text:
Unknown icon on the status bar
anyone can figure out what's the 2nd icon from the left ?
Thanks

Left or right side? Remember, you can always pull down notification shade, and long press the notification to see what app it is

From the left side. It's not my phone. I'm just curious because i've never seen that icon before

That icon is one of the apps from Opera Software and its called "Opera Max" thus the "M" icon and it is used for data saving or so it claims. Its shows you your estimated data usage and what you have saved. In their own words "Opera Max - Data Manager is a tool that lets you save considerably on the number of megabytes on your Android device's data plan using a simple procedure that automatically compresses all videos and images that you see (while using 3G) to around half their size. "
Hope your question is answered


text:
LineageOS 14.1 browser keeps saying "Download Unsuccessful" at 30-35%
I recently installed LineageOS 14.1 x86 (Android 7.1.2), and have been having issues downloading with the default browser.
Every download starts working, but then fails at around ≈30-35%. I have:

Checked connection. All downloads were happening on a reliable 4/4 bar Wi-Fi connection.
Retried downloading. Same issue.
Tried a different file. Still, the same issue.
Downloaded an app from the Google Play Store (since it uses the Download Manager as well). It works just fine.
Used an app with a built-in download manager (Google Chrome). Successfully downloads the files I was having troubles with.

Is there some way I can make the built-in browser properly download files?

IDK about Lineage but try delete data and cache of download manager (you will lose downloads, save them if needed)

From my experience the built-in browser / download manager of LOS has always been unreliable... Use alternatives whenever you can.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
PDF/Image viewer with scaling to a calibrated size
I'm looking for a way to consistently display raster images or PDFs, so that the image on screen has a calibrated physical size. I.e. I create an image/PDF on a computer with a shape 10cm*10cm and want it to be exactly this size on the tablet's screen. I don't care if I have to measure/calibrate something beforehand, or if the viewer on the device queries e.g. the screen size/ppi and image dpi to do this. I only need this to be accurate for one single device.
Any ideas on how to do this?

Asking for software is off topic. Edited to avoid closure. If you explicitly want software delete this here and ask on SE.softwarec but do read their help before so that it fits there

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


text:
How to restart phone when power button does not work
When driving I saw a dialog that an application power control stopped. Later I realized that the phone Nokia 8 behaves strangely. I cannot go to launcher, switch application and reboot the phone. Back button works, two other buttons have no effect. Volume app and down work. I can use the power button to lock and unlock the screen. But holding it does not bring reboot options. Is there any other way how to reboot the phone?

Holding the power button pressed for maybe 10 seconds usually restarts device

Thank you. I tried it multiple times without success. This time I counted seconds and around 15 second there was a dialog that it is not possible to shut down the service. And pressing a volume up for 5 seconds will switch off it. So I continued pressing both buttons and it really helped!

Good. You cn self answer the question to help others :)


text:
How to stop Wi-Fi from using all my mobile data?
My phone all of a sudden is consuming huge amounts of mobile data ; apps usage report shows that 'Wi-fi' is causing this: from less than 500Mb per month is has consumed 2GB in a day , and it continues to do this unless  I  disable the mobile data .
What is causing this ? How can I stop it ? Can someone explain why WIFI would use my mobile data ( I thought Wi-fi would use my internet connexion)
Material used:  Samsung S5 dual SIm.
UK Three SIM card and France Orange SIM card
Probelem is with both cards and both providers.
I've had to disable both mobile networks to stop the usage.
there are two 'Wi-Fi apps' one version 35 and a version 126.   Uninstall or Force Stop are inactive, and I cannot see who is the Publisher.
Any suggestions ?
thanks !

Could you add a screenshot of this report that shows "Wi-fi"? It sounds like some malware app that calls itself "Wi-fi" to look less suspicious.

Use the embedded image display tool via imgur rather than an outside 3rd party tool to host your images. https://meta.stackexchange.com/questions/75491/how-to-upload-an-image-to-a-post

Do you have the hotspot feature enabled? That would mean your device provides WiFi to other devices, which would use your mobile data to access the Internet.

no, Mobile Hotspot is off.

FYI I have added some information abd more screenshots

I think I have found out what the problem is.  It seems someone installed a spyware and named it Wi-Fi. It was installed as a system application so I am unable to uninstall it but I could desactivate it .   Thank you Dan for suggesting it might be a malware, that gave me something to look into.

As suggested by Dan Hulme, this is a malware app that called itself 'Wi-Fi'.  After his comments, I read the below post by Srihari Karanth that helped me to identify that ''Wi-Fi'' was in fact a Mobile tracker app.
Srihari's post
''To know if a spy app is installed first check your Device Administrator list to see if there are any apps which you have not downloaded yourself. If you find any apps, no matter the name, no matter the icon of the app, just disable the privilege and uninstall it from application list as valid system applications will not be listed in there. Device Administrator list can be found under Settings -> Security or Settings -> Application.''
thank you


text:
WhatsApp away from Wi Fi?
When I am away from WiFi, I do not want to receive nor send messages or media on WhatsApp.  Where on my Moto G can I make this setting?  Thanks !!

There is no standard way, on Whatsapp, to disable send/receive messages. When I want to save my internet, I just go to the phone's configuration and disable all internet conections (leaving just Wifi on, since it is "free") - but it would affect all apps.
The best you could do on Whatsapp is to not download media - go to Configuration -> Storage Data and disable all automatic media download.

It is possible to restrict background data usage for certain apps. Here, "data" or "mobile data" means the Internet connection you get through 4G or 3G, and not what you get through Wi-fi. (I don't know how to restrict foreground data usage for certain apps, so you would have to also avoid opening WhatsApp if you don't want it to use data.)

Go to "Settings", "Connections", "Data usage".
Tap "Mobile data usage"
Scroll down and tap "WhatsApp", or whatever app you want to restrict
Turn off "Allow background data usage"


text:
Is there a way to disable fingerprint reader on OnePlus 5T?
I'm using a OnePlus 5T, which is running Android 8.1. Since the face-unlock works perfectly, I don't need the fingerprint reader much. In addition, I often touch the reader accidentally and the phone gets unlocked without my intention.
I only see the following settings related to fingerprint.

When I click a fingerprint, there are two options:

Rename fingerprint
Delete fingerprint

I couldn't find any option to disable the fingerprint reader. Actually I don't know what happens when all fingerprints are deleted, but I don't want to delete them.
Is it possible to disable the fingerprint reader without deleting fingerprints?
Edit: I use my fingerprint to sign in to some apps, thus I want to disable fingerprint-unlock only.

What's holding you off from deleting the fingerprints? Are you using them elsewhere?

@AndyYan I haven't discovered what else I can or cannot do with the fingerprints yet, so I want to keep them. (P.S. I've been using this phone for 2 days)


text:
What is "flash" partition?
I were going to flash recovery, but this happened:
$ fastboot flash flash twrp-3.2.3-x_blu_spark_v8.83_treble-op5_op5t.img
Sending 'flash' (28672 KB) OKAY [ 0.675s]
Writing 'flash' OKAY [ 0.013s]
Finished. Total time: 0.694s

And then, I've tried to actually flash recovery:
$ fastboot flash recovery twrp-3.2.3-x_blu_spark_v8.83_treble-op5_op5t.img
Sending 'recovery' (28672 KB) FAILED (remote: No such partition.)
Finished. Total time: 0.008s

So, I don't even knew, that "flash" partition exists
My question is - what is "flash" partition and how to recover it now? I'm still in fastboot because afraid to reboot, to not mess things up even more
Thanks in advance
Device is OnePlus 5T and I was on latest OxygenOS Open Beta 13, if it matters
UPD: I've tried to turn it off, but it rebooted, and everything just fine.
So my questions now:
Why it said that "flash" flashed successfully?
Why it failed t find recovery after that?
Why everything fine now?

Interesting. I've never heard of that.

