text:
Nexus 5X bootloop, recovery mode doesn't exist
Yesterday my Nexus 5x froze and  started bootlooping, it did start twice since yesterday but only for a couple of minutes. I tried going into the recovery mode, but as soon as I click the power button to enter the recovery mode, it goes back to bootloop. Also tried going into safe mode once, but that didn't help.
I have already tried flashing the device with the Nexus root toolkit, but the problem still exists.

I'm facing the same issue right now, I did all the steps successfully from here, https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bz6x7k-VkpUJam5Mc1hKa09PVGc/view were you able to solve your problem?

I had the same problem today.
I tried multiple times to

re-flash TWRP
flash older versions of TWRP
flash older versions of the factory image (without the internal storage part)
flash the latest factory image (without the internal storage part)

Nothing changed, but this procedure worked for me (only once):

Start the phone in fastboot mode
On the PC, rename latest TWRP in recovery.img (I think it isn't required, but that's what I did)
On the PC
fastboot boot recovery.img

I backed up everything I needed from the internal storage (via adb) and then rebooted the phone.
I was expecting to do a full wipe, but everything started as usual.
EDIT: Sadly this procedure works every now and then. I noticed that leaving the phone boot loop, for example during the night, brings it back to a bootable state, but if you reboot the device the boot loop sequence starts again.

TechTimes reports that:

LG is currently unable to repair Nexus 5X smartphones affected by a so-called "bootloop" malfunction, so it's issuing full refunds to make up for it.

so I don't think there's anything you can do to fix it.

After many hours of screaming and shouting (not really), I finally found a fix.
There are some boot images out there that should fix it, but in my case they didn't. So I decided to find a way and apply the fix myself.
You'll probably lose all your data with this
I used Ubuntu 18.04 for this. Since one of the packages I used required Linux and I'm not hipster enough to buy a Mac.
Since applying the fix yourself requires you to unpack en repack the boot image, I used the GIT repository at https://github.com/cfig/Android_boot_image_editor.
They tested it with the original Nexus 5x factory image, so I decided to download it (MDA89E). (https://developers.google.com/android/images#bullhead)
Step 1. Download Factory Image and unpack it (also unpack the zip file within in (containing the actual factory image)
Step 2. Acquire the Android Platform Tools.
sudo apt install android-sdk

Step 3. Acquire Java
sudo apt install default-jre

Step 4. Clone the repository mentioned above
git clone https://github.com/cfig/Android_boot_image_editor.git --depth=1

Step 5. Follow the instructions! (You'll need Android Studio too)
Step 6. Open the bootimg.json file and make sure the following commands are present in the info > cmdline value.
"cmdline" : "console={** other commands are here **} androidboot.hardware=bullhead boot_cpus=0-3 maxcpus=4 cpu_max_a53=1632000 cpu_max_a57=0",

The boot_cpus command is probably already present. change its value to 0-3 and make sure the maxcpus=4, cpu_max_a53=1632000 cpu_max_a57=0 are present.
Step 7. Repack your image (Follow instructions!)
sudo ./gradlew pack

Step 8. Move the boot.img.signed file to the unpacked factory image (The actual image mentioned in step 1). So you should overwrite the existing boot.img with the newly packed boot.img.signed (rename it to boot.img and throw away the original)
Step 9. Start ADB server (Maybe reconnect your devices afterwards)
adb devices

Step 10. Make sure your device is connected and visible for 'fastboot devices'. That means it should be in the fastboot mode (Power button + Volume down while booting)
Step 11. Let's go! (All these files are (now) present in the freshly downloaded factory image.
fastboot unlock flashing
fastboot erase userdate

fastboot flash bootloader {bootloader-image.img}
fastboot reboot bootloader
fastboot flash radio {radio-image.img}
fastboot reboot bootloader

Step 12. Flash the rest
fastboot flash boot boot.img
fastboot flash cache cache.img
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img
fastboot flash system system.img
fastboot flash userdata userdata.img
fastboot flash vendor vendor.img
fastboot reboot

Hope this helps anyone.

Try to use adb from pc, with the prompt commands


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Why doesn't my Samsung cable charge?
I have a Samsung Galaxy S4. It has it's own charger with a detachable cable, able to go to USB ports. This one to be exact, it works perfectly. I also have a Surface pro 3 and it's charger. As can be seen from the picture, it has a USB port for charging, it also works. It's when I combine my Surface charger and my Samsung cable, that I get a problem. The lightning icon appears on my phone, but it's not really charging at all. Changing the cable with my other cables fixes it.

It might be that Samsung is shipped with a non-standard proprietary cable design in order to make you buy the overpriced original.

The Power which your Phone consumes outway the Power a USB Port can supply.
This problem is often faced when using an Powerbank.
Cause could be an old Battery which lifetime is coming to a close, but thats anyones guess.
I would buy myself a charger that goes in to the Wall socket. Way more convinient.
For example, it would take 5h for my Nexus 5 to fully recharge from USB and only 2 hours from the wall Socket directly.

Why do you think it out-ways the power a USB Port supplies? I've clearly stated that just switching the cable fixes everything. Also this same cable works with the original charger, so it's their combination, not an individual part.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Forbid certain changes on Android
I often face the following problem: an old person, absolutely not tech-savvy, is using an Android phone and is not contactable anymore because he/she has inadvertently muted its phone which doesn't ring anymore when one calls him/her, or has turned it off and doesn't know how to turn it on again. More generally, he/she has inadvertently changed any setting, the change leading to more difficult use of the phone for him/her.
I would like to prevent that kind of issue by forbidding that kind of changes and ideally, natively. That is, without installing a new app -- because I saw apps allowing macro programming or even remote control, but I don't want processes running on that person's phone, nor do I want to control his/her phone on a regular basis to reinstate correct settings. (Except if there's no reliable native solution.) The phone in question is a Samsung Galaxy S10+ under Android 12.
Is there something standard regarding this matter?

While not necessarily the same, you also might be interested in [tag:parental-control]. However, AFAIK, Android doesn't provide a standard for restricting its own device, even like parental control. Some manufacturers may add customization, like Easy Mode on Samsung, but not a fully customizable setting restriction. This is also usually a matter for enterprise MDM (Mobile Device Management), but not really applicable for personal usage.

Are there free MDM software available on Android btw ? (Because this in indeed the exact need.)

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


text:
Can't remove root
I have rooted in my Asus Zenfone 2 Laser 1 month ago but now I want to delete it. I tried to delete it by following some guides without success. Could someone help me, please? Thanks

A lot of Asus has this problem, try to follow this guide made to mail for Asus that permit you to remove root.
http://www.android.gs/root-asus-zenfone-2/

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


text:
Using ADB, what command can I use to break/permanently destroy a Galaxy S5?
I really need to know how to completely fry an S5 (don't ask why) using ADB while attached to a USB to my computer. Someone had posted the instructions for an S4 but the command only turned it off and on again when I used it. If there is any other method I can use to do this (break it I mean, but not physically), let me know.

Dumb question... Why would you want to do this?

Requires root access
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/block/mmcblk0

It won't complete through the whole disk, but will proceed to a point where the device flashes black and falls irresponsive. All data are not erased, but the system is gone and it's very hard to recover.
For the same effect:
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/block/mmcblk0 bs=4096 count=256
# Only erases the first 1MB, where the GPT table lies

Alternatively (for Galaxy S5 and other "modern" phones):
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/block/by-name/aboot

An aftersale service can recover the device without breaking it open, which is what you wanted. I'm not going to post any details about recovery, only the fact that it can be recovered.

do you know a command that doesn't require root access?

@Jay AFAIK there doesn't exist one.

If you have root right then its very simple. with adb command
$ adb shell rm /system/bin/linker

you can also try this with terminal emulater with root permission
this will remove executable linker which is very important for .so library in system or in apps.
after reboot i'm sure you can't access your device.
but if you want it back you can use flash tool to flash stock ram and get running it back.
you can also try to remove some other binary in system part.


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New to Andriod - Duplicate contacts issues with WhatsApp and other messengers
I'm new to Android and I must admit it's been frustrating setting up the contacts.  I only want local contacts stored, I don't want it to sync anything.  When I added my work email it synced 5000 contacts without asking and it was a huge hassle to get rid of them.  (Why you wouldn't be able to "select all" from a certain group and delete it the Contacts app, I have no idea). Then after I deleted all the contacts from the work email somehow sync got turned back on by itself.
Anyways, now I deleted them again and hopefully sync won't turn back on.  But this is pretty brutal, I've spent hours on this.
So now when I add a local contact if they're on WhatsApp, it creates another entry.  If they're on Signal, it creates yet another entry and when I search for the contact I see them 3 times.  I'm trying to understand why WhatsApp etc can't just read my contacts from my list, or if it needs to store them can't it do that internally? I don't want to see a separate list for WhatsApp contacts on my phone that just duplicates ones I added.
I know I can merge them, but I'd prefer not to as I don't want to see 10 different call options when I click on someone (Call this person with WhatApp, call them with Signal, call them with your actual phone).  I don't use messengers to call people. It also seems like you can only merge them manually every time you add someone which is kind of a pain.
Am I missing something here or is that the only way this works?
Thank you for reading.
Edit: The frustrating thing is when I delete all the WhatsApp contacts it still works fine.  When I go to "New Chat" I still see everyone on there that has WhatsApp.  So why does it need to create a separate entry for every person listed there

Actualy, you cant get rid of that call via (on stock caller, pick any on market, they can help)
for avoid doubling you may show only local contacts (they will exist but become hidden). On stock  AOSP 4.4 People > menu (three dots) > Contacts to display > pick a phone contact or customise

Ok thanks, I'm not sure what you mean by "stock AOSP" but I will try another call app instead of the default one.

To others, by saying that my system AOSP(Android Open Source Project) i mean that no other UI elements was used like Vibe UI, TouchWis, etc.


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How recover photos from a locked Android smartphone?
A friend gives me her phone that she does not use anymore. This is a Oneplus 7 (android). She has set a pattern to lock the screen and does not remember it. So the smartphone is locked.
She's not sure that all her photos are recover so she wants me to save all of them before I reset the smartphone. USB debugging is not activated.
I see several options here:

Use her Google account to deactivated the lockscreen (No idea if possible and  I have not found anything about this)
Bypass the lockscreen and access the data (sonds illegal to me but
maybe there is a way). All the solution I have found erase data.
Make a copy of all the data of the smartphone (also sonds illegal)
Use her Google account to force synchronisation between the smartphone and Google Photos from PC (I have no idea if this option exists)
Any other solution?

