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Android "managed device" recognized as mass storage device. adb doesn't see device. How do I do I determine drivers?
I have an android "managed device" that seems to have been some company tablet. No discernible brand. When I boot, it gives a screen with only a settings app. The settings app is very slimmed down, without access to debugging tools.
Debugging should be allowed by default on this device, because from what I understand, apps were installed and uninstalled from a company kiosk. Therefor, debugging would have had to been enabled.
It is a mediatek device with VID_0E8D. It's got pretty nice hardware. I'd like to be able to at least install apps on it, if not root it and re-install android.
It seems to have locked boot loader.
How to I figure out which drivers I need on windows 7 to recognize it as an android device? android studio nor adb can see it, but I can access the file system. Not the .android system files, just a few redundant files and folders that show up.
Any help would be much appreciated.

As long as you have not managed to enable an USB protocol drivers are not relevant for you. I would try to get into bootloader or recovery system by pressing vol up/down and power or other key combinations while booting. May be you encounter a screen that shows hardware details.

enable usb-debugging and set usb connection to MTP in developer options. check windows device manager, pick android device, install android_winusb.inf https://developer.android.com/studio/run/win-usb

@Robert thanks for the response. It has a locked bootloader, and using power/vol up/down doesn't get me into bios. I'm an experienced web developer, so I have a bit of overall experience. However, unlocking bootloader and/or bypassing security on android devices is somewhat new to me. Do you have any guidance or advice as to what  I could study or look into in order to start analyzing what I need to do to unlock the bootloader or any other means to install new apps? I took it apart. It's a MTX chip, I have the details on that at least... Thanks again.

@Robert It appears to be very secure, being that I can't boot into firmware. Nor does settings allow me into the debugging section. Is there a way to possibly "hotwire" the board to get it to boot into the firmware?

May be - this depends on the board. Please not that your base assumption that debugging has to be enabled is totally wrong. App sideloading does not and never had anything to do with adb. The only relation between both is that on old regular devices both options were in the "Development options" menu.

@Robert I can't find any other way to sideload apps. Especially considering that the settings are so slimmed down. Any suggestions?

If the software is locked you have to directly address the hardware. Open the device, check for hardware debugging connections such as JTAG and read out the firmware for further analysis. Note that this is reverse engineering and therefore off-topic here. You may check https://reverseengineering.stackexchange.com

@Robert Thanks for the direction!


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Factory reset without erasing data will cause second user data removed?
I have two users accounts in my phone(multiuser/multiple profile)
One is for normal use and other is work profile.
When I want to factory reset my phone from normal user profile(admin user) without erasing internal storage data (only removes apps and their data),will it remove work profile data also?
Both profiles have different passwords.
Will my work profile apps and file downloads, pdfs, documents will still be there? Or else entire work profile will also be deleted?
I'm using oneplus 5.

Factory reset option without erasing internal storage means all my pics, files, file downloads will be there. But my Google account, downloaded apps from playstore will be deleted. I want to know whether same will happen to my second user profile. Else my work profile will be completely deleted with all data including internal storage associated with it?

Let me rephrase.. In my phone below is the setting backupandreset->erase all data. Here there is a toggle to delete internal storage, I switched it off so my pics, music will not be deleted. So I'm trying to understand what it would do second user profile in this case. I understand that I shouldn't use the term factory here since it is not erasing everything

Alright folks. Anyone who has difficulty understanding OP's problem, know that OxygenOS specifically offers a way to factory reset the device while keeping internal storage intact. The user is given the choice to either go for full wipe (including internal storage) or leave the internal storage intact (see this image). OP is concerned whether keeping internal storage intact would delete or preserve Work profile apps and work profiles storage or not.

Is your device rooted?

No.. My device is not rooted.

I went ahead tried to factory reset my phone without erasing internal storage.
Device - Oneplus 5, Android 8.1.0 , OOS 5.1.4, Not rooted
Before reset
Users

admin
work

Below are the storage details
admin       - /mnt/user/0
/storage/emulated/0
work        - /mnt/user/11,
/storage/emulated/11
guest mode  - /mnt/user/10,
/storage/emulated/10
After reset, names of users are reset and only default user name is seen which is Device Owner
Users

Device Owner

Below are the storage details
Device Owner  - /mnt/user/0 ,
/storage/emulated/0
Files in /storage/emulated/0 are not deleted. All files of second user got deleted. Looks like it completely wipes second user in this case. Guest user got deleted too.

thx for the update.. is admin password also reset? afaik it is used for TWRP, would be interesting

I am using stock recovery and it doesn't ask password after reset. We need to setup new password. I do not know about TWRP recovery.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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SNote and TWRP manual restore problem
This is my first time posting here and I am not sure how to best classify this question with tags, so please excuse me.
Here's the problem: I have backed up the data partition with TWRP and then wiped my Note 10.1 2014 before installing a fresh stock ROM. I did this because it went into a bootloop. When I tried to do a restore of the data partition through TWRP it sent the tablet back into a bootloop, so I had to redo the wipe and installation. I am only really trying to get one thing from the data partition, my S Note notes, so I thought I'd try to do this manually. I unzipped one of the TWRP backup archives (data.ext3.win001 or something like that) and found the folder com.samsung.android.snote in there with the .SPD files inside.
However, the .SPD files actually appear as folders on my Mac, not zip archives as they should be. Something must've gotten mixed up in the TWRP backup. They contain all the appropriate files, and they are of the appropriate size, so I thought I'd zip them on my computer, change the file extension and put them on the SD card and back into the phone to be imported into S Note. However, S Note says "Invalid file format" when I tried to open them.
Does anyone have an idea about how S Note files work, and how they can be correctly zipped, give that I have all the correct contents? I know it's a long shot, but any assistance would be welcome! Cheers!

Why do you think the .SPD files have to be ZIP archives? If TWRP backup as saved them as folders I would assume this is totally correct. Just upload all the files in the correct directory structure and move them with root permissions to /data/data/com.samsung.android.snote (assuming the SNote data files are located in the app-private directory not somewhere on /sdcard). Adapt the file-system user and group permissions and this should be it.

As an alternative, try Titanium backup for restoring S notes. It has an option to restore from nandroid backup

language barrier note: can it be that you are using the term "zip" as general synonym for "archive" (for example data.ext3.win001 is not a zip but a tarball archive)? or do you mixing up different file formats (zip archives expected for export/import via sdcard, spd files for internal app data only)?

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


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WiFi Error: “Failed to connect to network” - Google Pixel 3xl, Android 11
My Google Pixel 3XL was working perfectly fine and now it refuses to connect to wifi. It just says "Failed to connect to network" whenever and however I try.
I'm not running a custom ROM.
I have not installed anything new since it was working - it was working fine and then it wasn't
I haven't physically damaged my phone, wifi seems to be the only thing effected, all other functions are normal as far as I can see
Here is everything I've tried:
I've checked that the wifi router works by testing it with other devices.
I've tried connecting to new SSIDs that the phone has never met before
I've tried conneting in safe mode
I've installed the latest updates to my phone and tried again
This old question suggests that I delete a wifi config file: WiFi Error: "Failed to connect to network" I cant access that file, probably because I'm not root. So that is probably not going to happen.
The next thing to try is a factory reset. But I really really want to avoid that.
Do any of you have anything else I can try?

Put it on airplane mode, wait for a little while and then try to connect // go to settings, delete saved networks. Sometimes this helps

Have you done a Network Settings Reset? Go to Settings, System, Reset Options, and select "Reset Wi-Fi, mobile & Bluetooth" and do that. Then reboot and test again. This does NOT effect any of your data like contacts, pictures, or apps.

@acejavelin thanks, but it didn't work. I even tried again in safe mode

@beeshyams thanks. But it didn't work

Sheena, looks like a hardware issue (considering it didn't work in safe mode). If you take it to service center, they will ask you to do a factory reset. Might as well try flashing the full stock image before going the repair route

I reset to factory settings and it worked. That's what I wanted to avoid but it is what it is. At least the phone still works

The Problem for me was that I set up my Wi-Fi with WPA3 + WPA2 which caused this failure and series of disconnects on other phones


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can't enter recovery mode after flashing resurrection remix v5.8.5 android 7.1 in Lenovo vibe k4 note
recently I have been trying out new roms. When I flashed resurrection remix v5.8.5 on my device (Lenovo vibe k4 note) via TWRP recovery, after that the room was working fine, but magisk came pre-installed, which, when I open, gives an error: "magisk manager has stopped working". So I decided to change to another rom. but I can't boot into recovery menu after flashing resurrection remix os. when I try to boot into recovery, it directly boots the system. And when I power it off, after an hour or two, it automatically powers on and boots the system. I would be grateful if someone helps me. Thank you

uninstall + re-install Magisk Manager apk

I can uninstall magisk, but can't reinstall cuz I can't enter recovery mode

i am talking about Magisk Manager apk only (not about Magisk zip)


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FBE encryption bootloader state in keys
I want to unlock bootloader on Android 8.0 FBE encrypted with PIN
I don't wanna lose my data, therefore i made backup of userdata partition before
According to CCC the bootloader state is part of encryption. The video neither explain how bootloader state is involved in KDF KEK DEK chain nor this concerns FBE
After unlocking bootloader + factory reset + restoring userdata partition,
encryption probably won't work. does this concern twrp too, is there any method to overcome this?
I cannot test that as i don't want to unlock bootloader without backup at moment

Let's discuss this in chat.

tried today. dumped userdata, unlocked bootloader, restored userdata. did not work, probably because of deleteKey

Thanks for this important information. Can you also try wiping /data from TWRP and restore it again? I believe as long as you are not reinitializing the OS, you can restore data after wipe because reinitialization triggers untrusted enrollment in TEE which generates new SID and FBE keys on first boot of OS.

@defalt cannot try it was not my mobile. my own phone is not encrypted

From android enterprise security whitepaper (pdf), The Verifed Boot state is used as an input in the process to derive disk encryption keys. If the Verifed Boot state changes (e.g. the user unlocks the bootloader), then the secure hardware
prevents access to data used to derive the disk encryption keys that were used when the bootloader was locked.

