text:
still a mystery . thumbdata3 file space & performance hog
I just don't know how to fix this issue.
I have tried almost everything and give up.
I have read other threads on what to do if there is .thumbdata3  file that occupies a lot of space. my file occupies almost 20 gb and I cannot afford that space waste.
I have done the following to try and circumvent but nothing works

create an Empty file with the same name.
that empty file will eventually increase to the same size
stick a  .nomedia  file in every folder that contains an image so this file does not grow in size.
and then I repeated the above first... the file is still created.
there are some observations have had in that regard.
initially the dummy file I created remains as it is. then as soon as I try and open or call in Explorer through some third party app for example there is an app that needs of photo to upload so Explorer is invoked through the app to choose the photo the phone then  completely freaked out and Will hang and forces a reboot
why this hung state happens I open up process monitor which unlike other apps will run regardless of how hung the phone is... I find the process download manager and under that the process name is android..process.media
this process strikes out as the highest CPU consumer. and within a matter of minutes the hounded  20 gig   .thumbdat3 file is back.
I am rooted on an  Xperia Z3 Running Android 6.0.
another thing that I observed -if I use any third party app that is supposed to let me CHMOD and C H O W N even though an attempt to remove write permissions. for everyone, will run without errors the file permission will remain the same they will not change. dytto experience when you use terminal emulator and SU on the prompt

I wonder
-if I disable manual this process
android..process.media

then what happens.

why is it that in spite of sticking in a ..nomedia file in each and every folder in spite of that the process will build the 20 gig file.

"create an Empty file with the same name" – well, that will just be used then. Try creating a directory with the same name, that should work if you want to get rid of the thumbs completely.

no actually .thumbdata3 file is created within     .thumbnails directory ... so creating a directory with the same name will not help. I will try creating a file by the name of the directory I don't know if that would help I have to check it out

Then create .thumbnails/.thumbdata3 as directory. If you insist on trying with a file, at least make that read-only.

I tried to mess around with octal as an su... that is one of the questions I asked in here..... even as SU  I cannot change them

I've never tried that, but a raw idea: the reason behind that most likely is the "FUSE" system used here. Assuming we're talking about /sdcard: that's just a "symbolic link" pointing to a different place. Maybe you can change file permissions at the "real location". Note that can be multiple "hops", the symbolic link pointing to another symbolic link. On my device, /sdcard points to /storage/self/primary which then points to /mnt/user/0/primary which points to /storage/emulated/0. The latter then is the "real location".

well one thing that totally o overlooked my attention was the fact that all this memory is from my SD card which is formatted as exfat  ... that is why the octal stuff does not work. so then if I dig up the Direct Path that does not use shortcut I Would Still expect the same result octals  not working .. well for the time being I created file by that name and so far so good touch wood. the weird behaviour would begin when I would try to invoke File Explorer through any kind of third party app. example there is a app to convert media from one format to the other where you need to pick your fi

pick your file using some kind of Explorer  gui... that is the time it used to completely freak out and force a reboot in fact sometimes couple of them now after I created this file it seems stable... I tried to change the picture of a contact. sofar touch wood like I said let us see

On the command line (terminal or adb shell), try fatattr +r .thumbdata3 then (to revert, -r). That is what's used for FAT based file systems.

thank you s. so far it seems to work with just the file created by the same name.

ok I tried to run the command on exFat it gives me the Message  command not implemented.

Seems to be ROM specific then (it is available on my devices running LineageOS). Was worth a try. So let's see how it works out on your end; if the issue is solved, be welcome to answer your own question with the necessary details. Fingers crossed!

yep.. so far so good.... but I have read elsewhere this thing did not work.... and with my repeated attempts to prevent that Monster from growing .... I had almost Given Up any hope..... imagine Mast be in the Google Android gene... capture people's personal data that level  and send it back to mountain view.

after I get this there is absolutely no impact on the existing thumbnails the infact start showing up faster when I invoke Explorer through an app

in my case creating an Empty file with the same name works and this problem as since then disappeared.
so a trick is to create thumbnails file after you delete the folder by the same name


text:
Is there a Google play store apk available somewhere?
Everyone keeps telling me that such apk has never been published by Google. Is that so?
I need to put Google Play Store on a Chinese mobile, but I cant root nor flash it with a custom recovery ROM. I wanted to use the Open Gapps zip but all of those require custom recovery. Any ideas?
Thanks a lot in advance!

I think they are wrong, since the .apk file are found on various apk hosting sites. You can grab one from APKmirror, and can always update it once it is installed.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Change device on google find my device?
I just had one of my android phones stolen, thankfully it was just a backup burner phone, but I still used my google account on it. I though I should be able to either find or wipe it from google's "Find My device" android.com/find , however it does not let me change the device like I can if I'm on the web google play store. It only shows my main device. Is there any way to get this to switch to my other device?

If it doesn't show up on the app, it's probably because the person who stole it has done a factory-reset. If that is the case it will not show up on the web version too
I just checked using the app and devices associated with my account show up when if they are switched off

None of my other devices show on the site I mentioned. If you are talking about something other than android.com/find please specify.

Sorry, I think I misunderstood. I thought you were referring to this Find my device app by Google. If you can't see it in the web version, factory reset is the most likely cause

Another possibility is that devices (other than the one stolen) were not used for a long time and hence don't show up. Log in those devices and they should show up

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


text:
Does flashing with stock rom conflict with country specific GSM regulation?
I bought my phone from a telephony provider in my country... After rooting the phone, I noticed some folder or drivers were having the name of my country's telephony regulation council...
Since I don't know why those drivers/folders were there I was wondering if I flash my phone with a stock rom from firmwarefile.com will make my phone not able to perform GSM operations anymore ...

Those files which you see are probably mandated to be there by your carrier. Not knowing what those files are for is not a good reason to try to get rid of them. They may have been there all along but you can see them now because your device is rooted and can show files which were earlier hidden. You can check with the carrier or OEM what those files are required for ; you are not going to get rid of them by flashing stock ROM , if they are meant to be there
It is a phone purchased in your country and flashing stock ROM from OEM or from a reputable trusted source will NOT harm the functionality of the phone in any way (as long as you flash the correct ROM and of your region), but the moot point is what is that you are going to achieve by doing that ?

So what you said if flashing stock ROM won't necessarily affect those files.....right ? Actually, I'm a developer and I want to manually upgrade my phone OS (and API level) since when I do System upgrade it says nothing is available. Plus, I want to get rid of my telephony carrier drivers which blocks me from performing certain operations. And at last, hmmm reading your answer it seems I also have to find the right ROM for West Africa countries I guess... Hmm this is going to be you heavy googling then....Thanks mate

Or look for a custom ROM

Do you know about those found here firmwarefile.com  ?

No idea about that site. Which device is that?

Alcatel One Touch M'POP 5020D.... Also maybe this will help me

I have no idea about Alcatel devices. Searching in XDA is usually the best way to find


text:
ADB couldnt detect oneplus2
I am trying to connect andriod debug shell to oneplus 2, i have enabled USB debugging on my mobile and installed google usb drivers via sdk manager but still adb couldnt detect the mobile
i tried restarting adb server also still facing same issue. I even tried updating the driver via device manager but not luck it says MTP driver is already installed.
Can anyone please help me here.

Did u restarted after installing the drivers?

Yeah i tried restarting

Install PDAnet.
I know its a long shot but it helps to connect phone quicker
http://pdanet.co/a/

If you are using Windows, try uninstalling the driver first in case you installed the OnePlus drivers.
Do a full reboot and then try the latest version of platform tools, you can download them here.
If you are using a Linux distribution or macOS, make sure you have the lastest platform tools as well: https://developer.android.com/studio/index.html#downloads
Restarting the ADB server works in the following way:
sudo adb kill-server && sudo adb start-server

It's also worth mentioning that some USB ports or hubs might be the culprit here.


text:
scroll the background farther than half the picture
Is there a way to let android scroll 1080px through the wallpaper to show one of the pictures every page instead of half of the picture?(https://i.stack.imgur.com/QSW91.jpg)
I want every page to be a different picture,so it has to scroll 1080 pixels to the right instead of part of one picture and another half of the other when i go to the 2nd page. I tried some apps for that but apps like five wallpapers stutter and lag too much.
The wallpaper I use: https://i.stack.imgur.com/umVlq.jpg


text:
Share option: How to append into text file?
If I go to share in any app or from selected text (icon with three connected dots), I get some sharing options such as SMS, Bluetooth, WiFi direct, etc.
But I would also like to dump it directly into a chosen text file destination such as /(the default Android user directory path, different by each version)/Documents/Shared.txt
I need this for easily storing URLs into a file without needing to fumble and fiddle around with copying the URL bar and pasting it into a text editor, which costs a lot of time. The browser usually has a Share option.
Additionally, I would like it to be appended to the text file, not overwritten.
I am also fine if a new file is created each time, because some desktop PC commands can easily put 1000 tiny text files into 1 file, and Notepad++ and some Linux commands also support searching all files in a directory for text, even with regular expressions.

Many file managers such as Solid File Explorer, ES File Manager, etc., provide option to save the selected content / page into a text file. You can find "Save to" or something similar with their icon in the Share menu. Have you tried them yet? They may both overwrite as well as create a new file.

Thank you, @FireLord. I already knew that, but thanks for reminding me. +1. It needs a few additional taps, and everything into one file is more preferrable, but as already said, I can do that on the desktop PC. So thanks for your help.

Simpletask does what you ask for. It creates a new line in a todo.txt file.
Personally, I use Simpletask Cloudless and sync with syncthing. There is also Simpletask Nextcloud and Simpletask Dropbox. And if you like it, we should donate to the author (just found this amazing solution two days ago, so I didn't do it yet).

I've already heard of TodoTxt. So this is it's successor. Thanks, looks interesting.