Is the device encrypted?

@mashuptwice I can't find information about that. Oneplus does not give details about it and I am pretty sure the previous owner did not set encryption if this is a parameter in the phone

of course device is encrypted. there is no way to decrypt without pin

About illegal angle, ask your friend if she is okay if you try to break into her phone cause she cannot give the lock screen credentials and it seems unreasonable of her to ask you to get access to her photos without lock screen credentials. Once she gives a go ahead, you only have one angle to pursue. Exploiting a bug in your device and hoping that it gives you wireless access to the device or bypasses lock screen. Here is one full screen bypass exploit that might work on that device. https://bugs.xdavidhu.me/google/2022/11/10/accidental-70k-google-pixel-lock-screen-bypass/

@Firelord the .dismiss() vulnerability cannot decrypt device. but yeah nice exploit :)

@alecxs that is correct. It does not decrypt the device. It  temporarily bypasses the lock screen. So if the screen times out, OP has to run the exploit again. :) But the exploit enables access to the home screen which is sufficient to get photos and other user data from internal storage.

@Firelord, perhaps you should post that as an answer.

@RohitGupta answers suggesting exploits become outdated very soon. I don't think posting an answer in this case would do any good. Besides, OP didn't respond to my comment, so I cannot write with confidence that my answer would work.

None of the option have been tested. She remembered her pattern so I am able to unlock the phone. Firelord's solution is probably the best option in this case. But as he said, exploiting a bug may be outdated very soon.

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


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Is it possible to update from Android 4.2 to 4.4 without disturbing the bootloader?
I have, for example, downloaded an update from android 4.1 to 4.2. All it consisted of was 10 new system apps, 5 libraries, 3 fonts, and a new bootanimation.
What I would like to know is if an update from 4.2 to 4.4 could be done as simply, like by changing out some system apps and/or libraries?

updates usually provided by manufacturer only therefore no unlocking required

AVB and dm-verity support were added in android 4.4. I don't think your device has integrity protection. You can flash custom images.

@defalt I know that the boot and recovery images require a signature but I have root rights and have previously modified /system a lot.

KitKat has introduced SELinux therefore you can't just update by changing out some system apps and/or libraries.
Nevertheless, while this is a broad statement you may succeed for updating single apk files.


text:
Can I use an Android One device without a Google account?
I wish to buy an Android One device and install only apps from F-Droid. I don't own a Google account and don't wish to register. I don't wish to install LineageOS or other alternative firmware.
Is it possible to use Android One device without a Google account?
What are the restrictions (without Google account) except that i can't use Google cloud services and Play Store? For both there are alternatives.

Note that Google has started to push Android security updates to Android OS components via PlayStore (not sure if an account is required for retrieving those updates). Hence even without an explicit Google account Google collects certain data of your device.

@Robert Google Play Store was updating itself or some other Google apps (don't remember specifically which ones) in a new Poco X3 (Android 10) without a Google account added into it. It was right after I finished setup wizard a couple of days ago.

@Firelord I would assume that all pre-installed Google apps are now getting updated without ever signed in to Google. On an Pixel3a on Android 11 device I have explicitly seen automatic updates for "GBoard", "Digital Wellbeing" and other apps.

You need to register with Google

I had bought two Android MiA1 one phones , one for me and one for my son, a couple of years ago. I registered with Google account on my phone and got security updates and Android version update. On my son's phone , there were no updates of any kind till he came a few days later and activated Google sign in. It was connected to data (his spare SIM)
Android One wiki says the device needs to have Google Services intact. It doesn't mention Play Store explicitly but logically if the core service is missing, it will not work.
Robert, in comments pointed out another important point- of security updates being pushed through Play Store, and likely these won't be available without registering.
USP of Android one is low cost devices with timely updates, If you can't get updates and you don't want to install a custom ROM, your plan isn't going to help


text:
Unable to access Google Play store and Google Maps
I'm not able to access play store and maps with my google account, but it remains accessible with another google account.
I'm at a loss how to resolve this. Would anyone have any solution?

To try to resolve this, open a web browser and log into the Google Play store for your Google account by going to this URL:
https://play.google.com/store/account
When you do this, Google will request authentication information.  Once you provide this information, Google may allow you back into your own account again.  Or they may not; it's entirely up to their problematic systems which are documented incorrectly in their help database.
Google is infamous for locking people out of their own accounts, even when they provide their passwords.

This worked like a charm! I've been trying to find a solution for this since yesterday. Thank you!

You're welcome!  I'm glad to help, and I'm happy to hear it worked.  I'm not sure if you have sufficient reputation to upvote yet, but you can upvote helpful answers.  One thing I've learned as a general technique is to try to access anything broken from a different angle, such as from a web browser or a different OS.  That technique has helped me get out of jams a few times.


text:
What is the official name of the "open apps" view that is navigated to by hitting the square system button?
On Android, there are three buttons along the bottom system bar. When I hit the square one, a UI displaying all the currently "open" apps.
What is the official name of this view?

Related: https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/32697/what-is-the-offical-name-of-the-third-on-screen-button

Despite its seldomly-used formal name (Recents Screen), I generally refer to it as "Recents Apps" or "Recently Open", as it shows your recently open apps.

It's called Recents Screen:

The Recents screen (also referred to as the Overview screen, recent task list, or recent apps) is a system-level UI that lists recently accessed activities and tasks.


text:
Android 11 does not trust a theoretically properly imported private CA for WiFi EAP-TLS
This question is similar, but unrelated to this one answered two days ago.
I have been using WiFi EAP-TLS at home, for nearly a full year, with multiple desktop operating systems and Android 10 with zero problem.  Android 11 is a different story, Google changed EAP requirements so CAs must be validated. I have always imported the CA and selected options to verify CA on all my devices, the trust chain is important to me.  Unfortunately, it's not working on Android 11, the WiFi bugcheck logs say, "Certificate verification failed, error 19 (self signed certificate in certificate chain)," and points to the private CA.  As far as I am aware, root trust Certificate Authorities, whether public or private, are always self-signed.
Herein lies the problem.  CAs must be self-signed, yet Android 11 does not trust self-signed certificates.  I have the CA supposedly imported properly into the "User" CA store, it is displayed there, and the per-device client certificate is imported into the WiFi store.
I've also asked this question in two places on Reddit, where a couple educational network admins also have the same CA problem, but no answers have been discovered yet.  I'm hoping someone on this forum knows what's up.  Any pointers will be much appreciated!
(I would have also added tags "eap-tls" and "certificate-authority" but I don't have enough reputation yet)

This issue has been resolved with assistance from Reddit's /r/networking community.  The thread states the RADIUS server certificate must be issued by a public CA.  Client certificates can (and should) still be issued by private PKI.  The new Domain field in the wifi config dialog must be the CN or subjectAlternateName of the server certificate, per WAP3 specification.  I did not need to install the private CA into Android 11.

Using a public CA is not an option for our organization, unfortunately. We're still blocked on this

For anyone who doesn't want to trust a public CA for their network: we made this work by ensuring the dnsNme was set correctly on our certificates. We had our CN equal to a domain, and our SAN incorrectly had the DNS field of SAN equal to a string like "Our RADIUS Server". Changing this to a proper domain and setting the "domain" field in the settings made this work.
From the Android SDK docs (what a place to find an answer to this), if an SAN is present, it is preferred over a CN.
https://developer.android.com/reference/android/net/wifi/WifiEnterpriseConfig#setDomainSuffixMatch(java.lang.String)


text:
Adb waiting for device
I am trying to install TWRP on mt LG Stylo 2 android 7.0 using adb. When i try to install it using this command

fastboot flash recovery twrp.img

I get the messages waiting for device. Thing is when i type

Adb device

My device shows. And i use adb to turn my SD card into internal storage. So why am i getting this error?
I enter recovery mode and hit enter fastboot but my phone just restart

Do you boot in fastboot mode? Seems not since adb devices still showing your device. Use adb reboot bootloader  then perform the operation.

@esQmo_ why not expanding that to an answer? From the question it's pretty clear you hit the nail on the head.

Thats the thing. I get to recovery hit enter fastboot mode but my phone juat restart.. Forgot to add that will edit

You're probably not booting to bootloader mode (fastboot mode) that is why no fastboot command is recognized by the device. The prompt waiting for device means the computer is waiting for a device connected in bootloader mode.
Try to switch to fastboot with the following:
adb reboot bootloader

Now check if fastboot sees your device:
fastboot devices

After that, perform all necessary action you want.
Note: You should have all drivers installed as well.
Update :
For LG, the command is a bit different.
Start by allowing the bootloader to be written by enabling OEM unlock in the Developer options. Then:
adb reboot download

Unlock the bootloader
fastboot oem unlock

(This will reset your device and you'll get a line of text saying the bootloader was unlocked whenever you boot the device)
Afterwards, flash the recovery with :
fastboot flash recovery xxxxxxxx.img

fastboot reboot

Alternatively you can press both volume down button and power button to get into fastboot mode.

Sorry i didn't reply. I made a noob error and deleted the adb drivers thinking there must be corrupted or something. Now can't seem to get them back even when i reinstall them

Search for LG United Mobile drivers or LG Mobile Drivers WHQL

Hmm when i put the Fastboot oem unlock ut ran some command but my bootloader isn't unlocked ans next time i did it i got the Waiting for device again

How do you know it isn't unlocked? Waiting for a device is when there is no connection between the computer and the device. So if at first it worked ans afterwards it didn't, check hardware: usb cable, usb port, phone usb connector etc

I did still not working.. And i didn't get the message it iant unlocked.. Been searching for day sont2 think i can root it

Please follow this thread on XDA Developers : https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/development/recovery-twrp-v3-lg-stylo-2-plus-t3482169/


text:
Hardening android to use it as a Linux Server
I want to convert a set of relatively old Android devices into Linux servers, while avoiding too many device specific actions, to make this an easily repeatable and shareable action.
This means avoiding working with custom ROMs and root, as these are usually very device specific.
Thankfully, software like Termux, UserLAnd, linuxdeploy and Androinix make it possible to use Linux environments without changing OS, which while a bit limiting gives us access to a lot of key tools, from bash to SSH, Clang, Python and more
The issue then becomes how to harden such a device so that it can be used not just as an isolated machine but can be marginally exposed to a network.
My first instinct is to put it behind a firewall, perhaps both a network one and software one internally, blocking any incoming connections, perhaps with the exception of a VPN/SSH access with keys only.
Another step would be to use ADB to block/uninstall most non-necessary apps, like  browsers or email clients.
I was considering blocking outwards connections, perhaps using a VPN that selectively blocks any non-whitelisted app.
I'm not a security expert, and I'm not sure if this would be a sufficient approach, considering how many if these devices have pretty old versions of Android, so i wanted to know if anyone has other approaches and ideas

This is going to be complicated and time-consuming and if it succeeds, will give you a bunch of separate Linux servers that are isolated from each other. It would be a lot easier to buy an Intel NUC PC and run a conventional server Linux.


text:
How can I turn on automatic updates of applications or at least notifications on new app updates?
I have a Nokia G22 phone with Android 12. I would like to have automatic updating working, or at least to be notified on new app updates in Google Play Store. In Applications > Google Play Store I have "Updates available" notifications turned on. I even have automatic updates of apps turned on through wi-fi. I am connected to wi-fi most of my daily phone use. Currently I need to check and run the updates manually in Google Play Store > tap to my profile > Manage applications and devices > Updates Available, and each time I check it, I see tens of updates available. How can I automate this? What else should I check to be turned on?

