text:
Create a complete backup of the Whatsapp "Media" folder by deleteing all the .nomedia files in all the subfolders
WhatsApp stores all sent and received images, documents, and videos in the following file structure:
Internal memory >> Android >> Media >> com.whatsapp >> Whatsapp >> Media ------ (A)
This Media folder has folders named

WhatsApp Audio
WhatsApp Documents
WhatsApp Images
WhatsApp Video
WhatsApp Voice Notes

Now, each of the above five folders has two sub-folders:

Private
Sent

These two sub-folders have .nomedia files inside them.
I have manually deleted all the .nomedia files from all these sub-folders and sub-sub-folders before backing up the chats using Chat backup in WhatsApp settings. However, these .nomedia files are getting re-created every time I tap "Back up now".

To go into a little more detail as to the steps I have followed, they are, in chronological order:

Clear all apps from my Android phone RAM (OnePlus 7 Pro).
Open app WhatsApp.
Go to Settings >> Chats >> Chat backup (but do not tap anything).
Tap the center circle (Home button) so that WhatsApp is not exited in the usual manner.
Open file explorer app Solid Explorer and go to the Whatsapp Media location mentioned in (A) above.
Delete all the .nomedia files in all the folders, sub-folders and sub-sub-folders inside this location.
Tap the center circle (Home button) so that Solid Explorer is not exited in the usual manner.
Tap the recent apps button and go to WhatsApp. Now, I am on the same screen on WhatsApp as I had left it in Step 4 above (Settings >> Chats >> Chat backup screen).
Tap "Back up now"
Wait on the same screen till the backup is complete.

After following the above steps, I see that .nomedia files have been created inside all the folders that I had deleted them from, with the timestamp on each equal to the exact time when I tapped "Back up now" in Step 9 above.
This would mean that the data in the Private and Sent folders inside each of WhatsApp Audio, WhatsApp Documents, etc. have not been backed up.
Can anyone suggest a way so that the data inside those folders are also backed up?
Or, if possible, share a different method so that I can have the data inside those folders in my backup?


text:
Whatsapp Business appears in the list as an option to activate Deep Sleep but standard Whatsapp does not appear
One UI 6
Samsung Galaxy S23
As Whatsapp consumes a lot of battery, I'm trying to put it in Deep Sleep to only work when I open it. But only the Whatsapp Business version is appearing in the list of apps as an option to activate the functionality.
Should I do something so that Whatsapp appears in the list and I can choose it?

Maybe a Samsung thing. On Pixel, I can put ordinary WhatsApp in optimize mode. I don't have business version

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
In Termux: how to update manual page database: "mandb" went =>?=> "mandoc" gone =>?=>
The cause: manpage of aptitude is installed (android 12, termux 118, 6.2.1 PRoot-Distro, ubuntu 23.10) but "man aptitude" does not find it; yet "man -l pathfilename" does display it.
And some other signs that mandb should be updated.
Why update of manual page database is not possible. How to repaire?
Regards

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


text:
Realme 11 pro fix application list anomaly
Basically I find an app list anomaly, and don't know how to fix it, nor if it's the symptom of a compromise, or just an anomaly; here are the details:
A few month ago I bought a brand new phone (a Realme Pro 11) that was exposed in the store's display window. So even if theoretically not used by anyone, it was out of the package.
Now I find an anomaly in app list, and don't know what to think (after purchase I reset the device for security reasons, but maybe it was not enough).
In app list Google Assistant appears twice, and I find an app with a name "nessuno" that in my language mean "none" (and I can't uninstall it). The app "none" persist after many reboot.
So I am quite concerned, because even if I didn't installed any third party app except Google's app or AV app (after reset), maybe my device was already compromised in the store. To be fair AV app executed onto device (without rooting the device) didn't find anything, but I am afraid that maybe someone with physical access to device (in the store) may have installed some rootkit that is difficult to spot.
Here the screen of anomaly in app list I talked about

--Edited : adding detail
Two Google assistant app are the following packages

app:Google Assistant
package:com.android.hotwordenrollment.xgoogle
Launcher:null
app:Google Assistant
package:com.android.hotwordenrollment.okgoogle
Launcher:null

While no name app is :
app:Nessuno
package:com.android.systemui.overlay.fingerprint.anim.none
Launcher:null

You need to find out the app package name. Some app listing tools can do that. Once you have the packageName you can download it to a PC and analyze it's signature to see if it belongs to the system firmware.

@Robert thanks for information. I think I found the package name, the more concerning seems related to Oppo, so probably legit after all. I will download on pc to better analyse it. Thanks again (ps added details to original question)


text:
Automatic call recorder restore files
When updating the app all files (saved) disappeared from the app.
Is there a way to restore them on the app.
I wanted to export them as backup but it seem impossible.
My phone is not rooted so I can't have access to them. (Can't see them)
Thanks

Which app are you talking about? Please edit your question and name the app including a link to it's Play Store Web site.

It's in the title. Automatic call recorder. I'm trying to retrieve the recorded messages. Thanks

There are multiple apps with that name.  To allow people to help you, please provide an F-Droid or Google Play store link to that app within your question.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.q4u.autocallrecorder

The recordings must be there as I have 956mb of data and the app is only 34mb. But File manager won't give give authorisation to access to them.


text:
Security risk of purchasing Android phone with unlocked boot loader but using/flashing known good firmware?
(If its easier for the question, we can assume a non-ancient version of Android - say Android 12 or newer)
I am aware that running an unlocked boot loader can allow hacked firmware to be run on the phone, but understand that Android - or at least some versions of android/some distributions - offer at least some warning/protections (i.e. a warning if the firmware is unsigned).
For various reasons (warranty related) I would like to purchase a phone with a boot loader that is unlocked.   Assuming that either I flash known good firmware or that the installed firmware is signed is there any risk of the phone being compromised over and above the risks if I unlocked the boot loader myself?

If the bootloader is unlocked it doesn't matter if the firmware is signed, this is one of the features you disable by unlocking a bootloader. So in the end it is a question of trust - who is offering a phone with warranty and unlocked bootloader?

@robert that is not correct - at least not on a Samsung A24.  If the bootloader is unlocked it does not throw any warnings, but if the firmware is unsigned it does.


text:
What does int, jit, fast, and portable mean in build.prop's dalvik.vm.execution-mode?
There are many build.prop tweaks on the internet, and some says dalvik.vm.execution-mode should be int:jit, and some says it should be fast:jit or even in a reversed order as jit:fast for performance. What is the difference between int and fast, and does the order matter (before and after the colon)? My phone is running Android 4.4.2 KitKat.
Edit: Just a note, ART is not supported in my device (Samsung Galaxy Note 2), even if I install the dex2oat program and libart.so, it won't work.

Summary
These are the values for Dalvik VM runtime:

fast: optimized for the current platform, and might consist of hand-optimized assembly routines (default)
portable: written in C and expected to run on a broad range of platforms
jit: just-in-time compilation

As for the order, the base source code only recognizes int:<mode>.

According to dalvik/docs/embedded-vm-control.html,

Execution Mode
The current implementation of the Dalvik VM includes three distinct interpreter cores. These are referred to as "fast", "portable", and "debug". The "fast" interpreter is optimized for the current platform, and might consist of hand-optimized assembly routines. In constrast, the "portable" interpreter is written in C and expected to run on a broad range of platforms. The "debug" interpreter is a variant of "portable" that includes support for profiling and single-stepping.
The VM may also support just-in-time compilation. While not strictly a different interpreter, the JIT compiler may be enabled or disabled with the same flag. (Check the output of dalvikvm -help to see if JIT compilation is enabled in your VM.)
The VM allows you to choose between "fast", "portable", and "jit" with an extended form of the -Xint argument. The value of this argument can be set through the dalvik.vm.execution-mode system property.
To select the "portable" interpreter, you would use:
adb shell setprop dalvik.vm.execution-mode int:portable

If the property is not specified, the most appropriate interpreter will be selected automatically. At some point this mechanism may allow selection of other modes, such as JIT compilation.
Not all platforms have an optimized implementation. In such cases, the "fast" interpreter is generated as a series of C stubs, and the result will be slower than the "portable" version. (When we have optimized versions for all popular architectures the naming convention will be more accurate.)
If profiling is enabled or a debugger is attached, the VM switches to the "debug" interpreter. When profiling ends or the debugger disconnects, the original interpreter is resumed. (The "debug" interpreter is substantially slower, something to keep in mind when evaluating profiling data.)
The JIT compiler can be disabled on a per-application basis by adding android:vmSafeMode="true" in the application tag in AndroidManifest.xml. This can be useful if you suspect that JIT compilation is causing your application to behave incorrectly.

Also, according to dalvik/docs/porting-guide.html,

Interpreter
The Dalvik runtime includes two interpreters, labeled "portable" and "fast".
The portable interpreter is largely contained within a single C function,
and should compile on any system that supports gcc.  (If you don't have gcc,
you may need to disable the "threaded" execution model, which relies on
gcc's "goto table" implementation; look for the THREADED_INTERP define.)
The fast interpreter uses hand-coded assembly fragments.  If none are
available for the current architecture, the build system will create an
interpreter out of C "stubs".  The resulting "all stubs" interpreter is
quite a bit slower than the portable interpreter, making "fast" something
of a misnomer.
The fast interpreter is enabled by default.  On platforms without native
support, you may want to switch to the portable interpreter.  This can
be controlled with the dalvik.vm.execution-mode system
property.  For example, if you:
adb shell "echo dalvik.vm.execution-mode = int:portable >> /data/local.prop"

and reboot, the Android app framework will start the VM with the portable
interpreter enabled.

