text:
Can I make the USB connection default to file transfer only for my computer?
Every time I plug in my phone to my computer, it defaults to only charging. I have to open the phone notification to switch to file transfer mode. Is there a way to tell it to remember to use file transfer mode when connecting to my laptop? Or to change the default when connecting to my laptop?
I know that it is possible to change the default for all connections. However, I would prefer if it only changed the default when connecting with my laptop. I'm also uncomfortable that I would need to dig inside the developer settings to change the default.
If it matters, my phone has Android 10 (Q).

Your phone can not identify which computer it is connected to, therefore no.

Your phone can not identify which computer it is connected to, USB an MTP protocol does not include something that could identify a host computer.
There is a feature for USB-C authentication planned but I have never heard that it is already supported by a device and if I understand it correctly it should allow to identify a device type or a device class, not an individual device or computer:

USB Type-C Authentication empowers host systems to protect against
non-compliant USB chargers and to mitigate risks from malicious
firmware/hardware in USB devices attempting to exploit a USB
connection. Using this protocol, host systems can confirm the
authenticity of a USB device, USB cable or USB charger, including such
product aspects as the capabilities and certification status.

Therefore the answer is no, with pure MTP and/or USB this is impossible.
However the other Android USB protocol Android Debug Bridge (ADB) supports authentication. The host computer automatically creates a RSA key pair you is used for authentication. The whole process is similar to SSH where you can trust a computer based on it's key pair when you connect to it the first time.
Hence you should enable developer options and ADB on your device and use adb based tools instead.
Note that if you should get an update to Android 11 there is a feature that automatically removes adb authorizations after a certain time. This option can also be found in developer options. In my opinion it is recommended to disable feature.


text:
Can I auto switch phone to silent triggered by specific wifi connection?
Specifically my phone is Xiaomi Pocophone F1 and I'd like it to automatically switch into silent/DND mode as soon as it connects to the office Wifi.
The phone is not rooted and runs Muii version 12.03
Can this be achieved?
Thanks!

A Tasker app could be a solution.

Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please [edit] to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Can Windows 11 synch data with my Android 'phone?
It seems that Windows 11 can run Android apps.   This could, possibly be a major breakthrough, if ...
Until now, I choose apps, such as the TaskCoach to-do manager which run natively on both Windows and Android, then I use DropBox to synch the data files.
Recently, I had problems with this approach, which I won't go into here.
My question is whether the new Windows 11 will obviate the need for DropBox by synching data files between devices, allowing me to add or remove TaskCoach to-dos on one device and have that reflect on the other (e.g laptopn / 'phone).

The Android feature has been postponed and will be available next year.

OIC. Do you have a link for that. Have you read anything that might help me anticipate the answer to my question next year? And, do you know when next year? Thanks & upvote

Microsoft delays Android app support on Windows 11 into 2022

"We don't know if Microsoft plans to deliver this feature in an update to Windows 11 version 21H2, or if Microsoft will wait until the next big Windows 11 feature update, version 22H2, currently scheduled for release in fall 2022."  :-(

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


text:
How can I copy entire chain of text messages (not just a single one) with the stock Android messages app?
How can I copy or export an entire chain of text messages (not just a single one) with the stock Android messages app? This is needed for a claim.
I know I can screenshot stuff, but the date for older messages is missing. I know I can long press on a single message to select it.
I can long press on multiple messages.
But that's beside the point: how can I grab the data --- message, date & time received?
If it's relevant, the phone is Pixel 4a.

Referring to the title. note that Android doesn't have the stock messaging app, instead each manufacturer may use their own messaging apps. For example: Google Nexus and Pixel series use Google Messages, while Samsung uses Samsung Messages.

Stock SMS app on Pixel 4a does not have this option and you need alternative methods.
Use SMS Backup and restore

Option 1 : Take a complete backup of your SMSes and from the app see "Backed up (time)" and tap view details. It will list SMS Backup. Tap on that to view conversations and all your conversations are listed. From the 3 dots menu against the conversation you want select print conversation and it will be printed as a PDF file with date and time stamps. Example below (You can get sent and received. I chose a conversation that doesn’t reveal personal details). From the pdf you can copy and paste wherever needed.

Option 2: From settings → backup settings → selected conversations only, choose the conversation you want and repeat steps in Option 1 to get a print, share or copy to clipboard.

I am not affiliated  to this app but it's likely the best of it's kind.

Just tried this on your recommendation, and it worked. The export format took a little work to extract the simple text, but I was able to do this with a modern text editor.


text:
Google Pay is nowhere to be found
The situation is pretty strange:
Google Play store tells me that Google Pay is not compatible with my device (Samsung S10), but I know it is installed and I have used it in the past.
When I click on NFC it allows me to choose Google Pay as preferred payment option, my bank app could set its debit card into Google Pay and I'm definitely able to pay by using my phone (I've done it multiple times).
But.. The app is nowhere to be shown. I tried to look for it in settings/apps but it is not there and I wouldn't know what else to do to find it (apart from a factory reset?)

This answer may help you https://android.stackexchange.com/a/204114/131553

@beeshyams thanks for the tip! I checked the whole list of installed packages and it seems that Google Pay is not installed (at least, nothing with 'pay' in the name apart from the Samsung Payment Framework )

No, that's not the way. Open the app url in your web browser and whatever is after idis the package name, for example, for Chrome https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.android.chrome, it is com.android chrome

@beeshyams ah nice! I was struggling in finding the package names. Also that one is not there. I ended up installing the APK from apkpure dot com. Now I finally have Google Pay.


text:
How to extract the stock recovery for HTC M8s? Do I even need it if I have the full RUU package?
While I'm currently fully on stock, is there any way to extract the stock recovery now, before I replace it with TWRP? Do I even need to do that if I have entire RUU zip or will recovery be restored when I flash the ZIP through htc_fastboot?
I have seen links to ruu.lalleman.net with stock recoveries and RUUs, but the links are dead now.
My HTC M8s is fully stock now and I want to try Lineage 15.1 from https://src.voidzero.net/ (unless you can suggest some even more stable ROM with at least Android 7). I found twrp-3.2.3-0-m8qlul.img also on the same website, and also MindTheGapps-8.1.0-arm-20180808_153837.zip, so it should all work together nicely (I hope).
But before I go on, I want to make sure I can return back to stock. So, I have obtained RUU 0PKVIMG_M8_QL_UL_M60_SENSE70_MR_HTC_Europe_2.21.401.1_Radio_1.0.U20410.1@60201_20.05_018_F_release_496316_signed_2_4.zip that matches my radio number and currently installed mainver number. However, I can't find the stock recovery anywhere.
Here's my fastboot info:
fastboot getvar all
(bootloader) version: 0.5
(bootloader) version-bootloader: 3.19.0.0000
(bootloader) version-baseband: 1.0.U20410.1@60201
(bootloader) version-cpld: None
(bootloader) version-microp: None
(bootloader) version-main: 2.21.401.1
(bootloader) version-misc: PVT SHIP S-ON
(bootloader) serialno: -
(bootloader) imei: -
(bootloader) imei2: Not Support
(bootloader) meid: 00000000000000
(bootloader) product: m8ql_ul
(bootloader) platform: hTCBmsm8939
(bootloader) modelid: 0PKV10000
(bootloader) cidnum: HTC__001
(bootloader) battery-status: good
(bootloader) battery-voltage: 0mV
(bootloader) partition-layout: Generic
(bootloader) security: on
(bootloader) build-mode: SHIP
(bootloader) boot-mode: FASTBOOT
(bootloader) commitno-bootloader: 0b9a12e3
(bootloader) hbootpreupdate: 11
(bootloader) gencheckpt: 0
(bootloader) mfg-name: 0001

https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/tool-28-nov-2017-universal-htc-ruu-rom-decryption-tool-3-6-8.3382928

@alecxs  The RUU zip I got is not encrypted, I can extract all files freely. However, there seems to be no recovery inside. At least, I don't see any recovery.img or anything like that.

recovery ramdisk in boot? https://android.stackexchange.com/q/209673

Ask here for someone can share recovery.img

That's an old thread, I have already asked a few questions about M8s but nobody cares about such an old phone and all links are dead. But it seems, I found a workaround: fastboot boot twrp-3.2.3-0-m8qlul.img, run backup tool in TWRP, choose everything from there and back up to a USB OTG flash device. Hopefully, this TWRP backup will be enough to be able to restore the phone fully back to original, including recovery.

adb pull /dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/recovery recovery.img


text:
Root Unlocked Mi A2 without fastboot
I have a mi A2 device that I unlocked it and flashed TWRP on it. I flashed TWRP on both slots and everything was ok.
After that, my USB board or charging board damaged for unknown reasons and the repairman could not fix it, Also, its charging board is very rare in my area and I can't find it.
So, my phone is never detected by PC but it can be charged, and I can't use fastboot commands.
A few days ago without knowing that DotOS has dedicated recovery, I flashed it with TWRP on slot A, and now I can't use TWRP on slot A anymore. But I think the TWRP is still installed on the slot B.
I really need root my device, so please help me.
1- Is there anyway to change slots without fastboot?
2- Can I install TWRP from anyway other than fastboot?
I tried to install TWRP zip file from DotOS recovery but it does not accept any file from internal storage (/storage/emulated/0/) and throw Permission denied exception. (I saw it from logs).
I can use adb commands with wireless debugging feature in android 11.

Is DotOS custom ROM? ask maintainer for backdoor


text:
Does Storage manager (SM) package manager (PM) command works in android 10,11
Question Does Storage manager (SM) Package manager (PM) command works in android 10,11?
I want to purchase new android mobile as new smart  phone  come.with android 9,10,11.
As I want adaptable storage as all experts told no new  mobile vendor manufacturer supports adoptable except android 6.0 marshemellow it was introduced but many forums it said that android 9.0 (https://source.android.com/devices/storage/adoptable)  and above support but it's hidden disabled by vendor manufacturer and can be enabled through following commands
adb shell
sm has-adoptable
sm set -force- adoptable true
sm set-virtual-disk true
Reboot

Or
Adb shell
sm list-disks
sm partition disk:179:160 mixed 25
sm format private:179,3
sm mount private:179,3
Reboot

Or
Adb shell
pm set-install-location 2
pm get-install-location
Reboot

Now I want to ask that do  Storage manager (SM) or Package manager (PM) java command is Available in android 9,10,11 new any model smartphone mobile phone (samsung, vivo, Oppo, MI..any company any model u know ) without rooting  (as rooting may cause warranty void) will SM or PM above commands can be runned by terminal emulator and will any of the above  SM command partition or format external sd card as internal  can be enable or partly run adopt the external micro sd card through this method
If any one used any of the following mobiles the samsung galaxy 5g series   (f62, f52, m32,m42) or samsung galaxy 4g series (f41 f22 m31 m21  m12) or xiomi ( redmi 10 prime, power 9 , note 10t, mi 10i,  mi 11x) or Realme (nazo 30 ,x7, a 22, 8s, gt master edition, z7 , ) or  oppo ( a53s, a 74, f19 pro+)  vivo ( v20 v21 v21e) ,  poco (m3 pro  m3, z3,x 3)
As the following link says samsung galaxy   Galaxy A5, J5, J7, On5, S7,S9  work with these option
How to adopt SD card as internal storage on Samsung devices?