Play Store only does automatic updates on a very specific condition listed in Manage app updates, particularly when the device is charging and not being used.

The specific condition (connected to wi-fi & charging & phone not used & apps not running) is met every day.

You can try clearing the cache of Play store first and if that doesn't help clear data too followed by a reboot. You might need to do some extra things like setting up cards in your wallet etc if you delete data but nothing catastrophic


text:
Is there any way how to reactivate email notifications for new messages on Facebook's Messenger?
I was getting email notifications for new messages on Facebook's Messenger. Then I installed Messenger Android app. Then I removed Android app. I would like to use Facebook and Messenger on web only. I would like to reactivate email notifications for new messages on Messenger, but in the Messenger's settings, there is only a setting for Desktop Notifications, which don't work for me. Is there any way how to activate email notifications?
On the main Facebook app there are many other notification settings, but not for new messages.

Haven't checked, but I think the mail notification setting might be on the main Facebook app instead.

On the main Facebook app there are many other notification settings, but not for new messages.


text:
Is Mozilla Firefox for Android, Fennec, using same Desktop Firefox "Quantum Engine"?
I have, up to now always thought that Firefox for Android (codenamed Fennec) uses much of the same codebase as the Firefox for Desktop (Linux/Mac/etc...). However this recent post on HackerNews makes me think I might have got this wrong.

This marks the last Android release with extensions/add-on support.
  There will not be a 69 release of this edition of Firefox for Android
  ("Fennec").

I am of course concerned about the add-ons support, but also remain confused, to the best of my understanding Firefox on the Desktop systems has already been using the changed new Web-Extension API, has Fennec not supported this, and more importantly:
is Fennec something different (if so how) to the Desktop Version of Firefox (which I suppose is gradually becoming more Quantum).?

Fennec (<=68) is being phased out in favour of Fenix (>=69).
From that standpoint, Fennec will be "frozen" at version 68 and will not be updated to the engine used by the desktop version of Firefox 69.
Fenix will, at some point in the future, replace the current version of Firefox Android and is slated to begin at version 69, with some overlap with version 68.
Fenix features a largely rewritten architecture and engine and brings a lot of potential benefits, but the existing Fennec is pulling too much developer time away from it and causing problems in both camps. As a result it seems they want to draw a line in the sand, call an effective halt to Fennec and move over the majority or developers time.
Android Police have some more information detailing the change.
One of the things not currently supported in Fenix is extension support, and it is for that reason that the article you list states that Fennec is "the last Android release with extensions/add-on support."
It is currently unclear, as far as I can see, as to what the intention actually is with regards to extension support in the future. It may well be that if we choose to upgrade in the meantime that extensions are lost temporarily but, short of Firefox following Googles lead with regard to crippling the extension system, I would expect them to return at some point.
It does appear that there is still some discussion going on and that feature parity with the current version (Fennec/68) is intended.
The mobilisation of developer time might actually turn this feature from "nice to have but low priority" to being actively worked on.

So can I understand you answer that Fennec may or may not have had features subsumed under "Firefox Quantum" already? It however is different to Firefox Desktop enought that it takes additional developer time. Time that should be now spend for its successor Fenix (which albeit will lack web-extension support, even though web-extensions are already the "painful loss taken" for the Firefox Quantum, which lost the orignal/legacy extensions)?

I've only recently switched back to Firefox Mobile since I found that Greasemonkey and userscripts work perfectly on it. The performance is definitely well above what I experienced previously so I had assumed that the Quantum engine improvements were there and the Wikipedia page also seems to corroborate: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefox_for_Android in the release history section "Version 57.0: November 14, 2017. First version based on Quantum project."

thanks for that piece of information. I asked that question because of the confusion regarding "Extensions and Quantum engine". It seems that Quantum (with Electrolisis multi-process) when introduced (also in Fennec as you mention) slaughtered many extensions and was unpopular. The link to HN above featured some replies that mentioned Quantum being the reason for the no extension in Fenix, when indeed I was thinking that Quantum is already in Fennec. It seems Fenix is something completely new, yet also based on the Quantum, which fennec is already.

I can see why the loss of extensions was a problem in the past and the loss of them again in another system is a problem, but most of what I can find suggests that like last time it is a short term problem and is being dealt with. The timeline doesn't look to be set in stone either so things are happening.  That HN article seems to be being needlessly fatalistic.

Fennec: Firefox for Android (based in FF version 68.x).
Fenix:  Firefox for Android (based in FF version above 69.x
Fenix is based in Android Components and GeckoView (Firefox Quantum engine)
Curiously the usage of names can be a little bit confusing because the
app "Fennec" (from F-Droid) at the moment is based on the latest Firefox( Fenix).


text:
Record and play sound from Android to a computer - Jack disconnects periodically / Jack undetected - Depending on Android version
I would like to control audio IO of my android phone with a computer. I'm currently using a usb audio sound card with a input mic and line output ports connected to my computer. A phone is connected to an adapter jack 4 pins to 2 jack 3 pins (reference). The adapters mic input is connected to the sound card line output and the adapters line output is connected to the sound card mic input. Like this, I can theoretically record phones output with the computer and play a sound on phones input from the computer.
I have with me 3 phones devices, one android 10 (Redmi Note Pro 8) an other one is a android 9 (Samsung Galaxy A40), the last one is an android 4.0.3 (LG p700)
Everything works fine on the 4.0.3. The phone can detect the cable and I can record the phone output and play on the phone input.
But on the two others devices, it's not working.
On Android 9 : the phone can't detect the jack cable of the adapter, but when I plug earphones with mic (jack 4 pins), it's working. I think that isn't an hardware issue.
On  Android 10 : the phone can detect the cable but changes state every seconds (detected/undetected). That means it is switching between earphone output and speaker output which is impossible to record or play. Like android 9, i can plug earphones, and it's working.
I personally think this may be related to phone impedance that is checked by recent version of Android.
What should I do to record and play on audio IO of a phone from a computer?
It's possible to me to develop an app on android and create a program on the computer to initialize the connection. Stereo recording isn't the objective here, mono will be enough.
(I cannot use in my case other protocol like USB or Bluetooth to record and play on phones)
EDIT 1 : Concerning OMTP/CTIA standards
To know the standard used by each device, I did this experimentation. On my previous setup, I’m able to find that it is a CTIA standard (found with an ohm-meter, mic and output line are separated). I know then my Android 4.0.3 is working with a CTIA standard.
I have with me wires, a sound card (reference), and jack 4 pin to wires adapters (reference) (the adapters are respecting OMTP standard but we don't care because we are using 2 of them)
Firstly, I created a normal DIY setup
This setup works fine for the Android 4.0.3. Then i guess my sound card is a CTIA standard. But unbelievably, it works fine with Android 9, and don't work with Android 10.
Now, I know that my sound card, Android 4 and Android 9 are all CTIA standard
Secondly, I decided to create a crossover cable setup. Like this, I will force an OMTP standard with a CTIA sound card.

As expected, this setup do not work on Android 4 and Android 9. But on Android 10, an headset without mic is detected. But I'm unable to listen/play a sound on the device. When I'm switching cable side on Android 10, the headset is periodically connecting/disconnecting like with the first setup (before edit).
To conclude, I guess that my issue isn't related to OMTP/CTIA but to the protocol used by devices to find plugged headset. With the Android 4, the jack port contains a little switch to know when a cable is plugged. On the others devices, this switch is present but do not have a direct impact on the detection of a headset. I guess the switch are used to launch a program that could detect the type of the audio device plugged (headset with mic, headset without mic...)

measure electrical resistance most likely that is decreased on splitting

Topic that could be related : https://www.reddit.com/r/Xiaomi/comments/e9lal1/headphone_jack_doesnt_work_on_xiaomi_redmi_note_8/

Ok, after many attempts, I have found where the problem lies.
TRRS is respecting a standard of electrical impedance.

This standard isn't respected by sounds cards, impedances were highly different.
I tried to simulate an headset only by using resistors.

This jack is detected as headset on all my devices (Android 4.0.3, Android 9 and Android 10).
I found that the impedances are used here to find the type of headphones (TRRS or TRS), when the type is unknown, each phone acts differently. In old version, the audio port is enabled. In newer version, it's disabled.
Another info : depending of the usb connection of the phone and the sound card, noise could appear in the signal. This noise can be high enough to avoid its use.
To conclude :
In my case, I'm unable to create an electronical component that would take out the signal and send it to a jack. I created a solution that could record the signal from Bluetooth.


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How to select a Non OEM USB Type C charger or cable for my device?
Internet is replete with reports of problems of USB Type C accessories. Also reported here, Can a faulty Micro-USB cable cause damage to your device?
How do I go about selecting right cable or charger, assuming I have a Pixel?
Note: This is a self answered question drawing from the spadework in answering a different question and felt it may be useful to share, given Type C is gaining popularity.  Additional answers are of of course welcome! Guidelines in answer are not restricted to Pixel.

