text:
How to detect the name of my current launcher?
My phone is Galaxy A5 2017
The Android updated automatically to version 8.0.0
My launcher app has some problems - I can't find the Skype icon and I really need it. I have to enter Google Play, to search "Skype" and then to push "Open" to start it - but that's really crap
I want to try another launcher (at this moment I'm running the default launcher app).
But in case the new launcher is even worse, I need to come back to the default launcher.
The problem is that I have no idea what's the name of my current launcher.
The Android OS should facilitate the users such essential information!

It is Samsung proprietary... Just install Nova and try that.

@acejavelin   -   Thanks but these things are getting out of control too easy, I really need a backup solution in case Nova doesn't work well on my device - I need to know the name of the default launcher so I can come back to it just in case.

There are dozens of good launchers you can pick from... Nova, Evie, ADW, Microsoft Launcher, Google Now Launcher, Action, Smart Launcher, Flick, Apex, AIO, Hyperion... How many options do you want? Google will get you a dozen lists of the "best" launchers for Android, there are many commonalities between them, take your pick. You can have multiple launchers installed.

Open Settings-Applications,-default applications, tap home screen and select launcher(if you have stock launcher it will be only one there, if you've installed other launchers, it will be available there. Selecting a launcher will set as default launcher.)

AFAIK, you can't (easily) uninstall Samsung's launcher as it's a system app. When you install 3rd-party launchers, you just add more selections for the launcher, but not necessarily replacing it wholly. Or in other words, you can have 10 launchers installed on the same phone at the same time, but only 1 active launcher.

That said, it's really strange if you can't find the Skype icon on the launcher. Maybe you're confusing app launcher with the home screen? But as of now, your question looks like an XY problem and unclear of what you really want to solve (do you only want to know the name of the current launcher, or do you actually just want to get Skype icon on the current launcher?)

You may have accidentally hidden the Skype app. Go to Settings > Display > Home Screen > Hide Apps. Then ensure that Skype is not checked by accident.

@Rahul Gopi: Thank you sir! That's the answer to my question!! Settings - Applications - Default Applications (on my phone, this option is available using the three-button menu icon in the top-right corner) and then you get a list with the installed application launchers and you can select the default one. On my phone, the default application launcher is called Samsung Experience Home

@Andrew T. - I want many things but first of all I really wanted to know the name of my   launcher and this is the problem I wanted to solve first. For me, the Skype button issue is the second problem I wanted to solve - and I was mentioning it just to show that my question applies to real-life situations. I think the users should have access to the name of the launcher on their Android phone.

@Alex Myers  -  thanks, I tried that and no, it's not checked by accident. The Skype icon is not available on my home screen but it's also not available in the Applications list (the "Apps" button on my home screen). This is really strange. I can only find it in the list at the "Settings - Applications" but there I have no option to start it - the only options I got there is "Uninstall" and "Force stop". The only way I can start Skype is by entering the Play Store and searching for "Skype" and then push "Open", which is kind of a horrible solution

@Rahul Gopi  -  Can you add your answer as a regular answer to the question so I can vote and accept it? Thanks

Open Settings->Applications->default applications.
Tap home screen and select your required launcher.
(if you have only stock launcher(for Samsung devices, it will be Samsung Experience Home), then there will be only one present, if you've installed other launchers like Nova etc. , then there will have a list of launchers available. Selecting any one launcher will set it as default launcher of device)
As AndrewT said: When you install 3rd-party launchers(from play store or using apk), you just add more selections for the launcher, but not necessarily replacing it wholly. Or in other words, you can have 10 launchers installed on the same phone at the same time, but only 1 active launcher.


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How high is the risk of bricking a phone by installing LineageOS or /e/?
I am going to buy a phone soon and I would rather buy an Android than an iPhone. However, I do not want to run any Google software on the phone, and I am planning on installing one of the custom ROMs LineageOS or /e/ (which is based on LineageOS).
How high is the risk of bricking the phone by installing one of these custom ROMs? Just to be clear, I do not plan on rooting the phone and I will install the phone on a supported device, probably the OnePlus 5.

Possible duplicate of Bootloader/BIOS, flashing ROM and correlated risks. Why Android devices are more brickable than PCs?

That depends on the phone. If it officially supports "unlocking" (OEM unlock) you can install a matching custom recovery for your device. From that point on it is rather hard to brick the phone by installing a well maintained custom ROM.

I don’t think my question is a duplicate of the other one because I am asking about how likely it is that the device will get bricked, rather than why this could happen.

@Robert Thank you for your response. I am not sure if it does officially support unlocking, or how to tell if it does, because I am new to this kind of stuff. These are the directions for installing /e/ on a OnePlus 5. https://gitlab.e.foundation/e/wiki/en/wikis/device/cheeseburger/install

Every where you read fastboot oem unlock the device needs to support unlocking. If the manual is specific for a certain device this usually indicates that this device can be unlocked.

I did this a lot in the past as well as some porting myself and didn't brick anything at all but I know what I was doing so close to 0. If you don't know what you're doing, you might think its bricked when its not or actually do something that bricks it so somewhere above 0 to 100 depending on what you do and what knowledge you have or what help you get.

@CmosBattery Are there any specific precautions I should take or anything that might lead to bricking it to avoid?

Technical ones like don't disable anything that checks to make sure the rom is being flashed to correct device, etc. Follow what good devs have instructed to the T, double check everything before flashing, make sure users are actually using it as often devs might post something that doesn't actually boot yet (if ever). Make sure you understand and are comfortable with the process before doing it.

@CmosBattery Thank you. What does “T” mean though?

https://grammarist.com/usage/to-a-t/

@CmosBattery Ohhh I thought T itself meant something. Okay, thank you. I will try to keep these in mind when I download and install the ROM.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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Problem with installing a system app on rooted device
I rooted my device to install an app as a system app. However after the installation of the app, I see the following error in the log cat
2019-03-14 18:19:19.319 4197-4197/? E/zygote64: Dex checksum does not match for dex: /system/priv-app/bmw.apk.Expected: 3853989528, actual: 1306952148

What does this error mean? How can I fix this?

If you have Magisk, you can avoid all of this hassle by using the Magisk module systemize. See my answer for more details. https://android.stackexchange.com/a/208090/96277

Thanks, can you please explain, what does this error actually mean?

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


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Can any computer connect to a SSH server running on an android phone connected to a wireless mobile network?
I run a ssh server on an Android phone using SimpleSSHD.
When the phone is connected to a wifi network, I can connect to the SSH server from a computer in the same wifi network.
When  the phone is connected to a carrier's wireless mobile network, I found an IP address on the android phone in "Settings-> About Phone -> Status". How can I find out if the IP address is a public IP address for the phone's network interface, or shared by many devices in the same LAN? Can any computer connected to the Internet connect to the SSH server using the phone's IP address?
It seems that I can't, and I was wondering why?
$ ssh -p 2222 11.22.333.444
ssh: connect to host 11.22.333.444 port 2222: Connection timed out

Thanks.

I would suspect at least part of the answer would require knowledge of the protocols and ports that the Carrier's router would forward. And that might differ by carrier.

For running a SSH server on a Smartphone connected via mobile data to the Internet you need a public IP address on the mobile network interface.
You can simple check if your IP is a public one: Enable mobile data and disable Wifi on your phone and check the IP address you have (Phone status in Android settings). If the IP address starts with 10.x.x.x or 192.168.x.x it is obviously a private IP address. If not open your web browser on the phone and go to https://www.whatismyip.com. Compare the IP address shown there with the one one in your phone settings. If they match your IP is a public one.
Unless you have a special mobile data plan, the majority of mobile network operators (MSO) will not assign your device a public IP address. Instead you are getting a private IP address that needs to pass a NAT gateway running in the MNO's network. The main reason for this situation is that the IPv4 addresses are rare - most MNOs don't have enough IPv4 addresses to assign every mobile device a public IPv4 address.
Some MNO offer special data plans with a public IP address - usually only for business customers and with higher prices.
The whole situation is similar to a Smartphone connected to a Wifi in a network with a NAT router that is connected via DSL/cable to the Internet. But in difference the NAT router is not accessible so that nobody can open up ports (port forwarding) to make a service accessible running on a system in the network behind the NAT router.

This is also known as Carrier Grade Nat, right?

@DavidPostill You are right.

Can any computer connected to the Internet connect to the SSH server using the phone's IP address?

depends on how your ssh server is configured, along with TCP wrappers.  By default, that is typically yes.  However you can restrict who and from where can successfully connect via SSH by editing /etc/hosts.allow and changing
SSHD : ALL : ALLOW

to something more restrictive.  There is also /etc/hosts.deny you can play with, along with editting /etc/ssh/sshd_config.  Realize SSH is the protocol and is completely independent of the computer system... if my dell laptop follows the SSH protocol  and a coke machine follows the same version of the SSH protocol, then a valid communication link can be established between the two... over TCP/IP.  When this will not work is when that communication is blocked via some other means.  Not to mention firewall settings...

How can I find out if the IP address is a public IP address for the phone's network interface.

use a browser on the phone and go to a website that will report back to you the [public] ip address it sees your phone as.  If that reported address matches what is in Phone_Settings, then that would be a yes.  But I can tell you what ip address your phone settings is saying is not a public ip address, for the same reason my home computer through the comcast modem gives my home computer 10.0.0.1.  Simply web search what is my public ip to find any of a hundred sites that will tell you your public IP.
unix&linux > AndroidEnthusiasts :)


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How to navigate to top/bottom of page in mobile firefox
Is there a way to quickly navigate to the top/bottom of the current page in mobile firefox (i.e. the equivalent of using the home/end keys in the desktop version)?

You should add an add-on to help accomplish what you asked. Top and Bottom scroll buttons adds buttons to scroll to the top or bottom of a page.

This extension adds two beautiful buttons at the corner of each page for fast scrolling to the top or the bottom of the page.
The buttons are customisable. You can change its size, transparency, position and the way they are scrolling.
  You can also set the buttons to auto hide so you'll see them only when you want.

