text:
Migrate Between Different Phones with Apps & Data on MicroSDHC
Attempting my first migration between two phones with different Android versions has got me very confused.
All my apps and data are currently working and complete on an Android 4.4 phone. Internal storage has the core system plus Google apps while all remaining is on a MicroSDHC card. This includes everything that must be transferred intact to a new phone.
Just got a new phone with Android 7.0 in a factory-clean state. There is nothing of value yet on this phone, so it is OK if the process resets and otherwise destroys anything on it. What I am so far not able to do is get the apps and data of the old phone onto the new one.
When installing the phone with the Copy from Other Android Device option, my contacts, calendar and Hangouts get copied but pretty much nothing else. Even if I install an app which existing on the old phone into the new one, it appears blank despite having selected to Save and Restore App Data in the Backup & Reset settings of both phones.
One would have expected to be able to just insert the MicroSDHC card from the old phone, which contains all apps and data that matters, into the new one but it just does not work. The new phone offers the option to Format or Format as Internal Storage the card or to use it for photos (not sure of the exact wording right now). Of course, any type of formatting would obliterate the data which is desired but then how do I get the new phone to use the card with its current apps and data?
Is there a way I can convert rather than format the card? The point of having an SDHC card and to place all apps and data on it was, after all, to be able to port this but I have no idea how to get it to work between these two versions of Android.
How can I ensure that apps and data from an Android 4.4 phone get migrated to a 7.0 one?

This is not the Symbian era anymore, where you can have all data on an external storage and move it freely. App data resides in /data/data (which you can't access without root access) in internal storage, even if you have the apps themselves moved to SD card.
Move non-app data (e.g. media files, documents) off your SD card, have it formatted, then move them back. The card is then ready to be used as a storage only - most if not all Android 7.x phones do not offer the "move apps to SD" option anymore.
As of app data, use apps like Titanium Backup (root required) or Helium (no root required) to back them up on the old device and restore them on the new.
Note to others: it's been a while since I conducted cross-major-version backups myself (I usually wipe clean and start over), and specifically I've never used Google's cloud backup solution. Feel free to point out mistakes or make edits.

On 4.4, my app data wouldn't even fit in Internal Storage! So now - for versions 7.x - it just must? This makes the SD card a lot less useful than before :( Unfortunately, I discovered that Helium does not back data on the SD card and rooting the phone (old) destroys everything, so that puts in in a corner. How do I get out?


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How to reset mobile fingerprint
How to reset mobile fingerprint?
Mobile Model :  Lenovo vibe P1

Go to settings > lockscreen > add fingerprint and delete all fingerprints after entering security pin

mobile is fingerprint locked now how to open the mobile?.

You always have the option to open it via security pin. So unlock it via pin

Unlock the phone with security pin then go to settings > lockscreen > manage fingerprints
Input your security pin again and then delete all registered fingerprints.

source: Stack Exchange

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

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

sort: votes


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Moto G5 Plus- Facing issues with notification of whatsapp
Hello guys i have moto g5 plus (4gb 32gb version). It happen sometimes when there is notification of whatsapp , when i click on that notification it doesnot opens whatsapp .any other user facing this issue?

Try changing the notification permissions and setting it to highest priority (like in Marshmallow, don't know the equivalent in Nougat)

How that would help ? problem is when i click to notification it doesnot open whatsapp

I have Moto G4 plus with Android Nougat and I too get the same problem but very rarely. So I pass it.

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


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How to bypass lockscreen on Android Marshmallow?
After updating to Android Marshmallow, my PIN is no longer being accepted. I haven't forgotten the PIN, it's a 4 digit I have been using for 8 months, nobody else has physical access to my phone, so I am pretty sure it has not been changed by someone.
USB Debugging is disabled, no root, bootloader is locked, Full Disk Encryption is disabled. Please do not suggest a factory reset. Android Device Manager doesn't work either.
What can I do? Is there anyway to get the data off the device, aside from JTAG or sending it to some data recovery company who can remove the Memory Chip and interface with it directly and copy the data that way? Is there any way to bypass the lockscreen?

No direct answer, but a pointer: Have you already checked with our locked-out tag-wiki and followed its links? There's one answer summing up a lot of ways concerning pattern lock.

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


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Turn LED notification light on when the front camera is being used by any app
I am looking for an app, or profiles in Tasker which would turn on the LED notification light for supporting phones, whenever the front camera is accessed by an app. Many laptops have similar features.

@beeshyams My aim is indeed that but locking and unlocking for each snap is too much work.

@beeshyams Can you please give me the link.

Let us continue this discussion in chat.


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Samsung greyscale_mode not changeable over adb shell
On my Samsung Galaxy S7 I have a Grayscale Option under Vision Accessibility (NOT the one under dev options!)
When I activate it over the UI it works as expected. But when I activate it over ADB Shell with command: "settings put system greyscale_mode 1" the toggle_switch gets activated as expected, but the greyscale effect itsself is not activated. Is there a command to push this new settings? Or what am I doing wrong?
Regards - Timo


text:
Flashed addonsu-arm-signed.zip on LineageOS, still no root
I just installed LineageOS 14.1 using TWRP.
Then, following this guide I downloaded addonsu-arm-signed.zip to my SD card and installed it, also using TWRP.
PROBLEM: Then I installed Titanium Backup from Play Store, an got this message:

Is there a mistake in my procedure?
Is there a missing step?

Go to Settings.
Click on About phone and then tap 7 times on the Build number.
Navigate back, open Developer Options.
Tap Root Access.
Select Apps or Apps and ADB.

Now you have root and Titanium Backup finds it:

I just found I had to switch from ADB only to Apps and ADB. Not sure why, since the issue was with ADB itself.

This is really a comment, not an answer. With a bit more rep, you will be able to post comments. For the moment I've added the comment for you, and I'm flagging this post for deletion.


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how can i retrieve my private mode data after factory reset
I got my samsung s6 edge phone and there was some data which was moved to private mode but due to some unavoidable reasons I got to factory reset my phone. but as it was connected to my gmail and was being backed up so i got all my pictures back in gallery but none of my picture is there which i had moved to private mode... I got s6 edge... any help there how to get those data back which was in private mode?

Two words: black magic. No it is not possible since images weren't backed up, it could be maybe done by some professionals but if you used phone there is great chance that is data overwritten and it would be too expensive if its not so important data.

If you did a factory reset there is no way you can retrieve your data, but if you had a backup of your rom there should be no problem recovering it

authors: Једноруки Крстивоје


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Lost USB tethering on Samsung Galaxy Tab A after updating to Android 7.0
After an update from Android 6.0.1 to Android 7.0 on Samsung Galaxy Tab A (SM-T580, WiFi only), I've lost the USB tethering function.
I need an update to recover this function which is very important for me because I use this tablet only to connect to the remote control of a drone via USB tethering. Without this function, this tablet no longer serves me and the drone too.

Try using shell commands, do you have root BTW?

root ? is it like under linux .  i wrote su in shell , give a password and i am under root ?

Sort of as in 'super user' privileges, after rooting device. Rooting is a different proceedure though, its not available by default like in Linux environments, we have to obtain it by modifying some system files

Check what type of connection it is using, take down the notification drawer and see if there is a "Recharge" notification or something like that.
If so, tap on it and choose the MTP option, then go in the tethering options, and activate it.
Done :)

hello,
" Check what type of connection it is using "
how i do that , where i have to look ?
before android 7.0 , under android 6.0.1 it was simple , i ran software of my drone , an window opened  and asked  me to enable usb tethering  and it worked .
now under android 7.0   the usb tethering function have  gone and i cant enable it anymore so i cant connect to drone .
now when i does connect Remote controller  to tablet via usb cable , tablet go only into charger mode .
thank

Swipe down the notification bar while connected to the controller, is there a notification about the tablet being in charge only mode?

indeed there is something else about usb in notification   , but nothing  about usb tethering in notification . I ve tried file transfer via usb but it doesnt work .

Try to tap that notification, does a menu with different modes for usb appears?

when i tap i get 4 line: file transfer media , transfer picture , midi connect , nothing . i ve tried four and nothing work.

choose file transfer media, then go to the tethering options and activate it.

it is what im tryingto tell . there is no more tethering option under android 7.0 . this option have gone after update .

Are you sure? Have you checked settings>other(under wireless and networks)>Tethering/mobile hotspot?

yes this option have gone

Strange, what ROM are you on? Model of phone? I'm on 7.1.2 and no problem

7.0  with samsung tablet tab A 10.1 SM-T580 wifi (2016) .   I ve searched and i'm not alone , lot of people under 7.0 get the same problem , but perhaps this function come back under 7.1.1 and futher .

Nothing even under wifi?

Ok, It seems that you can enable it by installing Magisk manager, so you have to root the device

If you enable Developer mode and go to Settings -> {} Developer and tap enable USB Debugging, it allowed me to install an app via USB.
Maybe it will help you.


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Recover photos from locked Android (Galaxy S5 Verizon)
My mom passed tonight and there are some photos of her on this old phone I have. Losing them is not an option but I only have 1 attempt left on the lock code before it factory resets the data so I can't attempt that or do the Google account unlock or anything.
I read a bit about yodot or something that may be able to help, but I wanted some help from the experts before I dive in and screw it up because like I said if I mess this up I will be absolutely devastated.
I really hope you guys can help me out. Thanks in advance, I really appreciate it.

If adb is on then you have a chance to recover data from the device.

Install adb and fastboot drivers in your Computer.
Connect your phone with an USB cable
Open terminal and enter adb devices

If it shows your device then you can extract any file by entering adb pull path/to/file

Doesn't ADB require USB Debugging? If so, Developer Options has not been enabled on this device and neither has USB Debugging.
I heard about flashing a custom recovery ROM or something without losing the files. Is this a possibility?

