What are the alternative Android app markets?

There are actually several alternatives to the 'official' Google Android market (aka Play Store).

I personally like to search for new apps from my PC browser, and a bit less from my phone. Most (all?) of the markets nowadays offer both, via a dedicated phone-app that you'll have to install, except from the official one which is already there.

Until, well, yesterday, the 'official' market would not have been available from your PC (meaning: on a PC web browser). Now it is, with a neat push-to-your-phone one click installation that is taking away one of the advantages of the competition (see AppBrain). The alternative markets, though, have still their peculiarities. I'll make a short summary but don't expect it to highlight all of the differences. Some markets (e.g. AndSpot) do not offer very specific features to users, but try to gather developers by offering advanced features such as easy stats.

Amazon AppStore: latest big entry. countries limitations; catalog looking very promising with some (exclusive?) good pay-for apps; also features special offers and daily freebies. Def worth checking out
AppBrain: born to let you install Android Market applications directly from your PC web browser, also allows you to discover new apps based on the ones you have. It's a meta-store (my favourite before the official market update)
APKPure: don't need any registration to use it
SlideME: they provide applications to niche markets, based on geographic location, payment method or even types of applications that users can't find in traditional channels
Samsung Apps (must be installed on Samsung Galaxy devices, or else you can't use this): Samsung app store, which of course requires you to own a Samsung Android device
F-Droid they distribute FOSS open source packages that pass audit and verification to ensure that code have no malicious parts.
GetJar: my latest discovery. Quite a lot of apps, and they have specials ("GOLD") commercial apps for free. Extremely interesting platform for developers, since they seem to offer above-the-average marketing and PS activities!
TorrApk: it's free and it distributes only free Android apps through their apk files. If you are a developer you can get your account and publish your apps. (NB. Not sure how legit the apps there are, though)
appsfire: used to be yet another app for discovering official market applications (iOS/Android), now an app advertising agency

I'll add that there's a market for Adult Apps too now; and a lot of review/forum sites will link to one or more of these markets, e.g., AndroidTapp or AndroidPit AndroLib.

I suggest you click on some of these links and see for yourself if the look/applications suit your style!

Thanks to various sources, in particular this thenextweb.com article, and a lot of other stackexchange editing!

For neverending memory, the following are no longer available:

AndSpot: focused around an app for sharing and discovering apps
Handango by appia.com: a huge, cross-platform (Symbian/Android/Java/Winmobile...) market
aproov: a quite different web look. Register to download via a specific phone app.
MobiHand OnlyAndroid: more focused on (expensive) pay apps, but offers discounts and free deals


Gesture typing suggestions in Google Now

I don't believe that there is any way to do this.

This must have been hard coded into the Google Now app - as that is the only way they will act like this.

The only way would be to contact Google and ask them to change it in their app.


If you're sure that you never login to any Android physical devices recently, then there's a possibility that you're using Android emulator with Google Play services (e.g. BlueStacks), and login your Google account on it.

Based from observation (this question, self-testing, and another source), BlueStacks tends to emulate Samsung devices. As explained by jpr on AndroidCentral forum,

  Well, BlueStacks has to show as some type of device if you connect to Google Play to download apps, or you wouldn't be able to download apps from it. Which device it shows as can vary. It historically has been some type of Samsung device, usually a Galaxy, and usually is a T-Mobile version, but of course they could have randomized the carrier now or switched to AT&T to avoid easy detection.

(minor copyedited)


Are there any known conflicts between the official Samsung GpsRestore App for the Galaxy-S and custom roms?

The app only changes the settings, so it doesn't matter which GPS code the ROM has.  All the custom ROMs I know of use GPS code from Samsung anyways.

One note: This will fix very few people's problems.  The factory settings cause most of the problems, so restoring will probably hurt more than help.  It is possible that the new 2.2 releases will fix some issues, however, and in that case it's probably better to use whatever settings Samsung tested with the new GPS code, i.e. the settings GpsRestore uses.


The easiest way is to backup the contents of the SD Card to your PC, then delete all partitions, create a single Fat32 partition, and then restore the card contents.

Simply either use the same partitioning tool you did when you partitioned the card to begin with, or one of many free partitioning tools available.  I highly recommend GParted.


How to tweak camera/screen for Whatsapp web QR scanner

first of all, make sure you have a high speed internet connection.
If so then do -

hold still your phone in landscape mode and try to scan for atleast 10 sec..
(worked for my galaxy-y duos)


After some investigation, I believe this in Android 4.4 issue.

It seems to be designed to use only Google contacts, synchronized with Gmail. I could not find any option to even display SIM contacts - they can only be imported from SIM to Google.

I know for sure, that in Android 4.2 devices, user can choose between location of contacts and can display all contacts, regardless of where they are saved.


How do I identify apps or settings that cause performance problems?

Watchdog will monitor your phone's performance and alert you of issues. Here's a quote from the Lifehacker article on Watchdog.

  Watchdog runs in the background,
  watching for apps to start using more
  than a certain percentage of CPU power
  that you specify (with a default of 80
  percent). When it notices an app going
  out of bounds, it notifies you and
  offers options to kill the app, ignore
  it, or add it to your "Whitelist" of
  pay-no-mind programs. By default,
  Watchdog doesn't use much power
  itself, only checking in every two
  minutes or so, but you can make it run
  more real-time if you'd like to really
  pin down a problem you know is
  happening.


OH Facebook and messenger theirs your battery killers. plus anything using the net will kill it. i charge my 5X and im good for 3 days. I dont play games but i use it for some web browsing well away from home. also i listen to music on the device which dont eat the battery as bad


Wrong reply-to header in emails (tine20)

I found the solution:

If you use two different servers for mail and tine20, you need to use the mail address if you create the Exchange Connection on the android device. The automatic set up will fail, and in the advanced settings you can enter the name of the tine20 server.

If you use the tine20 login on the first screen, the stock mail app will add a reply-to header to the tine20 server. And that's not valid, if you run two servers.


How to make incoming SIP calls work on Android 4.x?

On Android 4.1.x with enabled native SIP call stack:
Internet Call Settings > Enable Incoming Calls

If you set your DID account correctly and your SIP provider supports DID, then you will be able to receieve calls.


Why won't my nexus 7 update to Jelly Bean 4.2?

This turned out to be a hardware issue. I had two relatively pleasant conversations with tech support at google play and asus. Since it was a new purchase I just returned it.


https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gmail.heagoo.sdcardmovable
open the app,
goto "only ROM" tab,
press and hold the app,
tap "make it movable",
"uninstall" (the original app),
"install" (the patched apk),
then check again from your app settings if the "change" (storage) button appears.
Note: the app will no be longer updated from Playstore. You lose all app data on uninstall


Can adb backup/restore be used to root a device?

Your assumption that the process which writes the restored files to the storage device runs with "quite high permissions" is wrong. Backup service calls backup agents (implemented by applications themselves) to backup and restore data. So each app backs up and restores its own backup data.


Just now I tried this in my nexus 7 and it worked. My nexus 7 has lost its root access after update to 4.3 and I didn't bother to root it again - just fyi in case if OTG didn't work in your nexus 4.

I set up PIN as my security option, connected OTG cable and connected a mouse. After restart (mouse didn't detect the moment it was connected and worked after reboot only) I was able to use mouse to click the numbers to enter PIN.


how can I get into download mode of Cube Talk7x (U51GT-W)?

Download mode is a Samsung exclusive partition that only exists on these devices to allow Manual ROM installations from The ODIN PC client. Other devices do not use the download mode you are talking about, including the device you are using this method on.

To elaborate,

ODINs a samsung-only partition that allows form the installation of ROMS and bootloader updates via PC. It can serve Installations to many, many devices at once via bulk download (Which can support 50 at a time, I think. Of course, you probably do not have 50 USB ports) It is primarily used by Samsung when flashing new ROMS for shipping (the software was made by Samsung, after all) and Samsung users who want to root their phones and tablets in a "technical" way (even though the hard work is done by the the Root package Devs, mainly Yabbot, who is better known as Chainfire)


sync htc / android phone with macbook / mac os x

As of now, there's no counterpart on Mac for HTC Sync.

You can however try MissingSync for Mac - which allows for syncing of contacts, calendars, notes, tasks etc. on Mac


Is there an Android open source alarm clock? I want to log whether or not I press snooze

I highly recommend the standard android clock as a basis for this: http://android.git.kernel.org/?p=platform/packages/apps/DeskClock.git;a=summary


App force opens Play Store when I try to open Chrome

From OP themself:

I got it fixed although I'm not sure which one of these things did the trick.

I went into the Application Manager and scrolled across to "All"

I then scrolled down Google Play Store and cleared the data.

Next I scrolled down to Chrome, I force stopped it, cleared the data, then turned it off and then back on.

Doing that seemed to do the trick, although I'm not sure which one of those steps was the right one.


Is it possible to access Chrome data without root?

App data folders of any app cannot be accessed without root. Even ADB has limited power here

On top of that, in some versions of Chrome on Android app data is encrypted


How to select an arbitrary MP3 as ringtone on LineageOS?

I'm pretty sure that this damaged my profile setup so that I needed to do a factory reset. The approach is however supposed to work and most likely will with your phone - have a backup ready just in case and see https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-one/help/lineage-os-homescreen-menu-buttons-t3553235 for (horrible forum-style) info in case you don't and and did the following anyway.

Since I don't have access to the internal storage in the LineageOS and other file browsers, but to my SD card only (or the SD card is commonly referred to as internal storage which would be largely ambiguous), I could put the MP3 file into Ringtones on the SD card and select the ringtone after a reboot.

I suggested to replace this with an intuitive import function in the ringtone selection menu at https://jira.lineageos.org/browse/BUGBASH-1945.


No worries, If you have not upgraded it till now then the possibility of no OTA update might have occured which does not mean that you cannot update.

