text:
Shrinking encrypted ext4 partition
I have a micro SD card adopted by an Android phone as internal storage extension. While being adopted it was partitioned/formatted by the phone with two ext4 partitions: android_meta and android_expand, which is easily decryptable in a Linux laptop using the key under /data/misc/vold. I'd like to free up some space on the card for an "external" aka "portable" partition for music storage etc, ideally using that Linux laptop: the idea is to shrink android_expand somehow. How do I do that? E.g. GParted won't let me do it - if that's just 'cos it's encrypted can I perhaps decrypt it, write it back onto the card, move/resize it as necessary using GParted or the like and then encrypt and write it back again?  Thanks in advance!

Your question here has two issues... One is that the phone will not recognize two partitions on the SD card (one encrypted and one "external") it just won't work in a normal phone (you might be able to do some root access trickery, but I can't guarantee it). Your best bet is likely going to be to insert it into the phone, copy off all the data, then "forget" that SD card and reformat it as external storage.

@acejavelin that'd deprive me of the internal storage expansion though, right? I need them both. If my phone (a Samsung A3 2017) natively supported Adoptable Storage feature perhaps I'd be able to dual partition my card with "sm" and have the phone adopt one of them (exactly that worked for lots of phones with MM 6 and Nougat 7), but seems like Samsung decided to mask that feature and the only patch unmasking it that I know kills sm and the phone partitions entire card as adoptable.

Dual partitioning thread: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/tool-utility-win-linux-auto-formatting-sdcard-to-internal-and-sdcard-storage.3583875

The point it is that to my knowledge you cannot resize a partition encrypted in this manner.

Can I maybe manually create a similar but smaller one (instead of existing autocreated one) and make it look same to the phone, so that it doesn't notice the change?

You could try to create an "empty" partition of the size in want and see if the phone will just handle it, but those older Samsungs are not great dealing with encrypted (adopted storage) volumes.

I tried a few variants of that earlier and it looks like the "New SD card inserted" dialog offering to choose between Internal or Portable totally disregards whatever's on the card and just repartitions it from scratch with entire space allocated to a single partition of my choice. Wrt Encryption, I wasn't expecting it to get encrypted at all as the Adoptable Storage patch I'm using is supposed to disable it, but it still seems to get encrypted somehow. Interestingly it's perfectly accessible in TWRP despite encryption, and only needs decrypting when plugged into a different device.

One more idea: what if I use a smaller card at first, and then use some cloning SW like CloneZilla that can migrate the internal partition(s) created on it on to a bigger one w/o analysing them and so disregarding their encryption? I'll then want it to clone android_meta and android_expand into the upper part of the target card as Windows likes its FAT partition to go first.

Android 6.0 Adoptable Storage is FDE encrypted
Android 7.0-8.1 does not support Adoptable Storage for FBE encrypted devices
Android 9+ Adoptable Storage is FDE and/or FBE encrypted
this for FDE encrypted Adoptable storage only
you can partition mixed from sm
Split external SD card partially into adoptable storage and portable storage
to backup files use gnu tar with selinux flag
Can't access my phone memory suddenly after using SD card as internal memory

thanks so much: that really helps explain my issues around it with Android 8. Will it be any different if I turn that encryption off? The patch unmasking Adoptable Storage feature in my phone was supposed to turn it off but it doesn't seem to be able to do it as encryption is there.

I don't have any there: they're all under / (this is SM-A320FL) and neither of them has such parameter. The patch I'm using appends ",encryptable=userdata" behind any occurence of "voldmanaged=sdcard:auto" it comes across, which I understand is mandatory for the card to be considered an Adoptable Storage candidate (and not for its immediate encryption during adoption) based on this: https://source.android.com/docs/core/storage/config#adoptable_storage

SM-A320FL is FDE regardless of the android version, so no need to disable encryption

But when I plug the card into Linux it won't open unless I decrypt it using dmcrypto and the key under /data/misc/vold. Meanwhile TWRP opens it just fine somehow...

TWRP does the same as you manually do in linux, it decrypted adoptable storage with /data/misc/vold so no need to disable encryption at all

Aha clear now (and thank you for explaining that /data is encrypted by Samsung encryption, hence differently). Now back to the point: you advise using sm to create a mixed partition card. My experience with sm so far: SM-A320FL running 8 does nothing upon entering "sm partition..." - it just returns the prompt in <1s and there are no changes whatsoever on the card (btw same on SM-A310F running 7). I only got it working properly on SM-G965F running 10 so far and even that one crashes at the end of the process albeit producing a seemingly well partitioned card. Stock ROM implied.

Meanwhile my sm seems to get broken by the famous Adoptable Storage patch once I flash it: sm starts returning Killed on whatever options I try running it with. But even if it survived the patch it would've likely behaved same as w/o the patch anyway. That's what made me research cloning the card to a bigger one in that separate thread, which doesn't see to work either...

your question suggest that adoptable storage is supported. if you can use private it should work for mixed too, but I have no experience

Adoptable Storage is supported indeed (purely due to the patch) and it's capable of partitioning entire card as adoptable (I guess that's what private is), but sadly not mixed... I'm unsure it even uses sm for its partitioning functionality.

if you don't rely in encryption use Link2SD instead. instead of 2nd partition it's possible to loop mount a file into /data/sdext2

Let us continue this discussion in chat.


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Hardware reset screen
My Samsung Galaxy SII has not been used for a while, and whenever I try to plug it in to charge, it doesn't seem to start charging, and instead loops between the battery charging icon, and a screen with an image of the android icon. This screen has, in red writing, what appears to be a value for RST_STAT at the top of the screen (This is always 0x10000), and in larger text beside the android icon, the words 'Hardware reset' (without the quotes). Does anyone have any idea how I could get this phone working again?

Uh, what? I have never heard of this. At least you have good etiquette on question asking :) Is it possible we can get a picture of this screen? Trust me, it would help.

@Dan Brown I added a picture of the screen

Thank you. Never heard of AST_STAT before, but I think its a invalid warranty counter. Have you ever rooted, or installed a custom rom/recovery/bootloader/etc.?

Some digging has found this link to a tomsguide.com post AST and RST seem to be the same.

@Dan Brown The phone was rooted, and I had installed a custom rom on it. However, since I couldn't get google play services to work on the custom rom, I recovered to the stock rom (latest update). I unrooted the phone in order to use some apps which didn't allow rooting. It did work for about 6 months after that, at which point I got a new phone.

Also, the picture is a bit blurry, but it says RST_STAT, not AST.

ok :) the RST_STAT is essentially a knox counter. You will need to reflash the stock ROM (Hope you didn't delete it! You can probably find it on sammobile.com if you deleted it) and, well,  cross your fingers. You can flash by ODIN,  or kies (preferred)

@Dan Brown Unfortunately I can't do this as it is stuck in a bootloop

well, ODIN flashes are done through download mode, so hold power +vol down+ home (if you have a home button), then press up at the prompt. You need ODIN on a PC and the Stock ROM for you.

Problem solved.
I'm still not certain what the problem was, but my best guess is that the battery was completely dead. Anyway, I got a new battery, which completely solved the problem.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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How to update Huawei P20 to Android 9
I have recently bought a Huawei P20, but it cannot be updated to Android 9.
However, my old P10 has already been updated to Android 9 many months ago.
So how can the P20 be updated?

Problem solved: It was necessary to insert a SIM card. (I had tried it only with WLAN without SIM).

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


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Whatsapp: Export chat with media does not work properly
Whatsapp 2.20.108 on Android 9
I try to export a chat with media. I export it either to gmail or gdrive. (please note the difference: You can backup and export to gdrive. I'm interested in the export functionality)
For some chats, it works; but for other chats, only a few media are exported instead of all. Also the chat messages are not always exported properly. For example, for one chat, only messages after June 2018 are exported, but not the older ones.
What's going on here? Can this be changed?
I want to save all the chat text and all pictures, videos, audio, documents.

tl:dr; It's a WhatsApp limitation and there seems be to no workaround.

Whatsapp export by mail has limitations. WhatsApp FAQ says

If you choose to attach media, the most recent media sent will be added as attachments.

When exporting with media, you can send up to 10,000 latest messages. Without media, you can send 40,000 messages. These constraints are due to maximum email sizes.

This blog adds more details

A maximum of the last 10.000 messages are sent. However, if you have some videos or images, the number of exported messages might be much smaller.
WhatsApp will start creating a “package” with the latest Media files and text. It will put the last media files and messages first and then will stop when approximately 18 Mb of data have been packaged.

If you have some videos in your chat, this could mean that you have two or three videos, some pictures and only one week of chat.

If you have basically many pictures, you will be able to export about 50 to 75 pictures and a few months of chat.

In case that you do not have many media files, you will be able to export a maximum of 10.000 messages with this system

I couldn't find any such limitations for export to Google drive in whatsapp FAQ or on my search on the net but going by this issue on Google support and fair number of people who up voted this complaint, it seems to be common. As you can see, Google has washed their hands off and pointed to WhatsApp. You may like to  raise this issue with WhatsApp
and post your findings here to cover the Google Drive portion

Thanks for that comprehensive answer! This sheds more light into it. Yes, the export to google drive has also limitations. Seems that Whatsapp is always creating a package of limited size, regardless to which app you are sending it.

I wanted to backup and delete some groups I was on that were taking up lots of space on my phone. Here is a long method which I used:

Backup Whatsapp to GDrive as protection and switch off WiFi/3G so you can restore any screw up.
Install Webdav on the phone. Will now allow internal memory to be mapped as drive letter. Can also use FTP server app. Map drive letter on Windows
Webdav copy limit is 50MB files. Change to 4GB ( https://www.imageway.com/2017/email-hosting-blog/email-hosting-tutorials/increase-webdav-file-limit-in-windows)
Copy entire Whatsapp folder to PC e.g. Original
In whatsapp export chat without media as text file
Clear/Delete the chat. Wait for deletion to finish.
Copy Whatsapp to a new folder called Trimmed

Now some file manipulation depending on your preference.

