text:
How do I get the real file path of an image?
When I look at an image on my phone in the gallery app, it tells me (under details) the path is /phone/Pictures/Messages/imagename.jpg. My native file browser can find this image in that path. A third party file browsing app tells me it's in /storage/emulated/0/Pictures/Messages/imagename.jpg. My computer can find neither of those directories on my phone or SD card, and a search of both for the image name reveals nothing. I'd like to move the images to my phone. How do I find the real file path of this file?

The second one is the technically correct path. The first one, /phone/..., is just the Gallery app simplifying the display and telling you that the folder is in phone storage (instead of external storage).
When connected to the PC using MTP, the root folder is /storage/emulated/0/ (you only see the contents under it), so you should be looking for the part of the path after it, which is Pictures/Messages/imagename.jpg.

Where is /storage? I just see ZTE/phone and ZTE/sdcard and neither have a storage folder inside

Did I not make it clear? /phone stands for /storage/emulated/0, and when you click inside ZTE/phone, you see the contents under it, so you cut this part of the path from what you got previously, leaving only Pictures/Messages/imagename.jpg, which is what you should go for.

There's no Pictures folder. It might just be hidden from my computer; that's happened to be before even though my computer shows all hidden and system files.

You possibly need to reboot the phone for it to show folders and files generated during this boot cycle. That's a downside of MTP.

No, it's still not there.

If still not working, 1) consider copying the file to an easily accessible folder (e.g. just the root folder, /storage/emulated/0) with the phone's file manager, and 2) use adb pull to pull out the file by referencing its full path (i.e. /storage/emulated/0/...). MTP is known to be wonky and hide some folders and files.

Number 1 worked, thanks. I honestly don't know why we use MTP. It seems like an extension of the Windows design philosophy, "the user is an idiot, protect the device from them at all costs"

There are explanations like the one here.

@AndyYan The explanations are reasonable, yet I fail to understand why MTP's tendency to not refresh the browsable data is not considered buggy, and therefore not addressed as such.


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Coolpad 8297l-100 E: failed to verify whole-file signature when updating through rom file?
i am using Coolpad 8297l-100 E now it is getting very slow,not showing gallary i formatted it through settings but issues all remained for that i decided to root using original rome file but it gives error.
Please help me soon to resolve this issue

Why do you want to root? Of the problem is with the ROM, a simple flashing should solve the problem.  Besides, you can't root using ''original rom''! There are many rooting methods

@esQmo_ i tried to flash using rom but is shows whole file signature varifyctaion failed

How did you proceed?

@esQmo_ i downloaded stock rom file from official site then i put it in phone memory and rename it as update.zip then i go recover menu and select the file from sd card when boot

May be it wasn't a recovery flashable zip.

You need acm computer to flash this device

is there is another way?

Sure. I'll post an answer explaining how

If flashing through recovery results in an error, it's probably because the file you are trying to flash is not intended to be flashed via recovery.
In this case, you have to flash using a computer instead.
Coolpad devices need a software called YGDP which will do the job for you.
You also need a CPB firmware.
Instructions on how to use the software can be found here

Thanks for your answer i will surly upvot your answer when i able to upvotw

I'm glad I helped solve your problem

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Why does the screen show vertical lines?
I have a small tablet, but my sibling dropped it. Whenever it is turned on, the screen is just covered in vertical, multicolored lines.
Any ideas?

What kind of help do you expect from us?

Any tips that could possibly make it better

It's probably broken inside. I'd suggest you send it to a service center for checking.

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


text:
What system app handles the screenshots in Lollipop?
When I take a screenshot using Power button + Volume Down, does anyone know which system app deals with taking that screenshot? I need it for a setup I'm doing on my phone (Xperia) but I can't figure it out which it is

SystemUI handles the global screenshot.
SystemUI/src/com/android/systemui/screenshot/GlobalScreenshot.java
SystemUI/src/com/android/systemui/screenshot/TakeScreenshotService.java


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System update notification but system already up-to-date
I've had the Google Pixel XL for over a year now (it's awesome) and I just received a notification to upgrade my OS to 8.1.0. Problem is, I already have 8.1.0 installed. I updated it a couple weeks ago. What is going on here?
This is also not the first time this has happened. I haven't been keeping track of when it's occured, but the same thing happened with 8.0.0 as well as a couple other times. Each time I've just went forward and reinstalled the udpate that I already had.
From what I can tell, there is no way to dismiss the notification and ignore the redundant update. I know that I could disable the system update notifications altogether, but I would like to have them, only just the first one.
This is not a major huge deal, but I'd be curious to know if people have thoughts about this. Thank you.

I don't own a Pixel, but are you sure it's the same update, instead of ones with the same Android version but newer monthly security patches?

Maybe a carrier specific update that comes with their bloat or add ons ? The first one is straight from Google and second is carrier is my guess. Otherwise it shouldn't alert

@AndyYan It has the identical version #, so I assumed it that same. Does Android put out security updates with the same version #? That would be odd, but I guess it could be that. Thanks!

@beeshyams I have Verizon and I don't think they have an OS version for the Pixel, but maybe: https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2016/10/12/13258286/verizon-google-pixel-fast-android-updates. Thanks for input!

You can always check with carrier !

That one you linked is 4 months old

Does Android put out security updates with the same version #?

Yes. Version number changes generally correspond with new features or new APIs. Occasionally it will also be incremented for major bugfixes, but this has been somewhat less common now that Google has tried to increase their release cadence (around Android 6.0-ish or so). Security updates will change the build number, but not the version number. See the list of factory images for your device for an example of this (note all the repeated version numbers, followed by build IDs).

If you go to Settings > System > About phone you can find the "Android version" (circled blue below) and the "Build number" (circled red) of your current system. You can also check the "Android security patch level" on this screen to determine which security update you've received. They generally occur during the first week or so of each month, and they are outlined in the monthly security bulletins. Most likely you're receiving a notification for the January security update.

Picture from https://wccftech.com/android-oreo-for-verizon-pixel/


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adb.exe runs then disappears
I had ADB working just a few days ago, but now, whenever I try to run adb.exe, it will start the daemon successfully, and then after a couple of commands the adb.exe file itself will disappear. When I try to uninstall then reinstall platform-tools via Android Studio's SDK manager immediately afterward, the uninstaller hangs (though the window doesn't freeze) after the following output:
To install:
Preparing "Uninstall Android SDK Platform-Tools (revision: 27.0.1)".
Generating patch...
"Uninstall Android SDK Platform-Tools (revision: 27.0.1)" ready.
Finishing "Uninstall Android SDK Platform-Tools (revision: 27.0.1)"
Stopping ADB...

with the status:
Packing .installer/
However, I can't seem to find anything ADB-related in Task Manager. I tried killing it with adb kill-server, buy CMD's reply was of course that it couldn't find adb. After I restart Windows, the uninstallation/reinstallation runs perfectly well, but ADB just disappears all over again. What in the world is going on, and how do I get ABD up and running again?
Example CMD. When I reinstalled ADB after taking this screenshot and tried again, I didn't even get the * daemon started successfully message.

OS: Windows 10
Device: LG V30+ (United States/Sprint), Android 7.1.1, LGE USB driver

Sometimes Antivirus softwares block ADB, try disabling your AV software and try again. Or download Minimal ADB& Fastboot.

Facepalm. Yep, that was it. I checked my quarantine folder and it was full of adb.exe's. Thanks.

You're welcome. I never understood why ADB os blocked by AV softwares.

AV software often has more side-effects than good uses. Glad I don't need that snake-oil which only eats resources, throws false alerts, and makes things disappear :)

Unless you are on Linux systems, AV is mandatory for Windows computers, or at least essential, as they are mainly targeted by malwares and viruses

As esQmo_ guessed in the comments on my question, my antivirus (Avast) was blocking adb.exe, probably with some silly "heuristic protection" feature. I checked my quarantine folder and found it chock full of adb.exe's. I whitelisted adb.exe and did not run into any more problems.

That's all true. Disable Avast for Adv. exe but it seems to be a real threat because when trying to install the APK on a real device, the antivirus of the cell blocks it. If we unlock this option, we see strange behaviors in the Android system so I'm convinced that  "Adv. exe " comes with bad intentions from a download server in Android Studio.

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


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Outlook Android no longer synchronizes Office 365 contacts
As of version 2.2.74 my Android Outlook does not sync any contacts.
The previous version has synced all of my coworkers from Office 365, but after a factory reset my coworker contacts are missing.
There is a setting in the application that shows if I enable contact synchronization and it is set on.
In Accounts and synchronization settings, I have an Outlook type account, and it has the Sync contacts set on and the last sync took place seconds ago.
In the new version of Outlook Android, there is a new tab called Persons, and it says I have 0 contacts. I guess this new feature is not working as expected.
Do you have any idea why these settings can't help?

Well, it seems, they restructured how the contacts are synchronized.
I checked my Outlook on my computer, and it has 2 separate contact store options:

Address book - mycompanyemail@mycompany.com
Contacts - mycompanyemail@mycompany.com

All my company coworkers were in the Address book and my Contacts were empty.
I copied them to Contacts and now they are all synchronized - even appear in the new Contacts tab of Outlook Android.
So to draw a lesson: always check your online Contacts and see what it contains.


text:
Do not trap home key for TV PC
I recently changed out several android TV PCs to TX92 hardware with android 7.1.2. I use them to remote into Windows as a thin client among other things. The last nuisance remaining is the home key. If using Windows and I press the home key on the keyboard, android goes back to the launcher screen. How can I disable this? The units are rooted.

I doubt this is possible.
From Android Developer Center (Google's official site):

Key code constant: Home key.
This key is handled by the framework and is never delivered to applications.

And the Home key on a generic QWERTY keyboard is mapped to the Android "home" button, so it's treated the same as the real home button.
You can try modifying /system/usr/keylayout/qwerty.kl but as per my attempts, it doesn't work. Just in case it would work for you, for what it's worth, I changed
key 102   HOME

to
key 172   HOME

The boxes I replaced had android 4.4.2, I think it was, and there was an option in settings whether the OS should recognize keyboard hotkeys. In many ways they worked better than what I have now with 7.1.2. The processor was just too slow. I waited a long time to swap out.

