text:
How to choose which gallery app is opened by OpenCamera?
I am using lineage_a3y17lte-userdebug 10 QQ3A, which is LineageOS 17.1 (Android 10), and I've had a problem with taking photos that are automatically saved to external SD-card. That ended up being solved by installing OpenCamera, but then the stock gallery would not list nor open photos in SD card; and that got solved by installing Simple Gallery Pro.
This is apparently due to the introduction of "scoped storage" in Android 10, and some more details about this I've noted in my comment here: Pictures stored on sd card not shown in gallery (#2211) · Issues · LineageOS / issues / android · GitLab.
However, I still remained with one more problem: I take a photo in OpenCamera which gets saved to external SD card, then I click on the thumbnail to see it in a gallery - and then still the stock gallery opens, which cannot read the external SD card, and so cannot show the last picture taken.
So the question here is - how to have OpenCamera open a different gallery, other than the stock gallery, when I click on the thumbnail of the latest taken/snapped picture?

EDIT: false alarm, it turns out - the solution below worked only the first time after reboot; once OpenCamera was backgrounded, and then opened again to take a new picture - upon the tap on the last photo taken thumbnail, I got the old stock gallery (with all its problems) again :(

Ok, here first I found:
https://community.e.foundation/t/how-to-choose-which-gallery-app-opencamera-opens/25775
There, there is a suggestion to

Open the settings app.
Go to “apps and notifications”.
There in the app listing tap the app in question, in this case the standard Gallery app.
Tap the “Open as standard” section.
Tap the “Flush standard setting” button.
Next time you do a preview from within the Camera app (or any other app calling for a picture viewer) you will be given the opportunity to select a standard app of your desire.

... however with the caveat "Dunno if I made the translation from my Swedish user interface correctly".
In any case, I tried to mess around with the above, and I experienced the same as in the response to that post:

On my phone (FP3), there is no standard settings linked to Gallery.

Then I found Open Camera / Discussion / General Discussion: Unable to set default gallery app:

One thing that finally worked: Settings -> Apps -> ... (The Three Dots) -> Reset app preferences.
After that, you will have exactly ONE CHANCE to choose the preferred photo application (as no app will be pre-chosen this time, all three should be equally available) in OpenCamera.
Also please note that "Reset app preferences" is a nuke - it destroys ALL your default app associations, all your blocked notifications, all background data restrictions etc. It's a pain in the ***, but nothing else ever worked for me :(

So, actually, I did that - and still, OpenCamera opened the last-taken-photo thumbnail in the stock gallery!
However, then I remembered this from the /e/ post, which I otherwise found cryptic:

Edit: after a reboot, everything is fine!

So, I decided to reboot the phone; opened up OpenCamera again, tapped the thumbnail of the last taken photo - and finally, I was asked to choose a Gallery app, and when I chose Simple Gallery Pro, I also got the option to choose it "Always", which I did... And finally, problem solved!
Just two weeks of fussing about for this. I can hardly wait for the next update to Android, where SD cards will be completely disabled :)


text:
Cannot Save Any WhatsApp Data Including Backup to Gmail/Google Account
Recently I bought a new phone (phone Y) - originally, I had been using WhatsApp as a dual app on someone else's phone (phone X), with a number whose SIM card was on a different cellphone (Phone Z). I was messaging people on phone X using the SIM card of phone Z, but when I saved contacts I saved it to a Gmail account instead. All was going well.
Then I wanted to switch over to using WhatsApp on Phone Y. As popularly advised, I went to the dual app on Phone X and backed up the data to Google Drive on my gmail account, but it never notified me of a finished backup. When I deleted the app on Phone X and installed it on Phone Y (which already knows and is linked the Gmail account), I keyed in the number of Phone Z (did not move the SIM because its not a microSIM, as required by Phone Y) and then it asked to give permission to access Google Drive for the backup. I gave it permission but then it said, no backup found.
True enough, I checked https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/backups and it said there were no backups. I then got suspicious and checked my Google Contacts too - turns out it hadn't saved any of the contacts there either.
Which means the app was never importing any data to the google account, and still won't. Does anybody have any idea why this is happening??

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Can I auto switch phone to silent triggered by specific wifi connection?
Specifically my phone is Xiaomi Pocophone F1 and I'd like it to automatically switch into silent/DND mode as soon as it connects to the office Wifi.
The phone is not rooted and runs Muii version 12.03
Can this be achieved?
Thanks!

A Tasker app could be a solution.

Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please [edit] to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center.

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


text:
Can Windows 11 synch data with my Android 'phone?
It seems that Windows 11 can run Android apps.   This could, possibly be a major breakthrough, if ...
Until now, I choose apps, such as the TaskCoach to-do manager which run natively on both Windows and Android, then I use DropBox to synch the data files.
Recently, I had problems with this approach, which I won't go into here.
My question is whether the new Windows 11 will obviate the need for DropBox by synching data files between devices, allowing me to add or remove TaskCoach to-dos on one device and have that reflect on the other (e.g laptopn / 'phone).

The Android feature has been postponed and will be available next year.

OIC. Do you have a link for that. Have you read anything that might help me anticipate the answer to my question next year? And, do you know when next year? Thanks & upvote

Microsoft delays Android app support on Windows 11 into 2022

"We don't know if Microsoft plans to deliver this feature in an update to Windows 11 version 21H2, or if Microsoft will wait until the next big Windows 11 feature update, version 22H2, currently scheduled for release in fall 2022."  :-(


text:
How to Secure a Android Device that has been Rooted and have Unlocked Bootloader
I'm Talking about securing my data against everyone.(Thieves, Police, Friends etc etc)
I'm pretty sure my device have encryption enabled on internal storage,(how can I check that?)
also I have a 6 digit pin code on the lock screen. Running Android 11.

Does this answer your question? Why can I view files from "Internal Storage" WITHOUT entering password either in OrangeFox recovery or via USB cable on PC?

as we have learned recently there is no way to check and no setting we can trust other than locked bootloader (see chat). Try to decrypt from custom recovery that might give you some idea how safe your device is


text:
Voice typing is not working when talking onto Bletooth headset
I'm trying to use the "Google Voice Typing" and Gboard dictation, both works fine.
However if I'm using my Bluetooth headset neither of them can recognise any words. Only if I hold the phone close enough.
It seems they are still using the internal mic. Is it possible possible to use the Bluetooth mics for these applications?
Note: I have enabled all these Bt related settings in Google > Settings > Voice.
I'm on Android 11.

Probably an obvious question, but.. have you tested the Bluetooth headset's mic on other apps and make sure it's working?

Yes, it works, I'm using it constantly for phone calls, voip calls, etc.


text:
How to set or change a phone number programmatically?
I know how to get or read a phone number. But how to set or change one?
I want to change it in such a way that other application installed on my phone would read it as a custom number that I had set.
Is there any way to do it?

The phone number can not be set. On rooted devices you may take the number apps can get but the actual phone number can not be changed as it is managed by the SIM card, a mini computer on its own you don't have access to.

@Robert re-read my question

It doesn't matter how often I read your question, it stays the same. May be your understanding of a custom number is different than mine but you can not set a custom number in Android so it is not easy to understand what you want. You should consider updating your question and describe in detail what you are trying to do. Also please add details about the used phone, Android version and if the phone is rooted.

@Robert. No. I'm right, you're wrong.

It doesn't matter who is right or wrong. If the users on this site don't understand what you want to do won't get an answer...

@Robert. No. I'm right, you're wrong


text:
Run custom ROM on emulator/VM
Before I want to begin, I know this question has been asked, but I only found old answers or not really what I was looking for.
So, I want to build a custom ROM, and I'm sort of a beginner and I'm still reading about this, what I know so far about this is that you have to download and build AOSP, get a build number and a binary related to a real device (Nexuses or Pixels)
Here's where I don't understand, let's say I compiled everything and at the end I have the image, next step is to have the image flashed to a device, I don't have any android device, especially Google proprietary devices, nor I can afford one. Isn't there any possibility to run it on VM or emulators or things like this?
As of writing this, I'm going to build AOSP(ID :SQ1D.220205.004) to learn a bit about the process, but any tips on how to learn more about this is more than welcomed, and also the main question on how to run the image on my PC first.
I'm running on Arch Linux by the way.

There were a few old questions on here about the same issue, but this question has a comment linking to a question on Stack Overflow with quite detailed steps.

hmm AVD, might be the answer, I hope so though, now I have to wait until AOSP is compiled


text:
POCO X3 flash fail
TL;DR - Tried to flash TWRP and ended up with TWRP where my OS should be. Have both Mi and TWRP recoveries on device now.
Using a POCO X3(not the pro) and I wanted to install TWRP on it. I found an unofficial build (by a recognized dev) on XDA and proceeded to flash it in fastboot mode. I also pressed the right key combo immediately after running fastboot reboot, but it kept going back to Mi recovery 5.0. I did this a couple more times but to no luck, it'd keep booting to Mi recovery. I then tried booting temporarily into TWRP using fastboot boot command after flashing the boot image one more time. I could access TWRP now, so I thought that's that and powered it off. Then I pressed the recovery combo and Mi recovery flashes on the screen again. I select reboot to system and it then took me to TWRP. So now I have both Mi and TWRP on my device somehow. I don't know what caused this spectacular mess or how to get out of it. Any ideas?

https://xiaomifirmwareupdater.com/archive/miui/surya

Note: this applies to Poco X3 NFC. Poco X3 GT does have recovery-ramdisk in boot and requires different install method (flashable zip installer)

download MIUI according to your current version.
in TWRP connect adb shell
adb push boot.img /tmp
adb push "TWRP 3.5.0-0 By mahajant99.img" /tmp
adb shell
cd /tmp
dd if=boot.img of=/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/boot
dd if=TWRP\ 3.5.0-0\ By\ mahajant99.img of=/dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/recovery
reboot recovery

Note: in order to disable avb/dm-verity one must install Magisk. rename Magisk-v24.3.apk -> Magisk-v24.3.zip
adb push Magisk-v24.3.zip /tmp

TWRP -> Install -> tmp -> Magisk-v24.3.zip -> Swipe to install

https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk


text:
Connecting ACODE to Termux
Hi guys I have successfully connected ACODE to termux using sftp from ACODE to termux SSH using openssh sshd and dropbear dropbear via generated password passwd and username whoami and it works. I've been trying to write nodejs codes generated outside storage directory since storage refuses to install expressjs or reactjs, but ssh crashes after writing few lines of code and I attempt to save the file.