Additional reading:

mobileread - Performance Boost: Enabling Dalvik's JIT compiler and increasing heap size)


text:
Can I Manage Data Distribution Among Devices Connected to my Android Hotspot?
I rely on my Android tablet's mobile data as a hotspot for both my work devices and other household members' devices. I'm looking for an app, method, or setting that allows me to control and manage the daily data transmitted to these connected devices via the hotspot. Specifically, I aim to prioritize data distribution to my work devices while regulating the data available to other connected devices.
Is there a method, application, or setting that provides fine-grained control over data distribution among devices connected to an Android hotspot? My objective is to establish daily data limits for individual devices, halting data transfer to a device once it reaches its assigned limit.


text:
How is GCam APK Port created?
Google Camera app is the application responsible for taking photos and recording videos and is only available for Google Pixel smartphone. It offers many great features such as such as HDR+, color enhancement, Super Res Zoom, Night Mode, and much more. This enables users to take amazing photos,even in low-light situations.
To use features from Google Camera app on Android smartphones from other vendors, GCam APK Port is created. Google Camera app is a closed source software.How does GCam APK Port have such capability? Google must use its own proprietary technologies for its features. How can
other apps access to the technologies? Does Google provide interfaces to use the technologies?
I searched the internet and found the following:

GCam APK Port refers to a modified version of the Google Camera app that has been ported to work on non-Pixel devices. These ports are created by developers who modify the original Google Camera app to make it compatible with a wider range of Android smartphones.

But I don't understand what these sentences mean.  What do they mean?

Not sure what you don't understand on that quote. It just describes the general process of how a manufacturer specific app is modified so that it also works on device of different manufacturers. As this process can be very complex it just gives you an overview how it works in general. If you want to understand app modification try to modify an app using apktool yourself (note that you need development skills and a lot of time to learn this).

Sorry, I am not a app developer, so I am not familiar with the process. Do you mean that the source code of Google Camera app is accessoible to developers?If so, developer can   make modifications to run the app on  Android smartphones from other vendors? Is the code of proprietary algorithms of features such as HDR+ is in binary mode? Only the interfaces to proprietary algorithms  is accessoible to developers? In summary, proprietary algorithms is closed source and the wrapper or the framework of the algorithms is open source?

No, the source code of GCam is not available but with enough effort plus knowledge and skill you can modify any program. On Android you have the DEX code which can be decompiled to Smali and native .so libraries can be decompiled to assembler and thus understood and modified. What exactly needs to be modified in case of GCam is only known to the developers who perform the modifications.


text:
Google Play Store: "Country not supported" error when making Family Library
I see a few related questions but I still ask this question (android.stackexchange.com#246629 mentions the same error although the situation is not exactly the same with mine).
Issue
On Play Store I see this message and doesn't seem to be able to set up Family Library.
Country not supported
Confirm the country associated with your account

Operation to reproduce the issue
On Play Store, choose Setting -> Family -> Sign up for Family Library -> SIGN UP then move on choosing yes or equivalent.
Things attempted but didn't seem to take effect

VPN (nordvpn) to a US location before doing what's in operation section above.

Environment

All of my payment methods are in a country A. I'm seeing this issue in country B where I came for a week-long vacation.

Country A: the US, B: Canada
I've never tried the operation in my home country A UPDATE 2024/01/03: Now I'm back to my home country and tried the same operation but still seeing the same issue. VPN disabled.

I tried from both of the following:

Android
ChromeOS 119.0.6045.212 (Official Build) (64-bit)

When back in US, did you disable your VPN?

@Rohit Gupta Yes, as I updated my post, VPN was no longer used for awhile.

Not exactly sure what was a fix, but today after the following things are done, signing up "Family Library" finally went through. Not I'm back to my home country for 4 days by today.

Made sure VPN was off. Btw today I used Ubuntu Linux while I used ChromeOS for my OP. Hope this OS difference is irrelevant.
On another Google account of mine, I found a "Family Group" was set up with someone (my siblings) who might be based on yet another country (say country C). I removed them from this "Family Group", which I don't recall we've ever used.
On the Google account in question, on Chrome web browser I went to "Family Sharing" setup page (myaccount.google.com) -> In "Other products and subscriptions you can share" choose "Google Play Family Library". Then follow signing up process -> Success.

So, sorry as I don't have definitive solution but hope this helps others who run into the same issue.

Country not supported
Confirm the country associated with your account

Please ensure you set your home country in your google account. Your home country is the country where you live permanently and where your official government and banking documents are sent to. When you publish apps, answers to the questions asked by the google app store wizard will set the regulations your apps will be subjected to. That's the reason the app store is giving you a hard time and will continue until you match your home country (the one you set when you created your google account originally). Your IP locale does not apply here since you mentioned that you're back home and are no longer using your VPN.

Thanks for comment. In my case though, my Google account's country was already set to my primary country.

@IssacS anytime. I understand.


text:
Cannot install apps or take photos after removing corrupted micro SD
I have a Moto e30 with Android 11. Around 5 months ago I inserted a 128GB micro SD card to add some extra storage, which I set in the options to be used as internal storage, not portable storage. I believe it has around 20GB of photos, as well as several apps stored on it. 2 days ago, the card registered as corrupted, and I could do nothing aside from log in and out, and open and close settings, so I took it out.
Since taking it out, I haven't been able to take photos, download files, or install any new apps, despite having only used 16 of the 32GB of storage in my phone. I have reset camera settings and cleared google play store cache, which changed nothing. Are there any ways to fix this so that my phone recognizes it still has storage.
I am aware of the option to forget the micro SD, but I would like to get an adapter and try and transfer the data on it to a computer first.

Preparations
Read through this entire answer before you start doing any of it.
File systems
Managing the data you store in a phone requires that some of the data capacity be used for "housekeeping" data. The housekeeping data is things like the names of files, their size, where to find them and so on. This does not take up much space, but it's absolutely vital: without it, none of the data on the phone can be used, or even found.
When we talk about the combination of your data and the housekeeping data, we call that a "file system."
When you set up the card as "internal storage," you told the phone to use the card as an extension of the built-in storage of the phone, and to extend the file system of the built-in storage onto the card. There was just one file system for all your storage.
The problem with that is that you have two separate things that can go wrong: the built-in storage and the card. Because they share a file system, if either goes wrong, the whole file system gets corrupted. And that's what's happened to you.
Storage reliability
Storage cards are much more likely to fail than built-in storage. The main reason for this is that the cards are removable, and get handled by humans. That means that dirt and grease get on their contacts, which can spoil the communication between the card and the phone. The built-in storage has soldered contacts, made in clean conditions (Motorola is a pretty good manufacturer, and will have assembled the phone properly). The secondary reason is that cards are sold on price, which creates an incentive to make them cheaply and skimp on quality control.
Backups
Yes, get an adaptor and see if you can recover anything from the card using a computer. You may have to wait a day or two for the adapter: Boxing Day is not a good day for buying stuff in the English-speaking world.
It sounds as if your phone is still sane, but unwilling to alter the part of the file system that it still has access to. That's the right way for it to be behaving. It is sufficiently messed up that you should not be trying to take pictures, install apps or download files. What you should be trying to do right now is back up all the data the phone can still see onto your computer. You are at serious risk of losing all that data. If the data matters to you, getting it off the phone is the important thing.
Getting back to a working device
Your Motorola might have a manufacturer-specific way of resetting the built-in storage without wiping other things. If not, you're going to have to factory-reset the phone, which will wipe the built-in storage. Once you do that, you won't be able to recover any more data from the built-in storage. This is why you should put effort into backing up the data before you do the factory reset.
That should get it working again. Check that it does.
Next, make sure that you've got everything that you can off the card using the computer. Then put the card back in the phone and tell the phone to format it as portable storage. This will wipe the card, so you won't be able to recover any more data from it afterwards.
Afterword
Now you have a working device and, hopefully, some of your data. You will almost certainly have lost a lot of it. Hopefully, you now understand that using a card as "internal storage" is a bad idea.
I'm surprised that modern Motorola phones offer the option; the last one I used, a Moto Z2 Force with Android 7, would not. My first question here was about that.


text:
Modifying /data/data file from PC
I have an android app (uses sqlite db) that I created and installed on my device. It's an app for my personal use. It's debuggable and its /data/data folder is accessible from the PC  with adb pull. Even overwriting the sqlite database file is possible from device explorer from within Android Studio on the PC. The device is not rooted.
I was wondering if there is a way to modify the sqlite db file within /data/data from outside Android Studio. Since AS allows modification from PC, I guess, there shouldn't be any security concerns for allowing access from outside AS from the same PC.
I have a desktop app that needs to modify the database and every time uploading the file through Android Studio device explorer is cumbersome. It would be great if I could either create a symlink or write a script to automate the process.

There is no simple command for uploading a modified database file into the app-private data directory of a debuggable app. What Android Studio does when uploading a file using Device File Explorer is this:

Upload the file via adb push to /data/local/tmp/<random file name>
Execute adb shell run-as com.myapp sh -c 'cp /data/local/tmp/<random file name> /data/data/com.myapp/<path>/<final file-name>'
Delete the temp file via adb shell rm /data/local/tmp/<random file name>
Get the updated view for Device File Explorer using adb shell run-as com.myapp sh -c 'ls -al /data/data/com.myapp/<path>/'

I discovered this by capturing the adb traffic on TCP port 5027 using Wireshark.
Note: If you overwrite the database file while the app is still running the app will most likely continue to use the old database (if the database is kept open while the app is running) until the app process is killed. I would recommend to kill the app before uploading the modified database file.


text:
Where is the saved .vzm file?
I am trying to save text messages for a particular caller.
In the Message+ app, in the "Conversations" window I long press on the caller and select Save messages. The next window "Save Conversations" shows a default file name (which I can change if so desired). Then I click Save and that window closes and it returns to the Conversations window.
If I long click again and go to "Save Conversations" it shows the file I save (see screenshot).
I want to know where this file is on the filesystem or be able to send that file in an email. As it is, I can only Restore, which is not what I need.

Looking in the file browser, I do not see this file in Downloads, or anywhere.
Mobile service is Xfinity/Verizon. I called them and they were not able to help
Device: Pixel 6a
Android version: 14

Please also link the app, so that future readers can know which is the app you are referring to//From the context and tags I could figure out that it is from Verizon (and therefore not shown in Play Store for me, since Verizon doesn't operate in India)

I rolled back the edit because the screenshot isn't related to the original issue. Instead, I've edited one of your comments on the answer to include the link to the screenshot.

Note that if the file is saved in app directory, it may not be accessible to you unless your device is rooted
Since Verizon isn't helping you, you may like to explore a third party solution as explained in my answer here
To summarize :

Install SMS Backup and restore and take a back up of your SMSes.

From the app see "Backed up (time)" and tap view details. It will list SMS Backup. Tap on that to view conversations and all your conversations are listed. From the 3 dots menu against the conversation you want select print conversation and it will be printed as a PDF file with date and time stamps. It will show both sent and received SMSes.

