text:
Crazy touch screen
I've experienced strange behavior of my phone for almost a week now. Sometimes my phone detects a lot of touch gestures at a time while there should be only one which is mine. This happens and I have no idea why my phone does behave like this. This is really annoying. If someone has faced with such a problem and found solution please help me.
Imagine you pull the trigger of a gun in a video game with intention to shoot one bullet but somehow you shoot a whole clip by pulling once. Every bullet is a touch and when you "pull the trigger" you actually touch your display.
P.s. my phone is Xiaomi Redmi 4X.

Have you ever dropped it? I think it sounds like a bad digitizer, but it could be something else.

Thanks. I have but I think those were not really bad. How can check whether it is what you've said and how can I fix  if it is?

It sounds like a digitizer problem, which I'm pretty sure means you'll have to replace the whole screen. Here is a link that might help you on deciding what to do. I would use that site for any parts that you might need. Hope it works for you!


text:
Status bar and navigation bar have disappeared
I have a Chinese smartphone, Oracle X1 running Android 5.1 that I rooted myself. I wanted to modify the navigation bar using the Softkey Z app.
Since my last attempt  both the status bar and navigation bar and even the lock screen have disappeared. I tried to install them back with no success.
Please help.

Salut @Geek, le site n'autorise aucune autre langue que l'anglais car même tu poses ta question en Français, les réponses seront en anglais. Je me suis permis d'apporter la traduction anglaise pour permettre aux autres de comprendre ton problème.

@esQmo_ Do posts have to be in English on Stack Exchange? Merci :)

Hey @GokulNC What do I have to understand by that?

You need to flash the stock ROM from the backup you took before messing with it. If you didn't take a backup, you'll need to find a copy of the stock ROM from elsewhere. (See Where can I find stock or custom ROMs for my Android device? ) With a no-name Chinese smartphone, you're quite unlikely to get support from the manufacturer, so you might have to search around XDA forums until you find someone with the same phone.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
How do I export saved web pages from Chrome on Android?
I have a lot of sites saved for offline reading in Chrome.
Some of them aren't online anymore.
Is there a way to get them out of the app in HTML files?
Chrome version:  60.0.3112.116

I've googled this and I haven't found a solution. I'm sure the files are saved somewhere, but they're probably in some unreadable format. If nothing else works, print them as PDFs (share button -> print).

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


text:
Upgraded to 8.0.0 (Oreo) and Notification Vibrations Won't Stop
I didn't change any settings between 7 and 8, but suddenly I'm getting overwhelmed with my phone vibrating for every single notification. I still want to get my notifications (of which there are many) but I can't stand having my phone vibrate nonstop.
The way it used to work (for me) was that my first Gmail notification would vibrate; but then subsequent emails wouldn't trigger the vibration until I had cleared out all of the old notifications. Also, none of my Twitter accounts ever made any vibrations, but now they are all making them, for every single tweet. It's insane.
I've searched around in the App menues, in the phone settings, and online, but I can't seem to figure out what I need to do to turn off vibrations (but still get notifications.)
Any help would be much appreciated.

I experienced the same issue. I ran a google search, and came across this thread. I hope it helps for you too!
https://forums.androidcentral.com/google-pixel-pixel-xl/828108-turning-off-vibration-oreo.html
(One mentioned in that thread, that Twitter doesn't have a setting to shut it off. I don't have Twitter installed, so I can't verify) I did go into all of my notifications (each and every one) and had to turn off the vibrate. It is very tedious, but hopefully helps you too.
UPDATE: Just in case that thread mentioned above, disappears. Here is the quote from the user on how to disable the vibration on each notification
"Super annoying thing Oreo started, happened to me too. For some reason Google thought this was a good idea?!
Go into settings, apps and notifications, app info, messages, app notifications (again sheesh) and then you have to go into each and every category and uncheck vibrate. Thanks Google"

I have a soloution for you.But first you should backup important messages and then
you can(should) delete all of messages.From hereafter every messages comes without
vibration.

Can you explain your answer or give some reference or details some person experience to back this up?

Slightly easier on a Samsung running Oreo (the S9 at least anyway, which is the only one officially carrying it to date AFAIK).
I primarily dug into this as I was getting notifications vibrating on Twitter left right and centre.
To get to the settings: when you get a notification, you can either swipe slightly right on it, and tap the gear icon, or alternatively at the bottom of the drop-down tap on Notification settings, then once in that, as DarkWolfNine states above, you have to tap on the name of each app, and within that you can either completely switch off each 'category' of notifications, or you can tap on its name to change its settings, including vibrate.
And yes, you have to go into every single category and turn it off, which on Twitter for one, is very tedious! (I had 9 categories, others may have more). And then every other app has its own category(s).
I think this is a real dropped ball on Google's part, since there seems to be no global settings for this or anything.


text:
Whatsapp chats only partially restored in new phone
I had a Wiko Rainbow Jam which broke, I replaced it with an Echo Stellar, when I installed my SDcard in my new phone about 10 days ago my Whatsapp messages were only recovered until 25 July this year, so there's a gap of nearly 2 months, can I retrieve these somehow?

Unfortunately, if your old phone is wrecked, I'm afraid you can't.
You were able to recover the data that was backed up.
It happened to me when I changed my phone - In my case, my old phone was still working, so all I had to do was turn it on, connect to internet and backup everything I wanted.
On Whatsapp, you go to Config->Conversations (or messages, not sure in English, since my app is in another language)->Backup. There you can check when it was your latest backup, and you can to force a backup.


text:
Yu Yuphoria YU5010 is stuck in "Optimize apps # of #" loop. Need to recover data
My wife's phone stuck in an "Optimize apps # of #" loop and we are not able to start it. I need to recover few images related to some insurance claim.
I never made any tweaking with the phone except tried to clean the cache files:
Recovery -> Wipe Cache data -> Reboot
Any help will be appreciated. Pointers needed to recover media files.

Hello I had same problem can you suggest me to solve it?

My daughter's Wileyfox Swift has the same issue...Wileyfox tech support have informed me that it was caused by an incompatibility between a Facebook update and the cyanogen OS. They have sent me files and instructions on force loading OS updates from CM12 to CM13 and from CM13 to Android 7 by forcing reboot with the files on a microSD card. (one reason why I would think twice about buying a device without additional storage).
 I don't know whether Yu will be equally as accommodating.
Has the phone had USB debugging enabled? If so, then there are several PC apps you might try to get the files you need off. Otherwise, without tech support you stand a good chance that recovering your phone - e.g. using fastboot to flash the apps partition will lose you your user files.

Hello I had same problem can you suggest me to solve it, means can you please elaborate more?

This explains how to go about it https://www.wileyfox.com/softwareupdates?inf_contact_key=a12a9366a9a0e41f13ea59f9015c74f23d149a61c8c06a5c33f7c087a9ffbfa0 .  I am assuming that Yu will have a similar set of patch files to enable you to force upgrade to a supported OS.


text:
Reinstall original OS without rooting (Oneplus One, CM11S)
I've a Oneplus One running the original OS that came with it (CM11S). Accidentally replied 'Yes' to  a google security prompt which identified the Settings app as harmful, and it was deleted.
As far as I can determine the only way of retrieving it is to reflash the ROM with the original OS, which I've downloaded a copy of. I've backed up most of the stuff on the phone, but if possible I'd still rather not go through the entire process of rooting it/unlocking the bootloader, etc. I haven't done it before and I'd rather not go through the hassle of wiping the phone and restoring everything afterwards.
If I understand the process properly, the point of unlocking the bootloader is to allow custom ROMs to be flashed onto the phone. I'm wondering if I can bypass this step if I'm only interested in re-flashing the original ROM. (Although I've a feeling that might still end up being seen as a security risk so not possible)
Or if there's any other way of getting the Settings app back, I'd appreciate suggestions

If it's the stock ROM, no rooting/unlocking is needed. You should be able just to install it as "update" via the recovery (if the device ships with CM, it most likely has a recovery allowing that) or by using [tag:fastboot].

You can use adb and sideload the zip of the OS from OnePlus using the stock recovery. Here is a link to discussion with some tools to help you flash the stock rom easily.


text:
Giving GNURoot root permissions
So before anything I wanted to say that I am a root user and I installed the GNURoot application from google play. So I have been playing around with the GNURoot app for 2-3 days, and I thought that it would be fun to try and make a reverse tcp connection from my laptop to my phone. So these are the commands I used:
On my phone:
root@localhost:/# nc -lp 443

On my computer:
root@potato:~$ nc 10.10.10.107 443

But I keep getting this error on my phone:
Can't grab 0.0.0.0:443 with bind : Permission denied

Google didn't help much, I know that for ports under 1024 you need admin/root access, but GNURoot never asked for it. What should I do

Ask the dev to implement it. From the user's end, there's nothing you can do: An app must ask for root access, simply "granting" that doesn't help.

@Izzy I have tested it with ports 1024 and up and it works just fine

If you're satisfied with that and consider it a solution, feel free to answer your own question and accept the answer then. You can of course include my above comment for completeness.

So the answer to the question is to use ports above 1024 or as @Izzy suggested to ask the dev to implement root access (as an app must ask to perform root operations, simply "granting it permission" would not help as the app would not know to (properly) make use of it).


text:
If Android is a Linux distribution can I run it natively on my computer?
Is it possible to run Android on PC?
Is it?

I wonder why this question is down voted.

Despite that it's worth discussing whether Android can be called a Linux distribution or not, you can find several working Androids for desktop platforms:

Android x86: http://www.android-x86.org/
Remix OS (discontinued): http://www.jide.com/remixos
Bluestacks (virtual machine): http://www.bluestacks.com

Im talking about native Android vannila, no modifactions just android itself

And I think Android is most "linuxish" than Fedora or Arch  because it only uses Linux kernel itself, no GNU/X11 etc

Android does not use the standard Linux kernel. See the linked article.

