text:
What is this new extra lock screen and what is the app/setting causing it?
Anybody know what app or setting that causes this *EXTRA lock screen on my LG G6 (Android 7.0)? It just started 3 days ago. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.
*After swiping UP from the bottom of the screen, it takes me to my normal/original lock s creen.

It looks almost like what I have on Oreo although mine is Lineage.  Are you sure you aren't on Oreo?

It's probably daydream . Check in your settings if you have set daydream to clock


text:
my Nexus 7 device is formatted accidentally
My device is Google Nexus 7 wifi only version.
I rooted this device by using Team Win Recovery Project.
I wanted to upgrade to android version 4.3 so I am looked at this article and video
I follow their instructions and I selected following items

Dalvik Cache
System
Cache

and wiped them all.
But unfortunately, I found out that there is no file in my device with such name
AOSP-4.3-JWR66V-grouper-rooted_Androguide.zip

I need to get this file onto my device. But my device has no OS because I already wiped it.  Now I cannot access my device using my pc ( win 7 ).
Could anyone please give me suggestions on how can I solve it.

Yeah, the advantages of external SDCards clearly show here. As you don't have such: have you tried booting into recovery, and copying the file via ADB then?

Don't worry, you have a few options!
Option One: (I don't have an N7 anymore, so I don't remember if it supports adb push in TWRP. But I think it does) Boot into TWRP and use adb to push the file from your computer to your device. You can try to open a Windows CMD prompt or Linux Terminal Emulator, navigate to the local file, then do the following:
adb push AOSP-4.3-JWR66V-grouper-rooted_Androguide.zip /sdcard/
This will push the file to the /sdcard/ directory - which should exist already (Even on a Nexus device).
Option Two: Boot the device to Fastboot/Bootloader Mode and flash any of the Factory System Images via the fastboot tool. Because using fastboot can be intimidating. You could also use the Nexus 7 Toolkit to automate the process.
This will put stock Android back on your device, and will also remove TWRP. Fortunately, you can use the Toolkit or Fastboot to reinstall TWRP immediately afterward.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Samsung Tab S: Camera don't work in apps (although it works perfectly on camera app)
I can take pictures with my tablet using camera built-in app from Android. My problem is when i use apps like Facebook Messenger / Snapchat / Skype / Hangouts ... the photograph is wrong scaled (stretched). It only occurs on apps. How can i fix that?

You could try clearing the cache for the afftected apps. Just go to settings> apps> click the affected app the press the "clear cache" button.

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


text:
How to limit the 'User Data' size of Firefox Android?
The User Data of Firefox Android goes on increasing every day..
To reduce it, I have to clear storage data and personalize all the settings once again after every few days.
I have set it to clear cache and everything at the closing of browser window, still the User Data goes on increasing few hundreds of MB.
The desktop version allows user to reduce the cache size but android FF doesn't seem to have any direct option.
Is there way to limit it through about:config or through any other way?
I don't use many add-ons; just 2 add-ons, AdBlockPlus and HTTPSEerywhere.
I am using Firefox 68.3.0

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


text:
can't connect my Android device to the router dwr 712
how can i make my Android IP address static so that I can enable my phone to connect to my router when I enable WI FI MAC address filter

It is because IP addresses are not static, they change on every reboot of the router and if the lease is over. You should instead set a static IP address or enable MAC address filter.

It's also an off-topic question as it is not related to android!

sorry I have edited my question

Check this link, although your edited question is not clear neither: https://dlink-manuals.org/dlink-dwr-712-user-manual/42/

thanks i already went through that but when I enable the wi fi Mac address filteron my router and try connecting my phone later to it then it does not connect and also my up address goes unavailable but once I disable my wi fi Mac address filter on my router my ip address returns

so I was asking how can i solve this problem and it only happens with my phone other phones can connect even after I enable the wi fi Mac address

You should ask your question elsewhere where a network expert may help you.

If you're talking about your own WiFi network, a network address must be agreed upon by your router and your Android device. This is usually done via DHCP, with your router managing available IP addresses and assigning them to devices which connect to it.
Now, those addresses are usually assigned dynamically, and „time out“ when the „lease time“ configured in the router is running out and the device has not been connected within that time frame. That's done so the router doesn't run out of available IP addresses, which are (in a class C network, which is commonly used here) limited to 254.
So if you want your Android device always to use the same IP address, there are two approaches you can take – depending on what your router supports:

tell the router to „always assign the same IP to that device“
use an IP address outside the configured DHCP range and configure that as „fixed IP“ with your Android device.

The former is easier to achieve, and there's nothing you'd need to configure on the Android device for that.
For the second approach, you first need to check with your router about the DHCP range (wich might e.g. be 192.168.0.200 and higher), then pick an address outside that range but still in the same network and not already used by another device, e.g. 192.168.0.199 with the mentioned example (don't use .0 or .255, which are reserved for special use). Then configure that in your Android device, by editing the settings of your WiFi network:

Go to Settings › WiFi (where the networks are listed)
long tap the entry of your WiFi, and chose to „edit“ its settings
chose to show „advanced“ options
enter the IP address (from above calculation), gateway IP (your router's IP), name server (e.g. consult your router what it uses, or try with the router's IP again), and the network mask (with a class C network, that would be 255.255.255.0)
Save


text:
Swype keyboard dictionary migration
How to migrate a swype keyboard dictionary to another device (a new one for instance)?
When I buy a new phablet I have to collect words over again.

From Swype documentation
Backup and Sync Demo: Register all Devices with Swype Connect • Download the latest build of Swype from the Google Play store

• Open messaging application and long press on the Swype key to open Swype Settings
• Select “My Words”, then select “Register Now” to activate Backup and Sync
•In messaging application input names of friends a few times and select “Add word to Dictionary”
• Long press Swype key to open Swype Settings, select “My Words” and then select “Edit My Dictionary” and you can view your dictionary
•Multi-Device Dictionary Sync •

If using a brand new device without Swype previously installed

• Go to “Android Settings”, “Applications”, “Swype”, and select “Clear Data”
• Open messaging application; walk through the Swype registration process with your device email
• Once activation is complete, go into “Swype Settings,” select “My Words,” and then select “Edit My Dictionary” and you will see that your dictionary has been completely restored
• Go through this process with all your Android devices if desired

That's odd. But I can't see backup and sync menu in my swype.

I just re installed Swype and can see backup and sync menu did you forget to register the device? If you don't register, you cannot see. I can see the complete dictionary synced from my previous device

See this https://i.sstatic.net/iac43.png

Were you able to register and check ?

Nope. I can't an option of device registering. I've got Note4. Probably Samsung has done something with it...

Quite possible. Sammy messes up things

Since Swype is EOL and no longer supported by its owner, but thankfully still functional, I have found the backup/registration/restore process unreliable. I was able to migrate the app from one device to another fairly easily, but found that the personal dictionary ("word list") is not included in that. The best solution I have come up with is this:

"Manually" capture the contents from the old host/source Swype personal dictionary as described here: Bulk word import into Gboard. The Universal Copy tool mentioned there now supports a 'scroll mode' that allows you to capture more than the ~20 entries that fit on the screen at a time from the old list, but its still slow going.
Transfer the flat-text list to the new host. I used a Google Keep item to do this.
Bulk import the flat-text list to the new Swype installation as described here: Where does swype store the user dictionary?. Caveat: the bulk import process only accepts about 35 entries at a time, so multiple import passes will have to be made, but it works!

2022 Swype-user here. The easiest (albeit still manual) solution allows you to transfer ~20 words at a time:

On your old phone, open your personal dictionary list on Swype
On your new phone, take a photo of your list of words
Using Google Lens (i.e. smart scanner) highlight the text in the photo
Copy and paste the words into any messaging app draft
Highlight all of the pasted words
Press the Swype key
Swype will prompt you to "Add all to dictionary"
Repeat until you've scrolled through your personal dictionary

Not ideal, but it was mindlessly easy. Happy Swyping!

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


text:
What are the risks of allowing an app the "Draw over other apps" permission?
There's an app I'd like to install on my phone (Android 12) that blocks access to distracting apps. It requires the "Draw over other apps" permission. This seems like a dangerous permission, and I'm trying to figure out how dangerous it is before I allow it.

Does this permission allow the app to see what's being displayed by all other apps? Or does it only allow it to detect touch input?
Does this permission allow it to draw over the on-screen keyboard, so that it can see what I type and potentially type for me? (This is my biggest concern)
Are there any other security risks from allowing this permission?

EDIT: This answer an this answer both say that the permission does not grant the ability to see the content of the background app, so assuming those answers are still correct (they're both 4 years old), then that's one question answered.


text:
Cant install OpenGApps on Lineage OS
I recently installed Lineage OS on a Nexus 6, using TWRP, followed by OpenGApps installation which crashed at 4%. So I started phone, switched off went to TWRP again, tried installation same problem. I used aroma for arm 32-bit. Any idea whats happening?
Lineage OS  : lineage-14.1-20170331-nightly-shamu-signed
OpenGApps   : open_gapps-arm-7.1-aroma-20170405
There are no Google Apps on the phone, the Lineage is working fine (or I say brilliant) but sigh, no Play Services no other apps.

open_gapps-arm-7.1-aroma-20170405 is broken,  I repeat this build is broken. I used stock version and it worked.

open_gapps-arm-7.1-aroma-20170405 is broken, I repeat this build is broken. I used stock version and it worked. Also this build of Lineage OS has connectivity issues, you may face extremely slow downloads on WiFi (tested on Nexus 6 shamu).

I would like to get someone else confirmation about the issue here. How are  more recent releases doing?


text:
The device need to be converted to Unified UserData partition - Cyanogenmod
I'm trying to install latest Cyanogenmod on my Xperia T. But I get the following error:

Click image for larger version
I tried to install it several times.
NOTE : In my phone the microSD card is not detectable. So i cannot copy the zip and install it from SD card.

Have you tried reading the message? Have you tried doing a factory reset? It's not a problem with the install file/method, it's a problem with the User Data partition that requires formatting.

I read the message.
Wiped all data many times. Still the same error.

