text:
How to convert and send HD video via SMS?
I am running stock Android 4.3 and when I use the stock Camera app and record video the file size is huge. The Camera app also has a Record for MMS option that works well but this means I don't have a HD copy of the original footage.
What I would like to do is to record some footage using the stock HD Record mode and then have a "Convert for MMS and send" button.
Is there an app or process that will help me do this?

There are some applications available in Google play store.
Take a look at SMS MMS Messenger.

Why?  Nothing in its description seems applicable to this question.

You can use tools like ffmpeg in command line with a terminal to re encode the video to your liking before sending it.

That's a good recommendation. Now imagine you've never used ffmpeg or any command-line program. I'm sure you can think of a way to expand your answer to be more helpful to such a visitor.

This might not be the most efficient solution.
It is baffling that this functionality still isn't present on stock Android.
You could use this Video Converter app to convert your HD videos.


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Facebook icon randomly changes size on homescreen
The facebook icon on the homescreen of my android tablet, version 4.2.2, keeps randomly changing size. Sometimes it's the same size as other icons, sometimes it appears much smaller than the rest, what's causing that?

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
how can I randomize my MAC address every time my WiFi is turned on?
Given the increased prevalence of systems which track people's movements by their Mac addresses I'd like to obscure mine.
I have a rooted galaxy note 2 with busybox installed.  I can change my MAC address like so:
busybox ifconfig wlan0 hw ether 11:22:33:44:55:66

however, if I disable and re-enable my wireless, or I reboot my phone, it gets forgotten.  is there somewhere I can put a script so it will be run every time my wireless turns on?

Give pry-fi a try

How about Chainfire's tool Pry-Fi which was announced over at XDA?
It works great and it is available via the official Google play-store at:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.chainfire.pryfi

Here’s a screenshot showing the tool in action…

I tried Pry-Fi.  Despite my phone being listed as tested, it caused wi-fi to become entirely unusable.  I couldn't even see any networks to connect to.  I had to uninstall to get access to my home network again.

You could do that using e.g. Tasker, the mighty automation tool:

Condition: Monitor Start (i.e., Tasker was started; alternatively: Device Boot, i.e. boot process finished)
Task: Run Shell, with your command as parameter

If you like it more fancy, you could even use Variable Randomize to generate a different MAC each time...

Would this trigger as part of the process of going online or shortly afterward?  If possible I'd like to not broadcast the hardware's MAC at all.

This would trigger where you defined it, as described: Monitor start is when Tasker gets activated, which is usually immediately after boot (or when you start/restart Tasker, or activate its Monitoring service manually). If you use Device Boot as condition, it would only get "triggered" after boot, but not when you start/restart the Tasker monitor manually. So in both cases, it would be applied immediately after boot. I cannot say whether network initialization might be faster.

The activation would have to track when wi-fi is turned on, and change the MAC before any packets are broadcast.  I'm not all that confident that that could be relied on, but perhaps I'm wrong.

@mc0e If you have doubts on that, add a second profile with a different condition (something that triggers on network changes), and apply the same task to it :)

In addition to the other answer with Tasker ("You could do that using e.g. Tasker, the mighty automation tool:"), here a little Task (description export) with randomizing the MAC:
TestMacChanger (130)
    A1: Variable Set [ Name:%count To:0 Do Maths:On Append:Off ]
    <randomstart>
    A2: Variable Randomize [ Name:%random Min:0 Max:15 ]
    A3: Variable Convert [ Name:%random Function:Decimal to Hex Store Result In:%rhex ]
    A4: Test Variable [ Type:Length Data:%rhex Store Result In:%len ]
    A5: Variable Set [ Name:%rhex To:0%rhex Do Maths:Off Append:Off ] If [ %len eq 1 ]
    A6: Variable Convert [ Name:%rhex Function:To Upper Case Store Result In: ]
    A7: Variable Set [ Name:%mac To:%mac:%rhex Do Maths:Off Append:Off ] If [ %mac Set ]
    A8: Variable Set [ Name:%mac To:%rhex Do Maths:Off Append:Off ] If [ %mac !Set ]
    A9: Variable Add [ Name:%count Value:1 Wrap Around:0 ]
    <randomend>
    A10: Goto [ Type:Action Label Number:1 Label:randomstart ] If [ %count < 6 ]
    A11: Variable Set [ Name:%mac To:00:11:22:33:44:55 Do Maths:Off Append:Off ] If [ %mac !Set ]
    A12: Flash [ Text:%mac Long:On ]
    A13: Run Shell [ Command:su
busybox ifconfig wlan0 hw ether %mac Timeout (Seconds):0 Use Root:On Store Output In:%output Store Errors In:%error Store Result In: Continue Task After Error:On ]
    A14: Flash [ Text:%error Long:Off ] If [ %error Set ]

This is doing a loop for 6 random hex values to get a random mac as e.g. 01:4F:89:BA:3F:0C
Then it is setting this random mac as own mac.
I can see the new mac with this command:
busybox iplink show wlan0

After a reboot the old mac is reset.

Use Chainfire's app called Pry-Wifi which does exactly that.

As things move forward, I've got a new phone (a Pixel 5a), which has such a built in option, but that's for Developers.
First I had to enable the developer feature (see here for original):

Open Settings » About Phone
Click on Build Number 7 times

Next, I went to the Developer feature (you can use the search feature if you have a slightly different phone):

Open Settings » System » Advanced » Developer options
Scroll down to "Wi-Fi-enhanced MAC randomization" and Enable

As you probably know, the default is to generate a random MAC address once per network, address that gets saved once and for all unless you change the above flag. So with the default, if you use different WiFi networks, it at least will use a different MAC for each connection point.

Thanks.  https://source.android.com/devices/tech/connect/wifi-mac-randomization has some more info on this.

I feel like this could be done with a bash script or editing the init file to include the command you have here.

This isn't helpful; what would OP put in the script? Where would it go?

This is really a repeat of stuff I've put forward in the original question.  I have no problem writing a script, but I don't know where it would need to go in order to be triggered each time my phone goes online.

In addition, that would require modifying the boot image; init scripts are part of that. Any modifications of init files in the "mounted file system" will be lost after boot (see e.g. initrd @ Wikipedia for details).

If I get a way to set the MAC address that survives the NIC going up and down, that's a step forward, even if I have to modify the script after each phone reboot.  Especially so if it means the MAC address gets set before any packets get broadcast each time the wifi link goes up.

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

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


text:
Impossibly difficult to track down original rom I8262BUUBAMG1
I have had no luck in trying to find a site that hosts the ROM for my galaxy core. Is there someplace that I am missing?
I8262BUUBAMG1
I love the modded rom  that Omkar$ mas made but the latest update broke the google play store connection and I am not having any luck trying to get it to work.
If someone has some insight on how to attempt a fix without installing stock firmware that would be awesome. But if not stock will have to do until he fixes the problem with the gAPPs.
Thanks ahead of time guys!
EDIT:
I did find the ROM here but links are broken -.- fml

Have you checked with Where can I find stock or custom ROMs for my Android device?

Yeah I checked out a lot of different places to find that specific rom and it has been very difficult. I have been modding my phones for a while and I always have a go to. But for some odd reason this galaxy core GT-I8262B has been a real pain. I don't know if there would be a problem flashing the stock GT-IS8262 rom on it for india. I just don't want to keep running odin over and over again.

I see. Sorry, but I don't know a specific location for that. With some luck, someone having that device might help further.

No worries!! Thanks for the link btw there are A LOT of sites I hadn't tried yet!

That's why I suggested it :) It's our biggest resource on this topic. If you know some sources missing there, be welcome to add!


text:
Push Empty Directories with ADB
What do I want?
I want to push some directories from my desktop to my android phone. The directories are empty, but the folder name contains important meta-data. The structure is not changeable.
What is the Issue?
If I try to push via adb, I get the following warning:
adb: warning: skipping empty directory

What have I tried?
As a workaround I could use the MTP protocol. But this protocol is not stable and crashes a lot, especially if you want to copy multiple files. I can't get it work on linux anyways, so adb seems to be the best choice.
My Questions

What is the reasoning to skip empty directories? It seems like an arbitrary (and annoying) design choice for me.
Is there a flag to NOT skip empty directories?
Is there a workaround?

I don't see a way to get around this limitation of adb in the adb source code.  The sad part is that there is already a bug ticket mentioned to change this behavior (the comment was added Nov 2015).
For pushing empty directories I would try to build a TAR archive (e.g. my.tar), and execute tar extraction on-device via adb shell providing the TAR archive via stdin:
adb shell tar xv -C /storage/emulated/0 < my.tar

If the tar files contains empty directories they will be correctly extracted on device.

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


text:
How to check the model of the wifi chip on Android 9?
I'd like to know if there is an easy way (if possible without using the terminal) to get the model of the wifi chip on my Android 9 (Motorola moto g6 play). I found only very old methods, some of them based on apps that do not exist anymore.

According to gsmarena there are two versions of that device known. Each variant uses a different chipset with different Wifi capabilities: https://www.gsmarena.com/motorola_moto_g6_play-9002.php Which one is yours? You should be able to use an hardware info app from Play Store to find out which version you have.

Hello @Robert thank you very much for your useful comment. I have the one with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 1.40 GHz (architecture 8x ARM Cortex-A53). If possible tell me also a general way to identify the wifi chip on any smartphone please.

As the MSM8937 Snapdragon 430 comes with built-in Wifi then this is the answer.

Thanks @Robert . Do you know any application able to retrieve the same information?

As nearly all Smartphone CPUs also contain the Wifi chip you just need an hardware info app that displays the CPU type.

@Robert is there the possibility to know if it supports dual band?

Not by the chip name itself. I do remember that for some chips even by looking at the spec it can get difficult. Usually standards like 802.11a or 802.11ac indicate that 5GHz is supported but as far as I remember there were a few counterexamples. And some other standards like 802.11n and 802.11ax can be used in 2.4 and 5GHz so you don't know if the device has 5Ghz or not.

