text:
Are there a way to scan Android smartphone from outside the phone?
My friend's phone got a virus that he can't open his lock screen(every time he wants to do that, it says try 60minutes later again!).
So I am looking for a way like online virus scanner or any other ways to kill this virus?

It doesn't sound like a virus, it seems more like he's putting in the wrong code

Try to reset the device, hopefully it should work. If not, then try doing hard reset by clearing emmc cache. To hard reset the device press the volume down and power button at once - this works on most devices.

A factory reset already wipes the cache.


text:
How to automatically repeatedly dial a number and automatically press numbers each time?
I'm trying to get through to the Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket) and their lines are constantly busy. In order to get into the queue, one needs to call them, then press 1 twice. This would be fine, except typically you get a voice telling you that all lines are busy and to call back later. The migration agency then cuts the call. One such cycle takes roughly 30 seconds.
In order to get through, one simply needs to repeat this process repeatedly until there happens to be an available line and one is placed in queue. This can take anything from 5 to 20 minutes of manual calling and pressing depending on chance.
So one needs to call them, wait to be connected, then press 1 twice. Then, when all lines are busy, hang up (or wait for them to cut the call, which takes a few seconds longer), then repeat the process until a line is available and one is placed in queue. I would prefer to spend my time and attention doing something else.
How can I automate this process?

There's an app called Auto Redial that you can configure to keep calling the same number over and over.
I configured it like this:

(click screenshot to enlarge)
Note that I added ,1,1 after the number. This makes the phone automatically dial 1 twice, once the call is connected. This works even outside of the app, while dialing a number manually or from the contact list.
I've set the hangup time to maximum because this particular service hangs up automatically when you don't get through. In that case, I can listen to the phone once in a while to check whether I got through yet.
You may need to tweak these settings a bit depending on the service you're calling.
Disclaimer: I have no connection to this app whatsoever. The problem described in the question was a real problem I was facing, and when I found the solution I decided to share it with Android Enthusiasts. I have no other motive with this post, and I'm not involved in app development in any way.

the app does not work!

@MarianPaździoch Care to clarify? I have used it on several occasions

I tried this app, however, it requires you to manually hit the hang up button once the busy tone comes through. That is a minor inconvenience. Defeating the purpose of the app, once I received a ring tone, the dialer hung up after a few seconds. The point is to get through to a doctor's office of the unemployment insurance office. Once I get a dial tone, I expect it to ring for a while before it is answered. When the app hung up, I was back at square one. It is useless.

@Joe Unless the app now has many bugs that it did not have while I was using it, this is not correct. There are settings for how long to wait before hanging up, how many times to automatically redial, etc.

He's right. You need to hang up and then hit the green dial button again manually. It's possible this won't work for certain phone systems like in North America

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Is "Display size" option not present on tablets?
I recently bought Lenovo Tab4 8 plus. It runs Andoird Naugat. I have Nexus 6. I love content dense screen. So on my Nexus 6, I always keep font size and display size to the least. (More on this here). I can find font size option in my tablet, but I cannot find the display size option on tablet, as can be seen in below screen shot:
It can be found below Font size option in Nexus 6 Naugat.

Is this lenovo made customization / screw-up thing, or there is some reason for it? and way to enable it? Any third party app to achieve the same?

Does both of them have same Android OS? Like AOSP or else?
My suspect is the setting based on Official ROM. In this case the Nexus 6 use 'Display Size' to adjust DPI, it adjust font size to match DPI means larger DPI smaller font or as you wish.
In Lenovo you get fixed DPI but you can adjust only font size.
Hope it helps

Both are running Naugat that came from company. I never played with rooting and flashing custom ROMs. Nexus 6 is obviously stock Naugat. For details. (1) Lenovo Tab: Android 7.1.1, Security patch: Aug 1, 2017, Software version: TB-8704x_RF01_170519, Build number: TB-8704x_S000029_170901_ROW  (2) Nexus 6: Android 7.1.1, Security patch: Oct 5, 2017, Build number: N6F27M I checked the dpi modification apps, but most require root access. Is there any which work without root and is safe?

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


text:
Can't start Android 8.0 Oreo on emulator: "Decryption unsuccessful"
I recently downloaded system images for API Level 26 (Android 8.0), on my SDK emulator but unfortunately I can't boot the virtual device all the way to home screen.
I'm stuck on the following screens:

One which request a description password;

(and  the other showing that description want successful (which is confusing me)
I have tried different things to no avail:

tried wiping user data whilst starting the AVD
tried deleting/swapping user data.img
tried starting the AVD from command line
swtching google_apis_playstore image with google_apis image(which never boots)

And all these instances still I can't start successfully the virtual device.
Is there something I'm missing or is there a workaround to bypass the screens?

Hi, please let us know if you were able to solve this issue. I am also facing same error.

@salah9   I am glad to inform you that I have found a working solution to run Oreo on standalone sdk :)

I managed to get the Android 8.1 images to run on the emulator. I figured out the main issue was to do with emulator itself which was rather outdated.
From the looks of things it seems the emulator (originally distributed as part of the Android SDK Tools) is no longer updated  since version 25.2.3
The solution was to manually update the emulator, to make it compatible to run API level ≥ 26. The emulator tools (for windows) can be found here: https://dl.google.com/android/repository/emulator-windows-4266726.zip or linux
Instructions

Download the latest emulator from the above link or here
When done, decompress the downloaded emulator.zip file and extract the emulator package to %USERPROFILE%\Android\android-sdk\tools or relevant path (yes you have to merge it into that folder, since the emulator doesn't have all libraries and files)
After this your emulator will be updated (to 26.1.4 in my case)
Now prepare your AVD (API level 26 or 27) as usual and should be up and running.

Although, the standalone SDK Manager and AVD Manager (GUIs) have been deprecated in favour of command line sdkmanager tool found in android_sdk/tools/bin/, you can still update the emulator using the method mentioned here: https://developer.android.com/studio/command-line/sdkmanager.

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


text:
How to open local web pages in Chrome on external SD card
I wanted to be able to open local files in the Chrome browser. If I tap a local file (htm, rss) or paste a valid "file:" URI into Chrome it does not work when file is on external SD card. I am using Samsung S4 Android 5.0.1 (not rooted). I tested a few paths in the chrome browser and found works ok on internal SD card but that there is no read access to any data on the external SD card even the private data folder (I was expecting Chrome should have access to private folder on exteranl card??). Selecting a file E.g. file:///mnt/sdcard/Documents/testarc.htm on internal SD card works fine but paths like file:///storage/extSdCard will not show a directory.
I know that access restrictions were added to Android 5.x but don't applications have access to a private data folder (under /Android/data) on external SD card by default?
Does Chrome (com.android.chrome) have read access the file:///storage/extSdCard/Android/data/com.android.chrome/files/ ?
Is there a way to enable it?
I have two file manager apps installed - ES file explorer, Total Commander, and the is "Myfiles" app which came with the phone. If use ES file explorer or Myfiles the "open with" windows only lists Firefox not Chrome, or Samsung browsers. Choosing Firefox will open the web page file (htm) (even on external SD card), so is there a way to add other browsers to "open with" list?
In MS Windows file association was relatively simple using "registered file types" options. Is the Andriod equivalent?

For a non rooted phone this is the latest version of AOS that Samsung have released. I have read moving to an open source version the camera software is not as good as what I get with Samsung.

Does Chrome (com.android.chrome) have read access the file:///storage/extSdCard/Android/data/com.android.chrome/files/ ?

One workaround I found is to download something (anything) and when you get the download prompt, choose to save to SD.  You can also choose from chrome settings Settings -> Downloads -> Download location.  Once you save one file, you will be prompted to grant the extSDcard permission.

The only workaround I have found is using Total Commander (TC) and adding an entry setting which program to run with a specific extension in the TC configuration menu. To do this choose menu | configure | internal associations| new association. Define new settings for "htm" extension to open chrome (pick from "choose app" list) and tick box for "Parameters: content://url". When you select a file it passes a URI like content://com.ghisler.android.TotalCommander.files/storage/extSdCard/path/file.htm to Chrome browser. I noticed the file remains available as Chrome tab for several days, but then is not available until I open TC and pick the file again, so I assume it is a cached copy in TC of the original file.

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


text:
How can I install an app from GitHub on Android without a PC or root?
I would like to install this fork of Phonograph. How can I install it on Android without any PC or Rooting? Also, is there any way that I could compile the data into an APK file?

No. Go and get a PC with Java.

Probably there is no way to do it, if you do not have the Android SDK on your PC, necessary to compile, you can not get the apk. I do not understand the reason for your question, because the application is in the Play Store, but you can download it on your phone and follow this: https://www.androidpit.com/how-to-download-apk-file-from- google- play and get the apk. That is probably the best and only way to get this apk.
Greetings


text:
Increase maximum number of connection of Wi-Fi hotspot
I use my Android TV Box as a Wi-Fi hotspot with the following scheme:
Users (Wi-Fi) --> TV Box (LAN) --> Internet
However, the Wi-Fi hotspot limits a max of 10 Wi-Fi connections.
For rooted Android devices, can we increase this maximum number of connections?

Tl;Dr: Install a custom ROM without this limit... but you won't get far. The antennas/gain/radio combos are not optimized for this. And the phones don't support helpful WiFi features like muMiMO. My OP6T will only do 7mbps 2.4G hotspots, but will happily do a real 100mbps hotspot on 5Ghz... the reception is  poor though.

I have been researching about this for some time now, but I have to admit that I failed to get substantive information on the subject.
However, I have come to the conclusion, that this setting is hard-coded and difficult to manipulate (perhaps even with root) unless you're compiling a customised ROM from scratch with such modifications.
It may be a restriction by manufacturers perhaps the feasibility based on factors like Wi-Fi chip capability, CPU power, battery, etc. (from my observations, this limit ranges from 8-12 varying with devices)
The are some workarounds I propose, depending on what you're trying to achieve you could either;

Set your Android device as a Wi-Fi repeater
Or, share your device's internet connection to a desktop/laptop PC first, preferably via USB connection (i.e. USB tethering if possible) or other means then reverse-tether that connection to other clients from the desktop/laptop.