Use "dir /b /s /a-d >Trimmed.txt" in the Trimmed directory root (need /a-d so directories are not listed)
Use text manipulation to turn the Trimmed.txt file into a batch file to delete the Trimmed file list from the Original folder.
The Original folder will now contain the files that were in that chat that you deleted

If you just wanted a copy of all files but want to keep the chat as it was then uninstall/reinstall Whatsapp and restore from GDrive and all will be back the way it was.
Alternative is root and decrypt Whatsapp database but it is too much work.

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


text:
Marshmallow - disable unlock touch feedback
When phone is locked and I'm inputting the PIN, there's a visual feedback on each keytouch, some sort of ripple animation around the key.
Not very secure :)
How can I disable that?
Edit:
Device - Lenovo Moto X Play, not rooted
OS - Marshmallow 6.0.1
Apps tried:
Hi Locker - Your Lock Screen - Free version pop ads on unlock - unusable
GO Locker - theme & wallpaper - Slow
Locker Master- DIY Lock Screen - Buggy
ZUI Locker-Elegant Lock Screen - Doesn't solve the initial problem

Tried disabling effects in dev settings?

There is no such setting. There might be a rooted app for that though.

@xangua everything is disabled already

@DevinErsoy I was afraid of that tho ... It is very strange ... why make something so insecure as a built in non-changeable config?

@AdamGoldman Try accessibility, there may be an option for disabling haptic feedback. For the image, try checking your lock screen settings for a option along the lines of "hide button presses."

@DanBrown checked already, nothing there ...

@AdamGoldman what device is it?

@DanBrown Lenovo Moto x play. does it matter?

@AdamGoldman It always matters. Most, if not all devices, have certain specifics that alter a method.

My nexus 6p running stock android also has that problem. Thankfully it has a fingerprint sensor but it would be great if the big circle ripple after every password key-press could be removed.

If you set a bounty on the question, maybe it would attract more attention.

@Devin he hasn't enough upvote to set a bounty.

@beeshyams no, but I will do it if it will solve this problem. I have to much sensitive info on my phone (cryptocurrency ...)

@DevinErsoy: solution posted and OP would soon accept it. You canstar Google change request, mentioned in additional notes

Your concern from a security point of view is  very valid for these two reasons:

Password can possibly be guessed by somebody who repeatedly and closely watches you swipe pattern or key PIN by following the ripple pattern
Smudge Attack Wikipedia entry says:

A smudge attack is a method to discern the password pattern of a touchscreen device such as a cell phone or tablet computer .... The smudge attack relies on detecting the oily smudges left behind by the user's fingers .... Under proper lighting and camera settings, the finger smudges can be easily detected, and the heaviest smudges can be used to infer the most frequent user input pattern (the password). The researchers were able to break the password up to 68% of the time under proper conditions.

(emphasis supplied)
Commonly advocated counter measures against smudge attack are

Wipe the screen after every unlock, (impractical as it may sound) ;
Use a high quality oleophobic screen protector to minimise smudges, in addition to wiping after every unlock

There are two ways of mitigating security risk-using apps for  un-rooted devices and other means for rooted devices

Un-rooted Devices: Since Lockscreen mechanism is a part of the core security of Android devices , apps can't interfere or modify it's functioning . These apps take the approach of asking the user to set the lockscreen security to none and then impose a lockscreen design of their choice, in effect, a layer on top of disabled lockscreen. One such app  is Hi Locker which is a lock screen app, offering a lot of features. Relevant to this question are

Pattern Lock:   This allows you invisible mode in security options. This mode hides the ripples. Which means the typical trailing lines joining the dots are not shown. However, this is a risk from smudge attack view, unless you change the pattern very frequently
PIN Lock: This allows you to set a Random keyboard in security settings. With this the keyboard changes with every lock / unlock, and is recommended for security against prying eyes and smudge attack. Screen shots below show this on consecutive lock / unlock-note the randomized digit placement

Rooted Devices: This takes the approach of directly modifying the lockscreen functionality of Android, without using any apps. I am aware of one method and there may well be more.  This is based on scrambling the key board while entering PIN. This requires Xposed framework to be installed and Gravity Box module to be installed. This module aside of tons of features offers means to PIN scramble (under Lock screen tweaks). This PIN scrambling feature is similar to the one shown in the above method as far as user interface is concerned.
Since rooting tag, xposed-framework cover related aspects, specifics to OPs device are not covered here. OP can study them and if need be ask a separate question

OP's device is not rooted but has indicated in comments that he is willing to root the device to meet his requirement . Rooting without fully understanding the risks  could  be a bigger risk. IMO, rooting the device and taking adequate precautions to safeguard against the risks is highly worth it.  It is up to OP to decide which course but using app based method to start with could be a good start.
Edit: I just noticed your edit, which shows that the free version of app is unusable due to ads. Unfortunately, Free always comes with a price tag of ads as far as apps go ( There ain't no such thing as a free lunch at play !). So your options are limited to a) buying the pro or buying an ad blocker for unrooted devices b ) searching for other apps from the list at serial 1  on notes below c) Root your device and use Gravity box or flash a ROM that has this feature inbuilt (understand CM 11 , which is quite old has it - I am not aware of other ROMs)
There isn't much one can do about that, unfortunately
I have been searching and there appears to be no free without adds. Also searching for timepin throws up similar apps which modify PIN based on current time in various configurations. But all of them are ad supported.

Additional Information

Where to find a PIN lock screen that scrambles the keypad on every use?  a related question on scrambling PIN lists out some other apps as well, which have not been tried by me.
There have been feature enhancement requests to Google to include this as a default feature in Android OS for long. Issue 10496:    Randomize screen lock pin keypad option was opened in 2010 and closed in 2014 ; Issue 74338:Option for keypad number randomizer on lock screen settings to increase PIN entry security was opened in 2014 and closed in 2015 ; Issue 181566: Option for keypad number randomizer on lock screen settings to increase PIN entry security was opened in 2015 and thankfully is still open - head over there and star it to support or leave a helpful comment - I just did and there are less than 10 folks supporting- do your bit !
Answer here to Touch Screen Password Guessing by Fingerprint Trace from Security SE , wiki on smudge attacks and other net searches reveal a product by Whispercore, which seems unavailable now

Edited - Added version to post (6.0.1)

Thanks to Izzy, here is his collection of lock screen apps. which may help since they include from other than Google Play store

I'm just updating my progress :) I think the post expresses clearly what is the desired outcome I'm after and the reasoning behind it

what do u mean by "dialed ad blocker" ?

Let us continue this discussion in chat.

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


text:
Successfully download app 100% but wont install after that
I have a rooted mobile device (running Android 4.4). Whenever I download or update any app from Google Play Store it will show the download bar and reach till 100% – but won't install after that.
I have downloaded using WiFi and with enough space. Moreover, I have updated Google Play Services but not Google Play Store. I have tried all the solution like clear cache, force stop blah blah but yet there is a issue.
I've also read Apps won't install (silently fail after 100% downloaded) and checked its offered solutions. However my problem is a bit different that the one described there: After installing neither it throws an error stating "download failed" or "installing failed" nor it installs. Just stuck there for an hour unless and until WiFi gets disconnected. Sometime when it reach 100% it again starts itself to begin from 1% to download and so on.
Are there any other solutions I could try?

I have the same problem. It get stuck at 100% and doesn't give any notifications.
Nexus 6p running Android 7.0 (not rooted).
After the app reaches 100% I close the play store (swipe it away from recent apps) and start it again, it'll install and download the next app and get stuck at 100% of the next app.
I am repeating the process to download the updates but it is by no means a fix to the problem. But atleast your apps will be updated.

I did what Temsah had done. after 100% closed play store on recent apps and restarted it. but the ap to be updated started all over from 1% again Im tired

Still works in 2019

return your playstore to it's stock version, then update it to the current version. This will temporarily fix this installing issue, which I've been having as well. Other than that, I'm waiting in the same boat as you.

after fully download wait 2 second, then restart the phone , you can see downloaded app is installing, temporary solved my problem,
my phn galaxy core duos androids v 4.2

Clear Play Store from recent apps when it reach to 100% and then open Play Store once again it will install the app.

Don't advertise your own site unless it's directly related to the question.

You're welcome to mention your website *in your profile, Jamil. But doing so in an answer without it being related to the topic is considered spamming, as Andy indicated.


text:
Disable "PIN required for additional security" prompt
I have a Pixel 4a, and I constantly have to re-enter the pin, even though it hasn't been more than 48/72 hours. My Pixel 4a currently has a pretty bulky case, making it unreasonable that the fingerprint reader is being activated in my pocket, yet I still find myself frequently having to reenter my pin.
I'm looking for a simple clear-cut way to disable this. It's annoying, I think at times it could actually be more insecure, especially in places where there are cameras around capturing input.
My device is rooted, and I have xposed framework installed. How can I disable this abomination of a "security check"?

How often do you unlock your phone per day using fingerprint?

2/3 times an hour. Sometimes more, depending on what I'm doing on my PC, if I need my phone for 2FA/Authy etc. I'd say in a given day, anywhere from 20-40 times.

Closely related //what you want to do is not possible even with root /Xposed because you are dealing with TEE // using lockdown Option in power menu is the only way//BTW it's 72 hours not 48 hours

@beeshyams I restarted my phone no more than 4 hours ago (And unlocked with pin), and I was already prompted about 30 minutes ago to enter my pin again. Since my phone has been rebooted, my phone has been on a table, so idk why it's continuing to trigger this security check.

I have no idea why it happens with you. For me it was a custom kernel

Did you ever manage to find the solution to your issue ? I have exactly the same with my Fairphone 4 running LOS 19.1, after unlocking my device and putting it still on a table for 3 minutes, it will ask me for "pin for additional security".

@Marc Nope. It's extremely frustrating. Only thing I noticed, is that the original unlock (Even though it's requiring to use a pin), doesn't trigger the 72hr cooldown, so I'll always have to unlock it by pin twice before the 72hr cooldown triggers. This has to be a bug with TEE.

As a matter of fact I just resolved it a few minutes ago it appears by... resetting the PIN code. This is really weird. I assume you already tried that.