If you have not already solved it, try to erase the partions first using "fastboot erase recovery" "fastboot erase boot" and boot into twrp again using fastboot boot twrp afterwards, then using an otg and usb or somehow accessing the internal storage flash over the rom.


text:
Web messages interface - How do I control if messages are sent as SMS or MMS?
I've been using messages.android.com for a few weeks now and it's amazing, even if sluggish when "new conversation" is clicked.
The only issue I have is that if I'm texting more than one person it  switches to sending as MMS and I can't seem to control it. I tried this but that setting doesn't seem to be listed. I'm using the default Messaging app on a dual sim moto g5. My phone recently upgraded itself to Android 8 but it hasn't solved the issue. It seems to happen, even with very short messages, and even if it's just text without any subject or media. The message converts to MMS as soon as I add a second recipient. Any suggestions? I will add a Windows steps recorder when I have a bit more time. If I add two recipients to a text message on the phone itself it works as normal and remains an SMS.
It would be useful if someone could see if they get the same behaviour.
Another edit: the problem persists with the new interface, whether opened directly or through a redirection from the old one.

When you add a media item such as a photo to your message it automatically turns the message into a MMS

Thanks for your response, but I'm afraid it happens even if it's just text. The message converts to MMS as soon as I add a second recipient. However, what you're saying is true, so I won't mark your answer down. In fact, I will edit my question to make it clearer.


text:
Can I emulate my NFC credit/bankcard with my phone?
down vote
favorite
Samsung Pay, Google Pay, Apple Pay or anything else isn't enabled in my country, but I do know that my card is using NFC. From what I have read there is a possibility that it can't be simply copied, because it actually doesn't transmit the card number and only encrypts something it sends. But I also read that some older cards don't use this yet and can be copied.
How can I find out which is the case? And in case it's an older card, how can I copy it onto my phone?
I have an Samsung S7 with Oreo (international model), maybe that matters because it has Samsung pay capabilities? I can also root it in case that is needed.


text:
phone stuck in recovery and blank screen
so i have a condor plume L1 the the default rom was full of bloatware every 30 sec i get an add so i used adb to install twrp and wanted to install a custom rom but i had a problem with /data couldnt mount and stuck with that problems for days after that i decided to flash it and install the original rom using SP flash too everything looked fine but after its done andi unpluged the phone i got a blank screen when i press Power + vol up botton i get a menu
- recovery
- fastboot
- normal`

and when i go to any option its just blank screen adb no longer recognize my phone but sp flash tool recognize my phone when i choose fastboot

Was your phone encrypted? If it was, use fastboot to erase data with fastboot erase data and, if the problem is encryption, you'll be fine.

erasing data mean i'll lose the rom i have on the phone memory but i'll try it

You won't lose the ROM, only the user data. The ROM is found in the system partition, unless you are referring to the ROM zip file.

i used an earlier version of twrp and that fixed the problem for me but now i'm getting error 255 every time i try to install the new rom zip file from the phone internal  memory


text:
Stock image dump for running Magisk necessary?
In the offitical installation instructions for Magisk it says: “However, you MUST have a stock boot image dump beforehand, and you also have to be able to flash the patched boot image, either through fastboot/download mode or ODIN”
What’s the rationale for having the stock boot image dump beforehand?
If the rationale is to have a backup when something goes wrong, then strictly having a stock boot image dump is not necessary for running Magisk.
Furthermore, it is unclear to me how to create that dump.
PS: My plan is to root the Xiaomi A2, to be able to directly interface with USB OTG devices from within Termux. The Xiaomi A2 is an Android One device.

Stock image dump for running Magisk necessary?

No. Far more easier is to use the flashable ZIP that does all- That performs all the steps: backing up the boot image, creating a patched version, flashing that, installing Magisk Manager (thanks to Izzy in comments)
But to clarify on the instructions

What’s the rationale for having the stock boot image dump beforehand?

For devices that don't have custom recovery but you would want to root
Magisk needs the stock boot image for two things

To be able to patch it so that Magisk can be installed.

If you wish to uninstall Magisk, it replaces the patched boot image with stock boot image

Furthermore, it is unclear to me how to create that dump

For MiA1 you can see the details on this XDA thread. In essence:

You need to have fastboot image of the stock ROM (for MiA1 they are released every month)

Extract boot.img and store it on your device

Install Magisk Manager .Tap on Install on the prompt and then "Patch Boot Image File". Select the untouched boot.img through your File Explorer. Wait for it to do its thing.
The patched_boot.img was created and it should be located at /storage/emulated/0/MagiskManager/patched_boot.img.

Copy the patched boot.img to your PC and fastboot into it (fastboot boot patched_boot.img)

From Magisk manager Direct Install and you are done

If that is too much work, you can wait for somebody at XDA to provide patched boot images
Edit : See this for more How do you root a device with Magisk when it doesn't have a custom recovery


text:
Why are homescreen icons bouncing?
My wife and I just got new Essential phones running Android 9 (Pie.) On my wife's phone, the docked toolbar icons at the bottom of the homescreen bounce every few seconds, as if they're asking for attention.
She didn't install any weird UI tweak to force this. What is the purpose of the bouncing?

Likely hinting at "swipe up for app drawer" - do that a few times and it should be gone.

@AndyYan never saw it happen in the past year or two, so perhaps that's what was going on.

I went back into settings, system, gestures, and toggled "swipe up on home button" off then back on.


text:
Can I unlink ringtone and notification volume on Android 6?
I have installed this volume control app on my Android 6.0 phone in order to tune notification volume independently from ringtone volume. However, when I tried to do that, I got the following dialog:

Could someone tell me where the above-mentioned setting is located? I have searched through the Sound&Notifications section, but didn't find anything.
Could it mean that the app doesn't support Android 6, or that it doesn't work without rooting?

There is no setting to do that in stock Android. when the app is installed it asks for permissions to modify volume state. Did you do that? I am actually surprised that this app claims to do that since AFAIK it requires root to do that

@beeshyams Yep, the app asked for permissions on startup (something volume- and call-related) which I granted.

I still think it is not possible without root

I'm not sure how to do it on Android, but there's an app called Volume Buttler that can do it without rooting your phone. https://www.guidingtech.com/separate-ringtone-notification-volume-android/

@Jakke I don't have that phone any more to test, but I remember having tried several such apps and none of them worked on Android 6.

After having tried out several volume control apps without success, I think I can safely conclude that unlinking ringtone and notification volume controls is indeed impossible without rooting.


text:
Fast Roaming Protocols (802.11k, 802.11r, 802.11v)
Does Android support the 802.11 specifications that allow fast roaming, i.e. prevent dropouts as you move between access points? If so, on what hardware and in what version?
802.11k assists the device in its search for nearby APs that are available as roaming targets by creating an optimised list of channels. When the signal strength of the current AP weakens, device will scan for target APs from this list.
802.11r authenticates more quickly through Fast Basic Service Set Transition (FT).
802.11v allows the network’s control layer to influence client roaming behaviour by providing it the load information of nearby access points. Device takes this "BSS transition management" information into account when deciding among the possible roam targets.
Apple's iOS does, as documented here and here. Windows 10 does if the WiFi adapter supports it as documented here and here (suspect latter is currently out of date with respect to PSK & open networks).
Some Samsung models do, as documented here.
But I can't find anything on stock Android (Google Pixel).

Looks like at least Samsung supports that for several devices (listed there) as part of their Knox. Android Source Code at least mentions 802.11k, also R (#2296) and v (#1595) – so I'd guess the answer is "Yes" – if the hardware supports it.

I think regardless of whether Android supports this or not, the drivers/modules for the WiFi hardware, and the hardware itself, must be capable of supporting these standard protocols, and this is not just about the Android OS being capable.