Its still Linux kernel

i would have to say yes as i have a linux android distro i have played with a few time i made a live bootable usb stick with lili i am not sure where i origanelly downloaded the ISO but i have had it boot fine a few times and also after some playing in the shell when it has not loaded properly other times not sure if its something from the creation of the usb or the different computers i have used it on. sorry i cant help more then that (is there a reason you cant just run knox to emulate)

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


text:
Is there a way by which I can uninstall a specific update to an app?
I have an app, Uber, that is taking up huge space on my phone. It cannot be moved to sd card.
Recently, they've launched an update of size 21MB. I'm afraid of the fact that, every time there is a new update, the size of the app increases. I know that I can uninstall all updates of an app from settings, but is it possible to uninstall a specific update of an app? I'm asking because if I find the update useless, I'll uninstall that specific update only.
It is preferable that the process does not require rooting. I'm working on Samsung Galaxy On7, Android 6.0.1-Marshmallow.

You cannot uninstall only a specific update, as you have no knowledge of what the update has changed. Plus, even if feasible, it would be useless, as the most new update would always install the content of the previous updates. In short, you cannot choose what to keep and what to throw away.

As I understand you think that whenever update is released for some app the size of app is increased for a size of update. Well that isn't the case (it can happen randomly but it not always like that). Some apps that are poorly designed when updating just download whole apk and install, but some get let say patch so it doesn't download whole app again, but app size doesn't increase for an size of update. And answer to your question you can't select what update to install to an app and that's it it doesn't need explaining because apps are made to be like that.

authors: Једноруки Крстивоје


text:
Remove user account in Android 5.1
I have a ZTE Blade L5 Plus with Android 5.1 that I was using for a while. Now I'm using a Samsung Galaxy phone. I want to remove the Google account from my old phone, so I can give it to a friend.
On the Samsung phone, I go to "Settings" then "Cloud and accounts" then "Accounts" then "Google" then I tap the Menu button (or vertical ellipsis⋮ - the three dots button) and I get two options: "Sync now" and "Remove account". So this is easy on Samsung.
But on ZTE, I go to "Settings" then on the third tab "Personal", I choose the third options "Accounts", then "Google" but here, if I tap the menu button, I only get the option "Sync now". In this screen I have the following three options:

Sign-in & security
Personal info & privacy
Account preferences

If I go to "Account preferences", I have the option "Delete your Google Account" but that's for completely deleting my account, not for removing it from the telephone.
This question already exists, but for a slightly different version of the OS: Android 5.0.1

Possible duplicate of Remove user account in Android 5.0.1 on Galaxy S4

In my phone, I went settings->accounts, selected Google. There I have two e-mails  registered, I clicked on the first one, and a set of details opens.
On this screen you see on the top right corner a menu, that allows you to remove the desired account. It didn't wipe my Google's account - if you are afraid, you could just put it on flight mode before taking these actions...
In your case, however, instead of just deleting the account, I would do a factory reset before selling my phone (even if it is to a friend, due to personal stuff I have in it, like pictures and whatsapp messages)

It works, indeed, thank you. Unlike Android 6 where you get the Remove option right as you enter into "Goolge", here you have to click the account first and only after that you get the "Remove account" when clicking the three dots menu button


text:
Change languages for specific apps
A week ago I was surprised with an update of an app that suddenly changed its language from English to my local language. This kind of change is usually good for most people, however, I would like to have the option to change it back, since I was used to the English therms the app was using...
Is there a way to change it back for this app (or, maybe, select apps that would be in English) without changing the whole phone language?
This specific app does not provide an UI (or any way to provide specific configuration) where I could select the language I want (I also don't know any app that has that kind of configuration option inside it)...

Not sure if it still works (hasn't been updated for ~3 years), and might need root: AppConfig advertises that, amongst other things.

Go to that app settings and see if there is option to change language for it.

@ЈеднорукиКрстивоје in the last paragraph you can read: "This specific app does not provide an UI (or any way to provide specific configuration) where I could select the language I want"

@Izzy That should be a nice app. However, I've seen a comment from an user there, that said the app stopped working  on Android 5.02. I'm using 7 - I guess it won't work, unfortunately...

Yes, it hasn't been updated for a while – and unfortunately I couldn't find a replacement for it or I had said so. If you've got Xposed, there's App Settings (also see here for details), but it's of the same age – though XDA has a slightly never version.

authors: Једноруки Крстивоје


text:
Is there a way to filter “My Cards” in the Trello widget?
In the web version of Trello the "My Cards" page can be filtered to only show cards from specified boards. I use this to filter "My Cards" to show cards from personal boards and hide cards from work boards.
In the Trello widget for Android I can't find a similar filtering option. Is there one? If so how do I get to it?

I wan't able to find much either .


text:
Application installation fails in play store
When I was trying to install apps from google play store, it downloads and then pops the error,

"Application installation failed".

I tried numerous ways described in websites and now the error doesn't pop but when downloading is finished, again it starts downloading. And it causes data loss only.
If there's a solution please let me know.

"I tried numerous ways described in websites" - list whatsoever you've tried so that we don't end up suggesting them.

Clear play store cache data and app data, then restart the device and open play store. Force stop the play store app, play services and restart play store

I would guess it is a compatibility problem between your phone/android version and the app. However, it is hard to tell without knowing both

The phone I'm using is Panasonic P66 Mega, Android Version: 5.1 Lollipop.  It occurs for each and every app.

The android version in your phone is incompatible with the play store version. When we update play store, without updating android version, this error occurs.
Solution:

go to settings --> Apps --> Downloaded --> Google Play Store --> Uninstall Updates --> Click 'Ok'

When you uninstall updates it will be replaced with the factory version which is compatible with any android version.


text:
Logging into Google play
I have 4 gmail accounts in my phone but when I go to Google play it is trying to use an obsolete account and in Google play there is no drop down box to choose an active account. (Google play was using one of my active gmail accounts but it all of a sudden stopped working and went back to the inactive gmail account. I also cannot delete the obsolete account off my phone because in settings/account preferences it says in gray "not all settings are available" and there is nothing to click. I was trying to delete it so google play would not try and use it for signing into google play)

Open play store and slide from left to right then you can see a drop-down list in the navigation pane. There you can choose the account.
Google play store is inter connected with the Google+ app in your mobile. If you want to remove an account in play store, you can do it by removing that account at google+ app in your mobile. It won't delete your account.


text:
Delete backed up photos on Samsung S4 mini
How do I delete backed up photos from my gallery (Samsung S4 mini).
Please note:  I took photos with my phone camera.  Those photos were uploaded to Google maps.  Once they were uploaded I deleted the photos. But those photos still show in gallery.  It won't let me delete it.  When I click on the photos there is no "delete icon (dustbin)".  It gives an options to share the photos but not to delete them.  Please help.

You need to log into the Google photo app and delete them from there.

If there's no option to delete, then they're already gone from your device. Google keeps a thumbnail available for you so that you can see the photo, share, etc., without taking up a ton of storage on your phone.
If you want them really gone, you'll need to go to Google Photos and delete them from there. (Actually, they'll go into the Trash, where they'll be auto-deleted in 3 days, but they'll get removed from your photo gallery on your phone.)


text:
What do all these letters/numbers in early Samsung ROM file name mean?
This question covers early Samsung ROMs if your ROM looks like this example G930FXXU2EREM_G930FOJV2ERE8_TUR.zip then see this updated question here

I'm guessing the first 5 letters/numbers are for the model of the device I8160XXLL2, but what after that? Is there any guide to understand what exactly they mean by these letters? I'm confused it seems sometimes they repeat the model of the device twice?
I8160XXLL2_I8160QXXL3.zip
I8160XXLL2_QXELL3.zip

Who knows... it varies by device and the developers naming convention. Probably best to ask the developer.

These 2 firmware names are a good demonstration of (early) Samsung naming conventions.

I8160XXLL2 is the "PDA" designator, i.e. build number;
I8160QXXLL3 is the "CSC" designator, i.e. baseband version.

There can be multiple CSCs corresponding to a single PDA, released for different regions.
Inside the string:

I8160 is, obviously the model number;
XX is for country/region (XX itself means Europe or international);
LL2 are the release date and version (within same month): first L for year (L for 2012, M for 2013, etc.), second L for month (A for January, L for December, etc.), and 2 for the 2nd version.

Furthermore, you can pinpoint which exact region the firmware is for by using a part of the CSC: QXX/QXE designates the precise region within the one defined in PDA. Match these 3 digits with a list of firmwares (e.g. on SamMobile), and you will know what regions received such releases.

Really good answer, I was searching on this for long time, thanks, I haired from a friend that if they mention the model twice that's mean the ROM contain 4 files, and if not that's mean there is only PDA file or something like that, Is that true?

Not always - it's still more reliable to just download, unpack and check. Shouldn't matter anyway.

Is this an early convention specific to Samsung. Or did other OEMs use this too?

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


text:
Phone calls seems to be from viber while they are not!
It strange to say but it happens to me often when people call me from italy only(This probably might happen from other countries as well). They call me in their cell phone while at my smartphone it comes as a viber call.
So I open the viber calling and continue to talk to them, and I ask if they are calling me from viber but they say: - No I am just using simple call option.
I am using samsung galaxy j5 2016
Does anybody have any idea why this might happen ?
Should I check something into my phone or it has to be due to their payment plan or something ?

I guess you could select different sounds for incoming calls, for different apps... Would that help you?

I think I found the solution in viber app. Going to settings > calls and messages > viber in calls. It was checked so I unchecked it because it says: - Receive regular incoming calls with viber when possible

I think I found the solution in viber app. Going to settings > calls and messages > viber in calls. It was checked so I unchecked it because it says: - Receive regular incoming calls with viber when possible


text:
How to root without executing unknown binary? (Open source/adb shell root?)
I have an Android 6.0 phone that has not received updates in a year.  It has likely dozens of security holes that allow one to gain root access.  I wish to do this in order to remove pre-installed bloatware system apps and change system config files.  However, all methods known to me involve running some closed source rooting tool that may very well contain a trojan or other malware.
What open-source (or ideally, type-in adb shell command list) method is there to root an Android phone not patched in the last year?
Of course, if a rooting tool is open source I would need to build it myself to be sure - so that would involve much more work than executing a script or entering shell commands

As matter of fact, you cannot alter the /system partition via adb, and hence cannot root.