I'm sure it will be back, after a restart.

As a matter of fact it did not. So far so good. Really strange issue.


text:
Is there any way (as a user) to force all notifications to be expandable?
Some notifications can't be read because they spill over the allotted space, but I can't expand them because the app developer never enabled that feature. Can I force all notifications on my phone to be expandable so I can read them?

If there is no expanded notification, then you can't expand it without manually changing the code (xposed might work but you need a custom module).

I wonder why the OS would be designed so as to make notification expandability an app level feature rather than a user level feature? Old apps might not be designed with this in mind, or they might be designed for a version of Android that didn't support expanded notifications - how hard would it be to allot extra space to display all the text?

Provided that the notification itself has an expanded mode in the first place, Xposed framework + "All Notifications Expanded" module had done the trick for me back in KitKat, expanding every expandable item. Haven't tested it on Lollipop and above. Also, installing Xposed always involves some hassle and risk.
Click to enlarge

Thanks, but what I was asking for was not "automatically expand all notifications that I can already manually expand", but rather "enable all notifications to be expanded manually".


text:
Helium won't restore SMS
EDIT: I found a solution, and I made an answer below! ;D
Hello everyone :) (fisrt, I apologize for my English, I'm french... :/)
Before doing a factory reset to upgrade my android version (Alcatel one touch idol 3 under Android 6.0.1 now, and 5.0.2 before the factory reset), I backed up all my apps with Helium.
Then, I managed to get evrything back. Except sms.
I don't know why, but when I try to restore them, I get the following message :

For those who want to know, I'm now rooted (so I don't use the desktop version, even if I tried and it doesn't work neither)
Thanks, I'm reaaaally desperate...

I don't think backups of system apps are not compatible across major Android versions. I'm not sure what you can do about it at this stage.

Will install Helium now to attempt a backup, in order to determine its format. I'll update you if I find anything useful.

It seems that Helium's backup is the same as adb... @Izzy, this is more of your field.

Thanks guys for your answers, I hope we'll find a 'fix' soon :) (if we can)

Ok. I eventually got my SMS back. But if someone is searching for an answer, here is my solution that, I hope, will help.
I guessed the problem came from the android version. So, basically, I did the following:
1. Grap your old phone under Android 4.0.4 (you can use someone else's phone, just make sure to backup their messages before you do anything. To be (almost) sure THIS backup will work, I recommand "sms backup +" or "sms backup and restore")
2. Now, install Helium and backup their SMS with it. It will create a backup file. (it should be inside a folder called "carbon" and sould be named "com.android.providers.telephony")
3. Then, take your old backup (same name under same folder in your new phone), and replace the one you just created at step 2 with it.
4. Click restore, and all your sms should be back (if you've taken someone else's phone, you should delete all their sms, otherwise yours and theirs will be mixed. Again, make sure to backup everything before)
5. Then, backup these sms freshly restored with the app downloaded at step 1. I recommand to use the Gmail backup, so you don't have to travel your backup file from one phone to the other with your PC, etc... but that's your choice.
6. Finally, install the same app as step 1 on your new device, restore your sms with the backup file you just created, and that's it!
I hope this little explanation is clear enough, it is waaay simpler than it seems (because I tried to cover most cases). If you encounter problems, leave a comment below, and I'll see if I'm able to answer (I don't promise anything okay? :p).
Thanks
PS:Again, I hope my English isn't too bad, but I tried my best, if you see mistakes, just tell them me in the comments section :)


text:
How to decrease touch sensivity (Accidental taps)
When I try to scroll a list of elements, the system interprets it as a "tap" many times (but not always).
It is very annoying. To clarify, for example it happens when I make a search inside an app. I want to view all the results but when I try to move down so I can see the lower items, I accidentally select one of the items of the list and then when I go back to the list, it is again on the begining. When there is a lot of results I waste a lot of time to reach the end.
I'm using ResurrectionRemix (based on CyanogenMod 13) on Oneplus 3. It tried to do a full wipe and install latest version and it continues happening. I looks the same problem occuts on TWRP.
I drop my phone 1-2 month ago and my screen got cracked, but I didnt notice this problem until several days ago. May it be related to this problem?

settings > Language and Input >  pointer speed - decrease the slider to make the touch screen less sensitive . See if this helps

It was a hardware failure. Replacing my screen panel did the trick.


text:
1 blue bar, but Google search results don't load
I typed something into the address bar of the builtin browser, Android Browser 4, and it tried to load Google but the browser said, "There was a network error."
Does anyone know why Google searches sometimes don't load?
Also, another time, I was trying to load accounts.google.com and it wouldn't load but other websites and parts of the Google website worked just fine.
Sometimes the WiFi icon has a dark grey/black triangle or two on it. I don't know what the triangles mean.
WiFi info:
xfinitywifi

1 blue bar of WiFi
Status: Connected
Signal strength: Fair
Link speed: 1 Mbps
(but if he wears the speed boots he can run twice as fast)
Security: None
IP address: [redacted]

Versions:

SE App Version: 1.0.85
Browser version: 4.1.2-eng.tyrone.20121202.215512
Device Manufacturer: Malata
Device Model: Malata SMBA1002
ViewSonic gTablet UPC300-2.2
OS Version: 4.1.2 (eng.G_Harmony.20121202.215512)


text:
How can I remove the lock icon from Android lockscreen?
Here is an image for reference. I want to remove the three arrows that are pointing upwards. I have no problem with rooting my device. I just don't know where to find these thumbnails and delete them. Can anyone help me to locate them?Will their deletion pose any issues?

The app is native keyguard.apk and the image files are under system/priv-app/keyguard.apk/res/drawable/ic_blinkscr_midbright.png
I have download root explorer but it does not show any option to delete the file. It just shows open and extract option. I have no idea how to delete it.

What's you device, Android version, and is this the native lockscreen (doesn't look like so - I've never seen a native lock that doesn't even show your wallpaper and battery status) or a lock app from a third party?

@AndyYan I did some research on my own. I am adding additional details. :)

As you've already found the resource file to the arrow inside the APK, all you need to do now is to replace it with a transparent one. Root or custom recovery is required, and custom recovery is personally recommended, because there is a slight possibility that this will throw you into a bootloop, so having a backup in recovery prior to mods would be handy.
Sometimes simply extracting the APK, replacing it and repackaging it could work (this has been the case for me for simple framework mods). If custom recovery is available, trying this is fast and won't hurt.
The safer way is to decompile the package while keeping its signature. Virtuous Ten Studio is a friendly way to get your hands on this without getting lost in the command lines of APKTool - the site also has simple tutorials.
After modification and repackaging, overwrite the original one and set correct permissions (usually rw-r--r-- (0644)). Reboot for changes to take effect.
And at last - do not simply delete the file, or whenever the file is used, the app will error out, possibly leaving you with endless Force Close dialogs.

Thanks @AndyYan. I copy keygaurd.apk and paste it in my SD card's root directory but when I connect the device to a PC, I don't see any keyguard.apk that I can copy and edit.

@NeenaVivek That's another problem on its own... Try moving the file around on the SD card (into other dirs); also try uploading the file somewhere from the phone and pull it from your PC. There's another way (adb pull) but since I don't know whether you have ADB right now I'll just skip it.

I have moved it to a few directories but it doesn't show up anywhere.  There is no option to share it via shareit etc. either. The sharing option is disabled. I will try something else though. :)

@NeenaVivek compress/zip it, it helps for me.


text:
Explosion proneness of my Samsung Galaxy Note 7 device
It's all over the news currently about the Samsung smartphone devices being a fire hazard, exploding, and there being a pertinent recall of such devices which have already caused property damage and has also physically burned people in some cases.
As per Samsung Will Replace or Refund 1 Million Galaxy Note 7 Phones in the U.S. post. . .

Samsung Electronics formally recalled 1 million Galaxy Note 7
  smartphones sold in the United States, replacing or refunding the
  flagship phones, whose susceptibility to catching fire.
Earlier this month, Samsung said it would recall all Note 7
  smartphones equipped with batteries it found to be fire-prone.
source

Questions

How do I check if my device is affected by this issue?
How do I check the eligibility of my device for the recall/defect?
What else do I need to know or consider?

Galaxy Note7 Safety Recall
Samsung Galaxy Note7 Battery Safety Recall and Exchange Program
Samsung has announced a voluntary recall and exchange program on
  certain Galaxy Note7 devices in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer
  Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The affected devices were sold in
  the U.S. before September 15, 2016. Since the affected devices can
  overheat and pose a safety risk, if you own a Galaxy Note7, it is
  extremely important to stop using your device, power it down and
  immediately exchange it using our U.S. Note7 Exchange Program.
Through the U.S. Note7 Exchange Program, you can:

Exchange your current Galaxy Note7 device with a new Galaxy Note7 as
  approved by the CPSC available no later than September 21, 2016; or
Exchange your current Galaxy Note7 for a Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 edge
  and replacement of any Note7 specific accessories with a refund of
  the price difference between devices; or
Contact your point of purchase to obtain a refund.

Customers who exchange a Note7 device will also receive a $25 gift
  card, in-store credit, in-store accessory credit or bill credit from
  select carrier retail outlets.
Note: The battery cell issue applies only to the Galaxy Note7 sold in
  the U.S. before September 15, 2016.
Eligibility
Please follow the steps below to determine if your Note7 must be
  replaced through this program. This program only applies to the Note7.
  You can also use Samsung+ which will automatically check your device.
How do I check my device?
Go to the Eligibility
  section and. . .

The IMEI or Serial number will be used to indicate if your device
  should be exchanged.
Find your IMEI or Serial number by going to "Apps > Settings > About
  Phone or General Management > Status > IMEI information or Serial
  number" or check the back of your phone.
Enter your IMEI (Serial # for devices without IMEI) number without
  any spaces below:

and then press the Check option there.
Exchange
Galaxy Note7 owners can contact the carrier or retail outlet where
  they purchased their device. If you bought your Note7 from
  Samsung.com, you should contact us at 1-844-365-6197 and we can help
  you. If you have any questions or concerns, contact us directly at
  1-844-365-6197.