I haven't tried it and I will not recommend it to you

@DanL try to boot into stock recovery and then connect it to pc. I think either adb or file transfer is possible in this state


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galaxy s5 recovery
I have a galaxy S5, which yesterday (cracked screen) decided to go black. I can still get it to call, take pictures in the blind.
What things can I try to recover the data on here...I figured out last month that the google backups were not occuring and could not get them to backup. Was working on that when this happened.
I need my contacts, my text messages, and my photos.
I am a fairly capable sysadmin. I have googled without success. Called the Sprint store and does not sound like they are willing to help me recover the data.
Can I recover this with a blank screen and it is not rooted?
Thanks

If you can unlock it, you can simply connect it with your computer and copy the important files (at least the photos; they're in the folder DCIM on your internal storage or SD card, depending on the camera settings).
You can use Samsung Kies (looks like Samsung replaced it with "Smart Switch", but I haven't used it yet ... might work as well) to backup most of your other data, especially if your next phone is a Samsung as well.
To copy your text messages, you will probably need an app on your device - I don't think that Kies or Smart Switch copy them, and I don't know of any other possibility to save them by wire. I don't know if you are able to install an app (could be done via adb) and to use it blindly ...
(If you're wondering what's "adb": remove brackets: https[://]developer.android.com/studio/command-line/adb.html)


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How can I delete duplicated SMS?
I have a lot of duplicated SMS on my Android 7.1.2 Phone, because of the app "SMS Backup & Restore". I would like to delete redundant SMSs. How can I do that? Before actually doing it, I would like to inspect the would-be result.
What I tried:

In How to delete duplicate SMS?, it says that "SMS Backup & Restore" has an option to not import duplicates. I could not find that option.
Also it said to check out "BackupSMS", but the app does not seem to offer the option to check out the results.
After reading http://blog.radj.me/removing-duplicates-sms-backup-restore-xml-android, I looked at https://github.com/radj/AndroidSMSBackupRestoreCleaner and tried the expanded version https://github.com/hameerabbasi/AndroidSMSBackupRestoreCleaner. But after inspecting the results, I got the impression the script also deleted messages that were not duplicates. I am pretty glad I was able to inspect the results via Linux tools, showing me that my instinct to be able to check out the results was correct.
Also coming from the blog, I found the app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.venomvendor.sms.deduplicate (Source at https://github.com/VenomVendor/DeduplicateSMS), but this also does not show what SMS are going to be deleted.
In the thread https://www.reddit.com/r/AndroidQuestions/comments/3ecq7z/how_to_delete_duplicate_sms_after_restore/, it was suggested to use Google Hangouts. I do not have (or want to use) something like Google Hangouts.

Not tried myself, but there's an app called Deduplicate SMS which should do exactly that.

@Izzy: That app has already been mentioned by me and it has rather mixed reviews. As I mentioned, it lacks the option to inspect what the changes will be - in other words, which messages are going to be deleted. I am not sure if I can trust the app.

just found that on "SMS Backup + Restore" the option to not restore duplicates is present when you actually go to restore, under "advanced options" it's actually down as "disable duplicate check (faster restore) and is by default set to "off" so it will check.
Having just run it myself, I can confirm it does work (or at least has for me)


text:
How to force sleep after a timeout regardless of app?
I'm letting my little kid use an old Android phone (Galaxy S5) as a camera. I've got the camera app pinned so he can't do anything except take pics. He hits Home to wake it up and then can tap the screen to take pics to his heart's content.
The problem is that the camera app keeps the phone awake and screen on, bypassing whatever the phone's global options are. Apparently the screen stays on forever, too. I'd like it to have a normal timeout so kiddo doesn't need to remember to hit the power button. (Worst thing in the world for him is to have him pick up his 'camera' only to find it has a dead battery, right?)
Unfortunately there's no option in the Samsung camera app to change this. The system sleep setting is ignored. I tried a few apps that will auto-change screen timeouts based on app, but it has no effect - the camera app overrides this. I tried a couple other camera apps, but they have the same result. Anyway I like the Samsung camera - it's really easy for my kid to manage.
How can I force this phone to go to sleep after x seconds of inactivity, even when a camera app is running?
Is this a job for Tasker? (I haven't tried that yet - really complex app last I messed with it.)

Macrodroid is a simple automation app. Try if it works. Trigger: app Launched > camera Action 1. Wait xx minutes/ second 2.screen off

Sorry action 2 should be set screen time out. Guess your phone isn't rooted, to think of other ways to override


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Android devices not able to access the internet when certain router is on
I have a TP Link Router model TL-MR6400 and then to extend this wifi I have a Eircom D1000 modem, which is set up in Bridge mode. All my devices are able to access the internet using this setup(Windows laptop, Macbook, IPhones, printer, etc) except for the three android devices(A HTC 10, a HTC M8 and a Asus Tablet). All three of these are able to connect to both of the routers however when the Eircom D1000 modem is on then they cannot access the internet. When turned off my android devices are able to access the internet properly within three seconds, so I am confident that this is the cause of my problem. On all other wifi networks I have been on this problem does not arise.
Sometimes however these devices are able to access the internet, this can happen randomly throughout the day and lasts from 5 minutes to a few hours. Usually though the internet speed is much slower on them than on other devices.
This leads me to believe that the problem lies in the DHCP Server as when the devices are connected but not able to access the internet they are not appearing in the DHCP client list on the TP-Link. On the Eircom router the DHCP Server State is set to DHCP relay and DHCP Relay Server Address is set to the TP-Links IP.
Somethings I have tried already are changing the TP-Link's primary dns server to googles(8.8.8.8) as advised in this question and assigning a static IP to the devices as advised here. Both of these didn't help.

see bridge problems with Eircom

See if you can access your router's ip from your phone. If that works,  chances are it's a DNS issue on your phone.


text:
New Disadvantages of Rooting since 2010?
We have great a question from 2010 with some great answers about potential issues arising from rooting but newer versions of Android have become stricter about rooting and now allow apps to do some device checks.
What new disadvantages are possible since 2010?
From answers to the linked question, we already knew then that rooting can potentially brick a device, void its warranty and stop updates. I've also recently encountered SafetyNet which can cause an issue but have no idea what else I got myself into since rooting my phone.

Is SafetyNet not big enough? More and more apps are now relying on it, even games.

@AndyYan - It is a big one and I just discovered it after 2 days since rooting my device. It would have been nice to know, so obviously what I am wondering is what else will be an issue? Based on the times I looked something online and found it is easy if your phone is rooted, I was certainly sold on the benefits.


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Android x86 7.1 rc1 fails to load on restart
Background:
Device is Toshiba WT8-A
Partition is FAT32 EFI grub and Android x86, all Windows partitions have been deleted.
I have tried various installs from Marshmallow, Bliss and Nougat. All with varying successes. I can link to the files that I installed if requested.
Marshmallow had many failures (ie GPS, WiFi, rotation etc) but would boot. Bliss had the same failures but would boot. Nougat Android x86 had none of those failures but would not boot.
I can consider going back to Lollipop if need be. But firstly let me explain what is happening:
I can install fully, including the grub and I can load Nougat and everything runs smoothly. If I then reboot, an endless loop occurs and Android does not load.
I have looked at the command line and there is nothing to change. I tried a different EFI from a previous install and changed the targets, but I guess there is far more to change than just that, it did not work.
I reinstalled fully Nougat and instead of starting Android x86 I rebooted (as one of the options) and Android rebooted. I updated the apps Google wanted to update, rebooted and then the endless loop occurred again.
I can get to the point where it has detected Android and is trying to boot, but instead of booting, the tablet appears to switch off and start again.
Does anyone have any solutions? Troubleshooting guide or help?
TIA

I encountered the same problem. For me it is because Android x86 breaks the ext4 file system it lives in. After booting an Live CD and running e2fsck, Android x86 booted successfully again.

Emerge some workaround here,

Same as your case
Dual boot is the main difference (Mint 18.2)

When I boot the second time, infinite loop.
Workaround :

Boot on some live Linux, delete Dalvik and data caches.
Make a script that sleep more than Android mean boot time before it run rm commands to erase caches.

Not as beautiful as it would be, but work)
I'm searching for the root cause.


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How do I rename entries in Google Authenticator?
I have about a half-dozen entries for one site. So the name usually only displays the last two letters of the account name. It's hard to figure out which account the entry is for.
How do I rename entries in Google Authenticator?

Touch the entry you want to rename for maybe one second (until it's selected), then use the three-point-menu to rename it.

Touch the entry you want to rename for one/two second until a an accordion appears.
On the top of the screen, you'll see edit icon (pencil) allowing you to rename the entry.
Click on the pencil and rename the entry.

The above instructions work but, on my Android-based app, at least, I am only able to change the part of the name that is in parenthesis. I have not found a way to edit the text not in parenthesis.

Oddly enough, it can't be done. You can change the account name, but that's only the second part of the name. The first part is fixed and can't be changed. The problem with this is many use a sub domain and domain as the first part so you can't even see the second part (which can be changed).
Google really should fix this.

You cannot rename application part of the entry. Only thing that I found helpful is to put the phone Font size to smallest possible, however drawback is that its a global setting and has its obvious side effects to overall usability.


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Can not recognize Nexus 7 2013 version with USB
I am using android version 6.0.1 kernel 3.4.0-gad29d11. I have tried a laptop with windows 8.1 and desktop with ubuntu 16.04. I have tried installing ADB software and google drivers, using different usb cables, putting the device into developer mode with usb debugging on and MTP active, a galaxy 3 phone also is not recognized on either computer. Linux does not show a new usb connection when N7 attached and windows does not show any unknown/android device in device manager. All other usb functions (e.g., OTG operations, charging, etc.) work with the N7.
What can I do?

An update: using a suggestion from a similar post [1] I tried removing all usb extenders, hub, and connecting to a different usb port. I rebooted the N7 and still no connection. I tried using a different usb cable and I observed a “developer mode enabled” notification flicker briefly. I then wiggled the connector and android device showed in my device manager!
[1] Google Nexus 7 not recognized via USB

I am curious could it possibly charge yet not do MTP if the cable is connected in the wrong position? I will test further with cables, cable positions, cable extenders, etc. and edit updates here with what I find.

