text:
How to set background image without fitting/expanding to fit screen?
When choosing a background/wallpaper image that has a very different size ratio than that of my screen, Android will choose to expand my picture until its height matches that of the screen. In the process, the width gets expanded too, even beyond the screen width if necessary. That means that much of the image is missing (left and right of the center part, by default - but the portion that is visible can be changed). How can I prevent this from happening, or otherwise choose the zoom factor with which my image gets set ?
Thanks.
PS. Android 11 on Samsung Galaxy A40

A solution, annoying but works : Go to Gallery, open the image you want as wallpaper, zoom and pan until it positioned as you wish, then take a screenshot.
The resulting image will have exactly the right proportions (that of your screen), so that when setting as wallpaper Android will not force-expand it to fit some arbitrary criteria at all.
Gallery on my phone allows to zoom and pan at will, except for the fact that it will keep the image vertically centered on the screen as long as the image (even if zoomed) is smaller than the screen height (and similarly, it will keep it horizontally centered as long as the image, even if zoomed, is still narrower than the screen width).
Of course, this creates a second image, which wastes precious memory. But I don't know a better solution right now.
Also, the background of the screen in the areas not covered by the image will always be black. It would be nice of a potential solution would offer to apply any color instead (typically, I would choose one that integrates nicely with my image).

My solution is similar to the one mentioned above but instead of using gallery, I use instagram. You open up to create a new story and open the photo, instagram provided a bg color that integrates well with the image too. You just save the image after that which is in proper ratio too. There might be some image compression (not sure about it) but it shouldnt be a problem if your image resolution is pretty decent to begin with.


text:
Does Android have a built-in FTP client?
Does Android have a built-in FTP client? Even a basic one, like ones that are built into PC browsers and file managers? I know there are good free apps with FTP clients (like Ghost Commander), but I'd like to know if there's a way that doesn't require app installation. I'm excluding chrome's FTP support, since that is being deprecated, and not all android phones have chrome built-in.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=lysesoft.andftp

@alecxs I'm looking for built-in FTP clients.

No, for better or worse, Android does not have an integrated FTP client.
As you've discovered, many third-party apps are available to fill this gap.  Some of them are dedicated FTP clients, while others are integrated into file manager apps.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Genymotion player crashes when selecting the webcam option
Every time I select the webcam option on the Genymotion player, the title of the webcam option comes up, but then the hole emulator crashes.
I'm using the free version of Genymotion. I get this problem, regardless of the Android type or screen size etc.
System Info:
System:    Host: ALU Kernel: 5.10.7-3-MANJARO x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 10.2.1
           parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-5.10-x86_64 root=UUID=138895c2-cc5c-4591-bc68-fd58c682d6f3 rw quiet apparmor=1
           security=apparmor resume=UUID=cbdc85f0-ae63-47be-89e8-038462fcc2f3 udev.log_priority=3
           Desktop: KDE Plasma 5.20.5 tk: Qt 5.15.2 info: plank wm: kwin_x11 dm: SDDM Distro: Manjaro Linux
Machine:   Type: Laptop System: LENOVO product: 80TU v: Lenovo ideapad 310-14IKB serial: <superuser required> Chassis:
           type: 10 v: Lenovo ideapad 310-14IKB serial: <superuser required>
           Mobo: LENOVO model: Torronto 4C2 v: NO DPK serial: <superuser required> UEFI: LENOVO v: 3JCN21WW date: 09/23/2016
Battery:   ID-1: BAT0 charge: 23.6 Wh condition: 25.4/30.0 Wh (85%) volts: 8.6/7.4 model: SMP L15M2PB2 type: Li-poly
           serial: 9238 status: Charging
CPU:       Info: Dual Core model: Intel Core i7-7500U bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Amber/Kaby Lake note: check family: 6
           model-id: 8E (142) stepping: 9 microcode: DE L2 cache: 4 MiB
           flags: avx avx2 lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx bogomips: 23209
           Speed: 1192 MHz min/max: 400/3500 MHz Core speeds (MHz): 1: 1192 2: 1200 3: 1200 4: 1200
           Vulnerabilities: Type: itlb_multihit status: KVM: Split huge pages
           Type: l1tf mitigation: PTE Inversion; VMX: conditional cache flushes, SMT vulnerable
           Type: mds mitigation: Clear CPU buffers; SMT vulnerable
           Type: meltdown mitigation: PTI
           Type: spec_store_bypass mitigation: Speculative Store Bypass disabled via prctl and seccomp
           Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer sanitization
           Type: spectre_v2 mitigation: Full generic retpoline, IBPB: conditional, IBRS_FW, STIBP: conditional, RSB filling
           Type: srbds mitigation: Microcode
           Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected
Graphics:  Device-1: Intel HD Graphics 620 vendor: Lenovo driver: i915 v: kernel bus ID: 00:02.0 chip ID: 8086:5916
           Device-2: NVIDIA GM108M [GeForce 920MX] vendor: Lenovo driver: nvidia v: 460.32.03 alternate: nouveau,nvidia_drm
           bus ID: 03:00.0 chip ID: 10de:134f
           Device-3: Chicony EasyCamera type: USB driver: uvcvideo bus ID: 1-4:2 chip ID: 04f2:b57d serial: 0001
           Display: x11 server: X.Org 1.20.10 compositor: kwin_x11 driver: loaded: modesetting display ID: :0 screens: 1
           Screen-1: 0 s-res: 1366x768 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 361x203mm (14.2x8.0") s-diag: 414mm (16.3")
           Monitor-1: eDP-1 res: 1366x768 hz: 60 dpi: 112 size: 309x173mm (12.2x6.8") diag: 354mm (13.9")
           OpenGL: renderer: Mesa Intel HD Graphics 620 (KBL GT2) v: 4.6 Mesa 20.3.3 direct render: Yes
Audio:     Device-1: Intel Sunrise Point-LP HD Audio vendor: Lenovo driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel alternate: snd_soc_skl
           bus ID: 00:1f.3 chip ID: 8086:9d71
           Sound Server: ALSA v: k5.10.7-3-MANJARO
Network:   Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet vendor: Lenovo driver: r8169 v: kernel port: 4000
           bus ID: 01:00.0 chip ID: 10ec:8168
           IF: enp1s0 state: down mac: c8:5b:76:78:e3:cd
           Device-2: Qualcomm Atheros QCA9377 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter vendor: Lenovo driver: ath10k_pci v: kernel
           port: 4000 bus ID: 02:00.0 chip ID: 168c:0042
           IF: wlp2s0 state: up mac: 58:00:e3:41:87:99
           Device-3: Qualcomm Atheros type: USB driver: btusb bus ID: 1-7:4 chip ID: 0cf3:e500
           IF-ID-1: vboxnet0 state: up speed: 10 Mbps duplex: full mac: 0a:00:27:00:00:00
Drives:    Local Storage: total: 372.62 GiB used: 275.8 GiB (74.0%)
           SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
           ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Kingston model: SA400S37240G size: 223.57 GiB block size: physical: 512 B
           logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s serial: 50026B73801F8542 rev: 0102
           ID-2: /dev/sdb maj-min: 8:16 vendor: Seagate model: ST9160412AS size: 149.05 GiB block size: physical: 512 B
           logical: 512 B speed: 3.0 Gb/s serial: 5VGCALEC rev: HPM1
Partition: ID-1: / raw size: 214.47 GiB size: 210.11 GiB (97.96%) used: 171.58 GiB (81.7%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda2
           maj-min: 8:2
           ID-2: /boot/efi raw size: 300 MiB size: 299.4 MiB (99.80%) used: 312 KiB (0.1%) fs: vfat dev: /dev/sda1
           maj-min: 8:1
Swap:      Kernel: swappiness: 60 (default) cache pressure: 100 (default)
           ID-1: swap-1 type: partition size: 8.8 GiB used: 2.61 GiB (29.7%) priority: -2 dev: /dev/sda3 maj-min: 8:3
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 43.0 C mobo: N/A
           Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A
Info:      Processes: 265 Uptime: 8h 55m wakeups: 7 Memory: 7.67 GiB used: 6.19 GiB (80.6%) Init: systemd v: 247 Compilers:
           gcc: 10.2.0 Packages: 1676 apt: 3 pacman: 1660 lib: 464 flatpak: 0 snap: 13

Last 20 lines of genymotion-palyer.log:
2021-01-24T17:50:02+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] [Adb][shell] command: "/home/UserName/Software/genymotion/tools/adb" -s "ipaddress"" shell ("getprop", "dev.bootcomplete")
2021-01-24T17:50:02+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] [Adb][shell] ("getprop", "dev.bootcomplete")  - exit code: 0
2021-01-24T17:50:03+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] [Adb][shell] command: "/home/UserName/Software/genymotion/tools/adb" -s "ipaddress"" shell ("getprop", "dev.bootcomplete")
2021-01-24T17:50:03+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] [Adb][shell] ("getprop", "dev.bootcomplete")  - exit code: 0
2021-01-24T17:50:04+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] [Adb][shell] command: "/home/UserName/Software/genymotion/tools/adb" -s "ipaddress"" shell ("getprop", "dev.bootcomplete")
2021-01-24T17:50:04+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] [Adb][shell] ("getprop", "dev.bootcomplete")  - exit code: 0
2021-01-24T17:50:05+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] [Adb][shell] command: "/home/UserName/Software/genymotion/tools/adb" -s "ipaddress"" shell ("getprop", "dev.bootcomplete")
2021-01-24T17:50:05+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] [Adb][shell] ("getprop", "dev.bootcomplete")  - exit code: 0
2021-01-24T17:50:05+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] Device booted in 7474 ms
2021-01-24T17:50:05+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] "Notifying launchpad of status change: 8bb23482-88eb-41a1-b946-32593ca6654d ON"
2021-01-24T17:50:05+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] [Adb][shell] command: "/home/UserName/Software/genymotion/tools/adb" -s "ipaddress":5555" shell ("pm list packages")
2021-01-24T17:50:06+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] [Adb][shell] ("pm list packages")  - exit code: 0
2021-01-24T17:50:06+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] [Adb][shell] command: "/home/UserName/Software/genymotion/tools/adb" -s "ipaddress":5555" shell ("ls /data/.genymotion")
2021-01-24T17:50:06+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] [Adb][shell] ("ls /data/.genymotion")  - exit code: 0
2021-01-24T17:52:07+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] "Dummy camera" released by DeviceCameraPipe(0x1b42f30) count: 0
2021-01-24T17:52:07+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] "Dummy camera" acquired by CameraView(0x1b0d2a0) count: 1
2021-01-24T17:52:07+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] "Dummy camera" released by DeviceCameraPipe(0x1a35ff0) count: 1
2021-01-24T17:52:07+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] "Dummy camera" acquired by CameraView(0x192d2d0) count: 2
2021-01-24T17:52:07+05:00 [Genymotion Player:135865] [debug] Linux/Windows: media permissions are authorized by default

Thanks a lot.