Every Android device has different methods to root it, in some cases a security vulnerability is used, but this is becoming less and less common as it is only a device by device case. There is no generic vulnerability to exploit to gain root. The best way to root is to unlock the bootloader via official methods, install a custom recovery like TWRP, and flash a root method like Magisk or SuperSU.

There are a couple of implementations of the futex exploit (e.g. Towelroot) floating around that you could try to compile and run on your device, assuming it's vulnerable. I haven't tried them, but this repository has a project made to be built with the Android NDK. You'd probably want to use the privilege escalation to then help you install something permanent, though.

Very legit concern, but at the same time if a way is easy enough and open-sourced then patching against it is all too easy as well. We've pretty much run out of such exploits since Android 4.x.

@DeathMaskSalesman Why can't I remount -o rw /system via adb shell if I achieve root in this shell (by the exploit I am looking for)?  Is there some extra protection by container (cgroups/namespaces) and/or chroot?

@acejavelin That's why I wrote that I haven't received a patch in a year. Since then dozens of security flaws in Android 6.0 have been publicised and fixed - common to all of these systems, unless they are special hardened variants.

@eldarerathis Thanks, something like this (a POC for a root exploit) is exactly what I was looking for. However, the referenced towelroot is so old that it was probably completely fixed in the 2014-06-03 patch (this one?).

@Ned64 If you are able to gain temporary root privileges, then you may also be able to remount /system as read-write and install a permanent su binary. While I'm not aware of any special protection, you may want to stay alert because of SELinux. Moreover, certain devices have the ability to automatically restore a known safe /system partition in case of changes.

@DeathMaskSalesman Thanks. So, let's bring on the exploit!


text:
Installing an app after deleting its apk using Bloatware removal tool
I'm working on Samsung Galaxy On7, Android 6.0.1-Marshmallow. It's unrooted.
My phone has a lot of apps preinstalled that I don't use, like Google Play music and movies and TV. I want to remove these apps completely as they use up a lot of space on my phone'so internal memory.
I found here a tutorial on how I can remove such bloatware without rooting my phone. However,  my question is: if I completely remove the app files from my phone, then will I be able to install them later, if need arises?
For example, in my phone, MS Word and Excel are preinstalled, which is why I can't move them to sd card. If I remove the apk files, and later try to install it again, will I face any trouble, and will I be able to move it to the sd card?
N.B.: I don't want to root my phone.

For most apps, yes, but a few Google Apps would still require installing to /system.

@AndyYan I don't want those google apps. I want the MS apps such that they can be moved to sd card. Does the software in the tutorial completely remove the apk files?

Just checked it out - without root nothing could touch /system, it just disables the apps (similar to pm disable I reckon).

@AndyYan is rooting good for phone?

@AndyYan if yes, which software will be best? I want to unroot it again. I had used Kingo root on a phone before, but couldn't unroot it.


text:
Whatsapp messages restore
My phone had a problem so the mobile repairing center did factory reset. Then I reinstalled whatsapp and tried to restore backup from Google Drive.  It took about 1:30 hours for 400 Mb and didn't show any indicator for what percentage it has completed.  So I just tapped home screen and then tapped whatsapp.  It showed me a new window of entering my username and took me to chat window. There I saw no previous chats were present, just 2 old groups and also no messages in them. I again Uninstall and reinstall whatsapp it didn't show me 420 Mb data size,  it asked me if I want to recover today's messages. Can you please tell me can I get my backup from Google Drive again?

It happened to me also, I guess it's a Whatsapp backup and restore bug, I tried to upload my backup to Google drive which is 600 MB in size and it took more than 12 hours on 1 MB/s network. I can confirm this bug was not present in previous versions, so only thing we can do is wait for Whatsapp developers to fix this annoying bug or going back to previous builds where the bug was not present.
Hope you find this useful.


text:
Delete ALL cookies in Android Chrome
Running Chrome 60.0.3112.116 on Android 7.1.1 I tried to remove all cookies from the browser using the Clear Data button provided in Advanced tab of Chrome's Privacy Settings (selected All Time to make sure to delete all stored cookies).
However, the cookies section in the Advanced tab showed about 30 cookies before clicking on Clear Data and I had 23 left after deleting the cookies. Since some cookies can be deleted while the browser closes I quit Chrome and went back to Settings, giving me the same 23 cookies left.
I am a bit surprised about that fact since I thought clearing all data actually means that all stored data (including all cookies) is being removed, which in fact obviously does not seem to be true.
Since I am using Google News App and allowed to open web content inside the GMail App I think those 23 left cookies might come from those two apps since those apps should be based upon the system-built-in version of Chrome, but I am not sure and unable to proof this assumption.
In order to make sure that this is not a somehow other related problem, I went to Apps of Android Settings and cleared Chrome's cache which does not result in any changes. However, Clear All Data via the Manage Space option does delete the cookies hence resetting Chrome to its initial state.
Is there any way to really remove all cookies from Chrome without resetting Chrome via Android Settings as described above? Do you have any suggestions where those 'additional' cookies come from?


text:
(Android) Launch app activity shortcuts from the command line?
I'd like to know how would it be possible to launch an action "shortcut" (like Greenify's auto-hibernation shortcut) through the command line in Android.
I'm trying to launch a StrongSwan VPN profile on boot, but first I need to know what command does eg. the launcher send to it while launching the profile from the home screen.
So far, what I've managed to observe is that when I launch SS with that shortcut, the logcat says:
START u0 {act=org.strongswan.android.action.START_PROFILE flg=0x10000000 cmp=org.strongswan.android/.ui.MainActivity bnds=[360,1759][540,1920] (has extras)} from uid 10077 on display 0

Any ideas on how to make it into command input? Thanks in advance!

Any good reason why you only want a command-line solution? The profile may be launched through the help of an another app.

Technically it doesn't have to be a CLI solution, but I guess it would be easier. I've looked for apps that could do this EXACT thing, but I've found none. Most of them, for example Tasker, can only launch specific activities, but there seems a need for some specific data to be supplied in order for the profile to be launched. Is there any app that would do that? Or extract/intercept the command that is executed whenever I tap the shortcut (labeled "Connect to (servername)" in eg. my launcher?

Looking for an intent interceptor I came across IntentTask which is helpful for your objective. I installed Tasker, that app, setup a Task with action:
Plugin → IntentTask → Launch Shortuct → Configuration: tap pencil icon → your app → the profile.
The intent auto-populated there was:
#Intent;action=org.strongswan.android.action.START_PROFILE;l.org.strongswan.android.VPN_PROFILE_ID=1;end

You can now attach your task to a boot profile in Tasker now.
As for the command-line I tried the same intent in the command-line and it works too.
am start -a org.strongswan.android.action.START_PROFILE --el org.strongswan.android.VPN_PROFILE_ID 1

Replace 1 with the your profile's ID.


text:
Locked out of secure startup
Recently I encrypted my LG Tribute HD. I was doing something in recovery mode a couple days later, I accidentally hit the "wipe all data on phone" button. I pressed no. I rebooted my phone and all of the sudden secure startup was enabled and it had a password instead of a pattern. I tried a couple passwords but none of them worked. The attempts count only went down 1 time for some weird reason. I don't want to factory reset my phone. I just did a couple days ago, and I don't want to again.

Well I've ended in same place as you but with entering number in a dialer. White screen with only text box to enter password, and counter was going only to 29/30 tries left no matter how many times you enter password. This one?
One user said that this happened after he tried to clear dalvik/cache from stock recovery on LG (I think it was about K10). My guess that this action wipes the encryption key so when you try to boot after clearing it prompts you this, and you probably need to enter key which I'm sure you don't know for this user and me too factory reset was only way out.
See this and this and this

Repeating this action reveals that it did indeed wipe the /encrypt folder. Another interesting side effect is that it displayed the LG startup instead of the Sprint startup. It also claimed I had "LG" service, despite the fact that's not a thing. Factory reset was preformed.

I've read on a couple of forums where people have had the issue of their phone randomly rebooting and starting up to a lock screen that reads (something like):

Secure startup 1/25 attempts

If you use a pattern code to unlock your phone, the PIN number will be the digits that your pattern lock follows.
I don't know how else to word it. Say, your pattern followed the corners to 7391, then your secure startup PIN would be 7536951. So, if you use a very complex pattern, it will just be every digit used that the pattern follows.
The attached visual reference would be 1598753.


text:
Security patches for LG K8 Android 6.0
Recently I looked at my Android security patch level (after hearing about the BlueBorne vulnerability) and saw that is is at 2016-07-01, 14 months old.
My device details:
LG K8 4G dual (LG-K350nds),
Android 6.0 (not rooted)
How do I get the latest security patch. Online resources say I should go Settings > General > About phone > Common > Update Center > Software Update > Check now for update, but it says “You are using the latest software version for current OS”.
Is my device not supported? I bought it last september, so two months after the latest security patch I got.
Edit: I just received an update, security patch level now at 2017-09-01. Though this isn't the latest, it fixed BlueBorne, and it's nice to see finally getting patches from LG.

I have same model on same patch. I'll have to disappoint you because you will not receive patch for blue born vulnerability, or any other (I'm sure there is at least one more lethal bug unpached), at least not officially, maybe we can somehow create patch and make to stay stock rom. However soon I will try to make LOS ROM but I don't know what will happen since K8 have troubles when even TWRP is flashed. However if I succed I don't know if the bug will be patched because maybe it has to be pushed by OEM (like in broadcom bug case).

