text:
Pixel 3a XL repeatedly crashes and reboots when connecting to a specific Wi-Fi network
I ran into an issue with my Google Pixel 3a XL phone where it repeatedly crashed and rebooted. After looking into the issue, I remembered that the crashes started as soon as I connected to a specific Wi-Fi network.
The issue began as soon as I connected to it. I tried rebooting in Safe Mode to see if that fixed the problem, which initially disabled all networking features, but as soon as I switched them back on, the crashes started again. I was able to stop the crashes by disabling Wi-Fi immediately after the next restart, forgetting the network it was trying to connect to, then re-enabling Wi-Fi.
The issue seems to occur only when I connect to that specific Wi-Fi network; connecting to other networks doesn't create any problem. I was reading another help guide that said to reset the network settings to fix problems with it, but I doubt that will fix the issue as it just resets the saved networks. I already deleted the info about the problematic network by forgetting it, so I don't think this will resolve it.
The network is an unsecured network, and is a public network (so I don't have access to router info, etc.)
What could be causing the phone to crash and reboot when I connect to that one specific Wi-Fi network, and not any other network?

Have you performed a Network Settings Reset? Go to Settings - System - Reset Options, and select "Reset Wi-Fi, mobile, and Bluetooth". Note this will delete ALL network settings, all saved networks, paired devices, etc. but it is would be one of the first things I would try and the first thing Google support would suggest. I own a 3a XL and am a network tech and use it to troubleshoot networks, I have literally connected to hundreds of WiFi networks and have never seen this behavior.

@acejavelin As I said in my post, I considered doing so, but I severely doubt it will resolve the issue if all it does is forget all networks and Bluetooth devices, and set network settings to default (I've never changed any network settings).

Perhaps... But I have seen a Network Settings Reset fix all sorts of odd problems in many devices network related that you wouldn't expect. It is a pretty minor inconvenience and like I said this would be the first step to troubleshooting this. I am not saying it will or won't fix the issue, but it is something that should be done. It is probably the easiest step to take at this point.

This is a known, supposedly fixed but not yet pushed into production issue for Wi-Fi networks utilizing 802.11k:
https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/144381412
See also:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Pixel3/comments/f7mych/reboot_when_connecting_to_wifi/
It has been more than a year and still unresolved in end user devices. I don't understand why it is taking this long especially considering:

That they have supposedly fixed it in the code.
How widespread this must be, as all devices are affected (even if most people may not realize it has to do with Wi-Fi, it took me a while to connect the dots). I am personally experiencing the same on a Pixel 3.

Please upvote and comment on the Google Bug tracker link above so Google can finally take care of this.

Thank you Erwin. That's an ugly bug and yet another example of how long Google takes to fix known issues... if ever.  "Free support" is meaningless if the code is not quickly pushed to fix critical issues like this.

Looking at that bug report, it looks like there's another bug report that's blocking it from being fixed. That report's details are marked as confidential, so perhaps it's a security bug.

I have the exact same problem with my Google Pixel 2 XL. It happens only in one (secured) network. I have tried "Network Settings Reset" but it didn't help. The workaround we have found:

Boot into safe mode

Press and hold the power button
Touch and hold “Power off” button until view “Reboot to safe mode”
Press “OK” to boot into safe mode

Enable WiFi and connect to the problematic network
Restart to normal mode. It can connect to the network as long as it is remembered.

I already tried Safe Mode and it didn't work. It still crashed while in Safe Mode.


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Unlock bootloader with PIN using ADB
My phone screen has shattered, and is not at all visible. I made the mistake of rebooting the phone via ADB, and now it is stuck at the boot lockscreen.
I am interested in copying the files off the device onto my computer. The problem is, the disk is encrypted, and to decrypt, I need to enter the pin code, which requires using the screen.
How can I decrypt the disk, or unlock the boot-screen via ADB?
Within adb I attempted cd sdcard and it returns /sdcard: No such file or directory, despite ls showing it to exist.

Device is not rooted.

if adb was authorized previously, you could just run scrcpy. but i am afraid for FDE adbd is not running this early stage.. try

What type of lock-screen are we talking about? A password prompt from a full disk encryption (after entering the password the OS starts to boot) or is it regular lock screen with a pin/password/pattern lock? For pin/password prompts you usually can connect a keyboard via USB OTG adapter (if your device supports OTG).

@Robert The former.

Wait you added something about adb. In this case it can't be the FDE prompt. Looks like your device uses File Based Encryption (you forgot to mention your device type and Android version). In any way the only option I know is the USB keyboard via USB OTG (an USB mouse would also be an option but as you don't see all of the screen...).

rebooting the phone via ADB does require authorized RSA key. scrcpy will work too

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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Turn off "double-tap to unlock" on Samsung Galaxy S7
For some reason, whenever someone calls me, the Samsung Galaxy S7 now shows the phone put, tells me to double-tap to unlock, then it does it a few seconds later. I have never seen this before, never wanted to double-tap.
I have gone to the talkback and it is off.
I don't know why it started doing this but how do I make it stop?

Go to Settings -> Display -> Double tap -> Turn on
double tap is enabled.

Also try this.
Go setting / accessibility / talkback. Turn off talkback. When talkback is on, it will prompt to double tap to unlock. But this double tap is using two finger and swipe up.

I have a Galaxy S7 SM-G930U and had the same issue. Both during incoming and outgoing phone calls my phone would display a padlock symbol and a message reading "Double tap to unlock." This would overlay the call information screen behind. When the message was displayed, I was unable to hear a ring or voice on the call.
The workaround was to quickly double-tap and press speaker to allow the phone call to function.
I had recently installed a new head phone jack inside the phone and had also received a software update. Trying new phone apps did not solve the problem, so I suspected it was a hardware issue. I went through all of the steps necessary to remove the back cover, disassemble the phone and removed and reattached the battery connection. I had taken this step to replace the headphone jack. Somehow the battery connection must have been loose because reattaching the battery solved the 'double-tap' issue for me. Disassembling your phone is a process, be careful, or take your phone to a shop to check it.

0
I have a Galaxy S7 SM-G930T and had just changed the battery. When looking for an answer to the double tap to unlock problem, one answer suggested proximity sensor problem and then found Androi_toulouse answer. Both these suggested to me that the problem might be with the ear speaker not being connected properly since that was what was not working even when I double tapped. Removing the back cover which I had only seal light at the sides, I inspected the area at the top end of the fone and found that the small top circuit board was not seated correctly. A couple of tabs at the top needed to be tucked under the frame. Remove the board and loosened 3 screws on the speaker/batt cover to lift and help accomodate the board so that it laid flat and secure. Turned the fone back on and made a call ... everything worked fine after that.

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


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Is there any way to recover from an over-written android system recovery, or what else might cause a Pixel XL not to enter fastboot from recovery?
This is an attempt to sideload an update to a Google Pixel XL stuck in a boot loop.
Following this answer from the official Google forums, I tried this procedure as linked in the chosen answer. Unfortunately at step 9 it states:
9. You will see the Google logo for a few seconds followed by a green android on his back with “No command” underneath. Press and hold Power, then tap Volume Up once, then release Power.
   NOTE: If your device starts rebooting at this point, your only recourse is to contact your place of purchase about a warranty replacement or repair.

Unfortunately, sure enough - the device starts rebooting. This Pixel was bought by the previous owner from Verizon and I'd wager ten of them that they want nothing to do with repairing the phone, and would happily sell the user a replacement.
I don't understand what state the android on his back visual indicates, but I believe that the subsequent state would be the android system recovery. If the system is failing to enter that state and instead continuing to boot, it seems to indicate that a symlink or other direction or storage block has been over written. Is that true? And if so, is there any other way to enter android system recovery and continue to step 10 of the above-mentioned instructions?
For context: the user had started noticing battery/reboot/bootloop issues a few days before the device finally rebooted on its own and failed to completely start.
In trying to start the device normally, occasionally the boot loop will get far enough to spin the dots and display the "G" and powered by android at the bottom of the screen. It essentially always reboots after that to the Google splash that appears during initial boot-up.
For insanity's sake: Is there a way to JTAG into this thing?
Edit to add debugging info
user@host:~$ fastboot flashing get_unlock_ability
...
(bootloader)    get_unlock_ability: 0
OKAY [  0.052s]
finished. total time: 0.052s
user@host:~$

headline is wrong. repeat step 4-6 and post output of fastboot flashing get_unlock_ability if locked flash stock ROM and unlock bootloader https://www.xda-developers.com/unlock-bootloader-verizon-google-pixel-xl

@alecxs; Updated question to include requested information.... (reading your linked page now...)

@alecxs; after reading the linked page, I believe that that could be part of the issue (locked bootloader), but since the device won't boot, can I still unlock the bootloader?

https://support.google.com/pixelphone/thread/2826033

@alecxs I found that thread - if that's the case, the expectations are pretty grim. Thanks for the ideas though.

sorry, no hope.. the xml files are not a big problem, we could write from scratch (just to flash twrp) but we need google signed firehose programmer for pixel xl https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3574278

@alecxs I did think about trying a "hail Mary" bash loop listening for a certain adb response during boot ... Which command should I have it try, and at what internal? (Interval shorter than one second?)

the adb server needs more than one second to even start up, it doesn't matter. command is adb logcat but it requires previously enabled and authorized usb-debugging (which is not the case after factory reset)

Well, there hasn't been a factory reset since this problem started; all the user's data is still on the device. It sounds like: if the device will ever boot, the number one thing to do is USB-debugging? Or to try that unlock you linked? I've been hoping there is a slim chance it will fully boot, and I can do a command or two before it boot loops, with that command(s) unlocking something I need to use to side-load.

even with usb-debugging you can't do much, maybe uninstall some apps to free up space (sometimes the reason is low space). but yes, i have always enabled on my device. it is helpful in case screen is broken. but oem unlock is the most important (if you don't care about user data)

I'm considering running the following command while I let the device try to boot for a little while: while [[ 1 -gt 0 ]]; do adb devices |tee -a /tmp/hailmary.txt; sleep 1; done

Also, a device called the "octoplus" seems to be able to unlock some phones to varying degrees; there is some add-on device that adds the ability to manipulate the Pixel XL; that's also a consideration, since breaking it further than completely broken doesn't really leave me that worse off...

doesn't support google, not even MSM8996 there is no firehose programmer for google pixel xl https://octoplusbox.com/products/products


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Why root cannot access ".android_secure" directory on external SD card?
I have an Android 9 tablet, rooted by way of Magisk. It has an external SD card mounted as sdfat on /mnt/media_rw/1234-5678 which is mounted on four other mount points, all as type sdcardfs, with some variation in owner and group.
From a terminal window I type ls -al /storage/1234-5678. Lots of files and directories are shown with one error message:
ls: permission denied: .android_secure

I try as root. I get the same result. Using /mnt/media_rw/1234-5678 and root, I can see the entry for .android_secure. I'm told that .android_secure itself is empty.

