text:
Roll back to Root on Huawei Honor View 10
I have Huawei Honor View 10 phone
I got it bootloader unlocked and rooted with magisk while bootloader unlock option was available on Huawei website.
After sometime I upgraded to Android 10 update (EMUI) from Huawei which caused me to lose root.
If I rollback to previous version...

Do I get bootloader unlocked as earlier
Will it be rooted or require me to root it again

looking to hear from someone who has been there done that.

Android have a built-in downgrade/rollback protection. Once an update has been installed it will stay.

https://www.xda-developers.com/huawei-honor-bootloader-unlock-potatonv

@Robert Huawei HiSuite Desktop App has rollback feature. We are not talking about android rollback protection but Huawei specific feature.

@alecxs unfortunately honor view 10 is not in supported list of devices

@alecxs have you rolled back using hisuite?

I don't own Honor V10. Kirin 970 is not in tested devices (non-exhaustive) list - did you try it? what was the error message? it is listed in HCU-Client so other unlock method will work at least

Does this answer your question? Can we consider Huawei phones as unrootable?

@alecxs It is pretty much rootable because I had it rooted. And NO it does not answer my question, but thanks for trying to reply even though you have neither the phone nor the experience of rolling back huawei devices. thanks !!

Let us continue this discussion in chat.


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Badly swollen Galaxy battery - safe to handle?
I've recently found my old Galaxy S6 in a drawer, where it's been sitting for the last ~1.5 years. In that time, the battery has swollen very badly, pictures below:

I need to so something about the phone, as I feel it might be a fire hazard to keep this at home especially when I'm not present during the day.
Naturally I'm not going to attempt to charge the battery or turn the phone on in this state.
I would like to remove the battery and take it to a recycling/ewaste collection point. I'd make sure to take precautions when removing the battery to avoid puncturing it or applying pressure, but with this level of swelling, is just handling the phone/battery dangerous? If so, I could instead take it to a technician to remove the battery or just recycle the entire phone - but I'd still need to carry the phone there, obviously, so some risk would remain.
Is there a risk of a sudden explosion or fire without warning?

I had several phones that looked quite similar got them "recovered" (battery replaced) by a repair shop. To my knowledge LiO batteries do not explode but they can suddenly start burning (there are lots of videos on YT where people harm a battery to make it burn). You can try to carefully disassemble it, but make sure nothing around is of a material that can catch fire (only stone, ceramic, and metal around you). If you transport the phone I would do so in a closed metal case (better two metal cases inside each other and the outer one filled the gaps with sand to isolate the potential heat).

The battery will not catch fire unless it is discharged at an excessive rate. If the phone is off, this won't happen. Since the battery is useless anyway, remove it and take it to a battery disposal facility.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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Is it possible to make Android device connect only a specific Wifi network?
i want to know if it is possible to restrict an Android device to connect wifi networks expect one specific network.
Scenario is:
An app will be installed to the Android device and then device will be given to workers. All features of the device such as bluetooth, nfc etc. will be disabled and USB port will also be disabled for security concerns. Workers should be able to connect only one specified wifi network but no other wifi networks.

Another option is to somehow lock the settings app so users (workers) won't be able to turn on or off bluetooth, and connect any wifi networks. Can it be done without using any 3rd party downloadable locker apps?
Thank you all for your answers.

I don't think this is the correct approach. I would rather check the Android Always-on-VPN enforced by a MDM solution (the latter is not for free). Because of the VPN it doesn't matter to which Wifi or mobile network the phone is connected, on network level it will always be only be visible through the VPN.

Have them delete connectivity to all other wifi networks (but I doubt anyone will). Maybe a (looking for the word (kind of like genii)) "a supervisory continuously running macro in the background" could delete all but the one you want. In Linux up can set-up a script to run each hour (say when the minute turns to zero) using crontab.

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


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Data recovery from Galaxy S3 that will not turn on
I have an old Galaxy S3 which hasn't been in regular use for at least five years, but which I know has some data on it that I would like to retrieve. However, the phone will not power on, even while plugged in through USB. The battery is relatively new and has been fully charged using an external charger. The power button on the phone is still clicky. When I plug the phone into my computer by USB, a red LED on the phone turns on for about a minute, then goes off. My computer (Win 10) recognizes that a USB device as been connected (Qualcomm HS-USB QDLoader 9008), but I can't access data without powering on the phone (or in any case, I don't know how to access data without powering on the phone).
Is there a way to get the data off the internal memory without power to the phone? I have no desire to actually use this phone, I just want the data, so dismantling the thing is absolutely on the table.

If long pressing the power button (10 to 60 seconds) does not change the device behavior from my perspective the only chance is replacing the battery and other hardware components unless the phone boots up again.

https://youtu.be/OY7OlY0OW2Q


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How to automatically delete backed up photos in Android 10?
I'm trying to figure out a way to detect when a photo has been backed up from my device so I can automatically delete it.  I was reading that there was a feature to do this already, but when I found the help page it said it is only available on Pixel devices running Android S (which appears to be version 12).   I am not able to meet these conditions, so what alternative method can I use to automate the process of detecting when a photo is uploaded?
Update:
To make it clear what I'm trying to do, suppose that I fill up my storage with images and videos.  In Settings > Storage I see an option Smart Storage which is on.  Under this it says "When storage is almost full, remove backed up photos and videos.  You can still find them in Google Photos."  But what I observe is that after the photos and videos are backed up, they remain on the device and are not removed as this text is suggested they should be.  It's important to me that this happen in an automated manner. My assumption from reading the above mentioned help page is a reason this isn't happening could be because it's not supported on my device (which is strange since it appears to offer it to me.)

Open Photos, click your personal icon (top right), click Free Up Space?

@JimClark Please see my update

Hi @Michael. I don't have A12. I am not a developer. When you look at the pictures on your phone (after having them backed up to Photos) are they smaller in size than the original photos? If you don't have the photos on your device, then to view them you will need a wifi connection or data connection to see them on Photos. I thought Photos only keeps smaller files on the phone to view them on the phone's smaller screen, while the original photo is saved on-line. You may want to download your pictures to your PC from Google, there is a process, https://takeout.google.com

Go to your file manager, internal storage, DCIM, camera.
Are the photos still there or have they been cleared out?

@JimClark Thanks for your response.  So here is what I see right now.  The files are still there in the DCIM/Camera folder. When I got to Settings > Storage it says I am using 128GB/128GB (100%) although it's actually rounding up as I have around 300MB free.   In Google Photos it says there is the option to "Free Up Space" of 1.66GB which is also correct in the size of it but what I am trying to figure out is why Smart Storage isn't deleting it automatically.

Every now and then, I used to manually go to Photos, Settings, and manually hit Free Up Space. Now I have photos go to an SD card and manage my photos myself. In Step 1 of the following, it indicates only certain phones satisfies the requirements... Anyway maybe this page will help. https://android.gadgethacks.com/how-to/automatically-delete-pictures-videos-youve-backed-up-google-photos-0251755/

Go to Photos, Backup and Sync, hit the question mark, then troubleshoot issues with auto backup. They mention battery optimization as a reason it may not work.

@JimClark I just read an article which suggests that even with this "feature" turned on, it still waits 30 days to actually delete.  Which makes it useless for me.


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how to root Samsung tab SM-T150
Hi i wanted to root my Samsung tablet model Galaxy Tab SM-T150 which turned out harder than i expected.
I am a android 11 user btw if it helps
I tried the one click root apps like Kingo root, king root, frama root etc but in both kingo root and king root it does not work and frama root says that my device is not  vulnerable to the exploit. Also i have tried all the other apps like towel root etc and nothing seems to work. (I do not have a pc so do not suggest abd)
Then i saw magisk and super su and i installed there zip files and tried moving them to my sd card but for some reason it is set to read only so i cant move anything to the sd card.
I removed it but it did not have any on off button and when i put it back in i cant remove it out again.
I tried to install TWRP custom recovery but that itself needs root and did not work out.
Please any suggestions will work and pls help me any thing that works  will be appreciated:)

"TWRP custom recovery but that itself needs root" what's needed is an unlocked bootloader, not a rooted device. The general process is: unlock bootloader -> flash custom recovery -> flash Magisk (modified boot image). Also, most rooting apps won't work anymore since Android 6.0.

Also, just to clarify, is it T150 or T510? Related on XDA Forums for the latter: Bootloader unlock for 2019 Galaxy Tab A 10.1 [SM-T510/T515]


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How do you configure secure DNS (aka "private DNS") with cloudflare?
note: there are a lot of DNS questions on android.stackexchange.com I'm creating this question because all the other DNS questions were for different scenarios and I wanted to keep this up to date over the years.
I do not want my DNS queries to be unencrypted whenever I am doing any internet activity (either through cellular mobile internet or through wifi with home internet).
How do you configure secure DNS (aka "private DNS") with cloudflare?

In a nutshell or tldr summary:
For android 9 or later:

open settings
search for dns
touch the Private DNS
** a dialog box opens with three options**
select the last option called Priavte DNS provider hostname
fill in one.one.one.one
test by going to address https://1.1.1.1/help

warning: any wifi network that uses a Captive Portal will stop all your internet. when you are on a wifi network that uses Captive Portal, you have to go back to settings/Private DNS and set it to off then follow the Captive Portal instructions then go back to settings/Private DNS back on.

for the full story keep reading here:
follow the docs:
Cloudflare has some really good documentation that is short and understandable (Google also has good documentation but I had trouble following their documentation).

The Cloudflare help starts at: https://1.1.1.1/help
click at the bottom for FAQ then look for the developer docs link which is: https://developers.cloudflare.com/1.1.1.1/ (this has docs for pretty much any computer (android, windows, mac, linux, etc, etc))
click on android. follow the directions given or use my summary directions.

follow the summary of the docs:
Option 1: For android 9 or later:

open settings
search for dns
touch the Private DNS
** a dialog box opens with three options**
select the last option called Priavte DNS provider hostname
fill in one.one.one.one
test by going to address https://1.1.1.1/help

Option 2: For android 8 or earlier (FYI i have not personally these instructions because I do not have an older android phone):

settings --> wifi --> modify network --> show advanced options
using your on screen keyboard copy the current text to somewhere (in case something goes wrong)
type in or copy and paste the following

1.1.1.1
1.0.0.1
2606:4700:4700::1111
2606:4700:4700::1001

save
test by going to address https://1.1.1.1/help

Option 3: Lastly you can download their app but I have not tried it: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cloudflare.onedotonedotonedotone&hl=en_US&gl=US
warning: any wifi network that uses a Captive Portal will stop all your internet. when you are on a wifi network that uses Captive Portal, you have to go back to settings/Private DNS and set it to off then follow the Captive Portal instructions then go back to settings/Private DNS back on.