Where should I put it here?

Confirmed answer to What is the cryptographic relationship between verified boot state and FBE keys?.

some people claim it's possible to unlock bootloader without data wipe (for example with mtkclient) it's no real unlocking then?

I don't think it's possible anymore with phones that fully complies with AVB2.0 and FBE specification. The Verified Boot State is cryptographically tied to Key Encryption Key that decrypts FBE keys inside TEE. Even if you somehow manage to prevent data wipe just after unlocking (let's say by cutting the power of SoC), that data cannot be decrypted because the KEK output will be different.


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Finer grained audio and Bluetooth control?
I'm running OnePlus 6 with current oxygenOS (10.3.7) based on Android 10.
When listening to music on a Bluetooth device it's really annoying to hear notification sounds, is there any way to get finer control which audio goes to BT and which plays locally?
It's a shame notifications on apps like WhatsApp seem to be controlled through Media not Ring.

According some posts I found some manufacturer seem to include a separate "notifications" volume setting (e.g. Samsung, LG and may be others seem to have or had such a setting on certain devices).

Not the case for me on Pixel 4a, Android 11


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How to know what are the supported char sets in my android device
In my android device, I want to know what are the supported character sets?
Is there any way to know the list of character sets supported  by adb command?


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Can't get SP Flash Tool working with Blackview BV5500 to install TWRP Recovery
I have installed Phone drivers (I have BV5500Plus & BV9500, same chipset MT67xx, same driver). For both phones, VCOM drivers are seen in Win10 if I connect turned OFF phone onto USB with Vol-DN pressed.
BV5500 bootloader is UNLOCKED via fastboot.
The method I use for connecting the phone is: (phone off): Vol-DN + onto usb.  Keep Vol-DN pressed until the phone enters Factory Mode menu. Release Vol button.
The instructions for downloading custom TWRP recovery to phone is to get SPFT setup for download BEFORE phone is connected to PC =

select DA file (in SPFT files)
select scatter file (from stock rom files)
select only 'recovery' partition to download & recovery.img file for TWRP
press Download button

The problem seems to be how SPFT needs phone to be connected when turned OFF (from what instructions I read).  VCOM driver for these phones is only visible in SPFT once driver is visible in Win10 (which is obvious to me).  However that doesn't fit with the instructions.
Before phone has an active VCOM connection, there is only COM1 visible (the printer). Therefore VCOM connection cannot even be selected in SPFT settings.
If I configure SPFT only when phones VCOM is visible in Win10 (so setting SPFT COM port to COM9 [shown in Device Manager but also only other option in SPFT] for example), this does not help.  Even when correct COM port chosen in SPFT, Download/connection still does not take place.  Zero activity shown.
I could try flashing the BV5500 from fastboot, but I tend to trust SPFT better, since its working with the scatter settings for partition locations. Also, SPFT seems to be the supported method of flashing stock rom if anything goes wrong, so I'm REALLY HOPING to get SPFT working.
What am I doing wrong here?  Should the progress indicator in SPFT show something immediately, or take some time to connect & transfer?  I'm not waiting long until I hit Stop button, & the program does recover/respond after maybe a minute/30 secs of pressing Stop.  Phone continues to work after these failed attempts.
There ARE SPFT logs.  I've looked at them, cannot understand them.  Maybe solution lies there?  Any help understanding the logs?  I can post some log contents here....

just switch order - 1 start flashing, 2 connect phone (like you descripted)

I've tried BOTH.  Start Flashing 1st.  Try connecting phone 1st.  SPFT totally ignores both attempts.  You do realise that if I "start flashing" BEFORE phone is connected, SPFT has no proper COM port to flash to?  Its set for COM1 (something else) by default.  I have to manually switch it to COM9 (phone).  But I'm only able to do that when I've connected phone 1st AND manually switched COM ports in SPFT.

@alecxs All the instructions for SPFT talk about VCOM drivers. I do know that there's multiple types of drivers for the phone.  AFAIK I have preloader driver installed. What I have NOT done is setup SPFT for USB mode, its on COM port mode.  Will try that. I am so irritated with bad/old instructions on the internet.  That is why some people end up here....

Is fastboot safer?  Like I said in OP, Blackviews default supported method of flashing stock rom is via SPFT. Their stock roms provide the scatter.txt file for the partition mapping, so that part is guaranteed in SPFT. OK, I was doing a couple things wrong previously.  Was not able to "ReadBack" bc of addressing problems.  I realised the problem was the Scatter file gives Start & End addresses.  ReadBack needs Start & Length addresses.  I got BV5500 Length address using "fastboot getvar all". After using USB, and correct SPFT Hex addresses, I WAS ABLE to readback "immediately".

https://blog.hovatek.com/so-whats-all-this-talk-about-meditek-secure-boot-and-da-files

https://android.stackexchange.com/q/219968

@alecsx OK, I've tried flashing the copy of twrp which I thought would work (it was online for BV5500).  So flashing "functioned" with SPFT, BUT ..BOOTLOOP....  Read what I could without anything helpful.   Then I tried setting SPFT up w stock recovery.img ONLY.  Hit Download button, connected phone during an "off" part of a reboot.  SPFT flashed stock recovery virtually immediately.  Then suddenly phone was back to normal......OK I think I may need ur help with getting best ver of TWRP for BV5500 Plus, and suggestions to make this work.

https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/twrp-recovery-not-working-on-blackview-bv9500.3873882/post-84071773

I've deleted comments I didn't think belonged here, but most comments show a progression in me finding solutions, so valuable to leave.  How do I mark 1 of your posts as Answer?   I'm sorry but this site is not intuitive to me.

@alecsx explained to me that I should be using SP Flast Tool with USB connection, not VCOM connection, even though SPFT instructions were to install VCOM drivers (so I assume VCOM was needed).
I already had drivers installed, so set up SPFT with DA file from within SPFT files, and scatter.txt from stock rom files. Then =

turn phone off

Press Vol-Dn + connect usb

SPFT sprang into life & immediately initiated action (be action Readback or Download)

Seems the only part I needed to learn was using USB connection.

Ah, so VCOM preloader drivers are used, not normal Win VCOM (as in visible in Device Manager).


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How to disable reverse portrait rotation?
I have a rooted Xiaomi redmi note 7 with the latest stable Xiaomi.eu ROM (Android 10) I want to have back the standard Portrait and Landscape Rotation and remove the reversed portrait rotation from my phone entirely.

Hi, since this is your previous question, consider completing the registration so that you won't lose access to your current account in the future to still be able to interact with your posts. That said, as I've mentioned the Xiaomi link on the previous question, looks like this needs a modification to the framework APK, which I can't guarantee the safety.

I didn't see your answer sorry.  What could go wrong with modifying the framework? I have no important data on my phone.

These are the hints: 1, 2, I'm not posting it as an answer since I can't test it and again, I can't guarantee the safety since modifying the system framework might brick the device, rendering it unusable. If you feel brave, then you can try it, and feel free to post it as an answer if it works. Best of luck.

If it carries the risk of bricking the phone then I won't do it. It looks like I'll have to change the ROM... I've been using Xiaomi Europe for a long time and they didn't have all rotation unlocked. Thank you for your help.

that rotation is cool, it will save your day when screen is broken

No it's not. It's annoying when you're lying on your side on the bed and  you want to keep switch between landscape and portrait.


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How to recover data when everything is locked (FRP, OEM)
Working on recovering data from phones newer than Android 8.1. The situation is this:

Customer forgot the lock (pattern/pin/...)
Because lock screen can't be opened, OEM is locked.
Can't install custom recovery (such as cwn, twrp) due to OEM lock.

It seems that the only way is to mount the hard disk which seems to be encrypted by default.
So what should be done in this situation?

Nothing........

You can do is try to brute-force the lock screen pattern/pin.

Data recovery and Screen lock by-pass are two different things. Both should be impossible due to security reasons.
Android provides official unlock solution via a Google account (not anymore). A Bonded Google account is a requirement for using Google Play App Store, which most likely every customer will have.
edit: Unfortunately Google discontinued Find My Device Unlock feature
A Google account itself has several forgotten password options. It's up to the customer to get it to work, not you.
You already have mentioned some workarounds which might have worked on some (older) devices. Let me explain a little more.

Data recovery from factory reset is not possible because of encryption.
Data recovery from FRP lock is not possible because of factory reset.
Data recovery via unlocking is not possible because the bootloader unlock triggers factory reset.
Resetting screen lock is not possible because login credentials are partially involved in calculating encryption keys. Deleted locksettings.db will destroy encryption.
Off-chip recovery is not possible because encryption is hardware bound.

However, some cracking is possible for some devices under certain conditions.
Data partition can be decrypted when:

device uses FDE full-disk encryption
full-disk encryption uses default_password
decryption is performed on this unique source device itself

Screen lock can be deleted when:

data partition is decrypted
encryption doesn't rely on login credentials

Dumping partitions on a locked bootloader is possible via:

Qualcomm EDL mode when OEM signed factory loader is leaked
Mediatek SP Flash Tool with proper Secure boot Download Agent and authentification files

Flashing on locked bootloader is possible when:

boot/recovery image is AVBv1 signed


text:
How could I retrive full internal storage of an Android smartphone in order to restore data?
In TWRP, I originally intended to only formating Data as F2FS but didn't know that from around Android 5, data is a subfolder under /sdcard and everything in /sdcard is gone. How could I retrive a full image of Android internal storage so that I could try to use some data recovery softwares recovering as much as possible?

Data is not a subfolder of /sdcard this statement in your question is wrong. However both folders /data and /sdcard are located on the same "userdata" partition.