Disclaimer: I am just a user of the addon, not related to its developer.

Thanks! I was hoping to accomplish it without an extension and thought that I must just be overlooking the thing in the UI. Apparently I wasn't...

This extension is not compatible with the mobile version any more.

You can get these two extensions:
Go to Top of Page Button
Got to Bottom of Page Button
They will put a button in the toolbar labeled Top and Bottom

Your answer also works of course, I decided to accept the other because it gives me both buttons in one. Might still be useful for people that for some reason only want one and not the other :)

authors: Vladimir F Героям слава


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can't remove roaming letter above signal bars
I've researched a lot and I can't find any solutions to this problem. A couple of months ago I traveled by plane, and when I arrived and turned off airplane mode (I have it always turned on) I had this r above the signal bars. I think it's because I got outside my isp area when I was on the air, but now I'm back in my city and I can't get rid of it. I've trying manually selecting the isp, turning on and off the roaming and the mobile data in the configurations but nothing seems to work. What else could I try?


text:
By looking at an Android source code, determine packets sent out protocol
is there a way by looking at the android application source code, or manifest file, I can determine what is the network protocol support for that particular application? or is it more of whether the android version supports it. For example, is it possible to see if an application does not support TLS v1.2 etc?
As far as I know, from the android API, there is a practice where people use network_security_configuration where it contains a method cleartextTrafficPermitted=["true" | "false"]>. This restricts accidental usage of clear text traffic if traffic is tunneled through a proxy.
Another alternative is if the application implements the socket by himself by doing SSLSocketFactory.
My intent is to move towards analysis of the mobile application packets if they are encrypted. I understand wireshark or any packet capturing application can work; i am just exploring different possibilities.


text:
Install TWRP on encrypted device
I would like to install TWRP on an encrypted device to make a backup and maybe reinstall firmware. (Samsung SMT-530) The reason I wanna do this is because when restarting, I am able to enter password to decrypt but will get stuck in subsequent samsung logo screen forever, without giving me chance to unlock device. And after some googleing the solution seems to be installing twrp and update firmware. The source for this solution says clearly that doing so will wipe out the device, and recommends to backup first. And I thought, and this probably will sound silly, I could make a backup via TWRP.
When trying to go into recovery mode, and install TWRP from sd card gives the following errors. First screenshot is after going into recovery mode, second is error messages after trying to install twrp from sd card

Most probably this is a silly question, but could please anyone tell me whether it is possible to install TWRP recovery and make a complete backup without having to wipe out - Factory Reset my device ? USB debugging is off device is unrooted and have tried to find clear info via google without success.

be careful ... you could brick your device. First do not try to install TWRP - instead go into encrypted Android as usual like before. Then make a factory reset (after you have made a backup). When finish you could try to install TWRP as boot-manager with help of your Linux PC or Linux Laptop. (by your attempts before, this is all failing because filesystem is encrypted) ... you would need to make a factory reset first to install TWRP as boot-manager.


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Polish layout for physical USB keyboard in Oreo
Up until Android 8.0 / Oreo (haven't got chance to test this issue under 9.0 / Pie) there is no Polish layout for physical USB keyboard and writing Polish national letter (i.e. using Right Alt key) is not possible in Android with physical keyboard connected through USB and micro USB OTG cable.
Is there anything I can do to resolve this problem? Some option for installing missing layouts?
Supporting, OT and philosophic question: Is this some kind of political isolation of my country by Google / Android developers or an ostracism? I have carefully checked that there are keyboard layouts for each and every neighboring country that surrounds Poland -- i.e. German, Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian, Latvian, Lithuanian and Russian. But there is no for Poland.
EDIT: This question is about Motorola Moto Z2 Play, which has an unmodified, stock version of Android 8.0 Oreo and such version doesn't have "Polish" physical keyboard layout. This question does not deal with devices provided by any other manufacturer, with modified Android, where "Polish" physical keyboard layout can be available.

edit i am using a nokia 6.1 runing a version of stock android 9 pie
i set my English UK keyboard to polish and Ukrainian layouts i was able to get Ukrainian input working by following this
cannot change languange on external keyboard
but i could only get a few polish letters to work
can you type in your native language with the on screen keyboard?
try going to settings and search for languages press languages and input press add language and your language should be there
then try the keyboard again

I think we don't understand each other. How could you set your keyboard "to Polish and Ukrainian layouts", if I clearly said that there is no Polish keyboard layout in Android 8.0 Oreo? Please, provide more details.

i tested it on my phone runing android 9.0 pie first and i just tested it in a android 8.0 oreo vm i set the languange to polish and unfortunately i can't get it work in oreo there is not that many keyboard layouts in android yet but motorola are going to release pie for your phone so that may help you in the future  https://support.motorola.com/us/en/products/cell-phones/moto-z-family/moto-z2-play/documents/MS132566

The question is, if you are running a stock Android or if your device has modified system? This question is about Motorola Moto Z2 Play, which has an unmodified, stock version of Android 8.0 Oreo and such version doesn't have "Polish" physical keyboard layout. If you have a device by any other manufacturer, with modified Android then things can be a way different. I had a Samsung J5 once and it had "Polish" physical layout even in Android 7.0.

Try installing my application Extra Physical Keyboard Layouts.
It adds multiple physical keyboard layouts, including Polish (Programmers).
No extra permission needed.
No screen of its own either. It just adds layouts next to the already existing ones. You can find them under system settings.
Please let me know how it worked.

Hello Darie. I suppose you forgot to disclose [your affiliation] that you are the developer of this app. I have made the edit to reflect that.


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Android (9) Pie's native "Back Up" to google drive grayed out
Android Pie has a native manual back up to google drive. After I turned off the back up and turned it back on, the back up button is grayed out.
Since then I

Re-added my google account on my phone
Cleared Google Drive cache

as described here, but to no effect.
Another person solved the issue through the ADB debugger. I ask here because I would like to avoid installing ADB. Do you have any ideas?

Sorry, I can back up now. I have no idea why this is and what changed, but the button works.


text:
How to change icons on EMUI
I want to change a few particular icons without giving up the look of the EMUI.
I tried IconChanger, but it leaves a water mark on the new icon. I also tried NovaLauncher; however, it doesn't support font customization and I'm not a fan of the elongated font it uses.
Is there a way to change the icon files manually? Is there a launcher that will enable icon changes without changing other aspects of the GUI? Just to be clear I'm not looking for an icon pack. I want to make use of a few specific icons that I've created.

a lancher won't change things like the notification panel and other UI elements you can get icon packs for android however i am not sure if EMUI default launcher supports them
try and go to settings  search for font i know lawncher launcher support's icon packs and can change the font colour on the home screen
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ch.deletescape.lawnchair.plah&hl=en_US&referrer=utm_source%3Dgoogle%26utm_medium%3Dorganic%26utm_term%3Dlawnchair&pcampaignid=APPU_1_WqyLXJP9KdqG1fAP2cKgyAE
what version of Android are you running?

try following this guide https://www.androidcentral.com/how-make-custom-icon-android?amp

what version of Android and EMUI are you using?


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How to change language to English in Oppo A59s?
All the RAM result are in Chinese, and I can't read it. I have an OPPO A59s running Android version 5.1, and a ColorOS version 3.0. All output is really difficult to understand and operate. What to do?

Try going into the settings, and search for language.
Unfortunately, that version of Android and colorOS is very old and outdated. Try and see if you can update it to a newer version.
Some oppo apps may of not been translated into languages other than Chinese.


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Serial Number Got Changed After Factory Reset
After "Factory Resetting" my tablet I realized that the serial Number was changed (it is now a weird number 0123456789ABCDEF).
Edit March 17 2019
This is the number that shows when I do adb devices. As far as I know this is the serial number and not the Android ID.
End Edit
Why did this happen?
How do I go about returning it to its original SN?
How do I prevent it from happening again?
I have seen some options of changing the SN number but I'm reluctant to try them since the programs they use doesn't look like official (safe) programs.

Your serial # is provided by the Linux Gadget driver. Depending on your kernel version it's either in

/config/usb_gadget/g1/strings/0x40*/serialnumber
or

/sys/class/android_usb/android0/iSerial

Since you're rooted, you can easily change the number by writing to this "file" - which is really just a parameter that the driver will digest and export accordingly.
While you're at it, there are other cool strings there, like Manufacturer and Product , which you can mess with, and similar "files" containing USB identification, and controlling the device persona (Mass storage, MTP, PTP, etc)

The second option is on my device but the file is named iSerial

I assume you are talking about the "Android ID". This Android ID is a 15 or 16 characters long ID exactly like the example in your question.
The Android ID is not device specific and is stored in the user data section. It is a random number, usually generated the device boots the first time.
This also applies to the first time the device is booted after a factory reset because the factory reset has deleted all user data including the old Android ID.

Why did this happen?

You did a factory reset.

How do I go about returning it to its original SN?

The Android ID can not be changed on a regular non-rooted device. With root permissions it is easy, as it is stored in an SQLite database file on your system. - assuming you know the old Android ID. See also this question: How to back up my current Android ID?.

How do I prevent it from happening again?

Do not perform a factory reset.

You can change the Android ID using adb. adb shell settings put secure android_id "YOUR_ID". Content command can also be used for this. BTW, I am quite certain OP is talking about ro.serialno (which you get to see when running adb devices on a USB connected Android to PC). OP is using an MTK device, and given their earlier question about the same device I am assuming OP flashed the firmware. I once flashed the firmware of an MTK device and ended up with the same serial number. It doesn't hurts, just looks weird. :)

I am talking about the number that shows when I run adb devices. I have done a factory reset on this device as well as other devices and never had a problem with this serial number changing. @Firelord Is there a way to repair this number to its original number? I do know the original number and my device is rooted. I would prefer to be able to do it on the device itself if at all possible.


