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When to 'force stop' and it's effects
I have read over many q and A's regarding the 'force stop' option for most apps. All explain what it's function is, but aren't too clear on when it is really necessary to go thru my list of apps and force stop them (EVEN ONES THAT ARE NOT CURRENTLY IN THE LIST OF RUNNING APPS?!?!?)
That was and still is a bit hard for me to understand also. If my phone says the apps are not currently running what I'd it that I'm forcing to stop? And will it effect the function or start up of the app when I need to use it?

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts! Also see: What does the “Force stop” button mean? and What does the “Force stop” button mean?

The answer is easy: Under normal circumstances you never need to "force stop" any app.
Android automatically handles which app should be stopped in case the system is running out of free RAM.
Anyway even if you force an app to stop it usually should be able to start again at any time. Note that "starting an app" may even happen without user interaction based on certain events like change of battery level, a new Wifi was found, or simply because another app has triggered the app to run in background.


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Reboot to secondary user
So, my kids phone. I need her to be able to reboot the phone and access her account without going through primary account. How can this be done (without rooting). I don't want her be left without call access if her phone reboots or battery runs out.
Why I had to set her as secondary user is that as primary user she was able to circumvent parental control restrictions by creating and switching to guest account before parental control could prevent it. She figured that the lag works for her benefit because she can buffer commands by clicking icons where they will appear while the phone still lags behind.

Have you password protected the primary user account?

I got PIN that needs to be entered. Are you suggesting that there could be additional password for primary account access?

Someone please answer this question I can't find anything on Google.  For Parental apps to work correctly the child needs to run on the secondary account. They need the ability to directly log into the phone. To directly sign into the second account without activating the primary account.

I suppose that the limiting factor is the encryption of the file system. The primary user has be to logged into the device so that the file system is (fully) decrypted. Then the secondary users can also get access.
"User 0 must log into the device first as it is a special user."

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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Application Permissions
I note that with my Samsung S7 Edge now I have "Permission Monitor" as an option, which is great. Leaving out the whole root option (I don't want to risk it again, it was a $300 fix last time it 'broke') I am looking for a methodology to either:

Allow me to globally refuse permissions to all applications or;
Reset permission settings each time the application is used.

A typical use is I need Facebook (Yes, I know they have the data already...) to have access to photos for example. I enable it, and then never disable it. I want to limit (and this is basically globally) any applications capacity to interact with photos, videos and microphone.

Samsung S7 Edge
$10-30.00 budget for application
Preferably not rooting, Android 7.0 (From memory)

Non-root third party permission managers have to rely on inbuilt appops permission manager. Because appops is not available for third-party apps but only the system apps, former usually resort to an adb hack.
I use App Ops - Permission Manager from Xingchen and Rikka, mostly because of its auto-apply template feature (the global restrictions you're looking for on all new installations). Furthermore, it also provides access to all permissions available under appops for any app, regardless whether the app requests access to such permission or not. It, however, doesn't "reset permission settings each time the application is used".
On first launch, the app would guide you how to setup adb to make the app work. The downside, not limited to this app but quite about every non-root third-party permission manager, is that if you reboot, you'd have to setup the adb hack again or your custom preferences for the apps would fail to work (note: the app itself would fail to work unless adb hack is setup again).

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


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Best way to access the full Android internal storage directory tree from an Ubuntu pc
Background
I am trying to free up memory from my phone that is becoming more and more unusable, as it reports only ~600MB free memory out of 16,0GB; but deleting cache files, moving images/videos to my PC, and moving apps to the SD card didn't help much.
When trying to manage the issue from the phone, I find an inconsistent memory count, in that the Memory Management utility reports a total memory usage less than 11 GB (6.5 Firmware, 3.5GB Apps, 0.9GB other, 34MB cache, 21MB images). So where/what are the missing 5GB?
Attempts to a solution
One approach is to search for apps like in this question (but this guy had no much luck, one answer after one year).
So I thought I could understand myself the situation better, and hopefully reach out the root cause, by accessing the phone files directly from Ubuntu (assuming that Android should be, if not a relative or a good friend, at least collaborative with Linux), but attempting to do so I am very much confused when Linux reports only 1,1 GB being used (so I would expect the free memory to be 14.9GB!).
Therefore I understand that by the MTP protocol (that, I read here, is Microsoft, so no wonder it makes things difficult to Linux) I cannot access all files of my android phone "internal memory". And, by the way, PTP accesses even less files!
Additional data:

the phone is a Huawei P8 2017 Lite (likely I will soon need to the same on a Honor 8 too)
Android version is 7.0
Ubuntu is 16.04 (4.15.0-39-generic)

Other Searches
Of course I understand that such a need must be widespread, and searched for similar questions, and found a lot around speaking of MTP, PTP, ADB, AirDroid, even WiFi access, bust most of them seem to me outdated (2012/2015).
Here too, one can find some advice, but it just seems one out of hundreds of similar webpages that are usually too commercial to be true, and one must try dozen apps before finding a suitable one, or ultimately giving up after having exhausted all available time.
So I am looking for updated information about a (reasonably simple) method to mount the Android filesystem from my Ubuntu pc, and see all files (particularly those taking all that precious room, to eventually delete them).
Even if it doesn't exist (hope it does) and/or there are better approaches (including those that I have already discarded) that could help to solve my problem, I would be glad to read some pointers to.

I'm quite happy using adbfs, which runs as FUSE mount. Much easier and much more reliable than the other candidates you've named. But unless the ADB daemon on your device runs in root (aka "insecure") mode, which it usually does not, there will still be areas inaccessible to you.


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My LG X Charge phone dropped in water, and I had some trouble after fishing it out! Help?
OK, so I accidentally dropped my LG X Charge (Android) smartphone in water, & I fished it out, but I had some trouble & fumbling & rigamarole to go through afterwards:

I had trouble getting the phone cover & case off, & I struggled for about a minute to remove them
The phone was turned on when it fell in the water, & after I fished it out, the home screen turned on like normal, & I could access what I had been doing for a few seconds, until the screen turned black with little gray stripes; this happened a couple of times, until the screen didn't turn on at all (but the phone still made noises & things like nothing had happened)
I then remembered that I should have kept the phone powered down as soon as it had been retrieved from the water, & I pressed the power button for a few seconds to turn it off
3B. However, my phone buttons are very sensitive, & even when I just barely grazed the power button without meaning to touch it, the phone would power back up, & I'd have to turn it off again; this happened a few more times (but not all consecutively) until I finally managed to get it in a Ziploc bag full of rice (see below)
I gently shook the phone to get the water out, per the instructions that one website provided; I managed to get some of the water out, but not all of it, I fear
My smartphone is one of those that doesn't have a removable battery cover, so I was unable to remove that to get rid of any water that might be trapped underneath it
I know the LG G6 smartphone is waterproof, but I don't think the LG X Charge is...
I wasted valuable minutes calling my daddy on the phone, & telling him what happened
With the help of my grandma, I put the phone in a bowl full of rice...but I initially forgot to put it all in a Ziploc bag, & I had to go back & fix that!
Not only that, but at least one website I saw, said that your phone should be facing screen up at all times...& I realized too late that I occasionally had my phone facing downwards while I was tending to it post-retrieval!  Not to mention, it had been facing downward in the bowl of rice before I transferred it all into the Ziploc bag!

All in all, from the time I fished my phone out of the water at approximately 8:50 A.M., it took 17 minutes for me to go through nearly all of the above issues...with the phone & rice finally transferred from the bowl to the Ziploc bag no later than 9:40 A.M.
Tell me the truth, folks: What are the chances that my phone will make it out all right when I check on it at 9:30 A.M. on Monday morning? I'm really worried... :-(


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android termux busybox do not let me run commands
Anyone knows why when I try to run a command on termux like nc busybox try to run the command instead netcat the same happens when i try to run tar busybox gets in the way ?

Because Termux installs BusyBox in its bootstrap package, to avoid bloating too much.
Full-functional utilies like Core Utilities or netcat can be installed with the bundled package manager apt. For example
apt install coreutils inetutils netcat tar gzip #(and many more ...)

But ive imstalled netcat already same happens i can only run netcat with netcat vommand and not with the nc command cause busybox gets in the way, i tjink its metasploit i recently installed that ruined my termux


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Just sync GMail-contacts with a certain label
Is it possible, maybe with some app, to only sync contacts from GMail to my phone if they have a certain label? E.g., I labelled all contacts from my previous job "Job1" while all contacts from my current job are labelled "Job2". I only want contacts from my current job, e.g., label "Job2", to sync to my phone while I want to keep contacts from my previous job, e.g., label "Job1", for reference, but only in the desktop interface.


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What apps are these notifications for?

Does anyone know what apps the notifications at the top left of the screen are for? I was sent a screenshot and I'm curious.

In newer Android versions you can long-tap notifications to reveal the app the notification came from.

The Flower is FING - The Message icon looks like Messenger or the default New SMS icon with theme's ... And the last one i suppose is a network analyser by Fing, just showing the active status.

FIRE LORD ... You have mistaken this question for someone that has access to the device... This person only got sent the picture... The duplicates aren't helpful at all. so this question is not a duplicate.


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Is it possible to save an encrypted data partition so that I can decrypt it later?
I have a rooted samsung galaxy s4 sph l720 with an encrypted data partition.
It's currently a soft brick.
I'm confident I could wipe the device and start over from scratch but then I'd lose everything in my internal data partition.
I have TWRP installed and the data partition reads as 0mb.
I know the password to access the data from the normal ROM startup but that's not an option in TWRP recovery.
I don't really care if I salvage the device. I have another device functioning as a phone right now.
I just can't believe there's no way to save this data.
Does anyone have any suggestions?

I have seen TWRP versions that ask for the FDE password and allow to access the encrypted data. May be there is also an updated TWRP version for your device available?

Thanks for the reply. I'm using 3.1.1-0 which as far as I know is the latest version for my device.  It is over 5 years old.

@Robert This version is the one provided for this device at the TWRP website so I believe it's the most up to date one. https://twrp.me/samsung/samsunggalaxys4sprint.html

Just copying the files and knowing the password likely won't be enough. I haven't done much with FBE but it likely also requires additional files with metadata. Without those the encrypted  files would be useless.


