text:
Cannot interact with Android VM - VirtualBox
I am trying to create a simple Android application to better learn about the Android platform. The first step was installing Android studio. Unfortunately, though, using Android Emulator was impossible, because my CPU has not VT-x support.
In order to overcome this, I chose the other path I had available: I installed an Android system on a virtual machine using VirtualBox. And here's where I met my last problem: After the installation, which went OK, I rebooted the system, and now I am stuck in a panel where I have to choose the language, because I cannot seem to be able to do anything using my mouse or keyboard. The first thing that came to mind, was  that I needed some kind of touch input, which I don't have on my laptop... Any advice to solve this in order to be able to use Android in the VM?

I ended up using Genymotion, so as to also get the Android Studio integration to work (by using just VirtualBox,the next issue would be getting the Android studio to recognize my virtual device). Very easy and fast solution, I recommend it.  I did not solve the exact problem as described above.

I've installed Android 4.4 in VirtualBox without any problems, and it runs just fine, albeit a little slow.  In the toolbar menu for the VirtualBox host there is a item called "Integrate Mouse" - which, well, enables the mouse!

Here are the directions I used to successfully install Android on VirtualBox: http://www.howtogeek.com/164570/how-to-install-android-in-virtualbox/

You might try Andyroid.  It is a virtual machine that hosts Android and the wrapper is specialized to accomodate for the idiosyncracies that arise from using a virtual hand-held device.  I had issues with rotation using Android in VirtualBox and solved it like this.  Andyroid has a toggle switch that enables/disables the use of VT-x, so it is possible on a CPU without it.  One advantage Andyroid has over a regular VirtualBox solution is that it is tuned for Android.

In order to interact with Android when you are lacking a touch screen, you need to enable Mouse integration AND perhaps tweak the keyboard settings to make sure that "Auto Capture Keyboard" is checked.

You can interact with Android Virtual Box with "Tab" and "Enter" Keys.
Be careful, when you move the input focus with tab, watch the slight change in UI, and then press Enter.


text:
When does Play Store update Google Chrome?
Some visitors to my organisations web site are affected by this Chrome v61 bug which is reported fixed in v62.
The Wikipedia Chrome version page shows v62 was released 19 October 2017 on Android.  Google Play store states Chrome current version varies by device.
Play Store on our test devices running Android 4 (Galaxy S3), 5 (J2), 6 (Nexus 5) and 7 (Huawei P10) all report Chrome v61 as being the latest available.
Is there a typical or published propagation time for Google Chrome updates ?
It's been a couple of weeks since v62 release date so we are wondering if or when these updates will be installed.

Well there is no definite answer concerning established time for Google Chrome updates (and/or other related apps), but the general one is that it varies depending on the developers' schedule.
Of late, Chrome Chrome updates have been released on a staged rollout.

What happens here is that with a staged rollout, the update reaches
  only a percentage of users, and various factors are used to target
  such a small "audience" and may include (but not limited to):

device type
OS version
specific users e.g in certain selected regions
other criteria

Note this is different from independent developers who have no option of targeting eligible users
So it's a waiting game until the next batch of root reaches your specific device. I see you have quite a number of OS versions you mentioned but as I explained, is Google who select the eligibility criteria and it's according to their schedule.
However an alternative workaround, would be using other markets will the latest releases of Chrome 62 e.g apkmirror and sideloading it.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Phone stuck on "Sign in with a google account that was previously synced on this device"
My Motorola Moto G3 was stolen yesterday (a man on a moped grabbed it from my hand). When I got home I changed my google account password and then went to Android Device Manager and requested that the phone be locked and erased if it connects to the internet. Today someone found it on the street and contacted me (my email was displayed on the lock screen). I retrieved the phone. When I opened it the phone did a factory reset as expected.
However now when I try to login (using the account I was using before) it won't get past the "Sign in with a google account that was previously synced on this device" phase. I input my email address and my current password but it brings me back to the same screen (if i input the old password i get an "incorrect password" message). Google won't allow me to revert to the old password because it's been recently used.
Is there a way out of this?
EDIT:
I waited the full 72 hours and then the phone let me continue with the setup process. I'm leaving the question open just in case someone has a better solution.

That is called Factory Reset Protection (FRP) started with Lollipop - FRP search on this site will help you

@beeshyams This case is different from our "daily ones": OP is the owner of the account and thus has the correct credentials – so here FRP should let him in as he can provide the details. If FRP doesn't allow access in this case either, it's a complete failure as it goes beyond its purpose. But sure, the other cases might prove helpful nonetheless.

I strongly believe that Factory reset protection (FRP) won't stop after 72 hours. Refer the following link and i think that will help you solve your problem. How to bypass “Verify your account” (Factory Reset Protection)

This solution worked for me on my HTC 10 after rooting and changing password after rooting. I was told that I had to wait fo 72 hrs. See How to Bypass FRP Lock in LYF Phone (3 Fixes).

This is the Device Protection Lock. It started from devices that was pre-installed(Shipped) with Android 5.0(Lollipop) and up.
It's basically asking you to sign in to any Google account that's synced or added to the device.
To verify if your account is synced to your device, please go to Google Dashboard (google.com/dashboard), and sign in with your Google account. Go to Android, then compare if one of the devices listed is the device that is currently locked out. If it is, then you can unlock the device with your Google account. If not, then you need to use another Google account that may be synced to your device.
If you can't remember your credentials, you can reset your password by going to Google.com/accounts/recovery, but if your change your password before or after Factory Device Reset, you need to wait for 24 hours to sign back on the device and complete the first time setup.
If you still can't get in with the correct Gmail account, waiting 24 hours if you reset your password, then you need to contact the Device Manufacturer for Warranty/Repair options.

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


text:
Backup all installed APK's from phone using ADB
I have done many reinstalls of my OS on my Android phone in the last few months for various reasons. Every time, the biggest hassle is manually searching, downloading and installing all the apps I had in my previous installation.
I use a degoogled custom rom, downloading apps from F-Droid and Aurora Store, so no Google solutions are acceptable.
What I want, is to have a way to keep on my computer a copy of all the apks of the installed apps of my phone, and have it automatically updated too, so that when the time comes to reformat my phone and install everything all over, I will be able to simply adb install all of the apks in no time, instead of doing it all manually and waiting for them to also be downloaded. Any suggestions for how I can make that happen with existing programs, preferably open source?

If you know abd you can simply create a full backup of all non-system apps: adb backup -f all -all -apk -nosystem. Then unpack using the created backup via Android backup Extractor (abe), get the APK files and delete the other file(s).

as you mentioned custom rom, Migrate is the first choice for free backup solution. Titanium Backup has option for scheduled backup

@Robert This only backs up a few of the installed apps.

@alecxs This seems interesting. Is it open source by chance?

nope, but ask the author in telegram group

If it's just the APK files, you could use the getapk script provided in the tools/ directory of my little helper Adebar, calling it e.g. with getapk user to retrieve all user-installed apps. You won't be interested in system apps, but for completeness:
$ getapk

getapk
Extracting APK files from a connected device.
getapk lets you extract a single app's APK, or that of all user apps,
all system apps, or all apps altogether – depending on what parameter
you passed it.

Syntax: /mnt/av/src/git/adebar/tools/getapk <package_name> | user | system | all

This requires ADB being available on your computer. Should you not have that yet, you might wish to take a look at Is there a minimal installation of ADB? here at our site. You don't write what OS you are on; getapk is a Bash script (as Adebar is a Bash tool), so it works best on Linux, was reported working fine on MAcOS, and also in Cygwin.
To have that automated, you could create a cron job (Linux/Mac; no idea how that works on Windows but AFAIK there's something like a "Scheduler" you could probably use). APKs will be named <packageName>.apk (e.g. org.fdroid.fdroid.apk) once retrieved, so always retrieving them to the same directory (i.e. calling the script while inside that directory) should take care that you have always the latest versions in there and no more. Though it wouldn't delete APKs of apps you've uninstalled later ;)

Nice that you already have a complete script for that. I noticed that the script was last changed 2 years ago. Is your script already capable of saving split APKs (where each app consists of multiple APK files on the device)?

Seems to work for most apps installed. But for many I get a failed to stat remote object error. Searching around I found it might be possible to overcome it with root, but I'd rather not root because Magisk was the cause for many of the last rom reinstalls. Do you have a solution for that? Tried on Linux Mint 20.

Further details, tried this on Pocophone F1, LineageOS 17.1. Examples of apps where this happened are Youtube and Shazam.

@Robert feel free to build on it. I happily accept pull requests with improvements. And no, I haven't tried it with split APKs – hints are welcome, too. I guess the failed to stat could be such cases. The current logic is rather a "simple approach" which definitely can be improved…

@NoobDoob I don't have Shazam, and the YT app is pulled fine from the test device having it. But I just fixed the mv: cannot stat 'base.apk' error. Will see if I can reproduce (and fix) the other one. Oh: you did call it with the user parameter, not all – you just want to backup user apps, not those the ROM ships with, right? The full error message reads: failed to stat remote object '{path}': Permission denied and in my test was only on some system apps. I'd yet need to find a split APK to test that. Edit: found one, indeed same error (just without the "permission denied").

OK, there you go – grab the update which now handles split-apks as well! They will be placed into a subdir using tha packageName and keeping the original names for the APKs, so should the dev decide to change their names or numbers, you might need to "clean up" manually yourself (e.g. deleting files older than X).

All works now. Now it would be nice to have a script install them too, handling split apk's too, for the reinstall phase. I'd be happy to make one and PR to your project if you don't have time to put on it. My main problem is solved with this nonetheless.

Would you have a problem with pasting the entirety of your script's code in your answer for the completeness of this thread?

@NoobDoob "have a script install them too" => on its way: https://codeberg.org/izzy/Adebar/pulls/53 – and copy-pasting the entire script would quite blow up the answer. It's open-source and can be viewed in its repo.

@Izzy I am the one who did the pull request, I did not mention it because I thought you realized it! I did not have time to work on it today, tomorrow I will most likely finish it.

I assumed as much but wasn't sure. The note might be helpful for others, too – and I might include some facts from the comments with an update to the answer later, before cleaning up. Thanks again – and yes, at your convenience, no need to hurry ;)

getapk still works a treat in 2023 on a fully updated Android 13 device without root.

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


text:
ADB installs apps for all users. How to force it to install to main user only?
I have a LineageOS 17.1 system on Pocophone F1, unrooted. When I install an apk through USB using adb, adb not run as root, the app is installed both on my main admin user and on a secondary user on my phone. How do I force adb to only install the app for my main user only?

