text:
Stop Android from killing Runtastic
Runtastic is an app for tracking the paths you ran, how fast you were, etc. It worked great for me for many years but almost 2 years ago started crashing on virtually any run.
A few months ago, I tried different running apps but all of them crashed too. The only way I have found to somewhat reliably stop this from happening is to open the app every 2 to 5 minutes which is really obnoxious to have to do.
I already tried turning off battery optimization for Runtastic in the Android settings. This seems to make the problem less severe (though I'm not sure) but doesn't eliminate it. Furthermore, occasionally battery optimization for it just turns back on automatically for some reason.
How can I tell Android that Runtastic may use however much battery (mostly via GPS usage, I guess) whilst in the background without getting killed?
I use a OnePlus 3 running OxygenOS 5.0.1 which is based on Android 8.0.0.

Hello fellow OnePlus user! I had this same problem on my OnePlus 5. Turned off battery optimisation, still no dice. It was quite frustrating. I mean, I have 8 GB of RAM, why would it need to be killed?
Well, it turns out OnePlus has an additional setting: "Advanced optimisation". You can access it by going to Settings → Battery → Battery Optimisation and press the 3 dot menu on the top right. Turn it off.
Advanced optimisation is extremely aggressive. I was even missing emails because of it. Turning it off immediately fixed the problem for me, and I haven't really felt that much of a difference in battery.
P.S. You can turn on optimisation for Runtastic back on.

Thanks for your answer. However, it's already turned off. I probably turned it off when trying to solve the problem myself.

Do you by any chance regularly clear apps from your recent apps list? That might kill the app.

I hardly ever do that. Especially not when running.

Hmm, I'm not sure what else is there. Try the following: Settings -> Advanced -> Recent App Management -- make sure it is normal clear. In Developer Options, make sure "Don't keep activities" is off, and "Background process limit" is standard limit. Does it only happen with Runtastic/running apps, or anything else?

These options already were set the way you told me to. It also happened with the other running apps I tried. It doesn't happen with any other apps, but then again I don't use GPS excessively with any of them.

I've found battery optimisation on OP devices to be quite weird. For instance if you go to app info for a certain app it might tell you that it's optimising battery usage even if you go into settings and turn it off. I think OP uses a weird non-stock implementation.


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How to force Adobe tracking link in SMS to open Google Play Store app and not the web browser
I am sending a bitly in SMS that masks an Adobe tracking link to download an app. I want the link to open the Google Play app, not the web browser. Is there a way to force this? Given that I can't change the settings on everyone's phones, need to be able to do it from my side.

Instead of linking to play.google.com, make the link point to market://details?id=com.example.android, though you may find that some software will block these links for security reasons. There's no way to force a play.google.com link to open in Play Store.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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How is the GSM Call Flow implemented and when is the microphone opened?
Is it possible to know how is the GSM call flow implemented on Android? I will like to know concretely when its the microphone opened.

You can always check the source and find out yourself. What's the actual problem you're trying to solve? Right now it's difficult for us to know what kind of answer will help you.

@DanHulme What I want to know concretely is if when making a call, during the ringing, is the microphone already opened  ? As far as I know the GSM flow requires CC_CONNECT_ACKNOWLEDGE before entering the speech phase. I've read this weird behaviour in forums i.e https://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s4/511235-s4-without-answering-call-caller-can-hear-my-conversation-how-even-possible.html
thanks for your interest.

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


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Backup to Google Drive include account(s) information?
I have been experimenting with restoring backups to a freshly factory-reset phone but I'm noticing that not a single account beyond the initial Google Account is being restored to freshly restored-from-backup phone.
This makes the whole concept of restoring quite limited.  Sure data is there but the user having to go re-create all of the needed accounts manually is a real pain.
Is there something I am not (as a user) understanding about the backup/restore facility?


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Running commands operating on files always results in permission denied errors
When I try executing commands operating on files, they always fail. I can't check permissions on the terminal because I'd have to run a command that operates on a file (directory) in order to do so. Here is an example of what I mean:

Note that the terminal already shows a "Permission denied" error message when I open it.
According to my file browser, the /sdcard symlink (I suppose it's a symlink) has all permissions set. However, on the path to the linked locations, not all permissions are set. To test whether this is what's causing the problem, I created a new directory /t with all permissions set. You can see the result of me running ls in that directory in the terminal output above.

What do I have to do in order to be able to run commands that operate on files?
My phone is a rooted OnePlus 3 running OxygenOS 5.0.1 which is based on Android 8.0.0. BusyBox is installed.

Are you using custom ROM? Your /system directory seems to have bad permissions. If you have root, try su -c "ls -l $(which ls)" or use $(which busybox) ls

I can't try stuff myself anymore because my phone died. However, I think I should leave this question open in case someone has an idea that probably works and someone else comes across this.


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Is it possible to run two instances of android on your phone at the same time?
Sorry if I am misusing 'instances'. What I mean is the following: I want to run an master OS. The 'only' thing that master OS does is let me boot/kill/switch between  OS 1, OS 2, OS 3, etc. I want apps to believe they run on a normal Android phone. So if I run  app X on two OS, namely 1 and 2. I want each instance of app X to believe it runs on a different machine. I understand you can do this with a dual boot. However I want both OS at the same time. I interact within OS 1 and switch to OS 2 to continue where I left.

Sounds like you want an Android virtual machine host, like VMWare on desktops/servers.
As far as I know, there are no Android OS virtual machine hosts that can host Android OS virtualized instances. (There are desktop/server hosts that can host Android OS guests though--think AVD, GenyMotion, etc.) I'm guessing an Android host isn't a common case, to want to virtualize multiple instance on a single embedded device. And because of the complexity in doing that, it would have to be pretty low level, maybe even tied to specific devices. So it is unlikely someone will create one any time soon. Sorry.

Dual boot even on computers usually only boot 1 at a time. There are dual boot setups for some android devices. What you are trying to do wouldn't work in a dual boot set up. Check out island XDA Link, which allows the same app being run as two separate instances on the same device.


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Does an Android Factory Reset also clear the cache partition?
In researching a possible answer to this question about "Server error occurred. Restart Camera." while taking photos on the Samsung Galaxy S6, I read this article.
The article talks about wiping the cache partition via Android System Recovery and performing a Factory Reset.
Question: Does an Android Factory Reset also clear the cache partition?  Or does it only clear the data partition?

Yes, a factory reset clear's the cache, dalvik cache, along with the user data.
<string name="factory_reset1">Wipes Data, Cache, and Dalvik</string>

The information on factory reset is hidden in the Source code.


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Automatically disable SIM 2 while SIM 1 has signal?
Is it possible (via Tasker or otherwise) to automatically disable a SIM when the other one has a signal, and to similarly re-enable it once the other loses signal?

For sure you would require root. Related https://android.stackexchange.com/q/180064/131553

Yeah root is fine, I have root. Thanks for the link, I'll take a look.


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How to root blackview a20
I have a blackview A20 which is a low spec phone running android oreo go.
I would like to use this phone for experimentation with android development and learning about android on a cheap device without risk of breaking my main phone. To do this I would like it rooted and as a bonus with a custom recovery so I can test custom ROMs.
State of device:

Unlocked bootloader
Unchanged ROM
Unchanged Recovery
OEM unlocking enabled
USB debugging enabled

What I have tried:

Flashing recovery images with fastboot
Using fastboot flash recovery recovery.img with some TWRP and CWM recovery images all yield:
target reported max download size of 134217728 bytes
sending 'recovery' (4690 KB)...
OKAY [  0.169s]
writing 'recovery'...
OKAY [  0.276s]
finished. total time: 0.448s

or similar. Then I restart phone and select boot into recovery mode. The phone hangs for a small while before restarting and booting into the normal OS. On restart into recovery the unchanged recovery is there still.
Various 'one-tap' methods
All of which were unsuccessful. If needed I can give details.
Installing SuperSU zip from recovery
In a futile attempt I tried to use the android recovery to push a SuperSU zip with its update from zip option. I knew this wouldn't work but I found something interesting. On the Apply update from SD card option I get an error saying couldn't mount /sdcard
Booting recovery images with fastboot
I have tried the fastboot boot recovery.img command to try to boot directly into the images. I get this
downloading 'boot.img'...
OKAY [  0.211s]
booting...
OKAY [  0.047s]
finished. total time: 0.261s

output but the device just restarts and boots normally into the normal OS.

What I would like from this question (In order of importance):

A way to root the device
A way to access a custom recovery (even if temporary)
Ability to install custom ROMs
A permanent custom recovery

First thing to look for is whether there's a custom recovery (e.g. TWRP) available for your device. You'll need that anyway. If there is, get it (installed). Then take a look at Magisk. Take a look at my article Root for all: Magisk to get an overview.

@Izzy I thought so, I can't find a custom recovery anywhere for my device. One of the recoverys I tried was the generic arm twrp and you can see the results of that in my post. Getting a recovery is the main problem I'm having; I'm fairly confident rooting after that.

Have you tried TwrpBuilder? Claims to generate a TWRP image from your stock recovery. I haven't tried it so far (I always check those things before I buy a device, to make sure TWRP and custom ROMs are available or the latter at least already "in the make"). That way I can root the device before unboxing :) (very first thing: unlock bootloader (no data to lose yet), flash TWRP, and only after that switch on for usage).


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USB C symmetry problem.
Up until very recently, I thought that USB C was symmetrical, that it could be plugged in either way and it always acted the same.
I now have two phones that both behave in the same manner. (HTC U11 life and Sansumg Galaxy S8) When using the factory charger and cord, connecting the plug in one orientation causes the phone to slow charge and flipping it over causes the phone to fast charge.
Was my assumption wrong to begin with or is something else the matter?

Did you try another cable?

@alex.s two cords in fact

Afaik usb-c plug pinout is not completely symmetrical. A couple of symmetrical pins have different names so they may have different functions. This maybe the reason.