So I solved this by installing Genymotion as root,
~>>> sudo su
#>>> ./genymotion-installer.bin

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


text:
Reset individual app settings
Something happened on my HTC Tattoo (V1.6) that caused lots of apps to crash on start-up. I think it may have been due to their settings getting corrupted somehow, but I don't know what caused that.
I've been able to get some working again by uninstalling them and then installing them again. Obviously, I lost any set-up by doing this.
Is it possible to reset the settings for a given app? I don't even know where they are stored. Is it in an .xxx type file as on Linux? It would be useful to know where they are so I can back them up in future.
Update August 2011: Now it's happening again. Google apps failed first, but then Facebook and last.fm stopped working. Tried clearing data/cache with no improvement. Can't re-install some apps as they are no longer available for 1.6. I do intend to try upgrading when I get time.

As Al says, Settings > Applications > Manage Applications, go to app and press Clear cache seems to do the trick.

This won't reset the app's settings, it will only clear its cache.

To reset an application's settings, go to Settings > Apps and select the desired application.  Then use the buttons on that page to clear the data and the cache.
If the application's settings were synced to a Google account, a Google bug could potentially set them back to the previous settings.  If this happens, just delete the data and cache again.

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


text:
How can I know which Android phones support multiple users profiles?
Android (Stock android) has a feature that enables Android to support multiple user profiles. Note this has nothing to do with online accounts such as a Google account.
Within the phone you can define profiles and switch from one account to other effectively running apps and other staff separately.
This is what I mean: https://www.howtogeek.com/333484/how-to-set-up-multiple-user-profiles-on-android/
In practice I found out most phones disable this feature. For instance Samsung and Oppo devices do not have it. Others have it. In the specs of the phones they never mention this feature, i.e. by looking at the specs of a phone I cannot know if it is enabled or not.
Is there any way to get a list of all devices which offer this feature?

Multiple profiles are always enabled, multiple users are enabled or disabled by OEM / ROM developer. And it entirely depends on their mood AFAIU.

@Irfan Do you know if there is a property one can read out to check if multiple users are available or not? If there is a property the value may be searchable by public property dumps...

@Robert I'm not aware of any standard property. There's a feature (pm list features | grep android.software.managed_users) but that shows fully-managed/BYOD profiles capability (and is always available AFAI have seen). config_enableMultiUserUI and config_multiuserMaximumUsers are set using framework overlay, so all framework-res*.apk in /system/framework or /vendor/overlay/ can be dumped using apktool to check the value. But it doesn't make sense, it's easy to check device settings if device is in hand.

It's very rare, even impossible to find out whether multiple users feature is included on a specific model.
From my experience, only a handful of manufacturers keep this feature turned on on their Android devices. Mostly not very famous Chinese brands like: Wieppo, Ulefone, Oukitel, and Oppo. Why do other big manufacturers turn off this great feature of Android? It is stupid.
The only fast and easy way to know whether a device is capable of running multiple users is to just see a working model in a shop and check if you can spot an avatar in the right corner or in Settings.
The bad thing is only with this current pandemic is that visiting an electronics or phone shop can be quite a hassle/dangerous.

Thank you so much. Yes I think the same. Indeed sometimes I checked the phones in the stores to see if they have this feature. But as it is so rare, I found it inefficient.
Yes and wondering too, why not many models have this feature, I'd love it.


text:
Android 13: Swapping apps in split screen and adding new apps
Not a duplicate of Swapping windows in split-screen mode since it is Android 12 specific (I actually wrote out an answer for this without realizing the question is for Android 12 and instead of wasting the efforts in answering, I decided to make it a self-answered question).
As in title, how do I switch apps from top pane to bottom pane (and vice-versa) as also add a new app?

Firstly, the behavior of split panel has changed from earlier behavior. See the open issue tracker of Dec 21 (before Android 12 L update) Split screen feature doesn't work as it use to.

This works on Android 13, Pixel 6a, YMMV depending on the customization of your OEM.

I used split screen to pin two apps Permission Manager X on the top pane and What's running pro  on the bottom pane (app selected first for split screen goes into top panel).

To switch panels
Double tap on the panel divider

To change one of the panels
For example you want to change the top panel, close the app on the top panel and add a new app which automatically occupies the top panel.
And of course, double tap the panel divider if you want to switch panels.

I just tested this on Pixel 3a, Android 12L, and this answer worked. Unfortunately, I don't have Android 12 to test.

@AndrewT thanks. As mentioned in the first point this behavior is valid since 12L. Both my devices 4a and 6a are on 13, so I too can't test it on 12. Maybe somebody can!

Can you please explain how to change only one panel a bit better?


text:
Facebook Messenger shows notification while open
Whenever I have Facebook Messenger open, I continue to get notifications for chats that I am presently viewing. That is, I will be reading a chat, and as a new message comes in, I get a peek notification for it even though the chat is already open. Is this normal behavior, or is there some way to fix this without having to hack something out on Tasker?
I don't use chat heads, and the only settings I have on for notifications are Notification Previews and Light (LED).
On Android 7.1.1, though I had this problem on 6 on my previous phone as well.

Are you referring to peek notifications? I never used Facebook though, but I suspect you're referring to those

Yes, peek notifications, thank you. Forgot what they were called.

Yes this is normal behavior AFAIK.  iOS does have more options for notifications then Android does.  You could disable notifications all  together for messenger and use tesla unread(costs $5) with nova launcher prime to just display the number only.  Not ideal.

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


text:
how to recuperate data from Nexus 5 with broken screen and USB debugging off?
So I was exercising hard and my phone fell ackwardly from the elliptic, the phone died, when I picked it up, my screen was full of lines. The glass does not seem broken but what is under the glass seems broken.
The screen shows full of crazy lines, they move a little, it seems to be a spaced out version of what the phone would normally show.
So in the screen I cannot see much, also I cannot seem to interact with the screen anymore, I suspect that the screen is also sending many random touch signals make the phone go crazy and make old modem noises when booting it normally.
So my hope is to simply connect this phone to my Ubuntu with adb so I can regain control and get my files.
So far I have discovered the following.
I can turn off the phone by holding the power button a long time.
After that I am able to boot it in a way that fastboot can see it and control it by holding either volume down + power or both volume up and down + power and releasing as soon as *something appears on the screen.
From there I can mess around with fast boot.
at first I had:
sudo fastboot oem device-info
...
(bootloader)    Device tampered: true
(bootloader)    Device unlocked: false
(bootloader)    off-mode-charge: true
OKAY [  0.003s]
finished. total time: 0.003s
And I was not able to flash twrp recovery
I was supposed to be able to unlock it with fastboot oem unlock but I was just hanging at waiting for device :( however I understood that after the oem unlock there is a comfirmation on the phone. I had to use the volume keys and go down a few times and press power, it was a pretty blind not easy operation really but it actually worked!
So now I get:
sudo fastboot oem device-info
...
(bootloader)    Device tampered: true
(bootloader)    Device unlocked: true
(bootloader)    off-mode-charge: true
OKAY [  0.003s]
finished. total time: 0.003s
(houray)
and I was able to flash twrp on my recovery partition with
fastboot flash recovery twrp-3.1.1-0-hammerhead.img
(this is supposedly the correct version of twrp for my Nexus 5)
target reported max download size of 1073741824 bytes
sending 'recovery' (14604 KB)...
OKAY [  0.674s]
writing 'recovery'...
OKAY [  1.153s]
finished. total time: 1.828s
bang!! seems to work, I can flash paritions there should be a way to salvage my file!!
and thats how far I have gotten. Now when the phone boots the crazy lines/colors seem to be different but I cannot seem to go any further. Still when I type
sudo adb devices
I get nothing.
Can anyone help me out on this?
Is it possible that twrp boots but wont work properly since my phone sends plenty of touch signals through its broken screen? Can I use the physical buttons to do enable adb in twrp?
I should now just have to do
fastboot reboot
(possibly holding certain buttons, I pretty much tried them all)
and twrp should boot and I should be able to see my phone with adb. but I dont...
sudo killall adb
~/Desktop$ sudo adb devices
* daemon not running. starting it now on port 5037 *
* daemon started successfully *
List of devices attached
does anyone have any insight as to how can I get this phone connected to adb.
I think twrp is booting but its hard to tell with that crazy screen. Is there something I need to do with the physical buttons?
well Im not sure if I should post this anymore because I just found my answer it seems. For the good of humanity and others in need I will post it and the baby Jesus shall decide what happens with it.
So I was finally able to get in adb!
It was all about that step where it said you need to hold some buttons when you boot. Well I was holding just volume buttons, turns out I had to hold power too (for some reason I though since it was already rebooting only the volume keys would send the necessary signal)
so I reflashed twrp with fastboot, held basically all the keys (vol up and down + power) and did fastboot reboot. Then suddenly it booted and right away my Nexus drive appeared on my computer, accessible. I was like holy hell lets get my files now!! But I couldnt see them I was in what seemed to be a blank phone with empty Download, Music etc folders....
Turns out all my files were gone. Doing adb shell I could linux into the phone and a df -h showed my main partition 12G was only 6%, thats uncharacteristic, my phone was always so full!!
It appeared that at some point I wiped the phone. Im not sure actually but I suspect it might have been when I did fastboot oem unlock, doesnt that wipe your phone for security? Either that or I accidentally picked the factory reset while trying to navigate in the bootloader without seeing anything.
Oh well I didnt have much on there anymore. Only lost about 2 weeks of Exiled Kingdoms gameplay and will need to redownload a few books/songs...
Although I found my answer, Im going to post this in case it can help someone.
Cheers!
(note I had to yank out all the links to other articles that were helpful because stack exchange says my post looks like spam..)
=========EDIT
I was wrong about 1 thing. I dont need to hold the power button the procedure to be able to connect adb on my phone with broken screen (cant see except vague colors, cant touch) and usb debugging disabled, here is the exact procedure now that I have done it a few times:
(note that I first had to unlock the bootloader, how is explained above)
-power off holding power button longtime (USB must be disconnected for some reason) until it stops throwing random vibrations
-boot holding vol down and power, release at first thing poping on screen, then youre in fastboot
-sudo fastboot devices (you should see a device)
-sudo fastboot flash recovery twrp-[correctversionforyourphone].img
-then hold power down and type in sudo fastboot reboot
-release at first thing on screen
-then you get in a screen where you need to select recovery, this video helped me see what the menu looks like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ku3xF8gh22M basically there are 4 options and the 4th is recovery so I guess you could just press vol down 3 times and then press power to boot in recovery (but my phone still shows crazy lines and while it doesn show much its enough to see that 1 option is white, 1 is green and the 2 others are red, I want the second red option, see the video...)
-when you have navigated to the recovery (4th option) press power to select and hold the vol down button right after (so the phone wont override recovery flashed??)
at this point I see the phone drive pop up on my computer and I can also use adb on the phone. Of course it is wiped because I had to unlock the bootloader earlier.
Now Im thinking there is maybe 1 crazy way to get my files back. The Google Android backups! My new phone now is a LG and so I cant get the normal android backups on it but I want to try the 2 next things: use adb to screecast my broken phone on the computer and restore android backup?? use an emulator, put in my Google account and restore android backup. Maybe this can allow me to restore my lost files. It is weird that I can see my android backup in my google drive but there is no option to download it :(
=========EDIT 2
In the end my last idea did not work either. I was able to get a nexus 5 running in the genymotion emulator and add my google account to it. From there I could enable the backups but I could not find a way to restore a backup from my old phone anyways it seems that these android backups only contain app backups and settings backups. Im not sure it would contain the books I was accumulating in the Books folder or save games from Exiled Kingdoms. I guess I'm now giving up at this point.
It seems to me that if you lose your screen on your phone and
-USB debugging is off
-you have a PIN and home encrypted with the PIN
-your bootloader is locked
There is no way you can recuperate your stuff from the device. Correct me if I'm wrong. Maybe I could have tried to talk to the phone "hello Google" and do something but I dont think I could because 1: it wasnt setup and 2: the cracked screen made the phone go crazy when booting normally.
Time to move on!

