text:
How to "extract" files from an Android app?
Is there a possible way to extract (I'm really sorry I can't think of a better word, my English vocabulary is not that good) files from an android app I downloaded from the app store?
Like, I got this app and there is an image I'd like to have on my PC. Is that possible? If so, how? I'm not familiar with coding and stuff.

Use any archiving software. It's just a ZIP with signature.

@iBug But where do I find the files from that particular app?

Just search the APK for that picture? It's that simple. Unless it dynamically loads it from the internet ofc...

@AndyYan But I have no idea where the apk is found on the phone or how to search for it.

Are we talking about an image that came with the app. or something you saved/created/received/whatever? In case of the former I think you need root to access the apps. With root you could use "titanium backup" or similar to create an archive from the app. This would save the app itself with all its data.

@confetti Yes, its an image from the app itself. Imma look into that whole root thing on youtube I guess. Is it easy to understand/do?

@Suimon if you have an application called "Backup and Restore" (or a similar title), you can extract the APK file by backing it up and then opening it as an archive.

Or you can just download the APK of the app from sites like APKPure. Since you just want to extract it for the contents (rather than installing it on the device) you don't need to care about the security/authenticity of these unofficial sources.

Basically, APK files are ZIP archives. You can open, view and edit them, however, after editing, you need to re-signed it to be able to install. You can download APK files directly on websites like APKPure, APKMirror,... If you want to extract the APK file of the app you downloaded on the Google Play Store, you can use ADB (require computer) or ES File Explorer (directly on the phone and does not need ROOT).


text:
TWRP: Failed to mount '/data'
When I try to install a ROM with TWRP, I get
Could not mount /data and unable to find crypto footer.
Failed to mount '/data' (Invalid argument)
Unable to recreate /data/media folder.
Updating partition details...
Failed to mount '/data' (Invalid argument)
...done
Unable to mount storage
Failed to mount '/data' (Invalid argument)
Full SELinux support is present
Unable to mount /data/media/TWRP/.twrps

Then when I try to "Factory Reset" under TWRP Wipe, I get
/sbin/e2fsck -fp /dev/block/sda18 process ended with ERROR: 8
Unable to repair Data.
Failed to mount '/data' (Invalid argument)
Error changing file systems
Repairing Data using e2fsck...

I am using a Samsung Galaxy S7.

What you need to do is remove Crypto on Data
To do that, in TWRP

Settings
Format Data
Type "yes"
Done

I go to Settings but there is no Format Data button or option?

Are you in TWRP?

yes, version 3.2.1-0

@Ooker do you see it under Wipe? or the like?

found it, thanks

It would be a great addition to TWRP if it supported mounting an encrypted partition ...

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Can I resume downloading app in Google Play store?
I started downloading a game using Wi-Fi, the game was about 1.5GB . When almost 800 MB was done I closed Wi-Fi. The download paused. Will I be able to continue from 800 MB when I connect to Wi-Fi again.  Or from the beginning?

Usually the download resumes. But in some cases the file is downloaded again.

So, that has pretty much covered the whole either/or spectrum. Is there a HOW? or a WHY? here, that I'm missing?

In several cases it ended up as error when I tried doing similar thing. Why it happened? - I don't know.

yes, it should continue as long as you dont clear the cache.
But im not sure if it continues if you restart the phone or update the play store.

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


text:
How do I turn off "Retrain OK, Google" notification?
Almost each time I look at the phone or unlock it, I get this notification:

And it is really annoying. My phone is Huawei Mate 10 Pro, if that matters. Also, I checked into Settings, and Google Assistant is disabled. However, I am still getting these notifications.
How do I disable notification in the picture?

On your phone, touch and hold the Home button.
On the top right, tap More and then Settings.
Next to "Google Assistant," turn off the switch.

I don't have "more settings" option when holding home button...

It should open google assistant if you press and hold Home button. Or you can just open the google app


text:
Android Samsung TAB e auto turn on Hotspot?
Is there a way to automatically turn on the hotspot when my samsung tab e starts up?

You can use Tasker (7 day trial available) to accomplish this or Macrodroid (free up to 5 macros)
Objective: Auto switch-on  mobile hotspot after boot
Profile (or Trigger)
Create a Profile which allows triggering of the Task after boot:

Go to Profiles Tab and click  "+"
Event  → System  → Device Boot
Tap back to exit from this window

Task
You will notice as soon as you exit, you will be prompted to link this Profile to a Task;

Scroll all the way up the Task list select "New Task + "
You can name this Task AutoTethering or anything.
Click "+" to add new Action
Net  → WiFi Tether (Set On)
Press back the way all back until you exit Tasker (your profile is now saved and is ready for execution)

Extras: Give Tasker more priority (allow auto-start for Tasker, exclude from battery optimisations, task killers etc)
Explanation: Soon after boot, the first action  turns on Wi-Fi tethering (note:  Tasker already has a built in WiFi Tether variable which is capable of handling tethering state)
This should work. (tested)


text:
can't log in to Snapchat - Problem connecting to the server
Firstly, apologies if this is the wrong site to ask this question. I didn't have a clue which site, this seemed most realistic.
Problem :
Snapchat was working fine. I logged out of my account and when I try log back in I get the error: There was a problem connecting to the server. Please try again.
I have tried multiple solutions such as clearing the cache snapchat, reinstalling google play services, clearing data on snapchat, rebooting device. None of which work.
You might say why not reinstall snapchat? Well my device is on 4.1.2 meaning if I uninstall and go back to the play store to reinstall it, I wont see snapchat there because snapchat has updated further than my phones version.  (I don't have the filters on my device because it doesnt support the filters too)
I tried contacting snapchat, but alas, no reply.
Any suggestions?

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


text:
No fetching of instant messages and e-mail after update to Oreo 8.1
I have a Blackberry keyone that got updated last week to android 8.1, and after that update I need to open Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger Lite, GMail and other similar apps manually to receive the messages and e-mails which has been sent to me. I have checked the notification settings multiple times, and they are set to on. Regular text messages seems to work however.
So without knowing more it feels like there is some kind of syncronization problem?
These are the steps I've taken so far to try to mitigate the issue:

I've disabled the battery and data saving features that comes with android, I don't have any third party applications.
I don't have any notification applications that could interfere
I've tried using both cellular and wifi to see if there was any difference, which it wasn't
My whatsapp and messenger notifications are setup properly
I'm not restricting background data
I've restarted my phone
I've checked the native notification settings, all switched to "on"
Disabled Power Center

System information:

Android version: 8.1
Security patch level: 1 July 2018
Build: ABG044

Update:
I discovered that while keeping my phone connected to the desktop version of Whatsapp, I'll receive the messages sent to me on Whatsapp.

Did you check the settings of Blackberry hub?

I have the hub disabled.

What version of Android were you on before upgrading to 8.1?
When you say "Messenger", do you mean Facebook Messenger?
Are SMS etc also affected?

Looks like this might be a known issue with your particular phone: https://forums.crackberry.com/blackberry-keyone-f445/not-getting-push-notifications-1112690/

Oops, ignore question 3. Just saw you already answered it.

Based on this forum thread, this might be a known issue with your particular phone, and it looks like you've already troubleshot it pretty thoroughly.
Here are a few more things you could try if you haven't already:

Factory reset the phone
Follow all of WhatsApp's Notification problems troubleshooting steps. There are a few steps in there that you might not have tried yet.

Unfortunately, if all else fails, you might just have to go back to the previous version of Android that didn't have this problem.

Thanks for your reply. I have gone through the WhatsApp's Notification problems troubleshooting steps, but I haven't reset my phone yet. I really don't want to do it as it's such a tedious work removing stock apps etc. But if it's the only way, I guess I'll just have to buckle up and do it.


text:
Phone gets stuck on the clock
Every once in a while, my phone gets into a weird state where when I press the home or power button, the clock appears (see photo), but it is otherwise "dead": no amount of pressing power, home, or other buttons seems to bring me back to the normal home screen.
I have the impression that maybe the phone enters this state when the battery is very low, but charging the phone does not let it exit this state.
The phone is not completely dead: not only the clock is displayed (and updated), but alarms do ring (and you can snooze or stop them by touching the corresponding button which appears then on the screen).
Any idea what that thing might be (bug or feature?), what might trigger it, and how I can exit this state (other than taking out the battery, which so far has been my only recourse)?
This is a Galaxy S5 running LineageOS-15.1

It turns out it's the "smart cover" feature (the thing that displays time when you close a flip-case-with-a-window), which was misfiring probably because of the presence of a nearby magnet (likely the one in my holster's cover) or some problem in my phone's magnetic sensor.
This feature can be disabled in Settings => Connected Devices => Smart Cover.
See the reddit thread where I found my answer.


text:
What are some fast ways to install same apks on 400 android tablet?
I work at a school who wants to implement a modern education system with tablets.
There will be around 400 tablet all should have a few applications installed for students to use.
I'm planning to have the apps as apk and install them but this will definitely take a lot of time. Is there any way you would advise me to? Can I upload them online and have the tablets in some kind of way to automatically install them online?
I really appreciate your help.

You'll probably want to look into G Suite or some other enterprise management solution to remotely install and manage apps.


text:
Accessing music on samba share
I'm in the process of putting a large amount of music ~1.5TB (in many folders) into a samba share on ubuntu. I'm wondering what a good application to stream this to android would be, currently I can access the samba share with es file explorer, but I don't think it will be good for playing albumbs. Testing it out, it could play individual tracks quite well, but I could find no play all option for a folder in any of its play options. I don't need album art or search by artist, just want to be able to play all songs in a folder quickly/flexibly. Thanks in advance for any tips.

There are a couple of good samba network music players available on market. For starters you can take a look at Soumi: Network Music Player
Its keys features include..