My answer to a similar question: https://android.stackexchange.com/a/193997/3573

Not as per standards. Type C does away with guessing and struggling with the right way to connect. My guess is that your cables are not as per standard

I now think the issue is that Samsung Galaxy S8 (and perhaps the HTC U11 life) is using Qualcomm's Quick Charge protocol (or some other fast charge protocol) which is different than USB-C Power Delivery which handles the orientation issue. See: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2016/11/google-threatens-qualcomm-quick-charge-with-android-incompatibility/ and https://www.androidpit.com/charging-standards-comparison


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How do you keep your phone vibrating indefinitely?
I'm suspecting that the vibrator in my phone is not working properly. Before opening the case, I'd like to diagnose first. I need to make my phone keep vibrating for a while, say, like 2 minutes or more. I haven't found any good solution other than calling this phone with another.
I'd like to keep it vibrating without generating other sound, e.g. ringtone when someone calls you.

I would suggest something along the lines of beeshyams' answer, you could also try "Automate" if "Macrodroid" isn't to your liking.

Since it is a one-time test, I suggest a simple macro using MacroDroid.
Use + to add Trigger/actions from the corresponding panel
Trigger: Empty Trigger
Actions

Conditions/Loops → Repeat actions → Fixed number → OK → Fixed count say 70

Tap on End Loop → Add action above → (Device Actions → Vibrate → Long buzz) → OK

Tap on End Loop again to add one more action of wait 1 second (MacroDroid Specific → Wait Before Next Action)

From the Overflow menu, choose "Test actions" and your phone should buzz almost continuously for long enough (increase the count in step 1 if required)

In step 3 you can increase to 2 seconds - some devices don't work with short intervals of one sec

@AndrewT, thanks for updating! Appreciate much :)


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ADB over wifi goes away after unplugging usb
connect the usb to your phone open the cmd and type:
adb devices
Huawie Mate 8                   device

and it gives something like this. This is the device connected over usb.Now type
adb tcpip 5555
adb connect 192.168.43.1:5555

type adb devices again
    adb devices
    Huawie Mate 8                   device
    192.168.43.1:5555               device
and it works perfectly.
The problem is:
as soon as the usb is plugged out.
and after typing:
adb devices
List of attached devices
and the list is empty
try:
adb connect 192.168.43.1

unable to connect to 192.168.43.1:5555 cannot connect to `192.168.43.1:5555 : No connection could be made because the target machine actively refused it.(10061)`

I dont know what to do tried revoke usb from developer settings.

Is the phone definitely on the same Wi-Fi network as the PC?

Hi.thanks for the reply.Yes they were but there was a FireWall installed on my phone which didn't support LAN it could only let mobile data and wifi but it had no idea about LAN and blocked all the data.

I am not sure it may be this the case, or it may be helpful, but I got the same message, and it worked if I enable adb via WiFi with the command 'adb tcpip 5555' (from the PC) when the PC is connected to the phone hotspot but the phone is NOT connected to the internet (i.e., 3G is deactivated).
In short, I did the following:

Plug the device via USB
Restart the phone
Disable phone data
Enable phone hotspot
(adb usb)
adb tcpip 5555
Unplug the device
adb connect 192.168.43.1:5555

After that, I reactivated 3G on the phone, and I had both the internet hotspot and the adb connection, at the same time.

Hi if you have the same problem,It's probably the firewall on the computer or on the phone,Make sure first disable both and try again if worked get another firewall or adjust the ones you had to get them working.


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How to "Add to Home screen" a shorcut with a dynamic URL?
I have a Google Form that I use for daily tracking and I would like to have a shortcut to this form on my home screen.
One field of this form is for the date and I would like to have it pre-filled with today's date. To do so, I can pass a query string to the URL, that will end up looking like:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/<formId>/viewform?entry.<fieldId>=YYYY-MM-DD

Since today's date is not the same as tomorrow's (yay!), this URL needs to be updated every day with a different YYYY-MM-DD.
I followed this post and has been able to create a bookmark with a dynamic URL using JavaScript, on Chrome Desktop: How to create a dynamic bookmark with today’s date in the URL, but I would also like to have it on my phone.
I came across this answer, where it shows how to use JavaScript to change the current page. However, when applied to my case, it will compute the date before creating the URL, so this URL is not dynamic.
Is there a "native" way to achieve this? My other option for the moment would be having a local HTML page that redirects to the form.


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How to use Glase on a rooted Android device?
How can I use the Tap and Pay payment app Glase (formerly SEQR) on a device which has been rooted using Magisk?

Step 0. Clean/uninstall everything Glase/SEQR, in other words - start over.
Step 1. Install Glase from Play Store but don't open it!
Step 2. Open Magisk Manager, hit "Tap to start SafetyNet check". Allow download of non-OSS if asked for. If Magisk notifies you that it has been repackaged and the check cannot be performed, you'll have to use a third-party app to check for SafetyNet Status.
Step 3. Ensure both basicIntegrity and ctsProfile are true. If not, ensure Magisk Hide is enabled by toggling its setting inside Magisk Manager settings, under Magisk. On Huawei devices on stock ROM you have to flash a specific "patch" zip file via TWRP recovery. If even after enabling Magisk Hide ctsProfile and/or basicIntegrity are false, please reboot your device, and - if it still doesn't work - reinstall stock firmware/ROM and start over. Please note that on some custom ROMs you'll have to use the "Props" Magisk Module to enable Magisk Hide.
Step 4. Go into Magisk Hide from the Magisk Manager menu and select/mark your Glase or SEQR app as enabled. You should see an orange ticked (✓) tick box next to it.
Step 5. Now go into Magisk Manager settings and select the "Hide Magisk Manager" entry from "General" menu. If you don't see it, and instead have "Restore Magisk Manager", it means you have done this already and you can go to the next step.
Step 6. Now open your Glase/SEQR app and follow the on-screen instructions to set it up.
Note: the "Tap and Pay Activation" procedure is sometimes buggy, regardless if you're rooted or not. Please allow up to 2 minutes for Glase to send you an "Activated" notification. If you don't get one, please delete app data of Glase, re-sign in with your account and attempt "Tap and Pay Activation" again


text:
Drop\stop mobile data connection (non-wifi) by conditions
Can I set Android 4.4.2 to drop mobile data connection once a data limit set by me is reach within a period?
Which version of Android has this feature?
How can I achieve this?

That's already been answered in detail (much more details than your short one-liner) at e.g. How to control, monitor and limit bandwidth usage?. And this feature was introduced with Android 4 aka ICS aka Ice Cream Sandwich.

@pop if you're comfortable with third party apps you could try 3g watchdog which allows you to set custom periods like 1 day, week etc then switch off mobile data altogether...

Settings only available after you turn on mobile data, it's under settings-->data usage.


text:
Oreo 8.1 - Trouble enabling ADB for system by modifying /system/build.prop in TWRP adb shell
I've followed https://gist.github.com/varhub/7b9555cdd1e5ad785ffde2300fcfd0bd and have doublechecked that the build.prop is indeed modified i.e. system was mounted in read-write mode.
Unfortunately after reboots, the /data/property/persist.sys.usb.config resets itself to just mtp (instead of mtp,adb).
Any ideas what I am missing? I have to do this via adb since I am working on a headless phone with a broken screen (touch/display not working at all).

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get past this conventionally and no answers here either. I installed a LineageOS based rom via TWRP commandline and managed to get it to boot. It has ADB enabled by default and I was able to inject the adb key via the TWRP shell too.
Now I am stuck at a different problem of adding and connecting to a WiFi SSID via the commandline.

You can just supply a /data/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf file with the right credentials and enable wifi using svc wifi enable.

@Zulakis I have already tried that, but unfortunately it doesn't work on my setup. I've raised a new question at https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/200285/connecting-wifi-via-adb-shell-oreo-8-1-lineageos
Waiting patiently for new things to try.

You could probably edit the /vendor/etc/init/hw/init.qcom.usb.rc file to achieve what you want. (That's what I did for a similar issue).


text:
Samsung S8 messenger saved images
I cannot find my saved facebook messenger images on my Samsung Galaxy S8 photos, i looked everywhere, in all my albums, pictures, downloads files etc.tried looking everywhere for my messenger photos, no luck what should i do.  help

In case of FB Messenger you have to 'Save' image.

Click on the image in the Messenger app.
Click 'more' in the lower left corner of the screen.
Tap 'Save'.

Now the image is saved to your device and it can be seen in Gallery.
Dedicated folder:
   Internal Storage/Pictures/Messenger


text:
Contacts duplicated
I've a strange problem.
My phone create me some contacts in a strange way...
I've 250 contacts, my phone duplicate 200 of them 2 or 3 times every time the same and also if I delete the duplicated contacts (not sync with google) it comes back in a fiew minutes.
Why? there is a fix? Pls help me!

The simple way to do this is to use Duplicate Contacts.  It also manages other contacts as well that are stored in your different accounts, including deleting all of them if you wish
Deleted contacts are stored as a .vcf file in the root of sd card storage.
Its general description is:

Simple tool to see and delete duplicate contacts. You can see a list
  of contacts sorted by name or by number and you can select which to
  delete. The duplicate contacts are automatically selected. The removed
  contacts are saved on vcf file on sdcard.

From experience this is one of the very few  applications that serves its purpose - to delete and NOT to merge contacts.

I tried this application, but it missed many duplicate contacts. I need something that can handle spaces and dashes in phone numbers, or even just detects duplicate names.


text:
how can I stop my screen randomly turning on?
I have my phone on charge though that probably isn't relevant
I notice from time to time my phone screen turns on
I googled re that and found this
https://www.howtogeek.com/255696/how-to-disable-androids-ambient-display/
But I see no 'ambient display' option there
I have Android v 6.0

What is the device that you are using? Several OEMs such as Huawei, Xiaomi, Samsung run a skinned version of Android, which has enhancement with different names. So, knowing the device will make it easier to understand. Also, can you somehow upload a picture of how your screen looks when it wakes up?

@singhnsk  it seems maybe It hasn't happened for about 6 hours.. it was happening quite frequently earlier today. Maybe one of the standard apps i had open was triggering it.   The phone is a Doogee y6c.  The screen that was showing was a locked screen, then I turned off the display lock, and it showed just the regular home screen.