@Robert Here https://www.qualcomm.com/products/snapdragon-430-mobile-platform you can read Wi-Fi Spectral Bands: 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, but my smartphone is able to see only the 2.4 GHz...it's strange


text:
Why does "tar -czh" produce a corrupt archive but "tar -ch | gzip" work fine?
I am trying to backup a directory from a phone over adb.
When using the following command I get an archive which is corrupt:
adb exec-out "tar -czh /sdcard/DCIM" > backup.tar.gz

But with the following command the archive is correct:
adb exec-out "tar -ch /sdcard/DCIM | gzip" > backup.tar.gz

The two tar files are 48.8mB with a difference of about 200kB. The corrupt archive is smaller.
I am using adb at the Windows command line. It is necessary to receive the output as compressed data to avoid newline conversions. Both commands should provide compressed data.
My question is specifically asking why these two commands which should be identical are producing a different result.
The phone is running LineageOS 14.1 and is connected to a computer running Windows 10.

Unwanted terminal characters (printing or non-printing) may get included in the output which corrupt the archive. Use stty raw or dos2unix. See details under ADB heading in my answer to https://android.stackexchange.com/a/208114/218526

Is there a way to disable stderr redirecting when using adb exec-out to avoid such problems?

Does this answer your question? ADB pull stops after first error

FWIW, I also tried both commands (1 folder containing 1 image file) and both files were deemed invalid archives by 7zip. Opening them with Notepad++ (yeah, not the best tool, but worked nevertheless) shown them as binary with no readable text/error output appended.

@alecxs The archive as described in the question that was not corrupt works fine and the images are well formed.

exec-out mixed up stdout and stderr
in 1st example the tar stderr message "removing leading '/' from member names" is redirected into target file
in 2nd example only tar stdout is piped to gzip
to avoid broken archive silent stderr see linked duplicate

*2nd gzip stdout + stderr still mixed (but there is no)


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Android 5.1.1 (CyanogenMod CM12.1) - problem Multimedia - pls HELP
I have an Alcatel One Touch Pop C7 (7041X) that is still a phone, but with too old software - Android 4.0.2, which not allow install of most the apps who I have interested.
I decided to upgrade it to the above level.
My goal was to achieve optimum functionality of device and durability of the battery.
I tried a lot of variants. Тhe most appealing to me stayed the version CyanogenMod CM12.1_StableEdition_V2.

This customROM (Android 5.1.1 (LolliPop)) is perfect in every way except the Multimedia. In my opinion the problem comes from the used decoders and encoders ... or more precisely in their settings ...I read on the Internet and maked a lot of experiments ... but alas with no result ...!
Now will be glad if I eliminate this problem with your help ...!
One quick word about the problem or at least what the most annoys me.
The problem appears when I try to watch TV online with the Da Player app (play streaming video in format *.m3u8). The application itself installs normally, loading the playlist also works, but when playing whoever it is channel, it previews the following (see attachment screen ) without sound.

I want to emphasize that on the same phone, but installed Android 4.4.2 (KitKat) - this effect is not observed - the app (Da Player) works fine.
The phone is rotatable and has an MT6582 processor.
I would be really glad if anybody would cooperate ...
Thanks in advance !

You might have better luck at XDA with this question.

https://forum.xda-developers.com/alcatel-pop-c7/help/alcatel-onetouch-pop-c7-android-5-1-1-t4062761
....No...! I not have result....


text:
Couldn't install on USB storage or SD card - I don't even have external card?
I was just playing around on google play, but some apps cant install. I get the following error:
Couldn't install on USB storage or SD card
I have tried:

Finding a certain file smdl2tmp1.asec, which was nowhere to be found
Inserting an SD-card and then trying
Dismounting that SD-card but still inside the tablet

So far, i haven't found an solution. Can you help me out?

It would be much more helpful if you can tell us what device you have, and if the device is rooted, has custom ROM, etc.

The device is a Sunnycube v7, and it is rooted. No custom rom, just android.


text:
How to disable/remove ALL cell functionality
I have a Kyocera Event (Virgin Mobile) running stock Android 4.0.4.
This is only used as a media player for about 90 minutes ONE DAY per week. I am looking for a good way to extend battery life as much as possible as it can only be charged one day a week as well.
Steps taken:

Disabled google account sync
Turned off all location services
Turned "Mobile Data" off

I know it's asking a lot, but I am really hoping to get the battery to last a week if possible.
Any suggestions for extending battery life?

Hot tip: our battery-life tag-wiki, with links to e.g. What can I do to increase battery life on my Android device? and similar questions. Also, some more details might help: Do you need any SIM activity (calls etc.) at all? If so: no chance for 1+ week. Do you have root access on the device? That gives additional possibilities like underclocking, greenifying, etc.

What's wrong with just turning it off for the other six days?

@DanHulme There is a buggy app in use that loses it's configuration if the app gets closed. The users have very limited tech skills and I am hoping to not have to train them to configure this program every time they need it.


text:
What is custom URI handler in android?
I came across the term "Custom URI Handler" which is a bad practice in android security. Can anybody please tell what is custom URI handler? What are the security issues raised by custom URI handlers?

It'll be possible to give a much more useful explanation if you give a little more context about where you've seen the term and why you think it's a bad practice.

I don't know the context exactly. It is security perspective, the bad practices.       Is it custom a protocol like http?


text:
Using an external SDcard with KitKat?
On a Samsung Galaxy S4 Google Play Edition running 4.4 and non-rooted (I'd prefer not to root a device used for professional development purposes)
Having stored some ebooks on my external SDcard, I decided that I wanted to add some audio as well (as my internal device storage is quite full.)
As far as I can tell not one app (nor adb) can perform any write operations to the external SDcard's root directory.
The one exception that I've found is that my ubuntu computer, can create and rename directories inside /storage/extSdCard/Android/data/ even though none of my apps can.
Is there a workaround for this that doesn't involve rooting the device?

As a root-required option: http://www.androidauthority.com/galaxy-s4-gpe-android-4-3-sd-card-fix-254960/ seems to be a pretty good discussion. I'm just hoping that's not the only solution.

Google has screwed up the KitKat API, apparently Google thinks there is a big security problem with external SD cards.  Apps will have to be changed to use a different API call, so expect that nothing will use external SD cards for a long long long time (small percentage of KitKat users and even smaller percentage of KitKat users with external SD cards).
There are a lot of people asking similar questions and some partial workarounds but nothing good.  Even Googles own Gallery app doesn't read the external SD card.

Maybe it's the WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE permission, which was not enforced in previous versions? True it would be embarassing if they enforced it now but forgot about this in their own apps. Also, I'm not sure this is the case, though it would make sense.


text:
How to automatically send an SMS if a call is missed?
Due to a busy schedule, missed call are a constant, and many times the person calling insists on keep calling until I answer.
The ideia is to automatically send an SMS with a pre-defined message to let the caller know that I'm on the phone or otherwise busy, and that I will be returning the call as soon as possible.
So, how can I send an automatic SMS for missed calls?

Here is a workaround using Tasker:
Profile (or Trigger)
Create a Profile which allows sending to contact with the missed call:

Goto Profiles Tab and click the "+"
Event >> Phone >> Missed Call
Tap back to exit from this window

Task
You will notice as soon exit, you will be prompted to link this to a Task

Scroll all the way up the Task list select "New Task + "
You can name this Task SendSMSmc or anything.
Click "+" to add new Action
Phone >> Send SMS [Number:%CNUM Message ( e.g I am currently busy at the moment, I'll call later)
Tap back to exit from this task
Press back all the way to exit (Your task is saved)

Explanation: When a call is received, and even  if you are not able to answer it,
the "Missed Call trigger" allows Tasker to send a message containing the body test:
"I am currently busy at the moment, I'll call later" to the missed call number" where %CNUM is the missed call number.
Hope this helps other users well

Press and hold the RED button when the call arrives, this will show you the message icon, then drag your RED button to the message icon which will give the SMS message options while disconnecting.

The OP asks for automatic

This is call rejection feature


text:
Android OS uses a lot of data in background, how to turn auto system update check off?
I have a nexus 5 with Android 4.4. If i look at data usage, it shows that Android OS is using a couple of megabytes per day. I tried disabling sync and backup but it didn't help. What could be causing the background data usage? One thing that I could think of is automatic system update check, but there seems to be no way to turn it off.
What could be the cause of the data usage and can I fix it without rooting?

I doubt that the update check is causing this. It's just a few bytes every 24h (if you don't manually trigger it all the time).

Found out that the issue is not persisting on nexus 4 and only in nexus 5.(Thats very strange.)
Temporary Solution until Google fixes this. Just root your phone and freeze Android System Update.
That will fix the mysterious data consumption issue.

You could try going to Settings→Data usage, define a global limit (can be imaginary, e.g. 5 GB), and then scroll to "suspect apps": open their entries, scroll down, and check "limit background data". Then those wouldn't use background data while on mobile data, while working as usual when on WiFi or in foreground. That's what I did with e.g. Google Play (to keep it from always checking for updates in background) about half a year ago. No side-effects seen yet.
For details, please see my answer here. You might also want to check What won't function properly on device if I disable background data usage for google play store?
Other related questions include:

“Restrict Background data” with Jelly Bean on tf300t ASUS tablet
Selectively block 3g access to certain apps
How do I enable Mobile Data only for select apps on a rooted phone?
Preventing mobile data use for select apps on non-rooted phone?

And probably several more.

Thanks for the answer, but the updaten 'limit background data' is not available for 'Android OS'.

"Android OS" is in many cases just a "collector" in the stats. Try for Google Play, to start with, then carefully check with Google Play Services (watch out for side-effects, I didn't test with that) and other apps one by one. With some luck you can identify the culprit that way.

I did try that, but it didn't solve the problem. I think the culprit is the auto system update check. Every time i navigate to 'Settings->About phone->systemupdates' It shows that the last update check was less than 10 minutes ago. Basically, it checks for updates every 5 minute or so. Most likely this is the cause of background data usage. The problem is that there seems to be no way to disable it.

Can you check if there's a process called "fota" or similar? Reminds me of some custom ROMs which ship a fotakill along to silence that. You can find out more about fotakill e.g. at this XDA thread.

I looked under apps->downloaden/currently running(cashed processes & Acive Services)/all but couldn't find anything called fota.

I just perform a factory reset, maybe that helps.

Worth a try. As for the process: It probably doesn't show up in "running apps". But you could use an app like OS Monitor, or a terminal app and the ps command, to list up all processes.