Well, basically TWRP is a tiny embedded Linux so we could do Linux things in TWRP. First we need to unmount all the unneccessary ones in Mount menu, plug in a big enough flash drive formatted using exFAT (By default, Linux couldn't write NTFS, and FAT32 has file size limitation. You may also need extra power supply to get the HDD working), and mount it. Then go to Adaveced -> Terminal and you get a busybox to play with, like other embedded Linux systems.
For phones using UFS, usually the block device for internal storage is /dev/block/sda, and you could confirm this by checking its size.
# --getsize64 would return size in bytes
~ # blockdev --getsize64 /dev/block/sda
123161542656

The returned number is the block device's size in bytes. That's around 123.16 gigabytes, consistent with the info available on LineageOS device specs (128 GB).
And for smartphones using EMMC, the block device for it should be /dev/block/mmcblk0, correct me if I am wrong.
Now we could dump all the content of that image into external storage device.
DO NOT WRITE BACK TO INTERNAL STORAGE. You would get your data overwritten and that's why I said unmounting all unneccessary volumes at the beginning.
dd if=/dev/block/sda bs=4096 of=/usb_otg/dump.img

Hint: You could utilize nohup to let dd running at background and continue other tasks in terminal, like:
# The "&" symbol at the end is necessary
nohup dd if=/dev/block/sda bs=4096 of=/usb_otg/dump.img > /usb_otg/dd.log 2>&1 &

After dd finishes, unmount your external drive. Wish you a good luck recovering data.

did you recover your data? i doubt it's possible on encrypted device


text:
If I generate my own custom key and sign a custom ROM, then will I be able to have root access after locking the bootloader?
So what I want to do is boot into my own custom ROM with a locked bootloader. I have a OnePlus 6T so it's possible, but can I have root access after I boot with a locked bootloader? If I replace my custom ROM's boot.img with a patched Magisk boot image, will it be possible to have root access after locking my BL?
Also, will I be able to use TWRP and flash updates through it?

You question is a bit "misspelled" because with a custom signed system you never get root access but you can sign your apps so that they become system apps. System apps have way more permissions that regular apps, but AFAIK this is not root access (root is even more powerful).

How will you boot the patched Magisk boot image and TWRP after locking bootloader? Locked bootloader only boots the boot/recovery images signed with OEM's private keys which obviously you don't have. So device won't boot simply. Rooting device with locked bootloader is possible only through some vulnerability.

See Is there a way to root an Android phone without unlocking the bootloader?. Same applies to Is it possible to lock bootloader after rooting the device?.

@IrfanLatif what about CopperOS they do exactly what OP want

@alecxs hmm CopperHeadOS, which the developer of GrapheneOS claims to be his work. You are talking about User-settable root of trust which is one of the main features of AVB (VB2), right? There aren't many devices in my knowledge which support this feature because it's against OEMs' business strategies. Most of the currently available devices have either bootloader unlocking disabled, or is irreversible, or is reversible only with OEM's factory firmware.

If OP's device (bootloader) supports custom AVB keys, then it's definitely possible to lock bootloader after flashing a (possibly rooted) custom ROM, not CopperHeadOS only but any ROM theoretically. In that case it's a pure development related question.

@IrfanLatif ah yes, just could far remember that name.. right, that would be developer stuff. i did just read the headline when it came to my mind. Seems the question is completely different from headline and OP is not dev ;) so AVBv2 user-settable root of trust is requirement. that means OnePlus 6T is not supported

Yeah, you can take a look at https://github.com/chenxiaolong/avbroot and read the documentation carefully.


text:
Recover data on Samsung galaxy s4 mini with broken screen
I have broken the screen of my Samsung Galaxy S4 mini.
Nothing can be displayed and I can't touch anything.
I would like to recover data (at least contact and photos) but I don't find a way to do this.
I can't connect it via usb, it isn't recognized by the system (Mac or Windows)
Do you have an idea ?

Does this answer your question? Enable ADB and/or change USB connection mode on Galaxy S7 w/ broken screen

I have tried but no :(

you can root the device and flash a modified system with adb root enabled (or some init.d script which places the RSA-key from MicroSD Card into data partition, if required) someone needs to guide you through cf-auto-root and inception

any success?

No I can't detect the phone with usb cable. I think it's not just the screen that's broken.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMoVqoVuPns

CWM recovery can be installed from MicroSD card. with this you can create a backup. it can be done all from volume keys. only problem, you must do it blind. i recommend to buy another device for test (if backup fails you still can use it for spare parts to replace display)

as you can see in this video the desired entry 'apply update from external storage' is right above the unwanted 'wipe data/factory reset' option. consider that timing and count of input key sequence is important. (Note: you need a signed variant of update.zip) see https://android.stackexchange.com/q/222262


text:
downloads not started
I have just got a new android 10 tablet and I'm having a really stupid user interface problem.
When I click a link to a PDF document in the web browswer (Chrome) I click download and nothing happens.
After much routing around I eventually found the downloads listed in the new "google go" app.
This lists my downloads as "downloaded not started" once for each time I clicked it.
There is no obvious way to start the downloads from here.
This is very stupid default behaviour. How do I change it?
I read around somewhere that I needed to:

install a pdf viewer app - done
change the file associations  (in settings/apps & notifications/default apps)

There is no file association for PDF and no (obvious) way to add a new one
I just have:

Assist App   - Google Assistant Go
Browser App  - Chrome
Home App     - Quickstep
Phone app    - phone
SMS app      - message
<blank>    - opening links

I select a PDF viewer (e.g. Adobe) and try to enable "open by default". Nothing happens.
I did actually get some PDFs to download and thought I had fixed the problem but the next time I tried it happened again.
What am I doing wrong?
I find it hard to believe Google can have so thoroughly broken something as basic as this. So what am I missing?
What I expect:

I should be able to download arbitrary files to an arbitrary location
(after clicking that I accept the risk if fine)

Something should tell me where the files were downloaded to without having to search the internet for an answer.

PDF files should open either in the browser directly or from a 'downloads tab'

The "go" app should have a button somewhere to let me start the downloads

How do I make this happen?
Are the "google Go" and "google files" apps the problem? Can I/ Should I replace them with something more intuitive.
The tablet is something model is listed as "Q3".

Maybe try a download manager like this, which is well rated and claims to select download location https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dv.adm


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SoC compute-resource usage monitor for single app
I need to understand the compute resource usage of a compute-intensive app; this includes the CPU (ideally including the core ID), GPU, DSP, AI Engine in the processor (for Quallcom chips). I have found many ways to track the CPU usage per app, but am yet to find one that tracks the GPU or DSP usage per app.
What can I use to monitor the compute-resource usage of an app?

Can the device be rooted or not?

Preferably not, but I'm willing to explore that option.

@MorrisonChang I'm willing to root the phone, would it be possible to get that information?

The more custom (DSP/AI engine) stuff may require access to SOC SDKs, but if rooted, look into https://developer.android.com/training/testing/performance


text:
Is it possible to attach phone with USB c port to PC and 3.5mm audio out at the same time
I have a google pixel 3. It only has a USB c port, no 3.5mm audio jack. I would like to be able to connect my phone to a PC via usb to enable adb access and at the same time get audio out of the phone with a usb c to 3.5mm jack type adaptor. I had thought that I could achieve this with an adapter like this:

However, I got one of these and while the audio output works, the usb C connection only allows charging and no data connection to the pc. I was looking at usb c hubs but I am thinking that these would only work with the phone as the host/master and the devices plugged into it as slaves.
Is there any way to achieve what I want?
The reason I want to do this is in order to use scrcpy to remote control the phone from the pc while also getting audio out of the phone.

You can use scrcpy over WiFi as a workaround (assuming you don't want to use Bluetooth audio).

Yes I am aware of that, sorry I should have mentioned in the question, but there is usually a reduction in video quality and/or lag compared to usb so I was hoping to use usb.


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Android phone: suddenly unable to connect to wifi
I'm having trouble connecting to a wifi network on my android phone.
I was connecting just fine for the last few months, but today it just stopped connecting.
It's not airplane more, and I haven't run any updates.
I tried "forgetting the network" and reconnecting again, but it keeps saying "Couldn't connect to network".
Have I been blocked? Is there anything I can do?

@John Nope (Edited the question to include the details)

Did you resolve this problem? This just happened to me. Suddenly I could not connect to my WiFi. It happened right after I tried to configure a Chromecast gen 1 (which I couldn't connect to either).

The solution that worked for me (LG V30S, Android 9) was to go to Settings -> General -> Restart & reset -> Reset network settings (the wording may be different since I translated from Swedish: Inställningar -> Omstart och återställ -> Återställ nätverksinställningar).


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How to disable apps from using "keep screen on"
Some apps use FLAG_KEEP_SCREEN_ON to stop the screen from turning off -- is there a way as a user to override this (would be useful when going to sleep)


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Will joining notification be send to my contact number if he doesn't have it?
Suppose I have synchronised my contact but the person in my contact do not have my contact number, will he receive my joining notification in telegram app?

No. Only those who have your contact will see that you joined even if you don't have their comtact. So someone who doesn't have your contact number will not get notified.

No. He will only receive notifications of those people who are in his contact list.
Imagine a famous person getting 100s of notifications per day of people joining telegram he doesn't even know. LOL


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How to search Google Play and Huawei Store for applications coming with ADB supported public API?
re.:
How to search Google Play and Huawei Store for applications coming with ADB supported public API ?
I am interested to implement Software Interoperability Act into force and practice
and ask developers to offer API versions of their applications to be offered via Google Play Store, Huawei Store as an extra option (fee/no fee).
I am aware, it may take some time due summer holiday time but learn today, which one comes with API as add-on and how to search for API enabled Android applications for basic tests via ADB.
I would like to know, which applications can output results, actions, data via USB ADB link and what data formats are offered for postprocessing and scripting.
I would like to build directory of API enabled Android applications with full step-by-step manual on how to start, what input data are accepted and what output can be generated.
Since it may not be smart to install applications for testing,. one after the another to smartphone, I am looking for smartphone's emulator which can be run remotely via Internet, supporting USB ADB emulation via www JS scripting, coming with working API scripts for individual applications.
I would like to know state-of-the-art within the above to let me assess my efforts and time to be consumed, the above project to ccome true if not already offered or supported by third parties./
thank you

Does this answer your question? How to search the Play Store by permissions?