Plays music from shared folders on local SMB/CIFS network, e.g Windows share, WiFi drive, NAS, USB drive attached to router, etc.
Plays music from FTP, FTPS, SFTP, and WebDAV servers
Browsing and instant searching by artist, album, genre, and title
Find, browse and play music by folder

Note; It offers In-app purchases for certain features

Other potential candidates include Kodi (which I personally use but is a bit tricky to setup and consumes a bit more battery power) or BSPlayer  which also allow playback of media files  directly via Wi-Fi from your network shared drives/folders.
Another option is using DNLA or UPnP (only downloadside is you need to setup a media server at the other end. In that case you can use DLNA players like Bubble uPnP or Plex.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.threecats.sambaplayer&hl=en&gl=US
aurel f/this so far is the best network player (android)


text:
Where does Google Chrome automatically save pages?
I opened the following page: https://goughlui.com/2014/10/01/usb-cable-resistance-why-your-phonetablet-might-be-charging-slow/
When disconnecting WiFi and even after rebooting the mobile phone, the page can still be read due to being saved automatically.
Left to the URL bar, an indicator looks like this:
This also shows up when opening manually saved pages, which are saved as MHTML files in the default download folder.
However, an automatically saved page can not be re-downloaded manually to get to the download folder, because the arrow is greyed out.I wish to copy some automatically saved pages into the download folder.
Where are the files of automatically saved pages stored?

This would be in Chrome data, which means you need root and on my device running 8.1 stock this seems to be it
/data/data/com.android.chrome/app_chrome/Default/Offline Pages/archives/ where you have .db (databases)
In one of the databases prefech_store, I could see the information pertaining to off-line pages
This may not help you as HTML/MHTML pages are not available directly for your purpose (searching for those in the app data didn't turn up any which implies they are stored in databases only)

Nice, perhaps OP may further need to convert the url to something like a pdf then manipulate them.

@xavier_fakerat Thanks. In the present situation, it's all in pieces of data and isn't readable ; don't know if what you are saying will make a difference but possibly?

Awww sorry I should have explained...I meant perhaps one can use a "url to pdf converter" so as to access the saved webpage as a pdf file rather than mhtml or .db as this will be easier to access in non system directories as no root is needed and they can easily placed in downloads folder

@xavier_fakerat That deserves to be a separate answer if it helps here. Please post and ping


text:
Would I install android studio with 2 GB RAM

Would I install Android Studio on my PC that have Window 7 and 2 GB RAM?

8 GB RAM recommended
2 GB of RAM isn't enough for any of the platforms. 3 GB RAM is the minimum plus 1 GB for Emulator = 4 GB minimum. However 8 GB RAM is recommended.
From Android Studio Requirements:
Windows

Microsoft® Windows® 7/8/10 (32- or 64-bit)
3 GB RAM minimum, 8 GB RAM recommended; plus 1 GB for the Android Emulator
2 GB of available disk space minimum,
4 GB Recommended (500 MB for IDE + 1.5 GB for Android SDK and emulator system image)
1280 x 800 minimum screen resolution

Mac

Mac® OS X® 10.10 (Yosemite) or higher, up to 10.13 (macOS High Sierra)
3 GB RAM minimum, 8 GB RAM recommended; plus 1 GB for the Android Emulator
2 GB of available disk space minimum,
4 GB Recommended (500 MB for IDE + 1.5 GB for Android SDK and emulator system image)
1280 x 800 minimum screen resolution

Linux

GNOME or KDE desktop
Tested on Ubuntu® 14.04 LTS, Trusty Tahr (64-bit distribution capable of running 32-bit applications)
64-bit distribution capable of running 32-bit applications
GNU C Library (glibc) 2.19 or later
3 GB RAM minimum, 8 GB RAM recommended; plus 1 GB for the Android Emulator
2 GB of available disk space minimum,
4 GB Recommended (500 MB for IDE + 1.5 GB for Android SDK and emulator system image)
1280 x 800 minimum screen resolution

Note: Probably works with Ubuntu's default Unity desktop which is based on Gnome but Google only says "Gnome" or "KDE" so this needs to be tested.

No. You need at least 3 GB RAM. Source.

Your answer is very short, to the point, and gives a solid reference. Nicely done.. Although it might be noted: "Plus 1 GB for the Android Emulator"... and why would you have Android Studio if not using the emulator? So in reality, 4GB is the minimum RAM required for a usable installation.

@acejavelin No, you are not forced or obligated to use AVD. You don't have to. So it's 3 GB.


text:
Share a folder on android
How to share a folder on android so the folder becomes available over LAN to anyone?
No "server" or any complicated "solution"
Just share the folder on android and see it on the computer, as its easily done on windows
Something my grandmother could easily use
Thank you ahead

Very difficult to almost impossible if I have a folder with many subfolders and many files. Plus, it requires knowing the IP

Use FTP servers. It is available on Solid Explorer

Yeah, just install and tap Start under left-pane -> FTP Server. That's it.

Best answer so far. ES File explorer also has this feature. As an option, I've disabled Turn Off on Exit


text:
Offline file transfer into Android-x86 virtual machine?
VirtualBox SMB servers are unfortunately unsupported by Android and it's third party file managers.
How do I transfer files into an Android VM without needing to upload the file online (if no Internet connection is available)?

VM softwares should already offer a function called "shared folders".

@AndyYan As already said, that one does not quite work. Some networks show up in ES File Manager, but they require passwords.


text:
Outlook Calendar Accept Calendar Links
Lot's of web applications and other tools link to the calendar to add information.
Unfortunately Outlook Calendar doesn't seem to accept creating new events through an outside link.
Is there a way to fix this?


text:
Motorola E4 pop up notifications disappear
How ca.n I view my Moto E4 pop up notifications,after I've viewed them or accidentally swiped them away,they literally disappeare and I CAN'T FIND them anywhere/ or how to.There has been many opportunities I've missed because I can't view the pop up notifications after the first view or accidentally swipe away,how can I get those notifications back to view,I've looked everywhere! Thanks for any help you can give in advance

There are many apps like this on Play Store which do this https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ikvaesolutions.notificationhistorylog


text:
Expandable memory of devices
Mobile phones or tablets come with limits like it has expandable memory of 32, 64, etc GB. I was wondering how this is determined? Does it mean that higher capacity sd cards won't work or this limitation is due to performance reasons? Please explain

Our phones/tablets comes with 2 types of memory:
Internal memory(can't be expanded)
External memory(that is expandable)
If a certain manufacturer says that your handset comes with an expandable memory of 32 GB, means you can insert a 32 GB SD card in it.Now , if your device has 8 GB internal memory,that overall you get 32+8 GB space.
Coming to the second part of your question, if you insert a 64 GB SD card in a handset mentioned above in answer, it wont support it.There is a limit to the amount of memory a particular phone can handle. SD cards come in a variety of flavors. And if your device isn't able to handle a particular flavor of storage technology, it won't accept higher capacity cards.
There are different SD card flavors as in :
SDHC(Secure Digital High Capacity), Cards using this technology can hold between 4GB and 32GB of data.
SDXC(Secure Digital Extended Capacity), which can hold between 64GB and 2TB of data.
You can learn more about these flavors here


text:
Is it possible to add 5GHz wifi capability to a Samsung A3 2016 through a dongle?
Question in title.
I have a drone I need to test which requires a 5GHz connection.
If it's possible to add 5GHz wifi capability through a dongle then I want to give it a go.

It's a Samsung A3 2016 (A310F). So it isn't possible to add 5GHz capability through an OTG device?

The problem with OTG devices is Android doesn't have the drivers and they can't be installed by regular users like on Windows either.

No. It's not possible
Your device doesn't support dual band (802.11 a or ac not supported) and adding OTG dongle that supports dual band isn't going to help. As an analogy, your service provider may provide WiFi but if your router ( like the older ones) doesn't support 5Ghz you can't use it in upper band

2017 model has that capability!


text:
Why does photos 'edit in' change image app export behavior?
When you open a picture in Pixlr / Snapseed / etc., you are given option of resizing / export the resulting photo.

However if I 'share' or use gallery 'edit in', I cannot export in Snapseed, and Pixlr is missing image resize on save dialog.

Why does android differentiate these activities and more importantly can I turn it off?
Really dislike workflow of opening Snapseed first then hunting for a photo I already had open elsewhere. I thought it was a Pixlr issue until Snapseed did similar.
Missing image resize ui from Pixlr:

Reproduced with Android 7,8, and 9. Google Pixel

I use Photo Editor and it seems to be able to crop and resize images that other app sends / "shares" to it.
While I don't know exactly why and I don't do any Android development, I think that it could be those two apps provide functionality for "editing only", where the resulting (edited) photo is returned to the handler, in your case, your gallery app, instead of handling by themselves. This could be a possible reason why those apps can't export photos when the photos aren't opened from within the apps.


text:
Get notifications with text, badge, no sound
I am trying to make wordfeud (and other apps) only show a text popup, update its badge and not make any sound. However, it still plays the notification sound.
I have setup no sound in the app settings of the app.
I have enabled a feature that could possibly change things, I dont know. Its called notification reminders and can be found under the Accessibility settings category. The effect will be that the notification sound it repeated every minute until I pay attention to a notification.
Will those make things different?

I found out that I can disable notification reminders per app.
There is yet another set of toggles, one toggle per app.
When I enable notification reminder for an app, I can only choose sound or vibration, which is fine because if I want neither, I just disable reminders for that app.


text:
I can't bypass FRP lock on my Galaxy J5 2016
I was just following a recommendation of MalwareBytes to encrypt my phone.
So I plugged in the power cable as it said and confirmed my decision. The phone turned off but then there's only a black colored screen that says "Custom binary blocked by FRP" and "secure fail: kernel".
My phone is rooted but there never has been any malfunction. But recently the screen started to turn on every few minutes without any obvious reason. It said something about a Power Sharing app that I could get. I was never able to identify the cause of that problem.
Just today I reset the developer settings back to normal. Then I tried to make the encryption... That was extremely bad timing.
Odin doesn't recognize my Samsung and I can't use the ADB shell because it doesn't return a serial number or any other life sign.
Restarting doesn't work, it just brings me right back to the FRP lock.
Any suggestions are highly appreciated!

You should have enabled OEM unlock before, that's why you are getting custom binaries blocked by FRP. What do you mean by Odin isn't recognizing the device and by restarting the Developer Settings to normal?


text:
Unable to restore from drive
I have an old phone (Asus zenfone) that makes regular backups on drive. If I log on drive from pc I see the backup folder.
I need to restore data to my new phone (Samsung galaxy s7 edge).
The new phone is freshly formatted. When I add my Google account everything is fine (I also receive the email warning for login in new device) but the phone proposes restore from Samsung cloud only.
Actually I also had another backup on drive (made with a third phone) and at the first attempt the new phone proposed to restore from that backup.
Of course I declined, I deleted that backup from drive (keeping only the one I need) and finally retried the restore.
So it seems that the login to Google works but the phone ignores the existing backup.
What could I do to force the restore?