Correct, unlocking the bootloader wipes the /data partition.

Could you please post the question as a question and its answer as an answer below? Your effort to help fellow users is appreciated but please understand that this site conforms only to Q&A style, which means no forum like posts.

Apart from what @Firelord said, you might also want to put the commands and their outputs in formatted text and/or blockquotes to increase readability.

Fell awkwardly from the elliptic???

@Firelord well Im hoping to retrieve my files. At this point my phone appears to be wiped but Im thinking maybe my files can be found in the Google android backups, basically I dont really have my answer yet... still working on this...

When unlocking bootloader device gets reset. All the data is lost. So it was a bad idea from start. You could have moved files using adb if possible.

This is not helpful. OP did not know at first hand what unlocking bootloader would do, but I'm surprised that the bootloader did not issue a warning on the console during unlock.

It is just a warning. He has posted this as a Q&A.

@AshishKafle unfortunately usb debugging was off on the phone so I could not connect via adb. I had to unlock the bootloader to be able to flash the twrp recover to be able to adb in. So I think it was impossible to recuperate the files, Im now hoping to somehow retrieve them from the android backups on Google.

It is possible that your don't have a broken screen but simply a loose connector inside the phone.
You can try to repair it yourself by opening the phone as described in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pks4idq4YI
Probably you don't need a replacement part. Just disconnect and reconnect the connectors of the flat cable. It worked for me.


text:
How do I convert a NANDroid backup into an update.zip file that works in the stock recovery mode?
For this case, consider a phone stuck in a bootloop (not fixable through data wiping or USB jigs) with no CWM Recovery and no adb or fastboot access. Only an SD Card, the stock recovery mode, and Qualcomm's QPST serial port debugging interface.
Relevant files available are a handful of NANDroid backups of the same phone (made previously via CWM Recovery) and an "update.zip" from the provider/manufacturer that contains an OTA update.
Goal is to restore a NANDroid backup using the stock recovery's "apply update from external storage" feature.
Update: I've dug around, and as far as I understand, my stock recovery mode requires properly signed .zip files. I've made numerous .zips up on my own using various scripts and toolsets I had found, and some by tampering with the OTA update .zip I had mentioned. Attempting to apply either of them results in the exact same output that follows below. (The only one going past that point is the original OTA update.zip, whose instalation dies after the message "file_getprop: failed to stat "/system/build.prop": No such file or directory", but this is certainly part of the bigger problem with the device)
-- Install /sdcard ...
Finding update package...
Opening update package...
Verifying update package...
Instalation aborted.

Is my case hopeless without having the manufacturer's private key on hand? Can you think of any workarounds or alternatives? Could I be making a mistake in the zip-making process?

You can't get there from here.  As you found out, almost every OEM requires images flashed via the stock firmware/recovery to be cryptographically signed by the OEM to prevent tampering.  Considering that they're the only one that are going to have the private signing keys, you're not going to be able to make your own image.
The most likely path to a working phone is to get an official image from the OEM.  For example, RUUs for HTC phones and ODIN images for Samsung phones.  These are generally available online (in some cases, available from the OEM or carrier themselves) and have the advantage of being properly signed for flashing via either stock recovery or bootloader access.  It may be possible to get an official image from the OEM support as well.
Once you have a working device again, you can root (or unlock the bootloader) and flash your preferred recovery and restore the backup you do have.

Most stock recovery modes require proper, officially signed update.zip files. There are ways to convert NANdroid backups to update.zip files or even directly back them up as such but the hard part is actually signing the update file (there are a handful of tutorials for doing these on the Internet, and in part in the official Android documentation). The signing requires official keys which can only be generated by the manufacturers. Getting them is nigh impossible unless you have inside access or very very cooperative support.


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How to install recovery and rom on blank Samsung i9000
I wanted to install CM on my Samsung Galaxy S, and while trying to enable ClockworkMod recovery, I somehow managed to partition it. Now the only thing that appears is the screen with the model number, and I can enter download mode (but not in recovery mode). I tried to install recovery with Odin (I found a tar file) but that failed. Is there any chance that I can get my phone working again?

You mean to say you CAN'T enter download mode, right?

No, that is the only thing I can do with my phone (edited the question)

if u can enter the download mode then your phone can be saved. Sites like XDA forum have a lot of tutorials on flashing a rom. here is one example: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1922461

If anyone dealing with the same issue, I've found a solution on this link. It is for Froyo, but you can look on XDA-Developers for Gingerbread too, it is the same procedure.


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Does Family Link work on tablets that are sold with Andriod 6.0 then get software upgrades to 7.0?
Google Family Link requires Android 7.0 Nougat on most devices.
Does it work on tablets that are sold with Android 6.0 Marshmallow then get software upgrades to 7.0?
And if so, what is the sequence I need to follow to make this happen?
Edit: Family Link instructions require a clean device / factory reset before logging in the child. If I log in, then upgrade to 7.0, then factory reset, will I still be on 7.0 after the reset? Or is there some other way to make this happen?

Yes, an app that only works with Android 7.0 will work on all compatible devices regardless of what OS the device first shipped with.

Children can run Family Link on the following Android devices:

Nougat 7.0+  Compatible with all devices. (Source)

So the sequence to follow would be,

Make sure that the device you are purchasing, has an update available for Android 7.0
Update the device to latest software from settings  → about device  → software update.
Download Google Family Link, and set it up.

To answer your last question:

Your phone does not keep an original OS image. Thus, once you update
  your OS (either by OTA updates or by installing a custom Rom), you
  will not be able to revert to the older Android version. Doing a
  factory reset should just reset the phone to a clean slate of the
  current Android version. (Source)

Have you tried this? This is not an App install. The Family Link instructions say that for the child's device the steps are to do a Factory Reset on the device, and then sign the child in. will the Factory Reset remove Nougat and reset to Marshmallow?

@AnonGordon edited my answer to include the fact that a factory reset will not revert you to 6.0| as for trying this, I have installed apps that would not be available on 5.0 but after I updated, they worked. Also, the only reason they want you to do a rest, is to start clean, and not have any apps preinstalled that might get in the way of family link. Otherwise it's a regular app

@AnonGordon so I'd say, if it's a new device, you don't need to factory reset after upgrade, but you can do it if you want

Thanks, just ordered an ASUS ZenPad 3S, will let you know how it goes!

@AnonGordon great! Waiting to hear from you. Let me know if you encounter any trouble

OK, it worked and installed just fine. I am not quite sure what the order of operations was, however, as the new device was updating the OS and running through the Family Link install at the same time. But it got there in the end (with the ASUS ZenPad 3S, at least).


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Can I set up two children on one device both managed by Google Family link?
The Google Family Link FAQ says you are only permitted to have one child per device.
But on this page it says you can add a second profile to your child's device.
Does this mean two children share one device under Family Link? Or that there can be one Family Link account and one other account?
What are the limitations / implications of a second account?

Yes you can! I just did it.
Under Family Link, I set up two Google accounts for my kid. I installed one on the device, and then created a new user on the device and added the second Google account into its setting. It seems to be working fine, allowing access to the one profile whilst the other is locked.
The idea was that I set up one profile just for education purposes, and the other where I can install other apps, games, etc. The plan is to have tighter time restrictions on the gaming or fun profile and allow more access to the education apps so they will move to the second profile and do better activities once their game time is over.
Maybe you can do this with other control apps, but I think this could be a good long-term solution under the Google Family Link system which doesn't seem to provide individual app timers.

Just to confirm, is the second profile also a child account using family link? The docs and my experience indicate this isn't possible; that only the primary account can be a child account with family link.

Another thing,  off topic but your idea for separate time limits on different apps has now, I believe, been integrated into the main family link features.