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How do I have IMAP delete Email inbox item when deleting on the server?
If I have an email in my Android Email inbox and I delete it on the server inbox, it will not delete from my phone.  If I delete it on the phone, it will delete it on the server.  I originally set it up this way but can't remember how and now would like to change it.  I can't find the settings to do so.


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Add contact via adb shell
I try to add a contact using the adb shell:
content insert --uri content://com.android.contacts/raw_contacts --bind deleted:i:0  --bind data1:s:'Bla Fffff' --bind data2:s:'Bla' --bind data3:s:'Fffff' --bind mimetype:s:'vnd.android.cursor.item/name' --bind contact_id:i:1 --bind raw_contact_id:i:1
The console does not show any error, but the command returns no output. Nevertheless,
content query --uri content://com.android.contacts/raw_contacts
returns No result found.
Not specifying the contact id or raw contact id does not help either.
I am trying to mimik the insertContact method from https://www.dev2qa.com/how-to-add-contact-in-android-programmatically/ using the adb shell.
How can I properly add a contact using the content tool? I am aware that contacts can be added via sending an intent, but I'd rather not use the UI for this purpose.

Which Android version and phone are you using?

Cubot J3, Android 8.1.0

It does also not work for Google Pixel, Android 9

I found myself needing to do just that. Here's how I managed to get the job done.
First, I create a raw contact by doing:
adb shell content insert --uri content://com.android.contacts/raw_contacts --bind account_type:s:SOME_ACCOUNT_TYPE --bind account_name:s:MY_ACCOUNT_NAME
This will effectively create a new Contact (you will be able to see a new contact in Android's Contact app) but with no extra information (phone, name, email, etc...)
Next, I add name information to the recently created contact:
adb shell content insert --uri content://com.android.contacts/data --bind raw_contact_id:i:1 --bind mimetype:s:vnd.android.cursor.item/name --bind data1:s:MY_CONTACT_NAME
After this, you will notice how the new contact now has a display name in Android's Contacts app.
Notice how, in this case, I need to pass the raw_contact_id of the contact I'm trying to set the name for. I used 1 just as an example.
You can query this information by checking the data from all contacts:
adb shell content query --uri content://com.android.contacts/raw_contacts
Or if you want the straight anwser:
adb shell content query --uri content://com.android.contacts/raw_contacts --projection _id --where "account_name=\'MY_ACCOUNT_NAME\'"
Finally, I add the phone information:
adb shell content insert --uri content://com.android.contacts/data --bind raw_contact_id:i:1 --bind mimetype:s:vnd.android.cursor.item/phone_v2 --bind data1:s:MY_PHONE_NUMBER --bind data2:s:SOME_PHONE_TYPE --bind data3:s:SOME_LABEL
And we are done! You can check Android's Contacts app and see a contact with a display name (MY_CONTACT_NAME) and a phone number (MY_PHONE_NUMBER).
There's plenty more information you can add but I guess this covers your needs or at least gives you a good idea of how to continue.
Bonus: I know it isn't exactly on topic but you can even run a little program to automat this using UiAutomator. For example:
InstrumentationRegistry.getInstrumentation().getUiAutomation().executeShellCommand("content query --uri content://com.android.contacts/raw_contacts");

nice. works great.


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Unable to handle subfolders in Termux
I'm trying to run a program which has its own directory. Termux doesn't allow creating the directory nor accessing the folder (permission denied error) after moving it to the Termux home directory with a root file explorer app. Also with p7zip (command line port of 7-Zip) I can't create a new directory with 7z x -o <folder name> <archive name>, I can only extract to the Termux home folder.
Termux FAQ has a page for the error, but the chmod command results in operation not permitted. I wonder if this issue is related to the differences in Linux distributions and Android:

Why do I keep getting 'No such file or directory' when trying to
  execute binary (it's file exists) ?
This happens when you are executing binary compiled for Linux
  distribution, e.g. Ubuntu or Arch Linux. This is caused by ABI
  difference between GNU libc and Bionic libc.
Create a proper chroot (proot) environment and try to execute binary
  from it.

Which directory you are trying to create with Termux and to which directory you are trying to extract the archive? May I know the exact location? Did you try that with root or without root? And yes, Termux environment is different than that of standard Linux distros. If the p7zip binary is of different architecture or a dynamic binary compiled for Linux linker and Linux libc, that won't work with Android linker and Android libc.

ASF-linux-arm, ArchiSteamFarm V3.4.1.7 specifically. Unzip (ships with Termux) can't open the archive at all. I tried creating a subfolder inside the Termux home directory, 7z x -o <folder name> <archive name> command in p7zip.

@IrfanLatif: My phone is rooted but I haven't issues Termux root rights, I don't yet know how this works.

Any status updates?

@iBug: Sorry for the delay, I'll return to the topic after I've reinstalled LineageOS. I get some unknown reboots after installing a major version on top of the previous one.

It's likely that the permission or owner has messed up.
Go find a folder where Termux operates normally, and run ls -ln to get the UID and GID of Termux (they should be the same, on the 3rd and 4th column of ls -ln). Then switch to root with su or tsu and change the owner of the problematic directory to Termux like this:
chown -R 10001.10001 path/to/dir

where 10001 should be replaced with the UID of Termux. Then you should be good to go.

Sorry, I don't necessarily have time to test this before the holidays are over. Your answer looks promising.


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Phone virbates without there being any notification
My phone, Samsung A8 2018, sometimes vibrates without there being any notification.
I've noticed this since yesterday. The two new things which yesterday changed about my phone are: I updated my phone and I started playing games through facebook. I've reset my phone's notification settings and at least one of the games does also send notifications when something happens. The other one doesn't, but I haven't noticed any correlation between the virbations and something happening in the game.
Smart Alert is turned off.
Something which might be irrelevant: permissions for certain apps (Whatsapp and Snapchat) got reset, either after the update or after resetting notification settings.
What causes these vibrations without notifications?
Is there any way to check what causes a vibration?


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Unlock lg ls777
I have a boost mobile lg stylo 3 that i want to unlock to use on the T-Mobile network. What are the steps to unlock it from boost to be usable on another network?

It's usually a simple call to your mobile service provider... On Optus it was free, however I'm not sure anymore, many providers ask for a fee to unlock the handset, usually under $100 AUD in Australia, Around $80 in my experience...

Ring your provider
Request a Service Unlock ( Provider Unlock )
I can't remember the name, just explain that you would like to use another provider's SIM card, they'll know what you mean.
They'll ask for you to pay a fee ( if required by the provider )
You usually call a specific number, and enter the code they give you ... The method may have changed but your provider will identify the needed steps on your specific device..

Usually the unlock code is unique to the IMEI number of your device, so be prepared and get everything ready... You can grab the IMEI number ( usually the first step ) by calling *#06#


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Move apps manually to system
Hi just wanna ask if there's a way to properly install or move apps to /system manually in which the app that being said installed will be considered as system app? It seems that my phone is denying my request to install or move app from internal storage to system. I'm using a archos 55 diamond selfie. I've tried to move a certain app installer to /system/app but it doesn't solve the problem. Thanks allot.

You can only copy files to /system if your phone is rooted. Is yours rooted?

Installing apps on the system partition is not possible without root. Rooting can also not be enough if you are running a device that has a newer android version, where selinux is enabled and enforcing.
You need to make sure you do the following before being able to install apps to system:

Bootloader unlock (if needed)
Root
Mount /system as RW
Copy apk file to /system/app (or priv-app) (depending on the OS version)
Remount /system as RO or reboot

You might also be able to do it through recovery, but at that point you need to run a custom one, as TWRP, the only difference being that you don't need root at this point.

Well. I do have twrp and my phone is rooted. But still it doesn't permit me to move apps to system. Where should I move the apps? The os that my phone is running is 6.0.1

If you are rooted, then you just need to mount /system as RW: mount -o remount, rw /system ; cp file.name /system/app/file.name ; chmod 644 file.name

If I did that my phone is just restating.

That might be something specific. I never encountered such issues (seems to be a kernel panic, or os protection). Try going into TWRP, mount /system as RW and then copy the file in the same way, under /system/app. In case of bootloop, after reboot, just remove the file through TWRP.

Could you have Systemless Root ?

I do have systemless root

My bad. Having systemless root, means your main system partition is not modified, and cannot hold any apks added by the user. In this case, you would need to use a Magisk module to add the app to the system partition at reboot.

@MikeN. /system can be modified with systemless root if dm-verity is disabled. But OTAs may break

If he went systemless, most probably was due to keeping system intact. I was using the zip flash I. Magisk so I can have Action Launcher as system app, before the Google Now Module appeared

@MikeN. systemless root is now no more an option, whether to keep /system intact or not, boot.img is to be modified because root daemons start from init, to fix issues with selinux, logs etc.


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File system error when writing
I recently encountered a problem using Threema on LineageOS 15.1: I noticed that whenever I want to download a picture posted by someone else in a conversation, I get the message "Could not download message". A logcat reveals, that an excepction is thrown when opening the file:
java.io.FileNotFoundException: /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/ch.threema.app/files/data.blob/017c31a18e3325c75d3564fd3565b144

I used adb shell (as root) to create an empty file:
# whoami
root
# echo "" > /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/ch.threema.app/files/data.blob/017c31a18e3325c75d3564fd3565b144
sh: can't create /storage/emulated/0/Android/data/ch.threema.app/files/data.blob/017c31a18e3325c75d3564fd3565b144: Invalid argument

So the same error occurs in the shell, even if I am logged in as root.
Apparently, once the file is created, it can't be written to:
# echo "asd" > 017c31a18e3325c75d3564fd3565b
# echo "asd" > 017c31a18e3325c75d3564fd3565b
sh: can't create 017c31a18e3325c75d3564fd3565b: Invalid argument

The permissions of newly created files are set to
-rw-rw---- 1 u0_a71 sdcard_rw 4 2018-12-31 13:45 017c31a18e3325c75d3564fd3565b

Any ideas what is causing this? Is this a misconfiguration / permission issue? Or is this a problem with the file system (I used both f2fs and fat32)?

