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What will happen to purchased apps if I log out of my Google account
I'm in the process of moving to a new Google account. Most of the free apps I have, I've already uninstalled and re-installed. However, the purchased apps I'll have to take little by little, because I have some expensive ones, and my budget isn't big enough to do them all at once.
So basically if I log out of the old account, or even delete it, what will happen to the non-free apps? Will they continue to function as long as I do not uninstall them, or will they stop working altogether? I'm assuming I won't receive any updates until I re-purchase them with the new account, I'm fine with that.
I'm eager to delete the old account, but some of the more expensive apps are important to me, so I need to make an educated decision on how to proceed. I'm doing this because I recently changed my surname, and the old Google account is the last remnant of my old name.

Even if something goes wrong after removing the account, you can always add it back and all should be good

@Abochur Thanks. I'm aware of that. And I just did a test with one of the low-low price apps, and as it turned out I had to remove the account from the phone to be able to re-purchase it with the new account, and the re-add the old account to keep the not-yet-transferred apps working.  It may be that this is the case with free apps as well, so I may actually have to redo all the uninstall/reinstall I'd already done. What a hassle. Anyway, what I actually mean by delete was to delete the account completely, i.e. not just from my phone, but from the servers as well. And that'll have to wait.

I realised that moving the free apps isn't as simple as deinstalling and reinstalling with the new account set as default. It seems Google Play reinstalls using the account from which the app was previously installed if that account exists on the phone. I found a workaround though. Log in to https://play.google.com with the new accounts and trigger installation from there. This also has the advantage that it works without first deinstalling, and the apps don't have their settings reset. I'm hoping this will work equally smoothly with paid apps, once I start re-purchasing them.

You could try lucky patcher if you are using it for legitimate purposes since you did actually pay for the apps. Do you have a phone with root?

@LateralTerminal Yes, I'm rooted. However, I don't really want to remove license verification. Ideally I'd like to transfer it to my new account, and as beeshyams suggested, some devs might be willing to help with that. Failing that, I'd rather re-purchase than tamper with the apks. And don't get me wrong, I'm not afraid of the technical implications, I just don't want to. Thanks for the suggestion though.

When you sign out of the account from which you purchased apps , they will stop working as licencing checks are carried out in the background. Thanks to Izzy who pointed out in comments that this valid only for apps having vending.CHECK_LICENSE active and running. Apparently , all purchased apps don't have this permission running
I have not personally tried this but you may like to give it a shot. Set up a family account . Instructions here. I don't know if you need different billing address / payment method
Another alternative is to add the new Google account to your phone and only use that for mail, Calendar etc. In this case the apps would continue to work but not be updated as explained in Google help

Thanks. Unfortunately family libraries don't seem to be available in Sweden. I'll just keep the old account around until I've had the chance to re-purchase all the ones I can't live without.

@beeshyams your first bullet point isn't always valid. Only for those apps requiring the vending.CHECK_LICENSE permission and using it. I've got a bunch of apps I've bought, and they work fine on my devices even without a Google account altogether. Unfortunately I also have one with that permission and checking daily – which is the only reason I still have one device with GApps …

@Izzy What happened if I remove that permission in .XML file of that APK?

@Biswa I'm not a dev, but I can make a good guess: the app would crash when trying to invoke the corresponding function – as it can no longer access that API (lacking permission) and is not expecting that; if it was expecting failure, it probably would do a "clean exit" remarking it cannot check its license. Depends on the dev; some might allow for a few days without check. Apart from that, if you modify the APK the signature will be "broken", so you couldn't install updates anymore (without modifying them, too).


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Both failed rooting LG G6 Nougat 7.0 on one-click root and PC
I have been trying to root my LG G6 with Nougat 7.0 on. On the one click method it reaches 90% then fails with an error code: 0x172E55. I can never get past that. Then I tried with the PC version. I turned usb debugging on and use the original wire. It keeps on prompting me to turn on usb debugging and flashes on and off the connecting image. How do I fix this?

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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Reset Android settings to stock
Is there anyway to restore all the settings as if I just set up the device? I don't need to factory reset and purge all files and apps, I just want to reset the settings
Device : Moto G5S Plus, Android 7.1.1

Does it mean, clean accounts too or just: display, network, security, notification and sound settings only. Be specific about which settings are making you think you wanna reset

Moto G5S Plus, Android 7.1.1. Literally all the settings afforded to me.

AFAIK not possible without factory reset

That's pretty retarded...

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


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Android no more lets me remove google account
I used to select a google account each time I needed to add an app from google play. Then I would remove the account afterward. It is no longer possible. Are you aware of any changes on Android? I have android 6.0.1 phone Samsung SM-J510FN.

Account is needed by Factory Reset Protection for securing your device hence this can't allow it. On my phone you can't remove the primary mail unless you allow the unlocking of bootloader which makes the factory reset protection not applicable. I think this might happen too on your marshmallow

As it worked before, it could be that this time you've installed an app that uses Google's license service (look for the permission vending.CHECK_LICENSE) which requires the playstore app and the account it was purchased with to verify its license or otherwise would refuse to run.

Thank you. I removed the latest app but let's check it. How do I check the permission? is CHECK_LICENSE an environment variable? a file?

I too was able to remove my primary Google account until recently.  When removing it, it used to warn me about device protection features would no longer work or something like that but it would let me continue after entering my phone's PIN.  Google account was no longer listed in Settings -> Accounts.
But recently I've gotten the same message and screenshots above.  It seems a recent update to Google Play Services is the cause of this.  The solution that worked for me was Settings -> Application Manager -> Google Play Services -> More (top-right corner of Application info screen) -> Uninstall updates. Then tap uninstall (and/or "yes" or "ok"... I forget the exact prompts).
You should then be able to remove your Google account as described above. (This worked for me, anyway.) The caveat is most of your Google apps (and some non-Google apps) will complain that they won't run unless you update Google play services. (Which, if you do, puts you back in the same spot with removing your Google account.  Resistance is futile, eh?)  Most apps did still work correctly for me (they'll pop up a notification which you should be able to clear) but a few did not such as Youtube.
Android 6.0.1, Samsung SM-S320VL, non-rooted

I remember that after an upgrade on android os I was then able to remove it.

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


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No files are found on MTP
When I connect my phone to my computer, no files are found on the device. It says this folder is empty. This is a new unlocked phone running Nougat 7.1.1 and this is the first time I've connected it to my PC. I've tried turning on USB-debugging but nothing changes. Is there a way to fix this?

UPDATE:
    I fixed the problem by changing USB configuration to PTP (picture transfer protocol), then back to MTP (media transfer protocol. Thanks for all your help!

Did you pull down the notification shade and choose MTP instead of Charging Only?

yes, ive tried almost all usb modes

This is commonly because the External Storage and Media Storage databases are out of sync and MTP mode doesn't allow for direct file access or listing, it relies on the database... Disconnect all USB cables, go to Settings - Apps - Show System and find Media Storage and External Storage and perform a Clear Data on both of them, then reboot. After the phone is completely booted, wait about 5-10 minutes and reconnect USB and go into MTP mode and see if the files now show up.


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Old files not showing up on PC. Suggestions for Workarounds?
I'm trying to transfer files from one phone to another. I connected both of them to my computer with usb. However, files that are older than 6/15/17 do not show up on the computer. I can see them in my file manager app, but not on PC.

Try restarting PC

You can use Airdroid to transfer files over local WiFi connection or use adb to pull all files.

Install adb on your PC
Turn on USB debugging from Developer settings
Use adb pull command to copy everything


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[Nokia 3]adb reboot bootloader failed
I have Nokia 3 Android 7.1.1 connected to PC Windows 8.
Problem is:
C:\>adb reboot bootloader
reboot failed: -1

Reason to do it is to flash/root in future.
Other commands ok:
C:\>adb devices -l
List of devices attached
NE1GAM0760502899       device product:TA-1032_00WW model:TA_1032 device:NE1 transport_id:11
C:\>adb reboot
[...really reboot as expected]
C:\>adb reboot recovery
[...really reboot to recovery]
C:\>adb --version
Android Debug Bridge version 1.0.39
Version 0.0.1-4500957
Installed as C:\Users\nobody\AppData\Local\Android\Sdk\platform-tools\adb.exe
C:\>adb -t 11 reboot bootloader
reboot failed: -1

C:\>adb shell getprop
...
[ro.build.date.utc]: [1511256803]
[ro.build.description]: [TA-1032_00WW-user 7.1.1 NMF26O 00WW_2_15H release-keys]
[ro.build.display.id]: [00WW_2_15H]
[ro.build.flavor]: [NE1_00WW_FIH-user]
[ro.build.host]: [NJ-SW-UBUNTU-S7]
[ro.build.id]: [NMF26O]
[ro.build.product]: [NE1]
[ro.build.tags]: [release-keys]
[ro.build.type]: [user]
[ro.build.user]: [foxconn2]
[ro.build.version.incremental]: [00WW_2_15H]
[ro.build.version.preview_sdk]: [0]
[ro.build.version.release]: [7.1.1]
[ro.build.version.sdk]: [25]
[ro.build.version.security_patch]: [2017-12-01]
...

What's wrong?
I can reboot to fastboot manually from recovery menu ok.

Some devices don't support adb reboot bootloader command such as Samsung devices, may be it's the case for yours too? If you want to boot into the bootloader, first boot in the recovery then reboot to fastboot from the recovery as you already do.

Have you turned on OEM unlock option in Developer Settings?

@harpratap , Yes.


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Google Play Store is unable to search for updates
I have a THL T9 Plus with Android 6.0. Google Play Store version is 8.5.39.W-all [PR]. Google Play Services is version 11.9.51. I try to install updates on phone, but I get the error message, "There was an error during update process." I can't see even new version of installed applications in the list.
I tried to force stop those processes, wipe caches, restart phone and I already updated Google Play Store client version, but none of these helped, I got same error message.

There are bunch of things you can try mentioned here

Here are list of things can be done like uninstall updates and install fresh again, you can get a list of check here

Yes, fresh install seems a good solution, but where to found proper apk file?