The external SD card is FAT32.  Anything on it has the same set of permissions.  How is .android_secure different from everything else on the card?
Even if .android_secure has different permissions from the other files in the directory, why is that stopping me from displaying the directory entry?
I become root and I still can't even display the directory entry for .android_secure. How can that be?

I tried stat. I tried lsattr. Still: permission denied.
I have read What does /mnt/asec directory contain? but it doesn't answer my questions:

If I have the permissions needed to list some directory entries, how am I being forbidden to list a specific entry in that directory?
How is it ever possible to deny root the ability to list a directory entry?  (And then change the protections on that entry.)

I can accept that the magic filesystem and/or SELinux makes it possible to have different protections on one file.  I just can't understand root being unable to even see what those different protections are.

Does this answer your question? What does /mnt/asec directory contain?

@alecxs I don't believe it addresses my questions.

you can't change the permissions ------ because the way it is mounted https://askubuntu.com/questions/429848

A quick search reveals that there exist similar unanswered questions (this, this and this). Let me try to demystify it, starting with brief history.
WHAT IS .android_secure DIRECTORY?
In order to solve the problem of space shortage in internal storage, app2sd (Move to SD Card) was Android's native feature up to Lollipop. With this method .apk files (or whole /data/app/<pkg>/ directories) are moved as encrypted .asec files to .android_secure folder on external SD card or internal sdcard partition (mounted at /mnt/sdcard/ or /mnt/media_rw/sdcard[N]/). On every boot .android_secure is bind mounted to /mnt/secure/asec/ and the (ext4) filesystem containers (.asec) are decrypted (using dm-crypt) and mounted to individual directories (named after package names) in a temporary filesystem mounted at /mnt/asec/ by vold. Symlinks from /data/app/<pkg>/ and possibly /data/data/<pkg>/lib/ are pointing towards /mnt/asec/<pkg>/ and /mnt/asec/<pkg>/lib/.
WHY ACCESS TO .android_secure IS RESTRICTED?
From the early days of Android, access to android_secure folder (which later became .android_secure) was restricted. The commit states:

In order to protect the /android_secure directory on VFAT removable media from being mucked with by 3rd party applications on the device, we hide the directory with a read-only, zero-sized tmpfs mounted on-top.

Later in Android 4.4 when FUSE was started being used for emulating SD cards from original mount point (/mnt/media_rw/sdcard1) to user accessible path (/storage/sdcard1/), the zero-sized tmpfs functionality (Ignore attempts to access security sensitive files) was shifted to sdcard daemon which was used to mount FUSE. In Android 6 the app2sd method was abandoned in favor of Adoptable Storage (also filesystem UUID was included in mount points).
In Android 7 sdcardfs support was added in parallel to FUSE and the "Always block security-sensitive files" functionality was added to sdcardfs in kernel. In Android 9 FUSE was completely removed (from sdcard daemon) but the sdcardfs still blocks creation/deletion of .android_secure directories in the root of emulated filesystem. However as you noticed, it's possible to access the path through original non-emulated mount point i.e. /mnt/media_rw/[UUID]/.android_secure.
For details on filesystem emulation, see What is /storage/emulated/0/?
WHY ROOT CAN'T ACCESS A DIRECTORY?

How is it ever possible to deny root the ability to list a directory entry?

root is nothing but kernel's dear user. Kernel doesn't stop UID 0 from doing any harm or good. But there are things which are dearer to kernel than root. It includes SELinux 1, Linux capabilities 2 and obviously the filesystem restrictions like we see with FUSE 3 and sdcardfs 4. And like root cannot delete a file with immutable attribute 5. It's possible to remove any such restriction or add more by modifying kernel source.

1 See explanation and example.
2 A simple demonstration:
~# setpriv --bounding-set -sys_admin -- sh -c 'id; mount -o ro,remount /'
uid=0(root) gid=0(root) groups=0(root)
mount: permission denied (are you root?)

3 FUSE documentation:

"No other user (including root) can access the contents of the mounted filesystem"

4 UID 0 is checked after filename (.android_secure) is checked.
5 Why can't I delete this file as root?

RELATED:

Android's Storage Journey
How to save files to external SD card?


text:
Cheap phone disabled flashing with mispelled error message
I have an 'Advanced A4 2019' phone from BLU, and it's known to have spyware. I wanted to flash the phone's recovery with TWRP to install a custom ROM, but I can't seem to enable flashing. It runs android 8.1 at the moment.
Commands I've tried in fastboot:
fastboot getvar all
all:
Finished. Total time: 0.000s

fastboot oem device-info
FAILED (remote: 'unknown cmd.')

fastboot flashing lock
FAILED (remote: 'Not implement.')

.
(This is the good one)
fastboot flashing unlock
FAILED (remote: 'Not implemet.')

That's not my typo, it says not implemet. Also, its worth mentioning that the screen that pops up in fastboot is different from the normal one. Has the binary just been patched and there's no way to put my own OS on it? Thanks in advance

https://android.stackexchange.com/q/220768

@alecxs I can't flash, that's the issue
And I can't su until I flash and root

no MTK_AllInOne_DA.bin, auth_sv5.auth?

@alecxs Just downloaded SP, I'm going to try it out and I'll update

https://android.stackexchange.com/q/220584

@alecxs I can't use SP, I can't find the scatter file
Edit: I'm on a linux computer so I can't get the MTK tools

is this your phone model and ROM version? https://androidhost.ru/Ueo

MTK droid tools is outdated, create scatter file with WwR MTK

@alecxs Good find! Yeah, that's the ROM, I just cant seem to replace it. Although if I recall, there's a mode that you can get to from recovery that'll let you do it

@alecxs That link is dead and everything else is super shady. Is there a way to get it with adb?

try mtk-su but i strongly recommend creating your own scatter and make a full ROM dump with WwR MTK and SP Flash Tool before mess up

links working fine you probably didn't login 4pda.ru it's the official documentation from the original author vvaaavv


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How can I customize order of navigation buttons on Android 5 (or 6 if not possible)?
I saw a lot of tutorials where people talk about software called "Customize Navigation Bar" that requires at least Android 7.0. I wonder if it's possible to do it on Sony Xperia M5 that has only Android 5 and 6 available.

I happen to have a spare Android device 5.1.1. I remember using an app called keymapper to arrange/customize my navigation bar. You could give it a try. This app is a part of opensource project.
Here's the link to Key Mapper
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/io.github.sds100.keymapper/
N.B. Although you can try downloading from the link directly, I wouldn't advice that since Android versions could be mismatched. I suggest you download fdroid and then try downloading from there. Hopefully this helps.


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transfer android data from nandroid or twrp backup to new phone
My old phone has broken screen and I managed to get Userdata as TWRP and Nandroid Backup.
I Need to extract from either backup (below are the priorities from up to down)

Contacts
Call logs
Messages
Whatsapp data
Viber data
Skype data
Telegram data
Game data for one or two games

Old phone with broken is Nexus 5(hammerhead) with marshmallow
New phone is Nexus 5x (bullhead) with LineageOS ROM (Oreo)
Unfortunately I can't find programs or instructions how to extract and transfer to a new phone. Could you provide an instruction how to do it manually?

https://android.stackexchange.com/q/214065 https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3259492

as I understand whatsapp instructions will work for others too?

yes, basically the chown is important. there is a text file /data/system/packages.list containing all uids

maybe easier way.. from twrp adb shell modify build.prop to enable usb-debugging. you need persist.service.adb.enable=1 and ro.adb.secure=0 then you can run scrcpy and install Migrate

where do I set ro.adb.secure=0?

i am not sure if it works in build.prop or only default.prop but i have linked all necessary information (including other method placing RSA key into /data/misc/adb)


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Resigning app and shared user ID
I have a very old version of Tasker I use to create apps for an e-ink reader running Android 2.1 (Eclair). After a recent (security) update to the OS, I found I could not install Tasker unless I resigned it.
This worked OK except that apps which function as plugins would not work in tasks (although they do work if the tasks are compiled as apps with App Factory). This makes debugging very tiresome. I've tried resigning the apps used a plugins with the same key to no effect.
Based on my reading this might be an issue with "shared user ID", but I don't know where to go from here to see if there might be a "fix".


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Can't accept pop-up for "block" or "allow" alerts in android chrome
I have Moto G6 play Oreo 8.0.0 and I can't reply to alerts like approving access to the microphone.
Things I've tried:

rotating the phone to Landscape
killed the Display Over Other Apps for twilight

Edit:
I can close a JS alert popup.
And there's no problem on android FF.

Make sure you've allowed pop-ups (pop-ups from some sites may be blocked).
You can do this by going to Settings > Site settings > Pop-ups and redirects. Then turn "pop-ups and redirects" on.

I've allowed it but it didn't solve the problem


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How to tell if phone mirrored or hacked
I keep having apps on phone I didn't install yet cannot disable. Phone screen keeps doing its own thing. Google maps timeline keeps being edited. Lots of unusual stuff like that.

Does this answer your question? Malware automatically installing unless I disable the play store

https://www.symantec.com/blogs/threat-intelligence/xhelper-android-malware

It usually can happen because of fall of the phone from height. Maybe your display touch is broken, so it's touching the apps or texting somethings by itself. Try to hard reset your phone. I am not sure but it can help you. Otherwise, you should give your phone to hardware repairer.

Yes, it is possible, happened to me before too. One way to check: can you, the human, still use your phone normally? swipe, tap, etc., on different parts of the screen, and have the expected results? If all that is normal, probably it is not a broken touch screen. If it is not normal, then probably it is a broken touch screen.