Can you use strace? Do you have SELinux enforcing?

strace yields openat(AT_FDCWD, "/storage/emulated/0/Android/data/ch.threema.app/files/data.blob/017c31a18e3325c75d3564fd3565b144", O_WRONLY|O_CREAT|O_TRUNC|O_LARGEFILE, 0666) = -1 EINVAL (Invalid argument)

As to SEAndrodi: getenforce => Permissive

dmesg tells me: WARNING: at ../../../../../../kernel/samsung/kminilte/fs/sdcardfs/inode.c:743 sdcardfs_setattr_wrn+0x48/0x60(), sdcardfs does not support setattr. User setattr2.

That's the thing. Problem is with emulated filesystem. You can try direct path /data/media/0/Android/data/ch.threema.app/files/data.blob/ (ext4 or f2fs whatever) and it should work. Also try with short filename. Need to check sdcardfs source to see why it can't handle this filename.


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Can the LG K20V be rooted?
I can't find anywhere stated the LG K20 phone can be rooted safely.
Does anyone know if its possible? And what steps do you take? Thanks.

The LG K20V is a Verizon phone, Verizon phones come with locked bootloader, and there is no known way to unlock the bootloader. It is not possible to root without unlocking bootloader, so it is not possible to root a LG K20V phone.

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


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Possible to transfer Google Play Balance from one Google account to another?
Actually I am using 2 Google accounts in my device and first is my permanent while second is only for special purposes.
I have mistakenly added my funds to second account instead of first one and now finding if there is anyway to transfer those bucks to my primary account so that i can make purchases. It is not convenient for me to make purchase from my secondary account.
Note - I have read that there is a way but that is as Google Gift Cards but that I can't purchase from Google play balance.


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How to Transfer apps back to internal storage from sd card on android 7
I moved some of my own downloaded apps to the sd card and now when I go to use them it says they are not installed and won't let me put them back into internal storage.  The 2 options pop up ie: sd card and internal but when I select internal, it does not accept it and leaves them on the card.  It is on my Samsung galaxy tab s2 model SM-T810 running Android 7.  Can anyone help me out please
Liz


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Where it's marked that a "/data/app/i" have to appear in launcher?
I have some apps who have important data in it. And now they don't appear in the launcher, but they still in /data/app. Do you know what to do to make appear an app from /data/app in the launcher ? Like manually install an app, without the Android Installer

Did you disable them or at least their MAIN activity? Which launcher are you using? Since when did they disappear?  Have you tried launching them through QuickShortcutMaker? In fact, have you fully ascertained that they are still installed?

I haven't disable them, what's the MAIN activity ?
I use the default one, OP Launcher.
They dissapear since a ROM reinstallation.
Quick doesn't show them.
The app store doesn't let me reinstall them, so

Had you installed them to the SD card maybe? Note this doesn't contradict their appearing in /data/app as only parts are moved to the card then. Further, which Android version? If you use an SD card, do you use [tag:adoptable-storage]?

I haven't SD slot.
Marshmallow

My question is related to this problem https://stackoverflow.com/questions/16277422/android-install-failed-uid-changed but there isn't solutions to get the app data


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SystemUI.apk and framework-res.apk causes bootloop after being modified
Hi I'm using a stock LineageOS rom specifically android Pie (LineageOS 16) and I've been modifying system applications, such as SystemUI, framework, gallery, sms etc. before (on samsung ROMS) and so far I haven't got any problem aside from forgetting to set the correct permissions on each apk.
Though when I switched to LineageOS, it seems that I can't simply modify the framework and systemui. I tried the usual way of decompiling and compiling an apk using apktool, then, to sign the apk with its previous/original key, I use the files from the "original" folder in the decompiled apk then build the apk again. Somehow, when I try to replace the apk in my phone, set the correct permissions, and reboot, it will result to bootloop.
Did I miss anything? Do i need to sign it with another key? Do I need to disable signature-check on my Android?

When you say, "to sign the apk with its previous/original key, I use the files from the 'original' folder," do you mean you just copy the original signature? The signature depends on the contents of the files in the APK, so copying the signature from the unmodified APK won't work.

Oh so that's how it works? I always use that method everytime I just theme an application (wether its a system app or a market app) and not modifying the AndroidManifest.xml since I read from other forums that in order for the system app to be recognized, it needs to be signed with its original key because Android verifies the signature if it is the same with the framework.
If that's the case then do I need to sign systemui and framework with any key that I can use?

You need to sign it with the same key that was used to sign the ROM image. Usually you can only obtain this by compiling and signing the ROM yourself from source.

Signing won't work by just copying the files from the original folder. You could try building the ROM yourself then you'd have the signatures, but I believe there's a much better solution that I've described below.
If you're modifying things that are in res/ and assets/ overlays are most definitely the way to go. They don't require any signature tricks and they can be easily added/removed without you having to even touch the SystemUI or framework. You can use cmd overlay to enable and disable them easily. Building the overlays isn't really easy, so you'd have to get some knowledge related to aapt in order to understand how to build them, or you could use a theme engine like Substratum. There's a template that you can modify and you can manage the overlays within the app.

I don't really know anything much about building android applications but I do understand some of their contents and how they work, and I'm not sure about aapt, since I haven't used that one yet so I'll try to learn how to use it and yes I only modify the "res" and "assets" folder whenever I theme an application since I only change some drawables/icons/layout/strings of the app.
By building an overlay means creating another app that "themes" its target app?
Sorry for the newb questions.

If you're EXTREMELY SURE you know what you're doing, and you are an experienced APK Modder.
Try using the Application LuckyPatcher
I'm sure you'll find it if you look around in your own time.
This software can disable package signature verification and patch your entire system to allow such things as downgrading software by disabling the version check etc... This software is designed by hacker's as far as I know, so please do not blame me for any problems.
This information is provided as-is without any guarantees, by using this information you agree to take full responsibility and/or liability for any damages, injury or any other consequences that may result from using this information.
You can try not signing the apk at all, this has worked many times for many people.  You need to remove all signature parts in the APK.

How Lucky! I have it in my phone! Just kidding but I'll try using that method. Well I'm not really an App Developer or something I just simply want to modify an application to have a desired look of it on the user interface by modifying its resources. I'm not into smali or java or anything that is related to complex programming of an application.

In my experience, signing the APK is what caused issue's... on most systems I've looked at, the apps aren't signed in system .. only for user installations is it necessary to have the correct signature... Systemless root won't allow system modifications sometimes... I just remove the signature all together and zip everything back together, then rename the zip file to . APK  ..

I personally don't use APK mods anymore, I use Xposed and Gravity Box to do my UI customizations


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Exclude an Android/data folder from cache cleanup
I have a game which downloads all of it's data and contents in a folder in Android/data . The size is over 400MB and device is not rooted. Every time I do a cache and junk cleanup, All files of this game in Android/data get deleted. Is there an option or trick or even an app to exclude a folder from getting scanned and deleted by cleanup apps? Is the problem related to permissions of folder?

The best thing would be to use a cleanup app which permits excluding a file or a folder. Which cleanup app do you use?

@Firelord I'm using default cleaner. Xiaomi cleaner.

Try reporting this to the development team responsible for handling bug's.. They should implement a solution permanently... I'm fairly sure it's a simple line of code added to the manifest... Something along the lines of excludeFromCacheCleaners=true I can't remember it exactly... I'm sure they'd like to know your issue, I've had great response's simply using the feedback option on the Google Play Store ( Review )

@Zillinium I have reported this to developers on both Google play store and In-game feedback system many times since 1year ago. They never fixed it. However I found an app "clean master lite" Wich let you to exclude an app. Hope it helps to others.

Slack dev team... It's a simple fix that could benefit everyone using the app.

There is not an Android built-in feature to exclude a folder from scan. Hiding a folder may be useful but in this case the folder will be created again. So using an app called Clean master lite you can exclude an app from scans. Go to Settings->ignorelist


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What are the privacy implications of apps that use Android System WebView?
From what I've researched, Android System WebView supports cookies and HTML5 local storage.
When do those cookies and local storage items get cleared?
For example, Samsung Messenger (Samsung's default SMS app) uses WebView to load web links (even in Android Nougat).  If the loaded web page generates cookies and HTML5 local storage items, will those items be available:

to every web page loaded within Samsung Messenger during that session?
to every web page loaded within Samsung Messenger during later Messenger sessions?
to other apps that use WebView?

Looks like not even a bounty provokes an answer here. What a pity. Does really nobody know?

@Izzy Wow... besides you and me, currently only 66 views, even with a bounty.

Nobody interested in privacy (or in Webview) it seems. Sad. Great question btw, I'd loved to have the answer! Was hoping for Dan here to be honest :) And yes, sad not even the bounty was able to draw more attention…


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Changing a watsapp group name
I changed a watsapp group name and then back again to the original name. will everyone get notified of the changed name I didnt use?
Its just a work group and Im mortified.

Yes, Every member of the group will be notified when you change(s):
• Group Name
• Group Description
• Group Icon


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Unidentified files stored as Facebook cache
I found several large files stored as Facebook cache in the emulated path.
277_428_10_0_en_us_1013.0,%   is one example of close to 1,000 files. What are they? I believe I have had a my phone to have been ha ked or tapped by an ex-boyfriend and when I try to open these files it says I don't have they ability to open theses audio files. I have found several other hidden audio and video recordings he made secretly and these files make . E extremely nervous. Please can you help me?

Usually, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc cache files on a device so that the next time you view a picture or video, it is not fetch because it is already on the device. Try changing some of the files to have .jpg or .mp4 extensions, then open them.

Your question is vague..

Open Settings
Open Apps
Look through your apps and try to identify any suspicious applications
Open Google Settings
Open Google Play Protect
Scan your device for any potential threats
Using a RAT ( Remote Access Tool ) without permission is highly illegal and constitutes as invasion of privacy along with many others.

You should probably back up all your pictures and files you'd like to keep and do a factory reset ... After factory reset, reinstall your apps from the Play Store and put your files back on it.... This way you'll eliminate any hidden spyware.
Remember to place a Lock Screen on your device, and don't let your partner or EX partner touch your device again...
The cache files could potentially be used as a form of log, logging your activities online and offline.
In the past I have installed spyware on my partners device ( with her permission ) but I at least made sure she knew it was on, and she knew how to remove it if she wanted too... Maybe if you are going through some trust issues, they should be addressed and openly discussed with your partner.