It is a system app ; you can't uninstall or install. What you can do is to uninstall updates by Settings > Apps > Google Play Store and tap on “Uninstall updates”. Connect to Wi-Fi and your updates will be installed automatically


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LG G6 camera - ways to improve photo quality?
I was under the impression that the photos on the g6 were supposed to be fantastic because it had 2 cameras instead of one (depth or something like that?) but I find that the photos just generally suck. Not sure how to explain it. But I know that iPhone photos generally blow mine out of the water.
Are there any explanations for this? I don't have an SD card (it's coming in the mail) and once I put it in maybe that will change some default settings?

also happy to provide more settings etc just not sure what's relevant

Can you provide a screenshot of your camera settings, like picture size, resolution, etc.?

It's supposed to suck - the main sensor is a paltry (compared to other flagships of the year) Sony IMX258. The dual cam setup serves to offer wide-angle capture, not emulate depth (that's what Huawei's setup does), and certainly not to enhance quality.

were supposed to be fantastic because it had 2 cameras instead of one

Having 2 cameras doesn't mean anything, Pixel 2 takes better photos than a "Dual camera" iPhone X

Are there any explanations for this?

The hardware isn't good enough. The software post processing isn't good. And the screen on which you look at pictures plays a big role too. A bad iPhone image might look good on Pixel screen but not vice-versa. This Verge Video explains this quite in depth.

don't have an SD card (it's coming in the mail) and once I put it in maybe that will change some default settings?

Nope, it won't change anything.
As for answering your original question, yes you can improve your camera to make it a lot better. Easiest way is to install a 3rd party camera app (I recommend Google's Camera port found here). The difficult but sure shot way of improving is to capture images in RAW format and then post process them yourself later on. In a gist, RAW photos will give you unadulterated photos without any of the shitty software processing done by LG. You can then tweak the photos to whatever style you like the most (see it as Instagram filters but on steroids). This is how most professional photographers actually create their stunning images.
If you want to tweak them on your phone, Snapseed and Lightroom are the best apps. You can look at some introductory tutorial online and its very easy once you get to know what every setting is doing.


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How can one create a file shortcut inside the Android file system?
I don't want to create a file shortcut on the desktop, I want to create a shortcut inside the Pictures folder to the DCIM folder. My mom is able to handle tech stuff, she used to work for HP. But she's getting forgetful and keeps forgetting that I have told her multiple times that her photos are under DCIM and not Pictures. If I have to root her phone to make this work, that's not an issue, I have plenty of experience with that, and have already researched how to root her particular model of phone. I believe the version of Android on the phone (AT&T LG V20) is 7.0 Nougat. Thanks for any help you can offer!

As a workaround, I suggested you introduce her to the gallery, there she can find all the pictures, and the file is called camera instead of dcim

The gallery works, but IMO it can be a rather convoluted mess and hard to find things in. On my phone for instance, I have tons of music on my micro SD card along with album cover jpegs. Gallery sees all those thumbs and absolutely pollutes my gallery with them. I have to scroll through hundreds of things just to find the download folder.

@Braden'sPC's There are many gallery apps that can exclude such images. You can even pin important folders like Camera. Downloads to the top so you don't have to scroll down everytime. If your favourite gallery app does not have this feature, just create an empty file named .nomedia and Android will exclude that folder by default in every gallery app.

Ooooh. Learning something new everyday. Thanks!

It's those little things in Android that you never hear about until you do lol

What you are looking for is called symbolic linking
ln -s command is your friend. Now depending on your device and the file manager you use, this process can differ. I don't think you'll need root for this, but if your device doesn't come with symbolic linking by default, you'll need root to add this.
And like the other comment said, it's better to use a Gallery app for photos rather than doing this.


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Where do I find a picture I sent from messages app as MMS?
I took a picture of a tracking number receipt and sent the text message. Now I can't find the picture of the receipt. How do I find it? It's not in gallery.

If you're using the Google messages app, then the picture wouldn't automatically be saved to your gallery app, rather, it stays in the messaging app.
Open the messaging app, find the person you sent the message to, and the pictures should be there. If you deleted the picture, then it's fully deleted and the only way to recover it, would be by using some picture recovery method.
If your phone is rooted, you can double check in the directory where all SMS/MMS are stored, it might still be there. This would be under /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/mmssms.db


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If all file sharing apps like shareit, xender and SuperBeam uses wifi technology to transfer files, why their transfer speed differs?
I've downloaded several file sharing apps  like shareit, xender and SuperBeam. They all use wifi technology to transfer files. Then why does their speed differ too much. I've noticed that shareit takes 3-4 seconds while SendAnywhere takes about 30-35 seconds to transfer a same file on same devices. What makes ShareIt efficient over SendAnywhere?

Probably depends on how well the app was developed, codes used etc.

How reading the file from the file-system can affect performance. Often there are various ways to read a file in a programming language.
The physical transfer that uses everything below OSI layer 6 can't be different, as those apps all use Androids default APIs to achieve that.
Then how saving the file into the receivers file-system also affects performance. There are various ways to save a file in a programming language.


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Password has appeared but i've not installed it!
My partner uses her Lenovo tablet all the time , she doesn't use any password or pin just a swipe after boot up screen BUT tonight she booted up its got to the " desktop" screen but when she swipes it comes up asking for  PASSWORD , we've tried all known passwords yet it just says " WRONG PASSWORD " after 5 attempts it shuts down , there's no " Forgotten password " choice!
I'm at a loss , we don't really want to do a reset as she will lose pics that haven't been backup!
It's a Lenovo yoga tablet 2

Is it maybe a Sim password? If you have a Sim card in it, remove it and see if that helps

There's no sim in it !

Oh well, just a guess. The only thing i can think of is that someone thought it was funny to set up a password while she wasn't looking.

I'm the only one been near it so it can't be that , she loaded 2 games yesterday that she saw in an advert thing not the store so i wonder if its a bug! We do think the house is haunted !!

If you suspect an app is responsible for this, try following instructions here let me know how it goes

Got it to say safe mode bottom left but as soon as you swipe it still comes up Password !

Well I'm out of ideas. Let's see if anyone else has an answer as to how a password set itself up without human intervention.

I'm baffled & i don't do baffled!! Cheers anyway

Could you go to Google Device Manager and Lock your phone? It should ideally now ask you to use your Google email and password to unlock. Make sure you are connected to the internet.

Its a tablet , can't get any further than turning it on wait for home screen & that's it , when its normally swipe to continue it now asks for a password! which we didn't set up!!

@Paul harpratap is saying that you should go online to the link provided, and lock the device. On older devices you can set a custom code that will be asked of you when signing in. So go to Google device manger from a different device, and after logging into the same Google account as the tablet, press on lock device, put in a password and lock. Then go to your tablet and put in the same password


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Samsung account crashes on S3
I have a Samsung Galaxy S3 LTE.  I've been trying to use it with a Samsung Gear S3 Classic.  The phone and watch can find each other, but whenever I attempt to push an app or a watchface from the phone to the watch, I get the message

Unfortunately, Samsung account has stopped

I have seen this message for a little while now (whenever I restart the phone) but I have largely ignored it because the phone still operated correctly.  However, now it seems like it prevents the Samsung Gear app from installing items to the watch.
I have found some items that talk about updating the firmware.  I've downloaded Kies 3 (version 2.6.4.17113_1) and that refuses to do anything with my phone (which is running Android 4.4.4).   I've downloaded Smart Switch.  Which will actually connect to my phone and I've been able to back it up.  But it thinks the phone is running the latest firmware version.  In fact, my phone thinks that too when I check it directly on the phone.
I just would like to get Samsung Gear to install items on the watch, so it's pretty frustrating.  If anyone knows how to get Gear to work with this phone, I would truly appreciate any help.
I have read that this is related to an incomplete Samsung account.  I never had one.  I did create one online with the hope to add it to the phone.  However, attempts to add the Samsung account causes the same crash message,
Details:

Phone Model Number: GT-19305
Android Version: 4.4.4
Android Security Patch Level: 2016-01-01
Baseband Version: 19305XXUFPA1
Kernel Version: 3.0.31-6850576
Build Number: KTU84P.19305XXUFPA1
SE for Android Status: Enforcing SEPF_GT-19305_4.4.4_0050

Well, that's a shame.  I had asked this question on Samsung's community (https://us.community.samsung.com/t5/Galaxy-S-Phones/bd-p/GalaxyS) and it was removed.  I guess I was hoping for actual support from them.

I've added it a second time.  See if they answer this time (https://us.community.samsung.com/t5/Galaxy-S-Phones/Samsung-account-constantly-crashes-on-S3/m-p/239705#M42859)


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Pin Keep Reminder to notification shade?
How do I pin my todo list (which is a reminder so that it appears on my calender) from keep to the notification shade?

There's no native way in Android to do it unless the app itself implements it. However, some hacky ways to achieve it-

Using apps - Boomerang Notifications and Pin Notifications
Using Tasker - https://www.reddit.com/r/tasker/comments/4orcfg/make_notification_persistent/d5h8ln9/
Xposed Module - https://forum.xda-developers.com/xposed/modules/4-1-pinnotif-pin-notifications-to-avoid-t2765095 (Not updated in a while, will be incompatible with latest versions of Android)


text:
Want to sync data (music) to sdcard on Android 7.0
I'm looking for something that would allow me to keep a folder (music files) in sync between a main folder on a PC and a folder on an external SDcard in a (not rooted) Android 7 phone.  Would prefer wireless, but at this stage would be happy with USB connection as well.
My attempts so far:

Run SSHDroid on android and rsync from PC.

SSHDroid lets me see everything, but any time I try to write to the external SD card, I get permission denied.  I can write to internal memory only.

Run network server from ES Explorer.

Same problem to SSHDroid.  Can't seem to write to the external SD card.

Mount phone on windows via USB and use PC sync tool.

While I can see the folders in Explorer (and can copy files to them), I can't seem to access them from any other windows app.  When I do "Save As..." in an application, I can't see the phone in the list of devices that I can save to.  So I can't seem to point any of the windows sync tools to it.  With Cygwin-based rsync, I don't have a drive letter to access.

