text:
How to boot from download mode into recovery mode
Two days ago when I was going to use my Galaxy Note 8.0 GT-N5100 tablet I noticed it was off, but minutes before it was on and working, so I tried pressing the power button and nothing happened, plugged the charger in, nothing, no signs, it seemed bricked, so I tried to power through download mode and it worked, after that I pressed volume down to cancel it to start normally, the first samsung logo showed up (that one that says the model and stuff), but it was there for really long, i left it running and after 5 mins or so it changed to the pulsing blue samsung logo, left it there and about 30 mins later it was back to the 1st samsung logo again. I also tried a soft reset and booting to safe mode, didn't work either.
This tablet has no custom rom installed (I think it is on stock 4.4.2), the only thing different I installed is TWRP and root, years ago, but I cant boot to TWRP through the vol up+home+power, it doesnt work, tbh it never worked since back then, just like this, the only way I found to boot to twrp was thru "adb reboot recovery" using adb, which didnt work in download mode, I want to be able to backup some data before flashing it with Odin, so here are my questions:
1- Is there any other command I could try to force it to boot to recovery?
2- Is there any way to backup data via download mode on this device?
Thank you for your attention

If you have a device with an unlocked bootloader you can boot a recovery image without actually flashing it by running fastboot boot <recovery.img>, this won't persist across a reboot, AFAIK there's no fastboot pull or the like so you can't just backup via fastboot just like you would with adb, I've seen some phones even respond to adb reboot recovery and reboot itself to recovery but those are all stock android phones.


text:
Where is the location for old WhatsApp database?
In my internal memory, I found the WhatsApp database folder, but it only contains a few files, a maximum of 6/7 days.
Where can I find my old WhatsApp database files? Where would I get the previous days' or months' chat database?

You can't because it stores only last 7 days worth of backups

if you start what's app without restoring previous data it gets deleted and if you are talking about encryption you can eaisly access it by scanning the qr code in other device

Thanks for ur replies..Can I , in any way, restore deleted chats which not in the days of internal database dates? Further I have backed up my account with Google drive after the deletion carelessly. When I triedthat deleted part before back up never restored. What can I do?

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Help setting up my phone or tablet as a hotspot
Can someone help me on how to use my phone or new tablet as a hotspot, so I can connect my old tablet? (using either my phone, or new tablet) I just found my old Tablet, a Galaxy Tab E.  An old guy would really appreciate it.

Please mention your Android version by [edit] in your question also details of your phone

Options for mobile hotspot/tethering are usually found under Wireless & Networks section in Settings.
Depending on your target device you may need to navigate to:
Settings → Wireless & Networks → Personal hotspot (or Tethering & portable hotspot)
Alternatively, recent versions of Android allow you to search a particular setting that is "hidden" you can use the keyword "hotspot" or "tethering" to get to the required screen, thereafter simply toggle to activate the hotspot (you may need to configure the hotspot setting first).

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


text:
How do I delete podcasts downloaded by podbean?
As far as I can tell from looking at the settings, all I can do is listen to the podcasts, and then the program will delete them.  I'd prefer if it didn't download them unless I tell it to, and allow me to delete them when I'm done listening to them.  I have a Lenovo TAB3 with Android 6.0 Marshmallow on it.

Here is what you do:

Click the second icon from the left on the top that looks like a broadcast radio tower.
Down from that on the second toolbar from the top click "Downloads"
Click ""Downloaded"
Below there will be a list of podcasts that have been downloaded, select the one you want to delete, press your finger on it until a delete button is displayed in the center of the screen, and when you click that it will be deleted, it should free alot of space on the device.

I'd prefer if it didn't download them unless I tell it to...

Unless you click on the 3 dots (top right) to download, it won't. And you can remove downloads from same place

.... allow me to delete them when I'm done listening to them

Settings → Disable Delete Played episodes
For more understanding on how the app works see this YouTube Video


text:
How to watch Youtube with screen off on any Android without a Youtube Premium subscription
How can I listen to Youtube with my screen off without a Youtube Premium subscription

Possible duplicate of How to play a YouTube clip in background/minimised?

@firelord - Although your linked question addresses both aspects, there are apps that play youtube with screen off but not minimized (while using other apps).

A simple method is to use Firefox for Android.
Once installed, install the extension Video Background Play Fix
Go on youtube.com and enjoy your best video/podcast/music screen off.
You also can add ublock Origin to Firefox to block any advertisement as well.

There is a solution,
if you want to listen YouTube song even when your android phone is locked. To do that you have to use chrome browser in android phone. Open YouTube in chrome browser and request as Desktop Site and search for the song which you want to listen then minimise it. The song will be paused then, from the notification you can tap on the play(▶). By doing this you will be able to listen YouTube videos in your phone even if it is locked.
I hope this will help you.

You can download: YouTube Vanced. I am using this app myself and it works like a charm. You can also turn off the screen and still hear the music playing.

OGYoutube can play with screen off.
But oddly it cannot play while minimized, which means you can only listen when not using the phone with other apps.

I think HBTube is the best answer for your case at the moment. You can see my question here.
After few days used it, I want to share it to everyone. It allow to download video from multi-channel like Youtube, FramaTube, Media CCC or audio from SoundCloud.
You can do other tasks while watching videos on Youtube, learning on Media CCC or join conferences on Media CCC. Even it allows play music with screen off.
I hope this will solve your issue.
Best regards,
Lee

What is your affiliation with this app? You seem to have been promoting this app in both question and answers. Promotion is acceptable only when affiliation with the product is fully disclosed wherever the product is mentioned, and when it indeed answers the question.

Sorry mate, I'm Magento Developer. You can see my profile here: https://magento.stackexchange.com/users/75587/bachlee89 . I don't promote this app. I'm just want to share everything I think it's useful for every one. I do not receive any remuneration from this application.

Seems like a nice option, but I won't use a small app that isn't opensource without knowing a bit about who make it and how.


text:
Where can I add xposed modules to systemless xposed framework?
I have installed Magisk and systemless xposed. What do I need to do to download and install xposed modules (not Magisk modules)?
I don't see any app for xposed only the Magisk Manager from where I can install Magisk modules (like systemless xposed).

From Magisk tap downloads and search for Xposed

Choose Xposed version corresponding to your Android version- choose the version by rovo89

Tap on the module, on the next screen it will prompt you to download an installer. Do that, give permissions for installing for external sources when prompted. Go back to the earlier screen and install. Let it do it's job and reboot.

You would get the familiar Xposed installer. You are now good to install systemless Xposed modules


text:
Can I install Android P Beta to my Galaxy S8?
I want to install Android P Beta to my Galaxy S8 device but after I went to https://www.google.com/android/beta I can see that only Pixel 2 device can opt out for an upgrade.
Is it ok if I opt out for the Pixel version or this will be dangerous for my device?

It would be disastrous to do that !

As you mentioned it is only for Pixel device and flashing it on your device is same as asked here Can I install a ROM made for a different device?
Your device doesn't have treble
support as mentioned here and you are wanting to flash a treble based ROM, which requires major changes to be done by developers

Unless you fancy an expensive paper weight , don't

The one available on Google's site isn't even a Treble GSI - some XDA people had to port it over.


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Tasker - turn off wifi IF there's no internet connection
i can't figure it out how to do this and all other tutorials are outdated and i have not some options they do (like a check box next to the time to set variable). so please don't mark this question as duplicate.
with that said; i have a profile which turn WiFi on when i unlock my phone. i want that to also ping Google DNS and if it get time out turn WiFi off if not keep the wifi connected.

You can create a task to ping Google DNS as follows:
Task → Code  → Run Shell
Command: ping -c 2 8.8.8.8 [Store Output In: %stdout] [Continue Task After Error: checked]

If %stdout ~ 100% packet loss
google servers unreachable
Else
connectivity established
End If

Add this to your main task with either keeps wi-fi conection or switches it off.
Credits
Run shell 'ping' with tasker

when wifi is on but not connected it give me the message "device connected" how cam i fix that?

07.48.07/E Run Shell: %stdout -> %stdout
07.48.07/E Run Shell:  ->
07.48.07/E Run Shell:  ->
07.48.07/Shell runBackground ping -c 2 8.8.8.8 root: false timeout: -1
07.48.07/Shell start process-thread ID 813
07.48.07/E add wait type Shell1 time 2147483647
07.48.07/E add wait type Shell1 done
07.48.07/E add wait task
07.48.07/Variables doreplresult: |%stdout| -> |%stdout|
07.48.07/E Error: 2

This task, produces an error when the device can;t ping, thus you have to tick "continue on error, in the task to prevent this...The flash message "Devie connected"is a customised text just to indicate that it has successfully pinge to google DNS you could replace this text with any useful message to indicate a succssful ping

You don't need the complexity and performance hit of "shelling out", you can do this with Tasker native commands. Use command "http get", then check the HTTP return code in %HTTPRC (or sonething like that:-).

It would help if you could add a bit more steps making it easy for new Tasker users to follow too. :-)

Entirely unnecessary; Android has alreadly done an internet connectivity check, plus, your method doesn't account for Captive Portal logins. See my answer.