I tried it out myself and it works fine. Only issue I have is that it just automatically appends the content to the todo list, without letting me enter some additional context for whatever I'm sharing. Does anyone know if there is a setting for that? It would be nice if it would work similarly to how Google Keep does it, as they let a window appear for you to type into before you share the link.

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


text:
Wifi using power even if it off
I am using Lenovo P2 having Android 7.0. It having 5100 mah battery. In the battery usage I noticed that the wifi using power even if it turns off. I did a factory reset. But still have the same problem.
I have attached a screenshot after did the below procedures.
1) Turn off wifi
2) Fully charge the phone
3) Restart the phone just after unplug
4) Use the phone more than one day without turn on the wifi. Only use the mobile data.

@beeshyams i can find it in location. Lets see after one day of usage

Configure as shown . These are for Marshmallow and may differ on your device

Settings → Google → Services → Location → 3-dot menu → Scanning → Wi-Fi scanning → Disable

(As confirmed by OP on Nougat Settings  → Location → Scanning → Wi-Fi scanning → Disable )

Settings → Wi-Fi → 3-dot menu → Advanced → Keep Wi-Fi on during sleep → Never
Settings → Wi-Fi → 3-dot menu → Advanced → Network notification → Disable

This should fix the problem in all likelihood

settings-location-scanning-wlan scanning turn off it.


text:
How best to block ads on non rooted phone?
How can you block ads on a non rooted phone. I tried rooting and have no success.

See Izzy's list of ad blockers. I use Adguard, it's excellent but paid. You can see other alternatives in the list

Ill look for its alternatives

Hotwav hot 5th is what i was working with

Adguard is a good option (as suggested above) given it can employ more than one way of filtering ads from traffic. It can utilise local VPN or local HTTP proxy, but can have significant battery drain.
A more lightweight option may be using DNS66, an open source application available for free on the F-Droid Repository.

DNS66 uses DNS level filtering to filter ad traffic. This means that
  it only filters the ad traffic for a specific amount of time after
  your device is connected to the internet. Therefore there will not be
  any significant battery drain when you are using DNS66 to block ads
  across the system of your Android device.

After installing, head to the Hosts tab at the top of the screen. From here, you'll have to pick at least one ad-blocking hosts file, which is basically a list of known ad servers that DNS66 will block for you.

Now you have to select the hosts file which contains the list of popular ad servers that are hosting the ads you see across the websites and apps.
The most recommmended one is  Adaway hosts (as it covers most popular ad servers) and then click on the Action option and select deny. This will now block all the ads that are hosted by the servers in the Adaway host file’s list.
From here, head back to the Start tab from the top menu, then tap the "Start" icon near the bottom of the screen to start the VPN ad-blocking service.
acknowledgements

Block Ads in All Your Android Apps Without Root or Extra Battery Drain

If you wish to keep your phone not rooted you still have several options.

use ad block apps on your phone
install AdBlock chrome extension for android
configure your router to block specific sites (not all of them has this feature)
deploy your own proxy to block what you want

I've been in similar situation before and figured out that the best option for me it the 4th one. So I created a pre-configured squid image deployed in docker on raspberry pi, opened the port on my router and set RPI external ip address as proxy. Since then I have no ads on my phone, not on any site not in the apps and I don't have to worry about privacy because I manage the proxy.
The docker image, its source code and a short documentation are available here: https://github.com/andrassebo/squid-adblock

Curious about "install AdBlock Chrome extension for Android", considering that Chrome for Android doesn't support browser extensions.

Thanks for pointing it out, it's not a traditional extension (like on PC). But here is one from many: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.adblockplus.adblockplussbrowser


text:
How to append text with paste?
In android many times I just want to paste in text after the current text. But Android won't offer the paste context unless I select text. This means I have to overwrite text I want or insert a garbage word that will get pasted over. How do I just append the text in the clipboard to the current text?
For example if I long press after the entered text android selects the last set of chars and i have tonpaste over it.

On Android, to paste text, all you have to do, is long press anywhere after the last words that are displayed at the moment. This will bring up a few options, and one of them will be paste press on that, and the text will appear where you want it to.
In the screenshot below, if you want to paste something after the word here all you have to do, is long press where the red circle is (or anywhere along the line). This can get tricky in a situation where you want to paste between words.

I added a pictures that shows what happens when I long press in the box after the entered text.

@jerermy that's real strange. It doesn't happen by me. Are you actually long pressing far away from the question mark?

See https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/207777/how-to-paste-text-between-existing-words?rq=1


text:
Can I designate a block device as the internal storage?
Everything was fine as long as I used CyanogenMod 11 (Android 4.4) on my HTC One S. I recently switched to LineageOS 14.1 (Android 7.1.2) and since then couldn't use its non-removable 16-GB sdcard as an internal storage.
Now there is /storage/emulated/0 instead of it. I logged in via ADB and mounted the card inside this directory (mount -t vfat -o rw,uid=0,gid=1015 /dev/block/mmcblk0p36 /storage/emulated/0/sdcard) and could browse it there, but still not on my phone. Permissions are similar for the mounted directory and the rest of the storage.
Any sugestions?

Is this an office lineage os release or something you found somewhere just on Xda?  Honestly lineage OS is a community effort and is far from perfect.  For example the camera doesn't work at all on mine.  My advice would be work around the issue if you can.

@William, frankly, it was an unofficial pack of Lineage which I also had to 'fix' manually (remove checks for build time and hboot version). I'm fine with any hack that won't bother me every other day. I just hope Android is as modular and repairable as any normal *nix.

I'm sorry, I don't think we can help you to debug problems with a custom ROM you built yourself. This site isn't about ROM development.

@DanHulme, OK, I reworded it to be more generic. If the answer is "no", I would like to know why.


text:
Closing zygote and seeing simple interface
Can i'm close zygote on my phone and see "terminal"? If i'm closing zygote with
killall zygote

my phone just rebooted and graphics interface starts again.

First you need to enable virtual terminals and kernel console in kernel configuration. Then modify init services to run getty and login on terminal instead of starting SurfaceFlinger and zygote GUI components.

Can i'm close zygote on my phone and see "terminal"?

No. Android is not like a GNU/Linux desktop, with TTYs open in the background behind X Windows. Killing zygote is not like killing X Windows, it's like killing init. There isn't a TTY behind it you can log into.

It's not like killing init because init in Android still work.


text:
How can I fix my hotspot?
I'm on a Google Pixel XL, stock, unrooted. Android 8.1.0, build OPM1.171019.021
My Carrier is T-Mobile, via Straight talk BYOP program.
I was able to hotspot (WiFi tethering) without any trouble at all. Then one day my computer lost connection to my hotspot, so I checked my phone, and it was off. Turning it back on, I had a notification that said "Your phone shut off due to heat." It didn't feel hot at the time, compared to other times that I've used it and it felt warm to the touch. Since then, I'm unable to connect through tethering.
Built in WiFi Hotspot and USB tether give the same problem.
A few things I've found:
When connection another phone, it authenticates, then says "Connected, No Internet"
On a Linux machine, when I ping google.com it can resolve Google's IP address, but has 100% packet loss.
On a Mac, PDANet app allowed me to get online, though I need to be able to WiFi hotspot without PDANet.
When using a WiFi file transfer app, I'm able to connect to the hotspot and transfer files to/from the phone without any problems.
A few things I've tried:
-Reboot phone
-Contact Carrier to check/reset data settings on their end
-Reset APN settings
-Factory reset phone
-Replace SIM card
What can I do to get this fixed? It was fine for a long time, then suddenly, this happens and nothing seems to fix it.
Also, the SE websites confuse me, so I have no idea which one to ask this on. I've asked Android specific questions on Android SE and was closed for being off topic. If possible, please just tell me where to ask or migrate my question instead of flagging it. I don't know where to ask about this sort of thing, and I prefer the SE community over other Q&A sites where I can only get the opinion of trolls. Thanks.

Thanks for the reference, but I actually run on pure Linux machines. I realize I was unclear in my question when mentioning a Mac with PDANet. This solution won't work for me, unfortunately.


text:
Wirelessly cast phone to PC monitor with DisplayPort and DVI, but no HDMI
I have a Moto G phone that's about a year old.  I also have a spare HP Compaq LA2405wg monitor that I'd like to wirelessly cast my phone to so I can watch Netflix in the bedroom.  The monitor has Displayport, DVI, and VGA, but not HDMI.  All of the solutions I've seen available such as Chromecast and Anycast require HDMI and converting to Displayport reportedly will not work.
Is there a solution where I can cast my phone to the monitor?  I'm sure I'm not the only person with extra PC monitors hanging about that would make nice casting devices.


text:
Button to turn on Do Not Disturb
I just switched from iOS to Android.  I bought a Samsung Galaxy S9+ and I am looking for a quick way to enable Do Not Disturb.  iOS has a simple button to enable DND.  However, I cant find a way to do this on my phone.  Everything I google, doesnt seem to apply to this phone or android version.
I tried this, but it doesnt seem to apply to my phone.

This button is not a feature of Android. You can try this app or similar apps from Play Store

When you say that IOS has a simple button to do so, are you talking about a physical button, or are you talking about an easily accessible setting? And isn't putting your sound to the lowest, equivalent to DND mode?

@aBochur im talking about an easily accessible setting.  In the latest iOS, you just simply swipe up from the bottom edge of the phone and there is a soft button to enable/disable DND.  On my S9+, I have to go into multiple menus to enable it.  Also, I tried putting the sound all the way down till it vibrates and then checked if DND was enabled at that point and it was not.

