text:
Block Instagram for Android to access the Internet, using a software like SQUID on my Laptop/Desktop
Is there any way I could block Android Apps for example Instagram from accessing the Internet, using the SQUID software or something similar on my Personal Computer?

If you have access to the WiFi Router you can block traffic and/or mac address. there are custom firmware for some router models like DD-WRT or Open-WRT. But the phone still can by-pass via mobile data.
Filter rules are complicated and may have unwanted effects. This is just a example
"Instagram" uses TCP protocol for communication.
TCP traffic analysis
Ports Range
Remote tcp port(s): 443, 80.
HTTP traffic analysis
HTTP traffic is found in Instagram's traffic.
Host(s) being connected(regular expression): ^..ak.instagram.com, ^..cdninstagram.com.
TLS traffic analysis
TLS connections are found in Instagram's traffic.
TLS Host(s) being connected(regular expression): instagram.com.
How to block Instagram?
Block the listed ports to block Instagram.
Block the listed http and tls domains to block Instagram.
Setup a content filter(ie: WFilter), which can block Instagram via signature
http://imfirewall.us/protocols/view.php?proto=Instagram


text:
Google Maps - requests to reviews places I've never visited
Google Maps insists on asking me to review places that I've never visited.  I've tried both "Dismiss" and "I haven't been here"" but they keep coming back.  It's very frustrating especially when the places I have visited and I do want to review get lost in the seemingly endless list of places I've perhaps gone past but never visited.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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Is it safe to reinstall with a Google prompt linked to my account?
I might put LineageOS on my phone, but I currently depend on it to perform two-factor authentication prompts for my Google account. Should I take any precautions to preserve access to my account?

Yes, of course. You can turn off two-step authentication temporarily, then set it up again on your "new" OS. You should also generate a set of one-time use passcodes to allow access (and keep them safe somewhere), which you really should have generated the first time you setup two-step authentication. You should also have one (or more) account recovery methods setup. These things should be done period, even if you don't change anything on your phone.

I already have backup codes and TOTP from an external device configured, so I suppose I'm good to go!

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


text:
How do I bookmark a page in Google Books?
Google Books has a feature whereby you can bookmark a page by tapping any corner of any page of a book you're reading. However, I was unable to do this. Could someone please provide some help as to what I might be doing wrong, perhaps with a few images illustrating what should be happening in the user interface?
Thanks.

You need to specifically tap the top right corner to add a bookmark. Also, be sure to only tap once. A double tap will result in a zoom.
Alternatively, you can swipe down from the top of the screen, tap the three dot menu, and select "Add bookmark."


text:
I can't install showbox apk into Huawei P10
I installed showbox apk to my xiaomi phone it works well.
But, when i install it to my other android phone (huawei p10)
it just get stuck near at the end.
i have enabled install from unknown sources as well. help.
Link: https://showbox.guide/download-apk/

I guess you updated your Huawei device (Android 9) and Showbox doesn't compatible with this version of android.

My huawei is android 8.0.0 and is compatible. is just stuck at installing forever

anybody knows how to fix this issue???


text:
How to use my phone as a WiFi adapter for playing lan games
I just want to play lan games and use wireless apps because my pc doesnt have WiFi so I want to use my damaged display phone as WiFi for lan games in pc
And also use pc remote from my other phone
-WiFi adapter
-lan games (pc)
-phone
-pc have no WiFi
Hope you understand
Any help will be appreciated

Using a phone as Wifi adapter for gaming is IMHO a bad idea. First it is very complex and error prone and second it adds extra latency because the data as to be first transferred via USB (multiple conversions) to the device which sends the data then via Wifi to the router. Buying a cheap Wifi adapter with external antenna and using an USB extension cable is the more simple way.

https://www.amazon.in/Cost2Cost1-Wireless-N-Receiver-Adapter-300Mbps/dp/B07F6FFR39?tag=googinhydr18418-21 will this work to play lan games and apps

I would not use such a micro Wifi dongle - the antenna is very little and can not be positioned. I prefer adapters like TP-Link N150.


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Chrome - unprompted auto-download of files after opening the browser - bug or something else?
Upon opening google chrome on android, it suddenly downloaded (unprompted by me) a jpeg, as well as a "seed" file.
After scanning both files with the mobile version of kaspersky, i opened the jpeg file and noticed that i knew the picture from somewhere.
Upon searching, i found it, along with the seed file in the download folder (from within the chrome app). Both were however said to be downloaded in 2017.
In contrast, in my own download folder inside the file manager the files are said to be downloaded today.
Now, what could have caused said (re-)download? Was this simply a bug, or might there be something else wrong with my phone?

First of all, I would recommend running a scan with Lookout just in case it is a virus that is initiating these downloads (I do see you've used Kaspersky so it should be fine if it didn't sound any alarms). However, it's likely a glitch with the Download Manager; I've been getting random redownloads of files that I've downloaded before through Chrome as well. A reinstall of Chrome and clearing the cache of the Files app may help, as well as a restart of the Android device.
Just the other day my Download Manager decided to "redownload" everything in my Downloads folder, yet it didn't download them in the sense that it retook them from the Internet. I think it was just reloading the files because there were no duplicates. It's likely nothing you need to worry about.


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Android won't connect to WiFi without Internet connection
The title says it: Android mobile phone won't connect to a WiFi network that doesn't have an Internet connection.
Our clients can't connect to a SoftAP network that our device creates. They see the SoftAP network, try to connect to it and are immediately removed from the network.
When I connect to the same SoftAP network, there is a warning that the said WiFi network doesn't have internet access. I then have to approve being connected to the said network. After I approve it, the application we use works fine.
Our clients are from Austria and we are based in Serbia. Don't know if this has anything to do with it. Also, almost all of our Android test devices are in developer mode. Again, don't know if this has anything to do with it, just trying to give as much info as possible.


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OnePlus 5 Black Screen after Pie
My OnePlus 5 after the Pie OTA update wont show the screen. after rebooting, it only shows the 'android' logo and then the screen goes completely blank(black). I can sense that the phone is turning on and working since I can feel the vibrations on the lock screen and random apps opening. I tried going to the recovery but even the recovery is blank but I can feel the touch vibrations.
Please Help!

I sucessfully upgraded my One Plus 5 T to Anroid 9 last night and this morning it was just a black screen and I could do nothing. I knew it wasn't the battery as it was on charge for the upgrade. I got it to work again by holding the volume down key and the power key for 10 seconds then it rebooted and my phone is alive again.
EDIT: Since posting this I have realised that once the phone locks again I can't unlock it! :(


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how to restore keyboard on android - to enter locked screen password
My android phone as a screen lock password. Somehow, I've ended up in a situation where the phone no longer shows a keyboard when it boots up but shows "tap to speak" and that too does not work. I click on the "microphone" icon and nothing happens.
How do I go about restoring the keyboard.
The phone is on wifi as I can hear the beeps when I get messages etc...but can't get past the locked screen.
The device used to be on my google play (GP) device list but now it does not. How can I get the phone back on the GP recognized devices.
Would appreciate any help.
my apologies if this has already been answered.

The solution suggested by @Firelord worked perfectly.
I had to purchase a micro-USB to Female USB OTG cable to resolve my issue. The micro-USB end connects to the phone (where the power cable connects) and connect a keyboard into the female usb end.
Power cycle the phone (for the phone to recognize the keyboard ) and just enter the password using the keyboard.
I had struggled with this - installing adb and figuring out how to sideload (manually install) keyboard apps and all kinds of other suggestions from various sites.
I was just moments away from wiping my phone when I remembered Stackexchange.
Thanks everyone for helping out.
Greatly appreciated.


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Whatsapp conversations following hack
So I've been incredibly stupid and allowed my whatsapp account to get hacked and am now locked out (after the hacker set up 2 step verification). I'm awaiting a response from whatsapp.
My question is, if I had a google drive backup (which i did), can the hacker view all my old messages and photos? Or do they also need my google account login details?

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts! How did the other person obtain your SIM number and use it during Whatsapp's registration? You should have received the SMS.


text:
Unlocked bootloader, but still cannot boot or flash partitions
I just had some luck unlocking the bootloader on my Nokia 8.1. But it looks like I've accomplished nothing still. Previously when I attempted to flash a partition via fastboot or boot a boot image, I used to see:
flashing is not allowed in locked state

Now that I've successfully unlocked the bootloader (I can confirm via deviceinfo command and also via the 5 second warning before boot), I am encountering another roadblock:
flashing is not rooted for fused device

It appears to be some sort of additional check. The device does show on screen (fastboot mode) that fuse = enable. Looks like this is some additional check for devices which have been unlocked  to prevent unauthorised use. I do not have any idea how to disable it. It probably comes from the Kernel level or probably somewhere else. Can somebody guide me to a direction which I should take next?
There should be some way to disable fuse.


text:
Bixby command to rotate the screen?
On my Samsung S9 the Bixby application is updated, so I can remap it to applications or commands.
How can I create a command to rotate the screen?


text:
Is it possible to install a clean Android on new Amazon Fire HD 10?
I see that Amazon is selling Fire HD 10 for $99. Aside from not wanting to see their ads I am deeply suspicious of Alexa spyware and not interested.
I have seen claims that FIre HD 10s 2017 could be rooted, but don't know what model the current ones are:
https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Fire-HD-10-Inch-Tablet-32GB-Black/dp/B01J6RPGKG/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=fire+hd&qid=1555563314&s=gateway&sr=8-1
Is there a known way to ideally install a clean Android on the new Fire HD, or worst case, is there a way to disable the ads, the Alexa spyware etc.
https://www.tweakhound.com/2018/12/18/hacking-my-amazon-fire-hd-10/


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HTC desire 530 battery drains fast
I tried everything to prevent my battery from draining, but noting seams to help. I've tried a new battery, power saving apps, getting rid of apps. Is this a software issue? Would a rom help with the battery? Thanks

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts! I have no straight answer, but a pointer: our battery-life tag wiki lists a bunch of relevant (answered) questions which might help you. Please check and then let us know if it solved the issue (and what did it). Good luck!