Today I received update on my K350nds and now it is on 2017-09-01 security patch level, and according to this app it is not vulnerable anymore, also this should include dirty cow exploit fix, didn't check that one.

authors: Једноруки Крстивоје


text:
Is there a way (with root?) to prevent Android task killer from killing certain apps?
I'd like a browser app (FireFox) not to be killed every now and then by the system's task killer since I'd like to use certain single page applications that hold some data and are not loaded very quickly. Is there any way to deal with this, even if root is required?
Some time ago, I've updated my device from a 1 GB RAM to another one, 3 GB RAM and everything went well (browser stopped to get killed at all). But after a system update in Jan 2016, things got even worse, now FireFox usually gets killed even after an alarm clock rang or I opened a camera app. This is a major issue for me so I appreciate any help about this.
PS yeap, I've tried Settings→Battery→Battery Optimization where I both added FF to exceptions (didn't help) and turned Battery Optimization at all (didn't help as well).

Tl;dr
It's possible with root, you can tweak oom_adj values to prevent apps from being killed, alternatively force the target app to stay in memory by "locking" it or change some related settings responsible for killing apps in low memory condition.

Background: Android RAM Management

Android uses a different way of handling processes. Instead of killing
  every process after its activity ended, processes are kept until the
  system needs more memory. The idea is to give speed improvements if
  you start that activity again. But how/when does Android kill a
  process if it needs more memory and which process to kill first?
This is managed by the LMK (Low Memory Killer) driver of Android. You
  may already know that every app/process in Android is assigned an
  oom_adj value, which indicates the likelihood of it being killed when
  an out of memory (OOM) situation occurs. More higher it's value, the
  higher likelihood of it getting killed. Valid range is -17 to +15. (if
  in the -17 range means it won't get killed). According to that, there
  are six groups (OOM groups), into which apps/processes are
  categorised:

Foreground app
Visible app
Secondary server
Hidden app
Content provider
Empty app

Basically these could be described as:

FOREGROUND_APP:  This is the process running the current foreground
  app. We'd really  rather not kill it!
VISIBLE_APP:  This is a process only hosting activities that are
  visible to the user, so we'd prefer they don't disappear.
SECONDARY_SERVER: This is a process holding a secondary server --
  killing it will not have much of an impact as far as the user is
  concerned.
HIDDEN_APP:  This is a process only hosting activities that
  are not visible, so it can be killed without any disruption.
CONTENT_PROVIDER: This is a process with a content provider that
  does not have any clients attached to it. If it did have any clients,
  its adjustment would be the  one for the highest-priority of those
  processes.
EMPTY_APP: This is a process without anything currently running in
  it. Definitely the first to go.

These groups are defined by oom_adj value limits, and apps would fall into one of those groups according to the oom_adj value assigned to that particular app. "Foreground apps" usually have an oom_adj value of 0 or less (so they are the least killable; i.e High priority).
"Empty apps" have a higher oom_adj (they are killed early; i.e Low priority). Also, oom_adj value changes according to the state of the user app; it's 0 when the app is active in the foreground and assigned a higher value when the app goes to the background.

Why their "killability" differ? Apps belonging to these different
  groups (that have different oom_adj's), start to get killed at
  different levels of free RAM. These triggering RAM limits are defined
  by the LMK minfree values. Above 6 categories correspond with 6 RAM
  limits which are set in the LMK minfree. eg: Stock Android 4.3 in my
  device comes with the minfree values of 48,60,72,84,96,120. (these
  are in MB).

Practically what it means is, Empty apps will get killed when ram goes below 120mb, Content providers when it goes below 96mb, Hidden apps when it goes below 84mb and so on.. lastly starts killing Foreground apps when ram goes below 48mb. (You may notice that this last value (48mb) is not desirable when using memory intensive apps like heavy games).
NB:

In newer kernel, oom_ score _adj is used instead of old oom_adj. (oom_score_adj valid range is -1000 to 1000). But oom_adj is also maintained for perhaps compatibility.
It is said that there are many OOM process categories that are assigned different oom_adj priorities by the ActivityManagerService, but eventually all of those would be considered under above six slots/groups (according to oom_limits), for the purpose of killing by the LMK minfree triggers. Therefore, those six are the important ones for normal users.

We can check the minfree values (also change them) and see the OOM
groupings of apps/processes with this Memory Manager app easily.

Not every device has the same OOM configuration.

Improving RAM Management
Nowadays there is much user friendly implementation of RAM management mechanism with UI in system settings (such as App optimisation in Battery settings, Protected apps in some ROMS e.g Huawei’s EMUI etc) and can have the same effect as described above:

Having said that we can now explore ways in which, RAM can be utilised without killing foreground applications too often. The target areas will include:
1.Adjusting minifree values to suit one’s needs
2.Locking apps in memory to prevent them from being killed
3.Overridding the hidden app limit of android

Adjusting minifree values

You can change the minfree values with memory manager and tap apply. (Additionally there is an option “apply at boot” and tick to preserve settings across boots). Several apps can achieve this e.g Memory manager, Minfree manager etc
Alternatively use terminal/adb using pages:
#!/system/bin/sh echo “values” > /sys/module

Locking apps to stay in memory (making it resident)

a) Using App Settings (Xposed)

One simple method is used Xposed module, App settings (you need Xposed framework installed)
After installing the framework, then download the 'App Settings' module through Xposed installer.
Open App Settings and allow the applications to load, selected the target app (in this case firefox browser)
In the settings page, enable the toggle and activate editing mode, tick the “Resident” option and save. (Making apps resident, causes apps to staying memory without being killed and it is advised to use exit button in target application if it’s no longer needed otherwise it will deprive other apps memory)

b) Using memory locker
Another implementation of this concept is locking the target application in memory by controlling the system files for setting oom_adj for all running processes.
How the application works:

Memory locker controls files in the /data directory and also controls
  sytem files in root for setting oom_adj for running processes.
All
  locked applications are automatically locked after each reboot.   Apps
  are classified as downloaded/system apps, to unlock select target app
  and click on the lock on right side. (You can optionally set oom_adj
  priority)

Overriding the hidden app limit

In addition the low memory killing mechanism, there is another parameter that controls killing of hidden and empty apps. Apps are killed when they go beyond specified limits.
There is a build.prop setting that which can control this (default is usually a low number less than 25, and modifying this can increase this value to a much larger value like 80)
Add this line to build.prop file in /system and leave another blank line below that (be sure to make back up first)

ro.sys.fw.bg_apps_limit=80

References and Credits

Android RAM Management (Special credits: mrhnet)
Memory Locker
Xposed - General info, versions & changelog

Thanks for this very detailed explanation. This most likely deserves the bounty, but let me think this over and ask some questions first. By the way, the first question is: so without rooting, there's no way to handle the problem, except for deleting many apps and hoping that the memory is loaded less?

Another question is: which values can I see without rooting? I've made a simple test where I switched from FF to a photo app and couple others and moved back to FF and it got unloaded and loaded back. According to plots by Simple System Monitor, there were at least 300 MB of free RAM at each moment (much > than 120 MB) and FF still got unloaded...

I don't think it is possible to do it manually without root since you have to tweak a lot of system files,  whilst adjusting the values and such messing requires elevated privileges or root.

What Android calls "Free RAM" is not necessarily free because a large part of it is cached memory (useful for fast execution of apps when relaunching them) such that the actual free memory is even less than the minifree value of say 120MB in this case. Good news most developers are now hardcoding the settings in their ROM ti allow non root users to accomplish this easily

Don't worry about bounty, first try to get as much answers (even better answers) from others users , this will allow you to find the most helpful solution :)

This app, RAM Manager claims to be able to lock certain apps from Android's RAM management mechanics.
Alternatively, go to Settings→Battery→Battery Optimization and set Firefox to Don't optimize can help a bit.

Yeah, I've tried the second option and also tried turning off optimization at all, that doesn't help. Could you point where exactly RAM Manager claims that? As far as I can see, it only allows to avoid its own optimization for certain apps (for launchers, to be specific). But the good point is – I should look into apps that try to control LMK and may be ask those who develop them – they probably have some extra knowledge.

The post above is very thorough, but I will add instructions for a few specific models (stolen from ASM app page). Note that for apps that use more memory (eg Firefox), the system will likely eventually kill the app anyway when other apps request memory space. If the cached ram is needed, the largest and oldest apps go first regardless of battery saving settings, and Firefox is a big spender.

How to deal with (known) Battery savers?
Samsung
In Android settings > Device Maintenance > Battery, add app to the list of Unmonitored apps
Huawei (depending on models)
In Android settings > Advanced settings > Battery Manager, add app to the list of Protected Apps
or:
Battery > Close apps after screen lock, uncheck app from the Lock screen clean up
Xiaomi
In your Security app: Battery % > App battery saver, select app then No restrictions
and:
In your Security app: Permissions > Autostart then allow app to be started.
Asus (Zenfone)
Open your Auto-start Manager and allow app to be started.
OnePlus
In Android settings > Battery > Menu > Aggressive Doze & App Hibernation, check app to exclude it from the optimised apps.
Infinix
Open your Xmanager app, Auto-start manager and allow app to be started.


text:
4G network compatibility in France
I read somewhere (here) that in France, in order for the 4G to work ideally with all carriers, one should have a smartphone with the 4G network spec: "FDD-LTE : Bands : 1/3/7/20/28".
I am considering buying the Moto G5 model XT1685 for my brother who lives in France. According to this site, the 4G network specs of this phone read:
LTE Cat6 700/800/850/900/1800/2100/2600 (Bands 1,3,5,7,8,19,20,28)
TD-LTE 2300/2500/2600 (Bands 38,40,41)

I can't figure out whether it is a problem or not that I am not seeing "FDD" in these specs. In short: will this phone work perfectly fine in France? Thank you!

The only duplex modes of LTE are TDD and FDD (see band list on Wikipedia) - in other words, non-TD-LTE bands are FDD-LTE.
Generally Europe uses band 20 extensively, but you are still advised to consult your particular carrier.


text:
How to Downgrade Android on Huawei
I have a Huawei CE0682, which by default came with Android 5. I upgraded to Android 7, but the mobile internet has become very slow.
How can I downgrade my phone back to Android 5?

CE0682 is not an actual model number (you're probably looking at the CE certification label). Also, unfortunately most if not all manufacturers prohibit downgrading strictly.