What android 11 device model?

@alecxs .bro ..any model any company u know which have encoprated am PM command which can work with adoptable...I was prefring for sumaung galxy m32 or f42  but if it don't have or oppo or vivo or mi or any any company model have if it's in ur knowledge  kindly tell me as I can purchase in festival offers in discount..I can go for old  android 8,9 models to of samsung S7  as in link https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/146513/how-to-adopt-sd-card-as-internal-storage-on-samsung-devices

It seems you found solution yourself for some older question: Root Essentials claims to install adoptable-storage (framework/sm.jar) on any android device

@Androidquery I think you would get more response if you would ask such a question in the device specific forum at https://forum.xda-developers.com. BTW: Please don't call me "bro".

@robert buddy thanx for best advice can I call u buddy friend dost  if it don't mind...bro. haha..thanx for suggestion..xda have developers and they are good for programers not novice.....still tey if some.onw answer the same

@alecxs bro "It seems you found solution yourself for some older question: Root Essentials claims to install adoptable-storage (framework/sm.jar) on any android device" yes rhia installation can be done do it work in android 9 or 10 or 11 through twrp recovery (fastboot boot  recovery.img) ..do I need rooting as roooting may void  warranty

@alecxs bro that question was different it was for adoptable storage  and it's for SM storage manager command and  PM pacakage manager. Commands...that question is not answered it commented it's just commented for closure or edit by Andrew T

It's exact the same question, only different wording, and you have already been told that no one can answer that


text:
Values of successive wait durations for unsuccessful Android pattern tries
On my smartphone running Android 9, the pattern lock seems to work the following way:

The user is allowed 5 attempts to draw a pattern.

If all patterns in (1) above are incorrect, the user has to wait time t1 before they are allowed to make other 5 attempts.

After time t1, if all the next 3 attempts are incorrect, the user has to wait time t2 before they are allowed to make other 5 attempts.

After time t2, if all the next 3 attempts are incorrect, the user has to wait time t3 before they are allowed to make other 5 attempts.

And so on...

From my experiments, I know for a fact that the values of t1, t2, and t3 are 1 minute, 10 minutes, and 30 minutes respectively. My question is, is there a manual that lists the other next values for t4, t5, t6, ..., tn? Or, perhaps, is there a way to calculate them?

there is a formula on gist.github.com

@alecxs, If I'm interpreting the formula correctly, after 20 incorrect patterns, the user will need to wait for 30 seconds, correct? But on my device, when I test this, I'm notified that I need to wait an hour. What's more, for another device running Android 4.4.2, the wait duration is fixed at 30 seconds, regardless of the count of incorrect patterns entered (I can provide screenshot evidence if you so require it). What gives? Is the wait period manufacturer-defined or Android-defined?

android 7+ gatekeeper, wait for 30 sec after 5, 10 attempts. increase timeout after 30+ attempts up to 1 day after 140+ attempts. formula = 30 * (2^((x - 30)/10)) seconds


text:
How can I configure Do Not Disturb so calls don't interrupt a Teams meeting?
When I'm connected to a Bluetooth headset, it seems Do Not Disturb is meaningless. I turn it on (sometimes allowing Starred Contacts to interrupt, sometimes none) and put on my earbuds to work, alternating between listening to media and joining Teams meetings. Unknown callers, suspected spam and even my ex-wife ring right thru and interrupt the audio of my meetings. Even if I decline the call, it takes several seconds more meeting audio to return to my headset.
Please help. If I'm giving a presentation and it's interrupted one more time by the phone ringing from someone I wouldn't answer even without DnD active I might do something drastic, like buying an iPhone.
By the way, I still love my Pixel 2, but I'll upgrade if that will fix this travesty.

It just happened when I wasn't even on a teams call. I'm on DND, no exceptions. I was about to start at some tunes when a suspected spam caller shows up on my screen. No audible ringtone, but the earbuds still came to life with an audible white noise. I'm gonna lose it.

On "Do Not Disturb" settings, there's also an option to "Allow repeat callers". Is this checked?


text:
How to make Android device visible to Bonjour / Zeroconf with .local name?
I would like to access my device as myandroidthing.local, as I can do it with my (both Linux and Windows) laptops. Is it somehow possible?
Most ideally, it could be done by some app what I can install from an app store.
Responses to the answer:

Android.local works. But it finds only one of my Android devices. Is there a way to replace the Android mdsnd with a better configurable one which allows changing the name it advertises?
Does running a patched mdnsd require a rooted device?

Related: Why is "mdnsd" draining my battery and how to stop it?

@IrfanLatif Thanks, it helped a lot. I see a lot of apps to scan for mdns / dns-sd, but none which could make my phone visible. That I find quite surprising - if it can send udp packets to 224.0.0.251:5353, why it can't respond to others?

I haven't used MDNS much except for learning, so can't recommend an app. But as far the Android's official API is documented, it's very simple to broadcast your service as well as to discover other services. There are also third part libraries available like jmdns. This sample app demonstrates the possibilities in very detail.

@IrfanLatif That is dns-sd (service discovery). This question is about mdns (multicast dns). But the first probably includes the last. If it is correct, then any app which can advertise itself on dns-sd, will be also make my phone referable as myandroidthing.local .

My answer to Why is "mdnsd" draining my battery and how to stop it? explains the role of Android's mDNS Daemon which is an init service, started on demand. It provides Multicast DNS (host/domain name resolution) and DNS-SD (DNS-Based Service Discovery); both part of Zero Configuration Networking.
How to resolve Android's mDNS hostname to IP address?
Technically it's possible for DNS-SD to use the old unicast DNS to resolve the domain name found in the SRV record (of a broadcasted service) to an IP address. But mostly mDNS and DNS-SD are bound to each other. And this is the case with Android.
Android doesn't expose any setting or API to do only the name resolution (as mDNS Responder or Querier) and not the service discovery. Neither the name resolution mechanism uses mDNS. Android's mdnsd serves as mDNS broadcaster / responder only to DNS-SD service. You cannot use either of the both independently (as to my knowledge).
But there are a few options:

Run an app on your Android device with a discoverable service (even a dummy), which uses Android's official API (which in turn interacts with mdnsd underneath) to broadcast and discover services. So any other host on the local network with mDNS/DNS-SD capability can discover the service. For instance use avahi-browse command on a Linux system. Resolving the service provides the IP address of the Android device.

When mdnsd is running, Android device is already broadcasting itself with a hard-coded name: Android.local. If you don't want to broadcast a service, there's another option.
ADB relies on mDNS to discover devices on local network by registering a service of type _adb._tcp (see references here, here and here). So enable "USB Debugging" in Developer Options and you'll see mdnsd running on your device.
Or on a rooted device start mdnsd alone, without starting ADB, by executing setprop ctl.start mdnsd or simply start mdnsd.

In both above cases, when mdnsd is running, executing avahi-resolve-host-name Android.local on a Linux PC should return IP address of your Android device.
What if two Android devices have the same hostname?
In case of name conflict, as the name Android.local is hard-coded, the Android device which joins later automatically renames itself to Android-2.lcoal, Android-3.local and so on (see reference here). So you can resolve the names accordingly.
Any option to change the mDNS hostname?
Coming to the next problem, what if your OEM/ROM developer removed or modified the mdnsd service, or if you want to run with a name of your choice, not the hard-coded one?

Build and run your own more configurable mDNS responder like Avahi on Android device.

Even simpler, patch and rebuild Android's mdnsd to receive a commandline argument for name, or read from a config file if exists.
No, it doesn't need a rooted device. The patched mdnsd binary should run fine from adb shell, or even on a terminal emulator app like Termux. As of this writing, there's only one syscall in mdnsd source code which the seccomp blocks for apps. But it can be removed easily. Neither the DAC or MAC block the execution.

Hehh, very funny! Android.local works. Problem is, it finds only one of my androids... somehow I need to change the name it advertises.

Thanks! Unfortunately, the source clearly shows that there is no way to change it. Next question, is there a way to replace the android mdsnd with a better configurable one.

The simplest way is to patch and rebuild Android's mdnsd to receive a commandline argument for name, or read from a config file if exists.

That requires root and rooting a phone means that I risk bricking it. Furthermore, there is really free (as in freedom) android image only for a few phones. Sad, but I still can not have a rooted phone on this reason. Furthermore, I can not root the phones what are not mine, but I can talk to their owner to install X app.

Ok, so the mdns name is hardcoded to android.local. What is with the services? I think, I can install any app creating a service, and then use the service name to localize the ip.

@IrfanLatif How exactly would you go about compiling it? Since it's forked from Apple's code, there's still a lot of references to it.

@StarDust IIRC it didn't take me more than a few minutes the last time I did it. Clone Google's repo, not Apple's. The former have already made the required changes for Android. Just make your small changes, if you want to. And compile it with NDK.

Ok, I finally got it. And it works perfectly! I'll post an answer soon.

And here it is. Hopefully, someone benefits from this and doesn't go through everything I needed to do: https://stackoverflow.com/a/70343905/15436715

For reference: Starting from November 2021, Android resolver supports mDNS .local resolution.


text:
Configure SMS autoreply suggestions
I periodically receive SMSs from automated systems that require a response. For one of them, all I need to do is reply "Yes" when it's convenient for me. Sometimes my phone (Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra - the tag samsung-galaxy-s-21 doesn't exist yet) suggests "Yes" and sometimes it suggests "Yes " which breaks the robot (I'm sorry I didn't understand your text.)

Do you want to make a payment now?

