text:
Wifi status 'Connected, no internet'. Can access all internet resources I've tested
Related question
I've put a new router into the office to run our 'guest' wireless network. It's a FRITZ!box 3490.
Android devices connected via both 2.4 and 5G are showing as 'connected, no internet' except that they are all able to access the internet.

What mechanism / method does android use to determine 'internet access'

Everything I've tested (ICMP/HTTP(S)/DNS/Outlook [SMTP]/Sharepoint/YouTube/Plex/Spotify/Various Google Services) all work as expected so it isn't really a problem but I've had a steady stream of people come over and tell me that they can't get on the network (even though they can if they'd just try it).
From the above linked question it is mentioned that the android device calls home to google to confirm 'internet access'. This must be being blocked but I can't see what traffic is blocked / not routing to cause this behaviour.
Sadly the new routers firewall interface leaves much to be desired so it's not clear whats being restricted, even after I've set everything to 'Unrestricted' in the router firewall interface.

Is there a list of google systems/services/addresses that need to be available to get this working?

EDIT.
From the linked question a hidden comment suggests that the android devices are attempting to connect to https://google.com/generate_204
Whilst connected to a network that is ok i get the following from a cURL against that page:
> curl http://google.com/generate_204
HTTP/1.1 204 No Content
Content-Length: 0
Date: Mon, 10 Sep 2018 11:21:24 GMT

Whilst connected to the network with the problem
> curl http://google.com/generate_204

There is no output on the second curl. This must be the root of the issue, now to work out where/why my router is blocking this.

This sounds familiar, esp on recent android versions, have you tried disabling captive portal it seems to have so many glitches :(

Ashamed to say rebooting the router fixed it.

"Wifi connected, no internet." Browsing and some apps are working, but some are not. Rebooting the router, then rebooting the phone. Fixed.


text:
Add to contacts from recent numbers in Galaxy S9
When I am listing the recently called numbers, how do I add such a number to the contact list?

I am using the latest Samsung S8, so I will assume yours is most likely exactly the same procedure.
From the Recents list, tap the number you wish to create as a contact.
Mine opens a bar just below, 'Call' with a green phone icon, 'Message' with a bubble for messaging, and 'Details' with an info icon.
Tap 'Details' for an action bar to appear at the bottom of the screen with a '+ Create Contact' label. Tap, supply data to the page presented including any Name and Location and Detail information, then tap Save which appears in the header below the notifications area of the screen.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Samsung stuck at animation logo
When I try to turn on my GTS6312 this happens :-
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1b7eBNPs2Oyvfs41c1BwzVSp4uEjCEErs/view?usp=drivesdk
I can not boot into recovery. I flashed the stock ROM but it does not solve my problem.
It just stucks on the samsung constantly glowing animation.

Probably a hardware failure. You should try flashing a repair firmware and see if it can solve this. Just Google for gt-s6312 4 files firmware

@esQmo_ post this in answer it is a completely correct answer. I will tick it.

Well, this can be caused by either a hardware failure or simply a software error, also called a soft brick.
If your hardware is damaged, e.g. the eMMC chip is damaged, there is no much you can do than sending the phone to a repair shop.
In other hand, the software failure can be ''repaired" by flashing the device with a full firmware, aka 4 files firmware, this cam be found online. Then simply flash it with Odin or any flashing software and your soft brick  should be solved.

You are welcome

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


text:
OnePlus 5 Soft Brick
I have a OnePlus 5 and it won't boot. The phone is stuck on a black screen and blue LED (can't boot) since 20 days ago, and I tried everything I saw on the web to make it boot again.
I tried :

to flash the recovery with the original one
to flash the Oxygen OS and the Hydrogen OS via fastboot (authorized even with a locked bootloader)
to use MSMDownloadTool (a tool I found on the web, used by the support of OnePlus to reinstall bricked phones.

...but nothing helped.
I'm now with my OP5 soft-bricked, but since I used MSMDownloadTool, it locked itself (the tool locked the bootloader) and I can't flash again with fastboot (except the official ROM but still won't boot) nor adb. I tried fastboot oem unlock but I got an error (because I can't go on the developer's options due to the phone not loading): FAILED (remote: Flashing Unlock is not allowed)
If it gets you some info, I did fastboot oem device-info and got this result:
(bootloader) Verity mode: enforcing
(bootloader) Device unlocked: false
(bootloader) Device critical unlocked: false
(bootloader) Charger screen enabled: true
(bootloader) enable_dm_verity: true
(bootloader) have_console: false
(bootloader) selinux_type: SELINUX_TYPE_INVALID
(bootloader) boot_mode: NORMAL_MODE
(bootloader) kmemleak_detect: false
(bootloader) force_training: 0
(bootloader) mount_tempfs: 0
OKAY [  0.001s]
Finished. Total time: 0.002s

Is there any solution to be sure to write again everything on the OP5? (it seems that the MSMDownloadTool and fastboot won't erase everything as the OP5 finishes properly new installation but boot loop every time).
The present state of the OP5: bootloader locked, official recovery working, official ROM installed but won't boot.
I'm on Mac and Windows btw.
I followed numerous tutorials like this one :
Unbrick tool OnePlus 5

It sounds to me like the boot image is the one causing you problems. Since at no point should a phone with default recovery working and official system not boot. Have you heard about the kernel and porting of images. This is exactly what you may need to do. For any reason, when flashing any OS.  Ensure you port any OS's boot image by the original image that was in phone. Since you can flash in the OS, if your flash tool supports a firmware that can be extracted, you can look for a TWRP recovery, replace the one in firmware with the TWRP image and reflash. This will get you an environment...

...to install other OS on. But consequently. If you can get hands on the stock boot image. You can replace any OS's kernel with its stock. For example me I use MTKBoot for Windows to port images.

Thank you @ThallyAce, can you explain to me or show me a tutorial for that?
I'm at the point where I'll try anything to make it work.

This will be a good workaround for the situation above. Since you were able to flash the phone, that means the MSNFlashTool is well configured in your computer. Now what I want you to think about is how you can flash a custom recovery image into the phone so that you can even get the phone alive by a third party OS like Lineage and anything.
After downloading the firmware file and starting flashing, the MSMTool writes the current progress in the progress window writing what it's flashing in the phone. Notably the userdata.img is one of the files you recognize since it is somehow big and doesn't flash quickly.
Consequently many data partitions exist in the phones memory, like the:

system.img
cache.img
boot.img
recovery.img

These are the essentials in any system, remember these are not all but these are the compulsory in any system. I'm sure the flash file is an archive that you can open with rar. It sometimes can be an archive containing an archive so you have to extract it twice incase you don't see these img files. Once opened in rar take note on what type of archive is the firmware file. It can be:

zip
tar
7z
rar
gz
gzip

And many more other types. Hope you remember this. Look for a compatible custom recovery image like twrp and replace it with the recovery.img or alternatively the boot.img if you miss the recovery in the firmware. If there are checksums like the md5, sha256 or any other sums to verify the integrity of files, regenerate and replace them, then repack the firmware with the same compression type as it was and flash the phone using it and you shall have teamwin recovery as your default recovery or boot.
Use the recovery to load third party OS and if you get the OS booting use it to unlock bootloader for futher fastboot actions or you can even use the new OS if you're convenient with it
Note: Ensure the recovery image is specifically made for your device model. If you have any trouble finding the appropriate recovery for your specific phone model, I can make you a download link for it after you give me exact specifications of your phone.
Hope it helps you

So I have been following closely how it's flashing software works. I saw the Flash Tool writing loading the userdata.img on a progress window. Does that mean other partitions don't come in the firmware as imaged files?

No, the others partitions are actually flash with the tool. As I comment (on the upper post) the tool has a file .OPS I don't know if I can change the boot.img on it or not.

If you extracted and got the boot image. You can make a copy of your firmware and replace the boot img with a twrp img instead. Remember when navigating the system using winrar, it can open the ops file and tell you what archive it is. And replacing any file by drag and drop updates the archive in the same compression type. So this will make it easy to replace and repack (updating). And then I'm sure after changing that file the message digest sum is altered and this means you will regenerate any md5 or sha256 sum of the ops file usually a text file to make the flash tool not to ignore file

That's when I'm assuming any flash tool must check verification of the flash files by their checksums so as not to flash a corrupt file

I tried with winrar but it doesn't recognise the format file .OPS
Is there any advanced tool in winrar that I don't know the existence?

I don't know any other advanced tool in it. It was supposed to automatically recognize the file if it was an archive which it now seems it's not

I think it's the proprietary format from OnePlus. I found this: https://github.com/bkerler/oppo_decrypt
maybe it'll help.

Shall have to try that

It didn't work...

I shall alert you if I find an extraction algorithm


text:
Recover hidden pictures from my system
I am currently using Calculator Vault to hide my photos and would like to recover all my photos. But my system does not want to start since this morning. I have the password with which I lock it.
Where can I found all my pictures by the file manager ?
Thanks by advance for your help!

From the Google play page of the app-

Q - I uninstalled this app and again installed. Can I get my locked
  pictures back? A - You need to unlock pictures before uninstall. Files
  are not available in new install.

Unless you can get the phone working to access the app again you won't be able to decrypt the files. Decryption won't be possible on your computer too.

Ok but so How the app can do that ? All encrypted files must be decryptable, no ?

The app itself doesn't have its source code published anywhere so it's hard to say what protocol it uses for encryption.

Do you think if I decompile the app, can I invert the protocol to retrieve my files ?

Unlikely. It's not easy to decrypt encrypted stuff without the key.


text:
How to revert Galaxy S8+ to stock firmware?
Is it possible to revert Samsung Galaxy S8+ to stock firmware? The phone was interrupted while upgrading the software and is now bricked.
The model is SM-G955P


text:
Android virtual keyboard app that support physical keyboard language and layout change
Apparently on many Android phones on Android OS 7+ there is no option to change external physical keyboard language/layout without going into device settings.
Is there a good virtual keyboard, which also supports changing layout/language for the attached physical keyboard on wide range of devices?
Solutions that I found:

Dedicated keyboard app for typing with physical keyboard. Popular recommendation is https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apedroid.hwkeyboardhelper&hl=ru. There are other options like Logitech Keyboard Plus app on Google Play. This is inconvinient, as you have to switch between input method every time you plug the physical keyboard.
Install two keyboards for every language you want to support. Assign proper layouts for them in the settings. Switch between keyboards with Command + Space. This is a kludge and inconvinience.

