text:
Reviving my Bricked Tablet via adb and Samsung's Download Mode
Okay, here's the story:
I have a Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4". The OS doesn't matter, because it's gone. I had lollipop 5.0.2, decided to root it. OK, rooted it fine. Then decided to get CyanogenMod on it. Welp, when I was wiping it, I accidentally deleted the CM install zip with the rest. I was using TWRP to install the thing, but then I couldn't access it. So, I got Odin and tried to install that and the Clockwork mod. No help, and now Odin throws the "nand write start" error, which, from what I can tell from Google, mean my partitions are screwed up. (Edit: I re-flashed TWRP, and there was no error, but there is this error when getting ClockworkMod. Probably a messed up tar.)
Long story short, all I can do is use the Samsung Download mode, I have Odin, and I may have messed up my partitions.
I do have an adb backup, which means if I can get adb to recognize me device, I can roll it back.
adb seems like the best way to go, which is why I titled the post as it is.

Is your device connecting in fast boot mode? Use that to flash cwm or twrp. You won't need odin for that.

@Hunter I don't think so -- Samsung uses "Download Mode", which I beleive is a replacement.

@Hunter I can flash TWRP successfully, but I'm not able to boot to it. If I were able to get to it, I think my troubles would be over :]

@Hunter I may not be booting normally -- I can't start up with just the power button. I seem to have to use power + vol down + home, which is the key combo for download mode if I were to hold it down through boot.

The download mode you are reffering is something that Samsung has for it's own devices. Fastboot helps in forcing your uploads on the device. Check these steps which are for samsung galxy s: Volume up and home until the black and white Galaxy S boot Screen came up and then right away volume up+home+powerbutton at the same time.

From the boot screen that has been displayed for the entire night last night, vol Up + Home doesn't work. I'm currently trying to boot into download, then cancel to restart the tablet, where I will try your keys...... No cigar. I pressed your keys in the order you listed 'em, and held 'em down for about 10 seconds. No screen change -- does fastboot have a screen?

Well sorry but i think it's not implemented in samsung like it. Can you confirm that you can connect via odin in download mode. I want this to see if it connects or not?

Yes, I have flashed TWRP multiple times. I can connect OK

I also just checked -- Odin does recognize.

If you can connect to odin, then download adb drivers from.http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=1895220&d=1366378237 and tell me if adb is working or not. For that first start your tab, and then connect your tab with pc and then open command panel in the folder where adb is, and typing "adb devices" in it.

ADB does not work, as you can tell from my post. Nor adb devices or fastboot devices recognizes the tablet. When I was in TWRP, it was able to recognize is via adb unload. --Tested on Ubuntu with adb installed via apt-get

Oh sorry, then just try one of the root toolkits for samsung. Google it up and see. I wasn't able to find any for tab but see if other toolkits work for you or not.

What is a root toolkit? If it gives root, I have one right here I used to get root before I bricked

Sorry to comment late first check my answer kk.

Ok here's what you need to do:
1) First follow this guide to erase evrything on your tab  http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2610757   for this you would need latest odin, find it online or use the version given in thread. You also need a pit file and stock rom for your device.
   a) Pit file: Use the SM-T700 pit file from here  http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-tab-s/general/extracted-sm-t800-pit-download-t3071209/post59859123#post59859123
   b) Stock rom: Use the stock rom according to your android version and country region. Download from here  http://www.mrcrab.net/stockrom/sm-t700.html
2) Then flash a new recovery, apparently twrp as it seems to work correctly on your device.
3) Then root your tab using this guide  http://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-tab-s/development/root-cf-autoroot-t700-t2805366
Post your results after this or following this guide.
And also use the first guide I linked for removing all partitions and not the other one. I hope this helps. :)

Since I want to upgrade to Cyanogenmod anyway, can I use CM instead of the Stock ROM?

No first you have to install the stock rom itself, remember it's bricked so you have to install the stock one only. And yeah the room is fine.

OK, getting the stock ROM from here instead, since it'll be direct from Samsung.

Well it doesn't matter until you download the correct rom, and hey download the Odin from there too.

OK, so once this is finished I should then be able to switch over to CM? As in, I'll have factory reset, and I can re-do my process, not screwing up this time around?

Not, just first do these steps and then post your results as success and failures. First get the stock rom on this. Ok

Right. I'm saying once I get stock ROM, and I check everything to be OK, I'll be good-to-go, right?

Right now are you following the guide or will do it later cause these things I mentioned should be complete by now. And yes you will be good to go, first get the stock rom and then ask another question for getting CM on tab and we'll answer it later.

Alright, that sounds like a good idea. I'll follow your idea, report back, backup with adb, and ask a new question.

Dude, I love you. Thank you so much, I thought I was a goner. Unfortunately, the bloatware is back, but I have my tablet working again!! :D

Good grief now you can post a question for getting CM on your tab I'll answer it there. Kk

no, it's fine, I got CM & GApps on here fine :)

Assuming you have the wifi-variant of the tablet.
Download the stock firmware from here. This file can be flashed via Odin when you're in Download-Mode. From there on you can restart your process of flashing TWRP and then the new ROM.

I'm not finding anything here for the US. I've tried searching, "US", "U.S.", "United Sta", and "America"

According to here and here, US versions are listed as "Celluar South", but clicking that in the site you linked leads me to a "File not Found"

I found two other sources. If I flash these, since they have no guarantee of being official, is there a risk of breaking the tablet more?

Choosing the Cellular South version sounds good. I would try to use the one from sammobile as I'm not sure if other sources are trustworthy even though sammobiles download speeds are ridiculously slow and you have to register for the site. This link works for me: http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/download/47569/T700XXU1BOE3_T700XAR1BOE1_XAR/

"File not found" For Chrome, Chrome Incognito, or TOR.

That's strange. Maybe try it with yet another browser? Yesterday I managed to start the download of the file. Maybe something with your proxy-settings? I'm sorry but I can't help you any further. If you manage to download the firmware your problem will be fixed. Of course you could still try out the other sources as you will be flashing another ROM over the stock firmware anyways.


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Storage problem?
I'm having a weird issue. I'm using a Sony Xperia Z1s running lollipop. I noticed a few days ago that Spotify was giving me a notification that says "No Storage Area Found. Check the device storage settings." This error of sorts prevents Spotify from being used at all. I cleared the cache, data, and even Uninstalled spotify. I thought nothing of it, until I also noticed I can't take pictures. Technically, I can take photos, but they don't save. And, yes, I still have plenty of space on my SD card and internal space.

The screen shots are of the spotify notification and the storage space on my phone (click images for larger variants)
I ran mount in Terminal Emulator for Android and got this:
u0_a307@C6916:/ $ mount
rootfs / rootfs ro,relatime 0 0
tmpfs /dev tmpfs rw,seclabel,nosuid,relatime,mode=755 0 0
devpts /dev/pts devpts rw,seclabel,relatime,mode=600 0 0
none /dev/cpuctl cgroup rw,relatime,cpu 0 0
proc /proc proc rw,relatime 0 0
sysfs /sys sysfs rw,seclabel,relatime 0 0
selinuxfs /sys/fs/selinux selinuxfs rw,relatime 0 0
debugfs /sys/kernel/debug debugfs rw,relatime 0 0
none /sys/fs/cgroup tmpfs rw,seclabel,relatime,mode=750,gid=1000 0 0
securityfs /sys/kernel/security securityfs rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime 0 0
none /acct cgroup rw,relatime,cpuacct 0 0
tmpfs /mnt/asec tmpfs rw,seclabel,relatime,mode=755,gid=1000 0 0
tmpfs /mnt/obb tmpfs rw,seclabel,relatime,mode=755,gid=1000 0 0
tmpfs /tmp tmpfs rw,seclabel,nosuid,relatime,mode=755 0 0
/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/system /system ext4 ro,seclabel,relatime,discard,data=ordered 0 0
/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/userdata /data ext4 rw,seclabel,nosuid,nodev,relatime,discard,noauto_da_alloc,data=ordered 0 0
/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/cache /cache ext4 rw,seclabel,nosuid,nodev,relatime,discard,data=ordered 0 0
/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/apps_log /mnt/idd ext4 rw,seclabel,nosuid,nodev,noexec,noatime,discard,nobarrier,data=ordered 0 0
tmpfs /storage/remote tmpfs rw,seclabel,relatime,size=1024k,nr_inodes=256,mode=750,gid=1028 0 0
/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/LTALabel /lta-label ext4 ro,context=u:object_r:lta_label:s0,nosuid,nodev,noexec,noatime,data=ordered 0 0
/dev/fuse /mnt/shell/emulated fuse rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime,user_id=1023,group_id=1023,default_permissions,allow_other,allow_utime_grp 0 0
tmpfs /storage/emulated tmpfs rw,seclabel,nosuid,nodev,relatime,mode=751,gid=1028 0 0
/dev/block/vold/179:65 /mnt/media_rw/sdcard1 vfat ro,dirsync,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime,uid=1023,gid=1023,fmask=0007,dmask=0007,allow_utime=0020,codepage=cp437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,utf8,errors=remount-ro 0 0
/dev/block/vold/179:65 /mnt/secure/asec vfat ro,dirsync,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime,uid=1023,gid=1023,fmask=0007,dmask=0007,allow_utime=0020,codepage=cp437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,utf8,errors=remount-ro 0 0
/dev/fuse /storage/sdcard1 fuse rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime,user_id=1023,group_id=1023,default_permissions,allow_other,allow_utime_grp 0 0
/dev/fuse /storage/emulated/0 fuse rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime,user_id=1023,group_id=1023,default_permissions,allow_other,allow_utime_grp 0 0
/dev/fuse /storage/emulated/legacy fuse rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime,user_id=1023,group_id=1023,default_permissions,allow_other,allow_utime_grp 0 0
u0_a307@C6916:/ $

Couldn't know that – but the screenshots seem clear enough. The 3rd irritates with that warning indeed. The icon next to "No Storage Area Found" belongs to Spotify? As I don't use that app: can you configure a "storage area" in there? But that wouldn't explain why you can't take pictures. What error messages are you getting if you try that? Or if you try to write a file with any other app?