USB C Chargers/ Cables are a minefield - In implementation

The standards (as they should) are said to clear and consistent but implementation has been shoddy causing multiple problems and even burnouts. One Plus pioneered Type C on Android (One Plus Two) and set a wrong precedent by saving few cents, maybe, with a non- standard resistor . They are not the only ones, Apple and Google too , to an extent ( not to forget laptops )
Coming to Google, sample this, quoted from reddit post Please ELI5:Chargers, charging cables, and safety for my Pixel
where Nathan K  , says :

On buying USB cables having USB_IF certification (USB C )

USB-IF Certification testing costs money -- lots of money. $10,000 per product. So a lot of generic manufacturers simply do not do it. Instead, they make products by the seat-of-their-pants. Others, like Apple and Google say "Screw the USB-IF, we know better than them. We can self-certify." So products you buy in an Apple Store or from Google may not have a USB-IF logo, but are (mostly) good. (There are some exceptions I've discovered, noted in my list.)

(Emphasis supplied)

On Chargers

...Google sells people on buying a $35 USB-PD charger its own product doesn't even utilize. The only time it would be used is with expensive peripherals like charge-through hubs.

( I am not sure what exactly is not utilized, haven't researched further   )
So, whom to trust ?
Nathan K is an independent tester, not affiliated to anyone (Google Plus ). Benson Leung is a Google software engineer ( Google Plus ). Individually and collectively, they carry out tests of practically any USB Type C equipment , chargers and cables and publish them on Google Plus.
They are doing a yeoman service by advising users on choosing right USB Type C accessories and their testing has at times forced prominent brands to remove products from sale (Anker, for example, see their blogs for more examples
Browse their blogs for the right accessory for your device and you may reach out to them on reddit / Google Plus
For Pixel users
You have it on a platter ! Nathan and Benson together they have curated a list of accessories that are tested for your device (details here ). Consider buying charger and cable based on the recommendations linked above (make sure look at the column titled "IR Drop compensation" (should have that). That is a very important feature to correctly charge
You will notice that some negatively or low  rated accessories include OEMs like LG, google and Huawei !
Disclaimer: Haven't owned any device with Type C charging and nor I am affiliated anyway with Nathan or Benson
Additional Information

USB Type C over Power Delivery (PD) , is different from Qualcomm Quick Charging. Qualcomm's Quick Charge will not work on a Pixel. The charger will default to a spec-standard current and voltage
What are USB PD Power Rules?
Can Qualcomm QC and USB Type-C coexist on the same connector?- No. Type C specs forbid that (though you will find cables that claim to do this on market- avoid them like plague). For the same reason,  Nexus 6P and 5X do not support QC
USB-PD can only work with a C-C USB cables. A to C cables - (pic here ) cannot charge as per specs (max current possible is 1.5 A)

The Google Plus links are broken.

@Flimm That's unfortunately true, after Google groups were pulled down. I tried reaching to Nathan for alternate links but didn't get a reply. I didn't prune the dead links hoping that some reader would be able to provide


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Will downgrading my Android 14 to 13 remove the vertical green on the screen?
Vertical Green Lines:

I've been collecting information from any resources as to how to fix those sudden green lines (there's another colour) on the screen that appeared out of nowhere. My phone is Samsung Galaxy A73 5G with android 14. Previously, it was android 12 when I bought it 4 months ago. It has never been dropped on a hard surface nor fell in the water. It even has no scratches.
Some resources say it was because overheating that caused the green lines. I refuse to believe that. My old J7+ with the same brand never got any issue such as those green lines. I even often used it to play a game with a charger plugged in! If it were because of the overheating, then why was my old phone just fine?
The other possibility is water. They say that the water could cause the green lines. I don't believe it either. According to this site, samsung A73 is water and dust resistant. I barely let my phone get water on it. I even never dropped my phone in the water. Even my old samsung without water resistant has ever been dropped in the water several times never got green lines!
Some sites suggest it was because of the update. So, I'm preparing to downgrade my software from 14 to 13 with the hope that it will remove the green lines. But, of course I need some advice if this were a right thing to do, were it?
I'm even starting to think that all those vertical green lines are just marketing strategy from Samsung to get more money by forcing the users to replace their LCD! That was evil!

Are the lines always visible also while booting or only at the end of the booting process and when the phone becomes usable? If they are always visible it is with a very high percent a hardware damage. Hardware can get damaged without anything causing it.

@Robert they will be visible as long as the screen is on even while booting or charging in shut down. Could this only be fixed by replacing the LCD with the new one?

Could this only be fixed by replacing the LCD with the new one? YES

Downgrading from Android 14 to Android 13 will most likely not fix this problem.  It's almost certainly a hardware problem.  The problem is likely with the screen itself or with the small connector to the screen.  What you're seeing is the result of dysfunctional signal pins for 3 LCD columns or a short within the LCD matrix itself causing this effect.


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Is there a way to specify a default download path for Google Drive/Chrome to an external microSD card?
I have a 512 GB external microSD card that's connected to a smart phone.
For speed reasons, I would like some functions like the camera to still use the on-board phone memory, but would like files downloaded from Google Chrome and Google Drive to go to the external microSD card by default.
Is there any way to do that?
I tried the following on an per-app basis:

(1) Google Chrome -> Settings -> Downloads -> Download locations //
But it says the SD Card does not have enough space, despite having 100's of GB of space that I can still transfer to after any download to the phone's memory
(2) Google Drive -> Settings // But there's no option to change the default download path there.

After some time of usage, I determined the answer is "no".
Those exact apps for one reason or another cannot access any external MicroSD card.
However, there's at least some work-arounds with Google Drive.
With any file manager that can also link Google Drive folders, i.e.: the ASTRO File Manager, it is possible to copy files from a Google Drive folder directly to a folder in the microSD card.
For Google Chrome,
if for any reason there are large files only downloadable through a browser, then the next best compromise is to download it on any standard computer first, then transfer it to the Phone's microSD card, be it through Google Drive or any other means.


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FeatVPN - Setup Failed
I was using Feat VPN, when suddenly it wouldn't connect anymore. I uninstalled the app and wiped its data, then tried to reinstall it and run the set-up. However it stopped and failed on TUN Device Start 2 of 2.
I then checked the log on the app. It showed 'uncaught.exception.java.lang.illegalargumentexception`.
I also checked other forums and tutorials. They said check my /dev/tun file and make sure that its permission is set to rw-rw---- and ownership to uses= system and group=vpn. I did and it was already set to said permissions.
My brother and I have the same phone model. I tried to look for /dev/tun (hoping that I could copy/paste to my phone), but his phone doesn't have a tun file. However, he also uses Feat VPN. Can someone explain to me what is happening? My phone runs on Android ICS 4.0.4.
LOGCAT:
http://pastebin.com/Zd97gecr

Probably a custom kernel with tunnelling capabilities is already built in? Can you enclose the logcat?

@t0mm13b maybe its already built in on my brother's phone, so what should I do? should I delete the /dev/tun file on my phone? how can I enclose the logcat?

don't delete the /dev/tun file on your phone. You comfortable with command line? plug in usb cable to handset, adb logcat > /sdcard/logcat.txt, then adb pull /sdcard/logcat.txt, open it up, copy paste into your question above. You need to run this at the point of running the setup of Feat VPN, to ensure that pertinent log is captured.

@t0mm13b I just formatted my computer, I dont think I have ADB here, but maybe I can copy the whole log of the app?

Ok, or email it to yourself and open it, copy/paste..

@t0mm13b is it really that long??? ok I'll paste it on my question.

@t0mm13b I can't paste it on my question the log consists of 47000+ characters. what do you want me to do?

Ok, use pastebin and include the linky in your question.

@t0mm13b done sir!

Alright...line 5026, is the culprit:
E/FeatVPN ( 7206): [ 4] 2013-07-31 22:56:09 [   7206] [78752] [   Test] Invoking test to front listener
E/FeatVPN ( 7206): [ 5] 2013-07-31 22:56:09 [   7206] [78752] [   Test] Starting test [5]
E/FeatVPN ( 7206): [ 6] 2013-07-31 22:56:09 [   7206] [78752] [   Test] Invoking test start listener
E/FeatVPN ( 7206): [ 7] 2013-07-31 22:56:09 [   7206] [78752] [   Test] Waiting for L2TP tunnel completion (0 s)
E/FeatVPN ( 7206): 2013-07-31 22:56:10 [   7206] [57328] [  Proxy] Uncaught exception
E/FeatVPN ( 7206): java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: Bad address
E/FeatVPN ( 7206):      at android.net.VpnService$Builder.addDnsServer(VpnService.java:392)
E/FeatVPN ( 7206):      at android.net.VpnService$Builder.addDnsServer(VpnService.java:410)
E/FeatVPN ( 7206):      at com.featvpn.sdk.a.createTun2(Unknown Source)
E/FeatVPN ( 7206):      at com.featvpn.sdk.a.createTun(Unknown Source)
E/FeatVPN ( 7206):      at com.featvpn.sdk.Proxy.v(Unknown Source)
E/FeatVPN ( 7206):      at com.featvpn.sdk.Proxy.run(Unknown Source)
E/FeatVPN ( 7206):      at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:856)

Reading this, it looks like the proxy address was set up incorrectly which explained why it crashed. You have it set correctly?
It might be best to log this with FeatVPN's developers as to why its happening when going through the setup procedure. Also noticed in the log, you are running Greenify, would that be clashing or conflicting with FeatVPN.

Thanks.. I'm using it before, And it works, perfectly fine. I dont know how to setup the proxy, all I do is to load the preconfigured tunnels after the setup. I'm thinking, if I will reflash my rom again, I'm sure it will work,. Is there a way to wipe the data corupted by featVPN then I'll install it again like a newly flashed phone?

the developers said that my net.dns1 is set to 0.0.0.0 and there's no way that featVPN changed this because the application does not require root access


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App not installed orphaned files
When an app attempts an installation, but results in "app not installed", do orphaned files still exist, or does android remove all traces of that App. I am running JB 4.3 stock on the Nexus 4
In other words if it doesnt show up in the "manage apps", it shouldnt exist in /data/apps

You might want to check: App install failed but files are still filling up the phone


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Nexus 4 Access Point details
Where can I get details about access point opened by my Nexus 4?
I need them to describe network in wpa_supplicant.conf on other device that will be using this network.
network={
    ssid="example"
    proto=RSN
    key_mgmt=WPA-EAP
    pairwise=CCMP TKIP
    group=CCMP TKIP
    eap=TLS
    identity="user@example.com"
    ca_cert="/etc/cert/ca.pem"
    client_cert="/etc/cert/user.pem"
    private_key="/etc/cert/user.prv"
    private_key_passwd="password"
    priority=1
}

Do you mean where is the wpa_supplicant.conf file?
If so, you will need root access as it is in:
/data/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf

No. I need info to put in wpa_supplicant.conf on my wifi 'client' device .


