text:
How to deal with sporadic WiFi
As I zip down Broadway in a bus in Vancouver, I pick up a ShawOpen WiFi signal every few hundred feet.
Sometimes, at a stop, or during slow moving traffic, this is enough signal to start a page load or download.
But, when leaving the range of the signal, and dropping back to cellular data, whatever what was going on hangs.
Is there a no-effort way to avoid this? I would prefer to not have to turn off my WiFi when I'm on a bus and then reactivate it when I'm off of the bus. I'd prefer to use the WiFi when it is stable, but if not, it should just stop attempting to use this fleeting signal for a while.
Things I've thought of:

NFC triggers (but don't think there is any NFC on TransLink busses)
multipath TCP (but I can't tell that this is ready for compilation into a custom ROM)

Maybe there is another option I haven't thought of.
I am on CyanogenMod latest for the Note 3.

How about disabling auto-connect for ShawOpen networks?

Couldn't you decide to do the simplest thing that can be done?!
Just go to Settings -> Wi-Fi -> Advanced and tick the "Avoid poor Internet connection" voice...
This way your device will stop using weak WiFi connections ;)

I've found that feature to be unreliable for the use-case the asker described. Once Android sees an AP with a "good" signal, it will try to stay connected to that network even if you move out of range. Android also has problems if an access point's signal strength fluctuates  between "poor" and "good". I look forward to the Android "L" release, which claims to offer "seamless network switching".

Unfortunately most mobile clients are not the greatest at WiFi roaming. Don't get me wrong, they will roam but given the conditions you are describing WiFi will not be stable. This is why your phone will connect intermittently but still try to hang onto the connection despite you on the bus moving away from it. If there is no better access point for your phone to connect to it will most likely hang onto the bad connection until its physically not possible for your phone to transmit and receive data from the original access point. Unfortunately there is no built in WiFi auto on/off. You are on the right track with NFC triggers.
My advice:
Use tasker or some other profile setting control application to turn your wifi off automatically when signal is low.
Use an NFC tag to turn on your WiFi with a simple tap.
You may be able to have WiFi turned off based off of your location change but that may defeat the purpose as your location will have to be on the whole time which will sap your battery. However if battery is not a concern this may be the closest thing. So if you get on a bus, your location service on the phone will recognize you are on not stationary, which will then turn off your WiFi. Not sure about turning on.
As far as I know this is probably the closest you can get to a no-effort wifi automation.
Personally I just turn my WiFi off unless I know there is something stable to connect to. Any voip or streaming application will just suffer without a stable connection so I rely on my network at that point.

authors: ارب ستى مبرك


text:
Success in sharing internet connection with desktop PC. How to access web server on port 80?
I have a situation at home, the room where I have my desktop PC, router, printer, etc is being remodeled so I moved my PC to another room. Now the PC is far away from the router but it will be only for a couple of days. The PC do not have any WiFi adapter so I'm using my Android phone to share the Internet connection.
The problem is that I need to access the web server running in the desktop PC from others devices connected to the same router. I usually do it by using http://192.168.2.4 from the other devices. Obviously this does not work now.
Additional info that may be useful:

The PC running a web server has Linux Ubuntu 14.04 as OS.
This PC has adb installed. adb detects this phone.
This PC sees its own IP as 192.168.42.35, the url http://192.168.42.35 works but only from the same PC.
This PC, according to nmap, sees the Android phone as 192.168.42.129.
This PC can ping the others devices by the same IPs as before (192.168.2.x)
The others devices cannot reach this PC.
Router seems to have assigned 192.168.2.100 to the Android phone. The url http://192.168.2.100 does not connect to the web server. http://192.168.42.35 obviously does not work (from the other devices), but I tried anyway.

Update:
It seems I almost there. It's not perfect but, using an app called "Port Forwarder" seems possible. The only gotcha is that you cannot forward ports requiring root privileges (and my device isn't rooted anyway). So I will have to conform with 8080 to 80 mapping, but it's better than nothing.
I will share the steps needed to accomplish this If I success.

The way Android shares your internet connection is by acting as a modem. That way it creates a independent network with its own IP address pool. I think it's also not easy to pass a specific port through your phone to your PC.

But is it possible to do at all? Maybe using adb to configure something in the phone?

I know there is a way to do it, but I can't remember how to do it.

The port forward app you mention won't port below 1024.
The app you require is TCP Port Fowarding. It is installed in Android. You can use it with USB adb to setup a VPN. It also is ran from user-space and root is not required.

I will try it and report back the results.

Lamentably that app crash as soon as I tap on "Begin". The other "Port Forwarder" seems to do its job but for some reason connection to my web server is very unstable, the pages never finish loading. While internet browsing is ok.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Suddenly no data can be written to SD Card from PC (MTP), read Ok, Galaxy Ace 4. What to do?
It is not a filesystem error as I tried to install a different SD Card to see if it is possible to copy files to it, same behavior, can read, not write.
There are plenty of free space in SD card. 32 GB total, like 20 or more free.
The problem is reproducible in two operating systems, Windows XP SP3 (Desktop computer), Windows Vista 32 bits (Toshiba Laptop). Right now I don't have access to other systems.
I don't think that this is related to the problem of some apps not being able to write to SD Card. What I'm trying to do is copy files from Windows PC to Samsung Phone SD Card.
In PTP mode Win XP does not even display the content of the SD Card (this is known problem in XP). In MTP mode, It displays it, allows me to copy from phone to PC, but If I try to copy from PC to Phone, the copy stalls indefinitely and no single byte is copied, not even the file created.
In Win XP, Event Viewer shows this message:
Event ID: 15200

MTP USB Driver has cancelled the operation 0x9808

I didn't check Vista Event Viewer yet but I think the same event will appear.
I tried installing Samsung Kies and Samsung Smart Switch, as they install drivers, and then with Windows Explorer again, same situation.
I also Removed Avast from phone and disabled Avast in Win XP. Same result.

Can you try with Windows 7? Have you rebooted the phone before connecting it again?

I own a Win 7 desktop but I do not have access to it right now. I can try tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. I will update question with the result. And yes, I tried to reboot the phone.

Do you have a USB Mass storage mode? If you do, try using it.

USB pen drive works ok in either computer. USB hard drive works ok. The Ace 4 does not have mass storage as an option, only PTP and MTP. My old Speadtrum phone has mass storage by default and works ok, but I cannot use mass storage with the Ace 4, it would be perfect if I could.

This might be a simple problem of a write protection or permissions issue. Take a backup of your SD card and format the SD card. This may reset the permissions and you will be able to write into the SD card

I tried to install another SD card to see if the same problem occurs. And yes, the same problem. So I don't think that will work. But I will try it anyway. I will update question if it works.

I had the same problem as yours and it worked like a charm for me

The USB cable was defective in my case.
I turned off all the unnecessary USB ports but saw no change. When I changed USB cable and restarted the machine, the problem resolved.

This looks like the Windows driver function timeout error. What you can try:

Open device manager.
Find your device under "portable devices"
Uninstall the device.
Reboot PC and reconnect the device.
Allow the device to install again and check if it works now.
If it doesn't, try installing the Google USB driver for the device.

This answer looks promising. Give me some time and I will try that. Also the Google USB driver.

I have same problem with S3.
So far work perfelctly.I copy files to phone internal RAM without problem.
There was no change on the computer,only install splashtop streamer util.
And install apk to phone.(Possible infected exe and apk files?)
now:
Copy files from phone works.
Copy files to phone not works+ MTP connect crash,need reconnect the phone.
Copy little files 200kb to phone works.(2mb not works)...1xGb free
I reset the phone then works fine, one 1,6mb file copy completed then again came out the malfunkction.
but i not clear cache.
Possible android virus?

I've seen this issue solved before by removing the phone from Windows device manager. Then use Add Hardware to bring it back, but don't let it automatically add it. Instead select Choose Device from List.  Then don't choose PTP or MTP, but chose USB mass storage device. I know your device does not have a mass storage mode, but this has worked on other similar devices.

Confirm that I understood correctly. You want me to remove the device from Device Manager on Windows. Then connect the phone and when windows is installing it, cancel, then choose manually a USB mass storage driver? Can such a thing be done?

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


text:
Convert Android File Transfer to USB Removable Device in Lollipop
I have a ASUS Zenfone2 Laser 500KL whose configuration are 8Gb Internal, 2gb RAM, QuadCore Processor and Android Lollipop 5.0. For some days, i am using the phone but i don't like the file transfer system from phone to PC by USB. Some folders doesn't appear when i open it on Windows but appears on phone when i access. It also appear when i connect SD card by Card Reader to the PC B but not by this file system.
When i connect the phone to PC in MyComputer this appears.

Here to my question, i want to convert Portable Media Player to USB Mass Storage Removable Device by disabling this PC Suite and showing Portable Device. Can anyone help me how to do so?

Another Similar Question: How to connect my Lollipop device via USB in Mass Storage Mode

@GokulNC Well, as it is mentioned in that answer that it wouldn't be possible practically if your device doesn't support USB Mass Storage but why some of the folders not appearing on Windows that are visible on my Android phone..The missing folders only show when i connect the Sd card from a card reader?

Afraid there's no possibility that way. But there might be alternatives, see e.g. my list Manage your Android Device from your Computer.

Folder not appearing issue can be solved easily. I, Izzy and one other user have relevant answers on Is there a viable alternative to MTP for file transfer?


text:
Xperia Z2 (Kikat 4.4.4) - STAMINA mode does not work?
STAMINA mode does not work on my Xperia Z2 - Kikat 4.4.4 (latest version)
I found a discussion in this
https://talk.sonymobile.com/t5/Xperia-Z2/Xperia-Z2-Stamina-mode-doesn-t-work-aparently/td-p/793097?sl=y&sso_no_log=y
but I can not find "Eco mode controller" in Apps list.
Anyone has any ideas? Thanks!

This has happened twice since last Wednesday. Thankfully, I know how to fix it but not cure it.

Go into the app settings and scroll down to Stamina Mode
Force Stop the app
Clear the data
Reboot the phone

I have had to do it just now for the second time since 4.4.4 and it is a software issue. It ran for 12 hours with stamina mode at 98% to 5 days 4 hours after clearing the data and rebooting.