I didn't need to set a partition within the app, or anything like that. Yesterday, when I took a picture, it took 2 mins to load and then gave me a couldn't save pop-up. Now, nothing happens at all aside from the shutter effect. The weird part is that it will let me take screenshots.

OK, that rules out a read-only storage which I thought might be the cause. Can you still install apps from Playstore? Try e.g. Terminal Emulator. Start it, type mount and hit enter. Add the output to your post. That will show us how your storage is attached to the system, and if maybe parts are read-only that shouldn't be.

Looks like all my phone needed was a restart. I did just that, and the problem seems to be fixed. Which is strange, considering I have restarted my phone before and the problem didn't get fixed.

Explanation in my answer below. Glad it solved for you as easy as that!

As I guessed (and was proven by the output of the mount command), parts of the file system were mounted read-only – specifically the internal and external SD cards. Take a look at the lines with vold/179:65 entries ("vold" is used for the SD cards only), I'm picking one for example:
/dev/block/vold/179:65 /mnt/media_rw/sdcard1 vfat ro,[…],errors=remount-ro[…]

The syntax here (simplified) is: <device> <mount-point> <file-system> <options>. So we see we have a "vold block device" (an SD card that is) mounted as sdcard1 (the external one; the internal usually is sdcard0) using VFAT as file system. Now come the options, and the first we see is ro which stands for "read-only". Same applies to the internal card. Being read-only, nothing can be written here – hence your problems.
How can that happen? you might ask – so let me point to the option at the end: errors=remount-ro. Initially, both cards were mounted in read-write mode. Something caused trouble, and the system had "too many errors" when reading/writing to the cards – so this condition was triggered: to protect the cards against damage, Android remounted them read-only. Which also explains why a reboot solved the issue: at boot time, after a check of the file systems, they again are mounted read-write – until some issues/errors trigger the read-only remount again.
So what should you do? For now, the reboot seems to have solved the issue. If it doesn't reappear, I'd say there's nothing else here you should be worried about. Same if it pops up once or twice a year: shut down the device, leave it down for a few minutes to be on the safe side ("cool down" of the system :), boot up again, relax. But if it happens frequently, there might be some issues with the controller1 – something you cannot fix yourself. I'd contact service then with a detailed description (e.g. include a link to your question here).

1: Why do I suspect a problem with the controller – and not with the card? Because IMHO it's pretty much unlikely that two independent storages have the same issue at the same time. As pointed out, both SD cards were suddenly remounted read-only: one is the physical external card in the slot, the other located on the built-in storage. OTOH, it could also be some bug in vold, as only the SD cards are affected – and the very same controller dealing with the internal SD card must deal with the other parts of your internal storage as well, which was not affected. But then again, that's hardly anything you can solve; the manufacturer must provide a bugfix (system update) then.
And PS: don't let the line /dev/fuse /storage/sdcard1 fuse rw,[…] confuse you – which suggests the "partition located at /storage/sdcard1" is mounted read-write. That's only the "FUSE overlay" on top of it. So this file system is declared read-write – but the underlying one still is read-only. Which would mean the "on-top FUSE file system" would accept write commands – but couldn't commit them to the card then as the underlying system is read-only.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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Location consent annoyance
I use the Power Control widget shipped with Android to quickly turn GPS on and off. Since update 4.4.1 or 4.4.2, which features WiFi-based location detection, it's been pestering me for this location consent thing:

Screenshot (click image for larger variant)
I hit "Disagree" every single time, but it just pops right back up the next time I activate the GPS. This is extremely annoying and I'm worried I'll accidentally hit "Agree" one of these times.
How can I permanently disagree with this?

Leaving the GPS on is not an option because it's a huge battery drain.

Leaving GPS on should not be a battery drain on 4.4, if it is then it's because an app is requesting your exact location a lot.  4.4 has an option in Settings > Location as to how accurate the location provided to apps is. I have mine set to High Accuracy and I don't experience battery drain.

In the case you have root and / or are willing to obtain it. There is an Xposed module for disabling this pop-up.

Have you checked whether "network location" is disabled in Settings? I don't have Kitkat, so I cannot check – but with Kitkat there are at least two places it appears in. AFAIR second place is somewhere in WiFi settings (scanning for networks even if WiFi is turned off). As that "collection" stuff is directed at WiFi and cell-tower data (i.e. "network location"), it shouldn't apply when those are disabled, and thus make that popup disappear. As I wrote, I have no Kitkat, so I cannot verify this – which means it's purely theoretical.

@Izzy I did, it's disabled, and GPS is still a battery drain. And it's also a matter of principle. Sometimes I don't want apps I generally trust to know where I am. So for me (and probably at least some people) turning gps off is a matter of principle and right to privacy, not only power.

+1 – privacy concerns are a valid point. Though if the device is rooted (and only then), that could be solved by other means (Xprivacy or LBE for example) – which leaves it valid for non-rooted devices.

@bmdixon: The High Accuracy mode you mention indeed consumes less power, but it uses WiFi and other sources along with Google data collection, which the OP specifically wants to avoid.

If your device is rooted and you're using the XPosed framework, the Deny Location Consent might be what you're looking for:

Disable the annoying "Improve location accuracy?" dialog and always disagree.

Try this it might worked as it worked in my lollipop
Goto **settings>wifi>advanced Wi-Fi
and disable the Scanning always Available which won't use your wifi for using google location service**

Screenshot (click for larger variant)

This did not work for me.

This process needs refining as it may call for disabling more items than needed:

Force Stop, disable, and clear cache on the following:

Chrome
Google Account Manager,
Google Play Services,
Google Play Store,
Google Services Framework

Change Location Mode: System Settings >Location > Mode > Set to High Accuracy
Re-enable the items disabled in step 1
Avoid consenting to Google's location service requests :)

It's possible you may only need to disable Google Services Framework in order to select high accuracy location mode with out Google consent popup getting in your way. I hope this helps get someone else started in the right direction, I know it's limited in content and purpose.

Hmm, I would have liked to see a command line version of this solution. Something like stop blahblah.gsf etc...

"I hit 'Disagree' every single time, but it just pops right back up the next time I activate the GPS. This is extremely annoying and I'm worried I'll accidentally hit 'Agree' one of these times."
What you're proposing is to permanently agree to what the OP specifically wants to disagree to.

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


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Custom ROM installation without PC
I have downloaded many ROMs for my Android device (Micromax A120) but can't flash them. Can someone tell me how to flash those ROMs without any PC.

I don't recommend flashing ROM's without PC (Or other device).
Because think about it, if you want to flash it using a program or something else, then you are changing the system while the system is running, which is definitely not good (Some files might corrupt).
But if you are using the SD card method, then that might be good enough..
But still, PC flashes ROM without the actual android to work anything.
For flashing with PC, I would recommend this Link: XDA-Developers. Tho you might find an easier way with some research, or someone else might know an easier way for your device.
If you are really determined, you can use those links to get the general sense of it; (Btw, most of the methods to flash it self requires Root)
Warning: You will void your warranty if you Root or Flash custom ROM.
AndroidPit: Samsung devices to flash custom ROM w/o PC
TechnoWorm: Flash custom ROM w/o PC
AndroidForums: Flash ROM w/o PC
Skyneel: Root Micromax A120


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Motorola Moto G (2nd Gen) mobile hotspot not forwarding packets
I have a Motorola Moto G (2nd Gen/2014) phone. I have set up a mobile hot spot, and when I activate it, my laptop can connect to it. I can ping the gateway, so the wifi connection between phone and laptop is working. On the phone I can browse and check mail, etc, so the phone's mobile data connection is working. But I cannot use the internet from the laptop. It's not a DNS issue, because I can't even ping my work server by its IP, nor some common DNS servers like google's or OpenDNS.
Has anyone else had this problem, and if so is there a solution or workaround?
EDIT: after doing further digging, it seems only IPv6 forwarding is being enabled, and of course without root you can't enable it.

I faced the very same issue with MOTO E, MOto G2, 3 and Now with 4. everything works fine if i use Bluetooth tethering or USB tethering. as soon as i connect my Laptop with WiFi of the G4 (WiFi threatening option) it connects but shows a yellow mark over Wifi.
I tried every single trick available over Internet but nothing worked. finally i did a small change and everything became fine. what i did is as follows:
click on wifi symbol and go to the available networks--> find the network of your hotspot and right click--> go to connection properties --> change encryption type to "AES" if already selected go to advance setting--> click over check box (enable FIPS compliance)--> click ok --> click OK again and you are good to go.
i tried this on windows 8, things must be more or less same for windows 7 and 10.

Hi, I've since flashed my Moto G2 with cyanogenmod so I can no longer confirm this answer works. Hotspot works just fine now by the way. Thanks for the answer though.


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Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos: Odin flashed the custom Recovery but device boots into stock Recovery
I am new to rooting Android. I tried using Odin 3.10 to root my Samsung Galaxy Grand Duos. I successfully flashed CWM (Odin displayed pass message). However when I restart phone in Recovery mode, it shows Android with an error symbol, and then loads the stock Recovery.
I am trying to flash CM12. What's the issue, and how do I fix it because I want to root my phone.

Before you flash the recovery, untick the Auto Reboot option in ODIN. Then flash the recovery. After flashing in done, reboot your device directly to recovery mode from download mode bu pressing Vol up + Power + Home button together. Now you will see the CWM recovery is booted in your device. Now you can reboot normally and your CWM will be installed.

The question is about CWM, not TWRP. This is the kind of mistake you'll make if you paste your other answers without paying attention.

sorry about the mistake. I will be more careful. But my answer is correct. This is the way to install custom recovery in samsung devices when this problem is occurred.