Mention the specific user as an argument for which the package is to be installed. Example:
adb install --user USER_ID YOUR_APK
adb shell pm install --user USER_ID YOUR_APK    # alternative command

USER_ID for main/primary user is always 0.
Sidenote: in case of difficulty with an adb command, simply enter adb as the sole command. It would list help section.

Note to see what the UID of a user is, use adb shell pm list users

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


text:
Detailed instructions for replacing KingoRoot's Superuser with SuperSU
KingRoot's Superuser, while effective at its main purpose, is throwing up adware lockscreens.  I'd like to replace it with SuperSU but have had difficulty finding instructions detailed enough for my low level of knowledge.
I tried just installing SuperSU from the play store but that failed.
When googling, I see results for kingroot, kingoroot, and I don't even know if they are the same or not.
The Superuser package on my device is com.kingouser.com version 2.1.6.8 (2168). The device is an Azpen A746, the world's 2nd cheapest tablet.
Detailed information on replacing this SuperUser with SuperSu would be greatly appreciated.

Try checking here: https://missingtricks.net/replace-kingroot-kinguser-with-supersu-superuser-android-guide/. It has a detailed useful guide to do the task.

I guess I was overthinking this. I just uninstalled Kingoroot's Superuser app through Apps, then downloaded and installed Super SU from the play store. Still have root. "All too easy" as a certain Sith Lord would say.
The last straw was when Kingoroot Superuser installed an unwanted app without asking. It had to die after that.

TL;DR - skip to the STEPS section
Kingroot and Kingoroot are two completely different apps, made by two completely different group of developers.
Kingroot, while it is probably the leading app for "1-Click-Root" solutions, also installs a ton of bloatware and annoying services that you may or may not know about.
Kingoroot I can't really speak too much about, considering there have always been many other solutions to achieving root including Kingroot.
Okay so I've used this method dozens of times and it works 99% of the time. The only time I haven't had it work was for a Verizon HTC One M8, since Kingroot only gives (at least at the time) temproot it took a few tries to get it working properly. I give all credit to w0lfdroid to finding it, and the original guide can be found here http://www.w0lfdroid.com/2015/05/How-to-Remove-Replace-KingUser-KingRoot-with-SuperSU.html
WARNING
This may leave your device in an unrooted state, if this happens then just run Kingroot again and it will fix itself.
STEPS

Download the following three items:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jackpal.androidterm&hl=en
--(Terminal Emulator App / Alternatively you can just use ADB shell)--
http://tiny.cc/1a5lyx
--(Zip archive containing necessary files / v1)--
http://tiny.cc/fo78zx
--(Zip archive containing necessary files / v2)--

The two zip archives contain the same files, but if the steps don't return the desired result using the v1 files, then repeat the steps using the v2 files.
Extract the "mrw" folder from the zip archive and place it anywhere in "/sdcard". For convenience let's just say you're not using a computer and instead doing this all from the phone you're wishing to switch from Kingroot to SU. Downloading the files will put them inside /sdcard/Download. So navigate to there using the built-in file explorer (or Root Browser if you don't have one), extract "mrw" from the zip, and proceed to install Terminal Emulator.
Open Terminal Emulator and type the following commands:

su
sh /sdcard/Download/mrw/root.sh

This will return a ton of text and quite a few errors, don't worry about it, I've never had it not return some errors. When finished it will install SuperSU automatically and open the app, asking you if you'd like to install the necessary binaries. Tap "Yes" and choose the option that is NOT to install in recovery.
At this point it will go one of two ways: either the binary installation will fail, at which point you'll have to re-root with Kingroot and repeat the steps using the other zip files; or the binary installation will succeed and you'll need to reboot the device. Upon booting you will see Kingroot and all associated files have been removed, and replaced instead with SuperSU.

If neither of these methods work there is a paid app in Play Store called Super-SuMe that's supposed to be specifically made for removing Kingroot and installing SuperSU, although despite purchasing it multiple times I have never once had anything happen besides either a reboot, force close, or the app hangs.
Best of luck.

Thanks for the detailed instructions. I will give it a try.  I just tried the paid app and it didn't work for me either.

Sorry to hear, that app should be pulled from the Play Store because that dude is banking off of nothing. Feel free to ask me whatever if you need some help during the process.

Looking through the script, I see lots of references to com.kingroot.kinguser, but none to com.kingouser.com, which is what I have.  I don't think this is going to work for me.

So wait, your question was asking how to change Kingroot to SU, but you're using Kingo-root?

Like I said in the question, I am not smart enough to know the difference.

Sorry, I didn't mean for it to sound like that, I just was trying to get a grasp for the situation. Try this out. Run the following command to see all instances of files installed by kingo-root: "su find / -type f -print 2>/dev/null | grep kingo" without quotes. This should return all instances of kingo-root files found in your device. Then just replace all the kingroot files in the script to your kingo-root files and see if the result is the same.

Let us continue this discussion in chat.

Further notice: Newer versions of KingRoot can prevent mrw/root.sh from removing it. You need to: 1. Run su in a terminal emulator.    2. Uninstall root privilege in the preference menu in KingRoot itself. Make sure Terminal Emulator process is alive.    3. Run that root.sh.

Whether it is "Kingroot" or "Kingo Superuser" you are trying to swap to SuperSU, it will be best to use manual methods as most auto scripts out there doesn't work on all device. The simplest and most easiest way to do this does not even required any apps than a file manager. This can be done using ES File Explorer.
I've once faced an issue with kingoroot. It starts displaying annoying ads and battery saver on my lock screen without any switch to disable it, which is very annoying and RAM consuming. After trying an auto-script app called "SuperSume" which unfortunately doesn't work, I later found out how to remove it and swap it with SuperSU manually.  This method works for phones with Kingroot or Kingoroot Kingo superuser.
I wrote a detailed guide on it including screenshots and all the process involved. It is posted here.
The only requirement is ES File Explorer. I use ES because it has root explorer built-in.
Give it a try.

Just going to add this on topr of therealjavi's answer in case there are other people like me who got pretty stuck. Finally got this right after a couple runs or so.
If, after updating the binary according to the instruction given above, your phone prompts that you have two superuser apps now [instead of having the kinguser automatically removed], find a little time to unsinstall that little pesky app, [in my case, I used Link2SD which is available in the PlayStore,] then go back to the terminal emulator, and rerun the scripts again. Voila, you're done.
I also had the problem of ending up installing SuperSu on my sdcard. To fix that  [not sure if necessary or I'm just paranoid], I did the following:

Used native setting of android to move SuperSU to Internal Storage
Used Link2SD to convert SuperSU to system app
Reboot.

Btw, I did this on Cloudfone Excite 501o (Android ver. 4.2.2 [KitKat]). I used iRoot (previously known as vRoot, but not sure how similar it is to VRoot which also exists now) to root the phone, and ended up getting a Chinese market app and lots of ads.


text:
sd card reports full when it isn't
I foolishly interrupted a file deletion operation on my internal sd card. (The card was full when I started) Now using any file explorer tool shows files and directories adding up to ~300 M, yet the entire 1.2 G sd card shows as full.
My tablet is rooted, and I have the file explorers set to show hidden files. I have connected to a Linux PC with adb and done ls -al on the sdcard. Linux disk tools also show the card full, but the extant files only adding up to ~300 M. Nothing shows what is consuming the extra space.
Please do not reply with advice to clear cache, look for dumps, etc. There is no visible or hidden file on the card which is consuming the space. There must be a corrupted file or directory attribute or table or some such.  Any advice as to how to reset this parameter(s) would be greatly appreciated.
On Linux I would run fsck on the disk - is there such a thing for Android?

This did indeed turn out to be file system corruption.  This question helped me solve it but I don't think it is a duplicate because the accepted answer did not work for me.  However one of the other answers was very close to what I needed.
To fix:
Connected to my Linux PC with adb.
Then issued adb shell mount | grep -i sdcard command.  This told me that my sdcard filesystem was vfat, which is why the accepted answer to the other question didn't work for me. So going off another answer to that question I did a adb shell fsck_msdos -y /dev/block/vold/93:80.  This spat out a bunch of output and created a bunch of files in LOST.DIR on the sdcard which was awesome, because then I could get at them and delete them.  One was 770M which was the bulk of the missing space.
Problem solved.


text:
Undesired download of Baidu Browser
new Android user with the world's most low end tablet, Azpen A727.  I'm enjoying learning about Android and have killed off most of the bloatware...but twice now "Baidu Browser" has been downloaded without my request.  I'm using the bloatware security app Lookout now.  Is there a way to find out what is requesting these downloads, stop it, or block it?  I'm open to using a different security app.
Many thanks in advance.

Is your device rooted? Though "killed off most of the bloatware" suggests as much, I'd better make sure before posting "the wrong answer" :)

Not yet, but I plan to.  So far I've just deleted and/or disabled unwanted apps.

OK, as you plan to: Would an answer requiring root be acceptable?

OK – see below. There would be much more to say on that app, but that'd be too much here :)

I'm using LBE Security Manager for a while now (as the "lite version", LBE Privacy Guard, is no longer continued and soesn't work with Android 4.1 and above). I first felt it a bit, umm, over-loaded – but it runs decently (no battery drain or performance issues), and after disabling half of its features I don't need, I'm pretty satisfied with it.
While my primary taget was its privacy protection (revoking app permissions), LBE-SM ships with a load of other features. One of them watches over app installs, and places a note in your notification area when one happened. You then can follow that (tap the notification), and blacklist the app. LBE-SM then blocks all future installations of it.
There are a bunch of additional features, many of them primarily targeted at the Chinese market (cloud anti-virus, call blocker, etc), a basic firewall (block internet-access per app and interface, i.e. separately for WiFi and mobile data), plus more.
It's a closed-source app of Chinese origin, which might sound suspect at first. But there's a huge follow-ship at XDA (and Xposed, and elsewhere), so it can't be that bad ;) Unfortunately, the app version available at Google Play is Chinese only (you won't be able to understand a thing if you're not used to Chinese). But there are ways, like localized English, Vietnamese, German, and other language's versions at XDA - or the LBE Xposed Module to be used with the playstore version, to get a usable installation. I'm using the linked English variant from XDA for a while, and already found it updated a couple of times.

Thanks for the LBE link, just downloaded from XDA. Was looking for English variant, but I didn't want to use the Xposed module.

