text:
PHone and Messaging icons do not show unread message notification or missed call in 4.04
I get the sound notification and it shows up in the notification bar, but nothing shows up on the Icon itself for new unread emails or missed phone calls or unread messages. They do show up on the voicemail icon for unheard voice mails. Is there a setting for this. Phone is a ZTE Force from Boost running 4.04.
Thanks

Would you normally expect to see it on this phone? It's not a standard Android feature but some manufacturers add it. I don't know whether ZTE has added it or not.

See also Notification numbers for a lot of apps don't show up.

I got the same problem a week ago and I found the solution myself by using "trial and error method" for my Samsung S3 mobile (Android 4.3).

Go to Settings > Application manager. There you will see turned off application which is named as BadgeProvider (in Android 4.3 it is in "turned off" application list but some version hasn't that "turned off" application list and in that situation you will see that application in bottom part of "ALL" application list.
So after you got that application you have to tap it and turn it on.

Now your problem should be solved. (Sometimes you have to restart your mobile after this process).

Yep on my S7 it was in notifications. App icon Badges was turned off. This occurred after the the update. I guess I could get used to it but it is working now. Thank you for the help.


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what if you cant get out of FTM but you tried taking the battery out and putting it back in?
what do you do when your phone is on FTM mode and wont get out even  though you tried taking the battery out and putting it back in?

This would have been the dupe question: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/15581/what-does-ftm-mean-on-my-phone

Have you tried taking out the battery for a longer period of time - like 5 minutes?

source: Stack Exchange

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How to make SELinux permissive on a Knox Samsung device?
I have a Samsung note 2014 which I rooted following this tutorial. However I now have problems with SELinux which (apparently) is preventing me from installing a Linux virtual box. I backed up and uninstalled KNOX using Titanium backup but still no success. When I type setenforce permissive in a terminal, if get no error message but when I type getenforce, I get "enforcing".
Is there any way I can change this? The device is running Android 4.3.

Have you 0x1 Knox flag? Have you installed any ROMs in the meantime? You have uninstalled the KNOX APP, but that doesn't have an effect on this. Have you flashed a custom Kernel with SEPermissive set on it? You could try the app recommended here: http://techbeasts.com/2014/02/25/how-to-disable-selinux-on-a-rooted-android-device/  but I'm doubtful to be honest.

I think I have the 0x1 flah because I can't get new updates. And not I've not flashed any ROMs. Should I go for Cyanogenmod?

Up to you what ROM to use, but I would not recommend CyanogenMod outside of a STABLE release, there are numerous known bugs in nightlies! It's all preference, try a few and see what you like. Don't forget BACKUPS! :)

You need to open a local terminal shell, by using a "Terminal Emulator" like app. Otherwise you will not get an su'able shell. Since AOS 4.2.2, ADB is not letting you use "su", to get root shell, on stock "Enforced" SELinux devices.
Then do this:
su 0 setenforce 0

If you need to make this permanent to last between re-boots, you need to find where this is originally set in the various init.*.rc files in boot.img and change it, and reflash...
EDIT: 2015-09-22
The above trick no longer work on Stock devices using AOS 4.4.4 and above, even with insecure kernels. (Such as those provided by cf-autoroot.) That you can blame Google who made Enforcing permanent. Your only option, other than re-compiling your own ROM, is learning about SEAndroid and context changing using SuperSU's supolicy command to inject the policy files.

The commands didn't work: I ran 'getenforce' immediately after and the result was "Enforcing". But maybe modifying the files in boot.img would work. How should I flash it? Using Odin of course but how exactly. (Usually the costom ROM is given already.)

@Reza: Try again by updating your SuperSU (currently 1.99r2). I think older SuperSU < 1.94 are not behaving well with recent SELinux's.

I have Supersu v1.94 and it's the same version on the Play Store. Where can I get 1.99?

From HERE.

Doesn't work for me (SuperSU 2.01)

Getting around Militant SELINUX
You need to run a custom kernel build.

Samsung open source is here
My harvested info for setting up your build system for Linux is here
The kernel patch you will need to fix SElinux to permissive is here. It should absolutely work for Kitkat source as well.

I would post the diff but it doesn't wrap right.
You should not need to set the SElinux boot flag and userspace disable options during menuconfig, but do remember to disable Samsung anti-root in the kernel hacking section.

The 3 step, it's link is dead, it leads to a 404 error on github, can you please either elaborate on what it was doing or post a new link.

You should have posted the diff. Link is dead as mentioned by @Matt07211.

@Marc.2377 if my memory servers me correctly    (figured out how to myself at a latter point) it was a simple 1 line/1 value change in the selinux subdir/makefile. I'll see if I can locate it again

Found it, basically you set this to false I believe, it's Been a long time and I was a utterly clueless back then https://github.com/Matt07211/android_kernel_samsung_xcover3lte/blob/b920c232fd2d8246a66b4e2a0c8c5e536850025a/security/selinux/Makefile#L7

Thanks @Matt07211.

In Terminal emulator app, enter su and then enter setenforce 0. Now check the phone. It should show  "permissive" until a reboot. You can execute the commands again after reboot or get SELinuxModeChanger from XDA which switches it automatically at boot.

Which app from XDA specifically?

It is called SELinuxModeChanger.

authors: Д. Мөнх-Эрдэнэ

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Is Samsung Knox really that great and how can I achieve near-Knox level security on a rooted device?
When I first started learning about installing custom ROMs like LineageOS, it wasn't long before I was made aware of the security implications involved, particularly with unlocking the bootloader. The rooting is not as big an issue in itself once the custom ROM installed from what I know. The ROMs come with things preinstalled and configured the way they should be. Rooting more risky for security on a non-flashed device, but in the case of installing a custom ROM, it's still important to know the implications of leaving the bootloader unlocked.
The device I had at the time was a Galaxy A20 and not officially Lineage supported. Being my first Galaxy device, I noticed this new feature set called Knox. From what I know about Knox it is a hardware-based security scheme. This sounded like something pretty fail-safe to me when I first heard about it, and something that would probably be better left alone.
When I first learned that rooting has the side affect of affecting your device's security, in the particular case of my Galaxy device, Samsung Knox was one of the first things that crossed my mind. I can only assume that rooting the device would nullify most of the benefits of the Knox security platform.
It was at this point I decided that, as much as I may want to de-Google my phone, until I upgrade to an officially supported Lineage device, a custom ROM would probably not be ideal for my case with the A20 running Samsung Knox, due to the security implications involved.
For context, I'm a longtime Tracfone user and have never invested much into my mobile device. The last couple phones I've owned have had enough limitations and missing features to persuade me to upgrade early. I finally decided to step it up and upgrade to a Galaxy S10e. This device is officially supported by LineageOS, but being a Galaxy model, it still has Samsung Knox. I am excited to finally own a custom ROM officially supported device, but again, my primary reason for upgrading was the storage space and feature set. I'm still trying to weigh the benefits between testing Lineage and giving up Knox.
Perhaps a Pixel with Graphene would be a better device to de-Google but I am new to custom ROMs so between what I learned about having an unlocked bootloader and the benefits of running Samsung Knox, I've sort of reached a point of needing more info on Knox. I don't really know the specifics of what I'd be giving up by rooting a Knox device. I am aware of some of the soft features such as secure folder and secure WiFi. That's about it though. Some reviews even indicate it might not be all it's played up to be. But this page from Samsung's website has me pretty sold on its ability to block advanced attack methods by implementing government grade-security. Reminds me of some new PC features like secure boot and core isolation.
I need to ensure my device's data is protected and safe if lost or stolen. Some of what I've read has made me wonder if this is even a use case for Knox. It seems like it according to Samsung though. It then occurred to me, "can I 're-lock' the bootloader, so to speak?" If I were to do this, would it be at all comparable to my formerly Knox-secured device? Is it even possible?
That's when I discovered that Android has something called user-settable root of trust. The problem with locking the bootloader after flashing a custom ROM is the risk of the bricking the device. From what I can tell, this is where user-settable root of trust comes in. On certain Android devices, the user can add the new ROM as a valid signature when the device boots.
So in summary it appears one thing I can be sure of is that if I root a Galaxy device, I will be giving up Samsung Knox because the Knox Warranty Bit will be tripped. But perhaps there is a way to either encrypt the device or implement user-settable root of trust, depending on the device. Would such a device keep its data secure if lost or stolen and how well would this compare to stock ROM running Knox?

To my understanding a triggered Knox Warranty Bit does not mean all security is disabled on Samsung devices. A lot of Knox features deal with MDM features and detecting "illegal states" (like rooted devices) remotely in a way that can not be bypassed easily. These are the features that do no longer work with a triggered Knox Warranty Bit.

