text:
Google Music not available for Samsung Galaxy S with Android 2.2.1
I have Samsung Galaxy S (i9000) with Android 2.2.1 (Froyo).
Lately I got an invite to Google Music. Android app for Google Music requires 2.2.0, however Android Market keep saying my phone is not capable to run application.
Is there a way how to get Google Music Android client on my Samsung Galaxy S - ?

I thought it was not available outside of the US.

Well, the website works fine, I was allowed to upload my songs, and I can even listen to the music via in-browser player. So, it is available outside US. But not for Android device... :-(

While I understand Google might not like this, and probably it is not 100% politically correct answer, here is the link where you can download APK of Google Music.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1072655
If you enable installation from unknown sources, you can install the thing on your phone, without restrictions.
I tried and it worked. I was able to access my music uploaded to Google and even play it.
That means the restrictions are only settings in Android Market, everything else seems to be free of restrictions.

I'm glad you found a workaround, but don't be surprised if that loophole gets closed. That said, I'm sure they are looking to open it up to more of the world eventually so probably don't care that much. Still, you'll not be able to get any technical assistance from Google if you run into problems. Caveat Emptor.

I see exactly the same thing with a UK Galaxy S running Gingerbread 2.3.3.
From the 3rd paragraph of the description of the app in the Android Market:

Available in the U.S. by invitation only and free for a limited time.

According to your profile you're not in the US, so it won't be listed as compatible with your device.


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Correct text message time after boot up
Every time I have my phone turned off or in flight mode, after I turn it on again, the message sent to me while the phone was down appears to be received at the moment the phone finished booting up.
Is there any setting / work around that could display the time when the text message was sent / supposed to be received?

This might depend on your network, AFAIK the sent time is only available if the network provides it.

Some carriers do attach the sent time with the SMS. I'm not sure if it depends on the sender's or receiver's carrier. And some Android SMS apps let you choose that instead of local phone time. The SMS app in CyanogenMod 7 does for one, but check out HandCent, ChompSMS and Go SMS for alternative messaging apps.

Apparently it's an application issue:

The SMS packet itself that is sent from the SMSC to your phone, has a
  field called SCTS, Service Center Time Stamp, which indicates the time
  that the message was received by the SMSC.
Unfortunately, the SMS application on Android seems to ignore this
  timestamp and instead uses and stores the current system time (in ms
  since 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC).

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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How to force the phone to connect to the internet?
I own Xperia Mini Pro which has Android 2.1-update1. I am facing an issue on Internet Connection. I downloaded the settings for my Edge Connection from my SIM services. Sometimes after downloading the settings it instantly connects to the Internet. But sometimes it doesn't. I can see the APNs on Access Point Names section. Also that APN is selected. But still its not connecting to the Internet. I cannot see Edge connection notification on the Notification Bar.
I want to force the phone to connect to the internet, Is there any way to do that ?

Can you be more specific around when it does have EDGE connection and when it doesn't. Does it depend on where you are or does it appear and disappear even if you stay in one place?

@Dmitry: There is nothing Special about Edge Connection. Its very similar to GPRS.

@Xperia That was not my question. I am asking if you problem occurs when you stay in one place or only when you are on the move (i.e. it works at home, doesn't around the corner from your home)

@Dmitry: Sorry for my wrong understanding. Its happening on both cases.

@XperiaMiniPro Thanks. Have you double checked the APN settings with your carrier (e.g. on their website) to make sure that what got downloaded to the phone is correct? I've seen a few times when downloaded settings were out of date/incorrect

@Dmitry: I am 100% sure that those settings are correct. And they are valid. I was using the same settings for more than 6 months. All of sudden now its giving problem. I have got enough balance.

Finally found a way to connect to internet on my Xperia Mini Pro android mobile.
Go to
     Settings ==> Wireless & network settings ==> Mobile networks ==> Network Mode
Its going to open another window with title as Preferred network mode.
Now try to Select WCDMA only option. Wait for 10 sec. We can see the network is getting reset and try to find the 3G signal.
Now open the same pop up again and select GSM(Edge or 2G) connection. Now again networking related stuff gets reset again.
This is how I force my mobile to connect to internet.

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


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How to put checkmarks on a checklist in Google Docs
Note: This question is specifically about Google Docs on Android, not Google spreadsheet on Android.
Instructions from this page shows how to insert a checklist using the Android app or Google Docs. I was able to follow those instructions on the Google Docs Android app, however, I need to then quickly and easily check off each item. The instructions on that webpage are given for a desktop web interface, because it refers to clicking the right mouse button and selecting an operation, but how do I do that within the Google Docs Android app? Is this impossible?
I currently believe the answer is "no", but I hope someone will prove me wrong about that.

As you know, the checkmark bullet list is not available on Google Docs's Android version.
A not elegant workaround is to insert the checkmark character yourself then realign it.
Use one of the many keyboard apps that provide unicode characters (I used this). Search for checkmark, copy and then paste it on your document. Then realign it to be on the same column than the real bullets as shown on the image.
Disclaimer: I am just a use of the linked app.

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


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Android TV box MAC address keeps changing
I had a MAC address when I was using IPTV on my Android TV box in Turkey. Since I've returned to the UK and plugged it in here, the MAC address keeps changing, and now I can no longer access my IPTV service as it's tied to the other MAC address. The supplier wants me to change my MAC address back, but I can't find any way that actually works.
Why would my MAC address keep changing?

Are you talking about a Wifi MAC address or an Ethernet MAC address? For Wifi Android as the feature to periodically change the MAC: https://source.android.com/devices/tech/connect/wifi-mac-randomization

I just had an issue with a generic droid TV box with the free "IPTV" app Live NetTV v4.8.6 and figured out what was going on kind of by accident. But it was with the IP and not the MAC address. The app has no EPG and no server config so it is not true IPTV but does have several hundred live channels from all over.
I was giving my network devices friendly names in the Access Control section of Attached Devices in my Netgear router when I noticed one of them had the address of 5.128.58.--- (obviously not a home network address). A quick Tracert and google search indicated it is a Russian IP. Gopher.com and a google translation gave the following:
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
IP address, 5.128.0.0 - 5.128.255.255 (92274688 - 92340223). Domain name, l5-128-0-0.novotelecom.ru. Result (IP), Unaccounted for
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
That was kind of concerning so I blocked the device in router's Access Control and found that the TV Box lost internet connectivity. With the app closed I unblocked the device and the normal DHCP assigned address appeared after I refreshed the Attached Devices list.
Knowing that the app has some mild advertising and has to receive the live streams from somewhere, I went ahead and gave the box a friendly name in the router and saved the settings. I then fired up the app on the TV box and it and other apps worked properly. Back at the router the Russian IP appeared but with my friendly name.
This box is wireless. Another wired box with the app does not have the problem. It could be that some router / TV box combinations do not release this data automatically and might lead to confusion about the MAC.

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


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Modify the Chinese date localization in the quick settings of Flyme 8.0.0.0A Stable (SystemUI.apk modification)
I translated the firmware Flyme 8.0.0.0A Stable (RU & UA) for Meizu Note 9 and Meizu 8X, but I can’t kill the Chinese in the quick settings:

The fact is that China’s events are taking place there - the usual date, for example, if you translate from Chinese “己亥 年 十月 廿六” - “October 26.”
Who can help remove this problem from the quick settings? Or at least tell me where to look in SystemUI.apk, I suspect that somewhere in the Smali code. Thanks.

Thanks, but of course I apply localization through morlocal2, because I add to SystemUI.apk folders: "/res/values_ru" and "/res/values_uk", files in folder "/res/values" I do not change. English is the default lang. The hieroglyphs that are shown in the screenshot do not change due to a change in localization, it is written in the smal code itself, or there it is registered for parsing this from a Chinese site, there are some dates that are not current yet.

I think that you are doing the same stuff as I do. I have Meizu 16Xs (Same CPU as Note 9) and I'm trying to actually mod the Flyme 8.20.1.7 Beta (Chinese firmware)- which is by the way IMHO more stable, at least for my device, than 8.0.0.0A. What I found out is that you can in some way partially "convert" the "Chinese" version of firmware to the "Global" by changing the single parameter in /system/build.prop file.
This is the original setting:
ro.product.locale=zh-CN
Try to change it to:
ro.product.locale=en-US
After restarting your device, this will give you the "Global look", which means:

In the quick settings on the top-right, there won't be a "notification setting" icon anymore, but will be changed to "cog-wheel" -> which means it's linked to the "Settings"
In the top left (where you are now seeing the Chinese characters), you will see network carrier info and the current date
You will be able to change the "Region" from the Settings->Language and Time
This also unfortunately will disable some options of the Chinese ROM, which means:

No Dark (night) mode (doesn't work even if found by app "QuickShortcutMaker" and tried to turn it on)
No advanced notification settings available (you won't be able to set the priority of notifications anymore)
No Driving mode
The Aicy link will disappear from the settings menu (this, I don't know why, will stay disappear also after changing the setting back to the zh-CN, and will remain like this until you do the "factory reset", but other mentioned stuff will return back after changing to zh-CN...)
The Digital Health link won't work
The Chinese theme app won't work (can be partially solved by using the CustomizeCenter.apk from the Global firmware, but there will be only wallpapers loaded then, no themes) as I found out, that theme app's functionality relies on the setting zh-CN or en-US.
You won't be able to change the lock screen wallpaper by swiping to the right on the lock screen anymore
And I think there are also some other things, but I won't be listing everything

For the above-mentioned reasons, I'm rather staying with the option zh-CN (as I would like to use these options, which are disabled in the "Global" ROM) and I'm trying to ignore the above-mentioned Chinese characters in the quick settings.
But what I can tell you (hopefully might help) is that I found out what these characters actually probably are: it's probably the Chinese "Lunar Calendar", because, when you go to the settings -> Notification & status bar, there is an option "Lockscreen Lunar Calendar" which you can enable and disable. When you enable it, the same Chinese characters that are shown in the quick settings will be shown on the lock screen.


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WhatsApp reply via notification not working
I am currently on Android 9 Pie. Whenever I get a WhatsApp message and I try to reply to it from notification, it freezes. More frustratingly, it doesn't happen every time but say, 1 out of 3 times it happens.
Steps to reproduce:

Receive a WhatsApp message
Click Reply on the notification
Type message in the notification
Click Arrow (send) button.