Both have their pros and cons. Using Xposed, you could use the Playstore version and automatically update it from Play. Using the XDA version, you'll have to keep care not to update from Play. Besides, I'd recommend to de-activate the software update check in LBE – can get pretty annoying getting update infos for all your apps in Chinese ;)

Sounds like what I'm looking for.  Thanks for your time.

Always glad to help :)


text:
Can't open non HTTPS websites on mobile network. (Android Lollipop on Nexus 5, Nexus 4)
I recently updated my Nexus 5 to Lollipop. The problem is that when I am on a mobile network, I can ONLY open HTTPS websites. All the HTTP websites appear as a blank white page. When I am on WiFi, everything is fine. I am located in India, if that matters.
Any ideas why this might be happening?
Edit: Same is happening on another phone, which is Nexus 4. I have tried different browsers, and the results are the same.
Edit2: I used remote debugging on Android with Chrome.
Here is the response to http://stackoverflow.com
Remote Address:198.252.206.140:80
Request URL:http://stackoverflow.com/
Request Method:GET
Status Code:504 Gateway Time-out
Request Headers
Accept:text/html,application/xhtml+xml,application/xml;q=0.9,image/webp,*/*;q=0.8
Accept-Encoding:gzip, deflate, sdch
Accept-Language:en-GB,en-US;q=0.8,en;q=0.6
Connection:keep-alive
Cookie:prov=5a7a2230-005c-463e-afda-63c634dd4a73; __qca=P0-84958589475-140584875859968; _ga=GA1.2.749475574.1948596847
Host:stackoverflow.com
User-Agent:Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Android 5.0; Nexus 5 Build/LRX21O) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/39.0.2171.59 Mobile Safari/537.36
Response Headers
Connection:keep-alive
Content-Length:0
Date:Wed, 17 Dec 2014 03:42:50 GMT
Server:WebProxy/6.0

When I try to open https://stackoverflow.com, here is what I get:
Remote Address:198.252.206.140:443
Request URL:https://stackoverflow.com/
Request Method:GET
Status Code:200 OK
Request Headers
Accept:text/html,application/xhtml+xml,application/xml;q=0.9,image/webp,*/*;q=0.8
Accept-Encoding:gzip, deflate, sdch
Accept-Language:en-GB,en-US;q=0.8,en;q=0.6
Connection:keep-alive
Cookie:prov=5a7a2230-005c-463e-afda-63c634dd4a73; __qca=P0-84958589475-140584875859968; _ga=GA1.2.749475574.1948596847
Host:stackoverflow.com
User-Agent:Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Android 5.0; Nexus 5 Build/LRX21O) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/39.0.2171.59 Mobile Safari/537.36
Response Headers
Cache-Control:public, max-age=39
Content-Encoding:gzip
Content-Length:19401
Content-Type:text/html; charset=utf-8
Date:Wed, 17 Dec 2014 03:43:21 GMT
Expires:Wed, 17 Dec 2014 03:44:01 GMT
Last-Modified:Wed, 17 Dec 2014 03:43:01 GMT
Vary:*
X-Frame-Options:SAMEORIGIN

Obviously, the HTTP request is getting timed out. I am on the Vodafone India network. Any help?

Changing the APN settings to "VodafoneMobileConnect" fixed the problem.

authors: อนุพันธ์ คนเดิม'มมมม


text:
Device randomly restarts and has battery drain after .apk file installation
I'm developing an Android app, and at the moment I let to install as an .APK file from my webpage to my close friends.
On the device of one of them, the installation causes an error and the App doesn't got installed. But since that moment his device restarts without any sense and has a hight battery drain.

My App needs 2 permissions: "full network access" and "control vibration".
App worked well on devices whith API's from 16 to the last

The device specifications are:

Samsung galaxy III mini
version 4.1.2 (not rooted)

What can I do with the device?
Is my apk able to cause this issues?
(I really need help to solve this issue fast. Sorry for my English, please edit any misspelling, thanks)

After looking arround, I think there's not any problem with tha app. It seems a coincidence and battery becomes dead. When he replace it, we will know.


text:
Possible to install a 1 GB game into external storage, how?
I am using Android 6.0 marshmallow. I have 8 GB internal memory and 64 GB external memory (storage). Now I got a game from a friend which needs 1 GB of storage and I have only 400 MB as internal memory remaining. The file and directory I got from him is as -
a. game2.apk 24 MB
b. com.gamecompany.game2 (folder) 800 MB .
When I open the folder/directory I have another compressed file saying main.xx.com.gamecompany.game.obb which seems to mean it needs to go to either the data sub-directory or the /obb sub-directory, don't know which.
Now how do I install it so that the game is installed and it takes all the files it needs from the external storage. If possible I would like the game to be installed in the external storage there and it should be able to find the game files from external storage by itself. I do not know if it is possible.
Is there a way to do it ?

The folder name does not indicate where to put it. Ask the person you got the data from where it has been copied from.

Sorry for no instructions,
• Android folder is on internal SD Card
( /sdcard / android / obb)
• Game data stays inside folder (not renamed)
• Install but don't open apk until data is copied !
Instructions For OBB

I have added/edited the question bit more, maybe that gives a bit more clarity.  I'm looking for more instructions than you have shared atm or even more insight into how the internal order works so as to know what to do next.

fixed answer for the instructions to use obb

I still have a query. So should the .apk should be installed inside gamedata folder/directory or should it be installed outside or it doesn't matter ? I looked at the OBB instructions .mp4 and do thank you for the effort.

authors: Гульнара Якупова


text:
Using USB for transferring files (MTP or PTP) to phone or charging using USB
I had my Android phone power discharged fully. On fooling/trying to find the root cause saw the following as options in Android which I wasn't aware of before. This is in developer options though.

Transferring media files through MTP - This seems to be only one way from phone to PC and not the other way around :(
Transferring images or files through a PTP connection (guess it's a lower bandwidth connection)

Edit : Update - The target PC is running Debian Testing, not MS-Windows, sorry for not sharing that part.

Connecting MIDI devices
Charging.

What was surprising at least to me was you could choose only of the options and when one is chosen say charging the other options cannot be used.
Is there possibility of transferring media files through PTP from PC to phone or not anymore ?
Also were these options always part of android say 5.0 or it's a new development in 6.0 marshmallow ?
Permission denied while trying to copy some data from computer on to Samsung Galaxy J5

Its a new development in android 6, mainly the location of these options. The USB configuration of Android 6.0 marshmallow is slightly different than other versions.

In Android 6.0, the options seems to have disappeared. It has in fact
  moved and you can only access it if you’ve enabled developer options.

The first option is to have a “Charging” only option which can be used to connect to a USB port to charge the device without any notification to the computer. This will be the default option for the device and hence the device will not allow to access the files unless it is explicitly changed.
MTP (Media Transfer Protocol)
When Android uses this protocol, it appears to the computer as a “media device.” A standardized protocol for transferring audio files (and other media) to digital music players using Windows Media Player and similar applications.
You can transfer media files either way.

Android can choose the files it presents to you, and hide system files
  so you can’t see or modify them. If you attempt to delete or edit a
  file that can’t be modified, the device will refuse the request and
  you’ll see an error message

PTP Picture Transfer Protocol.
When Android uses this protocol, it appears to the computer as a digital camera.

MTP is actually based on PTP, but adds more features, or “extensions.”
  PTP works similarly to MTP, and is commonly used by digital cameras.
  Any software program that supports grabbing photos from a digital
  camera will support grabbing photos from an Android phone when you
  select the PTP mode. PTP was designed to be a standard protocol for
  communicating with digital cameras.

It is generally recommended on a modern Android devices,  to use MTP rather than PTP  unless you have software that only supports PTP.
Note: It has been noted that you may need to physically remove the SD card after upgrading to Android 6, and putting it back in before you can view the files on your PC
If you're having issues transferring media in your upgraded OS, try troubleshooting using these options:

Make sure you have installed appropriate drivers

Connect your device to your PC and wait. If it doesn’t show up in file explorer, check to see if Windows is searching for drivers.

If it is, allow it to search and install any drivers it needs. This can happen even if you have connected your Android device to your PC under the same connection type. Do not disconnect the device and allow Windows to finish installing drivers.

Fix corruption issues on your external storage

Use an sd card adapter and insert in the slot on your PC, right click on the external storage device and go to properties, tools then check for errors, fix if necessary the re insert it in your device and check if problem is resolved.

Credits

How to Access Android 6 Marshmallow Files using USB to Windows
How To Set The Default USB Connection Type In Android 6.0
Android USB Connections Explained: MTP, PTP, and USB Mass Storage

hi, have updated my query with bit of info.


text:
Enabling ADB on Nexus 6 with dead screen
So I acquired a Nexus 6 with a completely dead screen. (Dead as in I cannot see anything)
The phone powers on (and off) and is detected by my computer.
I want to be able to see the phone's display on my computer. I believe the process will be straight forward if I mange to get ADB enabled
The phone is presumably locked (I do know the unlock pattern) and USB debugging is disabled.
adb devices gives no output
When I boot into recovery mode, fastboot devices recognizes my device.
The phone is probably unrooted and has a locked bootloader. I do not need to preserve any data.
If I manage to get ADB working, I known of tools that will allow me to view my phone screen, which is my end goal.
I looked at Broken screen while debug mode was disabled. How can I re-enable adb? but when I tried booting CWM recovery rom, I got the message "FAILED (remote failure)" because the bootloader is locked?
Similar problem with Android toolkit.
Anyone know of a way to enable ADB through fastboot when USB debugging is not enabled
Thanks in advance
EDIT:
I followed this guide to not avail
$sudo fastboot flash recovery twrp-3.1.1-0-shamu.img
(bootloader) slot-count: not found
(bootloader) slot-suffixes: not found
(bootloader) slot-suffixes: not found
(bootloader) has-slot:recovery: not found
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'recovery' (11757 KB)...
OKAY [  0.535s]
writing 'recovery'...
OKAY [  0.189s]
finished. total time: 0.724s
$ sudo fastboot reboot
(bootloader) slot-count: not found
(bootloader) slot-suffixes: not found
(bootloader) slot-suffixes: not found
rebooting...

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts! While waiting for answers, it's definitely worth having a look at our broken-screen tag-wiki, which has some first-aid and links to related questions (yes, you're not the first one with that issue ;) Good luck!

@Izzy Thank you for the relevant information. I tried following the instructions, but I believe I am doing something wrong. My device is never detected by ADB. I have found recovery images through Google and tried booting them with fastboot to no avail. Any advice?