Having now created 802.11r, k & v infrastructure firstly with Unifi and then OpenWRT, I can now say definitively that at least the Google Pixel 6 & 7 Pro running Android 12 & 13 do. I can walk from one side of my house to the other without dropping a WhatsApp/WiFi Calling/Teams/Skype call.
Based on my experience, OpenWRT is the best way to get to this point but have to say that it has been tricky. The advantage of open source vs. Ubiquiti shenanigans; not needing a controller; and having freedom of choice wrt cost-competitive equipment (BT Home Hub 5A, Xiaomi 4A Gigabit edition & TP-Link EAP235 & EAP615) and the control outweighs the more challenging & less guided learning curve.
The biggest benefit for me came from Fast Transition (802.11r) (Note that this now works for WPA3 too). And that WPA2-PSK allows Over the DS in addition to Over the Air, as each access point can derive the required required PMKR1 on its own (i.e. without non-standardised CAPWAP communication). Although Andrew McHale's 802.11k/r/v testing concludes Over the DS isn't as good as logic might suggest, as does my own (rather less rigorous) testing.
Neighbourhood Reporting (802.11k) must be helpful but I can't say that I really notice the additional benefit and does require some interAP communication or careful configuration to set up. I found https://github.com/simonyiszk/openwrt-rrm-nr-distributor very useful and instructive.
802.11v reports as working, but the benefit at least in my scenario is not at all clear.

Each of those amendments you listed above include a collection of methods/mechanisms/features that have been incorporated into the IEEE 802.11 standard to achieve particular goals/improvements. Whether or not these are supported on a device will depend on the following:

Specific feature/mechanism
Android version
Device vendor implementation and drivers

Also, keep in mind that in order for these features to work, they not only need to be supported on the client device but also supported and enabled at the infrastructure level (e.g. access points).
Another thing specific to 802.11r (FT) is that it will improve transition times when using 802.1X/EAP (WPA-Enterprise) security. On a preshared key (WPA-Personal) network, the difference will be negligible at best.
Last but not least, even if all those mechanisms are supported and enabled you could still experience roaming issues. That's because a wireless network needs to be designed at Layer 1 (RF) so as to provide for a good roaming experience, among other things.

These could be of help:
Crowdsourced client device 11v support list: https://clients.mikealbano.com/home
More info about WLAN roaming: https://community.ubnt.com/t5/UniFi-Wireless/Wireless-LAN-Roaming-FAQ/m-p/1825118


text:
Why the pattern to power down
attempting to power off my samsung t560nu to prepair for a hard reset upon pressing the power button the tablet requests the security pattern why is it doing this the pattern is the reason im trying to factory reset

This all comes after I put a security pattern on the Tab E gave it to my mother for christmas.she put it in a drawer and 8 months later demands that I produce the pattern

Instead of making comments on your question, you should edit the original question to make it clear. Comments are meant to clarify the question and additional information or details should be added to the original question. This is a Q&A group, so your question should be clearly defined with all relevant information contained within the question. It should not be for potential answer givers to guess or assume your question.

You really don't have a question here, but since you seem new I will not down vote or attempt to close it because I think I can guess at it.
I assume you want to know why this occurs, it is simple security.
The "fix" is just as easy, hold down the power button and continue to hold for about 15-30 seconds and the device should hard reboot (essentially like pressing the RESET button on your computer).
You will need to perform the factory reset via recovery, so know the key combo and be ready to hold it immediately at restart, it might take a few tries to get the timing right.
Remember you will likely need the username and password of the Google account that resides on this device, or the reset will not matter and you will be locked in FRP.


text:
Why I cannot find google Cantonese input in play store?
I watched this video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jqz3Fv9PcRo
I want to download the same app, the video was just a few months old. However, I could not find the app.
My location is US.

The developer has may be restricted the app for your region, or your devices doesn't meet the requirement that the app requires, etc. Try contacting the devs

I searched the package name of the app you are talking about is com.google.android.apps.inputmethod.cantonese I didn't find any thing on play store There might be 3 reasons for it
Reason 1 -> The app is not available in your region
Reason 2 -> Your device does not support the App
Reason 3 -> The App was unlisted from playstore
the first option seems more likely
Any way you can always download the APK from external sources , might not be the safest but it works


text:
How to reduce power consumption? - Honor 7
so I have an honor 7, had it over 2 years now. It has seen better days, I need a new phone however don't have the money as of yet. The phone must always be connect to a charger, using a fast charging source and cable (I've got decent power bank). If it isn't charging it will turn off almost instantly - always says the power is at 100% - and if it's charging with a non-fast charger, it also turns off. However even while connected to a fast charger if i use it too much (15min) it gets very warm and again, turns off.
I'm looking for as many ways to reduce power consumption as much as possible, but will still allow me to use my phone normally - e.g snapchat -
I'm happy to root my phone if it's needed to turn off certain stock apps for example.
Any and all help/advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Tried Greenify?

I'm happy to root my phone if it's needed to turn off certain stock apps for example.

If the problem is related to apps then the battery drain will not be instantaneous as in your case .
It looks like a battery problem to me, try replacing a new battery and it think it should fix the problem


text:
Block Probe Requests (SSID leak / active WiFi scan)
I have a simple question. I don't want my Android devices to do active WiFi scans because this way the SSIDs of all APs the device has ever connected to get leaked.
How can I block all probe requests? Could it be done using iptables?
(I don't care about the fact that auto connecting takes a few seconds longer if you only do passive scans. I don't care about closed-source apps like Pry Fi. I don't want to disable WiFi when I'm not using it. I don't want to use apps like Wi-Fi Privacy Police that alter the WiFi scans depending on your GPS location.)


text:
How to view history of data/apps I sent using Wi-Fi direct to another phone?
I am using Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean) on one of my phones. I want to see apps/files/data I sent to another phone using Wi-Fi direct.
I did a bit of research on this topic, but I found no answer to this question. I cannot find any option. I even searched "Files" but there was no option related to sending files/apps via Wi-Fi direct.
Is it possible to see apps/files/data I sent through Wi-Fi direct?

I recomend you to try SilFer. SilFer can transfer files using Hotspot, WiFi, WiFi-Direct. The app is available for Android, Linux,Mac and Windows.
Download the app on Google Play:
SilFer File Transfer - Android Apps on Google Play

I do not want any app right now. I just want to see my history of files and apps that are transfered using Wi-Fi Direct.


text:
Nexus 9 WiFi tablet permanently in awake state
I've recently been observing heavy battery drain during idle periods on my Nexus 9 tablet. The key here appears to be the awake status of the tablet. The left hand side of the picture shows a solid line indicating awake permanently. I found this for a number of days before I fixed the issue. The solution I will outline below in an answer to my own question.

I found the answer was to turn off the tablet, then start the tablet in recovery mode (hold volume down and power). You will get an Android robot lying down, press volume up and power to get to the menu. You need to enter recovery mode, then wipe the cache partition. It took around 10-15 minutes for me, but I've seen reports of longer. When that completes, reboot and the issue should go away. As you can see from my original image, the battery life is significantly improved.


text:
Which option to choose in Redwolf TWRP Recovery for OTA update support?
I recently flashed the redwolf twrp recovery on my Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 (Snapdragon variant; code name - mido) which runs on MIUI10 (beta) based on Android 7.0 Nougat.
Now the reason behind the flashing is the fact that it supports the incremental OTA update.
But I have a problem in understanding which option I should choose to support the OTA updates. In fact, the redwolf twrp recovery I flashed is the latest build and there is no mention on the internet which option I should tick. Here is the image of the page:

Can anyone guide me?

Did you search on XDA thread for the recovery. Cursory search indicates you need to select the unselected option too

Here is a guide on XDA-Dev - https://forum.xda-developers.com/redmi-note-4/how-to/red-wolf-install-twrp-root-device-t3708337 But buddy i am sure about redwolf ota working with miui 10 beta, still googling, i'll update when i figure this out. Good luck.


text:
How do I import my contacts from broken Galaxy S7 to new S7?
My Galaxy S7 got water under the cracked screen and now the screen is completely blank but the phone still works. My contacts are not backed up on Google or SD or SIM card.
All PC programs that can retrieve my contacts require me to turn on USB debugging, which I can't do because I can't see what's on the screen.
How do I move my contacts over to my replacement S7?

Please start with checking out broken-screen tag-wiki and the questions using that tag. You're certainly not the first one with this issue. If it's only the contacts: had you synced them somewhere (by default they are synced with Google)?

