8, 9, 10.

Thank you, so its not me only.


text:
PIO CLI support for normal Android
Question is simple, is it possible to integrate PIO CLI tool to normal AOSP project for cellular device?
According to my current knowledge Android Things OS is not open sourced, at least not entirely. But there is a little info on the internet. I've checked the aosp manifest branches and there are some present for Android IoT. But after taking a quick look into them it seems there is nothing regarding peripheral tool. Other than that I've no idea where to look for this.

https://developer.android.com/things/sdk/pio/pio-cli

I asked about possibility of integration of this tool. How page describing functionality is suppose to help me?

i have just added this link for others so they must not search for what PIO CLI is (like i did)


text:
Need to add custom script as service in init.rc for Android 10
I am trying run shell script in device boot-up time.
Steps:

Created shell script and placed into /system/bin/usbmountd.sh

Added test.sh in inir.rc.
service usbmountd /system/bin/usbmountd.sh
user system
disabled
oneshot

Add a new Domain “usbmountd.te” in the location of device/broadcom/XXX/sepolicy/treble/ usbmountd.te
 type usbmountd, domain;
 type usbmountd_exec, exec_type, file_type;
 init_daemon_domain(usbmountd)

Add the Label "/system/bin/usbmountd.sh" to device/broadcom/XXX/sepolicy/treble/file_contexts
 /system/bin/usbmountd     u:object_r: _exec:s0

Added in device/broadcom/xxx/sepolicy/xxx/file.te
 type usbmountd_exec, system_file_type, file_type;

Error:
[ 81% 747/921] build out/target/product/xxx/obj/ETC/sepolicy_neverallows_intermediates/sepolicy_neverallows
FAILED: out/target/product/xxx/obj/ETC/sepolicy_neverallows_intermediates/sepolicy_neverallows
/bin/bash -c "(ASAN_OPTIONS=detect_leaks=0 out/host/linux-x86/bin/checkpolicy -M -c             30 -o out/target/product/xxx/obj/ETC/sepolicy_neverallows_intermediates/sepolicy_neverallows.tmp out/target/product/xxx/obj/ETC/sepolicy_neverallows_intermediates/policy.conf ) && (out/host/linux-x86/bin/sepolicy-analyze out/target/product/xxx/obj/ETC/sepolicy_neverallows_intermediates/sepolicy_neverallows.tmp neverallow -w -f out/target/product/xxx/obj/ETC/sepolicy_neverallows_intermediates/policy_2.conf ||           ( echo \"\" 1>&2;         echo \"sepolicy-analyze failed. This is most likely due to the use\" 1>&2;            echo \"of an expanded attribute in a neverallow assertion. Please fix\" 1>&2;           echo \"the policy.\" 1>&2;            exit 1 ) ) && (touch out/target/product/xxx/obj/ETC/sepolicy_neverallows_intermediates/sepolicy_neverallows.tmp ) && (mv out/target/product/xxx/obj/ETC/sepolicy_neverallows_intermediates/sepolicy_neverallows.tmp out/target/product/xxx/obj/ETC/sepolicy_neverallows_intermediates/sepolicy_neverallows )"
device/xxx/xxx/sepolicy/treble/usbmountd.te:3:ERROR 'Duplicate declaration of type' at token ';' on line 60116:
type usbmountd_exec, exec_type, file_type;
type usbmountd, domain;
checkpolicy:  error(s) encountered while parsing configuration

Development questions are off-topic here but this is how it can be done from end user's perspective: How to run an executable on boot and keep it running?

The error is 'Duplicate declaration of type'
The problem is step 5 in which you declare
type usbmountd_exec, system_file_type, file_type;
You already declared that same type usbmountd_exec in step 3. So remove the duplicate declaration.
Also in step 4 it should look like this:
/system/bin/usbmountd.sh     u:object_r:usbmountd_exec:s0


