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Upgrade from Android 7.0 to 9.0 in Asus Zenpad 10
I have an Asus ZenPad 10 P028 and it has Android 7.0.
I was wondering is a good idea to upgrade to Android 9.0 and also is it feasible?
I've seen there are tutorials to move to LineageOS but it will not support my tablet version.
The reason to upgrade is that the android version I've is not stable, some apps crash unexpectedly and is not the fastest.
I'm not sure as I've read in other questions if the kernel would support the device.
What would you recommend?

New Android 9 is not faster than Android 7. If your device does not show you available updates then there are no updates to newer Android versions. Check Settings -> System-> Updates.

Hello Angelo. Our site focuses on questions which can be answered objectively. Open ended questions such as "what/how was your experience with XYZ", "Do you think I should do ABC", "What do you recommend given DEF issues/constraints" are not a good fit. They just keep inviting answers with opinions given their nature.


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Extend usable area of the screen
I have an old unrooted android phone with the bottom zones touch not working. I followed this Post to resize my screen to avoid the dead zones. But the menu launcher icon is near the middle of the usable screen and also the menu area is reduced to almost half (see the images below). Is it possible to remove the gap between menu/menu-launcher and navigation buttons so that I can get more usable screen?
Home Screen
Menu

Have you tried tweaking the density too?

Yes, I did. But the gap was still there.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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Data recovery from formatted userdata partition
I did format the userdata partition while installing a new ROM accidentally. But after formating and installing a new ROM, I did backup full userdata partition within TWRP with dd method for data recovery purpose. I tried testdik, photorec and other data recovery tools. They all found something but not useful/meaningfull because, all directories/filenames are weird, I mean in UTF8 format (although there are some meaningfull files but not I'm interested in :( ). My phone is OnePuls 6T running Android 10 on it and I know FDE and FBE concepts. But while backing up my userdata even it is encrypted, TWRP works well and decrypt partition before work with my password.
So, why some files are in well situaition and others not. If there is encryption issues shouldn't be the same for all files.
Is there any comment? Thanks.

for FBE some files aren't encrypted that files can be recovered in theory. but i doubt you did format userdata, it is not possible to recover files from formatted previously encrypted partition. TWRP wipe option does not format it just deletes files with rm https://android.stackexchange.com/q/213275

@alecxs with FBE too, just like FDE, all files are encrypted (though FBE allows adding an exclusion list to AOSP code). The main difference is that some files are Credential Encrypted (CE; decrypted using user credentials) while others are Device Encrypted (DE; decrypted using only hardware-backed credentials). So the DE files are auto-decrypted on boot (that's how Direct Boot aware apps work). But if one performs a factory reset, DE files too won't be decryptable because keystore state is reset on factory reset. Just to clarify.

I thought that I'm not facing  encryption issue  when I decrypt it with TWRP and took a clean backup. Then there is no need to deal with it.

@IrfanLatif with "some files" i tought about /data/unencrypted folder (which is magisk testing for getting encryption state) or /data/misc /data/system (where keystore and credentials are stored) - i never used FBE and didn't know that, thx for clarifying

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


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I'm trying to download Blue Kik, but it keeps giving me the 'App not installed' message
I'm using a TCL LX (which I wouldn't doubt is the problem, due to how bad the phone is) and I'm looking for a simple solution. I've tried installing it multiple times, deleting and re-downloading the APK, but nothing seems to work.

maybe android 8.1 is not supported. ask the support or post in forum

In my case, I get this message if there is not enough storage space on the device, so I would check that and try to free up space by deleting old files or unused apps.


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export multiple WhatsApp conversations to .txt or .csv format
I need to export a lot of different conversations, they are not very old, maximum 1200 messages. However, the WhatsApp export tool only allows me to do it one by one, is there any way to do it faster?
regards

The manual way of doing that is
> To email your chat history, follow these steps:
> 1. Open the chat you want to send by email.
> 2. Touch More options.
> 3. Touch More.
> 4. Tap Export chat.
> 5. Choose NO FILES or INCLUDE FILES.
> 6. Select the onedrive application and load. The email will be sent as a text. When the history is sent with attachments, only the most
> recent 10,000 messages are sent. Without files, you can send up to
> 40,000 most recent messages. These restrictions are due to the maximum
> size of the email.


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Samsung 20 delete phone contact
Brand new samsung 20 will not allow me to delete a contact without phone # and stays on recently added and home screen

If your device is connected to your Google account and the contact is synced to the cloud you may succeed to delete it via Google Contacts web site.

quite a strange thing, considering the fact that your phone is new.
well, there are basic steps to deleting contacts:

From a Home screen, swipe up from the center of the display to access the apps screen.
Tap Contacts Contacts icon.
Select the desired contact.
Tap the Menu icon Menu icon (upper-right).
Tap Delete.
Tap Delete to confirm.

maybe if the phone is required for content to be deleted, you could try add some random number just to refresh the contact? vfwbe then you will manage to delete it...


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How do I change the USB mode with a keyboard?
How do I change the USB mode and select an option such as MTP, PTP, MIDI or charging with only a keyboard?
My screen is broken and I am trying to change the USB mode blindly using a keyboard?
What keys do I need to press to select a USB mode?
I will post a picture showing the USB mode pop up that shows when you press the "USB for charging" notification here:

The solution to this problem is to instead open the Settings app and then click on Developer options, make sure you enable Developer Options at the top by pressing Enter on the Keyboard, once that is done scroll down the list with the down arrow and select and click "Select USB Configuration", after selecting that a pop up window will appear where the user only needs to select the desired USB mode they want by pressing the up or down arrow keys and then Enter on the keyboard. This will create a connection with your computer for the desired USB mode.
A Helpful Tip: You might want to enable Google Talkback in the Accessibility settings to give spoken feedback on what is being selected by your keyboard on the screen. Accessibility is located in the settings app. Talkback helped me throughout this process since I was navigating my phone blindly (without being able to see what was on my screen, since it was broken). Talkback helps to mitigate navigating your phone blindly to a certain degree if you have a broken screen that doesn't display properly or at all.


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Protect your Android phone from loss or theft
It's an unfortunate fact that the pricey pocket computers we carry around with us at all times are prime targets for thieves—as well as very easy to leave behind in subway cars or on coffee shop tables. Now that we all rely on our smartphones for so much, having one stolen or misplaced can feel like the end of the world.
We are not bothered about the life-saving apps until we lost our Smart Phone or PC. Once something happens badly, we will run behind the apps to track the device.
But, by taking the correct Preemptive Measures/precautions beforehand, we can reduce the likelihood of crooks accessing our data, and make it easier to find our phone’s location. We can even make the phone itself pretty much useless to the thieves or anyone they sell it to.
And my question is what are the Preemptive Measures You Should Do Before—And After—You Lose Your Phone?

Safeguarding android device

Secure your device (before it is lost or stolen)
Set a PIN or password
The most important security measure on an Android Smartphone is to set an PIN or password.
An unprotected device is directly accessible to every one if you have lost it while it was running.
For a the length of the PIN/password at least five or better six digits are recommended.
A pattern lock is also possible but not recommended as it is easier to crack and in case of an broken display it will will prevent you from accessing your device as it can't be solved with an attached keyboard.
Set or keep the PIN for the SIM
If your SIM allows for unlimited calls and does not have a PIN, someone might use the SIM even if he/she cannot use the phone.
So it's better to keep the default PIN, or set one.
You would have to unlock the SIM once after powering on the phone.
Disadvantage: You'll have to remember it (Only three attempts allowed).
Do not unlock bootloader or root the device
From the perspective of an attacker that have found or stolen your device an open bootloader simplifies a lot of attacks. Hence the general rule for secure devices is not to unlock the bootloader or root your device.
Know the device IMEI
If your device has been stolen you may want to complain this to the police. In such a case you need some device details like Phone brand and model number and the most important the device IMEI (most mobile network operators have IMEI blacklists of stolen devices). Usually the IMEI is printed on the boy the device is shipped in. Hence as long as you keep this box everything is fine. If not you can use your phone to display the IMEI by entering *#06# in to the Telephone/dialer app. After entering the last dash immediately a dialog show pops up showing your IMEI.
After the device is gone
Worst case
To say the truth if your device has been stolen and the thief is not an idiot your device is gone. No GPS/cell tower/Wifi location technology or whatever can locate the device or send back the location it the device is in a electrostatic shielded bag. Hence if your device has been stolen and you were unprepared it is now too late.
Other cases
If you just lost your device or the thief is a complete idiot you may be able to use one of the location trackers. Regular Android devices that are "Google enabled" (Google Play Services and Google PlayStore installed and equipped with an active Google account) can simply use the Google Find My Device functionality.
Note that in case you have enabled two-factor authentication on your Google account make sure you have some backup codes in place. Because if logging into your Google account requires you to have access to your (now lost/stolen) Android phone you can't login and hence not locate your device.
I strongly recommend to test Find My Device while you still have access to your device just to ensure the functionality is really working.

Note on IMEI: Once a phone of mine had been stolen, and I went to the police telling them the IMEI, hoping it would help to get my phone back. It did not. Maybe that information had just never been used...

@U.Windl The IMEI is only useful if the police by chance finds your phone. In such a case they can use the IMEI to identify that the phone is yours. But they usually do not actively search for your phone.

OK, I thought they'd pass it on to the telecommunication providers, so if it joins the network...

@U.Windl I am not sure if they still pass IMEI to MNOs. But I know that MNOs do not do anything because forged/wrong IMEIs are so common that blocking theft IMEI does not work.


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Phone is continuously rebooting/restarting
I have Old micromax phone which runs on Android kitkat. For some reason i switched off/power of the phone. But now when, I press power button, it is continuously restarting.(without appearance of home screen).
I even charged battery to full and even checked that battery is loose or not, there is no problem regarding battery.
Even i had done factory data reset and wipe out the cache partition(by pressing power button and volume key simultaneously and then selecting factory data reset option and remove cache partition option) But that doesn't work!
Phone is continuously restarting! To stop it , i had to manually remove the battery and then put it back again. But again when i press power button, the condition becomes same, it is continuously restarting/rebooting.
Is there is anyway i can fix it by myself? Please help

Bootloader unlocked, device rooted? How long does one reboot cycle take (in seconds)?