The Quick, Dirty, and 99% Reliable Method
Better yet, simply use AutoTools' Connectivity event or action. While I generally don't recommend plug-ins, unless absolutely necessary, AutoTools is definitely an essential.
The Right Way™
If you want to do it, "the right way," although considerably more convoluted, use the new Get Network Info action and check the capabilities, like so:
Task: Disconnect Wi-Fi if No Internet

<Pause and allow for network conditions and checks to settle>
A1: Wait [
     MS: 0
     Seconds: 3
     Minutes: 0
     Hours: 0
     Days: 0
     Continue Task After Error:On ]

A2: Get Network Info [
     Continue Task After Error:On ]

<Wi-Fi Connected to AP

AND

(Does NOT have internet

OR

Has NOT been validated

OR

Captive Portal PRESENT)>
A3: If [ %ni_active_types(#?wifi) > 0 & %ni_active_capabilities(#?internet) < 1 | %ni_active_capabilities(#?validated) < 1 | %ni_active_capabilities(#?captive_portal) > 0 ]

    A4: WiFi [
         Set: Off
         Continue Task After Error:On ]

A5: End If

(Scroll to the right at the bottom, in the If conditions of A3, of the above code block to see where the magic really happens.)
The above allows for a variety of network scenarios to occur without prematurely judging the state of internet connectivity; namely, Captive Portal logins. It also prevents you from having to manually ping Google.com (which has its own pitfalls).
... One Step Further
You could make this much more robust too by associating the above task with a profile that handles things on an event-driven basis when network conditions change, like so:
Profile: Wi-Fi: Network Change Detected
Settings: Priority: 20 Enforce: no
    Event: Intent Received [ Action:android.net.conn.CONNECTIVITY_CHANGE Cat:None Cat:None Scheme:* Mime Type:* ]

Enter Task: Anon
Settings: Abort Existing Task

Task: Disconnect Wi-Fi if No Internet

<Pause and allow for network conditions and checks to settle>
A1: Wait [
     MS: 0
     Seconds: 3
     Minutes: 0
     Hours: 0
     Days: 0
     Continue Task After Error:On ]

A2: Get Network Info [
     Continue Task After Error:On ]

<Wi-Fi Connected to AP

AND

(Does NOT have internet

OR

Has NOT been validated

OR

Captive Portal PRESENT)>
A3: If [ %ni_active_types(#?wifi) > 0 & %ni_active_capabilities(#?internet) < 1 | %ni_active_capabilities(#?validated) < 1 | %ni_active_capabilities(#?captive_portal) > 0 ]

    A4: WiFi [
         Set: Off
         Continue Task After Error:On ]

A5: End If

(Take special note of the Task Setting of, Abort Existing Task since this intent gets fired about 6-12 times whenever there is a network state change and you don't want your Task to be executing at the very beginning of those intents, otherwise network states won't be correct yet.)
Also, make sure you're not in beginner mode or in Tasky, and ensure all steps have, Continue on Error checked.
That is the proper way to detect internet connectivity: by allowing Android to do the heavy-lifting so that ALL scenarios are accounted for.


text:
Google Play Store suddenly popping up and suggesting apps in development
I have a Samsung Galaxy S7 edge. For the last 3 weeks, I constantly get pop-ups (10-15 times a day) from the Google Play Store, suggesting apps that are in development.

It happens when I am doing everything from email, searches, playing games, on a call, and even when I am using a hands-free app in my car.
I have turned off notifications, but nothing has stopped it.
How to stop this annoying and distracting behavior?

Google Play Store doesn't do this. It's some app that you installed. Try detecting which app(s) are responsible using apps from this list. They won't tell you which app is doing that. You would need to uninstall those apps

Maybe that is incorrect:  Just read this:  Google just bought admob.

When did detection, ADMOB is on almost  every single app that I have. Most likely causing all the pop ups related to GOOGLE PLAY STORE

I am not aware of that (Google buying admob) but on my device(s) it doesn't happen and neither has anybody reported it here. Admob is pretty much there in such apps but linking it therefore to Play Store isn't conclusive

Google bought Admob years ago. And as @beeshyams already pointed out, Playstore doesn't do that on its own. But any app can call an intent to have playstore pop up with a given app – which is what's happening here. So you've got some bad app(le) in your basket. And I very much doubt this has to do with Admob. Rather looks like Appflyer or something like that.


text:
NOTE TO SELF messages are not saved
If I use the Google voice command :note to self, it works and saves the message "using Gmail"  but I can't find it when searching on a unique keyword in the Note :

gmail
Google Keep
Google search

clicking on View My Notes link displayed after it saves the Note (it just opens Gmail)

Android version 7.0 on Samsung s7

Is your G mail and keep updated?

Also Google - I had read in Google forums that such problems were resolved by updating concerned apps, hence suggesting


text:
Retrieve data from Galaxy A3 with broken screen and touch
there is any possibility to restore data from my phone (Samsung Galaxy A3)?
It has a broken screen and touch. I didn't enable a debuging mode on phone before. So programs like dr.fone or kies cant get acces. :c the only thing I need are contacts. I didn't enable a Gmail synchronization also so I don't have them in google cloud.

You could see about getting the screen repaired.


text:
Is it possible to view files on an SD card encrypted with Gallery-vault on a computer?
I assume the answer is no but just wanted to check. I had some files/ photos etc on the Gallery-vault app on my phone -they were saved to my SD card. My SD card has been lost/ possibly stolen and I just wanted to check if someone could access these files in any way?

No you cant....because in gallery vault they are encrypted..you cant view encrypted files on computer...because you dont have decryption key or code as it present in your phone


text:
How to bypass system /signature level for a modified system apk?
I made a modification on a system app but it should be signed with the same certificate as the Firmware to work properly, is there any workaround to bypass this ?

As far I know you need a custom firmware to do it (I guess you don't have access to the firmware keys to resign your apk) so:

a) You can modify,  compile and install your custom Android that skips the signing verification in apps that request to use the android.uid.system user or
b) You can install a custom ROM signed with AOSP keys (most of the custom ROMs are signed using the testkeys from AOSP) and sign you app using the same key in order to get the system level (you can use  keytool-importkeypair tool to create a keystore and used it on Android Studio or gradle

Hm.. I have CyanogenMod 12.1 and I just extract META-INF from original apk and add it in my custom system apk. All works properly

Interesting approach - if this isn't just a CyanogenMod bug this would mean the signature of a system app is never checked as it is never installed via package manager (who is usually performing the signature check).

Can you do this when not rooted?


text:
Google Maps appears to be turning off any other media
I'm using Gone Mad Music Player for music and Podcast Addict for podcasts and recently I've been having this problem where Google navigation will stop those apps from playing when it wants to give me a notification. When I restart the music/podcast app, Google navigation stops giving me notifications, forcing me to restart that thing.  I'm not sure how to fix it.  I do have navigation set to talk over anything that's playing.

I do have navigation set to talk over anything that's playing, where is that setting? I see only for playing over voice calls and this seems to be the designed behavior in that case


text:
Using emulator as a monitor to my phone?
The screen of my Google Pixel burned out the other day. The phone still works, but the screen doesn't turn on. Is it possible to connect to my phone via adb and use an emulator to see what the phone is doing (essentially, use an emulator as an external monitor)?
I can connect to the phone via adb and use shell, but what I need to do is access my Google Authenticator to get two factor authentication codes.

Not tried this but there are possible solutions to this:

Using Visor

Add Vysor as an app on Chrome.
Connect mobile device with USB debugging on.
Allow debugging on the popup that comes on the phone.
Vysor should then start showing the phone screen.
Vysor lets the user project the screen and also control the phone from the PC.

Using Droid@Screen software (requires JAVA runtime)

Droid@Screen is a tool that will show the screen of your phone, once
  all previous steps have been completed (i.e. drivers installed, usb
  debugging enabled, etc).

Download latest version of Droid@Screen here: http://droid-at-screen.org/download.html
Set adb in PATH variables or just navigate to the platform-tools dir to start it.
Whenever you want to project the device, start Droid@Screen  and plug in your device. Droid@Screen will automatically start showing the screen.
Your computer screen can then be projected on a bigger screen using a projector.

Alternatively you can use Aidroid or other available commercial tools such as Wondershare MirrorGo
Acknowledgements

Devika, Kristen Burton: Android Phone Screen Projection to your computer


text:
My Youtube app won appear anymore if I click home. What's wrong?
Previously, when I click home on my s9, if my youtube app is playing a song for example, my phone would go to home but it would still display the app like this.

And when I click on it, it would maximize like this.

It's not PiP (I think), because I don't deliberately set the app like this, it just automatically does it when I click the home button. I could even browse chrome and open other apps and it would still be there on the lower right..
But now, suddenly, it's gone!
When I play something on the app and then click home, it just closes. The preview window doesn't appear anymore and nothing is playing.
I'm just wondering what I did wrong and how I could fix it. I don't like using PiP because it's not automatic and I like how it would automatically just preview itself before.

It depends on where you are from. What you're seeing is the PIP mode of YouTube.
For most parts of the world, it is only included with YouTube Red. So, maybe you had a YouTube Red/Pro subscription or Trial which has expired.
YouTube also enabled the PIP for free to all users in the US. That is, even those who don't have a paying plan. So, do you happen to be from the US? Plus, they could be testing the free PIP support in in other regions too.


text:
Capture still image from recorded video
I'm using a Motorola Moto g5 with latest Google photos. I try to find a way to select and export still images from my recorded videos.
Preferably within Google Photos but could be another app as well.

Pick up from Izzy's list


text:
Using WhatsApp without current SIM
Next week I will go on holiday to a foreign country and for this, I bought a prepaid SIM card because with my phone's current plan, I have little to no data in Roaming. My problem is that I will be using my phone with this new card, but I would still like to use my current WhatsApp account.
The only solution I have come up with is changing my number in my Whatsapp account's settings, but I wouldn't really want to do that because it notifies all my active conversations.
So, is there anything else I can do so that I should be able to still use my WhatsApp with this prepaid SIM card?

Yes, you are actually in the right direction. WhatsApp requires a SIM for installation and activation. But once activated, it doesn't matter if the SIM stays in the same phone or is tossed to a different phone, or even lost. Sure, in cases of lost SIM, re-installing WhatsApp with the same phone number will be impossible.
WhatsApp will keep on working on your phone, provided you have a data connection (no matter which SIM it comes from) or WiFi access.
So, yep, just toss in your prepaid SIM, turn on data connection and continue to use your old (current) WhatsApp. You do not have to make any changes in WhatsApp. Changing the number is also absolutely NOT NEEDED. It is only used when you are officially switching to a different number and would like to carry your chats along.


text:
How to turn off auto suggestion popups in Google Keep?
When writing lists in Google Keep, sometimes infuriating Clippy-style auto suggestion popups appear, suggesting different things starting with the same word that another person might have wanted to write. These popup boxes are distracting and get in the way, usually overlapping the space I want to press to move to the next item in the list and obstruct seeing what I've written.
I want to turn this feature off. I've been through the settings and help, but there doesn't seem to be any option to turn it off. I've also sent feedback through the app asking for an option to turn it off to no avail.
Looking at the forums, I see people have been asking for a way to turn this off since 2016. There's a common old suggestion that it only turns on if something relating to "Shopping" is in the list title - but in 2018 I still get the popup plague even on lists with no title.
Is there any roundabout way to disable this which works?

I'm all for dumbing down or simplifying apps as much as possible, including minimal settings pages, BUT there should also be an advanced settings option which gives access to absolutely everything that could be tweaked. If they can spend weeks working on an option to autocomplete my shopping lists, they can spend a moment on an advanced setting to turn it on and off. It seems that even the biggest companies lack understanding of basic common sense software engineering principles, which would be self evident to any thoughtful child programming enthusiast.

