text:
Exporting call records with phone call recordings from Mega Call Recorder Advanced app
This is a long-shot, but I really hope someone can help.
I was using the Mega Call Recorder Advanced Android app to record phone calls for quite some time.  Its official package name was com.callrecorder.procallrecorder and the developer's name was MEGA Clip.
Although I still have the app installed, it disappeared from the Play Store a while back.  I'm not sure why, as it worked quite well.  I did notice that its UI is very similar to many other call recording apps, and so I wonder if perhaps it was based on another project.
At this point, I have many GB of recorded calls stored by this now-defunct app.  The calls are stored in standard MP3 format, and the filename of each is the timestamp of the call.  So far so good.  The big issue is that the filenames do not indicate the phone number (or contact name)  of the caller (for incoming calls) / call recipient (for outgoing calls).  That data is visible in the app's UI, but I don't see any export function.
I want to backup all of this app's data and have the backups in a usable format.  To do that, I need to somehow have a record of which contact (or at least phone number) each recording is associated with.  Ideally, I would like the MP3 filenames themselves to include that essential information.
I'm hoping someone will have a good idea of how to proceed, or perhaps recognize the UI and know of another app that can perhaps export the data.
I have a strong hunch that there are other call recorder apps out there that are based on the same code.  Someone even wrote a review on the Google Play store noticing the same thing (see last screenshot below).  Perhaps one of those apps has a good export function and could read the data files from this app.
Here is what the app looks like (screenshots courtesy of the Google Play store), as well as other relevant screenshots:

Does the share button allow to save to Google Drive? if yes, does it save the file(s) with the contact name?

Can you provide an example of a filename? Can you read/copy the app's database?

@ReddyLutonadio Thank you for your interest, Reddy.  I don't have Google Drive installed, but the share button opens the standard share UI, so I think it would allow sharing with Google Drive.  But, unless I'm missing something (always possible!), it would require going to each recording and sharing it.  But maybe you know of a workaround for that?

@ReddyLutonadio An example of a filename is 20191002154123.mp3.  The first 8 digits look like the date and the last 6 look like the time.  Reading all the mp3 files is no problem at all.  I think I can also read/copy the app's database, but I haven't yet concluded if it is the entire database, or just some of the metadata that is stored by the app.

I am thinking you could try to share one or two files to your own Dropbox. Google Drive, etc and check if they are saved as with the same filename or not. Speaking about mp3, try to verify if the files' metadata don't contain any details related to your contacts.

@ReddyLutonadio Thanks. Those are both great ideas, and I can't believe I didn't check the latter.  I'll check both and report back.

The application keeps a copy of the database with calls logs in the folder where the call recordings are stored (/sdcard/CallRecorder/.db/callRecorder).
Prerequisites:

Python3 installed
ADB
USB debugging enabled on the phone

Steps:

Dump the folder /sdcard/CallRecorder using ADB from the

 adb pull /sdcard/CallRecorder

Create a new Python file, "export.py", in the dumped folder, "callRecorder", with the following content:

import sqlite3
import os
from shutil import copyfile

con = sqlite3.connect(".db/callRecorder")

for filename in os.listdir("."):
   if ".mp3" not in filename:
      continue

   row = con.execute("Select * from calls where instr(filePath, "+ filename.replace('.mp3', '') +")").fetchone()
   phone_nbr = row[1]
   contact_name = row[2]
   date_time = filename.replace(".mp3", "")
   copyfile(filename, f"{phone_nbr}_{contact_name}_{date_time}.mp3")

Execute the Python file using Notepad++ Python interpreter or using CMD:
> python PATH\TO\callRecord\export.py

That will copy each record to the format "phoneNumber_contactName_datetime.mp3"

Oh my goodness... thank you so much! Wow, I am almost speechless with gratitude.  I'm definitely going to give this a try this weekend.  The only Python I currently have set up is a Python interpreter within Notepad++.  Do you have any idea if that will work?  If not, is there a portable version of Python I can quickly set up?  Are there any additional Python libraries I will need to get to make this work?  Thank you again for this amazingly helpful answer!

Glad if it can help! Yes it works using Notepad++ Python interpreter. No, the script does not need any additional libraries.

Thanks!  Did you test it with the current release version of the Notepad++ Python interpreter (v1.5.4) or the new v3.x alpha releases?

I followed the steps described in the post: https://stackoverflow.com/a/1702605 to configure Notepad++ with Python. Notepad++ v7.9.3 and Python 3.9.2.

Ah! I'm glad I asked.  That's very different from what I was thinking.  Just FYI, Notepad++ has its own Python interpreter as a plugin: https://github.com/bruderstein/PythonScript/releases  Since you didn't use that, I'll set up a full Python interpreter... it's probably about time I did that anyway.  Especially since I hang out around @SteveBarnes (I you want to make a pizza, Steve will figure out a way to write an amazing Python script to do it). :)

I didn't have enough time this past weekend to try this out, but I'm hoping to have a spare hour or two soon.  Regardless, I'm awarding you the bounty because you've been so helpful, and I'm very grateful!  I also have a feeling that your solution will work as is, or that we can make it work together with a little minor tweaking.

Many thanks for the bounty. Please don't hesitate if you have questions or any.

You're welcome.  I'm working on it now!

I ran into an issue, but I'm pretty sure it's entirely on my end.  Instead of creating a lot of noise in the comments here, will you join me in chat? https://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/info/120033/lizard-in-a-st0rm


text:
Merge overlapping WhatsApp backups
I flashed my phone last year, but before that, I made a WhatsApp backup. However, the WhatsApp backup made wasn't complete(perhaps I exited the app while backing up). Hence, I lost 1 year worth of chat history.
I have an old phone which still retains the chat history, but the chat histories are overlapping, as described below:

Old phone chats: 2015(month unknown) - June 2018

New phone chats: 2016(month unknown) - present

I would like to merge the chat histories (and preferably, call logs too) to contain the chats from 2015 - present. I have seen many WhatsApp backup merging tutorial and posts like in here, but these only explain how to merge the backups if the chat histories do not have overlapping chat histories. How do I merge two overlapping chat histories, without causing messages from 2016-2018 to appear twice?
I only need to know how to merge the wa.db and  msgstore.db and other relevant files, if I need help in retrieving them and altering them I would post it as another question.
Thanks.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
How to use an old version of an app that wants to get updated
I was using an old version of the eBay app and everything worked fine but now as soon as I open the app, it shows a pop-up telling me to update the app which will not let me use it. Changing the system time will remove the pop-up but the app doesn't have internet connection then.
Is there any possibility to remove the pop-up and use the old version again?

If you are an experienced Android developer + has some experience with "Smali Code" you could decompile the app with apktool remove the date check, rebuild the app and then use it. Of course this only works unless the used API on the eBay servers has changed.

How exactly do you remove the date check after decompiling the app?

That depends on how the app developer has developed that check. You can look at the Smali code and also look at the decompiled Java code (by Jadx) and search for the Java date functions that can be used for checking the current date/time. If you have identified the code it is often enough to change an if-eq to an if-neq or totally remove the if expression to change the code.

I decompiled the app with apktool, removed the specific code, rebuilt the app, and then signed it. After installing it, I can open the app but then there seems to be actually no internet connection available. Do I need to regard anything or why could there be no internet connection now?

Why type of internet connection? To generic server on the net or app-specific servers? May be the app performs some sort of self-check or sends a hash to the server which then does not answer anymore. You can modify the app like shown here and then sniff it's traffic using a proxy like mitmproxy or Fiddler.

Even when I don't change any code at all, after rebuilding and signing, there is no internet connection at all.

Then may be the app is checking it's signature. BTW what do you mean by "no internet connection" does the app does not make any requests (not IP traffic at all) or does the app not receive any response from the server?

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


text:
How can I access and view the Samsung Internet cache?
I'd like to try and recover a lost website that might have been cached on a Samsung Internet browser, where would the cache be located? I'm running Android 11. I've checked in Phone\Android\data, but there doesn't seem to be a correlating folder for Samsung Internet.

Samsung Internet browser's package name is com.sec.android.app.sbrowser. You should check the cache files under the folder /data/data/com.sec.android.app.sbrowser. Note that you need root access to read that folder.

As the Samsung Internet browser app defines allowBackup="false" the alternative way via adb backup also doesn't work. Directly accessing the data directory with root permissions is the only way.


text:
Is there another way for apps to stop being killed in the background?
I have a android 10 and I have tried whitelisting the app and it didn't work, I tried RUN_ANY_IN_BACKGROUND that didn't work, and tried WAKE_LOCK allow that didn't work. Is there another way. Also, tried don'tkillmyapps that didn't work either.
FYI: I know the commands that I talked about looks incomplete I just typed it like that to make it shorter so you can get the gist of it.

https://dontkillmyapp.com

@Irfan Latif I tired that twice it don't it didnt work just kept saying 100 %


text:
Problem with camera concerning file names und photos app
Short version:
How can the camera app be brought to save pictures again with the regular format "IMG_2021....jpg"? On my Nokia 7.2 this is not the case anymore (see picture).

Long version / additional explanations:
Before I bought my Nokia 7.2, I used the SD card already in a Samsung Galaxy Note und hatte and had stored on it (among other) several pictures. For the new pictures, a new folder was automatically created and the old pictures remained saved.
Sometime, an additional folder was automatically created without that I had anything to do with it, maybe due to an update. After that there were three subfolders in DCIM, both on the device and on the SD card:

100ANDRO (probably from Galaxy Note, but I'm not sure anymore)
Kamera
Camera
From then on, the pictures got stored in the folder "Camera". Until that point, everything was allright.