This is due to Google Backup.Switch Google Backup off and your problem will be solved.Follow these steps-

Open Photos App.
From options select Settings.
Select Auto Backup and Switch it off.

Go to settings, scroll down to accounts, click your Google account(s), and turn off all the syncs.


text:
Manage files left by uninstalled apps?
I just realized that when an app has the "SD card access" it has access to the entire SD card and all the other apps that use the SD card. I would have assumed that each Apps data is "sandboxed" like on an iPhone.
So, once I delete the App that accessed the SD card I noticed that it doesn't always delete the corresponding files it created on the SD card. In one case I installed a Linux Emulator that created 4 gig file and when it came to installing the rest of the Linux it failed. So naturally I uninstalled the application.
Out of curiosity I looked on the SD card found the file in some randomly named directory.
So the big question is, is there a way to manage the deletion of those files as opposed to having to check your entire SD card everytime you uninstall an Application?
PS: My device is Rooted

I don't believe Android keeps a list of "what file was created by which app".
That being said, it would be very useful.

You might want to try Clean Master from Google Play Store. I had it for quite some time now, when you delete apps it will pop up asking you whether you want to delete residual files as well (if there are any). Also it will scan your SD Card and Phone for any rubbish.

Just deleted Clean Master as it kept going into portrait mode even when I had it locked to landscape, but thanks for the tip


text:
How shall I prevent an app from being killed without using third party tools?
Contrary to the traditional computing world, where programs won't quit without the user asking for it, in the mobile world (and Android in particular), it's generally considered up to the system to decide which app to quit and when, to the point where many if not most apps don't even have a quit option.
Up to some extent, it's justified due to :

The limited amount of RAM available (contrary to the PC/Mac world
where we've gone too far in the other direction, and the system by
default considers a program can ask for as much virtual memory as it
wants, which is a security problem, but that's another subject)
The devices being for the general public, in a context where people
don't necessarily have the knowledge/will/time to manage their phone
usage on an app by app basis
The apps are often designed to be used for short periods of time
(which is linked to the previous point somehow)

However, there are cases where one doesn't want a given app to quit unless it's asked to explicitly by the end user. The reality of that need seems to have been taken into account by some mobile phone manufacturers (if I'm not mistaken, Samsung has been providing such an option for some time now).
So my question is : how shall I tell the system to not kill a given app ? I know there are apps that pretend to achieve this, but how shall I do that myself, without resorting to third party tools, only the stock Android command line tools and APIs ?
Afaik, there seem to be three criteria to decide to kill an app :

Memory usage (the LMK daemon being in charge, unless a specific
driver is present, in my case I have lmkd running)
A limit on the number of running processes
Battery optimisation, but there's already an option to disable that
per-app, so I don't consider it a problem

So basically, only points 1 and 2 remain to be solved. You advices are welcome !
For what it's worth, I run Android x86 9.0 on an emulator (qemu).
EDIT : I checked the code of a program that's called App Settings, that's part of the Xposed framework. The program pretends to be able to set a program to stay resident in memory. After checking the code, it seems it modifies some application process attributes that are defined in the ProcessRecord class, namely maxAdj, curRawAdj, setRawAdj, curAdj and setAdj, setting those to the value of -12.
I wasn't able to test the program since my x86_64 Android 9.0 doesn't seem compatible with the framework, but I found this page, explaining in more detail how the activity manager service updates OOM values according to the app status, and communicates with LMK. It explains what the OOM values can be and what they mean. So clearly, trying to change the OOM values in /proc is useless, as the activity manager will change them, and probably LMK doesn't even read them anyway, and only takes what the activity manager transmits.
Is there any way to hint the Activity Manager into giving chosen OOM values to an app ? I could for example set the value to NATIVE_ADJ, or even no more than FOREGROUND_APP_ADJ at all times. Or maybe passing those parameters through a specially crafted intent ?
REEDIT : for those interested, the stop lmkd command should stop the LMK daemon until next reboot at least, which leaves only the OOM killer from Linux in charge. I didn't test it so I can't say for sure, but that should do it for some people. Beware of the consequences, however, if you continue using many apps at the same time, as a performance hit can be expected.

It's not the Android system which decides which app to quit. But it's the app developer who decides whether their app (or one of its specific functionality) should run in background or not. You are correct that end user cannot influence the decision much. If an app that should run in background but it doesn't, that's a poorly designed app. // OOM killer is also part of Linux kernel and every OS has some phenomenon to free RAM when needed. Android's LMKD operates in userspace because it provides more fine grained control over what to kill, asking system_server when making decisions.

You can run a native process (like an init service) in background and that won't be killed (do take care of cgroups though). Exactly the same behavior as on a Linux PC. Android's decision to not let apps run in background is not only to free RAM but mainly to preserve battery. And also to provide user somewhat control on privacy i.e. what's happening in background without being noticed. Phones are 24/7 partners and hence perfect spying tools, PCs aren't. Btw I don't think there's a reliable way to prevent an app (which doesn't run a FG service) from being killed, even using 3rd party tools

@IrfanLatif Thanks for your reply. However I'm not speaking about an app being able to run in the background, I don't have any problem with that, but I want to have an app in the foreground, switch to something else and be sure it will be still there when I switch back to it. It is able to leave the foreground, except the system sometimes decides to remove it, which is annoying.

Be aware of: https://dontkillmyapp.com/  realize that if the app is not actively on the screen, the app is in the Android Activity onPause state and may be killed. Programming related questions should be directed to https://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/android

@NovHak alright. You talked about LMKD and number of running processes, so I gave an overview of lower level things according to my limited knowledge. Now what you state in comment is a trivial problem (there exist duplicate Qs) and is entirely handled by Android framework (as you figured out in your edit and as mentioned by MorrisonChang). The logic to control app killing behavior is hard-coded in AOSP and is made more forceful by OEMs. So the only way is to modify the source code of your ROM (if available). It's development oriented question, not meant for end users (whom this site is for).

@MorrisonChang, thanks for the info. I didn't know about that problem of essentially Chinese phone manufacturers agressively killing apps, and I understand the concerns of the developers. However, on the other hand, I'm the kind of person who doesn't like invasive apps, trying to be everywhere on your phone and tracking as much as they can of your activity without leaving any choice, draining the battery as a bonus. And don't tell me not even one of those developers complaining don't fall into that category... But indeed, addressing that issue should be Google's job, not the manufacturer's

@IrfanLatif, I didn't realise this place was not for development-oriented questions, I will redirect accordingly in the future ! In fact, I'm not necessarily looking for a developer's answer, using command line tools would be OK too. However, I have the feeling my only option will be to run stop lmkd, that's better than nothing after all.

@NovHak stop lmkd would definitely break Activity Manager as there would be no way for AM to communicate with kernel for memory management. So the device may get into bootloop or at least zygote would keep on restarting. // I agree with your concerns that at least there should be a way to whitelist some apps from being killed in background (and in fact there should be if your device is configured to use memory cgroup on per UID basis (check ro.config.per_app_memcg)). But my point is that comparing to standard Linux distros, Android's memory management is no way worse. Actually it ...

... relies on Linux kernel's built-in subsystems including vmpressure and cgroups to limitize the allocated memory to apps before the killing stage comes. Linux kernel alone (OOM killer) may kill anything (including critical native service e.g. HALs and frameowork apps) on memory pressure events (if there is no dirty data to flush out and no SWAP memory). It relies on oom_adj and oom_score_adj values (if set from userspace). Android at least controls what should be killed first to avoid any crash situation. Also LMKD is added in Android 9, on older devices lowmemorykiller was an ...

... in-kernel driver which also depended on oom_score_adj values of processes but with a more fine grained control. That's why the problem you are highlighting is there since ever: https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/89544 // Now that said, what I have talked about above and what you are talking about IS NOT YOUR ACTUAL PROBLEM at all. Your problem is that the Android's Java framework (which runs in system_server native process and) which has a core component name Activity Manager puts your favorite app in a list of cached processes (to be killed if needed) as soon as ...

... the app is no more in foreground. App's native process is still running (if you check using ps) and is NOT KILLED BY LMKD immediately (if there's not a shortage of RAM). So to keep your app running even in background (and not to get into cached processes list) the app must be in foreground or it must run a service (in Java framework, not native) or a broadcast receiver etc. Or the other way again, what I stated in my previous comments: modify Android source to change the behavior how Activity Manager puts apps in cached processes list, which is not exactly killing ...

... the app, but is a quickly resume-able state. After modifying AM, playing with LMKD or kernel's OOM-killer would be the next step. // I hope it clarifies the situation now. Sorry for the length. I can improve and post it as answer if required.

Thanks for your reply ! However, you seem to be thinking I didn't understand something about the true cause of my problem, but I understood perfectly (or so I think). I know everything comes from the Activity Manager and it's where the problem should be addressed in the first place, but as you said, it requires a modification of the Android source code, since basically there seem to be no API or tool to do what I would like to do. Stopping lmkd should not be done on a regular basis, since it breaks Android memory management. I would only do that when running a specific app and nothing else.

"I would only do that when running a specific app and nothing else." This statement of yours indicate that either me or you have a wrong understanding of what LMKD actually does. According to my understanding stopping LMKD won't let your app run in the background (if it's not running a foreground service). Activity Manager (if it manges somehow to keep on running after LMKD is stopped) will still put your app in a dormant state as soon as it leaves the foreground screen i.e. native virtual machine process is put in cached process list (see under Running Services in Dev Options).

What you suspect that LMKD does is achievable by setting Background Process Limit in Dev Options to "0". It's equivalent to Force stop in individual app settings. Or kill <pid> from CLI. This is not what LMKD does.