OK thanks for letting me know

The least I could do for someone new – who might not be aware that many of our tags have such wiki page available :)


text:
Android asks to re-enter WiFi passwords. Is my phone compromised?
I have a Galaxy S8 (SM-950F) with Android version 8.0.0. I have rooted the device with Magisk. I have a couple of Magisk modules, including Bixby remapper, F-Droid Privilaged Extension, liboemcrypto disabler, libsecure_storage companion, and Cloudflare DNS.
Recently I realized I have to re-enter my password for all WiFi networks even though the passwords are the same.
Is this simply a corrupted WiFi password file case (I have no Idea how the software on this phone manges passwords) or it could be that the phone is somehow compromised and some malware is forcing me to re-enter passwords in order to log them?
I appreciate your help in advance.

Not sure it's really a malware. Since your phone is rooted, it would be trivial for malware to read the file where the Wi-Fi passwords are stored, given it's in plaintext.

@DeathMaskSalesman Good point. Where can I find this database?

On Pie, the location should be /data/misc/wifi/WifiConfigStore.xml. On older Android versions, it used to be /data/misc/wifi/wpa_supplicant.conf.


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Android automatically setting Chrome as the default browser eve though I change
I don't want Chrome to be my default browser. I set my default browser to Firefox. Then when I click a link, It opens in Chrome again. I get back to default apps settings to check and I see Chrome is set to default. This is out of my will.

Have you gone to FireFox settings 'Make Default Browser'? Have you gone to Apps/Default Apps/Browser? Are they in agreement? Have you disabled Chrome?

Yes, 'Make Default Browser' led me to default app settings. Also gone to Default Apps / Browser settings. But after closing the Settings app, things get to Chrome way. Also, for a while, I was able to select Firefox as a default browser and Android would ask me everytime which app to use when I clicked on links. I would say 'Always' on Firefox but would ask again. Today is just Chrome. I did not try disabling Chrome and I think I don't want to do this.

@UmutÖzdemir I had to disable chrome when even when I had Firefox set as the default browser, all in-app links would open and that browser was marked as "Powered by Chrome". Now with Chrome disabled, things open well in Firefox. I keep Edge browser as a backup. I never had a day when Chrome would override my default browser setting and trust me I've been using Firefox since years. This seems like some device admin app doing it or some app which has the permission to "Modify system settings". You should try again after disabling that permission for chrome or any other doubtful app.


text:
Disabling USB debugging by default
When I connect my LineageOS 16 (Android 9) device to my computer, USB debugging turns on by default. Even when locked. That doesn't seem safe, so I searched through my settings to change that. I turned off 'Android debugging' and revoked USB debugging authorizations, which seemed to be the end of it. But then I rebooted and the 'Tap to turn off USB debugging' notification comes on again immediately after reconnecting!
How do I disable USB debugging by default?

That does not sound like an official LineageOS release - may be it is a custom LineageOS based ROM that has been altered by the developer to always enable ADB?

I thought I was using an official OnePlus 3 build, but I'm not entirely sure now. My build number starts with 'lineage_oneplus3-userdebug 9'. Is that normal?

No, that is not normal. Seems like you installed a debug build. These builds are designed to be used on development devices only.

Oh okay, that's good to know. Can I switch to a release build without losing data? If yes, do I get them from the built-in updater or from https://download.lineageos.org/oneplus3?

I rifled through my Recycle Bin to see what the name of the archive I originally downloaded was, and it was lineage-16.0-20190409-nightly-oneplus3-signed.zip. So I do believe it wasn't a debug build.

I ended up going back to stock, but this bug might be interesting for people finding this thread later: https://gitlab.com/LineageOS/issues/android/issues/308


text:
My Tab SM-T380 no longer accepts my PIN
Set a PIN to unlock my Tab before using. Worked fine for a long time. Today when I enter the PIN it loops back to the enter PIN screen over and over. Tried to reboot but the restart/power off screen loops me back to the enter PIN screen. Tried hard reboot: vol up/power down/home screen. No affect.

Mine did this also. Press and hold the Power button and the Volume button down simultaneously for more than 7 seconds to restart it. This worked for me.

It's a sign of a security thread because the system changed the PIN by itself. wait for 24 hours by removing the battery and try it after the day or just do a factory reset by going on recovery mode.

This happened to me too. I knew the pin was correct as if I deliberately entered an incorrect pin it came up with the message saying it was incorrect. I tried the reboot too but it doesn't work as the "loop" won't let you turn it off. So I let the battery run down completely (which took a week as it is obviously using very little power; then I found you can have the torch on and that helped the drain). Then once completely dead, plugged in the charger and lo and behold back to normal!


text:
WhatsApp notifications make phone unusable!
When I get am SMS text message I get a small notification at the top of the screen. However when I get a WhatsApp message the notification takes over the entire screen. If I get a flurry of messages my phone is basically unusable for a while, which is annoying if I'm trying to do something else.
I don't want to turn off WhatsApp notifications completely I just want them to be less prominent. Is this possible? I have a Pixel 3 so I'm running stock Android.

WhatsApp settings > Notifications > disable 'Use high priority notifications'

Open WhatsApp settings->notification->turn off pop up notification for both group and message notifications


text:
jpeg don't pass on mac
android 5,1 on soyes 6,1, photos on SD card (FAT32), not on the phone storage;
when connected the jpeg don't open on mac's aperçu, announce corrupted (missing meta dates); on the phone (android) it appears normally.
what's wrong ?

Try sending the image by e-mail to yourself and then open it on your mac. Not sure why it would fix it, but it might...

thanks for your idea, already tried without success...

Problem solved...:
I started directly using the phone choosing SD for memory, including of course photos.
And that problem came out. Untill I changed tothe phone memory, then photos are normally available on mac. Going back then using again SD as memory, the problem is gone, photos available also on mac. It looks like it was necessary to start photographing at leaast once with phone memory, BEFORE switching to SD memory. Now it works.
Hope this will be usefull to other soyes users...
Bertrand Chevalley

Sounds strange (I think there was probably something else going on here that prevented the photos from the SD card working initially), but glad you got it working!


text:
SELinux Policy from Permissive to Enforcing
Using Nexus 5 with AospExtended ROM (Android 9) 19/04/05
The ROM, by default, has the SELinux policy set to Permissive instead of Enforcing.
Is there any way, perhaps using TWRP Recovery, to change the SELinux policy to Enforcing? perhaps a similar Android 9 ROM
Some apps such as Google Pay will not work if the phone is rooted or the SELinux policy is not set to Enforcing. Also, feel slight safer if the NSA SELinux security policy was enforced.
Advice appreciated

SELinux is set Enforcing by init during boot process on user builds of a ROM. If you are on eng or userdebug build, you need to set SELinux enforcing manually. You can use an init.d script or directly create an init service (.rc) file for the purpose. Make sure you have a working SELinux policy file before setting Enforcing. Related: https://android.stackexchange.com/a/209374/218526

If a custom ROM has SEL set to enforcing, it means the dev is confident that features are working under strict SEL, and you can safely change it to permissive knowing that things will continue to work under a more lax SEL environment.
On the other hand, however, if he chooses to release with SEL permissive (especially if he lists it in the "bugs" section), it means some critical features doesn't work yet under strict SEL, forcing the dev to use permissive for the time being. Under this circumstance you shall not change it to enforcing.
Regarding Google Pay, it's common practice to just use Magisk and let it hide root/BL/SEL status for you instead.


text:
Massive increase in data usage with no change in behaviour
The primary purpose of data connectivity on my phone is checking email. I don't surf the Web when I'm "bored" (I occasionally look up something that I absolutely have to know that can't wait until I get home or to the office), and I don't watch videos. I also have the following configured:

Data Saver: on.
Wi-fi always connected at home, work and other places where I am routinely located.
Images turned off in my browser of choice.
Background data turned off for almost everything except my email app.
"Wi-fi only" mode in Maps.
Apps and updates only downloaded over wi-fi.
Back-ups off.
And possibly more, but the point is I have turned off everything that I can find.

For the past two years I was using Ting in the US and Lollipop (5.1), and was routinely using less than 100 MB of data a month. One month I used 112 MB -- one month! -- and I was shocked.
A couple of months ago I opened an account with Freedom Mobile (formerly Wind Mobile) in Canada. (I actually live in Canada, but was permanently roaming on an American network for philosophical reasons and because it was actually cheaper.) In switching to the ironically named Freedom Mobile (I have unrelated issues with their service), I also got a new phone running Oreo (8.0.0).
As I was compiling data for this email I realised that my problems didn't actually start with Freedom Mobile, as I have had two different phones with them in the almost three months I have been with them. For the first two months I had a Motorola E5 Play, bought unlocked from Best Buy. I then gave that phone to my wife and bought a Motorola G6 Play from Freedom. She now uses the E5, and as far as data is concerned only very occasionally uses the Web and no email at all, so she is not a factor in my tale of woe.
But since switching to the G6 my data usage has absolutely gone through the roof, by more than ten times. It may not be much data as far as some power users are concerned, but for me it's massive, and I want to get back below the 250 MB per month included in my plan. This is what my usage has been this year:

January: 56 MB (Ting)
February: 42 MB (Freedom, E5)
March: 35 MB (Freedom, E5)
April: 659 MB (Freedom, G6)
May (so far): 433 MB (Freedom, G6)

(The month is the date of my bill for the previous month.)
When I leave a location with wi-fi, and look at my data usage, I can use 20 MB within five minutes -- that's five literal minutes -- and I will have downloaded absolutely nothing!
I have checked the data usage of all my apps and it is my email app that is chewing through mobile data. It's the same app (K-9) I have used for over two years on all three of the phones I have noted above, and it blasts through data on my latest phone even when it is not actually downloading anything. I know that an email check with no new email still uses a few bytes, but not dozens of MEGAbytes! Even if I'm checking every few minutes, 288 checks a day (every five minutes) is not going to use hundreds of megabytes.
Given everything I have noted above, does anyone have any idea why a Motorola G6 Play phone would be using massive amounts of data/bandwidth? It doesn't seem reasonable to assume it's the email app, considering it's the same version of the same app I've used on previous phones where this behaviour was not evident, but I also can't believe that the hardware would make a difference. However, on the face of it that is the only thing that has changed.