The ambient display option is apparently completely invisible when you do not have a lock screen set. So the way to solve this is:

Set up any arbitrary lock screen. On my fairly Vanilla Android 10 system, that's Security→Screen lock.
Disable "Ambient display". This feature has had multiple names over time and the settings apps differ on on different brands of phone, but in my case, it's Display→Advanced→Lock screen display→Ambient display→on/off slider at the top. It might be different on your system, but I'm pretty sure you can at least ignore all the tutorials that tell you to go into Google Assistant settings.
Disable screen lock again, if you want. The ambient display setting still applies, you just can't change it when no lock screen is set.

After many instructions that only included step #2, I finally found the answer here (archive).

Ah, dammit, I only noticed that this was my own answer when I saw the "(archive)". Sadly this did not help on my new system. My current suspicion is that notifications have something to do with it.


text:
phone stuck in recovery and blank screen
so i have a condor plume L1 the the default rom was full of bloatware every 30 sec i get an add so i used adb to install twrp and wanted to install a custom rom but i had a problem with /data couldnt mount and stuck with that problems for days after that i decided to flash it and install the original rom using SP flash too everything looked fine but after its done andi unpluged the phone i got a blank screen when i press Power + vol up botton i get a menu
- recovery
- fastboot
- normal`

and when i go to any option its just blank screen adb no longer recognize my phone but sp flash tool recognize my phone when i choose fastboot

Was your phone encrypted? If it was, use fastboot to erase data with fastboot erase data and, if the problem is encryption, you'll be fine.

erasing data mean i'll lose the rom i have on the phone memory but i'll try it

You won't lose the ROM, only the user data. The ROM is found in the system partition, unless you are referring to the ROM zip file.

i used an earlier version of twrp and that fixed the problem for me but now i'm getting error 255 every time i try to install the new rom zip file from the phone internal  memory


text:
Device encryption fails, gives no error and just restarts
Got a redmi note 5 pro, some time ago and I have been fiddling with it. I tried to encrypt the device when it ran Resurrection Remix OS, for some reason, it appears to be working and then less than 30 seconds later, it just shows me the lockscreen again. It never seems to encrypt.
Is it a problem in the latest oreo build or is it a problem in the ROM?
What might be a viable solution?

Encryption requires that 16KiB remain unused by the filesystem on the userdata partition. You can check if this is the issue by

Do adb logcat > android.log on a computer

enable developer options first
you might need to root, I don't think so though

Start the encryption process in settings

If this is the problem, you'll see the following in the logs:
E Cryptfs : Orig filesystem overlaps crypto footer region.  Cannot encrypt in place.

To fix this issue, you'll need to resize your userdata partition.

If it's ext4, I believe that you can use resize2fs to do this. I'm not sure how to do this though.

If it's f2fs, the process is quite a bit more involved:
Reboot into TWRP. Do adb shell on a computer. fdisk  -l /dev/block/sda to view the partition structure. You'll see something like this:
Logical sector size: 4096
Disk identifier (GUID): 98101b32-bbe2-4bf2-a06e-2bb33d000c20
Partition table holds up to 16 entries
First usable sector is 6, last usable sector is 14145530

Number  Start (sector)    End (sector)  Size       Code  Name
   1               6               7        8192   0700  ssd
   2               8            8199       32.0M   0700  persist
   3            8200           73735        256M   0700  cache
   4           73736           73991       1024K   0700  misc
   5           73992           74119        512K   0700  keystore
   6           74120           74151        128K   0700  devcfg
   7           74152           74183        128K   0700  devcfgbak
   8           74184           74311        512K   0700  frp
   9           74312           76871       10.0M   0700  oem_dycnvbk
  10           76872           79431       10.0M   0700  oem_stanvbk
  11           79432           79687       1024K   0700  param
  12           79688           81711       8096K   0700  reserve1
  13           81712           85759       15.8M   0700  reserve2
  14           85760           85887        512K   0700  config
  15           85888        14145530       53.6G   0700  userdata

Make a note of:

the "Logical sector size"
the partition number for userdata
the start sector for userdata
the end sector for userdata

Make a backup of this partition. You will lose the data on it if you don't, it will be explicitly wiped. I believe that TWRP has a function to do this, but I used a tarball & adb pull:
In adb shell:
~ # mount /dev/block/sda15
~ # tar -cpzf /mnt/fs.tar.gz /mnt/
tar: removing leading '/' from member names
tar: /mnt/misc/camera/cam_socket2: socket ignored
...
tar: /mnt/fs.tar.gz: file is the archive; skipping

then adb pull /mnt/fs.tar.gz
Unmount the partition using umount /mnt
Next, wipe part of the existing filesystem to make sure that we don't get any warnings when making the new filesystem: dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/block/sda<partition number> bs=1M count=128. This is the point of no return.
Create a new filesystem using the numbers you wrote down from before: calculate partition_size = end_sector - start_sector - (16384 / logical_sector_size) manually, and make a note of that number.
Then run mkfs.f2fs /dev/block/sda<partition number> <partition_size> to create a new partition of the appropriate size.
Mount it, and use adb push fs.tar.gz /mnt/ to send over your backed up data. cd /mnt; tar -xf fs.tar.gz; mv mnt/* .; rm -rf mnt fs.tar.gz to extract, and you're done!
Restart and retry encrypting! Hopefully everything will work.


text:
How to stop my phone from annoying me with software updates?
I'm getting constant notifications that a new software-update is available for my phone.
It's a motorola on android 7 and i do not want the software-update. I was getting notifications all day getting to the point where it's so aggressive I'd rename my phone to an "updates pager".
I did the following:
1) Tap build number 7 times to enable developer mode
2) Settings -> Developer Options -> Disable Automatic System Updates

And ever since the notifications per se stopped, but the phone still constantly (without the notification tho!) shows an activity (entire screen) telling me that there's a new software update.

Can someone help me to end my misery? The phone is not rooted. All stock.

Updating keeps your device safe. The update will install secuirty patches. Why don't you want to update?

I don't like new things. My most used device is actually still on Android 4, I prefer its looks and feel a lot over 5 and newer. Also the newer the version the less of a chance for an exploit to be found that let's me root the device - usually at least.

If you can run adb on it or via what you are trying in your other questions (via tablet), and if you can pin-point which app is showing that screen/activity about software update, you can try uninstalling that app (for your 'user 0'). Be warned that this may result in a boot loop or phone stuck at boot animation. I don't know how critical that app would be. Alternatively, you can skip adb and see if disable option is available under Settings -> Apps -> your system app.


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Tasker - To switch between Wifi and Mobile Data
Can Tasker be programmer to do a one click:
1. Turn off Wifi and turn on Mobile Data
2. Turn off Mobile Data and then Turn On Wifi
I want something that's quick, one click to switch to WIFI only or Mobile Only.
Thanks.

Try Automate (free):

Wi-Fi set state block
Mobile data set state block (rooted device required)

no way to switch on data from non-rooted device?

@rvpals Unlikely. Maybe using the "svc data enable" shell command.


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Ads security issue affecting all Android system
for a couples of day I have noticed that there is a strange behavior on my Android phone device. and I think it is a global problem.
I have noticed that some Ads appears in the screen in whatever app is opened or on the home screen, with and X to close it. It could appear overlapping any application, and in the middle of the screen but not full screen.
I closed it, and I didn't know what application causing that behavior, but after a while I have noticed that some application are installing them self without any permission from my side. those application are four and appears on the notification bar with  is downloading themself. and the phone is going so slow.
I check the apps manager and I found four strange services I didn't notice them before.

adService
Clain Left
com.android.tools
com.bd.sdk.project

I uninstall them and they return again and again every one or two hours. and in different Wifi network.
I decided to rest my phone to its factory setting. but I still got the same problem.!!!
Dose somebody faced that kind of problem recently? and what solve this problem.
Thanks

Related: Ads appearing throughout the system, apps installing on their own // Apps install on their own // Unwanted apps auto installing without me doing anything. How to stop them? // probably more. Have you checked with those already?

it keeps reappearing because you are not removing the problem causing potentially unwanted program. You probably have something from that category and these intruders are not that easy to remove. You uninstall only the feature that annoys you but not the problem itself. Especially since you can see there is not one program appearing.
You should rely on anti-malware tools and remove possible threats, intruders, cyber infections. There is a few available online for free. You can find them on the App Store. Those programs can detect, remove and even block threats later on.
These additional programs come from insecure ads, websites, installations. So you can't see when they were downloaded exactly and the ones on your browser are not the main program that causes problems.


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Create playlist once in Windows and use in Android
Is there a way to do this?
I have .mp3 files in a folder on my Windows PC and the same folder on android.

You should be able to use OneDrive for this. I haven't personally tried it but it should work if you keep a folder offline on the phone and it syncs regularly.

It is possible but you must modify the playlist file by changing the path to the files because they (the files) are not located in the same folder. In Windows, the path will look like C:\Users\A_User\Your_Folder\music.mp3 will on your device it will be like /sdcard/your_folder/music.mp3 (find the path to your files on your device using your file manager).
After creating the playlist, open it with Notepad. If your playlist has m3u extension (it might differ, see note below), it will look like this:
#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:279,Papa Wemba - Maria
file:///C:/Users/Reddy/Desktop/New%20folder%20(5)/Music/Maria.mp3
#EXTINF:217,Papa Wemba - Okoningana
file:///C:/Users/Reddy/Desktop/New%20folder%20(5)/Music/Okoningana.mp3

Change the path by removing C:/Users/Reddy/Desktop/New%20folder%20(5)/Music/ in the example above with sdcard/your_folder/. Thus, the playlist will change to:
#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:279,Papa Wemba - Maria
file:///sdcard/your_folder/Music/Maria.mp3
#EXTINF:217,Papa Wemba - Okoningana
file:///sdcard/your_folder/Okoningana.mp3

Transfer the file to your device, and you will be able to play it.
Note: The playlist in the example was created using VLC media player in a Windows machine and playing it using VLC for Android. Yours may differ a bit depending on the media player used or file extension ( xspf, m3u8, even m3u, etc). However, the principle is the same: change the path.
Disclaimer: I am only a VLC user, not its developer(s) or related to him/her/them.


