text:
How to (brute-)force-kill selected background apps?
I need an automatic brute-force method for unrooted Android devices to kill selected apps that keep restarting in the background, i.e. an appropriate "automatic task killer". Ideally, such method entails a kill command running inside an indefinite loop. Two illustrative examples:

In Windows, you can run the following batch script from the command prompt:

:start
taskkill /f /im "process_name"
goto start

In Linux, you can run the following bash script from the terminal:

while true
do
    pkill -f process_name
done

What I need is an equivalent for Android, but unfortunately, I do not have any experience with programming Android applications yet.
I have tested several "task killer" apps such as SuperFreezZ, but you can only terminate processes manually with those. If Android decides to restart a terminated or frozen process against your will, the new instance is not automatically terminated, rendering all these apps useless.
Are there any apps out there that can get the job done? If not, is there a simple way to implement a background script for Android and have it run permanently?
IMPORTANT NOTE: I do not - I repeat - I do not care about CPU/memory/battery usage or any overhead caused by the task-killing app. The sole purpose is to kill selected background apps as soon as they get (re)started, be it by Android or user action. A small app or script that just keeps sending appropriate kill commands every few milliseconds would do the job (hence "brute force"). The assumption here is that one cannot prevent Android from restarting apps in the background without rooting the device, but one can keep force-closing them the moment they are launched.
For better motivation, one (out of several) use cases for me is terminating Samsung's infamous Game Optimizing Service (GOS), which cannot be uninstalled even via adb as it gets immediately reinstalled (reminiscent to malware). When terminated by the user, it gets restarted after several minutes. An appropriate task killing app would automate the termination process for the user and ensure that GOS is running only for a miniscule fraction of system run time. There are several more reasons for me to desire such solution, which I do not want to get into here as it is irrelevant to the question.

Let us continue this discussion in chat.

You can do it using an automation app, plus using adb over wireless as stated by @Andrew T. and @Morrison Chang respectively.
A. Enable Wireless debugging

Make sure that Developer options is enabled.
In the Developer options, enable Wireless debugging.

B. Using Automate
You can use Automate or other apps such Macrodroid, Tasker, etc.

Open Automate, go to Settings.
Under "Privileged & Superuser" section, select "Privileged service start method", then select "Android Debug Bridge (ADB)".
A notification will appear. Press Show. The Developer options will open. Go to Wireless debugging and select Pair device with pairing code.
Another notification will appear. Enter the code shown. Automate will be wirelessly paired using adb.
Go back to Automate and create the flow shown on the picture below.
Press +, go to Date & Time, select Delay.
Press the Delay block, press Duration and enter the duration the block must wait. Press Save.
Press +, go to Apps, select Apps in foreground?.
Set it Proceed to Immediately. Seclect the package (this is the app you want to stop). Press Save.
Link the Delay and Apps in foreground? blocks.
Press +, go to Apps, select App kill. Select the package you want to stop. Press Save
Link Apps in foreground?'s No path to the In path of the App kill block.
Link Apps in foreground?'s OK path to the In path of the Delay block.
Optional, to select all blocks, press on Copy icon, then Paste icon. Change the package to stop on the new blocks.
Press Back button/gesture. Press Start
Give the necessary permissions if requested.
Press Start, select the starting points, then Start. Or press Start All.

Hi, thank you very much for your suggestion. I've installed the latest version of Automate, but I don't quite understand your solution yet. See also my questions in the comments below he question: Why do you need an adb connection? Is it just to set up the this flow chart/code or do you need a permanent debugging connection for your solution to work (= would render it impractical for mobile devices)? Also: Why not use the privileged service start method Manually (Execute "sh /sdcard/Android/data/com.llamalab.automate/cache/start.sh") instead?

Okay, first problem with your solution: I've followed all your steps, set up one Automate flow and tried to start it. But when trying to grant the permission "access screen content and observe your actions" and confirming the subsequent popup prompts, nothing happens (i.e. the permission is not granted). What is the issue here?

...to be more precise: I keep cycling/bouncing back and forth between the two confirmation prompts "Automate requires the following privilege..." (confirm by tapping "Grant") and "Automate uses the Accessibility API to..." (confirm by tapping "Ok").

Update: Okay, the problem with granting "access screen content and observe your actions" permissions is solved, I had the package com.samsung.accessibility uninstalled, which is required by Automate. But upon running the suggested flow, the following errors are displayed in the log:

Flow beginning >> Delay >> App in foreground? >> App kill >> Failed to start privileged service >> java.util.concurrent.CancellationException: Please execute: sh /sdcard/Android/data/com.llamalab.automate/cache/start.sh >> java.util.concurrent.TimeoutException: Service startup timeout >> Stopped by failure

Automate has full access to external storage. In addition, I granted permission to execute shell commands. What is the problem?

It usually happens when Wireless ADB is switched off by the phone by the phone when not in use after certain amount of time. I don't know how long. Check if Wireless Adb is still on?

Hi, I'm not using wireless adb. Why is this required? There is also an option that uses a local bash script "/sdcard/Android/data/com.llamalab.automate/cache/start.sh", what about that? Furthermore, is it really necessary to use adb from a remote device or does Android come with something like a built-in/local version of it (anything that can automatically execute shell commands locally)? Having to hook up a mobile device to a PC every time seems incredibly impractical and contradicts the use of Android to begin with.

So, you didn't follow the method mentioned on the answer and yet complaining about it.

Nope! The question explicitly says "What I need is an equivalent for Android, but unfortunately, I do not have any experience with programming Android applications yet." adb is not a locally running Android app, but a debugging tool intended to be used from a Windows or Linux PC, which one usually doesn't carry around (or do you?). Importantly: I did install Automate, grant all necessary permissions, create a flow, and try to run it, i.e. follow through with all instructed steps faithfully, up until the point where I'm requested to have a PC on me at all times - a non-solution.

...by the way, all this was already brought up in my very first comment right below your suggested answer. Which you completely ignored! You should at least be able to explain your solution after making the inquirer invest hours of lifetime into testing it out. I am happy to throw out another bounty for you, but I need a working solution first: I.e. a 100% local solution (maybe one initial connection to an external device) for unrooted Android 9+ devices.


text:
Hisense Touch cannot open file picker/login menus (black screens and crashes)
I have a Hisense Touch with Android 11 and Touch OS 1, it has Google Play Services from a seller on Aliexpress. I cannot open the file picker in installed applications even though all permissions are allowed, etc. The crash also occurs when clicking the login button on Pocket and the share button in the file manager. When the apps I'm trying to use crash, there is no dialogue box.
I'm new to Android but from what I understand, this is a device marketed to the Chinese market and has some Chinese ROM of Android with workarounds installed by the seller, this is an e-reader device.
My post on XDA has a recording of the crash occurring and a log file that adb spit out that I'm not too sure what to do with, but KiwiBrowser is the main app I am trying to use that keeps crashing. Thank you!

I dont think we can do much if the app itself is crashing, because its badly written.  I would avoid cheap technical stuff from these outlets.  I bought some luggage tiles and the instructions were directing me to iPhone app instead of Android.  They didnt respond for weeks, eventually I got my money back.  Once I had send teh tiles back, they came back with the correct site for Android.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
Android Batterystats Report

I'm working on a research project about Android smartphones power consumption. Using "adb shell dumpsys batterystats" interesting stats can be obtained. For example:
Statistics since last charge:
  System starts: 0, currently on battery: false
  Time on battery: 1h 0m 38s 51ms (99.7%) realtime, 1h 0m 38s 50ms (99.7%) uptime
  Time on battery screen off: 30m 21s 169ms (49.9%) realtime, 30m 21s 169ms (49.9%) uptime
  Total run time: 1h 0m 47s 207ms realtime, 1h 0m 47s 207ms uptime
  Start clock time: 2016-06-18-22-57-54
  Screen on: 30m 16s 882ms (49.9%) 1x, Interactive: 30m 16s 367ms (49.9%)
  Screen brightnesses:
    dark 10s 89ms (0.6%)
    light 30m 6s 793ms (99.4%)....
Estimated power use (mAh):
    Capacity: 6700, Computed drain: 298, actual drain: 335-402
    Screen: 244
    Unaccounted: 36.9 ( )
    Uid u0a90: 15.8 ( cpu=15.8 )
    Uid 1000: 9.58 ( cpu=9.49 sensor=0.0868 )
.....
As far as I know, the power_profile.xml is used to estimate the power consumption of each hardware component, and differs from device model to another.
Now I have couple of questions:
Q1: How does Android compute actual drain ?
I looked everywhere and I can't seem to find an answer. I also checked Android code, but unfortunately I couldn't identify the implementation of the method responsible for "actual drain".

Q2: How Android estimates the screen power consumption ?
the Screen's value when its "light = 75%" found in the power_profile.xml on Nexus 9:
ligh: 120.96 ( and it's in mA according to the power_profile.xml)
The report says the power consumption of the screen is 244 mAh, when it was on "light" state for 30 mins, it doesn't make sense to me ! Can you guys explain it ? I tried to check the source code in [here][2], :( again I couldn't find it.
 Q3 How accurate these values in the power_profile.xml ? I found on another Android community werbsite some reported issues for Samsung devices. But I don't know about Nexus 9.
 Thank you guys for your time.

I'm definitely not a expert on this but hopefully I can be a little help.
Usually the devices measure the voltage of the battery.
When a battery is discharged it gradually degreases it voltage level.
When the voltage level is dropped below a certain point the hardware doesn't work anymore.
This is one of the reasons why the older ipod/ipad/iphone devices didnt shut down at 0% battery but a lot earlier (If I remember correctly my old ipod touch would shut down around 11%.
EEVblog made a great video about debunking a product that claims that it can extend battery life of electronic products EEvblog Video. Too debunk the product he gives a lot of information about what happens when battery discharges and about when electronic devices shut down.
Hopefully can this information help you a little bit with your project.