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CM12 installation interrupted
Just started installation of cm12 via tool from http://www.cyanogenmod.org/ on my Nexus 4
At some point during installation ive got message that it lost connection to the device and i need to reboot or switch usb port.
I rebooted and only thing that i can get now is bootloader. If i go with normal load or recovery it the same screen with "standing cynagenmod guy". And device is doing nothing.
Im running Windows 8 and in fastboot its not detected.
I have tried both adb and fastboot but it seems that they do not see the device.
Is it the end of my phone? Thanks.

Windows 8 has some problems with adb and fastboot. You can install adb properly with this program: http://dottech.org/21534/how-to-install-adb-and-fastboot-on-your-windows-computer-for-use-with-your-android-phone/ Just select "Y" on every option. Good luck!

Uninstall any existing drivers through device manager/USBDeview and install raw google drivers (you can use Nexus Root Toolkit for that). On side note, also try this-> http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2588979 I too have nexus 4 and I too faced drivers problem in windows 8.1, but this was what fixed it for me.

Is it the end of my phone?

No android devices arent that easy to completely mess up (especially modern ones). So in case you fail to get phone to be detected via fastboot in windows 8, try that in linux (like ubuntu) instead. Thats because there you only need to add USB rules while setting up adb. And until today, I havent faced a single situation personally where it didnt detect my phone.
Now what to do after your fastboot has been detected?
First, download twrp or similar recovery. If its in zip form, extract it and get the recovery.img file. If its already in img format, leave it as is. Then open terminal in linux/cmd in windows and use command->
fastboot erase recovery
fastboot flash recovery PathToRecoveryAndFileName.img

This will flash recovery into your phone. Just download flashable zip on CM rom (do not use any tools this time, get directly flashable zip).
Use fastboot reboot recovery to boot it into recovery, push the zip file you downloaded as rom by->
adb push PathToROMZIPAndFileName.zip /sdcard/

This will push rom zip into sdcard, then simply flash using recovery.
In case you fail to flash recovery from some reason, you can also directly boot into recovery without flashing it right from pc. For this, use command fastboot boot PathToRecoveryAndFileName.img
One last thing, in case you decide to use nexus root tookit, it has an in built option to try recovering from bootloop. Select I cant use recovery or any such option in that, it should automatically do some work for you.

Is the fastboot erase instruction necessary to perform? I usually don't do that while flashing any partition and didn't face any issue yet. Perhaps, I'm lucky in this case. :) Can this instruction not be skipped?

Actually yes, since there can be only one recovery in system so its always over-written and there are no side effects really if erase command is skipped. Whenever I create scripts for personal use I erase out systems and stuff too, so its kinda becoming habit to write erase command along everywhere. Otherwise there's no problem if this command is skipped ;)

I have managed to install twrp but adb does not detecting device

Two things: 1) Uninstall any existing drivers of ANY phone (whether nexus or not) through USBDeview/device manager. Then try reinstalling raw drivers from nexus root toolkit (if the drivers provided in that adb installer didnt work, else try those first). Whatever the case, its driver issue. So you know what to do... 2) Making windows (especially 8.1) detect phone in fastboot has always been a problem. If you can, use a linux distro like ubuntu. It has much more higher success rate. You can refer here

In the end i have used Flash Stock + Unroot from Nexus Root Toolkit and all work fine. Thanks!


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What is the default Kernel Governor in Stock Samsung Galaxy Mega Android ROM?
I have rooted my phone recently and just installed ROM Toolbox which has several Governors available. It is using OnDemand by default, but I switched to Interactive. I just need to be as close to default settings in order to maintain stability.
Btw, when I am using a third party app to change CPU Freqs, ROM Toolbox in this case, It seems to be a bit laggy. Is this normal?

Are we talking Nexus-stock or manufacturer-stock? The "Galaxy S" tag here leads me to think that this is question is specific to the Galaxy S. If this is the case, coult you please edit the question to specify that you want to know the default governor for the Galaxy S?

running galaxy mega stock rom and using Rom Toolbox to change cpu governors/freqs.

I don't know the default governor for the Galaxy Mega. However, there's an easy way to determine your current governor. Rebooting the phone (Unless you ticked the option in ROM Manager and/or other apps to persist governor selections through reboot) will reset it back to its default setting.
You can find your current governor by running the following command in an adb shell or terminal emulator:
cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/scaling_governor
Chances are your default governor is indeed ondemand. It is commonly used as the default governor on many Android devices, and seems like one that Samsung would like to use.

thanks for the oneliner tip, it's indeed on demand. However, I have disabled the Rom Toolbox overclocking tool. Kinda makes my device "laggy"

Glad it worked! It's also interesting that using the tool didn't work well, but not particularly surprising.


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Rooting Samsung Galaxy S4
I'm trying to root my Samsung Galaxy S4 GT-I9500 and I'm wondering that is there any way to root it without using PC and without losing any of my data. Currently I am running on Android 4.4.2 and have no custom ROM.
Thanks in advance!

You might want to take a look at Towelroot by geohot. He claims it roots all Android devices and versions within seconds ("should support all phones < jun 3 2014"). Didn't try it myself, no S4 available either, so I cannot tell for sure. No PC needed, just run the app. Don't forget to report back whether it worked :)

Izzy brother, I've tried that but what happens is that after I click make it rain, it automatically reboots which is OK but then when i check whether I have root access or not then it says that you don't have proper root access. Even the SuperSU says that super SU /superuser binary are not installed. What to do?

As I wrote, I've not tried that. You could check for instructions searching e.g. with Google for "towelroot". Or wait until someone else gives a proper answer. Towelroot itself includes neither a su binary (at least I couldn't find that inside the .apk) nor any SuperUser/SuperSU app, so that part might be normal. According to the instructions I've found, you need at least to manually install the latest SuperSU (by chainfire, released a few days ago).

Hey,by the way thanks brother, it was a nice effort but not working for me. I'm unlucky maybe. Thanks again

It wouldn't hurt to try the Kingroot app, will it? Here: http://www.kingroot.net

Errr.. For this rooting problem, I have checked so many informations before. "Rooting" seems a little complicated and technical. However, it's really simple. The most important thing is to find a secure and easy tool for free rooting. Then, find a way to backup the file and data on Samsung Galaxy S4. Actually rooting won't cause data loss, but processes like unlocking bootloader will. So it's still important to backup the data before rooting.
Luckily, Samsung Galaxy S4 doesn't need to unlock bootloader like HTC or Nexus phones. You need focus on one thing: not bricking your device.
You can follow the steps on how to root Samsung Galaxy S4 here. Ensure you have working ADB before continuing. Preferably, install Samsung Kies and the drivers that come with it, and some ADB/fastboot package or the Android SDK from Google.

Download iRoot on your Windows PC.
Connect your phone to your PC.
Detect the device and click on "Root Now".
Done!

Hope you have succeeded now.

Did you read the OP's question properly? It said "way to root it  without using PC". This isn't an answer to the OP's question.

Sorry, my mistake. What I want to put is that rooting with computer has the higher success rate than without computer. Also, the tool in this guide can root the Samsung Galaxy S4 without computer. Last, the backup issue is important in this thread. And I think it's more convenient  to do this on computer. Sorry again that you think my reply is useless.

I rooted my SCH-i545 using Towelroot and it worked fine. Towelroot only works if the S4 is still on KitKat with the NC5 kernel (or earlier). If you're on a later kernel, refer to this XDA tutorial to flash the compatible kernel.

I've just rooted via following the instructions here http://www.android.gs/root-xxufnb8-android-4-4-2-official-rom-for-galaxy-s4-lte-i9505/
I'd strongly recommend that you search for and download Odin and Chainfire from the original sources and not via the links though as they look suspicious. Took about 10 mins in total. Good luck

Welcome to  Android Enthusiasts! Whilst this may theoretically answer the question, it would be preferable to include the essential parts of the answer here, and provide the link for reference. Otherwise, your answer becomes useless in case the link dies.


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How to identify which app is reading from my disk
Except for disabling one app at a time or all at once and then enable them all slowly again (The Elimination method) - How do I identify what app is reading my disk ?
it happens periodically and therefore very hard to debug.
What happens is that the phone slows down to an almost unusable state and when opening "System Monitor" (3rd party app) i see that the Disk is reading at 90MB/s. But i cant see WHAT APP is reading !
I've looked everywhere for monitor apps but haven't been able to find anything useful. None of the monitor apps i've found shows the CPU / IO usage of other apps, seems like Android 7.0 is limited in this aspect.
My phone (Sony Z5 Compact, Android 7.0) is NOT rooted !

See if apps mentioned in first three questions help you - I don't have Nougat to verify

Thanks - but none of them show disk IO per app :(

Did you resolve this? I have the same problem. I found an iotop port however it requires root

Hi, no, not really..   AccuBattery helped as well as system monitor..  But it was pure guess work that narrowed down a Sony app that killed the phone.


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Nearby friends on facebook not working
I find the nearby friends functions of the facebook app quite useful. However since a few weeks I can't get it to work. Basically I'm stuck with a screen asking me to invite friends.

I checked my settings and they look fine. Also inviting friends doesn't solve the issue. Updating/reinstalling the app doesn't fix it.

I don't use Facebook but is your location disabled?

No, it's on....

Yes.. Realised later after seeing map icon. Is it possible that friends around you have declined to be notified? Meaning  that they have not permitted their location to be public?

I really don't think that's the issue because some time ago I remember being able to see them. Also I don't think it can depend on the location because I remember seeing the position of friends very far away...


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Find Android version on S6 - suspect Android 7 because of rounded icons
I recently updated my Samsung S6. As far as I can tell, because I'm now seeing rounded app icons, I'm now using Android 7 with the Samsung Experience UX, based on this post:
www.sammobile.com/2017/03/09/galaxy-s6-edge-running-android-7-0-nougat-pictures/
How can I confirm the Android version without installing a helper app that does this? There's no settings > about phone and I'm not seeing it under settings > about device, or settings > developer options

Found it:
Settings > about device > software info


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Samsung s6 how do I find SSID
How do I find the SSID on my Samsung S6? I don't know what the Android version/variant is or how to find it. I recently updated the phone and the icons now have rounded iOS style borders
Update
I found the Android version is 7.0 under settings > about device > software info, and now know that the UX is the 'Samsung Experience'.