This worked! There was a note inside qwerty.kl saying it isn't the default for android any longer, but Generic.kl. I commented out anything saying home, which did not work, but did the same for all files in the folder. Some had a home assignment, some did not. Probably a vendor specific file is being used.
For people reading, you must reboot after changing keyboard files for change to take effect.


text:
Can I delete an app I got on sale?
I recently downloaded an app for free from Google play store. It usually costs $0.99, but is now free.
If I were to delete it, will google remember that I purchased it, even though I paid nothing? Can I delete it now, and install it later without purchasing it?
Thanks in advance!

Bochur's answer is correct. By way of additional information in your Play Store → Account → Order History , these apps will be shown as 0 price payment apps as the screenshot below shows - all these apps (barring third) were bought free (discounted) and I can install them again on any device (of course with the same account)

From play store support:

You can use apps you bought on Google Play on any Android device
  without paying again. However, each device must have the same Google
  Account on it.
You can:

Reinstall an app you bought but deleted
Install an app on more than one Android device.
Install an app on a new Android device.

Even though the app you downloaded was free now, being that usually it is a paid app, Google will count it as if you paid $0.00 and therefore it's counted as if you bought it. And as quoted above, purchased apps can be reinstalled later.

+1. Agreed. With experience I can say that I bought this game for free, uninstalled it some time later and I still get to reinstall it whenever I choose to.

+1 added a screenshot to supplement your answer


text:
Setting screen timeout when browsing
I know that it's a often asked question, however, none of the answers are applicable to me.
I read this, this and this answers, but some apps (like Screebl or Keep Screen Lite) are non-existent already and some (Tasker) are not working for me.
The most proposed solution is Tasker, however I tried it and it messes my display settings which is even worse than the lack of dynamic timeout. It doesn't return timeout setting to default state which then drains my battery and is also very irritating. Seems to be a bug.
My question is: do you know a native MM way to dynamically set up timeout while browsing? Or maybe a web-browser app that have built-in ability to disable timeout?
I tried searching descriptions of apps, but this option is rarely highlighted, and, personal experience is highly appreciated. Have anybody met such app?

Built-in systems are not available I suppose. Have you tried out Caffeine? Works absolutely great on my phone.

It bothers me that it wast updated last time in 2014, when they heard nothing about MM. Don't like to use abandoned apps.

The app is not quite "abandoned". 4.2 rating after 10 million downloads is not that bad. Anyways, let's hope someone else will provide you with some other option.

Ok, will try again according to your guide.

@Suncatcher Did it work?

As far as I can estimate now, it works. It looks like it reset to defaults after reading. Thanks.

The most proposed solution is Tasker, however I tried it and it messes my display settings

I use Tasker to keep my display time for longer when using certain apps, and it works perfectly. It's very possible that you might have missed a minor setting somewhere. Therefore, I suggest you try the steps below to set it up correctly.

download Tasker. (it is a paid app, but you can get a free trial version and see if you like it. It has much more than the options mentioned here)
Open the app and press on the '+' symbol on the bottom right of the screen. And press 'application'
Now select the apps in which you want the display to stay on for a long time. For example your browser app, or any other app. Select as many apps as you want for this action.
Press on the back button on your phone. Now it will ask you what you want to happen when you open those apps.
Press on 'new tasks'
Type a name for this task something like 'screen timeout 5 min'
In this new window, press on the plus symbol, and in the search bar type 'display timeout'
Press 'display timeout', and now under where it  says 'mins' choose the amount of time you want the screen to stay on for, while using the apps.
Press on the back button twice, and you should be brought back to the main page.
Long press on 'screen timeout 5 min' (or whatever you named this task) and press on 'add exit task' -> 'new task'
Give the new task a name something like 'screen timeout x seconds.'
Here, do the same as steps 7 and 8 just when setting the time, set it to the amount of time you want the screen to stay on while you're not using the selected apps.
Now, go back all the way to the main screen of Tasker and press on the check mark symbol on the top right. (If you don't see a check mark symbol, then don't worry about it)
Test to see that all is working by going to your home screen and see how long it takes for the screen to go to 'sleep' it should be the amount of time selected in step 12, then go into the selected apps and see how long the screen stays on.

I use an app called Keep Screen On. Simple and very easy to use.

That's a pretty generic app name. Could you [edit] your answer and add a link to the app you mean? Otherwise people probably won't find the same one you're recommending.


text:
Long screen timeout on lock screen Oreo 8.0.0
After the Oreo 8.0.0 update on MI A1, the screen timeout when the lock screen appears, takes the same value as the sleep timeout.
Usually when there was Nougat, the timeout on lock screen would be very short (5 seconds I guess).
Is this is a bug or intentional feature? Also is it only on Mi A1 or all phones running Oreo 8.0.0?

Though I couldn't find out the reason for long lock screen timeout, I made a quick solution to get it back working as it was earlier.
Here's the solution, implemented as a flow in the Automate for Android app.
Flow URL: Short lock screen timeout[VM]

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


text:
What Android version promises changes with regards to fast security patches?
I've heard that an upcoming, or recent version of Android has separated the OS from the hardware specific parts, promising much faster security and minor updates for the user.
What version is this?  And are the changes so significant that a buyer should consider waiting until that version is available in phones?

From what you described you probably meant Project Treble.

The Android 8.0 release includes Project Treble, a major re-architect of the Android OS framework designed to make it easier, faster, and less costly for manufacturers to update devices to a new version of Android. Treble is for all new devices launching with Android 8.0 and beyond.

Per the above quote, any device shipping with Android 8.0 or above (Oreo) must support Treble. However, devices shipping with a lower Android version and subsequently updated to Oreo are not mandated to support Treble.
As the launch of Android P draws near, almost all newly released devices ship with Oreo, so you don't have to take the factor into consideration; however, if you're eyeing older devices, then be sure to research whether it ships with Oreo, and if not, whether it supports Treble after updating to Oreo.
As for how significant Treble is, personally I'd say not so much. Just because it's easier to do doesn't mean that manufacturers are inclined to do it, especially for lower-end devices that don't bring forth good margin. Also, manufacturers still have to take care of their own skins and additions; carriers still take their time to review updates (and add bloat?) before pushing them out.


text:
Multiple db.crypt12 databases in the whatsApp Databases folder
I'm trying to reduce space eaten by the whats-app application on my phone & PC
I see Multiple db.crypt12 databases in the whats-app Databases folder
This is probably due to me copying the app folders to my PC over the years for backup..
Is it possible to remove the least used once?
is it correct that whats-app is using only one of the databases?

These are just database backups. WhatsApp generates a backup and stores it to the WhatsApp folder on your storage. See the WhatsApp FAQ:

Your phone will store up to the last seven days worth of local backup    files.
Local backups will be automatically created every day at 2:00    AM and saved as a file in your phone.

Thereafter, if you have enabled backup to cloud, WhatsApp will also upload a copy of this backup to the Google Drive. If at some point you need to re-install WhatsApp, the app will restore your messages and data from these backup files.
Now coming to the list of databases that you see, notice the date in each of the database files, except the first. Every night when a new backup is generated, it is saved as msgstore.db.crypt12. The backup from the last day is renamed with a date in the name.
WhatsApp keeps a backup of 7 days + the current main backup. It keeps on deleting the older backup files as new ones are generated every night.
You can delete them all and that will have no issues on the functionality of your WhatsApp app. That said, it is kinda useless to delete as new ones will again be generated every night and within a week you'll once again have these 7 files saved in your phone's storage.
And as of now, WhatsApp does not give you an option to choose how many backup files to keep.

so 8 copies. That's why whatsapp horde those files

You may have a maintenance applications that automatically deletes every night all those backup files.
I'm using Dropsync, which allows to specify well defined sync rules with Dropbox. I set one that uploads the backups to Dropbox, and then delete them from my phone. Saving ~1 Go.


text:
Why some of the android apps doesn't work on Wifi
Why some of my android apps doesn't work on Wifi when all other apps work fine.
And these apps work on Mobile Data but not on my Home wifi.

These apps work when I switch 'Airplane Mode - On' and turn On my Wifi

Tried:

Have tried searching this on XDA forum
Tried Static IP instead of DHCP
Setting my time and date manually
Checked my App Data Usage (for specific app) - 1.66Mb over Wifi & 11.02Mb over Mobile data
Tried my Wifi password twice, tried rebooting my phone twice.
Tried App Restrictions & Storage Permissions
Turned Power Saving Mode - Off

FYI:
My app is in Testing phase - Loading Bitmaps
My Phone is Coolpad3600I ver: 6.0.1
Couldn't understand this weird problem. Need help.

Didi you check the Logcat and troubleshoot the app?

Thanks @esQmo_ I forgot to mention, when I tested it on other phone Huawei 4.4.2 wifi was working fine, and it was loading the bitmaps as expected. Logcat was showing lot of messages since I was using Firebase to load bitmaps, nothing was shown which was wifi or data related - so I was quite sure, the problem is device specific.

