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How to allow a call recorder app access to call logs?
How to allow a call recorder app access to call logs?
Since Android 9 (pie) Google Play has forbidden apps that are not the primary telephony app to access the call logs. The other problem seem to be that the phone recording call quality especially of the party on the other end has seemed to be severely degraded since the prior Android version.
For context, read Google Play Store Changes SMS and Call Log Policy.
Related post: Access the call-log to complement what has been banned by policy

@beeshyams The recording quality is still very good. Every phone number is private number. Maybe I can move the old app from my old phone?

There is one additional possibility for recording one should mention: There are online services you can add as participant making it a conference call. This recording service then records the call into an online service you have an account for. Of course such a service is bad for privacy.

@Robert Another downside to those services is that they are a hassle to use with incoming calls.

Accessibility App Connectors allow access to phone call information
Android 9 (pie) app that keeps track of call details without access to call logs:Call Recorder - Cube ACR
Call Recorder - Cube ACR provides:
(a) The date and time of the call.
(b) The duration of the call.
(c) The size of the recording in bytes.
(d) The phone number or the name of the person (if in contacts).
(e) Incoming or Outgoing call.
It uses Accessibility App Connectors to get access to this data.
This answer will only work for developers of Android apps, yet works quite well in this case. It doesn't provide access to the actual call logs but it does provide access to the same information. Accessibility App Connectors allow the underlying program to "see' the data that is on the display screen and be notified of events such as placing or receiving a phone call.
The following Google Play app is an example of an app that uses this method. It records the Contact name or the phone number of all phone calls and it does this on Android 9 (Pie) without rooting the phone.
Call Recorder - Cube ACR
The above app has an app connector that lets it access the current phone number and display either the contact name or the phone number if the number is not in the phone contacts. The recorded call quality in speaker phone mode seems pretty good. This app does not require rooting the phone.
Because of the above Google Play policy change it may be the case that every phone call recorder app on Google play always has poor quality unless in speaker phone mode. The quality of many of them even in speaker phone mode seems degraded for the other caller. I tested about a dozen of the most popular apps for recording quality. This one may be the best of the twelve. I still have to run some more tests to make sure.
There is a big difference when tested on someone's voicemail message and when tested with an actual person on the other end. Quite often (even in speaker phone mode) the person on the other end is at only half the volume.

You can't unless your device is rooted or if you are running Android 8 or earlier

Details
Call logs
Thanks to Irfan who commented

On Android 9+ an app can read call logs only if it holds READ_CALL_LOG permission, which is intended to be granted only to the apps registered as default phone app (on Android 10+ it also requires whitelisting restricted permissions during app installation). Additionally apps published on Play Store cannot hold READ_CALL_LOG permission if they aren't capable of being used as default phone app which includes call recording apps.
For the same reason some call recording and other apps which need to access call logs or ongoing call's phone number publish two different versions of their apps; one on Play Store (without READ_CALL_LOG permission) and the other with the said permission.

Call recording

Android has blocked call recording from Android 9 onwards (country specfic)
. This has been resisted by several users as you can see in the issue tracker.
Only silver lining is that at some point of time it may be restored in future versions as mentioned in the issue tracker

Our development team has been adding call recording APIs on their road map.  Its something that we would like to address in a future version of Android.  However due to the security and privacy implications of such APIs it is not something we can deliver for the Q release.

Without root, you cannot overcome these limitations - poor quality of recording, one sided recording, caller identity not being tagged (as in the related question which you linked). You can see these complaints in the latest reviews of the app you linked.
Side loading an older APK isn't going to help if you are on Android 9 or above, since OS itself is blocking it. Some call recorders like Boldbeast have made Magisk modules to overcome these limitations. On OnePlus devices, you can similarly record using a Magisk module.
If you don't want to root your phone, star the issue tracker and hope that call recording and maybe access to call logs is restored in future versions

@IrfanLatif I want the same call recorder to work on my new phone the same way that it worked on my old phone. It is bad enough that my zte z956 could not be upgraded to Android 7.

So I can fix it by rotting my phone? Can I remove root after I am done? How do I fix it by rooting my phone?

Can I simply login as super user and grant READ_CALL_LOG permission to an installed app?

The other link says that I only have to find an older version of the software. The problem is not that READ_CALL_LOG permission is denied on Android 9. The problem is that apps on Google Play are not allowed to ask for READ_CALL_LOG permission.

Reply to 3 comments 1.You have to stay rooted if you want recording +call logs to be accessed  2. No to second comment 3. If you can locate an app that is available independent of the Play Store  with the required permissions, you may try. I didn't search since I don't need such apps, my device being rooted

The problem with staying rooted is any that app on the device has super user permission right? I could install a new app and it could steal my bank account passwords.

The best option seems to be to see if the older version of the app works and if it does then move the "pro" version of the older app from my old phone to my new phone.

app asks and you grant root permission, only then it had privileges. You seem to be misinformed. See [tag:rooting] wiki and it's answers 2. You can try and post your answers here

I am still not clear about the root alternative. The app asks never asks for root permissions. It only asks for: (1) make and manage phone calls (2) access photos media and files (3) record audio (4) access contacts. Will rooting my phone make phone call recording fully functional ?

I didn't say your app will work with root. On the contrary I gave examples of working with root. It's upto you to find out which rooted app works for your device /Android version //As recommended earlier please read the tag wiki of rooting before to understand better //Just to clarify again, you need to be rooted first before an app asks for privileges (ref your last comment) //I made efforts to be clear - if you still can't follow you can ask a separate question (linking this if needed).

Let me see if I have this correctly. (1) I root my  phone on Android 9 (2) Install the older app as root (3) The older apps asks for the permissions that it needs (4) Permission will be granted  (5) The app will be able to access the call logs. Is that correct?

Let us continue this discussion in chat.

Accessibility App Connectors allow access to the same information that is in the phone call logs, thus totally solves the original problem without rooting the phone.


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Will I receive pending messages after I reactivate my account on new phone?
My Samsung Galaxy S3 was damaged by water and I now have a new Galaxy S4. I have reinstalled WhatsApp on the new phone. However I do know that I have messages sent by others that I have not received, they are pending.
Will I receive these messages? I have the same SIM card and there was a two week period between old and new phone.

"I have messages sent that I have not received", did you mean "I have messages sent by others that I have not received"? Otherwise, it doesn't make sense (you don't receive the message you sent)

@AndrewT. Yup looks like that's what is meant here(others sent him)

You will receive any messages that were sent  after the S3 died & activation of WhatsApp on your new phone.
However, any messages you had received on your old phone & didn't read cannot be received again.

No, you won't receive them, because there is no place to store them except of your phone. Since you haven't been registered, you won't receive these messages. That's my case when installing a new ROM to my phone.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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Change the default backup time of WhatsApp messages
The default backup time for WhatsApp is specific (in my case, it's 4:00 AM).
Although we can manually backup at any time, how do we change the default backup time?

What is more concerning, is that it is running at 02:00 UTC - meaning it does not account for local time and runs late evening or early morning.

It was backing up on 4am many years ago – a very nice time that few people will still messaging. But the automatic backup time has pushed forward to 3am and now 2am daily. A very inappropriate time to initiate a ten-minute long backup...

Sadly, it cannot be done. WhatsApp doesn't allow any other time to be set for the automatic backup of messages.

That's right, sadly, even though it seems plain stupid to me.

I am often carrying on an important conversation when 02:00 strikes and I go offline for 5 minutes, invariably with catastrophic social consequences!

To me, this is the most annoying thing on WhatsApp, I'm always using WhatsApp at 2:00.

It is stupid. Because at 2:00 my phone is on airplane mode while I am sleeping. Then the backup is pushed at when I wake up at 7/8 am

You cannot change the Whatsapp backup time to the local device storage. But optionally, you can have Google drive as your backup destination and can schedule it to backup as you wish (Monthly, Weekly, Daily or On click).
Google drive can backup your photos and videos along with the chat content in your Whatsapp account.

Yes but the backup is still done at the same time, so this doesn't help much.

Yeah backup is done as scheduled by whatsapp, its 2:00 in here.

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

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


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Same phone shows different locations using Life360 vs Google Maps
My mother's cellphone shows her in two different cities on the same day. The Life360 app shows she's in Chicago, while the Google Location history shows she's in Alabama.
I think she might have given her old phone to my niece. Could both phones share location data even with different SIM cards?

Before giving the old phone away, did she wipe it? Otherwise, if she is still logged-in to that phone via Google, it's gonna think she has two phones and will show the location of both.

OK, I see, well I changed moms Google password on her new phone, so...hopefully that should log out the old phone, wdyt?

Yeah the other phone will be prompted to enter the new password and if you dont, it should log it out.


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Android not loading JPG files
Using Nexus 6 on Android 5.1, I downloaded a JPG file from androidwalls.net.
When I try to open the file via Download manager, it doesn't let me open it as it says 'Can't Open File'.
Why does Android not support this?

Do other JPGs work? It may have been corrupted during download, or even during upload. You really should not be having problems opening JPG files given this is the standard photo format!

I've downloaded an APK, and it won't be installed via Download manager. However, you can open File Manager, then locate the APK and install it.
Using a similar approach, you may open File Manager to see the pic.
But I'm sorry I can't explain why that doesn't work.

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


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Note 4 screen locked
I had finger scanner on my Samsung Galaxy Note 4, but somehow it stopped working. Then with Android Device Manager, I was able unlock the screen with new password, and also registered with new finger scan as well while downloading the new software. I also set notification off on screen as message pop up for same as notification do come on screen before when it was locked during first time it's got locked.
So last night I put DailyMotion on with some current affairs program and slept, but in morning when I tried to unlock the screen it's again not unlocking with new password , I tried again with device manager , the message comes that its already verified password so there is no need for new password, and also with Samsung account but both not working, I'm all stuck as I got all my data, contacts, important pictures in it.
Please do tell me how to unlock or bypass the screen. Please help, as I don't want to do factory reset. Any solution will really be appreciated.

Two suggestions:
1) Rephrase your questions using better English grammar in order to make it more understandable.
2) (An actual possible solution) Connect your phone to your computer via USB, backup all important data (all data should have already been backed-up via Google Sync but it's good to be safe), then attempt a factory reset.