How large is the difference between the data usage shown on your phone and the one on your bill?

@Robert Thanks for your question. There is no appreciable difference. Just the small differences that one would expect.


text:
VPN not working on Android when on Wifi Network
I have a Synology NAS server that has a L2TP/IPSec PSK VPN Server running. I used to connect to it with my Android phone (Version 7) (and previously with my iPhone) just fine. Whether I was on 4G or on a Wifi, it always connected without problems.
I have recently replaced my Android phone with a new one (Huawei P30 Pro) that runs on Android 9. The strange thing here is, that I can connect to the VPN when I am on a 4G network, but when I try to connect to the VPN when I am on a Wifi connection, it does not work and comes back with an unsuccessful message.
I am pretty confident that it is not the Wifi network, as I can still connect to the VPN with my old phone side-by-side, but the new one is not working.
Is there any way to troubleshoot the VPN connection to figure out where the problem is? Is there any log files I can check on the phone? Or do you have any hints why that could be?
Thanks for any hints.

Have you tried it with different networks?

Yes, I have tried the same in two different Wifi networks.

Matth, have you solved your problem? I am facing the same problems.

I gave up on L2TP/IPSec. I managed to get it to work with OpenVPN.


text:
Is there an easy way to transfer files between PCs and a phone via WiFi?
I'm currently using SFTP to send files between my phone and my Linux PCs, with OpenSSH server on the PCs and Ghost Commander on the phone. What is inconvenient is that I have to either type the password each time (on screen keyboard!), store it on the phone, or try to setup authorized_keys (which I'm hesitant to do for a mobile device, since it lets it do anything, not only send files). Using something like an FTP server without authorization is not an option: I don't want to get files from everyone around without a means to reject a transfer.
I'd like to be able to simply "offer" to send a file to the PC and, when the PC accepts this offer (the user clicks "Yes"), do the transfer; similarly in backwards direction — much like Bluetooth file transfers work.
Is there any software (zero-cost and ad-free) offering such functionality?

KDEConnect app allows sending files to paired devices. But its Linux variant  does not have a feature to approve receiving. It just sends them. Have you tried that app?

@Firelord haven't tried it yet, but that "Linux variant" doesn't have a feature that presumably some other variant (Windows?) does have seems strange for a KDE project.

I don't know about Windows variant or even the most recent Linux variant (I use an older version on an older KDE (4.x release)). You can try it and see for yourself.

Instead of using third party closed source solutions, SFTP is best, if speed is not a concern. Setup an SFTP chroot if you don't want to let it do anything. I run an SSHD server on my phone (as unprivileged UID and with dropped capabilities) which I can access from PC (Linux + Windows), mostly through SSHFS for easy access in file explorers.

@Firelord OK, tried it. Although it's a nice piece of software in general, silent acceptance of files is not good. And I failed to make the version in Ubuntu 14.04 work with current version for Android, although the one in 18.04 does work. Apparently, their protocol is not stable enough, changing between versions.


text:
Power on when charging but only when battery level is greater than 20%

I have recently tried to fit a tablet into my car and I came across a problem with waking up the device
without using the power button. My solution is to boot the device whenever it is charging, but
I have noticed that when the battery level is at 0%, the device boots and then immediately shuts down.
I have used this adb option to trigger this behavior:
fastboot oem off-mode-charge 0

However this boots the phone without checking the battery level and as I said - if the battery is dead, the phone (or rather a tablet- Nexus 7 2012) turns off immediately - it drains the battery faster that I'm able to charge it.
Is there any way to make the tablet boot only if the battery level is greater than, say, 20%?

When the device is on it is probably drawing more current than is available from the charging port.  Make sure the automobile charging adapter you are using can generate sufficient current required by the device.  On most electronics there is a marking (either embedded in the plastic or on a sticker) near the power adapter that indicates the voltage (V) and current (I) requirements for the device.

My device only draws 0.8A of current while the charger can supply 2.1A so I don't really think this is the case

Lithium ion batteries draw more charge current when capacity is low.  The 20% cutoff may be by design to prevent a brownout condition for the processor.


text:
How has a WhatsApp contact removed our older conversations from my phone?
I’m baffled . All my previous conversations with one WhatsApp contact are no longer in our WhatsApp chat. They have all been wiped off preceding April 2019. I cannot retrieve from the archive either. I’m confident it is not something I have done, and this contact has erased them somehow on his ph7 WhatsApp. I’m really curious as to how this can be done?
Thanks for your help

It is not possible for anybody to delete old WhatsApp conversations from your phone without having access to your phone. The only exception is the short time period during which the sender can retract his message (s).  Even that option will leave a note on your side saying that This mesaage was deleted.
It is very likely a case of somebody else accessing your device and deleting the older conversation from your side. Some people have previously used WhatsApp web interface to access the chats of others without their knowledge. But even for this the user needs to scan the WhatsApp Web QR code using your mobile phone. You can check for active WhatsApp Web sessions by:
Open WhatsApp > Tap on 3 dots at top right > WhatsApp Web.


text:
Copy a complete chat from whatsapp to PC
Anyone an idea how I can download a complete conversation with voice messages and pictures to an xls file with date and time? I can do it manualy by copy paste and save every individual voice message but that is a lot of work. Can this be done on another way?
Thanks,
Jan

Open the conversation. Enter options menu -> more -> export chat -> with media -> send via email
Check your email. Save all attachments to disk.
Open the text file with Wordpad. Press CTRL + H. Replace string - Name 1: with the string |Name 1| and repeat for Name 2. Save it.
Open spreadsheet, and use | as separator, when importing a text file.


text:
How will I know whether my phone supports wireless charging or not?
I am planning to buy a wireless charger for my phone, and then planning to make one myself.
But I don't want to waste my parent's money to buy that unnecessarily if my phone doesn't support that feature.
How can I understand whether my phone supports wireless charging or not? means, whether it has that hardware or not?

Usually, the Phone's specifications on manufacturer's website and info on Gsmarena.com are sufficient to conclude the presence or absence of it.

Is there any app for checking that?

Seems the best way is to just sit it on a wireless charger.

If you can remove the battery, chances are that you do not... If your phone Back battery cover has an aerial on it, the aerial is for Wireless Charging... You can convert device's to have it with certain battery's that have the aerial built in, because you can convert the device that doesn't support it... You can not really get an accurate result from an application.. The software is no different than a device that doesn't support it, so it is not easy to detect....... However this application says it can..https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wikimediacom.wireless.charging.checker


text:
Alternative "File Open" (not stack "DocumentsUi") for WhatsApp?
DocumentsUI, the AOSP standard "file manager" is quite buggy here (I use Lineage 15.1), especially in the context of multi-user and work profile (meaning it does not show files for other users then the main user and is hence not usable).
For "simple" file browsing, I therefore substituted DocumentsUI app (com.android.documentsui) with com.simplemobiletools.filemanager.pro which works much better.
My issue and the core of the question is, that the glorious "facebook" WhatsApp Manager when attempting to attach files, resorts to opening the intent specifically for com.android.documentsui and fails even to open com.simplemobiletools.filemanager.pro even in the case that it is the only filemanager still installed. Hence I cannot attach files in other users in Whatsapp, due to the buggy DocumentsUI and WhatsApp not being willing/capable/well-enough-designed to make a general "FileOpen" intent, instead of referring directly to com.android.documentsui
I understand that WhatsApp is particularly made very little IT-able persons, who do not care about privacy very much, therefore it is clear that the WhatApp is not geared to allow/accomodate for educated and more able users which might desire to use not the standard com.android.documentsui.
An answer to this question would be to provide an insight which com.android.documentsui would be able to integrate well with WhatsApp Messenger

May be this is not exactly the answer to you question because I don't have any of your version of Android and WhatsApp to test. But on my Pie ROM with WhatsApp v2.19.53, I can pick attachments with any File Manager that registers one of its activities as a preferred activity for some implicit intent action; android.intent.action.OPEN_DOCUMENT in our case. I use MiXplorer, so:
# /data/system/users/0/package-restrictions.xml

[...]
<preferred-activities>
    [...]
    <item name="com.mixplorer/.activities.BrowseActivity" match="600000" always="false" set="0">
        <filter>
            <action name="android.intent.action.OPEN_DOCUMENT" />
            <cat name="android.intent.category.OPENABLE" />
            <cat name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
            <type name="*/*" />
        </filter>
    </item>
    [...]
    <item name="com.android.documentsui/.picker.PickActivity" match="600000" always="false" set="0">
        <filter>
            <action name="android.intent.action.OPEN_DOCUMENT" />
            <cat name="android.intent.category.OPENABLE" />
            <cat name="android.intent.category.DEFAULT" />
            <type name="*/*" />
        </filter>
    </item>
    [...]
</preferred-activities>
[...]

When I tap on attachment icon in WhatsApp, it opens WhatsApp's own DocumentPickerActivity from where I can pick files:
ActivityManager: {cmp=com.whatsapp/.DocumentPickerActivity (has extras)}

Or I can opt to choose some other File Manager by tapping Browse other docs on top. This way Android's internal resolver goes through configurations and opens up available options for me:
ActivityManager: {act=android.intent.action.OPEN_DOCUMENT cat=[android.intent.category.OPENABLE] typ=*/* cmp=android/com.android.internal.app.ResolverActivity (has extras)}

To pick attachment, I can choose MiXplorer app:
ActivityManager: {act=android.intent.action.OPEN_DOCUMENT cat=[android.intent.category.OPENABLE] typ=*/* cmp=com.mixplorer/.activities.BrowseActivity (has extras)}

Or Files / DocumentsUI app:
ActivityManager: {act=android.intent.action.OPEN_DOCUMENT cat=[android.intent.category.OPENABLE] typ=*/* cmp=com.android.documentsui/.picker.PickActivity (has extras)}

First thing to check is if Files / DocumentsUI app is not set as default app (always="true"):
# /data/system/users/0/package-restrictions.xml

[...]
<preferred-activities>
    [...]
    <item name="com.android.documentsui/.picker.PickActivity" match="600000" always="true" set="2">
    [...]
</preferred-activities>
[...]