Try factory reset and start all over again (before you do that, sign out  device from Google account else you will run into FRP problems)

I suppose sign out is needed (and I did it), but in my case I had to perform also Android upgrade.

I solved. The old phone has Oreo, the new one had Nougat.
I upgraded the new phone to Oreo, made a factory reset and finally the restore started correctly.


text:
Pixel 2 repeatedly playing a sound alert without explanation, what does it mean? (Sound included)
My Pixel 2 has gone crazy in the last few days. Maybe related to the latest Android update that I got a few days ago, but I'm not sure.
I recognize the sound (I have heard it earlier) but it has never behaved like this before. When the screen is on, except in phone calls, it will (randomly?) play this sound over and over, sometimes 20 times in a minute, sometimes it will be quiet for a while. I haven't figured out any logic of when it plays or not, but it stops if the screen is turned off, and it stops during phone calls.
It also plays when using other apps, not just when showing the desktop.
I'm attaching a sound sample here, 28 second recording on the phone itself just lying still.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1tQUkt1pUj9yFRGNs6jDoFxsVj7HYnpP8

is this happens during charging?

It happens when not charging. I'll put the charger on and see if it also happens then.

Sounds like a notification from system ? try installing this app and trace the source if possible https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.evanhe.nhfree&hl=en_US

It also happens while charging.

Follow up: The phone has stopped doing this, but I don't know why.


text:
Unable to run pushed binary
I've pushed executable adb file to /system for using it to connect to other devices, but shell can't execute this file. Why?
chiron / # file `which adb`
/system/xbin/adb: ELF executable, 64-bit LSB arm64, dynamic (/lib/ld-linux-aarch64.so.1), BuildID=408e8d3f813fbb95b782db5d56f91bc41b451acb, stripped
chiron / # adb
bash: /system/xbin/adb: No such file or directory

You probably did cross-compilation badly.
As file suggests, the dynamic linker for the binary is /lib/ld-linux-aarch64.so.1, which doesn't exist on Android. Android's linker is located at /system/bin/linker (32-bit) and /system/bin/linker64. You need to specify this path as the dynamic linker when compiling.
You may try symlink-ing the Android dynamic linker to the path revealed by file.

chiron / # /system/bin/linker64 /system/xbin/adb
This is /system/bin/linker64, the helper program for dynamic executables.

What do you mean? /system/xbin already in PATH and I cannot link this file somewhere for make it more executable.

@J.Doe I mean exactly this: mkdir /lib; ln -s /system/bin/linker64 /lib/ld-linux-aarch64.so.1 and then try running your executable.

@J.Doe The most recommended way is to recompile it, specifying the path to the dynamic linker as /system/bin/linker64 instead of using the default.


text:
Possible to access Chrome Incognito session data?
First post in a fit of desperation on what is probably a lost cause. Would there be any way to recover or view Incognito tabs lost during an automatic app update in the past 24 hours by snooping around Chrome’s local data / session cache / etc.?
Assuming this sort of data isn’t completely nuked on leaving Incognito, I’ve read around some old posts to find something similar might be possible via ADB shell (which I’ve never used) using run-as, backup or push/pull commands, but don’t know if any details of the 80-or-so tabs I’m looking for would even be there in the first place, let alone possible to access, extract and read. Another route that came to mind is tracing web traffic from my phone’s IP via my router, but this seems even less feasible. Frustratingly, Google must know what I typed into its search engine, but whether this is possible to isolate for myself or even Google themselves is anyone’s guess. I’m happy to spend time obsessively trawling through obscure logs as long as it’s theoretically viable.
Running Oreo 8.0.0 on an unrooted LG V30+, Chrome is (now) version 69.0.3497.100.
Many thanks in advance, any kind of help or advice would be much appreciated.

And the long answer? Even if it's just "still no", at least it points me in the right direction. Thanks for the response.

No.
The incognito mode is designed in a way such that no trails shall be left locally, so there should be little to no chance you can pull it from the device.
Maybe you can get some information via network data, but that's more complex and not guaranteed.


text:
Finding "Super Voice Recorder" files on computer after it was created on my Android 8
I have two recording apps on my Samsung Galaxy S8. "Super Voice recorder" which I use to tape meetings to create meeting notes and "Call Recorder" that records phone conversations.
When I sync to my Windows computer, I see all of my phone call conversations (from Call Recorder) as MP3 and it is in the audio file, but I do not see any of my Super Voice Recorder files. The folder is completely empty but the app on my phone tells me I have 5 files.
Where is it stored outside the application?

Check in the root folder - some apps create a separate folder there to store information

I assume you are using Super Voice Recorder from MeiHillMan.
He has mentioned the storage location of your files in

Play Store Page

Audio recording files are stored into “AllVoiceRecords” in your SD card root folder. In addition to using the built-in player, you can use your device’s file browser or a USB PC connection to view, copy or share the files in the directory.

Android Application

All recording files are placed under the directory "AllVoiceRecords" (this directory is at the root of SD Card). Apart from viewing or playing in this application, you can also manually view or copy those records using a file browser, or transfer them to your PC through USB connection.

Original screenshot

On Windows, if you can't see your files from Explorer, and you're familiar with ADB, open CMD shell and try this command:
adb pull /sdcard/AllVoiceRecords %userprofile%\desktop

You'll find a folder called AllVoiceRecords on your desktop.
Otherwise, if you want to view your files via Windows Explorer, try media.Re.Scan application to scan your MTP media storage and update its information.


text:
Clear all apps user data with ADB without factory reset
I'm trying to achieve the goal of clearing all app data using Git Bash on Windows, but I don't know exactly if this approach is wrong, because it shows FAILED on every line.
adb shell 'pm list packages' | sed -e "s/package\://" | xargs -n1 adb shell pm clear

List all packages
adb shell 'pm list packages'

Remove "package:" from the begining of each line
adb shell 'pm list packages' | sed -e "s/package\://"

Execute "pm clear" on every package name
adb shell 'pm list packages' | sed -e "s/package\://" | xargs -n1 adb shell pm clear

Regards.

I wonder what's wrong with this. Seems to work fine when I tried a dry run. See if everything is fine and no special character is causing an issue. Replace pm clear with pm path and see if it also fails.

@Firelord: pm path is working correctly!!


text:
Auto silence based on geo location - android
I’m trying to get my kids android devices to be on do not disturb mode when they’re at school.
Schedule based works fine but also effective on holidays which is I wanted.
Any ideas?

Please edit your question for grammar as it currently doesn't make sense. We can't migrate it to the correct site in its current condition.

Try IFTTT (if this, then that)

There is a free app called IFTTT (If This Then That). It lets you set up a trigger and an action that happens when the trigger fires. You could set the school as a geofence trigger, and "Set to do not disturb" as the action. Unfortunately, this app on its own will not stop them from simply turning off 'Do not disturb' manually. You will need some other parental control that stops them from messing with the settings.

have you tried using an app like Tasker?
Here's a reddit link with a possible solution for your query.


text:
Make the popup keyboard go away on the Note 9 For Chessbase

Please make this popup stick to the bottom. It's going to give me a heart attack.

Going to add a bounty soon...

Its called Floating keyboard, found in the game tools.. drove me nuts for about an hour... turn that feature off under Additional features and problem solved for me on my Galaxy Note9


text:
What differences are there nowadays between Chrome OS and the Android OS?
At some point, Chrome OS had no relationship with the Android OS.
Then several years later, there was some minimal integration.
After that years later once more the Chrome OS is capable of accessing the full Android Play Store and installing Android apps.
But the Chrome OS is not the Android OS.  I can't seem to get an understanding of what the relationship is with several articles that I was trying to read up on.  Does the Chrome OS just have the Android OS installed along-side it and it calls into the Android OS for handling all Android app interactions?
That is my assumption.  It likely doesn't even use the majority of the features on the Android OS (or shouldn't need to) in order to get tasks done. Does anyone have any input that could provide me with some clarity?

Chrome OS uses sandboxing for Android apps Otherwise, yes, the 2 OSes overlap a lot and most of the differences are technical.

Android on Chrome OS (ARC++) is just one supported container flavor sitting on top of the Chromium/Chrome OS kernel. Not all features of Android are supported, the version of Android (Nougat) that Chrome OS is running depends upon the version of Chrome OS.
See: Running Custom Containers Under Chrome OS for more details regarding containers on Chrome OS.
So while Chrome OS has a high security reputation, getting Android to run on a Chromebook means some compromises:

Don't Android apps (ARC++) run in a container and not a VM?
Unfortunately, yes, Android apps currently run only in a container. We try to isolate them quite a bit (using namespaces, seccomp, alt syscall, SELinux, etc...), but at the end of the day, they have direct access to many syscalls and kernel interfaces, so a bug in there is reachable via code compiled with Android's NDK.

Additionally while Google is trying to promote Android on Chrome OS to developers: https://developer.android.com/chrome-os/ there were outstanding issues like getting Android on Chrome OS to see the SD card in your Chromebook [now resolved] which might be considered showstoppers by certain apps.
2021 Jun Update
ChromeOS devices that support Android 11+ are being migrated from ARC++ in a container to ARCVM.
2022 Update
Official ChromeOS.dev page on ARCVM
Google has created Chrome OS Flex as a OS distribution replacement for PCs and Macs. While models of Chromebook devices running Chrome OS can run Android and have the Google Play Store, Chrome OS Flex does not support Android.

Did you know that ChromeOS is actually based off of Gentoo Linux. Ironical that Chrome OS is targeted towards the non-technical....


text:
Upgrade Android version of Mediastar Diamond MS-X2 satellite receiver
I have Mediastar Diamond MS-X2 4K with Android 7. 0 Nougat. After downloading the last upgrade file from the official site and restarting the device, it shows this error: "installation aborted".
What should I do?

You will need to contact MediaStar... these devices are not "standard" Android devices and use a specialized custom version.

