text:
Galaxy Tab S can't boot into fastboot mode
I want to install a custom ROM on my Galaxy Tab S. Therefore, I need to install TWRP as recovery. For that, I need to unlock my bootloader. I'm following this guide to unlock my bootloader: http://rootmygalaxy.net/unlock-bootloader-android-using-fastboot-commands/
I installed the appropriate drivers and ADB&Fastboot on my computer. Then, I enabled debugging on my Galaxy Tab S. Then, I opened the command console and typed: "adb reboot bootloader". My tablet then restart, but doesn't go into fastboot mode. Instead, it simply reboot normally.
I've tried this on both, Mac OS and Windows. It does the same thing on both systems.
I've tried to boot while manually pressing Home, Power and Volume down buttons. Then, my Tab S into a special mode: Odin mode. I know I've used Odin previously to upgrade my Tab S from Lollipop to Marshmallow. I don't know if the fact that I hve Odin doesn't allow my tablet to boot into fastboot. However, I would need to boot into fastboot to unlock my bootloader and, later on, to install TWRP in order to installer the AOSP 7.0 Nougat custom ROM to my Galaxy Tab S.
How can I do to boot into fastboot mode?
Thank you very much,
Blaccko

Samsung disabled Fastboot on all their hardware. You must use Odin or Heimdall, instead.

But then, how do I unlock bootloader with Odin instead of fastboot? How I understand it is I need to unlock bootloader before installing TWRP and the custom ROM. Thanks

You said you previously upgraded to Marshmallow via Odin, didn't you? If you were able to do so, then your bootloader is already unlocked.

Good, thanks! In fact, I was able to install TWRP via Odin. Then, with TWRP, I installed the custom ROM AOSP 7.0 Nougat on my Tab S. Thanks! However, I realized that the UI of my Tab S (on 7.0) is different than the one of my S7 (also on 7.0). I was told this is because Samsung personalize the UI of 7.0. As I didn't get 7.0 on my tablet from Samsung, is there a way to manually install Samsung's UI for 7.0 on my tablet?
Thanks again!

You must use
adb reboot-bootloader

Both adb reboot bootloader and adb reboot-bootloader does the same thing. Why do you suggest this? Did it explicitly work for your device? Which device is it?


text:
Want to update Samsung Galaxy On7 to Nougat
I want to update my Samsung Galaxy On7 to android 7.0 Nougat.
The OTA updates haven't been rolled out.
I want to use all legal software that won't void my warranty or get me into Police trouble.
I found this link: http://www.android.gs/update-samsung-galaxy-on7/
I have Android sdk on my computer (all the build tools, and Android versions 5.0.0 to 6.0, and will download nougat also if necessary.
Can anyone please see the link and tell me whether it is safe and legal?
If not, then please suggest any other legal method.
I want to use no custom ROM.

Yes, that links seems safe to me. It tells you to download the official firmware for your device from the official Samsung page or SamMobile, which is a trustworthy website. The problem is, you won't find the Nougat firmware there either, because it's not released yet. The only thing you can do is wait until Samsung officially publishes Android 7 for your device.
By the way, flashing any kind of Android firmware is never illegal, since Android is open source (only exception is when paid content is included for free). It can only void your warranty.

source: Stack Exchange

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

sort: votes


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How to add Google Now On Tap in a ROM?
I have ROM which doesn't have Now On Tap on Long Pressing Home Key. How can I add it?

First of all you have to set up Now On Tap in Google Now settings. After that you go to settings and find the "Buttons" section (usually on main settings screen or in rom tweaks section) and then for "long home button press" select "Open Google Now" or "Google Now On Tap" (whatever it is called there).

all_licenses: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/


text:
How do I figure out what is using up all my data?
I typically only use between 1GB and 2GB per month of data. However, this month I was notified that I had exceeded my 4GB limit. I increased the limit to 7GB and within 4 days that was exceeded. I've now shut off all cellular data. When I look in Settings > Data Usage > Cellular Data Usage it shows 7.25GB of data used by Android OS. If I tap on Android OS it lists a bunch of apps like com.qti.service.colorservice and com.quicinc.cne.CNEService.CNEServiceApp. I don't know if this list is sorted by which service/app used the most data and there's no more detail I can attain by tapping on the apps listed under Android OS.
Since I have dates and times for some of the largest downloads (868MB on March 27, 12:57AM for example), is there somewhere in the file system where I can see a list of IP addresses connected to and their timestamps to perhaps narrow down who/what is sucking up all my data?
Is there a more thorough way of wiping the phone than a factory reset?
Anybody seen this before and have any suggestions?

Not entirely sure if you can retrace those IP-data usage statistics , however there is a handy app (Network Connections) which tacks live connections and maps IP - data usage so allows tracking which apps are online and how much bandwidth is it using, also for other statistics. In addition I also recommend an app similar to 3g watchdog which keeps a history of data usage in your apps and allows per - app data restriction.

@xavier_fakerat Cool, I'll check those out. I just heard from someone on xda that the Automatic System Updates switch under Settings > Developer Options doesn't work. So I think my phone has been repeatedly trying to download the March security update.


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My Android phone shows insufficient memory even after deleting all the apps on internal storage
Please help me on this. My android phone started behaving weird these days. I have 32GB internal memory on the phone. earlier i had only 17% used. but one fine day it started showing 99% used even after deleting all the apps on the device. I cleared the cache, user data. it would come down to 97-98%, and that space is also consumed in no time. Cleared unwanted data, moved apps and media to SD card etc, still same issue.
Thanks in advance!
Madhuk

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts! May I suggest, while waiting for recommendations, that you start checking with our insufficient-memory tag-wiki? It a.o. links some useful questions (with answers). Also check other questions using that tag; we've got multiple on the topic how to find out what's occupying the space. Good luck!

32GB internal memory! I envy you!
Anyways, it might be because of the android is,  which is perhaps taking up too much space.
Moreover, built in apps like Google apps and chrome cannot be moved.
Lastly, if problem persists, take your phone to an authorized service centre and explain the issue. Be sure to take a backup before going there.

I recommend you to analyze what eats your storage at first, and then try to eliminate the root of the problem. The root cause can be anything: a greedy (standard) app, a virus or forgotten files, copied by you, or whatever.
For analysis you can try:

Standard Storage applet. By tapping on Cache you can easily clean app's cache, which can free up to several gigabytes.
Special apps like this


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How to edit /sys/ files properly without root?
I have android device with version 5.1.1 . The device is not rooted, but root can be accessed on /system or /data partition files from the custom TWRP recovery using adb.
The device has SELINUX enabled and is set to Enforcing (getenforce shows enforcing).
I have rooted this device by flashing SuperSU previously, but currently the device is not rooted and Im not willing to root it, TWRP still present.
My phone's minimum brightness is a way too much that it hurts during night. By editing the /sys/ file, i want to achieve the low brightness.
Specifically, I want to edit the file
/sys/class/leds/lcd-backlight/brightness
which takes legal values from 1 - 255. But my phone will set this file's minimum value to 10 and not less than that. When I previously rooted this device and echoed 1 to this file, the brightness is comfortably low.
So, I want to achieve this without root.
Normally, this file is owned by system:system with permissions rw-r-r . The directory containing this file is owned by root:root with permissions rwxr-xr-x .
Im ok with unpacking, editing, and repacking boot.img files.
Actually, I did unpack the boot.img and edited the init.rc file to make the file permissions to rw-rw-rw and directory permissions to rwxrwxrwx . But still, I wasn't able to echo any value to this file. I tried both from adb shell and terminal app. The error I'm getting is "Permission Denied".
What am I doing wrong? How to properly edit this file without root?

AFAIK it's not possible due to SELinux restrictions. You'd better get root since you can edit boot image.

On my oneplus one I don't have root but the Snapdragon battery guru app somehow manages to get it below what I can set when it enables its own power mode... So it must be possible!


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Ok Google Go to "Blank"
Is there a way to navigate to locations using Ok Google?
Similar functionality on the iPhone would be "Go Home."

Make sure you have the latest supported language pack. (You can get in-app updates)
Assuming you already have Google maps installed;
Set your custom address (e.g school)

On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google Maps.
Tap Menu Menu and then Your places and then Labeled.
Choose Home or Work (school).
Enter the address.

Note: You must be signed in to set, edit, and see your home and work on the map
Use voice search and navigation commands

Open the Google Maps app
Say “Ok Google” or tap Speak.
Ask a question or tell Maps to do something e.g "Ok, Google. "Get directions to [school]." Alternatively, "Navigate to school."

Edit
If someone's address is in your Google Contacts, you can find their address on the map by searching for their name. If you search for an address, you can see any contacts matching that address.
If you wish to add or manage your google contacts, navigate to Google contacts.
Adding an address to a Google contact

Open the Google Maps app .
Search for an address.
At the bottom, tap the address.
Tap Label.
Enter the name of someone in your Google Contacts. To create a new contact, tap Create contact.
Choose an option:

Add home: Add the address as your contact's home address.
Add work: Add the address as your contact's work address.
Add custom label: Make a new label for your contact's address, like "Friend's house."

Note: Only people stored in your Google Contacts will show up as suggestions. You won't see contact info for people who are stored on your phone or tablet.
Credits

Find, add, or hide your Google Contacts on the map

I haven't gotten to test this yet but considered the upvotes I'm going to go ahead and give you the bounty.

No problem, I tried and tested it myself but if you have any issues don't hesitate to address, so I can assist further.  However unlike Siri, your suggestions are done in google maps and the navigation is automatic and also contacts have to be Google contacts not necessarily phone contacts.

Indeed there is.  One of the key phrases you may be searching for is:

"Ok, Google. Show me a map of [place name]."

You may need to press the microphone (voice search) button from Google Search or Maps if Google Now is not activated.
For some reason this seems to do a poorer job of identifying contact addresses than

"Show me a map of [name of place]." / "Get directions to [name of place]."

Many maps / navigation phrases are documented here.

Does this work for custom contact places

@LiamWilliam I don't think it works for custom labeled addresses on contacts.  You can, however; name your contacts any way you choose.


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Volume Button To Scroll Up Android
So there is probably one feature I miss sincerely and that is being able to hit the title bar on the iPhone to essentially trigger the "Home key."  Is there a way to assign this to one of the volume switchers or maybe add a fourth button to the bar at the bottom or even double tap the home button maybe.  I use it a lot and want it to be easily accessible.  I opened an xda question. This question is almost a duplicate.

Provided your device is rooted and a compatible Xposed Framework is installed, use GravityBox [LP] module. It can  add things in Navigation bar. Otherwise, try Xposed Additions module. It can assign a custom action to any hardware key.