At the end of last year I noticed that new pictures don't get stored anymore with the regular format "IMG_2020....jpg" but instead with an unlogical file name, see screenshot of Windows file explorer. Only newly created videos still get stored with with the regular format.
A few days ahaid of that, the following had happend:
The "Fotos" app from Google suddenly claimed that there was no access to delete pictures (which had always worked before) and that I should use the gallery app for that. Therefore I installed Google Gallery and for comparison one or two additional gallery apps. I then could delete pictures directly again and didn't have to switch to the "Files" app or another one.
When I realised the new file naming of the pictures I first thought, it might have something to do with the installation of the gallery apps and I removed them again. However, that had no effect.
My next attempt has probably caused a subsequent problem, but didn't solve the original issue: In the system settings I deleted the cache and data of the apps "Kamera" (Google Camera) and "Fotos" (Google Photos). Since then, new pictures are still stored with the 'wrong' file name.
On the other hand, I noticed - just a few days later - that many old pictures are missing. The folders "100ANDRO" are both empty, both on the device and the SD card. At least the folder on the SD card had contained several pictures before. The two "Kamera" folders have vanished with the containing pictures. From all the created pictures I don't have anymore those from about 1 1/2 years.
I find it disturbing that pictures made with the camera are removed when deleting the data of any app. From my point of view, the folder DCIM does not belong to any app at all, as opposed to f. ex. the folder WhatsAppImages in WhatsApp > Media. Anyhow, I probably have to live with that; a restore of the deleted pictures is rather time consuming and/or expensive.
But how can the Google Camera app be brought to store the pictures again with the regular format "IMG_2021....jpg"?
Thanks for your help or any tipps.
By the way, why does the Camera app frequently change the storage folder from sd card to device? (If I'm not mistaken, this didn't only happen after installing updates.)


text:
twrp failed to sideload
I tried flashing a custom rom using ADB Sideload in TWRP 3.3.0.0. Now I am unsure how to proceed. I did my preparations:

Bootloader is unlocked
USB debugging is enabled

However when the sideload froze, after 20-30min I unplugged usb. When I inserted the usb-cable again I tried the following things:

when I type adb devices I see my device-id and the status is recovery
fastboot devices is not returning my device
adb push returns me a couldn't read from device
ADB Sideload in TWRP wont work
when I trype adb rootI get a msg saying that I already am root

Now I am wondering what to do. When I go into twrp reboot menu I have the options System, Power Off, Recovery and Bootloader. In addition I have the option slot A and slot B. It also tells me that currently I am in Slot B. Here are my questions:

How do I reboot TWRP from TWRP? My current guess is to reboot Slot B

I also noticed in previous installations that TWRP seems to reboot automatically if no System has been installed.

What is the difference between rebooting Slot B and Recovery? Would both reboot in TWRP?
Does it make sense to reboot into Bootloader?

Do I then need to flash TWRP from fastboot again? Because I am unsure if this would work, as currently my fastboot doesn't find my device

Update:
I am using a temporary TWRP booted using fastboot flash boot <twrp-image.img>

sideload is broken, and obviously you are unsing inofficial build where adb is not proper enabled. fix it in default.prop with AIK

according to stackoverflow this could also be usb connection issue, but only broad suggestions like changing cable, port, re-installing drivers, use latest platform-tools etc. no really fix

Got me! I am using an unofficial build. Didnt know that they sometimes dont support adb.

well, it's just always the maintainer who forgot to edit default.prop when porting from stock recovery. but in your case it's different issue as you edited your question

maybe adb doesnt work with temporary TWRP. However my devices TWRP-Site suggests to adb push the twrp image if twrp is only installed momentarily. I just read: While in sideload mode, regular ADB commands will not work. Based on this I think the reason why I am stuck is that I exited the ADB sideload in TWRP by just pulling the usb cable.

yes, adb push won't work in sideload. according to your edit you permanently flashed recovery into boot partition, a simple reboot will restart recovery (and adbd)

I'm going to vote to close this because you're asking multiple questions on this site in one questions and that's not how this site works. Please make your questions atomic. Some of them are duplicates.  https://android.stackexchange.com/a/217707/7425 You can reboot to Bootloader from TWRP. Using either the Reboot menu and clicking on Bootloader; Or from adb shell when TWRP is running using twrp reboot bootloader

Does this answer your question? Is it possible to boot into a different recovery from TWRP?

Not sure this counts as an answer. But I prefer to summarise what I learnt from the long comment thread. Note these are lessons learnt from flashing 4 Android Phones in the last 3 months:

Check your usb-cable before starting. If it doesn't connect to the laptop where your adb is installed, get a new one!
If you install want to unofficial builds, try to have at least another alternative ready for installation. Best try to have at least one alternative stable build ready for installation.
Unofficial builds may not support ADB as @alecxs pointed out in the comments
Have an OTG cable ready! I didnt have one ready, but ordered one and left the phone in TWRP for the days until it arrived. With the OTG I managed to install without issues

If 1-4 do not work for you, then I suggest rebooting into bootloader. Thanks @Evan Carroll for the link: Is it possible to boot into a different recovery from TWRP?


text:
How to add custom passwords to the Google Password manager?
I’m using a OnePlus and want to add a custom password for a pdf I open frequently, I want to save this so I can easily access it and not type it over again. The native Password manager is not allowing me to do so, please help. Thanks

Based on Android Developers, I don't think there's a way to add custom passwords to Google Password Manager (service) since the prompt depends on the apps (clients), not files or anything else.

Thanks for the information! Well, do you have a third-party app you can recommend? Or maybe some other native service for OnePlus Phones?


text:
Phone won't stay off when charging Motorola Edge Plus on Android 10 and above
After getting a replacement phone from Verizon, the new Motorola Edge Plus will not stay powered off while charging, as the last one did.
After looking on the forums, I enabled developer options, but "stay awake" was not enabled.
The problem persists with 5 and 15W chargers, as well as Qi charging.
It turns on when plugged in if it was previously off, and restarts automatically if I turn it off while it is already plugged in.
To be clear, all I want to do is be able to turn the phone off and see its charging progress without turning the whole phone on.
Any help or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

https://android.stackexchange.com/q/20021

I WAS WRONG!
I NEVER would have thought this was the cause, but I was wrong and I thought you deserved an update. I cannot explain why so many people were confirming that their phones would refuse to stay off... but I guess that was all just one giant red herring.
I was having trouble getting my USB-C cable to charge my phone, I would have to keep it at an odd angle in order for it to charge. I got tired of this, so I decided to clean out the USB port. I shut off my phone, grabbed a sewing needle, and then removed all the pocket lint that had collected in the USB-C port on my phone. After that, I plugged it in to charge and... it didn't turn on. Before today, it would power on the instant I plugged it in. Now, it stays off! I cannot tell you how much I HATE being wrong, but I also didn't want to leave you with an incorrect answer.
In fact... now that I think of it, all of the Android phones that people are "confirming" will automatically turn back on, they all have USB-C. At the risk of being wrong again, I wonder if it's a combination of some people just having dirty USB ports and some phones genuinely having that feature.
I apologize for misleading you. All of the data I painstakingly collected is now suspect. I am 100% certain that at least some modern phones have this "feature" but it is clear to me that I was completely wrong in my assertion that this was a new feature being pushed by Google... IT seemed obvious based on everything I was reading...
At least this explains why I couldn't find any official documentation on it...
PS:
I doubt your charging port is dirty since it is a new phone, but it is worth trying a different cable, a different charger, and if all else fails, cleaning the port anyway. Please downvote my previous answer so I do not accidentally mislead anyone. I will post a comment under that answer saying I was wrong, that way I don't confuse future readers

LOL.  Thank you very much for the update.  This is extra funny because the first computer bugs were literally bugs (usually moths) that were attracted to the light and heat of the tubes.  Here we are, many decades later, and now it's pocket lint!  What's next, belly button lint? :)

I thought I was going crazy. I shut my phone off while the charger is plugged in. And an hour later the phone turns on automatically! Waking me up out of a dead sleep because I'm hearing "Hello Moto!" I was able to charge my phone overnight without it having to be turned on before. I don't like this feature. If I understand this correctly, I need to shut the phone off completely and then I can plug in my charger. To allow the phone to stay off while charging.

You can not do this any more. All modern phones running the latest version of Android will automatically turn on if they detect power input, this is a safety feature that (as far as I am aware) you can not disable. If you would like to have your phone stay powered off while charging, you must downgrade to an earlier version of Android.
I wasn't happy when I discovered it as well, and I searched for days to find a straight answer, which is surprisingly difficult to find. This answer is based on dozens of posts on multiple sites and hours of scrolling through community responses to similar questions. My phone is a Pixel 3 XL, but it doesn't seem to matter what model, it seems to be the same across all of the latest makes and models of phones that run the latest Android. This "feature" seems to have been implemented in 2018 for Nexus and Pixel phones, although it is difficult to pinpoint when exactly. From then on, it began to pop up in other manufacturer's devices as well, so I'm guessing this is an industry standard now. I also found that most Apple devices do this as well, from seemingly the iPhone 5 onward, though I'm not as sure about that since I wasn't specifically looking up Apple phones.
I hope this helps, and secretly I hope I'm wrong and there is some secret hidden menu somewhere that will disable this function.
Cheers.
EDIT
New undisputable evidence has proven me 100% wrong. 3 days of research only to come to the wrong conclusion. Any future readers, please disregard this answer, as it is wrong. Some of the things I said are still probably true, some phones definitely have this "feature" if you can call it that, but it is NOT a new industry standard being pushed by Google. In my case, it ended up being a dirty charging port.

That's kind of you to provide our community with the results of your research.  Thanks!  Upvoted.  Why is this considered a "safety feature"?

I THINK it has something to do with being on so you can dial 911 at a moment's notice if you have to, instead of waiting for your phone to boot. Charging your phone while it is powered on is only slightly slower than with it off so I guess they consider it a fair trade off? It's extremely difficult to get a straight answer... When I was looking, almost all of the stuff I could find was more "extrapolated from" rather than "directly stated" so please take my answer with a big grain of salt. always staying on for easy access to emergency services -seems- to be the most common excuse

Thanks so much for the update. That's a stupid reason, so it's probably correct. ;)  Personally, I think it should be up to the user to decide which is more important: access to emergency services now, or later.  I once took a phone on an expedition, and needed to charge it at a brief stopover.  It turned on when I tried to charge it, which caused all sorts of issues, and also resulted in less battery power when I really needed it.  But I'm sure I'm "preaching to the choir" here... :)

New undisputable evidence has proven me 100% wrong.