Using an Android device as a Wi-Fi repeater

It is possible to use the Android device as a Wi-Fi repeater, through various methods most of which you can find here: Can we use an Android phone as a Wi-Fi repeater?
The consequence is that you can make use of the second Access Point, to have other clients connect to the internet via a Wi-Fi AP broadcasted from the primary device.

NB: Watch out for battery drain and heavy resource consumption

Share Android device's internet connection to a desktop/laptop PC

This concept is an indirect method which may demand other pre-requisites, i.e a desktop/laptop PC or other third-party software for hotspot share (may be freeware or shareware)
Here, you need the Android device to have its internet connectivity shared to the primary device (i.e. PC) first, then the desktop (which is much more capable of accommodating a much larger number of clients than the Android device) can then share to other clients.

Some of the appropriate methods have been described here: Share WIFI from PC over USB and around the internet.
You can check this thread on XDA with a similar question: [MOD] Increase Max Users for Wi-Fi Tethering LG G2 LS980 [NON SPRINT ACTIVATED]


text:
Transferring a specific app from one Android device to another
I use an application called time card for Android every time I switch to a new phone I never seem to be able to transfer that app and the data on it which is extremely important to me can anyone help me figure out how to do this as I need to send the old device back as it was a warranty situation

You'll need to do a full backup of that app, i.e. including its data. That usually requires root, but there are some solutions for this specific case to make it work without root – see Full Backup of non-rooted devices. The two candidates you should look at:

adb backup -f <appname>.backup -apk <package_name>
Helium Backup (an app which does this on-device, but will need to be initialized via ADB)

Basically, there's no way around adb for this. For details, see the linked question with its answers, and our adb tag-wiki.
Note: As Death Mask Salesman correctly pointed out, apps can opt out of ADB backups (developers can include a flag in their apps' Manifests advising the system to not permit ADB to back it up). So if your app falls into that category: bad luck without root.

Helium had no say in that. The ADB daemon would refuse. Thanks for pointing this out, I've just integrated it with my answer (credits given).

All your Apps are collected in your account at play store just sign in and
you will be able to download it to any device.

How does this help with restoring the app's data?


text:
What is system/bin and system/xbin in android M?
I have few noob questions about the system/bin and system/xbin directory in Android M.
First, what is the file inside this two directories?
Next, in system/bin, the is some file looks like
-rwxr-xr-x root     shell      117136 2008-12-31 11:30 test-platform
lrwxr-xr-x root     shell             2008-12-31 11:30 time -> toybox
lrwxr-xr-x root     shell             2008-12-31 11:30 timeout -> toybox
lrwxr-xr-x root     shell             2008-12-31 11:30 umount -> toybox

I know toybox is the app like busybox, a collection of unix command, but what does the -> means here?
Third, I am getting the error /system/bin/sh: busybox: not found, is this shows that busybox is not installed? I thought toybox already serving the same function as busybox?
Appreciate if anyone could clarify my questions, thanks!

the -> indicates this is a symbolic link. That's how Busybox (and similar apps) work, so other processes can refer to them by the "full fledged name" of the component they need to call.
There are different "busyboxes". The original Busybox has a binary called busybox – yours has a binary called toybox. That won't matter if one of those symlinks is addressed – but if some process tries to call busybox directly, it of course cannot find it if it's not there. To work around that, you could create another symlink to toybox: ln -s /system/bin/toybox /system/bin/busybox (in order to do that you need root and mount the /system partition read/write).

still fail to get busybox after symbolic link created. /system/bin/sh: busybox: not found

Where do you get those errors? What are you doing? Hard to tell how to fix what one doesn't know existing. You might rather need to fix the script causing those errors. Btw: If busybox is still "not found", did creating the link succeed at all? What does which busybox give, and what does ls -l /system/bin | grep busybox show?

I have tried which busybox which give nothing on terminal. ls -l /system/bin | grep busybox return busybox -> system/bin/toybox which means symbolic link created successfully? TQ

That's strange. Yes, it seems the symlink was created correctly but busybox is still not found. Can you verify that /system/bin is in your PATH (echo $PATH)? I guess the easiest way would be installing a proper busybox on your device (just checked: mine has both toybox AND busybox as well). Due to the nature of both working (they check how they're called to decide what they're to do – so Toybox might get confused when called as busybox).

I'm 6 years late to the party, but the reason I believe it was not working is because from the output of ls -l from @hellojoshhhy they forgot to put the first / when creating the symbolic link, so it's a relative link instead of absolute, so it's trying to look for a directory named system in the current directory.


text:
So if Draw Over Other Apps is a bad thing, why are so many people wanting to enable the process?
I'm trying to keep my storage down because the apps I move to my SD card won't stay there, so whether it has any bearing on storage or not, I disabled it wherever I could. If I notice that an app doesn't look right shouldn't I just enable it for that app instead of having it on all my apps? And what about Background Data? I haven't googled that yet but sounds kind of the same.

There's a few issues going on here.
Permissions and storage use
The "Draw over other apps" permission and "Allow background data" permissions have nothing to do with storage. If you're only changing these settings because you want to reduce storage use, you're doomed to fail.
What is "Draw over other apps" for?
This permission allows an app to draw an overlay on the screen, through which you can see whichever app you're trying to use. There are two main reasons an app might want this.
One is for screen dimmer apps like Twilight. To change the colours of the whole screen, they draw an overlay across the whole screen, all of the time, in front of the app you're using.
The second reason is for a "chat bubbles" feature, where an app can display a floating button or picture that pops out into a bigger window you can interact with. It's possible to do some "chat bubbles" features without this permission, but that limits what the app can do.
So what's the problem?
When an app is drawing over other apps, it's not just displaying stuff: it's also receiving your input events (touch and keyboard). This is how the chat-bubbles-type feature can tell when you've clicked on it. Normally, the overlay app will just pass all the touch events through to the app underneath, but this means it can monitor everything you can do and even fake touch events. The overlay app is literally in between you and the app you're trying to use, controlling all your interaction with it.
This makes the overlay quite powerful. An overlay app can see all the passwords you type, and it can click "accept" buttons for you. To protect this, Android has a feature for developers to mark some controls as sensitive. Controls marked in this way can't be touched or used by an overlay.
One of the sensitive controls is the "Allow" button in the permission dialog. This stops the overlay app from silently giving itself more permissions by just bringing up the dialog and clicking "allow" for you. Another one is the "Install" button in the package installer. Making this sensitive stops the overlay app from silently downloading and installing more apps. Third-party apps with buttons that spend money (e.g. in-app purchases) or perform sensitive actions on your behalf (banking apps) should also use the same "sensitive" setting.
The downside of this protection is that you can't grant permissions to an app, or install a new app, or any other action like this, while you're using a screen overlay. It looks like you're clicking on the "Allow" button, but you're only clicking on the overlay, and the overlay isn't allowed to click on the "Allow" button for you. To do this, you need to turn off the overlay app (or this permission).
What about background data?
That just lets apps use the internet while they're in the background (that is, while they're not shown on the screen). Normally, this should be on. For example, an email app might sync your email folders while it's in the background, so that when you start the app it already shows the right information without making you wait. A music app might download your new album in the background so it's ready to listen as soon as you start it, even if you don't have an internet connection when you want to listen.
Most apps should have settings inside the app to let you control this. They might let you control what or how much to download, and choose whether to download over Wi-Fi or mobile data. For those apps, you don't need to change the "Background data" setting, because the settings inside the app are more specific.
But some apps are written or designed badly. They might download too much stuff, without giving you any control inside the app. If you have limited data on your cellphone plan, or if you have to pay per megabyte of data, bad apps like this might cost you money. Even if you don't, they might be using your battery unnecessarily.
So you don't have to uninstall these apps completely, you can turn off the "Allow background data" setting. While the app is shown on the screen, it'll work as normal. But as soon as you switch away from that app or turn the screen off, Android will pretend that the internet connection stopped. The app won't be able to use the internet while it's in the background. (Play Store can still download new updates for the app, though.)


text:
Why any app installed via apk file immediately quits after me starting it?
I noticed on my Google Pixel 2 XL, any app installed via apk file as opposed to Google Play store will immediately quit after I start it. Any idea wjy this is happening and how to fix it?

Where have these APK files come from? I don't think there's enough information here to do more than guess.

It's depending on which app you are installing.. whether they are giving support to Android Oreo 8.0 or not.
You can realize that other standard apps like WhatsApp or Facebook from another market will work fine by installing manual apk.

May be the Google's certification authentication.
to fix it, try to force stop google play store on settings and install the apps again.
I hope it get useful to you.


text:
Sahara error while sending programmer to bricked phone
I flashed a bad aboot partition on my Idol 3 and I'm now stuck on a black screen. Plugging my phone in gives me a "Qualcomm HS-USB QDLoader 9008" on COM11 (rather than the usual COM7 in EDL). I have a backup of the old aboot, but when I try to flash with QFIL, I get the following error:
Download Fail:System.Exception: Unable to download Flash Programmer using Sahara Protocol

   at QC.QMSLPhone.Phone.QPHONEMS_SaharaArmPrgDownload(String sFileName)

   at QC.SwDownloadDLL.SwDownload.QPHONEMSSaharaDownloadArmPrg(UInt64& version, String armPrgPath)
Download Fail:Sahara FailSahara Fail

Using the official Mobile Upgrader Q tool from Alcatel, I get a "read terminal information failed" error message, and the Panasonic Download Tool (which also used to work with Idol 3) gives me "Load NPRG Error. (Error code = 5002)"
What's going on? Why can none of these tools send the programmer?
Edit: A more recent version of QFIL (version 2.7.460) gives a much more detailed error message (SAHARA_NAK_MEMORY_DEBUG_NOT_SUPPORTED): https://pastebin.com/K0FN6nG6

You need the correct programmer to hard unbrick your devices.