So this is the best solution I have come up with out a root.  Basically install and pay for the application called Volkey scroll.
Then set the following settings.

Uncheck "Enable persistent notification."
Enable Automatic Start.
Set speed of scrolling to 100/100.
Selected action leap.
Stop scrolling after a timeout 500 seconds
Page size disable.
Continuous pages checked
The delay between pages 1

Now you only have to hold down the button until it stops at the top or bottom.  Sometimes you have to press it more then once to get this to work for example in Google Photos not sure why.  Now to adjust the volume you have to disable the app temporarily which is annoying or add it to the menu bar which isn't to bad.

So basically here is the deal someone created a plugin for this in older versions of android here.  I can't confirm or deny if this works.  Here is another app and a reddit thread.
For chrome you can set you javascript home bookmark to do the following.  javascript:window.scrollTo(0,0) which fixes Chrome.
This is volume scroll application and it appears to essentially emulating scrolling using accessibility and displaying it on screen.


text:
No notifications at all on older Facebook Messenger app
For obvious reasons, I'm using an older version of facebook messenger app (ver 71)
But there are no notifications of arrived message, and important feature
If it's a bug or bad config, can be fixed ?
If not, is there a way to overcome this without third parties ?
Android M
Xperia Z3
Edit:
Tried upgrading to version 81, the last one I can tolerate the bloats, but no change
Tried messing with things like permissions, overlapping, notifications...
Nothing changes
EDIT:
It was a bug that went away after reflashing the system.
Unfortunately, I cannot tell what it is
It works now, even for very older (and better) version, like 40.0
The thread may stay open for config speculations
EDIT 2
The thing is back again. One day after a master reset it stopped working
I've tried updating to verson 90 (again, not higher, for obvious reasons, but another tolerable version), but no solution
Uninstalling/reinstalling doesn't help
Weird thing is: facebook app notifies it's own alerts, and also when a message arrives on the messenger app.
But android gets no toasts...

Did you try to use Facebook Messenger Lite ?

Thank you man! Didn't know about it.  So much better. Using now. I once tried facebook lite. It was a crap. For that reason I did not look into a lightweight messenger. Thank you again


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How can I stop whatsapp message to get deliver to my device?
I want my whatsapp to not fetch any message even when my internet connection is on. I want to use my device with internet and also want other's people whatsapp message that are sent to me to not to get deliver to my device.

Just don't open the app? Force close it so it no longer appears in Running services, then use some other apps like Greenify to keep it so.

Your question is unclear, please try reframing it.
If you want that WhatsApp should not work, then you should uninstall it.
If you want to still keep it and see that it does not use data on background, you better turn off background data for the app in settings.
If you want to only send message and not receive,  that is not possible.


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How to recover data from adaptive storage while rooted phone stuck at boot?
So , i'm using Galaxy Mega (i9152) with a CM13 ROM which i flashed through TWRP. For the sake of running PoGO , i had disabled root through the settings of the SuperSu app in CM13 (the game still didn't run , kept tripping safety net). The phone was running fine up till 2 days ago , after which it started going into bootloop.
so , i googled on how to resolve boot loop and saw that fixing file permissions through TWRP might resolve the issue. i did that BUT i also rooted the phone when TWRP prompted me to install SuperSU , citing that the phone was not rooted. After that , the phone was stuck at Boot Animation (the CM android face) , possibly because i rooted the phone through TWRP.
I had formatted my SD card as internal which meant that it would not work on any other device. All my pics and stuff is on that SD card now. I researched extensively on google to find out a way to decrypt the encrypted SD card and found out that i can decrypt it through linux. i have also recovered the .key file from /data/misc/vold folder and have converted the code into the appropriate 16 byte format through terminal commands.
I have a linux system and i have tried to decrypt it. here's what happens when i run parted -l. (i also wanted to post output of fdisk -l , but my reputation score won't let me post more than 2 links)

since the names "android_expand" and "android_meta" are still showing , i have hope and good reason to believe that my data's still intact !
but when i try to mount it ...

i don't know what to do now , since this is all i knew , all i had :/ , i have no idea what filesystem the encrypted card is. i tried ext4 as described in the guide. maybe if there was some way i could make the fstab file cycle through ALL possible filesystems , hitting the right one and finally mounting my SD card. maybe the mount feature has such an 'auto' feature to auto detect the filesystems ?
I have tried to reflash the SAME ROM without factory resetting , but it gave me an error  saying : "error executing updater binary" and also "cannot install on top of incompatible data"
i have cleared the Cache and Dalvik Cache SEVERAL times.
i have backed up the DATA portion , through TWRP , by using ANOTHER SD card in the phone . Also i have backed up SYSTEM portion in the internal storage of the phone. I am just worried about my pics and stuff on SD card. I can't see my encrypted SD card in TWRP , it just shows me O MB in the SD card option in TWRP , possibly because the SD card is encrypted. i have no idea how to access  my files in the encrypted SD card through the TWRP file manager. i don't want to lose my data. just please help me recover data from this SD card that has been encrypted by Android Marshmallow. i don't know if my SD card will be detected in the OS as before if i am able to somehow reflash the EXACT SAME rom i was using prior to this disaster.
Just to clarify , i am using my Laptop's internal SD card reader for reading card with Linux (i have ubuntu 16.04 LTS), with an sd card adapter supplied with the card (it's a Kingston 16 GB , SDHC class 4)
if i can somehow access my SD card and retrieve all my data from it , my problem will be solved. please help me out.
P.S : also , at the VERY beginning of this ordeal , by mistake , i MIGHT have created partitions on the SD card , while using the fdisk. i hope that did not wipe the data off the sd card or corrupt it. i CTRL+C'ed out of the utility without saving changes ... so that might be of some hope.
EDIT (1-Dec-2019): This is NOT a duplicate, as can be seen by the solution i provided below. This question represents a much more serious case with adopted storage, where your phone is having problems booting or your OS is corrupted. Kindly let this question remain as it is, as it will prove helpful to advanced users and others who have their files stuck in adopted storage while facing difficulties in accessing their phone's Operating System.

Are you sure /dev/mmcblk0p2 exists on your Linux device? Run dmesg to see what the exact error message is. You could try running 'blockdev --getsize /dev/...' as a standalone command to get size, and see any errors.

Also try running dmeset with the -v flag to get additional details about what is happening.

@NikolayElenkov , thankyou for replying ! i solved the problem , thanks in part to your guide and thanks to a bit of intuition of my own. I am a Final Year CIS (Computer Engg) student and would like to stay in touch. Where can you be reached , easily ?

@NikolayElenkov , i have backed up the data on my PC. now the issue i face is that , i want my mobile phone to recognise the SD card as it is. i have tried this by wiping data,system,cache,dalvik and THEN reflashing the new rom. and then put the .key file in the vold folder , then rebooted the phone. AND , the phone does recognise the card (it does NOT ask for reformatting the card) but it does not recognise the data , it does not see any file , any picture inside the data , even though it shows that 1.63 GB out of 14.55 GB in the SD card is occupied. can i get some help regarding this ?

Possible duplicate of How to decrypt Adopted Storage?

@Irfan Latif no this is most certainly not a duplicate. It might be similar, but this question ( and the subsequent answer ) represents a much more serious case, where you have no trivial way of accessing your files or even booting your phone past the boot animation. Please consider the difference in cases before labeling as duplicate.

@MuhammadYasir marking duplicate doesn't mean your question or answer is not a good contribution to community. Marking duplicates or merging is to make sure that more visitors can reach and get benefit of the helpful stuff you put here after researching. In my opinion this question should be merged with the other. Essentially the question is same, with good details. And the answer is much more detailed but it's not getting the attention as much as it should have been. But obviously my opinion alone isn't enough, it requires more votes and/or moderator intervention.

@NikolayElenkov (off-topic) recently we figured out how to reset failed decrypt counter in fde crypto footer. We invite you to join our conversation on xda (link in comments) https://android.stackexchange.com/q/230892

before starting , i'd recommend making a FULL backup of your SD card , through a raw image ( google the 'dd' command in linux)
i followed the guide here ; Corrupt SD card formatted as internal storage
BUT with some IMPORTANT MODIFICATIONS of my own !

Phone was stuck in BOOTLOOP and later stuck at BOOT Animation, no access to any usual file manager utility. Mind you , this is a VERY Grievous situation , since there's no trivial method of gaining access to your sd card (it shows as 0mb in TWRP file manager) for backing up your precious data , pics and memories. Also , this is the only part which is a bit shaky since i am not completely sure if my phone was rooted or not (since my problem changed from bootloop to boot animation when i tried to install to SuperSu through TWRP) and retrieving the encryption key is central to solving this. I had to get the .key file , since that was pivotal to breaking the SD card's encryption. So amidst all the panic , i was able to browse , through TWRP file manager , to the /data/misc/vold folder and found the .key file. This was a MAJOR breakthrough !
Next , to extract the file. i used another , UNENCRYPTED SD card and transferred the .key file to that card , through TWRP file manager , read that SD card into the laptop and got the .key file onto Ubuntu (16.04) . Decoded the .key file and got the 16 byte key. there's 2 ways to do this ... either open the file through a hex editor (i used BLESS) and copy off the 16 pairs of hex digits you see OR use this command ;

hexdump -e '1/1 "%.2x"' expand_8838e738a18746b6e435bb0d04c15ccd.key

make sure you're in the SAME directory as the .key file when executing this command (advanced linux users will work their way around this but i want it to be as beginner friendly as possible)
so , i got the 32 digit / 16 byte key.

NEXT , decrypting the SD card AND making Linux recognise it. when i read it in , through the card reader , it wouldn't show in Nautilus (the Ubuntu filemanager) but upon running fdisk-l and parted -l , i saw

"parted -l output"
http://pasteboard.co/5klviklR8.jpg
"fdisk -l output"
http://pasteboard.co/POGvyBOxO.png
notice the android_meta and android_expand , those names gave me hope , that my data was still intact. ESPECIALLY , since at the beginning of the problem , i had created partitions and partition tables in the sd card through the fdisk utility (but i ctrl+c'ed out so it's possible that the changed were not written , PHEW! )
the unknown filesystem was the biggest pain in this whole fiasco ... since according to the few guides and discussions regarding this issue , SD cards formatted as internal by marshmallow were supposed to be ext4 filesystem. but that was not the case , at least not here.