If this is the case you need to reset its defaults (App info > Open by default > Clear defaults).
You can also try with a different File Explorer app and different WhatsApp version to test if it works. I'm not sure if there are any changes in implementation of com.android.internal.app.ResolverActivity across AOSP updates, so consider updating Android version if possible.
RELATED: Why WhatsApp is suddenly unable to open any APK shared by users?


text:
Phantom Vibration from com.android.providers.downloads
I've found the source of roughly 10x phantom vibrations (e.g. vibrations without notification or clear cause) daily.
startTime: 9 Apr 2019, 15:20:33, effect: Waveform{mTimings=[0, 100, 150, 100], mAmplitudes=[0, 255, 0, 255], mRepeat=-1}, originalEffect: Waveform{mTimings=[0, 100, 150, 100], mAmplitudes=[0, -1, 0, -1], mRepeat=-1}, usageHint: 5, uid: 10016, opPkg: com.android.providers.downloads, type: null

All originate from the package
com.android.providers.downloads

I am trying to determine what the root cause for this issue is.
Device Details:
Huawei P30 Pro (VOG-L29) running 9.1.0.124

Do you have a pending download or a downloaded item you have not opened?


text:
How to access GBoard clipboard manager without turning on 'Show suggestion strip'?
Is there anyway to access clipboard manager in google keyboard without enabling suggestion strip? It seems I can't find a shortcut or way to access it. I'm using the latest version from Playstore

For the time being, the only way to access the clipboard manager is when the suggestion strip is enabled in Gboard settings. There are no shortcuts on the keyboard nor is there an option for it in the settings.


text:
How to quickly extract archives on android?
After spending a few hours on annoying file management apps and the various archival apps. I can't find a quick way to do this. Most of these are built like users are supposed to use them for the PC. The quick PC extraction of Right Click "Extract All / Here" is pipe dream on android.
How can i go about to do this?
Can I find or force an application to extract everything it finds at a certain location and extract it where it is.
I looked for some solution that automatically extracts archives upon download, but thats convoluted even on PC (but at least doable - do a command line and if you want trigger it by a folder monitor change). Couldn't make any headway on android for sure.
How would you go about easing your time with archives on android. Dumping them all in one place is fine by me so long as I don't have to go through annoying managers for every single archive i get.

You didn't mention which archive formats you are talking about. Give MiXplorer a try, very handy. Supports 7z, zip, tar and may be others too, with or without encryption and compression.

Try ZArchiver, if you haven't tried it yet. I guess it comes with the features you need.


text:
Screen lock types None and Swipe is disabled
When I tried to remove my screen lock, the screen lock types None and Swipe is disabled. It shows that "disabled by administrator, encryption policy , or credential storage". How can I change my screen lock to None ?

Is your device disk encrypted?

How can I check it?

Usually this means that you have installed a user certificate in the security section. Once you did that you can no longer "None" or "Swipe", you have to first execute "Remove all certificates" function in the security settings of Android.

I removed all the certificates and None and Swipe are enabled now. Thanks


text:
How to factory reset a locked phone when you cant access fastboot or usb debug mode
I have a Hyundai Orbit android phone.  The situation is as follows:

The phone has a pin which we don't know
The phone was never signed into any google or other accounts
USB debugging is not turned on
We have tried starting the phone while holding all combinations of buttons and it always just boots normally, never into fastboot/recovery mode.  We have been able to boot with "Safe mode" in the bottom right hand corner of the screen

Is there any way to do a factory reset under these conditions?

i cannot believe that fastboot is not reachable. Anyway, last (and most awkward) option is SP Flash Tool. You don't have stock ROM, and you don't have scatter file. So you must perform memory test to get size, then you can create a full ROM dump. From this ROM dump, you can create a scatter file with WwR MTK v2.50. from this scatter file, you can use the start address and size of userdata partition, and format this area of the memory from SP Flash Tool. All this can be done off (without battery) with VCOM Preloader drivers, no button is needed. I won't give detailed instruction, request a link

@alecxs Can you please give me the link with instructions?  I have SP flash tools working, but I'm not sure how to interpret the memory test output.

https://forum.xda-developers.com/apps/magisk/mod-magisk-v1-universal-systemless-t3432382/post77795016
don't do this unless you have splitted the ROM dump (for backup purposes in case something get wrong)
https://forum.hovatek.com/thread-21638.html please note, this erases the partition. Maybe you must flash a empty ext4 partition image with exact same size (you need linux for creating)

So you think just erasing the user partition might make the phone unbootable?  Do you know that or is it just a guess?  Maybe android would rebuild the partition after erasing and then booting?

i know it is unbootable when erasing cache partition. in case of userdata it may bring you to recovery, which then automatically recreates the partition - just a guess. but not a big deal, you can create userdata ext4 image with dd + mke2fs / anyway i would give a try what @Ezekiel answered, first!

https://forum.hovatek.com/thread-21970.html

if you are lucky then it brings you to recovery, and from recovery to bootloader - where you can fastboot oem unlock (or fastboot format:ext4 userdata)

I got it to work!  I dumped the memory with SP flash tools, then cut the partitions up with WwR MTK.  Then I mounted the userdata.img file and deleted gatekeeper.password.key, gatekeeper.pattern.key, locksetting.db, locksetting.db-shm and locksettings.db-wal from /system.  I then flashed the userdata.img back on to the phone with SP flash tools and when the phone rebooted, the lock screen was gone.  Thanks for the help.

:Good: You mean /data/system/locksettings.db* thats where it is mounted... This is of course only possible for unencrypted phones

Some phone needs to be plugged to light before it can boot to recovery mode/hard reset. Try putting the plugged charger in the phone when it's switched off and immediately it shows the charging signal press the volume down⬇key+power key, if that doesn't work try volume up⬆key+power key.
The both work for my phone innjoo i2s.

I tried this and it didn't work.


text:
Notifications arrive when the app is opened, but not in the background
I don't know if it's the right place to ask my question, if not, sorry.
1st, I was using Sony Xperia Z5 premium for the last three years, never faced any issues but few days ago, I switched to Samsung galaxy s10+ and the problem I'm facing is, I'm not getting notifications from WhatsApp or some other apps when they're not opened.
When I open them, I got couple of notifications.
If I don't open that app for whole day, and at night when I open it, I get notifications of all day.
Please guide which settings or options I should see?

Check battery optimization, battery saver, battery manager, aggressive battery, background data restriction, power saving mode or any other performance boosting settings. Uninstall RAM boosters, cleaners, background app killers and anti-virus tools (if any). Try clearing cache of affected apps and of Google Play Services / Framework for push notifications fix. See Play Services (and possibly your required app) in the list of Running Services from Developer Options. Or at extreme try disabling doze mode: dumpsys deviceidle disable all.

First of all, thank you for the reply. I've tried battery optimization but nothing helped. Battery saver is also not on. I use wifi so background data doesn't effect. I've no performance boosting apps or ram cleaners etc. I'm getting notifications on other apps so push services is also working.

And you don's have Battery Manager / Adaptive Battery feature either? https://www.androidcentral.com/android-p-features-we-love-adaptive-battery-support

No sir, that's what I'm tired of, I've tried everything that came in my mind.


text:
What is correct way to calibrate battery?
I've watched videos and referred some random sites.
But I'm not sure if these steps are correct.
I used battery calibration app but that doesn't help.
I'm using Asus Zenfone Max Pro M2.
Running on stable pie.
So how to calibrate battery accurately?

May I ask you to elaborate on what you imagine "calibrating" your phone battery means.

Even customer care told me to calibrate that about battery cycle. 0 to 100 and 100 to 0  that's battery cycle.

Okay; then what do you hope to accomplish?  "I used battery calibration app but that doesn't help."  Help with what?

With battery calibration.

I get that - let me be a little more clear.  "Battery calibration" is an overloaded phrase and most often does not mean anything.  The electrochemistry variability in lithium-ion batteries means you can't definitively say the battery is 100% charged to capacity when your phone reports the percentage as such.  So, you "calibrate" your battery with an app... again, meaningless... then what?  What's your goal by this mythical calibration?

So is it myth? I don't know that if it is myth.

And they also have mentioned that batterystat.bin file will be updated after calibration and then battery draining issue will be fixed.

https://www.xda-developers.com/google-engineer-debunks-myth-wiping-battery-stats-does-not-improve-battery-life/

Thank you. So I should get my phone checked than wasting time to this myth. Thanks again.


text:
Xperia XA2: Stuck on "Sending 'boot.img'"
I unlocked my bootloader, and did:
sudo adb reboot bootloader
sudo ./fastboot boot ~/Downloads/twrp-3.2.2-0-pioneer.img

But it gets stuck on sending:
creating boot image...
creating boot image - 10240 bytes
Sending 'boot.img' (10 KB)

I'm doing this on Linux and using the latest platform tools.

Apparently the XA2 doesn't play well with Linux and USB 3 so I solved it by using an old laptop with USB 2.0
https://together.jolla.com/question/193348/xa2-flashing-issues/


text:
How to prevent most syncing with Google in Android 7.0 Nougat on Samsung devices?
In Android 7.0 Nougat on Samsung devices, you can go to Settings -> Clouds and accounts -> Accounts -> Google to see a list of all the Google sync options.
Currently,

Sync Calendar says "Tap to sync now" with "Last synced date" of when I factory wiped the device.
Sync Contacts is the same as Calendar.
Sync Google Fit data is the same as Calendar.
Sync Google Play Books says "Tap to sync now" and "Sync turned off".
Sync Google Play Movies & TV is the same as Play Books.
Sync Google Play Music says nothing under it.
Sync People details says "Tap to sync now" with "Last synced date" of today!
Sync Play Games Cloud Save is the same as Calendar.

There are no enable/disable toggle checkmarks next to any of the items.
In Settings -> Clouds and accounts -> Backup and restore -> Back up my data is turned off.
I want all syncing with Google to be turned completely off, and any synced data to be deleted.
The exceptions are for Books, Movies & TV, and Music, for which I would like to manually sync once in a while.
How can this be done?