I've never been in that situation (luckily), but I'd try with TWRP first – as there I'm sure ADB is built-in and active per default.

@Izzy I followed this guide: https://twrp.me/devices/motorolanexus6.html,
but when the device reboots, adb still won't detect it. Any other advice

I forgot to boot the recovery image; my bad; adb detects the device, but says I don't have permissions; EDIT restarted with sudo and it worked

I followed this guide

I went into fastboot mode by holding down the power button (force restart) and the volume down key (recovery mode)
I downloaded a twrop image from: https://dl.twrp.me/shamu/
fastboot flash recovery twrp.img
fastboot reboot (while holding the volume down key see note)
Then I booted the recovery image
adb with root permissions detected my device. If you get a permission denied error try killing adb and running with sudo

*Note many devices will replace your custom recovery automatically during first boot. To prevent this, use Google to find the proper key combo to enter recovery. After typing fastboot reboot, hold the key combo and boot to TWRP. Once TWRP is booted, TWRP will patch the stock ROM to prevent the stock ROM from replacing TWRP. If you don't follow this step, you will have to repeat the install.

Note that if you don't want to modify your stock recovery, you can also boot TWRP "from image" when needed: fastboot boot twrp.img. Good job!


text:
Where's the list of TLD that are converted to link in SMS?
When you send an SMS/Text, the Messaging app converts to clickable link certain patterns of text, when it matches a URL.

Of course I can use the Android emulator to emulate SMS messages and check what top-level domains (TLD) are converted to link.
But I was curious and wanted to know the complete list. I have searched the source code of the
stock Android app and even other projects (QKSMS) but found nothing.
P.S. When you prefix the URL with 'http://' all TLD are converted to link.
Update: My first test (see screenshot) corresponds to Android 7. I've checked that Android 9 recognizes new TLDs.

There may be an alternative way to check that does not need pre-configured TLD lists: just send it to the configured DNS server.

@Robert Are you suggesting that the Messaging app just checks the domains? But in my example the domains are inexistent though they are correctly recognized.

It seems that, at some point in the dependency tree, one of the hundreds of the imported libraries will import com.google.common.net.InternetDomainName. That library contains https://android.googlesource.com/platform/external/guava/+/refs/heads/master/guava/src/com/google/thirdparty/publicsuffix/PublicSuffixPatterns.java
That has an encoded version of Mozilla's https://publicsuffix.org/list/public_suffix_list.dat


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Ringtone volume automatic set to zero in Samsung Galaxy S5
I am using Samsung Galaxy S5 SM-G00H Android 5.0. It's ringing volume set to zero after restarting it. Does anyone have solution for this issue?

Related: Ring volume keeps reseting to zero

@Izzy  but there were no solution for it.

I didn't claim that :) Just linking the two together so as soon as a solution pops up for one it can be found from the other ;)

My Problem is Solved by upgrading Android lollipop to marshmallow 6.0.1.


text:
Samsung galaxy S5 display and touch not working
my samsung galaxy S5 android 6.0.1 not starting. only task manager touch key light keeps always on. but touch not working. and display not working. can anyone suggest me a solution for this issue.
What i have already Tried :

Remove battery and insert it again, but not succeed.
start device by pressing volume down and power key but not succeed.


text:
I recently reset my Galaxy S5 to manufacture and lost all contacts, Can I retrieve my contacts back
Can I retrieve my contacts back to my device .I recently reset my device to the manufacturers original.

It would be worth checking to see if google automatically synced your contacts to your gmail account. If so, they are recoverable if not they’re toast.

The best and easiest way to backup your contacts is to sync them with your google account. If you have done so then you can recover them without any issue, if not then unfortunately you won't get any contacts back.


text:
Stream audio from any app on phone to receiver
I have an HTC One m7 phone and a Marantz NR1604 receiver (with a nice set of speakers).
Both are connected to my home WIFI network.
How do I stream audio from any app on the phone to the receiver over the WIFI network?

You can use XPosed Framework and BubbleUPnP's Audio Cast Feature.


text:
Htc one wifi download speed is slower then upload speed
I just bought a HTC one (m7) today and its working fine! But for some reason my wifi speed is really really slow on this phone. My download speed is slower then my upload speed at the moment wich isnt normal I think. This doesnt happen on other phones/laptops in this wifi network.
Why is the wifi download speed so slow on my HTC one? It started while downloading the newer updates it took hours to download/install them. After that the wifi is still really slow.
I tried a speedtest from speedtest.net and came out with a weird result:
1 Mbps download
5 Mbps upload
On my laptop connected to same wifi network:
40 Mbps download
5 Mbps upload
So the upload speed is fine but for some reason i only get 1 mbps download speed wich should be 40.
What is causing this and whats the best way to solve this?
Thanks for reading/help.
Router: Technicolor TG789vn v3
Phone: HTC One (m7 black)

Solved it! :-)
If you also have this problem you have to change your router security from wpa2-psk to wpa. This worked for me on a technicolor router!
Google for your own router how to change this.


text:
Transfering contact information from one phone to another using SIM card
I have a LG Optimus L70 phone that will no longer turn on. I have a new LG K7 phone. How can I transfer my contact information to the new phone using the SIM card. Or is there any other way that I can get my contact information and pictures off of my old phone and put in to my new phone

How do you want to "transfer" something from dead phone? If the contacts are on the SIM card already - just insert it to the new phone.

AD apparently you did not understand my question. I was inquiring as to whether this was possible and how to do it. On top of this the sims card for my old phone is to big to be placed in my new phone. I detected just a little bit of sarcasm in your comment. And between me and you I don't need that from you or anyone else.

Wrong detection :) Anyway I don't see any option how to do this or to transfer anything from something which is not working. Please add as much info as possible for others.

Is there anyway to get my contact information and pictures off of my old phone and into my new phone if my old phone will not turn on or power up

If you installed a different contact application that isn't using the normal Google android system you would have to specify the program and someone familiar with it will chime in.
Your contact information, by default is stored in Gmail's contact.  Activating your new phone and setting up the same account on the new phone as the old phone will automatically sync your contact information to your new phone.
You make a reference to sim card, where I believe you are trying to refer to an sdcard.  Many phones, especially the newer ones, will allow you connect to an external usb drive.  You can do two things to get the data off your sdcard.  You can alternatively get an adapter for your computer (which generally cost between 5 an 8 dollars), transfer the date from the card to your computer.  Then connect your new phone to your computer VIA a usb cable and transfer the data from the computer to your new phone.

L. D. James I cannot retrieve any information from my g.mail account and neither can Lookout which is a recovery app that I had installed on old phone and that I also have installed on my new. I did not have a SD card in my old phone either I was just curious about whether my information might have been stored on phones sim card but now I know that it wasn't. As my old phone will not turn on I guess that my information is not retrievable and is gone forever now

@Hogleg You don't manually retrieve information from a gmail account.  When you set up the account on your phone using the Settings feature to add or setup an account, the contacts and emails will be synced to the phone from the associated gmail account automatically.  The contact information that you were using on your old phone is stored on the Google server.  You would have to have a gmail account to have full access to the features of the phone, such as installing apps from http://play.google.com.  Add the account to your new phone and your contacts will be on it.


text:
Accidentally formatted SD Card, can all files be recovered?
The phone is rooted and the SD Card has been partitioned before. I was trying to adjust the partition size using Apps2SD but it ended up formatting it. Is there any way I can recover the lost files? The files are mostly apps/games.
EDIT: Just to clarify, can the games/apps itself be recovered? Or at least their data? I need the game data as some of my games are single-player and it'll really suck to start all over again.

Well, you can easily download the apps and games again. For unique files you want to recover (photos, videos etc), you can use tools on PC like Recuva or other file recovery applications (there are some for Android but there are more hit and miss and often miss).

@GiantTree It should be mentioned that Recuva fails for certain if the external SD is formatted in either ext4 or f2fs.

For a starter, you could check with our nice data-recovery tag-wiki – which would e.g. bring you to How to Restore Deleted / Formatted Files on HD Micro SD Card. The tag has many more :)

@GiantTree Well, yeah, I could re-download those apps again, but my problem is the data for those games. Some of my games are only single-player so the data doesn't save online, which means I'll have to start from scratch again :( Is there any way to recover game data?

App data is (usually) not saved on the SD card. You'd only lose their *.obb data files.

@Andy Yan Hmm, but all of my games are linked/moved to the EXT2 partition of the SD Card (With the help of Apps2SD of course), so the game data has also got be there too, right?

I'm at a bit of loss on that one, since I never used such "move to SD" features. Check out /data/data/*package name of your app*, there should be a complete folder structure there storing your app data (usually in databases, files or shared_prefs), if you can't see anything meaningful in there then it's indeed linked and lost.

Please, connect the card to a computer, run TestDisk to scan it and then report the results here.


text:
How do I find APN settings to use with a 3rd party SMS app?
I'm using an admittedly old (Android 4.0.4) Samsung Galaxy Centura (Tracfone) and I've run into a problem with regards to text messaging. The default "Messaging" app is quite limited and is missing the one thing that I wanted:(group messaging), so I switched to Textra for messaging. Textra is almost perfect, except that it won't send or receive an MMS!
I figured it was a simple matter of updating the APN settings, until Tracfone support informed me that this phone "does not have adustable APN settings," and could not help me any further.
I experimented and found that the stock Messaging app can send/receive MMS, so it's not a system-wide problem, just a Textra problem. I experimented with a couple of other SMS apps from the Play Store, and they all exhibit the same symptoms. SMS works fine, but MMS fails.
Textra does have a place to input custom APN settings, but I can't seem to find the proper settings anywhere. I googled "APN settings for tracfone" and tried a couple of the common results, but no go. I did find out that the phone is apparently running on the Verizon network, (the gateways ##########@vtext.com and ##########@mypixmessages both work) so I tried Verizon APN settings too, but to no avail.
Any ideas on what steps to take next? Surely it is possible, I'm just missing a piece of the puzzle somewhere. :|

Did you check in your phone settings under more networks>mobile network>access point names? Do you not have that setting?

The phone does not even have a menu option for APN or access point names.

So you have mobile networks but not access point names?

Yes, that's correct. The only menu option under "Mobile networks" is data enabled.

