text:
How do I disable the scrollbar in the original PDF viewer on Android?
I have an Android 10 Huawei P20. I have not installed any PDF reader apps.
I want to disable the scrollbar on the side when I'm reading PDFs. It's way too easy to accidentally hit and end up hundreds of pages off from where I was at, meanwhile not having nearly enough precision to actually be remotely useful.
I've been googling it for awhile, but every resource I find just screenshots stuff that looks nothing like the viewer my phone came with by default. Mine doesn't have any settings options as far as I can tell. It gives me a back button to close the file, following by the title of the file I have open, followed by a search option, a share option, and the three vertical buttons which open into options to send the file, download it (even if I opened it from my download folder), print it or send feedback to Google. I also can't find it in my apps list or any mention of pdfs in the settings options for my phone.

I use Adobe Acrobat as my PDF reader on Android and I don't have this issue, so I may consider using it. (Disclaimer: I work for Adobe.)

You may use something like - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.readera&hl=en_IN&gl=US. You can go page by page instead of vertical scrolling.

I consider this a direct competent answer


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Enable Remote unlock from the Settings via ADB (no root)
I am trying to enable the Setting "Remote unlock" from Samsung (in Settings -> Biometrics and security -> Find My Mobile -> Remote unlock) by using the adb.
I could enable other settings like Bluetooth or WiFi by using some commands on the adb. Now, I am trying to figure out how to enable this "Remote unlock" by Samsung. I searched all the Android documents and references but couldn't find any solutions. I personally gave up and I don't believe this is even possible.
I wrote adb shell settings put secure fmm_unlock_recovery 1 and it seems to work. The only problem is, my devices don't connect to the internet because of too many failed password attempts.
Could someone tell me how or just if it's possible to enable it just by adb?

scrcpy wont help me in this case sadly. My device suddenly dont accept my 3 years pattern lock, so i have to enable the "remote unlock" via adb to change my pattern with "find my mobile samsumg". But it needs the setting "remote unlock" enable which is not the case sadly

if phone suddenly deny unlock pattern, reboot is recommended. on the other hand, reboot is not recommended on secure startup enabled devices as you might lose the availbility to connect internet in case unlock is still denied

So this explains why i cant access to the internet anymore and why i cant reset my password via "find my device" from google...

No, I mislead you. secure startup would effect adb, too. Your question still applies

guess something like 'adb shell settings put blobal ...' https://dev.to/larsonzhong/most-complete-adb-commands-4pcg

yes the problem is i cant find the location for the Android Packages/Paramaters for the "Remote Unlock" that enables it (what after the "adb shell settings put" comes. I searched the whole  Android Documents and couldnt find it

can't you insert SIM card with mobile data?

I tried this but it did not work, i think the device has to be unlocked once after reboot to have access to the internet because a android Notification tells me to first unlock the phone to get app-notifications.

searched for your last comment, sounds like a feature for (FBE) encrypted devices called Strong protection, seems some kind of successor to (FDE) Secure startup. you might figure out the adb command for Settings>Biometrics and security>Other security settings>Strong protection

Thank you very much! I tried to disable "Strong protection" but i couldnt.I will try to figure it again but if i cant, i will just factory reset my device, because i am so desperated and dont think i will able to do it. But really, thank u for helping me!

The following Setting-Parameters are for enabling "Find my Mobile":
fmm_community_finding=1
fmm_pub_tag_finding=0
fmm_unknown_tag_alert=0
fmm_unlock_recovery=1

So by writing the following commands, you can enable the Samsung's Find My Mobile via adb:
adb shell settings put secure fmm_community_finding 1
adb shell settings put secure fmm_pub_tag_finding 0
adb shell settings put secure fmm_unknown_tag_alert 0
adb shell settings put secure fmm_unlock_recovery 1

Keep in mind that you have to reboot "adb reboot" after writing these commands!

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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Google Assistant app crashes the moment I open the app. Similarly, Google App Crashes when trying for a voice search
Google Assistant crashes the moment I open the app. Due to this. I'm unable to invoke my Assistant even though having setup all it's settings such as turning it On, setting up 'Hey Google' and training the voice recognition model. Similarly, The Google App crashes the moment I try voice search.(Open 'Google' App, click on the 'Mic' icon on the search bar for voice input to search.)
I tried few fixes after searching online and troubleshooting guides from google, but nothing seemed to work even after enabling all the options mentioned in those guides.
I need this community's help in figuring out what's causing this and fixing it. Can anyone help me on this please?
Phone: Oneplus 6. (I've used google assistant a couple of years ago, but never used in the past 2+ yrs. Now that I've got a few smart devices, I want to use it again.)
OS: Oxygen OS 9.0.9
Edit: I have tried a fix that I found online, which was clearing the data of 'Google' app and restarting the phone. But the situation ended up being worse than before. Now, when I go to the 'Hey Google & Voice Match' setting, I see 'An Error has occurred. Please try again later.'(Attached an image below).

Cheers!

Is it possible for you to reset your phone? Since it is an old phone, a lot of things might have broken.

I'm not considering this option at the moment, due to the mess of setting up everything on the phone post resetting.

I have faced the same issue and fixed it too. In settings, search "default", and then select Google assistant as the default assistant app

Hi, thanks for this reply.  I'm not getting any search results pertaining to default assistant in my settings.

@PraveenSamudrala you sure your google app has microphone permission enabled?

Hey, all the required permissions for Google app are enabled.

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


text:
What file systems can I use with my SD card on a Samsung A10S?
I'm using a Samsung A10S phone. I use Arch Linux, no Windows, and I want my phone's SD card to be highly compatible with my PC. The default SD format seems to be vFAT which disallows many special characters in file names that are no problem on a Linux machine (:, *, ?, "). I've tried formatting the SD card with EXT4 & EXT3 but when I put it back into the phone, it seems to be unable to work with the card and made me format it. There was no option as to what file system would be used and the card is now vFAT. I've tried looking online for possible file systems to use with the A10S but to no avail.
What file systems are compatible with the Samsung A10S? If there are others besides vFAT, what would be best for working with a Linux system?
Edit: 1 big reason I wanted ext4 instead of vFAT is because I wanna get rid of the problem of certain disallowed special characters in vFAT so I'd like something without those restrictions.

for large files exFAT is recommended mkfs.exfat

@alecxs I've checked exFAT and it has problems with some special characters in file names as I've clarified in an edit.

that is filtered per design from upper layer sdcardfs in order to keep file name compatibility for MTP protocol (Microsoft) and cannot overcomed with any file system type. Even your Internal Storage (/sdcard) which is underlaying f2fs/ext4 (/data/media/0) emulates that limitation for reason. indeed exFAT is (besides NTFS) the only alternative to FAT32 witch will solve the 4 GiB file size limitation issue for android. btw even adb has issues with special characters in file names, it's more a matter of transfering protocol than file system type

you can transfer files with sed extension for GNU tar --transform='s/[^][A-Za-z0-9 !#$%&'$'\047''()+,./;=@'$'\136''`{}~'$'\177''-]//g' to convert file names during unpack

Does this answer your question? How to read ext4 filesystem without mounting on a non-rooted device?

@alecxs No, and I'm using rclone to sync stuff from my PC to my phone

SDCardFS can be either FAT32 or exFAT (only some devices ntfs-3g too)

https://github.com/rclone/rclone/issues/2633

so you can either bootloader unlock trip knox and factory reset your device then root it disable dm-verity vaultkeeper proca tima and compile custom kernel with vold-posix module (not sure how you will overcome sdcardfs) or auto rename your files with rclone

I would second what @alecxs said, go for exFAT filesystem, that one will be compatible with all the OSes involved.
Check out this one on how to convert it to exFAT.


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contents of data partition in android
does anyone know what all content is stored in /data or userdata partition in android-10.
I see a lot of directories in /data like app-staging, misc, system, vendor.
what information is stored in these directories and how to check whether these files are encrypted or not

there is no exhaustive explanation for each directory because OEM can store basically anything in /data. but you can read at least some information about apps. regarding your second question check ro.crypto.type first https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/198065/file-based-encryption-security-and-backup-restore-considerations


text:
Random/change MAC address for WiFi hotspot on Android 11
On Android 11, MAC address randomizations works fine when connecting the phone as a client to a WiFi network. However, I'm looking for a solution to randomize (or specify) the MAC address when sharing the internet connections to others using a WiFi hotspot.
For testing purposes, I use a OnePlus 5T with LineageOS dumpling (Android 11) which is rooted with Magisk.
I've tried setting the MAC address as I would in a normal Linux environment with ip link set dev  wlan1 address XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX. This does not work, however. ip a shows the custom MAC, but capturing the beacon frames emitted by the hotspot feature, the original MAC is still the source.

You can create a new Wi-Fi interface for Access Point. Something like iw dev <OLD_IFACE> interface add <NEW_IFACE> type __ap addr <MAC_ADDR>. More details: How to create a wifi hotspot from the terminal?.

Unfortunately, this ignores whatever I give it as <MAC_ADDR>. And when I change it manually with ip link set ... iw dev and ip a show the custom address, but hostapd won't start (no error, but exitcode 1)


text:
VPN Connection Details?
Is there any way to see details (VPN IP Address/Protocol/Port) of a saved VPN connection which located under network settings in Android 10 and newer versions ?


text:
Microsoft Exchange calendar not updating on android
I can not get calendar to work properly: only original appointment times are shown, when an appointment is moved / cancelled, the change is not reflected.
I've a Samsung A52 phone with latest version of Android, We use Microsoft Exchange (Office 365) e-mail in our organization.
I've tried Outlook, Gmail, Samsung calendar; with or without installing Intune Company Portal - the issue is always the same - events are downloaded to my phone, but changes are not reflected.
Everything else (mails, contacts, downloading new calendar items) works well with all tried solutions.
The issue exists since several months now.
Current workaround is to check my calendar only on the website of outlook

Do emails sync normally?

Yes, emails are OK, as well as contacts.

Maybe this suggestion might be helpful (if for whatever reason the toggle to sync is off)


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Galaxy S21 - remove video call shortcut when ending a call
When ending a call, there's a video call shortcut button which appears - is there a way to turn this off - see the lower right of the screenshot below which is what shows when the call is over.  I never use it at this time and occasionally I've accidentally hit it.


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How do I use the same Samsung account on all of my Samsung devices?
I am wondering if it is possible to use the exact same Samsung Account on multiple Samsung devices?
I have a specific Samsung account (Gmail account) I want to use on my Samsung devices (I have 4 Samsung devices), but when I try to add the Gmail address I want to use for my Samsung account on my Samsung Galaxy A52 5G smartphone, it gives me an error that states the Samsung account is being used on another device.
I do know I am using the same Samsung account on my Samsung Galaxy Tablet and my Samsung Galaxy A52 5G right now, but it is not the account I wanted to use.
Why would it give me this error message? Can anyone please help me with this? Is there perhaps an app or something out there that can help me with this?
Please explain in a detailed manner so I can understand it, I am not a professional user of mobile devices. The easiest route is perfectly fine with me.