I found the solution! No USB debugging or root required! Use the Connect program on Windows 10 and watch this tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42yvWG-w49s. The video shows the option as "Screen Sharing" but that's only for LG phones. On Samsung the option is in the notification drop down and is called "Smart View." Works the exact same way.


text:
option to creat folder in touchwiz gone
hi i have touchwiz installed on my android and i can create folders but when i flash a custom rom and install touchwiz from the app store the option to create folders in the app drawer is missing does anyone know why or how i could fix this? or recommend another launcher that allows me to create folders in app drawer thanks.
this is the launcher i was using from playstore
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.galaxy.s.launcher

do you mean folders on home screen?

does anyone know why

The launcher you installed is not actually Touchwiz. As the description in Google Play says, it's a third-party "Touchwiz-style" launcher, not affiliated with Samsung at all. You can't actually install the Touchwiz launcher on your custom ROM, because it depends on Samsung's proprietary libraries, which are only included in the stock ROM.
You just need to look for another launcher that supports the feature you like. We can't help you with that here, though, as this site only works with specific questions and answers, not app recommendations.


text:
"App not found" for only applications in folders and on SD card
I rebooted my Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge this morning, however, upon restart any applications that are on the SD card and in a folder get the message "App Not Found" when trying to launch. These apps also have the grey SD card icon.
Moving the app out into the root tray allows the application to launch. However, moving the app to internal storage doesn't.
Uninstalling and reinstalling an app doesn't help. Neither does clearing system cache.
Is there a fix for this? The workaround is to move all apps out of folders, but this means I can't organise them as well.

Solution appeared to be :

settings
apps
show system apps on menu
Samsung experience home
clear cache
force stop

I did this. It didn't work. I then set about moving the apps I'd moved back to the internal memory starting with iPlayer. As soon as I had moved iPlayer the icons for the other apps I'd moved to the SD card regained their colour (they'd previously been greyed out) and started working...
This was on Galaxy Tab Active.

1) Try Restart.
2) Unmount sd card, then clicked on mount sd card.
3) Try Another Launcher


text:
When will google assistant support Cantonese?
I heard that google assistant is going to support more language, there is no real date. Anyone know about when it will be released?


text:
What does the usage data access permission allow
I only just now became aware of the "Apps with usage access" preference view. However I'm irritated.
The permission was deemed important enough as to warrant a separate setting view to provide control and summary to the user, while at the same time there is almost no explanation as to what it does. On my OnePlus, there is not even a help page.
So, exactly what kind of access does an app get if it requests (and receives) usage data access? And if usage data I would really like to know what kind of usage data.
Android version is 8.1, should that make a difference.

Not a developer here
Apps granted this permission have access to data pertaining to usage of other apps, like in my case Better Battery Statistics, Macrodroid (automation app) and  such apps that need to know this
App usage statistics

You can now access app usage history on an Android device with the new android.app.usage API
The system collects the usage data on a per-app basis, aggregating the data over daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly intervals. The maximum duration that the system keeps this data is as follows:

Daily data: 7 days
Weekly data: 4 weeks
Monthly data: 6 months
Yearly data: 2 years

For each app, the system records the following data:

The last time the app was used
The total length of time the app was in the foreground for that time interval (by day, week, month, or year)
Timestamp capturing when a component (identified by a package and activity name) moved to the foreground or background during a day
Timestamp capturing when a device configuration changed (such as when the device orientation changed because of rotation)

That was pretty complete, thank you! (Though I wonder why BitDefender needs that permission, seems pretty useless for an Anti-Virus)

You are welcome. I have no idea as to why that app needs it !

Virus Scanners are supposed to monitor other apps. That's what they are for.

@ashleedawg They are meant to scan apps for viruses, not track how I use apps.


text:
By accident, factory data reset on wrong phone. Still possible to recover photos?
-Is there a way to recover at least some of the photos after factory data reset on S9 +?
-Background: My sister gave me a Galaxy S9 + as a birthday present. Wonderful birthday party, took great photos with my new toy. But I was surprised because for her, S9 + is an important expense. Next day, I asked her if she wants my S7. She said yes. I didn't think and performed factory data reset on the new S9 +. All photos of a great evening gone.

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts! HAve you already seen our data-recovery tag-wiki – and there the corresponding question My Android phone is completely reset, whats the best way to recover the deleted data??

Yes you can try the following;

Download and install Android Phone Recovery on your computer. Then connect your Android phone or tablet to computer.
Run Data Recovery software for Android. Enable USB debugging on your device, the program will automatically identify your Android device, and then click “Start” to search for lost files.
After scanning, all found files will be listed. Preview and check to recover data after factory reset Android.

More information can be found here


text:
How can I install a system app that I uninstalled?
I used a backup app to first make a backup of the .apk file of the system app, and then uninstalled it. When I try installing it again, I get "application not installed".
How can I go about that? I don't know in which place the .apk was stored originally.

Usually, you put the APK back to where you deleted it from. As in your case you didn't check that (but used a backup app to extract it), that "original place" usually is /system/priv-app. Check the structure in that directory (it differs between Android versions), then place your .apk accordingly. After that, don't forget to reboot – as only after that the APK will be loaded.
Note (you know that but others might miss it): in order to write to /system you need to mount it read-write first:
su
mount -o remount,rw /system
# do the copy here
mount -o remount,ro /system

As you have to reboot anyway, you can skip the last step as the boot process then takes care for it.


text:
Attempted Nexus 6P bootloop fix, then factory reset, now won't boot at all
My Nexus 6P started bootlooping and since it was out of warranty neither Google or Huawei could help me. I researched online and found the following solution: https://www.xda-developers.com/nexus-6p-bootloop-fix/
I followed the instructions and was able to get it all installed but when it came to reboot I got stuck on the Google logo for over an hour.
I then did a factory reset from recovery mode and now the device gets to the animated loading screen but always fails. It says "Can't load Android system. Your data may be corrupt..." Even after multiple clearing of the caches and data I can't load the phone.
I can no longer see the device under adb or fastboot and I am sure it is because USB Debugging is no longer set. I can't set this again because I can't get into the device. The Bootloader is still unlocked.
What options do I have?
EDIT: The recovery mode states "Supported API: 3"

I was able to fix it using the following:

After failing to boot select "Retry"
Immediately press power and down volume to enter bootloader
Enter Recovery
Reload bootloader from Recovery
It is now able to be seen by fastboot
Downloaded the latest flash image from Google
Ran the flash-all.sh

And then it worked. I immediately went in and set up USB-debugging


text:
Why is Google Assistant so Slow?
I am using Google Assistant on LineageOS Android 7.1...
Using Assistant is like this:

"Ok Google"
1-5 second wait for beep
Speak command
5-10 second wait for Google Assistant app
2-5 second wait for analysis to show
5-15 second wait for application launch (such as TuneIn or Pandora)

Why is this so slow? I'm better off doing it by hand - which should not be. It should be like this:

"Ok Google"
beep
Speak command
Needed application launches

No waiting, no delays, "it just works."
To add to this - if the display goes to sleep Google Assistant doesnt respond at all, and all attempts to fix seem to assume that Android 7 = Android 7.0 (not 7.1).
I'm using LineageOS 14.1 (Android 7.1.2) June 29, 2018 on a Samsung S5.

Can we assume you are speaking clearly, enunciating sufficiently for understanding, with clear environment around you to eliminate distraction, using the proper phraseology, acceptable to the speech recognition? Have you tried letting someone else repeat your commands on your device, or have they let you try on theirs?

It understands me fine - but even after recognition, it's slow. It could be in part because the Google Assistant is slow to load up - but beyond that I've no idea why or how to speed it up.


text:
Data recover/transfer from a disk image
Situation. I have a .img disk image file obtained from a .vmdk file via a virtualbox conversion, the latter being created by an Android 4.4.2 emulator. I'm trying to recover some app data and transfer it to a new, working, .img file.
What I did. I extracted APKs and copied app data folders (com.devname.appname) from/to the /data/data directory. I did that using a file manager and via Ubuntu terminal. I also attempted to copy the folders to /Android/data. Although cp -ar retains files permissions and ownership, that was of no use after the import into the working image.
The problem (and a workaround). When the APKs are installed, a new uid (in the 10000 group) is generated for them. These values are unknown when I import the data folders, hence they are destroyed at phone boot. A log in /data/system/uiderrors.txt confirms this. The only way I could make it work was to install the APK, run the app so that the new data folders are created with a proper uid, replace those folders with old ones and fix ownership and permissions accordingly (for every app). This turned out to be effective, but it's a very tedious and error-prone process.
Is there a proper way to achieve this result?
Probably noteworthy:

Folders are copied after the APK is installed. The APK won't install if folders are there already.
Original image has some Android data corrupted, so it cannot be mounted in the emulator. loop mount works properly, though.
I didn't modify packages.list and packages.xml files (should I?).