Start each list item with a space. That way, you still get your keyboard's auto suggestions but you don't get the annoying Keep ones.

There are some workable workarounds buried in this forum thread.
The simple way (which makes writing lists take slightly longer):

Initially, create the list as a normal note with one line per item (not a checkbox list)

OR if it's already created as a checkbox list, press 'Hide checkboxes' under the three vertical dots in the top right. Unfortunately this causes Keep to forget which items were ticked.

Finish writing or editing the list
Press the '+' in the bottom left corner, then press 'Tick boxes' to turn it back into a check list

The more involved way (which in theory, you can do once then forget about)

Install a url filter like an adblocker and add the URL for Google's "show some popups of things I didn't type" service to the list of banned addresses. I've not tried this, so I can't guarantee it works - in particular, I don't know if it requires rooting the device or not (please comment if you have tried something like this). Two suggestions from that post:

The app uBlock, then going to "Settings -> My Filters" and adding https://taskassist-pa.clients6.google.com/v2/taskassist:suggest*
AdBlock, then going to "Customize > Manually edit your filters" and adding /v2/taskassist:suggest$domain=taskassist-pa.clients6.google.com

Don't forget to also go to "Help & feedback" in the app and tell Google that you want a normal option to turn off auto suggestions.

I deleted the keyword, made a new keyword, and the old keyword suggestion was gone. I think it only started doing it when I made the first word say "breakfast" in capital letters.


text:
How to change default video player app inside Hangouts
A video appeared inside a Hangouts chat stream and when I clicked it, it asked me which installed app I intend to use for playing that video.
I accidentally picked some casting app, but apparently (and surprisingly) the Use as default app was also checked, so whenever I click a video inside a Hangouts chat stream it tries to cast to a non-existing device and fails.
The system-wide video app is set to a normal video player app, but I can't find out how to set the default app for playing videos inside Hangouts.
Any idea how to reset it without uninstalling either app?

Us this app to reset and define the selected app for hangouts again

So far it is not Hangouts that need to be cleared in this case but the app which got registered as a default player.
Goto Settings -> Apps -> [Select the App that open when you play video inside Hangouts] -> Click Set as Default -> CLEAR DEFAULTS


text:
How to make Battery Saver Mode settings permanent?
And I have set my Battery Saver Mode settings as follows:
$ adb shell
$ su
# settings put global battery_saver_constants "animation_disabled=true,vibration_disabled=true,adjust_brightness_disabled=true"
# cat /data/system/users/0/settings_global.xml | grep '"battery_saver_constants"'
  <setting id="528" name="battery_saver_constants" value="animation_disabled=true,vibration_disabled=true,adjust_brightness_disabled=true" package="root" />

Unfortunately at some point those settings are being reset.
# cat /data/system/users/0/settings_global.xml | grep '"battery_saver_constants"'
  <setting id="533" name="battery_saver_constants" package="com.google.android.gms" />

It seems that the app "com.google.android.gms" is overriding my settings.
I have disabled the "Modify system settings" for this app but this does not help.
I am using Android 8.1, OxygenOS 5.1.9.

Does that "overwriting" happen at some special event (I have reboot in mind here especially), or rather at a random time?

It seems like a random, one time it took whole day and other time it took less than two hours. But I do not think it is in fact random, yet I don't know the cause.


text:
How do I fix blank photos in an Android device
https://gyazo.com/f1a05cc619d35b588884d29b5b462f5a
https://gyazo.com/71968d66e18ff2639893079e05db5081
How do I fix Images that have become blank since the new sd card messed up the photos which contain photos of my mother's memorable past
Here are the links I might need some help they contain photos of a memorable past thanks

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts! Could you please integrate those screenshots here? Just click [edit] and use the image uploader integrated with the editor.

If the images are of high value to you I would eject the sdcard, use an sdcard reader and connect it to a PC. If they are shown correctly make a backup. If not use a image recovery software like photorec to rescue what can be rescued.

These could be photos from your new SD card in a format or compression that your phone does not recognize to display.
I have a similar case of photos I have modified on a PC and become blank thumbnails after transferring to my phone.


text:
Intrusive Google Play Store advertisements appear as soon as I start charging my phone
I get these types of full screen ads as soon as I charge my phone:

I don't even have to unlock the screen, the ad sound starts playing as soon as I plug in my phone. In order to get rid of it, I installed a third party app called Blokada and it worked and if I see which all ads are popping up, the app says that the ads are:

app.adjust.com
mobile.pipe.aria.microsoft.com

So I guess these ads are responsible for those intrusive popups. I have tried multiple antivirus applications but none of them showed that I have any virus/malware. Is there anyway I can remove these adwares from my phone ?

Does Add-ons Detector find anything unusual?

@acejavelin Blokada is an out of the play store ad-blocker. Sadly it has stopped working now and I get these ads every time I charge my phone.

It isn't a Virus. So, no anti-virus or malware scanner will catch this.
It is just an app which adds lockscreen ads to your device while charging. These ads are set so that they only appear while charging. Some apps even advertise that this makes the device charge faster.
Such ads are included with many free apps and you need to find out which app is showing them on your lockscreen. The most usual culprits are - Avast Anti-virus (Yes!), ES File explorer (the probably stopped now), UC Browser, Xender, Clean Master, and many other so called device booster, battery booster, CPU booster, memory booster type apps.
I'm sorry but you'll have to figure it on your own from this point. It is impossible to pin-point a particular app because there are just so many of then which do this.

+1, good explanation. As OP already identified two networks: there are several apps to detect libraries in apps. So the list of possible culprits can be narrowed done to those e.g. containing an Adjust module (first network mentioned, and IMHO the most likely culprit here). Maybe you want to include that with your answer?

It might be useful to read this latest (2018/11/26) Android Central blog report about "Clean Master" and its ad-click actions.

I just found that "email all in one" was causing this problem on my Samsung android phone. I uninstalled it, unplugged the charger  plugged it back in, and no ads popped up, nor the annoying "fast charge" option, which i never used, but the "Not now" box could not be selected because it was greyed out!


text:
I have bought a new mi 5 mobile
My older phone internet was too fast. When I transferred my sim into new phone, the internet is too damn slow. It's slower than tortoise. What should I do?

You should [edit] your question and give more details. What models are your old phone and new phone? What kind of connection is it: GPRS, HSDPA, EDGE, etc?

The only thing I can suggest is to check and make sure that your phone is set to 4G (preferred) mode in Network settings.
Another thing worth considering is to check with your operator that the correct access point is being used.
And can you tell which was your previous phone? Depending on the device and its OS, it is very possible that it consumed lesser data whereas your Android's browser uses more data. Consider using Opera Mini or other browsers which compress pages before delivering to your device.

My earlier mobile was lyf flame and it's internet was very fast

Have you checked with your operator that your speed is not being throttled due to a plan issue and that your device is connecting to the 4G network?


text:
Possible to create offline (local/non-synced) contacts in Android Oreo 8.1?
In Android Oreo 8.1 (on a Motorola device), is it possible to create offline (aka "local" or "non-synced") contacts?
This was fairly easy on previous Android versions, but I'm not seeing a way to do it on Android Oreo 8.1.
On Oreo 8.1, everything seems to get synced to an account.

On Android devices without an option to save contacts locally (either to the phone or the SIM), you can use FJ Software's MyLocalAccount (which you can choose to sync to your Google account or not as you wish).

Edit:
It seems that Motorola's Contact app has no support to add offline contacts. I tried installing the APK of Contacts from Motorola and it doesn't show SIM or Phone as an option to save contacts.
However, it does show (in search and normal listing) the contacts which are already stored on the phone or SIM.
So, what you can do is to use a 3rd party contacts app to add contacts on your phone. Then you can continue to use the stock contacts app to access them and dial.
Google contacts is a nice app which closely resembles Moto contacts, but does come with the ability to store contacts on the device.
Original answer and mostly irrelevant: Leaving just because there are comments related to it.
When creating a new contact, you will have the options to choose where to save the contact.
Simply choose Phone or SIM from the Saving to drop-down and you should be good to go. Here's how it looks on my Nokia 7. It is on Android 8.1 as well. I know the Motorola implementation will slightly vary, but it will be overall the same.

Thanks.  That's exactly what I expected to see, but there are no unsynced options present on the Motorola.  Since you're using Android Oreo 8.1 as well, it seems to be a Motorola limitation, not an Android one, which is strange since Lenovo uses a fairly plain vanilla version of Android for the Motorola devices.  Either it's a Motorola limitation, or it's a feature on your Nokia.  Either way, your answer is helpful because it shows that it's possible on Oreo 8.1.  Now how to get it to work on the Motorola?

@RockPaperLizard I tried out a moto app and it seems that you are right. There is no support for offline contacts in there. I've updated my answer.

Thanks for the update.  Do you know if the Google Contacts app will allow importing a VCF (or CSV) file into unsynced storage?

Yes, the Settings > Import has options for .vcf file and to save it to device. Now, I do not know if it only accepts 1 contact per VCF or it can take many. Ideally it should :)

I was having this exact problem on Asus zenfone max pro m2.  Their "pure android" experience removed their default contacts app and Google's stock contacts app is hellbent on forcing people to use their cloud/gmail google acct storage sync.  I read @Someone and xda answer and they recommended adding a LocalAccount as an acct.  Then you can pick this local acct as the default contact in which to save contacts  I'll write my own answer to this soon.


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Error with screen brightness on Samsung Galaxy J7 prime
I have a Samsung galaxy J7 prime SM-G610M Duos with Android 7.0 operating system. I have noticed something curious with the phone, is that sometimes the full screen of the phone does a slight flicker.
It happens a few times when I close an application, when one calls the other (for example share a MEGA file in whatsapp).
Another fact, and this one always happens, is with youtube, when you open it, the brightness decreases, and when I write in the search bar and I already have some text I write when I press the spacebar, it blinks.
Once, also the brightness gauge was hung, and the brightness of the screen was set to maximum, no matter if it decreased it, it remained at maximum. Although then it settled with just lock the screen and turn on again.
Does anyone know why this happens?
Is it a software problem?
I read some articles online and they say that the screen should be changed.
I have little time with the phone, and it is in perfect condition, without any accidents. So I am inclined to make it a software bug, and that is how I would solve it.
Thank you very much in advance.