First of all, rooting does not make your device insecure by design. It adds one more opportunity in the list of existing attack vectors that can be used to compromise your device with no guarantee of success. This opportunity is more intriguing to compromise because gaining root privileges as an attacker just yields more benefits than compromising the device with any other attack vector. Having knowledge of presence of root on a device is not enough to compromise it though. There is no guarantee of success here either. As much as it is hard for the attacker to gain root access, it is also as hard for you to maintain the operational security of the rooted device which is why it is not recommended to have.
Samsung Knox is a ARM's TrustZone based integrated TEE chip which is a mandatory standard in android 8+ devices. The features TEE offers are provisioned by OEMs in the form of Trusted Apps (TAs) inside TEE. To support android keystore system, TEE is provisioned with the same set of features that are common across android devices. These features are:

Storage encryption, Screen lock authentication & Biometrics
Cryptographic operations
Hardware-backed Play Integrity attestation (previously called SafetyNet)
Google Widevine L1 DRM
NFC payment

Because of project Treble, custom ROMs do not have to modify the vendor partition that contains Hardware Abstraction Layers (HALs) which support the hardware including TEE, so all of the features mentioned above will work fine with custom ROMs with the exclusion of Google Widevine L1 DRM and NFC payment. That is because TEE does not actually protects the OS, it protects itself from the OS and as an extension, its own security gives protection to some of the components of the OS too. As DRM contents and NFC transactions can be tampered with by a compromised OS, their trusted apps are disabled when the bootloader is unlocked or when custom AVB is set.
Samsung provisions custom trusted apps in Knox that are not covered by android specs. They have listed 5 of them in their blog. These are mobile device management and enterprise mobile management features. These will not work in an unlocked bootloader and I don't think they are of any use to you anyway. They are 2 more interesting features offered by Knox for consumer devices explained here:

Samsung Knox adds an enhancement called Trusted Boot, which goes a step further by taking snapshots during the boot process and storing the results in the TrustZone Trusted Execution Environment (TEE). The goal of Trusted Boot is to ensure that older, trusted bootloaders that might have security vulnerabilities in them can’t be used, as part of the Rollback Prevention process. As the system is booting, TrustZone Trustlets check the snapshots. If they determine that an older bootloader was used, certain security-critical operations can be blocked.

I am not sure how it is different from embedding minimum allowed version of the bootloader into eFuse. Google Pixel did it last year.

Real-time Kernel Protection (RKP) & Periodic Kernel Measurement (PKM)
PKM is a passive check: It is software that runs in the TrustZone TEE regardless if anything is trying to touch the Android kernel. PKM periodically checks the kernel to detect if code or data have been modified by malicious software. PKM also checks the integrity of key data structures used by SE for Android to detect attempts to disable those security checks.
RKP is an active security check designed to block tampering with the kernel. With RKP, critical kernel events are intercepted and inspected in the TrustZone TEE. Events that impact the kernel can be blocked or logged to indicate suspected tampering.

This will not be available when you will flash custom ROM. The real cost of flashing custom ROM is explained in this article, Samsung will let you unlock your Z Fold 3’s bootloader, but at the cost of your cameras.

Samsung’s Knox documentation says that, if you root your phone and flash it with an unofficial Android build, anything having to do with its Knox security will be permanently disabled, and will only be restored if you replace the phone’s hardware. This means that, if you root a Samsung phone, features like Samsung Pay and Secure Folder won’t ever work again. To be clear, this doesn’t happen if you just unlock your phone’s bootloader — it only occurs after you make changes to the phone’s OS (though doing so is the main reason to unlock your bootloader, so it’s perhaps a distinction without much difference).

It makes no sense for Samsung to permanently kills hardware features. TEE is designed to be tamper resistant so even with root access, it can't be tampered with. Samsung should restore Knox features after reverting the phone back to its factory state. It is understandable to permanently revoke warranty but the reason of killing other features cannot be explained by infosec and makes it look like a poor engineering design.
Near Knox level security is not possible to achieve with rooted custom ROM as you won't be able to use specific features of Knox. I also don't think that you need to have Knox fully operational in order to be secure. It depends on your threat model. As long as your purpose is achieved with common android security features of TEE and you have custom AVB enabled, a good operational security of your device is enough for you.

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


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What are the factors affecting the ability to enable/disable VoLTE?
In response to this zero-day vulnerabilities for certain Exynos chipsets, I tried to turn off VoLTE on Samsung Galaxy S9 running Android 10 (build number QP1A.190711.020.G960USQU9FVB2) but couldn't find the setting under Connections -> Mobile Networks.  This phone runs on the USA AT&T network.  (Thanks for the tip that G960U doesn't use Exynos; even in G960F which does use it, the model is not affected.)
But I did find the setting to turn it off in another Samsung Galaxy phone, an A20 running Android 11 that runs on the BoostMobile network (which I believe uses the AT&T network as an MVNO).  Again, although this phone does use Exynos 7884 it may not be vulnerable, going by the list of chipsets provided by Samsung.
My question: What are the factors affecting the ability to enable/disable VoLTE?  Is it based on the OS version, the chipset, the provider, or the location (dynamically, based on the presence of LTE there)?  It seems that for some MVNOs it cannot be turned off?
Another way to pose the question is in terms of technology.  In areas where 4G is the only network (since both AT&T and Verizon would have turned off their 2G and 3G networks by now), do ALL voice calls over 4G network are necessarily voice over IP?  If not, does turning off VoLTE means simply that you cannot use data while making calls?

Perhaps related on Android Central: "My carrier (Jio) primarily uses VoLTE for calls, so there's no option to turn it off, but you should be able to see a toggle to enable or disable the feature. You'll also see different options on the Mobile networks menu depending on your S9 or S9+ model (I'm using the Exynos-based SM-G965F)." That said, Galaxy S9 doesn't seem to be affected by the vulnerability?

Also on Indonesian Samsung Support: "OK, I know the problem. When I put the "Telkomsel" SIM card, the menu was shown. That means the setting depends on the SIM card and its provider. Seems the "Indosat" network is the problem"

Does AT&T still provide an 2G and/or 3G network? If there is no 2G and 3G network then VoLTE is the only way to perform voice calls.

According to gmsarena the G960U doesn't use Exynos chipset, instead it uses an Qualcomm SDM845 Snapdragon 845. So you should not be affected.

@Robert Thanks.  I have updated the question to more general and more interesting.  Yes, it appears AT&T shut off its 2G in 2017 and started shutting lff its 3G in 2022.  Do you mean that in areas where there is no 2G and 3G networks, VoLTE is the only way to perform voice calls; that there is no "voice-only" mode?

Starting with 4G there is no voice mode anymore, only VoIP modes like VoLTE. That simplifies the overall network layout and also the network provider prefer nowadays the all-over-IP approach.

@Robert So per vulnerability mitigation, turning off VoLTE and Voice over Wifi will effectively eliminate the ability to make phone calls in areas where there is only 4G but no 2G and 3G?  I'm confused.


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Why does Signal app not have network access?
I am trying to install Signal on a phone (Android 8). I just need this installed for verifying/linking my actual Signal desktop app. When I enter my number, the app tells me it has no permission/access to the network. The error message translated to English is:

Unable to connect to service. Please check your network connection and try again.

I have checked both the internet connection and the mobile connection, they work fine. I gave Signal all the permissions it asked for.
Is there anything else I can do?
Edit: It seems to work (for a while) when the Signal app is updated. I managed to relink my Signal Desktop app to the smartphone app after the smartphone app had updated. Then, after some days, the Desktop app unlinked itself again. I installed the smartphone app again via Google Play and was able to relink again.
It's not logic and stable, but it can be a workaround.

There are some reported issues on its GitHub: Signal App - Android ICS - Unable to Connect - Network Error - Registration Fail (and its linked issues), Unable to register: cannot connect to server. Looks like the issue is related to Google Play Services.


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Browsers are using default application, not themselves, to open links -- how do I fix this?
Yesterday on my phone (Android 4.3.2, Galaxy 4S) Chrome started opening the stock browser (just called "Internet") when I clicked on links.  That's not what I want -- a browser should use itself to open links unless I tell it otherwise -- so I cleared the default settings first for the other browser and then, when I saw the reverse happen, also for Chrome.  So currently I have no default browser and each one asks me what application to use -- every single time.
Before this problem arose, links originating from outside of browsers (like email) opened in the default browser but links from within any browser opened in the originating browser just like you'd expect, with no "what do you want to open with?" dialogue required.  What do I need to do to get back to that state?
I intentionally use two different browsers to keep different web-site credentials from bumping into each other.  I don't want to always use exactly one.

Pop to Settings > Applications > Internet and the "Clear Defaults" and see if that helps.

@RossC already did that.  That's what I meant by "cleared the default settings"; sorry for the confusion.

Ah sorry, I misread that. This is a know issue afaik, I'll try to find more on it. The 4.3 update has a few issues like this, and I've seen it happen NFC and other places.


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Choose Which Albums Show in Play Music?
Not sure if this is a common or simple solution, but I can't find a way to fix this.
I've got a couple albums I've purchased through the Google Music store - namely the Lés Mis soundtrack, is it's a great musical and all that.
However, it's showing up on my phone, and I don't particularly want it on my phone.
If I shuffle my music, it keeps turning up.
If I make an instant playlist, it likes to show up. (Because apparently Lés Mis is very similar to Rust in Peace...)
I could set it to only steam via Wi-Fi, but then I need to keep the rest of my music on the device. And besides, as soon as I get on the Wi-Fi, it'll start streaming again..
How do I stop this album from showing up? I'd rather not delete it from Google Music Manager as that'll delete it from my account (I think). I just don't want it to ever show up on my phone.