This problem exists even for popular/common backup-restore apps such as Titanium Backup; I know of no way to rectify it. +1 and would like to see a solution as well. It would be of less significance after Android 8.x though - now the name of APK folders are hashed too so you can't figure that part out either.

Thanks. I wasn't aware of that change in Oreo, good to know. I was also wondering  how backup apps and ADB backup/restore commands handle file permissions.


text:
Removing Encryption from Android Backup
I made a backup of my android using twrp recovery, at that time I had setup PIN as password in the device. After that, i installed some other custom OS, but later thought of switching to it, everything goes well, except it asks for password, and when i enter the same PIN I had setup before, it says incorrect password, is there any way to remove that PIN from the backup itself?? Or removing the PIN after restoring the backup? I don't want to lose my data as well. My mobile is MI A1. Any solutions to it??

The latter might be possible, see our locked-out tag-wiki and the questions using that tag.


text:
Query editing apk name
Will it effect working of app if I change name of apk using apk editor?
It's an VPN app and I want to change apk package name.
I'm not the owner of the apk and using apk editor app to modify the name.

Some apps contain an "repackaging protection" which will detect name changes and/or resigning and then quit/kill the app.

thanks for your answer Robert, but the app runs fine without crash.Asking about background process of data collection by app as the app is related to research.

An app that does not crashes necessarily means it runs correctly. If you want to make sure everything is working perform tests, collect the logcat output and scan for Exceptions and decompile the app to understand what it does. Anyway I still not understand why you want to change the package name of an VPN app.


text:
Google Keep Not Syncing Notes
Google keep has stopped syncing all of my notes all of a sudden. Notes created on Android phone are not available on the web version and vice versa. It was working all fine till yesterday. The Google help was not of any help. Anything Else I can do? I have restarted, checked the sync settings and updates etc.

Okay. Found a way to fix this here ( https://www.thetechminute.com/fix-google-keep-not-syncing-notes-images/). It is a temporary solution though. Removing and re-adding the Gmail account associated with Keep account did the trick. But, it only stays for an hour so and the problem re-appears again. But, at least, I can sync my stuck notes and images for now.

There's one problem with this suggestion. If you have notes that you have added AFTER not syncing, you WILL lose them all the moment you remove your Google account. I faced that, losing more than 100 important notes with no way to recover. Your notes are tied to the account they were added to. So be vary if this fact.


text:
How to grant permissions to ADB?
I can use ADB while in recovery mode (TWRP) so to use it normally, I followed Android - Enable ADB from recovery to enable USB debugging. There is always an error while switching users, granting permissions, unhiding apps, using am and pm commands.
This is the error that always comes:

Error: java.lang.SecurityException: Neither user 2000 nor current process has android.permission.INSTALL_PACKAGES.

How to grant permissions to ADB?

Call "adb root" before calling "pm install -r xxx.apk"

It's true that this gets the job done of installing an app, but it doesn't address how to grant a permission to adb. :-)


text:
No internet access using USB tethering on Android phone
I used to access the internet on my notebook by tethering it to my android mobile phone. However recently this stopped working. Even though the notebook was tethered to the phone there was no internet access. Changing phone settings did not help.

On googling I found that my mobile service provider recently disabled internet access over tethering. This can be fixed by the following the steps described here.

Enable USB debugging on your android phone (Settings > Developer options > Enable USB debugging).
Download adb.exe from here and follow the steps here.
Connect the phone to your computer using USB cable.
Open command window in the folder containing adb.exe.
Type: adb devices -l (this will list your device model).
Type: adb shell (to enter in your mobile's shell).
Type: settings put global tether_dun_required 0.
Reboot your phone and you're done!

After a lot of headache and trying everything, including Martin's answer (but I got no permissions error when I tried settings...), this solved the problem for me:
Go to Configurations > Wireless & Networks > Mobile Networks > Access Point Names, make a copy of the default selected APN (you probably need to input a copy all by hand after going to "New APN" in a menu), and then in the copy add ,dun to APN type (if it was default, make it default,dun).

I have resolved this issue by changing the APN in mobile. Go to your cellular network -> choose new APN with the same configuration of your selected one or create new APN with the same configuration of current one.


text:
Can't get to fastboot. nor twrp nor OS - Xiaomi mi 5X/A1
I'm having a problem with my Xiaomi mi 5X and i wondered if someone on this forum could help me solve it.
As i said, i have a Xiaomi mi 5X but i changed its firmware and OS to the one of Mi A1 (Android One).
Today I was trying to install on my device the GCam app, with the tool Mi A1 GCam.
After I clicked the "Enable HAL3, EIS and install" the phone went dark. Now i can't boot into the OS, nor the twrp nor to the fastboot mode. When i try to do it i have to hold down the power button and corresponding volume key for several seconds and the Android One boot screen appears but just in a flash, and goes dark again.
Can any of you help me, please?
Thank you

Have you tried using adb?
If you haven't got it already, download the SDK tools for windows from https://developer.android.com/studio/ under the "Command line tools only" section, and unzip it where you want.
Once you've done that, open a command prompt in the platform-tools folder within the SDK directory. The command
adp devices

will tell you that your device is connected. Then you can try
adp reboot recovery

If that doesn't work, install the universal adp driver and try again.


text:
How to edit a text file in a ZIP or RAR archive, without manual extract/compression?
I have a text file in a compressed file (RAR/ZIP). On my desktop, I happen to be able to edit it, and then WinRAR or 7-Zip sends a message saying the text file was changed and asking if I want to update it.
The same thing seems impossible to do in Android 8.1.0. I have tried ZArchiver, ZArchiver Pro, RAR from Rarlab, and several text editors, but in the end, the zip file is never updated with the changes I make in the text.
I also tried MiXplorer and MiX Archive (the archive plugin), and although it's a powerful tool, it's not working. When I try to save the text file, it says "Not supported!" regardless of the zip or rar file. I wonder if it's because the archive has a password. It also seems it can't open the zip file directly from the Dropbox app, providing the same "not supported!" error.
Does anyone know a way? Or a way that allows me to set a password on a text file that is cross-platform between Android and Windows? Any hint, or any other tool I could try? In the settings of MiXplorer, it doesn't seem anything could help.

You can't just "edit" an entry in-place in a RAR/ZIP file because it's compressed.
You'll need to decompress it, edit the files as needed, and then re-compress it.
WinRAR (Windows) do this steps automatically. Up to now, I couldn't find an application do like WinRAR (Windows) on Android OS.

I beg to differ here slightly...I tested the feature with mixplorer and it works, but your reasoning is pretty much correct, this operation is simply not supported 'out of the box'

Are you sure MiXplorer do it without decompressing? I think because of built-in text editor, it were worked.

Pretty sure, I reckon it does it the same way as Winrar on Windows does, the process may be 'automatic' but essentially you don't manually decompress the file

@xavier_fakerat Actually, the answerer is right. The only difference between the app you mention is that it hides the unpacking and repacking procedures to the user. Edit: granted, you don't manually decompress anything, as the program handles everything.


text:
Using Google Maps in a car with a Hotspot and a cell phone with no sim card
I have a  AT&T Samsung Galaxy 7.
I have another AT&T phone with no sim card.
I have a verizon hotspot and will be purchasing an AT&T hotspot as i am converting to almost full time RV'ing.
Is it possible to use google maps, Waze, or any other driving app like that with my no-sim card phone through one of my hotspots as i drive the country ?

Given that I've sat in a moving bus only using WiFi an can see the blue dot in Google Maps move down the street, it should work.
You may have location problems if there isn't any GPS signal and you are in an area where there is little geolocated WiFi hotspots/signals.