I used rsync/cp to copy code back and forth from the storage a file editor can access to internal storage of the app (UserLAnd and not Termux, but same idea). Is there an actual question here? Because your post seems to only be a statement with your answer being a related statement which should've been edited into the question instead.

I was using localhost as my connection host that's why it was crashing.  I switched to inet IP and it worked. You can check your inet configuration with ifconfig on termux


text:
How should I partition my android device? Should I use gpt or msdos?
so I got myself into a really bad situation and I need to re-partition my device.
I already pushed parted and mkfs to /sbin (following this guide) and made them executable with chmod 777, i just need to know how am i supposed to partition my device
is it similar to a normal linux system (/boot and /, maybe a separate /home partition)?

I doubt you get answer because no one wants responsible for mess up partitions or brick

I genuinly want to help you but I won't since the success rate is like 50%

Android device partitions and filesystems

according to the reddit link this question is solved without repartitioning at all


text:
cmd overlay enable <package name> resets to it's previous state after reboot
I'm trying to switch between gestural and threebutton navigation using
cmd overlay enable com.android.internal.systemui.navbar.gestural
and
cmd overlay enable com.android.internal.systemui.navbar.threebutton
or via system-->gestures-->system navigation and then selecting gesture navigation and 3-button navigation.
I checked the changes using -
cmd overlay list --user current  and I was able to see the exact changes made.
But when i reboot my android device, it just reverts back to the previous selected navigation; rarely (after 5-6 tries) the changes made remain after reboot.
Example: If my present selection is threebutton and I change it to gestural, then after reboot it goes back to threebutton or sometimes (after 5-6 tries and reboots), it stays as gestural.
How do i keep the changes permanent even after reboot??

Hello. Which Android device are you using?

@Firelord: Hi, It's a custom ROM with android 11.


text:
Samsung SM-T395 showing phone layouts for many apps after updating to Android 9
A Samsung SM-T395 tablet just upgraded to Android 9.  It seems to now think that the layout is a phone instead of a tablet. It has stopped allowing split screen layouts for some apps.  It is a small tablet, but is there any way to change a setting so it thinks it is a tablet again?

I'm not sure when this feature was added, but you might want to look for an option along the lines of "Display size" - that would control the effective size of display presented to apps.

We found that Android 9 has a 'Screen Zoom' setting. The upgrade set it to 'Medium', but setting it to 'Small' and the layouts worked fine.


text:
Spam porn notifications from Google Drive
Regularly I've been getting Google Drive SPAM notifications saying that a file was shared with me and a porn / sexual message linked with it.
I'm familiar there's a block feature

https://support.google.com/drive/answer/10613533

but thing is the files are coming from new emails.
What can be done to stop this?

create new google account and drop the old one

Known exploit with Google Drive. AFAIK, unfortunately, there's nothing that we the users can do to prevent them.


text:
How to permit secondary profile to create/manage hotspot
How can I modify the permissions of my Android's secondary profile/user to be able to create & manage a WiFi hotspot on the device?
I'm running Android 11 (LineageOS). I have a secondary user that I would like to be able to manage the hotspot. However, when I navigate to Settings -> Network & Internet -> Hotspot & tethering, I see the following error message:

Tethering settings are not available for this user.

I also have the credentials for the primary user profile.
I also have root on this device.
How can I modify the permissions of this secondary user profile such that they can create and manage the hotspot settings on the handset?

For context: I'm trying to share a large file between my Android phone and my laptop. My current WiFi won't allow clients to connect to each other, so I want to use a hotspot. The primary user can't see the file as it's owned by the secondary user. The secondary user can't share the file because they can't manage the hotspot on my phone to bypass the LAN's firewall fuckery. The file is too large to copy around. My laptop can't take the file over USB because it's running QubesOS. There's other solutions, but the easiest would be to just let the secondary user manage the hotspot.

See also https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/246200/hotspot-dhcp-issues-without-mobile-data-dhcp4-request-timed-out

Please just integrate your comments into your question and delete them.

See also https://github.com/onionshare/onionshare/issues/567#issuecomment-1091963143

@Robert the comment is not necessarily relevant to the question as the question is intentionally more broad than my specific use-case.

Hotspot from the admin account then switch to the user account. Otherwise it is not possible to hotspot from the user account. Set up all your hot spot from the admin account before switching to the user account.

This is not an answer to the question. Perhaps it's possible with root and XPosed framework.


text:
Allowlist permission on android
I was reading about the read external storage permission on https://developer.android.com/reference/android/Manifest.permission#READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE.
It says:

This is a soft restricted permission which cannot be held by an app it its full form until the installer on record whitelists the permission. Specifically, if the permission is allowlisted the holder app can access external storage and the visual and aural media collections while if the permission is not allowlisted the holder app can only access to the visual and aural medial collections. Also the permission is immutably restricted meaning that the allowlist state can be specified only at install time and cannot change until the app is installed.

Am I correct that An app without this permission can still Access photos on the external storage? Or what does allowlisted means? What are the medial and aural collections?

By design*, the application cannot access the external storage if it does not have the READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission granted.
Allowlisted means that the permission is granted to the application.
Probably medial and aural collection are the defaults medias for ringtones or notifications (IS_RINGTONE or IS_NOTIFICATION) as no special permission is needed to be accessed.
By design*: Supposing that the application does not exploit a vulnerability on the Android system.


text:
Android runtime permissions and older apps
Since android 6 there are runtime permissions. Is this applicable to all apps? Or only apps that target the API of android 6 and higher?

This applies only to apps targeting Android 6 or higher, which must be able to deal with them. Runtime permissions mean the app itself must request them from the user at runtime – which was not possible before (and thus no API available to do so). Hence older apps (and those targeting Android 5 or lower) cannot implement this.
For apps targeting Android 5 or older, the old permission model will be applied.

As far as i know, to all apps from android 6. Otherwise it would be a security issue.


text:
Google Apps (YouTube, Play Store e t c) stopped working, tried fixing it and made it worse, not I can't even make a backup to wipe the system
Mi 9 SE, MIUI 12.5 (Android 11)
Ok, so 3 days ago I had an issue where the YouTube app, when started, was loading the feed infinitely, I decided to go to Play Store and update google services, but the Play Store wouldn't load past the triangle logo.
I've downloaded the external apk and tried installing that, no result with "app not installed" message.
Next, I've tried deleting the Google Play Services (com....gms) and installing them again, but they wouldn't show up in the app list.
Next, I tried to flash the MIUI with ADB without wiping the storage, done that successfully but that didn't change anything.
I'm now trying to at least backup my photos via ADB and re-flash the MIUI with a full wipe. But even the com.android.backupconfirm window won't load for me to launch the backup process...
Please help.

Ok, I fixed it =)
pulled out the storage with adb and re-flashed the MIUI
Peace!

Did you figure out what was the problem in the first place?