@Keltari swipe the notification panel with two fingers, and you should see a setting for that. If you do, let me know, and I'll post an answer with instructions on how to move it up. It was definitely there on s7. Not sure if they removed he since

@aBochur Its definitely not there. '

Do you have similar settings like these? If you don't see that specific one, i guess they removed it. But to confirm, swipe right or left, to see if it's there

@aBochur Lol.  The settings menu does not have DND on the first screen.  I did not realize you can swipe to the right.  It is on the NEXT screen.  If you make your comment an answer, I will select it.  I guess now I need research to see if its possible to reorder that menu.

@Keltari no problem. I'll also advise on how to reorder

@aBochur I found how to reorder it.  just make your comment an answer and ill accept it.  :)  Thanks for the help.  While I am definitely liking Android over iOS, the configurability adds a lot of complexity.  Having to google how to do anything is tedious, granted you probably only need to do it once.

In the answer below, I assume that it's very similar to how it works on Galaxy s8. If that's not so, please let me know, as I don't have one to test this on

The Do not Disturb setting is easily accessible in the notification panel on most Android devices.
To find it on a Galaxy S9+, using two fingers, swipe from the top of the screen, and you'll see all available quick settings. You should see DND mode as one of the option. (If it's not there, swipe the screen to the right or to the left to find it)
Tap on the DND setting to turn it on or off. Long press on it to enter more DND settings.
Below, is a screenshot of how this looks on a galaxy S8. it looks similar On an S9+

How to move it to a more convenient place:
To move the quick setting to a more convenient place like next to the WiFi setting, all you have to do, is press on the three dots (circled with green in the screenshot) and press on button order this will give you access to changing the order of the settings.

Android 4.4.
there is such a function. in the curtain. convenient, beautiful, functional.

This button doesnt exist on my phone.  Between WiFi and the volume button is WiFi calling, not DND

@Keltari check the other answer, the DnD button may no tbe in the same location, the curtain's buttons can be edited and customized. Άνδρας I do not know if "curtain" is the official keyword for swiping down, but I love this term and hope I remember to call it that.


text:
Open local file from Excel Cell in Android
In Android, I wish to open a local file from a Hyperlink in Excel. XLSX file and the linked image are in the same directory folder. I've tried the following:

=HYPERLINK("cat.jpg", "Cat")

=HYPERLINK("./cat.jpg", "Cat")

=HYPERLINK(".\cat.jpg", "Cat")

=HYPERLINK("file://\storage\emulated\0\Download\Cat.jpg", "Cat")

=HYPERLINK("file:///storage/emulated/0/Download/Cat.jpg", "Cat")

=HYPERLINK("/storage/emulated/0/Download/1.png", "Cat")

=HYPERLINK("file://storage\emulated\0\Download\Cat.jpg", "Cat")

=HYPERLINK("file://storage/emulated/0/Download/Cat.jpg", "Cat")

=HYPERLINK("storage/emulated/0/Download/1.png", "Cat")

I get the same error message on all Cells:

Is it possible to achieve the above result? If Android as an OS restricts launching another app programmatically, can we we have the open with dialogue similar to the one in ES Explorer.

If it affects - I downloaded MS Excel via Play Store and I'm not a Office 365 user.

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


text:
I still can 'delete for everyone' message on WhatsApp? Why?
I would like to ask..
Why can I still delete my message from whatsapp, even though the times already round in an hour?
If you guys know, please let me know too.. thanks

WhatsApp has changed the way it works. You can now delete for everyone within an hour and eight minutes.
From TheVerge:

WhatsApp has quietly changed the way its message deletion feature
  works. Originally introduced in October, the WhatsApp “delete for
  everyone” used to only allow you to delete messages up to seven
  minutes after you sent them. WABetaInfo has noticed that the latest
  version of WhatsApp extends that time limit significantly to one hour,
  eight minutes, and 16 seconds.


text:
Android Settings xml
We have exported the Android Settings of a Device running Android 4.4.3
We want to use this settings.apk to make our own default build for my other android devices (same device, same Android Version).
We would like to get deploy customized preferences for all devices and we think that is possible to compile this app again with our new preferences included.
How can we deploy the same customized settings on a fleet of devices?
Device: Motorola TC70

What's your question? Bear in mind that making a custom ROM is off-topic for this site.

No, we would like to get only a customized Settings app with our preferences.

Are you aware that Settings has to be a system app? That means either it has to be part of the custom ROM, or you need to root the device and install it to the system partition. Does that suit your goals?

Sorry, I'm an android-Programming-starter. I didn't know that you have to root the device to install a system app.
A custom-rom is for us the best value, do you have a good documentation to build this?

Perhaps if you [edit] the question to ask how to achieve your goal (i.e. deploy the same settings on a fleet of devices), instead of focusing on a particular solution you've already decided on, you might get some helpful answers.

you are not entirely wrong. We should edit the question instead of focusing on a particular solution . Thank you.

This question asks how to do the same for rooted phones. Some of those answers might be helpful to you.

The problem is that we aren't allowed to root the devices.

What you want to achieve should be possible using adb backup (no root required):

Enable ADB USB mode on all devices (have to be done manually, AFAIK).
On the pre-configured device perform an adb backup of -all or if you know it only the relevant system settings app (I think it should be com.android.providers.settings?).
(optional) Decrypt and decompress the crated backup using Android Backup Extractor. You can now extract and edit the data in the backup, removing unnecessary/unwanted settings. Afterwards recreate the backup file using the modified data.
On each device perform an adb restore using the created backup from step 2 or 3.


text:
WiFi continually turns off and on Sony Xperia Compact (Android 8.0)
I have a Sony Xperia Compact running Android 8.0.0.
Recently I noticed that the WiFi constantly turns off and on. That is to say, I turn on WiFi, it searches for signal, shows a list of available networks and then turns off again by itself. It will then turn itself on again, and the cycle continues.
If I have airplane mode on, this sometimes allows me to hold a WiFi connection - but not always.
I am at a loss as how to approach this problem. I've tried resetting the network settings to default, which renders the same problem. I've tried running the phone in safe mode, to see if it was a 3rd party app, which also did not solve the problem.

Downgrade to nougat. Tried everything (reset router, delete network settings, software repair via companion etc etc.) nothing worked except the downgrade.

great thanks. Could you point me to a resource that shows me how to do that?


text:
No Sound/Mic on Phone Calls
I have a Samsung S7 Edge (its a refurbished model). Everything works fine besides for making calls over the network... I can ring, and receive calls but when the connection is established we both cannot hear each other.
I have debugged by:

Using whatsapp to make a call (works) - which proves the
microphone/speaker both work.
Used a different network sim (doesn't work).
Tried ringing the other person (doesn't work).
Tried receiving the call (doesn't work).
SMS works (sending and receiving).

What can I do to fix this problem?

Try different app for calling? And if already using one check whether it has  Microphone permission granted.

Tried, and no luck :(

There was some problem with S4 too. Dig more into search engine. The problem may lie with Phone Services, which is the system app for managing calls.


text:
Phone shows no dialogue when I try to adb backup Huawei Ascend G620S Android 4.4.4 EMUI 2.3
I have an Huawei Ascend G620S-L01 with Android 4.4.4 and EMUI 2.3.
I'd like to make a full backup of the system in case something goes wrong when I try to root it later, so that I have a safe backup to restore to.
I enabled USB-Debugging in the phone's Developer Option and chose a password for the backup.
Then I got myself Android Studio and installed the Google USB Driver with help of the SDK Manager.
In the CMD I went to C:\Users\NAME\AppData\Local\Android\Sdk\platform-tools.
I connected my phone with my PC, chose the USB mass storage mode (though MTP doesn't make any differences, I tried that too). When I choose the option that the phone should just load, it won't even be recognized by adb devices.
Now, when I enter adb devices it shows my device, at least it gives some digits and letters on the left and it says "device" on the right.
Now I enter:
adb backup –all -apk -shared –f c:\backup\backup.ab
I also tried
adb backup '-all -apk -shared -f c:\backup\backup.ab'
The answer is the same:
Now unlock your device and confirm the backup operation...
But on my phone, nothing happens. No dialogue appears.
C:\backup just shows a file with 0KB named backup.ab
CMD shows again that I'm in my platform-tools folder and waits for a new order.
I also tried using adb-1.0.31-windows, didn't change anything for me.
I hope someone can help me and guide me into making a full backup.
Thanks in advance for your support!

When you plug the phone in by USB, does it show the notification that USB debugging is enabled?

Dear Dan, thank you for your answer. Yes, my phone does show the notification that USB debugging is enabled.

It's possible that Huawei broke the adb backup support in their firmware, but someone with more knowledge of Huawei devices might know better.

Alright thanks, we'll see about that soon I hope. Though I think if this was true you would find something about this issue via google, yet I don't.

@DanHulme if the device were not in "ADB mode", the adb backup command would yield an error ("no device found"). I however second your second suggestion, as I had a similar issue on a different device some years ago where restore didn't work, so that might well be. Guess a question targeted at Huawei support would help to either confirm this or rule it out.


text:
Cannot Restore Data for Signal Messenger 4.16 with Titanium Backup
I have backed up and restored Signal with Titanium for years without any incident, up until now. The other day I was encountering a boot loop playing around with an Xposed module. I did a re-flash of the ROM to regain access and then backed up my data with Titanium as usual. After a full wipe and re-flash all data was restored correctly (even for system apps), except Signal which force-closes instantly every time I open it. I've read about false UID re-assignments and tried the Fix Permissions app without any result.
Fellow member @Josh experienced the same issue and attributed it to changes in the most recent Signal version 4.16 which pointed me into the right direction to find a workaround. I installed version 4.15.5 from here and then restored data only from Titanium. Now Signal will start normally again, but my messages from about the last 2 weeks are missing. Of course this can only be
 considered a temporary solution. I wonder what can cause this kind of behavior in Titanium, and if there are any similar backup solutions available that do work with Signal.
Update: At last, the stable released yesterday (4.17.5) has finally gotten the long-awaited backup option:
https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/360001890291-Restoring-messages-on-Signal-Android
For rooted users, it would still be easier to backup and restore all apps in one batch after a ROM switch. Unfortunately, the upgrade from 4.15.5 caused Signal to crash instantly upon opening. All I could do was downgrade and export a plaintext backup which means I have now lost all media and group messages. Note that when you import the plaintext backup, you might need to use an earlier version. I couldn't restore with 4.17.5 since the app would always crash (10+ MB file). Only after going back to 4.15.5 the plaintext import was successful. Upgrading afterward went without problems.