@thomasrutter I found a way to work around this limitation! See my answer.

FWIW, just the other day I removed restrictions from the son's account because it was just too limiting and inflexible.  I did so by changing the age to 1 day under 13 years, and waiting 2 days.

Many Android devices allow multiple user profiles (not to be confused with Google accounts).  It's a similar function to what computers have, where you can have the admin account and the child one.
From the second link you posted:

The steps below will only work if your child's device allows multiple
  profiles

From your comment on this post it's apparent that you're using an Asus Zenpad 3s. That device doesn't seem to have the multi user functionality. (You can confirm this info by simply going settings and looking for "users"). Therefore, you will not be able to add more accounts.
So to explain the difference between the two links you posted, the first one seems to be talking about adding a second Google account to the same device (from settings  → accounts  → Google,) while the second link is discussing how to get past the limitation of one account per device, by adding a second user, which in turn make it as if you're using a different device, with a lock screen preventing the child from switching between users.

Does this mean two children share one device under Family Link? Or
  that there can be one Family Link account and one other account?

With a device that supports multiple users, you can add either a child, or a regular Google account. If you're adding a regular account, make sure to have a lockscreen preventing your child from switching between users.

What are the limitations / implications of a second account?

Had that been possible, your child would be able to open Google play store, switch to the other account, and download any app they want.
Therefore, they don't allow more accounts unless you add a new user to the device.

I read the same docs, and reached similar conclusions. The device does seem to have multi-user capability (not sure about restricted users, but I do not want ot use restricted users). I am travelling and don't want to break anything, so have not tried adding an additional user to the device, so I dop not know if your answer is correct. I was hoping for an answer from someone who has actually done it and could tell me what had happened for them.

Yes!
I have successfully setup two user profiles on my Android tablet, each using a different Google account, and both accounts are enrolled in Family Link. However, it wasn't easy.
Some background:

Android devices let you have more than one user profile on the same device (but note that not all android devices support this option).
These user profiles are not the same as different Google accounts! Each user profile can be connected to one or more Google accounts of their choice, which may or may not be different from the accounts on other profiles.
A device always starts with one pre-installed user profile, which is the administrator profile.
If you are on the administrator profile, you can enroll a connected Google account in Family Link, and have a parent supervise the activity of that profile.

Note that Family Link is connected to the Google account, not the user profile. If you connect this account to any other profile on this or another device, Family Link will supervise that profile too. If you remove the account from the profile, the profile will no longer be supervised, but the account will remain enrolled in Family Link.

If you are on a user profile other than the administrator - you cannot enroll a connected Google account in Family Link. To make things worst, if you try to do this, you just get a generic "something went wrong" error message, with no additional clarification.

Here is how I managed to work around this limitation:

For each Google account you want to enroll in Family Link, connect to this account while on the administrator profile of an Android device, and enroll it (by using the "parental controls" option in settings).

You can use multiple devices for this if you want, it's OK to use devices other than the one you eventually want to have the accounts on.
You can also repeat this for multiple accounts on a single device if you need to. After you enroll one account, remove it from the device, and then connect with the next account.

Once all accounts are enrolled in Family Link, you can create additional user profiles on your device, and on each profile connect to one of the accounts.

Note that if the administrator profile is already connected to a Family Link enrolled account, you might not be able to add additional user profiles. You need to explicitly allow this, using the Family Link app on a parent's device.

I hope this helps.

In Family Link, I had to select the device (in my case, an Android Nokia), and that had the option to allow my son to add other accounts.
This is restricted to a school-controlled account, so it's not any type of account.


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Can I use my device on a different carrier?
Sometimes it's desirable to use a device on a carrier that does not officially sell it. Often this is due to regional differences and travel (for example, using a US phone in Europe) but also because some carriers simply do not offer phones that other carriers do.
How can I determine if it's possible to use my phone on a different carrier, and which carriers it is compatible with?

This community wiki is intended to be a canonical answer to a common question. If you feel that improvements could be made then please edit the post(s).

Whether or not you can use a phone on a specific carrier depends on a variety of factors, but it is generally possible to figure it out provided that you can find enough information on the device and carrier you are interested in. The main points to focus on will be the cellular standard the carrier uses, the frequency bands it uses, and the associated bands/tech that the phone is designed for. In order for your device to operate fully on another network, it will need to meet all of the following criteria.
Cellular Standards
There are two primary competing cellular standards used throughout the world, commonly referred to as GSM and CDMA.
GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) is generally the more widely deployed of the two standards, and is estimated to serve nearly 80% of the global market. Devices that support the GSM standard will use SIM cards to keep track of the identity of the subscriber. The 3G standards used by GSM devices are typically UMTS or HSPA.
CDMA (or, more specifically, CDMA2000) is also used in a variety of countries, but generally serves fewer subscribers than GSM in most countries. CDMA uses a R-UIM/CSIM card which serves similar functionality to SIM card. On some carriers, CDMA devices do not use any physical identity cards, and instead have an ESN that is stored on the device itself. Also with some carriers, devices that normally do not require SIM card to operate on CDMA 3G may require SIM cards for 4G access, since the 4G network uses a different technology than the 3G one.
In general, a device is therefore classified by which network it uses for it's 3G or voice coverage, so a phone which supports CDMA voice/3G but a GSM 4G network (for example, the Verizon Galaxy Nexus) would still typically be considered a "CDMA phone".
These two network standards are not compatible with each other in any way. A device built for GSM networks will not work on a CDMA network (and vice versa). Therefore, the first step in determining if your device will work on your desired carrier is to determine what networks it supports and what type of network the carrier uses. GSM Arena is a good source for device specifications, and Wikipedia is a good place to find information about carrier networks (as well as devices).
In addition to the inter-network compatibility issue, CDMA devices that do not have physical a identity card can only be used with the device's original carrier or on other countries through roaming. In most cases, carriers have a large database that contains all of the valid ESNs for their network, so only models which are sold by the carrier can be activated. This can occasionally be bypassed by altering the software of the phone to broadcast a different ESN, but doing so is illegal in many countries, and thus there is often no legitimate way to use a CDMA device on a different carrier. This restriction will usually (but may not always) also apply to virtual network operators (MVNOs) and their "parent" carriers.
As an example: Sprint may not allow you to activate a Boost Mobile phone on its network, even though Boost uses Sprint's towers and spectrum. Conversely, Sprint has approved some of their phone models for activation on certain MVNOs that use Sprint's spectrum (provided the phone is not under contract). Therefore, when dealing with CDMA carriers, your best choice will generally be to simply ask them if your model will be allowed on their network before you make a decision, since they have full discretion over which devices they will allow to be activated.
Frequency Bands
Each carrier operates their network on a specific set of frequency bands, which are typically managed at some level by the government of the country the carrier is operating in. Once the government allocates frequencies, they can usually be bought or sold by companies as they see fit (with some restrictions). In order for a device to work on a given network, it must therefore support not only the network standards (as noted above) but also the frequency bands being used.
As an example, AT&T's 3G network (UMTS/HSPA) operates in the 850 and 1900 MHz frequency bands (source). The myTouch 4G, sold by T-Mobile USA is a GSM phone (T-Mobile USA is a GSM network), but it is designed for the 900, 1700, and 2100 MHz frequency bands since this is what T-Mobile uses. Therefore, a myTouch 4G would not be able to use AT&T's 3G network because it does not support the proper frequencies. Further, there is no way to alter this by using software modifications - the limitation is created by the phone's antenna, which is specifically designed to pick up certain frequencies and ignore others.
Using the same example as above, however, you can see that AT&T operates its 2G network on the 850 and 1900 MHz bands and the myTouch 4G supports 850, 900, 1800 and 1900 MHz for 2G operation. This means that a myTouch 4G would be able to use AT&T's slower 2G network (and make voice calls) even though it cannot use the 3G network.
Similarly, it may be possible for a device to operate on a carrier's 3G network but not their 4G network due to frequency differences. Check the frequency bands your device supports for each generation of network communication (2G, 3G, 4G) in order to ensure complete compatibility.
SIM Locks and SIM Cards
Another possible hurdle in running a device on a network it was not officially intended for is SIM locks and differences in SIM cards.
Firstly, many carriers will sell their devices with a SIM lock - a software restriction that prevents the device from operating with a SIM from a different carrier. In many cases this will depend on whether or not the device is purchased at a subsidized price on some kind of annual contract. Purchasing a device at full retail price will often allow it to be unlocked more easily (or it will be provided in an unlocked state). If your device has a SIM lock, it may be possible to unlock it by contacting your carrier and asking for an unlock code. There are also third-parties that offer SIM unlocking services, but they are not officially endorsed by the carrier or manufacturer of your device. Devices will only be able to operate on their originally intended network while they are SIM locked.
An additional concern is that there are several types of SIM cards, all of different shapes and sizes. Most major carriers (and, indeed, even smaller ones) will be able to provide multiple types of SIM cards, but be sure that you get one that will fit into the slot on your device. Most commonly, phones and tablets use either Mini-SIM or Micro-SIM cards.
What about rooting?
Rooting a device is not related to the act of unlocking it for a different carrier, although the phrase "unlocking" my occasionally (incorrectly) be used to refer to both processes. Obtaining root will not unlock your device, and unrooted devices are capable of being unlocked provided with the proper SIM code. Similarly, a custom ROM will not unlock your device - it has no bearing on the SIM lock.
Helpful Links
These Wikipedia links contain lists of cellular carriers broken down by country/region. Many of the entries also provide information regarding the frequencies these networks have deployed, or act as a jumping-off point for finding this information elsewhere.

List of mobile network operators of Europe
List of mobile network operators of the Americas
List of mobile network operators of the Asia Pacific region
List of mobile network operators of the Middle East and Africa

@FredThomsen, why do you think those devices are overly portable (they are not more than many others).

In the US you need bands 2, 4 and 5, named “1900”, “AWS” and “850” respectively. – Which bands do you talk about @FredThomsen?