I think they renamed the Eco mode controller app with the 4.4.4 update to Stamina mode...  So scroll down until you find that app. Take note of the estimated days and hours before you force stop, clear cache and restart your device.
activate stamina mode again after boot and note the change in estimated days and hours.
Hope this helps!


text:
Use adb before screen unlock
I'm kinda in an argument here and I want a definite answer
On any device I've used, adb can't be used before I unlock my screen. I'm being told it can, you just can't access storage
So can adb be used before screen unlock, or is it OEM dependent?

I have used adb on both Nexus 6 and OnePlus 6 with screen lock on and screen off. Are you sure this is not about granting authorisation to the RSA fingerprint dialog? Because that requires unlocking the screen. Which device is it?

@Firelord I've tested with Moto g6, g7, and Alcatel tetra, and Samsung Galaxy j3 Luna pro. I know once I've unlocked once after attach to the PC and activate adb, it'll continue working. Just if the screen is locked on plugging it in (eg just booted) it won't work (I think)

It works here in OnePlus 6 even when encrypted, restarted, and the decryption password not entered. Probably OEM dependent, but let's wait for others to chime in.

@Firelord ok. Seems to be mostly flagship models that can use adb on a locked screen so far

On my Sony XA2 (Android 9 with FBE), adb also works directly after reboot (before SIM card and device unlock). Of course before I enter the device unlock PIN the files (e.g. on /storage/emulated/0) are still FBE encrypted.

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


text:
Clock speed of Adreno 509
I'm sorry if this if off topic but I don't know a better place to put it, after it's a GPU used in Android device
My ROM maintainer has capped it at 430 mhz on the Moto z3 play. I distinctly remember it being 830 on stock, and I know the 506 clocked at 652 mhz and why would a better gpu have a much lower speed
So once and for all: what is the max clock speed of the Adreno 509?

According to Wikipedia, the "stock" clock for Adreno 509 (Snapdragon 636 SoC) is 720 MHz.
But keep in mind that this "stock clock frequency" on Wikipedia is the "stock" defined by Qualcomm, and it's extremely common that phone manufacturers define a different (higher or lower) "stock" clock for chips.
For Moto Z3 Play, the "Lenovo stock" frequency is 850 MHz, as can be seen on their website.
I have not been able to find a "max speed" of this particular GPU, probably because my Google-fu isn't powerful enough.

Very thorough, thanks for the answer

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


text:
Can't show the content of /sdcard of my Android phone from Ubuntu's Nautilus or FileZilla via sftp
I set up a ssh server on Android using SSH Server by Ice Code App.

Settings of ssh server:   https://i.sstatic.net/ZlbzJ.jpg
https://i.sstatic.net/b1X4i.jpg https://i.sstatic.net/CgT4d.jpg
Settings of ssh user t: https://i.sstatic.net/DHxMT.jpg https://i.sstatic.net/efqVA.jpg

After upgrading from Android 4.3 to 4.4.2,

sftp from Nautilus or FileZilla in Ubuntu to Android can't read or write the content of /sdcard any more.
But ssh and scp from terminal in Ubuntu can still read, write and transfer files in /sdcard.

I connect  using the same ssh user t in sftp from Nautilus, and ssh and scp from terminal, although why is the ssh prompt  u0_a116@C6730 rather than t@c6730?
If they indeed use the same ssh user, why is there  the difference in read permission?
In ssh to Android, I see the read, write and excecution permissions for "others" users are not allowed:
u0_a116@C6730:/ $ ls -l
...
lrwxrwxrwx root     root    1970-01-11 17:07 sdcard -> /storage/sdcard0
...

u0_a116@C6730:/sdcard $ ls -l
drwxrwx--- root     sdcard_r          1980-01-01 00:00 Alarms
drwxrwx--x root     sdcard_r          2015-07-22 08:05 Android
drwxrwx--- root     sdcard_r          2015-08-18 22:41 Cardboard
drwxrwx--- root     sdcard_r          2015-08-20 19:40 DCIM
drwxrwx--- root     sdcard_r          2015-08-29 21:22 Download
...

I guess my ssh user t belongs to the "other" group. but don't know how to confirm that. I couldn't add the permissions:
u0_a116@C6730:/sdcard $ chmod -R a+r Download/
Bad mode

What does the "Bad mode" error mean?
What are some solutions?

Can I change file permissions on Android directly?
Do I need root? But I heard that rooting my device Kyocera Hydro Icon with Android 4.4.2 isn't possible due to locked bootloader?
Can I downgrade Android from 4.4.2 to 4.3?
Can I upgrade my ssh user account to be one level above "others", so as to have write and read permissions? Do I need root? Will that solve the problem, given the difference in read permissions between sftp from Nautilus and ssh and scp from terminal under the same ssh user?

I found a discussion at http://forum.xda-developers.com/google-nexus-5/general/sdcard-problems-upgrading-android-t2938749
, where the suggestions seem to require root,  right?
Thanks.

@Firelord: it is android problem. It denied the permissions of read and write for "other" users to the files in /sdcard. But I can't change that, is it because of the upgrade of Android from 4.3 to 4.4.2? Thanks for catching the typo. See my update.


text:
Understand the storage of my phone?
(I just updated my post to clarify my questions. Hope that can help to make myself clearer.)
My phone is Kyocera Hydro Icon with Android 4.3.

The website where I bought the phone says

Memory
Internal: 8GB, 1.5GB RAM

The 1.5GB RAM isn't part of the 8GB "internal", correct?
On my phone, I go to Settings -> Device -> Storage which says:

Are "internal storage" and "phone" two partitions (and thus two file systems)? If yes, what are their mounting points (directories), or how can I find out their mounting points?
Both "internal storage" and "phone" store "Apps (app data & media ...)". What are the differences between the apps stored on the two places?
Where are the firmware and OS (Android) stored in my phone, "internal storage", "phone", or somewhere else?
The total space of "internal storage" is 4.42GB, and the total space of "phone" is 1GB. But the website says I have 8GB "internal".
Is it correct that there are still 8 - 4.42 - 1 = 2.58GB left?
Has the remaining 2.58GB been used to store some files? If yes, what files are stored there, or how can I find it out?
Is the remaining 2.58GB a partition (and thus a file system)? What is or how can I find out its mounting point?
Output of Diskinfo (under the expert setting, unmounted and other partitions checked)

The sum of the listed partitions' sizes is (800+643)MB + 4.5GB + 1GB = 1.41GB + 4.5GB + 1GB = 6.91GB, which is still smaller than 8GB "internal" given by the shopping website.
Output of df
 $ df
Filesystem               Size     Used     Free   Blksize
/dev                   672.6M   128.0K   672.5M   4096
/sys/fs/cgroup         672.6M    12.0K   672.6M   4096
/mnt/asec              672.6M     0.0K   672.6M   4096
/mnt/obb               672.6M     0.0K   672.6M   4096
/system                786.5M   768.0M    18.5M   4096
/data                    4.4G     3.6G   802.9M   4096
/cache                 632.1M    25.7M   606.4M   4096
/persist                 7.8M     4.8M     3.0M   4096
/firmware               64.0M    56.9M     7.1M   16384
/sysprop                 7.8M     6.0M     1.9M   4096
/carrier                19.6M     4.0M    15.6M   4096
/mnt/media_rw/sdcard0: Permission denied
/mnt/secure/asec: Permission denied
/storage/sdcard0         1.9G   170.4M     1.7G   32768
/mnt/media_rw/sdcard1: Permission denied
/storage/sdcard1      1023.7M   825.6M   198.1M   16384

The sum of the file systems' sizes is (672.6*4 + 786.5 + 632.1 + 7.8*2 + 64 + 19.6 + 1023.7)MB + 4.4GB = 5.11GB + 4.4GB= 9.51GB (note I convert from a MB value to a GB value by dividing MB value by 1024. I also didn't add /storage/sdcard0 into the sum , which is for the external SD card). It is greater than 8GB "internal" shown by the shopping website. Why is that?
The sizes of /system, /cache and /data given by df are 786.5M, 632.1M and 4.4G, while the sizes of System,  Cache and Data (userdata) given by Diskinfo are 800MB, 643MB and 4.5GB. why do they not match? (The size of /storage/sdcard1 given by df and the size of SD card (internalstorage) given by Diskinfo match. )

Thanks.

@Firelord: thanks. I have updated the pictures.

Note: this is a partial answer.

The 1.5GB RAM isn't part of the 8GB "internal", correct?

Correct. RAM is not considered part of internal storage, so it is not part of 8GB storage space.

Are "internal storage" and "phone" two partitions (and thus two file systems)? If yes, what are their mounting points (directories), or how can I find out their mounting points?

In your device, yes, they are two separate partitions. However, the terms shown in your device are confusing. Phone is also part of Internal storage. In my device, the Internal storage is listed as Phone Storage and Phone is listed as Internal SD card.
(Note: the trend nowadays is to have a single userdata partition and a completely logical internal SD card partition. See the related info: Confused by the many locations of the virtual /sdcard/ )
Often, the Internal Storage (which here implies the userdata  partition mounted at /data) is formatted with EXT4 filesystem and Phone (which here implies the Internal SD card) is mounted under /storage/ usually, but not limited to, at /storage/sdcard1. This partition may either be formatted with EXT4 filesystem or  a variant of FAT filesystem. You can check the filesystem type by issuing the command
mount | grep -e /data -e /storage/sdcard

Dummy output

/emmc@usrdata /data ext4 rw,nosuid,nodev,noatime,discard,noauto_da_alloc,data=ordered 0 0
/dev/block/vold/179:8 /storage/sdcard1 vfat rw,dirsync,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime,uid=1000,gid=1015,fmask=0702,dmask=0702,allow_utime=0020,codepage=cp437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,utf8,errors=remount-ro 0 0

Next to /data and /storage/sdcard1 (the mount points) here is the filesystem.
You can also see the filesystem by tapping the particular partition entry in DiskInfo.

Both "internal storage" and "phone" store "Apps (app data & media ...)". What are the differences between the apps stored on the two places?

As per the info here, an app will always have its private data saved inside the Internal storage (under /data/data) regardless of the app  being installed under Internal or External Storage.
For finer details, see answers for Installing to SDCard by default and Where in the file system are applications installed?
If the device supports USB Mass Storage for data transfer, once it is activated all the apps installed in the external storage would be unavailable for usage. This is a major difference between the two types. The other one pertains to available space. Internal storage compared to External storage, cannot be replaced or upgraded.