text:
Partitions to be backed up and restored to prevent losing data after bootloader unlock?
I have a device running Android 9.0 Pie with a locked bootloader running unmodified stock firmware. The userdata partition on the device is currently encrypted using Full Disk Encryption (FDE) with the default password (I have not used the option to encrypt the device with a lock screen password.)
There exists a loophole in this firmware which allows me to create images of entire partitions of the device (by copying a block device from /dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/) and save them on a PC. I have tested this on the cache partition and I was able to successfully mount and browse the copied image as an ext4 partition under Linux.
Note: I don't have root access on the running system, so I cannot directly access decrypted files under /data, so this method is out of question.
Now, I wish to unlock the bootloader which will wipe the userdata partition and reset the device.
Which all partitions should be backed-up before unlocking the bootloader and restored after the unlock, so that the device will be able to successfully decrypt the userdata partition and boot normally (or at least a custom recovery like TWRP will be able to decrypt the partition) ?
The Android Source documentation for FDE states that the key is stored in the Crypto metadata, which is located either inside the userdata partition itself or in a separate metadata partition.
Here is a list of partitions present on the device :-
ImageFv -> /dev/block/sdf4
abl_a -> /dev/block/sde32
abl_b -> /dev/block/sde33
aop_a -> /dev/block/sde14
aop_b -> /dev/block/sde15
apdp -> /dev/block/sde6
bk01 -> /dev/block/sda3
bk02 -> /dev/block/sda4
bk03 -> /dev/block/sda5
bk04 -> /dev/block/sda8
bk05 -> /dev/block/sda13
bk31 -> /dev/block/sdd1
bk32 -> /dev/block/sdd3
bk33 -> /dev/block/sdd5
bk41 -> /dev/block/sde3
bk42 -> /dev/block/sde9
bk43 -> /dev/block/sde16
bk44 -> /dev/block/sde17
bk45 -> /dev/block/sde25
bk46 -> /dev/block/sde29
bk47 -> /dev/block/sde38
bk48 -> /dev/block/sde40
bk49 -> /dev/block/sde41
bk51 -> /dev/block/sdf2
bk52 -> /dev/block/sdf3
bk53 -> /dev/block/sdf5
bluetooth -> /dev/block/sde24
boot -> /dev/block/sde45
cache -> /dev/block/sda20
cdt -> /dev/block/sdd2
cmnlib64_a -> /dev/block/sde20
cmnlib64_b -> /dev/block/sde21
cmnlib_a -> /dev/block/sde18
cmnlib_b -> /dev/block/sde19
cust -> /dev/block/sda18
ddr -> /dev/block/sdd4
devcfg_a -> /dev/block/sde12
devcfg_b -> /dev/block/sde13
devinfo -> /dev/block/sda12
dip -> /dev/block/sde28
dsp -> /dev/block/sde44
dtbo -> /dev/block/sde37
frp -> /dev/block/sda7
fsc -> /dev/block/sdf1
fsg -> /dev/block/sde36
hyp_a -> /dev/block/sde26
hyp_b -> /dev/block/sde27
keymaster_a -> /dev/block/sde22
keymaster_b -> /dev/block/sde23
keystore -> /dev/block/sda6
limits -> /dev/block/sde2
logdump -> /dev/block/sda16
logfs -> /dev/block/sda10
logo -> /dev/block/sde43
minidump -> /dev/block/sda17
misc -> /dev/block/sda9
modem -> /dev/block/sde46
modemst1 -> /dev/block/sdf6
modemst2 -> /dev/block/sdf7
msadp -> /dev/block/sde7
oops -> /dev/block/sda11
persist -> /dev/block/sda14
persistbak -> /dev/block/sda15
qupfw_a -> /dev/block/sde4
qupfw_b -> /dev/block/sde5
recovery -> /dev/block/sda19
sec -> /dev/block/sde1
splash -> /dev/block/sde42
spunvm -> /dev/block/sde39
ssd -> /dev/block/sda2
sti -> /dev/block/sde30
storsec_a -> /dev/block/sde10
storsec_b -> /dev/block/sde11
switch -> /dev/block/sda1
system -> /dev/block/sde48
toolsfv -> /dev/block/sde31
tz_a -> /dev/block/sde34
tz_b -> /dev/block/sde35
userdata -> /dev/block/sda21
vbmeta -> /dev/block/sde8
vendor -> /dev/block/sde47
xbl_a -> /dev/block/sdb2
xbl_b -> /dev/block/sdc2
xbl_config_a -> /dev/block/sdb1
xbl_config_b -> /dev/block/sdc1

Note that the metadata partition is not present.
------------------------- UPDATE -------------------------
(based on the comments by @alecxs)
FSTAB entry
I extracted the fstab.qcom file from the device firmware image (/vendor/etc/fstab.qcom) and here is the relevant line (the full fstab is here)  -
/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/userdata /data ext4 noatime,nosuid,nodev,barrier=1,noauto_da_alloc wait,check,reservedsize=128M,forceencrypt=footer,quota

android_bruteforce_stdcrypto
I ran the python script from Santoku's repository on the header (first 512 bytes) and footer (last 16KB) extracted from the userdata image, and got this output (private data is concealed) -
Android FDE crypto footer
-------------------------
Magic          : 0xXXXXXXXX
Major Version  : 1
Minor Version  : 3
Footer Size    : 2352 bytes
Flags          : 0x00001000
Key Size       : 128 bits
Failed Decrypts: 0
Crypto Type    : aes-xts
Encrypted Key  : 0xXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Salt           : 0xXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
KDF            : scrypt
N_factor       : 15     (N=32768)
r_factor       : 3      (r=8)
p_factor       : 1      (p=2)
-------------------------

So, now that I have enough evidence about all the encryption data being present in the userdata partition itself, I am going to proceed by backing up and restoring only the userdata partition after the bootloader unlock.
I will update this with an answer containing my results after unlocking.

if flag in fstab is forceencrypt=footer then it is last -16384 bytes of userdata, otherwise there is path to file or partition. to double check you can run bruteforce_stdcrypto.py, it is impossible to decrypt but it will reveal Android FDE crypto footer is valid

Hello @alecxs and thank you for responding. Please have a look at the updated question. Unfortunately, I won't be able to try the patched-image injection that you suggested. I have read online that the EDL mode on my device model is protected by some proprietary manufacturer authorisation. Moreover, to start EDL mode, I will have to dismantle the device (which I am not willing to do at least currently).

Does this answer your question? FBE encryption bootloader state in keys


text:
Specific DNS for a Android App
I am currently using adguard DNS using the private DNS setting in my android device to avoid advertisements. But it increases the ping time while I am in a multiplayer game (like PUBG Mobile). Is it possible to use different DNS for an app and a common DNS for everything else?
Note: I am currently based in India if location matters for your answer.