Result:
The arrow turns to a circular progress bar and the notification stays like that. The message is not sent.
I have tried clean installing WhatsApp, it still persists. Not sure if anyone else is facing this. No other apps like Telegram or even the SMS app are having any such problem.
Any solution will be helpful. Thanks.

Sounds like a problem with the way WhatsApp is handling PendingIntents.  I think you would be better off reaching out to the WhatsApp support channels as this doesn't seem like it is a problem with Android itself.


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Add WhatsApp contacts in bulk
I want to save 1000's WhatsApp contacts that were not added to the contact list in bulk.

Which is the fastest way to do it?

Store all the numbers in csv file and than
On your computer, go to Google Contacts.
On the left, click More and then Import.
In the window that appears, choose how you'd like to import your contacts
Check that you saved your contacts as a .csv or .vcf file. Then click CSV or vCard file  and then Select file.
Click Import.
Than let the contact sync with your mobile


text:
What sepolicy context will allow any other context to access it?
I am on a bootloader locked Sprint Samsung Galaxy S7, eng boot.img flashed to phone with SELinux permissive, which gives root adb shell from where I can change system partitions, debloat, install Xposed etc. But the kernel is very bad and has RAM leak, and eventually, the phone slows to a crawl. So I unrooted by installing the stock kernel and disabling DM verity to allow a modified system to boot up.
Now, SELinux is enforcing, but I want it to be permissive which will never happen with the stock kernel. I realize that secontext is defined at kernel build times and allows certain things to run.
Another option is to have a higher context to do things like supolicy --live to patch SELinux policy and get full root access with stock kernel. I'm trying to execute a script in the data directory created by my app, but unless seenforcing=false, it doesn't get executed.
I know by using root you can chcon a file/directory. So what is the (source) context that will allow to:

Set mode to permissive, or
Modify the SELinux policy, or
Execute a script on boot without avc denials

Or what is the (target) context that will allow any other (source) context to execute the script?

ROOT USER AND SELINUX:
User root (with UID 0) is the super user in Discretionary Access Control (DAC) implementation of *NIX operating systems. DAC is allowed by-default i.e. anyone can access anything unless UIDs, GIDs and permission mode restrict something. So root can do anything because it's the kernel's SUPER USER who isn't denied anything.
SELinux is Mandatory Access Control (MAC) which is denied by-default i.e. no one can access anything unless a policy rule is defined to allow the access. So there is no SUPER CONTEXT which is allowed to do anything, whatever the UID is. You have to define a rule to allow any operation you want to perform on your device.
Please note that Access Controls (DAC or MAC) are enforced by kernel at back end, who is the actual operating system.
HOW SELINUX IS ENFORCED ON ANDROID?
SELinux policy rules are defined when building ROM and saved as a binary file /sepolicy (or as split-policy). This policy is loaded by init (the very first process started in kernel's SELinux domain) before starting any services/daemons/processes on boot. Kernel starts with SELinux permissive if built with option SECURITY_SELINUX_DEVELOP=y (which is the default as discussed here and here). After loading policy, init - when still running with kernel's context - sets SELinux enforcing (depending on ROM build type and kernel parameter androidboot.selinux (0)) and then switches to init's own context. From here afterwards, even init isn't allowed by policy to revert back to permissive mode (1, 2). Neither the policy can be modified even by root user (3).
However there is one exception to above said rules. On userdebug or eng builds, u:r:su:s0 - which is the context adb shell gets when adbd is run as root (4) or when /system/xbin/su is executed (5) - is allowed to do anything, including setting SELinux permissive (6).
But on a final production (user) build of ROM, the only way to setenforce 0 or to modify policy is to take control of booting process before SELinux is set enforcing by init. That's what rooting solutions like Magisk do by replacing/patching /init and /sepolicy in RAM disk (boot.img). Magisk runs root processes with context u:r:magisk:s0 which is allowed by patched policy to do anything.
Once you have rights (granted by DAC and MAC) to play with SELinux policy, you can define new SELinux policy rules as explained here.
Coming to your question:

selinux is enforcing but I want it to be permissive which will never happen with stock kernel

No. SELinux is set enforcing by init, not by kernel, except if built with SECURITY_SELINUX_ENFORCING=y option (7).

a higher context to do things like supolicy --live to patch selinux policy

There is no higher context that is allowed to do anything. You can't set mode to permissive and can't patch policy on user builds.

what is the (target) context that will allow any other (source) context to execute the script?

As said, there is no higher source context that can do anything to others. Likewise there is no lower target context that lets others do anything.
Also when executing a script, there isn't necessarily a single target context. Every file that the script uses (binaries, configurations, logs etc.) may have its different context label. And typetransitions can change source contexts too.
If you want to modify policy, you can get all avc denials from kernel log and then define new SELinux rules accordingly:
~# dmesg -w | grep avc:

Solution:
Since you are already on eng build, only replace kernel binary (zImage) in your boot.img if you want to replace kernel. Otherwise you get stuck by using init and sepolicy from boot.img of a user build.
On eng build:

/init doesn't set SELinux enforcing on boot (8)
/sepolicy allows root adb shell to do anything including setenforce and load_policy as explained above

If your kernel is built with SECURITY_SELINUX_ALWAYS_ENFORCE, you can't  set SELinux permissive once set enforcing (9).
RELATED:

What special privileges “/system/xbin/su” does have w.r.t. root access?
How to fix SELinux “avc: denied” errors when launching DNSCrypt as init.d script?


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emoji issues or in other words you could say problems
On a Samsung Galaxy Exhibit, is there any way to show emojis in text messages or in social media apps?

Emoji are only supported on Android Jelly Bean 4.1 and up. I see that the Exhibit did have an update to Jelly Bean, but not all carriers necessarily provided that. Check your Settings, About, to see if you've got it. If you do, and you're still not seeing emoji, you may wish to try an alternate SMS application, such as GoSMS, to see if they function in that one, as Samsung may not have provided support in their messaging app. If they're still not working even with that, then it's possible Samsung didn't include the emoji functionality in their modified version of Jelly Bean, in which case you're likely SOL without rooting or custom ROMs.

Diddent quite understand that. But I i
 think I can answer:
What's you android version only 4.0 and higher has emojis.  (go to settings, my device and look at android version) you can get emojis on Android version 4.0 and bellow but you have to be rooted.
If you want to type emojis, download SwiftKey+emoji (free)  from play-store


text:
How do I access to my WhatsApp backup in Google Drive?
My phone was stolen and I was unable to reclaim my number from my telco. Therefore, I'm not able to log in to WhatsApp with my stolen number. There are very important messages and contacts that I have to retrieve, and I knew that the backups were in Google Drive, but I can't locate the backup file.
Any help that I can retrieve my chat history from Google Drive?

Does simply trying whatsapp on a different phone not work? Login to the same Google account on the other phone and see if the chats download.

There are commercial Products that claim that they are able to extract Whatsapp backups from Google Drive:
Elcomsoft Explorer for WhatsApp
Extract and Decrypt Android WhatsApp Backups from Google Account


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Open winmail.dat files on Android
How can I read winmail.dat files on my Android?
I currently get an error message that I do not have an app to view it.

winmail.dat files are Microsoft proprietary files created by Microsoft Outlook and Exchange. Usually Email apps from Microsoft should be able to handle such files. However searching for winmail.dat in Google Play Store shows that several other apps are claiming to be able to open such files.
If you receive such files the sender is using Outlook via Exchange and your contact is misconfigured. Contact the sender and ask to change your contact to plain text format then you will no longer receive such attachments.

Another option might be to open in webmail?  It's been a while, but I recall they should be readable that way.


text:
Set device owner app causes "Workspace has been locked" on Android 8.1 Oreo
I've been using my app as a device owner app since Android Lollipop.
I have a new device here which I want to be a device owner too. It is a Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.5(2018) SM-T590. I am currently running this version of the ROM: T590XXU2ASC1.
I am not using the NFC method. I usually create the /data/system/device_owner.xml file by myself. But since it is not working, I tried this method:

Factory reset the tablet in recovery mode

Pass through the annoying startup menus

Set lock screen to none

Enable USB Debugging

Install my app adb install MyApplicaton.apk

adb shell dpm set-device-owner com.example.myapplication/.MyApplicationReceiver. It always says success when I execute the command.

Start my app, I can pin/unpin my app without problem.

Reboot, and then the famous message appears every time:

Workspace has been locked
Unauthorized software has been installed on your device. Workspace has been locked to prevent any unauthorized access. Contact your admin.

Then if I press on the FACTORY DATA RESET button, the workspace app crashes then pops back.
I tried the kioskModeDemo app and the androidDeviceOwner sample app and they all do the same problem.
Does anybody have any hints of why this is not working anymore on Android 8 Oreo?

I found the problem: once you OEM unlock (custom OS) your device on a certain Samsung Knox level API, you can't be the device owner anymore on this device.
This is from Samsung Knox page:

"Cannot create work profile" "The security policy prevents the creation of a managed device because a custom OS is or has been installed on this device".

The device could be vulnerable to potential attacks with custom OS.


text:
Bootload TWRP on Samsung device
I have an unlocked UK/international Samsung Galaxy Note 3 LTE (SM-N9005 hltexx) on Lollipop 5.0. How do I get to use TWRP when I bootload to recovery?
Every time I try TWRP on my phone, the recovery mode seems to disappear and I get "Odin mode downloading, don't turn off your device".
Volume up OR down with Home and Power will not do it.
Neither will adb. Nor any other tutorial I found and a few tutorials later. Why couldn't it just work using the official TWRP app instructions?