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On Android 12+, how do I disable mobile internet without disabling MMS?
My good old phone from 2013 is dying. I have been satisfied with it, but even if it was still sold nowadays, I would not buy more of the same since it’s becoming increasingly difficult to not have either an iOS or an Android phone. I don’t want iOS for reasons not pertaining to my question, so Android remains, however, constant internet access is blocking me.
There are a few reasons to disable mobile internet on one’s phone, but I’m not here to discuss these. I just want to be able to disable mobile internet.
There are tons of sites giving tutorials on how to do this, but as far as I’ve seen, none gives a correct reply, because :

Either they provide steps on how to disable mobile data, which indeed disables mobile internet, but MMS too in the process
Or give a per-app solution, which won’t really completely block all mobile internet traffic, let’s be honest

A few years ago, someone with a Huawei phone asked me for help on this very subject, and I was indeed able to help him, by defining explicitly which APN was for what, keeping only the MMS role for the MMS-only APN and removing everything else. And it worked.
But things may have changed, and I certainly don’t want to buy a phone only to find it’s now impossible. If it’s become impossible indeed, then well, despite the drawbacks I will definitely get an oldie.
So, more concisely :

How can I disable mobile internet ?
Not per-app, system-wide
MMS shall remain enabled
Android 12+ (I suppose that’s what all new phones are running nowadays)
I’m not afraid of using adb and going through a shell
No third party programs
Jailbreaking/rooting is a big no no, if I have to fight against the phone vendor, then I better buy somewhere else
Which brands leave it possible ?
Which brands block it ?

Doesn't seem possible https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/200967517

@beeshyams That seems to describe a problem with a strange feature that brings all mobile data on, including internet, when sending an MMS… that’s a really weird a dirty way of doing things… but if it’s still possible to define types for APNs as I did in the past, then there’s another way around

Now that I have an Android 13 phone, I can confirm it’s indeed possible (tested with a Samsung Galaxy A04s).
In the Android system, each APN has a defined APN type, which is a comma-separated list of roles attributed to the APN. An exhaustive list of roles can be found on Android’s site for developers. In the constants list, all the ones beginning with TYPE_. As of today, the list of accepted roles is : bip, cbs, default, dun, emergency, enterprise, fota, hipri, ia, ims, mcx, mms, supl, vsim, xcap.
The default role is special : it gives the APN roles that have not been given explicitly to other APNs.
The method is simple : keep the mms role for the MMS APN, remove everything else. If you have more than one APN, either delete the others if possible, or give them a restricted role such as emergency. An APN with zero roles defined seems to behave as having the default role.
WARNING : Some providers may depend on mobile data to provide emergency services, changing the roles may block or degrade such services. If there’s only one APN with the default role, replacing it with emergency may be a good choice, but it’s not 100% impossible that emergency services rely on other roles as well. One can’t foresee what all mobile operators do, be it good or bad.
More precisely :

In the parameters, go to the list of configured APNs : Connections => Mobile networks => Access point names
For each APN, check the access point type, remove all roles except mms
Remove APNs with no MMS roles, or alternatively, set their role to emergency
To restore the defaults, on the APN list screen, tap the vertical ellipsis button ⋮ on the top right and choose the appropriate menu option
System updates are likely to reset custom APN configuration

In my case I had two APNs, APN A with only the mms role, and APN B with default and mms roles. I left APN A untouched, and set APN B to emergency only. This made APN B disappear from the list but it’s still there, just hidden from the UI. Resetting APN configuration still works and brings back both APNs with their default settings.


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Recover from Encryption unsuccessfull on zte blade apex2
I have an old Zte Blade Apex 2 with stock rom TIM-IT and stock recovery that can't start because of Encryption unsuccessfull error.
It can boot in recovery with power + volume+ so as a first step I tried to wipe data and cache but the issue persists.
The original rom is not available anywhere online, but some other provider's ROMs are available (movistar or Micro P UK), I tried to use one of those updates but the updater script will fail because of an assert on getprop("ro.build.product") which differs only by the network operator name.
Clearly changing the updater script inside the zip causes "failed to verify whole-file signature" error.
For this device there is a TWRP recovery available but currently it's not installed.
I can run adb sideload (in recovery mode) and adb shell without root (from FTM mode, power + volume-), but trying adb restart bootloader will start the device normally with the encryption error. By booting power with volume+ and volume- together (that should be fastboot mode) the red led is on and the device won't be recognized by Windows 10 (USB device not recognized) while on ubuntu with lsusb I can see the usb device id (which is different from the one in FTM mode allowing adb commands) but the command fastboot devices won't show any device and also trying to manually provide the device id won't work.
Any suggestion to recover this phone?
UPDATE: I started the phone with power+both volume keys, lsusb gives ID 19D2:0112 ZTE WCDMA Technologies MSM QHUSB__BULK. while ./edl.py r recovery r.img keeps printing dots "Waiting for the device". In FTM mode ID 19D2:0500 ZTE WCDMA Technologies MSM Android I could run abd reboot edl but edl.py will return Library.sahara - couldn't find a loader for given hwid and pkhash :(
Now lsusb gives 05c6:9008 Qualcomm, Inc. Gobi Wireless Modem (QDL mode)
On windows it is recognized by MiFlash so it should be correctly in EDL mode, but how can I flash the TWRP recovery now?

fastboot mode is not helpful on locked bootloader. you can dump userdata + metadata in EDL mode https://github.com/bkerler/edl

@alecxs I updated the question with the attempt with edl.py, do you know any other tool?

https://forum.xda-developers.com/general/rooting-roms/how-to-backup-qualcomm-phone-root-t3570178

https://flashtool.org/8/download-ZTE-flash-tool.html

you need to find Qualcomm_Factory_Loader_MSM8926_ZTE.mbn or prog_emmc_firehose_8926.mbn or something https://android.stackexchange.com/q/224131

I tried to browse the mbn file with QPST Software download tool and it errors "Could not open flash programming file". If I use it from user Partitions it sais "No user partition have been enabled for download" while "error 0x80004005 while switching selected device to download mode" when clicking switch device to DLOAD in emmc software download.

Thank you, but I am a bit lost.. How do I write an xml file for the firehorse programmer? I don't have the actual offsets of the partition table for my phone, can I extract something with the original rom update.zip or with non root shell access? I have seen the Axon7 tool https://forum.xda-developers.com/axon-7/development/axon-7-edl-tool-flash-backup-restore-t3750759 that probably can be customized with other mbn loaders

I tried YGDP too but it won't recognize the phone, QPST is showing it correctly over a COM port

you can maybe get offsets from fastboot getvar all for xml files see linked question for more links. i have just now realized you wiped data from recovery, this is same as factory reset. which leads me to believe in emmc wear-out

I'm not able to enter fastboot mode, adb reboot fastboot will just restart the phone, there is no fastboot option in recovery and with attemps of every possible boot combination it never reacted to fastboot devices. So it's probably an hardware emmc failure? You can post it as an answer if you want

Volumedown + power is FTM mode that allows adb commands but not fastboot. With adb reboot-bootloader the phone will boot normally till showing the encryption unsuccessful, it's not entering in fastboot mode. Power+both volume keys leads to unknown usb device (device descriptor request failed)

okay then with both Vol Keys you are in right mode then. now try usb 2.0 port or different PC, also double check if fastboot works for other devices https://android.stackexchange.com/q/214930
https://android.stackexchange.com/q/102897

Tried other usb ports win and linux,other pc but same result, unable to get this phone in download mode. I have a xiaomi that works with fastboot. I tried some mbn from here https://github.com/programmer-collection/zte in QFIL with no success. in the meantime I realized that sahara protocol works only in the first 1 minute the phone is in EDL, after it will give sistematic errors and I also learned that QFIL will put the phone from FTM mode to EDL mode automatically. I think I will throw away this old phone, not worth it to invest so much time despite learning interesting things about Qualcomm


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Wipe personal data from android mobile without rooting
I apologize If placing a already answered questions. But I am novice and have tried finding answers to no avail.
I got a Moto G3 (2015) from a friend and I want to erase all his personal data to the extent of unrecoverable to ensure protection of his privacy.
I can root it using TWRP, Supersu, Magisk as I found on many websites/ forums. But I have following question/ agitation in my mind.

Rooting will left me not able to run some app like bank apps as they do not run on rooted mobile.
Will I be able to factory reset my mobile after rooting mobile using custom recovery image i.e.  TWRP, Supersu, Magisk .
Will these files be safe.

So to get rid of all these problems I do not want to root my device at all.
4. can I wipe/ erase all personal data securely with multi pass using a an open source app/ adb from internal memory.
5. does Android store log files and temp files as in Linux in /var/log/. How can I erase them without rooting.
6. If I am wrong and I can root my device without any problem. Please advice me.
The answer to question suggested by Irfan is not specific to my question. Through it is a good post for common knowledge but did not tell How to to a novice.
Thank You.

Does this answer your question? How to make a complete factory reset, without anyone being able to retrieve my data?

you can do factory reset from phone settings. but take care of FRP lock, remove all google play accounts or enable OEM unlocking in developer settings before

Thank You Irfan It is a whole chapter. I had unlocked boot-loader officially(just for information). I put big movie files and encrypted the mobile and then ran factory reset. Was it enough. I am not talking of ordinary recovery. I want it completely unrecoverable.

a simple factory reset from android settings is enough. reason: the encryption keys wiped on factory reset. without the keys everything is just unrecoverable garbage, no need to overwrite userdata multi pass. even with recovered encryption keys it is not possible to decrypt without proper lockscreen password. not even bruteforce is possible for 6+ digit pin, because android has bruteforce protections, timeouts, auto-wipe etc (and offline-bruteforcing is not possible too, encryption is hardware-bound)

for some old qualcomm devices there was once a crack into keymaster which could leak the hardware keys and made offline bruteforce possible. but that is long fixed
https://www.theregister.com/2016/07/01/turns_out_breaking_android_fulldisk_encryption_is_easy_with_the_right_code
https://www.synacktiv.com/en/publications/kinibi-tee-trusted-application-exploitation.html


text:
details of quick ring/call/drop flood attack - phone unusable and overheated
A while ago I read about an attack performed with an application that rendered the attacked phone unusable and overheated for the period of the attack.
If I remember correctly the attack was based on initiating a call and quickly dropping it so that the attacked phone would not ring or display the number of the attacker but it would endup unusable and overheated.
This whole thing might have been limited to a specific network type, eg. LTE, but I'm not sure if I remember this correctly.
However, I cannot find information about this attack or the app that was used to render it.
I don't plan to use it, I just want to inform myself about it and to understand why the network provider is not rate limiting or banning the attacker.