@Robert sir, device is not rooted. One Reboot cycle take maximum 7-9 seconds(home screen does not appear.) Please help

Please edit your question and describe what you mean with "But that doesn't work!" when you tried to perform a factory reset. If there are error messages please typewrite them and add it to your question.

@Robert sir, by "that doesn't work" i mean, problem is not solved. That is, though factory data reset is complete but when i press reboot option then phone start but home screen does not appears and then it continues to restart restart restart.....so on


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Google Chrome and picture reenabling and reinstalling without authorization or interaction?
As somebody really wary of Google in general, the first thing I did on my phone was to disable Chrome and Google Pictures, and replaced them by apps from F-Droid
For a few days now, I've seen them reappear in my app drawer, and with careful observation, the play store seems to be re-enabling and reinstalling them by itself when checking if updates are available.
Uninstalling and disabling them again just kick the can down to the next repository upgrade.
This question talk about google chrome, but do not give an explanation for google pictures.
Auto updates are disabled, android 9.

Known bug and the link in the answer makes it even more scary

This was a problem I noticed after updating my OnePlus 6 to Android 10. I didn't get the time to investigate the logs when my Play Store, YouTube, Photos, Play Services and GSF kept re-enabling themselves. One thing I realized was that  if I used a third-party app to disable them they got re-enabled after a while. But if I disabled them using Settings app, they never got re-enabled. This is what I suggest for you.
Also, I keep them blacklisted in my firewall, just to ensure they don't connect to internet even if they manage to re-enable themselves.

I actually disabled them with Settings on the first time, lets hope /e/ comes to my device soon so I can can it alltogether...


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Xiaomi mi a2 lite stuck on headphones mode
I was doing a mod with my car for an aux input mod but along the way I had to try different pinouts on my radio pcb to get the signal into it from my phone and unfortunately I damaged the phone audio circuit because when i unplug the jack it still puts the signal through headphones and speaker is out of play . I did find a temporary solution using lesser audioswitch app but when i restart the phone it switches again to headphones and I have to manually put it back to speaker mode .Does any one know a way to permanently set the audio output to loudspeaker as I will not use headphones anymore . By the way I physically removed the headphone port on my phone to be sure it is not in short or something. Any solution is appreciated.
Thanks in advance.


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Remove Apps Button From Favorites Tray In 5.1.1
I'm running 5.1.1 on a rooted LG Tribute LS675ZV5. I would like to remove the apps button from the favorites tray. This version of Android doesn't have that setting in the homescreen settings. I've googled(DuckDuckGoed actually) high and low and can find no solution.
Although I did discover Xposed and it seems you can do anything you want to Android with that. Perhaps including this?

I decided to give another chance to Izzy's list on Home Replacements (Launchers/Homescreens) and ended up using Smart Launcher. It works great.


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Unlock bootloader of Samsung Tab A 9.7 SM-T555
Here it comes a long intro of what I want to achieve and what I tried. You can jump to the end for the actual questions.
The internal storage of my Tab is full, so I bought an SD card. Unfortunately, Samsung does not allow me to format it as internal storage. So I tried to do it via adb shell, but it did not work. I checked whether I could instruct Whatsapp to store media files on the external SD card, but did not find a way. I also moved Whatsapp to the SD card, but it continued to store media files on the internal storage. So I decided to root the Tab in order to move the whatsapp folder to the SD card and create a soft link to it. I decided to use Odin and CF Auto Root for that, since it seems the simplest and less intrusive way to achieve what I want. But then I saw the bootloader should be unlocked. I did not find a way to check the status of the bootloader (tried the dialing trick and going into "downloading" mod). And I do not have an "OEM unlocking" option under "Developer options". I tried doing the trick of changing the date to make the OEM-unlock option visible, but it did not work. Then I read some people say that if I do not have that option, my bootloader should be unlocked. But I do not know if I can trust that information. I also saw it might be possible to unlock the bootloader with Superboot, but it seems to be a very old tool, so I cannot find a working link to download it and, moreover, I do not know if I can trust it to work with my Tab.
Can someone please confirm that my bootloader should indeed be unlocked if I do not have the OEM-unlocking option visible? Or could someone tell me how can I unlock my bootloader or ultimately achieve what I want to do (i.e., fool Whatsapp into storing media files on the external sd card)?
Thanks!

https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3747535

Thanks @alecxs From what I read in that thread, does it mean the only way to get the OEM-unlocking option visible is waiting 7 days w/o rebooting the Tab? Does this works even if I do not have a SIM card in the tablet?

add Samsung or Google account and WiFi, no SIM required

Will try, thanks

My SM-T555 still don't have an option to unlock the bootloader. Waited long time, with wifi network enabled.


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Running an rsync server on an Android device over a non-WiFi, cell-based connection?
I asked a somewhat similar question to this recently (see Rsync-like downloads over adb?), but what I'm asking here is a little bit different.
Also, if this question belongs in a different forum, I apologize in advance, and am happy to repost it elsewhere.
I want to set up an actual rsync server on my Android device, but one which works without a WiFi connection. In other words, I want it to work over a normal "cell phone" data connection. The only ways I've been able to get an rsync server to work so far is over a WiFi connection.
I know how to determine the device's assigned IP address in real time (even with a cell-based, non-WiFi data connection) and how make that IP address available to sources outside of the device. But I haven't been able to get the device to listen on that specific IP address when I do not have a WiFi connection.
Does anyone know if this is even possible?
Thank you in advance.

Does this answer your question? How to connect to Android through SSH over 3G/4G public IP?. If it is an ssh or an rsync server does not matter, as you usually don't get a public IP in the cell phone network you can't access your device from outside.

Actually, the topic you suggested does address my question, so I will move over to there. Even without a public IP, there might be a way to accomplish this via port forwarding to a proxy -- or something similar. I'll ask under that topic. Thank you.


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Make me able to choose which images/videos received via WhatsApp to show in my Google Photos Gallery?
I am having a problem that drives me crazy. Coming from iOS I had my Photo Gallery, and separated from that I had my WhatsApp App with its chats and images. When I wanted to save some of those images friends sent me, I tapped them and saved them to the Gallery. Now on my Galaxy Note 10 either ALL images received by ALL chats are also shown in my Google Photos App or none of them and within WhatsApp I am TOTALLY unable to safe choosen images manually to my Google Photos Gallery. They do not show up on the Gallery nor any Album.
This drives me crazy!!! Who would want all images one receives beeing shown in the gallery? And who would not be able to store some chosen images to the gallery? How comes Android completely rides aside an obvious desire of a common user?
Is there any solution to this?
Note: I am not talking about automatic download of media in WhatsApp. I am talking about selectively/manually showing/saving media to my Google Photos Gallery.

WhatsApp saves - all photos which are downloaded - to the WhatsApp/Media/WhatsApp Images folder.
The way gallery apps work on Android is that they scan internal storage and any folder which has media files in it are shown in the gallery app. So, similarly, the WhatsApp Media folder shows up for you in the Google Photos app.
Your few options are:

You can copy items from the WhatsApp Media folder and move them to
another folder.
You can manually stop media from certain chats from appearing in your Gallery app. You can set that in chat settings and WhatsApp will move these files to a folder with .nomedia attribute set. So, this media will not show in any gallery app (except file managers).
You can disable all media from all chats from appearing in your Gallery apps. In this case, if you need to specifically save some media items, you will need to manually copy those items from the nomedia folders to your main folder. You will need a file manager for this task.

ok, so basically no solution to this. Just crazy that android does not provide such an essential feature.


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Firefox Android Clearing download history without deleting the file
On the desktop version of Firefox, when I open "Show All Downloads" and there "Clear Downloads", the history of downloads is cleared, but the downloaded files are present in the folder still. This is the desired behavior.
However, on Android Firefox, if I open Tools->Downloads, I only get the option "Delete All Downloads" and when I press it, the list gets cleared, along with the files from the folder. How do I avoid this and get the behavior similar to that in the desktop? Basically, I wish to clear Firefox download history in Android without deleting/renaming the downloaded files.

Doesn't clear search & browser history not clear?

@beeshyams It does clear the download history, but it also deletes all the files in the list from the folder.

In Menu->Tools->Downloads

Maybe you can use an app like folder sync to sync your downloads on schedule /demand, if you don't get Firefox based solution

I would prefer a solution within Firefox. Or that the developers fix this. However, until then, I might have to fall back to FolderSync.


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Why i am not able to open my archieved chats?
My archieved whatsApp messages not opening at all. I am not able to click it and open it(convert)

Sorry I'm failing to understand... Did you export the chats out of WhatsApp?. Because the only option in WhatsApp to archive chat can be found by scrolling to the bottom of the screen and going into the chats hidden. Please clarify which archive method you used so I can help you further

To open WhatsApp archived/exported chat, you need an app that is able to open .txt file, because WhatsApp archived/exported chat has that format. You can use this text viewer app from the Play Store.


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to identify these services after upg. to andr 10?
To all,
please tell me if this is relevant to the forum.
the problem:
I want to identify these services that appear after the upgrade to Android 10, in adjustments -> applications and notifications -> manager of permissions -> storage and other permissions. Some data:

model: Nokia 4,2
this model has the Android One distribution.

I didn't find anything in web search for this one:

QMMI

in the search there appear titles such as "hidden settings" or something related to Xiaomi. the others are, in total:

com.android.carrierconfig
com.qualcomm.qti.workloadclassifier
face

more observations:

the election to uninstall or disable are not available for any these.
until now, only user style titles appeared in permissions, such as Chrome or Foo Service, never something in the style of a kernel module foo.bar.baz

questions / ideas:

Is this how it should be in a valid update of Android from Google?
how to uninstall / to investigate: maybe I can enter a linux terminal? is it possible to create a root user with password, but not to disqualify of Android updates? also, it would be from inside the device: I would not open a server for this purpose intentionally.