LOL.  No problem.  And no roasting. ;)  Thank you so much for the update!


text:
Can I transfer documents from the files app on iPhone to my new Android phone?
I’ve already tried to use google drive to do so, but for some reason only empty folders get transferred. I’m switching to a Oneplus so the Galaxy Smart Switch app (which I had used to go iOS to Android once) is not compatible. I have a usb-c to lightning cable and have tried Wondershare MobileTrans which i guess no longer allows cable to cable transfer between ios and android? Please help it has been a week since my frustration.

search for oneplus migration app in google play

OnePlus Switch, I think you mean. It only transfers via iCloud and only some media that way.


text:
Proper USB micro splitter?
For my noname low-cost android tablet i'd like to power and use keyboard at the same time - both have USB micro connector on it. But the problem is, that the tablet has only 1 usb micro socket, which gives me lotta trouble. I tried to do male - female - female adapter on my own (without OTG) and it just didn't work out. Guess that even charger uses communication lines to the tablet.
What can I use then, is there any finished solution out there, that's ready to use for this situation?

Micro USB has special pin that is dedicated to USB OTG. If it is missing the device can not recognize that an USB OTG device is connected.

Yes, I'm well aware of that. But is there a finished product for this kind of USB "splitter" or is too specific to be "bought"?

it will never work. that are two different modes that can not used simultaneously (except for some corner cases) https://android.stackexchange.com/search?q=otg+charge

i have two of these OTG charge HUBs (micro USB, USB-C) it has switch for easy changing modes. you can't charge while in host mode, but it provides external power for connected mouse + keyboard + hard disk drive (helpful to increase battery up time)


text:
Non-native network interfaces
I have these strange non-native network interfaces popping up on my phone... and mind you, this is after factory resetting my phone 5 times in a row. Can anyone help me make sense of these?
Instead of a screenshot I'll just post the interfaces. They are:
v4-ccmni2
v4-ccmni0
Or is that the cellular network interface?
I logged onto wifi and then back off and got v4-ccmni2 when it was 0 before. Any clarification would be appreciated.


text:
Stop Recent Apps Icons from moving
On my android phone, when i click the III icon at the bottom of the page (left of the home icon), the 4 recently used apps come up.
The problem is that there is usually a second or so delay and the icons MOVE...causing me to activate the wrong app.  Happens all the time.  Any way to stop that?


text:
Are updates from APK Mirror legit the same as Google Play Store?
I recently updated the Google Play Services via APK Mirror and now have the January 1, 2021 version. However, some others told me that the only thing the APK Mirror update does is changing the date (in my case: from December to January), and that Google will later send the same update for the same date, which will be the real update.
Anyone else heard anything about this? Are APK Mirror updates legit the same update Google sends, or it simply only changes the date and nothing else?
This is for an Android Pixel phone.

If you have installed an update via APK for an existing service the new APK file has to be genuine, thus "APK mirror" or somebody else can not change something on the APK because this would invalidate the signature and the installation would have failed.

The "others" should provide you a source/citation of where they heard that APKMirror changes dates. As already stated on a previous answer:

Apkmirror.com is run by the same people behind AndroidPolice.com, one of the biggest Android news websites. All uploads are manually vetted and approved, and only free apps are allowed so you won't find any 'cracked' apks or 'warez'.

You might be perplexed by what @bmdixon wrote as there were no citations. To add weight to what he wrote, here are some sample questions and answers from APKMirror FAQ:

What is the connection between APK Mirror and Android Police?
APK Mirror and Android Police are both properties of Illogical Robot LLC, our umbrella company. APK Mirror is managed by the same people who administer Android Police, and the two sites collaborate on an almost daily basis.

Does APKMirror.com host paid or pirated apps?
APKMirror.com has a no-piracy policy and does not host paid apps.
Note: There are very rare exceptions to the no paid apps rule. Sometimes, developers make updates to paid apps available to the public, usually to test beta releases. In such cases, there is usually a license check involved to make sure the apps were previously purchased. MX Player Pro is a notable example of such an exception because J2 Interactive, the app’s developer, provides test APKs on its site.

Security: What measures do you take to make sure all uploaded APKs are real and created by the respective developers?

All APKMirror.com uploads are verified prior to publishing.
We make sure that the cryptographic signatures for new versions of all previously published apps match the original ones, which means we know if uploaded APKs were signed by the real devs or someone pretending to be them.
Note: APKMirror.com has been protected from the Janus vulnerability in Android from day one.
a. For new apps that have never been uploaded to APKMirror.com, we try to match the signatures to other existing apps by the same developer. If there’s a match, it means that the same key was used to sign a previously known legitimate app, therefore validating the new upload.
b. If we see no matches, we try to obtain and compare to a version of the same app from the Play Store or another verified location. If it’s a beta, we will try to get into it. If we can’t, we will attempt to contact the developer.
c. If we’re unable to verify the legitimacy of a new APK, we will simply not publish it.

It's a good policy to always verify if the site and apps are legit even if they come from Play Store. In this case, the people who advise you about APKMirror I think didn't do their own research.

Those are some tall claims with no way to verify them. Or is there a way to verify that they do indeed follow through what they preach?


text:
Choosing input method when on MessagEase
Recently found the MessagEase keyboard and really like it, but don't necessarily want to use it all the time.
With the other keyboards I use, I long press on the spacebar will open the "Choose input method" selection, but not so with MessagEase.
Their FAQ says to "Tap and hold on any text field" to switch input methods, but that doesn't seem to work for me (just get the standard cut, copy, paste, etc pop-up).
Currently have to go into the Android settings under Manage Keyboards and disable MessagEase to switch to a different keyboard, which is sub-optimal.
Any ideas of an easier way?
(Android 10/LineageOS 17.1)

If you're inside an input field, check the notification bar/area. It then usually carries a "keyboard icon". The corresponding entry in the notification area should offer you available IMEs to switch to then.

@Izzy An older version of Android had this, but my current version doesn't seem to. (Android 10/LineageOS 17.1) Thanks.

@Evan I have the same combination myself (LineageOS 17.1+MessagEase 13.01) and the keyboard icon appears, but only after you've been to Settings | System | Languages & Input | Virtual keyboard, and enabled both MessagEase and the Android keyboard. (I use it to select newer emojis).

As of 2024, given that MessagEase wants to introduce a subscription model, your best option seems to be to install Thumb-Key instead. It's open source and doesn't nag you. With Thumb-Key you switch to a different input method by swiping down on the Smiley.


text:
Genymotion player crashes when selecting the webcam option
Every time I select the webcam option on the Genymotion player, the title of the webcam option comes up, but then the hole emulator crashes.
I'm using the free version of Genymotion. I get this problem, regardless of the Android type or screen size etc.
System Info:
System:    Host: ALU Kernel: 5.10.7-3-MANJARO x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 10.2.1
           parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-5.10-x86_64 root=UUID=138895c2-cc5c-4591-bc68-fd58c682d6f3 rw quiet apparmor=1
           security=apparmor resume=UUID=cbdc85f0-ae63-47be-89e8-038462fcc2f3 udev.log_priority=3
           Desktop: KDE Plasma 5.20.5 tk: Qt 5.15.2 info: plank wm: kwin_x11 dm: SDDM Distro: Manjaro Linux
Machine:   Type: Laptop System: LENOVO product: 80TU v: Lenovo ideapad 310-14IKB serial: <superuser required> Chassis:
           type: 10 v: Lenovo ideapad 310-14IKB serial: <superuser required>
           Mobo: LENOVO model: Torronto 4C2 v: NO DPK serial: <superuser required> UEFI: LENOVO v: 3JCN21WW date: 09/23/2016
Battery:   ID-1: BAT0 charge: 23.6 Wh condition: 25.4/30.0 Wh (85%) volts: 8.6/7.4 model: SMP L15M2PB2 type: Li-poly
           serial: 9238 status: Charging
CPU:       Info: Dual Core model: Intel Core i7-7500U bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Amber/Kaby Lake note: check family: 6
           model-id: 8E (142) stepping: 9 microcode: DE L2 cache: 4 MiB
           flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 23209
           Speed: 1192 MHz min/max: 400/3500 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 1192 2: 1200 3: 1200 4: 1200
           Vulnerabilities: Type: itlb_multihit status: KVM: Split huge pages
           Type: l1tf mitigation: PTE Inversion; VMX: conditional cache flushes, SMT vulnerable
           Type: mds mitigation: Clear CPU buffers; SMT vulnerable
           Type: meltdown mitigation: PTI
           Type: spec_store_bypass mitigation: Speculative Store Bypass disabled via prctl and seccomp
           Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer sanitization
           Type: spectre_v2 mitigation: Full generic retpoline, IBPB: conditional, IBRS_FW, STIBP: conditional, RSB filling
           Type: srbds mitigation: Microcode
           Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected
Graphics:  Device-1: Intel HD Graphics 620 vendor: Lenovo driver: i915 v: kernel bus ID: 00:02.0 chip ID: 8086:5916
           Device-2: NVIDIA GM108M [GeForce 920MX] vendor: Lenovo driver: nvidia v: 460.32.03 alternate: nouveau,nvidia_drm
           bus ID: 03:00.0 chip ID: 10de:134f
           Device-3: Chicony EasyCamera type: USB driver: uvcvideo bus ID: 1-4:2 chip ID: 04f2:b57d serial: 0001
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.10 compositor: kwin_x11 driver: loaded: modesetting display ID: :0 screens: 1
           Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1366x768 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 361x203mm (14.2x8.0") s-diag: 414mm (16.3")
           Monitor-1: eDP-1 res: 1366x768 hz: 60 dpi: 112 size: 309x173mm (12.2x6.8") diag: 354mm (13.9")
           OpenGL: renderer: Mesa Intel HD Graphics 620 (KBL GT2) v: 4.6 Mesa 20.3.3 direct render: Yes
Audio:     Device-1: Intel Sunrise Point-LP HD Audio vendor: Lenovo driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel alternate: snd_soc_skl
           bus ID: 00:1f.3 chip ID: 8086:9d71
           Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.10.7-3-MANJARO
Network:   Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet vendor: Lenovo driver: r8169 v: kernel port: 4000
           bus ID: 01:00.0 chip ID: 10ec:8168
           IF: enp1s0 state: down mac: c8:5b:76:78:e3:cd
           Device-2: Qualcomm Atheros QCA9377 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter vendor: Lenovo driver: ath10k_pci v: kernel
           port: 4000 bus ID: 02:00.0 chip ID: 168c:0042
           IF: wlp2s0 state: up mac: 58:00:e3:41:87:99
           Device-3: Qualcomm Atheros type: USB driver: btusb bus ID: 1-7:4 chip ID: 0cf3:e500
           IF-ID-1: vboxnet0 state: up speed: 10 Mbps duplex: full mac: 0a:00:27:00:00:00
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 372.62 GiB used: 275.8 GiB (74.0%)
           SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
           ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Kingston model: SA400S37240G size: 223.57 GiB block size: physical: 512 B
           logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s serial: 50026B73801F8542 rev: 0102
           ID-2: /dev/sdb maj-min: 8:16 vendor: Seagate model: ST9160412AS size: 149.05 GiB block size: physical: 512 B
           logical: 512 B speed: 3.0 Gb/s serial: 5VGCALEC rev: HPM1
Partition: ID-1: / raw size: 214.47 GiB size: 210.11 GiB (97.96%) used: 171.58 GiB (81.7%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda2
           maj-min: 8:2
           ID-2: /boot/efi raw size: 300 MiB size: 299.4 MiB (99.80%) used: 312 KiB (0.1%) fs: vfat dev: /dev/sda1
           maj-min: 8:1
Swap:      Kernel: swappiness: 60 (default) cache pressure: 100 (default)
           ID-1: swap-1 type: partition size: 8.8 GiB used: 2.61 GiB (29.7%) priority: -2 dev: /dev/sda3 maj-min: 8:3
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 43.0 C mobo: N/A
           Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A
Info:      Processes: 265 Uptime: 8h 55m wakeups: 7 Memory: 7.67 GiB used: 6.19 GiB (80.6%) Init: systemd v: 247 Compilers:
           gcc: 10.2.0 Packages: 1676 apt: 3 pacman: 1660 lib: 464 flatpak: 0 snap: 13