Try factory reset your phone
If it didn't work flash you're phone to another android version

We don't generally recommend the "nuclear option" first, without exploring the more accessible remediation.


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Droid Explorer issue
Unable to locate the Android SDK tool, Please reinstall the application.
I have done  SDK download and the exact path I have put. But the same error occurs again and again.
I uploaded the video in Dropbox, please watch.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/x7xgbrigv1i01sp/Untitled%202.mp4?dl=0
Thanks.

The validaton code is here:
https://github.com/camalot/droidexplorer/blob/1909e142be47d1bc084c4dd79d7b7feb4c0bcc45/DroidExplorer.WixCA/AndroidSdkCustomActions.cs
build-tools, 'tools' and 'pltoform-tools' must be present... (there might be more checks..)

Also see https://github.com/camalot/droidexplorer/issues/63

If you downloaded the SDK tools from the site, you need to run sdkmanager tools platform-tools  "build-tools;28.0.3" platforms;android-28. (You might want to check the relevant build-tools and platform versions with sdkmanager --list).
That gets it to install... To actually be useful, you might need to downgrade some tools.


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For what purpose does the Google Play Store use the PHONE permission?
I noticed that, by default, the current version of the Google Play Store has access to the PHONE permission.
For what purpose does the Google Play Store use the PHONE permission?

There is no such thing as a PHONE permission. Do you mean the CALL_PHONE (make calls) permission – or the permission group PHONE_CALLS?

@Izzy In Android Oreo 8.1, it just calls the permission PHONE.  Internally, I'm not sure which one it actually is.  How do I tell?

Ah. According to the permission overview it's the permission group (need to update my list). Then it's most likely READ_PHONE_STATE they are after, for all kind of device IDs. To tell for sure, you'd need to analyze the APK to check the permissions listed in the manifest.

For ring/locate your phone from your account settings https://myaccount.google.com/find-your-phone-guide?did=ALbKX%2Bx8OUZhoWZwTtTAgdsO2rqMXPWSKBVs%2FT9CJKAVImKa2O2tNuGVLLGkl%2BwKux3PrudejTFlDw8v%2FHSlZO7ohiO%2BsbO6kw%3D%3D&rapt=AEjHL4OEhuw1NncgzNdzOF6WG-4CJIpI0gqZDqtWnryjCbabG6yUv4VIvTp9LrzPvhbbdL8mmZVBiGcR7WZRwbA7Q8q3tfhVUA&cs=20


text:
Why does YouTube change my lock screen wallpaper and how do I prevent that?
When I'm watching YouTube videos on my phone, and then lock my phone, my wallpaper is replaced by the thumbnail of the video I was watching.
Removing YouTube from the recent applications screen does not change that. I don't get why that would be useful, and it certainly looks ugly.
Where can I disable that?

Never happened with me. Are you using the official YouTube app? Do you have premium subscription red/pro? What is your country? Is picture in picture mode enabled?

It's the official YouTube app on LineageOS. I don't have YouTube Red and AFAIK it's required for picture in picture mode. I live in Poland. @singhnsk

I have a one plus 5 and this is driving me up the wall. Even if I quit YouTube, and set my lock screen from settings, it persists. It might be when I watch videos through Chrome rather than YouTube itself.

I found that swiping away the YouTube mini player in the notifications area clears its picture on the lock screen.
The notification survives closing YouTube and swiping the app away from the apps list, but it can be swiped away itself.
But I wish it didn't happen at all.


text:
Android died after update
LG Stylo V2 is dead after updating. Screen reads "Your device is corrupt. It can't be trusted and may not work properly."

Does anything else happen? Are there any other logos or screens shown? Can you factory reset via recovery mode or fastboot?

Did you ever root it, and are now getting this message of consequence that the company recognizes it had been done?

I went to the Verizon store and they said they never saw anything like this. They ordered me a new phone being delivered today "Next Day" Fedex. No charge for the new phone.

I went to the Verizon store and they said they never saw anything like this. They ordered me a new phone being delivered today "Next Day" Fedex. No charge for the new phone.


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adb shell error: device not found (Ubuntu)
I am complete novice on adb. When it comes to Android I could be classified as "dumb user" - trying however to get one level up, hence playing with adb:

$ ./adb shell
error: device not found
$ ./adb devices
* daemon not running. starting it now on port 5037 *
* daemon started successfully *
List of devices attached

Looks like adb cannot see the connected device.
How to rectify the problem?
For your info:

the device is visible and I can copy files to/from it
I went through the steps suggested below and still no luck
I tried connecting the phone to different USB ports - my comp has 2 USB controllers - one USB 3.0 and one USB 2.0

Steps to enable USB debugging on my device with 7.0 Nougat Android:

Go to "Configuration"
Go to "About Telephone / Android 7.0"
Click several times "Build Number" until message "You're now developer" appears
Go back to "Configuration" - "{} Developer options" are now visible - go inside
A number of fabulous options appear - switch-on "USB Debugging"

I am using Linux and I would prefer to stay away from Windows.
Still no luck - device not found

Check if the device is visible for adb with this command adb devices.

OK, I did it. Apparently I was using some old adb binary that came with app I wanted to use. After I installed the one available in repo, as suggested by this website, It now sees the device:

$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:phablet-team/tools
[sudo] password for admin:

 More info: https://launchpad.net/~phablet-team/+archive/ubuntu/tools
Press [ENTER] to continue or ctrl-c to cancel adding it

-- ciach
$ sudo apt-get update
Hit:1 http://pl.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial InRelease

-- ciach
$ sudo apt-get install android-tools-adb android-tools-fastboot
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done

-- ciach
$ adb devices
adb server is out of date.  killing...
* daemon started successfully *
List of devices attached

$ adb devices
List of devices attached
0123456789ABCDEF    unauthorized

-- click "Authorize" on the device
$ adb devices
List of devices attached
0123456789ABCDEF    device

Check adb devices. If no device shows up follow the steps below.
First, check to make sure USB Debugging is enabled. On most devices:

Go into 'About Phone', 'About Device', or 'About Tablet'
Find 'Build Number'. It's location varies from devices to device, but look for menus such as 'Software Information'
Tap 'Build Number' until you see a message saying 'You are now a developer'. If you see a message saying something along the lines of 'This option has been disabled by your administrator',  I'm sorry to say you will need to reset your device to use ADB. You could also talk to your administrator.
Go back to the main settings page. At the bottom, you should now see 'Developer Options'. Tap it.
A warning may display. Read it carefully, and decide at your own risk.
Scroll until you find 'USB Debugging'. Tap it. You will see another warning. Read. Decide.
Connect your device to your computer. Run adb shell. A dialog box will pop up asking if you trust your computer. Tap yes.

Congrats! It should now work.
If that doesn't work, try different cables, phones, computers, and try to find what is the problem. Google is, as always, your friend.


text:
How do I turn off speech-to-text censorship in Android 7?
This was the most recent article I found on it:
https://www.howtogeek.com/303489/how-to-disable-the-profanity-filter-in-google-assistant/
Problem is that the triple dot dropdown menu isn't there. I have an icon that looks like a new email message and one that looks like a compass needle. I've searched the settings for "censor" and "block" and there are no results.
How do I stop it from turning "fuck" into "f***" in Android 7? LG G5

The LG rebel 3 running Android nougat 7.0 there are a couple of paths to the Block offensive words toggle.
First it spelled f*** missing the k but then I manually typed in the word. When I tried by voice after that it was spelled properly and fully.
The path's to the Block offensive words toggle are:

/Language & Keyboard --> Google voice typing --> Block Offensive words toggle.
/Google services --> Search, Assistant, Voice --> Voice --> Block offensive words toggle.

In Android 8 this is in General -> Apps & Notifications -> Default apps -> Assist & voice input -> Assist app (gear) -> Block Offensive words (toggle)
(updated my phone since posting this)

On Android 7.1.2, I go to:

Settings
Language and Keyboard
Keyboard and Input Methods / Google Voice Typing

"Block offensive words" is 2nd from the bottom. I've tried toggling it successfully. This works for me when I use Google Keep.


text:
How to turn off Nokia theme tune on startup?
My Nokia 6 always made the Nokia theme tune when it was turned on from being completely off. However, for a short period, I had another user account on my phone and it didn't make the noise every time, but there were still a few instances where it did.
I've Tried

Putting my phone in Do Not Disturb
Using the Complete Silence DND option
Having my phone on silent
Aeroplane Mode
Having my phone on charge and off charge makes no difference
Looking for a setting that turns it off(suggested in a previous anwser)

All of these were done before I turned the phone completely off.
I've done some research on Nokia forums and other sites and most answers suggest one of the following above but none of the above have worked.
Now I have removed the other user and I am running the single user account with no guest user. It is making the noise more, but not every time as before I would say that it's roughly 40% of the time it makes the noise now.
Is the fact that I created the other user account linked to the noise stops, its the only thing I changed on my phone which is why I'm making that assumption.
Is there any way to stop the noise compleat as it can be annoying(and embarrassing) when turning my phone on in public?
I'm running Android 8.1.0

Have you tried plugging in headphones while restarting?

@DarkHippo Yes I have and the noise is still played through the speakers even with them plugged in.

Some Android phones allow going into Settings > Sound and finding a option called something along the lines of 'Startup Ringtone'.

Unfortunately, my phone doesn't have such a  setting, I'll edit that in my question for future answers

Just place your finger over the speaker on the bottom of the phone on the right, it completely blocks the sound and only takes a second. I use this method every time and it works 100%.


text:
Disable 'OK Google' recognition without completely disabling Google app
I find the 'OK Google' always-on voice recognition to be creepy and intrusive.
At the same time, I find the voice entry for GBoard keyboard to be very useful.
If you completely disable the Google app, 'OK Google' recognition is disabled, but so is the voice entry for the GBoard keyboard.
Is there a way to prevent Google from always listening, without completely disabling the Google app?

What do you mean it's disabled? I tried it and it works for me. Not sure if you know this but the voice entry does not show up on every text field on Gboard, that's one of the reasons I don't use that keyboard. Are you sure your current text field supports voice entry?

@SSS The microphone icon appears, but it has not functionality if the Google app is disabled.  BTW, did you find a good keyboard that supports voice entry on every field?  Which one?

Hmm I see. I personally use SwiftKey which works on every text field, but the voice typing on that seems to be handled by Google as well.