Originally Posted by petrov.0
Your warranty is void. I'm not responsible if your device is hard
  bricked by using the procedure below. The method described below has
  been tested on 6039Y, 6039S, 6039H (with the archives for 6039Y) and
  6039K (with the 6039S archive) and is confirmed that it works.  What
  to expect on successful completion:
  - you will have access to the fastboot commands (removed by the latest upgrade).
  - you should be able to check for OTA updates and to download them, but you will not be able to install them.
What's needed:

I hate when I must say this ... but ... a Windows PC.
QPST version 2.7.422 (you can find it on the net as 2.7 build 422). This is a link to one such version (found through Google). If there
  are problems with this link please let me know. I will try to find
  another one (you can do it yourself too).
Drivers in order the device to be recognized when is in Download mode. Install Mobile Upgrade Q 4.8.7 the necessary drivers are
  installed with it. It can be downloaded from here.
The files from the archives below. Please use the archive which is especially for your device ... in theory if you use the archive for
  different device (e.g. the archive for 6039S on 6039Y (with the
  standard partitions)) you should have a repartitioned device at the
  end, and only the resize2fs command should be enough to start to
  utilize the whole memory chip ... but you will loose the possibility
  to sweat a little bit when do the repartitioning by following the
  guide for it ￼.
  - 6039Y (8GB stock partition sizes) (md5sum: 860789bedb63da5c5976c24825c29d47)
  - 6039Y (repartitioned by following the repartitioning guide) (md5sum: c2f8ff3cfc683e46fbf5d797103de71b)
  - 6039S (md5sum: dfd04067230b5709729c70cac61ffd52)

How to proceed:

Install all the necessary software.
Unpack the downloaded archive for your device.
Power off the device. Connect it with the USB cable to the PC. Wait the battery symbol to disappear and hold both volume keys and the
  power button. You should see a red screen with a warning sign and a
  scheme. Then hold the volume up button. The display will stay lit but
  nothing will be shown on it from now on until the end of the
  procedure.
When the device is in Download mode under the windows device manager -> Ports (COM & LPT) you should see Android HS-USB QDLoader
  9008 (COMXX)
Open the windows explorer and find the installation folder of QPST (mine is under Program Files (x86)\Qualcomm\QPST). From the bin
  sub-directory start QFIL as administrator.
In QFIL the COM port number as seen under the windows device manager should be selected automatically.
The rest must be done from QFIL:

Programmer path: _____ - Click on the Browse button against it and from the extracted archive select prog_emmc_firehose_8916.mbn
Search Path: _____ - if the path is not selected automatically after the programmer selection click on the Browse button against it and
  select the folder where the archive has been extracted.
Load XML - click on it and first select rawprogram0.xml from the archive, then the patch0.xml file.
Click on the Download button. The process should finish quickly (few seconds ... up to a minute). If everything is OK the phone will be
  restarted automatically and the fastboot commands will be available
  again.

Please see the original post for downloading files

The phone is hard bricked so nothing happens when I plug it in except for the LED coming on (no vibration, no battery symbol, buttons do nothing). Pressing the volume up and down and power buttons doesn't take me to the red screen anymore. The only thing I get is a Qualcomm HS-USB QDLoader 9008 device.

That's exactly how I bricked it, because the aboot in his guide is for 6039 only, not 6045. Using QFIL (exactly like in your answer, with the same programmer that I used to brick my phone) no longer works, giving me the error Download Fail:System.Exception: Unable to download Flash Programmer using Sahara Protocol.

@Runemoro you need to use the correct programmer file

@Runemoro http://forum.gsmhosting.com/vbb/f863/android-ufst-v1-0-5-4-pre-release-all-users-updated-2017-april-03-a-2072229/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZEDkihD3RA

@Runemoro https://yadi.sk/d/jNUw0uDLujwgm

The download link for UFST is broken and I can't find a working one. Alcatel Flasher gives me the error "Failed to download NPRG. Please reset the handset and try again."


text:
Google Play store showing updates after several weeks?

Se the screenshot above. When I check for updates, Play store shows some updates that has been available for a few days, or even a few weeks. However when I was checking a few hours/days earlier, it did not show up. This means Play is postponing some updates. Why does this happen? Is there any way I can always get the latest updates as soon as they're published?

Some phones get a specific update later then others. So it could be that your phone gets them late. Check in gboard's "read more" option and it will tell you when it was last updated.

When it says under Gboard "Updated 4 weeks ago", it means that the last time you updated the app was 4 weeks ago, and not that a new update was available 4 weeks ago.
My proof?
The Chinese app that appears under Gboard was never updated by you.
It should have also ben said "Updated x days ago".
And look at Google app under that, you updated it 3 min ago and not that Google pushed out an update 3 min ago.

Brilliant observation!

+1. I agree. For evidence, here are three screenshots. Play Store shows YouTube was updated three weeks ago, but under YouTube page's Read More, the last update by developer was five days ago, on Nov 21, 2017. Now, I last updated my YouTube app on Nov 5, 2017, which by today's date make up for three weeks, hence, the answer is correct.

This is definately not correct. You can see on the apps individual listing page when it's last update was released. There is indeed a huge lag between when the app gets updated, and when the Play Store realizes that you have an app to update.


text:
Change File Value in CPU Folder
i want to change value in sched_mc_power_savings file, using this code :
   #!/system/bin/sh
   mount -o remount,rw /
   mount -o remount,rw /system
   busybox echo "4" > /sys/device/system/cpu/sched_mc_power_savings

but it not work, and it always give an error like
/etc/init.d/00myfile
: not found
or
can't create /sys/device/system/cpu/sched_mc_power_savings
: no such file or directory
and i though using busybox echo to change the value is enough, so does im doing something wrong ? and how make it works ?

Are you running that as root – or as normal user? In the latter case: I doubt the system will let you write to /sys/* without using root. And, btw, I don't see how the error /etc/init.d/00myfile : not found can be related here as that path/file isn't even mentioned in the scriptlet you've posted.

i was run it with root, and i change the permission to 0755

Permission on what? Ah: You saved the quoted script as /etc/init.d/00myfile? Then what did start the script to throw the error? And what do you get when, at root, you run cat /sys/device/system/cpu/sched_mc_power_savings and ls /sys/device/system/cpu?

i was check everything (path and file) and im not realize that something wrong on the path, that must be /sys/devices not /sys/device. it was work now, thanks for help izzy :) :) :)

I was expecting something like that :) Glad it solved! Mind answering your own question and then "accepting" that answer as solution (might help others if they can identify it that way – and as side-effect earn you some rep)? While doing that, a little note on what that statement does (and what the "4" stands for) would certainly be welcome – as would the source (link) of that information, if you still have it.


text:
Dump google authenticator keys
I have a lot of entries in the google authenticator app. Those entries were originally entered by scanning QR-codes. If I lose my phone, those entries are lost, and my experience tells me that some services can not be reset at all without access to 2 step authentication (one service specifically requested a convoluted process with high associated fees in order to verify my identity. I ended up creating a new account - luckily no important data was in the old account)
According to this site (I have not found a better place describing the data needed to generate a QR-code for Google Authenticator), what I need is:

a label (I assume free text)
user (does this need to be the real user linked to my account?)
a key: this is the important part
a url (is this important, or only for documentation purposes?)

My questions are:

how do I dump all that data from my current Google Authenticator installation?
What happens if I enter that data into a new Google Authenticator instance? Will the old stop working? How is this mechanism implemented?

EDIT
I do not want simply to backup the Google Authenticator database so that another instance of Google Authenticator can read it. I do not want the data in any proprietary or binary format.
I want the data in human readable form, ideally as a .txt file, so that I can readily use it for other purposes, be it back it up as I please, enter it in another application (Google Authenticator or any other application), use it manually to generate QR-codes with the service provided above, ...

@bmdixon if by backup you mean "save the data so that another instance of Google Authenticator can read it", then no, that is not what I mean. I do not want the data in any propietary or binary format. I want the data in human readable form, ideally as a .txt file,, so that I can readily use it for other purposes, be it back it up as I please, enter it in another application (Google Authenticator or any other application), use it manually to generate QR-codes with the service provided above, ...

Several of the answers on that question include how to read the data as text so you can use it as you wish. Not all the answers are relevant in your situation (mine included) but the ones by Anon and dchapkine are, as well as several others.

@bmdixon indeed you are right. Particurarly, the answer by dchapkine seems ineresting

You should also be storing the OTPs each of the services gave you for use in resetting TFA when you enabled it.

@MatthewRead I do not understand what you mean. Can you clarify?

When you enable two-factor authentication for a service/website, they should provide you with several one-time codes.  Those one-time codes can be used when you lose access to your authenticator in order to remove two-factor from the account, and then re-enable it with your new authenticator.


text:
Create Ad-hoc wifi on Android (Samsung galaxy note 3)
I am creating a website using flask (python) to hold pre-downloaded episodes of anime and cartoons to take into school and host between me and my cartoon club. I want to run it on my Samsung galaxy note 3. Python is not a problem but I need to create a private, ad-hoc (I don't want all my data used up) network to run the site on and let my friends connect (also android phones, mostly). My phone is rooted, but theirs aren't. I can run a private hotspot but I don't need the whole internet, (nor the exorbitant costs). Any ways to do this?

Cut off the internet connection (i.e. disable mobile data)? Not sure if the hotspot will still open then (not tried).

Shame, this could have been perfect but it just says 'turn on mobile data'.

I was afraid of that. There might be a (root-based) work-around for that; I vaguely remember having read something like that in the past but cannot remember any details.