After a lot of research yesterday, I found my project was lacking few crucial steps for loading bitmaps

Caching of bitmaps was not properly implemented because of which I was getting Out of Memory errors
I was also getting Android Support Disable plugin error after every few minutes
Android Profile Analyzer was showing lot of irrelevant threads which was consuming memory

Since, I didn't have much time to look in every file of my code. I modified my sluggish code and imported Android Bitmap Sample code from the library.
Most of the common errors of Wifi, caching of bitmaps & Disable Plugin errors were taken care.


text:
Unable to copy files from one /data/data/ directory to another (Root)
I'm trying to copy one file from /data/data/com.application1/myfile to /data/data/com.application2/myfile
The file arrives with owner and group set to the app that it came from. I then changed the owner and group the application running it (A SSH application).
The permissions change, but I still get access denied. I tried using chattr -i myfile but the issue is still there. Even chmod 777 still gives access denied.
user@htc_m8:/data/data/org.galexander.sshd/home $ /system/bin/whoami
u0_a149

user@htc_m8:/data/data/org.galexander.sshd/home $ /system/bin/ls -la
-rwx------ u0_a149  u0_a149        10 2018-06-23 16:23 myfile

user@htc_m8:/data/data/org.galexander.sshd/home $ /system/bin/echo test > testfile

user@htc_m8:/data/data/org.galexander.sshd/home $ /system/bin/ls -la
-rwx------ u0_a149  u0_a149        10 2018-06-23 16:23 myfile
-rw------- u0_a149  u0_a149         5 2018-06-23 16:37 testfile

user@htc_m8:/data/data/org.galexander.sshd/home $ /system/bin/cat testfile
test

user@htc_m8:/data/data/org.galexander.sshd/home $ /system/bin/cat myfile
cat: myfile: Permission denied

I have busybox installed, but in the example I'm using native commands, however the busybox commands give the same output.
I just can't see what is different about the file I created compared to the one I copied. Same owner/group/permissions.

Android runs in "SELinux" mode. More information here SELinux concepts
This means in addition to the standard linux permissions it also has additional attributes attached.
Running attr -l myfile showed the following Attribute "selinux" has a 38 byte value for myfile
Using /system/bin/ls -alZ you can see the selinux attribute value.
-rwx------ u0_a141  u0_a141           u:object_r:app_data_file:s0 myfile
-rw------- u0_a141  u0_a141           u:object_r:app_data_file:s0:c512,c768 testfile

The file I copied was missing some extra data on the end, c512,c768, I presume this is something like an AppID.
Running su -c restorecon myfile fixed this and restored the file to the correct attribute value. Ref: Explanation of the chcon command - Post


text:
Google Contacts. Does it sync avatars?
My family has me in their contacts app (the google one: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.contacts). If they enter my email for that contact my google account avatar will be displayed for that contact. I will probably change that avatar from time to time. The question is:
Will the avatar will be updated in a automatic way and if so how long does it take to sync?
Or maybe the avatar is imported only during manual contact creation/editing?

It appears that after some time it will sync. It took few days.


text:
What is the meaning of "a5ultexx" in terms of phone models?
I have an sm-a500fu 2015 and I've been tinkering with it for the last few months, custom recovery and root.
I've found a ROM port for it which I want to install and the latest version is for the ROM is for a model a5ultexx. The previous versions of the ROM explicitly say a500fu but the latest says a5ultexx. Does this mean my a500fu is compatible, or that all a5 models are compatible?

a500fu or a5ultexx are codenames, but not necessarily ones given by the manufacturer. ROM maintainers will determine a suitable codename representative of the device in the bringup process, and that codename can change during the device's life cycle (in another answer of mine, I described a similar change to another device).
For recent Samsung devices there's an undocumented (AFAIK) pattern in the codenames. Take your device for example:

a5ultexx = SM-A500FU

a5 is obviously Galaxy A5
u for sub-variant, the "U" in "A500FU" - this part is rarely seen
lte for LTE variants, versus wifi for WiFi-only tablets, or 3g for 3G variants.
xx for general region/carrier, in this case, for international devices, the "F" in "A500FU".

As you can see the 2 expressions point to the same device, so yours is compatible.


text:
Meizu m3 note started lagging because of Google play services
Recently, my meizu phone started lagging, and after a while, I decided to reinstall my system. After a couple of reinstallations, i realised, the problem was in google services, because my phone started to lag exactly after google services installation. And the worst thing is that I can't use any of 50% of my apps anymore, because they all need a GS to work.
P.S. I installed GS with google installer from meizu app store.

The same problem with me. Try to install older version of Google play service, I used this version of play service, https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/meizu/google-apps-installer/google-apps-installer-4-4-2-release/google-apps-installer-4-4-2-android-apk-download/download/

@bagustris did it work for you ? Because if I install the older version of GS, it will probably update itself to the latest version.

This also happened to me. It took me 3 days to find out that google play service caused the lagging. I though my meizu m3 note was infected by some virusses. I uninstalled google Play service and the lag was gone.

@Incognitus yes it works for me. Turn off your auto update on Meizu app store, that is the problem.

@bagustris Man, u saved my phone, thanks a lot))) Can you copy your answer in answer section, so I can point it as the best one ?

The problem is caused by Meizu app store that continuously updating google play service infinitely. So, try the following steps:

Turn off your auto update on Meizu app store by tapping App store > profile (top right) > setting > App store auto update.
Install older version of Google app installer, for example is here.

Those steps work for me.


text:
Xiaomi Mi5s plus' display won't turn on after updating LOS
I encountered a very strange problem with my Mi5s plus (natrium). I was flashing the recent LOS 20180717 version, Open GApps Aroma and Magisk 16.0 via TWRP (in that order). That's my usual procedure every once in a while and it usually works perfectly fine. After flashing the Magisk zip, my phone "wouldn't turn on" anymore. However, I can boot into the bootloader and recovery modes and I can easily access everything from my terminal with fastboot and adb (it's even mounted when in recovery). The display stays dark, the notification LED as well. Now, I'm not sure what to do, I erased the cache, I tried to reboot.
Does anybody have an idea how to "unbrick" my device? I have the feeling that I messed up something with the boot partition, but I'm no expert on that.
Thanks, hundertzwoelf.

Update: I solved it by flashing the stock boot.img from MIUI. Yesterday I tried the same with the boot.img provided by the Lineage OS ROM and it did not work.


text:
Find My Device says "can't reach device", but I can make it ring
I'm having a bizarre issue with the Android Device Manager. Basically when I try to look up my Nexus 9 tablet, I cannot see its location, and it looks like this:

As you can see, it somehow does display the charge level and the name of the WiFi network it's connected to. More importantly, when I click the play sound button, it immediately starts ringing.
So this is clearly not true. How can I fix this and make it so that I can track my tablet's location again?

Wifi/ data could be off on the tablet preventing location finding

Managed to figure it out. Apparently this happens when location services are turned on, but fail to produce a location.
In my case, the tablet's location mode was set to GPS only, but the GPS sensors are busted and don't work. Switching to battery saving mode in Settings → Location solved this issue.


text:
Stop notifications from briefly lowering media volume
I have an LG G6 running Oreo and whenever media is playing and a notification sound comes through something briefly lowers (not fully muted) my media volume. How can I stop this? I don't want notification sounds to change my media volume.

Updated Answer
I first thought that the OP was asking about modifying the behavior of the sources of the notifications which can be done in with finer levels than before using Notification Categories in Android 8.0 Oreo.
However via the comments, it appears that the OP wants to stop Audio Ducking
from happening in the media player. Unfortunately this is a feature of the
media app playing the music itself and requires the developer of the app to configure. See
similar question: Prevent music volume from being lowered when using turn-by-turn navigation
Original Answer
In Android 8.0 Oreo the App can now have Notification Categories
Check the notification setting screen in:
Settings->Apps & Notification->[App Name]->App Notifications

For the App(s) that are interrupting see if you can either disable sound or adjust the priority to one which suits your needs.

That seems like only a stopgap measure. What about in cases like receiving texts? I need to be able to receive those sound notifications BUT I don't want them to effect the volume of my music.

You are referring to Audio Ducking. The app that is playing music handles the ducking. See: Prevent music volume from being lowered when using turn-by-turn navigation

Make thst comment into an answer and I'll accept it.

Rocket Player, is a music player that will let you choose between ducking and pausing, and will allow you to disable it completely, (The setting is under Settings->Sound->Audio Focus->Temp Focus Action)".
It does give the option to IGNORE all other apps. Just tested it: maps, camera shutter sound, notifications - all make sounds but no longer "duck" (more like stutter!) my music, listening via 3.5mm right now but should be same for BT.

To automate the Do Not Disturb toggle, you can use Tasker (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.dinglisch.android.taskerm&hl=en).

Create a task that sets Do Not Disturb to "No Interruptions"
Create a task that sets *Do Not Disburb" to "Allow All"
Create a profile

Add trigger to the "No Interruptions" task when a specific application is launched (i.e. YouTube Music),
link an Exit task that triggers "Allow all"

If your device supports the Do Not Disturb mode, you can use it to achieve this effect system-wide for any music app as far as notifications are concerned. However, turn-by-turn navigation in Google Maps may still duck the audio. (I usually change it to Alerts Only and check the map visually for directions.)
By default, Do Not Disturb will suppress notification alerts completely, stacking the notifications up in the drawer silently. But depending on your phone model and ROM version, you may be able to fine tune the behavior to allow status bar icons and banner notifications.
Whether or not you allow the icons or banners, Do Not Disturb will always suppress the notification sounds. This will allow your music to continue playing uninterrupted even when notifications are getting added to the drawer or even popping up at the top of the screen.


text:
How to hide or spoof bootloader info from any app?
I have spent hours trying to perfect build.prop and when I finally was at the end I forgot about this leakage. Any app can easily know device's bootloader info. I realized this when I ran CPU-Z. Installed Magisk and Xposed in systemless mode. Running Lineage OS 14.1. I by no means an expert as it is clearly evident from my question otherwise.
Idea is to hide or fake this information from any app including system apps. But I am failing miserably at achieving this since I have no deep understanding of Android.
I searched Git and XDA but answers were not met with requirement. Final search with keywords "getprop ro.bootloader" shade some light about the fundamental commands about getting this info. I am exhausted right now and I might be not thinking in the right direction so your input matters a lot.
I await your instructions!

Have you installed and configured Magisk Hide?

Magisk Hide only hides the Root status. CPU-Z is able to get bootloader info.

True, but it even says in it's description "Hide Magisk from detections: Google SafetyNet, enterprise / bank system integrity checks, game tamper checks." Other than that, I don't believe what you want is possible without actually relocking the bootloader, but remember that can be detected as well.

I mean there has to be some way we can know how CPU-Z gets this info from, right? Once we can know that, there is a chance of hiding or faking it. For example how Xprivacy module does it. So what I am looking for is: Either to hide it and shield its original info. Spoof it otherwise.