You can fix it by USB :

You need to download the update file MS-Diamond-Z2_V3.4.1_2018-10-24 and put it on a USB drive in a folder

Then change both the name of the folder and the name of the update file to

Folder: RomUpdate
File: RomUpdate

Then turn on your Mediastar Z2 while you are pressing the Power button in front until the receiver screen shows an update

Then keep your hands away and the receiver will do the update automatically

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts. Going by your name here, it appears you are associated with Mediastar. If that is the case, please disclose your affiliation in the answer by [edit]. Thank you


text:
Nexus 5 Random Static on Screen
I have a Nexus 5 phone that randomly switches to a static display. At that point I just need to power it off and back on again and it usually works. It will randomly go back to the static screen after some usage, but it's totally random, sometimes it goes hours without doing that.
Is there anything that maybe loosened up with time? The phone has been very well cared for, no falls or visible damage and has also been kept in a pocket.
What could be the problem? Is it likely to be a motherboard issue or something simpler?

Assuming the phone isn't completely freezing, e.g. you can still getting calls, sms etc... , this could be malware probably. Check your app list for suspicious apps that you didn't install

I'd start with a fresh ROM - either Lineage or Ubport's Ubuntu Touch. Of the fault continues then it would appear to be hardware related.

Similar issue on a cheap Orbo ZX-2926D that's several years old, I'm pretty sure it's a hardware issue.

I'm pretty sure it's a hardware issue as I reset the phone to factory settings and it still does it randomly as before.

If factory reset hasn't fixed it, then it's almost certainly a hardware issue. Being a Nexus device you can easily flash the stock (current / upgraded) ROM to be 100 % sure (just to rule out something isn't wrong with ROM)

I have the same, it starts happening more. I have upgraded my LineageOS but no luck. So it could be indeed a hardware issue


text:
How to free storage besides clearing up cache memory
I have a Samsung galaxy smart phone. Whenever I download apps such as,Ubber and Facebook it tells me that my storage is full. I have cleared up cache memory but still there is no difference. What can I do?

Remove photos/videos/music? Delete downloads and documents?

Some cleaning apps (like CCleaner) have a function to clear the hidden/system cache (which can be up to several GB), you could try that.

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts! You could check with our insufficient-memory tag-wiki for a starter :)

Uninstall updates and disable apps which are installed but can't be deleted and you don't use it. Eg some Google apps. Edit: what is storage capacity of your device?

Disk usage - view whats really eating up your storage
SD maid - file cleaner
Files Go - by google - leave it installed and it will automatically remind you what unused files to delete
Google Photos - backup every photo and select free up storage to delete already backed up images and videos

Uninstall some Apps
Delete some data (e.g Photos, Videos)
Install a cleaner that has a Deep-Cleaning Feature

authors: Једноруки Крстивоје


text:
OP5t - Decrypt an encrypted data folder from a second user after reset
Basically what happened was that the camera on my phone decided to not work so I did the factory reset without wiping data (in the OOS settings) but forgot to do a backup on my second user. Is there a way to decrypt this? If so, how does one do that? I had some important things on that user.

Once you do a factory reset encryption PIN is also reset and you cannot decrypt  anything be it on primary or secondary user by that PIN
It's practically impossible to recover data

I had feared this. Thanks for clarification, anyway :/


text:
Make screen brighter when phone is raised?
When raising my Google Pixel XL (latest Android Pie), without pressing anything, it already shows the clock, weather, battery percentage etc. -- that's nice. However, the screen at that point is also very dim, much too dark, with the clock barely visible when outside. I've tried adjusting various brightness settings (making it brighter, toggling adaptive brightness) but they all seem to be unconnected to this raising-screen, they all just make it brighter once I click a button or unlock. Is there a way to increase the raised-screen brightness, though? Thanks!


text:
WhatsApp: How to isolate contacts and photos - Privacy concerns
Whatsapp is ubiquitous and is commonly used despite the long scary list of permissions it seeks ( see Help understanding Whatsapp's permissions )
Privacy and security conscious people would like to avoid it and use alternate means like Telegram but there are a huge bunch of people who are blind to the concerns and merrily use it
I am forced to use it, since I have a friends and relatives who are comfortable with this and won't consider switching - some got introduced to smartphones using this, for some others it is convenience of usage and the most common refrain is I have nothing to hide :-(
So my question boils down to How do I use Whatsapp without exposing my contacts and private photos to Whatsapp (read Facebook)?
This is a self answered question sharing one way and you are welcome to post other ways if you find

Regarding Telegram ad alternative: It uses homebrew encryption, which makes it not very reliable in terms of security. When you want to use alternatives, I recommend Signal or something like Wire.

Requisites

Download Shelter - an open source app from F-droid or GitHub. Quoting the developer, use cases

Run “Big Brother” apps inside the isolated profile so they cannot access your data outside the profile

“Freeze” (disable) background-heavy or seldom-used apps when you don’t need them. This is especially true if you use apps from Chinese companies like Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent.
Clone apps to use two accounts on one device

Create a dummy gmail account to be populated with only Whatsapp contacts
Device with work profiles (post Lollipop all have them) unless you used a Magisk or Xposed module to disable this

Methodology

Export your contacts to  your dummy Gmail account. Follow instructions here or any other way, like this Export telegram and whatsapp contacts to vcf?
. Delete all non Whatsapp contacts from this account (you don't want Whatsapp / Facebook to see ALL your contacts , right?)
Add this account to your phone from Settings → Google → Account ( will vary , but you can search)
Install Shelter
Click on the app  to see two panes Main (where all your apps are listed) and Shelter where you will see contacts , Google Play Store. Go to Main and long press on Whatsapp and choose Clone to shelter (Work Profile)
Go to shelter tab and set up Whatsapp as if it is a new account and when it asks for contacts point it to the dummy Gmail account created having Whatsapp contacts
Delete all Whatsapp contacts from your main account and if you wish uninstall or Freeze or disable Whatsapp

Note: Open whatsapp from within the shelter (work profile) not from the app drawer. If you open from outside you will find Whatsapp having access to contacts and gallery. Once you install whatsapp it is completely limited to the storage dedicated to the work profile and cannot see storage outside the work profile
Profit Your contacts and photos are separated ! and Whatsapp will not see at least your future non whatsapp contacts / pictures
On a side note, even with root and mighty Xposed module like XprivacyLua , a successor to Xprivacy, contacts by group cannot be separated ; in other words you can only choose all / starred/ non starred contacts to be visible per app but you can't say hide my Whatsapp contacts ( For more details see Para 18)

You can try Shelter app with other apps as well to keep your information private

All these methods I heard of so far use the "work profile". As far as I understand, there can only be one work profile per Android phone. So if you plan to use this work profile for something else, you will share these contacts with Whatsapp, right?

Other question, could I achieve the same result by manually setting up a work profile, without an additional app like Shelter? What does the "Shelter" app add to this?

@donquixote- I haven't  used workprofile, so I can't answer, sorry. You could make that a question with this linked as context, to get answers

OnePlus users: I've verified WhatsApp works with Parallel Apps feature, which allows you to run certain apps on a minimal profile.
Pixel, Samsung, etc:  The Island app allows you to run a fake "work" profile simultaneously.

They don't have access to your contacts, but they see your storage. You can use the apps like a normal app. Only issue is if you give it access to your contacts immediately, it will run into a glitch. Say no the first time and it will work fine.


text:
How does WhatsApp update the "last seen"?
Previously we were able to turn off mobile/Wi-Fi and turn on airplane mode, read the message, turn off airplane mode and turn mobile data / Wi-Fi on and that was the end of it. However, now it seems WhatsApp stores the information of the user opening the message even in offline mode to be sent later when it gets a connection.
My question is regarding last seen. What if I turn on airplane mode, read old messages that I have already opened. Close WhatsApp completely and turn airplane mode off. Will my last seen now be the time when I was reading old messages in airplane mode, or the last time I actually opened WhatsApp while connected to the internet. Can anyone confirm this?

You probably know this already, but for those who don't, you can turn "Last seen" off under Settings > Account > Privacy.


text:
Touchwiz and Samsung Cameras and photo quality
This post by cgirerd, on XDA says,

All the custom ROMs out there that are not Touchwiz-based don't use the stock camera (and the stock camera can't be installed on them). So, by using ROMs such as Lineage OS, Resurrection Remix OS, crDroid, AOSP and so on, you will get lower quality than on Touchwiz-based ROMs such as SuperMan-ROM, BatMan-ROM, IronMan-ROM.

As a programmer, I'm not sure what that means but I'm inclined to think there may be some truth to it or he knows what he's talking about.
When cgirerd says "stock camera" is he referring to the stock camera
application, or the stock camera firmware/drivers for the ROM? I have an Samsung S5, and I use LineagOS and I've never noticed even a slight degradation in camera quality; but, I'm also of the mindset that the world we be a better place if phone didn't have cameras and almost never use my own.
Is there any truth to that post by cgirerd?

I believe modern Samsung Phones use a proprietary camera app called Samsung Camera which requires TouchWiz API extensions. You can see those extensions documented on Samsung's site,

Camera SDK provides enhanced features and APIs available to users for developing enriched camera-based applications. This SDK offers additional functionalities and capabilities on top of existing Android Camera API2 capabilities. The Camera application interface utilizes the Android Camera APIs. Camera SDK also provides easy-to-use, fast performing APIs for new image processing and computational photography needs.

While it utilizes the default interface, there are SDK-specific capabilities, without which you'll be losing functionality in AOSP roms. I believe the API uses TouchWiz blobs internally.
I can not find those API extensions (proprietary and missing from AOSP)  documented anywhere, but they're explained by a commenter here.
(feel free to answer here with more information and I'll delete this answer).


text:
Termux was unable to install the bootstrap packages
After doing some research, it mention that the bootstrap in this url (http://termux.net/bootstrap/) must be download and install before one can use Termux.
So, how do I install the bootstrap? or do I put the bootstrap files into a particular folder in the phone before install Termux? or something else I need to do? or are there alternative methods to get Termux installed and running without connecting to the Internet?
(Note: The phone is not connect to the Internet. The phone need to have Termux installed with all prerequisite packages, such as bootstrap.)