Here is it what you need to do:

Install Samsung Kies
Connect your Samsung galaxy note 2 to laptop
Install required drivers for your phone
Open Samsung Kies and you can find the firmware update for Android 4.4.2

or else here is link to various official release of Android 4.4.2 for note 2

http://androidromupdate.com/2014/08/03/install-n7100xxufne1-galaxy-note-ii-n7100-official-4-4-2-kitkat-update-firmware/


Can Maps run without a data or wifi connection?

Using offline map data, you can definitely run navigation without a data connection, either mobile or WiFi. I verified with Maps 9.31.3.


Some apps can't be moved to the SD card, because they wouldn't work properly anymore (widgets would suddenly dissapear, services would randomly stop).

The normal way to move apps to the sdcard is to go to settings > apps > * app you want to move* and click "Move to sdcard". If the app prevents that, the button is grayed out.

If you're running Android 6 or higher, you can format the sdcard as internal storage, then apps would be moved to the sdcard automatically. To do that, go to settings > storage > sdcard, then click on menu and select "Format as internal storage".

If you have a lower version of Android, the only solution would be rooting, which I wouldn't recommend if you don't know what you're doing. It would also allow you to move apps to the sdcard, but you can also destroy your phone completely when you're rooted and you don't know what you're doing.


BBM Android chat lost after Android crash

The problem was caused by the other user having an accident with their phone and losing their BBM contacts, which in turn deletes the chat.  I'm not entirely sure of the process, but they had to re-add me as a contact, and the chat remained lost.


What's the difference between the LG G6 model numbers h870, h870s, h870k and h870v?

Suffix variants are meant for different regions and carriers around the world, mostly for support of different regional LTE bands.

From PDAdb: H870 supports 14 bands; H870S supports 8; H870K only supports 5. I don't see a "V" variant listed (it's against the naming norm of LG, actually).

AFAIK, Europe uses LTE Band 20 primarily, so both H870 and H870S should do the job locally just fine, but considering international roaming capabilities, H870 is the one you want to get if you do have the money to shell out (EU variants are almost always the most expensive).

One more thing: if you want to tinker with the phone at all (even just rooting, even not immediately), buy the EU variant without hesitation. Only EU (H870) and US Open (US997) variants will ever get official bootloader unlock from LG - not even the Australian variant (which also bears H870 with no suffix).


Android stops/pauses execution of my background script?

Android turns off some of CPUs and/or don't let apps use them when it's dozing. It's achieved through Linux kernel's Control Groups. One of the cgroups is cpuset that controls which CPU is assigned to which processes. Android creates multiple descendant cgroups in cpuset e.g. background, foreground, system-background, top-apps etc.

Apps are normally in background category which can use least no. of CPUs - usually one or two. Core native services like vold, zygote (and system_server), telephony services, and apps which run a foreground service (e.g. notification) or those exempted from Battery Optimization or those having privileges like allow-in-power-save are put in foreground group which can use CPUs even when device is in sleep mode.

So you need to add the script to foreground cgroup in order to keep it alive. From within script:

~# echo -n $$ >/dev/cpuset/foreground/tasks

Going even more aggressive, you can hold a wake lock so that device doesn't suspend:

~# echo -n my_script >/sys/power/wake_lock

Don't forget to release it (echo -n my_script >/sys/power/wake_unlock) after stopping the script.

Please note that both of these measures can adversely affect your battery performance, particularly the latter. Android's warning:

  Creating and holding wake locks can have a dramatic impact on the host device's battery life


Make the screen to appear again when the screen is off by just touching the screen. Instead of pressing the on/off button

I'm afraid there is no such facility (though it might exist a device which has this, I've not yet heard of). Screen off means screen off.

However, I may be able to offer an alternative: tasker can react on "motion" as well, so you could use a "shake-pattern" as trigger. A profile I could imagine:

Condition: Shake twice (record the shake-pattern)
Task: Turn display on, unlock, bring app to foreground

I'm not sure if "shake patterns" could also be something like "tap the device twice", so you could try that as well. And though Tasker is a payed app (worth every cent!), there's a free, fully functional 7-day-trial available on their homepage.


KitKat 4.4.2 error 'unfortunately, the process com.android.systemui has stopped working

I finally found out that holding the power button down turns it off. Hopefully this will help others.


WhatsApp on Android 11: getting rid of all notifications except for receiving messages?

Starting from Android 8.0, all notifications are assigned to "channels". You can access these notification channel settings from Android settings (not the settings within WhatsApp itself) and turn individual channels' notifications on or off. It is up to the developer of the app to decide which notification goes to which channel.
Go to: Settings -> Apps & notifications. Select the app in question, then select Notifications to access the notification settings.


Samsung Galaxy S plus is becoming unresponsive when locked

If you're using a custom lock app, it may be to blame.  Try reverting to the stock lockscreen.


Migrate Clash of Clans data from Android to iOS

You just need to link your ios device to android device

Log in to Apple-account/game center on both devices.
After that follow the steps-

On android device, go to settings inside Clash of Clans
Press "Link a device" on android device
Press "This is the old device" on android device
On iPhone go to settings inside "Clash of Clans"
Press "This is the new device" on iPhone
Press "I want to link to another device" on Android (you will see a code)
Enter (on iPhone) the code you have on Android.
It will ask you if you want to replace the village you have on iPhone with the village you have on Android.
Hit "Yes" on iPhone
Type in "CONFIRM"
Hit enter.
It will now load up and you have your village on both devices. Enjoy!
Keep in mind you can only have your village open at one device at a time.


Sure!

Though a rooted device is needed, and in the case of HTC phones, probably also s-off. Just download VibraFix, which will allow you to completely turn off vibration. It will also allow you to pass through calls and texts, if that is needed.


Android update not proceeding beyond the point of earlier cancellation

Try deleting the temporary file that is 36Mb in size and re-start the download again this time.

Please include the method in how you're downloading the update - if you are using Kies, be sure to exit Kies first completely, then look for that temporary file (it will be in a hidden spot within the temporary directory under Windows - not sure of the path C:\Documents And Settings\Users\XXXX\Local Data ** OR ** C:\Documents and Settings\Users\XXXX\Application Data or similar)

You can easily find that out by searching for it depending on where the Windows Environment Variabel $TEMP points to.


Launcher3 is the default launcher in AOSP Android, and is the base behind many customized launchers - even Google's own Now Launcher (obsolete) and Pixel Launcher. Some manufacturers would leave the default name and icon in, but customize its appearance and behaviour nonetheless.

If still unsure, verify the package ID using one of the methods listed in this question.


Try OneRootClick
they have quite a good range of phones they can root.


this sounds like you move in and out of data service alot. 4G was very new in ICS and radio handoff wasn't very efficient. even if you have a newer version of android, what i'm about to describe will still help. if you are in a location with secure wifi access and little or no 4G signal, turn off your mobile data to keep the device from using battery by trying to find a signal. the radio firmware will chew thru power searching for signal, even with the screen off. turning off mobile data has helped me save a lot of battery in the past. you will still able to call and text, as 4G is a data-only band. if your device supports VoLTE, turn that off as well. doing that will force the device to route calls over another band that uses less power and hopefully has better signal strength.


After deleting photos from my phone via computer, there are still empty placeholders in my gallery

You can try rebuild the media library. Go to Apps in Settings, make it show system apps and locate the app Media Storage, force stop it and clear its data (not cache), then reboot and wait for 15~20 minutes for a full rescan/rebuild.


How can I get Google Photos app to see old/other photos stored on SD card?

First check if in Google photos app options under Device Folders if you can see the photos on external SD.
If you can't,  from Settings → Apps → show System apps → Media Storage → Clear data (this is the path in Marshmallow ). Don't worry, you won't lose anything
Reboot and wait for a while for media index to be rebuilt

You should now see photos on external SD


Exclude App from Android 2.1 on Android Market for Performance Reasons?

Are there really some 2.1 phones out there that are very slow, say, using the speed of the Evo as a benchmark?

Yes, absolutely.  I can't play Angry Birds on my HTC Hero running 2.1 because of poor performance.  The game plays fine on my wife's newer Evo.

My advice would be to see if you can buy an old used handset to test your apps on yourself.  That way you'll be able to head off any negative reviews by targeting devices where you know your app performs well.


data/log folder causes "internal storage has run out of space" message

I just deleted it... it seems to be a bug with cyanogenmod. Will update if there are any problems.

Deletion was done through the terminal app. You type su to give it super user permissions, then you go to the path and use a linux command to delete the files.


What kind of data is stored in website settings?

It varies from website to website. HTML 5 has a feature called local storage, which lets websites store a modest amount of data in the browser for future visits. They're a bit like cookies, but can be used to store more data. Like cookies, different sites use it for different things.

Some sites (most commonly web games) use local storage to save the Javascript and other files the site uses, so that you can keep using/playing it even when you don't have an internet connection. Or they might use it as a cache for icons on the site, so it loads faster next time you visit.

Some sites use it to save your preferences on the site (e.g. search options, or what posts you've read) to give you the same view or content on multiple visits without you having to login and save preferences on the server. They might even use it for your content: for example, a forum site might save draft posts/comments in local storage before you post them, so your work isn't lost even if you lose connection to the site while writing.

Because the data aren't meaningful outside of the site, and only the Javascript on the site knows how to interpret them, Chrome doesn't offer a way to view or edit the data for each site.

CSS Tricks has a brief description of local storage, along with some examples of what sites do or might use it for.


Can I easily redownload all my apps if I get a new phone?

Yes you can.  There are a number of utilities around to do backup and restore, as well as other options.

I recently moved from the HTC Magic to the Desire HD.  The way I did it was to use a free AppBrain account.  This has a few advantages, in my opinion:

You can search for, read about and
tag for installation, applications,
on your computer, with a larger
screen/keyboard etc.
You can organise
apps into groups if you have multiple
android devices.
You can share your
apps with other people.