MyPhoneExplorer.

This is a client/server app for the PC and the phone.  It's easy to configure access to the SD card and can sync data back and forth.  So this seems perfect, except the file sync portion doesn't like large folders. Small syncs succeed, but when I ask it to sync my music folder (over 15GB and 9000 files), the program crashes while trying to analyze stuff before the transfer starts.
Any other solutions I should be trying (or anything I might be doing wrong with the previous attempts)?
Actual phone is LG K20 V

Sorry, misread this question. This won't help

FolderSync should be perfect for that. I'm using it myself (in the paid version, though). App runs on your device, and can sync against a plethora of remotes: ssh, Samba/CIFS, Cloud … take your pick :)

If you really want to keep the entire directory (and possibly its sub-directories) in sync, so that their content is "mirrored", FolderSync would be a good candidate. It's an app running on your Android device that can communicate with a plethora of protocols:

FolderSync Screenshots (click images for larger variants)
As you can see in the first screenshot, it not only supports many clouds and FTP, but also Samba/CIFS (Windows PC, second from bottom). SSH can be used as well (that's how I use it with my Linux machines). FolderSync also allows you to schedule syncs, even limit that to when you're connected to your home WiFi. The paid version also has tasker support.
I'm not affiliated with the product or company, but I'm using the paid version happily for years on multiple devices :)

Does it support "backup mode", e.g. only file creation and modification will be synced, deletion will not be synced to server?

Among other things, yes, @iBug – you can do bi-directional or uni-directional sync as well.

Yep, worked really well.


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How to take small-sized-(~50KB) good quality screenshots using overlay button?
I'm using Screenshot Capture to take screenshots using an overlay button (shown in the image).

The problem with it is that it creates somehow large big size screenshots (around 1MB each). Unfortunately it doesn't provide settings to control the JPG quality of saved screenshots like Snagit does (on Windows, shown in image).

I'm looking for being able to take screenshots using hover button, and also able to control quality settings like JPG Subfile type and Quality in order to make screenshots smaller (~50KB).

Note: I know that I can use image converter apps and tools to convert large produced images into smaller. But I'm looking for a direct way to take screenshots directly small (Because often I become away of my laptop, also I don't want to consume time and mind to bother with screenshots size regularly).
My Anrdoid version: 6.0.1

Touchshot is an app I use which has both you are looking for

Hover button (overlay)
JPEG / PNG - JPEG quality 80 /90 /100 and resolution can be varied from 640 x 360 , 1280 x 720, 1920 x 1080

Minimum size by manipulating these is still around 100 kB and not as low as you want. There may be other apps that offer size you want but not with overlay function. As an additional feature , you get date and time stamped screenshots

I think if something provides controlling the Subfile Type it can optimize size more. On Snagit changing the Subfile Type  to be YUV 4:4:1 instead of YUV 4:4:4 dramatically reduces the size, while preserving great quality.

Maybe , but I am not aware  / knowledgeable about it


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TWRP 2.8.7.0 -> How secure does WIPE erase your personal data
I need to mail my Sony z3c smartphone to a repair shop.
It is rooted and I have a recent TWRP backup that I moved to my PC. I removed the sdCard and booted into recovery.
If I go to wipe -> factory reset is this sufficient enough to prevent a   nosy repair shop employee from reading out my sensitive data.
I could not find any information about how the wiping process erases your data. Does it just delete the partition table or does it write new data over every single bit.
Does anyone have some information on what commands will be executed when using TWRP to wipe the phone ?

From official TWRP

For instance, if you're getting ready to sell your device, then it's a good idea to wipe everything on the device so that the new owner doesn't get your private data. Note that these wipe options may not be completely destructive. If you store especially sensitive information on your device or are really concerned about your private data, then you may need to look into other options to ensure that your data is fully destroyed.

So, TWRP wipe isn't the best way of you are especially sensitive to personal information being captured

Recommended way is to encrypt and factory reset. A factory reset by itself is supposed to overwrite information but it has been shown that it is not 100% true always - some parts of storage are marked as overwritten but in reality aren't. If the phone is encrypted

....If the phone's hard drive is encrypted, any unerased data will be scrambled and effectively useless

This was established in a study two years ago , details here
Edit Thanks to Izzy who pointed in comments another important aspect of FRP(Factory Reset Protection)- make sure you are signed out of your Google account before doing factory reset. Else, this protection will kick in and you will have major issues at hand. Also refer to tools in his curated collection linked in the comment for secure deletion

I know my answer didn't address the how does TWRP do it portion but addresses your main concern. This is a typical XY problem

Good point to mention "encrypt and reset". In my app listings there are also some apps for secure deletion which might be worth a look. And before the device returns and we get our next FRP question: it would be a good idea to remove the Google account prior to factory resetting :)


text:
Why would I automatically share usage and diagnostics data?
In my Android settings (Version 6) I have the option to activate "to automatically share usage and diagnostics data".
I suppose that this will help certain developpers - and of course Google - by getting statistics of my battery states and usage (as the title says).
But appart from getting "more wonderful and stable apps" in later versions, is there any specific advantage for me? I am asking this as a user and as a developper (who has noticed that many users have this option turned off). In our part of the world (Africa) we are still paying for data, so providing this information will cost me and other users real money.
Do you know about any more direct incentive? Like "better status" in the Play Store? Brownie Points with Google?
Or - at least - can I have access somewhere and see what Google is collecting about my own usage and my own battery performance? That would be an incentive indeed. I might find that I spend much more time with my phone than I think (or maybe that way I discover that my baboon is using it when I leave the room...).
Please do not hate this question; I have started investigating this subject today, because some of our apps have just started giving crash-reports on the Play Console, so am collecting any information I can - from the dev-side and from the users-side. Thank you.
Edit: Since the first answer is questioning my mention of battery-information in my initial question, I will paste here a short summary from a Google Android Account Help page which does mention battery-level:

What information is shared with Google If you turn on usage and
  diagnostics, your device sends information to Google about what’s
  working and not working. For example, your device can send information
  like battery level, how often you use your apps, and the quality and
  length of your network connections (like mobile, Wi-Fi, and
  Bluetooth). None of this information is used to identify you.

can I have access somewhere and see what Google is collecting about my own usage and my own battery performance?

Yes. Click on My activity to see what information is collected by Google regarding your app activities (if you didn't disable it). The data is just about how many times and when you used an app (unless Google chose not to reveal all the data captured). I don't know how this can help in improving app stability or performance
What it does with this information is not transparent and I never saw any information being recorded about your battery statistics
If you click on the hamburger menu and go to activity controls, you will see what it benignly tracks with seemingly useful goals (if you missed the sarcasm , see How Google is secretly recording you through your mobile, monitoring millions of conversations )
Bottom line - all your activites are being monitored to improve user experience etc but at a cost. Folks disable these not just because of data consumption but privacy concerns. Smarter folks manage to have minimum Google components - See Android without Google courtesy Izzy
Edit:

Thanks to OP for pointing out that Google does collect battery information as claimed here. This was new to me but I couldn't find any way this information is available to end users ; developers seem to be able to see it in Android Vitals and maybe elsewhere
Note that you can't disable monitoring, you can only pause ; this means it would be reset to default if you factory reset your device or change your device and could be reset sneakily by OS update or Play Store update. It's better to keep checking periodically if your settings hold

Yes, no problem indeed, your answer is helpful already. And finding a special location where Google would show me a summary of my own diagnostics would be unexpected and somewhat creepy. But I am amazed about all the detail I (as developper) can get about certain users from the Play Console, especially if they write a comment or install as the only user from a specific country on a given day...

Let us continue this discussion in chat.

I marked this answer, although it gave me reasons why NOT to share my usage and statistics data: I tried it out today and then went to the overview-site as given in this answer by @beeshyams and was shocked to see lots more about my content activities and hardly any technical detail about my apps. So it may be labelled diagnostic data, but I will never encourage any user of our apps to turn on this option just for the benefit of more crash reports. We rather will make an effort to do more beta testing on real physical phones with our friends and staff.


text:
Where can I find the Xposed Framework for Nougat and Oreo?
I have a OnePlus 5 running stock Android 7.1.1. I'm planning to upgrade to 8.0 when it's available.
However I'm a huge Xposed fan and I use a lot of modules, so the availability of Xposed Framework is a great concern to me.

This post will be kept updated until a stable Xposed release for all Oreo versions, including possible further versions (8.2 or so), have been released.

Should this be a Community or FAQ posting?

Hrm... isn't that asking for off-site resources? And shouldn't it rather be integrated into our xposed tag-wiki?

Last Updated: March 30, 2018
You can follow the Xposed Framework to monitor) community on Google+ so you can keep up to date with the news.
Update 3
Xposed for Oreo 8.0/8.1 is available in beta.
Update 2
Official Xposed v89 for up to SDK 25 (Android 7.1) is available as of December 17, 2017. A new version of Xposed Installer is available as well. rovo89 says the Xposed for Oreo is almost complete:

95% of the code are ported, basic functionality is working on Genymotion. The remaining 5% are obviously those parts of the code which are more difficult to port. I literally just upgraded my primary device to Android 8.1, so I can hopefully start some real testing soon.

Update 1
Official Xposed v88.1 for SDK 24 and 25 (Android 7.x) is available as of October 10, 2017.

Original Answer:
An unofficial build of Xposed Framework is available from XDA. I have tested it with my OnePlus 5 and it worked almost perfectly, except for some small bugs (random reboot aroung 3:00 AM when I'm sleeping, requirement for /data decryption).
The XDA newsfeed article is here and the thread is above.

Important Notice
  If you are using your stock ROM, make sure your /data partition is decrypted. If it's encrypted, you may have to format it. Be sure to back up your data carefully before proceeding. Also you should flash a "DM Verify and Forced Encryption Disabler" package.