Carrier/Retailer: ATT

Website: http://www.att.com/esupport/
Contact: 1-800-331-0500

Carrier/Retailer: Best Buy

Website: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/clp/
Contact: 1-888-237-7289

Carrier/Retailer: Sprint

Website: http://newsroom.sprint.com/news-releases/
Contact: 1-888-211-4727

Carrier/Retailer: T-Mobile

Website: https://explore.t-mobile.com/samsung-galaxy-note7-recall
Contact: 1-844-275-9309

Carrier/Retailer: U.S. Cellular

Website: http://www.uscellular.com/about/
Contact: 1-888-944-9400

Carrier/Retailer: Verizon

Website: http://www.verizonwireless.com/smartphones/
Contact: 1-800-922-0204

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it okay for me to continue using my Note7?
Your safety is our highest priority. Since affected Note7 batteries
  can overheat and pose a safety risk, if you own a Galaxy Note7, it is
  extremely important to stop using your device, power it down
  immediately and participate in the U.S. Note7 Exchange Program.

What is the problem with the Note7 phone?
We have identified an issue with certain Note7 battery cells. Your
  safety is our highest priority. Since affected Note7 batteries can
  overheat and pose a safety risk, if you own a Galaxy Note7, it is
  extremely important to stop using your device, power it down
  immediately and participate in the U.S. Note7 Exchange Program.

If I want to participate in the U.S. Note7 Exchange Program, what do I do?
To participate in the U.S. Note7 Product Exchange Program, you should
  contact your carrier or retail outlet. If you purchased your Note7 on
  Samsung.com, you should contact us directly at 1-844-365-6197.

Are there any other Samsung phones impacted?
No. This issue is only related to the Note7.

When can I buy a new Note7?
Our first priority will be to provide exchange program participants
  with a new Note7 as approved by the CPSC. New Note7s will be available
  at your carrier and retail outlets no later than September 21, 2016.

source


text:
It is possible recover a deleted contact?
By mistake, I deleted a contact in my phone. The contact was not synchronised with Gmail so I can't recover it.
Is there some method, software or technique to recover?
What's the maximum time to recover deleted data?
I was reading there is sofware that can recover it. An other option to do that  is with my phone "rooted". What could be better option?

I has recover some contacts and the call historical  with a software "Android Data Recovery", i am amazed for this, it has some other functions.
Now, the joke, or in other words the irony i has not  recover the contact that i need, it is from a girl.
Greetings ;)


text:
Lost root on Cyanogenmod 13 after Factory Reset
I am running Cyanogenmod on my Galaxy S2 for about a year.
A few months ago I bought a new phone and game my Galaxy S2 to my mom to use as a second phone. I did a Factory Reset before that. Everything was working fine, including root.
Recently I took the phone back and did a Factory Reset again, but now I lost root access. It is set to "Apps and ADB" in developer options btw.
I tried reinstalling Cyanogenmod, no luck.
Tried flashing recovery (I am using clockworkmod and it worked file all the time), no luck.
EDIT

What happens when you "su" in a terminal emulator?

@AndyYan, I've updated my question.

That looks as if you haven't enabled it (but you said you did). I'm at a loss.

@AndyYan, yes, me too. I tried flashing another ROM, based on Cyanogen. Same thing.

Why not flash just the SuperSU zip which will place all the files for su and the SuperSU app? and will re-enable root

Have you installed the Superuser app? Without su does not all you to become root.

@MikeN, it doesn't help.

@Robert, Cyanogenmod has it's own superuser stuff. You don't need Superuser app for that.

@geNia By "doesn't help", do you mean it doesn't boot or it boots but still no su? SuperSU is known to collaborate poorly with CM, but there are specific versions that do work.

@AndyYan, it boots but still no su. Was no su... I tried flashing it again and now the phone is rooted. But it is using SuperSu root instead on CM one. Anyway, it's strange.

I tried flashing SuperSU .zip file and after a few attempts it worked. No idea what was the problem, but it is fixed now.


text:
Reduce the size of soft keyboard on edit text click
Usually the soft keyboard fits to the screen size in both portrait and land scape mode. I am developing an app, in that i have an edit text. On edit text click "Is it possible to reduce the width of soft keyboard on land scape mode?". Please guide me through this.
Thanks in advance.

Is your device rooted?

@GokulNC Sorry for framing my question in wrong way. I have updated the question. Please go through it.

That depends of the keyboard app. Swiftkey, for example, allows the size adjustement of the keyboard in landscape mode.

Sorry for framing my question in wrong way. I have updated the question. Please go through it. I am asking about the default virtual key board that pop's up in android device.

No, as I said, the size of the keyboard depends of the keyboard app. You can't modify thay from your own app. You could do an in-app keyboard if you are capable of doing so, and if it is worth it.


text:
When calling from my phone - how do I hide my caller id when calling people that are not in my contacts?
I have switched phone brands (my last phone ― a Lumia 1020 ― had this option) and now I have a One Plus 3 now (with root and fully updated).
How can I make sure that when calling someone, my number is hidden for non-contacts?
I can't seem to find the setting in Android to show my number only to people in my contacts when calling: I have searched all accessible setting menu's in my phone for this and yet I can only find to permanently hide or show my number.
I know it can be done on a per-call basis by prefixing the callee's number with operator codes like #31#, but this is not what I'm looking for.

I was going to publish a duplicate question but the similar questions list prevented me. ;) When I had my Windows Mobile 5 device (iPAQ hw6915) I used to have the Send Caller Id option set to "Contacts Only", meaning that when calling somebody whose number was not on my address book they would get a Private/Anonymous/Unknown call. Now that I got a OnePlus 3 it is upsetting that such a simple and old option is missing on such a modern device. I starred the question. Anyways we could try asking in the official forums, maybe the developers will add it? Also, the Cyanogen Mod may have it.

Deleted my answer suggesting that app - it doesn't seem to work for my brother in USA on 3  different phones !


text:
what in xposed caused this bootloop and how to prevent it from happening again?
My android phone is stuck in a boot loop. To troubleshoot it I was able to boot into TWPR and use adb pull /sys/fs/pstore/console-ramoops to get some boot logs (is that even the right file?).
When opening the file in a text viewer it is very corrupted, with missing letters like in this example...

Is there another procedure I can follow to either get a correctly encoded or uncorrupted log file or fix the one I got? It was literally the only way I found of pulling some logs from TWRP terminal...
On the troubleshooting part: prior to last known good status no particular action was done... just using telegram briefly.
Then I started getting crashes of system app so I rebooted. This now is the result...
Update: it seems that adb connects during the boot animation. I was able to do adb logcat -v time -b events -b main -b system -b radio >> boot.log and i got a stream of logs, will post the result once it's done boot looping or battery dies.
Update: indeed I was able to get real-time log of the boot process. It is boot looping since my logfile is growing bigger, so it's not "stuck".
Trying to look for information in the log I found this pattern of "waited one second"... which seems to indicate that something is not running or failing to run.
Here is a screenshot of what I mean:

The figure of 838 seconds waited seems right since I had my phone logging for about 15 minutes...
I am continuing to log until something happen, but now I think I need some help debugging this problem...
There seem to be two things that are waited for:
07-01 22:58:59.863 W/slim_daemon(  951): Waited one second for android.frameworks.sensorservice@1.0::ISensorManager/default. Waiting another...

and
07-01 22:59:02.359 W//system/bin/cameraserver( 3000): Waited one second for android.hardware.camera.provider@2.4::ICameraProvider/legacy/0. Waiting another...

My conclusion for now is that there may be something wrong with camera or sensors...
This seems to be readings for temperature.. 53° is pretty hot...

Also this seems to imply that the battery stats dumping took 262k milliseconds. (?)

Are there things I can look for specifically  in the log, like some known line or checkpoints like

I would attach the log file, but how can I clean any private data that may be in in there?

Initial problem is solved

I was finally able to boot, disabling the Xposed module did the trick:

booted to TWRP recovery
flashed Magisk Manager for Recovery Mode(mm-201904040.zip)
run it in TWRP's terminal with */mm
selected m) Magic mount
selected xposed_27
confirmed
rebooted with the reboot command

It booted in safe mode, since I previously had modified some files to induce that, so I rebooted again from power menu and it booted normally.
Now I think I want to know what happened specifically so that I can re-enable xposed, since I have some modules I rely on for customizations.
Also with no configuration changes I'm still baffled at how the phone got bootlooped, i remember frequent ANRs of the system app to the point of not able to run anythng and rebooting.
Is it really xposed fault or merely disabling it removed a symptom of something else ?
So the question should be what in xposed caused this bootloop and how to prevent it from happening again ?

In TWRP, have you tried to wipe dalvik and cache? If not, do it, reboot the phone. It might take a long time for the phone to start. Wait and see.

Yes, I tried multiple times. I rebooted the phone and it run out of battery (starting from full charge) over night...

Make a backup via TWRP, then try to flash the phone's ROM (if you have it).

See update. I can actually get the log... the question should now focus on log file analysis i think

I just read 'Magisk' and was thinking, hm ...

@alecxs well there is also xposed installed No problems for over a year... until now. :P

@ReddyLutonadio phone memory is 99% filled, so no way to make a standard backup unless i buy an OTG cable i think. Also see updates.

@alecxs see update, it looks like it was xposed's fault

Bootlooping with logs this messed up probably suggests that some other process is arbitrarily reading and writing from the io stream of the log file. In layman's terms, very bad stuff.
I think your best option is to just recover as much data as you can and reflash the ROM. Something has clearly gone very wrong.

is the one i used the proper file for logs?

i don't know much about, but ramoops is just a dump of RAM so its kind of normal that bytes have changed - its not a corrupt file, just a snapshot of overwritten area of RAM. instead of analyzing logs, how about analyzing reasons? what have you done between the last successful boot and the first time the problem occured?