Also realize that adb is a developer tool, so geared toward app developer workflow. Individual apps unless written, do not interoperate as mobile devices contains lots of personal data and increasingly in a sandbox due to bad/malicious actors. Getting developers to use any particular API is off-topic (and akin to herding cats) unless you are the platform owner like Google or can financially pay people to support any third-party API.

@MorrisonChang thank you for your kind comments and answers
" Individual apps unless written, do not interoperate
exactly, but may interoperate and how to call this feature by default to let developers to expose it to users ?
Not sure how to learn ADB API support from permissions
__
https://android.izzysoft.de/applists.php?topic=search
Search apps by category and permission
__
https://play.gqqnbig.me/
Google Play Advanced Search
https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/manifest/manifest-intro

@MorrisonChang
example of the preferred use of ADB API:
heart rate + oxygen saturation app getting data from sensors installed in smartwatch.
Live chart is generated but I need to add datalogger functionality via ADB API, studying AndroidManifest.xml file for offered Intents  https://developer.android.com/guide/topics/manifest/manifest-intro -
https://developer.android.com/guide/components/intents-filters -
https://developer.android.com/reference/android/content/Intent

What data can be received by an app is noted in the AndroidManifest.xml. The only way I know to get the manifest is to download the app. What data an app provides is defined by it's "Content Providers". An indicator for a content providers are special custom permissions in the AndroidManifest.xml.

@MorrisonChang ok, I need to start with https://developer.android.com/guide/components/intents-filters
Intent to sendBroadcast() or sendOrderedBroadcast()
since "A broadcast is a message that any app can receive.
"Implicit intents do not name a specific component, but instead declare a general action to perform, which allows a component from another app to handle it. For example, if you want to show the user a location on a map, you can use an implicit intent to request that another capable app show a specified location on a map.

@Robert thank you, is it possible for a developer to publish direct download link to AndroidManifest.xml file via Google Store to let a user to get prior knowledge on what intents are supported and what broadcast can be processed via USB ADB to receive data output redirected to USB interface ?
Example: to study quality of Audio2MIDI conversion I would like to live overlay on display: MIDI, raw FFT data and Equilizer app chart.
Ok, I can run 3 applications individually on 3 smartphones and have camera to record images from 3 displays to generate live conversion quality analysis

Search by permissions, offered by https://play.gqqnbig.me/search?q=ADB%20API&ap=false&ad=false
Google Play Advanced Search
is down
Taking too long to load result. Something might be wrong.


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Download all Reviews/App-Rattings from a App on Google PlayStore
I'm searching for a way to download all Ratings with Comments from an App on Google Play Store.
The best way would be to do this directly in python.
I have tried to download the whole website with the python package request. It works but load only about 140 - 160 Rattings with comments.
On the website, there is a way to click the button "see all comments". But then i must scroll to infinity. That is not the way I am searching for.
For clearness I want the data for a private NLP Projekt, so I don't have my own App.
Therfore all ways with the Developer Console not possbile for me.
The question is related to this one: See all Reviews/AppRatings on PlayStore in a better Way?
But the ways don't work anymore or I have no developer acces.

Have you tried python modules like google-play-scraper? They claim to be able to download app reviews.

@Robert thanks for the hint. The google-play-scraper was exactly the tool i was searching for.


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Is this Kindle Store App Legit or Bootleg?
This question is inspired by the answer I received to this question: What is This Strange Symbol When I Try to Play Youtube on Kindle?
User @Banal Vulgarian reports that he has the same problem as I do in Silk Browser, but a specialized Youtube app works. I downloaded a specialized Youtube app and experienced the same success.
But I am suspicious of this app. Is this a legit app published by Google/Youtube,or is it sort of a "bootleg" app developed outside of Google's supervision which may be risky to my device?
Here is the app info:
Here you see the app in the Kindle store search results, with a non-standard Youtube logo (minus!), it has the best reviews of all results (plus!), and the most reviews of all results (plus!). Inexplicably it is the third result rather than the first result (minus!)

I'm looking at the one right in the middle with a blue logo (unusual for Youtube) but it says the publisher is Youtube.com
So I would assume that Kindle Store would sort of vet the names of publishers to make sure they are not impersonating a major company, right? But now look when I click on the contact info for the developer of this somewhat questionable app:

That email address looks a bit sketchy to me. Like a Youtube impersonator, to be honest.
Is this app officially sanctioned by Youtube? If not, what are the risks to me by having it on my Kindle?

To my knowledge, the only "official" Google apps are on Fire TV:
https://blog.google/products/chromecast/prime-video-chromecast-android-tv-youtube-fire-tv/
https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/09/youtube-kids-app-is-now-available-on-amazon-fire-tv/
And only consist of YouTube and YouTube for Kids.
I believe these are the apps referenced above:
https://www.amazon.com/s?rh=n%3A2350149011%2Cp_4%3AGoogle+LLC
Everything else is a third-party wrapper/interface.
As for the blue YouTube app, here is a 5 year old reference in a different forum. It may be that as long as the app is just a web browser wrapping the YouTube site (and showing ads), Google/YouTube will look the other way.

Aha, you put me on the right track. I follow your link for "I think these are the apps referenced above" and THOSE are indeed real bona fide Youtube apps. But they don't appear on my device's app store! When I view the app info page on a web browser, there is a little box that indicates the app is not compatible with my device, so the Kindle store must automatically filter for compatibility. That solves the mystery of why there is no legit Youtube app available to me.

I have to say I'm a big flabbergasted that both Google and Amazon look the other way when some dev guy in his mom's basement calls himself "youtube.com" publishing wrapper apps.

+1, but I have very low rep so you may not benefit much. I'm going to go ahead and wait the customary 24 hours on acceptance.

I would agree with the discussion that I linked to, the blue YouTube app was made by Amazon and only wraps the YouTube site including ads, so that Amazon can put it in their marketing and say YouTube is available.


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Is it a viable option to modify ROM image directly instead of compiling?
I have an archive of my stock ROM with partition images inside and I have combined sparsechunks into a single images (this specific because it seems that there are various formats with ambiguous naming).
Now I am able to mount combined images of ext2 partitions and make modifications to the files/directories.
Main goal is to remove google and various other bloat, I know how to manually remove applications from android.
But I read that this is not correct way and that this might make device unstable or create various problems and that I should modify and compile AOSP/lineageos insted. (source of information is XDA though...)
Only compilation of AOSP/lineageos requires too much knowledge thought, not to mention attempting to make modifications to the project which takes hundreds of gigabytes of storage.
Will 'debloating'/'degoogeleing' ROM image make my device unstable or possibly raise other problems and something I should not do?
Or does it depend and I should maybe try and see for myself?
I know of custom android distributions like lineageos - I have this official POS (piece of software) installed currently and it has too many bugs for my taste, phone being just a tool and not a way of life for me, I don't find it appealing to wait and hope for possible resolution.

Custom ROMs usually don't break after removing Google apps. But OEM provided ROMs are likely to break because they make Google-specific changes to the Android framework and remove core AOSP components in favor of Google products. OEMs are bound to sign contracts with Google for releasing devices with Google Play Services and accompanying apps which are privileged apps and tightly integrated with Android framework. If removing an app after installing ROM makes it unstable, then modifying ROM image won't make a difference either. You need to modify source code, not filesystem components.

OEM ROM of motorola G I was planning to modify. I got a better and bigger picture of situation. I will flash OEM ROM and make modifications on live system little by little, until something breaks. If nothing breaks, then good. Much appreciated, thank you!

that comment might be interesting for you


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How to root CovrWare Android phone?
NOTE: This is a very specific question on manufacturer name of the Android phone I am talking about...
Hey, guys, I am needing to try and root a CovrWare manufacturer-made Android phone, from https://covrware.com, as I think there could be lots of system-based bloatware, so I am hoping to root this type of phone for this security purpose. Any help and instructions to root a CovrWare phone would be appreciated. Thank you.

Hi, did I really miss something, or isn't CovrWare just a smartphone case? I don't see anywhere where I can buy Android phones from there.

Maybe by "rooting" he means "digging" under the cover?

No. I mean to unlock the whole CovrWare's phone's OS, by rooting the OS on the phone, as in, unlocking the Android root user.

shut down device completely. hold Volume Down + Power keys until you can see bootloader/fastboot/download mode. connect device to PC and install usb drivers. download platform-tools and navigate into folder where fastboot binary is. from cmd line type 'fastboot getvar all' copy & paste that info into your question for further help. in case fastboot not available upload a picture of that phone screen in download mode instead

please note fastboot mode is not available for samsung devices (they have odin mode instead)


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Sailfish (pixel 1) phone with stock android stuck in boot loop: help installing lineage
I have successfully installed lineage os on a nexus 6 that worked perfectly with stock android. That is the extent of my experience with non-stock android.
I have a google pixel (sailfish) device that a long time ago stopped working. I could boot into android, but the CPU seems to race, as it gets extremely hot, and then freezes and eventually reboots, shows a google splash screen for a few seconds, reboots again, and is stuck in a constant state of rebooting. I let it cool off, rebooted into android, quickly (I usually only have a minute or two before it overheats) enabled developer options, enabled oem unlocking, enabled usb debugging, and then rebooted into fastboot. The phone is stable in fastboot (does not get hot, does not freeze or reboot), which suggests to me that the problem I am having is not necessarily hardware.
In addition to serial numbers and memory amounts, the fastboot screen indicates the following:

Product/Variant: sailfish-US-PVT
Boot-slot: a
Console: DISABLED
Secure Boot: PRODUCTION
Device is UNLOCKED

I tried booting into twrp:
$ fastboot boot twrp-3.4.0-0-sailfish.img
downloading 'boot.img'...
OKAY [  1.190s]
booting...
OKAY [  0.956s]
finished. total time: 2.146s
$