You can try to just install the 5.0 rom on your recovery. If that doesn't work you need to install twrp recovery. You may find them from xda developers website.


text:
Oneplus one is not starting as expected
My OPO(One plus one) with cyanogenmod (last update in August 2016) purchased 2.5+ yrs back, is not starting when it is connected to USB or starting to fastboot mode when it is not connected. It is happening from last 3 weeks only.
When it is in fastboot mode, I connect it to my PC and run command fastboot continue to resume the boot and it starts. But I need to do it everytime.
So I have wipe cache partition and then full factory reset. But I can see that the problem still persist.
I have installed TWRP now. But it din't solve the problem too.

If I install some custom ROM, would it solve the problem?
Why fastboot mode comes everytime while there was no update happened
recently?
Can it happen due to some hardware issue? (I actually put a cup of hot tea on back of my mobile for a min .... :( )

:: Update ::
I have installed LineageOS. But still facing the same issue.


text:
Hidden internal storage
I've used a mobile phone with 16 GB internal storage where 4.81 GB used by OS and 10.72 GB out of remaining 11.19 GB. But when I calculate the total storage used by other features, only 8 GB (approx.) is found. Where are more than 2 GB memory used?

The storage plus os seems to add up to approx your indicated storage.  Actual storage is less than realized storage due to file system needs , also called overhead.

@mongo Wasn't overhead the time required to open, load to memory, flush to storage and close files?

File system overhead, storage or other consideration required by a file system that is not directly related to data.  From overhead wiki.

That space taken up when you drives are formated..it does not show the full 16 gb . What it does is partitions the 16 GB into 2 drives than it formats both...just like a PC. These are files used to make the hardware work with the software..sort of like a middle man so to speak.
For example : based on your operating system , a 16Gb drive will only read 14-15Gb after being formated.
Another example: stick an empty 16Gb SD card in and than check the free space...it won't read 16GB.
Please note: you can use any size SD card...just make sure it's formated (empty)


text:
How I enable my Google drive which show disable in my personal mi phone?

I update my mi phone yesterday for android 7.0 nougat  version. But I see in my personal phone the google drive is disabled. Now I want to enable my google drive for back up items. How can I do ? Please help me.

Seems like there is an issue with Android Nougat. Some of the discussions in Forums like here suggest the issue would be fixed by September 21. You can also email the Google Team regarding the same. I don't believe hard reset will also help you.


text:
Tablet won't recognize OTG flash drive
I have a Samsung Galaxy Tab S2 8.0. It's up to date with everything. Up until just now, I've never had a problem connecting external storage devices to my tablet using an OTG cable. Earlier today, it worked fine.
Later, I tried to connect a device but it wouldn't mount. I tried a second cable. I then tried a different USB storage device. No luck. I tried rebooting the tablet. No luck. (One of the devices asks if I want to connect and that came on for a second then disappeared. Since then no luck with anything.)
This happened once before and by blowing air into the micro USB port I must have dislodged some dust and it worked. I tried that again but had no luck.
The SD card in the SD card slot is working fine.
To recap, I have tried:

Three different OTG cables
Two different USB storage devices
Restart, turn on and off, soft reset of the tablet.
OTG troubleshooter isn't finding any OTG even when physically connected.

Any ideas on how to fix this?

Probably not getting enough power, try with Y cable

I doubt that's the problem since both storage devices worked fine just prior to it not working.

USB settings are likely clobbered. Samsung tech support cleared up the issue for me with these steps:

Go to Settings → Apps → click on 3 dot menu → Show system apps → USB settings → Storage
Clear data (will not remove files or personal data)→Settings→General Management→ Reset (will not remove files or personal data)→Reset settings.
Approve all in the second step and tablet will automatically restart.

I tested with an OTG device and mine worked.

Please be aware that on older versions of android on this Samsung device when you perform the steps in section 1 and move on to the General Management tab in Settings to apply step two, your only reset options are a Network settings reset and a Factory Data Reset. Both of these options will remove personal file data so BEWARE.

I tried a modified version the suggestion from Bob Quincy. I cleared the data for the USBSettings system app. But instead of doing a Reset I rebooted. After the tablet finished rebooting, I tried reading an SD card with my OTG reader and it worked.
I did this with a Samsung Tab A 10.1" (SM-T510). Thank you Bob.

authors: Једноруки Крстивоје


text:
No IMEI after stock recovery
I have a moto e2 xt1521 handset and I tried to update my OS.
In the process I wrongly typed flashboot flash boot recovery.img instead of flashboot flash recovery recovery.img and I was stuck in a bootloop.
To recover out of it I decided to flash firmware XT1521_SURNIA_RETASIA_DS_6.0_MPI24.65-39_cid7_subsidy-DEFAULT_CFC.xml.zip. I tried installing all the versions of firmware but I was never able to get an IMEI number on my phone.
It shows "IMEI 0". I'm using Slim-surnia-6.0.1.build.2.1-STABLE-20170329-2049. I'm not able to make call or use any cellular services. After a reboot I get an error "Temporary error occurred: 44 ".
EDIT
In fastboot fastboot getvar imei shows my imei number but not with *#06#. So, I don't think I have lost my imei number but the system is not able to read it somehow.
Any suggestions ?

IMEI number is generally not affected by any rom customization and you can also get it in fastboot mode. One possible reason of the problem can be that you have not installed correct version of stock rom.
Motorola has different firmware for different country/market.e.g  Flashing Brazillian firmware on Indian device can cause problems.
So get the correct firmware and install it.

Where to get the correct firmware from ?

@AnshKumar search it on xda forum you will find it.


text:
Is there a way to log wifi probe request?
I am able to log wifi probe request with script like hoover, probeSniffer, and my favorite for the moment probemon on my ubuntu machine with a card able to run in monitor mode.
Is it possible to do the same on android ? a rooted android is not a problem.
But I guess one major problem would be to be able to switch the wifi card in monitor mode, if it is possible at all, depending on the driver.
Is there even script or software or app to be able to log the wifi probe request ?
At the very least, one can try to use the script I mention above but there are not meant to be run on android.
My question is perhaps too general. I use a moto G 4G (XT1039) with LineageOS 14.1 (peregrine)

As a work-around, buy a raspberry pi zero (W ?) with a usb wifi key that does monitor mode. This will be almost as portable than a phone but not as much.
You need the battery too to power the rpi0.

You can use you're favorite sniffing tools with kali NetHunter os  on a rooted device or with the kali NetHunter app if the device has support for monitor mode


text:
How to change Google+ notification sound on Android 8
After the upgrade to 8.0, the Google+ app notifications sound change to the default notifications sound. I went through the settings to change the sound back the way it was but that setting is completely missing. The Ringtone option is not there anymore.
Is there a different way to change the notifications sound for this Google+ app?

Settings > Apps & notifications > App info > Google+ > App notifications
From here, you can enable/disable specific notifications, change their importance to a level with or without sound, and/or set the sound you want to use for notifications.

It doesn't work. The notification sound does not change.

Here's what I was able to find for my Android 8 phone (no one told me this, it wasn't documented anywhere that I could find, I just kept searching).
While in Gmail, go to Settings.
Tap your Gmail account name (not your General Settings, although this will work from there also).
Tap Manage Notifications.
Tap Mail (make a sound)   EVEN if the toggle switch is on indicating you have a sound set.
Then tap Sound.
Unlike in earlier versions of Android, you can not select a different sound for
different "labels", just one sound for ANY label.
I have the exact same version of Gmail on my Android 4.4.2 tablet and I can set different sounds for different labels by going to Settings, My Gmail account name and Manage Labels ?
Seems strange to me that the same version of Gmail works differently on different versions of Android........but......
Hope this works for you also.

Please format your answer properly.

The question is regarding Google+ not Gmail.


text:
How to solve invalid IMEI problem in LG G3?
After performing a factory reset on my LG G3, my IMEI was set to 0. This problem has been reported also in xda-forums.
How to reset the IMEI in LG G3 running on Android Marshmallow 6.0?

A solution for this problem has been given in multiple sources, such as: this, this, and this. However, in those cases either the phone model is different, or the Android version on the device is different.
Solving this problem requires couple of steps:
0) Setup description
1) Accessing the hidden menu for LG G3 on Android Marshmallow 6.0 & enable DIAG MODE
The solution for this is given in the following xda post
Basically, following steps 1-7 from that post was sufficient for me (given that I had installed the latest version of LG drivers: LGMobileDriver_WHQL_Ver_4.2.0.exe)

Download LG United Mobile Driver or LG Mobile Driver. (I don't think it matters.
Install it.
Go to Device Manager on your Windows Machine.
Physically Connect your phone to the computer and set it to CHARGE ONLY (This is necessary).
, Then Go to your phone Dialer PAD and type in the code: *#546368#*855# (Replace 855 with the LG G3 model Number - 855 is the international model)

It should automatically launch you to the hidden Menu.

Navigate to USB > PORT CHECK TEST. (Not sure if this is necessary at all...but won't hurt to enable it anyway.. you may skip this or
  not..it depends..idk)

Enable it

Then Navigate back to USB > QMICMSet

Click 'OK'. ( Immediately you should see TWO Notifications Display: "LGE Android Phone" Under "Other Devices" with a yellow exclamation.