DNS resolution in Android is handled by Net Daemon (netd) which runs in background as an init service. netd uses the DNS server set in Wi-Fi settings or that received through DHCP. Or it can possibly be set through CLI. See details in How does Android OS do DNS name resolution?. But there is no way to specify DNS server on per app basis.
Using Android's VPNService API it's possible to control network traffic on per UID basis (every Android app owns a unique UNIX UID). Or with root access the same can be achieved using iptables to NAT traffic going on port 53. An example VPN based open-source app which lets whitelist apps and configure DNS server is personalDNSfilter (I have no affiliation). It's configurable enough and supports root mode, encrypted DNS (DoH, DoT) and other features.
However in both cases (VPN or iptables), you won't be able to use Android's Private DNS (DoT) feature. It's because DoT (DNS over TLS) queries aren't plain DNS (like HTTP) but encrypted (like HTTPS), going on port 853. So the only entity that can receive and respond to the encrypted DNS queries is the DNS server set in Private DNS settings. Though it's possible to intercept DoT (like we can intercept HTTPS) but the hassle doesn't worth a try.
If you don't want to go with VPN or root based solutions, or don't want to leave Private DNS, another option is to setup DNS forwarder on local network, preferably on default gateway if possible. Or your app must itself have capability to make DNS queries, not depending on Android's resolver.


text:
WIFIKILL Permission denied
I have an s8+ rooted device i've installed wifikill and gave it super user from magisk after that i opened it, pressed on the start button and it gave me an err message saying(sock_fd, siocgifhwaddr, i) permission denied.
i hope someone can let me know what's going on and help me with a solution.

It's hard to guess. At least share some logs. Looks like duplicate of this (from siocgifhwaddr): https://android.stackexchange.com/q/221649/218526

If you are talking about a specific app please include a link to the app in Google PlayStore if it is listed there.


text:
Rooting an Android Motorola Moto G4
Rooting Motorola Moto G4
I have a Motorola Moto G4 that I would like to root.Quick summary of specs:

Developer options are enabled

OEM unlocking = enabled
USB debugging enabled

Android version: 7.0
computer os: windows 10
adb installed

adb devices: device shows up
adb reboot bootloader works

fastboot installed

device shows up in fastboot devices

Problem: after I go to the bootloader screen and I try fastboot oem get_unlock_data the output is:
... INFOUnlock data:

INFOUnlock data unavailable

INFOFailed

OKAY [ 0.101s]

finished. total time: 0.101s

Tried it also from a linux virtual machine. Same result, no code.
Nothing is added to my path. All commands are run in the installed directories of the programs.
How can I fix this?

fastboot oem unlock says that an unluck code must be specified. fastboot flashing unlock doesn't exist. MEID is empty.

i have read somewhere that some OTA break IMEI which result in Unlock data unavailable but this is speculation. Another idea is maybe flash unlocked bootloader? https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/223586/install-twrp-and-magisk-manager-on-moto-g5-plus-without-rooting?noredirect=1#comment289991_223586

what do you mean with "flash unlocked bootloader"? when I google this, I get  articles about Xaomi.

your device is most likely verizon or AT&T. check your cid is unlockable with
fastboot getvar all

Your device is unlockable if the CID value returned is listed
0x0000
0x0003
0x0007
0x0009
0x000B
0x000C
0x000D
0x000E
0x0014
0x0015
0x00DE
0x0032

source

cid: 0x0000, so why doesn't it work?


text:
Issues pairing Mi smart scale with Samsung Health app even though it is supported!
I have mi smart scale XMTZC02HM and Samsung Health keeps telling me that it doesn't discover any accessories. Xiaomi scales are supported in Samsung Health app. When I exit the app and go to bluetooth settings of my Samsung mobile device, it instantly discovered the Mi scale but I can't pair the samsung phone with Xiaomi scale. FYI, the Mi smart scale pairs successfully with MiFit app but it doesn't with Samsung Health although Samsung Supports it. Is there any solution?

There's a similar thread on Samsung's community forum. At this rate, I'd suggest contacting Samsung Support to ask for confirmation if it's really supported or not.


text:
How to backup gmail data from android with adb
I have a non-gmail account with a cache of messages in my android gmail app.
How can I make a backup of the emails and attachments? Accessing the mail server to make a backup is not possible.
I tried the method in the answer here: Backup gmail emails offline
However, the backup file is too small to realistically contain the emails and attachments. It's only coming out 549 bytes, even with trying a few different adb backup options.

Does this answer your question? Creating a backup with adb results in 41 byte file

The GMail app has android:allowBackup="true" therefore app backup via adb should be possible. Try to backup a different app to test if adb backup works at all on your device.

Confirmed using adb 1.0.41.

Tried the methods in the above link, and was able to get a 141MB file, but it did not contain anything but manifests for most apps. gmail app database was not present. Per this link, it should be under /data/data/com.google.android.gm/databases/mailstore.*
Am I correct in assuming gmail is blocking the including of the mail database from adb? Do I need to root to get around this, or is there another way?
https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/27187/where-are-cached-email-messages-stored-in-the-gmail-app

You can copy these files and directories and paste into new device:

/data/data/com.google.android.gm: for Gmail cache
/data/system_de/0/accounts_de.db and /data/system_ce/0/accounts_ce.db: for Gmail accounts and some google authentication info

maybe this method solves your problem


text:
My phone Oppo A5 2020 don't have fastboot mode. How to unoock bootloader. I have to root my phone. Can I root my phone without unlocking bootloader?
Oppo A5 2020
Model No is CPH1933
Android Version is 9.0 Pie
Colour Os 6
There is no fastboot hut I got recovery mode only.
I have to root my phone.
Can I root without unlocking bootloader?
             Or
Can I unlock bootloader without fastboot mode?

Did you solve your problem? I have the same problem.

you should be able to get to fastboot though adb with adb reboot bootloader. I also found a great step by step tutorial here. also in step 8 of that guide it says to boot into fastboot mode, I believe they meant recovery mode. as far as rooting without unlocking the bootloader, it is possible, but not recommendable. i have from experience soft and in one case hard bricked a few devices by doing so. I would suggest getting the bootloader unlocked, flashing a custom recovery, and then falshing a root package along with supersu or magisk. another way you can get root and many other features is by flashing a custom rom, which is essentially installing a differnt custom version of android, you typicall have to enable root acess through the settings and install supersu or magisk.