Yes

I'm sorry I didn't understand your text. Do you want to make a payment now?

Yes

Payment made.

Another example is "Sure", which I use sometimes, but it's very flat. I'd prefer "Sure!" (with an exclamation mark) to pep it up, but I can't edit the message before it's sent.

Can I call you to discuss the issue?

Sure

vs

Can I call you to discuss the issue?

Sure!

Can I configure the suggestions that my phone offers?

While the question is about Samsung devices, is the app by any chance Google Messages? (because I noticed Google Messages and Gmail are some of the services that provide "Smart Reply"). AFAIK, this is not customizable...

@AndrewT. The app is called just called Messages on my phone. I could only tell it was Google Messages by following the link you provided and seeing that the icon is the same.


text:
How to find unknown IP address on Android
I believe I have a sort of unique question in how would I determine an unknown IP address through an Android device which is connected directly to a IP enabled piece of hardware via USB-C to Ethernet adapter.
I understand that on the computers you can use the likes of ARP scans for such things, but is it possible to something similar on an android device?
The network address would be unknown and same with subnet.
Are they any known tools out there to do something over BOOTP, DCHP, Ethernet/IP devices

If I knew the IP range (i.e. subnet), a ping sweep would be my first tool. There's an app for it.

Almost everything that works on a Linux PC also works on Android devices. Privileged tasks may require a rooted device though.

Does this answer your question? ADB wireless :- problem with IP


text:
Any way to extract a live wallpaper from a theme on the theme store?
I would like to extract/save/download a live wallpaper from a theme which I downloaded. Is there anyway to do this without rooting my phone?

Please clarify your specific problem or provide additional details to highlight exactly what you need. As it's currently written, it's hard to tell exactly what you're asking.

Try to extract the APK file and check out what assets and resources you find inside. Just unzip the APK file.

@Robert is this approach still possible, considering that LiveWallpaper also uses Service component and some code to work?

@AndrewT. Of course a live wall paper is not a video nor animated gif, it is an app that generates animation by code so you can not make it run outside of the app itself. But depending on the live background parts of the background may be contained within the app in form of images.


text:
I need help unlocking my bootloader on my galaxy note 9 sm-n960u using kali linux 2021.4
I need help unlocking my bootloader on my galaxy note 9 sm-n960u using kali linux 2021.4 iv'e tried window and android to unlock bootloader so that's why i am asking with help doing it with linux it has android OS 10 with one UI2.5 so if anyone could help out i would appreciate it Ty.

search for vaultkeeper

fyi the last user who insisted in not using windows finally hard-bricked his device by accidentially downgrading bootloader

US variants can't be unlocked in regular ways. If you insist, see UnSamLock (paid).


text:
Can neither clear cache nor data of apps
For the past week or so I have had this peculiar problem where I cannot clear the cache or the data of any app because the Settings show that no storage space is occupied by them.
Is this due to a buggy update, incorrect settings configurations or something else?
Also in the storage analysis sections, a lot of space is marked under "Others" (~18 GB out of 64)
The device in question is a POCO M3 and is running on MIUI 12.0.7.0 (Stable)

@Robert I have updated the question.

So devices have a functionality to "freeze" apps that are not used regularly. Then the apps and their data are moved to a cloud storage system. If your device has such a functionality may be this app has been frozen and is therefore not really installed and thus can not be cleared?

That caanot be the issue here as it occurs for apps that are used frequently eg. WhatsApp as seen in this screenshot.  https://ibb.co/qWF0KTG


text:
Cannot bind to Cell Network Interface example with curl
I am trying to use the Mobile Network interface rmnet_data0 while Wi-Fi wlan0 is enabled.  You can read my progress with the developer JsBergbau of BindToInterface at this link https://github.com/JsBergbau/BindToInterface/issues/3.  He referred me here to request help with what is preventing with binding to interface rmnet_data0 while Wi-Fi enabled used with curl.  The phone is running ofono with UBports.
With wlan0 disabled:
curl --interface rmnet_data0 ifconfig.me
"MY IP ADDRESS OUTPUT"

With wlan0 enabled:
curl --interface rmnet_data0 ifconfig.me
curl: (7) Failed to connect to ifconfig.me port 80: Connection timed out

Substituted IP address for my real ones:
ip route list table local

broadcast 10.0.0.0       dev usb0         proto kernel  scope link  src 10.25.52.96 linkdown
local 10.25.52.96        dev usb0         proto kernel  scope host  src 10.25.52.96
local 10.75.188.126      dev rmnet_data0  proto kernel  scope host  src 10.75.188.126
broadcast 10.75.188.127  dev rmnet_data0  proto kernel  scope link  src 10.75.188.126
broadcast 10.255.255.255 dev usb0         proto kernel  scope link  src 10.25.52.96 linkdown
broadcast 127.0.0.0      dev lo           proto kernel  scope link  src 127.0.0.1
local 127.0.0.0/8        dev lo           proto kernel  scope host  src 127.0.0.1
local 127.0.0.1          dev lo           proto kernel  scope host  src 127.0.0.1
broadcast 127.255.255.255 dev lo           proto kernel  scope link  src 127.0.0.1
broadcast 192.266.10.0    dev wlan0        proto kernel  scope link  src 192.266.10.25
local 192.266.10.25       dev wlan0        proto kernel  scope host  src 192.266.10.254
broadcast 192.266.10.255  dev wlan0        proto kernel  scope link  src 192.266.10.25

ip route show table 0

default via 192.266.10.1  dev wlan0                      proto static                                       metric 600
default via 10.75.188.125 dev rmnet_data0                proto static                                       metric 700
10.0.0.0/8                dev usb0                       proto kernel  scope link  src 10.25.52.96 linkdown
10.75.188.125             dev rmnet_data0                proto static  scope link                           metric 700
192.266.10.0/24           dev wlan0                      proto kernel  scope link  src 192.266.10.25        metric 600
broadcast 10.0.0.0        dev usb0         table local   proto kernel  scope link  src 10.25.52.96 linkdown
local 10.25.52.96         dev usb0         table local   proto kernel  scope host  src 10.25.52.96
local 10.75.188.126       dev rmnet_data0  table local   proto kernel  scope host  src 10.75.188.126
broadcast 10.75.188.127   dev rmnet_data0  table local   proto kernel  scope link  src 10.75.188.126
broadcast 10.255.255.255  dev usb0         table local   proto kernel  scope link  src 10.25.52.96 linkdown
broadcast 127.0.0.0       dev lo           table local   proto kernel  scope link  src 127.0.0.1
local 127.0.0.0/8         dev lo           table local   proto kernel  scope host  src 127.0.0.1
local 127.0.0.1           dev lo           table local   proto kernel  scope host  src 127.0.0.1
broadcast 127.255.255.255 dev lo           table local   proto kernel  scope link  src 127.0.0.1
broadcast 192.168.1.0     dev wlan0        table local   proto kernel  scope link  src 192.266.10.25
local 192.266.10.25       dev wlan0        table local   proto kernel  scope host  src 192.266.10.25
broadcast 192.266.10.255  dev wlan0        table local   proto kernel  scope link  src 192.266.10.25

ip route list table main

default via 192.266.10.1  dev wlan0        proto static                 metric 600
default via 10.75.188.126 dev rmnet_data0  proto static                 metric 700
10.0.0.0/8                dev usb0         proto kernel  scope link  src 10.25.52.96 linkdown
10.75.188.125             dev rmnet_data0  proto static  scope link     metric 700
192.266.10.0/24           dev wlan0        proto kernel  scope link  src 192.266.10.164  metric 600

ip rule

0:      from all lookup local
32766:  from all lookup main
32767:  from all lookup default

Most probably due to routing policy. When WiFi is enabled, Android sets wlan0 as the default gateway, and blocks traffic to rmnet_data0.

Looking at the IP route it shows they are both default:
default via AAA.AAA.AAA.AAA dev wlan0  proto static  metric 600
default via BBB.BBB.BBB.BBB dev rmnet_data0  proto static  metric 700

And ip rule??

@IrfanLatif My post has been updated with the IP rules you asked for.

ip route and ip rule are different commands.

@IrfanLatif I apologize, I know they are different commands and I have updated the post with the output.

It's quite evident that the network traffic never reaches the second default route. The first one with lower metric value is always used. // Btw which device is it? In recent Android versions main table is not used, and RPDB is quite complex due to excessive use of fwmark and uid based filtering.

@IrfanLatif  This is a Sprint OnePlus 7 Pro 5G running ofono with Ubports

Alright. So this is Ubuntu, not Android. You must have root access then. Simply inject your own rule / route. Follow any Linux guide. See this recent answer of mine for a quick reference.


text:
Android 11: how to disable persistent notification?
I'm not sure what's the best name, and probably these are not even "notification" since I tried to surface the whole menu and submenu without success.
The only thing I know is that when I set up this new phone yesterday (an OPPO Find X3 Pro), at some point I did encounter a setting that allowed me to delay these notifications from the "default" (2 seconds as far as I remember) to 30 seconds.
As a result, there are some operations showing the output of their action (e.g. the contact app when you delete a contact says "1 contact deleted") for the above time in a kind of overlay that is impossible to remove. I simply need to wait for it to disappear after the timeframe.
This persistent clutter drives me crazy and I don't know where else I can search for it.
Is it my memory serving me incorrectly about the above setting, or did I really change something in the settings?

If you are talking about Toasts, there is no setting (at least in stock Android) to change their behavior.

Oppo has it's own customised version of Android, but I can't find any "Toast" in the settings. What other name this could have ... and where this might be sitting in the menu?

Consider checking Popups, dialogs, notifications, toasts: what's the difference? and clarifying it, since toasts are per-app and there are no system settings for it.

So it's a toast ... the problem is that there is no toasts in the colouros from oppo.... and I still have that 30 seconds there, though I'm sure I changed something as it was 2 secs.

So, after an unsuccessful attempt to get Oppo's support (they suggested a system setting factory reset), I was able to figure out the setting location for changing the toast length time on Android 11 and ColorOS 11.2.
Everything boils down to the Accessibility menu, particularly this one: Settings -> Accessibility -> Time to take action.
I basically turned it to 30 seconds causing the problem above described.
This was done mostly because of the "improper" description following that setting (description available only in the setting itself) as per the screenshot.

Choose how long to show messages that ask you to take action, but are visible only temporarily.

