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How to sync contacts with Outlook, WITHOUT Exchange?
Can anyone recommend an app to sync Outlook contacts with Android? I know there are a number of them which sync with Exchange, but I am not using Exchange.
I'm looking for something that will sync contacts as well and as easily as Google Calendar Sync handles syncing Outlook's calendar.
I've tried "Missing Sync", but it completely hosed Outlook.
I'm running Outlook 2010.

Are you looking for a one-time one-way sync (Outlook -> Phone), or something that will keep both places in sync all the time?

Regular syncing, just like Google Calendar Sync does for the calendar.

For what it's worth to anyone, we tried MissingSync, and it totally hosed the data and wound up deleting all our contacts. Had to restore a PST backup.

It sounds like you're happy using Google/GMail as an intermediary for the sync, if you've already tried Google Calendar Sync, if so then there are a few options.
It sounds unlikely from your question, but if you're part of an organisation that's given  you a paid-for Google Apps account then Google Apps Sync is available for you. This syncs an Outlook Calendar, Contacts and Mail with a Google Apps GMail account, and from there you can easily sync with your phone. Unfortunately this isn't available for standard GMail/Google Accounts, or for free Google Apps accounts.
Other, third party, options to sync Outlook with a GMail account are GO Contact Sync (free), CompanionLink (paid app) or Goosync (subscription service with free trial).

The Google Apps I've actually seen, and it looked rather intriguing, ... but from what I could gather from the website, it seems it is only available for corporates/educational institutions, no?

@eidylon unfortunately yes, it really would make sense to make it available to all, must be a Marketing decision. Didn't I make that clear from the first and last sentences in the second para? I'll see if I can edit to make that clearer.

Well, you said that it was paid, but that doesn't necessarily equate to not being open to the general public. Oh well... would be nice if they opened it to the public.

You can try Go Contact Sync, there are some mixed reviews on that site about it. On the other hand, I have read good things about gSyncIt, but it is not free. It will sync calendars, contacts, tasks, and notes.
These are not specific to android, as the information is actually syncing with Google Contacts, not your device.

I use MyPhoneExplorer on windows7 to sync outlook 2010 with my android phone.

I have been using ‘Blue SyncRoid’ to sync my contacts and calendars between Outlook and Android via Bluetooth. Used to forget my USB cable and unwilling to share my personal information (contacts and calendars) on the cloud to sync my info. Pretty satisfied with the solution. Simple and user friendly.
They also have a trial version launched. Highly recommended. Visit http://www.bluesyncroid.com for more details. Thumbs up!

You can synchronize with Hotmail since Hotmail supports exchange and you can use the Outlook connector to connect Outlook to Hotmail.


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Root my EVO wihtout USB cord
I want to root my EVO... but my charging port is broken (I've been using an external battery charger to get around this). Anyway to get the files I need to root my EVO onto my EVO without using this cable? I was thinking about going through Box or Dropbox or something like that but I'm not sure how to download these files into a specific folder on my EVO.
Thanks.

You can use unrEVOked root exploiter app: http://androidspin.com/2010/06/05/unrevoked-one-click-root-evo-4g-cdma-hero/ But, the apk file has been officially removed. Search the web for this apk file.. Good luck!

there is no way to backup my phone on an SD card or anything so that if something does go wrong, I can just pull it off the card?

You can always put the files on an SD card and transfer them to your internal storage from there, but as was said in the comments, if something happens during the process and you are unable to boot your phone, the only way to recover from that is to reflash it from the computer, using the usb cable. You can use Titanium Backup to back all of your apps up onto the SD card, and hopefully you keep everything you can backed up through Google, but you still would have an unusable phone if something happened.

cool thanks. in addition, will I be able to flash a custom ROM onto my phone without the USB cord?

Yes, so long as you have a way to put files on the phone (You can even download them straight to the phone), you don't need a computer unless you're changing the bootloaders (Such as going from 2.2 to 2.3/4.0) or if something goes wrong.

source: Stack Exchange

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

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Shaky, drifting compass an inevitability on Samsung Nexus S?
I bought a Nexus S off eBay and found that the compass direction wanders even with the device laying still. Likewise, the display in Google Sky shakes around even with the resting on a stable surface, and it often doesn't align correctly with the stars. SkEye reports "Warning: Strange Magnetic field!". Calibrating using Advanced tools doesn't fix the problem.
I'm running ICS 4.0.3.
Doing some searching, I've found mention of other problems of the sort with the Nexus S. It's not clear whether these are just anecdotes suggesting that I have unit with a defect. Or perhaps there is a hardware or software design flaw and nothing wrong with this particular unit. Where does one look to determine if there is a pervasive problem with a given model and OS version? Anyone know specifically for Nexus S and ICS 4.0.3?

Happens to my brand-new store-bought Nexus S too.  I'd always assumed that's simply the state of the art in smartphone compasses.  (Google Sky, I assume, is genuinely buggy, since it shakes far more than seems reasonable, even given the flaky compass.)

Good point about Google Sky being buggy. Playing with the sensor speed and damping didn't help the shaking. SkEye doesn't hold still either, but it is better. Perhaps I got spoiled using Planets on an iPhone 4, where I've never experienced any problems. Do you get a "Strange Magnetic Field" warning in SkEye?

Just to verify, you don't have anything magnetic nearby, and you've tried waving the phone in a figure 8 pattern (at least that's the method on my HTC)?

I've tried several locations to minimize chance of magnetic interference and verified that the iPhone doesn't seem to have any difficulty (but I avoid putting the two phones near each other when testing). I've tried calibrating with both the figure-eight motion and rotating on all three axes.

Had a Nexus S and experienced the same issue, which wasn't present in the Nexus One.
Though my online research, the unofficial stance was that this is a hardware defect in the product line that Samsung and Google either didn't notice or noticed too late to do anything about.  The most appropriate place to complain about this would be the Google Product Forums.  Here's a thread where this issue is being discussed.
http://groups.google.com/a/googleproductforums.com/forum/m/#!topic/mobile/8ODgVdPy5Wk
...an alternative would be the call Samsung up and see if they will acknowledge that its a hardware flaw.
Unfortunately, I'm not aware of any fixes for the issue, and have found that although the work around (calibration) helps, the problem either doesn't completely go away or recurs soon after.  Just to confirm, the behavior I noticed was:

In programs that display compass data (like Marine Compass) rotating the phone results in a partial rotation in the sensor data, followed by an unexpected 90 degree phantom rotation, according to the phone.  This puts the displayed barring out of step with the true direction the phone is pointing.
In programs that try to display the full orientation of the phone including the direction it's pointing (like Sky Map) the display is shakey, and seldom provides a true indication of where the phone's actually pointing.  Smoothing options result in slightly less shake, but the difference is marginal.
In spite.of this, games that depended on changes in orientation alone (like those games with the metal ball-bearings you need to guide through a maze--Labyrinth, if I'm not mistaken) worked flawlessly.

I decided to upgrade to a Galaxy Nexus, and noticed that the compass works like it should, and Labyrinth games continue to work. Sky Map, however is still jumpy.

I posted. We'll see if anything comes of it. At least I know it's not just my phone, which is what I wanted to know for now.

It's not the hardware gang,  it's a programming flaw in Ice Cream Sandwich.  My Galaxy Blaze's compass worked flawlessly until I upgraded from Gingerbread to ICS.  It seems like they misconnected or merged two of the axies or improperly handled the
data.

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Mount a MicroSD to all namespaces on Android 11
I'm trying to mount a MicroSD. As I understand it, this should be done in the global namespace. Root - Magisk.
I tried:

su --mm -c mount -t sdfat /dev/block/mmcblk0p1 /storage/0123-4567
nsenter -t 1 -m mount -t sdfat /dev/block/mmcblk0p1 /storage/0123-4567

As a result, the root namespace is mounted, but nothing is mounted in other applications. How to mount to all namespaces?

I found how to do it.
In my case, it was necessary to go into the mount namespace of the systems process at number 104.
nsenter -t 104 -m mount -t sdfat /dev/block/mmcblk0p1 /storage/0123-4567

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


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Is it possible use an Android phone as a telephone switchboard?
I'm looking for a way to convert my Android phone into a telephone switchboard.
The goal is to have the ability to redirect incoming calls to another telephone number. But if this is not possible (I don't know if any Android terminal is able to redirect calls in real-time), perhaps there is an intermediate solution: the mobile pick up the telephone, launches a recorded message ("Please, say what is the purpose of your call"), waits until the user says something, and then put a music loop until somebody picks up the telephone.
I don't know if I explained :) But the final goal is to substitute an expensive internal switchboard with an inexpensive cell phone network driven by an Android phone. Is there something similar?

I was looking for something similar and it is hard to find one that would work for Android.

However, it is not so expensive to have a really good phone switchboard, you may use a very old computer with a phone modem and utilize the landline, for example, you can get an almost-for-free, an old PC computer from garage sales or bank or company that is in the process of updating their IT systems, (like a Pentium II or III).
Then install either Windows XP or Linux alongside a PBX server which you can download for free for both systems. Sure it will take a little bit of time and patience to configure, but the end result will be worth it if done properly.
A switchboard that will change a PC at your office to a desk phone. Even, you can also have an intercom facility as well (where users can call each other without using land line just over your LAN - just PC to PC), even you can join remote branches or offices into one phone system.
Then you can have internal numbers like 1214 or of your own preference and choice, and share the one line over many users, and the most beautiful part is that there's no need to make new wires and get phone sets!
Search for 3CX (for Windows) or Asterix for Linux.

Not quite what you are looking for, but Google Voice will let you forward calls to other numbers based on time of day or defined "groups" of people that call you.  Essentially, it will "ring all the phones" you want it to and then you pick up on any of those phones.  For example, you could have a mobile phone, a work phone, and a home phone. You could have Google Voice ring all three phones at once when someone dials the Google Voice number.
Also, US only.