It was literally the only way I found of pulling some logs from TWRP terminal... The problem is that no particular action was done... just using telegram briefly. Then I started getting crashes of system app so I rebooted. This is the result... I actually got live logs... see question updates for some findings

@alecxs question updated


text:
Will apps exempted from background optimization be affected by low-battery triggered energy saving?
I disabled optimization for Whatsapp. I want to limit Whatsapp only if the battery is low.
Does LineageOs 14 ignore the whitelist on low battery out of the box already?
I'm wondering about this because Whatsapp Web reads 'phone not connected' too much freqently on wifi and I disabled optimizations, as a countermeasure (yet it does not seem to be working)... despite that I'm curious about android and lineageos behaviour regarding this.


text:
Alarm is intermittently not sounding since Marshmallow update
I have a Samsung Note 4.  Since the upgrade to Marshmallow 6.0.1 the built in Clock app's alarms do not sound consistently in the morning.
This only ever happens in the morning (wake up alarm) making it hard to debug.  The phone is plugged in, set to vibrate only, and the Do Not Disturb setting allows Alarms and calls/texts from my favorite contacts.
I get a notification that the alarm was silenced after 1 minute, but there's no way I slept through a minute of it sounding.  I cannot reproduce during the day however.
[The alarms in the "Sleep as Android" app work just fine under the same conditions.  I have been backing up my Clock alarms with Sleep as Android alarms.]

@bees Can you describe in how to check if "Doze is optimised" or how to clear the cache for a particular app?

For Doze , see this. For clearing app data and cache Settings -> Apps -> Show system (three vertical dots) -> Clock -> Storage -> Clear data and Clear Cache


text:
Soft bricked Moto G4 (XT1625) after SuperSU install
So, yeah. I told a friend I would root his phone for him... and I went and soft-bricked it. Haven't told him yet, because I'm hoping I can fix it before long, but I'm running out of options (and time).
Side note:
I followed this guide when trying to root:
www.reddit.com/r/MotoG/comments/22mimr/the_guide_to_rooting_the_motog_with_a_howto/
and got until unlocking the bootloader when I realized that instead of being a guide for the Moto G4, it was a guide for the Moto G on android 4.x.x.
So I did flash the wrong logo.bin, but hopefully that was the only issue created there. I got the correct one elsewhere and all was working fine.
End side note
So I moved to how-to-geek's tutorial here:
http://www.howtogeek.com/115297/how-to-root-your-android-why-you-might-want-to/
I got twrp installed, booted in recovery and loaded SuperSU (version below)
SR1-SuperSU-v2.78-SR1-20160915123031
Now it's softbricked. Kind of just hangs on the boot screen.
I can get into the bootloader and twrp, but that's about all I can do at the moment. I've tried reseting the cache and dalvik cache, and have tried formatting the device with no luck.
My next step is that I'm installing vanilla firmware from:
http://rootjunkysdl.com/files/?dir=Moto%20G%204th%20Gen%20XT1625
and I plan to try to flash that when It's all done. I'm unsure if that's safe, but don't have many other options.
If you know anything I can try, please reply. Any help is greatly appreciated

You didn't make a "nandroid backup" before attempting root?

...nope :/ didn't realize I should. Learned the hard way I guess

Where did you download the SuperSU zip from? Did you get it from the official XDA Developers thread?

Got it from here: https://download.chainfire.eu/1003/SuperSU/SR1-SuperSU-v2.78-SR1-20160915123031.zip . That's where the How-To-Geek tutorial said to get it from

Okay, well that's a beta version. Can you try flashing the latest release ZIP found here (the TWRP installable ZIP link): http://forum.xda-developers.com/apps/supersu/stable-2016-09-01supersu-v2-78-release-t3452703

No luck... still freezing on the boot screen :/ Good thought though (and I made sure to clear caches)

Can you use TWRP's file manager to nuke /system/app/Superuser.apk? I don't think it'll help, but it's worth a try.

I can try. What should I do? Can't find /system/app. The system directory is empty.

You have to go to the mount tab in TWRP and check System.

Let us continue this discussion in chat.

Your SU is systemless SU. It needs a tweak. See this http://android.stackexchange.com/a/155479/131553

Proper research would have prevented this, in the future if you need information on rooting a device, go to a REPUTABLE source like XDA or a similar forum and make sure the information is specific to your device AND the current Android version. Lollipop, Marshmallow, and now Nougat are changing the way rooting is being done.
All retail/unlocked Moto devices running Marshmallow have an extra step that is required when flashing to force a systemless root installation by the SuperSU install script.
After successfully flashing TWRP and booting it, go to Advanced - Terminal and enter:
echo SYSTEMLESS=true>>/data/.supersu

And press Enter, then exit. The spelling and spacing must be exact or it won't work. Then go to the main menu of TWRP and flash SuperSU normally, you should see the script specifically state it is doing a systemless install and patch the boot image (and in your case, cleanup an old standard root installation).

Source

Please use only the referenced version from my thread (yes, I am the original author of that source thread), they are tested and working to both root the device, and cleanup a failed root.
Be aware on the first boot after this procedure, the device will boot loop twice, do not be concerned, this is normal, then it will boot normally after that.
And since you did not do a nandroid backup before rooting (shakes head), you may need to flash back to stock via fastboot before this procedure will work. The image for your device is available here. Remember that you cannot flash this in TWRP, you MUST flash each partition manually with fastboot and this will return the device to out of the box condition.

@beeshyams Yes, you can go to mounts in TWRP and change the system write option there. This should not affect backups though, only restoring them.

@beeshyams I saw that... the tick box was the issue, I was trying to say that but I guess I wasn't obvious. Glad you got it working!

Thank you so much! Really a lifesaver. You are right, I probably should have done better research before starting. This is the first time I've rooted anything, so I didn't know what was reputable or not. I figured how-to-geek was fairly reputable, but I guess I was wrong. Again, thank you so much

Exactly the same thing happened to me, didn't backup and everything just like you.  I realized that the rooting SYSTEM LESS root guide I was following did not work for Android 7.
I was following this guide here that did not specified to make sure you are in Android 6 before rooting.  Everything worked except the rooting part where I got soft bricked.  Link to Install TWRP in Moto G4
If you managed to install TWRP you can follow this guide here XDA Moto G4
I was able to unbrick my phone, moto g4 XT1625

Be aware: The Amazon lockscreen ads & bloatware on the Moto G4 (XT1625) can NOT be removed. Nor can the phone be rooted.
It is possible to unlock the bootloader, and TWRP can be loaded, either in RAM (temporarily) or flash (non-volatile). But the additional SuperSU.zip root package can NOT be loaded, doing so will soft-brick the phone.
After the soft-brick, I was able to reload a Motorola XT1625 factory image on it, after which all the Amazon stuff and associated lockscreen ads are actually gone. However, the phone will then keep pestering you about downloading the latest "system update". When you agree to that, all the Amazon stuff will be back (while still being the same Marshmallow V6.01 version as before the update). When you don't agree to the system upgrade, it will pester you for the update from here to eternity, which is actually even worse torture than the lockscreen ads.
To top it all off: The update message nag can NOT be removed.
So my end conclusion about this phone, after having worked on this for several days with just about every method tried as described on the internet, is that this phone can NOT be de-Amazoned. At least not with the methods as they are known today.
The problem seems to be in the update software channel which is set for “AMZ”. This causes system updates forced on the phone to be of the Amazon kind. The only way to fix that is to get the software channel setting set for a generic code. However, there is no working method available on the internet today to accomplish that, believe me.
So to summarize: Spend the extra $50 and get the generic G4 model without the advertising crap. That is what I have done now; I have returned it and successively bought the ad-free version for $50 more. Because that is the good news: The Moto G4 X1625 is a VERY good phone, it is worth the extra $50.

This isn't really an answer, and your information is incorrect, at least partially... Flagging as not an answer.


text:
Root detection by server or app
Many banks and video streaming services don't allow root on Android devices.
My question is

Is it the app itself that detects root and refuses to work at some stage  (for     example by refusing to call the associated internet service)?
Is it the internet service that somehow directly or indirectly probes your device to see if it is rooted and if so instructs the app to disconnect or display some error message?

I guess this might interest people for which the app Hide Root doesn't work with some service providers.

I doubt that a server could probe you for the presence or lack of superuser access... it'd be an unforgivable breach of security if anyone out there could see if you are rooted, don't you agree? No, the apps are those who check for the presence of root privileges.

Root detection is device side, by the app making a request to SafetyNet (part of Google Play Services), which makes the determination if your device is rooted or not. In the last couple weeks there was mandatory, background update to SafetyNet... Suhide, RootCloak, and Magisk are all detected now. As of this post, there is no work around.

@acejavelin Wait, what? Noooooooo! Oh well, it may be (un)fixed yet....

Banks detecting root devices is a bit disturbing but then again Java script is very powerful when abused. Perhaps get a browser with better privacy options.

Usually root detection is performed on the target device when the application loads. @acejavelin summed it up best in above comments.

I'd suggest to any reader concerned about apps probing for permissions on rooted Android to check into Xprivacy module for Xposed. This and Donkey Guard, both are fantastic for disabling or modifying access to entire features of the device on a per-app basis. Generally I prefer Xprivacy because device specifics can be forged much easier.

One short note on security with Xposed; it's not really secure. Lots of permissions and portions of processing are exposed to the device's user.

Reporting (if any) is done over the network. While it's possible to attempt detection from the server side it's very noisy and would cause lose of trust with customers.

There's another option with root reporting, run a firewall that doesn't allow the application to report out to it's servers. Though for some this will brake functionality when not allowed network access.

Bonus option "Advance Freeze" with ROM toolbox Pro

While the above linked options are free and nearly full featured this last suggestion isn't... but it's worth it to freeze features of an application outright. Some apps crash but most will just limp on without privacy invading features or adverts enabled.


text:
Messed samsung galaxy note 3
May i ask what solution to my problem in my note 3, i rooted it and try to flash a new rom phronesis ROM using twrp, but no luck i didnt succeed due to md5 issue and signature issue, then after searching via Youtube somebody comment to format not only wipe, so it is totaly formatted, bad luck, then now totally format and still twrp is working, and im still trying to flash rom using twrp because still in recovery mode twrp is the one functioning then still no luck, then somebody told me to try to flash cwm, i download cwm then my twrp uninstall then the booting is not working i try now the odin to even install stock ROM always fail. May  i know what to do. I try 2 kinds of phronesis, 4 kinds of recovery app cwm twrp odin new odin old v, tried 3 stock rom tar. Md5 file still fail. Thank you in advance sorry for bad english

What options were Ticked in ODIN? (I have a bad feeling about this.)