If you get a device working on a specific carrier or not depends on the following factors:

cellular standards and frequency bands
artificial locks on the device and sometimes willingness of the carrier

First, check what your future carrier and phone have. For carrier networks and frequencies Wikipedia is the most complete source I know:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mobile_network_operators#By_region
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Deployed_UMTS_networks
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_LTE_networks
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_CDMA2000_networks

For devices, the Wikipedia is a good start too, but doesn’t cover everything and might have errors (seen that problem).
Devices which are popular around the world almost always have different versions and model numbers (frequency bands and networks standards is exactly what they differ in most of the time). Example:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTC_Desire (look for the models A8181, A8182, A8183)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Galaxy_S_II (look for T-Mobile version)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsung_Galaxy_S_series (see different phones having different frequency band coverage)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone5s (see model A1530 or the two(!) A1533)

The questions you need to answer yourself are: Does the carrier use CdmaOne/CDMA200, GSM, WCDMA and/or LTE? On which frequency bands? Can the device handle those?
Even if carrier and device share a frequency and standard, there might still be incompatibilities. Here I list all of those special cases I’m aware of:

China Mobile (in China) as well as much of the rest of the world uses UMTS as 3G standard. But unlike the rest of world, it uses TD-SCDMA as “air-interface” instead of WCDMA, which the rest of the UMTS-world uses. I only know one(!) phone model which can do both. For the other devices this usually means that 3G works for China Mobile in China or a bunch of other carriers, but not both.

CdmaOne/CDMA2000 is used with and without “SIM-cards” in Asia and America respectively. So even if the phone has the right standard and frequencies, in America it might not work, because you can’t get hold of a SIM-card to put into the phone! Or the other way around: in China you will not be able to convince the carrier to activate your phone based on it’s ESN alone, because it is legally not allowed to “hard-associate” devices with it’s network, but hand out SIM-cards instead. – As far as I know roaming on the other carrier does work! – GSM, WCDMA, LTE always use SIM-cards.

Japan and South Korea(?) use(d) a 2G standard not used anywhere else. This is of little importance these days, as their 3G and 4G networks run on “common” standards ... and who wants to use 2G in Japan? ;-)

Artificial locks and carrier’s willingness to admit devices on their network
TBD


text:
Is there any way to control per-device audio balance?
Device: Android 12, Pixel 6 Pro
I recently got a new Pixel 6 Pro and loved it so far, but the earpiece speaker seemed a little quiet to me, so i went into Accessibility settings and changed the audio balance.
Problematically, this also alters balance for Bluetooth headphones, Android Auto, ...
Is there any way through an app or natively that allows me to control balance just for my phone's speakers?
Thanks!

I found a solution! With Wavelet on Legacy Mode, you can control EQ, balance, and limiter per device.
Works flawlessly and only affect the phone's speakers!


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Venmo: "user does not have a funding fund selected" despite a linked and verified bank account
I use the Venmo application to make online payments. I have a bank account linked to my Venmo account. The account is verified. However when I tried to pay online it says "user does not have a funding fund selected". Why?

I use the latest Venmo app on Android 10 with Samsung Galaxy S9.

Screenshot showing that my bank account is linked + verified (since it doesn't say "unverified"):

I've ended up up installing the splitwise Android app, which gave me more information regarding the payment issue with Venmo: the connection with my Bank of America account had been "lost" and Venmo need to reconnect to it via Plaid (even though the Venmo hadn't previously said that the Bank of America account needed verification).


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Where is Google's internal account authentication token located?
I'm trying to write a Tasker script for my (rooted) phone that uses the same Google credentials that are being used on my device (for Gmail, Drive, etc.).
Where can I find Google's OAuth (or other) authentication tokens on my device?
I checked inside /data/data/com.google.android.gms/databases but couldn't find anything I could recognize as an authentication token.

The authentication token for Google accounts and of other accounts which uses AccountManager class are stored inside:
/data/system/users/0/accounts.db   # for Android Marshmallow and earlier
/data/system_ce/0/accounts_ce.db   # for Android Nougat and above.

0 implies primary user of the device. If you have secondary user accounts, replace 0 with the user id of that account. To find out the user id follow my answer here.
Note that access to that database requires root access.

For anyone else interested: Here's a command that will get you a token that has access to both Gmail and Google Drive (you need sqlite3): su -c 'uid="$(/system/bin/readlink -f /storage/self/primary | /system/bin/grep -E -o "[0-9]+")"; "${PREFIX}/bin/sqlite3" -readonly "/data/system_ce/${uid-0}/accounts_ce.db" '"\"SELECT authtoken FROM authtokens WHERE type LIKE 'com.google.android.gm:%:oauth2:%https://mail.google.com/ %https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive %' ORDER BY _id DESC LIMIT 1;\""

@Mehrdad $uid will always be 0 if su switches to root mount namesapce, depends on configuration in root manager app. Also debug builds (most custom ROMs) already have /system/bin/sqlite3.

@IrfanLatif: Oh I see. I actually realized /system/bin/readlink -f /storage/self/primary | /system/bin/grep -E -o \"[0-9]+\" is faster so that's what I'm doing now. Sadly my ROM doesn't have sqlite3 so that one's not an option for me, but thanks!

@Mehrdad if you are using Magisk you can download the sqlite module to get access to sqlite3 binary.


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Make an Android app keep its spot on the home screen on uninstall/reinstall
When developing Android apps, I will often end up reinstalling the app I'm working on (deliberately after uninstalling it, or when the build signatures are different).
It's bothersome to always put this app back on the home screen where I want it. And if I don't, I either have to type its name in the app directory (which can take a few letters depending on how similar its name is to other apps) or scroll to find it.
Has anyone found a way to have an app find it's previous spot on a reinstall, or something that would make finding it easier ?
I'm familiar with Tasker and Llama, but couldn't find such options.

Why are you using different signatures? Anyway if you are installing new apps e.g. via adb I would also use adb to start the app. In the end you could have different shortcuts on your PCs desktop to start your app. No need to do that on Android side.

I have two build types: debug and release. The release type is signed while the debug isn't. So when I change build variant, it requires me to uninstall the previous version to install the new one.
I didn't think of using the command line or shortcuts, I will try that, good idea !

You can change the package name of the debug build, then there will be no signature conflict anymore: https://developer.android.com/studio/build/application-id#change_the_application_id_for_build_variants

Not quite what you asked for, but you could put a Tasker shortcut on the home screen, and have that task just open the app. You could also have that task try different package names in order to support both your debug and release versions.

That indeed did the trick ! Had to buy Tasker AutoLaunch (~1€) but well worth it, thanks !

I've done similar, wrote a small helper app that just serves to send various intents to open other apps.


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Phone keeps crashing and restarting after rooting
My phone (Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge SM-G925F) keeps crashing, freezing and/or restarting after I rooted it. Previously I also updated the firmware but the problem only rose after rooting it. I have tried both wiping cache and factory reset. Should I reflash firmware/unroot or try to re-root via Odin. I also checked it with Root Checker and it says it is properly rooted. Thanks
Update: I reflashed firmware again after phone shut down by itself and went into a bootloop, phone stayed frozen on the recovery screen for a long time giving me a mini heart attack. Could it be that Knox is making problems, the counter was tripped when I first rooted the phone.

How did you root?

Via Odin using file from CF Auto Root. I used Odin 3.12 if that helps. I do not have custom recovery. Also I just tried flashing stock firmware but after successfully loading in download mode it is stuck at erasing in recovery mode

Did you first rooted phone and than installed some of updates or other way around?

I would definitely suggest reflashing the firmware.

I did reflash but now the phone keeps restarting and crashing on unrooted stock Nougat firmware too

@Једноруки Крстивоје Yes I rooted the phone and then upgraded to the Android Nougat update for my phone

Well you shouldn't do that because that never ends well, when you root your phone you must give up ona ota updates. Flash stock firmware and you are good to go.

@Једноруки Крстивоје Phone is working well so far but I still want to root. Any advice

Just root it the way you did it before but don't accept OTA updates of system anymore. Wait did your phone worked fine when  you rooted it previously (until you updated to nougat)?

@ЈеднорукиКрстивоје КрстивојеRooting or stock firmware, the phone keeps freezing and crashing nonetheless. It crashed on stock Marshmallow as well as rooted.

authors: Једноруки Крстивоје


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Android phone HDD/SSD 2.5"/1.8" - how much power is too much?
Recently I started experimenting with OTG adapter and some USB devices. While pendrives, RS232 adapters etc typicially work, storage is more interesting topic. I tried to connect my 1tb Seagate SSHD but it started emitting weird beeping noise and phone didn't detect it. However today I connected my friend's Samsung T3 1TB SSD and it does work just fine. So the question is - what power draw is too much and is it possible to connect some lower power 1.8" HDD do phone? (Because high capacity SSDs are quite expensive)
It's interesting topic as vision of being able to access 1TB or even more of data on the go (without additional power) sounds quite promising. Especially for phones without sd card but also because such insane capacity cards are insanely expensive, even comparing to SSDs

USB flash drives consume about 1-2 watts, SSDs max 5 watts and good HDDs 6.5-7 watts. I doubt a low powered USB connection could power an HDD. Perhaps a portable HDD since those use a bit less power.
Sources:
http://www.buildcomputers.net/power-consumption-of-pc-components.html
http://techreport.com/review/25391/wd-red-4tb-hard-drive-reviewed/3
https://superuser.com/questions/565653/how-much-power-does-a-hard-drive-use
http://www.anandtech.com/show/8747/samsung-ssd-850-evo-review/10
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB#Power
http://www.anandtech.com/show/10163/usb-flash-drives-power-consumption-measurement-using-plugables-usbctkey

I would but it is a bunch of boring crap I thought no one would bother reading. I'll edit to cite sources.


text:
Constant decrease in android's internal storage free space
I am having a hard time with my phone. My device, which is a simple LG Magna has had a constant decrease in FREE space. That means that something is constantly taking up more and more place in my internal memory. Of course, I did try to clear cache, clear all the useless videos, useless apps, I removed the Facebook app because I know it uses a lot of space, but the used space in the internal memory keeps on increasing. My 8Gb internal memory is already used up by 7.97Gb. And I deleted so much already on my phone.. Okay! I thought about the possibility of having a virus in my android.
So, I did factory reset my SD card and Internal memory. This means, starting every from back to square one. I managed to not download anything from the internet, use only the useful apps from the store like Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger, my usual music player which is BlackPlayer(Great app btw, try it, it's simply the best). Now, 2 weeks after the factory reset, I am surprised and also very annoyed to see that the device's internal memory is increasing again. Today, it is back to 7.97Gb.
I have only photos and merely some music on my phone.
Basically, I have absolutely NO free space on my phone and I can't never delete enough to free space.
Can someone please help me resolve this problem? I would be forever grateful!
Thanks in advance.