Thanks but the "US only" is a showstopper :) Anyway, it seems to show that is possible to redirect calls in real time.. interesting

@Ivan: Except it's not the phone that's doing it, it's the Google Voice service (which used to be Grand Central). I really doubt you're going to be able to do what you want in the limited hardware in an Android. That's why switchboard systems are so expensive.

@AlEverett: Uppss.. So there is a real switchboard behind Google Voice. Thanks for the info. Anyway, I'm not an Android programmer, so I don't try to do it, just looking for something that help me save some money in my bussiness :)

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


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Is there any persistent root method for LineageOS 20?
The gist of it is that I use LineageOS for the Samsung S9 and I use Magisk. Every time the system updates the root is removed, so my question is - does anyone know of any persistent way to get a persistent root?
Apparently AddonSU.zip has been dropped and from my surface research, the answers are very underwhelming. I mean re-adding Magisk is not the end of the world but I really would like it if it were to get stuck around every time the OS updates...
BTW, I would like the long answer of why it happens. I have the vaguest idea that every update overwrites the boot partition or image where Magisk injects itself during boot. But I would like a somewhat in-depth explanation of how Magisk does its thing and why the updates screw it up.

The devices with preinstalled Android 8 have mandatory A/B partition systems which work like MultiROM.
When you update your Android, you install the update in the inactive slot (A or B slot). And after you reboot, you boot into that slot which got rewritten and doesn't have Magisk on it.
That's why each time after you update, you shouldn't let your device reboot so you can open Magisk and flash it to the inactive slot (that you just updated). As simple as that.

What made AddonSU "permanent"?
Is it that back then A/B Partitioning wasn't a thing?


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"You will be out of Google Account storage once your WhatsApp backup begins counting": Solution to avoid being forced to pay & have a safety backup?

We are writing to let you know that you will be out of Google Account storage once your WhatsApp backup begins counting toward your X GB storage limit in at least 30 days. Learn about WhatsApp backups on Android.

The solution suggested by Google is disabling backups with Google. To move to another phone, they have this tutorial.
But, well: it's probably better to keep some kind of backup. My best idea so far is creating a new Google account just for the WhatsApp backup.
Is it possible to sync that WhatsApp backup with another account? If so, how? Any other better solution?

WhatsApp backups are tied to the phone number and Google Account they’re created with  so syncing with another Google account is not an option AFAIK
Edit: After some experiments, It's possible!(unlike my earlier answer saying it isn't (sorry for that)
The account in the above quote refers to your main Google account (with which you set-up your phone. You can add other Gmail accounts to your phone (create a Gmail ID and add it your phone under the accounts option)
of your phone. I currently have 3 accounts(one main and two others. Whatsapp by default backs up to the main account for backup.
Steps to backup to a different account

From WhatsApp settings menu go to Chats → Chat backup and tap on accounts (it shows the three accounts I have:

Select the account to which you would like to back up.

Tap backup. It would flash an authentication message followed by this pop-up. Tap accept at the bottom

Backup as usual.
Delete the backup from old account (see link in next paragraph).

Note: I verified the backup to an alternate account but bear in mind this method would work only if your backup is less than 15 GB (default free account storage). You can check here,the size of your backup on GDrive and option to delete the backup.
Other options are:

If photos take up a lot of storage, you could sync them to a different Google account (that account needs to be on your phone, in addition to your main account). I do that

Use storage management tools of Google to delete stuff and create additional space.

If you have another cloud provider with adequate space, you could set it up to sync WhatsApp data (location) and restore (local backup restore)
when needed. I haven't tried this option. If you don't have a cloud, syncing to laptop using rsync or adb pull is a possibility

Buy additional space Google one. IMO,their pricing is competitive and you can then use Google One app to conveniently manage storage by deleting unwanted stuff. I am aware you don't want to pay but leaving it here for completeness.

Disabling backups is not a preferred option going by the number of questions on this site that deal with restoring backups and frantic appeals to help restore data because it contained important information, photos, etc. Especially since WhatsApp does not provide a way (API) to sync backups to another cloud provider.

Hey beautiful answer. Thanks! Here I could check if my backup is less than 15 GB. I also see there the Delete backup button & a faq.


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Manage favorite live channels on Android TV
I've 2 new Android TVs (Android 11) from different brands, and during the 1st power-on, several questions were raised and the search of channels and Internet was configured.
However, I skipped to step of setting up a Google account.
At the moment, the TV is working, but I can't see any option to set up a favorite list of channels.
Unexpectedly, from Home, "Settings", "Channel", I can see only:

Parental controls
Open source licenses
Version

In the past with other Android TV, I was able to set favorite channels without adding a Google account.
Is there any option to manage channels?

It was possible to do this without setting up a Google account

Watching a live TV channel

Press the "menu" button on the remote (maybe 3 lines)

(By default)  “TV options”, a horizontal menu appears on the screen.
(this menu is also vertical and has other entries, one above and the other below)

Move up to the “TV options” row, then select “Channels”

then “Add to my favorites”

The option was there, but IMHO the GUI and UX are so terrible that even looking for something specific, I was not able to see it nor was I expecting it in this way.


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Stop WhatsApp from being used on lost phone
I lost my Android phone, but my WhatsApp is still on. How I can stop someone who is using it?
I don't have the SIM with me. The people who found it is using my WhatsApp account. When they went online, I tried to talk but they did no reply.

Tried to lock your SIM by your provider already?

Get your provider to lock the device. Contact Whatsapp and explain the situation to them.

From Whatsapp:

What do I do if my phone is lost or stolen?
In the unfortunate case that your phone gets lost or stolen, we can
  help make sure that no one can use your WhatsApp account.
As soon as possible you should call your mobile provider to lock your
  SIM card. Then, it will not be possible to verify the account on that
  phone again as you need to be able to receive SMS or phone calls to
  verify an account.
After you have locked the SIM in your stolen phone, you can use a new
  SIM with the same number to activate WhatsApp on your new phone. This
  is the fastest way to deactivate your account on the stolen phone.
  WhatsApp can only be activated with one phone number on one device at
  a time.
If you are not ready to activate WhatsApp on a new phone with the same
  number we can deactivate your account. Email us with your phone number
  in the full international format as described here. Please note that
  we are not able to help you locate your phone. Remote WhatsApp
  deactivation from another device is not possible.
Important: Even with the SIM card locked and phone service disabled,
  WhatsApp can be used on Wi-Fi if you do not contact us with an account
  deactivation request.
More important details about deactivated accounts

When your account is deactivated, it is not completely deleted.
While your account is deactivated:

Your name is still on your contacts' Favorites / Select Contact lists.
Your contacts can send you messages, which will remain in a pending state for up to 30 days.

If you reactivate your account before it is deleted, you will receive any pending messages on your new phone and you will still be
  in all of your group chats.
If a deactivated account is not re-activated within 30 days, it will be completely deleted.

Note: Since your chat history is stored on your device, we cannot retrieve your previous messages.


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How do I hard reset my Samsung Galaxy S2?
I have forgotten my password. I have seen some answers to similar questions, but they are all the same. I have tried these, but it always asks me for my password, which is the reason I can't get into my phone. This is also the reason I need to reset my phone.

What password? Are you referring to the PIN code? Also, what have you tried? Have you tried doing a Factory Reset via Recovery mode? Please edit your question with more details.

Turn the phone off, or take the battery out. Put the battery back in and hold VOLUME UP and the HOME key, then the POWER. Hold all three until you see it says recovery mode. When you get to the android, press both volume buttons together and it will show the recovery menu. The rest should be self explanatory.


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If I delete my WhatsApp account, will my other devices continue to receive messages?
If I delete my WhatsApp account, will my other devices with my account on keep receiving messages that were sent to me?

I would assume NO, since it has already been deleted. You will most likely get an error in your other devices.


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Can't turn on Tunnel Bear VPN on my Galaxy S4
I used to be able to to turn on Tunnel Bear VPN on my Galaxy S4. But now, whenever I get the prompt that says I trust this application, it won't let me select the check box. So, I can't connect.

Did you tried clearing the cache and the data stored by the Tunnel bear application?? I would say try going to the settings>application manager>Tap over the tunnel bear app>Clear the Cache and the data stored.

Figured it out: I had a screen filter on, and for some reason, this was blocking me from hitting accept.

"for some reason" = security. Malicious apps could use a "screen filter" to overlay something on a button you otherwise would not wish to press (e.g. switching off a VPN so they could re-direct you elsewhere). Hence: Overlay active = buttons disabled. So yes, if you had a screen-filter running, this was the most likely cause :) (no critics to your answer, just shipping some explanation ;)


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Galaxy S4 Battery Drain
I recently got an S4, and the battery drain is huge. I'm not even using it with a SIM card yet because it is that bad.
Over 10 hours, Phone idle used 36%,  and time on was 10 hours 29mins. The screen used 23% at 9mins 20s.
Any idea how to make this battery last longer?

There are some apps that can diagnose your problem and may help fix it. Check the play store.

Is it a new one or used? I think battery life time is over. If the handset is new, get it replaced under warranty.

Its a used phone just over a year old. I tested the battery on a work colleagues phone and it held a charge fine.

Does your phone get hot very often?

Occasionally it would get very hot yes.

Is Data always on? How old is the phone? Do you always charge with Mobile Data on? One of my friends had his S4's battery die(battery became fat and stopped fitting in the back). I think it's best to go to a service center and verify if the battery is past its lifel

It's your apps and services running in the background. Try to kill as much proccesses as you can. I used to put different apps in pause mode just by hitting home button, and I noticed the battery draining like crazy.
I also killed lots of services in App Manager (All proccess tab). I found lots of useless services draining my CPU and battery. Try that.


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How do I install CyanogenMod on Sony Xperia Z1 Compact?
I have rooted my compact device, but I'm not able to use ROM Manager because the app says my device isn't supported. I am trying to download CyanogenMod on my Z1 Compact. Since ROM Manager doesn't work, how do I install CM?