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Using USB On The Go files with the stock android music app?
I have a Huawei Accend Mate 2.  I have a flash drive with a micro USB connector (as well as a USB connecter).  I have music files on it.  Is there a way I can get the stock music app to "see" these files?  I would like to include them in playlists etc. without loading them all to the phone itself (micro SD card).

The only name is Music and it is version 4.7.16. The only way I can see the files is with ES File Explorer. If I tap a music file when I am in ES File Explorer, it will play but only after a little pop-up message saying something like connecting to 127.1.1.1 or something like that. It does not seem like the apps on my phone see the files on the USB drive.

I could but I have a bunch of playlists set up in the stock music player. I would also run into the same problem with other files like pictures and video. I expected the On The Go function would have made this a bit more seamless.

The phone does see the flash drive is there since it does power it.  However, I can only access the files with ES File Explorer.  Accessing them from that APP will let them play but I can not access the files without going to ES File Explorer to find them.

After connecting the USB to your mobile via OTG cable, can you see your music files stored in the USB device in your Stock Music App? Can you able to access the contents of the USB device at all using a File Manager?

Moreover: what is the "stock music app"? That very much depends on what the manufacturer put on there (or what ROM you use; e.g. CyanogenMod ships with Apollo, while "googlified" ROMs often use Google Play Music). Does your "stock music app" have a name? ;)

See I accidentally created two accounts; how do I merge them? or contact [SE] (here)for account merging.

I verified the account info and approved the edit in this case, but yes you need to register your account and have the others merged.

If the stock music app is confined to internal storage [sdcard]
and can access any directory in /sdcard that contains media
you can try a bind mount between the [media containing directory]
in your otg-device and a specified new directory in /sdcard
mkdir /sdcard/more-tunes
su
chmod 755 /sdcard/more-tunes
mount -o bind /path-to-otg-device/tunes /sdcard/more-tunes

just remember to unmount the /sdcard/more-tunes directory if you don't need it anymore BEFORE you delete it.
Less stressful option would be a softlink in the same[ish] way.
su
busybox ln -sf /path-to-otg-device/tunes /sdcard/more-tunes

for this approach you can just delete the symlink without risking loss of media files, but i don't know if your default app will follow the symlink.


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How to get rid of lock screen in Samsung Galaxy S2?
Lately, instead of just being shut down my Samsung Galaxy S2 shows this screen (see screenshot).
How can I get rid of it? I don't want to see this screen ever again.
Somehow it appears only while I'm driving my car
Update(10/8/2015):
This screen appears ONLY whike I'm driving my car and the phone is connected to charger
(Click image to enlarge)

You mean you want to just disable the lock screen completely? Here's how to do it:

Open your settings.
Go to Security and open your lock screen settings.
If you have a code or password set for your current lock screen, enter that code and continue.
Choose none as your lock screen option.
Lock your phone and unlock it again, it should open up your phone straight away and not show a lock screen.

(source)

Thanks I did what you told me but it still appears while I'm driving my car  and the phone is connected to charger.


text:
USB tethering & charging
I am experiencing weird problem related to charging my Android phone. Most of the time I have phone connected to laptop and use it as 4G/5G modem. I noticed that compared with older phones it draws more power from wall. Unfortunately USB ports on laptop provide only small power. I haven't measured it but guess it is 500 mA. It is sufficient to power the phone and also charge it. But the charging is very slow in the range 1-3 % / hour. Therefore I bought USB hub with charging functionality and inserted it between android phone and laptop. This USB hub have external 2A power input. Now the charging speed is acceptable (10-15% / hour). It is not super fast but its OK. But there are two problems:

If i physically disconnect USB hub from laptop and connect phone to one of USB ports, it starts charging. After about second or two charging stops. Disconnecting and connecting cable again doesn't help. But I noticed that if I reconnect USB cable that is powering hub, charging successfully starts. What is the reason for this behavior ? This is not cricitical problem for me. I can connect the phone directly to USB wall charger and there is no problem with this. But I would like to understand this.
Second more sinister problem is that sometimes while tethering internet connection in above configuration the phone charging stops. For a few months I thought that this is random problem which happened several times per month. After few months experience I think it is somehow related to USB headset I am using for internet calls. This problem with charging happened twice when I had long internet call. After few hours I noticed that phone battery charge level dropped 15-20 %. It is not a big deal when the battery is new. It could be problem when the battery will become older. The phone will then shutdown which is not acceptable because I use it to connect to my employer while I am working from home. It is probable that phone battery aging is accelerated in this configuration because the battery is most of the time fully charged. This problem with occasionaly not charging happens whether there is USB hub between phone and laptop or not (so the phone is connected to laptop directly). To me it seems as serious bug. Battery powered devices like this phone are on market more than 10 years so I its weird that manufacturers were not able to tune out such basic functionality. All the software functions, nice graphics and frequent updates are of no use if you cannot power the device. What is the reason for this behavior and is there some workaround for it ?

My hardware configuration:
Samsung Galaxy A33 5G SM-A336BZKGEEE
Laptop HP ENVY 15-as103nc
AXAGON HUE-S2BP 4-Port USB 3.0 CHARGING Hub (with 2A power source)
USB repeater AXAGON ADR-205, 5 m
Headset Behringer BH470U
My software configuration:
One UI 6.0
Android 14
Core version 5.10.177-android12-9-27775596-abA336BXXS8DXA1
Windows 10 Pro 22H2
The phone has charging limited to 85% by using android function. I had enabled developer options and set automatic tethering (it is not fully automatic - I have to unlock screen to enable usb tethering). Don't know if this is related to above problems or not.
P.S. 21.4.2024 Adding some photos of USB hub. It is named "charging hub" but it cannot charge phone sometimes even without computer.

Today I experienced with second USB hub from Vention which supports Power Delivery. The result is that I am not able to use tethering at all. Charging of phone when this USB hub is disconnected from computer is functioning in very limited set of cases. I must connect charger output to input marked with a lightning bolt symbol and phone must be connected to fixed USB-C output. For example when I connect phone to one of USB-A outputs I am not able to charge it. So it seems it is no problem of hub but phone. Or I have bad luck and bought two hubs from two different manufacturers which are broken. This is how this second hub looks like:

There are multiple "standards" to charge a phone with more than 500ms @ 5V. Most of the older charging "standards" assume that you either have a data or a charger connection, some even require the data cables to be connected in a way making it impossible to use them for data transfer. May be your phone has problems detecting the used charging standard. The only standard to my knowledge that allows data and charging at the same time is USB Power Delivery (USB PD). If your USB hub and the phone would support it that would be the cleanest solution.

@truthseeker Just making sure you powered down both PC and Android phone before attempting to reconnect/tether. I would also update your post to include any relevant logcat messages should you be able to use adb Android Debug Bridge (I don't know if it is possible to connect to adb with an active USB tether or you'll need to use WiFi to connect to adb).

@Robert Today I tested hub which supports Power Delivery functionality but I was not able to use tethering at all and charging functions only on one output (there are other three outputs + one input marked with flash symbol).

Also check which version of PD your device and the hub each support.

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text:
Device won't connect via USB
I have a HTC G2 running Android 2.3.4 that I've recently tried to root using the guide at the XDA developer's site.  After step 3.3, the USB connection stopped working.  More precisely, when I plug the USB cable into the PC and the phone, the PC does not detect the phone (for instance, it is not in the devices manager) and the phone does not get a USB notification (though it does charge).  I've tried all the basic trouble shooting steps as outlined here, but I haven't had any luck fixing the problem.
As I see it, either one of two things has happened.  The phone's USB port needs to be replaced or I've introduced a glitch that prevents the phone from communicating with the computer.  Is there a way to find out which case I'm facing and if it's the second case, how to diagnose and fix the glitch?  Thanks

I assume since you had it working at one point, You have Dev options enabled. Try revoking USB authorizations and then plug in the device and see if it prompts you to allow the connection. Assuming your android version has it. and if not, what android version are you running?

It is version 2.3.4, which does not (as far as I know) have USB authorizations.  I did try turning off USB debugging, but that didn't help.

I understand your problem,Your device may not have supported  Drive and  check is it connect mass storage(memory card) or not .if you may change the setting in USB debugging,

You didn't answer the question...


text:
Wifi doesn't reconnect to known network
My phone fails to connect to wifi networks it has been connected to before.  When this happens, even if I reenter the password it will not connect.  But if I restart the device, it connects to the network without my having to enter the password.  This happens both at work and at home.  It's a Samsung Galaxy Stardust running Android 4.3.

I don't know if this is an answer, but my problem has gone away.  Here's what happened.  I called TracFone tech support about this.  The representative told me to shut the phone off, pull out the battery, and see if the battery had a red sticker on it.  It didn't.  Then she told me to put the battery back, and that the next step would be to do a hard reset.  When I found that doing so would erase my settings and contacts and such, I declined.  So I thought I had wasted my time.  But the wifi problem has not happened since then.  It's certainly not the only time I turned the phone off, so I have to think that taking the battery out for a couple of seconds reset something.

No idea what's causing that, but as a work-around: Try switching to airplane mode and back might be a little more convenient than restarting the device.

@Izzy, it actually takes 3 steps: airplane mode on, airplane mode off, and wifi back on.  Probably quicker than a restart, but more work.

If WiFi was before switching to airplane mode, it should be on after switching airplane mode off. To minimize steps, you could utilize an automation tool like Tasker, to place a shortcut for a task on your homescreen – then it would be a single tap.

@Izzy, yes, you'd think that if wifi was on at the start, it would come back on after airplane mode is turned off, but that's not what I experience when wifi was in the weird on-but-nonfunctional state I've been seeing.