It says to perform a factory reset, this is different to wiping data.

@bmdixon In cyanogenmod recovery, there is an option to factory reset( which is used to wipe all data), I have done this.

You really should've read either the XDA thread or the CM Wiki before doing any of this...

Migrate to the one big partition for CM-13.0 :

(Optional) Backup all your data, applications, internal storage, ...
(Optional) Empty the internal storage with the old ROM or TWRP 3.0
(Optional) If wished, do a full Nandroid backup from Recovery
Flash the latest ROM zip of your device to start the unification
Read and follow the instructions from the zip if anything goes wrong
(Optional) Restore your Nandroid backup if you want to
Flash the same ROM zip for CyanogenMod 13.0

So in other words, simply flashing the zip twice back-to-back will do.
Also, ditch CM recovery - it's not required and pathetically weak in function against TWRP. That will also allow you to connect to PC with MTP and put the zip inside the storage before flashing, which saves time if anything goes wrong (you don't need to adb push again).

+1: [...[ CM recovery - it's not required and pathetically weak in function against TWRP [...]


text:
facebook app autoupdate stoping
I need to stop auto updating Facebook app and tried these steps.
But still Facebook app is auto updating. After updating and installing the app, it is shown "Facebook app is successfully updated" message in my android phone.
Additional info.
Phone model : HTC Desire 630
OS : Android M
So can I stop auto updating the Facebook app?

For one, I can't open the link. Did you turn off auto-updating in the Play Store settings?
Most apps will auto-update through the Play Store. Turn that off and it shouldn't update anymore.

I already turn off auto update through play store.


text:
How can I change the default download location to the external SD Card?
I have a Chinese tablet that runs Android 4.4.2 (KitKat) and comes with the default Download Manager. I googled for a way to change the default download location to the external SD card with no luck. Can anyone advise me how to do this? I don't have the my files app as stated in most solutions.

Click image(s) for larger version

Did you solve this? 2. Pls post an example of the solutions you tried that didn't work 3. I have 'My Files' 1.0 pre-installed by Samsung, but I don't see any option in that to change default download folder.

Hello, I couldn't find a solution from the default app however I thin my files has the option somewhere. I found multiple apps on Playstore that does have this option.


text:
Google now won't read the contents of lists
Google now won't read the contents of the lists add in the following two screenshots.

Click image for larger version
This is completely unusable from the point of view of blind users, who may want to compose a text, e.g. am impersonal or asynchronous one add opposed to a phone call, and know the list contents which are currently not read out.
Is there a fix for now? Do newer Google devices fix this issue?
Thanks.

Do you have Google Talkback Installed and activated?  This utility is meant specifically to help blind users interact with Android.  If you have not installed, configured, and tried out Talk back yet I highly suggest it for the visually impaired.  It installs as an accessibility service so it can be run system wide, and you should still be able to utilize whatever other methods you are already comfortable with while adding this one to hopefully help fill in holes like this one.
Talk Back Info Page: http://www.androidcentral.com/what-google-talk-back


text:
Cannot click "Ok Google" detection and "Screen search" on Nexus 5

Click image for larger version
This are the screen shots from my Nexus 5. Recently I flashed Android N and installed Gapps but I am not able to turn them on.

Is your default language in your phone settings (not Google search settings) set to English (US)? If it is at English (UK), or any other language it might not work.


text:
"Google can't reach the feed at the moment." error stacking up and not clearing in Google Now
I have two separate phones, a OnePlus One running CyanogenMod 13 (Android 6.0.1), and a OnePlus 3T running OxygenOS 3.5.3 (Android 6.0.1). Both have the Google Now Launcher and give me the same problem.
They are piling up "Google can't reach the feed at the moment." error messages in the Google Now screen.
I did nothing to make these messages appear, I think they appear when the app is syncing in background.
I have experienced it under good and stable 4G.
These errors do not go away even when I pull-to-refresh, I must "force stop" the Google app to clear them manually. I've tried clearing Google App cache and data but this problem still happens.
I've been facing that issue for a couple of months.

Thats... Something. Ok, Have you tried a good ol' reboot?

Yes, first thing. ;). It's been happening for months.

Well, that strikes as odd. Could be a bug, or maybe an error for each category (weather, News, etc)?


text:
Accessing an Android watch via USB COM port through command line to install applications on it
I have a Goclever watch that runs a dummy Android. It has a USB and Bluetooth, but no Wi-Fi. It has no device info in its menu and the .apk files are not installable from its file manager (only mp3 and jpeg files can be opened). When plugging it to my Windows desktop it's recognized as a MediaTek USB COM port device, but adb devices returns an empty list.
Is there a way to somehow hack into it via command line, installing applications from .apk files onto it? I need at least Sleep as Android, because though the watch has its internal accelerometer it's not acting in behalf of the phone's accelerometer (so whenever I launch Sleep as Android on my phone the sensor signals are not picked up by it).
BTNotification is up and running perfectly, the selected applications keep pushing the notifications to the watch and even phone calls can be made through it.
The BT device list in my phone identifies the watch as 6261 so I guess it has an MTK 6261 processor in it though I'm not completely sure.
UPDATE: upon *#8375# I get the following:
[VERSION]
NX9_61D_240_V1_8_XWDZ_W02Z_CHRONOS_32_T9_L2_C5_B_IPS_160921
[BRANCH]:
11CW13522MP
GPLUS61A_11C_NX9
BUILD: BUILD_NO
SERIAL#:
[BUILD TIME]:
2016/09/21 18:42
[MRE VERSION] 3100
HAL_VERNO:

What OS does the computer run on?

The desktop has a 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium. I have absolutely no info about what version of Android is running on the watch.

Do you happen to have a Mac? Macs do not require drivers to use ADB.

Sorry, no Mac. What else could Windows require in order to recognize the watch as a full blown Android device so that ADB sees it?

Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do. Windows requires that the manufacturer creates custom software for the PC to talk to the phone using ADB.

I see. Any ideas where I could look around to find some specs by which I could write myself a driver for the watch?

You can't. Only the manufacturer knows the exact behavior of the device at that level (kernel level, which is closed-source) and the driver would have to be written in assembly, a language very few programmers use today. Sorry.


text:
Two clocks, different times
The clock in the lockscreen shows the right time, but the one on the right corner of the status bar gets stuck. It shows the right time when I turn the mobile on, but then at some point it stops and stays at whatever time it was showing at that moment.
What could be happening? Is there a way to fix it?

One for the local time for your time zone the other for another time zone may be?

Not both clocks have to display same time, what will be the point?

@esQmo_ I edited the question to clarify the problem.

What device is that?

@esQmo_ Blu Studio XL2


text:
Notification settings reset after reboot
I just bought a new smartphone and the new Android (6.0.1) has this peeking thing that really annoys me. I wanted to disable it, for example for WhatsApp, so I went to
Settings -> Sound & notification -> App notifications -> Whatsapp -> Allow peeking (off)
This solves the issue. The problem is that when I turn the device off and then turn it on again, these settings go back to default and the peeking is re-enabled without my doing anything.
Is there a way to permanently disable peeking?
EDIT:
I've found this link and option 1 seemed very promising. However, I did that and it didn't work either. Still looking for the solution, though.

Wondering if your WhatsApp is on sd card ( not phone storage)- if so, reverting to phone storage and checking may help?

@beeshyams I've been looking this up on the Internet and that seems to be the problem for almost everyone. However, in my case, I have no apps on the SD Card, so this wouldn't be my case. It's really driving my crazy.

Is it only WhatsApp or with all apps?

@beeshyams I don't know if all of them, but it appears to be a general problem, because I had turned peeking off for 6 or 7 apps and all of them reset after reboot.

@beeshyams I just checked again, and it is only WhatsApp that is having this issue. I was wrong before, I got confused with all the tests I did and they were all on normal because I had put them like that the last time.

Good you posted a solution +1

Well, I finally got it to work. I'm going to post the solution just in case someone is having the same problem. I did exactly as it is stated here: just toggling another one of the other two options in the notification settings did the magic.


text:
I can't re add google account after factory reset , edited host & after clear cache and data. Pls help
i changed my simcard last month and since then i have noticed that i can't log in to my google account, gmail and also instagram. Play store always stopped as well.

I tried some of the solutions provided on youtube like editing host (my host is already 127.0.0.1 local host), i dont know whether i should change it or just remain it like that coz some said delete everything and type host (127.0.0.1 local host) and some need to add the # (but i don't have the other line).
I've already clear cache & data, force stop Play store, Google play services, Google Framework, Google account manager &  remove google acc (my account already unable 2 steps verification) then tried to re add again but failed.
I've already factory reset my phone as well and try to re add google account but still failed. Now im using application which I downloaded thru apkmirror.com.(play store didnt work). I really appreciate anyone experts could help.

Thanks in advance.

Did you have SIM locking on before you switched the SIM card?

im not sure about that how do i check it?

I'm not sure if you'd be able to. It's a safety system that locks down the phone when the SIM is changed, I.e phone is stolen. It would cause problems very similar to this.

I had the same problem but I tried doing the same on a high speed WiFi and it worked out for me.. meanwhile if this doesn't fix you can take important backups and try:

flashing your phone with its stock ROM
switching to a WiFi network or try the same with another SIM card
make it localhost rather than local host in the host file (as described by you)

ok i will try it tq


text:
What is this mysterious blue dot?

Click image for larger version
It pops up randomly when I'm using my phone. However, it ALWAYS pops up when I open Google maps. It then seems to emulate a repeated clicking motion, which freezes my phone to the point I have to do a hard restart.
I am using am HTC One m8
(I'm not sure about this but I'm pretty sure I saw a literal mouse cursor come out of the blue dot one day)
I'm naming it the BDOD (Blue Dot Of Death)

That blue dot indicates your location, which is getting initialised when you open map app

It is different, believe me. Anytime it appears in maps I have to do a hard reboot a few minutes later. It also pops up when I'm NOT in maps

Maybe peel app as mentioned here ? http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s6/640087-what-heck-floating-app-just-showed-up-today.html

If that didn't help, try using the app mentioned in this solution to find out if it is caused by an app http://android.stackexchange.com/a/154425/131553


text:
How can I remotely control my Android device via PC?
How can I control my Android device from a windows PC though a HotSpot. I mean there's no Internet, no LAN and no USB between PC and Android. I'm looking for something like ShareIt, but for mirroring android screen and controlling it via PC mouse.