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Keeping passwords/credentials out of the cloud
Under what circumstances will a current Android sync or otherwise send passwords off the device? The credentials in question are for:

WiFI
Non-Gmail email accounts accessed through the stock Gmail app
Other apps, eg. Twitter

This question is on behalf of a family member looking at acquiring a Pixel 3, but concerned over how such is handled (including whether apps are able to read each other's data). I've been able to find details of how the Gmail app works with credentials for Gmail accounts, but for other email types and the other cases the details seem more fuzzy (or the answers more than five years old).
It is of course expected that for email protocols such as POP3 the client will need to submit the credentials off the device to authenticate with the service; this question is about whether they might get sent somewhere else as well, for whatever reason, and whether this can be controlled.

The Wifi credentials are automatically synced to the Google Cloud if you have enabled the setting "Backup to Google Drive" (Android settings).
Regarding the credentials (e.g. username and password) used by other apps there is no way to say something in general. Those apps may or may not store the required credentials in a secure way. Modern Android systems (Android 5 and newer) provide some relative secure mechanisms for using encryption keys that are maintained by Android itself. Those keys can then be used for encrypting the credentials before saving them to the flash memory. But using encryption the correct and secure way isn't easy. A lot of app developers use the easy and sloppy way and store credentials more or less in plain text.
Also the automatic backup into the cloud comes into play - if the app developer has not configured it correctly the stored credentials are backuped/synced into the Google cloud (if enabled system-wide, see first section).
Last but not least the is your question about the possibility to detect if an app sends credentials into the net. Unfortunately the only answer is: If the app developer wants to do so the app can do it. Additionally this can also be done by any development library the developer includes into the app (advertising, tracking, ...).

Just for a specific clarification, is it understood how the official Gmail app itself handles POP credentials? The way I'm reading this answer implies backup of Android settings acts as a sort of master switch for such cloud syncing for all apps (short of them having their own mechanisms).

There is the system wide "Google cloud master switch", furthermore every app can disable backup completely for it's data or it can specify which files are included or excluded from backup (all app specific settings are defined by the app developer and can't be changed by the Android user). Where the POP credentials are stored by GMail and if or if not they are excluded from backup is unknown to me.


text:
Call custom emergency number from lockscreen
Ok, basically, what I want, is to provide Android phone to child, locked by passcode (or gesture), and allow the child to call parents (two numbers) from locked device.
My current available target device is SDK 22, Android 5.1, but I will not limit the answers to this target.
What is not correct answer:

something along the lines of setting ICE info, this won't allow to call, just to display ICE phone numbers
modifying the SIM card data, as this is not possible generally and not available in my case
solutions requiring ROOTing the device, as this is not possible in my case
solutions using CALL_PRIVILEGED, as this permission is protected and not achievable without ROOTing the device or having custom ROM
Solutions using Samsung or other proprietary emergency dialers, as the devices I target, do not use any such measure, and look like this

What I've tried to do is

Creating custom notification intent on the lockscreen, which would use ACTION_CALL intent and android.permission.CALL_PHONE permission

this is not working solution, as CALL_PHONE requires unlocking the device

Creating custom notification intent on the lockscreen, which would send out SMS to pre-defined numbers

this works, however it might be pricey, and I consider this the last resort option
this also does/might not resolve the emergency cases, child might got into, because the reaction time depends on parents having the phone volume up and calling back right-away

Your question turned up in close vote queue, so I want to clarify that whether you are asking from a developer's perspective or an end-user's perspective?

@Firelord both actually, i'd be more than happy for solution which suits end-users, however I'm capable of accepting dev solution and turning that into end-user solution (ie through github/fdroid)

The feature you are looking for already exists in Android 7.0+. Upgrade your device if you can.

I sincerely cannot upgrade the devices, however, what you've posted is what I mentioned in incorrect answers as first option, this will only set ICE emergency info, but not allow you to call said emergency number if it is not in SIM card (where default 911, 112, etc. emergency numbers are persisted)

Sorry, I don't know what ICE info is but do you not want the ability to call custom contacts from the lock screen without unlocking? As you can see in the first image there is an "add contact" button to do so. I've done it on my phone as well, can be seen here.

thank you, are you actually able to call the contacts from the posted screenshot without unlocking device? ICE info is abbreviation of "In Case of Emergency", which is exactly what you've posted

Yep, can call without unlocking, hence the suggestion to upgrade if you can.


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Track stolen unopened Huawei phone
My friends sended me a brand new Huawei phone from country A to country B. After waiting 4 weeks the local post told me that my packages was stolen.
Now my girlfriend proposed me to check if it's possible to track a huawei phone or to check atleast if it has been activated?
I know with IPhones you can check before you buy them if they are activated or not. But with Huawei phones? My friends took a picture of the IMEI of the backside of the phone. And we still have the bill of the phone

What prevents you from taking the issue to the company that sold it or the service that went with it?

Nothing, I just would like to know if I can check from home if it has been activated.


text:
How to download apk file of telegram app on android?
Telegram allow to install app only on Google Play Store but I  want to download apk file and send to my friend because his Android device which does not have access to Google Play Store. Is it possible to download apk file of Telegram app on android without any apk website downloader only from right apps or right ways?
Thank in advance for all of you Stackexchange Community!

You can use the app APK Extractor to get the APK of the application you want on your device to send, or you can find a version of the app on a mirror site, like APKMirror.
I have used both in the past and have not had problems with them.
There are other apps similar to APK Extractor that allows you to obtain the APK, like Backup & Restore. I have not used this one personally, but people have recommended it before.

Yalp Store has the option to select the download directory to store the downloaded APKs. Yalp Store fetches apps from Play Store.


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Linux command 'w' - how is this as command written in Android shell?
I am searching for similiar commands in Android shell - as they are used in Linux like these commands - what can I type in Android terminal for :

w
who
whoami

?
Thank you.

You need busybox ... You can get no root busy box from the play store.

Or copy it to /data/tmp/busybox and set the correct permissions

@Zillinium - busybox is available as package in termux ... wait ... there is only command wc and this hangs itself up !?

toybox (shipped with Android since Lollipop release) comes with whoami.

Linux commands w and who read login information from file /var/run/utmp. Traditional Linux sysV login records/logs like utmp, wtmp, btmp and lastlog are set and read by some programs that make use of GNU libc (the most commonly used C library on Linux distros) and other libc's. These files contain information about currently and previously logged-in users.
However there is no concept of Linux console login on Android as it isn't designed for multiple user logins. Virtual terminals are disabled on Android by default, init doesn't start getty, and hence there is no login, no login manager (like logind), no shell at startup and no user sessions, and therefore no login files. Android boots directly to GUI. Other CLI programs like sshd that read/write these login files are also not part of Android. So Android's Bionic libc neither provides the functions of utmp.h, nor filesystem hierarchy contains /var/log or /var/run. However if a program linked against standard Linux libc's is used on Android, it will try to access these login files. But if a program - like w, who, users, last and lastlog - is totally dependent on these files, it simply won't work. You can use busybox such as yashdsaraf's to get all these commands on Android.
Linux command whoami gets the (effective) UID of process by making syscall geteuid directly to kernel and then on Linux , if possible, resolves ID to name using name resolution mechanisms like directly from /etc/passwd, /etc/group or through NSS, NSCD etc. id command additionally does getgid and getgroups as well. So these commands work on Android as expected and - along with other similar tools logname and groups - are part of toybox; Android's choice for all-in-one Linux command line tool.
Bionic libc's wrapper functions (that apps actaully use through Android APIs to get UID) and kernel syscalls are also identical as is the case with other libc's:
~# nm -C /system/lib64/libc.so | grep geteuid$
0000000000070d58 T geteuid
~# grep geteuid$ /proc/kallsyms
0000000000000000 T sys_geteuid

RELATED: HOW TO SETUP LINUX LOGIN ENVIRONMENT ON ANDROID


text:
Google Services
Good day to you,
 I have an ALPS MT702t phone (MEDIATECH MT6572)  Android phone. It has Android 4.4.2 on it.
 This phone does not have on it Google Services, and Google Framework.
I can install applications using Aptoide, FDroid, etc.
 To have some of these apps on my phone it is necessary Google Services.
Using GAPPS, when I install them I get
Unfortunately Google Services has stopped
(I used the XIAOMI installer, I rooted the phone, nothing works)
Is there something to use instead of Google Services, please (to have the apps that do not work without Google Services)?

After installing Gapps, do you clean the cache, dalvik/art?

I have done everything possible to have the Google Services running, there are like 8 methods to do this. Nothing has worked.

Can you update your post with the phone model? Have you tried installing custom Roms?

The phone is MEDIATECH MT6572 . Where can I find these custom Roms please?

Unless I am mistaken, Mediatek does not make phone, but chips, processors used on phone. So your phone can be made by Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, LG, etc while using a Mediatek chip. That is why I was/am asking for the phone brand, manufacturer

The phone is Alps M702, it is a Huawei clone having 7 inch display

Let us continue this discussion in chat.

There is something called Microg, which is an open-source alternative to the Google Play Services Framework, and this allows you to use apps that depend on it without having any Google Services on your phone. Though I'm not sure if you can install it without having rooted your phone.


text:
How do I stop Android speaking my commands?
Suddenly (OK so I may accidentally have triggered a setting somewhere) my android phone (LG v20 Standard Android) has started speaking all the touch commands I do.
For example, if I start from a blanked locked screen and turn it on the device says
"Screen on. the time" Then after a pause, "Screen Off" as it turns off the screen
If I type in characters it speaks every letter/character as I press the key (makes passwords tricky!!)
If I try to close an app with the X  I
press the x it says "Dismiss button. Double tap to activate"
I double tap and it says " app dismissed"
But worst of all swipe no longer works. So I cant swipe up to see what is on the bottom of a page; I cant swipe left to see other pages of apps etc etc
Please, how do I get back to a normal silent android!
TFAI

Sounds like talkback is on. you could probably OK google or use navbar to get into settings, from there just do this to turn talkback off

Method 1
Tap Home key > Tools > Settings > General tab > Accessibility > Vision. Then, disable Talkback
Method 2
Hold Volume Up + Volume Down for more than 3 seconds to disable (or enable) Talkback as described in this answer from XDA.