Send the PDF file by mail.

Just a note. The first week of this app if free. After that it is $13 per WEEK which is outrageous.

Look at the FAQ for the difference between ordinary and paid version//I have got the ordinary version running for years and this answer is based on that!

The free version has ads while the paid does not.//
The paid version has options to compress and encrypt the backup files.//
The paid version has support for using WebDAV as a cloud location for backups.// None of these are required for the answer I wrote// Even the pro one costs less than $ 6 as a one time buy //IDK what figures you are quoting// Link to the paid app

I've added a screenshot of the renewal notice

@AlLelopath sorry logged in after a long while, maybe it's a region specific thing, I understand developers can do that(I am not one)


text:
Making certain apps inaccessible
I want to make inaccessible apps, except of phone and whatsApp.
I tried 'ultra battery saving mode', but it is easily revertable.


text:
No WLAN connection for one Xiaomi MiA2 mobile phone?
We bought some days ago a new WLan Router (FRITZ!Box 7530). Everything went fine, only one single mobile doesn't connect properly. We reseted all settings of this phone to (Xiaomi MiA2), tried to connect - didn't work.
We switched on and off the power of the mobile and the router several times. Chose "delete network" at the mobile and wrote the password again. No change.
Furthermore, and that's really weird: If we build a WLAN bridge from another mobile, then this WLAN connection works with the Xiaomi. Therefore, the WLAN ability of this phone is not broken. Seems to be only something wrong with the settings.
How can we connect this mobile to our network?
Addendum:
When we try to connect it shows "connection saved" ("gespeichert" in German). But no connection is established. The mobile doesn't appears in the Connection list of the Router.
What security method does the new Wi-Fi use (WPA2, WPA3, etc.) and to your knowledge is the phone compatible with that security method?
I think it's WPA2
What version of Android is the phone running (is it up-to-date on its security updates, etc.)?
Android 10. No Updates available (2021)

"didn't work" as in (1) never attempted to connect, (2) showed an error whilst connecting (if so, what error?), or (3) showed it was connected but did not seem to have a connection? What security method does the new Wi-Fi use (WPA2, WPA3, etc.) and to your knowledge is the phone compatible with that security method? What version of Android is the phone running (is it up-to-date on its security updates, etc.)?

Lot of wifi related problems, factory-reset, changing time/day seems to have worked for some //From personal experience, don't expect any help from OEM//searching in MI forums is another option

Thank you @Sam Forbes, I tried to add in the question

I would try with to connect with other WIFI security protocols/settings.
If your router supports multiple WIFI networks, you could try creating another network to test older security protocols without breaking the already set connections of other client devices.
Also could try WPS authentication.


text:
Google Play Books, creating desktop links to books, and opening them
I would like to know whether it is possible to place a link to a Google Play book on the Android desktop, and click on it to open the Google Play book and read it.
How may I accomplish this behavior.
It would be even be nice if I could organize book links in folders.
Thank you.


text:
How to upgrade Android past the device's supported limit
Bought a cheaper tablet and it only supports Android 8.
I'd like to install OneNote for Android but Android V8 does not support it.
Is there a way to force the upgrade of the Android OS version past the device's supported version limit?
Is there a way to force OneNote to install on an unsupported Android OS version?

Does this answer your question? How to upgrade my Android device to latest Android version

What tablet did you get? There may be different options for a Samsung or Amazon Fire tablet than a no-name generic one.

Not really, @Robert, it doesn't describe the process of upgrading/rooting.

@jlehenbauer, a Telstra Enhanced Tablet 16GB Black Brand New. Telstra is the main Australian telco.

@Steve As there is no general way to unlock the bootloader and install a custom ROM it is very difficult to give you such a description (the bootloader system is not standardized in Android eco system therefore there a quite a few ways how to do so). As you also require a device specific custom ROM usually the installation instructions can be found together with the custom ROM.

Bought a cheaper tablet and it only supports Android 8. I'd like to install OneNote for Android but Android V8 does not support it. Is there a way to force the upgrade of the Android OS version past the device's supported version limit?

Not in general. Android has some important differences from Linux and Windows, which are biting you here.
Were you sold this device as compatible with Microsoft OneNote?
If so, return it, because it isn't, and buy one that runs a modern version of Android: 12 or later.
Assuming not:
Upgrading Android is hard when the manufacturer doesn't help
This is sadly intrinsic to the way Android is developed, customised and distributed.
The hardware is much less standardised than on PCs
The world of Windows and Linux PCs started off with clones of the early IBM PC, XT and AT machines, and still has some compatibility with those 40-year-old computers. That means that the machines all have a lot in common. In contrast, Android devices' hardware varies a lot, even though they all use the same kind of CPU, and most of them look pretty similar on the outside.
Device drivers are proprietary
"Device drivers" are the add-on pieces of software for operating systems that let the operating system control hardware. They are different for each operating system: you can't use a Linux device driver on Windows or Android (there are some obscure and highly technical exceptions to this, but they won't help you here).
Windows and Linux ship with lots of device drivers, enough to let them install on many models of computer, and run well enough for them to download the right device drivers.
Android is not set up to allow downloading and installing of device drivers. Device drivers are written by the hardware manufacturers, and are not open source. They normally get distributed as part of a complete Android system image, which is specific to a model of device (or sometimes a few closely-related devices).
The hardware manufacturers keep their source confidential. One reason for that is that they're afraid of their hardware being copied by other manufacturers, who can sell it cheaper, because they haven't had to pay the development costs.
The reason for the closed-up, locked-down setup is that Android devices have to be usable by people with no technical skills, and thus need to be quite hard to mess up. Desktop and laptop computers are more flexible, but easier to disable by tinkering with their software.
The resulting problem
Producing an Android image to install on a device requires having the source for appropriate device drivers. If the device manufacturer does not produce a new version of Android for a device, you are stuck, to a first approximation.
Manufacturers of cheap tablets rarely produce updates for them, because it's work for which they don't get any money. They'd far rather sell you a new tablet.
You might find a workaround here ...
There are lots of groups that produce alternative Android distributions. They can do this because the core of the operating system is open source. None of them are within light years of supporting all the devices available. Supporting a device requires reverse-engineering the hardware well enough to write open source device drivers for it. That takes enough time that most of the devices that are supported are obsolete. The most widely-used one is LineageOS, and there are lists of them here, here, and here.
OneNote probably needs Google Play Services
Sadly, Microsoft OneNote probably requires Google Play Services. That's Google proprietary software that device manufacturers have to license from Google if they want to use the Android trademark. There is an alternative implementation,  MicroG, that comes with some of the alternative versions of Android. I don't know if OneNote runs on it.


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Permanently Bricked?
I have a Samsung Galaxy s10e that is stuck in a boot loop. I have tried everything imaginable from a cache reset to a total reinstallation of Samsung flashed through Odin. Now, I want to try to install TWRP on it but I have run into several problems. The first problem is that the bootloader is locked, and like I said, I cannot boot the OS to unlock it. Second, ADB cannot connect because USB debugging is disabled. (I can get it to connect in Apply update from ADB) I have installed the Samsung USB drivers though and they worked with Odin.
I have tried to install TWRP with an SD card, but for some reason the files I want to use are not found in the Micro SD card. (I have both a .img and a .img.tar file in there)
I also used ADB update to try to install TWRP, but that failed because maybe the bootloader is locked??? Thanks for your help.
Later: I tried factory data resetting it again and resetting the cache partition and it actually got to the setup screen after several attempts. I then tried to get it set up enough to unlock the bootloader and enable the usb debugging, but it would always crash before I got there. When it crashes, it freezes for 10 seconds then restarts. Also if you are wondering, there is not Samsung charging screen with the battery percentage when you plug it in when it is powered off.

Have you tried to boot into safe mode? TWRP is only on option if the bootloader is unlocked.

First you should handle the boot-loop, try to reinstall the official ROM, and plz make sure it's the correct model


text:
Pixel 6 Pro - system taking up over 200gb of memory

Pixel 6 Pro
Android 14
256Gb storage

About a week ago my phone began complaining about a lack of storage - there was only about 2Gb left!  I've done a bit of a tidy up and freed another 4Gb but yesterday I realised the System is taking up 224Gb!!
I've spent the last 24 hours googling and searching on YT and on here but without rooting it I can't see any way to clean up this storage (which appears to be at least 100Gb more than it should be) or even see what's happening.
I'd rather not do a factory reset but that's what I'm facing if I can't find a solution here!

Since it's the /system partition gobbling up huge space, I doubt if there is anything that can be done by the user (even on a rooted device, since the partition is "read only"), except:

factory-reset

Caveat: I haven't tried the options below on my Pixel 4a/6a

Flashing the stock ROM again without the -w before running the flash-all script
to prevent data wipe.

Flashing factory image flashing in fastboot with force option on (see this guide for both options 2 and 3).

IMO it's best to jump to option 3 with force option enabled (without wiping data), since this involves dynamic partition sizing glitch. The force option apparently fixes dynamic partition sizing based on what the developer  of PixelFlasher, a GUI tool for flashing / updating / rooting / managing Pixel phones says here:

Full OTA is indeed full ROM, but based on observation, when it comes to switching firmware, or even downgrading, it does not work, I suspect that it does not do partition resizing.
I do quite a bit of messing up on my test phone and often I had to resort to factory image flashing in fastboot with force option on.

(Emphasis supplied)
I wanted to put all this in comments since I haven't tried these options but it was getting to be too long, so made an answer of it, more as a pointer towards possibilities then a definitive course of action.

I did a factory reset - system is now less than 20gb(!) and the backup restored most of my apps so a result in the end!

Good that's fixed. Just in case it was due to malware, and happens again (hope not), you may have to try option 3 ( see first para of answer

Sadly it has happened again so am now trying option 3.

Sorry to hear that, all the best. It may/not be malware, it could be partition sizes glitch as quoted in the answer


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Do most new Android phones have an equivalent of KNOX efuses?
I understand that KNOX is specific to Samsung, but I'm wondering if other Android manufacturers employ similar mechanisms of permanently modifying the phone if you make software changes (ie blowing an efuse if you unlock the bootloader of your device so that even relocking the bootloader does not reset the phone.)