A few additional points:

SwiftKey does not support this feature. Changing language with the globe icon does not affect what you type on physical keyboard at the moment of writing this question. See https://support.swiftkey.com/hc/en-us/articles/201591341-How-to-use-SwiftKey-with-physical-external-Bluetooth-keyboards-on-Android . Same with Google Keyboard at least on One Plus 3 and Xiaomi MI5 with latest OS updates.
There are multiple threads suggesting to add several language in physical keyboard settings. However most of them are for Anrdoid 5-6, where keyboard layout switch with Ctrl-Space appeared to be standard feature in most ROMs. It appears that this is no longer the case.

It's a long shot but did you ever find a solution? This is painfully relevant in Android TVs and set-top boxes, especially.

Android Pie update at least on my One Plus 3 fixed the issue. I can now setup multiple keyboard layouts in Languages & Inputs > Physical keyboard > Keyboard Name > Setup Keyboard Layouts. Is your device running Android 9+? Can you check if the issue is fixed that way?

Sadly most Android TV devices are still on 8.1 as far as i know. But it's good to know that it might be resolved "soon".

I see. Please do note workaround I mentioned in my question. You can install two keyboards and switch between these input methods with Command+Space. And just set both keyboards to the desired languages/layouts. It worked somewhat fine for me. Also dedicated keyboard app linked above might be an option for TV.

The following software have independent physical keyboard layouts not tied to the OS layout in any way.

ruKeyboard software. It's a software+hardware keyboard initially made for Android smartphones with qwerty keyboard. It supports Android 2.3-9 and allows to add your own software and hardware layouts for different languages (you need to modify the XML files inside apk, but it's not that hard). It's abandoned and not open source, but still works fine. Software and physical keyboard layout switching is independent. You can configure your own switching combination on physical keyboard.

AnySoftKeyboard is what you can call a modern alternative to ruKeyboard. It's a software keyboard with support for physical keyboards. You can define your own layouts just as in ruKeyboard, by editing xml files inside the apk. Layout swithing is unified: if you switch the layout on software keyboard, it would switch on hardware keyboard as well. It's open source.

Hello. Can you post links for the apps?


text:
I dropped my phone in water and now the screen isnt working - i cant remove the battery
So my Phone is a "Alcatel" and i honestly didnt know what type it is. Yesterday night. I accidentally dropped in into my running bath water, being clumsy. i quickly grabbed it and attempted to dry it off. At first it was fine and The microphone and camera wasnt working so i thought it would be okay (Ive dropped my phone in water before). SO i set it down, About maybe 2 minutes later I went to check my phone that i had plugged into my charger to see the screen not working. I could see and turn it on but the screen itself isn't working. Then next thing i know my phone died, which scared me becouse it was at 25%. I turned it off and put it in a bowl of rice, ive only checked it once sense then. I dont know what to do, im scared i damaged my phone

Time for a new phone. They don't get along with water very well.

The first thing you should do when dropping a phone into water is switch it off immediately and make sure it's completely dry before turning it on again. Keep it inside a case of rice so that the rice can soak all the moisture from the phone. Keep it inside for a day or so and try turning it back.
So try doing it now and hope it works else you'll need a new phone.

You can try very carefully measuring your battery terminals + & -. If it experienced a short you may be able to observe <3.6V meaning the phone won't power until it see's what it wants (typically 3.7V / 3.8V). A faulty battery is the best case scenario but it sounds like the electronics may be damaged from your description.


text:
How to fix bootloop or decrypt /data in TWRP?
I am trying to recover the data from a default/factory encrypted
Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge stuck in a bootloop (i.e.: restarting endlessly when
booting the system).  It is using the stock rom.  Only the recovery (twrp) and
download mode are working.  I need to either fix the bootloop or decrypt at
least the data partition in twrp (I know the lock pattern).  Note: I
know that the bootloop might be fixed by a factory reset, but that would result
in data loss.
General info:
Model: SM-G935F
Codename: hero2lte
Android version: Stock 7.1.x (almost sure)
TWRP: 3.2.3-0

Install
I followed the adb guide and the install guide (only up to and
including the twrp install; LineageOS was not installed).
After installing adb and heimdall on the pc, this is what was done on
the phone:

Enter download mode
heimdall flash --RECOVERY twrp-3.2.3-0-hero2lte.img
Reboot into recovery

It kept saying it could not mount /system nor /data, but it never
asked (and still doesn't) for the encryption password or anything.  When
trying to do a nandroid backup, Internal storage showed as 0 MB and it errored
out.
Booting into the system worked without any issues.
Then, I tried installing (LineageOS') su, to be able to backup things
properly using something like oandbackup or TitaniumBackup:

Boot into recovery
adb push addonsu-15.1-arm64-signed.zip
Install -> addonsu-15.1-arm64-signed.zip

I thought one of the following was going to happen:

The write would work, and su would be available
The write would work, and the stock rom would ignore it
The write would fail, nothing would happen

It showed some errors about the partitions again (up to this point, I thought
only the data partition was encrypted, not the system one).
I tried Reboot -> System, and what happened was:

The device was (and still is) stuck in a bootloop

So I tried using LineageOS' su-removal:

Boot into recovery
adb push addonsu-remove-15.1-arm64-signed.zip
Install -> addonsu-remove-15.1-arm64-signed.zip

Yet, nothing seems to have changed.  TWRP onscreen log:
Could not mount /data and unable to find crypto footer.
Failed to mount '/data' (Invalid argument)
Updating partition details...
Failed to mount /data (Invaild argument)
...done
Unable to mount storage
Failed to mount /data (Invaild argument)
Full SELinux support is present.
Unable to mount /data/media/TWRP/.twrps
MTP Enabled

Looking at /cache/recovery/log, it does not show /system as empty:
/system | /dev/block/sda14 | Size: 4132MB Used: 3987MB Free: 145MB Backup Size: 3987MB
   Flags: Can_Be_Mounted Can_Be_Wiped Can_Be_Backed_Up Wipe_Available_in_GUI IsPresent Mount_Read_Only
   Primary_Block_Device: /dev/block/sda14
   Display_Name: System
   Storage_Name: System
   Backup_Path: /system
   Backup_Name: system
   Backup_Display_Name: System
   Storage_Path: /system
   Current_File_System: ext4
   Fstab_File_System: ext4
   Backup_Method: files

/data | /dev/block/sda18 | Size: 0MB Used: 0MB Free: 0MB Backup Size: 0MB
   Flags: Can_Be_Mounted Can_Be_Wiped Can_Be_Backed_Up Wipe_During_Factory_Reset Wipe_Available_in_GUI IsPresent Can_Be_Encrypted Has_Data_Media Can_Encrypt_Backup Use_Userdata_Encryption Is_Storage Is_Settings_Storage
   Symlink_Path: /data/media
   Symlink_Mount_Point: /sdcard
   Primary_Block_Device: /dev/block/sda18
   Length: -20480
   Display_Name: Data
   Storage_Name: Internal Storage
   Backup_Path: /data
   Backup_Name: data
   Backup_Display_Name: Data
   Storage_Path: /data/media
   Current_File_System: ext4
   Fstab_File_System: ext4
   Backup_Method: files
   MTP_Storage_ID: 65537

But it shows nothing when trying to access it:
~ # ls -lah /system
__bionic_open_tzdata: couldn't find any tzdata when looking for localtime!
__bionic_open_tzdata: couldn't find any tzdata when looking for GMT!
__bionic_open_tzdata: couldn't find any tzdata when looking for posixrules!
drwxr-xr-x    2 root     root          40 Jan  1  1970 .
drwxrwxrwt   24 root     root         840 Sep 10 02:15 ..

Also in /cache/recovery/log:
I:Done processing fstab files
I:Setting up '/data' as data/media emulated storage.
I:Created '/sdcard' folder.
I:Can't probe device /dev/block/sda18
I:Unable to mount '/data'
I:Actual block device: '/dev/block/sda18', current file system: 'ext4'
I:Can't probe device /dev/block/sda18
I:Unable to mount '/data'
I:Actual block device: '/dev/block/sda18', current file system: 'ext4'
get_crypt_ftr_info crypto key location: 'footer'
Bad magic for real block device /dev/block/sda18
Could not mount /data and unable to find crypto footer.
I:Setting up '/data' as data/media emulated storage.
I:Can't probe device /dev/block/sda18
I:Unable to mount '/data'
# ...

Questions:

If it could not even mount the parition, how did it become soft bricked?
Does "Install" write anything anywhere else (excluding log entries, etc)?
Can it actually overwrite/damage the partition (or the block device directly)
even when it cannot mount it?
Is there a way to debug the bootloop
How could the bootloop be fixed?

Decrypt
So I tried decrypting the data partitions to see if I at least could access it
from twrp, using these steps.
This is the pattern:
[_   1   6]
[2   7   5]
[3   4   _]

Which means the code twrp uses (from 1 to 9) should be this: 2478635.  So I
tried:
~ # twrp decrypt 2478635
Attempting to decrypt data partition via command line.
Failed to decrypt data.

I also tried using the "native" code (from 0 to 8), to no avail:
~ # twrp decrypt 1367524
Attempting to decrypt data partition via command line.
Failed to decrypt data.