Where are the firmware and OS (Android) stored in my phone, "internal storage", "phone", or somewhere else?

Android OS is stored under System partition and is mounted at /system. All the rest of the  partitions  (excluding External storage and tmpfs mount points) are accounted for what you can refer to as firmware.

Now the important stuff. For DiskInfo, 1GB=1024MB (per this answer).
Considering all the screenshots of DiskInfo, my calculation gives me 1803MB, 5.5GB and 512KB. Using 1024 units as a base, the grand total is 1803*1024*1024 + 5.5*1024*1024*1024 + 512*1024 = 7,796,686,848 bytes.
As per Gigabyte wiki article (further confirmation), for storage 1GB=1,000MB and not 1,024MB which is often used only for memory, such as RAM. Therefore, the size of your overall ROM in bytes is 8GB = 8*1000*1000*1000 = 8,000,000,000 bytes.
The difference here is of 203,313,152 bytes or 193.9MiB or 203.3MB.
It is something that I'm unable to figure out even when all the partitions and their sizes are listed here. Perhaps somebody else might!

How do you find the size of the RAM of an Andorid phone? Is the RAM of a Andorid phone not changeable?

To find size of RAM you can use an app from Play Store which shows specs of your device. You can also use the following command to see size of RAM: adb shell free -h. RAM cannot be changed or upgraded. It is soldered into the motherboard in mobile phones.

They say 8gb storage since it looks cool, the true applicable size is smaller (i have 32gb Nexus 5 yet i have only 27gb free storage according to file manager) - same goes with any Flash disk you buy.
(if I am not wrong its because of the difference between GB and Gb)
Anyway you have 1gb of internal storage which is part of the 8 gb space and is used for apps and its data. The rest (4gb) is internal storage for any kind of data / files.

No, the 1.5 GB of RAM is not part of the 8 GB internal. Your internal memory is used to store your apps and files until you decide to delete them. Your RAM is used to store your apps and files temporarily WHILE you run them.
(and 3) I'm not so sure about where your OS is stored.
Most (if not all) storage devices have a deficit of that sort. Storage manufacturers usually count disk space as if (1 GB = 1,000,000,000 bytes), rather than the real value of (1 GB = 1073741824 bytes). Because of this, your drive will only have about 7.45 GB of usable space. (8,000,000,000/(1024*1024*1024))GB. Your OS will also use some of the space that is inaccessible by you, which is why you have only about 5.4 GB of usable space.
Your Phone and Internal are probably two partitions. I don't see any Apps and Appdata on your Phone partition. I assume Internal Storage is being used for  the phone's activities, while Phone is being used for your activities (The things you download, your photos, et cetera)

Android OS is stored in /system and the associated user data under /data. The phone partition with 1GB size is the internal SD card mounted at /storage/sdcard1. The problem is that the OEM has used conflicting terminologies. By default, internal SD card (phone here) should be listed as a\ part of internal storage.

authors: الهرم للاتصالات هرم جيبول


text:
Can't connect to wifi again after connecting to mobile network
My Android is 4.4.
Sometimes when I leave home, my phone changes from connecting to my home wifi to connecting to its mobile network.
When I arrive a place with wifi, e.g. an office or back to my home again, my phone sometimes can't connect to wifi, although sometimes it can. When the problem happens,  I refresh the wifi networks detected by my phone, and disable and enable the phone's wifi, but both doesn't solve the problem.
For my phone to connect to wifi again, my solution is to restart Android.
Is there a solution without restarting Android? For example, can I disable and then enable, and restart wifi connection?
Thanks.

Does it show WiFi names when you refresh?

@Vivek   it shows names of all the WIFI networks that it has connected to before, whether they are in range or not, even before I refresh it.

@Brian Kyocera Hydro Icon. I don't know which update.


text:
Why does installing applications freeze my DroidX running Froyo 2.2?
I noticed recently that installing any applications caused my Droid X (Stock rooted Froyo 2.2) to freeze for a while - I mean completely freeze, can't go to home screen or pull down Notification bar or anything.
It may possibly be correllated time-wise with installing Lookout Security app, but I am not certain if the time matches.
This seems to be 100% unrelated to a specific installer application I use, but I haven't conclusively ruled it out.

Could this plausibly be caused by Lookout? If so I'll try to un-install it to verify
If it's caused by Lookout, are there any suggestions for making this less painful? I was thinking along the lines of loweing "nice" priority for Lookout scanner process somehow if Android allows that, being based on Linux.
If not Lookout, what else could it possibly be and what troubleshooting steps can I take short of flashing back to SBF and trying to install my apps again from backup?

Details:

Rooted Stock Froyo 2.2 on DroidX.
Source of installation is irrelevant (Android Market, or Amazon Market, or GetJar). I didn't test SD/Dropbox APK installs, but fairly certain that they are freezing as well.
I have several installer apps available, but default to stock one. I don't know how to un-default it to test if it's a specific installer.
As noted, I have Lookout Security running, set to scan any installed .apks.
It is possible that the freezing didn't happen or was much quicker before I installed it, but I don't have proof. Also, installing NUMEROUS updates of Lookout didn't affect the freezing.
Freezing is 100% independent on what else is running - I can kill 100% of non-Market apps and the freezing will still happen with almost full memory available
Freeze period seems to be correllated to .apk size, but I don't have a firm proof. Usually lasts between 30 secs and 2 mins.
This seems to be NOT related to having to start other apps (e.g. Amazon Market/GetJar) that are started by "Application Installed"/"Application changed" intents, since the freeze happens for EVERY app installed among several, not just the first one in a row.

I would definitely suspect Lookout.

Agree to Matthew. Lookout possible scan the apk if its malicious.

@Leandros - not possibly - it definitely scans. That's its main advertized functionality (well one I have enabled, at least). What I don't get is why it freezes the system so completely. PC antiviruses are usually able to scan files in background without fully blocking the OS

@DVK: A pc is way faster. :) And if you don't have a dualcore, multithreading is not very good supported.


text:
Samsung Galaxy S3 Aux Cord
I drive a 2007 Saab 93 without any bluetooth capabilities. I tried to play music with an aux cord and the car senses that my phone is connected but when I try to play any music my phone plays it through the built in speaker and not through the car stereo. I'm just wondering if there is a setting or anything that I need to do in order to play music?
Thanks.

The car senses the phone, but does the phone sense that there's something in the headphone jack?

Do normal headphones work? Is the "aux cord" a standard 3,5mm stereo plug or does it have a mic connector too?

I have found that the auxiliary jack on my S3 is pretty tight and even when the phone senses I've plugged something into it, I have to press it just a little harder, until I hear a "click" and the plug is flush to the phone (you should not be able to see any metal from the plug showing).  Once I do that, the sound stops playing through the phone's speaker.


text:
How do I open an .odt file?
I have received an .odt file and I wanted to know if it is possible to open it on my S3?  I need to be able to copy, paste, edit and view comments.
OS: 4.1.1
Galaxy S3

.odt stands for "OpenDocument Text", a format primarily used with OpenOffice and its derivates (StarOffice, LibreOffice, NeoOffice), but also supported (at least via filters) by other office suits, even Microsoft's. There are several viewers available for Android, but unfortunately no (free or cheap) editors – though the LibreOffice team is working on an Android version for over a year already.
You will find a list of Office suites for Android in my German Overview Office-Pakete und Text-Editoren (after all, for the list you don't need to know the language). I also marked those (partly) supporting OpenDocument formats, watch out for the keywords "OpenOffice", "LibreOffice", and "OpenDocument".
I have not tested them, but it seems there is one supporting reading and writing of OpenDocument formats: Office 2012: TextMaker Mobile (for texts), with separate apps for Calc and Presentation. Each of the apps is about USD 9, so they don't come cheap (compared to other Android apps). Coffice only supports reading those documents, but comes for free, same applies to OpenDocument Reader.

I've Documents to Go installed but it doesn't open .odt.

Going look at Office 2012.

No, D2G does not support OpenDocument; it can only handle MS stuff.

TextMaker allows you to open and edit .odt files and does a great job of it.  I paid $5.
.odt is the open document text format which is an open international standard, there are many other desktop programs that support this format that are not derived from OpenOffice such as Calligra Words, Abiword, Kingsoft Office etc.


text:
How to stop Play Store from auto-updating itself?
How can I stop Google play from automatically updating to the latest version? I tried deleting my hosts file but it's not being deleted. My phone is rooted.

@xavier_fakerat if Play Store is installed as user app or is updated at least once, try making its apk file immutable. If installd fails deleting existing file/directory, may be new one is not created. Or replace its privileged android.permission.INSTALL_PACKAGES with REQUEST_INSTALL_PACKAGES (though doesn't make much sense). Or disable SafeSelfUpdateService and EmergencySelfUpdateService components of Play Store app (though app it self can enable them any time). Never tried any of these. Also may cause app crash.

I tested disabling those 2 services through Apps2SD's App component manager, clicked on Update Play Store inside Play Store settings, and they remained disabled (Play Store didn't updatae).

Never mind, it did update the next day (and the services are still disabled according to Apps2SD).

In order to disable Google Play Store:

You must have version 4.8.2 installed (just replace it in /system/app with the new com.android.vending.apk).
Download a root service from the store called Disable service (again make sure root is installed and the app is given root permission).
Now, in the disable service app, navigate to the system app tab and find Google Play Store. Tap on it and you will get a list of services.
Scroll to the bottom and uncheck Check Wi-Fi and Update service.
You will see a Please wait notification, and at the bottom BusyBox should appear, notifying you that the app was given root access.
Exit the app and voila! Google Play Store will never update itself or Google Play Services ever again (unless you install a new version, in which case you would need to repeat the process).

Where can I find version 4.8.2?

First, you must have version 4.8.2 installed (just replace it in /system/app with the new com.android.vending.apk).
Instructions (from here):

Root, install SuperSU.

Install BusyBox, then terminal emulator.

Stop any Internet access on your Android, or it will silently auto-update Store, making your hard typing work useless.

Open Settings -> App manager and find Play Store. tap on it. It will open the properties window. There will be button Uninstall Updates. Tap on it, click Yes on Replace with factory version? question.