Are you saying there a difference between geolocated WiFi hotspots/signals and cellphone geolocated signals ??
If it works as well with a hotspot as a direct cellphone with a sim card, then that's all i'm looking for...

Personally I would keep a phone with valid sim in reserve, but my point is that in urban areas GPS signals may not be the best so the location service drops back to WiFi hotspot triangulation, if you are using a phone, cell tower location will be used for triangulation as well. Replace urban with other rural area with poor GPS signal same fallbacks to cell tower/wifi hotspots occurs. I don't believe AGPS is passed along via hotspot.


text:
How to revoke root permission to an app in adb?
I think I have got a scam app in my device. I granted it root access and then whenever I open an app it,the scame app closes the app. Please help me I am stuck in here.
Aah my head is aching.

This seems to be an XY problem. The correct question would be how to solve this problem. Then the answer would be: adb uninstall <package_name_of_scam_app>.

Well, does the ADB shell have root access? If so, all you need to do is access the ADB shell via a computer (I assume, that you know how to do that already, since you asked that you'd like to solve it specifically through ADB) and type in the following command: pm revoke *scamming apps package name here* android.permission.ACCESS_SUPERUSER This will revoke the root permission of the app. You might wanna revoke more of it's permission if you want to easily uninstall it, though.

Open Settings. Then Apps. hit the top 3 dots on top screen to show system apps.
then scroll all the way to the bottom of the apps list ,you may or may not see a app you do not know or a weird app with no name, if so delete this app right away it is a virus.
Usually you have to do this is the app in question is not coming up in the normal app list.


text:
How can I share my wifi Internet connection from Android phone to a Linux Raspberry Pi?
How can I share my wifi Internet connection from an Android phone to a Linux Raspberry Pi?
I am trying to share my Wifi connection from the phone to a Raspberry Pi 3B. USB tethering is connected. I can access the RPi3 from the phone over SSH. But when I try to ping some website or browse I get the error message from Terminal:
Network is unreachable.
Any advice?
Vesa

Does your carrier allow tethering? Some carriers/operators only allow tethering on select plans (usually the most expensive ones). Tethering detection typically involves checking the value in the TTL (Time to Live) field of the packets sent out by your phone.

I have no carrier on this phone. But I couldn't get the setup to work on the other phone either. Both phones are unlocked and "unblocked". Please note I'm not trying to share 4G to USB tethering but wifi from public wifi to USB tethering.


text:
Device encryption fails, gives no error and just restarts
Got a redmi note 5 pro, some time ago and I have been fiddling with it. I tried to encrypt the device when it ran Resurrection Remix OS, for some reason, it appears to be working and then less than 30 seconds later, it just shows me the lockscreen again. It never seems to encrypt.
Is it a problem in the latest oreo build or is it a problem in the ROM?
What might be a viable solution?

Encryption requires that 16KiB remain unused by the filesystem on the userdata partition. You can check if this is the issue by

Do adb logcat > android.log on a computer

enable developer options first
you might need to root, I don't think so though

Start the encryption process in settings

If this is the problem, you'll see the following in the logs:
E Cryptfs : Orig filesystem overlaps crypto footer region.  Cannot encrypt in place.

To fix this issue, you'll need to resize your userdata partition.

If it's ext4, I believe that you can use resize2fs to do this. I'm not sure how to do this though.

If it's f2fs, the process is quite a bit more involved:
Reboot into TWRP. Do adb shell on a computer. fdisk  -l /dev/block/sda to view the partition structure. You'll see something like this:
Logical sector size: 4096
Disk identifier (GUID): 98101b32-bbe2-4bf2-a06e-2bb33d000c20
Partition table holds up to 16 entries
First usable sector is 6, last usable sector is 14145530

Number  Start (sector)    End (sector)  Size       Code  Name
   1               6               7        8192   0700  ssd
   2               8            8199       32.0M   0700  persist
   3            8200           73735        256M   0700  cache
   4           73736           73991       1024K   0700  misc
   5           73992           74119        512K   0700  keystore
   6           74120           74151        128K   0700  devcfg
   7           74152           74183        128K   0700  devcfgbak
   8           74184           74311        512K   0700  frp
   9           74312           76871       10.0M   0700  oem_dycnvbk
  10           76872           79431       10.0M   0700  oem_stanvbk
  11           79432           79687       1024K   0700  param
  12           79688           81711       8096K   0700  reserve1
  13           81712           85759       15.8M   0700  reserve2
  14           85760           85887        512K   0700  config
  15           85888        14145530       53.6G   0700  userdata

Make a note of:

the "Logical sector size"
the partition number for userdata
the start sector for userdata
the end sector for userdata

Make a backup of this partition. You will lose the data on it if you don't, it will be explicitly wiped. I believe that TWRP has a function to do this, but I used a tarball & adb pull:
In adb shell:
~ # mount /dev/block/sda15
~ # tar -cpzf /mnt/fs.tar.gz /mnt/
tar: removing leading '/' from member names
tar: /mnt/misc/camera/cam_socket2: socket ignored
...
tar: /mnt/fs.tar.gz: file is the archive; skipping

then adb pull /mnt/fs.tar.gz
Unmount the partition using umount /mnt
Next, wipe part of the existing filesystem to make sure that we don't get any warnings when making the new filesystem: dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/block/sda<partition number> bs=1M count=128. This is the point of no return.
Create a new filesystem using the numbers you wrote down from before: calculate partition_size = end_sector - start_sector - (16384 / logical_sector_size) manually, and make a note of that number.
Then run mkfs.f2fs /dev/block/sda<partition number> <partition_size> to create a new partition of the appropriate size.
Mount it, and use adb push fs.tar.gz /mnt/ to send over your backed up data. cd /mnt; tar -xf fs.tar.gz; mv mnt/* .; rm -rf mnt fs.tar.gz to extract, and you're done!
Restart and retry encrypting! Hopefully everything will work.


text:
How to stop my phone from annoying me with software updates?
I'm getting constant notifications that a new software-update is available for my phone.
It's a motorola on android 7 and i do not want the software-update. I was getting notifications all day getting to the point where it's so aggressive I'd rename my phone to an "updates pager".
I did the following:
1) Tap build number 7 times to enable developer mode
2) Settings -> Developer Options -> Disable Automatic System Updates

And ever since the notifications per se stopped, but the phone still constantly (without the notification tho!) shows an activity (entire screen) telling me that there's a new software update.

Can someone help me to end my misery? The phone is not rooted. All stock.

Updating keeps your device safe. The update will install secuirty patches. Why don't you want to update?

I don't like new things. My most used device is actually still on Android 4, I prefer its looks and feel a lot over 5 and newer. Also the newer the version the less of a chance for an exploit to be found that let's me root the device - usually at least.

If you can run adb on it or via what you are trying in your other questions (via tablet), and if you can pin-point which app is showing that screen/activity about software update, you can try uninstalling that app (for your 'user 0'). Be warned that this may result in a boot loop or phone stuck at boot animation. I don't know how critical that app would be. Alternatively, you can skip adb and see if disable option is available under Settings -> Apps -> your system app.


text:
One end of usb cable got wet while still plugged into an outlet
I have a galaxy s7 edge phone. The usb cable for charging, the end that plugs into the phone (I think it's called a connector) got sticky due to some food. I used an antibacterial liquid to clean it. Unfortunately I noticed too late that the other end is still plugged in to an outlet because I felt some electricity through the end. I panicked and quickly dried the end that plugs to the phone. After drying, I Immediately plugged in my phone. It charged without any problems.
Given what happened, is my phone and my usb cable still safe from harm?

I don't think you can get a definitive answer but I would strongly  recommend using not using that cable any more
Reason being that the food matter and the anti bacterial liquid may have seeped a wee bit into the cable or form some conductance between the pins. Drying out fully is not easy unless you had used rubbing alcohol (isopropyl alcohol) which is generally recommended.
The fact that it is working fine now is no guarantee that you won't have a problem in future and replacing the cable is a small price to pay
Also see How to physically clean a USB connector safely from our SE.Superuser
Edit I was Googling and found this link from Samsung that suggests it's fine if you don't get a moisture warning so you could take a chance and replace the cable earliest

I will not be able to buy another cable at this time. Until I can buy a new one, can I safely use this old cable before it breaks?