Looking at the partitions:
~ # ls -l /dev/block/platform/155a0000.ufs/by-name/
__bionic_open_tzdata: couldn't find any tzdata when looking for localtime!
__bionic_open_tzdata: couldn't find any tzdata when looking for GMT!
__bionic_open_tzdata: couldn't find any tzdata when looking for posixrules!
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            15 Sep 10 02:15 BOOT -> /dev/block/sda5
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            15 Sep 10 02:15 BOTA0 -> /dev/block/sda1
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            15 Sep 10 02:15 BOTA1 -> /dev/block/sda2
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            16 Sep 10 02:15 CACHE -> /dev/block/sda15
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            15 Sep 10 02:15 CPEFS -> /dev/block/sdd1
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            16 Sep 10 02:15 CP_DEBUG -> /dev/block/sda17
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            16 Sep 10 02:15 DNT -> /dev/block/sda10
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            15 Sep 10 02:15 EFS -> /dev/block/sda3
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            16 Sep 10 02:15 HIDDEN -> /dev/block/sda16
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            15 Sep 10 02:15 OTA -> /dev/block/sda7
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            15 Sep 10 02:15 PARAM -> /dev/block/sda4
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            16 Sep 10 02:15 PERSDATA -> /dev/block/sda13
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            16 Sep 10 02:15 PERSISTENT -> /dev/block/sda11
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            15 Sep 10 02:15 RADIO -> /dev/block/sda8
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            15 Sep 10 02:15 RECOVERY -> /dev/block/sda6
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            16 Sep 10 02:15 STEADY -> /dev/block/sda12
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            16 Sep 10 02:15 SYSTEM -> /dev/block/sda14
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            15 Sep 10 02:15 TOMBSTONES -> /dev/block/sda9
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            16 Sep 10 02:15 USERDATA -> /dev/block/sda18

Shows that sda14 is the system partition and that sda18 is the data
partition.  So I managed to pull /dev/block/sda14 and /dev/block/sda18:
adb pull /dev/block/sda14 sda14.img
# ...

adb pull /dev/block/sda18 sda18.img
/dev/block/sda18: 1 file pulled. 3.7 MB/s (26843545600 bytes in 6961.803s)

I verified that the SHA-1 hashes of the block device and the .img match, but
I'm at a loss about how to decrypt them on the pc.
Question:
How could I decrypt them on Android/Linux/Windows?

Note: If this is too specific for this site, please comment where the
appropriate forum would be.  I know of the phone-specific xda, but that seems
to be too generic.  Any help is appreciated.

If /system is empty, it probably means it's not mounted. Try mount /system. Not that it's going to help you with decryption though...

Did you ever solve this?

@gf_ Sadly not. I was trying to backup everything before installing LineageOS on someone else's phone, but I had never dealt with encrypted phones and failed to account for it (I thought twrp would save me if anything bad happened). After having no success (for a week IIRC), they decided to just factory-reset it and lose the data, in order to be able to use the phone. Conclusion: Always backup everything through more "native" means (e.g.: adb backup / adb pull) first and make sure that the data/backup is accessible from twrp or from another computer.

This process is highly not efficient. Why did you choose to flash in this way?

Does this answer your question? Clean LineageOS 17.1 install and empty device - can't work out how to mount data partition in TWRP?

I had same problem and I'll write tips how i fixed this situation.
You can fix it by just dirty-flash any rom.
Flash any rom by using external storage or by adb sideload(Advanced -> ADB Sideload -> Run "adb sideload ROM-FILENAME.zip")
You will see lock screen after reboot.After login,you can decrypt data in TWRP.
If you see some error/crash after android bootup due to dirty-flash,install magisk and create backup by Migrate and restore it after clear data.

no, you cannot decrypt userdata in TWRP on Samsung devices (as pointed out in my linked answer above)


text:
Can anyone identify the S notification icon
Someone please help me identify the S at the top left corner of my picture

Please  swipe down to list notifications and tap on notification to open it. check  settings, whether you have installed any launcher or app named with S.

I figured it out finally. It is Shopkick app.


text:
Install TWRP to only one slot or offline boot.img file, not both
I want to install TWRP on my phone that uses the A/B partition schema. The official TWRP installer ZIP by default installs to both boot_a and boot_b. This always breaks the system in the inactive slot because I install Magisk after flashing/OTA.
Can I install TWRP to only one slot, or an offline boot.img file (like Magisk Manager supports)?

So this way, I ended up creating a script on my own.
Lucky enough, installing TWRP to boot.img isn't hard at all. The install script in TWRP just replaces ramdisk.cpio with the one ramdisk-twrp.cpio provided in the ZIP.
The effective part of the script is as following, root is of course required.
ln -s /system/bin/linker64 /sbin/linker
cp <path-to-magiskboot> /sbin/magiskboot
mkdir /data/local/tmp/twrp
cd /data/local/tmp/twrp
/sbin/magiskboot --unpack <path-to-boot.img>
cat <path-to-[ramdisk-twrp.cpio]> > ramdisk.cpio
/sbin/magiskboot --repack boot.img
cp new-boot.img /sdcard/new-boot.img

Now the TWRP-installed new-boot.img is located at /sdcard/.
To install to a single slot, dd the boot image out and apply the same process as shown above and dd the new image back.


text:
Why would I enable "Install Unknown Apps?"
I have a LG G7 Thin Q running Oreo. While poking around the settings, I came across "Install unknown apps."
Settings -> Apps & Notifications -> Special Access -> Install unknown apps

It is a list of programs that may install unknown apps. Only Messaging and Email are allowed to install unknown apps.
Why does Android have the option for apps to install unknown apps? It seems rather vulnerable to malware.

Starting Android Oreo, sideloading (installing an app from a source other than Play Store) has actually became more secure.
Previously (Naugat or below), when you used to tick "Unknown Sources" option, it actually universally allowed all apk sources (Chrome, Amazon Appstore etc). Means, the system didn't care about the source of the apk file.
Now, you need to allow individual apps which can be set as source. And, don't worry: That allowed app won't be able to install apps in background. You will still need to hit Install button to install an app. So, no security compromises here. You'll just have peace of mind while hitting Install button. If you've allowed Amazon Appstore only, then you can be sure that you won't be installing a malicious apk which was downloaded in background by an advertiser app.

That's actually not true.  Even the current bug used for an example below in my post regarding Fortnite was doing exactly just that.  If you gave it permissions to install Fortnite with the "allow unknown sources", and installed Fortnite, it then gave other apps the capability to install apps without your permission in the background with the bug that was in the app.

@JaySnayder Man-in-the-Disk attack is a fully different scenario. In case you have installed Fortnite, you first need to install a helper app. This helper app downloads apk file and then you install the apk file by hitting install button. Bug simply allowed a malicious app to replace the apk file which helper app downloaded.

Once the helper has found its way into the system it can silently install apps onto your device without permission requests from the user once that box is toggled.

@JaySnayder That's not standard Oreo behavior. On Samsung devices, the Fortnite Installer performs the APK install silently via a private Galaxy Apps API.

Android from early on represented an "open platform", and it helps to get a bit of context.
At time of its release the mobile platform was relatively unique with a developer toolchain that worked on Windows, Mac, and Linux. Every device could be put into 'developer mode' without the need to register the device with a central authorization server (see Apple's iOS and later Microsoft's Windows Phone).
Distribution of apps on non-smartphones was normally done on a per carrier basis and some of that behavior persisted through 2011 with AT&T removing "unknown sources" from their phones:
https://forums.att.com/t5/Android/quot-Unknown-Sources-quot/td-p/2814557
and carriers continue to bundle their own apps on devices sold on their network, i.e. bloatware.
Official developer documentation makes mention of alternative distribution:
https://developer.android.com/distribute/marketing-tools/alternative-distribution

As an open platform, Android offers choice. You can distribute your Android apps to users in any way you want, using any distribution approach or combination of approaches that meets your needs. From publishing in an app marketplace to serving your apps from a website or emailing them directly users, you’re never locked into any particular distribution platform.

So if you are a app developer, once you can afford the devices, you could in theory download the free developer tools, write the apps, test them, and deploy (corporate environment or a region unsupported by Google) without ever having to interact with Google in a official capacity.
Third party distribution apps include Amazon's App Store, Epic Games' Fortnite, and F-Droid (Open source apps).
With Android 8.0 fine grain install permissions were added so the end user now has the capability of blocking prior authorized apps without blocking others:
https://developer.android.com/studio/publish/#publishing-unknown

Android has been providing this feature for quite some time.  They do not enable the feature by default because it bypasses some of the security principles of the operating system.
When you are installing from the Google Play Store you do not need this feature enabled.  The Google Play Store will do various other security checks over the apps APK and make sure there are no blatant security holes.
One case for this is when you are backing up applications on your device.  You can create backups of your apps for offline storage.  Then you can install directly from that .apk file that you saved off later with this enabled. Or if you are a developer you can keep different versions available for easy installation later or to keep other versions of that software around.
Typically it is not advised to just turn some of this feature on and just go downloading .apk files found out on the web as they might not be kind.  But there are hosting sites for apps out there.  Turning this feature on, lets you download from those sources.
FortNite was a recent example of a game that was released outside the Google Play Store and you needed to turn this feature on and bypass security.  The main reason is sound; Google takes 30% of the profits when you use their services.  Due to the popularity of the game, Google decided to do a security audit of the servers for the game when it launched and brought to light several critical security loopholes in their system that would allow for silent installs of terrible apps as well as some other features that it was bypassing.  Which I think was smart on Googles part because even though it wouldn't have been in their court to resolve the issue, fingers would have been pointing their way.

Google does NOT take 30% just for using the Play Store. Hosting an app in Play Store doesn't mean it has to use Google's payment processor (which takes 30%). Fortnite could host the app in Play Store and still avoid 30% charge by using PayPal or its own Payment Processor.

Interesting that they did not go this route then.  Although I assume that those other options will likely take a cut as well and they want to avoid them altogether.

The reason is mostly political. Hint: Partnership between Samsung and Fortnite.

To be able to install through additional platforms such as f-droid, where there are a number of pieces of free software. These are usually open source and ad-free, meaning that you can also contribute to them if you so desire.


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Mic is being used by some other application ( Which ? )
I have a Samsung mobile ( S9 Plus ), When I use an app called "BixBy", sometimes it does not work and message is that mic is used being used by some other application and hence "Bixby" can not function.
In such cases, how may I know that which application is using mic at present?

Please check this, tap on recents/overview button to show background running apps, may be apps like camera, voice recorder, phone is running. Or else check that bixby is your default assist and voice input from settings.