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


text:
Switch between normal and split-screen (vr mode)
I have a virtual reality (VR) headset:
How can I change the mode of the phone so that I can use the phone and all the normal phone apps while wearing the VR headset?
In other words I need to switch the phone display between splil-screen (oculus mode) and normal mode. In other words, like for 3D, the display should be split into 2 smaller screens (but identical).
Related info for those who are interested:
It seems that there are a few apps available for watching normal videos in VR mode:

Any Youtube video on your device can be switched to VR mode.
Convert normal videos to VR mode by using HMD-Video-Converter.
Play normal videos on the VR headset using:

VR Cinema for Cardboard
CINEVEO - VR Cinema
Side-By-Side Video Player
MO3D for Cardboard VR Cinema (paid)

I don't think that is possible yet, but google is working on DayDream which is gonna do the thing you want soon
If you want to play your normal videos in VR mode, thats possible using this app. (There are quite a lot other apps doing the same thing, but i personally use the one I gave link to)
Heres one more link for 5 Top Videos players to run 360 Videos
Hope this helps :)

Thanks for the info, Siddhesh. And it seems that the VaR's VR Video Player you suggested got better ratings.

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


text:
Chrome using a lot of battery without being open
I got a new phone (pixel 4a) and chrome is using a lot of battery without being open. If I pause the app I get much longer battery life. When checking my battery usage by app chrome is always the number one.
For example, over about 8 hours it used 25% of my battery but was only open for 7 minutes.
Is there anything I can do besides pausing the app constantly to fix the battery usage? Should I just suck it up and hope an update fixes this?

May I know if you're browsing some sites with heavy processing, like YouTube (or video streaming in general) or browser games, for example?

I'm not, I only open it for random small things I google and then close it shortly after.  I usually don't even open the full app but just use the embedded single tab version.

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


text:
Is it possible to reboot the Nexus 4 without root?
On the Nexus 4, the power menu only allows you to shutdown the device, but not reboot the device. Of course, you could wait for the device to shutdown and then power it up again. What I'm looking for is the ability to reboot in one action.
A lot of apps provide this ability, but it seems that they all requires root.
Is it possible to reboot the Nexus 4 without root?

I found one solution: adb reboot
This requires connecting the device to a computer, so it's not perfect, but it works pretty well if I just want to reboot it when I go to sleep.

I don't have a 4 but I have an original 7. You can get a reboot on the 7 by pushing and holding the power button until it reboots. So try that. Sometimes you can go to the shut down menu and long press where it says shut down, but that may just be mods. But if it were me I'd try those, just to try it. :-)


text:
How to paste a password in a field of web browser?
This question may look ridiculous at first look, but this is more sad than funny. In some cases, standart web browser (or any of the alternatives I tried - firefox, opera, dolphin) simply doesn't offer an option to paste anything in some text fields. But typing long complex password manually is deal breaker (hard to use keyboard + need to constantly switch apps back and forth unless I have super human abilities to remember all text at once)
How can I paste something in such cases?
Android version is 2.3.4
P.S. I'm already using Hacker's Keyboard, maybe it can help if text pasting can be done with some key combo? (like in most desktop OSes)
P.P.S. I know how to copy and paste text in most situations when a bunch of buttons appear after double press inside text field. The question is about the case when this doesn't work.

Did you try pressing and holding rather than the usual double tap? I'm referring to your P.P.S

oops, after long press a different menu appears and there is paste command

So my answer is correct n valid, Isn't it? YAY!! :)

@Sid yes, suddenly it is. :P

Seems like in android there is at least 2 different kinds of text fields which behave differently

there are at least 2 different kinds... - slow fix. Sorry for sloppy English writing. (but I'm trying to improve it over time)

You can simply have the password typed in plain text. Keep it inside a sms conversation, e-mail, note, or anywhere you like. Nobody would know that is is your password since there is no indication to that matter in the place where the password is typed.
When you are required to type the password in your browser, just select all by pressing ald holding the typed text and copy it. Now go to the password field and touch and hold for a second or so and then a button named paste will appear. Then simply touch that button. The password will be pasted into the filed. Done!!

Sid, you missed the key part of the question: simply doesn't offer an option to paste anything in some text fields. So Sarge obviously knows about how to copy/paste generally -- but the apps in question don't permit him to.

@Izzy. Agree. Maybe... just MAYBE he is not clear of the way to do it. Isn't he?! Will see Sarges feedback n delete this if mine is useless. :)

From his phrasing, especially the in some cases, I think it's safe assuming he is aware of it (otherwise, why the restriction to "some cases"? That really implies there are "other cases" where it works). But allright, let's leave it to him to tell :)

Okay. Now I feel officially being laughed at. :(

That was not my intention -- apologies if I made you fell like that! But as agreed: Let's wait for the OP's statement (if he returns).

@Izzy is right, I know how to paste & copy in general. The question is about exceptional situations.

@Sid maybe you could mention a software such as (KeePassAndroid)[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.android.keepass&hl=en], which is much safer to use than an SMS... Now the Hold for One Second was the answer I was looking for!

When you are using Hacker's Keyboard you can simply press Ctrl + V to paste.
Please note if you don't have a Ctrl key, you can enable it in the keyboard's settings.

This doesn't work. (tried with text fields that allow pasting) Just types the 'V' or 'v' char. Tried both simultaneous press (multi touch) and sequential. What may I have done wrong?

You can give a shot to switching action in Hacker Keyboard's Settings > Key behaviour settings > Ctrl key code to None(...) or Left Ctrl.

shot given, no difference.

This works perfectly fine for me.

Stumbled on this link when I found an in-app password field that disallowed pasting.  I happen to use Lastpass that supplies an additional keyboard input method (press and hold space bar with the elipsis dots to switch input mode after configuring input methods).  I switched to that and it worked. Presumably other input keyboards have the ability to override default paste behavior. Good luck

This answer may be better with actual link to the application you are using (Lastpass) ;)

I was also looking for this answer, specifically for signing into Google using the Web Signin (Required if using secondary auth). For the password I just typed in a single letter then touching and holding the icon showed up for highlighting the text. Above it was the paste. I simply pasted my password, then deleted the first character.

Does not work for Android KitKat 4.4.2 (at least on my Moto G). Here's a much better solution that works for me.

Works for me on Lollipop and doesn't require installing a keyboard.


text:
Video speed control for all apps, is it possible?
I have a password manager that can input data no matter the app. It is phone level. I'd like there to be a way to speed up videos on apps that don't enable it.
To watch videos more quickly, I have to use this random Kiwi Browser because that's the only one I've found that allows Chrome browser extensions. For some reason, Chrome on Android doesn't allow them. Then I have to watch in Desktop mode. I do this for HBO and Hulu, but it's inconvenient, and also tonight the Hulu videos are refusing to play except on the app.
Is it possible to have a system-wide video speed override app, or like an accessibility feature? That would be great. I have the accessibility widget guy enabled in my corner because you never know when you'll want to zoom in on an app that doesn't allow it.
Anyway, does anybody know any more hacks to get more video speed?


text:
Incorrect screen time on Digital Wellbeing
I check my screen time through the 'Digital Wellbeing and parental controls' option in the Settings of my MI phone. (Redmi Note 7)
I manually calculated today's usage and it's around 2- 2½ hours. However, settings show 10 hr 30 min. I toggled to see the 'hourly' distribution and saw many of the apps being used at 4/5 AM. My phone was switched off during this time and I was asleep. It says I used 4 hr of YouTube today, yet the stats on the YouTube app itself says 30 mins.
Is this a common bug? Or should I be concerned?

Could be a bug or you have malware running that "watches" videos and their ads in background for ad fraud. As your phone was release in 2019 I assume the security update support has run out years ago, right?

@Robert Probably, but how do you check that? It's also a little weird - my phone claims I used Google Docs for an hour at 3 AM today. Not sure how the ad/malware logic would work here.

Possibly related: Digital Wellbeing - How does it measure the usage of the applications? (not yet answered)

Assuming that switched off actually means locked, then as mentioned by others, you could have malware running.
Even though your phone is old and may lack newer security updates, you can run an anti-virus or anti-malwate app. I use Kaspersky on my mobiles. The free one does most things, the only drawback is you have to update it manually. I am not associated with Kaspersky.
I recommend you install one such app on your phone

Although I can't completely confirm, I think my phone was switched off during that time (not locked). I could be wrong, though. I did use an anti-virus app and it didn't detect anything so I'm assuming this was just a bug.


text:
"Unable to find partition size for path '/emmc'" when trying to install anything through TWRP on Levono TB2-X30L
I have Lenovo TAB 2 A10-30 (TB2-X30L). While trying to install custom ROM or almost anything through TWRP, it shows:
E:Mount: Unable to find partition size for path '/emmc'
E:Unmount: Unable to find partition for path '/emmc'
E:Mount: Unable to find partition path for'/emmc'

Then after some process, it shows
E: Legacy property environment did not initialize successfully. Properties may not be detected

As of now, I don't have a ROM installed, so I am not able to use the device at all. When I try to install any ROM, it reboots and opens TWRP.
How can I fix these errors to be able to return to stock recovery or install any ROM?

How did your tablet got into this state? Didi you try to install a new ROM or did this occur without any special action? If I am not mistaken Lenovo TB2 X30L is a pretty old tablet, released with Android 5. Therefore one potential reason is a defect flash memory chip.

I was trying to install the stock rom so I think I have wiped everything as I thought I can install the stock room with TWRP

Was this working prior to trying to install the factory ROM? How did you "wipe everything" off the tablet? If you go into TWRP and Mount, can you mount any partition, or in Advanced, then File Manager, can you access any partition?

If you mean by this the, the tablet, yeah It was working fine. I did use wipe, format data, and advanced wipe as I remember. When I enter mount I am able to disable or enable MTP for System, data, cache and MicroSD partitions. Throug advanced then file manager I am able to access all files inside /. Like root, emc, sys Nd etc


text:
Is there a way to get more volume levels on Android TV?
I have an Android TV box, but the issue is that the volume level ranges from 0 to 10 at maximum, which is not precise at all.
For example, when I'm at 1, the sound is loud, so I want to lower it, but I can't because the level below is 0, and the sound cuts off. Therefore, I'm forced to lower the TV volume.
What I would like to know is if there is an application or a modification possibility with ADB or other means that would allow me to have more volume levels (for example: from 0 to 50 or from 0 to 100).

Welcome to the Q&A site Android Enthusiasts Stack Exchange. It is preferred if you can post separate questions instead of combining your questions into one. That way, it helps the people answering your question and also others searching for at least one of your questions. Thanks!