Ah! I knew it was somewhere around. Please check: Can my phone act as a WiFi access point without mobile data? // Can my phone act as WiFi Access Point while Disabling Celluar Radio?


text:
Is there a way to see why an App is incompatible with your phone?
Currently trying to install Animal Crossing, and on the store page it blocks me.
Incompatible with your device it says. I check, it needs at least android 4.3, I've got 6.0.1, so I should be good.
But it is incompatible. So is there a way to see what exactly is the trouble making the app unavailable for me? Like a checklist that you should have A, B and C running to be compatible, but you don't have B.
Is there a way to have more information, instead of this generic error message?


text:
How do I keep capitalization I put in? My Galaxy S7 switches it to lower case
If I capitalize in a text message, my Galaxy S7 changes it to lower case.  It works fine with most names, etc. and leaves the upper case, but common words, like Stone Mountain (a town in GA), it keeps changing the s and the m to lower case.  Same problem with Piper my dog.  Note:  This is NOT the first letter of a text problem - I've found that the spurious space at the beginning of the message causes that.

Are you saying that as soon as you write the word, it goes back to being lower case? Or is it that every time you type, you want it to automatically go to upper case? Is it autocorrect that's causing problems? Please include which keyboard you're using.

Yes, as soon as I type it, it goes back to lower case. I'm using Swype with autocorrect.

Being that autocorrect is on, your keyboard will naturally change words to lower case when it sees fit. Being that the examples you gave, are regular words which are written in lower case,  the keyboard will not differentiate between the times that you mean to write the name of a city or just an English word. As for your dogs name, i would imagine that you wrote it once and now it's saved in lower case
Here are two things to try:
Add the upper case word to your keyboard dictionary.
To add a word to your Swipe keyboard, all you have to do is write the word a few times, and the keyboard will get used to it.
In your case you should type the word 'Stone' in upper case, and before you press on the space bar, press on the word on the suggestion bar where the word appears in orange font (as shown in the screenshot). Do this 2-3 time for each word. This way the keyboard will "learn" the word, and will not correct it next time.

Remove the lower case word from the keyboard dictionary.
Type the word in question, then before pressing the space bar, long press on the word in the suggestion bar and select 'remove'. After successfully removing the word from the dictionary write it again in upper case, and you should have an option to add it to the dictionary. If there is no such option, then write the word a few times in upper case till the keyboard 'learns' that this is how you want it.
Note: from now on, when you write the word mountain it will automatically turn into upper case even if you didn't mean to write the name of the city.
Hope this helps.


text:
What information can you extract from Wifi networks without connecting?
Android newbie here.
I am not talking about eavesdropping wifi traffic, but accessing publicly broadcast information.
When you open the list of available wifi networks, that means Android is constantly capturing some information from all of them. It could be simply the SSID and signal strength. But what other information is broadcast by access points that could be extracted by a smartphone app without actually connecting to the network? Any sample code as a starting point?
On a related note, is it possible to connect to two or more wifi networks at the same time, maybe in a way similar to load balancing?

The following information can be found when  the device is near a Wifi Access Point (AP) even though the device isn't connected:
Apart from ESSID and Signal strength,

MAC (for associated access points)
Bit rate
Channel: the frequency channel
Encryption
RTS ("Request to Send") threshold (generally the lower the threshold, the more stable the Wi-Fi network)
Fragmentation threshold

To manipulate the basic wireless parameters you can use the iwconfig command.

iwconfig command  is dedicated to the Linux wireless interfaces. It
  is used to manipulate the basic wireless parameters such as ssid,
  mode, channel, bit rates, encryption key, power and much more. To
  display information about wlan0 wireless interface, enter:

iwconfig Interface-Name-Here,

iwconfig wlan0
To determine an interface, run netcfg
Here is the sample code
$ iwconfig wlan0

and gives the output as:
wlan0     Qcom:802.11n  ESSID:off/any
          Mode:Managed  Channel:0  Access Point: Not-Associated
          Bit Rate:0 kb/s   Tx-Power=0 dBm
          RTS thr=2347 B   Fragment thr=8000 B
          Encryption key: Off

The second question is easy if taken in the context of common consumer Android devices... It is not possible to connect to multiple WiFi networks simultaneously and Android does not support "load balancing", it uses one active Internet/network connection for it's primary route.


text:
Dismiss the popup edit menu on Android > 5
On older versions of Android, the Cut/Copy/Paste edit menu (i.e., the menu displayed when the user selects some text) displays at the top of the screen, and can be dismissed by clicking the back arrow:

On newer versions of Android (not sure when this changed), the edit menu is a popup. I don't see a back arrow here:

How does the user dismiss this menu on newer versions of Android? I realize that this is a complete newbie question, but I can't for the life of me figure it out, and Google searches result in lots of hits for programmatically removing the menu. I'm interested in what the user needs to do to dismiss it.

EDIT/UPDATE: I neglected to mention what the context is here. I'm working within contenteditable <div> elements in a web view. The user is an older guy who sometimes holds down his taps too long, triggering the menu by mistake (although I would imagine other users with mobility issues could do this as well). He just wants to dismiss the menu without leaving the web page.

Just press BACK on the device itself? The way of Android 4.x - pressing a back arrow at the top-left of the screen - is no more convenient.

@AndyYan - the 4.x way dismissed the edit menu dialog, but did not go back one page in the web view. This is what I want; a way for older users / users with mobility issues to get rid of the edit menu if they enable it by mistake.

On newer versions of Android all you have to do to dismiss it is, press the back button on the navigation bar. You can also dismiss it by pressing anywhere on the text box.
(The back button is on the bottom left of the screenshot below)

Looks like I was missing a bit of info. I'm on an edit field (contenteditable div) within a web page. When the edit menu is displayed, the keyboard is up. Clicking the triangle hides the keyboard; clicking it again goes back one page in the web view. I just want to hide the menu.

In that case, you can dismiss it with the second option that i suggested which is pressing anywhere on the text box, like the next word or something. In your case i guess it is annoying that they removed the back button

I've been mulling this over some more, and thought of another kinda stupid solution: click on the COPY button in the edit menu. This would dismiss the edit popup menu while keeping the focus in the text field and the software keyboard displayed.
The only downside is the extra text copied to the clipboard. This would probably only be an issue if you're dealing with some sensitive text (i.e. you don't want it copied to the clipboard), or you've got something else on the clipboard that you don't want knocked out.


text:
My phone keeps getting disconnected from the wifi
Everytime I connect my phone to my wifi after a while it disconnects and won't work until I put the password again, reboot the router, or link the device via WPS. I'm desperate I can't even use my own wifi. You people seems the most reliable since every answer I got didn't work, so if the question doesn't belong here please just help me out and I will delete it.

What is the model of your router? What android is the model of your android device?

@narzard my phone is a Samsung s6, coded sm-g920f. My router is called "Tim ag combo"

@LPChip i Think the problem is in my router since today all other devices had an authentication error at the same time and I did another reebot, and they all connected back with no other issues. But my phone keeps getting disconnected, and it's been two days.

The question is, if you don't use wifi from your phone, but keep using it from your other devices, does the wifi crash too? If not and the phone is the source, we can't help you.

The wifi doesn't crash. It just stops working for me (but not for the other devices). After it gives me the error, it won't connect again until I reebot the modem or one of the thing I wrote in the question. Since the same thing happened to various devices I think it's an issue of the modem.  my father is having the same problems as I do now, he has an iphone and I have a android.

First thing to try is to assure the wireless encryption settings are WPA2-AES. Mixed modes like WPA/WPA2 and especially TKIP are known for having issues with certain device drivers, and any expert can tell you WPA2-AES is currently the only acceptable configuration.

Get a reputable ethernet router (one which can run DD-WRT is a good bet), and connect the WAN interface from your Tim AG combo to it.   You may also need to change the LAN subnet on one of the devices to a different range so as not to have conflict).  Disable WIFI on the Tim AG combo if you can.
Your problem is most probably a combination of compatibility issues between devices - new routers, and routers with a greater number of users typically iron out most of these problems.   (I could be doing it a disservice, but my guess is your provider has rebranded a cheap-as modem/router to keep their prices down, and you are paying the cost - I could not find ANY English references to it, and the pictures don't inspire confidence of a well made product designed for WIFI - for example no decent external aerials)
Otherwise complain to your ISP that there router is not doing the job you are paying for !


text:
My headphones wont work when i use with with my LG
When I plug my headphones in (I have apple headphones) the icon shows up for a second then disappears. How do I fix this?

It's very likely there's something wrong with the 3.5mm jack. My brother had the same problem, he'd have to replace the jack but it was better to just replace the phone since it was an older one.
Test the headphones with some other music device, like an MP3 or radio and see if the same problem persists. This way you can be sure there's nothing wrong with your headphones.

If the headphones just wont work with the LG I would assume that it is the smartphone. Would be interesting to know if there are similar issues with other headphones, too. But anyway, lets start.
I had a similar issue, too. You could try to look for hardware issues.
Maybe there is just something like cotton in the headphone jack. To try this
just take a torch and look into the thing, if there is something inside try to
get it out of there with some wooden or plastic toothpick for example.
If there is no hardware issue you should look for system updates (which you should do anyway) first, maybe the issue will get fixed with some new software. You could also try to reset your smartphone or get a custom rom.
If it is not the headphones and nothing in the hardware you can see or some software issue there could be some comatibilty issues with the voltages of your headphone jack and/or the inner resistance of the headphones. If this is the case there is nothing really I could imagine you might want to do. Maybe you could try to tweak android to make what you want it to make, but I dont have this smartphone and cannot tell whether this will work or not.
Hope I helped you.


text:
Why is not every Android Modification Open Source?
Ok, this might sound a bit weird, but I am really wondering why not every manufacturer like Samsung or Oneplus has to make it ROM public under the GPL license? At least the kernel would have to be under the GPL 2 license because it is a Linux modification and the license includes that anybody has to make the changes public to anyone. Also the Apache license under which android is published should make it legal to edit and redistribute code, but you also have to give the source and state which changes are from you. So, my question is: Why is not every Android System sourcecode public to anybody?

The Apache license doesn't say that you have to provide source to code you modify. It says if you provide source, you must maintain the copyright notices.

Generally, most of the OEMs share the kernel source but there are some cases when they don't (XIOMI). The reason for not sharing it is present in the xda link.