Lovely Thanks. Though I could not make Vol up and Vol down work. Staggered why anyone would want that feature!!

Did any of the methods solve the problem?

If yes, you can mark the response as answered.

Very happy to but HOW to I mark the question as answered?

You should take a tour of how the site work here.


text:
Why is the '/storage/emulated/' directory inaccessible?
The /storage directory and the /storage/emulated/0 directory is accessible in a non-rooted Android OS.
So, why is the /storage/emulated directory not accessible in a non-rooted Android OS ?

On Android 6+ /storage is a mountpoint where tmpfs is (bind) mounted (from /mnt/runtime/default) with mode 0755 i.e. it's world-readable.
For every app /storage/emulated is a bind mount in an isolated mount namespace, from /mnt/runtime/VIEW/emulated which is an emulated/virtual filesystem from /data/media having mode 0711 and owner root. So the directory is only traversable, not readable by non-root users that includes all apps.
VIEW is one of read (for apps with permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE) or write (permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE) or default (for all other apps and processes running in root/global mount namespace i.e. outside zygote).
/storage/emulated/0 is traversable, readable or writeable to apps depending on the status of manifest permissions READ/WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE.
These measurements are a part of Android's app sandboxing approach for better isolation, security and privacy.
Related: What is /storage/emulated/0?


text:
How to find out what slows down a freshly installed OS?
I have two Fairphone 2 devices here, one owned by me, one by my mother. She got hers in September 2017, I in January 2019. Mine has a few slightly upgraded pieces, like a better camera and battery, but is otherwise identical. I first installed Fairphone Open on mine and it ran smoothly. Then I installed it on my mother's phone, which was already slow with the old system.
When going through the initial setup, it was so slow that some screens stayed white for ~30 seconds and it didn't get any faster later.
So the usual performance troubleshooting steps like "stop background apps", "factory reset", etc. don't apply here. It's also not the operating system's fault, because I used the same on a nearly identical device. For that reason, I suspect a hardware problem, caused by higher than usual wear (she doesn't handle her devices too carefully). But how do I check that? Are there special tools that I can use to detect for example lower than usual battery voltage or check the CPU and RAM for faults or anything like that, which could help in narrowing down the cause or the performance issues?

Did you perform a "clean install" (i.e. wiped cache and data) when installing FO on your mother's device? If not, that might be the reason (internal structures might have changed with the new system, and so it might have problems accessing things that have the "wrong" structure).

Execute a benchmark for CPU and GPU - and keep on eye on the temperatures. May be the heat spreader lost contact because of the "higher than usual wear"?

@Izzy I don't know the internals, I used the official Fairphone Open installation script for Linux.

@Robert Can you recommend a benchmark app?

Found one, Antutu, that name is familiar.

To put it in other words: you wrote "the usual performance troubleshooting steps like "stop background apps", "factory reset", etc. don't apply here" – but they do, at least factory reset. Because after a "dirty flash" (i.e. without wiping cache and data) of a different ROM there might be issues, a "clean flash" (i.e. with wipe of cache and data) is recommended. Wiping cache and data is exactly what a [tag:factory-reset] does.

So you mean a factory reset from the settings could help? Or should I also clear something else from TWRP?

The Antutu benchmark only gave me "CPU performance", otherwise nothing that looked useful. The CPU performance seemed not too much different. A factory reset seems like it could have improved performance, but I haven't tested that too much yet.

There's some people who've had show fairphones's. I feel its notable to mention only one where there was a 2-3 second delay and re-mounting the screen module solved it https://forum.fairphone.com/t/touchscreen-response-is-slow-very-very-slow/18172 so it kind of shows a possible problem with these devices where the hardware may not get connected correctly causing extra problems. Though its not the only thing that could cause slowdown. I do also feel though its likely hardware related since it does it on setup. Probably won't do any good to check cpu/gpu problem as these appear to be non-replace

Interesting find. But it's not the touchscreen, I see the touch dots from the developer settings instantly most of the time, it's just the apps reacting to it that is slow.


text:
Clear HTML5 storage in Samsung Internet?
I have a problem using Samsung Internet Mobile Browser on my NoteFE running non-rooted Android 8.0.
Some websites (like mega.nz) use - what I suppose - HTML5 to store data/files offline somewhere. To access the downloaded data as file, Samsung Internet then copies the download from the internal storage to a normal file. This looks like a download, but the data is already in some kind of cache. Chrome does the same, also on PC.
Now, it seems like Samsung Internet doesn't delete this background data. However, looking at app details, I see "data" (not "cache"!) growing with each download, filling up my phones memory. It's already a couple of GB in size.
How do I reclaim this space? Only option seems to be to 'clear data', which includes all bookmarks, site info, and what not.

Never mind. I found it:
Menu - Settings - Advanced - Manage website data
This list distinguishes between normal and https, and I failed to find the item as it was saved from a page without https, while the site generally is served with https. So 2 entries, the one was the one with the big size.
Problem solved!


text:
Does mount /system in stock recovery work to root the Android system?
I have an Alcatel Pixi 4 (5) 5040 on Android 6.0. I rebooted into the stock recovery for the first time, and to my surprise I found a Mount /system option available. Now my question is: Can this option be used to push the SU file into the /system partition to gain root access for my Android? If not, then what is the Mount /system option used for?

As far as I know just pushing an su did only work in the early times of Android. Now with SELinux and other protection mechanism it is way more complicated.

So, the first question is no. What about the second?

There are devices with two system partitions (since Android N) for installing system updates in background. I assume on devices with two system partitions you have two options to mount different /system partitions.


text:
Can I redirect the recent apps button/action to the app launcher?
In short, I wondered if there was a way of configuring the home/recent apps button to go to the app launcher instead?
(Perhaps it is a software recommendations/tweaks question.)
EDIT: This lost its relevance as I have now upgraded to Android 9 where a double up swipe gets me past the downgraded recents apps view into the launcher quickly.

While I know some custom ROM (and perhaps more on rooted devices) provide customization on navigation buttons (e.g. long-pressing/double-tapping home button), I'm afraid opening app launcher really depends on the launcher app itself, so the action might not be standardized and depends on each launcher app (refer to "How to create an app drawer" section on this custom launcher development article), e.g. Pixel Launcher needs to swipe up, but other launchers might need different action/do nothing.

You can use GravityBox Xposed module for this or Xposed Edge Pro. I am sure there are some other good solutions as well which use Xposed framework.


text:
How to replace Android's Download Manager by an other default app?
I got enough of the poor functionality of com.android.providers.downloads
So I decided for a better alternative download manger.
But how can I choose the alternative as preferred download manager? My alternative download manager is listening to my clipboard. But this does not help me, because not all addresses to online files can be easily copied into Android's clipboard.

The Android Downloadmanager is a system app and can't be replaced by a regular app. My be with root permissions it may be possible to do so.

If you happen to have Android version above 5.1 and familiar with command line interfaces, then you could use termux. It has a built in binary wget to basically download anything. Just put wget https://whateverlink.exe and it will start downloading it. All you'll be needing is the link to download the file you want to download. The built in download manager being a system app, is actually a system wide download manager for all the gui interfaces on the device. If you happen to have root privilege, and try doing pm -k uninstall 0 com.android.providers.download and pm uninstall -k --user 0 com.android.providers.download.ui(you can also do this with adb). What this will do is, uninstall download manager, but will be availbale like before if phone is disabled, (also if you like to play it safe and have root, better to perform pm disable com.android.providers.download, in this way you can enable it anytime with pm enable com.android.providers.download).Now with uninstalled/disabled, if you try downloading something on your browser, you'll see that download fails. Even with a third party download manager, because everything downloadable on gui apps uses the built in Download manager. However, termux uses binaries wget to download stuffs, hence doesn't need a download manager becuase it has its own libraries and binaries writen to download. Yep, there you go. You can find termux on Google Play Store. To download wget, just type in pkg install wget on the command line, and it'll download wget for you. From then on you could use wget https://pastelinktodownload to download. Although termux is way more than just a simple download manager. Enjoy! Hope this helps (:

Thank you. Too complicated, though

Trust me its not. Download termux. Type pkg install wget, it'll install wget. Then change directory to your sdcard by typing cd /sdcard/. And then grab any download link, and to download just type wget downloadlink and it'll start downloading (:

You dont need to do pkg install wget the second time you start downloading something. (:

you can use your alternative download manager to select which storage should be used and you can't change download process to the alternate.


text:
problem installing Xprivacy : where is the install button?
I try to install Xprivacy but I cannot find the install button.
When I click on the app logo on my phone, I get the below screen.
Clicking on check for root, gets me the new message "Device is rooted"
even if I am quite sure it is not.
Probably the missing check mark means that it is not rooted (a bit confusing).
I assume that I first need to root the phone
Correct ?

Are you using an Android version older than Nougat (Android 7)? XPrivacy officially only supports Android up to Lollipop (Android 5) and works up to Android 6. Above that, it doesn't work anymore. So you better use its successor, XPrivacyLUA. You still need to root your device and install the Xposed framework, though.

@Izzy. I am using Android 6.  Thank you for letting me know the existence of XPrivacyLUA.   I'll give it a try.

Also, other than XPrivacy, XPrivacyLUA is still supported and actively maintained.

Why are you using some sort of "XPrivacy Installer", anyway?

Your device need to be rooted for Xprivacy to work, be installed properly. Even before installing it, you must install Xposed framework which requires root.
From Xprivacy Github page:

XPrivacy is built using the Xposed framework, which it uses to tap into a vast number of carefully selected Android functions.

Root access is needed to install the Xposed framework.

The process is:

Root your device.
Install Xposed installer.
Install Xposed framework.
Install Xprivacy.