Install XprivacyLua and select use tracking Pics below show the difference in output

For spoofing instead of hiding you may have to use custom hooks. You can ask on the XDA thread of the app or use the pro version of the module to change values globally or on per app basis

Caveat
Quoting Namnodorel from comments

Note that this only works if the apps tries to retrieve bootloader status via Java. XPrivacyLua can't do anything if an app uses native code to check the bootloader.

Note that this only works if the apps tries to retrieve bootloader status via Java. XPrivacyLua can't do anything if an app uses native code to check the bootloader.

@beeshyams - That did it! (Nowhere on the Internet this question has been answered. I had tried XDA, Reddit and what not!)

Glad to help. That module is worth it's weight for the  power it has

Absolutely. I had been a user of previous verions of Xprivacy. Recently had switched to Lua and it is quite empowring indeed. I don't have Pro features right now to test with. Nevertheless, an amazing module!

I did manage to create a seprate post over there but got no response. So had to go several places to get an answer. Only here I got one.


text:
Disable Chromes "articles for you"
The Google Android Chrome browser (which is the default browser on lots of Android devices) is displaying "suggested" news items on every new tab "articles for you".
There doesn't seem to be an option to disable this feature.
Can the new tab page be customized / configured?

Tldr:
Disable the #enable-ntp-remote-suggestions flag in Chromes Dev settings.
Long version: Follow the steps described in here https://www.androidpolice.com/2017/04/27/customize-chromes-terrible-new-tab-page/


text:
Infinity loading of centrain Google Apps on Italian SIM
I have OnePlus 5 (Android 8) phone and I have 1 SIM slot with my home SIM and 2 SIM slot with Italian Prepaid card with internet data.
I am getting infinity loops when I am using centrain Google apps. For example I cannot login into YouTube, Search on Google Play, or download emails. I am always getting infinity loading. When I am on Wifi its ok and working.
Only on first or second card I am getting this problem.
What is going on? Is google blocking access to some accounting servers from different locations? I am originally from Czech Republic and now I am on vaccation in Italy.

Fixed by clearing cache and data of all Google apps...
Seems apps where setuped for different country.
I am now back from Italy and SIM data alsos topped working so I did clear again and it works now.


text:
Chrome keeps logging me out of websites
For the last few months, my Android Pixel 2 XL (running 8, now 9) often shows me the login page on my frequently visited websites. I've managed to reproduce it with these steps:

Open Chrome (68.0.3440.85)
Visit facebook.com and login
Using tab switcher, swipe away (close) Chrome
Open Chrome again

Behaviour:
Returns to the facebook page, but asks me to login again
Expected:
A cookie is stored that ensures I'm still logged in
I'm not rooted, have tried rebooting, have ensured I have the latest Chrome version. I haven't tried a factory reset but would like to avoid that if possible. I also have a password manager (Dashlane) that offers to log me in, if that matters.

From the 3 dots menu> Settings >Site settings>Make sure cookies status is set to allowed. Also third party cookies. If already allowed, toggle off and on check if behaviour changes

Both settings were enabled. I toggled them on and off, but the behaviour persists.

As confirmed by OP disabling Chrome app fixed the problem (Settings →apps & notifications → select system apps→Chrome →disable app (to revert to the original version before updates)
I have no idea what caused this problem and only guess is Android Pie + Chrome updates didn't gel


text:
Can an Indian GSM phone be used in the USA?
I'm considering buying the Oppo F9 Pro, which has a dual sim GSM slot. I currently have consumer cellular service with a nano GSM sim card. would I be able to import the Indian phone and use it here without any problems?

A quick search brings up this site:
https://www.frequencycheck.com/compatibility/XnDDU6Y/oppo-f9-dual-sim-td-lte-vn-ph-64gb-cph1823-f9-pro/united-states
Which indicates that the Oppo F9 Pro would only have 2/2.5G speeds on some US carriers with GSM and NO support on the rest of the carriers for signal or speed. It would appear to be limited pre-2008 data speeds in the United States and presumably still usable as a phone/SMS on supported carriers.

As a more general answer:

Look up what frequency bands are used by your carrier.
Do the same for your specific phone model.

There are websites dedicated to answering this exact question, for example frequencycheck.com.
From this site (or a Google search), we can figure out that Oppo F9 Pro supports:

900 (E-GSM)   GSM
1800 (DCS)    GSM
1900 (PCS)    GSM

Now you'll have to compare this with whatever info your find for the carrier you wish to use, the website mentioned above makes the comparison a lot easier. Here's a hardcoded link for your device with "country" set to the US:
https://www.frequencycheck.com/compatibility/XnDDU6Y/oppo-f9-dual-sim-td-lte-vn-ph-64gb-cph1823-f9-pro/united-states
In short, you'll only get support for 1900 (PCS) on some carriers (GRPS/EDGE). No speeds to write home about.


text:
Why there's no proxy support in Android browsers?
Android supports both Chromium-based and Firefox-based browsers since long now.
While those browsers have full support for HTTP/SOCKS proxies under all other OSes (Linux, OSX and even Windows), they are lacking it completely under Android. There's no setting at all to configure one.
I can easily configure a SOCKSv5 proxy on my Android device with, say, ssh -D to be used over whatever connections I have (wifi, ethernet, mobile data...), but I cannot use it with my browsers.
There's some system-wide support when you configure wifi, but that's not what I talk about. I mean the good ol' application-level proxy support. I don't want to send all traffic through a proxy, but just that for a specific browser on demand.
For the curious, I am asking this because I need and can compare results on my landline Internet link, but I cannot do the same on my mobile one.
Please, forget about VPNs which are also system-wide solutions like wifi proxies. I need to configure a proxy on a per-browser basis, just like I can do on a PC, and not a VPN.
So, why this lack?

Firefox has some proxy settings in about:config on Android, but they never worked properly for me. You can try them.

VPN isn't necessarily a system-wide solution. You can select even a single app using UID-based filtering.

The question here hasn't been answered, WHY?  Google doesn't want it to be possible to proxy traffic from the browser?  I'm currently located in Russia, which invaded Ukraine a week ago - this night BBC got blocked, and that's probably just the beginning.  Proxying web traffic to certain sites, both from laptop and mobile is really important.

There's no apparent "technical" reason for that lack. I suspect it'd be something related to the "Android Program Policy" (or whatever else it's called).
In my opinion it looks like an intentional choice as the system-level proxy you can normally configure could be leaking information for some reason or bug.
Anyway, we can configure the SOCKSv5 proxy for Firefox for Android prior to version 68.11, but there seems to be no way to do the same for Chrome/Chromium.
Provided that you already established such a proxy, for example with a suitable SSH client (-D option).

In Firefox address bar type: about:config. A page full of settings will pop up.

In the search box type network.proxy to reduce the settings to those we are interested in.

For a SOCKv5 proxy you can set:

network.proxy.socks to the proxy IP address

network.proxy.socks_port to the proxy TCP port

network.proxy.type to 1 for manual proxy configuration

(optional) network.proxy.no_proxies_on to address that need not to be proxied (or clean it up to reach remote loopback addresses)

For a "regular" HTTP proxy, any other proxy type or even any other setting that's not available in the setting menu, please refer to the above settings page and to the official online documentation.

N.B. Starting with v68.11 Firefox for Android doesn't provide anymore access to settings via the about:config pseudo-page, even if it's listed in about:about pseudo-page. This is not mentioned within the release notes and means that there's no way anymore to use a proxy within a browser.
However Firefox Nightly releases still allow users to access about:config, you can install theses builds to use a proxy.

For now you can use Bromite. Bromite is a Chromium fork with ad blocking and privacy enhancements

Is Bromite still maintained at all? There have been no commits in their source repo since January.

Please @afnan add directions and/or details.

There is actually a plugin to Firefox on Android called Foxyproxy  https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/android/addon/foxyproxy-standard/ that handles the proxy settings for Firefox

No longer available.

Well @EnzoR, I'm running it... I downloaded it

..I've contacted the author, and he's investigating why the plugin isn't available, because according to him, it still should be..

Nonetheless there is no plugin available (any more?) and thus no solution or workaround.


text:
WhatsApp: How to isolate contacts and photos - Privacy concerns
Whatsapp is ubiquitous and is commonly used despite the long scary list of permissions it seeks ( see Help understanding Whatsapp's permissions )
Privacy and security conscious people would like to avoid it and use alternate means like Telegram but there are a huge bunch of people who are blind to the concerns and merrily use it
I am forced to use it, since I have a friends and relatives who are comfortable with this and won't consider switching - some got introduced to smartphones using this, for some others it is convenience of usage and the most common refrain is I have nothing to hide :-(
So my question boils down to How do I use Whatsapp without exposing my contacts and private photos to Whatsapp (read Facebook)?
This is a self answered question sharing one way and you are welcome to post other ways if you find

Regarding Telegram ad alternative: It uses homebrew encryption, which makes it not very reliable in terms of security. When you want to use alternatives, I recommend Signal or something like Wire.

Requisites

Download Shelter - an open source app from F-droid or GitHub. Quoting the developer, use cases

Run “Big Brother” apps inside the isolated profile so they cannot access your data outside the profile

“Freeze” (disable) background-heavy or seldom-used apps when you don’t need them. This is especially true if you use apps from Chinese companies like Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent.
Clone apps to use two accounts on one device

Create a dummy gmail account to be populated with only Whatsapp contacts
Device with work profiles (post Lollipop all have them) unless you used a Magisk or Xposed module to disable this

Methodology

Export your contacts to  your dummy Gmail account. Follow instructions here or any other way, like this Export telegram and whatsapp contacts to vcf?
. Delete all non Whatsapp contacts from this account (you don't want Whatsapp / Facebook to see ALL your contacts , right?)
Add this account to your phone from Settings → Google → Account ( will vary , but you can search)
Install Shelter
Click on the app  to see two panes Main (where all your apps are listed) and Shelter where you will see contacts , Google Play Store. Go to Main and long press on Whatsapp and choose Clone to shelter (Work Profile)
Go to shelter tab and set up Whatsapp as if it is a new account and when it asks for contacts point it to the dummy Gmail account created having Whatsapp contacts
Delete all Whatsapp contacts from your main account and if you wish uninstall or Freeze or disable Whatsapp

Note: Open whatsapp from within the shelter (work profile) not from the app drawer. If you open from outside you will find Whatsapp having access to contacts and gallery. Once you install whatsapp it is completely limited to the storage dedicated to the work profile and cannot see storage outside the work profile
Profit Your contacts and photos are separated ! and Whatsapp will not see at least your future non whatsapp contacts / pictures
On a side note, even with root and mighty Xposed module like XprivacyLua , a successor to Xprivacy, contacts by group cannot be separated ; in other words you can only choose all / starred/ non starred contacts to be visible per app but you can't say hide my Whatsapp contacts ( For more details see Para 18)

You can try Shelter app with other apps as well to keep your information private

All these methods I heard of so far use the "work profile". As far as I understand, there can only be one work profile per Android phone. So if you plan to use this work profile for something else, you will share these contacts with Whatsapp, right?