I side-stepped the issue:

Turn on backups on old phone (the seem to happen daily)
When restoring, place the .backup file in the sdcard root diretory. Putting it under sdcard/Signal/backups will have the file NOT be read, and no error message given, either.

The 2nd point took me hours to work out.


text:
presumably faulty battery level reading in Android 6.0 on an LG G4
I have been recently experiencing battery level drops, and to my understanding my observations may have not been documented in the same way earlier by other users. The phenomenon is similar to what was reported by another usere here, or here although with some differences.

There is apparently no single app that drains more energy and that is causing the battery drop.
The battery level tends to fall rapidly only when it's down to about 40% or below, but not any 'earlier'.
When the phone shuts down, it sort of carries the information that the battery level is null, and for this reason one cannot turn on the phone again. When re-charging, the battery level reportedly rises to about 2-3% and only at this point the phone can be turned on again. When the OS is fully loaded, the battery indication gets back to a good 50-70%. This seems to be a genuine reading since the phone can stay on for quite some time even after 'immediate' unplugging.

I wonder whether an option is a factory reset, though one does wonder whether there is a cause to this and if it can be addressed.
Android version is is 6.0, security patch level 2016-07-01, kernel 3.10.84.
The Phone is an LG G4. Not rooted, untouched.

What's your question? Just whether a factory reset is likely to fix it?

Sorry I should have stated it more clearly. Yes, I hope to learn from the community whether a factory reset would fix it or, better perhaps, whether the cause of this malfunction is addressable without carrying out a factory reset.

A factory reset improved the reliability of the battery level estimate. As a consequence, the battery charge can be used in full.


text:
Switching Google Voice typing language and force offline mode?
I've been using Google Voice for quite some time as it's fast and convenient compared to typing on the phone keyboard. However, I speak multiple languages and when I use the Google Voice software, if I enable different languages, the software is supposed to "auto detect" the language I speak but it makes mistakes all the time.
One way for me to get around this is to only select the language I want to speak in and deselect the other languages, but it gets tedious to do. There are a lot of languages that Google Voice support now and to search for the language I want to speak can be a bit of a pain when I need to reply to several messages in a short amount of time in different languages.
My understand is that there is no "long press" or a simple "language toggle" button for Google Voice typing, but is there any way to set something like "favorite languages" so they can be displayed at the top so the languages are easier to find? I remember some of the older versions of Google Voice will go by the keyboard language that's on, so as I switch the keyboard language, Google Voice will only be picking up what I say in that language, which worked out much better for me.
At the same time, I notice that when I don't have the best internet connection, it can take FOREVER for the Google Voice typing to work. If I go offline (airplane mode, turn off data, etc.) then it works great because Google Voice goes to offline mode. Is there any way to force the phone to always be in offline mode for Google Voice Typing? Since we can download each diction library offline already, I would hope there's a way or some kind of code that can force the software to use the offline library rather than trying to connect to the server every time.
Thanks for any input. Hope this can help some others in similar situations as well.

As for forcing offline mode, I've asked for that about 2 years ago and didn't get an answer yet. If you manage to solve that part, I'd appreciate a "ping" (or maybe an answer on the linked question ;) Good luck!

The fastest one can switch between languages is tapping on the world icon:

Screenshot from Google Pixel 6 on Android 12  with Google keyboard.


text:
Charge Sony Xperia M4 Aqua with damaged charging port
My Sony Xperia Aqua's charging port is damaged, and I am unable to charge my phone. I have already ordered one for replacement, but until it comes I cannot use it. Is there a way to charge it?

[ EDIT ] No wireless charging    ... You could try plugging it into a PC with a separate usb and choosing charge only , Maybe it would work

None usb works, unfortunately

Is their a missing pin or anything that you can see in the charging port or on the cord, If you know anyone with a similar device you could just charge your battery in their phone ?

As your phones charging port is damaged, and wireless charging is not supported for your phone you are left with just a single option to charge your phone.

Remove your battery and put into other supported device that can
accommodate your battery and charge the battery. This however would
be challenging in your case as your phones battery would not be
removable.

I would recommend you to wait for your parts to arrive and
   fix your phone.


text:
Backing Up Apps With allowBackup=false
I'm trying to back up the apks and preference data for all of the apps on my device, but it only backs up about a third of them; the remainder all have allowBackup=false in their manifests, which disables the ability to back them up, either with adb or with Helium.
I'd much prefer not to have to go through each of the apks one by one, extract their manifests, change them, then make them apks and add them to my device again. So is there a way of ignoring allowBackup=false when doing adb backup? Or, is there an app or shell command I could run that would find all of the apps with allowBackup set to false and set them to true?
I checked out this app that's supposed to do just that, but was unable to run it since it doesn't have an activity specified. If there's any easy way of getting that to work, or any alternative to it, that would be great.

Is your device rooted? Do you have Xposed installed? Then there's a module (BackupAllApps, if I remember the name correctly) which could help you out that simply allows all backups via ADB (ignoring the allowBackup setting).

@Izzy Unfortunately my device isn't rooted. I'm not sure, but as best I understand it, I'd have to unlock the bootloader to root it, effectively wiping the device and nulling the point of backing it up.

Without root powers, there is no way, sorry.

@laef Depending on your Android version you may be vulnerable against a root exploit which can allow you to get a root shell just by executing the exploit - no reboot, no wipe. Common "suspects" are e.g. towelroot. Check your security patch level date to see if your device OS is old enough.

allowBackup=false
This is specifically put into the application by the developer so that people can not make a copy of the application ( usually to stop reverse engineering )
It would probably constitute as copyright if you ignored the allowBackup=false and made a copy of it anyway, so most applications won't allow it to respect other developers wishes.
This obviously would apply to rooted phones as well.

I'm afraid this doesn't really answer my question. I know why many apps set allowBackup to false. However, considering that the data each app keeps was generated by my use of the app, I think it's fair to consider that I have a right to back up such data.

The user generated content would be stored inside data, So instead of opening system folder, you'd open the data folder ... Usually it's DATA > DATA > PACKAGE.NAME > USER GENERATED FOLDERS > USER GENERATED FILES .... So the path will look like data/data/my.app.name/assets/file.txt

For the sake of the argument, you could research whether making copies for backup purposes effectively constitutes copyright infringement, or if it's mere speculation, no?


text:
How to Install Xposed Installer apk in Redmi Y1
I Cant able to install an Xposed Installer APK that I got from a dodgy spam site In My redmi y1 its current android version is android 7

Don't install APK files you get from spam sites like the one you originally linked. They probably contain malware. Instead, go to the official thread on XDA and follow the install instructions there.
Note that you can't install Xposed just from an APK. You need to flash the Xposed framework to the system first, which entails unlocking the bootloader. The official APK file is just a tool for managing the different modules that Xposed uses.


text:
Control android devices remotely
For an education purpose I've got multiple android devices (over 10 and they all are identical) and have to make them make the same actions simultaneously (like running app, click controls and so on).
A typical scenario is

Open an edu application on all devices
Navigate to a specific theme
Interact with content (play video, scroll text a requested position)

Is there web services or any other solutions to achieve such thing?

You can get auto clicker apps that can be setup on each device, My personal favourite is  HiroMacro
Another noteworthy one would be
Android Bot Maker
Hiro is better for touch based automation however ABM is better for full control.
Both these suggestions require root access on all of your devices to work
You would simply setup the first device and then export the data to an SD Card, Applying the data to all programs on each device.
I'm sure most of the answers you are looking for will require root access to manage things like clicking and keyboard access automatically.
I hope this answers your question


text:
How to boot with a volume button?
I have a motorola-moto-g which has a broken power button. I tried to fix my button by gluing it but now it seems that the button connection is somehow isolated and unworking completely, similar to that of this post. Now I need to find a workaround for being able to power my phone up if it shuts down.
I've researched about remapping volume buttons but most of what I've seen seem to work only on already powered up devices. I believe what I need is a lower level remapping. How can I remap volume up button so that it acts completely like the power button?

As mentioned here, with some charge in your battery connecting to a PC or laptop via USB should work for Motorola Moto G. If this does not work for you try the below steps/solution.
Below methods will work depending on the make and model of your device; so no guarantees for the model you mentioned. However I personally have tried this on LG Q6 phone and it works for it. I assume it will work on other LG phones as well.

Plug your phone into the charger while it is shutdown. Some phones may  switch on this way.
Long pressing the volume buttons(try on both the buttons one at a time and if it does not work try both together). You might get a boot menu with instructions for navigation in the menu. Accordingly, select to power on the phone(system).
Connect to a PC or laptop via USB. I tried this with a my LG phone and it booted up instantly.

(LG 2017 and later models should be following the same firmware strategy so I am thinking it will work on all LG phones made in 2017 and later. I am writing this thinking it may be useful for LG owners facing similar issue)


text:
Why is there no app from Google like LastPass?
I am asking this because Google is already managing password in Google Chrome password manager. Having a dedicated app like LastPass would make everything easier.