Should this be a Community or FAQ posting?


text:
How does MyJio app draw over apps when I've disabled that in the app settings?
The MyJio (com.jio.myjio) android is able to draw over other apps in my Moto G5+ running Android 7.0.
I have disabled the 'Draw over apps' feature by going to Settings > Apps > Gear icon > Special access > Draw over other apps > MyJio.

The second screenshot looks like from being within the app itself (the "rounded head" shining through). If that's so, it is not "drawing over other apps", but just on itself.

@Izzy No. It's not. This thing pops up randomly on my phone.


text:
Is there a log of permission requests/grants?
Does Android keep a log of permission request from apps?

I don't know whether a hard copy is stored somewhere in system but the one in memory can be looked by this command:
adb shell dumpsys appops

This would give a dump of apps (recognized by package name and UID) having granted or rejected runtime permissions requested by them.


text:
Installing the Xperia Keyboard on non-Xperia devices
I recently went from a Sony Xperia phone to a Huawei P10 Lite.
I very much appreciated the Xperia keyboard I had, and would like to install it on this phone.
I thought that it would work on all Android devices. However, when I download the APK from apkmirror and try to install it, it says that it is not compatible with my phone.
I have tried to install an older version of the Xperia keyboard, but still without luck.
Does anybody know if it is possible to install the keyboard, and if so, how?

Post #456
 in the link provided by @beeshyams gives the following download link to the modified Xperia keyboard that can be used with a Huawei phone.
When clicking on the download link, the download should start, and you simply install it as you would with any other apk package. However, always be careful when installing unauthorized packages.
I don't know much about how this package is created and drawbacks, bugs, etc., but it works for me without any problems.
If you had a previous version of Xperia keyboard installed

delete everything from the previous version! library, dalvik cache, just everything. Its really important.


text:
Google play store reviews: For an older version
Whilst reviewing a certain application  on Google play store I came across an odd comment "For an older version" which  seemed to have originated  from several users and this  confused  me whether all the users had  posted the same comment complaining the "old version was better" or it means something else.
It is specifally from users of maybe has something to do with the developer, but either way this still remains vague to me. I just wish to know what exactly do they mean with such a review comment?

Sometimes I regret when having updated an app, only to find the older build had better features I wanted or UI, so I was also thinking to post the same comment "For an older version" so that the developer brings back cool features and UI of older build whilst improving bugs etc

It simply means that the comments posted by reviewers pertain to older version of the app , immaterial whether they are good or bad
Other comments which don't have this comment are for the current version, so that's what you need to pay attention to (Bugs in older versions may have been fixed as is usually the case)
As clarified in this SO question, there can be only rating for app by a user , irrespective of the versions. Hence the need to differentiate old reviews from current version reviews
Seeing wbogac z's comment, found this blog which mentions that their is a separate versioning that is not visible to the users and older reviews are likely based on that.
Edit: See this for versioning details from a developer point of view
App updation- Google Play Store wants to update an older version of app when latest version is already installed?
Requesting developers to confirm or correct

To be frank, if the version is not "for an older version", the best that can be said about version is "indeterminate". You cannot assume the converse is true.

@wbogacz@beeshyams don't you think writing something like, This review was for an older version of the application released on MM/DD/YY. The most recent  update was released on MM/DD/YY." or something like that, at least one can be sure about the meanng as its not biased

OK I will check and let you know. Sometimes I regret when having updated an app, only to find the older build had better features I wanted or UI, so I was also thinking to post the same comment "For an older version" so that the developer brings back cool features and UI of older build whilst improving bugs etc :)

Let us continue this discussion in chat.


text:
New pixel 2- turning on shows battery and then horizontal purple line
I just bought a new Pixel 2. I opened the box, turned it on, and it showed a white battery with the charge symbol, and then that disappeared, and 2 small colinear horizontal purple lines briefly flash in the middle center of the screen, and then the screen turned black again.
Did I get a dead unit out of the box? Or do I need to charge it first? Or do something else?
Edit:
I had tried leaving it plugged in for 10 min and nothing continued to show up on the screen. When I tried turning it on, it was same result. I currently own a Pixel, and when it dies and you plug it in, it at least turns the screen and shows the battery charge icon. This one never did this.
I ended up exchanging it and the new phone booted up straight to the google screen. I think the old one was a defective unit, but cannot confirm 100% since I didn't try leaving it plugged in for more than the ten minutes.

I had tried leaving it plugged in for 10 min and nothing continued to show up on the screen. When I tried turning it on, it was same result. I currently own a Pixel, and when it dies and you plug it in, it at least turns the screen and shows the battery charge icon. This one never did this. I ended up exchanging it and the new phone booted up straight to the google screen. I think the old one was a defective unit.

Oh.. might as well  answer your question...all the best


text:
Google account does not sync and is not cancelable
The device in question is a tablet with Android version around 4.2 I guess. I do not have direct access to it.
The Google account shows errors when synchronizing. I want to remove the Google account and add it again.
The problem is that there is no "Remove account" button. I guess it will appear if I cancel the sync in progress. It looks like it hangs and does never terminate. At the bottom of the account avtivity appears the error:

Sync is currently experiencing problems. It will be back shortly.

But how to cancel it? There is no button for that either and rebooting does not change anything.
I also tried to reset the whole device, but after that I get the exacft same problem.

Did you check under settings>accounts>Google? There press on the three dots menu and it has an option to remove account

Yes I checked. That option is missing.

What's the name of the tablet?

It is a Tivolino

Try the Windows approach: "Have you switched it off and on again?" Sometimes helps on Android, too :) Should at least break the sync being in progress.

I did reboot. It does not help.

Try removing the account by signing into the same account on a browser and removing the account. Click here and log into the account, scroll down to the name of the device, press on it and select 'remove'

@Abochur: I can't just "remove" the device from my account. I have the options to lock it and reset it to factory settings. Both are not what I want.


text:
OnePlus X running lineage overheated lost all the contacts
I have oneplus x and I have installed lineage OS for it. It has worked great, but today it got to some loop and the phone was hot. When I tried to open the lock screen, I only so program “whos in my wifi” and it was showing me some error “don’t member anymore. Some android.com… or something” and I could get pass off that error. So I restarted the phone and then everything was gone. All the settings, contacts, whatsapp messages were gone. But programs and most of the pictures where there.
So any idea what to do? Is there fix or repair system program to run on recovery twrp? Or is it all gone?
UPDATE
Now it did that again. I think I need to unistanll lineage OS...

If you manually didn't take any backups before (using TWRP, titanium Backup or any such app), no there is no way to get that information back. WhatsApp takes daily backups, so might get those back. Contacts are usually synced with your Google account.
If you really want some content back, you can try apps like Undelete that can get back deleted files, but there it's difficult to track what system files you need to recover to get those messages back.


text:
How do I send an SMS to a contact that only has an e-mail address?
I can start a conversation in Google Messages to an e-mail address.  When I send the message, it appears to go through an SMS to e-mail gateway, and I (or whoever owns that e-mail address) can in fact reply to the e-mail and it gets routed back through the gateway and I receive an SMS.
This all works well and good, but the e-mail address is random letters and numbers and I want a nice description instead of that.  So I created a contact for the address.  However, now I can't send a message because Messages doesn't find the name when I search for it.  Oddly enough, if I happen to remember the entire e-mail address and type it in up to the "@" character, suddenly it "happens" to remember that there is a contact with that name and lets me select it.  However, this is pretty much useless when I have to remember a 12+ character string of random numbers and letters to get an auto-complete!
How do I get the contact to show up to send an SMS when it is only an e-mail address?  I have tried editing the contact and pasting the e-mail address as a phone number, but it strips out all the non-numeric characters this way.

If you are downvoting, could you please leave a comment on how I could improve the question?

it was probably downvoted by someone who didnt bother reading your question. They probably read the title and voted right away. +1 for the good question

Did you find a workaround?

@ABochur No, I wound up having to type the whole random string of characters manually.

I just tested the issue with a few different messaging apps, and I came to the conclusion that the app was simply not made to do that. In both Google messages and textra, I had the issue you describe, but as soon as I tried it in Samsung's messaging app it worked perfectly. As soon as I started typing the name, it gave me the email address as an option.
That's why I conclude that Google messages was strangely not made to do what you are looking for.
As a workaround, I suggest that you text the person once, and then every time you want to text them again, instead of initiating a new message, simply press on the search icon on the top right of the screen and type in the name of the contact, press on the contact, and you have achieved the same thing as you wanted with ease.


text:
Forced RTL Layout option not showing up on my Huawei phone
I have a Huawei phone. When I searched the "Forced RTL Layout" option, it shows up. When I click on it, it leads me to the top of Developer Options. But nowhere on the list do I see the Force RTL option.

This is very frustrating and I can't seem to find anyone talking about it online. My old phone was also a Huawei and the same problem happens. Both my parents have Huawei phones and neither of them has the option either.
How can I get the Force RTL option out and apply it?

RTL Layout and Huawei... I don't think you can change the layout yourself unless you're a software developer. Well yes, this is a software issue;
I talked to a salesperson from Huawei and he told me that it should be possible to integrate this option with a software update. He promised to tell the people who are developing Huawei software about RTL layout.

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


text:
Used note 4 clean spyware
I purchased a used Note 4 off ebay and want to make completely sure there are no spy apps or malware on it. I know some spy apps can be installed into the system partition and survive a factory reset. I discovered an app called cerberus that could do this and could be used to spy on me and blackmail me. How do I completely clean my phone of all spy apps or malware and completely wipe everything including the system partition erasing everything.

By flashing a ROM and recovery image. And btw, Cerberus is a security app to help you find your device in case it's lost, it's not a spyware, and it doesn't blackmail you. Unless there's a second app going by the same name.

How do I flash a rom and recovery image? Cerberus can be used as spyware.

@Jamesredo, are you sure you understand what Cerberus does and what spyware is?