Install the app named Unhack from playstore or from the link given below. It gives you a list of all applications using mic, camera etc. separately.
https://www.apkmonk.com/app/com.lucideustech.unhack/


text:
Is it possible to search for gifs in messages? (Samsung Note 8)
I am currently using a Samsung Galaxy Note 8, which in the default messaging app has a keyboard option to send a gif image. When selected gifs appear and there are categories at the bottom (Trending, Happy, Fun, etc. etc.) However, I find this to be very ineffective and restrictive to find the actual gifs I want.
I checked on an Android forum, where some of the responses seem to indicated there is a search function, but this seems to be applicable to the S9 and conflicting information if it still exists.
So now I turn here... Does a search function exist for the gif keyboard, and if so how do I access it?
 Message version: 4.4.11.4 -- Message Service version 4.4.10.4

While I have not found any function within the Samsung Keyboard to allow for a search, this problem is easily solved by downloading a third-party keyboard...
I chose Gboard.
I have also heard that SwiftKey is a popular option.


text:
Home button, Notification Bar, and Recent Tabs not working
I have an Asus Zenfone 4 Max with Android 7.1.1 OS and the home button doesn't seem to be reacting with the software (probably ZenUI Launcher) because it doesn't work or go back to the home screen but it does vivrate and make the fingerprint sensor work, the Notification Bar is not working because i can't drag it down totally only partially. I only know it was turned off and charged and then when it was turned on those things didn't work.(friend's phone so i don't have much info) As to what I have tried is the following: Updating phone, Forcing stop ZenUI Launcher, clearing cache date, clearing cache partition(i believe, only took a second so not sure) and that's about it. Im trying to look for an alternative solution from Factory Reseting it so that wouldbn't be an option unless it's the only solution. Sorry for little info but any idea on how to fix this will be appreciated. Thx

Same what I found that could work for you if wipe partition cache. It doesnt erase apps,pics etc. I find this issues with older models and some were fix going to restore mode (hold vol up + power when starting phone then choose) and chossing wipe partition cache. My cel is max 4 too. I hope this helps and if yu fix it let me know.


text:
What is this strange icon?
Anyone know what this icon at the upper left is?

you might want to drag the notification panel and check.this looks like a notification from some app.

Looks like a check mark with an underline that's on top of a part of your wallpaper.

@touchstone   Please mention your device name. May be some video editing tools, please check whether you have similar apps.

This is exactly the image size we need when trying to identify a very small icon on the top of your screen. Can you send a better screenshot where we don't have to guess what the icon is even trying to show? (I see two location markers on a street)

it's not my wallpaper. 2) there aren't any notification messages. 3) my device is a xiaomi redmi note 5 pro, with AEX rom installed. I don't have any video editing apps.

The checkmark with an underline is the download completed icon (when an app downloads something using the download manager). The 3 circles are a part of the wallpaper

Nothing downloaded and the circles are not part of my wallpaper. It's an icon. It disappears. And it reappears. It does so at what seems random. There's no observable pattern here. I don't understand why anyone would vote the answer correct except me. I'm obviously the only person who can confirm correctness of any answers.

@touchstone well I can't comment on the 3 circles but the checkmark is definitely a download compete icon. Check your notification history? https://www.howtogeek.com/242073/how-to-view-notifications-youve-dismissed-on-android/

I checked the history. Nothing is registered as happening at the times the icon appears.

Have you enabled any custom icons in the status bar? Resurrection Remix would allow me to put icons there and sometimes it'd bug out displaying icons over one another


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Identifying a white elliptical shaped icon in notification bar
This icon is not going away. I checked my apps, and no unnecessary app has been installed. I tried rebooting, and shutting down and booting. The icon is still there. It is annoying me.
Can anyone help me remove the icon?

If that icon appears on the notifications tab:
You could drag your notifications bar down, try clicking and holding to find out what application it is and click on the info button then 'uninstall'.


text:
How can I clone a microSD card from a 32GB card to a 128GB card so that all saved/cached data is recognized on a Motorola/Lenovo Moto G5 Plus?
I've tried using file explorer with hidden and system files viewable to copy across all files from the 32GB to 128GB microSD card but when I try to view offline videos in YouTube for example it's greyed out and I have to re-download.

Don't use the Windows Explorer. Use a HDD clone program like TrueImage.

I tried Macium Reflect but that didn't work. It doesn't support microsd or exfat.

This works on Linux and Android. On Android you need one of the following:
a) Two micro-SD card slots
b) One micro-SD card slot and one USB cardreader with a USB-OTG adapter
c) A USB hub with two USB cardreaders on a USB-OTG adapter
On Android Termux from the Play Store can be used for this, on Linux open a terminal.

Use lsblk to find out the drive names for your two SD cards.
Here I will assume sdd is your old SD card and sde the new one.
Clone the old card onto the new one 1:1: dd if=/dev/sdd of=/dev/sde bs=1M
Resize the partition with fdisk - Execute fdisk, then hit d to delete the partition (this won't actually delete any data!) and return to confirm. Then hit n to create a new partition. Select p for primary and then hit return three times to create the partition. Then hit w and return to write the changes.
Resize the new partition: resize2fs /dev/sde1

That's it. Please note that if you want to do this on your android device, you need root.

Will this work for EXTFS file system? I didn't think Linux supported it as it needs paid licence from Microsoft.

@DarrynBrisdaz EXTFS has nothing to do with Microsoft. EXTFS was introduced "April 1992 with Linux". It works flawlessly on Linux. Maybe you confuse it with NTFS? NTFS works on linux too, it needs drivers and I'm not sure about Android (might be included by default in android though) but on Linux you can install the ntfs-3g driver for full compability.

My apologies I meant EXFAT - https://www.google.com/search?q=exfat

@DarrynBrisdaz EXFAT is also very well supported on Linux and Android by default, you can clone and resize it without any additional drivers. (Edit: apparently that's not true for all Linux distributions. Here the packages exfat-utils exfat-fuse should be installed)

Does resize2fs support resizing on exfat? These comments on another question suggest not - https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/201708/problem-with-files-after-transfer-to-new-sd-card

@DarrynBrisdaz Apparently you're right. Another option would be to format the new sdcard first so that its partition fills up the entire space, then tun dd if=/dev/sdd1 of=/dev/sde1 bs=1M to copy the data and simply skip step 3. and 4. from my answer.


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Can an app update from Play Store reinstate its permissions I've disabled earlier?
There are quite a few apps out there that request too many permissions during install time, most of them seem  highly dubious. I tend to disable permissions I feel unlikely to be used and for the most part I get it right.
Can an update to said app reinstate its "factory" permissions that I've disabled? (an update might be from Play Store or APK)
This is about protecting privacy, which, I feel, is increasingly difficult these days.

Cases that doesn't affect your current permissions:

Updating app from play store.(also maybe the same for apk install too)
When you disable/enable any app.
When you clear only app cache.
When you force stop and restart.
During uninstall updates of an app. (This action is performed automatically when you disable that app).

Cases that may reset your current permissions:

When you clear Data and Cache.
During reinstall.
After factory reset.

Note: The app developer/company can add more permissions while releasing a new update to a currently running app with specific permissions.
For example, phone app have many permissions such as contacts, phone, sms, storage, location etc. But, we need to set these permissions only such as contacts, sms, phone. Later, when developer release app update he adds camera permission for video calling. User need to enable this for video calling purposes.

@beeshayms can you please elaborate on how that's possible?

@cyfrost Sorry typo there- user is asked for additional permissions on update if needed. See https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/permissions/overview


text:
Do all USB C data/charge cables support Quick Charge?
I have a Xiaomi Mi 8 which uses a USB C connector for charging. As long as my phone supports Fast Charging, do I need any sort of special USB C cable to take advantage of the fastest charging speed that my device supports?
I read in Wikipedia that "All USB-C cables must be able to carry a minimum of 3 A current" however I see some USB C cables advertised as supporting up to only 2A.
NOTE: my charger supports 3A 5V, 2A 18V, and 1.5A 12V

Simple answer It depends, may or may not

Any USB C cable will not serve the purpose . You need to search your device forums and some sources mentioned in answer here (which also includes references to technical details if you are keen) How to select a Non OEM USB Type C charger or cable for my device?
This is a good read for USB C state of affairs, for charging and data speeds too It’s 2018 and USB Type-C is still a mess. See the wide variation in power even with standard OEM cables weekend used with different phones


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Android x86 version 7.1 xposed is bootlooping
Hey!
After trying to install Xposed framework on every version of Android x86 I found out that Android x86 version 7.1 is the only version that xposed is "bootlooping" (r1 & r2 & rc). Is anyone else encountered such thing?
I tried to install Xposed in two different ways that both of them worked on the other versions of Android x86 (4.4, 6.0, 8.1):

flash the Xposed zip from the terminal (unzipping the zip, giving permission to all folders and running sh META-INF/com/.../flash-script.sh)
Installing via the install option in the XposedInstaller APK

as I already wrote, this two ways of installation worked perfectly on versions 4.4, 6.0 and 8.1 of Android x86 project but not on 7.1.
Hopefully someone else in here encountered this problem of the bootlooping on Android x86 version 7.1 as well and might have a solution.
Thanks.


text:
How to prevent phone to install bloatware automatically
I have a THL T9 Plus. I just wonder, why are applications installed automatically in background. I already installed NoRoot Firewall and Avira Antivirus. These are in most cases "HotKnotBean" and "Coordinator" named applications. I get notification by Avira, when these are installed and I can remove these too, but unable to protect phone from installation of these.

Have you tried turn off 'install app from unknown sources' in the security settings?

@Beveloper : Yes, but somehow applications are installed silently in the background.

there seem to be an app on your phone that has the permission android.permission.INSTALL_PACKAGES used for installing apps, so as long has that app is installed or is given that permission it will continue. Use apps like Startup Manager or Task Killer to see if you could find out which app is doing the downloads. Or use permissions management tool on lolipop and above to check apps permissions

Looks like malware in your phone is pre-installed by manufacturer.
It's better to install another ROM.
You may check here which one owners of your device recommend.


text:
Converting a android phone to a satellite phone
Is there something that you can buy that will convert your android phone (specifically a Samsung Galaxy 8 edge) into a satellite phone?  If so what are the advantages?

Yes, SatSleeve+ from Thuraya comes with a universal adaptor in the package that allows you to switch between various Android and iPhone phone models between 58 and 85mm in width.


text:
Do different phones have different accelerometer quality? Is there a way to measure it?
I'm creating an Android application that basically detects the vibration of a car on streets and saves the data in a file that I'll analyze later. But I'm curious to know if there's such a thing as an "accelerometer accuracy" on different phones.
If there is, is it possible to measure the accelerometer quality of a specific phone? What are the parameters I should be paying attention when I want a phone with a very good accelerometer sensitivity and accuracy?

I've gotten some specific sensor information on my phone's sensors from an app like https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.anu.developers3k.mydevice.  It queries the phone and gets sensor information as well as the sensor data.