No.... Some just prevent unlocking bootloader

Some like Huawei make you wait for 7 days before letting you unlock. Given the huge number of OEMs and how they customize, it's not possible to answer what other manufacturers do-it's an impossibly wide scope to answer

To add some like Oneplus Xiaomi (some devices) break the TEE on unlocking and can't be reset after locking also

@beeshyams thank you for your comments. I was unaware of the term TEE, but do have a general understanding of secure enclaves. My Google-foo is weak - can you provide me any models that can't be reset after [un]locking?   The only thing I have found thus far is https://xdaforums.com/t/tee-broken-after-unlocking-bootloader.4555297/ which seems to imply the opposite!

@beeshyams  Also - and I acknowledge I am probably wrong - https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/23330 would almost seem to indicate that TEE - correctly implemented - can work with the boot loader lock/unlock but provided this can still be reversed - ie its not an efuse blown type scenario.  This further hints that some Xiaomi devices can bypass this - but the implication in those devices would be the reverse of your comment - ie TEE can be bypassed  and can unlock a bootloader which should not be unlockable.

TEE if correctly implemented only affects STRONG_INTEGRITY meaning it will fail on unlocking bootloader but TEE is not broken. On locking it should pass STRONG_INTEGRITY.  There are many Oneplus and Xiaomi and some other users who reported TEE is broken (separate from failing) when boot loader is unlocked and does not get fixed when it is locked. All due to faulty implementation//Just search for TEE in this Telegram to get an idea of how prevalent it is

Also fails DEVICE_INTEGRITY on unlocking. Missed that


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How to make a phone allow calling even if I haven't unlocked it since boot
Is there any way to make an Android phone allow calling arbitrary numbers even if I don't unlock it on boot?
I have root privileges, if that helps. And yes I understand the security implications etc.

You'd need a framework like Xposed for that and to the best of my knowledge, there isn't such a module

Does your SIM card has a SIM PIN set? If yes you need to remove it because a locked SIM can not be used to do phone calls.

@Robert: No it doesn't.


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Shared storage accessible from C code
I have a stalled project that I would like to give a new try.
It is about to read large amount of map data from sqlite using C code. I do not understand what options I have after the scooped storage constraints in Android. I need a very performant access to the sqlite db, and I need to read it from C code.
It is working on Android 10 by just reading from a map I call TilelessMap on the phone.
So, my question is if there are any good ways to get access to an sqlite database that is not constrained and deleted with a special app. The solution must also work on unrooted phone.
I will also give a short description about the project. It is open source and more or less what I have lives here: https://gitlab.com/nicklasaven/tilelessmap
It is about rendering data from a special map data format I have called twkb (tiny well known binary). The idea is to read all data directly fom the database for each pan/zoom avoiding any caching complexity. It works very well. A have 1:50000 maps (most detailed free maps) of Sweden and Norway in my phone. It is a few GB. But that is the reason I do not want to store it in app specific area of the phone. A reinstall of the app should not mean you need to get all the map data again. I also plan to put all sync work of the database in a separate app. Then the map app is totally offline, which I think is a feature.
What makes this solution fast in rendering is 2 things.

coordinates to be rendered is decoded from twkb directly into C arrays and pushed to the GPU. No objects or complex structures on the way
The triangulation information for polygons is baked into the format. So there is an array with indexes ready for use that defines for the gpu how to render the triangles. So there is no client processing in run time to create the triangles.

Sorry for the long text, but I would really appreciate any hints about if shared storage used like this is possible nowadays in Android. Trying to read the docs is quite confusing for a non Android developer.

You can ignore scoped storage if you place the database in the app external files dir: /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/<app packageName>/. The the database is accessible via standard C/Linux file API calls.

thank you! But that means it will get wiped if app is uninstalled or reinstalled? And I cannot access the file from s separate synchronization app right?

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts. Please note that app development is off-topic since Android Enthusiasts focuses on end-users and power users (who are not necessarily developers) solving their issues. Thus, while this community might explain the technicality of Android OS to your queries, coding solutions are out of the scope of this community. For programming questions, you might want to try [so].

Ok, thank you. I didn't realize that. Sorry.


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Way to circumvent charge-protection on start?
When I plug my old phone in, it says

Battery too low, charge for a while before powering on.

Is there a method to circumvent this message and power the phone on anyway? It's a sealed phone, and I assume the battery is totally shot.

Try leaving it plugged on overnight, if possible with a lower rated charger than the one you are using ;if not with existing charger

No, because Android devices are always powered via the battery rather than the AC outlet.
So, your battery must have the least amount of charge to run your phone while it gets topped up by itself.

There are always exceptions, so I would say that next to all Android devices are powered via battery. I have an old Samsung tablet which runs fine via AC even when I open the device and remove the battery.


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Fastboot boot twrp.img just boots back into bootloader
Im trying to boot in to the twrp.img for my Motorola Edge 20 (Berlin) because I can't flash it because my phone doesn't have an own partition for the recovery. fastboot says finished but my phone is just back in the bootloader where it was before
I tried:

empty VBMETA with verity and verification disabled

both fastboots (fastbootd and the fastboot in the bootloader)

another version of twrp both versions dosent work

My console output:
fastboot boot motorolaE20TWRP.img
Sending 'boot.img' (26460 KB)                      OKAY [  0.643s]
Booting                                            OKAY [ 10.190s]
Finished. Total time: 10.846s

Immediately on flashing what happens if you fastboot reboot recovery?

My phone doesn't have an own partition for the recovery I can't flash it because of that I need to boot in it

This may be a stupid question, but is the bootloader unlocked via the code from Motorola?

Yes my bootloader is unlocked and my phone is rooted but I want to boot into twrp

Do you have the stock ROM image? Can you boot that recovery.img file?

Yes i have the stock ROM but I cant boot the twrp.img recovery


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Increase hotspot connection limit on Android
I see this question has been asked several times over the years, but I don't really see a good practical solution. The question is - is there any way to increase the number of simultaneous connections to my Android hotspot? My limit is 8 connections.
So, my Android phone receives GSM data and I then turn on "Mobile Hotspot" to distribute this to other devices using WiFi.
8 connections seem to be very few these days especially with family members wanting to connect to it.
I'm curious as to why only Google limits it to 8, perhaps heat reasons as some devices are heavy on the data but then others a light. For example, my smart TV can stream Netflix or conversely, I have a Brilliant light using very little data.
Does anyone know of a way to modify hotspot? Perhaps using an app.

The phone was not designed to be a router.  Eight devices to feed from the phone is really generous.

Since Android is open-sourced and customizable, I guess the question is: is it Google that limits it, the manufacturer, or the mobile provider?

I'm curious as to why only google limit it to 8, perhaps heat reasons as some
devices are heavy on the data but then others a light for example my smart
TV can stream Netflix or conversely I have a Brilliant light using very
little data.

Tech giants don't want us to use smartphones as power-frugal small computers.
Smartphones are designed to draw little power compared to PC's and servers, yet they are compact, fast, and equipped with a battery that lasts 2 days in case of blackout.
Do you think that Tech giants will allow us to replace PC's and servers with smartphones?
They already lost the servers' war with Linux and FreeBSD.

Does anyone know of a way to modify hotspot? Perhaps using an App.

I don't think we can.
I got an Android One phone. When I turn on the hot spot I can't change the address class of the the DHCP server. It's fixed.
All Wi-Fi chips have a hardware limitation: they can serve a maximum number of Wi-Fi stations (clients) because the Wi-Fi protocol has very strict timing requirements.

You may want to take a look at this answer here. I agree with that answer: the maximum number of clients is hard coded and it depends on the WiFi hardware chip that has limitations stated in its datasheet.
Increase maximum number of connection of Wi-Fi hotspot

Good points made thanks but I tend to disagree.  While not specifically built as a router it is obviously acting as a router but with the number of Wi-Fi connections limited.  DHCP may have an IP class or perhaps a subnet mask set in order to acheive this. Other routers don't have any Wi-Fi limitations why would a smartphone network, I expect up to 254 connections with a class C network.  I expect a setting that let's me choose the max connections I desire.

This question may be closed but no progress made, no real explanation and no resolution.


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Galaxy S6 does not start up, cannot flash stock software with Odin
I pulled out a Samsung Galaxy S6 that has not been used in a while. It has never been rooted or had custom software, and it was working last time. But now it was not starting up, it got stuck at the boot animation with blinking Samsung logo.
When booting in recovery mode, it said "dm-verity error", which indicates corrupt system files. I do not care about the contents, I am okay with wiping the phone.

I booted in download mode and tried flashing the original software with Odin 3.14 on a Windows 10 computer. This phone is SM-G920F from Vodafone Italy. I downloaded the newest software from SamMobile, G920FXXU6EVG1.
Odin failed while transferring system.img and now the phone only starts up to a screen saying "An error has occurred while updating the device software. Use the Emergency recovery function in the Smart Switch PC software." Download mode works, but recovery mode does not.
I downloaded and installed Smart Switch and tried the emergency recovery initialization. It stops, saying "This model does not support firmware upgrades and initialization."
Trying to flash the software with Odin again fails at sboot.bin.

With re-partition option enabled, it says Can't open the specified file (Line: 2006). With erase nand option enabled, it fails at Erase... All fails occur almost instantly.
This phone has re-activation lock enabled, so flashing a custom recovery like TWRP also fails (I do not mind tripping Knox), with error "Custom Recovery Blocked By R/L". I know the Google and Samsung account credentials to remove the lock, but the phone needs to start up to enter them!
Other things attempted in vain:

Re-installing drivers from Smart Switch
Older version of Odin (3.10)
Older version of Windows (7)
Different USB cable (works fine with other devices)
Different USB port (2.0)
Rebooting the phone between each attempt
The older software that phone was running (G920FXXU6ERF5)
The software with four files (BL, AP, CP, CSC instead of just AP)
Extracting the .pit file from the CSC file and adding it to the Pit tab in Odin
Flashing only recovery.img (extracted from the .tar.md5 file and put into a new .tar file and added to AP)
The generic Italian software (ITV instead of OMN)

I even tried hijacking R/L with Hagard's tool, which claims to succeed, but the lock is still on.
The only way to shut the phone off is by letting the battery run out or disconnecting it.
How can the original software be flashed to this phone to get it to start up again, with or without data? Please help.

If all attempts to flash anything to your phone fail it could be caused by a dying flash chip. Considering the age of your phone this is a possible reason. If flash memory recognizes defects it is often configured to switch to read-only mode.