text:
Building Lineage os : Device manifest and framework compatibility matrix are incompatible
I am trying to build Lineage OS for the A52 4G, I'm at the building step, and then the compiler exits because "Device manifest and framework compatibility matrix are incompatible".
Kernel
Device tree
Second one which is required by the first one
Vendor files
How can I fix this ?
The full error log:
For ODM SKU = EMPTY_ODM_SKU_PLACEHOLDER, vendor SKU = EMPTY_VENDOR_SKU_PLACEHOLDER
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 check_vintf.cpp:241] Cannot parse "out/target/product/a52q/obj/PACKAGING/check_vintf_all_intermediates/kernel_version.txt" as kernel version, parsing as GKI kernel release.
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 check_vintf.cpp:251] Cannot parse "out/target/product/a52q/obj/PACKAGING/check_vintf_all_intermediates/kernel_version.txt" as GKI kernel release, parsing as kernel release
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 check_vintf.cpp:261] Cannot parse "out/target/product/a52q/obj/PACKAGING/check_vintf_all_intermediates/kernel_version.txt" as kernel release
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 check_vintf.cpp:241] Cannot parse "4.14.190-perf" as kernel version, parsing as GKI kernel release.
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 check_vintf.cpp:251] Cannot parse "4.14.190-perf" as GKI kernel release, parsing as kernel release
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 check_vintf.cpp:278] Successfully parsed content of out/target/product/a52q/obj/PACKAGING/check_vintf_all_intermediates/kernel_version.txt: 4.14.190-perf
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 VintfObject.cpp:58] getFrameworkHalManifest: Reading VINTF information.
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/system/etc/vintf/manifest.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:54] List 'out/target/product/a52q/system/etc/vintf/manifest/': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/system/etc/vintf/manifest/manifest_android.frameworks.cameraservice.service@2.2.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/system/etc/vintf/manifest/manifest_media_c2_software.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/system/etc/vintf/manifest/android.system.keystore2-service.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/system/etc/vintf/manifest/android.frameworks.stats@1.0-service.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/system/etc/vintf/manifest/android.system.suspend@1.0-service.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/system/etc/vintf/manifest/android.hidl.allocator@1.0-service.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/product/etc/vintf/manifest.xml': NAME_NOT_FOUND
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:54] List 'out/target/product/a52q/product/etc/vintf/manifest/': NAME_NOT_FOUND
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/system/system_ext/etc/vintf/manifest.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:54] List 'out/target/product/a52q/system/system_ext/etc/vintf/manifest/': NAME_NOT_FOUND
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 VintfObject.cpp:58] getDeviceHalManifest: Reading VINTF information.
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 check_vintf.cpp:79] Sysprop ro.boot.product.vendor.sku=
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/vendor/etc/vintf/manifest.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:54] List 'out/target/product/a52q/vendor/etc/vintf/manifest/': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/vendor/etc/vintf/manifest/manifest_android.hardware.drm@1.3-service.widevine.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/vendor/etc/vintf/manifest/android.hardware.nfc@1.2-service.samsung.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/vendor/etc/vintf/manifest/android.hardware.gnss@2.1-service-qti.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/vendor/etc/vintf/manifest/android.hardware.cas@1.2-service.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/vendor/etc/vintf/manifest/android.hardware.wifi@1.0-service.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/vendor/etc/vintf/manifest/vendor.qti.hardware.display.allocator-service.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/vendor/etc/vintf/manifest/android.hardware.neuralnetworks@1.3-service-qti.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/vendor/etc/vintf/manifest/android.hardware.graphics.composer-qti-display.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/vendor/etc/vintf/manifest/android.hardware.usb@1.2-service.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/vendor/etc/vintf/manifest/android.hardware.health@2.1-samsung.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/vendor/etc/vintf/manifest/android.hardware.graphics.mapper-impl-qti-display.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/vendor/etc/vintf/manifest/android.hardware.wifi.supplicant.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/vendor/etc/vintf/manifest/android.hardware.neuralnetworks@1.3-service-qti-hta.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/vendor/etc/vintf/manifest/vendor.lineage.trust@1.0-service.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/vendor/etc/vintf/manifest/android.hardware.vibrator-service.sm7125.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/vendor/etc/vintf/manifest/android.hardware.wifi.hostapd.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/vendor/etc/vintf/manifest/vendor.samsung.hardware.biometrics.fingerprint@3.0-service.sm7125.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 check_vintf.cpp:79] Sysprop ro.boot.product.hardware.sku=
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/odm/etc/vintf/manifest.xml': NAME_NOT_FOUND
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/odm/etc/manifest.xml': NAME_NOT_FOUND
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:54] List 'out/target/product/a52q/odm/etc/vintf/manifest/': NAME_NOT_FOUND
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 VintfObject.cpp:64] getDeviceHalManifest: Successfully processed VINTF information
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 VintfObject.cpp:64] getFrameworkHalManifest: Successfully processed VINTF information
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 VintfObject.cpp:58] getFrameworkCompatibilityMatrix: Reading VINTF information.
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:54] List 'out/target/product/a52q/system/etc/vintf/': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/system/etc/vintf/compatibility_matrix.6.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/system/etc/vintf/compatibility_matrix.4.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/system/etc/vintf/compatibility_matrix.device.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/system/etc/vintf/manifest.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/system/etc/vintf/compatibility_matrix.3.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/system/etc/vintf/compatibility_matrix.5.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:54] List 'out/target/product/a52q/system/system_ext/etc/vintf/': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/system/system_ext/etc/vintf/manifest.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:54] List 'out/target/product/a52q/product/etc/vintf/': NAME_NOT_FOUND
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 VintfObject.cpp:64] getFrameworkCompatibilityMatrix: Successfully processed VINTF information
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 VintfObject.cpp:58] getDeviceCompatibilityMatrix: Reading VINTF information.
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/vendor/etc/vintf/compatibility_matrix.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 VintfObject.cpp:64] getDeviceCompatibilityMatrix: Successfully processed VINTF information
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 check_vintf.cpp:112] fetched kernel version 4.14.190
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 check_vintf.cpp:116] fetched kernel level from RuntimeInfo ''
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 check_vintf.cpp:130] read kernel configs from out/target/product/a52q/obj/PACKAGING/check_vintf_all_intermediates/kernel_configs.txt
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:54] List 'out/target/product/a52q/system/etc/vintf/': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/system/etc/vintf/compatibility_matrix.6.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/system/etc/vintf/compatibility_matrix.4.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/system/etc/vintf/compatibility_matrix.device.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/system/etc/vintf/manifest.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/system/etc/vintf/compatibility_matrix.3.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/system/etc/vintf/compatibility_matrix.5.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:54] List 'out/target/product/a52q/system/system_ext/etc/vintf/': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/system/system_ext/etc/vintf/manifest.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:54] List 'out/target/product/a52q/product/etc/vintf/': NAME_NOT_FOUND
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:54] List 'out/target/product/a52q/system/etc/vintf/': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/system/etc/vintf/compatibility_matrix.6.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/system/etc/vintf/compatibility_matrix.4.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/system/etc/vintf/compatibility_matrix.device.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/system/etc/vintf/manifest.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/system/etc/vintf/compatibility_matrix.3.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/system/etc/vintf/compatibility_matrix.5.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:54] List 'out/target/product/a52q/system/system_ext/etc/vintf/': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/system/system_ext/etc/vintf/manifest.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:54] List 'out/target/product/a52q/product/etc/vintf/': NAME_NOT_FOUND
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:54] List 'out/target/product/a52q/system/etc/vintf/': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/system/etc/vintf/compatibility_matrix.6.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/system/etc/vintf/compatibility_matrix.4.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/system/etc/vintf/compatibility_matrix.device.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/system/etc/vintf/manifest.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/system/etc/vintf/compatibility_matrix.3.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/system/etc/vintf/compatibility_matrix.5.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:54] List 'out/target/product/a52q/system/system_ext/etc/vintf/': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:43] Fetch 'out/target/product/a52q/system/system_ext/etc/vintf/manifest.xml': OK
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 HostFileSystem.cpp:54] List 'out/target/product/a52q/product/etc/vintf/': NAME_NOT_FOUND
checkvintf I 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 check_vintf.cpp:384] All HALs in device manifest are declared in FCM <= level 5
checkvintf E 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 check_vintf.cpp:620] files are incompatible: Device manifest and framework compatibility matrix are incompatible: HALs incompatible. Matrix level = 5. Manifest level = 5. The following requirements are not met:
checkvintf E 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 check_vintf.cpp:620] android.hardware.power:
checkvintf E 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 check_vintf.cpp:620]     required: IPower/default (@1-2)
checkvintf E 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 check_vintf.cpp:620]     provided:
checkvintf E 04-02 04:47:47 119521 119521 check_vintf.cpp:620] : Success
INCOMPATIBLE```

Sorry, but ROM building is off-topic since Android Enthusiasts focuses on end-users or power-users (but not necessarily developers) solving their issues.

Oh, okay thanks, I guess I'll post it on Stack Overflow


text:
Can I always open Google Maps links in OpenStreetMaps instead?
From the Android courier app I use for work, the target address gets provided as a Google Maps link.
However I would much rather be using OpenStreetMaps (via an app like e.g. Guru Maps) instead. Is there a way how I can configure Android so that the Google links automatically get opened in an OpenStreetMaps app?

That depends on how courier app sends the data to the map app. This can be done using a general Google Maps link (https://maps.google.com/...), a special link with a protocol scheme provided by Google Maps (not sure if the GM app implements such a scheme) or in the end the app can search for the Google Maps app and directly send the map coordinates to it. If Courier uses option 1 or 2 then this might be possible if Guru Maps would also implement the URL Google Maps host or scheme. If it is option 3 you cant change it.

@Robert Is it possible to find out what option it is without contacting developers?

By decompiling the apps or may be by checking adb logcat events.

@Robert Ok, that doesn't sound like something I wanna dive into further. Thanks anyway!


text:
Is it possible to turn an Android device into a USB Pendrive on a rooted device through a OTG cable?
I tried using USB Mountr but it turns up as Linux File-CD Usb Gadget Device and it doesn't work for my car's music player. Is it possible to emulate a USB flash drive using an OTG cable?

Does this answer your question? Why can't I see Android storage as a partition on PC?

That seems to be the same Gadget API that caused the problem in my question, I was wondering if it was possible to make Android emulate a general USB flash drive?

Android runs on Linux kernel, and in Linux kernel, USB Gadget API is the only way to make a USB Host act as a USB Device. There's no other general or specific way AFAIK. // "It doesn't work" is a vague description of the problem. You'll get better help from community if you explain your problem and findings in detail. What have you tried so far and what errors did you get?

How I solved a similar situation few years back was by mounting the device after booting to TWRP/custom recovery... That way your device behaves like a USB Pendrive


text:
Notification bar content and scroll down
When I swipe the notification bar down, I get a bunch of "items", roughly one for each notification (email, weather, news &c). How are these items called? How do I control their verbosity?
Specifically, the "item" corresponding to Google Podcasts used to be "big" and contain the control buttons (stop, ff &c) and now I need to touch a tiny down arrow to get those buttons. How do I get back the whole thing?

Technically, the "item" is called "notification" on the official Android Developer guide. But since you mentioned the control button, perhaps you might also be referring to media controls.

Hello. Can you post a screenshot and circle the things you are asking about? That would bring clarity.