Tank you for your answer.   I suppose / hope I will get a different screen once my device is rooted.   I'll post it once I tried it out.


text:
Is it possible to make init stop restarting one of it's "services"?
My init is making the eris persistent, I don't know if the /system/bin/eris is important to keep android's good functionality but at this moment this "service" (the quotation marks are because i stopped the service from the terminal but the process of the path /system/bin/eris is persistent I just can't kill it) I wanna know if is possible to kill it once for all or at least cat the init binary or eris bin.
By the way i want to kill it because eris is listening to a port before even the initial page of the phone shows up, so likely it is receiving and sending info to an unkown machine

eris isn't an Android's service but muse be added by OEM. Which phone is it and what Android version it has? You can delete service's *.rc file or add disabled keyword to stop from auto starting. Adding oneshot will stop it from restarting once killed.

it is an Samsung Galaxy J2 Prime with the default android (I don't know the version) how do I edit the init tho? Where do I write oneshot/disabled ?

You need to find out the .rc file in which this service is stated. Common locations are /, /system/etc/init and /vendor/etc/init. You need root privileges to edit init's .rc files.

First I wanna thank you for all the support you're giving me, second I actually did find and cat the iti.rc and to my surprise eris has both: disabled and oneshot attached to it. Still the process keeps coming back, I'll check more info in the etc. One thing I noticed is that the /etc/eris.confg is missing the "wlan0" line

I'm going to try to kill one the processes being called by the init and put an strace to the init process, this may point me to the root of the problem, since eris is a oneshot service some other process must be calling for the init

A quick strings on eris binary shows that this service has something to do with Samsung Knox VPN that makes use of StrongSwan. So be cautious while playing with it.

I just killed the process while tracing init and it was pretty shocking: a new PID appeared just to call init and them disapeared creating the copy of eris. This misterious process is now inactivated I wish I could get it's path. Just looking for the PID is looks like a kworker but of course this is a heuristic hypothesis

You can check the dependencies of services to figure out if some other service wants eris. But I think stopping this service would break some normal functionality of your device. Stock ROMs always suck by putting such closed source and undocumented mysterious stuff to get control of users activities.

Now I put strace on the eris binary itself and it is showing a PID that is not listed neither in ps neither in /proc I will keep investigating

pwdx is not working for some reason and this is getting weird

Do readlink /proc/PID/cwd

it just displays a bar (as if it is root), (exactly like pwdx is doing) the thing is in the /proc/PID the exe of this hidden process is /system/bin/eris too!

That "bar" must be root directory / and it's expected. zygote runs as root process with cwd /.

Note that you can't simply edit a *.rc file that lives under /, because it'll be regenerated afresh after a reboot.

true, Death Mask, luckily the rc seems fine it has oneshot and disabled I'm playing with strace to see if i can find the source apk/process behind this articulation


text:
Samsung Galaxy s10e requires password every few days, is it possible to disable safely?
Galaxy s10e, protected by a very long password and fingerprints.
I specifically went for a very long password intending to only type it in after restarting the phone.
In fact, the phone requires entering the password every 2 ish days, which, I read, is a standard practice with Android.
However, in the security settings I was able to find "Other security settings - Strong protection" that reads:

Encrypt your phone using your secure lock type
After restarting, you'll need to unlock your phone using your pattern, PIN, or password to access features other than calls, messages, and alarms.

That setting is on, and I believe it is this one that requires the password every so often. And it would appear from its wording that if I disable it, the phone will be unencrypted.

Am I correct in that assumption? Will disabling that setting make the phone unencrypted? (I don't want that.)
Is there a way to disable asking for the password every so often with Galaxy s10 specifically (as opposed to stock Android) without compromising the device encryption?

At the moment it feels like this feature works to weaken the phone's protection, not strengthen it. By asking for a password every so often, it pushes me to go for simpler passwords that are easier to type in.


text:
Thumbanails Not Regenerating
So I recently switched to a Samsung Galaxy A50 with One UI version 1.1 build over Android Version 9.
So, I've been facing an issue with thumbnails regeneration. The DCIM/.thumbnails folder keeps deleting its content next day (which I suppose is a feature to save memory). But, the problem occurs when the contents aren't able to regenerate themselves.
The gallery apps itslef is working fine and regenerating thumbs properly but not creating new thumbs in the DCIM/.thumbnails folder due to which I'm unable to post on Instagram and Reddit.
I tried clear data and clear cache on gallery, rebooted my device but it,s still no good.

If you know where the bad thumbnails are stored why don't you just delete the DCIM/.thumbnailsfolder?

I tried that, and guess what? No thumbnails are generated. Only if I click a new pic, the folder is recreated along with the thumbnail of the new pic.

If you take a new photo is the thumbnail generated directly? Can you post such an image using the apps you mentioned? If not it is clearly a bug in the apps.

Well new when I take a new photo, the thumbnails are generated. But after one day, when the phone clears thumbnails as a memory saving measure, the thumbnail won't generate now. This causes problems when I have to post a day old pics on these apps.


text:
Confusing comments in MTK Droid Tools
Every version on MTK Droid Tools on https://mtkdroidtools.com has a
 file "files_for_delete.txt" with comments in Russian. What's the meaning of that - should't it be in English to let everyone read it?
By the way, is this tool an Open Source and available for review? Otherwise how can one be sure that the code is safe?

If you are referring to "MTKDroid" this "is an application created by rua1" (a russian user on xda-developers.com.

What's the meaning of that - should't it be in English to let everyone read it?

As stated by @Robert, it was developed by rua1 who is Russian (his/her profile on XDA-Developers).
Using Google translate, here is an excerpt from the first few lines of the file. The comments are explanation of the lines
; --------- A list of files to delete from the phone ------------
; comments can be left after the sign;
; the name of the file to be deleted must contain the full path and begin with the /
; spaces in the tail and in front of the sign are allowed;

/system/recovery-from-boot.p; This file interferes with the installation of a modified recovery !!!
/system/media/bootaudio.mp3; sound when downloading on androids 2.2.2 and higher
/system/media/shutaudio.mp3

; Next, the list relevant to the B63M. On the other phones will not do harm. nothing to delete;)

/system/app/caivs.apk; Application that sends paid sms
/system/app/com.android.caivs.app.apk
/system/app/PinyinIME.*
/system/app/KaiXinAccountService.apk
/system/app/KaiXinAccountService.odex
/system/app/RenRenAccountService.apk
/system/app/RenRenAccountService.odex
/system/app/Sogou*.*
/system/app/sogou*.*
/system/app/androidmarketu.apk

; add-ons for B79

/system/app/SmsReg.*; Application that sends paid sms

/system/app/MobileLog.apk
/system/app/ModemLog.*

By the way, is this tool an Open Source and available for review? Otherwise how can one be sure that the code is safe?

From this post:

You cannot revive/update this tool because no source is available.
  The original author disappear by the forum.
  Some users developed some updates about external modules.
  But it's the maximum that it's possible now and for the future.


text:
Samsung galaxy s9+: how to order screen unlock options
In my screen unlock options, I have iris scanner, face recognition, fingerprint scanner, pattern and password/security pin. I have all of the options set up. However, 95% of the time when I try to unlock it either ask for security pin or pattern. Maybe only 5% of the time it asks for iris scanner/face recognition. However it never asks for fingerprint scanner to unlock the phone.
I want to order these options so that whenever I try to unlock the phone it first ask for

Fingerprint scanner,
If no 1 fails, it ask for iris/face recognition scanner
If above fails it ask for pattern
Lastly if above all fails, it ask for password/security pin

Is there any way to order these options to unlock samsung s9+ phone?


text:
Why proxy set on Android does not work when used as hotspot?
I am setting the proxy in APN settings of my mobile network in below shown screenshot:

It works well. I verified via whatismyip. However, when I enable the hotspot on the device and use this hotspot on another device and check IP from it, it shows my original mobile service provider IP and not the proxy IP.
Why such behavior if the hotspot is supposed to use the mobile network and the proxy is set in APN for it? How can I make proxy work on device using hotspot as well?
Note: I do not want to set proxy under advanced setting on other device wifi option while choosing this hotspot. The app that I am trying to use detects proxy set under wifi so this is my only option.

Your question is related to understanding of OSI model. Proxies use http/https or socks protocol, I assume you are talking about http which is an Application Layer (L7) protocol in OSI model. When an application generates http message, it's handed over to lower layer. In case of https, message is encrypted by SSL/TLS which are L6 protocols. At L4 the message gets a TCP header and then at L3 it's converted to an IP packet. This packet goes through NAT and firewalls filtering at L3, and finally through RRM/PDCP/RLC (if using Mobile Data), MAC and kernel routing at L2. At L1 it's transmitted over Wi-Fi as 802.11 frames or CDMA/TDMA/FDMA signals over Mobile Data.
Hotspot on the other hand is mainly based on 2 userspace tools; hostapd - which creates Wi-Fi Access Point at OSI L2 - and dnsmasq (up to Android 9) - which works as DHCP/DNS server at OSI L7. If the connected host is using phone as DNS server (as configured by DHCP), phone receives DNS queries and recursively forward them as UDP/IP packets to upstream DNS server on internet (whatever dnsmasq is configured to use). Rest of the traffic coming from hotspot network is NATed and routed at L3/L2.
So you see none of the (IP packets) traffic coming from connected hosts goes through http stack on Android phone, hence not being forwarded to proxy server. It's the responsibility of applications like Web Browsers to make http(s) connections to proxy server, not directly to remote host like web server. It's not possible to create a hotspot which can be configured to use http proxy at OSI L7. Proxy settings (host/port) we set for Wi-Fi or APN or globally are just forwarded to applications, each application has to create proxied connection on its own, or just ignore the proxy information. You need to provide these proxy details to apps on every host connected over hotspot. See question linked below for more details.
However it's possible to forcefully redirect the whole traffic towards a proxy server by using Linux/Android kernel's NAT/REDIRECT/TPROXY (at L3) and routing table (at L2). That's how proxifiers work, but there are limitations. Email clients use IMAP/POP3/SMTP (L6/7) protocols which won't work with http GET method, instead require http CONNECT proxies. Latter can only forward TCP traffic, for UDP at least SOCKS5 proxy is needed which operates at L5. DNS and mostly games and voice calling apps generate UDP traffic, so they won't work with http proxies at all. ping utility - for instance - uses ICMP (at L3) which can't be encapsulated in TCP or UDP, so it won't work with SOCKS5 too.
So it's not possible in true sense to redirect all traffic towards a remote (proxy) server without using a L2/3 solution like VPN. For more details see How to set Wi-Fi HTTPS proxy, not HTTP, via adb shell?