If you want to install that bootstrap package without internet, you need root access.
The easiest way I've found is with Titanium Backup. You can install Termux on another device, bootstrap it then back it up with TB, and transfer the TB backup to the offline device and restore. It's also convenient for batch deploy.
If you want to manually install the bootstrap package via a shell (another Terminal Emulator or ADB shell), here's a possible method (I haven't tested it myself, but I think it's mostly correct). As said before, manual installation also requires root access.
First download the ZIP of the correct architecture and create these directories:
/data/data/com.termux/files/home
/data/data/com.termux/files/usr

And extract the ZIP completely to /data/data/com.termux/files/usr.
Then create some symbolic links because they're required for Termux to work. The instruction to creating those symbolic links are stored in SYMLINKS.txt and you need to process that.
Well, putting Unicode characters in such a text file isn't a good practice because it makes it hard to parse. Maybe you can try this tool (Meta Sandbox, CodePen) on a desktop browser. First click "Run Code Snippet" to enable it. Paste the content of SYMLINKS.txt to the text box, click Convert and run the output as shell commands. Make sure you're running those ln commands in /data/data/com.termux/files/usr.
Finally, correct the permissions, ownerships and SELinux contexts. Run the following commands. You can use the "vanilla" toolset in /system/bin for this job. They perform well here.
ROOT=/data/data/com.termux/files
UID=$(stat -c %u $ROOT)
chown -R $UID.$UID $ROOT
chmod -R 0755 $ROOT/usr/bin $ROOT/usr/libexec

If you're running Android 7 (API 24) or up, run this command in addition:
chcon -R u:object_r:app_data_file:s0:c512,c768 $ROOT

Termux was unable to install the bootstrap packages
I had the same error and I was connected to internet. I had to go into settings and put Termux on internal shared storage and finally got it to install


text:
Disable proximity sensor on Nexus 5
My Nexus 5's proximity sensor is broken and I verified the same using the Proximity Sensor Test.
As usual, the screen goes black during the calls and I use the power button to end the call. But the problem is during whatsapp or skype call, power button doesn't help and I need to search for a Bluetooth or ear phones to dial or receive a call.
Kindly help me to disable proximity sensor or any other work arounds
Edit: Unfortunately I am not interested in rooting. So I am looking for some kind of app.

See https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/133160/screen-turns-off-during-call-due-to-problem-with-proximity-sensor-xperia-z3-co and https://stackoverflow.com/questions/24982571/disable-proximity-sensor-during-call

My Nexus5 has the same problem. Did you find a solution?

@MaxB There is no one good app. In fact, I got new phone.

I had the same issue recently, it seems the proximity sensor doesn't work properly and it always see there is something near the phone. During the phone call, this will automatically turn off the screen.
I work around this using the app named "Proximity Screen Off Lite" https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.itsme4ucz.screenoff
I configure the app as below.

Screen On/Off Modes
Check "Cover and hold to turn on Screen"
Timeout: 1 second
Check "Disable Accidentla Lock"
Timeout: 4 seconds
All settings
Check "Disable in Lanscape"
Check "Lock phone on screen ON"
[Advanced] Configure Sensore
Select sensor: Proximity sensor
Value when sensor covered: 0
Value when sensor un-covered: 1

Turn on the service and enjoy your phone calls.
Or
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mobiledirection.proximitysensorreset
This may help too
Hope it help.

requires rooted phone?


text:
Can I use Google Assistant alongside another assist app?
I already have an assist app setup which needs access to the text on my screen.
Currently, when I open Google Assistant through its icon on my homescreen, I get a screen telling me "The Google app isn't your default assist app" (screenshot)
I don't want to use Google Assistant to interact with what's on my screen, rather I just want to use it as a voice assistant. I could just use the default "Google" app which has features for voice search, but "Google Assistant" does that AND has the ability to integrate nicely with other apps using IFTTT, which is something I want to set-up.
Is there a way to use Google Assistant integrations from the regular google app, to use Google Assistant can be used alongside another assist app?


text:
Wiko UFeel phone won't restart after logo screen
Recently my Wiko UFeel (using Marshmallow Android) restarted automatically and won't pass from the UFeel logo image. I know I problaby have to do a factory reset, however I need to backup some files to my computer, both from the phone and the SD Card which, unfortunately, is mounted as internal storage, meaning I can't plug it to a card reader or any other Wiko device to copy the files. What I'd like to know, please, is:
1) If I execute the factory reset with the SD card in my device, will the data also be erased or just the data from the internal storage (or both) ?
2) If I execute the factory reset without the SD card in my device, will I be able to use it as is after the phone is reset or will I need to format it ?
3) Is there any way for me to plug the phone to a computer so I can backup the files ?
4) Is there any way I can backup the SD card through some other means ? I  tried ADB but it doesn't recognize my device.
Thank you very much

You should flash a custom recovery, such as TWRP, then boot to recovery and copy your data

1: probably yes, as it's formatted as internal storage. 2: definitely not, as your encryption key is lost after a factory reset. 3: if you've got the encryption key extracted, yes – see our adoptable-storage tag-wiki. 4: maybe, if you have a custom recovery installed.

@esQmo_ not necessarily installed (correcting myself along); booting into one (fastboot boot recovery.img) should suffice. But that requires the bootloader to be unlocked. If that has not already been done beforehand, it will most likely trigger a factory reset, rendering the action useless for the current situation.

Yeah, I forgot that model has a locked bootloader

As you formatted the card as internal storage, it will most likely be formatted at a factory reset (as it represents internal storage). Even if it wouldn't, you no longer were able to access it, as the encryption key will be lost after a factory reset.
definitely not, as your encryption key is lost after a factory reset (see previous point).
if you've got the encryption key extracted (which requires root-access), yes – see our adoptable-storage tag-wiki.
maybe, if you have a custom recovery installed or can boot into one (fastboot boot recovery.img). But that would require the device's bootloader to be unlocked. If you haven't done so already, the unlock process usually implicitly performs a factory reset / data-wipe itself; so this approach only works if the bootloader already had been unlocked before (see: bootloader-lock).

Thank you very much for the help. My main priority is to salvage the SD card content, if I can. Is there a way to verify if the bootloader is unlocked with my phone this way ?

Yes. When you boot into [tag:fastboot] mode, there should be a command to list the status (something like fastboot oem device-info or fastboot oem INFOlock; fastboot oem ? should give you available commands for that). You can check our fastboot tag-wiki for additional resources, as well as the questions using that tag.


text:
How to Disable FLAG_SECURE without root?
I just realised the only way to bypass screenshot security on certain apps is to disable this FLAG_SECURE, which as I see can be done using Xposed module.
But I don't want to root my phone. Is there any way to disable FLAG_SECURE and bypass screenshot security without root.

No... Root is required.

You might want to give Virtual Xposed a spin.
It is an application that acts as a sort of "host" for other user apps you can install inside it. It then has full control over the process of the inner app, and can apply the functionality of some Xposed apps without requiring an unlocked bootloader or Root.
However, it can only work for Xposed modules that don't modify the system. If your mentioned module tries to do that, VX won't be any good.

Virtual xposed DOES work! See my update below https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=84006109&postcount=527


text:
Permission denied when working with/without "su -c" in /cache
I am trying to issue this command
adb shell "su -c echo 'boot-recovery' > /cache/recovery/command"
//OR//
adb shell "echo 'boot-recovery' > /cache/recovery/command"

outputs the same: /system/bin/sh: can't create /cache/recovery/command: Permission denied
I granted root permission for adb and i can run other commands with root normally like touch for example
I tried the command both ways when the file did and did not existed.
I tried checking for the existence of the file:
adb shell "if [ -f /cache/recovery/command ]; then echo "file found"; else echo "error"; fi"

it returned error even though the file does in fact exist
The Goal is to add a few lines to the recovery queue so the run the next time the device boots into recovery
Please correct me, I'm not so good at android command line, do I need to use a different command to achieve this goal?
More info: Android 8.1 (RR oreo) ... Magisk SU ... TWRP 3.2 (But need this to be compatible with as many android versions, recoveries, and su binaries as possbible .... I hope lol)

It's better to Ask your question on superuser community.

adb shell 'su -c "echo \"boot-recovery\" > /cache/recovery/command"'
adb shell 'su -c "'"echo "boot-recovery" > /cache/recovery/command"'"' #Alternative
adb shell "su -c \"echo 'boot-recovery' > /cache/recovery/command\"" #Another alternative
adb shell 'su -c "'"echo "'"boot-recovery"'" > /cache/recovery/command"'"' #yet another alternative

That should work. I'm not sure why. This answer from codeforester might help you out if you're looking for a reason.
My take is that, in:
adb shell "su -c echo 'boot-recovery' > /cache/recovery/command"

adb shell launches a non-interactive shell, the double quotes are expanded  , leaving
su -c echo 'boot-recovery' > /cache/recovery/command

However, in this, only echo 'boot-recovery' gets to be run with root privilege and the resulting output falls back to shell user (id=2000) which doesn't have the privilege to write into cache directory, hence the error.
Quoting everything after -c passes whole echo 'boot-recovery' > /cache/recovery/command instruction to su executable, and so, that does work.

Thanks for the info .. how to avoid getting it in the hands of the user and keep it in root mode...  are the 4 commands you wrote a solution? because they output the same Permission denied

I don't know why it outputs permission denied in your case. It works here. Does the shell/adb has permission to switch to root user in your superuser app?

in magisk su it lets apps and adb have root access... I will try to play with another option related to owner/user/something root access

omg.. The 2nd one of your commands worked after i changed the Multi-user mode from Device Owner Only to User Independent... and now i opened the command file, it has "boot-recovery" in it (success) ..... It worked even tho powershell doesn't like it (it colors it wild)

Sorry for commenting a lot.. Now i tested it it does write to command but nothing happens when booting into recovery, so the main goal is not achieved

@NHKomaiha it is an altogether different question, so please ask a new question. Thanks. :-)

Although it was my main goal to do the queue but ok.. at least i learned something useful here, thanks for help

For me, this worked:
adb shell "su -c 'boot-recovery > /cache/recovery/command'"

You start with a double quote before su -c. Then single quote for the command, a single quote after the command and close with a double quote.


text:
Android 'Add-on' for app
Don't know if I have the terminology correct, but I recently install TeamViewer Quicksupport from the Play Store. After it installed, I had to download an 'Add-on' for Samsung (I have no idea why it is needed, but I don't care, really).
This 'Add-on' has it own entry on the Play Store and you can download it without installing QuickSupport first, but you cannot 'Open' it.
I cannot find any information online on how to develop these 'Add-ons'. I do not even know if it is possible.
What I want to know is, how can such 'Add-ons' be developed and deployed. Any links to information would be greatly appreciated. I would like to find out if this would work for a design whereby you create a 'base' app with X features and then if needed, you can download 'Add-ons' to get other features? Kinda like modules?
Here are links to the Apps on PlayStore:
TeamViewer QuickSupport
TeamView QuickSupport Add-On: Samsung

Without having looked more closely at your example, the "add-on" is likely just an app that doesn't have any activities declared as launcher activity. It doesn't show up on your home screen, because Android doesn't know what it would have to show you if you tried to open it.
The main app can then check if you have the add-on app installed, and communicate however it needs to with it.
There's no additional black magic here, just a regular app that isn't meant to be opened by the user directly.