Flash the BTU version for your ROM. Download and full Instructions on fw.updato.com
Flash TWRP (tar) via Odin AP. Download and full instructions on forum.xda-developers.com
Immediately reboot into recovery without ever booting into system. If you boot into system this will brick your phone and you have to flash stock rom again.
Format Data from TWRP recovery (Wipe -> Format Data -> type yes). reboot recovery.
Now copy the following files via USB (MTP) to Internal Storage.
Install the no-verity-opt-encrypt.zip or Disable_Dm-Verity_ForceEncrypt.zip from TWRP. reboot recovery.
Install Magisk zip. reboot system. wait for the boot about 20 minutes. you are rooted now.
Note: If you see errors in TWRP, goto Advanced -> Copy Log, get the recovery.log from USB (MTP) and find the more detailed Error Messages


text:
Moving Chrome saved passwords to Brave browser
Is it possible in any way to replicate Chrome passwords to other Chromium-based browsers such as Brave? I have a rooted device. I tried copying the "Login Data" file from the Chrome data folder to the Brave data directory. But Brave didn't pick it. And there is no option to import CSV passwords in Brave browser.
The desktop version of the Brave browser has an option to import CSV passwords, and I did that, but there is no option to sync passwords between the desktop version and the Android browser.

Reading Brave support page it seems that you need to

install brave on your desktop machine
Import your chrome profile https://support.brave.com/hc/en-us/articles/360019782291-How-do-I-import-or-export-browsing-data-
Sync your android phone with brave installed on your desktop. https://support.brave.com/hc/en-us/articles/360021218111-How-do-I-set-up-Sync-

So far, not yet. The Brave Dev team said it's on the roadmap, there are several overlapping issues (with sync, bookmarks, general browser data and specific password import/sync) but there has been no feedback from the Devs on an implementation timeline. Very frustrating. Brave is a great browser and has lots of potential, but if it's to compete with the other browsers it has to include basic features that users expect. Password sync, or at least import and export on mobile/laptop/desktop, is one of them. Payment, Address and other browser data would actually make it comparable to other browsers...


text:
SD card unexpectedly removed
I have a galaxy S3 with a 32gb class10 sd card.
Unfortunately I experience the SD card unexpectedly removed - Preparing SD card phenomenon all the time. The card works ok as long as it is being used: I watch videos, mp3 etc, even on pc.
I tried formatting a couple of times and I also checked on other S3 phone which presented the same problem. I checked a 16 GB class 10 card on my phone which worked ok!
I read somewhere that this is a JB problem and that I should wait for 4.2 (I'm on 4.1.1 now)
Another solution explained that I should root my phone and do this:

Edit files in the folder /sys/devices/virtual/bd i/179:
  0/read_ahead_kb by pressing and holding the read_ahead_kb then choose
  open in text editor.
Note: Other phones don't have 179:0.. but is ok 179:8   Replace the
  numbers in it from the default (128KB) to 1024 / 2048 / 4096
  (according to taste max = 4096) and then save and exit.

What are your thoughts? is it JB or the Card?
I should also mention that the removing/rescanning my card is killing my battery very fast.

First thoughts: Please improve spelling. I tried to fix most of it already, but for two paragraphs I had no idea what it should like ("Edit files in folder..." and the following). It's not clear to me what those mean. Would you please edit/update that part?

when you formatted the sdcard, did you format it on the device or did you format it from a pc?

i am also not quite sure what the guy meant... im quotinig someone else

My thought: It's the card and/or Samsung's firmware. I personally have a Galaxy S2 with a 32GB card (that runs CyanogenMod aftermarket firmware, i.e. Jelly Bean 4.1, for some days now CM10.1/Jelly Bean 4.2.1). Never experienced that problem here (it's only a class4 card though). Regarding the battery problem on rescanning: Well, depending on the fill level, Android has to sift through a massive amount of files/data.

Sounds like an SD card problem to me. I've experienced similar problems a few times over the course of the years -- a card that has worked ok for some time has started to get "ejected" by itself. Changing the SD card has always solved the problem. .. Hmm. Except once but that phone turned out to be a very problematic case in a number of ways.
So, try out changing the SD card, I would suggest.

That's what I did, after some time, tried another sd card and it worked ok

Glad to hear @krasatos . Now, if you wouldn't mind marking my answer as The Chosen One (or what ever the heck it's called in here) I would appreciate that (as it would give me some reputation points -- and remove some of the dorky limitations of what I can(n't) do in StackExchange.
Thanks.


text:
How to stop fallback from H+ to 3G data
Is it possible, and if so how, to lock the phone to using H+ for data and not dropping back to 3G? I suspect it isn't (firmware of the radio hardware I'm guessing) but there's times where I would be willing to take the battery hit to keep my data on H+ (specific application with data demands that doesn't like dropping back and forwards to 3G).
I'm not talking about changes in signal quality: I can be sitting in a single location, not moving, where both H+ and 3G are available. When data is being requested the phone typically goes to H+ as it is faster. Once the data demands reduce it drops back to 3G. I have read in a number of other places that this is on purpose to save battery. However my issue is that one app I use doesn't handle the transitions well so I'd like to stop the auto-fallback.
Android 4.2.2 on Samsung Galaxy S4 mini, Australian networks.

Thanks for the update! I've integrated it with your original question (and removed my comment, as it got obsoleted by those details), to make it more obvious. Which means, we can remove these two comments then as well :) The answer, however, I have to defer to someone else. As you already did, I suspect that being dealt with by the radio or at least deep in the core. From your description, it might be related to fast dormancy, but I'm not sure about that.

That cannot be done, baseband chip determines signal from nearby masts, continuously scanning depending on area you are in. That is outside of control of your device, no can do. The battery saver is in regards to using 2G.

The best thing to do and it worked for me is download the HSPA+ Tweaker from google play store.
I dont know for sure but i think it works by sending extra data packages to trick the provider into thinking you are in need of a higher and faster connection, thus making your phone stay on H+ rather than dropping down to 3g or less.
I had the exact same problem and it is now sorted with this app.
It may use extra data but it is worth it when you need a quick boost, if you have unlimited data allowance you are laughing really.
you can switch the app off within a swipe and a tap so it really is an all round handy app.


text:
How to add root permission to some app by myself?
Is there any way that I intentionally grant root permission to some app? Not automatically via SuperSU when a specific app asks for root permission, but in a way to pick an app via some tool and grant it root permissions.
For example, I add my favourite text app to the approved list and then I can open root files via that app.

I have found a way that may help you. I used this to grant root access to Tasker.
If you use the terminal emulator to grant read but not write access to a folder using

su
chmod 775 /location/of/folder/

then your text editor will be able to read that directory and so if you can then try to save a file in the folder then it will try to request root permission.
It may also just give a write error.

All directories in /location/of/folder/ from root to top must be readable/traversable. Also SELinux may deny access. So this approach is rarely practical.


text:
Phone won't turn on after attempting to upgrade Galaxy S to ICS
I tried upgrading my Galaxy S to ICS like I did my Galaxy S2.
I used the exact same steps. However, Odin froze and shut down. So, I unplugged the phone, powered off, and went to power back on in download mode. It didn't show any signs of life now. I've taken out the battery, put back in, but still nothing. When I plug it in, it doesn't even come up with the charging symbol.
Please help.

Where did you get the update? What update did you use? There's no official update for Android 4.0 (ICS) for Samsung Galaxy S.

GT-I9100_SEB_I9100XXLPQ_I9100OXXLPD_I9100XXLPQ.tar.md5 is the name of it, I got it from here: http://androidfirmwares.net/PhoneFirmware/Download/27   .... After looking at it, I am seeing that this was for the S2 and not the S... Do you know how i can fix this?    .. This is the youtube vid i watched on how to do it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhFylo56esg ...

That file is for a GT-I9100 or Samsung Galaxy S2! Its not meant to be flashed to other models. You've probably bricked your Galaxy S by flashing that update.

Yeah, that's what I am afraid of! How do i fix it!!?!???!? Can you "un" Brick a phone? Is there some sort of device that i can buy and plug into it to make it work again?

I'm afraid the mobile is dead... You've flashed a different bootloader, different recovery and possibly you've messed the phone partitions.


text:
If we install the apk outside the Play Store, does it affect Google Play statistics?
If we install the apk outside the Play Store, does it affect Google Play statistics?

NO, apps installed outside Google Play do not affect statistics.
Those apps are considered to be coming from Unknown sources,
and you cannot install them if you do not manually allow (or check) them in
Settings > Security > Unknown sources.


text:
Backup app data without root and no micro USB port
How can I backup an app's data (i.e. Angry Birds scores and achievements) on my Nexus 7, running Android 4.2.2? My tablet is not rooted and my micro USB port is damaged, disallowing me to connect to the computer.
Any suggestions?

What is your goal? Protect yourself from a factory reset? Move data to a new device?

Have a functioning BlueTooth?

I have a functioning Bluetooth

I am getting a new phone so I would like to transfer app data to the new device

Probably Koush's Helium [which used to be Carbon previously] might be of help for you.

Helium does NOT require root.
All Android users can use Helium to backup and sync Android
  applications.
Helium lets you backup your apps and data to your SD card or cloud
  storage [Dropbox, Box, Google Drive].
Android to Android app sync [With Helium, you can sync app data from
  your other Android devices -- even if they are not on the same
  network].

I am not sure if you have to connect your device to usb if you want to sync to cloud though. I have not used this feature as of yet.

Helium was my first thought too, but it won't work in this situation, because it has to be activated from the desktop application, which requires the USB to be hooked up.

This is a difficult situation, but Google might come to your rescue. In 4.1.1 (on an AT&T SGS3, at least), in the Settings app, there are Backup and reset settings (in the Personal group):

Now, despite the checkmarks, I've never actually used this feature, and there are a number of questions I can't answer (and I don't have the time at the moment to investigate):

How often does it back up?
Can it be used to restore to a different device?
How can you know that any given app is backed up?
Where are the backups stored on Google's servers / can a user access the backups in Drive?

You might need to experiment, or do some googleing. I just wanted to get at least this much up here so you can start.

I have a functioning Bluetooth

Backup via SSH, FTP, SMB, WebDAV, Dropbox, Google Drive.... all via File Manager.
I use it to transfer files back and forth and it works a delicious treat. I highly recommend this application.


text:
Do any SVN servers exist for Android?
Just upgraded to a new phone. So, I have my old one with a cracked screen lying around. Is there any way to run an SVN server on it for a few projects I am working on with a friend?
Its low power and small size makes it ideal for a task like this.