Any particular reason why you want this?

@colbycdev Google hasn't earned my trust, so I want to share as little data as possible with them.

why not go with no gapps or microg then?

is your bootloader unlockable?

My advice is to completely remove your Google account from the device and go to your account on Google and delete it
Some Google stuff, even on devices that let you turn off syncing select things in accounts->google->sync, will sync no matter what


text:
Termux:Widget and Emacs: can't start subprocesses
I have some tasks that I like to do using Emacs on several different operating systems.
I have been using Termux so that I can access these tasks on my Android phone.
To reduce setting-up typing in the file-editing part of this workflow, I've installed Termux:Widget and written a two-line widget script that does
filename=$(a little shell logic)
emacs $filename

So now my phone has a button on the home screen that I can push and it opens up the file that I want in the editor.  That part all works fine.
Frequently, once I've started editing, it's convenient to run a shell script.  It's nice to be able to run the shell script in an Emacs buffer so that I can use the regular buffer-switching commands to interact with it.  If I open a fresh Termux session and type emacs at the prompt, then I can do M-x async-shell-command, use relative filenames and tab completion to find the name of the script that I want (e.g. ../my-script.sh), and execute it from within Emacs.  That part works fine.
However, if I've started Emacs from Termux:Widget, Emacs is unable to spawn subprocesses.  I get errors like
/data/data/com.termux/files/usr/bin/sh:  1: ../my-script.sh: not found
/data/data/com.termux/files/usr/bin/sh:  1: /data/data/com.termux/files/home/whatever/my-script.sh: not found

I believe the relative and absolute path names are correct because I am using tab-completion to check them before asking to execute.
This seems like the kind of problem that termux-exec was invented to fix.  However, it isn't working by magic, and I'm finding myself confused by the documentation.

I solved this while I was trying to be thorough while writing the question: it was in the documentation, I just couldn't figure it out.
I needed to set LD_PRELOAD, as documented by termux-exec, so that Emacs runs with the modified version of the exec() system call.  My two-line script is now
PREFIX=/data/data/com.termux/files/usr
TERMUX_EXEC=${PREFIX}/lib/libtermux-exec.so
[ -e $TERMUX_EXEC ] && export LD_PRELOAD=$TERMUX_EXEC
filename=$(a little shell logic)
emacs $filename

The extra existence-checking cruft is so that LD_PRELOAD remains unset (or unmodified) where I run this same convenient script on my non-Termux systems.


text:
How to automatically trigger missed Tasker profiles after power outage?
I have a phone running Android 8(Non rooted) and tasker with some tasks scheduled to run at specific time.
How can I make tasks which hadn't run because the phone was out of power, to run when power comes back.
What I`m searching for basically, is Anacron for Tasker


text:
Backing up WhatsApp chats
My WhatsApp has slowed down because of too many texts in the message database (thousands of texts in some threads). Now, I want to take a local backup of these chats for later retrieval (this part is important) and clean my WhatsApp completely. How do I do that?

Firstly, to update your local chat backup :
Settings -> Chat backup -> Backup
Now, take a copy of WhatsApp folder somewhere. This will copy all your whatsapp related data - chat backups, media etc. In case you want to backup & restore only your chat backup, copy msgstore.db.crypt12 from Whatsapp -> Databases folder.
Then, uninstall WhatsApp app and delete WhatsApp folder, i.e, "clean my WhatsApp completely"
Finally, copy WhatsApp folder back to phone storage (in case you only copied msgstore.db.crypt12, make Whatsapp -> Databases folders manually) then install WhatsApp app. In the setup it will say `Backup found,do you want to restore' : select yes.

How are the texts stored in memory? Are all the messages saved in a single .crypt file or they're saved in parts, distributed among all the files?

How are the texts stored in memory? Don't know about that, it's encrypted by whatsapp. Yes, all the messages/chats are stored in a single .crypt file. So you only need the latest one - which will be named: msgstore.db.crypt12


text:
Default Alarm ringtone
Es file explorer can set the default ringtone for Alarms (this means that when you set a new alarm, xyz sound is already selected by default).  Factory "default" is set to silent.
Google Assistant will set alarms but uses the factory default sound which sisilent on my phone.
I do not like es file explorer.  Is there a way to manually do this without root just as es file explorer does without root?
Are there other programs that will do this with the system sounds.?
Btw, es file explorer will not do this with system sounds but only with my personal files.  Which is okay but not acceptable.

Mixplorer is very versatile minus the ES invasive payload

You can use Solid Xplorer. Alarms from Google also helps. Your alarm would have the same tone which was used in the last alarm. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.deskclock&hl=en_US&referrer=utm_source%3Dgoogle%26utm_medium%3Dorganic%26utm_term%3Dalarm+app+oneplus&pcampaignid=APPU_1_BUx5XIG2JczkvAS1jIKoBw

thanks for the answers.  Mixplorer did not seem to have anything to do the job.

Honestly easiest way for me:

Download Zedge. (Free app)
Look up what sound you want (it has alot)
Set as "alarm sound"
It is now Google clock's alarm default

And it also has wallpapers,  ringtones,  notification sounds and so on. You can use them anywhere even Facebook messenger.
Hope this helps :)


text:
USB port not functionning anymore on Samsung Galaxy Tab S3i
After installing software for an endoscope USB device, my USB port stopped functionning (no more tethering, no battery charging from adapter, tablet icon doesn't appear in Windows explorer). The software worked fine with device connected. Uninstalled it, but still can't use the port. Is there a way to reinitialise the port? When the tablet is off and I plug it into the charger, I can see te circled animation for the battery, but no percentage is displayed.

If you have installed the app you have also tested the USB microscope, right? If yes most likely this broke your USB port physically. Also that the device does not charge correctly when powered off is a strong indicator that you are facing a hardware and not a software problem.
When the USB port does not work correctly this usually means that the soldering points are broken so that electrical power sometimes can pass the USB port, however it is way too less to charge the device (loose connection).
To fix this the device most be opened and the USB port have to be re-soldered, sometimes also the USB port have to be replaced.

It makes sense. I'll bring it to the Samsung shop for checking.


text:
zooming in and out using mouse scroll wheel
I searched desperately for a way to do that but in vain. so far it looks like the only way for zooming using mouse in android is clicking twice the left button and dragging up or down, which is very awkward and frustrating and out of common sense. I tried to find a key mapper on Googleplay but I found nothing which handles mouse buttons. I also looked for an image viewer with any options for mouse input, and nothing I found.

Do you mean something like clicking Ctrl and scrolling?

I mean zooming just through scrolling like image viewer in windows or like any 3d modelling program


text:
Bootloader Unlock Question: Motorola
I have a Motorola G7 Power; carrier is Metro PCS. It is my understanding that in order to unlock the bootloader I need to get an unlock code from Motorola. Is this true? Does this mean that my device cannot be rooted unless I have this unlock code?

First check whether you phone can be unlocked: https://support.motorola.com/us/en/solution/MS87215
If yes then you need an unlock code, to get this code and unlock the boot loader follow the instructions at https://motorola-global-portal.custhelp.com/app/standalone/bootloader/unlock-your-device-a
It is not possible to root your mobile without unlocking it.


text:
Plugging phone into laptop charges laptop instead of phone
When I plug my father's Xiaomi 5X into my MacBook Pro, it shows up as a charger on the MacBook and I don't get the usual USB options on the phone. Tried it on two Macs with same result. Also tried my Pixel 2 with the same cable and that worked as expected.
Is there some setting in either the phone or laptop that I can change to make it recognise the phone for what it is?

This is called PD charging. There should be a setting in connection dialog. Also there should be the same options in Developer Settings

That makes sense. Trouble is the connection dialog doesn't appear on the 5X like it does on the Pixel.

this happens to me often when enabled developer settings - each time i connect i have to navigate to developer settings and select "MTP" again (it does not remember nor show a dialog)


text:
How to reduce the minimum screen timeout?
I was trying to programmatically set the screen timeout to 5 seconds, because the minimum value provided by my Android OS is 10 seconds, which is more than enough for me. But I was out of luck!
Is there any way to reduce the minimum screen timeout in Android by editing the build.prop file? If yes, then how?

Why do you want to restrict the solution to build.prop only?

No, its not like that I want to restrict the solution to build.prop only. I know that it's not possible to do things like this without root and tweaking features is done through the build.prop file. So, that's why I asked this.

why are you trying to reduce it, just use the power button to off/on. if you tried to reduce by build.prop, it will be a huge work to do with associated files with it.

It is because, sometimes we forget to turn off the screen. But still, I think you are right, I need to have the habit of turning off the screen manually.


text:
How do I group emails with same subject and sender in the Outlook app on Android?
How do I group emails by subject in the Outlook app on Android?
In Gmail, if 100 emails are received from the same address and have the same subject, they are grouped into a single item with a number in parenthesis showing how many emails are inside.
How do I achieve the equivalent in Android Outlook app? Or web app? Otherwise, there are 100 elements that fill up the list of unread in the inbox.

In the settings, turn on "Organize mail by thread" to ensure responses sent back and forth on the same thread are grouped together.
From what I can tell, there is no setting in the Outlook Android app that will group multiple independent emails with the same sender / subject.


text:
How to enable picture in picture mode in Samsung Galaxy mobiles?
I have enabled the picture in picture mode option in Youtube App settings though unable to utilize the Pic in pic option. Am I missing anything to enable?

From YouTube's help center, you need 1) YouTube Premium members on Android mobile devices worldwide, or 2) US Android users running Android Oreo or greater, with ad supported PiP playback.

Source
Picture-in-picture is turned on by default for all devices running Android 8.0 (Oreo) and above.
To turn on picture-in-picture:

Navigate to your Android settings > Apps & notifications > Advanced > Special access > Picture-in-picture.
Tap YouTube.
Toggle "Allow picture-in-picture” ON.


text:
Check for install then uninstall with Tasker
I'm new to tasker, just got it today.
I want to set up a profile that looks at the apps I am installing and if it is on some block-list, uninstalls it.
I've seen this answer (to a related question):
Get new installed app name with Tasker
But I am still not quite getting it.