Other question, could I achieve the same result by manually setting up a work profile, without an additional app like Shelter? What does the "Shelter" app add to this?

@donquixote- I haven't  used workprofile, so I can't answer, sorry. You could make that a question with this linked as context, to get answers

OnePlus users: I've verified WhatsApp works with Parallel Apps feature, which allows you to run certain apps on a minimal profile.
Pixel, Samsung, etc:  The Island app allows you to run a fake "work" profile simultaneously.

They don't have access to your contacts, but they see your storage. You can use the apps like a normal app. Only issue is if you give it access to your contacts immediately, it will run into a glitch. Say no the first time and it will work fine.


text:
Unable to restore from drive
I have an old phone (Asus zenfone) that makes regular backups on drive. If I log on drive from pc I see the backup folder.
I need to restore data to my new phone (Samsung galaxy s7 edge).
The new phone is freshly formatted. When I add my Google account everything is fine (I also receive the email warning for login in new device) but the phone proposes restore from Samsung cloud only.
Actually I also had another backup on drive (made with a third phone) and at the first attempt the new phone proposed to restore from that backup.
Of course I declined, I deleted that backup from drive (keeping only the one I need) and finally retried the restore.
So it seems that the login to Google works but the phone ignores the existing backup.
What could I do to force the restore?

Try factory reset and start all over again (before you do that, sign out  device from Google account else you will run into FRP problems)

I suppose sign out is needed (and I did it), but in my case I had to perform also Android upgrade.

I solved. The old phone has Oreo, the new one had Nougat.
I upgraded the new phone to Oreo, made a factory reset and finally the restore started correctly.


text:
I need to turn my phone off through a computer. Help, please!
I need to turn my mobile device off through my PC and currently I can't access my mobile phone. My sensor was bugged, and any calls made via messenger, viber or whatsapp would mean my mobile's device turning black. If I could restart my device, or even just turn it off, the problem wouldn't persist. Please help!

Do the volume and power buttons still work?

@HEWhoDoesn'tKnow Yes, the power button and my volume button works, but unfortunately my phone can't be restarted just with those. Or can it? I really need to turn my phone off, help!!

It could, on some phones. What kind of phone do you have?

@HEWhoDoesn'tKnow Well, I have a "Oppo F3" and even when it was working, pressing my "Power Off" button would just display a "Swipe to power off" fucntion. Long pressing the power button would not result into anything specific, as it does in so many other devices. Virtually, there was no way I could restart my phone, cuase as it seems, there just isn't a restart function in my phone! I've tried many stuffs, but will I be able to power off my device? Help!!

Posted an answer @Craman

Force restart your phone

Firstly, unplug the charger if your phone is connected to a charger.
Press and hold both the Power and Volume Up buttons for at least 8 seconds, until the phone is turned on.

Remove the phone case if there is one to avoid phone buttons being stuck.

If you cannot force restart your phone, plug in your phone with the original charger and let it charge for up to 30 minutes, then try again.

Pictures, settings and paths might differ from those of your phone, but that do not affect the description in this article.

Reference Link


text:
Missing auto-rotate icon
About 6 days ago my auto-rotate function icon disappeared on my old cheap Moto E.
Is there somewhere in the menu structure which talks about auto-rotate? I just cannot see anything.
I have looked around online and short of downloading another app and switching on and off, have not seen anything relevant.
TIA Steve

This may help https://android.stackexchange.com/q/187678/131553

Thanks for the thought. Don't think it is exactly on point but, finally, I have found it.

Auto rotate IS there but in Accessibility - somewhere I had not thought of looking.
Inevitably found this on Google. I had tried a hundred different questions but finally found the right one,
Hopefully this will be useful for someone in the dim distant future.
If this fixes your problem please up vote.
(PS The presence or absence of icons depends on usage so it might go missing again but now you know where to find it I hope!)


text:
Advanced searching in Play app store?
It is not easy to find good apps. Is it possible with some other app website to only search within apps (list apps) that have at least 500k downloads and at least 10k reviews?
Something like make the Play store a database of app names with columns for reviewcount and downloadcount and do SQL commands with where clauses?

I created this.
It's an advanced Google Play search engine, I wanted to create that a long time ago. Now, it's done
Since Google doesn't have an API for Play search, I use an open source scraper.
Almost all app specs can be filtered and sorted.
I hope you'll like it, and please let me know if you find any bug or have any feature request.
It's open source : KPlaysearch

Search mask looks good (if you want some more ideas, here's my limited search, just based on the ~14k apps in my lists). Good job!

Confirmed, at this very moment it works, thanks! Cleaning up comments then. // Good job! Upvoted, and already mentioned in my (German) Android eBook (in the new version just released a week ago :)

I created an awesome list of free, ad-free and in-app-free apps for Android if that can help some of you ^^

Simply watch out for the apps with a star in my app lists for those. And definitely avoid those having "monitor icons" (or too big "numbers", aka "permissions", next to their names) :) But thanks!

You shouldn't recommend people to avoid apps because of permissions count, because it's not always all right or all wrong : more permissions also means more features, so better user experience. I agree that permissions can sometimes reduce safety and privacy, but that's too much stereotyped today.

Why not? A flashlight app requiring more than 2 permissions does something one wouldn't expect from it. And if there's another one coming with 2 or less but offering the very same features, this helps you chosing. I agree it's not "just numbers" – which is why you can check the details by clicking the app's name. (but as this is not a forum, let's not discuss this in depth here. Be welcome in chat :)

I wish this also had a "min price" field.  I have some credit left that I need to spend...

Here are better options : 1. Wait to have no choice but to pay an app — 2. Donate for an app you love — 3. Pay for an app you may have cracked but actually worth paying. Spending to spend is wrong and the shops are already efficient enough for that.

Hi kaki, i need filter rating too + category

You can filter by category and sort by rating.

I also created a similar application (http://play.gqqnbig.me/) to KaKi87's.  Source code is at https://github.com/gqqnbig/advanced-play-search

Hey, you should update this with a checkbox that discriminates between PAID apps. Basically you want to mirror the categories that google has. Sometimes I want to find the best paid apps or free apps.

It would be nice if it had a filter of download numbers similar to rating. Eg 10000+, 100000+, 500000+, etc

Since Google (and other search engines) index the web version of Play Store, a massive database of every element of the Play Store has been created and searching it is totally free!
On Google, you can refine web searches like using - to exclude words from the search, or .. for range search, etc.
As an example, to search for free apps that don't contain ads and in-app purchases: site:play.google.com/store/apps/details -"Contains ads" -"in-app purchases" -Buy Free

Unfortunately, Google sometimes returns other localized versions of the Play Store (like Germany, Espanol, French, etc. as shown on the URL with &hl=), and since different localization uses different keywords (e.g. "Contiene anuncios" instead of "Contain ads"), it might be hard to sort out the real result.

that page claims I can put a dollar sign in front of a number to search for a price, but when I do this it only returns results with that number which aren't prices!  I wish there was a way to search for a specific price for (for instance > $4.99 and < $5.25)

As mentioned before it's still not best, I tried a variant: site:play.google.com/store/apps/details/ -"Contains ads" -"in-app purchases" -Buy Free "1B+" "en_IE" "gl=US" but i still get manx duplicates and no way to sort and view in shorter list. Not only do languages play into, but also pagination. Unfortunately/details/ will also include /details?start=20 kind of pages . And adding this somehow skios many results (apps rhat should be there) : -inurl:start So not very useful :(

Looks like what the OP is looking for can be done at AppBrain, using the &sort=popular URL parameter. See e.g. this example search for file sync: First result page mosly holds apps with 10k+ downloads with a good "internal rating" (they have their own "rating number" in addition to the playstore rating). Checking some, they seem to have 10k+ ratings on GPlay as well. Additional filtering is possible for free/paid, new/updated, app2sd, reduced price.
Though not being exactly what was asked for, I guess it's pretty close. Another good result list can be obtained with the &sort=highest-rated variant, which seems to sort by playstore rating: "file sync" by rating.

App Finder is the most advanced search engine for Android apps.
It has 2,300,000+ apps indexed, with data for all 200+ countries/regions, many filters and search operators, and a very detailed result list with scalable screenshots.
For more information see the thread on XDA, and here. Available from Google Play here.
Disclosure: I am from Skyica LLC, the developer of App Finder

You can use the pub: token to search for apps from a specific publisher. Maybe there are other supported tokens, I don't know.
Specify the full and exact publisher name, no quotes needed. It works both in the Play app and website, e.g:
pub:Dieter Thiess

Couple of ways you could fine tune or eliminate this:

Select the option to view English (or whatever your native language is) results only. I think this is in your search preferences; you may have to view the desktop version of the results page to get it.
When viewing a page that seems to be from your locale, look at the & hl= and following text in the URL. Copy this to the clipboard. Then go back to the search results page and add inurl: then paste what you just copied immediately to the right of the : (colon). Make sure there aren't any spaces between the colon (:) and what you just pasted.