You can check out appbrain at http://www.appbrain.com/
If you just want straight backup and restore, Titanium backup, as mentioned by others, is a good choice. ( http://www.matrixrewriter.com/android/ )

You can also find both of them in the Android Market.


"Unfortunately, the process com.android.phone has stopped" error

I've read that this issue will occur because of APN settings being incompatible with the settings offered by your service provider. This is specifically only if the error pops up when you try and change networks.
Try

open settings >mobile networks>network operators>select manually. Then select a network purposely that's not your service provider. Your sim will refuse to pick a signal. Revert back to select automatically. Activate then deactivate flight mode and try and select 4G network

These are other remedies that work for the error you've provided but aren't exclusively for when changing networks. They are for when the error pops up when using phone or dialer.
Settings>Application Manager/ Applications > Switch to the All tab in Applications Manager >Telephone/Dialer/Phone
Open the phone app and force stop>clear data>wipe cache
do the same above except instead of phone/dialer work through for sim toolkit.
Factory reset your phone.

If all the above doesn't work then you'll have to recieve the APN settings from your provider and configure it yourself through mobile networks or have them configure it themselves.


Whatsapp can't use google account for backup

Did you already add that Google account while setting up the phone? Please check Settings > Users & accounts if that account is already added.
If it is, then try removing it and adding it again.

P.S: It may be called Accounts in older Android versions.


How to create shortcuts to a certain subset of files

Install Astro File Manager.
Long tap homescreen & choose Shortcuts. Then, choose Astro from list. Using it, you can create shortcut of any file on homescreen.
Bundle these shortcuts in a homescreen folder using your default launcher. I use in-built folder feature of ADW Launcher EX (my default home launcher).

If your default launcher doesn't have folder feature, you can install Folder Organizer. Using it, you can create folder widget on homescreen. You can put shortcuts in this widget & Astro will help here again as in Step 2.


Bootanimation can't be changed anymore for unknown reason

I had a similar problem on CyanogenMod and it turned out to be broken permissions. I tried the following which worked in the shell only for whatever reason. You need to be rooted and have ADB installed. The following commands mount the system partition for reading and writing, copy stock bootanimation zip (change location, or skip), copy custom bootanimation zip to data/local, and (re)applies correct permissions to media folder and zip files, and finally reboot (if you want).

adb shell
su
mount -o remount,rw /system
cp /sdcard/download/cm/bootanimation.zip /system/media
cp /sdcard/download/bootanimation.zip /data/local
chmod 775 /system/media
chmod 644 /system/media/bootanimation.zip
chmod 644 /data/local/bootanimation.zip
reboot

If you want to restore to stock, simply delete the data/local version. If you want a new one, replace it while keeping the system/media version intact. You can also create your own bootanimation using this guide from XDA.


Identifying an unknown Android tablet through adb/shell without relying on build.prop

Have you tried these:

adb shell getprop ro.product.device
adb shell getprop ro.product.model
adb shell getprop ro.product.name

EDIT: Upon re-reading the question, it seems that my suggestion is not applicable.
I trust that you have a stock recovery? If so, connect it to PC while in recovery mode and do the following over ADB:

adb shell
cat default.prop

If default.prop still does not give you what you want, I'm really sorry but I can't think of any other solution than to look for a stock firmware.


Battery of Samsung Galaxy S5 drained in 5 hours on Android 5.0

High battery usage of Google Play Services could be caused by a number of things. A few suggestions I could make to help rectify your issue would be to:

1) Force stop the app; clear the cache and then allow it to restart.
2) Install 'Greenify' from the PlayStore and prevent the app creating wakelocks.
3) If you are rooted; try reflashing an Android L 5.0 Gapps package with recovery.


How to enable USB Storage for Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7" Tablet

There are USB options which control how the port is to be used (or not) when connected to a computer.  Unfortunately, these options are pretty well hidden -- the easiest way to get to them is if you get a notification about the USB, and can click on it to open the USB options.
Otherwise, to get to the options:

From the top, pull down the toolbar and select the options (gear icon).
In the Device section, you have Device Options, open that.
There is a hidden "Developer Options" here (OS 5.6.8, but may be up a level under "Device Options" -- unhide by tapping the "Serial Number" name seven (7) times (you might get a countdown).  Then the Developer Options should be unhidden, either right below the Serial Number, or up a level under Device Options.
Open the "Developer Options and tap on "USB Connections" selection.
You get choices on how the USB connection is used, select File transfer, or MTP (Media Transfer Protocol), or PTP (picture transfer Protocol),...


Google apps (Gmail, Maps, Play) don't work when on data connection (Android - Pocophone F1)

I followed several online troubleshooting guides for similar problems but nothing worked. In the end, I had to resort to a factory reset, and that sure fixed it.


Go to Option in the Outlook Web OWA, then select "Outlook Web Version" , then uncheck the box that says "Use the light version of OutlookWeb App"


How do I use Tasker to download web images and set them as my background?

I just messed around with Tasker a little more and found an answer. For anyone who is curious here it is.
 1. Create a new profile set to every 24 hours.
 2. Add a new action
 3. Search for and select HTTP Get
 4. Set the Server:Port to https://source.unsplash.com/2560x1440/?nature/
 5. Set the Mime Type to image/*
 6. Set the Output File to unsplash.jpg
 7. Create a new action
 8. Search for and select Set Wallpaper
 9. Set the Image to unsplash.jpg
That should then change the background to a random image every day at midnight. Please let me know if I have made any mistakes, but from what I can see this works.


Decrypting manually Android 4.4.2 partitions pulled from phone (SM-G313HN)

Okay so I got more info about how Samsungs encryption works from this video and was able to decrypt my userdata partition with tool called Sandy. As for SD card I just pulled out eds_p_sd file from /efs partition from my dd dump and put it back into factory reset phone and it worked like a charm. But SD card decryption can also be achieved with the Sandy framework you just need to have eds_p_sd file and right ECryptFS version so the keys work otherwise you will run into problems.


RE: Android 4.0.4 shows folder count on Galaxy Note (Android 4.0.4) but not on Galaxy Tab 10.1 (Android 4.0.4)

This isn't a standard feature of the Launcher.

This has most likely been added by Samsung to their touchwiz build of the Galaxy Note - as such, it would not be possible to get this on your Galaxy Tab.


USB charger produces high-pitched noise while the battery is full

This is indicative of poorly designed/ defective piece and best replaced ASAP.

From bwDraco's answer on Why do some AC adapters and power supplies generate a whining noise, and what can I do about it? (emphasis added; missing text denoted by "....")

Most modern AC adapters are switched-mode power supplies. The internal switching frequency of an SMPS is typically low when unloaded and increases with load up to a certain point depending on the design. The no-load frequency is often low enough to be within the human hearing range....Under load, a properly functioning SMPS should operate at a frequency well above the human hearing range, typically 50 KHz or higher (although some older designs operate at 33 kHz). However, the same noise can occur under load with a poorly designed or defective power supply as the coils may vibrate under electrical stress at a subharmonic frequency....As such, a defective device can generate audible coil whine during operation

From iHelix150's post on Why does my phone charger make a horrible high-pitched noise when it's plugged in? And can I stop it?

Most switching power supplies use a switching frequency above 20-30KHz so the human ear can never hear it. However for one that is in the 10-20KHz range, the switching is sometimes translated into audio frequency noise ....The noise changes based on how much power is being consumed by your phone....Unfortunately the way to stop it is to just buy a new cell phone charger, ideally one that's not a cheap piece .... If your phone charger is not a cheap piece .... (note that whether or not it's a cheap piece .... has nothing to do with how much you paid for it) its possible its capacitors were damaged by spikes, surges or other bad quality power problems, in which case you should invest in a good quality surge suppressor with noise filtering.


How can I avoid receiving Flipboard emails/notifications

To stop receiving emails from Flipboard, simply unsubscribe from their email list. You can usually find an unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email.

If you can't find the link, use this page to unsubscribe.

To stop receiving notifications from the app, go to your phone settings -> application Manager -> Flipboard -> notifications, and switch "allow notifications" to "off"


How to stream an encrypted backup of the entire device to remote host?

We have authenticated login, encrypted archive, rsync and multiple transport protocols (including HTTP, WebDAV, FTP and SSH/SFTP) in one tool: rclone. It supports local filesystem and a number of cloud storage. Additionally it does have all of the four mentioned servers builtin. It means that all you need on both sides is rclone. No root access is necessary either. If you want to mount remote directory (using rclone mount), however, that requires FUSE support and root access on Android.

rclone does have builtin encryption i.e. files on remote will be created encrypted. Also there are multiple authentication methods supported including username/password and RSA keys (with SFTP), but those are usually unnecessary when encryption is already there.

A simple use case:

On server:

Run minimal SSH server if not already running:

~$ mkdir -p BackupDir/Encrypted
~$ rclone serve sftp --user <username> --pass <password> --addr :2222 BackupDir

On phone:

Create obscure password:

~$ rclone obscure <password>

Create configuration file (use rclone config for simple steps):

# rclone.conf

[PLAIN_TARGET]
type = sftp
host = <server_ip>
port = 2222
user = <username>
pass = <obscure_password>
#key_file = /path/to/.ssh/id_rsa

[CRYPT_TARGET]
type = crypt
remote = PLAIN_TARGET:/Encrypted
filename_encryption = standard
directory_name_encryption = true
password = <obscure_password>

Copy test file to server without and with encryption:

~$ echo Hi >test_file
~$ rclone --config rclone.conf sync test_file PLAIN_TARGET:/
~$ rclone --config rclone.conf sync test_file CRYPT_TARGET:/

SFTP supports modification timestamps, WebDAV and FTP both don't. However symlinks cannot be transferred as symlinks, those are either ignored or original file is copied or .rclonelink file is created. A way to copy symlinks and all metadata including timestamps, extended attributes (like SELinux labels), and ACLs is to throw tar stream at rclone rcat:

~$ tar --xattrs -cpvzf - test_file | rclone rcat CRYPT_TARGET:/test_file.tgz

Similarly you can get back the file using rclone cat. This will also largely reduce transfer time (even up to less than half) particularly if you have large number of small-sized files. Adding reasonable compression to tar may even reduce space usage and time, but high compression can go wrong too. However this way incremental sync won't work and you need to untar to use files on remote. It's also possible (by some scripting) to find only changed files first by running rclone check or by passing option --dry-run to rclone sync command and then add those files to tar archive.