Concerning Ubuntu, you may be interested in this answer, which worked for me on Debian. It basically describes a way to mount Android's MTP and let it be seen on Thunar. See if it helps.

@DeathMaskSalesman thanks for the advice, I have found some of the issue is with the port only connecting at certain plug angles and I will test first in Win but then move into Linux, your method will be useful at that time.

I have had this problem on a labtop of my mom's. Maybe there is some security feature on the mainboard, I could not try it on this labtop because it is not mine, but that might be the issue. Look out for secure boot for example. (it would be interesting to know if it is a Dell, if yes this could be an issue referring to the company or kind of bios/uefi) I have tried it on another pc, desktop this time and I did not have any trouble. So if there is no option to fix it in the bios, just use another pc, (preferably a desktop) and flash on this system if you can.

Thanks, I was able to get it to work once I held the wire in a certain position in the plug. It still seems to charge when in a different position but I am going to test it further to understand why a certain connector position allows MTP. I may try removing secure boot but I have seen a similar issue on ubuntu that does not use secure boot


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Importing contacts from SIM fails in Marshmallow
I tried to import contacts from SIM in Marshmallow phone. But it tells me that no contacts was found on the SIM card. But an old phone had phone numbers on that SIM. Are there more robust play market apps to extract contacts from the SIM card?

If it tells you that there are no contact on your SIM card, it's probably right. Are you sure that the contacts were not on the phone instead of the SIM card?
Have you access to the old phone? If yes, look if there are still contacts on it. You can save them to an SD card and transfer them for example by wire or bluetooth. You also could use your google account to sync them between your two mobile phones.
If you don't have access to it anymore, you still can use your google account - maybe they've been uploaded to google. If not, you have a problem ...


text:
Unable to connect to VPN through OpenVPN app
I have imported the .ovpn file, but when I try to connect I get the following error:
OpenVPN core error: option_error: cannot connect via TCP-based proxy
because no TCP server entries exist in profile.

I have not messed with my phone in anyway (root, etc). It is just as I bought it, if that helps.
Can anyone help with this?

To me it looks like a problem with the profile you imported.

@AndyYan, I'm not too sure what exactly constitutes the profile. All I imported was the .ovpn file. Do you mean that there is an error in that file?

Yeah, but that config file doesn't look like it's meant for users to edit (I started to use OpenVPN just recently, too). If someone else supplied that file to you, maybe ask him to double-check it.


text:
How to detect GPS status through adb shell?
I need to detect GPS status through adb shell. I have tried dumpsys location command but the output of this command is not changed when the GPS is enabled/disabled.

Did you try the solution here?  If it works will post as an answer

Which Android version and device?

See if adb shell settings get secure location_providers_allowed works for you.

Thanks @Firelord, works like a charm. I'd like to mark your comment as the correct answer if you post it.

You can use this command:
adb shell settings get secure location_providers_allowed

Possible outcomes:

returns nothing, implying the GPS is switched off.
gps,wifi,network or gps,network -- High accuracy mode
wifi,network or network only -- Battery saving mode
gps -- Device only


text:
Dual SIM device : How to configure data usage on per app basis (Rooted device)
My Moto X Play (6.0.1, rooted, Xposed installed ) has dual SIM options, which I usually don't use. Recently, I had a need to use two SIMs, borrowed one with generous data allowance and second (personal ) SIM which was halfway to hitting the data cap.
My need was to configure data usage on a per app basis so that :

I don't exhaust data on my personal SIM while being able to use mobile number linked accounts like WhatsApp, Uber, banking accounts etc.
For all other apps , use the data from borrowed SIM

I couldn't find an app  to do this, as is evident from this similar question, which has no responses yet -Is there a way on a DUAL SIM Android phone to configure on a per-app basis, which app uses which sim card to access internet?
How do I configure SIM data usage on per app basis ?
(This is a self answered question to share one way of doing it. You are welcome to post alternate solutions )

Requires Rooted Device, Xposed framework installed,  latest version of GravityBox Xposed module and an automation app - I use Macrodroid
Create a macro in Macrodroid
Trigger:

Application Launched → select from the drop down list, all apps you want to use on SIM card linked to banking, WhatsApp, Uber etc (5 apps in example below )
Application Launched → select from the drop down list, all apps you want to use on second SIM card (16 apps in example below )

( Make sure that apps don't appear on both lists !)
Actions:

If → +  → Trigger Fired  →
Application Launched 5 apps
→
Tap End If and add this action - Launch Shortcut  → GravityBox actions  → SIM settings  →  SIM 1 for data

Repeat this for second set of apps and choose SIM 2 for data
Constraints:   Leave blank
Done !


text:
Remove preinstalled malicious software from smartphone
I bought a THL T9 Plus recently and get some preintalled apps on it, like YouTube. I thought, that this apps are original, because Google Play client recognised these too. My phone behaved strange in some cases, so I tested it with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware.
It found: Android/Trojan.Spy.Agent.YQ in system/priv-app/thl_YouTube folder.

You cannot remove that malware without rooting the device, but you can disable it though. You can do that via Settings -> Apps.

@Firelord: I already tried it, but after restart I got an error message, that this application stopped. I press OK and popup window comes back again and again. So I decided to allow it again.

Hmm....I wonder whether you could delete this by using a terminal emulator...

You could hide them via adb, what should work. But as far as I know just at and over nougat. Here is the video link to how you could do it. It's from xda

To remove or freeze pre-order installed apps you need to root your device - without rooting you cannot uninstall system apps (those that came bundled with the OS )

Use this guide to root
Install Titanium Backup to uninstall. There are other root apps that can do this as well but this app is highly recommended for this as also many other things it can do, which you can read in Titanium Backup

To freeze system apps
Convert you tube app into user app ( see Can I convert a system app to a user app, uninstall it, or move it to my SD card? ) followed by uninstalling it and installing from play store

Yet another alternative is to flash a custom ROM
, after due diligence

Custom ROM is problematic, because some applications need original ROM.


text:
How does an Android system application restart after you kill it on Rooted devices?
So to clarify, I would like to know how a system app is able to resurrect itself (auto start) after I issue a kill command. There are ways to remove apps, by using apps-removal apps as well as directly using rm command to physically erase the apk/odex and folders. And there are plenty of answers on this around. My question is related to the auto-starting "mechanism" itself. That is, is there some xml file and some main process running that checks it? Or something like that. For reference, I'm using Android 6.0.1 and MIUI 8.5.3 on a Rooted device.
Basically I'm exploring the possibility that some system apps which you remove (and then they send your phone into bootloop) are not required, but the checking/trying-to-start process is what makes it loop. The reasoning is that, aside from "application stopped working" error, the system seems unaffected. So it's the message that's creating the problem and whatever is behind generating it. This answer will enable me to test out this possibility, and post any findings here.
Edit1:
So looks like the answer to half of my own question, (assuming no other "black magic" is going on such as another app checking status...) - restarting is most likely achieved via BroadcastReceiver.
An app can Register a Broadcast Receiver for System Events. The way it works is, when an event happens on the system (USB is plugged in, internet is detected etc) a Broadcast is sent out to all the apps which are Registered to listen for this event. An app can register through its AndroidManifest.XML or pragmatically. But the main part of the question is - where is this registry and how is it possible to alter it (on a rooted device of course)
Edit2: A bit more info. If I do ps, the process shows as normal:
finddevice [....] SyS_epoll_ 7f83b48c54 S com.xiaomi.finddevice

But if I rename a folder of this system process (to disable it), and then kill the process, seems it's binder thread (binder_thr) trying to bring it back to life:
finddevice [....] binder_thr 7f83b48d44 S com.xiaomi.finddevice

And as soon as I rename the folder back to original, it starts it right back displaying as SyS_epoll_

Apps register themselves (if they need so) with the system for broadcasts, such as network connectivity changed, device orientation changed, etc. When such a change happens, the broadcast triggers the app. If you have Xposed Framework installed, try this: http://repo.xposed.info/module/de.defim.apk.receiverstop, and see if the app still wakes up on its own.

@Firelord If I'm correct, then this is doable even from SD Maid, for non-Xposed users.

@DeathMaskSalesman Tried SD Maid, it's a nice tool and does work on some system apps, but not on all. Says "failed" when I try to disable their listeners in Receiver Manager.

@Firelord I don't have Xposed installed. So when one of these resistant system apps re-start, it is their listener that's doing something? Or can it also be some other app that's listening and when it sees you killed his "buddy" he resurrect it? I mean, the first option is the one that I've read about in a few places, just wondering if the 2nd option could also be possible. Is there a common registry place where these things are stored (and could be edited)?

@Firelord I installed Xposed, to test this theory, but ReceiverStop module only offers control over system apps in paid version. (and I only need it for testing) I found alternative in Xposed module: http://repo.xposed.info/module/cn.wq.myandroidtoolsxposed But this app offers limited documentation. Just a list of apps with single check box next to each. When I click on this system app check box, and click save I get a toast: "Done." App still restarts.

Alternatively you can use Lucky Patcher to disable components of any app.

I couldn't comprehend this code much but the information about receivers seems to be kept only in memory (no index file in internal storage). You can use the following command to see which receiver is registered for which type of broadcast.
adb shell dumpsys package

As for disabling a particular receiver, try Elixir 2. You can go into its Applications section, choose your app and then scroll down to find the receivers (static). Next to them would be the option to disable that component.
Another option is to use ReceiverStop Xposed module. Its free version allows disabling receivers for user-installed apps only.
As for command-line, if you know the name of the receiver/component, you could do:
adb shell su -c 'pm disable PKG/COMP'         # where PKG is package name of the app and COMP is the component you intend to disable.

That said, I did not test whether the said solutions work for dynamically registered receivers.

It goes without saying that the answer is valid for rooted Android devices only.