Google offers "Smart Lock for Passwords" service in Android. This service is part of the whole android suite on your android device.
Using this, google offers to save passwords for services offered by your apps. This passwords are synced to your google account and are accessible(and auto suggested/filled) on corresponding mobile app, Chrome desktop app or Chrome mobile app. The only catch here is that you cannot see the passwords directly on your mobile phone natively. However, You get a link in Google Services "Smart Lock for Passwords" section to access your passwords, which redirects you to the google account web dashboard portal. After logging in to the above portal you can view and manage your saved passwords.
You can turn this service ON/OFF from "Google Services" option in your Phone Settings.


text:
remote: oem unlock is not allowed
i did not find any solution on xda-developers, so i am posting this question here.
i am trying unlock bootloader on nokia6 when i give command:
sudo fastboot oem unlock

or
sudo  fastboot flashing unlock

always i am getting error:
...
FAILED (remote: oem unlock is not allowed)
finished. total time: 0.002s

phone model: Nokia6(T1021)
android version: 8.0.0
usb debuging and oem unlocking is on
Does Nokia not accept unlocking bootloader?

It seems, bootloader unlocking is not yet supported for Nokia phones.
Check this out : https://www.xda-developers.com/hmd-global-kernel-sources-bootloader-unlocking/

As far as I am aware of, the Nokia Android phones by HMD Global does not allow unlocking bootloader. I have also stated the same in another answer.
So you're out of luck, at least for the time being.
Reference: XDA Developers

So your question is Does Nokia not accept unlocking bootloader?
Technically it's not actually up to Nokia but more of the license that they're using to develop android firmware.
When developing an OS for Android you must follow the license terms of the AOSP ( Android Open Source Project ) this means that many elements of your firmware are strictly open source and any person should be granted the same access to the source code as they themselves have been granted by the license, many companies refuse to follow the GPL License in this way as well as many other license's, Technically you should be able to have access to the kernel source code due to such terms, however they'll refuse to give it up, Their has been many legal disputes about this that have forced companies to release the kernel source.

What does any of this have to do with unlocking the bootloader?

Your question was "Does Nokia not accept unlocking bootloader?"

I also don't see how this is related to bootloader unlocking - the majority of the text is about the open-source nature of the OS and kernel, which the bootloader is not a part of.

To be able to unlock the bootloader of your device you'll need to have a modified kernel or modified boot.img to install over the old locked one, the only way to make this is by having access to the source code

No. Get some facts straight? To be able to install a custom/modified kernel you need an unlocked bootloader. Bootloader is a separate and proprietary part.

The kernel and the bootloader aren't one and the same, even if the name boot.img might have you think so. The kernel is a modified Linux kernel, which inherits the GPL license upstream is using, thus forcing whoever distributes its binaries to release its source; the bootloader is proprietary, hence closed source. Depending on the manufacturer and the carrier, said bootloader will be either unlocked, unlockable or locked down. The latter is what happens to OP's device.

Your edits also make no sense (and hence I have reverted them). This question is perfectly fine on this site. It is not the wrong place to ask. The license of the OS source has nothing to do with the ability - or lack thereof - to unlock the bootloader. That is why you are receiving downvotes, not because the question is somehow unclear. You may want to consider deleting this answer entirely.


text:
The application tag in android manifest XML file
Today I downloaded a fun app named Rubika and extracted its apk file in android studio and noticed a very strange part in its android manifest.
<application
    android:theme="@ref/0x7f110170"
    android:label="@ref/0x7f100086"
    android:icon="@ref/0x7f0e0002"
    android:name="org.telegram.messenger.ApplicationLoader"
    android:manageSpaceActivity="org.telegram.ui.ManageSpaceActivity"
    android:allowBackup="false"
    android:hardwareAccelerated="@ref/0x7f050007"
    android:largeHeap="true"
    android:supportsRtl="true">

    <service
        android:name="ir.resaneh1.iptv.appUpdate.DownloadService" />

    <activity
        android:name="ir.resaneh1.iptv.activity.PlayerTestActivity"
        android:configChanges="0x4b0" />

    <activity
        android:name="ir.resaneh1.iptv.activity.QueueTestActivity"
        android:configChanges="0x4b0" />

    <activity
        android:theme="@ref/0x7f11017b"
        android:name="ir.resaneh1.iptv.fragment.SendImageDialogActivity"
        android:configChanges="0x4b0" />

    <activity
        android:theme="@ref/0x7f11017b"
        android:name="ir.resaneh1.iptv.fragment.SendVideoDialogActivity"
        android:configChanges="0x4b0" />

    <activity
        android:theme="@ref/0x7f11017b"
        android:name="ir.resaneh1.iptv.activity.SendVoiceDialogActivity"
        android:configChanges="0x4b0" />

    <activity
        android:theme="@ref/0x7f11017b"
        android:name="ir.resaneh1.iptv.appUpdate.UpdateActivity"
        android:configChanges="0x4b0"
        android:windowSoftInputMode="0x22" />

    <activity
        android:name="ir.resaneh1.iptv.loginIntro.IntroActivity"
        android:screenOrientation="1" />

    <activity
        android:name="ir.resaneh1.iptv.loginIntro.LoginActivity"
        android:launchMode="2"
        android:screenOrientation="1"
        android:configChanges="0x4b0"
        android:windowSoftInputMode="0x20" />

    <activity
        android:name="ir.resaneh1.iptv.loginIntro.LoginActivitySecondPage"
        android:launchMode="2"
        android:screenOrientation="1"
        android:configChanges="0x4b0"
        android:windowSoftInputMode="0x20" />

    <activity
        android:name="ir.resaneh1.iptv.MainActivity"
        android:launchMode="2"
        android:configChanges="0x4b0"
        android:windowSoftInputMode="0x20"
        android:hardwareAccelerated="@ref/0x7f050007">

        <intent-filter>

            <action
                android:name="android.intent.action.MAIN" />

            <category
                android:name="android.intent.category.LAUNCHER" />

            <category
                android:name="android.intent.category.MULTIWINDOW_LAUNCHER" />
        </intent-filter>
    </activity>

    <service
        android:name="ir.resaneh1.iptv.notification.MyFirebaseMessagingService">

        <intent-filter>

            <action
                android:name="com.google.firebase.MESSAGING_EVENT" />
        </intent-filter>
    </service>

    <service
        android:name="ir.resaneh1.iptv.notification.MyFirebaseInstanceIDService">

        <intent-filter>

            <action
                android:name="com.google.firebase.INSTANCE_ID_EVENT" />
        </intent-filter>
    </service>

    <meta-data
        android:name="com.google.firebase.messaging.default_notification_icon"
        android:resource="@ref/0x7f080269" />

    <provider
        android:name="android.support.v4.content.FileProvider"
        android:exported="false"
        android:authorities="ir.resaneh1.iptv.provider"
        android:grantUriPermissions="true">

        <meta-data
            android:name="android.support.FILE_PROVIDER_PATHS"
            android:resource="@ref/0x7f130004" />
    </provider>

    <service
        android:name="com.google.firebase.messaging.FirebaseMessagingService"
        android:exported="true">

        <intent-filter
            android:priority="-500">

            <action
                android:name="com.google.firebase.MESSAGING_EVENT" />
        </intent-filter>
    </service>

    <activity
        android:theme="@ref/0x01030010"
        android:name="ir.pec.mpl.pecpayment.view.PaymentInitiator"
        android:process="ir.pec.mpl.process"
        android:screenOrientation="1"
        android:configChanges="0xb0"
        android:windowSoftInputMode="0x3">

        <intent-filter>

            <action
                android:name="pec.mpa.custom" />

            <category
                android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />

            <data
                android:mimeType="text/plain" />
        </intent-filter>
    </activity>

    <activity
        android:theme="@ref/0x01030010"
        android:name="com.google.android.gms.common.api.GoogleApiActivity"
        android:exported="false" />

    <receiver
        android:name="com.google.android.gms.measurement.AppMeasurementReceiver"
        android:enabled="true"
        android:exported="false" />

    <receiver
        android:name="com.google.android.gms.measurement.AppMeasurementInstallReferrerReceiver"
        android:permission="android.permission.INSTALL_PACKAGES"
        android:enabled="true"
        android:exported="true">

        <intent-filter>

            <action
                android:name="com.android.vending.INSTALL_REFERRER" />
        </intent-filter>
    </receiver>

    <service
        android:name="com.google.android.gms.measurement.AppMeasurementService"
        android:enabled="true"
        android:exported="false" />

    <service
        android:name="com.google.android.gms.measurement.AppMeasurementJobService"
        android:permission="android.permission.BIND_JOB_SERVICE"
        android:enabled="true"
        android:exported="false" />

    <receiver
        android:name="com.google.firebase.iid.FirebaseInstanceIdReceiver"
        android:permission="com.google.android.c2dm.permission.SEND"
        android:exported="true">

        <intent-filter>

            <action
                android:name="com.google.android.c2dm.intent.RECEIVE" />

            <category
                android:name="ir.resaneh1.iptv" />
        </intent-filter>
    </receiver>

    <receiver
        android:name="com.google.firebase.iid.FirebaseInstanceIdInternalReceiver"
        android:exported="false" />

    <service
        android:name="com.google.firebase.iid.FirebaseInstanceIdService"
        android:exported="true">

        <intent-filter
            android:priority="-500">

            <action
                android:name="com.google.firebase.INSTANCE_ID_EVENT" />
        </intent-filter>
    </service>

    <provider
        android:name="com.google.firebase.provider.FirebaseInitProvider"
        android:exported="false"
        android:authorities="ir.resaneh1.iptv.firebaseinitprovider"
        android:initOrder="100" />

    <meta-data
        android:name="com.google.android.gms.version"
        android:value="@ref/0x7f0b0007" />

    <meta-data
        android:name="com.android.vending.derived.apk.id"
        android:value="1" />
</application>

and here is my question:
What is the meaning of this part?
android:name="org.telegram.messenger.ApplicationLoader"

I want to know if this software is a malware that pretends to be Telegram to steal people's information.