What have you tried? Is there some reason VLC (the first Google search result) doesn't work? It doesn't rely on Internet or USB, but you do have a LAN connection between your device and your PC if it is connected to it's hotspot.

VNC should work I thought VLC was a media player

@William Yes, I meant VNC in my first comment, not the media player software.

For Online:
try TeamViewer. its a good remote control app from PC to PC and phone to PC and PC to phone.
TeamViewer
For offline:
try AirDroid its good and it worked for me.
AirDroid
If you need just simple commands(enter text, press, perform actions):
adb shell input

text, keyevent, keyboard, mouse, joystick, touchpad, trackball, dpad and more.
Usage:
adb shell input text "Hello"

ah really? i pressed accept then edited...sorry

thanks! airDroid is fine , but it doesn't let me connect through LAN unless it uses USB & debugging , with LAN it makes every thing except screen mirroring . However,i found MirrorOp Sender for Android and MirrorOp Receiver for PC is amazing (required root ) .

ok! hope everything will work well for you.

I found MirrorOp Sender for Android and MirrorOp Receiver for PC is an amazing app for screen mirroring (required root )


text:
Some Profiles on takser doesn't work
I have 2 simple Tasker profiles. The notification says "No active profiles", but the first task (Keyboard Out) doesn't work. The second task (Call Outgoing) works well.
Root access has been granted, Accessibility is enabled and Administrator is active.
What could the problem be ?
Galaxy S5 With stock Android Marshmallow..

Click image for larger version
Thanks in advance

Could you export and share the Keyboard Profile with us?

@bmdixon http://wikisend.com/download/575206/Keyboard_Out.prf.xml

There must be a missing action which links your Profile state to the Task,
also check if in your created Task, all parameters are accessible to the device,
(for example you forgot to choose the app that will be effected that trigger even -
say you want keyboard out ttigger when you open Dictionary app, and you forget to include all parameters to enable that dictionary app or it may be that it no longer exist in the phone.

Would mind showing the rest of the Task so we can help you diagnose that error


text:
Google Messenger - Cannot search thread
My Google Messenger app will no longer let me search threads. One of the suggestions I found was to reinstall the app, but then I will lose the messages that I wanted to search.

Any recommendations?

I finally figured this out. Tldr: turn on permissions for services and google app.
Had to enable permission to contacts and sms for google services. Also would not work unless Google App had sms permission, but could turn this off after.


text:
How can I change my name on Google Play Games?
I opened up Google Play Games and clicked my way through it and it has changed my name to 'HighLemon4719'. Previously it was 'crazymaster' with my icon for Google+.
Every time I start a game on my phone it comes up as the name 'HighLemon4719'. How can I change it as I not like this name?

Open up Play Games and click on your avatar in the header.
Click the Pencil icon in the top right hand corner of the app.
You should then be able to enter a new 'Gamer ID' to replace 'HighLemon4719'. You can also change the avatar image that is displayed too.
Click Save

No pencil there. Anything to change the name.


text:
Cleaner asks to delete some files. How do I know what these files are?
I have downloaded a cleaner app and it works great but it has asked to clean and delete unwanted files and also disable apps. I don't know exactly what all these are:

Cache
Junk
Residual Files
AD Junk
System Temp Files
Obsolete apks
Memory Junk
Big files

If I click on one of these its going to delete the whole category. What are all these?

It would help if you let us know what name "a cleaner" has, plus the link to it, so we can give you specific help.

Cache, Junk, AD junk, system temp files and memory junk seem safe to delete.

@papakias Yes, although clearing the cache too often is counterproductive.

The question was also "What are all these", not "hwat of them is safe to delete" :) For some items, answers are pretty straight: cache for example. Others are a bit subjective, like "Junk". Again others are weird: "Memory Junk"? What size marks "big files", and would they be deleted without user interaction? How to decide whether an APK file is obsolete (or a backup with good purpose)? That's why I asked for the app behind, as for some of them this might be known.

@Izzy that is why I didn't post this as an answer. Man you are strict!

@papakias I didn't mean it as "attack" :) To compensate: Of course the OP IMHO implicitly asked for "what's safe to remove". I don't think Trisha asked for background just out of curiosity. But one first builds the foundation, and thereafter walls and roof :)

@Izzy I think OP is using The avast cleaner app (Avast Cleanup, I think) It asks about all of these. Not too bad an app really, it allows you to wipe stuff and not wipe stuff freely. In terms of apk files, it would only delete ones that have already been installed as an app (therefore 'obsolete')

@DanB So maybe you could write an answer then? Besides: Who says an .apk is obsolete just because that app is installed? Maybe I intentionally saved the file for a re-install in case of an "unwanted update"? I might even use an app like AppMonster to automatically grab-and-backup .apk files whenever an app is installed/updated. But well, as long as the user has the last word :)

@Izzy True. Addressed it in answer, if that helps

Well, each of these things mean something. I hope. Its an app, right? ;)
Well,
Cache is, well, your device's cache. Too frequent cleaning this is a tad counter-active, as most apps will immediately fill this back up. Its like trying to dry a towel. Outside. In a heavy rain.
Junk, Memory junk, AD junk - Stuff you dont need, and is an actual waste of space. Its like rubbish piling up in a bin, and apps will fill this back up, but not very quickly.
To elaborate:

Junk Is general backfill of files that are not needed often, but may not necessarily be cache. For instance, You may need a backup script once every years its used that rarely, it may be considered junk. Keep in note many apps have different meanings for junk.
Memory Junk is basically the Cache-again. I don't know why, really, it may be a double wipe, which is still a tad pointless
AD Junk is a rarer one. Normally, ad's (or adverts, for those who are not fans of acronyms) are downloaded as needed, then removed from the system after. Some apps, however coughapitoidecough like to clog up the storage by saving every AD (and thumbnail) it has available.

Residual Files are files that were useful, but not anymore. For example, residual files can include your minecraft worlds file AFTER you uninstalled MCPE. Wipe them unless you are planning to re-install the app they belong to.
System Temp Files is stuff like logs and such which can be useful to a modder or debugger, but otherwise can be a tad space-hogging. Never by much though. As the term "temp" suggests, these are files that were of temporary interest to some system app but obviously forgotten to delete afterwards.
Obsolete apks. Oh boy. When Your cleaner app (It sounds like Avast Cleanup, but this still applies regardless) says this, it means apks that you have already used to install an app, so ASSUMES they are no longer needed. If you backup your apps, however, It will probably think they are obsolete and delete them.
Big files are ALL files on the internal storage that pass a certain size, which is either 10Mb or 30Mb (so not that big). Dont worry, this is disabled by default, so you will have to tell it what to wipe exactly here. (Or just tell it to delete all big files, and do a pseudo-factory reset.)
Hope it helps!

Credit to Izzy, who reminded me that obsolete apps can mean backups to cleaners(and polishing the answer) (Izzy did NOT add that bit) and to the Death Mask Salesman, for pointing out how pointless cache cleaning can be.

The answer is tagged as community wiki, so feel free to tweak and modify it!


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What app/skin is this pop up from?
This looks like a Samsung theme but i'm not sure and like the look of it. What app or theme is this pop up notification from?

Looks like a custom theme with a custom ROM...

Using the Google Image Search I found it's the "Material Design Flat Theme".


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Nexus 6P - Fingerprint unlock setup
I would like to setup fingerprint unlock on my Nexus 6P. I believe I have it setup correctly, but when I go to unlock the phone by putting my finger on the sensor, it vibrates once then makes me put in my pattern to unlock the phone. Isn't there a way to unlock with just the fingerprint and not have to do the pattern also?

Hope this helps ! Setting up the finger print on nexus devices

Welcome to Android Enthusiasts! Whilst this may theoretically answer the question, it would be preferable to include the essential parts of the answer here, and provide the link for reference. Otherwise, your answer becomes useless in case the link dies. For further hints, please see: How do I write a good answer.

You probably need to set up your fingerprints again, making sure to cover as much of your finger as possible. You need to do the tip, sides and center of the tip of your finger in order for it to be able to properly identify your finger. If you don't train it properly then it won't be able to reliably identify your fingerprint so will vibrate to let you know it hasn't read it properly.
The more you are able to successfully unlock your phone the better the detection gets as it learns with each unlock.
If you have successfully set taught your device your fingerprint(s) the you should be able to unlock it with either your fingerprint or the pattern. It should not require both to unlock (although both do need to be configured so that you have a backup option if your fingerprint isn't recognised)

Thanks, I tried deleting all the fingerprints and setting them up again, but nothing changed. It does recognize my fingerprint because I can use it to open unlock certain apps. When I go to unlock the screen, I don't see the fingerprint icon at the bottom - just the padlock, and it makes me do the pattern even with a correct fingerprint.

I see the same here, @billyswifty – were you able to find a solution?

You got both finger print and pattern turned on. just shut off pattern

It is required to have a backup option enabled when using a fingerprint so having a pattern as well as fingerprint is not a problem.


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How to block number that ends with specific digits?
I am receiving quite a few unwanted calls (6 yesterday), although I am blocking the numbers and reporting all of them to Ofcom, I would rather simply not get them.
All of the phone numbers that are calling me end in "114", and this gave me an idea. Is there any way to block numbers that end with specific digits (or regex based)?


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Contacts showing as "Unknown name" on Samsung Galaxy S6
As per the below image contacts sync'd from online servcies are coming through as "Unknown name"
I have used the contacts sync within "Accounts" using Gmail, Outlook.com and Yahoo but keep getting the same behaviour with the resultant contacts.  What is causing it?