  I'm not sure if a zip of / is sufficient for backup purposes.

On Android rootfs / contains a number of directories and mount points - pseudo filesystems like sysfs, procfs and read-only filesystems like system and vendor partitions - which cannot be or don't need to be backed up. User settings, apps data and personal data is stored in /data partition. For details see Android Partitions and Filesystems and How disk space is used on Android device?.

So you can backup selected directories from /data or the whole partition at maximum. However, as mentioned by @alecxs in comment, if you intend to restore apps data (in /data/data), you'll have to minutely take care of files metadata - in particular UIDs/GIDs and SELinux contexts.

Say you want to backup whole /data partition, do:

~# tar --xattrs -cpvzf - /data | rclone -P rcat PLAIN_TARGET:/data.tgz

For ideas on how to dump complete partitions (block devices), see How to recover a deleted file from /data partition?


How can I prevent the battery in my Nexus S from draining overnight?

There are several things which can be done. Most obvious is to switch it off completely (grin), but that only as a side note. Also, switching it to Airplane mode falls close -- though, when used with a "timer" (via automation apps such as Tasker or Llama), it can be quite a useful thing to not only save some juice over night, but also care for some silence. Another obvious option is to connect it to some power source, which clearly prevents it from running out of juice. But these are just general rules.

In your special case, the problem is some app draining your battery over night. True, above mentioned solutions would take care that there's enough juice left -- but still that's a misbehaving app. So first thing I would do is, after it drained a little (but still enough juice is left, say 30% or more to be sure), go and check your battery stats. You will find them in your system settings, on most devices it is in Settings → About Phone → Battery Use. This should list the most heavy consumers, and your candidate should be on the very top.

Other useful sources on this topic (and here at Android Enthusiasts) include:

How to deal with (orphaned) WakeLocks? (especially when you cannot find the "evil app" in the consumers list)
How can I tell what is really draining my battery?
What can I do to increase battery life on my Android device?


Callers cannot hear me unless I turn on speaker phone!

Try disabling "Noise Cancellation" on your device.


How do I stop my screen from flickering when I wave my hand across my camera?

I found out that this was caused by installing SuperN64. Strange that it caused something across the entire phone and every app, not just itself.


Can't install new apps, all incompatible with Android phone (ZTE Blade)

When the market re-upates itself. Goto:

Settings > Applications > Manage Applications > Market

and select 'clear cache'

Now go back into the market and re-signin with your market account. See if this helps.


Why can't I download apps from the Android Marketplace?

Try clearing the cache and data of the Market application.


Will Google Music sync my iTunes playlists?

Figured it out. Originally synced it with "My Music" folder option and no playlists showed up. Restarted with option of "iTunes" and in a few minutes my playlists showed up without having to resync all the music.


You can simply boot into recovery using  Reboot Recovery app.


"/sdcard/Sounds" folder appears empty in Windows 7 for Samsung Galaxy S3

Being aware it is not a full-fledged solution but rather a workaround (it's still unclear what's causing the underlying issue), this answer sums up what we figured being a work-around at least:
As the files/directories don't show up the usual way via "sharing the SDCard", they can still be accessed by other means. One example is using ADB: using adb pull files can be transferred from the device to the computer, and with adb push in the other direction. Examples:

adb pull /sdcard/Sounds/ E:\audio\phone would take the entire folder /sdcard/Sounds and save it as E:\audio\phone on the computer
adb push E:\audio\phone /sdcard/Sounds/ for the opposite

The culprit: types of "source" and "target" must match. If "source" is a file, "target" must be a file as well: adb pull /sdcard/Sounds/some.mp3 E:\audio\phone would fail as the source is a file and the target a directory.
Other draw-backs can be worked around as well: if you prefer a graphical solution over tinkering with the command line, there are several good GUIs available, e.g.

QtADB
Droid Explorer (by our member Ryan Conrad)

And several more. As a side-effect of installing ADB, you've got a powerful tool ready which will certainly help you with many other things!
For getting ADB to work without installing the full SDK, please refer to Is there a minimal installation of ADB? More ADB related information can be found via our adb tag and its tag-wiki.
Alternatives include several "WiFi file managers", which are too many to be listed here. So if you rather want a "simple app installed" on your Android device, and then do everything with your browser, you might wish to take a look at the following lists:

Manage your Android Device from your Computer
FTP Server
Various File Servers


I'm suggesting something similar to what @Gokul NC has suggested. I'm assuming you have a computer, so this is a better option with a higher chance of successfully rooting.

Access your computer, go to the browser, and download Kingo root from https://www.kingoapp.com. Once it's downloaded, install the program, connect your device, and you'll be given further instructions within the app.
I have tested this method more than 10 times, you should experience satisfying results.


Does upgrading bootloader wipe your data?

Ok, I made a backup in case and then I performed the upgrade.

End result: It did not wipe my data. It did not re-lock my fastboot, or any other side effect that I could find except updating the bootloader version either.


The issue with most class10 sdcards for most devices is it's higher clock speed

A normal microsd (class6-below) operates only @ 0-25MHz compared to
A class10 microsd (UHS-I-UHS-II) operates @ 0-100MHz (up to 208MHz for UHS104)

This messes up with the controller on the card reader of your Nook and mistimes the writing and reading on the card making its performance appear worse. Some class10 sdcards adapt to slow controllers but I think most class10's are design for the newer.

I still have my xperia play and I use sandisk's 32GB UHS-I class10 card. The card's performance was terrible until I got across a hack to the TI card reader controller I found on xda forums. I flashed the custom driver which fixes the timing issue on newer card and now I can get up to 12MB write/ 25MB read, no write drops, and makes a it a great swap partition.

Try to find a custom driver hack for your nook, but you will be taking big risks because you will be modifying a very low-level part of your device.


I had a blue light filter app running that dims the screen to prevent damage to your eyes, and it was apparently blocking the installation of APKs and the selection of certain menu options in other cases.


Go to Settings -> Apps -> YouTube -> Clear Defaults.

Next time you open a you tube link, you will be asked to Chose which app should be used to open the link. You can chose Flyperlink from there.


The newest versions of FullHDMI work without root, but my understanding is that the performance is degraded on unrooted devices (haven't compared myself, so I don't know if that's accurate or how bad it is).


I am not sure if adding APN from adb shell is the right solution. But if you want to try check this post.

what you basically do is change the prefered apn, or update the existing.


No, you can't see.
No, blocking messages is different from blocking calls.
After your message is delivered you 'll see a single tick

For more options use Private space, Handcent SMS apps.


What are the BT Yahoo! Mail settings for outgoing and incoming mail servers?
Incoming Mail (POP3) Server: mail.btinternet.com with Port 110
Outgoing Mail (SMTP) Server: mail.btinternet.com with Port 25
Account Name/Login Name: Your email address
(including the "@btinternet.com" or "@btopenworld.com" part)
Password: Your BT Yahoo! password

step-by-step
Online step-by-step instructions to help with your email setup.


Cannot select "Start now" on a dialog when using app to do screen capture on Marshmallow

Its very simple brothers.. you cannot click "start now" or
 if u trying to install any 3rd party application you cannot click "install" on moto g4 device .. its because you all people enabled "filter applications" like "blue filter"

Please disable that and enjoy


Android directly uninstall from home screen by drag and drop

Unless your launcher specifically supports it then no.

Some launchers allow you to easily uninstall by long clicking and then dragging to an uninstall option, some require you to do it all manually.

You may wish to search for alternate launchers from Google Play if you really want to be able to do this.


This is some bug, I had this problem to, but later it was disappeared.


Is there a way to customize vibrate patterns?

SMS Popup does vibration patterns on a per contact basis (or for all texts).

Handcent does it only for all texts.

Missed Call will do vibration patterns for SMS (per contact), phone calls (per contact),  Battery, Calendar events, device storage, etc.


How to recover files form hide it pro app?

You should attempt to change the extension of the files to their original *.png or *.jpg extensions.  At least one of the extensions should work.


According to this link, you can reach recovery by holding the power button and the volume button for a few seconds when the phone is turned off completely.

From there you'll probably be able to reset your phone to factory defaults to make the phone bootable again. This probably means losing all user data stored on the phone. If a factory reset does not help, you might need to download your ROM (=Android version of your phone) from the Internet and install it using the recovery. If you can't do this in your recovery or you can't get it to work, I recommend you contact LG support.


WiFi stopped working (dhcpd times out) after enabling device encryption

Might be some  interoperability issue with particular hotspot.If it is a DHCP time out you can try assigning a manual ip address to the particular network.
Or if It is rooted device you can try below command inside adb shell.

dhcpcd wlan0


Shortcut to turn Wi-Fi on/off on Samsung Galaxy Nexus?

On the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, you can add the Android built-in "Power Control" widget to your screen, this has a one-click button for turning Wifi on and off on the left-hand end of the bar.

(screen shot is from the home screen of my Galaxy Nexus, but this power bar has been built-in to Android since at least v1.6, though some manufacturer customizations do remove/change it)

To add this press the circle-with-dots-in icon at the bottom of the home screen to go to your apps list, then select the "WIDGETS" tab at the top of the screen and scroll along until you see "Power Control" or "Settings", hold your finger down on that and it should allow you to drag that to an empty spot on one of your home screens.

Also, if you've received the Jelly Bean 4.2.1 update, it contains a quick settings menu that allows you to get right into the Wi-Fi page in settings. You can swipe down with two fingers from the notification bar, or swipe once and click the button in the top righthand corner.