The quality of the sensor is mainly determined by the used sensor chip.
For a lot of devices you can find the info which sensor chip is used for providing the accelerometer/gyroscope sensor data. E.g. you can find it in a tear-down article of the device.
With that info you can review the technical data-sheet of the used chip(s) and compare them or ask the electronic tinker scene on the net for their thoughts or recommendations.

If you want to know what sensor is inside your phone, you should download Cpu-Z. It provides information about all hardware inside your phone and gives the name of the chips. So you can google for more information.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cpuid.cpu_z


text:
How to change font scale from Terminal
I know these two commands to change density and resolution via Terminal:
wm density <dpi>
wm size <resolution>

But how do I change the scale of system-wide font via Terminal?

This answer from StackOverflow (How to change font size by adb command) provides a solution. The command used to set the font size is:
adb shell settings put system font_scale {float_representing_the_scale}

or if you are using a terminal emulator in Android
settings put system font_scale {float_representing_the_scale}

Examples:
settings put system font_scale 0.5f
settings put system font_scale 1.2f

I tested it using Android 6.0 with root access (I was getting an error when using the command without root). I had to restart the phone for the setting to take effect.


text:
Can I unlock bootloader for Mi phone?
I've been told that I need to ask permission from Xiaomi to unlock bootloader. Why and is there any other way?
Btw, I'm currently using Redmi 5A.

This link also answers your questions. >Here's how you do it.

The permission is the easy part; you'll then have to log into the account on the phone and wait (3 days to 2 months depending on the situation).

Here is the all information to unlock bootloader of redmi 5a without asking redmi with unofficial way
Pre required-

Pc running on Windows.
Download Mi flash and Mi drivers from here.
Download official twrp recovery for redmi 5a here.
Follow the guidelines given in above XDA thread link.

Good Luck

Whilst this may theoretically answer the question, it would be preferable to include the essential parts of the answer here, and provide the link for reference.


text:
How do i keep an app open whilst also browsing on chrome?
Dumb question but...
So i'm using the app but want to research something related on the web , and switch back and forth between the two.
Thanks

Which app do you want to keep open? Are you referring to split screen view? Which phone?

Hello, Just a Samsung phone. Just want to view between the app and browsing the web.

If the other app is closing while you are browsing the web with Chrome, it is quite likely that you do not have sufficient resources (ie. RAM) to keep both applications in memory at one time and switch between them... To keep the user experience acceptable, the Android kernel is forcing one of the application to close while it is in the background to free up memory for the active application. This is an indication either you do not have the proper hardware for your needs (insufficient RAM and/or processing power) or your browser is just using excessive resources (ie. too many tabs open).

Hold down the button that brings up all your applications. It's usually the one on the right hand side. Then once you see the app you're using on half of the screen you can either select the browser from the running apps selection that is listed on the other half of the screen if it is running, or press the home button in the center and select your browser that way. If done correctly you should bring up your browser and whatever app using simultaneously.


text:
What values to set in Static IP Settings of Wi-Fi when changing DNS?
I have nearly the same problem as Set Open DNS in Android 5.0.1
and the answer helped me.
Although I just want to change the DNS for blocking porn, what values for the following fields should I enter?

IP Address
Gateway
Network Prefix Length

I have HTC mobile with 5.1 Android version.

You should use OpenDNS Family shield which blocks porn and malicious websites.
Dns1: 208.67.222.123
Dns2: 208.67.220.123

If your ISP blocks other DNS's, try a secure connection (use Port 443):
Dns1: 208.67.222.123:443
Dns2: 208.67.220.123:443

If you're phone has root access I recommend using a paid app called OverrideDNS which encrypts your DNS queries like DNSCrypt and makes you forget about all DNS issues that you might have, it also works on cellular data.

To answer this, we need to understand some basics of networking and particularly how Internet Protocol works. This is a brief description of each field:

IP Address:
This is the base of modern day networking. Every device recognizes other device (on same network or on other network) by its address, called IP Address. Usually IP addresses are assigned by DHCP server running on a network e.g. the one that runs on a Wi-Fi router. DHCP server assigns a unique IP from the available pool to each device that connects.
So you need to get this value from your router. When configuring IP statically, you may use the same IP that was already assigned to your device when connected as DHCP client. However you should also configure router to assign that specific IP only to your device again when the lease is expired.
Gateway:
Gateways are special IP addresses that serve as the entry and exit points when the router directs traffic from one network to the other. On one side of Wi-Fi router is the local/private network to which all of your mobile phones and PC's are connected. While on the other side there is internet; the public network. So your router has two gateways; the public IP assigned to your router by ISP and the second one is usually the first IP of private network. So if 192.168.1.0 is the network address of you local network and - say - 192.168.1.15 is the IP address assigned to your phone, 192.168.1.1 should be the gateway.
Network Prefix Length:
This basically defines the maximum number of IP addresses (hosts) a network can have. A 24-bit netmask (255.255.255.0) length means the network can have maximum 254 hosts (232 - 24 - 2). First (192.168.1.0) is the network address and last (192.168.1.255) is the broadcast address. Remaining (192.168.1.1 to 192.168.1.254) can be assigned to hosts, including gateway.
Following is the DHCP settings of the Wi-Fi router my phone is connected to.

Further Reading:

How to configure DNS properly?
How DNS works on Android


text:
android 9 sdk compatibility with jdk 8
Is android 9 sdk installation not compatibile with jdk 8 for running avd ?
I tried running but got error of;
"emulator: ERROR: ANDROID_SDK_ROOT"
emulator: ERROR: This AVD's configuration is missing a kernel file! Please ensure the file "kernel-qemu" is in the same location as your system image.

It is compatible with jdk 8 (which is what I have in my setup). Perhaps you need to setup its path correctly in System Variables.
Not sure what the result of this was, but I have encountered the same error when I first ran android 9 on standalone sdk manager. What I did in my case was to upgrade the emulator, which altogether solved the issue, perhaps is the same scenario, firstly try upgrading the emulator and see if it solves the issue.
You can also try editing image.sysdir.1 value to a full AVD path e.g image.sysdir.1=C:\androidsdk\system-images\android-28\google_apis_playstore\x86\  as suggested by Akintunde
(I see some suggestions that you should rename kernel-ranchu to kernel-qemu in the system image folder but this didn't work as I hoped, the AVD screen just went black.)


text:
Can I mute sound notifications, but allow chat heads on Facebook Messenger?
On Facebook Messenger, on my Android phone, I want to permanently mute audio notifications for new text messages, but I would still like to receive a chat bubble.
Is this possible?

The trick is to look in the Android settings for this, rather than in the Facebook messenger.
In Settings -> Notifications it will list all of your applications, and the notifications settings they have.
Some applications will have several notifications tfor the given app.
In the 'chat and calls' notifications - you can disallow sound. The downside here is that this will also prevent Messenger calls from making a sound.


text:
How do I remove Trojan horse virus from my android smartphone?
There is a virus in my android phone named com.wgjvp.idck and I tried every possible solution to remove it but couldn't find any solution.
What I did:

I hard-reset(factory-reset) my phone twice but this virus suddenly comes out.
Installed Security-Master but that also unable to resolve this
problem

This virus creates a pop-up over ads due to which I am unable to perform anything.
Even after successfully uninstalling this app when I lock it and open it, this virus is present already.
Two things takes place:

After `uninstalling' this app, it automatically gets installed.
And
USB-Debugging gets checked every time automatically.

This virus also switches-off the phone at certain interval. In setting inside apps virus name displayed as com.wgjvp.idck though on home screen the name is Nolcans.
I think possible solution could be disabling the developer option permanently or doing something due to which it should not be easily gets checked. and second is to block a particular app from installing in my phone with particular bundle-id or app-id like com.abc.xyz but I don't know how to do that.
So what should I do to completely remove this Trojan horse virus from my phone? Thanks!

Please see the malware tag wiki (tag added to your question) for help. As suggested in the answer by Kwon, that is the last resort if nothing else works

Do you mind sharing which make and model your phone is?

Re-flash the firmware. I recommend it especially when encountering malwares and such.

Thank you very much for your answer. But can this be removed without re-flashing? Any other possible solution to this problem? Will rooting my phone work?

Nah man, some antivirus will just tell you it deletes the virus but it only pushes some adwares into your system

It seems that the virus has violated the boot area of the smartphone. It seems that treatment is difficult in factory initialization. Therefore, you need to directly download the new genuine official firmware and reinstall the firmware.
All data is deleted, you can install genuine firmware and return all things to the initial state.
Even though one can do it without difficulty, in case it is difficult get the help of the official repair center.

Are you saying to flash ROM of my phone?

A few more questions, if you concede: are you sure that's the "boot" area the one violated by the "virus"? Since the asker didn't specify their phone model, how can you be certain that the official firmware doesn't come with bundled malware?


text:
How does an app reads an OTP SMS without SMS permission?
I have recently installed an Android app from the Play Store.
While registering in it, I realized that it was able to read my message of OTP without even asking for my permission to read the message.
I have AOSP Extended 5.8 with the August security patch.
It's an Android Oreo 8.1 based custom rom.

Verification by OTP uses a different API which doesn't need read SMS permission. You can read more here Perform SMS Verification on a Server
Hence, the app isn't reading your SMS but using a separate channel to read specially formatted text messages
I learnt of this when an Xposed module to block permissions did not work as I expected (similar case) and the developer explained the reason

How it is decided that which app can use api to read which text?
There must be something that prevents X app to read text of Y app by using API's.

Also, if you read the linked API it talks about hash and coding which means only the authorized app can read


text:
Where does the partition information in /proc/dumchar_info come from, on MTK devices?
If I want to resize partitions or restore a backup later, how do I make sure that /proc/dumchar_info reflects the changes?
As far as I can tell, dumchar_info is not related to the MBR and EBRs, since it has more info.

Also, is /proc/dumchar_info related to 'scatter files'?

/proc/dumchar_info is provided by the dumchar driver, which reads the partitioning info from a header file generated during the build process and compiled in when the kernel is built. This header file is also used by other components, like the preloader, possibly bootloader, and both regular and recovery kernels. This means unless you can rebuild said components with a new header file, the partitioning is quite literally hard-coded.
A scatter file is related, in that it's generated from the same source. You can use the information from /proc/dumchar_info (together with some assumptions) to generate a scatter file.
For more information on partitioning on MediaTek devices that don't use GPT, see here.