After reading this answer, since it mentions "time to take action", I think this is for snackbars which look similar to toast but allow additional actions.

No, I don't think that is the case. The notification I was receiving where exactly plain text with no further actions allowed. They were similar though, a rounder box with some text inside appearing at the bottom of the screen. Although, yes, I appreciate the "take action" bit.

Cannot be thankful more Andrea for this question. I confirm time to take action setting was the main cause of this issue. For those with similar problem: these are actually some toasts that don't react to touch or swipe. They just shown on screen for a certain amount of time and block any access to UI behind them. In my case they even block the keyboard. Oppo name them Notice

I think what you want is to:

Long touch the notification you want to disable
Select the gear button (settings)
Un-grant the permission to show notifications

You won't see notifications anymore of that app.

Those are not clickable ... I guess the other comment about Toasts might be what they are.


text:
How to Autostart App on Android TV
I'm using an Amlogic TV Box with Android 9.
I'm trying to get an app to launch at startup, but the app will not launch.

The method I'm using is:
/data/local/userinit.sh
#!/system/bin/sh
am start com.package.name

or
#!/system/bin/sh
am start com.package.name/com.package.name.ActivityName

This version of Android does not have the Auto-start manager in settings to do it the easy way.

You need to wait for the Android's Zygote process which starts app processes, and SystemUI app which shows notifications and status bar at top, and preferably Home/Launcher app which show app icons, to come up before executing that command.

Also see my answers to How can I run a script on boot? and How to run an executable on boot and keep it running?.


text:
Apps read/write storage without asking permissions
I have noticed that some apps are accessing/reading/writing in the storage without asking for permissions. Note that I am not talking about apps' internal folder, but the shared storage located at /storage or /storage/emulated/0.
For example, browsers like Chrome, Brave, etc. can download files without asking for storage permission. While Firefox does have to gain permission before the download starts (I am aware that Chrome already has permission since it's built in, but Brave does not have it).
On the other hand, I have downloaded a video player called Just Video Player, it's simple and open-source, and I like it. It also does not ask for storage permission. I go to any file manager, click on a video file, select Just Video Player, and it starts playing. How does that happen?
I know I may be asking for information which is too technical for me or something, but I need to know.

They might be using Storage Access Framework or Media Store.

It's not using Storage Access Framework, because then I'd have to open the files selection menu and grant access.

SAF permission can be persisted once granted.

When you open a file through a file manager, the receiving application is automatically granted access to that resource. Though the access is somehow limited (short lived) and may not work past app or device restart.
As an author of Just (Video) Player, I focus on simple working design where you don't need read permission except for some edge case (supporting some outdated apps).
You may check this comprehensible table for various types of access to files: https://developer.android.com/training/data-storage

Thanks for answering the question. I saw the link you posted, and I think Brave browser is using the Scoped Storage feature, so it does not need permission to create new files and to read files that it creates. Am I close?

I don't know for sure but my guess is that apps like web browsers use system service DownloadManager - https://developer.android.com/reference/android/app/DownloadManager to download files so they do not have to request any write storage permission.


text:
Is a SIM card needed for a remote hard reset through findmymobile.samsung?
The screen of a Samsung phone is broken completely and I want to take it to a repair shop, but before that I prefer to erase all data on it.
I have been able to verify that the phone was not associated to Google’s Find My Device but that it was associated with Samsung’s Find My Mobile. There, I can select the "Erase" option.
But the phone is marked as offline.

It has no SIM installed now but is powered on and vibrates from time to time like when emails and other messages are received. So, I thought it must be connected to the home wifi. Scanning on Linux with Wifi Guard, I can see one supplementary device connected that must be this phone, but it is still reported as offline on that site.
Should I insert a SIM for the remote erase procedure to work? Or would a wifi connection suffice? - in which case I'm wrong saying it is already connected to wifi etc.

you can insert SIM card into working phone and disable SIM PIN

@alecxs - Now I understand what you meant (remove the SIM code while installed on a working phone). In fact the SIM is not locked, the lock is of the phone itself. I haven't had time for that lately, but I hope I can unlock it by using fingerprint - although at full restart it might ask for the number-code, and to that I have no solution. Thanks.

@alecxs - I don't know why it asks for unlock then. The SIM from my working phone has no PIN.

@alecxs - I guess I don't have to erase the data then. (The question may stand anyway for reasons of curiosity as formulated in the title. The answer may be "yes" as to whether SIM is needed for that findmobile.samsung procedure, but on the other hand remote erase seems very hard to achieve, SIM inside or not.)

@alecxs - Please post again the initial link, that to your other answer - the one with detailed reasons why erase is not needed.  It also seems to contradict this answer (based on which I had tried to erase the phone).

Does this answer your question? How to recover data when everything is locked (FRP, OEM)

The answer seems to be "yes". The phone can connect to the home wifi but that is not enough.
After using a SIM card - namely a different one than the one initially used on this phone (and listed on the Samsung site)

the new number was seen by the Samsung website,

the "Erase" option triggered a new message saying that the phone has to be unlocked first

remote unlock didn't work though: "Can't unlock your phone. It's not connected to a network."

That seems a vicious circle but the answer is nevertheless "yes": because a phone needs a cellular connection for the "remote erase" procedure to work, a  SIM card is indeed needed, although that is not sufficient; the phone has also to be unlocked for it to receive/use the cellular signal etc.
It seems extremely difficult if not impossible to erase remotely a lost phone if it's disconnected. Luckily I have access to the phone, and can use the other old SIM and the biometric data to unlock it, and once I do that I'll update this answer.


text:
What does the -g global flag do when using pm install -g
I'm trying to get google play store to work on a proprietary custom ROM. I was given a hack to do this with my device. It's very hit or miss but I can get it working sometimes.
When I install Google Services Framework, Google Accounts Manager, and Services info app, the instructions say to use
pm install -g /package.apk

My understanding is that pm install is pretty much the same as just clicking the apk and installing it. But what does the -g flag accomplish? The reason I ask is because I'm running into many problems, and I'd like to have a better understanding of everything for troubleshooting purposes. Thanks.

adb shell pm -h | grep -A20 'install ' | grep '\-g:' returns: -g: grant all runtime permissions. I think it's pretty descriptive.

@IrfanLatif OOhhh wow so it's not global it's actually short for grant. Thanks!

For any future viewers I wanted to add this link. Finally found a reference to all of the different options for pm install here

You can just run pm (or adb shell pm if running from a PC), and all options are displayed. It's a norm for commandline applications to show a brief help with -h or --help argument.

Pretty sure I tried -help and some variations of that. Didn't just try pm though for some reason.  Should have been more thorough. Minor changes coming from windows cmd/powershell to android/linux terminal may be throwing me off a bit. Thanks.

@IrfanLatif as it answers the question, maybe you make it into an answer of the question?

@silencedogood you can post an answer for future visitors' benefit .


text:
Device doesn't show up in fastboot [OnePlus Nord]
I installed:

the latest platform tools from google
the universal adb driver
the OnePlus USB driver

USB debugging & OEM unlock are on.
With the phone turned on everything runs fine. I can copy files onto the device and it shows up in adb and the device manager just fine.
But when I go into the bootloader, fastboot does not list or recognize the device and I noticed in the Device-Manager the phone shows up like this. Idk if this is normal or not, but I'm out of ideas.
Any help would be much appreciated.

Screenshot of the command prompt.

"Screenshot" of FastBoot Mode.

Please don't use comments to add information, edit your question instead.

Does this answer your question? Having issues Installing TWRP Recovery On Huawei Mediapad T3 10 from Windows

Note: even with signed drivers you would run into same issue, because according to your screenshots you are mixing up adb with fastboot. you simply forgot to install fastboot drivers at all, which is a common beginners mistake. Android Bootloader Interface is the solution (and how to install it) regardless it's unsigned or signed. Furthermore this is plain windows issue, fastboot works fine on linux without installing any additional drivers at all.

Fix Device not showing up in Fastboot Mode
So it turns out Windows doesn't like the OnePlus USB drivers because they are not signed. So you have to bypass it by disabling driver signing enforcement.

install the OnePlus drivers that are included with your phone.
--- they should show up as CD Drive: OnePlus Drivers when you just connect your phone to your computer
This will create a directory like this... C:\Program Files (x86)\OnePlus USB Drivers, containing the USB driver
In that folder there is a driver "" but both when installed from my phone, and a downloaded version, I ran into "The hash for the file is not present in the specified catalog file. The file is likely corrupt or the victim of tampering." So next we are going to disable signed drivers on windows.
-----Select the "Start" button.
-----Type "startup".
-----Select "Change advanced startup settings".
-----Select "Restart now" under the "Advanced startup" area.
-----Select "Troubleshoot".
-----Select "Advanced Options".
-----Select "Startup Options".
-----Select "Restart".
-----A menu will appear where you can press "7" on your keyboard to choose "Disable driver signing enforcement".
Now Device Driver Signing should be disabled, allowing you to install any driver you like in Windows 10 until you reboot.
Boot your device into fastboot mode. This should cause it to show up in device manager as Android, with a yellow triangle
In device manager (press windows + x to bring up a menu, then you can press m or select device manager for quick access) right click the android device
-----Update driver
-----Browse my computer
-----Let me pick
-----Have Disk
-----Navigate to C:\Program Files (x86)\OnePlus USB Drivers
-----Select OnePlus_android_winusb.inf and click okay
-----OnePlus Android Bootloader Interface should be selected, and go ahead and install it.


text:
How to Connect external M.2 nvme ssd drive with OTG usb hub
Question How to Connect external M.2 nvme ssd drive with OTG usb hub
I want to take constant nandroid backup of system userdata boot sdext2 external micro card through twrp recovery  or any imaging software and want to store apk data backup and nandroid backup in the  external USB hdd
Some expert suggested me OTG usb hub and connect external hdd...new smartphones have type C power connector and have 15w to 25w powe connector aa old mobiles have different connectors  and  only supports 1.5 w to max chargers.
Aa usb hub amplifies and balance power between multiple connectors
My queries

Can I connect type c usb  hub to old 3w connectors

As external usb hdd or ssd casings don't have any external usb power how much power wattage it need and how much power do usb hub gives

I want to purchase new external hdd or ssd I prefer to invest for samsung evo plus 980 nvme M.2 gen4  which give 3.5 Gbps read write speed  now I  can us a external m.2 casing but can I connect that m.2 casing and get enough power wattage to run it...I hope casings may have some not any external power. Any solution help advice opinion trick to connect device. ( I may use that m.2 drive in my new desktop build later.