But the phone reboots into the google splash screen, and is stuck in the same infinite boot loop as before.
I have tried many different twrp versions, including twrp-3.2.3-1-sailfish.img which the maruos website suggests, all with the same result. I also admit that I have done various other things out of desperation, like erasing partitions and attempting fastboot format commands, most of which gave errors and did not complete. I also tried booting into recovery mode from fastboot screen, but that takes me to the same google spash/loop.
Can anyone help and provide suggestions for what to try next?

fastboot boot is not working on all devices. try fastboot -c "lge.kcal=0|0|0|x" boot

Thanks. fastboot -c "lge.kcal=0|0|0|x" boot twrp-3.2.3-1-sailfish.img takes me to the same google splash screen / boot loop

ask in TWRP support thread for someone sharing a working twrp boot.img you can flash straight without installer


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How to Create batch SYMLinks
I'm installing legacy Termux on an Android 6.0 device. I downloaded the legacy app- and the legacy packages. There is a txt file with all the symlinks that need to be created. I'm looking for a way to make all the links in one batch run. Either with bash or some other way.
This is the format that the file is in
gawk←./bin/awk
dash←./bin/sh
xzgrep←./bin/xzfgrep
xzdiff←./bin/lzdiff
xzgrep←./bin/lzgrep
xzgrep←./bin/lzegrep
xz←./bin/unxz
xzmore←./bin/lzmore
/data/data/com.termux/files/usr/bin/bzdiff←./bin/bzcmp
/data/data/com.termux/files/usr/bin/bzmore←./bin/bzless

I searched around on the net and have only found a way to make links from one folder with many files to another folder with the same names of the files. but as you can see from the sample above I need different names and also different folders.
Thank You

Question isn't specific to Android but about general shell usage. cd <dir>; cat <file> | sed 's|←| |' | while read file link; do ln -s "$file" "$link"; done

Thanks @IrfanLatif. I don't use this anywhere besides on my Android so wasn't aware that this isn't an android question. I will try your suggestion BTW Where would be the right place to ask this.?


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How to back up/export the work profile?
My phone is rooted: I can use OandbackupX to back up apps (APKs) with their data and TWRP to create recovery images, but the work profile appears to lack root rights and I have no idea how to grab the app data from there.
Shelter's app-cloning feature doesn't transfer app data based on my experience, only reinstalls apparently.

Termux with su might be an option?

I wasn't able to find when Android introduced the work profiles, but I'm on Android 9 if this makes a difference.

/data/users/ has apps' data from all the users. Use a command line utility such as tar to backup app data. Make sure to preserve permissions for the app directory and files (search web to get examples). Saved the APKs too if you don't have them and can't get them from elsewhere anymore.

@Firelord I see, my work profile was called 10.


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Autodialling app that allows timed selection of phone line menu options
I have searched the Google Play store with a number of likely terms to find this, and Googled also, only to find "simplistic" options for auto dialling.
Am trying to get through to a government department that allows call backs, but don't just want to select the number at a pre-determined interval from the last call (to give their system a chance to clear some of those call backs), something I can relatively easily do myself, it would be most helpful to have dialpad numbers sent down the line at predetermined times once the phone connects, so I don't have to wait to be able to select each of them.
This seems like it would be the most programmatically simple part of a auto dialler app. Does an app to do this really not exist for Android?

Seems one needs to search for "meeting auto dialers" to find the (as of writing this) only result https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.technochakra.meetingautodialer&hl=en_US
Alas the aforementioned app doesn't do auto redialing, and in the reviews from some years ago there doesn't appear to be great interest from the developer to implement this, instead suggesting the use of https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.llamalab.automate to launch widgets of templates in the Meeting Auto Dialer app that can be added to one's home screen.


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Is it possible to change interface language to Hebrew?
Is it possible to change the GUI language to Hebrew in an Amazon Fire 7/8/10 tablet? To clarify - not the input (keyboard) language, but the interface itself.
[I am assuming Fire OS questions fit in this forum. If you think there is a better place to ask, please let me know]

If Hebrew is listed in your Language and Input settings, you can. Mostly devices manufactured in/for a specific country contain local languages. Imported devices don't.

@IrfanLatif - Thanks. The device will be purchased in the US for Hebrew-reading users. I can't tell if there is such option in the menu, b/c... I did not buy the thing yet. Just want to make sure it will provide the option (as a cheaper alternative to a native Android tablet).


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Open port to all interfaces
I have an old machine with no built-in wifi adapter. I'm using a spare android device to connect this machine to my wifi home network via usb tethering. I'd like to ssh into this machine. The machine's ip address is behind the usb-tethering subnet.
What I tried:
adb reverse tcp:2222 tcp:22

I'm able to ssh from an app running inside the android device (e.g. connectbot) into the machine. But when I try to connect from another device on the home network:
ssh -p2222 <android-device-ip-address>

I get connection refused. nmap reports that all ports in the android device are closed.
How can I open port 2222 to accept connections from outside the android device?


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How to allow Messages notifications to show?
A couple weeks ago I suddenly stopped getting notifications for the Messages app. I'm still receiving text messages, with no delays.But no notifications are showing up in the top notifications bar. And the phone is not vibrating to indicate that a new message was received. I have a bluetooth connected watch that used to display new messages; that also is not showing alerts for new messages.
I'm pretty sure that the text message app that I'm using is just called "Messages". The icon is a white speech bubble on a blue circle.
I keep missing new texts. The only way to see that there are new unread texts is to manually open the Messages app, and check all the conversations to see if any replies are in bold text (indicating that they are unopened).
I have already clicked the three vertical dots "Settings", "Notifications"
The following settings are already on:

All Message notifications: ON
Other Notifications: ON
Data Download Notification Channel: ON
Allow Notification dot: ON

Android version: 11
Device: Pixel 2
Provider: Verizon

Settings > Apps > "The messaging app" > notifications check if everything is fine here. Or in some devices the path is Settings > Notifications > "The messaging app"  . Tell if that works.. i'll explain the reason in the answer

Also just in case, check if Do Not Disturb is activated or not.

There is nothing under Settings called Apps. There is a menu called Apps and Notifications there, but there is no "Messages" (or any app names) in that menu.
There is also no Settings > Notifications  menu.

Is there any other setting or action to re-enable notifications? Neither of the settings suggested in the above comment actually exist.


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Download/Fastboot Mode Broken
I have the Samsung J5 Pro (SM-J530F).
Two years ago I installed TWRP via Odin and download mode and it worked great. Since then I never entered download mode again because I installed all my roms with TWRP.
Now, I am trying to enter download mode in order to install my original Android 9 (from Sam-Mobile),  through Odin, and it's not working, like the download mode has been deleted somehow...
I tried every possible way, with the bottoms (power, volume down and home), through TWRP, with ADB but it is not working!!
If you have any suggestions, I would like to hear...
Thank you in advance

Let us continue this discussion in chat.


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In AFWall+, how do you block everything by default?
I want the default to be blocked unless I specifically allow that app. I understand you can tick all what you want blocked or not. But, what I want is for any app that gets installed to be automatically, completely, blocked from the git go - unless I get in AFWall+ and allow it. So if an app called X is installed, it wouldn't have any access to network without me having to block it. Appreciate any pointers.

As it might prove helpful in addition, here's a video tutorial for AFWall+. And again, for German speakers the recommendation of Mike Kuketz' security blog series "Take back control": AFWall+.

Use it in "Allow selected" mode.

And yes, good idea to allow AdAway (first entry in that list) access :D Just mention that effective ad blocker for the benefit of the OP so Kaftee can check that box on the question list (@Kaftee: you know what I mean: the "other" part. AdAway requires root, too, and effectively blocks requests to "bad domains").


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Rooting android device without internet connection
I need to root my Samsung s10 with android 10, but without internet connection to the device. I can download all necessary files to my PC and connect the device to the PC (use ADB \ Odin), but the device itself doesn't have an internet connection.
I know the best tool to root android is Magisk, but from what I understood it must have internet connectionn. Does anyone know how can I do that? maybe use Magisk in some other way?...
Thanks

Does this answer your question? How to root Samsung Galaxy S10/S10e/S10+

rooting involves several steps, but no step requires internet connection. instead it requires a lot of research, reading, understanding, reading again. especially S10 has some pitfalls you will end up bricked. read careful 1, 2, 3, 4

@alecxs Rooting with Magisk indeed requires internet connection. There was an issue report about this: https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk/issues/3172 . “No Install button” was fixed, but the ability to root without an internet connection was not restored by that fix. I confirm it on my device.

@alecxs I disabled "Check Updates" in the settings of Magisk Manager. Nothing changed. Or which auto-update are you talking about?

@alecxs Setting the update channel to the empty URL and disabling checking updates changes nothing. I can't locate that JSON file. Is it in /Android/data in the internal memory?

@beroal just tried with 8.0.7 does not work. you are left with 4.

You don't need an internet access to root a devices as far as i know... This might help.. https://www.thecustomdroid.com/samsung-galaxy-s10-twrp-magisk-root-guide/
Don't modify any commands or steps given here.. if things aren't going as described DON'T PROCEED I myself have bricked 2 smartphone so i'd suggest you not to root it if you don't have enough knowledge about rooting!

Thanks for the answer.
However in the link you sent there is a need for internet connection - in Step 1.5, in the Magisk manager app, there is no menu and "install Magisk" options without internet connection. Do you know of a way to install Magisk without Magisk Manager feature?
It actually shows something like this: https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/10022598/92601691-6cfceb00-f2ad-11ea-9de2-bec0caa599bd.png

@terry1990 Did it solve your issue?

No, see above edited answer

@terry1990 I searched the web but didn't get any relevant answer. Can you tell what's the issue with your phone? wifi problem?  If you have internet in your pc why don't you just do a reverse tethering and share pc's internet to your phone and you're good to go. You just have to install an app for reverse tethering. Download the apk and transfer it to your phone. Windows 10 has this feature built-in.  You can try this... https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.floriandraschbacher.reversetethering.free&hl=en&gl=US


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AnySoftKeyboard: How do I reorder/remove the keys from the long-press option? I am using Alternate (no mic) layout
My ASK keyboard currently looks like this:

There are two parts to this question:

How do I control (easily) what characters show up when I long-press on a key?
How do I re-arrange those options?