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts, to request clarification or improve the grammar of the question you can leave comments or edit the question to improve it once you get enough reputation. Otherwise your answer is fine

I am unable to leave a comment due to being of low rep. I have run into this issue several times across various StackExchange forums and must say it is very frustrating.  I have used StackExchange for years but have just recently become a member. I am attempting to answer questions in order to raise my rep but cannot due so effectively without a higher rep. Hopefully you can see my Catch 22.


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How to use face unlock in Sony Xperia Z2 running Cyanogemod 12?
In Cyanogenmod 12, how do you unlock based on your face? I went to "smart lock" and trained facial recognition. Now I go back to the Screen lock and there is still no option to unlock with the face.

Screenshot - No face unlock option(Click to enlarge image)

Under Settings > Security  Ensure that the Smart Lock agent is enabled.

Set a screen lock with pattern or pin or password
Now smart lock will be enabled in Settings->Security below Owner Info
In smart lock select trusted face.
Lock your phone and you will see a smaller user icon at the bottom.
If your face is recognized it will changed to unlock icon. Swipe and it will unlock

Just saw you were running lollipop. Give the above awnser a shot.
You need to reinstall a Gapps package. That isn't the pico or nano

Step 1: Here is a link you might want
Download gapps kitkat
Step 2: Reboot your phone into the custom recovery (which should already be installed).
Step 3: Press install from sdcard and locate the zip.
Step 4: Wait for it to install and then reboot the device. And once on it should appear...
If you can't overwrite the Gapps via this method the easiest way to get face unlock would be to get the apk somehow...


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Transferring continuous Android camera feed to PC through USB (in a background app/service)
I want to find a way in which I can continuously send the Android camera feed to my PC via USB. The reason for specifying USB, is because of performance requirements, I want it to be as fast as possible, hence preferring USB over Wifi. I need the app to be running in the background (will be a service I believe).
I tried some existing apps, but they do not meet my requirements.
Is there any way I can do this?

Ok, will do so.

IP Webcam does work on USB but on tethering. App won't shows the address but you can access it at 192.168.42.1:8080 I just confirmed it.

I see, I will check it thanks. Please post it as answer, else I can't upvote.

Sorry! The URL is 192.168.42.129:8080. I've corrected my answer.

IP Webcam(see revisions) does allow the access on USB but it will not show you the option to access in its help section. All you've to do is activate USB-tethering on your device, start server on the said app,and access the server by entering 192.168.42.129:8080 in a browser on PC.
I tested this app on my device running Android 4.2.1.

Doesn't the IP address change everytime dynamically? Some of the apps that I used generated the ip-address on-the-fly after opening the app. But I was using the Wi-Fi network instead. So I'm not sure if this is same on the usb-tethering access too.

@Lucky As you would be knowing that these apps runs a server for their cause, and in case of USB/Wifi tethering the default gateway i.e. 192.168.42.129/192.168.43.1 will remain same every time. Since the app isn't bind to a specific network interface, you can always rely upon the IP address I mentioned provided that the device is tethered.

Ah! I din't know that before. Its the same way a webserver's default address is started at 127.0.0.1/192.168.0.1 sometimes known as localhost. Thanks for the info.

IP Webcam has severe lag even when USB tethered.
Because internet protocol is still used in this setup.
Dial down the video settings and disable audio capture from phone
This made the lag 'tolerable' for me.
Thanks.

authors: ΔΗΜΗΤΡΙΟΣ ΜΕΣΗΜΒΡΙΝΟΣ

authors: يوسف عباس يوسف


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How to downgrade from Lollipop to Jelly Bean on my Samsung Galaxy Grand?
I upgraded my Samsung Galaxy Grand from Jelly Bean to Lollipop. it worked properly for one week, but then problems occurred. Only black screen is displaying on my phone . While dragging from top of the screen , it shows "No notifications" and it also shows time. Screen is still working properly, but i can't use my phone other than these.
How can I downgrade my Samsung Galaxy Grand from Lollipop to Jelly Bean?

I would suggest to simply flash the desired version of Android for your phone. Surely, official images of Jelly Bean for Samsung Galaxy Grand exist.
Flashing a rom is really simple:
This instructions are for a Windows system, if you are using another OS just tell me.

Step 1: Install Fastboot on your Windows system

Download this file, it is an installer for the strict indispensable tools you need to put files on your softbricked phone from your PC.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2588979
Install it and say yes both to the adb and the driver questions.

Step 2: Reload your phone to fastboot and flash CWM

When your device is turned off, connect it to your PC via USB and hold the power and volume down button. You should be in fastboot mode now.
Open a command prompt in Windows (Start --> cmd.exe). Type cd C:\adb and then fastboot devices. You should see an hexadecimal code followed by "device". If not, tell me in the comments.
Now download the file you find at this link, it is our recovery.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2201860
Extract the .img file you find inside and rename it recovery.img. Place it in C:\adb.
In the command prompt, address this command
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img

Now reboot your phone to recovery using the power and volume up buttons. You should see the new recovery.

Step 3: Download the ROM and copy it in your phone

Download your desired ROM. Leave it as a .zip.
While your phone is in recovery mode, type adb devices and you should see again a code and "device". Then move your rom .zip file in your C:\adb folder and address these commands:
adb shell
mount /data/
adb push nameofrom.zip /data/

Obviously replace nameofrom with the name of the zip archive of the rom you have downloaded. If you want, rename the zip to address the command with more ease.

Step 4: Install the ROM

When the push process has succesfully finished, navigate through your phone's recovery to install zip, install from internal memory or something like that. Select the zip you just pushed. It will start installing and, after finished, your phone should boot again upon reboot.


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If I deleted photo from gallery made backup before flashing, will I get that photo in the backup?
My phone is Samsung Galaxy Grand. If I delete a photo from the gallery and make a backup before flashing, will I get that photo in the backup?

That very much depends on the type of backup you are talking about. As the photo was deleted, none of the usual backup approaches would cover it: a backup only takes what is there, not was was deleted.
How to recover that photo (if possible) depends not at last on where it was stored:

external SDCard: safely remove it from the device, and use a card reader to check for deleted files with your computer and an application like PhotoRec
internal SDCard: not that easy. You have to clone that partition (a nandroid backup usually does this), transfer it to your computer, and analyse it with an application like TestDisk or Scalpel

Details and further hints can be found e.g. in our data-recovery tag-wiki. See e.g.:

How can I recover a deleted file on Android?
How to Restore Deleted / Formatted Files on HD Micro SD Card

Usually, flashing of the ROMs only affects files that are stored on your /system partition. Photos are stored on a SD card, and won't be deleted when you flash a ROM.
As for deleted photo, once it's deleted it can't be restored by normal methods. You could try restoring deleted files (there are many articles on the Internet regarding that, try searching for "restore deleted photos on android")


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Updating OTA after changing /etc/system files
I manually modified /system/etc/mixer_paths.xml in order to boost volume on my Nexus 5 when listening to music with a headset. As a result I am still running version 4.4.2 as whenever I attempt to update OTA I get "Error!" screen. I suspect it has something to do with my modification of the system files but am not sure. So I have two questions:

What is causing the update to fail?
How can I fix it?

I would like to do both of the above without loosing any of my data/applications.
(I would not be surprised if a question similar to this one has been asked before Android SE, but I lack experience to determine which of the questions that already exist is actually the same as my question.)

As far as I know, you first need to unlock bootloader to root a nexus device (I'm not a nexus user).
Now, in order to update your OTA, it is mandatory to lock the bootloader and then perform the update.
I'm a HTC user, and I faced the same issue. What I did was flashed the stock recovery, locked the bootloader and performed the update. Everything went smooth.
I'm sure nexus follows the same path.

What does it mean to "flash the stock recovery"? Is that something I can do quite easily?

In other words, you will have to unroot your phone.
A tutorial here guides you how to unroot your device.
I hope this helps.


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Turn off phone by holding the power button?
I've been having a small case of my screen not turning on at times. It happens on a 1 out of 100 basis. Anyway, I can confirm that the phone did not shut down because I can take screenshots (via power button + volume down key) and hear the screenshot sound. However, the display remains turned off. What I found to be the fix is to remove the battery to force shutdown the phone and re-insert it and open again.
That would have been an OK solution but my phone has 2 layers of battery cover so it's kinda tedious to do when the random screen problem occurs (especially if I'm outside or on the road). What I want to happen is that if I hold down the power button for some time (5 seconds maybe?), it will power off the device thus, saving me the trouble of having to remove and re-insert the battery.
How do I make holding down the power button for some time turn off the phone?
Phone is Sony Xperia Active ST17i, running MiniCMSandwich Lite rom with RaGe kernel.

On some phones (e.g. Samsung Galaxy series) holding the power button for 10-15 seconds (can't remember exactly) triggers a reboot. Have you tried holding the power button for this long?

Yep, already tried that. I was hoping there would be a software solution for this?

Some phones also have a key combination to force a hard reboot.  On my HTC Incredible it's Power + Vol Down + Optical Joystick Button.  Others may vary.  Please edit your question with your phone's make and model and someone might be able to give you a more specific answer.

Added the phone model

There were those Secret Codes...

*#*#7594#*#*: This code can be used to change the "End Call / Power" button action in your phone. Be default, if you long press the button, it shows a screen asking you to select any option from Silent mode, Airplane mode and Power off. You can change this action using this code. You can enable direct power off on this button so you don't need to waste your time in selecting the option.

Hm, guess that's what you were lokking for, right? Wanna more? OK, Here's the source, Luke: Secret Codes of Android Phones. Not sure if it works on all phones, though...

Doesn't seem to work on my rom. It disappears from the dialer but nothing happens.

Sorry to read that! Maybe check Google with  "secret codes" whether there's an alternative (though in all lists I've found so far, this was the only number given for that). Or simply try the app Android Secret Codes, the screenshots look like they have some provider-specific stuff included.

P.S.: Just took a closer look at the mentioned app. Looks like to better not install it -- permissions read a bit strange (wants to change browser favorites), plus someone remarks it feeds data to some lottery site :(

The forced reboot which happens by pressing the power button for 5-10 seconds is only applies for the models which doesn't have removable battery. But for the models having the removable battery, holding down the power button does not trigger the forced reboot option.