Tasker or any third party app cannot know which app is getting installed. They get to know about the app only when it has been installed. All you can do with Tasker is initiate the deletion immediately after installation if the app is blacklisted.

Ok, how would I do this?


text:
Creepy caller blocked, but still gets through to my voicemail
I gave my phone number to someone who turns out to be unstable individual...crazy dude. I blocked him from my android phone, blocked from calls and messaging. Somehow he managed to call me, doesn't show the call on my call log at all..never heard or was alerted of the call. And he then left a voicemail and when I go through the menu to get the callers number it is silent..blank. How is this happening? And how can I block him all together? Seriously, this guy is freaking me out. Help please if you can.

Sounds like you blocked it at the Android level, but have you tried logging into your service / phone carrier's website and blocking the number from there?  At this point it may be worth switching to a new phone number.

This would be a network / mobile provider solution, they would be able to blacklist a number for you and prevent it from connecting,
there are blocking options on android phones, but these don't stop calls connecting and voicemails being left.
You have blocked on the phone, which is great, and that is why you were not notified of the incoming call at the time, the mobile provider does still deal with a call if the phone does not answer it.
As others have noted, mobile network provider would be the best step forward, there is scope for blacklisting a number, alternatively another good suggestion is consider getting a new number.

Blocking phone numbers on Android is not possible...
The work-around that developers use is a redirection to the voicemail number, redirecting calls to voicemail is the only option...
HOWEVER, From the Voicemail side & Mobile service provider's side, things can be blocked !

Call your service provider and request the number to be fully blocked from ever connecting at all..  .

Alternatively ( if you don't use voice mail )
A workaround i found using the call setting....
• Change your voicemail number,
It is called ( redirect on unanswered ) an can be configured in the call settings.
I changed my number to +610   and it allowed the change. . The voicemail ( redirect service ) will redirect the call to a non existent number like +610 and then end the call ( They'll hear - "This number is not connected" )   .

Simple answer, contact the phone carriers account holder for that line, if it's not you. Either you or they need to call carrier and inform them you would like to block a phone number on your account.
This is s true call block.


text:
Accessing Exchange GAL on Android
On iPhone, in contacts, you can tap Groups, Global Address List, and then search the GAL for a contact.
I cannot find a way a way to do this on Android.
Is there a way of searching the GAL of a connected Exchange account?

When I open my contacts app I can select the Exchange account as source and then perform searches in that address book.

I imagine you are talking about Exchange Online. On Android, it is not possible to search the GAL from the Contacts app. There is one way to do it: install the Nine email application, which is an alternative to Outlook. It enables the integration even for Contacts app (besides allowing from the Nine app itself).

Motorola's Android did this natively a few years ago. The integration into company things was just awesome

I developed and used to maintain an app that did exactly this (see https://github.com/vivekiyer/corporateaddressbook) . However this project is no longer active. I can re-enable this in the play store if you think there is value.

i was a big proponent of your application before I moved to iOS. Now I am back again on Android and sorely missing the Corporate Address Book App since I do not want to sync my entire exchange addressbook to my phone. I want to selectively search and save contacts to my phone. Please help.


text:
Install and update app without play store
If I install an app on Android outside Play Store. Will it ever be updated? How so?

If you app is not available in any store app you are using there will be no updates. If you want to update it you have to install a newer version of the app's APK file manually.
If the app is available on Google Play or a different app store the situation is different:
On Android 7 and below there is only the Google PlayStore which can update an app. If the manually installed app is also available on PlayStore you can open it in the PlayStore App and install an available update. Once you have done this Google PlayStore will continue to include this app to the apps it will look for updates.
Other app store apps can also provide updates for apps, however the user has to manually confirm such updates (similar to a downloaded apk file that is installed).
Starting with Android 8 the user can configure which app is allowed to install other apps. Therefore alternativ appstores can provide an store app that can check installed apps for updates and install them accordingly.


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Can I use DNS-over-TLS below Android Pie?
Unfortunately DoT isn't part of Android below version 9. Is there a workaround app or should I better install LineageOS 16 on my old smartphone device?

You can set up dnscrypt-proxy.

You are looking for this: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cloudflare.onedotonedotonedotone&hl=en_US


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Chrome and keyboard minimizes
My phone is acting really weird today.
While browsing in Chrome, it'll suddenly minimize to the lower right corner of my phone. And, my keyboard continues to suddenly hide, about every minute or so.
Also, when playing a game that shows commercials when entering in it, has begun to show them suddenly while playing... at the same frequency as with the Chrome and keyboard problem.
Please help, I'm almost panicking, as it makes writing on my phone really annoying.


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Can I flash magisk on encrypted HTC10?
Phone in question is european HTC 10 with Oreo.
Here is what I did:

Unlocked the bootloader following procedure from htcdev.
Flashed TWRP.
Sideloaded SuperSu.

Then I figured that I don't want SuperSu because of SafetyNet. (fails both basicIntegrity and ctsProfile)

I didn't changed anything on system partition manually.
Did full unroot in SuperSu.

Now basicIntegrity passes, but ctsProfile fails. I think its because
   bootloader is unlocked.

Now I want to flash Magisk, but TWRP can't mount data partition because disk is encrypted(password doesn't work). This makes me unsure if it is possible to flash magisk.
Can I ADB sideload Magisk? or flash it with fastboot?

Ideally I want to end up with rooted phone that passes both cts and basicIntegrity.

Question - do you know your PIN/password to enter the OS normally?  If so, make sure sure you have the option set in Android Settings (probably somewhere in Security) to ask for your PIN/password on startup.

It turns out it doesn't matter data is encrypted(click cancel on password prompt), I just put zips on microSD and flashed them via TWRP (install option), everything passed.
Safety net passes completely and root works.


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Screen goes black during call
Often, when I try make a call or use the phone app on my phone, the screen goes black.  I have a Pixel 1 with Android version 9.  This is a problem because I can't see or use the numbers or buttons on the screen!  What is the fix?


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Fresh install of OS+Firefox and now there's a persistent notification
I just reformatted and reinstalled things on my phone to fix some issues.  I installed Firefox from apkmirror and now there's a mostly persistent notification that shows up when I go to certain sites (The Guardian and AJC were two that it popped up on).  There was a mention of a playback queue wen I was experimenting with closing the notification, so it seems video related.
I used Android 6's notification manager to block all popups, which is the nuclear option.  I can't think of a reason why I'd want a notification from Firefox, but I could not find a way within Firefox to disable the notification.
What is this new anti-feature called, and how are you supposed to disable it within Firefox?
OctOS M (Android 6), Firefox firefox_67.0-2015628937_minAPI16(armeabi-v7a)(nodpi)

I found the same topic on Reddit and seems it's called "Media playback" notification, but the solution might only work for Android 8 Oreo. I'm not really sure if per-site notification is related.

Why is there this idea that it's OK to bombard the user with notifications and popups and toolbars until they have to buy a new device?  It seems like it's a never ending battle...


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Delete mobile data using Root
I'm looking for the right Android files I can delete to completely disable mobile data
I have an open root (Android 4.1.2)
I'm not looking to do using APN or other solutions, but by deleting the appropriate files
I'd be happy to get help, or appropriate links to look at.
I have already searched Google and found no suitable answer

Only if you have backup of /system and possibility of restoring it in case it is soft bricked: each service in android os is like an app, just playing around with, delete some apks from /system/app. Maybe CarrierConfig.apk or SettingsProvider.apk

delete /system/etc/apns-conf.xml

and /system/app/telephony


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How to fix bricked Samsung Galaxy S4 GT i9505
My journey started when i decided to start playing around with things that i don't have experience with. I tried to enable usb debugging by flashing some file with Odin that was supposed to enable it but the phone started rebooting. Then i red how to fix it and i downloaded stock rom and i flashed it but this stuck me to the startup logo. I tried a software that was supposed to fix bricked phones FonePaw (Might be a scam programme but clearly did something because the phone tried to start with recovery mode). Then i tried to flash another rom because i thought that the first one might be bugged but the problem is still there. I also tried to flash TWRP but it didn't worked (Odin finished successfully but i couldnt use it). Now i'm at stage where the phone is stuck to startup logo. I can't go to recovery mode but download mode is still working. I have no experience with this so i'm wondering if it's even possible to fix the phone.
Thanks in advance!

Is there any important data you care about?

No this is my old phone.

Then it's easy. Just follow the official guides

Can you point me to them because i followed many guides and i'm not sure what will work. Thanks!

Wiki: https://twrp.me/samsung/samsunggalaxys4internationalqualcomm.html
XDA: https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3742880
Download: https://dl.twrp.me/jfltexx

Wiki: https://wiki.lineageos.org/devices/jfltexx
XDA: https://forum.xda-developers.com/galaxy-s4/i9505-develop#romList
Download: https://files.moskvich.xyz/LineageOS/14.1/jfltexx


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How to find my device's CSC (Country Specific Code)
I bought a Samsung Galaxy on an auction website, with no clear indication of where it comes from.
Now, to root the device or restore it, I need its Country Specific Code.
Question: How do I find the CSC of my device?
What I tried

Installed the Phone Info SAM app by vndnguyen.
Ran it (works even without root).
Opened the CSC CODE tab.

Product Code ends with TPA (Panama)
Firmware's CSC Code is DBT (Germany)
Active CSC Code is TPA
Available CSC Codes lists about a hundred codes.

Some website claims to find your CSC from your IMEI number by taking the 7th and 8th digits, which for me are 10, which supposedly means Finland.
That's many different codes, so I am not sure which one I should use. Or maybe both of these methods are actually completely wrong?

Some websites claim to find your CSC from your IMEI number, but I doubt them. This method looks more reliable:

Install the Phone Info SAM app by vndnguyen.
Run it.
Open the CSC CODE tab.
The Active CSC Code is the code you need.

It works even without root.