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sound alarm from terminal emulator
For my purposes, I want to create a simple bash script, that will notify me when appropriate conditions will meet. Is there a way to make a sound alert from Android Terminal Emulator? I'm running Cyanogenmod 10.1.

beep and echo -e "\007" don't work on the S4 anyway. Can you use aplay "something.wav" or similar. There seems to be no default beeper (though I would need someone to verify that).

@RossC  And how to play a .wav file from Android Terminal Emulator?

Ross didn't write "play a something.wav", but aplay something.wav – so I assume aplay is the command used for that? aplay could stand for "audio player", at least (yuck, but might rather be "alsa player").

It should work but I can't seem to get it running. aplay should lead audio player. There's a lot of Linux commands not in android sadly.

see this: https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/205576/how-to-play-sound-from-termux-when-using-linux


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Where is the Home folder?
On my linux system I have a directory in /home where all my personal files and local program configurations are stored. Where does Android store that type of file?

There's no direct equivalent in Android. Each app has its own directory in /data/data (for a multi-user system, it's /data/users/n). Apps are encouraged to show a metadata-based view of user data, instead of requiring the user to worry about individual files. Each app stores the files and databases that hold its documents, and its configuration files, in its directory.
For data that already live in files, the SD card contains appropriately-named directories such as /sdcard/Music, /sdcard/Movies, which are shared between all apps (with the appropriate permission).

If you're trying to access the files you see in your device when you're plugging it in a computer, then it's there :

/storage/emulated/0/
/sdcard/


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Weird internet connection problem
My friend just had an internet connection problem. Her handphone (Acer Liquid C1, Android OS maybe 4.0) have a problem in the connection. It could connect to Line application and chat normally, then it could read and reply some mail in Gmail. Also she can refresh feed on Instagram.
But, it's BBM (blackberry messenger) couldn't chat normally (in this case, my BBM message just sent to her's [appeared as a tick], but not delivered [not appeared in D] to her BBM).
The other problem in this case is:

when the handphone connect to a mobile hotspot from apple / blackberry device and wireless router from apple, sometimes the device (my friend's handphone) is disconnect from the wifi after exit the setting menu. But when she open the wifi setting menu, the handphone is connected.
But, when her handphone connect to a mobile hotspot from android device (in this case, the mobile hotspot is asus tab and samsung smartphone), the device is always connected.

Another clue in this case is, when her android access play store and trying to download an app like Twitter with mobile data or hotspot from apple device, it always give an error code like 4xx or 9xx (I forgot this, but the first number is correct). But when it connect to wifi (from android mobile hotspot), it can download the application.
If someone can solve this, my friend will be glad :D
Sorry for my bad English :(


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Newbie needs help: Not sure how to get Google Play apps on CyanogenMod
I finally decided to install CyanogenMod on my Samsung Galaxy Nexus (Verizon). The installation process went pretty smoothly (I only had to pull the battery twice ;)), but I am having no joy reinstalling all of my Google Play apps. I'm beginning to think I've made terrible a mistake. Does CyanogenMod not integrate with Google the same way that stock Android does? Can I not just enter my Google username and password and redownload all of my apps and settings?
I mean, I knew that the Play Store isn't bundled with CyanogenMod due to licensing issues. But I thought that installing the Play Store was as simple as downloading the APK. So far I've downloaded two versions of the the APK and both crash on launch. I've tried all of the usual things like clearing the app cache and rebooting the phone. I also downloaded a 150 MB "Gapps" package from cyanogenmod.org that I have no idea what to do with. The download page has absolutely no instructions, nor does the package contain a readme. I've read that I need to "flash the apps through recovery", which I can sort of parse, but all of the documentation and explanations I've found this afternoon assume the reader knows more than I do.
Any guidance would be very much appreciated. By all accounts, CyanogenMod is awesome.
Technical details:

Samsung Galaxy Nexus (Verizon)
CyanogenMod 11.0-InstallerXNPQ02R (Android 4.4.2)

The Google Play app needs to be a system app in order to work; so no, you cannot simply "install an apk". Please see: How can I install the Google Apps Package (Play Store, …) on my Android device?

Sorry, I didn't see that question suggested in the sidebar when I was working on mine. I'll check it out.

Don't worry. I found it because I knew it's there. One of our "frequent questions". Even I sometimes miss things on search :)


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Note 2 update problems
Hi I got my note 2 from Kuwait. I am currently working in India. The last update I did on my note 2 was android 4.1.2 . Now when I check for OTA updates for my note 2, it shows that latest updates have already been installed. How can I update my phone?  Thanks in advance.

Since you bought your phone from Kuwait, the phone has the Kuwait Galaxy Note 2 Rom, and still now the 4.3 update has not been pushed out in Kuwait or the middle east region for both the note 2 and s3. But for the Indian Rom 4.3 has already been pushed out for both the phones. My brother had the same problem with his s3 and since I have some knowledge in rooting and Rom flashing on an android phone I flashed it with the Indian Rom.
The suggestion I can give to you is wait for the update, when Samsung pushes out the update in Kuwait your phone will get updated.
If you know how to root or flash custom Rom on Android phone you can flash it with the Indian Rom just go and download the Rom from here http://www.sammobile.com/firmwares/3/?download=25232
And follow the instructions.
For more information you can look here - http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/update-galaxy-note-2-lte-n7105-official-android-4-3-xxueml3-firmware-how-1429969
Just use the Rom from the sammobile site.
Remember if you don't know what I am talking about please don't try to do this you can brick(destroy) your phone for good.

+1 and this " Remember if you don't know what I am talking about please don't try to do this you can brick(destroy) your phone for good."  is very important advice!

@aasif ya I know abt rooting. Being doing dat since 2008 starting in my htc Google g1. Didn't wanna lose warranty though.. even triangle away fails at times.

The thing is once you flash the official Rom via Odin.. Your counter will be reset.. You don't need the triangle away application to reset the counter manually.. Unless after flashing the official Rom you root or install a custom recovery mode via Odin thus increasing your counter.


text:
Android Icon meaning
I have an RCA tablet with Jelly Bean 4.2.  When I power on the tablet, the start up screen comes up, then the screen goes black and then the jelly bean android comes onto screen, laying on its back with a red triangle that has an exclamation point inside sitting on top of the android.  I cannot get into the tablet at all.  Does anyone know what the icon means?

"Andy out-of-order". Guess its stomach is open, too. He needs repair. Not necessarily the hardware. Maybe you [edit] your question and let us know what the last things were you did before this happened? That might give us an idea.

(source: howtogeek.com)
If you are getting this screen, that means your Android has booted into "recovery mode".


text:
15 Min my battery goes to 97% to 17%
Yesterday I was watching a video on my andorid GTP3-100, and my batter was at 97% after 15 min I looked at my battery it had gone to 17%,  and it was draining battery fast and after 5 min its went to 7% so and  I had no  application running in the background I usually charge with my usb wire in my office . I have also noticed something strange since I  have started to  charge with my usb wire suppose the battery is at 77% if i plug in the usb wire to my pc within 1 second it goes to 100%.

I think this means you have some sort of battery leakage problem.

Can you add a picture/screenshot of battery status?

What version of Android? And yes I would dispose the battery straightaway in environmentally manner as there is a risk of damage infliction. Get a replacement straight away and do not use that battery.

I believe it is your battery which is at fault. I've seen this problem as well. How old is your phone?
Also, you may try charging the battery separately once from an external charger. If the problem you mentioned persists, then you should get yourself a new battery.

I am in agreement here. When a battery suddenly drops by large percentage, that is usually a sign of failing cells in the battery. The battery should be replaced.

By process of elimination, i would try a different charging cable, failing that backup and factory restore? If still not working you probably have a worn out or faulty battery, replace if removable. All else fails could be your charging socket or board related, in that case bin it and seek replacement.

Agree, ive seen it on my old GT-i9100 with the battery was "jumping aroud". What you could try thou is a battery calibration.
For example this seems to do the work : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ignisoft.battery.calibration
(Thou i havent try this app, battery calibration have helped me before )


text:
Custom ROM for RK292X?
I'm very newbie.
I have a tablet AOC Breeze MW0712, when I try upgrade the firmware in the official page I see that the chip is RK292X.
This rom can be installed in a chip RK292X ?
The steps are the same as when I upgrade the official firmware?
Thanks in advance

Don't knot that specific device (never heard of it, to be true). But as a general hint: Where can I find stock or custom ROMs for my Android device?

Because my tablet is chinese I can't find a mod oriented by device name, so I'm trying to understand if a ROM is chip oriented or the whole device oriented.


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Could you use a hotspot to watch and override data going into a Chromebook?
I want to see how downloading works when you get an application from the Playstore on my Chromebook. I also want to be able to override files going into the Chromebook via the hotspot. I'm wondering if I could create a hotspot on my phone to do this, and if so how would I go across doing this. I want to know how to do this on my phone without modifying/installing anything on the Chromebook. I am fine with modifying/rooting the phone though.
Thanks for any help!
PS - Does anybody know of some better tags?

Services like PlayStore and PlayServices usually use HTTPS connection with certificate pinning. Thus network interception won't work without modifying the system and the services. Unfortunately Chromebooks are out of scope of this site as we are foxused on Android devices.

Is there any way to get past the certificate pinning without modifying the Chromebook?

No there is no way. On Android there is the possibility to use Frida or Magisk plus certain unpinning scripts/modules but in the end to make them run you need root and thus a modified system.