Because there is no Internet connection, this is the moment the Play Store couldn't be updated. Let's use it.

Open terminal emulator and type commands one by one:
su

(at this time SuperSU app will ask you for granting root access for terminal emulator app, click Grant access).
touch /data/app/com.android.vending-1.apk
chattr +i /data/app/com.android.vending-1.apk

Enjoy! Regardless of Internet connection, Play Store now has the version you need, not Google. This might work for Play Store 4.8 and up, but I didn't test it.

+1 The answer that actually works. Note that you may have to replace -1 with -2 if that already exists. (But don't go to -3!)

This will not solve the problem, because it will keep downloading the whole thing into a temp folder again and again and again...

Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.

A modified version of Stephen Schrauger's steps, based on the video here, since chmod +i returned an error on my phone. Tested on Android ICS (Cyanogenmod 9, Play Store 3.*).
Assuming a rooted phone:

Stop whatever Internet access on your Android or it will silently auto-update Play Store, making your hard typing work useless.
Open Settings → App manager and find Play Store. Tap on it. Tt will open properties window.
There will be button Uninstall Updates. Tap on it, click yes on "replace with factory version?" question.

Because there is no Internet connection, this is the moment the Play Store can't be updated. Let's use it.
Open Terminal Emulator and type the commands one by one:
su

At this time supersu app will ask you for granting root access for Terminal Emulator app, click grant access.
mkdir /data/app/com.android.vending-1.apk

Instead of creating a file and preventing modification with permissions it just creates a directory, which can't be overwritten by the updater.
Now you can re-enable the internet connection and it will not update unless the directory is deleted.

The ultimate guide to stop Play Store auto-updates on Android 10 & Lucky Patcher. My device: Xiaomi S2, Android 10, EU ported MIUI 12.0.8.
This guide assumes you have a custom recovery & Magisk installed. If not, then do it first. We're gonna go in 4 step process:

SELinux permissive:
First, go to Magisk manager & flash SELinux module. Follow the flashing instructions & set SELinux to permissive.

Uninstall the original Play Store:
Go to /data/app/com.android.vending folder (your device might have some random string name, so find the folder where Play Store is. It might be under the name base.apk/vending.apk/market.apk/playstore.apk), delete the folder using SD Maid app.
[Note: I tried a bunch of other file managers like FX File Manager, Xplorer, Root Browser, but for some reason they did not work.]

Delete the basic version of the Play Store from the system that automatically reinstalls: Using SD Maid, go to system/product/priv-app/Phonesky. This is the basic version, delete it.
[Note: If for some reason you are having trouble with steps 2 & 3, then go to your custom recovery mount system partition & follow these steps from the custom recovery.]

Now if you have a modded APK from Lucky Patcher, then place it in the Phonesky folder. If not, then install the modded Play Store from Lucky Patcher app. Take a backup of the modded Play Store using any backup app. Then place it in the Phonesky folder.
Go to app manager from settings to see if it has been installed as a system app. If you can uninstall from settings, then do it. It will automatically reinstall the modded version.
[Note: If Play Store still auto-updates, then repeat the process & then set the permission of Phonesky folder to r--r--r (444)

Flash SELinux Magisk module & set SELinux to Enforcing.

Play Store will never auto-update itself again & Lucky Patcher will start working on Android 10. This trick can also be extended to Android 9 & 11.

Some android apps depend on PlayStore and GooglePlayServices and therefore I would not advise to disable them. However, if the phone has ROOT (SuperSU or Magisk), it would be possible to mount system partition as Read/Write and modify the file /system/etc/hosts:
127.0.0.1 localhost
0.0.0.0 android.clients.google.com
0.0.0.0 android.googleapis.com
0.0.0.0 app-measurement.com
0.0.0.0 connectivitycheck.gstatic.com
0.0.0.0 dl.google.com
0.0.0.0 firebaseinstallations.googleapis.com
0.0.0.0 pagead2.googlesyndication.com
0.0.0.0 play.googleapis.com
0.0.0.0 play-fe.googleapis.com
0.0.0.0 play-lh.googleusercontent.com
0.0.0.0 r15---sn-n8v7kn7r.gvt1.com
0.0.0.0 r2---sn-n8v7knee.gvt1.com
0.0.0.0 r2---sn-n8v7znz7.gvt1.com
0.0.0.0 www.googleapis.com

This modification would prevent PlayStore from updating.

So which of these lines are actually responsible for blocking a Play Store update? It would be nice to post only related lines. Will this also block an update of Play Services?

I can't say for sure. I can only guess which lines are responsible for Play Store update. E.g  the GVT in the gvt1.com domain stands for Google Video Transcoding, and is used as a cache server for content and downloads used by Google services and applications. *.googleapis.com is related to Google APIs and responsible for authentication. *.googleusercontent.com is some kind of cache. pagead2.googlesyndication.com is AdSense and may not be related to Play Store update.

app-measurement.com is responsible for collecting statistics from android apps. connectivitycheck.gstatic.com is a beacon used to check if android phone is on wifi or not. The remaining lines android.clients.google.com and dl.google.com may be responsible for blocking Play Store and Play Services updates.

In the system folder there should be MarketUpdater.apk. If you delete that file, Play Store won't update itself anymore. Nothing else should be affected though.

I couldn't find that file, I think they've discontinued it some time ago.

I found another approach to Google Play Store based on its dependency on built-in Download provider:
chmod 551 /data/data/com.android.providers.downloads/cache
chmod 551 /data/data/com.android.providers.downloads/files

make it impossible to update both Store and other programs (including Google Play Services) in my Lolipop 5.0.1. When I need to update third-party programs, I run Store, then file manager (I use X-plore), change permissions of folders back to 771, install found updates, return to file manager and set permissions to 551 again, at the end I close the Store. Quite simple and very reliable - no background updates of the Store and Services for two months.


text:
I need to view the saved WiFi passwords on my non-rooted Android phone
I have an LG Optimus 7 (not-rooted), and all my WiFi passwords are there. I want to view the saved WiFi passwords to transfer thm to my new Samsung Galaxy S3, but I don't know how.
I tried to search on the Internet and Google play for an application that would allow me to view this information, but I can't find one. Is there any way for me to accomplish this?

That's not directly possible without compromising the security (aka. rooting), at least not via an app. Imagine an app to send your wifi passphrases elsewhere (besides showing you them).

(for others finding this via google) On MIUI there is a "tap here to share password" button in the WiFi settings. It shows a QR code that can be scanned with an app on another phone where it then shows the SSID and password.

This is not directly possible (as noted in the comment below your question).
You can let Google save them to their cloud:
Go to: Settings->Privacy and enable those two options:

Back up my data (Back up application data, Wi-Fi passwords, [...])
Automatic restore

Also, say yes when you're prompted if you want to Restore data during the first time set up of your new SGS3. If you've done the first time setup already withouth that option enabled, then maybe the Automatic Restore settings does it afterwards (not tried yet, though).

For an application to access WiFi credentials without root access, that app must be granted the permission android.permission.READ_WIFI_CREDENTIAL. That permission, however, requires an app to be a privileged or system level (part of Android image) app. If an app in your Android satisfies these conditions then you can ask its developer to add the potential functionality of revealing WiFi credentials to primary user through an update, as otherwise, I see no other way to view passwords without superuser access.


text:
What is "USB storage app" under Storage of App Info?
When I moved an app to the Storage Card on my HTC One V, I found some data moved to USB Storage App. The Storage Card is still showing not used. What's "USB storage app"? Why apps are not moving into the Storage Card, instead moving into the "USB storage app"?

Before moving the app to the storage card
(Click image to enlarge)

After moving the app to the storage card

Can you clarify what you mean by "The Storage Card is still showing not used"?  Are there no files on it?  If it's Android showing no used space, have you tried rebooting?

I uploaded two screenshots to clarify it.

I guess you have to read the "USB Storage App" as the USB storage used by the app itself. So the code of the application.
If your application would for instance start generating cache information, saved pictures etcetera. And if it would save that information on your Storage Card, then the information will be showed under Storage Card.
So under "App" and "Storage Card App" is only the information and code of the application itself, not the information or data it generates. So in most case these 2 numbers will not change over time. And then under "Data" and "Storage Card" information generated by the application can be found. Either on the Storage Card or the internal memory (depending on the application I guess). This is the information managed by the application (local databases etc), so this will probably change over time, depending on the application in question of course.
This is my interpretation of those 4 terms. And if I check for some applications I use, it looks like my interpretation is correct. It is certainly correct for the applications I created myself, so for these apps I know where what information is saved on the phone.

This is an excellent answer you gave. I think the user should accept this answer. The only part that puzzles me is why after moving the application from USB storage (internal memory) to SD card (external SD card), some of the code still remains under App (the code part of the application on internal storage). Is there some reason why some of the code could not be moved? Thanks.

@JohnSonderson I don't really know, but my guess would be that it is because you still need some kind of pointer to the external app part. So maybe the main class of the application remains and points to the other part of the application on the external storage. That way the internal workings of Android stay the same (they can just list all the applications on the internal file system), but some of the code is placed externally.

I have given it a second thought. Perhaps your interpretation is not entirely correct. Please see my answer below.

"USB storage" is the "internal" SD card i.e. the partition on the phone's internal memory that is treated like an SD card for general data storage.
"Storage card" is your actual physical microSD card.
The latter is where the stuff moved via "move to SD" or "move to storage card" gets put.
As for why it does this, Android's system for storing app stuff in user storage hasn't caught up with the concept of having more than one section of user storage.

@JohnSonderson - Are you sure your suggested edit is correct?  The last time I had a device running ICS, the "move to SD" function moved the app to the internal "SD card" partition, not to the actual SD card, as my answer currently states.  Is your edit reflecting the status of ICS (which this question is about) or a later version of Android?