The "telegram" snippet doesn't appear anywhere in the section of manifest you posted. How does it relate?

I don't know why was the telegram part removed? I edited the question

android:name=" "
This is where the creator of the application declares the name for the activity.
The name of an application is not the same as the package name, for example their could be two identical applications named Video Editor, but these applications need to have a unique package name to separate the two, Most people follow the android guidelines when naming a package, usually company.appname.com
The specific part you are asking about is declaring that your package uses a java file to handle it's work, I'll break it down
android:name="org.telegram.messenger.ApplicationLoader"

org/telegram/messenger

The directory in the application to get to ApplicationLoader.java
If you are editing the source code of your app you'll be able to follow this path to manage the ApplicationLoader.java file, It is necessary for your device to know what java is going to be run from each activity, one activity might be run at startup while another activity is started from a button press, the device needs to know what java is loading when, so you declare this in each activity.   Not explained the best, sorry :)
Also i believe that android:name=".ApplicationLoader"
Works fine. The package name is only necessary to define the first paths unless they're different

Thank you, what I understand from your answer : this app pretending to be Telegram in order to sniffing people activity in their telegram account, right?


text:
Will changing a /system partition file system delete all data?
I am trying to remove forgotten PIN number on my Samsung Galaxy S3 without removing any data.
I already installed custom recovery TWRP, but cannot mount /system partition -> Invalid argument error. I found some tutorials that suggest changing /system file system to FAT and then back to original file system, to be able to mount.
I am affraid this will remove all data and I want be able to use my phone.
Is this correct?
The phone is not rooted, but error is not about permissions, but about some argument.

This won't remove your user data, but will make the system unusable (it won't boot up correctly anymore – see my comments on the answers).

I noticed that the answers below are ignoring the fact that the PIN is not saved under /system. That partition is intended to be read-only. The PIN typically resides under /data/system, in the files pattern.key and password.key, or, sometimes, gatekeeper.pattern.key and gatekeeper.password.key, depending on your Android version. You may be trying to needlessly complicate your life, by messing with /system.

It highly depends on how you change the partition FS and what software you use to do it.
If I guess it right, the FS on your /system partition is Linux ext4, which does not have a lossless way to be converted to FAT that I am aware of, so I guess it's mostly formatting it twice: to FAT, then back.
It's obvious that formatting will make all data on that partition lost. However, if you find, or if the tutorial instructs, another way to losslessly convert ext4 to FAT, it's possible that you can change the FS without losing any data. But be aware that changing ext4 to FAT will mess up all the permissions on files, which may potentially lead to extra work before it turns into a usable state.
Proceed with caution.

Did you keep in mind that FAT cannot deal with permissions and ownership? Those would be lost in the process, and hence the result would be a broken system – even without additional changes.

@Izzy Did you see the sentence that contains the bold text? I said clearly will mess up all the permissions.

Ooops – yes. But "potentially lead to extra work before it turns into a usable state" is quite an euphemism. How'd you suggest to fix the resulting mess? Wouldn't it be easier to create a bitwise copy of the partition (using e.g. dd), copying that to the computer, mount the image, do the adjustments, and flashing it back? That entire FAT conversion stuff I'd think too risky and error prone.

Formatting the system partition will not delete your user data, Any data created by system software is stored on the data partition, this includes data from apps downloaded and installed.
For example, if you set up your device without using root customizations ( changing build.prop, installing xposed or root access type modifications ) on the system, then all the data will be stored separately onto the data partition. A factory reset would usually only wipe the data partition and cache partition for this reason. Any system modifications can be saved by doing a backup first, then reformatting the system partition and restoring onto the new partition.. It's sometimes necessary to reformat the system because the entire system scheme has changed and probably requires more or less space, meaning the partition has slightly moved from it's physical location.

Formatting the /system partition would result in a device that cannot boot anymore. And reformatting does change neither size nor "location" of it.

In many MTK devices the reason for reformatting your system is not to change the format but to move the partition to it's new place on the storage, It's usually a problem when changing from android 4.4 to android 5.0 because the system has been moved in the firmware.. You can see this by comparing scatter files from both ROMs for the same device, one rom will have the system start at 0x500 while the other starts at 0x600 for example. the reason that TWRP cannot  mount the current system is because it is in a different location than before.

I know what you mean (same for some Samsung devices) – but that is re-partitioning then, not reformatting. Formatting never moves a partition around. And, btw, won't help solving the OP's issue ;)

For some reason it needs to be reformatted by TWRP to gain access to the system, I've had this problem before

OK – but if TWRP cannot access the partition, how did you do the backup you've mentioned?

First you need two TWRP images, one with the old partition scheme and one with the new partition scheme, Backup your device first using the old TWRP and then install the new TWRP, Restoring the system from the new TWRP so that the system restores onto the new partition

THAT should go inside the answer post (plus maybe some more details from the comments). That done, comments should be cleaned up :)


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Can someone please tell me what the icon on the left means

After updating my Samsung Galaxy s8+ software the icon on the left appeared. Anyone know what it means?

It's the new data saving icon in Android 8 Oreo on Samsung devices.
Try turning off "Data Saving" and it'll disappear.
Source: XDA Developers


text:
No notifications when display sleeps
I moved from iPhone to Android recently. I love it, but there are some quirks, which I am sure must just be wrong settings.
On the iPhone, when the screen is in sleep (ie off), if someone texts me, the screen wakes to the lock screen, with the text notification showing, for a moment then disappears.  This does not happen on my new Sony ZX1, using Oreo.
I have spent quite a while searching for the setting, and online, but have yet to find out why.  Is this normal for Android? If not, what am I doing wrong?  I am not in battery saver mode, and I have notifications on for texting.  In fact, no notifications move he screen from sleep to lock screen.
To be clear, the notifications do show up on the lock screen, but do not wake from sleep to show the lock screen.
Any help would be great.
Thanks,
Fed

Maybe try settings>apps and notifications > notification > on the lock screen > choose anything but "don't show". Let me if that works. Also check your messaging app notification settings, and see if they supposed to be shown

I am using Oreo, so the exact menu is slightly different, but yes, both are set up as you describe.  Btw, the notifications do show up on the lock screen, but do not wake from sleep to show the lock screen.

Any further suggestions?

Nothing comes to mind sorry.

Does your phone do this too? Is it normal for Android?

My phone does light up when receiving a message. Moto x4

What do you mean by light up?

I meant wakes up to the lock screen, and i can see part of the message

Yes, that's exactly what I wanted to do. I just spent a while on chat with Sony. It seems like it might be an error with 8.0. Hopefully it will be fixed in 8.1.


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Replies from Yahoo Mail sent from Samsung showing up in gmail account
For some reason, when I send an email from my Yahoo account from my Samsung 8+, the replies come into my Gmail account. When you look at the email reply, it clearly says "mailto:myyahooaddress" yet it only shows up in my gmail account.
I tested it by sending a friend an email and sure enough, when they do a reply, my Gmail address shows up even though it is sent from the Yahoo account.
I checked my settings in Yahoo and no where does it show my Gmail info other than recovery account did my email address show up. I deleted it and it still does the same thing.
Why is this happening and how to stop it? I am guessing it is a setting in the Samsung phone that is causing this.

Did you sign up for google account using your yahoo account?

Does the same happen when using a computer browser to check your email?

@Rajat - No I did not

@aBochur  I did do that and it works fine.  The reply goes back to my yahoo account. And there is no difference in the emails sent from either Samsung phone or computer.  The email headers look the same but when you hit reply, one goes back to the yahoo account (computer sent email) and one goes back to my gmail account (phone sent email).  It is very strange.

I have a feeling that it may be the recovery account, try changing the recovery account email to nothing or something else to see if the problem has anything to do with that.

@Zillinium I did that.  Same thing happened.

Well, I have narrowed the problem down to the embedded reply to address. For some reason, the emails sent from my Yahooo account from my phone shows up as my gmail account and I can't find where in the settings you can change it.  On my computer Yahoo client, there is an option and it clearly says to reply to the same address.
Anyone know who to find this setting on my phone?

Are you using any type of application to access your Yahoo or are you using Chrome ?... It's just that according to the information on the Yahoo7 App ( "

SIGN UP WITH ANY ACCOUNT – works with non-Yahoo7 email addresses, including Gmail, Outlook and AOL. No Yahoo email address required."  )  You probably need to sign out and sign into your Yahoo email, Maybe you have logged in by pressing sign in with Google or something like that ? .. I'll try to reproduce this problem on my Yahoo to see if theirs an answer.

@Zillinium  I access Yahoo Mail via my Chrome browser on my computer.  On my phone i use the Yahoo Mail app.  The problem is email from my phone, ergo, the Yahoo Mail app.
The Yahoo Mail is the culprit as there is no way to set the REPLY TO as you can from their desktop app. And for some reason, the phone app is picking up my gmail address and using it as the reply to address instead of my Yahoo address.
I have seen other similar complaints online but no solutions.


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How to make Magisk request permission/fingerprint every time for certain apps?
I'm on Magisk v16 and I have a terminal app. I want it to require the user to use fingerprint every time this certain app requests root access. How do I do this?

Where do I find that module?

Also available on Play store as non Xposed https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.Maxr1998.xposed.maxlock

This isn't what I was looking for- I want the normal shell to be accessable but root access to be lickedlocked down. Thanks anyway.

I don't know about fingerprints (since I don't use them), but to make Magisk prompt to grant/deny root access to an application without saving this preference, do the following:

If you have already granted/denied root access, revoke it in Magisk Superuser settings by tapping your app and in the newly-opened list of buttons tapping "recycle bin" button.
Next time, when the you get the prompt, be sure to change the default Forever option to Once, and only then grant/deny access.

This will grant root access for this time, but won't save the preference for the app. Thus, next time you'll be given the option to grant/deny again. Just don't forget to change Forever to Once each time.