Click image for larger version

I have the exact same issue with my Galaxy S6 - started roughly 1 Sept 2016 - after the SAMSUNG software/firmware update. Until then, I had no problems at all with my phone, which I bought in spring 2015. In the last two days I spent 40 minutes with a Verizon tech rep and an hour with a SAMSUNG 'tech rep' via live chat. They suggested that my device had certain problems. But I am sending email to SAMSUNG weekly to ask for an explanation. [edited my Moderator Firelord].


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How can I change the homepage in my browser?
This page shows each time i open my browser, how can i change the homepage to something else?

Click image for larger version

Please include your browser name and edition


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Stuck at CyanogenMod recovery
I have a Samsung Galaxy Tab p3100 and i can't flash anything. All I have is a Stock CyanogenMod recovery and i can't even go through odin and install a new cwm/twrp. I don't know why but it says USB device is not recognized :(
I've tried to uninstall the usb thing in device manager but no luck. My only chance is flash a rom or a SIGNED cwm/twrp (i guess i'm running out of options) for my device but i can't find any signed zip file to be flashed on cyanogenmod recovery please help.

and i did buy a new usb cable but still not working :( help pls im dying..

You can install TWRP with root access without the need of a PC.

Download the latest image for your device here.
Your phone needs to be turned on.
Copy the recovery IMG to the root of your sdcard and rename it to twrp.img.
Open a terminal application and execute this command: su -c "dd if=/sdcard/twrp.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p6"
The custom TWRP recovery is now installed.

Note: Do not use this guide for any other devices, it will be bricked.

The reason your device isn't recognised on your PC is probably because you have Windows 8/8.1/10 installed. The drivers (ADB) for Android phones do not work correctly yet. There are some workarounds  on the internet.

Hmm, about that .. I can't reboot my device up and open a terminal application because that's my problem too i mean i formatted system thru cm recovery i did that because I'm stuck at the logo, and i am using windows 7  os, i did try to plug my device on other pc from my friend but no luck.

and also IDK why that cm recovery just appeared i didn't touch anything on dev settings when my tab is working before..


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How to not share Goals in a shared Calendar?
My Google calendar is shared with my wife; she can see all event details in my calendar. As a New Year's resolution, I started to use Goals (Android suggested this). Now my wife is totally freaking out because on her phone, the Calendar app is completely filled with her events, my events, and my goals. She does not want to see my goals.
My question is: how can I keep using Goals in a shared Calendar, without the Goals being shared? All other normal events still need to be shared.
I tried setting the events as private, but because of the sharing level, she can still see the Goals.

To answer my own question, because I found a working solution through trial and error.
First, you need to know that Goals are always added to your first calendar. You can add many calendars to your Google Calendar account, but when you add a goal, you cannot choose to which calendar the goal should be added. I tried adding a separate "Goals" calendar, but I could not add any goals to it.
So I did it the other way around.

On PC, go to the Google Calendar website (it's easier to do it on PC than on Android. Trust me. I tried.)
In My Calendars on the left, click on the little arrow next to your primary calendar and choose Calendar settings.
Rename your primary calendar to "Goals"
Unshare your primary calendar
Again in My Calendars, create a new Calendar
Name the new calendar "Shared Calendar"
Share the new calendar with whoever you had originally shared your primary calendar

This is just the setup. Now comes the fun/boring part:

For every current event in your calendar, edit the event and change the calendar from "Goals" to "Shared".
Don't bother doing this with past events, you'll get bored soon enough.
From now on, every time you add a new event, you'll have to remember to add it to your "Shared" calendar.

End result:

Android Goals are in the "Goals" calendar and aren't shared.
Events are in the "Shared" calendar and are shared.


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How disable QuickMemo+ in a LG G5?
In my LG G5 is appearing cosntantly this error message:

Unfortunately, QuickMemo+ has stopped.

These message appears several times per day and I'm not using that app: QuickMemo+ and it can't be disabled in the Configuration > Apps > QuickMemo+. The Disable button appears disabled.
Any idea how to disable this app?
Thanks

You could try doing that via ADB, using adb shell "pm hide <package_name>". Of course, first you'd have to figure the package name of QuickMemo; adb shell "pm list packages" might help you with that.

I get notifications "quickmemo+ permission requested" but I cannot disable the app on my LG G7 ThinQ either. The App Notifications options only have "Icon Badge" and we cannot prevent notifications. I suppose we are stuck with these annoying notifications.


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How to upgrade Xiaomi Redmi 3 to Android Marshmallow?
I have recently updated the MIUI 7 to MIUI 8. Thought it was based on Android Marshmallow. But it is on the same Lollipop version. How do I update it into Marshmallow? I know there is no official way to upgrade. So looking for other ways.

Redmi 3/Prime latest update is Lollipop 5.1. You can check updates using Tools-> Updater.

As of now MIUI 8 is still Lollipop (and will likely stay that way due to Xiaomi pushing Redmi 4 series), and there's no Marshmallow-based port either, so you will have to make a choice between up-to-date Android version and MIUI UI/features.
If you do decide that living on the cutting edge is worth the sacrifice, start unlocking and flashing custom ROMs. XDA-Developers will give you a good start, hosting a number of popular ROMs such as LineageOS (this would even bump you to Nougat).


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Experiencing Wi-Fi connection drops when bluetooth speaker is connected
I have a Huawei P9 Lite with Android 6.0.
My issue is that whenever a bluetooth speaker is connected, the phone's wifi periodically loses internet connection. Also my Lumia 730 doesn't have this problem.
I've tried the following:

Changing router's wireless channels (just 2.4 GHz connection, no 5GHz option)
Upgrading router's firmware
Tried with 2 bluetooth speakers

Update: I tried with a Samsung Galaxy J5 and this also happened.
Any help is very appreciated. Thank you!


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How can I run apps in an isolated environment on my smartphone?
I have apps that I don't trust or that I just want to try.
The problem is that even after deleting them they might leave files/spyware/malware/etc.
What are my options?
I have Xiaomi mi4c on MIUI with google apps but will soon format it and might replace the ROM.

"Shelter is a Free and Open-Source (FOSS) app that leverages the "Work Profile" feature of Android to provide an isolated space that you can install or clone apps into."

Xiaomi MIUI has a feature called SecondSpace. It sets up a completely isolated 2nd instance of Android similar to a VM. You can have completely separate settings there and not affect your "real" phone.

Alternatively run the app as a completely new user (Settings->User). But getting the account setup might be too onerous.
As Xiaomi's SecondSpace was mentioned, I'll throw in Parallel Space for those not on a Samsung or Xiaomi device. It is an app for virtualizing other apps in one account.
Commonsware put up a blogpost explaining what is going on under the hood with this virtualization with a caveat:

However, this sort of virtualization technique – Android apps running inside other Android apps, for an Inception-style experience – requires that you trust the virtualization engine. After all, by definition, it can see all I/O between the app and Android, as it proxies all of that I/O. It is a MITM attack on the app.

So if you trust the makers of Parallel Space (or don't care) it is a option to consider.

Besides Xiaomi, Huawei and Samsung also have similar types of virtual space environments, that they brand as Private Space and Secure Folder, respectively. All 3, of these, Second Space, Private Space and Secure Folder, are based on an Android OS feature for supporting multiple user accounts, but with some customizations so that these virtual spaces are like an anonymous user account, and only the user in the main account can switch to this (and back), besides switching to/from any of the normal user accounts.
NB: this is different from the "multiple accounts" some might associate with Android phones, which is being able to sign in to more than one Google account at the same time. Here, we are talking about Android OS-level accounts.
These virtual space accounts are one category of isolated environment. The other is the app-based isolated environments available from apps like Parallel Space, Dual Space, and dozens of related apps. The main concern about app-based isolated environments is security risks. You would be trusting the developers of such apps, that they are not malicious. Also, you would be trusting that they haven't included vulnerabilities that could be exploited by others even if they themselves do not have malicious intents.

I see app "Secure folder" that claims to put an additional sandbox around apps. When I install an app in a secure folder, will this provide protection of my privacy from the app?

Not necessarily every aspect of privacy protection, but some. It is like a virtual phone inside your phone, with its own home screen, etc. So it has a side effect of providing some privacy protections from the app, e.g., when run in "Secure folder", an app may not see some things that it could see in the main space. But if you have very stringent privacy protection requirements, it may be better to use a physically separate device rather than just "Secure folder".

For a a while Android natively has a feature called work profile, that gives you a second profile that is UX integrated into your launcher with separate data and clearly marked icons.
Google's Feature Documentation:
https://support.google.com/work/android/answer/6191949?hl=en
First FLOSS Workprofile Provisioner:
https://github.com/PeterCxy/Shelter
First freely available Workprofile Provisionier (not fully FLOSS):
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.oasisfeng.island
Island is partially free software but includes many proprietary blobs.
A fully FLOSS fork of it exists:
https://gitlab.com/secure-system/Insular

Are multiple workspaces/profiles possible? Strictly for the use case one wants to isolate 1 or more apps, are there any advantages compared to "Secure folder" offered by Samsung?


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how to use android with broken touch and adb not enabled
Scenario
Phone is rooted with android 4.1 and stock recovery
Screen works but touch input does not because of broken digitzer
Usb debugging is enabled but computer is not authorised it asks for authorization and screen is locked by pin#  otg not supported
Is their a way to authorize adb access and use it

If only touch stopped working and screen is properly visible and  your device supports OTG then you could try the USB OTG with keyboard and mouse to go to developer settings and turn on usb debugging or use the device

Otg is not supported


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Any screencasting apps thatll let me get audio only?
who has a method for me to record the audio which is playing to an mp3 or whatever? i just wanna bounce these sounds im listening to to another program but im not sure how to demux videos and its hard to use keywords to find a screen casting app that does what im looking for.  thanks! hey also... if anyone has details on some android audio interface techniques to record line out 3.5mm to like some kind of usb otg connected interface, i would really appreciate this.

The first line will make people think this is a spam

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.nll.asr
ASR works good for me. Hope you get what you needed. It can record audio from apps running in background.