Why such behavior if the hotspot is supposed to use the mobile network and the proxy is set in APN for it?

Hotspot is supposed to use the mobile network, apps are supposed to use the proxy. The proxy you configured in APN isn't enforced system-wide.

I do not want to set proxy under advanced setting on other device WiFi option while choosing this hotspot.

Unfortunately this is the most straightforward way, other methods require either rooting and/or using third party apps (to create VPN). See above linked question on how to enforce proxy transparently.

The reason being you are seeing the symptoms are because when you turn your hotspot on think of it like turning your phone into a router. So any network settings on the hot spot will not change the devices individual IP address. When you connect to your hotspot it connects by that devices IP and not when is changed in network settings because the changed network settings are last in the hierarchy of things. I do believe if you google search it the are apps that will spoof your devices ip address essentially the same concept as a proxy just undetectable.

but ultimately the request being sent through my mobile connection must be going through that APN and must follow that proxy right? it does when I use it on same device even when hotspot is on. Like you said its the last heirarchy of things so after connection is made via hotspot it should go through that proxy in mobile connection settings after that


text:
Can't Flash Google Factory Image - No Boot Partition
I seem to have bricked my phone but thankfully the bootloader is unlocked so I'm sure there is a way to fix it. I am having a hell of a time though, I think I need to re-create the boot partition manually. Here is what I get when I try flash-all.bat
I can't find instructions how to re-create partitions, but I noticed this in fastboot --help, does anybody have experience creating partitons with fastboot? And/Or can somebody get the partition map from their device and/or share/extrapolate the commands needed.
  erase <partition>                        Erase a flash partition.
  format[:[<fs type>][:[<size>]] <partition>
                                           Format a flash partition. Can
                                           override the fs type and/or size
                                           the bootloader reports.

I get the same in both slot_a and slot_b and I have manually flashed bootloader.img & boot.img
C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>flash-all.bat
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'bootloaderb' (36336 KB)...
OKAY [  0.156s]
writing 'bootloaderb'...
OKAY [  0.516s]
finished. total time: 0.672s
rebooting into bootloader...
OKAY [  0.016s]
finished. total time: 0.016s
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'radiob' (60388 KB)...
OKAY [  0.261s]
writing 'radiob'...
OKAY [  0.837s]
finished. total time: 1.101s
rebooting into bootloader...
OKAY [  0.002s]
finished. total time: 0.003s
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
archive does not contain 'boot.sig'
archive does not contain 'recovery.img'
archive does not contain 'system.sig'
archive does not contain 'vendor.sig'
wiping userdata...
Creating filesystem with parameters:
    Size: 120909180928
    Block size: 4096
    Blocks per group: 32768
    Inodes per group: 8192
    Inode size: 256
    Journal blocks: 32768
    Label:
    Blocks: 29518843
    Block groups: 901
    Reserved block group size: 1024
Created filesystem with 11/7380992 inodes and 511380/29518843 blocks
--------------------------------------------
Bootloader Version...: TMZ20k
Baseband Version.....: g8998-00253-1809191716
Serial Number........: 710KPMZ0311515
--------------------------------------------
checking product...
OKAY [  0.000s]
checking version-bootloader...
OKAY [  0.000s]
checking version-baseband...
OKAY [  0.000s]
sending 'bootb' (40960 KB)...
OKAY [  0.188s]
writing 'bootb'...
FAILED (remote: No such partition.)
finished. total time: 0.219s
Press any key to exit...

Well I'm into TWRP but still things awry, but this post is resolved. I had to specify boot_a or it tried to use boota.
fastboot format:ext4 boot_a
fastboot flash boot_a boot.img

Finally got fully back to stock, which is what I like to do after a soft brick. I did it by manually typing fastboot flash foo_a foo.img for EVERY IMAGE. Then I finished by re-locking the bootloader.
Note: It's scary to lock bootloader while softbricked but I can confirm I have locked/failed to fix brick/re-unlocked bootloader from Fastboot. As long as your "brick" starts with the bootloader unlocked you should be good!
Here is my rediclous fix of my problem:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot flash boot boot.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'boota' (40960 KB)...
OKAY [  0.156s]
writing 'boota'...
FAILED (remote: No such partition.)
finished. total time: 0.156s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot --slot:boot_aflash boot boot.img
fastboot: unknown option -- slot:boot_aflash

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot --slot:boot_a flash boot boot.img
fastboot: unknown option -- slot:boot_a

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot --slot boot_a flash boot boot.img
Slot boot_a does not exist. supported slots are:
a
b

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot --slot a flash boot boot.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'boota' (40960 KB)...
OKAY [  0.172s]
writing 'boota'...
FAILED (remote: No such partition.)
finished. total time: 0.172s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot --slot all flash boot boot.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'boota' (40960 KB)...
OKAY [  0.156s]
writing 'boota'...
FAILED (remote: No such partition.)
finished. total time: 0.172s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot erase boot
erasing 'boota'...
FAILED (remote: Check device console.)
finished. total time: 0.000s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot erase boot_a
erasing 'boot_a'...
OKAY [  0.016s]
finished. total time: 0.031s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot erase boot_b
erasing 'boot_b'...
OKAY [  0.016s]
finished. total time: 0.016s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot flash boot_a boot.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'boot_a' (40960 KB)...
OKAY [  0.156s]
writing 'boot_a'...
OKAY [  0.577s]
finished. total time: 0.733s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot flash boot_b boot.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'boot_b' (40960 KB)...
OKAY [  0.172s]
writing 'boot_b'...
OKAY [  0.562s]
finished. total time: 0.750s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash bootloader bootloader-taimen-tmz20k.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'bootloaderb' (36336 KB)...
OKAY [  0.141s]
writing 'bootloaderb'...
OKAY [  0.531s]
finished. total time: 0.672s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot reboot-bootloader
rebooting into bootloader...
OKAY [  0.000s]
finished. total time: 0.000s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot flash radio_a radio-taimen-g8998-00253-1809191716.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'radio_a' (60388 KB)...
OKAY [  0.219s]
writing 'radio_a'...
OKAY [  0.859s]
finished. total time: 1.078s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot flash radio_b radio-taimen-g8998-00253-1809191716.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'radio_b' (60388 KB)...
OKAY [  0.235s]
writing 'radio_b'...
OKAY [  0.859s]
finished. total time: 1.094s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot reboot-bootloader
rebooting into bootloader...
OKAY [  0.000s]
finished. total time: 0.000s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash boot_a boot.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'boot_a' (40960 KB)...
OKAY [  0.156s]
writing 'boot_a'...
OKAY [  0.547s]
finished. total time: 0.703s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash boot_b boot.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'boot_b' (40960 KB)...
OKAY [  0.156s]
writing 'boot_b'...
OKAY [  0.750s]
finished. total time: 0.906s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash vendor_a vendor.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
erasing 'vendor_a'...
OKAY [  0.030s]
sending 'vendor_a' (360328 KB)...
OKAY [  1.339s]
writing 'vendor_a'...
OKAY [  1.563s]
finished. total time: 2.931s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash vendor_b vendor.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
erasing 'vendor_b'...
OKAY [  0.031s]
sending 'vendor_b' (360328 KB)...
OKAY [  1.354s]
writing 'vendor_b'...
OKAY [  1.542s]
finished. total time: 2.943s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash system_a system.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
erasing 'system_a'...
OKAY [  0.078s]
sending sparse 'system_a' 1/5 (524284 KB)...
OKAY [  2.610s]
writing 'system_a' 1/5...
OKAY [  2.235s]
sending sparse 'system_a' 2/5 (524284 KB)...
OKAY [  2.625s]
writing 'system_a' 2/5...
OKAY [  2.266s]
sending sparse 'system_a' 3/5 (524284 KB)...
OKAY [  2.469s]
writing 'system_a' 3/5...
OKAY [  2.266s]
sending sparse 'system_a' 4/5 (521176 KB)...
OKAY [  2.454s]
writing 'system_a' 4/5...
OKAY [  2.261s]
sending sparse 'system_a' 5/5 (167104 KB)...
OKAY [  0.797s]
writing 'system_a' 5/5...
OKAY [  0.734s]
finished. total time: 20.794s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash system_b system.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
erasing 'system_b'...
OKAY [  0.062s]
sending sparse 'system_b' 1/5 (524284 KB)...
OKAY [  2.469s]
writing 'system_b' 1/5...
OKAY [  2.294s]
sending sparse 'system_b' 2/5 (524284 KB)...
OKAY [  2.453s]
writing 'system_b' 2/5...
OKAY [  2.250s]
sending sparse 'system_b' 3/5 (524284 KB)...
OKAY [  2.453s]
writing 'system_b' 3/5...
OKAY [  2.250s]
sending sparse 'system_b' 4/5 (521176 KB)...
OKAY [  2.449s]
writing 'system_b' 4/5...
OKAY [  2.276s]
sending sparse 'system_b' 5/5 (167104 KB)...
OKAY [  0.781s]
writing 'system_b' 5/5...
OKAY [  0.734s]
finished. total time: 20.474s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash modem_a modem.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'modem_a' (60380 KB)...
OKAY [  0.231s]
writing 'modem_a'...
OKAY [  1.312s]
finished. total time: 1.543s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash modem_b modem.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'modem_b' (60380 KB)...
OKAY [  0.250s]
writing 'modem_b'...
OKAY [  1.328s]
finished. total time: 1.578s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash abl_a abl.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'abl_a' (540 KB)...
OKAY [ -0.000s]
writing 'abl_a'...
OKAY [  0.031s]
finished. total time: 0.031s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash --slot all abl.img
unknown partition 'abl.img'
error: cannot determine image filename for 'abl.img'