Thanks in advance,
Dan

To test if the device is in a genuine state you can use the Google SafetyNet attestation result e.g. shown in one of this apps. In any way if you don't trust the manufacturer of a device don't buy a device from him or at least unlock it and install LineageOS on it.

@Robert thans I'll try that

The following observation supports a conclusion that this no more than a quirk of the last system update:
According to this link to an Android package QMMI, it seems that this is created by HMD Global the company that produces Nokia.


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How to disable default calendar notification on Samsung Watch Active 2
I have the Samsung Watch Active 2, and use Google Calendar app on my phone, which also has event notifications on my watch, which is great.
However, the default Samsung calendar notification also shows up, but it would lock up the screen and require me to explicitly dismiss the notification to use the watch. Is there a way this notification can be disabled?

I opened the Samsung Calendar app on my phone. Not through device manager but the Default Calendar that comes with Samsung phones. From there you can see all calendars and un-check the calenders you do or do not want to be synced.

Samsung calendar->settings->alert settings
Change all to none. You're welcome.


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Integrity verification has failed
Hi my Samsung J7 Prime just stuck on The integrity verification has failed. You need to reset your device to factory default settings. This will erase your data. i dont want to reset the phone because my data is important on the phone please help me what to do without losing the data ?? please please please

descripe what actions you did to get integrity verification failed

I really hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if you have an integrity failure, you probably wouldn't want to boot your device even if you could.
Allow me to explain. The "integrity failed" message means that a part of your system has been modified and might not be safe to boot. It might have been modified by a malicious app, program, or it could have just been you trying to root your device. (If it's the last one, please make sure you follow all directions by whatever guide you are using to root your device in order to make sure that stuff like this doesn't happen).
Unfortunately, what this means for you is you are going to have to reset your device. It is a security feature built into android, so it's best you follow it's direction. I know how this feels, it sucks, but its just the case with this error. Make sure in the future that you keep backups of any important data.
If you don't read any other part of this answer, please read this:
If you reset your device and the error continues, STOP! Unless you know what you are doing, this error can be very difficult to correct on your own, and easy to make worse for yourself. Instead, take your phone into a repair shop or your carrier to have them fix it.
If I'm completely getting your situation wrong, please let me know any additional information you have and I will try to update my answer accordingly. Best of luck to you.

it may possible to fix without erasing userdata. usually official stock ROM can be flashed with glass echidna heimdall or odin. maybe the device is already rooted and it just requires disable dm-verity. but @KazimAhmed didn't tell us the reason for integrity fail, so it's all speculation

Yeah the answer I gave was assuming he has no idea what caused it.


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Is there anyway i can run the same Whatsapp account on both my android phone and android tablet at the same time?
I have a Samsung J6 phone, with Whatsapp installed.
I also have a Samsung Tablet, Tab A 2019.
Both are running the latest version of Android at the time of writing.
Ive downloaded and setup Whatsapp on the tablet, but this disassociates Whatsapp on my phone, is there anyway i can run the same Whatsapp account on both my android phone and android tablet ?

Yes, there is a way indeed. Install WhatsApp primarily on one of your devices. On another device, open google chrome and head to web.whatsapp.com. Now click the menu icon (on the top right of browser with 3 vertical dots), scroll down and check the "Request desktop site" option. Now you will receive the web version of WhatsApp on one of your devices. Scan the QR Code from your primary device.
Enjoy!


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Can we stop Gmail from calling home to google before resolving a url?
When you click on a link in gmail on your phone, it first queries www.google.com with the url of your query, and then redirects to the destination URL. Is there a way to stop this "feature" of google knowing about all the URLs you click on? I've switching from chrome to firefox as a default browser, but this functionality is in the gmail app itself.

Try to long press the URL in email and open it in new tab
But I suspect you are making your data private because Google already knows the content of your email and has it cached also
Try and use gmail on firefox with Clean URL and adguard extension installed ,although I suspect it will work but one can hope.
 P.S. ... you can't stop a data mongering company from intruding in your privacy while using its services


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Can't set lockscreen passcode
I have a Samsung Galaxy J4. A few days ago, I suddenly was not able to unlock the screen of my phone. I don't recall doing anything special with it before that happened.
After some searching and playing with adb, I removed the files /data/system/locksettings.*, and /data/system_de/0/spblob/. And I was able to clear the screenlocker and get in to my phone.
However, when I tried to set a screenlocker again, the following error message appears in logcat:
04-29 14:00:47.103  3083  4440 I SyntheticPasswordManager: Device does not support weaver
04-29 14:00:47.109  2757  2757 D gatekeeperd: enroll ret = -1
04-29 14:00:47.111  3083  4440 E SyntheticPasswordManager: Fail to enroll user password when creating SP for user 0
04-29 14:00:47.114  3083  4440 E LockSettingsStorage: Cannot read file java.io.FileNotFoundException: /data/system_de/0/spblob/0000000000000000.handle: open failed: ENOENT (No such file or directory)
04-29 14:00:47.117  2757  2757 D gatekeeperd: enroll ret = -1
04-29 14:00:47.118  3083  4440 E SyntheticPasswordManager: Fail to create new SID for user 0
04-29 14:00:47.119  3083  4440 D LockPatternUtils: isCredentialRequiredToUnlockUser: 1
04-29 14:00:47.119  3083  4440 E LockSettingsStorage: Cannot read file java.io.FileNotFoundException: /data/system_de/0/spblob/0000000000000000.handle: open failed: ENOENT (No such file or directory)

After that, it would appear like if there is no lockscreen set in the settings menu. But if I turn off the screen and on again, there would be one. Attempting to unlock gives the following errors:
04-29 14:03:01.453  3083  3083 E LockSettingsStorage: Cannot read file java.io.FileNotFoundException: /data/system/password.key: open failed: ENOENT (No such file or directory)
04-29 14:03:02.770  3083  5292 E LockSettingsStorage: Cannot read file java.io.FileNotFoundException: /data/system/password.key: open failed: ENOENT (No such file or directory)
04-29 14:03:02.771  3083  5292 E LockSettingsStorage: Cannot read file java.io.FileNotFoundException: /data/system/gatekeeper.gesture.key: open failed: ENOENT (No such file or directory)
04-29 14:03:02.771  3083  5292 E LockSettingsStorage: Cannot read file java.io.FileNotFoundException: /data/system/gesture.key: open failed: ENOENT (No such file or directory)
04-29 14:03:02.771  3083  5292 E LockSettingsService: doVerifyCredential type mismatch with stored credential?? stored: -1 passed in: 2

It seems like the passcode was not properly saved. After reading the source code of SyntheticPasswordManager, I'm guessing it's caused by the gatekeeperd: enroll ret = -1 error, but I'm not sure what to do next.
Any help on how to continue debug this problem is appreciated.

I foudn that spblob directory regenerates itself. But even after putting the files I removed from spblob directory back, it puts me back to the original state where I can't unlock even with correct passcode. The phone won't lock up after 5 incorrect retries, though. It's back to normal after wiping data partition, so I'm pretty sure the problem came from missing files or wrong setting values.

only delete locksettings.db + wal + shm


text:
How do I sort whatsapp media files according to sender
Is it possible to sort out whatsapp media files with the name of the sender?

By copying the photos to your computer you can sort it by different exif details like camera taken, date, location etc. So try cleaning and organizing by that. you can copy back the needed photos to your mobile later. Hope it helps.
But as far as I know, there'sno such option.


text:
Is it possible to visit a localhost page of my pc on Android without wifi route?
I don't have a wifi router.  I want to visit xampp localhost from my mobile. I have two android phone.  Is it possible with any app to use a phone like wifi router and another phone to visit the localhost pages?

You have already tagged WiFi hotspot. What's wrong with that?

I assume you mean router in the headline? It ends with wifi route, which is something different.

@IrfanLatif There are multiple possibilities, and choosing one is the question.

Possibly related/dupe: How to use Android in Wi-Fi repeater mode by bridging Wi-Fi with Access Point?

Servers on Localhost will never be available from outside of your PC no matter how many routes you set or connections you add. The only way is to make the server listen on all IPs or use the USB connection to the device and install a port forwarding for the server port via adb from the PC to the device.

You do have a hotspot available!
You can configure your own phone as WiFi hotspot, and connect to it from the PC!


text:
Is there a way I can disable part of my display that has a green line?
I have a Pixel 3, and I picked up my phone after momentarily charging it on a wireless pad (for about 30 minutes) this morning, as I usually do, and now it has a green line near the right edge of the screen.
Seeing as it is a display issue, I will probably need to get it replaced.
In the meantime, though, logistics make this difficult, and I would much rather have a black streak on the side than a green one.
Is there any way I can get the phone to just disable a vertical line of pixels?
The touch aspect of the screen works fine, so I don't want to modify that.

There are a number of questions already on this site about this issue. Have you read them, and can point out where the answers supplied previously do not apply, or fail for some reason in your case? You can start to solve this by clicking through the 'broken-screen' tag you have attached to your post and exploring the solutions previous.

As far as this site goes, I can't really find another question with the tag about the green/pink lines others have reported. I've tried restarting my phone in safe mode, but the line appears whenever the display turns on, even slightly.

I've seen some articles about Samsung's AMOLED, and how some programs/apps can disable pixels for that screen type, but my model uses OLED.

Most of the solutions I've found involve replacing the screen, but since I can't do that for logistical reasons right now, disabling the individual pixels themselves seems like it would be a straightforward way to reduce the visual impact.