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(SOLVED - partial) Flashing Source Built ROM Fails in TWRP, Invalid File Format
I am new to the development community and have started to learn about building Android from source.  I've successfully built AOSP from source for my Nexus 6P (aosp_angler-userdebug, android-7.1.1_r14).  $make runs fine and I can install system.img and boot.img via fastboot and all is well.
However, the .zip made from $make updatepackage fails when I try to flash it in TWPR, throwing an error Failed to install, invalid zip file format!
After doing some research I noted that $make updatepackage isn't producing a META-INF folder.  When I run $make dist, META-INF is created and I can then $./build/tools/releasetools/ota_from_target_files.zip out/target/dist/ota_update.zip, but that ota_update.zip fails with the same error message in TWRP.

AFAIK AOSP doesn't natively have a way to package it into a functional flashable zip, that part is what 3rd-party ROMs do in their own ways (they should have a script or sth).

Thanks Andy.  That does seem to be the case.  Most have a META-INF and an AnyKernel (or similar) scrip to make things work.  It seems like the ota zips are fore side loading.


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Notification Icon
I am puzzled by a notification icon in the status bar and I was hoping someone could help me. It's similar to the WiFi icon but is in a white square. Any ideas?

What do you see when you pull down the notification bar? Looks like a available WiFi-connection to me or a hotspot symbol. Do you have a hotspot enabled?

What is your device model and Android version?

It is indicating that your device's Personal hotspot is turned on.


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Why my mobile eats hell lot of wifi data
I have a Micromax Canvas a200 turbo mini. I have started using WiFi since last month. In one month "Android OS" and Google Chrome have used 63 GB of WiFi data. I have tried using third party apps, but they are only useful when you are using cellular data. I have tried reset factory as well.
What would cause this high data usage?

Click image for larger version

You can try opera max. It is VPN service that having app management features. There you can manage which app to allow network connections. And then only allowed apps would be able to access network bandwidth.

Although this doesn't answer to the question, I second this suggestion. Opera Max will let you know in detail everything related to data and WiFi usage. You can block access to Internet for certain apps, too.

The only reason I know why an OS would use a lot of data connection is downloading upgrades. Did your phone install (a) lot of system updates recently? Are you using stock firmware or did you install a custom OS like CynogenMod, possibly even a nightly build that updates every night?
For Chrome data usage there may be a lot of reasons - it usually completely depends on what you do with your browser. If you download large files, for example, that would be counted as Chrome data usage, too. Also watching videos or complete movies via browser will be accounted as usage for Chrome.
Maybe you might want to try 3g watchdog, which is a very good app for traffic supervision that I use for 2 years now - perhaps that would split the individual system components using wifi data better.

Hey david, One thing i forgot to mentioned, that all data are used in background by chrome, as i am pretty sure i have not used such files downloading or heavy surfing of 18GB. Apart from that, i was using normal inbuilt OS without any change, and there is no update available to download for that. This is where its confusing and irritating.

Does the problem only occur on wifi or on mobile connection, too? Did you try scanning your phone with a virus scanner yet?


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Mysterious battery drain
My battery has dropped more than the sum of the usage by all of my apps.
Has anyone ever experienced this before, or know where the rest of my battery is going?

Click image for larger version

Android depiction of battery consumption isn't very accurate- see How does Android calculate battery consumption by apps? and I am not aware how much it has improved with the latest version. Having said that, the discrepancy in battery percentage as shown is large and it could be due

a)  Inaccuracy of measurement
b)  Wakelocks (see  tag wakelock for more information)

Inaccurate measurement: To verify this try installing an app like GSam Battery Monitor which gives a more granular breakdown of battery consumption (I am not aware how it measures but in my experience is reliable). If your device is rooted , you could install the helper file of that app to get better results or use BetterBatteryStats, which by far is the best IMO (requires Xposed Framework- see tag xposed-framework for more details )
Wakelocks: can be a major culprit eating into your battery.  To start with, you could install Wakelock Detector- suggesting this as first step since it works on both rooted and unrooted devices (see here and here for more details on installing/ using the app). Once you identify the culprit, following options are available:
System App (rooted devices only):

You could freeze or uninstall using apps like Titanium backup (there is always a risk of doing so, unless you are sure that it is bloatware and doesn't affect)
Alternatively, limit the wakelocks without breaking functionality using Amplify Battery Extender -Root (requires Xposed Framework)

If your device is not rooted:
a) If it is a system app, there isn't anything you can do
b) If it is a user app, uninstall that app and look for alternate    apps     that don't drain the battery by wakelocks or use Greenify
c) Contact the developer and hope that he fixes the wakelock problem

First of all, find out the app which draining your battery from Blueren answer. And uninstall faulty app, but if you unable to find the app try these methods
1.)If you are trying any battery saver app than stop using that, because they cant stop any app to run in background. You can read this article, Revealing bitter truth of these apps
2.)Use Greenify instead, Greenify is one of the app which can stop any app to run in background. [PLAYSTORE]. Greenify work on Un-rooted device but with limited feature. If your device is rooted than you can use most of its feature. Check out this Techorfy article for more.
3.) Try another battery, your device battery can be faulty. Head to Customer care centre if your Device has user not-removable battery.
4.) None of them working, than Flash a new Stock ROM. You need a custom recovery, Stock ROM and a full detailed guide.
5.) 3G and 4G consume more battery specially if signal strength is low.

This could be for a plathora of reasons ranging from signal strength to wakelocks. Simplest thing you could do is reboot your phone and see if it still drains out the way it is now.
More often than not, it usually could happen based on the wakelocks present. A badly designed app may very well be a culprit.
If you want to investigate further, you can try installing this app called Better Battery Stats that is available on the play store.
There is a dedicated thread relating to this app on XDA


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Will my deleted text message still be sent?
I wrote a very long text message and pressed send, while mobile data was off. My phone displayed an error that the message will be sent when I activate mobile data. Before activating mobile data and while the text's status was pending, I deleted it.
If I now activate mobile data, will the message still be sent?

Please [edit] your question to include what type of text message you are referring to (WhatsApp, Facebook, SMS, etc.).

By text message, do you mean by WhatsApp? Or just SMS?
If you sent SMS and deleted it, unless you're phone is in airplane mode, there's high chance that your message is sent. And SMS has nothing to do with Mobile Data.
Incase you typed a very long message and it got converted to MMS, unless you had switched ON Mobile Data (as in most phones, if your phone doesn't automatically turn on Mobile Data to send MMS), and if you had deleted it before switching Mobile Data ON, the MMS will not be sent.
If you're talking about WhatsApp or any other online messaging app, then if you had sent message while Mobile Data/WiFi was switched OFF, and if you deleted it before you switched ON Mobile Data/WiFi, then the message deleted will not be sent.

Same thing happened to me, when I type a SMS message longer than, say 400 characters, it turns it automatically into a MMS (?!), and I was also wondering the same thing.

That depends what SMS app you have. If you use the default android SMS app, then no. But please get back to me with the name of the SMS app.


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DroidExplorer won't find Android SDK
I'm trying to install DroidExplorer, and before finishing the installation the program asks me for the "Android SDK path". I have created the folders and downloaded the the Android SDK from Android.com (only the SDK) but the installation program keeps asking me for that sdk path.
How can I resolve this?

You need to open the SDK manager and download the SDK.
Click the button that has install xx packages.
Leave it run it course and once completed add the path

Right. I saw the other page where Ryan explained the procedure in detail. What some of us forget, even people like me who have installed SDK at various times in the past, but don't use it much, is that after downloading SDK, or Android Studio as it is called now, you have to actually run SDK Manager or Android Studio before the tools will actually be downloaded and the paths created for Droid Explorer to use.
I should know because I've gone through this before, but having been years since the last install, I had forgotten this detail, which is not really explained anywhere. I notice Ryan's tutorial on this site did show screenshots of SDK Manager, and said you have to actually run it and install some tools, and that's what triggered my memory.
It doesn't help that documentation talks about SDK and SDK Manager when these products are no longer available for download, and the Android Studio download site hides the SDK tools only download at the bottom of the page, and then incorrectly states that SDK Manager is included, which it no longer is.
So I lost a lot of time looking all over the internet for an old Android SDK download before I realized what Ryan was talking about. After actually running Android Studio and letting it download and install the components, Droid Explorer successfully ran and finished installation. It still doesn't automatically detect the path. I had to manually browse to the SDK folder. Note you have to select the SDK folder itself. Selecting Android alone is not sufficient.


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Extend app storage
Is it possible to expand or change app storage limit on Android?
In this specific case (see pictures below) it says that I have more than 1.4 GB free, but when trying to install apps message appears that there isn't enough free space. Why is this happening?
Default storage location is SD card.

Is this the internal or external SD card?

@SuperThomasLab External sd card 2Gb

Does your phone also have an internal sd card? That's the location apps will be installed to.

@SuperThomasLab edited the question with internal storage screenshot


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Android Studio (Windows 7) does not detect ASUS Zenfone. Cannot run my app
So, I will list the problems one by one. Please help.

I plug phone into laptop's USB using Phone's own data/ charger cable. Everything is ok. Phone is in MTP mode.
Android Studio does not detect the phone when I try to run my app.
Device Manager shows an exclamation mark on ADB Interface, but my ASUS is connected as a portable device. (I downloaded the exact drivers for the phone, however, manually trying to select those driver to update the ADB interface fails)
ADB Wireless (No Root) is installed on phone, but my computer fails to do a detection with the adb commands: devices, tcpip 5555, and usb, giving the message Error: device not found.
As some solutions suggested, switching to PTP mode does not help either.
The ASUS phone always wants to install a Share Link software when it's connected. Is this what is blocking a simple USB data connection?

Question: What might be the problem, and the workaround?

as per asus site https://www.asus.com/support/faq/1007320 you should use asus PC link for debugging. As a general rule 'USB Debugging" should be enabled for ADB to work. Try using latest adb installed away from your sdk.

You need to turn on the USB debugging for ADB to work.
To turn on USB debugging:
Navigate to Settings > About Phone > scroll to the bottom > tap Build number seven 7 times. You'll get toast saying that you're now a developer. 2. Go back and now you can see  the Developer options in settings, check 'USB debugging' and click OK.
Some times you may need to install drivers for your phone. You can download it from manufactures website.