Then you long-press on the Wifi icon to turn it on or off.


Why do i get "Insufficient storage" when the so called "usb storage" is almost empty?

External application cant install on usb memory as it is a external memory of your phone so you have to empty your phone memory stuff which may be songs, pics or the items which can store on external memory so that your application will install. or simply unistall the unwanted applications. It will help you to free internal memory


Can android collect info about wifi routers even if Google Play Service is disabled?

Android collects information about WiFi routers through the normal course of WiFi operation. You cannot get around this fact if you want to use WiFi. During normal WiFi operation the device listens for management packets like beacons that are sent from WiFi access points, and this information, which is used to communicate with WiFi APs, can be used to estimate location with an appropriate database (Google, Apple, Skyhook, etc.).

In some older versions of Android, it was actually possible to read the AP information with network permissions only and estimate the location using this information with a custom query to a database (not directly through Google's service). In more recent versions (maybe starting at 6?), I think this loophole has been fixed, so that the results of a wireless scan no longer give AP information that can be used to compute location. See https://stackoverflow.com/q/34957118/4107809.

I don't know anything about the default settings.


PIM alternative to Outlook that syncs through USB?

As you are obviously running Windows, you might want to take a look at MyPhoneExplorer and the MyPhoneExplorer Client. This allows you to sync your contacts with Outlook, GMail, Windows contacts, Thunderbird, SeaMonkey, Lotus Notes and Tobit David, your calendars with Outlook, Google, Sunbird, Thunderbird, SeaMonkey, Windows calendar(Vista), Rainlendar, Lotus Notes, Tobit David and net shared calendars (WebDAV, FTP, local), SMS and more as well, and offers many additional features.


Shortcut to change value of the developer option

You can open a settings page from your home screen by adding a shortcut.

Open the Widgets/Shortcuts on your launcher (I can do so by long-pressing an empty space on my home screen) and scroll down to Settings. Then tap the Settings shortcut and select the settings page you want that shortcut to open to. You will want to select Developer Options.

Also, some accessibility options are available in your Quick Settings (settings above your notifications). You may be able to edit your Quick Settings tiles to include color space (I have a Quick Setting tile named Greyscale which comes from Google's Digital Wellbeing app.


Use a USB Controller with Xoom without adapter

Can you not use a USB OTG (On The Go) Cable. It will have a connection (microusb) at one end to fit to your tablet and a USB connection at the other (for many peripherals). This should surely connect your X Box Controller to your tablet. They are very cheap as well.

Alternatively, and maybe to be used in conjunction with see the following article from Pocketables entitled "Guide to Game Controllers on Android" written by A. Odegard on May 9th 2012

http://www.pocketables.com/2012/05/guide-to-game-controllers-on-android.html

Its is an excellent read


Yes, there is an Application Camtest Audio. You can use it for streaming audio/video over the network using WI-FI. I uploaded my app for you in this link:
http://www.droidbin.com/p1alrjvilfvl31joi1evm1qbilfl3

This app is based on an Open Source library called ["Libstreaming"]


SMS sending is auto-blocked, how to fix?

I didnt find a fix the bundled messages app.
As workaround I just installed google's one and after 2 years I can send messages to the specific number again, thx!


What is the applypatch tool and how does one use it?

diff and patch are Unix/Linux commands used to easily check for differences, send updates to huge files by shipping only the differences, etc. (see Wikipedia). They are mostly used in development (to update source code), but can also serve practical purposes in non-development environments.

applypatch is one of those patch-tools on Android, and used e.g. for minor updates (OTA and the like). So it is most likely not intended for the "normal end user" to deal with it directly.


Your handset is not damaged, not totally.

But you do need to get some professional help, someone who is willing to carry out the procedure in restoring it, provided that someone has the necessary tools at their disposal.

However, you can fix your IMEI using a highly specialized but expensive repair box such as Z3X, NSPro, to name but a few.

Mostly, smartphone users do not have access to them and only repair labs or specialists have them.


How to install apps which are targeted for another country?

Before we got paid apps in the Android Market in Denmark, I used to use Market Enabler (requires root). This allowed me to pretend that I was a resident in another country, and thus buy paid apps from the Market.

Perhaps you can use the same solution, faking the market to believe you are from the US?


To fix this, I deleted my Google account from within Lineage OS. I then downloaded the Aroma of Gapps and pushed it to my device. Rebooted into TWRP and wiped cache/dalvik cache and then flashed the new version of Gapps. Aroma allowed me to exclude whichever Gapps I no longer wanted and I then rebooted.

I double checked that both Gmail and Calendar both had permissions to access contacts, but thankfully this process brought back auto suggest.

P.S. there was an issue with contact syncing all the way, whereby I was given the dreaded "Sync Is Currently Experiencing Problems" message. I used the Contacts Sync Fix app in the Play store to remedy this (it worked). It discovered a malformed contact with illegal characters in the notes field (this may ultimately have been the problem in the first place).


How to grant an app root access without GUI interaction?

android.permission.ACCESS_SUPERUSER was defined by SuperSU but:

  Due to changes in Android 5.0 Lollipop, this permission has been deprecated and is completely ignored from SuperSU v2.30 onwards

Also only app which declares a permission in its AndroidManifest.xml file can be granted that permission. Shell (com.android.shell) is an AOSP's dummy app to define UID for adbd, it must not have any such third party permission in its Manifest.

Magisk doesn't use this or any other such permission at all. So you have to grant the permission through user interface. Or try to modify database or configuration file directly where permission preferences are stored. In case of Magisk it's sqlite3 database (/data/adb/magisk.db):

~# sqlite3 /data/adb/magisk.db .tables
hidelist  logs      policies  settings  strings
~# sqlite3 /data/adb/magisk.db '.mode column' '.headers on' 'select * from policies'
uid         package_name  policy      until       logging     notification
----------  ------------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ------------
10146       com.termux    2           0           1           1
~# sqlite3 /data/adb/magisk.db "INSERT INTO policies (uid,package_name,policy,until,logging,notification) VALUES(2000,'com.android.shell',2,0,1,1)"
~# sqlite3 /data/adb/magisk.db '.mode column' '.headers on' 'select * from policies'
uid         package_name  policy      until       logging     notification
----------  ------------  ----------  ----------  ----------  ------------
10146       com.termux    2           0           1           1
2000        com.android.  2           0           1           1
~# sqlite3 /data/adb/magisk.db 'DELETE FROM policies WHERE uid = 2000'

For help on SQLite: sqlite.org
Above commands are working at the moment but Magisk may change database location, table names, table structures etc. any time.
Values may possibly be cached in running processes. So your changes may get ignored or overwritten. In that case putting a modified database from recovery (with proper permissions) may work. I didn't try though.


Can a System-App read the data of other apps on Android 9?

Yes! System Apps with the protection level signature (the System APK must be signed with the same key used to sign the ROM/Firmware), can read/write/execute/delete all data stored on  /data/data or other folders on the device.

Note that third party apps (OEM custom apps) found on system/priv-app with protection level signatureOrSystem (Deprecated in Android 6.0). may not be able to do this unless they have signature protection level which means signed with the same key as the ROM/Firmware.

Examples: I've seen some chinese manufactures with their built-in data clone solutions which can make a backup to the whole APK and it's data in another phone, and IMO, this is a security risk which should not exist at all on android devices.

EDIT 1: As i've mentioned before let's take a look at an Android APK which is able to copy other APKs data/data folders, it's called Amiclone "com.gionee.dataghost" from the Chinese smartphone manufacturer Gionee (which BTW, faced bankruptcy and liquidation on 2018)

We have the following information, from version 2.1.0w_pub build 20100022

Permissions:

android.permission.ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION
android.permission.ACCESS_MTK_MMHW
android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE
android.permission.ACCESS_SUPERUSER
android.permission.ACCESS_WIFI_STATE
android.permission.BLUETOOTH
android.permission.BLUETOOTH_ADMIN
android.permission.CHANGE_NETWORK_STATE
android.permission.CHANGE_WIFI_STATE
android.permission.GET_TASKS
android.permission.INSTALL_PACKAGES
android.permission.INTERNET
android.permission.KILL_BACKGROUND_PROCESSES
android.permission.MANAGE_DOCUMENTS
android.permission.MODIFY_PHONE_STATE
android.permission.MOUNT_FORMAT_FILESYSTEMS
android.permission.MOUNT_UNMOUNT_FILESYSTEMS
android.permission.READ_CALENDAR
android.permission.READ_CALL_LOG
android.permission.READ_CONTACTS
android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE
android.permission.READ_LOGS
android.permission.READ_PHONE_STATE
android.permission.READ_SMS
android.permission.RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED
android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO
android.permission.UPDATE_APP_OPS_STATS
android.permission.WAKE_LOCK
android.permission.WRITE_CALENDAR
android.permission.WRITE_CALL_LOG
android.permission.WRITE_CONTACTS
android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE
android.permission.WRITE_MEDIA_STORAGE
android.permission.WRITE_SECURE_SETTINGS
android.permission.WRITE_SETTINGS
android.permission.WRITE_SMS
com.gionee.youju.statistics.permission.READ_PROVIDER
com.gionee.youju.statistics.permission.WRITE_PROVIDER

Signature:

Number of signers: 1
Signer #1 certificate DN: EMAILADDRESS=gionee@gionee.com, CN=Gionee, OU=Gionee, O=Gionee, L=ShenZhen, ST=GuangDong, C=CN
Signer #1 certificate SHA-256 digest: c2d992c8a4cda2eed55f69357d6759937878e9a0f0b629524e88aa81ed65f802
Signer #1 certificate SHA-1 digest: 1bb8b4f46eafc2a06a46ba68fd8de543a5c65cbd
Signer #1 certificate MD5 digest: b49792a5687b641492e10a29152f7454
Signer #1 key algorithm: RSA
Signer #1 key size (bits): 2048
Signer #1 public key SHA-256 digest: 858b75200e11e0e62f6377b0b56beb728085823bddc31669d8348ee28b651815
Signer #1 public key SHA-1 digest: c780dfb20637a7cedcaf78298ec1bfcb7b069da1
Signer #1 public key MD5 digest: ceb817433cbe5a6a3c42cc7a562617ab

Also, this APK has a built-in busybox binary, and it's able to dump the whole user data from /data/data folders while transferring Apps from a Gionee device t o another.