Could you quote the exact error message?


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Any performance issue with Android 11 and 12 updates for particularly Samsung Galaxy Tab S7?
I'm thinking of doing Android 11 (and 12 when available) update for my Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 (model: SM-T875) and seeking any advice that suggests avoiding the update.
Did you experience any performance issue in the new system such as battery drain, huge memory usage, instability, etc. so badly that you wish you wouldn't carry out the update?

I don't know if this can be considered as a performance issue, but Samsung kills more apps since Android 11.

kindly keep this post open; I would like to hear more experiences.


text:
LineageOS 18 -> USB storage is not being attached
I am using Raspberry Pi with installed LineageOS 18 and basically all works well. The only issue I do have is that when I put an USB stick (storage) it is not visible in the GUI. I tried several USB dongles and SD-Card reader. No luck.
I can see it's being recognised correctly:
01-01 18:10:24.804     0     0 I usb 1-1.2.3: new high-speed USB device number 11 using dwc2
01-01 18:10:25.010     0     0 I usb 1-1.2.3: New USB device found, idVendor=0781, idProduct=5583, bcdDevice= 1.00
01-01 18:10:25.019     0     0 I usb 1-1.2.3: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
01-01 18:10:25.027     0     0 I usb 1-1.2.3: Product:  SanDisk 3.2Gen1
01-01 18:10:25.032     0     0 I usb 1-1.2.3: Manufacturer:  USB
01-01 18:10:25.036     0     0 I usb 1-1.2.3: SerialNumber: 0101a3136a5ad2527acb7f7f1499daffd9e96a0672c0c4bf5b3297da4b20ff1acb9900000000000000000000943a3a96ff8b520083558107b9aa4123
01-07 09:16:29.008   247   247 I drm-event-liste: type=1400 audit(0.0:857): avc: denied { read } for path="socket:[14421]" dev="sockfs" ino=14421 scontext=u:r:hal_graphics_composer_default:s0 tcontext=u:r:hal_graphics_composer_default:s0 tclass=netlink_kobject_uevent_socket permissive=1
01-01 18:10:25.054     0     0 I usb-storage 1-1.2.3: 1.0: USB Mass Storage device detected
01-01 18:10:25.086     0     0 I scsi host0: usb-storage 1-1.2.3:1.0
01-07 09:16:29.050   401   556 D UsbHostManager: USB device attached: vidpid 0781:5583 mfg/product/ver/serial  USB/ SanDisk 3.2Gen1/1.00/0101a3136a5ad2527acb7f7f1499daffd9e96a0672c0c4bf5b3297da4b20ff1acb9900000000000000000000943a3a96ff8b520083558107b9aa4123 hasAudio/HID/Storage: false/false/true
01-07 09:16:29.052   401   556 D UsbDeviceDescriptor:   1 configs
01-07 09:16:29.052   401   556 D UsbHostManager: Added device UsbDevice[mName=/dev/bus/usb/001/011,mVendorId=1921,mProductId=21891,mClass=0,mSubclass=0,mProtocol=0,mManufacturerName= USB,mProductName= SanDisk 3.2Gen1,mVersion=1.00,mSerialNumberReader=com.android.server.usb.UsbSerialReader@1fdb59c, mHasAudioPlayback=false, mHasAudioCapture=false, mHasMidi=false, mHasVideoCapture=false, mHasVideoPlayback=false, mConfigurations=[
01-07 09:16:29.052   401   556 D UsbHostManager: UsbConfiguration[mId=1,mName=null,mAttributes=128,mMaxPower=112,mInterfaces=[
01-07 09:16:29.052   401   556 D UsbHostManager: UsbInterface[mId=0,mAlternateSetting=0,mName=null,mClass=8,mSubclass=6,mProtocol=80,mEndpoints=[
01-07 09:16:29.052   401   556 D UsbHostManager: UsbEndpoint[mAddress=129,mAttributes=2,mMaxPacketSize=512,mInterval=0]
01-07 09:16:29.052   401   556 D UsbHostManager: UsbEndpoint[mAddress=2,mAttributes=2,mMaxPacketSize=512,mInterval=0]]]]
01-07 09:16:29.086  6446  6446 D UsbIntentReceiver: New USB mass-storage device attached.
01-07 09:16:29.086  6446  6446 D UsbIntentReceiver:   name:  USB  SanDisk 3.2Gen1
01-07 09:16:29.088  6446  6446 D UsbIntentReceiver:   serialNumber: 0101a3136a5ad2527acb7f7f1499daffd9e96a0672c0c4bf5b3297da4b20ff1acb9900000000000000000000943a3a96ff8b520083558107b9aa4123
01-07 09:16:29.088  6446  6446 D UsbIntentReceiver:   productId: 21891
01-07 09:16:29.088  6446  6446 D UsbIntentReceiver:   vendorId: 1921
01-07 09:16:29.088  6446  6446 D UsbIntentReceiver:   isMassStorage: true
01-07 09:16:29.088  6446  6446 D UsbIntentReceiver: Checking if this is the current backup drive.
01-07 09:16:29.337   401   422 W LocationManagerService: blocking 0,0 location from gps provider
01-01 18:10:26.110     0     0 I scsi 0  : 0:0:0: Direct-Access      USB      SanDisk 3.2Gen1 1.00 PQ: 0 ANSI: 6
01-01 18:10:26.125     0     0 I sd 0    : 0:0:0: [sda] 240353280 512-byte logical blocks: (123 GB/115 GiB)
01-01 18:10:26.134     0     0 I sd 0    : 0:0:0: [sda] Write Protect is off
01-01 18:10:26.139     0     0 D sd 0    : 0:0:0: [sda] Mode Sense: 43 00 00 00
01-01 18:10:26.140     0     0 I sd 0    : 0:0:0: [sda] Write cache: disabled, read cache: enabled, doesn't support DPO or FUA
01-07 09:16:30.132    28    28 I kdevtmpfs: type=1400 audit(0.0:858): avc: denied { create } for name="sda" scontext=u:r:kernel:s0 tcontext=u:object_r:device:s0 tclass=blk_file permissive=1
01-01 18:10:26.223     0     0 I sda     : sda1
01-01 18:10:26.229     0     0 I ueventd : vendor_create_device_symlinks: device sda
01-01 18:10:26.236     0     0 I sd 0    : 0:0:0: [sda] Attached SCSI removable disk
01-01 18:10:26.239     0     0 I ueventd : vendor_create_device_symlinks: device sda1
01-01 18:10:26.249     0     0 E ueventd : Failed to symlink /dev/block/sda1 to /dev/block/by-name/boot, which already links to: /dev/block/mmcblk0p1: File exists

The only error here seems to be the Failed to symlink /dev/block/sda1 message. However when I add another one all seems to be working fine:
01-01 18:13:24.148     0     0 I usb 1-1.2.4: new high-speed USB device number 13 using dwc2
01-01 18:13:24.354     0     0 I usb 1-1.2.4: New USB device found, idVendor=0781, idProduct=5571, bcdDevice= 1.00
01-01 18:13:24.362     0     0 I usb 1-1.2.4: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
01-01 18:13:24.370     0     0 I usb 1-1.2.4: Product: Cruzer Fit
01-01 18:13:24.376     0     0 I usb 1-1.2.4: Manufacturer: SanDisk
01-01 18:13:24.380     0     0 I usb 1-1.2.4: SerialNumber: 4C530010541126100030
01-01 18:13:24.388     0     0 I usb-storage 1-1.2.4: 1.0: USB Mass Storage device detected
01-01 18:13:24.395     0     0 I scsi host1: usb-storage 1-1.2.4:1.0
01-07 09:19:28.359   401   556 D UsbHostManager: USB device attached: vidpid 0781:5571 mfg/product/ver/serial SanDisk/Cruzer Fit/1.00/4C530010541126100030 hasAudio/HID/Storage: false/false/true
01-07 09:19:28.361   401   556 D UsbDeviceDescriptor:   1 configs
01-07 09:19:28.362   401   556 D UsbHostManager: Added device UsbDevice[mName=/dev/bus/usb/001/013,mVendorId=1921,mProductId=21873,mClass=0,mSubclass=0,mProtocol=0,mManufacturerName=SanDisk,mProductName=Cruzer Fit,mVersion=1.00,mSerialNumberReader=com.android.server.usb.UsbSerialReader@ec44085, mHasAudioPlayback=false, mHasAudioCapture=false, mHasMidi=false, mHasVideoCapture=false, mHasVideoPlayback=false, mConfigurations=[
01-07 09:19:28.362   401   556 D UsbHostManager: UsbConfiguration[mId=1,mName=null,mAttributes=128,mMaxPower=112,mInterfaces=[
01-07 09:19:28.362   401   556 D UsbHostManager: UsbInterface[mId=0,mAlternateSetting=0,mName=null,mClass=8,mSubclass=6,mProtocol=80,mEndpoints=[
01-07 09:19:28.362   401   556 D UsbHostManager: UsbEndpoint[mAddress=129,mAttributes=2,mMaxPacketSize=512,mInterval=0]
01-07 09:19:28.362   401   556 D UsbHostManager: UsbEndpoint[mAddress=2,mAttributes=2,mMaxPacketSize=512,mInterval=0]]]]
01-07 09:19:28.368  6446  6446 D UsbIntentReceiver: New USB mass-storage device attached.
01-07 09:19:28.368  6446  6446 D UsbIntentReceiver:   name: SanDisk Cruzer Fit
01-07 09:19:28.369  6446  6446 D UsbIntentReceiver:   serialNumber: 4C530010541126100030
01-07 09:19:28.369  6446  6446 D UsbIntentReceiver:   productId: 21873
01-07 09:19:28.369  6446  6446 D UsbIntentReceiver:   vendorId: 1921
01-07 09:19:28.369  6446  6446 D UsbIntentReceiver:   isMassStorage: true
01-07 09:19:28.370  6446  6446 D UsbIntentReceiver: Checking if this is the current backup drive.
01-01 18:13:25.406     0     0 I scsi 1  : 0:0:0: Direct-Access     SanDisk  Cruzer Fit       1.00 PQ: 0 ANSI: 6
01-07 09:19:29.379   401   422 W LocationManagerService: blocking 0,0 location from gps provider
01-01 18:13:25.417     0     0 I sd 1    : 0:0:0: [sdb] 124059648 512-byte logical blocks: (63.5 GB/59.2 GiB)
01-01 18:13:25.427     0     0 I sd 1    : 0:0:0: [sdb] Write Protect is off
01-01 18:13:25.432     0     0 D sd 1    : 0:0:0: [sdb] Mode Sense: 43 00 00 00
01-01 18:13:25.433     0     0 I sd 1    : 0:0:0: [sdb] Write cache: disabled, read cache: enabled, doesn't support DPO or FUA
01-01 18:13:25.473     0     0 I sdb     : sdb1
01-01 18:13:25.479     0     0 I ueventd : vendor_create_device_symlinks: device sdb
01-01 18:13:25.480     0     0 I sd 1    : 0:0:0: [sdb] Attached SCSI removable disk
01-01 18:13:25.490     0     0 I ueventd : vendor_create_device_symlinks: device sdb1