When you do adb reboot bootloader on that phone, it doesn't go to the bootloader, it says fastboot initially, then it goes to the regular system.   If you do power-voldown    it doesn't go to the bootloader, it goes to a recovery thing called ColorOS


text:
"Hidden" messages in Motorola messaging?
Phone info:
Motorola
Model: Moto E, 2nd generation
LTE: 4G LTE
Operating system: Android, version 5.1
Let me know if any more info would be helpful.
Issue:
My phone's Messaging app (the one that comes with the phone) seems to be "hiding" text conversations sometimes. It'll show how many unread messages I have, (see attached image, the circled number), but I don't see any conversations with unread messages shown. I know there are some conversations missing, I just need a way to un-hide them. As far as I have found, the only way to un-hide these conversations is to search for the conversation by contact, but this only works if you know which contact's conversation was hidden. Any thoughts on how to un-do  this, or what is making the messages hidden?

My research:
I've looked on Android support sites, done Google searches of 'Motorola hiding messages', and all sorts of related searches. Unfortunately I have had trouble finding anything besides suggestions on how to hide messages.

@beeshyams- thank you for that, I didn't realize that was the unread message count! My problem still exists, unfortunately, as I don't see any messages in bold and I know some messages are hidden, but thank you for clearing that one up!

@beeshyams I tried taking a backup and was able to find two out of the four messages- I am still going through it though so the other two are likely in there as well. Thank you for all your help and I will keep you updated!

Partial answer (OP may update with findings later)

From my experience of Moto X Play messenger app - the count corresponds to unread messages.
OP is unable to identify unread messages. Proposed solution:

Use SMS backup & restore to take the backup in xml format and open it on PC (browser, notepad or any other program) and compare with messages on phone to identify "hidden" messages. OP has been able to identify two so far
and  in the process of identifying other two.
Find out what is special about those SMS originators. Guessing, they could be contacts saved on SIM, or social media contacts or Google groups /Hangouts or contacts marked spam, blocked/ unknown contacts for calls, carrier messages or....
Once the nature of contacts is identified, take steps to treat them as other contacts whose messages are not hidden.

Thanks for accepting. Request you to edit the answer with your findings - it may help others in future


text:
service is not running properly in android 10
I have created script and i.e running via service in ini.rc.
init: starting service 'usbmountd '...
[ 1350.212500] init: Service 'usbmountd ' (pid 6923) received signal 11
[ 1350.212626] init: Sending signal 9 to service 'usbmountd ' (pid 6923) process group...
[ 1350.213261] libprocessgroup: Successfully killed process cgroup uid 0 pid 6923 in 0ms
[ 1350.213917] init: updatable process 'usbmountd ' exited 4 times in 4 minutes
[ 1350.221191] init: Init cannot set 'ro.init.updatable_crashing' to '1': Read-only property was already set
getting this log in dmesg.

This feels like a programming question which is off-topic. You should edit your question with what are you trying to do and if the device is rooted.

initially i just want to check my script is running or not.

What's wrong with echo-ing out datetime with state/messages to a temp file? Still leaning toward off-topic as I don't see how specifically Android end-user related. See: https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/39135/stack-overflow-for-hardware-embedded-systems


text:
Join an existing Google Meet meeting from the home screen with an URL
This seems to be quite an edge case, as I can find no information on this.
Context
We have a regular "coffee chat" meeting in our group, and we use a Google Meet URL for this meeting, always the same, and we meet at known times a day. No need to have a calendar entry for this.
So, on the desktop computer, I can always easily reuse the URL (e.g. such one: https://meet.google.com/abc-defg-hjk) like described here.
Problem
But now I am mostly using my Android Tablet to join, and I wonder how to set up a Home Screen icon/widget/link with that URL.
I can use Google Chrome to paste the URL into, but it will automatically start the Meet app. I have no chance to create a shortcut link first. Also, I have not found yet a way to create a link directly from the home screen.
Question
How to create a home screen icon/link/widget that directly opens a given Google Meet URL?

I haven't tried this, and this might be a bad workaround after all, but what if you disable the Meet app for a while, then paste the URL on Google Chrome?

On Android 10,even after disabling open links in Hang outs app it  still opens in app. But using Firefox, shortcut opens in web page. @AndrewT our comments crossed. Google seems to hardwire things for their apps

If nothing else works you can think of using Firefox

@AndrewT.How to "disable" an app? I can only "Force Stop", which does not help, and uninstall, which I did not try yet.

@beeshyams Also using Firefox immediately opens the Meet app.

Marcel not for me on One Plus 7. What @AndrewT was referring to is this probably and which I did before testing on FF. From settings search opening links, disable instant apps (maybe not needed), and in the installed apps locate Hangout, click on it and open supported link set it to don't open on this app

See this screen recording https://my.pcloud.com/publink/show?code=XZfolgkZbPiFlTHUOEz8bUPyl14YVHPjpkCX

Sorry, I forgot that only system apps can be disabled while 3rd-party apps can only be forced-closed from App Info. I seem to be mixing up with pm disable thing...

@Marcel if I uninstall hangouts, I can use Chrome shortcut as you wanted but make sure you disabled instant apps preferences as in earlier comment

I now uninstalled both Hangouts and Meet, and still, when opening the link in either Firefox or Chrome, the Play store immediately opens with the Hangouts Meet app recommending to install. WTF!

Also, disabling "instant apps", as recommended above, did not help, still the same behaviour.
How hard can one make this!

In now tried this as a workaround: https://android.stackexchange.com/a/185258/40418 Unfortunately, it now opens the play store first, so requires one additional click. But it's usable.