Conclusion:

Yes,  a system APK can copy other Apps and their data, but it's not only about signature as @Irfan has pointed out in his comment, there are permissions of different levels (some of them require signature level protection) etc...
But, as Android Enthusiasts replies are generally for end-users, the full details are not required to answer a question.


File Hash by Light Weight Apps lets you calculate the md5 hash of all the files in a chosen directory. It may be frustrating because you have to copy the text generated by hand. It seems like there is no 'save' function.


Unable to get USB file transfer working on Oreo 8.1

Based on Izzy's questions, here's what worked for me:  With device plugged in, swipe down to open the notification area.  Tap on "Charging".  Select "File transfer".  Choose "Just Once" or "Always" depending on your situation.  The PC will ask you what you want to do.  I have it open in Windows Explorer and I browse from there.  Hope this helps.  Thanks Izzy  for the pointer.


How to re-unlock bootloader for OnePlus One

In my search, I came across an interesting thread that was related, but in order to install their script, you need to have a custom recovery tool installed or to be able to boot into it (e.g. fastboot boot recovery.img).

I had the stock Cyanogen Recovery tool and I couldn't boot into TWRP because of my actual problem (cannot unlock bootloader anymore), so I dug inside their script and used the content meant to reset the lock and tamper bits of the bootloader.

Now I could run the commands manually if I had root access and luckily, in CM 13 ROM, you can enable it from 'Developer options' menu.

Here are the commands I used after enabling root access for ADB:

adb root     # restart the adbd daemon with root permissions
adb shell    # run remote shell interactively
dd bs=1 count=1 skip=1048080 if=/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/aboot 2>/dev/null | xxd | cut -c 10-     # print the lock bit state (00 - locked, 01 - unlocked)
echo -ne "\x01" | dd bs=1 count=1 seek=1048080 of=/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/aboot                  # set the lock bit to unlocked(01)
dd bs=1 count=1 skip=1048084 if=/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/aboot 2>/dev/null | xxd | cut -c 10-     # print the tamper bit state (00 - untampered, 01 - tampered)
echo -ne "\x00" | dd bs=1 count=1 seek=1048084 of=/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/aboot                  # set the tamper bit to untampered(00)

Result:

$fastboot oem device-info
...
(bootloader)    Device tampered: false
(bootloader)    Device unlocked: true
(bootloader)    Charger screen enabled: false
(bootloader)    Display panel:
(bootloader)    console_enabled: 0
(bootloader)    exec_console_unconsole: 0

I guess the tamper bit is changed the first time you unlock the bootloader (fastboot oem unlock) and after you lock it back (fastboot oem lock) it won't allow you to re-unlock.


To borrow an answer from a previous question I answered, you could use a firewall. By specifying rules for what programs are allowed to access the Internet, even enabling the connection would still block them in the firewall, and they would not access the net. This way, you can block any app except the apps you want to always be allowed (if any), and then unblock apps as needed.

  DroidWall - Front-end application for the powerful iptables Linux
  firewall. Allows you to restrict which apps can access the network.

This app does require root however, but I think it's important to understand that what you're asking about requires low-level system access, so managing this without root is probably not possible.


You might have a chance via a custom recovery:

boot into recovery-mode and see if adb devices shows your device
if not, or if you have no custom recovery, you can "temporarily load one" using fastboot boot recovery.img (this is not guaranteed to work with all combinations, but I had luck with this using twrp on several devices)
if it shows up, use adb shell to get to its prompt. This should be a root prompt.
use dd to create an image of the relevant partitions (the /data partition is what you're usually after). Have it created on your external SD card.
use adb pull to get the image to your computer
use a file-carving software (see our data-recovery tag-wiki) to get back your deleted content from that image

Detailed information can be found in the article One Way to Use a Linux Computer to Recover Files from an Android Device – including those for some of the tricky parts: how to find your partition (step 4), plus an alternative way to grab it (adb shell su -c "cat /dev/block/mmcblk0" | pv > mmcblk0.raw would work even if you have no external SD card, and write the image directly to your Linux machine).

If you got no Linux machine, there are several LiveCDs available you could use. To use ADB on those, see our adb tag-wiki for a minimal installation; I'd recommend to simply download the minimalist archive from my site, unpack to an empty directory, and run it from there.


Booting Fairphone Open OS automatically after sideloading from TWRP

Road to answer
Because I did not clearly understand the difference between selecting, Wipe>Advanced Wipe>Data>yes, and Wipe>format data>yes I did not thoroughly/consistently test the latter option as I thought it was the same as the Wipe>Advanced Wipe>Data>yes option.
Since I experimentally determined that a factory reset did fix the issue, I focused on automating that option in the given constraints. Doing so in this question, I was reminded of the Wipe>format data>yes option again and provided with the adb command in a comment. Since I did not yet find a factory reset method I tried the sudo adb shell twrp format data command manually, and it worked. Then I tried it again in the automated setting with: format_data=$(adb shell twrp format data) and it still worked. This answer has been made possible thanks to the comments of alecxs.
Answer
I was able to automate the installation and booting of Fairphone Open OS using the following set of commands:
sudo adb shell twrp sideload
sudo adb sideload 19.11.2-sibon-24df0be9-ota.zip
sudo adb shell twrp format data
adb reboot

That made the phone successfully boot into the new instance of Fairphone Open OS.
Note
The termination of the sideload modus was not needed anymore, hence the following lines were ommitted:
# terminate/end the sideloading modus
sudo adb sideload /dev/null


How can I cancel an Android Device Manager Erase command?

ADM only works if the device is signed into the Google account that you're using in the web interface. If the device in question no longer belongs to you, presumably it will never sign into your account, so there's nothing to worry about.


LiveSuit (or other similar tools) for Linux or BSD

There are some projects that have gotten LiveSuit to work on Linux, such as this website and details in this forum.

Most of what I could find focused on A10 chipsets, but A13 is close enough that it might work (of course, you'll have to find A13 specific ROMs). The second link also shows how to manually install drivers. Since you didn't specify your exact model, you may have to modify the directions somewhat to work with your device.

The easiest solution, of course, is to get access to a Windows box. A year ago, Linux support wasn't so good, so I had to borrow someone's computer for a bit to flash my Allwinner A13 tablet. Even more restrictive is the ability to generate your own ROM images. I couldn't find anything that would work on Linux, so I was stuck using Windows to upgrade my tablet* to Android 4.1.

*I wrote this post.


Unbelievable fast battery discharge on some games

Your answer lies in your question itself, you have mentioned that other than games the phone runs normally! I think its the games that are causing this, anyway to make sure of that please read ahead.

Can you specify if it is one particular game or all games? If it is just the games mentioned in the other link you have provided, can you just try with the following games and let me know how it goes?

Temple Run 2
Subway Surfer

The games you have mentioned Paradise Island and Dragon City are really heavy games!

Also do you play with the charger connected or disconnected? This was unclear from your question.


Sony Xperia Z3 (Compact) Battery life after update to Lollipop

I can't speak to Stamina mode since I don't use it often, but I had great battery life in regular mode on KitKat. With light talking, texting, and browser/FB use, I could easily go more than 24 hours without recharging my phone. Since upgrading to Lollipop (4-5 days ago), my phone goes from 100% charged at 7am to 7% charged at 5pm -- with very little use -- terrible!  I hope there's a patch for this, b/c I am so disappointed. No real visible upgrade to Lollipop, so frankly, I'd rather go back to KitKat.


You didn't specify whether you're using Opera Mini or Opera Mobile, Opera Mini uses compression proxy server to optimize the page for your device; and this almost invariably breaks in-browser wifi authentication page since the browser will try to connect to its proxy which it can't do because the gateway blocks access to the proxy until you authenticate. Opera Mobile by default do not use the compression proxy, but if you turn on the Turbo feature then it will use the proxy.

You still can use Opera Mini or Opera Mobile with Turbo if you authenticate using the regular Browser then switch to Opera.  If you're using Opera Mobile, then switch off Turbo temporarily for the authentication page.


Why do US SIM cards slow down my Galaxy Note 3, and prevent system settings from opening?

I believe part of the problem is twofold:

All the US phone providers I tried required manual APN configuration. (I've occasionally had to do this for providers in other countries, too.) Of course, configuring this required access to the settings menu. (I would probably have been able to configure this in safe mode, which allowed me access to the settings menu, if this had occurred to me.)
I have Avast Anti-Theft installed, which includes a feature that denies access to the settings menu, when the SIM card changes. Normally, when I change the SIM card, this doesn't inhibit network access (see #1 above), so other security features, such as the email I receive, makes it clearer that Avast Anti-Theft has kicked in, no matter how much of a doofus jetlag makes me.  I suppose this also highlights a workaround for Avast Anti-Theft. Whoopsie!

I'm pretty sure this is the reason. Unfortunately, I ended up humouring AT&T's opinion that my phone had malware, that somehow only kicked in when I'm in the US, so I wiped my phone, and thus don't know for sure. (I wonder if technical staff in other parts of the world would think malware might attack only their country!)


How to mount NFS on Android with correct permissions?

I would like to map uid=neo(1000)->root(0) and guid=neo(1000)->sdcard_r(1028) where neo:neo is the user on the server and root:sdcard_r is the user on the phone.

Files ownership root:sdcard_r (0:1028) on Android won't work for apps. It should be root:everybody (0:9997) with mode 0770 for directories and 0660 for files.

HOW TO MAKE NFS WORK WITH ANDROID APPS?