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FreeOTP or FreeOTP+ - Which is More Secure?
I have been using FreeOTP by Redhat/Fedora for a few years now as my main two way authentication app. However, I have realised that the current version (1.5) is quite a few years old (having been released in 2016).
https://freeotp.github.io/
https://f-droid.org/packages/org.fedorahosted.freeotp/
There is however a forked version; FreeOTP+. This fork's latest update (1.7) came out in December of 2019, making it far more up to date than the upstream app.
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.liberty.android.freeotpplus/
I am however concerned about security, due to the app playing a very important role in account security. I am also unsure as I am not too familiar with the work/trustworthiness of the developer of the fork (I mean him/her no offence when I say this, I'm just cautious when it comes to account security), where as I know Redhat to be a secure and freedom respecting company.
So which would be the safer option? Should I stick with the older FreeOTP? Do two way authentication apps need to have up to date security patches?
Or can I trust the more up to date FreeOTP+?
Also, even though I appreciate the help and good intentions of people who would recommend this; but please don't recommend that I use the Google or Microsoft authenticators instead. I want to use a Free/Open Source authentication app rather than a proprietary one.

In a quick check of the latest commits of both projects I have not seen any commits that target a security issue. The original FreeOTP project has not released anything for the last years, however it is still actively developed on Github. Therefore there is the third option to clone the repo and build your own version.

@Robert hey thanks man, so any of the options are good options?

Generally I would say that both are secure.
FreeOTP: Developed by Fedora by RedHat. So by a prop. company. But it's open source for everyone, that means if there would leaks to RedHat the FLOSS-Community would reported that to F-Droid and News Pages. That would a big scandal for RedHat and many people would lose trusting Fedora. Second, it's unmaintained. They deliver some commits, but not releases that F-Droid can build. I guess OTP doesn't offers security issues.
FreeOTP+: A maintained fork of FreeOTP. It's developed by a private person, Howard Liberty. It offers updates. But like at FreeOTP, the community would find issues if your pricacy isn't secure. F-Droid would disable these version (if they find some issues).
But there are also other 2FA Applications that are open-source available (and installable in the offical F-Droid repo):
OTP Authenticator: A basic client, but doesn't offers new commmits. Developed by Bruno Bierbaumer. Last commit/release at Dec 23, 2015.
andOTP: Active fork of OTP Authenticator. They continue the upstream. The latest release was on Oct 28, 2020. But they offer new commits. It has the a big community at GitHub (2.8k stars). Main developer is Jakob Nixdorf.
Aegis Authenticator: This is 2FA by Alexander Bakker and Michael Schättgen. In my eye it looks a bit properitary, but hasn't any trackers since it's available in F-Droid. It has 1.6 stars on GitHub.
(Google) Authenticator: You sad that you don't want the Google Authenticator as answer. But this app is by google and is open source. F-Droid's latest version was at 2012. But their repository offers commits and releases from 2019. This is a "fork" of the prop. Google Authenticator available on the prop. Play Store. It's not sure, if there is a codebase of the offical app or receives updates by the prop. App. I'm not sure, if there are trackers. (But I think so.)
I personally use FreeOTP+. But I can also suggest andOTP. I'm looking to switch to cotp. cotp is a Command-Line tool developed for the computer. And maybe able to use with Termux

In case you wish move away from FreeOTP to newer, better FreeOTP+, here is a nodejs script that converts tokens.xml file to a json to be imported in FreeOTP+:
https://gitlab.com/sid-the-sloth/conversion-scripts/-/blob/master/freeotp-xml-to-json.js

@AdLinux There is also KeepassDX (GPL3) available in F-Droid and others. As FreeOTP+, it is developped by a private person and +200 community developpers. Store standards passwords and OTP.
With KeepassXC as solution for the desktops and shared db.


text:
Prevent background execution in Android 9
Is there a way to choose what apps are allowed or denied to run background services in Android 9? I know that I can kill them in Settings > Apps & notifications > 〈 app 〉 > Force stop, but I need that

the service is never started until I open the app;
it is run when I open the app;
it is killed when I close the app.

Let me make an example with WhatsApp (which is not an app I'm having problems with but makes it easier to explain what I need):

when I boot the phone it shouldn't check for new messages
when I open WhatsApp it should download them
once I closed the app new messages shouldn't check for new messages until I open it again

If possible I would prefer a non-root solution.

Update
That's not a duplicate of Disable autostart on boot: I need not only to prevent autostart at boot, but also to kill all the background processes of the app when I close it.

See my answer to Disable autostart on boot

What you want is an app specific configuration - configure this inside of WhatsApp. Android is just the OS. If WhatsApp does not allow to do so may be you should think about using a messenger that better suits you needs.

@Robert My problem is not about WhatsApp but with some other apps - I just chose the best known app to explain the question better.

@IrfanLatif It is quite useful but it doesn't answer all my question. I don't only need to prevent the app to run a background service at boot but also to kill all of its processes when I close it.

@Ntakwetet denying RUN_IN_BACKGROUND and/or RUN_ANY_IN_BACKGROUND prevents the app to run a background service when you close it (i.e. when the app is not in foreground). If by "kill all of its processes" you mean the native processs (Virtual Machines), that's only possible using Force Stop. But that's unnecessary because cached process cannot do any background activity if restricted in Java framework. "Don't keep activities" and "Background process limit" in Developer Options are more aggressive ways to kill background app processes but they apply to all apps and never recommended.

If title matters more than contents: Disable autostart on boot and restrict background execution :)


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Cannot skip WiFi in Google Setup Wizard after Factory Reset
I own a Klipad KL4888 tablet running Android 6.0.1
After a crash, I had to do a factory reset and a wipe cache from the recovery menu.
However, when restarting and running the setupWizard, it asks me a Wifi/GSM, but systematically the message "Can't connect to the internet" appears.
So I went through ADB (the device is unfortunately not pre-rooted), and in the logs I noticed this :
02-28 23:03:25.995 2784 2929 I SetupWizard.CheckConnectionTask: connecting to walled garden server. retries=0
02-28 23:03:26.246 970 1174 D WifiService: acquireWifiLockLockLocked: WifiLock{NlpWifiLock type=2 binder=android.os.BinderProxy@52836c}
02-28 23:03:28.123 970 1176 D WifiService: releaseWifiLockLocked: WifiLock{NlpWifiLock type=2 binder=android.os.BinderProxy@52836c}
02-28 23:03:36.239 2784 2929 W SetupWizard.CheckConnectionTask: IOException e=java.net.SocketTimeoutException: failed to connect to status.eqoe.cn/185.234.212.233 (port 80) after 10000ms
02-28 23:03:36.239 2784 2929 I SetupWizard.CheckConnectionTask: connecting to walled garden server. retries=1
02-28 23:03:46.301 2784 2929 W SetupWizard.CheckConnectionTask: IOException e=java.net.SocketTimeoutException: failed to connect to status.eqoe.cn/185.234.212.233 (port 80) after 10000ms
02-28 23:03:46.301 2784 2929 I SetupWizard.CheckConnectionTask: connecting to walled garden server. retries=2
02-28 23:03:56.360 2784 2929 W SetupWizard.CheckConnectionTask: IOException e=java.net.SocketTimeoutException: failed to connect to status.eqoe.cn/185.234.212.233 (port 80) after 10000ms
02-28 23:03:56.360 2784 2929 I SetupWizard.CheckConnectionTask: connecting to walled garden server. retries=3
02-28 23:04:06.421 2784 2929 W SetupWizard.CheckConnectionTask: IOException e=java.net.SocketTimeoutException: failed to connect to status.eqoe.cn/185.234.212.233 (port 80) after 10000ms

I also tried to disable Wifi, in order to be able to choose the "Ignore" option but obviously not enough rights.
The problem is that this famous site that is being tested is obviously no longer reachable.
Is there any way to get out of this situation?
An upgrade, but is the hardware compatible?
Modify the Java sources, in order to ping another site?
Thank you !

I was stuck with the same device for 1 month.
I finally got rid of this by DNS cheating.

Setup your own DNS server
Add a primary zone named status.eqoe.cn
Add a ressource record A type on the zone with target 216.58.204.110 (IP found resolving clients1.google.com, setup android site)
Declare your own server as DNS in your wifi setup
Now setup your device and don’t forget to forget your wifi settings (in order to flush dns cache)

You will access standard google android setup, instead of unresponsive eqoe.cn one.
When your device is ready to work you can discard DNS setting on wifi setup

Oh, my God, you're a genius! Thanks a lot, the solution works perfectly (remember to leave the Wifi terminal to empty the DNS cache), and it works like a charm !
Too bad I can't give you any points yet, thank you very much !

I had this problem after factory resetting my Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 and trying to install a Marshmallow custom ROM (Slim6). The setup wizard successfully connected to wifi, but then hung at the 'Checking connection' stage, with no option to skip having to use wifi. The tablet doesn't have GSM, and there isn't any way of turning the wifi off before the setup wizard automatically starts.
I found a few potential solutions, hopefully at least one of which will be helpful to someone else:

Rename SetupWizard.apk so that it never starts.  Using the TWRP custom recovery, mount the System partition read-write, then from Advanced/File Manager, navigate to /system/priv-app/SetupWizard/ and delete or (safer) rename the .apk file.
Edit the /system/build.props file to make the wifi part of the setup wizard optional. I didn't actually try this, but you can use Advanced/Terminal in TWRP to get a command line that will let you edit the file, and this gist suggests some ro.setupwizard keys that look like they would do the job.
Try using a different GApps distribution, e.g. Open GApps or Delta GApps.

In my case, the first option worked, but it turned out that the real problem was that the version of GApps that I was using (Open GApps) wasn't compatible with my ROM; switching to Delta GApps fixed the problem with the setup wizard, as well as various other bugs.
Any of these options have the possibility of bricking your device if you get them wrong, hence I haven't described how to do them in detail. If you don't already know what TWRP or GApps are, or how to install them, then you need to do a lot more research first, until you are confident you understand the risks!  Look for instructions that are specific to your model of device, and versions of the software that are known to work with it.

Thanks for posting your experience! I was working on the same Slim6 ROM on the same device (Tab 2) and hit the same issue. Reflashing with the Delta GApps solved the problem for me as well.

Amazing, thanks for your feedback! Were you able to fully use your Galaxy Tab 2 without any slowdown ? I have the 7" version and I want to integrate it into my home automation system, the average Load Average of the OS being > 5 all the time, it is excessively slowed down whatever the use.