2) Use QPST to modify the IMEI
For this you have to use the proper version of QPST, that is: 2.7.378. The required software can be found here: http://www.mediafire.com/file/figdbxb75j5kyry/package.rar
For the remaining steps you can follow everything after 06:00 from the afore-mentioned video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2lHFy7AciE), or steps 1-28 after this line:

[After it you will have a 2G network but no 3G\4G network because of
  the imei of the device is 0.So you must restore it with QPST.

in this post: https://forum.xda-developers.com/lg-g3/general/service-disabled-current-version-t3403232

Make sure you LG G3 is running the stock LG firmware [..] If your phone does not have official firmware
  installed on it, restore it to stock first. Install the latest LG USB
  drivers on your computer.
Now download the IMEI converter tool and unzip it.
Download QPST (Qualcomm Product Support Tools) and unzip it.
Open the QPST_2.7_378 and run the setup file to install it on your computer.
Enable USB debugging on your device. You can find this option under Settings> Developer options. Connect your device to the computer.
Run QPST configuration and click on Ports tab. Click on Add new port option.
Your current port should show as COM4/5.
Select the port and click OK. The port should come up on active phones.
Select the phone and click the Software Download option from Start clients menu.
Now click on Backup tab. You should see your phone’s port.
Click on Start to initiate backup.
Now navigate to C:/ Program Files/ qualcomm/ qpst/bin folder.
Run RF_NV_Manager.
Click File> Read from phone. Your phone’s IMEI number should appear on number 550; NV_IMEI_I
If you do not see item 550, do not panic.
Click on File> Read supported RF NV items.
Click on item 550. You would see 9 blank fields.
Now run IMEI Converter.exe.
Now type your phone’s IMEI in Enter IMEI field. You can find your IMEI on your phone’s bill or the box your device came in.
Then click on  button.
You should see 18 digits in groups of 9.
In RF_NV_Manager program, click on Hex by Write NV button.
In the 9 boxes, type in the numbers from IMEI converter starting from left. Type in first group of two numbers in the first field, then
  go to the next field and type in second 2 digits.
When you are done with doing this, click on Write NV option.
Then click File> Read from phone.
Item number 550 should appear now.
Disconnect the USB cable and reboot it.
Open phone’s dialer and dial *#06#. You should see your phone’s IMEI now.

Credit for the solution goes to the original authors in xda and yt, I just put together their stuff.


text:
How to put Android phone into "deep sleep" using Tasker?
I have a Sony Xperia Z running factory Android 5.1.1 I'd like to use in my car for navigation/ music.
I've installed Tasker & configured it to start Spotify playing on power & turn off Spotify when power is switched off.
However this still leaves the phone active & using it's battery while the car is not being used. We don't use our car that much so the battery runs flat over a couple of days.
What I'd really like to do is have Tasker shut down as much of the phone as possible - wireless, mobile data, location services. Ideally I'd like the phone doing absolutely nothing & waiting for power to start playing Spotify again.
Options for "Airplane Mode", "Mobile Data" & "Power Mode" are all unavailable/ red in Tasker. The phone is not rooted but am I correct that these aren't available in Android 5.1?
The Sony Xperia Z has got Ultra Stamina mode that would be perfect. But I can't work out how to activate Ultra Stamina via Tasker (I don't think it's possible) & the phone might need a reboot to come out of Ultra Stamina - which isn't great if I've just stopped the car/ turned off the phone for 5 minutes.
What is the best way to put the phone into "deep sleep" while the phone isn't receiving power where it uses as little services/ battery as possible in Tasker?

Options for "Airplane Mode", "Mobile Data" & "Power Mode" are all
  unavailable/ red in Tasker. The phone is not rooted but am I correct
  that these aren't available in Android 5.1?

On recent versions of Android,  restrictions have been put in place that prevent lot of previously easily toggleable settings (e.g. location, mobile data, night mode, more) and are no longer available without root.
As expected there are workarounds to help toggle many settings without root.
Conventional methods employed involve circumventing Android's security policy on this permission (android.permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS)  and declaring the appropriate permission for toggling secure settings explicitly on the target app/plugin that will be used to toggle these "secure settings" via Tasker.

Using a plugin

It is possible to get most of the "power toggles" switched off using Tasker and an  additional plugin Auto Tools.

Autools offers built-in options to toggle location mode (off, device only, battery saving, high accuracy), mobile-data (on/off), battery saver (enable/disable), notification listeners etc.
Additionally you can toggle flight mode using any of the methods listed here (without root).

Setup
In tasker create a new action:
Plugin >> Auto Tools >> Secure Settings

Pseudo plugin

This detailed method described here offers useful steps to toggle most of these secure settings with ease.

You will have to create an app using Tasker and declare the
  appropriate permission for toggling secure settings. You will then
  need to explicitly grant permission to that app.
This is to workaround Android's security policy on this permission.
  Ordinarily, you wouldn't want to grant this level of permission to
  other apps, but since this an app you're creating yourself, you don't
  need to worry about it. The actual toggling is done with Java calls.

The app you created works as a sort of pseudo-plugin. In a task, use the Launch App action and choose your new app.
In the Data field, you will specify the setting to change and the value to change to. The format of the Data field should be as such: [setting name space]|[setting name]|[value]|[value type] .

Important!
In both cases remember to explicitly grant the app(s) two extra permissions added called
android.permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS and android.permission.WRITE_SETTINGS.

Connect your device to your computer, and open up a command prompt.
Run the command adb shell pm grant [your package name] android.permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS

E.g adb shell pm grant [com.joaomgcd.autotools] android.permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS
Acknowledgements

[Project Share] Toggle settings (e.g. location, mobile data, night mode, more) WITHOUT root


text:
Multilangual spellchecking in Android
I have a ZTE Axon with Android 7. Sometimes I write German texts and other times I write English text.
With English as system language the spellchecking is set to English and it considers German text I write to be wrong. Is there a way to switch to bilingual spellchecking?


text:
How to extract default ringtones from Android device?
I just bought a new phone and I do not like the default ringtones/notification sounds, but I like the ones on my old phone.
When I plug my old phone into my computer and go to This PC\KYOCERA\Internal storage\media\audio\ringtones like I have been told to go to for the default ringtones, the only ones that show up are a couple of custom ringtones I had put on previously. I want to extract the default ringtones like AT&T Play On and notification sounds like Syrma, so that I can put them on my new phone.
I would prefer not to install drivers/programs onto my computer, but it would be okay with installing an app on my phone if necessary. I have the default Windows 10 programs on my computer, as well as and file commander and the rest of the default Android 5 apps on my old phone.
Any help would be much appreciated.

Chances are that someone has already extracted the ringtones from the device rom and published them somewhere in the web. Just search Google for "your-device-name ringtones".

You probably need a file browser on the phone to access (need root), or adb pull
The built-in ringtones are located in
/system/media/audio/ringtones

... instead of your Internal Storage.
You can also extract them from a ROM .zip file downloaded from elsewhere without looking into your phone. Just navigate to the same path above and take all files out there.

Just wanna add that you would not find this path /system/media/audio/ringtones in your mobile OR when you open your mobile (through a USB cable) on your system. Because this is a ROM path. i.e. download a ROM for your mobile; preferably a truly stock ROM (truly stock ROM means original unmodified ROM).
This ROM would be in a form of a zip file. and when you extract this zip file; there you would found this path. /system/media/audio/ringtones

adb pull /system/media/audio/  ./ did the trick, special thanks

On my Pixel6a it was at /product/media/audio/

You can copy internal files, ex /system/media/audio/ringtones, to sd card or anywhere with total commander application.
On Samsung Phone, custom ringtones seem to have to be copied in <internal storage>/music/Samsung.

Okay, thanks guys!
But, I found New Android version stored audio files in system_ext/media/audio

On AOSP ROMs, ringtone, notification and other default sounds are located at /product/media/audio/
This is valid for at least Android 12+
If you do not have a root file explorer installed, you can run the following command to pull the files:
adb pull /product/media/audio <target directory>
This will move the content to the current working directory:
adb pull /product/media/audio .\
Running the above adb command requires USB/Wireless Debugging enabled from Developer options as well as connecting your phone to your PC.


text:
Is there any way to change App source on Android?
I migrated from Oneplus 3(Chinese android phone) to Galaxy Note 8 via Cloneit, since Samsung's stock migration tool didn't support Oneplus 3.
However, apps migrated(or preferably, cloned) on my new phone are recognized as 'app installed from unknown source' instead of 'installed from Google Play'.
It seems that Cloneit, the migration tool brought all apk files via connection and that's making all apps recognized as unknown source.
*
So, I want to change their source property from unknown to installed from Google Play.
*
My speculation is pretty pessimistic since it sounds like it's related to some security issues but I'm hoping some Superuser has an answer for this.
Thanks.

It's possible if you have root.

@iBug Long live TiBu.

@DeathMaskSalesman No need for TiBu. Just a matter of a shell command.

@iBug For you, me and a bunch of others, it's just a shell command. For many casual users, it's a (s)hell command.

@DeathMaskSalesman Your comment is accepted ✔. See my answer.

The solution is as simple as a few (s)hell commands. Requires root and BusyBox.
Open a terminal or an adb shell and type
su
sed -i 's/installer="[A-Za-z0-9._-]*"/installer="com.android.vending"/g' /data/system/packages.xml

If the command prompt tells you sed: not found, install BusyBox correctly and prepend busybox before sed.

Be aware that this is a highly dangerous action. It is strongly recommended that you backup the file before attempting to modify it. Also in some cases the file permission may get messed up, fix it by
chmod 0660 /data/system/packages.list
chown 1000.1000 /data/system/packages.list

Wait, with this you can trick the OS into treating arbitrary apps as coming from Play? What about within Play itself - does it then list and update such apps?

Upvoted because I enjoy messing around with packages.xml.

@AndyYan Play updates any app you're eligible for - including those explicitly marked as "not installed by Play" - as long as you own it with your Google Account.

@AndyYan Play seems not to have a list of "installed by me" itself.

Well that "owned" list is pretty much what I was thinking of... How silly I was to have forgotten about that. Thanks and +1 for the explanation.

I don't what the problem was, but after doing this and rebooting, I faced bootloop, which I finally  found how to resolve by chmod 777 /data/system/packages.xml from TWRP's Terminal (I noticed the FileNotFoundException in logcat during boot for packages.xml). It might sound weird, but yes, it happened to me. Also, on a safer side, it'd be better to backup packages.xml first, incase the user typed even a single letter wrong leading to World War III.

@GokulNC Good I'll add the notice.

Thanks guys. I chose to migrate with Cloneit and expected no further Play store updates but when I restarted my device all apps were soundly marked as 'Installed by me' and future updates were eligible. I checked the apps from the setting and they are still marked as 'installed from package' rathet than 'installed from Play store' but anyhow it works.