Traditional *NIX DAC (UIDs/GIDs) was designed to isolate human users, not programs. On Android devices - meant for one human user usually - apps need to be isolated and protected so that they can't access each other's data. So Android treats every app like a human user - with a unique UID/GID.

External storage (/sdcard) - whether physically external or internal - is meant to be shared by all apps i.e. multiple UIDs. If it's a traditional *NIX filesystem (like ext4), every app would create files with its own UID/GID which makes it nearly impossible to share files among all apps with read/write access. To come up with a solution, Android opted emulated filesystem - based on FUSE or sdcardfs - with fixed ownership and mode. See details in What is the “u#_everybody” UID?

These UIDs/GIDs and modes also control apps' access to files in /sdcard. So if we want to mount NFS to be accessible by all apps, we need to mitigate these permissions according to Android's storage design.

PLAIN UNIX SECURITY ON NFS:

sec=sys mode enforces UNIX permissions without any translation. As explained in previous section, files would be created with random ownership by different apps. So those have to be readable/writable by world (o+rw), otherwise apps won't be able to read/write. But there is no way to enforce file creation mode globally, neither it's a good idea to share files with too open permissions. A possible solution is to use ID mapping and/or anonymous mode.

NFSv4 ID MAPPING:

With NFSv4 it's possible to map different UIDs/GIDs between client and server. If a user with same name but different UIDs/GIDs exists on both sides, files on client look owned by the same user name, not same UID. Linux key-management facility * is used to store mappings of remote user IDs to local user IDs. A good explanation can be found here.

So the idea is to create user:group neo:neo on NFS server (1000:1000) and on Android (0:9997). For this, rpc.idmapd needs to be running on both server and client which queries user database (/etc/{passwd,group} in simplest case) through NSS.  On more recent kernels the NFSv4 client instead uses nfsidmap, and only falls back to rpc.idmapd if there was a problem running the nfsidmap. Kernel calls /sbin/request-key binary in userspace which executes nfsidmap to query users database. So the kernel would map server's neo (1000:1000) to client's neo (0:9997).

In simple case, if UID/GID range 10000 to 19999 is not assigned to any user/group on NFS server and Nobody-User = root/Nobody-Group = everybody is defined in /etc/idmapd.conf on client, all files (created by Android apps) owned by non-existent users on server would be returned as owned by 0:9997 on client. But it doesn't resolve the problem of random ownership of files on server.

Running rpc.idmapd or providing nfsidmap on Android is a complicated task (static linking and all that). However - making use of keyutils (request-key and keyctl) - we can trick kernel to show fixed ownership 0:9997 for all mappings regardless of what the actual ownership is:

On NFS server:

Run services:

~# mount -t nfsd nfsd /proc/fs/nfsd
~# rpc.mountd -g -N2 -N3 -N4 -N4.1 -N4.2 -p 4000
~# rpc.nfsd -N2 -N3 -N4 -N4.1 -N4.2 -U --p 2049 4
~# mkdir -p /run/rpc_pipefs
~# mount -t rpc_pipefs sunrpc /run/rpc_pipefs
~# rpc.idmapd -S -p /run/rpc_pipefs
~# echo -n N >/sys/module/nfsd/parameters/nfs4_disable_idmapping
~# exportfs -o rw,insecure,hide,no_subtree_check,sec=sys <CLIENT_IP>:/SHARED_DIR

Or configure and run required init services. Also unblock ports though firewall on client and server.

On Android:

Create /sbin/nfsidmap_pseudo and /etc/request-key.conf:

#!/system/bin/sh

uid=0
gid=9997

case $2 in
    uid:*)
        printf '%s\0' "$uid" | /sbin/keyctl pinstantiate $1 0 ;;
    gid:*)
        printf '%s\0' "$gid" | /sbin/keyctl pinstantiate $1 0 ;;
    *)
        # won't do anything to "user" or "group" types
        exit 1 ;;
esac

# /etc/request-key.conf
create  id_resolver  *  *  /sbin/nfsidmap_pseudo  %k  %d

Place files, set permissions and enable ID mapping::

~# chmod 0755 /sbin/request-key /sbin/nfsidmap_pseudo /sbin/keyctl
~# chmod 0644 /etc/request-key.conf
~# chown 0.0 /sbin/request-key /sbin/nfsidmap_pseudo /sbin/keyctl /etc/request-key.conf
~# chcon u:object_r:rootfs:s0 /sbin/request-key /sbin/nfsidmap_pseudo /sbin/keyctl
~# chcon u:object_r:system_file:s0 /etc/request-key.conf
~# echo -n N >/sys/module/nfs/parameters/nfs4_disable_idmapping

Since NFS isn't supported officially on Android, SELinux policy doesn't have required rules. You may need to set SELinux permissive or allow kernel to read/write keys, execute files in userspace and make connections:

~# supolicy --live 'allow kernel kernel key { search write view read }'
~# supolicy --live 'allow kernel kernel capability { net_raw net_bind_service sys_admin }'
~# supolicy --live 'allow kernel { rootfs shell_exec system_file } file { execute_no_trans execute open getattr }'

Mount:

~# mkdir -p /sdcard/NFS
~# busybox mount -v -t nfs4 -o vers=4.2,sec=sys,rw,tcp,port=2049,context=u:object_r:sdcardfs:s0 <SERVER_IP>:/SHARED_DIR /mnt/runtime/write/emulated/0/NFS

Unfortunately what we get from all this setup is that now apps apparently see files in /sdcard/NFS owned by 0:9997. But with sec=sys security, actual file access is not governed by NFSv4 UID Mapping **. Permissions are enforced by RPC mechanism which is not yet ready to work with ID mapping. So UID Mapping without Kerberos security works only if user/group name and number spaces are consistent between the client and server. It means that neo user on server should have UID/GID: 0/9997 (which nullifies the whole purpose of ID mapping). On the other hand Kerberos security (sec=krb5) is too hectic to be tried on Android.

Similarly file locking on NFSv2/3 requires portmapper (rpcbind) and rpc.statd running on server and client both, which is not the case with Android client. So, we need to use nolock mount option. On NFSv4, however, locking is built-in NFS protocol, NLM isn't needed. So better is to not go for UID Mapping (on NFSv4, and File Locking on NFSv2/3). If you need all NFS features (including Kerberos) working on Android device, rather try a tiny Linux distro in chroot.

* On kernel older than v4.6, /proc/keys is exposed if kernel is built with KEYS_DEBUG_PROC_KEYS.
** References: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

NFS ANONYMOUS ACCESS:

One of NFS security flavors is anonymous mode. Every request from any UID/GID on client is treated as the anonymous UID/GID on server. Initially all files in shared directory must be owned by this UID/GID and all subsequently created files from client side would also have the same ownership:

Export share with sec=none on server:

~# exportfs -o rw,insecure,no_subtree_check,anonuid=1000,anongid=1000,sec=none,root_squash,all_squash <CLIENT_IP>:/SHARED_DIR
~# chown -R 1000.1000 /SHARED_DIR; chmod 0700 /SHARED_SIR

* For NFSv2/3 also run rpcbind (on default port 111)

Mount with sec=none On Android:

~# busybox mount -v -t nfs4 -o vers=4.2,sec=none,rw,tcp,port=2049,context=u:object_r:sdcardfs:s0 <SERVER_IP>:/SHARED_DIR /mnt/runtime/write/emulated/0/NFS

* Use -t and vers= according to your kernel build configuration CONFIG_NFS_V[2|3|4|4_1|4_2].
* Use -t nfs -o nolock with vers=3 or vers=2.
* Make sure you are mounting from root mount namespace.
* Mounting with sec=none doesn't work with NFSv3.

All apps on Android can now read and write to NFS directory and all files are created with single anonymous UID/GID on server, easy to manage by a user. However apparent ownership (if ID mapping not setup) and permission mode is not according to Android's flavor, so...

TRY IT THE ANDROID WAY...

Let's make use of FUSE or sdcardfs as Android does:

~# mkdir -p /mnt/NFS /sdcard/NFS
~# busybox mount -v -t nfs4 -o vers=4.2,sec=none,rw,tcp,port=2049,context=u:object_r:sdcardfs:s0 <SERVER_IP>:/SHARED_DIR /mnt/NFS
~# mount -t sdcardfs -o nosuid,nodev,noexec,noatime,mask=7,gid=9997 /mnt/NFS /mnt/runtime/write/emulated/0/NFS

If your device doesn't support sdcardfs, use bindfs and replace SELinux context u:object_r:sdcardfs:s0 with u:object_r:fuse:s0:

~# bindfs -o nosuid,nodev,noexec,noatime,context=u:object_r:fuse:s0 -u 0 -g 9997 -p a-rwx,ug+rw,ugo+X --xattr-none --chown-ignore --chgrp-ignore --chmod-ignore /mnt/NFS /mnt/runtime/write/emulated/0/NFS

It leaves us with no remaining problems. For more details see How to bind mount a folder inside /sdcard with correct permissions?

GIVE CIFS A CHANCE...

NFS being Linux's native filesystem (like ext4) is meant to enforce *NIX permissions. Non-native filesystems like FAT and CIFS let fixed ownership and permissions be set across whole filesystem. So what you are looking for is relatively easy to achieve with CIFS:

~# mkdir -p /sdcard/CIFS
~# busybox mount -v -t cifs -o vers=3.0,nosuid,nodev,noexec,noatime,rw,hard,context=u:object_r:sdcardfs:s0,nounix,uid=0,gid=9997,file_mode=0660,dir_mode=0770,nouser_xattr,port=445,username=USERNAME,password=PASSWORD //<SERVER_IP>/SHARED_DIR /mnt/runtime/write/emulated/0/CIFS

* Kernel must be built with CONFIG_CIFS and preferably CONFIG_CIFS_SMB2, use vers= accordingly.
* For mount options detail see mount.cifs(8)

OTHER OPTIONS?