@Robert I do not want to write this phone off, there are much older smartphones that work fine to this day. I would still like to try anything, even risky options. I replaced the daughterboard because the original Micro USB port seemed like it was not making a good connection even after cleaning it, but no difference. My main suspicion is the reactivation lock, but it should not prevent flashing the official software. Flashing modem.img with Odin goes for a couple seconds before failing, while flashing anything else still fails instantly.


text:
How to distribute Android device for my customers so they don't need to create Google accounts?
I'm seeking a solution for the distribution of my Android-based devices (tablets) to end-users. I have a tablet with a custom Android 11 OS, and I've developed an application that is publicly available on the Google Play store.
In the future, I plan to sell these tablets to my customers. The challenge I'm facing is that I'd like to avoid a situation in which they need to create individual Google accounts (some of them might not have their own Google account or might not be technically capable of creating one).
I haven't found a feasible solution to this issue yet. I considered using something like 'zero-touch enrollment,' but if I understand it correctly, it's more geared towards IT administration, and I would need to have an authorized manufacturer that supports this feature.
Another solution I'm contemplating (not sure if it exists, though) is customizing the OS in a way that it automatically starts my application on startup. However, I'm uncertain if I would need my own CDN for software updates, etc. I'm not sure if such a thing is even possible.
Do you have any ideas?

IMHO creating Google accounts for your customers is not an option. Google has made it very difficult to create new accounts. Usually you have to enter a cellular number for verification and that number is burnt after creating 3-5 accounts. How and if you are providing updates to your pre-installed apps is nothing we can help you with, you simply have to decide which way to go. Not that questions about writing ROMs are considered off-topic here as we focus on Android from user perspective.

How does the tablet's customised OS relate to your app? Is it required, or just helpful? How are you going to set up tablets with the customised OS to sell? Flashing them by hand will be very slow work.

If your customers need to get your app through the Google Play store, they will have to have a Google account regardless of the state of the tablet.
If you create your custom Android OS build to bypass the initial setup and only run your app, this could be accomplished, but you would need to find other solutions for updating the app/OS in the future.

@Robert yes, this is the issue with creating accounts for your customers (cellular number is only one of the issues...).

@JohnDallman the factory flashes tablets with chosen Android version (I probably misused the 'customized' word here - it is just a clean Android 11 from one of the release branches).

@jlehenbauer Ok so this seems like I would need to have access to the Android sources to build my own distribution from scratch for this particular tablet. Unfortunately this is probably not possible since I won't get the device configuration files for the build system...

@pion3k: OK, that's not "customised" except in the sense of "customised for the specific hardware." Why Android 11? It's almost certainly going to stop getting security patches early in 2024. See Wikipedia.

@JohnDallman Frankly speaking, it is the latest version offered by the tablet manufacturer. I could inquire about a newer version, but when I requested an older one, they were already complaining that I couldn't switch easily (or downgrade) to Android 10, for example, because it has a 'different PCB,' and in such a case, I'd need to order another tablet suited for Android 10. So I am not sure if this is applicable for Android 12 or newer.

@pion3k: If the customers find they're falling victim to security vulnerabilities, and you've supplied the tablets, they're going to take it out on you. Does your agreement with the tablet manufacturer cover security patches and updates to later versions of Android? If not, you've got a serious risk ahead.

If nothing else works and you want to supply the tablets, you could create just one Google account for this purpose.

Give it a suitable name such as "myapplicationname registration".
Disable all syncing on the tablets
Disable all syncing on the accounts from a browser

One is allowed to have multiple accounts on a device, so the end user can still create their own account instead of/in addition to.

Thanks @rohit-gupta it seems like one of the options. However I am afraid that it creates a potential problems with Google applications that the users may use on the 'shared' account (such as sharing the same gmail account, google drive etc.).


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If I have a GSM device, with a radio that has common LTE bands between carriers, is it possible to compare available bands and signal strength?
I'd like to know if it is possible, given that I have devices which can operate on multiple networks, if I can use that device to check the signal strength of a competitor network in the area.
I live in a fairly rural area, and I am frequently on T-Mobile's band 71 LTE, which is admittedly a rural band. I'm paying more than I want to pay, and I'd like to consider switching to an AT&T based MVNO if we can find one that we like. I don't like the options that I have for T-Mobile MVNOs and I'd like to at a minimum do my homework.
1.) We do have some friends here, but I think they are people mostly on our carrier or Verizon, which doesn't work where we live.
2.) We find that the coverage estimators where we live are very generous to the carrier. For instance, Verizon insists that they have 4G LTE coverage in our area, but neither my wife's iphone, nor my Note 20 5G could find such coverage. We traded her iphone in and she got an android, and even that device was not great out here. So we think that these things are very inaccurate and biased towards touting the carrier's claims, rather than honest and precise.
We'd appreciate any help you can provide, in the interests of saving any duplicative effort, here's what we know about, and understand options on.

We know we can buy an old device with it's sim present to use as a test.
We understand the existence of e-SIM, and the cost to obtain service with one.
We don't know if any of our friends or church family are with AT&T, A lot of folks here are with T-Mobile.
We know our phones if they are given a sim from a competitor, will attempt those networks.

Is there any software or ability to check out the RSPP and SINR dB m from other networks while attached to T-Mobile?


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How to restore stock boot image on uleFone Armor X6 Pro via fastboot?
I have a uleFone Armor X6 Pro on which I intended to install twrp, but made a mistake. Instead of giving the command
fastboot flash recovery twrp.img

I said
fastboot flash boot twrp.img

which, I assume, overwrote the boot partition. The device now can only be booted to fastboot - attempting to boot to normal or recovery results in it merely re-booting. I therefore assume that I should fix this by flashing the original boot.img but I do not have it. I have looked at the uleFone website, where I find a link to https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Z97JcD1QeH_XkOT30AZkQBUjuqkJH41N which contains "Eu version" and "Non Eu version" each of which eventually contains a file "boot-sign.img" but no "boot.img" If I try flashing either of these "boot-sign.img" fastboot says:
Sending 'boot_a' (16384 KB)                        OKAY [  0.534s]
Writing 'boot_a'                                   FAILED (remote: 'image is not a boot image')
fastboot: error: Command failed

so I'm guessing that this is not a suitable boot image (or maybe it needs a signature to be removed somehow??)
Assuming I need to "fastboot flash boot boot.img", where do I get the boot.img? Or if that asumption is wrong, how else do I recover this device?
I don't have convenient access to a Mac or Windows PC, so answers using Linux are preferred (but not mandatory).


text:
What is DATA_TRANSFER_NETWORK on an android phone?
We have a Moto G stylus 2023 and there is an option in the WiFi menu for DATA_TRANSFER_NETWORK.  What does that mean and what is it used for?

Seen this?


text:
Virtual router for Android?
I am aware that an Android phone plays a virtual router via the "hotspot" feature. I also realized that when an Android phone is tethered via USB for an internet connection, the machine that is tethered gets a new subnet different from that of a machine connected via a hotspot.
I have created a network drive on my Ubuntu Mate machine. It is connected via "USB-Tethered" on my Android phone (subscribed to unlimited internet).
Meanwhile, when I connect my relative's laptop (to the "hotspot") of my Android phone, they get a different subnet. As a result, the gadgets that are hotspotted cannot connect to the shared folder I created in the Ubuntu machine (which is connected to the same Android phone yet connected under a different subnet).
My problem is, how can I adjust the hotspot so that it broadcasts the same subnet the same with the subnet on the tethered machine?
Any solution is welcome!

You can bridge both subnets on Android device. Or manually create Wi-Fi hotspot and USB tethering network using same subnet. Both options require a rooted phone and familiarity with Linux networking.


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TWRP - Backup Failed with Error Code 255 - CreateTarFork () - Samsung Galaxy S20+ Ultra
I have a fresh Nov/Dec updated ROM Build for my Samsung Galaxy S20+ (SM-G986B). Since it's a fresh clean ROM with all necessary apps and the performance of my phone is seamless, I want to create a backup for SYSTEM, BOOT, and DATA Partitions. The problem is when I try to back up these 3 partitions, TWRP keeps throwing the ERROR 255 - CreateTarFork() > and this is especially linked to my Data Partition Backup phase. Also, when it's starting to BACKUP, a long list of PERMISSION/ACCESS DENIED messages flood the screen. I am copy-pasting a couple of lines in order to relay more accurate info. I would also upload the LOG file and link it here. BTW, I haven't installed any Shelter App thing and I don't seem to have any other user folder other than the default "0" folder name.
I:digest_filename: /external_sd/TWRP/BACKUPS/Galaxy_S20/2023-12-30--03-14-17_TP1A220624014G986BXXSIHWKD/boot.emmc.win.md5
 * Digest Created.
I:Partition Backup time: 48
Backing up Recovery...
I:Reading '/dev/block/sda14', writing '/external_sd/TWRP/BACKUPS/Galaxy_S20/2023-12-30--03-14-17_TP1A220624014G986BXXSIHWKD/recovery.emmc.win'
I:TWFunc::Set_Brightness: Setting brightness control to 5
I:TWFunc::Set_Brightness: Setting brightness control to 0
I:Restored default metadata for /external_sd/TWRP/BACKUPS/Galaxy_S20/2023-12-30--03-14-17_TP1A220624014G986BXXSIHWKD/recovery.emmc.win
 * Generating digest...
I:MD5 Digest: 695136a16c032b39f631f630e383f6db  recovery.emmc.win
I:digest_filename: /external_sd/TWRP/BACKUPS/Galaxy_S20/2023-12-30--03-14-17_TP1A220624014G986BXXSIHWKD/recovery.emmc.win.md5
 * Digest Created.
I:Partition Backup time: 28
Backing up Data (excl. storage)...
Backups of Data do not include any files in internal storage such as pictures or downloads.
Error opening: '/data/bootchart' (Permission denied)
I:Error in Generate_TarList!
Error creating backup.
I:InfoManager saving '/external_sd/TWRP/BACKUPS/Galaxy_S20/2023-12-30--03-14-17_TP1A220624014G986BXXSIHWKD/data.info'
createTarFork() process ended with ERROR: 255
Backup Failed. Cleaning Backup Folder.