The only solution that shall work is flashing a stock firmware with Odin. What error do you get when trying to flah the stock firmware?

It's no use saying something had "no luck" or "failed". You need to say exactly what happened in each case. Was there an error message? What did it say?

Check this thread on XDA Developers. I think you get errors because you are trying to flah a lower version. Download the Lollipop update and you should be able to revive your phone .


text:
Why do i get "Insufficient storage" when the so called "usb storage" is almost empty?
Samsung Galaxy S2 is the model
I get no free space error msg when i try to install application from Google Play.
So i navigate to Settings->Storage and i see 3 sections:

Device memory - 200MB Free
USB Storage - 11.1GB FREE
SD Card - 413MB FREE

Why cant the phone install it on the usb storage?

Detail your problem

Because you can't install to USB storage.

Apps can only be installed on Device internal memory and on SD Cards. Move large apps on SD Card

External application cant install on usb memory as it is a external memory of your phone so you have to empty your phone memory stuff which may be songs, pics or the items which can store on external memory so that your application will install. or simply unistall the unwanted applications. It will help you to free internal memory


text:
Auto-Capitalization is Capitalizing First Two Letters in a Word
This is a weird issue that has been happening with my Galaxy S5 for the past month or so (I've had it for at least 4 months, had an old one for a year before that with no issues).
This is on Android version 6.0.1 (not rooted or anything).  Often times (but not every time) when I start a new sentence in a text field, it capitalizes the first two letters of the sentence.  After the first two letters are capitalized (and I don't fix it) the word auto-corrects to an all caps version of the word (e.g. I go to type "hello" and it starts it off as "HEllo" then changes it to "HELLO").
My initial thought was that the keyboard was just lagging a bit and the "shift" key was being kept on for two letters instead of just the first.  I was paying more attention today and noticed that even if I type quite slowly, the "shift" is actually held down after the first letter goes into the textbox.
I'm wondering if anyone knows how to solve this problem without turning off the Auto-capitalization or Auto-correct.  It's not a crippling issue; but it really hurts my user experience when I have to backtrack all the time.
I couldn't find anything about this online (it's a weird issue to search that gives results for things I really don't care about).  Any help fixing it or even explaining what is happening would be greatly appreciated.
Edit: I'm just using the stock keyboard.

What Keyboard are you using, the stock one?

Yes, I thought of that after I was away from the computer; I'll edit it in.

There is something I'm not getting: If the auto capitalization is enabled, why do you hold the shift key while taping?

@esQmo I don't hold it down.  The button is highlighted as if it was pressed (as it always does for auto-capitalization after a sentence).  The problem is that it's doing it for 2 characters instead of the first; which seems like very weird behaviour.

Seems like a bug. Did you try clearing the data and cache in the apps settings?

@esQmo yeah, I tried that yesterday and it didn't change anything.

On Android  6.0.1 : SETTINGS > APPLICATION > APPLICATIONS MANAGER > SAMSUNG KEYBOARD > STORAGE

If so, I'll just  suggest you using an alternative keyboard. Give a try  to Google Keyboard.


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TowelRoot v3 User Interface Anomaly
I downloaded the latest TowelRoot (v3) from the official website and I noticed a UI anomaly and wanted to know if anyone else has experienced this. Most screenshots of the "make it ra1n" screen (from other peoples' phones in tutorials) are complete, however on my tablet the last part of the "n" was cut off making it appear to be "make it ra1r". (Screenshot 1)

After switching to portrait I was a little more assured when I could see it was just cut off. (Screenshot 2)

I want to know if this was a known problem or a mistake by someone trying to reissue a counterfeit. I've looked at the whois domain registration and it appears to be under the control of the same owner since 2014. (Screenshot 3 and 4)

I downloaded the same TowelRoot APK from the same source, and for me the string make it ra1n is perfectly visible. Might it be an issue with your system font?

Yeah, that changes things. It's strange though: Tiny, Extra Small, Medium and Huge render normal, but Small, Large, Extra Large don't. Just for future reference and out of curiosity: Would something like this be device specific? Does yours render incorrectly when you change the font size?

No, I changed the font size to 85% and 130% of its usual size, and I spotted no difference outside TowelRoot's title breaking in two lines with the 130% font size. If I recall correctly from my past experience, though, if no sufficient care is put when creating the single glyphs that compose a font, this behaviour is certain to occur. It is caused by either a concentration or lack of pixels in a given area, and it is indeed experienced when stretching the font size. Not a sign of font quality.


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Location and filenames of wireless drivers on Android 5.02, Kernel 3.10.49?
I am looking to fuzz the wireless drivers and linked / associated files on Android 5.02, kernel version 3.10.49.
I am looking for vulnerabilities in those files.
I believe I need to know what the files are called, and where they are located - this is what I'm requesting.
I have searched via google, and believe they may be part of specific builds of Linux kernel.

Welcome to the Android Enthusiasts! This site is for users of Android, which means that questions about development/programming are off-topic here (see the What topics can I ask about here?). Development questions are on-topic on our sister site Stack Overflow. You might also wish to consult Where can I ask questions that aren't Android Enthusiast questions? for a fitting place to your question.

@izzy Hi. This is not development nor programming related in my opinion, rather is is security related. Hence to me the vote to close should be reconsidered please, and a suggestion to a better SE site for this question?

I'll reopen it as fast as I've put it on hold – but you'd need to [edit] it and make clear what it's about: What are you trying to achieve? What's the background of your question? What problem to solve? Ping me again once you've updated your post accordingly, and I'll see if I can reopen it then (expect so ;)

@izzy ok, I need to know what further details I need to specify please? - I have added what I am looking to do a moment ago & to me your other points were already covered in my question. If you don't see this please expand with specific examples

As it's not my specific area of expertise, I cannot provide all details necessary. Afraid that goes beyond the scope of this site (which is targeted at and-users of Android); while that includes "power users", looking for vulnerabilities in drivers is a bit far-fetched I'm afraid. Unfortunately you lack the rep to bring that up in Meta or discuss it on chat yourself, so I'll reopen it for now and leave it to the community to decide (5 votes from community members with sufficient rep can close this again if the community decides it doesn't fit).

@izzy can you or another move it to a better area?

If I new some "better area", I had suggested it already – so sorry, I don't know where that better place would be. As I wrote, I'm not active in that field. Checking with my co-mods on other sites, it seems Android.SE is already as close as you can get...

@izzy. I have found via search a SE site that could suit this question better. Can this question be moved to Information Security SE?

When I asked yesterday, the answer was "No": while your goal is security, your question is not. You're just asking for file locations.

Ok I understand. I will wait.

While waiting, you might consult alternative sources, as I initially pointed out. If you find a solution there, be welcome to answer your own question (and afterwards "accept" the answer to show your issue was solved).


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Is a ROMs data (/data) from Nougat compatible with MM?
I have a Nexus 6p with Resurrection Remix, Android 7.1.1. I want to move back to Marshmallow (still RR) for Xposed. I plan to just dirty flash the old RR 6.0.1 .zip file. Will this result in any problems with my data? Like my installed apps, data for those apps...?
Thanks in advance. If you need more information just ask!

From one of my earlier answers:

Older version of an app might not recognize the data created by the newer version of the same app. Although user apps are rarely affected, crucial system apps might be, and on error might constantly throw "*** has stopped" dialogs that effectively prevents you from using the phone.

Also, some newer ROMs have alerts in their updater-script that detect different /data formats and, if detected, throw error about it, and will not proceed unless you perform a wipe.

I just took a NAndroid backup of a few key partitions, and moved the backup to a flash drive. Then I wiped everything. When I have time I am going to transfer it back to internal storage and restore all my apps and data with Titanium.

You can also backup all your apps data using TitaniumBackup, do the downgrade and then restore previously backed up apps data.


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Get ADB to trust all computers
Is there something I can do to make my phone trust all computers to use ADB on my phone? I have root, Resurrection Remix on Android 7.1.1, and I am open to editing some files. I will only be plugging my phone into computers that I already trust, so I'm not worried about security.
The reason I want this is because I use a different school computer every day, and I don't like the pop-up. I trust those computers and don't need the prompt.
Can somebody please get an answer? YES, I ONLY PLUG MY PHONE INTO A USB PORT I TRUST!!!

How many computers will you be plugging your device in? If it isn't that much, you can probably just accept them once individually and never ask you again.

@GiantTree The school computers. I use a different one each time. The popup is very annoying.

Do you trust every USB port (including charger) you plug your phone in to? Not just computers—nothing guarantees that thing that looks like a charge port actually is only charging. And of course that no one else will grab your phone, and plug it in to something you don't trust?

I don't think you can, short of copying the key stored on the PC to each and every machine you use - bu t by then, it would be quicker to do it normally. I know you DGAF about security, but one wrong move on even a scroll network can end your fun. I accidentally put VBS dunini onto the network once, requiring a full rebuild of about 70 PC's and two android tablets.

Huh, It turns out you can
It turns out you can disable the verication check to bypass the ask for authorization.
On a authorised computer:
Firstly, run adb version and check its at least 1.0.32
Give adb root permissions, adb root
Then, connect and run adb disable-verity
Then it should be fine!

Source: https://stackoverflow.com/a/37624959/4992064


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Huawei P7 Ascend Lollipop Compass pointing only North or South, even after calibrating. How to fix?
As it says in the title, my Huawei P7 Ascend running the latest firmware for it (Android 5.1.1) has something strange going on with the compass for the last year or so. I have already attempted calibration, but that did not fix it. The compass only exclusively points directly north or directly south, both on calibration apps and in apps like Google Maps. How can I get it to work properly again?

Wait what? Give us some screenshots or even beter a video?