I don't see any connection between SSID and the behaviour described. However, suggested ways in answer

Oh, I'm describing the UX so someone may be able to tell me where to find my android version, sorry!

Your Android Version : Settings → About Phone → Android Version
SSID Notify can help you with SSID and other details of connection
Phone Info Samsung is a versatile app which gives you a ton of info about your device

According to this post from a reputed site rounded icons are an OS feature in Android 7

No, there's no settings - about phone to determine the android version. +1 for the helpful post on rounded icons. I want to find the SSID via my settings

Samsung may be calling it slightly different like Settings - about device or something else but it has to be there. You can't find SSID from within settings

It's settings - about device - base band version. See this

No I don't see base band version there. I've updated the question with your help

I found this guide which describes how it can be done by using a file manager with root file access:
http://www.theandroidsoul.com/view-wifi-password-android/


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Linux Deploy ext4 and Adoptable Storage
Edit:
I created an issue in the Linux Deploy project.

I have a smartphone with the following settings:

And the following SD:

Ok, it's not a good SD, but that's what I have for today...
I was using SD as an extension to internal storage, and I was able to store applications and files there normally.

I would like to use Kali Linux through Linux Deploy (if there is no other way), but the system can only have a maximum of 4GB per account of the created .img file and the format of the card, which is very little in my opinion.
So I tried to follow this tutorial for an installation with more space for the operating system.
I created a three partitions:

Fat32 to continue using on my smartphone as before (with less space of course);
An additional swap...
And an ext4 for the operating system installation.

I've ejected the ext4 partition to install Kali Linux. And everything worked perfectly!
Well... Almost everything!
Kali Linux was working just the way I wanted it, but when I tried to use my smartphone as before, I realized that I could no longer transfer my applications to the fat32 partition I created for it.

The option to transfer applications to SD is no longer displayed.
I tried to transform part of SD as Adoptable Storage again but do it directly from the smartphone, formatting all the storage, undoing all created partitions.
I then followed this answer (both with adb, and with Root Essentials). Which again undid my partitions. But I re-did it again following the following steps:

Format everything and use 50% for Adoptable Storage (by adb or Root Essentials).
Remove the SD from the smartphone and insert it into the computer to create the other partitions (ext4) with MiniTool because Android Partition Tool (AParted) was not able to do this.

Ok, now I can transfer my applications to SD, and I also have the ext4 partition for installing Kali Linux, but now Linux Deploy can not see this partition mounted or ejected by Android.
Monted:

[12:36:31] >>> status
[12:36:32] Device: MotoG3
[12:36:32] Android: 7.1.2
[12:36:32] Architecture: armv7l
[12:36:32] Kernel: 3.10.49-MPI24.241-2.35-1-g4023d70
[12:36:32] Memory: 38/898 MB
[12:36:32] Swap: 273/511 MB
[12:36:32] SELinux: yes
[12:36:32] Loop devices: yes
[12:36:32] Support binfmt_misc: no
[12:36:32] Supported FS: ext2 ext3 ext4 f2fs fuseblk vfat
[12:36:32] Installed system: unknown
[12:36:32] Status of components:
[12:36:32] :: extra/dbus ... stopped
[12:36:32] :: extra/ssh ... stopped
[12:36:32] :: graphics/vnc ... stopped
[12:36:32] Mounted parts:
[12:36:32]  ...nothing mounted
[12:36:32] Available mount points:
[12:36:33] * /system  0.9/2.2 GB (ext4)
[12:36:33] * /data  4.5/11.8 GB (f2fs)
[12:36:33] * /cache  0.2/0.2 GB (ext4)
[12:36:33] * /fsg  0.0/0.0 GB (ext4)
[12:36:33] * /firmware  0.0/0.0 GB (ext4)
[12:36:33] * /persist  0.0/0.0 GB (ext4)
[12:36:33] * /mnt/runtime/default/emulated  4.5/11.8 GB (sdcardfs)
[12:36:33] * /storage/emulated  4.5/11.8 GB (sdcardfs)
[12:36:33] * /mnt/runtime/read/emulated  4.5/11.8 GB (sdcardfs)
[12:36:33] * /mnt/runtime/write/emulated  4.5/11.8 GB (sdcardfs)
[12:36:33] * /mnt/media_rw/f86f8583-23fb-d201-f063-858323fbd201  13.0/13.7 GB (ext4)
[12:36:33] * /mnt/runtime/default/f86f8583-23fb-d201-f063-858323fbd201  13.0/13.7 GB (sdcardfs)
[12:36:33] * /storage/f86f8583-23fb-d201-f063-858323fbd201  13.0/13.7 GB (sdcardfs)
[12:36:33] * /mnt/runtime/read/f86f8583-23fb-d201-f063-858323fbd201  13.0/13.7 GB (sdcardfs)
[12:36:33] * /mnt/runtime/write/f86f8583-23fb-d201-f063-858323fbd201  13.0/13.7 GB (sdcardfs)
[12:36:33] * /mnt/expand/bd43c04c-2500-40bd-9325-1de5ae577eb6  14.2/14.8 GB (f2fs)
[12:36:33] Available partitions:
[12:36:34]  ...no available partitions
[12:36:34] <<< status

Ejected:
[12:39:49] >>> status
[12:39:49] Device: MotoG3
[12:39:49] Android: 7.1.2
[12:39:49] Architecture: armv7l
[12:39:49] Kernel: 3.10.49-MPI24.241-2.35-1-g4023d70
[12:39:49] Memory: 42/898 MB
[12:39:49] Swap: 216/511 MB
[12:39:49] SELinux: yes
[12:39:49] Loop devices: yes
[12:39:49] Support binfmt_misc: no
[12:39:49] Supported FS: ext2 ext3 ext4 f2fs fuseblk vfat
[12:39:49] Installed system: unknown
[12:39:49] Status of components:
[12:39:49] :: extra/dbus ... stopped
[12:39:49] :: extra/ssh ... stopped
[12:39:49] :: graphics/vnc ... stopped
[12:39:49] Mounted parts:
[12:39:49]  ...nothing mounted
[12:39:49] Available mount points:
[12:39:49] * /system  0.9/2.2 GB (ext4)
[12:39:49] * /data  4.5/11.8 GB (f2fs)
[12:39:50] * /cache  0.2/0.2 GB (ext4)
[12:39:50] * /fsg  0.0/0.0 GB (ext4)
[12:39:50] * /firmware  0.0/0.0 GB (ext4)
[12:39:50] * /persist  0.0/0.0 GB (ext4)
[12:39:50] * /mnt/runtime/default/emulated  4.5/11.8 GB (sdcardfs)
[12:39:50] * /storage/emulated  4.5/11.8 GB (sdcardfs)
[12:39:50] * /mnt/runtime/read/emulated  4.5/11.8 GB (sdcardfs)
[12:39:50] * /mnt/runtime/write/emulated  4.5/11.8 GB (sdcardfs)
[12:39:50] * /mnt/expand/bd43c04c-2500-40bd-9325-1de5ae577eb6  14.2/14.8 GB (f2fs)
[12:39:50] Available partitions:
[12:39:50]  ...no available partitions
[12:39:50] <<< status

Is it possible to do what I'm trying? Use half the SD as Adoptable Storage and
  the rest as ext4 to install Kali Linux? Am I forgetting to set
  something up?

Here how I'get 16gb on Linux deploy hope this help somebody:

Use twrp, advanced, make partition ext4 swap 0 (https://www.xda-developers.com/how-to-install-twrp/)
Use the Linux deploy terminal, configuration, check telnet, port, local host and http
Go to configuration again and select terminal, on terminal, put the command, ls /dev/block
Identify your ext4 partition, in my case /dev/block/mmcblk0p2
In Linux deploy, propierties, select your os and proper settings, in instalation type use partition, instalation rute use the One on the point 4, file system ext4, The other settings at your decide
Install
enjoy


text:
adb shell error: device not found (Ubuntu)
I am complete novice on adb. When it comes to Android I could be classified as "dumb user" - trying however to get one level up, hence playing with adb:

$ ./adb shell
error: device not found
$ ./adb devices
* daemon not running. starting it now on port 5037 *
* daemon started successfully *
List of devices attached

Looks like adb cannot see the connected device.
How to rectify the problem?
For your info:

the device is visible and I can copy files to/from it
I went through the steps suggested below and still no luck
I tried connecting the phone to different USB ports - my comp has 2 USB controllers - one USB 3.0 and one USB 2.0

Steps to enable USB debugging on my device with 7.0 Nougat Android:

Go to "Configuration"
Go to "About Telephone / Android 7.0"
Click several times "Build Number" until message "You're now developer" appears
Go back to "Configuration" - "{} Developer options" are now visible - go inside
A number of fabulous options appear - switch-on "USB Debugging"

I am using Linux and I would prefer to stay away from Windows.
Still no luck - device not found

Check if the device is visible for adb with this command adb devices.

OK, I did it. Apparently I was using some old adb binary that came with app I wanted to use. After I installed the one available in repo, as suggested by this website, It now sees the device:

$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:phablet-team/tools
[sudo] password for admin:

 More info: https://launchpad.net/~phablet-team/+archive/ubuntu/tools
Press [ENTER] to continue or ctrl-c to cancel adding it

-- ciach
$ sudo apt-get update
Hit:1 http://pl.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial InRelease

-- ciach
$ sudo apt-get install android-tools-adb android-tools-fastboot
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done

-- ciach
$ adb devices
adb server is out of date.  killing...
* daemon started successfully *
List of devices attached

$ adb devices
List of devices attached
0123456789ABCDEF    unauthorized

-- click "Authorize" on the device
$ adb devices
List of devices attached
0123456789ABCDEF    device

Check adb devices. If no device shows up follow the steps below.
First, check to make sure USB Debugging is enabled. On most devices:

Go into 'About Phone', 'About Device', or 'About Tablet'
Find 'Build Number'. It's location varies from devices to device, but look for menus such as 'Software Information'
Tap 'Build Number' until you see a message saying 'You are now a developer'. If you see a message saying something along the lines of 'This option has been disabled by your administrator',  I'm sorry to say you will need to reset your device to use ADB. You could also talk to your administrator.
Go back to the main settings page. At the bottom, you should now see 'Developer Options'. Tap it.
A warning may display. Read it carefully, and decide at your own risk.
Scroll until you find 'USB Debugging'. Tap it. You will see another warning. Read. Decide.
Connect your device to your computer. Run adb shell. A dialog box will pop up asking if you trust your computer. Tap yes.