Is there a problem in using the TV remote to adjust the volume on the TV?


text:
Mobile data does not work unless Wi-Fi is enabled on Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
I have a Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, so it is not even two years old. When my Wi-Fi is on, so is my mobile data, and the data works on and off. If I turn off the Wi-Fi off, I lose mobile data. I have not been able to make/receive calls/texts for about a week now.
I literally have done everything. Factory reset, Samsung remote diagnostic, Asurion diagnostic, changed carriers, went from SIM (because it wasn't working no matter the carrier) to eSIM (doesn't seem to work either).
Does anyone know what the issue is?

Did you mean you cannot toggle mobile data on if Wi-Fi is off? I read "does not work" as if the device consuming mobile data even when Wi-Fi is on, which in most Android, it shouldn't work that way; Wi-Fi is always preferred for internet connection if connected. However, you also mentioned "calls & texts", which I don't think is related to mobile data, but more an issue of carrier telephony, so I'm honestly clueless...

I meant to say my mobile data turns off when my wi-fi is off.  Sorry, I am new to this.  I cannot make calls or receive them.  I also cannot send or receive texts.  When my wi-fi is on I have bars, but when I turn my wi-fi off the bars go away and I have no service.

Does another mobile in the same location have bars?  It could be that you have no mobile reception where you are.  Is Wifi calling On?  Try posting screenshots of your Settings -> Connections and its sub menus.  I have Note 20 Ultra and everything works fine.

I can tell you from personal experience that when my S22u1 did this I tried for a month to track it down before sending to Samsung for RMA and they found micro-cracks in the sandwich (multilayered PCB main and daughter board, or the Logic board if you will). Sorry, but I wish I had better news for you.

Yes, all of my other devices are good and on the same Wi-Fi.  I am going to have to get a new phone. Thanks everyone for your responses.


text:
Switch ROMs, still seamlessly use Apps and its data
I am presently using a rooted LG P500 running stock 2.3.3. I am very fond of trying various ROMs and recently got hooked to unofficial CM10 Android 4.1.1 (JellyBean).
Working with such unofficials or even official nightly builds has a problem of receiving frequent update. When ever such update comes I have to wrap up all my app and its data using Titanium Backup (TB) and for safety backup my present ROM completely using CWM recovery.
After installing the new ROM, I will download TB alone and restore all my apps.  Though the TB has batch mode for "Restoring all missing apps and its data", TB asks for confirmation before installing every app and prompt for "Done/Open" after installing every app.  This kills the purpose of running a batch.
Now my questions:

Is there any way I can switch between ROMs but keep the apps (with its data) installed in a common location for all ROMs
Automate the restore option (in new ROM) such that with one click and a wait of few minutes should get my phone back with all apps and data intact?

My dream use case with either question will be like: While I am in 2.3.3 ROM I would simply backup the present apps and its data to SD card and install the new ROM. When the new ROM is installed, I would like to have the apps that where backed up in my 2.3.3 ROM to come back with its data by doing something that is not daunting, but ready to wait for a while.
Any suggestions?


text:
How can I increase the size of the Google Maps cache?
Currently the size of the Google Maps cache on Android is very small in comparison to the IPhone Maps application. A bigger cache would improve the maps application significantly by helping the maps appear a lot quicker than they do now.
There is an issue raised on Google Code with some further details (link) but wanted to raise it here just in case anyone knows a solution.

The Brut Mod can cache map tiles on SD card. So you get large cache.
Caching feature is by default disabled, you need to turn it on in setting.

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


text:
How can I use my Galaxy Nexus as an external USB storage drive?
I just got the Galaxy Nexus and learned that it does not support USB Mass Storage mode.  It only supports MTP and PTP. I regularly use my phone as a USB flash drive at work so this is a problem.  I can transfer files back and forth with MTP however I need to edit files directly on my phone.
I'd like to find a way to continue to use the phone as an external drive and be able to access the files on my phones storage directly without transferring the files back and forth however I have several constraints:  The network at my work isn't connected to the internet, it doesn't have wifi, and the computers do not have Bluetooth and this is not going to change.  Ideally I would not have to install anything on the computer, but if there are no other options I'd consider this.
Are there any hacks or workarounds that will allow me to use my Galaxy Nexus as an external flash drive in the way I described?
Can I create a separate mountable FAT partition on the phones storage that I can access from a Windows XP computer a well as through the Android OS in the way that's possible with other devices that have external storage cards?
The Phone: It's a rooted & unlocked Galaxy Nexus on VZW and currently running CM9.

I am not 100% sure but I think the stock kernel isn't even able to do that. you need an aftermarket kernel or just a custom ROM to do that. G Nexus GSM: full update guide for Cyanogenmod9 (4.0.4 atm, 4.1 CM10 is in a very early stage still). Here's an apk that might help too. needs root.

Thanks, that thread looks promising except for this.  Hopefully it's not true otherwise I'll have a GN for sale.

I don't think you necessarily need a separate SD card to use UMS, but I think you do need a separate partition (formatted FAT) for it to work, a la the Kindle Fire which does not have an external SD card slot.

I think you need to expand a little on why MTP/PTP is not suitable for your usage. Despite the name, MTP can actually transfer any arbitrary file, not just media files. The only operations you can't do in MTP are those that requires block level access, e.g. defragging, reformatting, partitioning, etc.

I don't want to transfer files, I want to edit them in their location on my phone just like it was a flash drive. I don't believe you can do that with mtp, am I mistaken?

Related: Why can't I see Android storage as a partition on PC?

Short Answer:
Currently, you can't make use of your device (any device that relies on MTP) to act as an MSC, due to the protocol specifications!
Elaborating
As to clarify, Galaxy Nexus uses one massive partition for the entire device, it's like saying that: system, data and sdcard are all together.
MTP was selected for Galaxy Nexus because it allows the use of this large storage area, that from a system point of view, insures a better communication with files, provides a more secure file system and gives less trouble to maintain.
Why you can't do it the way you want:
There are no separated partitions in Galaxy Nexus, only one large storage area. Even emulating a fat32 file system, one would still need to be able to translate between fat32 and ext4 at a low level. This is practically impossible.
If the Galaxy Nexus had a partition, you could have block-level access and thus you could have mass storage access.

Long boring version:

Short background
The Mass Storage Class (MSC), commonly know as USB Mass Storage (UMS), that we are all used to use on our devices, is a protocol that allows a Universal Serial Bus (USB) device to become accessible to a host computing device, to enable file transfers between the two. On the golden days, one just needed to plug in the phone, hit "USB mode" and start moving files, editing files, etc...

Media Transfer Protocol (MTP)
Things have changed a lot, when we talk of the new transfer method that's being used on your device, the Media Transfer Protocol (MTP):

1 Introduction see page 15 zip below
Media Transfer Protocol, or MTP, is a protocol designed for content exchange with and command and control of transient storage devices. It was been developed as an extension to PTP, or Picture Transfer Protocol, and is targeted primarily at Digital Still Cameras, Portable Media Players and Cellular phones.

While the introduction still leaves margin for doubt, this protocol was developed and implemented with a very specific purpose: to facilitate the transfer of media files and associated metadata between devices:

1.1 Purpose see page 15 zip below
The primary purpose of this protocol is to facilitate communication between media devices that have transient connectivity and significant storage capacity. This includes the exchange of binary objects and the enumeration of the contents of that connected device.

File Types supported?
At this point, we already know that this is for media files and media based devices, but one question that I've seen on the comments remains: Can we copy files other than media files (audio/video)? Yes we can:

1.3 MTP Object Model see page 15 zip below
The term "media" in "Media Transfer Protocol" is used to identify any binary data, and is not restricted to audio/video formats to which it is commonly applied. Some examples of non-audio/video objects include contacts, programs, scheduled events and text files.

What about "live edit" ?
Your question specially concerns the usage of your device (Galaxy Nexus) as an external USB storage drive. Why it can't be done? The MTP protocol limits data to a unidirectional operation, also latter explained that the device storage is used by the computer as a local file:

4.2 Unidirectional Data Flow see page 29 zip below
The data flow in MTP is always unidirectional. When initiating an operation, data flows only from the Initiator to the Responder. When responding to the requested operation, the data flows only from the Responder to the Initiator. During the binary data-exchange phase, data may flow from the Responder to the Initiator or from the Initiator to the Responder, but never both. Bi-directional, binary data exchange must be performed by multiple operations.

Advantages vs Drawbacks
Advantages
The MTP does carry some advantages with it, mainly concerning the security and integrity of the user data:

When a USB host computer has mounted an MSC partition, it assumes absolute control of the storage, allowing for example, the file system to get corrupted or reformat to an unsupported type.
Meanwhile, the MTP overcomes this by making the unit of managed storage a local file that can either be written or read.
Drawbacks
The MTP isn't treated as a traditional removable drive, so, no recovery tools can be used to save the day.
The support is still underway, some operating systems still require third-party software.
MTP standards (as mentioned earlier) don't allow for direct modification of objects. Instead, modified objects must be reuploaded in their entirety.

References:
I hope this clarifies as to why MTP is good (improvement), but OTOH bad (user will have to change habits).
Here's the reading material used to synthesize the answer:

usb.org :: Media Transfer Protocol v.1.1 Spec and MTP v.1.1 Adopters Agreement .zip with pdf files
Wikipedia :: Media Transfer Protocol
Android Central :: MTP - what is it, why use it, and how to set it up
Microsoft :: Media Transfer Protocol Enhanced Specification
Microsoft :: Media Transfer Protocol Implementation Details

The above answer is credited to the contents and authors of these reference links.

I appreciate the very detailed description of mtp, however I have already accepted the fact that I can't use mtp the way I want. What I'm interested in is finding a way around the limitation. For example, repartitioning the internal storage to create a separate mountable partition. Any suggestions on how I can get around the mtp limitations?

@Matt The comment was becoming to large, I've added a clarification under the "short answer" section. Sorry if I didn't made myself clear earlier.

Thanks for the added information but again I was already aware of most of this.  What I'm interested in knowing is, short of other solutions, can the phone be re-partitioned with a separate FAT partition that would support UMS?  If so, how?

I ended up awarding the bounty to ce4 because his code was the closest thing to a solution but thanks for the detailed information and the help you provided.