Possible duplicate of How can I calibrate the compass on my phone?

As stated in the question, I already calibrated it to no avail. I can't take a video because I don't have a camera besides my phone. I can, however describe it: If the phone is facing more towards north, any compass or app will show it facing fully north. Same goes for south. There is no in between.

I too have this problem after upgrading my phone to lollipop. However, if I tilt my phone vertically or upside down (so I'm looking up to face the screen), the compass works fine. Try calibrating your accelerometer with your phone upside down.

authors: Једноруки Крстивоје


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Issues with ellipsis (...) in filename when pulling files using ADB on Windows
I'm trying to pull files from the /sdcard partition of my phone to Windows 10 using ADB, and it errors:
cannot create [ my file > my computer ]: Not a directory

This only occurs at a particular folder "Meanwhile In Burbank...", which is copied as "Meanwhile In Burbank" (no ...), then errors out.
Any advice on how to handle ellipses?

Is the ellipsis made from three dots (like ...) or from a single character (like …)?

Suppose I should have clarified: three dots.

And the operating system from where you launch adb is a flavor of Windows, I guess. Correct?

Added computer OS and adb version to question.

I did a few tests on Windows 7, and was able to reproduce a behavior similar to yours. Actually, it's not ADB, but Windows' fault. The OS itself doesn't allow a file or a folder's name which ends with a period, and without anything after it. I assume you do know that a period delimits the extension in a file, so basically Windows doesn't allow a file or folder to end with an "empty" extension (which is different from not having an extension) and therefore trims the period(s).


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Listen music from OneDrive
I've a Samsung Galaxy A8 phone (android 8.0.0) and it's connected to my OneDrive accounts (both personal and business) where I store music.
I've tried downloading music to my phone, but I could only make the files available off-line, no proper download.
I've Google Play Music and Samsung Music installed, neither can browse OneDrive off-line files. I can play them with a very basic player (probably skin of one of before mentioned players?), but that's not a solution for me.
How can I listen to music from OneDrive?

I've tried downloading music to my phone, but I could only make the files available off-line, no proper download

To download music from Onedrive follow the steps below:

Click on the 3-dots next to the music file.

A menu with options appears. Select Save.

You will be taken to the folder where the file will be downloaded. As seen on the picture below, the default folder is Download. You can select another folder by clicking the arrow on the left. Click Save on the top right to start the download.

How can I listen to music from OneDrive?

To listen directly from OneDrive, click on your music file, then ►. The music file will be streamed online.

Thanks for the answer! It works for small number of files as I've "save" option for files only, but not for folders. Is there a way to save folders too?

Only "Keep offline" is available for Folders as far as I know, and you must have the "Premium" license(?) to use the option.

@MátéJuhász Use FolderSync to sync  or download the folder..

@AndroidQuesito thanks for the tip! I wouldn't think I need another app for that... You might add it as an answer as it solved my problem.

This does not work on Microsoft Android Surface Duo.
One drive advertising for Premium blocks Save feature.

Try out the OneSync app from the google store. It allows you to create a sync for your local (phone) folder with the onedrive's cloud location and keep the files locally in sync.

Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please [edit] to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center.

There are a bunch of apps available for this, I wrote up a few here: https://www.blisshq.com/music-library-management-blog/2021/02/10/comparison-best-cloud-music-players/
Disclaimer alert: I can comment on Astiga as I operate that service. We made available a free, no-install OneDrive music player: https://asti.ga/onedrive-music-player .

Go to the page and Connect to OneDrive:

Sign in on Microsoft's site:

Once you've signed in, the music player's page will reload and show your folders:

Find your music and play!

It only allows browsing of your folders, playback of files, shuffling, repeats etc. To get the full "music library" experience you need to sign up. Let me know if you have any questions!


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Microsoft Exchange calendar not updating on android
I can not get calendar to work properly: only original appointment times are shown, when an appointment is moved / cancelled, the change is not reflected.
I've a Samsung A52 phone with latest version of Android, We use Microsoft Exchange (Office 365) e-mail in our organization.
I've tried Outlook, Gmail, Samsung calendar; with or without installing Intune Company Portal - the issue is always the same - events are downloaded to my phone, but changes are not reflected.
Everything else (mails, contacts, downloading new calendar items) works well with all tried solutions.
The issue exists since several months now.
Current workaround is to check my calendar only on the website of outlook

Do emails sync normally?

Yes, emails are OK, as well as contacts.

Maybe this suggestion might be helpful (if for whatever reason the toggle to sync is off)


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Taking photos is slow
I've a few month old Samsung Galaxy A51 (android 10) and it's camera needs couple of seconds (2-4) BEFORE taking any picture, which is just too long when I want to photo children.
My past phones were all from Samsung Galaxy A series and never had this issue.
Is there anything I can do to make taking photos faster?

Before or after the photo is actually taken. Try a different camera app or check the settings of your camera app if you find something that could cause this delay.

Taking high resolution pictures needs to process the image data. Based on GPU, it may take a while, like ~ 2-3 seconds for ~ 14-20 Megapixel camera phone.
Some phones camera software may take several pictures to increase picture quality or prevent blurry photos using software, which also increase processing time.
You can manually reduce the photo resolution from camera app settings, which may reduce overall processing time. Turn off HDR as well if not needed.
Also try some 3rd party camera app and try which suits your needs.

Thanks for the answer. My problem is the time before taking the picture, not after.

Oh, so if it's a Camera app loading problem, that may be caused by running new/updated app on old hardware. Uninstall updates or try some lite Camera app.

It happens sometimes with me. Make sure you have enough internal free space.
Since you are using a Samsung device, there is an option for device care in the settings. Click on 'Optimize now' it will close the unnecessary background apps and optimizes the memory. Still, if you are facing this issue try restarting your device.
Also, keep your device up to date because they keep on fixing various bugs with new updates.

I've 80 GB free from 128 GB


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Samsung Galaxy S2 randomly launches applications after factory reset
I am not sure if this is the correct place for this post. If not kindly refer me.
A Samsung galaxy S2 device randomly launches apps (any kind). these apps immediately relaunch after forcing stop. when media player launches repeatedly the battery drains very fast and the cellular is practically unusable.
Is it possibly a touch screen issue?
I have searched online and found no similar problem.
I have tried factory reset to no avail.
This problem just started with no special update, root or installation as a cause.
Android version 4.1.2
ROM version 3.0.31-816988

what can be the cause?
What other steps can I take?

please mention about android version, ROM, cause of app force close(Eg: after ota update, installing custom ROM etc)

I am not sure what do you mean by cause of app close? I have manually forced all apps to close. I have added ROM and android version information.

I mean that if you have tried to install an update OR tried to root, or install custom ROM's like lineage, cyanogen, resurrection etc.

I did  not. I can think of no change in installation causing this problem.


text:
Will restoring a backup unroot my rooted device again?
I have made a full backup of my formerly unrooted android device using Android Debug Bridge, later rooted it and now would like to restore the backup while maintaining root access.
Will this work by restoring the backup with adb restore or will my phone possibly be unrooted (just like with a factory reset)?
Edit: My Samsung Galaxy Nexus GT-i9250 is currently running on Android 4.3, the backup was made with the same version using the command adb backup -apk -shared -all -f.
Update: I restored the update and my device is still rooted (checked with Root Checker from Super User), though a few apps and some data were not restored.

If you used systemless root(Android 6.0+), I'm not sure if that will remove your root access. If you used system root(Android 5.1 and below), this will not remove root.
Regarding,

adb backup -all

If this is the command you ran, this backs up only the /data partition, not any other partitions. For a full backup of /system /boot /recovery /data, etc. you would have to perform a nandroid backup from recovery.

Thank you!
I ran the command adb backup -apk -shared -all -f and have Android 4.3. This means a restore would be safe?

If you had ran the backup with the -nosystem modifier, I would say yes, there is a high chance of you being safe. Since you didn't specify, adb backup automatically backs up the system. This would unroot your device. You could install root after restoring from the backup though as root does not require your data to be wiped.

@MitchB why would that unroot the device? I don't think it would remove files, just restore what was backed up. Still, restoring a system backup across different Android versions is strongly discouraged.

@Izzy I have tried to find some documentation of the adb command but it is sparse. I am going off of what I found on this wiki and I believe that if it were to restore the /system partition then that would remove root if the root is /system based, which is likely given that @xoxox is running 4.3. Also, I don't think they said whether their backup and live versions are different.

ADB backups are file based, not partition based. So to my knowledge, a restore would just write back the files from the backup, overwriting existing files, but not deleting anything. I never tried restoring a full backup, though, so I cannot tell for sure.

@Izzy Hmm, you bring up a good point. I also have not ever restored a backup. Perhaps if we knew the root package they used, we would be able to determine which root it is (though that may be out of the scope of this question). I'm hesitant to say that their root status will be unaffected though. Worst case scenario, re-root is required and I do not know of any root packages that require a full factory reset.

I'd go with GiantTree here: If it really would backup everything (which it does not), and on restore does a wipe and unpack, another backup done right before that should be fine to restore root. Really sure we can only be if we try it, e.g. with a "redundant device": Wipe it, root it, do adb backup, install some additional app, then restore the backup and see.

As long as you don't restore the system partition (I don't know whether this is backed up by ADB), your root access should be preserved.
You could just make a backup of the state of your device now and restore it, when needed.

adb backup backs up files, not partitions :) Still, the idea of another backup I support – just in case :)


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Is it possible to disable admin rights of a malware?
There is a smartphone with anroid 5.1. Another user installed an app from a non-verified source (some hacks for Clash of Clans afaik). To uninstall it I have to drop its administrator rights in Settings -> Security -> Device administrators. The problem is that when I click to uncheck it, device locks and I hear two check sounds (check and uncheck, I suppose).
When I go to settings again the checkbox is still checked. The same behaviour when using safe mode.
How to remove malware-originated administrators?

Is  the device rooted?

I don't even know what does it mean. Just a recently bought one.

Okay I presume it is not. But did you first try to force-close the app then disable the admin rights?

What is a force-close? It is not presented in a list of launched apps, but it generates fullscreen ad popups.