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No slot (not A or B) selected but can get to bootloader screen and use fastboot
long story short I messed up my phone trying to get TWRP/root/magisk on my razer 1 phone (I can provide gruesome details if requested). I can fastboot and get to the bootloader screen. I seem to be stuck, I can't do anything since I have no slot selected on my phone. Any thoughts on how to get a slot selected or to repair this in general? I appreciate any help, thank you very much.
C:\Razer\platform-tools>fastboot flash boot twrp-3.2.2-0-cheryl.img && fastboot reboot
fastboot: error: Failed to identify current slot

C:\Razer\platform-tools>fastboot --set-active=a
Setting current slot to 'a'                        FAILED (remote: 'set_active failed')
fastboot: error: Command failed

C:\Razer\platform-tools>fastboot --set-active=b
Setting current slot to 'b'                        FAILED (remote: 'set_active failed')
fastboot: error: Command failed

C:\Razer\platform-tools>fastboot getvar current-slot
current-slot:
Finished. Total time: 0.001s

If this a typo? fastboot flash boot twrp-3.2.2-0-cheryl.img usually you use fastboot flash or fastboot boot but not both at the same time. In your case I recommend only to use fasboot boot as it may work without an active selected slot.

@Robert active slot still needs to be selected for /system, /vendor etc.

@IrfanLatif But a recovery should be able to work without. Otherwise the situation of the asker would be a total dead lock aka bricked device.

@Robert without slot selection recovery too won't be able to know which /system and which /vendor to mount or flash. And A/B devices have no recovery partition officially. Even the fastboot is part of aboot or abl which is abl_a or abl_b. So fastboot itself is loaded from a slot. But it's only the bootloader which sets active slot to boot from on next reboot. If slot selection doesn't work, flashing factory firmware through fastboot or at even low level service mode would be the only option. But I haven't played with this practically, so cannot be sure.


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Default app for file type
I have a Nokia 6.1 with Android 10 (Android One).
I was trying to download my account statement in Revolut app. It gives me an option to select either PDF or Excel (CSV) format to download. But instead of downloading it opens PDF in Android's default PDF viewer, and for CSV it attaches it to a new e-mail in Gmail app instead. I assume this happens because of file associations, but I can't find an option to configure them.
My problem is that I don't want my account statement coming straight through Google. It's just my personal preference to avoid feeding Google sensitive data directly.
Is it a problem with Revolut or Android? If it's Android, can I configure behavior for file types to open CSV in a different app?

See these answers

I've checked the app, it didn't change anything.

How a file handles a file (for opening or downloading) totally depends on the app developer. Usually apps fire an implicit intent with details of the file and the action the app wants to perform on it. Android then resolves this intent by matching its details with all installed apps and creates a list of apps that can handle the file type and action. If there are more than 1 apps available, Android pops up an option list where user can select the desired app (and also set it as default for future use). If only one app is found, an explicit intent is forwarded to that app from OS.

So at OS level usually there is nothing you can do except clearing defaults. Apps like Better Open With intercept all intents from all apps by claiming that they can handle every file type and every action. Then they provide options to the user what they want to do with it. You can chack logcat (ResolverActivity in particular) while opening PDF or CSV file to better understand how the app opens them. This can lead to a solution.

Thanks. In the meantime I've tried reaching out to the company and now I'm waiting for the response. If they don't respond I'll try to debug this myself


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How can I set the clock app linked in notification center?
In the notification center I can click the clock to open the clock app. How can I set the clock app which should be opened?
Currently MIUI11 default clock app is used but I want Google Clock which can run Spotify tracks.


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Are there any downsides to encrypting an Android device?
Besides requiring a lock screen, are there any downsides to encrypting an Android device (using the native encryption)?
For example:

is there a performance decrease?
is there a temperature increase?
is there a battery consumption increase?
are there any data integrity issues?
does it make anything more difficult (besides requiring a lock screen)?

What kind of encryption? FBE or FDE? In one you need to enter your password to even access your basic phone functions

@beeshyams I'm open to both possibilities.

Theoretically there should be somewhat impact on performance, temperature and battery. But that's negligible, and even unnoticeable even if you try to observe. A downside is difficulty in data recovery when password/key goes wrong or phone is dead. It's obviously a trade-off between security/privacy and data recoverability.

@IrfanLatif Recovery on a dead phone is an interesting concern I hadn't thought about sufficiently.  Is there no standard way to accomplish this, given that you have the correct password?

@RockPaperLizard no. Password isn't of any use due to hardware-backed encryption. See How to get data off a completely dead Android phone?

@IrfanLatif Upvoted! Even if you can get in to a bootloader, it sounds like the password would not help, since the encryption is hardware-backed.  Is my understanding correct?

@RockPaperLizard correct. But there are some proof of concept hacks that worked in past for brute-forcing the encryption when the device was able to boot into bootloader stage at least. But such possibilities are near to none. // Also an accidental factory reset over encryption makes data recovery nearly impossible. See https://android.stackexchange.com/a/214496/218526 and https://android.stackexchange.com/a/216410/218526

please note hardware-backed encryption is not a protection for unlocked or by-passed bootloader - once you get in, the only protection is screen lock password! even worse a lot devices do not even use screen lock credentials (they simply use default_password for FDE)


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how to install and run AR Cut & Paste?
I found this interesting thing - AR Cut & Paste, but I don't know how to install and run correctly(on pc and android)?
On rooted android (s7 edge) I have installed termux, pyhton 3.8, nodjs (to run npm commands).
On PC windows 7, my video card is old but it has support of CUDA - nvidia GT 9500.
Of course, I have read "readme" files but I need more detailed steps if it's possible. for example, what command is written in app section "npm install" - what/how to install...?
Here is link about AR Cut & Paste - https://www.androidauthority.com/ar-cut-and-paste-1114757/
and here is link of app - https://github.com/cyrildiagne/ar-cutpaste

The GitHub project states that it not a consumer-app. Which means effectively that you need to compile the app yourself. Hence you need the Android SDK and usually Android Studio (compiling via gradle is also possible the you don't need Android Studio).

can you tell me how to do it?

Sorry but the app is based React Native - an ugly framework I won't touch. Please read the install manual yourself: https://github.com/cyrildiagne/ar-cutpaste/tree/master/app plus the server: https://github.com/cyrildiagne/ar-cutpaste/tree/master/server (ssem you need both).


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How to make a text file read-only in a non-rooted device?
I wanted to make a file read-only (440)in internal storage but it shows "failed",as it seemingly requires root permission but I can't unlock bootloader as of now so is there any means we can do the above task?

Not the exact solution but with root access you can set immutable flag (chattr +i) on file on underlying real filesystem (in /data/media/).

How to get root access, is it possible with unrooted phone?


text:
How to write IMEI programmatically on Pixel XL
I have an unlocked Pixel XL device purchased recently.
I'd want to test changing IMEI of the device.
My final purpose is to randomize IMEI dynamically from a user space application.
Before this, I would like to check if IMEI writing basically works or not.
I've explored many communities and blogs for some days, but haven't found out working solution yet, even through fastboot.
For example,
fastboot oem writeimei 1234*****

is not working, but it keeps saying as if its unknown command !
Is there a way to change IMEI on Pixel XL unlocked?
Best

spoofing IMEI is illegal in some countries therefore most likely protected against changes. Nevertheless you should ask in a different wording (aka how to restore lost IMEI) because development is off-topic here

Thank you for advice. So do you have any workaround?

no. maybe interesting for you https://android.stackexchange.com/q/225881

Hi, @alecxs. Can I assume you are recommending AT commands? And if so, are you sure it will be definitely possible? Any examples running AT commands from user space apps would be much appreciated!

sorry if i knew it i would tell. for Mediatek there is NVRAM but HTC is qualcomm device. search on youtube maybe you find something you can start with

https://android.stackexchange.com/q/134911


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Lost owner privileges on Android 10 after flashing boot image
it seems that my user on Android lost the "owner privileges": Any function or feature that is only available to the main user is disabled in the UI. Unfortunately, this includes user administration and all backup functionality. It seems that I became a secondary user, but I do have the data of the original main user.
Is there any way to get owner privileges back?
This happened after flashing different kernels of Android 10. I do have the correct stock kernel now.
Best Regards!


text:
Apps from Google Play without logging into to Google Play
I want to get apps from Google Play without logging in to Google Play or using a google account.  I just dont want google to have this information.
Is it possible ?

Aurora Store offers an anonymous login option.

I have read about cleanapk.org which aims to provide important apps from Google Play for non-Google devices and CustomROM such as /e/. But I have not found out how to use cleanapk.org.

Actually there are some alternatives to the GooglePlay Store out there - all with different approaches. F-Droid's goal is to provide only FOSS (free open source sofware) Apps.
Others would be for example https://apkpure.com/
Back to you main question: YES you can access the Google Play Store and load Apps directly from there without an Google Account. As mentioned in the commends one popular solution is the Aurora Store (also available on F-Droid). What it does is, it takes your request and sends it with an faked Account to the Google Play API to get the Apps. So Google will log that an App was downloaded, maybe some more information like Country (not sure what is required by the API) BUT without your real identity.

I don't know of any way to access google play without an account but many of the apts on the play store can be downloaded from F-Droid.

I wouldn't say many. :)

In fact very few.


text:
Samsung Tablet A, 16GB memory full?
My Samsung Tab A (2016) shows my storage almost full, but the numbers do not come close.  I've run various cleaners, deleted everything not used, put most of my files on the Cloud somewhere, and still almost 14GB are unaccounted for.
My settings does not have a "storage", it has "Device Maintenance."  I've found no way to clear all caches at once, so do it app by app. I have tried everything I've found on the web, various programs, still get warnings my space is running out.  I almost replaced with the next model year (2019) but fear the same thing will happen.  I use it as a e-reader, but all my books are in the cloud, on my SD card, or are removed from my device after reading.I rarely use it as a camera, and don't store any image I don't use.
Am I spazzing for no reason?  Screenshot of my "storage" tab.

In your calculation for forget the size of the Android system itself. Use an app like DiskInfo to see the real partition(s) size and usage.


text:
Delete "Not assigned" Contact Group on Samsung Galaxy S9+
On my Samsung Galaxy S9+ in my Contacts app, I have a group called "Not assigned" with 712 contacts.  How do I delete this group and its contacts that are not in other groups?
These contacts are not sync to Google.  The rest of the contacts are.