Can't think of a solution. Just strange that the stock one allows you to send mms but not a third party one, being that they both use the same process

Possible duplicate of APN setting is missing on Nexus 5 bought from US

Please try solutions mentioned in possible duplicate and edit your question if it doesn't solve

I don't think this is a duplicate. I did try the solution mentioned, but dialing that code just gives me a Verizon "this call could not be completed as dialed" answer. This is a US Tracfone being used in the US without a SIM card, so I don't really think its the same issue. As I mentioned in the original post, MMS does work with the stock messaging app, just not with Textra.


text:
Can't connect to mobile internet with CyanogenOS 13
On Google, I found a similar problem on Reddit, which describes exactly what I've got right now: https://www.reddit.com/r/cyanogenmod/comments/3xm0mo/mobile_data_not_working_cm13/
The problem is that, even though I do have cellular reception, and everything (WiFi, SMS, calling) works just fine, whenever I turn off WiFi (or walk outside WiFi) it doesn't connect to the internet using a data connection (3G/4G etc).
What I've tried so far (based on that Reddit post's comments)

Reboot my phone
Toggle Airplane mode on/off
Switch preferred network setting to 3G and then back to 4G
Enable Data Roaming (even though I'm still in the country this should be active)
Going to Settings>Cellular networks>Access Point Names and trying each of the available options
Check my remaining MB-credit on my subscription (I still have >100MB remaining) - this is actually irrelevant since I do not have an exclamation point at my reception-icon

The only thing I haven't tried is some kind of reinstall/rollback of my OS. My Cyanogen version is 13.0-ZNH0EAS45F
When I go to my SIM 1 status, I see that "Service status" says "Data: In service", but (even though my WiFi is turned off) the "Mobile network state" is "Disconnected". Can I force my phone to connect to the mobile network somehow?
PS: This problem has existed for about 2 hours now. Before that it worked just fine.
Update: One of these things might have fixed it. I'm not sure. It suddenly started working again, even though between the time of posting and now I did not change anything about my settings at all. I have (after it started working) reverted all changes to my settings, and it still works. I have no idea how this worked, but it works.

Clean Cache/Dalvik, System and Data and flash Your Cyanogenmod 13 ROM again

what? I have no idea what half of these words mean in this context. Dalvik? Where is my cache? How do I flash my CM13 ROM? (my phone came preinstalled with Cyanogen OS 12, which got upgraded to 13)

Okay switch off your mobile, then reboot into recovery. Press power+volume down (for some models press power+volume up). Then recovery menu will come. Then clean your cache. Though your cyanogen os is preinstalled, you can't clean system. But you can clean data. After cleaing data your all installed app will be uninstalled, but files on sd card will not be deleted

@SouravBagchi Could you [edit] your answer to add this information? Comments aren't for important explanations, they're just for temporary messages and to ask clarification (like this one).

After this problem appeared again, clearing cache did not do anything at all either.


text:
How to get rid of search bar on home screen in 6.0
I have already tried options mentioned in many other answers here/ posts online. I have a nexus 5
disable google now: option is disabled
use custom launcher: shows even in Nova launcher!
Edit: here is what I tried:
https://www.androidpit.com/how-to-remove-the-google-search-bar-from-your-android-homescreen
it doesn't work because Google Search doesn't appear in the list of installed apps in marshmallow

"I have already tried options mentioned in many other answers here/ posts online." -- consider linking or explaining all of them here. This helps us to avoid suggesting solutions which didn't work for you.

@Firelord I tried to disable Google Now, but the option is disabled in marshmallow

You can remove the Google Search bar by installing an application Xposed GEL Settings.
Open XGELS > Google Search Bar > Hide
Please note: This application requires ROOT and Xposed Framework.

looks like the only option for now


text:
Pattern not working - Locked out of phone
I have an Android 6 device.
Since this morning when I woke up, my pattern is no longer working and the wifi mobile hotspot was turned off during the night (it was on when I went to sleep).
After a few tries and waiting 30 secs, it lets me access the phone thru the backup pin, but if i try to change the pattern (settings -> security -> security lock) or to reset the settings, it asks for the pattern again, which of course no longer works.
Any ideas what to do about this situation? Would prefer not to lose all my apps / settings / data.

First of all, you'll NEED to root your device if you haven't done that (You didn't specify what device you have, so Google "(device's model number here) root")
But READ this post: https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-disadvantages-of-rooting-Android-devices/answer/Ashwin-Afhen before rooting your Android device
Now, download THIS terminal emulator AFTER rooting your Android device: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jackpal.androidterm, open it up and type these commands:
su
rm -f /data/system/locksettings.db*
rm -f /data/system/gesture.key

And now, REBOOT your Android device and you SHOULD see no pattern lock or a pattern lock that can be unlocked with ANY pattern (and then, unlock your device and set a new pattern)
And unroot your Android device
That's all I can say for now

No easier solution?

@Click Upvote Yes

From this addictivetips.com post:

Enable USB Debugging (find it somewhere under settings in
developer or development or about phone submenues or by tapping 7
times on Build number according to make and model of your phone)

Download and install ADB tools (there is this guide referenced)

Connect phone to PC using USB cable

Run the followin in a command prompt (if 2nd one fails just continue):
adb shell
mv /data/system/gesture.key /data/system/gestur.oldkey
cd /data/data/com.android.providers.settings/databases
sqlite3 settings.db
update system set value=0 where name='lock_pattern_autolock'
update system set value=0 where name='lockscreen.lockedoutpermanently'
.quit

how can he enable usb debugging if he is locked out ?

He told he could enter the phone by a sort of fallback PIN code, but he is not able to manage the pattern setting. Of course I think he could also do a factory-reset but it is not what he desires currently.


text:
Installing apps to phone storage
version 4.4.2.
I have storage as follows.
Internal storage-1GB(full)
Phone storage-12GB(empty)
External sd card-16GB.
Now the internal storage is full, can i install my apps directly to phone storage(12GB)? If so how?

What ever happened or what ever manufacturer built your device: they did it wrong. Android 4.4 shares internal and phone storage so your manufacturer might have changed something. If you like to move apps to your phone storage, try moving them to your SD card. In recent versions of Android your "SD card" is your internal SD card meaning your phone storage.

But if i unmount my external sdcard,there appears no option to move.

The topic install location for the application (http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/manifest/manifest-element.html#install ) will help you.


text:
"App not installed" error
I installed Badland from Play Store. It worked. Then I uninstalled it and tried installing it from Amazon Appstore. Every time I try to install it, I get the installing screen for about a minute (long time) and then the error "App not installed"
I found the apk file (from my filesystem, the one Amazon downloaded) and the exact same thing happens when I attempt to install it. I have redownloaded it many times.
I also have root and I'm running Android 5.1.1
EDIT: The message I get from terminal is: [INSTALL_FAILED_VERIFICATION_FAILURE]

Can you confirm the info mentioned in first paragraph of the answer for How to completely uninstall an app on Android Lollipop? If yes, follow that same answer for the remedy.

There is a good chance the App from Amazon Playstore is unsigned - have you tried allowing 'Unknown Sources' in Security Settings ... why not just install it from Google playstore again?


text:
My apps can't save my input or choice in android 6.0.1, how to fix it?
I'm using Nexus5, it's original version is 4.x, later on I upgraded it to 5.0(Lollipop) and recently I updated my system to 6.0.1, via internal upgrade mechanism. But I found a serious problem. Many apps can't store cache inputs now. Which works fine on my 4.x era before.
There is a background I need to mention, as I'm in China, many of my apps are download from local apps market, but not google play market.
Here is an issue description about using a food-ordering apps in my mobile.
At the final step of a food-ordering, I got to choose my current address.
Then I was prompted into a single page-view where I can choose between all my addresses.
After I finished choosing, I was redirect back to the order main-page.
But there I found my address-choosing behavior was not saved.
Three of my frequently used apps has this issue.
Even after I uninstalled them and reinstalled them later won't fix the issue.
Yesterday I downloaded another film app, but I stuck in the login page, every time I typed my infos and press OK. After a flash, It redirect me to the login page again. It drives me crazy. I opened all permissions for it, restart my phone, but still I was stuck at the infinite login loop.
All those apps I mentioned above has hundreds of millions of users in China. I believed they have considered the compatibility with 6.0 version.
So I'm wondering something may went wrong during my upgrade.
Does anybody have any idea about this issue? How to fix it? (It's the best if the solution doesn't require to reinstall my system manually.)
PS: I just did another upgrade to 2016.08 patch for my mobile. And hilarious things happened. When I opened my shadowsocks app, the system requires my to verify the connection permission for it. I chose OK on my screen. Nothing happened, shadowsocks didn't start proxying. I touch the button again, the same require permission screen pops up. I tried it for 5 times. Can't start my shadowsocks, it seems after this upgrading, the system pops-up can't save my choice/input, either.

Did this happen on Android 6.0, or did you just upgrade from Lollipop to Marshmallow?

I upgraded my Nexus5 from it's 4.x version to Lollipop, and then upgraded it to Marshmallow, by using internal upgrade package pushed by google. Before upgrade, at least at 4.x age, things goes all well.

Factory reset maybe?

It's not the answer you were looking for but what I would do if I were in your shoes would be to install the latest TWRP (assuming you rooted) and download the latest "hammerhead" for Nexus 5 (GSM/LTE) 6.0.1 (M4B30X, Oct 2016).
After you get the .zip, unpack it to a folder. You'll see

bootloader-hammerhead-hhz20h.img
radio-hammerhead-m8974a-2.0.50.2.30.img
image-hammerhead-m4b30x.zip
flast-all.bat

Unpack that enclosed zip as well to get:

boot.img
cache.img
system.img
userdata.img
recovery.img

Edit flash-all.bat to something like this:
@ECHO OFF

::PATH=%PATH%;"%SYSTEMROOT%\System32"
fastboot flash bootloader bootloader-hammerhead-hhz20h.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
ping -n 5 127.0.0.1 >nul
fastboot flash radio radio-hammerhead-m8974a-2.0.50.2.30.img
fastboot reboot-bootloader
ping -n 5 127.0.0.1 >nul

fastboot erase boot
fastboot flash boot boot.img

fastboot erase cache
fastboot flash cache cache.img

fastboot erase system
fastboot flash system system.img

fastboot erase userdata
fastboot flash userdata userdata.img

::fastboot flash recovery twrp.img     // this one if rooted
::fastboot flash recovery recovery.img // this one if not rooted

echo Press any key to exit...