If I'm not wrong, you want all those buttons etc of those notifications to be available without clicking an extra tiny down arrow. You can maybe change the app's notification priorities under notification settings. See if that works.
If it doesn't there's nothing much you can do. Its a decision made to make a more compact User Interface as far as I know.

no, the app's notification settings do not help.

do you know what the name of those items / buttons is?


text:
How to reimport exported WhatsApp chats? [iPhone to Android migration]
My friend recently made the decision to switch to Android from iOS. Since she's not particularly tech-savvy, I'm tasked with migrating her WhatsApp data from her iPhone 7 to her new Redmi Note 11T 5G (MIUI 12.5.2, based on Android 11) phone.
I've tried a couple of apps that promise very straight-forward WhatsApp chat transfers between iOS and Android through a PC, but the three apps I tried were ridiculously slow, and just randomly failed mid-way after several hours of progress. However, I must note that I did find a couple of chats from 2021, which would've come only through the transfer. But surely, something was wrong if only a couple of chats, that too from 2021, were transferred over several hours.
Then I came across this guide which suggests exporting the individual chats from the iPhone, and send it by email to the new Android device. I downloaded the exported chats on the new phone before installing WhatsApp on it. I also made sure the Google Drive backups don't exist. When WhatsApp goes through the setup process however, it can't detect backups in the Google drive at the restore backups screen, and only gives me the option to skip. And when I press skip, it goes straight to the main chats page, and doesn't recognise the exported chats. Should I move these chats to a specific location? Is there a better way to move WhatsApp chats from iOS to Android?

The "Backup found" page shown in the image on the aforementioned guide never happened.

I'm sorry to say that the article is wrong since it never works like that (as mentioned by the 2nd commenter on that article). WhatsApp on Android can only restore from specific database format on the internal storage or WhatsApp app backup on Google Drive. Please check the linked question Transfer WhatsApp chat from iPhone to Android for the solutions.

@AndrewT. Ah shucks. I did see the linked question, but since the accepted answer suggested third-party apps and also the export-import method, and the neither worked well in my situation, I thought I'll ask about it. Thanks for the help though - much appreciated. :)


text:
How to open/inspect data stored in .thumbdata3 files?
A THUMBDATA file is a cache file created by some Android devices' Gallery app. It contains indexed property information about every thumbnail image shown in Gallery.
I accidentally lost all my images on my phone and all I have is some files named: x.thumbdata3-xxxx they sized about 1-1.5GB each.
the question is how can I extract the data inside these files? I Don't care if they tiny sized or anything. I managed to install some apps on android and extracted a couple of images but all the data extracted was not even close to 2MB. is there any solution for this? *not looking for any sort of online tools. Thanks.


text:
Certain Apps Do Not Work on Cellular Data
Some apps (Outlook, Gmail, Life360) do not function on cellular data, but function perfectly on WiFi. I've already checked for unlimited cell data, resetting APNs, reinstalling the apps, factory resetting and installing only those apps... I uninstalled Family Link as well after reading about that on a Google forum. I also saw the "google apps lose connection..." article, but its steps don't help. Needless to say, everything is updated.
Other apps, like Google Search, NHL, etc. work fine on cell. However, some websites like discord.com give certificate errors when loading.
When I say Outlook doesn't work, here is more detail about its symptoms: Message notifications appear, but the messages don't load. Outlook says "no connection." Similar issues with Gmail. Life360 can't load locations/sync at all, either. Trying to set up Outlook on just cell leads towards this article (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/azure/active-directory/adal-authenticate-android-devices-fail), but I can't verify that this is indeed the problem (I have am not redirected to a federated STS login page.)
The phone is a T-Mobile Revvl V+ 5G running up-to-date Android 11. Other iPhone devices on the same T-Mobile plan work fine, so this appears to be a T-Mobile/Android/device problem, especially as the problem is with many (but confoundingly, not all) apps.
Note: the issue appears both with WiFi enabled, but unavailable, and with WiFi off.
This is most irritating, as if I needed a WiFi device, I would use a laptop. Any help is extremely appreciated!

Since how long do you have these problems (hours, days, weeks)?

It's happened as long as the phone has existed, sadly, apart from a few hours after the first time I set it up. (I made no network/wifi/app settings changes in that time)


text:
Can I somehow allow an app to access all files?
I have some applications which I want to allow access to not just for media folder:

OS: Android12, OneUI4
Can I somehow gently ask the OS to provide extra permission to this application without modifying the application to request it explicitly?
I need the following permission for the above application:

Can I do this somehow?

As a user, you can only grant permissions the app itself requests. So you'd need to ask the corresponding developer for that.

And there's probably a reason why the dev can't implement it due to the storage updates in Android 11 and the Play Store enforcement.


text:
Apps asking only permission to read external storage
Some of my apps only ask for a permission to read external storage, not to write. I trust these apps (even my banking app), so I guess they are not looking at my files. Any idea why they need this permission? Is this a useless permission?

at least my banking app wants me to save montly pass sheets pdf

Do those apps e.g. need to import things – like *.csv files with transactions with your banking app, which you mentioned as only example? Then this permission certainly is not useless.

It's mostly useless (unless the app has some feature to download your transactions etc to external storage) but alas you are helpless there not to grant it anyway. The app mostly would force you to grant it neverthless


text:
How to create system users on Androidx86?
I am trying to create system users on an Android x86 virtual machine, but the binaries adduser and addgroup don't exist (neither useradd or usermod). I installed BusyBox to get access to these utilities but when trying to run addgroup to create a new system group I get error addgroup: /etc/group: No such file or directory. When trying to run adduser with an existing system group I get error adduser: unknown group net_bt_admin.
The only way to create users I found so far is through pm create-user, but these are android level users, how can I create users quivalent to shell or system default users?

android "misuses" uid's for it's app restrictions, there exist no "users" and one must not mess up file permissions. pm create-user is for creating profiles

Also related: this and this.


text:
Sync audio time using microphone [Android root/noroot]
My TV(not a smart TV) speaker is playing an audio, I had the same audio in my android phone(rooted). How to sync both audios without any external/wireless connection, and with the help of syncing using android phone's microphone. so that after syncing i can reduce TV volume and hear audio from my android (using headphones or phone speaker)

I didn't gave them a try, but might be worth a look: there are some apps promising a solution for this, like SnapCast and AmpMe. With some luck they solve your issue (if so, be welcome to answer your own question with some details on how they worked out). Best luck!

Nothing is working . The problem is,  my TV doesn't have any connection with my phone , means no Bluetooth , no wifi and no hdmi , and i only want my phone to listen the audio of my TV and play same audio that i saved in my android. here audio means any maybe music or a movie audio track.


text:
Init services does not start at Boot time
I flashed Patch Boot.img via fastboot after flash device start normally but didn't get Root Access..
When i try to get boot logcat i observed that my device didn't start init services at boot time...
Boot.img Contains Ramdisk & Init. Rc files
Device:
Vivo S1, Android 11 version,
Chipset MT6768 Helio P65

https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk/issues/5148


text:
Android phone cellular hotspot with security camera
I have a spare Samsung note 8 that I am using as a cellular hotspot for a security camera. I leave this at the marina on my boat's tower to keep an eye on the weather as it takes a pic every minute. I am having two issues, the first one is that when the camera is using wifi to hotspot it doesn't upload pic to ftp server.. the second issue is that I cannot connect to the camera by using the public ip and port 80 to access the camera dashboard.
When the camera is connected to the router's wifi then I can access the dashboard and the camera can upload to ftp. Is this due to phone firewall or I need some sort of port forwarding or how can I get this to work?

Phones usually can not be accessed via cellular network because of CGNAT used by mobile network provider. If the cellular uses IPV4 this today simply a technical necessity as most MNOs don't have enough IPv4 addresses to provide every phone one.

maybe you are interested in opposite


text:
Delayed Notifications Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro
I ordered the Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro (China ROM) and the phone is doing fantastic except 1 annoying issue.
All my notifications are being delayed and only get delivered when I wake up the screen.
I have tried several things :
power management to performance mode
no battery restrictions
no wifi/3g/4g/5g restrictions
allow all apps to autostart
disabled battery restrictions on app level
no battery restrictions
Allow all background data & location access of apps will be enabled
Allow all app notifications, lessbattery life

It just seems that the network connectivity is being lost after a certain time of inactivity when the screen is sleeping. For example: Whatsapp web is disconnecting after a while.
This is happening for 2 months now and I'm clueless where I can find a solution. I'm still waiting to flash the ROM to the global version but this hasn't been released yet.
Any help is much appreciated!
Phone specifications:
Android: 11
Miui : 12.5.18Stable (12.5.18.0(RKTCNXM)
Model: 21091116C

I think you have done most of what Don't kill my app! suggested, but you may check and try the rest.

I did with no success. It seems to happen only on 4g/5g connections and not on Wi-Fi. Any suggestions maybe?


text:
On a Pixel 6 with Android 12 and the March 5, 2022 security update, is it possible to change where you swipe up to unlock the phone?
This morning, I applied the March 5, 2022 security update to my phone. After this update and restart, I needed to change where I swipe up on the lock screen in order to bring up the PIN pad.

Prior to this update - as last as last night - I used to place my finger on or near the lock icon and swipe up, as indicated by the green circle and arrow. However, after updating my phone to the latest patch, I now need to put my finger at the bottom edge of the screen and swipe up, as indicated by the red circle and arrow.
I may eventually get used to this, but right now, it's rather frustrating. I went through the settings related to swiping and the lock screen, but nothing seemed relevant. Enabling face or fingerprint unlock is not a viable option.
Is it possible to restore the original behavior? Is this this an intentional change and was it documented somehow?

I just tested on Pixel 3a, but looks like the position is irrelevant, only speed is the factor. Swiping up very slowly full to the top, even from the very bottom of the screen, will still fail. On the other hand, swiping up very fast from the lock icon will still successfully show the security option. Not sure if the Pixel 6 has a different behavior...

@AndrewT. It has a different behavior now. That was the pre-update behavior on the Pixel 6, as well. Speed may still matter, but location also matters a lot.