Thank you. That totally makes sense. I am gonna give that a try, make a simple little app with a main activity (the 'base/core' app) and one with none but which has a couple of 'services' and see how that could work.
If that does work, it would open up a whole new way of designing apps as I do have an app with which I'd like to add extra functionality without adding it directly, ie. if a user wants feature X, they can download that additionally.


text:
Is it possible to activate the iris recognition infrared LED and take an IR photo?
Is it possible to turn on the iris recognition infrared LED and take photos using the front camera, that works on the Galaxy S9+?
In the YouTube video: "Poco F1 Infrared Camera Hack - How to take photos with the Infrared Camera" they mention a Google Play Store application: "MIUI Hidden Settings" that allows you to turn on the iris recognition LED and activate the front camera at the same time - the only limitation is that to take a photo you need to take a screenshot, with resulting lower resolution. That APP doesn't work on the Galaxy S9+.
Also discovered, the "ToF Viewer / Night Vision" App  by "Luboš Vonásek Programmierung" but it isn't supported on my Samsung S9+. Apparently it does work on a half dozen newer Samsung phones. You may want to visit their GitHub: "ARCoreNightVision".
I tried quite a few versions there, and found that "040.apk" through "043.apk" installed and started without crashing, but otherwise doesn't work. Version "050.apk" enabled an additional control, despite that the App couldn't activate the ToF sensor and produce an image. This shows some hope for this being possible. In another directory there's TangoNightVision, but the few I tried didn't install; the other directory was much more promising.
I found a similar question: "Is there an Infrared camera app?" at XDA. There's a somewhat similar question here called: "Controlling IR in Galaxy S8?" but it seems limited to turning on the IR LED (which might be enough) and doesn't mention IR photography which is what I want.
The results, if you can get it working on your phone, seem reasonable:

(Tap to enlarge)
I even tried dialing the hardware test number *#0*# but the phone doesn't allow screenshots, nor is the image very large or illuminated. If there is another test number or a means to trick the hardware I can't find it, if there is a particular APP it is likely rare and the only one available.


text:
What is the partition layout of the Google Pixel?
I have searched for a listing of the partitions on the first Google Pixel. What are they?


text:
Export VPN configurations from Android
I would like to export all my VPN configurations stored in my smartphone to my pc. I use three VPN apps (VPN Master, USA VPN and Bettermet), in your opinion have I to find by myself all certificates and credentials or is there a place where I can find all this stuff stored in the system settings?

Different apps working with different VPN protocols have different methods of handling authentication credentials (username, password, certificate, key etc.). I didn't use any of three apps you mentioned, I guess those are all proprietary apps with purchased services (or at least under some T&C if you don't pay them money, they charge you some other way). If you have root you can check their data directories under /data/data/, but I don't think you would be able to extract any useful data from there. There would be encrypted files, though some (free) VPN apps save VPN configuration (e.g. .ovpn) files in plain text.
Some general purpose apps like OpenVPN Client - the one I use with my personal OpenVPN server on AWS EC2 - have a UI option to export VPN profiles as text files. But that won't be the case with purchased VPNs if they don't want you use the service on multiple devices or particularly on PC. You may ask them for a multi-device license / contract or go for some other option. https://www.vpngate.net, for instance, is a network of volunteers who offer a large collection of VPN configurations of multiple protocols that you can freely use on any number of devices.


text:
Can I use Titanium Backup to extract and restore user apps from a Nandroid backup of a different model?
Can I use Titanium Backup to extract and restore user apps from a Nandroid backup of a different model ? e.g., restoring user apps from a Galaxy S7's Nandroid backup on a Xiaomi MI Mix 2S?

Yes, you surely can. Make sure that user apps you want to restore are not already present as system apps for example FM radio is a system app with some OEMs while it may be a user app in others. Next thing to watch out is for version incompatibility, though not very common
It takes a long time to restore from Nandroid so be patient. At times if the app doesn't get restored, it's better to install manually from Play Store and restore only data
Also see the last part of answer here Migrating to new rooted phone, how do you restore from your titanium backup from the saved cloud backups


text:
How can I list the contents of my sd card over ssh
I try to list the contents of my sdcard using kdeconnect. As I understand it, this is done using an ssh connection (sshfs).
When I try to list the contents of the sd card on my computer, e.g.
ls /run/user/1000/aa321541a9e62340/storage/xxxx-xxxx

I get an Operation not permitted, but listing the contents of any subfolder e.g. /run/user/1000/aa321541a9e62340/storage/xxxx-xxxx/Music works without problems. Now I read that this is most likely due to an android permissions problem (Can't show the content of /sdcard of my Android phone from Ubuntu's Nautilus or FileZilla via sftp).
On android, the permissions of /storage/xxxx-xxxx show as
 drwxrwx--x root everybody

When I do chmod o+r /storage/xxxx-xxxx as root this seems to be ignored.
Can someone tell me what I can do in order to be able to list the contents of my sd card over ssh?

What ssh daemon you are running on Android phone? Termux or some standalone binary? You can run sshd in debug mode to see what happens when you try to list the contents on PC.

The code for kdeconnect says "implementation 'org.apache.sshd:sshd-core:0.8.0'". Unfortunately I have no idea how to run that in debug mode.

I misunderstood that. You are running kdeconnect app on Android. That has buultin sshd which is harder to troubleshoot. Instead install Termux app on Android and then install package openssh. Start sshd with -d option to get debug messages. Now mount sshfs on PC and browse sd card. Errors will be printed on Termux. Please note that Termux needs Storage permission to access SD card. You can try enabling same permission for KDEConnect as well.

I tried your suggestion. Problem is: there is no problem, i.e. mounting via sshfs works, as does listing the content of the SD card root. Could the sshd version kdeconnect is using be the culprit?


text:
Schedule power off/on in 8.1.10 Oreo
I just got a new 'phone running Android 8.10 Oreo, and I can't find the schedule power off/on anywhere.
Has the feature been removed? If not, where can I find it; I realize that this might vary by device, but there can only be afew places to look ... ?

This hasn't been a stock Android feature. Some sources including this Missing "Scheduled Power On/Off" option in Android 5.0.2 on Swipe Elite Plus phone talk of it being on Lollipop but I jumped that version so can't comment
For sure, it's not a stock feature from 6.0 to 8.1. You can use some automation app to schedule power off not power on

MIUI ROMs used to have this, I don't know if it still does... There was some debate over whether it actually shutdown or going into somekind of "deep sleep" mode rather than actually shutting off. Also, some custom ROMs have a scheduled shutdown option (CM11 comes to mind but not positive), but not to power back on. Not sure I understand a real need for this feature with DND being a thing now. But you are correct, this is not part of "stock" Android at all.

Agreed! even some MIUI users who previously had this feature say its no longer available upon upgrade to 8.1 oreo but I am still on Nougat and I have this feature (first screenshot)

@acejavelin I think most users need it save battery significantly

@xavier_fakerat Thanks for the link and as for battery saving, yes it is a possibility but I wonder how relevant it is with a) Improved Doze and b) usage - folks don't even want to be disconnected from Internet :-(

Two words... "Airplane Mode"... Most modern devices can go several days, even a week plus, if not used and in Airplane Mode without draining the battery. If your still worried about battery life in 2018, you have the wrong device for your usage. :)

But Airplane Mode can't be easily automated since 4.2, see https://stackoverflow.com/q/13766909/72178.

I found it on my Nokia 3 TA-1020 with Android 8.0.0 through the Search feature in Settings: "Scheduled power on & off" which leads to "Scheduled power on & off". I have found no other way of getting to that item.
Update (21-Dec-2018): After updating to Android 8.1.0, that search doesn't work anymore. It seems that feature has now been removed. Pity.

I still can't find it in "System" or anywhere else on my Nokia, running Android 8.1.0 – it's truly gone. On the other hand, my wife's Oppo A3s running 8.1.0/ColorOS 5.2.1 does have "Automatic On/Off" under "Additional Settings". Weird.

I have just upgraded to Android 8.1 some days ago, and the "Scheduled power on and off" feature has been moved under "System" in the settings (as the whole settings menu has been reordered). Note, that the search also finds it for me. (type "scheduled").
So the feature is in place but does not work anymore, or at least my phone stopped to switch on since upgraded the Android version. Only the switch-off is actually working for me.
If you find the feature, I am curious whether both the power on and off will work for you.

I have Android 8.1.0 and can't see it by either of these methods :-( Thanks for trying to help, though.

And asking this question didn't help https://softwarerecs.stackexchange.com/questions/52308/schedule-power-off-on-for-android-8-oreo

you will find schedule power on off mode in settings right under Developer option. if your developer option is not activated then you can activate it by tapping on Build noumber 6/7 times.


text:
Recover whatsapp chat backups after reset without access to old number
I made a factory reset of my phone, which had Whatsapp linked to a deprecated phone number.
Before the reset, I backed up the chats both on Google drive(*) and on the simcard (a crypt12 file).
I hoped I'd be able to recover the chats after signing in with my new phone number, but this isn't happening on its own.
Furthermore, I can no longer log in with the old phone number (as it is deprecated), and cannot do the number transfer.

Is there any way to force a recovery of previous whatsapp chats on a
phone with a new number?
If not, is there at least a way to access the text content of the
backup files (either on Gdrive, or on the sd card) from e.g. a
computer, or are all the chats definitely gone?

(*)a similar question was posted here, but is unanswered and only refers to restoring from gdrive, whereas my question also mentions a local backup, and the ability to access the chats even from a different platform as whatsapp.