One SVN app is available in Google Play.
But I think it can work as SVN Client only,
I haven't tried it though.


text:
Download any Android apps on SD card
How can we download the files directly to SD card rather than phone memory on Android phones?
Is it possible?

Let's say: without rooting the device, it's quite unlikely to be possible.
On a rooted device, one could symlink the download folder to a folder located on the SDCard, and thus trick the system to directly download to the card (the way Link2SD works with installing apps on SDCard).

It is not possible AFAIK
Look at those two links:
http://forums.androidcentral.com/android-applications/246277-download-install-apps-sd-card.html
http://androidforums.com/samsung-galaxy-precedent/620201-there-way-download-apps-straight-sd-card.html
but you can download it and move to sd card. For that see this link


text:
Galaxy S2 on Android 4.0.4 won't vibrate
How can I set my phone to just vibrate? No sound; just vibration. I just got the upgraded version of the S2, and my phone won't vibrate. I tried everything.

Do you have the "quick toggles" in your notification area when you "drag down" the notification bar (IMHO the S2 has this by default)?

SGS2 Notification Area (click image to enlarge)
If so, simply tap the "speaker symbol" there to switch modes between "ringtone", "vibrate", and "silent" (the symbol then will switch as well to indicate the current mode).

Go to System > Sound > Ring mode > Vibrate.


text:
Send SMS from PC through Bluetooth
I have an HTC Amaze with Android 2.3.
Is any way I can send and receive messages on my PC via Bluetooth to my phone? I tried to connect with MyPhoneExplorer app, but its does not support HTC Amaze.

Related: Is there a SMS to bluetooth router app?

KDE Connect is marvelous for this and many more purposes, because you can simply share any text via the clipboard, even between phones directly! I marvel again and again at how it just works...

If you're a gamer at all, you might be interested in using something like Razor Comms!
http://www.razerzone.com/comms
It is a free VoIP program created by Razor that will give you an ingame overlay of your communications, including your phone. It also can do this out of game. It has a call forwarding and SMS forwarding feature that will allow you to answer calls and respond to text messages while on the computer. Even if you're not into games, the VoIP still works very well.

Remote Phone Call is much more polished for SMS to PC.
https://www.justremotephone.com/

I former times I have used MyPhoneExplorer application. It was initially released for SonyEricsson but later added android support.
You can stablish a bluetooth connection between this app and your phone.
Website: http://www.fjsoft.at/

I have HTC Amaze and this device does not support it. Is there any other application.

You can ask at their forum too: http://www.fjsoft.at/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12336 because I see other HTC devices working there.

Everything is Ok, but when it is connecting through Bluetooth its stops on detecting phone model. it means it does not support HTC Amaze. Also it is not in the list.


text:
How to fix Facebook (Build 14...), download manager process on Samsung Galaxy S2
I have a Samsung Galaxy S2 Model Number (SGH-I727R), running Android 4.1.2.
The problem that I am encountering is that there is this Facebook (Build 14....) thing that is running in my drop down menu. Unfortunately, that is all I can read on it because the rest of the brackets are cut off. It looks like it is trying to download something. When I hold my finger over it to get info, it says Download Manager version 4.1.2, followed by a long model number.
I am not sure how to end this process or get it to finish whatever it is trying to do. I've tried restarting my phone, uninstalling Facebook and then re-installing it. The problem still persists.  Please help me. It's just really annoying to constantly see that downloading icon running all of the time, and nothing is happening.

Go to downloads, click on it and send it to trash. Worked for me.

I hope this is your problem,rt?
just go in downloads,select other downloads and it will appear facebook build 141046 and then select that and click cancel.
OR
settings-->apps-->all-->download manager-->force stop,
disable and clear cache then enable again
Help/More


text:
Games unable to connect to the internet
I have a Samsung galaxy Ace, rooted.
I installed Final Fantasy Dimensions and Sandbox (both are games). They require intial net connection for registration, but I get an unable to connect to network every time.
I am using Wi-Fi. Downloading and browsing via browser works. So, why is the internet not working for the games?

The port the games are using might be blocked at the router level.
Here are your options:

Try using 3G or 4G
or make sure that you are allowing traffic (TCP/UDP) on the correct unprivileged ports (1025 and up) through your router.

Or possibly the OP is running some kind of firewall in which the app needs to be granted permission to access the network?

i even tried the 3g network but nothing happened.....other net apps like whatapp is working but only the games are having the problem.


text:
Play Store downloads failing for subset of apps
I have an issue where Google Play Store will not download updates for a specific subset of my installed apps. I'm using a Sony Xperia Z5 with Android 7.1.1.
When the problem apps attempt to update in the Play Store, the download percentage goes past 100% for a bit at which point it resets to zero and starts downloading again. It tries to download each app three times and gives up. This suggests to me some dodgy cached data somewhere? It also appears like my phone may be having issues downloading the "Google Play security information update" (although I'm not certain of this) as I will often see a notification that this file is being downloaded, pop up, appear to complete, and go away, and then straight away pop up and download again. This suggests to me that it is doing the same thing as the apps in Play Store?
I have tried nearly all the recommended actions for fixing Play Store issues. I have cleared cache and data, and forced stop on Google Play Store, Google Play services, Download Manager, and then restarted my phone to no avail.
I haven't removed and re-added my Google account (which is another recommendation for Play issues) as I'm not sure how much of a pain that will be to re-add?
I tried updating to the latest beta version of the Play Store but that didn't fix the issue and it has been happening for around two months now.
The one thing that has managed to work, temporarily, is to uninstall updates on Google Play Store. This takes me back to a very old version of Play Store but all downloads then work correctly. The problem I then have is Play Store insists on periodically automatically updating itself at which point all the same apps stop downloading again! I'm not sure what triggers Play Store to update itself or how to stop it. Sometimes it happens quite quickly after rolling back sometimes it takes a couple of days.
My only "solution" at this point is to uninstall updates on Play Store each time it re-updates itself. If I happen to miss that this has happened, my phone will sit there happily trying to download the same app updates over and over using tens of gigs of data over a day or two (luckily only on WiFi). Each time Play Store reinstalls itself it also automatically turns "auto-update" (which I have disabled) back on!
The fact that it is the same subset of apps that fail each time is weird too. They are a diverse range of apps, some games, some utilities, some educational so this suggests that it's not the apps themselves that are the problem but some kind of corrupted data/cache issue? Some files that Play Store or the download manager uses that aren't removed when you clear the cache or uninstall Play Store? I feel like if I could just check a log file somewhere as the Play Store fails on a download I should be able to work out what is going on but I have I non-rooted phone so I think my diagnostic options are limited?

I have found a partial answer to this issue. It appears to be related to a Google Play error reported as error 963 elsewhere online. I'm not sure how you get the associated error number as I get no message or sign that anything is wrong other than the download being attempted three times and stopping on the third try?
After looking through endless sites suggesting the same old solution of clearing cache and data and uninstalling updates, I came across a site that mentions the issue is related to the app being stored on the SD card.
Following these instructions worked for me. Basically, all the apps that were not updating were stored on my SD card. After moving them all back to internal storage, I could once again successfully update them.
The only remaining issue I have is if I try and move them back to the SD card (either via the app storage preference or via the auto "you're running out of internal storage move apps to SD card" thing that pops up from time to time) then the next time the app gets an update, it fails to complete again and I have to move it back to internal storage to get it to update.
I can only surmise that for some reason when the app is on the SD card, Google Play doesn't have the required permissions to update the data. Having said that it is strange that uninstalling updates on Google Play also fixes the issue as that suggests that the factory version has the required permissions and this bug has been introduced at a later date.


text:
Recorded calls of WhatsApp
I need one call recording through WhatsApp.
I have searched for too long, but I didn't find the solution anywhere.
From where I could get my own WhatsApp call recordings?

Call recording has different laws in different countries across the globe, so it can't be a standard feature. WhatsApp doesn't record calls, you have to set up manually. But most of the third party solutions don't work either, particularly without rooting phone.

WhatsApp does not record the calls automatically. So, if you didn't rely on a 3rd party app (I can't make a recommendation) and you did not record the call when it happened, you cannot find any recordings of the same. This makes it impossible to get that call conversation back.

WhatsApp introduced recording voice calls in v2.12.45 beta version, which is capable of recording voice calls. It is a leaked internal-only version, which is presently being used by the engineers for testing and debugging VoIP calls.
Thus, depending on the WhatsApp version, you may find it on /storage/emulated/0/WhatsApp/Media/WhatsApp Calls.


text:
Is it possible to play .3gp videos in browser on Android?
I am not able to play .3gp videos with Google Chrome nor Firefox on Android.
Chrome plays the video without image, only sound. And Firefox asks me directly to download the video.
I wonder if there is a way I can watch the video first in the browser, like a .mp4 video. Is it possible?

Which device/OS version do you have?

It's a LNMBBS tablet with Android 7. But I tried with other devices with Android 8 and it's the same thing.

3GP is just a container format - what encoding is used by the video? May be your device just don't support the codec used by the specific video you used for testing.

The device plays the video in its gallery and other media players without problem. Codecs: MPEG-4 Video, AAC.


text:
How to access sd card from computer in marshmallow
Recently I upgraded my cell phone from Android Lollipop(5.1.1) to Marshmallow(6). While setting up the SD card, I choose Use as internal storage option. Now when I plugin my cell phone to my computer I can not see any SD card. So I can not read or write in it externally. Is there a way of accessing the SD card contents through data cable from computer?
I need to mention that, I tried with the option Use as portable storage but faced with the same problem.

I found a solution of this problem. Each time I connect my phone to my computer I have to go to Settings -> Developer options -> Select USB Configuration and select MTP(Media Transfer Protocol). Then I can access the SD card from my computer. It turns out that whenever its needed to connect the phone and the computer this procedure is to be followed.


text:
How to enable ext2 or ext3 partitions?
Does anyone know how I can enable ext2 or ext3 partitions on my LG Optimus V? I have already partitioned my 16GB SD card to 14.5 GB FAT32 and 500MB ext2. When using Link2SD it gives me a mount error. I am rooted but have not flashed any ROMs yet.

what's the mount error message?

Have you tried ext3 instead of ext2? It may be better supported.