The answer posted by @ndsmyter seems almost correct. The applications under Application manager -> SD CARD are those applications which can, at least in part, be moved to the SD card (and this happens where the checkbox next to the application's entry is checked). At first sight it may seem like "Application" and "SD card app" are for code on internal storage and on external storage, respectively, whereas "Data" and "SD card data" are for application data generated by the application on internal storage, and external storage, respectively.
However, upon further inspection I realized that on my Samsung Galaxy SIII I don't have an external SD card inserted, and despite this, while none of the applications listed under Application manager -> SD CARD have the SD card app field displaying anything but 0.00B, the example below, and many others, shows that SD card data is nonzero even though I don't have an SD card (click the image to enlarge):

So, the only thing I am able to conclude is that these values are not the number of bytes taken up by the application and its data on internal and external storage, but rather how the data would be distributed among these four locations should the user decide to transfer the application to the external SD card (and some portions would still need to reside on internal storage for technical reasons).
Also note that on my device the field names are different. What on the original poster's post is called USB storage app on my system is called SD card app, very confusing.

And just as confusing is the fact that when I change the UI language to Italian, what in English was called "SD card app" now becomes "SD card applications" (applications: plural), which means not even the people that localized the system could figure out what these fields represented.
Regards.

I don't think that because you have no external SD card, you don't have and external partition on your phone. Most phones use different partitions to seperate access to different parts on the system (that's the case on my phone). They are probably just talking about "SD Card" in case you do have an external SD card. The conclusion you've made is almost the same as mine, but how you get there doesn't seem completely correct to me. But it is indeed very confusing :-)

@ndsmyter, on my phone internal memory, referred to as USB storage in the user interface, is mounted on /mnt/sdcard (symlinked /sdcard), and there is also a /mnt/extSdCard directory which is empty, and I think is where the SD card would get mounted if I were to get mounted. Perhaps external SD card counts as USB storage as well, hence the field USB storage in the UI in the OP's post. There seem to be inconsistencies regarding how these fields are labeled across devices.

It seems to be the .android_secure folder on your SD card.

So "USB storage app" presumably manages encrypted/protected apps on the SD card?  Is there a way to have unprotected apps on the SD card?


text:
How to configure BlueStacks App Player to use Proxy settings when connecting to Network?
Bluestacks allows running of Android apps on Windows by emulating the Android OS image.
I recently installed BlueStacks_HD_AppPlayerPro (0.7.0.725) on Windows XP but was not able to download/install any apps because my network requires a proxy. It shows the following error:

I tried using ProxyCaps like freecap, but it did not work for me. How can I configure BlueStacks to use my proxy settings?

I don't know if it can help, but recently I have installed AMD AppZone (based on BlueStacks) and it works smoothly on my laptop behind a proxy, without no particular settings. Have you tested it? Maybe in a recent version they have fixed the problem.

The other answers are way out of date.
BlueStacks installations now includes a command-line utility HD-ConfigHttpProxy.exe to setup a proxy connection. I can't find documentation for this utility anywhere but it's pretty basic:

Using BlueStacks with a Proxy Server

Open BlueStacks. (It has to be open before running the utiity)
Open a Windows command prompt.

(eg. hit +R  →
type cmd → hit Enter )

Change to the BlueStacks program folder.

(eg. cd C:\Program Files\BlueStacks )

Run HD-ConfigHttpProxy.exe :

Usage:
     HD-ConfigHttpProxy.exe set <host> <port>      connect to specified proxy
     HD-ConfigHttpProxy.exe reset                  reset/stop using proxy

For example: HD-ConfigHttpProxy.exe set 123.45.67.890 4444

When prompted, close and re-open BlueStacks.

Alternatively, you can specify other proxy protocols by including it in the <host> in standard syntax.  For example, I used socks://localhost and my custom port number. It took a couple tries but it worked eventually.

To disconnect / reset BlueStacks proxy settings  :

Make sure BlueStacks is running
Open a command prompt
Run command: C:\Program Files\BlueStacks\HD-ConfigHttpProxy.exe reset
Close and re-open BlueStacks.

but using this method, requests from apps (apk) don't go through the proxy. only from the actual BlueStacks.exe does (like when you click the notification icon)

Setting the proxy worked for me.  Resetting the proxy did not.  I gotta reinstall it now, and it didn't cache the install files.

what version of bluestacks did you try this on? bluestacks 10 and 5 don't seem to have HD-ConfigHttpProxy.exe

Not working for C:\Program Files\BlueStacks\HD-ConfigHttpProxy.exe set 127.0.0.1 8888 while I use Charles as proxy

According to Bluestack employee Deepika Sharma:

Currently, we do not support proxy settings in BlueStacks App Player but will definitely consider it in our future release.

This information came from their help forum thread: No network access behind a proxy.

Alex Guerrieri answered stating that it was able to work around this issue using the application you've mentioned. I'm posting a solution here, as I don't know what you have tried:

I found a solution. I used proxycap to redirect Bluestacks through proxy (even with LDAP). You have to download and install the application, set your proxy and create a new rule for HD-Network.exe (found under Bluestack directory in %Program_Files%). It worked for me.

did you try Alex's solution? I tried using a program similar to proxycap, called freecap. But I still got a "Network Unreachable" error.

@akjain I didn't tried yet! My answer was the "not supported" part. I end up mentioning Alex steps to workaround this issue, since you haven't specified which steps you took to try a workaround. I'll give it a go and see if I can came up with a functional workaround.

I have being able to use BlueStacks on my network using cntlm + Proxifier. I use cntlm to authenticate on my proxy and Proxifier as a replacement for Proxycaps/WideCap. Proxifier lets you tunnel your socks connections through the cntlm proxy (http://proxifier.com/)

Use a VPN android app that supports proxy (e.g. AgoVPN) then connect to the VPN and you will access the internet in BlueStacks. I tested it in Bluestack 5 in Windows 10.


text:
How can I easily sort and rate images?
Is there an effective way to browse through loads of images on an Android tablet and rate and sort them easily?


text:
How to disable weather notifications from Google app?
I cannot find a way to disable weather notifications from Google app. Every a few hours I get in the notifications list "How it is like outside" - temperature and clouds.
I searched all over the place and couldn't find a way to disable that.

Open the Google app and press the menu button.
Settings => Google Now (click to the left of the toggle) => Scroll down and toggle the weather off

These notifications are still there in Google app, however, they are now not limited to weather. For instance, I was also getting traffic notifications. There are other categories like news, stocks and restaurant suggestions.
The feature is now called "Discover notifications" and is located in Settings -> Notifications -> Discover. There is a middle-ground option called "Data Saver" which is designed to save network traffic, but also results in the notifications being shown less frequently, if you still want to see them sometimes.

When you get the notification hold your thumb on it for a few seconds. Two  options will appear. Choose stop notifications.

Except, this will disable all notifications from Google app, if the reader is okay with it.

If this is from the Google app and not from the Assistant:

Click on it, you should get the Google app showing a weather search.
At the bottom right, click on the thee dots "... More" button.
Settings
Notifications (around the 2nd entry)
2nd entry, "Notifications (on)"
Now you have a list of active Google notifications. Just untick "Current weather conditions" (5th tick box on my phone).


text:
Location and how to recover cache from Google Chrome from an Android phone?
I'm wondering if it's possible to recover files from the Google Chrome cache from an Android phone, specifically, an HTC One S running Android 4.0.2.
I'm trying to recover the stylesheet from a site whose data has been partially lost, and of course this phone is the only device to have accessed it today before the crash.

Hi! I've made the question more generalized and removed the edit since it was an answer which doesn't belong in the question. Please post it as an answer. If you don't want to then let me know. I'll add a wiki answer then. Readers: here is the answer which was edited in the question earlier.


text:
Reinstall app removed via ADB
I removed 'MusicFX' via
adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 'musicfx package'

And now I'm having issue with playing Bluetooth media audio, so I thought maybe it's that
Can it be reinstall, maybe an ADB command? The APK is still in /system/priv-app, but trying to install from there won't work (says app not installed)

Try to install it using adb shell pm install /system/priv-app/PATH_TO_APK and note the error. If an error do shows up, try it again but also monitor logcat using adb  logcat -v long

Will do next time I have access to a pc

adb shell pm install-existing com.android.musicfx


text:
Prevent app from seeing installed apps
Is there any way, through settings or ADB, to prevent an app (that I installed) from knowing what other apps are installed?

AFAIK no. Not possible. One way is to use XprivacyLua Xposed module to activate this hook for that apo so that it doesn't see other apps

Also going with no as it might break Android. Android settings for example is an app, the launcher is an app, etc.

@CmosBattery ok it is a user installed app I don't want knowing what apps I have (nothing overly important either)

Android 13 Tiramisu (API Level 29) Will finally support this.
In the meantime I use multiple Android users or the Island / Knox apps.
Source: https://developer.android.com/reference/android/content/pm/PackageManager#getInstalledApplications(android.content.pm.PackageManager.ApplicationInfoFlags)


text:
Why isn't the unlock pattern working anymore?
A few days ago my unlock pattern was not recognized anymore. I'm guessing the cause is memory corruption or some bug.
I haven't restarted the device yet, hoping to "find" the new pattern or somehow bypass the screen lock.
The device is not rooted and "require PIN when device powers on" is disabled. Firmware is G950FXXS5DSJ1 build date Sep 30 2019.
It is encrypted:
> adb shell getprop | find "crypto"

[ro.crypto.fde_algorithm]: [AES-256-XTS-DISK]
[ro.crypto.fs_crypto_blkdev]: [/dev/block/dm-1]
[ro.crypto.fuse_sdcard]: [true]
[ro.crypto.state]: [encrypted]
[ro.crypto.type]: [block]

What I've tried
Google device manager - can only reset the device for non-enterprise accounts.
Samsung FindMyDevice - can change the PIN if enabled in the settings - disabled it for security reasons.
"Guessing" the PIN - I've tried feeding all the possible combinations to
adb.exe shell locksettings verify --old xxxxxx

The response is always "Old password 'xxxxxx' didn't match". Strangely, it's not throttling (tested the same method with an Android 10 device and immediately got "Request throttled"). Might be related to missing files (more below).
Looking at logs  - since ADB is working, I've tried looking at adb.exe logcat -b system, but have no idea what to look for.
Some  suspicious messages:
LockSettingsStorage: Cannot read file java.io.FileNotFoundException: /data/system/fmmpassword.key: open failed: ENOENT (No such file or directory)
LockSettingsStorage: Cannot read file java.io.FileNotFoundException: /data/system_de/0/spblob/xxxxxxxxxxxx.weaver: open failed: ENOENT (No such file or directory)