Do Fridaoror and Magisk root the phone or the Chromebook?

Magisk is a common framework for rooting an Android device but a Chromebook is totally different from Android even if it is capable of running Android apps. Frida is an app-manipulation and hacking framework that works for various platforms.

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts. Regarding Robert's comment, just want to let you know that we have this policy about Chromebook/Chrome OS. Thus, if this is about operating the Android portion of Chromebook, then this question might be on-topic.

@Robert so could I use Frida on my phone to edit http requests going in and out of the chromebook?

Sorry I don't know. I don't have any experience with Chromebook.

@Robert Okay, thanks for the help!


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Boot twrp with fastboot gives an error
I am trying to use the fastboot command to boot my ported twrp for my moto e6s, but when i run it, it says:
> fastboot boot twrp.img

Sending 'boot.img' (28774 KB)                      OKAY [  0.978s]
Booting                                            FAILED (remote: 'unknown command')
fastboot: error: Command failed

Any idea why? My bootloader is unlocked and no I don't have fastbootd
I really want to test if it boots before I flash it, because I don't want to flash a custom recovery without booting off of it first.
I used the command fastboot boot twrp.img

FAILED (remote: 'unknown command')

what do you mean by that

hm, well i guess its understanable. but I really dont want to take risks


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Remote Desktop onto Ubuntu 16.04 Fails Only From Android Devices
I am running XRDP on an Nvidia Jetson TX2 running Ubuntu 16.04 LTS for an underwater microscope. I can remote in via an ethernet cable, or WiFi configured as a hotspot. Both of those connection paths work generally, and I can successfully open a remote desktop connection to that computer from other computers (Windows 10 and 11), iPhones, and iPads. However, so far no Android device can connect successfully. We've tried multiple phones, remote desktop clients, and others with no luck. So why are we bothering trying to use an Android? We have an Android device (1+ Nord N200) for fieldwork with a large screen and an underwater housing that will allow divers to operate the microscope through the remote desktop underwater.
What works on every other device:

Microsoft Remote Desktop, either via ethernet or over the hotspot. Note that both can be used simultaneously for these other devices (i.e. one device over ethernet, one over WiFi).
No port needs to be specified, though xrdp appears to be listening on port 3389
IP address assignment for the WiFi left at default of Automatic
xrdp login screen loads almost instantly

On Android:

If no port is specified for the IP address, Microsoft Remote Desktop gets stuck on "Configuring Remote PC"
If a port is specified: Immediate failure due to protocol error (0x1104, 0x500d,etc.), stuck in the "Configuring" loop, or claims it cannot find the IP address (error 0x104), depending on which port is specified.
Able to ping the IP address, even if 0x104 code was returned.
Other remote desktop apps (VNCViewer, Remote Ripple) also fail to establish a connection, returning similar errors/entering similar waiting loops.
This is true for automatic or static IP assignment
This is true for multiple different Android devices

My thoughts are that it's probably something simple and fundamental that I'm missing, perhaps some basic port difference between Androids and other systems, but none of the posts I've scoured through so far have helped figure it out. I need to double check the model information of some of the other devices we have tried, but they do cover a range of Android/iPhone editions. Any ideas of things to try/extra information that could be helpful would be very appreciated.
Screenshot from RD client:

Have you disabled private DNS on Android? With private DNS enabled the device will use Google DNS server which of course has no knowledge about your network local devices. Or try to use the IP address instead of it's network name?

I tried turning off t he private DNS, but ended up with the same error (done on both the Nord N200 and a Samsung Galaxy S10e). I added a screenshot of the RD client to the original question. We specify the IP address instead of a network name. It's worth noting too that the instrument is creating the WiFi hotspot without a separate internet connection.


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Can you run 'normal' Java programs on Android?
I know some 'normal' Java (computer Java), and I want to run such a program on my Android device. Is this possible? If yes, how?

Duplicate of How can I install .jar files on my Android?

Generally, this is not possible as although Android-flavored Java has the same syntax and semantics as typical Java, it does not run on the same virtual machine (Google has its own VM that Android phones all ship with and which has a different byte code format than conventional Java VMs), nor does it use or have access to Oracle's Java standard library.
Google reimplemented most of the important elements (e.g. Google has its own implementation of HashMap, ArrayList, etc.) and ditched a lot of other stuff (e.g. there's no Swing package in Google's library).

You can do it quite easily as there are many ways to run Java apps on Android. Specific application called Java Emulators can do it quite easily.
These are the popular Java emulators for Android: viz, JBED, PhoneME, Jblend and NetMite. There are arranged in order of my preference. You can use PhoneME for unrooted devices; however, if your device is rooted try any of the remaining three applications.

If by 'normal' Java (computer Java) you mean Java Standard Edition (J2SE - the Java programs that usually run on a PC, like Eclipse, Vuze etc...) then the answer is most probably no. There is no way to run them directly on Android and there are no (at least not known to me) apps or modifications that allow it.
The apps (emulators) mentioned in other answers are for the J2ME (Java2 Micro Edition, also known as MIDP and applications as "midlets") environment. They are the Java applications for mobile devices that were popular before Android appeared.

You could try using JBED. JBED is a program designed to offer the possibility to use Java applications (.jar files, I believe) on devices with the Android OS. I've never used it so can't personally vouch for it.

According to the listing on the dodgy third-party site you linked to, it's only for J2ME mobile applets. The OP didn't say if that was what they wanted.

I know the site isn't great, there's XDA and DroidBeans links if OP wants to Google for it, but it does say it can run .jars which full JavaSE can be exported as. If I get a chance to test it I'll update.

Just for the sake of completeness, this website provides a how-to install and use the app. I tested on Lollipop but it didn't work though (the readme says about Gingerbread, so I'm not sure if it's compatible on the latest Android). (Disclaimer: I don't have any relation with the blog & its blogger. Just curious of this app from another question and found this article)


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How to solve bluetooth issue?
I flashed an unofficial MIUI ROM on my Sony Xperia P. I found enormous bug here. Recently I found that bluetooth is also not working. How can I solve it?

We don't fix bugs here (that's outside the scope of this site). Things like that you need to discuss with the resp. developer / community, sorry.

Did you read the Working, Bugs posted by the author of the rom. Did you read the changelog of the rom. Did the author specified any patch to fix the bluetooth issue?

I downloaded the ROM from this link. Here author didn't report anything about this issue.

It is clearly mentioned in the notes.


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Can't edit an event in S Planner (Samsung Galaxy SII)
I have an ancient repeating event in local calendar.
Some time ago I had a phone repair and then restored events via Kies. Now I need to edit the event and can't do this because S Planner shows it like meeting invitation. There is no "Edit" option, just "Copy", "Delete" and "Share Via".
Is there any way to convert event from meeting invitation back to a normal event without re-creating it? Do you know some "hacking" application which can modify events in an unrestricted way like "SMS Edit" does it for SMS?
The phone is GT-I9100
Android 4.1.2
Firmware I9100XXLS8


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How do I have anonymous notifications (phone, text, ...) on Android 4.3 like 4.1?
So back in what I believe was Android 4.1, I had to swipe my lock screen to unlock my phone. Before swiping, it gives me the option of swiping into my missed calls, my text messages, and my applications. It did not show who I missed a call from, nor did it show the contents of my text message.
Now it shows both. How can I stop my phone from displaying private messages and communication?

This is only a partial answer to my question, so I won't mark it as accepted just yet.
If you go to Messages / Menu button / Settings / Notification settings there should be a setting called "Preview message". Uncheck this and text messages will not show up in your lock screen.
I have not figured out how to do this for calls though.


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Block Connection to Specific BSSID's?
I am setting up my friend's network for his kids. I have Tomato firmware running on their Linksys with OpenDNS filtering as well as timed Access Restrictions (ie, no more internet access after 11:30pm). That's all fine and dandy as long as my friend's son's phone stays on his network. However, he is getting access to a friend's router nearby (however, he does not have data on his phone; so I don't need to worry about that).
In Tomato, I can go to Tools > Wireless Survey and I can see all the BSSID's that are all around their house.
I also have rooted my friend's son's Android phone. Is there any way to block the phone from connecting to specific BSSID's? I have AirDroid installed and can access the root files from my house. Is there some file in there that I can edit?

I am not 100% sure if you can actually block the device from hooking up to the network nearby, if the wifi is activated on the device, it will pick up all access points, but to tell it to forcefully just use one access point seems tricky to do, I'll investigate in a while.

What if I download a firewall app and use a custom script to do the job? I tried using Droidwall and entering a custom IP table according to its instructions: https://code.google.com/p/droidwall/wiki/CustomScripts
This was my script: $IPTABLES -A "droidwall" -m --mac-source 00:00:00:00:00:00 -J "droidwall-reject"
However, it didn't work (of course, I used the actual MAC address of the wireless access point, and not just 00:00:00:00:00:00) . I don't really understand what I'm doing.

Thing is, DroidWall is no longer maintained, you might be better trying AFWall+ instead.

Might be worth a shot to try this:
$IPTABLES -A "afwall-reject" -m mac --mac-source 00:00:00:00:00:00 -j DROP

the switches in iptables are case-sensitive.
Replace 00:00:00:00:00:00 that with the MAC address of the BSSID that is transmitting wifi beacon packets, and password protect it to prevent mitigation attempts in trying to override it.