Cerberus is an anti theft app. It can be used to maliciously spy on you making it spyware. I don't know who has used this phone or where it has been anything could be on it.


text:
How can a lost locked phone in airplane mode be unlocked?
I lost my Android phone on vacation that was in airplane mode (Moto G5, v7 updated). It was protected by fingerprint and swipe. I almost always use the fingerprint to unlock, but do very occasionally use the swipe.
I locked it online remotely and remotely logged out of it when I realized it was lost several hours later. The timeout interval should be only 1 or 2 minutes.
I was hoping to recover it in some fashion, so I didn't remotely wipe it, secure in the knowledge that it couldn't be unlocked.
So I was surprised to be contacted two days (!) after I lost it on my other devices and accounts via an instant messaging app on the phone by someone who claimed to have found the phone and was looking for the owner.
In shock I didn't reply and quickly used Device Manager to remotely wipe the phone immediately. I also changed all my Google passwords for the accounts on the phone. I checked the Gmail logins and noticed none outside of my possession. I also checked Google Maps timeline and didn't see anything outside of my possession. Oddly, though, in Device Manager I clearly did see the phone located in the city I lost it, but a distance away from where I was.
A few questions:

How could a locked phone with a recent Android OS be unlocked, taken out of airplane mode, and home screen accessed?
How could the remote lock not work, assuming somehow someone opened up the phone within the lockout interval?
I saw the phone in the city I lost it on Device Manager (where I executed the remote wipe). How could it be there, but nowhere visible in my Google Maps timeline or Gmail login history?
Is there something I might be forgetting to do security wise?

Thank you.

Are you sure they used your IM account to text you? Could it be they just found your phone number on the lockscreen or notification and decided to text you using that?

Yes, it was definitely an instant message from one of my IM accounts to a group I am part of that everybody received. It wasn't an IM from a person I didn't recognize.

What is the IM app you got the message through?

It was Whatsapp

toogle airplane mode is possible without unlocking, just pull down notification bar

How could a locked phone with a recent Android OS be unlocked, taken out of airplane mode, and home screen accessed?

It wasn't. The person simply pulled out the sim card from your device, added into some other device and installed WhatsApp on it. WhatsApp doesn't have any login authentication, it will simply let anyone use it as long as they have access to sim card. This also explains why he/she could post in one your groups and not directly PM some contact (he/she doesn't have any of your contacts).

How could the remote lock not work, assuming somehow someone opened up the phone within the lockout interval?

Not possible in the 1-2 minute lockout interval you mentioned. Any kind of exploit will require at least few hours of work.

I saw the phone in the city I lost it on Device Manager (where I executed the remote wipe). How could it be there, but nowhere visible in my Google Maps timeline or Gmail login history?

Maps timeline isn't 100% accurate and up to date. Device Manager pings for real-time location. GMail login history shows only places where you actually logged in. You were already logged into your accounts when you went to that place, unless you didn't remove the account and added it back, it won't show login attempts in GMail.
I don't see any signs of breach in security of your device from the information you have provided.

If this is true, the op could reply to the message and hope that the person will answer

Thank you for that answer. It makes the most sense to me. I decided to remotely wipe the phone just to be safe. It does seem like a glaring security hole to me for WhatsApp to have no authentication besides physical possession of a sim chip. All one needs is to pick it up, and you get access to my whatsapp chats?!

@bshor did you get your device back though? What happened after the person contacted you?

@bshor WhatsApp does have an option for two step verification. WhatsApp>settings>account>two step verification. This will require apin besides for the phone number

@harpratap No I never got it back ... :(  About two step verification ... that makes sense. But I assume very few know about it ... like me.


text:
Stuck in boot loop after doing a factory reset, uploading custom firmware (via Odin), rebooting and doing another factory reset
I have the same issue as descibed here. I got the firmware file from here.
My phone isn't recognized by my computer when I connect it to USB ports that other devices work with while connected to the same ports. (The error popup notification from Windows Explorer is "This device malfunctioned and Windows can't connect to it".) The phone shows charging icon when connected by cable to a power socket. So while I tried to follow the following steps, I got stuck. Since there does not seem to be a connection between the phone and the computer, the flash won't complete.

Extract (unzip) the firmware file
Download Odin v3.12.3
Extract Odin ZIP file
Open Odin v3.12.3
Reboot Phone in Download Mode (press and hold Home + Power + Volume Down buttons)
Connect phone and wait until you get a blue sign in Odin
Add the firmware file to AP / PDA
Make sure re-partition is NOT ticked
Click the start button, sit back and wait few minutes

This is a screen shot of my interaction with Odin.

Other than getting a new phone, do you have any tips on how to fix this?
I tested a cable with another device, and it worked with that device.
I then tried again with that cable and the same port.

OK I got Odin to pass. I just had to make sure that it was connected properly and the MD5 file was added by clicking in the AP box and opening the file rather than dragging and dropping it into the box. Once I did that it started to download.

However, the phone is still stuck in a boot loop.
I am now able to connect to PC (Odin) but not able to make it boot.
I did a factory reset and rebooted, but I still get the same thing—it won't get past the boot screen.

Go to recovery mode manually by using Home + Power + Volume Up, then try a factory reset from there.

I'm pretty sure that I already tried that.

I tried again. Holding those buttons down, it would keep rebooting. If I held them down until the boot screen appeared, the screen would stay stuck there after I released it.

OK after a few minutes it went to recovery mode.

I did a factory reset and rebooted, but I still get the same thing.

Not what I expected. Considering that you're now able to connect to PC (Odin) but not able to make it boot instead, I suggest making some (drastic) edits to the question so it reflects your current situation better.

OK I've updated the question.


text:
Changing Screenshot format from PNG to JPEG?
I want to change the screenshot function to take screenshots using JPEG rather than PNG. The JPEG should also have time & date info. Are there any apps/magisk modules that do this?
Root methods prefered so as to still have the system screenshot functions

I don't know about Magisk module that can do this but here is an app alternative
Touchshot is an app I use

Hover button (overlay)
JPEG / PNG - JPEG quality 80 /90 /100 and resolution can be varied from 640 x 360 , 1280 x 720, 1920 x 1080
Date and time stamped screenshots for instance 20171229_140953.jpg for a screenshot just captured

It's good but it's a bit bloated. Problem is that it doesn't do the system screenshot stuff (scroll capture, take screenshots on snapchat since it probably uses a different api) and would be nice if it had a button mapper shortcut.


text:
Flashing ROM on a used Samsung Note 4
I have a used note 4 and want to make sure there is no spyware or malware on it. I know some can survive a factory reset. Somebody told me to flash a rom and recovery image but not how to do this. I searched and came across a video of a person using a program called odin to do this, however after he was finished all his apps were still there. If this completely cleans the phone why are his apps still there?
What would be the best way for me to actually wipe everything on the phone?

I've no experience with Samsung devices, but generally, if you flash a ROM, affected partitions are completely overwritten (one can make sure of that by wiping them beforehand). Apps that "remained" are most likely part of the ROM, so they didn't remain but were reinstalled. For data to be gone, a factory reset should be made.

I don't think they were reinstalled. I think this program odin doesn't delete everything. I have seen videos of people instantly having their files back with no reinstall or backup necessary. I'm just curious if there is some other setting or other program that could do this. I was expecting this to have a quick and easy answer.

Maybe someone with Windows & Odin experience can give that, I have neither. I usually use [tag:twrp] recovery for that job (including wiping the resp. partitions) – but I'm not sure if that can be done on your device. At least there's no official TWRP for it.

It's better to link the video so we know what you are exactly talking about.
My guess is you watched a video about rooting using ODIN. Yes, that won't wipe your device clean. However you can also use ODIN to flash entire firmware which cleans up everything on your device.

Here's a guide to use ODIN to flash stock firmware.

The video is https://youtu.be/1TsTQeSXJBA it uses the same settings as the link you posted. All the apps remained and it seemed like all his settings were still there.

@Jamesredo You can always factory reset (wipe /data) manually by booting into recovery with POWER+HOME+VOL_UP then choosing the corresponding option. Flashing factory firmware is just to guarantee you that no suspicious element is left in /system.

Did you watch the video? Seems like stuff remains. Is there another way to do this? Any help would be appreciated.

I didn't (before you mentioned it). Now that I skimmed through it, I found nothing that contradicts my statement - the guy in the video didn't manually do a factory reset, hence everything the user created (/data) is still there. If you aren't satisfied with what's left on the phone after a factory reset... Those are embedded within the OS by either Samsung or the carrier that issued the update, and they are supposed to be trusted (spy/malware-wise).


text:
Stream timers across multiple android devices
I have seen multiple posts with streaming Video or Audio in multiple devices. However I want to stream multiple timers across multiple android devices. Ideally is to have same timer running on different devices. Timer can be set by some app or in-build timer app.
Is there way to achieve this ? Currently I can think of having some kind of app which shares screens on multiple devices. However such apps are either paid or do not work properly. Is there free and open source alternative ?
It will be something like master-slave kind of setup, where one device control the time and other just display it.

You are making this overly complicated IMO. There is no need for designing a full fledged distributed system for such a simple task that can be done on the web. Just go to Tickcounter.com, sign up for a free account and create your custom timers on any device. Copy that link on your phone and create a desktop shortcut. If you're feeling fancy, create a web wrapper around it.

Hi, for this my all devices should always be connected to internet plus I can't change time once I have created such timer.

If not internet, how else do you plan on creating such a setup? Well writing a website for timers is pretty easy, host it on one of your devices locally and you can access it from devices on the same network. If you want a ready-made solution, I'm afraid you won't find one.


text:
Root Asus Zenfone 3 Max
How can I root an Asus Zenfone 3 Max?
(Note that "Asus Zenfone 3 Zoom" and "Asus Zenfone 3 Laser" is not the device I am asking about)
I have tried using the official KingoRoot app to no avail (it says "Root Failed - Error 0x11CA2E")
Here are the device specification:
Build Number: MRA58K.US_Phone-13.1.4.69-20170414
Model Number: ASUS_X008DC
Android Version: 6.0
Android security patch level: April 5, 2017
Baseband version: MOLY.LR9.W1444.MD.LWTG.MP.V88.P71.2017/04/14 02:39
Kernel version:
3.8.19+
wind-kernel@droid #1
Fri Apr 14 03:01:04 EDT 2017

This device is not on the list at How do I root my Android device?
EDIT: It is now linked to this page


text:
LG K4 K120E Unrooted after an update and won't root again
I have rooted my LG K4 K120E (2016) a long time ago using KingRoot, however after the phone got an update the phone was unrooted and KingRoot just won't work anymore. What would be the safest rooting method for my phone without loosing data?
EDIT: Tried kingroot and kingoroot again and got a ram dump screen (like BSOD) but the phone is ok

Don't ever update rooted phone, or you can get result like this or worse, and avoid one click root apps (kingroot etc). What you can do is to try to flash newest firmware and try to root, if it fails that means that version isn't rootable, in that case flash firmware you had when you successfully rooted phone and root it and do not update it.