So I am not entirely sure if this is an issue.
I can also see all partitions:
cat /proc/partitions
major minor  #blocks  name

   1        0       8192 ram0
   1        1       8192 ram1
   1        2       8192 ram2
   1        3       8192 ram3
   1        4       8192 ram4
   1        5       8192 ram5
   1        6       8192 ram6
   1        7       8192 ram7
   1        8       8192 ram8
   1        9       8192 ram9
   1       10       8192 ram10
   1       11       8192 ram11
   1       12       8192 ram12
   1       13       8192 ram13
   1       14       8192 ram14
   1       15       8192 ram15
 179        0   30535680 mmcblk0
 179        1     131072 mmcblk0p1
 179        2    2097152 mmcblk0p2
 179        3     262144 mmcblk0p3
 179        4   28044288 mmcblk0p4
   8        0  120176640 sda
   8        1  120176624 sda1
   8       16   62029824 sdb
   8       17   62028800 sdb1

And I can mount these manually. But I'd expect it will be automatically mounted and visible in user space.
I also know that it works for many people using Raspberry Pi and LineageOS. I also don't have any other issues with USB. I have keyboard, touchscreen, webcam and other things and all works fine. Only storage not.
The only difference is that I am using Compute Module 4 instead of regular Raspberry Pi 4. But I cannot imagine it's a hardware issue.
Any ideas what the issue might be?
Alternatively: Is there a way to mount a storage that way that I can access it from GUI? As far I understand the user space is rather emulated. I tried to mount it to /sdcard/Storage but it doesn't work like that. I assume it has to be attached to the not emulated file system.
EDIT: Additional infos as requested by Irfan. Thanks for the hint:
cat /sys/block/sda/sda1/uevent
MAJOR=8
MINOR=1
DEVNAME=sda1
DEVTYPE=partition
PARTN=1

cat /sys/block/sdb/sdb1/uevent
MAJOR=8
MINOR=17
DEVNAME=sdb1
DEVTYPE=partition
PARTN=1

"Failed to symlink /dev/block/sda1 to /dev/block/by-name/boot, which already links to: /dev/block/mmcblk0p1: File exists". So do not use boot as the partition or filesystem label on your USB drive to avoid the name contradiction. Use gdisk or parted to change the partition name and remove the boot flag if set. Or simply recreate the MBR partition table using e.g. fdisk.

yeah that's a bit weird because I don't have boot (called) partition on that storage so I don't really understand the error message

What does grep PARTNAME /sys/block/sda/sda1/uevent show?

Thanks for your help @Irfan. Added to the main post

As per source code the error should occur only if the boot partition name or boot flag is set on the first partition on your USB drive. So you need to troubleshoot the problem accordingly. Or jump directly to the solution I suggested earlier i.e. recreate the partition (NOT filesystem). You may want to start by looking at the partition table first.


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Pop up message from some apps stay on screen and get in the way
Some apps either while in the app or when I leave the app put a pop up on the bottom of my Pixel 3 XL phone.  This pop up times out after awhile but sometime gets in the way of typing.  Does anyone know how to turn off this option?

Looks like a "Toast" message. When showing a toast the developer can set the timeout of such a toast and to my knowledge no matter what happens the toast will be displayed that time (usually 2 sec=short or 3.5 sec=long).

To turn off those toasts you need to find out the package name of the app that is causing that Toast to show up. One way to find it out is to setup adb and issue this command:
adb shell
dumpsys appops --op TOAST_WINDOW | sed -n -e '/Uid/p' -e '/Package/p' -e '/TOAST_WINDOW/p' -e '/Access/,/Reject/p'

Demo output from an Android 12 AVD image:

   Op TOAST_WINDOW:
  Uid 1000:
    Package android:
      TOAST_WINDOW (default):
    Package com.android.settings:
      TOAST_WINDOW (default):
  Uid u0a135:
    Package com.android.systemui:
      TOAST_WINDOW (default):
          Access: [pers-s] 2022-01-08 00:16:10.431 (-16m30s716ms) duration=+4s97ms

You can filter the output further for only Access times. Note down or recall the approximate last time when you saw that toast on your screen. Then compare that with the datetime in the Access field for a given Package from the above output. For example, in the above output the package com.android.systemui had access time for TOAST_WINDOW permission at 00:16:10 (12:16 AM) which is approximately the time I could recall when I tested a Toast for this package. Since I could correlate the Access time here, I decided to issue the following command to stop that app from showing these Toasts ever again.
adb shell appops set PKG_NAME TOAST_WINDOW deny

Replace PKG_NAME with the the package name you noted in the above output against which you successfully compared Access time. In my case, the package name is com.android.systemui. In your case it might be something else.
That's it. In future if you want to revert the changes, you can either uninstall and reinstall the app, or issue the following adb command:
adb shell appops set PKG_NAME TOAST_WINDOW default

An easy but temporary solution is to just force-stop the offending app. For that you need to find the app's name first. To do that, find its package name using my aforementioned solution. After that, use my answer here to find the app name for the corresponding package name. After that, go into Settings app, find/search your app, and force stop it.


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Can I always refuse to share my location when a website asks for it in Opera?
I don't want to always click on no in those windows:

I use a Google Pixel 6 with Android 12.

@AndrewT. the setting for location access doesn't stick even after you select "Remember choice" is just for this website I believe. I'd like to remember the choice for all the websites

Have you tried going via the Android settings, and revoke location permission from the app itself? If you do not want any website having location access, that would probably be the easiest approach.


text:
Connecting to OpenVPN running on OpenWrt from Android
OpenVPN 2.5.3 aarch64-openwrt-linux-gnu [SSL (OpenSSL)] [LZO] [LZ4] [EPOLL] [MH/PKTINFO] [AEAD]
library versions: OpenSSL 1.1.1l  24 Aug 2021, LZO 2.10

I installed OpenVPN on the latest OpenWrt 21.02.1
The client config and server conf files both have these lines at the top:
user nobody
group nogroup
dev tun
..
..

I installed the OpenVPN for Android app on my Android phone. When entering the client config file... am I supposed to comment out or delete the first two lines since there is no user called: nobody and no group called nogroup in my Android. At least I didn't see anything in /etc/group and `/etc/passwd in Android OS.
I see in the OpenVPN manual that the --user option lets you:
"Change the user ID of the OpenVPN process to user after initialization, dropping privileges in the process. This option is useful to protect the system in the event that some hostile party was able to gain control of an OpenVPN session."
I can connect from the Android client to OpenVPN server by commenting out those two lines but is there a way to obtain the benefit of running as user "nobody" and group "nogroup", or some such unpriviledged user, when connecting to OpenVPN server on OpenWrt from an Android phone?
From a Terminal to my phones Android OS if I do ls -l I can see user and group of all files is: u0_a252 so should I make a user an group of u0_a252 on the server running OpenVPN and then use that as the user and group in you are dropping root privileges on the client with --user and/or --group the client and server config files? My phone is not rooted so I guess running as user u0_a252 will be the same thing as running OpenVPN unprivileged?
Lastly do I NEED to define a user AND a group or is one or the other enough? The OpenVPN manual is a bit ambiguous on this point because it also states: "[if] you are dropping root privileges on the client with --user and/or --group.."
Cheers,
Flex

I asked the creator of the OpenVPN for Android  app.
That app ignores the OpenVPN --user and --group options and it runs as an unpriviledged user which can be confirmed by installing Android Debug Bridge (ADB) on a computer to which the phone is attached via USB cable. Then run commands such as these:
# adb shell
sunfish:/ $ top | grep openvpn
20901 shell        20   0  10G 2.8M 2.1M S  0.0   0.0   0:00.00 grep openvpn
20901 shell        20   0  10G 2.8M 2.1M S  0.0   0.0   0:00.00 grep openvpn
19186 u0_a253      20   0  14G  96M  49M S  0.6   1.7   0:02.23 de.blinkt.openvpn:openvpn
19186 u0_a253      20   0  14G  96M  49M S  0.3   1.7   0:02.25 de.blinkt.openvpn:openvpn
19186 u0_a253      20   0  14G  96M  49M S  0.6   1.7   0:02.26 de.blinkt.openvpn:openvpn

So in my case the client connecting to the OpenVPN server has user id: u0_a253 and not root.
Regarding my original question.... my understanding is that u0_a252 is the UID of the Terminal process.
Cheers,
Flex


text:
What is causing some photos and videos to get replaced by 0 byte files?
Some of my photos or videos get replaced by 0 byte files every now and then, which is quite infuriating. Even more confusingly, sometimes later they do reappear. I don't want this question to be too specific to my case, so I'm instead asking:

How I can determine the culprit?

Some more details: My Huawei P20lite is rooted (thus more methods available for diagnostics) and I'm running Syncthing in order to synchronize my media. On the plus side this means thanks to Syncthing's simple file versioning there's a chance the original file is still available in .stversions, on the negative side it could be the very culprit.

How to identify the app/process which re-mounts partitions R/W, creates files and changes file permissions?

@IrfanLatif Great thanks! That sounds like the answer to my question, though it turns out to be more complex than I hoped for

I've sometimes seen this when an SD card reached it's EOL (usually in Samsung devices which seem to eat them for breakfast). In that case, even files you deleted showed up after the next reboot…

@Izzy Thanks, the confusing thing is those files sometimes later re-appear unbroken. The SD card is almost brand new, but I guess there's always a chance of bad luck, so I'll check it more thoroughly

That matches what I've seen on those Samsung devices (more than once, different Sammies). For the external card, you could use a card reader and check them on a Linux machine. Plenty of guides on the net for that, e.g. this one.

@Izzy I've got a Huawei one, but the SD card is from Samsung IIRC. I'll check it more thoroughly - maybe I can also check the internal memory via TWRP

(Side note from comments elsewhere, Syncthing should not to be to blame, but I'll have to check everything more thoroughly)

Not saying it must be the very same issue. Just reminds me of it. And checking cannot hurt – even if just to rule out that possibility.


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How to permanently obliterate android phone's entire data?
I want to completely delete all data on my android phone with 0% of it being recoverable.
I don't want to physically destroy the phone.
I don't want to make the phone unusable.
What I want to do is, delete all data to protect my privacy.
I will continue using the phone but I will not add any personal data after I clean it.
But I want to be 100% sure that it will never be recovered again.
is there a command to achieve that? Or only physical destruction is the answer?

If /data isn't encrypted, physical damage is the only way. Also see my comment here and other links provided in the comment.

@IrfanLatif , ye I did root the phone. I think this is what you meant by "isn't encrypted" right?

No "not encrypted" can be taken literally and has nothing to to with root. Modern Android device do encrypt all user data by default, on older phones you had to manually enable encryption. See Android settings -> Security there you can usually see if the phone is encrypted or not.

oh ok, my bad. it says "phone encrypted" indeed. does that mean I can delete data safely? and if somehow someone decrypted the phone later, will it be accessible?