What throughput bandwidth read write speed do OTG  hub gives on devices

Are you aware that a lot of device having USB-C connector still only supports USB 2.0 speed? Check the device specification which USB mode is supported by your device.

as you can see on this picture OTG charge hubs have 4x cables: 3x USB connector + 1x charge jack where the external power supply must connected. Phone connected via micro-USB or USB-C (I have both) does not provide enough power for external HDD https://i.stack.imgur.com/x1eEf.jpg

@alecxs bro thanx didn't saw the charger cable gr8 can  u help tell me the  best or photo u shared  of  OTG usb hub. With usb 3.1 or 3.2 support .. does  samsung galaxy f62 or f42 supports usb 3.0  ....and lastly can we plug use these OTG usb hub in old mobiles with type A socket not type c or any converter

as Robert stated check phone specifications yourself. Same for old devices check if USB On-The-Go is supported at all

Type-C OTG Hub is very slow ~0.5 MB/s https://i.stack.imgur.com/dJvDQ.jpg

@alcexs bro which hub will give  good speed will type a good ans how to interconnect type a  usb hub to type c socket or type c to type a any converter cable which don't diminish speed

No, there isn't. The limitation probably comes from phone (Poco M3) and there are currently no phones with USB 3.0 out there. Not sure OTG hub has that limitation too. Tried without OTG hub and connected directly
with 3.1 cable but HDD did not power on :/

@alecxs bro poco x3 pro (33w charger) have ufs 3.1 to which samsng galaxy s21 series have...there are some pcie nvme Silverstone raven  m.2  casing https://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=1007&area=en and samsung t5 external hdd which have both type c type a cables and usb 3.1  cables puls thuderbollt 3 which can directly be connected to  android phones without hub must be casing have some external.power...

@alcecxs bro ufs 2.1 ufs 3.1 and emmc  in which ufs 3.1 gives  good sequential write and read speed  and emmc is slowest but don't know ufs. Is said for. Internal memory rom read write or external micro sd or external usb drive attached or for all

Samsung Galaxy S21 has USB Type-C 3.2 it might work with Silverstone Raven (maybe OTG Hub is already integrated inside) Poco X3 Pro only has USB Type-C 2.0 so most likely as slow as Poco M3

@alecx bro I am want  economic phone
with ufs 3.1 + usb 3.1 or 3.2 foundd from gsmarena  text search and filtered  motorala edge S which have both UFS 3.1 usb 3.1 will work with  external silvetone m.2 casing or  samsung galaxy S20 FE is with usb 3.2    is also budgeted but little expensive then motorala but their camera is 12 mp and low battery...what is say about motorala phone are they good https://m.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=10428&idPhone2=10705.  India compare https://www.91mobiles.com/compare/Samsung/Galaxy+S20+FE-35156/vs/Motorola/Edge+S-35622/vs/Samsung/Galaxy+F62-35487.html

@alecx bro I want to know is usb 3.1 or usb 3.2 is need for Silverstone m.2 casing with smartphone can sumasung x5  external add can connect directly to smartphone

ask the seller or buy silverstone and do some test before actually buying phones


text:
How To Autofill Custom Forms?
I have a webapp I frequently use, which have such kind of forms:
<form method=POST action=...>
  <input type=text name=urname placeholder=urname>
  <input type=text name=secretid placeholder=secretid>
  <input type=text name=otherfield placeholder=otherfield>
  <input type=submit>
</form>

What I want to do is to be able to autofill those fields with specified values (e.g.: urname=kristian, secretid=abcdefghijkl, otherfield=000111222333444555666777888999).
Currently I do it by opening "note" app then copy-pasting its content each time, which can get tedious since it's quite long and I have to go back and forth 3 times. Also, the content of the autofill input is not exactly a secret.
Is there a way to do it?
I found a question with similar problem on Super User: Autofill web forms (but instead of Chrome on PC I want to do it in Chrome in Android). The comments seems to recommend a Cchrome extension that can inject JavaScript into the page. I don't mind that, I can write JS, but I don't think Chrome extensions are available on Android.
EDIT: I found here that I can execute bookmarked JS via chrome without extensions here: How can a bookmarklet be ADDED on mobile Chrome without copying and pasting?
So I made a bookmark with such content:
javascript:(function(){ document.querySelector(`#urname`).value=`kristian`; document.querySelector(`#secretid`).value=`abcdefghijkl` ; document.querySelector(`#otherfield`).value=`000111222333444555666777888999` ; })()

Which if it gets prettified/formatted it will looks like:
javascript:(function(){
  document.querySelector(`#urname`).value=`kristian`;
  document.querySelector(`#secretid`).value=`abcdefghijkl` ;
  document.querySelector(`#otherfield`).value=`000111222333444555666777888999` ;
})()

But I still have problem: the page seems to use some kind of data binding (e.g.: react two-way binding). So when the value got changed via JS, when I click on the element it goes back to its old (empty) value. Now, how should I circumvent it?

After some research and digging github issues, here is my own solution:
In general I have to do:

inject custom/self-written JS to chrome android
figure out why it didn't work and the element value changes back to its old / empty value
call correct function so 'react' framework can change the input element AND its internal / 2-way binded data

First step: inject custom/self-written JS to chrome android
From this question: How can a bookmarklet be ADDED on mobile Chrome without copying and pasting? I learned that I can add custom JavaScript to bookmark in chrome
First step cleared
Second step: figure out why it didn't work and the element value changes back to its old / empty value
First look, wonder why the value was not changed even after injecting code like:
document.querySelector(`#otherfield`).value=`000111222333444555666777888999` ;

So I suspected if it used some kind of JavaScript framework to do 2-way data binding (bind a variable value with an input element).
To detect which framework they used, I installed this extension: Library Detector https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/library-detector/cgaocdmhkmfnkdkbnckgmpopcbpaaejo (disclaimer: I'm not associated with the author of said extension)
The result: they used react.js
So, the reason why it didn't work and the element value changes back to its old / empty value is because it used react 2-way data binding
Second step cleared
Third step: call correct function so 'react' framework can change the input element AND its internal / 2-way binded data
After some googling, I find this github issue: https://github.com/facebook/react/issues/11488 which links to this issue comment: https://github.com/facebook/react/issues/10135#issuecomment-314441175
Basically the solution is to call such function:
function setNativeValue(element, value) {
  const valueSetter = Object.getOwnPropertyDescriptor(element, 'value').set;
  const prototype = Object.getPrototypeOf(element);
  const prototypeValueSetter = Object.getOwnPropertyDescriptor(prototype, 'value').set;
  if (valueSetter && valueSetter !== prototypeValueSetter) {
    prototypeValueSetter.call(element, value);
  } else {
    valueSetter.call(element, value);
  }
}

setNativeValue(textarea, 'some text');
textarea.dispatchEvent(new Event('input', { bubbles: true }));

After changing my JS to
function setNativeValue(element, value) {
  const valueSetter = Object.getOwnPropertyDescriptor(element, 'value').set;
  const prototype = Object.getPrototypeOf(element);
  const prototypeValueSetter = Object.getOwnPropertyDescriptor(prototype, 'value').set;

  if (valueSetter && valueSetter !== prototypeValueSetter) {
    prototypeValueSetter.call(element, value);
  } else {
    valueSetter.call(element, value);
  }
}

var element1 = document.querySelector(`#urname`);
setNativeValue(element1, `kristian`);
element1.dispatchEvent(new Event('input', { bubbles: true }));

var element2 = document.querySelector(`#secretid`);
setNativeValue(element2, `abcdefghijkl`);
element2.dispatchEvent(new Event('input', { bubbles: true }));

var element3 = document.querySelector(`#otherfield`);
setNativeValue(element3, `000111222333444555666777888999`);
element3.dispatchEvent(new Event('input', { bubbles: true }));

And then enclosing them in
javascript:(function(){  ...  })()

Now it works perfectly


text:
How to Secure a Android Device that has been Rooted and have Unlocked Bootloader
I'm Talking about securing my data against everyone.(Thieves, Police, Friends etc etc)
I'm pretty sure my device have encryption enabled on internal storage,(how can I check that?)
also I have a 6 digit pin code on the lock screen. Running Android 11.

Does this answer your question? Why can I view files from "Internal Storage" WITHOUT entering password either in OrangeFox recovery or via USB cable on PC?

as we have learned recently there is no way to check and no setting we can trust other than locked bootloader (see chat). Try to decrypt from custom recovery that might give you some idea how safe your device is


text:
Blocking websites by syncing Android with desktop
I know of an app, Blocksite, that allows users to block websites by syncing their Android phone with their desktop. But to do so you must install Blocksite on Android, which can easily be uninstalled. Is there any way to sync a blocking app on Android and the desktop which does not need to be downloaded on the phone? In other words, you download it on the desktop only and it also blocks websites on your phone once you sync it. Or is there any other way to control apps on your phone through your desktop to block websites so you must access your desktop to unblock them? Thank you.

I think it's not possible. You can try Google's Digital Wellbeing to block and set timers on the websites. But there's no desktop version available to use.
From my experience, If you block a website for at least two weeks with an app. You can control yourself for the third week without the help of an app.
I would like to recommend Freedom (https://freedom.to) instead of Blocksite. It's paid one. But worth it.


text:
Can we upgrade oppo a37m to higher color os?
https://www.gsmarena.com/oppo_a37-8162.php
I am looking for clone apps feature in settings and I can't find it.
It requires color os 3.1. I have color os 3
Also if I press os update doesn't work/.
Is there any data where the phone os is upgradeable to 3.1 or not?

Does this answer your question? How to upgrade my Android device to latest Android version

If there is an update for your device available you can install it via system settings. If no update is shown then there is no update.

There is an update button. However, pressing it produces nothing

You can't expect that a 5 year old mid priced phone still receives updates. In 2016 you were luck if you got one major Android version upgrade. Only the expensive high-end devices got more updates.

There is not much development in custom scene for this device model. only some users played with kernel source code, and some rumors about unofficial LineageOS 17.1 (android 10)

So 3.0 is how far it goes for oppo 37 can anyone confirm? Also why can't old devices keep getting updated? What stops it?