I think your ext partition must be a primary one NOT logical - check to make sure that's the case.

I created my partitions using parted and specifically chose "primary" as the answer, so that shouldn't be the problem.

I am not completely certain what you mean when you say enable, so this might not answer your question.
Filesystem support is determined by the kernel, so if the kernel was not compiled with support added for a specific filesystem, you cannot use it. That being said, all android devices I have fiddled with have had support for ext2/ext3 compiled in (I think all Gingerbread devices must have support for ext2/ext3 since they are starting to use it on the eMMC flash instead of YAFFS2).
In order to check that ext2/ext3 is working correctly, I suggest you connect your device to a PC and log on via 'adb shell'. From there, create a mount-point (for example by doing 'mkdir /mnt/tmp') and try mounting manually. SDcards usually end up as /dev/mmcblkXpY, where X is the device number and Y the partition number. Try mounting by doing 'mount -t ext3 /dev/mmcblkXpY /mnt/tmp'. If that works, and you can read and write to /mnt/tmp, ext3 is working as it should.

I have the same issue as OP and tried to follow your instructions. There is mmcblk0p2 device in /dev/block and I tried to mount, but I got an error "mount: No such device". Is there another way to check if ext2 is supported?

In Google Play exists EzyMount, a tool with which you can mount and make accessible devices formatted with NTFS, Ext2-4, etc. for Android 2.3 and greater.

I want to mention that user must use CWM recovery for partitioning SD Card and then swap, after that mount as ext2 or ext4 but not ext3 with Link2SD.
Check if this works for you.

The SD card can be partitioned on a PC using GParted as well, or on-device using AParted. In fact, the 1st is what I did when I used Link2SD. Please note that your answer, as it stands, is probably incorrect.

Some cards do not support creating ext2 partition larger than 6.5 GB (I faced the same in 64GB SD card). Try Mini Tool Partition utility. Once it completes the ext2 partition format, you should not see other in the partition type space holder. It should be ext2. If it shows other, it will never work in the phone. Try reducing the size of the fat32 gradually and create ext2 after that.

all_licenses: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/


text:
Remove Gmail account from Gmail app without removing Google account from the phone
I don't use Gmail for my e-mail. However, I want to use the Gmail app for my work e-mail. So, how do I keep only my work e-mail in the Gmail app, removing the Gmail account from it completely?
I still want to have Play Store and Google Fi to be associated with my account. To my understanding, when I try to remove my Gmail account from the Gmail app, it suggests completely removing my Google account from the phone.
I'm on Android 9.

Using a Google app without using the Google service it belongs to is not an intended use case by Google.

If you do Clear data on Gmail app from Settings app, and restart the Gmail app it asks you to select account. Ignore the Google account and add your non-Google account there. Might work.

I think you can add it as a secondary email, why is it specifically important to remove the other email ?

Emails and Play Store accounts are not related. There are 2 ways

You can remove the account from Android's Settings -> Account management despite its warnings, and then just log back into Play Store with it.

Open the Gmail app, press the hamburger menu, go to Settings, select the email address, and disable sync.

For the record, I have multiple Gmail accounts and change which one I  am using in the Play Store multiple times a day. And I don't use Gmail for emails at all. Underneath, one has nothing to do with the other.

Do you happen to know if this has always been the case?  I might not be remembering correctly, but I thought this wasn't possible years ago.

Very helpful answer.  Thanks.  I made an edit based on what I believe you are trying to convey.  Can you please proofread my edit to ensure my edit is correct?

For me, I have a slightly different need but the same solution applies. For me, I use the unified inbox in Gmail for work (I have multiple work email accounts) but I also need to sometimes check my son's school email.
A solution that works for me is to use Secure Folder (for Samsung) or dual apps (for Xiaomi or other phone makers). This creates two separate profiles with separate Google accounts.
The one asking the question here could then put their personal account and Google Play in one profile and their work emails in the other profile

very unclear how "This creates two separate profiles with separate Google accounts" #thumbs-down


text:
Use flags in Chrome command line without root
I'm using Chrome version 74.0.3729.136. My phone is not rooted. I'm trying to use flags in Chrome command line without root.
I use the guide from Run Chromium with flags. According to that guide, with flags, it can be done.
The guide said:

For production build on a non-rooted device, you need to enable "Enable command line on non-rooted devices" in chrome://flags, then set command-line in /data/local/tmp/chrome-command-line. When doing that, mind that the first command-line item should be a "_" (underscore) followed by the ones you actually need. Finally, manually restart Chrome ...

I successfully set up the flag "Enable command line on non-rooted devices". But then I need to copy the data file to /data/local/tmp/chrome-command-line - and I cannot do that.
I tried:

Command like that:
C*:\WINDOWS\system32>adb shell 'echo --unsafely-treat-insecure-origin-as-secure=TestTest > /data/local/tmp/chrome-command-line'*
The system cannot find the path specified.

Recommendation from Run Google Chrome with flags (not from chrome://flags)
# echo "chrome --sync-url whatever" > /data/local/tmp/chrome-command-line

Use different Android OS (5-7).

Use construction like the following for copying files:
run-as com.example.app "cat /sdcard/temp_prefs.xml > shared_prefs/com.example.app_preferences.xml"

but nothing happened.
Anyone has tried it?

It worked. You need to set the flag and next, from the command line:
adb shell

shell@:/ $ echo "chrome --user-agent=MyUser" > /data/local/tmp/chrome-command-line

To confirm it, you can download the file from the phone
adb pull /data/local/tmp/chrome-command-line C:\


text:
Force proxy to be used by all of my Android applications
I'm looking to force some applications on my phone to use a proxy whose certificate is installed on my phone. Some applications (like Instagram, YouTube, etc.) are using this proxy and I can sniff the communication between my phone and the proxy.
To make this work, I need to use root permissions on my Android. I found an app that may help me do this, but I want to use the terminal to achieve this.
Any ideas that could help me would be appreciated.

IMHO your approach is wrong. You will never be able to force every app to use your proxy. Therefore use a separate network that is connected via transparent proxy to the Internet. Then you don't have to configure anything on the device.

@Robert thank you for your response. If I'm not dreadfully wrong the proxy that I am using uses a VPN to encrypt the data coming from my applications, the VPN then send those data to a VPN server that will decrypt them and finally transmit them to my server. So I already have a separate private network that is automatically created by the proxy. I'm trying this new approach because it was suggested here and it seems to be efficient.

Can be helpful: How to set up a socks5 with Android cli?.

HTTP Toolkit does this using an Android app that uses the VPN mechanism to proxy all traffic through your HTTP Toolkit server.


text:
Google's Huawei ban, how will this hit Huawei, since Android is open source?
So, with the latest news of Google blocking Huawei from Android updates, what does this actually mean?
Since Android is open source (via AOSP), Huawei should be perfectly able to continue using Android, and even create their own derivative from it, as the article says.
The only thing that Google could do, is disallowed their Apps suite, with the Play Store (as again per the article). But Huawei should be in a strong enough position to build their own app store and provide their own apps. (Could they use Open GApps?)
In the end, this will force Huawei into a position as a strong competitor to Google, especially, but not exclusively, in their China home market.
So, how should this ban actually hurt Huawei?
Notes:

To keep this question focused on Android, I explicitly exclude the use of what Huawei calls their "Backup OS", but just focus on which parts of Android could be "banned".
Also, I would expect answers to apply to any Android phone manufacturer, not Huawei specifically (Or is there something special about Android on Huawei devices I did miss?)

Building you own store is easy. Plenty of stores are out there. Building replacement APIs of Play Services (a plethora of useful apps are dependent on Play Services APIs, including the safetynet API upon which financial apps depend) can be very hard. And that wouldn't guarantee a smooth user experience either. Huawei furthermore cannot build an app ecosystem around itself. Microsoft with millions at disposal tried to build the app ecosystem for Windows phone, and then packed up from this business a few years later.

XDA has a good article here: https://www.xda-developers.com/google-revoke-huawei-android-ban-blacklist/

@Firelord A great article indeed. But I still have a hard time understanding why they can not simply go the ASOP+EMUI route, even without preinstalled GApps. Installing OpenGAPPS with LineageOS was easy enough for me, with a little help this should be doable for anyone.

"with a little help this should be doable for anyone." I know some non-tech-savvy users who don't understand and are afraid to even touch the Android's Settings app... I'm not sure if they are comfortable enough to access Recovery mode and flash Open GApps...

I was asking myself the exact same question. Does anyone know what is the procedure for a vendor to ship its Android version with the playstore pre-installed ? (because I guess that's what their collaboration with Google leads to. It's to have access to the playstore, hence all the Google apps)

@ArthurAttout This is a good question - I suggest you just ask it separately.

Its been 2 years since this post, I had a similar question and was redirected to this post. But there are not much details in this post. If anyone has any new info about this then please do share them. Anyway I am gonna do a bit more research on this buy I hope @Marcel has some more insight about this by now.


text:
Is Qualcomm safe to keep on phone or is it a security threat?
I have a lot of stuff downloaded on my phone like com.qualcomm.qti.simsettings, all starting with Qualcomm.
Should these be on my phone? What little I did read it said security threat. Should I delete all these?

if these apps were downloaded instead of being installed by the OEM then this is a real security threat and you shoulf remove them

Yes. They are completely safe to have.
In fact, they are helper programs for Qualcomm parts, for example the SoC, the modem, or another chip in the phone.
Do not try to remove or disable them - your phone will sooner or later run into random issues.


text:
Reinstall system app which is uninstalled for the current user?
I have already posted this on Reddit, but I might reach a better audience here.

I "uninstalled" Google Play Games using this guide by XDA. Now I need to reinstall it. This is the command, how I should be able to reinstall the app: adb shell cmd package install-existing <name of package>. But there is one problem: My phone is on Android Lollipop, and the command doesn't exist there. I manually tried to install the apk back, with adb and with the normal package installer. The Settings app always says something like "Not installed for user" (translated from another language).
So I have 2 questions:

In which Android version was this command introduced?
How can I get this app back?

PS: I have root access, but would prefer a non-rooted solution.