Disable Google apps you don't use. Clear cache occasionally from settings. Also 8 GB is low for today standards, consider using adoptable storage feature

Please take a look at our insufficient-memory tag-wiki for some useful hints. You're not the first one with this issue, so we've collected some details there over the years ;)

May help: How disk space is used on Android device?

Seeing the reference to WhatsApp... I installed All-in-One Toolbox today for another problem (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=imoblife.toolbox.full&hl=en). I happened to notice it has a cleaner just for WhatsApp.

Try a disk analyzer app. For example:
Disk Usage
SD Maid
Maybe you'll see where space is being eaten up.

WhatsApp automatically downloads media, so as in other answers, that is probably your issue.  Most android phones also allow you to insert a MicroSD card to further expand storage space - either for just media (compatible with other devices) or as internal storage (incompatible with other devices).

Thank you all for your time :)
In fact, I explored my internal memory and was surprised to see that it was WhatsApp taking up all this increasing amount of space. The app keeps a huge backup of ALL media. And I mean it, ALL of the media! Since the dawn of time! Even though you delete it in your gallery wherever it is located, the backups are not deleted.
So, for those who want to know this is the path:
(I use an LG so I use File Manager)
File Manager > All Files > Internal Storage > Whatsapp >  Media;
This Media file is where Whatsapp stores all the backups!
According to me, you can safely delete this Media file without causing any inconveniences.
I deleted it and now I have 7.30Gb used out of 8Gb.

Do you have a lot of pictures?
In my case i had such issues because the thumbnails are created on internal memory.
So i had thumbnails-files (.thumbdata3-[10 digits]) which took some GB of internal space - even though the pictures were on the sd-card.

authors: Једноруки Крстивоје


text:
Phone died after installing ROM
I wanted to install Global Developer ROM for my Redmi 3s Prime which I downloaded from their website. So I started with installing TWRP custom recovery and completed successfully.
After this I installed my developer ROM and after success TWRP tool asked me whether to root the phone or not, to which I said YES.
After this blank screen appeared for very long time and nothing happened.
So, I long pressed the power button and now my phone is not booting up at all.
I tried the following things but none of them are working.

Fastboot mode by pressing VOLUME DOWN + POWER buttons.
Recovery mode by pressing VOLUME UP + POWER Buttons
Also tried by pressing all three buttons.

I also ran these commands adb devices and fastboot devices, cannot see my device.
And even the battery charging indicator is also not showing up.
Is there any tool or something which can help me to fix this problem?
Any help is appreciated.

Are you sure you installed version that matches your exact model all phones have their code names (because phones have different variants in some countries)? One more thing did you downloaded stock firmware or custom ROM made by some developer? To me it sounds like hard bricked device.

@ЈеднорукиКрстивоје Yes, I've downloaded the correct ROM. On Xiaomi official website there are two ROMs, stable ROM and developer ROM (Both are official). I've used developer ROM.

@ЈеднорукиКрстивоје And I can hear the USB plugin sound when I connect my phone to my laptop. When I try to go into recovery mode while my phone is connected to the laptop, this sound keeps on playing in a loop.

authors: Једноруки Крстивоје


text:
Root or upgrade to 4.4.2 first?
I've just received a new Android phone (an LG G2 D802 32GB). I haven't put my sim card in, or signed into Google yet. I know there is an OTA to upgrade it from 4.2.2 to 4.4.2.
Should I root the phone and then start setting it up, or is it best to carry out the OTA first?

It depends on the phone. [edit] your question to let us know which one you have.

You can do either way.
The safe method is to update and then root the phone.
But You can also root and then install the ota update. But ota will fail if you have

custom recovery
modified any part of the system like removed bloat, xposed, etc

Still there is  a post in XDA to update ota with custom twrp recovery.


text:
Can't see google drive docs on Nexus 7
I've installed Google Drive on my pc and Nexus 7 and placed a Google Spreadsheet doc into the drive on my pc. When I use my pc browser (Firefox) to view the googledrive.com website, the doc is there.
However, when I open Drive on my Nexus - nothing. And when I view the googledrive.com website on my Nexus browser (Dolphin) it's empty too. Not a doc in sight.
I'm getting nowhere with Google Help on this issue - they keep telling me to click on options that don't exist on the Nexus or telling me to do things on my android phone (Don't have one!)
Help? Thanks!
ETA: Okay, I've decided what I wanted to do just isn't worth the hassle of trying to figure out Google's accounts/apps systems. It seems designed to be as obstructive as possible. :P I've given up and deleted Drive.
Thanks for your attempts to help though - greatly appreciated!

Is Drive set to sync with your device? Settings | Accounts | Google | {your Google Account} | Drive checked? Have you done a sync?

Yup. Last sync 9.03 this evening.

Probably an unnecessary question, but you confirmed you're using the same account in both places?

Yeah, I thought of that one. Definitely same account.

Same problem here. With 2 Nexus 7s, one didn't sync and the other did.
The Google drive app seems to be the curlpit. After uninstalling and reinstalling Drive sync started working properly.


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Text To speech feature on selected text
I wonder if there is ability to replicate this feature from iOS :

In iOS you can turn on Accessibility function that add the "Speak" button to the "selection menu". And if you click, it would turn on Text To Speech engine and read selected text. Can I do the same thing in Android ?
Thank you very much in advance
PS: I assume that regular app could not modify "copy, paste, cut menu" so I probably need custom ROM.

Not that directly, maybe – but would a "talking clipboard" be an acceptable work-around? I.e. something that speaks what you copy to your clipboard, or export via the share menu?

@Izzy Of course it would be acceptable :) Yes, share button works with "Talk - Text to voice" app. It is not super comfortable but it works. "speaking everything what is in clipboard" would be more comfortable... :]

OK, in that case I've just added a few hints in an answer. Hope one of them proves useful for your purpose!

Maybe not exactly what you had in mind, but coming close: There are several clipboard-action apps available which might come close to that. I didn't try them, so no guarantees – but their descriptions are promising they can do that. Two examples would be:

Speaklip
Auto Speak Clipboard 2

Hopefully one of them proves helpful to you. Good luck!

Glad to read – enjoy :)


text:
Is full device encryption possible on LG Optimus L5 II (LG-E460)?
After starting the encryption process from within the Device Policy Manager for Google Apps the device will reboot, and immediately get stuck on the boot loader while happily displaying the LG logo until it runs out of power.
Reinstalling the software image using the LG Mobile Support Tool makes no difference. It successfully installs the software, reboots the phone  - and we're back to the permanent LG logo again.
Naturally I assumed I had a problem with the specific device, so I then went ahead and bricked a second LG-E460 in the exact same way.
Any way to fix the boot problem?
While reinstalling the software made no difference, a hard factory reset (triggered by holding down power, volume down and quickset) let the device return to a bootable state.
Can the LG-E460 be set up with encryption at all? Any reason as to why it might not work? I kinda thought of storage encryption as more of a universal Android thing and never considered that a mid range phone might not have such features.
Lack of such essential security features would reduce these phones to children's toys in my eyes. Even if I could work around my personal security concerns, in these parts, full device encryption is very much a requirement to access just about any business related system or network, or even to sync contacts, schedule and mail with company services.

It's not really clear what you're asking now. Would I be right in thinking you've fixed the boot problem now, and only want to get full-device encryption working?

He asks if he can use device encryption without entering an unbootable state... (I think)

Correct, it's now clear that the encryption  (and not some coincidental issue) was causing the boot problem, and that it is possible to undo the damage through a hard reset. The remaining question is then whether it is possible to encrypt the device at all. I'll try to make the title a little more descriptive.

You probably can encrypt your device by installing CyanogenMod, and entering the following command in the Terminal Emulator app:
vdc enablecrypto inplace PASSWORD

where PASSWORD is replaced by your password. If that command won't work, try replacing inplace with wipe although be careful, since that will wipe all of your data.

I don't have any LG phones any longer, so this is just out of curiosity now: Does that mean that CyanogenMod provides software only encryption, meaning one that does not depend on any cryptography hardware
?

It would appear that TWRP provides software encryption (OpenAES) although it looks like the TWRP custom recovery don't work too well with the L5 specifically.

Encryption does not work with a custom recovery and the only way  it used to work with TWRP is now deprecated.


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Does Gboard remember what is said?
I was using Gboard to write a message (with the microphone message). I said something rude I don't want it to save or repeat in predictions. Does Gboard save what is said anywhere, and if so how do I delete it?
I know some phrases you say to your phone do get stored in your Google Account, but I think this is mainly with "ok google".
By the way, on my phone it's called "Gboard" not Google Keyboard.

Ok, it turns out that it does not only save the audio,  it saves the activities you have done on your account in Google activities, so you can keep track of them, and also delete them, selecting one activity after the others.
It is like a history of your account

What does it show up as? There's nothing under "gboard" or "googleboard"

Try to say something to the keyboard and then go to that website... I did it like so and it appeared.

Try specifically this address: https://myactivity.google.com/myactivity?product=29

Yes, at the end of every mic message the keyboard make a toast appears that says

Audio saved to your account

any idea how to remove it?