I have something similar with my Nexus 10 with Android 5.1.1, it happens now & then. I looked into About and then Status and saw, that it has received 2 IPv6 addresses, but none for IPv4. Turning wlan off and on again fixes it.


text:
Nexus 5 Location has not updated for months?
I have a Nexus 5 running on 5.1.1 but the location has not updated for the past couple months, traveled out of town but still in-state, then came back and the city never updated, so now Google Now doesn't display the current weather and things like Yahoo Weather show either the wrong location or no location.
Tried to find fixes online but most posts are out of date or about some other issue related to location, the phone's location simply isn't updating at all. This also makes things like Google Maps and Navigation useless.
Would appreciate any help, again it's just stock Android and I don't have a ton of experience flashing the OS or changing these settings.
Thanks so much!

Okay, just figured it out. For some reason I had Location set to "Device only" and the subtext below this says "Use GPS to determine your location." Seems like this should still update the location, but like I said in my question, it simply hadn't updated the current city for months.
SOLUTION:
Fixed it simply by switching to "Battery saving" mode. Obviously "High accuracy" would work too.
I'm not sure why the GPS feature under "Device only" wouldn't be able to find my location, maybe my GPS component is malfunctioning. Either way, it's fixed now.


text:
How to solve the "APN settings are not available for this user" issue?
After upgrading my ASUS Zenfone 5 to Android Lollipop, I am unable to access HSPA/3G data. In Brazil we have to manually input APN settings, and when I try to do so, I receive the following message (in Portuguese, here tentatively translated into English):
Access point Name settings are not available for this user.
As my phone is rooted, I have tried solutions proposed by this topic and also by this. None gave me results, even provided that I followed every step without any errors or warnings (chmods and chowns were all effective and edits to content://telephony/carriers were persistant). I also tried to re-generate telephony.db file by deleting it (thus forcing Android to populate it again). A factory reset (as suggested here) had no effect as well.
So far I have nothing to celebrate. My only access to internet is Wifi at home and at work. No mobile data access, and I know it is available (this week I had a try with CM12.1 and data connection worked perfectly. Unfortunately had to revert to stock ROM because CM12.1 is still too buggy). No better suggestions came from googling around other sites and forums.
I hope someone can give me some light over this issue, as I should rely on my mobile internet access to perform various things when commuting or away from wifi.
Heads up: the bounty was automatically awarded by this site yet the problem was not solved. Still awaiting a valid response.
Final update: please refer to my answer a the bottom of this page. The problem is (finally!) solved by the latest (v. 3.23.40.78) released by ASUS.

Seems it's a known issue on Zenfone 5. I found 2 suggestions: downgrade the Android version (which might not be the best interest), or follow the SOP for APN Editor. Unfortunately, I don't have either device to test, so could do a favor and let me know if it works?

@AndrewT. I really do not want to downgrade Android for now (would be last resort). Following the SOP did not work: as I try to launch the installed ApnEditor, I get the message "ApnEditor has stopped" and the app closes itself. Any other ideas? Thanks for your attention!

The latest stock ASUS update (v. 3.24.40.78) solves the problem.
I had to unroot my phone, apply both 5.3.3.3 and 5.2.2.2 downgrades (in this order), then I applied a FOTA upgrade (97Mb download, received and applied automatically). Then I could install the latest version (downloaded from ASUS website; uploaded via USB to phone's internal storage; unplugged USB and then the update could be applied automatically). APNs are available by default, I did not even have to input my APNs manually (as I had to do in prior versions).

After hours of experimenting, found the reason for this, (it works for me).
Nothing too technical about this post in contrast to what these posts suggest.

Step 1 : WiFi turned on, and be in the range of a known WiFi network.
Step 2 : Reboot the phone (may need to reboot several times, if it doesn't work the first time)
Step 3 : When the phone reboots, it should connect to WiFi network.
Step 4 : Go to APN settings and see that you can, now edit APN settings.

Reason : When phone is turned on, if it's not connected to WiFi, it will try and connect to mobile network thus disabling you from editing APN settings. However if you try the above steps, your phone connects to WiFi instead of Mobile-data.

I have tried the steps you provided without any success. WiFi is always turned on here; once I reboot the device, I try and go into apn settings but the item is greyed out from the menu. It takes around 40 seconds to become available, and when I open it, there comes the dreaded message. Apn settings are still unreachable to me.

have you tried toggling off mobile data,turning on WiFi and rebooting?

Yes, I had this idea but the result (or lack thereof) was the same.

Try factory reset

As I pointed in my question (last sentence of second paragraph), I have tried it before (multiple times) without any benefit. Thanks for your attention anyway!

If the problem is not resolved, maybe it's a bug, you could try installing cm11, that has less bugs

With your method, even after multiple reboot, I was unable to access to the APN config so I open a terminal as root and rename the android telephony provider : mv /data/data/com.android.providers.telephony /data/data/.bak.com.android.providers.telephony. Then I reboot my phone and I was able to create a new config despite I seems not to have proper rights yet. After saving my new config, list remain empty, so I just restarted again and disable airplane mode. When I got back to APN config all new default config were here with my custom one.

I tried this many times without luck, but eventually it did work after setting the phone to airplane mode in step one. Not sure if it was the repeated attempts or the airplane mode that did it.

As you have root permissions, try copy and replace telephony related files from CM12.1 to your phone.
/data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databases/ is the path where telephony.db exists
Note: This may harm your normal working of your phone; try it with your own risk.

where can I get these telephony-related files from CM12.1? all I have here are boot.img and system.img for flashing. I wouldn't like to install CM12.1 just to retrieve such files... any repository around where I can download them?

you can install CM 12.1 in your PC with Virtual box  link and try explore directories of it

Remove your simcard PIN
Turn-Off Data
Turn on wifi
Reset the phone 3 times

That worked for me.

Try manually setting the HSPA network.  Open Dialer and dial *#*#4636#*#* and set it manually.

authors: قلب لا يعرف الفرح

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Google Cardboard with 4.5 inch smartphone
Has anyone tried the Google Cardboard (the carton equipment and the relative software from Play Store) with an android device of 4.5 inches like Moto G 1st gen? (I have the LTE - XT1039 version, so, it has gyroscope)
I am asking because I am about to order some of this equipment and I doubt that in less than 5" display the eyes will have the ability to focus and get a clear image...

I don't think your phone has a gyroscope. Unfortunately, Google Cardboard requires a gyroscope - it might be worth testing the app before ordering any bits of cardboard.

@keepcalm the moto G 1st gen has a gyroscope

Ah. It would seem that the LTE model has a gyroscope, while the non-LTE model does not.

Oh, sorry I forgot to mention that I have the LTE version, and I tested the application and it works... so, I should have a gyro! Yet my question is mostly oriented on the screen size...

I won't go for it on a phone with a 720p display, at least 1080p is a must for Virtual Reality. The 4.5 inch phone will work and fit, just pick out the right cardboard. I'd recommend the Moto G3 with 1440p for VR, its actually perfect, your phone is a bit out of date. But if its all you need in a phone, don't bother switching.

"at least 1080p is a must for Virtual Reality" -- can you support this fact with something credible?

Finally I tested the cardboard with my Moto G and it was working all good... Only the Magnet did not always respond to actions (maybe because the case is made for a bit bigger devices, so it was far from the correct spot). Apart from that, the resolution that jon_woot mentions here is actually a bit of an issue. Because the display gets very close to the eyes and the lenses make pixels even bigger! So Maybe 1080 is a must after all. Overall, the testing experience was pretty good! Gyrospcope working!


text:
Android automatically corrects my volume
I have a bit annoying problem. My Android 4.2 Jelly Bean automatically corrects volume down every few minutes. It is rather annoying than a problem.
I tried to find and switch off this functionality, but i was not successful.
Can somebody help me where i can find it and switch it off?
Tablet is not rooted.
This occure when I listen Google Play, when I am not listening to music, when i have switched on or off Google Play.
It happenes about every 10 minutes or something like that.
It happens when plugged headphones via connector or without it. Bluetooth not tested.
Thanks.

Is it happening if you connect a headset or connect via bluetooth devices etc? Or when the phone is idle and Do you use different music player than Google's Play Music app. Please add when exactly and how frequently does it occur. And also mention your phone model and whether is it rooted?

Seems like a specific issue with Play Music (no solution yet)

Updated status: After turning this android device back to stock setting and  installing Google Play again this bug didn't show off yet again.

Revised earlier solution , optimizing it and reducing it to a single macro - keep it simple (instead of two). This works fine - shouldn't take you more than 20 minutes to set up for test (even if you haven't ever used this app )

My solution is towards providing a simple , tested fix to the problem using automation
I prefer using MacroDroid , since it is free (upto 5 macros) and easy to learn.  Install the app , grant it permissions requested and you are good to go.
Logic

User decides a predetermined volume level that is comfortable

Launches Google Play music and keeps it in foreground

Play music - Every 3 seconds the macro forces the volume level to the predetermined volume level , thus ensuring fading of music or tuning out doesn't happen. 3 seconds is  arbitrarily chosen with the assumption that volume changes in 3 seconds will not be detected by ear - decrease it as you wish , if volume changes are jarring. I tested down to 800 milli seconds

To stop this volume adjustment (exit condition ), either switch the app to background or minimize it. Macro stops working

Testing Done
Since I don't have this problem with Google Play Music on my Moto X Play, I tested by by pressing Vol up and Vol down keys ( to simulate changes in volume ) but the player volume remained at predetermined level. I have tested it extensively , since my earlier solution

You need a single Macro for this - it looks to be a  tad lengthy process  only because all the steps have been described in detail ( 20 minute promise holds )
Your macro would look like this

(Triggers / Actions / Constraints are added by +   on the right side of each panel )
Macro : Lossless Music ( named by me - name it whatever )
This macro does fixing the predetermined level, polling every 3 seconds and ensuring that volume stays there
Triggers :
Triggers : Application Launched / Closed → Application Launched → OK → Select Google Play Music and OK
( When Google Play Music is launched , actions  below happen )
Actions:

Repeat Actions ( second item on drop down when you press the plus sign on action panel )→ While condition repeat → Conditions + → Application Running → Running in Foreground →OK → Google Play Music and OK

This creates a while / do loop wherein we want something to be done when Google Play Music is in foreground. You see now a WHILE / DO - End Loop created . Tap the End Loop and you will get a pop up Add action above. Tap that and add actions below

Volume Change → select Media / Music and set slider to say 75 % tap OK (this is the predetermined level and can be varied as you like )

Wait before next action → set it to 3 seconds ( or less as you want )

Constraints : Leave blank
Save and you are done !