Last 20 lines of genymotion-palyer.log:
2021-01-24T17:50:02+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] [Adb][shell] command: "/home/UserName/Software/genymotion/tools/adb" -s "ipaddress"" shell ("getprop", "dev.bootcomplete")
2021-01-24T17:50:02+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] [Adb][shell] ("getprop", "dev.bootcomplete")  - exit code: 0
2021-01-24T17:50:03+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] [Adb][shell] command: "/home/UserName/Software/genymotion/tools/adb" -s "ipaddress"" shell ("getprop", "dev.bootcomplete")
2021-01-24T17:50:03+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] [Adb][shell] ("getprop", "dev.bootcomplete")  - exit code: 0
2021-01-24T17:50:04+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] [Adb][shell] command: "/home/UserName/Software/genymotion/tools/adb" -s "ipaddress"" shell ("getprop", "dev.bootcomplete")
2021-01-24T17:50:04+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] [Adb][shell] ("getprop", "dev.bootcomplete")  - exit code: 0
2021-01-24T17:50:05+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] [Adb][shell] command: "/home/UserName/Software/genymotion/tools/adb" -s "ipaddress"" shell ("getprop", "dev.bootcomplete")
2021-01-24T17:50:05+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] [Adb][shell] ("getprop", "dev.bootcomplete")  - exit code: 0
2021-01-24T17:50:05+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] Device booted in 7474 ms
2021-01-24T17:50:05+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] "Notifying launchpad of status change: 8bb23482-88eb-41a1-b946-32593ca6654d ON"
2021-01-24T17:50:05+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] [Adb][shell] command: "/home/UserName/Software/genymotion/tools/adb" -s "ipaddress":5555" shell ("pm list packages")
2021-01-24T17:50:06+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] [Adb][shell] ("pm list packages")  - exit code: 0
2021-01-24T17:50:06+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] [Adb][shell] command: "/home/UserName/Software/genymotion/tools/adb" -s "ipaddress":5555" shell ("ls /data/.genymotion")
2021-01-24T17:50:06+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] [Adb][shell] ("ls /data/.genymotion")  - exit code: 0
2021-01-24T17:52:07+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] "Dummy camera" released by DeviceCameraPipe(0x1b42f30) count: 0
2021-01-24T17:52:07+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] "Dummy camera" acquired by CameraView(0x1b0d2a0) count: 1
2021-01-24T17:52:07+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] "Dummy camera" released by DeviceCameraPipe(0x1a35ff0) count: 1
2021-01-24T17:52:07+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] "Dummy camera" acquired by CameraView(0x192d2d0) count: 2
2021-01-24T17:52:07+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] Linux/Windows: media permissions are authorized by default

Thanks a lot.

So I solved this by installing Genymotion as root,
~>>> sudo su
#>>> ./genymotion-installer.bin


text:
Termux closes window immediately on Android 10 and 11
Since a few days I have problems with Termux on my Android devices.
On a Lenovo TB-X304F running Android 8.1.0 I got:
CANNOT LINK EXECUTABLE "/data/data/com.termux/files/usr/bin/bash": library "libandroid-support.so" not found

[Process completed (signal 6) - press Enter]

I was able to recover from this using the procedure from the Termux wiki.
But on a Fairphone 3 running Android 10 and a Google Pixel running Android 11 the Termux window is immediately closed, even when I start it in a failsafe session. There is only a message saying "Termux keeps stopping".
I have removed Termux and reinstalled from F-Droid but to no avail. This is very unfortunate because I mostly use Termux on the Fairphone for quick webserver checks with openssl and netcat.
I checked the permissions (only Files and Media) and allowed them, but to no avail.
How can I get Termux running again on the newer devices?
Update:
According to this comment the issue is only with version 0.105 and should be gone with 0.106.

Shouldn't F-Droid remove .105 from "suggested" state then, in favor of previous version .104? At least until the new release.

I am not connected to F-Droid except that I use it as a platform to download the Apps. The answer only describes a workaround until F-Droid replaces version 0.105.

This is a problem that came with version 0.105 of Termux and should be gone with 0.106.
In the meantime this workaround helped me to solve the problem with Android 10 and 11.
Basically it involves the following steps:

Install Termux
Get access to the home directory inside Termux (for instance with a file manager)
Create the directory /home/.termux
Place an empty file named termux.properties inside of /home/.termux/
Start termux


text:
Can't flash a recovery image on device with red state
noob here. I cant flash a recovery image on my Tecno Camon 12 phone. Its in a boot loop showing red state error and cant get past the logo. Trying to flash it with sp flash tool doesn't work since it cant detect the phone.

unlock bootloader first

How do I unlock the bootloader?

follow the unbrick guide first. when your phone is working again, enable oem unlocking in developer options (required for unlocking from fastboot) https://forum.hovatek.com/thread-31989.html

https://www.getdroidtips.com/download-tecno-flash-tool or https://androidmtk.com/flash-stock-rom-using-smart-phone-flash-tool will both work only when installed MT67xx VCOM preloader drivers while phone is connected completely powered-off

The problem is that the device cannot be recognized by my pc for flashing.

i don't believe that. that would mean physical damage of usb jack. are you sure you doing it right? make sure device is powered-off completely (remove battery if possible). on windows 10 disable driver signature verification. open windows device manager and see what is happening when usb cable is connected. preloader is just visible for ~ 1 second. within this time, pick up the yellow triangle and install preloader driver (different from adb drivers). here is example video

i recommend to do a readback first (see step 11+12) before trying to flash anything. also it is good idea to create your own scatter file based on your current ROM. it is a good exercise to learn how flash tools work, and good to have a backup before flashing anything. Remember these golden rules: 1) Do never flash preloader  2) Always flash in 'Download only' mode only 3) use only scatter file matching your exact device model + ROM version + partition layout
https://android.stackexchange.com/q/203283


text:
wifi speed is perfect in laptop but very low in mobile why?
isp : gtpl
phone : poco F1
plan : 40 mbps down and half of it upload
router settings : channel 6 and frequancy auto
security : WPA - Personal
note : both test were on wifi, laptop was not connected with LAN
all basic i already did like reboot resets phone wifi setting resets nothing worked

Wifi antenna(s) in smartphone have to be small to fit into the remaining space. In a laptop there is large free space for placing one or more long antennas (often in the display). Therefore a smartphone can never compete with a well-designed laptop.


text:
Some apps block Screen Mirroring. How to unblock that?
Some apps block Screen Mirroring. This means that application developers can choose themselves if they want to block Screen Mirroring.
An example is "JioTV" app.
Many Modders are able to allow screen mirroring in its mod versions.
Such apps does not allow screen recording also. When casting or screen recording, they display black screen and block audio in the recording.
I want to mod "MS Teams" apk so I can screen record the class in my android phone without creating a public notification.
Any idea where to look for the "screen cast/record" code line!, That I can edit so I can finally screen record the app? I use Apk-Editor to edit apps.
Till now I have to use screen record in my pc to achieve this because Ms Teams android app blocks it. But I want to record in phone because it is more easily portable.

If you have a PC you can connect your phone and record everything using scrcpy. No need for modding anything.

Thank you So Much ! Scrcpy is just what I needed. My problem is solved.


text:
What does this symbol means?

My friend is asking about this icon on the notification bar. Is it from a application or just find in page?

Good question and being a developer I know that an app can add their own icons to the notification bar.
Depending on your phone type you can long hold on an empty part of your screen and then down at the bottom you will see widgets.   Hit that and then scroll down or sideways to see if you have the Notification history widget.   If you do drag it to a place on your screen.   Then you can see what that notification is for.
If you don't have the notification widget you can install a notification history app that will show you your notifications and what they are for.
On the app that I downloaded while I was researching this answer I had to enable Save Non-removable notifications.
If the notification is on the left top then you should be able to swipe down and see what app it is for.
If the notification is on the right you MAY be able to see it in the notification app.
That icon does not look like a default android icon so it's probably an application .
Here is a list of a lot of icons and it might be in there as well.
https://material.io/resources/icons/?style=baseline


text:
"Another app is using the camera" when trying to turn on the camera or flash
My Samsung Galaxy J4+ is having a problem. When I turn on the camera or flash, it is saying "Another app is using the camera". But I have checked nothing in the background is using these, and my flash is working only in accessibility settings (Flashing when getting notification)
I have tried restart and safe boot, but nothing works.
How to fix this?