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Rearrange homescreens on Pixel 5, Android 12
I want to rearrange my homescreens on Google Pixel 5, Android 12 stock, Pixel Launcher. Since Android P, it is not possible anymore to rearrange homescreens with vanilla launcher:

Google has removed the option to reorder homescreens on Android P's default launchers
[Developer Preview Android P] ability to re-order home screens has been removed

I tried searching for alternative launchers to use temporarily to switch them back but without luck. The same goes for searching apps that have an app organizing feature.
Is there a way in which I rearrange my apps and home screens easily for Pixel Launcher? Otherwise, do apps on unrooted devices have the privileges of changing app orders?

The launcher app is just an app which means it is also sandboxed from other apps which makes it impossiblem to access or modify from outside (unless it explicitly provides an interface for that). Therefore my suggestion would be to search for an alternative launcher that suits your needs and then permanently switch to it.

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts, a Q&A site for end-users solving their issues. Note that our focus is not on Android developers, which our sister site [so] has covered most of the topics, so we can't provide suggestions on how to create such an app. Also, please note that asking only for apps is generally off-topic, I'll make some adjustments to the question to make it still on-scope on here, but feel free to [edit] and improve if I miss something.

That said, the articles are talking about homescreens on Google's Pixel (Pixel Launcher) and AOSP (Launcher3). But as Robert said, that doesn't mean other Launcher apps are affected. However, it also means that Pixel Launcher doesn't have this feature in-built. Perhaps there's a hackable workaround (e.g. editing the DB/preference file directly on rooted devices) though.

try microsoft launcher. i guess it got the feature you need.

@Robert interesting thing with the sandbox, i didn't know that. Alright then. I basically just rearranged verything from scratch, by clearing cache / data from pixel launcher which was kinda ok speedwise

I used a workaround. Basically deleting my current setup and then setting it up from scratch. Deleting works by clearing data of the pixel launcher app.
It's at least a bit faster to start from scratch without rearranging and takes just 5 to 10 min
Thank you for your Comments and your help :)

I realize this question is a little dated, but I landed on it today, trying to figure out the same thing.
I see one suggestion for an alternate launcher, but I have chosen to use Nova Launcher instead of the Pixel Launcher.
Nova Launcher in Google Play Store
Nova Launcher is extremely customizable and can be made to look identical to the Pixel Launcher layout. Additionally, it allows you to combine several apps into a group, saving space when you have several apps with nearly the same functionality.
You can shuffle pages, change which one is the home screen, change the animation between pages, change the shape, size, and grid size of icons, select alternate icon packs, etc
Beyond that, Nova Launcher has a significant number of options that can satisfy your needs for customizing your Android look, functionality, and even custom gestures.
You can even make a backup of your configuration, layout, and icon positions, so if something drastic happens, at least you don't have to start all over from scratch.
Should someone happen on this question, looking to solve the same problem, I wouldn't want them to miss out on the option to give Nova Launcher a try as an alternative option.

I too use Nova Launcher on my phones. It is excellent


text:
Motorola G7 takes ~80 seconds to open Discord and some other apps
I have a Moto G7 that is 2 years old.  Some apps take a super long time to open.  In general, the phone is pretty responsive, but 1/5th of apps are nearly unusable.
Right now, I am having pretty severe issues with Discord.  The app works on the phone but takes ~80 seconds to open when I have other things open.  If I have closed everything else on my phone, it will take around 30 seconds to open.  It will hang on the Discord logo on startup:
]1
Questions:

Why is Discord so slow to open on my phone?
How can I investigate this kind of issue?
Is my phone damaged?
Is my phone using a different chipset than other phones and some apps are not compiled for it?
If I buy a new phone, what should I do to see if Discord (or other apps) will run fast?

Just to provide context, most apps open in under 1 second.  Apps that I just tested:

LinkedIn
Facebook
Zoom
Spotify
Strava
Garmin Earthmate
Netflix
... etc

Info about my phone:

Motorola G7
Model Number: XT1962-4
Hardware Version: PVT
Android 10
Discord Version: 106.12 - Stable

If the apps start faster if you close everything right before this might indicate a RAM problem (also the apps you mention are mostly pretty large). But your phone has 4GB RAM which is an average size which would make RAM problems unusual. If you want to monitor the start of e.g. Discord you can enable developer options and adb, connect you phone via USB to a PC, install adb on the PC and check adb logcat output while Discord is starting if something unusual is shown in the log.

Without knowing all the problematic apps, if it's about Discord, then there's a possibility that there's a network issue between the phone to the Discord server. Or if there are too many Discord servers to be refreshed.

@AndrewT. - I asked my freinds if it was slow for them - they said they are not having any issues.  One even has a Moto G6, which is especially puzzling.


text:
Extract and log data sent through Bluetooth from external devices to an Android app
I would like to extract and log live data from an app (SMART BMS) that I installed from the Play Store. The app monitors various live parameters of an electric drive train such as power and voltage. The app receives the data via Bluetooth.
Is there a way to scrape (or record) this live data from the app and log it as an Excel CSV file relative to time?

If the app doesn't provide such functionality (or at least output their log somewhere), then I'm afraid it'll be really difficult or almost impossible to do that.

@AndrewT. Thank you for your response. I'll have to go about it in a different way... Perhaps an arduino board with a sensor monitoring the data. This could link via bluetooth to my phone and use a data logging app such as the arduino science journal.

The app data is out of reach, you could only sniff the raw Bluetooth traffic and build your own app or a program on a PC: Android comes with a built-in Bluetooth "sniffer" for debugging purposes: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/23877761


text:
Google search bar widget closes keyboard after typing one letter
Using s21, most recent update 01/04/2022. This has been happening for a while.
When I use the Google search bar widget (not the chrome app), the first time I type something into the search bar, it'll either quick close and reopen the keyboard and then I can continue typing, or it'll just close my keyboard and I'll have to hit the search bar again to continue typing. This usually alternates between being fixed with one software update then re-broken in the next, but not always, and it only happens in google. Nothing I've done has fixed this, and it only happens on the first search when I open google, it won't do it again until I close and reopen it.

Could you mention the Keyboard app? Is it the stock Samsung Keyboard? Have you tried with other Keyboard apps?

The behavior sounds to me like a software component is crashing and is getting restarted. Check logcat while this happens, most likely you will see a stacktrace and an error message.

I have this issue, S20 FE and have tried Samsung stock keyboard, MS Swiftkey and GBoard and after 1 letter, the keyboard all drop. Clicking back into text section restores keyboard and continues to work till search/google app is closed.

I have the same issue on my Samsung S22 Ultra but found a possible work-around online.
I wish I could acknowledge the individual who posted the work-around, but I'll have to find him or her back.
The work-around - simply change your Android display to Dark Mode.  (Settings / Display / Dark)
I also switched back to Light mode and the issue returned.  So far, this Dark mode work-around seems to work.
Just passing this on.
Dave Horne - The Netherlands

You need to disable show recent pages to stop this happening in the general settings

Al Youngs tried to comment on your answer: No, disabling the "Show Recent Pages" does NOT fix the issue.

I have exactly the same issue.
No, it isn't because of keyboard (Samsung or GBoard or anything similar). No, it's not because "show recent pages" being enabled.
I have tried many different settings, but no avail, until I found this page with suggestion from Dave Horne above. Yes, it's very ridiculous that dark mode fixes this jumping issue.
To someone who doesn't understand the issue, let me explain:
Android 12, Samsung Galaxy S10+, latest software and all apps updated as of now (4/28/2022).
Google Search Widget on home screen.
Tap on the Google Search widget, the widget opens the search screen, keyboard automatically appears allowing me to type.
However, immediately after typing the first character, the keyboard disappears, the page refreshes itself. It seems the Google Search is being replaced by Chrome or whatever right after the first character. It happens very quickly, but quick enough to make the keyboard disappear, so it is very annoying because then I have to click on the search bar again to continue typing.
After that, as long as the search isn't being closed by the system (or being forced to close by user), it won't happen again.
I have another Samsung S10+ which surprisingly doesn't have this issue with dark mode DISABLED. I also have other Galaxy phones with Google Search widget but none has this issue. On the Samsung Galaxy S10+ that has this issue, previously (maybe a month ago),it worked just fine. I did reset app defaults on this phone about a month ago. So that might have caused the issue. I have yet to find out which specific setting for this.


text:
Make all apps use system volume level setup on Android
I sit in a quiet library room and want to see online videos with my smartphone. I turn the volume down with side volume button. But after I open a video App, like YouTube, Bilibili, TikTok, my phone will remember the volume level the last time i used on this App. The sound volume exploded out and everybody looked at me. I'm using Huawei Nova 3 and Android OS 9.
I don't know why the App on this phone don't use the system volume level I set for now, or retrieve the last time volume setup. Hope people here can help me.

Keep the phone in silent when you start the app then gradually increase volume.
Most applications which may not respect system volume and modify it directly would still respect the silent mode.
You can also use "system volume limiter" apps from play store


text:
How to make and enable a bootable MicroSD?
I was trying to root some Huawei and Samsung phones, but these do not come with the option to enable the oem unlock option, and the partitions and files are in read-only mode. So I was thinking of a workaround, but I don't know if it works or there is a way to do so.
I remember there is a live CD distribution on Linux that enables access to the system and modification or use directly, so is there a way to write an ISO/image/ROM file of a standar version of android or a custom one, to a MicroSD and boot from there to edit the attributes and permissions or even partition or format the internal space?

Related/possible duplicate: Booting Android from SD card and Can I root Android by booting from an SD card?.

bootloader can unlocked by modifying devinfo (older qualcomm) or unsamlock (older samsung) qualcomm devices can be accessed from PC via EDL mode, for exynos, hisilicon, spreadtrum rare low level access exist for some devices. sp flash tool is for mediatek only


text:
Unknown notification in android
I noticed an unknown notification android phone (Vivo Z1 Pro). The title of the notification is 'links'. I opened the settings for that notification but couldn't understand which app is causing it.
Can someone help me understand which app is causing it?
The screenshot of setting for this notification is attached.

I am using android 11.

I'm a bit curious about the "any.box" on the bottom. Is the Universal search box app having the package name any.box installed? Otherwise, try to browse the notification history and check the package name of the app. The app "Links" might also be listed on the Android Settings - App (worst case, it's a system app)

There was an app called "Links" in the app manager. I uninstalled it. The app was named shortcuts in the playstore. I don't know why it was showing as "Links" on my phone.

Good to hear that you found it. An app can have a different display name on the Play Store and on the device though, so it's not something that's really strange.