Well, that's the thing, pm disable doesn't work for these "tough" system packages. (Does work for some system apps though) For now I'm using a script that I wrote to do the disabling/enabling alternatively. Script 1) renames .apk and .odex files and 2) kill the process. This creates infinite loop of pop-up which says "unfourtunately..." Then I toggle the script back on. And the process restarts itself and errors go away. The apps that behave this way, will cause a bootloop if I reboot, so it saves time testing.

Thanks for the Elixir2 link, it gives additional useful details. But just like SD Maid, it doesn't work for these apps. Clicking [disable] next to Activities/Receivers has no effect. ReceiverStop, like you said only gives access to system apps in paid version. But I only need this for testing. That is to remove Receivers and see if ROM is still stable. If Yes, then the problem would be identified and I would try to come up with a script-way to do this somehow.


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Turn off notifications for old unread emails and only keep for new emails in gmail
I'm using Gmail on Android 6.0 and almost every time gmail fetch new emails I have notification about old unread emails, each time I got new email the number get bigger (40 right now on my not gmail email that I've got spam sent).
I don't want to click on each email to maker it as read.
Is there a way to turn off notifications for old unread emails and only keep the ones that are for new emails.

As confirmed , the solution that worked is posted below
You can try automation.  I prefer Macrodroid, being easy to learn and free (upto 5 macros)
Create a macro
Trigger: Notification → Notification received  → Select Application  → Gmail  → Text content contains  → Enter here the text you see on the unread notifications
Actions:

Clear Notifications  → Clear all
Optional if you don't want notification sound Volume Change  → Set notification on slider scale to zero

Constraints : Leave blank


text:
Screenshots: captured by front camera or back camera?
I see that screenshots posted in my answers seem to be grainy. Example
Thinking of it made me wonder which camera is used - front or back and is there a way / hack / app to improve the quality of screenshot ?
Changing brightness helps a little but grainy texture remains
Device : Moto X Play, Stock, Rooted , Xposed installed

This is interesting, can you provide an example here?

@NicolaGalluccio: updated with example to show most recent one

Remove that lowercase "m" in https://i.stack.imgur.com/XXXXXm.png (More Info)
The screenshot has nothing to do with your cameras. A screenshot is taken by the system (or the graphics driver), who takes one frame from its rendering buffer and saves the frame. Thus a screenshot always has the same resolution as your screen, and is always a PNG.
Changing brightness should have no effect on your screenshots taken, because it does nothing to the images rendered by your graphics processor. For LCD screens, brightness is simply the power supplied to the backlight panel, and the masking (front) panel is not affected. To confirm this, find a static screen and take two shots with different brightness levels. Compare those screenshots pixel-by-pixel and you'll find them exactly the same.
For grainy textures, it's Imgur's service for resizing photos that caused that problem.
I've edited your example post and here's the change:
[![enter image description here][1m]][1]

  [1]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/L21J7.png
  [1m]: https://i.stack.imgur.com/L21J7m.png

See for yourself


text:
How Do Custom Support So Many Phones?
The other day, my friend told me that completely stock Android could run as a ROM on any device you care to mention. Since basically everyone else has told me otherwise, I decided to verify his claim and stumbled accross this Android Enthusiasts StackExchange thread.
I accepted the answer that was marked as correct, but it got me thinking. If stock android cannot be run on any device, how do custom ROMs like CyanogenMod or anything else support so many phones? Thanks.

CyanogenMod/LineageOS and other custom ROMs can't run on every device either. They have different versions for different devices. For example check this list for the newest LineageOS-compatible devices.
The same version can't work on every device, because the operating system (in this case the android) have to include the drivers for the specific device it will ran on. An android version which would include all the drivers would be illogically huge.

It depends what do you mean with "stock Android" you two didn't understand each other I think. I'll explain you how some things work so you can understand what's going on:
 It's about how you define "stock Android" if by stock you mean the one shipped with phone (Samsung, LG etc.) or you think on pure Android aka AOSP.  The stock Android is placed on nexus/pixel devices Motorola and few others, other manufacturers use Android but the add something their theming and such things (Samsung - TouchWiz, Huawei - emui and so on..) so it's stock on that phones. So if you take any rom of Samsung and try to install it on any other phone you will fail. Android is just a system it needs drivers so it can communicate with hardware, it's not like on PC where you install OS and then search for drivers (until windows 7, linux is some other story). Android ROM is like it Windows XP is made for only one configuration for example "x" cpu, "y" gpu, "z" hard disk and also particular manufacturer and it won't work if there is "w" cpu instead of "x". With custom ROMs things go like this: lineage os provides source code for operating system and other users who may or may not have contributed to making lineage os are providing so called "device trees" and kernel source code (published by phone manufacturers but sometimes needs some changes to make things work, also unique for every model of phone so one can't be used in two or more different models), so lineage os source code, device tree, and kernel sources are used to make rom - compile it for particular phone model, there are also proprietary files which are files used by some hardware but it's not open source so you need to extract it from phone. So no rom can be used on two or more different models even if are they from same manufacturer.

Thanks for your answer. By "stock Android" I was talking about the unmodified Android running on Pixel and Nexus devices.

@user751101 Well what is running on pixel/nexus can only be run on them. Android is just operating system like any other and need drivers and kernel to work and that is different for every phone model. So if you have knowledge and resources you can make any rom (lineage, AOSP, aokp, RR and others) run on any phone.

Look, I get it, but the other guy answered my question perfectly. I know what you're talking about. Please either delete this answer or stop this discussion. Thank you.

authors: Једноруки Крстивоје


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Backup WhatsApp to PC (with all Media)
How do I backup my WhatsApp Chats with all media (text, video, audio, position data etc.) and view them on PC?
The backup purpose is not to restore it later, it is to view the data on my pc, just as if it was on my smartphone.

Solution tested, which doesn't meet the requirements:

Copy WhatsApp folder to PC and use whatsapp-viewer

The viewer and its HTML Export files do not contain the voice messages

The chats are saved automatically every day in the WhatsApp-Folder on your internal storage, and the pictures and videos are there as well. Just copy the whole folder to your PC. WhatsApp restores these files during the installation if it finds them, so if your smartphone breaks, just copy the folder onto the new one (same location) and install WhatsApp again. It's also possible to make a manual backup from the settings. You just have to copy it to your computer every day ...
You could use a tool like the WhatsApp Viewer to view the files on your PC. I haven't tested this programm, but it looks ok, and you didn't specify what you mean with "view".

The viewer and its HTML Export files do not contain the voice messages. The folder, which I copied to my PC does contain them, but I can not know, which voice-message belongs to which chat.

You could use WhatsApp Web. You would still need your smartphone, but you could view the data on your PC. I don't know if this fits your requirements ...

I found an article in an german computer magazine which could help you as well. I haven't read it and it costs 1,49 €, but the first few lines sound well ...

Yes, the view of WhatsApp Web is nice, but it is not an archive, it uses live-data. It does not use my backup.
So a backup with the view of WhatsApp Web would be nice. Or "offline" WhatsApp Web.
Or I ask you: How do you make sure, to view all your chat logs, when WhatsApp shuts down or you don't want to use it anymore (due to changed TOC for example)

You could use an emulator (e. g. Bluestacks or VirtualBox with Android x86) and install WhatsApp there. I however can't guarantee that it will work perfectly. I know that this is not a very nice solution ...

If you don't like this either: I'm out of ideas ;-). You can try yourself to find an suitable Database Viewer, or maybe someone else will reply ... You could try to implement the voice message function for yourself in WhatsApp Viewer, the source code is available on GitHub, or you could ask the author to do it ...

One more thing: you can download WhatsApp for PC. I just don't know if this is better than WhatsApp Web ...


text:
Battery Charges OK after full discharge, but only once
I am using a Samsung Galaxy J5 Prime smartphone. My battery recently started to show up (I would plug in the charger, and it would charge, but the meter would become stuck). One full discharge solves the problem and the battery charges OK after that, but only once or twice. After that the problem resumes.
I know the battery is being charged because doing a full load drain (screen, flashlight, etc all turned on) takes time to discharge the battery which is already on low percentage so it is definitely a meter fault.
What other options do I have since the full discharge only works once?

See if the behaviour persists in safe mode
If the behaviour is normal, it would point to a misbehaving app (though, I haven't come across apps causing this). factory-reset your device and check
If the same behaviour continued , flash stock ROM using odin, since the fuel gauge drivers may be corrupted

For 2 and 3 make sure you back up your data
If none of above helps, service Center is the only option to address hardware issue

Apps can't fix this problem


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Google App always opens google.com on chrome
When I open the Google App, it promptly opens Chrome and switches to google.com. I cannot access anything on Google App since it immediately switches to Chrome.

Same happened on my sister's Samsung Tablet. Turned out it was caused by the Qustodio Parental Control app. It blocked safe search which was forcing the Google app to open google search in Chrome because google would not allow the parental control app to enforce safe search and monitor its app .
Don't know if its that but here is Qustodio help article telling that :
https://www.qustodio.com/en/help/article/2832549/ (under heading "Safe searches on Android")
If you don't have Qustodio Parental Control app, maybe it could be some other app that high control on your device. Qustodio shows at this link what i mean by high control (ex. Apps with usage access, Accessibility, etc) - go to the step called "11. When prompted to Activate app supervision, choose Activate Now.".

Actually from the looks of things, Google has implemented Chrome custom tabs feature. The Google app now opens search results as Chrome Custom Tabs.
According to Google Search help:

You can open web pages directly inside the Google app on your Android
  device. This lets you:

Open search result links faster
Stay in the Google app
Copy or share a link, re-open a link in your browser, and more

To be able to open web pages in app you need:

Google app version 5.12+
To go to Settings > Accounts & privacy to toggle on the new ‘Open web pages in app’ option:

Pic source Reddit
If the above conditions are met try troubleshooting by

Clearing app defaults in Settings

Open your device's Settings app Settings.
Under "Device," tap Apps .
Tap the app that you no longer want to be the default (i.e Chrome)
Tap Open by default and then clear defaults.

Clear Google app cache and(or) data
(Settings >> Apps >> Google App >> Clear cache/data)

I cannot even access the settings for the Google App, since Chrome launches immediately to Google.com. I am not searching anything, in fact, I'm not doing anything on the Google App except opening it.

