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Oppo Neo 5 (2015) Stuck at Logo Screen
So I rooted my phone successfully. Then after that, I installed Flashify to Flash CWM Based Recovery and shows "copying file to ....". After that it reboots to recovery and now it is just showing me the Oppo logo screen. I can't access the recovery even I press the key combination. Yes it shows ">>> Recovery Mode" but it is just stuck on the logo. Please anyone help !?

Here are some Info

Android 5.0.1
I have the stock ROM for my device

I also have a problem when I charge my phone, it automatically goes to recovery but still stuck at the logo screen

It looks like you flashed a recovery that didn't support your device. Good news is since your rooted, you can unbrick your phone by obtaining your original rom.
If you didn't back up your rom/recovery, then you will need to download your STOCK rom off the internet and flash it via Odin.
Odin is a popular flashing tool for windows and mac. It works better on Windows.
ALSO, when flashing with odin, you will need a pit file. Pit file tells Odin where to correctly install the rom.
If your not familiar with flashing using odin, I recommend you look it up.
I hope this helps!

It says ODIN is for Samsung, Can I use it with my Oppo ?

I'm not quite sure. But according to one site, if you install Oppo USB drivers, it SHOULD work. Just try it.

If you find difficulty with Odin, you can do the same with SP Flash tools too...
Hope this helps.

-1 Because Odin does not work with Oppo devices, and Oppo devices doesn't even have a Download/Fastboot mode, and who knows what will happen when the SoC signals Odin sends get mixed up with Oppo modified Mediatek SoC protocols...


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Lollipop/ART - how do I manually optimize APK files?
I've asked this question before. After checking out logcat, it seems that the OS is looking for the odex files. I've checked the odex files of other system apps on my ROM, and it turns out they're ELF files.
For the ones asking, these are bytecode files produced by ART (dex2oat, I'm not sure).
I've observed that these files get generated on boot (Android is Starting: Optimizing App XXX of XXX).
For some reason, my phone's ROM doesn't run the optimization part. Instead, the oat files are already pre-generated and stored on the system partition. As a result, the apps that I want to pre-install don't get the oat treatment and crashes when I launch them (ClassNotFoundException since the oat files don't exist.)
How do I manually run the app optimizer? If it comes down to using the command line, how do I use dex2oat without root access/on a Linux PC?

How to Odex apk Files directly using your android phone

Try a Google search. "How to run app optimization process Android" should do already.

@Namnodorel It doesn't, unfortunately.

Sorry for the delay, but have a look over here: https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/139655/how-to-re-run-the-app-optimization-process-after-upgrading-to-a-higher-version

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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network issue in cyanogenmod 13 in Redmi 1s
I have installed cyanogen-mod 13 as custom Rom in my android phone. Now, I found a problem in network connectivity. While connecting data(3G), after sometimes, 3G data automatically shifting to 2G data. I have set APN settings based on service provider(automatically set).

Open dialer, and type *#*#4636#*#*.
It will enter into Testing mode.
Inside that, tap on Phone Information, look for Set preferred network type, and set it as WCDMA only.
This Setting will be lost after a reboot.

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


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Device soft-bricked after flashing Xposed ;-;
Newbie here! I rooted my phone, (Samsung Galaxy Note 3 SM-N900) and I'm trying to get Xposed working. After flashing Xposed*.zip, my device is just stuck on the "SAMSUNG" screen. Do you guys/gals know any way to install Xposed for my phone?
Any help would be appreciated! :D

Maybe you flashed a version that's incompatible with your phone. Some phones need a specific version of Xposed (be it version or CPU architecture). There's an uninstaller zip available. Just flash that and try another version.

Do you have custom recovery TWRP/CWM? If yes then search for uninstaller on place where you downloaded xposed from, and simply flash it from recovery.

First, try to boot your device in download mode, you can do that by:

Switch off your device completely.
Press and hold Volume Down, Home and Power, all at the same time.
Release all buttons when you see the Warning! screen
Press the Volume Up button to confirm that you want to boot Download Mode

Then, download Kies from here, after you install it, connect your phone to your computer and you should get a message from Kies, ignore it.
On the Kies menu bar, click Tools and then click Firmware Upgrade and Intialisation
Enter the information it requires (Usually, you can find them at the back of your phone) and then Kies will factory reset your phone.
To install Xposed, visit this link.

Np, please make sure you mark the answer as correct so other people can see it too.

authors: Једноруки Крстивоје


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I used Google's Find My Phone to factory reset my phone since I lost it but before that happened, I got my phone back
So, I headed out one day and lost my phone. I head to see ways to get it back and saw that you can factory reset it through Google's Find My Phone. Now, someone gave it back and I'm stuck because if I go online on that phone, it may be factory reset. How can I prevent that from happening?

If you reset your phone using the Android Device Manager, there's a good chance it's already gone. Online means connected to the internet, and if mobile data was still on while you clicked the erase button, there's no way to undo that, as far as I know. Luckily, you can still recover some data when you sign in to your Google account on your phone, namely apps, settings and maybe some photos (if you used Google Photos).

I opened the phone and it was untouched by the person that got it. It wasn't connected to the internet since mobile data was turned off and I only used a laptop to tell Google to factory reset it, which it said won't happen as long as it is not online.

Using this, I can only say this: try getting your data off that device just in case. There's a good chance the moment you reconnect your phone to the internet your phone will be wiped, but I'd suggest trying to disable Android Device Manager, go online, then re-enable it.


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I have bricked my android phone. Is there any way to go back?
I just bought a new android phone running Lollipop 5.1. flashed a custom recovery (a modified recovery based on clockworkmod recovery). Then flashed a buggy custom ROM. In which many of the functions does not run properly Including many options in settings. Power off restart is not working, plus; there's no baseband installed which affects the inactivity of the SIM, wifi, Bluetooth and MicroSD card also not shown as well.
I accidentally tried to install the original clockwork mode recovery with the "Android One Toolkit". there's no original clockwork mode recovery for the phone the only one is I have flashed before.
Somehow it erased the recovery and do not installed the new recovery I was trying to install. There's no recovery anymore, when every I tries to boot into recovery by hardware buttons it never starts and brings the system to that buggy custom ROM. either there's no way to boot into bootloader or fast boot.
I have tried everything including many apps "Rom manager" "king root" for gaining access root but all are failed to do the task due to the non-availability of wifi or internet on the phone. this buggy custom ROM is not doing anything properly which can lead me to the solution, not even reboot. I have to force reboot it by pressing buttons vol+,vol- and power button. after the options came onto the screen. "vol up for recovery" vol down for factory reset options". both options bring me to that buggy custom ROM after some time.
I am stuck, is there any way to get back in the phone? I have never used the backups before flashing.
The phone is "Qmobile Z10" MTK 6753/35 I think. The custom recovery I flashed was "Clark Recovery etc", I forget the exact name, but after the name was written "A recovery based on Clockwork mode recovery". The custom ROM I currently have in my phone is "experience ROM for TT175 by EMRESAYGIN"

Have you tried the ADB?

Look at MTK Droid Tools and SP Flash Tool....
MTK device's are virtually unbreakable ! so don't be too worried.
Try to flash the custom recovery ( clockworkmod ) and then use the recovery for installing a new os ....
ClockWorkMod will overwrite your old recovery when flashing a new ROM,
So I'd suggest TWRP a.k.a TeamWin Recovery Project,
as TWRP will keep root and recovery installed when flashing new ROM

If you still have trouble, Look up Unbrick any MTK Device ..
This takes you through the steps to installing a rom on any mtk device !

I would write more details but each rom needs specific installations !

!   YOU NEED AN FREE ACCOUNT ON NEEDROM.COM FOR MOST MTK ROMs !
Flash Files For SP Flash Tool for Z10
Lollipop ROM for Z10

DO NOT USE FIRMWARE UPGRADE !
FIRMWARE UPGRADE WILL DESTROY IMEI NUMBER AND NV RAM ...
ONLY EVER USE DOWNLOAD MODE !
ROOT YOUR DEVICE FIRST IF IT'S POSSIBLE !
ONCE ROOTED, USE MTK DROID TOOLS ( IN LINK [MTK REPAIR FILES ])
AND BACKUP A FULL ROM ( INCLUDES NV-RAM, IMEI, SYSTEM, BOOT ETC....)
USING A MTK DROID TOOLS BACKUP IS THE ONLY SURE WAY TO RESTORE NV-RAM (IMEI NUMBER - MAC ADDRESS )

MTK Repair Files
- SP Flash Tool
- MTK V-Com Drivers (generic)
- MTK Droid Tools
If you can't access recovery, you need to use
V-COM Drivers, And Pre-Boot software SP Flash tools ....
• INSTALL V-COM DRIVER FROM LINK ABOVE
• Take out the battery ( power off completely )
• Start "SP Flash Tool" and load the custom rom above by selecting the "MTxxxx_Android_scatter_emmc.txt" File
• SP Flash tool will auto load rom from scatter
• Untick preloader or Pre-Loader
( this is what you are flashing with )
• Press on [ DOWNLOAD MODE ]  NOT UPGRADE!
• NOW Plug in device and wait for download to finish and a green Tick to appear  √

IF YOU GET ERRORS, Please tell me,
I'll try my best to respond quickly !

Errors

"Device doesn't show anymore"
This is because you need to flash Pre-Loader again !
- Preloader needs fixing with SP MDT SP MDT.rar and the correct files. (preloader from previous rom) . You can use an old version of
SP Flash tools Like V3 SP Flash Tool V3 to flash the old Backup of PRELOADER with MTK Droid Tools Hopefully ..
I have equal luck with both, If one doesn't work, the other does !
IF it still doesn't work and phone seems bricked,
You probably need to do a Firmware Upgrade, But this means you need SN Write Station and IMEI Writer to repair the IMEI, Mac adress, Bluetooth Adress etc ( On the original box or a sticker with the device )

but how can i flash a new recovery coz i dont have access to the one i just installed. coz it was erased in the attempt to install original cwm recovery?
Even i can not access to the factory reset or fastloader/bootloader by hardware buttons or either does not have acces it by adb commands. adb commands get stuck when i try to reboot the phone in fastboot or any other fastboot command.or sometime phone doesn't even detected by the adb devices. i have installed all the drivers needed before opening oem lock before installing this buggy rom or recovery. !

