text:
Use bluetooth keyboard with a different layout?
I'm Italian, so I use italian language on my tablet (note 10.1), but I have also a bluetooth keyboard with english layout that I use to write little snippets of programmes, the problem is that I don't know how to set english language only for the keyboard. Can someone help me to solve this problem?

The best way to use two different languages either on a smartphone or on a tablet is from device standard settings, with device keyboard and also with external USB and bluetooth keyboard.
To use more than one language follow the images: [I can't post images yet]
General Settings -> Language and input -> Option of Samsung keyboard -> Input languages

Here you can chose between many languages. So you have setted correctly.
Now to use one or the other language when you write is very easy, you have to slide with finger on the spacebar of the device keyboard.

Not so, this works for a physical keyboard as well.

You need to install physical keyboard layouts.
One of the best extensions to do that is this:
RS - Hardware Keyboard Layouts
It is free, and does nothing else. You use the standard settings page to select the hardware keyboard layout.
(It is mystery why Google does not provide the layout files by default.)

What is needed to get it to work? Doesn't show the option of 'physical keyboard' at Input\Language on Android 4.2.2 with Logitech Unifying K270. Thanks!

Answer no longer relevant without proper link.

The link given is dead: "We're sorry, the requested URL was not found on this server."

You might wish to give the External Keyboard Helper a try. Take a look at this screenshot (click for large variant):

External Keyboard Helper (source: Google Play; click images for larger variant)
That's just two of its setting screens. See the second entry in the first? Chose keyboard layout. That's what you are looking for. And it should only apply to the external keyboard, while leaving your "software keyboard" untouched.

I'm going to try this app ;) however I've done almost as asgeffchang wrote in his answer, and almost everything is ok, I have problem only with # and the character above N° 2 and 3, to switch between the languages I have to slide the finger on the space bar

I'd say you definitly want to give that app a try. The demo is a bit... um, well, demo, restricted (spacebar doesn't work; the dev even calls it "crippled"). Ratings sound more than just promising! // Don't forget to report back then :)

Let me suggest you Russian Keyboard app. It allows you to choose different layouts for hardware and software keyboards (one or multiple). It supports any layout (including your own). And it is free.
The only thing you should know is that selected layouts work as long as the app is selected as a current input method.

Shift-Space works with an Apple Bluetooth Keyboard and a Samsung Tab 2 7.0. I included the languages I am using in the way that Mitro showed.

Are you using stock / default keyboard? Open the keyboard settings (in the keyboard, it's the cogwheel/gear icon to the left of the space bar). Go to General settings > Input languages and select English.

Would that change the input language for the external keyboard only (as requested)? To me that looks as if it would apply globally, i.e. also for the internal keyboard which Alession wants to remain Italian.

@Izzy Hmmm. I missed the word "only". That said, I'm not sure if it's possible to have different language settings for the internal and the external keyboard.

AFAIK it's not possible without external help. I vaguely remember there was some app offering this... Yepp, found it :)

You should install extra keyboard layouts:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=varzan.extraKeyboardLayouts
.
It is free and helps me to type on Mongolian language and included many other languages.

Shift+Control works on my Apple Bluetooth Keyboard with my Asus Zenfone 5


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How do I place a call from my original phone number if Google Voice is the default handler?
I have a AT&T Galaxy SII running CM9 and primarily use my Google Voice number and all of the Google Voice integration on the phone. I'd like to be able to place a call using my native (non-GV) number. Is there any way that I can place a call without using Google Voice?

Not sure if you mean you still want to use GV services, but with your phones' native number? Or do you mean you want to completely circumvent using GV sometimes?
If you meant still use GV, but with your native number:
Voice->Settings->This phone's number
Then just choose your phone's native number (you're still using GV services, but caller-id will show your phone's number, not your GV number).
If you meant completely circumvent GV and use your phone as if GV wasn't installed:
Voice->Settings->Making calls.
choose either Do not use Google Voice to make any calls or Ask every time I make a call

It was the second option I was looking for, circumventing GV completely for some calls. I had been hunting through the system settings and dialer settings and not finding the proper option. Thanks!

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Extract the apk of Live wallpapers
To extract the apk of any android application , it is simple just use any apk extractor tool and get the apk. However in the case for live wallpapers the apk extractor do not show the apk for wallpapers .
I just want to get the apk for live wallpapers from my phone .

See also: How to access Android APKs without rooting, How do I save purchased apps as APKs?

You can use ES File Exporer

Goto App Manager (press menu to get app manager)
There you can see list of applications installed in your mobile
Select Live wallpaper apk
click on Backup
You can find apk in location /sdcard/backups/apps

*Edit:*
System Live Wallpapers are located on your phone in path:

system/app/LiveWallpapers.apk

You can use ES File Explorer for the same.
But your device need to be rooted to access system apps.

its no working .. ES File Explorer not showing any ofthe live wallpaper apk

Are you talking about system Live wallpapers?

Yes i think i am talking about system wallpapers.

edited answer above

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


text:
how to disable unlock screen sound on galaxy S3
Lately my phone makes an annoying sound when unlocking the screen. I don't have "Screen unlock sound" checked in the setting. I googled and found few people complained about this issue but no solution has been found yet. I tried checking and unchecking the setting and restarting the phone many times but still no joy. A hard reset might help but i don't want to do that if not absolutely essential.
This is not me but just found on youtube and this guy seems to have exactly same issue.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3m2Dyv-jaY
Anyone here had same issue and found a solution?

One of the comments with 9 Likes in the video says: Settings > More settings > Under file/data transfer, turn off NFC

thks +1 from me for idea as for me the same settings were in Settings > More ( Wireless & networks ) > NFC for ressurection custom ROM i am using


text:
Assign a default app to a file type in Android 11
Is it possible to assign a default app to a file type in Android 11?
In Android 7 I had no problem to assign e.g., .mp3 file type to a particular application (e.g. to Laya Music Player).
Now, in Android 11 I don't see any way how to reach it. If it is possible, please tell me, how.
EDIT:
To be more specific, I want in arbitrary file manager:

See the icon of the application chosen by me (e.g. Laya Music Player) near every .mp3 file.

After tap (or double-tap) on to be opened in that application (Laya Music Player).

This is not the fully satisfactory solution, but the beeshyams' comment under the question suggests that Android most likely doesn't provide this feature anymore.
Some file managers, as Total Commander or MiXplorer have an option to

assign different file extensions (as .mp3 or .pdf) to an appropriate, selectable application,
save those assignments for future use, and
edit / remove every such individual assignment.

Unfortunately, such assignments are only internal ones, i.e.

those file managers will open the appropriate applications by tapping / double-tapping on the file name,

but other applications (and Adroid OS, too) will not change their appearance and behavior.

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


text:
Find My Device without working Wi-Fi e.g. because it connected to public Wi-Fi that has a captive portal
To my understanding, Find My Device needs to connect to the Internet to work. I know that sometimes there is the last-seen location, but this doesn't always seem to work. Sometimes my phone connects to unreliable Wi-Fi connections that may be behind a firewall, have a captive portal or simple not working because the coffee shop is overloaded etc.
Is there a way to have the phone, or specifically the Find My Device service, automatically switch to data from the SIM card if Wi-Fi is connected, but the Internet still isn't accessible? Does anyone know the details about the last-seen location, should there always be one? Are there any services or IP addresses that should be whitelisted from any firewalls or anti-trackers for Find My Device to always work?

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


text:
Disable broken (white) pixels of damaged screen
My Google Pixel 5 screen has a bright white vertical column of pixels covering the left 2-3 mm of the screen. As a dark mode user, it's very bright! I don't have the money to replace the phone or screen right now.
Is there a way, in software/config, to somehow disable the white light from the vertical line? Perhaps telling Android that the screen is narrower than it is, and center or right justify the content? Or just telling Android to just turn off the left 2-3 mm of pixels and loose the content under them?

Have you tried a factory reset and/or powering off the phone for some minutes? Such problems are usually a hardware defect which means the screen ignores the pixel color sent by the OS and displays a different color (in your case white). I don't see a way to have any impact on this problem using software or configuration changes. A hardware problem can only be fixed on hardware level.

@Robert, that looks like an answer to me, so why is it in the comments?  :-)


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Timer stops without a sound (not every time)
I want to understand such a situation:
Timer in the standard watch application used to behave unstable. The situation was such that when I started the timer for the first time (after last turning on the phone), the timer sound wasn't not working at the end of time (only silent notification on the top). Another situation was that the sound was sounding for one second and then suddenly stopped. It was exactly the next time after the silent case. And after that the sound could work properly.
It seems to me that clearing the cache and application data helped to solve the problem. But why did this happen? I can well expect this to happen again in the future. The only option I changed was turning off the vibration in timer settings.
My phone is LG Spirit 4G LTE (LG-H440n), Android 6.0, timer sound: “Timer”
Phone wasn't in the silent mode.
All volume sliders were up.
No task killer.
… It happened again. In the same way.


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Is it possible to uninstall the Google Play Store without affecting Google Play Services?
I have a rooted Samsung Galaxy a50 with a stock ROM installed. However, after using an app (System App Remover) to uninstall Google Play Store (I removed the Google App also) — many apps simply crash on load, and I am familiar with the

App won't run without Google Play services, which are not supported by your device

error. Perhaps I've forgotten something else that might come into play (I rooted this device a while ago) but reading around it seems these apps are somewhat tethered together and the way to separate them is not entirely clear.
I am confused because I still have GmsCore.apk, GoogleServicesFramework.apk (not Phonesky.apk) in /system/priv-app, so I'm unsure as to exactly what the problem might be.
I'm aware that to do this right will almost certainly require a re-flashing my phone, but at this stage I still feel I'm just firing into the dark so if anyone has some light to shed on the right path it would be very much appreciated.
TL;DR:
I want to remove the Google Play Store without affecting apps that rely on Google Play Services. Is this possible/reasonable to achieve with a stock ROM on a rooted phone?

NO. Why? Tap on the Play Store tag you used and see it's tag wiki (click on learn more), repeat on other tag.