Try troubleshooting steps I mentioned above, and please report back additionally clear data for Chrome

It took a while and Google apps opened 30+ Chrome tabs of Google.com, but I was able to turn "open web pages in app" on. Chrome doesn't automatically open, but I still get a prompt asking which web browser to open with (Chrome, or Samsung Internet). Something is forcing Google App to open the google.com web page.

Yes, quite strange though I will update once I figure the root cause


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Forgot my password to my samsung galaxy tab E
My sister kept changing the password on the samsung tab until i tried the hard reset. but the issue is it asks to verify the account and the account was set on my grandfather who isn't here anymore. so we can't move forward without it.
what should i do?
thanks

This is from the T-Mobile Support website at This link
Samsung Galaxy Tab E
Master reset with hardware keys
A master reset restores the original factory settings and may delete your personal data on the internal storage, such as downloads, ringtones, images, apps, contacts, and Visual Voicemail. It does not delete data stored on the SIM card or SD card.
If the device menus are frozen or unresponsive, you can master reset using hardware keys.
Turn off the device.

Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Home key, then press and hold the Power key.
When the Samsung Galaxy Tab E logo screen displays, release only the Power key
When the Android logo displays, release all keys ('Installing system update' will show for about 30 - 60 seconds before showing the Android system recovery menu options).
Press the Volume Down key several times key to highlight 'wipe data / factory reset.'
Press Power button to select.
Press the Volume down key until 'Yes -- delete all user data' is highlighted.
Press Power button to select and start the master reset.
When the master reset is complete, 'Reboot system now' is highlighted.
Press the Power key to restart the device.

If you no longer have access to granddaddy’s google account, you may have to start one of your own :)

You can't start on your own.  You need grand daddy's email address and password.  Factory reset does NOT dis-associate the phone or tablet from the original account used.


text:
How do I disable this prompt?
Every time I boot my phone, I get a message about not having a cellular carrier.
I only use my phone for gaming, so I select "No". Selecting "yes" leads me into something where I might select a carrier, but I cannot fill it out, because I do not have a carrier. The app launches automatically but is not obvious what it is called. The phone's OS is Android version 7.1.1. The phone is a ZTE N9560.
How can I permanently disable this message?
Where are applications that start on boot configured / stored?

Is that a full screen message or just a dialog? Do you get to use the overview button when you see that message? If yes, does the app not show up in the recent apps list?

Have you tried Aeroplane mode?

Is there a sim card in the phone? Maybe just putting a sim card in the phone will stop this ( be aware this can have privacy consequences)

The files that gets executed during booting process are definitely located in the root folder and also some of the files under system/xbin folder....
You can't access both root and xbin folder unless you have administrative permission (clearly speaking unless you have rooted your phone)
If your phone us rooted you can access the folders using root file explorer or android terminal and delete the files which are creating problems.


text:
S8 rooted, Netflix is now incompatible
So I rooted my phone yesterday and now Netflix has been uninstalled. It says it's incompatible with my phone, please help.

Netflix does not allow being installed on a rooted device. If you manage to install it, it will refise to run (flash black and exit).
If you insist on installing it from Google Play, unroot your device first.
If you insist on letting it run well without unrooting your phone, consider using some Xposed modules (e.g. RootCloak).
Alternatively, you can unroot your phone then root it again with Magisk, as suggested by Matthew Read. However I haven't tested this method personally and I can't guarantee it'll be working.
References:
1,
2,
3,
Google Search

Auto-uninstall shouldn't be possible; fresh installs can be prevented, and the app can block access, but I don't believe there is a (non-root) method for an app to remove itself.
That said, I run Netflix on my rooted device without issue.  You might be able to install it from elsewhere, such as from APKMirror, and continue using it.
You could also flash your device back to stock and then use Magisk to root instead, which tricks the SafetyNet root detector thus Netflix will still run.  This link has instructions.

@iBug I'm not sure how you can get "before" from "I rooted and now".  In any case, Netflix runs perfectly on my rooted device.


text:
Whenever I connect my Samsung Galaxy S6 to the wifi at home, everything else connected to the internet begins to have connectivity issues
This isn't exclusive to one wifi network either, it's happened at three different locations using three different sources of wifi.
If I connect my phone to the wifi, the computer and other phones and laptops connected to the same wifi will run slowly; videos buffering for indeterminate amounts of time or not at all, web pages failing to connect, ping issues while someone is playing games on the computer and also issues with packet loss (so I'm told).
I never had an issue with this while using these same wifi connections in question, until I updated my phone a couple of months ago. I couldn't definitively say the version of Android software that I updated from because I'm not really savvy with this kind of thing and I can't remember. But the version I'm running now is 7.0.

Same issue at my home, I know what's for me: my phone starts uploading photos to my Flickr account, takes a lot of upload band and, of course, download slows down; it is enough to pause Flickr transfer to go back to the usual transfer rate.
Maybe you have any App backup or sending huge amount of data on to the InterNet; you could start to check your data usage statistics on your phone.

Do maintenance first and get rid of every network not needed.
Go to advance settings and turn off the " Device share" option.


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Can't change screen resolution of Android-x86_64 installed in UEFI mode
I previously used vga=ask and vga=<num> in Android-x86 6.0 to set the display resolution in VMWare and now in QEMU/KVM.
Now I downloaded and installed Android-x86_64 (CyanogenMod 13), in QEMU, in UEFI mode, to a GPT partition, and the option doesn't seem to work anymore. Instead it outputs:

error: invalid file name 'vga=ask'

There doesn't appear to be much information about this elsewhere. But I could find:

What happened to vga=ask in newer kernels? (Unix.SE)
Grub: Legacy 'ask' parameter no longer supported (Superuser)
android-x86_64-5.1-rc1.img --- change resolution (Android-x86 at Google Groups)

I tried wm size 1280x720 (in terminal emulator as root) and it kind of works. the resolution appears to change, but the display area doesn't and it becomes a pain to read anything. So I had it reverted with wm size reset.
I also tried UVESA_MODE=1280x720 and it also reports "invalid filename 'UVESA_MODE'".
There's a proposed solution at the 3rd link (debug.drm.mode.force 1280x720) but it also didn't work.
So, how to change the screen resolution properly?
[Update] I tried on a new installation and the vga kernel option works in non-UEFI mode.

I got it.
Short answer: This line should go in the bootloader for UEFI mode:
set gfxpayload=1280x720

Explanation:

On x86 systems, the kernel will be booted using the 32-bit boot
  protocol. Note that this means that the ‘vga=’ boot option will not
  work; if you want to set a special video mode, you will need to use
  GRUB commands such as set gfxpayload=1024x768 or set
  gfxpayload=keep (to keep the same mode as used in GRUB) instead.
  (...) The linux16 command (see linux16) avoids this restriction.
GNU GRUB Manual 2.02: linux

See also, How Do You Pass VGA/VESA Modes with GRUB2? (Unix.SE).


text:
Full backup of only firmware and ROM from non-rooted Android devices (namely Samsung devices)
So, I've been looking around the Web, but haven't found anything conclusive. The closest things I could find were either options after rooting or an XDA post regarding near-full backups via ADB, but nothing regarding ROM/Firmware backup only without root. My question is: "How to back up ROM/Firmware onto a PC from a non-rooted Android device (Galaxy S4 to be exact)?".
Thank you kindly in advance!

And why would you want to do that when the ROM can be downloaded in full from sammobile , which is accepted as trustworthy. Please explain what is that you want to achieve

@beeshyams I think he wants to do a backup of his stock ROM without rooting the phone

Possible duplicate of this

@NicolaGalluccio And what good would such backups be? Without root/recovery, one can't restore it anyway.

I want to root my phone via CF-Auto-Root, but the build number/ID for Samsung Galaxy S4 GT-I9505 is LRX22C.I9505XXUHOJ2, while the build number/ID on my phone is LRX22C.I9505XXSPQA1. I was looking around but I get nothing for my baseband (just remove LRX22C. and there's the baseband), so I thought to back up my ROM/Firmware in case of a salvageable brick (my mom's not going to buy me a new phone). Any ideas before root or if that can be used even if the basebands don't match?

Dutch version? Here is your firmware (requires SamMobile account!). Download it and keep calm on your backup.

@Suncatcher I got this phone from my granny's friend who used and bought it in Sweden (she works in Sweden but comes here for the holidays) and then used it as her Bosnian phone after it fell and the screen got cracked and then gave it to me after she got a Galaxy S6, so I'm not sure if it's Swedish or international, but it seems to be.

@AndyYan can't you restore the backups through adb using adb restore name of backup.ab?

If it has some problems he can reinstall the original firmware and then use that command

@NicolaGalluccio Is that the case? I've never used ADB backup myself, but if one can restore a backup to /system it sounds like a potential loophole to indirectly write to that partition. Also, /boot is still not included. You already got the more painless way for OP anyway :)

So, after the discussion in the comments you can backup the phone using the command adb backup [-f <file>] -all to backup all of your data, where file is you should put a recognizable name for the back up to track it easier when you will need it. Store it somewhere safe.
If you will ever need that you can use the command adb restore *name of the backup* after the flashing of the stock firmware and all will be as you wanted it.
There is more: in the case you don't want to backup ALL data, you can leave the -all option and use specific selections:
-obb/-noobb: you can save the OBB data of every application
-apk/-noapk: you can save the application themselves
-shared/-noshared: you can do a backup of the SDCARD contents
-system/-nosystem: backup of system apps (stock ones)

I know that, but what I meant was: "How can I back up the ROM?". Thanks anyway! (I just looked through the comments, they don't seem to get the point of backing up the firmware either.)


text:
How can I find if I have a rogue background process killing cpu and battery?
On my Android phone (Sony Xperia Z3 Compact), I have a situation where it sometimes goes very sluggish, and the battery drains quickly.
This seems to happen after roughly once a day, and lasts until I restart the phone.
I haven't been able to get any useful info out of the battery info in settings, although the %s there sum to quite a bit less than 100%, so I'm concerned there is some dodgy system process killing my phone.
Is there any way I can get a list of all processes and current cpu usage? I've had a look in the play store but not found any apps that can do this.