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Touch screen changing
Can we replace the touchscreen of 5.5-inch size, 720p resolution in a smartphone to the same size but with 1080p resolution touchscreen? Is there any possibility? Or is it not possible? If not why?

It is possible theoretically, but impractical because of some reasons.

Android needs drivers to communicate with the hardware, and because you are replacing a hardware part, the old drivers will refuse to communicate with the new screen in a lot of cases, and you'll probably have to delete these drivers from the kernel source, rewrite these drivers (likely thousands of lines of C code) compile it and flash your new kernel.
The vendor of your device could have modified the way the screen interact with the motherboard. So unless if you are lucky to come upon a higher resolution screen that uses exactly the connection schemes of the old screen, you won't be able to replace it.
Your other hardware are probably not powerful enough to drive the higher resolution.

If you can overcome these difficulties, congratulations, you could replace your touchscreen! :)


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How I can downgrade from U3 to U1 "oreo to nougat"
I want to downgrade my phone from Oreo to Nougat
My phone is Samsung J730F.
But the problem is that Samsung locked the boot-louder.
Can I go back by flashing the phone combination ROM then flash my phone with stock ROM to bypass this lock?
Note: FRP, google account protection is OFF and USB debugging is ON.
And I have rooted the phone and flash it with combination ROM.
My question is what should I do after flashing it combination ROM?
Should I flash stock ROM 4 files or replace only some files?

How I can downgrade from U3 to U1?

The short answer is you cannot. the u# is the bootloader version. The bootloader is protected by rollback protection fuses:
Rollback Prevention (RP)

Rollback Prevention blocks the device from loading or flashing an approved but old version of
  boot components. Old versions of software may contain known vulnerabilities that
  attackers can exploit. Rollback prevention checks the version of the bootloader and kernel
  during both boot and updates, and blocks these processes from continuing if versions are
  unacceptably old. The lowest acceptable version of the bootloader is stored in secure hardware
  fuses when the device is flashed, and the lowest acceptable version of the kernel is stored in the
  bootloader itself. Whenever a vendor-applied update occurs, the lowest acceptable version can
  be incremented in the fuses. Because this value is kept in fuses, it cannot be decremented even
  through physical tampering.
  Rollback Prevention fuses are set at manufacturing time in the Samsung factory to prevent old
  firmware versions from overwriting newer ones.

This is from Samsung technical notes but it is a .pdf Download.
Flashing back to stock will not help either since it an issue with Samsung Knox securities. It will most likely end with a fatal error like:
SW REV. CHECK FAIL(BOOTLOADER) DEVICE: 3, BINARY: 1
Mixing and matching stock firmware files maybe be possible but is an increase risk to bricking your device. If you try I would make sure to have multiple devices or multiple reports of success. Also double check to make sure if a workaround is found that it has not been patched or you have the firmware version it works for.
There might be an exploit to bypass this though I have not seen one for your specific device to downgrade oreo to nougat.
Another possibility could be a custom ROM downgrade to the android version you want that does not downgrade the bootloader.


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Manage file type or application defaults in Android 8
I am using Solid File Explorer to browse my files. Each time I tap an image, it is opened in Google's Photos. I would like to know where this relation is defined in my Android 8.0 and how can I change it (i.e. should I modify  defaults of Solid File Explorer or Google Photos or both)?
I am asking, because both applications defaults' settings doesn't suggest such relation exists:

I.e. Solid File Explorer doesn't open anything by default and Photos opens only some links and no file types. And the "Clear defaults" button is disabled in both cases. So, I am a little bit stumbled on how does my Android 8.0 know that it should open images in Photos and how can I change it.
Both questions that I've read so far (this and this) are seven years old and covers a very old version of Android. So brings no help here.

Related: this is how a file is opened on Android


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Open file on tablet from smartphone
How do I view the files on my tablet from my phone? Do I have to connect wirelessly? I am working on a translation and would like to see the original on one tablet and the file I'm working on on the smartphone or other tablet.
Do I need an app or is this service part of the OS? I would like to just use Bluetooth.
Thanks.

Do you want to see from phone the files on tablet or some translation app running on tablet?

You can create an FTP server on your tablet, then connect your phone via a browser to your tablet.
Download an FTP server via Google Play Store. I use FTP Server - Multiple FTP users for the demonstration below, however you are free to use other apps of your liking.

Enable WiFi hotspot on your tablet. Connect the phone to the WIFI hostpot.
Open the app, click on User management. Create a new user. Add the name, username and password. Click Add new, select the path of files that can be accessed via FTP (SD card, internal storage, etc). Click OK. (If you don't want to create a user, you can just enable Anonymous and add the path to your files).

Click Home, then Start.

Open a browser on your phone, enter the URL of the FTP server as seen on the image above. You will then be able to view the files stored on the tablet from the phone.


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Multitasking more than 2 apps?
Is there any way to run more than 2 apps side by side? Preferably on a Mi Pad 4 tablet in landscape.
I'm only really looking towards a Xiaomi device since Miui allows input to both apps simultaneously when in split screen, with other devices you need to press on an app to select it and then are able to input, the window that's not selected gets suspended, if that makes any sense.


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How to set data limit to a metered wlan?
For Android 7, we can set a WLAN (wifi connection network) to a metered WLAN, which work similar like a cellular network.
For cellular network, we are able to set data limit.
So, the question is, how do we set data limit to a metered WLAN?

If not supported in your ROM already, you may need a third-party app

Which device/ROM are you using?

@xavier_fakerat Checked my device and could not find an option to set data limit, would like to know which third-party app able to set data limit in general for android 7.x nougat phones. Thanks.


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Google Pixel video camera keeps freezing and audio often doesn't get recorded
I have a Google Pixel running android Pie, and lately I've noticed that when I record video, the video intermittently freezes, and audio also intermittently doesn't get recorded, with an error message informing me that the mic is being used by another app. I've checked and no other app is using the mic. The video camera freezing happens maybe a few times a minute, and each freeze could be a split second up to a couple of seconds.
I've done some informal testing on CPU usage while using the video camera, and the top 2 processes (according to top) are the following:

android.hardware.camera.provider@2.4-service
com.google.android.GoogleCamera

The first uses about 60-75% CPU, and the 2nd uses between 20-30% CPU. Is this normal?
Another possibly related symptom is that taking pictures on my camera is also pretty slow, and it could take a few seconds while I wait for a just-taken picture to be processed before I can use it.
What could be causing the freezing?

Have you installed the December update? That update seems to have fixed a lot of issues with the camera.

Yes I have, it didn't do anything.


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External HDMI Touch screen control for Android
I would like to have an external touchscreen for my smartphone (galaxy S8) in order to control it through this screen in my car.
Is the mhl protocol, with basic touchscreen (like capacitive 7 inch) works or do i need to do something different ?
Thx !

I thought HDMI was about audio and video only?

No, for exemple i can use it for Rpi or for the ODroid XU4 through hdmi.

Can you link to the RPi example. All I've found is that a touchscreen connects to the DSI port on the RPi which Android devices DO NOT have.

Ah, you're right...it needs usb too. So how can i do it like this : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sikJ_GhwxPw ? So displaying is ok but now i need to send command for the touch control...


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MP3 Used to play in WhatsApp, now Podcast Addict wants to play it
Because my front mic don't work, I have to create an MP3 from the back mic, and send it in a Whatsapp message.
Sometimes I would click it to play it back myself.
It played in Whatsapp just fine.
Then I installed Podcast addict and now when I click on the MP3 in
Whatsapp, it opens Podcast addict and wants to play there.
I could not find where permissions got changed.
I want to keep Podcast Addict, but I want an MP3 that is in Whatsapp
to play in Whatsapp.
Any ideas would be appreciated.
Thanks

Go to the newly installed apps preference in settings, their will be a "set to default" kind of section.
Reset this for the new app.
This will reset defaults without removing the app, now you can open mp3 in your preferred application.

In 'About' Section I found 'Reset to Defaults'.  That did not work.


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How can i stop Android OS updare after tapping "INSTALL OVERNIGHT"
So I'm running Android 6.0.1 and i don't want to update it, but when the notification popped up, i accidentally tapped "INSTALL OVERNIGHT", being 2AM to 5AM tomorrow. Is there anyway I could stop it? PLEASE HELP THANKS!

Would you please add what is your device brand ?

Yes, there is an app or settings dedicated to handle OTA updates by visiting that app/settings one could easily choose to install now/schedule installation time/install later option.
This app/settings may vary brand to brand. So, there are all possible ways:

Open Settings-About Phone-Software Update.
Open Settings-Software Update.
Open dedicated app from app drawer( app name vary from brand to brand e.g. Updater in Xiaomi).

If in case homepage of the app doesn't show you any of the above written option. Please tap 3 dots on the upper right corner of the screen, there you will see options and choose accordingly.


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Does installing GApps save space compared to PlayStore install?
I am about to clean-install a Lineage ROM on my Android and I want to maximize the internal storage space left for the apps I want.
What I understand so far is:

The GApps package will reside in  the /system read-only partition.
Updates of apps from the GApps package will reside in the user partition.
Apps installed via the Play Store will reside in the user partition.

I see the two following options:

Install a lean GApps package (e.g. OpenGApps pico) and then install the apps I want from Google's Play Store.
Install a GApps package which includes additional apps (e.g. OpenGApps mini).

Question 1: Is there a drawback to making the /system partition as full as possible by selecting the biggest fitting GApps package?
Question 2: If I need some Google apps such as Maps and YouTube, which option maximizes the space left available to install other apps, updates and user data?
Additional information:

The device is a Motorola G 2015 (osprey) with 8Gb internal storage.
When comparing the difference between the mini and pico packages, the only apps I need from the mini package not included in the pico package are Maps and Youtube, all the rest is useless to me.
I can get the most recent OpenGApps package and it's ok for me to disable the update of apps such as Maps and Youtube if it results in more available user data space. (My aim is to extend the lifetime of my device by avoiding the lack of internal memory.)
I saw this StackExchange answer, but it didn't answer my question well enough.

If you don't need the whole biggest GApps package, don't install it. Active and disabled apps occupy /data space for their ART cache, so installing the biggest package for just a few apps is a waste of space.