Thanks. I actually uninstalled DroidWall and installed Android Firewall instead. The developer of Android Firewall told me to put this:
$IPTABLES -A INPUT -m mac --mac-source 00:00:00:00:00:00 -j REJECT
However, it's still not working. What is happening is that I am testing this at home before I implement it on my friend's son's phone. But when I go in my router, I can't find my own BSSID. So I tried WAN, LAN and Wireless MAC addresses. Not sure if one of those is the same as the BSSID. Either way, none of them worked. The developer said that tonight he would look at it if he has time.

I downloaded an app called Network Info II and it showed me that my BSSID is the exact same as my Wireless MAC address. So that answers my question. Now I just need to figure out how to prevent the phone from accessing this specific network...

I figured things out. For one, after I added the iptable rule, I needed to REBOOT my phone for it to apply (which I wasn't doing). Secondly, I needed to use the LAN Mac Address (NOT the BSSID/Wireless MAC address) in order for the iptable rule to work.
Thirdly, I downloaded AFWall+. It allowed me to set it as administrator to prevent uninstallation. The only thing missing is that the developer needs to password protect removing the app as administrator.
Then I downloaded Android Terminal Emulator. In order to find the LAN MAC address for the connection that I am looking to block, I typed this into the emulator:
arp -n

Then I used the MAC address that was given in the terminal and put that into this rule here to be place in "custom scripts" in the firewall:
$IPTABLES -A INPUT -m mac --mac-source 00:00:00:00:00:00 -j DROP

What this does is break TCP/IP networking, but does not stop 802.11x association.


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Access encrypted internal storage without touch
Is there a way to access the encrypted internal storage without using the display?
I damaged the display of my nexus 4 (Android 4.4, cm-11-20140104-SNAPSHOT-M2-mako) and need to access the encrypted storage to do some backup. adb shell is working in recovery mode.

What is it about people damaging screens and then trying to get adb backup out of it, there's seems to be a trend here... :) Use the search facility...

I find information only about backing up unencrypted devices.

There you go, similar question Searching took 5seconds tops...

I also found this question (and this https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/19286/will-a-custom-recovery-work-with-an-encrypted-device?lq=1). But it doesn't solve my problem...


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my phone may have virus but my antivirus scans clean that phon is protected
A pop up window appeared on my phone ,about some wifi booster simuntaneously an other window got on and told that my phone was infected by an virus ,but my antivirus was active and then i scaned my phone but it was clean . Please explain did my phone really have a virus in it?


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Mobile network settings - Not enabled for modifications (Greyed)
I bought a zte v7275 tablet
Device information

model number - ZTE V7275
android version - 4.0.4
kernel version- 3.0.21-perf-gc8726c4f
Flash ROM

which is likely to be locked to a single operator (vodafone, but I haven't tried it with vodafone sim card). Any way when I insert a different sim card and navigate to "Mobile network settings" section, I can see all the operator network related configurations are disabled (greyed). I know this particular modle of device is rare in use.
But I would like you to suggest best option I have, following are some of things I came up with

Install ROM to 4.1 , assuming operator lock, will be flashed
Install custom build Phone.apk for android 4.0.4 and repalce the existing  Phone.apk system app

Further can I know different stratergies can be used to disable the Mobile Network  Settings, so I can reverse it.
Thanks

If your device is locked to Vodafone (as you write), a different ROM won't change that. You will either have to use a Vodafone SIM, or have the device unlocked from the provider. I'd suggest you first try whether the problem persists with a Vodafone SIM, to make sure whether a SIM-lock is the cause.

@Izzy That sounds like an answer to the question, if you ask me.

OK – done that, with some more details :)

If your device is locked to Vodafone (as you write), a different ROM won't change that. You will either have to use a Vodafone SIM, or have the device unlocked from the provider.
I'd suggest you first try whether the problem persists with a Vodafone SIM, to make sure whether a SIM-lock is the cause. Those network settings are also grayed out if you've got no SIM inserted at all (I've tried that on one of my devices) – so it usually means you don't have those services available because there's no accepted SIM card detected.


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Ogg Vorbis file not listed in media player
I have an Ogg Vorbis file (.ogg), which was discovered by the fancy new music player on Android Kitkat and it played fine. However, now that it is no longer officially a "recently added" file, I cannot seem to access it in the music player. It does not appear under "Songs", which otherwise lists all files as far as I can see.
The .ogg file is in the same directory as my mp3 files, which it can see.
And it can definitely still play, the file is not damaged. I have my own app under development for recording, which uses the GUI-free bare-bones media recorder and player libraries provided with Android. And it can play it even though it wasn't intended to!
Has anybody got any ideas? Can I force a refresh of the media library somehow? Clearing data and cache under settings does not do it.

Ah, this is because it is listed as an Unknown piece by an Unknown artist as the only piece in my library. The Ubuntu Rhythmbox program I used to make the ogg vorbis file did not tag automatically for this particular piece, while it did for others.
The solution is to tag the file with for instance the "Audio Tag Tool", then it is searchable in the Android Music Player.
Understandable, but not obvious to me, I think it would make sense if the player app would search by file names as a last resort if no other matches were found.


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Android virtual keyboard pop-up issue on focus
We are using a web app (built for desktop) in Android tablet (Motorola ET1). Issue is that android soft keyboard is popping up whenever focus goes to a text box.
On page load, focus is set to the text box but keyboard is not popping on page load. Users scan input data using tablet's scanner into this text box, we take scanned input and submit to the server. If the transaction is successful, text box gets cleared and focus is set in this text box to scan next input. when focus is set this time, android keyboard is popping up.
I tried using blur to prevent keyboard popup, it prevents keyboard from popping up but focus is not in that text box so user cannot scan the input data.
As an option, I installed null keyboard on Android tablet and provided jquery keyboard (https://github.com/Mottie/Keyboard/wiki) to enter input data if they want to enter data manually. This option seems to work technically but this shuts off the keyboard for entire tablet and users have other apps on the tablet so they are not happy with this solution.
We are using dolphin browser in this tablet. Dolphin has cordova plugin to get an access to device's native functions. But I don't see anything related to keyboard. Also I am not finding any reference in HTML5 documentation also.
Can you please suggest if there is any solution to this ? Please note that our application is a standard webapp and not built as Android app. Thanks.

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts. Please read the [FAQ] as to why this is voted-to-close because its a development related question. Would be better fit to post at StackOverflow.

I think this question is okay for here. "How to keep the keyboard from popping up when I tap on a web form input field" is something an end-user might want help with.

@t0mm13b I have posted it on StackOverFlow as well, but no reponse yet.


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How to sync highlights & annotations of ebooks/pdf
i'm searching for a way to synchronize  highlights & annotations of my ebooks over several android devices.
I prefer to read ebooks in pdf as it's the only format that keeps the original layout of the book.
Moonreader+ is a good ebook reader that supports highlighting and syncing reading progress. But how can i sync highlights or annotations i made?

I can't imagine how this would be implemented, especially since you also need to make sure that the PDFs exist. How do you check that file.pdf in Device A is the same as file.pdf in Device B? Unlike in Kindle, you know which book is which, and highlights can actually be synced. But what you want is certainly possible though, if you make a custom app, with lots of assumptions here and there.

Moon+ could do that as well, but it will be limited when it comes to PDF. Annotations/Highlights can be exported to files which you then could sync and import at the other end. I'm not aware of any automatism here; but I wouldn't wonder you'll find it in the next version if you ask Seany (the dev) for it, as he's very responsive usually.


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Run native executable in Android
When I install FaceNiff on Bluestack and try to run the executable file from adb shell by
./FaceNiff
I get the error:
/system/bin/sh: ./FaceNiff: not executable: magic 7F45
I have rooted the phone, su the adb.
I think i need correct su and busybox. I tried but failed.

and where did you get this FaceNiff executable from? If it was compiled for GNU/Linux, it won't run on Android.

Why do you try to run it from the shell? Isn't it a normal APK?

I downloaded it from faceniff.ponury.net; faceniff.apk has the binary in asset folder. trying to Reverse Engineer it to understand how ELF is called on android.

I am using Bluestack. I am getting the same error even when i try to run IDA android_server {rooted, updated su-x86, busybox-i686}

trying man... maybe pointing out a right direction be more helpful

Finally i understood. Bluestacks is based on Android-x86 and the file is ARM-based; that is why the error. Tanks anyways

7F45 are the first two bytes of the ELF header \x7FELF. Android also uses ELF, so the error message you encounter means that the FaceNiff binary is not recognised as executable by your kernel (unlikely, unless you forgot to chmod +x it), not for your architecture (e.g. x86 instead of ARM), or uses a dynamic linker not included (e.g. glibc or µClibc instead of Bionic).
If you need to run an Android-ARM executable on Android-x86 you must recompile it for x86 (and look for the correct bitness too, 32-bit vs. 64-bit is also different).
Disclaimer: I’m the mksh maintainer.


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Why does android init not die?
As I read from the book Embedded Android (Karim Yaghmour), android init does not die. However, Linux init systems usually die. Why doesn't the android init?
And also, why does android not use / need systemd?