Addendum
important note: some internet providers block secure DNS

i used to use dns.google in my android phone but it stopped working in 2022-01 for unknown reasons

same behavior for when you connect to a wifi network that uses captive portal and your android phone says it can not connect to the internet because the wifi network is blocking your internet

i did a google search and found others had similar issues (private DNS not working on their cellular internet)
for a brief like week i was able to use the alternative Cloudflare hostname 1dot1dot1dot1.cloudflare-dns.com but that also stopped working
i wrote this because it took me so long to get this working so i wanted to document it all and make it easier for others

if you do not like Cloudflare there are other providers of Secure DNS

google has some docs here: https://developers.google.com/speed/public-dns/docs/using
quad9 is another (i've not used quad9 so i can not say anything about them)


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Mute whatsapp specific group calls/ring tone
I am aware there is an option to mute entirely the whatsapp calls. However, I want to keep the ring tone for individual but not for groups.
I can mute the notifications and the groups. But even with that, even my phone has 'don't disturb mode' is enabled, the group rings aren't muted (when someone in the group makes a group call).
I searched every option in the system & app and couldn't find a way to mute them.
My phone is rooted though.

you can mute all of a group's notifications, that should cover calls, as well.
Mute group notifications:

Open the WhatsApp group chat, then tap the group subject.

Alternatively, tap and hold the group in the CHATS tab.

Then, tap the Mute notifications icon in the top corner.
Tap Mute notifications.

Select the length of time you'd like to mute notifications for.

You can also uncheck Show notifications to stop notifications from being shown in your notifications screen.

Tap OK.

Unmute group notifications:

Open the WhatsApp group chat, then tap the group subject.

2.Tap Unmute notifications.

Alternatively, tap and hold the group in the CHATS tab. Then, tap the Unmute notifications icon in the top corner.

ref: https://faq.whatsapp.com/android/chats/how-to-mute-or-unmute-group-notifications/?lang=en

Thank you. I does mute notifications, however, it does not mute the calls though


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How to record calls without announcing and rooting on android 10
I tried a lot of apps like the cube recorder,automatic recorder but most probably it will only record one side and the built in feature will announce before recording. How to overcome this without rooting?


text:
Media not found on internal storage
I have some old conversations where I have the messages, but the media files are no longer on my phone. I found some videos and photos on google photos with the original names, like "VID_20180908_WA00005.mp4". I downloaded it, changed the timestamp so it matches the original timestamp and copied it to WhatsApp/Media/WhatsApp Video/. But the video does not play and it gives me this error. What can I do to make whatsapp accept my video file as the original one?


text:
How do I switch between keyboards if accessibility button is displayed in bottom-right corner?
In the rightmost area of the navigation bar, button for fast switching between keyboard apps (e. g. SwiftKey and Hacker Keyboard) is visible when a keyboard is open. But if accessibility button is displayed in that area, original keyboard switching button is always suppressed.
What is the fastest way to switch between keyboard-providing apps in such a case?

I have the same question.  So far I have found two answers but neither are as elegant as having the dedicated keyboard switch button. I'm using a Samsung S10e on Android 12.

you can install the Keyboard Switcher app by Kunzisoft.  It offers a few different keyboard switching options.  A floating button is one option, but alternatively you can choose to include a button in the notifications area.  It works well and is accessible from any app at anytime.  Just display notifications by pulling down from the top of the screen and you will see the keyboard switcher. Click it to change keyboards.

The other option (which may only be available in Android 12), is you can change the accessibility icon on the navigation bar to a floating button instead of the little man and your keyboard button will return to the lower right corner. To convert the little man to a floating button, go to 'Settings'>'Accessibility'>'Advanced Settings'>'Accessibility button'. Choose floating over apps instead of navigation bar.

Both solutions work but neither are as tidy as I would like. I'll update my post if I find something else.

I like option number one. There is also another app called Keyboard Switcher (indentical with app mentioned by you) in the Play Store, both work a bit differently. Anyway, switching keyboards via notification is definitely a way – thank you for pointing me in that direction.


text:
Bypassing advanced root / modded framework detection
In the past,solutions for preventing root detection were centered around safety-net, Magisk hide or XPosed modules like Sudo hide. With Magisk 24.1 plus Magisk Hide isn't an option and modules like Sudo hide aren't being maintained anymore. All revolving around a "frontal attack" of detecting root
The sneakier way would be to find other ways to detect the root status based on finding traces of modded framework/ Xposed modules/Lsposed framework and obviously know that device is rooted and refuse to work.Or worse, a combination of both frontal and sneaky detection!
As I mentioned here Update to Magisk 24.1. Support for XPosed modules / Changes, Shamiko seemed to be an option but the adverse comments around it discouraged me. Searching for alternatives to Shamiko, led me to the revelation that there are enough instances already of sophisticated banking/streaming/gaming using "sneaky" ways to circumvent user measures like faking safety-net etc. So, I was getting ready for the future when one of the banking apps I use would turn sneaky and be ready for it.
This search led me to an Xposed module which looks promising and (another) self-answered question.
Caveat: YMMV
If you know of another solution, please add as an answer.

Proof that it works: I wanted to be sure that this solution works  before I adopt it. There is this Vietnamese banking app which I don't use being an Indian but was a test case since it evades "frontal" measures to hide root.
On my Pixel 4a, running Android 12, all the frontal measures were successful- Safety-net passed; developer options state hidden; device shows certified in Play Store and Magisk 24.1 "hidden" with a random name and package name.
Yet, this app  detected that I was running a modded framework and on opening the app promptly sent me to it's portal (screenshot on left). With the Xposed module , it allowed me to open it (right).

Sneakily, I didn't name the module yet; it is Hide My Applist, which is deprecated, last update being end of last year. This module covers ways used by apps to detect modding such as:

API requests

Intent queries

ID detection

File detection

MAP scans (the developer says this is superfluous but hasn't removed it)

Configuration instructions; I didn't find clear instructions on how to use this, so detailing the process below

Install it through Magisk and when you open the app in LSposed manager, you get this view. Do not select/modify anything other than default (default being system framework)

Click on the cog wheel at bottom right to open the module interface

First thing is to install Magisk extension (Riru or Zygisk, it was the second one for me being on Zygisk based LSposed set-up. Ignore this step and you will be rewarded with a boot loop.

Click on detection test, it will download an app Applist detector and when you run it , you would see red in most places all related to Xposed modules or LSposed framework

Manage Templates: You can create whitelist or blacklist templates. Select blacklist and add all Xposed module related package names like org.lsposed.manager, eu.faircode.lua etc., and com.tsng.hidemyapplist , which is the package name of this Xposed module. Save (icon at top right corner) Essentially, blacklist contains all the packages that show that the device is rooted.
You can create as many templates as you want (more about that later)

Select Effective Apps: This is a list of apps from which you want to hide the blacklist like your banking apps, for example vn.com.techcombank.bb.app (Vietnamese banking app). Include in this list com.vsng.applistdetector which is the package name for the app downloaded in Step 4. Configure as explained:

Enable hide
Work mode (Blacklist) -default setting
Enable all hide methods.
Copy this config to quickly pick and apply to all such apps
In template config, choose the blacklist template you named and saved (Step 5)
Save.

Run the app list detector check, see all blue (in my case suspicious package in abnormal environment is related to Xprivacy Lua) but that was not a problem

You are good to go!

Being LSposed, you would need to reboot device when a new app is added and you want to add that to this module. Changes you make within the module are real time ( don't need to reboot)

You can use templates for purposes of detaching an app from Play Store. For example you have YouTube Vanced installed but it gets replaced because regular YouTube gets updated. You can refer to this XDA post for more examples.


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Allow favorited contacts to ring the phone when calling in silent mode
I'm using Samsung Galaxy S9 on Android 9. I can allow favorite contacts to call in the "Do not disturb" mode. But I also want them to ring the phone when calling in silent mode.
Is there a way?

In my Motorola G8 Power I can go to Sound configuration, and inside it I have the do not disturb section. There I can select which people, apps or alarms should be able to interrupt the DND mode.
This Google support post can provide you further information. There you can see, for instance, a section Set what to block, transcribed below:

Open your phone's Settings app.
Tap Sound & vibration And then Do Not Disturb. .
Under "What can interrupt Do Not Disturb,"
choose what to block or allow.

People: Block or allow calls, messages, or conversations.
Apps: Choose which apps can send you notifications.
Alarms & other interruptions: Block or allow alarms, media, touch sounds, reminders, or calendar events.

Tip: With any settings, critical notifications show. For example, you can't block system security notifications.

However, if you just lowered the volume, I don't think there is an exception list. You can find more details about volume and vibration settings at this page

Android doesn't have a way to ring on silent mode, but here's a workaround I'm stealing from Vicki Hermann on Quora, brilliant.
Set your default ringtone for all contacts as "Silent" (if your phone doesn't natively have a silent ringtone, you can download one).
Then choose the contacts that you like and assign them a custom ringtone. After that you can leave your phone on normal ring mode (stay off silent mode) and no calls will ring except the ones with loud ringtones assigned.
https://www.quora.com/How-can-I-set-up-my-Android-phone-so-the-phone-only-rings-when-a-specific-person-texts-me-but-is-silent-the-rest-of-the-time/answer/Vicki-Herrmann


text:
How do I find the right software to upgrade ROM and flash for a Samsung J7 Sky Pro
I need the software to upgrade my ROM and flash for a Samsung J7 Sky Pro. I don't really know what ROM is good and not too much. I flashed the phone once with Superuser, but it says that I didn't get something right. I just used an SD card. I don't have a desktop.