Could be a hardware defect that makes the camera unavailable and Android thinks it is just used by another app. If you don't get other comments or answers the only option is to perform a factory reset. If that does not help most likely the camera is defect and need to be replaced.

@Robert i have done soft reset and hard reset nothing

can you confirm whether your device is running stock or custom rom?

Stock model samsung j415f android 9


text:
Why is it that the Zoom app on tv box don't have a video icon?
I already installed USB camera app to my tv box and the camera is working. But when I try to call on messenger the camera icon in messenger is not working the recepient cannot see me but I can see him.
I try calling on zoom but there is no camera icon in the app. I can see the other participants but they cannot see me.


text:
Can google accounts be restored to a phone that was factory reset or wasn't backed up properly?
My phone was rooted, and I forgot to make a backup of everything, I backed up contacts, messages, photos, videos, music, and all my files obviously but there are things you can not back up before you root like your App data, phone messages, google accounts.
And I had a school account from high school that I lost, I don't care about the apps but when it was deleted, my phone removed all those accounts after it was finished rooting and I had a bunch of Google accounts.
Is there a way I can restore the google accounts because I don't know or remember the passwords as they were stored on the device? What I mean is that if you had synced a bunch of Google accounts to your Samsung phone, wouldn't you be able to get them back if the accounts were made using that device.
I was able to log in to the account when I reset one of my Google passwords by entering my password to unlock the phone. If not, is there a way to see the email of all the Google accounts I made using the specific phone?

Google accounts usually do not store any passwords on the device. Google services use oAuth authentication system that requires username/password only on first login. Afterwards you are getting a "data token" (oAuth refresh token) that is used instead of username/password.

@Robert can these data tokens be redistributed to a phone if it was saved on the device before reset because I know google keeps a history of all devices on every account

Restoring those tokens may work, however there is a problem: Those tokens are refreshed regularly (I don't know the time scale - may be every month or half year?). If a token is refreshed you are getting a new token which replaces the old one. Therefore if the token has been used after the backup has been made then token in the backup is already used up.


text:
adb sideload lineage.zip yields adb: failed to read command: No error
TL;DR
Trying to sideload Lineage, I hit a brick wall getting the following error:
D:\Setups\XXXXX\Lineage FP3\platform-tools_28.0.2(ADB_1.0.41)>
    adb sideload lineage-17.1-20210104-nightly-FP3-signed.zip
adb: failed to read command: No error

The phone displays Timed out waiting for fuse to be ready. simultaneously.
Setting:
I'm trying to install LineageOS on my Fairphone FP3+ using Windows 10. Through workarounds including first difficulties and exploiting the manufacturer flash all .exe, I was able to boot the Lineage recovery and start sideload. adb devices returns the following:
List of devices attached
A2XXXXXXXXX1    sideload

The phone display prints Now send the package you want to apply to the device with "adb sideload <filename>"...
Problem:
I now enter adb sideload lineage-17.1-20210104-nightly-FP3-signed.zip, paying attention on having the archive in the same folder as adb (that's the default way, even if about to change). The result was

either adb: failed to read command: Connection reset by peer with aparent restart of the recovery boot
or a adb: failed to read command: No error in the cmd, giving me Timed out waiting for fuse to be ready. on the phone. I don't trust that error as it doesn't time out by waiting but in an instant after sending the sideload command.

I also double checked and cross-switched the cable, USB port, downloads, software versions (Lineage and recovery/ADB), as well as un- and reinstalled all respective drivers.
More references:

Manage the bootloader of your FP3/FP3+
Manually install Fairphone OS on FP3/FP3+ (from part "Setting:", in the process leads to this link from above for Windows)

I also went through these possibly related questions on this site among others:

Android adb sideload command
adb sideload CM,it shows error

sideload is broken, adb push file to /cache /data or /tmp

TL;DR:
Try a different host device or new installation (of the host OS) instead of giving up!

The solution in this very specific case seems to have been reinstalling the host OS (in my case Windows 10). I suspect it to be a driver issue of some sort as the reinstallation of everything used the exact same setups, files etc. I could guess into some of the multiple DisplayLink-ish software I tried to use for my tablet as secondary USB PC display. (Such as Superbrush, Super Display, VirtualTablet, WiredXDisplay, spacedesk and so on, I tried a few.)
While this is not a direct answer to the question, I hope, it could help other people stuck like me. The exact same procedure led to the desired, previously blocked resullt.


text:
Nexus 9 stuck in reboot loop
Few days ago I started my Nexus 9 and it didn't manage to load. It started looping.
The loop goes like this:
The four colored dots circling around and then loops again - 5-6 times then it shuts down.
I haven't done anything with it - it's unrooted, original firmware, used it normally since the day I bought it (have it for about 5 years).
I tried anything I knew:
-factory settings,
-wiped cache,
-flashed original (newest firmware),
-flashed earlier versions,
-flashed original HTC firmware,
-sideloaded newest firmware,
-sideloaded an earlier version.
Every procedure ended with a success, but the result was always the same - four colored dots circling around and then loop again ...
Any suggestions (besides "get a new tablet")?

this is called emmc wear-out (and maybe planned obsolescence) fun fact about Nvidia Tegra

Sad to hear that ... tablet worked very well and was perfect for me.

Does this answer your question? Use sd card as internal storage and stop writing to internal memory for good

By the way - my bootloader is unlocked, but I'm affraid, I don't have the required knowledge to do this. I read the links but for me its like rocket science.

oh, didn't expect that! flash twrp recovery from fastboot that will help to figure out which partitions are problematic https://twrp.me/htc/htcnexus9.html

if your bootloader already unlocked, does it mean the boot-loop can have other causes like dm-verity? this is the first thing i would try https://build.nethunter.com/android-tools/no-verity-opt-encrypt

It should be possible to automatize the whole modification process. If you are interested we can provide flashable zip which can be installed from TWRP with simple steps. All you have to do is provide your free time for extensive testing. In case you want us to spend our free time in your project, please set up your stackexchange notifications to get notified instantly and mention your GMT timezone (mine is GMT+1). Aliens should be interested in rocket science


text:
Gogle finance desktop shortcut stuck in weird state
Siituation
I got into very strange state after sync of my old phone (Pixel 2) to my new one (Pixel 5). The phone (or chrome) thinks that the Gogle Finance shortcut for the widget is on the desktop but it is not. What I want is the shortcut not for the webpage that opens in chrome but the one for the widget app (not sure if it iis PWA or just part of the Google app on clean Android phones).
The problem and what I tired so far
When I open Chrome and go to google finance website, I don't get the option to add shortcut on the desktop. I can go around that by using incognito window or Google Go app. But in both cases when I press add shortcut, it doesn't do anything. I also tried deleting all permissions and data of the google finance webpage but it didn't help. Uninstalling Chrome updates and installing it again didn't do anything as well as deleting all Chrome saved data.
Update
I tried to log in with different account in Chrome, that displayed the popup to add the shortcut. When I press add the shortcut, it will try to open the google finance in the default Google application and fail. The page just doesn't load. I guess it's a problem with Google app then.
The Google app has one great disadvantage which hasn't been addressed since it was created. It's not a standard app. That makes it ridiculously difficult to control when using the phone. Switching between apps very often makes the app disappear and you always lose any state of the app you had. So it is very hard for example to read news, which is one of the core functionalities (considering Google actually made it as a separate desktop when you swipe left on your home screen).
Update 2
Basically this whole section is useless if you open it in Chrome and makes you see much less of the screen. Not to mention that icon on your desktop for Chrome link looks much worse than the one for the "native" app.

Can you add in a screenshot of the Google Finance Widget App (if it isn't the Google Finance web page). I've been able to add to the home screen a shortcut to the 'Google Finance Page' via Android Chrome's 'Add to Home screen', and tapping on the shortcut launches the Finance page without address bar. Running Pixel 2, Android 10.

Thanks for comment. Check the update 2 section please

Google Finance did a redesign of the site. My home screen short cut link opens the current Google Finance page which doesn't have most of the items in your red box area (address bar, etc.) and even doesn't have the left side 3 line (hamburger) menu, I get the current? 9 dots in a square next to my profile icon on the right. You have some additional text after "google.com/finance", if you just tried what I quoted do you get 9 dots or the 3 line menu?

If I open the desktop shortcut it displays as on the the screenshot. The query after ...finance/ is google account user parameter, because I have more accounts, its the same for all google services like Docs, Sheets, Gmail etc.


text:
Skype app on Android
I have temporarily moved to a new university for a research project, and I'm now using their wifi Internet connection. While everything seems to work fine with the Windows 10 laptop, the Skype app on my Android phone keeps "freezing". What I mean is that although I seem to be connected and I can see my contacts, I cannot make nor receive any calls. Even if I turn off the wifi and use the mobile connection on the phone, the situation does not change.
After many attempts, I have found out that if I logoff from the app and I login again using the mobile connection, the app starts working again. At this point I can even restore the wifi connection and everything works for a while. But eventually it freezes again...
The weird thing is that this trick doesn't always work. Sometimes after I logoff from the Skype app I cannot login back even if I'm connected with the mobile data. I keep getting the error message "unable to sign in. Please check your internet connection". Also, if I try to login to my Skype account using Chrome for Android I cannot reach the page and get the message "DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN". But everything else seems to work fine and I can browse other websites or use different apps.
I understand that this might be due to some strange settings of my host university. While this is annoying, I can live with that. But what I really would like to understand, though, is why my phone behaves so strangely even when I'm switch off from the university wifi and I'm using my private mobile data connection...

Could you mention the device model and the Android version? Also, while it's probably not really related to the Skype issue, there are some troubleshooting comments for DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN on How do I solve DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN on android and to the extent of Why can't I browse to my desktop using its .local hostname?