The init process in a unix-type system (which generally has pid 1) never dies. The system needs that process to be there in order to operate properly.

systemd is a newer take on the concept of the init process. It fulfills the same role, and when we speak of the init process, it doesn't matter what it's called, it matters only what it does, which is start everything else and stay running.

uhhh.... am not exactly sure what is the OP trying to elicit from this discussion, systemd is more geared towards {desk|lap}tops and servers. Since it would be deemed too "heavy" especially in the arena of mobiles with limited resources...

Init is one of the first processes that is loaded when the Bootloader starts in Unix.
So, technically init is the first process that starts and all other processes are either children or the grandchildren of init.
Now, when a process say Ystarts execution, it is usually forked from its parent process, say X when X dies(finished executing) the process Y now has no parent, and it becomes an Orphan Process at this time init takes over the ownership of the process and becomes the parent of Y.
Like this, there are so many processes running at a given instant in the OS, everything has to be taken care by init.
Since Android being a flavor of Linux, and Linux being a derivative of Unix, it is for the same reason that init doesn't die,unitll the system shuts down.

The question is very simple to understand. It asks: "Linux init systems usually die. Why doesn't the android init?" You've told what init is and what it does but that isn't tantamount to why it cannot die in Android but in other Linux distributions. // Init is the first process in user-space, that's what they say and Init is loaded by kernel, not bootloader.


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Which Android version will be preffered for my device?
I am trying to build a custom rom for my device(Lyf flame 7s 2016).
But its hard to choose from which android version should I use? as default it came packed with bloated android 5.1 rom.
Most of my everyday using apps are droping support for android 5.1 eg:- Magisk, Fdroid, clash of clans, etc. and also android 5.1 is not much customizable.
I need minimum Perfomance(as i dont multitask much), stability and customization. So is there any android version that is much suted for my needs.
Device Specification:
Processor - Spreadtrum SC9830A (1.5GHz quad-core)
Ram - 1GB
Display Size - 4.00-inch (480x800 pixels)
More Info here
Note: I want to build a google free rom. any recomendation to that also.

Not sure but I think Spreadtrum SC9830A doesn't support anything newer than Android 5.x

Your device has only 1GB RAM which is not much even for Android 5 but even if you would succeed building such a ROM the resulting OS would be next to unusable because of the tiny RAM size. Note that learning to build a custom ROM including searching and integrating drivers and services may require several dozen hours of work and a lot of tries.


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How do I port my music database from Rocket player into Musicolet?
I've been using Rocket player (which is a local file music player) for quite a long time now, but I have recently bought a new phone. The music database (i.e #times a song has been played etc) ported just fine, but I have other problems with it, and the new developers of the app don't have the greatest reputation. So I looked for another music player and found Musicolet, which I really like the features of. But I really would like to port my music database over to it. How would I do that in the least painful way?
Here's what I've tried so far

Musicolet does have a database importer/exporter, but the file is an encrypted .db file. Thanks to this post on reddit though I managed to decrypt it and can now manually edit it using DB Browser for SQLite. In other words, all my songs are in the export file, but naturally has no "data" such as #times played.
Retrieving the database file from Rocket player has proven to be much harder. I know from previous experience that Rocket player uses a file called blob3.blob to store its playdata, and it is possible to open an older version of my music database stored in .blob in DB Browser for SQlite.
However, I cannot find this file anywhere on my android phones, and I tried using AirDroid to import the .apk file, which just contains an empty blob3.blob file. I figure the file is stored in the hidden /data/data folders or the app folder for Rocket player or its cloud uploader.  As far as I can tell, the only way to acces these folders is by rooting my phone. I really don't want to root my new phone, but I don't really care about my old one (Xperia XZ1) and tried rooting it. But I got stuck at unlocking the bootloader, which seems to be more or less required in order to root. Unlocking the bootloader will clear all data from the phone which completely defeats the purpose of rooting it in the first place.
In ADB there's a backup app function you can do. Couldn't get that to work but it could possibly contain the file I need. Also, downgrading my old phone to android 9 could also possibly work to get more access to the hidden folders, but this seems also to require unlocking the bootloader.
Using scrobble works for recording new play data onto last.fm, but cannot register past play data, so that doesn't work either.

So my current solution is to manually browse each song in the Rocket player app, and then manually registering it in the Musicolet export .db file. But this includes copying last played date converted into Unix epoch time (which is the one that really takes a long time), and my music collection has over 7000 songs.
Does anyone have any idea of how I could do this more efficient in any way? Having the blob3.blob file would make this a lot easier.
Edit: Doing android backup worked this time and for me (see comments) and I got my blob3.blob file. I could easily copy over my data, but my new issue is Musicolet failing to load my import. I think it due to the fact that all the files in the Musicolet export/import .zip are checked with md5 checksums to see if they are corrupted or not (I'm guessing), which is mostly stored in a file in the zip called "0.musicolet.backup". From testing I can ascertain that the hashes in this file indeed has something to do with the other files because they do not change when making a new export and not changing anything. However, I cannot replicate the hashes since pulling the files through an encoder do not match those hashes. But I need to know the hasing method in order to get the import to work in Musicolet. Currently, i am looking for a solution on this.

You already collected most of the facts. From my perspective adb access on your old phone is the best option you have. This can get you the data if the app allows backup. Unfortunately there is no error if it denies, just the backup will be empty. How far did you got with adb backup? You need adb working, the app package name of the app you want to backup and the Java tool Android Backup Extractor.

@Robert adb backup worked! I was just missing the Java Android Backup Extractor. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. I have now copied over the data to the Musicolet backup. But now I currently trying to solve the problem with Musicolet failing to load my import file. Maybe my re-encryption is wrong, or something else is missing...

Note that adb backup/restore won't work on Android 12 for recent apps. What may work is installing an very old version of your player app (e.g. from apkmirror.com or a similar site), adb restore your backup and then update to the latest player version.


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PlayStore does not update APKMirror apps
I have an Android device where I have not assigned any Google account to it, just because I don't like/trust Google.
Since I cannot use the PlayStore to get apps without assigning an account (thanks for that Google...), I have downloaded some APKs from APKMirror.
Now, I see that the pre-installed Google apps get updated by the PlayStore, but the ones I have installed manually, after downloading them from APKMirror, don't. Despite the fact that I have read somewhere that this should work and that apps should be updating.
Is this some new Google way of forcing things down our throats?
Am I missing something?
What is the best way to not use a Google account and have apps update automatically?

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts. Looks like there's a similar question: Don't use Google and APKPure misbehaves - how do I update apps?. Does it help?

@AndrewT. Thanks a lot. That looks like what I was looking for. Hopefully, the solutions posted there still work... I don't know if Google realizes this, but this can be filed as a huge security issue to their platform, which they have created on purpose...


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What is the purpose of an android phone continuously accessing the internet every ≈10 seconds?
Why would a stationary phone on Wi-Fi need to access the internet every few seconds as shown by the arrows near the Wi-Fi icon top right corner of the home screen?
Does this happen also off Wi-Fi but with no arrows indicator?
Data Saver is on and operate in background button is off for all apps.

You can find it out yourself: Install an app like PCAPDroid, capture traffic for a few minutes and then load the generated pcap file into Wireshark.

For the same purpose any other computer does the exact same?

@ChanganAuto a user might not know why a computer would do the same too. You would want to expand on that.

Many devices automatically access the internet for updates, refresh data, and ping in on their location.  There are ways to stop the access like Data Saver, Manual Updates, and Do Not Run In Background for a cell phone but those do not stop an S22 from upload/down load of data about every 10 seconds.  I would like to know the purpose of the continuous data traffic when on Wi-Fi.


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Save "My maps" offline, including attribute information in Google Maps App
There are 2 functions in Google Maps that are quite suitable for a task of mine, but they would need to be combined, and after searching the internet and this site, I'm not sure if it is possible or not. I would appreciate confirmation about this question: If/how this is possible.
1: In Google Maps, one can create their own maps (see image below). These can then be displayed in the Google Maps app and can also be shared with others.
2: One can select areas of the map to be saved offline in the Google Maps App.
.
Hence the question: is it possible to also save offline maps of my own maps/saved places?
I have noticed that I can load the Map, if I then deconect the internet, it will still display all markers in the are. However, if I close (not minimize) the app and re-open it, they are gone. Likewise, if I click on one of the points I can't see the information saved for these points.
This makes me believer that offline-map functionality is not available for saved/own maps, even if I have downloaded an offline-version for the overlaping area. Is this correct? And if not, where can I find more information about how to achieve this.
I have found similar questions here and I do not mean to open up a duplicate question, I simply don't know if nothing has changed in the last 10 years.
2012: Is there someway to make "My maps" in google maps available offline with location markers?
2014: Offline Google Maps

Hello, I notice you haven't responded or seen my answer yet, if it helps can you mark it as the accepted answer, if it doesn't can you be more specific or elaborate please?

Hi @Ethanmiller I can't see you answer any more..did you remove it?
I saw one answer inbetween, however, it did not answer my question. Don't know, if that was your answer?


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How to block apps on tablet from accessing the Internet while on tethering
I use my WiFi-only tablet for turn-by-turn navigation.  I either use wifi hotspot tethering or bluetooth tethering through my phone's data plan.  (Or USB tethering once I get a Y charging cable.)
My problem is that my tablet apps run their background updates and syncs while I am tethered, consuming my limited data plan.  The worst culprit is Google account autosync.
While most apps nowadays are wifi/3G-friendly, that is, they have a setting to do heavy downloads only on WiFi, they do not differentiate broadband wifi or my phone's wifi hotspot.  The Play Store app on my tablet would particularly update large apps in the background while I am driving!