Turn off the internet on the device and open the meet URL in a browser. Now, the URL will stay in the adress bar, and you can save it to the home screen the usual way.


text:
Do virtual space apps in Android provide a fully virtual environment?
There are virtual space apps for Android, such as Parallel Space or Dual Space. I know that we can't access outside files in a virtual environment, but I was able to access them in Dual Space's virtual environment.
Do such virtual space apps provide a fully virtual environment?

What do you mean with "fully virtual environment"?

Yes man. You got it right.

If virtual space apps are acting like Parallel Space then they are virtualizing the app runtime environment. Accessing external storage would not be a problem.
Commonsware put up a blogpost explaining what is going on under the hood with this virtualization with a caveat:

However, this sort of virtualization technique – Android apps running inside other Android apps, for an Inception-style experience – requires that you trust the virtualization engine. After all, by definition, it can see all I/O between the app and Android, as it proxies all of that I/O. It is a [Man-In-The-Middle] MITM attack on the app.

So if you trust the makers of Parallel Space (or don't care) it is an option to consider.
From my answer: https://android.stackexchange.com/a/169048/3573

ParallelSpace and DualSpace use the same technology if I get their description correctly and this technology has nothing to do with virtualization: they use app cloning
App cloning means that an app is renamed (not the visible name but the app package name such as com.whatsapp). Therefore the app is unpacked, modified at certain points to use the new name and then packed and signed with a new signature and afterwards installed.
As Android separates each app a renamed app can be installed side-by-side with the original app. The actual separation is done by the Android OS in exactly the same way it is done for every app.
And just like any other app if the repackaged app stores data in the sd-card section you can access this data.

Do you have any references for app cloning process?

@MorrisonChang The general process is not that complicated: https://stackoverflow.com/a/54032434/150978 However I would assume that certain apps require more modifications even on code level.

Great, the 3rd point answer in your reference is basically my answer. (I knew it was doable but felt brittle as app devs can do various code checks which would result in arms race for detection).

Thanks man for explaining me the basics behind these apps.

Parallel Space FAQs page states:  "07.Does Parallel Space reinstall an app?
Nope, we run and store the app in a virtualization engine.". So it seems they are running the apps in their own virtual machine, not modifying the app. Haven't investigated myself but this guy has: https://stackoverflow.com/a/41702482/9165920


text:
E: failed to format /cache: permission denied
I am using a Blackview A60 Pro and I am stuck inside of the turn on screen. A couple of days ago I dropped it in a bucket of water and I have had it in rice since. I turned it on and it won't boot, I tried to recovery boot it, it wouldn't allow it. I tried to fastboot it,the command never finished. I cannot factory reset the phone as the permissions are denied. The phone seems to be working fine mechanically but I am unsure of what to do. Any Advice?


text:
Android Orientation problem while recording the screen
I have i weird problem with my android RK3288 motherboard.
I set the orientation of the screen to reverse portrait but if i want to record the screen or do remote control via scrcpy i got a screen like it's still under landscape mode.
After i tried to change the system properties like this but no result :
adb shell settings put system accelerometer_rotation 0  #disable auto-rotate
adb shell settings put system user_rotation 2  #reverse portrait

I tried also to rotate the hdmi screen in /system/build.prop but also no result :
persist.demo.hdmirotation=portrait
persist.demo.hdmirotationlock=true
persist.demo.singledisplay=true

Remote or screen record display :

HDMI screen display :


text:
is it possible to enable WPS to connect to a WiFi using ADB commands?
Is there any way to enable WPS in Android through ADB commands to get to connect to the WiFi?
What I want to do is automatically testing this feature in a router with different types of devices connected, one of them b eing a phone (any) with the latest version of Android (10.0 at the moment I'm writing this).
I'd like to control it through ADB for two reasons:

I want to automate it
I need to make sure the phone was disconnected and connected again thanks to WPS and not other settings of the phone itself or the router

Maybe I can control the app Simple WPS through ADB commands? However I'm a bit newbie using ADB and I'm not sure how to do that.
I also found the Wi-Fi Easy Connect, but again, not sure how to use it.
Thanks!

Unless I'm missing something, WPS is enabled on at least Nexus 5, LineageOS 14.1 (Android 7.1). I have connected my Nexus 5 to a Wi-Fi AP using WPS a few times since no one knew the password. So, could you mention the device model and Android version? Also, this is about Android connecting to a Wi-Fi AP, not the other way around (other devices connecting to Android as a mobile hotspot) right? Just to make sure, have you pressed/toggled the WPS button on the router when the Android device is asking for the password?

WPS is an insecure technology (too many flows in it's design) and therefore should be disabled in all Wifi components where it is available. On some attacks an attacker can get the PIN within seconds.

@AndrewT. I added more info, thank you!

@Robert I know WPS is almost deprecated because it's not the most secure way to connect to WiFi but it's still implemented in some of the newest routers and I want to tested, so the security point is not the points here :)


text:
Help needed to restore my Google Nexus 7 to a working state
I attempted to flash the factory image for Android 4.4.4 on my Google Nexus 7 (2012), but it wasn't successful. This now resulted in my device no longer booting up, I am also unable to get into fast boot mode, or recovery mode.  When I plug my device into my computer, it shows as an unrecognised device.
What can I do to restore my Nexus to a fully working state?

https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3342364


text:
Suddenly phone screens are changed and almost all apps crash
I cannot understand why, after a reboot, my phone screens changed (different app shortcuts and screens organization, etc...) and almost all my apps stopped working (crashing on launch). I also noticed that almost all my apps are requesting me permissions that I had already granted.
To give more context, I rebooted because I had just switched my SIM card and as soon as the phone was on I joined a Wi-Fi network (I had not joined one for some time, say one month). I didn't notice the change immediately after the phone reboot.
So the sequence of actions I performed before noticing something was wrong was:

switch the SIM card
reboot
join the Wi-Fi network

At this point, my phone looked like someone else's phone...
I am thinking of resetting the phone to factory settings but would like to know why this happened in the first place. Does anybody have a clue of what could be the cause of it?