I want to specify one last thing for those readers who are not familiar with the distinction: GPL is a license and not a contract. Some jurisdictions see key distinctions between these two, as contracts are enforceable by contract law and licenses fall under copyright. So breaking a license’s term is still judicable. The distributors who don’t accept GPL’s terms and conditions can’t copy and distribute GPL software under law.

So OEM who are not in American market does this more often.

Every part of the code cannot be kept publically available. Because it contains many patents bounded by the non-disclosure agreement e.g. Camera Software. Some developer friendly companies publish the binary blob for such parts so that it can be used in any custom rom for the device e.g One Plus provide dash charge firmware and probably camera too as a blob.


text:
Can airplane mode turn itself off automatically
If I have a phone with airplane mode turned on, can it turn itself off automatically (without user interaction)?

Airplane mode will stay on as long as you don't set it to turn off on its own.

Yes there is an app called Tasker which is able to set your airplane mode and WiFi on and off automatically according to time or location. This app requires some getting used to, but the settings you are looking for are pretty simple to set up.

@A bochur I'm worried about it turning off without me knowing, so unless I installed an app it's impossible

Correct as long as you didn't install an app that will turn it off, your airplane mode will always stay on.

This answer is not true.

A forced system update, for example, will apparently disable airplane mode.
This can happen without user interaction.
However, such automatic deactivation of Airplane Mode for a system update would generally require the user activating WiFi (after entering Airplane Mode) or some other communication channel that allows the phone to become aware of the requirement for an update.
Also, some apps can activate and deactivate Airplane Mode, if permission is granted.  This is especially true for older (<4.2) versions of Android.


text:
Can WiFi be turned on without user interaction?
If my phone's WiFI is off, can it be turned in without me doing anything?
EDIT: Using Stock Samsung Android on a Samsung Galaxy Tab E.

An app with permission "android.permission.CHANGE_WIFI_STATE" can toggle the Wi-Fi. If there is an app with root access, it can also do so without requiring that permission.

No. Without you do anything there's no way to do it.

Ever heard about phone profiles? Come built-in on some devices/ROMs. So your answer might be a bit too generic :)

@Izzy, generally though without something else installed his answer remains truue right?

@NateD On several phones, there's a profile manager pre-installed. I know that for sure if a device comes with CyanogenOS (as my Wileyfox Swift), and vaguely remember it from some Huawei devices – so there're probably more where no additional install is required (which is why I asked you to add your device and Android version – Samsung is a manufacturer, not a device ;). But sure, "without me doing anything" won't work, those profiles must at least be activated ;)


text:
basic android file system
I have a samsung galaxy 8, new to android from iphone 7. Since this system is new to me I wanted to get a rundown on the internal/sd storage files, where system files are stored, how to find apps and where they are stored. Basically I want to manage some files but I don't know the structure on the android system. Example: I want to store some lesser used icon packs to the external storage to free up some space. I don't know where to move them to, and what rules there may be for this.
I also have alot of photo files which I want to store and use from the sd card.
If someone can please direct me to an article that would be really helpful.

Some starting points at our site: Android Folder Hierarchy / Where Android apps store data?. Also worth checking: our tag-wikis often contain some basic background and link to most relevant answered questions, see e.g. the one for internal-storage.

You can download Es File Explorer App, click here to download it from Google Play Store. It makes easy to manage your files in Internal/External Storage, using this you can easily move your photos from Internal to External storage.
I hope this will help you.

ES once was a good one, now it comes with too much adware attached. For replacements, there's my app listing of file managers; depending on your background, good candidates include Total Commander / Ghost Commander / Astro or Amaze – and I'd currently rather go for the latter: it's open source, and includes an app manager.

@Izzy I am using it for years and I have not faced any issue with it yet, but I will look the suggestions you mentioned.

Well, ES added at least AdMob and MoPub, then Appsflyer, Avocarrot and Taboola – all for ads. Additionally, the app is linked to Firebase (probably for analytics). Doesn't feel good privacy-wise. Amaze has none of that (umm, exact for Firebase if you install it from Playstore – luckily it's also available at F-Droid) while covering almost everything ES does.

@Izzy Thanks for improving my knowledge, this was really helpful.

Always glad to help! As a last note: some of the "more dangerous modules" (also see my article What’s it all about those modules apps contain?) are pointed out by "monitor icons" in my app lists, others can be seen when following the AppBrain links from there.

I fail to see how the answer addresses a good part of the question; namely, where are [apps] stored, where system files are stored, what rules there may be [for moving files]. Sorry, but -1.

Thank you for your suggestion. I already have that app, thats why I need more information on the file system specific to android.


text:
Why wouldn't Project Treble work on Android phones that weren't originally shipped with Oreo once updated to 8.0?
I saw a couple of references discussing Project Treble which all seem to agree that only phones which ship with Android 8.0 "Oreo" would be able to take advantage of Project Treble. The ones that did not won't be able to - not even when the non-8-shipping phones are themselves upgraded to Oreo.
Why is that the case for phones that will get Oreo 8 upgrades?
What's missing from those phones that the Oreo updates for them wouldn't support Project Treble? I was under impression that it was purely a software architecture, not some dedicated hardware.
In other words, why wouldn't releasing Oreo based firmware for the phone automatically make it into a Treble phone?

The Pixel and Pixel XL are the only existing phones that will be able to use Project Treble's features, but phones shipping with Android 8.0 or later will have full access. We hope they take advantage of it! (AndroidCentral)
Oxygen OS on the OnePlus 3 and OnePlus 3T was upgraded to Android 8.0 Oreo the other day, and both the OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 5T are due for an update in early 2018. That’s mostly good news, but sadly, none of OnePlus’s phones will support one of Oreo’s headlining features: Project Treble. In an AMA on the OnePlus forums, OnePlus confirmed that the OnePlus 3, OnePlus 3T, OnePlus 5 and OnePlus 5T won’t get Project Treble support (XDA)

Yes, project treble is a software architecture update but there are few things to consider.
Q. What is the real reason for Android fragmentation?
A. One word answer is silicon vendor's kernel source.
They start developing the hardware almost 2 years before the commercial launch so the source is based on an Old Linux kernel version. As the silicon company is interested in developing new chips instead of supporting 2-year-old chips, they do not update the source for new Android release. Hence no device OEM can update it to the new version.
Google has done many efforts to resolve this issue. One is extended long-term support releases of Linux kernel (6 years instead of 2). Another effort is to provide silicon manufacturers a Vendor Test Suite (VTS) similar to CTS(Compatibility Test Suite). Now silicon vendors only have to develop source once which is compatible with VTS guidelines and Google will ensure that it will work with further updates. So vendors will not update previous chips according to VTS but upcoming all of the chips will be treble supported (hopefully).
So fragmentation is solved this way?
Wrong. Because this is only one of the cause of fragmentation. There is one more that is modifications done by device OEM and carriers. Treble is not a solution for these problems. The only solution is to stick to a pure stock android but no OEM is doing so. OEMs are not interested in porting their changes to every device because it needs a lot of work so they only work for their flagship devices. In the case of one plus, Snapdragon 835 is treble supported but I think they lack the workforce to port oxygen OS to next releases for old devices.
In a nutshell, Google has done the part to fight fragmentation now it depends on device OEMS.
I hope the answer helps.
EDIT(One Plus):
For One Plus refer this post

However, because partitions were not required of Android N and previous versions of Android, all of our current devices do not feature a partition. According to our tests, if we were to modify the partition layout via OTA there is a risk that devices will brick during the partitioning.

In a nutshell, The main problem for one plus is that project treble requires different partitions for modularity of OS which was not the case before Oreo. As One Plus 5 as well as 5T were originally shipped with Nougat, they are not partitioned according to treble. Partitioning via OTA update can brick the device so they are not doing it.
Normal users want all the apps and data saved while updating which is very risky while partitioning via incremental update. You can do it with clean wipe but no OEM will do this as average user does not want treble at the expense of losing all the saved apps and data.
TL;DR
Phones shipped with nougat has only one partition i.e. system but for treble, vendor partition must be different from system and partitioning from ota update is not a good idea for companies.

Sorry, -1. As you yourself noted, silicon vendor for OnePlus is already Treble supported (it uses standard 835, same as Treble-supporting new Google Pixels), so this seems like that is emphathically NOT the reason for phones like OnePlus 5/5T. Moreover, " port oxygen OS to next releases for old devices" is also explicitly wrong as per the quote, as both 5 and 5T WILL be upgraded to Oreo.  The answer may have been true for phones that don't ever get 8.0, but the question is specifically about phones that will get 8.0 anyway

@DVK I am also shocked after hearing that they are not supporting 5 and 5T. Snapdragon 835 is a chip which is released before releasing of treble so I think Google made snapdragon to update its source according to treble but most of the devices are based on the previous source. So for supporting treble they have to do work again for Oreo release with treble updated source and they don't want to do this.
It is my best guess in this matter still I respect your decision of downvote.

I have edited the post with relevant information for one plus.

-1 definitely removed :). If you elaborate a bit (from the source you linked) to make the answer fully understandable without reading the ilnked article, I will gladly upvote and accept.

I will add the relevant information soon.

@DVK Added the information for one plus. Hope this helps. And thanks for your suggestion

Project Treble requires the OEM to put Android OS and vendor-specific in two different partitions. Most phones that are originally shipped with Nougat or lower do not have separate partitions for /system and /vendor (it's a symlink to /system/vendor).
Your statement is wrong. AFAIK Huawei Mate 9 series and P10 series will support PT after upgrading to Oreo. OnePlus refuses it because they don't want to push OTA packages that modifies the device's partition table. Same for [HMD Nokia].


text:
How to prevent app A to inform about app B existence?
I've two apps, A & B.
When I start app A, it prompts me with a message:
"Please remove app B to continue!"
How can I prevent app A from reading the installed apps list.
Or is there a way to rename app B to something else?
App A is a taxi app like Ubber.
App B is the Waze.