Follow the instructions in the official CyanogenMod wiki for Sony Xperia Z1 Compact.


text:
Will Xiaomi Mi band tracker work with Android 4.3?
Will the new Xiaomi Mi band (fitness tracker) work with Android 4.3? I know it says that it works with 4.4, but I also saw somewhere they said it won't work with 4.2.

It is compatible with Xiaomi Redmi 1S Android 4.3. Source.

Yes. it is compatible and I'm using with my Redmi 1S.

I didn't ask a question! I'm saying that I'm using the mi band with my Redmi 1S mobile which is running Android 4.3.


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Deactivate Viber account on different device
As I lost the access code that Viber sent to me, I cannot sign in my Viber account. I signed in on another device. Now, I want to deactivate the account, so that the device holder cannot get my messages and conversations.

Refer to Viber's official guide on how to Deactivate your Viber account (Mobile):

Open Viber
Enter the More Options menu
Select Settings
Select Privacy
Select Deactivate Account

Deactivation can only take place within the application. If you have
  uninstalled Viber and would like to deactivate your account, you will
  need to re-install Viber in order to do so.


text:
How to prevent an app from being uninstalled?
Is there any permission or method to prevent an app from being uninstalled even after factory reset like system app that does not get uninstalled?

I don't think you can do this.

only way is to make it a system app for which you need root

how to make it a system app?

You will have to root your device and move the app using any application to the system folder. This will enable your app to be on device even after you have formatted your device.
Here is the link of application which provides this administrative feature:
/system/app mover ★ ROOT ★
This app moves apps from and to the /system/app folder, making them a system app or a user app. System apps can get more priviledges, so some apps get more functionality when installed as a system app.
On the other hand, system apps can not be uninstalled. So this app can also be used to convert system apps to normal user apps by moving them from the /system/app directory to /data/app directory.
WARNING: Uninstalling important system apps might result in a unusable device! Use this function at your own risk and only if you know what you're doing! Make a NANDroid backup first! I won't give any kind of support if something goes wrong - don't install this app if you're not okay with that.

Thanks that really worked. But What If user factory reset it? will that moved app get uninstalled?

Refer to http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/100996/can-i-safely-do-a-factory-reset-without-losing-root


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I accidentally disabled a game app, and want to enable it again
I have an app called Episode Choose Your Story. Every time I open it, it closes. I've tried unistalling and reinstalling it, but it's not working. I think it's disabled. How do I get it to work again?

No, it is not disabled, that's for sure. Only system apps can be disabled. User apps need root access to be disabled (freeze). Besides, you can't open a disabled app like the way you mentioned. There must be an issue with the app causing it to be closed. Contact its developer in that case.

Do you get Unfortunately this app has stopped working message? Or does the app closes without any messages? Are you using and Launcher applications?

Was this app working before you uninstalled it? I just wanna make sure that your phone meets the requirements to run the app properly.

Sometimes when app gets updated, its hardware requirement, like more requirement of ram or better graphics, increaces which cause app to crash like you mentioned.


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Is there a way for Tasker to notify me when a background app is using the voice recorder or the camera?
Is there a way for Tasker to notify me when a background app is using the voice recorder or the camera?
I'm trying to find out which app is accessing the voice recorder in the background. Sometimes when I use the video recorder, I get a message saying the voice recorder is being used by another app.

Trying to find out which app is accessing the voice recorder in the background. Sometimes when I go to use the video recorder, I get a message saying the voice recorder is being used by another app.

Are you concerned about your privacy? If so then I have a solution to prevent apps from accessing those features and will provide an answer for you.

I'll give you a bigger hint, though it requires a rooted Android. The system service media.camera would show the PID of the process currently using the camera (front/rear individually). The service media.player would give you the PID of the process currently recording voice from microphone and saving it into a file. It doesn't seem to mention a process if the latter is not saving the input in a file. I may be wrong though. media_router may also come handy. All of them can be accessed using dumpsys command. E.g. dumpsys media.camera.

Tasker cannot interact with background apps, and thus cannot detect if a background app is active or using the voice recorder. What Tasker can do, via Tasker Process Running (KC) is detect what processes, including apps, are running. if you store this data in some way whenever the error appears, you can look for correlations between running processes and the error.
Note: Have you Googled around to see if your error is common with your device, app, or OS version?


text:
Why does my Samsung Galaxy S lose data for some applications?
I am very happy with my Galaxy S, which I have had for about a year now. Recently I noticed that some of the installed applications seem to lose data. Because I do not know the file system nor the inner working of an Android device, I will give the specific apps in the hope that someone recognizes this or at least can tell me something to try.

The first program I noticed was Friend Caster. This is a (very good) Facebook client which worked fine for some weeks. But now I have to, at least once a day, re-enter my user ID and password. The technical staff helped with some things to try (related to the Facebook integration), but nothing helps.

The second program I noticed was Business Calendar Free. Every once in a while (and I really can't put my finger on why) this program starts up as if it is just installed - i.e. it produces the start help screen, and I lose the settings I chose (f.i. the chosen colours for Saturday and Sunday). Although the installed and active calendars are kept. Also, the widgets of this program, stop updating themselves, which is rather useless for a calendar widget, of course :)

I have lots of other programs installed, and all of those seem to work correctly. None of them has an obvious function which could cause this.
Samsung Galaxy S - GT-I9000 - Firmware 2.2.1 - Kernel 2.6.32.9 -  phone is not rooted
The problem can be specific to those two programs, of course, so I also installed both of them on my son's Galaxy S, on my wife's LG, and on my Archos 101 tablet. None of these phones present the same problem.
UPDATE
I have upgraded my Android version to version 2.3.3, but this has not solved the problem.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
UPDATE 2
I received the following answer from the nice guys from the Business Calendar support. Can anybody verify this (or knows a solution to the problem):

This is a well known problem on some Samsung devices, since the update of Android version 2.2.1. The settings of some apps are not saved permanently. Once this problem occured, this will happen again and again.
As the problem seems to be caused by a bug in Samsung's version of the Android OS I am afraid to say that we can't do anything against it. We hope that Samsung is about to fix the reason of this in the future.
Maybe you can contact the Samsung support, that they hopefully accelerate working on that issue.
So unfortunately your device is affected by this problem. Some people
told us that a factory reset helps them out of this really annoying
problem, but I won't guarantee for anything. That's up to you.

Is there no 2.3 update for you (carrier branded ?) Galaxy S?

I think there is, yes. I will install it and report back.

Hmm, do you install any of this stuff on an SD card?

@Chance AFAIK Samsung Galaxy S stil has a problem with SD cards in so far that you cannot move applications to the SD card (although programs can use it for writing data). Upgrading my Galaxy from 2.1 to 2.2 to 2.3 did not solve this problem (and I don't want to root my phone to solve it myself - another question here on this forum explains how). Maybe that can be the problem , although my son who also has a Galaxy S does not have this problem. Problem is, I don't know where to start looking for a solution.

It may actually be a Samsung problem.  Here's a similar problem report (app on Samsung becomes forgetful) with DropBox: http://forums.dropbox.com/topic.php?id=37207
The DropBox folks claim they fixed it (though perhaps they just worked around it).  I couldn't find any details, so it may not be the same underlying mechanism as the apps you're having problems with.
Assuming the apps in question store the login data in an sqlite database internally, here's a SO question about a similar problem:
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/5886019/android-application-samsung-galaxy-tab-2-2-does-not-sometimes-write-to-the.  Sadly, it is currently unanswered.
The Samsung developer website does not have any mention of sqlite or persistence problems that I could find.  (But there isn't a whole lot there.)

I can't answer why this is happening to your Galaxy S. Mine works just fine and I'm also able to transfer apps to the SD. But here is how I would approach the problem:

Look in the system log, either via adb or an app. Maybe there is a hint about what's going on.
Try installing a custom rom. I have heard that cyanogen mod has pretty good support for the SGS. This will likely also change the filesystem to ext3/4.

All in all it sounds like and hardware problem of the flash storage. The system log will maybe reveal some unreadable sectors.


text:
How to disable creation of multiple users option completely?
I'm looking to disable the option for creating more than one user on my Pixel 6a phone (running Calyx OS).
The standard way to do it seems to be this. However, this requires TWRP which is not available for Pixel 6a. Alternately, The BuildProp editor app that they recommend is no longer available on the Play Store.
Is there a way around these limitations?

On recent systems editing a file like /system/build.prop on main/system partition doesn't work anymore. Using magisk and modules it is possible to let the system load different properties. See e.g. https://github.com/Magisk-Modules-Repo/MagiskHidePropsConf

You can try this module Disables the multiple users feature in Android.  I never needed to so haven't used it

@beeshyams this link doesn't have a readme so I'm not sure what it does. I don't have the technical know how to parse a script that deals with android backend

I just tried it , it works on stock ROM . From settings tapping Add user or profile or add guest does not act. Nothing happens unlike before when you could create a user. It works on stock . With your ROM, only you can confirm

I just tried this, after I boot into recovery mode and try the command adb pull /system/build.prop as per the instructions, I get an error adb: error: failed to get feature set: no devices/emulators found. So I guess the adb is not detected?