@AndrewT Thanks for the help.


text:
Convince android to use AAAA records when VPN has IPv6 but main connectivity doesn't
I have a VPN (WireGuard right now, but the same behaviour manifested with OpenVPN) that provides me with an IPv6 address. I can confirm that it is working because pings (both from the android terminal with ping6 and to the android terminal from the other side of the VPN) work. This also confirms that the VPN is establishing the DNS server properly, as I am using an internal domain while pinging from Android.
However, the browser (both Chrome and Firefox) only work properly when the main connectivity has also IPv6 enabled. That means that if I am connected to a WiFi that provides IPv6 connectivity, then the VPN works properly. But if I am using mobile data (my ISP doesn't provide IPv6) or I am using a IPv6-less WiFi, then the browser doesn't work for IPv6-only URLs. The android terminal ping6 command keeps working in all scenarios, meaning that the VPN is properly connected and working, but it's as if the browser/android machinery refuses to use AAAA records and the browser gives me an error.
Is that a known issue? I am using Android 11. Can I change something or force Android to believe that there is an IPv6 connection established? Is the browser's fault? Is the DNS resolver fault?
Edit: Forgot to mention: if I manually enter the IPv6 into the browser, it loads the web properly. So it seems that there is a DNS issue there, but the DNS is properly set up. So I assume that Android (or both browsers) are misjudging when to use AAAA records, hence the title of this question.

Configure your VPN to route the entire IPv6 address space. The requirement is that you need a default route for IPv6 for chrome to consider AAAA.
I was having the exactly same problem on android 12 and my VPN was configured to only route a ULA /56. Setting a default route through the VPN should cause chrome to start resolving domains with AAAA.
The caveat is of course all IPv6 traffic now goes through the VPN even when your WiFi/Cellular has native IPv6. I guess I just have to prepare two profiles now.


text:
SPFlashTool ERROR : STATUS_BROM_CMD_STARTCMD_FAIL, device bricked
I was stuck in a boot loop after flashing AOSP ROM. So I decided to power off and use SPFlashTool to flash the stock ROM. But both SP and Tecno flash tools give the following error:

ERROR : STATUS_BROM_CMD_STARTCMD_FAIL (-1073348607) , MSP ERROR CODE : 0x00.

The phone doesn't respond to any button presses. However, whenever I connected it to my PC, the charging indicator glows and even Windows can detect it, and the device is listed in ports.
Can anyone please help?

Does this answer your question? How to root MTK based mobile devices using a Linux PC?

@alecxs thanks for replying. Unfortunately this guide is not relevant for my issue (I have tried it both on windows and manjaro on both SPFlash tool and Techno Flash tool). I've dug up the entire internet for the error and the most that I could find was : "Meaning: Device attempted to power on before SP Flash Tool could flash the files to it. Solution: Take out the battery and re-insert it back ". However it is  a non removable battery. and I can't remove it.

maybe it require additional pressing of volume key while booting in preloader mode

I've tried pressing the vol keys while connecting with PC. Also the vcom driver is being displayed in the device manager whenever I connect the device. Still no luck. The same error message appears every time. :(

you know everything must done in right order 1. start flashing 2. connect usb cable don't you? preloader mode only boots up for one second and will disappear if no flash tool is detected

Yeupp, I know that, and I have been following this order only!!

then watch disassemble video and try again battery disconnected

But how does it work without a battery?

Try opening the back cover. Search for test points and short them to ground. The phone will open up the port for flashing and use auth bypass utility offered at GitHub to bypass auth.


text:
Android 11: change ownership of media_rw files
Could somebody please help with the following problem on ArrowOS, Android 11?
Background
I use TitaniumBackup to create regular app backups. The TiBu folder is on internal storage. Then, after that, I use Tasker/Termux and the rsync command to sync the TiBu folder (among others) to my external SD card.
Problem
I got error messages when rsyncing: some files were not transferred - permission denied. I found out that the problem is file ownership - the files that can be transferred are owned by u0_211 which is the default storage app. however, those that cannot be transferred are owned by media_rw.
I have no idea if this is some new TiBu behavior or whether I messed something up. As far as I know, media_rw is the default user for stuff on external SD. So something must be wrong here. At any rate, I cannot change ownership of these files even as the root user.
Question
Is there any way I could change ownership of these files? Or maybe some other solution/ workaround?


text:
Can one change the screen resolution on Google Pixel 6?
I use a Google Pixel 6 with Android 12. Can I change the screen resolution? I can't find the option in the settings.

Have you tried using adb? adb shell wm size WxH

Possibly related/duplicate: Decrease the screen size (not resolution) on Android 11 (wm overscan is deprecated)

This will show you where to do it in Settings:

@CodyB. thanks I don't see a mention of the resolution Or is it the display size?


text:
Does each ROM has its own boot?
At the moment, I have Redmi Note 7 on Pixel Experience. I do not like the kernel it has. As a result, I tried to change it by flashing the boot.img of the stock ROM. Unfortunately, it remains stuck at the splash scren.
I also formatted the /Data partition, but it did not solve my problem.

basically , yes

Yes, each ROM has its own boot unless the ROM is explicitly build keeping the stock kernel. SO to able to boot your device again, unzip your PixelExperience ROM file, take boot.img from it and flash that.


text:
flash boot.img to use the kernel
why to flash a kernel i need a zipper anykernel 3? i can't flash directly the boot.img of a rom, example (PixelExperience) to have oniichan kernel on (LineageOS)? i'm absolutely new in the world of modding

because boot partition is a compose of kernel + ramdisk (not only kernel itself)


text:
How to use /dev/urandom?
As a follow up to my previous question,
I decided to use /dev/urandom to overwrite my data.
But how do I use it? where do I type that?
could you walk me into the steps to do it?
and is it better to do it on empty storage or full storage?
I mean, do I need to fill every possible space first then do it, or delete everything then do it?
Also, I actually messed up my stock recovery while trying to boot TWRP before.
My phone currently does not boot into recovery whatsoever.
IS it safe to do a factory reset? And will it perform TRIM or not?
I apologize if this sounds dumb, but I don't understand much about The "underground" of android.
My device is android 7.1.1 (rooted)
I have ADB installed on my PC

'cat /dev/urandom > /dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/userdata' with root permissions from recovery terminal will overwrite whole block partition (may take hours)

Alternatively use cat /dev/urandom > /sdcard/somefilename to overwrite the free disc space (works without root permissions).

As you confirmed in your previous question that your phone is encrypted, so shredding isn't needed. Everything written to physical storage must already be junk. That's the whole purpose of encryption.


text:
How to uninstall default Samsung Dialer + Contacts + Call apps
I am Samsung One UI 3.1, Android 11 (no custom ROM/GSI, no root). I removed default Google apps and I also want to uninstall default Samsung Dialer + Phone + Call + Contacts apps via ADB after replacing them with FOSS ones.
Samsung Phone apps:

com.android.phone
com.android.server.telecom
com.samsung.android.dialer
com.samsung.crane

Samsung Call apps:

com.samsung.android.app.telephonyui
com.samsung.android.incallui

Samsung Contacts app: com.samsung.android.app.contacts + there is WiFi calling, Spam ID, Call log backup, Blacklist number storage .. apps.
I could not find clear info about which of these can be uninstalled without breaking any phone/call in the future.
Which ones should not be uninstalled?

Have you considered installing an alternative ROM like Lineage os if it exists for your device?

No stabil roms/gsi or my model is not in supported devices of lineage, graphane,calyx.. ( btw most of the devices are not). I just want to replace these apps with foss ones. And after replacing uninstall them via adb. I do not know which ones must stay. I do not wanna broke any call/phone ability. There is no clear infos about theses.

I don't know much about Samsung One. But I did something similar with a cheap android 8 phone.
If you want to debloat, or just to get rid of "bigtech" go linux. I used Santoku. Its specially tuned for android phone manipulation.
For example, you can mount and delete whatever system or "priviledged" app on the system, vendor file from the stock rom (extract it or download it before).
Search for tutorials about how to "mount android partitions on Linux" and try them.
Also you will need some basic linux skills. I advice to make an hard disk install, rather to use live system, to be able to keep changes.
By testing (reflashing) each one you made, you will see how and if it works. Then keep what fits more your expectations.
Without root, even with adb, you will not be able to do what you want.
Unless you delete some really essential system app, it will work and you can replace a lot of them by FOSS ones. However, there are cases you will certainly loose some functionality. For example, only stock caller(phone app) is able to run "secret codes".
Otherwise getting rid of most bigtech and vendor app is possible. The extent might depend on the phone type. That way, you will see by yourself how far you can go.
You will need a lot of time... thought.
....
All right. As of some negative comments...
I'll add this conclusion:
For sure, "com.samsung.crane" can be safely uninstalled (as it's basically an anti-sms-spam gadget). Many people did it, I did it, and breaks seemingly nothing (else then itself).
I wouldn't recommend uninstalling any other stock phone/calling app, for the reason I mentioned above. Freezing should be enough to test FOSS equivalents.
However it's possible.
How without root: the description of the process as mentioned above would be too long and somehow out of subject here. It can be "googled" easyly.
Basically it's about to mount rw the android system partition and delete the unwanted apps from /apps /priv-app or similar depending on the specific system. Using MC for ex. Then, unmount and test by flashing.
In more detail: On debian like systems.
You will need :
sudo apt-get install android-tools-fsutils

It' already included in Santoku.
Get MC to ease the file management process:
sudo apt-get install mc

Put your system.img (or else named) somewhere in a "home" folder and create a subfolder (here: system0).
You might need to convert first the 'sparse' system.img to raw (loop-mountable):
simg2img <sparse_image_file> <raw_image_file>
here:      system.img        system-s.img

To mount system to system0 subfolder (can be else, created before):
sudo mount system-s.img ./system0 -rw

Make changes by MC.
Unmount it:
sudo umount ./system0

Convert back to sparse:
img2simg system-s.img system_modified.img

If you have also a vendor file in your stock rom, you can do the same with it.
Replace the original system/vendor files and test by flashing.

This is doesnt really answer the how properly.  You could edit it and improve your answer.


text:
Rooted Moto Z2 Play: Unable to power on after unhiding Magisk Manager app, upgrading Magisk version and reboot. Is there any way to fix this?
I have a Moto Z2 Play device (android 7.1.1) that was rooted with Magisk (v20.1) with Magisk Manager app (v7.4.0). Magisk Manager Hiding feature was also activated.
When I deactivated the Magisk Manager Hiding:

Magisk Manager v7.4.0 got auto updated to v22.1 and Magisk was shown as not installed
Selected direct install option in the app to install Magisk (v22.1)
Rebooted the Moto Z2 Play device

And the device failed to power up... Is there any way to fix this?
I have tried Fastboot boot to TWRP and flashing Magisk-v20.1.zip but to no avail, device still doesn't start up normally when I press the power button. Currently I can still boot into fastboot/recovery mode.

flash stock boot.img to repair what magisk broke

Thanks @alecxs, would there be any difference between flashing stock boot.img and flashing stock rom?

does not harm but not necessary as magisk does not modify system

UPDATE: @alecxs answer worked for me, still trying to figure out how to accept it as the answer.
Apart from flashing stock boot.img, I also flashed magisk v20.1 uninstaller and reflashed magisk v20.1 installer to fix the booting issue.