If you're using at least Android 4.0, please see my answer here on how to limit background data transfer.

Izzy, wifi-only devices lost the "Restrict background data" option in Android 4.3.  In other words, only those 4.3 or later devices with mobile data can limit background data transfer (either globally or per app).  Thanks.

Thanks for those details, William! Didn't know that (and neither that your device is affected). You might wish to [edit] your question to include those facts.

Izzy, I found this guy in the same situation. A firewall on the tablet would do the trick, he thinks, which is to be enabled/disabled as needed. A firewall requires root, though.

That's what you say (or what he said). Thanks to the pointer, see my answer below :) Enjoy – I hope that does the trick!

In Android 4.2 and later, you can tell Android which Wi-Fi networks are mobile hotspots. In the device Settings, go to the Data usage page, then open the overflow menu (the three dots in the top-right) and click Mobile hotspots. It shows a list of Wi-Fi networks known to the device: tick any that are mobile hotspots.
Then, when you're on a network that's ticked on that list, Android will tell apps that the device is on 3G. Any "Wi-Fi only" update settings in apps or in the OS will act accordingly.
In addition, if the mobile hotspot is an Android phone running 4.3 or later, the hotspot will communicate this to the tablet, so it will automatically treat that Wi-Fi network as a mobile hotspot, without any user intervention.
For earlier Android versions, certain apps (such as my app Showr) have similar settings to the Android 4.2 mobile hotspots page, allowing you to treat a Wi-Fi network as 3G within that app. This is less useful than the Android-wide setting, because not every app supports it, and you need to set it for each app individually, but it works just as well if you can't update to 4.2.

My Android 4.3.1 (Cyanogenmod 10.2) phone/hotspot together with my Android 4.3 Wifi tablet (Samsung stock) did this automatically as well. So it's probably a 4.3 feature, not 4.4. The mobile hotspot setting is very well hidden though, it should really be in the Wifi settings and not in the data usage part!

@jmiserez Thanks for that info! I've updated my answer.

My Android 5.1.1 wifi-only tablet: Settings > Data usage > "..." > Network Restrictions > to select individual "Metered WiFi networks", which are (as per description at bottom) "treated like cellular when background data is restricted; apps may warn before using these networks for large downloads". (There is no (longer) mention of "Mobile hotspots", but I assume the effect is the same.)

For completeness the answer will also include everything some of which you already know.
I understand in your situation that the phone is not distinguishing from your hotspot style of Wi-Fi (using expensive data from a cell tower) to any other Wi-Fi connection that the data would be cheaper to use.
Manual and automatic methods
There are methods to both easily manually disable Auto-Sync, and methods to automate the disabling of it:
Automatic

If connected to "Home WiFi", then Turn on Auto-Sync (less account data).
If connected to "TeatherName WiFi", then Turn off Auto-Sync

Simple "scripters" like "MacroDroid", plus other simple "rules creators" can pull this off.
Example:

I mention these 2 because I could not program my way out of a paper bag, but I can make a few scripts, or rules, or constraints, using those methods.  Probably tasker and automate-it could also perform these functions. Auto-Sync off is a "easy one".
In my short time with that Macrodroid app, I was also able to have it reliably recognise that specific Bluetooth devices are connected (keyboard), so that could also be applied to make a auto-sync change.
It can also use a "hotspot" trigger and actions , which won't do any good in your situation, because the hotspot isn't the device you need to control. That method would have to be applied to the hotspot machine, and some creative firewalling, that does not sound so easy.
Stopping Google Store auto updates Manually
To access the setting when your in the Google Play store application hit your menu button, and select settings.

Go to the Auto-Update section of the settings. Setting your apps to never auto update does mean that you have to manually update them, but that gives you the option to choose when the updates occur, giving you control,

The google play store settings for update applications can be set to update as follows:
A) Do not auto-update apps
B) Auto Update at any time
C) Auto update apps over Wi-Fi only

Manual updates at the google store are made easy
When you select the play store icon, and go to My Apps section.

The google store sorts apps that have updates available to the top of the "My Apps" listing

By carefully adding updates to your device manually you can know if a specific update is causing problems.
Widget Auto-Sync switch
There are many "widget" programs that will add an icon on your home screen to disable Auto Sync easily.

Widget Manual Sync Starting
There are also Widget apps that have "Sync Now" button, with SyncNow syncing will be updated manually at the press of a button. On my machine this activity ends, after any needed sync is done.
Background Data from Apps
Manual settings

In the network settings you click on the mobile data

Clicking on the menu button to get to the settings.
We can see the Restrict background setting, and the auto-sync data setting.
Automatic ,  Identifying a mobile hotspot for no background app data
In the above settings Mobile data / menu button / Mobile Hotspots

In the Mobile hotspot settings , you can select exisiting mobile hotspots , to restrict background app data.

It did , i do not understand how you got to the store section of the previous mess , without reading how to do the automation of auto-sync.  It also states that the answer is not yet completed.  I Am trying to get this compiled for a non-tech person, with a tiny data package and high overage fees.

It's a lot better now, thanks for the update. I'm afraid I can only rate an answer based on the content that's actually there, not the content you're thinking of writing in the future.

I found four partial solutions to this, with varying thoroughness:
1. Configure Tasker or Llama to turn off auto-sync.
See the question Auto sync only when connected to a specific wifi network.  Instructions are similar for Bluetooth or USB tethering.  This eliminates the background sync of Google apps such as Calendar, Contacts, Gmail, Maps, etc.  All other apps, such as weather apps, could and would still update.
2. Set the Tethering AP as a "Mobile Hotspot"
This is a duplicate of "Treat certain WiFi networks as mobile/cellular".  You would check your phone's hotspot AP name as a mobile hotspot.  Reading off the screen,

Select the Wi-Fi networks which are mobile hotspots. Apps can be restricted from using these networks when in the background. Apps may also warn before using these networks for large downloads.

See Dan Hulme's answer for further information.
However for wifi-only devices the Google Play Store doesn't have a "Auto-update apps over only WiFi only" option.  I don't know yet if the Play Store updates apps while on a mobile hotspot.  Maybe. So I guess the solution is to keep app auto-updates off.
3. Use Bluetooth or USB Tethering
Bluetooth and USB Tethering are not Wi-Fi, so therefore apps that set to update only on Wi-Fi will not update while the tablet under Bluetooth or USB Tethering.
Turn off autosync, as per #1, and this appears as comprehensive as one can get....
However for wifi-only devices the Google Play Store doesn't have a "Auto-update apps over only WiFi only" option.  I don't know yet if the Play Store updates apps while on bluetooth or USB tethering, so again I guess the solution is to keep app auto-updates off.
4. Enable/Disable a Firewall
The most thorough solution?  If your tablet is rooted, then you can install a Firewall to block all internet access except the turn-by-turn navigation app.  Then all you got to do is enable or disable this firewall.
See also Izzy's answer which mentions a VPN-based firewall.

As you indicated a firewall might do the trick, but you've got no root: You might wish to take a look at NoRoot Firewall and Mobiwol: NoRoot Firewall, which both claim to require no root (as their names indicate).
NoRoot Firewall works based on defined IP rules:

NoRoot Firewall requires NO ROOT. It protects your personal information from being sent to the Internet. NoRoot firewall notifies you when an app is trying to access the Internet. All you need to do is just press Allow or Deny button.
NoRoot Firewall allows you to create filter rules based on IP address, host name or domain name. You can allow or deny only specific connections of an app.

So this will probably not do, as it would apply to "everything". However, Mobiwol should fill the gap: it registers as a VPN, and explicitly claims: Disable background activity for selected apps

MobiWol: App-specific rules, settings, logs (source: Google Play; click images for larger variants)
As a side-effect, you can see in the logs which apps connected where to, and might catch some performing suspicious activities ;)

Those two apps you linked are likely to be pulled from Google Play. Apps on there are forbidden to interfere with other apps' normal operations. (AdBlock Plus was removed for the same reason.)

Whilest that might be (which you cannot tell for sure), it does solve the issue for the OP currently (which I'm pretty sure about, as the second app is still on Play). So someone give me a pointer in case it's pulled (and where it moved to), so I will update my answer accordingly :)

It doesn't look like either of them have direct downloads on their site for now; I just wanted to warn you ahead of time that you might have to change the links.

Thanks for that, @DanHulme! As both of them are in my "watchlists", which I usually update ~quarterly, I should note that. Using our search, I'm confident to find and update the answer then :)


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How do I know I'm entering my password in the real decryption prompt?
I have a Nexus 4 phone with full-device encryption. As I took it out of my pocket, it was displaying the "Type password to decrypt storage" screen. Presumably it had crashed in some way and rebooted, but how would I know this is the real decryption prompt and not some login spoofing malware app?
I powered off the phone and restarted, and curiously, it prompted me for my SIM card PIN first, only then for the decryption password. In any case, the power-off sequence clearly involves software (a long press of the power button invokes a touchscreen menu with only the power off option available).
This is Android 4.4.2, unrooted (as far as I know).