I believe this website has a guide to the solution that you're looking for.
Edit: I was asked to summarize the site (Yes, I did just copy and paste the instructions for the most part):
Google Now has a neat ability to listen for the “OK, Google” command to automatically launch the app and get you into Search as fast as possible. But, you may not want Google Now to listen to that prompt or hotword for some reason or another. Good news–it’s super easy to turn off!
Turning off the “OK, Google” hotword: To turn off the hotword detection, open the Search app. You can find this in your App Drawer, and you can usually access it by holding down the home button as well.
Next, at the top left there’s a hamburger menu. Tap it and head into Settings > Voice.
Next, head into OK, Google Detection. From here, you can toggle it on or off.
Keep in mind that, even if you have it off, you can still head into Google Now and tap the microphone on the right side of the Search bar to use your voice. It’s certainly not as convenient as using the hotword, which gets you into Search right away, but still enables you to use your voice to search.


text:
How can I get rid of Android Is Starting Optimising App, On A Chinese Phone?
From time to time I get the "Android Is Starting Optimising App"  message.
I understand that there might be an option to reset it
My phone is like the one in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skyjFQERMQM

I did get this menu up on my phone.
That video shows a factory reset though(which you get choosing the eMMC option), but I don't want to do a factory reset, I don't want to wipe everything off my phone every time I get this message!
I heard there might be a cache of some kind that is safe to delete, that would remove that message, but I can't see the option to delete that.
If I go to settings..about, it says  DOOGEE-Y6C-Android6.0-2017015
It started doing this after some kind of update that I think happened automatically.

What's wrong with the optimization? Are you stuck there? Old versions of Android used to optimize apps after every system update. So, all looks normal to me here.

@singhnsk  A)It can take 20min sometimes even when it's only 1  app to 'optimise'. B) It can happen any time, like twice in one day, i'm worried about powering my phone off because if I get in my car to make a journey and power it on so as to use google maps, it may take my phone 20min at that screen.   If i'm in  a shop that is  to close in 10min, and I power up my phone to check something, the shop will be closed by the time it is up.  Often I need to use my phone within a minute or two of turning it on.      Also, mention old versions of android..Do I have an old version of android?

if I have an old version of android, why would my phone have updated to an old version of android?

Okay. So, it is happening randomly even without a phone system update? In that case, it is a good chance that your device is suffering from some sort of hardware issue. You can try doing a factory reset, but I doubt that's going to solve it.

@singhnsk  I think you're jumping to conclusions re hardware, but even if it were, there may be  there is some cache that can be cleared i've done it before from the shell(though not for this problem).  dalvik cache or something .. maybe if I get an english boot loader I can clear that cache easily, if it will help workaround that


text:
Photos missing in both gallery and google photos
This morning i stupidly formatted my SD card (J2 prime lack of storage issue), and after noticed that photos were missing from both my gallery AND google photos, that were taken over the last few weeks.
After i noticed that my camera was set to store photos on the SD card rather than device. I definitely don't remember putting my camera to store photos on the SD card so not sure what happened there?
Also whenever i delete a photo in gallery it also removes it from google photos.
Will formatting the SD card remove photos from google photos?
I've since taken a photo to make sure it was uploading images so i hope that doesn't mean the images are not recoverable from the device?
I'm only using the phone on 4g.
Any ideas on getting the photos back?
Thanks for any help.

Formatting your SD card shall not delete the synced items from your Google photos account.
Google photos app also shows your offline photos. So, unless they were uploaded to the cloud drive, they are now gone and cannot be recovered.
Please check once by logging into your account at photos.google.com. If your photos appear there, then they are in the cloud and you can safely get them back on your device.


text:
Restoring Android apps and settings on new redmi 4 from backup not possible
I used to use a Samsung Galaxy S5 and now switched to a Xiaomi Redmi 4.  I have backup'd my phone settings and app settings to my google account.  However, when I initialize my new phone, there is no such option as to whether I want to restore from a backup. My google drive says it has backup settings for 16 apps.  Also in the new phone, when browsing in the google drive app, there's no option to restore any kind of settings.
How do I get my apps and settings (especially wifi passwords) back?

The Restore backup option is only present while setting up the phone first time.
So, You will have to factory reset your new phone and choose option to restore settings from other phone.
You will see a page to restore your data from a previous backup while setting up the device named "Which Device" or something similar.

Choose your Samsung Galaxy S5 from the list.

Hi Shailesh, thanks for the detailed walkthrough. That's exactly the page I had expected, but which I did not get. There was nothing to choose from, neither on the first nor on the second attempt. Any idea why this might be? I read there is no downward compatibility...

@MERose I had the same problem while setting up my new Mi 9T. I had finally able to restore data when I specified Wi-Fi password during the initial setup process.


text:
How to restore the Whatsapp Messenger icon? Not the app, just the icon
Since quite some time now, the Whatsapp Messenger icon is not the proper icon, but the Android green trashcan icon. The app in itself is working properly, it just looks funny on the home screen.
Reinstalling is an obvious solution, but I would loose my chat history. Wouldn't I?
CAT B15Q, Android 4.4.2 (I know, ancient).

If you backup your chat history first, you can then uninstall/reinstall and restore your chat history.

can you please check this: clear cache and data of your launcher from settings-> appliactions-> your stock launcher-> storage. Please note that it will reset your home screen arrangement to default. Or else you can try with another launcher (nova launcher ). by using nova launcher you can customize many things especially icons.

After many automatic updates, one of the most recent ones spontaneously restored the app icon!
And after a few more updates, the proper icon was once again replaced by the Android green trashcan icon.

On my phone, you can bin the faulty WhatsApp icon and then reselect it from the installed apps list with the right icon.


text:
Syncing Android with (local) desktop Taskwarrior server on Ubuntu 16.04 on Windows 10
After installing the Taskwarrior and Taskwarrior server on Ubuntu 16.04 on Windows 10 and successfully synchronizing Taskwarrior with the Taskwarrior server on that laptop, I  am trying to synchronize the F-Droid Taskwarrior app on LineageOS 7.1.2 with the laptop:

either when they are locally on the same WiFi network, without a configurable router,
or through the internet, preferably without dependency on external
services.

So the question is, what taskd.server solution/value in the APK/app would allow me to connect to my local PC with a local static IP address: and public shared IP adress: ?^
^Whilst satisfying constraints:

Preferably without dependency on external services
Otherwise, a non-paid service that allows maintaining your own security/certificates.

Now I do not expect a simple answer, I would really appreciate confirmations of assumptions or explanations why my assumptions or reasonings are invalid/incomplete.
Information that describes the installation steps followed:

For simplification, all options are multiplied by applied twice, to alternate for the following setting:
ciphers=NORMAL
ciphers=SECURE256

As suggested here: https://bitbucket.org/kvorobyev/taskwarriorandroid/issues/2/provide-a-taskrcandroid-with-options-and

The certificates are copied from the folder in Ubuntu /home/a/.task folder to the C:/exportcertificates folder on the Windows 10 OS with the following command:
cp /home/a/.task/first.cert.pem /mnt/c/exportcertificates
cp /home/a/.task/first.key.pem /mnt/c/exportcertificates
cp /home/a/.task/ca.cert.pem /mnt/c/exportcertificates

Next, in Windows, ca.cert.pem is opened in Subliminal. All the text above -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE----- is deleted, to ensure the ca.cert.pem certificate starts with -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE----- and ends with -----END CERTIFICATE----- as suggested by the repo owner here: https://bitbucket.org/kvorobyev/taskwarriorandroid/issues/19/failed-sync-on-android-601-nexus-6
Next, these 3 certificates are copied to the internal storage of the Android phone with LineageOS, Android 7.1.2.

The location of the certificates storage is created manually in the internal storage of the phone as <uuid>:
/storage/self/primary/Android/data/kvj.taskw/files/<uuid>

Where <uuid> is the User Key in the original Ubuntu installation of Taskserver, as specified here: https://gitpitch.com/GothenburgBitFactory/taskserver-setup#/13/2. This adheres to the protocol according to: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Taskd
Next, a new account is created and the location accompanying that account is the previously created <uuid>.

There are n keys, and certificates produced, some might be based on the information in:
/var/taskd/vars file which contains the CN=localhost line.
If one of the 3 exported certificates, most likely ca.cert.pem is based on that CN=localhost line, it could produce an error since the "config file" of the Taskwarrior app needs to refer to a different/external host if it wants to connect to the localhost on that PC. As I think is implied here: https://gitpitch.com/GothenburgBitFactory/taskserver-setup#/9/2

The PC has local IP: 172.XX.YY.4 and all PC's on the whole building (200+ PCs) share the following external IP address: 89.AAA.BBB.4. So, the first thing I tried was accessing the building's router at the default gateway to set up a portforward. That was not possible, neither with https://github.com/kaklakariada/portmapper nor the system administrator indicated:

Routers are not supplied to the building, you on your individual LAN ports you are given through DHCP you are given a public IPv4 address. If you connect your PC to the LAN you don't need to portforward. If you want you can put a router between the wall socket and your PC to portforward.

That seems to suggest that without the portforward, it should directly connect to the localhost.
But I do not understand how I could tell it to go from public IP address 89.AAA.BBB.4  to local IP address 89.AAA.BBB.4 at port 53589.