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Opt-out for Google Analytics on Android/Chrome mobile browser
Google has an opt-out for Google Analytics

To provide website visitors with the ability to prevent their data
  from being used by Google Analytics, we have developed the Google
  Analytics opt out browser add-on

Normally you would expect an opt-in for these kind of services, but an opt-out is something. Analytics is a program they run on my device without asking or without consent, taking CPU, battery and bandwidth and probably privacy.
But how do I opt-out on my mobile Android browser?

To be clear, Google Analytics isn't a feature of Chrome. It's not something you were opted into by using Chrome. It's not using your device's resources. It's a feature of the WEB SITES that you visit every day. It's built into THEIR code to track how their users use their site in order to improve their design. So it's actually impressive that Google has an add-on to BLOCK behavior of third-party sites that they make money off of. Nobody else does that. This doesn't answer your question, which is why I'm posting as a comment, but I wanted to clarify the perceived oddity that you pointed out.

AFAIK Analytics is a Google program/script that website-owners can embed. It is Javascript, so it is running on my device.

Well, in the same sense that any website you visit is "running on your device." But it's not a program in the sense one would typically consider it. It's no different from virtually any other component of any web page that you visit. As well, Google does work pretty hard to optimize them for speed and resource usage. My mere point was as you can't opt out of ANYTHING else on any web page, it's actually more unusual that you CAN opt out of this than expecting you to opt IN. In other words, no, you normally would NOT expect an opt-in for these kinds of services.

The amount of battery/CPU power the script consumes is infinitely smaller than the amount your screen uses while you're looking at the page. There are certainly valid reasons to want to opt-out, I think, but if your main concern is your battery I don't think this is going to have any kind of impact that could even be measured. If you're concerned about websites affecting your battery with their JS your best route would be to disable scripts entirely. In direct consideration to your question: I don't think there is an equivalent on any mobile browser.

Maybe it keeps running with my screen of. You nornally don' t exit  a mobile browser, and mostly I have more than 1 tab open.

Android suspends and sleeps most tasks while they're off-screen. Web pages, especially, are put to sleep. That's why any time I return to my browser after not long away from it, it loads the page all over again. I'm telling you, your concerns about this eating up your resources are misplaced. Every single webpage you visit has DRAMATICALLY worse offenders on it than Google Analytics. This is like trying to reduce your water usage at your water park by reducing the output of one of the bathroom faucets. The impact is nothing compared to the bigger picture.

It's eating!  Resources, energy. For sure it stuffs itself to the gullet with  my online movements. Google acknowledge that: hence the opt-out. I agree Google tends to code efficient.

Use TrackerControl app on Fdroid store. Blocks all trackers across all your apps.
I started using Fdroid and loved it's privacy friendly no bloatware apps. You should try too


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How do I stop Play Store connecting to a specific WiFi SSID?
The WiFi network at an office I frequently visit has firewalled the Play Store, or some port that the Play Store uses. In any case, it is impossible to connect to the Play Store over that network, and this has been confirmed with IT. The error message I get if I try, is "background data must be enabled" -- which it is.
This would be much less irritating if the error message weren't persistent. That's to say that if I once try to update anything while in that office, the error message comes up -- and I then can't connect to the Play Store at all from anywhere until I scrub the cache and data from the app, even though background data most certainly is enabled. Obviously this is a bug in the Play Store software: a flag is getting set and then not tested again and unset. But my question is how do I work around it.
Is there a way to tell the Play Store -- and only the Play Store, not other apps -- not to connect to a specific WiFi network?


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Is "Preferred Activity Setter" a malware?
I have noticed I have Preferred Activity Setter after the most recent update of Google Play Services, and it has been wreaking havoc on my Samsung Galaxy prevail LTE on my stock browser called "Internet" or "Browser" on older phones where it takes me to a site where there was moleculas content and Chrome loads the page then when finished it loaded page disappears except for the URL bar.
I have AVG Antivirus and it also says Preferred Activity Setter is considered a potentially unwanted program (PUP is now invalid, now considered malware). I have tried to force stop it, and it is still active while the "force stop" is greyed out.
Anyway to remove this without rooting it and doing it that way?

Seems a Sprint app: "Sprint app but not sure of purpose - Removed and have seen no issues"

Yeah, as Andrew said, it's some system app..
Not a virus.. It's a false-positive report by your anti-virus.
If you want to remove this app, you definitely have to root your phone.
See this discussion: What is the Preferred Activity Setter

You may not be able to remove it, but you can probably durable it under Settings > Apps (Make site you have enabled "Show System Apps")

@Cowdhury I have tried Force Stop ignoring the warning as now is passively working (don't know how to explain it any better as the app is still running with force stop greayed out) tried clearing all data, using other applications to keep the perferd activity setter disabled now the only solution is root and remove

No. System apps cannot be removed without root privileges. Ignore this warning from AVG. I myself removed it using Titanium Backup, but once again you need to have root for that. If you are ready to take that step, knowing that it will void your warranty, then head over to XDA and research the rooting methods available for your particular phone model.


text:
Buying games for my kids, without me "attaching" a credit card
My child has his own email address and his own account on a tablet that we share. He wants to spend his allowance on a video game, and I wish to trade his allowance cash to me buying this game for him somehow.
I refuse to enter my credit card or use PayPal on that tablet, because, well, Android, as much as I like it, given the apps my child installs randomly at will, and given that Android clearly is not a secure system at all, I feel I'd be running a major risk entering any passwords on it.
So, I envision me on my secure Linux system, purchasing some sort of Play Store currency, which I can hand over to my child somehow, like through an email or something. I don't want to physically go to a store to buy a gift card which can then be redeemed. I want to buy something, once, online, that allows my child to then purchase the game he wants.
Is this possible?
P.S. I'm in Canada.

You can buy an application in the website version of the Play Store to remotely install application in the tablet. This way, you'll be entering your credit card details in a computer you can trust.
In the tablet itself, if the child goes to Play Store to purchase a paid application, the last 4 digits of your credit card numbers will be displayed on the device. When you use the default setup (which is to ask to reenter password for every purchase), he will not be able to make any purchase unless he knows the Google Account's password.
If him knowing your last 4 digits of your credit card number is a worry for you, you can detach the credit card after every purchase. I think this is probably unnecessary, if he wants to know your credit card number, it will be a lot easier for him to just snap a picture of your credit card out of your wallet if you live together.
I recommend using a dedicated account for app purchase rather than using your own personal account (you probably don't want him reading your emails) or your child account (he probably should know the password to his own account). You can attach multiple Google Accounts to a single device.
Another possibility is to just tell him to buy the gift card himself. He wants the game and he has the money, he can buy the gift card himself. This is assuming he's mature enough to go to a supermarket/store alone.

I've created a google account with a made up name, and I've logged in on it at both the PC and on my Nexus tablet. I had to install something and agree to the terms for things to become connected.
I'm able to browse the playstore on my PC and then tell it to install on the tablet. The problem I have is with the options I get: "Add credit or debit card", "Add a Paypal account". "Adding" a card to this account feels like I'm handing over my credit card for future use. I find that unacceptable. I'm ok with paying for a single transaction, but I don't want to fork over my card for the record.

... what I want is to buy credit towards the play balance. If I can physically buy a gift card in a store and redeem it which converts it to play balance, why can't I go a google web page and buy play balance using my credit card or paypal account? What is with this google accounting needing to become "attached" by me "adding" my card to this account? I'm not trusting this. Next thing you know, my child loses the tablet, and some hacker starts charging stuff to my card. I don't my card "attached" to anything.
When I shop in a store, I'm not "adding" my card to the store, so why with Google?

I see the option on the left hand side of the website to buy credit. https://play.google.com/store
I think its more of a convenience thing, that they store your credit card for future purchases. You could always add the card. Buy the credit. Then once you have the credit. Click on the gear in the top right of the site. Goto My account, Edit payment method and remove the card. Short of doing it this way or going to the store. I dont think there is any other way at the moment.

@Mike: merchants and payment processors that process/store credit card data must comply with PCI-DSS. This is a set of security standards that specifies how sensitive cardholder information are processed/stored. This standard is enforced by all major credit card providers. Any merchants or payment processor found to be in non compliance receives heavy fines, lawsuits, and loses their ability to process card payments. PayPal and Google Wallet are PCI-DSS compliant payment processors.

@Mike: If you link your card to Google Wallet or PayPal, the full card number is never disclosed to the device nor to the merchant, and you will be asked to enter your password for every transactions, even if the Google Account is logged in to the system. You will also receive an email for every transaction you made, which includes the merchant's name, item detail, and payment amount. Your stored card can only be used if the attacker also knows your Google Account password and you have an audit log of your purchases.

@Mike: if you do not trust Google Wallet, you can attach your PayPal Account to the Play Store. Play Store only stores your PayPal email address, so you'll have to go to PayPal.com to confirm every purchase. When using PayPal, Google never handle your credit card data, as payments are processed by PayPal. I hope these information can help you make an informed decision.

You might be able to send someone to buy prepaid Play Store cards with a certain budget in supermarkets, if they're available in Canada. Then give your child the card and it can only spend the amount of cash that you've paid for the card.

OP already mentioned this: "I don't want to physically go to a store to buy a gift card which can then be redeemed"

Could always send his account money from your account via Google wallet. Sign into the webpage on your computer. Send him the money that way. Then he can use the money for apps, in app purchases and etc.
Edit. Also I would install the Google Rewards app, earn money for surveys and that's saved to your wallet as well. Then you can use that as well for purchases.

It seems that Google Wallet is only available for US residents. I'm in Canada.

authors: قصي ابو جويد


text:
Samsung Galaxy S6 stucks at checking for updates after factory reset
My Samsung Galaxy S6 is stuck at checking for updates after factory reset.
I tried rebooting and resetting it again, but it didn't work. I also don't know how to flash using Odin.
How to fix it?

Turn off Wifi during the intial setup, it will skip that screen as all updates exceed 20-30MB which is deemed too large to do on a mobile connection.


text:
No Service on Galaxy SL GT I9003
I have a Samsung Galaxy SL running Android 2.3.6.
I bought a new battery and it was working perfectly until I put on recharge. Immidiately after I put it for recharge, it started showing "No Service". It does not receive any network coverage.
Everything else is working fine.