Just to make sure in case you perform a factory reset: BEFORE performing a factory reset open the settings -> Accounts and remove all of them, or at least the Google account. Just to make sure you are not running into the Factory Reset Protection (FRP).

Is it a A/B device and the update was applied after reboot? The update may have created the problem. If this is the case, try update to next version if available (in the hope that the problem is fixed) or switch slots and reboot to get back to earlier status. It's a possibility, no idea of probability!

@Robert I'll keep that in mind, thank you!

@beeshyams how can I tell if it's an A/B device? (it's a Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, Android 7.0)

@beeshyams I checked via getprop ro.build.ab_update and it doesn't look like A/B is active... but it really looks like some kind of reset took place after switching the SIM and rebooting

I don't think SIM card will make such a drastic change. Anyway, you can ask your carrier to send APN settings by SMS and re-install them or check from carrier website / internet what the  APN settings should be and verify on your device. But I doubt it would make a difference. Wifi connection won't.... I've run out of ideas and maybe someone else may suggest... All the best


text:
How to change the primary Gboard language
I just set up a new phone and had to type something in Hebrew but hadn't yet actually set up the extra Hebrew keyboard. Instead, I ended up setting my Gboard default to Hebrew, and I cannot figure out how to change it to US again. I have added/readded the keyboards, don't even have Hebrew installed, but right now I still only see Hebrew as the supposed language of my keyboard. It's not.
How do I change this back without having to reset my phone and try again?
Edit: the issue isn't the languages I can add, as I can add any and all. The issue is that it always says Gboard Hebrew Israel even though I'm not using a Hebrew language at present (it shows regardless of whether there is a Hebrew keyboard added or not). It's simply that I want it to say US English again.
Edit2: I've uninstalled all Gboard updates repeatedly and reinstalled as well. No dice.

Have you tried "Add Keyboard" so that you get the Hebrew one back and then switch it back to "English (US)"?

Does this answer your question? How to enable multilingual typing in Google Keyboard (GBoard) app?

I tried that question first. That's actually why I considered posting to StackExchange and not the Google forums. It doesn't address the issue. Why would it show Hebrew if there isn't a Hebrew language even being used? That's the issue. There's no need to add a language when the Gboard display only shows Hebrew. There is nothing straightforward about this issue for me.


text:
unable to use whatsapp on wifi xiaomi a3 device
I am using Whatsapp on Xiaomi A3 device.
I am unable to use Whatsapp on Wifi of my home. I have a broadband ADSL router. Whose settigngs never changed. There are other people who use Wifi and their whatsapp works perfectly.
In my case it used to work but now it is giving problems. I am able to use internet using Wifi of my home on this Mi A3 phone.But I am not able to use whatsapp. I mean to say neither any message gets downloaded and neither any message is sent on whatsapp when I am connected to Wifi of my home. But when I switch on my data plan immediately all the messages which are pending to get delivered, in the que get delivered.
Also I receive the pending messages.I restarted the device after a restart I do get my whatsapp usable for 10 minutes on my Wifi. But after some time again the same situation is there.
I am using WhatsApp 2.20.108 (it is not business edition). The phone is android 9,model name M190F9SI.
What should I do?

Is your device connected to the main Wifi of your router or some sort of guest network? Check the router settings if something is filtered by the router. Also check if in your Android device for your Wifi is configured to use a proxy.

Is there an X icon bottom-right side of the wifi icon? Try "forget this network" and reconnect. It happened to me a few times and this is how i solved. Check network related whatsapp settings also.


text:
Don't charge the battery but use connected power to run the phone
Answers to this question Is power consumed from battery to run the phone when charging? explain how charging while phone is in use does both - charging the battery and powering the on going activities.
My question is different — Can I stop charging the battery but use the connected power for ongoing activities?
Why do I want to do this?

I want to charge the battery within ideal limits (see Ideal charging / discharging percentage for maximum battery life?)

and

at the same time use the charging power to keep running the phone without any heat stress on battery, thus extending battery life.
Also the battery is not drained, enabling me to use the phone for longer time without charging

Edit : I am not looking for dedicated cables or hardware that can possibly do this

Note that no matter what the UI says, in general case the charger does not have enough power to meet the peak phone demands. That's why most phones and tablets (and also some laptops) cannot be started without a battery. Depending on how you acheive your "battery idle" state, you will either get quick discharge-charge-idle transitions (defeating the initial idea), or slowly depleting battery.

@fraxinus 1.As mentioned in the answer the effective power supplied to run the phone is that of USB 2. quick discharge-charge-idle transitions do not happen in this implementation. I have run the device for 4 hours max in this condition with only one percent drop (watching you tube) - this point is also briefly mentioned in the answer

This has always been possible AFAIK using a Factory Cable.  You can either make a Factory Cable from an existing USB cable, or buy a Factory Cable Adapter that does the same (Team Blackhat used to sell the adapters, but I don't believe they still do).  A Factory Cable, or Factory Cable Adapter, supplies power to the device, entirely bypassing the battery

@JW0914. I have read of such cables but they won't meet the requirements of bullet point 1 in the question isn't it? That is of charging till user wants to. Perhaps you are referring to the title and mailing this observation, in which case I agree title is misleading, sorry, didn't frame that well in an effort to keep it short. Thanks for your observations

@beeshyams I was only pointing out that a hardware solution exists to the overarching question of "can you run a smartphone solely off USB power", which is inline with bullet #1 if the battery is already at/near 80% charged. If wanting a solution that does both, the most practical way is a software-based solution, like that in your answer, else you'd need to either manually re-arrange the pinout of the Factory Cable, such as by using molex/bullet/spade connectors, or have some mechanism for doing so electronically, such as a switch (either is what a non-rooted device would likely have to use).