So , to decrypt the card , i used

dmsetup create crypt1 --table "0 `blockdev --getsize /dev/mmcblk0p2` crypt aes-cbc-essiv:sha256 "insert your 16-byte key here w/out double quotes" 0 /dev/mmcblk0p2 0"

if you get some ioctl related error use this format instead (this is the EXACT format i used today , with my key and everything)
dmsetup create crypt7 --table "0 `blockdev --getsize /dev/mmcblk0p2` crypt aes-cbc-essiv:sha256 07147CFFB77F249A5DBD2AD204610E7D  0 /dev/mmcblk0p2 0"

please note that the dmsetup utility should be installed in linux. (google it ) . also , note that i went for the parition 'mmcblk0p2' , since that was the bigger one in size and had the obvious inference of containing all the data !
this went well , completed without error. the next bit , though , ABSOLUTELY drove me crazy and took around 20 hours (including my sleep time ) to be properly resolved.

the GADDAMN file system ! it was written EVERYWHERE that adoptive storage is formatted as ext4 , so when i ran the command

# mount -t ext4 /dev/mapper/crypt1 /mnt/1/

(please note that mnt/1/ should exist as directory in your root folder , if not , use mkdir to create it)
it yielded the damn error

wrong fs or bad option.

and this got me thinking ... if the sd card is NOT ext4 type , then HOW ON EARTH am i supposed to know what file system it is out of all the possible ones !
i searched and searched for a command that could force cycling through ALL possibilities in a brute-force method or any entry i could make in the /etc/fstab file that could AUTOMATICALLY detect the filesystem somehow, but to no avail...
5 . In the end , i recalled ... that maybe , just MAYBE the filesystem was f2fs (flash-friendly file system). And that proved to be a telling recall ...
for this code ;

mount -t f2fs /dev/mapper/crypt1 /mnt/1

proved to be the WINNING GOAL !
i was then able to cd into /mnt/1 and saw some very familiar android-esque files and from there on , it was Eternal BLISS !

both ext4 and f2fs have a superblock, which identifies the filesystem. if you look at the first bytes of the partition, you can easily identify the used filesystem.

@NikolayElenkov
ah .. thankyou ! that adds to my knowledge and will keep in mind the next time i'm dealing with filesystems ! in the meanwhile , can you please take a look here ;
http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/172347/recovering-data-from-adaptive-storage-while-phone-stuck-at-boot/172455?noredirect=1#comment221029_172347
also , i made a detailed post regarding this , here :
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=71718391&postcount=41
<-- here , i have described the problem in detail and step by step. i'd appreciate if you take a look at it and bail me out !

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


text:
Galaxy s5 broken screen use
My screen is broken but I heard that you can use it by hooking up to a tv (mhl)? Is it true,and could I use an ihome keyboard?

Problem is, even if you're able to hook, your USB port will be occupied by the adapter, and you can't plug a USB mouse/keyboard in, and you have no way to operate the phone to let it connect to a Bluetooth one either.

@AndyYan ever heard about USB hubs? Not sure whether MHL works on those, but AFAIK ADB does. And there are several solutions working via ADB to show the screen – some even permit to control the device that way using the mouse, so you won't even need the hub. // Jeff: ever considered taking a look at our nice broken-screen tag-wiki? You'll be surprised how much of your question (including unasked details) you'll find answered there :)

Yeah but he specifically mentioned TV, so my first thought is he might not have a PC lying around... MHL adapters are powered, I don't know how well those would work with your average adapters. Plus, in the past I had no luck making hubs working with my devices at all.


text:
How to access content of the Google Drive app backup?
I accidentally uninstalled an Android app (GPSLogger) and lost all the app data (GPS tracking files). Now I can see there is an automatic backup in Google Drive, but the app does not recover it when I re-install it.
Is it possible to access the backup with some other tools and to extract the contained files manually?

This is a not complete answer to the above question, but just a helpful hint.
As it is stated on Android Backup Service help page

Not all apps use Android Backup Service. Some apps may not back up and restore all data.

So you should at first check if GPSLogger utilize Android Backup Service and then try to extract backup data.
The most proved way to backup app's settings is to copy folder
/data/data/com.some_vendor.some_app

beforehand and then to restore it manually. Or use some professional tool like Titanium, of course.

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


text:
android thinks accounts.db is corrupted and deletes it
After a reboot, i lost all my accounts. i looked into the logcat and got:
04-02 11:54:01.535  5305  8068 E SQLiteLog: (11) statement aborts at 24: [SELECT key, value FROM extras WHERE accounts_id=(select _id FROM accounts WHERE name=? AND type=?)] database disk image is malformed
04-02 11:54:01.537  5305  8068 E DefaultDatabaseErrorHandler: Corruption reported by sqlite on database: /data/system/users/0/accounts.db
04-02 11:54:01.538  5305  8068 E DefaultDatabaseErrorHandler: deleting the database file: /data/system/users/0/accounts.db

I restored the file completely from a TitaniumBackup XML-file (so the database is created cleanly again, no backup of a possible corrupt db file).
After a reboot, android deletes it again and recreates it, accessing it just after restoring (i.e. using a program, which looks up an account) gives the message
04-02 11:45:22.855 12225 12225 W System.err: Caused by: java.lang.IllegalStateException: The database '/data/system/users/0/accounts.db' is not open.

just after restore, i can open my accounts.db with sqlite3 and SELECT * FROM ACCOUNTS returns a correct list and SELECT key, value FROM extras works as expected, too.
The file permissions are
-rw-rw---- 1 system system  72K 2017-04-02 11:55 accounts.db
-rw------- 1 system system  17K 2017-04-02 11:55 accounts.db-journal

My ROM is a CyanogenMod 13.

I got it fixed, even when i do not understand what happend
I checked the created sqlite file with PRAGMA integrity_check;, and after reindex and vacuum i actually got a message its corrupted (not before).
I tried to recreate it like in this blogpost and set the file permissions, which caused a bootloop.
Then i rebootet to recovery and replaced the accounts.db with a empty one from a second account on the phone and then read the dump_all.sql created before into the database.
Now it works, even when i do not know what's the difference between reading the data into a fresh database (which caused a bootloop) and reading it into a android created empty database.
It may be related to missing selinux contexts or something similiar.
So the working steps for anyone with a similiar problem:

dump the data from the possibly broken db (even when freshly created by TitaniumBackup)
copy an empty db
import the data into the db
reboot


text:
Whatsapp backup / restore interrupted
I recently changed handsets to a Samsung Galaxy S4 and started to restore my Whatsapp message but the restore was interrupted and has not continued the backup. How do I complete the Whatsapp backup restore?

To complete the backup restoration process, you can simply delete the WhatsApp storage data. This will bring it to the state just after a fresh WhatsApp install, and it will restart the phone number registration and backup restore process. So there is no need to uninstall and reinstall; instead you do this:

Open the "Settings" app.
Go to "Apps and notifications → WhatsApp → Storage and Cache"
Click on "Clear storage" and confirm.

Restoring your messages might have failed if you used Google Drive as a source and the Internet connection was unstable. Here is a solution that will restore messages from a local backup found on SD card instead:

Copy the /sdcard/WhatsApp/ folder from your old device to your new device by any means.

Install WhatsApp on the new device but do not start it yet. If you did start it already, do the "Settings → Apps and notifications → WhatsApp → Storage and Cache → Clear storage" step from above to let it think it never started.

If you use a custom ROM with enhanced privacy protection settings, such as LineageOS, you have to give WhatsApp storage access permissions before starting it. Otherwise it would recognize a backup but as "Created 1970-01-01, size 0B" and then fail to restore it (source).
To enable storage access permissions, open the "Settings" app, go to "Privacy  Permission Manager → Storage" and add WhatsApp to the allowed apps.

Start WhatsApp, register your number, and let it detect and restore the local backup. From here, this is just the regular WhatsApp process to restore from a local backup.

You can contact WhatsApp support and explain your issue. They'll surely help you.
However, it might have been because of interrupted data connection, or the thread might have been unexpectedly stopped.
You can uninstall and reinstall the app. It should then work properly.

Thank you. I will do the uninstall and reinstall process.

@EbenvanderMerwe did the uninstall and reinstall solve your problem?

You can manually back up by going to settings -> chats -> backups -> backup
Here is a video screen capture so you can see how to do this.
If that doesn't work I agree with @BuddingPhysicist just uninstall and reinstall.


text:
android 4.4 phone not charaging and no sync when pluged into computer
My phone

manufacture: Samsung
Model number: sm-j110f
android version: 4.4.4
rooted: Yes

Charging only works if

Phone is turned off
Phone is in recovery mode
Phone is plunged into an ac charger.

Connection to computer only works if

Phone is in recovery mode adb
Phone is in Download mode

things i have tried

flash stock firmware with Odin
I don't know how to start to trouble shot this issue or fix it.

I would like to be able to charge my phone when plugged into the computer and copy pull files off the phone.

Did you try changing the USB cable? Also tried from a different USB port on the computer ? On a different computer?

@beeshyams yep even tried on an Linux operating system.

@beeshyams don't have any custom ROMs for my phone.

@beeshyams its not a faulty port. the port works fine if its in download mode.

Fix this by using the oldest firmware build on sammobile i thought the newer firmware build would be better but flashing an older firmware build fixed all my usb problems.


text:
Why does my Android device unlocks to a non-responsive black screen?
Device : Nexus 5, running a freshly installed Paranoid Android 6.0.3 ROM. Device is empty except for some system and a few Google apps.
Here is the loop I'm stuck in:

Pressing power button brings me to the lock screen which is just a swipe. Click sound is heard.
Doing nothing keeps me at the lock screen. Swiping up to unlock
immediately turns the screen black. Screen is unresponsive.
Pressing the power button again does nothing, except the click sound is heard again.
Back to step 1. Unable to enter into the phone.

This behavior is generally observed after like half an hour of phone usage, when phone gets heated even just a little bit. Phone behavior returns to normal in like 1-3 hours if left untouched.
Note : I was running Paranoid Android 4.6 since 3 years and this behavior started about a week ago. I installed the version 6.0.3 about a day ago to see if the update would solve the problem but it didn't.
I even gave my phone for repair. I was told the power button on the chip has been replaced. But that didn't solve the problem so I gave it back. This time I was told sensor problem was there but here we are again.

Without respect to the problem persisting after the upgrade... Sounds like your launcher is somehow dead. Did you do a clean install when upgrading? Also, for now I assume you don't have anything important on the phone, so why not just flash a factory image and see what happens?