Starting point: My list of apps to Identify Battery Consumers. I use BetterBatteryStats in those cases, but that requires root. SystemPanel should be a good choice even without root. The others are not bad either :)

Enable Developer Options on your phone (usually done by tapping the Build Number in Settings → About phone 7 times) and look for an option named "Running Services" in it. It shows a list of all applications which are running, for how long, and the amount of RAM they are using. If you tap on the app it will also list those services of the app which are running and allows you to force stop each service.

The "Show CPU usage" feature shows an overlay on the screen, listing the processes using CPU, sorted by usage.
Turn it on through "Settings" > "Developer options" > "Monitoring": "Show CPU usage". Turn it off when you don't need it, because it takes up a lot of screen space.

Sounds like you have a lot of background activities running, you could just go to

Settings > Apps > Running,

and Force stop the them, or check this
5 best task manager apps for Android
Task managers could help free memory, and kill useless background processes, that make your phone slugglish


text:
Which version of Gapps to install for Lineage?
I am going to install Lineage and I need to decide which version of open Gapps to use.
I use lots of Google apps (Google Play Store, Gmail, Calendar, Photos, Music, Google search, Translate, Keep etc.). But, I am fine with installing them one by one, from Google Play store. So, I prefer a minimalist version so that, I don't need to keep anything that I don't use. Therefore, my first thought was Pico Gapps. But, this version does not include offline speech recognition files. Can these be installed later from the google store? Or, if I want to be able to use the "ok google" voice command, do I need to install Nano Gapps?
Also, are there any other obstacles I am not aware of? I want to be able to install anything else from the play store (and not to be forced to flash anything later).

I voted to close this because it's got a heavy title, the most upvoted answer shows that people aren't finding it for your workload. A better title would be "What version of Google Apps should I install if I just want to bootstrap the playstore", which is obviously the smallest one.

You can download Gapps package for your lineage from this website source opengapps.org.
Site contains several fields such as :
1.Platforms:

ARM64 - For 64-bit devices
ARM64 means the devices that are running 64 bit operating system/processor.

ARM - For 32-bit Devices

ARM means the device that are running 32 bit operating system/processor.

x86
for Intel Smartphones like Zenphone .

x86_64
This is a very uncommon, these are used in some android emulators.
You can check your device's ARM using this Antutu link

2.Android versions:

14.0 Android U (Upside Down Cake)

13.0 Android T (Tiramisu)

12.0 Android S (Snow Cone)

11.0 Android R (Red Velvet Cake)

10.0 Android Q (Quince Tart)

9.0 Pie (Pistachio Ice Cream)

8.1, 8.0 Oreo

7.1, 7.0 Nougat

6.0 Marshmallow

5.1, 5.0 Lollipop (Opengapps supported up to Lollipop in 2019)

4.4 KitKat.(Opengapps supported up to KitKat in 2018)

3.Variant:

Aroma: Graphical installer of the super package while in recovery menu, it allows user to select which applications to install.

Super: Includes all Google Apps that were ever shipped on a Google device.

Stock: Recommended package that contains all Google Apps that come standard on latest Nexus/Pixel phone.

Full : Very similar to Stock version.

Mini : Smaller set of popular Google Apps with extra functionality.

Micro: Limited set of Google Apps with Gmail, Calendar Google Now with extra functionality.

Nano : Minimal installation with extra functionality.

Pico : Minimum with Google Play functionality.
(Each package varies with file sizes and included Google Apps)

Your /system folder capacity decides which version is suited for you.
You can check your capacity using this app Disk Info. Then select your Gapps variant, and install it. And, I would recommend Aroma so that you can decide which apps to be installed during installation at recovery.(N.B:Aroma had issues with some recovery versions, but, it worked on TWRP 3.0.2 on my redmi 1s).
Note: Please mention which is your device. I have tried pico version in my Redmi 1S, because of lesser system capacity(Pico version includes apps like Google Play and Google Play Services). There after, I installed Google app as user app(from play store) and can run 'OK Google' voice command.

I would suggest the Pico version for the specific platform you have. It gives you the ability to access google where you can download only the apps that you need or want.


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Can I change the NAT type when using my phone as a tether for Gaming?
I want to play online with my Switch while I'm on the go, but it seems my NAT type is D, which is too low to enable online play.
So is there a way to change that NAT type while tethering to my Android phone? Can I change the NAT type from my phone, or do something in my Switch parameters to force another NAT type?
PS: If the solution could not involve rooting my phone I'd prefer it.

Yeah I dont see myself setting up a laptop, phone and switch in the bus. Is there a way to emulate that?

Mmmm not that I can think of....Wait you can try using an alternative tethering app like Foxfi, Open garden, Barnacle wifi tether.

Ok, I'll try them out.


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Lost my phone without GPS & data plan on
I have checked other questions on the site and I think my question is not completely duplicate
I have lost my OnePlus 2; it is in different country (Indonesia) and I have no way to contact any authority over there. Fortunately, I had local SIM in that which is ringing once a while.
As, my phone contains some very personal images, so, I opted to erase content via Google Android Device Manager. Now, my questions are:

Is it possible to unlock phone with any software? As android manager says that data will be wiped out as soon as my phone will be connected to internet. But, I am worried if it possible for anyone to unlock my phone. (I had 3*3 pattern lock).
What else precaution I can take care to avoid any personal data loss? I am mostly worried about pictures.

Question 1
Theoretically not possible for an ordinary thief - it is enough of a deterrence. If the thief stole it from you, with an express international of gaining access to that data and he has sophisticated tools at his disposal, then you need to be worried. But going by your description, it is unlikely. There are also other factors involved, which you can see in this SE.Security question Is Android's Password Screen Lock Enough Data Theft Protection?, which explains in detail how it is possible for a determined person
In security parlance Physical possession is ownership is often said, but that's the worst case scenario
Question 2
Sorry to say but there is nothing you can do, till the thief chimed to internet and device is wiped.

I am sorry, I didn't get the comment but your answer is useful to me. Thanks

Unfortunately,the thief can flash any suitable ROM on your device, bypassing the lock security and device administrator privileges.
He/She can then access your data(while remaining disconnected from the internet).
Now there's very little you can do to avoid that!
So these types of "security apps" that rely on the internet and GPS are worthless most of the time.
To avoid these types of problem in the future,encrypt your data,which is available inside security settings of your android phone.


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WhatsApp saving contacts with nicknames in a group
for the 99.99% of it - I am pretty sure the answer is No because it'd violate privacy norms - but in my school reunion whatsApp group - I have nicknamed my  school mate contacts pretty badly ( gave those nicknames to those contacts ) . I'd assume they'd not see "how I refer to them"  but just wanted to check

You are right absolutely
Contacts  in your phonebook can be named differently or nicknamed as you did in WhatsApp. These nicknames are not shown to your contacts
As far as your group contacts are concerned, they will see your name as they saved in their phonebook / or nicknamed. If they did not save your number, the profile name which you added for yourself on your profile photo, is displayed to them as clarified in WhatsApp FAQ

This name will only appear for contacts who do not already have your contact info saved in their phone's address book.

So your WhatsApp nicknames are safe from exposure


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Popup at boot, warning about unspecified "problem"

A few days ago my device (oneplus one with cyanogen) started showing this popup at boot, is there a way to diagnose this unspecified "problem"?

https://forum.xda-developers.com/nexus-9/development/fix-build-prop-variety-fix-aka-contact-t3133347/page7
Have a look at this.
It's the same issue,but with a different device(nexus 9).
My advice for you would be to ask(post) in the above page, about whether or not you can safely flash the given fix without bricking your device.
If not, then would it be possible for them to modify the fix(zip file), and make it suitable for your oneplus one.
Good luck.

Thanks, I will reflash it eventually (with LineageOS) but I'd like to investigate before, for the sake of curiosity.


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I have deleted all launcher apps, how to fix?
i have sgh-t989  and i have installed a custom rom beanstalk 4.4.2. mistakenly deleted all launchers now i cant use home, tried to restart phone doesnt fix it. now i cant even on my phone. i cant go to recovery mode because my home button is dead. is there any way i can go to recovery mode using pc because when i connect andriod to pc using usb cable it shows all the data i have so i can reinstall my rom. i tried other methods but nothing works because my home button suks. plz help

Turn on phone, you should be able to pull down status bar, go to settings>security and allow apps from unknown sources. Then enable Bluetooth and from other phone send .APK file of any launcher you can find apk files on apkmirror and when you receive file you two on it from notifications and install. Other way is to get to settings and enable usb debugging then connect to PC and use ADB command "adb reboot recovery" your phone will reboot to recovery. Voila! P.s. change title of question.

I had a T989 myself, and it uses a soft home key, so it doesn't matter and you should be able to go to recovery mode; 2) Even though you don't have a launcher, status bar should still be accessible as ЈеднорукиКрстивоје said.

You don't have a launcher. That's the problem. But you still have access to status bar, which is a part of System UI. So here comes the 1st solution:

Boot your phone as normal, then unlock it. You should see a blank screen with only your wallpaper (or black screen) with a normally-functioning status bar.
Drop down the status bar and there should be an entry to your Settings app. Tap it to open settings.
Turn on USB debugging and connect your phone to a computer.
From your computer, download an APK of a launcher app of your choice. Place it somewhere and grab an adb executable.
Open a command prompt (terminal) and enter
adb push name-of-your.apk /sdcard/
adb install /sdcard/name-of-your.apk

Wait for installation to complete. If it takes more than a minute, reboot your phone and it should be OK. You will be prompted to select the default launcher app with only 1 option.

Alternatively as suggested by Једноруки Крстивоје, as a 2nd solution, you can send the APK via bluetooth and install it from the notification bar.