Recovery mode is quite different from TWRP mode which is like a scaled down OS. Method meant for TWRP mode will not work for recovery mode//Also read the first comment made by @Robert //Lastly, I told you the Magisk module works on your model. Trying that on your ROM is the easiest way IMO //It's good to experiment but you should know the difference between TWRP and stock recovery

thanks for that advice. I will try this out. I'm just a bit vary of doing something I don't understand

I'm a little late to the party, but this is one of the first results on Google so hopefully this will still help someone.
The commonality of all methods disabling multiple users is that they involve editing the build.prop file, where the setting allowing multiple users for Android is stored. As far as I can tell, doing this always requires a rooted phone.
As for specifically how to achieve this, downloading an app might work, but I had difficulty finding a good app to do that. A Magisk module could also work, but this one did not work when I tried it on Android 11 with Magisk V27, and this other one posted in the comments is a dead link. You can also try to pull the build.prop file and manually edit it. But the OP had some trouble with it, and it isn't a particularly convenient method even if it were to work.
In the end, the simplest method also turned out to be the one that worked for me. With root enabled through Magisk, open terminal on your computer:
adb shell
su
setprop fw.max_users 1
setprop fw.show_multiuserui 0

The first setprop disables having more than one user, and the second removes the option from being displayed in settings.


text:
How do I ensure a few specific apps are always running? If not, launch each application
I am looking for an app or a way to ensure specific apps are always running in the background/foreground all the time. The apps in question do run as a foreground service. If they are stopped for any reason, they will be started again by the app or process.
Does the app called "Tasker" have a capability like this?

Android imposes background limitations on apps. If an app needs to run in background, it should run a foreground service. See Why do apps run in background on Android?

The apps I'm going to run do run as foreground service.

If the device is for business/corporate use you may want to look into Mobile Device Management (MDM) / Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM), see: https://www.android.com/enterprise/management/ From what I understand you can either run the device in kiosk mode or 'white list' apps from battery optimizations

After searching for a while I was not able to find the exact solution to do what I wanted. So, I built the following Keep Alive app to select apps that I wish to periodically be checked and run again if they were not recently used.
Guide on how to use:

Install APK
Approve all required permissions
Select apps you want to be restarted
[OPTINAL] Configure app on how often to check and re-start apps
Done ✅

Checkout the project at https://github.com/hossain-khan/android-keep-alive for additional details - The installable Android APK file should in the the releases section.

Does your app allow turning any app into an always running app?  If so, can you provide a link?  Thanks.

Yes, that is the intention. Making sure the apps I want always runs, in case app was killed by OS due to memory constraint or just battery savings.
I built the app for myself with hard-coded app-ids. Google Play will not accept app's like these due to many restrictions added in recent APIs.
If you have background in developing android apps, I can share the source code.

Or, if there were enough need, I could build UI that allows each user to configure which app they want always running. I need some time to do that. ^_^

It sounds like you've created something incredibly useful Hossain!  If you can build that UI that allows the user to specify which app(s) they want to always keep running, I think it will be a valuable contribution to F-Droid (https://f-droid.org).  I'm about 99% F-Droid will welcome such an app, as will other open source repos that work with F-Droid.  @Izzy is very knowledgeable about F-Droid and maintains a popular open source repo, so I'll ping him to see what he thinks...

Thanks, I am looking into it. For me, I needed this to keep Google Photos and File Sync app running so that photos taken from different device is synced and uploaded via Photos app all the time. I will share the app as soon as the UI allows it to be configured.

Good idea indeed.

All right, finally, I got it  - took a while to refactor hard coded stuff I needed and build a decent UI/UX to input those configurations. I have updated the answer to point to the GitHub project page that has the APK. Feel free to try if you needed similar solution.

Edit application permissions to include background & foreground activity
Unrestrict data usage
Exclude from battery optimization
Exclude from game-mode optimization
If applicable and/or desired, exclude from Do Not Disturb, etc
Lock the process (through Recent Apps screen)
Set up automation to relaunch program in the event of unintended closure (e.g., via Tasker, Macrodroid, etc.)


text:
Notification bar key-binding?
I have a bluetooth keyboard that I've set up in such a way that I can essentially use every function on my phone using just they keyboard, with home and menu and arrow keys and such. The only major thing I still can't do is look at my notifications! I have to reach up to pull the bar down, and I can't find a key binding to just pull the notification bar down. Does anyone know of one?
In other words, is there a command in the format:
key ###    NOTIFICATION_PULL          WAKE_DROPPED
or does someone know of another way I could accomplish this?

A workaround at least while in the main launcher home screen is to press MENU and then NOTIFICATIONS.
Else get HelloStatusBar and assign it to a shortcut key. You can also try Status bar Expander which uses a long-press on the menu key to drop the bar wherever you are.
Naturally, YMMV as certain devices don't support these apps.

unfortunately, ADW launcher doesn't have that option, and Status bar Expander works with a long press of the search button, which I like to use for Voice Search :/ Trying HelloStatusBar now though!

and now I'm getting Error Processing Purchase on HelloStatusBar :(

Status Bar Expander is a little classier, and the app acts the same as HelloStatusBar in that I can map it to a key-combo shortcut. Two buttons rather than one, but better than none! Thanks @Sparx !!

In Android 6 (aka Android M and Android Marshmallow), Win+N works.

Working all the way to Android 12, you rock big boss


text:
su (sudo) command not found Galaxy S Vibrant
I was wondering if any of you has seen this behavior:
I have an unrooted Galaxy S Vibrant and I was trying to root it permanently with z4root, unsuccessfully. While I try to do it permantly it seems to do it, but when I try to run Titanium Backup or any app that requires root permissions, it won't gain privileges. So, I installed a terminal app, and when I tried to run the su command it displays a command not found error.
My question is, what is missing from the OS? Any Idea? I know that you must have to be root in order to run certains commands but in that case it should display another error message?

It would seem that your Vibrant is not rooted; you said "I try to doi permantly it seems to do it" -- what exactly does it do?  If it's any help, I rooted my Vibrant by flashing the SuperUser package straight up.  You can also flash a kernel that roots.  Much better than z4root IMO.

It stays on the blue window with the 'adquiring root blah bla' message... If you can point how to do that flash I'll sure give it a try... Thanks

Download this to the root of your SD card, name it update.zip, reboot into recovery and flash it ("Install packages" or similar).

@MatthewRead I did what you pointed me and it gives me the message E:failed to verify whole-file signature Installation aborted... Any idea? Thanks

Oh, you might have "3E recovery".  You'd need to Odin to something with 2E recovery.  If you're stock 2.2 then you'll probably want Eugene's JK2 Froyo (not sure where to get it reliably anymore) which just has 2E recovery and minor tweaks from stock.  If you want to move to something else after that I recommend Bionix Nextgen V1.

The SU binaries are not included with the original distribution of Android, because they are not used at all by any stock system functions. Obviously, there are those of us that like to be able to do those things ;) Most rooting processes take care of this, but some leave it out. Hence the file @Matthew Read linked to should take care of your problem, if you follow the process he outlined :)
If you'd like to read more about it, you can visit the Superuser website and find more downloads there, although the link posted supports Eclair, Froyo, Gingerbread, Honeycomb and Ice Cream Sandwich. So it should cover you :)


text:
Getting "operation not permitted" error when trying to symlink a directory
After installing a custom ROM (Onecosmic's ICS 4.0.3 rc1) on my Samsung I9000 Galaxy S, the external_sd symlink is broken. So, I wanted to get this symlink back. I used the following code in Terminal Emulator (yes, I am rooted with SuperUser):
su (superuser asked for rights, allowed)
cd ./mnt/sdcard
ln -s ./mnt/emmc external_sd

But I got the following error:

Operation not permitted.

How can I create the symlink now?

external_sd is a mount point, not a symlink (hence it's a folder).  You'd need to change how the ROM mounts it to go there instead of /mnt/emmc.

@Matthew Read: So, how would I go about doing that?

I've never even heard of that ROM, so I wouldn't know where to begin.

Answered here: How to create a shortcut to some file in another folder?

What's the partition format of the SD card? FAT does not supports symlinks, although I believe it should be possible to create a symlink in ext3 that points to a FAT directory.
Also, there are operations that even root are not allowed to do, such as writing to a read-only drive or writable drives that are mounted read-only. What's the output of 'mount' command?
Also, your command looks fishy; try using absolute path (i.e. do not prepend the path with ./, instead prepend with /):
$ su
# ln -s /mnt/emmc /mnt/sdcard/external_sd

mount says both sdcard and emmc are vfat. And obviously, the main storage is read/write. Are there any options for me? How could there be a symlink in the beginning? Or is that coded in the software? Because during the upgrade to the new rom, nothing was formatted.

Btw, yes I did try to use your command, gave same output. Oh and yes the external_sd folder is deleted (to prevent problems with overwriting (read that at least in bash symlink doesn't overwrite))


text:
Termux Running easyrsa as `sudo -u root` gives me No such file or directory
I'm trying to run a sh script (easyrsa) while being in sudo -u root environment.
sudo -u root sh /data/data/com.termux/files/home/openvpn/easy-rsa/easyrsa3/easyrsa

This gives me an error telling me that OpenSSL is not present (I assume because I'm running it in a different environment)
And when I try
sudo -u root /data/data/com.termux/files/home/openvpn/easy-rsa/easyrsa3/easyrsa

It gives me "No such file or directory".
I tried every possible combination of commands but just can't seem to get it right.
The main issue is I'm trying to run easyrsa from a web dashboard for generating certificates, and this dashboard is running as sudo -u root and for some strange reason, it just can't find the files in termux home.
/data/data/com.termux/files/home/openvpn/easy-rsa/easyrsa3/easyrsa
is my location of the easyrsa shell file

Which OpenSSL packages have you installed in your Termux environment?

@Robert OpenSSL 3.3.2 3 Sep 2024 (Library: OpenSSL 3.3.2 3 Sep 2024)
The issue is the different environment, No matter what i do i just cant generate while being in sudo -u root, After several tries trying to run it in the sudo -u root env
Easy-RSA error:
Writing 'copy_exts' to SSL config temp-file failed
This only happens if ran in sudo -u root, being a normal user or just with sudo works just fine but i need to run it within this environment due to my web dashboard

I solved the problem by setting the env PATH manually in the command and also setting the pki directory manually in the command because even if i set it in the vars file it's not recognizing the vars file itself,
env PATH=/data/data/com.termux/files/usr/bin sh /data/data/com.termux/files/home/openvpn/easy-rsa/easyrsa3/easyrsa --pki=/data/data/com.termux/files/home/openvpn/easy-rsa/easyrsa3/pki


text:
"device isn't compatible with this item" - why?
I would like to download and install this app on my Samsung Continuum SCH-I400 running Android 2.2.2 but instead of a download button, the Market displays an error message that reads:

Your device isn't compatible with this item.