I would have to argue that I don't think it's the ROM's problem because as I mentioned I've had that particular ROM since 3 years and without any changes or tweaks being made for 3 years. The problem started just a week ago. I performed an upgrade (which was a clean install of the newer revision of the ROM and not an OTA upgrade ) just to see if it would solve the problem. So ROM should be fine I would say.

If I were you I'd connect the phone to the PC and observe the logcat output when the phenomenon occurs. That does sound like a hardware defect...

I had the proximity sensor (which turns your phone screen off when you place your phone on your ear to talk ) disconnected by a repair man (so was his suggestion). Still the problem persists.
@AndyYan I think the process to install a factory image is more complex than installing custom ROM. Can you provide me a source where I can find a clear step by step guide. I think I have to try this.

https://developers.google.com/android/images

Getting the sensor disconnected got me out of the loop (I am able to enter into my phone always) but a sub-problem still persists. If I use my phone for sometime continuously or it gets even a little heated, screen blinks a few times. Screen will turn off, I'll unlock the device (and I'll get into my phone unlike earlier) and it'll turn off again. This will happen for a few minutes. Because of this I cannot use gaming apps or even medium apps like facebook and youtube.


text:
Nexus 5 boot loop after depleted battery shutdown
Yesterday my phone turned off after the battery had depleted and now, after charging it, both the OS and TWRP are stuck when trying to boot (on boot animation and TWRP boot image respectively).

I'm currently using an Android 6.0 stock image, and have been doing so since at least a year and a half.
I haven't flashed/changed anything since the last time I flashed the stock image.
The phone has turned off due to battery depletion before without any issues afterwards.
I did noticed that battery was depleting faster than usual, I was sharing my 4G internet via tethering for a while, but I turned it off (and checked that it was off when I noticed the battery level) so that's why I thought it was weird.
I can boot into the bootloader.

Flashing a new ROM would be less than ideal, so I would really appreciate any ideas/suggestions that can avoid it -- not that I'm wouldn't consider that solution, but I'd rather leave that as a last option.
Cheers!
EDIT:
Since I can access the bootloader I thought to try and flash a new Recovery. The recovery that is currently stuck trying to boot is twrp-3.0.2-0-hammerhead, through using fastboot flash recovery cmd I tried to flash a new image twrp-3.1.0-0-hammerhead (notice I'm upgrading v3.0.2 to v3.1.0) now although the recovery still shows the old boot image for v3.0.2 and takes a couple of minutes to boot, the system log shows this errors:

Failed to mount '/cache' (invalid argument)
Failed to mount '/persist' (invalid argument)
Unable to mount storage

I followed this steps to flash: phone off, boot into bootloader, flash, reboot bootloader, reboot into recovery.


text:
Problem to uninstall AirDroid: Unfortunately, Settings has stopped
When I try to uninstall the app I got this message:
Can't uninstall because this package is an active device administrator.
In the same window I have a button: MANAGE DEVICE ADMINISTRATORS
When I follow this button I'm in Device administration settings. (normally you can reach it when you follow: settings -> Lock screen and security -> Other security settings -> Device administration settings) There are three items each of them have a switch on the side, which is turned on. When I try to unswich AirDroid, I got after some seconds the error message: Unfortunately, Settings has stopped. Also I'm not able to uncheck the other both items, but there is a different behavior.
I try to solve this error by cleaning the cash with no effect.
I like to remove the app because finally I don't need it and it consume a lot of battery even when I don't use it.
I have a Samsung XCover 3
with Android 6.0.1
and Kernel 3.10.9

Try disabling Find Phone permission before uninstall

@beeshyams thanks for the hint...where i find the find phone option? what is the normal purpose of it?

I wish I knew. Saw that here http://www.deleteaccounts.net/how-to-uninstall-airdroid-android-windowsmac/

The disabling Find Phone this has solved the problem! You must disable it within the AirDroid app.


text:
How do I move apps to my SD card?
Recently brought a new phone and put an SD card in it to store some of my apps but I can't move my apps from internal storage to SD? I've installed 2 apps since I got this phone so far and phone is already saying "internal storage running low"... I have already cleared data/caches from preintsalled apps...

Some apps can't be moved to the SD card, because they wouldn't work properly anymore (widgets would suddenly dissapear, services would randomly stop).
The normal way to move apps to the sdcard is to go to settings > apps > * app you want to move* and click "Move to sdcard". If the app prevents that, the button is grayed out.
If you're running Android 6 or higher, you can format the sdcard as internal storage, then apps would be moved to the sdcard automatically. To do that, go to settings > storage > sdcard, then click on menu and select "Format as internal storage".
If you have a lower version of Android, the only solution would be rooting, which I wouldn't recommend if you don't know what you're doing. It would also allow you to move apps to the sdcard, but you can also destroy your phone completely when you're rooted and you don't know what you're doing.


text:
"Warning: camera failed" after update to marshmallow
The update to marshmallow (finally) came through on my Samsung S5 mini yesterday. The update seemed to go smoothly, but now starting the camera app or the torch app immediately gives a "Warning: camera failed", and exits the app.
So far I've tried everything on this list, which is the most comprehensive I could find (short of a factory reset - I'd like to avoid that if possible)

restart camera
restart device
clear camera cache and data
clear gallery cache and data
smart stay was already off
safe mode (same error message)
wipe cache partition

What else could I try?
It may (or may not) be relevant that I took advantage of the major new feature of marshmallow to restrict permissions for many apps, and to disable some of the bloatware. Of course, the camera app still has permission to access the camera. As part of my troubleshooting I have restored full permissions to the camera and gallery apps.
If nothing can be done, is it correct to assume that it's impossible to roll back the update? And that Samsung/Android developers won't release a fix unless there are a large number of people with the problem?

As Murphy would have it, I spend 10 minutes putting together a question and then the next thing I try solves it...
In the end it was fixed by switching off and removing the battery for a while (~30s). This is mentioned in one of the comments in the linked article.


text:
Rooted my phone now it won't turn on
So a couple of minutes ago I rooted my phone ( well I think I did anyway ). Then all of a sudden, it went to the lock screen. So I tapped the bar where you put in your password and it was kind of glitching, I don't know how to explain it. I put in the first two letters of my password and it switched off. Pressed the power button, and it wouldn't turn on. I held it down for about a minute. Still nothing. I tried pressing the home, volume and power button at the same time but still nothing. I know at least half of you will say "That's why I hate 'one-click' rooting" or "Should have done your research!" but I'm not good at this stuff, and I knew it was a bad idea. I just wanted to get cheat droid for a game I really like. I don't understand these things. I'll give you some information, but I don't know if it will help.
( By the way, my phone doesn't have a sim, it's my moms old phone, I have another question up telling what happened, but that's fixed )
Battery Percentage: 100% and it was charging
Version: 5.1.1
Name of phone : Samsung Galaxy Core Prime
Root app name: 360 Root
Please help me. I'm terrified, I never did this before :( Thank You.
EDIT : Alright, so I just restarted it somehow and it's on, turned out its not even rooted...?
I didn't link it up to my computer, as mine is broken. Does anyone have any idea on good rooting apps that are easy ( KingRoot won't work, and I don't have a computer that's working as I just said )

My number one advice for people that are new to rooting, flashing etc. is, read at least 5 times before you do it. One-click-root Apps are almost a thing of the past nowadays because manufacturers are stepping up their game with securing their phones.
In your case, that means that you would have to reflash the stock ROM (I doubt that everything is still in tact after you tried to root it) and root then root it properly, for both of which you would need a working PC. Also, you will loose all the data that's on your phone.
For reinstalling the stock ROM, you'll first need to download a few things:
Drivers for your phone: http://downloadcenter.samsung.com/content/SW/201306/20130610184736640/SAMSUNG_USB_Driver_for_Mobile_Phones_v1.5.25.0-retail.exe
Odin: http://odindownload.com/
Stock firmware: https://www.sammobile.com/ (I can't link this to you directly since I don't know your model number, just click on firmware and search for your phone)
Install the drivers, unpack the firmware, connect your phone via USB, put it in download mode (turn it off and hold volume down, home and power at the same time) and start odin. On the right, you'll find many buttons named "Modem", "PDA" and so on. Click on the buttons and select the corresponding file in the firmware folder that you extracted earlier (For "PDA" select a file called "PDA" + extension etc). After all buttons have the corresponding path behind them (only leave those out which you don't have a respective file for, differs in some firmwares), click start.
Now your phone should be running stock Android again.
For rooting your phone, you need to download:
TWRP: https://dl.twrp.me/core33g/twrp-3.1.0-0-core33g.img.tar.html
SuperSu: https://download.chainfire.eu/696/SuperSU/
Open up Odin again (after connecting your phone and putting it into download mode), click on "PDA" and open the twrp file you just downloaded, then press start.
Disconnect your phone and restart it holding down volume up, home and power at the same time. You should see TWRP come up. Now connect your phone again and copy the SuperSu zip you downloaded earlier to your phone. Next, on your phone go to "Install" and select the SuperSu zip, then swipe to confirm. After that, click "Reboot System now" and when your phone booted, you should be rooted.
Good luck :D

Nice answer. Plus, the one-tap-rootkit apps tend to step way too over their scope.


text:
Why does my Motorola G4 loose its mobile data connectivity while showing 'Suspended' next to the carrier name?
Suddenly since yesterday, whenever I activate mobile data on my Moto G 4+, it says suspended below the carrier name:

Hence I don't have access. This happens only most of the time, sometimes it actually works.
Rebooting sometime fixes the issue, sometimes it doesn't.

Are you exceeding your data plan? Could be a warning from carrier to let you know that you have hit the limit and service is suspended till you buy a data pack

@beeshyams I thought so too since that's what happened the day before, but afterwards it was back to usual (probably turn of the month). Now I'm not sure, since the problem occurred only after it started working again. Some other users of the same phone complain about the same issue in this forum
https://www.androidpit.de/forum/737976/moto-g4-plus-problem-mobilfunkdaten-angehalten

Best to check with carrier - my carrier depending on plan either stops service or chokes speed to 2G. So it is technically connected but at lowest speed

Yes, I was notified that for the remainder of the period, my speed would be decreased (and I felt it too), but no indication that I would be cut off completely. Also it works sporadically, so that explanation doesn't seem to make sense.

That's something that won't be entertained here being Android independent...sorry

I have the exact same problem as far as I can tell: Mobile data stops working, it shows an exclamation mark and 'Suspended' and only power cycling my Moto G4 restores the data connectivity. I found a very similar error report at https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/Moto-G4-Moto-G4-Plus-Moto-G4/Mobile-data-connection-problem-in-moto-g4-plus/td-p/3558482. But unfortunately no solution. I don't think that it's an carrier issue, but an specific issue of the G4.