Yes. I have the 10" (GT-P5110) and had tried Slim7, which worked but suffered from lots of random lags, which made it annoying to use.  Slim6 seems much faster, but I am not doing anything very intensive (mainly using it with the web interface for my home automation system too).

I had the "no internet" WiFi icon when the tablet came back from having the screen repaired. Internet worked, but automatic connections to WIFi didn't.
And then [recently] I started getting "open captive portal" messages
connect with adb shell:
adb shell

use superuser:
su

Check what setting is set (just out of curiosity):
settings get global captive_portal_server
status.eqoe.cn

I didn't bother with any of the fallback or http/https settings, I just did the following setting:
settings put global captive_portal_server "connectivitycheck.gstatic.com"

and it worked! That's a relief!


text:
How can I launch AVD Manager without opening or creating a project in Android Studio?
Sometimes I just want to open the AVD Manager GUI that is reachable from Android Studio's Tools menu, but without having to start Android Studio and creating or opening a project.
How can I do this?

While it doesn't seem possible to get around having to start Android Studio, it is possible to start the AVD Manager without creating or opening a project.
On the launch screen that opens when no project is open in Android Studio, the AVD Manager is available under the Configure menu.


text:
How is it possible that I run android apps with the right user rights
I learned for every app I installed on my Android, a new user is created. And the data for this app is stored in /data/data/app folder with the only access permission to the user that is created for the app. Then how can I access the data when I run the app as me (another user) . I want to be able to replicate the same behavior when I install apps on my Linux machine.

Yes every app is a unique UID on Android. App is stored to /data/app, data is stored to /data/data. You can't do that exactly on Linux machine because there human users are isolated, not programs. So every human user gets a unique UID but all apps/programs run by that user have same UID (unless you explicitly run them with different UID). See some related details in this answer: https://android.stackexchange.com/a/213921/218526

Does this answer your question? Why are superuser permissions needed to acess /data partition?

Android is different to Linux, there is no account for you, only for each of your apps. And that you can't access the app-private data is part of the security concept. If you don't accept this you have to root your device.

If I read correctly, OP is asking is how to replicate the "one app, one user" scheme Android has, but on GNU/Linux. Kind of how programs like cups operate under a separate user and group. If that's the case, this question might be off-topic.


text:
How do I empty trash bin on phone?
Please help. When photos and videos ef is are deleted,  where do they go? I'd like to delete everything in my " trash", as my storage is always full.
Thank you.

See my answer to How disk space is used on Android device?. May help you understand how space is used and why it gets full.

Android does not have the concept of trash bin or recycle (unlike windows).
When you delete a file, it is not actually deleted but the space it occupied is marked as free and therefore can be used to store data (that's why file recovery is possible using apps).
So, your storage being always full is not because of files in trash. It can be for a bunch of other reasons like remnants of uninstalled apps, system logs, duplicates etc. I would suggest you use this app SD Maid to clean your phone. Pro version allows you to schedule cleaning.
I have no affiliation with the app and recommend it strongly

Some file explorers and galleries etc. provide trash bin as their internal feature. So the files - if deleted using those apps - are moved to some hidden directory on external or app's internal storage. Just to mention :)

@IrfanLatif Yes. I thought of mentioning ES and MX that do this but left it out as the focus here is on cleaning :)

Moreover, even the free version of SD Maid allows to index the installed apps and list them according to their size, so that one can then wipe their data via Android itself.


text:
Can online games from websites be played in Android?
My nephew and I were playing an old Atari videogame from a website on the PC. He has an Android phone and asked me if he could play it on that. I went to the site on Google Chrome and the game loaded fullscreen correctly, but we don't have any idea how the keyboard keys from the PC can be triggered from the phone's screen, if this is possible.
Is this possible? Can online games from websites be played on Android?

Can online games from websites be played in Android? Simply answered, yes. Online browser based games are designed to be OS agnostic and work on any hardware using standard software. That said, because of Android and device limitations, it is with some caveats as you are discovering with things like controls, and in some cases web browser plug-ins, or things like Flash, may not work because of the browser(s) available for Android.
That said, in your specific instance where keyboard controls are required, it might not be possible to play the game without some kind of external device like a keyboard or mouse, which most Android devices support via Bluetooth and some via USB-OTG.


text:
Pin-Locked Samsung with no debugging mode enabled (need data recovery)
I do have two phones (both samsungs - first A40 (SM-A405FN to be precise) and the second - Galaxy S7 (SM-G930F)).
Both of those phones are PIN-locked by a PIN number I do not know. (The first one has 4-digit pin, the second one had 5-digit pin).
On both of those phones there is no debugging mode enabled. Both are not linked to samsung account (tho I know their google accounts credentials and I can log in to those if that matters).
And on both of those phones there is a data (photos mostly, but also some sentimental talks via SMS/WhatsApp).
I could skip recovering data from A40 (even tho recovering data from it would be neat), but I really need data from Galaxy S7.
I wondered if there is a way to access this data - once again, without debugging mode? Or is there any way I can enable debbuging mode (if it's enabled, I can easily do the remaining part).
I read about ADB and tried few things, but adb devices shows empty (unless in recovery mode I point "ADB Update", but even then I don't know how to proceed).

set a temporary screen lock pin from Find My Mobile or Find My Device (one of this should work). bruteforcing with microcontroller via usb-otg is another option which take a day for 4 digits but can take weeks for 5 digits

https://android.stackexchange.com/q/221710


text:
Magisk how to hide completely Magisk Manager and Unhide Magisk
I configuring  mobile for my Mom, how do I hide Magisk Manager completely. I don't wanna see this app. All I need is to unhide it from ssh session or from adb.

From Magisk Manager settings you can change the app name to anything you like, it can even haveicons instead of letters and 2 the Package name is randomized 3.  If you want your mom to not even see this, use a launcher that let's you hide apps like Nova 4. I haven't checked with adb /ssh though

1 & 2 are more relevant if you are trying to hide Magisk from root detecting apps like banking etc. 3 is just to ensure your mom wouldn't see that. If you use launcher hiding as suggested, I am sure adb/ssh will have no problems (though I haven't tested)

Hide apps using Nova


text:
Data recovery for Pin-Locked Samsung with no debugging mode enabled
I do have phone Galaxy S7 (SM-G930F).
This phone is 5-digit PIN locked; which is lost.
There is no debugging mode enabled and it's not linked to samsung account (tho I know google accounts credentials and I can log in to those if that matters). And most crucial thing - on the phone (not on CARD) there is data (photos mostly, but also some sentimental talks via SMS/WhatsApp).
I wondered if there is a way to access this data - once again, without debugging mode? Or is there any way I can enable debbuging mode (if it's enabled, I can easily do the remaining part).
I read about ADB and tried few things, but adb devices shows empty (unless in recovery mode I point "ADB Update", but even then I don't know how to proceed).

https://android.stackexchange.com/q/221707

Can't use Find My Device via samsung (those accounts <-> phone are not linked), and Find My Device via google does not unlock phone unless I erase data - but I do need this data.

@alecxs The solution you linked works for 4.4 and below. I have higher version, unluckily.

@alecxs when I try to "lock" my phone with this method, it says that there's native PIN on the phone already, so the new one will NOT be saved.
I justed tested on my other phone and it is how it works:
If I have no pin; with this method I can set pin.
If I have pin already (set on phone device, not by google account), I cannot set "second" pin code with google.

thx for update! it seems google "security" features becomes worse and useless. buy a Teensy and OTG hub


text:
Detect adb connection from the phone side
I want to know if the phone is currently connected to a host that can run adb commands from within the phone, no matter if it's using an app, a shell command constantly running, or any other method that doesn't require the host or an external server.
From the host, I can just run adb devices. Ideally, I would like to have something equivalent inside the phone, say adbdaemon host-info that let's my phone know that there is an existing adb connection with a computer.

Host side (adb) initiates the connection, phone side (adbd) responds to the received commands. You are looking for the inverse. adbd doesn't keep track of the connection, the host side does. Neither adbd provides a method to query current connection status. All that you can know is that phone is connected to a PC and adbd is running. // Btw why do you want to do that? It doesn't make sense normally. Isn't adbd configured to authenticate the connections?

I don't know a way to check if adb is connected to a PC. Using netstat (and filter of lines with adb) you could only check if adb is active, but it does not show if it is connected via USB (adb over Wifi connections should be displayed).

@IrfanLatif I have a setup where my adb connection is a bit dodgy and the phone disappears from adb devices. I've seen that disabling and enabling usb debugging from the phone when that happens solves the issue, and I want to automate it, preferably without relying on an extra server. My phone is rooted, so I have full control of it.


text:
How can I know which Android phones support multiple users profiles?
Android (Stock android) has a feature that enables Android to support multiple user profiles. Note this has nothing to do with online accounts such as a Google account.
Within the phone you can define profiles and switch from one account to other effectively running apps and other staff separately.
This is what I mean: https://www.howtogeek.com/333484/how-to-set-up-multiple-user-profiles-on-android/
In practice I found out most phones disable this feature. For instance Samsung and Oppo devices do not have it. Others have it. In the specs of the phones they never mention this feature, i.e. by looking at the specs of a phone I cannot know if it is enabled or not.
Is there any way to get a list of all devices which offer this feature?

Multiple profiles are always enabled, multiple users are enabled or disabled by OEM / ROM developer. And it entirely depends on their mood AFAIU.

@Irfan Do you know if there is a property one can read out to check if multiple users are available or not? If there is a property the value may be searchable by public property dumps...

@Robert I'm not aware of any standard property. There's a feature (pm list features | grep android.software.managed_users) but that shows fully-managed/BYOD profiles capability (and is always available AFAI have seen). config_enableMultiUserUI and config_multiuserMaximumUsers are set using framework overlay, so all framework-res*.apk in /system/framework or /vendor/overlay/ can be dumped using apktool to check the value. But it doesn't make sense, it's easy to check device settings if device is in hand.

It's very rare, even impossible to find out whether multiple users feature is included on a specific model.
From my experience, only a handful of manufacturers keep this feature turned on on their Android devices. Mostly not very famous Chinese brands like: Wieppo, Ulefone, Oukitel, and Oppo. Why do other big manufacturers turn off this great feature of Android? It is stupid.
The only fast and easy way to know whether a device is capable of running multiple users is to just see a working model in a shop and check if you can spot an avatar in the right corner or in Settings.
The bad thing is only with this current pandemic is that visiting an electronics or phone shop can be quite a hassle/dangerous.