I checked the minimum requirement for this app and it says Android 2.2. Why would Android Market flag it as incompatible with my phone?
Is there a way to get from the Android Market more details about this incompatibility?
What do I need to add or change in my Samsung Continuum SCH-I400 to make it compatible?

Related/similar: Why are some Apps on the market be incompatible with my device?

@eldarerathis Thanks for that link. The answer there, however, doesn't help my particular case at all. I am still clueless as to what I need to change in my phone to make it compatible with that app. +1.

You probably can't change anything to make it compatible, short of making the Market think it's another type of phone.

@Al Everett Thanks. I can't understand why the Market is so mysterious about this. That's very disappointing. +1.

You could always contact the app author directly. There's an email address associated with every app and any developers I've ever contacted have been very responsive. It's entirely possible that the dev screwed up the definition of the app.

I just downloaded this same exact app from CNET and it works like a charm. So my device is perfectly compatible with this app. It looks like a bug in the Android Market.


text:
"Install update to keep device running smoothly" dialog comes but when try to install, it stuck at installing update
On my Android phone, I'm getting the below dialog but when I try to install an update, it is stuck.

Please note that I have 20.83GB of free space in the Internal storage. I tried when the battery is 100% charged and also tried on "Mobile Data" as well as "WiFi" connection.
Anything else I can try? Also, I don't want to Factory Reset the phone.
More info about the device:

LAVA Z6
Android version 11
Build number: LAVA_LMX06_SW_V12_HW_V1.0_20220316

I fixed it by clearing system cache partition using the recovery. So no need to factory reset and not loss any data!
After wiping system cache partition, we need to download the updates again. Then it will install nicely.


text:
What's this icon that looks like a frequency wave with a slash through it on my Motorola One 5G Ace (T-Mobile)?
I have a newer Motorola One 5G Ace, provider is T-Mobile.  I've traveled away from home, still in the US though, and have a strange icon (next to my battery indication) that doesn't go away.  It looks like a frequency band wave, (squiggly up and down and across) with a bar through it.  I would describe it as a "No frequency" icon.

I can't find anything about it, or how it might be indicative of a phone signal problem.  It popped up suddenly and now my camera doesn't work, nor does any voice features (dictation into Google or notes).  Rebooting doesn't take it way.
Update:  I'm back at home and still have the icon and camera/dictation problem so it's not something to do with roaming or being away from T-Mobile's network.

The strikethrough frequency wave notification icon indicates sensors off. It can be used to disable sensors, including the camera and microphone.

When in airplane mode, devices can still access some sensors to enable specific functionality, such as screen rotation and taking pictures. Android 10 provides a developer options setting to shut off all sensors in a device. This feature [...] gives users a way to control the sensors in their device.
When a developer or user enables Sensors off in developer options (Settings > System > Developer options > Quick settings developer tiles), a new tile appears in the quick settings tray. They can use the tile to prevent apps from accessing the camera, microphone, and all sensors managed by the SensorManager class.

(Italic emphasized added)


text:
Is there a way to change the on-screen position of the 'Return' button on my Archos 101?
I have bought an Archos 101 tablet.
It doesn't have hard buttons, but in stead, on screen buttons for 'Return', 'Home', 'Menu' and 'Help'.
If I hold the tablet in an horizontal position (landscape mode), the 4 four buttons are displayed at the right edge of the screen, with the 'Return' button at the bottom ( and the 3 other buttons on top of 'Return' in the order given above.
So I have to use my right hand to press the 'Return' button. Being right handed, this is a natural place for the 'Return' button to be situated (lower right corner of the screen)T - after all, it's the button you use the most.
However, when I hold the tablet in a vertical position (portrait mode), the 4 buttons are displayed at the bottom of the screen, in exact the same order : from left to right 'Return', 'Home', 'Menu' and 'Help'.
This now means that I have to use my LEFT hand to press the 'Return' button.

I would like to still use my right hand to press the 'Return' key.

Therefore my question: is it possible to change the order of the 4 on screen buttons on an Archos 101 tablet ?

in the google market there is an app to change the archos buttons and even add some. its named archos buttons afaik. but your device has to be rooted. havent tested it though.

This answer had a down vote, which I don't understand (no explanation was given by the down voter - which I find rude - especially for down votes on answers of new forum members). The program actually exists in the market and it does what I am asking for. Problem is: I don't want to root my device. I upvoted this anwswer since I did not explicitly stated that I did not want to root my device.

Don't think its possible without root. Which one of the 101 tablet do you have? There are one with android 2.2 and one with Honeycomb...

As the link is missing: you probably mean Buttons for RW Rooted Archos?

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/


text:
Google Play insufficient space error
I am using RED MI Note.
All my applications are installed in internal storage.
I have 2GB of space available in internal device.
But when i try to install Any.do and Greenify I am getting error that
"Not Enough Space Available"

I tried Many ways:

Uninstall lots of apps (Cleared almost 1 GB)
Uninstalled Play Store and Re-installed
Cleared Cache of Play Services.
Uninstalled Play Services.
Cleared Data of Play Store.
Install older version of play store.
Cleared App cache of all apps.
Downloaded apk and then installed (not worked)

9.Installed older version of apps that work earlier (not worked)

I am searching for this solution from several days. I tried almost every Possible solution on net.
I am asking it here so that i can get the solution.
NOTE I even tried complete factory reset. But It also doesn't work

NOTE I even tried complete factory reset. But It also doesn;' work

I assume you've already checked with our insufficient-memory tag-wiki – and tried above after a factory-reset without installing anything else before. There was a similar issue here before (see: False “low on space” (internal storage) warning on HTC Incredible), culprit was never found (to my knowledge at least). Last resort: contact manufacturer, see if they have a firmware upgrade or replace the board (might be faulty chips giving wrong reports).

yes thats the only way i can resolve this

I don't know whether this works for some one or not.
I installed Lucky Patcher in my Phone.
And immediately it showed me warning that
 unused file Anydo.odex

and after then I Am able to install all these applications.
Its weird.

I face the same problem on my Galaxy S Advance. I have 0.5GB remaining, but apps won't install.
I have very less reputation, hence I can't comment.
You may try the treatment by the Clean Master app, though I doubt its effectiveness in solving your (OUR) problem.

it can't solve..I tried it...

Did Clean Master solved Your problem ?

I don't know. I remember now, that my problem was that I could not update to the latest version of firefox because of insufficient space. I could not update Firefox, after using Clean Master. But I was able to install some other smaller apps. After 2 days, I uninstalled 1 or 2 apps, then Firefox was able to update.. so there's a lot of confusion. I did not conduct an experiment scientifically.. BTW, you username, Dalvik is cool, with reference to Android ( I hope you know what I mean).

yaa i knw that...their is story behind the name...btw me name is RAHUL

Do you use Google Music? Try going into the Music app's settings and clearing all the cached songs. I had a similar issue and this fixed it for me since I had a couple of GBs of songs cached.

@Hassaan I dont use google music app..and I also used and run app cache cleaner... I also done factory reset..but this also can't help me out

@IshaanDube Dalvik already wrote not even a factory-reset solved the issue (comment on the question, before you answered). So I doubt any "cleaning app" would. From context and experience, I rather suspect an OS or hardware error (some API/chip reports wrong values), which would be for the manufacturer to solve (board replacement, ROM upgrade).


text:
How can I disable auto-dimming of the screen?
What I'd like to see:

When idling, the screen turns off after the configured amount of time.

What I see:

When I don't do anything, the screen dims a bit after ~23 seconds, then at 30 seconds it turns off as expected.

I have no idea why this dimming short before the screen timeout happens and where to disable it.
My settings:

Automatic Brightness disabled, brightness set to the lowest level.
Screen time-out at 30 seconds.
Auto adjust screen power disabled.
Timeout for lock screen is zero (Immediately).
Use Power saving mode is enabled (it sets the screen brightness to 10% at less than 20% battery power left). Disabling it had no effect.

This happens with Android 2.3.6 (no idea if it worked before the update).

It's to alert you that the screen's about to turn off.  It's more useful when your timeout is longer than 30 seconds, certainly.  I would assume you'd need a custom kernel or at least to root and edit some config files in order to prevent this, I don't believe there's anything in Settings for it.

I suggest the Screen On app. I use it when I don't want the screen to dim or turn off, because I want to be able to instantly pause the playback on my audiobook without having to first hit the power button,then swiping the screen.
When you want it to  revert to a more power-saving mode, you can turn the app off again from the notification bar. It isn't customizable to allow it to dim after a specified time, but it will keep it from dimming at all. Better than nothing!

You should read again the question.


text:
Get root access without going through replacing things?
I'm totally new to rooting and I would like to simply have root access to my phone. I don't want to do any customization whatsoever to the insides of it. Is this doable? I mean like, in terms of a PC, I want to simply give my limited user account an administrative privilege.
Sorry if this seems weird and all but I'm unfamiliar with these grounds.
If it makes answering a little bit easier, my phone is an Xperia Active and here's the information I can find inside Settings > About.

For example, I only want to change the default media sounds stored inside the internal memory. Things like that.

Follow the guide in this thread to root your device. Xperia Rooting Tool - xda-developers
Rooting would install a Superuser app for you which will monitor apps which require root access. You can then install a app like Root Explporer to access your device's internal memory, just press Allow when it asks for root access.
I believe you can find system media files inside the path /system/media/audio/, although it may change with devices or firmware versions. And don't forget to click on R/W on top in Root Explorer when you are deleting or replacing files to enable Read/Write Mode.