So you mean that I can't get root on my phone without losing all the data? I've seen some pre-rooted ROMs for the phone on XDA, but I think they are outdated (2016-01-01).

Well if you use that ROM you will lose all data anyway.

All root methods I could find are either one-click or a rom. How can I root the phone normally? Like can I root using ADB or something? @ЈеднорукиКрстивоје

I have figured it out! The update added an OEM lock to the phone (I think) so I had to disable it in the settings! I've been poking through the settings and randomly discovered an OEM lock there. I looked it up and turns out I had to disable it before rooting the phone. So I have disabled the OEM lock (I don't need it anyway) and I am going to try to root the phone again when I come back!

authors: Једноруки Крстивоје


text:
How to fix the "Andy Installation failed - Please verify your connection" error when installing Andyroid?
I'm getting this error whenever I try to install the Andyroid Android Emulator:

I'm using macOS 10.13.2 on a MacBook Pro (2016, with Touch Bar, 13", 512GB SSD, 8GB RAM).
I've tried the following:
1. Verifying my internet connection
2. Ensuring I have the newest version of VirtualBox installed
3. Ensuring VirtualBox has been installed properly
4. Reinstalling VirtualBox
5. Ensuring the installer is proper and functional
I am certain that the problem in not caused by network connectivity as the same message shows up when VirtualBox has not been properly installed.
I have already installed Andyroid once on this MacBook using the same installer but removed it.
Could anyone please provide some insight on what other problems may be causing the installation to fail?

You can try Installing lastest version of Oracle VM VirtualBox. it was useful for me!

What worked for me was uninstalling Virtual Box and letting Andy install the version it wanted. A hassle for sure.

Open Terminal and type:
sudo spctl --master-disable

This will show a new option in the security & privacy control panel (general tab) that allows you to allow all apps install.

this does not work for me


text:
How to add microphone to the keyboard for speech recognition?
I am using Android 7.0 on a Samsung Galaxy S7 edge.
How to add microphone to the keyboard to "write" SMS or Facebook messages using speech recognition?

samsung keyboard apparently . how can i change it?

see instructions here for native keyboard .

dunno if it is possible natively using the samsung keyboard, but thanks to @beeshyams i have installed , using the playstore, gboard.
Gboard contains the microphone per default


text:
connecting to internet in my smartphone
I have a Note 5 smartphone which I cannot browse any Internet websites using my browser while data is on. But I wonder when using it as a Wi-fi hotspot to share its mobile internet on other smartphone, it works on them!
I tested two browsers and other apps that use internet connection on my Note 5, but no success.
Any help?

As per the questions asked on your post in SU; Which browser are you using? Can you connect to the Play Store? Do any other internet connected apps work?

I answered these questions already. They don't work. I used Chrome and default Samsung browser. Nothing changed!

Also, no proxy is enabled.

Did you check your apn settings?

Yes, I used it earlier with no issue.


text:
Input quick text inside status bar
There are apps that display buttons in the notifications for a quick feedback.
What I need is a way a that a text input in a file stays in the background and displays inside the status bar/notifications   (input text that is  40 characters would suffice). I do NOT mean a notes app for displaying notes.
Is there any way to achieve this?

Just give me a hint if I need to write it myself.

Since app recommendations are off topic, reworded your question. If that is not OK by you, please roll back the edit

There is an app Notin which was amongst the top apps of the year as per XDA and by a coincidence had downloaded today  and works well

With notin, never forget the little things anymore. It's an easy way to save notes or reminders as a notification.
notin helps you in reminding things you need to do, random numbers you do not want to save in your contacts and many more through the help of Notifications. The reminder doesn't pop-up or rings, it just sits there and still does it's job most efficiently.

That is half of what I need, no more need to switch apps. But I can't do anything with the notes, they just sit in the bar. Thanks for the info though.

The best would be to save the lines in a file. But I'll like your answer, as the app already is useful for me.


text:
Does using multiple gps tracker use much more battery?
If I run several GPS tracking apps at the same time, like strava, ski tracks, my tracks, for example, does the battery drain much faster then using a single gps tracker? Basically what I'm asking, is how much of the gps battery usage is from the communication to the gps vs how much from the individual app usage.

The GPS itself probably won't use much more power – after all it doesn't matter if 1 or 100 apps ask for the location: it's obtained once and then handed to all. Which reduces your question to: "Does using multiple apps use much more battery". The answer to that is "it depends". It certainly uses more – but how much depends on what those apps do, how well they are written, etc. Also think of ads they may draw, or data uploads they might perform.

Perfect, that actually answers my question, I was asking whether the multiple apps would cause the gps to use more power.

Ah, so I've guessed right. Then let me make that an answer you can accept :)

The GPS itself probably won't use much more power – after all it doesn't matter if 1 or 100 apps ask for the location: it's obtained once and then handed to all. Actually there's even a "location cache": if you're now at e.g. Trafalgar Square in London, you're unlikely to be in Manhattan the next second (exaggerating a little) – so that's what subsequent requests within a short interval access. And that's also what's used when you e.g. enter a tunnel and temporarily have no location info.
A little more power of course will be required as the device is kept awake "more aggressively": one app probably would update the location once per second (or fewer times) – while multiple apps won't do that "unisono" (at the exact same time). But compared to the overall load while tracking (or navigating), that's most likely rather a little indeed.
Which reduces your question to: "Does using multiple apps use much more battery". The answer to that is "it depends". It certainly uses more – but how much depends on what those apps do, how well they are written, etc. Also think of ads they may draw, or data uploads they might perform.


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Reboot loop - "normal" fixes didn't work - how to recover data?
My Nexus 5 is in a reboot loop and all the normal "fixes" (e.g., going into recovery mode and clearing the caches, etc.) don't work. It looks like it is a hardware problem as the phone is even rebooting instantly when going into recovery mode (I can't even select an option from the recovery menu as it disappears too fast).
I've since bought a new phone but realized that I have important data on my old internal memory, and yes, I don't have a backup (shame on me).
How to obtain data from the internal memory of the phone? Is there any way? Connecting the phone via USB didn't help me ... the computer does not have enough time to detect a device as it immediately goes into a reboot loop again.
Edit: I think my power button may be defect, because I don't even have to start my phone to go into a reboot loop, it does it all by itself.

Raw approach, if your bootloader is unlocked: boot a custom recovery (e.g. fastboot boot twrp.img) and access your data from there?

My bootloader is not unlocked.

Oh. Then this is no viable as unlocking the bootloader usually implicates a factory reset, sorry.


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Prevent Google from uploading pictures when connected to wifi?
I noticed that pictures I took with my Android smartphone while connected to my home ADSL/wifi router were silently uploaded to Google Photos.
How can I disable this "feature" ?
Thank you.

Go to Settings › Accounts and tap your Google account. Check if Google Photos is listed there. If so, switch off the toggle next to it. That should turn off synchronisation for that app completely.

@Izzy strangely, Google photos is not listed there.

That's weird. I cannot check, my devies either run Google-free or at least have most of the GApps disabled/removed (including Photos).

@Gulbahar BTW the picture uploading is a free feature that is provided by Google to save your pictures to the cloud so that you can access them from any device using your Google account. These pictures are only accessable to you, and anyone who has access to your Google account. Therefore i suggest u keep this feature so that in a case where you lose your phone or it's data, you will still have access to them. You are obviously free to choose as you wish.

@Abochur "only accessable to you" is very much doubtable (at least Google staff has access as well, and who knows what "scanners" run over them). I'd rather suggest turning that off and syncing with your own resources :)

@Izzy I meant to say that it's not accessable publicly online. I'm sure that you'll agree that anything that we do in our phones is accessable to someone, wether it's an app developer or the government. The only way we can get around that, is by going to an island with no technology and hope that they won't come spying on us...

@Abochur I wouldn't say "is accessible to someone" (unless that someone on my device is myself). I'd at least include a "possibly". One can take precautions and limit the "data flow" (e.g. use LineageOS with no GApps, and carefully select your apps). That doesn't make it impossible but much more unlikely that someone gets "unauthorized access". I'm not one of those fatalists saying "I don't care, they know anyhow" (wrong approach ;)

Btw, did any of the answers below, stop the uploading?

To add to the answer Alex has posted (which is correct), if you still want to upload a particular photo to Drive after disabling sync, long press the photo- (select it)  and you will see a share option using which you can share to your drive.
This comes in handy when you have globally disabled sync for photos but want to save some photos to drive

To stop Google photos from syncing your pictures, do the following:

Open the Google photos app
Open the menu on the top right
Open settings
Press on "Back up & sync"
Toggle off the 'backup and sync' option.

You can deactivate syncing of photos or disable the Google Photos app (you will not be able to use it after that).


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Detect damage to device after dropping it?
I dropped my Pixel. The screen is cracked and doesn't light up.
But the phone still works - it rings and vibrates when I get a call.
I'm considering replacing the screen myself, but before I buy the part, I'm wondering if there is any way to have confidence that the screen is the only problem.
Can I connect my phone to the computer via USB, and then run some kind of diagnostic software from the computer, to tell me exactly which parts are damaged besides the screen (if any)?

In China here, merchants that sell screen assembly online allows returning/refunding even if you tested the screen on your device, provided that it's still fit for selling again (e.g. you didn't already glue/screw it to your device, or peel off the protection film). You should ask the merchants you're looking to buy from and see if they have such policies. Having this means you can test if other parts of the device are broken with this screen, and even if yes you won't suffer significant financial loss.