The WhatsApp backups are encrypted with a key which is connected to your account. This ensures that the backup only gets restored if the user connects the same phone number. If not, this backup holds zero value for WhatsApp.
This also means that the database backup (on your SD) card cannot be read. So, you shall not be able to decrypt and bring it to a readable version. I'll really look for possibilities of getting the old number re-issued or something.
Without access to that old number, there's no chance (as per my knowledge) to decrypt the database and restore it or make it readable.

actually, there are a lot of chances, but if you're not a 3-letter agency, facebook will not uncover the methods.


text:
How to fix Bluetooth disconnecting frequently?
I have a Nokia 6 with Android 8.1.0 and a Bose QC35 II headset. It has recently started disconnecting frequently, from approximately every 10 seconds to every two minutes or so, seemingly getting more frequent over time. The batteries are both near full, and the headset is the only Bluetooth device paired with my phone.
So far I have tried

restarting both devices,
removing the pairing and re-pairing,
toggling Bluetooth off and on again.
clearing the Bluetooth app cache and storage and
resetting all network settings in Settings - System - Reset options.

While typing this the device has reconnected at least five times. I was not transferring files or audio at the time. It happens in public and at home, where there are only two other Bluetooth-capable devices.
The sound is often choppy when it does work, so it's as if the signal is terrible even though the devices are less than a meter from each other.
When connected to my PC the sound is fine and the connection is stable for hours.
Edit: This no longer happens with Android, but I think it has something to do with the connection type. There is only one connection type which gives even close to reasonable sound quality, the other one crackles and spits and emits irregular "call from: [nothing]" garbage.

Got same problem here... Motorola One Vision, Android 9 pairing with Sony MDR-XB50BS. It connects, stays for 10s to 20s and disconnect, showing an error screen.
It was working up to a couple weeks ago. Don't know if it's some firmware update or anything...


text:
Is there a ROM of Android 8 or higher for the ASUS_X00ID Asus 4 Max?
Does anyone know if there is a ROM of Android 8 or higher for the cellphone Asus 4 Max?
If it does not exist, will be an official update for this model of cellphone?

i cannot see any roms in xda forum

I didn't find it too. I was thinking if they will release the Android 8 for the Asus 4 Max...

Please post a question in xda forum that request a oreo or pixel based rom. Hope somebody would build it, because lineage 14.1 is available there.

https://www.asus.com/in/support/FAQ/1035681/ Asus oreo upgrade plan in India.


text:
What is exact reason for "Unfortunately, app has stopped"?
This error seldom occur for system apps but sometimes it occur while open an application that newly installed and that app doesn't start.

Question isn't about specific app or process but exact reason and possibilities of this error occurrence.

Usually such errors (including error message and stack trace) can bee seen on adb logcat (Android Debug Bridge logcat).

From a software standpoint, there are many types of errors.
All errors should have the ability to be handled as to let the application remain running, but sometimes there are errors that are uncaught. The developer is responsible for catching the errors or handling things to not allow errors to occur. However, there are some things that a developer is not able to foresee, so they slip past.
These uncaught errors can crash the application. They can range from any number of things, such as database access, file reading, values not being properly checked, etc. The program ends up trying to do something it is not capable of doing, and simply crashes.

So these errors dosen't appear while testing an application?

@Swapnil Sometimes they do, but some errors might be specific to a phone that they were unable to test, or there was some variable, that when set to a specific value, throws the error and the developers did not think about that scenario.

Oh I see thank you @CodeMonkey for your invaluable time.

As per the answer above, Uncought errors are a major cause but also corrupt cache can be another issue. Sometimes  after installing  rom while not resetting, even system apps can crash. Try clearing cache through recovery or doing a complete factory reset on some cases.
On the case of app errors, they can only be solved programmatically. Contact the developer to let them  fix it.


text:
After every reboot apps can't use the network
On a Xiaomi Mi 5. Android version 7.1.2 MIUI Global 8.5.
After every rebook I get the message "Can't use the Network" every time an app starts.
This is how it looks for Telegram:

This is AFAIK a MIUI specific security setting. Have you enabled Wifi and Mobile access for Telegram?

argh. the UX of this thing sucks.
basically i always clicked on the "allow" because that's the only button in the figure. but if one clicks on the notification dialog, outside of the "allow" button then the corresponding settings page is opened where one can enable the use of Network for all the apps. this is what i ended up doing.  (another bad usability pattern: settings page is unfindable in any other way)


text:
How to exit factory mode?
I have a SAMSUNG Galaxy Young GT-S6312. It entered into Factory Mode one day on it's own. I wanted to exit factory mode so I rooted my device using Kingoroot. I did the following after rooting :-

Installed ES File Explorer.
Enabled root explorer in it and set the configuration to Mount R/W.
Went to the efs of my device.
I saw only 4 items - bluetooth, wifi (both folders), .nv_state and nv.log.
I can not find the FactoryApp folder that should have contained the "keystr" and "factorymode" which I was supposed to change to ON in the text editor.

Now I do not have these files so how am I going to exit factory mode and get back into user mode?

Delete all contents in your efs directory.Then reboot your phone.

That does not solve my problem after rebooting bluetooth and wifi folder are back and there is nothing else in the efs folder.

@Pranay have you tried executing a hard reset on your phone?

I have not done it after deleting contents of my efs directory.


text:
my tablet requires a pass code in order to turn it off but I dont have my my code
My tablet requires my password to be turned off but I forgot my password and I already tried google's suggestion. Is there another method for retoring my device?

Do the Hard Reset.
Depending on your phone/tablet, boot into recovery but usually this is how it is:

Since you tablet doesn't turn off. Press power button + Volume Down till it powers off. This is a feature of some tablets.
Press Power off + Volume Up to boot into recovery.
Perform wipe cache partition
Then wipe data/factory reset
Reboot.

Be aware that this will likely trigger FRP and the current Google Account credentials will be required to get back into the device.


text:
Keep WhatsApp backup in Google Drive
In November 12th 2018 WhatsApp will be deleting old backups in Google Drive, and they will take no space in your Google drive.
I don't mind my backups taking space in Google Drive, but I do not want them deleted. Is there any way to preserve them?

I have switched google accounts, and I cannot find a way to keep that backup in that Google account alive without buying a new phone.

You need to export your messages and save them on your own...


text:
Why can't Odin recognize the phone in system recovery?
If I boot the phone in system recovery, it doesn't detect the phone:

But when I boot the phone normally, Odin can detect it:

If I flash TWRP recovery anyway, the log is:
<ID:0/004> Odin engine v(ID:3.1005)..
<ID:0/004> File analysis..
<ID:0/004> SetupConnection..

and it's stuck there (which makes sense).
I have unlocked OEM and USB debugging. More Information:

Odin version: 3
Phone: Samsung J1-6 J120H

That's because VOLUME UP+HOME+POWER is to access Recovery Mode, while to access Download Mode the key combination is VOLUME DOWN+HOME+POWER. This is the correct screenshot of the Download Mode:

(source: fonepaw.com)
See more: How To Enter Samsung Recovery/Download Mode


text:
Issue with recording Google Hangouts calls
I'm trying to record my Google Hangouts calls. The only app I found that claimed it can record non-dialer calls was Cube ACR. Problem is I'm getting a "Recording failed. Write to storage failure, unavailable audio source or unsupported audio format" error. How to fix this?
P.S. I'm using Samsung S6.
Thanks!

I've been having the same issue for a little while now and tried everything, disabling even Knox software and Google Play and anything else that seems to be recording in the background, researched online found nothing.
The solution was actually my first instinct actually:

Go into your android settings, scroll down and select About Device.
Scroll down to the last item RESET but you DONT do a Factory data reset just the first option Reset Settings (Reset all settings to their defaults). It wont delete your data but it should fix the issue.
After doing the previous step, my phone restarted. Then when I went to use the native phone dialer software, an upgraded video dialer suddenly appeared (which I guess was half installed in the background).

I have Android 7.0. Not sure if its the same issue with others because there are scenarios from 2015 i was checking into but whatever the reason try Reset Settings.


text:
Does factory resetting a Kindle Fire remove parental controls, and if so, how to secure it?
If deregistering or a factory reset removes parental controls, what is to stop my teen from doing this to remove my oh so horrible restrictions?


text:
Enable debug terminal in android x86
I download android-x86-4.2-20130228
from https://code.google.com/archive/p/android-x86/downloads
and run it as live daul boot with windows
i try to root it with Android-x86-RootScript but the debug terminal is disabled
cant get console with alt+f1
how can i get the console ?
Or any way to root it Permanently ?

Is there a reason why you used Android-x86 from that source? The ones from official source here, at least the latest ones, already come pre-rooted.

I need android x86 4.2 and in this source its not found
it show 404. That’s an error.

I tried exactly the same ISO version (through VirtualBox) you mentioned and I can assure you that the Android there is pre-rooted. There is also a SU Security app that manages the calls to su. The console shortcut Alt+F1 also works. Things are perfectly fine with that ISO.

Thank you so much you helped me
i have a last question
is How can i mount all partitions i have to read it in the system

That is a different question altogether. Please ask it as a new question. Thanks. :-)


text:
Does syncing gallery means sending all photos to internet?
I found with fear, that my Gallery on Samsung Galaxy S7 was set up to sync with cloud by default. Does this mean, that all my photos, including secret ones, were silently sended to Samsung??????

Yes they are, but in your own Samsung Cloud Account. It is necessary for backup in case you lose/delete these pictures.

I would like to backup pictures myself, without sending them to big brother. I am very disappointed by such malicious behavior

Turn Off syncing.

I couldn't know it syncs. There is no explicit switch for syncing gallery in global settings page, it is hidden inside Gallery application. This is bad will.


text:
Does LineageOS + microG pass SafetyNet?
I've recently bought a Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 with the intention of installing the LineageOS + microG distribution. When reviewing and researching which apps I need to install, I realized that at least one of the apps I need, which is a two-factor app for my credit card, requires the phone to be able to pass the (new) Safety Net check that Google added to its Android services.
I'm currently waiting for Xiaomi to finish the countdown allowing me to unlock the bootloader. In the meantime, can anyone tell me whether or not I can use apps requiring Safety Net on that ROM? Infos I found when googling are unclear and contradict each other (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). I'm not currently planning to root the device or use XPosed or anything similar, and I'm fine with possibly having to relock the bootloader. From what I've seen, the LineageOS + microG distribution includes something called the DroidGuard helper, which emulates or implements the Safety Net features, but it seems to me to depend on the device, the LineageOS version (I'm planning to install 15.1) and patch level, and the whims of Google whether or not the checks pass.
In short, the question I have is:

On a Xiaomi Redmi Note 4, running LineageOS + microG as offered on the project webpage, will I be able to use an two-factor credit card app like I linked above that requires Safety Net?


text:
Can app with Storage permission access all data?
When I give Storage Permission to an app, is it true that it is able to access all data on the internal and external media, for instance the Downloads folder? Or does it only get access to store and retrieve its own data in a sandboxed environment?