Question 1: Is there a drawback to making the /system partition as full as possible by selecting the biggest fitting GApps package?

Whether you install the smallest or largest version of GApps, /system partition will remain the same, unaffected in term of its size. The partition size is fixed for the device by the manufacturer (Yes, if you are rooted it is possible to re-size the partition but it is not recommended).

Question 2: If I need some Google apps such as Maps and YouTube, which option maximizes the space left available to install other apps, updates and user data?

When you install GApps from the recovery, they will be installed as system apps under /system partition. Then when you start your device, their data will be under /data partition as any other apps. Subsequent update and usage may (will) increase their sizes on the /data partition while /system will be same. Making new version or updates part of /system partition will allow to recoup some space from the /data partition.
If you need Maps and Youtube, install GApps mini, then disable/uninstall apps that are not part of the pico or nano packages.

Are you sure the GApps are not installed into the system partition? AFAIR the last time I used GApps (install via TWRP) they were at least partially installed to the system partition and further updates will be installed to the user data partition.

@Robert Yes, they are installed on the system partition. If I have not been cleared enough, please let me know so I can modify the answer (see answer to Question 2).

@Robert See edit.

Thanks now I got what you mean.

whats the os version?
install gapps from this site: OpenGapps
mini installs to the system partition, if the rom version is higher than 8.0 (android version) is (the most times) the system partition smaller
try first gapps mini, if you get a error try pico
(sorry for my bad english)

Instead of "mini" I would recommend "micro" as it contains everything you need that can't be installed from Play Store. Therefore it gains you the full flexibility with the smallest footprint as you only install those apps you really want.


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How to load URLs in a separate browser from within Samsung Messenger?
In Samsung Messenger, if an SMS message includes a URL, clicking on that URL seems to always load the website in Android System WebView.
Is there a way to specify which external browser app to use to load these URLs?

I was also looking for the same but literally there is no such option.
However, what Samsung's Official site suggests to do it, is:

If you would prefer to use another browser as default from the messaging app - you can try searching the Google Play Store to download another messaging application. The Android Messages app, for example, defaults to open links in the Chrome browser.

Source: https://www.samsung.com/au/support/mobile-devices/about-the-new-in-app-browser/


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App says its uninstalled but I can't reinstall it
I downloaded minecraft from the Amazon appstore and installed it to my sd card. My brother removed my sd card, formatted it, and put it back in as a prank. Minecraft said it was still installed, so I uninstalled it. I tried to reinstall it through the Amazon appstore, but the only option was to open the app, which didn't exist. I waited for an update to roll out and clicked the update button. Every time I do this, as soon as i click update the Amazon app crashes. I've checked in the apps section in settings, I've uninstalled and reinstalled Amazon appstore, and I've even tried clearing the data of the app. None of this works.

Try through cmd line
adb install -r yourapp.apk


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Free up space by only deleting older photos past a chosen date
Google photos app has a "free up space" option where it will delete all photos that have been already backed up to Google photos from the local device folders.
The problem with this is that the recent photos I need can be accessed faster so long as they are on the local device. Eg. No internet access needed unlike from Google photos.
Is there a way to only delete those photos (which have been backed up to Google photos) but are older than a certain date?
That way, say, photos more than a month old can be deleted ( this freeing up space) but the current photos stay available on the device  for me to use easily.
Any way to achieve this?

Have you looked into using an adb command for this yet? You could author a shell command like this one: https://www.howtogeek.com/howto/ubuntu/delete-files-older-than-x-days-on-linux/

I suppose you could make a point of connecting your Android to your computer and sitting down monthly to delete everything over a month old. This isn't the automated solution you or I would hope for, and maybe you've already rejected it as a bit too fiddly long-term, but it's the good enough one I'm using until I find something better.

Thanks! But that doesn't achieve the goal. It will back up all photos to date while I want it to leave the most recent say 60 days on the device. I don't mind a manual solution but  I want to have the convenience of retaining the recent photos on the device

Connect you phone to the computer via USB cable and use your favorite files management tool.

I've been using an Android app for 4+ years called Sweet Home WiFi Picture Backup that provides this functionality-- copies pictures to NAS, then allows delete if older than 3 months, but only after confirming the pictures exist on NAS.
However, recently, I've found that the photos on phone are not actually getting deleted (appears the app sees them as deleted, but the Android OS and file explorer show them as still there). Your mileage may vary.

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts! If you have another question, please ask it by clicking the Ask Question button.


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Disabling sms delivery report globally in android
I know we can enable/disable the sms delivery report in the messaging app.
But is it possible to disable it for all apps?
I use an app that sends sms to control a device and I guess it's using the delivery report and does not have anything in its settings to disable the usage of the delivery report, which gets charged additionally by the mobile operator. I would like to be able to deny the app to use the sms delivery report by using android settings or some additional tool(s).

well, I guess my problem was solved by contacting the operator and disabling the reports on the operator side. But this question might still be useful for users who would  like to control the delivery reports per-app, I think.

What android version are you using?

Currently - 5.1.1., but a universal solution would be more beneficial, because people change devices and android versions sometimes.

The path to a possible solution maybe different per android version and/or device manufacturer. One thing may be revoke sms permissions of the app.

Well, I will not be able to test that anymore, sorry. Since the reports are blocked by the operator.


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Disable star button in chrome address bar
On some websites the chrome browser on Android shoes an icon with an open circle and some stars

Is there any way to remove this?


text:
Galaxy J3 Wi-Fi issues (Android 8.0.0)
Expected functionality:
Wi-Fi works.
Actual functionality:
Wi-Fi sometimes connects and works fine. Other times, it will say "Internet connection may not be available." Sometimes it will say "Connected." but then the Internet won't actually work. It's not the signal range because there are 3 or 4 bars. My laptop in the same room connects to the Internet via Wi-Fi correctly.
I have tried:
Resetting network settings,
Setting static information and not DHCP.
It's a brand new phone.

Most probably this will be because of service providers issue, not from your phone.
I have seen this kind of behaviour mostly from jio network in India.
And all other network providers also now a days having this network glitches because of many criteria like tight fights in business, many changes in telecom regulations etc.,
Suggestion that I can give is place your phone in some good position where signal is best.
And you can ask your neighbors with same network if they are having internet speed issue.


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My phone is stuck In Twrp Mode And Touch is not working in this mode. And i am not normally booting. Please Guide?
I wanted to root my Samsung Galaxy S4 And flash a rom but when i installed a TWRP recovery its touch is not working at all.Only power button works which turn off the screen.How can i exit from it? or How can i flash another Twrp whose touch is working.?

Open back cover and pull out your battery?

I had the same issue a few years back,
After looking everywhere and not finding a solution I felt like an imbecile when I realised what to do, so be prepared ... >_<
I used an OTG Cable and a USB mouse and everything worked fine :)
I was porting TWRP to my device and accidentally set the screen rotation the wrong way, It is still the wrong way with a mouse but a lot easier to navigate.

What cable did you use? I'm in the same situation stuck in TWRP, broken screen, but nothing will register. I've tried Logitech USB keyboard, mouse/ wired mouse keyboard, nothing.


text:
How can I archive old contacts out of My Contacts?
On an Android (6.0), how can I archive old Google contacts where they do not show up in my contacts but they are listed in either:

the google contacts website under other contacts
archived in another app/cloud storage securely.

Ideally moving them from the archive to my contacts list would be doable from a mobile app, or the archive service would have a mobile website where they are accessible.
To clarify: I don't want to delete them forever or be inaccessible on mobile.

Just with one account also you can achieve this.

In contacts app, go to menu and create a new label like "Archive"
Tap on label and add contacts.
From menu go to settings, and in "contacts to display" select customized, and expand your google account, now here all labels will be shown. Select all labels except Archive.

Now contacts moved to Archive label will not be shown in list.

Good idea. I never thought of this!

I wish you had a similar answer for bookmarks. Those old bookmarks are cluttering up my Android chrome.

For bookmarks in Android chrome, we only have folder segregation. Edit bookmarks and move to separate bookmark folders to avoid cluttering up.

Is this answer still valid? In my "Customize view" if I select the top checkbox which is "My Contacts" then all contacts are shown. It seems like I need to do the inverse: create a label for the ones I want shown and only select it, which is annoying.

Normally when you expand your Google account in customized view, then selecting account itself will select all labels. Then just uncheck Archive or label which you don't want to see. This way you need to move only which you do not want to see.

And now a days almost every phone, even stock app gives block options. So all the disturbing ads & callers just block directly from call app, instead using labels for them.

Tip: Using a computer may make it easier to do this. However, you can also do it on a mobile browser.

In your mobile phone, make sure you have synced your contact list to Google Contacts.
Open "Google Contacts" at https://contacts.google.com/ preferably on a desktop or laptop.
Select any one contact by clicking the checkbox.
Open the "Selection actions" menu in the header toolbar and click "All".
Go through your contact list and de-select the contacts you want to keep. The checkbox must be cleared for those contacts.
For the remaining contacts that are still checked, you are going to archive them. Click the three dots icon in the menu and click "Hide from contacts". (This will move them into the "Other contacts" list.)
In your mobile phone, check the sync to make sure the archived contacts have disappeared from the phone's contact list.

If you wish to add any contact back, just search for it in the "Google Contacts" website. Select the contact under "Other contacts" and click "Add to contacts". This will bring the contact back into your phone's contact list.

For access in mobile, you can visit the same website in your mobile browser. That way you can still search for archived contacts, and add them back if necessary, without cluttering your phonebook.

I have found one solution: have multiple accounts, your primary and backup/archive. Use the new Google contacts app to bulk select and move the contacts to the archive account. Then set either contacts app, either the stock app or the new cloud one, to only show the primary contacts. But Karthiks answer above is better.

I like this one more than the other; moving old contacts to a separate archive account and then removing the archive account makes it easy to prevent messengers such as WhatsApp from uploading the old, archived contacts.


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Recover corrupted photos from sd card
I copied all my photos on a fake sd card I bought on the internet. Now my photos are almost all greyed out. Is it possible to recover them or at leat recover the thumbnails since they are not greyed out?

If you didn't use Cut or Move to put the images on your SD card: format it and get a refund, if you can.