I don't have many articles for you, but I can confirm this also was able to happen on iPhones as well. Attackers literally called my coworker over and over as we both watched, meanwhile he got an email alert that his credit card was being used. It was a fraud distraction.
Keywords to search for: fraud distraction, phone denial of service via calling, incoming dos attack (phone model)

https://securelogix.com/threats/tdos-attacks/
https://www.cisecurity.org/insights/white-papers/cis-primer-telephony-denial-of-service-attacks
https://www.cisa.gov/uscert/ncas/tips/ST04-015
https://scambusters.org/distraction.html

To summarize how I would personally do this if I were a crrrrrriminal? I'd buy a VoIP server subscription or setup a PBX (or a few) and then use multiple providers and a scripted call routine to flood the line. It would be next to impossible to stop, as the phone company has zero interest in stopping potentially billable calls from being connected. It also could be a legitimate thing (like a radio station prize, etc).
There's a few steps left out of this for obvious reasons. ;)
Cheers

But what I heard, was much more elevated than this. It wasn't just a simple call to keep you distracted. The attacked phone was not ringing, it wasn't doing anything, just overheating. The attacked person might not even realize what is happening.

@learner have the call ended a second after it is started?

@notdan Do you know of any free VOIP services that can be used for this? I want to figure out how to do it to scammers. I tried using a python package called PyTextNow (it uses TextNow and pretends to be a browser) but I couldn't get it to work.


text:
How to fix "Unfortunately, com.android.keyguard has stopped"?
Every time, after booting up my device (UbiSlate 7Cz), I receive the following error message with a black background:

Unfortunately, com.android.keyguard has stopped.

When I tap "OK" below this message, the dialogue box quickly disappears and reappears again. I'm unable to access anything on my device. So, opening the settings app and following the steps outlined in this thread is out of my domain.
However, I managed to open my device in recovery mode by pressing the power and volume up buttons. Even after executing the following commands in the recovery mode:

wipe data/factory reset
wipe cache partition

and rebooting the device again, there was no improvement in the situation.
Other options, I get when I press the power and volume up buttons are fastboot mode and normal boot. When I chose the fastboot mode, the device just displayed the default start-up screen. As it was showing the same stuff even after hours, I used the reset pin to turn the device off (the power button didn't have any impact during this regime). From here, I am able to do the same steps as mentioned earlier. But even after all this, the device just shows this particular error message.
While searching this site, I found this question How to fix instant lock “unfortunately com.android.systemui has stopped” on Moto G with ART which I found to be similar to that of mine but with a different error message. I find my question to be different from that because, my device didn't have ART and I'm unable to view anything unlike the OP there, who could see some apps and widgets on the home screen. Also I have a feeling that different error messages have different methods to fix.
I also had a look at these threads - How to fix "Unfortunately, the process xxx has stopped"?, and How to fix "unfortunately , the process com.android.systemui has stopped" error?, but none of the methods described in the answers resolved my issue.
It would be very helpful if you could provide any solutions to this problem.
Thank you in advance!

Please add more details to your question: What Android version, what device, Stock ROM installed, is the device rooted?

@Robert: I've added the name of the device and an official webpage giving all the specifications. Apart from that, the usual details I see under the settings is currently inaccessible. Could you tell whether this is sufficient or not? Thanks!

The device uses Android 4.4.x, hence it seem to be pretty old. May be the flash memory got corrupted or a virus has infected the system. The only way I see to recovery the system is to fully flash a complete system image. However I don't know here to get one. If there is a custom ROM for your device this would also be an alternative. Check XDA if you can find a ROM for your device.

My solution: the error happened only when I entered a new SIM card. Without SIM cards the phone worked as expected (Alcatel Pixi 3). I had to disable sim pin using another phone, and then transfer the sim back to the mobile phone with the problem. Disabling sim pin check seemed to solve it.

** Clear Data & Catch of the App

Option 1. Long Press the Keyboard App & Go to Storage and Clear Data

Option 2. Go Setting -> App -> Keyboard -> Storage -> Clear Storage.


text:
Android Version differs from expected API level
I have found a pretty old device Huawei Ascend Y210. This mobile officially has Android 2.3.3 (API level 10). I found an online custom lollipop ROM for the specific mobile. The device has CWM as custom recovery. The zip file (the rom file) was installed successfully. The environment feels like android Lollipop should look like. Going to the mobile's settings > About phone > Android version, the version is 5.0.1 as expected. Using the command adb shell getprop ro.build.version.release the result is 5.0.1 indeed. However, I tried running adb shell getprop ro.build.version.sdk the result is 10 which is the API level of the stock android of the phone (Android 2.3.3). Apps made from API level 23 will fail to install as the API level is getting recognized as 10. Changing the apps' Minimum API level to 10 using APK Editor Studio, allows the app to get installed but it crashes once I try to open it.
Is that a bug? I mean can I somewhere change the API level of the device? Or is the ROM a scam and the android is never really getting updated to 5.0.1 and the ROM just changes the graphic interface?  How is it even possible to trick the adb that the android version is 5.0.1 but keep the API level to 10?
P.S.: If someone has any ROM for Huawei Ascend Y210 with android 5.0.1 or higher handy, I would appreciate a download link.
Thanks in advance!

May be the ROM author was only aiming for the look-and-feel of Android 5?

@Robert that can be verified easily: adb backup was introduced with ICS (Android 4.0). If it's indeed only "surface polishing" of a Gingerbread OS, adb backup won't work. If it does work, it's a clear indicator of at least Android 4.0 (or higher) being present, and the ROM dev maybe just forgot to update ro.build.version.sdk in build.prop.

@Izzy I tried running adb backup the result was
adb backup -apk -shared -all -f mybackup.ab
WARNING: adb backup is deprecated and may be removed in a future release
adb: unable to connect for backup: closed
The device is getting recognized when I use adb devices.

@KarampistisDimitrios the warning comes from the adb executable on your computer (unfortunately, it looks like adb backup shall be dropped, leaving non-root users in the dark again). The second one is the interesting one here: it indeed seems the ADB daemon on the device doesn't know about the backup command; as you're unlikely to be on Android 11+, this must mean you're on < 4 then – and the "5.0.1" is fake.

You are a little bit late searching a for a custom ROM. There was a CyanogenMOD release for that device but the download links have long gone dead.

@Robert Yeah I have a CM 10.1 copy but it stuck in bootloop

As Izzy mentioned the issue here was that the owner of the ROM had modified the ro.build.version.sdk in the build.prop without actually provide any feature of the API level 23. I am not sure if Fidz's answer is correct since I could not find any resource online that claims the same thing (correct me if I am wrong), Google's official site claims nothing about the API level, it just mentions some thing about the Android Compatibility regardless of the API level and the hardware. I could not find any ROM for the device since it's pretty old and almost every support for the Huawei and Honor phones on custom ROMs and rooting is dead after Huawei disabling the ability to unlock the bootloader.

Every Android device has its own API level.
it is not a bug, while you use a feature/app that requires higher API level but the device API level is lower than the requirement, the app will surely crash
API level is based on the Android version of the device, but then it also uses the hardware resource, so even if it's upgraded to a newer version of Android, it can't advance the API level higher than the hardware resource available.


text:
"Unable to connect to the proxy server" after updrade to Android 4.3
My Samsung S4 has been experiencing the problem of "Unable to connect to the proxy server" after upgrade to Android 4.3, all the apps need network (HTTP) are not working, no matter
using 4G or Wifi connection. For apps which does not require HTTP connection such as Whatsapp or Google Search which is ok.
I have double checked the Proxy setting in my Wifi Setting, which is set to none, so are there anything I have missed or misconfigured?

Tap and hold the WiFi button, then select "Forget Network". Afterwards, search for the network again in the list, enter the password and you are good to go.

Please don't use txtspk. It's not necessary here, and we have a large number of readers whose first language is not English. Using non-standard English does them a disservice.

authors: Çhèròkéé Háylèy Hòñá


text:
How can I get the lock screen sounds from Android 4.3 back? (upgraded to 4.4)
I have a Nexus 7 and I updated to android 4.4 after the upfate had been downloaded and waiting for a week. I miss the crisp sounds of the 4.3 lock screen, it made me like my device. Now its all changed without warning and I'm upset left feeling like my device isn't really mine. Is there a way to fix this? Likewise time/battery/WiFi icons at top have changed from blue to gray. Anyway to change just these two aspects without rooting or factory reset? Thanks.

A factory-reset will not help you for either of them. Both are intentional design changes with Kitkat – so you either can have Kitkat with those, or downgrade to 4.3 to get your former feelings back, sorry. While there might be ways for the sounds (if you can get hold of the sound files, and set them accordingly), there's no way for the notification area (at least not without root) I know of.

You could probably download a custom Rom from xda and find and extract the sound files from
/system/media/audio/

You should be able to put them into the relevant folder on the 'sdcard'
/sdcard/alarms/
/sdcard/Notifications/
/sdcard/Ringtones/

where they will get picked up by the OS.
As for the notification icons, without rooting and customising the relevant files (I'm not sure exactly which) there is no way to change them from white to blue.

I think some of the sounds are actually part of system APK's and would require recompiling the specific parts of the system, or perhaps something with Xposed Framework. The same can be said of notification icons. I could easily be wrong about the sounds though.

WidgetLocker will allow you to adjust the lock screen sounds, the only downside is you can't use it with a pin. The status bar was a change to make android look better, you can't change that without changing ROMs or using Xposed Framework.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.teslacoilsw.widgetlocker

System sounds are stored in a folder accessible without root. I forget the path, but all you have to do is replace the files with the sound you want.

The path would be required to answer this question.


text:
How to keep screen OFF while charging (S3 and Note 2)
Don't know if all the Galaxy phones have this behaviour, but it sure is annoying.
I like to keep my phone plugged in until I need it, as there is no harm done. The battery won't get "overcharged" or anything, and I'll have 100% juice with me when I leave.
But both phones keep lighting up that they are done.
And it lights up the phone every few seconds, it's really, really annoying.
Is there a way to disable this behaviour?