It may be possible to export a loopbacked image file via USB as UMS/MSC.
You will definitely need:

root
kernel support: loopback (/dev/block/loop0) and UMS (/sys/devices/platform/usb_mass_storage/)
custom app to enable/disable this or a custom init script to always export the image file
Here's an example for an easy hackable app, a little development needed though... One needs to change the default block device (/dev/block/mmcblk0pX) to the loop0 and also losetup the loop0 beforehand, then build. Additionally it could be possible to have it mounted on the Android device if it's not exported, e.g. at /sdcard/fat

Here's a short test on my Galaxy Nexus (in recovery mode):
#create a 10mb image file and format it with FAT, name it testFat:
me@workstation:~$ dd if=/dev/zero of=/tmp/fat.img count=10 bs=1M
10+0 records in
10+0 records out
10485760 Bytes (10 MB) copied, 0,00699535 s, 1,5 GB/s
me@workstation:~$ mkfs.vfat -n fatTest /tmp/fat.img
mkfs.vfat 3.0.9 (31 Jan 2010)
me@workstation:~$ file /tmp/fat.img
/tmp/fat.img: x86 boot sector, [...], label: "fatTest    ", FAT (16 bit)

#Push it to my phone, create loop0 from it and export it via UMS
me@workstation:~$ adb push /tmp/fat.img /sdcard/fat.img
5215 KB/s (10485760 bytes in 1.963s)
me@workstation:~$ adb shell
root@android # ls /sys/devices/platform/usb_mass_storage/lun0
file    power   ro      uevent
root@android # losetup /dev/block/loop0 /sdcard/fat.img
root@android # losetup
/dev/block/loop0: 0 /sdcard/fat.img
root@android # echo /dev/block/loop0 > /sys/devices/platform/usb_mass_storage/lun0/file
root@android # exit

#See that it works. Yay!
me@workstation:~$
me@workstation:~$ mount
[...]
/dev/sdg on /media/fatTest type vfat (rw,nosuid,nodev,uid=1000,gid=1000,shortname=mixed,dmask=0077,utf8=1,showexec,flush,uhelper=udisks)
me@workstation:~$ dmesg
[137805.009285] sd 27:0:0:0: [sdg] 20480 512-byte logical blocks: (10.4 MB/10.0 MiB)
[137805.010024] sd 27:0:0:0: [sdg] Write cache: enabled, read cache: enabled, doesn't support DPO or FUA
[137805.013446]  sdg:
me@workstation:~$

I have no testing device (GNexus) at hand right now, would someone be so kind and have a look if UMS is included in CM9? Just see if this is available: /sys/devices/platform/usb_mass_storage/lun0/file

Early CM10 doesn't appear to, so I would guess CM9 doesn't either.

@eldarerathis: Thanks for looking! It might be compiled into a different kernel or one had to enable that himself to get it working.

@ce4 This looks promising but I'd love to see more details explaining how to accomplish this.  Are you re-partitioning the phone's storage permanently or is this a different kind of solution?  Are there any drawbacks to this method like comprising the file-system's integrity?

I use my phone as a flash drive.  I plug it into a shared computer at work, edit a document then save it and go. Transferring the file to the computer and back again doesn't really work for me. I'll get on the chat a little later.

Thanks for the help. I didn't quite get there but your answer was the closest to a solution so I awarded you the bounty.  I found a ROM that claimed to support USB Mass Storage but it turned out that it didn't.  The dev offered to mod his ROM to support it: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1400775&page=362#3619 Your input on that thread might be helpful.  I send him a link to you answer and code.

Nice! :-) PS: I filed a feature request for LUKS manager here. Let's see what the dev says maybe there'll be some support eventually

This is the TL;DR version.
Sorry, USB Mass Storage is simply impossible with the Galaxy Nexus.
The reason for this is that USB Mass Storage gives the PC block-level access to the filesystem, and to maintain the integrity of the filesystem, it must be exclusive access. This is why Android phones unmount the SD card and apps can't use data on the SD card while the phone is in USB Mass Storage mode.
The Galaxy Nexus, however, doesn't have an SD card. It's the phone's voluminous internal storage that is being accessed.
MTP (see @Zuul's excellent explanation) gets around this and lets both the phone and PC access the files without the phone having to be locked out. The down sides are that you don't get exclusive block-level access, and operating system support for MTP just isn't quite there yet.
If this is a feature you simply can't live without, then your best bet is to use a different phone. Not coincidentally, this is one of the reasons I got rid of the Galaxy Nexus and got a DROID RAZR MAXX.

"This is why Android phones unmount the SD card..." What about the apps that allow for dual mounting the sd (and internal storage for that matter) to the computer and the Android os simultaneously? I had such an app on my Rezound and it worked pretty well.

I've never heard of any app like that. Got evidence of its existence?

It mounts it twice - it mounts the sdcard onto the phone, then uses the same command at the same time to mount it to the pc. So it in effect 'Dual Mounts' it.

This is the one I used: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rafoid.multimountsdcard.widget.free

And you never lost any data? You're very fortunate, then.

I never lost any data.  Why am I particularly fortunate?  Is that a common problem with dual mounting?

Yes, that's exactly why the system doesn't permit it in the first place.

Funny. I learned it is not unmounted, but gets all permissions removed ( you can try with a terminal app while the card is exported to a computer, an ls -l /mount/sdcard should show something like d---------, which changes as soon as you disconnect the USB-connection, and becomes (uh-oh, not exactly sure about the details, but something like) drwxr-xr-x. Practically, this amounts to the same: While served to the computer via USB, the local system cannot access it.

Oops, forgot to mention the source: "Android Forensics" by Andrew Hoog of viaForensics (see http://viaforensics.com/education/android-forensics-mobile-security-book/) -- and the second permission set should read d---rwxr-x. Reference device used was a HTC Incredible.

It appears that AOKP JB build 4 has:

" USB mass storage emulation for certain devices (i9*)"

I have not used it myself yet.

You could give this XDA-Developers App a try:

Note: This App was developed in the early days of Ice Cream Sandwich Ports. At this time none of the Ports had native USB Mass Storage support and this App was meant as a temporary workaround to use UMS nevertheless. So this App won't be interesting for you, unless the ICS or JB Port you use still doesn't natively support UMS. If that is the case, here comes help:
The app starts automatically after booting up the device and automatically detects when the device is being connected via USB to a computer. Then a notification pops up in the notification bar and by tapping on the notification you will open a GUI to enable/disable USB Mass Storage; just/almost like the original UMS feature.

Sounds quite good so far -- only your Galaxy Nexus is not explicitly mentioned on the list of known supported devices. This doesn't necessarily mean it will not work, but just at the moment it is not known. Should be worth a try.

This has been already discussed, see the OP comments. Alas, it's also a dead end. :(

I couldn't find the comments you refer to -- but if that's already a known option, I apologize. And "dead end" means it no longer works? Oh gosh, guess I skip the next updates ;)

No offense! :) was more meant as "FYI". The "here's an apk" refers to the same thread as your XDA link.

We had a rather long conversation in the main android chat about that. Don't know if there's a long enough history but it's got some more info if you can still access it

Thanks for the info, ce4 -- unfortunately I currently miss the time to dig deeper into it. I just see MTP is not yet as complete as it should be for switching off UMS altogether, so I was pretty sure there must be a solution still available. And I remembered some threads on enabling UMS again on ICS and up. Hopefully there is something around pretty soon -- as MTP seems not to be the answer for everybody.

The kernel is the biggest part of it: It misses the USM gadget functionality at the moment. One needed to compile one themself or find one which includes it. Not the best upgrade-path lookout afaik. So even if you get it done: It'd be catch up after every upgrade. Definitely: Stock doesn't work

Thanks again. So I/we hope for CustomROM providers, especially the CyanogenMod Crew. A bit disappointing for average users, though...


text:
Backup using ADB without root or usb debugging
I have a Nexus S (on android 4, not rooted) device who's not able to boot. It opens and get stucks to the X screen. I can only access the recovery mode.
I tried to backup data via ADB, but the phone haven't activate USB debugging so I can't connect ADB backup (and it won't show in adb devices). I can only get signal via USB when I go in "update via ADB" option, then the device show, but only the sideload connection is activated.
How can I backup the data on the phone? Or how could I activate the USB debugging mode while in recovery?

You can access adb in recovery by way of adb shell?

The recovery adb update mode don't seem to allow adb shell; it can't connect via the shell. And in the normal recovery, I just can't access the device.

You do have the drivers enabled for the device when in recovery mode? (Windows? Linux?)

I'm pretty sure they are as it connected fine in recovery-update mode, but this is really not my domain of expertise (on Windows).

http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/28296/full-backup-of-non-rooted-devices

You may need to 'upgrade' the driver to the adb version.
Open Device Manager, find your phone and right click it. select "update driver software". On the window that appears choose the "let me pick" option. You should then see a couple of different drivers, select the one that includes "adb" and click ok through any further windows. (remember which one was selected before so you can repeat this to return to the 'normal' driver)
You should then be able to run the adb backup.


text:
What Google services does WhatsApp depends on?
WhatsApp is the only Google-dependent app on my phone. I was removing various Google services from it with adb and as a result, WhatsApp is the only app that doesn't work - it crashes instantly on any interaction.
My fault is that I don't remember all the services I uninstalled, but here are some:
gsf, gms, gmsconfig.asi, gmsconfig.gsa, gmsconfig.comms, and more.
Which Google services does WhatsApp depend on? Maybe I would just sideload them for the time I plan to use WhatsApp.

At the very least, I believe the "Google Play Services" app is used for push notifications using FCM.

See logcat when the app crashes.


text:
Is there any way to unlock my Private Safe on my Oneplus device via the use of adb?
I'm using Private Safe on my Oneplus device. I need to unlock my private safe as I have forgotten both the password and the privacy question that I had previously set.
I have already tried out
adb shell
settings put secure privacy_password_is_open 0
settings put secure access_control_lock_enabled 0
reboot

These commands were the best bet I could find and they don't work.
I don't know any other commands since I'm quite new to this. Any help is appreciated.


text:
Remove Safe mode completely from an Android from the root
No app blockers works as I can go into safe mode and delete the app blockers.
How do I tune my Samsung Galaxy S24 enough to not have an option to go into safe mode altogether?