Unfortunately, no.
Many fake SD cards on the Internet are usually a low-capacity card (for example, 8GB) with modified firmware to say something much higher (like 512GB). When it reaches the actual storage capacity, it always overwrites old data (by repeatedly writing to the last few MB of actual capacity) or stops recording new data.
Because of that, when you exceed the real capacity of the SD card, you risk losing data unrecoverably - even recovery programs like PhotoRec can't recover them.
You can still see the thumbnails correctly because your computer or phone cached the thumbnails before you copied the images.
If you only copied the images (didn't move or cut them), your photos are fine. If you moved (or cut) the images, try:

Moving all the images that aren't corrupt off of the SD card.
Take screenshots of the thumbnails of the ones that became corrupt (it is a very long and tedious process (and the resulting images will have a much lower resolution compared to the originals) but can recover the images.

Hope my edit doesn't conflict!


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Flash OS firmware on an OS corrupted device via TWRP
I have a big issue: I got 2 units of the Android TV device called "Stream+" sold by Channel Master, manifactured by Technicolor (https://www.channelmaster.com/Stream_OTA_DVR_p/cm-7600.htm)
One is perfectly working.
The other one has the OS files completely corrupted and does not even allow me to complete a factory reset successfully (and that's out of warrancy as well, so I have to fix by myself).
All it does when is switched on is showing a welcome logo, then attempts to load the OS but stays stuck forever, freezed in a black screen.
The following is the menu with the options shown when I load it on recovery mode: https://images2.imgbox.com/c9/0e/E947NI4Z_o.jpg
What I want to ask is...
Can I use TWRP to flash a copy of the OS Firmware from the device 1 (the fully working one) and then flash the defective one with it?
Defective one, as said, DOES NOT load the OS, all I can do is using one of the options shown in the above pic.
Have I got any chances to solve this through TWRP? (Or anything else)

First question is: Does a TWRP build for your device exist? If not, the answer is a clear no for TWRP of course. You could flash a ROM via that recovery (at least the official one, if the manufacturer offers the images) via ADB or USB. You could even perform a factory reset from there ("Wipe data"). I'd at least try first whether "wipe cache" helps; sometimes a broken file in cache has the strangest effects.

No idea if a TWRP build for my device exists, i doubt it does. That's why i asked if i can create one from my working device. As for your advice regarding factory reset wipe data and wipe cache, tried already but it still doesnt solve my problem, system boots, shows logo, then gets freezed on black screen forever (after goes in freeze status, even all buttons like reset etc get freezed, forcing me to unplug the device from AC).

There is a "TWRP builder" somewhere. I've never tried it, so I can neither tell what is needed to use it nor how it works. AFAIR it analyses your stock recovery and builds based on that.

I've just found its own firmware. It's a .tlayer file tho. Never saw such extension before. Any idea how to flash it to the device? Put the .tlayer file in a usb external drive doesn't work. Does probably require to be inserted in a folder renamed 'update'? Or maybe other files are missing...no idea...

Me neither. Should be some info where you found that image, or in the manufacturers forums.

https://www.androidcentral.com/10-basic-terminal-commands-you-should-know
this is a starting point to flash twrp or a custom rom using the Android Debug Bridge  ADB
Look for a utube how to install ADB and fastboot for your pc . Then when u have adb command window open connect usb to device & use
 1. The adb devices command  which is    "adb devices"
do this first before down loading any of the sdk package as you need to know if your pc can recognize your device.
you could also use somthing like this for the type of device you have this only works for samsung but there are others for different manufactures
https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjz65GBkaneAhWlhKYKHaTHBuQQwqsBMAN6BAgDEAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DJv538rOL5p0&usg=AOvVaw3bIUhWGgbgikQiD3eBUfG1
hope this points you in right direction

Thanks a lot for your precious reply, but it lacks the first needed part: how am I supposed to create an exact image of my working device, and then, how can I flash the defective device which can't be booted so I cant grant usb debug access nor install TWRP?


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Which process is preventing me using Wifi?
I have a TV box provided by ISP (also TV channels provider), which has Android 4.4.4 Linux kernel 3.10.23. (I have root already)
It uses PPPoE to get a network so can receive TV stream, but this network has no Internet.
It also has wifi, which only works when PPPoE is down.
I want to make PPPoE and wifi work simultaneously, so get both TV stream and Internet. I did some test and find out there must be some process preventing wifi when PPPoE is on.
I use Linux laptop to setup an AP. I make box connect to AP on box's setting layout, when PPPoE on. I see this on Linux:
ap0: STA 74:97:81:xx:xx:xx IEEE 802.11: authenticated
ap0: STA 74:97:81:xx:xx:xx IEEE 802.11: associated (aid 1)
ap0: AP-STA-CONNECTED 74:97:81:xx:xx:xx
ap0: STA 74:97:81:xx:xx:xx RADIUS: starting accounting session E67960Dxxxxx
dnsmasq-dhcp: DHCPDISCOVER(ap0) 74:97:81:xx:xx:xx
dnsmasq-dhcp: DHCPOFFER(ap0) 192.168.7.125 74:97:81:xx:xx:xx
dnsmasq-dhcp: DHCPREQUEST(ap0) 192.168.7.125 74:97:81:xx:xx:xx
dnsmasq-dhcp: DHCPACK(ap0) 192.168.7.125 74:97:81:xx:xx:xx FF1004xxxxxx
ap0: AP-STA-DISCONNECTED 74:97:81:xx:xx:xx

Connection sucessfully established, and even box has got IP from DHCP (I also see IP on TV for a very short time). Then soon disconnected.
If I unplug the cable, or turn Ethernet off in box's settings, or set a wrong PPPoE password, the wifi works.
How do I find out which process it preventing wifi?


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tasker read numbers one by one
I am using this task to say loud numbers from SMS:
Variable Section: %SMSRB From 1, Length 6, Store Result in %SMSNUM
Variable Search Replace: %SMSNUM (?!^), Replace Matches, Replace With ,
Variable Split: %SMSNUM, Splitter ,
Say: %SMSNUM(1), Pitch 5, Speed 6, Respect Audio Focus
Say: %SMSNUM(2), Pitch 5, Speed 6, Respect Audio Focus
Say: %SMSNUM(3), Pitch 5, Speed 6, Respect Audio Focus
Say: %SMSNUM(4), Pitch 5, Speed 6, Respect Audio Focus
Say: %SMSNUM(5), Pitch 5, Speed 6, Respect Audio Focus
Say: %SMSNUM(6), Pitch 5, Speed 6, Respect Audio Focus

It's working and my question is if there is more elegant way how to read number from SMS. If I wouldn't split it, it'll automatically read number as whole (thousands, hundreds, etc ..) and I want to have number read/said one by one. Also, I've noticed that there are pauses between numbers and I cannot find why, can it be configured ?


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Annotate HTML files without editing raw HTML
I would like to add annotations (highlights and notes) to HTML files saved on my Android phone, without having to edit the raw HTML. How can I do this?

First convert the HTML file to a PDF file, using a conversion app like Convert web to PDF. Then annotate the PDF file using a PDF app that supports adding and editing annotations, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader.


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How to change clocks position in Android 6.0
I have a quite simple problem: my screen is partially broken so I don't see clocks in it's default position, it looks like 13.XX and I don't see XX because screen is just black there.
So I want to change clocks position to be bottom-docked. I recall I did it in android 2.X several years ago, but I wasn't able to find this option in Android 6.0. It only allows me to change clock type, but doesn't have any options to change its position on the lock screen.
Is there any solutions for this?

press and hold on digital clock's(hour's position) visible portion and drag it to bottom. have you checked that?

It just unlocks the phone

Just for clarification: Are you speaking about the time displayed in the notification bar – or about a widget on your home screen? Guess Rahul assumed the latter but you mean the former. Or something altogether.

Yes @Izzy, my comment is for clock widget at home screen. And, yes he asked for lock screen clock. I think, it required to install some third party app/root to edit lock screen elements. Alex, please mention your device name on your question.

@RahulGopi I doubt that. Because, it cannot "unlock the phone" as it already must have been unlocked to press-and-hold that. And to confirm, from the question text: "position on the lock screen" means "lock screen", not "home screen".

Well, if you're phone comes with an AOSP(stock android) rom, you probably wont be able to change your clock position. And android 6.0 doesn't allow that. You need to root your phone in order to change your clock position. Or you can install a custom rom in your device. And of course, rooting your phone will void your phones warranty.

I'm talking about lock screen clock on Sony D5803

First you need to unlock your phones bootloader. You can find the full guide in google.(please search "how to unlock bootloader of " and note that, unlocking bootloader will wipe all your data)
Then you need to download a suitable TWRP/Philz custom recovery for your phone. Or you may need to port one yourself.
Now flash the new custom recovery to your phone. You can use a flashing tool or adb to flash it.
Download SuperSU.zip and flash it via your custom recovery.
To check if your phone is successfully rooted, download root checker from play store. And you'll find a new app in your phone named "SuperSU" if your phone is rooted.
Now you can use "Gravity Box" or some "Xposed Framework" to change your clock position.

If you don't understand any point, please tell me your phones full model, I'll try to provide you a full details guide.
And Please don't mind my English. I'm not that good at it.


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Can't unlock my phones bootloader
I'm using a local branded chinese phone. And my phones comes with locked bootloader. As it is a local branded phone, manufacture doesn't provide a official way to unlock it! I've tried many way I found in Google. but non of them work. It always ended up like the picture. Can anyone help me unlocking my phones bootloader?

Does it have an MTK (Mediatek) chipset? They are often supported by SP Flash Tools as fastboot commands don't work with them for some reason (may be they don't support that protocol). Try that tool and flash the images you want (be careful; take backup beforehand; always flash compatible images).

Yes, it's mt6580 chipset. And I've already tried to flash TWRP using  SP Flash Tool, but it always shows some error.

@Firelord i'm getting "BROM ERROR: S_BROM_DOWNLOAD_DA_FAIL (2004)" error. Any idea how can i fix this??

are you using the correct scatter file?