I'm very unfamiliar with shell commands and I'm very far from Android Dev. So  I'm happy I didn't have to root or anything. Plus, Samsung's Galaxy has Knox in it which leaves a permanent mark if I ever root my device and it will no longer be eligible for bankings and credit payment.


text:
Do Gallery or Google Photos create extra copies of media from other apps?
I have a lot of media files on my phone: some of them are sent and received by WhatsApp, others are made by my camera. I configured Gallery application to see  WhatsApp media directories and I use Google Photos to backup all my media files. Now here is the question. How many copies of the actual file are created on my device? Does Gallery create a copy or just list the files? Does Google Photos create a local copy or just list the files?

You will have only 1 copy of each media files on your device.
The media files will be stored in the default location i.e:- File Explorer.
The media files will also be stored on the google server since you have completed the backup. But it will be virtual for your device.
Note:- Gallery application is only used to display the various files stored in the memory.


text:
SIM card detection and Battery Drain - MI Redmi Note 3
My MI Redmi Note 3 is not detecting the SIM card and the battery is getting drained in 15 mins simultaneously. Cannot connect to Wi-Fi too. Any solution?

The only likely solution is to take it in for repair or replacement. This sounds very much like a short somewhere in the hardware.


text:
Is it safe to buy a second hand/opened box Android phone
Is it safe to buy a second hand Android phone off of eBay? As well as second hand ones, there are also those advertised as "new but in opened box".
Is it possible that they could be loaded with malicious software (malware, spyware, or similar)? If so, would a factory reset protect me or are there versions of such software that cannot be removed even with a factory reset?

Any one of the threats could be possible, but highly unlikely, if that is the case thou I would recon the person doing this is "professional" enough not to install these apps as 3rd party apps but would have probably flashed the device with a custom rom that includes these apps. If that is the case a factory reset would not solve anything, as the apps are part of the firmware, however, you can download the latest firmware for the device and re-flash it, this would ensure that you know exactly what is or isn't on the device.
But like I mentioned in the first line this is highly unlikely, and I would say that you are being over cautious and maybe a little paranoid(no offence intended) The reason I say this is that there is much better(cheaper) ways to get malware spread, and malware is normally spread on a mass scale, where individuals are targeted you might find something like that happening, but you would most probably have been given the phone for free...saying that you won some prize etc.
So chill if you like the phone and its a good deal, go for it....
BTW most off the time in those cases where the device is new but box opened the seller received the phone from there network, and prefer to stick to the phone they are currently using, most networks requires in-store activation...they turn the phone on, turn it off, and put it back in the box( This might network lock the device thou

Great info.  I would also like to point out that eBay's rating system is a highly treasured aspect of sellers.  So, be sure to check the ratings and buy from reputable sellers.


text:
How to Automatically Connect as MSD on Android 7.0
There is another similar question for an older version of Android and instructions here for Android 6.0 but neither work, plus I would like to have the entire phone connected, not just the MicroSDHC card.
How can Android 7.0 be force to automatically connect as USB Mass Storage Device?
It would be nice to have solutions for both standard and rooted phone but mine is currently rooted.
Right now, it is a pain since it automatically connects for charging and one must unlock the phone to get to the notification to open the list of options to select Use USB to Transfer Files. This is too much work as the only reason I am connecting the phone to a computer and not a charger is to get files.

"but neither work" - Can you describe what happens when you change "Select USB Configuration" in developer options (currently available up to Android O) ?

@CzarMatt Nothing changes. When I connect the phone, it is still only connected for charging. That is what the notification says but I also tried anyway and there are no folders that appear. Changing it to MSD from there makes it show the phone contents.

What is the make/model of your phone ?

@CzarMatt - Lenovo Moto G5 but does it matter? Do these instructions for earlier versions of Android work on 7.0 for other phones?


text:
How to unhide a contact address in Google Maps?
I accidentally hid a contact on Google Maps, thereby removing his/her address on the map. How do I undo this action?

If you check your contact in question inside Google Contacts, is the address still there?  As far as I know, you can just add their address back into the contact card and it will show up on maps.

@CzarMatt Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to work.

Have you tried deleting and re-adding the contact, this seems to be the most recommended workaround

According to solutions given Google Maps Help forum, you can try deleting the contact and then re-adding it.

It is presumed that these settings are  stored in the Contacts App on your
  phone, not the Maps app.

Thus perfoming the above mentioned workaround will then override the "hide" option.
Additionally you may need to resync the information to Google servers.

My solution just recently when I hide contact by accident
Settings-Apps-Google Maps-Force shutdown- Clear memory + cache
Start maps again and the contacts should be back.

Open location sharing (from the menu in the top left corner of the Google maps app). You should see a list of everyone who has shared their location with you, including the one you accidentally hid from the map. Select that person, and an option should appear for you to "show on map". Select that, and they will again appear on your map.

on the maps app, click on your profile picture located at the right side of the search bar, then "location sharing", then click on the 3 dots in the top right corner and "hidden from map (1)" where 1 is the number of hidden contacts. Then, click on the 3 dots of the contact that you want to unhide, and click on "show on map". Now your contact's location will be shown on the map again.


text:
Storage not recoverable
Are there any known conditions where an update results in irrecoverable storage?  I am asking this because an Android device has lost storage and I have been unsuccessful in recovering 3GB.

Update to what? Stock ROM? Custom?

OS update.   To 6.0


text:
Convert x265 to x264 on Android
I have HCL me u1 android Tablet
with following specs.

Android 4.0 rooted
display : 800x480
1 gb ram
1 GZH single core cortex a8 processor
5.5 GB free space
Usb port

this tab is  used only for watching movies with Mx Player App.
Mx Player can smoothly play x264 (480p AND 720p AND 1080p) on Hw or Hw+ mode,but not on Sw mode.
But for hevc or x265 (480p OR 720p OR 1080p) video it cant play smoothely,The A-V sync is horrible.
I guess processor is too old for x265 format.
So I convert x265 to x264 on pc using Handbrake (time 5 to 6 hours) and then I play x264 video  on Tablet.
I am wondering If I could use my tablet for x265 to x264 conversion (tablet can be pluged to charging all the day or even more than 1 day,so no problem of power supply).
does anybody know any app to convert x265 video to x264 video on android?

If the SoC is too old for playback (decode) of the format then certainly it'll perform even worse at converting (decode and re-encode) it. You can't expect it to take a reasonable time to complete on your tablet when it already takes hours on your way more powerful PC.

this is not answer

and I assume anyone who downvoted ,either tapped dropdown arrow accidently or have no IDEA what I AM ASKING for!!!

I didn't put it as an answer either. Also, the -1 (not by me BTW) is for something else - app recommendations are explicitly off-topic on Android.SE.

If you think people are not grasping the idea, it's up to you to explain it further via edits.

I can if they ask only one time before judging...

You may do the conversion using the ffmpeg tool:

Download Termux for Android
Install ffmpeg binary by apt-get install ffmpeg
The command to convert x265 to x264:

ffmpeg -i input.mkv -c:a copy -x265-params crf=25 output.mp4


text:
Where is adopted storage mounted?
Where in the filesystem is the mountpoint for the adoptable storage partition?

On my Dirty Unicorns ROM, I found it mounted under /mnt/expand.
If it's not there try looking through the output of:

mount | grep dm-
mount | grep block

Same on a LineageOS 18 (Android 11)


text:
Weekly mobile usage
I have a weekly payment cycle for mobile data. The data usage settings are limited to a monthly billing cycle and data warning. What can I do to monitor data usage on a weekly cycle?

Withe the App MyDataManager it is possible to monitor mobile data usage in 4 ways :

Monthly
Weekly
Daily
Custom

Hope this will help.

Alternatively you could achieve the same with 3g Watchdog, giving a breakdown usage history per day/week etc.

Additionally extra alerts, for switching mobile data automatically add soon as it exceed allocation

If you have the Xposed Framework installed, install the Advanced Data Plan module.
This enhances Android's built in data usage meter with a system where you can set the number of days between billing cycles.
GitHub repo
XDA thread


text:
How to disable autocomplete in Chrome for specific sites
When I visit passwords.google.com in Chrome for Android (Marshmallow) I have the option to autocomplete the password.
I would like to disable passoword autocomplete for this site only, or maybe for selected sites, leaving the autocomplete enabled for most sites.
Is it possible to do so? How?

It is not possible for an user to disable autocomplete for a single site. You can check this link to disable the feature on Chrome (all sites) - it is a simple tutorial on how to do it.
However, for a single site, unless you are the website's developer and don't want your users to have this feature, you can't. But, if you are, you can check this stackoverflow post

This is helpful and accurate, but frustrating.  Sounds like it needs a Chrome enhancement request since every other system has some sort of list to control browser behavior by domain/regex.  Looks like I have to edit it in place for now using the dev tools as a user..

Actually you can disable the autofill for usernames and passwords for just one site.  Go to settings in the Chrome browser then to passwords.  Scroll down to find the website that you  do not want autofilled.  Then you hit on the 3 dots and remove it from the list of saved passwords.

You are not actually disabling autocomplete with this step-by-step, but only removing a saved password...


text:
"Google keeps stopping" after Android Oreo update
I got a Nexus 6P and it received the Oreo update yesterday. After installing the update, there were few errors like "Gboard stopped working" etc., That happened only once and the device was working normally for few hours. Now suddenly, I keep getting "Google keeps stopping" in the launcher screen. When I close the popup, the launcher is reloaded and the popup appears again immediately. Phone is currently kind of unusable. Tried to open Settings, but that got closed as well.
Tried checking Play Store for the latest updates, but got none. Anyone else got this issue? Any idea if this can be resolved?

Did you try clearing the cache? Boot in the recovery and clear cache. Should work.

@esQmo_ There is no cache clearing option in the recovery. There are only Reboot bootloader, Recovery mode, Power off, Barcodes and Start.

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about: RECOVERY MODE

Just tried clearing the cache partition from Recovery mode. But the issue still persists.

Also, not sure why the question is down voted without mentioning the reason.