The link is here to the Recovery.log file. Recovery.log

Has your TWRP the ability to decrypt user data?

First of all I haven't used TWRP in a long time since 2014/15 so I am not sure about this decryption thing with TWRP. Secondly I tried to BING AI this feature and it told me to use this command in TWRP RECOVERY MODE "twrp decrypt CREDENTIALS SECONDARY_USER_ID" so I tried to use this command in TWRP > TERMINAL and it responded back stating "No Crypto Support was compiled into this build".
Alternatively, there is no feature in ADVANCED > DECRYPT USER > This DECRYPT USER feature is not present. So I am not sure what else I should do.


text:
Where do I go to allow restricted settings?
In an app called App Cloner, I am trying to toggle ON "Install automatically." When I try to toggle, I get a message of being redirected to Android Accessibility, where I can enable or disable this service.
I go to Android Accessibility, but it is grayed out, set to OFF. I tap on it to see the message: Restricted setting. This setting can't be changed unless you allow restricted settings in More options for specific apps in Settings > Apps.
I go to Apps in settings and I can't find an option of "More" under settings or in the app itself.
I do have other apps under Accessibility turned ON, but those apps were from Playstore.
S22+ Version 13

This Guide for a similar requirement may help//On Android 14,I didn't see all those options but somehow managed to install. I don't recollect how I managed

It's a breadcrumb menu button in the application window page, on the top right of the screen.  Not all apps have it though.  Otherwise, you may need to grant it via ADB

I can't find any of these on my phone.  So, I suspect what you need is

Goto Settings
Press on Apps
Press on three vertical dot menu
Press on Special Access
Try the options here, I think my phone has different names to yours.

On AOSP-based ROMs (Android 14 / LineageOS 21 used) the restricted setting can be toggled for an app on:

settings → apps → see all [a number] apps → [select an app] → [the three-dot "hamburger" menu — see the screenshot] → allow restricted settings

At the time of writing the apps with restricted settings on my device were KDE Connect, Key Mapper and KISS Launcher (all from F-Droid). I allowed all.


text:
How to give an APK higher boot priority?
I have a KernelSU rooted & Xposed/LSPosed enabled Android device running Android 10.
Greenify by Oasis APK can detect what receiver trigger the startup of an APK, but when Greenify boot late, it won't know that.
I want to give Greenify a higher boot priority to detect those other startup APKs receivers or providers or services (Not the traditional BOOT_COMPLETED receiver as it comes late), I tried making Greenify a System APK and device admin, but still its boot priority is low, I tried modifiying packages.xml in /data/system but no luck.
I created this script in KernelSU service.d folder but I think the device is overwhelmed by the receivers at the boot process
#!/system/bin/sh

wait_for_process() {
    while [ ! -e "/proc/$1" ]; do
        sleep 1
    done
}

wait_for_process $(pidof com.android.systemui)

# Trigger Startup for Greenify
am broadcast -n com.oasisfeng.greenify/.Startup

Your help would be appreciated!

Possibly related/dupe: How to determine the boot order of auto-starting apps?

I think its about development and thus off-topic.


text:
How to run an android application requiring the safetynet/[basic root check] check on a pc?
Background :
I just sent my phone for screen repairs, but now I’m trying to find out how to pass the payment confirmation on PayPal or my android‑based banking app in order to get it sent back to me. The problem is they both checks for safetynet once installed. Though on my rooted phone, the unmainted MagiskHide is enough to get them working.
Problem :
There are many android virtual machines or solutions without emulations like waydroid. But if some of them allows to run Google Play services, none of them pass the safetynet check or have Magisk working on them.
I’m meaning they behave as if they are rooted devices even when the virtual machine is unmodified.

In my opinion the easier way would be to ask your friends if you could borrow an old unused Android phone. Passing safety-net on a regular phone can be problematic but on an emulator it is even harder.

@Robert their phones are really really old to the point of not being able to run the apps (the 2 I know use them as a call only phone). Or at least those I can reach by what remains of gasoline in my car. It doesn’t have to be a rooted android virtual machine.

Use PayPal in the browser on your PC?

@JohnDallman it requires to confirm the login with a fingerprint or code on the phone in my country. So meanwhile, no debit card, and no sepa/wire transfers.

If you have activate 2factor auth via app, then registering a new app should require the same security measures like authentication on the web site.

Also posted on Super User: https://superuser.com/q/1823702/356789

@Robert it just doesn’t and prompt me to open their proprietary android app. It can only be done on android or iOS.


text:
How can I edit a music playlist?
I have a lot of music on my phone and I think I use it rather differently than most people:

all the music is actually on my phone as mp3s. I do not stream music from anywhere
my playlists are long - 8 hours, 12 hours, kind of thing
I generally don't shuffle but want to play them in order, because there's a pattern to the music
I get new music from time to time and don't just want to stick it on the end

I have tried various things to make playlists but what they all seem to have in common is that "add to playlist" adds it at the end and there's no way to move things around. I understand if you had a 10-song list you could delete 5, add the new thing, then add those 5 back but I'm not doing that with hundreds or thousands of entries.
I don't need to edit the file on my phone -- copying a file out to my PC and editing it with a text editor, then copying it back would be fine for me. After all, I generally add music to the list only when I'm near my PC, where I keep the originals of the music files. I can handle XML, json, or other semi-human-readable formats without complaint.
I'm really not invested in any other features of a music player. I want to bring up the playlist, put my headphones in, hit play, and stop interacting with my phone at that point. I appear to be using "Samsung Music" which came with the phone, but I see I have VLC also installed. I will cheerfully install something different if it gives me the capability to truly edit a playlist.

VLC for Android, as of version 3.5.4, supports reordering media entries in a playlist. To reorder an entry in a playlist:

open the playlist;

touch and drag the two horizontal lines icon (see below image) for a media entry to wherever you want to within the playlist;


text:
custom roms - format data before or after flash?
Reading the XDA forums I've noticed some posts around custom ROM flashing instruct users to perform data format in a recovery (such as TWRP) at different times. My question is - should data format be performed prior to flashing the ROM image, or right after it? Does it even matter?

Follow the ROM developer installation instructions //Usually, you need to clear data before //Yes, it does matter because you get a clean installation

@beeshyams nah I meant does it matter whether it's flashed before or after - clearly it has to be at some point.

LineageOS recommends before flashing: "This will remove encryption and delete all files stored in the internal storage, as well as format your cache partition (if you have one)."

@AndrewT. exactly. Yet some others, e.g. EvolutionX, recommends doing it after ROM flash.


text:
Reset wm setting overrides
A mere ~15 minutes ago I was messing with the "wm" command under android to get Avelog's Mouse Simulator to run better (this worked!).
Not knowing these overrides are persistent on these modern versions of android, I essentially soft locked myself out of the tablet by setting the density to 440.
Can't click "Allow" on the adb shell dialog, so THAT'S not an option!
The "wm" command also doesn't work under TWRP recovery.
Any help please? I don't intend to factory reset, even if it only means losing 30 minutes worth of data.

Alright, this took way WAY WAY too long to get an answer to. Modern android has SO MANY abstractions that it gets really difficult to find out what happens at the low level. Everything changing every major release (like partition layouts) does NOT help.

Open /data/system/users/0/settings_global.xml:

vi /data/system/users/0/settings_global.xml

Find the size override:

/display_size_forced

Delete this line. Do the same with display_density_forced (...maybe?)
Write, sync, and reboot.
Despite messing with the density, I couldn't find that "display_density_forced" line anywhere in that file.
So... where is it? I don't know! Was able to boot up and run "wm density reset" though.


text:
Does wifi and bluetooth scanning work when the location setting is turned off?
I have the "bluetooth and wifi scanning" setting listed under "location" section of my phone settings. That makes me think that only when an app is requesting geolocation is it able to use the feature called "wifi and Bluetooth scanning". Or am I wrong? Are apps constantly abusing this feature even if they don't have the geolocation permission or if the geolocation access is disabled altogether with a settings toogle?

See this comment and others below that//Wifi scanning does improve your location accuracy //IMO Bluetooth doesn't//In any case you can turn them off and still use GPS//Essentially, both scans are to connect to different networks /devices faster


text:
How to turn shuffle mode on by default on Android VLC app?
Is there any way to turn shuffle mode "on" by default whenever I start the VLC Android mobile app? It's always off when starting.
Is there a config file I can edit on my phone?


text:
Determining what apps are being used to spy over my screen
I would like to know whether there is a way to determine whether someone is looking at my phone screen while I use my phone.
I ask because I once had a pop-up window and granted access, but I don't know what that window was.
Now I want to find out.
Thanks.

The only way I know for an app to get access of data shown in a different app is registering itself as accessibility helper app. The list of accessibility helper apps can be found in Android settings.


text:
How to back up Google Keep data
How do I back up my Google Keep data?
Is there a way I can download everything in one single large .tar.gz tarball or other contiguousing and compression format?
Thanks.

Use Google takeout and select only Google keep. It will export in the format as shown:

Compress it any format you want,with the tool of your choice. I use MiXplorer, which can compress in the formats shown:

Thank you for your answer. But why do I need the XDA developers tool MiXplorer if Google Takeout does everything? Is it just to view the files once they have downloaded?

@JoselinJocklingson Google Takeout doesn't compress. Your question asks for a compression, so this answer explains a way to do the compression.


text:
How do I reset my Android Samsung phone back to factory settings?
How do I reset my Android Samsung phone back to factory settings?  I do not know how or why or what one of my multiple messaging apps has the bug but I am not able to receive a text message from Facebook to reacquire my Facebook account.

Search in settings or internet for your specific model for factory-reset. On my Pixel, it is in System - reset options but Samsung UI is different


text:
Convenient way of checking is Shizuku server is running?
How can you check if Shizuku is running before executing the start command?
I am running Shizuku on non rooted device and I noticed it randomly stops sometimes when wireless debugging becomes disabled (and this is expected AFAIK). I already have a task in  Tasker that starts Shizuku, but I want it to run only when the server is not running already otherwise I could let it simply run all day but didn't want to stick to that route.
Some users were suggesting using Termux:Tasker plugin and some adb commands to check for the %result but the plugin doesn't work on my device so am stuck.


text:
Telegram new user creations sends confirmation code to... Telegram?
I am trying to create a Telegram account on my Android phone. I enter my country and my brand new phone number, then click next. Now it says "we have sent you a message in telegram with the code" which sounds bizarre. I don't think you can receive a message during the setup phase, and what would be the point security wise? So I don't understand what they could possibly mean by this. I have received no message whatsoever on my Telegram. This must mean it's impossible for anyone to join Telegram.