Flashed stock boot.img using fastboot flash boot boot.img -> device now powers up, but goes into boot loop
Flashed magisk v20.1 uninstaller via TWRP -> device still goes into boot loop
Flashed magisk v20.1 installer via TWRP -> device starts up normally with all my data still intact and magisk + magisk manager both back to original version (magisk v20.1, magisk manager v7.4.0)

Hi, it seems you accidentally created a duplicate account. Please refer to the help center to merge your accounts and regain ownership of the question and reply to the comments on your post, including accepting an answer (comments cannot be accepted though).


text:
Retrieve data from locked android
I have my old phone (Huawei P9 Lite - according to the Internet it's Android 8.0 Oreo), but I don't remember the PIN code. I need to download data (photos) from this phone. As far as I know, Android does not encrypt the data by default.

How to check if the phone is encrypted or not?
If the phone is encrypted, how to download the photos from it?
If the phone is not encrypted, how to download the photos from it?
Is it possible to bypass the PIN code and access the photos somehow?

Maybe there are some Windows or Kali Linux programs to do it?

If the phone comes with Android 8 then it should be encrypted by default. Does the PIN code dialog look like the lock screen PIN dialog or does it looks different (simpler)?

Does this answer your question? Recovering data from Mi 4c able to get only to fastboot

Does this answer your question? FBE encryption bootloader state in keys

You have to guess the code. There's no work around to it.


text:
Phone stuck in bootloop even after flashing stock ROM
I currently have a phone named Symphony W17 (MT6572). I had flashed stock ROM using SP Flash Tool, but it's stuck in the boot loop. I tried clearing data and Dalvik cache from recovery but no luck.
fastboot getvar all
(bootloader)    partition-size:userdata: 32000000
(bootloader)    partition-type:userdata: ext4
(bootloader)    partition-size:cache: 17800000
(bootloader)    partition-type:cache: ext4
(bootloader)    partition-size:system: 28a00000
(bootloader)    partition-type:system: ext4
(bootloader)    partition-size:expdb: a00000
(bootloader)    partition-type:expdb: raw data
(bootloader)    partition-size:logo: 300000
(bootloader)    partition-type:logo: raw data
(bootloader)    partition-size:misc: 80000
(bootloader)    partition-type:misc: raw data
(bootloader)    partition-size:sec_ro: 40000
(bootloader)    partition-type:sec_ro: raw data
(bootloader)    partition-size:recovery: 600000
(bootloader)    partition-type:recovery: raw data
(bootloader)    partition-size:boot: 600000
(bootloader)    partition-type:boot: raw data
(bootloader)    partition-size:uboot: 60000
(bootloader)    partition-type:uboot: raw data
(bootloader)    partition-size:seccfg: 20000
(bootloader)    partition-type:seccfg: raw data
(bootloader)    partition-size:protect_s: a00000
(bootloader)    partition-type:protect_s: ext4
(bootloader)    partition-size:protect_f: a00000
(bootloader)    partition-type:protect_f: ext4
(bootloader)    partition-size:nvram: 500000
(bootloader)    partition-type:nvram: raw data
(bootloader)    partition-size:pro_info: 300000
(bootloader)    partition-type:pro_info: raw data
(bootloader)    partition-size:ebr1: 80000
(bootloader)    partition-type:ebr1: raw data
(bootloader)    partition-size:mbr: 80000
(bootloader)    partition-type:mbr: raw data
(bootloader)    partition-size:preloader: c00000
(bootloader)    partition-type:preloader: raw data
(bootloader)    kernel: lk
(bootloader)    product: UP11_ID_SYMPHONY_W17
(bootloader)    version: 0.5
all: Done!!
finished. total time: 0.078s

...................................................................

Firmware I flashed - https://www.mediafire.com/file/8csalmwtcxf0nme/Symphony_W17_V01.5_UP11.zip
SP flash tool version - 5.1516
Scatter - https://drive.google.com/file/d/12jhrdeM8bKjPU5Ej0KZVfEK4ZBg5DVzq/view?usp=sharing
MT6572_Android_scatter.txt
############################################################################################################
#
#  General Setting
#
############################################################################################################
- general: MTK_PLATFORM_CFG
  info:
    - config_version: V1.1.1
      platform: MT6572
      project: mtk_android
      storage: EMMC
      boot_channel: MSDC_0
      block_size: 0x20000
############################################################################################################
#
#  Layout Setting
#
############################################################################################################
- partition_index: SYS0
  partition_name: PRELOADER
  file_name: preloader.bin
  is_download: true
  type: SV5_BL_BIN
  linear_start_addr: 0x0
  physical_start_addr: 0x0
  partition_size: 0xC00000
  region: EMMC_BOOT_1
  storage: HW_STORAGE_EMMC
  boundary_check: true
  is_reserved: false
  operation_type: BOOTLOADER
  reserve: 0x00

- partition_index: SYS1
  partition_name: MBR
  file_name: MBR.bin
  is_download: true
  type: NORMAL_ROM
  linear_start_addr: 0xC00000
  physical_start_addr: 0x0
  partition_size: 0x80000
  region: EMMC_USER
  storage: HW_STORAGE_EMMC
  boundary_check: true
  is_reserved: false
  operation_type: UPDATE
  reserve: 0x00

- partition_index: SYS2
  partition_name: EBR1
  file_name: EBR1.bin
  is_download: true
  type: NORMAL_ROM
  linear_start_addr: 0xC80000
  physical_start_addr: 0x0
  partition_size: 0x80000
  region: EMMC_USER
  storage: HW_STORAGE_EMMC
  boundary_check: true
  is_reserved: false
  operation_type: UPDATE
  reserve: 0x00

- partition_index: SYS3
  partition_name: PRO_INFO
  file_name: NONE
  is_download: false
  type: NONE
  linear_start_addr: 0xD00000
  physical_start_addr: 0x0
  partition_size: 0x300000
  region: EMMC_USER
  storage: HW_STORAGE_EMMC
  boundary_check: true
  is_reserved: false
  operation_type: PROTECTED
  reserve: 0x00

- partition_index: SYS4
  partition_name: NVRAM
  file_name: nvram.bin
  is_download: true
  type: NORMAL_ROM
  linear_start_addr: 0x1000000
  physical_start_addr: 0x0
  partition_size: 0x500000
  region: EMMC_USER
  storage: HW_STORAGE_EMMC
  boundary_check: true
  is_reserved: false
  operation_type: UPDATE
  reserve: 0x00

- partition_index: SYS5
  partition_name: PROTECT_F
  file_name: protect_f.bin
  is_download: true
  type: NORMAL_ROM
  linear_start_addr: 0x1500000
  physical_start_addr: 0x0
  partition_size: 0xA00000
  region: EMMC_USER
  storage: HW_STORAGE_EMMC
  boundary_check: true
  is_reserved: false
  operation_type: UPDATE
  reserve: 0x00

- partition_index: SYS6
  partition_name: PROTECT_S
  file_name: protect_s.bin
  is_download: true
  type: NORMAL_ROM
  linear_start_addr: 0x1F00000
  physical_start_addr: 0x0
  partition_size: 0xA00000
  region: EMMC_USER
  storage: HW_STORAGE_EMMC
  boundary_check: true
  is_reserved: false
  operation_type: UPDATE
  reserve: 0x00

- partition_index: SYS7
  partition_name: SECCFG
  file_name: NONE
  is_download: false
  type: NONE
  linear_start_addr: 0x2900000
  physical_start_addr: 0x0
  partition_size: 0x20000
  region: EMMC_USER
  storage: HW_STORAGE_EMMC
  boundary_check: true
  is_reserved: false
  operation_type: INVISIBLE
  reserve: 0x00

- partition_index: SYS8
  partition_name: UBOOT
  file_name: uboot.bin
  is_download: true
  type: NORMAL_ROM
  linear_start_addr: 0x2920000
  physical_start_addr: 0x0
  partition_size: 0x60000
  region: EMMC_USER
  storage: HW_STORAGE_EMMC
  boundary_check: true
  is_reserved: false
  operation_type: UPDATE
  reserve: 0x00

- partition_index: SYS9
  partition_name: BOOTIMG
  file_name: bootimg.bin
  is_download: true
  type: NORMAL_ROM
  linear_start_addr: 0x2980000
  physical_start_addr: 0x0
  partition_size: 0x600000
  region: EMMC_USER
  storage: HW_STORAGE_EMMC
  boundary_check: true
  is_reserved: false
  operation_type: UPDATE
  reserve: 0x00

- partition_index: SYS10
  partition_name: RECOVERY
  file_name: recovery.bin
  is_download: true
  type: NORMAL_ROM
  linear_start_addr: 0x2F80000
  physical_start_addr: 0x0
  partition_size: 0x600000
  region: EMMC_USER
  storage: HW_STORAGE_EMMC
  boundary_check: true
  is_reserved: false
  operation_type: UPDATE
  reserve: 0x00

- partition_index: SYS11
  partition_name: SEC_RO
  file_name: secro.bin
  is_download: true
  type: NORMAL_ROM
  linear_start_addr: 0x3580000
  physical_start_addr: 0x0
  partition_size: 0x40000
  region: EMMC_USER
  storage: HW_STORAGE_EMMC
  boundary_check: true
  is_reserved: false
  operation_type: UPDATE
  reserve: 0x00

- partition_index: SYS12
  partition_name: MISC
  file_name: misc.bin
  is_download: true
  type: NORMAL_ROM
  linear_start_addr: 0x35C0000
  physical_start_addr: 0x0
  partition_size: 0x80000
  region: EMMC_USER
  storage: HW_STORAGE_EMMC
  boundary_check: true
  is_reserved: false
  operation_type: UPDATE
  reserve: 0x00

- partition_index: SYS13
  partition_name: LOGO
  file_name: logo.bin
  is_download: true
  type: NORMAL_ROM
  linear_start_addr: 0x3640000
  physical_start_addr: 0x0
  partition_size: 0x300000
  region: EMMC_USER
  storage: HW_STORAGE_EMMC
  boundary_check: true
  is_reserved: false
  operation_type: UPDATE
  reserve: 0x00

- partition_index: SYS14
  partition_name: EXPDB
  file_name: NONE
  is_download: false
  type: NONE
  linear_start_addr: 0x3940000
  physical_start_addr: 0x0
  partition_size: 0xA00000
  region: EMMC_USER
  storage: HW_STORAGE_EMMC
  boundary_check: true
  is_reserved: false
  operation_type: INVISIBLE
  reserve: 0x00

- partition_index: SYS15
  partition_name: ANDROID
  file_name: system.bin
  is_download: true
  type: YAFFS_IMG
  linear_start_addr: 0x4340000
  physical_start_addr: 0x0
  partition_size: 0x28A00000
  region: EMMC_USER
  storage: HW_STORAGE_EMMC
  boundary_check: true
  is_reserved: false
  operation_type: UPDATE
  reserve: 0x00

- partition_index: SYS16
  partition_name: CACHE
  file_name: cache.bin
  is_download: true
  type: YAFFS_IMG
  linear_start_addr: 0x2CD40000
  physical_start_addr: 0x0
  partition_size: 0x17800000
  region: EMMC_USER
  storage: HW_STORAGE_EMMC
  boundary_check: true
  is_reserved: false
  operation_type: UPDATE
  reserve: 0x00

- partition_index: SYS17
  partition_name: USRDATA
  file_name: userdata.bin
  is_download: true
  type: YAFFS_IMG
  linear_start_addr: 0x44540000
  physical_start_addr: 0x0
  partition_size: 0x52C00000
  region: EMMC_USER
  storage: HW_STORAGE_EMMC
  boundary_check: true
  is_reserved: false
  operation_type: UPDATE
  reserve: 0x00

- partition_index: SYS18
  partition_name: FAT
  file_name: fat.bin
  is_download: true
  type: YAFFS_IMG
  linear_start_addr: 0x97140000
  physical_start_addr: 0x0
  partition_size: 0x4E5E0000
  region: EMMC_USER
  storage: HW_STORAGE_EMMC
  boundary_check: true
  is_reserved: false
  operation_type: UPDATE
  reserve: 0x00

- partition_index: SYS19
  partition_name: BMTPOOL
  file_name: NONE
  is_download: false
  type: NONE
  linear_start_addr: 0xFFFF00A8
  physical_start_addr: 0x0
  partition_size: 0x1500000
  region: EMMC_USER
  storage: HW_STORAGE_EMMC
  boundary_check: false
  is_reserved: true
  operation_type: RESERVED
  reserve: 0x00

you forgot to flash stock recovery (or disable dm-verity in case wanna keep TWRP)

I flashed stock recovery and firmware using sp flash tool but im stuck in bootloop. What should i do now ? Do you have telegram , discord or anything ? Please help me!!