@Andrew T. The phone is a Sony Xperia XZ2 compact with Android 10, but the same problem appears on my wife's phone, which is a Honor 9 Lite with Android 9.  Regarding the DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN, I mentioned it because it seems to appear only when the Skype app is frozen. As soon as I manage to restart Skype (by logging off and in again with a different Internet connection), this problem seems to go away as well

I still don't fully understand how, but the issue appears to be solved now.
After I changed the DNS settings from automatic to private towards dns.quad9.net, not only the DNS_PROBE_FINISHED_NXDOMAIN error on Chrome disappeared when trying to connect to my Skype account, but also the Skype app stopped freezing.
I suspect that with the previous settings the DNS request for the Skype IP (via the NAT done by the university) was somehow unintentionally lost, and the app could not reach the server nor Chrome the account webpage.
Also the apparent random behaviour was probably due to some form of caching of the DNS, by which when I switched to the mobile data connection I had to wait for some time before the app could unfreeze, and similarly when restoring the university wifi the app didn't freeze immediately...
Anyways, the issue is solved, but if you have a more sound explanation, please consider writing a better answer. Thanks.

It sounds like the skype ports are being blocked
Ask the IT staff if these ports are being blocked.
For Skype to work correctly, the following ports need to be open in your firewall:
443/TCP
3478-3481/UDP
50000-60000/UDP
For the best possible call quality experience, these ports are needed too:
1000-10000/TCP
50000-65000/TCP
16000-26000/TCP

I suspected something similar. But if this is the case, shouldn't the firewall also block my desktop Skype on Windows 10?  Which on the contrary works OK...

@iwakun As far as I know Skype uses firewall hole punching technique to establish certain connections. May be network access on Windows does allow a deeper access that simplifies hole punching and on Android the network access is only possible on a higher level? Alternatively the Skype desktop app may use a different server/API that has been white-listed by the network admins.

Would be interesting to see what the IP of your desktop is versus the IP of the phone.

@MarkScheck The IP changes depending on which lab or area within the university I am. But I double checked, and the issue with Skype still appears on the Android phone and does not on the PC, even when both devices are connected on the same wifi and share the same public IP.

Are they on the same subnet? can you post both IP's?


text:
Worried about possible malware
I'm hoping someone can help me here. Yesterday I was doing some research for an essay when I clicked a website (very dumb of me, who never clicks suspicious websites or links) that redirected me. I immediately backed off, the page didn't load. If anything I spent about a second there. Being the paranoid person I am, I have malware bytes installed, scanned, clear. Avast, clear. Sophos warned me about a PUA, which was a .com.google.chrome(some letters) file. Immediately deleted it, but then again Sophos also warned me about another app being a PUA, when it's in fact, safe.
I cleared the google chrome cache. I'd like to note that I DID NOT download anything, I didn't click any links, I didn't click anything but the back button, I didn't give any permissions. I'm on android 10, Xiaomi redmi note 7 (encrypted), and updated to miui12 last night. My phone isn't acting odd or anything.
I'm just extremely worried about being infected. I checked that website on hybrid analysis which came back as malicious (attack method as hooking), virus total said the same, but google safe browsing didn't detect anything, this site was detected as malicious on 2-3 checkers. I was on google chrome at the time.
Should I be concerned?
I don't do banking on my phone as I have a separate apple device for that.
Is there anything else I can do, for peace of mind? Thanks in advance.

no worries android is not vulnerable from malware (except for user granted malicios apps - you would know it if you have installed something). therefore such apps like Avast are useless in my opinion (this is not a broad statement as root kit for mediatek chipset exist, but your device is qualcomm chipset). if you paranoid do a factory reset

in case your device has confirmed malware detection then it's most likely shipped with data mining spy app by manufacturer itself https://www.xda-developers.com/report-android-phones-transmit-data-to-adups-a-chinese-firm

@alecxs Please be careful with such general statements. If an Android device is vulnerable depends on the installed Android version and the patch level (if the device gets security updates and if those updates really patch all known security problems). Also the used app/browser has to be considered. See for example this: https://i.blackhat.com/USA-20/Thursday/us-20-Gong-TiYunZong-An-Exploit-Chain-To-Remotely-Root-Modern-Android-Devices.pdf

@Robert even in such corner cases (like xhelper) i hold on my opinion such antivir apps are completely useless

@alecxs I was talking about your statement no worries android is not vulnerable from malware. This is not true.

@alecxs I totally agree with the mining spy app. I've heard of it. I have a lot of stuff on my phone (pictures and videos, mostly) and it'd take a while to back up. Can you elaborate on why manufacturers do so? I'm trying to find a safe device to buy, but at this point all of them have spy stuff on it.

@robert I have android 10, I updated everything last night (update from the manufacturer). Like I said I didn't download anything, I accidentally clicked on the website and backed out. No downloads were made, I didn't install anything. Just want to make sure my phone is safe to use. It's currently sitting on my desk on airplane mode.

if you have reason to believe that Chrome might have opened up a malicious link and you are unsure whether the link would linger in an existing tab or not, than clearing cache would not work. You have to clear data. 2) unless it is very private, do you think you can tell us on which website's page did you encounter that suspicious link? Full link would be nice. Also, what locale is set on Android? I suppose English.

You have a Redmi phone from Xiaomi and the latter is notorious for installing bloat (really bad ones too) so antivirus apps would naturally find PUAs there. Your Sophos app might be having a history of cleaning. See if you can find it. Tell us the package names there if you see them. You might also want to use a firewall. Whether the device is infected or not, a malware is useless for its author if it cannot connect to internet for command and control (provided it is not meant to sabotage your device -- unlikely) .

Even if you do not click on anything within a website, and even if it does not fully load, you are still downloading content (and often scripts) from that site.  That said, the overwhelming majority of malware is not spread these days by simply visiting a website.  This is especially true if your web browser is up-to-date.  Disabling scripting in the browser can help reduce the attack surface too.  Is it possible to have a problem after just visiting a website?  Yes, but it depends on many variables.  If your browser is updated, is it likely these days?  No.

@Firelord I apologize for my late reply. I cleared data and cache. There is no package name.Yes, English! I ended up asking someone who understands website code. He told me there was nothing wrong with it, it redirected to google. www dot regionseffective dot com. I closed all tabs.

@Firelord can you check the website for me then, please? my browser is up to date and I have android 10. 2 people have told its a safe website. But I'm still anxious about it.

@Randomperson that website simply redirects me to Google search page. Tested on both Android and on a Desktop.

https://android.stackexchange.com/q/233322

@Firelord Am I safe then? My phone isn't acting odd or anything. Just the occasional freeze that has been happening forever. this is what Sophos detected: Sorry, just wanted to share this from sophos - scanner " File '/storage/841B-0819/Download1/.com.google.chrome.TUFofX with threat/App/Other Android generic PUA removed from security assessment. Does this mean anything? I deleted it. I think this was on my SD Card since the Download 1 folder is on it. So was that website safe?

@alecxs great read. I haven't had that problem actually.

My download 1 folder has been on my sd card for years - its not a new thing. I have 2 download folders on purpose. @Firelord


text:
How can I restore the browser button?
For some magical reason, the browser button on the home screen of my Android phone (Xiaomi MI 9 SE, MIUI 10.2) has gone missing. I can't find it!
... how can I restore/recreate it?
Note I'm not talking about a specific browser (FF, Chromium etc) but the generic browser button.

are you talking about icons on home screen maybe? just drag&drop the icon from apps

@alecxs: Home screen. Although actually it's on the button row that persists even when I scroll to additional screens with app icons.

anyway it's drag&drop too


text:
Is it possible to change the geolocation settings or completely disable geolocation for smartphone with developer mode?
Can I change the geolocation settings with developer mode? For example make the main positioning mode with using only WI fi network  instead of using  GPS +GSM +WI fi?
Or it can be done only with root?

See Android settings "...Location" -> Location. There you can disable locations for all apps. I am not sure if "all" in this case also includes system apps.


text:
If we want to give the apps fake geolocation datas is it enough to change only the GPS data or i need to change all datas that are transsmitted?
When we change the GPS data using fake GPS app the cell id of our BTS still shows completely different region (the region of our real location). Isn't that enough for third-party applications to understand  that the received Gps datas are fake ? We know that most of positioning systems using hybrid thechnologies for positioning and not a specefic one .In this case if we want to give the third party apps  fake datas  is it enough to change only the GPS data or i need to change all datas that are transsmitted (Gsm,wi fi, ect.)

You might want to explain what "BTS" means. Also is this GPS spoofing for testing or anti-piracy/fraud measures?

@MorrisonChang  BTS means Base Stations . For testig.


text:
How to run hostapd on Redmi 8
I have been trying to run the hostapd with my own hostapd.conf but it's refusing to work and keeps saying segmentation fault and I am wondering how to get it working on Redmi 8 running Android 10
I have been testing everything and it always ends up with the same error
The hostapd it self is located at /vendor/bin/hw/hostapd
and also here is the default config from /data/vendor/wifi/hostapd
max_num_sta=1
vendor_elements=dd0411223301
ssid2=776e3133
wpa=2
wpa_key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
wpa_passphrase=
acs_exclude_dfs=0
channel=11
ht_capab=[SHORT-GI-20] [GF] [DSSS_CCK-40] [LSIG-TXOP-PROT]
vht_oper_chwidth=0
ieee80211n=1
hw_mode=g
interface=wlan0
ctrl_interface=/data/vendor/wifi/hostapd/ctrl
ieee80211ac=0
ignore_broadcast_ssid=0
wowlan_triggers=any
accept_mac_file=/data/vendor/wifi/hostapd/hostapd.accept
deny_mac_file=/data/vendor/wifi/hostapd/hostapd.deny

also from what i noticed that file always gets generated when I enable hotspot.

Android's hostapd is somewhat limited. Try a fully custom built binary. Download link is available in my answer to this question: https://android.stackexchange.com/a/215514/218526

@IrfanLatif it didn't work you sure there isn't a way to get the original bin to work since android is already using it when i enable hotspot

I can't remember exactly but some time ago, a year or so, the Android binary didn't work for me. So I checked the AOSP source code and some features (which were not used in Android) were disabled at compile time. Then I compiled my own binary, and that worked. But I can't remember exactly what I was trying to do. You've to do some experiments with it. Segfault is a general failure. Narrow down the cause of failure. Use strace, check logs, SELinux, capabilities, etc.