If you got those 'Not assigned' contact from a google account then you are in luck.

Log in back to that google account to which those 'Not assigned' contacts belong.
Once you log in, those 'Not assigned' will be assigned back to the google account that you just added.
Select that google account in the display option.
Now you'll be able to bulk select all contacts and delete them.
(Note: it will also be deleted from your synced google account but you can easily and quickly recover it from https://contacts.google.com/trash or from VCF file)
Now you can remove your google account from your Samsung device without leaving any 'Not assigned' contacts.

Not the solution I was looking for, but I tapped on each contact and deleted it.  This required 4 taps per contact.  My wrist was getting sore half way through.  It took me about 1 hour.


text:
Android can't view local content after OS upgrade
After upgrading to Android 10, I am not able to use the Files app to view local files on my phone. If I run Files and view the Downloads folder, for example, it merely says "Can't load content at the moment".
I've been using the built-in Files app for many versions of Android. But after upgrading to Android 10 it stopped working. I am able to view the contents of some directories. And if I choose / navigate to folders in a different way, e.g.

Images -> Download
Or

Device -> Download

Then the file explorer will view some files. But simply selecting "Downloads" from the menu gives me this error.
I have gone into App Permission -> Storage, but the Files app does not appear there. Inside App Info -> Files it says "No Permissions requested". I have installed two other file browsing apps, and both of them can access all of my folders just fine.
Is there something I'm missing to be able to browse my own local files, on my own device, using the OS built-in file browser?

Thanks to Scoped Storage. That's expected.

I'm having the exact same issue! Folders with lots of files, such as Download or DCIM/Camera, simply do not load. Neither on Files nor on an external file browser. But accessing via Images or Downloads on the files app sidebar, or through the Gallery, does work flawlessly. Surprisingly, going through root and /data/media/0 on an external file manager does open every folder instantly!

Just came across this same problem on a Galaxy Tab S4.
Fixed it by clearing the data of the system 'Files' app (Settings > Apps > Show system apps > Files > Clear data).

Are you running Android 10 or above? Otherwise, the answer might not be helpful to OP.

As pointed out in comment, this is because of Scoped Storage introduced from Android 10.
Before Android 10, any app could read or write any files to external storage (the place where apps store their data), if they requested the READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE and WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permissions. Starting from Android 10,apps can only access data created by them and not other app's data or common data like images, downloads etc.
This enhances your privacy and is a good thing. Apps can access only data created by them and if they need access to external storage they need to access it using Storage Access Framework (SAF) . The file manager you are using isn't seeking  permissions through SAF, so it can't read while other file explorers you installed can because they use SAF. Apps like Local Storage may help for using SAF when they don't employ this.

Aside, for those users who are rooted and would like to address the security concerns of apps reading data created by other apps, they can try Storage Isolation Magisk Module or XPrivacyLua
also provides a solution by blocking app read/write access to the SD card completely (using the Privacy.BlockGuardOS.open repo hook) or by limiting access to the app's private directories (/sdcard/Android/data/app-id and others, using the Fif.BlockGuardOS.open repo hook).

In Android 11, we have package visibility


text:
Limit data rate of specific app (to avoid HD stream, for instance)
My data plan is decent, but not huge (2GB per month). Say that I want to watch a livestream on some app: I have no control over the data rate this app is getting. Since the cellular connection is good, the stream will default to HD quality. I want to manually restrict the data rate that a particular app is getting, since I'm totally fine watching a low-quality livestream, so that I can save my data. There are no livestream settings, but I know for a fact that the livestream will switch to lower quality video in case of limited bandwidth, since I have watched it when connected to some slow wi-fi hotspot.
My question: Is there a (developer) setting, or some app, that allows me to manually set a maximum data rate/bandwith that a SPECIFIC app is getting?
Most other questions on the stack seems to talk only about the data rate of the whole device (Is there a ways to set data speed limit in android?) or are about stopping a specific app (using firewall) after it has consumed X amount of data (How to limit data usage of individual apps?), and these questions seem to be a bit outdated as well.
I'm running Android 9, LineageOS 16, on a OnePlus A5010.
Thanks, cheers!
PS: I am aware I could select a lower speed "Prefered Network Type", such as GSM or 3G instead of LTE, but that seems to be a bit of a hassle to change this setting every time, since I obviously would like to profit from my fast cellular network when it comes to smaller quantities of data (e.g. navigation or messaging)

An ap that acts as local VPN server like some ad-filter or firewall software does could also throttle the bandwidth. Technically this should not be a big problem, but I don't know any app that allows to do so.


text:
Exfat misbehaviour on SD card
I got a new 512Gb SD card for my Samsung Galaxy J7 Crown and started experiencing problems when attempting to load my music folder onto it.

Unmounting the card and inserting into a Win 10 computer, copies more than two directories deep would fail, so I broke the task up into transfer units that the computer could handle. ("Fail" in this case means "refuse to perform, without error message or indication of the source of the problem")
Up to a certain point, transferred files would appear and be accessible. However, when roughly 1/3 of the files were transferred, all files would be erased. The folders would remain, but they would all be empty. This was true regardless of whether the SD card was inserted in the Win10 machine or in the phone.

Inserting the card into the Win10 machine and running chkdisk indicated no problems.
Reformatting the card as exFAT using the Win10 machine led to the same problems described above.
Inserting the card into the Win10 machine and reformatting as NTFS solved both problems. However, Android will not recognize NTFS.
I am currently reformatting the card using the phone to see if that solves my problem. If not, my plan is to use my Linux box to format the card with FAT32 and live with the 4GB/file limit.
Obviously I'd prefer a different solution, either "exFAT that works", NTFS or ext4.
Has this problem with exFAT on high capacity cards been observed before? It's sure not a subtle matter of a slight performance difference: it clobbers all the files that it makes you jump through hoops to copy onto the device. I would appreciate any advice on how to make this card work: whether that's how to get Android to recognize a filesystem which does not exhibit these issues or how to fix the issue with exFAT.
Thanks

Cards of that size are still expensive and therefore are often forged (card clains to be of size 512GB but has internally only 4GB or so). Please before using such a card make sure it is genuine by testing it using h2testw or F3

@Robert 4GB is the maximum file size limit on fat32 partition

How to read ext4 filesystem without mounting on a non-rooted device? https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2549628 or LineageOS

@alecxs My comment was on the failed test on the PC using ExFAT. The 4GB I mentioned was just a random value as you never know how much flash is really in a forged USB stick.


text:
If using dual sim on Huawei P20 Pro would changing sims show in either Google Activity or Huawei Data Download
I have a Huawei P20 Pro with dual sim capability. If I used (signed into) the second sim with another Google account, would My Google Activity on the Google account of the first sim show the switch, backwards and forwards, between the two sims? OR if not.. Would the switch be shown on the Huawei download data for my phone, if at all?

What do you mean with "Huawei download data"?

Hi Robert, sorry if I was vague. I meant the personal data that can be requested and downloaded from HUAWEI through Data Management in Manage Your Privacy in the Account Centre on a HUAWEI phone.

I do not own a Huawei device, hence I don't know what is recorded. But if it tracks your IP address (and changes of that) or the used MNO/IMEI for mobile data, switching between SIM1 and SIM2 should result in an IP address change. However enabling/disabling Wifi or entering an area with a configured Wifi would also trigger an IP address change.

I never thought of that. Thank you Robert.

Google accounts are independent of the SIM card, you just need Internet for accessing Google. If this happens on your device with SIM1, SIM2 or Wifi is irrelevant to Google.
Note: Usually in dual-SIM Smartphone only one SIM can be active for Internet access at a time.


text:
Customize clock + weather indicator in the lock screen
I have a Google Pixel 3 (Android 10).
Is there a way to customize or remove the clock + weather indicator in the lock screen? I have searched quite a bit but could not find any way to do so.

From Nova FAQ How do I disable the weather option in the Google Search bar?
First, head into Nova Settings > Home screen > Search bar style and disable the "Weather" option at the bottom.
Then go to Nova Settings > Labs and deselect the "Weather in search bar" option.

But I don't see the weather option or the labs option. Reason is likely this as in FAQ-As of January 31st, 2020, Google is planning to shutdown the weather API completely so this feature will no longer work at all nor will it be accessible in any way within Nova Launcher. I am sure I did it this way when I was on Android 9 and after update to 10 too it works but then those options are missing now. Maybe search for weather app and disable that? See if that helps?

Another possibility is that you back up your Nova settings, uninstall Nova, search for an old (Android 9) times APK of Nova, install that, make the changes as per notes above, check if weather goes away. If it does, restore settings and upgrade to latest version!


text:
Samsung Galaxy S8 Active Location Services Glitch
I know this is a well known issue, but why it only affects the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active devices specifically is still a mystery. I figured I would see if anyone by chance has found a way to prevent what is a repeatedly frustrating failure of the devices basic functions, and for no apparent reason.
Here's how it generally works for me. I will use Google Maps, or Waze, or any mapping app to mandate to a place. Once I arrive, I tell the app of choice to stop navigating and go to sleep. I allow very few apps to operate in the background, and none of those navigation and are included.
After doing whatever, and taking any random amount of time (Shop at groceries, Home Depot, get gas, etc.), I relaunch the navigation app (which doesn't matter), it shows me in my last position, I enter in my next destination, and execute. Call me obnoxiously optimistic, but I always seem to forget this is going to happen at the worst times. For instance, when I actually need the dang directions. So what happens?
I will invariably look at the device and notice my position not moving. The phone's location functionality is frozen at the last point I last deactivated the navigation app. Nothing I can do short of a full controlled reset or shut down and toggle back on will help, except for the following sequence of inputs, which usually take place whilst driving in an area I'm unfamiliar with, not knowing where I'm going, to varying degrees of success. Sometimes the episode will end in a intense flash of rage (I have red hair, sooo), and all I can say is that better phones have been screen smashed for far less. However, when I'm able to hold it together, 70% of the time it works in a single execution of the following sequence. The other 30% is complete in 2 full executions of the sequence. While there are rare instances when the first and second sequence execution both fail. It's not clear whether a third attempt would be successful in these cases, as I've made the decision that in sick instances, the phone gets removed forcefully from it's normal vent-supported magnetic mount and thrown forcefully into the driver's side footwell. Now then, the location services debugging sequence execution is as follows:

While keeping the selected navigation app open, running, and active, even in the minimized state, slide down the top interface drawer. (That's what I call the menus accessed by placing your finger at the top-most center of the phone's screen, and draw a line downward.)