@Flow My Moto G has different Bugs all the time, so I think that's very likely.


text:
Moto G Unable to Factory Reset "boot failed"
I have a Moto G which spontaneously went to a white screen with a blue "M".  It will only display that screen or a battery level screen.  If an attempt is made to recover or factory reset, it either shows the blue M, or the fastboot program says the boot failed.
What are the tools which are used to recover from this type of a condition, perhaps to load a boot image which will work?

Which model Moto G, there are dozens... Please edit your original question to include the EXACT model and number, like XT1540 2GB or similar, and whether the bootloader is locked or unlocked.

XT1045, Device is LOCKED, eMMC 8GB Sandisk RV=06 PV=07 TY=17

This is one of two conditions... either the ROM has been corrupted, or most likely (since recovery won't start) is that the internal emmc chip (internal storage) is defective.
You need to attempt to reflash your device with it's specific factory firmware image. Since you didn't state which model specifically, it is hard to tell you where to go for the answer. (If you update the original question with your specific model and comment on this answer, I can update it to specific links for your device).
To be honest, there is only a 50/50 chance of recovery at this point. The symptoms you describe are most likely a defective internal storage chip.

Prior symptoms were high heat, low battery life and slow response, for about a week prior to bricking.   An I correct that Andriod SDK will be my friend? I have gotten the Cricket image which it was apparently initially shipped with, or would I use a different factor image?

@mongo  You must us an image that is the same version or newer of what is on your device. You will need fastboot and access to XDA most likely, this fix isn't officially supported, and to be honest, it likely won't work. Sounds like your device is defective.

@mongo Actually, the Cricket version might be more difficult as it is more locked down than retail units. I am going to point to you XDA for more assistance since, although I own several Moto devices, I do not own this one. https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-g/general/guide-moto-g-4g-lte-xt1045-restore-to-t2826112

Thanks.  I have given up, until a rainy day, and moved the sim to another phone.  That phone always had a problem after the battery was drained, and sometimes it seemed to drain quickly.  A friend has the same model, for about the same time, and theirs works just fine.


text:
Delete VIBER account from one number forever
Can you help me how should I delete my VIBER account from number +38xxxxxxxxxx because I cannot use two VIBER accounts at same mobile with two SIM cards?

I'm guessing you want to deactivate the account associated with the number so do this:
1.Open Viber.
2.Enter the More Options menu.
3.Select Settings.
4.Select Privacy .
5.Select Deactivate Account.


text:
HOWTO: Convert android phone into headless linux machine
I am looking for a way to convert my old android smartphones into headless 'over the network' linux devices.
What I am looking for is, I should be able to

SSH onto the device
Use linux command-line (BASH preferably), once I have SSHed onto the device
Run programs on the device (let us say java microserices to begin with)

Why do I want to do this?

Because I have 2-3 old android smartphones lying around. I could leverage their hardware instead of buying a new laptop.
Because I am curious about it.

Any help is much appreciated.
Thanks.

Any progress with going how to go headless? I need similar things.


text:
How to delete this trash can icon Android 6.0
I have an Elephone P9000 and it has this annoying icon at the bottom that makes the most recent app disappear almost. How can I go and delete it? I have root.

If you could provide us with a screenshot it'd be super helpful.

Nova launcher let's you resize icons. Settings > look and feel> normalise icon size. This is an easy option of you are willing to switch painters

I'm sure you're talking about "Clear all" button. I wonder if there is a way to delete that. It's easy if you're on custom ROM.


text:
Ia there any way to lock just a single app on my S6?
I want to lock just one app for a set period of time on my S6 daily. Where it will remain locked even  after restarting the phone and also automatically lock an app at a specific time.  Is there any way to do this?

Yes try downloading app lock pro from playstore.

Since it's a very generic name, could you add a link to the particular app? That way, people know which one you're recommending. Also, your recommendation is more useful if you can say more about how you've used this app and why you recommend it.


text:
Where I can find files with language on android custom rom
I have custom rom MIUI 4.7.23 default language is Chinese. I can't set to other language because I am on first setup. I don't know Chinese and can't skip this welcome screen. I want to change or add Polish language but this is not possible it can be English version I can't find this as global version of this rom.
The structure of .zip file is META-INF/, system/, boot.img, logo.bin
I suppose there is .xml file if it is?
The first I know this is welcome MIUI I click on the one button something like next by intuition
The 2nd is WLAN I switch it off click something like next in Chinese

which is your device? MIUI 4.7.23 means your trying to install MIUi 4 which is very old. I also wanted to know that, if you are trying to install a ported ROM on a non-xiaomi device.

yes this is non-xiaomi device Goclever quantum 350 with jelly bean 4.2.2 and MIUI version 4 because it works on under jelly bean base want to update to  MIUI v5

There's no such thing like a huge file with all of your ROM translated, OP. Any single APK package can have a number of strings.xml files inside its res directory, which define that app's available languages.

Own answer but no solution related to this question
Think too fast asked question
Ok I found it!!!
but this not the answer on this question because this isn't related to file with language but is very helpful I also changed language to English in settings by luck :)
I did this:
(I type in English because I changed the language on it)
Just remove SIM card and by intuition press next and turn off 2 switches and had something Chinese text with !

Clicked Settings blue gear icon
the tab on the right (this is general settings) there are 2 tabs
icon with keyboard is the language! press it
next press the first button and change to English for example :)

But I can't take screenshots of phone :|


text:
String of jumbled text is appended to every incoming SMS with Project Fi
I just picked up a new Honor 8 (running EMUI 5/Android Nougat) and I'm having an odd problem when receiving SMS messages.
Whenever I get a message, an odd string of text with a length of 16, starting with a tilde~, like ~l/Adk/ljAdADFWjlk, is appended to it. This is regardless of my SMS app (I've tried the preinstalled one, Pulse, and Google's Android Messages).
Here's an image of a conversation:

Screenshot (click to enlarge)
How can I stop that random string of text from appearing after the intended message?

Edit: For extra details, my carrier is Project Fi (reduced to just T-Mobile on the new GSM-only phone) and the issue occurs regardless of sender, be it an iPhone or Android phone.

Possibly related ? http://android.stackexchange.com/q/159832/131553

@beeshyams I don't think so. This looks like another issue. Possibly carrier's fault.

It looks like there's something wrong in your carrier's SMS router. You should contact your carrier and ask for support.
There's no encoding issues in this case, so I disagree with @beeshyams . The appended text is a stream of base64-encoded data, which after being decoded, resembles a stream of 11-byte data. According to my experience, it is very likely some metadata of the SMS message you received. You can safely ignore it.
Edit: Merged information from comments.
This is a general phenomenon of using Project Fi's service on a non-Fi phone. Discussions are here and here. A solution is to use Google Hangouts for text messaging.
Appendix: Decoded info from image (re-formatted manually)

$ base64 -d | hexdump -Cv
q/Pj/QAHwY+Jhgg= : AB F3 E3 FD 00 07 C1 8F 89 86 08
jaT2JQAcd3EM7Ag= : 8D A4 F6 25 00 1C 77 71 0C EC 08
BMXciQANmWXBLQg= : 04 C5 DC 89 00 0D 99 65 C1 2D 08

This is, I just learned, a symptom of using Project Fi on a non-Google phone. Thanks for helping me out, you were exactly correct!

hangouts is EOL and should not be used anymore.

In addition to the answer above, it looks like anything interfering with the Google Fi app can also cause the problem.
This started happening on my kids' phones (Nexus 6P and Google Pixel) because I had blocked access to the Google Fi app using the Family Link app since I didn't see any reason why they needed to have access to it.
To fix it, open the Family Link app on your parent device, open your child's management tile, tap "Manage Settings", then "Android Apps", then select the "Blocked" tab. If Google Fi is in the list, select it and allow access.

Added data point: My wife and I are also Fi users, and this just started happening today on texts coming from her. The only possible change I can think of is the addition of Fitbit application and integration (a Christmas present!). That may also constitute "interfering" with google Fi. BTW, both phones are Pixels.  Happy New Year!

This is the correct answer in 2021. Android can also remove the "Google Fi" app permissions if the app isn't used in a while and you can fix that by going to Settings - APPS - Google Fi - Permissions and re-enable them.

Simply launching the Fi app, then rebooting the phone worked for me. (I had not blocked the app, so I think Fi was just having a problem).

Solution for me (so far) on my Galaxy S20 was to disable 'Optimize Battery Usage' for the Google Fi app. (Setting,Apps, three vertial dots in the top right corner, Special Access, Optimize battery usage, Select All, Find Google Fi App and move the slider to the left).
Had to do this as well for my Tesla App to open my car doors and Arlo App to get notifications from my home cameras.

I started having this problem after switching from AT&T to Google Fi about a year ago. I found a few posts where people said to download the Google Messages app, tap the three dots to get into settings, select Chat Features and turn this off. I updated my apps from Play store, than I went back to the Google Messages app and at the bottom of the screen it was now asking if I wanted to enable advanced message features. I tapped yes, had to give it permission, had to agree to not limit the app's battery usage, and now I can access the Chat Features in Google Messages. Although this worked for me, it didn't for my fiance.
My other solution is to install "Google Carrier Services" app. Installing it made Google Fi to show up with an update, so I updated it.
These steps solved the problem for both me and my fiance.

To Readers: the two downvotes (as of 24.02.2021) are not reflective of the usefulness of the answer, but rather of the big wall of text this answer originally was. You would want to try this answer before deeming it unhelpful if you are having the same problem as OP had.


text:
Google backup issues after factory reset: required to enter the Google account last synced
I recently purchased a RCA Voyager tablet from someone off of Craigslist. I'm trying to set it up as they factory reset it but it says I have to enter the Google account last synced to the device. I have no way of getting that info as I don't have the contact number of the person anymore. Is there any way around it?

Factory reset doesn't ask for that, so there is something amiss.  Somehow it is not doing a real factory reset.  Try powering it up while holding the volume up (+) button.
Mine was really easy.  Just went to the settings menu and all it did was ask if I was sure.
When you do log it into your Google account it will find any and all Android devices you have sync'd and it will ask you which one you want to restore into the unit.

Unfortunately, factory reset does ask for this indeed, it's called "factory reset protection" and was introduced somewhere around Marshmallow. It gets triggered whenever you forgot to manually remove your Google account prior to performing a factory reset. See our factory-reset tag-wiki for further details.