MTK Devices have an Extra boot for this problem   ... You need to install CDC Drivers ( V-COM)  to access the pre-boot loader... I'VE UPDATED MY ANSWER

but i have no scatter file right now. how can i get?

You should have it with the Flash Files link   ... HERE'S A STOCK ONE ! https://docs.google.com/uc?export=download&confirm=45sO&id=0B_Wm2RQP1PtfcnVpaG1oVmhPLTQ

thanks. i will try and give it here if i will have a problem.that must is a sure for me :p as i am not that much of a geek :D

i have a fixed battery in my phone. so what about the step in which the battery should be t taken out?

I have fallowed the upper given steps.downloads from the given link of qmobile z10 stockrom file.loads scatter file. all the options were selected there like recovery, system,cashe, user data etc.. then i press the download button (download only was slected in the dropdown list) then i connect the phone. after installing it gives me tick mark i disconnect the phone and try to on it but it doesn't turned on by pressing the power button neither by forcing it to be in the selection of recovery or factory restore options by pressing vol up vol down n power. now what? is it hard bricked?

No it's impossible to break / brick MTK Handset's ... This usually happens straight after Flashing.. It sometimes needs to be put on charge immediately, this will initialize the boot to charge, Then it should react to power button !... MTK HANDSETS ARE STRONG FOR SOFTWARE PROBLEMS, THAT'S WHY I RECOMMEND THEM !... USING SP Flash Tools, You WILL Fix it !

now how can i fix this problem?

Now when ever i connect the phone with the pc. it doesn't recognize the phone despite all drivers have been installed already. and gives unknown device. when i opened the device manager it gives this "Unknown USB device(Device descripter request failed)". I have googled it and found some solution to this generic problem by changing the power options etc and all the solutions on the internet. but it remains the same. Is there any solution to this problem is it the hard brick? if it is how can i overcome this problem.?

You must of removed Pre-Loader !... I'll update the answer with Meta-Flash tools to reflash preloader

Yup please do it asap. As, then i have to go to my warranty if needed today.

The rom site i posted should explain that Your warranty is void upon flashing !... This is just a tutorial on how to use the links and roms to fix an already Warranty void device

Don't Worry Anyway, All MTK Device's are Un Brick able ... Using The stuff i have posted, you should recover it, Or else you can do a search on UNBRICK ANY MTK DEVICE !... They're all the same process however.. It's long and time consuming but it always works ! Its like their is always a boot before the one you broke, so you can flash it back again !

can  you please update the steps to flash the preloader or the above u are talking about?


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Default player doesn't play *some* .ogg files
I have ripped a number of CD's with Rhythmbox on Ubuntu.
I've noticed not all files play.

Some .ogg files do play on my Android Galaxy S6
Some .ogg files do not play ...

I have no idea what can be the problem. I don't see any difference in the properties between the files that play and those that don't.
Could you help me troubleshoot this?
Edit: The plot thickens, I've converted some files to MP3 and ... they still don't play.

Try playing them with VLC, here is the link for the Google play store.


text:
Permission system changes with Android 6.0: What are the implications for us users?
With Android 6.0, a bunch of permissions and permission groups have been removed:
Groups gone
While on a first glance this doesn't seem important (isn't it rather a way to organize permissions?) – thinking twice reveals a major importance here: Starting with Android 6 (and with the Playstore even before that), if an app update requests a permission from a group where it already held one from in a previous installed version, this "new permission" is not brought to the awareness of the user. With Android 6, it is even granted automatically then. Also keep in mind that the user (with "native Android capabilities") can only revoke access to entire groups, not to single permissions – so fewer groups mean less flexibility, up to a uselessness of the entire feature.
According to the link mentioned above, the following groups have been removed:
ACCOUNTS, AFFECTS_BATTERY, COST_MONEY, DISPLAY, MESSAGES, NETWORK, PERSONAL_INFO, PHONE_CALLS, SCREENLOCK, SOCIAL_INFO, SYSTEM_CLOCK, SYSTEM_TOOLS, USER_DICTIONARY, WALLPAPER
Permissions gone
Less permissions covering more ways to access personal data mean a nightmare for privacy. Concerning accounts, I've raised this question already: Android 6+ and account permissions: where have they gone to? As we found out there, what before was dealt with by the no longer existing USE_CREDENTIALS permission, now got moved to contacts (not sure whether read or write): so if you wish to "login with Google" (or any other account holder), you need to give the app full access to your contact list! The popup on the screenshot there ("Allow Stack Exchange to access your contacts?") popped up immediately on tapping the "Login with Google" button.
So next to most account permissions (except for GET_ACCOUNTS, all of them are gone), which are dealt with in my other question already linked, the following permissions have been removed:
ACCESS_MOCK_LOCATION (now one has to configure a single app handling the MOCK_LOCATION I've seen mentioned?), CLEAR_APP_USER_DATA, GET_TOP_ACTIVITY_INFO, HARDWARE_CONTROLS, HARDWARE_TEST, INJECT_EVENTS, INTERNAL_SYSTEM_WINDOW, READ_HISTORY_BOOKMARKS, READ_PROFILE, READ_SOCIAL_STREAM, READ_USER_DICTIONARY, SET_ACTIVITY_WATCHER, SET_ORIENTATION, SET_POINTER_SPEED, STATUS_BAR, SUBSCRIBED_FEEDS_READ, SUBSCRIBED_FEEDS_WRITE, VOICEMAIL, WRITE_HISTORY_BOOKMARKS, WRITE_PROFILE, WRITE_SMS, WRITE_SOCIAL_STREAM
What does that mean for users and their privacy?
This is my main concern here. Unfortunately (one could almost say "as expected"), there was no official statement made on that – or I had already been aware of those changes a while ago. I hope some of our members who happen to be developers as well have deeper insight, and can help us out with some explanations and advice:

have those groups/permissions simply be removed (or did some simply got renamed/replaced by others)?
how is the data previously covered by them protected now?
what are the implications for users and their privacy, and what can we do about it?

concerning the "do about it": sure there's root, XPosed and Xprivacy (how does the latter cope with those changes?) – but I also mean "the average user" without root here.

Short answer: Google are mad. The 'Permissions overhaul' was more of a permissions Drain. Most of the permissions got shoved into (loose) groups- In order to sign into Google in an app, it needs your contacts. The most we can do is look at the permissions tab at the bottom of an app page in the store and see the permissions. That, or threaten to switch to IOS ;)

@DanBrown That was my thought to when I saw the "complete permission list" I first thought it was a shortened example. No I'm no longer sure, as I saw in the aboved linked diff what was all removed with MM (and didn't yet check if they ended up with less than 10 permissions in N). Still looking for details on implications and how to deal with it. Also, how do permission managers cope with it? Xprivacy still covering everything? Before I know, I definitely won't switch to MM (or higher).

MM handles it badly. It had its uses, but most apps just complain, even if the disabled permission group is useless. Xprivacy cover the majority of things AFAIK, I haven't rooted my MM device yet. If course, we can still modify apps to just remove the permissions we don't like, but that is too time consuming.

@DanBrown not only time-consuming, but counter-productive as well. Depending on how it's done, that cuts you off from automated updates (you had to repeat those manipulations again and again), plus the try-and-error of which permissions can be removed without side-effects will drive you crazy. Apart from which, there are fewer permissions covering more data, so you cannot remove access e.g. to contacts without making it impossible to "login with Google". I'm sure there are more such new "bad combinations" – which is part of my question to find out.

Izzy, there is only one thing left to do with this new permissions system. Not shove it where the sun don't shine: but we'll Nuke It From Orbit.

@DanBrown That's basically what I think about it – but unfortunately that's not practicable. So we'll have to deal with reality somehow. And that "somehow" is what this question is about: What are the implications, how to deal with them, how to protect our data, how to make the best out of that mess Google caused. Until that is clear, I won't update any of my devices beyond LP for security and privacy reasons. I'm a bit disappointed that despite of the bounty this question has so few views, and still didn't get a single answer. We've got some devs here who should know at least something about.

As I said up above (somewhere) The new permissions system is a drain that shows that a new idea is not often a good idea.
Be warned! This may take a little bit to read, since I'll be talking about the history of android, and more! Go and grab a drink!
You good? Alright, dig In.
The origins of the new permission system
When Google began working on a way to forcibly grant and deny permissions on-the-fly, it was Android 4.3. It was a buggy mess, so they hid it. It can still be used, however, by creating a shortcut to the app ops settings menu. This menu was very similar to the current apps menu, but tapping an option immediately brings up the permissions options. You also had to discover the permissions before you could toggle them, and it was a buggy mess since apps wondered what the balls is going on because you disabled something, and inconveniently crashed. Yay.
The system was removed once modders had found it (so it was removed in 4.4),1 but made its return in Marshmallow. It looked really good - you could finally choose if things like Facebook could grab your location (though it did ask nicely). Even some Google apps, like Hangouts, aren't safe from your decisions. But then we hit the issue - the system is still broken, just in a new way: the permissions were heavily tweaked.
You want Stack Exchange to login via Google? It needs contacts permissions (though The devs at SE fixed that on their end).2 Want To upload images onto Facebook? It needs to see all your files. Why? Compression. Permissions are now granted in groups, where asking for your Google account also allows apps to see every contact on the device. I doubt that was intended, but the removal of most permissions meant that the had to simplify the playing field; most removed permissions were just shoved into super-general groups.
Some of the permissions have been removed because of new SDK's. GET_ACCOUNTS Now triggers a new SDK which allows for Google sign-in, but falls back to doing it via contacts permissions if an app does not support it. That explains that one (including how the SE app was finally fixed), but some of the others don't get that treatment. AFAIK, Apps can just casually read the dictionary regardless through the keyboard. Most other permissions Izzy mentions seem to correlate with modified groups: Most fit into the 'Modify system settings' Godmission (permissions separate from the main ones) and 'usage access'. Some others are handled by apps themselves.
So, Anything not given a new home was killed off. Sometimes, this made sense (we only need GET_ACCOUNTS to trigger the SDK) While other times, it made you want to put a bullet into your phone: oh yeah, I'll just let you access my contacts, you seem fine. Sure, access my calls and waste my money. (Hopefully no one is that dumb. Hopefully.)
At first, I thought yay! Simplification! But it allows seemingly legitimate apps to do illegitimate stuff A LOT easier. Your Minecraft hack tool which wants your Google account is probably also robbing your contacts. And selling them.
This is then compounded by the Lockdown system for permissions, that allowed you to fine-tune app permissions. It's great, but it doesn't work. At all. It also is inaccurate (it e.g. says that Stack Exchange reads my SMS'. No, no it doesn't) and is just plain awful.
But what does that mean for my privacy?
I personally think one of two things:

The new permissions system was designed to allow simple, quick changes for the purpose of security. Permissions are now granted in groups, which explains why some are removed: Google thought that leaving them under one big header was a good idea (and for the end-user, I see why: controlling each individual permission could get tedious.) Of course, like communism, it was only good on paper; in reality, it's a shamble that they don't want to admit to. Fair enough.
However, they could be doing this to force more apps to use Their SDK to break alleviate suspicious permissions (Don't blame them) and therefore make more money. It's proved they are doing so (and are trying to make Android less open-source) which disgusts me.