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How to find back my lost files
I lost my photos which was  saved in gallery vault and I can't find it back.i have already tried to recover those in vault settings but  couldn't bargain back and it was found in help icon to contact with gallery vault @thinkyeah.com

So did you email them? What did they say?

Most likely they're encrypted by Gallery Vault so they're unrecoverable without decryption.

You could try to recover the photos from before being placed in Gallery Vault with DiskDigger on the PlayStore    This doesn't require root access if the device is running Android 5.0 or above, For some reason all the photos are stored in sort of hidden recycling bin.

Tip for DiskDigger :
          If you can't find your photos, try to swap your default storage device in settings > storage to swap the default from internal storage over to SD Card, This sometimes gives DiskDigger the permissions needed to scan the SD Card also, It's because the device actually uses the SD Card as Internal Storage on some devices. The internal storage has read write permissions for DiskDigger to scan it correctly, However the SD Card hasn't got this permission, So it's a good little trick to make it scan the SD Card if you couldn't find the files on Internal Storage


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Understanding Excessive Battery Drain on Note 8 (Nougat 7.1.1)
I'm suffering from excessive battery drains on Note 8, Nougat 7.1.1. The battery drain is excessive when on idle mode/when the phone is asleep. I have installed BetterBatteryStats (gave it all permissions) and tested with different settings for a couple days.
My findings:
I strongly believe the issue is with my wifi.

Day 1: I kept wifi on, turned off "adaptive wifi" and "wifi power saving mode" and set "keep wifi on during sleep" to always. Battery drain was very excessive at home. In BBS, wlan_rx_wake and powermanagerservice.wakelocks were very high and phone didn't doze much. When I left home and went to the library and was connected to my school's wifi, the phone dozed, and the two wakelocks mentioned didn't occur any more. In fact, from the screenshot you can see the two flat regions are those when I was at the library, and the downhill regions are when I was home.
Day 2: I kept wifi on, turned on "adaptive wifi" and "wifi power saving mode" and set "keep wifi on during sleep" to never. No change. The results were just like day 1. Excessive wakelocks and battery drain. In fact, funny enough, the wakelocks occurred more often as if "wifi power saving mode" was doing the opposite of what it was supposed to.
Day 3: I turned off wifi completely, and was on cellular the whole time. Battery performance was amazing. Lost 5% over 10 hours, and I actually used the phone during this time. I made calls, surfed the web and texted. Additionally, the are no excessive wakelocks, and the battery plot is nearly flat the whole time.

In conclusion, I am really confused. At home, wifi kills my battery. At school, wifi doesn't do anything weird. It makes me feel like this is more than just some setting on the phone or some bug with Nougat. Maybe some networking issues with my wifi at home? At any rate, I seem to have found the problem. But I was hoping I could get some insight as to why this is happening. Additionally, I'm wondering if there is a fix, because I would like to use wifi instead of cellular the whole time.
Notes
I was at home, I had wifi turned off, and during this time I experienced great battery life (~4-5% every 12-14 hours). Then, I turned on wifi just to test things, and the battery life noticeably got worse. I'm talking ~1% drain every hour. I turned it back off.
For those wondering, I experience wifi-related battery drain even if Wifi-Calling is off, so it's not that. Also, I have factory reset many many times so that is not a solution either.

Yeah I keep posting the updated ones. It's been twice so I wouldn't say "over and over again". Just one more time. Experienced people exist on this website and I'm hoping someone has an answer. As I said, I don't think my phone is the issue, but rather my wifi is, since I only experience issues with my home connection. I was looking for a thechnical explanation of why. Perhaps those who know how Android handles wifi connections can offer something of value.

Ok that's fine. I didn't mean to sound it in a bad way when I said over and over again...Its just that the community generally frowns up, duplicate questions...I hope someone experience will assist you nevertheless

I know. Do you think there's a better place to ask this question?

Android enthusiasts has a good reputation for answering android related questions, however certain users with vast knowledge in specific topic may not be always online to attend to such questions, but if they do you will get good help here, you could try XDA forums, Android central and see if they can help, but I advise you to be patient something might come up soon or later..


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Rooting Samsung Galaxy S II GT-i9100 (follow on Q'n)
I'm a newbie to digging into Android this deep, so please bear with me. FYI I'm more familiar with PC's, with a smattering of the back office side of things from muddling along. So any response couched in familiar terms would be welcome.
I'm in the same situation as this: Rooting Samsung Galaxy S II GT-i9100, which I've read along with the associated comments. Specifically I have notes in a notebook app which I'm very keen to recover. I have no idea where these apps actually store information and whether or not it's embedded in some way.
I gather following the advice given may/will remove/replace all the apps along with the 'kernel'(aka Operating System??)?  Will this process lose the data?
Critically I don't know if the data I'm after is considered 'my/your data' in the context of the response given.
Thnx

Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.


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Create a persistant notification out of a non-persistant one
I'm looking for a way to make my Todoist notifications more "sticky" or persistent.  I've used reminder apps that let you have notifications that keep coming up even after you dismiss them unless you specifically say they are complete.  Or if you don't see or hear the notification, it plays the notification sound again after a user-specified number of minutes, just to make sure you are alerted.  I've been looking for an app that can grab notifications from a specified other app and notify you in this sort of customized way, or a way to do this in Tasker maybe?

I figured out a way to make this happen by turning on notification reminders in accessibility settings!


text:
Backing Up to SD Card Using TWRP and No Display
I have a device with a broken display. The only way I can initiate commands on it are with the power, volume, and home buttons, and with adb. I've installed TWRP on it, and I'm able to boot into it. I'm trying to back up everything on the device I can to a 32GB SD card in the device's SD card slot. But when I keep getting the following result:
~ # twrp backup SDBOM

Setting backup options:
System
Data
Boot
Compression is on
Digest Generation is off
Updating partition details...
...done
 * Total number of partitions to back up: 3
 * Total size of all data: 7976MB
 * Available space: 496MB
Not enough free space on storage.
Backup Failed
Done processing script file

The SD Card has more than enough space for the backup (several times over, in fact), so clearly TWRP is attempting to save the backup to the device's internal storage. I've heard tell (I'm afraid I can't find the link right now) that twrp backup in the command line saves to the Storage last selected in the graphical version, but since my device's display is broken I can't select the SD Card as the storage for the backup.
Since I have no display, I also can't do adb backup --twrp, since that requires confirmation on the screen.
Is there any way to select the storage for twrp backup fully through the terminal? For example, is there an environment variable I can set, or something I can pass twrp backup?

I was always under the impression the twrp and roms wipe the device unless you installed and used it before the screen stopped working.

@William Apparently not! At least not the way I installed it, and on the device (Samsung Galaxy Tab S).

The recovery partition is completely separated from the system, data, cache, boot etc partitions so flashing a recovery to replace the recovery partition shouldn't interfere with any other partition.. It's recommended that after installing any customizations that you wipe the dalvik cache and cache but i haven't heard of fully wiping the data partition unless flashing an entire ROM ( Firmware ) that'll replace your system, boot,  user data and recovery.


text:
Anyone knows the second icon?
Thanks very much for explaining !!

That N-shaped notification represents NFC, which normally appears when its turned on.

NFC, or Near Field Communication, is a technology that allows devices
  to exchange information simply by placing them next to one another.

Read more here:

@WopkePostuma-Bijl if that answered your question to your satisfaction, please "accept" it by ticking the check-mark next to it.


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"Use Voice with Wired Headset" Notification Stops Music
I have my Moto G plugged into an AUX port in my car which plays music from the car's speaker's via Google Play Music. Occasionally, the music will automatically pause and a notification will popup on my phone saying "Use Voice with Wired Headset."
If I try to hit play again, Google Play Music will show the music playing, but nothing is coming from the speakers. In order to get it working again, I found I need to kill the Google Play Music app, unplug from the AUX cable, then reconnect and open the app. The process repeats every time the "Wired Headset" notification pops up. The frequency of the notification is random when driving.
I'm guessing the phone is picking up the music from my car's speakers and thinking it's me trying to give voice commands. I turned off all relevant settings concerning voice commands (Settings > Accessibility; Google Assistant > Settings > Voice), but it still occurs and I'm afraid a I'm missing something.
Anyone familiar with the problem or have an idea for a countermeasure?
Thanks!

Do other music playing apps like Apple Music, Spotify or amazon music do the same thing?

@William A this point, just Google Play Music

No. The Internet is full random speculation about this issue, ranging from dirty/damaged headhone jack, to hardware issues and defective headphones. All of these lame excuses are wrong. Google Assistant has been intentionally written (several updates ago) to use this method of nagging harrassment to force Android users to enable "Ok Google"/Assistant. Just like your Google Feed cannot be shut off now without completely disabling the Google app entirely, and disabling Play, Gmail, etc along with it. It is just another form of "user herding" so they can further Snoop and send you focused advertising. Not happy with only gathering search terms, they want everyone on board with Voice, befotre they change the user agreement and eavesdrop on end users constantly. This is already happening to wide cross section of users, without any real consent or knowledge. Some of it Google has pushed off on third party affiliates to insulate themselves from inevitable push back and outrage. People are figuring this out, by conversations overheard by phones are changing their advertisment and news feeds.

We prefer constructive suggestions on this site, not wall-of-text rants.


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Can't uninstall apps from homescreen Android 8.0 after settings sync
I recently bought a Galaxy S9+ This would allow me to uninstall apps from the homescreen. If I did a press and hold on the app an uninstall option would pop up on the menu.
I just did a data sync which syncs settings from my old galaxy s7 edge running android 7. Now when I press and hold on an app in the homescreen a message comes up that says "Remove from Home" instead of uninstall.
How do I get the uninstall option back? I can't find anything in the settings that would change this.