Did you try the Windows way (simple reboot // shutdown - remove battery - insert battery - restart)?

@Izzy certainly yes.

I can't comment due to limited experience.

Where is your question?
Try to insert the old battery and see if it improves the network coverage?
A Izzy stated, try to turn it off, remove the battery and turn it on again.
You can also try to turn on airplane mode for 1min, turn it off and check whether your network coverage gets back to normal. That's what I used when my 3G connection seems lost, it is faster than rebooting.
Try with another (a friend's) SIM card,
Change location where coverage might be better. The subway has no coverage, you know :-)


text:
can't open recovery menu after installing recovery clockworkmod 5.0.2.6 galaxy ace fix
I have installed clockworkmod-5.0.2.6-galacyace-fix.zip on Samsung galaxy ace s5830.
When I had rebooted it and pressed Home+Power button, it is not showing me a recovery menu. When I press Home+VolumeUp+Power, it is showing me only logo of "Samsung" and on left hand side corner showing me "ramdump" arm mode 9.
I don't know now what to do? I want to update it. I have tried Jelly bean but it is only showing the Samsung logo after rebooting it. Others downloads like GingerBread and all are aborted while installing. My phone still can not be started.
What can I do?

Have you tried wiping after flashing?

You mean after installing a new os, i need to wipe out whole data of phone once again! Right now there is no os installed on my phone and i have tried to install clockwork recovery, after that my recovery menu can't open! When I press Home+Power button then only samsung logo appears.That means there is something problem in booting loop. Thanks for any help.

Yes - a boot loop is normally solved by a data wipe.

right now my problem is that i can't open recovery menu. So how can i wipe out data? Can you tell me an alternative for opening a recovery menu?

Try run from console reboot recovery or from PC: adb reboot recovery. Is recovery starting?

thanks..i had given my phone to samsung shop!they told me there was a problem in my chip! So they have installed a new circuit!


text:
How to backup&restore Android device?
i have a new Nexus 4 (i.e. Jellybean 4.2.1), and i want to backup my current Nexus 4 and restore it onto the new Nexus 4. How can i do that?

i've tried going into Settings -> Backup & reset -> Back up my data to ensure my phone is backed up. When the new device is first setup it automatically tries to restore settings from Google's Servers:

Screenshot (click image to enlarge)
Except that not everything was restored. Amongst the things that are not restored are:

applications are not restored (a new version is downloaded from the store)
application settings are not restored
pictures, videos, camera, videos, saved files are not restored
wallaper is not restored
unlock pattern is not restored
preferences are not restored
icon layout is not restored
Messaging conversations are not restored
Talk conversation history is not restored
recent calls are not restored
custom ringtones are not restored
custom notification sounds are not restored

i've tried downloading an application called App Backup & Restore. But because there is no external storage on the Nexus 4, there is no way to copy the backup off the phone.
Also, App Backup & Restore cannot backup app settings for me. From the web-site:

Notice: App Backup cannot backup data or settings of apps for you

Neither can Quick Backup.

So my question remains:

How can i backup and restore my Nexus 4?

Note: i have no interest in rooting my phone, as that is now a criminal offense in Canada. And even if it weren't illegal; i'd still prefer the option that doesn't void the warrantee, risk voiding the warrantee, is irreversible, has the possibility of being irreversible, or changing the phone away from the original, stock, intended version of Google's own Jellybean.

@slhck Yeah, i was editing the question to say it should be over on Android (where i already asked two questions), when it was suddenly locked behind my back. i just forgot this site existed is all.

Possibly a duplicate of How to backup an Android device?, Full Backup of non-rooted devices or How do I perform a full pre-rooting backup of an Android phone?

And once migrated is promptly closed.

@IanBoyd - Rooting is legal in Canada. Unlocking also is, for a few years anyway

As I already pointed out in multiple places, the integrated "Google Backup"...

does not backup everything (apps have to explicitly support it)
is unrelyable on restore (sometimes it works, sometimes not at all, when it gets interrupted e.g. by a network outage it cannot be resumed...)
not everybody likes to have personal/sensitive data backed up somewhere in a cloud

In no way this "Google Backup" can be counted as a complete solution.
At least with Android 4.0 and higher, there is a possibility to do complete backups (and restore them successfully) -- see Full Backup of non-rooted devices. But this also has some disadvantages:

You can do a full backup -- but then you only can do a full restore (not selectively pick parts)
You can do "selective backups", but if you want to do that for all your apps etc. separately, it's not an easy task (but rather excessive work)

Other options for complete backups require root access on the device, e.g. Titanium Backup as the best and most famous variant. Same applies to other full backups like Nandroid via a Custom Recovery (such as e.g. ClockworkMod Recovery, mentioning the most famous example) -- and again, these can also be restored only completely (except you use just mentioned Titanium Backup for restore, as it also can read Nandroid backups).
All other solutions are not complete, but only cover parts. There are lots of apps to e.g. backup/restore single components like SMS, call logs, contacts. There are also apps which claim to create "full backups" -- but without root, that is impossible for an app. Still, one might succeed finding solutions for the most important data without requiring root access on the device.

I have used Wondershare MobileGo with good reults.  Ther eis a free version and a paid version.  Other usefull tools as well.WonderShare MobileGo How To

Care to provide more information, instead of just posting a linky? Perhaps a brief summary...

Not really an answer to the question, as this tool by far does not backup everything. Just take a look at the screenshot on the linked page. For sure it cannot backup data from your apps, just to mention one thing.


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How to connect to WiFi router without internet?
I've just set up a WiFi router to use with an audio device which is controllable by Android devices through LAN. This router is expected to not have an internet connection - its sole purpose for me is to route the local network and enable the controlling via my Android phone.
However, my phone (a Moto G5S, with Android 7.1.1 installed) simply refuses to connect to this router - even though I can perfectly connect to it from a laptop. I even removed my other routers from my phone, to prevent it from jumping to WiFi connections that have internet, but it still doesn't connect to this "offline router".
Now, a bit of a plot twist: I did see a notification about the WiFi connection not having access to the internet, but I simply swiped it off. I tried connecting with my wife's Android, and, instead of swiping off the notification on her phone, I clicked it and I saw that it offered the option to stay connected even without internet. However, I can't do this on my Android anymore, since I got rid of that notification. Yeah, I feel stupid, but, in my defense, I had no idea that ability would be only available there. I even tried "forgetting" the WiFi connection and re-entering the password, but it just won't show me that notification anymore.
So, any ideas of how to fix this, guys? How can I force the connection to my internet-less router, or, alternatively, how can I force my Android to show me the notification about "WiFi offline" again?

As per request, here's my solution as a self-answer:
Somehow, after a series of deletions, restarts, and retries to connect, the notification popped up again. I have no idea why it happened this way, but at least now I can stay connected to that router, which is what I needed.

Try deleting the connection.  You can do this by Settings -> Wifi -> hit the : on the top right, Saved Networks, select your router's name, then FORGET.

It just showed my the notification. I don't know what happened, but after multiple attempts to delete the connection, restart my device, retry to connect, it just got back to me, and then I clicked it and chose to stay connected without internet. Yay! :-)

The undermentioned – invoking settings put global captive_portal_detection_enabled 0 (via adb shell, if not performed on-device) – may work:

adb shell "settings put global captive_portal_detection_enabled 0"

As this Reddit comment explains:

That command tells the device not to bother pinging Google's DNS server to check for Internet.


text:
How to decrypt Island / Work profile and Parallel Apps user in TWRP?
TWRP 3.4.0.0 release introduced multiuser decryption which means no more error 255 or other multiuser backup errors on devices with multiple users setup. The problem is, TWRP requires all the users to be decrypted in order for the backup to be successful. But, I can't seem to decrypt Island / Work profile user (user 11) and Parallel apps user (user 999) in my OnePlus 6 running Android 10.
Note: Parallel apps user is specific to OnePlus devices.
Here's what happens when I enter my PIN in TWRP on boot or through command-line:

Attempting to decrypt data partition or user data via command line.
Attempting to decrypt FBE for user 0...
User 0 Decrypted Successfully
Attempting to decrypt FBE for user 10...
Failed to decrypt user 10
Attempting to decrypt FBE for user 11...
Failed to decrypt user 11
Attempting to decrypt FBE for user 999...
Failed to decrypt user 999
Data successfully decrypted
Updating partition details...
...done

I can explicitly decrypt secondary user 10, so no problem there, but I am unable to do that for Work Profile / Island user and Parallel Apps user (user 999).
Doing twrp decrypt MY_PIN_FOR_USER_0 999 doesn't work. Running locksettings verify --user 11 and locksettings verify --user 11 gives me
Profile uses unified challenge

So, how do I decrypt these user accounts so that I can make TWRP backups?
I am unable to put the answer to this question to my use. What is a "synthetic password" and how is it used by Android?

Edit: From the TWRP issue tracking link shared by alexcs, the solution for work profile is to separate its lockscreen credentials from the primary/main user. This seems to work so far. However, it doesn't not work for decrypting parallel apps user (999).

Note: this solution is tested on Android 10 (OxygenOS 10.3.2) in OnePlus 6 with TWRP 3.4.0.3.
The idea for things to work smoothly in TWRP is that your main user must not have any lock screen security/credential for the purpose of taking backup in TWRP. This way, TWRP can automatically decrypt main user, work profile user and also the Parallel Apps user.
Follow these steps:

Setup a Screen Lock to PIN/Password/Pattern for your main user/profile, if you don't have it already.
In Settings → Security & lock screen, enable/tick Use one lock for Work Profile. This means that neither Android system, nor your work profile apps would ask for additional credentials to be used.
Set Screen Lock for your main user/profile to None. That is, remove lock screen security.