Use APK Editor to change app B's package name.

I've Changed the waze package name from com.waze  to com.ways, but after installing the new apk, all I see is force close!

Similar question: https://android.stackexchange.com/q/186771/96277. No answers though.


text:
How to set the end date of a reminder?
How should I utter the comment so it can understand the end date?
The following does not work:

OK Google, remind me to do this every day at 3 for 5 weeks.

Try this: Ok Google, remind me to do X daily at Y up-to Z. where, X=topic for reminder, Y=time of reminder and Z=period of reminder.

@parthu_panther does not work


text:
Found a film or strip stuck inside the back cover of Lenovo K3 Note
I have a a phone Lenovo K3 Note. I noticed something paper like stuck on the back cover of the phone. It is like a film, found on clothes of some stores so that no one can steal them. But what its use on my phone, I couldn't understand. These are the images of the sticker:
Stuck on the cover

Upper side

Was stuck like this

Do anyone know why it is put there, I am little suspicious about it.

Just a regular graphite sticker to help with radiation (the grainy texture and easily-crumpled nature hints at it) - this is getting typical nowadays. If you're not sure you could always cut the sticker apart and check if there are any wiring in it - if it's used for any other purpose it will have a circuit inside. Also, I'm voting this as Android-independent since it's not about the OS, but about a phone using the OS.

It may be just a sticker to counter radiation, as @Andy Yan said. I tore off the the sticker there was just some black slippery substance coated. There was nothing like the stickers on clothes bought from few stores. (So its not the RFID sticker @davidgo)
But, I browsed about such type of stickers, 'Anti Radiation Sticker' there were no supporting blogs or comments about its use found, other than on the sites selling them. Then why the company itself using them? I couldn't understand.
Visit the link, advocating uselessness of Anti Radiation Stickers
Edit - Its not a 'Anti Radiation Sticker', it absorbs dissipating heat, made from graphite while ARS are made of metal.
(Thanks to @AndyYan)

By "radiation" I mean dissipating heat, hence the graphite material. "Anti-radiation" stickers on the market, on the other hand, are usually made out of metal.

Oh! I understood it it. Now I will stick it again. Thankyou @AndyYan, Thanks

According to people at https://www.reddit.com/r/lenovok3note/comments/3eousk/could_the_lenovo_k3_note_be_optimised_for/ it's used for shielding the Sim cards.
I'd be surprised, and posit it is actually an anti-theft or tracking RFID sticker - possibly bigger then typical as it needs to work through more packaging?


text:
Manage different devices on one place
I would like to manage different Android devices on one place. It means I would like to see information about these devices on a single account. Mainly I would like to get a list of installed applications, latest geographical position.

And you have already checked with the relevant Q&As here on this site – and nothing fits? What about Which program allows remote management of Android devices? And are you asking for multiple devices you own (and run with a single e.g. Google account) – or about managing all devices of an international corporation (just to name two extremes)?

There are a few ways to do what you're looking for.
One option is to use a parental control app that lets you see the location, browsing history, apps downloads, sms activities, etc.
One such app is called qustodio. You can find many similar ones online.
Sending method:
This method will require you to have the Google account password for the device in question. (This method is only ideal if all devices are using the same Google account)

open play.Google.Com in your browser in desktop view and after signing in, go to the menu>apps, and you'll see a drop down list. In the list select the device for which you want to see installed apps. Scroll through the list to see the apps that were installed
to see the location of the device, you can use Google's find my device option. After logging in you'll see the location of the phone. (Note: sometimes the phone will get a notification that the device was located using this option)


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Open url links to the Washington Post in the Washington Post app
Is there any way to force my phone (pixel, Android 8.0) to open url links to the Washington Post with the Washington Post app? This kind of desired behavior works automatically with other apps/urls for me like the New York Times and Google Maps, but for some reason not with the Washington Post.

This behavior is decided by the app developer, if Washington Post doesn't let such action, then you won't be able to do it.
If they do allow it, then usually the first time you press on a link it will ask you how you want to open it. So it's possible that you have selected the browser as the default. To change that, go to settings>apps>[name of your browser]>defaults>clear defaults


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How to prevent an application from getting installed apps
I'm a android user not a developer and just want to know how can I prevent an app e.g. Facebook from getting installed apps list?
Or alternatively hide some apps from installed list in order to fool the Facebook app.

XPrivacy can do this but it works well only for Android 6.0.1 and below, and requires a rooted device with Xposed Framework.


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Customize date display format? [Android 7]
How can I change global date format in Android 7.1.1?
I want to continue using en-US locale setting, but with ISO date format YYYY-MM-DD. And change long format into DD. MMMM YYYY (e.g. 22. october 2017).
I know that date format change is not possible via menu items in the user inferface. But perhaps is there some file in the filesystem where I can specify it?

I'm afraid, no.

This question arises since Android 6 (where the corresponding option was removed – see How to change date and time format on Marshmallow?), and for other languages as well (for me it e.g. truncated the year to 2 digits in some apps, and choosing a different locale didn't help) – so a more general answer covering that as well would be great. BTW: this is not Samsung specific, unfortunately (just saying as you chose that tag).

@Izzy – thanks for note on the scope, I removed Samsung tag. And yes, maybe someone with enough reputation could become an Altruist :)

According to this YT video one could simply add another language to the existing one (that guy ended up with "English (India)" as first and "English (US)" as second language). That way it seems one can play with different locales while keeping the language. Apart from that, all I found matches what the answers here and on the linked question already said. Still wondering why that option was removed – and not brought back despite of people complaining.

@Izzy – we all are searching the web. But isn't there anyone who simply understands Linux and points to proper place where the setting is stored? I also asked on Unix and Linux SE. I would expect that there are many developers who – if they do not already know the answer – simply look at the code (it is all open source, isn't it?) and extract the information from logic of the code.I am doing similar examination in Windows software, so >>

I do not quite understand that no one already checked and explained such a relatively simple thing in Android/Linux world. I am able to do that but with lower effectivity as I am only a guest at that platform.

"isn't there anyone who simply understands Linux" – sorry, that won't help much in our context. While Android runs on top of a Linux kernel, the system is much different from that. In the Linux world, locale settings are managed via the LC_* environment variables. adb shell env doesn't show any of them being present on my Android devices. There might be some central database entry one could tweak (settings.db seems gone with Marshmallow, so I don't know where to look), but noone told me yet.

Let us continue this discussion in chat.

Try en-CA locale setting.
It uses well-formed English, as well as ISO units and formats.

This one is better. Long date format is still wrong. Are there files in file system where these settings can be manually edited into desired form (similar to Windows Registry) or is asking about such advanced changes off-topic on this site? I think we both know that formats for current locale are actually stored somewhere and can be changed there.


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Turn on HotSpot via ADB -- Sony Ericsson Xperia mini ST15i
How to turn on wifi hotspot on ST15i via ADB? There is already on post about this using keyevents but it does not work for me. It has hot broken touchscreen, back is always clicking, but before, I turned on USB debugging so ADB works. It is not rooted. I want to use it as mobile hotspot from SIM. It has Android 2.3 GingerBread.

Try this:
/system/bin/hostapd -e /data/misc/wifi/entropy.bin /data/misc/wifi/hostapd.conf

Explaining how this is going to help OP makes sense and adds value. In the present form, it is vague


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How do I open an app that Play Store lists as installed, but that isn't accessible?
I installed an app today on a six month old ZTE Axon 7.  I have installed many apps on this device before and never had a problem, and I have plenty of storage left on my phone.  This app downloaded and installed normally, including a playstore alert that installation was successful, but it never appeared on my home screen.  I went to look for it in my list of all apps, but it wasn't there either.  When I go back into Play Store and view the app's detail page, it only shows one button: uninstall.  All other apps also show an "open" button.
I did install this from the play store and not a browser.  I searched for it an installed from Play Store and did not follow a link to the details page.  The app works on my old Sony Xperia Ion, and Play Store lists it as "compatible with all your devices".  I tried uninstalling the app and then reinstalling the app.  I also tried restarting the phone.
I have searched Google and found many reports of other users having a similar problem, but the only solution reported to work is to download it from the play store (as apparently these users installed from a web link).  Just in case, I enabled the "allow installation of apps from unknown sources" and then reinstalled the app, but still got the same result.
What could cause this and how can it be fixed?
If it's relevant, the app is: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nightscapecreations.anim3free&hl=en

It uninstalls normally like any functional app.  And the install takes just as much time as expected to download the apk and then install it.  What side effects might clearing the playstore data have?

Here are the instructions from the page that you linked:
INSTRUCTIONS
Setting a live wallpaper works differently from device to device, and on different versions of Android. In most cases you can set a live wallpaper the same way you set a static wallpaper. Try these methods, and if they don't work feel free to contact us:
1) Tap an open area of your desktop, look for an edit icon, and choose "Wallpaper" and then "Live Wallpaper" from the list that appears
2) Go into "Settings" - "Display" - "Wallpaper" - "Live Wallpaper"
3) Go into "Settings" - "Personalization" - "Wallpaper" - "Live Wallpaper
Try going to set the wallpaper the way you normally would and see if WPS Video Live Wallpapers is there waiting for you.


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Unable to forget certain Wi-Fi networks
When I activate the Wi-Fi on my Android device, I can see some networks that I never saved, and that cannot be forgotten.
What are those, and how can I forget them?

Hi, those are not realistically "Saved" those are the "Wifi Hotspots" that your device could possibly connect to.  You can only "FORGET" a wifi connection when you had a connection made on it before. Hope this is clear.

Thank you I am over 40 and therefore technologically challenged

If it says under the name of the WiFi network "not in range" then you can usually long press on them and "forget" but there are WiFi networks that you can't remove for some reason, like in my phone there is one called attWIFI that one came with my phone and i can't remove it

@JimSteven I believe that this comment should be made into an answer.