Please note that Samsung is talking of moisture in the charging port and your problem is with USB cable. I would still suggest you replace cable ASAP. Small price to pay to avoid problems

I'm curious, how can liquid get through the cable? I can't find any holes in the connector. Is it just too small? Also, I forgot to mention that the reason
I noticed it's still plugged in to an outlet is because there is a little electricity I felt while cleanning. Is this the conductance you are talking about?

I am also not sure if liquid can actually get in but being safe. Ideally one shouldn't feel any electricity when touching so maybe some thing to do with the cleaning agent used

Also remember that devices may be water proof rated but not cables - they needn't be. Nobody is expecting you to charge in rain :)


text:
Show Android notifications until I explicitly close them
My smartphone is nice and reminds me of approaching appointments (Etar) or other stuff.
But sometimes I just do not look at the notifications and when I switch off the phone, the next time they are gone.
Is there any way to keep notifications showing until I explicitly close them?

I don't think so; except for missed calls, I've never seen a notification surviving a boot. All there is to my knowledge is a hidden feature to call "notification history" (which you'd need to do explicitly). Don't think that would solve your issue, though, as then you'd need to remember calling that each time you switch the device on.

Would it be possible for me to develop such a thing?

No idea. This site is for end users, not for developers. As there's such a thing as "notification history", the information must be stored somewhere. But whether that contains if and when a notification was closed by the user is beyond my knowledge.


text:
Installing Signal without using Google Play, Still requests update of Google Play
I want to install Signal on my Android 4.4.2
I found countless of reports that it appearently works without it, I followed the documentation here https://k7r.eu/testing-signal-without-google-account/.
But still after the installation when I enter my phone number i get a prompt.
"Google Play-Dienste aktualisieren" "Signal wird nur ausgeführt wenn du die Google Play-Dienste aktualisierst."
Which roughly translates to
"update Google Play-Services" "Signal will only be run if you update the Google Play-services"
I tried installation with apks from both theire Website and Apk-Mirror.

Signal uses GCM for push messaging, however since v3.30.0 it should be able to work without. Have you verified that Signal really does not work? May be the messages just indicate that GCM can be used it it is available.

This behavior is caused if Google Play is still active in the background.
Appearently Signal finds the service, tries to use it and finds that it is outdated. I had to deactivate Google Play via
"Einstellungen" > "Allgemein" > "Anwendungen" > "Alle" > "Google Play-Dienste" > "Deaktivieren"
rough translate
"Settings" > "General" > "Applications" > "All" > "Google Play-Services" > "Deactivate"
After that Signal gave me a notification warning me that using it without Google Play will cause increased power consumption and I could proceed with the registration.

the solution answer 1 proposes does not work. after deactivating "Google Play-Services", still Signal after typing in my phone number and clicking "Next" it shows "Update Google Play services. Signal won't run unless you update pdate Google Play services."
But I dpn't have and I don't want to have a gooogle account.
Does anybody know how to get Signal running on Android without having a google account? Thanks !

This solution also stopped working for me on Android 5

Managed to fix it.
First, disable Google Play services:
Disabling Google-Play-Services works as following:
Applications ("Apps" on my virtual device even in German;) - All (alle) - Google Play services / Google Service framework
click force kill & then deactivate.
If the button is greyed out (disabled):
go to system > administrator users > disable everything in that list
Reference: https://www.guidingtech.com/google-play-services-wont-update-issue/ > section "6. Disable Play Services"
reference2: https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-Android/issues/6381
Then restart Signal (quit it before completely or restart device), enter phone number and verify it. Accept that without Google Services something allegedely won't work properly. In fact, it works.


text:
Adb says "Error: Device offline" everytime
Please see this question for background information.
Problem:
Whenever I run adb devices it says Error: device offline - This appears even when no device is connected at all. It won't even let me start the adb server. Therefore solutions like "run adb kill-server first" won't have any affect.
Things to note:

This is adb on another android device. I can not "re-install the android SDK platform" or something like that. It took me a long while to find the ARM binary for adb that works.
From googling around, I suspect it might be that the adb binary is outdated, however it seemed to work recently for other people on XDA-devs. If anyone can provide me with a newer version of adb as a binary that will run on an ARM platform (android), I'd be happy to try it out.
Yes, I do run adb as superuser (root). Other commands (like adb --help work).

The tablet runs android 4. The phone runs android 7 but that shouldn't matter since even without anything connected I can't even start the adb server on the tablet.

Edit: Using the adb binary from here solved the error, but presents me with this now:
# adb devices
List of devices attached
* daemon not running. starting it now at tcp:5038 *
* daemon started successfully *
** daemon still not running
error: cannot connect to daemon at tcp:5038: Success

Please clarify. If you already have gained root access, why are you bothering with adb at all? You can use dumpsys command on that tablet using root, save the output and upload or share it with other device. // BTW, You can use adb.bin from here. Use Termux app and install busybox in there. Afterwards, copy adb.bin in its HOME directory, set executable bit on the binary and then run it.

I need to use dumpsys on my phone (which I can't root), that's why I need an adb host. I sadly don't have a PC at the moment. I'm going to try your latter steps now.

Did you give RSA authentication to it? Offline is shown often when device is found but not authenticated.

I couldn't get to that point yet. It shows that error even when nothing is connected and it doesn't even start the adb server. Trying what you suggested now. Can you tell me how to install busybox in termux? Online sites say it's already included and I already have regular busybox installed, is that enough?

Run pkg install busybox in Termux. BTW, you can use adb.bin from here as well. https://github.com/Magisk-Modules-Repo/adb-Installer/tree/master/bin (Use adb.bin not adb binary, if you must)

@Firelord Termux on f-droid says I need at least android 5.0 - Is there another version that runs on android 4? (I'm not using play store) Should I try running the adb binary you sent me using connectbot or do I specifically need termux?

Let us continue this discussion in chat.


text:
Suddenly most of the files and folders in my sd card are now named "FSCKxxxx.REN". How to fix this without root?
I connected my phone using USB in Mass storage mode(MSC) to a HUMAX TV receiver, and after I disconnect the phone, when I opened the sd card in a files
explorer app, all of the files and folders were named "FSCKxxxx.REN" except 8 folders and 3 files
also the folders that are named "FSCKxxxx.REN" contain files named "FSCKxxxx.REN", and it looks like that the original size of the files didn't change.
What is the cause of this problem, and how to fix it, is it even fixable without root?
I searched for before I ask, but I couldn't fix the problem, maybe because I don't have root.

The prefix FSCK sounds like pointing to File System ChecK (the corresponding command is also named fsck). As fsck usually runs on boot or if invoked manually, my guess is it wasn't triggered by your Android device but by the TV box ("new disk drive detected") – and this had obviously issues reading those files. If it is the external SD card, you could connect it to your PC to check if it's not broken – before trouble increases.

I connected the phone to the TV receiver in Mass storage mode(MSC) previously, and this problem didn't occur.

Maybe "previously" the card was OK, but "now" is having issues? That's why I suggested to check it whether it has bad sectors or the like.

I did what you have said and connected the SD card to my PC, when I connected it, a pop-up message appeared in the PC, it was something like this: "Fix problems" , I clicked "fix", and then after little time it said that the SD card was successfully "fixed", I opened it in files explorer, but nothing happened, the "FSCKxxxx.RET" files and folders still there.

The folders won't be removed. There's no information on how the files originally were named, which is why they got those cryptic names. But the popup confirms my suspicion that the card is no longer in "top state". You should backup all its data and get yourself a new card.

I discovered something new, it looks like that the data isn't lost, and as you said the files are just "renamed", I tried to use "file" command in bash, and it sill can know which file is video or image or XML file, even if I try to open a file that is a "ISO Media, MP4 Base Media v1 [IS0 14496-12:2003]" in a video player it will open correctly, I think your suspicion is right.

I've summed up the information to an answer then. If it solves your issue, you can mark it "accepted" to show other users "that's it" (just tick the check mark next to the answer). Good luck with recovery – and get yourself a new card ASAP!