Yes. Every img file in my stock rom(boot, cache, system erc) was signed. So I needed to unsign recovery.img in order to port TWRP. And now when I'm putting the TWRP in my stock rom folder and trying to flash it via SP Flash Tool, there is a new error poping up. It says, 'ERROR: S_SECURITY_SECURE_USB_DL_IMAGE_SIGN_HEADER_NOT_FOUND (6045), MSP ERROR CODE: 0×00' I tried to edit Checksum.ini and also deleted it. But nothing works!


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Is my battery damaged?
I have an HTC 10 running stock Oreo with Sense, not rooted and S-ON. I bought this second hand and don't know whether the issue came up as the phone was upgraded to Oreo, or whether it had always been an issue (which would solve my case).
The issue is that the battery seems to work fine, although mobile network standby appears to take an uncomfortably large amount of power, however when it gets to a lower percentage, it shuts off unexpectedly then bootloops when you try to turn it on again. When you plug it in, it shows that the battery is at about 1%, but in a matter of minutes, it charges up to around 40% - this is on a 1mA 5V charger - and then proceeds to charge normally.
I can temporarily solve the issue by calibrating my battery, and that makes the mobile network standby drop back to normal, and my battery works fine, and the phone shuts down as expected when it reaches 0%. The problem is that the next time I charge the battery, no matter whether I charge it from nothing to 100% or from 65% to 85%, the problem gradually comes back, and I have to once again drain my battery to calibrate it properly, then wait for it to charge up to 100%.
I've heard online that many other HTC 10 owners have experienced similar issues with their device, but the fixes only work for some people sometimes, so this could easily be a software issue or a problem with the battery itself. Which is it?

Pretty much.
Smart phone batteries last around two years of normal use. Once the 80% capacity is hit, batteries lose their charge quickly.
Even worse, the voltage decreases which causes unexpected shutdowns. Apple tried to solve low voltage with throttling but never informed the customer. Apple is now hit with plan obsolesce lawsuits.

https://qnovo.com/what-happens-after-80-percent/
https://www.businessinsider.com/how-apple-slows-down-iphones-old-batteries-explained-2017-12
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208387


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Prevent uninstall app - Honor 6A
After some research, I can't prevent apps to be uninstalled on my phone - Honor 6A.
When an app will be uninstalled, I would want a pop-up with a password.
I see a lot of app which can do this feature, but it doesn't work on my phone.
I've done the authorization on settings/security/usage access for the app i want to protect, but it doesn't work.
It looks like the phone Honor 6A have something to block this feature.
Do you know this problem and can you help me to solve it ?
Thanks.

What would be the usage scenario? Only users can uninstall apps, therefore if you decide to uninstall an app you can also enter the password. You hand your device away to a different person cerate a separate Android user account and switch to it.


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How to disabled Viber running without uninstalling it?
How do I stop Viber running, without uninstalling the app? When I go Menu→More options→Exit it just comes back. I want it to turn it off completely, so it's not waiting to come on in the background.

Please do not copy paste questions. If the existing answers do not work, earn some reputation points and offer a bounty on the original question. Visit [help] to know more.


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Wrong date stored when taking a screenshot
I have a Galaxy Nexus running CyanogenMod 10.2.1 (IIRC that's the last official stable version released). Beside both being quite old they're working for years without any big issue, but yesterday I found something strange: since sometime between 2019-01-02T21:38:35-0300 and 2019-01-03T08:47:13-0300 it started storing wrong dates from screenshot creation times like this:

It's quite easy to understand how it's getting this weird date: it's taking the Unix timestamp and multiplying it by 1000. I tried to track down the issue by checking the source code: there was a change on GlobalScreenshot.java some years ago, although it don't explains why this bug started happening just now.
By now I only saw screenshots with the wrong date, so in the best case it will not cause issues to apps or other parts of the system. It's also not causing issues when synchronizing files using MTP (beside the date being something like "29 November, 1983").
Is it similar to the Y2K problem? Should I worry about this? If I should what can I do?

Can you pull one of the screenshot files to your computer and inspect the file info?  Is the "created time" information what you expect there?

@CzarMatt Using MTP: https://i.imgur.com/W9s6ZXE.png The file name contains the timestamp of when I took the screenshot, created and accessed dates were the ones when I pulled the file and the modified date is bugged.


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I have a Blutooth Keyboard connected with my Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro, and the Keyboard works, but I dont want the on screen keyboard
I have a Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro, and recently bought a blutooth keyboard for it. They keyboard works, but whenever i click on the area that i want to type something, the on screen keyboard shows up, and i cant use the blutooth one. How do i disable the screen keyboard and only use the blutooth one. Thanks!

You can install and select different keyboard apps from Play Store. Some of them only have a few or even no key(s). Therefore this should be the way to go.
An alternative would be deinstall all keyboard apps, however this is dangerous as there may be situations where the Bluetooth keyboard does not work and you have to enter a password to unlock the device but without keyboard app this won't work.

Open Settings, search for Show virtual keyboard. Disable it.


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Incredibly low performance of Contacts app in Moto Z / Android 8
My 4 GB/64 GB/8 core Moto Z2 is incredibly slow when it comes to built in Contacts app. I.e.:

it requires at least 3-4 seconds to open it up,
it needs at least 2-3 seconds to exchange phone numbers with corresponding contacts in dial log.

It has nothing to do with the battery charge (happens all the time, on charge level between 10-100%) and has also nothing to do with overall system performance (both system and all other apps are working as fast as possible / expected; Contacts is the only problematic application).
I have 95 applications installed. None of them are performance-hungry and many system services (i.e. Google+, Google Assistant, YouTube, Google Drive, Google Play Music / Movies, Photos, etc.) disabled, because I am not using them.
Is there anything I can do to fix this problem (except for replacing Contacts with something else)?

Are you having a tremendous number of contacts?

Define "tremendous"? :> 285 doesn't sound like "that much", am I correct?


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Termus/Python - How to mark unread SMS messages as read?
I made a simple SMS reader script with Python and Termux/Termux API (I use termux-tts-speak to read the messagees and execute the script from Termux). The script reads messages (with termux-sms-list) marked as unread. So I want to mark the messages as read after they are read by the script. How can I do this?


text:
Whatsapp Admin Messages
Is it possible to delete the messages that come up in group admin with a blue background showing admin activity?  e.g: date, admin added phone no/name, or someone left.  When you tap and hold these messages you just get 'Message ...'
    'Voice call ...'
    'Video call ...'
I have streams of these messages on my phone from various groups and would like to get rid of them.  I have asked google several times and this site seems my best bet.

its not possible to delete notification messages

You can't delete them individually, but deleting the whole chat is a solution.


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How can I modify serial number on an off brand tablet?
I am trying to connect to a tablet with Android Studio.  The tablet is a Fusion5 Tablet F704B.  It's a low cost tablet with Oreo 8.1 OS.  I only have this tablet connected to my PC.   Android Studio does show 1 connected device, but it is labeled only as "Unknown"

When I hit the run app button in Android Studio, the gradle builds fine and then I see a "Error Installing APK"

I do more debug and run "adb devices" I see:

Note:  On the tablet, I do have developer mode enabled and have USB Debugging enabled.  I have tried USB Configuration to Charging, MTP, PTP, and USB Ethernet and nothing allowed allowed adb devices to see the tablet serial number.  I have also tried Multiple USB cables to connect the tablet, and that did allow the tablet serial number to be shown.  I have also connected other tablets I own, and they all show a serial number correctly.  I can run my app via android studio on 4 other tablets that I own.  Just not on this Fusion5 tablet.
I believe the lack of a serial number in this Fusion5 tablet is causing my issue with Android Studio.  After some research, I found that the serial number is contained in the tablet OS at /sys/class/android_usb/android0/iSerial.  This file needs root access to edit.  Using "adb shell", I can navigate to the directory, but can't view the file contents without root access.  I believe the file is has no content.  I believe this because the value iSerial shows as blank when I do a "lsusb -v" on my computer.
I have spent many hours researching how to give my tablet root access, but the first step involves loading the TWRP recovery image.  The twrp recovery images exist for many phones/tablets, but not for this odd offbrand cheap tablet.
I have also tried to bypass TWRP and perform an adp sideload , but fails with the default recovery routine that comes with my tablet.
Does anyone know of a way to edit the serial number field without root access?
Or is there some other clever way to get me root access I am missing?

Here is a way to change the Serial Number on an MTK device Change Wifi , BT , IMEI , Serial Number of any mtk android phone. I haven't tried this yet. If you try it please let us know how it went.

Maybe this can be helpful: https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/209020/serial-number-got-changed-after-factory-reset


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Not receiving notifications on dual WhatsApp on Samsung Note8
I have two instances of WhatsApp on my Note8. When I receive a message on my primary WhatsApp, I get notifications instantly as normal. However, on my dual WhatsApp, I don't get notifications unless I open the app.
Sometimes, I get notifications come in all of a sudden as if the app has come alive and checked, but this is not consistent with the primary app.
I've gone to Settings->Notifications and there is only one 'WhatsApp' app listed and notifications are enabled. However, this cannot be where the issue is as the notifications are fine for the primary app, just not the dual app.
If I go to Settings->Apps, then here I do see both instances listed. And notifications are enabled for both. I've also checked the Mobile data settings for both, and they both have Allow background data usage enabled. I am not using Data saver.
The only thing I've not tried is disabling Optimise battery usage for WhatsApp as this seems to be for both instances of the app, not either. But other than that possibility, I'm stumped. Any ideas welcomed.

Do you have two sims?

@RohitGupta Of course. But this is no longer an issue as this was nearly 4 years ago. I have a Samsung Z Fold3 now which handles dual messengers much better, possibly owing to later versions of Android and/or WhatsApp. It was probably due to the power saving settings of the apps.

I think your phone power saving app is putting a dual messenger app to sleep. so please check that it's not in sleep app list.

I had problems with getting notifications for my dual Viber app and it seems that by default they are turned off.
So, you need to go to Notifications > Advanced and there you could find and manage your dual messenger's notifications.

I'm not sure that the path will be the same for your device but for the record I'm using Samsung Galaxy S7 with Android 8.0.0 on it.
Maybe that could help you with the issue.


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Bug: Oreo keeps changing the notification sound for all apps instead of just one
When I try to change the notification sound for an app (e.g.: WhatsApp), Oreo (Android 8) sets the new sound as the default notification sound (changes the default notification sound for the device). What should I do to surpass this problem?
I have already tried a hard reset.