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

you need computer for this

https://www.xda-developers.com/samloader-download-updates-samsung-galaxy

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts Stack Exchange, a Q&A site for Android end-users. Looks like there are multiple questions here: 1) Software to upgrade/flash ROM for Samsung devices. 2) ROM recommendation. 3) Flashing Superuser. Note that ROM recommendation is off-topic since every ROM is different and has its own advantage. Regarding 1) and 3), did you try following some kinds of tutorial/guide? If so, could you mention it and also explain what you have done, so that other users can understand on which step do you need help?


text:
Problem with hotspot - WiFi connection on, but internet is down
I often connect my laptop (U20.04) via Android hotspot (Redmi Note 10 5G).
Systematically, after a while, internet connection on my laptop disappears. In particular, the indicator shows that there is still a wifi connection with my phone, but internet is not available.
Two solutions:

Turn off and turn on wifi on my laptop- After this, internet connection comes back
Turn off and turn on the hotspot on my phone. After this, internet connection comes back

Anyway, in both case, after a while the internet connection disappears again.
I've tried my laptop with other networks (also with other hotspot), but the problem is not present.
Is there some way for fixing this? Is these some way for performing a diagnostic test?
Please ask if additional information are required.
Thanks in advance!

I have a fix for LinuxMint which is derrived from Ubuntu and I posted the fix on LM.
Using "Search" (application), I searched for ".conf" in "File System" and found the file
/etc/NetworkManager/conf.d/default-wifi-powersave-on.conf
This .conf file contains:
[connection]
wifi.powersave = 3
(and I changed it to 0 (zero), but you should set it to 2)
After I posted the above, someone added the below on-line.
Changing it to 2 is disable, 3 is enable, 0 is default value, 1 is don't touch existing setting.
From https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?f=52&t=231490

Thanks a lot. Going to try this Solution and I'll let you know

I've tried your solution for several days. Unfortunately, the problem has not been solved. As I said in the question, I don't lose the wifi connection, but I lose the internet connection. Anyway, +1 for the attempt and for the kindness!

During boot, if I turn off "quiet splash", I see rfkill being started. I haven't studied "man rfkill" but it might be good to know.

(Not sure this is really how it works...) When I set up routers, I set the "lease time" to remember connected devices for a week (or more). If your router refreshes connections and your PC is down at the time, it may expect you to reconnect when brought back up.

The file contents in the instructions actually has separate lines... with a line break between [connection] and wifi.powersave = 2 (the line break is lost in these comments)

You might try an earlier (older) kernel at boot. If you have any other wifi modules (assuming you collect PCs) you might try changing it.

Regarding your comment on "lease time", I want you to remember that my router is an Android Smart phone... and I'm not able to set up "lease time" like in a standard router... or maybe there is a way to set it, but I'm not aware about!

Going to try the proposed solution with a newline between [connection] and wifi.powersave=2. Anyway, if there is some hints on lease time is welcome for me!

Last minute thought (rapidly running out of ideas); As I read hotspot/tethering it indicates it allows you to provide internet THROUGH YOUR MOBILE DATA CONNECTION. You might try either wifi or Bluetooth connection to your PC. Keep your phone in a location with good cell tower exposure (good cell signal, not in your pocket or holster) and will likely work well. Walk around house and find best signal, then leave it there. You might make yourself a developer and enable Mobile data always active (if it isn't already).

In Developer mode, you can set your phone so it doesn't turn off while it is plugged in to a power supply. Plugging it in and leaving it on may also help. Keep your phone from doing other tasks maybe. Perhaps starting the phone in Safe mode, might keep other activities from interrupting your connection.

Thanks a lot Jim. I've tried these solutions today, but they do not work. I've noticed that the connection gets lost whenever I receive a Whatsapp message, or an email, or any internet operation that I don't directly control.

One last thought. In Developer mode, you can set an option to effectively turn off all apps that are not actively open. If you close Whatsap, no notices, if you close Gmail, no notices. So only have hotspot running and close all others. When you want Whatsap, leave it running and all others that you want to be operational like Gmail. Try enabling, Background process limit, select, No background processes (or At most 1 process). Also try Don't keep activities. Try them individually and perhaps in combination. I have not used these, but maybe they will work for your needs.

Perhaps look them up before using them. At least in Safe Mode, any apps added to your device won't function like Whatsap. You could turn off notifications in Gmail, and only see your email when you open Gmail.

In Development mode, there is another switch, Tethering hardware acceleration. Perhaps tethering your PC to your phone might improve your situation by bypassing the radios and going hardwire.


text:
What are the risks of allowing an app the "Draw over other apps" permission?
There's an app I'd like to install on my phone (Android 12) that blocks access to distracting apps. It requires the "Draw over other apps" permission. This seems like a dangerous permission, and I'm trying to figure out how dangerous it is before I allow it.

Does this permission allow the app to see what's being displayed by all other apps? Or does it only allow it to detect touch input?
Does this permission allow it to draw over the on-screen keyboard, so that it can see what I type and potentially type for me? (This is my biggest concern)
Are there any other security risks from allowing this permission?

EDIT: This answer an this answer both say that the permission does not grant the ability to see the content of the background app, so assuming those answers are still correct (they're both 4 years old), then that's one question answered.


text:
Is it allowed for an app to ask for 5 stars with NO incentive?
I am aware of Play Store policy against reviews with an incentive. But is it OK if an app just asks the user to leave  a 5 stars review if they're enjoying the app with no incentive whatsoever? Thanks!

It's not against the policy, so there is nothing wrong //what is your concern?

That's rather a question specific to Play Store and its policies, not to Android.But like @beeshyams I see nothing wrong with that, you also have it in other areas: "If you like this, spread the word!" As long as it's not bound to some condition ("you cannot continue using this app before…", or something alike).


text:
Fixing "Custom binary blocked by FRP lock" on Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime
I have Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime (SM-G610F). Because I only have 16 GB internal storage and the system takes 5 GB of space, I wanted to root my phone to remove pre-installed apps which were unimportant. Now, rooting requires the phone to be in download mode. The way you get into the Download mode is by Volume Down + Home + Power buttons, but my Home button is faulty and doesn't work, so I used ADB to enter Download mode. I used Odin to root my phone. While it was being rooted, there were a few disconnects from the PC. After rooting, I configured and set all the things and downloaded some important apps. Then I restarted my phone because of a few updates (personalizations). Now it is stuck at the "FRP Lock Screen" and when I hold the Power button, the phone does not boot.
The error message it displays is:

Custom binary blocked by FRP lock

I searched on the internet for how to get out of it. I think we need to get to Recovery mode to factory reset or unroot? Usually, we can enter Recovery mode or download mode to fix FRP Lock (Factory reset or Unroot). But my Home button doesn't work on the phone, so I am not able to enter Download mode (Volume Down + Home button + Power button)  or Recovery mode (Volume up + Home button + Power Button).
I also didn't turn on Developer Options before restarting the phone, so Unlock OEM and USB debugging is off. And that's a bad thing because I could have used ADB from my computer to fix the problem. I also reset the phone three times before this problem and logged into the same Google account after each reset.
Is it possible to bring my phone back to life or is it dead?

Please let me know only if I can fix this problem without spending any money. Something I could do to fix the problem and not buy anything. If there is no solution, then you can answer "NO" also.

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

There is no solution to this problem.


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Strange TWRP behaviour, please help!
I switched from dotOS to Pixel Experience because I wanted to get a taste of A12. After the change my phone started behaving strangely. It doesn't turn up on Windows File Explorer anymore and ADB doesn't detect my phone unless I set it to USB charge only. Plus the biggest problem of them all- TWRP doesn't work anymore. Whenever I reboot my phone it boots into TWRP, and the screen keeps flashing at the TWRP logo. The only way to boot to A12 is to enter fastboot and hit fastboot continue in the CMD. I'm at my wits end here and honestly a bit desperate. I wiped my device completely before installing Pixel Experience and I think that may be the problem. I fear that I may have sort of permanently damaged my phone or something.
Device used is a POCO M2 Pro (resold as Redmi Note 9 pro in other markets).
Attached are the logs I pulled using ADB when the TWRP screen was flashing.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1uVsCYFKQRYM7dP7_lG4xidhAQjfWZvtm/view?usp=sharing
Any help would be appreciated, thank you.

Your device has been released with Android 10. Please update to at least TWRP 3.5.0 for Android 10 support.


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In "Account and device preferences", I tapped on and around my current profile. But why no list of other countries? Why can't I change country?
This website alleges

Then, tap on the country that you want to set your account to, the available list of countries will vary.

I tapped and pressed on the red rectangle — then the area around the red rectangle below — on my Android. But no such list ever sprang up, and I couldn't change my country! Why not?
Don't just veer me to this form that I submitted  a month ago, again 3 weeks ago, and third time 2 weeks ago. But I still got NO reply!

In which country are you at the moment? As far as I know Google only allows switching if it has detected you to a country you are currently located in. So if you are at the moment in Libya then there will be no country selection available.

Have you tried the official Google Play Help? Did you recently change the country? Note that you can only change the country once per year.

@Robert Yes, I am in Libya.

@AndrewT. Yes. official Google Play Help didn't work for me. "Did you recently change the country?" No, I am still in Libya. But I travel a lot, and I need Apps for those other countries.

Then you have to wait and perform the change when you are the next time outside of Libya.


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How to load android shared libraries
How does Android load /system/lib/*.so libraries?
How does the system knows what file is for what purpose. Is there a database or list of expected.so files and their functions?

Why do you use the word "drivers" in the title and later you correctly name the files libraries? Besides that so libraries are loaded the same way as on on all Linux systems. Search Google for the terms like Linux + linker ldd or dlopen.

"How to load Android drivers"? Drivers are loaded as kernel modules (.ko files). // "How does the system know what file is for what purpose"? Please read about dynamic linking.

My bad, I actually don't know why I put drivers in the title, it was a mistake.


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How to remove apps from Samsung phone by pushing file with package names with ADB
Several years ago, a friend of mine was working on a Samsung S8 Active. He was trying to remove most of the apps on it so it was just a basic phone. He had some instructions for a Ponderosa system. He was having trouble with several things so I was helping him. We got a list of all the packages on the phone using ADB and then copied them into a text editor. We removed the name of any package that we didn't want and then saved the file and pushed it back onto the phone using ADB again. I'm not certain but there might have been an app or something on the phone that had something to do with it as well but the end result was that only the apps on the list were left on the phone. I believe that we could put a password in on the phone and the apps came back but I'm not 100% sure.
Since then I have lost the papers that had the instructions on them and the place we originally got them from no longer has them either. I have another Samsung S8 Active that needs the same system (or simular) put on it. I know how to get a list of all the app package names using ADB.
adb shell pm list packages
But does anyone know of a system that would be capable of removing apps by pushing a file to the phone? Is there an app that would work like I described? Any help would be appreciated.
Edit: I am working with a Windows 10 computer. I installed xargs but it says The '<' operator is reserved for future use. when I try to run xargs -l adb uninstall < pkgs2rm. Is there a different character to use?

push your own shell script

@alecxs Not gonna lie, I haven't done much with adb and that doesn't make any sense. I mean I know that you can push files to the phone via adb but what do I push and where to?