Don't worry you will get help here. But please be descriptive - update your question with output of 'fastboot getvar all' (with IMEI + Serialno censored) and post link to stock ROM or scatter file used, and also partitions list selected for flashing, maybe there is a discrepancy

I colud not write not write it here. So I have written it on pastebin. Here is the link of the paste - https://pastebin.com/x6qsnTWQ   ...... Please help me!

there is discrepancy userdata partition 1.3 GB or 800 MB which partitions did you flash and what download mode selected?

I selected format all + download mode on sp flash tool. Userdata partiton was 1.3gb

you formatted whole eMMC so maybe some partitions got lost. you can try to fix with MTK tools

can you guide me ? please

This partitions probably got lost. This can partially restore some data, but I cannot guide you I never did. XDA is a better place to have such conversations, Android Enthusiasts is Q&A site only (1 Question, 1 Solution)

some notes regarding SP Flash Tool https://android.stackexchange.com/q/232584 https://android.stackexchange.com/q/209989 https://android.stackexchange.com/q/212931

Hey. I flashed another rom and it booted but when i try to erase storage from recovery it says unable to mount /data also i cannot install any apps. its saying that i dont have enough storage. here is link of scatter and firmware - Scatter - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V4Ly5h8xQnIezIiKK6KrCbtROH90FHVX/view?usp=sharing
Firmware - https://androidfilehost.com/?fid=673956719939828710 . please help

i think its stuck in bootloop again. tried flashing again with that rom but still same

something is different this time. did you flash custom recovery?

i did nothing my phones battery died so i charged it and when i tried to start it its stuck in the starting logo

someone told me to repartition my phone's internal storage. do you know how to do it?

you did already with SP Flash Tool Format all, that's why your persist and nvram partitions are gone - bad advise. Let us continue discussion on xda

you are my only hope. none other replies to my questions


text:
Create a Laki language for Android keyboard
I want to create a language for Android keyboards, the language has many speakers in my country. The language is Laki.
I searched and found we have a Laki keyboard in Android, but it's not complete. So, I created a font for the Laki language and it works on Windows computers, and I wrote a book with this font.
I've created a custom keyboard for Android with this font and Kotlin, but it does not work because in Android we have default fonts, and my font does not work.
What did I find? I found ASCII code for languages.
How can I create an ASCII for my language and with that, I create a custom keyboard?

If the letter you need are not included in Ascii you need to search for the relevant character in Unicode. Of course you then also need a font that contains the Unicode characters you want to use.

Note that app development is off-topic since Android Enthusiasts focuses on end-users or power-users (but not necessarily developers) solving their issues. We probably can give hints on what's missing (e.g. replacing the system font to make it work), but we can't help with coding issues.


text:
How to mount Andoid 10 file system on Ubuntu 20?
On the phone, I did

Settings --> Developer Options --> Default USB Configuration -->
Transferring files / Android Auto

Hoping that would mount its filesystem on Ubuntu 20 when connected USB. But it didn't, at least it doesn't show in the file browser.
Is there something else I need to do?

See Why can't I see Android storage as a partition on PC? and How much of the Android filesystem is visible over MTP?

Does this answer your question? Why can't I see Android storage as a partition on PC?

Well, you can mount it the same way as Android 9 on Ubuntu 18 (or any Android > 4 on almost any Linux distribution) – utilizing ADB. I use adbfs-rootless for that. True, you need to compile it yourself – but that's pretty easy, with instructions in the readme. That done you can easily mount the storage of your Android device at the command line – and access everything that's accessible without root powers as if it were locally available on your Linux machine.


text:
Ziox Astra Star bootloop and vertical lines
My old Ziox Astra Star phone started going to boot loop, restarting automatically without launching the OS. So, someone suggested that the ROM  could have been corrupted.
I remember trying to put it in recovery mode and it worked once, but not anymore. No matter what combination of buttons I use, the phone doesn't go to recovery mode.
The combination (power + volume up) sometimes shows the screen with vertical lines. The display is ok as I see the startup logo of Ziox, but nothing after that.
Is eMMC gone bad? Is there anything I can try (even solder or desolder eMMC?)

if eMMC wear-out is your suspect you are probably right, because average lifetime is 2-3 years. maybe the phone is in recovery mode but you can not see it. try fastboot instead and check bootloader lock state

@alecxs +1 for suggestion. If eMMC is worn out, would we see vertical lines? I will look at fastboot.


text:
Hide notch on Android 11
I just got my Fairphone 4, and, overall the device is nice, but I can't get used to the notch.
Since the display aspect ratio is super tall anyways and I can use a bit more bezel on the bottom as well (for a keyboard attachment that I built and used on my last phone), I figured, I'd use wm size over adb to just reduce the screen's vertical resolution and thus create bezels on top and bottom.
But after I did that, this is what happened:

Sorry for the bad picture quality.
What happened is, it didn't remove the rounded corners and/or the notch, it just moved them farther down. So apparently, the OS doesn't seem to render the pixels behind the screen cutouts at all, and when I made the used screen area smaller, it just moved those dead zones with it. Even if I shrink the vertical resolution to 1000 pixel (which is less than half), the behaviour stays the same.
Is there a way to disable that functionality?
I want to end up with just a square display area.
It would be best if I can get that only with adb/onboard stuff. If you are recommending an app for that, it should be one that doesn't have ads/microtransactions.

Accidentally, I had a similar problem myself recently. I believe I see USB debugging is enabled on your phone. Go into developer options and scroll 3/4 of the way down to the Drawing section. In there you have a setting called Display cutout. Change that to hide.
Alternatively, you can root your phone and install Magisk. Inside Magisk you can install a module called None Display Cutout by MlgmXyysd. After installing, go to the same setting under developer options and select No display cutout. This module let's your phone think it doesn't even have a notch. You can play around with this but probably the first option will work best for you.

Nice, thanks, I will try it out! Hope it works here, because the Display cutout setting doesn't have the "hide" option at all on my phone...

The Magisk route worked! Thanks a lot!

No worries, happy to help :)

You can always use cmd overlay list in adb shell to see RROs and disable the cutout one.

Ah, thanks, that would have been easier indeed.


text:
How to access hosts file?
I am following these instructions to modify the hosts file (map IPs to names) and it says it is under /system/etc. When I went into my Android file browser, I did not find that directory. Is it because the phone is not rooted and how can I access that file?

If your device is not rooted, you cannot edit that file, no. Even if it is in a different location. To edit the hosts file you need root access.

What are you trying to do? If it's for debugging an android app you might want to use an emulator ;)

I am trying to see my laptop on the same wifi network by its name and not by its IP address and I am unable to do DNS on the wifi router -- so I would like to assign the name to its IP in the Android hosts file

If anyone else reach this page searching for where the hosts file for your os, you can use this site to locate it.

You can try using an app like Hosts Go that doesn't require root and allows you to set custom host entries.
The app is available from Google Play.


text:
How to adjust swipe sensitivity on Samsung Galaxy Devices?
I recently owned a Samsung Galaxy S21 (Ultra), before having a OnePlus 6. Everything is fine, but I really dislike how sensitive it is for swipe gestures. Scrolling to the side is interpreted as scrolling up/down if I do not swipe with a 90° angle.
Furthermore, while scrolling I can't hit buttons, it is interpreted as further scrolling. But the delay for the end of the scrolling is very long.
Do you have any idea how to get some normal touchscreen/swipe behavior on this smartphone without rooting it?


text:
How to delete a PWA on Android 11
I cannot for the life of me work out how to delete a PWA from android (on a Galaxy S21).
Google's own support page says that it should appear in my apps list, and I should be able to uninstall it like any other app. However, it isn't listed there.
There's no menu in the PWA from which I could remove it.
I've tried removing the shortcut, but the pwa is still installed.
I can't find anything relevant in Chrome's menus, or anywhere in Android's settings pages.
I've tried going to chrome://apps as you can on desktop, but the page doesn't seem to exist on android.
Any tips?

You can search for that app in Settings

Hold on the app icon in laucher, app info and uninstall.
if that doesn't work, Setting>apps and locate that pwa and uninstall.


text:
How can I install Slack app on an old Galaxy S6 phone?
I am near certain that Slack works (or worked) on Galaxy S6 phones back in the day, but now when I try to install it, it's not available as supported in the Google Play store.  Is there any way I can still get the app image and install it onto my S6 phone?
Thank you!

The recent version of Slack v22.01.11.0 for Android I can see on apkpure.com defines in it's AndroidManifest.xml android:minSdkVersion="26" so this app requires at least Android 8.0.
The Galaxy S6 comes (according to gsmarena.com) with Android 5.0.2 (Lollipop), upgradable to Android 8.0 (Oreo). So if your device is fully upgraded to Android 8 you should be able to install Slack from Google PlayStore or from a web site that provides the APK like https://apkpure.com https://apkmirror.com ...