I was going to answer exactly this :) I would suggest to add some links to launchers like Pixel Launcher, Google Now Launcher and to SDK Platform Tools.

Are you signed into your Google Account on the phone? If so, on your PC go to https://play.google.com/store and find a launcher (I would recommend Nova Launcher or Action Launcher) and click into it, then click the Install button, if the button says Installed already just click it again, then select your device from the list and click Install and your your app should be installed shortly.
Once it completes installing, unlock your device and press the Home key and you should be brought to the first time use screen for the launcher you installed and have access back into your device to enable USB debugging or anything else you need to do to reinstall your ROM.
Note that I believe Nova Launcher is installed with Beanstalk (at least some versions) as it's default launcher, so if you install that from the Play Store you are likely in the same condition as you would be in reflashing the ROM except the launcher will not be installed as a system app (which you could fix with apps like Titanium Backup).

The OP said he installed a custom ROM. We have no guarantee that he's got Play Store on his device so this may not work in some cases.

@iBug You are correct, but it is a simple alternative to solving the problem if Gapps are installed the the device is signed into a Google Account, and has network connectivity of course.

Too many prerequisites...

@iBug Except they are common ones that are more likely to be in place than not.

If you have google now installed you can easily open app like play store and install a launcher from there
update -

speak "ok google"
"open play store"
search for launcher
download any launcher
open it and enjoy

if google now is not enabled

open notification panel
open setting and enable google now hot word
proceed with above steps

authors: Једноруки Крстивоје


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host file in android
I have a rooted device. I would like to protect my hosts file from being deleted, maybe with a password or something like that. Is this possible?

As is currently stated (revision 4), the answer is No.
Your hosts file is located at /system/etc/hosts, in a filesystem of (probably) ext4. Since ext4 uses regular Unix permissions and Android does not support ACL, you have no chance to do so.
However, I don't think you really should protect it as it's protected by default, because /system is mounted as read-only by default. As long as you don't grant your root access to malicious apps, no one will delete your hosts file.
Moreover, there are alternative dirty approaches but I don't think they're much helpful so I'm not posting them here.


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Is there any way to completely block any app from using data (Android 6.0)
I have a problem: my house wifi goes down a lot for some unknown reason, and so I turn on data to continue whatever conversation I was having on my laptop on my phone. Then I forget to turn on wifi when the internet comes back on, and I watch YouTube videos on my phone. This, in turn, eats up 500mb of my 1gb data plan. This has happened three data cycles in a row.
When I select the YouTube app in the data section of my settings, even when I select the "restrict background data" option, and even when I go into YouTube's settings and select "only stream HD video on wifi", it still uses data. It seems like there is absolutely no hope for preventing this app (or any general app for that matter) from using any data at all.
I couldn't even find a good third-party data management app that has this functionality. Every app I've found only allows me to read and analyze my data usage and set 'timers', but no way to completely prevent specific apps from using any data. I decided I would just completely eliminate YouTube, which was annoying in and of itself because it seems there's no way to uninstall a factory-installed app. I ended up just disabling it in my settings, and then blocking it entirely with a third-party app called Boomerang.
Please, is there any simple way to completely block all data usage of only a specific app? Why is this such an unheard-of request?

If your device is rooted, you have more options. If not, use a firewall which works without root and block any app from using internet. Search for Adguard - it's paid, there are other alternatives too

See https://android.stackexchange.com/q/138311/96277

One simple way to manage what application will use your mobile data is using Triangle by Google. Get it on APKMirror or APKPure and install it with ADB. Plenty of alternatives are offered here.
There are also a great number of ways you can save on mobile data usage. You can use less data with Chrome's Data Saver. You can set mobile data usage warning and limit. For example, set the limit at 1 Gb and the warning at 0.618 Gb. You can use Firefox Focus or Firefox with uBlock Origin. If you are rooted, you can get AdAway on F-Droid.

ASUS Mobile Manager https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.asus.mobilemanager does (also) exactly what you want: you can control if a specific App is allowed to use WiFi data, Mobile data and Background data.


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Do some localizations of Android require significantly more memory?
This is something that I only recently noticed but many Android phones are built amounts of RAM that differ yet different versions are not distributed equally. For example, my phone from Spain has 2 GB of RAM but when bought in Asia comes with 3 GB. Internal storage is treated differently such that there are 16 GB and 32 GB versions available on both markets.
The recent Moto Z2 does the same thing. North America and Europe get a 4 GB version while in Asia, it comes with 6 GB.
Why the difference? Why offer not offer both at different price-points? Does Android require that much more memory when dealing with large character sets such as Chinese?

Yes.
Adding to Andy Yan's answer, I would like to bring up another reason: The absence of Google.
Because the China government, driven by an evil party, does not like Google, all Google's services are blocked in China, except for Ads, Maps and Translate (the only 3 availables). Apps using GCM or any other kind of Google service will not function correctly on that part, so Chinese companies pretty much have made their own "chain services" for IPC and push notifications. These services however, does not comply with Google's developing standards, nor do they follow the general rules of UX and memory management. Most of them keep themselves in background by creating extra processes and use those to wake themselves up periodically, taking extra RAM, which dramatically decreases battery life and hurts UX.
Even worse, instead of having one service family exist, big Chinese companies are making their own service families one by one. So Alibaba has an Ali Service, Baidu has a Baidu Service, Tencent has a Tencent Services, and even Xiaomi has a Mi Eco Services. To make things worse, one Chinese app may use multiple services at once. Even if an app is calling a small function from a Chinese service, it may potentially wake up all apps using that service (unless terminated), and can eat up your RAM in a few seconds.
As China is a growing producer, Chinese products are selling abroad, especially South Asia (India) and Africa. By selling phones without GMS, the aforementioned Chinese service families are also spreading abroad, damaging UX to those users. However, situations seems better outside China because most foreigners do not use Chinese daily services like IM (WeChat and QQ) and online shopping (Taobao and Jingdong), and fortunately the services they use (WhatsApp and Amazon) don't utilize the Chinese services. So markets in India and Africa don't get that much "inflated".

Much more believable than Andy's answer. Using more RAM which increase costs for necessity seems more possible. Again, I don't know which is why I am asking.

Asians, especially a significant portion of Chinese and Indians, take raw specs very importantly when considering devices for purchase. With local competitors like Xiaomi upping their game aggressively, 2GB RAM for low-end / 4GB RAM for high-end is no longer considered acceptable.
This is more than just a marketing move - apps made by local developers and companies tend to not comply with Android standards both in UI/UX design and in task/memory management. Apps would try the most devious methods to stay at the front - e.g. creating a transparent 1px floating window - just so it will not be killed by built-in memory management and consistently deliver push notifications and advertisements. Such chaotic environment with many apps constantly running in the foreground and competing for resources is detrimental to RAM usage, so having a larger RAM capacity to compensate is often considered necessary.

Indians DO NOT have that much money to afford excessive RAM or ROM. They will only buy a low end with an SD card slot.

@iBug Xiaomi sells well over there for a reason... They even put out Indian-exclusive variants like the 4GB RAM Redmi Note 4X. Sure Indians are not the most competitive in buying power, but there are plenty of people with the desire waiting to be catered to.

That seems to say that they put more RAM because of competition but competition is (even if smaller) everywhere. Putting it the other way, you can see it manufacturers are giving less to Europeans and North Americans because they can get away with it! Doesn't sound quite right. All you need is one to not do it and say our phone has more RAM.

@Itai I don't sense a problem here. Chinese variants have larger RAM because Xiaomi and others are doing it before them. EU/US don't because those competitors don't have permissions to sell over there, and importing them costs A LOT. The likes of Samsung and Moto don't feel pressured to increase cost to cram in more RAM in these regions - saving even a bit is welcome. The 2nd paragraph is part of the reason behind it, and is also what iBug described and extended upon.

Extreme example. Is UFS a lot more expensive than eMMC? No. But Huawei P10 opts to use the latter. Is anti-fingerprint coating costly to have? No. P10 still doesn't have it. Every cent potentially matters when multiplied by the scale of devices sold.


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ADB Restore Stalling on "Full Backup" screen
I just upgraded from a Galaxy Note 4 running Android 6.0 to a Galaxy S8+ running 7.0.  Neither is rooted.  I've used Helium in the past to backup app data. However it's crashing or just not working when I'm trying to restore to the S8+.
I'm trying to use ADB directly to restore the ab files.  I found that the phone is getting stuck on a screen titled "Full Backup" (see below).  A) it says my device is encrypted.  Is it?  I didn't turn on encryption.  B) The "Back Up My Data" button is grayed out unless I enter a password.
I believe this may be the same issue breaking Helium.  What does this mean?  How do I restore backups?
(I still have the Note 4 in moderately good working condition, so I can recreate backup files if necessary)

It's not your device that is encrypted. Setting up a password is mandatory as I recall


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LG Stylus 2 Wipe cache partition
My friend have LG Stylus 2 quite laggy and need to wipe phone cache
We have already wipe cache from apps with following method

Drag down the notification bar and tap the Settings icon Settings icon.png at the top-right.
Tap General > Storage. (If using List view, scroll down to 'DEVICE' and tap Storage.
Wait for menu options to finish calculating.
Tap Cached data, then tap YES.
Wait for the cached data to clear; depending on size it will take several seconds to complete.
When the wipe is complete, the storage screen refreshes and cached data will not be listed. This means your our cached data has been successfully cleared.

and now we have tried the following method

Power off your device.
Wait a few seconds
Boot in recovery mode by pressing the Volume Down and Power Button at the same time for 2-3 seconds until the LG logo appears on the screen.
Release the buttons and press them again until the Recovery Screen appears

But the option is only factory data reset/wipe all data
How can I access the recovery mode for just wipe cache partition, like other phones like Samsung, Oppo, Asus, etc.?
Any help appreciated

All devices don't offer the option to wipe cache from built in recovery

If you have root access you may wipe cache manually. But as often as it is, you should never need to wipe cache alone without wiping data.