@Firelord dumpsys (Play Store): https://pastebin.com/bCApNT0S path (Play Store): package:/data/app/com.android.vending-1/base.apk
dumpsys (Play Games): https://pastebin.com/2r9y7kQp path (Play Games): (Empty)

My apologies. I got confused with Play Store. Instead of using system app path, can you try with this: adb shell pm install -r --user 0 /data/app/com.google.android.play.games-1/*.apk. I tried this approach on Google Calendar app on Oreo and it worked, that's why I am suggesting this.

@Firelord it says 'Success', but still 'Not installed for user' in Settings. Damn, I got a headache from this. Screenshot here.

Last resort would be a factory reset. But looking at the help of the cmd command, it might be worth trying adb shell "cmd package compile --reset com.google.android.play.games". Also, though I doubt it works it cannot hurt: pm enable --user 0 <pkg>, pm unhide --user 0 <pkg>.

In XDA developers forum, I found that the command adb shell cmd package install-existing <name of package> can reinstall an uninstalled system app for the current user. But, when I tried it in my Android 7.0 smartphone, it showed an error that the command install-existing could not be found. Can this command be modified to get some result?

pm enable --user 0 worked for me! thanks!

for me cmd package install-existing inside adb shell worked


text:
Low flash memory in Android ZTE phone
In my Android ZTE, I'm trying to upload things. Let's say, I'm uploading a resume, I will get a message saying it can't be delivered due to low memory.
I have deleted things like games and pictures that I thought consumed my memory, but still, I get that message.
How do I increase my phone's free flash memory?

Upload fails when destination storage limit exceeded, which is most likely not related to your storage. Anyway, there is no way to increase flash memory.
Without root permissions you can "clear cache" from app settings. youtube and chrome are good candidates.
With root access you can do a little more, but at least external MicroSD Card is required


text:
Controling YouTube using keyboard with Samsung Dex
In the YouTube app using Samsung DeX, I can't figure how to use the keyboard to do things like turn the volume up/down, pause the video, and things like that.
It looks like the app is not configured to take input from the keyboard.
Is it possible to control YouTube using just only keyboard? Is there any workaround?

Looks like pressing Meta + ! (exclamation mark) will show a shortcut list? Have you tried it?

Tried, the shorcut list is about the system keymapping

What keyboard do you have?


text:
Low storage and Play Store problems after factory reset
After I did a factory reset (twice; once through settings, once through recovery mode by clearing eMMC), I got a "low storage space" error. I can't get rid out of it - tried clearing cache and uninstalling every pre-installed app I could.
It's a generic Android device from Amazon (China) for $40, so of course, it reports tons of free space.
The main problem is that I can't install any apps. Google Play doesn't update. From the old store, I can't install anything, error 504. Installation of .apk's fails too, for an unknown reason.
Something weird happens that I can't understand: after a while, when I try to open Google Play Store, it says "app isn't installed". More curiously, restarting fixes the issue!
TL;DR I want to be able to at least install apps. The main issue is low storage. Factory reset doesn't work.

Where does internal storage point? Also, what Android version? Oops, 2019. Muh bad

If you have a SD card slot you could format a storage card to the phone and configure that card to be your default for app storage. That could give you a better platform to start downloading the apps to your phone.


text:
Emojis sent from a Samsung device appear as "two question marks" on the recipient's device
I recently switched from my iPhone 7 to a Samsung Galaxy S10. However, for some reason when I send emojis, the recipient receives two question marks.
I've exchanged my phone, but the problem remains.
How can I fix this?

If the recipient doesn't use a device that supports the specific emoji, this happens.
Example:

All the emoji on Android Oreo (8.0) aren't on Android Lollipop (5.0)
Not every emoji on iOS is supported on Android or vice versa

If you are sure that their device supports the emoji, I don't know then.


text:
How does android transfer with bump apps work?
I've come across several apps which allows the user to transfer data (like files, photos, contacts) when they "bump" their phones.
An example is Bump, which use the the bump to transfer files and add friends. The FAQ stated that this app uses various sensors and algorithms to "feel" the bump and the server will find matching bumps according to the sensor reading and algorithms. The FAQ also says that this app was designed with personal and data security in mind.
How exactly does it work? How does it know that I am toasting/bumping with another person? I mean I don't think GPS can track the phones that accurately. And how does it transfer the contacts and photos? And how can it correctly determine who is toasting with whom if there are multiple users in the same room? How is the security and confidentiality protected?

Q: How does Bump work?
A: There are two parts to Bump: the app running on your device and a smart matching algorithm running on our servers in the cloud. The app on your phone uses the phone's sensors to literally "feel" the bump, and it sends that info up to the cloud. The matching algorithm listens to the bumps from phones around the world and pairs up phones that felt the same bump. Then we just route information between the two phones in each pair.
Q: No way. What if somebody else bumps at the same time?
A: Way. We use various techniques to limit the pool of potential matches, including location information and characteristics of the bump event. If you are bumping in a particularly dense area (ex, at a conference), and we cannot resolve a unique match after a single bump, we'll just ask you to bump again.
http://bu.mp/faq
Your phone has some idea of where you are using cell phone cells or wifi networks, the are several applications that use that. GPS would only work outdoors. So using time of the bump and somewhat accurate location provided by either cell phone cells or wifi networks it can see which two phones are bumping.

I think location provided by cell network are very rough and not very precise, which increase the probability of collision if time and network location alone are used. There's gotta be additional ways

They are rough, however if you compare time and location you narrow the possibilities, so it's just a combination of time and location.


text:
What Android app replicates the iPhone Siri (voice recognition) functionality?
The new Siri app on the iPhone looks pretty intersting (at least from the videos).  Is there an application on Android that matches or improves on the same functionality?  Specifically, something that doesn't require the memorization of robotic voice commands?
I have tried Vlingo, but for many requests it just seems to perform a Google search which leaves you in a web browser without voice functionality.

Google Voice Search has come a LONG way since 2011 and has similar functionality (and sometimes) better then Siri now.

There's nothing (at present) that can do all that Siri does.
Depending on your needs you might be able to get close.
Lifehacker had an article about your current alternatives: How to Get a Siri-Like Personal Assistant on Your Android Phone for Free
To summarize: You'll need one of the following (or a combination):

Google Voice Actions for Android
Vlingo
Edwin
SpeakToIt Assistant

Update: terryk2 points out Iris, currently in alpha testing, which is by the developers' own admission a direct response to Siri.

Google's looking into a real natural language search app: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Google-X-Working-on-Siri-Alternative-for-Natural-Language-Searches-240702.shtml Not out yet though

Any updates in the intervening two years? There are phones like Moto X now, that can listen continuously.

While still in alpha, it may be worth checking out Iris.  It's got a limited set of Siri's functionality, but it looks like it could be interesting to watch it grow.

That would be Google Search, which also has voice command abilities. Although I am not sure how intuitive the commands can be given, compared to Siri.

There is an app called Skyvi in the android market. Initially I used IRIS, but it was quite buggy. This is comparatively better in my opinion. It's humorous as well.

I'd say Vlingo is probably the closest but doesn't have the contextual power that Siri does but it's very close.


text:
Is there a way to change the "text to speech" person's voice?
By default, it uses the robotic woman's voice for reading text to speech.  Is there a way to change the voice to something else?

Related: http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/821/how-can-i-change-the-voice-used-for-the-navigation-app-on-android

Yes install some other TTS engine like, this or this. And as the market page says,

To enable it:
  1. Menu > Settings > Voice input & output > Text-to-speech settings
  2. Check "eSpeak TTS".
  3. Set your "Default Engine" to "eSpeak TTS".


text:
Do Verizon 4g phones degrade to 3g when 4g is not available?
I'm thinking about getting a Verizon Android 4G phone. But I have a question about how 4G works...
4G is supported in my city, however if I move into a part of the city where 4G isn't covered or it's spotty, does the phone degrade to 3G service (assuming that is available)?  Or does it degrade all the way down to normal slow cell service (the same service you get when 3G isn't available)?

I will say yes, but, that answer doesn't necessarily hold true 100% of the time. It really depends on the bands that the device supports.
On the device spec sheets you will usually see something like this:

800/1900/700

These are the bands that the device will operate on. I pulled these numbers from the Droid Bionic. From that spec sheet, it goes even further and shows that it supports EV-DO rev.A (CDMA/3G), and LTE (4G). So this phone does support Verizon's 3G & 4G networks, which means that if 4G is not avaialble, then it will fall back to the CDMA data network (which is what the device will uses for Voice even when data uses LTE.
The same rules apply for GSM networks like AT&T and T-Mobile. The device spec sheet will say what bands the device can operate on, and if the carrier's network operates within that band, then the phone will work. This is why iPhone users can use unlocked AT&T iPhones on T-Mobile's network, but they only can get EDGE data. This is because the iPhone does not support the band that T-mobile uses for its UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+ (3G/4G) data networks.
T-mobile bands:

850/1900 (GSM/GPRS/EDGE)
1700/2100 (UMTS/HSPA)

AT&T bands:

850/1900 (GSM/GPRS/EDGE)
580/1900 (UMTS/HSPA) (3G)
700 (LTE) (4G)

Verizon bands:

800/1900 (CMDA/EV-DO) (3G)
700 (LTE) (4G)

Sprint doesn't know if they want to use LTE or WiMax so I am not listing their bands.

Yep.  You're pretty much guaranteed that any "4G" phone from carrier X will work on carrier X's 3G network.  Until 4G coverage is ubiquitous it would be suicide for a carrier to do otherwise.

Yes, the current Verizon 4G phones all have support for the 3G network.  As Matthew Read points out, it would not make sense until 4G coverage is available everywhere that 3G is.
If you have an active data connection, your phone will get a new IP address when it lands on the new network (4G->3G or 3G->4G); apps must be able to handle this event (any app that can handle a temporary loss of data on a 3G network should be fine here)
This document from Motorola's developer site includes the following description:

"As the connected device moves from cell to cell, it tries to maintain
  its network connection. It will generally be successful if the network
  type doesn’t change between cells. However, if the device moves into
  or out of the 4G coverage area, the data connection will be dropped
  and your IP address will change. Because this can happen while an app
  has an active data connection open, Android sends an
  android.net.ConnectivityManager.CONNECTIVITY_ACTION broadcast whenever
  there is a change in the network. If your app needs to be aware of
  network changes, register for this broadcast. "


text:
How can I send SMS messages from my Google Voice number without using the Voice app?
I would like to send text messages via Google Voice, as it is the number I give out for voice calls. However, I find sending SMS through the Voice app to be a bit cumbersome. The new widgets improve this somewhat, but it is still awkward.
I would prefer something with an interface more like Handcent or ChompSMS.
Are there any other apps that support sending SMS via Google Voice?