If clearing the cache didn't solve the issue, you might need to perform a factory reset. Backup everything first then perform the reset from the recovery. And from the screenshot, looks like something weird, such as a malware. The Google Keep app doesn't have the "s" in Keep. But that's just my thoughts. You may need to check all installed apps as well: do you have USB Debugging turned on?

Just did a factory reset. I didn't get the error for an hour. After setting up all my apps for half a day, the error came back. It is unfortunate that even stock Android has issues with Google's official app. When it says "Google keeps stopping", it is not related to "Google keep" app I think. It is the "Google" app. The first time the app stopped, it said "Google has stopped working". From the 2nd time, it said "Google keeps stopping" meaning the same app keeps stopping even after restart. No I do not have USB debugging ON.

Oh, it's wierd... If the problem continues, consider reverting back to the previous version by flashing the ROM image or if there is the Oreo ROM image, try it and see if it solves the problem.

There is some critical error for the new android Oreo (for me is nexus 6p) which make a system crash on the desktop (google now launcher) and on settings (you can't open app list). It is can be created by any of your applications which you need to find. So only way to remove the app, in this case, it is to use a google play application or maybe some other launchers. For me, it was "6 Minute English". I find it via installing nova launcher and on the common app list, the application was shown without a logo,  with green robot image instead.

Similar issue for me too. It was "PTE Learn English" App that was incompatible with Oreo.


text:
How do I get scrolling wallpaper through google wallpaper app on Galaxy J7?
I use Google's Wallpaper App for new wallpapers everyday. However, I am not getting scrolling wallpapers. I have gone through the complete settings of my device but it didn't find anything interesting?

I've seen on this video an app that allows you to do that, called Landscape Wallpaper
I believe there are other apps that also allows you to do that, like this and this. You can be free to choose (I, particularly, don't use any of these).


text:
Block an vaulty account and can pc can acces my vaulty account?
Can you block a vaulty account?
My phone had been stolen and the suspect is one of my friends. They know my lock screen pasword and i was worried if they can acces this vault in the computer and open my private files. So i was wondering to block my account inorder to remove those files.

Can you link to the app you're asking about? There are a lot of "vault" apps all with very similar names, so it's best to be clear which one you mean.

No, as far as i know, if there are decrypted files on a device that were encrypted by that device, you can't access them from a computer -unless you have some very advanced computer knowledge, which i doubt your "friend" will be that desperate. Here is a link that talks about accessing encrypted data on another device. I know this discussion is about an sd card, but it's still the same idea. You have data in a vault that is encrypted.


text:
How to decrpyt & extract data from encrypted removable SD card from another device?
My Xperia z5 died for an unknown reason and I had to send it for repair. I had an SD card inside for my pictures and kept it home. After a longer time, Sony sent me a new phone. Happy, I put back my Sd card to see that the files were existing but are encrypted, the new phone not having the same setting.
I don't really remember setting the encryption but now its too late.
Now my question, I have several pictures saved on my computer unencrypted who are also on the phone. Is it possible to extract the key by comparision or is android encrypting the whole drive making it impossible to find the key when you have the original file at disposal?

In short, no. It's not possible, without having the old device. Why? Think of someone like your enemy, who wants to copy your data when you're not around. So, he removes your memory card and plugs it in his computer to read your data. Do you think he should be able to extract those data from your encrypted card? NO! That's the sole purpose of encryption. Once encrypted, without the key, it's just junk data inside.

Thanks you, that's fine there is no critical data on it anyway. But I was wondering how the encryption was working, whether it was encrypting each file with the key meaning that when i have the original file and the encrypted one, I should be able to get back the key or if android what encrypting the whole drive, meaning that when you delete one file, you loose everything.

Not possible without old device where key is stored (still no accessible without root AFAIK) p.s. that key is also wiped when performing factory reset.

@Thomas On portable SD cards, disk-encryption is performed, meaning that the entire drive is encrypted, not files individually.

authors: Једноруки Крстивоје


text:
How can I allow a second user account to unlock my device after a reboot?
I recently damaged the screen on my phone and am sending it in for repair. The repair shop I am using wants to be able to access certain features of the device, like the camera, Wi-Fi, etc, in order to test that they still work properly after the repair is complete. I'd like to give them this option without granting them full access to all the data on my phone, and without having to perform a factory reset, so I created a new user account for the repair shop to use.
Unfortunately, while performing the repair the repair shop will need to power the phone down, and here's where I run into a problem. After rebooting my phone, the lock screen for my main user account appears showing the message "Unlock for all features and data.", and doesn't allow switching to the repair shop's account until after the device is unlocked. You can see the repair shop's user account in the settings pulldown menu, but it is greyed out and tapping it does nothing. This defeats the purpose of having a separate account, as it seems my main account's password is required in order to access the repair shop's account.
I am using a Google Pixel, and disk encryption is enabled. (As it is by default.) Note that the Pixel uses file-based encryption, so in theory it should be possible for different users to use different decryption keys for their files. (Though I have no idea if that's possible in practice, which is why I'm asking this question.)
Is there a way to allow other user accounts to access my device after a reboot?

Maybe try to disable option so it doesn't require pin/pattern at start-up?

I think your answer can be found here: https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/221046/how-to-unlock-non-owner-account-after-reboot/246361

So I had the same problem with an employee to whom I had given a phone. She kept forgetting to charge the phone, so when it rebooted after charging she had to hand me the phone so I could type in the password and then switch to her secondary account. Tired of this, I read some articles about multiple users. I couldn't find the right answers (or didn't understand them) but here is what I did.

I switched to her user account and protected her user screen with a swipe.
Rebooted
In my admin account, I erased/disabled my screen lock by erasing my admin password.
Rebooted
In my admin account, I enabled the screen lock again by using a password. The phone then prompted me to accept added security by needing a password before startup. This time I chose NO. Then I re-added my old password.
Now after reboot, my employee can swipe the screen down and select the second user herself without having to input the admin password. And if she tries to switch to my admin account, the phone asks for my password.

I really don't know how vulnerable the phone has become after declining the added security, but now I can get back to work faster and have one less thing to worry.
I hope someone still finds this helpful.

has this feature been removed in Android 10? It's not working for me

authors: Једноруки Крстивоје


text:
Increasing vibration intensity in pixel XL
I can barely feel the vibration in my pixel XL. Is there any way to increase it? Some posts suggest there should be a "Sound and Vibration" setting but my O does not have one.

Unfortunately, Android does not provide a stock setting that will control global vibration intensity because not all phone hardware supports the ability to control vibration amplitude.
Instead, Android has released updates to the Vibrator control as of Android API level 26 (aka: Android Oreo).
Developers can check if the hardware supports adjusting haptic feedback intensity by calling Vibrator#hasAmplitudeControl.
If so, they can create their own haptic feedback by calling Vibrator#vibrate and passing in a desired VibrationEffect, which is the object definition of a vibration pattern, including amplitude.
In summary, vibration control is up to the phone hardware capabilities and developers now as of Android Oreo.

Note: there may be third party apps on the Play Store that allow for more fine grained or global vibration control, but I am unsure which is viable and whether or not root permissions are required - so YMMV.


text:
How to run adb and fastboot commands from Termux?
Is it possible to run adb and fastboot commands using Termux terminal emulator? I am wanting to run commands from one Huawei T3 7 to another using USB/OTG cable. Need to unlock bootloader but have no access to a PC or laptop.

See Run adb command inside the terminal emulator or programmatically without root

@Firelord Termux is a bit different from your usual emulator. It is rather similar to a self-contained barebones distribution, instead. Moreover, Google removed the adb binary from Android starting with Marshmallow.

This question is nearly a duplicate of this which has a detailed answer by @Firelord, except the Termux part. As mention by @DeathMaskSalesman in comment, Termux is more like a Linux environment, but so far it doesn't have adb and fastboot in repositories, though proposed. Most probably because they are meant for rooted devices. But you can use static binaries (e.g. this or this) on Termux like on usual Terminal emulator app. Make sure to set proper environment variables (TMPDIR, HOME or HOMEDIR).
However you won't be able to run each of them without root because only members of AID_USB group are able to read devices in /dev/bus/usb/ (1). Furthermore SELinux restricts unprivileged apps' access to /sys and /dev.
For adb there's a workaround if both devices are connected to same network e.g. Wi-Fi or hotspot. adbd can be run to listen on TCP socket instead of USB. It's possible if before turning on "USB Debugging" property service.adb.tcp.port (2) is set to some port (first default is 5555). Apps can't set properties, so to do this using setprop on adb shell or by simply executing adb tcpip 5555, you need to connect the target device to a PC over USB. Then all you have to do from Termux before sending commands is:
~$ adb connect <IP>:5555

But service.adb.tcp.port is reset on reboots and you have to set it again. There is another property persist.adb.tcp.port which persists across reboots but it's meant only for testing and SELinux won't let you set this without root or some system app running with UID 1000.
Some custom ROMs have built-in toggle to set service.adb.tcp.port. But for fastboot root is must. However it's possible on Android to access USB OTG devices through android.hardware.usb APIs. fastboot-mobile is an unofficial library from Google to send fastboot commands over OTG. This app (I have no affiliation) also provides similar limited functionality.

Tasker 5.9.2 beta lets you run ADB shell commands without being tethered to a PC

@alecxs so how does Tasker sets service.adb.tcp.port to 5555 without connecting to PC? On stock Android Dev Options don't have ADB over network. So the only way to set service.adb.tcp.port is through adb because apps cannot set properties. service.adb.tcp.port has SELinux context shell_prop, so adbd can set it. But persist.adb.tcp.port doesn't have a defined SELinux context, so it's set with context default_prop, which can only be set by init on user builds. So the both properties can be set permanently only (with root or) on ROMs with modified SELinux policy.

you must be right. the reddit post say it's using setprop but to me it looks like chicken egg dilemma

If you restart adb in tcp mode  than Tasker can also send adb commands to Android. This would work so long as the device is not rebooted as that would again require adb restart in tcp mode. All in all, adb support of Tasker would help if you don't ever restart the device.