Summing up from the comments:
The most likely cause is your SD card being in the process of "breaking down": When you connected it to your receiver, it detected problems and ran fsck (the File System ChecK utility) to repair it – which found issues with some files and directories, couldn't figure their names, and thus "saved" what it found using those "cryptic names" (the FSCK prefix seems to confirm this, though normally such "recovered blocks" are moved into a LOST+FOUND folder).
After having connected the card to your PC using a card reader, the PC again found the card faulty and had to repair things. Of course it couldn't restore the FSCK* files and directories to their original name, as that name was lost. As you correctly discovered, using the file command you can determine the file type, rename the files manually, and many, most or (if you're very lucky) even all or them might be intact.
So here's what you should do:

Back up the entire contents of the card
Get yourself a new card ASAP
(until you did, repeat the previous step regularly; it might very soon start losing data)
Copy the backup to the new card, and use that

And next to that, go the described way to identify the FSCK* files, which you then can rename to "useful names" and also copy back to the new card.


text:
Finding reason why app stopped in background?
Some apps such as system statistics loggers or third-party voice recorder apps (used due to additional functionality and formats) may stop in background without the user noticing it.
The user notices it when trying to read the saved data, play the audio file, or open the app, just to see that the data logging or recording has stopped at some point, which diminishes trust into the app.
How do I know the reasons for why the app quit in background, while the phone was not being touched, just placed somewhere?

Related question: Background service stops on Android Marshmallow 6.0+ devices

You can try Logcat Extreme.
Then in the settings prioritise errors.


text:
CaptivePortalLogin crashes every time I try to join a network
Every time I try to join an unencrypted wifi network that is protected by a web login (e.g. in a hotel), I get a popup message saying "Android System: Sign in to a Wi-Fi network ", I click on this message, and the result is:
CaptivePortalLogin has stopped
Open app again

I have tried also using Firefox or Chrome to find the portal by accessing a random HTTP page or the exact URL that my laptop is directed to to log in.  Firefox returns "Server not found"; Chrome says "You are offline", DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NO_INTERNET.  My phone is set to not use mobile networks for data.
Is there any way to fix this or is there a workaround?
System information:

Android 8.1.0 (security patch level 1 June 2018)
Nokia 6.1, model TA-1050
Kernel 4.4.78-perf+ (1/6/2018)

EDIT: I've tried a few apps as a workaround, such as Wifi Web Auth in case CaptivePortalLogin is the problem.  This app errors with "Web page not available", ERR_INTERNET_DISCONNECTED, which seems like an odd complaint for an app designed to establish a connection.  Wifi Quick Login fails as well.

I'm not sure how to solve the issue but it sounds like CaptivePortalLogin may be corrupt.

Have you tried clearing the data of the CaptivePortalLogin app? To help you out the exact reason for crash, you might need to get the crash report from the Logcat (as described here) and add it to your question.

I'm not certain, but would chrome://interstitials/captiveportal?is_wifi=1 work?

Turn off mobile data
Connect to WiFi
Go to this page: http://google.com/generate_204

That is the page CaptivePortalLogin calls upon, and it will show nothing (as the URL suggests, it just returns a 204 HTTP response). So why is it important to call specifically that page – what makes it better than the one Dennis suggested? To get to the captive portal, any URL will do. Further, how does this keep CaptivePortalLogin from crashing? Always having to turn off (and later on) mobile data manually is a work-around at best.

I can confirm that this works (or rather it's https://www.gstatic.com/generate_204 that CaptivePortalLogin calls). @Izzy simply putting any URL does not work because the browser gives a no internet access error. Somehow, magically any.domain/generate_204 just works. Also, I've seen this behaviour only in stock Android devices. (For example, in MIUI, putting any URL works - I don't know why)

My android was doing same thing. I just did a battery pull. That resolved the issue. Mine had been doing this for a few weeks.

Enter Chrome and write http://192.168.0.1 or http://192.168.0.0. The authentication page should appear.

How does that keep the CaptivePortalLogin from crashing?

This should not always work. In most modern Captive Portals, the login URL is not the same as the local network gateway's address. This URL might just open the configuration page of the local router/gateway.


text:
Possible to use mods with locked bootloader? Xposed, Root, zip files Twrp
I want to unlock bootloader install twrp, flash xposed and magisk zip files through twrp. Flash the stock roms recovery again relock the bootloader to be able to use those mods.
Is this possible, i think it was as i've seen it suggested before however issue here is lots of phones delete data during the unlock relock, so that would remove all the mods relocking it defeats the point.
Also my current phone the Samsung S7 Edge, has factory reset protection. I have to unlock the bootloader to flash, tho if i lock the bootloader after flash. Reboot it is permantly stuck on a screen saying locked with factory reset protection in red.
Only way out of this is to go into download mode and flash stock through odin. So i'm guessing Samsungs factory reset protection, ontop of data be deleted even more impossible.
Samsung has dm-verity so magisk or a file to remove dm-verity has to be flashed or rom won't boot.
Maybe i can root without twrp and use flashify, i don't no if it can install xposed magisk.
Looking for suggestions of phones this could work with.
Thanks.

I would advise against relocking BL after any sort of modding, since you're effectively sealing the easiest (and often the only) way of recovery.

Yes i no, flashing a rom with flashify without a recovery is risky tho seems flashify can install twrp, and restore stock recovery with locked bootloader.Looking into that, I no the point you make, except there's actually dozens of attack vectors! your exposed to leaving bootloader unlocked. So using an exploit to gain root and maybe using flashify. Hope some devices allow installing twrp removing it then relocking the bootloader while retaining the modifications.

Also if a device did allow unlocking and relocking the bootloader without removing all the mods, then while it would be a pain you could just unlock the bootloader and install twrp in situations that really required it, then lock it again afterwards.

It's not about whether the OS allows retaining the mods on locked BL (although indeed many stock OS have implemented this); it's about being able to recover from faults if it's allowed. You do know that if the phone can't boot you won't even be able to flip that "allow OEM unlocking" switch (Samsung), right?

So are you saying some phone brands do allow to retain mods after locking the bootloader? If the phone can't boot with a locked bootloader, odin doesn't require OEM unlocking to be turned on to flash the stock rom files. Just boot the phone into download mode odin detects it, flash stock rom, start all over again. Problem should be solved. Twrp isn't the only way to recover depending on the phone brand, maybe fastboot requires oem unlocking to be turned on i'm unsure of that samsung does it's own thing.

This is what i'm talking about tho http://geekgiant.in/install-twrp-without-unlocking-bootloader-qualcomm-device/ and i've seen posts about people installing roms with locked bootloader flashify will let you install img files if you have root locked bootloader can install twrp twrp will install zip files, roms flashify can make backups of the original recovery and restore it. Some suggest different brands might protect the recovery prevent flashing twrp, other people suggested if it messed up would be a hard brick and fastboot wouldn't work to recover,  i'm trying to find more info.


text:
Find Your Device doesn't lock/erase or indicate it will be completed when phone is online
I don't believe these exact questions have been answered, so would appreciate your help!
I lost my Samsung Galaxy S8 while it was on airplane mode. I have been checking Find Your Device frequently, but I have seen no change in the date it was synced (which is the day before I lost it), nor have I been able to locate it.
I tried locking it, but after inputting the information the screen gets stuck in “Trying to contact your phone…”.
I also clicked “Yes, erase” in the “Consider erasing your device” section. The words “Trying to contact your device to erase it…” showed up in the bottom left corner and disappeared within a few seconds. I was left with a screen saying that I could restart these steps at any time:

When I go to the Find Your Device homepage again, there is no record that I tried erasing the phone. The “Yes, erase” option is still there. I tried it multiple times from both of my Gmail accounts. How can I tell that the erase command was sent and will be completed as soon as the device is online? And how can I tell if it has been erased? I did not receive any emails about it.
I did sign out of my Google accounts remotely and change my passwords. Is that why it doesn’t work? I thought I would still be able to track the device after those actions, but I don’t know if I can still lock the phone or erase it. I don’t actually know if the signout and password changes worked, though, because the phone was on airplane mode when I lost it.
Any other advice would be great. Thanks!