Sometimes when the phone driver does not install try using http://pdanet.co/a/ Install the app when the phone is connected to the laptop. Even if the installation fails for some reason you still might get the driver for the phone ins


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New icons do not display consistently
I just added Nova Launcher and an icon pack to my phone. The new icons appear for some of my apps, but not all; I can't spot a pattern that determines which is which. (See screenshot below.) I don't do a lot of phone customization, so I'm not sure how to troubleshoot. How should I fix this problem?

Click image for larger version

Thanks for shrinking my screenshot. How'd you do it?

This is probably because the icon pack you installed does not have an icon for those apps. Icon packs only include app icons for certain apps and clearly the one you've installed does not cover many common apps. If you download another icon pack you may find that includes more icons for the apps you have installed.
Another option would be to contact the developer of the icon pack you have installed and request that they include an icon for the extra apps.
If the icon pack does include an icon for the app but for whatever reason it doesn't change, you can do this manually.

Long press on the app icon
In the menu that appears, click on 'Edit'
Click on the icon in the popup
You should then be able to see all available icons, from which you can select the one you wish to use for that app.

This will change the icon everywhere within the launcher (i.e. app drawer and home screens).

I should have mentioned: that probably covers some of these, but, e.g., there are definitely Facebook and Evernote icons in the pack.
EDIT: Can I assign icons to apps arbitrarily?


text:
Do I really need an SD-card?
I don't have an SD-card as I got my Karbonn Smart A10 Dual SIM Android based on Android Jelly Bean v4.1 and 1 Ghz Dual Core processor out-the-box.  There are two things which appear to need an SD-card:
1 - camera:  when I select camera, I get "No Storage - please insert an SD card"
2 - whatsapp:  when I download and install whatsapp, I get "Error - application cannot be installed in the default install location."
Is there no work-around?  Is the best solution for me to run off and buy an SD card?

Your phone (Karbonn A10) doesn't have storage space available. It has 512 MB available only for the system and the applications binaries (and their data). You can't store media files or any file that applications want to put on a sdcard on this memory.
So, for this phone, you need a sdcard for all functions to work. (but it is not true for all Android phones)


text:
Android Nexus 5 knows password of WiFi he was never connected to!
I just bought a new Nexus 5 after using a Nexus 4 for about a year.
After turning it on and using it at work, I go home and as soon as I turn the WiFi on the phone it connects to my home network without having to insert any password.
I have never used it before at home and I did not insert the password on that phone. To verify I went to a friend of mine's place where I had used the old Nexus 4 and tried again and voila' the phone connects to the network again.
Does anybody know if it's an expected behaviour or does it sound strange to you as well?
What could be the reason? The only thing I could think of is that Google is storing details about the WiFi you connect to on your Google account. Can anybody confirm? Is this even legal?

I think you are confused about what "cookies" are. They're data stored on your device by websites you visit.

@DanHulme - I meant the equivalent of cookies applied to this case. Probably not the best use of the word but I think you got the point!

Did you backup/restore your settings to/from Google? If so, that's why you can connect to these wireless networks. One of the things that gets backed up is the wireless network passwords so when you restored them back on your new device it is able to connect.
Android has built in backup functionality. It offers to backup settings (including wifi settings) automatically from each device. When you go through the set-up on a new device it then gives you the option to restore these settings. If you had this configured (I think it's enabled by default) then your wifi settings would have automatically been backed up on your Nexus 4 and restored to your Nexus 5.

I did a backup of the address book and messages with this application: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.idea.backup.smscontacts&hl=en but I have not done a back up of my settings

Sorry, i didn't make it clear that i meant the built in backup. Google offers to backup settings (including wifi settings) automatically. When you go through the set-up on a new device it then gives you the option to restore these settings. If you had this configured (i think it's enabled by default) then your wifi settings would have automatically been backed up on your Nexus 4 and restored to your Nexus 5.

I believe it might be this. I did use the default options. But this means that google is storing password info of things not related to google on your google account.

@Matteo Google might be a bit invasive, but in this case, android backup is related to Google.  It's a service you can configure on or off as referenced in the answer.  If you don't want the information on the phone backed up to Google (as a service) you'll have to turn it off/disable it.

And you might wish to do this from the beginning. Once the data got out, no way to get it off again. Though there's a "delete" option, that doesn't seem to do a thing (see http://www.heise.de/-1922971 – German, but you can run GoogleTrans on it).

To add to bmdixon's answer, go into Settings on your old Nexus 4 or current Nexus 5, select "Backup & reset" and have a look at the top option there:

Back up my data
  Back up application data, Wi-Fi passwords and other settings to Google servers

You can connect to your wifi even if it has password with the WPS(Wi-Fi Protected Setup). if WPS is currently pressed or on in your modem other device could connect to the network without using the password..

With a laptop I need to use the password so I don't think it's that. Thanks for the answer though

still you can connect even if it is with a laptop. you're welcome tho.

@user3818605 To connect to a network with WPS you have to press the WPS button on the phone, so it's unlikely to be that in this case.

thanks for that @DanHulme. but i tried it one time and it works. that why maybe it just happened to him also.


text:
Why does the Play Store need access to NFC?
In xPrivacy, I can see that the Play Store asks for getNfcAdapter.
What does it need it for?

The Play Store app has two main features regarding NFC, both of which require the NFC permission.

It registers intent filters such that when you scan an NFC tag with a market:// link or a link to play.google.com, you get the Play Store app instead of a browser, the same way you would when you click such a link. This doesn't require calling the getNfcAdapter function, but it does use the same permission.
It uses Android Beam. If you look at an app's page in the Play Store app, then bring another Android device to NFC range, you can send that app link to the other device.

[...]If it finds an AAR, it starts the application based on the package name inside the AAR. If the application is not present on the device, Google Play is launched to download the application.
  from:http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/connectivity/nfc/nfc.html#aar

So for example, Stores and companys can use a NFC tag to make it easy to install their APPS when you put your mobile on it and so on..
-The second and more likely possibility is that the Google Play Store checks if you can download compatible NFC Apps. The same way as it checks your Android Version.
Here is a dev sight on it:https://stackoverflow.com/questions/20063853/disable-nfc-compatibility-check-in-android-manifest

The functionality you describe is part of Android itself, not the Play Store app. The Play Store app isn't responsible for launching apps from AAR in tags.

Added second possibility...

Your second guess doesn't make much sense. It would be far slower to check that way than to simply look in the system properties, like it does for all other hardware features. After all, it doesn't ask for the Bluetooth permission so it can tell whether your phone is compatible with Bluetooth apps.

Your first guess isn't even conclusive: if Google Play is launched AFTER tag evaluation, why would it itself need NFC capabilities for that? Counter-example: Tasker can e.g. launch an app when it detects you are in a certain location. Would the launched app require location access for that? No. Sorry to say so: but there's nothing left from your answer that would make any sense.


text:
Can I use OTG USB pendrive with Galaxy Nexus
I have a Samsung Galaxy Nexus. It is said to fully support OTG devices. However, I'm only able to use a mouse or keyboard through OTG USB cable. When I'm trying to connect my newly bought USB pendrive, the  phone doesn't detect it.
I have an USB pendrive with dual plug: standard USB + microUSB. I tried connecting it both through built-in microUSB and through standard USB via USB OTG cable. No effect on any attempt.
What am I missing? Is the pendrive broken or doesn't the Samsung Galaxy Nexus support external pendrives and has only keyboard/mouse OTG support?

Yes, it works. You need to root and install the StickMount app. Source.

I forgot to add (to my question) that, I'm asking for an answer without need of root, but you were faster! :] Thank you...

One side question: Is there any way to determine, approximately how many devices with Android will require root to use USB OTG pendrive? I only need general answer. Is this something normal (70-90% devices requires this) or something unique (10-30% devices requires this or even Galaxy Nexus is a lonely exception).

Alternatively you can mount it in terminal:
mkdir /data/local/usbstick && mount - t ext4 /dev/block/sda1 /data/local/usbstick

Then you can execute.

Again, I was rather looking for an everyday newbie user solution. Not the one, that requires rooting or playing with terminal. So, while I'm grateful for your answers, the real answer to my question is (at least for me): "You can't".


text:
How to redirect all web requests from hosts connected to hotspot to a local web server?
I literally have the same question as found in this post: How to redirect complete outgoing phone's traffic to a proxy server?
I have an Android phone acting as a hotspot server (using KWS). I am able to connect another device and access my little webpage by typing 192.168.43.1:8080 into the URL search of my browser, so no problem there.
However, I would like for all requests by connected devices to be redirected to my webpage.
The answer in the linked question suggests running two DNS servers using the Server's Ultimate app. My only hesitation is that it is not free, and the 'free' version is a 7 day trial.
I have tried another app called "Set DNS," which seems promising, but it will not recognize my hotspot as a network; it keeps waiting for me to connect to something.
QUESTIONS:

Can I simply change the /system/etc/hosts file as mentioned in the linked post?
Would I add a line such as: 192.168.43.1:8080    *?
If not, must I purchase Server's Ultimate, or is there another alternative?

PS: This is for an advertisement. The webpage is to be static and informative (no malicious activity).

NOTE: Solution suggested here requires root access.

I would like for all requests by connected devices to be redirected to my webpage

When you create hotspot, Android runs dnsmasq as DHCP/DNS server (up to Android 9). We can use this DNS server to resolve every domain to your desired IP address. Create file /system/etc/dnsmasq.conf and add the following option:
address=/#/192.168.43.1

See details in manpage. Start hotspot and test. Similarly you can use other DNS servers on your Android device e.g. dnscrypt-proxy.
You need to make sure that the connected hosts don't use some public DNS like 1.1.1.1, instead must use DNS provided by DHCP i.e. IP address of Android device. Or redirect all DNS traffic to local DNS server:
~# iptables -t nat -I PREROUTING -p UDP --dport 53 -j REDIRECT --to 53

NOTE:
For http://example.com request goes to 192.168.43.1:80 and for https://example.com it goes to 192.168.43.1:443. However if you type http://example.com/test.html it requests page 192.168.43.1:80/test.html which should exist, otherwise an error will be returned. An easy way is to configure your advertisement webpage as index page and default error page. For instance index-file.names and server.error-handler options on lighttpd.