Why do apps stop supporting older Android versions after some time? // How to pick a phone for long usage? // What are possible consequences of not installing updates

If I buy the cheapest possible Android smartphone today, how long can I keep it without having to buy a new one? // Replacing Android OS on Android phone with Linux OS // How do I update Android on my device?

some custom ROMs (probably all based android 5 haven't checked any) https://androidfilehost.com/?w=developers&did=4285


text:
Android Reverse Tethering
What are the latest options to obtain reverse tethering for android?
The GNIREHTET project has not been updated since August 2020 and does not work for most of the android applications.
Other Android apps that exist and tried is the Tetrd app that is working but what other means exist or applications to achieve reverse tethering?

Root your device and manually add ip rule/ip route. It's been working since ever, and it'll work for ever. No dependency on any third party tool.

@Irfan Latif , tanks for the advice. I didn't know that rooting allows reverse tethering.

@IrfanLatif Can you please expound on your comment?  It sounds like your comment could be added as a full answer to this post.  My device is rooted - now how do I go about adding "ip rule / ip route" to create a reverse tethering?


text:
App-based language selection for Samsung keyboard?
Is there any solution for the problem in question?
I want to use EN(UK) whenever I use the keyboard in the browser, but I want to use another language whenever Im using the gmail app.
Is it somehow possible to automate?

try automation apps like tasker, macrodroid, automate


text:
Two same stock Samsung phones, different apps?
So, I got to install two Samsung Galaxy S8+; then should have been refurbished and wiped, and flashed with stock firmware.
One of them did not have the latest OS update (via Settings/Software Update) - I updated that, now then both show the same (Current version: G955FXXUCDUD1/... strings are the same)
What irritates me to no end, is that these two devices, that should otherwise be identical, show different default stock apps installed. Noticed this before trying Google Play update - and the situation is the same after the Google Play update (done without logging in - via the three dots menu in upper left corner on start screen).
Exclusive to one phone are (via comparing Settings/Apps list):

Briefing
Smart Switch

... and exclusive to the other phone are:

(Google) Drive
Duo
Google Play Movies & TV
(Google) Photos
upday

How is this possible, and why does this occur?
Again, note that I'm talking about both being refurbished, flashed with stock ROM, no root, and presumably no "manual" installing of apps...
Could Samsung have "pushed" these apps, depending on if these phones were originally sold through a carrier?!
(I just noticed now, that in Settings/About phone/Software information, all data is identical for both phones, except for "Service Provider SW ver.", one of which is SAOMC_SM-G955F_OXM_ROM_PP_0014, and the other is SAOMC_SM-G955F_OXM_NEE_PP_0015 ... I guess this has something to do with it - but what is it?).

You should boot into recovery mode. There the phones should display details information about their software and state.

It depends on how you did the initial setup, you have confirmed some dialog for installing that apps automatically on only one of your phones. you can double check these are user apps, not system apps


text:
FB Messenger App notification not showing up / coming through when phone is locked, then all coming through same time, only when app is opened
I don't know if an update occurred, but a number of days ago now (maybe since the FB outage), my FB Messenger messages on the Messenger app (not the Facebook app, or Facebook for Desktop) are not coming through when my phone is locked and the screen is off for awhile (even like 15 minutes or something). When I unlock my phone I don't even get them. It's only when I open the FB messenger app that all the notifications come through and pop up at once . It seems to only be FB messenger that's affected. I get Google Calendar Reminders and Text Notifications. They are coming through immediately and just fine on Messenger.com and Facebook.com .
Completely cleared the cache/data for Messenger and uninstalled/reinstalled the program. Makes no difference. I haven't changed any battery settings or restricted anything. Do not disturb is not on.
Is anyone else experiencing this?

Google Pixel 4a running Android 11
Security Update: Oct 1
Google Play: Aug 1
Build #: RQ3A.2110001.001
FB Messenger Version: 333.0.0.17.119

Is "Do Not Disturb" enabled? There's a setting to hide all notifications while "Do Not Disturb" is on, called "Display options for hidden notifications".

Nope DND is off.


text:
How to unlock bootloader on Samsung Galaxy S6 Lite?
I have a new SM-P610 device that I want to install Lineageos on. I am following the instructions at
https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/gta4xlwifi/install
but I am unable to unlock the boot loader.
Under "developer options" on the phone I can toggle "OEM unlocking" and changing this
is reflected on the download mode screen which shows either "OEM LOCK: ON(L)" or "OEM LOCK: ON(U)", so
obviously Locked or Unlocked, however ON in both cases.
If I try to run the heimdall command to flash the recovery image it prints "ERROR: Failed to receive session end confirmation!" and on the screen "Custom Binary(RECOVERY) Blocked By OEM Lock" is displayed in red.
So how do I actually unlock the boot loader?

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

Not related at all.

I am just linking important information for other users who come here for "How to unlock bootloader on Samsung Galaxy"

I eventually figured it out. The guide says

With the device powered off, hold Volume Down + Volume Up and connect USB cable to PC.
Now, click the button that the onscren instructions coorelate to “Continue” and/or “Unlock Bootloader”.

and on the screen the tablet displays
Volume up: Continue

This I assumed was a perfect implementation match for the generic “Continue” and/or “Unlock Bootloader“ description,
but clicking volume up will just end up in the situation I described in the question.
However on the next line (which I did not read since I had already found a perfect match...) it says
Volume up long press: Device unlock mode

So the device requires a long press to actually unlock the boot loader (which is not described in the install instructions). I did not notice this line
until now when writing the answer, I found the long click information in this xda forum post.

After the successful unlock procedure the tablet behaved as expected (all apps/settings reset/deleted, it now nags about the boot loader being not being verifiable upon
every boot, and the OEM unlocking option in developer options is greyed out with status "Bootloader already unlocked".)

OEM unlocking option in developer options is first important step missing in your answer (I didn't read the question, like most users who come here for solution)

That was explicitly mentioned in the question.


text:
What is the location of recorded call files from Call Recorder?
I have Call Recorder installed and it is recording phone calls, which I can see in the application. I would like to see these files in filesystem too. Where are they?
I see location Internal storage/CallRecordings, but it contains only few very old recordings, no any new ones.

tl:dr;
Recordings are stored in /data/user/0/com.appstar.callrecorder/files
Your device needs to be rooted and by using a root file explorer you can see. If your device is not rooted, you can't see them.

Caveats

I downloaded the free version of app to test and since both free and paid version of app have the same version number and updated on the same day, this answer should hold good.

Paid version does not make mention of compatibility with Android 11 (w.r.t storage), so one more reason to assume that this answer is valid.

I am currently on Android 12 but this answer should hold good for Android 11 since AFAIK there have been no changes in storage policy between Android 11 & Android 12.

Caveats out of the way :

App targets Android 10 (SDK 29) which you can verify by checking app manifest using an app from Play Store.

It has not been updated to target Android 11, which your device is running.

Android 11 introduced major changes in storage ( see Storage updates in Android 11). Without getting into technical details, what this means is that Android 11 (and upwards) give you better privacy by shielding app data (scoped storage). App data is only available to the app using it (file explorers also cannot see it without root privileges).

App developers can choose to temporarily opt-out of scoped storage by setting a manifest attribute as android:requestLegacyExternalStorage="true. App manifest does not show this attribute, hence Android 11 scoped storage restrictions apply (you can ask the developer reasons) and therefore, you can't see where they are stored (without root). Likely reason why you can see only some old recordings is that these were saved in default location in Android 10 and you subsequently upgraded to Android 11.

So, if you want to see the files you can share →save/copy to desired folder location with a file explorer that does this (as also mentioned in Shenk's answer, some file explorer apps do this, I prefer MiXplorer).

Also see

Where Android apps store data?

Android 11: Can't see contents of Android /data even with root

From the testing I've done, the best I can tell is that the files are stored within an internal storage used by the app.
You can save them to files by selecting them in the Inbox or Saved section and then use Share to send it to a file explorer app you have on your device. Then you can select the folder where you want to save them and then confirm.

Initial answer:
I would've posted this as a comment, but I don't have enough rep at the moment here.
I noticed you tagged this with Android 11. I know that Android 11 implemented some breaking changes to how storage access for apps works (see https://developer.android.com/about/versions/11/privacy/storage), so, without being able to test this at the moment, I wonder if the app in question just hasn't updated its logic to account for this.


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My nook HD won't charge
Unlike similar posts about this issue, the light doesn't from green to red to nothing when I plug it in, but rather, it just goes to green for a few seconds, and then nothing. I hadn't used it in a few years, and I went to use it again and this happened. I'm using the nook brand block and cable. It is a BNTV400. holding the power button for 20 seconds, or any length of time does not turn it on.

oops, tried a different charger and it worked


text:
Wi-Fi disabling itself when SIM card missing
Recently, I removed the SIM card and will use the phone for Wi-Fi access only. But Wi-Fi keeps turning itself off without warning! The issue is resolved by entering settings and re-enabling Wi-Fi.
The problem is repeatable: The phone remains connected for some time, and can be used without issue. Some time later after stopping use, Wi-Fi will have become disabled. I am unsure how long after stopping use before Wi-Fi is disabled. My estimate is around 60 minutes, but it could be variable.
How do I stop Wi-Fi from disabling itself?
If relevant, running Android 7.1.1.

What exact device do you use (name + manufacturer)? Every manufacturer can make modifications to Android before releasing it so the Android version you name is not a fixed software.

Phone make is Motorola G4 Play.


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Samsung M31S screen is frozen at startup, it boots up but the screen stays frozen until sleep or power button press
The phone was used for 2 months and the front glass got cracked but its really not that noticeable.
After 6 months of use the phone died while using it.
It was dead but after ODIN stock flash the phone boots up but the screen is frozen at the first logo SAMSUNG M31S powered by android even though the phone boots up to the system and I can see the screen via Vysor app on my computer.(used talkback to finish samsung setup google sign up etc, enabled usb debugging and I was able to use Vysor to see the phone's screen. When the screen goes to sleep or I press the lock/power button the screen goes black but it won't come back if button is pressed again(talkback says the screen off screen on when pressing power button but the display doesn't' respond, I have to force restart it and its the same issue all over again stuck screen on logo but works just fine touch too.
After the bootloader was unlocked the phone's screen is stuck at the "your device' bootloader is unlocked.... presss power button to continue)it boots just fine but screen is stuck there!(if I lock the bootloader the screen would get stuck at first samsung M31S powered by android screen instead.
Download and recovery modes work just fine and they are displayed correctly but booting to system  just frozen screen at startup and fully functional phone(calls, touch wifi everything)
I tried flashing stock firmware multiple times with nand erase and re partitioning doesn't help.
I was able to install twrp recovery(unlocked the bootloader OEM unlock...) and it does work. But no custom roms exist for this device yet, so I can't try those.
The only thing that I noticed is in stock recovery logs there is one error unable to set property ro.boot time.init.mount.cache "5" try count 3(I've seen different numbers there its not always the same number in " ".
I cannot flash factory binary I get FAIL please get approval to use factory binary. The phone is on latest U3 Android 11.
Let me know what could cause screen to freeze and system to boot up just fine and screen to work just fine in recovery stock twrp and download mode.