I use my Viking Pro with Android 5.0 daily - bought it used - and when I did it, it simply asked if I was sure, then wiped everything.  I logged in and it installed all the apps I had been using on my Alcatel smartphone.  I suppose it is possible the previous user never used Google, but that seems rather unlikely.  In any case, search around for a user guide, or try to contact them.  For me, the factory reset is simply a factory reset.  No muss, no fuss.

After doing some searching around, I see the recommendation to power it down, then hold the volume up button as you power it up.  There are videos posted on this, too.  I didn't have to do any of that.  But check out Google - search for "rca viking pro factory reset"

You're talking Lollipop (Android 5). I wrote the feature was introduced around Marshmallow (Android 6). Please take a look at our factory-reset tag-wiki and watch for the term "factory reset protection" or, in short, FRP (right at the end of the wiki). For more confirmation, take a look at these posts.

OK, I'll take your word for it.  I have no idea what Marshmallow means.  But certainly, for a factory refurb, they would have a method of clearing it all out, no matter where it comes from.

Marshmallow is the name of Android 6. And you don't have to take my word for it – the link I gave you confirms this. Like you, my first thought was how that account connection survives a factory reset (as all data should be cleared); I didn't investigate that, but it obviously does. For details, please read Factory Reset Protection: what you need to know – which is also linked from our factory-reset tag-wiki, which I already pointed out to you.


text:
Copying files from PC to "external" SD card
I've got AirDroid and SSHDroid installed on a ZTE Axon 7 running 7.1.1. The phone has a micro SD card in it, and it can access (read from) that card successfully. What I can't do is copy files onto it. I can log in via ssh and see the file system, but I can't touch it.
I've had a Moto X Pure for the past year, and via SSHDroid and AirDroid I can readily copy files to the SD card.
Is this just a "security" (ie, "pay somebody") thing in the more-proprietary OS on the ZTE phone?
Obviously I can mount the micro SD card directly on the computer, but juggling those tiny cards is kind-of a pain. If there are other solutions, I'd be grateful.
edit — I've tried MTP with the Axon. I plug in the phone and tell it I want to connect as a "media device" with MTP. I then run mtpfs (I'm running Linux on the laptop; Ubuntu 16.04) and I get:
Listing raw device(s)
Device 0 (VID=19d2 and PID=0306) is a ZTE V790/Blade 3.
   Found 1 device(s):
   ZTE: V790/Blade 3 (19d2:0306) @ bus 2, dev 98
Attempting to connect device
Android device detected, assigning default bug flags

Then it just sits there. (I've never had much luck with MTP.)
edit again — ADB seems to work. I don't move files that much (mostly music and audiobooks) and while ADB is a pain it's easier than fiddling with the cards.

Do you insist on wireless, or would using an USB cable be fine? In the latter case, there are several options – like using MTP or ADB.

@Izzy I can't get MTP to work on this phone; I'll extend the answer.

@Izzy ADB works. Thanks for the suggestion! If you want to type in a brief note to that effect I'll upvote and accept.

Alternatively if you also plan to do it via wifi please see File transfer with linux pc through mobile hotspot

If you're not insisting on a wireless transfer, using an USB cable would give you at least two options:

Using mtp
Using adb

With MTP, on connecting the device to your computer you should usually get the option to open it in some file explorer (does so on Windows and on Linux at least). For ADB, you could use adb push to push files to your SD card – or, for your convenience, use an ADB GUI (some are listed here at my site.
For the latter, once connected via USB cable you could make it switch to TCP mode if you need it wireless. Without root, this must be repeated after each boot – with root, there are ways to initiate it without a cable.
Details can be found e.g. via the corresponding tag-wikis: adb and mtp.
Disclosure: The first two links lead to my Android website.

Do you have any links on your site as to how to get ADB to start working? I've been trying to reproduce my success from the other day but I cannot. I start the server on the Linux host but adb devices -l never shows anything.

Sure @Pointy – second to last line of my answer. The corresponding tag-wiki has some, and more can be found in the posts using that tag :) If adb devices doesn't show anything, start with those links to configure ADB for your device, e.g. How do I get my device detected by ADB on Linux?

thanks :)  It turned out that my problem involved using the USB-A to USB-C cable directly from my computer. When I used an old USB "extension" cable like I was doing the other day, it immediately started working. I have absolutely no idea why that was the case, but it was about midnight by the time I tried that so I was asking few deep questions. I will probably start looking at rooting the phone because not being able to scp files to the external SD card is just silly. Thanks again!

For those of you dealing with this problem on the Mac, install Android File Transfer.
This was by far the fastest and easiest way to get 30GB of data from my external SD card to my laptop. It can write to the card was well. This software is Mac only!


text:
What is the baidu symbol in the notification bar mean?
After updating to MIUI 8.2.2.0 i have notices this persistent baidu symbol on my redmi note phone. [highlighted in red box, to the left of the alarm clock symbol]
I am unable to attribute this symbol to any of the background processes..?
should i be concerned privacy or similar such concerns?

Screenshot (click to enlarge)

I think you were in MIUI Chinese build. Baidu app may be running in background.
Try these:

Try to close the Baidu app. Goto Settings-> Installed Apps-> Running->find Baidu and close it. Also, follow step2 to prevent app running automatically.
Goto security-> permissions->Autostart-> find Baidu and turn off Autostart capability.(This prevents application autostart, application runs only when you open it.)


text:
How can I open /data/data/com.termux/files?
I am unable to access the /com.termux/files folder. I want to access it because I want to do a change in writer.js files.
I tried cd.. and cd - codes to go back to files folder from home folder.

Does opening Termux and cd .. work?

No it doesn't work

In order to get to the Termux files folder, you have to CD to the entire path name like this.
cd /data/data/com.termux/files

From there, you can cd into the usr folder and wherever you want to go. Once you find writer.js, you can edit it using nano which comes with Termux. Enter nano writer.js, make your edits, and then use CTRL+O to save it and CTRL+X to exit nano.
Then you can get back to your home directory with:
cd ~

Hey Thanks for your help but can u tell me how can i open writer.js file in termux after into a certain directory.I want to edit writer.js

@rohitsingh Get a text editor like vim or emacs.

How to install them and how to open writer.js with them. By the does it work on Android

@rohitsingh Mine may be a stupid question, but here goes: why don't you move the file you wish to edit inside your internal storage, edit it with a GUI editor and put it back where it was?

You install packages on Termux with the pkg comand, such as pkg install vim. But try pkg install ne instead -  it's easier to use. Then type ne writer.js and tap Esc to view the menu.


text:
Is the Google Nexus program dead?
Has Google dumped the Nexus program?
The Pixel is more than double the cost of the previous generation (5X /6P) - nor does it carry the "Nexus" name.
Historically they have released a "Vanilla" phone as a tech showcase and developer friendly price-point approximately annually.

From Google Nexus wiki:

With the expansion of the Google Pixel product line in late 2016, Google stated that they "don’t want to close a door completely, but there is no plan right now to do more Nexus devices."


text:
turn off opera news stories
I have never used Opera. Still, once a day or so I get a notification of some news headline. I don't have to open opera for this, it appears on my phone "dashboard" that lists all my apps and I can also see the notification from the screen that just shows the clock and text message notifications, etc. (Sorry I don't really know much mobile terminology).
Is this the same issue described here?
How to turn off Opera Mini "discover"/"top stories" news feed?
The person who posted that question seems to have a problem with the browser home page showing news stories.
I'm using Android 6.0.1, Security Patch Level Oct 1, 2016. My phone is a Blu Life One X2.
This feature is extremely irritating and I wonder who thought such an intrusive app was a good design decision.

From settings> sound notification> app notifications -enable block all and disable other two options - does that not get rid of the notifications?

I tried that before but then I made some other changes and whatever else I did must have turned the notifications back on. I just turned notifictions off again and I'll just wait to see if anything else happens by tomorrow. Thanks!

Also for lockscreen notifications settings> sound & notification >notification> when device is locked > choose options

If it doesn't solve your problem, please edit what you have tried into the question so that other solutions can be offered by readers

I use the Mini version of Opera which has the Setting to disable all such things and I'm sure that the bigger version of Opera has it too.

You can try this:

Turn off notifications

Menu > Settings >  Advanced > Notifications > Turn Off Opera notifications
See screenshot:

Screenshot (click image for larger variant)
Opera will display a message when

New email, feed, or news items arrive
Downloads are completed

So turning off these notificaions will help you get rid of annoying news, and I been pretty using this settings and no news items appear on notification bar.

Patching the application

There is also a patch developed by namok o95 which "disables recommended stories" but works at system level so you may need another application to apply the patch.
It may depend on your current opera mini versions but  I use  method 1.
Hope this helps


text:
How to use PC data on phone via USB cord?
One can use the mobile data from a PC using the USB tethering feature.
Is there any way to do the opposite, that is use the PC data from mobile, using USB cord or any other cord or app?
My phone is Samsung Galaxy On7 with Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Phone is not rooted.

Yes please check here for a comprehensive lists of methods to do that: http://android.stackexchange.com/a/171049/209414

I'll accept that if you give me a good app that can root and unroot my device.

Did you check the solution in question marked duplicate which offers an app for non rooted phones?

@WRICHIKBASU please check the solutions in both cases, im sure there is one for non rooted devices.

@WRICHIKBASU did you manage to resolve the problem?

@xavier_fakerat I've found a method that does not require rooting (perhaps) at https://www.codeproject.com/kb/android/usbportforwarding.aspx . However, I've not tried it as I'm not at my home currently, as the PC is inaccessible. Will surely let you know if the above process works.