Improvements possible

If you are the kind that prefers to play Google Play Music in background and wish to modify the macro , it's simple - replace foreground with background in above macro

If you want to have this behavior whether Play Music is in foreground OR background, it is also possible but you would need two macros for it - I have configured them and will add if you want

For anyone interested in the macro to work in both background and foreground see solution here

Possible reasons to why the problem occurs;
Power saving feature (both inherent or acquired from third-party applications.
Some users suggest that this can be attributed to a power saving feature in the ROM.

As soon as it hits 30% battery and that activates, it changes all my volume settings. Volume settings auto-adjust themselves?

This suspected feature is also thought to be provided by applications such as AVG optimisation feature etc
Incompatibility issues with headphones with in-built mic
It was observed that when doing an action that generates sound (i.e driving, running etc), the mic input in the head phones, this extra sound is somewhere compensated by a reduction in device volume.
Another possible theory to explain this scenario was described by one user:

When using headphones that does not have built-in controls the phone misinterprets small variations in voltage as commands to adjust volume. These variations are likely caused by phone’s own power saving, peaks in audio being played etc. Such small variations in voltage via the grounding pin are being interpreted by the phone as “volume down commands”. `

Bugs in Android versions
This problem has been noted by many users as a major bug in lollipop and I think earlier versions could have been vitims too. Not only is the Galaxy S4 model affected by this bug, infact other device models e.g LG, Galaxy S3 etc running  lollipop version seems to be affected as well.

Possible fixes

Using Volume locking applications
Various applications such as  Volume Lock & Mute were shown to be a working solution:

An alternative application Volume Control-Volume Lock has been shown to do the job

Replacing headphones

Following this evidence:

I found the problem finally. I found that if I use headphones that have a mic built in, it was the cause of the problem. Luckily my headphones came with a lead that could be unplugged from the headphones so I bought a new jack lead with no inbuilt mic and ii fixed the problem.

Another user was affirmative with this workaround:

Long story short, try not to use headphones with an inbuilt mic/volume control esp. while exercising (I find this is often the time this occurs).

Observing the device in Safe Mode

Try booting your device in Safe Mode. If the problem stops, there is definitely a third-party app triggering it.
However, if the problem is still there, it might be the Android software itself triggering the issue or a hardware-related fault. Simply delete the app that you suspect has compatibility issues with your music player.

Performing a Factory Reset

When the above solutions do not work, go to Recovery Mode and select Factory Reset. This will totally restore your phone to its factory settings. It will completely wipe all your stored files though, so remember to backup your data prior to this. You also wipe the cache partition in Recovery Mode if even Factory Reset fails.

Upgrading OS version

If the problem is due to an OS version update, wait for another OTA update that contains a fix from your unit’s carrier or manufacturer. When there are no updates or updates fail to fix the issue, you can root and flash your phone, then, install a custom ROM that will remove the issue. This is very risky though, so do your research about the process first or seek help from a technician.
Other workarounds
Another workaround is using automation. You can try using Tasker ($2.99 but available as a trial version for 7 fays)
Basically here, you want to set the media volume at constant level preferably when playing music or other media:

We need to create a Profile that can be linked to a certain Task say (Volume lock) when the conditions are met (variable is set to media volume, music app is opened)

Here is a workaround using Tasker:
Task
Go to the Task tab

Select "New Task + "
You can name this Task KeepSameVol or anything.
Click "+" to add new Action
Audio >> Media Volume  [Level :10 (or any value) Dislay (optional just a pop up alert)
Tap back to exit from this task
Press back all the way to exit (Your task is saved)

Profile (or Trigger)
Create a Profile which allows setting of predeterminded media volume level:

Goto Profiles Tab and click the "+"
Event >> Variable set >> %VOLM
Long press the "+" to add another option
State >> Variable value >> %VOLM != 10 (media volume isn't equal to 10)
Long press the "+" to add another option
Application >> Select your Music/Media applications
Tap back to exit from this window

Link the Task to the profile
Explanation: When an media application is opened,acheck is made if the volume is set to a defined level (i.e 10 in this case), if not
equal to ths value then a Taskis processed to adjust the volume to that level and make sure its constant
Hope this helps
References

Volume decreases when playing audio with headphones
Samsung Galaxy S3 Volume going crazy
Why does ringer volume keep going down?
Samsung Galaxy S4 Music Volume Goes Down on Its Own
Possible to lock volume to certain level, so volume buttons don't do anything?
S7 Edge, Volume lock?

One possibility (Tested with OnePlus 5): The Equalizer.
Turn off the equalizer in System Settings, or at least the "Limiter".
To balance music volumes and reduce sudden bursts, the equalizer automatically raises volume on quieter parts of a music and turns down volume at bursts. This causes troubles frequently so I don't like it.
P.S. Someone told me to turn off equalizer in GPM but I can't find such a setting so I'm not adding it here.
References:

AndroidCentral – Google play music volume issues
Galaxy S4 Forums – Google Music volume increases and decreases on its own


text:
Android boot loop after fresh install
Phone: Nexus 4 with the latest android 5.1.1.
Accidentally I broke my screen and turned off my phone. After a month my screen was replaced and then I got stuck in the boot loop at the start.
I've made factory reset in both android recovery and TWRP recovery.
I've tried to install popular ROMs (Chroma) and google factory images: all from the latest LMY48M to the old ones. Installation was OK, but after install I have a boot loop (flying dots, or rotating circles, etc - I have been waiting for hours).
I made it to start the system - only with the oldest factory image: JDQ39 (4.2.2)
After android started and some configuration made (wifi, google account), after some time, phone tells me about system update 4.3. I agreed and got stuck in the boot loop again.
I know that there are tons of stuck in boot loop questions, but usually solution is to clean cache, factory reset, or reinstall. And I have boot loop stucking after factory reset and fresh install. Do you have any ideas how to fix this?
I think, I can live with 4.2.2, but maybe it's possible to get 5.1 working back?
P.S. All installations (adb sideload of ROMs or ./flash-all.sh for factory images) where finished successfully. The only error I got was unable to mount /usb-otg in TWRP while factory reset (anyway it said that reset was done). But I think it's not the reason, isn't it?
Update:
I've tried all factory builds from official source. They come with script that manually run fastboot to flash images:
fastboot flash bootloader bootloader-mako-makoz30f.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
sleep 5
fastboot flash radio radio-mako-m9615a-cefwmazm-2.0.1701.07.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
sleep 5
fastboot -w update image-occam-lmy48m.zip

It always finished with success - no errors. But after restart - boot loop freezes.
Also, I've always made a factory reset before flashing factory images. I've tried both via original recovery.img and via TWRP (with Dalvik cache)
Update2:
Here is my adb logcat on start of working 4.2.2. I've managed to get it only after turning on USB debugging. My question is - will the USB debugging mode reset after wiping data? I want to try install 5.1.1 factory image again and to collect adb logcat data. But if USB debugging option is resetted, then I will have no result again.

Can you run adb logcat during boot and post the output somewhere? To get adb to work during boot, you may need to copy the contents of the file <your home folder>/.android/adbkey.pub to /data/misc/adb/adb_keys (create it if it doesn't exist).

Do I need to run adb logcat exactly when I am in a stuck loop boot? When loop boot was stucked, I have no devices in adb devices

Ah. That's odd. Are you sure it doesn't flash back to the Google screen every so often? If you do manage to get it to work, the timing of the adb logcat shouldn't matter. Just upload the output somewhere and it should be reasonably helpful.

@keepcalm, no, it doesn't flash back to the Google screen every so ofter. Just spinning the dots. I've run adb logcat before I started the smartphone. It says: - waiting for device -. Then I try to boot smartphone and nothing happens, still waiting for device. But adb connection worked for me when I made adb sideload from twrp

Ah. You might need to install drivers (assuming you're on Windows). This one should work.

Did you flash the latest bootloader and radio images? I suggest that you flash the latest factory image with radio,bootloader and everything manually.

@keepcalm, I'm on Ubuntu. I've installed adb 1.0.32, because at first, 1.0.31 version from repo didn't allow to sideload. With adb 1.0.32 I can get adb connection but only in Recovery Mode.

@TamoghnaChowdhury, I've installed factory images with ./flash-all.sh script. It flashes everything - radio, bootloader, recovery and system. Then I've tried custom builds (ROMs - adb sideload filename.zip) and after installing the same effect again. I had different types of boot loops (circles, dots, chroma-logo) but it was always stucked

@Evghenii, have you tried running adb as root - like sudo adb devices. Alternatively, you can try following the steps in this article.

@keepcalm, progress has been made! I've turned on 'USB Debugging' and now I see a huge logcat while starting. Is this logcat useful - I mean I'm on 4.2.2 now, and there is no bootloop stucking. Or I need to get that log exactly when I get bootloop stucking (for 4.3+)? If I make a factory reset and install 5.1.1 one more time, then usb debugging option will be resetted, won't it?