@JW0914 Point taken though it would be inconvenient to switch cables just for this. Just to make sure that cable /hardware is not what I am looking for, added that bit to the question. Thanks for pointing out.

I asked a similar question: https://superuser.com/questions/1365704/can-phones-tablets-avoid-charging-from-usb-power

OP, or @JW0914 Where can I read more about such a "Factory Cable Adapter"? Is it an industry wide standard? How does it work? Does anyone still make them? Do for example modern Samsung phones support this trick?
ACC app's "battery idle mode" is not supported by samsung kernels it seems, that much I know.

@Spectraljump A factory cable or adapter (some refer to it as a fastboot factory cable) provides power directly to the phone's USB port to allow the phone to boot without a battery or with a dead battery. I'm unsure where you can buy one, but they're easy to make with an existing micro-USB cable (it destroys the cable for other uses) and guides can be found via google, although I'm unsure if they work on USB-C devices. The model of phone generally doesn't matter, as most use the same USB pin-out

Yes, it's possible if your device is rooted running Advanced Charging Controller-Acc Magisk module
and device kernel supports (see currently known list at the end of answer. For more join telegram
)

Battery Idle Mode: To activate this feature at a user defined battery level.

And/Or

Custom Charging Voltage Limits: Activates this feature at a user defined voltage level. This method is superior to first method since granular voltage control is possible  Keep in mind that battery charge level is not an accurate indication of voltage. Kernels that support this, include support for first mode too.

First step is to configure charging to be stopped at a safe level, in my case, 75%, using the Acc module
Next step is to use the charging power to run the phone only
How does it work?
In either methods (battery idle mode or Voltage based) , the charger is fooled into "believing" temperature conditions aren't good for charging (either the reported battery temperature is too high or too low, so battery charging is discontinued as a safety precaution).
That means the device is drawing power from the external power supply alone - which is exactly what we wanted! And the battery doesn't get drained because it is not being used (of course over a long period of time it would drop a percentage point. As an example I used the device to surf for 4 hours, mostly YouTube videos and lost  just 1% of battery)
On my OnePlus 7, battery idle mode is supported by Kirisakura kernel. Interestingly, beta versions of stock ROM have this feature in stock kernel but one doesn't know if it makes it to next stable version (Edit : Stock kernel on 10.3.2 supports idle battery mode as verified by me)
When this feature is running, a low USB  equivalent power is fed to the phone and conventional charging indicators show charging with zero power. Note that the second screenshot (Ampere app) shows "not charging" and no word about discharging, so the battery is at status quo. Normally, such apps show a binary status, either charging or discharging. Here, you see the difference

This screenshot below is from ACCA (Acc App, optional companion app of Acc magisk module ) which offers all the command line options (believe me, a ton of them) in a user friendly GUI. It shows battery charging idle mode at 75%

Support Battery Idle Mode

Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1
Essential Phone
Lenovo K5 Pro L38041 (kunlun)
Motorola Moto G4 Play
OnePlus 7/Pro
Xiaomi Redmi 3 (ido)
Xiami Redmi Note 8
Pixel 4a on Android 11 (not initially but in subsequent updates) and Android 12.

Support Custom Max Charging Voltage

Essential Phone
Lenovo K5 Pro L38041 (kunlun)
Xiami Redmi Note 8
...

Note : The Magisk module is being continuously being developed, so it's best to use the XDA thread or the Telegram channel

According to the xda thread (and based on lack of dev activity since nov 2020) it seems the project is dead, and indeed the client app at least seems to be buggy on new devices.
I don't know of any alternatives that prioritize bypassed cable power over battery, and would gladly buy a "Factory Cable Adapter" but I can't find anything on either fronts.

@Spectraljump development has re-started a few months ago

For completeness, I  want to add my solution. I have been using a tablet as a control panel for home automation. The first one died, with a swollen battery that made the screen detach from the case.
Samsung repaired it, but didn't tell me the cause. I  realised it later. So I  now use the home automation to disconnect power to it for 4 hours a day.
A simpler soltion would be put a mechanical or electronic timer to do the same.


text:
Remove "Google" appearing on Gboard spacebar
Very recently Gboard updated adding an ugly and distracting "Google" on top of the spacebar. How do I disable this?

related https://www.reddit.com/r/google/comments/f9fe8j/new_gboard_now_hasgoogleon_the_space_bar/ https://www.reddit.com/r/gboard/comments/f9ozb7/why_did_google_brand_their_spacebar_with_this/

I saw this Android Authority tweet just now expressing disappointment and disapproval of this move by Google.

We’ve spotted the changes over here at Android Authority too, and we’re guessing it’s a server-side update as some of us haven’t enabled automatic app updates. So rolling back to an earlier of Gboard likely won’t help you.

(Emphasis added)
What worked for me is having more than one one Gboard languages  English (US), English (India) and two Indian languages apart from SwiftKey. Probably because of  this ,I don't see "Google" and this is supported by others on the tweet thread.
You can add languages to see if it solves the problem
Update

It appears either the update described below was a mistake or Google has quickly realized that people hate it because it’s already starting to revert back to the way it used to be.
Users are now reporting that the Google-branded space bar is no longer there and the Google search function has returned.


text:
Can apps in Huawei AppGallery be downloaded in China?
I have published a mobile game in Google Play Store. Apparently it cannot be played in China as China has banned Google. Huawei provides an alternative app store -- Huawei AppGallery. Does it mean that if I upload my game there, players from China will be able to download my game?