Thank you so much for this info, @Robert.  I'm understanding now why it isn't showing up for me in the Google PlayStore -- I have Android 7.0.  Not 8.  So I guess I need to figure out why that's not on there and how to (manually) upgrade that first.  Then hopefully the Slack app will install.


text:
Restart touchscreen
I already posted a question here. I came up with a solution that could work but I'm running into some issues still. The problem is that sometimes a touch-and-hold is detected at position (339.5; 0) that will only go away after the touchscreen is restarted, which basically means turning the screen off and on again. I have a Moto G7 Power XT1955-4 running on LineageOS 17.1.
My proposed solution would include an app or process that can detect certain touch inputs by reading the file /dev/input/event1 in the same way the command getevent -l does.
Upon detecting such a faulty input, the touchscreen should be restarted. I tried sending these commands:
adb shell "rm -rf /dev/input/event1"
adb shell input tap 500 500

And indeed, after removing event1, the touch at (339.5; 0) is no longer registered and the tap at (500; 500) is the only registered event. The problem is, however, that now I cannot turn my touchscreen back on. I have to reboot my phone.
So basically, I need a different method to restart my touchscreen. I tried the following:

Sending a keyevent 26 twice (2x powerbutton). This is not ideal since I have to wait for the screen to turn on and off completely (I only need to restart touch) and I have to put my code or fingerprint again
By searching through the {*}.rc files I found that the hardware of the screen is mounted in the following directory: /sys/devices/platform/soc/78b7000.i2c/i2c-3/3-0062. In there there is a file called poweron that contains a 1 when the screen is on and a 0 when the screen is off. I tried manually writing this value but I get a no permission error. I'm rooted and remounted the partition RW. I also tried chmod 0666 poweron && echo 0 > poweron but it doesn't change the file. I guess the file is a system output value.
I believe the touchscreen and LCD are two different devices in my system and I did manage to find the touchscreen in the /sys partition: /sys/class/touchscreen/NVT-ts/. However, it has no file containing a 1 or a 0 for the power state of the touchscreen. If it did, I could probably not even write to it.
As described above, I tried removing event1. I then tried manually remounting it, but failed. event1 is not in /proc/mounts so I'm left with no clue on how to mount it.
I tried searching through the system files for the word "event1" to see if I can figure out where and how the system handles mounting this hardware. But after 10 seconds the system just crashes and the phone reboots.
Temporarily moving the event1 file to a different location is not possible. I can move it within /dev/* but touch inputs will still be registered. I cannot move it outside /dev, say store it temporarily in /storage/emulated/0. The command just hangs.
I tried setting the screen brigthness to 0 with the hope that this would cut power to the screen and resetting the touchscreen: echo 0 > /sys/class/leds/lcd-backlight/brightness. The screen does seem to turn off but when I increase brightness again, the problem is still there. Ergo, the touchscreen was not reset.
I tried partial screen app. Glitch keeps happening and partial screen can do nothing about it.

I seem to be able to control some parts of the system but not the power going into the touchscreen. I already came this far in solving the problem. Please assist in restarting the touchscreen in a fast manner, which doesn't require me to turn my screen off and on.
Also, any tips on how build an app or process that can detect inputs and execute the screen restart are very welcome. I really don't care how, as long as it works and can run in the background.

why not just send the release command with toybox sendevent?

Thanks. I used this (https://www.dropbox.com/s/ugc9j6f1bqu0qw0/geteventsendevent.sh) link to find the DEVICE, TYPE, CODE and VALUE arguments of a touch input. But how does this help me restart the screen? And by that I mean just the touchscreen, not the whole screen.

How? I used the same script to see which event was sent upon releasing the screen and it said: sendevent /dev/input/event1    3    57 4294967295. But there are a few problems with this. It does not specify which location to release. Also, when I send it after the screen is in glitched state nothing changes.

The "input" command can be used for presses, taps, swipes, etc but not releases.

A sendevent you cannot specify at specific coordinates as far as I can tell. Can you give an example of how such a release would look?

coordinates are displayed as hex values but also dec values can be sent

Ok I tried capturing a full touch and release in getsendevent.sh and then sending those events on the terminal when the glitch happens but (339.5; 0) is NOT released.

The glitch is very persistent. I think my best option is to disable the touchscreen (e.g. by deleting /dev/input/even1) and re-enabling it (but I don't know how to mount /dev/input/event1). Got any ideas for that?

afaik character devices can only be created by kernel modules (or the kernel itself)

Excuse me for asking dumb questions but can't I get the kernel to restart that module then?

Hi, yea, I tried partial screen app. After a lot of messing around I got it to detect the faulty touch but then it can't do anything about it.

When I do ls /vendor/lib/modules I get this output: br_netfilter.ko efivarfs.ko lcd.ko modules.alias modules.dep mpq-adapter.ko mpq-dmx-hw-plugin.ko rdbg.ko. I can in fact start the lcd module but this does not bring my touch back after removing event1 from /dev/input.

I did a find / -name *.ko  and started all the modules with insmod but the touch doesn't come back. Is this conclusive evidence that I cannot achieve what I want? I'm a noob in this area.

maybe you shouldn't destroy event1 idk

Maybe not, but I need to restart my touchscreen. Maybe I'll just buy a new screen. I thought this would be a fun project but I'm starting to think that what I want is impossible.


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GPS lock is lost without data reception, but removing all SIM cards maintains lock. Any commands to disable both SIM cards or disable A-GPS?
I've got a Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra with the latest Android 12 and I think there might be a bug with A-GPS.
When I'm in an area with zero data reception I will frequently lose GPS lock.
I can then toggle GPS off and on in Googlemaps and a new GPS lock is instantly made, but the lock disappears again after 5 minutes.
This loss of GPS lock continues to happen:

In both the Chinese and EU ROMs.

When Google Location Accuracy is on or off.

When airplane mode is on or off.

When Mobile Data is on or off.

When I'm in an area with voice reception but no data reception.

Strangely, when I physically remove both / all SIM cards the GPS lock is maintained with no problem.
The OS GUI does not allow me to disable both SIM cards at the same time so I have to physically remove both of them if I want to run on zero SIM cards and maintain a GPS lock when there is no data reception.

So it appears that there might be a problem with A-GPS? Without data reception A-GPS doesn't work and it seems like it isn't falling back on the satellites themselves, and is instead just dropping any kind of GPS lock?
Any ideas of ways to get around this? Perhaps there is an Android command I can run to actually disable both SIM cards without having to physically remove them?
Or a command to disable A-GPS altogether and force location lock using only satellites?

Have you tried an app like GPSStatus  to check which type of satellites you get a lock on: modern smartphone support multiple types like GPS, Glonass, Baidu, Galileo but they usually start with GPS but switch if reception is bad. At that point may be the AGPS data could make a difference to increase or delay the switching speed.


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Rooting my android with Odin fails
I'm a non-techie here trying to root my old samsung to extend the storage and use it longer, and the rooting keeps failing! I have a Samsung Galaxy On5, and I tried using KingoRoot as well as Odin v.3.13 and then v.3.11 when I read on here the older version was more compatible with my version of Android 6.0.1. I'm using a CF Root package, but I think maybe that is the problem because they don't actually have a version for my specific model of the Galaxy On5 which is SM-G550T. Should I try a different root package? If it's any help, when I'm in download mode using Odin and the rooting fails, I get a new line on my phone that says exactly:
Custom Binary (RECOVERY) Blocked by FRP Lock
I-Ionno what I'm doing but in all fairness to me, it's not a big deal if I sacrifice my own phone, I'm just frustrated because I put so much time into researching this that it would be such good pay off if it worked... And my parents now expect me to magic more storage into existence for their phone now that we have nifty SD cards.
thanks for any help you can provide, I'm going to keep trying until I either root or brick this bloated b****.

FRP (factory reset protection) lock usually means that you have an Google account registered on the device. Before trying to root the device make sure you have deleted all Google accounts from the account list in Android settings.

you can use https://autoroot.chainfire.eu package for SM-G550FY it's the same chipset. before flashing: oem unlock + reboot (twice)

https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk


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Trying to connect my lav microphone to my android, only recognized as headphones
I have a pixel 6 and a deity v lav. I connect the lav microphone to a 3.5mm to usbc adapter then connect them both to my phone. My phone recognizes the deity v lav as an external headphone instead of a microphone
When I do the exact same thing but connect it to my computer instead there's no issue. Any ideas?

Is the USB-C adapter capable of processing microphone signals or does it only support headphones?

I can get the microphone to work if I use opencamera and force external microphone but I want to use gcam :(

What do you exactly mean when saying that your phone only recognizes your microphone as headphones?
On my phone (Google Pixel 4a) with my headphones, I am able to select the headphones as microphone as follows:

Plug in headphones
Start Google Camera
Switch to video
Hit the settings gear icon on the top
The last setting in the popup allows selecting the headphones as microphone, as seen on the picture.

Did you already try those steps? If yes, and it still didn't work, I don't think that there's anything that can be done.


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How to root samsung galaxy s6 SM-G920F android 7
I want to root my phone Samsung S6 SM-G920F android 7. I have tried app like kingroot, kingoroot, z4root, towelroot... but none of this work
Thank you for your help!!!

Does this answer your question? Why are the rooting apps not working anymore?

Does this answer your question? Samsung S7 - Developer options not showing after build number pressed 7 times

for samsung devices patch whole AP_*.tar.md5 ROM file with Magisk (instead boot.img)


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How can one adjust the brightness when taking a panorama picture?
I use Google Pixel 6 with Android 12. I don't see where to adjust the brightness when taking a panorama picture. How can one adjust the brightness when taking a panorama picture?

Reddditu user MarsR0ver_ mentioned it is currently not possible to adjust the brightness when taking a panorama picture:

You can't. Just another small detail that will piss you off. Expect more.


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Galaxy Tab S2 Files showing on Mac - can't access them
We are trying to transfer some files from S2 Tablet to MacBook using AFT.
When we connect the tablet the files all show up on the MacBook but we can't access the files. At the same time we have Tablet file box on screen we also have the AFT error msg
"Can't access device storage". USB debugging on and MTP selected. The S2 shows up in the USB tree in system.
Any ideas as to how we can transfer the  files to MacBook?

.. what is AFT?

@alecxs I'd assume Android File Transfer

doesn't look like a feature or app of android, this question is more suitable to https://apple.stackexchange.com/tags/file-transfer+android


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Android phone cannot access internet when connected to bridge mode router

I have 3 routers in the house. 2 are using bridge mode (for wi-fi coverage) and 1 main router
My other devices work fine (either connect to the main router or bridge mode routers)
All routers use the same wi-fi identifier
When I move my phone closer to the main router, it works fine
When I change my IP to static instead of DHCP and keep everything else the same, it says connected, but actually no internet
My phone can always access the router's UI. And in the GUI I can see my phone is connected to it even though it's the only one that can't access the internet
I have tried restarting the phone
I have tried "forget network" and reconnect
No proxy used

I generally don't like to use static IP as it can create conflicts. It is so strange so please help me! My android version is 8.0.0

Is the gateway IP correctly set when you are connected to the different Wifi networks? Check it in Wifi settings when you are connected.

Ok, I have tried switch mode with access point, same results. I disabled IPv6 option in the secondary router and it works. I guess android 8.0.0 doesn't support IPv6. Not sure why the router still honors IPv6 since it's in bridge mode or switch mode.
Again other devices always work. My assumption is this android somehow honors the IPv6 option in the secondary router even though the router is not in router mode.

Regarding IPv6 support, there's an existing question about it: Does Android have support for IPv6?. Perhaps might interest you.