Does this answer your question? How to uninstall an app when "Uninstall" dialog is not shown?

@Robert Not really. I guess I could go through and uninstall each one separately but I was trying to find something like what I had. Someone on stackoverflow said something about using a file called pkgs2rm but he used xargs which I am not familiar with. https://stackoverflow.com/questions/71042853/how-to-remove-apps-from-samsung-phone-by-pushing-file-with-package-names-with-ad

Why not accept the challenge and learn how xargs works? BTW: Are you aware that if you uninstall the wrong package your phone may end up in a boot loop?. Therefore I would strongly recommend only to uninstall apps you exactly know what they are for like weather widgets or something like that. The rest just leave alone.

@Robert I tried looking it up and couldn't find any documentation for it. Does it even work on Windows? From what I've found its for Linux and Unix.

pkgs2rm (packages to removed) is a linux txt file containing package names you must create yourself com.whatsapp com.facebook.katana com.instagram.android com.zhiliaoapp.musically com.snapchat.android ... xargs is a linux core util used for one-liner (or shell scripting) when it comes to huge amount of arguments or passing arguments to commands. '<' operator redirects file content to stdin. this is purely bash/shell don't use it if you don't understand it

On Windows, PowerShell might be an alternative. Might be helpful: Read file line by line in PowerShell

Also, unrelated to the issue, but what is "a Ponderosa system"?

That was just what the whole setup was called.

A little bit late, but before late that never. I don't know if it is exactly what you're looking for, but maybe you can use this method here https://github.com/0x192/universal-android-debloater


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Save Gmail attachment to different Gdrive
I have a personal Gmail (Google) account created some years back for my Android phone. Recently I have been given access to a new Gmail account by my employer.
When I open the Gmail or Gdrive apps they both show the two accounts and allow me to easily switch between them (Gmail has a useful combined All inboxes option too). So far, so good.
However if I open a mail sent by my employer to my work Gmail account and click on the Save to Drive icon on the attached PDF, the pop-up dialog box allows me to save the attachment only to my personal Gdrive account; it doesn't list my work Gdrive account at all.
So how do I directly save an attachment from my work Gmail to my work Gdrive?
Save to Drive dialog in Gmail for attachment

Directly you can't. What you need to do is:

Tap on the file, and open the pdf file with the Drive.
When it opens, click on the Drive icon (the icon with a plus).
Select the account to saved it to, press Ok.

Not sure if this process is acceptable to you as it is equivalent of downloading and then uploading the file to the preferred account.


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How to screen mirror Android to non-smart TV?
I bought a USB C-HDMI cable to mirror my Samsung Galaxy M11 to my non-smart TV, but I get no signal. The TV has 3 HDMI ports and with every single one, I get no signal.
Is it a setting that I have to change on the phone or maybe on TV?

Most smartphones are not able to output HDMI in their USB-C port. Not sure about your phone.

Look at what this guy is saying:https://youtube.com/watch?v=HLE_Qcy3z50

That video is on a different phone so it is not relevant for you. If an Android phone has the capability to output HDMI over USB-c depends on the phone. Also there two types of cables, activate with an own converter and passive where the phone has the provide all the necessary signals.

Ok. I Understand.Thank you for your answers.

The cable you bought is an MHL cable using the USB Type-C (MHL Alternate Mode).
For such a cable to work the phone needs to include special hardware. Additionally the TV has to support MHL, too as it's HDMI socket has to be MHL-enabled.
The MHL web site contains a list of devices that support MHL. There you can filter for Samsung devices.
In my opinion MHL is today an outdated technology originally developed for phone with Micro-USB socket. You can also see that on the list of supported devices. The last Samsung galaxy phone that supported MHL is the Galaxy S5 released in 2014. The last Samsung device with MHL support I recognize was released in 2015.

The Tv does not support MHL,maybe i will buy a Smart Tv in the future and i will mirror my phone wirelessly,idk .Anyway thanks for clarifications.


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Android 10 phone screen only unlocks if the light sensor detects enough light
This is a very strange issue I'm having. I have an LG K40S with Android 10 and a couple of days ago I started having problems unlocking its screen. Neither the power button nor the biometrics sensor will unlock it. I can only manage to do it by pushing the power button several times, which opens the camera, then I can unlock it. Today, I realized this only happens when I'm in my room at night with the lights off (or anywhere dark, for that matter). When there's enough light I can unlock it just fine. If I cover the sensor with my finger the screen can't get unlocked again.
This started heppening after I dropped my phone, could it be that the light sensor is broken somehow? The screen auto brightness seems to be working, so maybe there's nothing wrong with sensor. I tried going into developer mode and disbale the sensor but that option is not available on my phone.
Please, any help or insight into this issue is much appreciated. Thank you very much!

Thank you, that was exactly what was going on! I dind't even think about the proximity sensor, but after running a test app, sure enough, it showed the sensor was detecting proximity whenever there was low light. I realized the screen protector was also responsible for this malfunction (maybe after I dropped the phone the sensor couldn't properly "see" through the protector anymore). I just removed the screen protector and now everything is working fine. Thank you again the help!

I converted my comment into an answer so you can accept it.

Phones have a second light based sensor: the sensor that detects if you hold your phone near the face while a phone call (often called proximity sensor).
If it detects you are close the screen the screen stays off, therefore a defect or some other problem that prevents this sensor from working properly could explain your problems.


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Completely restoring all partitions on my phone to factory after flashing custom ROMs?
I own a xiaomi phone for 2 years on which i flashed several roms and vendors via twrp. When i lately wanted to go back to stock (more accurate the stock rom the phone was released with, miui 10 pie) i had to discover that there are partitions like persistent which aren't replaced when clean flashing roms even tough i do a fastboot flash with Mi tool.
My persistnet got corrupted (sensors like gyroscope is broken) at this process and i found already a few tips how to solve it.
But my real question is, how do i completely restore my phone as i would unbox it ? With all the stuff like persistent and what ever is untouched by clean flashing roms and can get corrupted (and may you can tell me what remains untouched and it is used for/worth restoring).

restore your backup

I dont have a backup as it isnt a new phone, but used one unluckily and i have instantly flashed a custom on it.

simple answer one can't restore partitions that neither included in firmware/ROM nor in backup

@alecxs        do does partitions which arent included in rom change when the user uses his phone ? Btw i have found a lot of stuff which is included in rom but not flashed like ifaa.img, persist.img, dummy.img, hypvm.mbn ...

on stock android most partitions are read-only + protected by locked bootloader

very good explanation of android partitions on xda-developers
https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/215683/trying-to-understand-the-options-in-twrp-backup#comment276228_215683

open that partition image files with HxD hex editor and take a look inside. if you feel that should be flashed onto device you can try 'adb push  /dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/' or copy file to MicroSD Card and from within shell 'dd if=file of=/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/' but do backup with adb pull first


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Formatted SD card as internal storage on Tecno Pop 3 running Android 6.0 and migrated all data to the SD card, but they're both full
Migrated all data in my Tecno Pop 3 phone, but it happened like I copied them to the SD because internal storage wasn't freed.


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How can I erase the data on a phone with a broken display?
I have a Samsung Galaxy A40 (a405fn) with a broken display (totally dead: no touch reaction and display completely black). I want to sell the phone for parts, but I need to erase the memory.
When I connect the phone to a PC, it's connected but the folder is empty since I can't unlock the phone. It doesn't have a password to unlock, only to slide to back to unlock. The phone reacts to the buttons' presses. I can turn it on and feel vibrations but I don't hear sound.
How can I erase the data on a phone with a broken display?

https://findmymobile.samsung.com

https://google.com/android/devicemanager

You can try to connect a USB mouse or keyboard to unlock the device then the phone will become visible on the PC.

i tried mouse to unlock but i have no efect . it might unlock the phone but anyway if i connect pc to phone it will anyway what to confit that i allow data transfer but i cant be sure since im blind :/ maybe i will have luck with this solution but i would need cable for usb c to 2x usb so i can connect mouse/keyboard and pc at the same time


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Android Phone is deleting the .MOV files form SD card when inserted via USB OTG
I bought a mini camera for use when on travel and when I remove the micro SD card from the camera and insert it into the OTG USB-C adapter attached to my Note 20 Ultra, the entire contents of the VIDEO folder is deleted. I have tested it multiple times and every time it deletes all .MOV files.
The SD card is formatted for exFAT and can be read on a PC.

After removing it from camera I would test it on a PC for file-system problems. May be camera had inserted some errors into the file-system and when correcting this the file get deleted?

Just to confirm, is it only .MOV files, or the whole folder? What if you put some files with other extensions, or maybe even some random folders from the PC, then insert it into the OTG?


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My tablet won't let me type my password please help
I try to put my password but it's stuck there the keyboard doesn't show up so I can't put the password and I know it

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

Does this answer your question? My GKeyboard keeps crashing

You can try to connect a simple USB keyboard (without integrated USB hub, [RGB] lights and so on). A lot of phones support mouse and keyboards via USP OTG.


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How to revert to Google Hangouts from Google Chat?
My close relative have a phone which have both Hangouts and Chat installed. Chat does not have integrated Voice and Video call function. IMO, Chat is significantly inferior than Hangouts. So I still prefer Hangouts over Chat to communicate.
It used to be a blue banner that says "Hangouts is being replaced by Google Chat". Today, when trying to use Hangouts, it just say that Use Chat in Gmail. This is even after uninstalling Chat and reinstalling Hangouts from Play Store. There seems to be no way out of it. For the time being, it can still receive calls. But since I have no way to bypass that "Use Chat in Gmail" splash screen, I cannot do hangouts.
Am I being force migrated? Is there a way to rollback?

Am I being force migrated?

Yes. This happened to me too, starting yesterday.

Is there a way to rollback?