There is a similar question regarding using Google Voice # for some contacts and cell phone # for others. The OP is looking into this
answer which involves getting the Voice Choice app. It's not clear if the app works for SMS though.

As near as I can tell, Voice Choice doesn't do SMS.

Voice Choice 2.0 does SMS as well.  It works well for me.

This isn't the cleanest solution, but it's an option:
If you set up your google voice number so SMS messages are forwarded to your phone, every time somebody texts you, you will receive that text from a 406 area code phone number.  If you send  a message back to that number, it will reach your that person, and appear to them as if it came from your google voice number.  So you can save the 406 number for each contact as a secondary phone number, and set it as the default number to use for SMS.
(if you think the Google Voice app is cumbersome, you should try doing it from an iPhone ;) )

Yeah, I was hoping for something a little cleaner, but if that's the only way, I may settle on that.

If the sending phone number that the recipient sees is your top priority, then I think this is a pretty decent way. But if you also want to manage your text-message costs, then this isn't such a good way since each message sent or received will still count toward the limits set by your service provider; messages that go directly through GV get applied to your data plan instead.

You can get google voice to forwrd your texts as emails; then you just reply to them using the email client on the phone and that goes back to the originator as SMS.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/


text:
"My Calendar" and "PC Sync" -- How to Delete?
These two (empty) calendars appear in the list of calendars inside the stock calendar app (at least on HTC Sense setups). I'm not entirely sure what they are but they are both unused and cluttering things up. I know I can hide them but is there anyway to just make them gone? When I select Remove Calendars, they don't show up in the list.
Why would anyone want to sync a calendar to a PC anyway? That's the big advantage to a cloud calendar like Google's...
More Information:
I have installed HTC's desktop Sync app (not for syncing, for development related things).

PC Sync appears regardless of whether you have installed the sync app

You can't delete them but you can uncheck them so no information from them shows in the calendar.
Many folks are still using Outlook for calendaring and need the ability to sync with the desktop.

That must be an HTC Sense thing; no such calendars ever existed on my Droid.
It doesn't look like you'll be able to get rid of them short of rooting your phone.


text:
How to automatically normalize loudness system-wide?
I have to constantly adjust the volume, especially to turn down ads and loud action scenes or dramatic soundtrack swells in video, but turn up to keep dialog audible, etc.  I need something that does this automatically, like a dynamic compressor/limiter/normalizer. If apps are available for this, I prefer those that are free and don't require root.
I have searched the Google Play Store and found nothing with this feature system-wide. Some media players/streamers have it built-in just for their own content (probably excluding ads, usually to handle songs mastered to different levels), sometimes called something like "smart volume." There are many apps that process audio files offline and add a "replay gain" to their metadata, which some media players respect. I'm looking for the same kind of thing, but applied to all media audio output in real-time, including ads.
Windows has "loudness equalization" option built-in to their sound manager, and VLC has it as an effect in the desktop version.
Googling indicates that ViPER4Android may work, but it requires root and I can't find a definitive statement that it has this feature, and it looks like it doesn't easily install on some devices. If it does and is the only option, I would consider rooting.
A great option would be if Android could run LADSPA plugins like Linux.
Is this possible?

I am trying to solve the exact same problem on an Android TV device that can't be rooted and my various searches on Google have brought up this question in the top results over and over. I don't think there is a solution. I would consider looking for a separate bluetooth or USB audio device with a "dynamic range compression" or "loudness equalization" feature built-in.

Related on XDA Forums - Loudness equalization (volume normalization) app/mod for android? which suggests Dolby Atmos, a Magisk module (needs root)

Related on Reddit: How to normalize audio volume in Android? (Automatically boost volume in quiet videos to prevent hearing damage from loud YouTube advertisements.)

Try this https://github.com/ThePBone/RootlessJamesDSP.
The "Output control" is exactly the option you want, but it has other things to.

As on April,  2023 there are following methods:
The avialble applications can be categorised as follows'
I) Real Time Normalization
(a) Across the system: Viper4Android-Android, Realtek driver v6.0.1.6767, Date 30-10-2012-Windows, Realtek-Dolby Audio
(b) Application level: AIMP-Android, AIMP-Windows, double Twist v3.2.1-Android, Cloud Player v1.8.5-Android, many online streaming services
II) Replay Gain identification, linking and saving as separate file without even disturbing meta data: Neutron Audio Player - Android
III) Replay Gain Normalization (Replay gain writing at Meta Data it can be undone, if player is not compatible it will ignore Replay gain): mp3gain, foobar2000, R128Gain_1.0.11_win64_gui.
IV) Loudness conversion (can not be undone to original, such processes generally cannot be lossless): Audacity, etc many apps for windows as well as android.
Note: Perceived volume level or Digital “loudness” is measured as LUFS and it’s negative. Mp3gain 89dB = -18LUFS
I.a.1 The following is experience sharing of Android with Viper4Android 2.7.2.1 on spare phone Xiaomi mi5  lineage 17.1 (Android 10) (Phone Volume 40 to 70%)
i)  Enable "Master limiter"
Output -0db
Output pan 50:50
Threshold limit 0dB
ii)Enable "FET Compressor" with the following settings
operator threshold to -60dB (or -50 to -60dB)
Compression ratio to 10.00:1, (or higher like 20:1 upto infinite)
Automatic Knee untick it,
inflection: 10.8dB
inflection point gain 2.00x,
Automatic Gain-Untick,
Automatic Gain 25.6dB (or 20 to 40dB it will be more effective but in relation with operator threshold )
Automatic attack, untick
Attack to 10ms. (0.1 to 12ms)
Max attack 200ms, (10 to 250ms)
Automatic Release untick
Release 20 ms (0.2 to 25 ms)
Max Release 250 ms (2 to 300ms)
Crest 20dB,
Adapt 2639
Clipping prevention Tick
it is able to normalize loudness automatically tested qith audio volume 88.8dB (-14LUFS) and 105.2 db (-3LUFS), -36LUFS (dB as identified by MP3Gain PC software).
As normalization standard is available so many parameters are not required for audio normalization, once selected it can target -18 LUFS like Foobar plug in /double Twist.
Note:
(i) Even after Audio Modification libraries (AML) is installed, a4v needs SoundFX to be disabled. It is working on Legacy Mode. it works along with Dolby Atmos also.
(ii) James DSP is having Dynamic Range Compressor, but not having options to provide necessary inputs /it is not having them built in, it is not able to work as auto volume normalizer.
(iii) Any DSP expected to impure or introduce artifacts to the audio, we may not be able compensate by tweaking with v4a  etc to the original. If you enjoy your own way, you may like it. Further if the function of Auto loudness / Auto volume  level /auto volume normalization is at top priority , it succeeds to great extend android across the system. Tested with pink noise with digital loudness from -3LUFS to -23LUFS. It is noticed if  bass is very high in original the above settings may not be suitable or difficult to adjust to universal setting.
(iv) There is no auto loudness normalization in "Dolby Atmos" in current versions. Dolby Audio is effective which is available at speaker control panel on windows 10.
in my case:
The Viper4Android 2.7.2.1 rootless type installed from TWRP (as magisk module is infinitely trying for installation of driver) even after installing Selinux 11, AML 4.2, Lineage's SoundFX disable or all in one type available at Github.
at present UNINSTALLER for above rootless type is not readily available.
There is noticeable deterioration in sound quality of low frequency with fet compressor of v4a.
I.a.2. or If you are on windows 10 with Realtek audio , install 2012 driver v6.0.1.6767, Date 30-10-2012 (old driver) it will give options “Enhancements" select loudness equalization ’ (sometimes it miss few milliseconds at start of track). This is real-time type as well as across the system, but it's effectiveness cannot be checked with pink noise. It is also noticed that later drivers having Dolby Audio , when made it on , it is also acting as loudness normalizer. However Dolby Atmos is not having any such feature.

I.b.1 or use "double Twist v3.2.1.apk" (i.e classic) Android {for real-time normalization: Settings>Loudness Normalization>on} but it is not able to recognize all folders / audio files.
I.b.2. or "Cloud Player v1.8.5" for Android  by double Twist Corp {for real-time normalization: Settings>Loudness Normalization>on (after buying)} but it is not able to recognize all folders / audio files.
I.b.3. Or use "AIMP" for Android or PC  {for Real-time auto loudness normalization: options >sound effects > options > Volume Normalization> Replay Gain > select / Tick Replay Gain, Untick at  Use values from tags (as not required for real time mode) , Tick on the fly  Analysis> tick (=ok)}. Some times it misses by a few milliseconds at new track.(PC version's UI is not user friendly at present)
I.b.4 or Jet Audio HD Player Android {for Real-time auto loudness normalization: Menu > Preferences > Playback> select "Adjust Replay gain with AGC"}
I.b.5 Foobar2000 PC
Use "EBU or R128 Normalizer" plugin for Real-time auto loudness normalization ( install the plug in , add the same at DSP from preference. It is working ok. Tested with pink noise with digital loudness from -3LUFS to -33LUFS. Working perfectly when started with -33LUFS and going up , it's output was normalized to -18LUFS and verified with Youlean_Loudness Meter 2 vst3 plug-in installing to Foobar.
I.b.6 PC through installation of VST adapter: adding this adapter to DSP compnent to Foobar and using available VST plug in. At present volume normalizer for play purpose yet to be developed.
I.b.7 Many online streaming services