I understand /data/system_de/0/spblob/xxxxxxxxxxxx.weaver is used in the password verification.
Looking at /data/system/ some files might be missing (I've read that unlock data is stored in gatekeeper* files which I can't find, maybe because of insufficient permissions):
1|dreamlte:/ $ ls /data/system/
ls: /data/system//hdcp2_5386: Permission denied
ls: /data/system//users: Permission denied
ls: /data/system//container: Permission denied
ls: /data/system//ndebugsocket: Permission denied
ls: /data/system//secure_storage: Permission denied
ls: /data/system//.aasa: Permission denied
ls: /data/system//heapdump: Permission denied
HWParamTime.bin                 dropbox                       locksettings.db-shm         screen_on_time
SimCard.dat                     enterprise                    locksettings.db-wal         sensor_big_data.txt
WifiHistory.db                  enterprise.conf               log-files.xml               sensor_big_data_usage.txt
WifiHistory.db-journal          enterprise.db                 mobeam_big_data_usage.txt   sensor_service
analytics.db                    enterprise.db-journal         netpolicy.xml               shared_prefs
analytics.db-journal            enterprise.db-shm             netstats                    shortcut_service.xml
appops.xml                      enterprise.db-wal             notification_log.db         slice
audioservice_sec.db             enterprise_cacerts.bks        notification_log.db-journal slocation.db
audioservice_sec.db-journal     enterprise_nativecerts.bks    notification_policy.xml     slocation.db-journal
battery-saver                   enterprise_untrustedcerts.bks overlays.xml                slocation.db-se
batterystats-checkin.bin        enterprise_usercerts.bks      package-cstats.list         sound_model.db
batterystats-daily.xml          entropy.dat                   package-dex-usage.list      sound_model.db-journal
batterystats.bin                friends                       package-usage.list          startingwindow
big_data_sensor_usage_pkg.txt   gamemanager.db                package_cache               storage.xml
big_data_usage_call_gesture.txt gamemanager.db-journal        packages-warnings.xml       sync
cachequota.xml                  graphicsstats                 packages.list               timezone
clipboardimage.db               harmony_third_party_apps.xml  packages.xml                ucm_ca_cert
clipboardimage.db-journal       hcm_info                      packages.xml.mbak           uiderrors.txt
conventionalmode                hcm_info-journal              pda.db                      urigrants.xml
device_policies.xml             ifw                           pda.db-journal              usagestats
deviceidle.xml                  inputmethod                   pre_boot_csc.dat            watchlist_report.db
diskstats_cache.json            install_sessions              procstats                   watchlist_report.db-journal
display-manager-state.xml       install_sessions.xml          recoverablekeystore         watchlist_settings.xml
displaysolution.db              job                           recoverablekeystore.db      wifigeofence.db
displaysolution.db-journal      last-fstrim                   recoverablekeystore.db-shm  wifigeofence.db-journal
dmappmgr.db                     last-header.txt               recoverablekeystore.db-wal
dmappmgr.db-journal             locksettings.db               registered_ucm_services

What can I do to understand what happened?
Will restarting restore the pattern or cause even more problems?

Is there any possibility of this being a prank from a friend that was able to unlock your phone? That would be my first guess...

A Galaxy S8 on Android 9 should always be encrypted (by default). Why do you think it is not encrypted?

Some pointers on how to get around that can be found in Can not unlock my Android device as have no internet connection? – not sure which ones are still working, though.

@LeonardoAlvesMachado no way, as it worked the evening before, then when I woke up I got "Incorrect pattern drawn". The device was with me all the time.

@Robert I might be confusing internal storage encryption with something else. The phone was on Android 8 (encryption definitely not activated) and then I upgraded OTA to Android 9. On reboot, the phone starts without me having to enter the unlock pattern.

Hi @alecxs, I meant to say "internal storage is not encrypted" - edited the post to clarify. If it's incompatible with rooting, I wouldn't know.

@Izzy thanks for the suggestion, it's a really old post, mostly out of date or requiring root. Some suggestions I've already tried (updated the post accordingly).

@Robert I had activated internal data encryption manually years ago on a different S8 that was on Android 7 (I think), it was a lengthy process. On this device I didn't notice the encryption process when upgrading to Android 9. I remember though having an option in settings - "require PIN when device powers on" which is disabled.

Does this answer your question? Data recovery from encrypted phone based on glitches in the encryption?

I've restarted and /data/system/fmmpassword.key magically reappeared. I guess this is why unlock broke.
I'll post an answer with some info that if I had known at the beginning would have made this less of a pain and a time drain.
I've spent about a day only to figure out downloading from /storage/emulated/0 with adb. Thanks @Robert, @Izzy for sharing your expertise. @alecxs very informative and to the point   the shared presentation Android encryption vs Samsung's "I did it my way" was very interesting (and hilarious - SD card decryption key readable by the world facepalm).


text:
Lenovo tab 3 7" TB3-710F Android 5.0.1 won't start after installing wrong TWRP
Basically I wanted to root it and every TWRP I tried came up an error that the file was too big,. moments later I tried different versions..many other versions btw,, scaling down to the smallest in size was 2.0.1.2 I think..
Anyway, it got stuck in a bootloop for about 2 hours. Mind you the computer makes the beep everytime I connected it and reconnected, so I thought it's still alive. Now, it won't turn on and I've tried most of the method's to get it flashed but nothing even lights it up... brick
I have tried most XDA and Google without any possible fix.

Possible duplicate of ROOT Lenovo tab 3 7" TB3-710F Android 5.0.1. also to that's stuck in FASTBOOT MODE

I added it  it the notes with a link because they are different questions

the size of recovery partition is 16 MiB (hex 0x0000000001000000 = 16777216 bytes)

@alecxs Tried all that. I even tried different ADB commands. Error no device detected or waiting for device,...,........I even tried kingroot, to see if it would recognise anything...

Thanks for that really detailled answer, dear alecxs.. At first it didnt work because i had the wrong ROM , than i take the correct one , followed the tutorial really exactly from 1-20 and what should i say , i reanimated this Tablet which stucked in a bootloop a long while. Workes well now .. I struggled a little bit with Google Play Services which i cant update  but i kicked them after i rooted the tablet and reinstalled them manually again..
Thanks for this great tutorial

1 - download the latest ADB and Fastboot binaries
2 - install MediaTek MT65xx USB VCOM Preloader USB Drivers
 enlarge view
Note: This driver does only appear for less a second (and during flash/ readback) watch video
3 - install MediaTek SP Flash Tool
4 - install 7-zip
5 - download Stock ROM, extract it
6 - remove the checksum at end of (Stock ROM) MT8127_Android_scatter.txt (last two lines):
# [huaqin]
# checkSum = 0x0f5e

7 - open the (Stock ROM) MT8127_Android_scatter.txt file in SP Flash Tool -> Download
(and SP_Flash_Tool\MTK_AllInOne_DA.bin as Download Agent, if not already selected)
WARNING: Make sure not to "Format All + Download" devices with secure boot or flash using "Firmware Upgrade" option. This will damage/hard brick your device
8 - de-select the check box "preloader" (EMMC_BOOT)
9 - remove the battery

10 - click Download in SP Flash Tool
 enlarge view
11 - connect Tablet to PC using USB Cable
(Note: the flashing starts immediately when connected. if nothing happens, wait for the drivers recognized first time, disconnect and repeat from step 7)
12 - wait for green checkmark Download Ok
13 - insert the battery
14 - press and hold Volume Up Button
15 - disconnect the USB Cable (still holding Volume Up)
16 - reconnect the USB Cable (still holding)
(Note: you may hear multiple connecting sounds - don't release the Volume Up Button yet)
17 - when Android system recovery appears, release Volume Up Button
18 - select Reboot to bootloader with Volume Down, confirm with Power (or Volume Up sometimes)
19 - open the platform_tools folder from cmd.exe (as Administrator)
20 - unlock the bootloader by typing following commands:
fastboot oem unlock
fastboot reboot

Note: If you want to flash custom recovery with SP Flash Tool, recovery.img must fit the size 16 MiB.
If the bootloader is unlocked, you can test the recovery before flashing, then flash from fastboot instead:
fastboot boot "C:\Users\Admin\Downloads\recovery_twrp302_Lenovo_TB3-710F.img"
fastboot flash recovery "C:\Users\Admin\Downloads\recovery_twrp302_Lenovo_TB3-710F.img"

Tried all that. I even tried different ADB commands. Error no device detected or waiting for device,...,........I even tried kingroot, to see if it would recognise anything...

Sorry. I didn't see the reply brb

step 10 nothing happens I click download and everything just gets greyed out and I plug in the device and I can hear the sound but nothing happens absolutely nothing I've tried all different ADB commands to start server it says the server is out of date and also the device is not detected in a VB anymore after the bootloop I think I killed it

thats not possible except you flashed a wrong preloader. can you hear one sound, or two? open device manager (com ports): between the two sounds, can you see the driver for a second? i attached a screenshot

thanks for your patience this is really tricky one it beeps twice and here is the new image

https://i.imgur.com/ifYuUum.jpg

I don't think I've got the correct stock ROM for it each one I download has different codes at the end of them I've downloaded three different roms all for the same device this is really confusing I'm pretty sure I've got wrong rom. I think we're just going to start at square one and but I'm going to need a link if you can to the correct ROM file for this device because this is doing my head in at your leisure of course if you've got time I can do a Google search in the meantime but I've already got about 20  tabs open

the ROMs provided in answer are confirmed working. The two sounds indicating that preloader is still working, no worry it is not hard bricked. from your picture i can not see you installed preloader drivers. it is under (Ports COM & LPT), you missed step 2

ITS WORKING thanking you muchly. But can you pleas show me the steps to install the TWRP IMG file. I definitely don't want to brick it again.. my mind is like jelly and I lost the page of rooting it with the recovery img

Its all there, just follow step 20) fastboot commands

THANK YOU SO MUCH

https://i.imgur.com/GKdzQQw.jpg


text:
How to navigate to top/bottom of page in mobile firefox
Is there a way to quickly navigate to the top/bottom of the current page in mobile firefox (i.e. the equivalent of using the home/end keys in the desktop version)?

You should add an add-on to help accomplish what you asked. Top and Bottom scroll buttons adds buttons to scroll to the top or bottom of a page.