So for the end-user, it's like a little bit of iOS - by which I mean something that looks good, but is crap. But can it be fixed? Kinda.
The "Work-arounds."
Method 1- Xprivacy (ROOT NEEDED BOI)
Xprivacy does work on Marshmallow, according to its devs, of course. It requires messing with all sorts of fiddly bits on MM now, and there is verified boot. Which is a pain, since you'll probably get a red or yellow warning, which may prevent boot. (Depending on your luck, and how much messing you have done.) But if you can get Xprivacy working, its easy enough.
Due to the 'Wont boot FULL STOP' attitude N will apparently take, it may even be more of a nightmare to get working on that.
2017 EDIT - Xposed devs are working on getting around all of this (yay!) If i find the post on XDA, I'll link it
METHOD 2 - Go full Lockdown on everything.
This is really fiddly, but allows for maximum control (as far as that's possible). You grant app permissions when absolutely needed, then make a mad dash to turn them back off again. Probably will be easier once Nougat drops on more devices, so multi-window can be used.
METHOD 3 - Don't upgrade (which I'm dubbing the "Izzy solution")
If you did look up when I told you to, you may have noticed what Izzy's method is: You simply refrain from upgrading to Marshmallow or Nougat. Boo-Hoo, I know, but neither are game-changing, really. Give it.... Six months, and most the crap for N will be on the play store, if you really want it. So, the Izzy solution means sticking with the definitely capable 5.1.1 or lower. I can live, and so can you.
METHOD 4 - NUKE IT FROM ORBIT.
(Just to please the masses. FYI, this would be impossible.)

Or, ignore it. Your call.

EDIT Izzy found a link to a Stack Overflow question That explains that Credentials, Like Logins for Signing in on various apps, fall under a 'normal permission' (protection-level "normal") – i.e. any app can access them without you knowing. Luckily, some apps and logins will let you remove this through their account managers, Depending on how malicious the Dev is trying to be.
EDIT 2 I forgot to say you can remove apps from accounts :) I'll be using The Google accounts and Facebook app accounts systems as examples, as they are the most used.
Google accounts

Head to accounts.google.com or open the Google play settings (varies by device, usually a cog with a g in it)
Find apps/Connected apps/connected apps and services (again, Varies)
Find what you want to remove, and click 'remove'

DONE!
Facebook

Login on the site
Head to account settings > apps
Find the target app, and click/tap remove.

Done!
Hope that helps! If not, just drop a comment, you know the drill. I'll be working on it anyways. Done, but still let me know if I missed something!

1 There were different attempts made by Google to "hide it better", and different versions of AppOps frontends brought it back then for 4.4 and 5.0, but no further
2 Apparently, apps can voluntarily use a new SDK that allows Google sign-in without the contacts permission. See here for details.

@Izzy Ok, I can clarify that this only applies to google Sign-In. Other apps seem to use their own methods e.g. most apps have just a plain URL for Facebook sign-in, but it triggers the app if it is installed and that manages it. Other apps either have their own methods, or dont full stop.(Also, by grouping I mean the permission toggles. Just lets us separate them!)

Fits. Just found via Android 6 Marshmallow: requests for some specific permissions are instantly denied with no ui shown that e.g. USE_CREDENTIALS is a safe permission now – which means the user cannot deny it. Read again, think about: So any app can use any of my accounts without my approval, unless I don't install it. Great. Oh, wait: so nothing changed, was the same with LP and before .

Remove apps from accounts: that's quite an improvement for the user. Now he's gonna need to figure which app is the account provider, plus where and how (if at all) it allows to deal with this: In the app, on some website, or wherever else...

Summing up my own findings – which might overlap with Dan's answer:
Origin
Google started on the new permission system with Android Jellybean 4.3. Official intention (revealed later on) was to give users some control on what permissions an app should have access to ("permission on demand") – instead of the "All-or-Nothing" existing at the time (if you didn't like an app having a certain permission: either live with it, or don't install it). The AppOps interface was hidden, but soon revealed, hidden again (Kitkat/4.4), revealed again, and the same a third time with LP/5.0, after which it was protected in a way hard to circumvent.
Current state
Finally, AppOps surfaced with Marshmallow/6.0. But instead of giving users fine-grained permission control, permissions are fine-drained and control is rather raw; if you e.g. want your travel app to be able of adding your bookings to your calendar, but not to read your other calendar entries: no way. Either you forbid calendar access, or you allow it. Similar for other permissions – as AppOps only deals with groups.1
Furthermore, a lot of permissions have either been removed completely, or assigned to Protection Level "normal" – so they are automatically granted and cannot be revoked by the user. This is e.g. the case for the INTERNET permission, but also for USE_CREDENTIALS (so any app with this permission can use any of your accounts without your explicit approval!) or even BLUETOOTH_ADMIN (pair your Droid with any BT device in reach). For a detailed list, see this Gist.
Also, new protection levels have been added: appop for permissions the user has explicitly to grant via the new "on demand" system, pre23 for permissions automatically granted if an app targets a version below MM (i.e. before "runtime permissions" where introduced), preinstalled for apps that shipped with the ROM (unclear how Android differentiates that from system, which was renamed to privileged), plus 3 more.
Current state summed up
Basically, we're worse off now:

number of permissions has been drastically reduced, meaning less granular protection
many permissions have been moved to protection-level normal (and thus out of reach of AppOps)
AppOps (runtime permission) is rather cosmetical due to its missing granularity and leaving out essential permissions
apps can request additional permissions with an update. If they already hold a permission in the same group, the user is not notified ("does not require any special additional permission" text sounds familiar?). With the number of permission groups reduced as well, it even got easier to "sneak something in".

So in most cases this means the same as before MM: If you don't like an app having a certain permission, don't install it.
How to deal with it from a user's perspective?
Multiple of the items in the following incomplete list can apply simultaneously. Make your pick:

Don't update beyond LP if you don't like that (and can live with sticking to LP). That's what I do, until this mess has been cleaned up.
Don't install apps if you don't want to give them access to what they request.
When installing an update, don't trust that "no additional permissions" hint. Check in detail before you apply the update. This is not as easy as it used to be, as normally you don't see next-to-each-other which perms an app already has and how they differ from those requested by the update. In the Playstore app, you still get the complete list when scrolling to the end of an app's page and hit the "permission details" link. Do not ignore the "Others" section at the end of the list, as it includes things like INTERNET, BLUETOOTH_ADMIN, and other "surprises".
to protect your device from rogue apps accessing the internet, consider using a Firewall app. There are good ones not even requiring root and being FOSS, like Netguard.
if root is an option, and installing the XPosed framework is as well (both available for MM, but installation might get quite tricky with N), use a permission manager like Xprivacy for granular permission control.

1:Obviously, the user shouldn't be "overstrained". Still, there could be an "advanced mode" to deal with it.


text:
Want to recover internal data of my phone from cwm-based recovery
Whenever I switch my phone on it always shows the name of rom installed, but after that my phone does not get on. I want to recover its internal data .I don't know what to do with cwm-based recovery. Can I retrieve whatsapp chats too?

Ideally you can retrieve nearly everything under CWM via ADB. Use adb shell to explore file structure and adb pull to pull what you want to PC.
However, 1) finding what you want to achieve can be painful, since you need to be familiar with Android filesystem structure, and ADB command line isn't friendly either; 2) even if you managed to find WhatsApp's data, you might not be able to make out what file(s) correspond to chats, and have to do a whole-folder backup, which then means restoring will be a pain (setting permissions and owners).
Retrieving contacts, SMS and simple game saves shouldn't be a problem though, as these usually are stored in one or two files. I've always backed up my savegames in a similar manner. Internal storage is also easy since you know that file structure well.


text:
How to install or go to fastboot mode if my phone is stuck in animation boot and has no fastboot in it?

Im using Xiaomi redmi 1s and I modified something on the system, after rebooting it, It was stuck at the animation boot. I can only go to recovey mode which has least option reboot, wipe, update zip file, power off. I tried to wipe it but it still stuck, what should I do? everything I searched requires to be at fastboot mode and i can't go to fastboot mode because I can only go to recovery mode any guides on how to install?

From power-off state, do the fastboot key combination (hold VOLUME- + POWER) until the MI bunny shows up.

It doesnt work because the rom isnt the stock rom anymore

Key combos are wired in hardware and will work regardless of what ROM is installed.

Can you get ADB to find the device? From a command window, with the device connected via USB, type "adb -d" and see if your device is listed. If it is, type "adb [device] reboot bootloader"


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Did the meaning of „Protection Level: signature“ change with Android 6?
The Developer documentation writes on the protection level "signature":

A permission that the system grants only if the requesting application is signed with the same certificate as the application that declared the permission. If the certificates match, the system automatically grants the permission without notifying the user or asking for the user's explicit approval.

This was as I always knew it. But it seems to somehow contradict what the same documentation writes about WRITE_SETTINGS, which is marked as "Protection level: signature":

If the app targets API level 23 or higher, the app user must explicitly grant this permission to the app through a permission management screen.

Does that mean the behavior towards this has changed with Marshmallow – and a non-system app using a different signature can still access functionality covered by it, provided the user agrees? Also, with the new "mentality" of automatically granting permissions of a group where the user already has another permission granted: is this permission also granted automatically then (like with all permissions of the protection level "dangerous") – or is the difference here that it always requires the user's agreement, no matter what?