You can't do this.
You give administrative privilege to limited user accounts in Windows when you have access to atleast one Administrator account. Think about the situation when you are on others PC with guest account. Can you do anything which requires administrative privilege on that PC? The same type of situation blocks us in Android.
So, to get administrative (root) access in Android (Linux), we need to alter and replace many things.


text:
What is cleared when I restart my phone?
I haven't restart my phone since the day I got it however decided I would give it a go since my contacts seem to disappear intermittently. Anyhoo, it prompted me that if I restarted my phone anything stored in memory would be cleared. How do I find out what is stored in memory and what is being cleared?

What's your device? I restart device once a day at-least, due to development purposes or other reasons also. Can you provide a screenshot of the prompt you got? because I have never seen this prompt on any android device.

It depends on the application.  All applications are notified when the phone is shutting down (and also when said apps move to the background) and can choose to save state at that time.  As the answer below states, some sorts of apps, like games, choose not to save state.

@Sameer Sharma - Not sure how I can provide a screenshot. Any suggestions? I have a HTC Evo 3D running version 2.3.4 of Android.

It isn't useful when users down vote a question without noting the reason. If I know the reason I could amend the question.

Things that would be cleared are anything that isn't saved, open applications, etc.  For example, if you were playing a game, and just pressed the home key the game would go to the background and be paused.  When you restart your phone, you will lose that game (up until the last point it saved).
Other things that you leave half finished, such as an unwritten email might get lost, but even that is unlikely because I notice Android pretty much makes sure I never lose anything.
It's not a bad idea to restart your device once in a while, but you really do not have to worry about losing anything.  It's safe.

Is there a way to tell which applications are open and do not save their contents saved?

@PeanutsMonkey On some devices you can hold the Home button and click Task Manager to see the running processes.  Otherwise check under Settings -> Applications.

@ Matthew Read - Thanks but that doesn't tell me that the contents of the application are not yet saved.


text:
Can Sensors Off (developer options) be controlled via ADB?
Can Sensors Off (developer options) introduced in Android 10 be controlled via ADB?

Haven't got it from AOSP sources yet: Sensors Off | Android Open Source Project

Try calling setSensorPrivacy. Read here how to do this.

Ohh, I barely got there, @irfan-latif.
I used the service list command to get the existing list. Then when I call it with the command service call sensor_privacy 4 i32 1, it outputs the parcel result, as in the link below.
It seems, there is also something that must be given a value for it to run. However, I don't know how.
Photos:

.
.

Btw, specifically my device is running Android 12L, and I'm new to this. My B Markdown.

You are calling the wrong method. For Android 12 the code should be 7, not 4.

One number left below..
It's on 8th method. Now, it works!
Photos: service call sensor_privacy 8.
Take your point by answering. Thanks.

First of all, thanks to @irfan-latif for providing the right answer to this question in the comments column. But apparently, this will be allowed. So, I will help complete the answer.
On Android 10:
service call sensor_privacy 4 i32 1

service call sensor_privacy 4 i32 0

On Android 11:
service call sensor_privacy 4 i32 1

service call sensor_privacy 4 i32 0

On Android 12:
service call sensor_privacy 8 i32 1

service call sensor_privacy 8 i32 0

On Android 12L:
service call sensor_privacy 8 i32 1

service call sensor_privacy 8 i32 0

On Android 13:
service call sensor_privacy 9 i32 1

service call sensor_privacy 9 i32 0

Else, the above command does not produce anything, you can search for ISensorPrivacyManager Interface in Android Code Search according to the revised version of your Android device[2] (Hint: the number on the back is the revision number.). Then, change the sequence number of the Method in which setSensorPrivacy() resides.
[2]: getprop | grep ro.vendor_dlkm.build.id

The specific error I get is Result: Parcel(00000000    '....') Oneplus 5T, LineageOS 18.1 / Android 11. Both service call sensor_privacy 4 i32 1 and [...] 0 of course.

Yeah.. indeed the output of the both commands is Result: Parcel(00000000 '....'), and check the Sensors Off icon on the notification bar.
Else, you need to check the ISensorPrivacyManager Interface on your phone's Android version/revision to Android Code Search, or you can contact the developer of the ROM concerned for help. Because, this command is the basis of AOSP.


text:
Getting permissions for new apps and apps updates on Google Play Store
That's already been discussed on Hacker News, however the question remains:

How can you learn the permissions required by a new app without installing it?
How can you learn the new permissions required by an app update again without installing it?

Google has hidden app permissions both from the Google Play app and the Google Play website in the middle of May 2022 and replaced it with pretty inane "Data Safety". No one has paid attention, I've even approached at least three news outlets including Android Police, 9to5 Google, and Ars Technica - no one cared. It's a crazy serious issue and I'm appalled I'm the only person among two billion Android users who've noticed the abrupt change.
If [an] APK [file] is available on the Internet it is a solved issue, however it's often not the case, especially for paid apps.

Possible dupe: How to find app permissions in the new Google Play Store web version? (no proper answers yet. karthik's comment mentioned that the permissions are still visible from the Play Store app and I personally have confirmed it, while Firelord's comment is a potential alternative workaround)

Nothing is visible in my app - it mirrors what's seen on the play website.
AppBrain: https://www.appbrain.com/app/diablo-immortal/com.blizzard.diablo.immortal -> No permissions found. Various APK explorers? I've said exactly why it can't work for me.

Re: Play Store app, could you double-check by tapping the "About this app/game" header and then scroll down to the bottom for "App permissions"? I couldn't check for Diablo Immortal because it's not released yet in my country, but permissions are still shown for other games/apps from there. Otherwise, perhaps my Play Store app hasn't been updated? (currently v30.6.16-21 [O] [PR] 448548437)

Oh, God, org.mozilla.fenix (Firefox Browser (Nightly for Developers)) -> More Info: Everyone Unrestricted Internet. That's bloody it. Now, once installed -> App Info -> Permissions -> Triple dots at the top -> All Permissions -> a shitton of permissions. Do you actually use Android or use an emulator with some old Play Store app?

Now I'm curious, I'm using a real Pixel 3a on Android 12 and Nexus 5 on Lineage OS 14.1 (Android 7.1). Could you post the Play Store version and screenshots of what is shown on your Play Store app? Because this is what is shown on my current Play Store app: "App permissions" below "More Info", the permissions without installing the app

In the Google Play app version 30.6.16-21 [0] [PR] 448548437 - nothing is visible. https://i.imgur.com/7GRZZcg.png No idea what app version you're using. This is not what I see, it's now completely replaced with useless Data Safety.

ArtemS.Tashkinov A friend of mine has Play Store with same build as @AndrewT. has and he was able to see "App Permissions" too. Perhaps this is region related build variation. It is possible a new build update would remove this category for us too.

My Google Play store is set to the US, I've tried using it while connecting to VPNs from other countries - the result is the same.

@ArtemS.Tashkinov, I encourage you to post the AppBrain site you mentioned as an answer to this question—it’s a way to readily see an app’s permissions without needing to install a special app just to see permissions.

It is possible that Google has not killed or restricted off-the-record APIs which allowed Play Store to get app permissions info back in the day. This API might be what Raccoon and Aurora Store are able to access to still successfully show app permissions for apps without installing them.
Aurora Store
Install it from F-Droid, setup a pseudo account, search your app, scroll down on the app page, tap Permission (worked on v4.1.1).
See example here.
Raccoon APK Downloader
Raccoon is a desktop-only Java app. You need Java runtime installed to run this app. See its user guide for your OS specific setup.
Once it is setup, search your app, click on the app entry, and in the bottom left click on Permission to see Permissions (worked on v4.20.0).

Since July 21, 2022, Google has added back permission details on the Play Store.
In a tweet by the official Android Developers account (@AndroidDev),

Privacy and transparency are core values in the Android community. We heard your feedback that you find the app permissions section in Google Play useful, and we've decided to reinstate it. The app permissions section will be back shortly.

As of September 2022, this has been added back to both web and app versions on the original location:

Web: About this app - Permissions - View details
App: About this app - App permissions - See More


text:
Why are there Yandex apps' APK files inside of my Samsung Galaxy A20s?
My phone is a Samsung Galaxy A20s (the model is SM-A207F/DS). I was using FX File Explorer (without root) to explore the Android filesystem of my phone. If some file was interesting, I would copy it to my storage and check it out.
While searching, I found some APKs like: Yandex Search, ruMail, and Yandex Zen. These apps were never installed on my phone, and they appear inside the /product/preload directory:

The ruMail and Yandex Zen are in /product/preload/SER/hidden_app
The Yandex Search is in the /product/preload/app/yandex.search directory

Where do these apps come from?

Looks like Yandex and Samsung have been in a partnership since 2011

Some device come with optional pre-installed apps. Those apps can be installed on first start, but they are not always installed (in difference to system apps which come pre-installed). As it is not sure that there is internet connectivity such apps are included into the system firmware.
On first start the apps to-be-installed are selected based on criteria like the country you are living in.
It seems like you have discovered the optional pre-loaded apps that are installed in some countries (e.g. Russia?). But you have never seen them installed you seem to live in a country where those apps are not automatically installed. But the APK files are still present so you were able to find them.


text:
Links don't open in apps in Android 12
My phone is an LG-V60 (model is LG-V600TM). I'm on Android 12.
I've seen this posted many times but every solution seems to refer to things I'm not capable of doing on my phone (or I'm missing it) so I hope you can help.
When I click on a link from any source (I've tried Chrome and Discord), the link always opens in Chrome (my default browser) and not in the apps I have configured to open those links. This functionality used to work so I suspect my phone automatically upgraded to Android 12 and that's where this stopped working.
So for example, if I click on a link that starts with www.reddit.com, I expect it to open in "rif is fun". If I click a link that starts with twitter.com, I expect it to open in Talon. Yet in neither case does this happen.
I've checked my "Opening links" screen in "Default apps" probably 20 times now trying different things and nothing works. I'll put some screenshots below but I think everything is configured correctly.