Language pack: English QWERTY Latin Keyboard
Layout: Alternate (no mic)

Looks like you need to play around with xml files followed by compiling it and using the APK generated

@beeshyams that sounds like a lot of specialized work.. :|

Yes, unfortunately no settings for it, if that is what you want

@beeshyams thanks man..  so I found out that I need to edit this file: https://github.com/AnySoftKeyboard/AnySoftKeyboard/blob/master/ime/app/src/main/res/xml/ext_kbd_bottom_row_alt.xml one last thing, do you know of a guide or so that can navigate me through how to make an APK with these changes?

No and the same thing was asked on GitHub and nobody has a guide

You need to create a custom keyboard layout. I created a few for my personal use: https://github.com/mirfatif/AnySoftKeyboard

@IrfanLatif figured as much. All the programming I do (which is not much) is exclusively in Python and trying to build my own APK hasn't been very straightforward so far. Android Studio shows a bunch of errors upon opening the project: unmappable character for encoding Cp1252, unclosed character literal, illegal character: '\u2122', not a statement, and such. No idea what to do.


text:
Copy/paste images from phone to desktop, files are corrupted and huge (2gb+)
I linked my Android phone (v6.0) to my Windows laptop, located the phone's DCIM folder in File Manager and copy/pasted images from my phone onto my laptop's hard drive.
Some of the images are corrupted, can't be recognised as a bitmap, and are 2GB+ whereas on the phone they would have been 2-5MB. It seems to be a date thing, as it is all images past a certain date. It also affected some videos and again it is all videos past a certain date, although a different date to the images.
Is this a common problem, and what causes it? I'm assuming the images are lost as I deleted them from the phone once I saw they had successfully been pasted, without checking that the files were still readable.

What was your USB setting on? MTP is best suited for such transfer// It is far more better to use an app like Folder Sync to ensure safe transfer on a one time as also periodic update

I don't know if you mean USB setting of the phone or laptop - either way, I hadn't changed anything from standard. Most of the files transferred fine though, so unsure why it would affect some but not all files, and specifically the latest files.

Enable developer options and Android Debug Bridge (adb) and copy (pull) the files via adb. MTP is a very bad protocol (another bad design by Microsoft).

@Robert can you point me to a tutorial or so. Usually I plug my phone to PC Windows, press file transfer on the phone, and use explorer from PC. Some photos are corrupted and once the entire SD was. Perhaps the method you suggest can help me. Thx.

@Alchimista try https://www.howtogeek.com/125769/how-to-install-and-use-abd-the-android-debug-bridge-utility/ and then use adb pull to download files or folders from your device. There is also a tool called adb-sync which can synchronize directories in both directions.

Not an answer to reading the corrupted files (think they're long gone) but a few other people's experience indicate that it occurs when there is very little free memory left on the phone and memory earnings have been ignored. So take files off your phone regularly and you shouldn't have this problem.


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Android 10 - recording app network usage
On Android 9 or less, I use a shell script which continuously reads from /proc/net/xt_qtaguid/stats and greps by app UID to get app network usage. However, this method is deprecated on android 10: https://source.android.com/devices/tech/datausage/kernel-overview
Is there any other way I can get the same information? Or, how can I use the new eBPF network traffic tool to get this information?

See my answer to How to view network traffic requested by a specific app?. How to achieve this with eBPF is on my TODO list. Stay tuned :)

Very helpful answer, thanks!


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Enable usage of mobile data while connected to a WiFi without internet connection
It is possible to allow my device to use mobile data while connected to a WiFi hotspot?
The reason being is that the WiFi hotspot I connect to does not have an internet connection. So I want to be able to access the internet while still being connected to this WiFi network.
I can see that after Android 10, there is a feature called dual acceleration which allows this for certain app like Instagram, Chrome and Facebook. I want to be able to do it for any app. Is there a way of accomplishing this?

I've just recently come across this question, as I have been struggling with the same problem.
I have a potential solution which I've found which might help others. These instructions are for a Samsung Phone, but you may be able to find the equivalent options on Android.
I have a device that requires me to connect my phone to it via it's own hotspot. The hotspot the device creates doesn't have internet access, and because my cellphone thinks it is connected to a wifi network, it then refuses to use mobile data. I only want to use mobile data when connected to this ssid.
These are the steps I used which seemed to work:

Activate hotspot on device which does not have internet access.
In the connection settings connect to device.
Android then prompts you saying the current network does not have internet access.

    Connect just this time
    Always Connect
    Disconnect

IGNORE THIS PROMPT! Close the wifi connection app, and you should now have both a mobile connection and the network connection.

Note:
If you have already accepted one of these options, you can either:

forget the network, and try this again,
otherwise go to
Connections -> Wifi -> Advanced -> Switch to mobile data -> Network Exceptions and delete the entry for the SSID in question.

This unfortunately didn't work for me on my Note 20 on android 11

Works for me with a S21 on Android 13. [Edited by Moderator Firelord]

Unfortunately, I can't find an equivalent setting on Pixel 6.

Worked on my samsung galaxy S22 ultra


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WhatsApp Calling Recording
I have an android phone (Samsung Galaxy S6). Does WhatApp Record Incoming Voice Phone Calls Automatically ?
In my call info log I see incoming, the length of time and a storage amount (40MB or so).
Can I access this incoming voice call recording ?
If WhatsApp doesnt record incoming or outgoing calls, how can I record them myself ?

No whatsapp calls are end to end encrypted and it doesn't record calls.
You can use Whatsapp call recorder to record calls. Remember to disable internet access of the app for more privacy :)

So what is the MB value beside your phone call in the phone call log mean ?  Is that stored somewhere ?

I don't get it. Can you attach a screenshot?

Here is an example screenshot: https://www.quora.com/WhatsApp-How-do-I-check-a-WhatsApp-call-duration.

See the MB value beside the call duration ?

@user4434 it's internet data used during call.

yeah it's the mobile data used.. during the call.. As @IrfanLatif already said :)

It's generally less like 400kb per minute(as i've read)  The 40mb (as you mentioned) is because it was a video call maybe or you talked tooooo long..

Is there a good app that records whatsapp calls that works and doesnt crash for samsung galaxy ?

yeah i suggested that in the answer


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Can I prevent notifications from being forwarded to my watch during Do Not Disturb?
I have a Pixel 3 phone running Android 11, paired with a Garmin Venu watch. The Pixel can forward notifications to my watch via Bluetooth, with per-app notification controls specified in the Garmin connect app. I've noticed that whenever I set my phone on Do Not Disturb, I still get notifications forwarded to my watch. Is there a way on the phone to prevent notifications from being forwarded to my watch while in DND?

you can freeze the app or remove the notification access of the app while in dnd mode. Will that be a problem in anyway?

@Aayush, I'd prefer to do it globally for all apps.

No i mean there will be an app of Smart watch installed on your phone right?(that connect app maybe.. Is that it?) Which has notification access and it send the notifications to your smartwatch.

I was saying that you can just freeze the "Garmin connect app" while in dnd mode and unfreeze it when dnd is off

@Aayush, oh yes, that should work. Freezing the Garmin Connect App.Thanks!

So.. should i post an answer or.. you can do it yourself?

@Aayush, go for it.


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Change 5 GHz Wi-Fi Access Point channel
Is it possible to set or change the channel of the Android Wi-Fi AP?
No matter it is using root or non root methods.
I'm currently on Android 10.

Xiaomi Mi 8. But I have this problem in different ROMs, that's why I just said Android 10, happening both in MIUI and AOSP.

AFAIK, it's not possible because that needs to be done at the router end by configuration. Nothing at device end to change channels //If your device is rooted, you can enable /disable  5Ghz using Magisk modules


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How to mirror your android phone to android tablet?
My android phone has got a feature called screen mirroring. But on my tablet it's called smart view. When I turn it ON on both the devices, for some reason they're not able to detect each other. Phone is from Sony and tablet from Samsung. Though both are android devices but still use different terminologies. Any ideas of how I could get them work together?

There is an app on the Google Play Store that does exactly what your looking for.
AirMirror: Remote support & Remote control devices

Remote Control AirMirror fulfills the goal to control one Android
phone with another phone.
*This feature needs AirDroid installed on the other end, and log in with the same email account.
You can apply AirMirror with the following features:
Remote Control Directly control another phone/tablet, do whatever you
like, no matter where this device is.
*If the controlled device is not rooted, it is required to process Non-Root setting through AirDroid PC beforehand.
Remote Camera Access another phone's view from either front camera or
rear camera. You can put this phone as a family security camera,
guarding your family's safety.
Screen Mirroring Check your device's screen anytime in real-time.
*If you want to control Android devices through PC, you can use AirDroid PC client.
Remote Support You can easily assist your friend or family to solve
mobile device issues through Remote Support.
*This function needs AirDroid Remote Support installed on the other end.
Overview:
Quick Connection by 9-digit Connection Code No account is required,
your friend or family can connect to you simply by their 9-digit
Connection Code.
Screen Sharing Send the screen sharing request with one tap, and you
can see the device screen in real-time.
Voice Call AirMirror provides clear voice communication, you can
simply call and talk, saving time for texting.
Tutorial Gesture Swipe or tap on the shared screen, the Tutorial
Gesture will show on your friend or familyˇs device. Follow to easily
solve the problem.
Voice Message and Text If you are under a surrounding not suitable for
making a call, you can still communicate through sending texts,
pictures and voice messages.
AirMirror facilitates your life. If there is any problem during your
experience in AirMirror, feel free to give us feedback anytime. Thank
you very much for your support of AirMirror!

I was hoping for a default App that is already installed. For example, I successfully shared my phone to my TV by using the default apps. Both were from Sony. Something, without asking for email, or any other personal information?