Leaving it charge is actually bad for it. LiOn batteries do not like to be constantly topped up, also the tend to stay warm in this scenario and this is VERY bad for the device. Have you rooted? If so, you can turn this off with Wanam Xposed? http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries

@RossC: I thought li-ion stops at full charge. I left my older phones on juice too, same for my iPhone. The phone is not rooted (the wifi module is faulty, gotta love Samsung "quality".) So yeah. Waiting to return the phone third time (in weeks.) Other than that, I'll just get a ZeroLemon then.

even if it did, there's still the heat factor. Heat is a battery's worst enemy and leaving it charge for a long time has an inheret heating effect. It isn't terrible, but it definitely isn't the best. I've a few android devices and the 2 I used to charge overnight have a noticably worse battery life than the ones I just charge normally. The advice I've always been give is, don't let it run out fully, don't over charge it. The phones always tell you to plug in at 15% and to unplug when charged, usually for a reason!

@RossC: Xposed can disable this behaviour it turns out. | #Overcharge: There is no heat if you charge it up full, so I don't think leaving it on charger damages the battery. Heck, laptops have no issue that have been kept on AC for years.

I too have not figured out the intermittent screen turn on problem but will address one other issued mentioned.
Lithium ion  batteries have internal circuitry which shuts the charging down when the battery is at 100%. Unless the electronics are bad, you cannot overcharge them. Leaving them discharged for long periods CAN harm them. You can get roughly 300 to 500 recharges, its best to not run it all the way down, recharge often, when not using it, the charges are cumulative, so a 30% discharged battery is best charged then, not when it runs down.
This can easily be verified at manufacturers web sites. Ive learned this from years of being involved in electronics and seeing the evolution of rechargables

Try Battery 100% Alarm. It has an option for turning the screen off after 100% Battery Level Alarm rings.

Thanks. Will do. This is stupid though. "protect your phone battery". It will only drain if you play games on it, then indeed you damage your battery. Okay, waste a cycle in a few days with that. But otherwise, it will just stay on 100% and instead of damaging it, it will protect the battery. (Since, no charge cycle wasted while you have it on charger 24/7.)

According to Samsung when the battery is fully charged it will notify you, that's what turns the light on. It keeps notifying you, annoying, but Samsung says it is normal and that there "is no feature to turn it off at this time."
I did find a partial solution.

I turned the volume down on the notifications, I can live without them. It's better than hearing them at night.
I took a picture with the camera lens covered. This gives a black screen. I then set the home and lock screens to us this black photo. This eliminated the bright blue screen.
You can optionally turn the touch pad lights to not come on in settings, display touch pad lights. I can live without those as well.
Then you can optionally, turn the clock off for the lock screen or make it the smallest size. This all cuts the light down dramatically when you are fully charged.
I then just turn the phone over.

This all yields a half baked solution I can live with.

Uncheck Settings->Accessory->Dock->Desktop Home Screen Display

It was unticked. Only Dock Sound was ticked. :/ The screen lights up, and then goes dark. After a while it lights up again. Then down. And this goes on and on and on. :/

The screen on my phone turns on when the battery is 100% charged... I would also like to be able to disable that feature but haven't found a method to yet.
Once I turn the screen off however, it does not come back on again while the battery is at 100%.  Presumably, if the phone went below 100% and/or started charging again it would go back up to 100% and the screen would turn on again, so something to check--if you use a charging cable instead of a dock--make sure the USB connector is not old or bad (i.e., intermittent).
If the USB connector doesn't make good contact then the phone's charging logic can be re-triggered and the screen will come back on.  You can see the effects of this yourself by plugging and unplugging the charger.  The display may come on briefly, turn off briefly, then turn back on again to say that it's fully charged, and a cheap USB cable that wears out can eventually cause this to happen repeatedly.
I don't think this is the issue you're having based on the symptoms described, but something to look at.  Another possibility would be a sub-standard charger and/or heavy processor usage on the phone that allows the battery to be charged but then discharged enough while it's still plugged in so that the phone thinks it needs to start charging again.  I'm not sure if that can actually happen or not, but if the phone thinks it's time to charge the battery again, and then it charges to 100% almost immediately, you will get another notification with the screen turning on.

Go to Settings>>Developer Options (under System)>>Stay Awake (uncheck this)


text:
Battery Boost?Drain?
I recently updated my Note 2 to 4.3 and it has been working quite well. But today in the train I was using it and the battery level drained to 20%, Since the battery was low, I switched it off and came home. When I put it on charge and turned it on- the battery level said 67%. How come it got such a boost? When I took it to work today, it had only about 56%
and I come home with 20 and all of a sudden its 67%
How?

Are you rooted? It may be down to the battery being incorrectly calibrated.

This is  a sign that you overuse your battery,frequently leaving your apps on....your battery is damaged and might need to be replaced...but till you can do that...you can always:
1.avoid charging overnight
2.use the correct charger
3.if you aren't using your data or wifi turn it off,to preserve battery life

Oh. That would mean all my batteries must be long dead, and a ghost is working my devices: I 1) always charge them overnight, 2) rarely use the original charger (but simply take what's on-hand), and 3) never care about turning data off (except for "silent hours", where I send my devices to airplane mode). Also: How do you turn your apps off? Never heard about such requirements, sorry. That leaves a possible faulty battery, which I agree might be the cause.

you can use clean master to monitor all your apps and know the various apps consuming battery with du battery

Yes, that's true. The stock settings also offer you means to find "big consumers". But that doesn't answer the question. OP is asking for an explanation of those "percentage jumps", not which app consumed how much battery. I've also never heard of "battery overusage", or that high load causes the described symptoms. No offense meant, but only "your battery might be damaged and need a replacement" could count as a partly answer to the question, and as assumption would better be a comment. Of course, that's only my opinion (unless upvoted ;)


text:
When selecting an USB extension cable to extend power cord, what are the relevant considerations?
I want to use USB extension cords to extend the USB power cords for my Android device.  What are the factors that could affect normal charging behavior?  (Consider "normal charging behavior" to be charging speed and long-term effects on the device battery when using only the manufacturer power cord/adapter.)

http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/103772
This cable has received A LOT of good reviews and is made of quality copper and does allow more electricity through to devices!! Check it out :D

To be honest I think that its affected by the voltage on the USB port. Some ports are only .5V while others are 1V.

You can also download an app called galaxy charging current that will give you the charge rate of the cable. I know not to go too cheap of a cable because it can sometimes take longer to transfer things.


text:
Ignore crack in Android screen (and entire front panel) or take some action
My Galaxy S3 was in my jeans pocket when I leaned over to pick something up that I dropped under the table. A few minutes later, when I took out my phone, I saw a long diagonal crack from one side of the phone, straight through the middle of the screen area and all the way to the further edge of the phone.
Thankfully everything still works.
My question is, is there anything I should do about it - i.e. replace the screen, layer it with transparent tape - or just leave it and everything will be fine (i.e. it can't get worse)?

Lots of screens are cracked and they still work.  Mine has had two cracks in it for over a year.  At first I put thin non glossy mending tape on each crack.  It was unnecessary no glass sticks out on it though I can feel them with a fingernail, so I just leave it bare.  For anything worse and still working you might use a screen protector, which I'd certainly do if the alternative was getting cuts on my fingers.  Would be interesting what your experience actually was as has been several months since you posted.

Good idea. Shortly after I wrote this question I placed a screen protector over the screen and it's worked completely as normal since then.


text:
Camera on Galaxy Note 3 is sideways!
I don't know what happens but the camera is sideways. No matter the way I hold the phone, it will always show the image and the resulting photo sideways. If I point to the computer screen right now for example, it will show me the basis of the screen pointed to the direction where the wall actually is

Have you flashed a custom ROM to the device, or is it running the stock firmware? Are you using the built-in camera app, or a third-party one? Has it always been this way, or did it work properly before?

I had problems on my Samsung Note 2. Photos were being taken where I had to go into gallery and rotate right or left for image too be correct.
Just messed around with settings and fixed it by re-calibrating horizontal and vertical (I think). Hope this works for some of you.

There are 3 potential work arounds to try first:

1) Ensure screen rotate is turned on in the quick settings. Number 4 on pic below.

2) Reset your camera.
a) Open Camera

b) Click the Menu botton on the device

c) Click the third tab (with the cog on it)

d) Click 'Reset'

It is the third tab above. Click this guy:

3) Download a third party camera.

Having to download a 3rd party camera would be pretty lame.  Hopefully options 1 or 2 from above are helpful.

I had the same problem on my note 2. I put my phone in safe mode and here's the steps for that:

Power off the phone
then power it back on holding down the volume down button and the power button
once you see the samsung screen come on let go off the power button but continue to hold the volume down button.
When the phone boots back up then it should say "safe mode" in the bottom left corner.
When in safe mode check your camera and see if it works properly; if it does, the problem is an recently downloaded app.
Now take the battery out and power phone back up as usual to take it out of safe mode and check camera again; it should have reverted back to its normal settings. If not then you need to delete some apps and try to see what conflicting with your camera.

Good Luck it worked for me!!!

Tried this on a Note 3 and it worked. Step 6 consisted of just powering it back on; removing the battery was not necessary.


text:
How to import Wikivoyage tourism information to OsmAnd
Wikivoyage is a collaborative travel guide covering 25,000 destinations.
It details hotels/restaurants/bars/attractions with opening hours etc.
OsmAnd is an open source navigation Android app.
How to make OsmAnd display all of the data from Wikivoyage?
So that when scrolling the map, one can see the hotels/etc with their details, even when offline.

(Update: The data is now available as .gpx at https://github.com/baturin/wikivoyage-listings)
1) Download the latest .obf file at https://sourceforge.net/projects/wikivoyage/files/Listings-as-OBF/
2) Using any file management app, move the .obf file to the root of your OsmAnd folder, probably /sdcard/osmand/.
3) Start OsmAnd, and enable the "POI > Any" layer (accessible in MENU > Layers).
4) Hotels/etc should appear, visible in orange circle. Sometimes it does not work immediately, in such cases just restart your phone.

In OsmAnd 3.0 the wikivoyage database is accessible for downloads same as wikipedia. Each article consists of 2 parts: html article itself and GPX information to be displayed on the map

Wonderful! By default it does seem to only include articles, though, rather than every museum/restaurant/etc? So for instance when you go to the city of Brighton you will see only one point for the whole city, rather than one point per attraction like in my answer.