Some apps are dependent on google play store links...
They have to be installed separately (or the link must be broken)
My method: install from alt APK source (like aptoide)
you can patch the apps with a good app manager to "break play store link" (thats the command option in said app manager)
However... Some apps yet require license validation.
This requires a patch. "Lucky patcher" is good at this...
And since im sure some disclaimer is needed... Lucky patcher can be used to pirate apps, but serves many functions, and if you own a license to said app... you are not "breaking any rules"

Play Store links like https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.whatsapp work on a device without Google Play Store installed they just open in web browser as they are valid web links. Of course download is not possible on the GooglePlay web site.

link meaning the app "Checks" with google play when it starts up...
However... that is irrelevant when installing them seperate. an app manager "Breaks that link" meaning, stops it from caring about google play store...

Two additions to the license check: 1. Even free apps can perform a "license check" if they want to download an "APK Extension file" via GooglePlay. 2. Google recommends to perform license checks not in-app on client side but on server side. Lucky Patcher will not work in that situation. See https://developer.android.com/google/play/licensing


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A cheap android phone killed my sd cards when I formatted them to internal, any way to get them back?
I bought an Ulefone Paris 2015 Chinese phone, a few years ago, it came with a bloated/malware OS, I put in a Lexar SD card, formatted as internal, something didn't work right (I don't remember), I tried again with another Lexar but same card, also the same, I stopped doing that.
Since then the cards have been read only and I have thrown everything I can at them to format, except Linux command line, because I'm on Windows and Mac, but always gives errors and that it's read only (it's not plugged on my mac from a SD adapter so there is no lock switch, it's coming from a USB adapter that came with the card).
I rooted the phone and put on a normal android 6.0 and it doesn't format the phone anymore either, they were brand-new cards, but something messed them up from that phone in its original state.
Is there anything I can try before I throw them out? They mount fine and show android files, which pop back up when I delete, because read only, but that original garbage android formatted them in a messed up way, so that's the key, something with Android.

As the cards were brand new it could be that they were simply forged (claimed to have more capacity than flash chips inside, such forged cards are very common). Therefore before using any bought sd-card you should always test them using a software like "h2testw" which writes the complete sd-card and then checks if the card is able to read everything correctly. Do the sd-cards show up e.g. in disc manager of Windows or MacOS? Also try different sd-card adapters.

I'm pretty sure they were legit lexar 128gb cards, came in proper package and with a little usb dongle you could put card into, a fake wouldn't put so much work into them, also, they show up, mounted, in mac and in disk manager, but if I try to format or verify in mac disk utility I get error code 8 (read only), I tried command line, I can't do anything with them except view the contents of the drive (what was on my phone at the time).

https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/221269/how-to-format-sd-card-that-has-been-formatted-as-internal-storage-for-android#comment286399_221269

it's a very common problem it seems, read only cards, many posts online, I tried many solutions and they didn't work, I will check out your relevant links alecxs, looks like I may have to set up a linux vm.


text:
Nexus 6P stuck on bootloop after rooting
So today I bought a used Nexus 6P for the purpose of installing Kali Nethunter on it, and then after some searching I found out that I should root the device first.
So I followed this guide using SuperSU, I installed the SuperSU from this website, the phone then hung on the Google logo for like 30 minutes, then I found out that the SuperSU project is dead.
I said ok maybe because it's an older phone the root should work and then I entered recovery mode through TWRP and went to the terminal and I saw the # sign and to maker sure I ran the command whoami and it gave me root, and then I read that if I'm stuck in a bootloop I should reflash the ROM that I already have installed, but I said it wouldn't make a difference if I flashed Nethunter, it's a new ROM anyway, and now it's been stuck on the Google logo for another 30 minutes.

I found a solution to this which is flashing the stock ROM using the adb/fastboot tools, but I used an older version because the latest one didn't work for some reason and I followed the guide on google's website hope that'll help someone. :)


text:
"Could not do normal boot invalid kernel length"
My G935F shows “Could not do normal boot invalid kernel length” when attempting to boot into TWRP or turn on the device normally. The only thing I can access is ODIN. This happened after attempting to update TWRP and LineageOS. From looking online, I believe I can get a kernel and select the AP option in ODIN and flash a kernel as long as it is in .tar format. I was previously using PRIME kernel https://forum.xda-developers.com/s7-...1-4-0-t3678159 so I looked in the latest download from there but there are no .tar files, only a bootimg.tar.xz and a ramdisks.tar.xz. I tried extracting bootimg.tar.xz to a bootimg.tar and flashing that, but ODIN says it failed:

<ID:0/003> Added!!
<ID:0/003> Odin engine v(ID:3.1210)..
<ID:0/003> File analysis..
<ID:0/003> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/003> Initialzation..
<ID:0/003> Get PIT for mapping..
<ID:0/003> Firmware update start..
<ID:0/003> NAND Write Start!!
<ID:0/003> SingleDownload.
<ID:0/003> g930eur-aosp-Image-r12p0
<ID:0/003> Unassigned file
<ID:0/003> Complete(Write) operation failed.
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1)

I also tried flashing the zip from https://autoroot.chainfire.eu/#odin but ODIN gave me:

<ID:0/003> Added!!
<OSM> Enter CS for MD5..
<OSM> Check MD5.. Do not unplug the cable..
<OSM> Please wait..
<OSM> CF-Auto-Root-hero2lte-hero2ltexx-smg935f.tar.md5 is valid.
<OSM> Checking MD5 finished Sucessfully..
<OSM> Leave CS..
<ID:0/003> Odin engine v(ID:3.1005)..
<ID:0/003> File analysis.. <ID:0/003> SetupConnection..
<ID:0/003> Complete(Write) operation failed.
<OSM> All threads completed. (succeed 0 / failed 1)

I don't know what I'm doing and I'm afraid to mess up my phone beyond repair with ODIN. Can someone please help me? XDA forums has no answer and I don't know who else to ask.

I ran ODIN as administrator and was able to flash Chainfire. I was then able to boot in normally, and after that flash TWRP again. Still not sure which step caused that issue but it is resoled now.


text:
How to block an Access Point by BSSID?
I connect to the corporate WiFi and sometimes my phone connects to the other AP with the same name (with poor signal). How can I prevent it on my Android? I have root.


text:
I need detailed instruction on how to recover a ZTE z828 lt from soft brick caused by Kingo root!
I need detailed instruction on how to recover a ZTE z828tl  from soft brick caused by Kingo root!
I bought this “simple mobile ZTE Midnight pro LTE” off eBay, and simple won't unlock it, so I can use it with anyone else, so I was playing with KingoRoot trying to root it, the computer version said root complete please donate, the phone rebooted into boot loop, I can access the stock recovery screen, but can't do a factory reset, and I can get to ftn!!!
Please help, I am a newbie to android, cell phones, but have messed with tablets for years, and usually can get a factory ROM restore for flashing, but this time I've searched all over without any luck..
Thanks.

I did the same thing as you and ended up in a boot loop but then I wiped the cache when I entered recovery And then restarted phone, let it boot up for a while then it restarted on its own.  I immediately did the button combo for recovery again and then did a factory reset.  I downloaded SuperSU and was still rooted. Hope this works for you.  Please let us know.

so basically MTND G you did a factory reset installed SU right after and you was good?

To be more precise.  No. I wiped the cache.  Then let phone bootloop a few times and THEN did a factory reset.  Phone booted normally then I downloaded and installed SU and all was good.

Try installing ADB and then going to FASTBOOT MODE inside of your phone or tablet.
Please download the the .img file for your version of android and device specific.
------Commands------
fastboot oem unlock
fastboot flash (.img file location)
fastboot reboot
that should fix it just setup your phone again!


text:
Android X86 – No Mouse Cursor in Oracle VirtualBox
I have recently installed AndroidX86 (android-x86_64-6.0-r1.iso) in VirtualBox 5.1.12 r112440 (Qt5.6.2) following these instructions.
But I see no mouse cursor on the screen. Do I need to set some special preference?

The solution is change Pointing Device type to PS/2 Mouse:

Make sure the VM is not running (powered off)
Click on the VM name in the list (e.g., Android X86)
Click Settings
Click on the System category
Make sure you’re on the Motherboard tab
Change Pointing Device to PS/2 Mouse

Detailed instructions are here: Android X86 – No Mouse Cursor in Oracle VirtualBox.

I did same and it worked!
But when I switched guest to Host (alt+ctrl+arrow)  and then again switched to guest
Same mouse pointer issue again ! not able to fix, even selected ps/2 in settings

@Chandrakant I only saw that issue in the initial Setup Wizard. You can either not switch to host until the wizard is complete, or use a separate USB mouse and assign it as a USB device to the VM.


text:
I can't enter recovery mode

I tried every method I found but nothing worked when I try to enter recovery mode, Sony logo appears one second and the device vibrates at the same time any help? My device stuck at Sony logo and it doesn't boot, so I want to hard reset my phone via recovery

Which model is that phone ? May be this model doesn't have a recovery!

My device is sony xperia c and I entered into recovery once before ..

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

Please use  hard reset key method to go into boot loader option . Some devices have two key method some has three . For sony Xperia device it was camera + volume down + power . Please find what is for your device model.
For Xperia C device:
Xperia C device doesn't allow user to go into bootloader using hardware key for this you have to unlock bootloader first .
But you can use flash mode to flash your rom which are as follows :
1) open adb shell .
2) connect your device by pressing volume down key to  laptop using usb cable.
3) you can now run scripts on adb shell to install custom roms etc.
Update :
Now when you unlocked your boot loader the official website will guide you to download few drivers and software. I will explain you that with details :

Now download android sdk which link are mentioned on website . Link

It is not mandatory to download android studio you can also download SDK without android studio IDE.

SDK : Official Link / filehippo Link
 Now run sdk manager
 Here you will find all the tools mentioned on website to download . Download and install them :

 Now go to the downloaded folder of Google USB driver:
Replace the original android_winusb.inf-file with the downloaded file in the usb_driver. ( which you have downloaded in step a.2 )
 Make sure you have installed ADB driver for your xperia C .
Link

Now proceed further . I hope you will not get any error after this .