You mentioned you flashed a factory image before so I ommited the information about how to set up and use fastboot.exe but the details can be found here: https://developers.google.com/android/images
I don't know that this will fix your cache issue but it is a more complete flash method than running the stock flash-all.bat.

authors: Једноруки Крстивоје


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How to postpone all notifications?
I want to avoid seeing any e-mails, messages, or other notifications in order to focus for a few hours. But I also use my phone to listen to music, so I can't simply put my phone in another room or otherwise avoid looking at it. Is there a way (preferably but not necessarily on an unrooted phone) to turn off all notifications so they don't appear in the status bar until notifications are turned on? It might be acceptable if notifications never show up when you turn notifications back on, but not ideal.
I use a Samsung Galaxy S6 with Android 6.0.1.
Some things I've tried and didn't do what I wanted:

Do Not Disturb Mode: prevents notifications from ringing or vibrating your phone, but doesn't prevent them from appearing in the status bar.
Settings > Notifications: doesn't seem to offer an option to turn off notifications for ALL apps (and them turn them back on), only for each app.
Airplane Mode: effectively postpones all notifications until disabled, but prevents me from streaming music.

Have you tried Notifications Off?

Or XNotifications? It has a "mute" feature for "silent hours". Not sure if it "caches" them to pop-up when mute time ends, though.

Airplain mode would be pretty much the simplest choise - no network - no chats - no emails - no notifications

I have the same problem and I've only just started using this app called Offtime
It has everything you're looking for.
Just select how long you don't want to be disturbed and that's it. You can whitelist the apps you really need to access. Leave the Wi-Fi on. And it'll intercept all the other notifications and swipe them away and show you a summary once the session ends.
Give it a shot and let me know if it works out for you.

Try this app - "AppBlock - Stay Focused"
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cz.mobilesoft.appblock
It allows you to block certain apps for a specified time period and you can schedule in advance.


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Samsung Soft Keyboard Keeps Popping Up when Bluetooth Keyboard in Use on Galaxy Note 10.1 with Android 4.1.2
Models: Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, GT-N8013 (WiFi) and SCH-I925 (4G LTE)
Android version 4.1.2
I've been experiencing problems with the overly aggressive Samsung soft keyboard  popping up whenever I touch the screen to select an input field, even though I am using a Bluetooth keyboard, and only intend to use a Bluetooth keyboard with this device.
Constantly having to dismiss the soft keyboard is a major hindrance to filling out complex forms.
In an attempt to work around the problem, I tried installing the Null Keyboard app from Google Play.
This works for a while, however whenever the Bluetooth connection is lost and reestablished, the Samsung soft keyboard, even though not selected as the default, pops up the following message:

Change input Method. To use Bluetooth keyboard, change input method to
  Samsung QWERTY

The Samsung soft keyboard then resets itself as default input method.
I have tried other workarounds, such as using the Perfect Keyboard app and decreasing its size to the bare minimum, but unfortunately the Samsung keyboard still watches like a hawk and pops up its insipid dialog and resets itself as the default every time a Bluetooth keyboard connection is established...and then proceeds to pop itself up at the first opportunity.  This is irresponsible behavior. The Samsung soft keyboard knows the Bluetooth keyboard is there, yet not only can't it just go away when the Bluetooth keyboard is active, it insists on resetting itself as the default input method regardless of which alternative keyboard you may have selected.
Yes, I know I could root it and disable the otherwise undisableable Samsung keyboard, but unfortunately I need to be able to deal with this solution on about two dozen units in field deployment, so I pretty much need to keep things safe and simple. I'm not trying to do anything crazy - just use a Bluetooth keyboard for one of the primary reasons for which they were created - to be able to type without taking up screen real estate with a soft keyboard.
Has anybody found a workaround for this yet?

It is simple to remove on-screen keyboard when you have Bluetooth keyboard.
To remove on-screen keyboard, follow 5 simple steps.

Go to "Settings"
Select "Language and Input"
Select "Default Samsung keyboard" under "Keyboards and input methods" section
Turn off "Use on-screen keyboard"
push "Setup input methods" button

Unfortunately the "use on-screen keyboard" option is not available under Android 4.1.2.

This worked for me but I needed to toggle "Use on-screen keyboard" on/off a few times to get it to work.

You would be better off accessing the Physical Keyboard settings.  Settings>General Management>Language and input>Physical Keyboard.
In this settings menu, you can set "Show on-screen keyboard" to off by tapping the toggle.
Hope this helps!

Anysoft keyboard from Google Play Store allows you to hide the onscreen keyboard automatically.

Well, the problem with that is that even if it is not selected the evil Samsung Soft Keyboard still watches for a Bluetooth keyboard connection and reselects itself.  No alternate keyboard selection stays for long.

After endless frustration with this issue, I have finally solved it without rooting the device.
The solution for me has been External Keyboard Helper Pro, a $2.45 app on the play store (a demo version is also available).
It detects when a bluetooth keyboard connects, and brings up a pop-up menu allowing you to select "External Keyboard" with two quick taps on the screen, which is definitely tolerable.  This completely disables the on-screen keyboard, so I can type in peace (like having the Null keyboard installed).
A few seconds after powering off the bluetooth keyboard, the same dialog pops up, allowing me to equally quickly select my favorite Swype.  After months of not being able to use my Bluetooth keyboard because of Samsung's inexplicably annoying implementation, I'm in heaven.
Note that in order to get it to work, I had to go into the Advanced Settings of External Keyboard Helper and enable "Old style detection."

Unfortunately, this does not seem to work for me. The infernal Samsung keyboard keeps taking back over whenever it detects the Bluetooth connection.  A couple of times the timing has been just right and the selection dialog has come up just in time, but usually the Samsung Keyboard of Doom switches itself to default before External Keyboard Helper can be of help.

Same problem here.  I wound up rooting it. That alone won't let you disable (uncheck) the Samsung keyboard in Settings. I had to actually rename /system/app/SamsungIME.apk and /system/app/SamsungIME.odex.
Then I was able to use Null Keyboard as the default.
Crazy. I had no other reason to root it and you really shouldn't have to do this.
To avoid this sort of vendor-induced nonsense, and to avoid even having to use the Null Keyboard or similar app, every Android device with Bluetooth should allow you to select Bluetooth Keyboard as the default input method, alongside other input methods.

I don't suppose you have a way to make the popup "To use Bluetooth keyboard, change input method to Samsung QWERTY" go away?

I had the same problem with my GN10.1
I use samsung keyboard dock and the popup keyboard just annoyed me.
Because, I'm Lithuanian, I need a special characters (ąčęėįšųūž) for typing.
There is a https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apedroid.hwkeyboardhelper
advanced null keyboard with multilanguage support (basic one works just with english).
Off course, it's very easy to find it for free by using google.
It closes the pop-up software keyboard and I can touch the screeen and enter text without any problem.

How how how? I use the full version of that software keyboard so it does not types “(Demo Version)” in all the time, and it is flexible enough to configure the keys. Also the Samsung keyboard doesn't supports the ‘ű’ (Hungarian) letter that I use often. I couldn't configure it to close the pop-up and use the keyboard helper instead. How did you pulled that off?

Sorry, I couldn't wait for your reply, and so with the “hint” of this article: http://blog.apedroid.com/2013/01/ekh-tutorial-6-workaround-for-samsung.html I figured that I had to turn on the old-style detection. (Or was it to remove the auto learning data?) Ugly, but works.

Hi so I was checking my settings after reading this, and I found the solution. (I'm not sure if this will work on other Samsung devices tho, I use a Galaxy Tab A 10.1)

Go to Settings>General Management>Language and Input.
Go to Physical Keyboard.
If your software keyboard keeps popping up, it's most likely because the "Show on-screen keyboard" toggle is on. Switch it off to stop the keyboard from popping up.
this may or may not have been said in the comments but I just wanted to offer some assistance. hope this helped!

2021 Update for Samsung Phones:

Connect your keyboard.
Go to "Physical keyboard".
Turn off "Show
on-screen keyboard"

I was able to disable on-screen keyboards in Android "settings" on my Samsung Tab3.  Now I can use my Logitech K810 finally with no annoying on-screen keyboards constantly popping up and obscuring 50% of my viewable area on my already smallish tablet screen.  I'm running Android 4.2.2.   In settings choose "Language and Input" and click on "default" keyboard option. When the popup menu appears, slide the  "use on-screen keyboard" slider to the "NO" position.  It's not much hassle to go back to settings to slide it back to the "YES" position when my external keyboard is not available. I assume this is an easier fix than installing 3d party software like that "Null keyboard" app.

The following was inserted as an edit to this post - "Mohamed from NYC here. Thanks, works on my GN8.0."

Unfortunately the "use on-screen keyboard" toggle option is not available under Android 4.1.2, as sill found on the original Galaxy Note 10.1.

I have been trying to figure this out for my new Galaxy Note 8.0, and have a workaround that works 98% of the time, which is a huge improvement.  I started using Bluetooth Keep Active fro mthe play store. It has been mostly successful in tricking my tablet into thinking it was using the bluetooth even when it is asleep and prevented the awful Samsung default on-screen keyboard from turning itself on as the default.  I set the timer at a one minute setting. I have been trying it with Null Keyboard, Anysoft Keyboard, Perfect Keyboard, and even turning off all on-screen keyboards.  I'm not sure which default is the best to use with Keep Active yet - still fooling with it.

The best bet, if you are using the chrome browser is to use "tab" to select the field (if you want to select the url bar to search). Another way (if your keyboard has is) is to use the "magnifying glass" quick search button. I noticed that this selects the url and allows you to type a new entry and search.

On Galaxy S10, In settings you turn on show keyboard button. This gives you a handy little button at the bottom of the screen which you can use to switch between different installed keyboards. Touch this, and there is a setting "On-screen keyboard" Just turn this off. No need to install any app.


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Need advice on deleting ".tmp" file in DCIM/Camera
The DiskUsage app shows that I have a 1/2 GiB file under DCIM/Camera, called something like 20160701_173401.tmp
DiskUsage will run HexEdit and show me the file...so I can see it's an mp4 video file, but since the filename suffix is ".tmp", it won't play it for me.
I'd like to get rid of the file ...
Unfortunately, DiskUsage also won't remove the file :(
The Camera app, and other apps aware of videos/images, can not "see" the file (or, said more precisely, it probably ignores it due to the ".tmp" suffix).  (I've also tried several "file explorer" type apps...no luck.)
The phone (Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge) is not rooted.
Is there a way to delete this file, short of resetting the entire phone?
I haven't tried yet, but am willing to write a special-purpose Solar2d (Corona SDK) app to "open" and "remove", but I'm not sure that's going to work.
...nope.  Did that, fails for "no permission".
BTW, full name of file is:
/storage/224B-18F6/DCIM/Camera/20160701_173401.tmp
thanks,
Stan

This solution is worth a shot

That points to the external SD card. You could simply shut down your phone, remove the card, put it into a card reader, attach it to your PC – and remove the file there. After that, put the card back into your Android device and power it up.