Not that I'm aware of. In addition to reinstalling Hangouts, I even tried using an older version (com.google.android.talk-35.0.327050771.apk). The older version didn't work either; it forces an upgrade to the latest version of Hangouts.
The only workaround I've found is that https://hangouts.google.com/ is still accessible, but if you're accessing it on your phone you have to use the desktop version of the site. The mobile version of the site redirects you to the Play Store.
You can also use Chat directly in Gmail. It doesn't have video calling per se. What you have to do is create a Meet link, send that to the person that you want to do a video call with, then join that call yourself. So three steps instead of one .
In case it helps searchability, the exact message of the screen is:

It's time for Chat in Gmail
Hangouts has been replaced by Google Chat. Your conversations and new features are ready in Chat in Gmail. Learn more
Open Chat in Gmail
Prefer to use Chat separately from Gmail?
Get Google Chat


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How to enable lock screen password in BlueStacks 5 on Android 7.0 Nougat?
I installed Bluestacks 5 recently. It is also rooted. I want to install a CA certificate on the device which is Android 7.0. To install the certificate, I have to set the screen lock first. But when I check the Settings, I can't find any lock screen password.
I did manage to access the password setting somehow but it automatically set to None. So I am not able to set any password in it.
Please help me to set a password.

If you have root access it should be easier to install the root CA certificate by modifying the system. The second part of my answer about installing the Let's encrypt CA certificates should show you how to do so.


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Audio Ducking Permanently Reversed on Android 11
One time, I was using the app WhatsApp while listening to music using Samsung Music app. Whenever I sent an outgoing message, it would play a short sound, which briefly reduced the media volume for the music, then it would return back to normal.
However, something weird happened, and the media volume was reduced by default. Whenever I sent an outgoing message, it would briefly increase before reducing it again to the default low. This now means the maximum volume is reduced.
The current behavior is such that when I'm listening to music, the maximum volume is low but when I receive a notification, the volume goes up briefly while the notification tone plays, then gets reduced when the notification tone is over.
The phone is Samsung A10s, running on Android 11.
I have tried restarting the phone, clearing data for the settings app and also the option to "Reset all settings." None have worked. How can I correct this issue without performing a factory reset?

Try turning do not disturb on and off again

Seems not to be working @Gantendo


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Is it possible using Yubikey as a login authenticator on lock screen?
This question was already well asked and answered in the negative back in 2017 (see at bottom). However, as I'm about to purchase an Android phone, I'm hoping things have changed. I'm a newbie to Android but the clearest I can be is: How do I setup my Yubikey for use as a first or second authentication factor when logging into my Android device.
For example, before or after I enter my password, I would plug in my Yubico key to finish the login process. To be clear, I'm not referring to account 2fa once inside my phone, but as an authenticator for entering my phone in the first place i.e. as an alternative to fingerprint or swipe patterns. I understand Windows 10 offers this (see link below).
Please let me know which if this is possible at all with an Android device. So far I can't find any even though Yubikey says their product "works with Android". I researched under "Smart Lock" and didn't see anything except Bluetooth, but YubiKey isn't Bluetooth (though they use NFC)
https://www.zdnet.com/article/yubico-security-keys-can-now-be-used-to-log-into-windows-computers/.

Previously asked: How to login to Android with Security Key?

I would like to login to my android by my security key. The phone has
NFC support which is the easiest way to authenticate the login if
supported. I am thinking how to accomplish the task by 3rd party app.
The login is well maintained by the OS so not sure if possible at all
to change the login way.

Do you know this article? https://nelenkov.blogspot.com/2014/03/unlocking-android-using-otp.html It is a bit older but if I understand correctly mentions exactly what you want.

Thank you so much. The article does seem to address my goal and I will study it as best as my non-technical brain can grasp. Much appreciated.


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Where Android stores bluetooth pairings/settings
Settings like Wi-Fi are stored on
[root]/data/misc/wifi/WifiConfigStore.xml
What about bluetooth ?
Whre did they decide to hide it ?
Are they encrypted ?
: |
Thank you ahead
Oreo here, but the answer is probably universal

Amazing how we find the answer only AFTER we post the question:
[root]/data/misc/
bluedroid/bt_config.conf

"Bluedroid"... Haha
Found this by digging the Bluetooth Pairings backups that Titanium does.
Edit.:
Careful not to confuse with bt_config.xml
This second file (xml) is full of garbage, in my case


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If I enable adbd LAN tcp 5555, does it mean any app or LAN device can connect port 5555 to get a shell permission?
I have a Android 8 TV box. In developer settings, I can enable/disable USB debug. After enable, any device in LAN can use adb connect <ip> to connect to (no password or auth required) and control it via shell.
My questions:

Does that mean any app on the Android devices can connect 127.0.0.1:5555 and get a shell permission? (The Android box is rooted. In adb I can use su directly)
ss -pnltu | grep 5555 got:
tcp    LISTEN     0      4        :::5555                 :::*                   users:(("adbd",pid=5051,fd=15))

How can I protect my Android from being hacked by an installed app.

I can't use setprop ro.adb.secure 1, it says
setprop: failed to set property 'ro.adb.secure' to '1'

It's always 0. So the ROM doesn't support the adb RSA auth security feature.
How can I protect my Android from being hacked from other LAN devices.

(I want to keep usb debugging on cause I can install/uninstall apps from PC)

Update: I come up with a simple trick: changing the port
setprop service.adb.tcp.port 5550

that will hide my adbd from 80% hackers I think.
But, still, that's not a real solution. It's just a workaround

although hypothetical vulnerability exist I wouldn't care much as you have full control over your LAN don't you? You can modify boot.img or system.img default.prop and flash it back to device. or install Magisk and use the resetprop feature

If there is no adb authentication any device on your network can connect and issue shell commands.
A workaround could be to limit access to adb on IP level using iptables. That would allow to limit access your PC, assuming that your PC always has the same IP in your home network.
But as you have root permissions you may consider installing an sshd and keep adb off. The authentication system of ssh is effective and additionally ssh provides an encrypted communication channel (which adb doe snot provide, it is plain like telnet).

Thank you for the sshd advice. I have considered that before also. For the purpose of getting shell, ssh is enough. But when I want to use scrcpy or adb install, still have to turn network adb on

@BobJohnson adb install ist more or les the combination of adb push and pm install (command on device). So installing apps via ssh should be possible. And even scrcpy migtht work somehow in https://github.com/Genymobile/scrcpy/issues/1421 there are listed some possibilities.


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Alternative way to obtain Android screenshot in shell?
Ok, so first, I realized that one of my screen capturing apps on an Android 7 tablet, did not work (gave me a black screen capture), and then I realized this app not have the "Screen capture" permission; then I looked for this permission in Settings, but couldn't find it; then I realized, the app crashes Android causing reboot at times when you ask it to capture.
(EDIT: strangely, - in the context of the problems in this post listed later on, - when I tried taking a screenshot with press of "power button and the volume-down button", it worked fine).
So, I managed to log in to the device, where I can get root, and wanted to issue a screencap command, and it ended like this:
# screencap -p out.png
stack corruption detected
Aborted

Tried the same as a normal user, there it reported:
$ screencap -p out.png
Segmentation fault

Crap, eh? In addition I tried:
# screenrecord out.mp4

... and this crashed Android, and rebooted it.
So, getting to why screencap does not work, does not look like a trivial problem - but the device otherwise works, screen is shown, etc.
So I was wondering - is there some alternative way to grab a screen capture in this context (have root in shell on Android 7, screen is rendered and shown fine, everything apparently works, apart from screencap itself)?
( Maybe some /dev/... device node file, which when you cat, gives you the current screen contents pixel by pixel (which I imagine will require some decoding before it is viewable, but not a problem, I can use tftp to transfer files out of the device)? )