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Can apps with Baidu Web Push work on non-Chinese devices out-of-the-box?
For our client, we are developing an application where the majority of the users are located in Mainland China and we need to support push notifications for this group. Since Google and GCM (Google Cloud Messaging) is blocked in China, we are looking to implement Baidu Web Push.
In the Amazon documentation, handling Push Notifications from Baidu Cloud Push, they state the following:

Install your app on to a Baidu-enabled device and capture the generated device token.

Is Baidu Web Push only supported on certain Chinese devices? GCM requires the Google Play Services to be installed and we are wondering if Baidu needs something similar?

We've integrated the Baidu Cloud Push on our own device (non-Chinese), in Europe, and we were able to receive a push from the Baidu Cloud Push Console.
So apps with Baidu Web Push do not need any other services installed and will work out of the box.


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Batch remove entries from Multiling dictionary
In the Android dictionary, there are hundreds of abbreviations and all-caps combinations that are hardly ever used.
However, when typing, these words keep popping up instead of the intended words.
The system in question is a non-rooted Android 7, and the keyboard is Multiling O Keyboard.
Since apps cannot write to the built-in dictionary, I assume that Multiling stores user dictionary entries (like the addition or removal of words) in a separate file, and compares this file to the built-in dictionary.
Where does Multiling keep its word lists (for each language)?
Is there a way to remove all of these abbreviations and all-caps words, e. g. by batch-processing a list or by replacing a database file?

You can edit the file in the preferences (gear symbol), then Misc, then Import/Export and there you find the user dictionary.
I’ve written this down, because I’ve been searching so long to find how to backup my user dictionary of the Honso Multiling O Keyboard.

Thanks. In this file, only the words appear that I have already manually edited (“Save or increase rank” or “Remove or decrease rank” on long-press). For example, if I remove the entry “word”, it will appear in the list as “word::1::en”. But I’m looking to edit the database of all the words in the dictionary, and preferably batch edit it, removing all all-caps words or abbreviations.

For dictionaries I had to download different additional “apps”, which only include dictionary files (english, spanish, german, icelandic, portuguese, french, …). Maybe you can download those apps and extract their content and find a file that includes all the words? And then built your own apk file. Or just replace the file in the directory structure of your phone, if that is allowed as normal user.


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Xposed Framework: what is it, how does it work and why is it so prevalent?
Some years ago, the term Xposed Framework was not present in the custom ROM and developer scene.
Now it seems to be everywhere.

Xposed is a framework for modules that are able to modify the
  behaviour and looks of the Android operating system and apps. This
  means, that you are able to install modules which add custom ROM like
  features to the Android OS running on your device. These modules
  include both visual- and performance improvements.

This description (quoted from trendblog.net) doesn’t really say anything, because with root priviliges (Xposed seems to require root), users could just as well alter the system in any way they like, so they wouldn’t need Xposed.
What is this Xposed Framework, how does it work, why would I want it and why is it so important nowadays?

To get an overview, you might wish to read my article on it: Xposed: The mighty Android toolbox. I will see to place a summary below as answer.

For a short abstract, let me quote from my article Xposed: The mighty Android toolbox (available behind the link in German and English):

Xposed is a framework for modules that can change the behavior of the system and apps without touching any APKs. Instead, it reaches deep into the system, modifying the corresponding DEX or ART representations of the app. To be able to do so, Xposed must be deeply integrated with the Android system – which is done on installation of the framework, where it replaces some system components (after backing up the originals, so you can revert back anytime).
There are multiple advantages to this approach. Listing some of them:

you can modify parts of the system you otherwise could not
you can apply multiple modifications to the same app in a combination best fitting your intentions
changes are easy to undo: As all changes are done in the memory, you just need to deactivate the module and reboot to get your original system back.

For more details, also on installing the framework and on dealing with modules, please refer to the linked article. Though written almost 2 years ago, it still reflects how it works today; meanwhile, Xposed is also available for Android 7 (which was not released at the time the article was written).
PS: Your next question will probably be on Magisk – but that article is still on my todo list


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Accidentally ran chmod -R 777 /?
So I was going to type something else with chmod but I ended up typing chmod -R 777 / but the good thing is I ran this in an unrooted Samsung j7 prime so it had a read only file-system and running android 7 and after I ran it I immediately killed it with ^C and I read output which said permission denied for many files. I also ran chown the came same way like this for fun a few days ago. Everything runs fine I even rebooted but should I worry about a problem with my device?

From where did you execute the command?

I'd worry a lot – because what you did is equivalent to opening all doors and windows in your house wide, and then go sleep. The entire world (figuratively spoken) now has access to everything the chmod managed to touch. Not having run it as root might mean damage is not that extensive – but it could still be enough for the one or other mishap.
To fix up what might have been broken, unfortunately the only safe way is a factory-reset – as it's hard to say which files/directories have been changed and even harder what their previous "access levels" were.

It is just a hunch, but maybe the OP won't need a factory reset. Let's see if you can guess why.

@DeathMaskSalesman Don't take those things lightly – even if you assume OP used a "low privileged user" to run the command, at least all data owned by that will be laid wide open (you think terminal app, I guess). And despite of "no root", remember that ADB has elevated permissions (if that chmod was eg. run via adb shell).

Good one. If the command was ran from a terminal emulator, only this app's data is messed up. If, on the other hand, the command was issued from adb, then…

Always be on the safe side, @DeathMaskSalesman – and always assume the worst (you know that guy named Murphy). One should think before running (potential) dangerous commands. And the OP wouldn't be the first one having messed up a system using chmod -R 777 on the root folder. I've seen more than one such case on SE already. Besides, I wouldn't be sure only the terminal's data was messed up. One never knows what crazy setups some manufacturers/ROM-cooks established. I'd assume you're correct there, but I wouldn't bet on it.

Kudos for the safe side thing. My idea could work for Lineage, but for Sammy's TouchWiz? Not so sure.


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A pop-up was on my screen and said I had a virus!
I was searching up fun computer games to play when a message came up saying I have a virus and I should download this weird app and give it a lot of my personal information including phone number and email.
I'm scared this is a scam. What do I do??

You must know that in Android a website cannot know more than what Chrome would permit it to know, and there is no way a website can detect the installed apps or the running programs in your device, scan them on-the-fly and flag the malware. Such pop-ups are always a scam.

Congrats! You won 10 bottles of snake oil if you're lucky.
Honestly: this has two very clear indicators of being scam:

There are no viruses on Android. And even if there were, how should that website know?
Asking you to download an app via their specific link to fix {whatever}. If you do so, then you are in trouble.

Ignore that message (close the tab of your browser were it appeared), but remember that website – to never visit it again.

There are no viruses on Android - I doubt that

@msrd0 name one. And don't confuse "virus" with "malware": a virus is malware, but malware not necessarily a virus (as an apple is a fruit but a fruit not always an apple). The speciality of a virus is self-replication. All Android malware I know of always requires user interaction (or the manufacturer pre-installing it). Though those who sell you their "Anti-Virus" want to believe you otherwise, of course ;)

If you're referring to the the pop-up with the (fake) countdown timer on it, which I've seen before, then just know that it doesn't have malware, and neither do any other pop-ups. They're just pieces of scareware (Advertisements designed to scare the victims into a reaction, like downloading an app).  If it'll make you feel better, then feel free to download a (legit) anti-malware app on the Play Store and perform a scan with that. My personal recommendation is Malwarebyte's Android app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.malwarebytes.antimalware&hl=en .


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Whats the best way to test android apk apps in an android virtualbox setting in windows 10?
I have alot of apk's I'd like isolated to test in a sandbox like environment. Is there something like this where I can duplicate the OS like a virtual machine? I want to test these new apk's on Android 8 Oreo.

I believe Genymotion is an excellent Android emulator. You can even drag and drop the APKs in it to automatically install them. I have been using it for many years now.

Genymotion cost $100+ per month. Not feasible for a hobbyist just messing around.

Yeahh didn't use to cost anything 1 year ago :(

Here are some alternatives though. Hope you find something that suits you. https://alternativeto.net/software/genymotion/


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Transferring from Samsung to vanilla Android
I am going from a Samsung Galaxy S7 to Nokia 6. The setup downloaded all of my apps, but none of my files, sms and settings. Of course, I wont get the things I got from Samsung, but there are games I have to start all over and other nuisances. How can I get at least almost everything back?

Sounds like one of our ever present questions (‹ we have a good search engine ;) Please try with some other keywords as well, there should be several good hints. Like: Is it possible to migrate apps and their data from one unrooted Android phone to another? // Transfer everything to new phone? // How to transfer SMS message store to new phone (and also look at the questions linked there in the "related" section).

Oh.... I see... Thank you! I'll use the search engine onwards :)

Always glad to help! When you found a solution, please consider either answering your own question – or, if an existing post fully covers it, let us know to mark yours a duplicate to that. This will help future "seekers" finding it. Good luck!


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Switched Language from English to Spanish but there are still english menus
I purchased a phone for my Uncle and he doesn't speak English but the default language for the phone was English.
I set the Language & Input to Espanol, the Keyboard and Dictionary to Espanol and Google Now's search language to Espanol and 95% of the phone is now in Spanish.
The 5% left is is driving me nut though and I can't figure out how to reset it.  I thought maybe it was the Cache for Settings so I cleared the Setting App Cache, rebooted and no luck.  I tried to Delete Data for Settings App and that didn't work either.
Here are some images with examples of the mix of Spanish and English:

Its driving me a little nuts.  Any ideas?
Samsung S6 Edge Stock with Android 7.0.
Thanks in advance.