I am currently working at brute forcing all attempts to connect to localhost on a different PC listed below. The list contains the settings for the Taskwarrior F-Droid app:"
If the following lines are not specified, they are added in the settings as either:
taskd.certificate=first.cert.pem
taskd.key=first.key.pem
taskd.ca=ca.cert.pem
taskd.credentials=<organisation>\/<username of taskwarrior>\/<User key>
ciphers=NORMAL

Or:
taskd.certificate=first.cert.pem
taskd.key=first.key.pem
taskd.ca=ca.cert.pem
taskd.credentials=<organisation>\/<username of taskwarrior>\/<User key>
ciphers=SECURE256

List of current attempts:
taskd.server=localhost:53589
taskd.server=127.0.0.1:53589
taskd.server=172.XX.YY.4:53589
taskd.server=89.AAA.BBB.4:53589

Then I tried tunneling an external host using ngrok (Source: https://dashboard.ngrok.com/get-started)
I downloaded and unpacked the ngrok.exe to c:/ngrok/
opened cmd>cd c:/ngrok and entered the following commands:
ngrok http 80

Which returned:
http://f59195a3.ngrok.io -> localhost:80
https://f59195a3.ngrok.io -> localhost:80

So the config file in the APK file was set to:
taskd.certificate=first.cert.pem
taskd.key=first.key.pem
taskd.ca=ca.cert.pem
taskd.server=http://f59195a3.ngrok.io
taskd.credentials=<organisation>\/<username of taskwarrior>\/<User key>
ciphers=NORMAL

And to:
taskd.certificate=first.cert.pem
taskd.key=first.key.pem
taskd.ca=ca.cert.pem
taskd.server=http://f59195a3.ngrok.io
taskd.credentials=<organisation>\/<username of taskwarrior>\/<User key>
ciphers=SECURE256

And to:
taskd.certificate=first.cert.pem
taskd.key=first.key.pem
taskd.ca=ca.cert.pem
taskd.server=https://f59195a3.ngrok.io
taskd.credentials=<organisation>\/<username of taskwarrior>\/<User key>
ciphers=NORMAL

And to:
taskd.certificate=first.cert.pem
taskd.key=first.key.pem
taskd.ca=ca.cert.pem
taskd.server=https://f59195a3.ngrok.io
taskd.credentials=<organisation>\/<username of taskwarrior>\/<User key>
ciphers=SECURE256

And to:
taskd.certificate=first.cert.pem
taskd.key=first.key.pem
taskd.ca=ca.cert.pem
taskd.server=f59195a3.ngrok.io
taskd.credentials=<organisation>\/<username of taskwarrior>\/<User key>
ciphers=NORMAL

And to:
taskd.certificate=first.cert.pem
taskd.key=first.key.pem
taskd.ca=ca.cert.pem
taskd.server=f59195a3.ngrok.io
taskd.credentials=<organisation>\/<username of taskwarrior>\/<User key>
ciphers=SECURE256

Without a port number specified at the end, e.g. taskd.server=https://f59195a3.ngrok.io, it immediately returns the following error:

Sync disabled: certificate load failure

With a port specified, e.g. taskd.server=f59195a3.ngrok.io:80 and taskd.server=f59195a3.ngrok.io:53589, the sync is configured successfully and it tries and fails after a few minutes with the error:

Failed to receive data: Unkown error -1 sync failed. Could not connect to the Taskserver.

This procedure is repeated with the different secure tunnel by ngrok using forward to port 53589 (which is set open in the Windows firewall. TODO: Present evidence that it is reachable from an external (not local WiFi) system).
ngrok http 53589
ngrok tcp 53589

Without a successful sync.
Next, a similar approach is used using https://localtunnel.github.io/www/. After installation, the following commands are used to set up a secure tunnel to the server on Windows 10.
lt --port 53589

returning:  https://ancient-octopus-100.localtunnel.me
Analogous to ng, the servers without the port specified immediately failed on the certificate error described above.
And the ones with port specifications tried, but they failed after a few minutes on the same error as specified above.
Next, there was the awesome site https://www.freecinc.com/ which provides a hosting service. However, it only allows one to use the keys that are generated by that service. As far as I understand, using that, you lose your security, which I do appreciate.
The other awesome equivalent is https://inthe.am/ which requires a Google account. Which I am trying to avoid.
The next option is to modify the cn=.. in the configuration file on the hosting server (my laptop) itself so that that matches the value of what eventually needs to be filled in in the Android Taskwarrior app. However, since I have not determined this value yet, and I assume the ca.cert.pert is dependent on the "cn=.." value in the config file, they need to be transferred every iteration, making it a rather convoluted process.
Against recommendations, I am trying to use a laptop as a hosting server, and I would be ecstatic if the Android phone and laptop could sync if they are on the same home WiFi network.
Here, it is suggested on https://gitpitch.com/GothenburgBitFactory/taskserver-setup#/10/1 to use "your full machine name for proper network addressability". hostname -f returns DESKTOP-2XXXXXT.localdomain, I do not think that is the "full machine name".

The short answer is classified by the Taskwarrior setup guide as "a bad idea". Source: https://taskwarrior.org/docs/taskserver/taskwarrior.html
Set the taskd.trust to ignore hostname with the following line:
sudo task config taskd.trust -- ignore hostname
This approach was combined with the solution suggested in this question that I found afterward: https://superuser.com/questions/1314916/when-listening-to-a-port-taskserver-should-the-local-address-be-localhost-or
It suggests one set the CN=localhost:portnr to CN=0.0.0.0:53589 in the /pki folder before generating the certificates. CN=0.0.0.0:53589 would mean only Taskwarrior instances that are on the same machine, e.g. VirtualBox Ubuntu with Taskwarrior or emulated Android with Taskwarrior F-Droid app would be able to access the server.
However, just setting CN=0.0.0.0:53589 did not allow the Taskwarrior server on Ubuntu on Windows 10 (through Windows Store) to sync with itself. That is why the ignore hostname a bad idea, was added to make it work.
That also meant the Taskwarrior F-Droid app was able to synchronize with it from a different WiFi network in the same building.
There are two moments where one needs to enter the host IP address and port name.

In the vars file in the pki folder in the line CN=...
After telling Taskserver where the freshly generated certificates are located, with the line: sudo taskd config --force server 0.0.0.0:53589 --data $TASKDDATA

I intend on testing the following setups to yield a definite answer.

Setting the static IP address of my laptop and seeing if I can sync the Taskserver on Ubuntu on Windows 10 and the Taskwarrior app with the server on the PC if I enter the static. With and without ignoring the hostname in taskd.trust

Setting CN=127.0.0.1:53589 and seeing if I can sync the Taskserver on Ubuntu on Windows 10 and the Taskwarrior app with the server on the PC if I enter the static. With and without ignoring the hostname in taskd.trust

Performing more thorough troubleshooting with CN=0.0.0.0:53589 to try and sync without ignoring hostname in taskd.trust.

Changing a character in every certificate (one at a time) in the F-Droid Taskwarrior app and checking if the successful synchronisation becomes unsuccessful due to an invalid certificate. From that, one could conclude that the answer I suggest, ignoring the hostname breaches the security of the hostname location, and not the complete certificate security check.


text:
What is this Overlay Application and How can I get rid of it?
Recently this "app" has shown up on my phone. Tapping it gives me access to things like the home and back button, as well as screen lock.

I can't figure out what app or setting has caused this to show up recently and I'd very much like to get rid of it as it gets in the way of using other applications. There aren't any apps that I see in the settings panel that I recognize as being this kind of tool (Lux, Twilight, Lumen, "toolbar", etc).

What is the device/model that you are using?

@singhnsk Whoops, sorry. It's an Honor 6X.

Possible duplicate of Determine which app is drawing on top of other apps?

@Firelord Thanks for that link, unfortunately, its not helping. OS Monitor isn't showing me any applications (lit. System and Itself) which I know is wrong. From the list of overlay applications from Adv. Perm Manager, there was only one that was installed within the timeframe of when the one I want to kill showed up, but even uninstalling it didn't help. Got any other ideas?

@Draco18s please see the edited part in my answer here: https://android.stackexchange.com/a/127862/96277 It should be able solve your problem.

@Firelord Turns out it was the Smart Assistance dock from singhnsk's answer (which I tried before going through the hassle of finding/downloading/installing the Android tools).

Thanks for adding the comment. This looks like the "Navigation Dock" feature of Huawei's EMUI. Because these Chinese system skins will include all features that are included with an iPhone.
You will find the option to disable if you search for navigation dock in your settings app.
It should also be somewhere here (varies slightly per device).
Settings > Smart Assistance > System navigation > Navigation Dock.
Let's see how that goes.

Bingo! That's exactly what it was.


text:
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 restarting continuously
My Samsung Galaxy Note 4 has been continuously restarting during or at times right after the welcome screen. I have tried the following steps to sort out this issue:

Downloaded Samsung USB driver and installed it.
Downloaded Odin version 3.12.3.
Downloaded firmware for my Note 4 SM-910F from SamMobile.com .
Delete the cache.img.ext4 from the firmware .md5 file before flashing it with Odin. (Is this a good practice?)
Once the firmware is loaded in Odin I turn on my mobile phone and set it to download mode by pressing Home+Power+Volume Down button.
Once Flash is completed I restart my mobile by taking out the battery and then press the Power+Home+Volume Up button together to get to the recovery screen.
Once in the recovery screen I wipe the cache partition and data/factory reset as well. During the data/factory reset process a verify dmverity hash tree... comes up and then my mobile goes back into the endless restart cycle.

While in the Android recovery menu I have noticed that right at the end it's written: dm-verity verification failed.
From this point onward though I feel I have done everything by the book and my mobile is still restarting continuously. This is the first time I have dealt with such a problem and I am new to the whole process of flashing the firmware itself.

What changes occurred before this issue started happening? Is the device rooted? I might be wrong, but dm-verity verification failure could part of the problem.