Interesting, thanks. But then I'm baffled as to how it's possible to edit the ‘scatter file’ with, iirc, MTKDroidTools and have it uploaded back to the device—which should reflect the changes in the partitioning, in places other than MBR/EBR (though web sources are unclear as to what exactly those places are). I mean, Mediatek could conceivably replace the data a binary component and upload that, but I'm doubtful about the whole kernel. So the next question for me is whether the scatter file affects the dumchar info.
Though I'm not quite clear on what scatter-loading exactly does, either.

Scatter file will not affect the info in dumchar, because the latter is compiled while the former is just a text file. From the looks of it OTA updates that change the partitioning does have the parts that reference the partitioning info recompiled. The scatter file is just for SP Flash Tool to know where to write images into storage. As mentioned, the partitioning info is copied into multiple places, so you'll have to update more than the scatter to repartition. Note this is for non-GPT systems. With GPT you might not need to update as much.

I cant find a dumchar_info file on my device, but usually using proc/partinfo gives you the physical start locations and lengths of each partition, not including the preloader partition.  Hypothetically if you resized the DATA partition to an extra 1 Gig, you would need to adjust the entire partition scheme after the new ending length position, you could readjust the size of only the next partition if you leave enough space for it to actually be used.
You would need to update any changes to the scatter file, the new starting positions of each partition and the new sizes.
Backup and restore, you can just backup the entire emmc and restore it again using SP Flash Tool.


text:
ADB error: insufficient permissions for device: verify udev rules
When I run adb shell, I get the following error
$> adb shell
* daemon not running; starting now at tcp:5037
* daemon started successfully
error: insufficient permissions for device: user in plugdev group; are your udev rules wrong?
See [http://developer.android.com/tools/device.html] for more information

The connection gets thus rejected without me getting any prompt on the phone's side. I have enabled the "USB debugging" option on the phone, which when connected correctly says "USB debugging connected".

When you plug the phone to the computer, choose to use the phone as a MTP device and then try adb shell again.

Define udev for device as explained here https://android.stackexchange.com/q/144966/131553

@DeathMaskSalesman: I do not understand the logic of it, but what can I say: it worked!  Thanks a lot!

@Stefan I don't understand it as well, but the Galaxy S3 suffers from the same bug (?) and that workaround does the trick.

@Stefan the logic is that when MTP is enabled, Android device is exposed to the PC with diffetent USB PID (product ID). And a udev (or equivalent) rule already exists for that PID. So it just works.

This can be resolved by enabling ADB transfer in your USB Preferences.

Plug the phone into the USB
Drag the phone's top menu (the drawer) down
Click the notification that says "Android System: Charging this device via USB. Tap for more options."
Click "File Transfer" (newer devices) or "MTP" (older devices)

Note, if successful you may get a prompt asking you to accept the keys of the computer issuing the adb shell command.

Right.  That's the workaround that @Grimoire (formerly DeathMaskSalesman, apparently) gave as well, indeed.  I wouldn't say it "resolves" the problem, because you have to repeat that dance every time.

BTW, I don't understand why you tagged my question with mtp and file-sharing: while the workaround uses MTP/file-sharing the question has nothing to do with either of those.

@Stefan So anyone looking for questions pertaining to mtp and adb can find it? Since that seems pretty likely. However, it's your question, despite being the most popular problem with ADB it has less than 250 views in over 2 years. You do you. ;)

I see what you mean.  But I think I still prefer "doing me", because I believe the tags should describe the subjects related to the question rather than those related to the answers.  IOW, we'll agree to disagree.


text:
Why chmod gives "Operation not permitted" error?
I try to execute chmod on a file with Termux, but it sends back an error which I'm unable to solve.
My phone is not rooted. If you can help me I would be most grateful to you for this! Here is the command and the error:
$ chmod +x /sdcard/meta-install.sh
chmod: changing permissions of 'meta-install.sh': Operation not permitted

Thanks!

Android does not allow you to create executable files within the sdcard (internal storage, mounted in userspace) partition without root.
A workaround would be to execute the file as bash meta-install.sh, assuming it is a bash file. (Alternatively sh meta-install.sh to run it using sh as the shell).

Thank you, great advice.

Filesystem on Android's internal memory (called External Storage) is SDCardFS (successor of FUSE) which imposes a mask mode (fix permissions) on all files and directories. It's an emulated/virtual filesystem, not the real one. You can only change permissions with chmod from /data/media/ which is the real filesystem (ext4 or f2fs). But /data/media/ is only accessible to root user.
Further Reading:

What is /storage/emulated/0?

Related:

Is it possible to change file permissions on Android's internal storage?
How to remount sdcardfs to allow setting file permisions / ownerships?


text:
Possible to charge device with Google Pixel phone through USB-C?
Is it possible to charge an external device using Google Pixel smartphone as a battery? In other words, can I change the charging direction (reverse charge) so I can charge e.g. a laptop using my Google Pixel as power source?

Pixel phones support USB C Power Delivery
This standard says

Power direction is no longer fixed. This enables the product with the power (Host or Peripheral) to provide the power

Which translates to reverse charging

Reddit users confirm reverse charging with Pixel

How efficient charging your laptop would be dependent on the state of charge of phone / laptop , battery capacity of laptop but theoretically yes, you can ( you would need USB cable with male connections at both ends)


text:
Can't access my smartphone through neither adb/fastboot or GUI
So I was about to format my phone and install a lineage ROM (as I already did a thousand times before and always worked) but my phone now ended in a very strange situation. First I booted TRWP recovery mode and ran a wipe, then rebooted back to recovery and plugged my phone in the pc to transfer de rom zip. After pluging it my pc, KDE desktop shows that a "moto g is connected (...)" and give me the options to browse its folders through the GUI but by clicking on it fails with the message:

"The process for the mtp protocol died unexpectedly".

So I ignore it and decided to transfer the zip through adb push but adb devices finds no attached device. The same happens for fastboot devices. I've made a little search and found that the mount folders for mtp can be located in either /run/user/$USER/gvfs/ or /var/run/user/$UID/gvfs but both of these are empty. So I'm now at a stalemate (i think this is the right english word). I don't know how to proceed. All I want to do is transfer the files to reinstall my system (rom.zip, opengapps.zip and magisk.zip). Any ideia what is happening, and, how to solve it (if possible)?

Does the device have an SD Card slot?

also no, or else I'd have already put my zip files there :)

hum well, next thing I would try would be flashing a stock image using RSD Lite, then restart the custom ROM installation processes. Which model is that phone?

Also, did you try manually booting in bootloader with key combo? ADB won't show up if MTP is broken (in recovery) IMO.

yes I booted into bootloader with key combo (down volume + power button), it is now the only way I can get into rec mode. but inside bootloader I can't see my phone through fastboot devices, the luck I had is that trwp rec is already installed

Fine then, flash it with stock firmeware. You should get back ADB  and be able to flash a custom ROM.

how? you mean doing a factory reset?

No, a complete firmware installation.

but wouldn't this require the fastboot command to detect my phone to run the flash command?

Of course fastboot is required. I heard you are able to boot in the bootloader right?

Let us continue this discussion in chat.

Oh, missed the part your device isn't getting detected even in bootloader mode

So after a talk and help from user esQmo_ in the chat, the only possible explanation would be my local install of android tools to be broken. I've tested by installing adb and fastboot in another machine and there it was possible to the device to be accessed (it was visible throught all adb, fastboot mtp didn't failed)

Glad I helped :D


text:
Gmail keeps notifying me even for mail I labelled with the intention to not be notified regarding
This is not a duplicate of Stop Gmail notifications when receiving email from particular sender
Because the question here includes that after I tried that, I still get gmail notifications.
I receive some email that I don't want to receive notifications for. Usually the kind of email that is sent to an email list.
I added some filters for various emails I receive like this e.g.

So they get the label regularblkmail
I don't want my phone to be notifying me whenever I receive an email like that.
And if that means that those emails don't even go into any primary inbox, and they go into some other category that I never see unless I click that category, or "all mail" then fine. But I don't want to get notifications.
If I go to the gmail app, and I push the 3 bars, and I go to 'settings', then pick my email address, that the email is going to, then choose Manage Labels.  Some labels say "not synced", some say "last 30 days".   The label "regularblkmail" says "last 30 days". (it used to say 'not synced' but I managed to get it to say synced to 'last 30 days'). When synced, which it is, it enables some options like "Label notifications". I unticked the box. But I still get notifications when the email comes.
I notice that one of the example emails has had 2 labels applied to it. "inbox", and  "regular blkmail".
I don't know if the fact that it has the 'inbox' label, is the reason for it notifying me? (if so i'm not sure how to make the filter not give that inbox label to that email).
How can I prevent notifications for certain emails I filter for?

@untargeted no it isn't, I tried that already. So my question is even trying that solution I still have the problem of gmail notifications. so it is different

I hadn't ticked  "Skip the inbox (Archive it)", i'll try that and see if that helps.

"I don't know if the fact that it has the 'inbox' label, is the reason for it notifying me? (if so i'm not sure how to make the filter not give that inbox label to that email)." Yes, it is the reason, and following the instructions in the other question is exactly how to get rid of the inbox label.


text:
Phone not booting up
I was using my android device and suddenly it turn off, and when I tried to turn it back on I received  then It turn on for couple of minutes and after that it turn off and now the phone is not responding whatsoever, and it's not turning on.........can anyone help me with solving this problem, and I also read the documents from android and found nothing useful regarding this problem, all I found was some explanation about the causes but nothing on how to solve it.

Your software must have been corrupted, I suggest that you GOOGLE instructions on how to re-flash your firmware depending on your device, of course.

but the phone isn't even booting up now


text:
Android Tablet IP Webcam App no accessible after few seconds
i have an android Tablet (Telekom Puls) with Android 5.0.1 on it. Installed the "IP Webcam" App. When i want to access the Webservice of this App from another Computer in LAN, i get "connection refused" in the Browser.
When i turn off/on the WLAN from the tablet, a few seconds the access from another computer works and i can open the web service. But after few seconds its "refused" again.This happens every time i toggle the WLAN.
I´m New to android, is there any security option, which blocks external access in android OS? I don´t have installed any other firewall or antivirus software.
would be great if some can give me a hint!
thanks and best regards,
dave


text:
How to move a folder to another path and to move back to same tree merging its contents on Unix?
On my Android phone, I have:

A cron job to move files at 1:59am from /sdcard/WhatsApp/Media to /sdcard/wppmediabkp folder before WhatsApp backup at 2:00am:

mv -f /sdcard/WhatsApp/Media /sdcard/wppmediabkp

A cron job to move files at 2:30am back (from /sdcard/wppmediabkp to /sdcard/WhatsApp/Media):

mv -f /sdcard/wppmediabkp /sdcard/WhatsApp/Media

The "cron jobs" are tasks on "Tasks!" app (scheduling them with 00 59 1 ? * * and 00 30 2 ? * *). The commands are tested in Termux app also.