Yes. Factory resetting clears the USB debugging flag

The bootloop needs to have happened on the boot you're collecting info for. I think you should be able to enable ADB on first boot by editing /system/build.prop to contain the lines persist.service.adb.enable=1<new line>                                                 persist.service.debuggable=1<new line> persist.sys.usb.config=mtp,adb

@keepcalm, Am I understanding correct the steps I need to do: 1) Another factory reset, 2) fastboot 5.1.1 factory image, 3) fastboot twrp. 4) in twrp mount /system folder and edit file build.prop on my computer. 5) adb logcat and start booting. 6) collecting results of logcat

@keepcalm, Also, I've made updated of my post - there is a link to gist with my logcat (on working 4.2.2, but maybe it will also help)

@Evghenii yep - if you edit build.prop to contain those lines, and put ~/.android/adbkey.pub in /data/misc/adb/adb_keys, you should be able to get a logcat on first boot. Your 4.2.2 logcat isn't much use I'm afraid, but 5.1.1 might be worth a shot.

@keepcalm, ok, thanks. I think I will try this on my weekend and report here

@LarryCinnabar I'm in a very similar predicament now.  If you see this comment, I'd be interested to know how the situation progressed.

Do a factory image flash using fastboot,taking special care to update the partition data,bootloader and radio images. Partition data means the ebr/mbr/preloader partitions. The manual flash implies that you must flash each partition manually, just so that you are sure that everything was flashed correctly, even if the script executed without errors.This should resolve the issue. If it doesn't, maybe a flash using Qualcomm MSMDownloader will work. It would help if you could upload the names of the images in the factory image archive, so that I can find out which partitions may be causing the problem

Can you please, be more specific about update the partition data? I've updated my post, and showed how I've tried to do a factory image flash


text:
Prevent apps from pausing Google Play Music
Some applications tend to pause my music. I know it is paused because the Google Play Music widget shows the play button and pressing it resumes the song. Is it possible to remove that function or privilege?
Music : Google Play Music
App : Learn SQL
Phone is LG G3.
Android 5.0
Phone is not rooted. Problem is not intermittent and can be reproduced by clicking on a course inside the Learn SQL app while music is playing.
I am also using Avast Battery Saver.

Contact the developer of the problematic app and send them a link to this question. You can find the email of any developer on the app page on Google Play

OK. I Will do that.

The behavior is determined by Play Music, which gets notified when another app requests audio focus (as per the documentation).  Unless there is an option in Play Music's settings to disable this behavior, or perhaps a mute function in the "problem" app, there's nothing you can do about it.
It's also possible for other apps to pause by sending an ACTION_MEDIA_BUTTON intent, which is not protected — which again means there's nothing you can do about it unless those apps have an option to not send it.


text:
In call volume root modify
I have a HTC One m7 international. It has root access. Android lollipop 5.0.2
The in call volume is too low despite being on max volume.
Which file in the root system should I modify to increase the max volume? What line of code corresponds to this setting?
Thanks vm

android version?

It is lollipop 5.0.2

Turn on adb in phone,connect the phone to system and run this command in system connected adb shell service call audio 7 i32 3 i32 0 i32 1 Source: SO post

Thankyou it seems to have increased the volume...  Can you explain a bit what that line of code means and how it works?

This approach achieves desired functionality by communicating with Android APIs at AIDL level making use of ADB

Run the command:
adb shell service call audio 7 i32 3 i32 0 i32 1

Here, the service call refers to IAudioService. Click here  for more info.

7 is the function named setStreamVolume. It is the 7th in the list of functions in the interface IAudioService. Verify it here. (setStreamVolume takes 3 parameters streamType, index, flag)
i32 is to write the integer INT into the send parcel. (Alternatively we can make use of s16 for UTF-16 string)
3 is streamTypevalue. (Value 1 → phone, 3 → speaker, 4 → alarm, 6 → bluetooth)
0 is index value and 1 is flag value

See the source here.

But how can op set that for every call? Or is using it once persistent?

@cde Changing once is enough,  no need to change it before every call

"7 i32 3 i32 0 i32 1" - I don't get it, why is the index=0 ? Isn't it the volume value? And what is the meaning of flag=1 ? Can you, please, clear up this issues? Thanks.

For Android 10
adb shell media volume --show --stream 1 --set 1

example :
/ $ media volume --show --stream 4 --set 1
[v] will control stream=4 (STREAM_ALARM)
[v] will set volume to index=1
[v] Connecting to AudioService

Specific usage
usage: media [subcommand] [options]
       media dispatch KEY
       media list-sessions
       media monitor <tag>
       media volume [options]

media dispatch: dispatch a media key to the system.
                KEY may be: play, pause, play-pause, mute, headsethook,
                stop, next, previous, rewind, record, fast-forword.
media list-sessions: print a list of the current sessions.
media monitor: monitor updates to the specified session.
                       Use the tag from list-sessions.
media volume:  the options are as follows:
                --stream STREAM selects the stream to control, see AudioManager.STREAM_*
                                controls AudioManager.STREAM_MUSIC if no stream is specified
                --set INDEX     sets the volume index value
                --adj DIRECTION adjusts the volume, use raise|same|lower for the direction
                --get           outputs the current volume
                --show          shows the UI during the volume change
        examples:
                adb shell media volume --show --stream 3 --set 11
                adb shell media volume --stream 0 --adj lower
                adb shell media volume --stream 3 --get


text:
Why is my notification bar duplicated and offset on home screen?
The defect can be seen at the top right corner of the home screen. There is also a black bar running down the right side of the home screen. When compared with the second picture from Google Chrome, the notification bar appears normal and there is no black bar.
(Click image to enlarge)

What exactly has gone wrong and how can it be fixed? Thanks in advance :-)

This is probably a silly question, but is your wallpaper a screen capture? If so, is the right-side of the notification bar in the image?

The black bar on the left is part of the problem. The icons top left are duplicated and merged. But in Chrome, it's fine. Yes the image was PrtSc. Got a new case with built in keyboard. So much easier to take screenshots now! ^_^ YAY!

I hope that answers it. I wasn't entirely sure what you meant :-/ :-)

Hahahahaaa, I just checked and that was the problem. I know what you mean now. The reason I dismissed it because I could have sworn that I cropped it before setting it, but it obviously didn't work...  lol

There are two notification bars- the real one and a second one that is part of the wallpaper. Check the wallpaper image and adjust as necessary.


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Can't restore (Nandroid backup) data partition (using TWRP) because boot gets stuck on "Phone is starting..."
I embarked on a planned factory reset and hence started the procedure with a Nandroid backup (via TWRP) of all available partitions.
Following the reset, after restoring the data partition from the backup, the boot sequence gets stuck on "Phone is starting...". After five minutes (or so) the phone restarts and then says:

Cannot load Android system. Your data may be corrupt. If you continue to get this message, you may need to perform a factory data reset and erase all user data store on this device.

...providing the option to "Try again" or "Factory data reset".
Restoring any other partition from the Nandroid backup produces no issues, it's only when the data partition (the most important to me) is restored does this issue occur.
The backup is not corrupted, as the digest verification succeeds.
Do I have any other options other than:

Discard the backup and start from a blank slate.
Start from a blank slate and manually extract the most important data from the data partition.

?
Ideally I'd like to be able to diagnose the root cause of the "Phone is starting..." issue, address it and continue to use my phone as it was prior to the first factory reset. I have done this restore process successfully before, but this time it's just not working for me.

Phone: Fairphone 3+
OS: Stock
Bootloader: Unlocked

Restoration procedure I do (following a factory data reset):

Boot phone.
Follow prompts to set same screen lock as prior to reset.
Restart phone into fastboot mode.
Boot into TWRP (using screen lock credentials to decrypt data partition).
Restore from backup.

The following procedure worked for me:

Factory reset data partition. If you can't boot, this can be achieved by running fastboot flashing lock, and then fastboot flashing unlock (because locking/unlocking the bootloader results in a factory reset).
Boot into the operating system and follow the setup prompts, ensuring that no screen lock is set!
Turn off phone.
Boot into TWRP.
Restore just "data" partition.
Reboot.
Re-enable screen lock as desired.

That's unnecessary. You can simply flash the remove lockscreen zip via TWRP. Works perfectly fine on Android 11 and 12.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/guide-twrp-zip-remove-all-locksettings-from-lockscreen.3790897/

Sometimes, bypassing screen unlock (as per one of the answers) isn't enough. Need to actually Format Data in TWRP.
Some recoveries can't deal with FBE and so you'd have to Format Data and disable FBE and then take a TWRP backup of that. Your ROM will basically be decrypted at that point. When you then do a restore, it'll work fine.
I've had this issue today, tried all sorts of things, ended up going with the above as a proper working solution.


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Prevent music volume from being lowered when using turn-by-turn navigation
I use a Nexus 6 on Lollipop.  Sometimes I'll try to listen to music over Bluetooth while using Google Maps turn-by-turn navigation in my car.  The volume on the music is reduced whenever Google Maps gives the next turn, which is irritating.  I changed the settings in Google Maps to output using the device's speaker, but it still lowers the media volume over Bluetooth to give me turn information.
Is there any way -- ideally without needing root privileges -- to prevent this from happening?

I guess that's the reason Google Maps do it, to make sure that you can hear the next turn (and prevent users from blaming Google if they miss it). Anyway, your question is on-topic.

@AndrewT. Yes, I imagine that's the case, but I am both aware of and accepting of the risk that I might not hear the directions.  In any case, the pausing doesn't really work because the delay in Bluetooth means my music doesn't get lowered until after it's already given the directions.

This is 2021, I just bought a Nissan Kicks and the same issue happens, both on Apple Play and Android Auto, when I'm using the Sirious XM or FM radio along with the directions. I couldn't figure out a way to stop the volume reduction, just wondering if anybody has found a way? It's hard to believe it's still not an optional feature

@cleberz I never found anything better than muting the directions.

I'm not sure at what point it was added, but it is now possible to mute turn-by-turn navigation.  This is not exactly ideal (I'd prefer to have the directions come out of the phone speaker and not pause Bluetooth), but it will do the job.  Google provides instructions here:

You can silence voice navigation by touching the mute button.