If I remember correctly no new app had been download and installed for nearly 3 months. The device is not rooted.


text:
Phone won't connect to internet in the background! Why?
My phone (Galaxy Note 4) running Android 6.0.1 can't do anything internet related unless the process is running in the foreground. I've been dealing with it for so long, but now I'm stuck in the hospital after serious surgery for the second time and I really would like it to work this time... :(
This is the error script, from leaving Facebook in the background to post a video. My phone isn't rooted or anything so it's the best I know how to offer:

9zf caught Execution Exception, com.facebook.tigon.tigon utils.TigonErrorException: TigonError(2): TigonLigerErrorDomain(2) AsyncSocketException: con-nect failed, type = Socket not open, errno = 111 (Connection refused) java.lang.RuntimeException: 9zF caught Execution Exception, com.facebook.tigon.tigon utils.TigonErrorException: TigonError(2): TigonLigerErrorDomain(2) AsyncSocketException: con-nect failed, type = Socket not open, errno = 111 (Connection refused) at X.9zF.D(1746707) at X.9zF.iyA(1746720) at X.24s.run(:497658) at java.util.concurrent.Executors $RunnableAdaptercall(Executo
  rs java: 423 *

{facebook cut the rest off, but the next line, I think, is this}

I'm tech savvy but not this tech savy. My phone will do nothing internet related in the background, nothing. Whatever it is, as soon as it's not running in the foreground, it zonks out. Screen turning off drops my calls (I use an internet number), messages aren't delivered unless I open the app, etc etc Messenger (for Facebook) in particular acts really funny about connecting; after it zonks out and I reopen it, I have to disconnect and reconnect to the WiFi or it'll just sit there telling me I have no Internet. Other apps basically do that too, though. Everything was the same even when I used to have phone service and mobile data, switching between them, I believe, would fix it too.
Not sure how relevant this is, but my phone totally rejected being rejected to "sign in" (I quote because it claimed I needed to sign in in my settings, but just wanted to redirect me to the hospital page before it would work) to the public WiFi network here, and it always has silly little troubles like that. It kept saying Google refused the connection or giving me the generic dinosaur error. Everyone else seemed to do fine with it, finally after a million times of trying things, going to Google.com manually did work.
I disabled a lot of system components once upon a time because there are a lot that i just do not need ever running on my phone and wasting my battery. My best theory is I selected one (maybe even more) accidentally and caused this but I have no idea which one. My fear is some kind of virus/hacker/personal data stealing something or other hiding in my phone. I used to install modded versions of applications from the internet because I'm a fool. This is a pretty old phone, my non-stone-age one is broken.
I also bought it used and clearly very refurbished (not even well) from a sketchy auction on eBay, so that's another reason I'm concerned. It's probably nothing, haha. My device status claims to be official, I couldn't find anything particularly sketchy in my phone's information.
I don't remember when this started happening but I feel like it wasn't after disabling anything or I would have noticed? I'm probably wrong, though lol
Thanks in advance! ♡Quinn


text:
Disable "unlock with voice" notifications Xperia XA1
tl:dr - despite repeatedly choosing the "no thanks" option, my phone keeps displaying notifications to setup voice unlock. I Say "no" - as far as I know it is not enabled - but an hour later it asks me again.
How can I disable this feature permanently. (re-asking me to setup voice notifications).
Phone is Sony Xperia XA1 running Android 8.0.0
longer:
Starting yesterday, I got a notification saying "Unlock with your voice" - "Unlock your phone by saying "Ok Google". (screenshots at the bottom of the question)
Now, being a privacy conscious tin-foil hat wearing type - I do not want my phone to ever be listening to me for voice commands. No problem, I tap the notification - and another page comes up with a description, and two options: "No Thanks" and "I agree". I choose, "no thanks". The phone seems to be content with my decision. But.... an hour or so later, the notification returns. It's happened about 3 or 4 times now.
Screenshots:
Notification

No Thanks option page:

Remove Google Now Launcher (discontinued) from the homescreen and disable Google from Settings > Apps > Apps List.


text:
Unable to open HAXM device: ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND
I am getting intel haxm error while running emulator. It was working 1 month back but stopped a while back. I tried a temporary solution to disable driver reinforcement which starts the emulator but it doesn't work in big app projects and whole app/emulator starts crashing. I have to disable driver reinforcement with each reboot to make it work. Not GOOD idea :/
Secondly, few guys said to enable vt in bios and I did that too but again same issue. Any suggestions?
Error and PC Info is listed below

Had the same problem in windows 10, which was solved by disabling Hyper-v and reinstalling HAXM via SDK Manager>SDK Tools>Intel x86 Emulator Accelerator

There is no option in Windows 7

Thanks! I ran into this problem after installing Visual Studio Emulator for Android. Your solution worked for me.


text:
Galaxy S7 Android 8 Oreo; keyboard shortcuts/settings/dictionary backup possible...?
Is it possible to backup Samsung keyboard shortcuts, settings and any additions you make to the dictionary on the Samsung Galaxy S7 running Android 8 Oreo?
TIA,
Ivan.


text:
How to swiftly hide on-screen keyboard with a gesture?
I'm using an ageing Nexus 6 with stock and rooted Android 7.1.1. The problem I have with most multi-featured keyboards is that they don't hide timely with my pace of app usage. So, with animations disabled, when I swiftly switch to an app and the keyboard was opened in last used app, it would not hide out with a breeze. Often I find a gap of one or more seconds which is irritating and unproductive.
Using Back key doesn't really work in such cases. I tried Hackers Keyboard while looking for a lightweight keyboard and while it provides a swipe action to hide keyboard (which reduces the severity of the issue here) I have productivity issues with the low and rigid width of its space bar which I have discussed here. Furthermore, it lacks predictions which is another disappointment.
Ideally, I would prefer to use my Gboard or any alternative but competitive app but the competitive ones I tried, such as TouchPal, Swiftkey, Google Indic, suffers from performance issues on my device. As such, I'm looking for a way to hide any keyboard with a gesture and swiftly.
I tried to look for Xposed modules but to no avail. I also looked into GMD Gesture Control to my utter disappointment.

Install Xposed edge module (see the help and support section on basics of how to use this module)
In preferences gesture on soft keyboard is enabled by default. Disable that (optional)
Choose an edge and the desired trigger (single tap, double tap etc from the 6 options) and action as soft keyboard → hide soft keyboard


text:
Is phone call quality different depending on the connectivity standard?
I've been trying to figure out how to achieve the best audio quality in phone calls, and part of it is finding out whether GSM, CDMA, LTE or other standards/technologies compress the audio the same way or differently depending on the phone's settings or hardware. I'm not asking about internet audio calls (like using Skype for example) but regular built-in phone calls.
Does the available network type determine the audio quality of phone calls? Can I improve the sound quality if I get a phone from a GSM or CDMA carrier? Does LTE or some other more modern standard improve audio quality significantly?

See this article https://www.pcmag.com/article/360357/how-to-make-your-cell-phone-calls-sound-better


text:
How to close `Android Auto` notification
I plugged my phone into the USB on my rental car so that it would stay charged while I used the phone for navigation -- but it didn't stay charged.
Now I have a notification that I can't get rid of:
Google Play services -> Android Auto -> Connected to your car

How do I get rid of this notification?
Bonus question: Did Android Auto prevent my phone from charging?

By the way, the car is off and the phone is not in the car -- but I still can't get rid of the notification.

Tapping the notification has no effect, which makes me want to tap progressively aggressively.

Is the device rooted? Fairly easy to do it with NotifyClean Xposed module.

@Firelord: No, the device is not rooted.

The notification went away the next day -- maybe after I got in the car again.

Try this procedure and tell me if it works !
https://support.google.com/androidauto/thread/4024751?msgid=16938659


text:
How to download .docx document to the phone from Google Drive?
Currently using Google Drive version 2.18.252.01.45 and I have a .docx document in my drive that doesn't download to the phone as a .docx document. It downloads as a .pdf document. I tried looking for options similar to those found in a web browser which allows you to 'Download as', but the Android app doesn't have that option. It automatically converts the .docx document to PDF and then downloads it.
Any way to download a document to Android from Google Drive in its original format?

I may have a slightly an older vesion than yours (2.17.372.10.45) but I am pretty sure it downloads the .docx file without converting to "pdf) as you mention. Do you have a word reader installed on you device? other than that Iam not sure why that is happening

Drive on Android doesn't permit that as you discovered. You would need to use a third party office app like this

You can download docx documents as stated here:

Which file formats can I download?
You can download files in these formats:

Documents: HTML, RTF, DOCX, OpenOffice, PDF, EPUB, Text.
Spreadsheets: CSV, HTML, ODS, PDF, XLSX, TXT (only for a single sheet).
Presentations: PDF, PPTX, TXT.
Drawings: PNG, JPEG, SVG, PDF.

Using version 2.19.013.08.35 of Google Drive, it does not convert docx documents to pdf.

Open Google Drive, go to the folder your file is located.
Click on the 3-dot, then click Download.

If you are still unable to download documents as docx, verify that you have not by mistake converted it to pdf,


text:
Will removing a google account from a device delete the game data?
I have an android phone from my friend because i need to get some game data with a code from my old account for a game. The thing is, he is logged in his account rn. If i go to settings,google then accounts and i remove his account will his game data be wiped? If yes,when i login back with his account will his data be back or no? Please anawer quickly, i dont have much time. and btw i cant acces my google play account because i use ios.

It depends on the game, but it will delete some other non-game data, so don't do it. Why not just add your account without removing his account?

different games have different ways to save.
most games have their save on google cloud, and some game place it on private server, or local storage.
Most western (google play requiring games) store their saves in google server, meanwhile eastern have their own server for save.
why dont you mention your game title for a better understanding?
because different game have different rule


text:
Stop Android from switching networks
We have four different WiFi networks in our home which we use for different things. What I'm doing and where I am in the house dictates the one I want to use.
Android always tries to automatically connect to the network with the strongest signal strength, which is not necessarily the one I want to use. It becomes very annoying to have to keep switching it back to the one that I want.
Is there a way to make Android stay connected to the wifi network I select, until I either change it or go out of range of that network?

Assuming you don't protect your wifi with a password, then its likely that your phone automatically scans for open wifi connection and connects to 'nearest'. However, this only happens if you are no longer connected to or out of range of your desired network. So

Disabling auto scan for open network may ensure that you only connect to the active one.
Once you are done with the other networks, always remember to press "forget" on the wifi option

On the other hand if you have a password, then obviously you have stored the password of all the connection and using the "forget" option would mean entering the password each time.
So it may be that the strength of your desired connection is too weak or lost and the phone decides to connect to the nearest one, in which case there is nothing you can do but to make sure you are connected to the "right" network.
Hope it helped...


text:
Google Search app results on desktop
My question is simple - I like reading the results of the Google Search app - it's become much better at allowing me to customise these results, as well as becoming better at predicting what I might like.
Does anyone know if there is a way I can view the results of the Google Search app on my Windows desktop machine, either by installing a desktop application or by navigating to a website that shows these results?

Check this. I can't verify because I keep it turned off

@beeshyams, this is a bit different from what I'm asking for. The content at the link talks about how to change your search preferences, but what I want is to able to see the same search results that I see in the Google search app.

What I meant was to see in your search history if that can help you


text:
Android-Studio in VM. Emulator: audio: Failed to create voice `goldfish_audio_in'

Hello, I am trying to setup Android Studio 3.1.3 in a windows 10 x64 pro VM. I have installed Android 6.0 in AVD for ARM EABI architecture on a Pixel.
However, when I try to launch the emulator I get
Emulator: audio: Failed to create voice `goldfish_audio_in'

Emulator: qemu-system-armel.exe: warning: opening audio input failed

and the emulator is just a black screen that does not respond to anything.
I have everything enabled in Virtual Box regarding hardware acceleration.
I checked these posts:
Is it possible to run Android Device Emulator (via Android Studio 2) on VMWare?
“emulator: warning: opening audio input failed” displayed in the console while AVD is launching
Android Emulator: Audio Input Failed
but doesnt seem to get me anywhere...
I have also tried to disable sound in config.ini or disable the microphone in windows 10 VM but didnt change anything.
Am I missing something here?
Is it impossible to run android emulator for ARM architecture on a VM?