Please do not post duplicate questions.

Ok, Firelord. How do I bump up the question instead?

You can edit it with new details or fix it if there are some errors in it. Editing bumps it. You can also earn some reputation points here by answering or editing  other users' posts. Once you get 75 points, you'd be able to start a bounty on your post to highlight it to other users for a week. I suggest you follow our [help] for more info.


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Use bluetooth music system to play sound of phone calls
I have an Xiaomi Pocophone F1 with Android 9. Its currently unrooted but I would not hesitate to root it, if considered neccessary.
I have music systems capable to play music over bluetooth. Think of bluetooth headphones (without microphones!) for example. Unsurprisingly, they provide a much better sound quality than my phone's loudspeakers.
When I make/receive phone calls, I would like to play the sound using these music systems but still speak into the phone's microphone. Could anyone please hint me how this can be achieved.

Mayve an app like SoundAbout can do that (this app tells the system where to route which audio to).

I saw that mentioned in some german forum too (https://www.android-hilfe.de/forum/android-allgemein.20/telefon-audio-ueber-bluetooth-schicken.790408.html). Unfortunately, seems to be abandoned; the recent version is from 2016 and does not start on my device.

I didn't encounter any replacement yet. I know there was no update since 2016 – but I didn't know it won't even start on Pie, sorry.


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Is there a way to make an app executable only by the system on android?
I'm trying to make an app executable only by the system or by root on android so that when the user tries to open it (for example, by tapping it) he gets permission denied. Is this possible on a rooted android device?

Do you have an app which you want to modify for your goal or do you want to develop one? Latter is off-topic here.


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USB tethering without a SIM card
Why isn't this allowed? I'd like to use my brother's old phone to get on the Internet. It's the same model as mine (ZTE ZMAX PRO). He just recently passed away, and his last phone is being returned to the carrier.

And if not is there an app that will do it? I've tried a couple but all of them enable via the standard settings, which gets me nowhere.

Possible duplicate https://android.stackexchange.com/q/111456/116800


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Ant+ hardware support broken in Android 9?
Recently, my Xiaomi Mi A1 received an update to Android 9, and since that I figured out that Ant+ is not working anymore (which did work pefectly using Android 8).
Ant Radio tester from the Google playstore says that no built-in ANT was found, the services are all installed correctly however.
First I thought this is a problem only related to this Xiaomi model, but in the meantime I am convinced this must be something related to Android 9, since also users of other brands (including Nokia and other Xiaomi phones) report the same after updating their phones to Android 9.
So the questions simply are:
1.) did Google break Ant+ support in Android 9?
2.) How can this be fixed?

I believe this is the case based on two other devices, a OnePlus 3 that worked before an update to android 9 pie and didn't work afterwards and a Moto g7 power, which came with pie and doesn't work. I've not found any official confirmation or solution yet.


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Android phone fails to communicate using IPv6
I observe the following problem with my Android phone (Sony Xperia XZ, Andoid Oreo 8.0.0)
Though the phone seems to have a correct set of IPV6 addresses it fails to communicate when I use IPV6. the phone works OK using IPV4.
Details
I have about 5 Personal Computers in a LAN which can PING each other via their IPV6 adresses, and communicate via IPV4 and IPV6. I added my Android phone to the same LAN via WIFI/WLAN, at it can communicate via IPV4, but not IPV6.
I have checked the IP setings of the phone, it gets a complete and correct set of IPV4 and IPV6 adresses from the local DHCP server.
To start troubleshooting somewhere, I installed a PING tool on the phone, and found that it can PING any other computer via IPV4, but not via IPV6.
On one of my PCs, I installed Wireshark to see what is happening, and this is what I found, if I PING the IPV6 address of the phone from the PC:
On the pc, I initiate a PING test:
ping [ipv6 address of phone] -6 -n 1

and this is what Wireshark revealed on ethernet level (with my comments):

mobile mac address discovery via multicast

[pc mac] to [33:33:ff:4d:50]: Neighbor Solicitation for [mobiile IPV6] from [pc mac]
[mobile mac] to [pc mac]: Neighbor Advertisement [mobile ipv6]: [mobile mac]

mobile phone mac address resolution success - try to ping

[pc mac] to [mobile mac]: Echo (ping) request

response from phone: try to get PC mac address!" Has heard the PING request!

[mobile mac] to [33:33:ff:f4:fd:12]: Neighbor Solicitation for [pc IPV6] from [mobile mac]

pc responds correctly

[pc mac] to [mobile mac]: Neighbor Advertisement [pc ipv6]: [pc mac]

phone tries same again - has not "heard" the response !?

[mobile mac] to [33:33:ff:f4:fd:12]: Neighbor Solicitation for [pc IPV6] from [mobile mac]

pc again responds correctly

[pc mac] to [mobile mac]: Neighbor Advertisement [pc ipv6]: [pc mac]

3rd retry!

[mobile mac] to [33:33:ff:f4:fd:12]: Neighbor Solicitation for [pc IPV6] from [mobile mac]

pc patiently responds correctly once more

[pc mac] to [mobile mac]: Neighbor Advertisement [pc ipv6]: [pc mac]

This is where the PC gives up and shows a failed PIING error message.
From what I see on the Wireshark trace, the phone fails to pick up the mac address resolution responses, and thus never knows about the Ethernet address of the PC, cannot send a response and and this is why the PING request fails.
Trying the other direction, when I PING from the phone to the PC running Wireshark, not a single packet is captured, seems like the phone doesn't even try.
To me ist seems like the IPV6 stack on the phone is dead, despite that DHCP has worked.
Anyone who has deeper insight into the implementation details of IPv6 on Android who can give me any info how to resolve this?
Thnx, Armin

I don't have knowledge about networking and IPv6 in general, but Android doesn't support DHCPv6 until now, if it's relevant.

I reckon that there is a firewall on your phone preventing the phone from receiving the response message of mac resolution from pc, and probably the firewall levels are different between ipv4 protocol and ipv6 protocol, on ipv6, this level is relative high and block all the ICMP echo request.
The answer above is my assumption, if you totally find a solution. Hope you let me know how to fix it and I have been troubled by this for a period of time until now.

I would, promised, but haven't found a solution. Instead, I have optimized the LAN for IPV4, not what I intended, but it works for me. Btw, I have not installed firewall software on the phone, but a security suite "AVG protection" came bundled with it by Sony. Need to look deeper into that package to see whether a firewall component is included.


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"Weather is running" notification
Running 8.1.0 on a Moto x4: I keep getting this notification:

Weather is running
Tap for more information or to stop the app.

If I tap and Force Stop the Weather app, it comes back before long.

How can I really keep the Weather app from running in the background?
Or, if I want it to run in the background, how can I prevent this notification from constantly appearing?

I'm getting this message, too. On a HTC 12+ I can't delete the app and deactivating it does not stop it from being executed in the background. This is why the message appears for me, too.
Any help would be appreciated.

[How] can I prevent this notification from constantly appearing?

If you long-press that notification you would be given the option to turn off the notifications for that app. Since it is Android Oreo, you may even get the option just to turn off that particular category of notification from Weather app. In Android 9, 10 and 11, you can also change a notification's priority status to "Other" and enable "Minimize" so that they at least become less infuriating and smaller in size, if cannot be hid completely.

If that doesn't work out for you, than I suggest you try MacroDroid. You can detect that notification and clear it automatically and immediately.
Setup MacroDroid and setup permission for "Notification access" and "Modify system settings" in it. Setup a macro with the following details:
Trigger: Device Events → Notification → Notification Received → Select your application:

Text Content: select Contains
Text to enter for match: enter the text from your notification. In your case, it can either be "Weather is running" or "Tap for more information or to stop the app".
uncheck Ignore ongoing notifications
uncheck Prevent multiple triggers

Action: Notification → Clear Notifications → Select your application → fill the details mentioned above verbatim for the notification received.
Constraint: none
The next time the notification would show up, the trigger would automatically fire up the action which would immediately clear the notification.

How can I really keep the Weather app from running in the background?

You can delete the app for your user account (the default user). Know that the only way to reinstall that app again as a system app is to factory reset. Note that removing a system app can cause boot issues, so proceed with caution and backups taken beforehand. However, I suggest you try disabling it first.
Disable the app from your Settings app. This should be enough to prevent the app from executing anything. If you can't disable it or it is not having the desired effect, setup adb and execute:

adb shell pm disable-user PACKAGE_NAME  # disables the app for the current user
adb shell pm enable PACKAGE_NAME        # enables the app for the user, if you must need it again, regardless of how the app was disabled.

This is akin to what you'd have done using Settings app. However, if you're still adamant on uninstalling that app, run:
adb shell pm uninstall --user 0 PACKAGE_NAME

Replace PACAKAGE_NAME with the package name of the troublesome app. To  get help in finding it, see my answer here.

Sorry, have to downvote this. I used to have an identical issue with another app. Long-pressing that notification gives "Android System" as the source app and no way to disable it. Disabling the app might be the only solution AFAIK, but probably unwanted for an OEMA Weather app.

@iBug I didn't really keep my answer limited to disabling it. I have given three solutions. One for disabling the notifications, the other of using MacroDroid and the last one of disabling/deleting it.  None requires root access so they all are open for everyone to try. I see no reason why the downvote should be  based on just one of them.

I found the answer really helpful and detailed! Thanks for that. I uninstalled the app because I didn't want that the positioning system for the weather app can always track me.

@IndexOutOfBoundsException I'm glad to know that it works. :)

Moto Z3 Settings > Apps > Tap on 3 verical dots > Show System > Time & Weather > Uncheck the Time and Weather box


text:
Automatically run Greenify from Macrodroid
As a way to save battery drain, I set up a macro with MacroDroid that does the following:

Trigger: every 2 hours
Action: kill background process, launch Greenify
Constraint: when battery is below 50%

I would like to not only launch Greenify, but also run it and then close automatically. I suppose it is possible to do this within a script, but I absolutely have no idea about this.
Another question is: if I kill background processes, is Greenify redundant?
Relevant information:

Android version: 8.0
Phone model: SONY Xperia XZ2 (default launcher)
Macrodroid version: 3.30.3
Greenify version: 4.3.3.0

Thank you.