This extension adds two beautiful buttons at the corner of each page for fast scrolling to the top or the bottom of the page.
The buttons are customisable. You can change its size, transparency, position and the way they are scrolling.
  You can also set the buttons to auto hide so you'll see them only when you want.

Disclaimer: I am just a user of the addon, not related to its developer.

Thanks! I was hoping to accomplish it without an extension and thought that I must just be overlooking the thing in the UI. Apparently I wasn't...

This extension is not compatible with the mobile version any more.

You can get these two extensions:
Go to Top of Page Button
Got to Bottom of Page Button
They will put a button in the toolbar labeled Top and Bottom

Your answer also works of course, I decided to accept the other because it gives me both buttons in one. Might still be useful for people that for some reason only want one and not the other :)

authors: Vladimir F Героям слава


text:
How to install two versions of the same app so Android wont install it as an update
I have a game called mindustry on my phone, and want to use the .apk for the current version separately from the beta version. What would I need to do to make my device not install the newer .apk as an update?
Sorry if my question is unclear. If you need clarification I will do my best to provide it, this is just a weird problem and I could not think how to ask it.
EDIT: repackaging the app worked, app functions normally, only had to change the app package and nothing else

What you want to to is called app repackaging. Android identifies apps based on the packagename in the androidManifest.xml file.

Uh, there are other ways that are on-topic here (repackaging is developer stuff and thus off-topic here). Maybe better rephrase along the lines of "how to use two versions of the same app in parallel". There are some ways, I remember (but not enough to answer).

Thank you very much, I will see if this works.


text:
Wakeup Android Oreo Go phone with broken power button
I have an Android Oreo Go/Nokia 1 phone which is fine, except the power on/off button is broken.
Right now, the only way I found to wake it up to type the PIN is either connecting it to a charging cable or removing the battery.
There is no setting under display to activate double tap to wake it up.
Volume buttons are fine, but don´t wake phone.
Until I repair the power button (if at all), how can I wake it?
PS: power button came miraculously back to life (after a day not using the phone). I imagine the question can still be useful for someone else.

Use Power Button to Volume Button. It turns the volume button into the power button. Thumbs up!


text:
How to change status bar icon color Android 9 [Pie]
I have a rooted oneplus 3t phone running Android 9 on a Lineage OS that I wish to style after the Fallout game franchise. I have many details figured out, except that the status bar color only seems to have the option of black or white. I would like the status bar icon colors to be green. This would especially be helpful as I've noticed that these white icons burn into the screen when a phone is old enough.
I first tried GravityBox which took forever to install only to find that they removed the status bar color tweaking features out of respect for other android releases that gave us this option by some other means... but Pie took them back.
I also tried Substrathum which gives an error page saying "Could not fall back to rooted mode. There are no other theme engines able to be utilized on this device at this current time." I found some sources which claimed to have it working on Pie, but their instructions were unclear or not specifically useful for getting past this error in Pie.
Can anyone help?

Sub surely works, but v1015+ requires Magisk (LOS built-in SU will not work), and you will need to reboot after building your desired overlays for them to show up in the Manager section.

@AndyYan If you mean Substrathum, I did install it with Magisk. This issue of it being blocked despite being rooted is specific to Pie.

I have ~10 devices on LOS16 on my hand, and only one of them gives issues with Sub (and even then that's the device's fault). I know for a fact that Sub should work, unless yours is also a device with special traits...

@AndyYan I followed these instructions: https://forum.xda-developers.com/xposed/modules/app-gravitybox-v9-0-0-beta-1-android-9-t3908768
to get gravitybox installed. Then these instructions to install substrathum:
https://www.xda-developers.com/substratum-hub/


text:
Where are the developer options in Android 2.3.x?
I have Samsung Galaxy Exhibit 4G SGH-T679 running Android 2.3.6. I do not see the developer tools anywhere in the Settings menu.
Is there something special needed to get it to show up?

Haven't found anything at
developer.android.com/tools/device.html

I thought "Developer options" were only hidden in Jelly Bean?

As w3d indicates, they were hidden with later versions. To reveal them there, you need to go to Settings->About Phone, and tap the "build version" 7 times fast (i.e. like double-tap speed). It usually displays a message then with some congratulations. You might test that on your device, though it should not have been hidden before JB.

It's under Applications/Development

It has only been hidden since Android 4.2.
Back in Android 2.3, you just need to go to Settings - Applications - Development.


text:
Flashing English ROM on Korean Samsung Galaxy S3
I got my Samsung Galaxy S3 (SHW-M440S) but it was bought from South Korea. At first, it was all Korean. But after some time (or some tweaks), I managed to set it to English. (No, I am not a Korean).
Can I flash the firmware to a real English version (using ODIN or any other software)? I entered the model number because I might do something wrong but everything is in Korea (SHW-M440S firmwares).
Another problem on my phone is, it will only send an SMS if it has 80 or less characters on the message.

to clear things up: can I use other model version's firmware in flashing my Samsung Galaxy S3?(e.g., SHW-M440S to GT-I9300)

For 80 or less characters on SMS, I think it should "70 or less" due to the limitation of SMS with Asian characters (Reference on Wikipedia). You probably really need to flash international/English ROM.

I think the hardware has minor differences in Samsung phones for different regions

I wouldn't advice this, you can see other questions on here about people asking if they can use different model numbers on their phone and everyone says no.
A suggestion to you would be the following, go on the XDA website here link and type in your phone AND model number into their search bar. From there you should be able to click on their forum for Android Development, from there you can select a Custom Rom to flash to your phone
As you said you are new it is required to firstly root your phone before flashing a new ROM, as you haven't provided your Phone Model I cannot give you a direct link on how to root your phone, if you can update this detail I could find you a link afterwards.
Also if you decide to root your phone flash a custom rom please note that it is your risk, doing so will void your warranty and if you end up with a bricked device(not working) I or anyone giving instructions in any links you use cannot be help responsible.
With regards to the problem with only Sending a SMS if it's 80 Char or less, I am not 100% sure as I haven't experimented with various different Custom ROMS but there may be a option that you can select to try and fix it, personally I would post another Question on this website just for that issue
All the best


text:
Changing language option on ColorNote
By accident, on the Android ColorNote application, I changed the language from English to Chinese. How do I change it back to English?

It's probably easiest to clear the application data and cache for Colornote. What device are you using and what version of Android?

Perhaps you already don't have this issue anymore, but could you provide the link to this app, so that this question can be answerable? I searched "ColorNote" on Play Store and I found this. Is it the app you're using? However, I don't find any settings to change the language. Instead, it follows the device's language.


text:
Create a repeating task in Jorte
How do I create a repeating task in Jorte? I don't want to create a repeating event - just a repeating task.
For example, say I want to create a task "Grade papers" that will happen once a week. It's not an event, it's a task.

Can't find any way for repeating task... maybe you could send an email to their developer for this [tag:feature-request]!


text:
Menu screen won't light on HTC Rezound
I took apart my Rezound (screen broke and I had to fix  it) and I lost those little plastic pieces that transfers the light to the menu.
What are these piece called? How can I find new ones online?


text:
Clear memory and recent task automatically after an app is closed using Tasker
My phone is a Samsung Galaxy S3 on Android 4.1.2 JellyBean. I would want to create a profile which clears memory and recent tasks when an app is closed (example: Chrome).
Is it possible to do it without root access?

What do you mean clear "memory" and "recent tasks"? Do you mean history and cookies/cache?

Sorry for not beeing clear! I want it to clear ram memory and close recent apps!

There is not a way to clear recent tasks without root(possibly at all) but in theory you could clear memory by killing all apps on app close. I can provide an answer for that if you like.

Yeah it would be great thanks! I have on other small question ... i've made a pop up when i launch chrome to ask me if i want to load some tabs. I'd like to specify that i want it to show only on app launch not every time the app is "loaded", it's kind of annoying because if i press the home button and do something on the homescreen's and get back into the app it pop's up again!

I use Clean Master for this.
You can invoke separate parts of by holding the clean master button when using the launch app function.
then I used this booster
and I used this process cleaner

I know this works because I have an app that crashes on startup if there is insufficient RAM. When I use this it never crashes.
I hope it helps, even after two years.

To clear ram memory You can use Greenify. It also supports non rooted phone.
Few things from the app description:

Unlike the "Freeze" feature in "TitaniumBackup Pro" that totally
disable the app, you can still use your app as usual, share content
with it. No need to freeze & defrozen it.
Unlike "Autostarts", you can benefit from almost all of its
advantages, without needing to deal with the complexity and risk of
obscure app components, and never lose functionality when app is
actively running.
Unlike any "XXX Task Killer", your device will never fall into the
cat-mouse-game of stealthy-running and aggressive killing, which
unnecessarily consumes more battery juice.

I use Advanced Task Manager and Auto-Shortcut in Tasker to Kill apps.
For your other question, you could create a variable "%Chrome=1" the first time you launch it, and only pop up the menu if the variable is set. On exit, wait a couple minutes then clear %Chrome again.


text:
Should I keep my Android tablets' power off or leave them on standby mode?
I have two tablets: Allwinner A10 single-core 10 inches (old one) and Allwinner A31 quad-core 9.7 inches (new one).
I notice that sometimes when not using the tablet's standby mode, the battery drain is 20 to 30 percent, there's also a little heat near the battery on the back of the tablet, and it sometimes becomes slow so I have to restart anyway. (I install lots of programs, software, browsers, readers, games, movie/music players. Recently the tablets are filled with Android applications.)
A couple of questions:

Should I keep my Android tablets power off or leave them on standby mode? Which option is better?
Will turning the tablet off at night when not using it increase the tablet's life?
Will it increase the battery life in terms of charge/discharge cycles if the tablet is left off when not used? So it increases battery longevity for years?
Will it also increase the life of the memory card and flash memory (as they are dependent on read/write cycles)? Something might be getting written to them by some background programs if the tablet is on standby?
Will it also increase the MTBF (mean time between failure) and longevity of the ARM processor and other electronic chip components, etc., of the tablets?