Open the Google Maps app maps.
Start navigation.
In the top right, touch Sound.
Touch Mute.

To turn voice navigation back on, touch
Mute > Sound.
Tip: You can also silence voice navigation by touching the volume
controls on your device.

From what I've read elsewhere, this functionality is generally handled by the application playing the music/audio. So, I've been testing out various players, and found a couple that does what the question is requesting, MX Player and Poweramp.
MX Player is primarily known as a video player, but it can also handle a number of audio formats (including Opus, which I happened to be looking for).
One drawback with MX Player is that it can't create dynamic playlists, so you have to have the songs ordered in folders to play in succession.
The other one that does what the question is requesting is the music player app Poweramp, which lets you choose in its settings, under Audio->Audio Focus->Short Audio Focus Change, between no ducking (unchecked), and pausing (checked). Poweramp isn't free, though.
Another app, Rocket Player, is a music player that will let you choose between ducking and pausing, but will not allow you to disable it completely, which is what the question is looking for. (The setting is under Settings -> Sound -> Audio Focus -> Temp Focus Action)
For myself, I've found that, especially for audiobooks and podcasts, I actually prefer pausing to ducking or no ducking, so I like Poweramp or Rocket Player for this purpose.

Well, that's unfortunate since the services I have are tied to particular apps but I guess that is the answer.

Rocket Player does give the option to IGNORE all other apps now. Just tested it: maps, camera shutter sound - make sounds but no longer "duck" (more like stutter!) my music, listening via 3.5mm rn but should be same for BT.

On Samsung phones, there is a well-known app called Good Lock that can do the trick:

Within the app, install "SoundAssistant";
Go to the "Multi sound" option and select "Maps".

That's it!

For Samsung devices, I found a solution to this issue by using an app called SoundAssistant. It has a "dual app sound" setting, if you turn it on and choose an app for dual sound (in my case it is Amazon Music), Google Maps will not mute the music.

Go to settings on your Android phone and search for "sound assistance". Then click on the toggle button to select "multiple audio sources". It works perfectly for Redmi Note 11S and some Samsung phones. Note, the feature may not be available for your Android device depending on the generation and/or software.


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Is Snowden snowing us with his "Smurfs Suite" interview?
I hope this is not too off-topic. This morning when I read news it was full of articles quoting Snowden in his most recent interviews. Apparently the UK's GCHQ and the USA's NSA can
(1) turn your phone on and off at will
(2) turn your mic on and off at will, listening
(3) take pics at will, watching
etc. all by sending an encrypted text which we will never actually see.
Check me if I'm wrong, but this seems hopelessly conspiracy-theorish when I consider it from a technical perspective.
(1) When my phone is off, what signal exactly are they going to send to wake it up? When my phone is off my battery goes for months with a barely perceptible drain - is the idea that this barely perceptible drain is intentional and being used by the security agencies? Or that they have a special battery in each and every handset ever made which somehow (magically) has never been discovered in any of the thousands of tear-downs that have been done?!
(2) I have tried some of the apps that are out there to work with my phone remotely. Inevitably they work great on the phone that the developer used in his original testing and they work like crap on most other phones. Are we saying that the NSA/GCHQ has developers dedicated to this on every single platform available? And they do it in advance of every single release so it can be part of the ROM? And they do this regardless of what country the handset maker is in?!
(3) And isn't android open source after all? Doesn't that basically completely rule out the possibility of some huge gaping hole like this?! Surely some 13-year-old would have run across it and once it's discovered how can it not be publicized with internet 2.0 the way it is today?!
I've got friends who were already convinced they needed to take their battery out of their phone when having a conversation (like the NSA cares who won the latest football match?!) - this is just going to throw gas on that fire. I'd like some technical responses to this question...
(No need to just quote the articles or tell us how much Snowden knows - I'm interested in the technical side of things as to whether something like this is remotely feasible.)
To make the question more focused: Is it technically possible that someone could turn on your phone remotely when it was completely turned off (but with battery still in)? Is it possible that spyware could be of sufficient quality to be useful (listen/pic and then send somewhere, presumably) and still buried so deeply that nobody was aware of it? So the question is strictly limited to the technical viability - could it theoretically be done?

Ah, I didn't realize android was both closed and open source. That would make a difference. However, I would think that at some point every line of code in the android open source collection has been gone over by multiple independent developers - it's not like some unknown software project attracting little notice...

@PeterBowers I think you overestimate the motivation of people looking at open source code.

Yes, the government can perform nefarious acts on your phone to listen in on what your are doing.

If you phone is truly off, there is no signal you can send to wake it up. But:

You can spoof the phone turning off.
In some older feature phones, turning your phone off was not good enough because some things on the phone stay awake, and the FBI used this to eavesdrop on mobster phones.

One of the best ways you can ensure your phone is truly off is to remove the battery.
This is something they do to particular people. It's not technically feasible to do this to every possible phone, but the government doesn't have to because any given mobster or other target has a particular phone.
This is why there is a market for undiscovered software exploits. Once you get root access, you can basically rewrite software to do what you want.

In conclusion, this is technically possible. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't buy your friends some tin foil hats as a gag gift.


text:
Help Installing a custom ROM
Hi I need some help with this,I want to install a custom rom to my Samsung galaxy s4 mini (I9190), I already know what rom is, and how that works, but  I don't know how to install it on any device, I don't have custom recovery also. So if some one could guide me step by step, that would be great. Thanks!

Begin by rooting (if you didnt already). Then using whatever custom recovery you chose to install, you can install the ROM. Search around for tutorials.

Use apps like flashify from play store on your own risk! Flashing custom rom without custom recovery is risky business! Custom recovery helps you to take nandroid backup.

Installing a custom recovery like CWM or TWRP try this link
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2398143
After you have installed a custom recovery boot into that recovery (usually it's by pressing home, power and volume up buttons simultaneously, leave the volume up button as soon as you see Samsung logo)
Make a backup of current Rom for safety.
Then choose apply update from sdcard navigate to the custom Rom file and flash it. And wait for some mins.
You will be in the new Rom :)


text:
Device with fake IMEI number that doesn't belong to me is shown under my Google Dashboard
I have sync my google account on my samsung galaxy note 2 but recently i have lost it.
After few days when i was checking google dash board to recover my contacts, i saw 2 devices listed under my Android.
One device GT-N7100 is my own device whereas N7000 with fake imei (231961768368404) does not belong to me.
How is it possible.
I have given my phone for tracking by the police but now i am confused whether my handset imei is changed or it is showing someone else device under my google account.

A very possible reason is probably you have used your Google Account in another mobile also for downloading apps from Google Play or for accessing Gmail or whatever. Don't panic about such things if you've logged out from that devices.


text:
Multiple layouts with SwiftKey and physical keyboard?
I use SwiftKey with external Bluetooth and OTG keyboards. SwiftKey is designed for this.
However, SwiftKey only gives me the English keyboard layout. When using the soft keyboard, my layout is Norwegian, and I alternate between typing in Norwegian and English. Norwegian layout is important to me as it contains special characters.
How can I get Norwegian (or any other latin-based) layout when using the hard keyboard with SwiftKey?
What is the easiest way to switch between different layouts quickly while using a physical keyboard with SwiftKey? (Something akin to the Samsung stock keyboard's alt+Shift Shortcut)
My details: Samsung I9305 running rooted stock 4.4.4 with Xposed Framework and SwitKey 6.1.0.71.

With swiftkey you can configure the hardware keyboard input in the "voice and other inputs" option under the "typing" section. The configuration is rather limited though, and for example doesn't allow for (let alone let you choose) a shortcut to open the virtual keyboard (the google keyboard does this on the pixel c).

In the 3rd option from the left on the top row.

Where in the interface can I find the "other inputs" option?

May I know if the screenshot is from Pixel C? It looks different from the most of Android Settings screen.


text:
Mirror OS X sound on Android without WiFi?
The audio jack hole on my Mac is broken.
My Android phone's hotspot is my Internet connection, and I don't have any other WiFi. Is there any way I can have the phone mirror the sound of my Mac?
I have already tried Bluetooth,  but I use several other Bluetooth devices at the same time,  and the Bluetooth sound gets a significant delay after some time. I work with creating subtitles for movies, and therefore that time delay is unacceptable to me.
Please note that many of the apps that do this require a WiFi hosted by a third device (router.) I don't have that, and need to do it without it.
I know this is technically doable,  because when I host a hotspot and connect the Mac to it, an app called AirDroid works fine (without using any cellular data) with a transfer speed of 5 megabytes per second. I'm looking for exactly that kind of connection being used to mirror the Mac audio on the phone.
I would even be interested in doing it with a USB cable. I'm interested in minimal delay and fair sound quality.
The phone is a Samsung I9305 running rooted stock 4.4.4 with Xposed Framework installed.
The Mac is running OS X 10.10.1.
I would prefer not having to buy any new hardware.

Is DLNA not an option?

It might be, this is the first time I hear of it, could you offer a link to an appropriate tutorial?

User Izzy maintains a list of DLNA/UPnP server and clients here. Could be helpful to you. You need to host a DLNA/UPnP server on your OS X and a client as an app in your Android. Kodi appears to have support for OS X. Note that you've not clearly confirmed whether you want to stream media from OS X to Android or want to make Android act as an alternative to physical speakers. DLNA takes care of former part.

Yes, I want to use the Android phone as an alternative to the Mac's audio jack. As I mentioned in OP, I work with creating subtitles for movies, and my Mac's audio jack is broken. I wish to plug headphones into the phone, and hear the sound of OS X with minimal delay.

This does not answer the question, but should solve your problem at minimal cost and in the most efficient way possible: use a USB headset! You can find many for less than $25. Or even cheaper, there are USB-to-audio-jack adapters, available for less than $10.