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe --slot all flash abl.img
unknown partition 'abl.img'
error: cannot determine image filename for 'abl.img'

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash abl_b abl.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'abl_b' (540 KB)...
OKAY [  0.016s]
writing 'abl_b'...
OKAY [  0.016s]
finished. total time: 0.031s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash aes_a aes.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'aes_a' (48 KB)...
OKAY [ -0.000s]
writing 'aes_a'...
OKAY [  0.016s]
finished. total time: 0.016s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash aes_b aes.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'aes_b' (48 KB)...
OKAY [  0.000s]
writing 'aes_b'...
OKAY [  0.016s]
finished. total time: 0.016s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash cmnlib_a cmnlib.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'cmnlib_a' (220 KB)...
OKAY [ -0.000s]
writing 'cmnlib_a'...
OKAY [  0.016s]
finished. total time: 0.016s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash cmnlib_b cmnlib.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'cmnlib_b' (220 KB)...
OKAY [ -0.000s]
writing 'cmnlib_b'...
OKAY [  0.016s]
finished. total time: 0.016s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash cmnlib64_a cmnlib64.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'cmnlib64_a' (288 KB)...
OKAY [  0.016s]
writing 'cmnlib64_a'...
OKAY [  0.016s]
finished. total time: 0.031s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash cmnlib64_b cmnlib64.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'cmnlib64_b' (288 KB)...
OKAY [ -0.000s]
writing 'cmnlib64_b'...
OKAY [  0.017s]
finished. total time: 0.017s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash devcfg_a devcfg.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'devcfg_a' (60 KB)...
OKAY [ -0.000s]
writing 'devcfg_a'...
OKAY [  0.016s]
finished. total time: 0.016s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash devcfg_b devcfg.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'devcfg_b' (60 KB)...
OKAY [  0.016s]
writing 'devcfg_b'...
OKAY [  0.013s]
finished. total time: 0.029s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash dtbo_a dtbo.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'dtbo_a' (8192 KB)...
OKAY [  0.037s]
writing 'dtbo_a'...
OKAY [  0.109s]
finished. total time: 0.146s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash dtbo_b dtbo.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'dtbo_b' (8192 KB)...
OKAY [  0.031s]
writing 'dtbo_b'...
OKAY [  0.141s]
finished. total time: 0.172s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash hyp_a hyp.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'hyp_a' (264 KB)...
OKAY [  0.000s]
writing 'hyp_a'...
OKAY [  0.020s]
finished. total time: 0.020s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash hyp_b hyp.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'hyp_b' (264 KB)...
OKAY [  0.014s]
writing 'hyp_b'...
OKAY [  0.000s]
finished. total time: 0.015s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash keymaster_a keymaster.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'keymaster_a' (308 KB)...
OKAY [  0.000s]
writing 'keymaster_a'...
OKAY [  0.026s]
finished. total time: 0.026s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash keymaster_b keymaster.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'keymaster_b' (308 KB)...
OKAY [  0.012s]
writing 'keymaster_b'...
OKAY [ -0.000s]
finished. total time: 0.012s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash laf_a laf.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'laf_a' (29800 KB)...
OKAY [  0.125s]
writing 'laf_a'...
OKAY [  0.406s]
finished. total time: 0.547s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash laf_b laf.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'laf_b' (29800 KB)...
OKAY [  0.110s]
writing 'laf_b'...
OKAY [  0.125s]
finished. total time: 0.250s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash pmic_a pmic.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'pmic_a' (52 KB)...
OKAY [ -0.000s]
writing 'pmic_a'...
OKAY [  0.016s]
finished. total time: 0.016s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash pmic_b pmic.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'pmic_b' (52 KB)...
OKAY [ -0.000s]
writing 'pmic_b'...
OKAY [  0.016s]
finished. total time: 0.016s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash rpm_a rpm.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'rpm_a' (232 KB)...
OKAY [  0.016s]
writing 'rpm_a'...
OKAY [  0.009s]
finished. total time: 0.024s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash rpm_b rpm.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'rpm_b' (232 KB)...
OKAY [ -0.000s]
writing 'rpm_b'...
OKAY [  0.000s]
finished. total time: 0.017s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash tz_a tz.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'tz_a' (1868 KB)...
OKAY [  0.016s]
writing 'tz_a'...
OKAY [  0.026s]
finished. total time: 0.045s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash tz_b tz.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'tz_b' (1868 KB)...
OKAY [  0.016s]
writing 'tz_b'...
OKAY [  0.016s]
finished. total time: 0.045s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash vbmeta_a vbmeta.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'vbmeta_a' (4 KB)...
OKAY [ -0.000s]
writing 'vbmeta_a'...
OKAY [  0.016s]
finished. total time: 0.016s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash vbmeta_b vbmeta.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'vbmeta_b' (4 KB)...
OKAY [  0.000s]
writing 'vbmeta_b'...
OKAY [  0.017s]
finished. total time: 0.020s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash xbl_a xbl.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'xbl_a' (2620 KB)...
OKAY [  0.016s]
writing 'xbl_a'...
OKAY [  0.016s]
finished. total time: 0.031s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flash xbl_b xbl.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'xbl_b' (2620 KB)...
OKAY [  0.016s]
writing 'xbl_b'...
OKAY [  0.016s]
finished. total time: 0.031s

C:\Program Files (x86)\Minimal ADB and Fastboot>fastboot.exe flashing lock


text:
Why does MTP show wrong directory location?
MTP (Miserable Transfer Protocol) failed once again.
After moving a directory to a different path, it is still on the same path as before according to MTP.
I already tried re-plugging the USB port and reading it from a different computer. Same result.
Why is MTP so bogus that it shows a moved folder on its previous path?

What is Content Provider?
It seems to be a problem related to Media Providers. As the name suggests, they provide a database of available media in a more organized way to other apps as the Contacts Storage (com.android.providers.contacts) provides contacts to requesting apps. Purpose is to scan and store media file info for quick access so that individual apps don't have to scan folders manually for an up-to-date library, reducing time and effort.
Android's built-in Media Providers:
Some file explorers, media players and gallery apps depend on the files database (/data/data/com.android.providers.media/databases/external.db) built by Media Storage app for MediaStore content provider from the contents of external storage (/sdcard and external SD card; removable storage like USB isn't indexed). Apps Media Storage (com.android.providers.media under which com.process.media runs), Downloads (com.android.providers.downloads.ui), Download Manager (com.android.providers.downloads) and MTP Host (com.android.mtp) work in collaboration under same UID.
Database is built/updated as MediaScanner (android.process.media) is invoked by some app such as by sending broadcast MEDIA_SCANNER_SCAN_FILE or through scanFile. Broadcast receiver com.android.providers.media.MediaScannerReceiver is launched on boot that listens for android.intent.action.BOOT_COMPLETED, so MediaScannerService will also launch on boot. But restarting phone sometimes doesn't update whole external database (or at least delays). MediaScanner is also triggered when a new storage device is mounted i.e. on MEDIA_MOUNTED which could possibly be manually broadcasted to force updation on pre KitKat versions.
In response, apps are informed of updated databases such as by receiving broadcast MEDIA_SCANNER_FINISHED or through onScanCompleted.
Problem with Media Providers:
MtpService is also a part of Media Storage. Due to some bugs (acknowledged since 2012) in implementation of MTP, database isn't updated or is delayed or isn't properly communicated with the client as the files change, so MTP shows outdated / incomplete contents. The same can happen if an app creating or downloading a new file fails to trigger the MediaScanner or fails to receive back the updated information.
Solution:
In order to force database updation, delete the file and run some media scanner app. Non-root users can delete this file by clearing data of Media Storage app.
But be aware, it'll also clear internal.db which will make ringtones unavailable and a new database will be built from /system/media on next reboot i.e. on BOOT_COMPLETED.
PS: Note that the internal SD card we see is emulated from /data/media/ using sdcardfs (or FUSE in older versions of Android). Actual contents of internal memory can be seen directly from /data/media/ (root required). UMS used to expose the /data block device to PC but was deprecated in favor of MTP. It's a good option when larger size of data is to be transferred at high speeds. It can be enabled by some workaround.
There are also other reasonable alternatives for MTP like FTP, SFTP/SSHFS, adbfs etc.
RESOURCES:

How Android categorizes files based on their extensions
MTP, External Storage, and Your App
Scan Media Files In Android
Broadcasts overview
Android Content Providers


text:
How to make offline voice calls between Android phone and PC?
I want to communicate with my brother who has android using my PC over bluetooth or Wi-Fi (offline), is that possible?

Use this kind of Google search: "how to make wifi calls without internet?". This would show you the right webpages. You need to look for a VoIP server and an SIP client for your solution.

I did. The problem is I only find methods between two phones not between a one and a PC.

You would have to use something that isn't phone number based that also works on both pc and mobile. Example is that Facebook messenger might do this as its on both pc and mobile. Etc.


text:
Sony Xperia X Rooting issue when the unlock bootloader flag is set to no
I am trying to unlock a Sony Xperia X that was locked to a Canadian carrier (Freedom). The previous owner sold me the phone unlocked (SIM) but he failed to unlock the bootloader.
I followed the instructions here and realized that the rooting status states that boot-locker unlock is set to no.
I also got the developer options enabled and made sure that the OEM unlocking is set to true and USB debugging set to true.
Next I ran adb devices and my device shows up.

However I ran fast-boot devices after starting the phone in bootloader mode (Volume Down + insert USB cable), it doesn't recognize any device.
I am wondering: is there any way I can get around Sony's restrictive Boot-loader unlock setting and get root on my phone? I desperately need to get rid of some bloatware.

Have you installed the fastboot drivers? Windows requires different drivers for ADB and fastboot mode. Boot to bootloader connect the device and check the device manager for unknown devices.