Congrats! It should now work.
If that doesn't work, try different cables, phones, computers, and try to find what is the problem. Google is, as always, your friend.


text:
What does "network time" mean on a WiFi-only device?
I have a tablet (no phone network, just WiFi) running Android 12. In the Settings | Date and Time sub-dialog when I select Automatic date & time, there is a 3 way choice:

Use network provided time
Use GPS provided time
Off

What does the first option mean? It sure sounds like NTP, but there is no interface to pick a NTP server. Some wifi routers provide a NTP server address with their DHCP replies, but I don't think mine does, and in any case a mobile device can't rely on that, right?
Strangely on my phone, also Android 12, the Automatic Date & Time widget is just a binary switch, on or off (though the phone definitely has GPS). I think "on" here means the mobile network. But how come this interface differs between two devices with the same Android release?

"But how come this interface differs between two devices with the same Android release?" since Android is open-sourced, most likely manufacturer's customization.

Network time means Android will get the time from a NTP server.
By default Android uses to my knowledge the server time.android.com  (see here) but different manufacturer may change this in their devices so the default NTP server in Samsung or other devices may be different.
Android has no UI to change the NTP server but I think changing it via adb should be possible.
You can get the configured NTP server using this command (tested on Android 13 & 14):
adb shell cmd network_time_update_service dump

It outputs something like:
mPollingIntervalMs=PT18H
mPollingIntervalShorterMs=PT1M
mTryAgainTimesMax=3
mTryAgainCounter=0

NtpTrustedTime:
getNtpConnectionInfo()=NtpConnectionInfo{mServer='time.android.com', mPort='123', mTimeoutMillis=5000}
mTimeResult=TimeResult{mTimeMillis=2024-01-04T00:54:46.354Z, mElapsedRealtimeMillis=PT292H1M14.032S, mCertaintyMillis=9}
mTimeResult.getAgeMillis()=PT7H24M43.324S

Since Android 14 and higher multiple NTP servers are supported. On a Samsung device located in Germany I have seen the following time servers configured:
ntp://time.android.com`
ntp://europe.pool.ntp.org
ntp://2.android.pool.ntp.org
ntp://de.pool.ntp.org

Hi, good answer :)  This already tells me most I wanted to know. But, the adb bit doesn't quite work, I get No shell command implementation.


text:
Read websites text on Chrome/Firefox/Edge mobile
Is there any way (e.g. extension) for text reading (text-to-speech) from websites through mobile browsers Chrome/Firefox/Edge, etc.? I'm at the Android latest.

You may want to replace "I'm at the Android latest" with an Android version number.  It's unlikely "Android latest" will remain constant over time.

For Chrome & Chrome Canary nothing worked despite many internet claims of turning on the 'Read Aloud' flag from chrome://flags to enable.

I didn't try on Edge

On Firefox 117.1.0, the add-on Read aloud-Text to Speech can be enabled, and it works. You need to open a site and tap on add-ons, select this to read aloud (note: certain pages like Mozilla help pages are not read aloud)

You can select various read-aloud options as below:

BTW, the reason that Mozilla pages are not read aloud is because of a security policy that prevents extensions from operating on Mozilla's pages.  Otherwise, a single bad extension could potentially install more bad extensions.


text:
How does Tinder get SMS verification code?
When you log into Tinder you can use your mobile number. Tinder sends you a verification code via SMS. Tinder automatically detects this number and can log you in.
Tinder has only permission to show notification and access location granted. How can Tinder access the SMS verification code? I've never seen such a behavior with another app without proper permission.

Since a few years, Google provides a special system that allows apps to use SMS verification without getting access to other SMS. The approach deliver verification SMS to a certain app is that the SMS has a special format: it ends with a truncated SHA256 hash value of the app package name and the app signature (the first 11 chars of the base64 encoded hash).
An app can retrieve such an SMS if it registers itself for a limited time as receiver for a verification SMS. The Android OS then generates the receiver hash as described and filters incoming messages for the pattern described above. Only those SMS are forwarded to the registered app.
And example SMS is included in this blog post:
Your OTP code is: 123ABC78
FA+9qCX9VSu

The app hash generation method is documented by Google here.


text:
How can I set my android x86 UEFI installation resolution to 1920*1080 in my VM?
How can I set my android x86 resolution to 1920*1080 in my VM?
I tried this:Can't change screen resolution of Android-x86_64 installed in UEFI mode
but it didn't work.
BTW I have a UEFI installation
Thank You in advance.

I solved it!
These sources helped me:

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/60576471/how-to-set-a-custom-resolution-on-android-x86-in-vmware-player

https://groups.google.com/g/android-x86/c/2u1zrTkCiU8?pli=1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTeb7_YaujA

Boot into (DEBUG mode) from the grub menu on boot.
Press enter after the boot completes(the screen stops producing text outputs)
Mount your efi partition by running this command:

mount /dev/sda1 /mnt

(sdax, here x may vary for you, but for me, it was 1)

Change directory to /mnt/efi/boot:

cd /mnt/efi/boot

Edit android.cfg, as shown in the picture below

vi android.cfg

Inside Vi Editor

i. Press 'i' to enter edit mode
ii. Press 'Esc', type ':w', and press 'Enter' to save.
iii. Press 'Esc', type ':x', and press 'Enter' to exit.

Now reboot

reboot -f

That's it, you have Android x86 in your system's native resolution!

This solution was also posted on https://www.reddit.com/r/Androidx86/comments/yvskxr/a_guide_on_how_to_change_the_android_x86_uefi/ but when mounting, I get the error "Device or resource busy". Any idea?


text:
Periodically force badly behaved messaging app to wake up?
I'm running rooted stock Android 13.
I use the LINE Messenger app, but that app seems to behave badly under Android. After the app has been idle for a while, it doesn't respond to incoming messages until the LINE client is explicitly launched and brought to the foreground. This means that I often miss incoming messages until much later than when they are originally sent. I don't have this problem with any other messaging apps.
I'm trying to figure out a way to wake up the LINE app periodically, and I came up with the following possibility ... but it doesn't work:
/system/bin/su -c /system/bin/am set-inactive jp.naver.line.android false

The command always comes back with this error:
cmd: Failure calling service activity: Failed transaction (2147483646)

I get the same error without the /system/bin/su -c
Is there perhaps some other way in Android 13 to accomplish this?
PS: To be clear, by "wake up", I do not mean for the LINE app to visibly launch. What I want is for LINE to properly respond to incoming messages, even when that app is not open on the screen. This is how other messaging apps behave, and I consider LINE to be "badly behaved", because LINE does not respond to incoming messages if it has not been visibly open on the screen for a while.
Also to be clear, I always have LINE running with "Unrestricted" battery behavior (as opposed to the other two choices, "Optimized" or "Restricted"), but it still does not respond to incoming messages if it has not been open on the screen for a while.
Is there some way to force /system/bin/am set-inactive ... to properly function? If so, periodically running this command for LINE might cause LINE to become aware of incoming messages every time that the command runs, even when LINE isn't open on the screen.
Or perhaps is there an alternative to /system/bin/am which will accomplish what I desire?

I don't know how Line works, but most messenger apps use for receiving messages Google Firebase Push Messages, su the delay might also be caused by Google Play Services. What are the battery settings of Line? Note that a lot of manufacturer modify Android TK save even more power which has the side effect that apps wake up or too late.

Well, all the other messaging apps I use do not have this problem, so I don't think it's related to Play Services.  My OS doesn't even offer the "battery optimization" settings, so this can't be changed on an "app" basis. It's "OS 2.0.3" for the Nothing 2 device. I also thought that "am set-inactive ... false" would affect the Firebase Push behavior. Also, if I remember correctly, LINE had the same problem on my old Pixel 5, even when I had "battery optimization" turned off for it. This is why I say that LINE is "badly behaved". Is there any way I can force an app like LINE to "wake up"?

If by "wake up" you mean "launch the app", you can try automation with Tasker etc

Launching the app is not acceptable, because I don't want it popping up on the screen. I already had Tasker doing that, but it's too disruptive of my Android usage to have it periodically launching visibly. And I have a small correction: I had forgotten that on my A13 implementation, battery behavior is controlled on the Settings=>Apps=>[appname] screen. But I already always have been running it with "Unrestricted" there. By "wake up", I mean for the app to still respond to incoming messages when it's in the background, just like all the other messaging apps do.

Well, it turns out that I figured out how to get this to work, after all!
Earlier, I wrote the original "Answer" here and then modified it a little later to say that it doesn't actually work, because the am set-inactive jp.naver.line.android false command that I'm using was causing my device to never go to sleep.
But later I realized that this am set-inactive ... command only caused device sleep to get disabled because I also ran AutoInput Unlock Screen in my Tasker device-startup task instantly after this am ... command was invoked, and this caused them to somehow badly interact with each other and to prevent my device from ever going to sleep again.
Once I set up the AutoInput Unlock Screen command to run many seconds earlier than the am ... command in that Tasker device-startup script, my device was once again able to properly go to sleep, and LINE Messenger is now actually functioning properly.
Here's exactly how I did it:
(1) I created a Tasker task called LineForceActive which runs this command via Code=>Run Shell, using the Use Root option ...
/system/bin/am set-inactive jp.naver.line.android.false 0</dev/null 1>/dev/null 2>&1

The /dev/null redirections are needed, because the "am" command fails unless it's running with stdin, stdout, and stderr pointing to either /dev/tty or /dev/null.
(2) I created a Tasker Code=>Run Shell task called LineRenice which checks whether LINE Messenger is running, and if so, it runs renice on it to set it to the highest priority possible (priority -20). This is the LineRenice Tasker task ...
Task: LineRenice
Settings: Run Both Together

A1: Run Shell [
     Command: /system/bin/pgrep line
     Timeout (Seconds): 1
     Use Root: On
     Store Output In: %XXOUT
     Use Global Namespace: On
     Continue Task After Error:On ]

A2: Variable Set [
     Name: %XXEXIT
     To: %err
     Do Maths: On
     Max Rounding Digits: 3
     Structure Output (JSON, etc): On
     Continue Task After Error:On ]

A3: Stop [ ]
    If  [ %XXEXIT != 0 ]

A4: Run Shell [
 Command: /system/bin/renice -p -n -20 %XXOUT
 Timeout (Seconds): 1
 Use Root: On
 Use Global Namespace: On ]

I'm not sure whether doing renice to set LINE Messenger to a very high priority is really needed, but it doesn't seem to hurt. I'll decide later if I might want to stop using LineRenice altogether.
(3) Near the end of my Tasker device-startup script, I do the following. It launches LINE Messenger, waits a short time, and then runs the LineRenice and LineForceActive Tasker tasks ...
Launch App [
Package/App Name: LINE
Exclude From Recent Apps: On
Always Start New Copy: On
Continue Task After Error:On ]

Wait [
MS: 0
Seconds: 3
Minutes: 0
Hours: 0
Days: 0 ]

Perform Task [
Name: LineRenice
Priority: 0
Structure Output (JSON, etc): On
Continue Task After Error:On ]

Perform Task [
Name: LineForceActive
Priority: 0
Structure Output (JSON, etc): On ]

(4) I set up a Tasker profile which uses Tasker's logcat monitor to detect when LINE Messenger has been force-closed. In this case, I cause the same code to be invoked that's in item 3. This restarts LINE Messenger.
(5) I also set up a Tasker profile to run the LineRenice and LineForceActive tasks every 2 minutes. This might not actually be necessary, and I'll decide later if I really want to continue to run these repeated calls.
Running Tasker and AutoInput on a rooted device is of course necessary for all this to work. One of the main reasons I always want to root my Android devices and use Tasker and Tasker plugins is to enable me to install these kinds of fixes and modifications.