Now, boot into TWRP. TWRP would automatically decrypt your main user account (user 0), your work profile account, and also the Parallel Apps user (user 999). If you have setup a secondary user account, you can easily decrypt it with the command:
twrp decrypt CREDENTIALS SECONDARY_USER_ID

Alternatively, in TWRP, go to Advanced → Decrypt User → select your secondary user → enter its credentials.


text:
Why does flashing my Tab3, 7.0, 8GB, WiFi (sm-t210) fail with Odin?
I tried several versions of Odin and also several ROM's, yet successfully flashing still seem to fail.
<OSM> Enter CS for MD5..
<OSM> Check MD5.. Do not unplug the cable..
<OSM> Please wait..
<OSM> Checking MD5 finished Sucessfully..
<OSM> Leave CS..
<ID:0/005> Added!!
<ID:0/005> Odin engine v(ID:3.1301)..
<ID:0/005> File analysis..
<ID:0/005> Total Binary size: 1397 M
<ID:0/005> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/005> Initialzation..
<ID:0/005> Get PIT for mapping..
<ID:0/005> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/005> NAND Write Start!!
<ID:0/005> SingleDownload.
<ID:0/005> PBL.bin
<ID:0/005> FAIL!
<ID:0/005>
<ID:0/005> Complete(Write) operation failed.
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1

Please observe that with the newest version of Odin in the log above 'Get PIT for mapping' and 'PBL.bin' failed.
<ID:0/005> Added!!
<ID:0/005> Removed!!
<ID:0/005> Added!!
<OSM> Enter CS for MD5..
<OSM> Check MD5.. Do not unplug the cable..
<OSM> Please wait..
<OSM> T210XXBNI1_T210PHNBNI1_T210XXBNI1_HOME.tar.md5 is valid.
<OSM> Checking MD5 finished Sucessfully..
<OSM> Leave CS..
<ID:0/005> Odin v.3 engine (ID:5)..
<ID:0/005> File analysis..
<ID:0/005> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/005> Initialzation..
<ID:0/005> Get PIT for mapping..
<ID:0/005> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/005> SingleDownload.
<ID:0/005> PBL.bin
<ID:0/005> NAND Write Start!!
<ID:0/005> FAIL!
<ID:0/005>
<ID:0/005> Complete(Write) operation failed.
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1)

Please observe with an older version of Odin that in the log above 'Get PIT for mapping' and 'NAND write' failed.
The stock ROM I seem to need for this device 'SM-T210, Tab3, 7.0, 8GB WiFi, has these specs: KOT49H, T210XXBOB1, PHN, build date Feb 3 2015, Android version 4.4.2
Kernel version: 3.4.5-4081557
I'm not sure if it's KitKat or Jelly Bean as both seem to have similar versions of Android.
So what's going wrong here?

I've been trying several versions of Odin, from the newest to the older versions 1.85, 1.87. In the mean time I've been trying yet another version of Odin 3.07 and that seem to finish successfully, yet on the Tab3 I don't see any progressbar, nothing. So when the device reboot after Odin finishes ... nothing seem to be changed. I'd try other USB ports too, but that didn't do the trick. All being left for now is another cable. Until today I've been using a Nokia branded charge/data cable, which seem to work fine for browsing the Tab3. But this week will show if that's the cause of failures.

Are there specific requirements to that micro B USB cable in use with either Odin of Samsung?

Many times I tried to repair that device, but when the volume up/down buttons start to fail, it is game over. So I had to quit.

As Odin in Windows doesn't seem to work for my device, I tried another application such as Heimdall-Frontend.
This application differs from Odin in that it uses the extracted files from a stock ROM where as Odin uses the stock ROM to upload to an connected device.
Anyways, I found that from Heimdall all files are successfully downloaded to the Samsung Tab3 device.
Yet there was a slight difference between the download of 'system.img' file and all the other 9 files out of the stock ROM.
After the download from Heimdall completed, it was released and right after that the Tab3 device goes into reboot.
While after the download of all other 9 files, it took a few seconds before the Tab3 goes into reboot.
So my guess here is that right after being released, the Tab3 goes immediately into reboot and deletes that way the successful downloaded 'system.img' file.
That would also explain as to why there's no change after the successful flashing with Heimdall.


text:
How do I find out what app is showing a toast?
Several times a day my Android phone (Samsung Galaxy A51, Android 11) is showing this toast

We're having trouble connecting. Check your network connection and try again.

If I stay offline this toast will return every few minutes. How can I find out which app is posting these toasts. And most importantly how do I get rid of them? Long-pressing the toast doesn't show anything.

You can use AppOps to get status of operation TOAST_WINDOW like this: https://android.stackexchange.com/a/215658/218526

Using the Toaster app I found out that the toasts were coming from SmartThings app. I have no idea what this app is for and I'm certainly not using it. In the settings I managed to uninstall it and I assume this will stop it from spamming me with toasts.

You can use Android's adb tool:
adb shell uiautomator events

Make sure you have USB Debugging enabled on your device.  Connect your device to a computer and open a terminal to run the above adb command.
Running this command will dump out system events - you will get a LOT of information.
For example, here's a Toast I created by setting an alarm with the Clock app:

11-27 16:31:32.510 EventType: TYPE_ANNOUNCEMENT; EventTime: 6865213;
  PackageName: com.google.android.deskclock; MovementGranularity: 0;
  Action: 0 [ ClassName: android.view.ViewGroup; Text: [Alarm set for 15
  hours and 59 minutes from now.]; ContentDescription: null; ItemCount:
  -1; CurrentItemIndex: -1; IsEnabled: true; IsPassword: false; IsChecked: false; IsFullScreen: false; Scrollable: false; BeforeText:
  null; FromIndex: -1; ToIndex: -1; ScrollX: -1; ScrollY: -1;
  MaxScrollX: -1; MaxScrollY: -1; AddedCount: -1; RemovedCount: -1;
  ParcelableData: null ]; recordCount: 0

Note the app in question is listed under PackageName as com.google.android.deskclock;.  This should give you a good idea which app the Toast has originated from.

You could use the Toast Source app for that. It not only integrates the app icon and name with each toast message (first screenshot below), but also gives you a history of toasts you received and which app sent it:

Toast Source (source: Google Play; click images for larger variants)
Quite privacy friendly it doesn't even require the Internet permission (so no ads either). But as it uses accessibility services, it's unclear whether it will survice Googles current purge.


text:
I have transferred (all) my files from my SD Card (phone) to my computer and my android phone ( Galaxy S9) is frozen. What can I do to save the phone?

My phone froze and won't respond to anything, what can I do ?
my internal storage is still full ( pics and docs all from there is still in the phone )
I thought of transferring those files in picture back to the SD card but I doubt it would do anything.(Would this work)?
There's also a write protection on the card.
Also, there's an android & system folder from the phone's SD Card that got transferred as in the picture above. Would that have caused my phone to freeze and be unresponsive?

check Lacking storage booting option from recovery mode

I can't go to recovery mode. My phone won't respond to any gesture and press from the physical buttons .The screen is frozen.

okay I was able to go to the recovery mode, which option to choose , n the next steps to make sure all files aren't deleted..?   what will the lacking storage booting do ?

lacking storage booting will boot a phone that won't boot because of lacking storage

Press and hold the power button for up to 60 seconds. Usually this initiates a farced reboot.

The phone resolved the prob. The phone was stuck and after I waited for the battery to die, the phone rebooted as usual and was fine. I wonder if its because the android or the main "important" folders aren't rewritable or can't be deleted....


text:
Using DeX with two external Monitors?
I would like to replace my desktop computer with an android phone.
I only do word processing (in google docs) and internet browsing (chrome), so I figured the processing power of a new phone should be enough for that.
However, I like to write on one screen, while I read pdfs or research websites on another screen.
I have two HDMI monitors.
Can I use Samsung DeX or android desktop mode for this?
What should I look out for, when buying a phone or a suitable docking station? (I haven't seen ones with two HDMIs yet)

I don't think that this can work with HDMI because the phone can only handle one HDMI connection. With DisplayPort monitors there might be a chance as it is possible to daisy chain monitors (Phone -> Monitor1 -> Monitor2). But I don't know if Samsung Dex mode can handle multiple monitors. Have you asked Samsung support about connecting two monitors using Dex?

I have seen usb-c hubs with two hdmi outputs, but i am not sure if any phone can display two desktops using this. I am not bent on using DeX, android desktop or any other solution would be fine, as long as it works. Will contact samsung and let you know what they say.

I'm curious, what does Samsung say about this?

At the time the official answer was that it was not supported, but that was one year ago. Haven't followed up with them since I ended up buying a notebook. However there are some workarounds like this: https://r1.community.samsung.com/t5/samsung-dex/dual-monitor-output-for-dex/td-p/14136930


text:
How to fix "Selected playlist is empty" in Android 4.1.2?
I have an old phone that I use as a dedicated MP3 player after my actual MP3 player died. It's a ZTE phone running Android 4.1.2 with an SD card that has all my music on it. I use the default music player on the phone. I've been having an odd problem recently where adding new music to the device causes the music player to be partially unable to play music. I'll move a song over and then when I start the music player and it loads to my song list clicking any of the listed songs merely gives me the message "selected playlist is empty". I can still play any of the songs if I switch over to any of the other tabs (organization methods?) like "Artist" or "Album" but not from the "Songs" tab. If I go back and remove the song that I moved over I can play music from the Songs tab again like normal.
This is getting very annoying because I can't put more music on the device I listen to music on. How do I fix it, without installing any new apps?

Android uses internally a database of media files. If you move a file in the file-system then the database entry is defect until it is updated. There are ways to force such an update manually: https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/8526/force-media-update

@Robert that doesn't really help. The check mark solution is just "get another app" and I can't get apps on this device. Besides, it's not the same problem as that question anyway. All my music is in the correct folder. The files show up, but I can't play anything at all from the tab in the music player that lists all my songs unless i go back and delete the newly added song. I can play things from the other tabs regardless, just not from the "Songs" tab.

Have you tried to use a different music player? May be the one you use has a bug which causes this behavior?

@Robert If you're asking if I've tried other devices, yes. I had everything on my original mp3 player before it broke. If you're asking about the app it's literally just the default one that came on the device, as i mentioned above. I've used it for years. No, I haven't tried another one because, as i also just mentioned, i can't get apps on this device.

I was talking about the app. Apps are software and thus can have bugs. Therefore I recommend to you to try a different music player app to see if it works or not with the problematic folder. If it works it is the app, if not it is some software component of the device.

@Robert I've said this twice already: I can't get more apps on this device.

If you can't install apps on an Android phone something is wrong with the phone. Then you should perform a factory reset are start over new.