Note 1: there were a lot of changes towards how permissions are dealt with in Android 6+. To not make a "too broad" question, I've tried to split it up; so for the other parts, please also see: Permission system changes with Android 6.0: What are the implications for us users? and Android 6+ and account permissions: where have they gone to?
Note 2: This definitely is of relevance to the end user, as it's about his/her data – and cross-checking permissions for possible implications should be part of the installation or rather app selection process. I'm not asking from the perspective of a developer on how to deal with that when writing an app (though that might be interesting at well ;)

Above API level 23 requires accepting permissions when they're requested... Old versions excepted permissions on install !

@ProbablyThis Thanks, but that's not the point I'm asking about (I'm aware of this difference ;). My point is: 3rd party apps (installed by the user) were only granted permissions with protection level "normal" (granted without the need of approval) and "dangerous" (that are those the user has explicitely to agree to – be it on install before MM, or on request with MM and up). Protection level "signature" permissions were only granted if the signature matched that of the app granting it. Has that changed? I'm not asking about "on install" versus "on runtime".

No, the meaning of protection level of "signature" is not changed in Android 6.
We can 'git blame' the file PackageManagerService.java and check function grantSignaturePermission. The basic logic didn't change since Android Lollipop. The following logic was added in Android 6:
    if (!allowed && (bp.protectionLevel
            & PermissionInfo.PROTECTION_FLAG_PRE23) != 0
            && pkg.applicationInfo.targetSdkVersion < Build.VERSION_CODES.M) {
        // If this was a previously normal/dangerous permission that got moved
        // to a system permission as part of the runtime permission redesign, then
        // we still want to blindly grant it to old apps.
        allowed = true;
    }
    if (!allowed && (bp.protectionLevel & PermissionInfo.PROTECTION_FLAG_INSTALLER) != 0
            && pkg.packageName.equals(mRequiredInstallerPackage)) {
        // If this permission is to be granted to the system installer and
        // this app is an installer, then it gets the permission.
        allowed = true;
    }
    if (!allowed && (bp.protectionLevel & PermissionInfo.PROTECTION_FLAG_VERIFIER) != 0
            && pkg.packageName.equals(mRequiredVerifierPackage)) {
        // If this permission is to be granted to the system verifier and
        // this app is a verifier, then it gets the permission.
        allowed = true;
    }
    if (!allowed && (bp.protectionLevel
            & PermissionInfo.PROTECTION_FLAG_PREINSTALLED) != 0
            && isSystemApp(pkg)) {
        // Any pre-installed system app is allowed to get this permission.
        allowed = true;
    }

From the above code, we can see,

if the permission is specified with "signature|pre23" and the app target sdk version is less then 23, it will get this permission, because this permission was moved to system permission in Android 6.
if the permission is specified with "signature|preinstalled" and the app is pre-installed system app, it will get the permission
if the permission is specified with "signature|installer" or "signature|verifier" and the app is installer and verifier, it will get the permission.

Conclusion: the signature protection level didn't change its meaning in Android 6. If a permission has signature protection level with other flag, such as pre23, preinstalled, intaller or verifier, it has new meanings.

The following explains the confusion about WRITE_SETTING permission in the question:
The documentation on WRITE_SETTING is incorrect about protection level. If you look at the Android source code at  frameworks/base/core/res/AndroidManifest.xml:
 <permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_SETTINGS"
        android:label="@string/permlab_writeSettings"
        android:description="@string/permdesc_writeSettings"
        android:protectionLevel="signature|preinstalled|appop|pre23" />

you can see the protection level is signature|preinstalled|appop|pre23.
A non-system app using a different signature can access functionality because of the protection level of appop, which means the user can choose if this permission is on or off.

Good find, thanks! Wouldn't be the first time the docs are flaky. If you could name some authoritative ("credible and/or official") source to back that in general (i.e. not only for WRITE_SETTINGS, but for protectionLevel:signature), I'd award you the bounty immediately!

The most credible and official source about protectionLevel:signature should be the Android Source Code.  We can 'git blame' the file PackageManagerService.java and check function grantSignaturePermission. The basic logic didn't change since Android Lollipop.

Good points again, Albert. Not being a dev myself: Am I assuming correctly you've already checked the function and did a "blame"? The link given currently times out on me.

Yes, lzzy. I did a "git blame" on the function and added more detailed conclusion in my answer.

Thanks a lot for your efforts, Albert! Bounty awarded :) Special thanks for outlining how the process was extended with new protection levels. I've never seen preinstalled before (neither appop nor pre23, but these two are quite self-explaining in the context, as AppOp was officially introduced with 23/MM). As so often, documentation hasn't been updated to include the new plevels. If you got any link on those, it will be appreciated! +15rep (accept) then #D

Oy, found them, so maybe you want to integrate that with your answer so we can cleanup comments? AndroidManifestPermission_protectionLevel (not the place I had found without some Google-Fu ;) Also related: Difference between preinstalled and privileged protection level on our sister-site.

SHORT ANSWER
 YES

LONG ANSWER
from permission documentations
Permission groups
All dangerous Android system permissions belong to permission groups. If the device is running Android 6.0 (API level 23) and the app's targetSdkVersion is 23 or higher, the following system behavior applies when your app requests a dangerous permission:
If an app requests a dangerous permission listed in its manifest, and the app does not currently have any permissions in the permission group, the system shows a dialog box to the user describing the permission group that the app wants access to. The dialog box does not describe the specific permission within that group. For example, if an app requests the READ_CONTACTS permission, the system dialog box just says the app needs access to the device's contacts. If the user grants approval, the system gives the app just the permission it requested.If an app requests a dangerous permission listed in its manifest, and the app already has another dangerous permission in the same permission group, the system immediately grants the permission without any interaction with the user. For example, if an app had previously requested and been granted the READ_CONTACTS permission, and it then requests WRITE_CONTACTS, the system immediately grants that permission.

Please Watch This About 23+ Practices
BEST PRACTICES AND CHANGES FOR API 23 +

Sorry, but again: I didn't ask for "protection level: dangerous", but for "protection level: signature". As I wrote, I'm aware of the change to "runtime permission requests" with Android 6+, so that's not what I'm asking about. As the title says, I'm asking specifically for "protection level: signature". Your answer only covers "protection level: dangerous". See: developer documentation on permissions: protection level.

The video goes for 30min and it's supposed to explain the changes for permissions after 23+........ It's all i can find.....   Other than "signature" was introduced in API level 1...... The Play Store Say's that individual signatures are required for separate apps.... so i gather that, you are trying to use two apps to access one signature permission, this isn't possible due to the individual permission for apps and the current permission system seems to have overlooked this...

Thanks for your efforts. I've also tried all my Google-Fu (and found several pages detailling on the API changes for MM, none of them covering this detail – which is why I am asking here). Also see my other question on that: Permission system changes with Android 6.0: What are the implications for us users?, where I mention some of my findings. Still, this doesn't answer my question.


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How to change phone hardware configuration as per requirement of Android Nougat?
I am using Micromax android one. Till now my phone upgraded from 4.4.4 (KitKat) to 6.0.1(Marshmallow). But since my hardware configuration was getting low to get ready for N, How can I change my hardware configuration? I also want to know what hardware configuration required for Android Nougat.

How to change? Buy a new device. What is required? Vulkan support and OpenGL 3.1.

Despite people saying certain levels of hardware are required for Android version bla.bla.bla, they're not. Look how older phones like HD2, Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 4 received Nougat treatment - it might not be smooth, but in the latter 2 cases are definitely usable.
The thing you'll be missing without official support is the proprietary drivers, which third-party devs won't be able to provide. If your processor is older (e.g. Snapdragon 800/801), you'll also miss out on newer features like Vulkan. But fret not, as Android still reserves a bit of backwards compatibility - devs can always work it so that it runs on legacy drivers and APIs.
As an Android One device you shouldn't be worried much - just wait for N-based custom ROMs to drop.

Ohh you mean to say that it's not much hardware dependant. Only I need is Big RAM & Good processor already inbuilt. Is there any official page for this requirement.

@iO.S-C. Certainly not, as demonstrated in the countless examples that have popped up since Nougat release (one more example: Xperia M). Also, since Nougat isn't as big a revision as Lollipop versus KitKat, it likely won't introduce much lag either - rest assured that your phone would work alright for another year (if the custom ROMs come, that is).

Nice, thanks for all this information. It help me  to understood. I heard about one more thing, that they are removing background services like iOS. Is it true?

@iO.S-C. That's something I haven't heard of. Given how heavily Android depends on multitasking (non-tombstone) both in development and in real world use, I'd say no. That's also not likely to happen within the timeframe of Nougat, so your phone won't be affected either.

As I am using Android One I am bit sure that I'll get Nougat on my device, Only thing is that I have to make my space free. ;)

It seems like you're using a first-gen Andriod one device.
Google has said in an official statement that'll they will not be updated to Nougat.
Your next best option is to try out a custom rom like Cyanogenmod 14 for your device.
PS: Do this only if you're confident that you will not brick your device.


text:
why cant i connect my phone to pc via usb i was able to do it before
I have a moto e 1st gen android phone and it used to get connected to my pc every time btw i hv win 7 32 bit but now nothing happens on connecting
There is no notification on phone but it still keeps charging and also there is no prompt on pc also there is nothing in the device manager
I tried different usb cables i got my usb point change on the phone i manually installed the drivers nothing wrks

Is it charging?

Is usb debugging on in developer options?

Yes its charging and yes i tried debugging

Assuming you're running kitkat, try the following on the phone.

Go to settings > Storage
Click the 3-dot [or usb icon] button on the top right corner
Select Media device [MTP]
Try connecting again

PS: Have you tried connecting to another PC?

Yes i tried both of em

Try connecting your phone to the PC after going to recovery mode.


text:
I'm getting the following error after resetting my phone
I have reset my phone due to hanging issue. After resetting my phone, I got this error screen while restarting. How to solve this problem.

Error message translated: "unfortunately com.android.phone has stopped working".
The phone model is Moto G 3rd generation.

It should help to reset again so the Setup wizard could be reinitialized and completed successfully. I've had this problem several times flashing ROMs and booting after installing GApps without clearing the data partition.
Follow these steps:

Do a factory reset, by booting into recovery. Steps:

Power off your phone.
Hold “Volume Down + Power” for at-least 3 seconds and then release the buttons.
Now Use Volume down key to highlight “Recovery” on the bootloader menu, and then press Volume Up key to select and boot into recovery mode.

After reset, go through the setup process while being connected to the internet (WiFi or 3g] and login to your gmail account. -- This is very important.