Aim:

To exclude Media folder from backup, but to also restore image "link" to chats (to do not download again).

On restoration of wppmediabkp folder to /sdcard/WhatsApp/Media:

Sometimes it works well (it creates the /sdcard/WhatsApp/Media with all its contents). It happens when /sdcard/WhatsApp/Media folder does not exist. For me, it is the expected behavior.
Sometimes it creates a subfolder (/sdcard/WhatsApp/Media/wppmediabkp). It happens when /sdcard/WhatsApp/Media folder exists. For me, it is the issue - I would like to restore original folder tree, merging its contents.

I think it was reduced to a Unix issue, because I can use all Unix basic commands.
How to solve it (to get Media folder back merging its contents) using mv command?

With mv (and cp), when the target is a directory, the last element of each source path is copied into the target directory, so the restore command command should be mv -f /sdcard/wppmediabkp/Media /sdcard/WhatsApp/.

One approach is not to move directories. Let them exist all the time, move their content back and forth:
mv -f /sdcard/WhatsApp/Media/* /sdcard/wppmediabkp/
# and later
mv -f /sdcard/wppmediabkp/* /sdcard/WhatsApp/Media/

Notes:

* will not match hidden files/directories;
with too many objects you may hit "argument list too long" error.

In case any of this is an issue, the solution should use something like find … -exec mv …. Either way move what is inside the directory, not the directory itself.

Excellent! Although Schedule! app does not work well, Termux shows that they are correct for desired backup operation.


text:
Google Photos: Changing from iPhone to Samsung S9
I’m switching from iPhone 5SE to Samsung Galaxy S9. I’ve used Google Photos to save my photos and videos. Is the change from phones going to impact my data on Google Photos? Basically, when I log into Google Photos on Samsung, will all of my photos be there?

No. They will remain on Google Photos unless you select "save to phone" for each photo you want to be available offline. They won't be automatically downloaded to your new Samsung.


text:
what is the standard editor in Android?
I'm connecting to this Google phone via adb, I need to change a character inside of a text file, and I would use vi, or maybe sed -i, or even pico if nothing else helps, but I don't find any well known CLI editor.
How do you Android Enthusiasts do this?  I mean, short of copying the file back and forth?
/system/bin/sh: vi: not found
127|root@generic_x86:/ # pico
/system/bin/sh: pico: not found
127|root@generic_x86:/ # nano
/system/bin/sh: nano: not found
127|root@generic_x86:/ # vim
/system/bin/sh: vim: not found
127|root@generic_x86:/ # sed
/system/bin/sh: sed: not found
127|root@generic_x86:/ # emacs
/system/bin/sh: emacs: not found
127|root@generic_x86:/ # apropos editor
/system/bin/sh: apropos: not found
127|root@generic_x86:/ #

There isn't any standard editor - you use what works for you. You can search for one Izzy's list [Notes] (https://android.izzysoft.de/applists/category/named/office_notes) or better text editors for developers

To clarify, Android doesn't have any built in editor

hi, thanks, I feared so much.  But these lists only have graphic editors, to be used from the android screen itself, isn't it?  I had hoped for some CLI tools. (I'll have a look at the Vim port, I guess. thank you again.)

Have a look at this https://android.stackexchange.com/q/44049/131553

@mariotomo Did you try to launch vim or nano? I run LineageOS and can start them.

I am inside of a virtual android machine, I do not know what is LineageOS, and I've not mentioned all that I tried, which indeed included vim and nano.
https://github.com/shiftrot/droidvim/issues/19

Try out Termux.

thank you for the hint on Termux, I will definitely try it on my physical phone.  but I'm currently on a virtual machine.

As mentioned, I would be happy with sed.
Still as later mentioned in a comment, I am in a virtual environment, so no trouble dropping one OS and start using the newer one.
Apparently, my problem was staying in Android 5.1.  Starting version 6 Android includes ToyBox, a rather limited alternative to BusyBox, legally compatible with the non-free license of Android.
The ToyBox hint comes from the author of droidvim.


text:
Does erasing my lost Google mobile remotely delete my Google cloud data as well?
I lost my  phone abroad. I want to use Google's 'find my phone/erase my phone' function to wipe all my Google data (account on my phone) remotely. HOWEVER, I can't figure out how to prevent this from erasing all the data/media in my Google drive/Google Photo's. Obviously I only want the account erased from the phone, and NOT my cloud data...Am I worrying for nothing? I'm quite hesitant to erase my phone now...Anyone with knowledge on this issue?
Thanks in advance!

Your cloud data is safe, so is other data. This can be lost only if you delete your account. See Google help Delete your Google Account - Google Account Help
When you are erasing data as described by you, only the data on the phone is erased. Your account is not deleted
You can get a new device and use the same account to backup and have access to whatever was saved on the cloud

Thanks man, this is reassuring insight! i'll go ahead with the erase option immediately then...

You can choose any of the answers that worked for you to be marked as "accepted" by ticking the green arrow next to it. This is the way of saying that it worked for you and thanks

Your worrying for nothing, your lost phone will be wiped by its new owner if they intend on using it. They will be able to connect your phone to a PC and have a look at your personal effects ... music, pics etc, but not your account information. Hopefully you don't have any TXT or docs that contain usernames and passwords like some people do.
Chances of your phone still being connected to a network for you to wipe remotely are slim.

Thanks for the comment Brad. I hope the new owner will connect the phone to some or other network at some stage, at which point the authorisation of the erase function should (in theory) kick in automatically...Regards


text:
Are device administrator permissions a security risk?
I would like to use t-igra's SwipeLock+ app, but it requires device administrator permissions.
Google Play Store lists the following permissions:

receive data from Internet
view network connections
full network access
run at startup
draw over other apps
prevent device from sleeping
install shortcuts

Are any of these a security risk?

To answer your title, device administrator by itself is not a risk as it does not give extra privileges beyond what is mentioned in app manifest. See What permissions are granted to an app with device administration privileges?
Permissions are classified as normal, signature and dangerous.
See permission overview for more details. Note that these keep changing with Android versions. Create shortcuts for instance is a normal permission
More important than this classification is to know why those permissions are needed by the app. Last four mentioned by you are required by the app to be a lock screen app. As for the first three, I don't  know why they are required and it's best to ask the developer (note that reasons are not given in the app description). If you aren't satisfied with the reply don't install or install and block access using a firewall.
I am not implying developer here is posing a risk for you but  you should know why it is required - as you care and therefore are asking. For example, here is another screen lock app that doesn't need receive data from internet

Maybe. Only give permission to apps that You have sure about its security and privacy.
Even apps on play store can take malicious intentions.


text:
Smart TV not finding apps (from Ireland to UK)
I have a Sony Bravia 4K (2017) and I have moved from Ireland to the UK. While my Play Store is correctly set to UK, I cannot see/install basic apps like the BBC iPlayer. If I check the Play Store on the web, it tells me that the apps are not compatible.
I checked tutorials and they say to try "network -> refresh Internet content", but I couldn't find the button under network.
Any tips?

If your TV is running Android, download a browser such opera, google chrome or UC browser, in settings turn on "unknown sources", then go to any of the app's site like https://terrariumtvforpc.com/.

Thanks but actually I'm wondering why I can't access official apps from the store

The TV updated itself and then managed to access the UK Google Play Store. Problem solved.


text:
Need Data off of a Locked, Unrooted Nexus 5 Stuck on Pre-Android Logo Splash Animation
Alright, this is a long shot, but I really would like to get my data off of my old, soft-bricked phone.
It's a Nexus 5 (running Android 6.0.1), which has never been unlocked or rooted. It gets stuck on the spinning circles that appear after the Google logo (the ones that normally become the Android wordmark). What I do have is USB debugging enabled, an authorized private key for that debugging, a Windows 7 system, access to a MacBook, and access to a variety of... hardware tools at my disposal. ADB commands work fine at whatever point in the boot process that it reaches (e.g. adb shell, logcat). Stock recovery also runs, for whatever good that is (apparently nothing; what's even the point of being able to "Mount /system"?).
I was simply scrolling through my miles-long Watch Later playlist in the official YouTube app when the system suddenly rebooted. When it finished rebooting, the (stock) launcher and Google Play Services would continuously crash unless in another app (only accessible via the middle/app history button). I brought it to my workstation intending to do diagnostics on it, but I must have hit the lock button or something on the way over, or it otherwise turned off on its own. Since then it has not made it past the aforementioned point in the boot sequence.
The logcat output I've retrieved is located here. I'm scared that it may be hardware, or at least a corrupt filesystem.
I've scoured the net and all resources I find talk about how to get data off when either having root, an unlocked bootloader, a system with a working UI and Activity Manager and Package Manager, or just a custom recovery. I have none of those things. Anything that does mention a situation similar to mine gives a single option: full data wipe caused by unlocking the bootloader.
While I accept that it was foolish of me for thinking stock would be "less risky" than custom, I remain optimistic that, if it actually is a software issue and not a hardware one, there may still be some way out there way of getting everything off of here. This is a device that's rocking a relatively outdated version of Android. I'm interested in any way I can get my data off here, even if it's more black hat than not.


text:
Full desktop backup from Android
Is there a reliable way to make a full desktop backup of all apps, app settings, files from an Android running Oreo?
I have tried using SDK and using the adb backup command. It seems to backup all the data but restore doesn't work. I have also noticed that backups made a few hours apart can be wildly different in terms of file size, which implies that it doesn't work consistently.
Is there something similar to the itunes back for iphone which works reliably?
Thanks

You can install a custom recovery (TWRP, Philztouch) depending on your phone's brand and unit.
After installing, you can now perform nandroid backups and restore it anytime you want.

Please do mention that in this process the possibility of existing user data getting destroyed is incredibly high.