EDIT: Here is the related snippet of logcat when the screencap crash happens:
02-12 17:05:01.285 22745 22745 D AndroidRuntime: >>>>>> START com.android.internal.os.RuntimeInit uid 0 <<<<<<
02-12 17:05:01.322 22745 22745 D AndroidRuntime: CheckJNI is OFF
02-12 17:05:01.551 22745 22745 D ICU     : No timezone override file found: /data/misc/zoneinfo/current/icu/icu_tzdata.dat
02-12 17:05:01.718 22745 22745 W System  : ClassLoader referenced unknown path: /vendor/lib64
02-12 17:05:01.719 22745 22745 W System  : ClassLoader referenced unknown path: /system/lib64
02-12 17:05:01.930 22745 22745 E memtrack: Couldn't load memtrack module (No such file or directory)
02-12 17:05:01.930 22745 22745 E android.os.Debug: failed to load memtrack module: -2
02-12 17:05:01.951 22745 22745 I Radio-JNI: register_android_hardware_Radio DONE
02-12 17:05:02.092 22745 22745 D AndroidRuntime: Calling main entry com.android.commands.am.Am
02-12 17:05:02.228 22745 22745 D AndroidRuntime: Shutting down VM
02-12 17:05:02.358 18887 22754 I OpenGLRenderer: Initialized EGL, version 1.4
02-12 17:05:02.358 18887 22754 D OpenGLRenderer: Properties::enablePartialUpdates 1
02-12 17:05:02.359 18887 22754 D OpenGLRenderer: Properties::useBufferAge 1
02-12 17:05:02.359 18887 22754 D OpenGLRenderer: Default swap behavior 0
02-12 17:05:02.359 18887 22754 D OpenGLRenderer: Swap behavior 0
02-12 17:05:04.259 16803 16803 W WindowManager: Attempted to remove non-existing token: android.os.Binder@73bede4
02-12 17:05:10.741 22761 22761 D AndroidRuntime: >>>>>> START com.android.internal.os.RuntimeInit uid 0 <<<<<<
02-12 17:05:10.756 22761 22761 D AndroidRuntime: CheckJNI is OFF
02-12 17:05:10.890 22761 22761 D ICU     : No timezone override file found: /data/misc/zoneinfo/current/icu/icu_tzdata.dat
02-12 17:05:11.019 22761 22761 E memtrack: Couldn't load memtrack module (No such file or directory)
02-12 17:05:11.019 22761 22761 E android.os.Debug: failed to load memtrack module: -2
02-12 17:05:11.024 22761 22761 I Radio-JNI: register_android_hardware_Radio DONE
02-12 17:05:11.080 16562 16562 I main    : type=1400 audit(0.0:613): avc: denied { read } for path="/dev/socket/zygote" scontext=u:r:zygote:s0 tcontext=u:r:init:s0 tclass=unix_stream_socket permissive=1
02-12 17:05:11.080 16562 16562 I main    : type=1400 audit(0.0:614): avc: denied { getattr } for path="socket:[201098]" dev=sockfs ino=201098 scontext=u:r:zygote:s0 tcontext=u:r:init:s0 tclass=unix_stream_socket permissive=1
02-12 17:05:11.081 22761 22761 D AndroidRuntime: Calling main entry com.android.commands.am.Am
02-12 17:05:11.100 16562 16562 I main    : type=1400 audit(0.0:615): avc: denied { write } for path="/dev/socket/zygote" scontext=u:r:zygote:s0 tcontext=u:r:init:s0 tclass=unix_stream_socket permissive=1
02-12 17:05:11.118 16803 16855 I ActivityManager: Start proc 22770:android.process.media/u0a10 for broadcast com.android.providers.media/.MediaScannerReceiver
02-12 17:05:11.189 22770 22770 W System  : ClassLoader referenced unknown path: /system/priv-app/MediaProvider/lib/arm
02-12 17:05:11.293 22770 22783 D libEGL  : loaded /vendor/lib/egl/libEGL_tegra.so
02-12 17:05:11.306 22770 22783 D libEGL  : loaded /vendor/lib/egl/libGLESv1_CM_tegra.so
02-12 17:05:11.310 22770 22770 W System  : ClassLoader referenced unknown path: /system/priv-app/DownloadProvider/lib/arm
02-12 17:05:11.312 22770 22770 D ApplicationLoaders: ignored Vulkan layer search path /system/priv-app/DownloadProvider/lib/arm:/system/priv-app/DownloadProvider/DownloadProvider.apk!/lib/armeabi-v7a:/system/lib:/vendor/lib for namespace 0xa8751090
02-12 17:05:11.479 22770 22783 D libEGL  : loaded /vendor/lib/egl/libGLESv2_tegra.so
02-12 17:05:11.560 22770 22770 D MediaScannerReceiver: action: android.intent.action.MEDIA_SCANNER_SCAN_FILE path: /
02-12 17:05:11.562 16803 16852 I ActivityManager: Killing 19204:com.android.packageinstaller/u0a17 (adj 906): empty #17
02-12 17:05:11.564 22761 22761 D AndroidRuntime: Shutting down VM
02-12 17:05:11.579 16803 17333 D GraphicsStats: Buffer count: 7
02-12 17:05:11.580 16803 17283 D ActivityManager: cleanUpApplicationRecord -- 19204
02-12 17:05:11.603 22757 22757 F libc    : stack corruption detected
02-12 17:05:11.603 22757 22757 F libc    : Fatal signal 6 (SIGABRT), code -6 in tid 22757 (screencap)
02-12 17:05:11.604   127   127 W         : debuggerd: handling request: pid=22757 uid=0 gid=0 tid=22757
02-12 17:05:11.662 22787 22787 F DEBUG   : *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
02-12 17:05:11.663 22787 22787 F DEBUG   : Build fingerprint: 'samsung/GT-P7500/GT-P7500:4.0.4/IMM76D/XXLQ8:user/release-keys'
02-12 17:05:11.663 22787 22787 F DEBUG   : Revision: '14'
02-12 17:05:11.663 22787 22787 F DEBUG   : ABI: 'arm'
02-12 17:05:11.664 22787 22787 F DEBUG   : pid: 22757, tid: 22757, name: screencap  >>> screencap <<<
02-12 17:05:11.664 22787 22787 F DEBUG   : signal 6 (SIGABRT), code -6 (SI_TKILL), fault addr --------
02-12 17:05:11.683 22787 22787 F DEBUG   : Abort message: 'stack corruption detected'
02-12 17:05:11.683 22787 22787 F DEBUG   :     r0 00000000  r1 000058e5  r2 00000006  r3 00000008
02-12 17:05:11.683 22787 22787 F DEBUG   :     r4 a9bb957c  r5 00000006  r6 a9bb9524  r7 0000010c
02-12 17:05:11.683 22787 22787 F DEBUG   :     r8 beb7ba33  r9 00000001  sl 00000500  fp 00000005
02-12 17:05:11.683 22787 22787 F DEBUG   :     ip 00000016  sp beb7b760  lr a8f2b477  pc a8f2dccc  cpsr 000f0010
02-12 17:05:11.705 22787 22787 F DEBUG   :
02-12 17:05:11.705 22787 22787 F DEBUG   : backtrace:
02-12 17:05:11.705 22787 22787 F DEBUG   :     #00 pc 0004cccc  /system/lib/libc.so (tgkill+12)
02-12 17:05:11.705 22787 22787 F DEBUG   :     #01 pc 0004a473  /system/lib/libc.so (pthread_kill+34)
02-12 17:05:11.705 22787 22787 F DEBUG   :     #02 pc 0001c649  /system/lib/libc.so (raise+10)
02-12 17:05:11.705 22787 22787 F DEBUG   :     #03 pc 00018169  /system/lib/libc.so (__libc_android_abort+34)
02-12 17:05:11.705 22787 22787 F DEBUG   :     #04 pc 00016910  /system/lib/libc.so (abort+4)
02-12 17:05:11.705 22787 22787 F DEBUG   :     #05 pc 0001a627  /system/lib/libc.so (__libc_fatal+22)
02-12 17:05:11.705 22787 22787 F DEBUG   :     #06 pc 0004b183  /system/lib/libc.so (__stack_chk_fail+6)
02-12 17:05:11.705 22787 22787 F DEBUG   :     #07 pc 00001765  /system/bin/screencap
02-12 17:05:11.705 22787 22787 F DEBUG   :     #08 pc 00016061  /system/lib/libc.so (__libc_init+48)
02-12 17:05:11.705 22787 22787 F DEBUG   :     #09 pc 00001344  /system/bin/screencap
02-12 17:05:11.767 16803 16921 W NativeCrashListener: Couldn't find ProcessRecord for pid 22757
02-12 17:05:11.767 22787 22787 E         : AM data write failed: Broken pipe
02-12 17:05:11.769   127   127 W         : debuggerd: resuming target 22757
02-12 17:05:11.771 16803 16859 I BootReceiver: Copying /data/tombstones/tombstone_05 to DropBox (SYSTEM_TOMBSTONE)

not sure if related but there is Xposed module DisableFlagSecure which allows me to take screenshots of any screen (even forbidden apps like banking)

Well, turns out there is a something that can be attempted - copy the device framebuffer - but it still did not result with full device screenshot for me.
Why is the FrameBuffer missing on some Android devices?

in Android it’s /dev/graphics/fbX, usually /dev/graphics/fb0`

for me:
 ls -la /dev/graphics/
total 0
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root          80 2022-02-12 13:09 .
drwxr-xr-x 18 root root        2560 2022-02-12 13:10 ..
crw-rw----  1 root graphics 29,   0 2022-02-12 13:09 fb0
crw-rw----  1 root graphics 29,   1 2022-02-12 13:09 fb1

https://www.kernel.org/doc/html/latest/fb/framebuffer.html

The frame buffer devices are also normal memory devices, this means, you can read and write their contents. You can, for example, make a screen snapshot by:
cp /dev/fb0 myfile

And finally https://stackoverflow.com/questions/12456174/how-to-convert-a-raw-rgb-frame-buffer-file-to-a-viewable-format/16936538#16936538 :

To not re-invent the wheel, I tried to re-use existing tool: ...

I called the script from that post get_android_fb_format.sh, you might need to change the main line to this:
    ffmpeg -f rawvideo -pix_fmt $item -s $FB_RESOLUTION -i androidFB $OUTPUT_DIR/$item.png

So, trying from PC:
$ adb pull /dev/graphics/fb0 androidFB
adb: error: failed to copy '/dev/graphics/fb0' to 'androidFB': remote open failed: Permission denied

Cannot - must do as root from device:
# cd /sdcard/Download
# cp /dev/graphics/fb0 androidFB

... that worked; then on PC - adb pull line saves a file called androidFB on device, on which I run the script:
$ adb pull /sdcard/Download/androidFB
$ bash get_android_fb_format.sh

I get a folder fbresult/ created, where different attempts at decoding can be seen. Here's the interesting part:

For me, /dev/graphics/fb0 held the Samsung boot logo (I got the correct decoding, but liked this one):

However, /dev/graphics/fb1 is always blank

So, probably this is not the right thing - to go back to Why is the FrameBuffer missing on some Android devices?:

No android app handles directly /dev/fb0, does it exist or not
...
Not even the Surface Flinger can see the /dev/fb0 directly.


text:
What is this unknown app on Oppo running Android 11?
This app just popped up on my Oppo A74 running Android version 11 and I can't open it, and it doesn't have a name.

I haven't downloaded anything today, and this app only came a few hours ago, so there's no chance of it being an app whose icon the developer forgot to put in. I am also not using an external SD card.
I can move it around while holding but I can't delete it nor remove it from the home screen. Clicking it gives the following prompt "Failed to read app data. Cannot run the app". When I long-press it, only app info comes up, clicking that does nothing, it doesn't show any info.
What is this app? Is it safe?

this app is not installed

But the thing is, I haven't installed any app recently, but this still popped up

Connect your phone to a PC with installed Android SDK, enable ADB on your device, execute adb logcat on the PC and then try to start the app. Logcat should then contain the app package name (besides many other log lines).

Possible dupe: What is this weird app on the homescreen of ColorOS 11? Is this a malware?

Woah, thanks a lot for sending that Question,I think this is the same issue with my phone. And also thanks for editing my question to make it better for people to read

I hate to possibly be the bearer of bad news, but that is the exact same icon  that appeared after i accepted a "system update" which sadly was NOT what it claimed. It's odd that the icon remains on your homescreen though so it may be something harmless.
You can read about it here
https://blog.malwarebytes.com/cybercrime/mobile/2021/04/android-system-update-malware-steals-photos-videos-gps-location/

Was the system update something that  was in your settings, and you updated it,or did it come in some other form? And also, that app disappeared for me after I restarted my phone, is that similar to what app is mentioned in the article?

Wasn't in my settings.  It just popped up when i turned my phone on . Then it was listed in hidden system apps . I googled the version number it listed and it was the fake update. Never found a way to remove it . Just ended up getting a new phone.

Ok,thanks a lot.


text:
Any way to control the volume/mute for Caller ID announcement?
I really like the "Caller ID announcement" feature, where it announces the number calling you.  However, I've noticed it announces it regardless of my volume or mute settings.  I do not want my phone making any noise if it's set to "Silent", or the ringer volume is all the way down.  Any way to do that?

I'm using Android 11 on a OnePlus 9 Pro running Oxygen OS 11.2.10.10.LE15AA.  Thanks!


text:
How to access Android phone's internal memory with broken screen?
I have a Xiaomi Mi Android phone. My screen is completely broken but there are some important data available in the internal memory of the phone.
Is there any way by which I can access and copy data from internal memory to my computer?