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Does any state or settings remain after an app uninstall?
So on my primary phone, a few weeks ago, whenever I opened up instagram it crashed.  I thought my life would be better without it, and I have multiple devices so I uninstalled it.
A few weeks later, I installed it again and it immediately crashed every time.
I did a data integrity spot check of the SD card and it passed (essentially I wrote at different sectors, ran some checksums ... did a few things to convince myself that the storage system wasn't bad) so we can eliminate that.
All the other parts of the phone are "functional". Other apps don't crash and all the hardware seems to be operational.
The only thing that I can conclude is that the uninstall left something sitting around that a subsequent install is trying to use.
I can't do strace, lsof, or gdb on this thing. So here's a few ways to solve this problem, any being acceptable:

Have you seen this before and is there some place you can link me to to learn more about it?
Are there (this is just yes or no, I just thought of this now) ways to step through app-store apks that are running through say android studio, looking at things like open file handles, or the raised exceptions (beyond what adb logcat tells you of course) - or are there ways to generate a core file that can be analyzed out of band?
Is there some other storage subsystem, such as an SQLite3 database somewhere, where such settings often linger, that I can check?

Thanks

Related: https://android.stackexchange.com/a/158509/86358

I've noticed that sometimes files on the SDCards remain. Especially watch for Android/data/<package_name> and data/<package_name> directories, as well as top-level directories which seem to belong to the app.


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Simultaneously connecting USB mouse and VGA monitor?
Is it possible to simultaneously connect a USB mouse and VGA monitor to an Android tablet?
Because of my physical disability, I would like to operate an Android tablet using a standard USB mouse, rather than the usual touch input. At the same time, I would like to mirror the tablet's display onto a standard VGA monitor.  Is this possible on an Android tablet?
From reading a HowToGeek article, it seems that mouse input is possible if I use an adaptor from standard USB to USB OTG.  If I insert a USB hub between the adaptor and mouse, can I also connect a VGA monitor to the tablet using a VGA to USB adaptor?
I've also heard of Chromecast.  Is this needed to mirror the tablet's display onto a VGA monitor?

It is possible to mirror the display to an equipped HDMI TV using a Google Chromecast, although you may not like the experience, I have only used it on a phone and it's usable but hardly efficient. As far as controlling the mouse, a Bluetooth mouse would probably be much easier.

@acejavelin Thanks for the tip about a Bluetooth mouse, but it would have to be a USB mouse.  My physical disability means that the mouse shape is crucial, and the mouse that works best for me is USB.

Gotcha... You can go from a USB OTG adapter to a powered USB hub and connect multiple peripherals, although whether or not a VGA display adapter would be supported would depend entirely on your tablet. However, using a USB mouse connected to the USB OTG connector or hub, and a Chromecast (which is uses WiFi) may work. If your tablet support MHL output (HDMI over USB port) to my knowledge it cannot be used in conjunction with USB OTG, it is one or the other.

BTW, I have no experience doing this, but I found this article about using a USB Mini Docking station with a tablet... it might prove useful. https://www.cnx-software.com/2015/08/29/connect-an-android-smartphone-or-tablet-to-a-monitor-usb-keyboard-and-mouse-easily-with-a-displaylink-docking-station/


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How do I delete photos I sent to someone in Hangouts?
I would like to have photos removed from hangouts between myself and another person. They are showing up in their albums, not mine. THey are harrasing and sexully explicit.

Unfortunately, there is no way to delete a message that you sent to someone from their phone. You can delete it from your phone but not theirs.


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How to find where progress in game is saved
I am trying to transfer progress in a game to a new phone by transferring the files. In the case of some games, I was able to do that by copying files from Android->data. However, in other cases I am not able to find the save files.

May be specifying the game name could help in providing you with a better answer of where the files are, but many backup applications can do this for you, Titanium Backup is by far the most popular.


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How do I install Google Chrome on a Kindle Fire?
I'm tryhing to install any version of Google Chrome on Kindle Fire using instructions here -- https://www.technipages.com/kindle-fire-how-to-install-google-chrome-via-apk-file.  I have followed all the instructions up to the point where I actually have to download an APK file, evidently needed to install Chrome.  However, I'm confused about which file I need.  On Chrome's site, all the files they list are for Android operating systems ...
https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/google-inc/chrome/

In as far as I'm using a Kindle Fire, I don't see any APK files on the site appropriate to a Kindle.  Where do I find such a file?

Why do those questions belong on an Android site?  I'm not trying to install Chrome on Android, I want to install it on Kindle.

First, questions about installing Google Chrome are completely off-topic for [webapps.se]. Second, the Kindle Fire is based on Android, so is also off-topic at [su]. Android Enthusiasts is the best possible match. If this question doesn't belong here, then it doesn't have a home any where on Stack Exchange.

The instructions on that site pretty much explains everything. Since Kindle Fire OS is based on Android OS, you just need to know to which Android version does your Fire OS corresponds.
Also check the appropriate CPU architecture. For example for Chrome Browser 62.0.3202.84, click on all variants (or this link), then on the next screen you see that for each variant there is a compatibility table for each CPU architecture (i.e arm, arm64) as well as Android version.
If your Fire is based on Android 5.0 and arm architecture then, select that one for download and install.
Remember to reboot your device after installing


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Google Calendar Sync issue in Xiaomi Max 2 (Android N 7.1.1 NMF267), doesn't ask for "storage" access
I'm on a Xiaomi Max 2, MIUI 8 (Android N 7.1.1 NMF267).
Google Calendar sync works when I choose "Refresh" from the top right inside the Google Calendar app. But a few hours later, the calendar shows up empty. When I click "Refresh" again, it works again. And so on.
This seems to be a widespread problem judging from online complaints. I'm savvy with computers and phones, and have tried every fix mentioned online. Including clearing cache in the Google Calendar app, uninstalling it, clearing cache in Google Play Services, and re-installing the Google Calendar app.
The Google Calendar Sync Android Docs say to "make sure that Calendar storage is turned on"

HOWEVER, on my phone, Google Calendar doesn't even ask for App storage permission. It doesn't show up below in the list of apps asking for "storage permissions" (Note: the "Calendar" below is MIUI's internal Calendar app, not Google Calendar. MIUI is Xiaomi's Android skin):

I'd appreciate any suggestions on resolving this issue.

Answering my own question.
I'm now on Xiaomi MIUI Global 9.0 Stable 9.0.3.0 (NDDMIEI) with Android N 7.1.1 NMF26F.
I found a separate app called Calendar Storage. This app shows up under Settings / Apps / All It doesn't show up under Settings / System Apps or under Settings / Apps / Downloaded which is probably why I missed it earlier.
After doing "Clear data" and "Clear cache" inside this app, my Google Calendar app's sync seems to be working.


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Update Android on ASUS
I have an Asus T00J, "ZenFone 5" with android 4.4.2 and the manufacturer did not post updates. Can I force the update to a newer version of Android?

Check out XDA-Developers.
(Sorry for the last mistaken comment)

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts! Starting point to find the answer would be our updates tag-wiki – and most likely Where can I find stock or custom ROMs for my Android device?

Zenfone 5(T00J) is a old device now, Asus wont be pushing any updates officially after the latest Lollipop(5.0) update.
I would suggest staying with Kitkat as its better than Lollipop for Zenfone 5.
If you still want to update your zenfone 5 to latest update just follow this link: How to update ZF5 to latest LP from KK


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Can a device turn on by itself
Can a device turn on by itself without any buttons being pressed? Assume there aren't any custom ROMs

If it has a feature like that usually called as Scheduled power then it can turn on or turn off automatically.

Yes.
Even stock ROMs have a feature named Scheduled Power-On.
Phones have a built-in battery to allow RTC (real time clock) to run while the device is powered off, and it's the base that scheduled power-on is designed.
Here's Settings -> Advanced -> Scheduled Power On/Off on my phone (OnePlus 5, Stock 7.1.1)

(click image to enlarge)

I should've clarified, assume that a user has NOT set something like this up


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Wireless Charging stopped working; Could it be a software issue? (Samsung Galaxy S3)
I've had a Samsung Galaxy S3 for a few years,  I even upgraded to a newer model, and revered back to my trusty ol' S3 because I missed it, and was and was happy with it's size & features.
Eventually the USB charge port stopped working (a common problem on this model).  Replacement part is under $2 but microsoldering & board repair are beyond my skill level, so I got a 2nd battery + external charger, which I've been swapping out twice a day for six months.
It's a bit of a pain, so when I realized Qi-style Wireless Charging could be inexpensively "retrofit" to my device, I was thrilled!
The transmitter & receiver pad arrived yesterday. I placed the pad under the battery cover as instructed (touching the previously-mysterious 2nd set of charging contacts), put it on the transmitter, and voilà, my charging headaches were solved!  It charged faster than plugging it in [used to], and even worked with my rubber case attached.
Hooray! Until the next day. :-(
Today the phone does not detect the wireless charger.  I've tried restarting the phone repeatedly, tried two batteries on each of two receiver pads (they accidentally sent 2 instead of 1), tried with/without case & cover, and even different power sources & cables to the transmitter.
None of these steps worked which leads me to believe this is a software problem... Is that possible?
If I can't get it working I'm obviously going to send the parts back and go back to constantly swapping batteries but I'm hoping someone has a suggestion.  Could there be settings I am unaware of?
When working, Ampere Meter app said it was charging wirelessly at 1050mA.  Receiver pads are rated for 800Ma; Batteries are 3.87v/7.98/Wh/2100mAh.  As I recall it would charge around 650mA back when the charge port worked.
Photo is similar receiver pad, on same model of phone:

Samsung Galaxy S3, rooted (with no other issues), running Kitkat 4.4.4.

Link to Samsung Wireless Charging Support.

Couldn't you just take your phone to a service centre?

Warranty was gone a long time ago.  The goal is to not spend any money, and to keep my existing phone.  After  trying all the hardware combinations I could think of, I was hoping there might be something software-related I could try.

Oddly, my receiver (NillKin) stopped charging the phone on the same day as yours did.  I have a Pixel XL (Android 8) & this solution worked great!  ...until it didn't.  Try turning the phone off & see if it will charge. Mine still will, but only if turned off.  I do notice that I have to be more precise with placing it on the pad than I used to.  Only thing I can think of electrically that matches the symptoms would be if there are multiple wires used in the loop & one is either shorted or ground.  ???  Anyway, I ordered another one that should be here in a couple of days.