I believe it can access all data, but one makes the assumption that the app only accesses what is necessary.

Yes. The storage permission grants an app access to the whole "Internal SD Card", where all your photos, musics, downloads reside.
It's usually safe to assume that apps you trust access only what they need, but a random unknown app may scan your files and expose some privacy problem.
An app doesn't need any special permission to access its own, sandboxed data (usually /data/data/<package_name> and /sdcard/Android/data/<package_name>).


text:
Interpreting GPS location data JSON
I got this data from my phone, most of it I generally understand, but some of the GPS positional values have me confused:
"locations" : [ {
    "timestampMs" : "1531422503855",
    "latitudeE7" : 399187535,
    "longitudeE7" : -751663977,
    "accuracy" : 16,
    "altitude" : -28,
    "verticalAccuracy" : 2
}, {
    "timestampMs" : "1531422474313",
    "latitudeE7" : 399187554,
    "longitudeE7" : -751664138,
    "accuracy" : 16,
    "altitude" : -28,
    "verticalAccuracy" : 2
},

Now I understand how to decipher most of this, the timestamp is in the epoch format, and the coordinates are a factor of 10^7. But basically, it's these the last three that have me confused. As I understand it, accuracy is defined as the radius of 68% confidence. So I'm assuming the value returned, 16 in this case, is that the GPS is 68% confident that it's accurate within 16 meters(?). But with the altitude and vertical accuracy values, I have NO idea. I know that Altitude accuracy for GPS is very inaccurate for many reasons, but I'm assuming this -28 is negative 28 meters below the sea level...? But to be honest, I'm not sure, along side vertical accuracy. If someone could give me the correct interpretation that would be much appreciated.
Second but small question, the phone recorded two GPS points within 30 seconds of each other, where the GPS basically re-centers and gets a more accurate location, is it safe to assume that this second location is the "correct" location with how frequently the device polls the data?

It'd make sense that accuracy of 16 means there is a 68% chance of being within the circle of 16m radius centered on the reported latitude and longitude, as that's what Android’s getAccuracy() method returns. Similarly, the vertical accuracy (which is often 2 for me as well) would make sense as 68% of ±2m (from getVerticalAccuracyMeters). There isn't any documentation that I can find of the format, so it's hard to be sure.
GPS is normally less reliable in altitude than latitude/longitude, but a lot of phones (mine included) have barometric altimeters, which can give much more precise altitude if calibrated (which Google may be able to do from e.g., weather stations).
All that is well in theory, but looking at own Google Takeout data, it appears altitude is off by ~30m (way more than the ±2m it'd be claiming). [Update This is probably the difference between WGS84 altitude and MSL; see http://www.esri.com/news/arcuser/0703/geoid1of3.html for an explanation and http://earth-info.nga.mil/GandG/wgs84/gravitymod/egm96/intpt.html for a calculator.] And is updated infrequently (it's been showing the same value for me for hours over a bunch of records, and given I haven't traveled anywhere, but you'd expect random variation if it were raw GPS numbers).
I wouldn't assume the correctness of any of this data. Keep in mind what it was gathered for — mostly for statistical aggregation to show you relevant places, ads, etc. None of that requires any given point to be correct. Indeed, in my history, I've got a few points which are accuracy of 1524304 — so, errr, 68% confident which quarter of the globe I'm in?

Does the source of the gps data matter when it comes to supposed correctness/accuracy? This information came from say google maps/findmyphone/google timeline instead of a organic scheduled location update, with all of the GPS settings on with no battery saving options turned on when it comes to location data. Which would be actively polling data from the phone.

Also the phone that the data polled from was a Samsung Galaxy S8 which does have a barometer, among many other things that would help with accuracy of data as it is a flagship phone.

@Iam126264. Actively using the GPS probably results in a much more accurate reading vs the cell tower / Wi-Fi / Bluetooth / quick GPS it would otherwise use to save power. Also, I think I figured out why my altitude is off so much — it's not, different definition of 0 altitude, updated answer.

I see, the +-30 makes more sense now. I guess this might be beyond the scope of both of us, but assume that say -30 is the "actual zero", where zero is the mean sea level which we will just assume to be true for this test case, where does that align with actual road infrastructure. Basically, when you use either the calculator or any other site that measures altitude given coordinates, and say they give you a value of 4 meters at said coordinates, is that from the actual street? Sidewalk? Entrance of the building if there is a building/house/structure?

@Iam126264. If you're using a site (or a topographic map) then that's telling you how high the ground is above sea level. That's going to be pretty approximate though, unless you actually find a survey marker. (Example: if I look at topographic maps for where I live, they haven't been updated since the 90s. My housing development hadn't been built yet, and the construction surely changed the topography.)

Almost a thread revival but do you happen to know how accurate GPS coordinates from location catching apps such as Google maps in relation to the real estate surrounding them? Basically, if I fetch a current GPS location from a mobile device inside of a building, will it just give the "general" coordinates of the house, or will it give an exact coordinate of the part of the building the device is in. I guess the followup question is, is the modern day coordinate system/plane mapped over the land regardless of what real estate is there?

@Iam126264. How accurate they are would depend on the device and how good GPS/etc. reception is. The reported accuracy figure (e.g., 16m) should say. The coordinate system is based upon a mathematical model of the Earth's shape, doesn't care at all what's built there (if anything).


text:
How to remove the "vinyl record" from the lock screen?
On my Android phone I see a picture of a moving vinyl record when I press the on/off button.
It seems to be a media player application. But I don't want to use it. I don't even have any music saved on my phone. And I don't find any setting to remove it.

How can I remove this?
I want to see the clock and maybe other things on the lock screen.

Lock screens are usually customized by their makers. Could you mention your phone model, Android version, and whether you're using a stock lock screen or a 3rd-party one?

Force Stop the music app in the Settings. Hope it works.

I found an app with the name "music", but I didn't find a place to disable it or to (force) shut it down. When I open the Music app it asks me to agree to their Terms of Service. Until now I did not agree. It shouldn't play...

There always is a Force Stop function in apps on android phones.


text:
How to unlock screen with Bluetooth keyboard
I can wake up the screen of my Android device by hitting almost any key on my bluetooth keyboard.  But all I see are my notifications, I can't actually unlock the screen.  How do I get the thing to come up that lets me enter the numbers of my PIN to unlock my screen?  Is there a setting somewhere that I a missing that would allow me to just start typing my PIN instead of ignoring what I type?
I'm running stock Android 8.1 on a Google phone.

I had the same issue... two parts to my solution...
- set Smartlock to unlock phone when BT keyboard connects
- then any key wakes to Notifications screen... then 'space-tab' key combination opens the phone to current android screen... found by trial and error!


text:
Detecting a Bad File
I have an LG STYLUS 3 phone and suspect that it may be remotely controlled or linked to another person. What do I look for to know whats up?

how and why did you suspect that? Pictures please


text:
Export picture from Android Virtual Machine
I used an Android Virtual Device (AVD) for some while and got some pictures on it, that I want to have outside of the AVD.
The problem is, that I don't know a way to get the picture out of it, since the folders on my laptop, that the AVM was running on, only contain compressed images of the whole system.
Does anyone know, if the picture might be stored as a .jpg file somewhere on my laptop (probably in $HOME/android-sdk-linux/) or if there is a way to export the picture?
I thought about just taking a screenshot of it, since they are saved as .jpg files on my laptop, but I don't know, if it might compromise the quality.
Thank you in advance!
More information, that could be helpful:
OS: Linux Mint, Kernel version 4.4.0-135-generic
AVD type and Android version: Nexus 5, Android 6.0
Emulated CPU: Intel Atom (x86_64)

adb comes pretty handy in this situation.

Simply navigate to the platform-tools dir in your SDK installation folder (or start terminal right away if its path is saved in system varibles) and start terminal.
Navigate to the folder where your pics are saved (or use ls command to view files).
Use adb command to "pull" the files to your desktop:
adb pull sdcard/<location_of_pics> /home/<user name>/Desktop

e.g   adb pull sdcard/DCIM/pic001.jpg /home/<user name>/Desktop
Alternatively do this via explorer using a method similar to this one only that there no need for hotspot or extra config since the virtual device is running on the same PC and network runs through virtual adapters :)

That did exactly what I wanted, thank you very much!

While I second Xaviers recommendation of adb (which comes in handy in many cases, helping you to solve issues – e.g. by accessing the logs, see logging), let me mention some easy alternatives:

you can install an FTP Server in your Android VM. That lets you access files easily via web browser (ftp://<ip-of-androidVM>/) or a dedicated FTP client.
some other File Servers are available to be installed into your AndroidVM, and offer a nice web interface themselves – again to be used by any web browser (http://<ip-of-androidVM>/) on your PC
also see my list Remotely manage media and files for additional alternatives.

Disclaimer: all above links go to my Android website.


text:
New SD card and won't let me transfer apps
Bought a new SD card to use on my Samsung Galaxy Emerge and formatted it. I was able to transfer videos and music and I have 28GB free storage left  but when I try to transfer apps it comes up as not enough room. How do I fix this problem?

Provide screenshots.

I assume you mean "install apps" not "transfer apps". In this case the SD-Card is of little to no use as apps are not installed to the sd-card. See insufficient-memory wiki.

The apps can only be accessed on the device that SD card was in when apps were saved onto card.

Not so. One can access that specific "hidden folder" on any Linux machine that can mount the card. So if you want to switch to a new card, simply switch off the device, take out the card, use a Linux machine to copy all contents to the new card, put that new card into the device, boot it up again. The only possible hinderance (except from a broken card) would be if you encrypted the card – no idea if that would work then.