This isn't another website, but https://github.com/sk1122/App-Searcher-and-Keyword-Seacher is a Django project which provides the software needed to self-host a website which does roughly what is needed.
Its models include reviews and ratings.
Besides Django, its scraper depends on requests and bs4.  I don't see any other dependencies.


text:
How to prevent vibration of calls from one contact?
I have a contact who calls me regularly on Wednesday evenings.
I already set her ring tone to "nothing", but cannot find any method to prevent the vibration.
Using regularly silent-mode, but I cannot keep on when working so it is not an option.
Wanted result: mute and turn-off for calls of one contact
Phones: OnePlus 3T and Samsung Galaxy S8
OS: Oreo

You can't do it without third party apps. You can try apps like "Good Vibration"


text:
How to skip the upgrade to Oreo
My Galaxy S7 downloaded the Oreo upgrade, and now a notification persists in my status bar and every now and then it pops up asking me to upgrade. I don't want to upgrade. Is there a way to skip upgrading without rooting or factory reset?
I tried deleting cache and disabling the software upgrade app but it didn't work, and there's no option to disable the app.

If any settings available to disable background data of Software update app?

No :-/ even the existing settings are disabled

I have the same problem on a German Samsung phone: https://imgur.com/a/fvx0WDz

I solved the issue by buying Package Installer and disabling the Software Update app.


text:
Restoring /system but not /data within TWRP
I want to restore a TWRP backup on my Samsung Galaxy S6 (SM-G920F), to get back from a custom ROM (9.0) to Stock (7.0).
Restoring /system goes fine, but TWRP throws an error when it comes to restore /data : "extractTarFork() process ended with ERROR: 255
My question is : can I restore only /system and boot my original ROM ? If that doesn't work, how can I fix this error ? (I don't have a sdcard)

Don't you get an option to select which partitions to restore? And that error seems to be related to tar utility. You can try unpacking backup file manually using updated tar.

While restore, it shows checkboxes under each partition name. Like /boot, /system, /data. You can uncheck /data. But, I recommend, restore all partitions. It will restore to your device to stock ROM, and then you can perform a reset to delete user data.

@Irfan Latif : sure, I can choose what to restore, my question was : if I only restore /system (after wiping system, data, and cache of course), will my phone be able to boot on the stock ROM ? For the error, I googled a bit and it could be related to missing space on the phone, or just because /data is mounted (and I cannot unmount it because my backup is in internal storage), that's why I was asking if restoring only system would let me boot

Definitely, device will boot with clean /data partition. Complete Android OS lives in /system and /boot. But without /data, you will lose your personal apps, apps data, settings etc.

If you are unable to restore /data due to space limitation and you don't have sdcard as well, then restore /system and /boot first and then delete those files from backup (make sure those are correctly restored). It will spare space on internal memory and then you can restore /data. If still there is shortage of space, you can put your backup file on a PC and extract the backup to /data partition after mounting /data through USB Mass Storage. It needs a PC with Linux or a phone with USB OTG support may also work. Ask if further help required.

[Can] I restore only /system and boot my original ROM ?

It depends upon what lies in the backup. If you took the backup of your stock ROM and you're referring to the same backup, then yes, restoring /system using that particular backup would restore stock ROM. But you would need to restore /boot as well since that is part of stock ROM too.
However, if you must restore a different ROM, even if it is a stock ROM, it is a good practice to do a clean flash or atleast overwrite existing /data and /cache files with the ones in the backup to avoid conflict between various versions of files/apps which can cause bootloop or battery drain or whatnot.
In your case, since you cannot restore /data from the backup, I advise you to take a complete backup of your current ROM (including userdata), then reset /data (except /data/media) and /cache, and then restore /system and /boot from stock ROM backup. In this way, you would end up with a pristine stock ROM and can always restore /data when you manage to fix that error you mentioned. This is the path of least problems.

Thank you so much ! I just have one more question : When I made my backup, TWRP didn't offered me the option to backup /boot (only /system,/data,cache,modem,etc...). Is /boot included in /system backup ? If not, I'll be facing a big problem...

It is strange that TWRP didn't offer boot to be backed up. No, it has to be backed up specifically and is not included in /system. You can get the boot image if you search the stock ROM for your device on the internet. Normally, custom kernels including that of custom ROMs for a device works with stock ROM too. In an extreme case, all that would happen is that you might end up getting stuck in a boot loop or on Android boot logo or on OEM logo, or your OS might start crashing apps or the OS for no good reason.

To avoid that, I think I'll just flash the stock ROM with Odin. I'll lose my apps and settings, but I have some SmartSwitch backups that I'll be able to restore afterwards. Could you tell me where to look for my stock ROM file and how to flash it with Odin ? I'm a bit lost where it comes to choose between BL,AP and so on

Sorry, I have no idea where to look for stock files for Samsung devices as I do not own one. I believe XDA forums can help in that regard. Good luck. :-)


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Android device ID while unrooting phone
If I perform below steps,

I root Android phone,
From third party apps available on Play Store, I change 16 digit Android device id(Let say from aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa to bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb)
And then again unroot the phonne.

Will unrooting the phone also change Android device id again or it will remain bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb only?
Thanks in advance.

Unrooting your phone doesn't reverse the changes you made to /system. These changes are reversed only when you flash a stock / custom ROM. Of course, apps that you had installed earlier which had root privileges will not work
To sum up, your changed ID will remain till the next factory reset

First of all, tweaking that 16 digit Android ID doesn't require root access. You can change that ID using ADB alone. Since Android 5.0, this should work just fine.

adb shell settings get secure android_id                   # returns the current Android ID
adb shell settings put secure android_id YOUR-16-DIGIT-ID  # to change the ID with your new 16 digit ID

The Android ID is stored inside data partition. It is set on first boot after factory reset and remains until you factory reset again. It has got nothing to do with rooting and unrooting your device. So, if you changed that ID using some app and unrooted your phone later, that ID would persist until factory reset.
Note: since Android 8.0 each app sees android_id which is unique to that app. It is not the same android_id that you would see from settings command. See relevant documentation for more info on this.


text:
Huawei P20 Pro charging in USB host mode
I'm seeing several related questions here. However, most of them are ancient (as in 2012) and refer to micro USB and maybe the USB-C standards are different with regard to host mode charging.
I'm using my P20 Pro as a tactical flight computer with two connected devices.
The first one is a single row mini usb keyboard and the second a flight vario which sends position and elevation data to the software.
   P20Pro
     |
mini USB-Hub
  /     \
KBD     Vario

What I'm missing in this setup is how to power the phone.
I would need something like this:
   P20Pro
     |\
     | \Portable Power Bank
     |
mini USB-Hub
  /     \
KBD     Vario

This is just some background info. The question could also be How to charge the P20 Pro while a usb keyboard and mouse is connected?
Basically (at least according to Huawei's online chat support) the device supports charging in host mode since their MateDock 2 adapter also charges the phone.
However, the MateDock 2 would be an overkill since I don't need a HDMI/VGA port.
In addition I'm not sure what the MateDock is exactly and if it also redirects non standard USB devices.
Another solution would be wireless charging but the P20 doesn't support this technology.
So what is the the 2018 answer to charging in USB OTG host mode ?

I managed to achieve this (and use an HDMI monitor) by using a USB C Power Delivery hub, and a PD charger. The hub included as well an HDMI output, but it's cheap (around 30€).
I think I used this one here.
I bought two different ones but the second one does not seem to be available anymore on Amazon and the link does not work anymore.
The charger I used is an USB C PD 41W charger from Auckly.

The answer really seems to be the USB Power Delivery (PD) standard. However, I'd love to see a phone with 3 USB ports instead of 3 cameras ;)


text:
Add new account to Twitter app on Samsung Tablet
I am on Samsung Galaxy Tab S2, Model SM-T715Y, running Android Version 7.71.1-release.15,
 trying to follow the instructions from
https://help.twitter.com/en/managing-your-account/managing-multiple-twitter-accounts
to add a new account to my Twitter app.
However I cannot find the "Add existing account" option as described.
The top menu shows:
"Share", "Drafts", "View Lists", "View Moments", "QR code"

but nothing about accounts. There is no "down arrow" icon.
The profile menu shows:
"Profile", "Lists", "Bookmarks", "Moments", "Twitter Ads", "Settings and privacy", "Help Center".

Clicking on "Settings and privacy" shows under my account:
"Account", "Privacy and safety", "Notifications", "Content preferences"

and under "General":
"Display and sound", "Data usage", "Accessibility", "Proxy", "About Twitter".

I don't see where else I could find that option.

is your app updated?

Swipe from left to right in the Twitter App
Then Click the arrow pointing down near your name

There is an option for Create New Account and **Add an Existing Account"

Reference link.

happy to help..


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Can't unlock bootloader Moto G5 XT1672
I'm trying to unlock the bootloader on my Moto G5, the adb commands works, but I can't find my device in the command prompt when it is in fastboot mode.
I was following the instructions on this tutorial, but when running the adb device command to get my serial number, the PC can't find the device. I checked the USB cable and the connection between the device and the computer and everything is ok.
To enter the fastboot mode I was using the adb reboot bootloadercommand on Windows.
Android 8.1.0
Security patch: October 1, 2018

You don't have the right drivers for fastboot mode, look in your Window's Device Manager when the phone is connected in Fastboot mode, you should see either an Unknown Device or something similar, change the driver to the generic ones that come with ADB. Or use Linux, which doesn't require any drivers when communicating with an Android device.

I am a bit confused on what was where. I do not want to assume anything so could you please clarify one thing. Where are you throwing the command adb devices?? Are you in the Command prompt when you are in Fastboot/Bootloader mode?? Because it will not work. Adb protocol is used within a booted System and Recovery and not within the Bootloader. To communicate with the Bootloader/fastboot mode you need to use the Fastboot protocol. Try throwing this command: fastboot devices see if that yields any results.

As acejavelin said, I was missing the fastboot driver, for some reason it wasn't finding my phone. Installing the right driver solved the problem.