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


text:
I can't find files taking up space in my android phone
I have bought Lenovo k4 note and have recently upgraded to Marshmallow. So I've 16 GB of internal memory out of which the Android 6.0 inbuilt memory app inside storage and USB setting, says 5.37 GB is OS occupied. 9.46 GB out of 10.63 GB is used. Further break down are as follows:

Apps 5.29 GB
Images 105 MB
Videos 8 KB
Audio 588 KB
Other 488 MB
Cached Data 183 MB

Which totals to 6.066 GB.
So now subtracting 6.066 GB from 9.46 GB I get 3.394 GB which I can't understand where it went.
Still after going inside file manager and clicking the view hidden files these are what I get:

Android 2.17 GB
Download 278.01 MB
Shareit 200 MB
WhatsApp 136 MB
Pictures 74 MB
Books 52 MB
DCIM 29 MB

Which comes to around 3 something GB and still 3 GB are missing.. so.. around 6 GB of files are not showing.. I am unable to find the files that are taking up space. Can anyone help please.

Do cleaning apps that clean the hidden/system cache (like CCleaner for Android) find the used storage (and suggest to delete it)?

How disk space is used on Android device?

There might be some hidden files on your phone that occupy the 3 GB. Suggest you download ES file explorer. Then you enable Show hidden files to look for the hidden files.

I also had the same problem with my Android.
But after doing some researches i found that the google apps Google docs Google sheets and Google slide are taking much space .
When i looked for the app info of these apps, i found that all of these are taking at least 200mb of space where as i never use them.
So i cleared the data and all problems solved.
But if still the problem does not solve, you should finally factory reset your device.
Hope it helps.


text:
How to recovery deleted system app by kingroot
I accidentally deleted some bloatware apps in kingroot by rooting my device these were (Downloading manager,gallery etc.)
Now my smartphone is not working properly:

My play store is not downloading any app.
My browser is not downloading any thing.
I have no gallery in it (I have installed a gallery.apk but it's no showing anything in it).
When I go to my ringtone system the setting stops.
There is no sound on incoming call (even if my volume is full).

Can I recovery or get back all deleted system apps? Please help me, I am very sad for two months.

This is the danger of root... You cannot undelete or recover this files on the device itself, you need to flash the factory ROM image to the device and return it to a known good state. The process varies by device.

Open Kingroot, go to Purify. Click Tools at the bottom, then Bloatware Remover, then tap the little picture of a man and bin in the top right corner. This will allow you to undelete system apps. Cheers!

This should work, since the bloatware remover only freezes apps when you press "Uninstall" (to really remove it, you need to install another app).

If you removed the apps, the best option to fix the problem is to flash back a normal stock ROM for your phone. (I don't know the model)


text:
Galaxy S5 SM-G900F programmed as SM-9006V
I have a Samsung S5. On the box, on the sticker inside the unit, checking the IMEI and using CPU-z they all said the unit is an SM-G900F and is using the Snapdragon core.
My biggest problem with it is I want to be able to back the entire unit up so that if I mess it up, I can put it back to its original state. There is no simple universal backup method, so I used ADB to do the following command:
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0 of=testsystem.img

I made changes to the programs and did this command:
dd if=testsystem.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0

I thought this worked, so then I proceeded to try to install Cyanogen ROM. After many tries and other things too tedious to describe about what did not work, I finally got this version to work:
13.0-20160114-NIGHTLY-kltechn

This version and ones before it are for the SM-G9006V Chinese model, not my supposed international model. I tried to put in this version:
cm-12.1-20151007-SNAPSHOT-YOG4PAO333-klte

which should work for the SM-900F but it won't.
Now trying to put the phone back to its original state using
dd if=testsystem.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0

does not work.
I think the phone was programmed somehow with two different ROMs, and I am hoping someone can tell me how to do this, or why I can't make dd command work?

Here is some more information before I did anything to the phone:
On Kies before changing to cyanogen rom it said it could not update the phone and reported the following:
G900FXXU1POEC/G900FOJV1POF1/G9006VZNU1BOE3/G900FXXU1POEC  (XSG)

Original answer to *#1234# before Cyanogen rom was:
G900FOJV1POF1

Now this information cannot be gotten from KIES, and the *#1234# no longer works.
In addition, I wrote down all the following from the phone in its original state:

Device Name: Galaxy S5
Model Number: SM-G900F
Android Version 5.0
Broadband Version: G900FXXU1POEC
Kernel Version: 3-4.0-4884557     dpi@swdd5702 #1  Tue May 12 11:54:06 KST 2015
Build Number: LRX21t.G900FXXU1POEC
United Arab Emirates   TRA ID:0016333/03  TP: 00000000/00
Security Software MDF V1.1 Release 4   VPN V1.4 Release 3
Knox Version   Knox 2.3

Standard SDK 5.3.0
Premium SDK 2.3.0
Customization SDK 2.0.0
Container 2.3.0
IM 2.0.0
CEP 2.0.1
Enterprise Billing 1.0.0
SE for Android 2.2.1
SSO 2.1.1
TIMA 3.0
VPN 2.2.0

I want the phone to have a complete back up that is simple like using dd.
I want to use the phone in the US and Asia.
I would like to be able to put it back to its original ROM programming.

What does your IMG file contains? Where to mmcblk0 points?

I don't understand the questions.  Here is list of what I did:    adb devices
adb shell
su  cd..
ls
cd storage
ls
cd extSdCard
ls     then the  dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0 of=testsystem.img

Current Situation

I am afraid you have messed up things in a big way by flashing a ROM not meant for the device ,see this to get more understanding Can I install a ROM made for a different device?
Also surprised that you were actually able to successfully install CM meant for another device
I am not conversant with "dd" commands, but the probable reason it is not working now is that the partition information has been altered after flashing the wrong ROM
Samsung phones do not come with two ROMs as you are speculating based on Kies output. One remote possibility that strikes me is that this is a refurbished phone which had traces of earlier ROM (if that is possible ), leading to Kies reporting inability to upgrade. You can verify, if your phone is refurbished or not and also obtain more details about your phone, see my answer How can I tell if my phone is refurbished

Next Steps

At this juncture, trying to solve things on your own may cause more damage than help, so  visit a service center to get it fixed. Leave it to the experts
If you still want to experiment, download correct stock ROM from Sammobile (requires registration) and flash stock using Odin as explained [Guide][Samsung] How to flash Stock ROM

Edit

OP has confirmed that check by Phone Info Samsung shows it as  refurbished. My guess is that the refurbishment was not properly done in terms of OS, leaving traces of earlier ROM as well. This could possibly disrupt attempt to restore to stock. This complicates situation further and strengthens my earlier recomendation to have the service center handle it. Of course, this does not stop OP from trying to flash stock ROM

On Kies  before changing to cyanogen rom it said it could not update the phone and reported the following:

G900FXXU1POEC/G900FOJV1POF1/G9006VZNU1BOE3/G900FXXU1POEC  (XSG)

factually reported by Kies, shows this, which is further confusing, either all the actions done by OP are not correctly reflected or there is an issue with refurbished phone

G900FXXU1POEC is UAE lollipop for your device
G9006VZNU1BOE3 is lollipop for SM-G9006V
G900FOJV1POF1 is lollipop UAE

There is no refurbishment check on the Phone INFO Samsung I installed.

I bought it from Amazon. Its being sold as an unlocked international phone model sm-G900f.

figured  out how to use phone INFO. it says refurbished, yet reports that the imei number is valid sm-g900f.  which is believable? If its refurbished, why does it matter? Its the same hardware. at least thats what CPU-z says.

I find it difficult to trust what apps are saying now, what am I to believe? Is the IMEi check online valid? I can understand why flashing roms might be done incorrectly, but why is ADB linux image not working to put it back into original state? Roms affect ADB? I do appreciate all the time you have spent trying to help me.

I guess I'll complain and return it because I can't rely on a phone that I can't back up. I've already spent way too much time on it. I appreciate your  efforts to help me.


text:
Samsung S4 Screen Problem
I dropped my phone face down not to hard on the floor, the battery came out and when I put the battery back in, the screen was showing then turned into certain blocks of the screen showing then only to the top part of the screen showing. I have tried restarting, putting battery out then in. Any suggestions?

My guess is that the underlying hardware that makes the screen run is damaged. In a touchscreen, or all monitors in general, a complex series of wires sends electrical impulses to the individual led diodes (a set of Red, Green, Blue is called a pixel). If one of the main wires became damaged or loosened, it will seriously mess up the screen's viewing output.
Judging by the color difference in your photo, the only part receiving signals from the graphics unit is above a defined line (is that a crack? If so, that is most likely where a breaking event could have occurred).
Since it fell down hard enough to eject the battery, the internal components most likely suffered some damage. If you have a service provider, they might be able to look at your phone in more detail and tell you exactly where the issue is and how (if possible) to fix it.
Best of luck!


text:
Can I, simultaneously, run two instances of the Facebook app?
Can I, simultaneously, run two instances of the same Facebook app
(which is installed once in the system)?
I want to be active on two accounts (I also have iOS and Windows Phone devices if their support for multiple instances of an app is better than Android's. But my Android phone is my main phone, hence I prefer an Android solution.)
Also, can I get parallel notifications from both accounts (I don't need any chat messages, just the notifications from a specific Facebook group on my second account).

You can change the source code to fool the system that an instance of the app is not present by changing the package name. Method here

Possible duplicate of How can I run multiple copies of the same app?

@RahulParashar I don't think this is quite a duplicate, because if there is some technique that's specific to Facebook, it couldn't be posted on the other question.

@DanHulme So, now, there is a technique, specific to facebook?

@RahulParashar For example, the top answer, which recommends a Facebook-specific app.

Based on the answers, this question seems ridiculous.

You cannot run two instances of app with same package name because when you try to install it out of the box because the package installer checks if an instance of the package you are trying to install is already present and if present asks if you want to update the existing app.
You can however change the source code of an existing app to fool the system that it is some other app with a different package name  by cloning the source code and have a different package name. Reference link here

Also there's another way by making use of the special Facebook lite app.
 Facebook has provided a Lite app which is supposed to work for low-data-speed devices consuming less memory.
You can install one Facebook native app and another Facebook lite app and use multiple accounts. So you'll be able to get notifications from both the apps.
NOTE: This is possible because Facebook-app and Facebook-lite are two different apps (with two different package names com.facebook.katana and com.facebook.lite respectively)

Thanks, it wasn't exactly the answer I was looking for - I was more looking for something along the lines on how to launch an app twice (like you can do from CLI on a Mac) - but it solves my problem so that is good enough!