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Find back the status indicator for Titanium Backup
I started a time-y backup task in TB. There's a popup window showing an overall progress and which app it's currently backing up. I accidentally tapped the screen (not the Cancel button) and it disappeared. I tried to start another task and it shows "An operation is already in progress". I have no way to know how much the previous task has done.
How to I retrieve the current progress?

Is there any notification of how much it completed shown?

Have you checked in the notification area?


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How to connect to PEAP MSCHAPv2 Wi-Fi using system certificates in Android 8.0 Oreo?
This is in followup to a similar question about Android 7.1
How to connect to PEAP MSCHAPv2 Wi-Fi using system certificates in Android 7.1 Nougat?
In there is said:
"Android 7.1 has introduced some changes to Wi-Fi connection interface. In 6.0, when selecting PEAP MSCHAPv2 in Wi-Fi connection interface, there were no CA certificates available (unless some had been installed). In 7.1 one can Use system sertificates and Domain input field appears."
But in 8.0 it seems its back to no certificates, just "Select CA certificate" and "none" and hitting "Select CA Certificate" does not do anything, and it doesnt let you continue with the setup.
Anyone know how to connect to a PEAP MSCHAPv2 Wi-Fi using a certificate in 8.0?
I've exported the cert from a windows machine connected to it and imported it as a user certificate for wifi, and still nothing happens when you click "Select CA certificate".
Thank you!


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LineageOS 14.1 browser keeps saying "Download Unsuccessful" at 30-35%
I recently installed LineageOS 14.1 x86 (Android 7.1.2), and have been having issues downloading with the default browser.
Every download starts working, but then fails at around ≈30-35%. I have:

Checked connection. All downloads were happening on a reliable 4/4 bar Wi-Fi connection.
Retried downloading. Same issue.
Tried a different file. Still, the same issue.
Downloaded an app from the Google Play Store (since it uses the Download Manager as well). It works just fine.
Used an app with a built-in download manager (Google Chrome). Successfully downloads the files I was having troubles with.

Is there some way I can make the built-in browser properly download files?

IDK about Lineage but try delete data and cache of download manager (you will lose downloads, save them if needed)

From my experience the built-in browser / download manager of LOS has always been unreliable... Use alternatives whenever you can.


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Add badge number outlook
There is a badge number setting on Android how to get it to show badge number for Outlook on the home screen.
I had assumed this would be pretty standard but does not appear to be.
Tesla Unread fails to work.

I use Telsa Unread... It works fine. Do you own Nova Launcher Prime? You must own the purchased version of Nova Launcher for Tesla Unread to function.

@acejavelin for some reason it doesn't work for all badge count set all and unfocused on Oreo on my decide. Badge count works for all apps but outlook consistently for me. Yes I paid for it.

Go to Settings, Display, Home Screen and make sure "App Icon Badges" is enabled.

Notyfer it the Play Store seems to work correctly.  Create a notyfer widget with Outlook.
Simply disable foucesed inbox under settings and enable Badge Count->All.


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Installed app not showing on Play Store
I have a Samsung FGalaxy 7 using Android version 8.0.0.  I have an app that is on my list of apps to run (and it does run), but it does not show in Play Store so that I can uninstall it.  I tried finding it within Play Store, thinking that reinstalling it would clean up the app listings so I could uninstall it, but it looks like the app is no longer on there.
How can apps be uninstalled outside of Play Store?

Samsung does things differently , so you may need to vary it ; on stock you would   go to  Settings→ Apps & Notifications → App Info → scroll and find your app name → tap on it and you get to see details with uninstall option

This is on Oreo 8.0

Since you are running a newer version of Android you should be able to hold down on the app icon and then drag it to the top right of your screen where an "uninstall" should appear.


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I have a Lenovo android pad with voice commands that will not display @ sign. When I say at sign it displays "at sign" only
How do I display the @ sign using voice command.


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How to reduce power consumption? - Honor 7
so I have an honor 7, had it over 2 years now. It has seen better days, I need a new phone however don't have the money as of yet. The phone must always be connect to a charger, using a fast charging source and cable (I've got decent power bank). If it isn't charging it will turn off almost instantly - always says the power is at 100% - and if it's charging with a non-fast charger, it also turns off. However even while connected to a fast charger if i use it too much (15min) it gets very warm and again, turns off.
I'm looking for as many ways to reduce power consumption as much as possible, but will still allow me to use my phone normally - e.g snapchat -
I'm happy to root my phone if it's needed to turn off certain stock apps for example.
Any and all help/advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Tried Greenify?

I'm happy to root my phone if it's needed to turn off certain stock apps for example.

If the problem is related to apps then the battery drain will not be instantaneous as in your case .
It looks like a battery problem to me, try replacing a new battery and it think it should fix the problem


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Can I emulate my NFC credit/bankcard with my phone?
down vote
favorite
Samsung Pay, Google Pay, Apple Pay or anything else isn't enabled in my country, but I do know that my card is using NFC. From what I have read there is a possibility that it can't be simply copied, because it actually doesn't transmit the card number and only encrypts something it sends. But I also read that some older cards don't use this yet and can be copied.
How can I find out which is the case? And in case it's an older card, how can I copy it onto my phone?
I have an Samsung S7 with Oreo (international model), maybe that matters because it has Samsung pay capabilities? I can also root it in case that is needed.


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bluetooth and wired headphones at the same time
When travelling, sometimes my girlfriend and I like to watch tv shows or movies together on my phone.
I have bluetooth headphones and she has wired.  Only one set of headphones can get the audio at the moment.
Does anyone know of a way to get android to put the audio out on both the 3.5 jack and the bluetooth headphones at the same time?


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How to get rid of prompt notification when "automatically" turning on Wi-Fi?
On my Galaxy s9, I have the setting "turn on Wi-Fi automatically" enabled. When I enter a known network, I get a notification where I am prompted if I want to connect to that network or not.
How is that automatic? Can I instead silently connect/disconnect to known Wi-Fi:s?

Are the Wifis that you get an the prompt for encrypted or unencrypted?

Encrypted. WPA2 PSK is what I read in the information of the last encountered access point.

I'd understand that for "unknown networks" (which my now deleted answer was targeting), but agree for known networks it should connect automatically. But no idea what Samsung is doing there.


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When turned on wi -fi something unknown uses data suddenly
When i turned on wi-fi something unknown uses data rapidly..I use android version 4.4.2 ..Can't find anything that uses data, I did a virus scan, and removed all unknown apps also,and there are just a few apps,I've installed..Does it use by the OS or other thing,I tried to run only with mobile data but some apps ask for wi-fi..How can stop this unknown data usage, without turning off wi-fi..

Go to settings -> Wireless & networks -> Data usage. Here you can check detailed data used by each app. Did you check the statics there?

yes now i checked it..According to that these apps use the data..Android os,downloads,media storage ,download manager...Then i cleared cash and data of those apps, but they still use data,don't know any reason..OS is also up to date..

Yes i found the answer..
settings-> about phone -> tap build number for few times(that enables developer tools..)
settings -> developer tools -> background processes limit -> no background process
that's all..Now data usage while phone is idle is 0..


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I deleted my Gmail account but I keep recieving the notification "Account Action Required" but I can't access the account since it's already deleted
I deleted my Gmail account but I keep recieving the notification "Account Action Required" but I can't access the account since it's already deleted. By the way I used my phone to delete the account. How can I remove the notification? I tried everything.

For Honor Mobile :
Setting->Accounts->Google->select the account and remove

Even if you deleted the account on Google, your phone is still trying to log into that account, and giving you the notification to tell you it's not working. You need to remove the account from your phone too. From the Settings app, scroll down to the Personal section and choose Accounts. Then choose Google from the list, and from the three-dots overflow menu, choose Remove account. Some manufacturers move around the settings on their phones, so while the instructions above are fine for stock Android, they might not be quite right for your phone model.
Note that apps you purchase on Google Play are tied to your Google account, so it's not usually a good idea to delete the Google account that's the main account on your phone. You'd want to follow these instructions if you've added a second account, such as a work email, and it's been deleted or disabled.

For Honor Mobile : Setting->Accounts->Google->select the account and remove


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Phone won't connect to internet in the background! Why?
My phone (Galaxy Note 4) running Android 6.0.1 can't do anything internet related unless the process is running in the foreground. I've been dealing with it for so long, but now I'm stuck in the hospital after serious surgery for the second time and I really would like it to work this time... :(
This is the error script, from leaving Facebook in the background to post a video. My phone isn't rooted or anything so it's the best I know how to offer:

9zf caught Execution Exception, com.facebook.tigon.tigon utils.TigonErrorException: TigonError(2): TigonLigerErrorDomain(2) AsyncSocketException: con-nect failed, type = Socket not open, errno = 111 (Connection refused) java.lang.RuntimeException: 9zF caught Execution Exception, com.facebook.tigon.tigon utils.TigonErrorException: TigonError(2): TigonLigerErrorDomain(2) AsyncSocketException: con-nect failed, type = Socket not open, errno = 111 (Connection refused) at X.9zF.D(1746707) at X.9zF.iyA(1746720) at X.24s.run(:497658) at java.util.concurrent.Executors $RunnableAdaptercall(Executo
  rs java: 423 *

{facebook cut the rest off, but the next line, I think, is this}

I'm tech savvy but not this tech savy. My phone will do nothing internet related in the background, nothing. Whatever it is, as soon as it's not running in the foreground, it zonks out. Screen turning off drops my calls (I use an internet number), messages aren't delivered unless I open the app, etc etc Messenger (for Facebook) in particular acts really funny about connecting; after it zonks out and I reopen it, I have to disconnect and reconnect to the WiFi or it'll just sit there telling me I have no Internet. Other apps basically do that too, though. Everything was the same even when I used to have phone service and mobile data, switching between them, I believe, would fix it too.
Not sure how relevant this is, but my phone totally rejected being rejected to "sign in" (I quote because it claimed I needed to sign in in my settings, but just wanted to redirect me to the hospital page before it would work) to the public WiFi network here, and it always has silly little troubles like that. It kept saying Google refused the connection or giving me the generic dinosaur error. Everyone else seemed to do fine with it, finally after a million times of trying things, going to Google.com manually did work.
I disabled a lot of system components once upon a time because there are a lot that i just do not need ever running on my phone and wasting my battery. My best theory is I selected one (maybe even more) accidentally and caused this but I have no idea which one. My fear is some kind of virus/hacker/personal data stealing something or other hiding in my phone. I used to install modded versions of applications from the internet because I'm a fool. This is a pretty old phone, my non-stone-age one is broken.
I also bought it used and clearly very refurbished (not even well) from a sketchy auction on eBay, so that's another reason I'm concerned. It's probably nothing, haha. My device status claims to be official, I couldn't find anything particularly sketchy in my phone's information.
I don't remember when this started happening but I feel like it wasn't after disabling anything or I would have noticed? I'm probably wrong, though lol
Thanks in advance! ♡Quinn


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App to block or limit my network operator?
I'm having some trouble with my network operator. They have recently changed the underlying network they used by default to a different one and the service is very poor now. I have come to realize that they still support (and will keep on supporting, I've checked this) the old network, it's just that my phone won't use that one by default but the new one.
Anyone knows if there's an app to limit the network operator my phone uses, or to block the one that doesn't barely work?
This is for both calls and Internet.
Thanks

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts. Please edit your question to include phone make/model as well as which carrier you are using. Also mention if you tried altering the APN and what happened when you did.