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How can I view other people's calendar in Microsoft Outlook for Android?
How can I view other people's calendar in Microsoft Outlook for Android?
On Outlook for Microsoft Windows, I can view other people's calendars when creating a new meeting:

I haven't found any answer so far.

I am still interested if someone has any idea.

The scheduling assistant on Outlook for Android works differently than the one for Windows.
In Outlook, click on the calendar --> new event, enter the people who should attend the meeting.

Select the date, then time of the meeting.

The attendees are listed on the bottom with green checked marked when they are free, red when they are not free.
The chosen time for the meeting will also be green or red whether it is free or overlapping with other meetings.

Clicking on an attendee will show either the person is free, busy or tentative.

Thanks, picking a time and looking at whether all invitees are available isn't efficient

Agree. Unfortunately that how Microsoft has implemented it for now


text:
Where is my Outlook attachment downloaded?
I use the Outlook app on my Android phone and I received an attachment in one of my emails. I downloaded it and it automatically opened with another app so I can read it.
Now I want to retrieve it and make a copy, on my phone. Which folder in my phone should I search to find that attached file? I searched the Download and Attachments folders, without success.

Long press on the attachment, a window will appear with the option Save to. Select Device. The file will be downloaded in the Download folder.


text:
Shortcut directly to specific screen
There are some apps I that I only ever access for one specific purpose. I’d like to create a shortcut into a specific screen in the app - for example, open the app and navigate to charge history. Alternatively, I'd like to alias a series of actions to one action, so I can open it and navigate to the relevant part of the app quickly. Does anything like this exist? I've read about QCustomShortcut, not sure if it's a) suitable and b) safe.

"Deep inks" into apps have to be supported by the app itself. Each app defines "activities" and you can only open the app if there is an activity for that screen you want and the activity has to be exported.
An app that allows you to list available activities and create shortcuts for them is Activity Launcher just as an example.


text:
How do I find out what is causing the app "Google" to use so much background data
Even though I have background data turned off, it is using incredibly high amounts of data to the point of being ridiculous. This is starting to cost me money as data is not unlimited in Canada. It's gotten to the point where I can't use data because if I turn it on Google just gobbles it all up. At one point, it was just full tilt downloading/uploading something I have no idea what it would be.
What is causing this and/or how can I turn off background usage for Google for real (obviously the toggle is a placebo)
Screenshots of data usage.

Have you enabled Google Backup Cloud sync or do you sync the photos taken into the Google cloud? Have you enabled the Google assistant?

Interesting. I also  disabled background data on all  my apps.  It takes a bit as you have to do each one manually.  You can set data limits. Click the settings wheel in the top right corner in the first screenshot. Use that temporarily until you figure out what is causing data suck..

I have enabled google backup cloud sync, but I have had it enabled for years with no issues. Plus I have done nothing (that I can think of) to make it backup so many gigs - I haven't taken any pictures recently or received any files. Also, @fady, I already disabled background data. It is using background data even with the toggle to turn it off. It is ignoring the disable.

Are you using Google Launcher? I.e. left most swipe on the home screen brings you to the Google Assistant/Google Now interface with News cards. Check the main Settings (three dots in upper right of background) for the subsections on Discovery or Videos to see if anything looks amiss (Videos allowed on mobile networks perhaps?).

As an update to this: I never figured out the exact problem that caused this. Even after turning off features like google assistant it still continued to use an unusually high bandwidth. The eventual solution was rooting + custom kernel + custom ROMs. I don't have any issues now.


text:
Transfering app data to other android device
I have lot of data written by ColorNote application. Now I installed the ColorNote in other Android device, too.
Now, how to copy my ColorNote data to from the original device to that device (with the fresh installation of ColorNote)?
I don't know where ColorNote writes data written by its user :-(

The Colornote support page gives a few options. You can sync through their online services, by transferable backup, or by SD card.

How to transfer notes from old phone to new phone.
Using the online sync is Recommended.
Sign up online sync on your old phone. Go to:

Menu –-> Backup –-> Sign Up.

next Sync your device by going to:

Menu –-> Sync. Check how many notes are synced by going to: Menu -–> Settings –-> Online Backup –-> Synced notes.

Then sign in to online sync in your new phone by going to:

Menu –-> Backup -–> Sign In.

Using sdcard backup:
the steps below to transfer notes saved on the previous device to the new device using local backup.
When you have the previous device
  Open ColorNote and go to the device backup screen on the previous device go to:

Menu --> Backup --> Tap Device

Which is located in the upper bar or go to:

Settings --> Backup.

Next manually back up notes by pressing:

Backup Notes --> Enter master password --> Done.

then move the backed up files from the previous device to the new device.
Go to sdcard backup screen on your old phone by:

Menu –-> Backup -–> SD card backup.

To Backup Notes you need to press the button and then enter your master password.
Lastly, move sdcard from old phone to new phone.
Go to sdcard backup screen on your new phone and tap backup item you want to restore.
finish up by typing the  password that you have set when backup file was created.


text:
Show size of biggest folders and files in system data
1. Summary
I don't find, how I can view, which folders and files are the biggest in my system data. So I can manually decide which files to delete and which not.

2. Expected behavior
Ideally to have behavior as in SpaceSniffer Windows program.

SpaceSniffer can show sizes of system Windows files.
I can't get similar behavior for Android.

3. Data

ASK Benefit S401
Android 5.1.1
CyanogenMod 12.1 ROM
Rooted

When I install CyanogenMod, system data size — ~700 MB; at the time — ~1,5 GB.
Several hundred megabytes — apps data, for which I would consider the possibility of removal.

4. Not helped
4.1. SpaceSniffer Android alterntaives
All doesn't show system data files and folders.

DiskUsage

DataSize Explorer

Grid Size File Manager

I don't find another DiskUsage alternatives, that can help me.

5. Do not offer

Yes, I understand that operations with system Android files may be risky. I understand that I do actions at my own risk.
Yes, I know about SD card partitioning, and I move all my apps to SD card use Apps2SD.
Yes, I can view system data files, use any file manager, that support root — I use Amaze, — but I don't find file manager, that:

correct sort folders and files in system data
show files/folders size of all files in screen.

6. Related questions
My question is not duplicate for these questions; please look carefully.

How to see what is stored in System memory area?
Huge «system data» file on SD Card
How do I get rid of “System Data” that takes up half my hard drive?

SDMaid is also a good app.

Install Solid Explorer and grant it root access. This is the most feature filled file manager that I've tried. Visit the Root (/) partition, click three dots on top right and properties. There you can see a breakdown of the content, file types and top 20 files (it does take a while to index this).

Alternatively with a terminal emulator use the common Linux tool du and sort by size:
du -ah(x) | sort -n -r | head -n (number_to_show)
I tried to find a build of ncdu for Android which would be ideal but no luck. If you have Ubuntu/Arch/some other system with a package manager installed you could simply apt-get it.

One problem: Solid Explorer is a great tool, but not FOSS :( . Thanks.

@СашаЧерных true that's why I was a bit hesitant providing it GDrive access. SFTP to my VPS works really well though.

If you haven't tried termux you might want to check it out. It gives you a terminal with apt and doesn't require root.  It has a package for ncdu.  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.termux

I have tried five or six apk installed file management space app that can obtain root permissions. In addition to https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.google.android.diskusage/, other apps are very, very slow to index, may be associated with magisk or partitions? So I chose to su root permissions using adb shell.
Both ncdu and gdu (more feature-rich than ncdu) have compiled arm static binaries. Can be used directly in adb shell. The specific method of use can refer to https://android.stackexchange.com/a/256220/397711


text:
What's this "drawer" in the task switcher and how to configure it?
I just upgraded my Samsung Galaxy S9+ to Android 9 and was wondering about this new UI element that shows up when opening the task switcher (the ||| button).
In the below screenshot you can see the task switcher and five icons which are similar to the app drawer that lives on the bottom of the home screen (highlighted by the red frame). However, this selection of apps is not the same as in my actual app drawer. Also, I don't really use ES Explorer that often such that the frequency of the app usage would seem relevant here for its appearance (all other apps appear to be system apps). For example I have not even opened it once since the system upgrade.

What is this new UI element called? (relevant for web searches)
How can I configure the apps appearing in this UI element?

Where's something new in that screenshot? Isn't that element already available for ages? AFAIR it was there at least since Android 5. As for configuration: Looks like you already used drag'n'drop for that; apart from that, I don't know how to configure it (and what to configure). The exact name? No idea, It's often called the "dock" – but if that's the official name?

@Izzy I never noticed it before, which may also be the case because before the running apps were vertically stacked, now they are side by side. I just tried drag&drop and I was unable to change anything using that method. Also, today that "dock" looks different than yesterday. All system apps are gone, but one on the list is yet again one that hasn't been opened in the foreground since the upgrade. However, it does seem to be related to frequency of use. Perhaps one of those modern adaptive features ...

Uh, wait: are we talking about the same thing? I referred to what was marked by a red border – and thought that was on the home screen. Now I guess you rather referred to the "Last Recently Used" screen, and that "dock" is only visible there? If that's the case, I retract what I wrote before.

@Izzy yep, that's what I am talking about as well. I still haven't figured out why its content changes. It's not the same list as the open apps (shown above with a "screenshot" of their last state), but it may be something like a recently used or recently closed app. I'll get there eventually, and if I do before others, I'll simply answer my question.

That section is showing predicted apps. This feature was introduced in Android 9, along with their changes to the recent apps screen. I'm not sure if there's a common name for that UI element, but I found relevant info when searching for "predicted app drawer" and "app suggestions".
AFAIK, you can't customize this - the apps that appear are predicted by the system based on your usage, so over time it will learn and (hopefully!) get better at showing you apps that you're likely to want to use soon.
I don't have access to a Samsung phone to test with, but you can turn it completely off in stock Android 9. You can see screenshots here.

Long-press on the home screen
Tapping "Home Settings", then "Suggestions"
Toggle "Apps" off


text:
How can I install / debug applications on nanopi m4 Android board?
I have a nanopi m4 Android board, usb type c port for charging and data (and debugging maybe), four usb 3.0 ports, Android 8.1
I need to use adb,
what I have tried

use the charging / data port (usb type c) for debugging, the board couldn't boot, it goes through a loop trying to boot, I guess because of not enough delivered power;
looking for the debug over Wifi feature in the Android settings, but I didn't find this option.