Hmm, when I try to install Facebook Lite it tells me that "This item cannot be installed in your device's country" (I'm in Europe). Any workaround for that?

@user23122 Download from http://www.apkmirror.com and install the APK. Enable unknown sources if necessary, you can disable it later.

@user23122 you cannot just launch an app from terminal in android although it is based on linux, it restricts users to launch an app in terminal to compulsorily have a particular Activity Name

to do that, goto terminal and type the "am" command with the syntax shown $ am start -n com.package.name/com.package.name.ActivityName

Reference link broken, and now goes to a questionable site.

You can use two Facebook account in a single Facebook application. For that you have to install first an application Parallel Space
that is easy available from Google Play.
There you will get an option for Facebook application, and that Facebook will work in Parallel Space application.


text:
MotoX 2014 has 24GB out of 32GB available
Keeping in mind that the same OS (Lolipop) runs on MotoG which can be 8 GB, how can it be that OS takes up 8 GB? MotoX comes with only a couple of extra software, which surely cannot much space…
(Click image to enlarge)

If this was my device, I'd perform a Factory Reset to see what the storage looks like after that.

Give us the output (screenshots) of Diskinfo and DiskUsage.

I have added the screenshots

So this would make sense if there are 3GB for system hidden from these apps

I have Moto X 2014. Stock ROM. The storage you get is 24.98gb. Even if you factory reset it. You will still have the same.

Try to do a factory reset. If your memory is still such 'low' comparing it to the other models then it's just the way it is. Flashing the entire stock image may be a good thing to do since it may be firmware related.


text:
Samsung S3 I9300 no recovery no boot and odin fails to flash
I have Samsung S3 GT-I9300
It was working fine but suddenly, I turned it on and it is stuck on the Samsung LOGO forever. It doesn't go to recovery mode when pressing HOME+VOL UP+POWER.
But I can still go to Download mode. However, Odin fails to install CWM and TWRP or official recovery
I tried to install Bootloader_XXELLA_Odin.tar via odin but it failed and now I start getting this message:

Firmware upgrade encountered an issue. Please select recovery mode in keys and try again

I can still go to download mode, what I can try now? Please if you have an answer be specific, or if you suggest flashing a boot-loader I would appreciate providing a single link (not a page with bunch of links).
Update
Now the problem is worse, I tried again to install CWM via odin after I disabled antivirus (thinking it maybe the cause). But the install failed again, and the phone is completely dead! It shows NO sign of life. No light, nothing.

Drivers ok? Does Odin detect correctly the device?

yes it does detect it, but it always fail to install flash rom, or recovery.

Try another version of Odin (newer is best), or Heimdall (please note Heimdall doesn't accept .tar or .tar.md5 files, but raw .img/.bin/zImage files) which is a community made alternative.

I used the latest Odin version of Odin3.10.0 and Odin_3.7, but the same problem.
I don't know "Heimdall", can you please contribute more, what I should try to flash now, bootloader or recovery or rom?  and where to get the correct flash for I9300GSMH unlocked international

What were you actually doing with your Phone? Did you try to install custom ROM/Recovery/Kernel/Mod and so on?
I too have S3 GT-i9300 which is working fine after replacing my motherboard because I came across Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) in S3.

If you are able to go to download mode then download the latest Stock version of S3 which is 4.3 JellyBean and flash it via latest odin.
Make sure USB Debugging is ON in your phone and your phone driver must be installed correctly.
You may use this link to download driver for Samsung Mobile.
Make sure before installing this software all the other previous/old driver are uninstalled.
I would recommend that you should try to ADB to see your phone has proper drivers installed. Just Google ADB and download it. (Put all the files in one folder named adb.)
Press +R to open Run. In it type cmd. Now Command Prompt should have started. (I assume that you put the folder adb in root of C: drive) Type the following commands.

cd <space> / - this will take you to root of C: drive
cd adb - this will take you in adb folder.
adb devices - this command will show all the devices currently attached to your system.
If you can't find any device then it means drivers are not properly installed.

Try it, hope this may help you.

You have to go to download mode by pressing power button, home button and volume down key at the same time.
When screen shows download mode, press up volume key and enter in this mode.
Now start odin and press PDA key and select TWRP.zip (which should be downloaded already from the net) and now start to flash it.
After pass message your phone will be restored to boot procedure, at this stage you can download any rom to your S3 i9300.

He specifically said in his question that he already did all this but it failed.

1) Press reboot, then download on phone on twrp app (downloaded from playstore) and flash the twrp zip file by going to ODIN on PC, clicking start on ODIN after selecting twrp-3.0.2-1-i9300.img in 2nd check box.
2) just copy android 7.1.2 and gapps files on device and run them rest the programs manage everything.
Working files for s3 i9300:
twrp-3.0.2-1-i9300.img
BeanStalk-7.1.2-20170616-i9300-SandroidTeam-Ih24n-Intan
open_gapps-arm-7.1-pico-20200523
DO NOT TRY ANY OTHER VERSION AS IT MIGHT FAIL - by gApps


text:
Can't move certain apps to my SD card
I recently reset my phone to factory settings, because I didn't have enough space on my internal memory, and I wanted to start off anew.
When I started downloading apps onto my phone that I had before, I didn't have the option to move it to my SD card any longer, I can't move apps like "Viggle" or "Kik Messenger", which are from the App Store.
I run out of space easily on my internal memory, and it drives me nuts. Is there anything I can do to move my apps to my SD card or something? So I can have more space on my phone. I also still have the same SD card that was given to me with the phone which is 2 GB, and I still have a lot of space left over either way.

do you mean that you were able to move them before resetting or you didn't install them before that?

Have you tried App2SD? https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.a0soft.gphone.app2sd

How to move apps from internal to external storage?

You can not move all application on SD card. Which operating system you are using. In marsh mellow go to setting / apps. Select your apps. You can find option move app to SD card.

Phones WITH SD card support, Android 6.0+ will ask you whether you want to use the SD Card as portable or internal storage. If you do not plan on moving the SD Card between devices, you can use it as internal storage. That will essentially increase your storage capacity. Mind you, if you ever remove the SD card after designating as "internal", some applications may stop working on your phone, and the card need to be formatted again to be used on different device.


text:
Encryption and Screen Lock without SIM card
I'm have a Samsung Galaxy S3 running Android 4.1.2 which I am trying to encrypt through Settings -> Security -> Encrypt Device. The process I am following is described in this article at Step 2.
Upon entering the Encrypt Device screen I am told to "Set an unlock password". How is this password set? My first guess was the Android Screen Lock, but within Settings -> Security I have no Screen option as I would have expected (shown in above article at Step 1). Could this be because I am using the device without a SIM card? If so, is there any other way of using this encryption method, potentially with an inactive SIM card that is not connected to any network?

The screen lock is set in Settings -> Screen Lock. The device can then be encrypted without  SIM card.


text:
clockworkmod/backup can it be removed?
Today I installed cyanogenmod JB on my galaxy note and I found this huge directory (2.47GB) in the /sdcard partition. Can it be removed or it could be useful? Can I move it on my pc?
Thanks in advance

Two times yes: Of course it can be removed, and of course it can be useful. At that place ClockworkMod stores the nandroid backups you've created with it, and from that place you can restore them when need for that arrives.
In case of an external SDCard, and when space on it is precious to you, you could simply copy its contents to your computer, and then empty the directory. Or just keep the latest backup on it. If you need to restore one of the removed backups, it then would be possible to use a card reader, copy them back, and re-insert the card to your device so they can be found.

You can boot into recovery and check how the "/sdcard" is mounted using the command "mount". If it is not mounted, you can mount it and should be able to get rid of this directory using "rm -rf"(however, you might like to check the significance of this data first). If it is mounted as read-only, remount it with "rw" option and go for deletion.
As for moving it to the PC, "/sdcard" is usually visible when the device is connected to Windows(Underlying partition is usually formatted with FAT). Have you already tried that?

I was talking about /sdcard/clockworkmode/backup directory


text:
How do I uninstall MultiROM?
I have a rooted Nexus 4 with stock Android on it.  I decided to try out the MultiROM app on the play store.  I am now trying to uninstall it, however the MultiROM app does two things:

It installs a recovery called TWRP
It adds a 'boot' menu which lets you select between the OSes

I was able to undo #1 by reinstalling ClockWorkMod ROM.
However, every time I boot up, the OS selection screen still appears.  Note that the OS selection screen only has 'internal' on it.
How can I remove this selection screen and remove MultiROM completely?

Just flash the original / stock ROM for your phone. But first, make sure to clear data / factory reset, wipe cache, and clear dalvik cache.

Do you mean the stock images here? Will doing that unroot the device?

@Shah That link seems right. And yes, flashing stock ROM will unroot your device. You'll have to root it again. But this process will definitely remove multiROM.

Uninstalling MultiROM - Source AddictiveTips
The developers have provided an easy way to get rid of MultiROM and get things back to the way they were before. All you have to do is flash the appropriate MultiROM uninstaller file for your device from recovery, and MultiROM will be removed from your device. Do note that this will also remove all secondary ROMs that you may have installed.
MultiROM Uninstaller for Nexus 4
MultiROM Uninstaller for Nexus 7 (2012)
MultiROM Uninstaller for Nexus 7 (2013)
The MultiROM-modified TWRP recovery will still remain on your device, but that shouldn’t be an issue; you can simply ignore the Advanced > MultiROM submenu, and use the rest of the recovery as the regular TWRP. Though if you want to remove that as well, you can easily flash a recovery of your choice.

Note: the first file (for Nexus 4) is hosted in a site with links leading to .exe versions of the ZIP file, so be extra careful and make sure to click the right link (fake "Download" links abound) to obtain the .zip file.