@xavier_fakerat  Even this might work: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.floriandraschbacher.reversetethering.free

Thats great! ya try these

The latter doesn't even require rooting the device, so that's even better.


text:
Turn off aeroplane mode to make a call on Moto g2
I have installed Marshmallow on my Moto G2 using adb. It was a successful installation and everything was working good. Then I realized that none of my SIM was working.My SIM card shows operator name but it can't get network.
Whenever I try to make a call, It shows me error

Turn off aeroplane mode to make a call

I have checked and found that Aeroplane mode is already off on my device, I tried

Turn on/off aeroplane mode
Reboot my device (Multiple times)
Do factory reset
Wipe Cache and Dalvik cache
Do hard reset
Restore old Kitkat version from backup
Re-installation of ROM (Multiple times)
Insert another SIM to my device (Did not work)
Insert my current SIM to other device (Worked)

But nothing seems to be working for my case.
I have read each and everything related to this on internet but was not able to find any solution.
EDIT
I have also tried below command
adb shell settings put global airplane_mode_on 0

to disable aeroplane mode from adb, and checked with below
adb shell settings get global airplane_mode_on

It returns 0 that means Aeroplane mode is off but issue is still there. I still see the error message and can't use my SIM.
EDIT 2
I run below commands with OKAY response.
fastboot flash modem NON-HLOS.bin
fastboot erase modemst1
fastboot erase modemst2
fastboot flash fsg fsg.mbn

Used *#*#4636#*#* and changed network type to WCDMA preferred
Checked IMEI using *#06# and its valid.
EDIT 3
I found that there is no "Cellular Network" option available on my device. Could this be the issue for not reaching out network?
Below is output for getvar all
(bootloader) version: 0.5
(bootloader) version-bootloader: 4887
(bootloader) product: titan
(bootloader) secure: yes
(bootloader) hwrev: 0x8400
(bootloader) radio: 0x5
(bootloader) emmc: 16GB ID=15 REV=07 PRV=0B TYPE=57
(bootloader) ram: 1024MB Hynix S4 SDRAM DIE=4Gb
(bootloader) cpu: MSM8226 CS
(bootloader) serialno: ZX1DXXXXXX
(bootloader) cid: 0x0007
(bootloader) channelid: 0xc0
(bootloader) uid: 2B8DXXXXXX000000000000000000
(bootloader) unlocked: yes
(bootloader) securestate: unlocked
(bootloader) iswarrantyvoid: yes
(bootloader) mot_sst: 3
(bootloader) max-download-size: 536870912
(bootloader) reason: Reboot mode set to fastboot
(bootloader) imei: 3533210XXXXXXXX
(bootloader) meid:
(bootloader) date: 09-11-2014
(bootloader) sku: XT1068
(bootloader) battid: (null)
(bootloader) iccid:
(bootloader) cust_md5:
(bootloader) max-sparse-size: 268435456
(bootloader) current-time: "Tue Apr  4 23:50:50 UTC 2017"
(bootloader) ro.build.fingerprint[0]: motorola/titan_retla_ds/titan_umts
(bootloader) ro.build.fingerprint[1]: ds:6.0/MPB24.65-34-3/3:user/releas
(bootloader) ro.build.fingerprint[2]: e-keys
(bootloader) ro.build.version.full[0]: Blur_Version.24.81.3.titan_retla_
(bootloader) ro.build.version.full[1]: ds.retla.en.01
(bootloader) ro.build.version.qcom[0]: AU_LINUX_ANDROID_LNX.LA.3.5.1_RB1
(bootloader) ro.build.version.qcom[1]: .04.04.02.048.045
(bootloader) version-baseband: MSM8626BP_1032.3116.99.00B DFLT_FSG
(bootloader) kernel.version[0]: Linux version 3.4.42-g0a0ded4 (hudsoncm@
(bootloader) kernel.version[1]: ilclbld86) (gcc version 4.8 (GCC) ) #1 S
(bootloader) kernel.version[2]: MP PREEMPT Mon Aug 22 14:30:22 CDT 2016
(bootloader) sdi.git: git=MBM-NG-V48.87-0-gdc5aeaf
(bootloader) sbl1.git: git=MBM-NG-V48.87-0-gbffe41a
(bootloader) rpm.git: git=MBM-NG-V48.87-0-gbe53f43
(bootloader) tz.git: git=MBM-NG-V48.87-0-g31cba28
(bootloader) aboot.git: git=MBM-NG-V48.87-0-g1b80345
(bootloader) partition-type: raw
(bootloader) partition-size:
(bootloader) qe: qe 1/1
(bootloader) productid: ZX1D62FVGF
(bootloader) sutinfo:
(bootloader) ro.carrier: retin
all: listed above
finished. total time: 0.340s

I am using XT1068_TITAN_RETLA_DS_6.0_MPB24.65-34-3_cid12_CFC.xml.zip dated 2017-02-05 19:29 from this source
I used EasyInstaller.bat to install on my mobile.
Is there any other thing I can try?

I have checked everything related to this on @xda forums. All above steps I have found from there only but none seems to be working.

This is almost always a mismatch of radio firmware and kernel. Try reflashing the radio stack. I am assuming your IMEI is valid and not 0?

@acejavelin, thanks for the reply but I am not sure what is a radio firmware. can please guide me with anything. Also my IMEI is valid and not 0.

The modem "stack" is the modem Firmware, reflash from your firmware image with fastboot... 'fastboot flash modem NON-HLOS.bin', 'fastboot erase modemst1', 'fastboot erase modemst2', and 'fastboot flash fsg fsg.mbn' and verify OK for each step. You must use the same firmware image your boot.img is from

I run every command as you suggested and found OKAY for each but the issue is still there

Can you append the output of "fastboot getvar all" and mask out the IMEI & Serial Number to the original question please? Also, a link to your ROM image source and flashing method (or a pastebin link to an actual flash from your terminal log or command prompt)?

@acejavelin, added more details to question.

Hmm... This is the Indian version right (ro.carrier=retin)? Shouldn't you be using XT1068_TITAN_RETAILDSDS_6.0_MPB24.65-34-3_cid7_CFC.xml.zip? That is for the Indian variant or at least I believe so... Also, I would recommend flashing the firmware manually so you can see if any part fails. Otherwise I got nothing, sorry.

Thanks @acejavelin, I will try flashing suggested ROM. Thanks for your great support. One last thing, how do you know which zip file is for Indian version?

I don't know for certain... But RETLA is for Latin America and RETAILDSDS is for India from what I can tell... If you examine the flashfile.XML file in the ROM zip, you can determine the proper fastboot commands to do it manually. I can probably post an answer later today on the exact process.

Thank you very much @acejavelin, I will follow flashfile.xml, If you can answer that will be great.

It appears you are using the incorrect firmware for your device... Your device is Retail India (RETIN), but the firmware image you are using is Retail Latin America (RETLA). The correct firmware for Retail India is RETAILDSDS (don't ask me why, I have no idea what it stands for other than Dual SIM something).
A mismatch of radio firmware to the hardware in your device can cause the operating system to think you are in airplane (aeroplane) mode.
Assuming you have the proper drivers and fastboot installed, use this file and extract it to your fastboot directory, or any known directory if fastboot is in your path. Open a elevated privilege command window, in Windows click Start and type cmd and then right-click on cmd.exe and select Run as Administrator or in Linux open a terminal window and enter sudo -i and your password, and navigate to the folder where you extracted the firmware file's contents.
Then enter these commands manually, one at a time (it's OK to copy/paste them individually, just don't do the whole thing at once):
fastboot oem fb_mode_set
fastboot flash partition gpt.bin
fastboot flash motoboot motoboot.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
fastboot flash logo logo.bin
fastboot flash boot boot.img
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
fastboot flash system system.img_sparsechunk.0
fastboot flash system system.img_sparsechunk.1
fastboot flash system system.img_sparsechunk.2
fastboot flash system system.img_sparsechunk.3
fastboot flash modem NON-HLOS.bin
fastboot erase modemst1
fastboot erase modemst2
fastboot flash fsg fsg.mbn
fastboot erase cache
fastboot erase userdata
fastboot oem fb_mode_clear
fastboot reboot
If ANY step fails, or gives any response other than OKAY, check the command and try again. In some cases the modems will need to be done be done 2-3 times. If you get a "Preflash validation error" on the partition table (gpt.bin) it is OK to skip that file (ONLY if you get that error), but you must do each step after that.
The first boot on Marshmallow can take a long time, give it at least 20 minutes after the final reboot to come up to the setup wizard.
This should bring the modem/radio firmware in line with the boot image and the hardware radio and allow you to get normal service again.
Good luck!

@JaiminSutariya Awesome! Glad I could help... Sorry for all the questions but it was the only way to get to the solution.


text:
Recover photos safely
A friend had about 60 photos that were very important to her, because she is planning to use them in a lawsuit.
She wanted to upload the photos to Google Drive and then delete them from the phone, but apparently she deleted them before the upload was finished (only 3 photos were uploaded).
Is there a safe way to recover the deleted photos? From what I can read on the internet, there are apps such as DiskDigger that will help recover deleted files, but I am worried about something: if I start doing stuff on the phone which involves moving things in memory like installing new apps, am I not taking the risk that the photos will be "hard-erased"?
What should I do? Thank you for your advice.
Details:

Phone is a Samsung with Android 4.42
Application used to take/handle photos is Camera (Google Photos not installed)
Memory used is internal memory. There is 142Mb free space available right now.

Every use of the device (especially taking more photos) reduces your chances of a successful recovery, yes. As this kind of question was asked a couple of times already, may I suggest you consult our data-recovery tag-wiki while waiting for answers – and [edit] your post to include where the photos were stored (internal storage or external SD card), as that's important for the recovery approach?

Thanks for your comment. I'll edit the question. I know similar questions were asked, I hope the specificity of my question is still worth asking.

"Internal storage" and "not rooted" makes it hard – as you would have to install something to access the file system for recovery (an SD card could be used via a card reader on a computer), and the installation would take place on the very same storage (ouch, only 142M free makes overwriting even more likely). I have a list of recovery apps on my site you could check (and indeed, DiskDigger is in that list and well rated). Skip the "recycle bins", as they're no use for your situation.


text:
TWRP system backup larger than system partition
I made a nandroid backup with TWRP 3.0.2 on Sony Xperia M4 Aqua. When I tried to restore it, TWRP reported error 255 while restoring system partition. Upon closer examination, I realized that the size of backup is actually larger than available space on system partition. Available space after formatting is 2432MB, while backup size is 2483MB - 51MB larger.
As I understand, nandroid backup is actually a TAR archive of all files in a single partition, so I can't imagine a scenario under which this is possible. Partitions certainly weren't resized in the mean time. And I am certain the partition wasn't even close to full, because I already uninstalled many system apps using Link2SD. TWRP bug comes to mind, but while parsing the backup archive, I can't spot anything that doesn't belong there. Any ideas how this could happen? Could this be something Sony-specific?
EDIT: If someone finds themselves in similar situation, I found a workaround. I located some non-essential files inside the archive and deleted them using IZArc utility in Windows.  I then copied the archive back to phone and this time restore went through. The mystery still remains, how could TAR create an archive larger than the original.

TWRP backups aren't just TAR archives.

@DeathMaskSalesman TWRP backups are TAR archives. I can find no difference between a TWRP backup and a set of splitted TAR archives.

@iBug So you were able to extract them via tar?

@DeathMaskSalesman They are definitely extractable by tar. In fact, instead of doing a restore from recovery, you can go to terminal and untar backup files from file system root. It works for data partition, but not for system partition, at least not on this particular phone.