With the Android Interface Drawer opened (as defined by me), select the Android system settings gear in the upper most top right portion of the screen. (Just below the battery percentage indicator)

Once the Android Settings Home Page had loaded, select the magnifying glass icon located above the top most settings catagory selection, which in my case is always "Connection Settings" which is offset to the right.

The next window to load is the Android Settings Search page, which offers a Search field and should automatically load your default keyboard and be ready for you to populate this field.

The first time you do this, you'll need to manually type the terms out. Inside the Search Text Field, enter the following terms in the indicated order and format, as provided:

Improve accuracy
*Note 1: All subsequent executions of the sequence will offer a list of the three most recent search terms. Unless you utilize the Android Settings Search as a commonly leveraged tool, the appropriate terms need not be entered, instead require a simple selection tap.
Note 2: You may know a quicker set of commands to arrive at the following Android Settings Page. I have no reason to believe that the skipping of this search process would result in a failed sequence*

This step might not occur instantly, I've found that patience is a virtue as the Android Settings work to load the appropriate page. This page will be called the "Improved Accuracy" page, the term accuracy referring to the Android Location Services accuracy. Tap select this only selection available.

Wait for the device's Improve Accuracy page of the Android Settings to load but don't select anything until the following step. When finished loading, you'll see a number of selections available, however you are only concerned with the top two section categories listed.

The first option, the selection found at the top, is a simple ON/OFF slider switch. This switch enables users to control whether or not the device's Location Services are activated and available for use by the device and authorized apps. When it first loads, this switch should be set and indicate "ON".
The second option below the switch is a yet another another available selection catagory called, once again, "Improved Accuracy".
Below these two options is some information regarding the various apps which have been detected utilizing the devices Location Services.

At this point, if you followed the earlier guidance of minimizing the navigation app of use, this minimized app should appear as a small floating window somewhere on the device screen, most likely in the lower section of the screen. At this point, close the minimized navigation app by select tapping the closing 'X' in the upper right corner of the minimized app display. The navigation app should be deactivated at this point. If there are any doubts that it had been deactivated, make all attempts to do so.

Tap select the Second option down from the top, the selection catagory labeled "Improved Accuracy". Once pressed, another page with two simple sliding selections will load, the top will read "Wi-Fi scanning", the bottom will read "Bluetooth scanning". You may find these two sliders set in a number of seemingly random combinations when the page first loads. Regardless of what you find, ensure both slider selectors are established in the "OFF" position. Once verified, back out of that page to the previous page.

Back at the previous page, you will once again be given the top option in the form of a slider selection switch which controls the activation of the device's Location Settings, and the "Improved Accuracy" catagory labels which you have just back out from. At this point slide the "Location Settings" simple slider ON/OFF switch to "ON".

At this point, either because out of the Android Settings Pages completely, or simply exit the last page you were on. Now, ensure that your navigation app of choice is in fact no longer running. If you find it is, you can attempt closing and relaunching it, however I've had limited success when this occurred.

If you confirm the navigation app of choice was fully closed, find the app's launch icon  and tap launch as normal. 70% of my attempts at this point succeed, and the navigation app indicates an accurate location and reflect the movement which is occuring at the time. Your sequence is finished, but just for this time. You will likely need to execute the sequence of and when you decide to navigate to another location and attempt to program the destination into the navigation app.

You'll recognize that they sequence failed when you realize that you're relative movement fails to be reflected in the moving map display of the navigation app of choice. If you recognize that this is the case, simply begin at the beginning of this numbered sequence, which I've found will succeed more often than it fails when afternoon a second time.

I'd love for someone to tell me why this foolishness happens. But even more, I'd REALLY love for someone to tell me how to make the madness stop.
So that's my official question, as follows:
How do I fix the Samsung Galaxy S8 Active Location Services glitch, as outlined above, and prevent the device from repeatedly making the same functions error, all without the need to execute the aforementioned 11 to 12 step sequence?
Thanks!!


text:
are android 10 adb commands gimp'd?
adb shell settings put secure sysui_nav_bar "\"key(82:file:///storage/emulated/0/zzz/menu.png),key(84:file:///storage/emulated/0/zzz/kb.png),back;home;recent;menu_ime;key(120:file:///storage/emulated/0/zzz/screenshot.png)\""
what the heck is wrong with this adb command!?
i get tons of errors! on my Mac Mini Server 2012 via Bootcamp via Windows 10 Pro
for a moto g stylus 2043-4! May 12th 2020. Android Debug Bridge
30.0.1 installed via powershell via chocolatey.org
82:file:///storage/emulated/0/zzz/menu.png : The term '82:file:///storage/emulated/0/zzz/menu.png' is not recognized
as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program. Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was
included, verify that the path is correct and try again.
At line:1 char:52
+ ... sui_nav_bar "\"key(82:file:///storage/emulated/0/zzz/menu.png),key(84 ...
+                        ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : ObjectNotFound: (82:file:///stor.../0/zzz/menu.png:String) [], CommandNotFoundException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : CommandNotFoundException

home : The term 'home' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program. Check
the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.
At line:1 char:147
+ ... .png),key(84:file:///storage/emulated/0/zzz/kb.png),back;home;recent; ...
+                                                              ~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : ObjectNotFound: (home:String) [], CommandNotFoundException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : CommandNotFoundException

recent : The term 'recent' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program.
Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.
At line:1 char:152
+ ... ey(84:file:///storage/emulated/0/zzz/kb.png),back;home;recent;menu_im ...
+                                                            ~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : ObjectNotFound: (recent:String) [], CommandNotFoundException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : CommandNotFoundException

menu_ime : The term 'menu_ime' is not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program.
Check the spelling of the name, or if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.
At line:1 char:159
+ ... e:///storage/emulated/0/zzz/kb.png),back;home;recent;menu_ime;key(120 ...
+                                                          ~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : ObjectNotFound: (menu_ime:String) [], CommandNotFoundException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : CommandNotFoundException

120:file:///storage/emulated/0/zzz/screenshot.png : The term '120:file:///storage/emulated/0/zzz/screenshot.png' is
not recognized as the name of a cmdlet, function, script file, or operable program. Check the spelling of the name, or
if a path was included, verify that the path is correct and try again.
At line:1 char:172
+ ... nt;menu_ime;key(120:file:///storage/emulated/0/zzz/screenshot.png)\""
+                     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : ObjectNotFound: (120:file:///sto.../screenshot.png:String) [], CommandNotFoundException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : CommandNotFoundException```

Where did you get the command from? Shells differ often a bit, especially when it comes to escaping and quoting. I don't think may people already use Powershell. The common shell on Windows is cmd.exe.

i found bits of it online and built this command myself... clever noob i am huh? i used powershell only to install adb into my system. i dunno if cmd.exe is any better. but i used both to test my little command... no dice!

Please mention the source link for this command. It might not even work on an unrooted device or this specific model.

hmm... there is no one link. this custom command was built by piecing together tuts from various websites including here... it would be too tedious to re-find all of them!

it also worked flawlessly on a unrooted Moto G5 Plus XT1687

Probably related: https://www.xda-developers.com/how-to-change-your-nav-bar-icons-or-re-arrange-the-buttons-without-root/

you call a device and android version depending framework settings.jar which is not even available on all devices (samsung) just because it worked on Moto G5 this doesn't mean it's working. why don't you read the error messages? it says clearly the term 82:file, 120:file is not recognized... and so on

Why to to use the most complicated way and try t execute an shell command through adb from Windows? Just execute adb shell first and then on the adb shell settings put secure ... this way should cause much less trouble regarding the quotes.

Hmm... adb shell by itself? first? i never saw this before.

hmm... it seems to take with no errors, but i believe i need root via the su command first...

To answer the headline question, no, Android 10 does not have "gimped" ADB commands, assuming you mean "restricted" or "crippled".
If you wrote this script, you're in the best position to debug it. If you put it together from several sources, some of which may have been for Windows and some for UNIX, you may well have the use and escaping of quote characters mixed up. Windows-style and UNIX-style command lines have different handling of quotes.
The best advice is normal for debugging: cut down the problem as much as possible and find ways to do its component parts before you try to put the whole thing together. Writing a complicated command may be good for your ego, but that does not impress computers at all.


text:
App not loading content on WiFi
I have a problem with an app not loading content on WiFi. If I switch to mobile data it works normally. I disabled battery optimization for it, set the WiFi network to be treated as unmetered but with no success. It works whenever it wants. I didn't disable any important system services or apps (chrome, wellbeing, files go, google, lens, moto help, moto notifications). I have a Motorola One. My last phone, LG G6 had no trouble with it, I am using the same router/network. It's misbehaving on both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz.

Does the content loading while the app is in background or does the problem occur when you use the app and it is in foreground?

Foreground, there isn't supposed to be background activity.

May be this is an incompatibility of the App because of a newer Android version? The LG G6 had Android 9 and the new phone Android 10? The only chance you have is checking adb logcat for errors to understand what is going wrong.

Yeah I think it's something to do with the Android. I've just updated to Android 10 and it's working now only that it's freezing now instead of not loading pictures.

Have you checked the Google PlayStore comments? Usually if an app does not work on Android 9+ you will find that info there. Additionally you can check `adb logcat  if it displays error for the app. Third as it is a problem of a specific app you can name the app (including PlayStore/download link). May be someone knows a workaround for that specific app.