Its very easy.. you should go to TWRP recovery >> Advanced >> Multirom >> Configure Autoboot >> Select "Disable" & You will not see that Boot menu during startup.


text:
How to know which email address was registered to my lost phone?
My phone (Samsung Galaxy Note 2) is lost.
I want to delete data from it, especially my personal photos.
I don't remember my Play Store account which was associated with my Note 2.
I tried to contact my local carrier, but they can just issue my SIM again, which I did.
Through IMEI they can't do it.
I'm from Saudi Arabia.
Here they can't do it.
So is there anyway to this or any international assistance from Samsung?

Talking of "assistance from Samsung": Did you register your device with their services? If so, you could use those services to find out details. If you remember the Samsung account you've used, that is.

Thanks for help,but I didn't make the Samsung dive account,I want to know is there any way that can remind me my play store account or it could be the same yahoo account?

If you can remember that you had used (doesn't matter which) a Google account on your lost Note2, you could go to accounts page of the play store in a computer.  You can see the devices that are attached with the account with its registered and last used date.
Since you have multiple Google accounts (that's what I understood from your question) you have try logging in with each and try the above said in a computer. With the last used and registered date you can identify which account was last used in your lost Note2.
If you are confident that the lost phone is still switched on and connected to Internet, you use AndroidLost to get into the process of identifying it or manage your stuffs.

Thanks a lot I have checked this software and it is working perfect. But still I don't remember my play store id. When I try to retrieve my forgotten username and put the yahoo mail address as recovery email, they say that it is already gmail account so is it possible that yahoo account can be used to use play store?

To best of my knowledge, Yahoo account cannot be used for accessing Google Play Store.

No, but you can use a Yahoo mail address as the username for a Google Account.

I know it's too late, but here is a quick tip you can follow in case you lose it again and still not remember which account you used:
Get all your Google accounts (all you can remember), then try logging in with all of them one by one in this site:
http://www.google.com/android/devicemanager
One of your accounts will locate your phone if it is still on and is connected to the Internet.


text:
Stopping an app from hijacking browser downloads
I have an app (EBookDroid) that automatically opens all PDF links instead of letting me download them. Is there any way to stop this without uninstalling the app?
I'm on unrooted Android 4.2 and using Chrome as my browser.
Note that EBookDroid has no defaults set. If I open a PDF with a file manager then I'm given the option to choose an app to open it with.

Since EbookDroid is open source, I took a quick glance at the AndroidManifest.xml, the pertinent information is this part, between lines 24 and 33:
<intent-filter>
            <action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW"/>
            <category android:name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT"/>
            <category android:name="android.intent.category.BROWSABLE"/>
            <data android:host="*"/>
            <data android:scheme="file" />
            <data android:scheme="smb" />
            <data android:scheme="content" />
            <data android:scheme="http" />
            <data android:scheme="https" />
.... SNIP ....

The keyword(s) is in the Intent Filter's category

android.intent.category.BROWSABLE
and the android:scheme="http"

With both of these, the app "listens" on the http/https both web, plain and secure and among others such as smb for samba file shares, etc, for the content links that contains the pdf, djvu and others, identified by the lines between 35 and 43:
<data android:pathPattern=".*\\.pdf" />
<data android:pathPattern=".*\\.djvu" />
<data android:pathPattern=".*\\.djv" />
<data android:pathPattern=".*\\.xps" />
<data android:pathPattern=".*\\.oxps" />
<data android:pathPattern=".*\\.cbz" />
<data android:pathPattern=".*\\.cbr" />
<data android:pathPattern=".*\\.fb2" />
<data android:pathPattern=".*\\.fb2\\.zip" />

This will explain why the app hijacks any browser downloads and thusly

that automatically opens all PDF links instead of letting me download
  them

Why not post an issue on the same site to let the developer know about this?

I had the same problem, but found out that disabling handle http in the ebookdroid settings fixes the issue.


text:
How to remove GMail contacts from Messaging app on Samsung Galaxy S Advance?
I have a Samsung Galaxy S Advance and when I try sending an SMS message to someone, I have to search through all my GMail contacts that for some reasons appear on the app along with my phone contacts.
I don't send mails through the message app and most of my GMail contacts are people who I sent just one e-mail in my entire life.
The Sync and Account settings don't let me turn off Contact sync, just remove the GMail account entirely, and there is no menu in the messaging app that lets me hide the GMail contacts.
Is there any way to make the messaging app only show the contacts I have on my phone?

In Android 4.1 Jelly bean follow the following steps:

Open the Contacts app
Tap the Setting touch button
Select Contacts to display
Select Phone

A similar procedure should work also for the earlier Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

I have note II. Here's my solution: in SMS, when you click create messaging icon, then click on phone book icon, you will see CONTACT tab listing everyone you have emailed and those in your phone book. Ignore that list. Scroll to the left to GROUP tab. Scroll down to MY CONTACT. It'll then show a list with the contacts on your phone (that is, you have already set your phone to display people with numbers only).
You have to manually do this every time but it beats seeing random people you have emailed. And you don't have to group or clean Gmail database.
Visual tutorial on how to do it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRvuSfTZ-1c

Here's what worked for me. Contact- settings- accounts- delete WhatsApp. My phone was completely free. (This was after I unsync Gmail and deleted the old Gmail account)

open up the default text messaging app, click the three dots in a row and tap settings. Click general and uncheck "Show email address. That will stop your email contacts from showing up when you start a new chat.

after following the steps above and still nothing happens. Go to phone settings>accounts>(click on your email)>left bottom>remove account> check your sms app contacts. Then if you want to add your email again, make sure when you add the account to sync off all.

I wanted to point out that EVEN AFTER following anne's steps above, the email contacts get re-added in the sms. This is because when adding an email account, it is synced EVEN WHEN sync has been turned OFF. So, AFTER the account has been added, sync stays off (if we have disabled sync before adding the account), but because the system REGARDLESS executes one round of sync WHEN ADDING the acco


text:
Why my Google Now on my Motorola Razr D3 will not reply with voice?
I just saw this vídeo about Google Now, but I don't have the same behavior on my Motorola Razr D3, with Android 4.1.2. I got the search results, but with no voice reply.
Is it the voice reply exclusive for Samsung phones?

Voice reply isn't exclusive for Samsung phones: I get it with the same "what's the weather" query on a nexus-7. But it's controlled by a setting in Google Now. From the main window, go to the menu and choose Settings. From the settings page, you want Voice, then Speech output. Set it how you like.
But take note that you only get a voice reply for the special queries that Google Now is programmed for, not for web searches. To get a list of these special queries, press the microphone icon and ask, "Help."

I already did that, but it didn't work. But I just realized that if I set all my phone (not only the Google Now) to English it will work fine. Also, I realized that the Pico TTS don't have my language, so this may be an issue.

Actually, installing a TTS language for Portuguese (in my case) is not working. Everything must be in English, the google now, and the phone itself.


text:
Where did the SIP settings go to on my LG Optimus 4X?
About 3 months ago I bought my LG Optimus 4X HD (aka P-880), which shipped with Android 4.0.3. I searched the settings up and down, and was quite surprised there were no SIP settings available. I'm very sure SIP support was added to AOSP with Gingerbread, so it had to be there with ICS!
Did LG remove them from their Android installation? Is there any way to get them back?

Is the SIP functionality really gone for good from the Optimus 4X?
Actually, LG really seems to think their (European?) customers don't need SIP. Most likely official argument will be that carriers either exclude SIP usage from their mobile data plans (at least here in Germany, many do). So they removed it.
Ooops. That was only half true: They removed it from the obvious places, that is. You might not find it in the settings. But luckily, they just removed the link to the settings screen -- all the code still seems to be there!
Ah! Still available! So how to access it?
I found it more accidentally while playing with Apex Launcher. Long pressing on a free space on one of the home screens, like you want to add a widget, opens the expected menu. Select "Shortcuts" here. On top of the next screen you'll find an item called "Activities", which I long ignored -- unfortunately! But after a very interesting chat session with Dan on broadcasts versus intents versus activities, I had to dig into this. And found that:

activities of the phone app (click images for larger variants)
The top entry in the first screenshot clearly reads Sip Settings -- so I added that shortcut to my homescreen. And what should I say? Yesss! It's the long missed settings screen, from where you can configure your SIP accounts (and define whether you want the device to listen for incoming SIP calls)!
So if you miss something that should be there, this might be a place to look for it. Besides, as reputated users as ASE we're always told to watch out for hidden gems in new places -- so you might want to look further:

list of apps with activities (click image for larger variant)
You see, other apps have also activities they made freely available (they might have even more which are kind of "private" to them). The numbers to the right tell you how much activities the corresponding app has made "public". Try them out! You surely will encounter the one or other force-close when you try to start such an activity (as it might expect parameters), but it cannot hurt. You might find other interesting things!
Are there other ways to discover/call such activities?
Sure, Apex is not the only one. There are other apps available on the playstore which let you explore available activities, such as e.g. Package Explorer or Stanley. And you also can use e.g. Tasker to start your discovered activities.
Besides: With that, most of the "shortcut-apps" available on the playstore you won't need any longer this way. Just inspect the Settings app, which seems to declare each and every page it has -- so you can directly jump there from your newly created shortcut!
Does this apply to the Optimus 4X only?
For sure not! This functionality should be available on any device. I just cannot promise you to find the SIP settings on all of them. Or anything else you've seen in above screenshots :)

That sip settings are hidden in "activities" below "Telefon", it took me a while to find it. Creating a SIP Account was possible but it was not stored permanently. After closing the sip settings and opening it again it's gone. Still using Vimtura Vimphone as sip dialer.
LG P880 fw v.20b, Android 4.1.2


text:
Let's Encrypt: Is there a workaround for the 2021 SSL "cutoff" for pre-7.1.1 Android devices?
In January 2021 all devices with Android prior to 7.1.1 will not be able to connect to HTTPS servers using Let's Encrypt certificate (Let's Encrypt blog post explaining the details)
Is there any workaround that's system-wide (i.e. all apps, not just a single app, like using Firefox) for the SSL certificate expiration on Jan 11th 2021? Assume that one has root access to their device, and that upgrading to a newer device is not an option.