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Is there a way to get notify when mobile network is unreacheable?
Sometimes mobile network (cellular network) is unavailable for my phone and I won't be informed about call attempts and SMSes. Is there a way or application that notify me (by notification, vibration, sound, etc.) when mobile network is unreachable?
I'm using Android 4.1.2
EDIT: By unavailability of mobile network I mean any reason that makes that I cannot call to anyone and others cannot call to me e.g. be in out og scope of cellular network, removing SIM card or anything.

Try Macrodroid automation app (free). Trigger > Service unavailable,  Action > play (pre configured sound or your own choice) . constraints None

@beeshyams Thanks but it doesn't notify me when I remove  SIM card.

Removing SIM card is not a normal action in regular phone usage, so i doubt if you can find an app to that- maybe Tasker can

@beeshyams Maybe yes but I have phone that doesn't work as should and inform me that SIM card was removed.

I like OpenSignal, it will notify you when you leave a coverage area and also help you figure out the best service provider in your area.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.staircase3.opensignal&hl=en

@Greck Did that answer work out for you?

It seems that it doesn't notify when mobile network is inaccessible due to removing a SIM card. This happens for me sometimes when my phone falls on the floor.


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Won't update system - HTC Vivid
My htc vivid won't update the system from the settings or check for updates on the phone. I keep getting "Error" server unavailable. I reset my phone to factory settings and it still has same error message. Why can't It update? How do I update it? It's original 4.0.3 won't let me download certain apps because it's not updated. Help!

According to the official site, version 4.0.3 is the most up-to-date version of Android released for the HTC Vivid (AT&T) phone, and no newer OS versions will be released for it by either HTC or AT&T.
There are 3rd-party ROMs available for this phone with more recent Android versions, including 4.3 Jelly Bean and 4.4 KitKat.  Installing these requires unlocking the bootloader on your phone, rooting it, and installing a custom recovery image.  This usually voids the manufacturer warranty.  There are tools such as WinDroid Toolkit that make this process easier, but those are not without risk.  Head over to XDA-Developers HTC Vivid sub-forums and read up on the details.


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Missing internal SD card in /dev/block, phone won't start
Yesterday my Samsung Galaxy Note 2 froze I'd say. The phone was locked and when I attempted to unlock it, it didn't respond (black display, just the led blinking). So I shut it down with holding power button until it stopped, then tried to power it up. The phone stucked on the Samsung logo booting part.
Currently I can't even get there cleanly, my screen is stucked on the battery image e.g. when you plug in the phone when charging, but the logo is frozen (normally there is a gif showing a charging battery). When I go to recovery and choose to reboot the system (to normal mode, not recovery), I can get pass the battery image, but I'm stuck on the Samsung logo again.
I have Samsung's stock Android 4.4, rooted, with CWM recovery. I can get into the phone when in recovery mode (power+volup+home, ClockworkMod Recovery v6.0.4.3), but even through the recovery menu I get only Can't mount backup path. or E:Can't mount /sdcard when I try to e.g. backup the phone (at least to show whether the damn thing mounts). When I go to the section in CWM where I can attempt to mount (there is format also, but I haven't done it yet, most likely even won't work because of the mounting) these:

/efs
/system
/cache
/preload
/data

on each of the options I get only: Error mounting <...>.
When I try to wipe the cache, I get this:

E:format_volume: make_extf4fs failed on /dev/block/mmcblk0p12

When I try wiping dalvik cache, nothing appears in the log.
On each try to actually do something in CWM I get this in the log:
E:Can't mount /cache/recovery/log
E:Can't open /cache/recovery/log
E:Can't mount /cache/recovery/last_log
E:Can't open /cache/recovery/last_log

I can reboot to bootloader, but (perhaps obviously) adb doesn't connect to the device because it's not even showing in the list nor able to get it via adb usb.
I can get into the phone with adb only when in recovery mode, so I checked the default locations e.g. /data/data, /sdcard, /system and everything in there seems dead, nothing is mounted.

/

boot                 fstab.smdk4x12       sbin
cache                init                 sd-ext
data                 init.rc              sdcard
datadata             internal_sd          seapp_contexts
default.prop         lpm.rc               sepolicy
dev                  mnt                  storage
efs                  preload              sys
emmc                 proc                 system
etc                  property_contexts    tmp
external_sd          recovery             ueventd.goldfish.rc
file_contexts        res                  ueventd.rc
fstab.goldfish       root                 ueventd.smdk4x12.rc

/dev

HPD                    input               ttyGS2
__properties__         ion                 ttyGS3
akm8963                keychord            ttyS0
alarm                  kmem                ttyS1
android_adb            kmsg                ttyS2
ashmem                 link_pm             ttyS3
binder                 log                 ttySAC0
block                  mali                ttySAC1
bus                    mem                 ttySAC2
bus_dma_throughput     mobicore            ttySAC3
console                modem_br            tun
cpu_dma_latency        mtp_usb             tzic
device-mapper          multipdp            uhid
display_frequency      network_latency     uinput
dun                    network_throughput  ump
dvfs_response_latency  null                umts_boot0
ecryptfs               pn544               umts_csd
exynos-mem             ppp                 umts_ipc0
fimg2d                 psaux               umts_loopback0
fmradio                ptmx                umts_ramdump0
full                   pts                 umts_rfs0
fuse                   random              umts_router
graphics               rfkill              urandom
i2c-0                  rtc0                usb_accessory
i2c-1                  rtc1                vcs
i2c-12                 s3c-mem             vcs1
i2c-14                 s3c-mfc             vcsa
i2c-15                 s5p-smem            vcsa1
i2c-17                 snd                 video0
i2c-19                 socket              video1
i2c-21                 srp                 video11
i2c-22                 ssp_sensorhub       video12
i2c-3                  sw_sync             video16
i2c-4                  tspdrv              video2
i2c-5                  tty                 video20
i2c-6                  tty0 - 63           video3
i2c-7                  ttyGS0              xt_qtaguid
i2c-8                  ttyGS1              zero

~ # ls /dev/block

ls /dev/block
loop0       loop4       mmcblk0p12  ram11       ram15       ram5        ram9
loop1       loop5       ram0        ram12       ram2        ram6        vold
loop2       loop6       ram1        ram13       ram3        ram7
loop3       loop7       ram10       ram14       ram4        ram8

mmcblk0p12 is a /cache partition, however it's sometimes missing. I don't see the device (mmcblk0) there anyway, so perhaps it's just some quirk from CWM. I can't mount it to /cache or custom folder too:

~ # mount /dev/block/mmcblk0p12 /testfolder

mount /dev/block/mmcblk0p12 /testfolder
mount: mounting /dev/block/loop0 on /testfolder failed: Invalid argument

I tried to investigate where is the device I'm looking for (mmcblk0) and its partitions (mainly mmcblk0p16 i.e. /data) via dmesg:

dmesg output(too long for question)

~ # cat fstab.goldfish

cat fstab.goldfish
# Android fstab file.
#<src>                                                  <mnt_point>         <type>    <mnt_flags and options>                              <fs_mgr_flags>
# The filesystem that contains the filesystem checker binary (typically /system) cannot
# specify MF_CHECK, and must come before any filesystems that do specify MF_CHECK
/dev/block/mtdblock0                                    /system             ext4
      ro,barrier=1                                         wait
/dev/block/mtdblock1                                    /data               ext4
      noatime,nosuid,nodev,barrier=1,nomblk_io_submit      wait,check
/dev/block/mtdblock2                                    /cache              ext4
      noatime,nosuid,nodev,nomblk_io_submit,errors=panic   wait,check
/devices/platform/goldfish_mmc.0                        /storage/sdcard     vfat
      defaults                                             voldmanaged=sdcard:auto

~ # df

df
Filesystem           1K-blocks      Used Available Use% Mounted on
tmpfs                   923748        48    923700   0% /dev
tmpfs                   923748         0    923748   0% /storage
tmpfs                   923748         0    923748   0% /mnt/secure
tmpfs                   923748         0    923748   0% /mnt/fuse

~ # mount

mount
rootfs on / type rootfs (rw)
tmpfs on /dev type tmpfs (rw,seclabel,nosuid,relatime,mode=755)
devpts on /dev/pts type devpts (rw,seclabel,relatime,mode=600)
proc on /proc type proc (rw,relatime)
sysfs on /sys type sysfs (rw,seclabel,relatime)
selinuxfs on /sys/fs/selinux type selinuxfs (rw,relatime)
tmpfs on /storage type tmpfs (rw,seclabel,relatime,mode=050,gid=1028)  # this folder is empty actually (bad)
tmpfs on /mnt/secure type tmpfs (rw,seclabel,relatime,mode=700)
tmpfs on /mnt/fuse type tmpfs (rw,seclabel,relatime,mode=775,gid=1000)

~ # cat /etc/recovery.fstab

# Android fstab file.
#<src>                  <mnt_point>         <type>    <mnt_flags and options>
                            <fs_mgr_flags>
# The filesystem that contains the filesystem checker binary (typically /system) cannot
# specify MF_CHECK, and must come before any filesystems that do specify MF_CHECK
# data partition must be located at the bottom for supporting device encryption

/dev/block/mmcblk0p3     /efs                ext4      noatime,nosuid,nodev,journal_async_commit,errors=panic    wait
/dev/block/mmcblk0p13    /system             ext4      ro,noatime
                                 wait
/dev/block/mmcblk0p12    /cache              ext4      noatime,nosuid,nodev,journal_async_commit,errors=panic    wait,check
/dev/block/mmcblk0p14    /preload            ext4      noatime,nosuid,nodev,journal_async_commit                 wait
/dev/block/mmcblk0p16    /data               ext4      noatime,nosuid,nodev,discard,noauto_da_alloc,journal_async_commit,errors=panic    wait,check,encryptable=footer

/devices/platform/s3c-sdhci.2/mmc_host/mmc1     /storage/sdcard1    auto      defaults      voldmanaged=sdcard1:auto
/devices/platform/s5p-ehci                     /storage/usbdisk0   auto      defaults      voldmanaged=usbdisk0:auto

# recovery
/dev/block/mmcblk0p8            /boot                           emmc
defaults                recoveryonly
/dev/block/mmcblk0p9            /recovery                       emmc
defaults                recoveryonly
/dev/block/mmcblk0p10           /modem                          emmc
defaults                recoveryonly

~ # cat /etc/fstab
  ~ # cat /etc/fstab

cat /etc/fstab
/dev/block/mmcblk0p12 /cache ext4 rw
/dev/block/mmcblk0p16 /data ext4 rw
/dev/block/mmcblk0p13 /system ext4 rw

I attempted to make a backup via CWM to the external card, but it failed I think on the first/fourth step:
/storage/sdcard1: Checking
/storage/sdcard1: Mounted
SD Card space free: 14983MB
Backing up boot image...
Error while backing up boot image!