Since I installed and posted my Answer, there have been two LINE Messenger updates in the Play Store, and I installed each of them. I then decided to test by disabling my LineRenice and LineForceActive Tasker tasks, and now it looks like LINE Messenger is actually working properly on its own!!  But it seems like LINE Messenger still stops responding to messages after it's been force-closed, so now, I'm only performing item 4 in my Answer (but without LineRenice and LineForceActive), and this seems to be all I need. I hope this behavior continues, and I'll report.


text:
Can you send texts from iMessage to someone who has Android and uses Handcent?
Can you send texts from iMessage to someone who has Android and uses Handcent?
And if yes does the iPhone user need to have Handcent?

I would think, no. iMessage is a different beastie than SMS. If iMessage can indeed send SMS, then it wouldn't matter if the recipient uses Handcent or not, as it's just a client for SMS. Any SMS client would be able to read and respond to the message.

If you are wondering if the text will be received through Handcent: yes.  If you are wondering if you will get the group text styled messaging from iMessage while using Handcent: no, I don't think you will.
There are several other SMS options that do support group messaging though.  Android 4.2+ offers group messaging built into the native Messaging app, so if you are on 4.2+ then you probably just need to enable the settting in Messaging app.  If you are on something before 4.2 then you could use GoSMS.  That is what I used until I was updated to 4.2 and it does a great job.  It's not perfect, because Apple likes their iOS exclusivity with iMessage, but it will do the trick.
Again, I am assuming you're looking for a group text solution.  If you are not, disregard my advice.  If you are wondering if Handcent can receive an iMessage, it should, but you wont have a group text to reply to.


text:
Locating the initramfs partition on Android 4.4
I would like to modify the init.*.rc files on an Android 4.4 TV box (rooted).
I saw many tutorials saying that i should dump the boot partition, unpack+edit file+repack and reflash it back.
I looked at the by-name directory and saw partition names like kernel, baseparam, bootargs etc, but I found that the kernel partition contains only the kernel file itself, but not the initramfs file.
Where can I locate the ram disk file?
Edit: Please find the partitions below:
~ # ls /dev/block/platform/hi_mci.1/by-name/ -l
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            20 Jan  1  1970 baseparam -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p5
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            20 Jan  1  1970 bootargs -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p2
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            21 Jan  1  1970 cache -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p15
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            20 Jan  1  1970 deviceinfo -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p4
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            20 Jan  1  1970 fastboot -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p1
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            20 Jan  1  1970 fastplay -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p9
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            21 Jan  1  1970 fastplaybak -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p10
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            21 Jan  1  1970 kernel -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p11
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            20 Jan  1  1970 logo -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p7
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            20 Jan  1  1970 logobak -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p8
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            21 Jan  1  1970 misc -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p12
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            20 Jan  1  1970 pqparam -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p6
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            20 Jan  1  1970 recovery -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p3
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            21 Jan  1  1970 sdcard -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p16
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            21 Jan  1  1970 system -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p13
lrwxrwxrwx    1 root     root            21 Jan  1  1970 userdata -> /dev/block/mmcblk0p14

@alecxs Please find the updated question content


text:
Gmail keeps notifying me even for mail I labelled with the intention to not be notified regarding
This is not a duplicate of Stop Gmail notifications when receiving email from particular sender
Because the question here includes that after I tried that, I still get gmail notifications.
I receive some email that I don't want to receive notifications for. Usually the kind of email that is sent to an email list.
I added some filters for various emails I receive like this e.g.

So they get the label regularblkmail
I don't want my phone to be notifying me whenever I receive an email like that.
And if that means that those emails don't even go into any primary inbox, and they go into some other category that I never see unless I click that category, or "all mail" then fine. But I don't want to get notifications.
If I go to the gmail app, and I push the 3 bars, and I go to 'settings', then pick my email address, that the email is going to, then choose Manage Labels.  Some labels say "not synced", some say "last 30 days".   The label "regularblkmail" says "last 30 days". (it used to say 'not synced' but I managed to get it to say synced to 'last 30 days'). When synced, which it is, it enables some options like "Label notifications". I unticked the box. But I still get notifications when the email comes.
I notice that one of the example emails has had 2 labels applied to it. "inbox", and  "regular blkmail".
I don't know if the fact that it has the 'inbox' label, is the reason for it notifying me? (if so i'm not sure how to make the filter not give that inbox label to that email).
How can I prevent notifications for certain emails I filter for?

@untargeted no it isn't, I tried that already. So my question is even trying that solution I still have the problem of gmail notifications. so it is different

I hadn't ticked  "Skip the inbox (Archive it)", i'll try that and see if that helps.

"I don't know if the fact that it has the 'inbox' label, is the reason for it notifying me? (if so i'm not sure how to make the filter not give that inbox label to that email)." Yes, it is the reason, and following the instructions in the other question is exactly how to get rid of the inbox label.


text:
Where is the MTP and PTP option in Android 9?
Where is the MTP and PTP option in Android 9?
I checked
where is the option to enable MTP?
and it's not there.
I have a Moto G7 Power. I don't know if that makes a difference.
I see there is a command line option How Do I change from PTP to MTP mode? Cannot find options in settings
But i'm looking for the GUI option
I think they moved it from settiings..storage.  as it was there on an old phone.
I tried tapping build number 7 times, I can't see developer options.

an answer from barlop https://stackoverflow.com/questions/16596877/android-studio-doesnt-see-device/18515360#18515360 mentions that it's now in developer options
i can see developer options now, (And FWIW I turned on USB debugging).  but they moved the sectoin to MTP  from the 'input' section of developer options to elsewhere
To find the USB options now, there is a search within developer options, search for USB. Now it comes under "default USB configuration"
and you see USB controlled by, or USB preferences.. And it's there
update 2020
And if PTP is listed but not MTP, then maybe what android may refer to as "File transfer" is the same as MTP. See my comment  PTP but not MTP   , this link https://www.xda-developers.com/install-adb-windows-macos-linux/ says "file transfer (MTP)” mode"   which suggests to me that they may be the same. And BTW to install adb you probably also need the driver from the android sdk as mentioned https://windowsreport.com/windows-unable-install-adb-interface/ so you don't get a yellow exclamation mark for adb under "other devices" in device manager.

Where are the dev options on a Samsung Galaxy Table Android 9?

@user3123159 I don't think it's phone specific , you'd get them the same way on any android phone it's a bit ridiculous but these are the instructions to get it  and yeah it involves tapping an option 7 times https://postimg.cc/sQDct088


text:
in whatsapp, how do you display contacts in alphabetical order?
I  used to be able to get whatsapp to show contacts in alphabetical order but now the option has gone. I can't see all my contacts listed from a-z.  It shows them in order of the last message between us.
How can I display whatsapp contacts  in alphabetical order?
added

WhatsApp shows contacts in alphabetical order by default if you are viewing all contacts. There is no option to change that.

@MANI where does it show contacts then?   I see 3 tabs.  Chats, Status, Calls.  What tab are you talking about?

You are getting confused. What you are seeing is chat screen. There's new message & new call bubbles below on bottom right, click on them to see all your contacts in alphabetical order.

@MANI i've included a picture.   Please tell me where you think I should be looking.  I don't see a "new call" bubble.

@MANI I don't see a new call bubble. I do see a bubble that looks like it might be what you mean by a "new text" bubble.   And I see it brings up the contacts.  You can post that as an answer

It's okay. These things won't stay like that for longer periods. User interface changes every day.

The screenshot on the right, is showing you your active chats. This goes by the order of the last message you received.
To view all your WhatsApp contacts in an alphabetical order, click on the green circle on the bottom right of the screen. This will bring up a list of all your contacts that use WhatsApp.

you write "click on the green circle on the bottom right of the screen." <-- green circle with white rectangle inside.


text:
How can I view my facebook email address?
How can I view my facebook email address?
I managed to get to this screen

from there I scrolled down, and got this screen
Then I chose account settings

then I get this screen

and none of these options open up.
I just can't see where i'd be able to see my email address.
added explanations
Those screenshots are from my Android Phone, in the Facebook App. (not from a web browser, i'm not logged in in any web browser, and as mentioned I don't have the email address)

From your last image, click General, it contains your basic information, like name, email, phone number, networks, and inactive account management person.
The full path to this from the Facebook app is press the 3 line hamburger menu, scroll to the bottom section and find Account Settings, then General.
The way to access this information is exactly the same in the mobile web page.
If they are not opening up, refresh the page or try a different browser.
Also, if you have the Facebook app installed, go to Settings, Accounts, then Facebook, the email address associated with your account is right at the top of the page.

this is from the app. I am not using a browser I don't have the email address.   I can't see a "settings" option. I see "account settings" which I showed in my screenshots

If you have the app, you have an entry in Android's account management... Go to your Android device's settings menu {not in the Facebook app), go to Accounts, and open the Facebook entry, the email address is at the top of that page.

Thanks, You can make that the answer.   If I hadn't been talking about the app then it'd have been more of a web browser issue possibly related to mobile views of webpages and not really an android specific question.  But I was talking about the app and it was an android question and thus your comment there is the answer.

@barlop That info was in my initial answer, see the last paragraph. :)

Could've been at the beginning rather than the end.