What do you mean by "underlying network"? Did they change the band steering so your device is using a different band by default? Are we talking about LTE, HSPA, CDMA, etc. or something else? Your question is very vague...


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flashing a rom on a different samsung note model
i have recently bought a Samsung note 4 sm-g910H  (at least that what it says in the settings)  but upon opening it up i noticed that the USB module had sm-n910F typed on its ribbon connector ,and after lifting up the motherboard i noticed sm-n910C typed on the motherboard , is THIS normal , and if it is !! could i possibly flash a n910C ROM on the device because i am having issues with all sorts of connectivity on the device
1- Bluetooth restarting itself every like 5-15 minutes only when  connected to a WiFi network.
2-error when trying to tether my phone to a computer.
3-extremely weak reception.
thanks in advance.:)

well , that`s what i am trying to figure out . when i bought the phone it had sm-910H model on it and still has but when i opened the phone i saw "sm-n910C"


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How to download .docx document to the phone from Google Drive?
Currently using Google Drive version 2.18.252.01.45 and I have a .docx document in my drive that doesn't download to the phone as a .docx document. It downloads as a .pdf document. I tried looking for options similar to those found in a web browser which allows you to 'Download as', but the Android app doesn't have that option. It automatically converts the .docx document to PDF and then downloads it.
Any way to download a document to Android from Google Drive in its original format?

I may have a slightly an older vesion than yours (2.17.372.10.45) but I am pretty sure it downloads the .docx file without converting to "pdf) as you mention. Do you have a word reader installed on you device? other than that Iam not sure why that is happening

Drive on Android doesn't permit that as you discovered. You would need to use a third party office app like this

You can download docx documents as stated here:

Which file formats can I download?
You can download files in these formats:

Documents: HTML, RTF, DOCX, OpenOffice, PDF, EPUB, Text.
Spreadsheets: CSV, HTML, ODS, PDF, XLSX, TXT (only for a single sheet).
Presentations: PDF, PPTX, TXT.
Drawings: PNG, JPEG, SVG, PDF.

Using version 2.19.013.08.35 of Google Drive, it does not convert docx documents to pdf.

Open Google Drive, go to the folder your file is located.
Click on the 3-dot, then click Download.

If you are still unable to download documents as docx, verify that you have not by mistake converted it to pdf,


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Google Search app results on desktop
My question is simple - I like reading the results of the Google Search app - it's become much better at allowing me to customise these results, as well as becoming better at predicting what I might like.
Does anyone know if there is a way I can view the results of the Google Search app on my Windows desktop machine, either by installing a desktop application or by navigating to a website that shows these results?

Check this. I can't verify because I keep it turned off

@beeshyams, this is a bit different from what I'm asking for. The content at the link talks about how to change your search preferences, but what I want is to able to see the same search results that I see in the Google search app.

What I meant was to see in your search history if that can help you


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Connect OnePlus One through adb keep disconnecting
I'm trying to switch my OnePlus One from CyanogenMod to LineageOS, and to do so I need to use adb adn fastboot. I use Fedora 28 as OS on my PC, with the latest Gnome as DE.
The usual "data" connection works fine, meaning that I can access my phone's internal storage and copy files from/to that memory. Trying to use adb, I I changed the USB mode to "charge" and enabled adb from the Developers Options menu under Settings.
As soon as I connect my phone to the PC, it looks like it is stuck in a loop of connecting and disconnecting the device. I don't see any prompt on my phone regarding the adb connection, and dmesg shows the following output:
new high-speed USB device number 31 using xhci_hcd
usb 3-2: New USB device found, idVendor=05c6, idProduct=6765, bcdDevice= 2.32
usb 3-2: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
usb 3-2: Product: A0001
usb 3-2: Manufacturer: OnePlus
usb 3-2: SerialNumber: 23deaeca
usb 3-2: reset high-speed USB device number 31 using xhci_hcd
usb 3-2: device firmware changed
usb 3-2: USB disconnect, device number 31

where the device number starts with 1 and goes up, and up, and up, until I physically disconnect the phone.
adb start-server (executed as root) shows no error whatsoever, but adb devices shows nothing (both as root and as regular user (not sudo)).
What's happening here?

After a few digging, I found out that the problem was due to an old version of abd in the Fedora's repository. Downloadting the latest platform-tools from the website fixed the problem.


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Processes involved to update an app
We run Android devices in KIOSK mode, and want users to able to update apps directly. Nothing happens when "Update" is clicked, it seems we need to whitelist / authorize some additional processes in KIOSK mode.
Could you please clarify what are the Android processes involved when an app is upgraded on a device ?
Thank you for your help

Did you blacklist Package Installer?

No it's whitelisted (com.android.packageinstaller)

Are you updating your apps via the Play Store?

This is through the Mobile Iron app (Mobile@Work / Apps@Work) which is whitelisted in KIOSK mode


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Remove Gmail contacts from SMS contacts Samsung Galaxy S9?
I have a Samsung Galaxy S9 and when I try to send a SMS message to someone I have to search through all my Gmail contacts that for some reason appear on the app along with my phone contacts. I don't send mails through the message app. There is no menu in the messaging app that lets me hide the Gmail contacts. Is there any way to make the messaging app only show the contacts I have on my phone?


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Sony Xperia Z3c in-call volume
Is it possible to increase the in-call volume on Sony Xperia Z3 compact. I have rooted my phone and tried various apps, but they only seem to increase the speaker volume and distort it at the same time.
I also tried editing the mixer_paths.xml file, but I do not know which setting corresponds to the earpiece in-call volume level. Or is there another method to increase the volume? The caller is barely audible even in a quiet room and it is frustrating.
Thanks

Rather than mess with xml files, look on XDA for kernels that have faux capability. Typically, you can increase the volume upto 20 dB {3 dB is double)

@beeshyams Thanks for the suggestion. Although I was able to root following a guide on XDA, I am a bit inexperienced in rooting. I will appreciate it if you can point where to look at. What does faux mean by the way or is there an app requiring super user permissions that can increase volume levels?

You have rooted already :)  presumably you have a custom recovery also. You need to search for kernel that is meant for your device on XDA and read thorough the thread and decide. That's your decision. Faux capable kernels have the capability to enhance volume as indicated earlier. They may not advertise as such but you need to research if the kernel supports volume enhancement. Search, research and decide


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How can I flip or mirror the entire screen display (have root)
I have a rooted Android device and I want to see everything that is on the screen "reversed" or "flipped horizontally" basically so that if you viewed the screen in a mirror it would look correct (text legible as normal) but if you view it directly without the mirror it would look backwords (text running the wrong direction and flipped).
I found this page with people talking about a tablet that was malfunctioning in the manner that I am hoping to achieve, but there wasn't much info that would help me do this on purpose.
I'm hopping for some low level setting or flag somewhere on the system that I can change with root that will flip the whole display for me.

Can you tell us why do you want this? I mean, there may be a higher goal which you want to achieve through this , but can also be achieved another way.

I have a specialized screen but it's control board in it is currently a bit wonky atm and it mirrors the content just as I described. My intent is to mirror it again in the Android device that I am am driving content with so that it offsets the screen and displays normally. Obviously not ideal, but this would make it easier to use this screen while we wait for the fix to the control board.


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Restrict CPU frequency from going too high
I got a OnePlus 6 running on Snapdragon 845. The CPU can clock up to 2.8GHz, which is very battery-consuming. I want to limit the CPU clock frequency to, say for example, 2.2GHz or another value I desire. It's better if the frequency limit can be applied automatically at boot.
Phone is rooted with Magisk 16.6 and TWRP is installed. Is there anyway to achieve this?

Apps like Kernel Adiuotor, Spectrum and 3C toolbox I know of and others can do as well I suppose

If comfortable with Tasker you could set up those CPU profiles and configure them to activate at boot


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How to restore my Z8 android dual SIM card phone
My Z8 informed me that a lot of files were not responding and kept me in a continual loop! Please understand that I am not that tech savvy so I am here asking for help in the simplest terms possible. I once followed y our instructions to use  n power button and volume button and got to c prompt and removed a pin code. I was hoping that you can reinstruct me on how and maybe the phone can be restarted or you can tell me how to reinstall drivers, IOS, UK etc to make it work please. Thank you.

You didn't provide info about which Z8 you have. From what I checked, many companies have a model named Z8.
Anyhow, you should be able to fix most software issues by resetting the phone to factory state. That means you'll lose all user data. So, backup everything that you possibly can.
Then boot your device into recovery mode. The procedure may differ from device to device. But for most, the following combo works from a powered off state:
Press and hold Power and Volume Up keys. Release the power key upon vibration, but keep on holding the volume up key till you reach the recovery mode.
You can do "Factory Reset" or "Wipe Data" or something similar from the recovery to bring everything to the factory state.


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Phone dying at 23% charge
I changed the battery of my OnePlus one (original and new, from EBay).
Everything went well, the new battery seems to do its job.
But now my phone keeps turning off and vibrating at 23% charge....
If i connect it to a charger, the "battery-to-empty-to-turn-on" screen shows (as usual) and the phone boots with 23% charge displayed.
Could it be faulty calibration data because i didn't charge the new battery till 100% yet?