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AR Core OnePlus 3T
Recently, I reset my OnePlus 3T settings. So, after that, it says that my phone doesn't support AR. But it worked before and this phone in the list of supported devices.
Ar Core version - 1.9.190422056 - the newest.

might be silly suggestion.. but did u try installing google arcore https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.ar.core

So, as I investigated - OnePlus 3T just is not supported in version 1.9, so I deleted ArCore apk-file and in my dependencies in Gradle set 1.8 version. After that installed version 1.8  of ArCore

Just install ARCore by Google

ARCore is Google's platform for building augmented-reality experiences.

If it still doesn't work, try first to restart the phone. Then if you still have the error message try some alternative AR applications like Measure.


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Google Verify account
I have tried to reset my phone as was given by elder whom the owner is past of which the owner details are not know and I stacked on How to bypass “Verify your account” (Factory Reset Protection) on Nokia 5

https://www.techeligible.com/2017/10/23/bypass-nokia-google-account

The quickest way is directly flash your android phone.
You can get more detail from XDA.
You might need to unlock bootloader first.
Than go to download and flash Recovery Image from TWRP. (This is kind of like BIOS on PC)
After that, you can flash a new Android OS without any issue or verify anything.
Or try this: [This may not work]
1. Go to Android Website and download Android Platform Tools
2. Unzip it and put it in to C:\x
3. Open CMD from windows  (while the phone is connected to your pc)
4. Type:
cd c:\x

5. Type:
adb shell settings put secure user_setup_complete 1
adb shell settings put global device_provisioned 1

Reboot your phone. (or type adb reboot)


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Can't turn on developer mode on Galaxy Tab S5e
Trying to turn developer mode on on this tablet of a client. I'm not familiar with it, I went here:
Settings -> About tablet -> Software Information -> Build Number
Tapping the build number does nothing. This is supposed to work on all Android devices too. No matter how many times I click on it nothing happens.
Any ideas?

Go to "accessibility", "Advanced settings", autorized "direct access" with "Dev tools". Activate it and now you are allowed to use "7 time" fonction

insert sim card
disable the automatic time in android settings
set a date 7 days in future

https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=79547905&postcount=18


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Is there a way to change the default file manager app?
I was wondering whether I could replace the file manager that comes with my phone with a 3rd-party app in a way that any app that needs file access, goes through the 3rd-party app to find the appropriate file. The only other similar question I could find here is left unanswered and I wasn't able to find anything online.

I don't think Android offers to set an app as a default file manager app (at the least not up to Android 8.x). Are you talking about Documents Provider which helps you to pick a file through an app, and shows UI like this one? If yes, you can simply disable (if rooted) or uninstall the package com.android.documentsui (named Files in App list). You than would be able to use a third-party document/file picker.

The default file manager app is a system app (if we are talking about the same app), therefore a replacement can only be an app from your manufacturer.

Related: https://android.stackexchange.com/a/210168/218526

Thank you all for the comments. @Firelord I wasn't thinking about Doc Provider, but thanks for bringing that up, it might work as an alternative!

@Firelord interesting comment because it somewhat relates to the situation I am facing on android 13, not sure if your suggestion is applicable there but basically I want to  use a third-party document/file picker. The com.android.documentsui is buggy.

@xavier_fakerat I don't think my suggestion works anymore. I tried it on Android 11 (disabled com.google.android.documentsui) after seeing your comment, and it did not work, sadly. :(


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SD Card not mounting after reboot
My Android doesn't mount my SD Card after reboot. I need to get out the SD Card slot and put it back in. Can I fix this?
By the way I have a Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017).

How large is the SD-card and is it formatted with FAT32 or exFAT format. Some devices have problems with exFAT file system. In such a case you can reformat (deletes all data) by the phone itself. Therefore the phone can decide which format is preferred.

It works just fine, I have a lot of apps on it. The problem is that android doesnt detect it. It detects it only after I reinsert it

Try inserting another SD card in your phone if it does that means there is problem with your SD card
Try opening the same SDcard in your laptop and see if opens copy the data and format...if it doesnt open try formatting it and then insert in your phone

It does the same for another SD Card. I tried to go into settings to mount it manually there and it says that I dont have any sd card in my slot

I have a lot of apps that I cant move on my phone because I dont have enough storage.

That means either there is a problem with your card slot or your software. Are u running any custom ROMS or the stock rom ? Try backing up your files to desktop and resettting your phone

I am running the original Android 8.1.0 that my phone came with.


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Disable automatic system updates in Android One?
Is there some hack which I can use to disable automatic check and installation of system updates on an Android One device? I have my device rooted and the automatic installation attempt breaks my Magisk > Restore images functionality as the partitions are locked for editing when the system_updater puts it to use. And then does not leave them free until reboot.
The developer options do have a setting regarding "Automatic System Updates". I did diable it, but all it stops is the Automatic application of the update when I reboot. That is, it does check for the updates, it does the verification and installation and then asks me to reboot. The only difference the toggle makes is that the device does not automatically change to the new slot when I reboot normally.
I am looking for something which can help me in postponing the check for updates until I manually tap on it. If that is too much, at least the update should not download and install without my permission. Google seems to be copying the annoying Windows 10 kind of update process for Android One now.

Have you tried of using a firewall app? I don't know which UID/app would be updating the phone, so I suggest using the firewall in whitelist mode and whitelisting absolutely only those items which you want to be connected to internet. May be this can atleast filter out the UID, after which you could try uninstalling or disabling the component. All of this is rather laborious though.

@Firelord Android One, hence updates are managed by Google Play Services app. I do not think I can keep it blocked via Firewall for long enough :( Plus my Firewall app will probably just get killed by some sorta battery saver :P


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ADB does not recognize device (LG X Charge)
I am not able to get adb to recognize my device. Here is my setup:

USB debugging is enabled under Developer Options
Use USB Connection for File Transfer (Transfer Documents and media files to the connected device)
In device manager on Windows 10, under Portable Devices I see LG-M322. I have tried right-clicking on it -> update driver -> browse my computer for driver software -> C:\android-sdk\extras\google\usb_driver -> Next. It says the best drivers for your device are already installed. screenshot below

But when I run adb devices I don't see my device:
C:\Users\me>adb devices -l
List of devices attached

I have tried killing the server many times as well as unplug the device and connect it again. I am able to transfer files to the device using windows explorer.
My phone is running Android version 7.0. Build number NRD90U. Software Version M322V10n.
How can I fix this please? I have tried similar posts and tried all the things they mention (the bullet points above).

On your device, while it is plugged in, can you tell me if you see a USB options notification?  You should be able to select this notification and choose between some options like; File Transfer, PTP, Charge Only, ETC...

Yes that is bullet #2 in my question. I have selected File Transfer

If you want your device to show up when you type adb devices, you don't want "file transfer" selected.

changing the USB Mode to Photo Transfer worked
C:\Users\Downloads>adb devices
List of devices attached
LGM322c17168b6  device


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Can apps bypass permissions and just use Google Play Services?
I was reading this answer, and the first comment under it, and wondered if apps can bypass their own app permissions and just get whatever data they want from Google Play Services.
What got me started with this was when I removed a bunch of permissions from Google Play Services and I started getting a notification saying "Accupedo is having trouble with Google Play Services. Try again." Clicking this notification brings up a screen saying "This app won't work properly unless you allow Google Play Services' request to access the following: Calendar; Camera; Contacts; Microphone; Phone; SMS. To Continue, open Settings, then Permissions, and allow all listed items."
As I search on the web and this site, I see everyone, seemingly blindly, saying "Oh, just give Google Play Services all the permissions possible and don't question them." But why? The whole point of having control over app permissions is to have control. This advice is simply giving up and letting Google do whatever they want.
As a concrete example, this one app does not request app permissions to my contacts, microphone, sms, camera, etc. However, Google Play Services' notification makes me think that this app is trying to get my SMS and camera and microphone. Since a simple step-counting app has zero reason to know my contacts or have access to my mic or camera, I would really like to know if they are trying to bypass even requesting app permissions and just getting everything they want from Google Play Services. If this is not the case, why would Google Play Services be sending me this notice?
By the way, originally, it included in the Google Play Services notification's permission list "body sensors." Since this made sense for a step-counting app, I went to Google Play Services and turned on that one permission. Now, "body sensors" is no longer in the list. This lends support to my idea that Google Play Services is receiving a request specifically for access to my camera and microphone (and others) from Accupedo while Accupedo has no such permission requested in the app permissions.
To be clear, this post is not about Accupedo. This question is about whether or not apps in general can simply hide from the user that they are collecting certain data or accessing certain parts of my phone without my awareness by getting everything from Google Play Services.
Any insights would be greatly welcomed.

Even I have noticed something similar in the past and unfortunately I could do nothing about it. So, I installed an app (firstly the Google Pay; then another regional food delivery app). I denied SMS permission to both. because I prefer entering OTPs myself. Surprisingly, both apps got OTP from SMS without SMS permission. Realized that it given from Play Services because the same didn't happen when I removed permission from Play Services. So, I believe the answer to your question is a YES.

Just a short remark (not enough research for a full-fledged answer), but as an Android app developer, the answer is yes. And to confirm @singhnsk 's comment about SMS, that's actually what Google recommends to read SMS directly to the app, to prevent SMS permission being misused instead. However, I haven't researched much more what Play Services can do and their related permissions.

@AndrewT. Interesting. I see in that link the technique you mention will give access to only SMS destined for that app (using reasonable criteria). So, going through Play Services to read SMS would not allow access to all SMS. So there is some safety there.

There are still lots of questions about the aspects (other than SMS).

Long story short - Android is a Google built OS and they have access to system privileges for Play Services and some other components. Play Services are meant to allow sanitized access to certain system features (location, geofences, SMS OTP auth and several others).
If you don't trust Google to protect your data on device, then you have fundamentally chosen the wrong device and operating system - since they're the ones that have developed most of the code and have the ability to update root privileged parts of the OS.


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How to root Android with Samsung Odin
How to root A Samsung mobile phone or tablet using Samsung Odin?

Android rooting is not an uncommon term using tech nerds anymore. It is very common and everybody at least heard the term. So why we do this? As my opinion, we already have enough control over our device. Don't you think? that's how the less than half of the population of the Android community keep their devices without unstable it. But the other half sees the situation completely different. They root their devices to flash new ROMs, gain more control by customizing download unauthorized apps and modifying default functions in the system. So to do this you have o download rooting tool that most suitable for your device. For a Samsung user, it is not any software other than Samsung Odin. So let's talk about how to root with Odin.