Oh I see thanks well will do as soon as i get the chance to do so


text:
Stuck in twrp after trying to root Samsung A7(2018)
I tried to root my samsung A7 yesterday, I flashed twrp with odin and when I try to install magisk it says "Zip file is corrupt",
I don't have any OS now and I'm left with only twrp.
I flashed twrp again different times with odin but same.
I can't boot in fastboot and when I tried with adb sideload my device is not discoverable.
I followed all the steps from this video Youtube Video when I tried to root my device.
Is there anyway to bring my samsung back or it's bricked?
Device Model: A750FN

Flashing TWRP (or Magisk) does not remove the OS. In fact, how can you even flash Magisk if you don't have any OS? What happens when you try to reboot system?

i recommend to install RMM-State_Bypass_Mesa_v2.zip otherwise you may get permanently locked https://android.stackexchange.com/q/225021

@WrichikBasu I meant I don't have an boot image anymore, when I power it off and then try to start it, it goes in recovery mode.

@alecxs first I flashed an file called magisk_patched_boot.rar with odin then I flashed twrp, then I booted in twrp and tried to install magisk but it didn't work, I tried many times and still the error is always the same

@alecxs I tried but I can't cause when I try to install from twrp it shows the invalid zip error for every file I try, not only for magisk

format userdata partition. transfer zip files via adb push. disable signature verification. install zip again and 'adb pull /tmp/recovery.log' right after error. share log via https://pastebin.com (after removing your serialno from log)

@WrichikBasu I just tried to reboot system and the phone ended up in samsung logo loop

@alecxs I tried wipe/Format Data but when I try with adb devices it doesn't show up in console, do I need to boot in download mode to try adb or from twrp?

Let us continue this discussion in chat.

Thanks to @alecxs I was able to fix it. The reason why I was stuck in twrp is because I wiped system through twrp(I was frustrated when I couldn't boot in magisk after many times of trying so I decided to let the System go,  the first time trying to root an phone so I didn't know what I was doing).
DON'T WIPE THE SYSTEM!
I still don't know why "Zip file is corrupt" ocurred, maybe because I tried to install magisk through sd card and the sd card was corrupted, or maybe because the twrp I flashed was unofficial, I don't know, but here is how you can recover your phone back:
1.Install the stock rom/firmware for your model at samfw.com,
before you install the stock rom for your phone model you should know your phone CSC(Country Specific Code), if you don't know it just boot in download mode and you will see Carrier ID associated with phone CSC Code
2.Boot in download mode and flash the downloaded rom. If that goes well and now you have your phone back but you still want to root then go to Magisk Installation Guide and follow the instructions.
If you experienced the same error like mine while trying to flash magisk on twrp with sd card then next time instead of sd card try to copy magisk in cache partition and then in twrp flash from there.


text:
How to find where an app is saving its data and then acess it?
This app provides offline acess to a big database. So it must be somewhere in the device. But i'm having trouble finding where, and if I could even access it when I found it. I can't find the folder data/data suggested here Where Android apps store data? . So I'm guessing that I'll not be able to access it without root ?

Your conclusion is correct. I can only add that even with root permissions you not be able to a case the data as especially valuable offline data is typically saved with extra protection.

check the other answer /data/user[_de]/<user_id>/ means /data/user/0/com.devplank.masterfip but no access to /data without root of course (however lollipop is easy to root)


text:
Using NetGuard, what app(s)/service(s) can be restricted to prevent system updates?
I've been using NetGuard for a little while now, and I've really liked it so far. I hate the forced system updates which seem to come more and more frequently. For a handful of reasons, I'd like to prevent this from happening via NetGuard, if possible. I have to imagine there's a service or two which compares my Android version with the latest available version, and perhaps another which actually downloads the latest version. The problem is that the list of apps and services to restrict are vast, and I have no idea what most of them do. What on this list needs to be restricted in order to prevent all future forced updates?

Check the network usage statistics the next time when there is a new notification of an update. If you see an unexpected service with a download usage of 50-300MB (to my experience a typical size of a pure security update) then you have a candidate. If you don't  want to be forced to install system updates check this question. Not sure if this is also applicable for your device.

Thanks @Robert, the only thing sticking out with data usage is "System update", which I've already had restricted for a while. I've also had that setting in developer mode toggled off for some time. I've received multiple updates since. I was looking for a temporary fix until I decide to root my device, but I guess I'll be doing that sooner than I had planned. Thank you!


text:
What are all these Google internet hosts (domains) and why is stripped-down Android connecting to all of them?
Technology users are faced with a challenge: Allowing our tech devices to work without them invading our privacy.
Obviously choosing products carefully is a critical step.  Unfortunately, the two main players in the smartphone space, Google and Apple, are well known for their questionable data collection and harvesting practices.
LineageOS and /e/OS are up-and-coming providers of privacy-friendly smartphone operating systems.  Until they become more commonplace, I thought it would be worthwhile to create a compendium of internet hosts to which Android connects by default.
To do this, I let an Android device run for 5 hours and captured all packets trying to leave the device.
The Android device was configured never to share contact data, calendar data, task data, map data, location data, or any history of any kind.  It also was configured to not transmit or receive email at all.  The internet search function of the launcher was removed.  Furthermore, Google Chrome and the Google's Android Assistant were both disabled, as were all the various "Google Play" apps (such as Google Play Books, Google Play Games, Google Play Movies & TV, Google Play Music / YouTube, Google Play Newsstand) except for the Play store.  Within the Google Play store, automatically checking for new app versions was disabled.  Finally, a non-Google keyboard was installed and set as the default.
Even after doing all this, within just 5 hours of the phone sitting without being used, the Android device attempted to connect to all the following Google-owned hosts:
history.google.com
mtalk.google.com
alt1-mtalk.google.com
alt2-mtalk.google.com
alt3-mtalk.google.com
alt4-mtalk.google.com
alt5-mtalk.google.com
alt6-mtalk.google.com
alt7-mtalk.google.com
alt8-mtalk.google.com
android.clients.google.com
www.google.com
android.googleapis.com
play.googleapis.com
cloudconfig.googleapis.com
connectivitycheck.gstatic.com
footprints-pa.googleapis.com
mobilemaps.googleapis.com
people-pa.googleapis.com
www.googleapis.com
www.googletagmanager.com
play-lh.googleusercontent.com
smtp.gmail.com
What is the purpose of each of these hosts, and why are so many connections still being attempted given that almost everything Google-related is supposed to be disabled on the device?
Note that I don't expect a single answerer to know the purpose of every host listed, but hopefully we can work together to use this QA to create a quality reference resource.

It is interesting that, after two years, this posting has produced only partial results. Clearly, the purpose of many connections made to Android devices is deliberately hidden. Legitimate companies would publish technical details of their operations. By using AdShield, which lists connections, and then disabling them and seeing the results, I've determined that the majority of connections when playing games are for the purpose of serving ads. That doesn't answer the OP, because in their case they were not playing games.

I don't know the purpose of all hosts, but here is what I know:
connectivitycheck.gstatic.com
On this host typically only the URL https://connectivitycheck.gstatic.com/generate_204 is used. It is used by the Android device to determine if there is Internet access or not.
android.clients.google.com
Primarily this host serves Google Play Store for all sorts of queries, e.g. search for apps, periodical device registration, ...
history.google.com
The purpose of this host is not quite clear. The used service is called "history recording" and the server responds if it should be enabled or not. Potentially this is the host for the Google location history recording?
play.googleapis.com
Obviously this API is used by Google Play Store. For example if an app should be downloaded this server is used (besides some other servers).
android.googleapis.com
As far as I know this server is used for authentication purposes and for Google push notifications.
www.googleapis.com
Used by various Google services such as Google Calendar, Drive, Chat, Hangouts, User Location, Android Video ...
Inspect the traffic on your own
If you are interested in more details and have a rooted spare device I recommend to you to install Xposed + TrustMeAlready plugin (this disables SSL/TLS server check for every app - hence makes SSL/TLS totally insecure therefore don't use this on a regular device). Then install an HTTPS intercepting proxy such as Fiddler/Mitmproxy/Charles, ... on your PC and configure your PC as proxy in Wifi settings. Afterwards you can see all the data transmitted by your device.

Thank you Robert! That's a great start.  The one that you write about that I find most curious of those is history.google.com, as it doesn't seem like a call should be needed when history collection is disabled.

@StevenPenny The only alternative I know would Frida/Objection and it's anti TLS pinning scripts. But for using that you need to attach specifically to each process which can get complicated when it comes to Google processes as you have to handle multiple at the same time. And 2 years is not that old. It has some known problems with obfuscated apps that use OKHTTP pinning but that is nothing you can be fixed in a universal anti pinning plugin.

I mean you posted this recommendation pretty recently - have you actually used TrustMeAlready recently, or was it something you used a while back, and are not sure of the current effectiveness of the tool?

@StevenPenny I used it just a few weeks ago on an Android 11 device. Therefore I can verify that it still works.

@Robert has already given an answer to several addresses. I will just add my 2 cents for the following:

history.google.com: relates to your account activities (searches , youtube, location, etc). That URL sends you to https://myactivity.google.com/myactivity?pli=1
mtalk.google.com (and alt*-mtalk.google.com): is related to GCM/FCM (Google Cloud Messaging/Firebase Cloud Messaging). This link explains  Why does GCM needs to connect to mtalk.google.com ?:

OK, so basically the idea is the following: your system makes one connection to Google servers, specifying some kind of AndroidID to be recognized.
On the other side, every apps that use GCM has a server part somewhere, that also makes a connection to the Google servers, specifying an app identifier. Then, when one event is to be sent to you, it is send to the Google servers with your AndroidID, allowing the server to thus relay it to you.
The idea behind that is to have only one open connection on your phone, instead of one per app, allowing for much greater battery life. The cost is privacy, because that means all messages are going through Google servers. App can work a bit around this by having either encrypted messages content or minimal amount of information inside. But at the very least Google will have the following information: you have received a message from this app at this given time.