I charged it many times to 100% now, it doesn't change anything. It's always vibrating while the screen turns off. No Shutdown-Message from Android though.


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How do I log in to Android Messages for Web without my phone?
I recently discovered the Android Messages for Web service! My immediate thought was, awesome! If I forget my phone at home, I can still text when I'm at work. In an emergency, I could send a text message using a friend's computer.
However, when I logged in, I discovered that I needed to use my phone to log in by scanning a QR code on my computer screen. I'm afraid that this defeats the purpose for me.
(I'm aware that it has a "remember me on this computer" feature so it will work in some cases when I don't have my phone with me, as long as I've recently logged in on that computer with this option enabled. But this is not all computers at all times, so it defeats the "in case of emergency" situation.)
Is there any way to authenticate myself to Android Messages for Web without having my phone with me?


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Error with screen brightness on Samsung Galaxy J7 prime
I have a Samsung galaxy J7 prime SM-G610M Duos with Android 7.0 operating system. I have noticed something curious with the phone, is that sometimes the full screen of the phone does a slight flicker.
It happens a few times when I close an application, when one calls the other (for example share a MEGA file in whatsapp).
Another fact, and this one always happens, is with youtube, when you open it, the brightness decreases, and when I write in the search bar and I already have some text I write when I press the spacebar, it blinks.
Once, also the brightness gauge was hung, and the brightness of the screen was set to maximum, no matter if it decreased it, it remained at maximum. Although then it settled with just lock the screen and turn on again.
Does anyone know why this happens?
Is it a software problem?
I read some articles online and they say that the screen should be changed.
I have little time with the phone, and it is in perfect condition, without any accidents. So I am inclined to make it a software bug, and that is how I would solve it.
Thank you very much in advance.

Try factory reset your phone
If it didn't work flash you're phone to another android version

We don't generally recommend the "nuclear option" first, without exploring the more accessible remediation.


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How can i safely clean up my phone for selling
I am getting rid of my Samsung S 8 and need to reset to factory settingsHowever in the list of personal it tells me i am signed in to  yahoo  amongst others .Are my emails safe if Yahoo and others when i hit reset

Make sure you don't forget to remove your accounts, especially the Google account, before you reset the device for selling. Otherwise the buyer runs into FRP (Factory Reset Protection) and would require your account data to be able to use the device. // A factory reset wouldn't touh what's not on the device. But whether mails are safe with Yahoo is a completely different story, with the amount of data breaches they had already I'd rather not store mine there …

If you mean to ask: "Are [your] emails safe if Yahoo and others [are deleted] when [you] hit reset?"
Then the answer to your question is yes, absolutely. Your phone simply acts as a medium between the email app (Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, etc.) and where your emails are actually stored (in the respective apps' servers).
Using your example: Your Yahoo account, and all of the emails for it, are all part of Yahoo's servers. Deleting your Yahoo account off of your phone will make no difference to the account or emails still contained in Yahoo's servers. You would have to use a Desktop browser and log in to your Yahoo account, then find the option to delete your account, and explicitly click that option - if you were trying to delete your account.
So yes, you have nothing to fear by factory resetting your phone in terms of keeping your account and emails safe.


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Capture still image from recorded video
I'm using a Motorola Moto g5 with latest Google photos. I try to find a way to select and export still images from my recorded videos.
Preferably within Google Photos but could be another app as well.

Pick up from Izzy's list


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Droid Explorer issue
Unable to locate the Android SDK tool, Please reinstall the application.
I have done  SDK download and the exact path I have put. But the same error occurs again and again.
I uploaded the video in Dropbox, please watch.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/x7xgbrigv1i01sp/Untitled%202.mp4?dl=0
Thanks.

The validaton code is here:
https://github.com/camalot/droidexplorer/blob/1909e142be47d1bc084c4dd79d7b7feb4c0bcc45/DroidExplorer.WixCA/AndroidSdkCustomActions.cs
build-tools, 'tools' and 'pltoform-tools' must be present... (there might be more checks..)

Also see https://github.com/camalot/droidexplorer/issues/63

If you downloaded the SDK tools from the site, you need to run sdkmanager tools platform-tools  "build-tools;28.0.3" platforms;android-28. (You might want to check the relevant build-tools and platform versions with sdkmanager --list).
That gets it to install... To actually be useful, you might need to downgrade some tools.


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Unable to open HAXM device: ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND
I am getting intel haxm error while running emulator. It was working 1 month back but stopped a while back. I tried a temporary solution to disable driver reinforcement which starts the emulator but it doesn't work in big app projects and whole app/emulator starts crashing. I have to disable driver reinforcement with each reboot to make it work. Not GOOD idea :/
Secondly, few guys said to enable vt in bios and I did that too but again same issue. Any suggestions?
Error and PC Info is listed below

Had the same problem in windows 10, which was solved by disabling Hyper-v and reinstalling HAXM via SDK Manager>SDK Tools>Intel x86 Emulator Accelerator

There is no option in Windows 7

Thanks! I ran into this problem after installing Visual Studio Emulator for Android. Your solution worked for me.


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How to close `Android Auto` notification
I plugged my phone into the USB on my rental car so that it would stay charged while I used the phone for navigation -- but it didn't stay charged.
Now I have a notification that I can't get rid of:
Google Play services -> Android Auto -> Connected to your car

How do I get rid of this notification?
Bonus question: Did Android Auto prevent my phone from charging?

By the way, the car is off and the phone is not in the car -- but I still can't get rid of the notification.

Tapping the notification has no effect, which makes me want to tap progressively aggressively.

Is the device rooted? Fairly easy to do it with NotifyClean Xposed module.

@Firelord: No, the device is not rooted.

The notification went away the next day -- maybe after I got in the car again.

Try this procedure and tell me if it works !
https://support.google.com/androidauto/thread/4024751?msgid=16938659


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Will removing a google account from a device delete the game data?
I have an android phone from my friend because i need to get some game data with a code from my old account for a game. The thing is, he is logged in his account rn. If i go to settings,google then accounts and i remove his account will his game data be wiped? If yes,when i login back with his account will his data be back or no? Please anawer quickly, i dont have much time. and btw i cant acces my google play account because i use ios.

It depends on the game, but it will delete some other non-game data, so don't do it. Why not just add your account without removing his account?

different games have different ways to save.
most games have their save on google cloud, and some game place it on private server, or local storage.
Most western (google play requiring games) store their saves in google server, meanwhile eastern have their own server for save.
why dont you mention your game title for a better understanding?
because different game have different rule


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Stop Android from switching networks
We have four different WiFi networks in our home which we use for different things. What I'm doing and where I am in the house dictates the one I want to use.
Android always tries to automatically connect to the network with the strongest signal strength, which is not necessarily the one I want to use. It becomes very annoying to have to keep switching it back to the one that I want.
Is there a way to make Android stay connected to the wifi network I select, until I either change it or go out of range of that network?

Assuming you don't protect your wifi with a password, then its likely that your phone automatically scans for open wifi connection and connects to 'nearest'. However, this only happens if you are no longer connected to or out of range of your desired network. So

Disabling auto scan for open network may ensure that you only connect to the active one.
Once you are done with the other networks, always remember to press "forget" on the wifi option

On the other hand if you have a password, then obviously you have stored the password of all the connection and using the "forget" option would mean entering the password each time.
So it may be that the strength of your desired connection is too weak or lost and the phone decides to connect to the nearest one, in which case there is nothing you can do but to make sure you are connected to the "right" network.
Hope it helped...


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How to know power consumption at the moment?
From time to time my Samsung Galaxy S7 is starting to consume a lot of power, turns hot and eats 10% of charge in minutes.
If I have less than 10% charge, it kills itself even if on external power.
How to trace which application does this (and eliminate it)?
I tried GSam battery monitor, but it can display per application data only in average from last full charge time. I.e. it can't trace proccess which worked only minutes.
Are there any applications, which can trace simultaneously per time and per application?

Please add to your question of the device is rooted or not. If not AFAIK, no way of knowing

@beeshyams answer how to do this on rooted

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dp.sysmonitor.app


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How to block all outgoing calls?
I want to block all outgoing calls regardless of who I'm calling since I have finished all my allowance.
I need a way to block all calls because I keep forgetting and I'll exceed my allowance. (I can use VoIP services instead).

Check if your telecom provider has tools to limit billing cycle usage of voice minutes, sms messages, and mobile data.

You could also turn on airplane mode, then re-enable wifi so you use wifi only. There should also be an option to turn your ability to make cellular calls. However, doing either of these things will also affect your ability to use mobile data.

@MorrisonChang not really possible for me.

@DrZoo like you said no data, which is somewhat annoying. (Plus I had lots of Google Play Credit so this solution below is best for me).

Inspired by DrZoo's idea in the comments, if you have a rooted device and using Macrodroid, you can block all outgoing calls by following the steps below:

Open Macrodroid, click on Add Macro.
On the Triggers section, select Call Outgoing follwed by the contact(s) you want to block.
On the Actions sections, select Air Plane Mode On/OFF then choose Air Plane Mode On (you can choose to keep Wifi and Bluetooth on). Add the Wait Before Next Action and set it to 1 second.
Add the Air Plane Mode On/OFF action, select Air Plane Mode OFF.

The image below illustrates the macro when completed. When you try to make a call, the air plane mode will be on, forcing the dialer app to stop the call because there is no connectivity. After 1 second wait, the air plane mode will be set to off, restoring connectivity.
Disclaimer: I am not associated with Macrodroid developer(s), only a user.

Does this trick (enabling Air Mode) works only with root?

@Suncatcher Yes. Macrodroid needs root access when using "Airplane Mode On/Off".

The app shared by Mark above seems to not be available anymore. I found another alternative - Block Outgoing Calls. This is also a paid app.


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Back up whole system via ssh
How can I back up my complete android system (settings, apps and data)

to my own network storage (preferably via ssh or rsync),
in a way that allows reasonably quick recovery of the whole system (e.g. after I replaced the hardware),
but also allows me to restore individual apps, including the app’s data,
ideally in a form that allows incremental backups (rsync, borg)

A rooted phone can be assumed, if necessary.