So this is what I did, after connecting my phone and firing up a CMD window ,I looked for fastboot devices and it showed nothing. Out of curiosity I rebooted into bootloader using fastboot command ( think it was fastboot reboot bootloader ) and it booted my phone in the bootloader mode. This should confirm that I have the right fastboot drivers installed right ?

The only real confirmation that fastboot drivers are working correctly is that fastboot devices lists your device. Boot to bootloader and search for Android Bootloader interface or something like this. See also: http://www.wtfandroid.com/fix-fastboot-device-not-recognised-problem/

@Robert Thank you. i will give this a shot when i get home. i wouldn't be surprised if the fastboot drivers are not installed properly


text:
How to restore WhatsApp data from SD card or internal memory and not from Google Drive?
I changed phones and installed WhatsApp on the new one. I have a backup database file on an SD card and the same file copied to the internal WhatsApp folder and Google Drive.
However, during install, the restore process only checks in G Drive and says that no backup is available.
How do I restore the data from this backup file from the internal memory or SD card? There is no corresponding option during backup restore.
Adding a few points based on other QnA I went through. Hope they help.

The phone number has not changed. I am using the same number on the new phone as earlier.
I have copied the backup database file from the SD card to the internal memory and also to the G Drive
The backup file is named "msgstore.db.crypt12" It does not have the date in the name.

I had problems with this too, and today finally it worked.  Unfortunately I'm not sure which of the following additional steps did the trick, but maybe it helps others:

I copied the entire WhatsApp folder over from the old phone to the new one (zipped it using Total Commander, copied it to a PC via USB, copied it to the new phone also via USB, unzipped it also using Total Commander).
After installing WhatsApp, I gave the app all possible permissions before running it: under Settings/Apps, select WhatsApp, tap Permissions, and then select all permissions listed under "denied" and tap "allow" (you can revoke the permissions again after the backup is succesfully restored).

After doing this, running WhatsApp and confirming my phone number, I was finally prompted to restore the local backup. Before that, WhatsApp asked me for some permissions and then asked me to select a Google Drive backup (which I hadn't done), when I selected "skip" at this step it apparently also skipped the local backup.

Open google drive.
Top left menu, backups, deactivate WhatsApp backup
(option to delete also, not necessary)
Re-do the login procedure as usual.
Done.


text:
How can run native executables compiled for ARM on unrooted Android devices?
Following this tutorial I have compiled a Hello World! ARM binary from C source using gcc.
I want to run this program on my unrooted Android phone but I can't figure out an easy way to do it.
What I've tried:

Copying hello to /sdcard and trying to run it from there. This doesn't work because the internal storage is mounted with the noexec flag.
Copying hello to /data/local/ using cp hello /data/local/ or cat hello > /data/local/hello as explained here. This also doesn't work and I get a "permission denied" error.
Installing a terminal emulator program such as Termux and using the Termux app to copy hello from /sdcard/hello to /data/data/com.termux/files/home, running chmod +x hello and then running ./hello from the Termux home directory within the Termux app. This works but is not a feasible solution.

Is there a better/easier way to run native ELF executables on an unrooted Android phone directly through ADB and doesn't involve installing any apps?

In addition to noexec mount option, /sdcard is emulated filesystem with fixed file permissions. So files can't be set executable. But some file explorers like MiXplorer support executing binaries/scripts from /sdcard through /system/bin/sh.
/data/local has permissions 0751, owner root.root 1, so normal apps can't access it. However from adb shell use /data/local/tmp which has user/group owner 2000 (aid_shell) 2 and selinux is also allowed 3. So you won't get permission denied.
If you don't want to use PC, terminal emulator is the only option. On Termux you can also add /data/local/tmp (or a subdirectory) to $PATH by editing ~/.profile if you want to avoid placing binaries on multiple locations. But the directory should be world-readable and selinux must not be denying the access or execution of binaries.


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Skype not notify of new messages until it is opened
My Skype is not showing new messages or Skype call until I open it.
I have a Samsung J6+. It night be my fault due to changing many settings at once now causing Skype to behave this way. So it was with other chat messengers such as Wire and Whatsapp.
But I got Whatsapp working fine now, when i disable "data saver" feature under "data usage".
However Skype and Wire are not working as they should.
Can anybody please help by provide a list of possible settings and solutions ?
Thanks.

Have you exempted them from battery optimization? Check the battery settings for these two apps, exempt them, and see if this solves the issue.

i seached my phone setting area.. can't locate "battery optimization" setting. i saw that before, but i just can't find it now.

Go to System settings->Battery. Then tap on the 3-dot icon on the title bar, or press the menu button on your device. A drop-down menu will appear. There you can find a link for battery optimization.


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How to use the power provided by USB OTG?
I know that USB OTG supplies at least 5V of power.
I am trying to run a small LED or other types of loads through the USB OTG, but I was out of luck! How to enable the power supply through the USB OTG ?
Note : My phone supports USB OTG and the test LED works well even with less than 5V power.

Does your phone has an Micro USB or USB-C connector?

Yes, every phone has that.

It has micro USB.

Is that even possible ?


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How do l solve issues on "Download Boot Loader 0%" on SP Flash Tool?
I bought a UMIDIGI A3 running Android 8.1. The phone got bricked after an upgrade was done via OTA.
I tried to restore the phone through the use of the SP Flash Tool. My problem is each time the process began, it got terminated on “Download Boot Loader 0 %”. Although this is weird because I haven’t had such experience with SP Flash Tool before.

How do I solve this issue and get back my phone?

Uncheck preloader entry in that screen you shared in the screenshot and then click the Download process. I tested this and it works.

As it’s currently written, your answer is unclear. Please [edit] to add additional details that will help others understand how this addresses the question asked. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center.


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How to change the lowest and highest screen brightness in Android?
Is there any way to reduce the lowest and highest screen brightness settings by editing the build.prop file in Android? If yes, then how?

Change/set the following parameters in the build.prop to set the brightness.
ro.lcd_min_brightness=50
ro.lcd_brightness=255

The above is an example. The first set the minimum.
The range is from 1 to 255. 1 being the minimum level that can be set while 255 is the maximum.

Using the above lines, can I set the max brightness to more than 255? And how to set the min brightness to below 0?

See the edit for details.

tried on Oneplus 5T and OxygenOS 9.0.8, does not work. :/


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Solution for "ghost touches" - Procedure to disable a small portion of the screen from being sensitive to touch?
So I ordered a cheap Chinese phone (umidigi) as a secondary device and the unit I got, out of the box, was afflicted with a faulty display. Troubleshooting it I have diagnosed the problem precisely:

There is an intermittent false touch input occurring in the bottom right, very far bottom right part only of the screen
Lowering the brightness appears to minimize the presence of the false input
Is likely to require disassembly of the device to remedy the issue

I alerted the seller I bought the phone from, and they're sending me a new unit pronto, and told me to just keep this one. Yay.
So, Id like to eventually permanently resolve this phones issue and open it up myself, but in the meantime I'd like to get some use out of it. But, with the ghost touch using the phone with anything other than a Bluetooth mouse is maddening.
The area effected is at the very, very bottom of the phone and may occupy 15px or so at most. I attempted to use a few apps, one called 'Partial Screen' and some others like Screen Shift. However, the adjustments to the display only result in cosmetic changes and do not desensitize the adjusted portion of the screen to touch input and thus the false input creating problems.
Can anyone point me to a procedure, adb input or otherwise, that could ensure that some specified portion of the touch screen will not respect any touch input?
Thanks.

If you have a screen protector that came with it... Take it off !

Connect your phone to a PC via ADB and use this command: adb shell wm overscan left,top,right,bottom where left, top, right and bottom are the coordinates upto which your screen works properly.
For example, if my phone with a resolution of 480px × 854px, would have had this problem, I would write adb shell wm overscan 0,0,0,839 to disable 15px at the bottom of the screen.

Looks like it's a hardware issue. As you are thinking to make that particular portion of the screen less sensitive, it is not possible, because the touch sensor all over the screen is a single unit. The only thing you can do is to ignore the touch inputs coming from that affected part of the screen. So, use an app that can overlay at that portion and can block/ignore the touches at that portion of the screen. OR, Take your phone for a repair.

Thanks for the tip! Could you suggest any apps that meet your description ? Im doing more research and trial now, as well. Thanks.

I have found "Partial screen" to be very useful. Although my phone's screen is absolutely OK, but I had tested it. As you had mentioned, it only change the appearance of the screen, it is not like that.


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How to reduce the minimum screen timeout?
I was trying to programmatically set the screen timeout to 5 seconds, because the minimum value provided by my Android OS is 10 seconds, which is more than enough for me. But I was out of luck!
Is there any way to reduce the minimum screen timeout in Android by editing the build.prop file? If yes, then how?

Why do you want to restrict the solution to build.prop only?

No, its not like that I want to restrict the solution to build.prop only. I know that it's not possible to do things like this without root and tweaking features is done through the build.prop file. So, that's why I asked this.

why are you trying to reduce it, just use the power button to off/on. if you tried to reduce by build.prop, it will be a huge work to do with associated files with it.

It is because, sometimes we forget to turn off the screen. But still, I think you are right, I need to have the habit of turning off the screen manually.


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How do I group emails with same subject and sender in the Outlook app on Android?
How do I group emails by subject in the Outlook app on Android?
In Gmail, if 100 emails are received from the same address and have the same subject, they are grouped into a single item with a number in parenthesis showing how many emails are inside.
How do I achieve the equivalent in Android Outlook app? Or web app? Otherwise, there are 100 elements that fill up the list of unread in the inbox.

In the settings, turn on "Organize mail by thread" to ensure responses sent back and forth on the same thread are grouped together.
From what I can tell, there is no setting in the Outlook Android app that will group multiple independent emails with the same sender / subject.


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Android Pie background apps
Android Pie does not allow background apps to have access to microphone or Camera. Is this valid in case of screenshot also?
Does the app needs to be foreground and visible for any of the above functionality to work?