Are you in Easy Mode? Standard Mode as documented should allow uninstall like this. Check your Mode setting from: Settings > Display > Easy / Standard mode. Usually the manuals reveal the important things.

I figured it out. The old migrated app shortcuts have this issue. When I deleted the old shortcuts and simply remade the shortcuts again the uninstall option returned


text:
How to Retrieve History from ALL browsers on Android Phone
I am using Samsung Galaxy Note 1. I have access to my google account which I used to sign into my android phone. However, I am only able to see history of websites visited using google chrome, but not other browsers. I am basically using two browsers only that are google chrome and CM Browser. I am able to see history of websites visited on chrome browser, but not CM Browser. One more interesting and important thing! CM browser only stores the history of websites that user visted 2 days ago or the same day the browser was used to visit website. Is there any way I could see history of visited websites on all browsers of my phone?

You could install a proxy/VPN to see all traffic for future connections but nothing you can do now.

No, there's no one place that all browsers store history. Each browser stores history in its own way. Chrome stores it in the cloud, associated with your Google account. Firefox can store it in the cloud with a Firefox account, but doesn't share it with Google. I don't know about CM Browser but maybe they don't store it in the cloud at all, only on your phone.
Most people who use other browsers than Chrome would be very annoyed if their browser told Google about every website they visited.


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ADB restore: how do I restore the entire backup?
Before flashing a custom ROM to my Nexus 5, I made a backup of system, data and cache using adb backup --twrp; this gave me a 17GB backup.ab file.
My custom ROM endeavour went wrong and now I want to restore the backup. When I try adb restore backup.ab, it seems to only restore the system partition and not data or cache. Output on the TWRP screen:

Updating partition details...
...done
Full SELinux support is present.
Wiping System
Formatting System using make_ext4fs...
Restoring System...
[System done (190 seconds)]
Restore Complete

It completed way too fast to have transferred all 17GB back. How do I get it to restore the entire backup?
Phone: Nexus 5 32GB, TWRP version: 3.2.1-1


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Nexus 5 screen no working, how do i recover data
My nexus 5 screens LCD had broken so I ordered a new one and installed it, it's not the first time I have done it, and for some reason, it won't display anything to the screen, I know my phone is working because the LED is on and sounds play. I don't believe that I can get the screen to work, I'm assuming there's an issue with the board since it seemed to be doing the same thing after I broke the previous screen. My concern at this point is that I would like to recover the data on my phone but I'm not sure how to go about it, The power button on it has been broken for a long time so I've just been using the Android SDK to turn my phone on but i cant figure out how to recover anything. Any ideas?

Just plugging it should allow you to get your data, if you mean the application data, that’s going to be extremely tough.  I suggest using your choice of professional data recover service

Maybe you want to connect a screen using HDMI. There are dongles allowing that.

If you have adb working, you could just pull everything from the /sdcard directory which is either your internal storage if no actual SD card is installed or the actual SD card that is installed (/sdcard is an alias)
Anyways you can use adb and the pull command:
adb pull /sdcard .

That will pull everything on the /sdcard which could be a lot.
Some common file locations:
Screenshots
adb pull /sdcard/Pictures/Screenshots .

Pictures & videos taken with the camera:
adb pull /sdcard/DCIM/Camera .

Downloads folder:
adb pull /sdcard/Download

Also you could create a backup of your device, but you'd need to enter some information and tap a button to continue:
adb backup -apk -shared -all

So that's probably not for you...


text:
How to allow read-only access to specific Android apps?
I would like to manually disable writing access only, yet still allow reading to a selected application onto the internal storage or external SD card.
Android so far just allows allowing both or none via settings.
How do I allow just reading for a specific application?

Is your device rooted? Afraid without root access, a solution is unlikely.

Some are, some are not @izzy.

Could you please elaborate on the reason you want the application to read but not write, maybe their is another solution.

@Zillinium It is an APK from the Internet, and I do not need it for write access but for reading.

So for example, something like an ebook reader ? requires reading books but doesn't require writing to them ? .... I'm not sure if you can separate the two permissions, You could for example, remove the buttons from the application that require write access.


text:
Which process is locking the camera?
There is a problem with my UleFone Armor 2 with Android 7.0 Nougat:
After using the camera some times, it stops working due to the inability to connect to the camera.
I tried killing the camera application, but it does not yet unlock the camera. And the battery manager suggests that the camera was permanently on since the time it has stopped working.
A simple reboot does solve that problem, but rebooting is a seriois violation of an important Linux philosophy, which states that rebooting is never a good method of solving problems and should be avoided wherever possible.

Might help if you could explain what "using the camera" means in this context. In the past, there was e.g. an issue many barcode readers shared due to a bug in the camera API, which had exactly the described effect. Though that bug should have been fixed years ago, it could be something similar. So: Does this happen always when you use the camera, regardless of the app (camera app, barcode reader, video recorder …) – or only with a specific app?

@Izzy On the same page, custom ROMs for devices such as the I9300 notably suffered (and yet suffer) from camera bugs, ranging from being unable to connect to the camera, to apparently having something locking it, as in OP's case. Those issues, though, depend on drivers.

@DeathMaskSalesman has a point here – so you should also mention what ROM you're using (the official one, ow which custom ROM).

Official ROM. @Izzy.

@Izzy with the stock camera app when launching from lockscreen after many days without reboot, it happens.

Only then it happens – or is that just one of several cases?


text:
How to lock phone with no google password
Phone got stolen and they changed my Google password how/can lock phone through Google account

Possible duplicate of How to bypass "Verify your account" (Factory Reset Protection)

@xavier_fakerat This question isn't about FRP at all: it's about locking a stolen phone through Android Device Manager when the owner has lost access to the Google account.

Okay thanks guess I misread the question as one of those locked-out questions..

Try to use the forgotten password option with any Google service to gain access to your Google account again, after you have successfully recovered your account then you can move onto the locking.
First, log into your Find My Device using the recovered account credentials and then either choose to lock and wipe the device or locate the device.
Lock and wipe will lock your device and do a factory reset, while locate will give you the GPS location if it is enabled on the device and the device has an active network connection.
Please note that if the person has changed your password, they've probably changed many things, it could be that they've removed your device from your Google devices, or even fully disabled the security features that help find your device.
A google password is not just for your device, it is linked to all google related services like YouTube, Gmail etc....
Find My Device - Google Android


text:
Why does every app need full access to everything on my phone?
Most apps I have require the permission "read the contents of your USB storage" and "modify or delete the contents of your USB storage". Does this mean they can read/write mostly anything on my SD card that's not encrypted? including photos? any of my plain text files with my doctors notes/passwords/etc.
I'll have to toggle the granular permissions to enable to allow these apps to run properly. Why don't they just have access to SD contents that they created themselves, and no other SD card content?

This is one of the sore points of android.  FYI Apple devices atleast for photos doesn't if configured correctly access more then one photo.  The photo picker is a system menu.

Thanks for the info. Sore doesn't even begin to describe this non-security. Almost any decent app requires this permission which gives it full access to most of your device files that aren't explicitly encrypted.

If it is a picture I tend to copy and paste them in android.  Android can launch a file picker app to prevent access to all photos or content but big names like FB don't even do this.

Possible duplicate of What does the "modify/delete USB storage contents" permission really mean?

@stackinator Do you mind sharing your Android version? Moreover, are you referring to the internal storage, or to the external, removable SD card?

I'm using Oreo. I typed file:///localhost/sdcard into Chrome and granted it these "modify USB permissions". I was surprised to see I had full access to all kinds of directories. And I'm referring to either type internal, or external.  If an app needs to create a directory on the SD card and read/write to that directory I'm OK with that. But I don't want it to be able to read/write to the other directories. At this point it's more an Android complaint. I'd prefer to chmod each file or directory on my own terms, not give blanket on/off to the whole storage, which is my only option.

Many permissions are not necessary for the application itself however the permissions you mentioned are usually required by any app that requests them
It wasn't always like this, old Android devices didn't require any permissions to write to the SD Card and that was considered a security risk, nowadays you need to accept and acknowledged all permissions..
Sometimes an application needs to create files on the SD Card that aren't it's own files like download managers and file sorting applications, this requires a higher level of access to manage the files location or create new folders etc...
Obviously you should be careful when installing applications that ask for every permission possible, Like a game of tic tac toe that requires Bluetooth, NFC and internet would be strange and probably be able to hack your PayWave card from about 60cm away :0 true story


text:
TWRP exclude files from backup
I'm trying to make a TWRP backup, but I'm getting an error because of encrypted files. The files are in /data/misc/bluedroid, but I don't really care about bluetooth (though if I can keep it, that would be a nice bonus.) I thought of pulling the files onto my laptop as a backup then deleting them on the phone so that the backup can proceed, but adb pull can't access the files either.
Is there a way to tell TWRP to skip those files?
The phone is an Honor 7x BND-L24 with TWRP 3.1.1-1.

Usually TWRP will backup the encrypted files without any problems because it doesn't actually require access to the files contents. Think of it as binary copies, The file is actually a series of 10101's that can be replicated without any access to the files contents, Like copy and pasting a password protected ZIP File, The contents of the ZIP are encrypted and inaccessible however the entire file is still movable because it's not actually trying to read the file but move it to a new location.  I'm not sure why your TWRP cannot copy encrypted files unless it's trying to calculate the contents

@Zillinium: That's what I would have assumed, but adb has the same problem: unencrypted files work fine, but encrypted ones say something about not having the key, so I'm quite sure the encryption is the problem.

Is it possible that it's trying to compress the file ? that'd cause an issue if it can't read the file contents.... Are you looking to make a backup of your system, or just user data... Maybe choosing to skip the entire data partition could work, the data partition is reformatted on a factory reset anyway, so the bluedroid file should be recreated upon resetting the device.