Didn't find any option that hinted about it, only a "share utilisation statistics" in the advanced menu, that I turned off just for the sake of it
I dont think there is a proper way to deactivate that function, sorry


text:
How to fix "android.process.media keeps stopping" - error re-appears in a 10-second loop
On a Galaxy Tab A on stock ROM the last update was the June 1 2022 patch for Android 10 received from Samsung in Oct 2022 and also brought with it some Samsung updates.  The update has introduced a serious error for me.  When the tablet boots and whenever I access a file (e.g. when I save a file from the web browser) I receive the error
android.process.media keeps stopping

(i) App info
 x  Close app

as a popup in the lower area of the screen.  When I click "x Close App" the error immediately re-appears.  If I wait instead the error message is removed after a timeout of 10 seconds and then also immediately re-appears.
Often, though after a few minutes the error message disappears.  Clicking the "x Close App" a few dozen times will apparently not accelerate the end of the error loop, however.  The next time internal or SD card storage is accessed by an app the error loop will start again.
How can I make this error disappear for good?  May I try to disable android.process.media?  I mean what does it do, do I need it?  What is the connection to Sec(ure) Media Storage?  I used to have errors about Sec Media Storage, too but they have disappeared somehow.
I have used the tablet for a few years and I have many files on it that I do not want to lose.  So, any fix or suggestion may not include a data wipe or reset of the tablet.  I cannot move files from Internal to SD Card storage - the file manager will just crash and the error message appear.  MTP is also dysfunctional and no connection to the computer is possible.
I have disabled lots of pre-installed apps I do not need or use but no new one when the error appeared.
EDIT 1:
Following the recommendation by mmmatey I went through all items in their list of steps to perform.  Here are the results:

Deleted the Google Play Store Cache (Data cannot be deleted)
I cannot Reset App Preferences because it would literally take hours to re-set everything (also, none of these settings were changed when the system first appeared so it is perhaps not likely to help)
There is no Contacts app but I cleared the Cache of Contacts Storage (again, Data cannot be cleared)
I tried disabling Media Storage but it cannot be disabled
There is no Google Sync option in Settings so I could not change anything here
Media Storage holds the photos on the device so I won't be able to clear it without losing data I still need.

Afterwards, I rebooted the tablet.  No change, sadly.
Digging through these options and setting shows to me again how many unneeded apps Samsung pre-installs.  Also many unused items cannot be disabled and other things are locked.  One would at least hope that then "everything works" because the user cannot change an important setting but this is clearly not always the case.

The solution might be to clear the cache for Google Play services and Application Manager app, check on this link with provided steps: https://appuals.com/android-process-media-has-stopped/


text:
Samsung Note 2 input language selector problem (Android 4.3)
I have a strange problem for about a week. I have 3 input languages enabled on my smartphone (EN, RU, DE). To switch between them, I usually could slide the space-bar of the on-screen keyboard to the left or to the right.
However, recently this function has suddenly disappeared. The triangles do not appear on the space bar. I've found a few other posts on the internet, and there the authors connect it to the 4.3 Android upgrade. I am not sure though. I thought I upgraded quite a while ago and everything was OK. But I may be wrong.
Interestingly, if I switch to the hand-writing mode by tapping the "T"-button to the left from the space bar, the triangles appear on the space bar and I can now switch the language.
Any ideas?

In my case it was Greenify menu in Accessibility

I had faced the same problem myself.
System settings > device > accessibility > services.
Something in there is set to On. Switch it to off and you will be OK. I had the same problem because I had an application set to on.  Instant fix!

Amazing! It's the new LastPass autofill feature. Who would have thought! I've switched it off, and now the language switching is back. Thanks a lot! Will notify LastPass.

Actually,  you enabled it because it needed your permission but when you updated to Android 4.3 that permission was not necessary so it conflicted with your system.  Cheers!

Reported: https://forums.lastpass.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=126325

Mine was because of Master clean to extend the battery life. I switched that off and it worked Note3

For Me the solution was similar but different. I had nothing under the accessibility options excepted "Talkback" turned off. I turned it on then off and VOILA! it brought back the arrows.

authors: สุรศักดิ์ เนียมหอม


text:
Unable to Install APK Via ADB Shell
pm install /mnt/sdcard/Documents/ClientFrontEnd.apk command excuted on rooted device. This command is working via terminal. but when it comes to installer application it gives error.
$ pm install /mnt/sdcard/Documents/ClientFrontEnd.apk
Error is pkg: /mnt/sdcard/Documents/ClientFrontEnd.apk Killed.

why are you not doing it from the desktop PC side - adb install ClientFrontEnd.apk?

Agreed with @t0mm13b why don't you use adb itself, unless you are testing something in the emulator or don't have drivers. My first instinct is that you have an antivirus running on the device and it detects something in the APK that it doesn't like so its removing it. Do you have antivirus running?


text:
Root - How to remove one of the superuser app?
I rooted my phone a month ago and downloaded the SuperUser app yesterday.
However, when I use the app SuperSU, it is not running and it said i need to update a file. I could not update it.
What can I do? How can I remove SuperUser?

SuperSU has an option to remove / change to another Super User app. Does SuperUser have this? If not your best bet is to remove both and flash the latest SuperSU from chainfire directly in your recovery, this should remove the binaries issue. Both really do have the same functionality though, so if SuperUser is working for you, it might be worth just removing SuperSU instead.

And you shouldn't run both at the same time, just to make clear: Decide whether to use SuperSU or SuperUser. It's like Highlander: There only can be one. Remove the other.

@Izzy I wish I could vote up that comment a million times.

@dotVezz I could make it an answer, to give you the chance of awarding it a bounty #D

@Izzy brilliant comment there ^^^^ :D

If you have root access, just delete it from /system/app or /system/priv-app

Run the SuperSU app. If you’ve uninstalled it for whichever reason, all you need to do is Reinstall it from the Google Play Store.
Click on the Settings tab on the top right corner, and then click Full Unroot. Confirm with 'Continue'.
Once this operation is done, which takes a few minutes, you can reboot your Android.
Uninstall SuperSU.( If Exists.....)

If you already have a custom recovery (ClockworkMod or TWRP) installed then you should be able to flash the Superuser recovery zip which will remove any other binaries/files related to other superuser apps in the process.
The SuperSu app may still be installed but you can un-install that yourself as you would any other app.
Quote from Superuser play store description:

Manual installation with the recovery zip:
Recommended if you are having installation issues or are not rooted
  http://download.clockworkmod.com/superuser/superuser.zip

will this wipe my phone data?

It shouldn't, it will just remove any remnants of any previous superuser (or SuperSU) install and then copy the files it requires. As RossC mentioned, there is probably a similar zip file for SuperSu if you want to keep that app instead.

Android 4.4. SuperSU is still here, but SuperUser is running normally. Thanks.

It might not remove the SuperSu app itself. You should be able to uninstall/remove that manually.

Can I remove SuperSU?

@Jamie yes, see my updated answer.

HELP!!!!!!!!!!! My superuser app disappeared! However my phone is still rooted. How can I get back my superuser?

let us continue this discussion in chat

Sorry! I have only 1 reputation.

I tried to install superuser via google play store again, but it was painful.

I can only flash the zip again.

Try flashing the zip again, that will restore the Superuser app. You could try removing the SuperSu app before flashing to see if that makes any difference.

actually, how to get more reputation?

@Jamie, you probably want to read our [help] about reputation and how the site works.

Flash a super user app in recovery. You will need to do this first time usually anyway. It'll take 2 minutes! You won't lose data. Reputation is earned by asking upvoted questions, giving upvoted answers, and accepting answers that are useful to you. The more you partake, the higher it goes!

When i flash the first time, i only take 5 seconds lol

Download Kingroot. If it works on your phone. Then just root the phone using Kingroot. Once in Kingroot, click more options, Uninstall tool, built-in, select "supersu", and simply delete it. Voila, it's gone.

If you have installed them as system apps, use any root browser and delete apks from /system/apps, else, delete them from /data/app and then install anything you like from Play Store. Do NOT flash zip or Google Play updates and any apk of that app will not install.
P.S. SuperSU has uninstall option.

Download 360 Security. Make sure that you are accepting the Permission (Don't Deny it). Open 360 Security--> Apps Uninstall--> select System Apps--> select Super User--> click on Uninstall.

Update supersu
ignore binary installation if prompted
go to settings select "clean up for other supersu app (wait for it to uninstall)
Reboot device and voila I just tried that not 10 minutes ago. I've had that problem for some time and that finally got rid of it not a trace of it on my phone

How to fix the SuperSU binary file issue (at leat on the MXIII-G player)
Install a terminal app from the playstore and connect so you get the prompt.
Become root and check how the /system partition is mounted as read-only (ro), In particular note the device
$ su
# mount | grep system
/dev/block/system /system ext4 ro,relatime,barrier=1,data=ordered 0 0

Remount the partiton in read-write mode (rw)
# mount -o rw,remount /dev/block/system /system

Finally check if it was mounted in read-write mode (rw)
# mount | grep system
/dev/block/system /system ext4 rw,relatime,barrier=1,data=ordered 0 0

Update the SuperSU via the Play Store and reboot when done.

I don't understand this. All you've done here is remount system partition in rw mode and then recommended update of the app. How does remounting the system partition helps? SuperSU doesn't require writing into system partition just to update itself. It is an app, like any other app and the update can be stored in data partition yet the app can remain a system app. Please provide an evidence to support your claim.


text:
Can I reinstall or upgrade Android?
At the moment I have a rooted Samsung GT-S5570. After I rooted it, I noticed that it started to be slower than it used to be.
I have had this phone for over two years. I update my computer's operating system once a year. I am thinking of doing something similar with my smartphone.
At the moment I am running Android 2.2.1. I think that an upgrade would not be ideal due to old hardware. What is the best option? To reinstall Android 2.2.1 or upgrade to a newer version?
In either case, how do I do it?

If you just want to "refresh" it, you could try a factory-reset, which will essentially revert it to a "blank state" (i.e. remove all user-data and user installed apps), so you can start over with a fresh system. You should however create a good backup beforehand – which is not an easy task with Android prior to ICS (pre-4.0). On the other had, this can be done without any "modifications" (such as rooting or the like).
If you consider updating your device, take a closer look at custom roms like CyanogenMod. There might be other ROMs available which are tuned specifically for your device, and thus giving better performance even with a newer version of Android. This installation process however is a bit more "technical", and in most cases requires rooting the device and installing a custom recovery.

Thank you very much for your answer. I really like CyangenMod. I am just gathering information on how to do it!

Check out their website. They often have pretty detailed instructions, specific to the device (if officially supported). If your device is not officially supported, check at XDA, they often have "inofficial ports" (which is where I've got mine), including instructions and community-support (forum).


text:
How to disable lock pattern/pin on lock screen with new Android 4.3 update?
I just did an update on my Galaxy S3 and now it is required that I have a lock on my lock screen. Before the update, I had the simple "Swipe to Unlock."
Now, when I go into
Settings>Lock screen>screen lock, I am unable to select the swipe option. It says "turned off by administrator, encryption policy or credential storage."
Does any one know how to disable any of those so that I can go back to my swipe lock screen? It is really annoying having to type a dumb password in every time i want to get into my phone.