If that does not solve your issue, flashing a factory image is a sure shot way of solving this error.

Though it might sound strange what the Google-Login should have to do with the dialer, here's what Dan Brown points out (in a now deleted comment):

Trust me; it makes all the difference sometimes. There appear to be invisible triggers that the setup wizard trips that can cause a device to bug out. In Older Samsung tablets, The Moto G series, and other devices tend to have one of these triggers activated when you sign into Google via setup. Much more prominent on custom ROMs. If that's not it, it's possible that the system is bugging out when retrieving contacts from the Google cloud (because no account was signed in) and throws a fit about it.
I remember one of my old Q's where I had no notifications: That was from an incomplete setup. It makes sense, in an odd way: You don't finish the setup, stuff goes wrong. GApps part of the setup? Better do that then!


text:
Recover files from internal storage in Download Mode
I have an unrooted, unencrypted LG G4 that decided to randomly turn off and not boot up again last night. Upon booting into normal mode, the LG logo appears for a long time (longer than usual) and then disappears. If it is plugged in, Windows will detect it as an "Unrecognized USB device".
I can currently boot into Download Mode where it shows a "Firmware Update" screen. LG Bridge seems to recognize the device in Download Mode but I cannot mount it as a drive or anything. I have tried both Windows 10 and Linux.
I installed adb on my computers but upon running adb devices it does not seem to detect anything.
Is there a way to recover data from internal storage? I don't care much about the Camera folder or contacts/SMS as those were backed up automatically, but rather the folder I was using to transfer files between PCs.

Two things to try: boot into recovery-mode (you've already applied that tag), or try your luck with safe-mode. In both cases, check whether ADB is able to detect the device.

Did you ever find a solution to this problem? I have the same device and I'm in a similar situation. If I try to boot into safe mode or USB-debug mode, the Verizon logo appears and just stays on indefinitely. I can boot into download mode, but like you, adb devices lists nothing.


text:
How does the Android interface work Unix permission wise?
I'd like to know how the backend/permissions work for Android(I'm using v4.1.2 on a s3 mini).
On android, I'm capable of running GUI applications which have different UID/GID-s on the system as seen in ps/top output.
On a linux desktop, all applications you run as your user, unless you use sudo/su to run software as someone else.
So how does android run GUI apps without throwing up permission denied errors and asking for password from the start?
I've looked around on search results and haven't found anyone discussing this.

Why would it require a password?  It doesn't create passwords for every UID in the first place.  There are no permission denied errors because permissions aren't being denied.

Welcome to the Android Enthusiasts! My special hint for newcomers: most of our tags have nice tag-wikis attached, with some first-aid and useful links. You've already identified the right tag – but did you see its wiki yet? That would answer some of your questions :) Also relevant: file-permissions – those are the "Unix permissions" you've had in mind.

Two things, apps like music player don't require sudo even on Linux desktop because it is working within current user's  permissions. The same is case with android. And service that require extra permissions look Google play service have then configured as setup process.

Android uses (or abuses, depending on your point of view) the Unix user and permissions system for something other than separating different people on the same computer. Instead, it uses them to isolate apps from each other. Each installed package (app) has its own Unix user ID created. The files belonging to that app are owned by that Unix user, and can't be accessed by other Unix users. When an app is started, the zygote process (which is like GNU's init) ensures that it switches to the correct Unix user before running any of the app's code. That way, apps can't read or write files owned by other apps. If they try to do so, they'll get the kind of "permission denied" errors you're asking about.
The GUI really has nothing to do with filesystem permissions, because it's not a file on the filesystem. Only the Android system itself can write to the framebuffer directly: all apps go through Surface Flinger, the GUI compositor, to present their GUIs to be drawn on the screen. This doesn't go through the Unix permission system at all.

because all application processes are forked from zygote, which is running with root, it could su to any uid while forking


text:
My Always On Display doesn't deactivate at the set time
I have turned on Always On Display for daytime only, but the screen stays on after the end time (midnight) just displaying the clock, as it does during the day. If I manually lock the phone (Samsung Galaxy S7) after the end time it works as expected (the screen turns off) and Always On Display turns back on by itself at the right time. Is this fixable?
I have tested this with an end time after the start time and before midnight and it works properly. I haven't yet tried setting the end time to after midnight and before the start time to see what that does. So far I can only confirm that the issue happens with an end time set to midnight.
EDIT
I have tested various settings and this issue only happens when the end time is exactly midnight. It seems that it gets confused about which date midnight is on and does nothing. The workaround is to set the end time to 11:59 pm or 12:01 am. It looks like a simple bug and not user-controllable.

Do Not Disturb disables all notification and calls from ringing. Try calling your phone from a different one when DND is turned on automatically (add a temporary rule in case you can't do that during the set time) and check if the audio sounds. As for Always on display, that might be on because it was on previously. Without comment from Samsung we cannot confirm if this is either a bug or intended behaviour.

@Roh_mish Sorry, it turns out it wasn't Do Not Disturb, but Always On Display exhibiting this behaviour. I had the times for both complementing each other.


text:
Cannot get rid of CM10 / cannot reset the device (Samsung Galaxy Tab 2, GT-P5110)
Samsung Galaxy Tab 2, GT-P5110
Android version: 4.2.2.
Hi there, I have a rooted device running on CyanogenMod 10.1.3-p5110, with a custom recovery CWM 6.0.2.7
After 3 years (or so) of smooth operation it started to slow down and getting unstable from time to time, so I decided to factory reset.
I did the factory reset from CWM following the regular regular instructions, however after reset completion the devices booted back to the original CM10, with all the original data (nothing was cleaned at all or reset). I tried several times from - cleaning cache, date, system, dalvik cache, factory reset ... still the same result.
I also tried to replace the CWM with TWRP (GT-P5110_TWRP_3.0.0-0.tar.md5) - same result, it shows success but if I restart to recovery, it goes to CWM 6.0.2.7
If I boot into recovery (CWM) and flash any rom, it shows success and then reboots (guess what) into the original CM 10 like nothing happened.
I tried to flash the stock firmware using Odin. I got an original firmware "P5110XXDMI1_P5110OXXDMJ1_HOME.tar.md5" from a reliable source (http://www.sammobile.com/)
Model:GT-P5110, Model name:GT-P5110, Country:Czech Republic, Version:Android 4.2.2, Changelist:1709803, Build date:Wed, 18 Sep 2013 06:13:11 +0000, Security Patch Level: N/A, Product code:XEZ, PDA: P5110XXDMI1, CSC:P5110OXXDMJ1
Every time I flash the original stock rom with Odin, the ID:COM box in Odin goes green and everything looks just fine but after reboot the tablet restarts to the original CM10. I was using Odin3-v1.85, as well as newer versions of the tool - namely Odin3_v3.07, Odin3_v3.11.1, all with the same result.
I even tried form very scratch - repartitioning the device using a .pit file "signed_espresso_20120220_16G.pit", flashing stock using Odin, same result.
I also tried flashing rom Heimdall Suite - same result
I have no problem to connect to the device using ADB shell and communicate with the device ... to get the partitions details using these instructions How can I view the Android internal partition table?
However, I am not any Android guru, so I cannot "decode" what I get.
To me it seems like I somehow messed up my partitions or mounts and thats the reason for the strange behaviour.
So now I am stuck in strange state, which I cannot call a bootloop ... seems like I am running some sort of cached system or someting and I am unable to get out of with any standard tool available. As I said ... device is rooted, running CWM and I can boot to any mode I want ... download, recovery, system.
Any help will be more than appreciated.

Jeez, quite a pickle. Considering the age of the device, it is possible A faulty eMMC is to blame. Switching from CWM to TWRP is a mess too. Sighs If you can use TWRP manager to flash TWRP (play store, thank God!) And if it works, use ADVANCED WIPE. It should ask you to type yes in a box. Also, moral of the story: Use TWRP. it's a lot less hassle.


text:
How can I root my Verizon Galaxy Note 5?
I want to root my Verizon note 5 what's the best way to without messing up my phone or regretting it? I have done it before and regretted doing it. I want the apps and I want to like my phone too

Unfortunately there is no root currently available for Verizon variants of the note 5. This is due to a completely locked down boot-loader and anti root protection from Samsung Knox.
It is conceivable that there will never be a root for this particular phone.
Source: http://www.xda-developers.com/root-twrp-available-for-samsung-galaxy-note-5/

ACTUALLY, you can root the Note 5. I found a very convincing video. Check out the link.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=epLA2EjGXTg

Wow I think I can do it

Let me know if it worked!

It's probably a sprint or other variant. The Verizon one is not possible.  Source: http://www.xda-developers.com/root-twrp-available-for-samsung-galaxy-note-5/


text:
Samsung Galaxy S5 Won't Update
Every time I try to update my Samsung Galaxy S5, it says I don't have enough storage. One day, I cleared enough storage and proceeded with the update. However, I walked a way to grab something and when I returned, it said the update failed. I have AT&T, and when I looked online for solutions to this problem, AT&T was common in most of the issues.
Also, my current Android version is Lollipop (5.0), and, at this time, the newest is Marshmallow. How can I fix this?
If you need any more info to help, just ask.
Thanks in advance!

For a quick recommendation you could back up your info then factory restore your phone.  That is what I would do if I had that issue.

Head over to sammobile/firmware and enter your specific model number. Then download the newest available Firmware and follow the instructions given on the download page


text:
Nexus 6P can't be kept charging
When I charge my Nexus 6P, the charging often stops (probably after the battery level becomes 100% once.) and it keep consuming power.
As a result, when I unplug the cable, it has often low battery or already shut down although I expect it is fully charged.
Is it well known issue?

Never seen anything like that on my own 6P. More like a phone-side issue, but try switching chargers anyway.

No. Never heard anything like that before. You might want to replace the phone and/or the charger. Are you using the original charger? Try using a different charge if you have access to one. (Any charger with an Type-A out would work in conjunction with the included Type-A to Type-C cable)

Thanks. I use 1) adaptor from outlet to 2 USB port, 2) USB Type-A Extension Cable, and 3) USB Type A to Type C cable. I have replaced 3) and will keep watching what will happen. Seems like it didn't happen last night though.

Restart your phone. I had the same problem, but looks like its some glitch on software that manages the charging functions


text:
Sd card not recognise in any pc ( but recognised in mobiles)
My 32 gb memory card is readable in any mobile but it is not at all detecting in any pc or laptop. I can view, delete, add anything from any mobiles but when I tried to insert the same sd card to different laptops even using different card reader then also it not at all detecting. How to fix this?