@Robert there's nothing wrong with the phone. It's just really old for a phone. Can't use the app store anymore. No service, data, or signal. No updating. That's why it's my dedicated MP3 player. The only other thing it can do is act as a halfway decent paperweight.

Play Store is not the only way to install apps. The Izzy's F-Droid archive contains multiple Music player apps that work for Android 4.1. E.g. Simple Music Player Version 4.3.1 is the last for Android 4.1. And there or other music player, too.

@Robert you're not helping at all and this website is displaying a complaint about how many comments we've made. So, please offer actual help or direct me to somebody that will.

Sorry that I am trying to help you. If you don't like may comments ignore them. Unfortunately nobody else has participated so in my opinion my comments are better than nothing. On your original problem I can't help you as I don't know your device nor the used music player app.


text:
Pen with palm rejection support
My pen(or my tablet(?)) doesn't support palm rejection. What can I do to make it usable? Is there a way to "simulate" palm rejection? Any tricks that I can try?
This is the pen: https://www.amazon.it/Hommie-Universale-Protettiva-Ricaricabile-Smartphones/dp/B08G82VPBK/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
This is the tablet: https://www.amazon.it/Lenovo-pollici-Qualcomm-Snapdragon-Android/dp/B07WY88LT3
What can I do to make it usable? Is there a way to "simulate" palm rejection? Any tricks that I can try?

Probably related? Samsung Galaxy S6 Lite Tablet Pen: Palm Rejection in Android

@AndrewT. nope :( I've altready tried with a glove


text:
Cannot change lock screen other than password/PIN after installing certificate
I am using XOLO Q1010i. In order to use the university WiFi network, I need to install an authority certificate (WiFi credential). To do so, the device made me installing a lock screen (PIN or Password), any other lock screen choice is not available and grayed with a message

Disabled by administrator, encryption policy or credential storage

Is it possible use lock screen other than those?

Talk to the administrator.

Android imposed this restriction for "security" purposes. When whoever buys the android uses their own certificates, a secure lock screen is required. You can root it. But that's about it. You should talk to administration or even an I.T. student.


text:
How do I transfer app data/settings from Samsung Galaxy S3 to Samsung Galaxy S6?
I have Samsung Galaxy S3 on Android 4.1 and Samsung Galaxy S6 on Android 5.0. When I turned on the Samsung Galaxy S6 for the first time, it said by using NFC, it would transfer all my info.  I don't know if I did it wrong, but all the apps on my new Samsung Galaxy S6 are empty. The settings and levels completed in games do not appear on the Samsung Galaxy S6.
Is there any easy way to transfer everything from my Samsung Galaxy S3 to Samsung Galaxy S6? I don't have access to a PC. My Samsung Galaxy S3 is rooted if that helps with suggestions.

Since your Samsung Galaxy S3 is rooted. You could make app backups with a 3rd-party app, such as Titanium Backup, but to use Titanium Backup to restore them on your Samsung Galaxy S6, it would need to be rooted as well.
I know Google claims that its backup service saves app data and settings as well. But I think that only works if the app dev has added the option to store things in the cloud.
Personally, I can say that TB works like a charm for me. For non-rooted options (I assume your Samsung Galaxy S6 isn't rooted if you don't have access to a PC). It looks like Helium can back up to the cloud. The only reason I linked the paid one is because the free one doesn't allow you to back up to the cloud.

I can't root my S6 for sure. No computer and towelroot doesn't work. That's how easy it has to be for me.

Did you give the app I linked a try? Assuming you have a payment option, there is that window that google gives you to refund the app if you don't like it.


text:
Does Andy emulator respond to computer keyboard while playing Android games?
I'm using Windows 8 Pro in Dell laptop. I want to know, is there a way to assign the computer keyboard to the Android games? Screen tapping by the mouse is not enough to have the full control in the game e.g. Temple run, so I need help: Does Andy emulator respond to computer keyboard while playing Android games?

Try the Left Arrow and Right arrow keys or the Z and X combinations in your keyboard. This should work for you.
For swipe functionalities use Ctrl with arrow keys combination,

Ctrl+Right arrow ->  Swipe towards Right
Ctrl+Left arrow ->  Swipe towards Left


text:
RCA tablet to VGA monitor
I have an Android RCA tablet that I need to connect to a VGA Monitor.  I have purchased a cable with a mini HDMI on one end and a VGA on the other end to fit both the tablet and the monitor but it doesn't work.
Does anyone have any advice?

Switching to an answer, now that we've narrowed in on your needs:
A straight cable can't handle this. What you'll need is a converter. Per your comment question, here's a well-reviewed one on Amazon for pretty cheap that will do the job. You'll want to pair that with a female-HDMI to male-mini or micro-HDMI (make sure you're sure which you have) adapter, which are usually less than a dollar, and a standard, run-of-the-mill VGA cable, and you SHOULD be good to go.

Thank you! I was wondering why it came with a USB also!
After, adjusted HDMI to 720 60hz, works fine!

I have the 7" Voyager. It does not have a mini-HDMI port, just a micro USB. So with that being said, I don't think it's possible.


text:
Prevent wallpaper to slide when sliding the home screen
My question is that when I slide my home screen, my background wallpaper also slides. Not giving me a complete view of full wallpaper on a particular screen.
How to fix it?

you need to include bit more info such as 1. Device OS, 2. Which home screen Launcher you are using etc.

if you are using apex you can set the sliding wallpaper off..which has constant background wallpaper and only the home screen slides..

That's the way every android homescreen work. Wallpaper scrolls along with the screen. Stock homescreen doesn't allow us to customize this. You need to get a replacement for homescreen. Like Apex launcher, Smart launcher 2, Solo or Nova launcher etc. They allow you to disable wallpaper scrolling. (or) There's an app called Wallpaper Wizardrii in Play Store to set the wallpaper in the way you want. Give it a shot.

Sure when I get to my PC...

Would like to add to the answer that some phones has multi-wallpaper options as in this answer ..and selecting only image disables the scrolling..in that case no 3rd party apps needed..


text:
How does the smart lock feature on Android define a trusted device?
The smart lock feature on Android allows someone to set a Bluetooth device as "trusted" which makes it easy to unlock. See for example: https://support.google.com/nexus/answer/6093922
I tried to add an Avantree Roxa device to play with this, but the log states:
I/Coffee - BluetoothTrustlet( 1549): Device Avantree Roxa is not allowed because it is either insecure or of unknown security and needs user confirmation

What makes a device secure or not unknown anymore? I have paired with this device multiple times to stream audio. There doesn't seem to be a place where "user confirmation" is possible. Anyone knows how this is implemented?

authors: สิงห์สะท้าน ฟ้าสะเทือน


text:
Replicating "Guided Access" features from iOS on Android
Guided Access is an excellent set of features for the iPhone that allows one to restrict or block inputs to the device.  How can I replicate this behavior with my Android phone?
The features the I am most interested in
(so that I can restrict access to my phone when my children are using it) are:

ability to disable all hard buttons (power, volume up/down, back, home, the button that display open tasks, etc.), and
ability to disable all touch events.

Of course, such an app must also provide a way to re-enable these inputs again using one of them (or said another way, to disable the restrictions).  For example, to disable guided access on the iPhone, one triple-clicks the home button.

Try https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.uDevel.BabyTouch. Not tested though.

@IvanChau Sure. This is the best one that I have found, but it doesn't have the ability to disable hardware buttons.


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Is this Doro Liberto forever stuck with Android 4.4.2?
My wife made the mistake of buying a Doro phone, under the impression it was 'easier to use'. Actually, it's made updating the OS close to impossible, which is why I'm seeking the help of the experts on here.
As some of you may know, Doro inserts some sort of software layer between the user and Android, which does the equivalent of shouting: "Did you want to phone your Grandson dear?" in order to assist the more senior user.
Unfortunately, Doro no longer supports this model, so if you go System Update/Update, it takes you into a section called Software Management. After several minutes of 'Checking for updates...', it reports a server error.
I've read multiple times the standard way to upgrade Android on a phone, but the Doro software prevents me from doing that. Doro themselves took five days before 'Technical Support' told me that it was an old phone and no longer supported. When I replied that this answer was neither technical nor of any support, I got a very rude reply!
Any ideas as to how I can get round the Doro nonsense and simply install the latest viable version of Android, please?
My wife is very keen to install the NHS Test & Trace app, which requires a more recent OS.

You are making the mistake to think Android is like Windows or Linux, a multi-purpose OS that can be installed "everywhere". An Android phone is an embedded device with an OS named Android that is adapted by the manufacturers to each on the market individually. Therefore there is no Android you could install. Adapting Android to a phone require a lot of work. The cheaper the phone and the more modifications to Android was made the more unlikely are updates. Also newer Android versions require more RAM than your old system provides. Conclusion the answer is yes this device will stay where it is

This may answer your question: https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/236538/if-i-buy-the-cheapest-possible-android-smartphone-today-how-long-can-i-keep-it/236543#236543