I have a Pixel 2 with a locked bootloader. Would TWRP work? I also saw the comment about possibility of data getting deleted. Any other methods which are more reliable? Thanks

Yes, of course, do it at your own risk. Google the process depending in your phone's unit.


text:
How to correctly quote `adb shell su -c`
adb shell su -c is a commonly used adb command. Normally you just need to append arguments to the command line like this:
adb shell su -c echo ab

However, things can be tricky if you want to add quotes. For example, to print a  b (there are 2 spaces), these won't work:
adb shell su -c echo "a  b"
adb shell su -c "echo \"a  b\""
adb shell su -c "echo 'a  b'"

You have to use these:
adb shell su -c "\"echo \\\"a  b\\\"\""
adb shell "su -c \"echo \\\"a  b\\\"\""
adb shell su -c "\"echo 'a  b'\""
adb shell "su -c \"echo 'a  b'\""

I'd like to know which is the standard way of writing such a command. Standard means it handles quotes correctly and in the most straightforward way.
My current research:

adb handles command arguments the same way as ssh: Arguments are connected (with space) into a string, and that string is executed.
su -c expects a single string as the command line, and it doesn't do the concatenation for you.

So I think the most standard way of writing adb shell su -c should be like:
adb shell "su -c \"echo \\\"a  b\\\"\""

However, I'm not very confident about this. Does anyone have concrete reference confirming what I'm doing or showing I'm doing it wrong?

When I get in this kind of situation I do: adb shell 'su -c "echo a\ \ b"'. I use single quotes to enclose everything after adb shell and double quotes inside, wherever needed.

The best solution would be to use single-quotes (') around the subcommand:
adb shell 'su -c echo "a  b"'

But please note that usually within single-quotes everything is taken literally and variables are not expanded. This doesn't apply when you nest quotes like this. As an example:
myvar='123'
echo "$myvar"   # prints 123
echo '$myvar'   # prints $myvar

But: (assuming $myvar is set to '123' within the adb shell (e.g. on phone))
adb shell 'su -c echo "$myvar"'    # prints 123

In case you want to use your own shell variables to be included within the adb subcommand, you can simply flip around the quotes:
myvar='test'
adb shell "su -c echo '$myvar'"    # prints test


text:
Remove "Switched to mobile data" notification on Samsung devices
I'm using Samsung Galaxy S9. How do I get rid of notifications when the phone does not see a known Wi-Fi and switches to mobile data?

Open Settings app >Tap Connections >Press and hold Wi-Fi >Tap ADVANCED>Toggle the Smart Switch

If I open settings, tap connections, tap Wi-Fi (no difference if I hold it), via the three dots tap advanced, I find no smart network switch. Although to the screenshot at https://www.samsung.com/au/support/mobile-devices/what-is-smart-network-switching/ shows that setting, I have "Switch to mobile data" and "Turn on Wi-Fi automatically".

This doesn't answer the question, because the point is not to switch the setting off, but rather just to switch the notification off.


text:
S7 charging problems
Apologies if this has been answered already.  I searched and found many variations on this issue, but nothing that applies directly to my situation.  At first, I thought my old off-brand cable was to blame, but after using the same cable/base/outlet to charge my wife's phone (also an S7) to get a nearly complete charge within an hour, I've determined that it is an issue with the phone.
My S7 charging time has gotten slower and slower over the last week or so.  It went from regularly fast charging to mainly standard charging at first...and I'm now at the point where it goes from charging to fast charging to not being connected at all...and then through the cycle again, but in no particular order, and without the phone being moved.  Sometimes it's (fast or not) charging, sometimes it's not charging at all.  Regardless of what it says it's doing, it's barely maintaining a charge, let alone making any progress.  It has never said that it's charging slowly. I've seen that message before when I was using an older cable that was due for replacement.  Not present here.  It's charging very, very slowly even when it's stating an at least regular charging state.
Having already ruled out a cable/base/outlet issue, I've tried closing all apps and even turning the phone off.  I also cleaned lint/dust out of the charging port.  Nothing has helped.  After cleaning and then turning my phone off last night at 18%, I woke up to a 91% charge seven hours later.  The phone downloaded and installed the latest update to 8.0.0 (Oreo) earlier this week.  This issue pre-dated the update, but I can't say for sure if it was worsened by the software change.
Every page/post that I've come across so far has at least one variable that makes the situation different from mine.  Any thoughts or ideas would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you in advance!

1.Put the phone in  safe mode and charge. If it charges as it should it indicates a problem with some installed app 2. is the result same if you tried charging with your wife's device cable? If no, it is a cable device combo issue, never mind it charges fine on her device

You should check the phone USB connector for dirt, debris etc... And if possible bring it to a phone repair shop, as this might a hardware failure, they should fix it


text:
How to change the browser of a web-shortcut?
An incompatibility between F-Droid's current version of IceCat and Android 8, makes it that I can't Add to home screen from IceCat (well, I can, but it doesn't do anything other than jump back to Trebuchet).
How can I create a web-shortcut to IceCat in that case?
I figured I could create a web shortcut with another browser, but it seems those shortcuts are "bound" to their original browser, so even though IceCat is my default browser, the web shortcut opens up in another browser.
Maybe another way to ask this, is: how to create a web shortcut which is not specific to any browser, so when I click it I get asked which browser to use.

I didn't know about IceCat :). Anyway, it can be done if you have pro version of Nova launcher- just tried

I don't see it in F-droid.  Is it Free Software?  Also, it sounds like it's a launcher, hence a replacement for Trebuchet.  Can it make/modify a shortcut that Trebuchet will know how to use?

It's a launcher on Play Store. Free and paid. Only paid version can do this. I haven't used Trebuchet. You can download free version and see

Once it is installed it should replace Trebuchet and the paid version I tested with your browser and what you want can be achieved. It's very rich in customisation and hence very popular

For the functionality beeshyams describes (and I vaguely remember that from Apex launcher, which is quite similar), could ActivityLauncher fit? Haven't used it myself so I don't know if it can edit already existing shortcuts.

Hello Stefan. In response to your preference of requiring a solution which is free/libre in character I posted this meta question, and according to the response received as the solution as well as my own understanding of the scope of this site I am asking you to please do no dismiss answers on account of that preference. I have thus removed your comments which dismissed comments and answers where solution was not libre/free. If you cannot part with this preference I suggest you consider asking on [softwarerecs.se].

Try Website Shortcut. Open the app, paste the link of the website/webpage, then click on create shortcut. It will fetch the icon from the website for you.
On the home screen, click on the shortcut, you will be prompted to choose a browser. After selecting your browser, I advise to select "Just once" to allow the selection of other browsers if needed.
The disadvantage of the app is that if you remove it, the shortcuts will also be removed.
Disclaimer: I am not related to the app's developer.
EDIT: Below his the response I received from the app's developer as to why the source code is unavailable. He has given his authorisation to show the screenshot of his response.


text:
(Samsung) Possibility to check bootloader status using PC
Is it possible to check bootloader status using adb of a samsung device back from 2014 or older?
(s5 and below) there's no fastboot, and no "OEM Unlock" in developer options
and since i need to get the info using pc
Do I need to program an android application to go with my desktop one to detect bootloader status?
If so, is it even possible to get bootloader status using an app?
Context:
I'm creating a desktop program which needs to determine bootloader status to do certain tasks. I have searched for ways to do it, i found 3 only, none work in my case
Using dialer to find it, I get no output at all..
Using fastboot, There's no fastboot, only download mode
Using an adb command, it helped but it did not output the bootloader status

Try this app to see if it reveals bootloader status

@beeshyams thanks, but it does not

On Samsung devices, if there is no OEM unlock in the Developer Settings, then the bootloader is unlocked by default. OEM lock is enabled on carriers models only.
Moreover Samsung devices don't have fastboot, they have a proprietary protocol instead.

thanks for the info... that's wierd because my phone is T-Mobile and doesn't have OEM Unlock.... Anyway  So I guess i'll have to program my app to either check for the existence of that option in settings, or use fastboot if available

Which variant model is your device? Check in About device options

SM-G900T .. it is T-Mobile  (kltetmo) (s5 lte (snapdragon) tmobile)

This variant has a locked bootloader I guess, like most T-MO devices

it is. because it blocked my first ever flashing try and bricked itself  ..i don't know how i unlocked it later... and I can't try again because it's unlocked forever

Maybe because you downgraded it to a build with an unlocked bootloader

I remember my first successful flash was the official update from 5.1.1 to 6.0.1 using odin (success because unmodified binaries)... so you're saying they made it unlocked in 6.0.1 update maybe... I don't remember exactly when it became unlocked but this could be the case


text:
Cannot use Android phone in fastboot mode
I have a Samsung Galaxy On7, Android 6.0.1.
On my computer (Windows 7, 32-bit), I have adb and fastboot installed. I can work on my phone properly from adb. But the problem starts in fastboot mode.
When I put my phone in bootloader mode, the computer takes the phone to be a modem. There are several videos that show how the driver problems can be solved, but once my computer identifies the device as modem, I cannot do anything else, as it is reluctant to install the Android Bootloader Interface drivers for my phone, saying they are the ones meant for a modem.
I have even tried to stop auto installation of drivers, but even then the device is recognised as a modem.
Is there any way I can stop my computer from recognising the device as a modem?

There is no fastboot mode for Samsung devices. Download mode (Odin/Heimdall) might be what you're after (which uses proprietary drivers).

That's sad, and I didn't know about that. You mean to say after I put my phone in bootloader mode, I cannot use fastboot, but I have to use some software like Odin, right?

Depends on what you're trying to achieve. That mode is meant for flashing various binaries: recovery, firmware, root packages etc... But using a tool that supports Samsung protocols


text:
On flashing TWRP: Custom binary blocked by FRP Lock
Whenever I try to flash TWRP I get

Custom binary blocked by FRP Lock.

I'm trying to flash with Heimdall.

On recent Android devices, when you have Factory Reset Protection, which is enabled automatically when you setup a Google account, custom binaries (the files that are not signed by the OEM) are blocked (custom recoveries, boot, etc) for security reasons as one can bypass that lock and gain access to your data.
So disabling OEM lock in the Developer Settings, which opens the bootloader to non-signed binaries, should let you flash any custom binary.
EDIT:
To recover your device, simply flash it with a stock firmware uing Heindall or Odin.

I rebooted into the firmware and went

Settings
Software information
Click Build Options 5 times

Then I went to

Settings
Developer Options
OEM Unlock