Sorry, we don't allow monetary incentives on Stack Exchange because everything is for public, not personal usage. Meanwhile, have you searched and browsed existing questions and read their answers?

The app blockers fail because they try to do something current Android versions aren't designed for. Wait for Android 15, it seems that Android will OS level support for locking apps. https://www.androidauthority.com/android-15-private-space-settings-3431105/

@Robert, shouldn't that be an answer?


text:
Values reset in engineering mode of AC82271 Android head unit
I have an AC82271 Android head unit on Android 12. I went into engineering mode (by inputting 56789 as the PIN on the factory settings screen) to increase the mic volume, but it just immediately went back to zero even though it says it saved successfully.
Can anyone explain how to save the settings, please?

Please add the device model, Android version, and explain what you mean by "engineering mode"?

Do you mean developer mode by any chance?

Likely a permissions issue?

Hello , I put a pin in at the factory settings screen of 56789 it then allows me to click engineering mode.

I don’t know the make of it as it has nothing but it’s android version 12 and platform ac82271

If the Mic volume is zero I assume it doesn't work? Has the microphone ever worked before? May be this is a "license issue" that the manufacturer want's extra money for the microphone feature?

The microphone has never worked but the external mic came with the radio


text:
Car Android screen wireless silences jack audio
I have a Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus and an Android car screen that I bought recently. My car is a Mazda 3 sedan 2018 (display with no touchscreen). The head unit is connected to a DSP, amplifier, and 2-way 6,5" components. This is because I'm always looking for a better sound quality, therefore I reproduce music with my phone through DAC Fiio Q11 which sends the clean signal to my car head unit via a 4.4 balanced jack cable.
The problem comes with the Android car screen. When I connect it to my phone through BT, everything works fine except the music because the screen starts playing with its own internal speakers even when I disable the audio option in BT settings.
Also, I try to go to individual external player settings and set it to play music only on my phone, but the problem remains. So I was searching for this kind of problem and didn't find any solution. I have tried 4 Android apps and still nothing.
So I wonder, how can I lock the BT audio output in order to force the audio output of my phone?

The short answer is that you can't.  I have the same problem with a different scenario.  The design of the Bluetooth assumes that all audio is being directed to it, because that's what it is for.  You can see this in the sound settings when you are connected to Android Auto.  The other feature is that Android talks to only one device at a time, Bluetooth is Not a network. Unfortunately, other gadgets are trying to use Bluetooth for their own purposes and there are issues.
My situation is that I already have these

A smart watch
Hearing Aids

As soon as I plug in Android Auto, one of the other two fails.  Sometimes they keep doing a round robin.  The next version of Bluetooth has some promise.
My suggestion is to buy a cheap phone to play your audio.


text:
Adblock custom filter block element on main domain but not subdomains on Brave Android
I'm trying to block recommended videos on YouTube main page only (m.youtube.com) excluding channels (i.e. links like m.youtube.com/@*, for example, m.youtube.com/@deathgrippin.
So far, I've been only able to block all video blocks everywhere:
m.youtube.com##.rich-grid-renderer-contents

Where .rich-grid-renderer-contents is the lowest level div accessible.
The following works in mobile Firefox with uBlock Origin but not in Brave:
m.youtube.com##.rich-grid-renderer-contents:not(span:matches-path("/@"))

Adding exception filters doesn't work:
@@youtube.com/@

Matching domain via Regex doesn't work either:
/^youtube\.com(?!\/@)/##.rich-grid-renderer-contents

Need some help!

As you noticed, Firefox with uBlock Origin will be your best combination of tools.  You get the most power and flexibility.


text:
Battery life cut in half recently - DrReadUsbStatus issue?
My regular uptime on Samsung Galaxy S2 was around 6 days. For the last couple of weeks it is down to less than 3 days. The change was instant, but I was hoping it would come back - it did not. Running ICS 4.0.3 from Samsung. No change of activity - I primarily use my phone to talk, no games, browsing etc. I installed System Tuner, looked in the system log and found this event happening every second or so: "DrReadUsbStatus returns false USB is offline"
Similar problem on the internet:

http://forum.vodafone.co.uk/t5/Samsung-Galaxy-S2/Galaxy-S2-and-ICS-problems/td-p/1074013/page/2

According to some sources, it could be causing battery life issues.
Samsung suggest a hard reset - trying to avoid that at all costs.

The error seems like something regular. A Google Search reveals many places it is mentioned (with a logcat), but almost nowhere it is commented on -- except for GALAXY W Constant Error in Logcat (XDA).
A shame they removed the wakelock stats from *#*#4636#*#* service menu (which would have offered you a quick way to check) with Gingerbread and up. You might want to look for some monitor app on the market (there's e.g. SystemPanel which might prove helpful) to figure out what keeps your device awake.
In case this app doesn't provide the required information (I already mentioned Wakelocks being the most probable cause), there's another useful app: BetterBatteryStats (also mentioned in the XDA-Link) seems to bring back Wake-Lock stats. As a short and eased-up explanation: An app might request the CPU not going to sleep, but still not actually use the CPU, though - the Android PowerManager API provides an interface for this). So BetterBatteryStats should help you find the responsible app:

For reference, here's the link to the BetterBatteryStats Thread on XDA, including the App (and its Changelog) as well as some closer explanation, especially on Wake-Locks.

It does not seem like any app is eating battery. I ran a recording in System Tuner, taking samples every 20 minutes for 24 hours; here is what it says: CPU utilization 19m 49s, Android System 8m 59s, Fancy Widgets 3m 49s, System Tuner Pro 1m 39s, System UI 1m 20s, Settings 55s, WidgetLocker 39s, everything else is less than that. Hard to explain, unless there is a hidden process, which it does not show. SystemPanel does not seem to add any useful information to that. Is there a way to repair Android installation somehow, so maybe it will fix this USB issue?

I don't think it's really CPU usage, rather some app keeping it alive by requesting "Wake-Locks". I will update my answer now with a few more informations.

Installed BetterBatteryStats - measuring "Other" since unplugged (since 7 h 10 m 22 s) - No Data Connection ratio 100%, no or unknown signal ratio 100%, wifi on 38.1%, wifi running 38%, everything else is less. Kernel wakelocks - no events catched. Partial wakelocks - ConnectivityService count:586, NetworkLocationLocator:89 - is it where the problem lies?

Update for partial wakelocks - ConnectivityService count:722, seems to be happening quite often.

The linked XDA article says wakelocks are the most important one when it comes to battery drain (you might want to follow the original post for closer details). Taking the max count of 586+89=675 and divide it by the time given (675/430~=1,5) this means about 1,5 partial wakelocks requested per minute. I'd say your phone hardly get's a chance to go to "green mode" (update: (722+89)/430~=1,9, which means about all 30s!). I'm no expert, but I'd say this is it.

This also matches with your initial suspection: USB is part of connectivity. Maybe a developer could tune in here and say if ConnectivityService and DrReadUsbStatus belong together? As you're running an official ROM supplied by Samsung, I'd confront the service with these details. They will probably want you to factory reset, so use that chance to tell them they should include Titanium Backup (or any equivalent solution if there is) with their official ROM next time, so you wouldn't lose any data...

I just added a screenshot of BetterBatteryStats to my answer above. The time frame is comparable with yours, but the number of Wakelocks significantly higher. As the screenshot shows, each entry also shows for how long Wakelocks have been hold -- you should check that as well.

Another update - ConnectivityService count:1461, I disabled wifi and left it like that overnight, estimated total runtime increased to 5d+ according to Battery Monitor Widget. DataRouter errors still present. So actually it may be unrelated to battery life issues.

Total runtime might simply reference time elapsed since it was started. As pointed out above, you should check with activity times reported by BetterBatteryStat.

By total runtime I meant time since last charged + remaining estimate. First is approx. 1d now, second shows as 5d+, so total 6d+ - not bad. Enabling wifi causes it to drop to 3-4 days after 1-2 hours (when estimate is adjusted). BTW, ConnectivityService locks never happened since wifi was disabled (according to BetterBatteryStats). So really it must be something about wifi now. Developer of Battery monitor widget suggested I should research CONNECTION permissions and disable/freeze/remove apps that use it, then re-enable wifi and see if is still eating battery. I'll post an update soon.

Good idea. Btw: Did you have mobile data enabled during that last test? I mean, if it's some app going havoc as soon as it sees a network would mean this should also happen with mobile data. If it doesn't happen with mobile data, that's another item off the list.

Mobile data is disabled at all times.

So what happens if you keep Wifi off, but enable mobile data? If this causes the same trouble, it's likely to be some app accessing the network. Runninc ICS, I'd recommend checking the related statistics which were introduced with ICS (still being on GB, I cannot cross-check), which should give you traffic stats down to the app level. Or maybe you remember any network related app installed recently.

Last time I paid 5$ for 30K of data (all of it was local, no roaming) - another reason to keep it disabled at all times. Regarding apps, I am planning to remove all of them that potentially can access the internet, and see if I still have a problem with wifi on, if it's gone, then re-install one-by-one and figure out. A bit of a hassle, but better than doing a hard reset. I think it could be one of the app's updates, cause I specifically removed all newer apps and there is still a problem. Wish they had these stats on wifi as well.

Ok, so I uninstalled all recently installed applications, but the issue still persisted. I disabled Wifi and the estimated uptime went as high as 7 days. Enabled Wifi - down to 3 days again. Disabled wifi and kept like that for 2 days. Enabled wifi again - 5 days. Now I am getting 5-6 days stable, same as before. Weird, but the issue has been resolved [by itself] for now. Thanks, Izzy.

Glad to read! Though, 3 days are pretty good for a smartphone in use. With my "productive phone" I lucky to reach the second evening -- but that's probably rather to bad radio reception at work (just staying home, it lasts noticably longer)...


text:
Disable notification for declined calls
I have a HTC WildFire (android 2.1) phone. I want to disable the notifications for the calls I knowingly decline. I still want to get the notification for the calls I miss. Does anyone know any setting/app to do this?

Try pressing the back button when you get an incoming call - that usually makes the caller continue listening to a ringing tone but the ringing on your phone stops.
Pressing the reject / call end button will make the ringing stop as well as cut the call for the caller.
If you'd rather stop the ringing / vibration but still want to answer the call after a few seconds (like walking out of a noisy room etc.), press any volume key on the side.