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


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Android app does not open with usb debugging enabled
I am using adb to run a few shell scripts on an android tv. The problem is, one of the apps which I need to use on the tv does not open while usb debugging is active. When trying to open the app it says "turn off usb debugging to use the app". Is there any way to bypass this restriction? Or to run adb without usb debugging?

As an Android developer you can directly query if ADB_ENABLED settings is enabled or disabled. There are only two options: modify the system so that it returns a wrong ADB state or modify the app to bypass the check. On a rooted device there may be a Magisk module to hide the state but I am not sure how complicated it is to root a TV.

How could I modify my system for it to return a fake ADB status? I can not modify the app, sadly.

As I said you need to unlock and root the device and then may be a Magisk module (assuming that Magisk manages root). But I don't have any experience with Android TV and rooting.


text:
All connections insecure, unable to connect over WiFi except for Google-hosted web sites - possible causes?
Recently I have been having this issue and it has become a real pain that is almost constant.
I can use Google Search, YouTube etc. in the web browser (Chrome and Firefox). However if I try to access anything else I get that it's unreachable. The thing is the web sites (notice the plural form!) are all reachable and I can access them if I switch to LTE instead of using the WiFi connection at home. In addition I have also noticed that all the pages are insecure connection, which should not be the case. Last but not least I can enter web sites (not hosted by Google) via the app that shows stories (news snippets - can be accessed on a Moto G by swiping left to right when in home screen), which is powered by Chrome.
The web sites are all secure and with my laptop (WiFi) I have no issues accessing them and viewing the certificate information.
I tried flushing the DNS host cache via chrome://net-internals/#DNS but nothing changed. I don't see any indication of incorrect system time. I'm out of ideas.
The issue was "solved" by modifying the WiFi connection and setting it to static IP address along with a manually entered gateway and DNS. I don't mind adding my phone as a static IP in my router but I would rather know how this situation occurred so that I prevent it repeating on other devices. In the end there is a solution that goes around the problem and a solution that solves the actual problem. I am interested in the latter.

Congratulations on solving your own problem. However, this post corrupts the Q&A form of this StackExchange, where Qs and As are separate posts. Please feel to submit an answer to your own question by editing out the update into its separate post. You will also get the opportunity to ACCEPT and gain reputation that way too.

Since this only happens on WiFi, I'm afraid there's a possibility of the ISP doing MitM (see also this question on Security.SE: Can ISP use MITM attack to "break" encrypted traffic?). I also faced this issue sometimes on with my mobile data provider where they inject ads on non-HTTPS sites. DNS hijacking might also be related.

@wbogacz I will paraphrase the question so that it concentrates more on why this is happening.

@AndrewT. I might run a malware scan on my phone. When it comes to apps I am pretty hermit-like - I spend a lot of time choosing the app so that I don't have to change it later. As for the ISP being at fault here while I do not like Vodafone (my ISP in Germany) and the router they provided me with is utter garbage the fact that both both my and my partner's notebook and also her iPhone don't encounter this issue I am more willing to lean towards malware on my Android.


text:
Can android studio emulator run without `adb`?
I want to run android-studio emulator without having an adb.
On running the emulator It checks for the adb.exe using ANDROID_SDK_ROOT environment variable and exits if there is no valid one(valid one = having an adb).
How to run the emulator without having the adb? Is there a command enabling running the emulator without the adb or something like that?

Could you explain what you are actually trying to do or why you want to run the emulator without adb?

@Robert I want to run it on a platform that doesn't have a compatible adb and I want to save the resources since I don't need it.

Well the emulator is open source. You can try to modify the sources and build your own version.

@Robert yeah I know that but do I have to remove the dependencies on adb manually or there is a parameter I can pass to make it work without the adb?

The emulator's command line options don't include anything for working without adb, and several options implicitly assume adb will be in use. I suspect, though I don't know for sure, that Android Studio uses adb to communicate with the emulator.
It looks as if you'll need to change the emulator to run it without adb.


text:
SMS sender ID does not identify inbound SMS numbers with (9)
I live in Argentina.
Whenever I receive a phone call from +54 11 xxxx-xxxx and I have that number associated with Roger in my contacts, Roger is identified.
But if I don't pick up for whatever reason, I get an SMS reporting the missed call.
The number which originates the SMS is reported as +54 9 11 xxxx-xxxx, and Roger is not identified.
If I add +54 9 11 xxxx-xxxx as a number for Roger, the SMS ID is correctly updated, which confirms the SMS app has access to my contacts. I shouldn't need replicating the number for all my contacts.
Currently using Android 11, Samsung S10e.

This was working fine in my previous Android 8, Samsung J7 prime, prior to my Smart Switch.

See details below.
How can I fix this?
After trying this I realized the problem was the extra 9.
I didn't try syncing numbers stored in the phone with my Google account as here (and I am not sure my problem is the same as that other). SMS ID should not rely on Google, and I didn't need that with Android 8. I guess the OS (or the app?) should take care of that.
(related)

More details
How this was working before the phone switch
I was using a Samsung J7 prime with Android 8, with the same sim card and mobile provider as I use now.
I am right now checking in my old phone a message that I received, with number +54 9 11 xxxx-xxxx, and SMS ID is correct.
The same message, in my new phone (transferred via Smart Switch) is not SMS-IDentified.
How are phone numbers built
Phone numbers are built as +(Country) (Area) (Number) as usual, with a possible extra 9 after the country code, or a possible extra 15 after the area code.
The historical reasons for those extra numbers, and when were they mandatory (calling from abroad/within Argentina, phone call/SMS, calling from mobile/landline, calling to mobile/landline, etc.) are a separate issue. These rules kept confusing people, in particular foreigners. Nowadays networks are smart enough, the rules are mostly (I wouldn't dare saying 100%) not needed. You could also use +(Country) (Area) (No.) from within Argentina; before, that was not allowed, 0(Area) (No.) was needed from within Argentina. I am not certain, but I think even (Area) (No.) works. This is similar to what happens in other countries.
Related: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone_numbers_in_Argentina#Inbound_SMS
So if I call using +54 9 11 xxxx-xxxx, it will likely work well, the same as if I use  +54 11 xxxx-xxxx or 011 xxxx-xxxx.
54: Argentina
9: Prefix for mobile numbers
11: Buenos Aires
xxxx-xxxx: phone number
Then there is the issue of Caller / SMS ID for inbound calls and messages.

I would contact your mobile network provider. If a person is calling in with one number then this number should also be used for the missed-call-SMS (which is generated by your MNO). So if you see two different numbers then this is bad, even if for historical reasons both numbers are practically identical if you would try to call them.

@Robert - It might be the case that the MNO is handling the phone numbers. But I am certain the phone/OS/app has its part, see my edited OP, under How this was working before the phone switch.
And I heard of no one here with this problem, so I guess there should be a much simpler solution than going through the thorns of a MNO.


text:
Umlauts (Ö, Ü, Ä) on English US-International keyboards on Android with a physcial keyboard
Alt codes don't seem to do anything.
AltGr + O, U, A create ó, ú, á.
I need a way to type ö, ü and ä without switching layouts.
I'm using a Galaxy Tab S7 on Android 11, if it matters.

Try to type " followed by A/O/U. That works on a International Keyboard Layout.

@Seth pretty sure that won't work on Android.

The "international" version for US keyboards is

AltGr+q-> ä
AltGr+y-> ü
AltGr+p-> ö

But whether this actually works might depend on how your physical keyboard is configured, as well as on your Android configuration.
Here's an image (source: Wikipedia) of the international layout:


text:
No app found to open .apk file
I turned on unknown source installations, downloaded Confluence 1.71.13 apk via browser. When the download finished I tapped on the notification to sideload it. A message popped up saying:

No app found to open .apk file

Why did that happen? I can install it via App Manager, but I don't understand why this happens. Googling the error doesn't yield any useful info.
My Android version is 5.1.1.

How did you sideload it? Is it from a file manager app?

I downloaded it via browser, then tapped on the notification when the download finished

-->  If you tap the file from the Download list in your preferred browser, you'll get the error!
You have to go to the FILE MANAGER, then there into your DOWNLOAD HISTORY respectively the FOLDER where you saved the .apk file.
Then tap the .apk file to open it, then you might have to choose (depending on your basic settings for "Installation from Unknown Sources") to allow (option for "only this time" or similar) an installation from an "Unknown Source".
There you go! :)

This is the correct answer!


text:
Unable to inspect nested directories from computer
I have an LG Nexus 5 running Android 6.0.1 which I am using as an MP3 player and for casual browsing as it has been replaced by a more modern phone. The phone is rooted and adb debugging is enabled.
For the last few months I have some weird behaviour. When I connect the phone to a computer and enable File Transfers, the phone is automatically mounted as an external drive by the OS as it has always done. When I expand "Internal Storage" I can see all the directories and files stored at the root level. When I open any of the folders they show as being empty. In order to copy files to or from the device, I have to copy them to the root directory and then move them manually using a file manager from the phone itself.
I get this behaviour from Linux and Windows machines including if adb debugging is disabled. On Linux (Ubuntu Mate 20.04.03) I also get the message No such interface org.gtk.vfs.Mount on object at path /org/gtk/vfs/mount/1 Please select another viewer and try again when I plug the phone in. Googling this only yielded forum threads that are over 5 years old (although the phone is that sort of age)
In the terminal, the device is visible when adb is queried from the terminal. If I cd to the media folder, the device isn't visible, even though I believe it is mounted already. It doesn't show up if I run sudo fdisk -l. In fact I get a strange output from that:
Device     Boot   Start        End    Sectors   Size Id Type
/dev/sda1  *       2048    1050623    1048576   512M  b W95 FAT32
/dev/sda2       1052670 1250263039 1249210370 595.7G  5 Extended
/dev/sda5       1052672 1250263039 1249210368 595.7G 83 Linux

Partition 2 does not start on physical sector boundary.