Update 2024-04-10
Let's Encrypt cross signing is still valid, but since Feb 8th 2024 the default new server certificate doesn't seem to make use of the cross signing capability:
https://letsencrypt.org/2023/07/10/cross-sign-expiration.html

On Thursday, Feb 8th, 2024, we stopped providing the cross-sign by default in requests made to our /acme/certificate API endpoint. For most Subscribers, this means that your ACME client will configure a chain which terminates at ISRG Root X1, and your webserver will begin providing this shorter chain in all TLS handshakes. The longer chain, terminating at the soon-to-expire cross-sign, will still be available as an alternate chain which you can configure your client to request.

Update 2023-07-11
By the current schedule, Let's Encrypt cross signing will end on September the 30th 2024. After this date Android 7.1 stock devices will become more or less useless for Internet surfing as all Let's encrypt based certificates will be considered untrusted and the connection will not be established.
Update 2020-12-21
Let's Encrypt has delayed the new root CA certificate for 3 years:

We’re happy to announce that we have developed a way for older Android
devices to retain their ability to visit sites that use Let’s Encrypt
certificates after our cross-signed intermediates expire. We are no
longer planning any changes in January that may cause compatibility
issues for Let’s Encrypt subscribers.
A recurring theme in our posts about our upcoming chain switch has
been our concern over the effects on users of Android operating
systems prior to 7.1.1, whose devices don’t trust our ISRG Root X1.
Thanks to some innovative thinking from our community and our
wonderful partners at IdenTrust, we now have a solution that allows us
to maintain wide compatibility. Critical to our mission as a nonprofit
is to help create a more secure and privacy-respecting Web for as many
people as possible. This work brings us closer to that goal.
IdenTrust has agreed to issue a 3-year cross-sign for our ISRG Root X1
from their DST Root CA X3. The new cross-sign will be somewhat novel
because it extends beyond the expiration of DST Root CA X3. This
solution works because Android intentionally does not enforce the
expiration dates of certificates used as trust anchors. ISRG and
IdenTrust reached out to our auditors and root programs to review this
plan and ensure there weren’t any compliance concerns.
As such, we will be able to provide subscribers with a chain which
contains both ISRG Root X1 and DST Root CA X3, ensuring uninterrupted
service to all users and avoiding the potential breakage we have been
concerned about.
We will not be performing our previously-planned chain switch on
January 11th, 2021. Instead, we will be switching to provide this new
chain by default in late January or early February. The transition
should have no impact on Let’s Encrypt subscribers, much like our
switch to our R3 intermediate earlier this month.

Extending Android Device Compatibility for Let's Encrypt Certificates
Installing new Let's Encrypt root CA certificates
If your device is running Android 5 and before or is rooted you can install the missing root CA certificates yourself. As far as I know the following two certificates have to be added:

ISRG Root X1
ISRG Root X2

On Android 5 and before you can simply install them as "user certificate". Note that this automatically forces you to use a lock screen with pattern/PIN or password lock.
Older rooted devices
On older Android devices that are rooted you can add the new Let's encrypt root CA certificates to the system certificate store /system/etc/security/cacerts.bks.
To do so download this file to a computer and use KeyStore Explorer to add the Let's encrypt root CA certificate files and save it. Then write back the cacerts.bks to your Android device.
Newer rooted devices
On newer, rooted devices the easiest way is if the device is rooted via Magisk, then you can install the two certificates as user certificates and then move them to the system store using the  Magisk Module Move Certificates.
If Magisk and the mentioned module is not available you can still install the certificates as user certificates and move them manually to the system store.
The installation process is very similar as shown in the installation tutorial for the mitmproxy root-ca certificate.
The followings section shows the certificate hash values for the Let's encrypt certificates:
openssl x509 -inform PEM -subject_hash_old -in isrgrootx1.pem | head -1
6187b673

openssl x509 -inform PEM -subject_hash_old -in isrg-root-x2.pem | head -1
8794b4e3

Also make sure that the copied certificate file has the correct permissions:
chmod 644 /system/etc/security/cacerts/6187b673.0
chmod 644 /system/etc/security/cacerts/8794b4e3.0

Once you have installed the certificates you should be able to browse (without a security warning) to the following location: https://valid-isrgrootx1.letsencrypt.org/

In my case (https://android.stackexchange.com/q/242440/196632) I've got the ISRG Root X1 automatically in user installed certificates, without any action from me. It is as if it has self-installed itself. How was it possible?

Are there any further updates?  Any way to update certificates on non-rooted older, but not really old, devices (e.g. after Android 5, but before Android 8?)?

@EndAnti-SemiticHate Sorry but on those Android versions there is simply no way to install a trusted root CA as user that is in the end trusted by all apps. The only way is a rooted device.

@Robert What about using a tool like AdGuard that can process all HTTPS traffic?  IIRC, it can even disable OCSP checks.  Now, of course, that would come with its own big set of risks, so such an action should not be taken without understanding those risks.

@EndAnti-SemiticHate AdGuard has the same problem: https://adguard.com/kb/de/adguard-for-android/solving-problems/https-certificate-for-rooted/

Thanks for that article.  If I'm reading it correctly, it sounds like even on non-rooted devices, some browsers will accept certificates added to the user store.  I can't recall if Firefox is one of those browsers, but if it is, that could be a good workaround.  Separately, if one used AdGuard to disable OCSP checks, would that only apply to apps that accept user certificates?

@EndAnti-SemiticHate Chrome also accepts user certificates (but some random versions or installations will check if the CA is a Certificate Transparency CA, which proxy CAs  like the one from AdGuard are not). But nearly all other apps won't accept user certs. This means Installing the Let's encrypt root CA certs should work for Chrome but other apps that don't trust user certs that use servers with Let's encrypt certs will fail.

@Robert So there's no way to have an app like Whatsapp accept a user certificate? All my sharing links are broken ...

@1NN If you have such an old Android phone you should root it (will erase all user data). Then you can add the new certificate as system certificate using root permissions. There is no other way on a non-rooted system.


text:
Oreo/Pixel2: Bottom Navigation Bar is no longer fading out
As long as I had my Pixel 2, the bottom navigation bar would not be displayed as long as an app was open. To get to the bar, you have to swipe it up from the bottom.
Works fine for me, I like the additional space.
Since yesterday the bar is no longer hiding and stays visible. And I've no idea what I changed. I believe I hit some combination of volume buttons, power button and nav bottons ... makes no sense though.
The navigation bar is still hiding for games and videos, and can be retrieved by swiping up (or to left/right in landscape mode) but i.e. stays visible in Chrome, Play Store, the settings and other apps (including some which were not created by Google).
I found a bunch of threads/posts where people are asking how to get this feature (to hide the bottom navigation), and they were referred to rooting their phone and some ad-featured apps in the Play Store.
Thats not what I am after. The feature already worked, but I can't find any setting to enable it again.
Anyone have an idea how to enable this feature again?

Credit to PM_ME_2LEARNHOW2CODE from r/GooglePixel:
To autohide statusbar only, use command:
adb shell settings put global policy_control immersive.status=*

To autohide navbar only, use command:
adb shell settings put global policy_control immersive.navigation=*

To autohide both nav and status bar, use command:
adb shell settings put global policy_control immersive.full=*

To revert back to stock, just re-enter the command you did but without the *
adb shell settings put global policy_control immersive.full=

If your phone doesn't let you unlock it/freezes up when you try to unlock and you want full immersive mode run these:
adb shell settings put global policy_control immersive.full=*
adb shell settings put global policy_control immersive.full=apps,-com.google.android.googlequicksearchbox

I personally used a tweak to permanently hide my navbar and then use immersive for my status bar.

yes, this fully works for me! With this answer I was able to find this thread

Sometimes the phone is unresponsive when trying to unlock. Looking into the logs shows the WindowManager spamming "Layout repeat skipped after too many iterations" - found this related bug. Although LineageOS, I think its the same bug. Just putting this here for reference


text:
Is there a 'format painter' function in Excel for Android?
is there a 'format painter' function in Excel for Android? I'm starting to feel like you get what you pay for here - not much, by that, I mean, that the Android version of Excel is short on features that I find useful.

Check this out... https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/msoffice_excel-mso_amobile-mso_mobapps/wordexcel-for-android/994e0673-930a-43a6-8952-66416745d9ae

The closest I've been able to come, is:

Click on the cell with the formatting I like, then long click on the little square bottom right of the cell, and release, then click on the clipboard icon.
Click on the cell I want to format, and long click on the square, bottom right of the cell, and  release again, this time, click on the downward facing arrow, and choose "Formatting".  It works, but much more awkward than the format painter function in the Windows versions of Excel. (and Word)

If anyone has a way to be able to do this quicker, it would be much appreciated!

Hit the "Copy" icon.

(Click on image to enlarge)

Long click on the target cell.

Instead of the "Paste" icon (clipboard), click the drop-down arrow.

(Click on image to enlarge)

Click on "Formatting" (paintbrush icon)

(Click on image to enlarge)

Should have copied the format successfully!

Use the standard copy and paste function. Copy the cell with the format you want. Then paste on the desired cell using "special paste", then select "paste format" only. This pastes just the format, not the data.


text:
Malicious Virus/Trojan on my phone, hard to remove
I have been recently concerned about a malicious software on my phone, basically - the trojan/virus acts silently in the background, it increases battery drain, gives regular (and system apps) overpowered permissions and installs 'icon' programs that are a link shortcut to a possibly malicious website which I would rather not like to open.
The built-in browser is like an infected zone in which I do not go because its filled with ads, fake 'virus' warnings for every site I open.
Some of the recent 'icons' that have been downloaded are named 'loopscoop' and a what seems to me - possibly named Japanese or Chinese game, can't really tell by the letters. Here are the images.
INFO: Factory resets did not work, nor did Malwarebytes or any other antivirus detect it. It's a VIVAX FLY 3 phone.

We need a bit more info. Specifically, which apps have you installed before this started? Any apps installed form outside Google Play?

Those malwares install as system apps and cannot be removed by uninstalling as regular apps, even hard resetting won't get rid of them.
The only solution is either to flash the whole phone or manually remove the aps with ADB shell but  root privileges is a must. You need also to know the package name of the app.