The sd card is corrupted.you need to change it before it damages your cell.

@dannystech How do you get that idea? 1) If it works fine in any mobile, why should it be corrupted? 2) How would a corrupted SD card (assuming it really is corrupted) "damage your cell"?

What OS is running on those PCs / laptops? Are they not detecting the card as such, or can they simply not mount it?

According to you description of the situation, either of the two thing could have happened:

Your SDcard is formatted in a way that windows (assuming you use that) doesn't recognise. Ext4 is really common amongst Linux device (including android) but is not recognised by windows. If you can connect to the SDcard using a mobile in MTP mode, I recommend you do that and then format the card to FAT32 for compatibility with windows. Alternatively, you could use an Linux Live partition to use the card and format it.
Your readers might be broke (unlikely to happen on multiple devices suddenly in such short interval but a possibility). Try using a different card to confirm. This will also be signified by drive probably not appearing in Disk Management.

To format a drive in windows:

Press Win Key + x and then Disk Management on windows 8 and above. In Earlier windows, right click computer > Manage and then select
  disk management in the left panel.
Right-click on the SDcard partition to format and click on Format.
Select the file system as FAT32. Click OK to format the drive.


text:
Exposing Ports on Android with React-Native
I'm trying to serve files from a React-Native app. Im using react-native-tcp module but when I create a TCP server it isn't on a nmap output over the mobile device ip address. I've tried with an external client with nodejs but I get ECONNREFUSED. At the same time, If I try with a client inside the react-native app and an external server, I get the same result.
I don't know if there's a protection or the module doesn't work properly. I've also the android.permission.INTERNET in the manifest.
Also with curl command:


text:
Alcatel pop c1 soft bricked
Hello guys I have a problem with my Alcatel pop c1 which is soft bricked stuck on a boot logo I can only boot in stock recovery I don't have twrp or any custom recovery and no access to a PC for the moment
Can I flash any rom with "apply update from SD card " i think I lost my system folder and I got no backup
I'm in a real mess please inform me if there's anything I can do
I have downloaded the stock rom but it says installation aborted

Have you tried the Mobile Upgrade software listed on their support page?
http://www.alcatel-mobile.com/global-en/support/product?id=330&model=POP%20C1

I said I don't have access to a PC

My bad, I missed that. Try using a friend's PC as doing it on the phone itself can be needlessly difficult. P.S. I know this after having flashed multiple devices many times.

It recognises it but only as adb sideload what can I do ??!


text:
Coolpad note 3 lite stuck in recovery mode. How can I solve this problem?
I have an Coolpad Note 3 lite which is stuck in recovery mode. I am getting a "no command" error. The USB debugging of phone is disabled. Wiping off data and factory reset using recovery mode does not work. Also, the flashtool does not do anything. The phone is soft bricked, SO, help me guys.The details of my phone are:
Phone details

You'll need the SP Flash tool downloaded from here:
http://spflashtool.com/
Download coolpad note 3 lite stock ROM from here
[removed dead link, do a Google search]

Important: Make sure you have your battery charged to at least 60% before executing these steps to reduce the chances of bricking your device.

Now follow these steps:

Extract the ROM zip.

Run SP Flash Tool.

Click on scatter-loading , Browse and select the scatter txt file from the extracted ROM zip.

Click on the download buton

turn off your device and connect to PC.

This should start flashing the ROM to your phone.

Wait till you get a Download OK dialog box.

Now disconnect your phone & reboot.It'll be stuck in Fastmmi mode with "Up Down" written on screen.

Download Minimal ADB and Fastboot Tool and install.

Launch Minimal ADB and Fastboot Tool

Type in adb devices and make sure your device is listed.

If it's not listed, then make sure your device is connected properly and/or reboot your PC.

Type in adb shell fctest system reboot

If everything goes well, your phone should be unbricked now.

Note: If any of the links are down, a simple google search should bring you the required files.
Courtesy:

Guide
http://www.anythingultimate.in/2015/11/how-to-flash-stock-romunbrick-coolpad.html

Stock ROM
http://www.coolpadforums.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=457

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


text:
Execute "adb tcpip <port_no>" command without using USB even once
I am trying to create a backup of all applications in Android, but I don't want the users to connect to USB even for the first time.
Let me first explain what happens when we connect our phone with USB to ADB client:

USB Debugging mode is enabled on the phone

The phone is connected to a PC using a USB cord. adb tcpip 9999 command from cmd with ADB already installed. The command helps now switched the ADB daemon (adbd) inside the Android phone to listen through TCP/IP protocol

Now we can disconnect the phone from the PC

Using a terminal emulator application, we can now fire the commands

adb connect localhost:999
backup -all -f /sdcard/dev/bck.ab

Now a backup pop-up will open up, you can simply click the backup button. Now we can anytime execute the command in 4.1 and 4.2 until the user restarts the phone, but the problem is I wish to execute adb tcpip 9999 without PC

Can someone suggest to me how to approach this problem? From where should I start reading, or is there some existing application that can do this on a non-rooted phone?

There are several apps/widgets available to enable ADB Wireless without an established USB connection. Most of them require root, though – but IIRC there were some that do without. // PS: Here's one doing it without root: WiFi ADB (no root). Would that fit your needs?

@Izzy I am trying to execute adb tcpip 9999  without using USB even for the first time, may be sending this command from a cloud server if possible.so a user doesn't need a USB and a PC with ADB.Actually to run this command I need to use a USB connection but I am trying to find a workaround so that I can fire adb backup from the phone itself.Can you suggest is this feasible or not

That's what I just wrote: user taps an icon to start ADB wireless directly on the device (no USB connection required), and there you go. Have you checked the links I gave? OTOH, if you speak of "cloud", that might be a little more tricky, as the user then needs to have some port forwarding set up on his router.

Related: Run adb command inside the terminal emulator or programmatically without root

@Izzy I am trying to execute the adb tcpip 9999 command from a non-rooted phone so changing the usb listening mode to tcp mode cannot be done without usb so is there any way to achieve this tcp listening mode for the demon without using the usb ever.

@izzy, you mentionned com.fourzero_studio.wifi_adb as an app that can enable adb tcpip without root from the phone itself. This app has been removed from the app store. I was wondering if you knew of an alternative as losing adb remote control on every reboot is really hurting my usage. And unfortunately my 50+ phones are unrootable /bootunlockable

@Shodan may I refer you to my corresponding app listing? ADB I never used that app myself, having no need for it, so I cannot tell which one might work how well. But given the list (which is kept updated automatically) you have a selection to choose from and check for yourself ;)

@Izzy thank you, so much stuff to explore on that page  !  I am using about 16 phones at a time, remote control over wifi over adb/tcpip with scrcpy with a touchscreen PC tablet. So I have a single screen to remotely control all the camera and a single viewfinder. Only problem is, phones sometimes reboot and now I have to disconect them, remove from tripod and bring to a PC. Really ruins the whole wireless control thing !

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


text:
What exactly does the pop filter in google photo editor do and how can it be applied to videos?
The google photo editor has a "pop" filter (it might be called diferentlly on an english phone)
I would like to know what exactly this filter does and how it could be applied to a video - for example using adobe after effects or a free tool.

Pop filter is used to increase sharpness ( though I can't find official description)
For videos, Adobe Premier Clip does similar job using the highlights function, accessible from highlighted icon in the first screen shot. Subsequent screenshots show the effect
I am not familiar with Adobe after effects, as Adobe Premier let's me edit on the mobile itself and hence is preferred


text:
I got semi-invisible Google Play 1-star rating
Recently I saw 1-star rating on an app. It was invisible to me when I selected any language other than English(US) in my phone. And the comment was empty.

Image of rating in Russian / in English (click images for larger variants)
What to do with that. This is a bug?
Thanks!
P.S: Can't view the profile of that "Google user".

Comment in Google Play store separate for different countries.
You can simply add to URL &hl=en where en is two-letter language code defined in ISO 639-1
For example:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.adobe.reader&hl=en
(English)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.adobe.reader&hl=pl
(Polish)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.adobe.reader&hl=it
(Italian)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.adobe.reader&hl=fr
(French)
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.adobe.reader&hl=es
(Spanish)

Source
What is a google user comment ?
If we go through what is written here, we get that after updating review profile by user, play store simply replaces old user name by new entry A Google User. This can also be because of some reasons like reviewer changed his name or deleted his account.

Thanks for that. But I can't view the profile of "A Google user". Also, I did not have any ANR/crashes on Google Play Console mobile app.


text:
Why is Android showing a different hosts file once my system is booted versus in recovery?
In the past, I've used a modified hosts file on my system that I place at /system/etc/hosts. The process is pretty straightforward

Boot into recovery using a custom recovery.
Mount /system read-write
Use adb push to copy a hosts file to /system/etc/hosts
Reboot and the hosts file takes effect.

Note that the above process doesn't require rooting. It does, of course, modify the system partition.
However, after upgrading to Nougat, I'm seeing some weird behavior where once I reboot, the hosts file is just the standard one with only localhost in it. This never used to happen on Marshmallow or below.
I thought at first that the system was overwriting my hosts file on each boot, but the strangest part is that if I go back to recovery, the file I copied is still there at /system/etc/hosts. My guess is that the system is doing a mount at boot time that's hiding my file.
Does anyone have any experience with this or have a way to fix it?

As far as i know, the nougat partition table has duplicate partitions. Which means, you might have copied to the first one, but system might boot from the second one. http://www.androidheadlines.com/2016/09/android-7-0-nougat-support-dual-boot-platforms.html

I got this problem, too.
After my searching and try for hours, finnally it worked.
Just use adb push to copy a hosts file to both /system/etc/hosts and /etc/hosts
I think /etc/hosts probobaly overrides /system/etc/hosts when the phone rebooting.

/etc is in ramdisk (tmpfs) which is cleared on reboot. On main Android OS it just point to /system/etc, not a separate directory.


text:
Do the rounded edges of the Galaxy 7 Edge cause distortion with Samsung Gear VR?
I plan on buying a Galaxy 7 and a Gear VR. I know the Gear VR is compatible with both Edge and non-edge models. But, do the rounded edges of the Edge model create clipping or visual distortion when viewed through the Samsung Gear VR?