Wikivoyage is city/trip based wikipedia, most of the objects are links to the Wikipedia which was already supported. For that purpose we support Points section which is Listings from the article where you could see points on the map.

If I understand correctly, when I enable Configure map > POI Overlay > Tourism the Wikipedia listings that are linked to Wikidata appear as orange pins on the map? It is wonderful, but most listings are unfortunately not linked to Wikidata because they are not notable enough or have zero reference in the printed world (ex: food shack in savanna area). Would it be possible for you to reuse data from the much more complete https://github.com/baturin/wikivoyage-listings (available as CSV/SQL/GPX, updated every two weeks)? Thanks a lot for integrating Wikivoyage, that's super useful! :-)

Nope, each Article has a link to Points which represents GPX and it is a complete list from Wikivoyage  (from each point there is a redirection to Wikipedia if exists). GPX file could be configured to be displayed on the map.


text:
How can I only show certain cards/notifications on a specific device?
I have a couple of Android devices - a HTC One as my phone and a Nexus 7 as a tablet. Both devices have Google Now on them and the Calendar application.
I got my phone first, and set up a variety of notifications, such as Google Now telling me approximately when I need to set off to get to work, and an entry in the Calendar application for various notifications like meetings, etc.
Now that I have my tablet, I'm finding that both devices are giving me the same notifications. Is it possible to filter/only show certain notifications on one device? If so, how would I achieve this?

The latest update to google calender has 'synchronised notification dismissals across devices' enabled. So, once dismissed in one device it will not show on others. But, this will not help in duplication of the notifications.

Is that functionality only available when both devices are running the version of calendar that comes with kitkat?

Google calander is available in Play Store. It is not part of KitKat update. It should be installed on both the devices. AFAIK, it has some limitations on HTC devices.


text:
Tab 2 10.1 P5100 stuck on starting screen
Actually I was downloading something when my tab 2 10.1 p5100 suddenly went off. Then the starting screen came up saying,"Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1" and it is stuck there. I tried the factory reset by holding the power and volume down button but the process says done.But still it doesn't come on completely.
Can anyone please give me some advice on how to fix this.

One of first links in google. Try it.
http://www.tips4tab.com/how-to-restore-galaxy-tab-2-10-1-p5113-to-stock-android-4-0-4-ice-cream-sandwich-with-official-firmware-ueblh3/
In short:
You need to download Odin and firmware package. You boot to download mode, open odin on computer and connect your tablet to pc. You select the frimware donlowaded earlier and click start.
If something fails then you can do again power+volume up.

Link-only answers are discouraged here.  It would help if you could quote the relevant parts in your answers.

Edited a little bit, I think other will get what needs to be done?

Is there a hard reset hole in which you can stick a paper clip? If so, I'd let the battery die, then charge it back up and press the hard reset button with a paper clip. That's how I got my old android tablet back to life last summer. I've since bought a nexus 7, though, and I'd highly recommend getting a newer android tablet because they have improved tremendously over the past few years.


text:
Softkey Position for Kit Kat
On my old Tablet which was a Honeycomb on a Toshiba Thrive. The softkeys were on the left hand side when you were in landscape. Which Is convenient. When I use my Nexus 7 2013 I keep having to stretch my thumbs over to the middle to hit the home softkey.
My phone is rooted but I dont want to use cyanogenmod as when I used it it crashed several times in 1 hour yet I have used the stock rom for 100's hours with no crashes what so ever.
And advice on how to get the softkeys back to the left side?
PS: No floating softkey apps as that is a quick and dirty.

ParanoidAndroid has this as an option. I'm with you in that I much prefer having the notification bar on the bottom-right and navbar on the bottom-left - that's one of the main reasons why I put PA on my N7 (Back when I had one).

@dotVezz Thanks for tip, incredible app, would be more incredible if I didn't need to go down the flash ROM route. Rather stick to stock ROM.


text:
Is it possible to turn off radio without turning of wifi on Lenovo k900?
I am currently having a look at the power consumption of a lenovo k900 phone and on the hardware side it seems Radio and Screen is using most of the power.
I am planning to use wifi but not the radio. Are they disconnected ? If so, can I use just the wifi, but no radio/telephony ? Are the settings or commands/intents to access these settings ?
Thanks!


text:
How to install an app outside Google Play?
How can I install an apk app outside of Google Play. Like if I downloaded it from another site and I try to open it, it says unable to install and I read that you have to do something to get it to work. What do you have to do?

Have you seen our installation tag-wiki? Also see: How can I install an app given only its APK file?

You have to go to Settings > Security and tick "Unknown Sources" or depending on your device/OS version "Allow Unknown Sources." You can then side load an apk file. It maybe a slightly different place depending on the manufacuturer. E.g. Samsung is Settings > More > Security.


text:
Can PIN lock be disabled/enabled via Secure Settings with full device encryption?
I use Tasker and Secure Settings to enable/disable PIN lock based upon connections to select WiFi and Bluetooth devices.  I've recently unlocked the bootloader and rooted my phone.  I would like to use full device encryption.  Will I still be able to toggle the PIN lock?


text:
How do I create a working filter to block sites, etc with NoRoot Firewall?
NRF seems fine for blocking applications' use of data, but not blocking sites or other communication with them on a case-by-case basis; it's an all-or-nothing proposition.
I've followed guides on how to do it, entered pre-filters and in-app filters, but in setting Firefox to use them, I get status bar notifications that Firefox wants to access the internet and an unending stream of Pending Access-es -- for sites that don't have filters set for them -- that are impossible to keep up with. It won't do so at all before timing out, unless I globally Allow or Deny.
I read on Lifehacker that NRF has issues on 4G, which my phone is, but I'm strictly on wi-fi, so should be a moot issue, yeah?
I've looked at the builder's site, norootfirewall.weebly.com, but it has no additional info or contact, and Firefox doesn't seem to have a filter add-on that actually works on mobile (I use BlockSite on desktop), so here I am. Help!?


text:
McDonald's app showing "Your device did not pass our security check ..."
A client came to fix his phone because it is receiving this message when he opens the recently installed "McDonald's" app:

Your device did not pass our security check. Please check that you run a Google trusted OS version, that the device is not rooted and that you have no harmful apps installed

Curiously the phone is not rooted, and is also a modern and updated Samsung phone.
What could be the issue? solutions?

Most likely the app has used Google SafetyNet check. There are apps in PlayStore which also use this test and show the detailed result.

Known issue: Reddit - McDonalds app not working, HardwareZone - Redmi Note 9, HardwareZone - Huawei Mate 30 Series, Zwame - Xiaomi Mi 9T / 9T Pro (Redmi K20 / K20 Pro) (Portuguese), App complaints (Turkish)

Try to run a safety net test on the device. Check if  they have a custom recovery, or if the bootloader is unlocked. If it is Samsung, check if Knox is triggered. How do you know it is not rooted? In what way did you check?

Also, what device is it? If it is Samsung, check if Knox is triggered.

How do you know it is not rooted? In what way did you check?

You should integrate your comments into your answer.


text:
Starting shell script at boot in SELinux enforcing mode
I am building Android Pie (tag android-9.0.0_r46, branch android-msm-marlin-3.18-pie-qpr2) from source. I am testing on a Pixel XL (marlin). I want to have a custom shell script run automatically when booting is completed while still having the device in SELinux enforcing mode. I figured I'd add a service for that. My knowledge of SELinux is limited though. This is what I did so far:

Create dar_script.sh in my AOSP source:

#!/system/bin/sh

echo "TEST" > /dev/kmsg

Add a line in device/google/marlin/device-common.mk to have my script copied to initramfs and thereby  make it appear in the root filesystem:

PRODUCT_COPY_FILES += \
    dar_script.sh:system/xbin/dar_script.sh

Add a line to system/sepolicy/private/file_contexts to give the script the dar_exec SELinux label:

/system/xbin/dar_script.sh u:object_r:dar_exec:s0

Create system/sepolicy/private/dar.te:

typeattribute dar coredomain;

init_daemon_domain(dar)

Create system/sepolicy/public/dar.te:

type dar, coredomain, domain;
type dar_exec, exec_type, file_type;

# /system/xbin/dar_script.sh is a shell script,
# so it needs to execute /system/bin/sh
allow dar shell_exec:file rx_file_perms;

# Allow writing to /dev/kmsg
allow dar kmsg_device:chr_file { write };

Edit system/core/rootdir/init.rc, add:

# Make the service start after boot
on property:sys.boot_completed=1
    ...
    start dar

# Define my service
service dar /system/xbin/dar_script.sh
    class core
    user root
    group root
    oneshot
    seclabel u:object_r:dar_exec:s0

Edit system/sepolicy/public/init.te, add:

allow init dar_exec:process transition;

Finally (figured by build error messages this needs to be done, don't know why):

cp system/sepolicy/private/dar.te system/sepolicy/prebuilts/api/26.0/private/dar.te
cp system/sepolicy/private/dar.te system/sepolicy/prebuilts/api/27.0/private/dar.te
cp system/sepolicy/private/dar.te system/sepolicy/prebuilts/api/28.0/private/dar.te
cp system/sepolicy/public/dar.te system/sepolicy/prebuilts/api/26.0/public/dar.te
cp system/sepolicy/public/dar.te system/sepolicy/prebuilts/api/27.0/public/dar.te
cp system/sepolicy/public/dar.te system/sepolicy/prebuilts/api/28.0/public/dar.te
cp system/sepolicy/private/file_contexts system/sepolicy/prebuilts/api/26.0/private/file_contexts
cp system/sepolicy/private/file_contexts system/sepolicy/prebuilts/api/27.0/private/file_contexts
cp system/sepolicy/private/file_contexts system/sepolicy/prebuilts/api/28.0/private/file_contexts
cp system/sepolicy/public/init.te system/sepolicy/prebuilts/api/26.0/public/init.te

However, this is what I find in dmsg after building, flashing and booting:
[   31.729946] init: starting service 'dar'...
[   31.754942] type=1400 audit(11289830.540:6): avc: denied { transition } for pid=691 comm="init" path="/system/xbin/dar_script.sh" dev="dm-0" ino=2720 scontext=u:r:init:s0 tcontext=u:object_r:dar_exec:s0 tclass=process permissive=0
[   31.973168] init: Service 'dar' (pid 691) exited with status 127