Root your device
Install USB drivers for your device
Install BusyBox (adds extra commands that help with sticky malwares that even root can't uninstall, such as those with immutable attribute...)
Install Minimal ADB and Fastboot
Enable USB debugging (Settings > About > Hit 7 times on build number > Back in settings > Developer Options > USB debugging)
Connect the device with USB cable then open minimal ADB and Fastboot.
A Windows terminal should comes up.
type adb devices : Displays some serial numbers which means the phone is detected.
Type su : To get root privileges. Check on the phone screen for any prompt.
Now mount the file system as read-write: mount -o remount /system rw
Now go to the app folder: cd /system/app then list all installed apps: ls
Now simply delete any suspicious app with rm malwareName.apk

Note: You may encounter with malwares that refuse to be unistalled. This is where BusyBox comes to the rescue.

First check for their attribute: lsattr
Those which can't be removed should have the immutable attribute, therefore even root cant delete such file.
Clear the immutable attribute : chattr -i *.* or specifically chattr -i malwareName.apk
Now you should be able to remove that malware.

Hope this helps you.

Would using TWRP (custom recovery) to completely wipe & reformat the system partition & install LineageOS or a stock ROM suffice?

Yes, that would suffice

WARNING: This method is highly technical, and requires finding a precise compatible ROM  first, and will erase everything on the phone, and may cause bugs
Use Odin (or heimdall --flash) to load TWRP on the device, boot into recovery mode, wipe everything, format the system partition, and use adb to sideload a the specific stock rom for your device (or, my preference, a compatible lineageOS rom+pico gapps) on it. You may need to reconfigure you APN to make sure MMS still works aftewards. Continue at your own risk.

This is a bit radical if I may say :D but would work. You don't need adb to push file or sideload the zip,you can install it manually by enabling MTP then copying to an external memory


text:
Howto Install Gapps on Galaxy J3 Pro Plus j3119s?
I Have reset my phone and lost gapps
Does anyone know how to install gapps on  j3119s ?
I've tried everything but seems it doesn't work in this device

open gapps (flash from twrp)
gapps-5.1.x-20150404-minimal-edition-signed from XDA (flash from twrp)
google installer (ussualy work on xioami china  ROM)
etc

I'm really frustated, help really appreciated...

Have you lost PlayStore and Play Services as well?

One of my friend had the same issue in past, and ii resolved this issue by flashing new Firmware (The reliable and trusted solution). I have made a rough search for you and found following link with detailed instructions:
https://4frp.blogspot.com/2017/09/sm-j3119511-lollipopandroid-august-08-17.html
in case you have nay difficulty in process, let me know.
Before proceeding with the solution, download Samsung drivers from their official website from here and install.
http://developer.samsung.com/galaxy/others/android-usb-driver-for-windows
Thanks

Thanks for the reply.
SM-J3119 is different from my SM-J3119s, i saw it on many thread


text:
VLC accesses NFS share but cannot play videos
The NFS share (configured as read-only) was added via the 'Local Network' option in the VLC app.
The NFS share's directory and contents are displayed in the VLC app; however, when a video is selected, a "Playback error" results.  Unfortunately, the error message is displayed for a fraction of a second, and is therefore illegible.
The NFS share is accessed via multiple computers, which employ the desktop version of VLC to play videos, so the share is functioning correctly.  When copies of the videos are in local storage, they play without issue.
Why are the videos unplayable?
UPDATE: Audio files contained in the NFS share are able to be played without issue.

Sounds like a bug to me. You should follow the following steps: VLC Android Report bugs

Q: are you doing NFS4 only or with support of NFS3 (and maybe NFS2) as well?

Was stuck on same issue with NFS server on macOS (native system server, not from third party tools) and VLC on Google TV installed from Google Play.
For me helped moving file from /Users/my-user/Movies/some-other.folder.WithMany_different_specialSYMBOLS/some-movie-file.mkv to /Users/my-user/Movies/some-movie-file.mkv. IDK why it's matters — maybe some stupid limitation for characters or filename limit — but it works now.


text:
WI-FI And Bluetooth Doesn't Turn On - Samsung Galaxy A5 2016 A510FD
Straight to the question:
To solve the issue I think I have two options:

I read on XDA that the 4 files firmwares (service repair firmwares) are needed to fix the phone, but I couldn't find that type of firmware for my model, anyone has any idea how to get those?
Downgrade: I'm on build 6 and there is only one update for build 6 released, that means I can't downgrade my phone to anything. I'd really like to fowngrade to build 5 firmwares, any way around this?

Long story:
I use my phone very normally, minimal apps, no custom ROM and no root etc.
My phone is in very good condition, no damages, no drops, protective case and screen protector (I take good care of it).
I was watching YouTube then Wi-Fi suddenly disconnected and it just doesn't turn back on, the circle-status-bar icon just keeps rotating right next to the Wi-Fi toggle switch and it says: "Turning Wi-Fi On" (or similar, my phone is not in English).
When I reboot the phone, the wifi state is on (though it's not on) switching Airplane mode does not change Wi-Fi state. Toggling Wi-Fi icon from Quick Lunch menu (Notification Menu) switches the on state of Wi-Fi to off, toggling again, switches it to the "Turning Wi-Fi on" mode.
Here's what I've tried so far with no avail:

Rebooting phone a couple of times.
Resetting network settings (+resetting both sim-cards networks)
Resetting all settings.
Booting into stock recovery and wiping cache.
Backing up my data, removing all accounts (to prevent anti-theft lock-down), booting into stock recovery and wiping data (factory reset).
I tried adb shell, dmesg and I searched for "wifi" in the output, here's the result:
Line 125: [ 1407.084890] I[0:WifiStateMachin: 5871] mif: LNK-TX(16): fc
eb 0b 00 07 00 1b 00 0a 50 02 01 c0 ff ff ff
Line 347: [ 1445.061702]  [0:         mc_log: 2225] MobiCore mcd: d01|TZ
DB Utils: Wifi UID: 1010 Per user range: 100000 System UID: 1000
Line 518: [ 1447.799328]  [3:         mc_log: 2225] MobiCore mcd: d01|TZ
DB Utils: Wifi UID: 1010 Per user range: 100000 System UID: 1000

Redid number 5, but this time I removed SD card and both sim cards before factory reset.
A website suggested to have all Wi-Fi devices turned off, I turned off my router.
Tried a soft-reset on my phone in those first steps that I forgot to mention, a website said that it is the equivalent of removing the battery and re-plugging it for non-removable battery phones.
I watched this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2K6AhkN98Y and since I never use bluetooth, I never checked but now I did and it turns out, bluetooth doesn't turn on as well... hardware problem? When I toggle the BT switch, the toggle moves but doesn't change to blue color, when I press back to previous window then go back to BT setting window, the toggle is off.
My phone already had the latest firmware, so I downloaded the same (latest) firmware from sammobile.com and flashed with AP mode from Odin 3.12.3 and I wiped cache and data (factory reset) from stock recovery.
Turning BT on from *#7353# (Quick Test Menu) just shows" Bluetooth is being turned on Please Wait..." and it just hangs there.
Installed TWRP with Odin, and installed a custom ROM https://forum.xda-developers.com/samsung-a-series/development/rom-resurrection-remix-rr-v6-unofficial-t3765542 with TWRP. Wi-Fi doesn't want to turn on.
I even tried this custom ROM https://forum.xda-developers.com/samsung-a-series/development/rom-advanced-seven-v1-3-t3516980 it still didn't work.

Sources for my troubleshoots:
https://thedroidguy.com/2018/08/fix-samsung-galaxy-a5-2017-can-no-longer-connect-wi-fi-troubleshooting-guide-1074378
https://www.technobezz.com/turn-wifi-on-wont-android-samsung/
https://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/321336/Cannot+%22Turn+ON%22+Wifi+and+Bluetooth.
https://updato.com/how-to/how-to-install-an-official-samsung-stock-firmware-using-odin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3hXULbrCYc

After all the hard work, finally I was able to resolve the issue! It's unbelievable for me and I'm so happy. So for anyone having the same issue just follow along this answer to get your Wifi and Bluetooth back working again on your Samsung Galaxy A Series device. The method that I am going to explain has worked fine on my A5 2016 Dual Sim A510FD.
Before we begin I recommend you to check this link, it has some good info on how to resolve the issue if you're not interested in reinstalling your firmware as a first step. https://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s4-active/294093-please-help-my-galaxy-s4-wont-let-me-enable-wi-fi.html

Finding the right firmware for your device
Samsung firmwares are of two types:
Type 1: They come in a zip file which will include a single tar.md5 file, this firmware type did not fix the problem, so if you downloaded this type of firmware, don't bother flashing.
Type 2: These are called Service Repair Firmwares and they contain 4 tar.md5 files and one .pit file, we will only need the former tar.md5 files.
Please see: What is the difference between Samsung 4 files(Repairing firmware) and Single firmware file for flashing?
Now, the Type 2 are really hard to find if you're not willing to pay any money for them, your best bet is to try https://www.sammobile.com or https://updato.com/ or search forums on https://forum.xda-developers.com for your device.
If you still can't find them, then you have to make a request or ask someone you know to help you out.
Samsung has some tight security on the matter of FRP locks, thus, downgrading to a lower binary number is not going to be possible (even if you only flash AP and CSC and exclude BL and CP files with odin). Go to Settings -> About -> Software info and write down your build number, the first number is your binary number, for example if you're on A510FXXU6CRH2 which the binary number will be 6, you can't downgrade to A510FXXU5CRG3 since for the latter the binary number is 5. Find the correct firmware based on your location and choose firmwares with same or higher binary number.
Also don't forget to go to developer options and turn on OEM unlock, and remove all google and Samsung accounts from your device, to prevent getting locked out of your device.
Wiping your device, Installing new stock OS
Download Odin 3.12.3 from https://odindownload.com/ (This is the version that I used but I also had no problem flashing with 3.07 and 3.13.1.
At all steps of working with Odin, make sure Re-Partition option is NOT ticked.
Download the correct version of TWRP for your device and flash it using AP slot with Odin.
Power off your phone and hold Power, Vol Up and Home keys at the same time to boot into TWRP, click on Wipe, Advanced Wipe and wipe everything except Micro SD and USB OTG.
Reboot and hold Power, Vol Down and Home keys to boot into download mode, and flash the 4 files of your downloaded firmware with Odin.
Enjoy Wi-Fi/Bluetooth! :D

Update 1: I forgot to edit sooner, but this method only worked for some hours and then I lost Wifi and Bluetooth again

Update 2: It's been a year since I wrote this Q&A, I didn't have Wifi and Bluetooth for a year!!
But 2 months ago, I bought a new modem router for my apartment, some times during this period I realized Bluetooth was turned on, I didn't pay attention because I didn't want to waste time fiddling with it, I knew it was a lost cause, but after some time I realized Wifi also turned on by itself!
So now I've been using Wifi and Bluetooth for a solid month without any issues!
I believe the problem was my old modem router which was a D-Link 2640U which is 9 years old! My suggestion for you is to get a new router!