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The powerprofile and systrace outputs are not consistent
I'm generating the PowerProflie file and the Systrace file to get the energy consumption of an Android Application, but I found that the number of cpu cores is different between the two files.
I'm using this command line for Systrace:
python C:/Users/BJI/AppData/Local/Android/Sdk/platform-tools/systrace/systrace.py freq idle -o C:/Users/BJI/Desktop/systrace

and for PowerProfile :
java -jar apktool_2.2.2.jar if framework-res.apk
java -jar apktool_2.2.2.jar d framework-res.apk

then I get the power_profile.xml from this folder: framework-res/res/xml/
this is a part of the PowerProfile file I've got :
<array name="cpu.clusters.cores">
    <value>4</value>
</array>
<array name="cpu.speeds.cluster0">
    <value>850000</value>
    <value>918000</value>
    <value>987000</value>
    <value>1056000</value>
    <value>1125000</value>
    <value>1216000</value>
    <value>1308000</value>
    <value>1400000</value>
    <value>1466000</value>
    <value>1533000</value>
    <value>1633000</value>
    <value>1700000</value>
    <value>1767000</value>
    <value>1834000</value>
    <value>1917000</value>
    <value>2001000</value>
</array>
<array name="cpu.active.cluster0">
    <value>9.3</value>
    <value>9.3</value>
    <value>10.6</value>
    <value>11.6</value>
    <value>13.3</value>
    <value>15.0</value>
    <value>17.2</value>
    <value>20.2</value>
    <value>22.8</value>
    <value>26.3</value>
    <value>27.4</value>
    <value>29.7</value>
    <value>30.2</value>
    <value>32.1</value>
    <value>33.9</value>
    <value>38.5</value>
</array>
<item name="cpu.idle">4.1</item>

and this is a part of my Systrace file :
<idle>-0     (-----) [005] dn.1 51825.602907: cpu_idle: state=4294967295 cpu_id=5
<idle>-0     (-----) [006] d..1 51825.602915: cpu_idle: state=0 cpu_id=6
ipi_cpu_dvfs_rt-251   (  251) [005] .... 51825.602942: cpu_frequency: state=900000 cpu_id=0
  <idle>-0     (-----) [004] dn.1 51825.602989: cpu_idle: state=4294967295 cpu_id=4
ipi_cpu_dvfs_rt-251   (  251) [005] .... 51825.602994: cpu_frequency: state=900000 cpu_id=1
ipi_cpu_dvfs_rt-251   (  251) [005] .... 51825.603000: cpu_frequency: state=900000 cpu_id=2
ipi_cpu_dvfs_rt-251   (  251) [005] .... 51825.603003: cpu_frequency: state=900000 cpu_id=3
  <idle>-0     (-----) [005] d..1 51825.603034: cpu_idle: state=0 cpu_id=5
  <idle>-0     (-----) [004] d..1 51825.603100: cpu_idle: state=0 cpu_id=4
  <idle>-0     (-----) [007] d..1 51825.610061: cpu_idle: state=4294967295 cpu_id=7

As you can see in the power profile file I have 4 cpu cores (cpu.clusters.cores=4) but in Systrace file I have 8 cpu cores (cpu_id=0-7) and most of cpu frequencies (cpu_frequency) in Systrace file doesn't exist in powerprofile file (cpu.speeds.cluster0) so I can't get the energy consumed, Please let me know if you have any solution for this.


text:
Android phone turns off when WiFi is on
I have a Samsung Galaxy Ace 3 that turns off when it sleeps or locks, but that only happens when it has internet access, not necessarily with WiFi on. So if I want to use the phone I have to disable the WiFi so that I can lock it, and if I want to use the internet I have to make sure it doesn't sleep, by touching the screen and stuff.
It does not turns off at random, only when WiFi is on and it sleeps. Sometimes it takes a bit of time for it to turn off even when the screen blacks out, and sometimes it instantly turns off when the screen goes black. Also, if I set WiFi to be disabled during sleep I can't receive email and stuff when the phone is locked, but it does not turn off.
So I prefer if there was another fix, I can't seem to find any problems as the phone worked fine before. I have not installed anything and I even did a factory reset from the backup menu in Settings.

I must say, that's the weirdest thing relating to Android hardware that I've heard.  But anyway!
I would say that your next step would be to do a ROM re-flash using ODIN.  However, there are not any images available for the Ace 3.
So, I'm assuming WiFi doesn't work at all?  Being as soon as you turn it on, it turns your phone off?  Because that sounds almost like your WiFi modem has a some sort of "short" (that's the best word I could think of - I'm not necessarily saying an electrical short) in it, and it's causing your phone to die.
Sounds like you may be due for a new phone, unfortunately.

no, i can use WiFi but if the phone sleeps it turns off so i have to keep the screen on. basically if the phone sleep or lock while there is internet connection from WiFi then it turns off instead of locking

Ah, yes, you did say that.  My bad.  Very interesting situation.  Does the phone turn off, or does the screen not just turn back on?  Meaning, when it "turns off" after sleeping, are you sure it's actually 100% off, and not just the screen stuck black?

it turns off i have to keep the lock button pressed to turn it back on after it goes black


text:
Not getting Redeem code entering option
I am using Samsung j7 and I want to make some purchases but I am unable to find Redeem code entering option there. I have Redeem code for purchase but the option is not there. Previously it was right there but now its gone.

 You won't find it there.
Where you will find it by doing this:

Open the play store.
Tap the Hamburger-three lines thing to open the side menu, and tap redeem.
Put in your Redeem Code
Enjoy your new google play credit!

@SyedaZunairah   Really? You can just redeem the code there, and switch payment method. If the code is for a very certain app (Like the one in the screenshot) Google Play will recognise it.

When you input the code (Via Play store) what Error comes up?

Either that, or your code does Not work. Where did you aquire it?

Let us continue this discussion in chat.

yeah,Google changed its settings and now you can only redeem from playstore. Thanks it helped


text:
Need help with orignal samsung touchwiz ROM Recovery
Hi a while back i rooted my S3 Neo I9301I and installed a couple of ROMS based on android 4.4.2/4.4.4 and then i would restore the Nandroid backup i had made of the samsung's touchwiz ROM (The one which came with the phone when i bought it TouchWiz 4.4.2 Kitkat)
Then i thought i'd go ahead and try the unofficial Cyanogenmod 12 by Rox with 5.0 GAPPS, didnt like the performance, but this time when i restored my nandroid, after booting up the phone there's a black screen and all apps crash with the usual error message e.g. "Unfortunately settings has stopped". I've now lost the touchWiz Backup. Same situation even after i flashed GAPPS 4.4.x, so i reinstalled CM12 and GAPPS 5.0 and now im stuck with it.
TLDR:
I've lost the touchWiz nandroid backup.
A) Anyway i can get back the orignal Samsung TouchWiz 4.4.2 ROM?
B) Im looking into upgrading the firmware. Will the latest firmware include Samsung's TouchWiz?
If i've said anything technically incorrect, bare with me please im not THAT big of a tech wiz :D
Phone Specs:
Samsung Galaxy S3 Neo I9301I, 16GB, I9301IXXUANH1 (Single Sim Variant)

in response to you question :

Part A

yes you can go back to touchwizz any time you want by flashing an officiel firmware or by flashing a custom rom based on a stock rom.

part B

grab a firmware from this page
grab Odin flashing tool from here
install samsung drivers (here)
unzip the firmware you just download you will get one file with .tar or .tar.md5.
Now lets make sure you do a fresh install ,boot to recovery and do a full wipe don't reboot the system power off the device after the full wipe and boot to download mod.
unzip odin archive and execute Odin executable file.
plug your device to your PC via USB cable (the device must be in download mod)
An “Added!!” massage will appear in Odin’s message box. If you don’t get the same then you should try another USB port (try USB port located in back in your desktop PC). If that too don’t work then you should reinstall the driver. If you successfully see the “Added!!” message in Odin then you are ready to go in next step. You should also see COM port with a number in Yellow if you successfully added your device.
Click the AP Button, and select that .tar.md5 file
In Odin window, make sure only Auto Reboot and F. Reset Time checkboxes are selected.
hit the START button to begin the flashing process ,when the process is working don't open other applications on you PC don't touch the PC or the usb cable or the phone
Once flashing completed, your Galaxy S3 Neo GT-I9301I will restart and soon you will see a PASS message with green background in the left-most box at the very top of the Odin. You can now unplug the USB cable to disconnect your device from computer.

authors: ธรรมรงค์ แก้วผ่อง


text:
Is in-app purchase still exists on the device if buyer's account is logged out?
Background :
I want to buy the full version of Cytus and Deemo games using my friend's credit card, so what I thought is he have to login using his google account and then after purchasing is complete, he logged out his account.
My question :
Is the purchase still saved on my device even if my friend account already logged out of my device? And is it possible to restore the purchase again if someday I reinstall the games after I delete it?
Thank you.

If possible, ask him to register his credit card on your Google account, then buy the apps under his supervision (and also the song packs, in case you want to play them later), then unregister his credit card again. Otherwise, buy Google Play gift vouchers if it's available in your country.

@AndrewT. Yes, I thought that was the best solution too after I read Maxime answer. Thanks.

If you are logged in with your Google account, the app will be in the list of all your apps and you will be able to re-install it on any device conected to your Google account.

In case I log two accounts when purchasing. First is mine, second is my friend's. Then use my friend's account to buy the games and then log out my friend's account. which account is connected to the apps purchase history? my friend's or mine or both?

The purchase will be related to the account that did the purchase, so if you buy something with your friend's account, the purchase will be related to his account.

so if I want to reinstall the game after I delete it, I need to login using my friend's account, is that it? Can you provide reliable sources of how this works?

Yes you'll have to be logged with your friend's account, I have no sources, but I bought an app 1 year ago with my Galaxy s3 and re-instaled it on my Note4 1 week ago.

As mentioned in comments in another answer, any purchase made through the Google Play Store (or the Amazon App Store) is tied to the account that made the purchase. Your friend's account bought the game, not yours.

authors: ΣΟΦΙΑ ΕΥΑΓΓΕΛΙΔΟΥ

authors: سید حمزه ابوشامه


text:
Root attempt Galaxy S8+, touch screen unresponsive at TWRP
I'm going to try to keep this as simple as possible as I don't really know what I did wrong or how I ended up where I am now.
I have a Samsung Galaxy S8+ running Android 7.0 and I decided to root it. I decided to follow this guy's instructions on how to do it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh-I4uxAmUY
I follow his steps and am bought to the "Unmodified System Partition" menu after having gone through the process of factory resetting, wiping my data and using Odin to flash twrp-3.1.0-r1_dreamlteks.
The problem is that now the touch screen is unresponsive. It does literally nothing.
I am stuck at the screen that says "Keep System Read only?" where I have to "Swipe to Unlock Modifications", but find myself unable to do so because my touch screen doesn't let me swipe!
So now I'm panicking:
Firstly, I can't get the phone to shut down. Holding the power button does nothing, even if I hold it for a full minute.
Secondly, I can't boot the phone into anything except this unresponsive TWRP thing.
Thirdly, my computer no longer recognizes my phone when I try to connect it via USB (might be unrelated?).
Is my phone just bricked now?
Can I save this rooting attempt in any way, or at least revert to the stock?
Will bringing the phone to a retailer help me in any way, or have I already broken the warranty?
UPDATE 1: RMarkwald has bought it to my attention that I need to revert back to stock, but I am not sure I understand how to do so from my current situation, being locked at the TWRP-screen and all. Any information on the topic in future replies is deeply appreciated.