As far as I know, applications (especially non-root ones) can't modify the power menu. If you long-press the power menu, there should only be the "power off" item as you mentioned. If you see the other items on the menu, you're not in the real decryption screen.
Or alternatively you could input a false password and see if it's accepted without verification, which would imply phishing.


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How to prevent widget resize on unlock swipe?
After upgrading to 4.3, there is only a small portion of the lower screen that can be used to unlock the phone.  The upper part of the screen engages what looks like some sort of draw or resize box with a pencil in the lower right corner.  I think it is trying to resize the clock widget for some reason.
This is very annoying since I never want to resize the widgets after they are set, but obviously, I swipe the phone a lot.  Is there a way to disable this box and return the swipe area to the visible window?


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How can I remap the menu key to Switch App view?
I tried ButtonRemapper but it only offers short press functions and not the App Switch menu (on cm10.3 long press of home button activates the App Switch menu)

authors: Алексей Валерьевич


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SD Card not working on LG Optimus L7II
I Brought a 16GB Lexar micro sd card for my LG Optimus L7II and installed the micro sd card and I've have tried downloading apps but it keeps coming up insufficient storage space available! How do I get the SD cards to work?

What version of Android do you have? Depending on the version (2.3+ I think) you can move apps to the external SD card via App2SD (or check the Settings/Applications for the option). You will have to install on internal first and then move to external, so to free memory you will have to move some other apps which are already installed.
But some later versions of android no longer support this.
If you root your phone, then try Link2SD.

Applications never get installed to SDcard. It is by-design. If you can access other files (music/video/...) then it is working perfectly. Applications are only installed to the internal storage.


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OsmAnd: How to hide information?
OsmAnd has so much information that it obscures the map. How can I decide what information (layers) that OsmAnd should show?
I had hoped Define View > POI would make it possible to hide the information, but it can only emphasize the information with an orange circle.

I use OsmAnd+ 2.3.5 and that was the first thought I had - too much of everything. It is all configurable, though.
tap the menu button -> Configure Map -> swipe up to reveal more options

See pictures below, I highlighted the options of your interest. You can disable the POIs (the orange circles you mentioned) and you can further hide things such as buildings and lots of other miscellaneous details.

By disabling what I mentioned above here is what you can achieve (you can go even further and hide polygons too (grass, water, etc.)).


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Google maps on Galaxy S4 doesn't search nearby
Using the Maps up on a Galaxy S4, when I search for a store name (like "starbucks"), it should show me the nearest results, but instead it shows me results in other cities (like the Starbucks in Seattle, or Home Depot in Atlanta).
The Maps app shows my correct current location, so the GPS etc is working and the app knows where I'm at.. what else could be going wrong?


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Getting Black screen when i play youtube videos in youtube app
I've BSNL Penta Tablet with 2.3.7 installed in it. Whenever I tries to watch Video in YouTube Application. It does play the video with audio only. Only Black screen appear in the video tab but never displayed.
What could be the reason for these kinda weird behaviour?
Is the YouTube App have some bug or BSNL Penta tab is have some issues in it?
YouTube is the must app in any Tab as it gives everything you want from big screen.
Can anybody please tell me how to fix these issues?

Are you missing a video decoder? That is the only thing I can think of that springs to mind.

@t0mm13b But i suppose YouTube ships these video decoder with application only. BTW where to find video decoder for that then?

Yeah that seems odd... I remember having the exact same issue however I figured out that it was the Downloaded FireWall application (great app to control your Data Usage btw) just "DENYING" access to the media component from within YouTube.
See if you got such apps around your system?? (the firewall suggestion is basically for rooted phones)

It happens when your device is running out of storage or have little to no free storage left for the video to stream. That is why YouTube is only streaming the audio.
It has happened to me a lot of times. Go to your device's settings and clear the device cache and restart your device. It should start working then.


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How big of a speed difference will be noticed with a 100-200 MHz overclock?
I am going to overclock my 600 MHz to around 700-800+. Nothing too big of a jump, and don't need any help either. The question I'm concerned about is what kind of performance does this slight speed increase yield?
Will it make any big difference that can be noticed? Note that this is simply overclocking the CPU and changing nothing else with my configuration in idle.
I have heard some argue that raising clock speed alone doesn't really guarantee better performance, since microarchitecture and bus speeds are what determines ultimate performance.
For example, on Super N64 emulator I am getting like 7 frames per-second running Super Mario 64 on my current 600 MHz. Will the increase make any immediate difference? How can this be properly estimated by incremental clock speed, etc.? Will some apps run faster, will more background apps do their job better, will I execute/boot faster, etc.?
Basically, I want to know what to expect within the range of aforementioned clock speed increase.

You will have to experiment, performance wise, it will get unstable beyond the threshold, push it too far, will have CPU overheat, battery overheat and random reboots and weird hardware glitches... just don't expect miracles on this ARMv6 over-clocking. BTW to point out something - and don't need any help either yet post this question, to be frank, it sounds rude and obnoxious!

It's impossible to tell, the effect of overclocking varies depending on the specific software and hardware.
However it likely won't make any notable difference if you're only getting 7fps in a game. Overclocking is highly unlikely to make an unplayable game improved to the point where the game becomes playable, except in very rare circumstances such as with games that have a speed budget to decide whether to frame skip and your phone is just barely below the budget which causes it to consistently frame skips and the extra processing power manages to push it to be consistently below the budget.

some argue that raising clock speed alone doesn't really guarantee better performance, since microarchitecture and bus speeds are what determines ultimate performance.

Performance is a complex thing, but one thing for sure is that CPU is rarely the bottleneck in many applications. Booting, for example, is IO bound, the bottleneck of booting is how fast it can marshal data from the persistent storage to RAM.
In short, you'll have to try it yourself.


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Galaxy s4 watchon app
How can removed Samsung watch on from notification area? This app still standby in my notification area and don't move!


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Unable to see all folders on Moto G using FTP
I have set up an FTP server on my Moto G, and I'm trying to copy (music) files from my laptop (running Ubuntu 12.04) using FileZilla.
I understand that user data appears in the /data folder, but when I try to open this folder, FileZilla says
Response:   150 Directory listing for data/
Response:   550 Requested action not taken.  does not exist, not a directory or insufficient rights
Error:  Failed to retrieve directory listing

Is your phone rooted?

@eldarerathis No, it isn't.

You won't be able to index /data without root, but you shouldn't need it to copy music over anyway. Can you access an /sdcard or /storage/emulated location via the FTP server?

Thanks. I'm now able to access the Music folder through Filezilla. Though I wonder why it keeps getting disconnected every time I try to transfer one or more files. It takes a long time to start up also. The network I am on is pretty fast but.

I faced the same problem, but I launched filezilla from Terminal using sudo:
sudo filezilla

It works fine.

What's the point of launching it via terminal?

You need not launch using terminal, u need to launch it through root user or administrator in windows. Terminal is the convenient for me to do.


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old phone contacts and e mail
I had a android phone a while back an i sync it to my gmail so i could save contacts.but being its been so long and i'm not sure of the g mail account will i still have the contacts there if i can remember or find the right gmail account and will i be able to move them to my new phone even though i'm with a new company? i tried contacting old cell company to ask them for help and still no reply.

Yup. If your contacts were successfully synced with your Google Account you can easily move them to your new phone using the same Google Account. Any Android phone from any company can be used to restore the accounts synced with your Google Account.


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How can I track my location and phone logs?
As an experiment, I would like to track the following things:

Location
Phone logs
Text messages

I have a Nexus 4 running KitKat (CyanogenMod, rooted), and I would prefer to export to CSV or something.
Thoughts?

Yeah. Some NSA app, uh, sorry, child-protecting monitoring supervisor app like Parental Control Board might do that. But probably not export to CSV...

@Izzy hey, that might work.

What's your actual question?

If it works for you, let me know, so I make it a "full-fledged answer"! I've never tested that app myself, though (but I have a bunch of others in my can, too ;)

@DanHulme "How can I export my call log, SMS log and location history to $format-i-can-use".

@Izzy we shall see, but I just installed it and I'm pretty impressed with the amount of data it's giving me. Location, SMS, calls and app installs/uninstalls. Fits the bill!

As you say it "fits the bill", I've made it an answer – so you can decide if it "fully fits" (and "accept" the answer), at least proves very helpful in your context (and upvote it), or both :)

Android itself has no such features built-in (at least none I know that are accessible to the customer). But there are monitoring apps available targeted at "child protection", which can do most of the things you asked for. One example would be Parental Control Board:

Parental Control: Position tracking (source: Google Play; click images for larger variants)
From the app's description:

Parents can track all movements of their children in real time from web or from their own devices. At any point of time it is possible to get precise kid’s location.
Parents can controls all calls made and received by their children, as well as all SMS messages, and set up Black Lists or White Lists of phone numbers for incoming and outgoing calls and messages.

Additional to your requested items, the app can also be used to lock apps not-to-be-used, and more. Not having used it, I cannot tell whether data can be exported to CSV, though.


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Android Google Play Hangs
When ever i download an app from google play my entire UI is stuck until i press back
button. Is it a device problem ?

I don't see this in some other devices but seen in some also.
Persistent issue is in Micromax A68 and Nexus 4. Since its an inbuilt application how can i fix this issue.