I had same issue in LG Stylus 2 - I had issue with "Unfortunately, the Process Com.android.phone has stopped".Please some one suggest solution, I need to backup my data anyhow, some images.


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Transfer files from Nexus 5 to PC
I recently got a new phone and want to back up the files from my old phone (Nexus 5) before passing it on to a family member.
Using MTP connected to a Windows 10 PC the transfer is unbearably slow (around 10-20 seconds per file, even though a file may only be a few kB). Using MTP connected to a Mac using Android File Transfer is a lot faster, however the app crashes, freezes or gives an error after a minute or two and stops transferring files.
Is there a better way to transfer files, or a solution to the slow transfer speeds on Windows?

Have you tried with another wire or with ADB?

And have you checked with our file-transfer tag-wiki and the answered questions using this tag yet? Bet you'll find your answer there :) And yes, MTP is slow as hell – which is one of the reasons I never use it. Fastest would be using ADB and e.g. a file manager supporting that (Droid Explorer by our community member Ryan Conrad is probably a good choice on Windows).

When there are many files to be transferred, and small ones at that, this has been reported:
Share Via http is an open source app worth considering. It's handy to share with other mobile devices as well
Alternatively, you can consider other File Sync apps from the curated list maintained by Izzy

Thanks for mentioning my lists, beeshyams (I just fixed the link to directly point to what you've named). While having posted my own answer already (going ADB and pull), in context of your answer (going app and push) File manager supporting all local file systems & LAN might also be worth a look. Especially with Windows, they could directly access the PC via SMB/CIFS, eg. AndroXplorer.

I recommend you use a different file transfer protocol, preferably SMB or similar, to transfer the files. Somehow, MTP is buggy because speeds get significantly lower when transferring small files and takes a while to peak again.
Try file transfer apps such as ES explorer, Sambadroid, etc (I have used these with no speed issues). Even over Wi-Fi, you still get consistent transfer speeds (1-2 MB/s)
I also have written another post to achieve this using Sambadroid. The same can also be achieved using the former app as outline here (it is the same for Windows).

I remember from my Windows days, using TeraCopy for reliable file transfers and the ability to pause/resume, somehow i felt, it resulted in faster data transfer, just thought i would mention the tool for someone using this way.

The probably fastest solution would be using adb (check with our adb tag-wiki for some background and hints for setup). To ease things up (and not gluing you to the command line), you could use a file manager supporting ADB. As you're being on Windows, my recommendation for that part would be Droid Explorer, written and maintained by our community member Ryan Conrad.
You might consider the effort needed for an initial setup on Windows a bit much. But if you check with above linked ADB tag-wiki for what you'll be able to do with ADB (and with Droid Explorer, not to forget) beside the simple file-transfer task, I'll bet you'll find it worth it!

Have you tried another USB cord ? or if your laptop has a USB 3.0 port, use that instead.  If its still the same, try using file Transfer apps from the
 Play Store like ShareIT,  Xender or Snappea etc.


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Recovery of google contacts
my phone was stolen month ago and despite all my contacts were google contacts, I cannot find them in my account. I thought that if I save my contacts as google contacts, they will automatically appear in my new phone.
But there is no backup. When I go to contacts.google.com I cannot see them. Nowhere. There are only mail contacts but not my phone contacts. No backup folder found in google disk also. How is this possible?

This means your contacts were not synced properly in stolen phone. While saving contacts you must have saved in google contacts but you might have turned off auto sync of contacts from setting>Accounts>Google>Your_email>Contacts.

Thank you, Kailash, you are probably right, but I dont know how this happened because last time I changed phone, the contacts recovered automatically, so I supposed  that this will happen again. Very unhappy with this.
Anyways thank you once again for the response!


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Sony Xperia Z5 Compact black screen
Yesterday I accidentally dropped my Sony Xperia Z5 Compact on the ground (from a height of about half a meter), and it appears to be broken since then. Details:
The screen was clearly on, but showed black. However, it still responded to touch on the places where the buttons should be. Rebooting by holding down the power button didn't work. Force shutdown by holding both the power button and the volume up button did work. When I rebooted, the screen remained black (but was turned on). It still responds to touches on certain spots where buttons should be. When trying to unlock it blindly, I found the emergency call keyboard.
I tried connecting the phone to my computer, and it recognizes the phone, but sees it as offline, or disconnected. I seem to have no way of remotely accessing it.
Is there anything else I can try without having it repaired at a retail store?

You could see the emergency call keyboard - wondering if black screen is a loose connection as a result of the fall. Maybe, smacking it hard will help?

@beeshyams I did not see the emergency call keyboard, I activated it by randomly touching the screen and I recognized the sound its buttons make. The screen was still black. Also, I am somewhat reluctant to smash it in fear of completely breaking it.


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How do I turn off push notifications in my Vivo Y53?
Whenever my screen is on, and I am connected to network, my Whatsapp messages come directly in the middle of whatever I am doing, which disconnects me and makes me lose all my work. Any solution?

Open WhatsApp.
Tap on three dots on top-right corner of WhatsApp and Select Settings.
Goto Notifications.
Under Message Notifications, there is an option called popup notification. It have several sub options which is easy to identify by its name itself.

No popup: never pop-up on any screen
Only when screen on
Only when screen off
Always show popup.
Also set the same for Group notifications.

Note : If you wish reset to default, tap on three dots on top-right corner while inside Notifications page, which have option to reset notification settings.


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LINE Letter Sealing - Unable to display message as it couldn't be decrypted
LINE is a chat application.
I recently reinstalled my OS, and restored my LINE chat history using this procedure.
Problem: Some of my chats appear like this:

It says:

Letter Sealing
  Unable to display message as it couldn't be decrypted. Please ask your friend to resend the message.

As you can see, my friend re-sending me the message does not solve the problem.
On the messages from July 6 to the day I reinstalled have this problem.
So I disabled Letter Sealing, and now I can read new messages sent to me (but I can still not read the existing problematic messages).
Questions:

How to make the problematic messages readable again? I still have the Titanium Backup from the former OS, if necessary.
Is there a way to re-enable Letter Sealing while making sure that encrypted messages will stay readable even after reinstalling my OS in the future?

Had the same problem. The second method on this page worked for me.
Steps:

Do a previous backup
copy /data/data/jp.naver.line.android/databases/naver_line to your PC and rename it to naver_line_old
Reinstall and do a fresh setup of LINE
copy the new naver_line to your PC and rename it to naver_line_new
In your PC, open and copy the chat_history table from naver_line_old(I used SQLiteStudio) and paste it on naver_line_new, having previously deleted chat_history from it
copy naver_line_new to /data/data/jp.naver.line.android/databases/naver_line(rename it as naver_line)
Restart your phone

Letter sealing should work OK now; unfortunately, I don't know how to make the problematic messages readable again.
I hope to have solved your problem.


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How can I get Google Photos app to see old/other photos stored on SD card?
On my wife's LG G5 she uses Google Photos as her choice of photo gallery app. She took photos until her device memory filled up, so I bought her a micro-SD card. I went into File Manager and moved all the photos from internal memory to the SD card, then set the camera app to store new photos on the SD card as the default location.
Now when I open the Google Photos app it doesn't show any of the old photos. It shows new photos taken since the SD card was installed, but not the old ones. If I look in the Gallery app I can see all the photos on the SD card, both old and new.
I suspect the same issue would occur if I wanted to side load photos taken with another camera onto the SD card.
How can I make the Google Photos app library find the old files in the new location? Or in other words, rebuild the index of photos, or clear the cache, or whatever I need to do so the app will start looking at the contents of the SD card?

First check if in Google photos app options under Device Folders if you can see the photos on external SD.
If you can't,  from Settings → Apps → show System apps → Media Storage → Clear data (this is the path in Marshmallow ). Don't worry, you won't lose anything
Reboot and wait for a while for media index to be rebuilt

You should now see photos on external SD

It finds only the Camera folder, not the other ones.


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Unable to install ADB or any USB driver for lenovo k3 note
I have tried everything that I can think of here, but somehow my Win10 PC won't finish the driver installation.
I tried fastboot mode, recovery mode, MTP connection, USB debugging mode. Win10 fails to recognize the drivers at all. I also tried the universal drivers, they failed too. Just "Install failed" message when I use universal drivers.
I also tried removing all USB device drivers, but that didn't work either. So, right now, my phone is stuck in a weird position. I can't fix my IMEI issue because I can't connect to PC. And I can't connect to PC because it does not get installed properly. Device is getting detected but the device manager just shows error saying "A file could not be found", or "An installer cannot perform installation". No proper error code available here, but I can definitely provide exact error messages, if that helps.
Error Message in Fastboot/Recovery Mode: Device USB\VID_0BB4&PID_0C01\8PR8EMEEWCOFQ8AI requires further installation.
Edit:
Tried removing every usb driver, then reinstall, then use Lenovo usb drivers. Same problem. The drivers do not get installed.

Disconnect device from PC, Remove all drivers from the PC,  reboot , plug in the device and install recommended /device specific drivers

Okay, let me try rebooting after deleting the driver. Will get back to you in a bit. BTW, Windows automatically installs some random driver as soon as I connect.

Yes, that's the lousy part of windows - suggest you first install whatever are the recommended drivers for your device as suggested in your device forums . If that doesn't help, install what windows Recommendations. If this also didn't help, please update your question and let others help

Another option could be to install Linux in dual boot mode - you don't need to bother about drivers. Android is automatically recognised

Done. Tried your suggestion. Nothing. Stupid windows won't let me install drivers. BTW, I am trying to update imei, because my imei is null after the update. It was still working fine till I rebooted. Now, I can't connect to network, or connect phone to pc to just start from scratch. Funny thing is, phone is still rooted. So, I tried using "chamelophon" app. But nothing. It didn't work at all. It showed message saying, "please shutdown phone now". and when i started it again, no sim detected. even the sim settings got disabled.

Not sure about linux. Because I need to use the flashing tool to flash the phone to stock firmware. and finding flashing tool for linux will become another issue.

Yes you have a point. I am out of suggestions. All the best