Any clues as to how to fix this would be appreciated

What you see via File Transfer mode (MT) is not the file-system but the media database (see https://android.stackexchange.com/a/202739/2241 for details). May be your media database is out of sync and needs to be rebuild.

Thanks for the tip, I'll check it out. Any idea why this would have suddenly started a couple of months ago?

Typically there is at least one file that might be not 100% compliant to it's file format that "confuses" the service that populates/updates the mediastore database. As you use the device as MP3 player I would recommend to execute a program/app that validates every MP3 file to find defect and invalid files.

For Linux, may I recommend you adbfs-rootless? I'm using that for years and am very happy with it. Much more reliable than MTP, better transfer speeds, etc. Works as FUSE mount, so your Android device will be made available like any local (or network mounted) directory. // Btw: more ADB tips here in my list ;)

Izzy thanks for your comment. I had a quick look at the repo. I root my phones so that I can install a call recording app that accesses the hardware directly. I can see the benefit of adbfs rootless, I'll recommend it to my wife if I ever convince her to stop using a Mac ;)

Robert's comment was spot on.
I installed SD Scanner, rebooted my phone and triggered a scan of the whole SD card. Plugging the phone into a computer and all was well.
Credit where it's due: more info can be found on Robert's answer


text:
How can one find out whether Android is throttling my CPU, e.g. because the temperature is too high?
I'm suspecting that Android sometimes limits my CPU at around 66% when the temperature is too high.

I can see that my Geekbench score is much lower than what it should be:

Even though my CPU isn't supposed to be throttled:

How can one find out whether Android is limiting my CPU, e.g. because the temperature is too high?
I use a Samsung Galaxy S9 with Android 10.

Don't you think it's throttled because of low battery? ;)

@alecxs good point, though typically the device is slow when warm: cooling it down in a freezer seems to help make it go faster. But I'd definitely would be interesting to know if Android throttles the CPUs in case of low battery.

yes definitely. How to proof? I don't know https://android.stackexchange.com/q/241908


text:
What's eating up my storage?
I selected all the folders of my Internal Storage, and the details say it is 11.64 GB. But, on the left bar, it shows Internal Storage [31.17/32.00 GB]. Screenshot of My Files application of my phone:

ABOUT DEVICE

QUESTIONS

How is this possible?
I can't download any application and install it. How to free the HIDDEN STORAGE?

The internal storage is just the section accessible by nearly every app. But there is also the app-private where only each app can access it's own files. So a file-manager app can only access it's own files and do not show the size of the other app data.

Additional note: those 32 GB also include the Android System, where not only you cannot access all files to read, but you cannot write at all. So no chance to "use" any free space that might exist there. PS: you might also wish to consult our storage tag-wiki for further details, including to free up storage. Most of our tags have such wikis attached, always worth a look :)

okay @Izzy and Robert


text:
Best way to lock down Android tablet?
We're deploying a number of Android tablets into the field next year. Ideally, we'd like them locked down somewhat so that the users can only access certain apps and settings. Configuring a restricted user seems to work, but in the event the device is shut off or rebooted, with newer versions of Android (and the accompanying default encryption of the internal storage), a full user has to be the first to sign in before a restricted user can access the device.
What is currently the best way to work around this? My first preference would be something directly supported by the OS, but I also see a number of "kiosk" apps out there.
I'm currently working with a Samsung Galaxy Tab A7, if that matters.

Some kiosk like apps make use of the Device Administration API which works similar to an MDM solution just on-device. Unfortunately the API is deprecated since Android 9 which means it is now still available but may be removed or slimmed down regarding its features in future versions.

Thanks, @Robert  I'd considered MDMs, but it seems the offerings are more mature for iOS than they are for Android, though I am totally open to suggestions.


text:
How to reinstall android kitkat in HP Slate 7 voice tab using Mac
My HP slate 7 voice tab is stuck with its logo when I try to switch it on. I also tried to hard reset it by holding all the three buttons (volume up + volume down + power) but it gets stuck on "product mode" with no further changes on the screen.
As I a noobie in this, any guidance is very much appreciated.
PS: As its an old tab, I am also fine with rooting it just to have it up and running for a few more years, rather than throwing it away. Kindly help

You can try if you get into recovery mode: https://droidrecovery.com/hp-slate-7-voicetab-recovery-mode/ If that doesn't work something is very wrong with your device and most likely the device or better it's flash memory has to be considered dead.


text:
How can I flash android_low_ram enabler via adb and fastboot?
I wanted to know if I could flash the android_low_ram enabler zip file via adb and fastboot as I want to make Android run smoother on my 2gb ram phone which came pre- installed with full Android. I searched on xda for this but couldn't find exact adb command for my purpose.
Links -

https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/flash-zip-files-from-adb-terminal-and-other-commands.1353234/
android_low_ram enabler zip file --
https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/mod-low-ram-property-patcher-for-android.3737373/

Is your device bootloader unlocked and/or rooted? Such patches modify the system and can't be installed on unrooted systems.

https://github.com/TheSkater187/Magisk_Low_Ram

I have bootloader unlocked but any recovery is not available for my device not it is rooted.

https://android.stackexchange.com/tags/systemless-root/info

This flashable zip does nothing more than installing some OTA startup script which does modification in build.prop
ro.config.low_ram=true

assuming you have unlocked bootloader you can install flashable zip from custom recovery via fastboot/adb
fastboot boot twrp.img
adb push android_lowram_enabler.zip /tmp
adb shell twrp install /tmp/android_lowram_enabler.zip

That might however not give the desired result, as OTA script is pushed to /system/addon.d which is a non-standard feature of LineageOS custom ROM, and so ro.config.low_ram


text:
successfully installing recovery but unable to boot into recovery
i am facing an issue and that is i am having the current image (boot/recovery) have been destroyed and can not boot,
but I am able to boot into fastboot with power + volume buttons and i am able to flash recovery as well i have tried three recoveries twrp, orangefox, and stock and they all flash successfully but after that it again shows above mentioned message i am unable to go into recovery below is the code of my console log :)
platform-tools_r31.0.3-windows>adb devices
* daemon not running; starting now at tcp:5037
* daemon started successfully
List of devices attached

platform-tools_r31.0.3-windows>fastboot devices
b4e38ae3        fastboot

platform-tools_r31.0.3-windows>fastboot flash recovery  orangefox.img
Sending 'recovery' (35408 KB)                      OKAY [  0.961s]
Writing 'recovery'                                 OKAY [  0.171s]
Finished. Total time: 1.181s

platform-tools_r31.0.3-windows>fastboot boot orangefox.img
Sending 'boot.img' (35408 KB)                      OKAY [  0.783s]
Booting                                            FAILED (remote: 'unknown command')
fastboot: error: Command failed

It's a Realme 3 pro running Android 11 custom rom corvus.
I was going back to stock rom, I deleted data, cache/delvik, but not vender as it was needed i guess, and then flashed stock rom downloaded from official realme website then i flashed orangefox recovery again then magisk after that i clear cache and restart it and from there on it showing the current image(boot/recovery) have been destroyed.

its realme 3 pro the version was android 11 custom rom corvus and i was going back to stock rom, I deleted data, cache/delvik, but not vender as it was needed i guess, and then flashed stock rom downloaded from official realme website then i flashed orangefox recovery again then magisk after that i clear cache and restart it and from there on it showing the current image(boot/recovery) have been destroyed

fastboot boot won't boot previously flashed recovery, it will use the file given. fastboot flash will permanently flash file into partition, but there exist no command to boot from partition afterwards. Therefore you should press Volume Up during early boot stage, for example when typing fastboot reboot

anything else I could do? I did face something familiar earlier but I forget I got it to work :(

well, it`s solved what I did is I flashed a recovery then vbmeta.img and reboot it and it worked like a charm :)

well, it`s solved what I did is I flashed a recovery then vbmeta.img and reboot it and it worked like a charm :)
fastboot --disable-verity --disable-verification flash vbmeta vbmeta.img
above is the command after flashing recovery
link of the article I followed


text:
Can one add a virtual background with the latest version of Microsoft Teams on Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (US version)?
I read contradictory statements.
E.g.
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msteams/forum/all/background-effect-on-samsung-s21/8ecfca7a-d025-47ee-9cb7-abcea99fa68f:

Hi, I just got my new Samsung S21 phone and I'm surprised the background effect is not available on my teams app when I join a meeting. Does anyone has similar situation ?

vs. https://www.androidpolice.com/2021/01/28/galaxy-s21-users-can-apply-custom-backgrounds-and-snazz-up-video-calls-on-duo-zoom-teams-and-webex/:

We've been able to confirm that these custom video effects are currently only available for four apps: Google Duo, Zoom, Microsoft Teams.

Can one add a virtual background with the latest version of Microsoft Teams on Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (US version)?

Both statements can be true, considering the number of variants of "S21" that exists (4G, 5G, ... as 1st dimension) and (Qualcomm vs. Exynos as 2nd dimension). Therefore you have plenty of devices that may or may not support virtual background. Additionally the Teams app changes and potentially this feature was only active in certain app versions?

@Robert thanks I've made the question more precise.


text:
Force whatsapp to upload backup
My whatsapp is uploading backup every week so the backup system is working .
But i want to backup the chat right now so i tried to press the big green "BACK UP" button. A pop up appeared "Backing up messages , please wait a moment (%)" .
It goes from 0% to 100% , but after 100% , the popup just disappear and no backup was made .
How do i force whatsapp to upload backup right now ?

I log out from my whatsapp account and relogin , the back up button works after relogin . I don't know why this happen , maybe a bug in whatsapp.

By backup do you mean backup to Google Drive or local backup of messages?
The Whatsapp backup process consists of two distinct phases:

Local backup: saving all messages inside the phone memory.
Backup to Google Drive: it happens only after the local backup and only if a Google account is selected. This backup includes all messages and media (you can choose whether to include videos or not).

If you get a pop-up saying: "Backing up messages", it means that it's only completing the local backup of messages, which seems to be successful in your case.
If you want to force a backup to Google Drive you have to first select the Google account in Settings > Chat > Chat Backup > Google Drive Settings > Google Account, then click the green "Back Up" button and Whatsapp will automatically backup both locally and to Google Drive.