@NikšaBaldun This I did ignore. If I ask such a question, would any of you answer it?

Well, I'll answer to the extent of my knowledge of the subject, which is not comprehensive.


text:
Open app on device startup
I have a cheap android tablet that I want to use behind some 2 way glass. So I want it to display a webpage on startup. If possible it would be better if it also could run a webserver with PHP, msql and similar. As the tablet would be behind glass there would be no need for it to do anything else.
I guess I could have it using some sort of camera activity on face recognition, or movement detection. These would be extra features.for a later date

What have you searched and found that doesn't work?  I have found the following https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gears42.surelock&hl=en

I would prefer to open applications for free. Also as I want to show info on my mirror so I will not want to see any other furniture, i thought i could just show a "full screen / f11" with a web browser and have bright colored text (to show through the mirror) and black background to show the mirror.

this might work https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/android/addon/full-screen-252573/

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts! Have you already checked with our other kiosk-mode questions?

What's your actual question?

If I understand what you're actually asking - "Open an app on startup" - then Tasker should be able to handle this pretty easily.
Get Tasker from here (it does cost £2.99 for the app. For me, it was well worth it as its a very powerful tool. I guess it depends if you would get any other use out of it). You then need to create a Profile (the context of the device at a particular time) and a Task (what you want the device to do).
Create a profile to run the task on device boot;
Profiles tab > Add new profile (+ button) > Event > System > Device Boot
Create a new task (it should prompt you to do this);
Add a new action (+ button) > Net > Browse URL > enter the URL

This post does not contain enough information to be considered an answer. How did it solve the issue? Where to find it? What are the steps to perform?


text:
Geofence apps not working on Android 7.1.1?
So I have two apps that utilise Geofence. Nest (Auto-Away) and August (Auto-Unlock). Both made by very different companies, doing very different things.
I have noticed that if the app is NOT open, neither of these functions will work. It is only when I open the app that something happens.
For example, August send me a notification when it senses I leave the house. I left the house, and on the way back pulled out my phones, opened the August app, and THEN the notification appeared.
I have tried selecting the apps as "Do Not Optimise" under Battery Optimisation settings but that didn't change anything.
I have a nasty habit of closing all apps in the recent bar, but I am trying to see if leaving it open will fix, but I would really like a solution where I would not have to do that.
I am running Android 7.1.1 on a Nexus5X. What can I do?
EDIT:
Noticed that IFTTT's Geofence works.

Do you have any sort of battery saver apps such as Greenify or Clean Master installed?

So the goal is to keep these apps running in the background right?

@xavier_fakerat pretty much

@famdekk none whatsoever. Just stock android.

My bad about that one. Do the apps show up in Running Services (part of Developer Settings) right after you open them? What about after you clear them out of the recents bar?

Seeing as you're indicating that the apps are supposed to send you notifications when they're in the background, can you try the following? Make sure the app (Nest/August) is enabled in Settings -> Apps -> Configure apps (gear icon) -> Special access -> Notification access. If this works, I'll convert this comment into an answer. If not, we'll just keep on going.

@famdekk the apps aren't even showing up sadly.

UPDATE: I tested, and as long as I have the app open in the background it works. The solution must do one of the following:
A: Prevent me from physically closing the app in the recent menu
B: Solve the initial issue, make the app work without being open

Do either of those apps have a setting to allow them to run in foreground? This prevents the app's process from being destroyed when you swipe it away from recents, or by Android when it's low on resources. This setting is usually tied to displaying a permanent notification in the status bar.

@Chahk neither show a permanent notification, and neither have a setting to do so.

Ideally, there would be a way to force it to run in the foreground or even physically prevent me from swiping it away in recents

I know I am answering my own question, but the best solution I found was this app:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.atasoglou.autostartandstay&rdid=com.atasoglou.autostartandstay
Basically it reopened August every time I tried to close it. Not very elegant, but it got the job done.
@Chahk inspired this answer, once I knew that it just needed to be forced to run in the foreground, a simple Google search gave me the thing I needed.

For you to keep the apps running in the ground the apps  require a running service program.
You can do this by:

Giving the apps a higher memory priority (so that they will not be killed when system memory is low)
Whitelisting the applications in phone's power saving features, task killers or hibernation programs
Enabling a persistent notification to keep the program's services running in the background. (Settings >> Notification Manager >> Always allow) See screenshot:

Screenshot (click image for larger variant)
Also keep it running in background through phone manager:

Screenshot (click image for larger variant)
(I apologise to hide some apps names due to other reasons  but I trust it wont affect the quality of the answer)
Alternatively when rooted use this code on terminal at every launch of the app:
echo "-17" > /proc/`pidof com.package.name`/oom_adj

OR
Some apps for rooted devices include:
RAM Manager/ Memory boost
What this app affects:

OOM_ADJ (Out of memory)
Every process has value which gives the kernel a hint, which process it can kill in an OOM (out of memory) situation.
LMK (Low memory killer)
Works with your applications in memory. It affects your multitasking and free memory. But Android works with memory differently than you may be accustomed. Android needs to have running applications in foreground because of fast switching between your applications. It means that it's not good if you have too much more free memory. Your system gives you so much memory as you need.
and
Memory Locker
Memory Locker controls file in /data directory and also controls system files in root for setting oom_adj for all running processes. All locked applications are automatically locked after each reboot, so you do not need to lock your applications again after each reboot.

Credits:

Android -Keep app alive
RAM Manager

I had a similar issue with other apps automatically closing but this solved may problems. Hope it helps.

I don't see any settings menus like this in my phone (Stock Android)

For missing notifications, it sounds like both apps are not using Google Cloud Messaging (a.k.a. GCM) or its successor, Firebase Cloud Messaging.
The only way for an app to keep running when you swipe it away from Recents menu, is if it's set to run in foreground.  This also prevents the OS from destroying the app's service when the system is low on resources.  Android requires any app that's running in foreground to place a permanent notification (the one that cannot be swiped away) in the status bar.  This feature is perfect for continuous monitoring, such as geofencing.  Once again, this is not something you as an end-user have control over, and a developer must implement this feature.
I would send feedback to the developers of these apps asking to implement these features.

Is there any way to FORCE an app to run in the foreground?

@NathanielDSouza Not natively in Android, but there could be some 3rd-party apps that attempt to do this.


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What all these partitions are for?
On my Lenovo K3 Note, apart from Boot (16MB), System (2169MB), Data (5584MB) and Cache (0MB);
I can see many more partitions (in TWRP) like:

Logo (8MB)
Nvram (5MB)
Recovery (16MB)
Uboot (0MB)
Proinfo (3MB)
Protect (0MB)
Parametr (0MB)
Secro (6MB)
Tee (10MB)
Frp (8MB)

I'm referring to this article: http://www.cyanogenmods.org/forums/topic/take-nandroid-backup-twrp-recovery/
Which talks about PDS partition that's supposed to keep your IMEI, modem information and all which does not affected as part of a custom ROM flashing.
Looking at the list of partitions on my phone, I don't see PDS. So:

Where does it store IMEI and other such details?
If I flash a custom ROM (Lineage OS 14.1 @ https://androidfilehost.com/?w=files&flid=133902&sort_by=date&sort_dir=DESC) will it be able to access IMEI and other details?
What all these (above mentioned) partitions do?
Is there a way I can remove any of them (that are not needed - if any, which ones) and merge it into data partition?

Note: I've checked following questions, but couldn't really get any clarity regarding my questions.
Lenovo Tab 2 Partition Layout
How to list all major partitions with their labels?
What are the Android system default partitions
What Android parts do these terms describe?

Have you already checked with our partitions tag-wiki? It explains some, and points to others – e.g. Android Partitions Explained: boot, system, recovery, data, cache & misc. Also see my answer here. One that might not be coverred (thanks for naming!) is FRP, which obviously is used for Factory Reset Protection (see our factory-reset tag-wiki)

@Izzy ... I've not checked these links... will take a look. Thanks.

Be welcome to answer your own question, if the links taken together have the details :) Some partitions you've named might be device-specific (I've e.g. never seen Secro or Tee on any of my devices).


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How to force Android>Mail Client to use custom SMTP Server?
I setup the default android Mail client to fetch emails from my gmail account (pop.gmail.com) and in the outgoing SMTP , used my own custom mail server mail.mydomain.com
While I can download the gmail emails nicely, sending out emails still go through the gmail account (pop) :(  and thus is still using gmail smtp servers (and showing up as @GMAIL.com email account on my recipients inboxes)
even when sending emails, if i try to drop down and my email account, the smtp account i have setup is not showing.
I double checked my SMTP settings and it's accurate.
Is this a mail client bug?


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Use Socks proxy on Android without rooting in Android 5.1
I have a Socks5 proxy and I need to configure it in my mobile so that all traffic of the apps goes through that proxy. How can I configure Socks5 proxy without rooting the mobile ?
I have seen 'ProxyDroid' on 'Google Play Store' but it needs the phone to be rooted. Tried Another app 'Drony' but not able to successfully make the connection. I might be doing something wrong.
Please suggest a solution .
Environment

Android Version  ::   5.1
Mobile           ::   MOTO E  , Samsung J2

Drony should work. But not sure if latest SOCKS5 features are supported. Can you try with ccproxy socks5? I'm sure that works with that one.

I wrote a tutorial a while ago, should still work, though it's only for web traffic:

https://www.devineloper.com/2013/08/28/setup-socks-proxy-android-without-root/

From what I've read, you can set a regular proxy in Android connection settings, but it's up to apps to decide if they want to use it. Hence the need to root in order to force all traffic through.


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How can I make my lockout time stack?
If anyone has ever used an IPhone (Or tried to mess with someone else's - yes, I'm looking at you) you may be aware the the lockout timer scales with each fail after 5 attempts.
I want to do this on android, preferably Without root. anyone know how?
Edit On IPhone, after 5 failed passcode attempts, you are locked out for a minute. If you keep failing, it escalates (it will go up to 5 mins, then 15, then 60) I basically want to replicate that behaviour on android, where its 30 seconds lockout (and does not go up in time)

This feature is rate limiting
 and is done to prevent Brute Force Attack
This being a core security feature , it can be changed at OS level ( if at all ) and certainly would not be possible  without root
While I could not find reference to PIN / password rate limiting, you can see the Compatibility Definition Document
(CSD ) mandating that for finger print recognition, specifying the number of attempts and duration. See
How can I limit the number of fingerprint attempts before fallback to other login type?

Alright, well, it's a step in the right direction, I guess :)