Can I simply change the /system/etc/hosts file as mentioned in the linked post?
Would I add a line such as: 192.168.43.1:8080    *?

hosts file is used by DNS resolvers which are usually part of main C library of OS. As far as I know the built-in resolvers on Android/Linux/Windows don't support wildcards, so the * trick won't work. Secondly, domain names are resolved to IP address (192.168.43.1) not ports (:8080). See below links for details on DNS.
Web browsers by default use port 80 for http requests. If you are running server on some other port, you have to mention the port on web browser. Or redirect all newly generated TCP traffic from port 80 to 8080:
~# iptables -t nat -I PREROUTING -m conntrack ! --ctstate RELATED,ESTABLISHED -p tcp --dport 80 -j REDIRECT --to 8080

RELATED:

How DNS works on Android?
How name resolutions works?

I made an app uses similar solution mentioned by irfan.
It has very minimal UI and requires root permission. Check here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/general/guide-setup-fake-captive-portal-android-t4011689


text:
How to get adoptable storage back after factory reset?
Hi I've done a factory reset on phone, accidentally, don't ask how :D
So i had 50% of sd card adopted now after reset there is only 50% with media files adopted partition is gone, how to get it back?

After SD card format it appeared in full size, so I can split it up again. Sorry for hasty question..


text:
How To File Sharing From PC To Remix OS on VM-ware Player?
I have a problem, I have installed my Remix OS on my VM-ware Player and I would like to transfer file between PC and Remix OS.
how do file sharing between my PC and my Remix OS? Because it cannot just simply copy and paste. Please help me out. Thanks.

Have you tried to set up one or more shared folders for a virtual machine, be sure the virtual machine is open in Workstation and click its tab to make it the active virtual machine. Choose VM > Settings > Options and click Shared folders.

You can add one or more directories to the list. Those directories may be on the host computer or they may be network directories accessible from the host computer. All the files copied to that folder will be accessible in both guest (remixOS) and host (Windows) machines
Credits
Shared folders setup


text:
How to modify environment variables like PATH at startup?
I'm trying to add /data/bin to variable PATH at startup in order to have it available for any other app.
In Ubuntu I use the file /etc/environment, I cannot find anything similar in Android.
I discovered that adb shell detects /data/bin existence and adds it to PATH, the system doesn't seem to do the same at boot though.

I discovered that adb shell detects /data/bin existence and adds it to PATH, the system doesn't seem to do the same at boot though.

It's because adb shell starts a shell process (Android's default is MirBSD Korn Shell) which reads its configuration file /etc/mkshrc and can easily change environment variables. But apps inherit their environment from zygote, so we need to set variables before zygote starts.
Edit /init.rc file or any other .rc file or create your own. Append or prepend directories to Android's default PATH:
# /system/etc/init/path.rc

on init
    export PATH /data/bin:/sbin:/system/sbin:/system/bin:/system/xbin:/odm/bin:/vendor/bin:/vendor/xbin

DETAILS:
On Linux distros /etc/environment is evaluated by PAM (a set of libraries called modules) which is a centralized authentication mechanism used by privilege granting and administering programs like login, su, sshd, passwd, useradd etc. First process init - after starting system services  - drops us to a login shell or display manager (which starts a display server like X.Org to show GUI), running on a virtual terminal. When logging in a user, shells and display managers are configured to read and set environment from different files like passwd, login.defs, profile, bashrc xsessionrc etc. usually found in /etc or user's HOME directory. This environment is inherited by CLI utilities as well as GUI programs which run in desktop environment, including terminal emulators. Applications which attach to terminals also set TERM.
However on Android there is no concept of getty, login, text terminal logins and traditional X window system. There are no user sessions and hence no login files. init starts zygote which loads Android's Java framework, and after starting services in system_server, it forks virtual machines in which apps run. So the first thing we see (after animation ends) is an app; System UI (lock screen) or Home/Launcher app hosted by SurfaceFlinger - Android's display server. Mainly environment of all these programs is set in init's .rc files through export command. /init.environ.rc (1) exports variables like ANDROID_ROOT, ANDROID_DATA, ANDROID_STORAGE and others.  Or programs set some variables themselves e.g. logd sets TZ (2) to ensure correct timestamps in logcat, and adbd sets EXTERNAL_STORAGE (3).
Commonly used variables for Java framework are defined here. PATH is set by init on boot (4) and is part of Bionic libc definitions (5). CLI shell utilities like su (6) and run-as (7) also define PATH, HOME, LOGNAME, USER, SHELL etc. DOWNLOAD_CACHE is set in /init.rc (8) and ANDROID_ROOT is set by zygote (9) itself.
Shell specific configuration files like bashrc or mkshrc are read only if you use adb shell or a terminal emulator app.

FURTHER READING:

[INFO] TERMINAL, SHELL & DISPLAY SERVER on LINUX, ANDROID & WINDOWS

Edit the file: /system/etc/bash/bashrc and export your environment variable there..
Actually, the default environment variables are predefined in the ramdisk's file: init.environ.rc. (You may unpack the boot.img to edit it and repack & flash it)..
You may also modify those system variables in the bashrc file itself..
Also check the /system/etc/mkshrc file..

I appended export PATH="$PATH:/data/bin" to /system/etc/bash/bashrc, reboot, no success. In /init.environ.rc, no sign for variable PATH and search for any bin goes blank, not that I'm so keen for editing boot.img. Could you please give some practical example?


text:
How to make bind-mounted (mount -o bind) folders visible for non-root users?
I want to mount-bind an app data folder in /data/data/... to a user subfolder in order to automatically synchronize the contents for backup purposes. As root I use the following command:
mount -o bind /data/data/org.blabla.app/database/ /storage/emulated/0/blabla_database

The command seems to work and I can access the files in the mounted folder as long as I am root. However, as soon as I exit root, the files become invisible and the bind-mounted folder is empty.
How can I make the files visible for non-root users so that my sync app can access the files for backup?

Just a guess: Are you using SuperSU? If so, please check whether switching off "mount namespaces" helps. For details, see What does “mount namespace separation” in the app SuperSU do?

Thank you Izzy, you are right! Un-checking "mount namespace separation" in the SuperSU preferences makes a difference. But here comes the weird part: When I change back from root to normal user in the remote SSH, which I am using, I can effectively see the bind-mounted files now. But the files remain still invisible in the file manager and even if I open a new Termux shell and cd into the folder. Isn't that weird?? If I change to root (su -) in Termux I can see the files again %-( Any ideas?

Unfortunately no more ideas, sorry. Hopefully someone else can pick up from here.

In order to have different file ownership and permissions for every app in /sdcard, since Android 6 every app is run in an isolated mount namespace. /storage/emulated is bind mounted for every app with private / slave mount propagation to a different VIEW:
/mnt/runtime/default/emulated
/mnt/runtime/read/emulated
/mnt/runtime/write/emulated

It depends on if the app has READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE or WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission granted or not. For details see What is the “u#_everybody” UID?
Mounting directly to /storage/emulated won't appear in apps' mount namespaces unless you enter every app's mount namespace explicitly. The same is true if you mount from some app's isolated mount namespace as mentioned by @Izzy in comment. See Partition gets unmounted automatically in Android Oreo.
So you need to mount from root mount namespace to one of the above VIEWs, so that mount is propagated to all apps' mount namespaces.
For more details see How to bind mount a folder inside /sdcard with correct permissions?


text:
How can I block incoming connections?
I've been looking for a firewall app for Android for a couple hours now and all I could find is apps that only let me block outgoing connections (for specific apps). Is there any way to set which incoming connections and on which ports should be allowed/denied (something like Inbound Rules in Windows Firewall)? I'm OK with with the app requiring root.

If you don't mind with the solution not being an app, then you can use iptables. They are included in the AOSP kernel. You can access them by downloading a terminal app off of the app store. You might however need root for this.
The usage of iptables on android should be same as the ones on desktop Linux, so you can look up some GNU manual for it.

It's simple to achieve with iptables; thanks to Linux kernel. Since Android uses default policy ACCEPT, drop any unwanted packets. For instance you want to allow port 22 and block all others:
~# iptables -N MYCHAIN
~# iptables -I INPUT -j MYCHAIN
~# iptables -A MYCHAIN -i lo -j RETURN
~# iptables -A MYCHAIN -p tcp ! --dport 22 -m conntrack ! --ctstate ESTABLISHED,RELATED -j DROP
~# iptables -I FORWARD -j DROP

This will also block incoming connections from tethered devices on hotspot network. You can exclude those, see this: Is There A Mobile Hotspot App With A Firewall to Block Incoming Connections?

Note that, on older Android Linux kernels, (for eg; mine is kernel 3.10.xx) the match state, -m conntract --ctstate should be -m state --state because conntrack wasn't implemented yet on older linux kernels. Conntrack is a bit advanced than state, as conntract uses more granular forms to match packets.


text:
How to save files to external SD card on a non-rooted Android?
I'm using the Terminal Emulator app on a non-rooted Android 5.0.2 phone.
When moving files from a folder of the external SD card to another with:
mv /storage/extSdCard/DCIM/Camera/* /storage/extSdCard/phone/

I get:
mv: rename /storage/extSdCard/DCIM/Camera/20170519_161315.jpg to
     /storage/extSdCard/phone/20170519_161315.jpg: Permission denied

Is there a solution for this (without rooting the phone)?

Note: ls -la in /storage/extSdCard gives:
drwxrwx--x root     sdcard_r          2016-08-10 02:18 Android
drwxrwx--- root     sdcard_r          2016-11-20 09:45 DCIM
...
drwxrwx--- root     sdcard_r          2017-05-19 15:46 phone

Filesystem level write access to physically external SD card without rooting phone is not possible since pre-KK days. However apps can always (with or without Storage permission) read and write to their private directories on shared storages. So you can move files to /storage/extSdCard/Android/data/.