If the factory reset didn't work I would probably get it warrantied. It seems like a hardware issue.


text:
How to install vdirsyncer on Android?
I would like to use vdirsyncer on android. To do so, I first installed termux and than ran:
apt install python python3
pip3 install vdirsyncer

However, that throws the warning:

Warning pip is configured with locations that require TLS/SSL, however the ssl module in Python is not available.

Then it tries that 4 times, after which it says:

Could not fetch URL https://pypi.org/simple/vdirsyncer there was a problem confirming the ssl certificate: HTTPSConnectionPool(host='pypi.org, port=443)
Error: could not find a version that satisfies the requirement vdirsyncer (from versions: none)

So it seems to me I should either ensure ssl module is available on Python, or reconfigure pip with locations that do not require TLS/SSL. I have not yet found out how to do that, hence, I would like to ask:
How can one install vdirsyncer on Android?

This answer mentioned that openssl needs to be installed on Termux.

Also you should use the F-Droid Termux as the one on Google Play is no longer supported

Thank you, installing openssl indeed resolved the issue. @MorrisonChang thank you, that was the one I used, and I updated the link accordingly.

As indicated by Andrew T. and in this answer, a solution was found by installing openssl with: pkg install openssl. The full script looks like:
pkg install python python3
pkg install openssl
pip3 install vdirsyncer

This code can be ran within Termux and installs vdirsyncer.


text:
How to install LineageOS in TWRP using `adb push`?
Question (TL;DR)
How can one (manually) sideload a LineageOS zip file that is pushed on the phone using TWRP?
Context
while installing this lineage-17.1-20210430-nightly-FP2-signed.zip, with the following command:
adb sideload lineage-17.1-20210430-nightly-FP2-signed.zip

I observed that the lineageOS hangs in the loading screen for several hours. So first I verified that the zip file is correctly downloaded, using the sha256, which it is. Next, I noticed that the cause might be that the zip is streamed directly from the host to phone. So I learned an alternative option might be to use:
adb push lineage-17.1-20210430-nightly-FP2-signed.zip /sdcard/

Followed by a command to sideload the zip from the phone.
adb sideload method
For completeness, the direct adb sideload lineage-17.1-20210430-nightly-FP2-signed.zip was performed using the following steps:First, I wiped the system using Wipe>Advanced Wipe> select: Dalvik, System, Cache, Data, and swiping right, then  manually activated sideload mode by pressing (and swiping): Advanced>ADB Sideload>Swipe to Start Sideload which outputted:

Updating partition details...
... done
RescueParty
Full SELinux support is present
MTP Enabled
? Starting ADB sideload feature...

An observation is made here that the loading indicator keeps on loading without any progress. This might also be a reason the sideload does not yield a successful boot up of LineageOS.
Next, I tried I first tried the CLI approach:
adb sideload /sdcard/lineage-17.1-20210430-nightly-FP2-signed.zip

Which outputs:

Installing zip file /sideload/package.zip
Unmounting System
Warning: no file_contexts
Target: Fairphone/FP2/FP2:6.0.1/FP2-gms-18.04.01/FP2-gms-18.04.01:user/release-keys
Patching system image unconditionally
Script succeeded: result was [1.000000]
Formatting Cache using make_ext4fs...
Wiping Cache & Dalvik...
Cleaned: /data/dalvik-cache...
-- Dalvik Cache Directories Wipe Complete!

And I pressed Reboot System. This results in the (seemingly) endless booting of the LineageOS loading screen.
adb push method
Before I tried other builds for the FP2, I was mainly curious to learn how the sideloading would work using adb push. Hence, I tried:
adb push lineage-17.1-20210430-nightly-FP2-signed.zip /sdcard/

And started looking for ways to sideload that zip from the phone. The first thing I tried was, after starting the sideload mode manually and verifying that the TWRP was in sideload mode with command adb devices:
adb sideload /sdcard/lineage-17.1-20210430-nightly-FP2-signed.zip

Which returns:

adb: failed to stat file /sdcard/lineage-17.1-20210430-nightly-FP2-signed.zip: No such file or directory

Next, I tried exploring the TWRP options manually. One of the options could possibly be: Install>browse to /sdcard> and tap the: lineage-17.1-20210430-nightly-FP2-signed.zip. However that yields a warning:
This operation may install incompatible software and render your device unusable

And I think installing might be something else than sideloading, hence I think this might brick the device/not be what I am looking for.
Note
This is not about the xy-problem of making LineageOS boot on the Fairphone, it is about how to load LineageOS using TWRP from the phone instead of from the host.

Your comment resolved the xy-problem. From TWRP I first tried adb reboot fastboot and fastboot format userdata which yielded a set of errors starting with: Couldn't parse erase-block-size '0x'.. Then rebooted into TWRP and did a format of: Dalvik, System, Cache, Data then adb sideload ..zip, then pressed back>Wipe>swiped format and then rebooted, and then LineageOS actually booted correctly! I didnt (yet) derive if it was the format, or wiping of data (not userdata) in TWRP after sideloading LineageOS that resolved the error. The instructions don't mention wiping data afterwards.

Yes, for clarity/completeness, that is to be done before sideloading LineageOS, which I already did, which resulted in the error. Your suggestion was to do that after sideloading LineageOS, which I initially did not do, and after I did it, (along with fastboot format userdata), the issue was resolved. So I think it is valid to indicate that the recommendation to remove userdata after sideloading LineageOS is not included in the instructions you link to. Whereas, from my experience, and your comment, it seems important/essential.

order doesn't matter except you are installing zip from internal storage. because /sdcard is bind mount of /data/media/0 (and therefore erased when userdata is formatted)

To answer the headline only:
only block partition images can be flashed with adb push

extract zip file

convert sparse file into partition image
brotli --decompress --in system.new.dat.br --out system.new.dat
python sdat2img.py system.transfer.list system.new.dat system.img

flash partition images from adb in TWRP recovery
adb push boot.img /dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/boot
adb push system.img /dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/system

Don't forget to factory reset / format the whole user data

can be done from adb shell
adb shell
mke2fs -t ext4 /dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/cache
mke2fs -t ext4 /dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/userdata

For more alternative methods to manually install OTA flashable zip
Is it possible to flash a custom ROM without a custom recovery image

Could you perhaps explain why the factory reset is required after pushing the image(s) onto the device? Or share a source that discusses this?


text:
launch/start an App (Activity) by a gesture on the homescreen
is it possible in Android(>= 3.0) to launch/start an App (Activity) by a gesture on the homescreen. For example: if the user swipes from the bottom to the top on his homescreen, then App XY should be started.
Thank you

You can install a third-party homescreen (launcher) app which supports gestures. Some examples: Holo Launcher HD, Apex Launcher, Nova Launcher. Note that such gestures will work only when the launcher is active (i.e., they are not global gestures accessible from any app), and may be eaten by scrollable widgets if they are present at the homescreen, and you start the gesture inside such widget.
Globally accessible gestures are possible too (e.g., there are apps such as SwipePad), however, this will increase resource consumption, because such app must be running all the time and listening for touch events, and also may conflict with other apps.

ty u, helped me a lot


text:
Is there a common GPS cache on Android?
From what I understood about Android securty all applications are separated by different user-accounts and different filesystem locations.
BUT: After GPS-test has fixed my location for the first time after powerup, all other applications will fix very fast. My conclusion: This has to be something not in Android user space.
So how does this work?

If every app had to interpret the raw GPS input itself, it would be very silly. Different apps would duplicate the same effort of decoding and interpreting the GPS input to compute a location. Different apps would end up using different libraries to do it, so each app might end up with a different idea of your location.
Instead, the process of interpreting the GPS data to compute with a location is handled centrally in Android itself. The Android system offers an interface for apps to query the location without having to worry about the details of whether it came from GPS, cell towers, or Wi-Fi networks.
This way, only the Android system has to compute the location, using any possible sources, it can give this location to many apps without duplicating effort, and (as you've noticed) each app doesn't have to start from scratch to compute the location. More recent Android versions also do clever tricks like giving a less precise location to apps that have the "approximate (network-based) location" permission but not the "precise (GPS) location" permission, regardless of which methods were actually used to determine the location.
Internally, this works with what's called a bound system service: an IPC mechanism for different processes to receive data from the service that actually computes the location. The service does run in user space, not inside the kernel, and like any other Android app it runs inside its own process. (Only the very low levels of the GPS receiver driver run inside the kernel.) The details of that are well beyond the scope of this site, but if you're interested, you can learn more by reading the Location Strategies page in the official Android Developers' Guide.

com.android.location.fused is a running process that sounds like that. Is that the  application layer you described?

TL;DR; Low level, the GPS caches the location fix and remembers where it left off, thereby making it easier to resume when activated.

@t0mm13b Sounds a little bit like a different answer to me (low-level is even outside Android, right?)

@Nils - at the framework, kernel (driver) level below android :)

@t0mm13b That simply isn't true. In Linux systems (including Android), all of the heavy lifting for GPS location is done inside the user-space libgps library. As I say in my answer, the only kernel driver required is the UART driver to communicate with the GPS hardware. The kernel driver doesn't do any location calculations or caching.