There is no diagnostic software AFAIK (as far as I know ). If there was, you would have heard of it
While things seem to be fine except for the screen , you can never be sure. The insides of phone are densely packed to maintain smaller thickness, size etc and it is quite possible that something else is also affected.
See sites like iFixit  for help of you wish to do it on your own. You can never be sure that screen is the only damaged part
It's up to you but service centre may be an easier and better option, of course at higher cost and time (and missing out on the fun of doing it yourself :)

Diagnostic software may be available with OEMs but surely not in public domain. Just think of one manufacturer like Samsung and dozens of models be released by then and multiply that by the brands and you will see why it is not available


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Can't start backup
I'm trying to backup using adb backup org.mozilla.firefox on a Nokia 8 (with Android 8.0).
I get the screen where it asks for a password. There are two texts at the bottom "Cancel" and "Backup my Data". They look identical (i.e. it looks as if I can click either) but nothing happens when I press "Backup my Data". What is going on?
I also tried to enter a password but that doesn't help.
Same effect with adb backup -apk org.mozilla.firefox: in both cases, only an empty backup.ab file is created. To be sure, I've also included the -f option to explicitly specify an output file name – same effect, the file stays empty.
adb version 1.0.39.

Not sure if it's mandatory, but didn't you miss the -f <filename> parameter to tell ADB where to store the backup to?

Without that, it defaults to backup.ab. I can see that an empty file is created. Just to be safe, I also tried with the parameter. Same effect.

Thanks, Aaron! Just wanted to be sure, as you mentioned neither (even not the empty file). Wouldn't be the first time some device came with a strange ADB daemon. In my case with one device (no longer in use), adb backup worked fine but adb restore did nothing. So it could be a faulty ADB daemon as well. Have you tried with other apps? It might well be Firefox having backup disabled (ALLOW_BACKUP:FALSE). Otherwise, while waiting for answers here, I'd suggest you try contacting Nokia's customer service.

Mozilla disabled backups back in 2015, documented in Bugzilla.
Of course this causes a lot of trouble for people trying to get access to their own data.


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Firefox Quantum for Android - backup profile without root?
On Firefox Quantum for Android (on a non-rooted phone), how do I back up my profile to another place? This would be easy if my phone was rooted (just go access the folder directly and copy it elsewhere), but it isn't rooted.
I've tried numerous different things, some of which have gotten very frustratingly close, but nothing has worked:

Using an app like Helium Backup that uses adb to backup app data. This works for some apps, but for Firefox it gives me a "Backup Disallowed" dialog box with the message "Firefox has disallowed backup of application data. Please leave a comment with the developer of Firefox and ask them to allow application data backup."
Using the browser to navigate to the profile directory and attempt to download items from there. I can clearly see my profile by going to file:///data/data/org.mozilla.firefox/files/mozilla/r3dact3d.default/, and theoretically individual files could be downloaded over enough time. But attempting to open anything just navigates to it. This 'works' for text files like .ini since I can manually copy+paste out the contents, but not for binary files (like the all-important browser.db) which always open a blank page.
Doing the above, but using USB debugging and opening up WebIDE on my laptop's Firefox to poke around. I can run arbitrary Javascript on the page that shows me my profile directory, but nothing here lets me download the files it's showing me. The closest I can get is if I modify the anchor tags to add a download attribute (so they'll download instead of navigating), but then all the links pop up an "Unable to download file" error message in the footer (versus "Download started..." which I would expect). I have no clue what this particular error message means, and Googling doesn't help.
Doing the above, but holding down on each link and choosing Open With an App (vs. Open Link in New Tab, etc.). If I can get a file explorer app to come up, it always gives me a similar error message "This item cannot be saved."
Attempting to tell Firefox (through about:config, perhaps) to save or move my profile to a different place that wouldn't require root to access. Apparently Firefox does not allow such a thing.
Trying to find some feature of Firefox Sync that backs up a profile on mobile. This feature doesn't seem to exist.
Finding an add-on that will copy the profile to another place. Before Firefox Quantum, there was an add-on named Copy Profile that did this exact thing. The add-on isn't compatible with Firefox Quantum anymore and I can't find any replacements.
Using adb to manually downgrade Firefox so Copy Profile will work again. At least one user has tried something similar already, and the result is that the app data between Firefox Quantum and Firefox non-Quantum is set up differently enough that the newly downgraded app immediately crashes on open.

I find it hard to believe that a task as important and straightforward as backing up my Firefox profile is impossible on unrooted Android. Has anyone else run into this problem or a similar one? Any solutions or suggestions?
Thanks!

I posted an answer about creating a full backup and restore of the profile at https://android.stackexchange.com/a/254330/18912 . The heavy liftings are done by the JS code shared at https://github.com/Rob--W/firefox-android-backup-restore . The JS code is executed through the successor of WebIDE.

I had the same problem and got inspired by your idea to use WebIDE. It turns out it is possible to access the profile files throughout JavaScript at least in my Firefox for Android version 59.0.2, but this only helps partially to back up all profile data.
Principle
The file contents can be accessed using Ajax (see here), also if they are binary (reference). It however seems like you can only access files that are in your current directory or that are in a subdirectory.
For example, the contents of browser.db can be accessed by navigating to file:///data/data/org.mozilla.firefox/files/mozilla/XXXXXXXX.default/ and then executing in the console via WebIDE:
var xmlhttp = new XMLHttpRequest();
xmlhttp.open("GET", "browser.db");
xmlhttp.responseType = "arraybuffer";
xmlhttp.send();

The result will then be stored in xmlhttp.response as an arraybuffer. If the data is non-binary, "text" can be used instead of "arraybuffer".
For small, non-binary files it can by sufficient to copy them to the clipboard with copy(xmlhttp.responseText), but for larger files this can throw an out of memory error.
The same technique can be used to get a listing of files and directories. The problem is that this (for me at least) worked only for the directory the browser was navigated to, but not for subdirectories. The returned data is a list of files as plain text:
300: file:///data/data/org.mozilla.firefox/files/mozilla/XXXXXXXX.default/
200: filename content-length last-modified file-type
201: AlternateServices.txt 0 Thu,%2010%20May%202018%2015:33:20%20GMT FILE
201: OfflineCache 0 Thu,%2009%20Nov%202017%2018:28:54%20GMT DIRECTORY
...

Backing up
For completeness, here are two scripts I used to backup the files. Both are only quick&dirty and minimal scripts. The data is transferred to a Python server running on the computer, which then stores them.
Important: They only backup the files in the current directory, but not the directories (See the limitation above). However since most of the profile is in the root directory this might be sufficient. If you want to store the files in the subdirectories as well you need to paste and run the JavaScript again for each directory. The neccessary directories will be created by the server.
Python server (save this as server.py and then run e.g. with python3 server.py 2222 depending on the port you want to use)
import os
from http.server import BaseHTTPRequestHandler, HTTPServer

class FileReceiveHandler(BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
    def _set_headers(self):
        self.send_response(200)
        self.send_header('Content-Type', 'text/plain')
        self.end_headers()

    def do_POST(self):
        content_length = int(self.headers['Content-Length']) # <--- Gets the size of data
        post_data = self.rfile.read(content_length) # <--- Gets the data itself
        print(self.path)

        # Store file
        relative_file_path = os.path.join('received_files', self.path.lstrip('/'))
        directories = os.path.dirname(relative_file_path)
        os.makedirs(directories, exist_ok=True)
        with open(relative_file_path, 'wb') as f:
            f.write(post_data)

        self._set_headers()
        self.wfile.write(b'received')

if __name__ == '__main__':
    from sys import argv
    port = int(argv[1]) if len(argv) == 2 else 80
    server_address = ('', port)
    httpd = HTTPServer(server_address, FileReceiveHandler)
    print('Starting server')
    httpd.serve_forever()

This is the source I used as a reference for the server.
JavaScript source for the browser
Adapt the first two lines to your own profile path and local IP address and port. Then paste this script directly in the console of WebIDE with the browser navigated to the profile directory.
var profile_basepath = "file:///data/data/org.mozilla.firefox/files/mozilla/XXXXXXXX.default";
var server = "http://<your_local_ip>:2222";

function send() {
    var list_xmlhttp = new XMLHttpRequest();

    // Get files
    list_xmlhttp.onreadystatechange = function() {
        if(list_xmlhttp.status == 200 && list_xmlhttp.readyState == 4){
            itemslist = list_xmlhttp.response.split('\n');

            for (var i = 0; i < itemslist.length; i++) {
                if (itemslist[i].startsWith('201:')) {
                    parts = itemslist[i].split(' ');
                    if (parts[4] == 'FILE') {
                        handleFile(parts);
                    }
                }
            }
            console.log(itemslist);
        }
    };
    list_xmlhttp.open("GET", window.location.href, true);
    list_xmlhttp.responseType = "text";
    list_xmlhttp.send();
}

function handleFile(parts) {
    var filename = JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(parts[1]));

    // Get file content
    var file_xmlhttp = new XMLHttpRequest();
    file_xmlhttp.onreadystatechange = function() {
        if(file_xmlhttp.status == 200 && file_xmlhttp.readyState == 4){
            // Send file
            var filepath = window.location.href.substring(profile_basepath.length) + filename;
            var send_xmlhttp = new XMLHttpRequest();
            send_xmlhttp.open("POST", server + filepath, true);
            send_xmlhttp.send(file_xmlhttp.response);

            console.log(filepath + " sent");
        }
    }
    file_xmlhttp.open("GET", window.location.href + parts[1], true);
    file_xmlhttp.responseType = "arraybuffer";
    file_xmlhttp.send();
}

send();

It might take some time until the script has finished.

I'm in the same boat as the OP. Sadly this script does not work anymore as the Cross-Origin Requests get blocked with modern Firefox/Fennec versions:
Cross-Origin Request Blocked: The Same Origin Policy disallows reading the remote resource at file:///data/data/org.mozilla.fennec_fdroid/files/mozilla/w9ae812s.default/webappsstore.sqlite-wal. (Reason: CORS request not http).