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Cannot install apps after removing memory card
The memory card slot of my phone stopped working and some of my apps were stored in the memory card. Now i am unable to install the app again in the phone memory.
So any idea? I tried to follow the steps in the link in the picture, but dosen't help.

Was the memory card running as adoptable memory? What is your phone model and which Android version are you running? Please enable Developer options and adb and try to nstall and app via adb install <appname.apk>. If it does not work you will see a error message that you can post here.

if you don't care about data on it forgetting SD Card in settings should fix. be aware it is not recoverable all data is lost


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sharing network using adb port forwarding
A bit of background
I have an Android phone, which unfortunately cannot usb-tether while it is connected to the internet (using wifi or mobile data, but it works when the device is not connected to the internet. Wifi and Bluetooth tethering have this problem too). Now I want to connect my PC to the internet using my android phone (using only wired connection).
The unideal solution
I came up with a rather hacky solution which has a minor problem: I compiled gost - a proxy server - for my device (FYI, I used GOOS=linux GOARCH=arm environmental variables to build the binary) and ran the binary on my Android phone on port 8080 (I placed the binary in /data/local/tmp. I ran it the obvious way using adb shell without superuser privileges). Then I used adb forward tcp:8080 tcp:8080 to forward device's port 8080 to my PC's port 8080. After that I used localhost:8080 as a socks5 proxy on my PC and could access the internet.
The problem is that I cannot use certain applications as they don't support connecting through proxy (some of them run on a lower network layer than a socks5 proxy, so there is no way for them to work).
My question
Is there any way to run a VPN server on my Android phone (which conveniently has root access too) and use it like the way I currently do? If so, I'm only interested in solutions using well-maintained opensource software.

I should say it almost does. But I guess I will need to change the route for using wifi/mobile data (correct me if I'm not right), which makes it (to some extent) inferior to my current unideal solution. But then again, at least it works, although not as easily as I wanted. I would really like to see an easier solution, for which I could not find a suitable implementation, at least in Go.

Yes you need to configure interface names and IP addresses in routing according to your setup.


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Create a widget/shortcut to an app URL?
Whatsapp allows to send a message to any number if I browse to https://wa.me/. That displays a web page that has a button that navigates to 'whatsapp://send?phone='.
I want to have a shortcut that asks for the number and then opens the whatsapp:// link (without going through the web page).
I tried to use 'HTTP Request Shortcut' (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ch.rmy.android.http_shortcuts), but it only accepts http links and then just shows the response. Tried to use some activity shortcuts, but I can't find one that has the whatsapp activity to open a chat with a prompt to a number.

If something should "ask for the number" you need an app to do so (unless Whatsapp is capable of asking for the number itself).

I'm the creator of the HTTP Request Shortcuts app, and I believe it can be used for what you're describing. You can try this:

Open the HTTP Shortcuts app
Click the + button at the bottom right to create a new shortcut
In the dialog that pops up select "Scripting Shortcut"
Give the shortcut a name (and a description and different icon if you want)
Click on "Scripting" to open the Scripting editor
Enter the following JavaScript code:
const number = prompt('Enter the number');
sendIntent({
type: 'activity',
action: 'android.intent.action.VIEW',
dataUri: 'whatsapp://send?phone='+number,
});
Save your changes.

You can then run this shortcut from within the app, or place it on your home screen. When you click it, it should prompt you to enter a number, and will then invoke the URL 'whatsapp://send?phone=' with the number appended.
Hope this helps. For more information regarding Scripting in the HTTP Request Shortcuts app see the official documentation here: https://http-shortcuts.rmy.ch/scripting


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ERROR Unable to retrieve local hardware address libnet (ioctl: Permission denied). iptables (2) failed
hi I tried to install network spoofer but it gives me this error and not only with this app but also with others it knows how to solve I already have the root

Duplicate of https://android.stackexchange.com/q/221649/218526

Does this answer your question? how to fix ioctl permissions denied error?


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Getting back to the first-time phone transfer wizard without factory resetting
During the first-time setup process, Android asks to connect my new phone to my old phone with a USB cable. I'm not ready to transfer yet but I want to test drive the phone. Is there a way to get back to that transfer wizard?


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Samsung Account Notification won't go away
I recently updated my Samsung A10e to Android 10 with OneUI 2.0. When it finished updating, I got a notification requesting me to "sign into my Samsung account to safely use some services". I forgot the password so I reset it accordingly, and then I (thought that I) finished.
Except then it gives me a notification asking "we need some more information to finish setting up your Samsung account". I enter the requested information and hit "done". Then, almost seconds after hitting "done", the notification pops up again, requesting the same thing. When I go back to the screen where I was to enter information, it still showed the information I already entered, but the notification WOULD NOT go away!
Help would be appreciated, as this notification will not go away.
Thank you for your help!

I hope someone has a good answer for you.  I stopped buying Samsung devices because of issues like this.  Just because you buy a Samsung device, doesn't mean you should have to create a Samsung account.


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how to fastboot mode without Enable USB Debugging?
I have a cellphone which I can't get access to the system, so Enable USB Debugging is not a option here. I need to factory reset this phone or upload a fresh firmeware to make it functional again, I figure it out that the way to do it is through Fastboot.
So, is there a way to unlock Fastboot mode in this phone without having to Enable USB Debugging?
Meizu Pro 6 Plus

you probably mean bootloader unlocking without enable OEM unlocking (usb-debugging is not related to fastboot). the answer is no. but you can use different official flash tools (if available) depending on chipset (Exynos, Qualcomm or Mediatek, all three possible for Meizu) or if you know google play account password (FRP lock) do a factory reset from recovery mode

Hey @alecxs I just checked here, the chipset for this meizu is Exynos 8890 Octa (14 nm)! What flash tools would you reccomend?

i am not aware of any flash tool. check meizu support or try samsung tools like heimdall/odin or maybe check that thread https://forum.xda-developers.com/meizu-pro-5/how-to/tutorial-restore-hard-bricked-lost-t3838461

If all your looking for is to Factory Reset then you can do that with fastboot without unlocking the bootloader.

@Sruly no, you can't do anything from fastboot if bootloader is locked. the only possible factory reset is 'fastboot flashing unlock' but that most likely requires OEM unlocking (not sure about android version)

security hole on fastboot https://forum.xda-developers.com/smartwatch/moto-360/unlocking-bootloader-marshmallow-t3669098

@alecxs Thanks for your effort in trying to help me out, I've read all of those links you've sent me and I couldn't make it work... The solution would be MRT dongle, but this tool costs more than a new motherboard, and in my country (Brazil), that tool is not very common... I've tried a cracked one but it didn't work. Hahahaha Anyways, thanks for your insights!!


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How can I make an Android Smart TV stop listening on a specific port?
So, I used the app "Remote ADB Shell" on my Android phone to grant the WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS permission to my AndroidTV (HiSense Smart ATV). In order to grant this permission I had to connect my phone to my TV on my network using RSA key authentication.
It has been a while since I did the procedure, however, I believe that I set the IP address of my TV (192.168.0.9) and a port number of my selection (5756). I got a prompt on my TV asking me to allow the RSA key, I pressed accept and was able to send the ADB command necessary.
However, now my TV still listens on port 5756. How can I stop the TV from listening on this port?

It will always listen for adb on that port, unless you go into the developer settings and disable adb over network. This is totally normal and not a security concern.

Ok, so I assume if a malicious actor were to try to get in to it, an RSA prompt would appear on the TV and I'd only be in trouble if I accepted it?

Yes, that's correct... Note that would require access to your LAN, either wired or wireless. This type of access could not occur from the Internet. It's fairly safe.


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Use an Android tablet for drawing on PC while seeing only a zoomed in portion of the entire screen
I'm looking for a way to utilize my 10" Samsung tablet as a drawing display tablet for use with arbitrary Windows 10 apps (like Photoshop, any pixel art tools, basically without hard limitations) with support for only seeing a zoomed in fragment of the screen, while the screen still shows everything without cropping/reducing the resolution only to what the tablet can show.
Because my desktop monitor's resolution is 3840x2160px at 48" and the tablet is 1920x1200px at 10", I would like to be able to match up the scale and visible region on the tablet to that on the monitor, with a pinch-to-zoom gesture on the fly, so I can only work on a part of the screen at a time. Seeing the contents of the entire monitor on the tablet or having to lower monitor resolution to match the tablet's is not very usable for drawing. With Teamviewer, I can't figure out how to use it to draw at all - it translates all touches into drag motions for Photoshop, and it only shows the entire visible screen, without the ability to zoom in on a small part.
I don't have any special touch pens for the Samsung tablet, and it this model does not have any special pen support. So I guess I'm looking to translate all touch as mouse clicks to PC.
Is there a modern piece of software for Windows 10 and/or an Android app to make this work?

I've seen similar questions but they're either severely outdated, like from 2013 and the app isn't there anymore or doesn't support modern Android versions, or extremely slow or doesn't work for drawing (like Teamviewer). Also, I can't tell if this is an appropriate question of if I should try Softwarerecs.SE


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How do I root a phone without losing any data?
I don't care if my phone trips the knox counter, I couldn't care any less if samsung knows I tried to root my phone but I'm tired of looking at videos on YouTube that say "This method works without any app and data loss", I used CFAutoroot and that erased my device. You all know how to root a phone teach me, I want to be able to keep my apps and data not lose any apps while rooting my phone. I was able to root only one phone with Android KitKat, without losing any apps except for Google Chrome, I want to root a phone with no app loss.


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SAMSUNG A11 hang on logo after flash
Hy to every one. after flashing Samsung A11 SM-A115F with Android Q10 ,Samsung Device struck at logo.
i have try to flash different firmware
first download file from Easy Firmware
and after that try to flash file from SamFirm
need help

problem is with bootloader has downgrade protection, check your screen in download mode for version


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How to recover lost/deleted images
So basically it went like this:
1.) I plugged my phone to my laptop and transferred all my photos.
2.) After having successfully copied the pictures, I deleted them on my phone via the laptop then unplugged it after.
3.) I checked my laptop and there was one album that was empty. I tried checking it on my phone but the album wasn't there.
What happened and is there any possible methods in recovering the album?