If you've enabled filesystem encryption or have installed a certificate, then the policy is to require a secure screen unlock method. Could you perhaps [edit] your question and add more details about the specifics of your update?

This could also be due to an email account (Exchange accounts can sometimes require device administrators).

Just select the last option in the Security settings, "Clear Credentials".

I have solved this by decryption of memory card.
Samsung Galaxy Phone:
settings-->More-->security-->Encrypt External SD card-->disable.
After disabling go to my device-->lock screen-->Screen lock--> all the features will be enabled.
You will be able to choose your own security now.
Regards,
Hari


text:
Connect headset via micro USB input
Is there any possible way to run a headset that have micro USB output to connect to a Android LG phone by micro USB input?

We'll need more information to give you a complete answer. Which phone do you have? Which headset? What do you want to do with it?
In the meantime, Android Lollipop apparently has native support for USB audio. So if your phone runs Lollipop, you may be in luck!


text:
Can't use ADB with Nexus 4 after 4.3 update
Here's a funky issue. I've been using ADB without any problems on 4.2.1 and 4.2.2 on my Nexus 4 (Stock Android and some CM10-based ROMs). When I flashed a CM10.2-based rom (JellyBro, I believe?) a few months ago, I was never able to get ADB to work, so I restored a nandroid of my previous setup. After a while, I decided to flash the stock 4.3 image  and see if I still have the problem. I do.
The setup?

Phone: Nexus 4
Phone OS: Android 4.3 (Factory)
Computer OS: Linux Mint 15

Okay, the problem?

I cannot use ADB with my N4 on 4.3.
I cannot authorize my computer with my device.

What have you tried so far?

I just tried to use the default feature. The phone should prompt to authorize my computer, but I never get a prompt.
I checked /data/misc/adb/  and the directory was empty.

Even so, I decided to click the "Revoke USB debugging authorizations" option in Developer options.

I copied ~/.android/adbkey.pub from my Linux box and put its contents in  a new file named /data/misc/adb/adb_key on my device.

When that didn't work, I rebooted the device.
When that didn't work, I disabled/enabled ADB on the device.
When that didn't work, I killed adb on my computer, then restarted it.
When a-c didn't work, I did them all sequentially before trying again, which also didn't work.

Exactly the same as above, but put it in /data/misc/adb/adb_keys intead of adb_key (because XDA and other sites cite both filenames).
Clicked the "Revoke USB debugging authorizations" button again. Rebooted the phone, killed ADB on my computer. Still no prompts to authorize.
It only removed /data/misc/adb/adb_keys, not adb_key. So I'm pretty sure adb_key is the wrong filename (despite being cited at a frequency on par with the correct name).
Update my platform-tools and Android SDK packages. No dice.

Can't actually update; I have the most recent version (18.0.1)

Remove and reinstall platform-tools. No dice.
By the way, my permissions for the adb_keys file are 300. Owner is root. Group is root. Or in other terms:
ls -l adb_keys
-rw------- root root

Are you sure this is only happening to you on 4.3?

Yes. I have no problems after installing any 4.2 rom with recovery, or the 4.2.2 factory image with fastboot.

And it's exactly the same issue with factory 4.3 or a 4.3-based ROM?

Yes. Although I've only tried two or three roms, plus the factory image. There may be a magical rom out there somewhere that does work though.

Have you tried any other devices?

I tested adb with my girlfriend's 2012 Nexus 7 running 4.3. It had no issues at all.

Any other computers?

Unfortunately no. I only have my Linux Mint 15 box.

Okay, so that's basically the gist of it. Does anyone else have any clever ideas? (Or does anyone see where I was an idiot and made a mistake?)
File transfers over MTP also work fine.
Flashing the 20130910 nightly build of PAC-man actually gave me working ADB without the need to authorize my computer at all. This is fortunate, but the original question is still up in the air: Why can't I get it to work on stock?

Just to confirm, you've got the latest version of adb? tools/android in your SDK download doesn't show any updates available?

Indeed; As I mentioned above (although with terrible formatting), I did attempt to update, but already have the latest version.

What are the permissions on the USB device, and what does adb devices say? Sometimes different images use different USB IDs.

Try to switch the device into PTP mode (under Settings -> Storage -> USB Computer Connection and  manually select the connection mode...) and connect to computer. Let it install, switch back to USB mode and plug in again.
Update: XDA tread

No dice. Thanks though.

Windows 7
To install the Android USB driver on Windows 7 for the first time:
Connect your Android-powered device to your computer's USB port.
Right-click on Computer from your desktop or Windows Explorer, and select Manage.
Select Devices in the left pane.
Locate and expand Other device in the right pane.
Right-click the device name (such as Nexus S) and select Update Driver Software. This will launch the Hardware Update Wizard.
Select Browse my computer for driver software and click Next.
Click Browse and locate the USB driver folder. (The Google USB Driver is located in \extras\google\usb_driver.)
Click Next to install the driver.

I think you're missing the important step of how you got the Google USB Driver onto your hard drive?

The OP also states that they are using Linux not Windows so I'm not sure how this helps them...

Additionally, leaving your email in a public space doesn't seem like a particularly good idea. I'll edit your answer to remove the email just so that it isn't immediately visible.

I had the same issue and I solved it by updating to the latest SDK tools using Android SDK Manager. The problem is actually on your adb not on your phone.

I my question, I note that I updated my platform-tools package, and also mentioned in comments that I updated to the latest version of the SDK Tools. Thanks for the suggestion though.

This worked for me at first and then it stopped working again! I reflashed my phone to a previous build to fix it temporarily!


text:
Can I collect data from 5 different device with BLE from my Android phone?
I have a custom made device something from https://mbientlab.com/ and I want to collect data from 5 of them through Bluetooth through android phone. Is it possible? I would greatly appreciate a link which shows how to do it? IS using PICONET for BLE is the solution? Is such an app already exist?

Is the problem that the manufacturer's app can only connect to one device, and you need to connect to multiple?

@DanHulme correct.

Since the app would be specific to the protocol the device uses to stream data, you need to talk to the manufacturer about this possibility. Since they advertise an "open source API" for communicating with the devices, it may be that they recommend you develop your own app to do this.
One thing to bear in mind is that the total amount of bandwidth available is not that huge. If you're simply collecting events (such as "the temperature went past a limit"), or if you're sampling data every few seconds, that should be fine (depending on the protocol they've used). If you want to collect (say) accelerometer readings 100 times a second, that might limit you to only one or two devices at a time, depending on what phone you're using to collect the data.

You can connect to one at a time per Bluetooth controller on your phone.
I'm not aware of a phone with 5 Bluetooth controller.

Can you show how through a  link or examples? THANK YOU

No as I am not aware of a phone with such feature. You would basically just connect twice or more and it wouldn't disconnect previous device if your phone was capable.

@Zulgrib That's nonsense. A Bluetooth peripheral can only connect to one central (phone), but one central (phone) can connect to several peripherals - usually up to 7 for Bluetooth Classic, but potentially more for BLE. Apart from that, the connections for this kind of data collection would be very short-lived, so the phone could rotate among all of them.

Enlighten us and add an answer with the solution.


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Notification preview text consists of app name twice
Sometimes when I receive notifications from the Spark email app or Google Maps, the notification text will be the app name repeated twice. For example, notifications from Spark will read "Spark Spark" and Google Maps notifications will be "Maps Maps". If I swipe down to open the notification center, notifications from Spark will display the email message contents as expected.
I have the settings in Spark set to always show the email contents. Notifications from other apps like Discord display the message content on full. This occurs while phone is unlocked and in active use.
I am using an Asus Zenfone 8 running system 33.0210.0210.332, Android version 13.
Why are some of my notifications the app name twice? How do I get the correct notification text to always appear?

If it's not private, could you also state the content of the Google Maps notification?

@AndrewT. I was using Google Maps to get directions to a location at the time.

If that's the case, then I have a hunch it's a custom notification, not a standard textual notification. However, I don't have a device to check or confirm...


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Galaxy s5 Neo. Screen comes on intermittently
(May 14, 2017) In the last week or so, whether my phone is plugged in or not, the phone will just wake up the screen will come on. When this happens, there are no notifications coming in at the time. If I'm in lock screen, the screen will stay on for a short while and if the phone was unlocked at the time, the screen will stay on for as long as I have my screen duration set for. This is obviously a problem as it is draining my battery. While typing this post, it has happened twice. I've deleted any recent apps I've downloaded with no change. There has been a lot of Google updates lately and I suspect one of them is causing this - or - my phone is physically damaged (I am a bit rough with it)
I have ESET Mobile security installed and a scan shows no viruses. My app list is fairly short: beyond the standard apps, I have a Craigslist app, a CraveTV app, Relay for reddit, Netflix, Nova Launcher, Roboform, an SMS Backup app and Zedge.
I would love to hear a few suggestions to try!
Edit :  I downloaded a phone cleaner and discovered an app was still installed (but didn't appear in google play store > my apps) and it was running. It is called Easyconnect (for mirroring phone to the car). Interestingly, it required me to go into developer options and turn USB debugging on. I had uninstalled that app two days ago! I'm wondering if this not be the perpetrator. I'll let you know.

I had this issue with my S5 active. There was no immediate fix, but I was pretty sure it was caused by networks being found. I never saw it happen when I had wi-fi turned off, but I never really confirmed that this was the issue.
Also I had a friend who found 'Air wake up' was on, which was being triggered even without waving anything in front of the screen. So maybe check that.

Thanks. I looked just now and couldn't find an option for Air Wake Up. I'll turn off my WiFi and see if it helps.


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Raise volume above recommended level? message
Why do I see this message on my phone every few weeks?

Raise volume above recommended level? Listening at high volume for long periods may damage your hearing.

When the message is displayed the volume decreases suddenly. Can I turn this off?

It's a European law which states you must be reminded every 20 hours of listening:

The user can choose to override the limit so that the sound level can be increased up to maximum 100dB. If the user overrides the limit, warnings about the risks must be repeated every 20 hours of listening time.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21294537