Hi Puneet, see https://www.androidauthority.com/extract-data-broken-android-phone-819324/ - if you can't enter the passcode to deencrypt (even with a USB mouse plugged in), it'll be very hard to recover the data

please don't recommend Dr. Fone which is totally scam

expert only: assuming you have EDL access it might possible to modify splash.img and flash twrp.img on locked bootloader (at least for Redmi 5a)


text:
how to convert Samsung sm-g531f firmware file to bootable image?
Recently I got deleted my OS in my SM-G531F. I found the rooted firmware online and I am trying to make a bootable image using the downloaded firmware. In my phone the the volume up key is not working, downloading and installing using the Odin tool is not an option. Can anyone guide me how to create a bootable USB so I can mount using an OTG and install the OS. I am using Windows OS in my desktop.

You could try to boot a recovery ROM via fastboot but I am not sure if this also works on your device as it is a Samsung. Direct booting from USB is not possible on Android the used botloader do not support this - Android is not a PC with an UEFI BIOS...

@Robert Any other solution which might work?

Does this answer your question? How to install OS in Samsung smg531f which is without OS?

you can boot into download mode from TWRP and flash with Odin


text:
Make mounted cifs/smb share visible for normal user in Android-x86
With ES Explorer not to be trusted any more, I needed another solution for easy access to my SMB/CIFS network shares. Mounting a SMB/CIFS network share in Android-x86 (version 9 R2) turned out to be a lot easier than any of the solutions I found on StackExchange. I did not need to install any software or app, mount -t cifs works just out of the box.
The problem is that I cannot make this mount visible for normal user. Only root or superuser, whatever it is called in Android, sees and can use the mounted file system, whereas the normal user keeps seeing the mountpoint as a directory of Android's own filesystem.
To clarify, have a look at this terminal session. In this example, Android is running in a Virtual Box VM, the IP address is that of the host itself. I make a subdirectory in /sdcard/Download/ to mount on, with the intent of easily moving files from Download to the share mounted on that subdirectory. I mount the share as superuser, with appropriate options, and then, both as normal and as super user, list the subdirectory contents and stat the subdirectory :
$ cd "/$EXTERNAL_STORAGE"/Download/ # i.e. /sdcard/Download/
$ mkdir SERVER_SHARE
$ touch SERVER_SHARE/"NOT THE MOUNTED SHARE" # a marker for the base directory
$ su -c "mount -v -o username=guest,rw,noperm,iocharset=utf8 -t cifs //192.168.1.10/SHARE $PWD/SERVER_SHARE"
$ ls SERVER_SHARE/
'NOT THE MOUNTED SHARE'
$ su -c "ls SERVER_SHARE"
... lists all the files on the share ...
$ stat SERVER_SHARE
  Size: 4096        Blocks: 0          IO Block: 512   directory
Device: 1dh/29d Inode: 409629          Links: 2
Access: (0770/drwxrwx---)  Uid: ( 0/    root)   Gid: ( 9997/everybody)
...
$ su -c "stat SERVER_SHARE"
  Size: 0           Blocks: 0          IO Block: 512   directory
Device: 1eh/30d Inode: 217          Links: 2
Access: (0755/drwxr-xr-x)  Uid: ( 0/    root)   Gid: ( 0/    root)
...

You see the difference between normal and super user: ls shows different directory contents because stat says they see the subdirectory on a different Device. A possible explanation could be that the normal user has the file descriptor for the directory open, and keeps using that file descriptor and the contents it points to, even after some other file system is mounted over it. But that would probably not explain why exactly the same thing happens if I put the mkdir inside the su command for the mount.
For the time being, I can only access the mounted samba share of the VM host from the terminal, as super user, to copy files between the share and the Download folder. I have put the mkdir and mount commands in a script, and added the touch command to mount the directory under the mountpoint as 'not the network share'.
My question is this: how do I make the mounted share visible to the normal user, so that I can use the Android apps like "Files" and other file managers to access it in a GUI.

Related: https://android.stackexchange.com/a/201191/218526

Thanks for the link. I have to do some study to understand it, but that's what we're here for.

regarding the invisible mount I guess it's caused by isolated mount namespaces (can be disabled depending on root solution)

Management summary

You probably do not need this.
There are free (gratis, yes) apps to access network shares.
Mounting network shares does not even need these apps; everything you need is included with Android-x86.

How to access your network shares as user of Android-x86

There are plenty of file manager apps that allow you to copy files between your Android directories and your network shares. One that I find particularly suitable for this is a free app called X-Plore File Manager, because in it you can set up shortcuts to your network shares, and it has a dual pane view, so that you can open source and destination directories each in their own pane.
However, to directly access network shares from within apps, without intermediation of a file manager, it is usefull to mount those network shares into Android's user visible folders like Downloads, Movies, Music or Pictures.
Though not really linux, one of the linuxy things Android-x86 uses to complicate life for the unsuspecting user, for her or his own good, is Security-Enhanced Linux or SELinux. It is straightforward to mount a network share, there is nothing to install. But you need the appropriate security context to mount a network share so that it is visible to you as user.
To make things reproducible, you can script the mounting procedure. Android-x86 comes with a stripped MirBSD Korn shell. You can read it's man page online.
You can use my script as example; I clarified it with comments. In this script, fill in your own servername and server's ip address, and maybe the share name you use most; mine is named RAMDISK, which is ... a ramdisk.
Because my Androix-x86 device is not accessible for others, I hard coded my username and password. I hope you can not retrieve my original answer after I modified it to hide myusername and mypassword. You probably prefer not to code your credentials in a script; you can use the shell's builtin read command to enter them on the command prompt.

#!/bin/sh
main() {
    # default to my preferred share
 typeset share="${1:-RAMDISK}"
    # MY SERVER
 typeset servername=MYSRV
 typeset serverip=192.168.1.10
    # SELinux context for the virtual filesystem sdcardfs:
 typeset context="context=u:object_r:sdcardfs:s0,iocharset=utf8"
    # mount (from root mount namespace) to /mnt/runtime/write/emulated which is
    # propagated to all apps' mount namespaces.
 typeset mntpt=/mnt/runtime/write/emulated/0/Download/"$servername"_"$share"
    # make mountpoint and add file as warning: if you see that file,
    # you do not see the network share
 [ -d "$mntpt" ] || su -c "mkdir -p \"$mntpt\" ; \
    touch \"$mntpt\"/\" @=# NOT A MOUNTED NETWORK SHARE #=@. \""
    # first try to mount with my credentials, used as file ownership on server, else as guest
    # su not needed when already running as su, but does no harm either
 su -c "mount -v -o username=myuser,password=mypassword,rw,noperm,$context \
    -t cifs //$serverip/\"$share\" \"$mntpt\" || \
   mount -v -o username=guest,ro,noperm,$context \
    -t cifs //$serverip/\"$share\" \"$mntpt\" || \
   echo mount of \"<$share>\" failed"
 unset -f main
}
main "$@"

I saved this script on my Android-x86 device as /sdcard/mounty. SELinux makes it tricky to make it executable, but that is not needed: you can let the shell's builtin commands source or . execute it. From a terminal app, or after pressing Alt-F1 to go to the tty1 terminal (Alt-F7 brings you back to the GUI), just enter

. /sdcard/mounty MYSHARENAME

Instead of a mountpoint in .../Download/, you could mount your shared movies under /mnt/runtime/write/emulated/0/Movies/, and the network share with your family album under /mnt/runtime/write/emulated/0/Pictures/, of course.

Technical details

You can read up on the reason why you need a SELinux context in this answer to "How to bind mount a folder inside /sdcard with correct permissions?". I only understand half of it, but the gist is that under Android not only users, but apps too need access rights as well.
To implement this, a special file system called sdcardfs is used. It exposes the folders that a user sees under /sdcard, to the apps on 3 different mount points, depending on an app's access rights, and on 1 extra mount point for the user's access. This is an extract of what the mount command reports :

/data/media on /mnt/runtime/default/emulated type sdcardfs (rw,...,gid=1015,multiuser,mask=6)
/data/media on /mnt/runtime/read/emulated type sdcardfs (rw,...,gid=9997,multiuser,mask=23)
/data/media on /mnt/runtime/write/emulated type sdcardfs (rw,...,gid=9997,multiuser,mask=7)
/data/media on /storage/emulated type sdcardfs (rw,...,gid=1015,multiuser,mask=6)

The /read/ and /write/ mountpoints speak for themselves.
I guess that the /default/ mountpoint is for navigating through directories only, for apps with neither read nor write access.
Exploring the directory tree with the command ls -l, you find directory /storage/emulated/ holding a subdirectory for each user. In single user installations this will be user 0, wherein you will find the user directories Download, Movies etc. When user 0 logs in, his /storage/emulated/0/ is mirrored onto /storage/self/primary/.
Directory /sdcard/ finally is, in fact, a symbolic link to that /storage/self/primary/, and voilà, that is why the user sees his user directories under /sdcard/, which is all a non-root user gets to see of his filesystem.
Mounting the network share, with the right SELinux context, onto a directory under /mnt/runtime/write/emulated/0/ (note the write directory), as in my script, makes the share visible somewhere under the same 4 directories:

//192.168.1.10/RAMDISK on /mnt/runtime/default/emulated/0/Download/FRT_RAMDISK type cifs (rw,...
//192.168.1.10/RAMDISK on /mnt/runtime/read/emulated/0/Download/FRT_RAMDISK type cifs (rw,...
//192.168.1.10/RAMDISK on /mnt/runtime/write/emulated/0/Download/FRT_RAMDISK type cifs (rw,...
//192.168.1.10/RAMDISK on /storage/emulated/0/Download/FRT_RAMDISK type cifs (rw,...


text:
What is the easiest way to mass-transfer (via USB-C) hundreds of files (like my DCIM folder) from one smartphone to another smartphone or external HD?
A lot of the standard Android file transfer apps only allow manual selection - aka they don't easily allow me to do "select all" of hundreds of files.
Interested in both transferring to a 1TB SSD hard drive or to another smartphone.
Prefer to not go through a PC because of friction/lag/sudden disconnects.
Also how can I even view files from one phone onto the other phone?

You should clarify if having a PC is acceptable or not.

Plus what OS the PC runs, if there's one.