Turning the tablet off at night will most likely extend its life, but this defeats the purpose of having a tablet, since a key feature of the tablet is instant power-on from standby.
Generally, there are two things that drain the battery of any device: the display (when it's turned on), and any wireless communications (3G, WiFi, etc).  If you really want to conserve power at night time, turn off the tablet's WiFi and 3G (airplane mode).
The power draw of the CPU and RAM is negligible compared to the power consumption of the display and wireless comms.  And it's normal to feel a little heat near the CPU, the wireless antenna, and the battery when charging.
I wouldn't worry about battery life, in terms of charge-discharge cycles, unless you plan on keeping your tablet for 20 years. The same goes for the MTBF of the physical components.
The flash memory will not go bad if the tablet is left on. In fact, the tablet probably reads and writes to flash more when booting up than when it's idle.
Generally, I would suggest enjoying the tablet the way it's meant to be used!  If it breaks because of normal use, then it wasn't worth having anyway!

Hmm good then i guess it would be better leaving tablet on then turning it off

Also see this: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/25319/complete-guide-to-maximizing-your-android-phones-battery-life/

I also found this TaskKiller free apk application to kill  unknown unwanted apps that are running in background which also drains battery.  And for reading ebooks at nights on tablet with Moon Reader apk with low light i found this ScreenDim Full application for dimming screen its good saves battery too during reading ebooks.

@Decoder Most "app killers" consumes much more energy for themselves, than they really "free" up. Read more about this subject, as it is very well documented and discussed in the Internet. In most cases, using this kind of apps is not suggested as a good idea. Internal device solutions (software + hardware) does better for this purpose, in general.

I have learned that keeping my tablet on 24/7 works a lot better than turning it off overnight. I have an Amazon 10 inch Kindle Fire, and I tried leaving it off overnight while charging only once, with disasterours results. It took forever to reboot from a cold overnight shutdown, and was really acting very strangely until it warmed up, about 10 minutes later.
It is a brand new tablet, less than one month old. It works fine now, so I now keep it on 24/7, and no longer have any trouble with it at all. I know that Kindle Fires are very low end tablets, but why should shutting it off and then restarting it cause such an adverse reaction each time I reboot it? No, thank you.
I will take my chances leaving it active in standby mode unless absolutely nessicary. It just takes too damned long to reset.

A Kindle isnt an Android tablet!


text:
Where can I find SIM settings in Huawei Ideos X5?
I want to unlock my SIM card password. I was looking around Android settings, but I couldn't find SIM settings to unlock password.

What phone do you have? Manufacturers customize the settings, so the answer is different for different phones.

I'm having Huawei Ideos X5

I have an Samsung Galaxy S4 using a custom ROM. Maybe something like Settings > Security > Set up SIM/RUIM card lock, but it's different for every phone.
For your Huawei Ideos X5, Settings > Location & security > Set up SIM card lock.

Yes I'm using Huawei Ideos as you said it was there in Security settings. Thank you for your instant answer

@AristoMichael Can you provide the correct path to the settings? I will update my answer, and maybe you can accept it.

Settings > Location & security > Set up SIM card lock

@AristoMichael Thanks! Have updated the answer. :)


text:
Let my friend check my locations while I am taking a stranger's car?
I am thinking about taking a long-distance rideshare offered by a stranger on Craigslist.
For safety, I would like my friends to track my location, until I reach the destination and tell them that I safely arrive.

Is it possible to use my Android phone to

share my location with others during my travel, and
then stop sharing my location after I arrive?

If yes, does it depend on the signal strength of my mobile carrier along the way? Or does it only rely on the GPS, which isn't affected by mobile signal strength? My mobile carrier uses Sprint network, which usually has worse signal strength than other networks in remote areas.

Thanks.

As there's no on-board feature covering your needs, I'd recommend taking a look at Glympse. With this app you can decide when to start or stop sharing your location, you could even set a timeout. Only you would need to have the app installed, and those you've shared your location to can watch it on any web-enabled device:

Glympse is a fast, free, and simple way to share your location safely using GPS tracking in real time with friends and family!
No sign up required! Only those you share with can view your Glympse from any web-enabled device.

For alternatives, please take a look at my Location Sharing list.
Any solution will depend on your phone having internet access: it can't work with GPS alone. GPS is only a way for your phone to find out where it is: it doesn't itself allow anyone else to know your location. If you go outside of data coverage, your location will stop updating.

Thanks. What do you mean by " on-board feature "?

Something that already exists on your device and doesn't require an additional app would be called "on-board". I'm not aware of anything like that in this case, so IMHO you will need an app. Glympse IMHO is the best candidate here.

Why don't you try using GPS tracking Apps, there are quite a few available in google play store. - GPS Phone Tracker etc.,
So that way they can track your location and check if you reached the destination and once you reach the destination they can give you a call or vice-versa to check on you.
Yes, GPS plays an important part in this task to pinpoint your location.
P.S- I use this app with my family and it works fine. I couldn't add more than one link, but if you search on Google Play Store you should be able to find many more apps similar to this one.

Thanks. (1) With a GPS tracker app, what do I need to do  to start and stop letting my friend tracking my location? Does my friend need to do anything on his phone? (2) Does tracking my location depend on my mobile signal strength?

Yes, both you and your friend should have the app installed on your devices. All your friend has to do is to open the app and check where you are. Once registered you will be shown on your friend's app and vice-versa. You can't stop him from tracking you because it is like a continuous service and your friend can't track you if you loose GPS or if your GPS is turned off.
I haven't noticed any problem with my signal, but it mainly uses your GPS.Hence as long as you are connected to GPS it should work fine.

It is really bad that I can't stop him tracking me later. How inconvenient it is to let him track me forever just because of one ride.

authors: Валентин Сивев


text:
How can I create a video from an audio file and an image file(s)?
I have an audio file, and an image file (or several image files). How can I create a video that combine the audio and image files? For example, the audio file is a recording of reading a script, and the image file(s) is screenshot(s) of the script.

This sounds like what a video editing program does. Just be aware of our sister site: https://softwarerecs.stackexchange.com/tour You may want to mention where the images are as Google Photos might be able to do what you want: https://support.google.com/photos/answer/6128862?sjid=11010401790314884675-NA

I may want to mention that I can't access Google services until someone helps me climb over GFW.


text:
How can I transfer files between this phone and my laptop?
I connect my Moto G Pure phone to my laptop (running NixOS) using the charging cable of the phone, with the phone turned on and with it turned off. In both cases, the phone doesn't show up in the output of lsblk in my laptop, so I can't mount it. (In contrast, when I connect another Kyocera Android phone to my laptop, it is shown up in lsblk output.) How can I transfer files between the phone and my laptop, using USB connection?
When the phone is on, upon connecting it to my laptop, the phone notifies me "USB debugging connected: Tap to turn off USB debugging", and when I tap the notification, it says "Please enable developer options first". What does the phone mean by the two messages, and how shall I follow them?
Thanks.

Update:
I run SimpleSSHD app on the phone and connect to it from my laptop. I wonder where I can find the "Download" directory? It seems that I can only access directories and files within the working directory for SimpleSSHD.
$ ssh -p 2222 192.168.1.53
The authenticity of host '[192.168.1.53]:2222 ([192.168.1.53]:2222)' can't be established.
ED25519 key fingerprint is SHA256:/DnSdeb9tCgbi2sUD2M57HgZc8R0IDvRs8mWCG7ou/A.
This key is not known by any other names
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no/[fingerprint])? yes
Warning: Permanently added '[192.168.1.53]:2222' (ED25519) to the list of known hosts.
t@192.168.1.53's password:
:/data/user/0/org.galexander.sshd/files $ ls
dropbear.err  dropbear.pid  dropbear_ed25519_host_key
:/data/user/0/org.galexander.sshd/files $ cd ../
:/data/user/0/org.galexander.sshd $ cd ..
:/data/user/0 $ cd ..
:/data/user $ ls
ls: .: Permission denied
1|:/data/user $ sudo ls
sh: sudo: inaccessible or not found
127|:/data/user $ cd ..
:/data $ ls
ls: .: Permission denied
1|:/data $ ls /
ls: /: Permission denied
1|:/data $ su root
sh: su: inaccessible or not found
127|:/data $ cd user
:/data/user $ ls
ls: .: Permission denied
1|:/data/user $ cd 0
:/data/user/0 $ ls
ls: .: Permission denied
1|:/data/user/0 $ cd org.gal*
sh: cd: /data/user/0/org.gal*: No such file or directory
2|:/data/user/0 $ cd org.galexander.sshd                                                       :/data/user/0/org.galexander.sshd $ ls
cache  code_cache  files  lib  shared_prefs
:/data/user/0/org.galexander.sshd $ ls *
cache:

code_cache:

files:
dropbear.err  dropbear.pid  dropbear_ed25519_host_key

lib:
libbuffersu.so  librsync.so  libscp.so  libsftp-server.so  libsimplesshd-jni.so

shared_prefs:
org.galexander.sshd_preferences.xml

I also have permission problem to access the working directory of the sshd app using a terminal emulator on the phone
:/ $ cd /data/user/0/org.galexander.sshd/files
/system/bin/sh: cd: /data/user/0/org.galexander.sshd/files: Permission denied
2|:/ $ cd /data
:/data $ cd user
:/data/user $ ls
ls: .: Permission denied
1|:/data/user $ cd 0
:/data/user/0 $ ls
ls: .: Permission denied
1|:/data/user/0 $ cd org.galexander.sshd
/system/bin/sh: cd: /data/user/0/org.galexander.sshd: Permission denied
2|:/data/user/0 $

This is an answer to the Title (problem X), not the Body (problem Y), of the question.
You might consider installing SSHelper on your device.  This allows the usual scp and rsync commands to work, as well as providing a handy ssh console session.
It also allows you to do it all via wi-fi, without the physical USB connection.
See How to rsync to android - Ask Ubuntu.

Thanks. See my update. I don't have permission to access files and directories outside the working directory of the SSHD server app. I don't have this problem with a Kyocera Hydro Icon phone.


text:
In Galaxy S3 call history, does the orange arrow mean incoming or outgoing call?
Though this is may sound very trivial, this is not a troll question. I do not own an android phone and need to know for something.

I own a S2 but I assume the icons are the same; orange arrow pointing right is call you made so outgoing, green arrow pointing left is incoming call. Missed call is an arrow bouncing off (e.g. like this)

Orange right pointing arrow is outgoing.
Green left pointing is incoming received.