Something else that I've observed is that I can now long-press on the lock icon on the lock screen. I'm not sure if that was an existing feature that I just didn't know about.


text:
When to use WiFi Direct if I already have Quickshare and Nearby share?
Is there a point to use WiFi Direct when my Samsung phone already has Quickshare and Nearby share?


text:
Stores the OS a list of installed apps and their install locations?
Some time ago I made a backup of the internal data partition with TWRP. Then I installed and updated some apps in the adopted storage. Due to some other issue with the phone, internal data was partly deleted and I restored the (slightly outdated) data from backup.
Nevertheless the newly installed apps on adopted storage don't show and updated apps only appear after renaming the app installation directory (usually the an appended "-2" must be changed to "-1").
So I conclude that the system somewhere in the data stores a list of the installed apps and their install location, but where (and in which data format)?

Does this answer your question? Where are UID for each application stored?

@alecxs Thank you. This is what I wanted.


text:
Is it possible to use the built-in VPN client in the work profile?
As the title says, I'm looking for a way to set up the built-in VPN client to work with the work profile (under Shelter/Island). There's no separate Settings app in the work profile to allow that, or an option to specify the profile when adding a VPN configuration in the main settings app. Most online references to VPNs in the work profile mention third-party clients; however I need to connect to an L2TP/IPsec VPN, and AFAICT no such client exists.
Google's VPN documentation says you may need a separate VPN app "to run a separate VPN for the personal profile or work profile" - but I don't want that, I just want to run the one VPN, under the work profile. On a separate page describing the built-in client it says "you can make a VPN work only for apps associated with your work profile", but does not explain how, and I'm not finding such an option. Any help appreciated!


text:
Getting a timeout error when trying to reach Yahoo mail through all apps. That's the only site with an issue. Samsung s20 fe 5g 1ui4.0
Received a replacement s20fe last week and haven't been able to reach Yahoo mail since. It times out or returns a 'This page isn't working' message. Can't even get through with the Yahoo mail app.
No problems reaching any other site or service. The only problem is getting to Yahoo, with any app.

AT&T sent an OTA that resolved the issue.


text:
Is there a way to suspend the system?
I have Android tablet, whenever I lock the device it goes to sleep, but it is actually operating mode, when programs can run, notify me, etc.
I am looking for suspend mode, just as with regular computer, when program do not run in suspend mode.

Android devices are designed to be always on. There is no suspend mode, you can only power it off or leave it running. When keep it running you can enable all battery savings like disable all wireless interfaces).

Some history: Do Android 3.0 tablets have standby/hibernate mode? (asked about Android 3.0 specifically, but mostly true until now in 2022). Possibly related/some alternative suggestion: How to make an Android smartphone actually go to sleep?. For notification, the Do Not Disturb mode might also help.

Suspend to RAM requires specific support at hardware, bootloader, Linux kernel and userspace level. All or some of these are not available on Android devices.


text:
Can I use my TV as a display for a tty while using my Android screen as a virtual keyboard?
I use Termux on a rooted device to run Alpine Linux in a chroot, but since the screen is small it is hard to type with a virtual keyboard + get a good view.
I want to use my Android's screen for the keyboard while using my TV's screen as a display for a terminal. The TV in question supports VNC and Miracast.

Does this answer your question? How do I project the screen of my Android phone for a presentation?

@alecxs Unfortunately I don't have access to a physical keyboard.

@alecxs Can I use screenrecord/miracast with a custom resolution? I just need the tty instead of the Android screen and casting the Android screen has the demerit of not being able to set a custom resolution.

I understand, but since I have have an input device (virtual keyboard) + screen (television display) + system (alpine), it shouldn't be necessary to need another input device right? And after all I only need a tty which doesn't need a mouse for input

some devices have two screens (like LG Velvet) so obviously android supports dual-screen. Kindly wait for better qualified response

but let me tell you, custom screen resolution is pointless on screen mirror without physical keyboard - either virtual keyboard is too big and will cover half of screen, or it's too tiny to type! haven't found any dual-screen app btw...

LineageOS has "Force desktop mode" in developer options: "Force experimental desktop mode on secondary displays"


text:
Getting into Android with broken screen
My Moto Z Play died during a failed repair attempt.
The digitizer was dead immediately, the screen first still showed a faint image, but that's gone as well now.
ADB is activated, but only after login, and login only works using the gesture, not using the fingerprint sensor, at least after the phone rebooted.
I got scrcpy to work before, but while ADB isn't running, I can't use that.
My phone doesn't have any video output capabilities over it's USB C port, at least none that I ever got to work.
I can connect a mouse to unlock the screen, but without the ability to see the mouse pointer, that doesn't help either.
Does anyone have a clever idea what I could do to unlock the screen, so that I can grab the rest of the data that's left on the phone?
Or any other way of getting to the data?

get a second Moto Z play, tape two mouses together and unlock simultaneously

@alecxs I like your thinking^^ That's a pretty cool idea, but I fear, it won't really help me^^

What do you mean with login by gesture, screen lock pattern? adb should run before unlock, at least on my phone I can unlock pattern with scrcpy. I guess it's problem with rsa keys. scrcpy comes with adb.exe which is different to platform-tools, therefore will get in conflict with existing .android folder (do a backup, just in case) and discard existing rsa keys inside. you will see 'adb devices' unauthorized. another reason might be adb only enabled in MTP mode, but phones default is charge only

Yes, a lock pattern. I hoped, I could unlock it using a keyboard, but that sadly doesn't seem to work. On my phone, adb only starts after the screen has been unlocked. It's always been like that. After the botched repair, when the display still showed something, I could login using a mouse and after that use scrcpy. That worked fine. But I went to sleep before I could finish the backup. In the mean time the display completely died and the battery ran out. So today I tried to start it back up. The fingerprint sensor still vibrates the phone, so I know its on, but I can't get past the lockscreen

I even had the phone plugged in, so that it wouldn't run out of battery, but the case wasn't fully closed and there was a switch on the inside, that stops the phone from charging with the case opened. Stupid me did not disable the lock screen...

By any chance you can make screenshots to external MicroSD Card? That would maybe show you mouse cursor

I guess you would like the data that is in the phone, right? I'm not an expert regarding mobile software development, but I would try to take the data out building a software for it - maybe with Android Studio, which allows you to run/debug an app directly in your phone. I'm not sure it would work in your case, neither if it would be possible to do anything with a broken screen (I believe you need to have allowed the development tools in your phone for that), but I'd give it a try, since the tools for that are free.

@alecxs: That's a pretty awsome idea! I don't know if the default screenshot path is the sd card, though... But if I am lucky Google Photos might sync the screenshots.

@Leonardo Alves Machado: I considered this, but without adb I can't upload/install any software...


text:
Termux: bad interpreter: Permission denied
I'm attempting to execute this command in a Termux:Boot script.
 exec su --mount-master -c "LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$LD_LIBRARY_PATH HOME=$HOME PATH=$PATH:$HOME/bin $0"

I get this error:
: /data/data/com.termux/files/usr/bin/su: \
/data/data/com.termux/files/usr/bin/sh: bad interpreter: Permission denied

However, I can execute the command directly (without the exec) on the command line without any errors and I get the root prompt as expected.
The command comes from https://android.stackexchange.com/a/225612/12444
#!/data/data/com.termux/files/usr/bin/bash -e

[ $(id -u) -eq 0 ] || exec su --mount-master -c "LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$LD_LIBRARY_PATH HOME=$HOME PATH=$PATH:$HOME/bin $0"

Also, as part of trying to get that entire script to work on my device, I am trying this in Termux:
$ tsu
# rclone -v mount GDrive: /mnt/runtime/write/emulated/0/GDrive --gid 9997 --dir-perms 0771 --file-perms 0660 --umask=0 --allow-other

This gives the error:
# bash: /data/data/com.termux/files/usr/bin/rclone: Permission denied

The permissions are:
-rwxr-xr-x 1 u0_a212 u0_a212 62257128 Oct 21 16:57 /data/data/com.termux/files/usr/bin/rclone

Any suggestions?

https://github.com/MrBIMC/SELinuxModeChanger

@alecxs luckily, my SELinux mode is already permissive, but that's a good link anyway. Thanks for sharing it.

try Termux:Boot with this script and check '/sdcard/termux.log' for debugging purposes https://pastebin.com/vqeWK60E

@alecxs: good idea. Thanks. Will run that and report back. Also, I have made some progress, so I will update the question. I also need to post a new question related to https://github.com/topjohnwu/Magisk/blob/master/scripts/emulator.sh

@alecxs - I updated our chat room with results. Need your suggestions on next step.


text:
Bluetooth volume defaults to maximum on each new connection
Every time I connect a Bluetooth headphone to my android phone the (Bluetooth) volume changes to max volume.
It doesn't matter what was the level of the normal volume (non-Bluetooth volume).
Example:
Listening on the phone speaker at 50% volume, I connect the Bluetooth headphone and once the connection is established the volume jumps to 100%.
How can I change that behavior?
It wasn't happening before with similar audio devices and now it happens with all/some devices.

This issue is like a bug or a corner case.
Once it starts happening there is no CLEAR FIX.
Here I describe the path I took that lead me to resolve the issue.
Test after every change until resolved.
Repeat these steps (or variations of them) until resolved.
Connect bluetooth audio device
    Disable absolute volume option in Developer Options
Disconnect  bluetooth audio device
Connect bluetooth audio device
    Enable absolute volume option in Developer Options
Disconnect  bluetooth audio device
Connect bluetooth audio device
Disconnect  bluetooth audio device
    Disable absolute volume option in Developer Options
Connect bluetooth audio device
Disconnect  bluetooth audio device
    Enable absolute volume option in Developer Options
Connect bluetooth audio device
Disconnect  bluetooth audio device

Once resolved, you may want to do this once more to protect your ears.
Enable absolute volume option in Developer Options

The easier way to find the setting is to search for volume

And here is the specific setting


text:
How to disable dialog and other accesses for another app, optionally with root
I'm looking for a way to prevent a certain app from showing any dialogs, on a rooted commercial device running android 11 or 10. Further, I'm also interested in intercepting its location data requests and return a dummy.
The first thing that comes to my mind is to disassemble the app, dig & modify the relevant pieces, pack and reinstall. However, this complicates future updates. I think with root permission, I should be able to intercept the system service call, aka tell the daemon to do nothing or something else when requested (not sure if this is the right naming; I come from desktop/server linux). If the described functionality is possible to implement, I wonder if it's going to be custom module for the system, a modified system service daemon, or an app runing with sudo?
Any suggestion in general is greatly appreciated. I'm digging around in the documentations and too lost to figure out if some or all of the ideas are actually implausible. Thank you.