It's a good idea, and I already ordered one of those adapters online for a few dollars. (I do want to use my favourite pair of headphones.) The reviews of the adapter said the sound quality was kinda fair, not too good, not terrible. Anyway, I figure my phone has better sound quality than that card.


text:
How to automatically remove placeholders for ads when blocking them in Chrome?
I have a Moto Z2 Play running a Pixel Experience Oreo (8.1) 64-bit ROM. I have TWRP, Magisk root and Xposed Framework running. My browser is Chrome 70.0.3538.110 which is the latest stable release as of 5th of December 2018.
As the top answer in "How to block ads on Chrome for Android?" suggests, I have "AdAway", which works using the hosts file. It does work, however the space normally taken up by the ads is now taken up by a "sad face" icon as in the message Chrome shows when a page fails to load.
To me this is better than no ad-blocking at all, but one of the points of an ad-blocker is to remove clutter and use more display real-estate for actual content. Therefore, I am looking for a way to block ads in Chrome while also freeing up the space used by them so it can be used to show actual content. This is how most ad-blockers for desktop Chrome work.
I know that the newest Chrome Canary releases have a native ad blocker built in. However, it only blocks the most obnoxious ads. I am looking for a way to block all (or the great majority of) ads.

Browser based ad blocker extensions, such as uBlock Origin, work by preventing third party (cross site) requests from being made at first place. They explicitly have a list of which third parties loads ads, so they prevent the request, which in turn means no placeholder (the space occupied to show them on a page) for them in the rendered page output because those third party scripts were blocked from execution.
Non-browser based ad block solutions, such as Adaway and DNS66, focus on hosts based blocking, in which a request to an advertisement is redirected to localhost (user's own system), which in turn does not load anything. Since they don't prevent third party scripts from being executed, the scripts get to be loaded, with the placeholder the advertisement getting reserved in the rendered output of the page, but with no real ad being shown because of content request redirection to localhost.
So, if you want to save that real estate in the screen, you'd have to find a browser which has support for a popular browser based ad blocking extension.
Chrome does not support extensions as of now, so it is out of the equation. I don't know of Chromium based browsers with support for extensions, except Yandex browser which supports some Chrome extensions, and Brave browser who's native ad blocker at some sites achieve what you want. But, Firefox for Android is explicitly supported by the mighty uBlock Origin.
Here's how  a sample page from Vox website looks like, first with host based solution, than with uBlock Origin extension based solution, in Firefox.


text:
How to emulate camera input in Android? (To activate Whatsapp Web)
I have an Android device without a camera and I run Whatsapp on that device.
I want to activate Whatsapp Web from this device. Unfortunately, the only way to do this is to scan a QR-code, and I can't do that as I have no camera.
So, if I just could emulate camera input, that means use an image or video file of the QR code and have that be taken by the OS as camera input, then I would solve the problem.
This is doable on Windows. I'm sure it should be doable on a rooted Android device as well, especially if we can use Xposed Framework.
But the question is, does anybody know how to?

I think those answers on Use image file as camera will help you. I don't know if it works for video, too, but to activate WhatsApp Web a static image should be enough.

That's a nice idea, but unfortunately, Whatsapp doesn't use the "Complete action with" dialogue. It has its own built in camera in the app itself, so a third party app won't work. It has to be some sort of tweak, Xposed module or something that takes control of all camera input systemwide.

Connect a webcam to your Android phone, and use an app like this one: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vaultmicro.camerafi&hl=en

Maybe see this answer this might help: Creating 'fake' microphone and camera inputs on an Android mobile


text:
Is it unnecessary to unmount twice?
My Android 4.0.4 tablet (Onyx Boox i86) mounts the internal and external SD cards as real read/write drives (not MTP) on my computer. In order to do this it goes into "USB mode" where the tablet's OS no longer has access to the storage while the computer is accessing it.
Before unplugging the tablet, I usually do "Eject" in the desktop OS X/GNU/Windows file manager, and then click "Turn off USB storage" on the display of the tablet.
Is it alright to:

Just eject the drives on the desktop, and then physically plug out the cable?
Just click "Turn off USB Storage" on the tablet display and then plug out the cable?

The "secure removal" or ejection, when issued from a device whose USB ports provide some voltage (as a computer), serves the purpose of cutting out the voltage before unplugging the peripheral. This is done to avoid electromagnetic spikes that could possibly damage eventual data. In fact, ejecting a device does not kill an eventual data transfer, and instead your computer will tell you to either wait until the end of the operation, or to kill the process which transfers said data. So, in my opinion, only the first one of the two possibilities is needed.

@DeathMaskSalesman Why didn't you post that as an answer?

Because I'm not fully certain of those info, and would like some of the other respectable members to review them. The behaviour I described above is valid for Microsoft OSes, but I've no proof that Un*x does the same.


text:
How to tell if an app used the internet for local file transfer?
My friend uses Send Anywhere to transfer files between her Android phone and tablet. The tablet connects to the internet through a hotspot from the phone.
The app is supposed to transfer the files locally, without using the Internet, but now my friend is claiming  that her SA transfers ate up her whole cellular data pack.
How can we confirm this or rule it out?
We have Opera Max, and I think maybe native Android features as well, which tell us how much data each app has used, but the problem is that they can't tell the difference between data being transferred locally to another device on the same WiFi network, and data actually being transferred over the internet. The same thing goes for the Xposed module Network Speed Indicator.
Things I have thought about:

Looking at the transfer speed: Depending of the speed of ones Internet connection, the speed may differ when local connection is used and the internet is used.
Checking the remaining cellular data allowance from one's operator before and after a transfer.

I have already tried both these approaches on one or two occasions, and what I found is that the transfered happend locally, without the Internet being used for anything other than the innitial "handshake." But the problem is that my friend is now claiming that Send Anywhere comsumed her whole cellular data allowance. If my friend is correct, it would mean that the app is unpredictable and may sometimes use the Internet even though both devices are on the same network (they would have been, my friend has only her one cellular connection and nothing else.)
This is actually not impossible. For example, another app called Airdroid, with some similar functionality, sometimes fails to get a local connection between a hotspot hosting Android device and a connected desktop computer. It then warns me that the two devices are using the internet to connect to each other. However, this only happens sometimes, and refreshing the web app on the desktop device usually solves it.
A similar bug with Send Anywhere may occur, but, like Airdroid, it may only happen occasionally. (It also might not warn me about it, like Airdroid does.) Therefore, it may be difficult to reproduce at any given attempt. Thus, I would like to monitor over an extended period of time how much data each app has used, in a similar way to what Opera Max dues, but I need to be able to distinguish between local data and actual internet data. Opera Max doesn't distinguish. If such monitoring is going on on my friend's device(s), I can be able to see whether it's actually true that Send Anywhere consumed her cellular data allowance.
Any advice?
The devices are both running Android 5.1. The tablet is rooted with Xposed, the phone is not rooted.

This is a common thing. If the cellular data is turned on in the sender device(which creates a hotspot), then it is a wifi which is available to the connecting devices.
An android phone would consume large amount of data in wifi than in a cellular data. So it can be suggested to turn of cellular data while using the specified app.

This doesn't answer the question at all. This should be a comment. We want the tablet to have internet access. (At least we don't mind). But we don't want that internet access to be used for large file transfers that are supposed to happen locally. This question isn't even about how to avoid the internet being used. This question is about how to detect whether an app did so.

I am not having the option to make comments i.e. Im not having enough reputations.

That's alright, but you should still not make answers that don't answer the question. By the way, the app in question requires internet access for the initial "handshake".

It is not possible to detect the internet consumed by other devices in the device which has provided the internet. I am clear with my answer. Please read it again.

First of all, I don't know what you mean by "detect the internet consumed by other devices," but in a lot of senses that is indeed possible. Secondly, even if it wasn't we could also use the guest device to investigate the situation. And no, your answer comes nowhere close to answering the question posed in OP. Please, let's wait for someone who has more knowledge of the subject matter. By the way, I'm in India. Cheers!

Sorry for my wrong wording. It is not possible to identify the internet consumed by other devices in the device which has provided the internet.

Depends what you mean. It is indeed possible to see how much data the device has consumed. I'm guessing that tools also exist (with root maybe) to see which IP addresses the guest communicated with, how much data was transferred to each, etc. It may even be possible to eavesdrop on unencrypted data the guest sent/received. This being the case, your statement is patently false. Anyhow, let's not clutter up this place with more comments, but let's rather wait for some more knowledgeable users to come along.


text:
In what ways is Greenify different from regular task killers?
When I say "regular" task killers I mean the ones that don't use root privileges or Xposed Framework and are often quite simple.
At first I thought that one difference between Greenify and regular task killers is that regular task killers require the user to manually kill tasks, whereas Greenify can operate continuously without the user worrying about its operation. But then I noticed that some task killers have an "auto" feature now too. Actually, Greenify also has a "non-root" mode now, which I am guessing would be similar to that.
In this question I'm talking about Greenify in "root-mode" and with the Xposed module active.
What differences are there? Should Greenify be called a task killer, or is it something more? What does Greenify utilise its root privileges and Xposed module for? What sets Greenify apart from regular task killers? What are the benefits and/or disadvantages of using Greenify as compared to a regular task killer?


text:
How to batch-split the pages of a PDF when there's multiple pages per page?
I have PDFs with two actual pages on one landscape page, like this:

I want to separate the pages so that each page has only one actual page on it. For example, the page in the image above above should be split in two and added in consecutive order to a new PDF. Each document has lots of pages with the same margins, so I want batch processing.
The text from the PDF should be preserved.
I know of a desktop application called Briss, but I need to do it on Android. Here's what Briss looks like:

Is it possible?

Please edit your question to clarify that you want PDF functionality to be retained. Deleted my answer as i could have clarified this before replying :)

@beeshyams Alright, edited.


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

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

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

the app does not work!

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

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

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

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