On Android 6+ external SD card is visible at /storage/[UUID] where UUID is that of filesystem. This filesystem path is only available for reading (to apps with READ|WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission granted) and traversal (for all apps). Latter case is to let apps read/write to their private directories. Like internal emulated filesystem, permission control is implemented through mount namespace and everybody (9997) GID. SD card is mounted with three distinct VIEWS of different permissions:

vold creates an isolated mount namespace for every app and depending upon app's status of Storage permission, bind-mounts a VIEW to /storage/[UUID]. For detail see What is /storage/emulated/0/? and What is the “u#_everybody” UID?

Since none of the three VIEWS has write permission, apps don't have filesystem level write access to public directories on external SD cards. However apps - like mostly file explorers - which make use of Storage Access Framework (SAF) (or Scoped Directory Access on Android 7+ or Scoped External Storage Access on Android 10+) are able to create and delete files on whole SD card.

USB OTG is treated almost in similar fashion, but with one prominent difference:

"MOUNT_FLAG_VISIBLE means the volume is visible to third-party apps for direct filesystem access.
  ...
  transient volumes like USB OTG devices should not be marked as visible; their contents should be surfaced to apps through the Storage Access Framework."

So USBs aren't exposed as VIEWS, instead apps see /storage/[UUID] (which is not an actual) filesystem path through SAF for both reading and writing. That's why contents of removable media aren't available through MediaStore too. Neither available to apps through APIs:

"The returned paths do not include transient devices, such as USB flash drives connected to handheld devices."

Multiple external storage devices:

"External storage devices surfaced through these APIs must be a semi-permanent part of the device (such as an SD card slot in a battery compartment). Developers expect data stored in these locations to be available over long periods of time. For this reason, transient storage devices (such as USB mass storage drives) should not be surfaced through these APIs."

However Adoptable Storage is always visible to apps, whether SD card or USB.

RELATED:

How to stop apps writing to “Android” folder on the SD card?


text:
If Android is a Linux distribution can I run it natively on my computer?
Is it possible to run Android on PC?
Is it?

I wonder why this question is down voted.

Despite that it's worth discussing whether Android can be called a Linux distribution or not, you can find several working Androids for desktop platforms:

Android x86: http://www.android-x86.org/
Remix OS (discontinued): http://www.jide.com/remixos
Bluestacks (virtual machine): http://www.bluestacks.com

Im talking about native Android vannila, no modifactions just android itself

And I think Android is most "linuxish" than Fedora or Arch  because it only uses Linux kernel itself, no GNU/X11 etc

Android does not use the standard Linux kernel. See the linked article.

Its still Linux kernel

i would have to say yes as i have a linux android distro i have played with a few time i made a live bootable usb stick with lili i am not sure where i origanelly downloaded the ISO but i have had it boot fine a few times and also after some playing in the shell when it has not loaded properly other times not sure if its something from the creation of the usb or the different computers i have used it on. sorry i cant help more then that (is there a reason you cant just run knox to emulate)


text:
Why is there no option to choose size in TWRP's resize partition feature?
I'm trying to reflash an old Galaxy Note N5100 but I realized that the system partition is too big (~1.5GB). The current ROM uses only about 40% of the partition so I want to shrink it to make space for cache and data. I heard that newer TWRP has resize2fs so I installed the latest (3.0.2-0) TWRP and try.
But after selected wipe > repair or change file system > resize file system there's no option to choose the new size! I tried swiping to resize it and the system is now even larger (~2.5GB). I checked with fdisk and it's really bigger now.
~ # fdisk -l /dev/block/mmcblk0
Found valid GPT with protective MBR; using GPT

Disk /dev/block/mmcblk0: 30777344 sectors, 2740M
Logical sector size: 512
Disk identifier (GUID): 52444e41-494f-2044-4d4d-43204449534b
Partition table holds up to 128 entries
First usable sector is 34, last usable sector is 30777310

Number  Start (sector)    End (sector)  Size       Code  Name
   1            8192           16383       4096K   0700  BOTA0
   2           16384           24575       4096K   0700  BOTA1
   3           24576           65535       20.0M   0700  EFS
   4           65536           81919       8192K   0700  PARAM
   5           81920           98303       8192K   0700  BOOT
   6           98304          114687       8192K   0700  RECOVERY
   7          114688          180223       32.0M   0700  RADIO
   8          180224         3325951       1536M   0700  CACHE
   9         3325952         8568831       2560M   0700  SYSTEM
  10         8568832         9715711        560M   0700  HIDDEN
  11         9715712         9732095       8192K   0700  OTA
  12         9732096        30769151       10.0G   0700  USERDATA

Why is that? Where does the new size come from? Is there anyway to enter the size in TWRP?

Issue shell commands manually. You can do it.

First to clarify, Resize Partition is different than Resize File System, TWRP provides latter option. It resizes the ext2/3/4 filesystem to the size of partition it's created on. Filesystem size can be checked with df command when mounted, and partition size with blockdev.
Just like HDDs or SSDs on PC, Android's eMMC storage is divided into partitions (can be 50+). Some of them have filesystem e.g. the larger ones userdata and system. In simple cases a filesystem occupies a complete physical partition, but it's not always the case, LVM makes it possible to have single filesystem on multiple partitions. Or the opposite what happened in your case as explained here:
Sometimes the zip file of:

a custom ROM does not have the correct size for the system partition and if the ROM flashes a raw system image, that image will not take up the full block device. Running resize2fs can fix the size

Similarly:

Sometimes flashing a factory image may flash userdata with an image with a file system that does not take up the full size of the block device

So TWRP can expand the filesystem to reclaim wasted space. That's what happened in your case to the /system partition. The actual size of partition was 2.5 GB, but flashed image was of 1.5 GB.
Coming to your query:

I realized that the system partition is too big (~1.5GB). The current ROM uses only about 40% of the partition so I want to shrink it to make space for cache and data.

You want to resize partition, not filesystem. So resize2fs (which TWRP uses at back end) isn't the right choice. As your partition table suggests, you need to delete and recreate partitions 9 to 12. IT'S DANGEROUS AND NOT RECOMMENDED, you may permanently brick your device. All data on these partitions will be lost, so do backup. Also, fdisk isn't proper tool for GPT, it's for MBR partition scheme. Use parted or gdisk instead, but with great care.
RELATED:

How disk space is used on Android device?
Partitions and Filesystems on Android devices


text:
How to recover data from corrupt SD Card formatted as Internal?
My mother has been using the Moto G3 Turbo Edition for almost 2 years now.
The device has 16GB of internal memory, but she is using an external Samsung Evo 32GB class 10 memory card as her INTERNAL MEMORY (Thanks to the memory-switching feature of Marshmallow). She has been using the phone with Evo as her internal memory since the phone was first bought.
Today while she was using WhatsApp, suddenly she noticed that she was not being able to download any media (music, videos, songs). And when she checked her gallery, she found it empty! Out of nowhere! After further checking it was discovered that the G3 Turbo was not detecting the Samsung Evo at all, eventhough the card was still inside the device. It was showing "No Internal Memory Detected".
I tried various solutions like switching off and turning the device back on, cleaning the memory card, clearing cache...nothing works! This has led me to doubt that the problem might be with the SD card. I inserted it into my PC and it wasn't getting detected.
The Card has lot of important files in it. What should I do?

Possible duplicate of How to decrypt the corrupt SD card formatted as internal storage?

Unfortunately, using an SD card as internal (adopted) memory is very hard on the card itself. TBH, I am surprised you got 2 years out of it. Most 3rd Gen Moto devices are lucky to get a year or maybe 18 months and we have seen cards fail in as few as 30 days. The way adopted storage works puts incredible amounts of stress on the card itself with constant read and write operations, even Moto staff on their official support forums recommends NOT using adopted storage if at all possible. SD cards like many types of flash storage have a finite number of write cycles, they will fail, the question is when.
What can you? Reboot and see if it shows up again, then copy it off immediately and replace the card as soon as possible.
Other options are pretty limited and the adoptable-storage tag may give you some options, but in general once adoptable storage gets messed up the data is not recoverable due to the encryption used by Android.
Otherwise, there isn't much UNLESS the phone is already rooted and you are pretty handy with Linux. If it isn't already rooted, then it doesn't matter because of the rooting process requires wiping the device. If you are rooted you need to access the *.key file in /data/misc/vold and you can mount the volume as shown here and attempt normal data recovery in Linux.
BTW, Android has tools to mitigate these situations by maintaining backups in online storage... for example, tools like Google Photo will automatically backup pictures and videos to your Google account for free. What is the old saying? An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.


text:
Turn a physical device into a virtual machine for use on a PC
How can I turn a physical device (specifically this) into a virtual machine for use on a computer?
I am doing this so I can safely attempt to root my device without bricking the physical one
It should be obvious, but the device is not rooted

"It should be obvious" - how? Phones are using ARM SoCs; PCs have x86/x64 CPUs. Existing Android emulators don't run images ripped from phones, they have dedicated x86/x64 system images compiled explicitly for them.

@AndyYan Sorry I was not clear. I meant it should be obvious that the device is not rooted, not that the answer to my problem is obvious

Duplicate: https://android.stackexchange.com/q/133143/218526

Not possible. Rooting is highly hardware-dependent operation and it cannot be done virtually outside the device

So is there no "safe" way to root the phone?

Nope. Rooting usually is not "safe"


text:
How to set static IP on command line or adb shell?
I can't seem to use netcfg on Nougat. If I use ifconfig ip is not updating.If there is another method to change IP on command line or adb shell, I am all ears.

You can try using ip command.
How it compares to ifconfig
Edit:
To set up an IP address you can use:

ip address add 192.168.0.77 dev eth0

or the long form

ip addr add 192.168.0.77/24 broadcast 192.168.0.255 dev eth0

look up current config using

ip addr show

In you terminal, run these commands:
adb root
adb shell
$ ifconfig eth0 192.168.138.2  # to fix your address
$ netcfg  # show address

why ifconfig IP will automaticaly lose after a while？