My requirement is slightly different. When I decline a call I get a notification in the notification bar for a missed call. I don't want to get the notification as I have knowingly declined the call. Currently, I have to unlock the phone and clear the notification bar after I decline the call. Otherwise, the LED keeps flashing which is kind of annoying.

Well, you Wildfire's behaviour is different to my Samsung Spica's. In my case, i don't get a notification when i decline a call, either via the END key or the BACK key. YMMV.

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


text:
How to stop constant network activity by "system updates" system app?
The app/process "system updates" started using network data constantly a few days ago, also I think the battery is drained faster.
Should I be worried about being hacked, or is this just some bug?
And how do I make this stop?
I'm using crDroid 9.0 (android 13) ROM (from here, I think) on Samsung S8.
The first screenshot from android settings shows data usage in about 3 days. And the second screenshot from PCAPdroid app shows data usage in a few minutes, to see the IP adresses it connects to. Seems the IPs belong to google. Also, I think my phone is identified as pixel phone by google, maybe this has something to do with this, maybe google tries to update this "pixel phone".. But what seems weird is the data speed, which is always only a few KB/s, if google only tried to download pixel update files, I would think it could reach higher speeds.

"System Updates", by itself, is probably a system app, you can use ADB tools to delete it

But is it safe to do it? I guess this app doesn't do anything useful on a custom rom anyway, but won't it crash some other things on android, maybe I can first just kill this process somehow to see if anything happens

Yes, but that is just my guess, you could also try looking for the system app and revoking its network permissions.

That would be excellent (if the app won't use much battery afterwards), but how can I do that - I can't find this system app in settings > programs, with "show system apps" checked.

U could try searching for a "disable system updates" option in the settings

Can't find anything like that in the settings

I guess it would be easier if I could figure out the app/process name (like com.google.android.xxxxx), but I don't know how to do that, as I said - I can't find this app in list of apps on my phone, though it has a separate entry in mobile data usage section.

well, I'm out of ideas, GL


text:
com.samsung.android.permission.RETURN_REMOTE_INPUT_VOICE has shown up on my Samsung phone and I would like to get rid of it
I found this on my phone and I would like to shut it down

com.samsung.android.permission.RETURN_REMOTE_INPUT_VOICE

Please edit your question and provide more details on how and where you encountered this permission.

I found this permission on my phone as well. I was looking at my battery usage and couldn't understand why the SAMSUNG KEYBOARD App was being so active in the background:

Despite having turned off background usage for that App:

Why does this App go through so much data and battery when I'm not using it? Why does it need to use mobile data anyway? So I checked the app permissions and amongst other ambiguous permissions that the user has no control of, such as take pictures and record videos when the app is in use (does that include background usage?) and download files without notifying the user, it also has this listed as a permission:
com.samsung.android.per mission.RETURN_REMOTE _INPUT_VOICE
When you click on an apps permission, it gives a pop-up window explaining the permission, which is useful for the user to understand what it does and why. But some permissions which have unusual titles like the one in question, the pop-up window has no information, just "OK".


text:
My Profile error in Contacts App on Galaxy A52s 5G
I have a Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G. The wrong contact was accidentally selected when setting the "My profile" section in setting up the phone. This is in the Contacts app, and not the Settings.
I can't find a way to correct this.
Help! How can I fix it?

Based on my testing, the info from Contacts is linked with the one from the Settings/Samsung account. Have you tried editing either one and seeing whether they sync?

Thanks Andrew, The Samsung account is correct, and it's not syncing with the contacts app. Most puzzling... Thanks for the idea. Kevin


text:
What is OS Fingerprint during boot screen?
During the boot of an unlocked device, it displays "OS Fingerprint:" with some random string.

What does this string represent? Additionally, is there a way to safely change it? I know if you disable verity, 'N/A' will be displayed.

Based on the shown hexadecimal value it could be a CRC value. Thus it could be the CRC of the vbmeta partition or of the vbmeta signature.


text:
Recovering Files from a Bootlooping Samsung Galaxy Stock S20 Ultra
I have a Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra that I was using and it just rebooted and never stopped.
I've gone into recovery mode and deleted the cache, then got into download mode and uploaded the stock ver 9 binary firmware which it was on using the BL, AP, CP & CSC (CSC_Home), but it is still stuck in the boot loop.  After flashing, it will go past the Samsung logo and then to OneUI, but then crashes after that, then goes back to the boot loop where it shows the Samsung logo and black screen, and then repeats.
I have developer mode turned on, but I don't think I enabled USB debugging because when I tried to use the adb tool and did adb devices, it didn't list anything.
Is there any way to get the files off this by rooting or something?

Have you tried to boot into safe mode?


text:
PWA opens a new Chrome tab on Pixel 4a
I use a Pixel 4A with the latest Android 13 (the model doesn't support Android 14).
When creating a PWA via Chrome "Add to Home Screen", an "app" is created but every time it opens it just acts as a normal shortcut (opens as a new tab in Chrome browser)
The same website (https://reflect.app) created as PWA on my Samsung Galaxy S22, Android 14 has no issue.
I try using the bit.ly link hack and using "shortcut maker" but no luck.
Is there any solution to this?

Hmm, no repro'd on Pixel 3a, Android 12L, Chrome... The site was installed as an app (shown on the app launcher, which can be uninstalled) and opened as a standalone Chrome Custom Tab. At first, I thought it was because there was no PWA manifest on the website, but I guess it's irrelevant.

It maybe some setting on that device ? firefox does the same !


text:
Island's "Action not allowed" when trying to unlock developer options
I'm using the Island application for the sake of isolating and cloning certain applications on my Samsung running One UI 6.1. Whenever I try to unlock developer options, I get the following error:

Action not allowed
To disable this restriction, please refer to corresponding setting in Island.

The error tells me that I should see the corresponding option in the Island application itself, but there is no any kind of option to unlock developer options.
I've been trying to contact numerous people considering the problem I'm having. The developer is not answering. Some people are telling me that the work profile shouldn't allow developer options anyway.
What do you think could be a solution?

I would try granting additional permissions to the application via adb or setedit?

When it comes to ADB commands I don't think that is going to be possible since I cannot access developer options but I could give the other command a try


text:
Android file/document picker not working properly
I have a device on Android 13. The file picker seems inconsistent when picking/selecting files from Android storage.
From the 1st screenshot, the file picker has the option to browse for files from storage using other file managers but not in the second case.

How to fix this anomaly?

Try scrolling up and down.
Those options "Gallery", "My Files", "Photos" and the other similar options than those that appear in your left screen should appear once you scroll down in the file picker.

They do not appear

@xavier_fakerat could you describe from what context you are opening those views that we see in each screenshot?

To reproduce when you whant to pick a file with a third-party program say to send a file it, the document picker only allows to browse with built-in documentui.


text:
How do I get speech-to-text to produce a £
I read What is the list of commands to dictate punctuation, capitalization and line breaks?, and it says the command "pound sign" will produce a # for UK English which it does.
How do I get a £ instead?
My system language is English UK.

Did you try including the word sterling?

@wbogacz yes pound sterling also gbp, great british pound

US vs International usage
The name "pound sign" should only produce the character "#" if you use US English TTS.
Internationally, the "#" is called "number sign", "hash", or something else.
Even the Unicode Consortium decided it should be called "Number sign".
In general "£" is known internationally as "pound" or "pund sign".

System language vs Input language

Your system language does not decide your TTS language just like it doesn't change your keyboard layout.

My Samsung phone has 3 keyboard layouts and 2 TTS languages installed. I change between all of those without touching my system language.

Please check your input language settings and install both TTS variants so you can switch between them if needed.

Links:
Wikipedia: Number sign:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_sign#Names

Wikipedia: Pound Sign:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pound_sign

Wish I knew what I changed, but I poked around this morning and now I can say 200 pounds and I get £200. but thanks input language was very helpful.


text:
How to tether on T-mobile Motorola Edge 2024 (Android 14)?
I bought a new Motorola Edge 2024, Android 14, and Kernel v5.10.198. The first thing I checked when I got home was tethering. I was shocked to see "not sharing internet" on the hotspot WiFi selector. Sure enough, upon configuration, a connected device could not ping Google.
It also says "sharing internet" on the Bluetooth selector. So I paired my Dell Inspiron 5502 laptop to my Android phone, and activated the Bluetooth tethering selector. My laptop is unable to ping over Bluetooth.
The only similar questions I found had to do with a Windows setting. I need the same for Ubuntu. I cannot find a way to enable Bluetooth IP networking on my Ubuntu 24.04 laptop.
Is there a way to bypass the WiFi tethering block on this new Android OS? If not, can anybody point me in the correct direction to configure my laptop correctly? I suspect that to be the issue.

You night need to explorer root options: https://github.com/evdenis/tether_unblock

@xavier_fakerat A computer reboot fixed it. I felt really foolish.


text:
How can I see all records of every time my mic and camera have been accessed and which app accessed them?
How can I see all records of every time my mic and camera have been accessed and which app accessed them?
Not quite sure I'm fairly new to this stuff.

Partial answer. You can see when an app last time accessed mic and camera using PMX. Open the app and type in the top search box: RECORD_AUDIO&:TIME|CAMERA&:TIME. See here what it means. Disclosure: I'm the author of PMX.

Or you can do some scripting with appops commandline tool as explained here and here (for other permissions).


text:
I keep getting the error "An unexpected error has occurred. Please try again later."
I've tried to use both my card and paypal to pay for an app on three different devices (desktop computer, phone, and tablet). None of them work and on my phone I get "Error. We couldn't complete your request." I've tried different apps too so its not a problem with the app or the way I'm accessing the play store. I have 2-step verification turned off.
*Now it won't even show certain paid apps on my phone in the google play store. (The two apps I'm trying to purchase both don't show)
*edit2: I believe the cause may be that I'm not in the US (where I got the free version of the app I'm trying to buy) and it may not be in the UK version of google play store.

Can you "purchase" and install a free app?