Note that GCM is deprecated. Considered the web address only for FCM now.


text:
Cannot sign in Mi account after MIUI 12 update on Redmi Note 8

Recently I updated my Redmi Note 8 to the MIUI. Since then, I get this notification.
I've tried "signing in" again but it doesn't work.
Also can't sign in more than one google account anywhere on the device.
Help!

remove the bonding and add the account again


text:
"can't login on a rooted device" and banking apps not working on rooted devices with MagiskHide+SafetyNet on

Samsung S9 Plus
Lineage OS 17.1 with /data encrypted
GApps pico
Magisk + Magisk Manager + MagiskHide with SafetyNet on => basicintegrity=OK + ctsProfile=OK + evalType=OK (blueish screen)

Several apps that are (mostly) related to finance (Revolut, XE, etc.) are refusing to start because my device is rooted.
Several forums that I've read through advise to do the above, i.e., Magisk + SafetyNet, which I have done. However, nothing of that works. I've even tried to "hide" /sbin/su by renaming it for a moment, but that didn't do the trick either.
I read something about GApps pico/picoG being the culprit, saying that micro/microG should be the bare minimum to effectively "hide" the "rooted" status, but I'm not sure about that, and reinstalling everything isn't something that I am particularly looking forward to, unless there is no other way.
I know that this is a cat-and-mouse game, but any other suggestions I should try?

first, hiding su is not necessary. instead, hide magisk manager itself. second, note on recent android safetynet is bonded to bootloader lock state, no workaround (so far)

@alecxs But if the bootloader state would be the problem than shouldn't the SafetyNet tests fail? But according to OP both tests were successful. Therefore I would assume that the apps check the OS and identify LineageOS (which does not hide itself).

@alecxs and @Robert, based on your comments, how to hide Magisk Manager (delete the app?) as well as the LineageOS identification string (if there's such a thing, i.e., uname of some sort)? Is this achievable?

Robert is right, didn't notice safetynet passed. i don't use magisk so can't tell you, but i know it is possible to hide magisk manager even from itself. according to xda, magisk could manipulate SafetyNet but is no longer able to hide bootloader state? https://www.xda-developers.com/safetynet-hardware-attestation-hide-root-magisk

@alecxs, those are interesting links, thanks. I've installed & run SafetyTest Helper Sample as advised on XDA => all green. I've also extracted the SafetyNetResponse string through logcat => evaluationType:BASIC, which isn't as alarming as if it were HARDWARE_BACKED. So perhaps the app does identify LineageOS...

Could it be that the apps are checking the props ro.build.host, ro.build.flavor, or ro.build.display.id, which all contain lineage?

every app is different, but i don't believe banking apps can be cheated that easy. i recommend to install on other device with stock android first, to figure out if unlocked bootloader is showstopper already

The worry now is: how long until all apps use this detection method (Displax reported in the post you sent above that McDonald's already implemented it).

installed Revolut on my vanilla android 7.0 rooted with SuperSU. Couldn't test payment as i don't have account but the app did not complain any issue with unlocked bootloader or rooting

With an older version of Revolut (<7.30.3), it works fine as decribed https://community.revolut.com/t/revolut-will-start-blocking-jalbroken-rooted-devices/183928, but with a later version and other banking apps, it breaks. I've been looking into Chainfire's hidesu package, but I'm not sure if it'll work with Android 10 (as devel seems to have stopped in 2017, and since /data can't be decrypted with TWRP, I don't know how to install that package, but I will try it.


text:
Is it possible to add a feature from app to another through .xml editing?
So I had just discovered this keyboard app called the Multiling O Keyboard which is very useful, but one thing I hate about it is that, it doesn't have the permanent notification feature which the Hacker's Keyboard has.
So is it possible to add the Hacker's Keyboard's permanent notification feature to Multiling O Keyboard?
This feature will help me open the soft keyboard even without textfield to write into like the Hacker's Keyboard.
PS. I'm not good in coding, I just want a decent keyboard for myself.

Depends on the app but typically changes to app behavior require code changes.

Persistent notification needs code changes though


text:
Lower half of screen looks pixelated on Chrome for Android
I recently finished developing a website made of scalable vector graphics (SVG). The site looks great on all devices but Chrome for Android. On Android Chrome, the site looks more pixelated near the bottom of the screen. I have cut out a sliver of the site to demonstrate below.

Image resized; click the image for full size. Note: you will probably have to view the image in a bitmap editor to see the difference, as your browser will blur the pixels together in JPG format.
If I scroll the content up, the same section that was just pixelated becomes crisp. It has nothing to do with my graphics, it's all about where they are on the screen.
I am imagining that this is possibly:

A numerical-related bug in Chrome Android's anti-aliasing algorithm
An intentional feature that figures people look at the top half of their phone screen when reading articles and so increases resolution as they read, pixelating the bottom of the screen almost like a camera focuses on stuff
Or more likely, some combination of the two

Does anyone have any familiarity with this effect? This is not present in the Android built-in internet browser on the phone. What is the cause of this pixelation in Android Chrome?

Is it using <text> elements in an <svg> element or is it ordinary HTML text?

I don't think the second point about "focusing stuff" is true if anything, moreover if this only happens on your website? Perhaps you can mention the website so that we can also test it?


text:
screenrecording and screenshot detector
Is there a way or an app or anything to detect whether the other person is screen recording or screenshotting their screen while engaging with you with either mobile or PC?

The app in foreground on the other party's side needs to have this functionality built in. There is nothing you can do about it.

In many apps there is a cast notification icon when they record the screen. And screen recording can be done by adb too.. maybe it's recorded in the logs(not sure.. idk much about how adb works)


text:
How is bootloader state protected against physical tampering in Google Pixel
A week ago my professor's Pixel 4 XL was stolen from his desk when he left it there for charging. The phone has been shut down. It had few minutes of battery left when it was plugged in charging. Though I believe that the attacker has powered it off immediately and also turned off mobile data or turned on airplane mode which are unfortunately allowed in Pixel devices without unlocking the screen. I must say that this is a weak physical security design and helps the attacker more than environment safety*. Although location cannot be turned off at locked screen but it will be useless unless the device automatically reconnects to the nearby open wifi in campus to which the device was connected earlier.
I assured him that the data cannot be compromised because it is protected by file based encryption (FBE) which is bound to the user's lock screen password and lock screen password is verified by Titan M chip (TEE) to unlock the device. The attacker can still reset the device which is then prompted by factory reset protection when setting up the device. This is yet another weak physical security design because unauthorised factory reset can be prevented by adopting biometric authentication for bootloader and recovery mode by TEE which wakes up before the android bootloader is awaken.
In Pixel, bootloader can be unlocked by enabling OEM unlocking from developer tools and then executing fastboot flashing unlock in bootloader mode. As the attacker cannot reach developer settings without unlocking the screen, my professor asked if by using a hardware tool like UFS flash storage reader & writer, can the attacker directly tamper with OEM unlocking byte and bootloader state (locked & unlocked) bytes which are stored somewhere for persistence across reboots and flashing custom ROMs?

*Environment safety: Some security trade-offs were made by android security team by allowing to shut down, to turn on airplane mode and to turn off mobile data from locked screen so that devices in case of emergency like overheating of the device while in plane and radio interference, these features can be remain functional from locked screen.

Pixel refuses fastboot flashing unlock (and unlock_critical) command unless OEM unlocking is enabled. OEM unlocking byte is stored by TEE as implemented in android source.

libese
provides a minimal transport wrapper for communicating with embedded secure elements. Embedded secure elements typically adhere to smart card standards.

TEE is tamper-resistant by design. So it's not possible to physically modify OEM unlocking byte in Pixel. VerifiedBootState is also stored in TEE. This ensures that stolen Pixel device cannot be reused by unlocking the bootloader and reflashing the images.
When bootloader unlock command is executed, bootloader queries TEE to get unlock ability set by OEM unlocking. When VerifiedBootState is set to unlocked, TEE flushes file based encryption (FBE) keys and bootloader resets the device. Verified boot state and unlock ability remains persistent in TEE across reboots, flashing custom ROMs and factory reset. This is why the user still has to relock the bootloader even if all partitions are reflashed with stock images.
Verified boot state in TEE is now also used in SafetyNet's hardware-backed attestation. Tamper-protection by TEE makes it impossible to fake verified boot state. As a result, it leaves no way to pass SafetyNet's device-integrity test even if you have root access.
In other devices, OEM unlocking byte is stored in FRP partition which is a bad security design because OEM unlocking byte can be physically modified if it's stored outside of TEE. In such devices, OEMs sends unlock.bin signature file to the user which is used as an additional argument with unlock command so there is some sort of verification in place to verify the device owner. In Mi devices, OEM unlocking requires registration with Mi account which ensures that only the account owner can unlock bootloader from Mi unlock tool even if OEM unlocking is enabled.
Earlier Mi devices are found to be storing bootloader state in /devinfo partition which is totally insecure because by simply modifying the byte, the attacker could unlock the bootloader. As more and more devices will be mandated to enforce SafetyNet's hardware-backed attestation, VerifiedBootState will be stored in TEE.


text:
Where are the libraries/dependencies for an Android app stored on the file system?
I found a file path from Where Android apps store data?

/data/app/<pkg>*/lib/<arch>/*.so (shared libraries)

However, this only shows libraries for some apps.
Is there another location where shared libraries are stored for an app? If not, is there a way to find this information from the APK or such?
Note: I have root on my phone.

https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/122280/download-purchased-apk-from-play-store

Would it be possible to elaborate on how I would use this to find the libraries/dependencies?

that might be more of a StackOverflow question.  I just left as a comment because it's helpful.  Your best bet is a decompiler.
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/43752446/how-to-decompile-an-android-app-from-the-google-play-store

I tried decompiling. Did not provide me with any useful info

you're going to have to read the source code.

Libs aren't extracted to that path if extractNativeLibs=false is set. Simply get the APK file and explore with any ZIP explorer, even without decompiling. Libraries are in lib directory. But if not being loaded by Android's dynamic linker/loader, apps can store native code in other locations too (e.g. assets, raw) and may extract to any path where they have write access. App's dependencies on OS native code are obviously already there on device in /system/lib* directories.