Update : I found this article that claims the Edge is in fact better then non-edge with Gear VR: https://www.androidpit.com/samsung-galaxy-s7-edge-review.

I have the S7Edge and purchased the S-VR latest (black) model and have had nor seen any issues with the edge of the screen at all.  Graphics are smooth and I didn't even think about this until stumbled across your question.  A nice combo but you can't go too long (30min) before the S7 heats up and you need to take a break.


text:
Unable to unlock Android bootloader
I have a Weimei We, it's an Spanish-Chinese brand, yes, really odd, anyway the other day I touched something in the system partition trying to remove the root (I rooted the phone a few months ago) and the phone wouldn't turn on again, so I started thinking how it could be fixed and it occurred to me that maybe flashing fastboot would be helpful, so I tried to flash the partition with an image that I downloaded from the internet(not really trustworthy but it was my only hope) but I was unable to write on the partition, I thought that maybe the bootloader was locked, that will explain it, I tried to unlock the bootloader using the fastboot commands

fastboot oem unlock

and

fastboot flashing unlock

a disclaimer appeared saying that it would void my warranty, etc... and when I pressed okay..... this

Bootloader cannot be unlocked(or something like that)

I've emailed the manufacturer but they said they cannot provide me with the info to unlock the bootloader because they do not recommend doing that and telling me would be incoherent (asshole move)
I don't really know how the locking of the bootloader works, I guess the manufacturer has a private key zand cannot share it, but all the phones I had in the past, let me unlock it, I guess this happens to me for buying a "non commercial brand"
So my question here is, is there any way I can unlock it?
Thanks in advance
Weimei We Homepage

Not every phone accepts that command (in fact very few). For a phone of this low popularity you're likely out of luck. Since you can contact the manufacturer, why not just ask them how to restore it?

I think I might have found the solution to my issue, there is an option in the developer options called OEM unlocking which allows you to unlock your bootloader in fastboot, I haven't tried this in my phone since it's being restored, but I'm pretty sure that my terminal has that option
I will give it a try as soon as I have my phone

Congrats on finding the culprit. Let's see how things go with flashing that "untrustworthy" image you mentioned. Mind at least leaving a link to it for people to see?


text:
How to detect a malicious USB charger?
My phone is rooted and has USB debugging enabled because I do some development on it.  In a moment of pre-caffeinated mental weakness, I plugged it into a cheap Chinese power bank. The phone promptly stopped responding to touch input until I hard-rebooted. This reminded me that malicious chargers are apparently a thing.
My google-fu hasn't shown any in the wild, I have no other symptoms, and Malwarebytes is giving me the all-clear... so I'm not particularly worried.
Generally speaking though, how would you go about detecting a malicious charger?

Charger can't be malicious. Powerbank maybe, but I don't see why it will broke your touchscreen. Maybe the problem is because it is as you say cheap chinesse powerbank.

Malicious chargers have been implemented, and were demonstrated at BlackHat 2013.  That's what the second link is about.

Honestly, this is likely just a very poor quality charger or a malfunctioning one. I have seen this behaviour with extremely "budget" chargers in the past, as soon as it connects to the device the touchscreen is seemingly "locked out"... It isn't a malicious charger, just a crappy one. The most recent one I have seen did this with any HTC or Samsung device connected to it, but Moto devices had no problem at all.

Well then, maybe but just maybe you can rid of malware by formating all the partitions even sdcard from TWRP recovery, and then imstall custom ROM or stock. But as I said it's probably just crappy powerbank not malicious.

If it's only affecting the touch screen but the Android system still works well, another possibility might be due to overcharging, which affects the digitizer, and observing multiple permanent ghost touches that will lock any more inputs from the touch screen... (I've experienced it many times)

Go to hak5.org and purchase their malicious cable detector. It costs $40-50. (I didn’t let the link connect so you can have the peace of mind that you are not unknowingly downloading malware by clicking a link on your mobile device).

You can't. The only real world way to detect if a charger is malicious is to plug it into a device that it could possibly infect. Yes, I'm sure with some forensics equipment you could technically check for this kind of thing, but it just isn't practical.
Instead, only charge your device with chargers you can trust. If you see a USB charging port, or any kind of device that is supposed to charge your phone and you aren't sure what the other side is connected to (such as in airports where there are USB ports) don't use it.
It's more of a game of paranoia than detection. I wish there was a better alternative as much as you do.

authors: Једноруки Крстивоје


text:
Mounting cifs/samba volume as a directory in android
I'm using a custom rom based on cyanogenmod 13, my device is rooted and I have Xposed installed.
I'm looking for a simple app to mount samba or cifs volume in a directory on my android devices, years ago I used Cifs Manager and Mount Manager but it seems they have been discontinue and now I can't find valid alternatives.
I tried the latest versions of Cifs Manager and Mount Manager I could find but they didn't work.
Thanks

Make your sure kernel supports SELinux and cifs module
You additionally need SELinuxModeChanger Alternatively type: setenforce Permissive as su in terminal.
A patched version of CIFS manager which uses (mount command) and needs SuperSU from chainfire. You can get this from XDA developers; Patched CIFS manager
Alternatively you can create a cifs mount point from terminal and give IP address and username of your NAS:
su --mount-master -c busybox mount -o username=guest,rw,noperm,iocharset=utf8 -t cifs //192.168.xxx.xxx/cifsshare /path-to-mount-in

change back SElinux mode to enforcing:
setenforce Enforcing

And you're done
Credits
Mounting a network share into the filesystem [ROOT]


text:
YouTube Offline Playlist
It has been a while since I am using the YouTube's offline video feature. But there is one thing which is annoying me off late.
I have set of YouTube videos saved for offline view, and it seems YouTube app in android add all of them in Play List. I did not created this play list manually. But as soon as I add a new video for offline view, YouTube app automatically add it into this so called Offline  playlist.
The issue is, when I play, say first video from that offline play list and when it is over, app picks up another video from offline Play list and plays it. I don't want this to happen.
I only want to play just 1 video and when it is done, app should just wait, instead of picking up a video from play list. This is how YouTube itself work, when it is not playing offline videos. It waits for user to pick the next video.
I don't want to adjust the sequence in which these videos are played. I want to play only single video at a time from that Offline play list(which is really created automatically by YouTube).
YouTube app version is 11.13.56
Is there a way?

See if settings> auto-play is enabled. Disable that

@beeshyams There don't seems to be any option for auto-play enable/disable in Settings of youTube App. My YouTube app version is 11.13.56

@beeshyams Oops I found it under same path in my app too. However, it is in Disabled state already. I am pretty sure this Autoplay is applicable on Normal YouTube viewing and not for Offline videos. As I said in my Q, that my normal youTube app does not autoplay. Its only an issue with Offline videos. They are all added into play list (again this play list is not created by me) and YouTube start playing them one after the other.

I was guessing that it is related to off line also- obviously wrong there


text:
How to modify environment variables like PATH at startup?
I'm trying to add /data/bin to variable PATH at startup in order to have it available for any other app.
In Ubuntu I use the file /etc/environment, I cannot find anything similar in Android.
I discovered that adb shell detects /data/bin existence and adds it to PATH, the system doesn't seem to do the same at boot though.

I discovered that adb shell detects /data/bin existence and adds it to PATH, the system doesn't seem to do the same at boot though.

It's because adb shell starts a shell process (Android's default is MirBSD Korn Shell) which reads its configuration file /etc/mkshrc and can easily change environment variables. But apps inherit their environment from zygote, so we need to set variables before zygote starts.
Edit /init.rc file or any other .rc file or create your own. Append or prepend directories to Android's default PATH:
# /system/etc/init/path.rc

on init
    export PATH /data/bin:/sbin:/system/sbin:/system/bin:/system/xbin:/odm/bin:/vendor/bin:/vendor/xbin

DETAILS:
On Linux distros /etc/environment is evaluated by PAM (a set of libraries called modules) which is a centralized authentication mechanism used by privilege granting and administering programs like login, su, sshd, passwd, useradd etc. First process init - after starting system services  - drops us to a login shell or display manager (which starts a display server like X.Org to show GUI), running on a virtual terminal. When logging in a user, shells and display managers are configured to read and set environment from different files like passwd, login.defs, profile, bashrc xsessionrc etc. usually found in /etc or user's HOME directory. This environment is inherited by CLI utilities as well as GUI programs which run in desktop environment, including terminal emulators. Applications which attach to terminals also set TERM.
However on Android there is no concept of getty, login, text terminal logins and traditional X window system. There are no user sessions and hence no login files. init starts zygote which loads Android's Java framework, and after starting services in system_server, it forks virtual machines in which apps run. So the first thing we see (after animation ends) is an app; System UI (lock screen) or Home/Launcher app hosted by SurfaceFlinger - Android's display server. Mainly environment of all these programs is set in init's .rc files through export command. /init.environ.rc (1) exports variables like ANDROID_ROOT, ANDROID_DATA, ANDROID_STORAGE and others.  Or programs set some variables themselves e.g. logd sets TZ (2) to ensure correct timestamps in logcat, and adbd sets EXTERNAL_STORAGE (3).
Commonly used variables for Java framework are defined here. PATH is set by init on boot (4) and is part of Bionic libc definitions (5). CLI shell utilities like su (6) and run-as (7) also define PATH, HOME, LOGNAME, USER, SHELL etc. DOWNLOAD_CACHE is set in /init.rc (8) and ANDROID_ROOT is set by zygote (9) itself.
Shell specific configuration files like bashrc or mkshrc are read only if you use adb shell or a terminal emulator app.

FURTHER READING:

[INFO] TERMINAL, SHELL & DISPLAY SERVER on LINUX, ANDROID & WINDOWS

Edit the file: /system/etc/bash/bashrc and export your environment variable there..
Actually, the default environment variables are predefined in the ramdisk's file: init.environ.rc. (You may unpack the boot.img to edit it and repack & flash it)..
You may also modify those system variables in the bashrc file itself..
Also check the /system/etc/mkshrc file..

I appended export PATH="$PATH:/data/bin" to /system/etc/bash/bashrc, reboot, no success. In /init.environ.rc, no sign for variable PATH and search for any bin goes blank, not that I'm so keen for editing boot.img. Could you please give some practical example?


text:
Why do Samsung S7 battery drains fast then usual when I walk with the phone
I am using Samsung S7 for last one month. I have noticed

When I am sitting in my room, then the battery drains as usual.
But when I walk with the phone in my pocket the battery drains really really quick.