Yes I am able to install free apps.


text:
Can't enable NFC on Samsung Galaxy S3
For some reason I am unable to enable / use NFC on my Samsung Galaxy S3 (i9300).
When I got the phone, it did work. A month ago, I wanted to use it again and it did not work. I am currently using a non-original battery in my phone, but I swapped the battery with one I've tested NFC with, and it still didn't work, and NFC with my battery in another S3 does work, so it can't be because of the non-original battery.
When the issue first appeared, I was using stock firmware (Android 4.3). After I flashed my phone to Cyanogenmod 13 (including wiping all caches, system, data, ...), I tried again and NFC still does not work. When I flip the NFC switch from off to on, it stays in the 'on' position, but it is disabled (gray), I can't switch it off or on again until I restart the phone, and any app trying to use NFC is telling me to enable it.
There is no warranty on the phone any more, first, because it's too old, second, because there is root+CM on it.
Is there any way I could get NFC to work again? Any "NFC reset" or whatever? Or would I have to buy a new phone? Could this be any software issue or is my NFC module probably broken?
EDIT: logcat says 2952  5203 E NFC-HCI : Could not open /vendor/firmware/libpn544_fw.so. But that file does exist ...

Hmmmmm. Someone else is having this issue? I have it too man. I never had NFC access in the first place. Ill investigate lthe details.


text:
Configure Android to save pictures/video to SDCard
Just installed a 32gb SD card in my Samsung S2.  Is there a way to configure ICS to save all pictures/videos to the SD card instead of internal memory?

Have you looked in the settings for your Camera app?

that's it - I overlooked the obvious.  I can either delete this, or if you'll add this as the answer I'll select & give some karma.

You should be able to do this from the settings of the Camera app, rather than the system settings.

At least in most cases. I was looking for that in many device's camera apps (stock and 3rd party) where it was missing, unfortunately...

@Izzy That's true.  In those cases you might be able to get away with a symlink or something.

Why didn't I get that idea myself? Thanks for the hint!


text:
How do I get play store to stop asking me to auto-update on wifi?
I have an Acer Iconia A200 running Android 4.0.3. Lately whenever I update an app, the Play Store asks me (via a pop-up dialog) if I want to automatically update apps on Wi-Fi. The only answers I can give are 'yes' and 'not now'.
What I really want is 'No, and don't ask again', because I happen to like being involved in updates.
In Play Store->settings->auto update, automatic update is turned off, and has no setting for 'Wi-Fi only'.
Is there any way to turn this annoying message off? I'm very afraid I'm going accidentally answer yes one day and thus lose control of my updates.
Updated: Play store says build 4.0.27 in it's 'Build Version' in the play store settings.
Updated again: It's back. The exact message is 'Update Apps automatically when on Wi-Fi?' and the two options to the dialog are 'Not now' and 'OK'. Interestingly this happened when I updated 'GOdroid' directly from the page, but did NOT happen when I updated 5 other apps at once later that day. I'm wondering if it's only asking once per app or something?

What version of the play store do you have? I'm on 3.10.14 and do not seem to have this issue of a "popup". In Settings there is the option "Update over Wi-Fi only" but this is unchecked and toggling this option does not produce a popup for me.

@w3d - added to the question.

Could you please check the popup message carefully and let us know whether it really asks about actually updating apps or rather check for updates when on wifi? There is an option to restrict the check etc. to Wifi only, so it would at least correspond. Maybe you simply misinterpreted the message, which might happen easily.

I have since been updated to 4.0.27 and although I got prompted after my first app update as to whether I want to auto-update next time (no mention of Wi-Fi though, although I suspect this is dependent on your settings) to which I responded "Not Now", I have not been prompted since in subsequent updates for other apps.

In Play Store->settings->auto update, automatic update is turned off, and has no setting for 'wi-fi only'.

In version 4.0.27 there should still be a 'Wi-Fi only' setting, although it is now (hidden) under the "Auto-update apps" sub menu. In Settings, tap the "Auto-update apps" option:

Update 2013-05-11: I've had quite a few updates for various apps over the past week and not been re-prompted to auto-update next time - that is, until today. Today I got prompted, to which I tapped "Not Now" again. I have not been re-prompted since. Perhaps it prompts once a week or every so many updates?

I had some updates last night and no recurrance of the issue. The A200 is wi-fi only (which is, I assume, why I don't have a wi-fi only setting), and I'm suspecting that the auto update state got screwed up somehow. Then, when I went into the menus looking for how to turn it off before posting, I ended up forcing it into the true 'do not auto-update' state.


text:
Do all apps have a demo/trial version?
Someone suggested a pay-for app in another question and when I looked it up, it seemed it didn't have any trial version that has the feature for which I'd pay.
Now, I will not pay for something I have never seen working, even if it's only 4€ and so I was wondering whether I missed something or whether it's usual for pay-for apps to charge before you even can try it?
(This app, Moon+ Reader, does have a free version, but I'm specifically interested in a feature of the pay-for version, so the limited free version doesn't help.)
It seems like a very long time (maybe never) that I payed for any software on my desktop where there wasn't a demo of some sort to try out the key features you payed for.

Not all apps have a trial version. The developers can decide if they won't to release one or not. I don't see a real question here.

You can purchase an app, use it and if you aren't satisfied, you can tap Refund button within 15 minutes..

@Sachin - There's a Refund Button? Cool, I guess that means really every app essentially has a trial version. (Even if only a 10min trial)! Put it as an answer, I'll accept it :-)

@SachinShekhar If that button is present and can be used with all apps, technically as Martin mentioned, any app has at least a 15min trial period. This is good, consider making your comment an answer.

@Martin and concerning Moon+: It's worth every cent, excellent support. Even if something doesn't work, just write the author. I'm using this App (Pro-Version) for about 2 years now. But before you ask: No, I don't use PDF files, so I cannot judge this feature; but I know how long Seany looked for the perfect implementation before putting it into action, so it must be good :)

You get 15 minutes trial of all paid apps listed in Play Store. Its Google's policy to refund money if you aren't satisfied but you'll have to claim refund within 15 minutes. After purchasing an app, just look for Refund button on app page in Play Store app.

No, not all apps have demo or trail versions. Though Amazon's Android app store has an on-line emulator that lets you try out thousands of different apps in your browser before purchasing.


text:
Cosmic Byte Quantum gaming controller's gyroscope not work over Bluetooth on Android
I’m having an issue with my gaming controller - Cosmic Byte Quantum and was hoping someone could help. Here’s the situation:

Device Setup: I have Cosmic Byte Quantum gaming controller that I connect to my Samsung Galaxy Tab S8+ using Bluetooth.

Problem: The gyroscope on the controller doesn’t seem to be working when connected via Bluetooth. Checked it using Game controller tester App

Observation/Temporary Fix: When I connect the controller to my tablet via USB, the gyroscope works perfectly.

Interesting Observation: If I connect the same controller to my iPhone via Bluetooth, the gyroscope functions correctly without any issues.

Given this, I have a few questions:

Why does the gyroscope work via USB but not Bluetooth on my Android tablet?

Is there a compatibility issue between Android and the controller’s Bluetooth connection?

Could it be a problem with how Android handles Bluetooth devices versus how iOS does?

Why does the gyroscope work over Bluetooth on my iPhone but not on my Samsung Galaxy Tab S8+?

Does iOS have better support for Bluetooth gyroscope functionality?

What can be done to solve this issue?

Are there any settings or apps on Android that I can tweak to fix the gyroscope issue?

Can I root the tab and tweak something to fix this?

Any other alternates, like buying a USB Dongle for the controller can fix this?

Any insights, suggestions, or solutions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance for your help!
What did I try:

Tried updating the firmware of the controller

Tried using other apps/games to test Gyro

Tried other Android devices

Expectation:

Get the gyro from the controller working so as to play games like asphalt8 and others using the Controller's Gyroscope

If the BT communication works in general then buying additional hardware will not change anything as the BT device is only responsible for sending and receiving BT packets. Decoding and data interpretation is a software thing and thus is most likely done by the BT stack or some application level software.

Welcome. Considering this community is about Android, we probably aren't the best community to ask about iOS. However, we have a sister site [apple.se] for Apple products, including iOS, in case you're interested.

If you are interested in checking your controller on BT level you can use nRF connect app
which allows to display the supported services and characteristics of a BT device. Knowing them (especially the UUIDs shown by the app) would it allow to search for entries in Google issue tracker if there are known problems with type of device.

@Robert I've done a similar check using the Game controller tester App. The actual confusion here is why/how does the gyro work on bluetooth for iOS and not on android. What can be really done to fix it. Maybe, consider updating controller drivers on my tab?

My comment wasn't for checking if it works it was for identifying which characteristics are provided by your device thus which Bluetooth protocol standards are used. May be Android doesn't implement the Gyro characteristics then you can not change this or the apps you have used for testing don't make use of this specific characteristics. The nrf connect app just shows the available characteristics. Knowing them would allow to start an internet search for the reason why it doesn't work.


text:
How to add whitelisted package names in test DPC managed configurations?
I intend to create a whitelist of Android packages that are allowed to be launched on this test device policy controller (DPC) (in admin mode) device.
I intend that only these whitelisted apps shall be launchable and others blocked from even launching/installing from the Play Store. (Similar to iOS bundle ID whitelisting)
What has to be done in managed configurations like some boolean/string to enable it?

"I intend that only these whitelisted apps shall be launchable and others blocked from even launching/installing from play store." I haven't found a way to do this via DPC but Google support has an answer nontheless. There is also this article about the topic. Hope that helps.


text:
Is there a way to prevent any USB data transfer for locked Samsung devices?
Just like iPhones are pretty hard to get into once they are locked, due to USB being completely disabled, is there something similar for Samsung, or any Android at all?
This prevents many exploits from being applied to a locked device.
What about prevent from entering DFU mode or any similar mode?

Unclear what you are asking. Are you referring to old patched exploits like: https://googleprojectzero.blogspot.com/2018/09/oatmeal-on-universal-cereal-bus.html or something else? Once physical access to device is achieved, any attacker can get very invasive but it would depend on if the attacker is just trying to unlock the phone OR a nation state level actor.

@MorrisonChang AFAIK, unlike iPhones, Android devices, including Samsungs, generally allow USB data transfer even when locked?

@sfinja: No, that is not true.