Thank you so much. Yes I think the same. Indeed sometimes I checked the phones in the stores to see if they have this feature. But as it is so rare, I found it inefficient.
Yes and wondering too, why not many models have this feature, I'd love it.

Many new phones that appear support this feature. the function is valid since android 5 but of course, it also depends on the device you have. All the new phones that appear like Samsung, Lenovo, Apple,.. support these functions. If you wanna be 100% sure go online and search for the phone you want to see the specifications.
Good luck!


text:
How can I disable notifications in the pulldown but keep status bar icons, for a specific app?
I have an app that gives me the current date in a non-Gregorian calendar. It has a permanent notification (I can't swipe it away to dismiss it) that I see in the pulldown notification area and an icon in the status bar. I only want to see the status bar icon. How can I do that?

Only possible if the app settings have that option

I don't think it's possible since the requirement to show an icon on the status bar for 3rd-party apps is to have a notification instead...


text:
HTTP/HTTPS Transparent Proxy on Android
So on linux, I use transparent mode of mitmdump (mitmproxy without interaction) to build a websites filter and I run it as root on startup so that it cannot be killed if the user does not have sudo permission.
So I want to setup a similar thing for smartphone. It should be standalone rather than say, connect to Internet through PC and let PC does all the work. I am new to Android so forgive me if I am asking stupid questions. My questions are

Many apps like Orbot seem to have HTTP/HTTPS transparent mode (Please recommend if you know something more similar to mitmproxy). But they are GUI based. How do I convert them (or if there exists already) to a silent background service like mitmdump?
Do any of them allow me to add codes like https://docs.mitmproxy.org/stable/addons-scripting/ either directly in the source code or as an automatically called add-on? (Basically, each time a request/response arrive, my function should be triggered to decide whether or not to replace/block it)
If there is no apps similar to mitmproxy, what tools do I need to create such an environment (assuming that I only want to deal requests/responses at HTTP/HTTPS level)?

I do not need to assume any particular Android versions. I just need to make things work first on some version. Please point me to the correct background materials if you feel that they take too long to explain.
Thank you.

If you have a rooted phone simply setup mitmproxy as a native init service. You need to build it with Android NDK (which is a hectic task usually for non-Android projects) or compile/link statically. This answer may help understand how proxy works on Android: https://android.stackexchange.com/a/217801/218526. Also have a look at HttpCanary.

There are apps working as "local VPN" (effectively the same as a proxy) for filtering traffic. Mostly those apps are developed for ad filtering, but you can also use it otherwise. In combination with an device admin profile that can be removed/disabled you could enforce this VPN profile to be always active.


text:
Android plugged into car gives annoying popup "The connected device is unable to access data on this device."
Every time that I connect via USB my not-rooted Galaxy S6 (SM-G920F with stock Android 7.0) to my car (a Kia Soul 2015), this popup annoys me:
"The connected device is unable to access data on this device. Reconnect the USB cable and try again. Android File Transfer or Samsung Smart Switch..." and I have to touch "OK" to dismiss it.
I dismissed it so many times that at this point I have nightmares at night about this popup that tries to kill me wrapping itself around me and taking my breath away.
What I tried is to set "USB configuration" to "Charge this phone". In this case the popup doesn't appear when I plug the USB cable, but after a while, if I also have enabled "USB debugging" (that I need), the "USB configuration" reverts to "MTP (Media Transfer Protocol)" by itself and the popup reappear at the next cable plug. Double annoyance!
Any way to kill that popup definitely?
(My car in this case: Kia Soul 2015)

Try the approach here if rooted

This behaviour is especially annoying when using your phone for maps. I enter my destination, start driving, and then the popup appears, completely covering the map and forcing me to adjust the window position and hit a tiny "OK" button while driving. In general the warnings on Android (at least my Galaxy S7) are insanely annoying (e.g. "warning, high brightness will drain your battery faster"... as if there is a single person who didn't know that; I don't need a reminder every single time). Would be great if there was an option to disable a warning permanently the first time it appears.

I have been dealing with this all year and finally figured out a solution! Here's the steps:

On your phone, go to settings.
Scroll down to and click on "about phone"
Click on "Software information"
Find "Build number", and click on it until you get a message that says that you're a developer. I think it's 10 times.
Go back
Go back
Scroll to the bottom and you should now see "developer options"
Scroll down and click on "default usb configuration"
Select "charging phone only"
Go back
DONE!

Thanks, I've done this before in other contexts so am pretty sure it'd work! (My own problem went away some other way a few months back.) Welcome to StackExchange btw, thanks for contributing.

If I do this, will I still be able to transfer files to my phone when connected to my computer via USB, or do I need to switch it back before doing that?

I have a bit different configuration/options but yes, it works, you have to switch to "charging only". I have an incomplete cable, it doesn't have the data wires and it is only good for charging, so I am always getting this annoying message. Only this work around helps

I turned off USB Debugging and when I reconnect after that I don't see the popup anymore.

Settings > Developer Options (you have to enable Developer Options)
Developer Options > USB Debugging: Turn it off
Click Back

Then, disconnect and reconnect and you shouldn't see the popup anymore.
Except.. I don't really like leaving USB Debugging off.
Fixing the data access problem instead may require rebooting the computer you connected your phone to, or installing a working driver (OS-specific), or other things like replacing your USB cable with a fully working one.


text:
How can I force Android to connect to the network of current country?
I live in country A and work in country B. I have a mobile phone contract from country A. A and B are both in the EU so there are no roaming fees at all.
During the day I have no network problem, the phone uses the network of the country it's currently in and everything is fine.
Problems arises when I cross the border: it seems to me that the phone tries to stay connected to the network it was previously connected to. So for 10 minutes or so after I cross the border, the network signal is weaker and weaker until previous country is too far away.
How can I force the phone to connect to a country's mobile phone network as soon as it enters in said country?
NB: situation is exactly the same when traveling from A to B or from B to A.
What I tried: switching to plane mode just after crossing the border, waiting 5 seconds and switching back. It doesn't work.

I have discovered a workaround that works in some cases when traveling from country A to B. Specifically, it works when the phone is connected to 2G/Edge from country A although 3G and 4G (LTE) is available from country B. Note, my phone doesn’t support 5G. The solution might be also applicable for 5G-capable phones. I tested it on Fairphone 3 with Android 13.

When the phone is stuck in the 2G network of country A, go to: Android settings -> Network & internet -> SIMs

Switch the preferred network type to “3G only”. This will force the phone to disconnect from country A and connect to the 3G network from country B.

Once the phone is connected to the desired network, you can switch back to “Automatic (LTE/3G/2G)”.


text:
What is 02 in the magisk patched vbmeta.img?
According to the Additional Info given for rooting the Android device that doesn't have ramdisk but can be rooted via recovery: we need an empty vbmeta.img and I am trying to check what it actually contains. I understand the hex that removed the verification flags from the original vbmeta.img and the hex for avbtool 1.1.0 but there is a hex 00 02 at 00000070 which I didn't get why it is there.
Does anybody can explain this?

According to this piece of source code by Intel, there is an uint32_t starting at position0x78 (120) and ending at 0x7b (124). This location is marked as "flags from the AvbVBMetaImageFlags enumeration", which "must be set to zero if the vbmeta image is not a top-level image".
On to the enumeration itself. AvbVBMetaImageFlags is defined in the same file and the flag set by Magisk is 0x00000002 (2). From the source, we see that the corresponding value, therein expressed as 1 << 1, is called AVB_VBMETA_IMAGE_FLAGS_VERIFICATION_DISABLED, which is quite self-explanatory.
In short, Magisk is modifying that value knowingly, in order to disable a verification that would likely prevent your device from booting a modified image.


text:
How can I prevent a recording from being inadvertently stopped?
After I hit Record on my Android for video or audio recordings, the Stop button is too easily triggered accidentally, e.g. by the wind or physical matter (dust, paper) that manages to touch the phone screen. How can I force the phone to require more than a touch (e.g. a password) to stop or pause a recording?

Use a recorder that works when  screen is off, for example this for audio. With the screen off accidental touches will not trigger stop. Just need to lock screen when recording starts and unlock to stop

And for video search play store for "secret video recordings" and pick any app that can record with screen off. I didn't try any but going by ratings, this app seems fine https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kimcy929.secretvideorecorder


text:
How can I enable USB debugging using ADB? My phone is recognized only in sideload mode
I am trying to unlock a USB debugging disabled device from ADB.
The device is recognized by ADB only when it is connected through USB in recovery mode (when the device is turned on, it is not recognized as USB debugging is off). ./adb devices is returning the device serial and identifying that it is in sideload mode.
Any further command like ./adb shell is returning "error:closed".
What can I do in this sideload mode? Any way to enable USB debugging while the device is recognized to be in sideload status?
I have tried some commands to unlock a different USB debugging enabled device I have at home and the commands work on that device.
So for now my first roadblock is enabling USB debugging in this locked device or something to that effect. Please give me some advice in this regard.
Any other advice on unlocking the device without losing data would be very helpful too.
Thank you.
More details: I am trying to unlock an Android phone that has stopped taking the correct password after a auto-restart. I know the PIN, I have not changed it in a long while. The phone stopped accepting the PIN after the sudden auto-restart so I am just clueless what may work. Hard reset is not an option for this device without backing up the data so willing to try anything that may help.

It's not clear what you are trying to unlock. Are you talking about bootloader unlocking? If so, that has nothing to do with adb. Sideload mode is used in recovery to flash ROM zips. If you want to use adb commands you need a custom recovery like TWRP (which requires an unlocked bootloader). Both (unlocked bootloader and adb sideload mode in recovery) has nothing to do with ADB in ROM (enabled through Developer Options). So please clarify what you exactly want to achieve (the actual problem other than enabling ADB).

Sorry for not being more clear. I am trying to unlock an Android phone that has stopped taking the correct password after a auto-restart.

Thanks for your reply. Would you please clarify what you mean by "usb-otg adapter and teensy". Willing to try anything that would save the data.

I know the PIN, I have not changed it in a long while. The phone stopped accepting the PIN after the sudden auto-restart so I am just clueless what may work. Hard reset is not an option for this device without backing up the data so willing to try anything that may help.

@BushraFerdousKhan please edit your question to include the details.