You're right. The app hasn't been updated in 2 years, at least that's what it shows on my Android 10 play store. I remember updating it on my LG G6. Could it be that it received updates only for the G6, ie Android 9? I'm not sure how app development works.

Different app versions for different devices are possible in PlayStore. Check the app detail page and scroll down to the Current Version section. If there is no concrete version named but Varies with device then this app has different versions for different devices (but you don't know what device gets which version it may be just a split because of ARMv7 ARMv8 and x86 cpu or may be other device features).

Firstly, check the performance of other devices on your same WiFi. Are you getting the intended speed on it? Might be an internet issue at its core.
Secondly, there might be other WiFi from your neighbors that "overlap" with your WiFi and causing the issue. Use an app like this and see which networks are the same channel.
Depending on how overlap, just change the WiFi channel in your router and see if it does the trick or not.


text:
Transfer contacts and data from non-smart device to a smartphone
How can I copy data (contacts in particular and then media maybe) from an ordinary phone to a new smartphone?
The old one is Nokia 105 (the dinosaurs one), a new one is Meizu c9
i know the difference is insane but that's for my gran, so..

Usually the stores that belong to an Mobile network Operator offer a migration service for phone contacts, sometimes free or for a cheap price. I would check this out.

What type of media are you talking about? Does the older phone not has a memory card where this media is stored, or does it not support storing/moving media into the memory card?

There are multiple versions of Nokia 105 available. The oldest I found is from 2015 does that match the phone? Feature phone, no card slot, no Bluetooth, no USB data connection. Then the only possible way left is the SIM card address book.


text:
installing custom rom in Samsung galaxy s3 SGH T999
hi I m unknown from unknown I want to install custom 6.0 on my Samsung galaxy s3 SGH t999 I tried available ones but did not work cm13 rom and Google apps are installed but getting into boot loop can u tell me how I resolve this I tried all possible ways

the reason for boot loop is Unknown

How can I fix that mr

https://android.stackexchange.com/q/226294

Try to install TWRP Recovery and go to recovery mode and click wipe data and tick all without internet and external storage then wipe data then go back and click install select the file and install it


text:
Need help LOCKING a Moto G6 XT1925-13 after restoring stock OS
I had semi-bricked / soft-bricked my Motorola Moto G6 smartphone as explained here: https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/Moto-G6-Moto-G6-Plus-Moto-G6-Play/Need-help-unbricking-a-Moto-G6-XT1925-13-and-restoring-stock-OS/m-p/5013164
And I was stuck trying to install the stock ROM again. Finally, I was able to install the stock ROM onto the device, but I am unable to LOCK it again. The problem I'm facing because of that is that I will not able to upgrade the OS at all.
fastboot.exe oem lock
(bootloader) WARNING: This command erases all user data.
(bootloader) Please re-run this command to continue.
OKAY [  0.021s]
Finished. Total time: 0.029s

fastboot.exe oem lock
(bootloader) Check 'Allow OEM Unlock' in Android Settings > Developer
(bootloader) Options
OKAY [  0.029s]
Finished. Total time: 0.058s

When I boot into the OS, in the Setting > ... > Developer Options, "OEM unlocking" is already unchecked, as "Bootloader is already unlocked".
In its current state, I cannot upgrade the OS. It's currently at: Android 9.
When trying to check for upgrades, it says:
Android version: 9
Current version: PPSS29.55-37-7-10
Security patch level: April 1, 2020

Here is what the bootloader displays (I've hidden only the serial number):
AP Fastboot Flash Mode (Secure)
BL: MBM-2.1-ali_retail-32ffece02ed-200416
Baseband: M450_23.31.10.89R ALI_INDIADSDS_CUST
Product/Variant: ali XT1925-13 64GB PVT2
Serial Number: [removed]
CPU: SDM450
eMMC: 64GB SAMSUNG RH64AB RV=08 PV=05 FV=0000000000000005
DRAM: 4GB SAMSUNG LP3 DIE:8Gb M5=01 M6=06 M7=00 M8=5F
Console [NULL]: null
Tools Mode Config: DISABLED
Battery OK
flashing_unlocked
Transfer Mode: USB Connected

do yourself a favor and keep it unlocked, you won't solve the OTA issue with this! flash latest ROM from fastboot instead https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3914542

Install Magisk directly after a factory reset before it boots up and the device will be eligible for OTAs. You use 'fastboot boot TWRP.img' instead of flashing TWRP. Make sure to install Magisk Manager and select options to hide Magisk (2 different options) and reboot a couple times to see the effect.
This works on my Moto G6.


text:
Where does Swiftkey store its data?
Does anyone know where Swiftkey stores its data for:
1.) the heatmap
2.) user custom word dictionary
Or even better, how would one go about finding this out (on a non-rooted device)?

Does this answer your question? Where Android apps store data?

@Robert isn't Swiftkey a Microsoft Product? I doubt data is only stored locally (at least, idk)

As Swiftkey is a keyboard application and therefore comes in contact with very sensitive user data (credentials, everything you type).
Therefore if you could access such data like heatmap or user custom word dictionary for a different app this would be a vulnerability of Swiftkey. Hence you should not be able to access any data of Swiftkey on a non-rooted device.
Also backup is disallowed for Swiftkey, hence you can't use adb backup to export the app data.
Therefore accessing such data is only possible from within the Swiftkey app itself. For example the Heatmap can be viewed and saved within Swiftkey (Keyboard -> three dots -> Settings -> Input -> Input Statistics -> Input heatmap).


text:
Can baking EMMC chip revive a dead motherboard?
I think my phones EMMC chip is dead.
At my days i baked some dead graphic cards and get somewhat good results.
Can same thing work with EMMC chip on a phone?
If you never heard of it here a link.
https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-repair-your-Graphics-Card-by-baking-it/
My original problem here if you are curious.Asus zenfone 6 E:failed to mount/ cache

I don't think a GPU is comparable to a EMMC chip. The GPU creates a lot of heat which can affect it's soldering (many cycles of heating and cooling). The EMMC chip however does not heat up that much because it is optimized for power saving. On the other hand if the phone is already dead what can you lose?

Usually eMMCs die because their E/P cycles limit is reached and semiconductor cells can no more be charged/discharged. That can no way be fixed by heat treatment.

How to fix your video graphics card - the mothers way! Lol, will try with broken GeForce 9 today :)

@alecxs Try only if you are going to get rid of the card. This has a very low chance to work and even if it works results are not permanent. Usually card dies  again after a couple months. Also this will make your oven smell bad.
I do not recommend doing this.

didn't work, some capacitors was exploding. i think it heated up too fast

@alecxs what was your oven degree? I did this with 200 C with no problem about exploding caps. Please don't tell me you used a microwawe.

lol of course not :D i did with 170 degree celsius for 10 minutes. no problem the card was 100% dead already before


text:
Changing User Agent in Chromium browsers on Android
Is it possible to change Chrome, Bromite or Brave browser user agent? I am on Android 10 AOSP rom. Rooted device.
It can be done easily on Android Firefox or Kiwi browser with addons and extensions. But what about the chromium browsers which dont support extension.

Hello. What are you trying to accomplish by changing user-agent?


text:
Rooting an Android Motorola Moto G4
Rooting Motorola Moto G4
I have a Motorola Moto G4 that I would like to root.Quick summary of specs:

Developer options are enabled

OEM unlocking = enabled
USB debugging enabled

Android version: 7.0
computer os: windows 10
adb installed

adb devices: device shows up
adb reboot bootloader works

fastboot installed

device shows up in fastboot devices

Problem: after I go to the bootloader screen and I try fastboot oem get_unlock_data the output is:
... INFOUnlock data:

INFOUnlock data unavailable

INFOFailed

OKAY [ 0.101s]

finished. total time: 0.101s

Tried it also from a linux virtual machine. Same result, no code.
Nothing is added to my path. All commands are run in the installed directories of the programs.
How can I fix this?

fastboot oem unlock says that an unluck code must be specified. fastboot flashing unlock doesn't exist. MEID is empty.

i have read somewhere that some OTA break IMEI which result in Unlock data unavailable but this is speculation. Another idea is maybe flash unlocked bootloader? https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/223586/install-twrp-and-magisk-manager-on-moto-g5-plus-without-rooting?noredirect=1#comment289991_223586

what do you mean with "flash unlocked bootloader"? when I google this, I get  articles about Xaomi.

your device is most likely verizon or AT&T. check your cid is unlockable with
fastboot getvar all

Your device is unlockable if the CID value returned is listed
0x0000
0x0003
0x0007
0x0009
0x000B
0x000C
0x000D
0x000E
0x0014
0x0015
0x00DE
0x0032

source

cid: 0x0000, so why doesn't it work?


text:
Linux Deploy Ubuntu share folder
I wasn't sure if I had to ask this question on a Linux Exchange or on the Android one, but since folder sharing is working fine on the Linux that are running on my computer, I thought that it is an Android side issue.
I am trying to share a folder between two Linux Deploy environments. I have tried to install nfs-kernel-server however I am having an error showing that the kernel does not support nfs. When I am using uname -a the kernel that Ubuntu prints is the Android's one so I guess that the Android kernel does not support the nfs module.
I have, also, tried using Samba. The server side was set up successfully. When I am trying to mount the shared folder using mount -t cifs //192.168.1.5/mirror /mirror, I am facing a mount error cifs filesystem not supported by the system. After some googling I found out that using modprobe cifs could resolve the issue however the module cifs does not exist on the Android kernel. It seems that the issue in both cases the issue seems to be the Android kernel, is there any way to add nfs or cifs support to the Android kernel? If that's not possible how could I share a folder between two Linux Deploy environments?

isn't ssh an option to you?

For NFS client support build your kernel with confirmation options CONFIG_NFS_V[2|3|4|4_1|4_2]. For server support build with CONFIG_NFSD[_V[3|4]]. For CIFS build with CONFIG_CIFS[_SMB2]. If rebuilding kernel is not an option for you, use SAMBA simply like FTP, without mounting CIFS. Or go with rclone or SSHFS. Both rely on FUSE. rsync also works over SSH with better performance. SFTP and FTP are also considerable options. Occasionally I use all of them on Android devices.