@Mavrik I just checked again and you're right. If the device is locked, there is no way to switch the phone's "Use USB for" from No data transfer to File transfer / Android Auto. I must have confused this with debugging via Android Studio while the device is locked (which works for me, once I authenticate the remote PC before locking the device).


text:
Disable default Internet app on Android 6.0.1 on a Samsung Galaxy Tab S2
I'm trying to disable the default "Internet" app. I can't deactivate it via the app manager. I need it disabled, because the Tablet should not be allowed to use an internet browser, but other apps should still be able to connect to the internet. The device is hardened and only a few apps are allowed. But through the settings the user can reach the user manual, which opens the default internet app. Therefore I need to uninstall or disable it.
Has anybody an idea how to get rid of built in apps without rooting the device?
Thanks alot!

From https://www.xda-developers.com/uninstall-carrier-oem-bloatware-without-root-access/:

WARNING Uninstalling system applications can be dangerous so please know what you’re getting rid of before you complete these steps. Failing to do so could result in your phone becoming unusable until you perform a factory reset. Of course, by removing any given system application, another system application that may depend on it may also break so be careful what you remove.

Install the USB drivers for your device (Google has a list of some universal USB drivers here)

Download the ADB binary for your particular OS (Windows, Mac, Linux)

Extract the zip file into a folder that you can quickly access.

On your phone, go to Settings and tap on About Phone. Find the Build Number and tap on it 7 times to enable Developer Options.
4.
Now enter Developer Options and find USB Debugging. Enable it.
5.
Plug your phone into the computer and change it from "charge only" mode to "file transfer (MTP)" mode.
6.
On your computer, browse to the directory where you extracted the ADB binary.
7.
Launch a Command Prompt in your ADB folder. For Windows users, this can be done by holding Shift and Right-clicking then selecting the “open command prompt here” option.
8.
Once you're in the command prompt/terminal, enter the following command: adb devices
9.
You will see that the system is starting the ADB daemon. If this is your first time running ADB, you will see a prompt on your phone asking you to authorize a connection with the computer. Grant it.
10.
Now if you re-run the adb devices command, the terminal will print the serial number of your device. If so, then you’re ready to move on.
11.
Enter the following command: adb shell
12.
Execute the pm list packages | grep '<OEM/Carrier/App Name>' command to find package names.package list

ALTERNATIVELY: You can also easily find the package name of an installed system application by installing the App Inspector app on your phone. I prefer doing it this way so you know exactly what the app name is of the application that you are about to uninstall.

If you have App Inspector follow the steps below:
Step 1: Tap on "App List"
Step 2: Find the app you want to uninstall. (eg. "Compass")
Step 3: Find the package name under the App Name (eg. "com.huawei.compass")

Execute the command like so: pm uninstall -k --user 0 <name of package> command to uninstall a specific system application.

Shouldn't pre-emptive death warnings come BEFORE, so impatient people have to read it first? Last may be too late for some who like the ideas of following numbered instructions (in order, (always in order)).

@wbogacz Thanks for the advice. Will keep that in mind for the future.

Samsung Internet has the package name com.sec.android.app.sbrowser

After uninstalling, you can easily reinstall Samsung Internet from the Galaxy Store or Google Play.

Note that these commands disable an application, instead of completely uninstalling it.

Download "Package disabler" from google playstore,open it and scroll down to find "internet" disable it,it automatically vanishes from your app drawer.You dont need to need root access.

You can go to Settings > Applications > Application manager and navigate to all apps tab then found your browser in this list and tap on it and then you see turn off button, when you disable it using this button, browser should disappear from applications menu. If this is not working for you, there is no other way, you will need to root your tablet.
Update:
After you root your device, you need to download root explorer, total commander or ESFile Manager and go to system/app where you should find browser and delete or cut it from here.
IF YOU DELETE IT FROM HERE, THERE WILL BE NO WAY TO RESTORE THIS WITHOUT REFLASHING ENTIRE ROM!
But there is a second way, which I recommend to you. With downloading Titanium Backup from Google Play Store and freezing your browser from this powerful app. After this you could restore it any time you want.

OP already stated: "I can't deactivate it via the app manager." So that only leaves the "root option". But rooting alone won't solve the issue; maybe you could [edit] your answer and include how to solve the issue if the device is rooted?

Thanks for your answer! I've already tried it via the application manager, but for the browser the "deactivate" button is not clickable. Do I need to root my device for using the Titanium Backup app?

Update: Root is needed for this app, but no option for me because the tablet is used for working purposes.

Go to app manager, select Samsung Internet, then disable all permissions, you will reach a point where you are asked if you would like to uninstall all updates and to go back to the factory stock of the app, just click ok.  It will uninstall, and when you go to your default apps, Samsung Internet is no longer there.  Just did this!

Doesn't work for me, on Android 10.

authors: Тимофей Рульков


text:
Error "FAILED (data transfer failure (Value too large for defined data type))" While Flashing Nexus 4
I have a Nexus 4 that was soft bricked during an OTA update. I have tried to flash several factory images to it and every time it gave me the error  "FAILED (data transfer failure (Value too large for defined data type))". When I tried to flash Occam 4.4 it seemed to finish without any problems. Now when I try to boot it up it doesn't get past the Google screen. I have left it on the Google screen for over an hour and tried wiping the cache and factory reseting it but it is still stuck on the Google screen. Also I tried to flash Occam 4.4 again but the same error displayed when I tried. The bootloader on the phone is unlocked. Can anyone help me either with getting past the Google screen or re-installing Occam on it?  I run Windows 7 and Ubuntu 16.04
Note USB De-bugging is not activated

Regarding the message FAILED (data transfer failure (Value too large for defined data type)), in my case the issue was resolved using another USB cable (first one was from a Samsung Galaxy tablet, second one from a Nexus 7 tablet)

I ended up switching computers which solved the problem.

I was using adb from an Armv7 device and trying to sideload a ROM, where I got this error (adb sideload ROM).
Frustrated, I tried pushing the ROM (adb push ROM and make sure the phone is NOT in the sideload state) and got the exact same error.
This turned out to be the fault of the USB driver, and was nothing to do with adb nor the ROM.
I have heard that USB 2 ports are better for flashing, but my laptop only has USB 3 ports.
So what could I do?
Well, the android shell provided by TWRP contains the cat command. So I split -b 100M <ROM.ext> rom-parts- on my laptop, to split the ROM into several parts, and then did adb push rom-parts-* /sdcard/.
This transferred the files fine. I could then do adb shell to get access to the android shell on the device, and then did cat rom-parts-* > <ROM.ext> and then verified it was the same file by doing an md5sum or sha256sum and comparing with the original file online.
In TWRP I was then able to install the image easily.


text:
Is there a way to prevent phone calls from being accepted with the screen locked?
I tried in many ways to prevent phone calls from being accepted with the screen locked on my Samsung, but there was no such thing.
Why? Well, WhatsApp SMS codes can be received through phone calls, and many other 2FA services as well support phone calls.

A well designed service allows you to protect your account, making it not possible to take over the account even by receiving SMS or phone calls. Not sure if WhatsApp support this  Signal does (account PIN).

@Robert unfortunately the majority of services are not well designed. Even if they were, allowing people to answer calls on my phone if stolen is never a good idea

If I understand correctly, your needs may be met by rejecting calls when your device is locked. If automation is acceptable, try this macro using     MacroDroid app// I haven't tested this but I guess it should work fine since I run a similar macro that rejects all no-contact calls (spam and unwanted business calls)// This app is free upto 5 macros. It asks for a lot of permissions which I grant since I know they are needed and trust the developer

Many answers on this site using MacroDroid using this app including some by me

IDK if you've tried it but you could check with constraint as "screen off" too

I can see that you want to avoid the phone call from being answered while the screen is locked on your Samsung phone. Well, I got a Samsung phone too and I know that there is no built-it setting option for this problem.
Actually, the services like WhatsApp or even other authentication systems via phone might choose to simply call you to deliver the codes and blocking such calls would in fact prevent the proper working of these features. These phone calls are sometimes meant for security reasons so that the Android can process the call even if the screen is locked.
I use an application "Call Blocker" for this and it working on my Galaxy M21. It blocks incoming calls when the screen is locked. Also provides other blocking spam numbers, setting custom call filters, and managing call settings future for privacy. Test it out and see if it works on your phone.


text:
How to unlock user data of my Huawei Honor phone without losing the data？
I have switched on my old Huawei Honor phone after a long gap. On the screen, I have a message stating below

Android system

User data locked
Password required after you restart the device
Some features are disabled automatically for security

I have given the pattern that I remember giving when I used to use it, but then it doesn't get unlocked, and it says incorrect pattern. I tried various other patterns, but they didn't work.
Can anyone help unlock my phone without losing data?

no way to decrypt without correct pattern


text:
How do I get interface similar to moto G first generation or iPhone 6
I have a Samsung Galaxy S22. How do I get an interface similar to moto G first generation or iPhone 6?
Just all apps on the home screen or screens are obtained by scrolling right. Disable ALL other things like scrolling down for the list of apps, unexpected side menus, etc.

The way how Android presents the apps depends on the installed Launcher. Therefore to me your actual question is "Which launcher app shows all apps on the the start screen(s) just like an iPhone does"? Note that asking for app recommendations is off-topic here, use our sister site softwarerecs.stackexchange.com instead.

Posted to SoftwareRecs.SE: https://softwarerecs.stackexchange.com/q/91348/520

Based on the question body, I'm closing this question as a dupe to the linked question about homescreen only. If you want overall user interface of iOS, then I'm afraid the customization is too broad unless you can specify what you really want.


text:
My photos were encrypted on my phone, Galaxy S20 FE, SD card, but I had a problem with phone's fingerprints
My photos were encrypted on my phone, a Samsung Galaxy S20 FE with an SD card, but I had a problem with the fingerprint sensor which forced me to factory reset my phone. After that, I can't access any photos. It thinks that the phone has changed.
Is there a solution to make the photos known on mobile?

How did you encrypt your photos on the sd-card? As to my knowledge the S20fe doesn't support formatting/using the sd-card as internal storage (which encrypted all data o the sd-card) the only alternative is using sd-card as portable storage. And in portable mode all files are stored as the app saves them (which means by default unencrypted). Therefore your description misses the info how your images had been encrypted.

If the photos are encrypted on the SD card, then the answer is no. This is because the encryption key is the pin/password that you use to lock the phone.
You could try

Recall the pin you had used before and set the same pin.
Take the SD card out and try it on a desktop.