"I think with root permission, I should be able to intercept the system service call". Theoretically yes. You can use Xposed to hook into system APIs. But it's not very simple. You'll need to write an app which interacts with Xposed and takes control of the callbacks for the required APIs (related to AlertDialog in your case).

@IrfanLatif Thank you, this is very helpful. I have a related question: would it be easier to implement the app, if I choose to intercept/disable all dialogs, instead of dialogs from that one app in question? I imagine the latter requires checking with some app identifiers, but I'm hopping that the former might be a simple toggling (e.g. like systemd disable dialog to drop the service, or altering a magical global variable).

No. In Android there's no system-wide service to manage dialogs. A Dialog is a component of the App's UI (Activity, to be more precise), and every app creates its Dialogs on its own. There's a possibility that some apps create their own dialogs, not using system APIs. You can't control them anyway. But mostly developers prefer to use framework APIs, which you can try to intercept. But even then, apps are highly likely to crash. That's why it's not simple, as I said.

By the way your query sounds more like development-oriented which is off-topic here.

@IrfanLatif Thank you so much, I'll stop here. Now I have a much better idea about what docs to look out for. If you post the comments as an answer I'm more than willing to accept it.


text:
Is it possible to deactive vibration and ringtone for a call by a certain/specific number?
I would like to deactivate

the ringtone and
vibration,

when a certain/specific number is calling me. Is this possible?

Yes, that is possible depending on the app you use for calling.
In the AOSP phone app, when you click on a contact, behind the three-dot overflow button there is such an option. I am not aware of a feature to disable vibrations, but as this is handled by your telephony app, you should be able to replace it (by installing a new one and making it default for telephony) with one that supports this feature.
Another option would be to programmatically disable sound and vibrations when a specified number is calling, achievable in a number of different android automation apps (such as Tasker, Automate).

Not a reply. This content 1. references a new app which is 2. unspecified and thus includes random conditions which makes it all just useless and isn't helping.

AOSP refers to Android Open Source Project, thus meaning the default phone app on stock android devices without gapps


text:
Recover data from /Android folder - Android 11
I have OnePlus8 Pro with Android 11. As you all know, with latest Android changes, now the WhatsApp media/documents/status data is put in /sdcard/Android/media/com.whatsapp.com
I uninstalled the app, and I dont know if I deleted it or uninstallation did, but I lost all the whatsapp media content. I later installed WhatsApp thinking I would get the media back but the folder is fresh with barely any data.
Is there any way to recover this data using ADB commands or some linux thing?

on stock android devices /sdcard is part of Internal Storage and therefore encrypted. once deleted, FBE(+metadata) encrypted files aren't recoverable. But some media can be downloaded again (afaik last 4 weeks at least)

HI @alecxs, thanks for replying. The above post suggest that I dump userdata partition onto an image and then fetch data from there.
I tried to do this cat: /dev/block/bootdevice/by-name/userdata: Permission denied but getting permission error. My device is not rooted, could you please help me how to move forward. Again, thank you so much for your help.

the above post covers some links with exceptions such as TRIM DISCARD ERASE F2FS FBE where data recovery is impossible. furthermore it requires raw access (such as EDL or root)


text:
Low-latency screenshot from Android emulator
I'd like to grab the screen 10 times a second to feed it into a computer vision model.
Running screencap in a loop in adb shell is too slow.
Other answers have suggested reading from /dev/graphics/fb0, but my emulator does not have this file.
Ideas for how to do this?

As it is an emulator wouldn't it be simpler to directly capture the screen on host side?

Yeah, that could work. Ideally I'd like something I can run both on an emulated device and on a real device connected through USB.

But your title clearly limits the question to emulators. For real devices check out scrcpy

Does this answer your question? screenrecord not working in emulator


text:
2nd display repeatedly loses connection when adb bridge is runnning
I am currently working on a project which includes smartphone instrumentation via FRIDA, which requires me to attach to the device via adb. Somehow, once the adb bridge is online my 2nd display keeps losing the connection, which results in the screen to turn of for 2-3 seconds every 10-15 seconds which is quite annoying. I am working on a laptop with Ubuntu 20.04 and have two external displays attached to it. Any help is appreciated.

This seems a strange issue since I didn't realize ADB may affect other devices. Also, just want to let you know that we also have a sister site [ubuntu.se] for a community with Ubuntu experts since while this question looks on-topic on this site, I'm afraid the issue may be related more to Ubuntu (e.g. drivers conflict?), not Android.

Thanks for the hint Andrew. I'll post the question there.


text:
When someone logged in you account in his device while you're using in your phone
I was using my whatsapp no since many years,but today my account automatically logged out coz the same number allocated to another person as I was not using the sim (no calls &msg) I live outside my country so can he able to see my old chats &msgs
??


text:
Why does USB Mountr cause two drives to appear?
When I mount an image in USB Mountr on Android 6 and use an OTG cable to connect the device to a Windows PC, two devices appear and two drives appear in File Explorer with the first one non-functional and the second being the image. Why does this happen and how can I prevent this?


text:
My Android 12 can resolve hostnames but can't connect directly to IP adress?
I'm facing a weird behavior when using mobile data.
My Sony Xperia 5 mark II on Android 12 with Magisk root can connect to the Internet if I connect to the URL. However if I try to connect directly to the IP address, it doesn't work (network unreachable according to my web browser).
This seems to be system-wide:
For instance I can ping google.com but I can't ping 8.8.8.8 (or whatever IP is behind google.com).
I can also connect to my own VPN server using Wireguard if I set the "host server" with my own .fr domain but not with my VPN server's IP.
I don't unterstand at all this issue. I tried cleaning arp table, DNS cache,...
When I disable Magisk the issue isn't solved either.
I don't especially know when it started...
Do you have any clue ?
Thanks

IPv6

What error does ping show? Did you check routing table?

Okay problem solved.
Default APN for my carrier (Orange France) was uneditable and allowed only IPV6 connection.
Orange's APN settings shown on their site mentioned IPV4 only which wasn't working at all.
Adding an APN with IPV4/IPV6 stacking is the way to go.
Thanks for your help.


text:
How do I change the AndroidID?
My Android ID has changed since a factory reset. Now some apps/services don't work. Besides using Titanium Backup, how can I restore/change back to the previous Android ID? I already know what the ID is.
Android 7 | Rooted

Last time I checked there were a few apps in Play Store that can change the Android ID on rooted devices.

http://play.google.com/store/search?q=device+id

May help: Where is the "android_id" stored and when does it change? and Is it possible to change Android ID without root access nor factory reset?

For those who may not know this:
Android ID is an unique ID to each device. It is used to identify your device for market downloads, specific gaming applications that needs to identify your device (so that they know it's a device that was used to pay for the application) and such.
If you don’t have a rooted device, then it would be a little difficult to change the device ID. You’ll have to fully format your device data to change your Android phone’s device ID. As the device ID is generated when you first set up the device, resetting the phone will change the Android device ID automatically.
If you have a rooted device, then changing the device ID is just a two-tap process. You can use any reliable Android device ID changer app and it will change the device ID with a random one with just two taps.
the app I used before is "Device ID Changer by Silver Lab" but it's no longer available in google play but you can find it by searching in google.
the package name is: com.silverlab.app.deviceidchanger.free
hope it helps.

The OP doesn't want a random id.  They want to revert to a previous id.


text:
Google Meet Screen Share on Huwawei T8 Not Working even w/ Storage & Microphone Permissions
asking for a friend. She has Android running on a tablet Huwawei T8 which has Quick App Center installed for Google Meet. It works perfectly fine for google meet meetings and it can view screen shares from other devices. The only problem is that if it is the Host and attempts doing the Screen Sharing, it will not work. Pressing Screen Share will do nothing with no error messages. I've done some googling and found out that you definitely have to give Quick App Center the Storage and Microphone Permissions, but despite giving it ALL permissions (i.e Camera, Location, Calendar, etc) in the Privacy Settings it is still not working with NO error messages. So we are in the dark. Any ideas what we are missing?

If I'm not mistaken, from this article, looks like this Google Meet is actually a web-based version contained inside an app, not a native app?

thank you for your help! yeah you're right it looks like its a wrapper app


text:
How to use Alcatel Download Mode
I found this mode on my onetouch 9022x tablet but I don't know how to use it. Are there any tutorial how to use it?

MSM8909 or MT8127 or do you mean fastboot mode? https://androidmtk.com/alcatel-mobile-upgrade-tool

I mean fastboot mode

there is not much you can do from fastboot. you can unlock bootloader, flash or format partitions, and maybe some oem commands like charging behavior

I want to try install linux so I need to unlock bootloader but I don't know how to do it

you can't install linux. except someone has built linux especially for onetouch 9022x (link)? but still it will destroy your tablet if you don't know it's qualcomm or mediatek

I'll try to make my linux

do you know any phone model that runs linux? can you name the distribution please?

pinephone

pinephone is a special hardware allow booting from SD Card. it's especially made for this purpose. It comes with it's own bootloader. It's like you code your own BIOS from scratch. original release was with Ubuntu Touch which was a linux-look-like on top of android kernel supported quite few devices (I tested on Nexus 4) can't speak for Pine but surely it will never run on your Alcatel, because it only runs on Allwinner SoC

authors: Дмитрий Сафронов


text:
Install software on Android tablets automatically
Our company purchased 100's of Samsung Tablets.
We need to install Samsung KNOX on all of them.
Right now, we need to power on every device and manually connect to WiFi and download Knox.
I'm wondering if there's any alternative where we can just connect it to a computer and have some software on  the computer that will connect to the tablet and take care of the all the setup steps.