Obviously the folder with the backup remains empty.
So to my questions:

Is there ANY way how can I recover data from the internal SD card and/or from the (mounted) /data folder? I don't care what happens to the device, I only care about the data.
Less important one. Is there any way how to recover the actual system to a working state even without recovering the data mentioned in 1.?

Edit: Any ideas?

Seems to me like a lot of mmcblk0p* special files are missing under /dev/block. I'm not sure on it, but it seems like your internal flash storage is broken.


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Is there a way to automate data toggle on Galaxy S7 (Edge)
I recently bought a Galaxy S7 Edge. I've meticulously gone through settings for notifications, sync, permissions to eliminate things doing stuff in the background as much as I can find, but none of this makes much difference to battery life. The only decent difference to battery life is made by manually switching data off before locking (and on, if I want to do something that requires data, after unlocking)
If I leave data on all the time I get about 30 hours.
If I habitually turn data off when I'm not using the phone I get about 3 days (even with regular turning the phone on and data on to check emails, do internet stuff)
(Note: I owned an iphone 6 plus before this, and that lasted days with similar use,  without turning data off)
I've tried JuiceDefender  (Which I already own for an older phone) and Tasker. Neither seem to be capable of turning the data on/off. It seems Samsung's version of Android makes that ability unavailable to third party apps.
Does anyone know of a way around this, other than rooting the phone/OS?

I can't really help. All I can add is I bought Juice Defender only to realize it constantly crashes and throws errors. So yeah it does not seem to work on default Samsung ROM/Android. I will try another saver app and try to see if it works with these...

30 hours probably isn't too bad, especially if you use your phone a lot.
If you're in an area where reception is poor, this will also have a negative effect on battery.
There are apps on the Play Store ('Tasker' is one, 'Macrodroid' is another) that you can use to setup macros which perform certain tasks/functions based on the conditions you provide.
There may be a condition within one of those apps that state when the phone is locked, disable data. When unlock, enable it.

Thanks.  I tried tasker though and it doesn't seem to be authorised to turn data on/off, even if I manually give it as many permissions as possible.  I'll try the other one you mention.


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Delete file with special characters from un-rooted device
How can I delete a file with special characters from an un-rooted Android device?
I used a web site to download a YouTube video to my mobile phone. The video name contained special characters (emoticons and alike) and the Android browser downloaded the file right away, so I could not rename it.
Now I'm stuck with a file that I cannot delete with the stock file manager of my phone. It is a Wiko device with some shady file manager app. I also tried AndroZip, which is usually more reliable.
However, the file has a size of 0 bytes and I can neither delete, nor rename or move it. I do not get any error message, simply nothing happens. In AndroZip the file does not even show up, so I'm not sure whether the Wiko app cached the file name somewhere and, in fact, it does no longer exist, or if AndroZip cannot display the file due to the special character, even though it exists.
Long story short: The device is not rooted and I want to get rid of that broken file. What can I do without resetting or rooting the entire device? Is there any helpful app that can handle special characters? Is there any safe mode option that would be of use?

I converted the file into a 240p MP4, downloaded it using Chrome, and I was able to delete the file using Solid Explorer easily.
I was also able to  delete it using Termux. I installed it, enabled Storage permission for it from Settings app, launched it, and used these commands:

cd /sdcard/Download/   #I had downloaded it in Download folder.
rm FILE_NAME           # to type file name, I didn't actually type it. I used Hacker's Keyboard which comes with Tab key for auto-completion. I typed JER and pressed tab key to automatically load the full file name including emoji (which actually renders as a flame in Termux).

If you wish to keep your default keyboard, Termux provides two more means to use Tab autocompletion. Either use Volume Up + T to send a Tab to the shell, or use Volume Up + Q to display an additional button row on top of your keyboard, which contains frequently used commands such as Esc, Ctrl, Alt and Tab itself.

Does Termux require rooting? It looks really promising, if it doesn't. I'll check it out, as soon as I'm home.

@user1438038 no, Termux doesn't require root access. Just make sure to give storage permission first before using it and also try Hacker's keyboard or you might not be able to type the full file name at all.

Worked like a charm. Using Termux, I could easily delete the file. There was no need to enter the entire file name, I simply used the wildcard operator *.

I fixed it by transferring that 0-byte special character file to any /android/data folder and clearing that app's data. Then the files are gone.

I just did it thanks to Firelord's answer: use Termux. Here is how to do it though:

First, type this to be able to use the DIR (pwd) command:
termux-setup-storage

To show the current dir, use:
pwd

To show the current dir's contents, use:
ls

Change the directory to the folder you need to be deleted:

to go up one level, use
cd ..

to go into a directory, use
cd yourdirnamehere

Browse to the folder where the file you need to be deleted is located, e.g. mine was in /storage/emulated/0/Download

Delete

the file using
rm -rf yourfileorfoldertobedeleted

or the whole folder using
rm -rf *

Just be careful not to delete something essential.


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Not able to access internal memory after setting SD as default
My phone is Huawei Mate 8 (NXT-L29), latest version of Android Marshmallow and Emotion UI, not rooted, bootloader locked.
Today I plugged in a Samsung 128GB level 10 microSD card I got from Amazon. Everything works, speed is good and I loaded some movies on it with my PC. I then switched default storage from Internal Memory to Samsung SD Card in the phone settings. I managed to move my photos and music to the SD Card using Huawei File Manager. Now, every third party app I try (including PPSSPP,  ES File Manager Pro, EMUI Theme Editor, Debian noroot for Android and more) only detect the SD card as media (even if the most apps themselves actually are in the Internal Storage along with their data). With ES File Manager Pro,  going in either /storage or /storage/emulated I only find the respectively the SD Card as a folder and nothing in emulated. Why is this happening? I still have some files (including Minecraft PE saves) that I'd like to open (not copy) directly from Internal Memory. The only app seeing my Phone Internal Storage is the Huawei pre-installed File Manager. How do I mount/access Phone Internal Memory without rooting?

Sounds like you are using Marshmallow's Adopted Storage, which merges the external storage and internal storage. Your SD card becomes encrypted and is adopted by the device, almost replacing your existing internal storage. And how do you access internal storage now? You don't, except via PC.

Well, that's not the case, since in settings my phone SPECIFIES apps are saved on internal memory, and in the Huawei File manager I see the two separate drives. And, PC still reads SD with card adaptor, no encryption.

Also,  Huawei does not support adopted storage

Hmm... I have no idea then... Sorry.

How come I'm the only one experiencing this in the whole world?

lol... Probably not the only one, just the only one here on Stack Exchange, or they haven't seen the post. My next suggestion would be to factory default and set it up fresh, or else try posting looking or here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/mate-8

Factory reset? Noooo!! Come on! Also, I believe it won't change a single thing.

I am answering to my own question.
First of all,  on Huawei, SD Card support is very limited. You can barely use an SD to store files,  to save camera pictures, to store some app data in limited circumstances. Setting default media as SD Card does do not much of a change either. Since Huawei is not very open, they don't want you to mess with your phone's data, so if there is a memory card for data storage as an alternative, it prefers dedicating internal memory (the data.img file in the System Flash) to app data, which shall not be accessible by other apps, only by the app that is using the data. I think this is what Huawei would like as ideal configuration, but since not always you can use an SD Card, you also have the "all-accessible" mode.
Moral:
If you want to use an SD card with Huawei (for recording video, storing a great deal of music, having movies) NEVER tinker with default storage.
After setting default storage back to "Internal", ES and other apps are displaying Internal Memory as "0" and SD Card as "E43A-A70F".
If device is rooted, you can create the needed symlinks and not even touch Storage settings.


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What is the difference between MiraCast, MirrorShare, Google Cast and Chromecast?
I am a bit confused by my Android TV:

There is an app called Mirroring. When I start it, it asks me to use a thing called Miracast.
On my phone (Huawei) there is an app called MirrorShare. It was the only mirroring-related app, so I decided to try it.
After starting it, with my surprise, my TV got displayed as a compatible device. I connected to it and it seemed to work: my phone's screen (with A LOT of delay) got mirrored on my TV.
In the TV settings there is also an entry called "Google Cast". So why is it now Google Cast and not "Miracast" or whatever it's called?
I searched for Google Cast on Play Store and I found the official app by Google.
I installed it. Even this time, the TV got detected, but when I tried connecting, I noticed the delay of the screen was A LOT LESS, for example, Asphalt 8 was pretty playable.
I searched on the Internet for all these terms, and another word I saw everywhere was "Chromecast".

What is the difference between these technologies? Are some of these different ways to call the same thing? Wasn't Chromecast that little item you stick behind your non-smart TV to see Netflix or YouTube on it?

Google Cast and Miracast are 2 different technologies and protocols.
Miracast primarily allows wireless screen mirroring, and support is usually built-in in the OS in modern Android devices and Windows 8.1+.
Google Cast additionally allows transferring external multimedia stream to the remote screen without decoding it on the mobile device, but support for this depends on the application.
Miracast is often branded with proprietary label, most probably, in your case MirrorShare is Miracast.
Chromecast may refer to either the Google Cast protocol or a dongle which allows to use Google Cast on the TV without built-in support.

If you play a movie in your phone and use Miracast, the TV will get sound and image as if you plug in a HDMI cable on it, but your phone have to play the movie as well. But if you choose Chromecast, you can lock your phone but still having the movie played in the TV.
Miracast can work without Wi-Fi, but Chromecast can't.

Miracast does not use the Ethernet network provided by WiFi, but it uses the 'WiFi' infrastructure using something called 'WiFi Direct'.
Recent upgrades (2023) to Miracast now allow 'some' apps to 'cast' ('App Cast') to the TV without having to dedicate the phone screen to the same content. Netflix works this way on my phone.