Uninstall Intel x86 Emulator Accelerator  from windows control panel. Then install it again in android studio.
Tools => Android => SDK manager => SDK tools => Intel x86 Emulator Accelerator (HAXM installer).
Then make sure that you plug a microphone or a line - in cable to the input socket of your pc.
This is how I got my own issue disappeared.

Try reinstalling Intel x86 emulator accelerator, you can find it on your control panel
That should work,in case it doesn't work try reinstalling the entire android studio because sometimes it fails to download some plugins which causes this error.


text:
How to know power consumption at the moment?
From time to time my Samsung Galaxy S7 is starting to consume a lot of power, turns hot and eats 10% of charge in minutes.
If I have less than 10% charge, it kills itself even if on external power.
How to trace which application does this (and eliminate it)?
I tried GSam battery monitor, but it can display per application data only in average from last full charge time. I.e. it can't trace proccess which worked only minutes.
Are there any applications, which can trace simultaneously per time and per application?

Please add to your question of the device is rooted or not. If not AFAIK, no way of knowing

@beeshyams answer how to do this on rooted

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dp.sysmonitor.app


text:
Why not use a legacy flagship rather than a new mid-class smartphone? (Galaxy Note 3 2013 vs. A7 2018)
Why does Samsung not keep producing the Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note 3?
These devices, despite of their release date as flaghsip device in 2014 and 2013 still perform very well, and are solid mid-class phones today.
A great example: Note 3 (2013) versus A7 2018 (2018):
The Galaxy Note 3 is equipped with:

Air View hovering controls and tooltips
Air Gesture controls
Humidity sensor (hygrometer).
Temperature sensor (thermometer).
2160p video recording (yes, the Galaxy A7 2018 still only has 1080p at 30fps‼)
1080p@60fps smooth video caputuring capabilities,
Infrared transmitter,
Slightly larger battery
User-replaceable battery (thus custom back covers and wireless charging cover)
S-Pen, the highly functional stylus.
Multi-window pop-up windows with small minimum window size.
Dark user interface (as known from legacy TouchWiz versions) with more icons in addition to the text, also in context menus.
More customizeable and ultimately vibrant camera application user interface.
Homescreen with more options, page slider and more drag/drop shortcuts such as AppInfo.

All of which the A7 2018 has nothing.
Of course, the Galaxy A7 2018 has some advantages such as quick-launching camera, but why does Samsung not keep producing previous flagships that could be an excellent mid-range device today?And features such as the camera quick launcher can simply be implemented via software updates that hopefully do not have side effects such as the uglified Lollipop user interface after updating S4, Note 3 and S5.
There is no mid-range Galaxy Note (there is LG G Stylo however), except Note 3 Neo, which got sold much longer than original Galaxy Note 3 despite being not as good as the original Note 3.

Well, there's 2 parts to your question:

older model phones: I currently use a Samsung Galaxy S4, and I agree with you 100% that older flagship smartphones are still excellent devices for today. Features like a removable battery are going extinct, and that's a deal-breaker for me. Some of these older flagship smartphones are still available for purchase new, just maybe not from where you'd expect.
why don't they do this: Well, a lot of engineering work goes into designing a new device, so manufacturers need to meet certain sales volumes to recoup costs. Also, manufacturing older devices runs into the issue of taking up "resources" (assembly line time, warehouse space) that could be better spent on the newer model. Finally, older phones use different components than current phones. Some of these components may no longer be available, or the contract to supply them has expired, or new contracts for new suppliers for components of newer devices prevents them from entering contracts with older suppliers ("exclusive supply").

I am glad to hear your well-equipped S4 still works as intended! But what if the newer model is not any better? And why do the suppliers not just continue with supplying the parts?

The newer models aren't any better. After the Samsung Galaxy S5, none of the flagship Samsungs have a removable battery, which makes them a "definitely not going to buy" for me.

Unable to edit previous comment: I pressed the edit button 3 seconds too late. I would like to add, that by “newer model”, I did not mean S5 but something like S6 or A7, which are better in some ways, but also have many removed features and disadvantages (S6 obviously!).

You have a good sense of mobile technology, like a power user.

I still run a S4 Mini and an old S3; both are very satisfying, but it all boils down to personal preference.

There's a few factors at play here, some of them technical, some commercial. Don't forget that when Apple introduced this policy of introducing new generations of iPod with more features and completely discontinuing the old ones, people praised them for going counter to the tech industry norm of dropping the price of older models, which was seen as price-gouging of early adopters.
Costs don't work like that
The per-unit cost of making each phone doesn't decrease as the phone model gets older, because the components don't get any cheaper, so the margins would have to decrease in order to reduce the price point of the old models. Although the up-front cost of designing the phone has been paid off, there is an ongoing cost of porting new Android versions and/or backporting security fixes. People already get annoyed when their old phone doesn't get the latest Android version, and this would be even worse when their ex-flagship phone is already stuck on an old version out of the shop.
Can't always support new versions
The Android version problem is even worse than it looks. Sometimes new features require new hardware components to support, for example NFC host emulation for Android Pay, or Bluetooth LE. Sometimes these components are mandatory for supporting a new Android version. The old flagship phone wouldn't be able to keep getting Android updates, while a new budget phone would.
Even when there's no new headline features, the phone OEM is also at the mercy of their component vendors, who have to supply drivers for parts like the GPU, video codec hardware, cellular modem. They don't want to support new Android versions on their old hardware either, because they have the same problem with decreasing margins. If OEMs demanded longer support, component vendors would have to increase their component prices, which would make even the flagship phones more expensive.
Software integration is a variable cost
We've already mentioned that the software integration is a large part of the up-front cost of developing a new model, but it's not the same cost for every model. Flagship phones, with their slick camera app, swanky box features, and performance optimisations, cost a lot more to develop than budget phones. This is part of why the budget phones can be cheap in comparison.
Branding
One last commercial reason is that having a separate budget phone range allows the OEM to differentiate their products better. Samsung (to use your example) doesn't want the Note range tainted with the idea that it's old technology, and discontinuing old models allows them to avoid that. Keeping the budget range with a separate name allows it to be better associated with the price point it's targeted at.
Summary
It wouldn't be possible to offer last year's flagship phone at the same price point as this year's budget phone, it would make it harder for the OEM's marketing, and the decision of when to stop support wouldn't be entirely under the OEM's control any more.

Thank you for this explaination. Now I comprehend it better.+


text:
Meizu m3 note started lagging because of Google play services
Recently, my meizu phone started lagging, and after a while, I decided to reinstall my system. After a couple of reinstallations, i realised, the problem was in google services, because my phone started to lag exactly after google services installation. And the worst thing is that I can't use any of 50% of my apps anymore, because they all need a GS to work.
P.S. I installed GS with google installer from meizu app store.

The same problem with me. Try to install older version of Google play service, I used this version of play service, https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/meizu/google-apps-installer/google-apps-installer-4-4-2-release/google-apps-installer-4-4-2-android-apk-download/download/

@bagustris did it work for you ? Because if I install the older version of GS, it will probably update itself to the latest version.

This also happened to me. It took me 3 days to find out that google play service caused the lagging. I though my meizu m3 note was infected by some virusses. I uninstalled google Play service and the lag was gone.

@Incognitus yes it works for me. Turn off your auto update on Meizu app store, that is the problem.

@bagustris Man, u saved my phone, thanks a lot))) Can you copy your answer in answer section, so I can point it as the best one ?

The problem is caused by Meizu app store that continuously updating google play service infinitely. So, try the following steps:

Turn off your auto update on Meizu app store by tapping App store > profile (top right) > setting > App store auto update.
Install older version of Google app installer, for example is here.

Those steps work for me.


text:
dload:update partition MBR failed Huawei Honor 3C
I have Huawei Honor 3C H30-U10, It was running fine but some days back when I plugged in charger it restarted and hung up on welcome screen*(no animated logo)*. Seems like I need to install Stock Rom to it.
Phone Details:
Huawei Honor 3C H30-U10
Build Number:  H30-U10 V100R001C900B108
International Variant
I download Stock ROM for it with version B108 but it was in SP Flash Tool format. My phone isn't recognised by my laptop even though I have VCOM drivers installed.
This force me to think I need to download Stock ROM but which is in dload and UPDATE.APP form. It was hard for me to get any ROM H30-U10 V100R001C900B108 in UPDATE.APP form. Fortunately I got one from here (Please look at: 7. V100R001C900B108 ROM (update.app))
Upon pressing
Volume UP+Power Key It successfully went to updating from SD Card but I am receiving this error log on screen:
md5_verify success
dloading module CURVER.....
main version string=H30-U10 V100R001C900B108
dloading module VERLIST.....
Main version from property is H30-U10 V100R001C900B108
main version check: the market is same. go to continue..
current version in VERLIST, allow to update.
dloading module MBR.....
dload:update partition MBR failed
Update /sdcard/dload/update.app failed

=============================

   @@@@@   @    @@@  @
   @      @ @    @   @
   @@@   @   @   @   @
   @     @@@@@   @   @
   @     @   @  @@@  @@@@@

=============================

My question is

Why I am getting this error?
What are the other possibilities that
I can do to bring back this phone to life?

PS:
Pointing to this dload:update partition MBR failed Shopkeeper (Mobile technician) told me your phone internal memory is full, or corrupted. You can't get it right until you change the hardware part associated with memory. Is he right?
Guys, I tried hard to search this question on internet and I didn't find anything. Please provide rich information so that other community use it for reference.
PSS:
By going to wipe cache partition it says:
-- wiping cache
Formatting / cache...
Cache wipe complete.

But by going to option: wipe data/factory reset it says:
--wiping data...

and stuck. No further process at all.

Did you try with upload file in internal memory not external SD? This used to be a workaround for Honor 6, a few years back

@beeshyams I don't how to do it as my phone isn't being recognised by my   laptop. I will love to have any help in that regards. :(

Sorry, that's the problem. Didn't read carefully

This is a hardware (EMMC) problem.
you need to change emmc.