It seems that you flashed the TWRP.img file for the S8 (dreamlte) and not the S8+ (dream2lte) based off of the device type you have, and the filename for TWRP you listed.  In the tutorial he states he's showing this on the S8, and the steps apply to the S8+, but you need the S8+'s TWRP file.  The file he provides is for the S8.  You would need to flash the TWRP from here https://dl.twrp.me/dream2lte/.  I'm not sure how you get out of that screen, wait until battery dies and try to flash back to stock...?

Thanks a lot mate, how exactly do I go about getting back to stock? Like what files and what operations would I need to carry out to achieve that? I'm sorry if this is a little beyond the scope of the original question, but I'll update it to reflect my extended questioning if you feel like making an answer.

You'd need ODIN, and the stock firmware .tar.md5 files for your device/carrier, for example T-Mobile's stock set of files is 3.5 GB compressed into a .zip file, 6.1 GB when unzipped.  I was able to get mine from T-Mobile's XDA thread for the device, not sure who your carrier is exactly, you may have luck here (since yours is the Exynos version, which can have TWRP flashed) https://www.sammobile.com/2017/04/19/first-firmware-for-the-galaxy-s8-is-now-available-for-download/.

Okay, cool, I think I've tracked down a copy of such. I'm from Norway, and using Telenor so https://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/galaxy-s8/SM-G955F/TEN/download/G955FXXU1AQDD/129156/ looks about right. Now I'll just enjoy those sweet 15 kbs for the next 3 hours. Then I just boot into recovery mode, hook up my USB, run Odin, and try to flash the monstrosity from with the zip? Thanks so much for the help mate.

You should have 6 .tar.md5 files inside of the zip, unzip the zip to get those.  They should be AP, BL, CP, CSC, HOME_CSC, USERDATA.  Boot phone to Download Mode (with phone off, hold Bixby button, Vol Down, and Power buttons together, let go once you see something happen, at warning screen hit Vol Down to continue to Download Mode), connected to computer, open ODIN, then add the files accordingly.  I've heard there's issues w/ carrier files since USERDATA is new, moved out of AP now.  Apparently waiting for a newer ODIN to accomodate...not sure if this affects Exynos variant or not...

I can't find a guide at the moment, but AP goes in AP slot, BL in BL, and so on, but the new USERDATA there isn't a location in ODIN (if your firmware has this file in the download), so I'm not sure what the solution is for this right now, until a new ODIN is leaked/available.

Good information man, good information. You're giving me some hope here! If you happen to come upon a guide I'd love you forever if you shared it. That being said, if I attempt the flashing process without knowing where to put USERDATA will I be able to try again at a later point in time? My only real goal here is to not mess anything up permanently, as I'm sure you can understand.

I hate to burden you further with a different question (you've already been more than helpful in helping me get to the bottom of my enigma) but my folder only did not include a USERDATA, but only the other files (BL, AP, CP, CSC). Would it be safe to try and flash my device with these files alone? I'm a little worried about stepping into perma-brick territory and you seem very knowledgeable on the topic.

The USERDATA must be for carriers (I use T-Mobile), I would say you are okay to flash what you've got.  Since getting the T-Mo S8, the USERDATA file is new, I never had that file either when I had my T-Mo S7 Edge.

have you been successful with proposed procedure? I have exactly the same problem that I used S8+ tar file in my S8 phone. How was the phone behavior when battery died. Did you start charging and was you able to go to download mode?

Apologies for the late reply @user243446. And yes, I was. I had to let the phone die naturally from battery loss, then boot it into download mode when the battery finally needed charging again and it worked. Hope it works for you.


text:
Dial number with camera/picture
Is there a way so I can quickly take a picture, highlights the number and I click it so it calls the number? Or I click take picture, and call.
So it just takes the photo, process it, extract number, calls it?

Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is the term you need to Google in relation to Android.

Possible duplicate of How can i take picture to call a number

I don't think processing an image and extracting the number and calling it a better idea. the OCR processing will not be 100% all the time and it may call a different number at-times.
A QR-code is more reliable than image processing and can be used for this if you dont want to type the number.
A QRcode Generator site to call to a specific number directly by scanning the code after generating it. Haven't tried it yet.

Check out Google Goggles, It reads all the readable stuff (barcode, words, numbers).
P.S. it will read numbers for you, then you need to copy and dial that by yourself (but it can Google that number for you).


text:
Force 3G mode on dual-SIM Android One phones
I want to forcibly enable 3G mode on a dual-SIM Micromax Canvas A1 (Android One) running Android 5.1 Lollipop.
I've already searched the net for answers, but all I came up with was using *#*#4636#*#* which unfortunately is disabled by the manufacturer.
So what else can I do to force 3G?

The place where people want you to go with the code is "Phone Info". I access this using Elixir 2. Install -> launch it -> Information -> Telephony (tap it once)-> Turn WiMAX (4G) on. Here we go, change Set preferred network type to WCDMA only. // Let me know if it works or not for your device.

Your hardware doesn't support 3G network on both SIMs at the same time. So there's nothing you can do at the moment

So it's a dual SIM phone. Only one SIM can be set to use in 3G mode and the other in 2G. It is your wish which one uses 3G. Common method is to open Settings / More networks / Mobile networks / Network mode (for Sim1 or 2) / WCDMA only.


text:
How much time it usually takes to switch Android runtime in KitKat?
I have Dell Venue 3830 and I plan to change its runtime from Dalvik to ART. It has Android KitKat 4.4.2. I have 12 gigs of apps.
I want to try ART so I want to know how much time it takes to switch Android runtime?

You cannot see the execution speed difference between DALVIK and ART runtimes normally... It simply justified within the architecture if ART that i precompiles the byte code into machine code so later on the application need less time to start because the compilation time is saved... only executable native files are loaded in the memory... Thus saving the battery to much extent and also avoids overheating.

This is hard to predict, mostly because not all apps work the same. I remember switching my Galaxy Tab 2 to ART took about 15-30 minutes with 183 apps installed.
How long this process takes largely depends on how many apps are installed and how fast the processor is. Most likely your device does not need to work through 12GB of data: it only needs to work the executable portion of the apps, not the stored images or cache.
I would say switching to ART would take up to 20-30 minutes depending on how many apps you have installed.

If you only have a few applications installed and a reasonably quick CPU then it could be a lot quicker than 20 minutes. I did the switch once and I remember it took about ten minutes but there were only few apps besides the stock apps installed on my device.


text:
Changes the voice from woman to man in Google Translate
In Google Translate, how do you change the English voice from female to male?

What languages are you using? AFAIK, the speaker/voice is based on the language you're translating to.

When I change the English Dialects to UK Australia or Us it's the same woman speaking.

It's 2021 and this does not yet seem possible (android 11, pixel 4), (existing answer option exists, but didn't make a difference)

Go to Settings > Language & input > Text-to-speech output.
Hit the Settings icon next to "Google text-to-speech engine". Under installing voice data you can select if you want male or female.
Link to related answer

This answer does not seem to apply to google translate (the option exists, but has no affect on the translate app) (Android 11, pixel 4)


text:
"INSTALL_FAILED_INTERNAL_ERROR" when installing an app on BlueStacks
I need some help with installing an app that I want to use using the BlueStacks App Player. I've downloaded the APK and I have a problem when I was trying to install it. I tried deleting it and install back a new one but it didn't work.
The error message says:

Apk Installation failed: INSTALL_FAILED_INTERNAL_ERROR

Can anyone suggest me some ways to fix it?

Based on this bug report, it seems it only occurs on emulator with wrong time set. Have you set correct date & time and timezone on BlueStacks?


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How do I delete an email address from Facebook App login page on Android?
I'm using a Samsung Galaxy S2. A mate recently used my mobile Facebook app to log into his account. Now, I always get his email as the default when I go to log in to the Facebook on Android app. Although not a big issue, it is very frustrating.

I have deleted data and cache from App Settings, no go.
I have removed the account from the Account settings, no go.
I have set up another Gmail account for the Play Store and downloaded it through there. Still no change.
When I press down on the email address whilst on the login page, there is no option to remove the address.

Please help as this is so frustrating.

First, log out from your account, then follow the steps as given on Add or remove a saved account from your phone.

Remove an account from the login screen on your phone

Go to the login screen on the Facebook app.
Tap  on the top right of the screen.
Tap [Your Name].
Tap Remove profile.

To make the account default, just log out first and then log in to your account.

This is trivial. You have to uninstall followed by the fresh installation of  the Facebook app. You can Clear Data before uninstalling it but that's not necessary always.

I have set up another Gmail account for playstore and downloaded it through there. Still no change.

Google Account doesn't controls how an app manages its data/settings, or for that matter, for any non-Google user app in your device. It is most likely that when you installed this app from another account, you didn't uninstalled it first, the reason why that troublesome email entry remained.

I have removed Accoun[t] from Account settings. No go.

Since it is not mentioned which account, I assume: 1) its Google account which has already been discussed above; 2) its Facebook account, but because the data was cleared the app would fall back to log-in option. Don't know why the entry wasn't purged by clearing data.


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Emulate Android Wear on Android tablet
I have Dell Venue 3830 un-rooted, Android 4.4.2. I want a kind of Android Wear emulator so I can run Android Wear apps.
What should I do so I can run Wear apps or make my Android tablet an Android Wear?

I want to run android wear apps(try them).

Emulating Android within Android on a low-end device isn't going to work.  You're also not likely to find a Wear ROM for a 8" tablet.

Josh Holland's answer would be the only answer, editing your question doesn't change what the answer is. Its either you use the emulator on PC or port it. Sorry.


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Internet browser icon changed to Lookout icon
My internet browser icon has changed from a picture of earth to Lookout icon. Has anyone else had this happen? Why?

That's an icon from Lookout security. Did you install Lookout before? Was there any system/app update before this? It might be possible that this is an update to AT&T user, since they are partners and they preload Android devices with Lookout apps.

In addition to CBA110's answer, try clearing cache on TW launcher and possibly SystemUI. Under Settings >> Application Manager >> All apps >> "TouchWiz home" >> Clear cache and possibly Clear data as well, but that might reset your homescreen arrangement.