The used protocol via USB is MTP and this protocol is very fragile. Also in older Windows versions some bugs are known which can even destroy files on the phone. For reliable file copy it is better to enable debugging options and  Android Debug Bridge (adb)  and use it for file sync , e.g. via adb-sync.

possible methods in recovering the album depends on phone model (for mediatek chipset try this) also some people claim disk digger is working. in general the chance is very low to zero, there is no hope


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How can I selectively delete hundreds of SMS conversations?
I work in IT and I'm part of an on-call rotation.  Normally we use a dedicated on-call phone, but that's not available since covid, so I'm using my own device right now.  We had a major networking outage tonight which resulted in roughly 600 SMS notifications from our monitoring service to my phone.
The problem is that each one of these notifications comes from a different address (I don't know why/how that works).  So rather than 600 new messages in a single conversation, I now have ~600 new conversations in my Messaging app with a single message each.  I would like to delete them so I don't have to scroll through 600 conversations to find my conversations with friends.
Is there any way to bulk delete conversations based on some kind of search filter?  I did see this question, but the answers only address how to delete all SMS messages.  I would only like to delete the conversations which were generated by this incident.
I'm on a OnePlus 3T with LineageOS 17.1 (based on Android 10).  My phone is rooted so I can run adb commands on it from my Linux desktop.

if you prefer doing it on Windows you can use MyPhoneExplorer (you can filter by keywords, select all + delete like in Thunderbird)

Act fast to get quick results

Use SMS backup and restore and backup all your SMSes to local storage on device immediately.

Go to the app menu and choose restore. It will select the backup you made. Go to advanced options and select only restore backup since and you choose date before you got flooded by all these SMSes.

Assuming you don't have any important messages after the chosen date , you are good. If you have, follow steps in answer here to backup, selected conversations and choose those to be restored. It doesn't restore duplicates and at most you may end up having to manually delete a few messages

Alternatively, you can export the SMS backup file which is in XML format to your laptop, search for the common term in these messages, delete all those, maybe use a script to do that. Transfer the file to your device and restore to device.

You deleted your original comment which suggested using this same app to export the backups to XML, writing a script to prune the XML file, and running a restore from the modified XML backup.  I'm not sure why you deleted that comment because that's exactly what I ended up doing and it worked quite well.

It's good that your problem was solved by the earlier suggestion. I deleted that comment thinking it was probably difficult (which was a mistake). I added that suggestion to the answer, so that you can mark it as accepted. Thank you


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Android 10 forensics - Root a cellphone without SD Card and without installing any external apps
I would like to root my Samsung J6 mobile phone that is running Android 10 in order to apply forensically sounding techniques on it (basically recovering deleted data etc). So far, as I researched on web, all of the rooting methods require installing of softwares such as magisk to a component such as either SD card or internal memory of mobile phone. The thing is, I don't have an SD Card inserted on the phone, and I don't want to install any external software into my cellphone memory. Is there any way to root this cell phone without installing any app into its memory(rooting via using only connected computer)? Any help will be appreciated.

All you need is the *nix su binary. Magisk and SuperSu are just tools for controlling access to the su binary to prevent its misuse. Every time a process tries to execute su, these tools will prompt you for granting the permission or let you know in some other way.

@ashu Unfortunately it is not that simple. The su binary is just the tip of the iceberg. On modern devices also SELinux has to be considered.

In the process of rooting a device (unless you use an exploit to temporary gain root permissions) erasing all user data is a mandatory step. On an encrypted device (all modern devices should be encrypted by default) this means that afterwards any data recovery is impossible because the encryption key had changed. On some older Samsung devices there is a vulnerability in the MTP protocol which would allow to root the device via USB, but in Android 10 this should be already fixed.

@Robert makes sense!!

@ashu su binary alone hasn't been working since Android 4.3. You need to run a background daemon: https://android.stackexchange.com/a/217949/218526

Does this answer your question? How to recover data when everything is locked (FRP, OEM)


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How to create an album without uploading to Google Photos cloud
On my Android device, Xiaomi Redmi note 8, the sync with Google account is disabled. For Photos, too. Today, I created a new album on the photos and noticed that it started to upload the photos, and it is already on the wifi. This is strange since the syncs are closed.
I want to prevent this, looked for the options, and couldn't find one. I've seen this question and its answer, however, none is helpful.
My guess, Google covertly implemented this feature so that any album other than the main, is uploaded to the cloud. Is this correct?
Can we create an album without uploading it to the cloud?
Is there a way to prevent this, other than the temporary Wi-Fi disablement?

Note to the covert adversary:

There is no notification for this, just show a dialog to choose. Give us our liberty!
On Accounts& Sync settings, even the sync is closed, once you touch one of the items, the item immediately starts to sync. What a shame!

@beeshyams that is an annoying solution. I've blocked it with Netguard and the photos application seems that it is not accepting that it cannot reach the net. It tries to keep uploading and we have a notification running indefinitely.

Sorry for that. Should have suggested after checking. Google is very troublesome. Will revert if I can think of something +1

@beeshyams If the photos application stays in the background, the notification stays to indicate the upload try. If the photo application is killed, then the notification is gone.

Thanks. This seems to be an option if northing better turns up


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VLC black screen, and Disable HW Overlays
I have a Samsung Galaxy Xcover 2, with rooted Android 4.1.2.
I have installed VLC v3.0.13 on it - which is seemingly the last version that can be installed on Android 4.1.2 (all later builds of VLC for Android require Android 4.2+). I really like VLC because it has NFS sharing built in, so I could in principle watch videos from an NFS network share, which I've done previously on other devices with great success.
The problem is: when I play any video on it (mostly 360p .mp4 obtained from youtube-dl), audio can be heard, however in full screen mode, screen is black; when GUI with player controls are shown, one can somewhat discern a part of the video being shown in a stripe underneath the controls; and when the device/screen is rotated, there is a brief flash of the video shown, but then it disappears, and the screen goes back to black.
I have found this thread:

https://emby.media/community/index.php?/topic/31940-black-screen-on-video-playback/ (refers to https://forum.fairphone.com/t/vlc-player-only-shows-black-screen-for-video-playback-on-fp1/19060/7 )

... which seems to describe the exact same problem:

The problem: No video, just a black screen except when you change
device orientation (landscape to portrait for example), when you exit
the playback or when you click settings button, the video appears for
a fragment of a second.
Audio and subtitles playing correctly.
Probably this problem only occurs in some devices.with pre kitkat
versions.
The solution: disable HW overlays in Settings > Developer options (if
Developer options don't shows:
http://www.androidcentral.com/how-enable-developer-settings-android-42)

Ok, so I went to Android Settings / Developer Options, and checked "Disable HW overlays", however, that seems to have no effect (video still does not appear/screen is still black); besides, when I reboot the phone, "Disable HW overlays" is unchecked again - which is also an experience from a Samsung device later in the same thread:

I have this exact same issue, and "Disable Hardware overlays" does not work on my Samsung Android phone.  Also everytime the phone is rebooted this feature is turned off, meaning hardware overlays are enabled.

So, my question is - is there anything I can do, to get VLC to properly play the video on the screen on this device?

Based on your description I would assume that the video contains frames that use features of the video codec your hardware decoder does not support. Therefore the video plays up to that frame. I don't know if it is possible or how to switch to software decoding. I would try other player such as MX player which can be easily switched to software decoding.

Many thanks for the feedback, @Robert - I forgot to say, the same videos play just fine in the default video player of Android, and also play fine in Asti Media Player installed on this device. So the problem is specifically with VLC - which I want to use primarily because it offers access to Linux NFS network shares (which, strangely, seem to be supported only by VLC and Kodi on Android, but typically not by Android file managers).

Then most likely it is a bug of VLC or one of it's used codec libraries. As you can't update to a newer version of VLC because of your ancient Android versions this way is blocked. May be you should try to install a custom ROM on your device. On XDA there is a discussion on a 4.2 based ROM. As your phone is nearly 8 years old the options you have are limited.


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Dictation (Voice Recognition) Function has Stopped Working
I have a Samsung Galaxy J3 Luna Pro whose dictation listening function has recently stopped working.  When I press the microphone button now to dictate, the blue button indicating it is listening to dictation comes on for only a split second and then goes off, and the words "try again" appear on the screen. (Previously the blue circular button would stay on the screen for a while while I would dictate).
To try to remedy this, I have gone into settings > language and input > virtual keyboard > Samsung keyboard > reset settings, however it has not worked. I have also tried "clear personalized data," but this has not worked either.
Under virtual keyboard > Google voice typing, everything looks normal there too.
The Internet connection is not an issue, as it works fine. This has been plaguing me for about two months now through multiple reboots of the phone, yet I cannot figure out how to gain my dictation function back.
There is about 675 MB of free space on the device, which should be enough for me to dictate out a couple of sentences at least. Even if there are no apps open, or only one app open, it still happens, so it is not a RAM issue either.  I can't even dictate out a single word before the blue circle quickly turns off and it says "try again." It is 100% not working all the time. It does not 'sometimes work.'
Does anyone have any idea how to fix this?
Is the only recourse reinstalling Android?
If I have no choice but to reinstall Android, how do I backup all my apps before doing so?
I am running Android version 7.0.
Thank you very much.


text:
Android Auto poor voice quality?
I am using Android Auto to navigate via Maps, and it works fine. However, the voice quality is much worse than if I use Google Maps and connect my phone via Bluetooth.
I have tried enabling 48KHz Guidance Audio Sample Rate in the developer settings, but it does not make a difference.

Known issue. // See if this makes a difference

Interesting, though that solution seems related to audio streaming. For me, the audio streaming is fine. It is only once the Google Assistant Voice turns on to tell me directions that the audio quality is poor.

Maybe try with a different voice (male /female) and another language? Just to rule out problems with one voice