I already tried using the audit2allow tool as suggested in the AOSP docs, it gave me the following output:
#============= init ==============
allow init dar_exec:process transition;
allow init proc:file setattr;

#============= untrusted_app ==============
allow untrusted_app vnd_qcril_audio_hwservice:hwservice_manager find;

Of which I think only the first statement is relevant to me, the others are caused by unrelated SELinux issues that are already there in the original source. You see that I added the first statement when you look at the steps I described above, it didn't help.
What's going on? What do I need to change? Thank you very much for any help!


text:
Flashed magisk_patched_boot.img as fastboot flash recovery...Phone stuck on Powered by Android
I was trying to root my Micromax Q440 and I tried to follow the steps ie;
1:  fastboot flash recovery c:\twrp.img
2: fastboot flash boot c:\magisk_patched.img
but in the 2nd step, I used recovery instead of boot as a result my phone is currently stuck on "Powered by Android" screen and none of the Power + Volume(up) functions are working.
It also shows Orange State and your device will boot in 5 seconds
Is there a way to recover or this device is gone forever..?

orange state is just a warning that bootloader is unlocked (ignore). magisk has changed usage. before patching boot.img select advanced settings - preserve force encryption then try again. you can do it on any device. undo at any time by flashing original boot.img + recovery.img from fastboot (Vol-Dn + Power)


text:
Drivers for 2.3.3 device to work as MTP
I have a samsung Galaxy y device running 2.3.3 , where can i find the drivers of this device , to connect as MTP.
checked in the website of device manufacturers.
tried installing drivers from device manager also

Have you installed Samsung Kies? That has the USB drivers bundled with it. Here is your device page, contains like to Kies: http://www.samsung.com/uk/consumer/mobile-devices/smartphones/android/GT-S5360MAAXEU-support

For those of us who are frustrated in trying to alter the file system to MTP and cannot find how to change it. Do not despair.
If you've opened Samsung Keis and connected phone with a USB cable and got the error message, go to your phone and swipe top to bottom on the NOTIFICATIONS list you will see the USB symbol on the left hand side and the line stating - Connected as Camera. If it says - Connected Media Device - then your connected properly. To Change from Connected as Camera, tap/select the line - Connected as Camera and you will be shown another screen with the Camera option selected - Just select Media Device MTP and you will be able to connect to Samsung Keis, and all will be calm and peacful, no more screaming at the PC or mobile phone.

So, that's five answers from you, all copy-paste versions of the other. What makes you think that's a good idea?


text:
Locked out with no service!
I was fiddling with the lock your SIM card features and locked it, but the password I used now will not open it, and it is locked with no service, screen says screen is PUK locked and is asking for  an 8 digit password to change the PIN code, which the one I typed when trying to set it was only 4 digits. I think I must have clicked change password right before it locked me out. What do I do now?

Some SIM cards have PUK codes printed on the punch out cards that the SIM card came from.
T-Mobile for example has PUK code printed on the plastic punch out.

That's correct. All SIM cards I've seen come with PIN1, PIN2 (both 4-digit), PUK1, and PUK2 (both 8 digit). If you locked the PINs, you can use the PUKs to unlock. If you locked the PUKs, too – well, then you need a new SIM.

If I locked the PUKs by accident, then if i was changing the PIN for the SIM card, wouldn't the PIN be the same? I literally just did it, so I know what I typed. I am wondering if I am typing the right PUK though. Which number on the SIM is the one it wants? I'm running out of tries! Should I just take it to Verizon? Can they reset it?

Yes, they would either unlock it or simply replace your sim for you.


text:
Remotely control an Android tablet from a Mac or Windows machine?
Does anyone administer any Android devices as kiosks which you need to be able to monitor remotely?
I've been looking for something like TeamViewer for Android. I found there's a Support version which should allow people to connect to the Android device but I am unsure if you can fully control it? i.e load up certain apps, change app settings etc.?
I also found Bomgar and AirDroid or something similar.
Ideally, I need to know the status of the device (online or offline) and be able to diagnose any problems (or update the settings and apps). We already use SureFox Kiosk Web Browser which works OK (although it's not as responsive as just running the Chrome app)

If you search for TeamViewer on this site you can see that a few other people have had experience with it, but it's not very encouraging.

See also: Which program allows remote management of Android devices?, Android remote screen display & control, How to Remote Control Android smartphone, if not in same subnet, How can I remote support an Android tablet?, How can I control my phone remotely?, more

Many thanks guys, will look into those other threads, I guess this can be marked as a duplicate and closed?


text:
Partition problem in AOSP build
I am compiling the AOSP rom for Nexus 7 flo. After the build is completed, I always end up at this screen "type password to decrypt storage".
The factory images work correctly, and the device works. Also there has never been any password. I could understand that the problem seemed to be with userdata partition, so I flashed everything from the factory images, and then flashed only my own compiled userdata.img. And it works, so I am left clueless as to where the problem could be?
Any ideas?
Edit1:
So after some searching/asking around, it seems this problem can occur if partitions overwrite each other (any of the img files is too big, particularly boot.img). But how can I verify this? Any thoughts on this?

Are you using make -j# otapackage? If so it should result in a ZIP that should flash with no problems.
Also fastboot format all partitions to get rid of the decrypt error.
If the source is untouched, i.e. the ROM compiled is the same as the stock ROM, the images should flash without any such error.

I wasn't using otapackage.

OK, I kind of fixed it/ worked around it.
The issue was with the fstab file. In case of 4.3 and later it is fstab.device in device/vendor/product. This has by default how the partitions need to be mounted when the system boots up which by the way is mentioned in init.rc included in the same directory and gets packed into ramdisk.img. In my case, this file had a "encrypatable:some path" for userdata partition. I removed that parameter, and it worked. Interesting to see that the stock ramdisk also uses the same parameter and works. Guess, it needs more looking into, but works for me now.


text:
Pop-up notification from carrier
What is this type of notification called and how can I block these?

"MTS" is the name of the carrier. The messages are all ads. I've never seen one of these in the UK, but I receive one every 20 minutes in Ukraine. I've not installed anything recently, I only swapped SIM cards.

I'm not 100% sure but they may be sending it via Cell Broadcast. To access the menu, head into Settings>Wireless & networks>Cell broadcasts and try turning it off. If it is already off, try https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.denper.addonsdetector&hl=en addons manager app will tell you what has access to what and what can send you notifications. Failing that, come back here and we'll see what else can be done.

Also there is a setting in the SMS application called 'Push Messages' that are from the network. Disable this also.

How did you get on? Did it work?

what does the message say ?

Hello from 2018, did you find a solution yet? My carrier send offers and it is annoying, I disabled everything I can and the pop-up still showing up.

I have since found that this is neither a push message nor a cell broadcast. I disabled both, yet still received these. One of the two was already disabled by default, can't remember which.
Apparently by inserting the SIM card, I got an "app" called "MTS Menu". This is the app that shows the messages. Using App Master, I found that this app comes from /system/app/Stk.apk:

"STK" appears to stand for SIM Application Toolkit, basically a feature of SIM cards that enables operators to bundle "value added services", aka bundleware/crapware.
It is really stupid that Android comes not only with this feature enabled, but also makes the source of these pop-ups very difficult to trace.

very interesting finding, mine has it not, there may be some other app that does the same; now I have to track mine down.. thx!

How did you trace it?

How to uninstall it? The system doesn't show the uninstall option. Stopping the service doesn't work either, it keeps on popping up

How the hell would you trace it?? Why is no one replying? :(


text:
Root Galaxy Star Pro
Is there any tutorial for rooting Galaxy Star Pro (S7260). With rooting package ? I bought this phone recently and I could't find a tutorial for rooting this phone by googleing.

Is that the same device as the Galaxy Star Duos S5282? I doubt it from your question, but the tag is suggesting it :)

not S5282. It is S7260.

And that's called "Galaxy Star Duos"? Or did you just chose the "closest tag"? // Btw: I've linked to your question from our rooting index, which you might wish to consult for "general info" (Generic rooting methods and the like), while waiting for an explicit answer.

try this app first Kingoroot. Works for most :D

based on the link given by satyam's answer, which now is dead
A guide was available at tricksdroid.com (the domain went down in 2015, so it's dead now), the page can still be found at Archive.Org. The essentials summed up in short:
Requirements

USB drivers for the device (or Samsung Kies)
usb-debugging enabled on the device
The Galaxy Star Pro should be factory unlocked and not locked to any particular carrier.
Have a recent backup available in case things go wrong.
Ensure the battery of the device is charged more than 80 percent.
Verify the model number of the Galaxy Star Pro by selecting Settings >> About Phone.
CWM recovery
SuperSU
Odin 3.07

Procedure

Extract the Odin 3.07 and CWM Recovery files using winrar/7zip/winzip or any other extracting tool
Copy the UPDATE-SuperSU-v1.75.zip file to the SD card of your phone
Switch off the Galaxy Star Pro. Then boot the device into Download Mode by pressing and holding Volume Down, Home and Power buttons together until a construction Android robot icon with a warning triangle appears on screen. Now press the Volume Up button to enter Download Mode.
Run Odin on the computer as an Administrator.
Connect the Galaxy Star Pro to the computer using USB cable while it is in the Download Mode. Wait until Odin detects the device. When the device is connected successfully, the ID: COM box will turn to light blue with the COM port number. Additionally, the "successful connected" will be indicated by a message saying "Added".
Note: If the Added message does not appear, then try re-install USB drivers or changing the port on the computer.
In Odin, click the PDA button and select the recovery.tar.md5 file. Verify that Auto Reboot and Re-Partition options are NOT selected.
Double-check and click Start button in Odin. The installation process will now begin.
Once the installation process completes, you will see a "PASS" message with green background in the left-most box at the very top of the Odin. You can now unplug the USB cable to disconnect it from the computer.
Reboot the device into CWM Recovery by pressing and holding Volume Up, Home and Power buttons together.
In CWM Recovery, select "install zip from sdcard" and then select "choose zip from sdcard". Now, navigate to the UPDATE-SuperSU-v1.75.zip file that you copied earlier and confirm the installation by selecting "Yes".
Once installation process is completed, return to main recovery menu and select "reboot system now".