Question
What other debugging options do I have?
This might help

I can put an App in SD card and use it
I can host a temporary web server to get the app to the board

Problem Solved
Somebody just figured out how to do it: power the board using two power bins and use the usb-c for debugging.


text:
Possible to share Tmobile Internet using my Android (Moto Z2 Play NO ROOT) via a USBC > Ethernet > Laptop?
Looking for a way to bypass my hotspot limit as I keep hitting the 10GB cap on Tmobile. Is there a way to share internet directly from my android phone (moto z2 play NO ROOT) plugged into a usbc > ethernet adapter then to my laptop's ethernet port? Does android 7.1 even have the ability to route the internet into this ethernet port?

I use an app called pdanet+ to share hotspot through WiFi, or usbc cable.
All you have to do, is download the app onto your phone, and also download it onto your laptop from here. You will then be able to open the app, in your phone, and enable usb tethering, it will then give you specific instructions on how to proceed depending on your device.
No root required, and it works for me even though my carrier doesn't allow hotspot at all!
(You should also select "hide tether usage", so that your carrier doesn't know your used hotspot at all)

2018-March -- verified working on my moto z2 play on tmobile! Installed pdanet on my android 7.1 and then installed the windows pdanet software then let it detect your phone and set usb debugging on in the android. From there just check off USB sharing on the android and activate it on the desktop aswell. thanks!


text:
Problem with Android process manager
When I lock my screen, or when I minimize an application such as Youtube, it has been stay on pause state, but when I minimize an application on Win or Linux, it continue to process,
How can I continue a process with halt/pause?

So you want to use YouTube in background?

Yes, I need to do it. @global_warming

See also https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/3079/how-to-play-a-youtube-clip-in-background-minimised

Here we are talking about completely different things. In Android almost everything related to UI is placed in Activity.

Activities are one of the fundamental building blocks of apps on the Android platform. They serve as the entry point for a user's interaction with an app, and are also central to how a user navigates within an app (as with the Back button) or between apps (as with the Recents button).

When user minimizes the app, the Activity goes into pause state. This does not means system has destroyed the process of app, everything in kept into place and when maximizing the app everything will work correctly. However system may destroy Activity in extreme low memory conditions.
So, what is happening in case of YouTube?
When user minimizes the app, YouTube app pauses the playback and this is performed intentionally and there is nothing wrong with Process Manager.
Can we play YouTube in background?
Yes. There is an Xposed Module called YouTube Background Playback, which requires Xposed Framework installed, of course.
Further, YouTube developers can design the app in such a manner that playback does not pauses when app is minimized, like other music apps does. They can use a Service for playback, which can run in background even if app is minimized.


text:
How to fix Dead or Stuck pixels on my android phone using PC?
I currently have fully covered black screen on my phone and it started from a small black spot and it spread. I don't know if its whether it is a dead pixel or stuck pixel. the phone is still functional just no display. How do i fix this using my PC?

I really don't think it is possible to recover it if its dead pixel as its a hardware problem so i highly doubt that some pc tweaks would solve it, if you can elaborate how it started and some images of current state people might be able to help properly

@HarshGundecha , well an image might not help at all since its just my phone with black screen but the phone still functional as in still receive notifications and connected to wifi. And the phone is Oppo R7 lite. But yea, i think its a dead pixels so im just gonna buy a new phone i guess... thanks for trying to help

You can get pixel fixers but it sounds like your whole screen has gone, It's probably a problem with the cable connecting the screen to the motherboard of your device.

You asked how to fix it using your PC, so here's the steps to follow:

Load up Google Maps on your PC.
Search for phone repair shops.
Find a result that's easy to get to and take your phone there.
Tell them your phone screen is broken and needs replacing.

If this started with a new phone, you should instead take it back to where you bought it, tell them they sold you a faulty phone, and ask them to replace it for you. Your PC isn't involved in this case.

i guess this will probably the best answer i could get for this problem. thanks


text:
Change the user in Skype
I have several Skype accounts. How can I change the account used by the Android Skype app? I don't see a way to log off/log on. Should I de-install & re-install from scratch?

Ok, so the secret is that there is a settings page but to get there you have to tap your avatar/icon at the top of the chats history. Then the "Disconnect from Skype" option is at the bottom.

According to skype support, all you have to do, is open the menu on the top left, and you'll find a sign out button on the bottom of the menu.
You will then have an option to sign in using a different account.

I have no such page, because Skype start in the call history... but I figured it out.


text:
Download AT&T OTA update while out of country
I have a Samsung Galaxy S4 that I want to install Android 5.1 on.  AT&T released this as an OTA last year (https://www.att.com/devicehowto/tutorial.html#!/stepbystep/id/stepbystep_KM1143907?make=Samsung&model=GalaxyS4I337), but I whenever I check for updates it says nothing is available.  The phone is currently running Android 4.4.
Could this be because I'm currently living abroad and accessing the internet via local Wi-Fi?  Is there another way to get the update?

You need to be connected to the AT&T network to receive the update, which isn't possible if you're abroad.
If you can't get the update through auto updates on your phone, or via Kies, then you can download the firmware and use Odin to flash it.
I found this answer helpful, as well as this tutorial that shows you step by step how to do it.


text:
Google Play updates a non-existing application
Recently, on my Moto G5 I was hit with a situation of Google Play updating an application that is not listed in the application list:

Situation on right screenshot remained only until given update process has completed. Right after that "Moto Actions" application appeared on the list.
Questions here:

Why Google Play calls something "an update", if in facts it installs it for the first time?
Disable button for this app is disabled. Can't disable or uninstall it. Any option to get rid of it?
How can Google Play install anything on my device without asking me for a permission?
How can Google Play install anything that I cannot uninstall?
Are there any other app-examples of such behavior?

I thought that this is possible only for apps that are part of core system and that anything that is installed through Google Play can be uninstalled?
I purchased my Moto G5, after having Moto G4 earlier and after having Moto E3 even earlier. I was using all my phones because Moto offers "as close to pure Android as possible".
Every phone came with some annoying Moto-like stuff, but I was always able to uninstall or disable it. This is first example. Is this some kind of change in Motorola policy? Cause I find hard to believe that "Moto Actions" is so essential system app that user can't uninstall it and Motorola only forgot about it in system release and had to later install it through Google Play.

Do you have "Show system" enabled in Settings-Apps? It is disabled by default. Moto Actions is a system application by default (won't show in the list), but after it is updated it will be in the normal application list.

Why Google Play calls something "an update", if in facts it installs it for the first time?

Even if you think the app was not installed before it may be the case that the app was renamed. Therefore the app name is new, but the app itself was already installed.

Disable button for this app is disabled. Can't disable or uninstall it. Any option to get rid of it?

Apps that can't be disabled are system apps. The manufacturer installed it and the app itself is system critical (based on the manufacturers opinion), therefore you can't disable it. With root permissions you may be able to delete the app, however most likely your system will not work correctly at some point (or at all) afterwards.

Regarding the Moto Actions I assume that Motorola uses it for defining tasks that trigger under certain conditions. As those settings are integrated into the OS the app is system critical and can't be deinstalled.

How can Google Play install anything on my device without asking me for a permission?

The answer is more or less already included in 1. Most likely the app was already installed.

How can Google Play install anything that I cannot uninstall?

System apps can be updated - you will see that in the app overfiew you have the option to uninstall the update (but not disable the app). In such a case the updated app is installed into the regular app space and the system app is ignored.

Are there any other app-examples of such behavior?

On nearly every device there is at least one pre-installed manufacturer system app that can be updated via Play Store and that can't be disabled.

If you want a clean Android System you can unlock your device and install LineageOS or another AOSP based custom ROM. Lineage OS for example does not even include the PlayStore and the other Google apps (but you can install them if you want).

Thank you for a more comprehensive and professional answer than I could ever imagine. Even though I broke one of the key rules of posting here (one question = one post) you did manage to answer it all. Thanks!


text:
Cannot add owner info to Lock screen - HTC One M9
In my other Android devices, I've always been able to set an "If found" message on the Owner Information shown on the lock screen.
Settings -> Security -> Owner info
But for the HTC One M9, this configuration item does not exist. I have not been able to find an alternate setting.
Apart from writing the owner info on the lock screen image, is there any other way to display a message on the lock screen?

Do you have a search option in your Settings app?

Yes, looking for 'Owner' finds nothing

Can you try this: http://forums.androidcentral.com/ask-question/543755-owner-info-android-5-0-2-a.html (Last 2 posts)

The Android 7.0 Nougat release has added the lock screen message functionality.

There isn't a direct option. You could probably create your own lock screen wallpaper with your "if found" message on it.

"Apart from writing the owner info on the lock screen image, is there any other way to display a message on the lock screen?"


text:
Why can my phone interact with other devices wifi streaming?
I've noticed today, that, if someone in my company is streaming music to our smartTV, my phone is able to interact with it and, for example, pause it or even fully stop it.
I don't know what causes this behaviour, even weirder, my colleague is casting using Spotify and I don't have Spotify on my device.
Needless to say we are using the same WI-FI. But, still, I can't figure out why I can access the stream.
Couldn't that even be a security flaw?
Cordially,
Matthieu

Most likely the TV supports DLNA and provides the controls to any device in it's network.
In your scenario there are three DLNA device roles:

The "Server" provides the audio/video stream (e.g. a NAS with a lot of files or as in your case a smart phone)
A "Renderer" (the TV) displays the data
One or many "Control Points" control what is displayed where and how

In conclusion what you have observed is simply a DLNA feature. It just means that multiple control points can be active at the same time. I think DLNA was just designed to work - security was not an objective - therefore it is not a security flaw, it is a feature...
BTW: TVs and DLNA are designed for end customers not for company networks, therefore they should always be separated into a restricted network section.

Thank you, I didn't know about DLNA. I'll look up more into it.