Done, added more details in the question.

I did try google device manager. I am able to set up a new password but then it says, "since I have a lock screen password set the new password (set through device manager) won't be used." I am using a Xiaomi Redmi Note 4. Thanks for trying to help. Every bit of suggestion helps

Can I flash in a custom recovery using adb in the sideload mode? I need to get out of this sideload mode first to try anything further

for qualcomm you can flash twrp with locked bootloader in EDL mode, there is exploit for splash.img for this. for mediatek use sp flash tool

Great! Will do. Can you please guide me through the process? Sorry if that would be asking too much. I am really not a tech person so can't proceed without precise guidance.

Mine is qualcomm btw. Thanks!

No worries, I will search based on the keywords you suggested for now. Will give you a link after opening a thread on xda tomorrow as well. Thanks a lot for your help. Hope you have good day!

Here is the new thread I created on xda: https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/software-hacking/help-unlock-xiaomi-redmi-note-4-wiping-t4061651

consider full ROM dump. maybe you can unlock bootloader the official way, and restore (encrypted) userdata + metadata partitions from TWRP afterwards https://android.stackexchange.com/q/220584


text:
Adopt storage on Samsung Tab S6 - do migrate step from terminal
I tried using my sd card as internal storage on my Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 using this guide. But in the gui there is no option to "Migrate data", so I cannot do the last step.
It still worked in the sense that I can move apps to the SD card and they work. When I go to the Anroid system settings I get 150GB of 640GB used (i.e. total on both) and if I select the SD card I get the option to format as portable storage, so it's definitely recognized as adopted storage.
But the Samsung file manager now doesn't work anymore (keeps crashing immediately after launch, never displays) and the shared storage is still only the internal storage, i.e.
$ df -h
Filesystem                             Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/root                              5.8G  4.7G  1.1G  82% /
tmpfs                                  2.4G  1.5M  2.4G   1% /dev
tmpfs                                  2.4G     0  2.4G   0% /mnt
tmpfs                                  2.4G     0  2.4G   0% /mnt/secure
/dev/block/dm-3                        477G  4.1G  473G   1% /mnt/expand/64d7c406-5e2c-40e8-9cb9-b96d10aff34a
/dev/block/dm-1                        969M  855M  113M  89% /product
/dev/block/dm-2                        1.2G  1.0G  206M  84% /vendor
/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/dsp       59M   28M   31M  48% /vendor/dsp
/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/cache    390M  8.7M  381M   3% /cache
/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/sec_efs   16M  1.0M   15M   7% /efs
/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/userdata 110G   94G   16G  86% /data
/data/media                            110G   94G   16G  86% /storage/emulated

And I can't access /mnt/expand/*, permission denied.
Any ideas how to fix, i.e. probably run the migrate step from terminal somehow?

Your SD card is Adopted but data is not migrated to Adopted storage: https://android.stackexchange.com/a/214706/218526

@IrfanLatif Thanks, that seems to be it. But in the UI I don't get the "Migrate Data" option, only "Format as portable", "Rename" and "Unmount". Any idea if there is a command I can execute to have it migrate the data? I suspect Samsung just removed the option from the UI.

There's something wrong if the migrate data option is not appearing. Manually moving data won't work. vold won't be aware of what to mount at /storage/emulated. Personally I never used Samsung device and never came across such situation.

@IrfanLatif Yes, well, buying Samsung was definitely a mistake I'm not repeating.

It should be realized that forced customer loyalty no more works by locking down user's freedom.


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How can I lock device on a particular network frequency using android kernel sources?
Motivation
My goal is to select or lock LTE frequency bands on mobile devices with Qualcomm chipset. On some devices like Samsung Galaxy S5, we can access hidden menu: *#2263# to select the radio bands, but this secret code is not available for other devices from other vendors, so a more generic way to do this task is needed. Using Qualcomm proprietary tool (QXDM) is another choice but it requires connecting your device to a PC. I want an in-device solution.
I am referring diag_qcdm for achieving the goal but this source is out of date and not working. I have a rooted device whose kernel sources are available.
Is there anyone who has experience in capturing the communication between the Qualcomm chipset and the ril daemon that are responsible for network selection.
I want to lock a device on a particular

RAT
Band
PCI
EARFCN

for testing their strength in the field.
Please suggest the ways to do it..

Kernel hacking for modifying the radio is IMHO a very rare topic. I would be surprised if you get here any answers. In my opinion the chance to find a way that works for you is by using e.g. QXDM and try to decompile/sniff/hook what these tools actually do on your device. Then you may be able to develop an on-device variant.


text:
Is it possible to crack the password.key or any other .key file from /data/system/?
I am a newbie...
So this question came in my mind when I removed my screen lock using adb by deleting the .key file from the /data/system/ folder....
For removing we delete the .key file, but what if we copy the .key file to our local PC using adb command and then try to brute force the encryption of the .key file using hashcat (like what we do when cracking the .cap file to get the WiFi password). Also we can use a wordlist.
If we can do this then we can easily brute force PIN screen lock because it has the limited range of possible number combinations.
I don't know what kind of encryption method is used for encrypting the plain password/pin for android screen lock so please answer this.
So please let me know if this is possible....
Also I don't if this is discussed before....

Please take into account hardware-backed encryption which cannot be brute forced on or off the device (excluding some hacks).

That depends on the Android version. For older versions this was possible. But on modern device hardware-backed encryption + GateKeeper makes it hard to do so (I have to admit that I never tried it myself practically).

Ok So the device I am having is S10+ which has Android 10 not possible...

@TanmayB definitely not possible. Upcoming devices would save keys in Secure Element (supported since Pie) which is far more secure than the current TEE based hardware storage. So the brute forcing isn't going to work very often.

Ok Thank You for reacting so fast and letting me know about this @Irfan Latif really thankful to you Bro...


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How to make an Android smartphone actually go to sleep?
When I turn the screen off on an Android smartphone, I want battery life to be conserved.  Thus, I don't want any third-party apps running in the background, and I don't want the device periodically turning on WiFi (or connecting via 2G/3G/4G/5G).
I set up a test Android Samsung smartphone running Android Nougat, and installed just 25 popular apps.  I set all 25 apps to "Always Sleeping" in Settings.  I then let the device sit for 8 hours with the screen turned off.  During those 8 hours, the Android device connected to a WiFi router 59 times and transmitted/received data each time.
I don't want to turn on Airplane Mode, because I still want the device to be able to receive and log incoming phone calls.
Is there a way to accomplish this with Android (on a non-rooted device)?

"Idle devices in Doze periodically enter a maintenance window, during which apps can complete pending work (syncs, jobs, etc.).". That's how Doze works in Android. So that cannot be altered without modifying source code. Keep WiFi off if you are concerned about that. Preventing apps running in background is possible: Disable autostart on boot and restrict background execution

@IrfanLatif Thanks. If I turn WiFi off, won't it just connect via cellular data?

Actually I meant keep internet connectivity off i.e. WiFi, Mobile Data, Ethernet or any other mode of connectivity.

@IrfanLatif Ah, thanks for the clarification. I wish Google (and Samsung) made it easier to toggle data.  It's buried deep in the Settings.  Even with all connectivity turned off, will the background apps keep waking up the device (even though the screen doesn't come on)?  (Note: I haven't finished reading the content from link you kindly provided.)

You don't have a tile to turn off Mobile Data like WiFi? // Yes apps keep running in background (if allowed by permissions) irrespective of internet connectivity (but their activity is reduced e.g. no notification fetches, no syncs etc.)

@IrfanLatif I wish there was a tile with that functionality. IIRC, Google removed access to that tile by default because they want you to always be connected to the internet, likely because it's more profitable for them. Some good manufacturers (not Samsung in this case), created their own tiles or enabled the hidden one. I recall a hack to enable it on a Samsung device, but the tile  disappears every time the phone reboots. To toggle data on this Samsung flagship device, you have to go to Settings -> Connections -> Data usage -> Mobile data -> Data. They made it as inconvenient as possible.

Well AFAIK the Mobile Data tile is enabled in AOSP. The removal is OEM-specific thing.

@IrfanLatif Thanks.  That's interesting. I recall a discussion about it, and their conclusion was that it was Google's decision/direction.  It's possible people involved in the discussion were mistaken.  Whether it was Samsung or Google that made this decision, the result is obviously not good for the customer.

@beeshyams Thanks. For non-rooted devices, do you have to grant Naptime elevated permissions via adb after each reboot?

As discussed in comments

You want to make sure that the device enters doze mode quickly and disconnect wifi / mobile data when the screen is off. Aeroplane mode is not an option because you need to be able to make /receive calls.

You can achieve that by Naptime app:

Naptime lowers your device's power consumption while the display is off by empowering Android's built-in doze power saving functionality.

Faster idle means less power being consumed uneccessarily. By default doze can take a while to kick in so Naptime just speeds-up that process automagically for you.

It can also automatically disable W-iFi, mobile data, location & bluetooth as soon as doze kicks in.

In addition, Naptime  can also help in enabling doze while in motion (phone in your pocket and you are walking).
It requires root but for unrooted devices it works with elevated privileges through adb commands given in app instructions.
This is a one time process and need not be applied on reboot (AFAIR).

In addition, have a look at this question How to tame "Phone Idle" battery drain on unrooted device? for other apps that can help you. I would recommend you try Wakelock Detector [LITE] (XDA thread)  which is handy in detecting apps that keep your device awake. It gives a better metric than the one you mentioned in question (make sure you follow the instructions).

You can identify such apps and decide on suitable alternatives.

As a second line of defense, in case you aren't happy with Naptime, try, Greenify is another useful app that can come in handy to tame troublesome apps. This works with unrooted devices with adb privileged permissions. Alternatively, you have an open source app Brevent that works as well but adb privileged permissions are required after a reboot. IMHO, with improved Android battery management in recent versions, you may not need this line of defense at all.

Also see this for more Disable autostart on boot and restrict background execution

I do it by disconnecting from data, WiFi & Bluetooth, then turning on airplane mode & power off.
Can also go to the dialer pad and dial *#*#4636#*#* (star-pound-star-pound-4636-pound-star-pound-star), tap phone information and scroll down to enable radios, and move the selector to the off position.

OP doesn't want to turn on Airplane mode. How turning off radio would put the device to sleep?

U must not have seen last 2 words.  "Power Off" device after these items.