How about mobile device management (MDM) Software?

You have to purchase special zero touch enrollment devices, then you can manage them: Android zero touch device enrollment. Regular devices have to be set-up manually.

@alecxs MDM first needs to be installed on the device. I don't know if there's any hardware/software out there that will allow us to plug the device into a terminal and have the MDM automatically installed


text:
How to wipe cache from Mi Recovery Mode (no root, no OEM unlocked)?
I saturated my phone memory, and while attempting to restart it to delete files, it got stuck on the "Mi" logo. I only have a partial backup.
Phone: Xiaomi Redmi Note 5, not rooted, not "OEM" unlocked.
What I want to do: wipe the cache (in the hopes that it will solve the problem), or if possible save the data to do a factory reset.
What I can do: I can access the Mi 3.0 recovery mode, use adb and fastboot.
What I can't do: The recovery mode doesn't offer a "wipe cache" option (only factory reset), and I can't wipe cache through adb or fastboot because the phone is not unlocked, a few examples :
adb shell su -c "rm -rf /data/data/<app's package>/cache/*"
error: closed

fastboot erase cache
******** Did you mean to fastboot format this ext4 partition?
Erasing 'cache'                                    FAILED (remote: 'Erase is not allowed in Lock State')
fastboot: error: Command failed

fastboot flash recovery twrp.img
Sending 'recovery' (35280 KB)                      OKAY [  0.856s]
Writing 'recovery'                                 FAILED (remote: 'Flashing is not allowed in Lock State')

Recovery mode also has a "pcsuite.mi.com" option, but I can't seem to make it work. I don't know how to use it, even if I have installed the Mi Suite, it doesn't detect my phone.
Do you think there is a possibility here to wipe the cache ? Or is it impossible and I must do a factory reset ?

@alecxs A little update: after a few manipulations (new loader because preexisting ones didn't work on Redmi Note 5, patching the driver, desactivating some windows securities) we solved a USB error 5, but still get a Sahara Error. I think I'm going to stop here, I was glad I could try this far. I am going to do a reset to factory setting. Thanks a lot for your help!

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


text:
Handcent Next SMS removed - will it be back? I have info but no rep
Got this answer from support, but I can't post it as an answer or in comments because I'm a nobody with no reputation:

Our app Handcent Next SMS has been misidentified as malware by Google,
we are in talks with Google to get our app back to play store. In the
meantime, please keep our app and do not uninstall. You should still
have all your data when it returns to normal. You can use the stock
app for now. Don't worry, we are trying our best to restore our
service.

Hi, I've removed the protection on that question for now. Feel free to repost the answer. Thanks.

Sorry, due to the overwhelming amount of low-quality non-answers to that question, it has to be protected again. Let me repost your contribution with credit. Sorry for the trouble and thanks for your contribution.

thx - a frustrating position to be unable to ask, answer, or even vote! No chance to get out of the reputationless dungeon...


text:
Use mouse on second screen
I am toying with making a multi-screen Android 11 device. I managed to start a different app on each screen, using am start -n <activity name> --display <display id>. Also, I found a launcher, which is capable of starting apps on a screen of my choice.
But only one of the screens is a touch screen, and I am trying to use a mouse for the other (or preferably both) screens. Sadly, the mouse is limited to the first screen, which is also the touch screen. So I have two input devices on the first screen, and none on the second one.
How do I assign the mouse to the second screen? Is there any way to use the mouse on both screens?

After a lot of trial-and-error, the following worked for me on Android 13 on FairPhone 4:

put device in landscape mode
open list of recently opened apps
open window options of any app
select Split window to right

The window disappeared, but my USB mouse was moved to the secondary screen with Desktop mode.


text:
Is it possible to convert internal storage to RAM without Root?
There is this apk called SWAP no Root. The developer claims that this app can convert the internal storage up to 5GB to RAM without root. I read this discussion that I need root to be able to do that. Is that even possible? Or is it just hoax? Since it's an apk, I'm assuming it doesn't involve PC to proceed. I'm not familiar with swap, though.

Using swap is not equivalent to "convert the internal storage to RAM" // 2. Using a file as swap without root is nothing more than a joke. // 3. Even with root, using internal storage for swap isn't a good idea. Go for ZRAM if possible. More explanation here.

I am sure that the storage memory will not be as fast as the main memory. So, even if you can do this, the device will become more unusable than now. Its better to remove some apps or configure some of them to be inactive, when not in use.

"In reality, there is at least one app that I know of that allows you to create zram and swap basically without limits or whatever your device allows you to do, called Ultra Ram Swapper. Although it requires root permissions, you can find an old patched version without the need for superuser on several YouTube channels

The OP said without root.


text:
Is there a folder for local unix sockets under Android?
On a normal linux installation the right path for local sockets is /run as described in the FSH.
But this folder does not exist under Android. I have checked both an old and a new device.
There is the folder /dev/socket but it may only be used by the init process (as described here).
So I wonder what the right path is?

There's no concept of shared directories like /run, /tmp and /var on Android. Neither the IPC through UNIX sockets (with path) and named pipes etc. is the recommended way. Instead use Binder IPC.

@IrfanLatif Binder IPC is for system-level developement. I want to do IPC on app level (my process is running as root)...


text:
How to recover encrypted files from sdcard from phone with broken screen?
So I have a few problems with my Galaxy S9+ phone:

About a week ago, my old galaxy s9+ phone's screen started turning black right before the login screen.  I can see the Samsung and verizon splash screens, then mostly nothing but a few white lines at the top.  Since it was about time to upgrade, I went ahead and got a new s20 ultra.
The sdcard from it was encrypted and before I realized that, I used it in my new s20 phone, so it now has a few unencrypted files and lots of encrypted files - files and a bunch of other misc stuffs.
Using this YT video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoJt91zKOjE, I am able to boot the phone and mirror the screen to a monitor, but as soon as I login, I see the icon at the top of the screen showing that it is encrypting (or maybe re-encrypting) the sdcard, so I pulled it out as fast as possible.

All of the new files on the sdcard (from the new phone) are expendable.
How do I go about getting all of the "old" files off the sdcard?  Is the encryption process that starts when I boot the phone just encrypting the new files, or re-encrypting everything?

you can't get encryption key off device so your only chance is put SD Card back in S9+

Ok.  But what about the encryption process that starts as soon as th phone boots?  Is that double encrypting the already encrypted files? (is that even possible?)

I have heard FBE adoptable-storage is possible, but I don't find anything about this corner case behavior. usually adoptable-storage is FDE encrypted. In your case it's probably not about adoptable-storage at all, but Samsungs SD Card encryption feature - which does not decide about initial encryption itself. therefore my guess is what you see is resuming encryption (not  double encryption). make a 1:1 copy with dd and try


text:
What is meant by "proportional" and "smearing" in batterystats
I want to analyze battery consumption of an app and ran:
> adb shell dumpsys batterystats > dump.txt

Within the filedump I found the section I am interested in:
  Estimated power use (mAh):
    Capacity: 3020, Typical: 3100, Computed drain: 1395, actual drain: 1510-1570
    Screen: 770 Excluded from smearing
    Uid u0a387: 364 ( wake=5.23 radio=0.0425 wifi=4.51 gps=349 sensor=4.88 ) Including smearing: 402 ( proportional=38.6 )
    Cell standby: 128 ( radio=128 ) Excluded from smearing
    Unaccounted: 115 ( ) Including smearing: 0 ( ) Excluded from smearing
    Uid u0a382: 40.6 ( wake=5.00 radio=1.40 wifi=34.2 ) Including smearing: 801 ( screen=684 proportional=76.9 )
    Idle: 27.4 Excluded from smearing
    Uid u0a83: 17.7 ( wake=0.240 radio=0.202 wifi=5.84 gps=2.33 sensor=9.06 ) Including smearing: 19.6 ( proportional=1.88 )
    Wifi: 10.0 ( wifi=10.0 ) Including smearing: 11.1 ( proportional=1.07 )
    ...

Each line contains info on "smearing", and if smearing is included part of this seems to be something called "proportional". These terms are not explained at all in the documentation.

Looks like the source code has some descriptions about them, though I haven't been able to really understand how they work.

@AndrewT. Looks like you are right, I'll update my answer

Thanks to @Andrew.T for pointing out the source code:

Smearing: Battery consumption which is shared with other components/processes is spread among apps. IFAIU there are two categories: "screen" and "proportional":

Screen: Smeared power from screen usage. Screen usage power is split and smeared among apps, based on activity time.
Proportional: Smeared power using proportional method. Power usage from hidden sippers is smeared to all apps proportionally (except for screen usage).

A "hidden sipper" is a source of battery usage which is one of IDLE, CELL, SCREEN, AMBIENT_DISPLAY, UNACCOUNTED, OVERCOUNTED or if it is a service or system app.
Proportional is then computed according to the following:
proportional power = hidden power * app power ratio
where "hidden power" is the power usage by hidden components(sippers), app power ratio the estimated power usage of a non-hidden sipper compared to the overall non-hidden sipper power usage.


text:
"Auto Update: Security" apk in downloads section
I found an apk called "Auto Update: Security" in the downloads folder of my phone.
I wasn't able to access its details as every time I tried to do so the package installer would start, with the warning that downloading apks from an external source is unsafe. I ended up deleting the apk as I wasn't able to confirm its origin
Is this a normal update for the Security app? If so, then why do I get the warning?
I don't recall having any system app updates ever being pushed through the downloads section since it has a separate section called "System app updates".
The device in question is a POCO M3 and is running on MIUI.