I recently moved to Android from Sailfish OS, where I could just use the same rsync-based backup as with all my other Linux devices, and I miss that convenience.

Related: https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/84390/how-to-automatically-backup-everything-to-a-safe-location
(I was unable to find that with Google, but StackExchange’s suggestion of related questions helps…)

Afraid that's not as easy as you think. There are rsync apps for Android, but you'd not only need root to get the files off your device, but the hardware to fully restore on must be identical. "Whole system" I'd not do based on that.

What about this “nandroid” backup thing – isn't that whole system? Is there an easy work-flow around that?

Sure there is. But again: A Nandroid backup should only be restored to identical hardware. For details, might I suggest you take a look at our fine backup tag-wiki – and the nandroid tag-wiki?

Trying hard to avoid chatting here … but thanks for the links. They led me to http://en.miui.com/thread-327449-1-1.html which indicates that from a nandroid backup, I can also recover individual apps, if needed. So if TWRP backup over nand would work as advertised then I’d be set :-)

Don't forget to answer your own question with the set-up you end up choosing.


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Fondi 4.4 Wifi Tablet - Pattern locked and can't remember the gmail log in and password
My Wifi tablet Fondi 4.4 is locked with a pattern and I can't remember the gmail account settings for this tablet or the password how do I retrieve this?  The tablet was locked in July 2017 and I have been struggling ever since to open it, please advise how do I get logged into the gmail account for this, the tablet does ask for the gmail login and password after I have done the pattern 5 times wrong

If your account has recovery settings, you should be able to regain access to the account, and therefore the tablet. Understandably, Google does not want entry methods that bypass the built-in security. If you cannot provide the details, there are no legitimate ways of gaining entry that I am aware of.
If you simply want to make the tablet useable, you can factory reset it.


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How do I sign in to google without compromising password?
I've got a Lenovo Solo VR headset. I've got a long, randomly generated password for my google account that is pretty much impossible to memorize without an eidetic memory. If you remove the goggles to look up the next few characters, the login process resets (this is pretty much the exact same problem on Android phones where switching apps to copy the password restarts the login process). It goes without saying that trying to type this in using the simple hand controller is a PITA (possible, but not fun). In order to use the Google Store, I changed my Google password to something far simpler (as simple as possible). Great, now I'm able to login, but when I change my password back to a long, complex, random password, Google Store kicks me out.
Other than creating a separate google account with a simple, easy-to-type password just for my VR goggles, is there any way to login to Google without a password? Or not have it log me out when I change my password?
If anybody from Google reads this, it would be great if Android or, at least, Daydream could just do what a bunch of other apps do and show me a short code in the headset, then I can visit a page on my computer where I log in as the account I want to activate and then type in the code.

Have you tried setting up 2FA for your account? That's how I ideally  use my Google account. A simple password + the 6-digit 2FA which is either a text/SMS OTP on the phone or a OTP generated by the authenticator app.

Yes, I use 2FA, but I still prefer the more complex password.


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Change USB connection mode using ADB only (broken screen)
I am trying to use Vysor to control my Moto G5 which has a broken screen (completely black). It appears to be working otherwise (rings when called etc).
However, I cannot connect to my PC using USB cable when the phone is on, because I cannot change from "Charging only" to MTP or PTP because I cannot see it on the screen. I can connect to ADB via recovery (stock and un-rooted) but all "adb shell" commands fail (error:closed) which I assume is due to not being rooted.
I am trying to change the default USB connection mode to PTP rather than "Charging only" so I can use Vysor when the phone is booted normally, not in recovery. Has anyone got any ideas?
I either need a way to made "adb shell" commands work (to follow the below link), or another way to change the USB default or another bright idea!
How Do I change from PTP to MTP mode? Cannot find options in settings

Late as I am to the party the following might be of some help:-
The command adb shell svc usb setScreenUnlockedFunctions <mtp|ptp|rndis|midi> is used dependant on the version of Android.
for an example: adb shell svc usb setScreenUnlockedFunctions mtp


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MIUI theme made with MIUI theme creator creating problems
I have a Redmi note 5 running MIUI 9.6.2.0 | Stable. I made a theme using MIUI Theme Creator and successfully applied it, but after an hour or so, the theme went back to it's default one. This is happening no matter how many times I set it up.
What is the problem? And is there a way to solve it?

I think theme application doesn't support third party themes(like created by any person) which is not verified by community.

Then why can I apply it for even sometime?

https://android-fix.com/tips-and-tricks/22-themes-from-third-party-sources-not-supported.html Please look through this link.


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Android Application fundamentals Process Virtual Machine
I just started on application development and wanted to learn properly everything about how Android works.
I came across four bullet points (https://developer.android.com/guide/components/fundamentals) that explain that Android sets each app as a different Linux user and that each process has its own virtual machine (VM). Here's the part confusing me, one of the bullet points (third one) doesn’t specify which process are encompassed in a virtual machine.

• Each process has its own virtual machine (VM), so an app's code runs in isolation from other apps.

This is the first time on the page it mentions a process which is why I am confused.
My question is which processes are running in a virtual machine?
- Is it the main Linux process only?
- is it ALL of the processes within the Linux process?
If so, how can processes communicate between each other if each one of them are running in isolation (in VM)?
Thank you for your time.

None of the apps are running in a virtual machine. Really, the page is trying to explain that there's a separate instance of the JVM for each application process. It's quite a misleading description.
FYI, there's no such thing as a "main Linux process". Linux is the kernel, which is not a process; rather, it is above all of the processes, in charge of creating, scheduling, and destroying them, and mediating their access to the hardware.

I don't think there's a difference between these two statements: "Every app is running in a virtual machine" and "There's a separate instance of the JVM for each app". Every instance is forked by zygote but after all it's an independent native process, though it shares open files with other app DVM/ART and system_server.

There's a difference between a virtual machine and the JVM. I think the source of the OP's confusion was that they were imagining each process being inside its own instance of Virtualbox (or equivalent), so I tried to make it clear that that isn't what the page means by "VM".

Yeah it makes sense.


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How to bypass system /signature level for a modified system apk?
I made a modification on a system app but it should be signed with the same certificate as the Firmware to work properly, is there any workaround to bypass this ?

As far I know you need a custom firmware to do it (I guess you don't have access to the firmware keys to resign your apk) so:

a) You can modify,  compile and install your custom Android that skips the signing verification in apps that request to use the android.uid.system user or
b) You can install a custom ROM signed with AOSP keys (most of the custom ROMs are signed using the testkeys from AOSP) and sign you app using the same key in order to get the system level (you can use  keytool-importkeypair tool to create a keystore and used it on Android Studio or gradle


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My Youtube app won appear anymore if I click home. What's wrong?
Previously, when I click home on my s9, if my youtube app is playing a song for example, my phone would go to home but it would still display the app like this.

And when I click on it, it would maximize like this.

It's not PiP (I think), because I don't deliberately set the app like this, it just automatically does it when I click the home button. I could even browse chrome and open other apps and it would still be there on the lower right..
But now, suddenly, it's gone!
When I play something on the app and then click home, it just closes. The preview window doesn't appear anymore and nothing is playing.
I'm just wondering what I did wrong and how I could fix it. I don't like using PiP because it's not automatic and I like how it would automatically just preview itself before.

It depends on where you are from. What you're seeing is the PIP mode of YouTube.
For most parts of the world, it is only included with YouTube Red. So, maybe you had a YouTube Red/Pro subscription or Trial which has expired.
YouTube also enabled the PIP for free to all users in the US. That is, even those who don't have a paying plan. So, do you happen to be from the US? Plus, they could be testing the free PIP support in in other regions too.


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Disable "unlock with voice" notifications Xperia XA1
tl:dr - despite repeatedly choosing the "no thanks" option, my phone keeps displaying notifications to setup voice unlock. I Say "no" - as far as I know it is not enabled - but an hour later it asks me again.
How can I disable this feature permanently. (re-asking me to setup voice notifications).
Phone is Sony Xperia XA1 running Android 8.0.0
longer:
Starting yesterday, I got a notification saying "Unlock with your voice" - "Unlock your phone by saying "Ok Google". (screenshots at the bottom of the question)
Now, being a privacy conscious tin-foil hat wearing type - I do not want my phone to ever be listening to me for voice commands. No problem, I tap the notification - and another page comes up with a description, and two options: "No Thanks" and "I agree". I choose, "no thanks". The phone seems to be content with my decision. But.... an hour or so later, the notification returns. It's happened about 3 or 4 times now.
Screenshots:
Notification

No Thanks option page:

Remove Google Now Launcher (discontinued) from the homescreen and disable Google from Settings > Apps > Apps List.


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Galaxy S7 Android 8 Oreo; keyboard shortcuts/settings/dictionary backup possible...?
Is it possible to backup Samsung keyboard shortcuts, settings and any additions you make to the dictionary on the Samsung Galaxy S7 running Android 8 Oreo?
TIA,
Ivan.


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android phone displays numbers info even for uknown ones to my adressbook
A question of a general nature, the call to the numbers of which is not in the phone book. android shows information such as a call name. where does this information come from, if the source is open and google take it from web, can this information be changed?

Hard to say without knowing what device you have, what Android version it runs, and what apps you've installed. Raw guess: Open your phone app, tap the 3 vertical dots in the upper-right corner, and check the settings. Most likely there's some CallerID service enabled. Or you've installed a specific CallerID app – but then you wouldn't ask. Though, such an app might have been pre-installed on your device, so that's something else you can check.

using native android 8.1 telephone app. on nokia

Thanks Yurij. Which Nokia? And have you checked the places I've mentioned?

I have to clarify that this outbound/incoming call info is related to external things such a mobile network and area telephone network. as this caller info is propagated for any other android phones. (samsung, meizu, no matter case). I suppose that google collect that info in some place. I don't know how to correct is without contact creating. may be it worth to ask google suppport

Yurij, we cannot much help you if you don't provide the details we need. So again: Have you checked the places indicated above? What have you found?