@alecxs The issue with ssh is that it would be hard to set it up for more devices if that is required later on and that it is hard to make it realtime

@IrfanLatif is there any tutorial I could follow on how to build my android kernel with NFS support?


text:
OnePlus 3T stuck on options menu with Power Key Damaged
i want to get it on/Started. But its stuck on the options menu. and my power key is not working . Is there any another way around this Instead of me waiting for its battery to get completely drained (which i think will mostly take DAYs)
Photo of Options menu where i am stuck


text:
how to access images in whatsapp running inside dual space
I am using Whatsapp inside Dual Space in Xiaomi Mi A3 mobile.
I am not able to find the images downloaded inside Whatsapp inside Dual space. Where can I find them.
Internal Storage/Android/data/com.ludashi.dualspace/files
has 2 folder Movies,crashinfo
and folder
Internal Storage/Android/data/com.ludashi.dualspace/cache/
has 2 folder video-cache and UnityAdsCache.
So I don't see Whatsapp folder inside Dual space. What can I do to find images of Whatsapp running in Dual space.


text:
How to protect my galaxy S9 from data recovery after factory reset?
I have a Galaxy S9 that I will send to Samsung in a couple of days for the trade-in program and I want to delete everything on it in a way that it cannot be recovered even after a factory reset.
From my limited research, there are people who recommend encrypting the phone before doing the reset as this will ensure the data is just noise and unreadable after the reset. But there is no option on my S9 to encrypt the phone as I saw on the youtube videos, and after a quick search I found out that S9's are encrypted by default.
So is it safe to just factory reset it since it's encrypted by default anyway?
I'm not that good when it comes to tech and stuff, what would you guys recommend I do?
Thanks for the response.

See: How to make a complete factory reset, without anyone being able to retrieve my data? To be extra sure, just run through the setup wizard once after factory-reset (skip account setup then), and after everything's up reset again. Before the second reset, check if all stuff on the "internal SD" was really gone – and if you have an external SD card, remove it before sending in the device. I doubt anyone there will take the trouble of "forensic revocery" there, even if some data might be recoverable. Not worth the effort.

@Izzy So basically what you're suggesting is I double factory-reset my phone? Okay I already did that. And before that first reset, I also set up the startup lock, and then I added biometrics fingerprint and face recognition for security, and then on lock I also added a PIN, password and pattern lock. Is this enough to make all the data unrecoverable?

I cannot say whether it makes recovery of (some) data impossible – but certainly unfeasible: considering the effort it would need, you'd only try it if you're pretty sure there's something worth it. A forensics expert might be able to fish something out, but would charge at least a 4-5 digit sum for it. I don't know you, so I cannot make your "risk assessment". If you're the boss of the CIA (or they have a "special eye on you"), or "just a simple boy", makes a huge difference here. For the latter, it should be fully sufficient under these circumstances.

just delete a single file. now try to recover this file right after. good luck


text:
Voice typing new line
I have a Samsung S9 running Android version 10 (q).
I frequently use the Google speech to text facility on the keyboard. I can make it do punctuation like commas and periods however I cannot make it do a new line or carriage return.
There seems to be posts about very old Android versions showing that this may have been possible. is this still possible please?

Ok. Have you tried those old posts you encountered? Old does not mean obsolete. :-)

Ah good point. Yes I have tried them and it doesn't seem to work as it once did. Seems such an obvious functionality to have. I can't understand why it doesn't work now.

On Android 12 with a Google Pixel 6 and Gboard voice typing, the voice command is "New line".

I have the same phone, Samsung Galaxy S9, with Android 10, with the same problem. When I said, "new line" or "new paragraph," these phrases are not typed. If I say them after a period, a space is generated. If I say "period new paragraph," just the period is generated. Changing the language settings to single language or disabling, "Block Offensive Words" does not affect it.
In Google Play Store, I updated "Speech Services by Google" and rebooted.  After that I got, "new paragraph" to work.   I'm not sure if I didn't just get the pause to be an appropriate length. It works even without a comma or period.  It seems that it needs to be said as if it were written in italics.It doesn't always work.


text:
Is it possible to decrypt an encrypted SD card without rooting the Android phone? (How to get the .key file of /data/misc/vold?)
I'd like to encrypt my SD card for Android conveniently, safely and in a cross-platform way so that it can also be used on other devices. I asked about that here.
As of right now there doesn't seem to be a way to do that (an app on FDroid or Playstore which doesn't put data at risk and is secure and very convenient/easy/fast to use).
This is why I decided to keep using the Android's default way of encrypting the SD card. However, this way it's not possible to access the data from other devices. Here it has been described how data of the SD card can be decrypted from other devices but that way requires rooting the Android phone. Is it possible to do this without rooting the phone? In specific how could one get the .key file in /data/misc/vold?

As far as I know the linked page for decrypting the SD-card is outdated because it is only for devices that don't use hardware encryption, which now (nearly?) all devices do. Additionally since Android 9 the adoptable storage can make use of File Based Encrytion (FBE) which cant be decrypted with the presented commands.

As of right now there doesn't seem to be a way to do that Most probably it won't be possible  in future either. Because Android apps are not designed to interact directly with kernel level APIs and access low level resources. Is it possible to do this without rooting the phone? No. In specific how could one get the .key file in /data/misc/vold? Not possible without root. And also that won't work for FBE as Robert said.

@Robert I'm not sure but I think decrypting Adoptable SD card using dmsetup should work even for devices with hardware-backed encryption. It's because in case of Adoptable Storage there are no user credentials, RSA key or middle key involved in encryption. Instead the master key in plain text is saved to /data/misc/vold. Adoptable Storage relies on the hardware-backed secure encryption of internal storage (/data).

Nearly duplicate questions/answers: https://android.stackexchange.com/q/206206/218526, https://android.stackexchange.com/q/217175/218526, https://android.stackexchange.com/q/181476/218526

So it seems like the answer is "No, it's impossible". Maybe I should edit to ask why that is or make a new question for that. I thought there has to be a way, maybe a bit complicated, to extract this key from the data on the phone.

@mYnDstrEAm it's already answered here: Why are superuser permissions needed to acess /data partition?

depending on chipset and android version there may exist rooting exploit (mediatek) or low level access (qualcomm) to make backup. some stock recovery have backup option. after rooting (or from TWRP), backup can restored and decrypted, then vold keys can be extracted. should even work for FBE


text:
How can I bypass android 9 VPN with iptables?
I'm targeting specific app with UID rule -m owner --uid-owner 1337 and I want this app always bypass VPN and use direct Wi-fi/Mobile Data connection. Ideally, I also want it to be universal, if possible, because I might switch the VPN app I use (currently have two) and I dont want to rewrite the rule and re-target new interface for it.
What are my options? I can provide output of ifconfig, whatever, but it kinda defeats aforementioned point 2).
P.S. I know that majority of VPN apps have exclusion list but because I already use AFWall+ I dont want to use that list and mess with iptables even more, polluting it with weird routes combnations.


text:
ADB connect to device with Python
Can I connect to an Android device for the first time with python adb, in USB debug mode, without having to manually allow the connection?
This is my code from python adb library:
signer = sign_cryptography.CryptographySigner(
            op.expanduser('~/.android/adbkey'))
        # Connect to the device
        device = adb_commands.AdbCommands()
        device.ConnectDevice(port_path=None, serial=deviceIP, rsa_keys=[signer])

When I call this piece of code, it opens the pop up message with "Allow USB debugging ..." on the device. Is there a way to go around this pop up?

This popup is there for security reasons and can't be bypassed without system manipulation (root required).
Without that dialog an Android device would be once the user activated ADB wide open to anyone who connects to the device via USB. Therefore since Android 4.2 if I remember correctly Google added the RSA based authentication on ADB level to avoid unauthorized data access via ADB.


text:
Data Transfer to New Phone using TWRP
Fairly easy question. I have a Samsung S3 GT-i9305 LTE rooted, Android 4.4.4. sadly it's coming to the end of its life and its time to upgrade to a phone with a much newer OS (Android 8+). I have a full TWRP backup of my current phone. In principle, can anybody tell me if it's possible to use this backup to restore all my data to a new phone - (it will be a Samsung device of some type). I understand how to root and install TWRP on devices. I'm only asking the question as I cannot find the answer to this rather obvious situation which many people must encounter anywhere. I'm not at all bothered about transferring the apps as they will probably function better as fresh installations on the new device. I also use Titanium backup.
TIA people.
Tim Smith

You seem to be assuming that your TWRP will work on the new device. Almost certainly not (though) reverse is more likely. Restoring apps + app data with Titanium (TiBu) is a better idea rather than TWRP . So what data is left?1. /data/media isn't backed up by TWRP by default unless your TWRP supports this method 2. SMS and call records can be backed up TiBu or other apps. Other data like your important files and media etc are better backed up to PC or extSD and restored. IMO, that's better

TWRP and Titanium backup need root for making and restoring backup. Hence do you really want to root your brand new phone and directly loose guarantee? Therefore IMHO the recommended way is to use adb backup (respectively Helium backup) and backup all apps individually (that allow so). Also the Samsung own backup/migration tools have to be considered.

A TWRP backup would be useless if not for your model only.... You can't restore a backup of a different Model on a different one even thou it's the Same Make.. So I guess the only options are listed above... Titanium backup is really Good for backing up of apps and data...

https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3862763

Thank you and sorry for the delay in replying. Titanium BACKUP. Yes, that's the best route I think, although whether TouchWiz would restore on a different Samsung phone remains to be seen. As far as routing a new phone is concerned, I never buy new kit, and so that is not an issue. I will also check out the compatibility of Helium and ADB. My main issue with data restoration is actually the desktop screen itself where I have a large number of internet links I would like to preserve.I'll save them to a bookmarks list in a browser, that should be fairly easy if a little time consuming.