Other FUSE-based mountable filesystems are sshfs and rclone. Latter offers a large range of protocols and configurations while requiring a very simple setup.


Nougat 7.0: I cant explore phone memory in my computer

To see your Internal Storage, on Android Nougat 7.0 and above, open the notification tray on your device, tap on the persistent notification "USB charging this device" and select "Transfer files".

Source: http://www.theandroidsoul.com/set-transfer-files-mtp-default-nougat/


Listing the achievements unlocked by a friend

All the achievements wont be listed at once when you visit your friend's account(when you see their profile in the Google Play Games application). Instead when you visit their profile you get the list of games that your friend is playing/played. And you have to click each game your friend has played and compare/view the achievements with your friend's profile with your profile.


Android to Google calendar sync problems

I am assuming you are on a rooted device.

Use your preferred file explorer to browse to : /system/app

There should be two apk files. One the calendar app (calendar.apk) and the other calendarprovider.apk. The second apk provides proper synchronization between the google account and the actual calendar application which is probably missing or not working.

You should be able to find a replacement apk for your specific device and rom on XDA.


How do I add a phone number to contacts from the text message app?

On my Android 4.0.4 if I click on the picture of the contact, I get option to save it.


If it starts to boot (goes to the boot logo/animation) or Recovery/Download mode at least tries to load, then the motherboard is NOT damaged.

Your device is soft-bricked, and just needs to have a compatible ROM flashed, and your userdata erased for your device to be fully functional again.

The person is the service centre doesn't know what hey is talking about (I wouldn't trust those people - they just want your money).


Is there a way to connect Acer Iconia A500 tablet to windows PC via USB as a drive, not a device?

Download File Manager HD from https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rhmsoft.fm.hd

Follow these instructions. Answer source: http://androidforums.com/2848952-post5.html

  On the panel at the left tap Storage.

  On the panel at the top right press the Up arrow until the first
  directory entry is asec. Now scroll down through the directory and you
  should see usb_storage. Tap usb_storage and you should see your data.


If you want to unlock the bootloader, root and add a custom/stock ROM, then you want to use Wugs Toolkit for Nexus. (Try to borrow or use a Windows PC or laptop, its not for OS X)

Here is XDA forum link:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1766475

Here is the download link (this is for Windows, not OS X)
http://www.wugfresh.com/nrt/

Its pretty self explanatory, but try to read it all anyway.

As far as I know there isn't a version for OS X

I have used this method on my 2 Nexus 7s and my friends Nexus 4 & 5!!!

Happy rooting everyone!!!!


How do I get MMS working on Nexus 5 with Straight Talk?

I finally hit upon APN settings which did the trick for me.

APN Name: STRAIGHT_TALK
APN: tfdata
Port: 80
Username: not set
Password: not set
Server: not set
MMSC: http://mms-tf.net
MMS Proxy: 66.209.11.33
MMS Port: 80
MCC: 310
MNC: 410
Auth Type: none
APN Type: default,supl,mms,hipri,agps,fota,dun,entitle


How do I decrypt files on my SD card that I encrypted using the Settings?

I sent this question into Verizon Wireless as well.  Here is their reply:

  Thank you for contacting Verizon Wireless through our website...I
  understand that you've been having an issue trying to decrypt files on
  your handset.  At this time Motorola hasn't provided an update for
  your phone to be able to do this.  Without that, we're unable to
  assist you because this is a phone issue and not a network issue.

So it looks like Ryan was correct in his comment that this is an issue with a Motorola OS add-on, not vanilla Android.

Since originally asking my question, I experimented some more with my phone.  My phone has 2 check-boxes for setting encryption: one to encrypt the SD card (that I mentioned in my original question) and one to encrypt the main phone memory.  When I unchecked both boxes, my phone decrypted all files, both on the phone and on the SD card.  So, that is my solution for now.

Thank you Ryan for your comments -- they helped lead me to this answer.


How do I route traffic from WiFi Hotspot to USB?

Although this does not specifically answer my question, I solved my problem. What I wanted to do is to share my internet with my friend via WiFi using my android mobile because my Linux powered laptop doesn't have driver support for creating WiFi APs. Broadcom sucks!

I use my mobile phone to create a WiFi network(via hotspot), connect my laptop (source of internet) and other devices that require internet to the network. Now I configure my laptop to be a gateway and configure other devices to use my laptop as gateway.

Here is the guide I followed. Lucky for me, I run Arch Linux. But this should work even if you are on some other linux distro like Ubuntu. So here it goes:

Start hotspot on your mobile and connect the laptop which has internet and the device which needs internet connection.
Create a script named start-gateway.sh with the following content.

#!/bin/bash
sysctl net.ipv4.ip_forward=1
iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -o eth0 -j MASQUERADE
iptables -A FORWARD -m conntrack --ctstate RELATED,ESTABLISHED -j ACCEPT iptables -A FORWARD -i wlan0 -o eth0 -j ACCEPT

The script assumes that the interface which has internet is eth0 and you need to forward packets from wlan0 (your WiFi interface) to your Ethernet connection. So please confirm if these are the names of the interfaces from ifconfig output.

Make the script executable and you are done:

chmod u+x start-gateway.sh

Whenever you need to start the gateway, execute the script with root privileges when connected to the WiFi:

sudo ./start-gateway.sh

Now all you have to do to get internet on other devices connected to the WiFi is to set the manually set IP configuration on those devices, giving the gateway as the IP address of your new gateway. Remember that by default the gateway will be the phone which is hosting the WiFi network(which has no internet), and you need to change the gateway to the one you have created.


Controlling an Android phone's audio player via the buttons on the headset?

From a hardware perspective, as can be seen here, all Android phones with 3.5mm jack are required to support the following functions: play/pause/hook (Short Press), Trigger Assist (Long Press), Next (Double Press). They can optionally also support: volume up/down. I believe that these days all new phones support all of them.
It's then up to each specific application (e.g. a music player) to make use of these capabilities. Here too, I also believe that most of them do. Of course you also need your headphones to come with the relevant buttons.


Is there a way to enable Hotspot when connected to a specific Bluetooth source?

You can use Tasker to accomplish this

Profile (or Trigger)

Create a Profile which allows triggering of the Tasker upon bluetooth connection:

Go to Profiles Tab and click the "+"
State ➡  Net ➡ BT Connected [Name : Name of your car BT, Address: MAC of your Car BT)
Tap back to exit from this window

Task

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

Scroll all the way up the Task list select "New Task + "
You can name this Task AutoTethering or anything or leave optionally as anonymous task.
Click "+" to add new Action
Net ➡ WiFi Tether (Set On)

Explanation: When Tasker detects the device is connected to another device(car) via bluetooth, it will run a task that activates wi-fi tether.

This should work cheers.


Phone doesn't turn wifi off and weirdly transmits data

I've followed Izzi's advice and it worked. Here's what i did:

I used the firewall app, afwall+ ,turned it on( and used whitelist - blocking everything ) , turned logging on.

made phone sleep.

Than turned it on - and on the firewall log - i've seen the sources of traffic - all pointing to google, which i can live with - so i didn't continue further.


How to set MTP mode on phone with broken screen in USB charge-only mode

Probably its too late. I had exactly the same problem and i used a Bluetooth keyboard with a touch pad / a Bluetooth mouse should also work. Use the OTG to connect the Bluetooth device then disconnect the OTG. Connect it to the Computer and you can change the mode with the Bluetooth device.


If I pull the battery out, the sd card file system crashs, all file lost!

Some file systems are pretty robust, if you used ext3/4 and yaffs2, the chance of getting caught in situation where the filesystem cannot recover is scarcer than winning a lottery. These file system utilizes logging to revert inconsistencies; At every startup, Android will check the filesystem's log, if the log is not empty that means the file system is not unmounted cleanly and it will automatically perform a quick recovery (you usually won't notice anything, just a 3-5 seconds longer startup). There is small chance that the last data that have not been "committed" may be lost, but it is -- for all practical purpose -- impossible to lose the whole file system.

Unfortunately, some filesystems commonly used in certain Android devices are not so robust, many manufacturers partition their SD cards as FAT, and with FAT every time your device crashes, you are playing a game of Russian Roulette. Samsung phones had a proprietary variant of FAT, which they called RFS (Robust File System), they claim RFS is compatible with FAT but is robust in the event of crash; so far, I hadn't observed any data corruption on my Samsung phone, though it is still better to be wary since Samsung is bad at writing software.


Is there a way to set a time frame for updating applications?

This is a great question, it is possible to do.

Install Tasker (not free)
Install Tasker plugin AutoInput (not free)
Set auto input to open play store, tap the drawer, tap updates & update all.
Note, sometimes for an update a dialogue pops up saying 'this app needs new permissions' you could get autoinput to tap accept or skip a couple of times in case it does pop up.


You will have to return your device to complete stock.  Since you have rooted it, in Settings - About Phone it will list your device as Modified, so if that's the case, you won't be able to update.  Going back to 100% stock in Settings it'll say Official, at that point, you'll be able to update.


Download Uninstall from Google Play. It's a system apps remover. You'll be able to remove Kingroot app from your phone.


How to display the console logo during recording of a gameplay

The console logo when using Google Play Games appears when you are only recording the screen and not yourself. You can't remove it. It's either the console logo or your face (unless you block the front camera, then it will be a black circle that will be shown on your videos).

Your alternative is to record games using the screen recorder that comes installed with your phone (check if yours has one) or download a screen recorder apps from  Play Store.


Is there a reason why an app would want all of my contacts?

Definitly not! That's nothing like what a developer needs. And a developer requiring you to send that I'd avoid in the future as well. All that might be needed can be provided by e.g. adb bugreport (which is the most comprehensive data collection known to me to be useful for a developer concerning his development). Requesting all your addresses is harvesting, and rather used for spamming.

TL;DR: I would NOT send that information. You might contact that dev and ask for an explanation, and then maybe decide different. But I cannot believe this being a "mistake" or simply "carelessness".