After going through their publication process, I can answer the question now.
The answer is yes. They give you the option to publish apps in China, on the condition you submit additional documents required by the government of China. You need also to display a Health Advice in your app prominently.

Where can I get these documents?

I am afraid you have to get them from Chinese ministries through an agent working in China.

As far as I can tell, health advice is mandatory for games, not apps. Furthermore I was able to publish 2 apps today without providing any further documentation than the Huawei exemption.

@3c71 where can I get the Huawei exemption document?


text:
No pattern and password lock screen in AOSP ROM for HiKey 960
In AOSP ROM for HiKey 960, I can only choose swipe or none as lock screen.
How do I get the option to choose pattern or password?

Feel very welcome in this forum, thanks for closing the question after 11 views, so no one else could see it and be angry about it. Turns out the question was not about   writing and publishing Android apps, writing custom ROMs, and other topics that are primarily of concern to developers after all; but nobody knew that until it was answered.

Apologize for a late welcome to Android Enthusiasts Stack Exchange, a Q&A site focusing on Android end-users solving their issues. We tend to be wary about questions related to building/customizing ROM since usually end-users can't really help. However, if the question can be reworded to be asked from end-user POV instead (like, mentioning an already baked custom ROM that has the same issue), then it might have a chance to be reopened.

it there a way we could make this a good question for this forum by asking for system-lockscreens which could be installed on a random rooted device or aosp device in /priv-app/ - do you see such a possibility for this crowd?

After some consideration, I took a chance to make the question at least end-user-y (While Android.SE doesn't really accept building ROM, it allows questions on flashing available ROM, including AOSP ROM). At the very least, consider reposting the answer with sources/references.


text:
How to use wifi for a specific app and celluar data for the rest?
I have a wifi rear view camera in my car. That camera creates a WIFI hotspot for my phone to connect with. If I put my car in reverse the app gets notified and switches to the app to show the camera view. But if i'm connected to the hotspot my phones internet doesn't work (duh) because the camera doesn't have any internet access.
I only want wifi for that specific app and my phone should use my 4g data, but I don't know how or if it is even possible.
My phone has android 9 and is rooted. Is this even possible? Because I read that on IOS this works by setting a custom dns (or something)...

The following question is a bit older but exactly asks for the same thing: Can an android phone connect to both WiFi and mobile data network at the same time?

If internet isn't reachable on WiFi and Mobile Data is turned on, OS automatically switches to Mobile Data. That's the default behavior, I think, not sure though. But after that, also not sure if hosts on WiFi are accessible or not. With root access however, you can automate the network routing table manipulation (using some init trigger, or listening to some uevent, or using some automation app) to get desired behavior, provided that WiFi and Mobile Data are turned ON at the same time (check "Mobile Data always active" in Dev Options).

You can try to automate the process. The following is accomplished using Automate. There are other apps you can use to get the same results.

Create a new flow.
On the Apps category (on the drawer), select App in foreground?. Set Proceed section to When changed. On the package section, select your app. Save it. Connect it to Flow beginning block.
On the Connectivity category, select Wi-Fi set state. Save it. Set it to On'. Connect itsOKto theYes` of Step 2.
On the Connectivity category, select Wi-Fi set state. Save it. Set it to `Off'.
On the Connectivity category, select Mobile data set state. Save it. Set it to On'. Connect it to theOKof step 4 and to theIn` of Step 2.
Save the flow by pressing the back button. Give it the necessary privileges. Click on Start.

Your flow will look like the image below. When you app is in the foreground, Wi-Fi will be enabled. When your app is the background, Wi-Fi will be disabled and mobile data enabled.
Disclaimer: I am just a user of the app.

I use that app a lot, but I don't think this is gonna work. The camera sends via WIFI a request (don't know specific) and the app show the view of the camera. So this diagram isn't going to work because the app is in the background... Maybe I can make something so that automate checks my speed en based on that switches to wifi of data.


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Galaxy Tab A (2016) always shows full memory

My tab always warns of dangerously low memory. It shows 15.4 GB used of 16gb even though the sum of the images, video, documents and apps is only around 2.5 GB (per attached image). I've tried disk clean up, wiping the cache partition, deleting files and apps, but the amount of used storage doesn't go down.
Has anyone encountered this before or can anyone suggest a possible fix?

You should check the partition layout of your device e.g. using Disk Info. See how many partitions are there and how large the user data partition is.

Try this app, it displays the memory usage of your device:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.diskusage&hl=de


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Family Link: how to set daily limits for one child regardless of which devices he/she uses?
I can't find a way to set a daily limit to my daughter regardless of her devices. I want her to spend 2h max on screen no matter which device she uses on that day.
Yet she's getting 2h on her tablet and 2h on her smartphone.
Am I missing something? Does Family Link only allow to set device-specific limits?

That's how it is supposed to be. See Set daily limits

Tip: Daily limits apply to each Android device or Chromebook your child uses. For example, if you set a daily limit of 2 hours, your child would get 2 hours of time on each device.

(emphasis added)

Thank you. Is it me or this limitation makes literally no sense? Which parent want to apply limitations on a per-device basis instead of on a per-child basis??

Google ways are strange

@drake035 No, it is not just you. This is a weird as it can be. But consider that this problem goes even further. Some old-school children aren't limited to mobile devices only, but also want to use PC. An there you can use Family Link only, if you force them to use Google Chrome. If they intend to use Edge for example, you are in deep a... because there is absolutely no limitation from Google Link there. So you daughter may spend 1 hour on mobile device and 8 hours on PC. Like mine just did. Girls... :)