I saw a post that said I have to verify the links for every app, but if so where do I do that? I tap the links in the "Opening links" page and nothing happens. Some of the screenshots I saw on Android Central for this don't look like my phone.
Is there something I'm missing? Any help is appreciated.

Related: How to disable the "verified links" feature?

Thank you for that, that link mentioned "Open Link With" which is older than "Better Open With" but has the exact functionality that I'm looking for and makes this change more survivable for me.

Google has added a mechanism that prevents Android to open with non-official / third-party apps: Verify Android App Links and Digital Asset Links.
Since Android 12 such verified app links are enforced:

Starting with Android 12, Google now only allows “verified links” to be opened in external apps. Verified links allow app developers to ensure that only their app can handle links from their domain. If a link is non-verified, Android 12 will open it in the default browser, instead of showing you the app selection dialogue. But thankfully there’s an app called Better Open With that lets you get around Android 12’s new link handling behavior. (source)

How app links are verified
Android queries a file named /.well-known/assetlinks.json from each used domain and this file defines which apps are allowed to open links to this domain.
For example the file https://twitter.com/.well-known/assetlinks.json allows only two apps to open links to that domain: com.twitter.android and com.twitter.android.lite (the signing certificate fingerprint is also mentioned).
As Talon is not mentioned here Android ignores it when you open a link to a path some where on https://twitter.com/.
I don't know if it is possible to manually bypass or disable this check system wide or for certain apps.
Regular web links

On Android 12 and higher, clicking a web link (that is not an Android
App Link) always shows content in a web browser. On devices running
previous versions of Android, if your app or other apps installed on a
user's device can also handle the web link, users might not go
directly to the browser. Instead, they'll see a disambiguation dialog to chose between browser and app(s) (source)

I installed the Twitter app and you are correct, it does work and twitter links are opened in it.
This doesn't make a lot of sense to me. I can use an app like Better Open With to get around this but is this truly the expected functionality? This article describes a completely different functionality: https://www.androidcentral.com/android-12-dp3-makes-it-easier-jump-straight-apps-verified-links
To put it another way, what is the point of "Supported Links" then? Why does that functionality exist if not for this purpose?

@CJShrader I found a nice quote that explains why you don't see the app chooser when using Chrome.

Thank you Robert, I've accepted your response as the answer even though it is most definitely not the answer I wanted to hear. Thank you for the detailed explanation.


text:
How to secure personal data on a factory reset tablet with broken microUSB port?
I recently sold a Nexus 7 (1st generation 2012 model) online after performing a factory reset. Today, I learned that factory resetting does not completely erase your data. I am very paranoid about selling this tablet now. I read that the best thing to do is to encrypt your data and then do a factory reset. Am I correct to assume that if I've already done the reset that won't help?
If encryption is still a solution in my case, then I have a further problem: the microUSB port is broken, the device will not charge and is not detected when plugged into my computer. You can't perform the encryption without a fully charged battery, so that no longer seems like an option for me.
Given that I've already sold the tablet and am expected to ship it out on Tuesday, is there anything I can do at this point to assuage my fears of personal data theft?

Related: When selling your phone, what steps should be taken to make sure that all personal data has been removed?

If the battery lasts long enough, you can use a tool to perform a Secure Wipe. As you've already factory-reset the device, one that cares to sanitize free/empty space should suffice, such as Secure Eraser or the free version of iShredder.
What those apps do is overwriting empty space with random patterns (or just zeros, or just ones) – so all a potential "restorer" can find afterwards is garbage.
If your battery gives up inmidst of the process, you've got at least something sanitized – and cannot do anything about the rest anyway. Still better than nothing I'd say, so I'd give it a try.

Thank you, I ran iShredder, leaving me with enough battery to do it a second time (probably won't matter but I have enough battery left, so why not).

Unless you expect the real experts being after you, the second run really shouldn't matter – but as you wrote, doesn't hurt either. Now the effort needed to restore data for sure exceeds the value of what bits might be recoverable (if there are any left at all :)


text:
Accidentally accepted update, how can I abort before it actually installs?
I have been deliberately avoiding the latest Verizon D2G update for a few months now.   It is really annoying that there is no way to make it stop asking me.  But tonight I was tired and my finger slipped and it accidentally accepted instead of delaying 12 more hours.  My phone started to shut down to install but I quickly pulled the battery out.  Now every time the phone boots after about a minute of starting services it apparently remembers it was going to update so it starts shutting down the phone.
I have tried going to updates and manually looking for an update, in the hopes that this would confuse the phone and it would start asking me again if I wanted to update, but in the middle of searching for an update it just suddenly aborted and threw me back to the setting menu, and subsequent attempts just immediately aborted. [edit:I tried this again, this time immediately looking for updates as soon as I could login.  This time it immediately started searching, and continued searching until the auto-shutdown started.] I also tried looking at the processes with a system monitoring app I have but wasn't able to identify a process to kill before it started shutting down - and even if I did I am afraid it might still start updating when I'm not watching later.
Is there any way I can abort the install?  I am afraid to let it actually start installing because I don't know what to expect. Does it offer me a chance to cancel?  If not, I fear I might brick my phone if I pull the battery after it starts to update.
And in case you are wondering, I absolutely will not allow this update because of the risk of the update breaking some obscure feature I depend on.  For another, this is the update that removes the ability to root.  My phone is not rooted, and I really don't have the the time or inclination to root it at the moment (it is another risk I don't want to take) but I won't accept the ability to be removed.
Edit:
The following information is from the adb log:
07-XX XX:31:15.883  1306  1433 I ActivityManager: Start proc com.motorola.Upgrader for broadcast com.motorola.Upgrader/.UpgraderReceiver: pid=2334 uid=1000 gids={3002, 3001, 3003, 1015, 2001, 1007}^M
07-Xx XX:31:15.953  2334  2334 W UpgraderReceiver: !!! INSTALL UPDATE !!!^M
07-XX XX:31:15.961  2334  2334 W RecoverySystem: !!! REBOOTING TO INSTALL /cache/Blur_Version.4.5.608.A956.Verizon.en.US.zip !!!^M
07-Xx XX:31:15.961  2334  2334 I RecoverySystem: in google bootCommand, 23103 disalbed^M
07-XX XX:31:15.961  1306  1340 D ShutdownThread: Notifying thread to start radio shutdown^M

So, it wants to install 4.5.608.A956.Verizon. [update: actually, that can't be right, because that is the version I am already running! ]
Also, the following did not work:
bash-4.1$ ./adb uninstall com.motorola.Upgrader
Failure

bash-4.1$ ./adb shell kill $(./adb shell ps | grep com.motorola.Upgrader | awk '{ print $2 }')
could not kill pid 2379: Operation not permitted

Update:
Well, I am thinking it is looking like maybe the only way to avoid the update is to actually root my phone. :-(

Hmm, the update wound up in /cache? Tricky. If it was on the SD card, I'd say delete the downloaded ZIP. If you were rooted, I'd say the same thing. Have you poked around in the recovery on the phone to see if you can wipe /cache from there?

try 'adb shell' and the 'pm' executable (package manager). It has a 'clear ' and 'disable ' command and others that might be useful for your problem.

Actually, there is a way to stop it asking, an app called Fota Kill. Too late now, maybe -- but if you get the update removed, it might still be interesting for you.

@ce4 looks like clearing and disabling the package also requires root, its giving me permission denied.

Can you not reboot into recovery? and mount the /cache partition and delete the zip from there.

well it's too late i have already wiped the device.  and as expected, trying to following the easy to follow instructions at http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/wiki/Motorola_Droid_2_Global:_Full_Update_Guide  there is already pain, namely that once I run the exploit it no longer can find my device :(

strangely enough, i cannot get adb to root, but i can get a root terminal directly on the device.  so, problem solved, i guess.

you can get root in adb shell, but indirectly by executing 'su' probably. (Must be if you can get root via the console). You must accept the "allow root?" question from the superuser app onscreen though.

Ok, here is how I solved the problem:
I followed the first part of the directions here: http://oldwiki.cyanogenmod.org/wiki/Motorola_Droid_2_Global:_Full_Update_Guide  to wipe the flash and install older version of the Motorola software. (specifically, section 2.1.1)  Then I upgraded to the version that I was running before the update started attempting to run.


text:
How to use application buttons that are under the usual on-screen buttons (Back/Home/Tiled apps)
Many sites show buttons to accept/reject the cookie policy at the bottom of the screen. But on my phone (Xiaomi Note 7, Android 10) this puts them under the on-screen-buttons:

It seems that everything under the faint/thin line at the bottom is out of reach, either nothing happens or the on-screen buttons take precedence (on sites with thicker buttons, I can tap the button above the line)
Is there a way to avoid or mitigate this?

Zoom in the webpage near the navigation bar and than drag the content to the middle of the screen or wherever you are comfortable in accessing it. If you can't zoom in, then enable Force Zoom in your browser settings.  Chrome and Firefox both offer force zoom in their settings. Once enabled, zoom in would work on any site.

Turn on desktop site mode in your browser

How would that solve the problem?

@Firelord As far as my tests go it does, because in that case the site doesn't extend in the on-creen buttons area.