There's a possibility that it's actually a reused number by the cell provider. However, I don't know any solutions because I didn't have any issues when I registered Telegram on my Android months ago.

Maybe it is aware I am using the same device? And why should that matter?

I meant, the phone number probably has been used for Telegram account registration by the previous owner of the phone number. If that's the case, then related on WebApps.SE: Use previously registered telephone number in Telegram, in which, I'm afraid it might be difficult since the previous owner has to change phone number inside their Telegram. Security-wise, this is likely to prevent account hijacking.

@AndrewT I know what you meant, and I was offering a separate thought. Thank you for the link though.


text:
Smartphone cannot read NFC tag I use to enter my building
I have a tag that I use to enter my building.

And I see someone else in my building using his smartphone instead of the tag.
I have downloaded the NFC tools app and it doesn't read the tag. It doesn't even show any response, nothing. Note that the NFC on my phone works without problems.
What is the problem?

Are you sure it's an NFC tag? It's quite possible that those are RFID tags working on a different radio frequency and that the door lock just has a multi-frequency reader. Do you know the manufacturer of the reader at the door, or the type of the tag itself?

@u1686_grawity you maby right and this are RFID ? so how he did that with his phone ?

Well, again, it's possible that the door lock has a multi-frequency reader that recognizes both RFID tags and NFC tags. (I don't know what's commercially available, as far as readers go, but I mean, that sounds plausible to me.)

@u1686_grawity  i think its RFID , i just saw the picture in google and its say its RFID , phone can read RFID  ?

@mikuzan - Most phones can’t as NFC is typically the only useful use case (I.e mobile payments)

The tag in your photo is not an "NFC" type tag; it's an 125 kHz RFID tag. (You can tell from the number stamped on it... which, by the way, is the entire "tag data" that's stored inside. Knowing the number is enough to clone the RFID tag!)
NFC "Mifare" tags also exist in the exact same shape, which might be why your building has a reader that's capable of reading both types. However, they work in completely different frequencies, and I don't think any phones support 125 kHz tags. (I'm not really good at this whole RF thing, but I suspect that it would need a somewhat larger antenna than a smartphone can fit.)
Try asking the other person (or your building's security) about the app they use.


text:
Power off requires password for all android phone
One of my relatives dropped their phone and someone picked it up and turned it off. Now there is no way to locate it as Find My Device does not show it anymore.
I have an Android 12 device and there are some other devices with friends and family that are running Android 12 or less.
I searched and there is a "Require password to turn off" in newer phones.
Is there a way I can implement the same feature on the devices that I have?
I am willing to root or use third-party apps for this.


text:
Alarm turns off when Clock App is closed
When I close the Clock app the alarm no longer works. I have noticed that closing the app causes the little alarm icon to go away (indicating the alarm is no longer on). This never happened before, the alarm icon would stay on even if the app were not open.
I have cleared the clock app cache, restarted the phone, reset all settings and restarted again all to no avail.
This is on a Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, Android 14 and it is the native Clock app that came with it.
Any ideas would be appreciated.

Have you verified that the alarm indeed doesn't go off? Or is the icon just going away? Have you tested with a different clock/alarm app yet?

Yes, I tried several times by setting the alarm to go off in 5 minutes, at which point the icon shows, then close the app, icon disappears, five minutes later, no alarm.
I did install a different app and it works just fine, but it is add supported and frankly it is just stupid that the native alarm app doesn't work.

That is pretty frustrating! I wouldn't imagine there's a setting to change as this couldn't really be expected to be the intended behavior of the app. Next steps I'd consider are seeing if there are updates for the app, checking for device updates, doing a factory reset (which it sounds like you may have already done), and finally - reaching out to Samsung

Same happened to me, remove clock from the sleeping apps on the background usage menu. Open settings, battery, backgound usage limits, sleeping apps... Find clock and long press it. Remove it from the list. Now when you close the app it continues running on the background and the icon will not dissapear. Alarm will sound


text:
How to set VPN killswitch of WLAN hotsport / tethering?
I've been using VPN Hotspot to share the VPN connection of a rooted Android device via WLAN hotspot. I have enabled permanent VPN connection and killswitch in the host device's system settings. However I couldn't find a killswitch option in the VPN Hotspot app. This poses a risk that when the VPN app failes to automatically reconnect after a disruption, my other devices connecting to its hotspot would expose to unprotected connection and survellience of the ISP. Is there a way to monitor VPN connection and turn off WLAN hotspot when VPN disconnection is detected, through an app, system setting, or Termux script?


text:
How can I change a friend's photo on Message+ with my Galaxy S21?
I somehow placed my own picture on message threads from a friend. How can I restore his picture? I have a Galaxy S21 FE 5G.

Please provide more information on your phone, the OS, the messaging app, and what picture are you talking about.

By Message+, did you mean Verizon's own messaging app?


text:
How to record video with different sound effects on starting and stopping?
The stock camera app on my Moto G62 5G has a "shutter" sound that is played when I start OR stop recording. The problem is that I'm vision impaired and I'm never sure whether I have just began shooting a video or have just stopped shooting it.
It would be great if I knew a way to play 2 different sounds in the two cases. Any ideas?
I used to use an alternative cam app called HedgeCam 2 which does this. But unfortunately this app has recently become buggy on my device.

This app does it:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.intermedia.hd.camera.professional
It has many of the same features as HedgeCam 2 too.


text:
Permanently locked Tab S7
After using the pattern unlock too often, the tablet is now permanently locked, and I'm advised to contact Samsung customer service. They tell me, the only way to unlock is to factory reset and lose all my data. Anybody know another way, please? Also, cannot do factory reset as power+volume down combo never boots into recovery mode.

The customer service is correct.

Found this
How to factory reset via recovery mode

With your Galaxy S7 turned off, press and hold the Power, Home, and Volume Up buttons at the same time.
Keep holding down Power, Home, and Volume Up until you see Recovery Booting at the top of your screen (in the case of my Exynos S7, a dancing Android robot). When you see that, then you can let go of the buttons.
Now please wait a moment while it boots into Recovery Mode. Once you’re in Recovery Mode, you will see a list of options.
Scroll down using the Volume Down button until wipe data/factory reset is highlighted.
Push the Power button to select this option.
It will ask you to confirm.
Press the Volume Down button to select Yes and confirm the reset.

It should be noted that wipe data/factory reset does exactly what it says in the tin and that's not what the OP want. It can't be any other way as already informed by customer service.


text:
Have different apps with same signature and sharedUserId?
I'd like to use the official port of Emacs for Android along with the packages provided by Termux.
This is what the Emacs manual says:

H.9 Installing Extra Software on Android
An exceptionally limited set of Unix-like command line tools is
distributed alongside default installations of Android. Several
projects exist to augment this selection, providing options that range
from improved reproductions of Unix command-line utilities to package
repositories providing extensive collections of free GNU and Unix
software.
Busybox (http://busybox.net) provides Unix utilities and limited
replicas of certain popular GNU programs such as ‘wget’ in a single
statically-linked Linux binary, which is capable of running under
Android.
Termux (https://termux.dev) provides a package manager based on the
Debian project’s ‘dpkg’ system and a set of package repositories
containing substantial amounts of free software for Unix systems,
including compilers, debuggers, and runtimes for languages such as C,
C++, Java, Python and Common Lisp. These packages are customarily
installed from within a purpose-built terminal emulator application,
but access is also granted to Emacs when it is built with the same
application signing key, and its “shared user ID” is set to the same
package name, as that of the terminal emulator program. The file
‘java/INSTALL’ within the Emacs distribution illustrates how to build
Emacs in this fashion.
termux-packages (https://github.com/termux/termux-packages) provides
the package definitions used by Termux to generate their package
repositories, which may also be independently compiled for
installation within Emacs’s home directory.
In addition to the projects mentioned above, statically linked
binaries for most Linux kernel-based systems can also be run on
Android.

I'd like to use the method #2 (Termux, not termux-packages) since it allows me to have a shared set of installed packages for both Emacs and Termux. Luckily, the mantainer of this port regularly releases the compiled Emacs apk and even took care of providing a custom signed .apk of Termux on its SourceForge page (Look at the README for more details).
However, no Termux-API or other related app is given, which means that if I ever need them I'll need to compile all the apps (Emacs, Termux, Termux-API, etc.) with my own signature. Is there a way to prevent this or, at least, make it so that I don't have to compile Emacs (which is the hardest to build)?

What do you mean by Termux-API?

@Robert https://github.com/termux/termux-api Termux add-on app which exposes device functionality as API to command line programs.

Are you aware that you can resign apps (APKs) to make them have the same signature. No need to rebuild the apps from scratch. Just try to sign all your APK files using apksigner from Android SDK using the same key (I am not sure, may be you have to unzip the APK and re-build the APK ZIP file before resigning).

@Robert i was not aware of that.


text:
How to mute or change the screenshot sound?
TCT (also called TCL) Alcatel 3T 10 (model 8088Q) Android 9 tablet makes a loud unpleasant sound when taking screenshots. On top of that, turning the DND or silent mode on doesn't mute the screenshot sound at all. Moreover, there are no settings available to change the sound of the screenshot or simply turn off or mute the screenshot sound. I contacted the brand, but they provided zero support.
Just FYI, after a long time, I have been able to find the app Mute Mode in Google Play Store. This app has capability to mute all sounds of the tablet. It can also mute sounds of selected apps which is very helpful. So this app can successfully mute this unpleasant screenshot sound but only if I mute everything. There is no option to mute just the screenshot sound. So that's one drawback of this app. There is risk factor as well with this app. Suppose if I forget to turn off this app, then it will mute all alarms and notifications which is risky and impractical for daily stress-free usage.
How to mute or change the screenshot sound?


text:
How to share Ethernet through USB tether as WiFi hotspot?
I have a situation where I have internet via Ethernet on a Windows PC and I want to share it via WiFi but said PC has no WiFi card.
So the idea is to use USB tethering (RNDIS) and then use a WiFi hotspot to share the RNDIS. Android phone is rooted and has Termux, so tools like iptables should be accessible.
The PC with the internet could run Linux too and run iptables, but I prefer Windows if possible.