I saw the battery usage one of my friend who uses Samsung s6, it also situation as mine. Can anyone please give me a solution for this.

If it drains quickly when moving its usually location based services... Try disabling Google Now, change location to battery saver, turn off Google location tracker, etc

@acejavelin hey thank you very much. Can you please give me a link of services of the apps I should disable in order to save the battery.

As mentioned by "acejavelin" in the comment section, location based services seem to be the main culprit in your case. Here are the things, you can try to improve your battery life:

Always turn off the location services on your Android when not in use. And, when you use location services, change the Location Mode to “Battery Saving” to save the battery life. Also, turn off the location history on your device in the Google location settings. You might find this article, useful: http://trendblog.net/disable-location-services-android/
Turn off 'Google Now/Ok Google' on your device: https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/2824784?co=GENIE.Platform%3DAndroid&hl=en Saw a great improvement after turning this feature off on my Galaxy S6.

Hope it helps!


text:
How do I install Linux on a bricked Samsung Galaxy 10.1 SM-P600 Tablet?
Steps I took:

Downloaded Samsung drivers and installed
Downloaded Odin v1.85
Booted up tablet and pressed "Volume Down" button, ran Odin and began download
Turned off tablet when I shouldn't have...

When I boot it up, I get a message which reads, "Firmware upgrade encountered an issue.  Please select recovery mode in Kies & try again."

Connected the tablet to laptop, started Kies but it does not connect

Ran it again in Odin mode and KNOX warranty is voided. Also doesn't connect.
Is there a reliable way to reinstall stock firmware?

I did some research and figured it out!
I found an article which explained the different types of bricked devices and was able to follow their instruction.  http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1133590
Basically, I went to sammobile.com and searched their firmware archive for the model number, downloaded it, accessed the download menu on the tablet by holding power and volume down, and ran it through ODIN v3.12.3.  The whole process took up my evening, but took off at breakneck speed once the download finished.
Hope this helps anyone else with a similar issue!

Just noticed that you used Odin 1.85 (super old) in the original question O_o Glad you solved it after research. Mark your own answer as accepted for some renown :)

Here's a video I watched which does a good job of explaining the solution.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLAygzQr3VY


text:
Read raw video stream from Android box HDMI input
I am writing an app for android boxes (not Android TV), that have HDMI input port.
Is it possible to read raw video stream from HDMI or USB input and display it in android videoView ?
Here is the link to the android box I am using. It uses API level 19 (Android 4.4).

Did you manage to get it working? I'm working with a Zidoo X9S. Looking forward to your answer!

This link (https://github.com/zidootech/ZidooDigitalSignage) would be useful to you. I have ordered Zidoo 8 last week, will update you once I receive it and get it working.


text:
What does aspect ratio has to do with the megapixels?
See this pic, and why 4:3 AR has more MP than 16:9? This is my Moto G4 Plus's default camera app.

The aspect ratio has nothing to do with megapixels. Part of a 4:3 image are removed to get a 16:9 resolution, that is why a 16:9 image has less pixels.

The purple rectangle is your 4:3 picture, and the green rectangle is the 16:9 picture cropped out of 4:3 by the software. 2 megapixels are just removed from an original photo.

Glossary of Digital Photography Terms :

Megapixel: A megapixel contains 1,000,000 pixels and is the unit of measure used to describe the size of the sensor in a digital camera.
Aspect Ratio: Aspect ratio refers to the shape, or format, of the image produced by a camera. The ratio is derived by dividing the width and height of the image

You can think of aspect ratio as size of picture and Megapixel count ( in relation to aspect ratio) as the area or number of pixels contained in that aspect ratio
Camera sensors in Android phones are rectangular . Android camera sensors are usually at default 4:3 ratio and in this they capture maximum Megapixels.
16:9 is not bigger than 4:3 area wise and this setting facilitates capturing photos which is more aesthetic in certain situations. 16:9 is actually a smaller area than 4:3 hence results in lesser pixels ( it is cropped by software). The sensor resolution is the same in both cases, it is just that 16:9 has lesser pixels due to cropping
Picture Source

That explains the difference in Megapixel count
Aside, the first two settings (with higher Megapixel count) are for the rear camera and the other two for front camera. The Megapixel count is lesser for front camera since it's resolution of lower ( invariably the case with mobile phones)
When to choose 4:3 or 16:9?
4:3 ratio is better for quality and prints, whereas 16:9 is more suited for landscape / wide screen viewing on phone or casting to a TV. A 4:3 aspect ratio means that for every 4 inches of width in an image, you will have 3 inches of height. In mathematical terms, that comes out to the screen being 33% wider than it is high. A 16:9 aspect ratio means that for every 16 inches of width in an image, you will have 9 inches of height. Unlike the 4:3 aspect ratio, a 16:9 aspect ratio is 78% wider than high - Source

It all depends on the aspect ratio of the photographic sensor included with the device.  Sensors come in all sorts of sizes and aspect ratios.  Common aspect ratios include 16:9, 4:3, and 1:1.
If the sensor's aspect ratio is 4:3, then 16:9 images will not use the entire sensor.  Similarly, if a sensor's aspect ratio is 16:9, then 4:3 images will not use the entire sensor.  The other current answers, although both partially incorrect, include excellent images demonstrating why this is the case for 4:3 sensors, and you can create a mental image of why this is also true for 16:9 sensors.
Your device apparently has a 4:3 aspect ratio sensor.  If you prefer higher-resolution photographs with a 16:9 aspect ratio, you will have to buy a different device, preferably one with a 16:9 aspect ratio sensor.
Generally speaking, something close to 4:3 aspect ratio is preferred for prints, but something close to 16:9 aspect ratio is preferred for viewing on smartphones, tablets, and modern widescreen televisions.  This is because, historically, printing was more commonly performed at aspect ratios closer to square (with 3:2 being very common), whereas digital screens have gotten much squatter over the years due to manufacturers making them closer to the aspect ratio found in movie theatres over the last half-century (much to the dismay of those of us who prefer 4:3 aspect ratio for computer screens!).


text:
How to get rid off annoying android pop ups
Purchased LG Stylus 2 Plus 10 days back. Have got frustated with annoying pop up ads by android. Have started hating Google Play store due to these ads..

Here are some ways you can block ads:
For NON-ROOTED devices: Download APK Editor from the Play Store(Pro version lets you do more). You can use apk editor to remove ad strings and more.
For ROOTED devices: If your device is rooted, you can use an app called "Adaway". This app modifies a file in your system which is known as the "hosts" file.
With root, you are more likely to block all the ads.
I hope this helps!


text:
How do I start saving on SD card
My phone kept saying device out of space  so I bought an SD card and inserted it into the phone but my phone is still saying the same thing. How do I start using SD card please, thank you.

The storage is still calculated separately (internal VS. external), so internal is still low on space, hence the alert.
At this moment, use a file explorer to go through your internal storage and see what's hogging space (music? video? installation files you forgot to delete?), and move anything necessary to the SD card. For some phones you can also go to Settings-Apps to move some installed apps to the card.
If the problem persists, please post screenshots of your storage details both in Settings-Storage and under Settings-Apps.

Thanks Andy - I'm hopeless when it comes to this - so if I moved whatsapp to SD card would that help do you think? I sometimes get messages that it's taking up a lot of space but if I install it on the SD card will I lose my contacts and messages? Thank you

@Amc50d Well I have no hands-on experience with moving apps (my devices usually have no SD card slot), but as a system feature it should not touch your data when moving.


text:
phone stuck in boot loop after flashing new (stock) rom
I just flashed a new firmware and when the phone starts, it shows the android logo and restarts. It's stuck in a boot loop. How can I fix this?

The following steps are pretty much guaranteed to unf**k up your phone no matter how badly messed up it is. I speak from experience.

Turn off phone by pressing hard reset button.
Use flashtools to flash a stock ROM. Download the ftf file from here (I recommend downloading 4.4.2 as its easiest to root and you likely will be flashing something else anyway).
Root your device using any method.
Install custom recovery using app such as TWRP manager or Flashify.
Check if you can install custom recovery and boot into it.
If yes, use it to flash ROM of your choice and you are done. If no, proceed to step 6.
Follow these instruction if you can't enter recovery.
N.B. Here is the missing download link for fix recovery.zip. Also the directions forget to mention after typing su root a message will have popped up on your phone you must allow.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/xperia-z2/general/mm-6-0-1-twrp-recovery-t3364871
You now have TWRP working. Use it to flash latest ROM.

Additional tips:

enable allow installations from unknown sources
enable usb debugging
charge phone to 100% before beginning

You should consider accepting your own answer since it obviously worked for you. Since none of the answers have an up vote, this question keeps popping up to home page! Besides, visitors do not know which answer works. Accepting would solve both :)

Factory reset solves this issue most of the times. Use hard ware keys to get in reset menu and factory reset your phone.

How do you do that?

http://sony-xperia.mobi/eng/sony-xperia-z2/231-how-to-do-a-hard-reset-and-reboot-a-sony-xperia-z2-physical-hard-reset-button-sony-xperia-z2.html

Please follow the above link. I think you need not boot into recovery. That seems the way on your mobile.

This is a very common issue. You can solve it by wiping out the system of device.
Steps for wiping:
1. Use the Volume keys in order to navigate through the recovery menu.
2. Select “advanced” and choose “wipe dalvik cache”.
3. Return to main menu.
4. Then select “wipe data factory reset”.
5. Return and this time choose “wipe cache partition”.
6. Return and select “reboot system now”.
7. Your handset should start in Android OS now.
This will hopefully, solve your problem. It worked me as well.
In case you can't boot into recovery, you can physically hard reset by following this Link
For advanced solution, you can follow this Link

I can't boot into recovery.

You cant boot into recovery? 0_0..
Do you know correct keys for booting into recovery?
It is :
Power on and when the LED Notification lights up you need to press several times Volume Up or Volume Down, either one works.
For Xperia Z2.

I can't get it to recovery. No LED light turns on. I try pressing volume up and volume down when the phone turns on, but it doesn't seem to work.

There's no built-in, functional recovery for Xperia devices AFAIK.

It's possible you could have a corrupt image. Make sure you get an MD5 or similar for your image. Make sure if you are flashing a new rom that you are wiping Data, Cache, Dalvik-Cache, and System manually before flashing a new ROM.