What is Samsung Odin
It is a free utility that serving a wide range of devices and specially created for the Samsung devices by Samsung itself. With the time the software is updated so you can see there are several versions for the same tool. Select the best one for your device is your responsibility. This one-click rooting method is not like traditional root tools available out there. The flow starts with flashes the root package and then root it through the computer. And do not waste your time for searching direct rooting methods for Samsung Odin, because there isn't.
Compatible list
As I mentioned earlier there are different versions of Odin for the different operating system. So check the list below and select the suitable version for your device.

v. 1.85 - GingerBread and Ice Cream Sandwich
v. 3.09 -  Jellybean and KitKat
v. 3.10.7 - Lollipop
v. 3.11.1 - Marshmallows
v. 3.13.1 - more latest versions

Android rooting with Samsung Odin
Preparation

Samsung Odin is only compatible with windows. So install necessary
drivers to the PC and make it ready.
It's not hurt be ready to whatever happens. So backup all of the
mobile phone for more security.
Enable USB debugging on the device. (Settings --> about --> Build
number --> Tap 5 times --> You are a developer now --> USB debugging
--> enable)
The process could not be continued. So keep a sufficient battery
power.

Let's start the process of Android rooting

Go to this site and download the suitable root package. Check your device name, model number, Android version, and build number beforehand.
Now extract the downloaded package in a new folder.
Power off the device and boot it into download mode. To do this press and hold  Power Key, Home Key, and Volume Down Key simultaneously.
Open the Odin file in the extracted folder.
Connect the mobile device with the PC using a USB cable.
The software will automatically detect the device you will see "Added" in the lower left panel
Click the "AP/PDA" button and select the extracted file.
Then click "Start" button
Now the rooting will start. After it completes you will see the message "PASS"
The device will be rebooted for one last time. There will be SuperSu installed already on the device if the root was a success.

**Wrap up*
Odin is an application specifically created for Samsung smartphones and tablets. But it does not say it limited to that brand. It can serve various brands like HTC, LG, etc.*


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Number of Vibrations for Notifications
My phone just updated to Android Pie, and like many hapless users I'm trying to adapt to the many changes. One thing that annoys me to no end, and that I can't seem to find any information on, is that the number of vibrations for a notification has jumped from two to five. I like having vibrations turned on for notifications, especially if I'm in a meeting or at a loud event, but if I'm getting five vibrations I'm going to assume it's a phone call.
Is there any way I can change this? Preferably back to two, and without rooting my phone.

You don't really say what model your device is (and you should) but it may be as simple as setting an appropriate vibration pattern in the panel for Notifications.

Kyocera Duraforce 2. I tried changing the pattern, but regardless of the pattern I choose it's always five repetitions, whereas it used to be two.


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Mock Location a single app
Currently, enabling the mock location developer setting affects all applications. I am currently testing a single application and require that my real location is still available in other apps. Is this possible?


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Samsung Galaxy S5 not connecting PC
I've been unable to connect my samsung galaxy s5 to pc despite having tried for a couple of hours.
I was able to connect to the same pc with a different s5 a few days ago and have tried connecting it to a different PC so the problem is definitely with the mobile, although I have tried installing drivers on PC.
Phone doesn't even show up in device manager.
The option to use the phone as a usb modem is greyed out as it says it is not connected to a PC.
The phone is charging notification doesn't show either.
I've tried different usb cables and different usb ports.
USB debugging is turned on, USB is configured to MDB + ATP (i tried changing it to other things then swapping back but it won't even let me change)
I've updated the phone's os.
If anyone has any other ideas would love to hear them as I need this working for debugging purposes.

The notification bar doesn't come down?

the notification bar comes down but the notification that the phone is charging doesn't (despite it charging, obviously)

Ah, ok. So the problem might certainly lies with your USB connector, this would need a cleaning or even a replacement


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Is there a way to upgrade Vivo V5 from Marshmallow to Pie?
I am having an Android device Vivo V5, Which has Android Marshmallow installed. Now, I want to upgrade the OS to Android Pie.
Please suggest me any workaround.

Please let me know why the question gets a downvote?

Not the downvoter, but assuming the device is not officially supported anymore, the only way is to find Android Pie-based custom ROM that supports your device (if exists). I only found mostly Android Nougat on XDA.


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Recover media from Android backup files
first time I ask a question here so I'll try to explain myself at my best. English is not my native language, so please bear with me.
In 2017 I had an Asus Zenfone 2 that got bricked plus it doesn't charge anymore, pc doesn't even detect it, usb port is broken I think, nor enters in recovery mode.
Lucky me, when it started having problems 2 years ago, I entered recovery mode and did a backup on an sd card from the RM menu.
Now I found the backup files and I thought it would be nice to recover my old pictures.
Shame is that I don't have the slightest idea on how to use these files.

These are the backup files. In the folder "abba" there are four more folders containing several 1KB files.
Does anyone know if I can still recover something and how to do it?
I thought maybe by using an Android Virtual Machine but I wouldn't know how to do it...
At the time I think my Asus mounted Nougat, don't know if it can be a useful information.
Thank you in advance!

Possible duplicate of How to extract a compressed TWRP backup?

Thank you very much for your answer. It seems that data/media contains nothing so I must have reset the phone before the backup (it seems odd to me because I'd never do something so unlogical).
Anyway, thanks again

TWRP allows backup for devices with no external MicroSD Card. Therefore TWRP does always exclude Internal Storage from backup. They recommend manually copy Internal Storage via USB-MTP (which makes sense after creating  TWRP backup because it contains TWRP Backup folder too). If you know how to unpack/repack recovery.img you can add this fix (experimental) https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3941108 this will allow you backup of Internal Storage from TWRP

Question is not about how to enable SD card backup in TWRP, the actual concern is how to extract SD card data from an already created backup. Which is not possible because /data/media/0 isn't backed up, whether TWRP had the capability to do so or not.

true. but the question can not be answered without any existing backup of /data/media/0 or explanation why it never exist. so this is answer how to create such backup, instead of wondering how to recover


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Mount image of encrypted internal storage data partition from android P
When trying to upgrade to a newer rom, my system got a little messed up and I had to format my /data partition. I had made TitaniumBackup and twrp backups but they were on the encrypted data partition. When I flashed the new rom, this partition became all hashed folders and TWRP stopped asking me for the password. I took the time to do an adb pull of the /dev/block/sda21 (which is the device that is mounted on sdcard/. How would I go about decrypting this on a linux device?

https://android.stackexchange.com/a/206762 https://android.stackexchange.com/a/145446

This solution works for Adoptable Storage, but the things could differ for /data. First of all the key isn't in /data/misc/vold, instead in crypto footer of userdata partition (usually last 16KB). Secondly the encryption algorithm may be different e.g. on Qualcomm devices aes-xts is used with dm-req-crypt while on others its aes-cbc-essiv with dm-crypt target. And the key is also bound to hardware.

in fact, they keys are gone. it is not possible to decrypt data (otherwise TWRP would do the job)

Yes, TWRP uses same code from vold which encrypts/decrypts /data on main Android OS.


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Is root required for screen sharing / remote desktop on Android Pi
I am having inordinate difficulty trying to get any kind of remote desktop working on a Samsung SM-T510 tablet I have just bought (which runs on Android Pi).   I have tried Teamviewer, Airdroid and Vysor - and none allow me to do anything meaningful.   (I have enabled Developer Mode).
I have tentatively concluded that something in the Android permissions model is preventing this sharing from happening, which would seem to mean that looking to do this without jailbreaking the phone [ which I don't want to do ] is futile.
Does anyone know if it is actually possible to do screen sharing on Android Pi on a phone that is not rooted?

Have you tried https://github.com/Genymobile/scrcpy?

@trishmapow Thank you for this link - unfortunately it does not answer my question, and, indeed installing this piece of software seems stupidly hard (the instructions for Ubuntu 16.04 dont match reality, and the snap does not work).   I'm loathe to download a gig of data for an SDK I'm told is not needed to compile the runtime, but then required when I attempt to compile it!


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How to make fennec(firefox) not reopen and automatically load the last open tab?
After removing the Firefox Android browser (Fennec) activity and reopening it again, the lastly open tab appears and loads the webpage.
How can this be disabled?
(by this, I mean that the tab that was last opened, is reloaded automatically upon reopening the firefox activity.)
background

I do want open tabs to be conserved during cycles of closing and reopening the firefox/fennec activity.
However, it is annoying that this setting to keep tabs, provokes the last open tab (which was displayed at the moment the firefox activity was closed) to be automatically reloaded. More often then not I do not want to revisit this exact webpage, but was expansive mobile data volume and time for this.

Was Firefox just in background or did you explicitly close the Firefox app (e.g. by swiping it away form the recents list)?

explicitly closed

What page do you want to load when you open Firefox with multiple tabs open?

@ReddyLutonadio upon reopening Firefox and to avoid loading any online resource (while keeping the tabs) it would be most lovely that it drops you onto a "new tab page". Indeed this is some workaround currently, as this way upon reopening you are at the offline new tab page (hence no load).

Did you have a look at the edit made on my answer?

To disable restorng tabs, go to Firefox settings, then Advanced, click on Restore tabs. Select "Don't restore after quitting Firefox". It will not open previous tabs when you restart the browser.
But you said that is not the behavior you are looking for. Then the other possibility is to set as homepage a page you don't care for.  Go to Settings -> General -> Home -> Set a homepage, then select Custom and enter: about:blank (a blank page as your homepage). Click OK. Enable "Also use for new tabs".
From now, before closing Firefox, open a new tab. A blank page will be displayed. When you open the browser again, the blank page will be loaded. The other tabs will still be there.

This does not keep the tabs. As expressed in the question, I do not want to delete all tabs, I only want to prevent the last active browser tab to be loading upon reopening firefox. With your suggestion, as tested, the tab is indeed not loaded, at the costs of loosing all tabs as well.

@humanityANDpeace See edit