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How to take selected-area screenshot to clipboard once it's selected?
How to take a selected-area screenshot, so that it's copied to the clipboard automatically once it's selected? (exactly like Win+Shift+S on Windows, but I need it for Android)
This will enable me to quickly —saving tremendous time & pain (when I need to reuse this a lot)— paste it within any note-taking application (like Squid).
Motive
I use Squid a lot in split-screen-view with a book reader app (like ezPDF) and many times, I need to take selected-area-screenshot of a part from a book to drop it in my note paper in Squid where I'm taking notes.
One way to do this is to use Samsung's Smart Select, then share the selected-area screenshot to Squid. This unfortunately forces opening Squid in full screen (which destroys the split-screen view, so I need to waste time again to set the split-screen view of the two apps). Also, in Squid, it forces creating a new separate useless note (not the one I'm working with, so I need to waste time again re-navigating to my original note after copying my captured selected-area screenshot to the clipboard and then deleting the useless note). This wastes a lot of time.

Instead of using Samsung select copy-paste, use the inbuilt options from ezPDF.
From the floating 3 dot menu at the right centre → Menus → Edit → snapshot → select the area and take snapshot → share with → Squid (choose always since you do that frequently).
The picture gets posted in Squid without switching apps. Here's an example of both apps in split screen mode with the transfer of a screenshot.

We're you able to test it out?

There are two methods that may help to solve this problem. The first perfect solution is using "Gboard" (Google Keyboard) which can copy the selected-area screenshot to the clipboard immediately. The second need to use the "copy to clipboard" app to "share" the screenshot to the clipboard and thus can not automatically copy the screenshot to the clipboard.

Gboard - Automatically copy to clipboard
Try Gboard (the Google Keyboard) as the page say. Enabling the "Save recent screenshots in clipboard" option may help.

In Gboard's settings, click "Clipboard" as the following.

Enable the "Save recent screenshots in clipboard" option.

Copy to Clipboard - share to clipboard
I've tried the above method but I didn't have the option "Save recent screenshots in clipboard" in Gboard's Clipboard settings. So the following is the second method I figured out.
Using Copy to Clipboard.

After capturing the screen, my Android device will prompt me whether to edit the screenshot (like cutting and painting) or share to other devices or other apps. Therefore, after installing the "Copy to Clipboard" app, the "Copy to Clipboard" app icon will appear on the "Share to other apps" prompt as the following.

Click the "Copy to Clipboard" icon and the screenshot will be copied to the clipboard. This uses the same mechanism when you copy an image in the browser on your Android device.
The advantage of "Copy to Clipboard" over "Gboard" is that you can edit or cut the screenshot before copying it to the clipboard and the image will also be saved to the photo album.
Hopefully, these two methods can help.

As Qingwei Li's answer mentioned, you can download Screenshot Master and copy it to the clipboard. Just make a screenshot with Screenshot Master and share it to the clipboard.
The Nebo app can get the picture from the clipboard with the default paste.

As it’s currently written, your answer is unclear. Please [edit] to add additional details that will help others understand how this addresses the question asked. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center.


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Is it possible to reset to factory settings without USB Debug?
Is there any way to reset to factory settings without the USB debug?
I have an Sony Xperia E3 model number D2203. The reason is I bought it 2 years ago and stopped using it 6 months after, but now I need it again. I can't get in cause I managed to put up a password I can't remember probably cause on an app or something.

From user manual

Power Off Your Sony Xperia E3.
Press And Hold Volume up Key + Volume Down key + Power Key.
Now You Will see a Android Robot on screen.
Select ” Wipe Data / Factory Reset ” Option By Using Volume Key .


text:
How do I toggle "Do Not Disturb" via ADB?
I would like to enable Do Not Disturb on a phone via ADB. I have located the settings namespace and key which controls Do Not Disturb:
adb shell settings put global zen_mode 2

But when I run this command and then get the key its value remains set to "0". If I enable Do Not Disturb manually on the phone, then look at the key, it shows "2" as I expect.
I am using stock Samsung S7/S7 Edge phones, with Android 7.0, not rooted.
Is there a step missing in order to toggle this particular setting via ADB? Thus far I haven't had issues changing any other settings in this way, so it's confusing why this does not work.


text:
Redeem girft card for child
My child got a tablet for christmas and a google play card. I set her up on the under 13 age google acct, but when i try to add her card it keeps popping up an error - orafi01

Which is your country? In India under 13 cannot be ,added for gift cards. Similar restrictions for you?

I have it as united states

In which case, it may be easier to add it family account as explained here and buy it from that account

Instructions for family account https://support.google.com/googleplay/answer/7007852?hl=en


text:
Determine device architecture (ARM/ARM64/x86) with 'adb getprop'
Using adb getprop, I've found a few values that I think are pertinent, but I don't have any idea what an ARM64 device's value would like, much less an x86 one.
For my ARM device, the values are:
ro.product.cpu.abi       armeabi-v7a
ro.product.cpu.abi2      armeabi
ro.product.cpu.abilist32 armeabi-v7a,armeabi
ro.product.cpu.abilist64

I though armabi-v8a would mean ARM64, but Wikipedia says

most chips support 32-bit AArch32 for legacy applications

So, I'm wondering if an ARMv8 chip could possibly be loaded with 32-bit Android which would further complicate things
Is there any way I can determine my device architecture with adb?

"I'm wondering if an armv8 chip could possibly be loaded with 32bit android" - definitely, Samsung/Moto did this for a bunch of past 64bit SoC devices.

To answer your curiosity, this is what it would look like on a 64bit device: [ro.product.cpu.abi]: [arm64-v8a] [ro.product.cpu.abilist]: [arm64-v8a,armeabi-v7a,armeabi] [ro.product.cpu.abilist32]: [armeabi-v7a,armeabi] [ro.product.cpu.abilist64]: [arm64-v8a] I cannot check with an x86 device as I have none. But I'd say the picture is comparable: just check whether abilist64 has a value. If so, it's a 64bit device, otherwise it's running in 32bit mode.

I did some poking around in some custom ROMs for x86 devices, and along with the info provided by @Izzy I think I've figured it out.
Example ARM64 device
ro.product.cpu.abilist32  armeabi-v7a,armeabi
ro.product.cpu.abilist64  arm64-v8a

Example ARM device
ro.product.cpu.abilist32  armeabi-v7a,armeabi
ro.product.cpu.abilist64

Example x86 device
ro.product.cpu.abilist32  x86,armeabi-v7a,armeabi
ro.product.cpu.abilist64

So, to figure out what kind of device you have:
ro.product.cpu.abilist64 not empty = ARM64
ro.product.cpu.abilist32 contains x86 = x86
If none of these conditions match, you have an ARM device


text:
Keyboard always visible in notification
I have GTA vice city game in my mobile (Redmi Note 4 running on Nougat and MIUI 9). I have installed and started playing but as you all know the game is not fun without "cheat codes".
So I want to use an onscreen keyboard with which I can type in the cheat codes to play the game. I've already tried the third party keyboards but my phone doesn't give permissions for the application.
How can I achieve my goal?

Have you tried granting permissions of the keyboard apps with MiUI permission manager? looks like you need to do that before any 3rd party apps are allowed to  run?

yes, I did but that doesn't fix it.

Mohammed, as asking for apps (or other off-site resources) is off-topic here, I've slightly altered your question so it won't be "voted to close as off-topic". Should still meet your purpose, I hope :)


text:
Can I desolder the internal memory from a Samsung Galaxy SIII and move it to a Samsung Galaxy SII?
My SGIII phone has an issue with the main board and will not start at all. Can I desolder the internal memory and move it to a Samsung Galaxy SII?
Or is there any other way to retrieve the information from the internal memory?

I have never done this and this answer is based on this XDA thread -Soldering? Move internal memory chip which can give you some pointers

EMMC is a BGA chip, which means you require specialised equipment and expertise to deal with it
IMEI information is stored in EMMC and CPU for Samsung phones. If you simply remove this chip and place in another device, IMEI mismatch will prevent radio (calling, SMS) to work, but you may be able to recover data stored
Encryption is the biggest hurdle (if your device was encrypted), even if you tackle the hardware portion. Your encryption keys are tied to the device and even if you remember the password on the old device and use the same, you may not be able to access data

Using JTAG , it may be possible to revive or locate and repair the fault. Again, buying JTAG, manipulating it's controller, transferring information etc is again for a professional or a serious hobbyist (I did try to learn this when I had a Note 2 to fix battery draining motherboard and found it too involved, though I didn't need to spend anything)
Bottom line - it's best dealt with repair  or data recovery professionals and not something trivial . But then, if you are upto to it, go ahead and share your experience here for the benefit of community :)
Edit Google will tell you that both chips are different. For S3 it is KMVTU000LM-B50 and S2 KMV3U000LM-B304
Establish if they can be interchanged? (Not within the ambit of this site) and then proceed. There can be many variations, footprint of the chip, pin connections, architecture, voltages etc which could prevent you from doing what you want

This is as far as I'm aware a Samsung Galaxy S3. Does it have a EMMC chip?

Also, to answer your question: No, it was not encrypted.

Yes, it has eMMC chip 2. Not being encrypted rules out one problem

Please see edit

Firstly, this looks more like an S4 than an S III.
Memory chip pin-out and placement are heavily device-specific. What's more, older devices such as S II have distinct (individually packaged) SoC and eMMC chips, while all newer ones like S4 use chip-on-chip packaging (e.g. ePOP, as demonstrated in this previous answer I wrote - could also serve as a reference). This denies you any possibilities of transferring the chip itself.
For other means of recovery, @beeshyams already covered it well.

+1. I had read your earlier answer but forgot :)

As far as I'm aware it's a Samsung Galaxy S3, not model S4.

@Vesa The picture you attached, if it's captured by yourself rather than attached, says otherwise. Amongst various easy-to-spot differences, S3 has a large bottom bezel which the home key doesn't fully fill (height); S4 has a thin bottom bezel filled by the home key.