Ok. But OP doesn't want to power off the device. The requirement is to get better battery performance by increasing sleep time.


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Can't change stock bootanimation to something else on my Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
So I rooted my device and I downloaded this app called "Boot Animations" https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jrummy.apps.boot.animations&hl=en
I found one I liked and installed it. From what I've seen the bootanimation.zip is in system/media. Which is where mine got installed so I placed the right permissions for it and rebooted my phone but my provider's animation keeps playing. So I don't know if I'm doing something wrong or if it is located somewhere else? My phone model is SMG935.

Many EOMs put the animation just as an executable in /system/bin or /vendor/bin which is run as an init service on boot. Your custom animation would play only if it's the stock /system/bin/bootanimation service.

But how would I make it work in such case? since mine is a zip file. Since yeah you're right I have a bootanimation there.

I don't have your device to provide a step-by-step guide. But in theory you have to enable bootanim init service and disable any other which shows boot animation.


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How to delete unsent message from google hangouts?
I accidentaly sent a confidental message to an incorrect contact. Fortunately, I could react in time, and I turned off my phone before it could be sent.
I opened my google hangout from the web, and I see that the message was not sent. (It was a big picture, whose upload was broken by the poweroff.)
However, now if I turn my phone on, the message will be sent.
I believe, my only way to delete the message, if

I ban the phone from my home wifi,
I remove the SIM card from it,
I turn on the phone,
I uninstall google hangouts,
Re-enable my home wifi,
Reinstall google hangouts.

However, doing these is problematic.
Does a quicker way exist for that?

If a message was not sent yet, long tapping on the message reveals a menu. This menu has an option "do not send" (or similar). Clicking it, the message will be removed.
After the message was sent, there is no way to rollback - the remote side will be able to see it.
Text messages are sent practically on the spot, thus this option has only a little relevance. However, images send on google hangouts might have an enough long upload time to break their upload.
In the case of such accident, I think it is still the best to turn the phone off on the spot, then block its all possible network access (sim + wifi), and then solve the problem offline.


text:
How to install ROM and Gapps through Adb & Fastboot without TWRP support?
I have a Motorola One Macro, I leave the firmaware for you to see what it is,
https://mirrors.lolinet.com/firmware/moto/lima/official/
I want to install a ROM according to this site: https://www.getdroidtips.com/android-10-motorola-one-macro/
However, there is no TWRP for this version of Smartphone.
The question is how to install ROM and Gapps through Adb & Fastboot?

If I get it correctly your device is a MediaTek based device. Those devices are usually flashed in "off-state" via USB using a special MediaTek flash software on the PC.


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How to re-format or re-flash a TWRP install?
I was stuck in a bootloop earlier with Team Win, having just gotten an older phone.
Now I'm seeing a menu like:
*** Tampered ***
*** Unlocked ***
...
FASTBOOT
RECOVERY
FACTORY RESET
...

Selecting FACTORY RESET seems to get me to a stock-looking Android 4.4.3 with an HTC Sense version 6.0.
From the Android menu, selecting factory reset  gets me back to Team WIN scripts, and then back to Android well enough.  However, I previously stuck in a loop of Team WIN:

This phone came with Team WIN, which is fine.  My inclination is to format and re-install as it was installed by another.  What's the general procedure?  Is it any simpler as Team WIN is already installed?

It is easier to flash custom ROMs since TWRP is installed. If you want to flash stock ROM then of course you will lose TWRP but it's the preferred way if you want to be fully sure that own the process and what goes in the phone (in which case having TWRP doesn't help)

Since I didn't install TWRP myself, it makes me a bit leery.  It looks quite simple:  https://www.xda-developers.com/how-to-install-twrp/  is this changed by already having it on there?

It's upto you. You aren't comfortable so go ahead and start afresh. You may need to see how to uninstall TWRP

Also see how easy /difficult it is to flash stock ROM before deciding


text:
Samsung J5 stuck in boot loop after factory reset

Phone was rooted and working fine
I did a factory reset

Now, it seems to just boot into the Samsung animating logo that does not go away...
I'm able to boot into the recovery mode and view the logs. which has logs of:
couldn't find any tzdata when looking for localtime
...
can't open /dev/tt0: No such file or directory
...
no adf devices

Any chance to salvage this?

flash the same stock boot.img. its in BL_J500xxxxxx.
extract from it or flash the whole BL_J500xxxxx.
for extraction use 7zip,
then right click on the boot.img > add to archive
make boot.tar
flash it in AP, using odin


text:
How to make spotify play all songs in the search results
On the Windows desktop version of Spotify, when you search and start playing one song in the search results, Spotify will play all the subsequent songs in the search results when the song ends. It even shuffles the results if you have shuffle turned on. The Android app used to have this function as well, but it appears it was removed because it annoyed people sometime in 2018 (really, if you just want the one song, add it to the queue and skip once; it's not hard). Is there a workaround to still have this feature? Someone on the Spotify forums claimed that Spotify now creates a playlist based on search results:

The overhaul follows Spotify’s recent update to song search; now when you search for a song with a common name, Spotify will create a playlist, an actual list, based around the song instead of playing every version of that searched song in order.
  You can learn more by reading this blog post and this article of what's new with Spotify Premium.

The blog post in question was vauge and had no instances of the word "playlist" on the page, and the article concerned something about the artists radio, so I'm going to assume that person has no idea what they're talking about, but it's my only lead so I posted it in case someone can clarify this feature
The main question is: Is it possible, in any way, to make the Spotify android app play all the songs in the search results?


text:
Can F-Spot be installed by a non-Admin user on a multi-user LineageOS phone?
I'm running LineageOS. F-Spot works fine for my main primary user which is an administrator (the default).
However, I can't get F-Spot to install on secondary users.
It fails and says, only "App not installed."

As I understand the app is already available to the secondary user but the app data is not shared. It's the secondary user not able to see the app in your case?

No, the secondary user can not see F-Spot in their app list. They don't see any of the installed Apps. The one exception is the play store.


text:
Android box - soft bricked, but can boot Linux
Introduction
First of all I have quite old android box - Ferguson 3 TV. It's hardware based on platform very similar to MXQ/HD18Q with s805 processor. Stock rom based on Android 4.4 (not Android-TV). I was able to run LibreELEC Linux for this box in dual bot, or even from internal, so it is somehow compatible.
Now what happend...
I soft bricked it when trying to flash android custom rom from MXQ. The TWRP flashed just fine, and I flashed rom zip from this. After this procedure, neither system, not TWRP is not booting. After few tries I was able to flash LibrELEC to internal storage. I also booted Armbian (linux) from SD card. But recovery is still not bootable.
What I want to do
Is there any way to flash stock firmware from linux to unbrick the device? Or any other way? When I connect box to Windows PC, nothing happens, like Windows doesn't see it. So I think this booted linux is the only way I can modify the internal memory. I have stock firmware zip, from the Ferguson page. It is recovery zip, but contain inside boot.img and bootloader.img. The/system is just a folder. There are also /recovery folder which only contains some scripts to extract recovery from boot.
Any ideas how to save this box?

I tried Amylogic Burn Card Maker, but it doesn't boot. Linux does, but this utility doesn't.


text:
Does Android auto-switch between SIMs for data on dual-SIM phones when one of the SIMs has poor reception?
If you're using the internet on the phone, does Android auto-switch between SIMs on dual-SIM phones when one of the SIMs has poor reception?
https://honestmobile.co.uk/ seem to think some phones do and they advise turning it off so as not to interfere with their own app that selects from the providers they MVNO on top of.
It would be a handy alternative to Speedify VPN to bond separate mobiles, if the SIMs in those could be put in a dual SIM phone.
(By the way, I don't have an financial interest or otherwise in Honest Mobile, nor Speedify).
Thank you.

If you're using the internet on the phone, does Android auto-switch between SIMs on dual-SIM phones when one of the SIMs has poor reception?

No. Android doesn't offer such provisions. Pixel 3a line is dual Sim and if Android has this provision, it would have been incorporated in these phones.
It is most likely referring to Dual SIM Dual Active devices where both the Sims simultaneously can be active be it voice or data. As an example you could be talking on SIM1 and yet receive a call on SIM2 which will be put on hold or you could attend that and put the first SIM call on hold (Pixel 3a have this).
(This is in contrast to Dual SIM Dual Standby, wherein if SIM1 is in use, SIM2 becomes inactive and vice - versa. Such phones are cheaper)
Edit: If you are referring to Smart Signal, the FAQ clearly says it doesn't choose the best signal (as your question implies) but merely switches between two networks

Does Smart Signal automatically choose the network with the best signal?
No, with Smart Signal you’ll automatically switch to EE or O2 if you lose signal on Honest Mobile. On some phones you can also manually select which network you want to be on.

FAQ ignores a critical question - what if, the reception on the switched carrier is also poor?

Yes, its available now on Android 14, at least with my pixel 7 pro.


text:
What are meanings of 3 dimensions of smart phone?
What are the three dimensions of a smartphone referring to?
Forexample As shown highlighted in attached snapshot , size is also highlighted and dimensions are also highlighted

The three dimensions are height, width, and thickness (depth) respectively. Size is the size of the display (screen) measured diagonally.


text:
Inside Facebook app, how to set YouTube links to be opened on YouTube app?
How to set YouTube links to be opened on YouTube app on Android in Facebook app?
I saw some videos how to do it but they're too old.

Does this answer your question? Force links to open in the app, not the default browser

Possibly duplicate of this also https://android.stackexchange.com/q/194218/131553


text:
How can I use my Android Phones to remember more than 200 Paired Bluetooth devices?

My In house app communicates with Bluetooth device (In house) via an Android Phone;
I require a device (Android) to store pairing information for more than 200 devices (Bluetooth);
Currently, I am losing the pairing information in my devices (Android) after more than 100 devices are paired;

The paired device name is not lost, but it asks for re-pairing;
If I cancel the pairing request, the Bluetooth device un–pairs with Android (device);

I have conducted the same test with various Android devices and the same issue happens;
I have googled various forums and observed that there is practically no limit for Bluetooth devices to be paired;
I need your help to solve the issue so that my device can remember pairing information for more than 200 devices;
Currently used phones are Xiaomi Redmi 7 (Pie) and Samsung A7 (Oreo).