Seems very uncommon, though without knowing what it is actually (since there's no info about this APK on the internet), it's hard to comment further. Perhaps next time you can upload it to VirusTotal to get some basic information about the app.

Android system update are usually not stored in the Downloads folder and they don't come as an APK. The file may be downloaded by an app that is not present in Google Play Store or it is malware that tries to trick you to install it. I would recommend to delete it. If the update comes from an app the app should inform and ask you before downloading an update.

@AndrewT. I checked the System app updates section and it shows a prompt to update the Security app, so it's possible that I may have uninstalled the update. Even then, it seems pretty sketchy to me. I ran the phone through the Bitdefender app as well as Malwarebytes and nothing came up, but I doubt whether they ever detect anything.

@Robert I deleted the app and cleared the browser data as well. Is this enough?

If you have not installed the APK file this should be enough.

https://blog.zimperium.com/new-advanced-android-malware-posing-as-system-update/
This is the closest I could find and frankly speaking, it's pretty terrifying.


text:
What is the difference between "Corning Gorilla Glass Victus" and "Corning Gorilla Glass Victus Plus"?
What is the difference between "Gorilla Glass Victus" and "Gorilla Glass Victus+"?
Samsung claims their S22 and S22+ and S22U phones have something called

Corning® Gorilla® Glass Victus®+

The problem is, even on Corning.com I can't find any information on Gorilla Glass Victus+, I can only find information about Victus.


text:
Firefox "Open links in apps" blacklist?
I'm generally OK with urls opening dedicated apps, but there's 2 exceptions:
youtu.be
youtube.com

i don't want these 2 urls to open in the dedicated youtube app. is there some way to blacklist these 2 urls from "Open links in apps" ?

in case you wonder, i have 2 issues with the YouTube app,
#1: there's lots of ads, and because i'm banned from YouTube (since 2018, but seems its a lifetime ban) i am not allowed to buy Youtube Premium even if i wanted to. Firefox supports uBlock Origin, the youtube app does not.
#2: the YouTube app does not support playing in the background/pure audio, while Firefox does.

Go to App info -> Open by default -> Open supported links and select Ask every time. // Another option is to uninstall or disable YouTube app.

@IrfanLatif there is no Open by default in App Info for both FireFox and Youtube, so "App info" where? also the uninstall button for YouTube is disabled (i'm sure it can be uninstalled via rooting/adb, but cannot uninstall it the normal way at least) - the phone is a not-rooted Samsung S22U with Android 12 if that's relevant


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Do Google & OEMs always have backdoors in Android devices?
In a helpful comment on this Android Stackexchange question, prominent contributor alecxs states:

google and OEMs will always have own backdoors in propritary [sic] blobs for baseband/modem etc - you are already hacked at moment of using smartphone

I have much respect for alecxs, and they have provided helpful answers to my questions in the past.  So when alecxs writes something I don't already know, I pay close attention and try to learn form it.
Is it accurate that Google and OEMs always have backdoors in Android, and therefore one should consider any Android smartphone to be already hacked?
If so, why does the baseband/modem require such a backdoor?

For a lot of Open Source enthusiasts every closed source blob is a horror. As they can't look into it they anticipate the worst which means that the blob is insecure and contains backdoors. That is my understanding of such statements.

Rob Braxmann has some nice videos about

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

I don't think you'll get an answer like "Yes. I have a proof". But after this we don't have a reason to believe the other way.

what we can proof is the possibility of baseband hacking. Ralf-Philipp Weinmann reverse engineered Qualcomm "One of the exploits he found required nothing more but a 73 byte message to get remote code execution. Over the air." (there is a 10 years old yt video about)

google itself confirmed they can silently install apps without notifying you (although its no baseband hacking - google play required)

carrier can lock phone if you don't pay the bill
https://www.xda-developers.com/google-device-lock-controller-banks-payments


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Is there a way to unlock my son's Galaxy Tab A (SM-T580) with Family Link?
My son has not used his Galaxy Tab A (SM-T580) for months and he has forgotten his 3x3 unlock pattern/password.  The tablet is linked to Family Link on my Samsung phone.  How do we access his device?

There's no "parent access" link from the lock screen? If so, https://support.google.com/families/answer/7307262


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Taking screenshot inside Android TV apps or while watching TV channels
I can take screenshots of the screen of my Android TV (Philips device, Android 9) with an external keyboard using the PrintScreen key, and also with a button remapping app. It works just like on an Android phone: a white frame appears on the screen border, it fades away and a PNG file is saved in the Screenshots folder.
But as opposed to phones, on Android TV it only works on the home screen and on the Android menus. But when any app is open or when a standard TV channel is being reproduced, it doesn't work (no white frame, no click sound and no PNG file)
Is this by design or can it be configured to behave like on Android phones?

Some apps can prevent screenshots: Disable Screenshot Security.

Ok, just like in smartphones... but for some reason in smartphones you get a notification that the screenshot was not taken and on Android TV you don't get any feedback


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Samsung Galaxy J3 2017 SM-J330FN nandroid backup
I installed: Samsung_USB_Driver_v1.7.23.0, opened: odin3_v3.14.4 and started Odin 3. In AP I uploaded the file: twrp3.1.1-1_J330. I booted my Samsung Galaxy J3 2017 SM-J330FN in download mode; I connected it to the PC via the data cable and clicked START in Odin 3. The smartphone restarted in mode: TWRP. I tried to backup the system to SD card with TWRP, but every now and then it gave me errors and in the end it appeared: Backup Failed. Where is the mistake? Can someone help me?
Thanks

you should read recovery.log for reason


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reboot won't work after rom flash
I successfully flashed a pre-rooted stock rom (C.17) using SP Flash Tool on my Realme 6 but after that, reboot won't work. When I tried to reboot (using power button or adb) it just shuts down so I had to turn it on manually, so rebooting is turn it off then on manually. Everything works but reboot. I have TWRP 3.6 and Magisk 24.3.

If I am not wrong the C.17 and Realms 6 are two different ohones. Flashing a ROM developed for a different phone is a bad idea as it will not work and has just the chance to brick your phone. Android ROMs do only work on phones that have 100% the same hardware, not the same hardware specs, really identical hardware!

What i meant is flashing the update rmx2001_c.17


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Where is physical location of apps in Android 12
Where is physical location of apps in Android 12?
I use x-plore as file manager to browse files. I look in both internal and SD storage but cannot find many apps. These same apps show on my phone and work.
For example I cannot find Amazon App anywhere in phone folders,

Apps are stored in /data/apps and their data in /data/data but on a non-rooted device you don't have full access to those locations.

you can't find any apps on any android version, they never existed on internal storage or SD

@Robert There is no apps folder under data

@alecxs So when app saves some mp3 files. Is there anyway to find them?

I see x-plore has a search function. Hopefully those mp3s are not saved internally in the App.

ah you're talking about media files. location has changed from /sdcard -> to /sdcard/Android/media/

@SNash there is an app or apps folder but you don't won't see it as neither apps not the adb user have the permission to list the files and folders inside /data/.

@Robert So you are saying if I Root my phone I will be able to see it?


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How is an APK prevented from making security changes during their installation process
What if the APK installation ran a few scripts? Overwrote files outside it's designated folder? Edited a few files? etc? What would prevent it from doing so?

An APK does not have any control over its installation process. Installation is performed by the Android operating system. Details can be found in this answer.
But once an app is installed, it can then run its code and try to make malicious changes.

What would prevent it from doing so?

At Linux kernel level:

DAC (UID, GID, mode)
MAC (SELinux labels)

Read more about Android app sandbox.
At Android platform level:

Manifest permissions
AppOp permissions

Read more about permissions here, here and here.
Related:

Are multiple-users protected from each other differently than apps?


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Is it possible to transfer app data from a backup to another backup/pc?

The backup on the bottom has more app data  (85 app data) than the one at the top (33 app data). I was wondering if it is possible to extract/transfer the data onto the backup on the top or onto another storage platform such as a pc or an sd card. I cannot renew the backup at the bottom as the device that backup was made from has been reset and the backup at the top was the retrieved data from the backup at the bottom. If it is not possible, is the data still stored in some other cloud storage app such as google play?

I personally never used that kind of backup. looks like it is urgent. maybe try to download to PC, or try to increase the expire date straight from PC browser https://drive.google.com/drive/backups if you enabled sync in photos app you might download pictures before they get deleted by unwanted sync https://photos.google.com

How do i increase the expiry date using the PC browser? I'd only want the app data transfered.

it's you!

please reply, i've got little time left!

as I said never used that. searching for drive+backup will give you some hints. https://support.google.com/android/answer/2819582

should be even possible to restore on emulator (like BlueStacks) https://android.stackexchange.com/a/213374

Very late reply, but I was wondering what kind of backup system you use?

TWRP + Migrate-NG


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Enable ScreenCast from ADB - TV
I would need to be able to remotely control and monitor a TV running Android 9.0. In order to do so, I have been using WebKey without major issues...
One problem is happening with one TV model is that it says that screencast is not enabled and therefore, WebKey is not able to get video from the screen.
Is it possible to enable this option from ADB (eg. modifying some configuration file)?
I have been looking around the filesystem and trying with "getprop", "settings" but could not find a possible solution or workaround. I have also tried using scrcpy and it works fine using ADB over Ethernet in the same LAN (both video and control works ok).

scrcpy copies it's own binary onto the Android device and runs it for generating the video stream. Also a program started via adb has permissions apps don't have. ScreenCast my be disabled/not present to avoid conflicts with recording of DRM protected material.

Thanks @Robert, is there a way to enable ScreenCast from "outside" the TV?

try to sideload 3rd party apk http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JHMPP9S