The adware might be present in the app list. Look for an unusual app name

Just SmartcardService org.simalliance.openmobileapi.service:remote looks unusual. I can't see both apps that are fake administratos in the list.

But com.simaliance.openmobileapi.service is a valid package name for STK services or SmartCardService

Download Uninstall from the Play Store, it will list all apps and their package name pretty better. Look for weird app name or package name.

But what does prevent from changing admin rights to Clash of Clans? Another application, not itself?

Clash of Clans don't have such rights. I think there is another app, an adware, that was installed when the user installed the hack. Or the full screen ads are generated by the modded Clash of Clans

Could you please create a full answer how to remove undesirable adm rights?

I would suggest installing security 360 from Google Play and see if that removes the ad ware.


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Will "hiding" contacts on Google Contacts affect other apps' behavior?
I manage my contacts on my Google account. There is a feature in Google Contacts where one can "hide" selected contacts, as follows. If you go to contacts.google.com, click the three dots to the right of a contact, then click "Hide from contacts" in the menu, the contact will be moved to Other Contacts.

I prefer to keep my digital data organized, and shortening my contacts list will help. However, I'm not sure what the effect of hiding a contact is (other than it not displaying in the contacts list on a contacts app).
We're talking about a contact that I'm not likely to communicate with in the future, but it would still be better for me to save their details, for example in the unlikely event that they phone me. If a hidden contact phones me (on my Samsung Galaxy S8), will my stock phone app show me who is calling?

The name of the caller will not be identified if the contact is hidden in Google Contacts.
The contact will be removed from the contacts list in the stock Samsung contacts app.
I tested this by calling my mobile with my work phone. I hid my work phone number in contacts.gooogle.com, and I also had to remove the number from my personal information in my Samsung Account, as well as my Samsung Account in my secure folder.

"hiding" means hiding the contacts from the contacts app only , it will tells who's calling. I'm saying that it is only used by the app

Why do you mention "it doesn't mean hiding the details"?

My primary question is whether the phone app will tell me who is calling if the contact is hidden in Google Contacts.

it will tells who's calling. I'm saying that it is only used by the app.

Your answer needs to convince others who have the same question.


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Where is data of Google Play Services located in device? Can I safely delete it?
Just noticed that data in internal storage for Google Play Services app grew above 100Mib, so this app is officially a space hog now.
So my questions are:

What is the exact location for Google Play Services data? (for backing up)
Can I safely delete Google Play Services data and let the app recreate it?
What might I lose if I delete Google Play Services data unsafely?

What is exact location for Google Play Services data?

Package name of Google Play Services is com.google.android.gms.
Default data directory of apps is under /data/data, and for Play Services, it is /data/data/com.google.android.gms.
Note that you can't simply copy-paste it into anywhere. To peek into data directory of an app you would need root access. Fortunately, for non-root devices, Play Services allows its backup using adb.
After installing ADB, enter this command in a shell:
adb backup -apk com.google.android.gms

This will save the backup in the file backup.ab located in the current directory.
To restore that backup, enter this command from the same current directory:
adb restore backup.ab

Can I safely delete Google Play Services data and let app recreate it?

By safely, if you mean clearing data from Settings → Apps→ Downloaded → Google Play Services, then you're good to go.
In Android 4.4.2 and 5.0.2, you don't get the straight option named Clear Data. Instead you get Manage space. Follow the screenshots:
(Click image to enlarge; hover to know details)

However, in Android 4.2.1, there was no Manage Space but Clear Data. Perhaps, the former option is Android version specific and not app specific.
Doing adb shell pm clear com.google.android.gms is also safe, at least, my Play Store, and Gmail (both ridiculously dependent on Play Services) worked fine after executing both steps independently.
The data recreated too.

What I might lose if I delete Google Play Services data unsafely?

I don't know what unsafely would mean here other than purging the app directory of Play Services without uninstalling it, so I can't comment on it.
Anyhow, the front-end of Play Services is named Google Settings, the core of Google Apps, whose icon you would see in your app drawer. Simply open it, and the entries you would see  are possibly responsible for the data collection of Play Services. And as I said above, the dependent apps worked fine without a hitch, so this app's data isn't something I would worry about. Your case may vary, so dig deeper into this app's GUI.

Neat answer, thanks! And whoa, in your case Google Play Services isn't space-greedy at all.

Perhaps that's because I don't use much of it other than sometimes downloading an app from Play Store, or using Gmail. In my other devices, the data specifically rose up to 50MB. Yours is a special case since both data and APK would be taking ~200MB of internal storage.

While it's not the same thing, I think I need to put this as precaution due to its similarity: PSA: Do not clear data for Google Service Framework (Reddit)


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Google play store: set language to the local language
I am in Germany, I want to set up Play Store to display and search/install apps in German language.
My phone's default language is French. I do not want another language.
I did set up my Google account language to German as the main and only language
Still Play store will display all in French. I cannot find how to switch languages.
What to do to get it into German?

You have to set your System display language to German, not your Google account language to German:

Paramètres -> Paramètres Avancés -> Langues & Saisie -> Langue -> Allemand (Deutsch)
Einstellungen -> Erweiterte Einstellungen -> Sparche & Eingabe -> Sparche -> Deutsch

Thank you for the answer, but is it possible to switch the language without changing phone main language?


text:
How can I force the file-app association in Samsung Files?
On a One UI 5 / Android 13 tablet, I have some Krita files and despite having Krita installed, Samsung Files tells me I have no app to open this file type and I should search in the Play store.
Even going through all the hoops by uninstalling Krita and clicking on "Search" when this prompt appears, reinstalling it, does not help.
Also, "open with" does not show any app available.
How can I force a file-app association?
Btw. the association is in the APK's manifest:
        <intent-filter>
            <action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW"/>
            <action android:name="android.intent.action.EDIT"/>
            <category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT"/>
            <data android:scheme="file"/>
            <data android:scheme="content"/>
            <data android:mimeType="*/*"/>
            <data android:host="*" android:pathPattern=".*\\.kra.*"/>
            <data android:host="*" android:pathPattern=".*\\.krz.*"/>
        </intent-filter>
        <intent-filter>
            <action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW"/>
            <action android:name="android.intent.action.EDIT"/>
            <category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT"/>
            <data android:scheme="file"/>
            <data android:scheme="content"/>
            <data android:host="*" android:pathPattern=".*\\.kra.*"/>
            <data android:host="*" android:pathPattern=".*\\.krz.*"/>
        </intent-filter>

Related/possible dupe: How to associate a file extension with an app?, How to assign default app to unlisted file type. I'm not sure if it's possible with Samsung Files...

May be this Krita app is simply not designed to used this way or you simply use the wrong file extension. Developers have to register file extensions in their app. If they don't do this then how should the other apps know which app can be used to open which file type. Have you contacted the Krita developers and asked if this is a supported way?

@Robert I looked into the APK / AndroidManifest.xml and there you can see the file extension registered. Also, the file association works on another tablet.


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Samsung S7: stuttering during slow motion video recording
When I try to record slow-motion video on a Samsung S7 (running Android 7.0), there is often stuttering. This has ruined some otherwise amazing footage I acquired.
What can I do to ensure that there will be no stuttering?
So far I have tried:

Recording to internal storage instead of the SD card (although the card I use, SanDisk SDSDQXP-032G, is rated for 90 MB/s write)
Making sure that "Power saving" is off
Closing all apps (using the Overview button, then Close All)

The stuttering will occasionally noticeable even when not recording video, just having the camera app open in slow-motion mode and quickly moving the phone from side to side. Of course, it is harder to notice it this way because everything is happening much faster than during slow-motion playback.
Note: I am making fairly long recordings, with playback times as long as 5 minutes.

I am experiencing the same issue on my Samsung Galaxy S7 (Exynos).
The stuttering in slow-motion video is awful and there is nothing I can do about it.
I have also tried without SD-card, no difference.
The best way is to minimize the number of installed apps. It will not remove stuttering completely, but might reduce it a little bit. It is somehow the intrinsic structure of Android OS that apps are always running or in standby, i.e. consuming memory and some small amount of CPU power. Any, even the slightest, extra CPU load will cause massive stuttering.


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Samsung: Backing up messages fails
I am trying to back up a Samsung S5 mini (SM-G800F, running Android 5.1.1) using either Samsung Kies or SmartSwitch.  With either program, the backup stalls for a very long time when it gets to backing up messages.  When it finally recovers, it announces that backing up messages has failed (the rest of the items are fine).

The following categories have failed to back up due to an error.
Messages — Device not responding.

Has anyone else encountered this problem?  What could be the root cause?  Is there anything I can do on the phone itself to correct this, and allow messages to get backed up as well?
In the past backup has worked correctly with the same phone.

Have you tried omitting the messages in the main backup and using a different app like SMS backup and restore to backup your messages?

@asloss Thank, you, this is useful (if incomplete: it does not restore MMS). No, I was not aware that there are other ways to backup messages. If there is no other solution I can find, I will consider this one.  I have not tried skipping message backup, but I always assumed it would avoid this error.   My main question was how to fix message backups.

It's worth giving a shot. You might have a weird message in there somewhere that is triggering a bug. Let me know. I personally don't like kies for backups. I do everything manually so that I can actually check to see if all the files are there.

@asloss Why?  Did it ever silently fail on you (i.e. claim that everything is backed up, even though it wasn't)?  If yes, that would be very disturbing. I have never had to try restoring backups ...

Yah I've had it fail on me before lost a bunch of stuff. All it ended up backing up was settings :(. Not the first time I've had a mainstream backup service fail on me. So now I make sure I have everything manually. Could just be bad luck. I also think doing it manually is faster. Just copy internal and SD card onto computer and then use SMS backup and restore for messages and  all done :)

I had the same problem for month, I updated to the last version of smart switch today and have reboot my s8 yesterday (I have almost 25% of free space on the phone)
I gave a new chance to the backup with smart switch today and, after being stucked for almost 2 hours on "backing up message" at 18%, it finally went to the next step of the backup!
So my advice is : patience (and use an usb 3 port!)