If you are getting the same result from various devices then the Bluetooth link key cache size and the Bluetooth device description cache size this is most likely an integral part of  Bluedroid stack. Changing those values would require to identify the relevant parts in the C source code, increase the values and compile it. If you manage to get exact the version used on your device you may be able to replace the Bluedroid stack with your self-compiled version. Otherwise you would have to build a complete custom ROM.


text:
Gallery app crashes at startup
Currently, I am facing a very weird problem with the default gallery app in my Android 7.0 OS. My device's model is Micromax Bharat 3 Q437. The crash is occurring randomly-- before a day it was working absolutely fine. I did no special task on my phone which can cause the problem. The package name of the app is com.android.gallery3d.
Here is the output of adb logcat *:E -e "gallery" command:
03-06 14:13:24.096 29467 29482 E AndroidRuntime: FATAL EXCEPTION: Thread-3
03-06 14:13:24.096 29467 29482 E AndroidRuntime: Process: com.android.gallery3d, PID: 29467
03-06 14:13:24.096 29467 29482 E AndroidRuntime: java.lang.NullPointerException: Attempt to invoke virtual method 'boolean java.lang.String.equals(java.lang.Object)' on a null object reference
03-06 14:13:24.096 29467 29482 E AndroidRuntime:    at com.mediatek.galleryfeature.gif.GifMember.isMatching(GifMember.java:30)
03-06 14:13:24.096 29467 29482 E AndroidRuntime:    at com.mediatek.galleryframework.base.MediaCenter.getMember(MediaCenter.java:109)
03-06 14:13:24.096 29467 29482 E AndroidRuntime:    at com.mediatek.galleryframework.base.MediaCenter.getItem(MediaCenter.java:27)
03-06 14:13:24.096 29467 29482 E AndroidRuntime:    at com.android.gallery3d.data.LocalImage.updateMediaData(LocalImage.java:592)
03-06 14:13:24.096 29467 29482 E AndroidRuntime:    at com.android.gallery3d.data.LocalImage.<init>(LocalImage.java:163)
03-06 14:13:24.096 29467 29482 E AndroidRuntime:    at com.android.gallery3d.data.LocalAlbum.loadOrUpdateItem(LocalAlbum.java:196)
03-06 14:13:24.096 29467 29482 E AndroidRuntime:    at com.android.gallery3d.data.LocalAlbum.getMediaItem(LocalAlbum.java:168)
03-06 14:13:24.096 29467 29482 E AndroidRuntime:    at com.android.gallery3d.data.LocalMergeAlbum$FetchCache.getItem(LocalMergeAlbum.java:285)
03-06 14:13:24.096 29467 29482 E AndroidRuntime:    at com.android.gallery3d.data.LocalMergeAlbum.getMediaItem(LocalMergeAlbum.java:168)
03-06 14:13:24.096 29467 29482 E AndroidRuntime:    at com.android.gallery3d.data.MediaSet.getCoverMediaItem(MediaSet.java:85)
03-06 14:13:24.096 29467 29482 E AndroidRuntime:    at com.android.gallery3d.data.LocalMergeAlbum.getCoverMediaItem(LocalMergeAlbum.java:334)
03-06 14:13:24.096 29467 29482 E AndroidRuntime:    at com.android.gallery3d.app.AlbumSetDataLoader$ReloadTask.run(AlbumSetDataLoader.java:449)

What can be the possible cause for this and how to get rid of this issue?

Did you check on Play store for updates to that app?

Since I bought the phone about 2 years ago, there are no updates to that app.

The app com.android.gallery3d is not available in Play Store. Based on the exception it seems like your device has a MediaTek CPU/GPU and the error happens in a Mediatek helper library. Therefore I see only two possibilities: Use a different gallery app or try to remove the GIF file that causes the problem. If you are not sure what GIF file causes the problem move them all to a different folder (do this on-device, don't use a PC for that! some devices have a bug that deletes the file if you move it via PC).

Yes, my device has MediaTek CPU

I could not find any GIF files in my phone's storage.


text:
How to have Google Discover language different than the General Settings language?
My initial language was French but I wanted to parameter my Android smartphone (Android 8) to English. So I went to

Settings > General Management > Language and Input > Language > English

So far so good, my phone is in English. But it automatically changed my Google Discover articles in English too (language and sources) and I can't find a way to keep it in French.
I went through Google App options:

More > Settings > Search language : French and Search region : French

The results are still English based. And General settings don't offer to choose Discover languages.
Is there a way I can keep Google Discover in French while having my phone in English?

Did you see this? https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/9507369

@beeshyams, thanks. Yes I did see it, but it isn't exactly the same topic. Your linked topic deals with "other" languages (e.g. Russian, Chinese) appearing among the "normal" language (e.g. English).


text:
How does Whatsapp use my mobile fingerprint in their app?
How does Whatsapp access my fingerprint?
WhatsApp did not ask permission to use my fingerprint.
Then how do they use my fingerprint for unlocking?

I just updated to 2.20.64 to check
WhatsApp does need fingerprint permission, under " Use Fingerprint Hardware" and Use Biometric Hardware"
You can check under permissions in Play Store - see "others"
Edit : If you are wondering why the app doesn't ask you explicitly for permission, the reason is simple - both the permissions quoted above are normal permissions for which user approval is not required. Also see Permissions Overview

If an app declares in its manifest that it needs a normal permission, the system automatically grants the app that permission at install time. The system doesn't prompt the user to grant normal permissions, and users cannot revoke these permissions

(Emphasis supplied)
See this Stack overflow Question - Android nougat USE_FINGERPRINT permissions, which states the same

Any app including whatsapp cannot read/access your fingerprint data.
Your fingerprint data isn't shared with Google or any apps on your device.
Apps are notified only whether your fingerprint was verified.

source - https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/6300638
Android OS might be doing the moderation here. An App might access/store this data only when you register your fingerprint with the app directly.


text:
no option to add an APN
I brought a new phone recently (Blackview A60 Pro) and while calls and texts work fine, I can't access the internet. I spoke to my network provider (Talkmobile) who said that I need to add an APN.
However, for some reason, the option to add one is missing from my phone. There is no + sign and the 3 dots doesn't bring up an option to add an APN. The current APNs can't be edited as well. I've attached screenshots as well.
I downloaded myAPN but it didn't work on my phone and I'm not sure what else to do. Would really appreciate any help with this as I'm quite stuck and have tried everything.

.

Is the phone branded by Vodafone? May be this is some sort of "network lock" using the APN config? Or is this a company device, managed by an MDM?

Nope. it's supposed to be unlocked. I brought it from Amazon so it's not linked to any network or company.

Are you sure the SIM card is in the correct slot. Dual SIM phones often only allow data traffic using the primary SIM. Additionally I would check if the device the device you bought was genuine. Compare the IMEI on the packing with the one displayed on the phone. May be someone bought the phone, replaced it with a branded one and sent it to back to Amazon.

Tried changing the sim slot and unfortunately it didn't do anything. Also checked the IMEI and it all matches up. Really not sure what else I could check.

Try instructions as in this video

Have had the same problem. Thought it was the Blackview (A80 Pro) but when tried a different network's sim it worked perfectly. The APN's should get populated when the network is selected. In my case TalkMobile it did not populate the APN's. Put an EE sim in and it worked instantly. Have ordered a new sim so we shall see.

just saw this post whilst searching for an answer to the same problem with an A80pro, i now appear to have cured my problem with internet access and don't know whether yours maybe similiar but having tried everything i could think of including attempting to change the APN settings which was impossible I discovered that by swiping down from the top of the screen several icons appeared including one for mobile data and one for wifi. by turning off the wifi one and ensuring that the mobile data one was on everything suddenly worked! I hasten to add that i was unaware of this screen but that i had ensured that the mobile data option and the data roaming option in the settings menu were turned on, why on earth there are 2 options re mobile data God only knows as to me it doesnt make sense but if anyone knows a good reason i'd be pleased to hearit!


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Playstore not downloading or updating anything
My playstore is not working from my device. Whenever trying to download or update, it just shows 'waiting for downalod' and that loading bar spins forever around the app logo. No i do not have any connection issues. My internet is strong enough, and to check, I have used other wifi and also cellular data. I have tried already clearing data, disabling and enabling, restarting, reset settings etc. Please help!

If you tried clearing the app data and restarting yet it's not working. Perhaps did you check 'App download preference' in the setting? Once I set it to 'Over Wi-Fi only'. And later even after changing it back to 'Over any network' it kept saying 'waiting for download'.
And if it's regional issue, try checking it with a VPN. But before trying it with VPN, force close Play Store and clear the data.

well yes currently i managed to get it working with vpn. It is a regional issue. Hopefully they will fix it

I had the exact same problem (which happened suddenly and without me changing anything) after a Google Libraries update. It persisted for some time and after a couple of Google Libraries updates it was fixed and now everything is updating normally.
I had tried to clear caches, reset Google Play etc. but nothing had worked. I suppose this is a bug in Google services.

so, should I just wait for another update? Nothing is updating anyways

When I am moving with my car, I usually put the phone in airplane mode. I had seen that if I had put the phone in airplane mode for quite a while (say half an hour) the problem stopped and I could update for some reason (I know it sounds crazy but it happened). And the problem started happening again after I turned off my phone at night and turned it on again in the morning. You could do that experiment.

Google Libraries are automatically updated so maybe a future update will solve your problem. For me it took quite a while (2 months). In the meantime I did the workaround in my previous comment (which I accidentally discovered)

yeah I'll try that thanks

Please make a comment if the workaround works for you!

It seems to be a regional problem. Now, nobody from my country is being able to do the same. So I guess it will be fixed automatically in a while


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all google product app isn’t loading or working. what to do?
Google services like Youtube, Gmail, assistant, Docs, google app etc are not loading or working. The loading bar appears but nothing happens. Play store loads everything but when i click install it shows waiting for download and then nothing happens. The browser versions of all those products are working perfectly but those app versions are not working. I am currently running Oreo. Is there any possibility i can fix this? Here is a google assistant "something went wrong" screenshot

Possibly some problem with Play Services. Did you try restarting device? Also check logcat.

i restarted my device several times and also cleared play services app data but nothing changed.

I would assume that the cause is identical to this question: https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/221821. Looks like Google is rolling out some required support-library updates and if you have the wrong combination you are in trouble.

So it looks like i have to wait for the next update. But if that one won't work then i am doomed!? :'(