Thanks, once i v checked settings, i found it. that is https://support.google.com/phoneapp/answer/3459196?visit_id=1-636694071743884895-233081447&p=dialer_google_caller_id&rd=2&hl=en

Caller ID by Google shows the names of companies and services with a Google My Business listing. It also looks for matches in any directory that shows caller information for work or school accounts. ref
If you want you can answer my question, as you push me to that discovery

Let us continue this discussion in chat.

Please don't forget to answer your own question as promised :)


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Why does YouTube volume fade when visiting certain sites?
I use split screen YouTube and Chrome on my phone, but when I visit e.g. bbc.com the video volume fades to a much lower level.
What causes this and can it be prevented?
This is a OP3t with Android 8.0 in case that matters

Most times this is caused by an video-ad on the website. It shouldn't happen on websites without any ad.

Strictly speaking, "on websites that does not emit sound". Notifications also cause a brief fade in volume.


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Why are homescreen icons bouncing?
My wife and I just got new Essential phones running Android 9 (Pie.) On my wife's phone, the docked toolbar icons at the bottom of the homescreen bounce every few seconds, as if they're asking for attention.
She didn't install any weird UI tweak to force this. What is the purpose of the bouncing?

Likely hinting at "swipe up for app drawer" - do that a few times and it should be gone.

@AndyYan never saw it happen in the past year or two, so perhaps that's what was going on.

I went back into settings, system, gestures, and toggled "swipe up on home button" off then back on.


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Nexus 9 WiFi tablet permanently in awake state
I've recently been observing heavy battery drain during idle periods on my Nexus 9 tablet. The key here appears to be the awake status of the tablet. The left hand side of the picture shows a solid line indicating awake permanently. I found this for a number of days before I fixed the issue. The solution I will outline below in an answer to my own question.

I found the answer was to turn off the tablet, then start the tablet in recovery mode (hold volume down and power). You will get an Android robot lying down, press volume up and power to get to the menu. You need to enter recovery mode, then wipe the cache partition. It took around 10-15 minutes for me, but I've seen reports of longer. When that completes, reboot and the issue should go away. As you can see from my original image, the battery life is significantly improved.


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How to restart phone when power button does not work
When driving I saw a dialog that an application power control stopped. Later I realized that the phone Nokia 8 behaves strangely. I cannot go to launcher, switch application and reboot the phone. Back button works, two other buttons have no effect. Volume app and down work. I can use the power button to lock and unlock the screen. But holding it does not bring reboot options. Is there any other way how to reboot the phone?

Holding the power button pressed for maybe 10 seconds usually restarts device

Thank you. I tried it multiple times without success. This time I counted seconds and around 15 second there was a dialog that it is not possible to shut down the service. And pressing a volume up for 5 seconds will switch off it. So I continued pressing both buttons and it really helped!

Good. You cn self answer the question to help others :)


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Google play services keeps stopping
Google play services keeps popping up can't start
I have an Android ANS government phone and can't open any browser or connect to the internet

Try flashing a compatible version of Gapps from www.opengapps.com.


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What acts as the internal storage of an android device?
Just like HDD/SSD act as the internal storage for a PC, what exactly acts as the internal storage for an android device?

It's eMMC or UFS flash memory, embedded with SoC.

It's a flash memory chip on the mainboard of the phone. Usually it has the same electronic interface as an MMC, just soldered onto the board instead of in a socket.

An android's or any other mobile or tablet has storage chip that's embedded on to its motherboard.
To better explain that a typical HDD or Hard disk stores the data on a magnetic tape (slow). RAM will have multiple storage chips where the data will be stored on a circuit so that the data can been accessed quickly. SSD is an upgraded version of RAM with increased storage size (fast) . A mobile device has a chip on its motherboard to store data the same as the chips on a RAM or an SSD.

It's using flash chips, similar to those you have in USB drives. Almost exactly the same.
The storage technology is called EMMC. Linked wikipedia article has some pictures too.
This is an example of a 64GB eMMC flash storage module, basically the exact same thing that is used in android phones/tablets too.


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Google Maps appears to be turning off any other media
I'm using Gone Mad Music Player for music and Podcast Addict for podcasts and recently I've been having this problem where Google navigation will stop those apps from playing when it wants to give me a notification. When I restart the music/podcast app, Google navigation stops giving me notifications, forcing me to restart that thing.  I'm not sure how to fix it.  I do have navigation set to talk over anything that's playing.

I do have navigation set to talk over anything that's playing, where is that setting? I see only for playing over voice calls and this seems to be the designed behavior in that case


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Every time I walk past a hotel
...my phone thinks I need to know what amenities the hotel has. I've managed to shut off most of the other annoying alerts my phone wanted to throw out, but this one I haven't found in the menus. Where do I go to tell my phone I don't need to know about every hotel?

First you have to find out which app is pushing those messages. If you got the app you can disable notifications for that app: https://www.howtogeek.com/204187/how-to-disable-app-notifications-in-android/

The notifications are coming from the "Google" app. Looking over its notification options, I don't see an option for "Hotels" I can turn off. And "Google" is not an app whose permissions I can afford to revoke entirely.

Although it sounds different, this is exactly the same feature that causes problems in Why am I getting shopping trolley notifications about local store savings?, and my answer there also applies to these notifications.


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Redmi Note 4. ADB pm uninstall some packages, Stuck in Reboot
So I wanted to remove some apps pre installed.
I connected to my Redmi Note 4 ( Nougat ) via adb shell.
Used pm uninstall -k --user 0 <name of package>
Removed the following packages.
com.android.browser
com.android.email
com.google.android.apps.tachyon
com.google.android.music
com.google.android.play.games
com.google.android.videos
com.miui.cleanmaster
com.miui.cloudservice
com.miui.cloudservice.sysbase
com.miui.securitycenter
com.miui.weather2
com.mxtech.videoplayer.ad
com.xiaomi.mipicks
com.xiaomi.oversea.ecom
org.wordpress.android

According to me, I did not remove any system apps.
However now when I Reboot I am stuck at Reboot Screen (bootloop) with adb devices showing as connecting
I am able to boot into fastboot mode. Dont know how to make use of that here. Also I have a Ubuntu machine, so I am not able to use official MI tools which are mostly for Window users

You can't get to adb to enable anything again, so your only choice is going to be a factory reset unfortunately.

Do you have a custom recovery installed on that device, e.g. TWRP? Not sure if it works when running from there, but TWRP offers ADB access.

@Izzy No I do not have any custom recovery installed :/ ADB does connect though occassionally. Then it goes into connecting state again. When I was able to connect I tried doing adh shell pm install, but that gave me package service not  found error.

@acejavelin  ADB does connect though occassionally. Then it goes into connecting state again. When I was able to connect I tried doing adh shell pm install, but that gave me package service not  found error. Want to make sure FR is the last option I got

pm install needs the name of the APK file, not the package name. So you'ld need to know where that resides (most likely somewhere below /system/app), then pass the full file name (e.g. /system/app/Music2/Music2.apk for com.google.android.music on a device I just checked) to pm install.

thanks @Izzy . yeah I did give the /data/app location of APK. But it was not able to find the service 'Package'

Flash a fastboot stock rom, fastboot rom even has a option to flash without wipe.
If you have a linux i could guide you further on how to do that.

It would help if you tell us how to flash a fastboot ROM.

Okay for starters the fastboot file has a .tgz format while the recovery rom has .zip . You'll have to extract the tgz file and select the .sh script which says to flash only /system and run the sh script.


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FLAC files getting corrupted on microSD card
Whenever I put a FLAC album on my phone, after a few days some of the tracks get corrupted. They show errors when I bring them onto my PC and use the command line function flac -t *.flac. While most tracks result in an ok, some result in errors such as FLAC__STREAM_DECODER_ERROR_STATUS_LOST_SYNC or FLAC__STREAM_DECODER_ERROR_STATUS_FRAME_CRC_MISMATCH. I am using LineageOS 15.1 (July 23 build) on my SM-G900P with a genuine SanDisk 128GB Extreme PLUS microSD card formatted as adopted/internal storage. I read somewhere about a LOST.DIR folder being used as a recycling bin for corrupted files or something like that, but I don't seem to have that folder.
Is this an issue with Samsung, Android, LineageOS, Poweramp (my music player), or my SD card? I really hope it's not an SD card issue because I don't feel like spending so much time formatting/moving a ton of data around.
Thanks.

Have you compared the original file(s) with a corrupted one to see what the difference is? On Windows you can use the integrated comand-line tool ' fc.exe -b file1 file2`.

I suggest performing extensive file-system checks of the sd card from a PC. fsck and smartctl are your friends if you're on linux. Look for filesystem check apps and SMART readers on windows.

This is almost certainly an SD card issue, especially since initially the files are fine and not corrupt, and get that way over time. Your device and it's applications will only read the data from the SD card, not change it or write to it anyway. There is a very slim chance that the card reader in your phone is defective, but I think a safe bet would be the card itself is failing.
This is the most definitive answer I can offer with the information given.
I am not normally one to recommend a specific brand here, but my personal experience with SanDisk has been very disappointing in terms of reliability in multiple product lines they carry. I would recommend moving away from SanDisk and trying perhaps a Samsung EVO+ series card.

It seems like I had this issue with my previous Extreme PLUS 32GB card, so you could be right.

Actually, my files could've been corrupted as soon as I copied them to my phone, but I just didn't know it.

@Pete The test would be to transfer them to internal storage, if they are corrupt try copying them to Google Drive (or your favorite online storage) and then to the device.

I meant my files could've been corrupted as soon as I copied them to my phone, but I just didn't know it until I played the files. I just copied an entire FLAC album to my SD card using the USB connection from my phone to my Win10 laptop. I then copied the entire album back and tested it and a couple of songs were messed up. Re-copying only the affected songs to the phone's SD card seemed to fix the issue, but I didn't copy the entire album back for testing, so I'm not sure if other files weren't affected by the re-copying. This could be an issue with Win10 copying stuff to Android phones.

Just copied the entire album in question from my phone to my laptop and tested it. No errors. I'm still kind of paranoid that the files will eventually somehow become corrupt over time, but it looks like my SD card is fine and this is just a USB file transfer issue that that easily (but tediously) be worked around.