II.1 "Neutron Audio Player" Android It writes replay gain information to a separate file with a reference for location and file name, so even meta data is also preserved. However getting into folder browsing is outdated {Neutron v2.12 Menu (3 horizontal lines) icon> Sources (do not select folders available in options, the following folders will linked /show up at the folders of neutron at later stage )> + > File system > Devices > SD card> now it will come to nearly  modern browser mode..browse to required folder having music files...., select folder > select Tick > it will scan files}
(i) Addition of music folder to Neutron
{Neutron v2.12 Menu (3 horizontal lines) icon> Sources (do not select folders available in options, the following folders will linked /show up at the folders of neutron at later stage )> + > File system > Devices > SD card> now it will come to nearly  modern browser mode..browse to required folder having music files...., select folder > select Tick > it will scan files
, if not hold on folder to get option to scan.(The files inside above folder is not responding/not scanning , delete above folder in above settings of neutron click and hold to get delete option (it is not real deletion at internal drive) , make back and forth , to get refreshed and re-create. If required
select other than previously used folder or super folder or some other sub folder. For using any other than sub folder you have to repeat above process.
{Neutron v2.21.9 Menu , just after fresh installation : select Audio Source as Manual>File System> + > Audio files folder or subfolder (as per your plan and scheme how you want them appear later) >Use This folder > ALLOW >select this folder > click on Tick Icon> Folder on drive will be added to folders of Neutron, if not successful add another folder or subfolder consisting audio files.
if above skipped  or at later stage some more folders to be added : (3 horizontal lines with arrow) icon> Sources > + > File system > + > now it will come to nearly  modern browser mode..browse to required folder having music files...., select folder > >Use This folder > ALLOW > select Tick >.....
(ii) (i) Deletion of music folder to Neutron
To delete folder in neutron app (No physical deletion on inernal drive) : (3 horizontal lines with arrow) icon> Sources > tap and hold on the folder > delete
(iii)Normalize the volume level all files in a folder to -18LUFS
{Menu> Sources> Folders > Click and hold on the required folder to get normalize option >+EQ Preset> Normalize > select Tick}
(Source file will not be affected , even metat data)
(iv) To remove above normalization
To delink above Neutron assigned Replay Gain through Normalize: {Menu> Sources> Folders > Click and hold on the required folder >click again on +EQ Preset}
Note: Some times icons /menu are relocated, please  find them to get navigation options.
III.1 mp3gain.exe {It is the most compatible with Windows as well as Android apps, it is a defacto standard for Replay Gain, until mp3 normalization standard is formed}
or III.2  Foobar2000 v1.6.16 {compatible with Foobar2000 player v.1.16.16, AIMP v3.30.1250 and VLC player v3.5.4 , Jet Audio HD v11.2.3, both windows / Android , USB Audio player pro trial 6.0.3 (Android) but not v6.1.0.0, Power Amp v3b957 (Android), FIIO Music v3.1.7 (Android) }
or III.3 R128Gain_1.0.11_win64_gui {compatible with AIMP and VLC player both windows / Android, USB Audio player pro trial 6.0.3 (Android) but not v6.1.0.0, Power amp v3b957 (Android)} program on PC (freeware) to write replay gain data at meta data of track (or album) without changing any music data i.e music will be as original. If the player is compatible with this replay gain,  data stored at metadata will play the music file with normalized volumes.

IV.1 Normalization open freeware DAW like Audacity etc.
Procedure to Loudness Normalization by Audacity
1)file>Browse to the required files > Open all required files,
2)Select all files,
3)Effect > Volume & Compression>Loudness Normalization>Perceived Loudness (Digital)>.....LUFS>Apply
4)File > Export >...... (processed file will be outlet folder)
IV.2 PC through VST3 for 5.1
Install VST3 plug-in e.g The Normalizer by FinalLoud by TBPro Audio VST3 manager. They are in  advanced audio creation (DAW) etc. It will do permanent changes to music.
In case of real time loudness normalizer, if it is not programmed to know track to track to information or analysis of sufficient length of buffer etc , it may intervene in between / intermittently causing a feeling of unnaturalness or distortion. Same difficult is similar with across system loudness normalizer.

Due to any reason , if you don't want to listen to full length of song, but initial few seconds (like 30 sec or 120 sec or 180 sec or any) , automated preview  of various varieties are available at "Automate Community" a forum of Automate by llamalab.

https://android.stackexchange.com/editing-help


text:
Can't flash custom TWRP recovery image on Motorola Moto G7 Power phone
I've got a brand new Motorola Moto G7 Power running Android 9. I also have Ubuntu 19.04 running on my desktop. I want to root the phone.
I've managed to unlock the bootloader using Motorola's online instructions and the adb and fastboot utilities that come with Linux. The next step is to flash a custom recovery application on the recovery partition.
I'm trying to flash twrp-3.3.0-0-river.img, a new image that I grabbed from here. When I tried to use fastboot to flash the image, I got this error:
steven@steven-OptiPlex-7020:-/Desktop$ fastboot flash recovery twrp-3.3.0-0-river.img
target reported max download size of 536870912 bytes
sending 'recovery' (27584 KB)...
OKAY [  0.741s]
writing 'recovery'..
(bootloader) Invalid partition name recovery
FAILED (remote failure)
finished. total time: 0.742s
steven@steven-OptiPlex-7020:~/Desktop$

Screenshot of the terminal output
After this failed attempt, I attempted to put my phone into recovery just to see what would happen. What I got was a screen displaying the Android mascot on its back with its chest plate opened and a black exclamation point inside a red triangle. The words "No Command" were displayed underneath the graphic. After waiting a few minutes, the phone, on its own, booted normally. My phone's OS seems to operate perfectly fine.
I can only surmise that whatever was originally on my recovery partition from the manufacturer has been wiped and there is now nothing on the recovery partition at all. So, I decided to see if I could boot into the TWRP image directly without flashing it. So, I ran this in the terminal window: fastboot boot twrp-3.3.0-0-river.img. I received this as a response:
steven@steven-OptiPlex-7020:-/Desktop$ fastboot boot twrp-3.3.0-0-river.img
downloading 'boot.img'...
OKAY [  0.728s]
booting...
OKAY [  0.893s]
finished. total time: 1.621s
steven@steven-OptiPlex-7020:~/Desktop$

Screenshot of the terminal output
There didn't seem to be any errors. The phone, however, switched from the bootloader screen to the Motorola splash screen, and then just shut off with no further response.
So, what am I missing? How can I flash this image onto the recovery partition of my phone?

Thanks for the reply. Though, can you elaborate, please? I'm new to all of this. I assume Nougat is an older version of Android? How do I downgrade to another version of Android if I can't flash things? I mean, I would need to flash a new ROM onto my phone to do as you suggest. But, my very problem is that I CAN'T flash things.

Your device don't have recovery partition, it is inside ramdisk. thats why fastboot flash recovery fails - see first screenshot "Invalid partition name"

OK, thanks. But, why are manufacturers doing things this way? Why bundle recovery inside of the boot image and not just have it be its own partition in memory?

G7 Power, being a new device, has the new A/B partition layout, requiring new installation procedures that differ from standard A-only devices. This is clearly outlined in the thread where you got your image from:

This device has 2 "slots" for ROMs / firmware. TWRP will detect whichever slot is currently active and use that slot for backup AND restore. There are buttons on the reboot page and under backup -> options to change slots. Changing the active slot will cause TWRP to switch which slot that TWRP is backing up or restoring. You can make a backup of slot A, switch to B, then restore the backup which will restore the backup of A to slot B. Changing the slot in TWRP also tells the bootloader to boot that slot.
Decryption only works when TWRP is permanently installed.
Installation
To temporarily boot this recovery:
fastboot boot twrp-version-build-river.img
To permanently install it:

Temporarily boot TWRP
Put the TWRP image in your external SD Card or, in case you don't have one, push it to /data with adb this way: adb push twrp-version-build-river.img /data/
Tap Advanced -> Install Recovery Ramdisk -> Navigate to /data or /external_sd and select TWRP -> Swipe to Install
If you previously installed Magisk: Select Fix Recovery Bootloop from Advanced to fix/avoid recovery bootloops
Done! Optionally you can delete TWRP from /data or from your external SD Card now.

Read more carefully next time...

Thanks. But, that's my problem. Read where I wrote this in my original post: So, I decided to see if I could boot into the TWRP image directly without flashing it.
So, I ran this in the terminal window: fastboot boot twrp-3.3.0-0-river.img
I received this as a response: There didn't seem to be any errors.
The phone, however, switched from the bootloader screen to the Motorola splash screen, and then just shut off with no further response. I can't run the image. My phone doesn't display anything. It just shuts off.

Any ideas of how to get around this problem?

So I only answered the less relevant half of the question (i.e. how to install permanently)... I don't see why it would do that (probably related to you using Ubuntu and the fastboot that comes with it, not sure), but I think you should redirect the question to that thread instead.

should i use windows instead? I couldnt find the drivers for windows. when i put my phone into bootloader mode, windows 7 cant find the drivers for it

I managed to use fastboot to flash my device. I used the magisk approach you suggested.

The twrp.img you trying to boot from is for Moto G7 (river). It is the wrong recovery, thats why it fails.
What you want is TWRP for your device Moto G7 Power (ocean).
https://twrp.me/motorola/motorolamotog7power.html
Note: You can root your phone with Magisk without the need of TWRP, as written here.
For devices without TWRP one can port TWRP from similar device, the steps are these:

unpack your boot.img
find recovery inside ramdisk
unpack recovery
unpack twrp recovery
replace kernel, fstab and *init.rc
repack ported recovery
try if it is fine from fastboot boot recovery.img
replace recovery inside ramdisk
repack boot.img
try if it is fine from fastboot boot boot.img
flash boot.img from fastboot (A/B)

Oh yes, how silly as me to have missed the device codename mismatch. +1

OK. Thanks. I used your first suggestion and it worked like a charm.But, now here's another question. How do I UNroot my phone? would I just flash the original boot image that came with my phone? where can i find it? this link was on the page you linked to https://mega.nz/#!L0sHzSKY!323GrDQ8BTsPmKvrSoU7DV-2kJuVris0cWN8Xt3u_6o   but i think that that is a full rom image. how do i extract the boot image from it?

Yes. Use the stock boot.img you have downloaded before. But Magisk have Unroot option and backup of stock boot.img too, it will restored automatically. https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3473445
https://www.didgeridoohan.com/magisk