USB WiFi dongles are cheap. Why exactly you want to go that route? BTW, reverse USB tethering which is what you apparently want doesn't require anything special or even root: https://www.howtogeek.com/117118/how-to-connect-your-android-to-your-pcs-internet-connection-over-usb/ PS - I agree as it being off-topic here.

gniretet worked but i had to also use vpnhotspot: https://github.com/Mygod/VPNHotspot which needs root to bridge ap0 for hotspot and tun0 for vpn. ping does not work also. but its very unstable

btw i cant use a dongle coz its office computer. only usb cable

its office computer If so then very likely you shouldn't try what you're asking here anyway. Ask your IT department.


text:
How to identify/eliminate system sound generated by SystemUI that defeats DND
I have a recurring notification chime (whatever my default system notification sound is set to) just about every 3 minutes, even if DND is set (defeats DND even with no app notifications allowed). There is not an actual notification that will show up in the notification history when these sounds happen.
The device is a US Galaxy S21 Ultra (SM-G998U), not rooted running stock AT&T image: OneUI v6.0, Android 14, Kernel 5.4.233-qgki-27920445-abG998USQU9FWKC, build UP1A.231005.007.G998USQU9FWKC
I ran:
adb shell dumpsys audio > %filename%

and found the following events responsible for the sounds (systemui every time):
01-11 23:15:36:546 requestAudioFocus() from uid/pid 10064/2832 AA=USAGE_NOTIFICATION/CONTENT_TYPE_SONIFICATION clientId=android.media.AudioManager@a5ae8cc callingPack=com.android.systemui req=3 flags=0x0 sdk=34
01-11 23:15:38:452 abandonAudioFocus() from uid/pid 10064/2832 clientId=android.media.AudioManager@a5ae8cc
01-11 23:17:35:853 requestAudioFocus() from uid/pid 10064/2832 AA=USAGE_NOTIFICATION/CONTENT_TYPE_SONIFICATION clientId=android.media.AudioManager@41872a9 callingPack=com.android.systemui req=3 flags=0x0 sdk=34
01-11 23:17:37:657 abandonAudioFocus() from uid/pid 10064/2832 clientId=android.media.AudioManager@41872a9
01-11 23:18:36:586 requestAudioFocus() from uid/pid 10064/2832 AA=USAGE_NOTIFICATION/CONTENT_TYPE_SONIFICATION clientId=android.media.AudioManager@94ac65a callingPack=com.android.systemui req=3 flags=0x0 sdk=34
01-11 23:18:38:594 abandonAudioFocus() from uid/pid 10064/2832 clientId=android.media.AudioManager@94ac65a
01-11 23:21:36:616 requestAudioFocus() from uid/pid 10064/2832 AA=USAGE_NOTIFICATION/CONTENT_TYPE_SONIFICATION clientId=android.media.AudioManager@9eb1d5f callingPack=com.android.systemui req=3 flags=0x0 sdk=34
01-11 23:21:38:425 abandonAudioFocus() from uid/pid 10064/2832 clientId=android.media.AudioManager@9eb1d5f
01-11 23:24:36:683 requestAudioFocus() from uid/pid 10064/2832 AA=USAGE_NOTIFICATION/CONTENT_TYPE_SONIFICATION clientId=android.media.AudioManager@e82a8fa callingPack=com.android.systemui req=3 flags=0x0 sdk=34
01-11 23:24:38:512 abandonAudioFocus() from uid/pid 10064/2832 clientId=android.media.AudioManager@e82a8fa
01-11 23:27:36:839 requestAudioFocus() from uid/pid 10064/2832 AA=USAGE_NOTIFICATION/CONTENT_TYPE_SONIFICATION clientId=android.media.AudioManager@4df9790 callingPack=com.android.systemui req=3 flags=0x0 sdk=34
01-11 23:27:38:673 abandonAudioFocus() from uid/pid 10064/2832 clientId=android.media.AudioManager@4df9790
01-11 23:30:36:790 requestAudioFocus() from uid/pid 10064/2832 AA=USAGE_NOTIFICATION/CONTENT_TYPE_SONIFICATION clientId=android.media.AudioManager@256f4a4 callingPack=com.android.systemui req=3 flags=0x0 sdk=34
01-11 23:30:38:579 abandonAudioFocus() from uid/pid 10064/2832 clientId=android.media.AudioManager@256f4a4
01-11 23:33:37:461 requestAudioFocus() from uid/pid 10064/2832 AA=USAGE_NOTIFICATION/CONTENT_TYPE_SONIFICATION clientId=android.media.AudioManager@fcd7dd callingPack=com.android.systemui req=3 flags=0x0 sdk=34
01-11 23:33:39:329 abandonAudioFocus() from uid/pid 10064/2832 clientId=android.media.AudioManager@fcd7dd
01-11 23:36:37:508 requestAudioFocus() from uid/pid 10064/2832 AA=USAGE_NOTIFICATION/CONTENT_TYPE_SONIFICATION clientId=android.media.AudioManager@d180e23 callingPack=com.android.systemui req=3 flags=0x0 sdk=34
01-11 23:36:39:321 abandonAudioFocus() from uid/pid 10064/2832 clientId=android.media.AudioManager@d180e23

PID 2832 is in fact com.android.systemui - so it seems apparent that the sounds are generated by systemui.
How can I get it to stop? You don't appear to be able to block systemui sounds. Any idea what could be causing it or how to troubleshoot further?


text:
PIN-locked Samsung A41 with dead screen - photo recovery
A friend gave me their Samsung A41 to see if I could recover some photos from it for them. They dropped it and the screen just doesn't work anymore. The phone seems OK but when connected to my Windows 10 PC it just shows up in File Explorer as "Fred's A41" and I can't browse the storage. I know the PIN code for the phone and tried to submit that using adb shell commands but all I get returned is "error: closed". The owner didn't use a Samsung or Google account on it and debugging mode is NOT enabled.
I've tried getting the phone display on to a monitor and also my TV using two different USB-C to HDMI hubs (with mouse & keyboard attached) and umpteen different HDMI cables but both monitor and TV just state that they can't pick up an HDMI signal. I then heard that this model doesn't support this method sigh.
I've also tried various bits of trial software which claim to do what I want to do but they either don't cover this model, presume that debugging mode is already enabled or instruct me to enable it on the phone. If I could see the display to do that then I wouldn't need their software!! Software that claims to remove PIN locks seems to do it by nuking the phone and reinstalling Android i.e. losing the files I'm after in the process....unless someone knows differently?
The photos are of sentimental value and I'm trying my best but I work in IT Systems Admin - not phone hacking - but anything vaguely technical seems to head my way.
Can anyone offer any suggestions for things to try before I just take a hammer to this brick?
Thanks

Use a simple USB keyboard connected to the phone and enter the PIN blind. It often works with RETURN+ PIN + RETURN. Then remove the keyboard and reconnect the PC. If you are lucky you can then browse the files from the PC.

Thanks. Yes, I'm trying that via a USC-C hub but haven't been lucky thus far. I'm not familiar with Samsung phones so I don't know how it behaves when it's asleep and it gets connected to a hub i.e. do messages appear on-screen that need to be dealt with in order to get to the PIN screen? I'll keep trying though.

What price is sentiment ?  Maybe just get the display/screen replaced.  Or take it one of the repair shops and they may be able to recover them.

Do not use a HUB, just connect the keyboard directly to the phone. best are keyboards without any special features (no integrated hub, illumination, smartcard readers, sd card readers, ...) as it increases the power consumption or requires a built-in USB hub.

Speaking to another Samsung user, they tell me that they need to swipe up in order to get to the PIN screen. Any idea what the keyboard equivalent of that is when the phone is connected to an adaptor/hub? Enter? Esc? Space?

On the devices I have seen pressing RETURN/ENTER has the same effect as swiping up. Not sure about Samsung (don't have a Samsung phone at the moment).

Anyone with any further ideas? Or is this something that simply cannot be done?


text:
Android version updation 5.0.2 to 6 and above
I want install new version of Android in my Samsung galaxy core prime, but I can't because I am non-technical person. I don't know how I can do this. I found some tricks on search engine.but I am not professional person of mobile tech for for do this. I need complete guidance step by step. How I can do this without pc ?

Android is not a general purpose OS like Windows/Linux/MacOS. Every installation is specially "tailored" to the hardware. Therefore every device model need it's own special update. So it doesn't matter if you have a PC or not, if for your device is no update available then you can not install one => You have to buy a new phone.

I want how I can update through third-party app ?

@Epeople All you need to know is in the suggested duplicate above. In a nutshell, you can't.

Third-party apps can't update Android OS. You need a PC to flash custom ROM for your device. The usual step is to unlock the bootloader, flash a custom recovery, and then flash a custom ROM specifically for your device model. However, I'm not familiar with ROM flashing for Samsung devices specifically, so it could be wrong.

Note that custom ROMs are not provided by Samsung but are developed by end users. Often custom ROMs are experimental as not everything works.

It looks as if 5.0.2 is the final version for some models of this phone. Some can do 5.1.1.


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Where does Samsung's Studio app store cut videos?
I'm on a Samsung Galaxy S21 FE, Android 14, One UI 6, using the built-in "Studio" app that launches by default when you edit a video through the gallery. When I edit a video I took, specifically trimmed it, I can edit it back to its original length. This can be done weeks after the edit.
How does the app achieve this - is the original video stored somewhere forever?
This would namely explain why my storage was bloated with more than 75Gb of "System storage". As a musician, I take long videos which I edit in short snippets, and have no interest in this reverse edit functionality most of the time.

This is one of the features of Samsung's Gallery app, as discussed here:
The Samsung Gallery app keeps a copy of every image and video that the user edits to be able to revert the edited media back to their original version. This backed-up copy is hidden from the user and can not be deleted unless the edited version is deleted too (this is even resistant to renaming and moving files, it must be using some sort of checksum). The used storage appears under the "Other" category on the Android storage settings page.
There are two solutions to the issue:

Always save edited media with the "Save as copy" option, then delete the original;
Download the Media File Guardian app, which allows you to delete these hidden files.

I will use solution 1. for my future videos. However thanks to the Media File Guardian app, I was able to regain 50 GB of storage.