The definition of "easy" may vary for persons and situations. But hundreds of pictures, if not thousands, is not a big amount of data. Connect to a Wi-Fi network. Install MiXplorer or a similar app on both sides. Run FTP server on one side. Copy and paste on the other side.


text:
I have a Samsung A51 android smartphone, how can I adopt my SD card as internal storage
On my A51 android smartphone how can I adopt my SD card to internal storage.

you can't as this feature is not supported by Samsung https://android.stackexchange.com/q/241909


text:
Why can't I flash nethunter.zip and why can't I install an apk file on nexus 5 marshmallow that is transfered from PC?
I spent like 30 hours to try to install nethunter on nexus 5 but always failed. I tried to root with magisk all procedures following official instructions and succeeded, I also tried to root by flashing SuperSU-v2.82.zip, also succeeded, I also tried to use 'nexus root toolkit' to root and succeeded too. But no matter how many times I root and whatever method I try, whenever it's successfully rooted and SuperSU and BusyBox are granted and installed, I tried to flash the current offial zip file of kali nethunter (of size about 3G), it fails and then I reset to factory img. Whichever version of TWRP I try (3.6.0.9/3.2.3.1/3.0.2.0/2.8.7.2), it just keep reporting the same error msg: "failed to map file 'nethunter....img' ". I have checked SHA256 but the file is intact. And I could flash other zip files like SuperSU.zip.
What's even more annoying is that first I can't download APPs from google play store(sth wrong with the network), second I can't install a single one apk file which I transfer from PC to nexus 5 by USB cable (it constantly reports "can't open file" while any apk I download from a phone browser is installable), or even open a zip file, like there's an invisible barrier around each file that is transfered from PC. Except for the 'nexus root toolkit' method by which I don't have to install APPs, any time I have to install an APP like SuperSU, Magisk, BusyBox or TWRP Manager, I will have to search it in the browser and download the apk to install it, which is very time consuming.
I would be very much obliged if anyone can help solve a problem I met.
All the tutorials I have followed:
Official document: https://www.kali.org/docs/nethunter/
Officially recommended guide: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/guide-unlock-root-flash-for-nexus-5x.3206930/
Installation with nexus root toolkit video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9QVULNLkug
Installation of Magisk: https://topjohnwu.github.io/Magisk/install.html

You wrote that nethunter image has 3g - when I look at their download page the version for Nexus 5 has 1.7Gb.

@Robert I checked yes it's 1.7G now, but yestertoday it was about 3G. I'll try the new img

@Robert The new img worked... This is really weird. I don't know, maybe it's because the latest version of factory img. But I am now having another problem during installation. Thank you, guess this problem is almost solved, except for the fact that I still can't open APK from PC. But I find that nexus root toolkit can help install APK to my phone in its advanced utilities.

@Robert I have now successfully installed the nethunter on nexus 5 and I can install APKs from PC now. There are several possible reasons, like new img of nethunter, latest version of factory img from official release, utils of "nexus root toolkit", official ES file explorer, etc. I'll try to ascertain the right one next time I install it on another phone. This one has really worn me out, now I just feel relieved that the issue is finally fixed, don't feel like to touch it for now...

@Robert I forgot to say that I am really grateful for your reply. You actually read my question and checked. I usually don't post questions because for my level of tech, I think I should be able to find the answer somewhere on the internet. But yesterday I felt desperate and crazy, don't know if you know that feeling, like burning from inside out. When I was almost about to give up, I though I might as well resort to stack overflow which helped me many times. Your hint gave me hope to retry and I solved the problem. So thank you very much. (hope this doesn't violate the community rules...)


text:
backup used on device
Is there a way to tell if a backup file .ab has been used on a android device? Like a log that shows the a back up was used on the device?
I apologize as I am a novice with Androids and ADB, I am trying to find out this answer for work.

Android has by default no persistent log (except for some kernel messages). adb logcat uses a rolling buffer which means depending on the number of messages this buffer will be overwritten in hours or days. See also https://android.stackexchange.com/q/230503/2241 BTW: by "using" do you mean a backup creation or restore? May be you should tell use why you want this information, there may be other ways to get it or to prevent what you don't want to happen.

I would like to see if a back up .ab restore file was used on the device.


text:
semi-frequent reboots on Galaxy tab; ways to troubleshoot?
I have a Galaxy Tab S6 Lite, Android 11, which I generally love. I have a SD card connected to it. It's 2 years old. Storage-wise, I have tons of space, especially on the SD card.
I an experiencing semi-frequent reboots. Today, in fact, it rebooted on 3 separate occasions -- a little unusual for me.
I'm good at troubleshooting desktop apps, but not so much with android stuff. Is there a process to follow? Where to go to get good info? Are there any utilities to use to help troubleshoot? I haven't found much useful information under Settings.
Today I was using the Twitter app before all 3 reboots, and for the third reboot, the only app I was running was Twitter, which seems like a dead giveaway. But how can I confirm this?  I'm not convinced that Twitter is the only cause, but have no idea how to check.
It wouldn't surprise me if the Twitter app was causing problems. It connects to and launches other apps within it (news app, etc). And there are some complaints at the Google Play store. But I really feel I don't understand how to track and resolve problems like this. Any help is appreciated.
Under the Settings --> Apps --> Twitter, I see that average memory usage is 4.2 MB, and that maximum memory usage is 268MB which does not seem excessive to me.
Final question. If one app is causing reboots, is deleting and installing fresh likely to help?

On Android apps should not be able to cause a reboot theoretically. Usually frequent reboots can be caused by a bad battery but your tablet is less than two years old so this is unlikely unless you caused the damage yourself (overheating by sun, freezing, use the phone until it goes off because of draining battery). Other options are difficult to test unless you identified a way to trigger such a reboot.


text:
Is it safe to delete a .bin file on an Android 11 phone?
I keep getting .bin files that show zero data in them and others that pop up regularly. Is it safe to delete them? Do they contain any vital information. Are they remnants of sites I've visited using my Android 11 phone? Can I do without them or am I causing some harm in deleting them? Some show up on engine log. What are they?

Where are those files located at? Without any more details, it might be difficult for us to determine. Consider [edit]ing and providing more details.

yes you can delete that files it won't harm your device


text:
Re-enable Setting app that has been disabled
I mistakenly disabled my phone's Settings app after Play Store marked it as harmful. I can no longer change my setting or get into the phone setting again.
What do I do?

If you have a computer available, you could e.g. try re-enabling it via adb – see e.g. these questions for details.

factory reset will fix it

May we know the device model and Android version? It's quite surprising that the Settings app could be disabled. Was this done through Play Store's Play Protect, or did you disable it manually?


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I need more frequent updates of my Facebook calender on my phone than Google Calender offers
There seems to be a limit to how often Google Calender updates subscribed calenders, something like once per day. I need a more frequent update than that, once an hour or so, because my Facebook calender, which I subscribe to in Google calender and from there sync to my Android phone, often changes several times a day.
On my Mac, this is not an issue because I can set the calender to update every 15 minutes.
How can I achieve more frequent updates of a subscribed calender on an Android phone while I also display my other calenders in the same view? (That is, if the solution is some other calender service, app or whatever, it has to be able to display my other calenders similar to how it works in the stock calender app)

So you have set-up Google to pull changes from your Facebook calendar or is the Facebook calendar directly set-up on your Android phone using the Facebook account?

Google pulls it from Facebook. Didn't know you can add the Facebook calender directly on the phone, can you? How?

The frequency Google pulls external calendars is not up to the user to decide. That seems to be done by some magic algorithm on Google side. So directly syncing the Facebook calendar would be a preferred solution as you then have the power to change the sync frequency.

@Robert That was kind of the solution I was looking for but since it is OT to ask directly for software recommendations I had to put it like I did.

From what I read the Facebook app supports adding events into an Android calendar. Not sure if this is a real sync. Alternatively calendars are usually exported in iCal format and there are apps that can sync local calendar with an iCal URL.

Yes, but that is a manual process. On my iOS-devices and desktop computers, since they sync directly and on my command, keeping the Facebook calender up to date works fine. The problem with Android stock calender is that they take the detour via Google Calender for their syncing.


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Pixel 5 contacts app does not work after activating phone
I just bought a new Pixel 5. I successfully transferred my contacts from my old phone via bluetooth before activating the pixel. After getting a new SIM card and transferring  to a new carrier my contacts are empty. There is no option to add new contacts. If I try to transfer contacts via bluetooth, like I had done before, then the contacts app will crash. It will take about 10 seconds to open, and then just opens a blank black screen. If I open a text conversation and click 'add to contacts' the screen just gets a little darker and nothing happens.
The google support site suggests clearing the cache for the app, but there is no such option for this app.
It cannot be that the phone is too full or has too many apps running. It is a brand new phone with no additional software installed.
The contacts app seemed to work fine before activating the phone under a new carrier.

I figured it out within seconds of posting.
It turns out the contacts app does not work with Google-Play disabled, which I had disabled just to get it out of the way.

Good to know that you found the solution by yourself. I noticed a few apps start with "Google Play" on my Pixel. Did you mean "Google Play Store"? Could you [edit] and clarify that? Thanks!


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Galaxy A10 screen replaced with a lower resolution screen
My Samsung Galaxy A10 had its screen cracked and had to send it to mobile care for the old screen to be replaced with a new one. The problem is that the old screen that came with this phone seems to be clearer than the new one because the text is fuzzy and the icons are blurry they replaced it with.
So, is it possible to replace the screen of a model with a lower quality screen?

Another possibility is that the order of the color-subpixels have changed. If the phone uses optimized sub-pixel rendering (on Windows this is known as "Clear-Type") and the order changes then the display will look blurry. Not sure if you can change subpixel rendering on Android as changing the display with a different type is nothing a manufacturer plans.

yes low quality screen replacement is possible I have heared it before. but not in Samsung mobile shop

The pixel is what I think it's called. The Samsung Galaxy A10 features an IPS LCD display with a resolution of 720 x 1520 pixels. Nevertheless, you can replace the display screen with an OLED screen replacement, so the pixels will be the same, but the quality will be better.

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts Stack Exchange. Looks like you're affiliated with the website linked here. Consider reading and following our help center for how to not be a spammer. As of current writing, I don't see how the linked site helps, other than looking like someone trying to sell a product from their site, which looks really spammy. The link will be keep deleted, unless you can provide more details about it. Thanks for your understanding.

No problem you have deleted the link. But it was an example because Galaxy A10 has LCD display but the link was OLED display. However, never mind!