Works OK in the regular browser, but it turns out that my problem is mostly with sites displayed in the Reddit app and there is no such option.


text:
Failed installing Ubuntu using termux-ubuntu
I want to mine sugar on my Android phone.
Can someone help a simple complete script, especially to complete method 1 or 2, whichever works.
METHOD 1
Installed F-Droid and Termux
Commands
pkg install automake clang git vim
press y to continue

clone git https://github.com/decryp2kanon/sugarmaker

When it's done, I enter
$ cd sugarmaker/
-/sugarmaker $ ./autogen.sh

it says
bash:  no such file or directory

METHOD 2
These two methods I tried each of them on both phones.
On method 2, when I get here, it keeps saying error on Huawei Y Pro phone and Huawei P20 Lite.
pkg update
press y to continue

pkg upgrade
press y to continue

pkg install git

pkg install wget
press y to continue

pkg install proot
press y to continue

git clone http://github.com/Neo-oli/termux-ubuntu.get

The problem start here on P20 Lite
-$ cd termux-ubuntu
-/termux-ubuntu $ ./ubuntu.sh

It says decompressing Ubuntu image, but this does not look like a trz archive.
Making start Ubuntu executable. You can now launch Ubuntu with ./start-ubuntu.sh script.
And it shows code 404 like the link to the image is not working also.

The script you are using is a bit old, it is trying to install Ubuntu 19.04 (Disco Dingo) which is a non-LTS version. Therefore support for this version ended in January 2020 and the download image was removed which makes your installer script useless.

Here is the ubuntu.sh, you get an error because the disco image has been removed and the following URL doesn't download anything:
https://partner-images.canonical.com/core/disco/current/ubuntu-disco-core-cloudimg-${archurl}-root.tar.gz

Check the available images from this directory. Edit the ubuntu.sh by adding a valid URL. Here is an example using focal Codename. Replace the following line:
 wget "https://partner-images.canonical.com/core/disco/current/ubuntu-disco-core-cloudimg-${archurl}-root.tar.gz" -O $tarball

with:
wget "https://partner-images.canonical.com/core/focal/current/ubuntu-focal-core-cloudimg-armhf-root.tar.gz"  -O $tarball

or using the archurl variable:
wget "https://partner-images.canonical.com/core/focal/current/ubuntu-focal-core-cloudimg-${archurl}-root.tar.gz"  -O $tarball

Then run your script it should work as expected.


text:
Why does Android make hotspots with a different subnet mask than a regular home router?
For example, we typically get 192.168.1.XXX addresses from a home router, but an Android phone gives out addresses on another 192.XXX which makes it problematic for connecting devices with each other in the same house.
Why does it do that? If it's only for security reasons, can it be reverted to use the home router's subnet?

Which hotspot mode are you talking about? When the phone has "Wi-Fi hotspot" enabled, it is usually not connected to your home Wi-Fi in the first place (...because its Wi-Fi radio is busy acting as the hotspot). Is this the mode you mean?

The private IP address range use by mobile hotspot and your router is of no relevance unless you have a device that has can establish two [Wifi] network connections at the same time.

Note: This answer also applies to Apple iOS and other operating systems, which have hotspot (tethering) capability.
The WiFi or cellular network you connect to, is usually IP wise under the management of that networks DHCP server. It controls who get which IP. If your phone joined that network and would start handing out IPs that are "owned" by that network, you would over time run into an IP conflicts.
To solve this you could "bridge" those two networks, allowing your tethered devices to request an IP from the original DHCP server. But this will often fail, especially in cellular networks, as you will only be entitled to a single IP on that connection.
So for maximum compatibility, operating systems will use NAT when deploying hotspots (tethering). NAT hides the facts that your phone is sharing its connectivity with additional devices, allowing them to access the Internet.

...can it be  reverted to use the home router's subnet?

Technically you could, but those networks would remain separate thanks to NAT. You would end up with two 192.168.1.xxx which could not talk to each other. If you need your devices to talk to each other, your best option is to connect them to the same WiFi network. This will work best with private networks, as many public/Hotel WiFi might prevent this behavior.

Your phone is not connected to your router when the hotspot is enabled. It creates its own network and makes cellular data available over WiFi to devices on that network. Even if changing the IP range to 192.168.1.* would be possible, it wouldn't make a difference, because your router's network and phone hotspot's network are two different networks.


text:
Executing ADB commands while running scrcpy
I am using the program scrcpy in order for me to control my Android phone from my PC.
It all works just fine with showing the Android screen, but I want to open an app from within the scrcpy console box.

I have not seen anything on Github about a feature like this - just the ability to add or remove an app.
Am I overlooking something?

You can open up a new command prompt window and issue whatever adb commands you want. They would work.
You can also put scrcpy in background if you want to use the same command prompt window to do something else there. Head over to Superuser to know more about this.

Although you do need to use the adb.exe thats inside the scrcpy directory to send the commands with. If you do not use that and use another installed adb.exe then it will disconnect scrcpy.

or even more better, delete the adb.exe that comes bundled with scrcpy

The recommended way to handle the ADB problem is creating a system environment variable called ADB which contains the path to the adb.exe to be used (e.g. from an Android ADK installed). Then scrcpy always uses this version and ignores the version that is shipped with scrcpy.


text:
How does Google know whenever I made a login in Android?
Now a time, whenever you make a login or anything using a username or password, Google prompts you to save the password in your primary account.
Unlike earlier, when it was limited to browsers only, but now the prompt comes even when you're logging with an app.
How is Google able to know that it is login and they have to prompt to save password?

Because since Android 8.0 Oreo, Android supports autofill framework natively, and the input fields are considered as account credentials.
Android introduced autofill framework in Android 8.0 Oreo. It allows autofill services (e.g. Google Autofill, password managers, etc.) to save and automatically fill the data on autofill clients (e.g. Android apps) when needed.
To determine the type of the input, developers can rely on the autofill service's heuristics or explicitly give proper hints. One of the common autofill scenarios is account credentials, in which there are hints for:

Username (AUTOFILL_HINT_USERNAME)
Password (AUTOFILL_HINT_PASSWORD)
New username (AUTOFILL_HINT_NEW_USERNAME)
New password (AUTOFILL_HINT_NEW_PASSWORD)

When the autofill service detects these hints, it will prompt the user to save/fill the credentials.

P.S. the autofill service can be changed from the Android Settings by navigating to Settings > System > Language and input > Autofill service, or searching for "autofill".


text:
Can you charge a Galaxy Tab 2 7" with a charger from Galaxy Tab 10.1?
I've already got a charger for the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and I'd like to be able to use it charge both that and a Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7".  It seems to work, but I was wondering if there is any sort of disadvantage to doing that.

Some may charge slower or faster (less amps/volts), but if they are standard usb (5v 500-1000ma) they should work fine.

You only need to make sure that the chargers produce the same about of voltage and current. There shouldn't be any issues with that.

Took a look at both and (in teeny letters) confirmed that both chargers output 5V / 2A.  What threw me off is the US adaptor part of the charger which stated 2.5A.  Also I tried charging the 10.1 on the 7.0 charger and it worked fine.  So yes, they are even interchangeable.

All chargers are not compatible.  Even when they all provide 5V and 2A.  However, between samsung devices, it should be compatible.

In my opinion there is no harm to your device if the charger produce the enough voltage to charge the device. You have to keep in mind that the charger should not be low power producer as your device needed otherwise it will be harmful for that, but if the charger produce the same power or higher then it will be fine for device because if the charger produces high output voltage your device will only take how much it need.


text:
Problem with Google Play services
I accidentally deleted Google Play services, Play store and various other apps through Titanium. I tried reinstalling play store through apk (5.7.6) but each time it either gives me many 'Unfortunately Play store has stopped' messages or it works but shows me an error when I try to download an application. I have lost many other google apps such as Maps, Music etc and I need all of these. Tried a factory reset as suggested on some forums but in vain. I'm running CM12: Lollipop 5.0.2 And I'm rooted. Any solutions please?
Thanks in advance.

It's hard to convince that you accidentally ended up deleting all those Google apps, not just a single one. Anyhow, "factory reset" wouldn't work and I don't get  why would one even suggest it. It defaults back to factory state, but you just removed the content from the factory (under /system), so how come factory reset would help? You've to flash GAPPS from the custom Recovery, but a CM user would've possibly known it already. Are you by any chance running Cyanogen OS, or using a Yureka device or a OnePlus One?

See: How can I install the Google Apps Package (Play Store, …) on my Android device? (and our google-apps tag-wiki ;)

@Firelord Ummm. No, I flashed CM12, but I'm a newbie at custom ROMs and rooting. :D

Well, that's fine, and at least the issue is solved which matters most. :)

to solve your problem you need to flash the Gapps again follow this steps

Download the minimal Gapps from here this zip is for 5.0.x roms and contain the needed apps (including google play services) and libraries every thing else you can get it from the play store.
reboot to recovery and flash it like you flash any other mod or rom (no wipe needed)
after installation the first boot may take a while since android system needs to update the dalvic cache (now its art and it takes a little longer) so be patient :D .
Now the google apps should work just fine.


text:
Checking if audio is playing with bash script on Tasker
I have the small script below to check if audio is in use on my Android.
if grep -q RUNNING /proc/asound/card*/pcm*/sub*/status; then echo "Playing" ; else echo "Idle"; fi

It works nicely in the console. However, if I execute it in Tasker it always returns "Playing" which means it always evaluates to true.
Anybody an idea why this is happening?

Welcome to [android.se]. I modified the title to make it more general, in case there's alternative to your script.

Try this approach in your script and let me know the results: The system service media.player would show you what file(s) is/are being played under Android. Use it as a condition.  Access the dump of the system using dumpsys media.player. Surprisingly, when I try your script in my device, it always ends up with "Idle".

I get an unknown error code when i call that in console no matter if root or not. I am on cyanogenmod 13 if this helps.

I'm voting to close this question because OP is running CM13 (CM has not released any stable build of Marshmallow so far) which currently has nightly or experiment builds. As such, this question isn't in consonance with the consensus we've here

But the shellscript works in console. It only goes somehow wrong when run in tasker. And that problem seems to be very similar for other people as well as you wrote. I do not think that this is related to cm13 but rather tasker itself.

When you say console, do you mean a terminal emulator app running in Android or adb?

I mean a terminal emulator.